#danny is not that way because he's half human but the potential is there

[kaidatheghostdragon]

Can we have gremlin danny eventually realize that steph is becoming a halfa? He deliberately sought out a hero/vigilante on the hope that they'd find a way to get their soul back, he is definitely gremlin enough to use this to his advantage. What advantage? The observants bullied him into taking an innocent soul, and now that soul is going to become as much of a powerhouse as he is.

Ie, the observants have to contend with ANOTHER gremlin prankster halfa as a consequence of their actions. (Counting ellie, that's now 3 prankster halfas.)

Danny may or may not also use this new knowledge to power up the other two-thirds of his own trio as well.

And steph may eventually take this trick to some of the other bats or heroes. (Would tim be dumb enough to sell his soul back and forth to his ex-girlfriend for a secret power-up that nobody else would know about?)

And regardless of whether you think the lazarus pits are capable of turning Jason into a halfa or not, this provides an alternate pathway to heal him up, too.

It's a Deal.

So! Steph is in a bit of a Bind. Literally.

Her Father had just discovered that she was the Vigilante who kept ruining his Plans, and decided to Deal with her. So he tied her up at a Bomb Site for one of his Plans and left her to die there.

No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't escape the Ropes, and time was running out. If only she had managed to get that last message out to Batman in time, maybe he would have come to rescue her.

The Timer had nearly reached Zero, when all of a sudden Time Stopped. The Ropes around her fell away, and a guy walked up to her as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Hey, you seem to be in a bit of a bind."

"Not so much anymore, was that you?"

"Yeah, bit of a Free Sample. See, I'm in a bit of a bind as well. I made a Deal with these floating Eyeballs, and long story short in order to keep my town safe I need to take the Soul of an Innocent person."

"And is that where I come in?"

"Yup, Basically I save your life, help you out with whatever you want, and you give me the rights to your Soul."

"What if I just walk away while time is stopped?"

"The building is Locked down tight, and I can't actually hold Time stopped for too long either way, it's sort of a new power to me. Without my help you wouldn't get out in time."

"So it's sell my soul or die?"

"Trust me,I don't like it either, but it's what I have to do."

"You know what, sure. You help me escape, help me take down The Cluemaster, and I'll give you my Soul."

"Then it's a Deal."

"I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

[evilminji]

You Know How There Are Those AU? Where SUPER Injured Ghosts Need To Retreat To Their Core?

No one seems to be USING that to its fullest potential! For SHENANIGANS! Because! Who?? Could POSSIBLY carry a Halfa's Core safely... but another Halfa?! A FULL ghost would KILL them. A human would be killed! What terribly precarious peril we find ourselves in! Oh nooooooo!

Well, no worry!

As much as Dani fuckin HATES this. That there is her brother. Her Template. Her Clone Daddy and Bestest of Bros. Like HECK she's gonna let him suffer for centuries and possibly DIE. She can take it, Doc! Pop him in! We'll go road tripping and-

What do you MEAN "No"?

Unstable??! Of course she's unstable! But the-.... Oh.

Turns OUT? Dani? Can hitch a ride in DANNY for Emergency Medical Aid... but NOT the other way around. Her body is too loosely held together. He would parasiticly consume her from within. Instead of feeding off her Ecto System like injured ghosts are supposed too, because she's a CLONE? AND an unstable one at that? His Core would just... see her body as free ectoplasm. All of it.

He'd eat her.

Which mean Frostbite can not and WILL NOT allow that.

But he's HURT! That big, off screen, cataclysmic Fight To Save Everybody From *cough cough mumbles* and settle us all in the DC universe, REALLY messed him up! What are we supposed to DO!? He can't STAY like this!!!

Enter-> My FAVORITE DCxDP Trash Ship! Vlad&Lex!!! *horrified screaming from the crowds, someone shouts "oh god, no! Please!"* Ha! There are no gods here, silly billys! Only two terrible, terrible HIGHLY Dramatic, self serving, incredibly damaged, gay peacocks. In Business Suits that cost more then your house is worth.

They're AWFUL~♡

And! Vlad was sent ahead to lay the ground work. Insure there would be no GIWs. Also because no one could stand him and his EXTENSIVE criminal record. But that's besides the point.

But!

You know what he found? A Business Nemesis. Who he routinely dates and/or Dramatically Hate Fu-*coughs* I mean, attempts a Corporate Take Over(tm) off. You know how it is. Business. He ALSO gets to make it no secret he's a "Meta", thanks to the INCOMPETENCE of one Jack Fenton, because that- *seething rant*

Yet? Dispite his STILL burning hatred for Jack? And his finally letting go of Maddie? You know what he STILL wants?

For Danny to be his Son.

*Gets a call from Frostbite*

...............soooooo........ what you're SAYING is..... I can be pregnant with Daniel.

You, Frostbite, need ME, Vladimir Masters, THE ONLY OTHER HALFA, to carry Daniel around inside my body, in what to all appearances resembles a pregnancy, in order to heal him. Because I am an Older And Stronger Halfa Upon Which He Relies.

:)

*instantly begins plotting*

Just? Imagine. Vlad is a FUCKIN LIAR. No one but him would even KNOW what was going on! He just? Rocks up one day, like? *falsely demure* "oh I couldn't POSSIBLY has any scotch, Lex! >:) I'm eating for Two~☆" and just? Deals the MAXIMUM amount of psychic damage he can.

Probably says it at their weekly, public, Veiled Threats Brunch.

It makes front page news. Luthor choked on his eggs. The paparazzi lost their SHIT. Vlad is doing the FULL Celebrity Mom Thing. The classes. The photo shoots. The Gucci sunglasses as he peruses high end strollers. All while HEAVILY suggesting that not only is "The Baby" Lex's.... but that he's going to withhold the child and deny Lex any access.

Danny isn't even aware. He's in a lovely lil medical coma. Dani is trying to find a good spot to plop down Amity. She just know Vlad is being... Vlad. Meh. He can handle it. Dan? He's not even IN the human realm and is not sure he wants to be.

But over in the LEAGUE? Everything's on fuckin FIRE.

Kon is losing his SHIT and Clark is thousand yard staring into the void. Kon's half brother is in the hands of a... Less Then Ideal... Meta that Batman is PRETTY sure is highly suspect. Might be a deliberate weapons experiment. Certainly is a hostage. And the DRAMA.

Lex has never been worse.

He might actually stab his...partner? Vlad. At the hospital. The SECOND the child is born. There are already long term kidnapping plans in the making. He's hiring lawyers. Getting VICIOUS. There have been talks with DEATHSTROKE. By BOTH OF THEM.

Clark wants to cry.

@hypewinter @ailithnight @nerdpoe @hdgnj @the-witchhunter @mutable-manifestation @babbling-babull

[absolutely-esme]

About Dan

Something I would like to see addressed more in Danny Phantom fanworks, especially crossovers, is that Dan is not Danny.

Just to be clear, I don't mean that in a "Danny didn't take that path and didn't become that person" way. A lot of stories tend to refer to Dan as an evil version of Danny from another timeline, but that's not what he is.

Dan is not Danny.

He never was.

Dan is not Danny's evil future self. He is not Danny from an alternate Timeline. He is not Danny at all.

In Dan's timeline, Danny and Vlad both got split in half. The ghost halves of both merged and became Dan. Dan is a new entity who was made from half of Danny and half of Vlad. He is not a version of Danny any more than he's a version of Vlad.

Dan actually has more in common with Vlad both physically and personality-wise. Physically, Dan has Danny's hair color and face shape, but he has Vlad's eye color, skin tone, fangs, ear shape, and hair texture. Personality wise, Dan got Vlad's cruelty, ego, lack of empathy, some of his manipulative tendencies, and his flair for the dramatic. He got Danny's impulsiveness.

There are similarities between Dan's origin and the "evil future self from a bad future" plot that is so common in superhero stories, but that's not what Dan is. Danny doesn't exist in Dan's timeline. His human half is dead and his ghost half was part of the materials used to make Dan. This is spelled out pretty explicitly in the show. The Boo-merang doesn't track Dan because it's locked onto Danny's ecto-signature, not Dan's.

You could compare Dan to an offspring of Danny and Vlad. It would certainly be closer than calling him a version of Danny. That said, I think the better description would be that, whatever Frankenstein's creation was to the people whose graves Frankenstein robbed to make him, that's what Dan is to Danny and Vlad.

Danny's fears regarding the Dan timeline would not be about his own potential to go bad, but about Danny's friends and family dying, Danny being left at Vlad's mercy with no support system, and Vlad experimenting on him in a way that results in Danny's death and Dan's creation, and Danny ending up in a bad enough state of mind to let him do it.

I noticed that a lot of Danny Phantom and DC crossovers especially tend to simplify Dan into an alternate Danny who had a villain arc, and it occurred to me that a lot of people approaching from the DC side of things probably never watched The Ultimate Enemy and don't know the actual story behind Dan.

It's really too bad, because I think there's a lot to be done with it.

[starry-bi-sky]

potential 'tales of the passerine' au idea that might make it into the au after I sleep it over. Essentially it goes as follows: Danny uses music as a way to 'filter' his food.

Now let me explain.

It stems from the idea that ghosts can feed on the living's emotions. Like how Spectra feeds on teen misery and Ember feeds on fan adoration. For the average ghost its not required, but they can do it.

Gotham, despite having a high population of people, is low on ectoplasm. That is due to the overwhelming amount of emotional energy being poured into the city. To put it simply, the Bad Vibes are smothering the place. There's enough ectoplasm that it's not going to unbalance anything, but it does mean ghosts forming in Gotham are rare. Not enough ectoplasm to bond to.

Anyways, moving on; Danny feeds on ectoplasm naturally. Even when he's repressing his ghost half, he's feeding on it. Maybe not as much as he should, but he's still doing it. It's like eating food or breathing air. It keeps his body healthy in the basic bodily maintenance care way. Since Gotham doesn't have a ton of ectoplasm, he turns to feeding on its Bad Vibes instead to keep himself sustained. It's a win-win!

However, much like the human body processes food, his ghost half has to process those Bad Vibes and filter it out into energy. Otherwise those bad vibes are going to start affecting him, similar to how food can effect your health but from an emotional and behavioral stand point.

That filter is like the ghostly metabolic rate equivalent, and it can only filter out so much stuff at a set time when at rest. Danny's consuming a lot of bad vibes, his metabolism can't keep up on it's own. Danny can then turn and aid his filter by finding more outlets to help burn that excess energy and filter through it faster.

One of these being... *drumroll* music! It doesn't have to be music specifically, it can be any activity that burns human energy as well. But I chose music because i like to make danny a musician, it can be something he used to be interested in when he was younger, forgot about, and only rediscovered after he moved in with bruce.

i haven't decided yet if its something i'm going to actually put into passerine because I haven't fully developed everything else yet. But I thought it was a cool idea and wanted to share.

[flamingpudding]

DPxDC Family Week June 18 (Day 1)

Prompt: Parents | Discovery

A/N: I hope i did not miss the prompts but here is my Day 1 contribution! Enjoy!

AO3 Link: DPxDC Family Week Contributions

Danny sighed as he watched his parents lay out the display for their research as well as set up a showcasing of all their weapons. Why couldn't he skip this business thing like Jazz had. Oh right, Jazz was going to college next year and skipt out of this with the excuse of taking a college tour for Gotham Acadamy and their student programs. While he had missed his chance and was now stuck accompanying his parents to their meeting with a new potential business partner. In other words he was on parents babysitting duty.

Apparently Wayne Enterprise had shown some interest in regards to their research as well as ecto-powered utensils and weaponry. Danny was pretty sure that they only showed an interest because he had an accidentally meeting as ghost king with that Constantine guy who's soul became a trading game in the ghost zone. Apparently there was a Justice League Dark which needed some help with a couple rebellious ghosts. Instead of a Demon they had accidentally summoned Danny in his Ghost King form and Danny had used that chance to ramble on about the GIW and how half his council was close to demanding a war with the humans. They were pretty quickly interested in avoiding an interdimensional war, even promising to get the Justice League involved too and not only the Dark variant.

The moment Sam and Tucker heard about Wayne Enterprises being interested in a deal, they once again started up their discussion about whether or not Bruce Wayne was Batman's sugar daddy. Since the bat was a member of the Justice League. In a way he probably should be happy that his parents forced him to come with them, it gave him an out from his friends bickering. Don't get him wrong, he loves his friends, but if he has to listen to them argue one more time where or not Batman fucks a rich billionaire, Superman or Wonder Woman, he would be throwing them into the portal for an hour or have them deal with Technus alone.

Either way he was now helping his parents while they were discussing if they should or should not demonstrate the Fanton-Bazooka. His mom had already the Wraith Wrangler tested earlier while his dad had untangled the Fenton Ghost Fisher. The Fenton Finder was already on the table deactivated for now. Ancients, he was not looking forward to being its target, again. His parents were also already wearing the Fenton Specter Deflector which meant Danny was especially careful not to get to close to them since that thing still sapped him and the only one he had had the time to adjust and make his own ecto signature a exception in, was at home because he just forget taking it with him when his parents dragged him into the GAV.

Aside from the weaponry his parents had also brought out a bunch of their modified home appliances, like the Fenton toaster. Hopefully they wouldn't end up bringing the bread back to life during the presentation. Danny didn't think Wayne enterprise would be too thrilled about that. And the Ancients, did he hope that Bruce Wayne was not a fruitloop like Vlad.

---------

Tim sighed as he readjusted the necktie. What was Bruce thinking? Just because Constantine had contacted the Justice League about some negotiations that were going to happen with someone from another dimension known as the Ghost King, he was now stuck with trying to strike a deal with one of the only inventors that was actively publishing as well as selling research and weaponry that would work against ghosts.

Seriously that man and his contingency plans.

Just because he liked to have safety measures should negotiation with the Ghost King, who apparently can destroy entire dimensions, go wrong, didn't mean that the man could skip out on that meeting with the scientist couple and put that all instead on him. Really Tim had better things to do, like plotting a revenge plan on Jason for ratting out his coffee hiding space to Alfred. So what if he only slept like six hours in four days? He was still functioning very well.

He watched through the cams how the Fantons set up their display in the room WE had provided them. They were going to show off to a selected board and him. He eyed some of their weaponry as well as home appliances, they all had a pretty in theme green and silver design. Though he took special notice of the green glow or liquid some of them visibly contained that suspiciously looked very much like Lazarus Water. He would need to make sure to collect some samples if they didn't leave some willingly behind.

He also wondered how their son, who looked very much like an unwilling assistance, kept a certain distance from his parents after they put on some clunky looking belts. He got his answer as to why when he watched them longer. The poor kid got zapped apparently every time he got too close. Worse was that his parents apparently didn't notice or entirely dismissed it a second later if they noticed it.

The co-ceo of Wayne Enterprise narrowed his eyes at that, the detective in him screaming that something was amiss here. Sometimes the parents even carelessly reached out to touch their son, in what was probably supposed to be an affectionate gesture. The boy would flinch back slightly but they would still keep going only drawing back when the kid ended up flinching in actual pain and letting that show on his face. His parents then seemed instantly apologetic but only minutes later ended up repeating the same mistake distracted apparently by something else.

Tim took notes of this and decided that he would either look into their home life himself or ask Barbara to do it. He had a gut feeling that the kid needed some help and even if it were just a false alarm and these were actually good parents, it would be better safe than sorry. Taking a sip from his death wish coffee he readjusted the tie once more before closing his laptop.

It was time for the business meeting and he would make sure to watch their interaction and treatment of their child closely.

----------

Tim swore he was paying attention. The suspicious looks his board as well as the Fantons son were giving him just because he was typing away on his laptop while parallel listening to them as well as taking regular sips from his coffee was not him being distracted. Didn't these people ever hear about multitasking? Just because he sat in the back so no one could look into his laptop didn't mean he wasn't paying attention. For all they knew he was actively taking notes.

At these the Drs. Fenton didn't seem to mind it, they were easily distracted with just one well placed question from him. They would then go on and on about Ecto-Energy and all its uses and potential. By now the young CEO was pretty sure that this Ectoplasm had something to do with Lazarus water. Which only validated the research he was doing on the side even more.

It wasn't like he was hacking into Amity Park's network system, okay he was but it was surprisingly hard for such an in-the-middle-of-nowhere place. He only found an in into their network when he found a rather passionate online post about their local Vigilante being the Fantons son but got countered by several other users stating that they had seen the two of them at the same time several times.

That users net security wasn't the best so it was easy for Tim to find an in that way. He sent it to Barbara too, just in case she also had troubles. Really that town had an interesting firewall system that appeared to make no sense. It was also strange to see how little information was known about this place if you weren't tuned into their networks.

Like was that place a literal Bermuda triangle when it came to Information?

He looked up from his laptop just in time to see the Fantons go on about the uses of Ecto-Energy and how it can replace electricity if used correctly. Apparently their entire home didn't have to pay electricity bills in years now since they became self sufficient. They then went on showing off how to find the source of Ecto-Energy holding up something they named the Fenton-Finder. That thing beeped and then proceeded to insult them and point in the direction of their son.

Flustered they explained how because of an accident their son had their inventions tend to malfunction when he was close by. Their son very clearly grimaced when his parents shared that piece of information and Tim made sure to note that down too another point on the possible bad parenting list for the Fentons.

His attention turned back to his information gathering. That town's news looked like they got run over by 'ghosts' every two days. Additionally the entire town was not the least bit thankful to their vigilante Phantom, considering he found the same amount off news praising as well as bad mouthing their local hero.

So what if there was some property damage? At least they were somewhat saved form whatever these 'ghosts' were doing. He saved all the news clips he found regarding all the attacks this town appeared to have suffered into a separated folder. There had to be a reason why the Justice League hadn't taken any form of action yet. It couldn't be that one summoning going wrong in the JL Dark and making contact with a Ghost King was what it needed for them to step in, let alone notice the shit that went on in Amity.

Hell if nothing changed he would attempt to get Phantom to join Young Justice or his group specifically. The vigilante looked like a kid maybe a little younger than him, wait hold on. Tim pulled up the least blurry picture of the vigilante he could find and looked up from his screen just in time to see the Fanton's son back away from his mom hiding his arm behind him.

Did he get zapped again? Dear God, aren't his parents paying attention to the kid at all? He added another point to the bad parents tally.

Okay wait, save that for later, focus on the task at hand, Tim scowled himself mentally. Taking a good look at the teenager before looking back at his laptop screen, the young Co-CEO nodded to himself. Yup, maybe that post that got him into their towns network wasn't that far off. If you change the colors then the Fanton kid looked very much like Phantom minus the pointy ears and sharp teeth. Additionally now that he put them next to each other in his mind. The name Phantom sounded awfully a lot like Fanton.

What did the Fantons say their son's name was? D- d- Danny, Daniel? Good the kid needed a teaching in how to better hide secret identity connections. Wearing a pretty but telling logo on your outfit was a dead giveaway. The kid was probably some sort of Meta and if he had to guess he was the accident that his parents had offhandedly mentioned. Even more reason to have Barbara look into them more.

For now he was somewhat satisfied with his findings as he closed his laptop and gave the Fentons his full attention. He did not miss Danny (was it?) looking down at his phone for a second and then narrowing his eyes at him. He did his best to suppress the forming grin. Really the kid was very intriguing, if his suspicions were right, they rarely weren't unless Barbara had found something else, and the kid was somewhat impulsive then he would probably get a little visit from Phantom later. After all he had made sure to leave some traces behind to arrange this.

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

When Tucker contacted him that there were two people outside of Amity looking into Phantom, he was not amused especially when Tucker also stated that only one of them could be traced back to Wayne Enterprise.

Really what he was doing was probably dumb and he could hear his sisters scowling in his head. But when they were back at the hotel and he excused himself for the night and asking Jazz to cover for him should anything go wrong he changed forms and flew invisible all the way back to the Wayne tower.

It took some searching but soon enough he found the room of the young Co-CEO that had to be the one that looked into Amity and his family. Finding the office empty, Danny frowned before looking around. He couldn't find anything suspicious, it was just a normal office. Crossing his arms while floating to the middle of the room Danny tried to think about it more.

"Not finding what you are looking for Phantom?"

His head snapped to the side as he turned around ready for a fight. Instead Danny came face to face with Red Robin. Great he definitely did not want the attention of their local Bat-Clan. Wasn't it enough that his home town couldn't decide if he was a menace or not? He didn't need Gotham trying to decide too. Considering how Batman apparently disliking Metas it already wasn't looking good for him. It was already bad enough that the Justice League had finally gotten wind of Amity.

"Look I am not here to cause trouble, I just…"

"You're just looking into why someone in Wayne Enterprises would look into you or your identity and you suspected the young CEO Tim Drake-Wayne because he spent the majority of the business meeting with your parents on his laptop?"

"How do you…?"

"I have my sources."

Danny eyed the vigilante; this was not what he expected. Wait, did he say his parents? His eyes widened and he heard the other chuckle. "Yea you make it pretty easy on how to discover your identity, kid. Might wanna take that post down discussing your identity. That's dangerous even if seemingly no one believes it. If people pay close attention it's easy to figure out."

Danny narrowed his eyes. Okay fuck, so some outsider had figured out his identity and that one happened to be connected to Batman who hated Metas… Dear Acients he was fucked.

"If you are planning to arrest me and give me over to the GIW, I will not hesitate…"

"Arresting you? No, why would I do that? This is more interesting. Though I admit the Fentons research is pretty biased, you're a good guy no matter how torn your hometown is on that matter. Besides, the JL is already looking into these 'Guys in White' the Ghost King has informed us about." Red Robin shrugged but Danny did not let his guard down. "I was honestly thinking about black mailing you to join the Young Justice League and then work with you together or train you to find out more about this Ectoplasm. I have my suspicions that it has something to do with Lazarus Water and who better to get to help than the kid that lived with scientists researching and had a lap accident that gave him powers that he is also actively hiding from his parents. I saw the video footage of you getting zapped by their inventions."

Danny flinched at the last part, phantom pains running through his arm that had touched the button but he forced himself to stay calm. "You are blackmailing me?"

"I would call it forceful recruitment for help with a case." The vigilante shrugged. "But essentially yes."

"What if I refuse?"

"I will relate the information to batman including your home situation and depending on what we find I will have a new brother in about one to two."

"Months?"

"Weeks. It all depends on your parents though. Are you even safe with them? I heard them talking about tearing you apart molecule by molecule."

"I am fine! They are good parents, really!"

Acients his panic was slowly setting in. What was happening? First Red Robin revealed that he had discovered his identity, then he was getting blackmailed, then told to help in a case about something called Lazarus Water and now his parents are under suspicion, of what?

Red Robin only hummed. "Hey Oracle, you heard the kid right? Only Static? No matter, please look into Daniel Fentons home life and potential therapy. Yeah I will be mailing B the rest of the entire report."

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"Getting a new brother." After a short moment of Danny staring at the other vigilante they added "...and sister."

What in the name of Ancients was happening?!

[thesmollestsnek]

Today in the snek rambles about random fandom things, we have: Danny’s age! Specifically, how he ages long-term, seeing as he half-died at fourteen.

Now, a lot of the fics I see that age Danny up in some way have his human body aging, either normally or occasionally at a slower rate, and his ghost form naturally changing to mimic that. Almost as common are the fics where Danny’s human form ages while his ghost form stays at the age he died. And don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of fun to be had with both those options. I’ve seen some great fics playing with both those concepts.

…But yknow what I haven’t seen?

A fic where Danny’s ghost form is the one that ages, while his human form stays the same. Think about it, a ghost’s form is malleable, and doesn’t necessarily reflect what a person originally looked like so much as what they think they should be. This is almost alway the explanation given for Danny’s ghost form aging with him, when a fic writer decides to go that route. Ghost forms are malleable, it makes perfect sense for Danny’s Phantom form to be capable of aging, so long as Danny believes that it should be.

…but you wanna know what isn’t so malleable? A human body. And for all that Danny’s still alive, he’s also dead, and while the show seems to portray Danny and Phantom as two separate halves with little to no bleedover, fanon seems to prefer having the boundaries between death and life in one Danny Phantom be much blurrier. As do I. Danny is a human who is dead, just as Phantom is a ghost who is alive. Both and neither at the same time. And while living humans age, dead ones don’t.

So. When Danny walked into the portal, he died. And regardless of how you want to argue semantics of resurrection and was there a brief period of time when he was only dead and he was also alive when he left the portal, he did die and a part of him stayed dead. Meaning that, by some definitions, his human body can be considered a corpse. And corpses don’t age.

Just, imagine the potential angst there, of Danny realizing, a year or two or three after the accident that no, he’s not just a late bloomer. He’s just. Not. Aging. And never will again, at least as a human. How long did it take him to recognize that fact? …how long did it take for him to realize that he can never seamlessly blend into human society again? His Phantom form is obviously not human, and his human one will never make it past fourteen.

…But then, his ghost form is still aging, it never stopped even after he noticed that the two forms no longer look the same. Even after he accepts that Danny Fenton will never make it past fourteen. There’s a part of him that recognizes that he’s still alive and that he should be aging, so Phantom grows up even though Fenton never will.

Which, if you’re inclined to keep piling on the angst, can also serve to isolate him from ghost society. A being of change trying to fit into a community of people who will forever stay the same. Preserved exactly as they were at their time of death. Except for Danny. Who’s still the odd one out, even in death. A ghost who’s growing up and a human who’ll forever remain a child.

…

Orrrr if you’re not in the mood for soul-crushing angst, you can also use this concept for fun and hijinks. Age Danny up a couple decades, plop him into any world with other superheroes, and watch the identity shenanigans take over. I’m especially fond of this being done with the Justice League, because he’s basically a reverse Captain Marvel. Imagine, the League finds out that their adult coworker is actually a small child masquerading as a grownass man through the power of a magically aged-up superhero form and a lot of bullshit. They see that when Billy Batson is in his civilian/human form he returns to his actual age. And then they see phantom, another coworker who, when not in the form they use for heroics, physically turns into a child. And so they go “we got this, no further clarification needed.” (Spoiler alert: they do not, in fact, got this).

[anonymous-existences]

Chapter 9[Bonus] : A Reasonable Response

I was bored. Have some of these :33

[𝕆𝕔𝕥𝕠𝕓𝕖𝕣 10, 9:47 ℙ𝕄, 𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕖-ℂ𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣]

A week and a few days has passed and they finally found Him.

Dante tossed his cigarette away and chuckled as he heard the subtle footsteps coming from the shadows behind him. "Batman..." He tilts his head and glaces behind him where he saw Batman from afar with Robin by his Side.

Batman was way cautious now unlike before when he presumed Dante as a normal Civilian. "... You... What are you... Dante Jamie Masters." Batman stayed in place as Dante fully turned his body to face the two vigilantes.

"Dan is just fine and that's quite rude yk? Calling me a What instead of a who but it's still a logical question I suppose. How do I word this. I'm... Half-Dead I suppose?" Dante laughed out softly. Batman furrowed his brows and Dante raised his hands slightly. "I'm serious Big Bat. I suppose since you're the JL I can trust you.... Or unless.... You're just like the GIW?" Dante's eyes flickered Green and Red As the headlamps of the streets flickered with him going dark for a moment before turning back on.

Dante was nearer Batman now but Batman did not flinch. "What's the GIW." Batman merely asked as Robin got closer to Batman's back, essentially hiding himself and Batman keeping him closer intentionally to protect him.

"Ghost Investigation Ward, also known as Guys In White Back in good ol' Amity part, Illinois. They don't Investigate those Ripoff Men in Black motherfuckers. They categorize us... Ecto-beings as non sentient people.... As you can tell we have no mercy for Humans. In fact I could destroy this world if I ever wanted! But... It's a good thing my baby brother exists doesn't he?" Dante laughed as he backed off Batman who was more Uneasy now.

"You know, we're sentient too. We have emotions. Yet they made a law against us so that they could experiment on us. Maybe have passed and destabilized... If the JL ever sides with those bastards... I won't be so merciful." Dante turned around and lit another cigarette.

"Danny likes the JL, he likes humans. He's half one anyways... Short to say that... He's the only reason why we haven't waged war in this stupid realm. Your realm is lucky Big Batsy.... Now don't bother me unless you've done something actually beneficial to my cause... And besides.... Scarecrow Deserved it." The lights flickered again and Dante was gone.

"B..." Robin looked at an uneasy Batman, he was thinking deep, "Let's go." Batman decided the safest option is to leave Dante alone for now Because of the unknown potential of what Dante could do it's still at the very least in some sort of... Chains holding him back..

Holding "ecto-beings" back... He needs to Investigate more about this... Laws and 'GIW' organization. He doesn't like the sound of it, especially since it might just be going against the Meta-Protection Rights.

[𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 10, 10:00 𝙿𝙼, 𝙲𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝙰𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚢]

Jason took a deep breathe before speaking out as Dante Hugged him tightly. "Honestly, that was hot-" Jason blurted out unexpectedly as Dante Buried his face on Jason's Chest.

".... Yeah...?" Dante chuckled and Jason nodded feeling his cheeks flush up even more, Damn is this Big Cryptid Half-Dead Possibly Soon to Be boyfriend of his both very threatening or a Big Damn Golden Retriever.

Dating this big man has been a ride for Jason,

Eventually leading to them having their 'first night' at Jason's apartment. 'Damn am I freaky like that??' Jason thought to himself. "So you really did kill Scarecrow..." Jason said and plops on the couch and Dante followed suit.

"Yep" Dante confirms emphasizing the pop of the 'P' , "The Timothy Guy has been subtly questioning me about it, he says he doesn't plan on telling B out of Spite Apparently. He says as he adjusts his body and Puts his head on Jason's Lap. "Huh. Replacement got his priorities straight" Jason said as he turned on the TV.

"Danny's getting better... He should be back home soon and I'll be finally sane again and he can finally hopefully probably get his life straight and human like again as he's always wanted." Dante sighed in relief, his eyes softening. "Hopefully Bat gets the hint and dismantle that organization that makes my brother illegal.... I won't hesitant to kill anyone who tries to hurt him..." Dante huffs as he sits back up.

Dante hugs Jason and Jason just lets himself melt in the Big Man's Arms. Dante takes a picture for fun and Posts it on his Page. Well. Why?

To brag about his beautiful boyfriend.

Dante kisses Jason's Forehead, Jason's still adjusting to this cryptid man and the pits slowly silencing further more because of this guy. He makes Jason Calm and Jason Makes Dante Calm the Way Danny does as well.

[Next Chapter will be Bat-Fam Centric sort of :33 , I just wanted to write this cuz I'm bored as shit.]

Enjoy <33

[goblinhoursinsomniaramblings]

more vladclone au bullshit because why not

Part one here

-the clone (tentatively still thinking of him as MJ as a shorthand for Masters Junior without blatantly being such a diminuitive) starts out fully intending to do what's asked of him. it takes the commute to Amity Park to realize he's expendable--and that his 'father' is already distancing himself from the concept his clone is actually another him. still, what does that leave for him?

-he has memories, knowledge, reflexes from original vlad, but the memories only feel real up to his body's age of 15, when his progenitor was a nerd in the 70s--and those memories are lonely as hell. everything else feels like stories told to him, with occasional flashes of actual emotional involvement. the clone finds himself awkward, anxious, and deeply suspicious of others' intentions compared to Vlad 'senior' and his ruthlessly constructed image.

-conversely, he doesn't have Vlad's obsessions. where Vlad is a shambling collection of malignant coping mechanisms in human form, the clone is free of them, even if he is predisposed to them. particularly the obsession for love, which manifests hugely towards Danny.

-(potential scene related to previous point:

Vladclone to Danny

"I was made for you! Literally! I was made for you, and I don't care that it was to trick you and lie to you, you're the reason I exist, and if this is what he felt towards Maddie then I get why this drove him crazy!")

-Vlad and Vlad Junior have an increasingly antagonistic relationship because Vlad is a control freak and his supposed son realizes that he's not only expendable, he's a loose end once he finishes his 'mission', which makes him deeply uneasy when Vlad tries to tighten the reins as though he's not someone he can trust to his own ends. this just gets worse the more Vlad the younger realizes he's untrustworthy because he's Vlad's clone.

-(another potential scene:

"You can't be calling me all the time! They're already suspicious that you sent me here! I told you, it'll happen when it happens, 'dad'!"

"I can hear those air quotes you pompous little--")

-him and Danny annoy the shit out of each other at first because Danny immediately clocks him as a rat while really he is being as honest as possible with Danny, and the Clone Vlad is increasingly frustrated because he is trying to avert a scheme here, work with him!

-he's gawky and awkward as a human, but he was created as a half-ghost and able to use a lot of Plasmius' powers out of the box. he's basically a younger Plasmius and is a lot more comfortable when he has the option to float

-he and Danny finally start connecting to each other when they start sharing common experiences as adolescents and halfas, and help cover for each other.

-the confrontation with Vlad is ugly. self loathing meets an external target that just tricked his way into range to fuck up his clone lab. Danny only just makes the save.

-clone vlad gets hit hard by an Obsession targeted at Danny, but is a lot healthier and less possessive about it than Vlad towarxs Maddie, but he also knows he could easily have that happen if he doesn't watch himself.

-Danny's kinda excited he has a half-ghost friend now. at points he even sounds like when Jack talks about Vlad, especially if they pull off something cool together. huh. wonder if there's anything to unpack there...

[poke-me-with-a-stick]

Chapter 29 of 'Artificial wingman'!

For the full story on ao3, click Here!

Enjoy!

---

Damian let the door shut quietly behind him, flipping the lock before he took a seat on the edge of the bathtub. Outside the bathroom, he could hear Jasmine and Danny playfully arguing about something mundane, their voices somewhat pleasant in terms of background noise. Jason had left not long ago, having said something about having some business that needed to be taken care of while he waited for their order to be filled.

He had sat in the living room, Danny's bag resting beside him, when something had caught his eye. Only now, alone in the bathroom, did he dare to take the pilfered object out of his pocket. a soft golden light engulfed his hands the minute he pulled it out, casting his face in a yellow glow when he brought it closer to examine.

The cure, a potion that cancels other potion effects on a person. In any other situation, he would find such a thing remarkable. Even now, he couldn't help but wonder if it would work on other magic-based effects, slightly in awe of how versatile it could potentially be. But that awe was tempered by the knowledge of what this jar was for in the first place.

He stared hard at the golden liquid, observing the way it swished and swirled in the jar, trails of what looked like a cross between glitter and stardust tracing hypnotic patterns in the thick solution. 'I could drink this right now,' the thought came unbidden, his fingers digging into the ridges on the lid slightly. Part of him wanted to. Wanted to twist the cap off and drain the contents. Wanted to prove, once and for all, that his feelings weren't just because of the potion.

Another part of him wanted to drop the jar like it had burned him. To throw the jar and watch the potion splatter uselessly onto the wall. Or swirl down the drain of the sink, any possible traces of it washed away by water, like it never existed. It couldn't have the chance to prove him wrong if it was gone, after all.

Damian did neither of those, instead sitting the jar down gently on the counter. Sighing, he allowed himself to drop his facade of calm and collectiveness. His shoudler's drooped with tiredness, his head dropping into his hands as he tried to sort out his feelings. Coming from an emotionally dysfunctional family didn't help him much when it came to feelings, but he tried his best not to fall back on his training.

He knew fear, it was a garantee to feel it at least once in a human life. But for a child assassin? Fear is something one becomes intimately familiar with. Maybe not his fear, but the fear of others. So he had little trouble identifying the fear that pushed forth the more... destructive ideas.

The determination and confidence that directly contradicted that fear were as much of a hindrance as they were helpful. Wilfulness is something that Damian had always displayed, even when he was loyal to his mother and Grandfather in the League.

Mother had always said that it was a trait from his father, a will of steel that kept his resolve for justice strong. Having lived with his father for a few years now, that wasn't hard to believe at all.

And now, in the midst of his conflicted feelings, he couldn't help but to fall back on that belief once again. It was different from suppressing his emotions, to instead focus all his being into the way he wished for things to turn out. If his will was half as strong as his father's, then Damian would have nothing to worry about. A little bit of fear wouldn't change thst.

Taking a deep breath, he raised his head from his hands and stood. The teen had no idea how long he had been sitting there on the edge of the tub, his legs tingling with the pins and needles feeling that always accompanied a loss of blood circulation. The apartment outside the bathroom had fallen quiet, only the chatter of the TV and the occasional shuffling of movement telling Damian that the siblings were still out there.

Picking the jar back up, Damian let his gaze trace the swirling golden patterns once more. He could drink it now, and be done with it. He could throw it and damn the consequences his actions would surely bring. But now was not the time for rash decisions. The most logical thing to do was to wait, and not force results. So for now, he would find a way to slip the jar back into it's poor hiding spot in Danny's bag, burried under the prizes from their arcade date, and enjoy the time he was given to spend with Danny. Because no matter if the potion worked or not, Danny would have to return home.

A knock on the bathroom door startled Damian from his thoughts, the teen fumbling with the jar as it slid from his hands. Heart pounding, his quick reflexes helped him re-capture the jar before it could smash on the tiled floor.

Breathing heavily, Damian stuffed the jar back into pocket and twisted the lock, throwing the door open. On the other side was Todd, his fist raised to knock again. The man blinked at him, lowering his fist to rest on his hip in a way that Brown would refer to as 'sassy'.

"There you are. You doin' okay, Demon brat? Danny said you'd been in there a while." Jason gave him a quick lookover, not moving from the doorway as he searched for possible hidden injuries.

Damian scoffed. "I am perfectly fine, Todd " He sniffed hauntingly as he shoved past the man, heading towards the living room.

"Alright, alright!" Todd tossed his hands up in the air in an exasperated manner following him down the hall. "Just making sure. It would suck if you died on me and left your boyfriend here all alone." Despite the teasing tone, Damian could detect the slight bit of serious concern radiating from him.

Before he could come up with a response that would calm his most volatile brother, Damian found himself in the living room. Danny turned around at the sound of their approach, a smile stretching his face and showing off a flash of those enticing fangs. "Robin!" He chirped excitedly. "Come sit down! Jason brought food back. I already put a vegetarian plate together for you."

Sure enough, as soon as Damian had settled onto the couch, Danny was shoving a plate of mouth watering food into his hands. The teen gave the plate an expiramental sniff before taking a bite, pleasantly surprised by the flavorful mouthful.

The teen couldn't help the small smile that quirked up his lips as he watched Danny dig into his own plate, his a mixture of both vegetarian and meat-ladened sides, though mostly vegetarian, with gusto. 'Yes,' he thought, taking another bite of his food, 'it was a good decision to hold off.'

The jar doesn't make to it's bag that night. Damian told himself that it was because Danny was too observant, that he would notice right away that something was out of place, no matter how meticulous Damian was with putting everything back. In reality, he ignored the fact that it was his own reluctance that kept the jar stashed in his pocket.

----

Back at the manor, Cass and Stephanie had begun phase one of 'Distract Dick, no matter the Cost'. Personally, Steph really liked the plan's name, but Cass insisted that it was a placeholder for the true name, still pending.

Steph crouched in the shadows, sight of her blocked by the wall she leaned against. The batcave itself was empty for the moment, Cass and Alfred having managed to spike Tim's decaf with melatonin and lead the boy up to one of the family rooms for a nap. But she knew her target would be here any minute

Sure enough, after ten minutes, Dick came Striding out of the locker room, nightwing suit snug across his chest as he made his way towards the corner she was hiding behind.

Taking a deep breath, Steph pulled her bowl away from her chest as she stood. Faking a jog, she waited until Dick began to round the corner before she struck. Purposely running into him, she let the bowl tip towards the man and slid from her fingers, dousing the blue and black of his suit in the most eye catching shade of pink she could whip up.

She let out a convincing shriek of surprise, forcing her feet to slide instead of catching herself. Landing on her butt, the girl was treated to the most amazing sight, a dumbfounded look on a bright pink Nightwing.

"Oh, god! Dick!" She stuttered in her hasty movements to get back up, selling the whole 'horrified Surprise' act even further. "I'm so, so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going, and I was just gonna dye my hair in the sinks down here, 'cause Alfred threatened to make me scrub the upstairs sinks if I stained any of them bright pink, and- and- oh, I'm sorry!"

Her rambling apology seemed to snap him out of his stunned state, the man looking himself over for the fist time. "Hey, Steph, it's okay!" He grimaced when he saw the color, but tried to put on a calming smile as he reassured her. "It was an accident. We can just wash it out, m'kay?"

Steph almost couldn't believe how easy this was going. "Yes!" She exclaimed, tugging the man back towards the locker room. "Go and change out of it, and I'll get it clean in no time!" She didn't give the man much of a chance to protest, shoving him into the locker room and shutting the door behind him.

A few minutes later, and he had returned. Donning a t-shirt and jeans, he held out the costume for her to take. "I'll swing by later to pick it up, but for now I have to go and talk to some people." giving himself a once over, he nodded to her one last time before he made his way to the elevator.

She waited a few minutes, making sure that he was actually gone, before she took the elevator as well. Stepping out from behind the broken grandfather clock, she made sure the coast was clear before hurrying up the stairs and to one of the unused guest bathrooms.

Closing the door behind her, Stephanie turned and faced the silent girl that was already waiting for her. "Got it!" She smirks deviously, holding up the pink monstrosity that she had created. "How about you? Did you get the goods?"

Cass grinned back at her as she grabbed something from behind her. Turning back around, she proudly held up two complete nightwing suits for Steph to see.

"Nice!" Steph couldn't help but to laugh, already imagining the look on his face when he found all of his spares missing. "And you locked the storage room too?" Cass nodded her affirmation, miming a key locking before giving a thumbs up. "Perfect! Now that step one is done, I think we can safely move on to step two!"

Carefully, both girls peeked into the hallway, looking back and fourth for any wandering souls before declaring the coast clear. Moving with quiet efficiency that only a bat could accomplish, the pair made their way to a laundry room on the second floor. Honestly, Steph had no idea it was even here before, and would have just used the one down stairs, if not for Cass. Apparently, this laundry room was so seldom used that it was one of the places she went to when the hustle and bustle of the manor became too much.

Once the girls had reached their destination, Steph waisted no time in throwing the nightwing costume in the washer, purposely going against the washing instructions for their suits. Cold water instead of warm, a healthy dose of bleach, and about half a cup of the detergent that Alfred had told her was for their lounge wear only, instead of the one m0ade specifically for the kevlar- laddened fabric. Confident that the suit was probably done for now, she left her handiwork to finish on it's own. They still hand one last thing to do.

Turning to her partner in crime, Steph let her mischievous grin turn slightly more sinister. "Okay, now. Where can we hide Nightwing suits where they won't be found?" She asked, tucking the two spare costumes under her arm as she let Cass take the lead.

Walking confidently, the two wandered the mayor's maze of corridors, taking so many turns that Steph was sure her head would spin trying to remember them all. It's times like this that the girl is reminded how easy it would be to get lost in this place. How anyone could live gere without maps on the walls telling them where they are, Steph will never know.

After a few minutes of walking, they finally came to a stop in front of a closet. It looked like every other hallway closet they had passed, oak door with a shiny copper handle waiting to be opened and used as storage. There was nothing special about it, besides the fact that islt resided in a part of thr manor that usually went unvisited by anyone besides Alfred. And Cass, Steph supposes, because why else would she lead Steph halfway across the house when there were several perfectly usable closets on the way here?

She opened her mouth to ask the question on her mind, but Cass beat her to the punch. Pulling open the door, the raven haired girl crouched down and began to feel along the floor of the closet for something. Steph stepped closer, watching curiously as her fingers found purchas in a groove between the floorboards. With one swift move, she pulled upwards, the floor lifting with a low creak to reveal a small cavity hidden beneath.

Stephanie gasped in surprised delight, dropping to her knees beside Cass to examine the little hole. It was about three feet long, and two feet wide, forming a cute little cubby that ran only half a foot deep. The small space was empty, save for a few dust bunnies and a lone mothball rolled into the corner. It was perfect.

"Awesome find!" She praised her friend as she dropped the spare costumes in, letting Cass gently lower the panel back into place. Step two complete.

Standing back up, the girls dusted off their hands and knees before turning to head back to the laundry room. Their timing was amazing, as the washer cut off just as they passed the threshold.

Opening the washer, Steph was greeted by a bleach-splotched nightwing costume. None of the pink from the hair dye mixture surviced the wash, sadly, but it did an amazing job, turning the blue bird on the chest purple. Paired with the gray and tan-ish splotches decorating the shoulders and back, Steph was confident that it would be tossed into the storage room to gather dust with Discowing once this was all over.

Tossing the ruined costume into the dryer, Steph hopped up onto the slowly warming surface, kicking her legs happily. "How mad do you think Dick is gonna be when he finds out that this wasn't an accident?" She asked concersationally.

Cass brought her hand up to her chin, rubbing it contemplatively as she mulled over the question. Shrugging, she signed 'Probably not too mad. Not when he finds out it was for Damian's love life.'

Steph snickered, nodding. "Yeah, Dick is a huge softy. He'll probably forget all about this as soon as Damian tells him why. He always qets excited about these little milestones little Dami hits." She giggles again, the image of Dick fake swooning in front of Damian too funny for her.

Cass giggled quietly too, silently thinking about how Dick might get them back for this. While he would get distracted by Damian's love quest, he was not one to forgive and forget such actions. Sooner or later, the man would get his revenge on them, probably in an extremely embarrassing manner.

Cass couldn't wait.

---

(There might be some spelling/grammar mistakes, but it's okay because I tried my best!)

To all the lovely people who follow along, and the awesome person who made the prompt for this story:

@halfblackwolfdemon @manapeer @xxwintrynightzxx @im-totally-not-an-alien-2 @blu-lilac @academicpurposes @secretdestinywerewolf @passivedecept @naluforever3 @postit-nope @spiteismymiddlename @2t-productions @plague-daisy @feet-achy @bubblecookies16 @thesapphiredragon13 @justwannabecat @magicalcollecter @adeniumdream @amuseofminds @lupagrim @readerkayden @dr-syko-pharm-4 @ladythugs @angelheartgamer @markthespot68 @kyrianclawraith @michikoy-yuki @servasvictoria02 @your-emo-nightmare @vala-dreams @scarlett-green-rose @t1dwarrior-of-earth @charlie-the-frogie @akikoyuii @mysticalcomputerdetective @roseuniverse999 @im-totally-not-an-alien @thefearfullone @weird-droplet-309 @jaytriesstuff @raventao @jacquelynwinchester @dragongoblet @tlise21 @longlivethefallen @the-archer-goddess @temple-of-jalebi @adepresseddwightsblogofjunk @plainly-colorful @the-legalHe-shipper @49saltpeppershakers @igotafewbadideas @tumbling-darkling @sparklygardenbouquet @sarcastic-yami @blueneko9314 @starscreamlover @liedboutmurder @do3y @roze-realm @some-mildly-happy-human @yinari-uchiha @azuera @chaoticmistake @altairsarts @kawaiikenna @heartsong18 @thetoyboxs @tricksovertreats @mnemovoid @lim4b3ans @horribly-lost-and-gay @keimiwolf @dryeraseslime @joey394

[ace-s-fav-dp-posts]

If you're sick of the current popular trope/story prompt in the Phandom or DPxDC fandom you just need to ignore it

I feel like the fans in the Phandom and DPxDC minifandom that's popped up, who are really grossed/creeped out by the genre of fic popular right now.

Where the set up is some variation of Outsider POV and the plot is based around the assumption that Vlad SAed Danny in order to create Dan and Danielle, are people who haven't been around that long.

Especially when they try to whine about none of it being based in canon. And how they don't like the shipping of Vlad and Danny (even though the people who write these kinds of fics are very obviously not shipping Vlad and Danny in them).

Because the Phandom has historically gone through phases much more gruesome and horrifying than that.

Especially when in this current micro-genre, all of the SA and grooming and other kinds of abuse are implied only, and within the fics themselves the assumed abuse never actually happened. As the plot is based on over heard or misinterpreted fragments of information that doesn't give the POV character the full picture of the situation that's actually going on.

There's the infamous vivisection fics, in which the child main character is brutally cut open and tortured by his own parents in the name of their biased views of science. Who in canon, both happily accept him no matter what every time a reveal is happens and never so much as rejects Danny emotionally.

Then there's the variation on the traditional vivisection fic in which Danny isn't emotionally rejected and stripped of his humanity by his own parents. But instead captured and stripped of his human rights by the government, either by his parents unknowing actions which they stay oblivious to. Or in spite of his parent's acceptance of him, and with them helpless to rescue or protect him from the government's torturous "research".

There's the already existing variation of grooming and SA fics, where Vlad grooms and or assaults Danny. Which have been popping up for years now, but in which all of this type of horrible abuse actually happens in the story, instead of it being an Outside POV misunderstanding what's happen like the current micro genre of fic.

There's the fics where the Fentons have just been abusive or just negligent parents Danny and Jazz's entire lives. And them hurting Danny, emotionally or physically, intentionally or accidentally, is just an extension of their already unacceptable parenting habits.

There's the edritch/body horror genre of fics where becoming half-ghost (or sometimes something else) involves at the very least the partial loss of Danny (or Vlad)'s humanity.

Hell there's one fic that's stuck with me for ages, that I read years ago, back in my teens, written from the POV of a Maddie who murdered Danny to prevent him from becoming Dan. Which is stated in that fic to be inevitable.

It's also heavily implied that Maddie had incestuous feelings for Danny the entire fic. And that she also possibly raped him in the midst of her extremely violent* vivisection murder of him. But that if she didn't rape him, at the very least, ripping him open to see his insides while he was awake and struggling got her off anyways.

So yeah, I don't know what other explanation there is to all these people who seem confused and freaked out by the various fics popping up where there's assumed SA/grooming, but actually nothing outside of canon actually happened to Danny, and the whole thing is just a misunderstanding.

Other than them being extremely new to Danny Phantom fics in general and therefore unaware of just how dark (and potentially triggering) they can be.

When there's been fics for years about SA and grooming, some of which is explicit, some of which is all implied and talked around and just as gut wrenching, and some of which is actually painted in that cringe forbidden love sort of way, for more than a literal decade now.

If you don't like it, if it makes you uncomfortable, you're just going to have to ignore or block those people, like everyone else in the Phandom who feels the way you do has done for more than a decade now.

Don't make comments to those authors that you don't like that trope, or that it makes you uncomfortable, or anything similar. Just ignore them or block them if it really bothers you that much. Because if you don't like their stuff, then rather obviously you are not their intended audience, so you need to ignore their posts and fics and keep scrolling if you're not going to block them.

*Also yes I must state it was a violent vivisection murder. Because it is clearly stated in the fic, that Vlad finds Maddie sitting outside on the porch covered in Danny's blood and viscera, and that the room she killed him in is in a similar state.

I wanna say the fic got deleted during the old Fanfiction.net purge of more adult content, even though all of the sexual abuse/incest parts of the fic where all implied and not explicit, along with the violent vivisectoin murder taking place off screen.

Though I could be wrong, and it's still out there somewhere, and possibly not exactly as I remember it. I read it more than 5 years ago now, so there's almost certainly some memory drift by this point.

[sleepy-writes-stuff]

DP X HADES WRITING PROMPT

(The only reason this prompt exists is because I'm obsessed with both Danny Phantom and Hades (Video Game) at the moment. I also looked on AO3 and there are zero crossovers involving these two fandoms. Let's try and change that. My brain absolutely demands this itch be scratched.)

(#) = Notes at the end of post

(*) = Just me building off of other ideas

✦

Below the Green Depths

Danny gets blasted into the deepest parts of Ghost Zone after a fight with one of his more powerful rouges (1) and winds up stranded in the middle of Tartarus. Not really knowing what to do, he wanders around until he runs into trouble in the form of the more violent spirits who roam the Underworld.

Not for lack of trying to avoid it, he becomes seriously injured(2) in trying to find a way back home and is extremely exhausted to the point of collapsing in the first chamber he comes across that has zero enemies popping out to carve him to pieces. This being one of the chambers that Chiron uses to sell his wares to Zagreus on his way through.

Not really knowing what to do with the strange, unconscious boy, he calls out to Thanatos. As soon as Thanatos shows up and sees Danny, unconscious and heavily bleeding from multiple wounds, he recognizes the strange boy. The one soul he wasn't allowed to reap because of the circumstances of his soul being perfectly stranded between the realms of the living and the dead. Not only that, but he recognizes Danny's potential claim to the throne of the Ghost King.

A little frantic, he gathers the wounded boy gently into his arms and makes the hasty decision to bring him to the House of Hades for healing. It gets a little hectic from there.

✦

Notes:

(1) Which rouge was he fighting? Skulker? Vlad? One of the more volatile Ancients? Who knows.

(2) Does Danny get weaker in Tartarus or is it just the unending hoards of shades attacking him while he's out of his depth that allows him to get so injured?

(*) Considering Danny's status in the ghost zone, i.e. -halfa and potential successor to the Ghost King's throne, does this make him related to the Chthonic Gods? Is this another "Danny becomes a god" kind of fic? Probably. Would Danny basically be Hypnos and Thanatos' many many many times removed cousin? Or like, a relative through marriage sort of deal? How would Zagreus react to a half-human/half-ghost roaming the halls of his home? What about Hades himself? Nyx? Persephone?

(*) What would be the hierarchy between the Greek Gods of the Underworld and the Ghost King be?

[halfagone]

So this prompt is kinda similar to another one I asked, but I feel like this different enough. We have no idea how long it took Dan to take over the world, just that he accomplished it after 10 years correct? With that in mind, he could’ve had multiple encounters with the YJ team before killing them. This prompt would be a one shot detailing 14 or 15 year old Dan’s first meeting with the YJ team. What do you think?

Ooh... Alright then. There are a couple different ways this could go. I personally believe a Dan at this age would be a lot more unstable, especially since he's still so fresh from getting this forms/cores torn out of the human hosts (I guess that's how he would refer to them, at this point), and Dan would likely still be struggling with the grief that had brought Danny to the point of wanting his ghost form removed from the start.

There are a number of branching timelines you could go to from here. But the idea I prefer the most is this:

Young Justice (I'm going to assume you mean the cartoon Young Justice team?) finds out about a city being razed to the ground nearby, and decide to go out and find out what's going on, stop the potential foe, and then rescue the civilians. But when they get onto the scene, they don't find some terrifying, monstrous looking villain that could go toe to toe with Superman. Instead, they see this tiny, rail-thin teenager with disturbingly pale blue skin, white flames for hair, and bruise-purple veins going up and down his face.

They know he's the source of all this. They've seen how the flames spread, starting from him and then billowing outward. They see how he floats above the carnage and stares at the chaos with a hundred-yard stare. People are screaming, dying, and all he cares to do is stand there and watch.

They split into teams. Most go to help the civilians, and a handful of the most powerful try to stop the opponent. They try to rescue as many people as possible, but so many of them are dying, and they're dying fast and all he does is stand there and watch. He's not even fighting them. They throw everything they've got at him. Superboy throws punches, throws literal wreckage at him, and it all passes through him. Miss Martian tries to telepathically break through his mind, but all that meets her is screaming torment and she passes out within the first fifteen seconds for the cacophony that greets her. Blue Beetle does what he can, but much like Superboy's attacks, it phases right through him.

Nothing touches him. And he doesn't care. He takes the abuse and doesn't even flinch.

At some point, they focus on saving what's left of the city. He's obviously not attacking them, and he's not doing anything else in terms of destruction, what would be the point? Precious lives could be lost because they're focusing on an opponent that won't fight back. So they leave him be, and save who they can save.

A lot of people die. The Justice League is being called in. They get the fire under control, send people to hospitals, get the grid back up. And not once does the stranger ever bat an eye.

At some point, Impulse dares to speed up to him and ask, "So what's up with you? Because let me tell you, wrecking a city? So not crash-"

"I used to be like you," the stranger tells him casually, spooking Impulse. "I used to run around, saving lives, but what's the point? They could have left, I would have let them, but you know what? They chose not to save themselves."

The stranger turns and smiles, teeth bared like a wolf. "I'm tired of saving insignificant lives."

And then the stranger flicks Impulse by the forehead. Or he would have, if Impulse hadn't darted away at the last second. Right where he'd last been standing, a line is carved into the ground. Impulse half-expects the stranger to attack him again, but he doesn't. Just goes back to ignoring the world and watching what's left of the destruction.

He ignores them, treats them as if they are just as insignificant as the rest, but that's much better than the alternative. That's much better than when he destroys the world and tries to take them with it.

[spectacled-renegade-writes]

An Early Start - Chapter 19 - Danny Phantom

Ao3: Here | Masterpost: Here

Ao3 Description: The accident that turns Danny half-ghost happens when he is four years old and leaves him trapped in the Ghost Zone. Clockwork finds him and takes him in to raise. But what happens when Clockwork sends Danny back to the human-world ten years later when a permanent portal appears?

Linking it one last time in case anyone missed it. Drawing of Danny's ghost half as done by @lilianade-comics here ! Thank you so much!

Chapter 19:

When Danny went back to school he walked, instead of accepting a ride from Jazz or flying, so he could enjoy the outside breeze and solitude for a while. He kept his hood up and his hands stuck in his hoodie pockets as he listened to Dumpty Humpty with headphones on from the portable CD player Sam had given him a while back. It was another odd item that had to be explained to him but Sam showed him how to use it, and gave him her own Dumpty Humpty CD, as well as a few others, to “experience real music”. Danny didn’t understand the difference between “real music” as opposed to “that other garbage” but he liked both well enough, and he liked the music Sam gave him to listen to, so he didn’t see the need to complain.

It was a nice day, he noted idly, a cool breeze to balance out the mostly cloudless sky. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, enjoying the pressure of his lungs in his chest when he was in control of it. Danny was so lost in his head that he almost tripped over a small dog that appeared in his path. Danny stumbled and regained his footing before looking down at his feet. Okay, not a normal dog. A ghost dog. Danny reached under his hood to pull his headphones around his neck, then kneeled down. “Hello.” He said, smiling.

The little dog yipped and spun around before proceeding to stride right past Danny. “Wait!” Danny called, standing up. He reached for the dog but in one fell swoop it turned around and grew ten times its size, leaning down and baring its teeth at him. Danny knew he should probably be afraid right now, but this wasn’t nearly the weirdest thing he’s seen a ghost do. Still, he put his hands up placatingly. “Don’t worry, boy.” He spoke softly. “I just want to help. Are you looking for something?” If the way it had earlier moved right passed him didn’t make it obvious enough, one thing Danny learned after ten years in the Ghost Zone is that ghosts of animals, especially pets, had unfinished business most often.

Maybe it was Danny's ghost speak, or maybe the dog was just very well trained, but it seemed to know exactly what Danny was trying to say because it sat back and began to wag its tail. Danny reached out and pet it. “Good boy.” Vaguely, he was aware of the fact that this must be a bewildering sight to any potential passersby. However, no one screamed in terror yet so the two of them must be alone. Danny looked around to make sure the coast was clear before transforming into his ghost half. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll help you find what you’re looking for, as long as you turn small again. I don’t want any of the humans to get hurt. Deal?”

The giant dog turned back into a little pup and yipped. Danny reached down, picked it up, and tucked it underneath his arm. He noticed it had a collar and upon further investigation, found a tag which read “Cujo”.

“Cujo, huh?” Danny said. “Well, Cujo, tell me where to go.”

After a long man-hunt through the town, and Danny being very late for school, the two of them ended up at a facility on the outskirts of town called “Axion Labs.” It seemed like an odd place for the dog to want to go but when it nearly jumped out of his arms in excitement, and Danny managed to catch it last second, he knew he had the right place. “Was this your home?” Danny asked. Cujo barked. “Okay, then.” Danny said.

Danny turned invisible and intangible, and entered the building. The moment they crossed the threshold Cujo tried to wriggle out of his grasp every step of the way, but Danny held on tight, worried about the potential destruction the pup could cause to the facility, especially if it decided to grow again.

One by one Danny made his way through each room, passing easily through the double steel doors. One by one he’d look down at the dog and ask if this was the room it was looking for, and one by one the dog would whine, prompting Danny to the next room. The facility was huge and held many cabinets and closets. The longer Danny looked, the more he began to fear he’d skipped the correct room. But, time was all he needed. He finally found himself in an especially empty room with an oddly depressing aura over it. In his arms, Cujo began to yap like crazy. Danny touched down and held up a sphere of ectoplasmic energy to light up the dark room. His heart sank at what he saw. Empty beds and abandoned dog bowls painted a very telling picture of what happened here. In his distraction, Cujo managed to jump out of his arms, but Danny didn’t try to grab him again, merely watched what the pup was going to do.

The little dog trotted past the dog beds, past the bowls, to a tarp of bundled up items atop a pallet. Without hesitation, the little dog jumped in and moments later reappeared with a squeaky toy in its mouth. Danny’s heart melted and sank all at once. It was just a puppy; it didn’t deserve this fate. All it wanted was its toy. Danny watched as the puppy trotted over to him, and Danny kneeled down to its height. It carefully dropped its toy before jumping up on his knees and licking his face. Danny smiled and pet it back. Then the small dog jumped down, picked up its toy, and walked away, dissipating into the air.

And that was that.

Danny stood there, watching the space where it vanished, and felt bittersweet. A jingle pulled him out of his thoughts and he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He had a text from Sam which read, ‘Skipping school again today?’

Danny typed out a message and sent back, ‘I’ll be there. Just had to make a detour. See you soon.’

So, Danny pocketed the phone, and with one last look at the empty space, left the building and flew to school.

-

Danny told his friends all about what happened later that day at lunch. They decided to eat outside today. Danny relished the breeze.

“I actually heard Axion upgraded their security recently.” Tucker said. Sam gave him a look. “What? A techno-geek needs to stay caught up on the latest technology.”

“So they just kill those poor dogs because they’re not useful anymore?” Sam growled. “They could’ve given them loving homes instead! But no, that’s too much hassle for those trash corporations.”

Danny didn’t disagree. But, he felt more sad than angry about it so he didn’t say anything. Instead, he tried to think of the positive aspect of the situation. He got to help his own kind. It’s been such a long time since he’s had a positive encounter with another ghost. Despite being a perfect split, growing up in the Ghost Zone has left him feeling more like a ghost than a human, and he hated fighting his own kind. It felt like a betrayal. Sure, most of the ghosts disregarded him in fear of Clockwork but… most of the humans disregarded him too, so that aspect didn’t feel like a factor.

Eating regularly, sleeping regularly, even walking regularly. It’s been multiple months now and Danny wondered if he’d ever get used to it, or if he’s doomed to a life of constant mild discontent. He thought about Sidney. It’s been a while since they’ve spoken and Danny wondered what he’s been up to, wondered if he had any updates on the Ghost Zone.

Danny decided enough was enough. He’d try and make friends with the next ghost he’d potentially have to face, let them know he was still a ghost as much as he was a human.

He didn’t have to wait long.

-

Seemingly overnight everyone in school was talking about Ember McLain. Her face, her merchandise, and especially her music was around every corner. Tucker and Sam showed up to school in her t-shirts and Tucker took it a step further with an Ember wig to replace his beret. Ember was a talented and powerful ghost, and Danny knew he had his work cut out for him. Luckily, she came to him.

During what was supposed to be a “cramtastic study session” due to poor grades from the whole class, Ember pulled up with her band on a float in front of the school. Danny sat on the sidelines and waited. He kept an eye on her, and after saving Lancer from the droves of brain-washed students, followed after her float. He kept invisible, following close behind, until they were away from civilians. He didn’t want anyone to get hurt… or give her access to create another army. He followed her all the way back to the Amity Park stadium.

The float fazed inside the building and once it did, she jumped off and whooped. “Now that’s what I call rock and roll! Soon enough, the whole world will be saying my name!”

Danny flew a few feet away from her and dropped his cover. “Hi, Ember.”

Immediately, Ember grabbed her guitar and strummed it in his direction. “Clockwork can’t protect you out here, dipstick!”

Danny quickly dodged the attack and landed back down. “I’m not here to fight,” he said. “I just want to talk.”

Ember scoffed. “I’ve heard all about the rep you’ve got from the others. You left the Ghost Zone and betrayed your kind. You fight us now to protect your precious humans.”

Danny frowned. He couldn’t argue with her because nothing she said was incorrect. So, he bowed his head and whispered, “I know.” Ember grew silent, long enough to make Danny look up. She looked bewildered but at which part Danny didn’t know.

“You know kid, I always thought you were weird.” She said.

“I always thought you were cool.” Danny replied.

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“Would you have talked to me if I did?” Danny asked. He watched the way she thought about it then shrugged.

“You got me there.”

“Well,” Danny said. “You’re talking to me now. There’s no need to fight.”

“You’re right,” Ember agreed. “Music doesn’t hurt anyone.”

“But brainwashing does.” Danny argued softly.

Ember studied him for a moment before she spoke again. “Why are you helping the humans anyway? I know you’re a halfa but you grew up as a ghost. Why suddenly turn around and betray your own kind?”

She had answered her own question. “Because I’m a halfa." He answered. "When you guys attack the humans, someone needs to protect them.”

“And what about us?” Ember argued, a rise to her voice. “You just leave us to rot?”

Danny shook his head. The rise in her voice only seemed to quieten his own. “I want to protect you, too.” He said. “My human parents are ghost hunters. I have to make sure they don’t hurt any of you while I protect them at the same time.” He paused for a moment, thinking. “It doesn’t get easier,” he admitted, thinking of the peace between worlds he wished he could achieve. “The things I truly want and the things you truly want are unobtainable. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t try.” He smiled.

Ember narrowed her eyes, her guitar hung loosely around her shoulder. “What do you mean?”

“I can’t let you brainwash the humans,” Danny explained. “But you’re talented, and you make music people enjoy. Having the whole world is unobtainable but that doesn’t mean you can’t still be a star. Be a musician. Have concerts. Create albums and merchandise. People will buy it. People will love it. No one can have the whole world but that doesn’t mean you can’t be someone’s world.”

Conflict crossed Ember’s face and she seemed to be torn between her resolve and her heart. She gripped the neck of her guitar but didn’t attack. The flames in her ponytail flickered and crackled, dying and reigniting. “I just want to be loved.” She whispered. “All I’ve ever wanted was for the world to know my name.”

“They will.” Danny said. “And they’ll love you. And you’ll know it’s real because they aren’t brainwashed.”

A tear ran down Ember’s face and smudged her makeup, but she smiled. “You know kid,” she said, wiping the tear, away. “You’re all right.”

Danny smiled. “Does that mean we’re friends?”

“It means we’re cool.” Ember replied.

For Danny, for now, that was good enough. “I’ll see you around.” He said, turning intangible. “If you ever need anything, you know where to find me.” With that, he flew through the ceiling and back to school.

When he arrived, it was clear Ember broke her spell. But many, leaning toward most, still whispered excitedly about her upcoming concert. Sam, on the other hand, did not. “Man, what came over me?” She asked, rubbing her head. “Not only is her music not my taste at all, but look around!” She gestured to the copious amounts of Ember merchandise in the school hallway. “I’d never like something this popular!”

“It’s your subconscious bleeding through,” Tucker said smugly, folding his arms. “Letting you know how amazing Ember really is!”

“Gag. Yeah, right.” Sam replied. “I’ll just call it a moment of temporary insanity.”

Danny smiled from the sidelines. He decided to keep this one to himself.

-

In subsequent interactions with ghosts, Danny tried his best to offer his friendship, or at the very least an understanding of some sort. For some, it worked, like with Johnny 13 and Kitty. He let them know they could come and go as they pleased, experiencing the human world, but they could not harm or overshadow any of the humans. He told them to wait until Kitty got her strength back and could leave on her own, and Danny would not bother them. They agreed to this arrangement and Danny offered to let them know when the best times to leave the portal were.

For others, like Technus, it didn’t work so well, and Danny had to fight him. Some, no matter the reasoning or pleading he tried, simply did not want to listen, did not want peace. So, Danny had to fight to keep the peace. An oxymoron at its finest. It never failed to leave a pang in his stomach. But, for now, he’d take what he could get.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ao3 Notes: Please go show lilianade-comics some love! They are an amazing and talented artist, and blew me away with how well they captured Danny! <3

Thank you so much for reading and have a lovely day/night!

[absolutely-esme]

I've been enjoying sharing some of my headcanons, so I thought I might share some little tweaks I like to make to canon when I think up possible fics.

Most of these are not exactly headcanons. These are actual changes to what happened, or interpretations different enough from the view presented that it feels like a change. They don't alter the overall flow of events much. They are mostly just changing little things that bug me into things I like better.

When Danny is talking about his situation in the first episode, Sam doesn't spontaneously switch to complaining about her parents mid-sentence. She stays on the topic of Danny's very serious and potentially existential problem, but her advice on the matter is still influenced by her relationship with her own parents.

Sam is still going through her "not like other girls" phase, but is not correct about other girls. Paulina is a whole human being with her own internal life. Girls with more traditionally feminine interests are not vapid caricatures. This primarily manifests by changing or getting rid of some bits of dialog/actions driven entirely by stereotypes.

In the episode with the dance and the dragon amulet, Paulina didn't say yes to Danny because she wanted to steal Sam's boyfriend as petty revenge for an insult. Sam calling her shallow in a creative and scathing way in front of everyone made her feel self-conscious. She felt the need to prove that she wasn't shallow; she could give the weird kid a chance.

Tucker's reason for wishing for ghost powers is not just envy. Sure that's part of it; superpowers are cool. That's not all, however. Tucker and Danny have been been friends for years. They shared everything and presumably faced everything together. Now Danny is fighting battles that Tucker can't fight alongside him. Sure, Tucker is there and helps however he can, but Danny is the only super-powered heavy hitter on the team. When he's out there grappling with some kind of nightmare monster, Tucker is on the sidelines watching him take hits and hating it. His best friend is suffering, and he's not in the trenches with him.

In the episode where Desiree makes it so that Sam never met Danny and Tucker (and Danny never became a halfa), Sam doesn't immediately set about trying to re-ghostify Danny or change his ghost form purely for her own preference. Both of these things kind of creep me out because they involve imposing on another person in a way that feels like it should merit at least some hesitation.

Upon realizing what has happened, Sam initially decides to try and deal with the ghosts herself. She needs ghost-hunting tech, and the only place to get that is the Fentons. She tries to be sneaky, but Danny notices and realizes something is up. Unfortunately, a lot of Fenton tech is less effective without Danny fixing it, and Sam is working with human limitations like the inability to fly or pass through solid objects, and even if she caught Desiree, there wouldn't be a working portal to send her through. It's not working.

Ultimately, she decides to recreate the accident, this time with her instead of Danny. Danny and Tucker catch her in the lab and confront her (because they were suspicious of this weird girl who started sneaking into Danny's house right when all this other weird stuff started happening, and they want to know what's going on). Sam is incredibly stressed after trying to deal with all this alone while simultaneously losing her two closest friends and ends up spilling everything.

Danny decides to become half-ghost again. Not because Sam dressed up in pink and wore different makeup up for him. Not because he wanted the pretty girl to like him. This person cared enough about him and his best friend that she was willing to let them go for their own sakes, even if it meant she was going to miss them. She tried so hard to protect everyone alone. She was willing to die in his place. He didn't want to let her. He also didn't want to stand on the sidelines knowing there was something he could have done, that he could have protected everyone and chose not to.

Tucker and Sam both argue against it.

Sam says something to the effect of "You're not dying because of me again!" Turns out, she's been harboring some guilt over the accident. Danny says that it's not because of her and he's making his own choice.

Tucker doesn't want his best friend to get hurt in a way that will permanently change him. If he can't talk him out of it, he at least doesn't want him doing it alone. Danny points out that they only really know that Danny can survive this. It's entirely possible that growing up exposed to ectoplasm makes a difference. The risk would be higher for Tucker and Sam.

They all argue a lot more, before settling on a course of action.

The DP symbol was something Sam had previously designed at Danny's request. He hoped that something that would make him look more like a superhero would help him be viewed a little more positively. However, they hadn't been able to figure out how to add it to his ghost form. Once she realizes she's not going to be able to change his mind, she offers to add it to his suit before he goes in. She still has the vinyl decals in her backpack. One of them mistakenly made with black material instead of white.

Rather than wishing everything back to normal during the fight, Sam simply wishes for her friends to remember her.

[beesechurgerzz]

*hands you dan* i love your headcanons for this sad miserable man. Keep talking pls

aaaa tyyy!!! i find it wildly fascinating how the fandom portrays dan in such different and varying ways, specifically the many ways they translate dan's self into his obsession and all, but sometimes it just feels like there could be something more yknow? and this isn't throwing shade at anyone, i enjoy reading all kinds of interpretations, it's just that at times it seems like dan is viewed as a sort of means to an end kinda thing, as just one more drop to the whump bucket that is danny, and while yes, the whole situation would definitely have had a huge negative impact on danny (even tho the show never acknowledges it again >>) i feel like in some cases it's a bit, misshandled? maybe that's not the best word, so maybe more of a missed potential thing? miss interpreted even

one thing i did see in some posts was that some people expressed a bit of discontentment with the way dan is portrayed as solely a danny thing, and by that i mean that they thought that putting all the weight of dan's existence onto danny was bogus because vlad was in the mix, and like, i understand where they're coming from, i really do, but there's actually a lot going on in TUE that points to this being explicitly danny's ghost half actions.

before fusing, danny's ghost half deliberately took the surgery gloves, he smiled while he wore them, and he, out of his own volition, dug them into vlad's chest to take 'plasmius' out. furthermore, even before the procedure vlad had already been showing signs of remorse for what had happened:

this is vlad's face after seeing danny somberly looking at a photo of his family and friends after the explosion, he'd been, seconds before this, smirking and acting smug about getting what he wanted, but i think this is the start of him finally realizing just what they both had lost for that to have happened, and in my personal opinion, he might've been wondering if it had been worth it. on the other hand:

this is what danny's ghost self looked like before attacking vlad. some people have pointed out that vlad's story shouldn't be taken as truth given his manipulative nature, but honestly i think that he would have no particular reason to lie. he may have lost his ghost powers, but do you think he wouldn't have taken the opportunity to try and take down present danny since the chance was right there? in a way, future danny ruined him, it was a type of violation that people don't really want to talk about since it's vlad, but it's what happened. danny isn't a saint, he's far from it really, he does a lot of learning on how to be a better person through different instances of the series:

- Attack of the Killer Garage Sale- selling his parent's invention scraps and parts for money so he could buy clothes for a party (he gave the money back at the end of the ep but he still went against his father's instructions to not throw the parts out)

-Spitting Image- danny uses his powers against dash after getting bullied (he learns from his mistake but still repeats it later in the series)

-Fright Night- danny steals frightnight's sword with the intent of cheating the halloween competiton

-The Ultimate Enemy- you all know (him cheating the test by stealing the answers)

-The Fright Before Christmas- lack of empathy after destroying ghost writer's story just for it being christmas themed; his stubbornness also ruins christmas for his friends and family

-Eye for an Eye- literally swatting vlad

and so on. the point being, yes danny can be extremely selfless and takes on the responsibility of fighting ghosts since he opened the portal, but he's still human, and most importantly, he's still a kid, he's 14. that being said, it doesn't mean he can't be infuriatingly petty and stubborn to a fault, so while wanting to attribute a part of dan's personality to vlad, it should always be extremely important to remember that danny also has the capacity to do wrong.

i think i went a bit off topic there aqndjwf, anyways-

i think what i want to say with all of this is that dan's an entity of his own. he has neither vlad's nor danny's motivations, none of the feelings either had for the fenton's in their own way: (he had no issues mocking maddie and killing her, something that love obsessed vlad would never do, neither would danny who loves his mother although a bit distantly), he singles jazz out throughout TUE's events, and also has no qualms with making her die ( jazz being danny's most loved familial tie, the one person he trusts outside of tucker and sam), and he also doesn't view himself as danny unless he's taking a jab at someone's feelings.

-"i am your boy" he says to maddie when she asks him what he's done to danny, even though she isn't her son

-"what kind of parents are you anyway?" the world's leading ghost experts, and you can't figure out your own son was half ghost" he doesn't say "you couldn't figure out I was half ghost", he said they couldn't figure out their son was a halfa, which contradicts his previous "i am your boy" line, confirming that he only uses those terms when he wants to hurt

another point for the 'dan is separate from danny' deal is that he exists outside of time. he wasn't worried about danny defeating him in TUE's finale because he said that he was still there, therefore danny still turned into him, but he loses, so that couldn't possible have been true. by his own logic he should be gone, and by the show's logic (as seen by the other time travel instance during Masters of Time), undoing a timeline means it has no impact on its original. (stopping the cause [college portal incident] meant there were no repercussions [plasmius jack, married vlad/maddie]). by those guidelines, danny stopping the explosion should mean no dan at all, but he still exists, so he isn't tied to danny's fate specifically.

he is a possibility. it could mean that the burger joint explosion wasn't the only way he could be created, but the knowledge of that possible outcome should be a sufficient deterrent to thwart it, so it's back to square one. that's actually another complaint i've seen- that danny being afraid of turning into dan doesn't make sense since he made sure that that future couldn't happen, but i think they all miss the principle of it- that being that danny saw his potential to be his own worst self, and that he doesn't want that. but now that he knows he can, he'll always wonder if what he's doing is the right thing, or if it'll have a domino effect that leads him to becoming that, since the exam cheating was such an inconsequential action and all compared to the many other acts danny has pulled off.

tldr for this section is that dan is actually more like dani in that they're derivatives from danny, but still their own person. (i might make another post later about what i think dani's obsession would be [spoiler: i think it's life itself] but i suck at writing </3)

dani was created by vlad, but that doesn't define her, and neither should plasmius aspects define dan. or danny's for that matter. their similarities are mostly physical, and even those are vastly altered, and there isn't much personality wise. on top of havig the trauma of witnessing his family and friends die, living with a man he hated and growing distance with your other half, dan has 10 years on danny, and by the looks of it that decade was spent on his own, wreaking havoc. he's very much not sane. that mental unbalance doesn't mean that vlad is at the metaphorical wheel, it just highlights that the human mind just can't deal with the stress of the circumstances danny went through at age 14. his own death went unprocessed, and that's why i think dan redemption is very viable.

since we spoke of dan redemption, and this will be the last topic since this is getting extremely long (sorry asker 😔), i think jazz could help him. despite holding a large amount of animosity towards her in TUE, jazz could still be the best shot dan has at proper therapy. jazz would have to be convinced i'm sure (she'd have to remember TUE events for her to properly help, and i dont think she'd be too thrilled), but that's still a version of her brother. she'd help not as a sister, but as a therapist. (i actually have a mini fic in the works for that but who know how long that'll take so </3) the trick with therapy is that people need to want to be helped/ they need to accept needing help, and dan is very much,,, not willing. but therapy is nothing if not a work of patience and a space for learning, and if there's one thing to counteract the personification of grief, then it has to be acceptance. and time too :)

once again ty for the wonderful ask ajhdwj, sorry for rambling so much 😔

[mediumsizedpidegon]

this is an uhinged crossover but. PIDW Luo Binghe finds Xin Mo and makes a portal to get out of the Abyss. Except– he's been in a constant cycle of hurt and conflict with no rest in between. So maybe he fucks it up. Maybe Xin Mo is at fault. It doesn't matter. The end result is the same: Luo Binghe opens a portal and it splits him apart and spits him out different, in a strange, new place. (Luo Binghe's half-human, half-demon. Now half-ghost is added to the list.)

I just really like the idea of Luo Binghe being removed from his suffering– both the Abyss and the cultivation world in which his abuser is a very influential figure. And he's angry, he wants revenge, but Xin Mo's gone, broken by the act of being brought to the Ghost Zone. What does he do, now that that avenue of revenge isn't available to him anymore? How do you cope, when the one thing propelling you forward is suddenly barred from you? What could you do when your body is changed against your will (when something you were always meant to be but didn't know comes forth) with the breaking of single seal– demon traits rising under your skin like a wolf shedding sheep's clothing? what do you when you're somewhere unfamiliar and foreign and you body is changing again, and this time you don't know what you are, what you're becoming? It's not like he could think of any of this in the Abyss. He was in survival mode. And now he's somewhere else and it's not safe, but it's not not safe, and Luo Binghe's hit his limit.

It's just– satisfying, to imagine a world where Luo Bingge gets to fall apart fully and heal properly. To imagine a world and a place where Luo Bingge is recognized as a child and allowed to be one. (maybe heavenly demons age slow. maybe Luo Bingge is growth-stunted by the Abyss. Maybe he's in a weird grey area age between child and adult. who knows. But either way, Luo Bingge registers as a child ghost to other ghosts.)

Also. Danny finding someone else who's like him that isn't evil godfather. It's not just Ellie (Dani) and him anymore. And Ellie technically never died like Danny, so......There's another one! Another person who died in a doorway between places and didn't come back all the way.

I imagine that once LBH gets less wary of adults/authority figures, he ends up really liking Frostbite (probably because Danny dragged him there for a medical checkup) and Nocturn (because same hat!! same powers!! he gives good advice!!)

And because I lost my mind over "Childhood" by Marsalias– read it on ao3, it is SO GOOD– which follows the premise that child ghosts copy attributes of adults they like/trust: LBH with ram horns (Nocturn) made of black ice (Frostbite/the yetis)!!!

I don't know about why my mind gravitated towards this specifically. I just wanted Luo Bingge to heal and have trusted adults and friends in his life. the idea of LBH + crazy dp worldbuilding potential and ghost powers is just a bonus.