An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Jazz never believed in faeries. And why should she? The idea was ridiculous, I mean, tiny people with wings? It was preposterous, and not even all that creative.
But Jazz knew exactly who could believe in that kind of thing, and unfortunately she was directly related to both of them. She thought she would be the only sane one in her family forever, until she found a tiny boy with little iridescent wings that changed her whole world.
The first three chapters are now out for my Fairy Danny AU I did for @invisobang, featuring some amazing artwork from my two collaborators! Please check out @kkachis‘s art for chapter 1, and the comic @tinybabyghost made for chapter 3! They were both a pleasure to work alongside and I’m so grateful for the work they put into their pieces, so they deserve a lot of love
“I hate it here so I will go to
Lunar valleys in my mind
When they found a better planet
Only the gentle survived”
Idea:
Despite being deemed public enemy number one, despite being hated by the town, despite the fact that the government and his own parents want him dead, Danny still puts himself in harm’s way in order to protect the town. It’s where he’s lived his whole life. He’s suffered some pretty terrible things in Amity, but he’s also had some of his most treasured memories right here.
His friends insist he does it because of his ghost obsession. Jazz tells him one night that she thinks his protection obsession stems from the way he died, how his last thoughts were probably about how he didn’t want Sam and Tucker to get hurt too. That was probably what caused him to stay out at all hours of the night fighting ghosts, and why he kept protecting citizens who wanted him dead and gone.
But his friends were wrong.
He never had the heart to tell them how his ghost obsession had nothing to do with protecting others. His obsession had always been about outer space, space exploration, the study of space, everything to do with the subject.
A little spike of hurt drilled itself further into his heart every time they told him his obsession was what made him fight, because no, he was not compelled to do any of this just because he was a ghost. He had agency, damn it! He had free will!
He did it because no one else would.
When random park goers would yell at him to go back to the Ghost Zone, Danny would keep fighting to protect. When the mayor would run ads promising Phantom’s demise if re-elected, Danny would keep fighting to protect. When the GIW would do their nightly patrols and nearly capture him, Danny would keep fighting to protect. When his own parents would talk about pulling him apart piece by piece to see how he worked, Danny would keep fighting to protect.
No matter how much he hurt, he would put on a brave face and continue to put himself in danger, so long as it meant the city would be safe.
Safe for everyone else, at least.
But sometimes, he would get a moment in the middle of the night, one where he was alone, and he didn’t have any obligations, and nobody was in danger, and the city was quiet. And in those moments, as few and far between as they were, he would dream of going to space. He would dream of the silence, and the solitude, and the beauty that space provided.
There, in the depths of space, in the lunar valleys, in the warmth of the sun, wherever he wanted to be, he could just be himself. There, he could be quiet, and gentle, and small, and not suffer the consequences of existence he had been given on Earth.
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: Danny Phantom, Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary (2026)
Eva Stratt receives an email from a student at an American Ivy-league school with the subject line “Ecto-Entities”.
Dear Eva Stratt,
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing because I know of a resource that could be incredibly beneficial, possibly even crucial to your mission: Danny Phantom.
Originally posted this on Tumblr but decided to put it up on AO3 as well!
Less than 24 hours after receiving that email, Stratt strode up to the Ghost Investigation Ward building, Grace following two steps behind as always.
The building was unassuming. A windowless, grey structure stood proudly in front of them, caged in by tall fences and guarded by a manned gate that required authorization to enter through. Stratt, of course, held any authorization she deemed necessary, so their entry was permitted, much to the guard’s dismay.
Grace had done some research into “ecto-science” at Stratt’s request. It was alarmingly difficult to find any sort of reliable information on the subject, but after some digging, he found a few retracted scientific journals by Madeline and Jack Fenton, information published by the GIW, and a news article about protests happening in Amity Park following the capture of the ecto-entity called Danny Phantom. Given the email Stratt had received, Grace assumed the protests had been in vain.
All the research he could find suggested that ecto-entities were not sentient, despite having the appearance of being as such, and were more like an empty echo of the human they once were. They were often destructive, and especially liked to harm humans, thought to be jealous of humans for still clinging to life while the ghosts had passed on.
In all honesty, the most shocking part of all this was finding out that ghosts were real. That had required taking a seat for a moment to collect his thoughts and rethink his world-view, something he had already once done recently on account of aliens being real. His time since meeting Stratt had been shocking to say the least.
A man met them as they entered the building. He was tall and imposing, with a pristine, white suit and sunglasses despite being inside.
“I’m Operative K. I will be supervising your visit.”
Stratt offered a handshake as she introduced herself, but the man did not move to accept it.
He guided them down a hallway, then into an elevator, then down several more white white white hallways, until they came upon a door.
“I will warn you, the subject is difficult to work with. It will attempt a scared child routine, beg for its life, ask to be freed, et cetera. This is not real; It does this as a means of manipulating humans to get what it wants. Ghosts cannot feel physical or emotional pain, so anything you might see in there is an act. Am I understood?”
Stratt and Grace both nodded, and Grace steeled himself as Operative K scanned his keycard, typed a passcode, and lowered his sunglasses for a retina scan.
The door hissed open and they were ushered into an equally white room. With the bright LED lights glaring from above, it was almost blinding to step inside, and he suddenly understood why they wore those ridiculous spectacles. As his eyes adjusted, he took in the room around him.
Along one side of the room was a counter, across which were strewn a variety of devices, tools, and medical equipment. In the middle of the room sat a metal examination table, prepped and ready for use. There were security cameras in the corners and on the ceiling, all pointed in the same direction. On the other side of the room, where all the cameras were aimed, was a glass cell, glowing faintly green with what he assumed must be some sort of anti-ecto energy.
And in the cell was… A kid.
Not a kid, Grace reminded himself, an ecto-entity. A ghost.
The not-kid was huddled up in the corner, his knees pulled up to his chest, his head resting on his arms. His white hair hung down to cover whatever they may have been able to see of his face.
The boy was too skinny, and he didn’t breathe at all, which gave him more the appearance of a corpse than a person. Still, Grace could have been convinced the boy was a human had it not been for the flickering glow that emanated off of him.
Stratt looked to Grace, then nodded her head towards the cell.
Great, she wants me to talk to it.
He approached the cell and knelt down to be more eye-level with the kid.
“Hey, uh, I’m Doctor Grace. We’re here to speak with you.”
The ghost didn’t respond. Didn’t even move. Just kept sitting there in the corner, wrapped tightly around itself on the floor.
He tried again. “We wanted to talk to Danny Phantom. That’s you, right?”
Still nothing.
“Guess it’s feeling shy today.” Operative K had an evil grin on his face as he pressed a button to reveal a panel next to the cell. “This’ll make it a little more talkative.”
The kid screamed as electricity shot through him. Grace couldn’t help but cringe as Phantom twitched and tensed as wave after wave of electric shock pulsed through him. When it was over, he collapsed in a heap on the floor, still twitching. Grace tried to keep his calm. It was just a ghost, after all. Every article he could find said they couldn’t really feel anything, that they couldn’t feel pain. Phantom was fine.
After a few seconds, the kid propped himself up on his elbows, and a few tears slid down his cheeks as he slowly sat up.
“Try again. It should be more responsive now.” The smile across K’s face indicated there would be consequences if the ghost still wouldn’t talk.
Grace shrugged it off.
“Hi, Danny. I’m Doctor Grace. We came here to meet you.”
The ghost did respond this time, but only by rolling his eyes and making a snide comment about more quack scientists wanting to pick him apart. K hit the button again, and more electricity tore through the ghost’s body.
Once he recovered once more from the shocks, Grace pushed on.
“We’re seeking out resources for a mission to save the human race. We heard you have some abilities that could help us out. Care to tell us a bit about yourself?”
The kid grunted as he pushed himself back up to a seated position against the back wall. “What kind of mission would get the Guys In White to willingly give up their favourite science experiment?”
The boy clutched at his chest, which was now rising and falling rapidly, as if he was breathing. The sight was strange. And now that they could see his face, Grace was taken by the toxic green of his eyes. He focused all his attention on that to distract himself from how painfully human the kid seemed, the eyes serving as a reminder that he was dealing with an unfeeling ecto-entity, not a person.
“It involves going to space.” He recalled how the email had said the ghost loved space; was obsessed with it. He watched as the kid’s eyes lit up for just a moment, star-like freckles dancing across his cheeks, before fading once more as his eyes drifted to Operative K, still hovering over the control panel. His gaze darkened, like he had momentarily forgotten where he was, but then was painfully reminded.
He’s a ghost, not a real person.
“I can’t help you.”
Grace transitioned from kneeling to sitting cross-legged on the floor. “I don’t think that’s true, kid. I heard you’ve got a lot of abilities that could really help us out on a space mission.”
“Maybe,” the kid shrugged, “but it’s not like these guys would ever let me out of their sight. They own me.”
Stratt chimed in from behind him. “I actually have the authority to use whatever resources I deem necessary for this mission. If we deem you useful, you would come with us.”
Operative K seemed to bristle at the reminder that he could lose his favourite pet project, but he said nothing.
“Ask K over here, then. I’m a ghost. I’ll just lie to you.” He crossed his arms and shoved himself back in the corner, pointedly avoiding looking at any of them.
That was that, then. The kid could hold a conversation, at the very least, even if he didn’t seem keen on it at the moment.
“I need all the files you have on the subject. Dr. Grace will review them and we will come to retrieve your ghost in 24 hours if we decide he will be of use.” Stratt turned toward the door and left without another word.
Grace gave a nod to Operative K, took one last glance at the boy in the cell, and turned to follow Stratt. The boy was staring at him, those big, green eyes boring holes into him, like he was searching desperately for a reason to trust them. Grace reminded himself again that the ghost was known for making itself seem human to manipulate, that it was all an act. He needed to treat it like the creature it was, not the creature it was desperately trying to imitate.
_________________________________
Grace felt nauseous as the memory faded. He had been complicit. He saw this kid getting tortured and he thought nothing of it. He agreed to put this poor, traumatised child, only a few years older than his own students, on a suicide mission.
Danny looked at him weird from across the ship, but Grace waved him off and gathered himself, pretended like nothing happened. He couldn’t help the resentment building up in his gut, resentment for himself, for his actions, his inaction, his cowardice. He would make it up to this boy, somehow. He would find a way to repent for what he had allowed to happen.
Also this is vaguely inspired by the fic let's pretend the fog has lifted by @anthropwashere. I only say "vaguely" because I didn't actually double-check details like,,,, which hand the missing pinkie was on vs which one the thumb was on. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't have lichtenbergs but I like drawing them.
Also I didn't add his back tattoo because it would be mostly covered and I don't know when he got it. Its definitely not because it's I forgot it.
Stratt receives an email from a student at an American Ivy-league school with the subject line “Ecto-Entities”:
Dear Eva Stratt,
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing because I know of a resource that could be incredibly beneficial, possibly even crucial to your mission.
There is an organization in the USA called the Ghost Investigation Ward (GIW) which harbors beings called “ecto-entities”, colloquially known as “ghosts”. One ghost in particular that the GIW has in their custody is an ecto-entity called Danny Phantom, who I believe could aid in saving humanity.
Danny Phantom has several abilities that could prove to be beneficial when on a space mission, including being able to disregard gravity, thus not requiring zero-grav training prior to the mission. He can also phase through objects, and he does not require oxygen, which leaves more resources on board available for the humans who will be on the craft. Ghosts are also able to withstand enormous atmospheric pressure, or lack thereof, without adverse effects, so he would not require a suit when leaving the ship. He has many other abilities I haven’t listed, but which are less likely to be useful on such a journey. If you’re interested, I can provide you with a comprehensive list.
Something else of note is that over the years, research has suggested that ghosts have something called an “obsession”. Their obsession can be anything from hunting to music to boxes, to any other subject you could think of. This obsession fuels them, and is their reason to remain on Earth, sort of like unfinished business. Danny Phantom is unique in that he has dual obsessions. One of these obsessions is outer space. He can tell you the exact location of a star or planet at any given time, even during the day. He knows how to pilot a space shuttle as well as any trained astronaut. His freckles even glow like constellations when he’s talking about space. And his other obsession is protecting others from harm. There’s not much to say about this other than that he has thrown himself into danger without a single thought for his own wellbeing countless times in order to protect others from harm. He would risk his own life one thousand times over in order to save just one person, much less billions. I’m sure you can see how useful he could be in saving the world, as it seems like this mission was designed for him.
I am aware this is a suicide mission, and that if he is to go, he will never be able to return, but I know that this is better than his current situation. For nearly two years, the GIW has had him in their possession, and I don’t like to imagine what they’re doing to him there in the name of research. Even before they captured him, they promised to him on several occasions that once they had him, they would conduct as many “painful experiments” on him as they could before he perished, and I can’t imagine they’ve broken that promise.
While his obsessions are perfectly tailored to your cause, I am also writing to you as a plea for you to save him. My family and I, as well as his friends and their families, have been working endlessly since his capture to free him, to no avail. I know that even though he would die on this mission, that is a far kinder fate than what he is experiencing as I write this email. He is a genuinely good person who would do anything to help those around him, and I can’t stand the thought that he will rot in that prison while the rest of us move on with our lives.
Thank you for hearing me out. I hope you will at least humor me and look into it. And if you do, please don’t believe anything the GIW tells you about him.
Oh this is great. I love that this is Jazz sending the message as well. She loves him so much, but knows this would be better for him, far far away where no one can reach him. Danny would be heartbroken if he found out Jazz was the one to send him away. Would he even know he’s being sent to do this beforehand, or does he just get sent off in the thermos until wake-up call?
Would be super interesting from Grace’s perspective because ‘oh boy ghost’ and also ‘sent kid barely older than his students on a suicide mission’. He’s dealing with a traumatized teenager who’s been in captivity for years by this point, and then his own issues on top of that.
Then you’ve gotta consider if they think Danny would die on this mission, or just be stranded in Space, all alone. Not really better than a suicide mission, possibly worse.
Phantom not being put under for the trip out (“he’s a ghost, there’s no issue surely” 😰) and having no information on how to save the two that dies (while also trying to straighten his head out from being captured the last couple years), so he’s more protective and attached to Grace when he survives and eventually wakes up.
Grace does the walkouts when they reach Rocky for the first time but the more precarious jaunts (like placing the Beetles on the nose) Grace leaves to Phantom. (He hates it. Grace is a scientist and Phantom has more experience, but ‘he’s just a fudging kid!’ Eventually he gets the memories of when Phantom joined them and being a-okay with Phantom joining the trip and that makes Grace sick.)
Phantom freaking Rocky out more because there’s times that Rocky can’t ‘see’ Phantom (when he’s intangible). Rocky accidentally gives the game away when Phantom is just invisible because he can’t tell the difference.
Phantom going intangible during the return from Adrian when he’s trying to help Grace to negate the g forces and getting launched from the ship (bc he went through it 😅 whoops), so while he tries to get back to the wildly spinning ship Rocky still has to try and save Grace. Phantom gets back just before Grace opens the airlock and intangibly shifts Rocky through.
Phantom overriding Grace when it comes to painkillers when he tries to circumvent the clock issue. The air-pressure-wash doesn’t happen bc Phantom can get close and inspects Rocky’s vents better. Tells Grace that they look like scabs to him so they leave it the hell alone.
Danny trying to think of a solution to get Rocky without compromising Grace’s trip back to Earth and failing. Phantom is beside himself when they turn around, but when they reach the point of no return he starts talking to Grace again.
Phantom and Rocky watch in fear as Grace gets sick. Phantom wanting to call out to anybody to help them but the only ones who may hear him and may get to him may also wreck the ship (Cujo. Poor thing might be able to dig himself in but he may also be too excitable for the things in the ship. Wulf would help but he can’t call Wulf to him.) Phantom even ‘wishes’, but Desiree is way too far away to hear, much less give him pity and actually help. “Even if I knew how to portal into the Zone like Vlad, there’s nothing fit for humans to eat there,” Phantom cries to Rocky and they both feel helpless.
**Alternatively and more towards the angst:** because they didn’t want a loose ghost on the ship without supervision, they put Phantom in a thermos. The thermos, after a while, puts ghost in hibernation mode. They heal if they’re injured but it’s like a human coma without less uncertainty and danger.
Phantom spends the first long part of the book in the thermos, so when Grace remembers his supposed ghost help he finally is able to let Phantom out. Now Phantom is actively processing his capture when events are happening instead of during the years the ship was travelling out to Tau Ceti.
(Most of the above still probably applicable but you get to decide when to unleash the ‘freshly’ traumatised teen and throw Rocky for a bigger loop. And you get Stratt looking at earlier video logs wondering just where the ghost is and regretting that it wasn’t hooked up to the ship’s computer for release.)
(After Adrian: “Okay, so the trip was a success despite our close demises, but look who I remembered!” *Grace pulls Phantom on screen* “It’s Phantom! Could’ve used his memories earlier, but can’t go back now, huh?”)
Or maybe the GIW manages to make some form of supressor limiting Phantom's more dangerous abilities and or putting him through a timer before forcing phantom to stop what ever it's doing. And tells/forces Stratt to either allow the limitor be on Phantom (If Stratt doesn't out right kidnaps/steal the ghost from them in the first place) or go without the "evil unthinking echo of emotions" on the Hail Mary.
Stratt receives an email from a student at an American Ivy-league school with the subject line “Ecto-Entities”:
Dear Eva Stratt,
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing because I know of a resource that could be incredibly beneficial, possibly even crucial to your mission.
There is an organization in the USA called the Ghost Investigation Ward (GIW) which harbors beings called “ecto-entities”, colloquially known as “ghosts”. One ghost in particular that the GIW has in their custody is an ecto-entity called Danny Phantom, who I believe could aid in saving humanity.
Danny Phantom has several abilities that could prove to be beneficial when on a space mission, including being able to disregard gravity, thus not requiring zero-grav training prior to the mission. He can also phase through objects, and he does not require oxygen, which leaves more resources on board available for the humans who will be on the craft. Ghosts are also able to withstand enormous atmospheric pressure, or lack thereof, without adverse effects, so he would not require a suit when leaving the ship. He has many other abilities I haven’t listed, but which are less likely to be useful on such a journey. If you’re interested, I can provide you with a comprehensive list.
Something else of note is that over the years, research has suggested that ghosts have something called an “obsession”. Their obsession can be anything from hunting to music to boxes, to any other subject you could think of. This obsession fuels them, and is their reason to remain on Earth, sort of like unfinished business. Danny Phantom is unique in that he has dual obsessions. One of these obsessions is outer space. He can tell you the exact location of a star or planet at any given time, even during the day. He knows how to pilot a space shuttle as well as any trained astronaut. His freckles even glow like constellations when he’s talking about space. And his other obsession is protecting others from harm. There’s not much to say about this other than that he has thrown himself into danger without a single thought for his own wellbeing countless times in order to protect others from harm. He would risk his own life one thousand times over in order to save just one person, much less billions. I’m sure you can see how useful he could be in saving the world, as it seems like this mission was designed for him.
I am aware this is a suicide mission, and that if he is to go, he will never be able to return, but I know that this is better than his current situation. For nearly two years, the GIW has had him in their possession, and I don’t like to imagine what they’re doing to him there in the name of research. Even before they captured him, they promised to him on several occasions that once they had him, they would conduct as many “painful experiments” on him as they could before he perished, and I can’t imagine they’ve broken that promise.
While his obsessions are perfectly tailored to your cause, I am also writing to you as a plea for you to save him. My family and I, as well as his friends and their families, have been working endlessly since his capture to free him, to no avail. I know that even though he would die on this mission, that is a far kinder fate than what he is experiencing as I write this email. He is a genuinely good person who would do anything to help those around him, and I can’t stand the thought that he will rot in that prison while the rest of us move on with our lives.
Thank you for hearing me out. I hope you will at least humor me and look into it. And if you do, please don’t believe anything the GIW tells you about him.
Holy ghosts this was a prompt where I couldn’t find anything to do with. Becauseeee, I don’t want to spend too much time on drawing these prompts. But thanks to all the friends that helped me to figure stuff out :D <3
“Anyone seen Danny?” asked Maddie, glancing around as she stood in front of the table. “Thought he was going to help with the garage sale.”
“That little shit went on a run again,” hissed Jack, his voice low, narrowing his eyes.
“Jack!” yelled Maddie between closed teeth, crossing her arms against her chest and pointed a finger at him. “Don’t talk like that about our son. He has been helping with setting up the garage sale like a good boy, until that ghost scum of a Phantom showed up.”
“You’re right, Mads.” His shoulders slumped. “At least I sucked that ghost into the Fenton Thermos.”
“Yes, that’s all right,” she said and exhaled heavily, turning around to look at the table that was cluttered with FentonWorks devices. “I suppose we can deal with that later.”
“Now,” began Jack, “let’s sell some anti-ghost stuff to the townspeople so they can begin to protect themselves.”
“Yes,” said Maddie. “We should put up a sign as well. Don’t you think?”
I just have been getting back on Tumblr and realized it's also DannyMay this month!! My challenge has been to make a Mermay drawing once a week to get myself back into drawing, AND I've been itching to draw my favorite ghost boy again so TA DAAAAAA I combined them!! 😅
Today's prompt was pets, so of course I had to include Danny's doggo Cujo 😈😈😈
And here's my sketch!! I kinda rushed to get this one out on time so I missed a few details here...OOPS 🤡
