Danny Phantom Angst centered around what I consider one of the most sinister of his villains: Spectra.
So if ghost cores aren’t treated as a given, then essentially a ghost is a soul that can interact directly with its environment. So attacking and damaging a ghost is more than just hurting a body, it would damage its soul. Maybe this presents itself as them forgetting something, a name, a place, the taste of their favorite ice cream, the feeling of being hugged by their mom, seeing their child for the first time. Maybe this takes away their emotional connection to things. Their favorite book suddenly holds no joy for them, they don’t care about their favorite hobbies. That kind of damage would whittle away at the very humanity of these beings that used to be human, and all they have left are scraps that they desperately are holding onto.
What if Spectra used to be a decent person? Maybe not good, but at one time maybe a good therapist. The ghost zone is a dangerous place. Years of surviving there has taken so much. Do you focus on her decent into what she becomes, a cruel monster that feeds off of the misery she inflicts on others? Can she even tell how far she has fallen anymore? What does it mean to carry that kind of damage, and what does it mean to try and heal from that? If not return to who she was before, can she at least become something closer to it?
concept: danny leaves a corpse behind when he gets turned into a half-ghost, and he’s not happy about it. in fact, he’s so not happy about it that he tries to butcher his own corpse in an existential panic attack
because can you imagine the unreality of it all, staring down at your own corpse? how it doesn’t have to live with your mistakes?
just bending down to strangle your own corpse because youre jealous of how it gets to rest in peace but you dont? ripping into your own dead flesh with a knife because you want to make it hurt as much as you hurt right now? trying to gouge out the body’s scars and bruises because those are yours, and you can’t accept somebody else owning them?
Sooo I wrote a Part 2 for the Everyone Knows AU part of angstfest. (Anything to avoid editing my IB fic right now, apparently)
Part One of this fic is here if you missed it!
Danny sits in the passenger seat of Jazz’s car, leaning his head against the window as his Mom drives them in silence, her hands tightly gripping the steering wheel. His Dad and sister are back at FentonWorks, since his parents insisted it would be best if Danny and his Mom went alone, and it’s been hours since he’s seen any real signs of civilization. The further they travel from home the worse he feels, some nagging sense of discomfort and uneasiness that won’t relent, even as he knows this is to help him.
For over a year and a half, he’s been experiencing fainting spells and blackouts every time there’s a ghost attack. He’s lucky his friends have managed to keep it hidden from his peers at school, since he knows Dash’s bullying would only increase if he knew Danny was so terrified of the ghosts that he fainted every time one appeared. They tried to keep it from his parents, too, with his sister Jazz’s help, even as Danny couldn’t understand why. But every time he thought about telling them in the past, his jaw would lock up and the words would die before he could utter even a single syllable.
Yet now they know. He remembers waking up in the lab, not sure how he made it there, his parents sobbing as Jazz hovered in the corner, arms crossed over her chest as she watched the three of them warily. They said something to him, explained something even as they lectured Jazz, too, about keeping this a secret, but the words slipped from his fingers within minutes, and whatever confession they made was lost to him. But he can remember the fear in their eyes, the way they trembled and shook, and the odd sense that they were afraid of him rather than for him. He can remember asking if he should go to a doctor and the way they paled, adamantly refusing to bring him to anyone for weeks. It’s only now that they’ve finally agreed to bring him to see some specialist way out in Wisconsin.
It used to be that whenever this happened, something would push back in his own subconscious eventually, reassuring him that it was fine, that he was fine, that there was nothing to worry about. It would smother him like a comforter in the middle of a snowstorm, warm and inviting and soft even as it felt entirely too heavy and like he really ought to be outside helping to dig out from the blizzard instead of hiding inside beneath his covers, but he still let it, the embrace too kind and safe for him to push back against. But this time he could not forget, not when his parents flinched every time he entered a room, not when they seemed so afraid even after so many weeks. Danny wishes he knew what he did wrong, what they fear about him, why they seem to almost hate him at times. It hurts, the ache so intense that there are moments when he swears something within him is fracturing and slowly crumbling to pieces, and he hopes this specialist can help repair whatever’s been broken.
When they finally arrive, though, it’s not at a doctor’s office but a massive mansion. “Are you sure we’re in the right place?” he asks, cocking an eyebrow.
“I’m sure,” she insists as she unbuckles her seatbelt while Danny steps out of the car. Despite the bright colors and decor, something in him uncurls in his gut like a snake, rearing back and ready to strike, and Danny shivers as he fights back against the odd sensation.
The man who greets them is tall with silver hair pulled back into an elegant ponytail tied with a red silk ribbon that probably costs more than Danny’s entire wardrobe. He’s wearing a dark black suit and red tie, and the way he smiles reminds Danny of a crocodile or a shark. It’s as if he’s slime given form and Danny shudders.
“Hello, Vlad,” says Mom.
“My dearest Maddie,” he says, kissing his mother on both cheeks. “How lovely to see you after so long. And what a pleasure to meet you, young Daniel. I’ve heard quite a bit about you.” He offers him his hand and Danny shakes it, barely resisting the urge to pull away immediately since the man’s grip is too hot, like fire burns beneath his fingertips. A small, absurd part of him wonders if he’s the devil, if his parents are planning to make some terrible deal (or admit to having done so long ago given his issues), but he pushes his fears down.
“Thanks, I guess, but I don’t know anything about you,” replies Danny, and the man flinches briefly before recovering. “My Mom said you could help me with my fainting spells and blackouts, though.”
“Ah, yes. Your ‘fainting spells,’” he says bemusedly, as if in quotes, and that defensive, roiling in his gut returns, more pronounced than before.
“Vlad,” says Mom sternly. “Please. Can you help him?”
“That depends entirely on what you mean by help, but I’ll see what I can do,” he says with a small smirk, and Danny bristles even as his Mom seems satisfied with the response. “Follow me.”
The two of them walk through the massive mansion. It’s decked out in Packers paraphernalia, which seems completely at odds with the perfectly poised man in front of him. “You’re a cheesehead?” says Danny.
“Indeed. I’ve tried to buy the Packers several times, too, but to no avail,” he says, teeth gritted, and Danny suspects the man isn’t told ‘no’ very often. He worries what that means for him and his potential treatment.
“What kind of specialist are you?” he asks.
“I am technically a business owner, but I’ve done extensive research into unique types of ecto entities,” he says, watching Danny out of the corner of his eye. “Entities like yourself.”
“I’m not–I’m human,” he objects, and he can feel that buzzing, that comfortable embrace pulling on him, and he tries to resist it but finds himself unwilling to do so for long, and by the time he’s aware once more he’s standing on the stairs to a basement lab, unable to remember what Vlad’s specialty is, what else they talked about or how they even made it here.
“What did you say you specialized in?” he asks, and Vlad pauses on the stairs in front of them, turning to him with a frown.
“See?” says Mom. “I told you already, Vlad, he can’t remember for more than a minute or two.”
“Remember what?” asks Danny irritably.
“That I’m a specialist who can help you with your blackouts and medical issues,” says Vlad, and Danny frowns. That’s frustratingly non-specific, even as it’s almost certainly, technically true.
“So like a neurologist?” he presses.
“Something like that,” he says, and Danny scowls as he follows him the rest of the way into the lab, not sure why they won’t tell him the truth, not sure why he can’t remember if they already did.
The lab itself is incredibly high-tech. There’s no repurposed household items like there are in his parents’ lab, and everything is carefully organized, labeled, and tucked away. In one corner sits a massive portal, and Danny’s eyes widen as he takes in the green swirling within it, recognizing it for what it is. “You’re an ecto scientist?” he says, turning to the man as he puts on a lab coat.
“Indeed, though I specialize in many other areas, too,” he says. “Maddie, dear, why don’t you have a seat over there while I examine young Daniel?”
His Mom pauses, eyeing Vlad warily for a moment before finally relenting and taking a seat at one of the empty lab benches. “And you, child, come here,” he insists, beckoning to him like Danny’s an obedient puppy, and Danny glares as he takes a seat on the bed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I need to do a quick scan. Please lay back.”
“What kind of scan?” He won’t simply do what this man asks, not without knowing more first. Not when even his Mom looks nervous.
“Think of it like an MRI or x-ray. I promise, it’s harmless,” he says, flashing his teeth in a way that’s meant to be reassuring but is far too predatory, and Danny shivers as he looks at his Mom. She gives a small smile that’s not half as reassuring as he hoped even as she nods for him to do as Vlad says, and Danny sighs as he lays down on the bed, letting his hands rest on his stomach, his fingers twisting around in his shirt as he ignores the pounding of his heart and the sweat on his palms.
‘I’ll be fine,’ he thinks stubbornly to himself, and he feels that odd sense of warmth, of a hug from something within his chest and relaxes as Vlad wheels over some strange scanner. It moves slowly over him, hovering for a long time near where his heart and lungs are before progressing, and then Vlad sits down at a computer for a few minutes as he reviews the results, humming thoughtfully as Danny’s Mom walks over and peers over his shoulder.
“Is that . . .?” she asks, pointing to something on the screen.
“Yes. But see this? There’s disconnection here,” he says, pointing to it and moving his finger, and Danny angles his head to try and see what they’re looking at but he can’t, the screen angled away from him too much. He starts to sit up when his Mom looks at him and shakes her head, and with a sigh he lays back down, drumming his fingers on his stomach impatiently. Clearly they’ve found something, and he feels like he has a right to know what. “The pathways didn’t form properly, and if they aren’t repaired, he’s not going to survive for much longer. You can already see the damage to his internal organs.”
Danny swallows, his blood running cold. He’s going to die? He didn’t–he can’t be–
“Can you fix it?” she asks, interrupting his thoughts.
“I think so, but it may be a bit traumatic,” Vlad says, “and with the disconnection having lasted so long, I’m not certain how cooperative he’ll be when it comes to the required treatment. Still, the memory issues are more severe than they ought to be even in this case. I have my suspicions about the cause, but I’ll need to provoke him to confirm it.”
“What?” Danny’s heart is beating rapidly and he’s sitting up now, staring at them with wide eyes, unable to hold back his terror even as he can begin to feel that tug at him, that warmth, but he won’t give into it this time. He can’t. He needs to know.
“I would explain it, child, but you won’t remember,” sighs Vlad as he stands up. “Do you trust your mother?”
“I–what?” he sputters. Aside from it sounding like he’s probably dying, Danny’s still not sure what’s happening here, even as Vlad and his mom do seem to understand, and he desperately wants them to explain it to him, to tell him the truth, for someone to be honest with him just once.
“I would prefer your consent, of course, but you literally cannot give it due to your condition,” he explains, which makes absolutely no sense to Danny. “I’m asking if you trust your mother so she can at least grant it on your behalf.”
His mouth opens automatically to say that of course he trusts her, but then he pauses, the words dying on his tongue. Does he trust her? She’s brought him here with little to no explanation, and like with his sister and his friends, Danny knows nothing about why or what’s happening to him besides the blackouts. They all claim they’ve told him about it before–even this Vlad guy seems to suggest as much–but he hates that he can’t remember, hates that he has nothing to fall back on to confirm that they all have his best interest at heart beyond his own gut feeling. And his instincts right now are diametrically opposed, screaming at each other to reassure Vlad that he trusts her even as another part insists that he can’t, that he shouldn’t, that she’ll hurt him and he needs to be kept safe and he can feel that part forcibly pushing down on his ability to say yes, to let them know they can do the treatment, that they need to move forward and–
Danny blinks, struggling to remember what he was thinking about, what question he was supposed to answer. “I–sorry–can you . . . what did you say?” he whispers, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, and Vlad tilts his head to the side.
“Interesting,” he hums. “But it does provide more proof for what I suspect is occurring. Maddie, dear, do I have your permission?”
“But he–”
“I’m not sure he can,” interrupts Vlad as Danny stares at them cluelessly, not sure what they’re talking about again. He’s lost some more time, he’s sure, but he doesn’t know why. He doesn’t think he fainted or fully blacked out, yet the last thing he can remember is laying down on the table before Vlad prepared to start the scan, and he shivers, rubbing his arms.
She turns to look at him, and then walks over, putting a hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be okay, hon,” she says and then she gives him a hug, squeezing him tightly, but he can feel her trembling even as she tries to reassure him. “I promise, okay?”
“I–okay,” he manages, the word choking its way past, and then she walks back to Vlad.
“Maddie, my dear, you’ll need to stay here, please,” he insists, and Mom nods as Vlad comes over with something Danny recognizes. It’s a portable ghost shield, although the design is different from the one his parents use, and Vlad presses a finger against a sensor, activating around them as Danny’s heart beats faster now and the thing in his gut rears back, ready to strike as Vlad’s eyes flash impossibly red and a set of black rings appear around his waist, and–
Danny’s body drops to the table as Phantom emerges, hissing and shrieking at the intruder and ghost before him, tackling him with his claws as his brain screams at him to protect, protect, protect! The ghost puts up a shield, eyeing him lazily as he speaks, his words full of fire and ash even as they sound human, too, smothered beneath the surface of the water. “Enough, child,” he insists, using human words, but he can see the ripples in his aura, the subtle shifts that indicate his intentions, and he pauses with his claws outstretched, ectoblast building between the black tips. “So you are sentient enough, at least, to understand. Can you speak?”
He hisses, echoes and static and chirps as his aura flares in response, letting him know that he sees the threat but that he’s unafraid, that he will protect Danny and his mother from the ghost in front of him. There are no real words, not in the way there is with human speech simply because there doesn’t need to be, his intentions and meaning clear enough for any ghost to understand.
“Ah. I thought not, based on what we saw in the scans,” he muses. Black rings appear around his waist and he shifts, the dark haired ghost with bluish skin and fire in his hands and eyes vanishing beneath a human facade. “I promise I intend no harm.”
The words mean less to Phantom now than they would’ve if Vlad spoke them before transforming. Vlad’s aura is muted this way, his intentions less clear even as Phantom can taste the ash on his tongue as the man speaks, the echo of Vlad’s otherness apparent to him, and Phantom floats forward, tilting his head around as he puts a clawed hand on Vlad’s chest to better feel the pulsing of his core beneath his flesh.
“Vlad, are you–” begins Mom, her words sounding distant and submerged beneath waves. It’s always so hard for him to hear and understand the humans that speak to him, even as he tries since he doesn’t want to hurt them. He needs to protect them. He needs to keep them safe.
“I’m quite fine,” he insists, even as Phantom hisses a warning at him. “Are you done posturing? I’m here to help you, Daniel. Or do you prefer Phantom?” Phantom’s aura flares, spiking and sending a mixture of signals. “You are not helping him.” His claws extend, pushing intangibly through his skin, grasping his core, but Vlad remains calm despite the clear threat. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. You are disconnected from yourself this way. You leave behind your body each time, and eventually, no matter how much your friends and family intervene, you will not be able to return to it.”
He turns his head more, floating upside down, his tail spiraling behind him as he considers the words. Vlad’s core is too tightly grasped between his fingers for him to hide his intentions, and there’s truth there, at least as far as Vlad sees it, and Phantom sends a questioning chirp. “You are meant to be a single entity,” he says. “But your core is not fully connected to your biological systems. It’s created a barrier between you and Daniel, an artificial wall that should not exist, and it’s harming both of you.”
Phantom hisses reflexively, showing his sharp teeth as he lets one of his claws dig into Vlad’s core, and the man winces but otherwise hides his distress at the intrusion. “You can’t keep denying it and hiding the truth from your human half. I know you’re trying to protect him. I know you’re trying to help. But it’s hurting him. He’s confused and upset and scared. You’re leaving his body behind whenever you respond to the intruders in your haunt, as you’ve done here. You risk him being discovered, being captured by the GIW or other ghost hunters who, unlike your parents, would not be willing to try to help you. They would experiment on him, dissect him, and ultimately destroy both of you.”
“And it’s hurting him physically, too,” says Vlad. “My scans are showing damage to his internal organs and structures. If this continues for much longer, your human half will not survive. It cannot.”
He relaxes his hand, the words coming out in a whisper of echoes and static, of uneasiness and fear.
Vlad responds quietly in kind, sending an oddly comforting response from a man whose core burns with impossible anger and resentment at the world. “I know you’re worried about how he’ll manage knowing the truth of who he is. But you cannot hide it from him forever, not without destroying him and yourself. Please, child. Allow me to help you be whole again,” he says.
He withdraws his hand, sending out a questioning burst of noise, of inquiry. Because he doesn’t want Danny to die. He doesn’t want to die.
“The integration was prevented due to the interference of your family and friends,” he explains, and his Mom flinches. “Our transformation is not meant to have artificial triggers. The use of the AED to resuscitate you, to fill your core with electricity so it can artificially force the ectoplasm within your body to bring you back, has prevented it from fully bonding to your own systems and sending the spark from within itself to revive your human half upon your transformation. You must re-enter Daniel and trigger the change yourself. You must use the energy from your own core, your own essence.”
A soft, pleading whine.
“You can,” insists Vlad. “More than that, you must.”
He moves from the man, floating over to himself, to his other half, to the part that he misses and aches for every time he leaves to take care of the ghostly threats that intrude on his haunt. Reaching out, Phantom places his hand on Danny’s chest, feeling the absence of breath, the missing life that should be there, and the gentle hum of a fragment of his own core pulsing within, that keeps him whole and alive despite the loss of his spirit even if humans can’t sense it.
And with a terrified shiver, he pushes himself inside, letting him flow into the body, to not merely overshadow and reattach but become one again as he tries to seek the spark from within his core, tries to connect his spirit and body in full. He’s not sure he can, not without the external boost, and he can feel himself holding back, his worry over how Danny will handle the truth about knowing what he is, knowing that his parents almost certainly hate him and fear him, that his friends will never accept him–
“--focus,” says Vlad, and then he feels someone gripping Danny’s hand and he opens Danny’s eyes, expecting the half-ghost, but it’s not Vlad.
It’s his Mom.
“Please, son,” she whispers, tears burning in her eyes. “Please.”
And he mumbles something in response, his aura flickering as he speaks in a language she can’t understand, and he feels her grip Danny’s hand–their hand, his hand–more tightly, trying to reassure him, to let him know he’s okay, he’s safe, that they love him and care about him as he–
–Danny blinks, gasping as he sits up, clutching at his chest. It hurts, like ice and lightning and fire pouring through his veins and he wants to scream even as it feels right, as a bright light passes over him and he shifts, feeling oddly weightless and absent for a moment before they pass over him again and he shifts once more, back to being heavy and human and present. It’s painful and terrifying yet oh so right, and somehow, that makes it worse.
And he sits for a moment, hand still clutching his chest even as his mother hasn’t let go of his other hand, as his world crashes around him, as he remembers who they are, who he is, what he is. As his memories he’s kept from himself in an effort to protect his human half crash back, slamming into him impossibly hard, moments spent in ghost fights and then burrowing himself inside his own helpless corpse as his friends were forced to endure the burden of caring for him and protecting him, and Danny lets out a keening wail that’s neither human nor ghostly in its sound but some odd blend of the two.
“I’m a monster,” he whispers, sobbing as his shoulders shake, and his Mom shifts, moving to hold him tightly to herself.
“Oh, hon,” she says, but no words follow, no gentle affirmations that she loves him, no denials about him being the horrifying creature he knows they’ve seen him as, that they’ve hunted and shot at and threatened to experiment on and–
“It’ll be okay,” she says, interrupting his spiraling thoughts as she strokes his hair. “We’ll figure it out, Danny. I promise.”
Hey, yall! I participated in @ecto-implosion this year, and I was paired with @avensartt -- here is the fantastic art she made that inspired this fic!
Puppeteer, Chapter 1
ao3 link
warnings: just a panic attack for the first chapter
*
Maddie flicked the Ectoradiation Radar on, watching the sensor boot up. The screen glowed a light green, harsh against the black grid. The brightest section of light centered on a point just left of center--that would be the ambient ectoplasm from the portal registering. A yellow spot flickered in the portal's place, as some of the fluctuations pinged significantly above average.
"Honey, do you want to head out for a patrol soon? We could use a test run on the Ectoradiation Radar," Maddie called to the other side of the lab, where Jack was maintenencing some of their weapons. "I want to make sure it's calibrated correctly, away from the portal interference."
Jack started reassembling the weapon he was working on, slamming the pieces back into place.
"Careful, Jack!"
"I am!" he called back, snapping the barrel back into place. He grabbed one of the ectocharge magazines and slotted it into the weapon. "C'mon, let's hunt some spooks!"
Maddie couldn't help but grin, clipping the Radar to her belt and starting to gather her usual weapons from the armory wall. "Don't forget to bring some extra magazines, dear."
*
The baseline scale on the side of the Ectoradiation Radar inched down the further they got from the lab, the ambient ectoplasm dropping fairly quickly once they were away from the portal. The seatbelt dug into the shoulder of Maddie's jumpsuit as Jack took a turn too fast.
"You added a range modifier to this, right, dear?"
Jack shot her a grin that took his eyes off the road long enough for him to veer into the curb. "Of course, Mads! Slider on the right." He yanked the wheel to the left, overcorrecting a bit and making the GAV wobble.
She felt along the side for the slider, watching the grid grow and shrink as she fiddled with it. "Okay, the readings are following with the scale change... take a right here, there's an area with a higher ectoradiation level I want to investigate."
The GAV jolted, crossing one too many lanes of traffic to turn at the light. A car horn was just audible over the squealing of tires.
"This looks like the way to the high school," Jack commented.
Maddie glanced up from the Radar screen to scan the buildings around them. "I think that's where the higher readings are centered on--the scale looks right. I didn't think it was that large of a difference, though."
"We should get some updated readings."
"That could be useful." She glanced over her shoulder at the back of the GAV, past the back seat to where they kept the equipment. "Do we still have the other instruments? I want to get a cross reference to make sure the sensitivity's right on the Ectoradiation Radar"
"Pretty sure!" Jack took another sharp corner, pealing into the virtually empty parking lot and slamming on the breaks. He barely paused to yank the gearshift to park before he threw himself out the driver's door. "C'mon, let's check it out!"
Maddie scrambled to unbuckle her seatbelt and follow him, barely fighting back a grin from the excitement.
She ducked under Jack's arm to get to the GAV's stash, fishing out the computer display for the Signature Sensor from one of the miscellaneous bins, plugging it into the readings equipment while Jack booted it up.
Maddie handed the display over and twisted the settings dial on the Ectoradiation Radar, turning it from 'area' to 'local'. The grid disappeared in favor of a list of numbers, a flood of scales and measurements that brought a smile to Maddie's face. "Okay, what are you getting for ambient?"
"Just under one rem per hour. Yours?"
"Zero point nine four, and the estimated digit keeps varying between... two and five. Most of that is tied to a signature--a lot of that is signature. Are you picking anything up?"
Jack frowned, sweeping the Sensor around a bit more. His eyes stayed trained on the display, searching for change. "Nope, no spooks."
"Right, it must have been recent, then." Maddie hummed. "There have been a lot of sightings here, it could have raised the baseline. Should check the logs when we get back..."
"Is it that much higher?" Jack leaned over her shoulder to glance at the Ectoradiation Radar's screen. "I don't think we measured type of ecto when we found Amity Park's standard, should we--"
They both froze as the Signature Sensor's display computer beeped, eyes flicking to the screen.
Jack let out a bark of laughter. "It's Phantom! C'mon Mads, let's go!"
*
Jack was going at least double the local speed limit to keep their quarry in range, little flickers of a tail in the sky or readings on the Signature Sensor's display keeping them on path.
"It's switching course--left, turn left!" Maddie shouted, leaning to try and follow Phantom's path. She braced herself before Jack threw the GAV to the side. It shuddered as the wheels slammed back into the asphalt, and they raced down the road.
"Looks like it's leading up towards the woods, Mads!"
They managed to keep on its tail up until town limits and the road veered away from the ghost's path. They'd have to go on foot to follow, with how dense the trees grew---no luck getting the GAV through there.
They were out the second Jack parked, grabbing the most essential equipment before striking out.
It was slow going, trying to trek through the underbrush after Phantom's ectosignature. It didn't take long for Phantom's ectosignature to travel out of range, leaving them to follow the general direction the ghost had been taking and hope they'd stumble on the path again.
It was dim, the canopy blocking most of the evening light. Jack had the Signature Sensor at the ready, and Maddie kept the Ectoradiation Radar in hand just in case. They kept a brisk pace, doing their best to keep their direction consistent.
They were maybe thirty minutes in before Maddie spotted a change on her screen, a little sliver of brighter green at the top of her screen. "Look, Jack, there's an area up ahead with more ectoradiation--we found something."
"Let's go check it out," Jack cheered, diving back into the underbrush. Maddie followed his wake, letting him push aside bushes and trample the plants so she could keep an eye on the screen, watch that sliver of green get wider, grow brighter. The area baseline creeped up with every step, well past the readings they got around Casper High. If this was some sort of natural phenomenon, it was groundbreaking. Possibilities starting flipping through Maddie's mind. A large amount of microportals, maybe? Or an overlap of several haunts all coalescing into a cesspit of residual ectosignatures? Maybe even a place for assembling shades or blob ghosts, or some sort of old graveyard.
"Mads, I'm getting a reading again. It's nearby."
They shared a look. This could be their chance.
Maddie clipped the Ectoradiation Radar to her tool belt and grabbed her recorder, the gentle click of it starting almost deafening in the still, darkening woods.
"Recording 026B-03," Maddie whispered, reading off the label on the tape. "Research topic, where Phantom goes after a sighting. We have been following it through the forest for..." She glanced at her watch. "...seventy-four minutes. It seems that--"
"Mads!" Jack hissed, barely quieting his voice. "The ectosignature's getting stronger--it's close."
Right, game time.
"Get ready." Maddie slipped the still-running recorder back into her belt, bringing a weapon to the ready. Jack followed suit, and they creeped forward,
"There." Jack took a step forward, pushing some of the underbrush aside to get a better look. The glow was just barely visible under the sunlight filtering through the canopy, discoloring the foliage around it more than illuminating anything. It was fuzzy around the edges, insubstantial, like static forced into solidity. All black and white and bright vivid green that barely looked substantial. A messy, smoky impression of hair, a long, whispy tail, glowing white claws hooked under the arms of an unconsious teen.
Phantom didn't seem to register their presence, too busy drifting through the underbrush, clutching at the boy he was carrying around. The grip looked secure, possessive, with how deep its claws were latched into his hoodie. The taste of static sat heavy on her tongue.
Jack's face set with resolve, and he aimed the Fenton Bazooka right at it. "Put him down, ghost."
Phantom's head snapped around to stare at them, neck twisting just too far to be natural. The only features on its face were the two green specks of light where eyes should have been. It pulled the teenager a little closer, claws catching on the seams on the shoulders of his hoodie, leaving little tears Maddie could just barely make out in the dying light.
Maddie's grip tightened on her own weapon, and she moved a few steps to the left, just far enough that Phantom had to swivel his head to look between the two of them. "We're not going to let you hurt an innocent child."
The ghost's face split open in mockery of a mouth, jagged with the impression of teeth, and let out a sound like nails against a chalkboard that made their audio filters hiss. It started to back up, grip not faltering.
Maddie took a step forward, heard Jack follow suit. "We're not asking again, spook. Let him go." Her eyes flicked down to the unconscious teenager. The hoodie looked familiar.
The barrel of her ectogun drifted as she tried to make out his face in the poor lighting. Was that... "Danny?"
Phantom let out another squawk of grating static and Maddie couldn't help but flinch that time, weapon pulling back up to aim directly at its chest, but the space where the ghost--the ghost holding her son--had been was empty, the faint, sickly green light gone. Her eye's snapped to Jack, fumbling for the Sensor's display.
She held her breath for a beat while he checked, but Jack just shook his head.
Phantom was gone.
*
Shit. Fuck.
He could hear himself trying to breath, like radio interference echoing through the empty observatory. He needed to switch back, before his--his parents managed to catch up, or track him down like they had in the woods. They had been right there, in the middle of--
The world was getting fuzzy, turning to static around him. Danny could barely register his hoodie tearing even further as his claws dug into it, still unable to let go of his body. He couldn't still be ghost when--if his parents got here, holding his dead fucking body, but he could hardly think through the sheer panic of being so, so very close to his parents finding out.
He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to force himself back to human, but he couldn't get the change to take through his core screaming at him to hide, that he was in danger.
Shit, what was he supposed to do if they stayed there and kept looking? They couldfind the graves, find--
Danny let out a whine, high and shrill, and pulled his body closer, burying his face in his hair. He still needed to bury himself, he couldn't just... not go back there, he...
He needed to find Sam and Tucker, or Jazz, just somebody. He scrambled for his body, grabbing his phone from the pocket of his jeans. His claws scrabbled against the screen, password failing a few times before he managed to hit the right buttons and unlock. The message to the group chat was riddled with so many typos it was almost unreadable, but his phone started to ring just a few beats later.
Tucker's voice came through the speaker the second he hit answer. "Hey, Danny, what happened?"
Danny let out another wheeze of static, curling closer to his body.
"You're still in ghost form? Um. Nothing for no, sound for yes, alright?"
He tried to parrot the words back, but trying to force out the sounds just jumbled them together into nonsense. Sound. Yes. Good enough.
"Alright--are you safe?"
It was harder to swallow back the noises than it was to speak.
"Can you get home?"
He bit down on his nails to keep the static in.
"Could you get to my or Sam's house?"
Yes, yes--Danny let the burst of noise force itself out from behind his teeth.
"Go to whichever is closer, I'll let Sam know--want me to stay on the call?"
The staticy whine echoed through the observatory, and Danny tugged his body further into his chest.
Ah yes, January. The month where people get stuck in snow on the highway for 19 hours in a row… Why the fuck do we get snow in november and january but not december?
Giving traumatic backstories to your characters is like bringing a new life into your readers. It makes your characters relatable and more human, bringing a sense of attachment between your readers and the characters.
Scars to remind them of their rough past.
(Extra points if they've tried to get rid of them but were unsuccessful)
2. Death of a close family member or friend.
(Extra points if they had to witness the death or couldn't move on from it)
3. The Character is an outcaste to society/ friends/ family
4. Abusive childhood/ Neglected as a child
5. Fire survivor
6. Being gaslighted or manipulated by someone close leads to severe trust issues and a distorted sense of reality.
7. Developing severe anxiety, PTSD, or other mental health disorders due to a traumatic experience.
8. Unsuccessful suicidal attempts due to fear of societal judgment from people.
9. They mentally torment themself in fear of becoming like someone they hate.
The summer season means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. These questions will help you figure out what your OC is like in the summertime! You can answer these yourself at your leisure, or you can ask your followers to send you numbers. Have fun!
(01) Does your OC have any summer traditions?
(02) What things does your OC associate with summer?
(03) What is your OC’s favorite summer memory?
(04) Does your OC ever go to outdoor festivals or fairs in the summer?
(05) Does your OC ever go to fireworks displays in the summer?
(06) What is your OC’s favorite way to cool down on a hot day?
(07) What is your OC’s favorite frozen treat?
(08) Has your OC ever gone to a summer camp?
(09) Does your OC ever go camping in the summer?
(10) Does your OC take vacations in the summer?
(11) What is your OC’s favorite food to roast over a fire?
(12) Has your OC ever run a lemonade stand?
(13) Does your OC ever go to barbecues or host their own?
(14) What does your OC’s typical summer outfit include?
(15) Is there any summer clothing that your OC refuses to wear?
(16) What does your OC’s swimsuit look like?
(17) Does your OC do anything different with their hair in the summer?
(18) What is your OC’s preferred style of sandal?
(19) Does your OC take any measures in order to avoid sweating?
(20) Is your OC more or less social in summer than the rest of the year?
(21) What can your OC typically be found doing on a summer night?
(22) Does your OC ever wear insect repellent?
(23) How often does your OC use sunscreen?
(24) Does your OC ever get sunburnt?
(25) What song is a must-have on your OC’s summer playlist?
(26) What would your OC’s novelty pool float look like?
(27) Does your OC ever do any summer reading challenges?
(28) Does your OC ever partake in summer romances?
(29) What is your OC’s favorite way to have a water fight?
(30) Does your OC ever go to yard sales, or host their own?
(31) Does your OC attend any family reunions during the summer?
(32) Does your OC ever get a summer job?
(33) Does your OC ever mow their own lawn, or someone else’s lawn?
(34) What’s something your OC does ing summer but not any other season?
(35) How does your OC feel when summer ends?
you:
me:
me: here’s a weird oc ask meme involving various mysterious, supernatural, and paranormal subjects that you can fill out on your own or with the help of your followers 👽✌
(01) Is your OC superstitious?
(02) Would your OC be phased about walking under a ladder?
(03) What would your OC do if a black cat crossed their path?
(04) How would your OC react if they broke a mirror?
(05) Does your OC avoid any certain numbers? If so, which ones, and why?
(06) What is your OC’s favorite cryptid?
(07) Would your OC ever go cryptid hunting? Why or why not?
(08) What does your OC think about ghosts?
(09) Has your OC ever seen a ghost?
(10) Would your OC ever go ghost hunting? Why or why not?
(11) What does your OC think about magic? Is your OC generally for or against magic?
(12) Does your OC know any magic? If so, is it a natural talent or a learned skill?
(13) What would your OC say would be their favorite use for magic?
(14) Has/would your OC ever made a deal with a magical or supernatural entity?
(15) What form does/would your OC’s familiar take?
(16) Has your OC ever traveled into the past? If so, did they change anything?
(17) Has your OC ever traveled into the future? If so, what was it like?
(18) Has your OC ever had a prophetic vision or dream? If so, what did they see?
(19) Has your OC ever had an out of body experience or astral projected?
(20) Has your OC ever visited another plane of reality or existence? If so, was it by choice?
(21) Has your OC ever attended a seance or used a ouiji board? What happened?
(22) Does your OC keep things like salt, garlic, or silver on hand for defensive purposes?
(23) Has your OC ever cleansed their surroundings with things like sage or holy water?
(24) Does your OC believe in the existence of extraterrestrials? Why or why not?
(25) Does your OC believe any conspiracy theories? If so, which ones, and why?
(26) What would your OC do if they were face to face with a rabid zombie?
(27) Would your OC allow a vampire into their home?
(28) Has your OC ever witnessed a werewolf transformation?
(29) How likely is it that your OC would be charmed by and fall prey to mermaids?
(30) What supernatural creature would your OC most prefer to be?
