#wanted to play with second person pov lmk if it sux
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Starlit Vigil
Dannymay Day 4: Stars _____________________________
Everything has a story to it, a tale interwoven into itâs very being from itâs birth to itâs death. Sometimes the mystery of the story is as much a story in and of itself.Â
Scientists and researchers canât say when the constellation first appeared in the night sky. It could be seen above Antarctica, near where the edge of the continent meets the Indian Ocean. It confounded a great many people as stars simply didnât appear out of nowhere. But these did, slowly over the course of several decades sometimes years apart but two appeared within hours of each other. Each new star, eight in total, had a glistening, almost unnatural twinkle to them. The constellation was named Mnemosyne after the Grecian goddess of memory and the stars eight of her nine daughters, better known as the Muses.Â
Youâve always had your eyes turned towards the stars and Mnemosyne in particular had always captured your attention. You canât really explain what it is about those stars that speak to you. Maybe itâs sheer impossibility of their existence. Perhaps itâs the particular beauty of these stars, sometimes appearing to shift in shape and change colors. Or it could be the story behind the stars, the mystery that couldnât be solved and so imagination filled in the holes left behind.
They say there was a great king, hundreds of years ago. A king who was powerful and kind and helped create the world as we know it. The land of the dead exists and certain people can interact with those beyond it. Technology and understanding have advanced dramatically and, while no life would ever be perfect, there was a general sense of peace that could felt in this world and the next. This king loved our world so much itâs said he plucked the greatest jewels he could find and placed them in the stars where he could watch over and cherish them forever. Itâs a sentiment you can understand.Â
You study astronomy in school and when youâre given a chance to travel to the Antarctic Circle to study Mnemosyne, you canât say yes fast enough. The bitter cold and isolation is a small price to pay to see your favorite constellation up close. Maybe when you see it with your own eyes, you can unravel some of the questions people have been asking over the years. Why the goddess of Memory? Why are the stars named after the Muses but missing the muse of astronomy, Urania? What is the true story behind the supernaturally bright stars that appeared out of nowhere?
Itâs hard to sleep during the day, partially because it goes against your normal circadian rhythm but youâre also too excited for night to come. For the stars to come out. You bundle up in the warmest clothes, pack your cameras and notebooks and throw the highest quality telescope you can carry over your shoulder. Arriving at the best site for star gazing, you are so delighted by the clear skies and sparkling stars that it takes you an extra moment to realize that youâre not alone.
At first, you think itâs one of the many researchers conducting studies at the pole but itâs soon apparent that this is someone new. Their hair is stark white, almost appearing one with the blustering wind as itâs blown around. You canât see what theyâre wearing because a thick white cape covers them entirely; it has the consistency of freshly fallen snow. Atop their head floats a crown made of pure, crystalline ice. Your eyes widen behind your protective goggles. The existence of ghosts was common knowledge by now but itâs another thing to see one up close. You turn to leave, before the spirit notices you.
âDonât leave,â he says quietly but despite the roaring of the wind, you can hear him perfectly clear. âYou came to watch the stars too, I donât mind. Mnemosyne is my favorite.â
âMine too,â you say back without even thinking. âI would love to know their stories.â The ghost turns to smile at you and his eyes are a bright, glowing green without any pupils or sclera.Â
âCome, Iâll tell you about them.â You know you shouldnât. While most spirits arenât malicious, this one exudes a power you canât even imagine. But you find yourself stepping closer anyway. You want to hear the stories of the stars and his smile is the warmest thing youâll find for miles. Somehow you know this ghost wonât harm you. He points up at Mnemosyne and your twin gazes stare up in wonder.Â
âThey say souls and stars are made of the same ingredients. When I was a boy, I loved this thought. There was something comforting in knowing that, no matter where I went, that I could carry the stars within me,â the ghost explains, looking at you joyfully.Â
âBut unlike stars, souls are mortal, impermanent,â he says, his smile turning sad. âSo I thought, why not put a soul into a star? Then it could last for eons.â He turns back to the stars with a melancholic expression. âDanielle was the first, my little sister. She was always fragile and after only a decade of life, one day she just broke. Her core was too damaged to become a full ghost so I offered her another way to live on. I took the brightness of her smile and made it into a star, into Euterpe. She was the muse of lyrics and poetry, they say she was the âbringer of delightâ. It suited Danielle.â
âMy enemy died next,â the ghost continues. âHe hurt me and, moreover, hurt the ones I loved. But he was the only one who truly understood me. His existence comforted me no matter how much bad blood existed between us. His life was full of misfortune, most of it self-inflicted but his fear of death pulled on my heart. My last move in our battle was to make him a star as well, Melpomene, the muse of tragedy. I put him far away from Danielle, I think heâd hurt her.â
âMy parents passed a few decades later,â the ghost whispers. âMom went first, in her sleep. Dad always followed her example so it wasnât a surprise when Dad followed her in death before the day was done. They were scientists, I think but they loved me very much. Things were tense, I remember being afraid for some reason but their deaths pained me. They were too fulfilled to become ghosts. I grabbed bits of their essence before it dissipated and made the stars Polyhymnia and Terpsichore, the muses of hymns and dance respectively. They were a perfect couple, partners in everything. A song and a dance, always in time with each other.â
The wind rustles the ghostâs cape, he clutches it as if he is cold. You cannot tear your eyes from the the soft grief on his face.Â
âValerie went next, some sort of illness; I canât remember the details,â the ghost frowned. âShe had no desire to become a ghost, no matter how much I asked her to stay. I am King of All Ghosts and yet I got on my knees and begged for some part of her to keep with me. In the end, I stole a bit of her fading spirit and crafted Calliope, the assertive muse, the author of epic poetry. She shines so brightly up there like she had in life.â
âJasmine died peacefully in her sleep like our mother. She was always protecting me, even in death. Her devotion to knowledge and my wellbeing kept her by my side for many years but it wasnât enough to last forever. When her spirit was nothing more than wisps, I took her core and placed Clio with the rest of our family. The muse of history, the proclaimer of great deeds fit my older sister well.â
âTucker and Sam stayed with me the longest. Tucker went first, a quick death from an aged body followed by years as the playful spirit I always knew him as. Sam, my life and my love, passed the same and was my queen in death as sheâd been in life. But love can delay death but not deny it and their spirits needed to move on. I kissed them both, my soulmates and made them into stars. Thalia, the muse of comedy and idyllic poems for the light Tucker brought to me. Erato for Sam, muse of love and its poetry for all that she inspired and gave me.â
You see glowing tears running down his face, he holds his hands out to the night sky. His fingers are curved as if wanting to reach and tenderly brush the faces of people long gone. Only theyâre not gone completely. You look at the stars with a newfound appreciation. They are no longer pinpricks of long dead light but people who lived and died and yet still lived on in such beauty. If you look closely, you can almost see them. Brushes of red hair, dark rugged skin, the glint of glasses, a flash of amethyst eyes.Â
âThereâs no Urania,â you say quietly, the wind tossing them.Â
âNot yet,â he says longingly, âbut soon. The Zone and the Earth are at peace, they wonât need my protection for much longer. When that happens, my spirit will leave this world and join my loved ones in the stars as Urania.â This ghost has been dead for longer than youâve been alive, longer than many of your most recent ancestors. But his love can still be felt, still burns high above in the sky for everyone to see. What better eternity is there?
âMay I tell their story?â You ask and he only nods in response, not taking his eyes off Mnemosyne. You get the feeling he has forgotten about you, caught up in the light of his loved ones shining down on him, waiting. All at once, you realize how late it is, how cold. You leave to return to the research shelter, to write the history of the miracle constellation.Â
The stars made out of souls, crafted by love.
Twelve years later, you are not surprised when you look up and see a ninth star in the constellation of Mnemosyne. It glows brightly, twinkling with the other muses as if in conversation. You can only smile through your tears, so profoundly happy that Uraniaâs lonely vigil is finally over and they have assumed their rightful place among the stars.Â
#dannymay2021#danny phantom#i'm not crying you're crying#this came to me last night in the bath#the idea that Danny takes pieces of his loved ones soul and made them into stars#so that they can stay with him while he finishes his duty as Ghost King#I want to stress they all DID move on#these are just pieces of them#stars are echoes of light long gone and same for these stars#they're the memory of friends and family and enemies#people who meant so much to Danny that he blazed their souls across the sky so they could watch over him#while he finished he duty and waited to join them#Danny Fenton never went to the stars#but because of Phantom he was able to finally walk among them#arm and arm with the family of his soul#thats not a bad afterlife shining in the sky softly watching over the earth you spent so long protecting#dont fucking touch me#wanted to play with second person pov lmk if it sux#its danny fucking may now open up and eat your soft tender angst
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