Actually? You know what would be darkly hilarious?
If, when the GIW can't get ghosts declared both malicious AND non-sapient/sentient? They push for "dumb animals" instead.
Which is accepted. Ghosts are animals. Checks out, says scientists everywhere.
HOW "dumb"?
What? Says the GIW, mid-victory high fives. They did not expect a follow up question. They SHOULD have, as this is the SCIENTIFIC community and that is literally their job, but here we are.
How. "Dumb"? The scientists repeate slower. What methodology did you use? What is your sample size? Are their different sub-species? Is this dimension like ours? Is Ghost the equivalent to Mammal? It says here their are humanoid ones.
What IQ are we talking about here and HOW DID YOU TEST??
A goldfish, parrot, and dolphin are all animals. WILDLY different levels of intelligence. You can't treat them the same. Technically speaking, WE are animals.
The GIW does not like where this conversation is going. Tries to shut it down.
.......well NOW the scientists are both offended AND invested. How DARE you try to push faulty science and hide the Truth from them! They're gonna do their OWN studies! *picks up the phone and dials that one embarrassing spiritualist friend they had in college* Hey! You still think you can summon ghosts? I'll pay you to try it for Science!
Oh absolutely all of this.
There are levels of ethical considerations for animal-based research. You can do just about anything you want to a fruit fly or a worm. But fish? You're getting into vertebrates, there. And mice need some definite reasoning to use them as test subjects.
And then you start getting into rabbits. Dogs. Monkeys.
All model organisms, of course, and used for scientific research, but if you want funding, you need to show that your experiments hold to certain ethical standards.
And the biologists especially would be all over categorizing ghosts. You mean there's entire ecosystems I can base my graduate work on? Brand new phylogenies and non-DNA based life forms?!
Not to mention that college students in general and grad students in particular are petty as heck and overworked and underappreciated and would relish a chance to actually open up a new field of study to the younger generations of scientists.
A chance to NEVER hear "well, ACTUALLY.." ever again? Or be corrected by that one teacher they HATED? Be THE leading expert in their field? *already packing bags* let them in! LET THEM IIIIIN! They don't CARE if it might be hostile to human life! So is Chicago! Beep beep! All aboard the research bus to The Zone!
I kind of want the Fenton Parents to have already learned and accepted Danny’s status as a halfa. They’ve already been studying ghost culture at this point for about a year. Studying the types of engineering leaps they’ve made separate from the living. Their biochemistry and medical advances.
Jacks spent a lot of time with Technus and Skulker. Maddie is having a blast with Frostbite. They have truly become masters in their field.
It’s Maddie that makes the suggestion to the GIW that they try to get the ghost categorized as animals. She predicted this, and she’s petty. She’s also loving having so many young interested minds to teach. The Fenton Parents had already gotten teaching degrees back in college, they were pioneering a new science! They expected to be teaching a lot sooner than they did. They push for Danny and his friends to do the same, double major in their preferred fields and teaching.
Now the Drs Fenton are leading the charge and rubbing it in the faces of all those people that mocked them. With every one of their new students right there with them, just a vicious about it. The new grant money for their research is nice too.
Danny comes on with two blob ghosts. One is extremely intelligent. Like, Alsatian smart. Is a good blob! Best blob! Other one? Very much a fish brain. Like those fish who eat plankton. No thought a head empty. Only food. Gets to show how appearance? Does not denote intelligence level. Yes more complex forms often means higher intelligence. But not always.
The researchers? Go wild. This field? Is the best. So good. So much to learn!!! And then they meet Clockwork.
"And then they meet Clockwork."
And then they're faced with a dilemma:
How do test an organism for a type of intelligence that supersedes human intelligence?
That is playing along as if humouring a young child no less. By this point everything the GIW said has already been completely invalidated. Now they have the data from Clockwork? Well they can rub it in that bit more.
And? Given the clear Time Powers? DOES he? How can you test that? How do you test someone who can SEE all possible answers and incorrect choices? It doesn't take much intelligence to read off a list they can see over your shoulder. Is this HIS answer or the answer he knows is CORRECT?
It's awesome. The BEST and most FASCINATING series of tests ever done. I bet world class scientists literally FIGHT for the chance to be there for when Clockwork is feeling agreeable.
Because? He is, no joke, THE 5th dimensional being. (All ghosts being 4th dimensional, since they exsist as Self and Soul and Core and-) (they see them soul shrimp colors, man. Bodies kinda limit you.) He exsists BEYOND, through, and IS Time.
IMAGINE WHAT WE CAN LEARN!!! :D
But also? Dear God the STRESS Danny and the supervisors must feel? Because obviously, Danny and the Fentons DID give them the run down on -> "not EVERY citizen on this reality is Human friendly or even remotely safe. Think human intelligent piranhas and mega-fauna sized parasites. It's not PERSONAL, just INHERENT for some of them. They are dangerous by nature, to survive, etc.
But also, yes. There are also criminals out there. And assholes. Tread carefully."
Because?
Itty bitty Interns racing off to try and talk to Undergrowth and Nocturn for their ecological or sleep studies. 😬😨😱 Babies, NO!!! You will DIE!
(Hope ya'll don't mind I toss some Eldritch in here~)
And this isn't even touching on What Lurks in The Depths.
It's all well and good to study Ghosts and everything, but what about the Things that are Older Than The Ancients? What of the First Children of the Infinite?
There's a very clearly defined depth that no one will go to unless Danny is in the Specter Speeder with them.
Not because he's strong enough to deal with them.
Or particularly menacing.
No, that's for the other Little Ones that dwell in The Shallows.
For the giant squid-whale-dragon-eel things that very rarely might come up to greet their younger siblings, the little budding Ancient of Space is but a baby. A Precious Darling Little One that must be cooed and hugged and shown love to.
He's so, so precious to them. He's learned to use his Banshee's voice to sing along with them!
Phantom will make for a fine member of their pod. He will be a scholar, a teacher, a Hunt Leader, and later still, perhaps, a Father to Worlds, and Those Who Would Eat Worlds.
But for now? He is busy teaching the Humans. Those cannot bear their Presence for too long.
With a gift of pearls and scales and new songs to sing for his people, the Deep Ones return to their hunt.
There are Things deeper still that will make for sporting prey.
Let the little Human Scholars wade in their Shallows and enjoy their mortality while they can.
A Horror arises, and jaws clamp onto it to bring it down and tear it to shreds.
Knowledge is Devoured in ways that would make the most learned Humans bleed from their eyes.
Madness settles to rest.
The Infinite slumbers eternal, safe in the assurance Her Children have played their role yet again.
As always.
I am always on board for Ethical Doctors Fenton and Fenton.
I must find that fic where the JL shows up looking to rumble over ghost intelligence, and they're like wait what? GiW fraud and impersonation of them and their research.
There's an hours long slide show thankfully implied.
Lot of interesting here. I don't care for this ancient stuff. Danny is a new young hero, not some ancient set in his weirdness.
Fanon has generally decided that Danny is going to become the Ancient of Space sometime in the future.
I don't remember this from the show.
It's not. The show is 'Canon'. I said 'Fanon'. As in the collective lore of the fandom.
I understand what you said. What I am missing is the how we get from idiot hero 14-17 years old to this other thing, ancient of X, that quite frankly doesn't make sense in any capacity.
Where did it come from?
I think it came from a combination of several different things. Danny's love of space. The way Clockwork interacts with him. The relationship between time and space like the time-space continuum. And how dang powerful Danny is when he is so young.
He's not that powerful in comparison to other DC heroes and villains.
Kara Zor-el is just as powerful and is mid to late teens as well. Sure, he's got invisibility and intangibility, but she's easily got him on speed, strength, and stamina. Then there's her senses where she is hands down better in every way.
Billy Batson is usually depicted as younger than Danny, and he's a Champion of Magic. SHAZAM!
This is the problem with not knowing half the source material.
Danny also has strength, ecto-blasts, heat vision, ice powers, and several others besides. You just can't really tell most of the time with the strength because all the other ghosts have it too. And with the senses thing? Not in Fanon. He has super senses all the time in Fanon.
Danny is not kryptonian strong. I don't remember heat vision as Danny ability, and we are not talking fanon here. We are talking canon powers and abilities. So again, not kryptonian level of senses.
If we're just going to add powers to characters for no reason other than we want X to be over powered because we like it! There's gotta be some consistency or it all falls apart.
It's a, "what set of rules are we working under?" Question.
He has some sort of laser eyes though. I think it's in the episode with Undergrowth? Still. There's the difference. You are focusing on Canon. I'm not. What set of rules we're working under is up to the writer.
Then what's the point?
If you're not going to adhere to at least SOME canon, you might as well write original characters. If all you're doing is making a character an OC anyway just full on write an original.
The point is to have fun with already existing infrastructure. Some people CAN'T write a full on original. Either because of time, lack of plot bunnies, or any other of a multitude of reasons. So they read stuff here and when it gives them some inspiration, they add to it.
You write an original character in the universe you want to play in. Follow the power structure of the universe, and your character fits right in. Then you're not co-opting an established character, and you can make them have whatever powers you want.
Most people make them a Mary Sue.
Again, some people can't write a full on original, be it story or character. And some don't want to either.
Anyone can write something original. Just takes practice. So if you want to be a better writer?
Write more.
You sir are a snob. Not everyone can write more. Even when they want to.
