Paulina has always been the observant type, that’s how her fashion is perfect, her skin is (near) flawless, her friendships finely chosen, and how she knows every little bit of gossip she needs too. It’s finally time her listening skills help her with Phantom.
Paulina has always considered herself to be a scholar of three subjects: good lip gloss, hallway politics, and gossip. The first two come naturally to her, while the third requires a little bit more discipline. You have to know when to look bored while listening. And to master the slow blink that said I am absolutely not paying attention while your ears vacuumed up every word in a ten-foot area. Then, of course, you have to understand that if you carry three shopping bags and a pink iced drink, people assume nothing is going on behind your ears and eyes. People underestimate Paulina constantly, and that's exactly the way she likes it.
So when she was browsing earrings at Amity Mall on a thursday afternoon and heard the phrase ‘half a’ said like it was one word and about a person, she nearly dropped a rhinestone hoop into a potted ficus. 'Half a' what?
The voice came from the service corridor beside the food court. Low, urgent, male, “…I’m telling you, if the town finds out Phantom's is half human, a... what was it? A 'halfa' as the ghosts call it, there’ll be panic".
And Paulina had frozen behind a kiosk selling scented phone cases. Phantom? Her darling, wonderful Phantom? Defender of Amity Park? Her glowing-eyed ghost prince? Subject of at least six fan edits Paulina had saved for 'research purposes'?
Half human?
Another voice hisses back, "keep your voice down, you fool. We know he has genetic relations to someone here, someone human, but that's all we know”, scoffing, "since this messed up town's hospital won't let us access any further files".
'Genetic relations to someone'... To someone 'from here'. Someone from Amity. Someone human. Paulina slowly lowers her sunglasses despite being indoors.
No.
No no no.
This was not gossip. This was god-grade gossip. Ancient treasure gossip. Nuclear gossip.
She peeks around the corner. There's two men in white suits -G.I.W. agents, clearly, ugh- standing near a door marked AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. One's holding a metallic briefcase, and the other has the haunted expression of someone trying to figure out how to trap someone untouchable.
Briefcase Guy huffs, “…the human genetics must be how the creature can stay in our world for so long, especially without losing any power".
“I know that", responds Haunted Guy, “I’m worried whether or not finding this genetic relation will help us and our cause, or hinder it".
Briefcase Guy waves the other off, "of course it will help us, what person would want to be related to some half-ghost abomination? All we have to do is find them and threaten to tell the press what monstrosity they helped create. Besides, who cares if we upset the feelings of some freak that decided to bang an ectoplasmic manifestation".
Paulina gasps softly, those awful men were planning to try and hurt her wonderful Phantom again! She obviously can't and won't stand for that! But how? Telling him, speaking to her lovely man, would obviously be an option... but how much good what that even do? No, she needs to know the very thing these jerky G.I.W. agents want to, she needs to know Phantom's human parent. Oh mi god, she can barely believe he has human family! So cool! She bets they're really cute or beautiful or handsome -gender depending- Oh, but that's not the point right now, she has to figure this out. Both because she has to get ahead of the gossip, but also to protect her man.
The men turn, and she snaps upright and pretends to inspect a keychain rack with the intensity of a fashion designer. After a tense moment, the door shuts behind them, and Paulina relaxes a fraction. She stands motionless for three full seconds, then she spins on her heel and speed-walks to the bathroom.
Wait! If Phantom is half-human, and has a human parent, then that means she totally could have babies with him! Oh, this is the best mall trip evar.
By four pm, Paulina has convened an emergency summit at Glamour Bean Café with her two best friends, Star and Lindsey. After all, she needed reinforcements for gossip this juicy, especially if she's gonna protect her man!
Star starts fanning herself, shrieking, “he’s WHAT?".
Paulina grins meanly to herself, enjoying the shock she's causing, “half human", leaning back dramatically, "meaning somewhere in this city there is either an unknowing ghosts lover or the weirdest PTA parent alive".
Lindsey stares, “how do you know this isn’t fake?”.
“Because when do those G.I.W. men ever actually whisper secretively about anything? They only whisper like that for three reasons", counting on her manicured fingers, “affairs, the Fenton's getting on over on them, or ghost stuff they need to keep quiet”.
Lindsey hums and nods, “that’s… weirdly solid logic".
Star grabs Paulina's wrist, “do you think he went to high school here?”.
Paulian's eyes widen, “oh mi God".
The table goes entirely silent, then all three scream at once. They! They might be going to the same school that Phantom went to or currently goes to!
The next morning, Paulina arrives at school wearing determination and heels with no practical purpose but just the right amount of sparkle to not clash with her skirt. She surveys the student body, looking for anyone who might seem even slightly ghostly. Slightly like Phantom.
If Phantom was half human, then maybe he had relatives. Maybe he had lived here. Maybe he was younger than people thought. Maybe he was someone in town.
Maybe…
A student.
She marches to the yearbook archives. The librarian eyeing her, “need help?”.
Paulina nodding quickly, “Yes, I need records of every transfer student who seemed emotionally unavailable and constantly dead tired”.
The man blinks at her, “that is… not a searchable category”.
“Then we do this manually”.
By lunch, Paulina’s suspect list included:
Erik, a pale boy who always wore hoodies in summer
The Rowan twins who never blinked enough
Jessie the soccer captain with suspicious cheekbones
Jeremy Pell, because no one could naturally have that jawline
Her chemistry partner Noah Mercer, who once crushed a calculator by accident
Danny, the school freak
She pauses, Danny Fenton… quiet yet very witty (witty like Phantom maybe), weirdly strong (ghost strength?), kinda glowy in fluorescent light (very ghostly), sleeps in lots of classes (sleep deprived from ghost fights?), and Dash has claimed to have seen his eyes flash green before (extremely ghostly)… Danny also had once said ‘your living snacks are mediocre’ after trying some soya fried rice (implying eating dead/ghost food).
Paulina slowly lowers her fork, now that she thinks about it… didn’t she see him literally walk through a trash can!??
No.
No way.
Scanning the room and finding that messy mop of black hair… ink black, yeah definitely too dark to be normal, right? Right. And across the cafeteria, Danny looks up; like he knows someone’s staring specifically at him.
Their eyes meet and he immediately looks very concerned. Interesting… yes it could be purely that she’s the one staring at him, rather than the other way around.
After school, Paulina corners him near the bike racks. “Hiya, Danny”, tone sweet as can be.
Danny blinks and rears back, “Paulina?”.
Paulina tilts her head, “so, quick question”.
He narrows his eyes and leans even further back away from her, “…why are you smiling like that?”.
“Are you half ghost by any chance?”. Sometimes it really was best to be blunt and straightforward, to give people as little wiggle room as possible.
He drops his backpack, stands in silence for a while, then sputtering a little, “I- what, um, I’m sorry?”.
“Don’t play coy with me, Danny. You once caught a falling vending machine”.
“It was tilting”.
“You know three dead languages”.
“My parents literally study all things dead, languages included”.
“You don’t ever seem to sweat”.
“I moisturize”.
Paulina leans in, she’d have a hard time believing Danny wore matching socks, nonetheless actually moisturized… “you called the anti-gravity park a return to normalcy”.
Danny’s face manages to drain of colour, becoming even paler than he always is, “I like a good joke?”.
She quirks an eyebrow at him, “I’ve seen you walk through a trash can”.
For one heartbeat, something flickers behind his pupils, spooky green light. Sure it could be written off as just the ectoplasm that’s in him from the contamination but… she’s betting that it’s ectoplasm from him being half ghost, not some contamination. Heck! That contamination story was probably just a cover up.
He screws his face up, glances around, mutters, “fuck I thought no one saw that shit”, shakes his head and looks back to her, “can we talk somewhere private?”.
Oh she absolutely has caught him. She smirks at him, putting her hands on her hips, “I knew it”.
He rubs his forehead and sighs very loudly, “after all these years, damnit, fuck my life”. She only giggles at him in response as she grabs his wrist and begins dragging the dumb boy off. Next question, is he related to Phantom or is he Phantom.
They sit down on the bleachers, the sky slowly turning a shade of violet. Danny stares out at the field for a long time, “so what do you think you’ve figured out?”.
She smirks a daintily a little, “that you’re half ghost”. When all he does is quirks an eyebrow at her, she rolls her eyes and adds on, “so either you’re Phantom. Or you’re, like, Phantom’s sibling or cousin or something but more human-looking”.
He scrunches his eyebrows, “and why do you think Phantom’s involved either way?”.
She flips her hair and huffs, “because he’s half human, and ‘related’ to someone in town. Add in that you’re definitely half human, either you’re him or related to him and the Fenton’s only adopted you because you look human and he doesn’t”.
“… I’m not adopted”.
She shrugs, he could just not know, it’s not like Danny looked anything like the rest of the Fenton’s, “you look nothing like them. But say you’re not, then one of them fucked a ghost, probably unknowingly. Absolutely scandalous”. That actually makes him choke and start laughing. She taps her chin and looks up to the sky, “and maybe they’re so against Phantom because they’re ashamed of the twins they created, especially the one that looks like a ghost”. He bends over wheezing even more. Is she trying to get him to slip and say something he wouldn’t normally? Yes, yes she is.
He wheezes some more, wiping a tear from his eyes, “Ancients, I could never even imagine them with anyone other than each other, Jesus fucking Chris-”, then blinks very harshly, snaps up straight enough to make her jump a little, and stares at her flat and serious, “why do you think Phantom’s half human”.
That… feels almost like he’s threatening her, which she can understand. The G.I.W. make it super obvious that any info about Phantom that isn’t already public becoming public could be, like, super dangerous. And normally she might hold something juicy over someone’s head, she wouldn’t risk Phantom’s safety like that. Whether Danny’s Phantom or just a sibling. Twirling her hair a little awkwardly, pouting, “over heard some of those G.I.W. jerks saying he was”, tilting her head and making a point to seem less sure, “something something halfa? And related to someone it town?”, huffing and sticking her nose up in the air, “they don’t know who so obviously I had to figure that out first. Get ahead of the drama, you know”, smiling and looking down at her hands, shifting a little, “and… I’d rather them not know, since they’re so mean to him”. One thing about gossip, if you’re in the know and you’re good, you can manipulate the truth. Hide certain parts, make other parts worse, fudge the truth.
Danny… actually growls at her making her jump a little again, before he flops backwards, back smacking into the bleacher seats behind them, and thunking his head down on it, “ugh. This day just keeps getting worse. Fuck me”.
She blushes a little, gotta shoot her shot right? “I mean, if you are Phantom, I wouldn’t be opposed”; and at least she gets him to start laughing again. Him being freaky and serious isn’t super useful to her.
He rubs a hand down his face, sighing loudly, “well… at least they don’t know the who, I guess”, pushing himself to sit back up. Putting his elbows on his knees, watching the empty field, “… Phantom doesn’t have any siblings”.
Paulina absolutely squeals immediately, she knew it! He totally is Phantom! They all go to school with Phantom! He even thinks she’s cute! Phantom thinks she’s cute! Lunging at him, throwing her arms around his neck, and squealing a little more, “I knew it!”, knocking them both sideways. He just lays there glaring at her so she puts her elbows on either side of his chest, and places her chin in her palms. Grinning down at him, “so, you’re Phantom”.
“Yeah”.
“You’re Fenton”.
“Yup”.
Her smirking at him, “you failed gym twice”.
He blinks and huffs a little laugh, “…that did happen, twice”.
She snorts cutely and sits back up, “that is the most shocking part”. Really how does someone that can pick up a bus fail gym??
Danny blushing a little, still laying on the bleachers, “I don’t like sports, and I don’t care enough about gym to put in any actual effort”.
She shakes her head at him, “ridiculous”, fiddling with her hair again, “so…”.
He sighs and pushes himself up onto his hands, leaning back, “the answer’s no, Paulina. I’m really not interested nowadays”, frowning, “and as much as I’m not a fan of someone I’m not even friends with finding out, the G.I.W. is more of a concern”.
She shrugs a little, damn, well, she did rather expect that. Can’t blame a girl for trying. “Well, we could be, friends that is”.
He rolls his eyes, “yeah I’m not super into a ‘friendship’ based on your weird crush on half of me or hero worship”, pointing at her, “and for your information, neither of my parents ‘fucked a ghost’, hilarious mental image though”, looking back out to the field, “though, I suppose I don’t really have to worry about the G.I.W. since I’ve made sure they’ll never suspect Danny Fenton”, frowning slightly, “still though”, shaking his head and eyeing her, “and I guess you’ve gotten questions and if I don’t let you ask them you’re just gonna pester me, so?”.
Huh, sounds like he’s already got the G.I.W. handled, weird to see competence from Danny Fenton of all people. And she can so totally see Phantom in him now. The jawline, muscles hidden under loose clothing, the hairstyle obviously. “Why do you protect everyone? It’s not like anyone treated you well at first”, huffing, “even if I always loved it. So cool”; so hot.
He blinks, “not what I expected but, because I could? Because Amity’s my home?”, rubbing his neck and look back to the field, “because it’s instinctual, to fight”.
Paulina would never stick her neck out for a bunch of ungrateful jerks, hmpf. Crossing her arms, “well if you ask me, none of these dumb people deserved help”.
He rolls his eyes mutter, “self absorbed as ever, I see”.
She shakes her head, really, this town so did not deserve him. She did for sure! The rest of these losers? Definitely not. “At least being territorial, or the instinct whatever, makes more sense. I hate it when people step on my turf too”; like when Dale gets a little too into how the cheerleaders were doing their choreography, or when Delhia snagged a rarer fashion drop than her. Absolutely awful and unacceptable. Frowning a little, because that will have a better affect than seeming vapid, “and if the town knew about this ‘half’ thing, someone would try to stop you or hurt you, and you’d get pestered so much”.
He snorts, “oh like how you’re pestering me now?”. She only rolls her eyes at that, there was no way she wasn’t going to chase a good story. Not a chance. Rolling his eyes, “those men… my parents, they aren’t kidding about the things they want to do to me. I’m not stupid enough to take genuinely dumb chances”, smirking a little, “unless it would be really really funny”.
Paulina’s more than aware that those agents and the Fenton’s wanted to do a bunch of really nasty gross painful things to Phantom… to Danny she supposes. Stupid jerks. No parent would hurt their own kid though, nope not a chance. Parents love and protect their darling kids; way have kids otherwise. So silly. Even if Danny’s were kinda crazy. The G.I.W. though… yeah no, acab. “Well”, smiling slightly, “your secret is safe with me”. He quirks an eyebrow at her so she rolls her eyes, “just because I have the gossip, doesn’t mean I’m gonna go spreading it”, her smiling even more and putting a finger up to her lips, “some secrets are more useful kept close to the chest”.
He blinks, “really?”, shaking his head, “I mean, I’m not too surprised, but still”.
“Obviously”. She absolutely notices him seems to relax slightly, her adding on, “in exchange, you owe me so many details”.
“…Details?”.
Pointing at his face, “ghost gossip, ghost boy”, ticking off on her fingers, “suit fabric. Hair routine. Can you survive in space? Are there hot single ghosts? Why do you always do flying poses; is that instinctive or rehearsed? What are ghost royals like? Can you get drunk? Do ghosts think you’re cute too? Does the Box Ghost really have a kid? Is Plasmius dating the mayor?”.
Danny screws up his face before bursting out into laughter, bending forwards and holding his stomach. “You’re are unbelievable. Vlad!-”.
She rolls her eyes, “I prefer iconic”; going basically entirely ignored.
Danny wheezing, “-Vlad! Dating- Ancients!”, wiping tears from his eyes, muttering, “he would so be self absorbed enough to do that, oh my Ancients”.
Paulina stills and turns her head slowly to stare at him. ‘self absorbed enough’ to date Plasmius? That doesn’t… oh! Oh mi god! Danny and Vlad have an obvious rivalry, and so does Phantom and Vlad! Did the man know about Danny/Phantom? Definitely seems highly likely. And Phantom also clearly has a more personal rivalry with Plasmius too! Would that mean that… if you ignore the echo they do sound similar. Oh mi god. Is Vlad a half ghost too! Is he Plasmius?!?!? And he’s Danny’s uncle right? Does this just run in the family? “Oh mi god just how many half ghosts are in your family!”.
Danny coughs extremely hard, choking a little, “I- what?”, then going a little wide eyed, “fuck”, putting his head in his hands, “he’s so gonna try to beat my ass and I’m gonna feel obligated to let him, I’m a moron”, rubbing his hands down his face and looking at her, “forget I said anything weird about Vlad? Who is not actually related to me, by the way?”.
She blinks at him disbelievingly, “so it’s just by chance you’re both half ghosts? I’m not that stupid, Danny”, and rolls her eyes.
Danny blinks very harshly, “please don’t tell him you know? Or how you do? I don’t want to deal with that?”, dropping his head down and groaning, before looking back to her, “my… parents are not very, uh, safe, with their tech”.
Paulina tilts her head, “I don’t really get it?”.
He glares a bit, “half ghost means half dead, and my parents aren’t very careful with their very dangerous and very temperamental tech. Figure that out yourself”.
She absolutely cringes at that, even she knew not to ask ghosts about the whole ‘how’ crap; and as much as she loves some good gossip, that kind of gossip was super not the fun kind or the kind she’d go spreading around. Talk about a way to make so many enemies. Looking away from him and twirling her hair some, “yeah no, I’m so not gonna push on that one, your parents are, like, super duper reckless”. It was obvious anyways that what he’s saying is that both he and Vlad had some kind of accident with Fenton tech… ouch.
He huffs very bitterly, “tell me about it”.
She just nods, not really sure what else to say now. Also, though, not a chance is she going to confront the mayor or try to get something out of him for her secrecy. She could tell from a mile away that man was dangerous. Even if all of Danny’s spats with him makes the guy seem like more of a joke. Looking up at the sky… the first stars were starting to appear. One of them even winks, or maybe that was just Paulina deciding the universe has excellent taste in drama. “It’s going to be a beautiful night out”.
Danny hums curiously before looking up too, “yeah, yeah it is. Mercury is supposed to be visible tonight”. What a nerd. “And the answer is yes, yes I can breathe on space”.
She absolutely smirks at that, “sweet”.
“Yup”.
End.
Prompts: Someone hears Phantom/Danny being referred to as a “Halfa” and certainly comes to some? Interesting conclusions? (yes this is in reference to that one comic with Val asking which of Phantom’s parents screwed a ghost- it doesn’t have to be that directly though!)
What would happen if someone from school found out the truth? How would they handle it? Would they try to keep the status quo or try to help in some way? Whether those in the know are aware, an answer will show itself one way or another.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Phic Phight Prompt: The Box Ghost, aka the most un-frightening pathetic nuisance ever, is actually incredibly powerful compared to the average ghost.
Word Count: 1910
For @phantomphangphucker
Summary: After dying in a warehouse collapse, one ghost sets out to make the ghost zone OSHA Compliant one box at a time.
Working with a couple different crews and shifts for a decade or two means getting used to going by a nickname or three. He's not one to linger on the past, but when he thinks back he's pretty sure that there was a stretch of time where he didn't hear his legal name for weeks, possibly months, so adapting to this new green dimension where no one can get his name right isn't difficult.
Or, the name thing isn't.
Asking everyone to call him the Box Ghost is easier than correcting their pronunciation of his actual name. Everyone around here seems to be going by one title after another - so Boxy (his favorite nickname that the others have given him here, but unfortunately too close to other's monikers to use as an introduction) keeps it simple for his own benefit. Explaining things can get frustrating and having to do so repeatedly is boring, so Box Ghost it is!
Making a habit of introducing himself every time he sees someone isn't a new habit, but it makes itself useful here even if he doesn't have nearly as much trouble remembering ghostly faces as he did human ones.
So introductions - easy!
Needing to sound threatening to get his point across? That's more difficult to get used to. Boxy doesn't exactly like fighting, not after losing the few fights he got into when he was alive. But, if a few threatening words is all it takes to make this place safer, he can put on the act.
Because this place - the Infinite Realms - they're sorely in need of his help.
Back when he was alive, Boxy watched countless safety videos and participated in even more inspections over the course of his career. He rolled his eyes, slouching his way through the required checks, going over lists and participating in drills before getting on with his actual work. While he and the others were careful with the boxes they handled (as they'd be on the hook if they weren't), they usually just made jokes about the old cracked and slowly bowing walls. They weren't in charge and it wasn't hurting anyone, what was the harm?
He knew the harm now.
He might not have blood these days, but Boxy swears he can feel it boiling whenever he sees cracked, bending, and broken walls. Can feel the ache in his jaw from clenching his teeth when he looks at sagging, leaking, and collapsed roofs.
The numerous cliffs hanging out into the swirling, glowing abyss he can't do anything about, but the all the other places where these ghosts live - those he can fix.
Newly dead, he tried suggesting improvements he remembered from before. Tried providing examples he'd seen in practice. Tried offers to fix the old castles, the burnt homes, the cracked caverns only to be fought tooth and nail at every turn - often literally. Fighting back was instinct, one he fought more than the other ghosts whose homes he was clearly insulting.
He smothered the impulse right up until the first time he was thrown through a stone wall.
Boxy still doesn't quite remember what happened directly after that, only the result and the result was very good.
When he came to every wall in the area was square, the rooms complete, the roof secure, and the ghost who lived there? Well, they were a little worse for wear, but they brushed off his concerned look with something between a shrug and a shudder.
"Warn a guy." They had said or, rather, muttered before flying into their now safer home and slamming the door.
So Boxy took their words to heart.
"Beware!" He greeted others as he found more buildings in need of his help. "I am the Box Ghost!"
The practice of holding his hands up in a mild threat came later, after a lot more fights followed by a short run of successes - each of which ended with the other ghost cringing away from him.
Boxy still isn't fond of threatening people. He does this for their safety and the safety of others - so that no one ends up like he did, but if that's the only way to keep everyone safe he'll play his part.
Besides, maybe after this he'll move on to what is clearly his true calling - acting! His old coworkers always used to make fun of his attempts to act, but with just a few words and an exaggerated angry gesture or two he seems to be pulling of 'threat' really well!
Then again, maybe he'll stay off the stage. His ghostly powers don't lend themselves to it in the way he's seen with others. He can fly, but he can't teleport. He can stand up to other's blows, but he can't shapeshift or take on their faces.
His powers mostly lie in his interests, which doesn't seem uncommon in the Infinite Realms.
He can move himself - handy for getting around. He can move boxes - something he's so familiar with he could do it in his sleep even before his death, though not having to touch them is something he still delights in. And, most importantly, he can bring buildings up to code.
This last one is by far the trickiest to do. It's hard to explain what he does and how he does it in words. It's something similar to how he always knows which stack of boxes aren't stacked correctly even when they look secure. He can feel the fault lines, taste the breaking points, smell the way the not-gravity of this place pulls on a structure.
He chose 'The Box Ghost' not only because boxes are, obviously, amazing, but because boxes hold up to the pressures of this place better than other shapes. The right angles, the rigid sides, when put together just right they can stand up even under dragon fire or unexpected island collisions.
Of course, leaning into his name and specialties leads to strange consequences.
Something about this place, it twists things. It took a while for him to notice, but the strength of his boxy architecture is improving, but not without cost. He thought it was just experience, but then he tried to keep the shape of a tower as he improved it and something about the rounded walls made it fall apart.
The fight he had with the owner for causing the tower to crumble was less memorable than the testing that needed to be done after that (sure the guy could turn into a dragon, but his castle was more than big enough to trap him in). With his mastery of all things square and box like, Boxy specialized to the point of being unable to not make things square.
It isn't a huge problem, most purposefully non-square things were built with more thought than the broken down buildings he needs to fix, but it is annoying at times.
He doesn't give it much thought after that, other than making a note to tell ghosts of his cubic specialty when he introduces himself, so he continues his campaign, hoping that one day he can share the burden of this quest to ensure safety in the Infinite Realms. Looking back at all those videos and checklists he knows that this isn't a one-person job, he needs the government to get in on it for his work to be effective.
Unfortunately, any attempts he's made to speak to those in charge either leave him with new clients or with frustratingly few answers.
"The king is in forever sleep," is not the answer he's looking for, especially when he's trying to confirm what kind of building codes are currently in use in this place. As more people hear of him, Boxy finds both more and less resistance to his safety crusade. Some invite him in meekly, while others refuse to bend to his (clearly terrifying) threats, instead posing some honestly, quite reasonable questions about the safety of the buildings he's putting in place.
It's while he's trying to find this justification that he comes across the permanent portal for the first time.
"This doesn't belong here!" Surely they'd have some permits up and posted if such a thing was supposed to be built in the middle of a thoroughfare like this! It's not Boxy's first interaction with a portal, but it's certainly the first man-made one he's seen. He takes the time to inspect it from every angle - the only roughly octagonal shape, the poor welds on the metal, the lack of safety measures - it's horrible! And probably beyond his (non-existent) pay grade.
He turns to go report this to the scary knight who guards the king's castle only to nearly get run over by another ghost gunning for the portal.
When he straightens up, he finds himself in a nightmare of safety violations. Boxy stares in horror at the clearly DIY walls, the uneven floors, the stairs with steps that are clearly too tall.
Sure, there's a lot of sciency things scattered around the place in ways that look dangerous, but Boxy isn't familiar with that side of things. He disregards it in favor of what he knows how to fix.
So, of course, that's when the alarms go off. The portal slams shut behind him and lights start flashing. A recording blares too loud for Boxy to understand, but he's done enough drills that he knows what to do.
Quickly, quietly, Boxy exits the building and heads for a safer area.
He waits for a handful of minutes before realizing it wasn't a fire alarm after all and the fire department won't be coming to give an all-clear. Normally he'd head back, but the extra time outside has let him realize where he is.
The realm of the living!
There are side walks! Rows of homes, most of them safe and square! For a moment each of the box like suburban homes glows as he happily resonates with the cubic structures.
It cuts off as a delivery truck drives past.
Boxy's attention is captured especially when he realizes the boxes within are filled with books.
Books! Books in Boxes! Books are just what he was looking for - now he can get examples of building codes for the king whenever he wakes up!
He dives into the delivery truck and gets so lost in the ecstasy of so many good, old-fashioned, cardboard boxes, neatly and professionally stacked inside a box truck that he only comes back to himself after he's introduced himself to someone - warning, threatening gestures and all.
After so many successful fights it's a shock when the white haired teen bests him so easily. Then again, just as the boxes and that truck seemed to energize him, the cylindrical capture device the child pulls on him seems to sap the fight right out of him.
It seems like no time at all before he's back in the zone, staring at that misshapen portal once again. It may be a safety hazard, but that won't stop the Box Ghost. He'll brave the portal and fight as many times as he needs to in order to get the books necessary (and maybe a few more boxes, as a treat) to fix all the broken parts of this Realm.
When the Ghost King wakes up and starts managing this place again, the Box Ghost will be first in line to talk to him - together they'll make this place safe for all ghosts!
Round 1 Match 15: @imdepressedanditshows vs. @phantomphangphucker
Writer: @ecto-american
“More newbies! This is fantastic, I love seeing new ectoplasm shedding ectoplasm,” Nick announced a bit too cheerfully. “We have @imdepressedanditshows up against @phantomphangphucker!”
Titania pulled out their greatest weapon. It was a ghost goldfish that swam in the air around them, making happy bubbles as it circled them.
“Attack!” Titania ordered their fish. The fish swam at Black Ice, bubbling all the way. The little creature was too fast to keep up with, causing an instant small chase before Black Ice stopped. Goldfish wasn't the target. Titania was.
With a menacing grin, they rushed forward as their entire body glitched. Titania put their hands to their mouth. It hurt, badly, and they soon realized what the issue was.
“I don't have any teeth!” Titania complained in horror. Nick was unsympathetic.
“None of us do, there's like six people in Phight Club who specialize in stealing teeth,” Nick replied. “Dee stole my teeth a long time ago. You get used to it. And our Denny's has a special menu for those who have no more teeth, or you can borrow some teeth from the Teeth Bucket temporarily.”
“Wait, so is our phight over??” Titania asked.
“Uhh, I take bribes,” Nick didn't even bother lowering his voice or taking his hand off the microphone. Titania hung their head sadly.
“...I'm smol and broke,” they confessed. Nick nodded.
Danny’s never had good parents. They were objectively ‘good’ people, but maybe an objectively ‘bad’ man would make for a genuinely good parent.
You look sort of… like my father.
Little boy, little boy, let me come in.
Let the dark come in.
Dad is that you, are you back?
Danny’s always had a… rocky relationship with his parents, it’s not that they were actively mean to him or that he actively hated them. It’s more that they just… weren’t good, weren’t attentive.
Weren’t really meant to be parents.
They were meant to be scientists, to be researchers, to be explores even; meant to be ghost hunters.
Kids were just for ‘the Fenton legacy’ or because ’married couples were supposed to have kids’ or simply for them to have extra hands to help them or extra minds to listen to them…
Or maybe it was simply to have free experiments that couldn’t escape for eighteen years.
…
That last one felt a little too true these days. At least they didn’t know about him, about what he was. If they did…
It, it would be so so much worse. Surely.
How couldn’t it be? They’d have access to a ghost, a unique hybrid ghost at that, that was stuck under their roof for at least two more years… if he survived whatever they’d do for that long anyways.
He didn’t have his hopes up. Never did. Never had even.
At least when he was human, fully human, he didn’t have to wonder if they’d saw out his ribs just to see what colour they might be. Blood samples were just blood. The stool stuff was creepy but still, not really a part of him.
Plus they stopped doing that stuff a year after they started actively feed him and Jazz ecto as little kids, since it didn’t ’yield interesting results’.
If it had…
He’d have been screwed from the start of his half life. He absolutely would have had to flee on day one. God that would have been awful.
He’d have… survived of course, he was good at surviving, had to be, but surviving wasn’t good. Surviving, only just surviving, was worse than dying.
He’d do it for his friends and to protect the town of course but still, he’d be doing all of it, all of that, empty and numb and waiting for the fight that would finally brutally beat the fight out of every one of his limbs and eventually… his heart and core too.
But that’s not how things are, not how they were, small mercy he guesses.
Didn’t really make what he does have now much better though. And it’s not like he can even dream that things would be better if only he hadn’t died.
They would be, just…
They still wouldn’t be good. They wouldn’t be fine or even okay.
And giving kids at least a ‘fine’ childhood was kinda the point of being a parent, ‘good’ was the goal and ‘great’ was better, but ‘fine’ would do. ‘Okay’ was only really acceptable with parents who didn’t choose to become parents, which was firmly not his parents positions.
They chose this.
They shouldn’t have.
He wished they hadn’t.
…
Well, okay, that wasn’t strictly true. He… enjoyed being around, he did!
He liked helping people, and seeing movies, and getting into ghostly fist fights, and hanging out with his friends… Even taunting Dash mid bully session could be fun.
But his parents shouldn’t have had kids and Danny would be better off someone else’s kid. Jazz was treated better by them and even she knew that; and unlike him, she had told them as much.
Did they care?
No, not really. Just a ‘that’s nice, honey’, which was and is somehow worse than them being upset, or heck, even happy. They just… didn’t really care.
He’d always wanted to fly, but all they taught him was how to drown.
The only things from them he did really like was his own love of science, of exploring and discovering, of tinkering; but they only cared and nurtured those things in him as far as they benefited and leaning into their interests… not his. Sure he was interested in ghosts too, just not like them.
Never like them.
They’d want him to be. Push him to be. So he never made that little interest known.
That’s okay though.
Because he explored his interests on his own, which wasn’t how it should be.
But…
His parents also gave him what he is. He wouldn’t be a halfa if it was for them. And that was such a part of him he could hardly seem himself without it. Even if what gave him it is all the things wrong with his parents. All the reasons they should never have been parents.
Unsafe handling of samples and unlocked projects. No adult supervision and contaminated baby bottles from the day he was born.
His parents must have paid someone off to avoid him and jazz getting taken away by cps. That, or, Sam was right and the cps only ever really did anything when a kid died and actually left a corpse behind.
…
Sucks for him he guesses then. Or not. The adoption system sounded awful.
He just… didn’t know if that would be better or worse than what he’s got, hard to say. Which he knows is really really bad. At this point it didn’t matter anyways, he had two more years and it wouldn’t matter.
He could stay.
He could go.
He could stay sometimes and go other times.
It would be up to him. And well… he did not hate his parents. In some ways he wanted to stay, he just… knows he can’t. It’s not safe. It never will be safe. Human or halfa. It won’t be safe. It won’t be healthy. It won’t be happy.
He won’t be free.
He really wanted to be free.
Not free from them, not really. Just free to be, well, him. Free to go where he wanted. Free to talk as he wanted. Free to decorate as he wanted. Free to simply be without having to be so damn paranoid about them. About them hurting him, about them confining him, about them maybe simply just not caring.
If they ever found out and just said ‘that’s nice, sweetie’, he knows he wouldn’t be able to handle that.
What would he even be supposed to do with that?
Nothing. Because you can’t do anything when someone gives you nothing. And that was a nothing response.
He could power through torture, would suck but he could do it. It was something. Confinement he could find an escape or be rescued. Nothing would just…
…
Yeah. It would just, and that’s it. And being stuck in that kind of uncertainty would be the farthest from being free or safe or happy.
He can only starve for so long before he’ll die. He’s starving for freedom. For better. For more. For what only the darkness seems to whisper he can actually have.
It’s a bit weird.
Because he didn’t used to really think about this stuff, all of it, before. As a kid, an early teen, it just simply was. No need to think about it and no real reason to. Jazz did, because Jazz studied behaviours, because Jazz cared about and for him more than they ever did.
But at least he knows why he actually thinks about this stuff now. He had a reference point, and a bit more maturity of course; but it was mostly that reference point he mentioned. And ironically, the reference point that actually got him to really think about how bad his parents were at being parents was an outright mass murderer…
That was pretty messed up, in all honesty. Even to him.
When a literal war mongering genocidal mad man provides an actual example of what a good parent should be, because the biological parents were just that far gone.
Someone he knows is no good, is good to him.
But…
Pariah just… seemed to care, not just in general but about him specifically.
Somehow.
Danny had been pretty convinced that the whole ‘you nearly truly bested me, child, you shall be my heir’ situation was just that, claiming a strong heir.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
Just some other adult using what they wanted or needed of Danny and moving along.
Like mom and dad.
Like Vlad.
Like ClockWork.
Like Pamela and Jeremy Manson.
Like Alicia.
Like Pandora.
Like Angela and Maurice Foley.
Even like Lancer.
In fact… the only adult that Danny can think of that didn’t do that to him, was Sam’s nana Ida… his nana Ida… who of course died.
Figures right?
The one adult who treated him well dying?
Yeah…
‘That’s rough buddy’.
He was tired of rough. Honestly.
But then, now, there’s Pariah. Who… doesn’t do that to him.
Sure Pariah trains him. Hand to hand combat. Weapons. Political jargon. War strategies. Zone geography. Ghost typography and linguistics.
But…
He also listens to him. He doesn’t just throw things at him. Doesn’t just push his own wants, his own desires, his own ways, on him. On Danny. He didn’t do that to Danny as a whole, not just the ghost Phantom or the Human Fenton. Danny. He listened.
He gave back more than ‘that’s nice, sweetie’. Or ‘be back by super!’. Or ‘okay, have fun’.
Pariah gave responses. He gave actual feed back, and opinions, and his own specific thoughts.
And neither did he just say what he thought Danny wanted to hear or what he thought would get Danny to do or say or be the way he wanted. Even when Pariah knew it wasn’t what Danny wanted to hear.
When Pariah’s thoughts and opinions were cruel and twisted and dangerous.
Which was… good. It was really good.
As much as that had been difficult to admit, even to just himself.
Because someone who ended trillions in death and murdered thousands in life, shouldn’t be someone Danny’s ever thinking positively of… right?
Yet he was.
Because Pariah actually seemed to give a damn about Danny. Even if sometimes it was a bit twisted or dark. Even when he pushed for more than Danny was willing to give, he’d back off, drop it, immediately. Maybe explain himself a little, but that was all.
That alone was refreshing.
A ten foot civilization Ender trying to test out Danny’s level of willingness to commit murder, shouldn’t be ‘refreshing’… but it was.
Pariah was everything he didn’t have. Everything he’d never had.
And wasn’t that an awful thing?
What’s worse is it made Danny feel… off kilter. It just wasn’t what he was used to. His experience with so called ‘parental figures’ was lie, hide, and subdue everything.
Be enough for their wants and their needs but never too much. Never too you. If it was a situation where he didn’t have to then he wouldn’t, but with mom and dad he always had to. With anyone with actual claim to the term ‘parent’ with him, he had to.
Until Pariah.
Mom and dad left the door open, the latch ajar, for someone else to come in and scoop him up.
Pariah wanted of him of course. Wanted for him. But he also just wanted Danny seemingly. Wanted Danny as Danny. No lies. No hiding. No subduing his self.
Pariah didn’t like stars. Well he did, he just liked the stars because Danny liked the stars. Danny’s mom and dad couldn’t even understand the concept of liking something just because someone else, because their kid, did.
Pariah, he… felt more a parent each day and each night than Maddie or Jack did.
Every day he sent the FrightKnight as his guard, not because he wanted to ‘keep an eye’ on Danny, but because he wanted Danny safe. Because he did not view Danny as safe in his home environment… or a school… or at his friend’s homes.
Every night he decided to show up and glare menacingly at whatever ghost was bugging Danny, all so he could have some ‘father/son’ time.
Every day he just plain played with him, no ‘how to be a parent’ book needed.
Every night he’d sit on the observatory and let Danny explain the constellations at him even though he’d seen them all before.
Every day he eagerly teach Danny maths and social and even English, in place of living teachers who had long since given up on him.
Every night he simply let Danny sleep purely because he knows Danny needs to.
Then there was what he didn’t do.
He didn’t tell Danny half of what he was, was lesser than him. No, just that everyone was beneath them, because they were king and prince. No bigotry, no bias. It was simple status.
He didn’t gift him backhandedly or gift him only things that were useful to ‘the parent’ instead.
He didn’t disregard him and all that was his. Didn’t give him nothing answers.
Most of all, he didn’t experiment on him. Tests of skill or knowledge, sure, but not experiments, and the tests were with good reason.
Danny being weak, Danny being unskilled, Danny be unaware; would be dangerous. For him, for Pariah, for both of them. It wasn’t the same, it was always willing, eager even.
Pariah… was making Danny happy. Not like the contentment from when he was a young naive child. Actually happy.
That just… also hurt. Because it should be his mom and dad doing that. Having that effect. Not someone Danny met only because of an ill-thought fight and Vlad machinations.
But at some point Danny has to choose himself. His happiness. Choose a future with him happy in it.
Mom and dad.
Maddie and Jack.
Weren’t that future.
They never were. Never even could be. They didn’t have the capacity to be. Not for him, not for Jazz, not for anyone. That’s not Danny’s fault. That’s not Jazz’s fault. He can’t even blame Vlad. It was just them. Maddie and Jack. But that’s what made it hurt too.
Because they were happy the way they were. Hurting and failing those they chose to bring into the world by force. And happy people… can’t be changed. Shouldn’t be really.
It would be really selfish of Danny.
So he’ll let them have their peace. Without him.
It’s okay. It hurts, but it’s okay.
Danny had someone who did want him. Who did change for him. Pariah wanted Danny. And Danny likes being wanted, wants to be wanted.
Was that so wrong?
Was it okay for him to… actually pick Pariah? As a dad?
It… felt like it was but it also felt like it wasn’t.
…
Danny made his choice already. Made it a while ago. Long before he met Pariah. Long before he died. Long before he even understood that not choosing Maddie and Jack was even an option.
It just…
He just… needed to realize that. Mourn that. Hurt a little.
And he had. He really really had.
The realization will settle in. The mourning will peter down. The hurt will dull.
But at least that was an adjustment he wouldn’t have to bear alone.
Even if Pariah didn’t get Danny’s emotions, because they were too human or perhaps simply to foreign to Pariah himself, he would still make an effort to get them or hear them or soften them to something easier for Danny.
That’s so so much more than he’s ever had.
Still.
He has to stay. Stay here. In this house. For two more years, regardless of his falling off breaking non-attachment to its owners. He will be here, but he’ll be motionless. He won’t be himself.
He has nothing left to give.
They failed him, and Pariah came like holy water being poured on him. The devil always seemed so much kinder than god.
Will they even know? Will they be able to tell?
Like astronomy, they were whole worlds apart. Whole universes.
…
They already rarely see him. His room his only home here. The night. The sky. The stars. Even more so home.
Will they one day realize that he too -so much like Jazz but so much painfully later- had lost his will to believe in them? That he tried so hard but they never had anything. Had nothing for him.
Would he just be a memory?
Would they?
Once you reach the sky, you can’t look down at the sea.
A ghost gave him hope and an idea of what happiness was, what it could be.
He… he can almost laugh at how crazy that might drive them…
…
If they cared at all, or if they just dismissed him with their nothings.
Pariah would care. Pariah would laugh with him. And Danny’s heart and core would beat and pulse all the more with it.
Pariah could have him as son.
Pariah had him as son.
And Danny?
Danny, for once, for once in his life and death, had a dad.
As much as it hurt, he couldn’t bear the sound of loosing what he’s never before found.
And with that, the Infinite Realms had a king and prince too. And Danny could make Pariah love the place again. Want it to flourish again.
Because Danny wanted that.
Danny wanted it to thrive.
That place was the space he’d never get to see. The spaceship he can’t fly.
He can’t force a star that’s already died to align with living ones.
But he’ll reach out into the void with his small child ghost hands, and this time…
This time…
He won’t grab the wrong hand.
You look nothing like my mother
You look nothing like my father.
Dark thrashing, calling my name
Looming, threatening, and shaking the latch
You look nothing like my mother I know no mother.
You look exactly like my father.
End.
Prompts: Pariah Dark adopts Danny. He is a surprising dedicated to being a good parent.
"This had all been for his own good, he knew that. Still, it was hard to remember that sometimes."
Danny is a goddamn weird kid from a weird family, the only friends he possible stood to make were really weird ones.
The first time Danny Fenton met Sam Manson, she was standing on top of a picnic table looking like a tiny pissed off pink frilly fairy… a frilly pink fairy that had taken scissors and mud to her dress. And the first time he met Tucker Foley, Tuck was under the same picnic table trying to unscrew one of the bolts with a plastic spoon.
It was spring in Amity Park, which meant the grass was damp, the sky was gray, and every parent in town had decided that children needed ‘fresh air’. The local playground now being full of toddlers wobbling like drunken penguins, little kids running amok, and older kids claiming the swings like territory.
Seven-year-old Danny wanders in holding a juice box and wearing one shoe untied. He had already tripped twice and somehow gotten bark mulch in his hair. The older kids avoid him automatically, their parents having warned them about the weird crazy Fenton’s kid; so he ignores them entirely. Instead he spots a mud-covered girl, she’s also rocking two sharp little pigtails and the expression of someone deeply pissed at humanity; in one hand she got a little wilted dandelion. “This playground”, she announces to no one in particular, “is a place of shallow joy”.
Danny blinks, trotting over, giving a chipper, “hi”.
She looks down at him as if he were a weirdly talkative cloud, “hello?”.
Danny tilts his little head, “I’m Danny!”.
She blinks back but shrugs, “I’m Sam”, tossing the dandelion dramatically into the wind, it lands two feet away.
Before Danny can say anything else, a voice rises up from beneath the table, “does anybody have a Phillips head screwdriver?”. Danny crouches down. A boy with really giant glasses is laying on his back beneath the picnic bench, feet sticking out, poking at the metal supports with determined fury. Beside him is an open lunchbox full of random objects: crayons, batteries, string cheese, a toy dinosaur, and three different remote controls.
Danny tilting his head further, “what are you doing?”.
“Screw stealing. This table squeaks so it doesn’t get to keep them”, it squeaks as he kicks it for emphasis, “I’m Tucker”.
Danny beaming, “I’m Danny!”.
“I know. You said it loud enough for under table recep- reci- hearing”.
Danny snorts and Sam leans over the edge of the tabletop, “you’ll never get them with a spoon”.
Tucker squints upward, “then why didn’t you offer help sooner, mud princess?”.
“I was enjoying watching your sad failure”.
Danny laughs so hard juice comes out of his nose.
That was how it started.
Within ten minutes, they had become as thick as thieves; somewhat literally. Danny climbed everything he wasn’t supposed to. Sam narrated his ‘for sure doom’ in a calm, satisfied voice. Tucker tried to ‘upgrade’ the merry-go-round by attaching a jump rope to it and calling it a ‘move faster system’. They spun so fast that Danny flies off into a sandbox, emerging seconds later buried to the shoulders, shouting, “again!”
Sam smirks, “you are chaos in sneakers”.
Tucker adjusts his glasses, “and I respect that”.
Later, they sit beneath the slide sharing snacks. Sam with her organic raisins she calls ‘nature’s warning labels’. Tucker with a handful of neon cheese crackers that are actively staining his fingers orange. Danny, meanwhile, had somehow traded away his sandwich for two cookies and an oddly wet whistle.
“Do you guys ever think”, Danny muttering between bites, “that there’s weird stuff in this town?”.
Sam and Tucker stare at him. Tucker blinking, “what kinda weird stuff?”.
Danny points vaguely towards the woods beyond the park, “like monsters. Or secret labs. Or aliens. Or invisible things watching us”.
Sam nods once, “yes, spooky is everywhere”.
Tucker nodding twice, “absolutely”.
Danny’s eyes widening, “really? My parents always go on and on about ghosts”, pouting, “no one seems to agree but I do. So you really really do?”.
“No”, Tucker shrugs, “but now I do. If a grown up says it’s a thing then it’s a thing. Some grown ups are just big ol’ dummies, and ignore other grown ups”.
Sam leans closer, voice grave and theatrical, “this town has a vibe”.
Danny tilting his head, “a spooky vibe?”.
She smirks very meanly, “a tacky vibe”; and they all laugh immediately.
Then something moves in the bushes, making the three kids freeze.
Leaves rustle.
Branches shake.
A pale shape lunges out with a terrible groan.
Danny screams, Tucker screams louder, Sam just narrows her eyes.
But it is only Mr. Campbell, the librarian, crawling after a runaway white kite tangled around his shoulders. Him running up to the three, wheezing, “children, has anyone seen my glasses?”.
Tucker slowly points to the top of Mr. Campbell’s head. The man grabbing at them, thanking no one, and wanders off trailing kite string like a defeated ghost.
The silence lasts three seconds, then Danny bursts out laughing, Tucker promptly joining in; even Sam, who clearly thought of smiling as a weakness, snorts.
As the sun dips lower, parents begin calling names.
“Daniel!”.
“Samantha!”.
“Tucker Foley!”.
The three of them all groan in chorus. Danny standing first, “same time same tomorrow?”.
Sam shrugging, “If society allows”.
Tucker snapping his lunchbox shut, “I’ll bring more tools”.
Danny grins, “I’ll bring cookies”, humming thoughtful, “I’ll bring cookies that do not come alive and bite back”.
Sam hops off of the table, “no, no, do it, bring the pain cookies. I can think of at least two girls who need a good biting”.
They all walk towards the gate together, three tiny weirdos with grass stains and impossible futures.
None of them truly knew about ghosts.
None of them yet knew about portals, powers, or disasters.
No, they only knew they’d found something rare on an ordinary afternoon, other kids strange in all the right ways.
End.
Prompt: Write your headcannon for how the trio met.
For: @insanity-apathy @the-wizard-dipper @sablestarling @duchi-nesten @everfascinated Also for: Akelanakamura and Dizzlypuzzled and higgidigs
Danny is a mess and his powers are only making it worse, good thing he’s got a good sense of humour and knows a lost cause when he sees one. Also, there’s a crab.
By the time the third locker vanished, everyone at Casper HighSchool had accepted that Danny Fenton was either cursed, chosen, or extremely committed to drama.
Danny, on the other hand, just kept saying he was, ‘theatrically burdened’ or that his parents had probably pissed off some ghost… which was sadly very possible given their profession.
Danny just thought that his body was being an ass. Maybe the world was getting back at him for the whole: high schooler with piss poor grades, suspiciously toned reflexes, and a talent for arriving late with leaves in his hair, by day, and the town’s least silent spooky protector a black-and-white ‘nuisance’ that fought crime while delivering one-liners no one had requested.
“Looks like your getaway car has been… repossessed”. That one had gotten some actually human robber to surrender mostly out of secondhand embarrassment. Danny was very proud of that one, very proud.
He was also a king of shitty nicknames, like ‘candypants’ and ‘boxy’ and ‘tinman’ and ‘grass stain’ and of course good ol’ ‘clocky’ (modified to ‘cocky’ when ClockWork was being a real know it all bastard).
Danny’s spooky boy powers used to be simple… well okay they were ‘numerous but simple’. He might have too many individual powers to count or remember or to even learn how to use properly, but a lot of them could just be combined into ecto-something. Ecto-manipulation: creating constructs, invisibility, intangibility, ectoblasts, ecto balls, ecto-kenisis ecto shields, his ecto field, ghostly wail, yada yada yada. Ecto-temperature kenisis: the fire and ice stuff, dropping room tempatures, being really fucking cold. Ecto-enhancements: strength, speed, agility, durability, heightened senses, yada yada yada. Gravity nullification was kinda just its own thing. See, simple. Not really, but really. He gave up a long ass time ago, trying to fully keep track of everything and thoroughly train everything. Total lost cause there.
Then, his folks went and shot him with another one of their experimental weapons, and something changed. For a second he’d been able to see the ghost zone without actually being there, very trippy, then right back to normal…. Well besides the smell of burnt pennies, which made him sneeze, and a glowing portal tore open in the air beside him. A startled pigeon flew through it and emerged three blocks away inside of a bakery.
That was the beginning of The Problem.
At first, the portals only happen when he was stressed. He’d be worrying over some test he absolutely didn’t not have nearly enough time to study for to have any hope of actually passing. Annnnnnnddddd Pop! A tiny green swirly opens under his math teacher’s coffee mug, and it drops neatly into the boys’ bathroom sink. The teacher cried a little when he got it back and saw that it wasn’t even chipped.
Another appeared in gym class when he missed a dodgeball, already tensing up for some mocking from Dash and co. The ball went through the portal and struck Principal Ishiyama in the back during the junior’s assembly.
One opened up in his bedroom while he was trying to sleep only to get rudely awoken by Technus screaming about his newest plan, the portal revealing a view of the ocean at midnight. Salt wind poured in and a crab entered without permission, walking right across Danny’s bed.
He named the crab Leonardo Da Pinchi.
He wound up taking an honestly ridiculous amount of impromptu portal related vacations to various parts of the world, including the moon one time. He even teleported not just himself, but his whole family to Cancun once. Jazz had been pissed and basically hissed at him about how this ‘wasn’t what she meant by vacation or getting out more’.
Then came ‘hero work’.
He’d been chasing down some new lock-themed ghost who was literally locking everyone’s cars and houses shut, trapping people in them. Danny shouting, “you’re about to be locked down!”, having every intent to tackle the ghost. Instead, a portal opens beneath his own feet right when the ghost throws a ton of lock picks as knives at him, so Danny shrugs and just drops through the portal to avoid the ‘weapons’; emerging from another portal in the middle of a yoga studio six blocks away.
Twenty women in matching leggings all staring at him. He’d even managed to land in downward dog, so all he had to say for himself was, “…Namast-ay out of crime?”.
Everyone started smacking him with their yoga mats and towels.
He accidentally kicked Skulker through portals three separate times. Once to a beach with a very pissed off lifeguard, because Skulker had shot off a taser weapon and basically electrified the entire beach. Another time to wedding, Skulker wound up getting tackled by three bridesmaids and someone’s uncle named Darren. And the third time, was just directly in front of a semi truck; Skulker left that time muttering about demanding a raise from Vlad.
He wound up redirecting one of Ember’s guitar rift lazer beams into a marble slab, made the perfect cut out of a crab. At least the city later installed it in a park. Danny took Leonardo Da Pinchi to see it, the crab raised its pinchers and did a little jig: Danny liked to think the crab was very pleased.
He even successfully unintentionally trapped a speeding Johnny in between two portals, driving through one and coming out the other over and over and over again. Danny eventually took pity on the guy and ecto-blasted the bike -and Johnny- the next time the ghost exited the one portal.
While rescuing a cat from a tree for publicity reasons, Danny got emotional because the cat resembled Leonardo Da Pinchi the crab somehow. So he accidentally portaled both the tree and the cat into the mayor’s office. Vlad was both pissed, because tree, and happy, because of the Danny-induced cat distribution system.
He even managed to link an active raging house fire to a bakery oven, shit smelled great but did nothing to actually help his situation. The fire fighters were very angry because the smell only reminded them that the call had interrupted their lunches, which were all slowly going cold at the fire house.
There was that one time the portal thing was actually working pretty well for him during a blackout, letting people pass flashlights and supplies and other necessary shit through them to get to other each other faster. Then one fucker had to start putting goddamn rubber chickens through them. Yes that was the kinda shit Danny would do, but it was very noisy and just made everyone mad at him. Since, again, it was something Phantom would do and everyone knew it; he couldn’t convince anyone that it wasn’t him.
The worst part is that the portals seemed to respond to emotions, but Danny was well known to have all the emotional stability of a soda can in a paint shaker. He was always too tired, a bit battered, stressed, over caffeinated, oh and the whole having the biology and physiology of two different species smashed together into one body. None of that shit was good for being stable in any sense of the word.
Nervous? Portal.
Excited? Portal!
Embarrassed? Three portals.
Crush smiles at him in chemistry class? Catastrophic portal event.
That happened with Valerie, because of course it did. They may not currently be a thing but goddamn does he still helplessly like her. That whole getting tied up and tased by her did things to his brain that he wouldn’t mind revisiting more consensually.
She’d leaned over his desk, “hey, do you have a pencil?”. And Danny’s only-slept-for-eight-minutes-and-twelve-seconds brain became a fireworks factory. A portal bursting open right between them, connected directly to the city aquarium. Aka one of the places they once went on a date to… talk about awkward, oh my Ancients. Really unfortunately, it connected to the inside of one of the aquarium tanks, not just the open viewing area where people could walk around, meaning that water surged out of the portal and all across the classroom floor instantly. A stingray flapped out onto Mr. Lancer’s desk, literal fish outta water moment right there. The teacher immediately rushing to get the thing in some water, while panicking a little bit about it dying on him. Though Danny thought the guy should be more concerned about the fact that the class was currently flooding, and that there had been a sudden portal, but Lancer was well known for being pretty unflappable in times of extreme stress and weirdness.
Valerie blinking, “…you okay?”.
Danny, soaked to the bone, holds up a pencil, wheezing and spitting out some water and seaweed, “number two?”.
She’d snags the pencil and mutters under her breath, “I hate this fucking town”.
Danny’d obviously tried training, that was the obvious course of action always. Heck, even meditation, which helped until he got annoyed at said meditation; Danny was not a sit down all calm and zen type.
He written a little journal titled Portal Thoughts & Oopses. Entries included such wonderful events, such as:
Angry: opened hole into sewer. Smelly, -2/10
Said “I could eat a horse.” Portal to petting zoo. Horse offended, 1/10
Sad: opened portal to rainy alley. Rude, 1/10. Sad playlist plus rainstorm opened portal to even rainier alley. Universe piling on, 0/10
Mild annoyance at homework opened portal that ate only page three. Teacher unconvinced, worth a retry, 2/10
Laughed too hard at own joke. Portal launched juice box into ceiling fan. Very messy, but also very funny. 4/10
Stubbed toe. Opened portal directly under self. Stubbed same toe again elsewhere. I actually broke my toe. -3/10
Hungry: opened portal into bakery again. Bought croissant, 8/10, croissant was very buttery. Hungry at 2 a.m. Portal to bakery again. Clerk now calls me “Doorboy”, 7/10
Sneezed twice. Opened two portals. One into other portal. Nearly created self-devouring geometry. Terrified math teacher, was hilarious 8/10
Startled: accidental moon glimpse?? Need follow-up, was awesome. 1000000000/10. Recreated when said phrase “need space”, zero regrets and new favourite phrase 100000000000000/10
Embarrassed blush event in chemistry. Portal projected donkey sounds for seven seconds. Extremely embarrassing, -6/10
Told Skulker to “take a hike”. Sent him onto mountain trail with map. Efficient and pissed off Skulker’s tinman ass, 9/10
Said phrase “this is going nowhere”: created hallway loop. Kwan kept running through it laughing, 6/10
Panicked during pop quiz created six tiny portals around pencil tip. Wrote in cursive at impossible speed. Finished 10 minutes early but still failed, 4/10
Angry shower singing opened portal to neighbor’s bathroom. We both screamed, -5/10
Tried keeping calm while lying. Portal emitted loud buzzer noise. Interesting moral stance, 2/10
Sleepy. Rolled over into portal. Woke up in hammock store, had good enough nap that Nocturne showed up to comment on it, 111/10
Startled by cat. Cat startled by portal. Both reached ceiling, 2/10
Accidentally said “what’s cooking?” near cafeteria. Portal to the set of Hell’s Kitchen. Gordon Ramsay furious, risotto excellent, 15/10
Whispered “drop dead” at video game boss. Controller fell through portal into antique shop. Tuck was pissed, -4/10
Frustrated with tangled earbuds. Portal untangled them by removing one earbud entirely. Missing still, 1/10
Overconfident mood. Attempted stylish hero landing via portal chain. Landed in recycling bin, -1/10
Had mild panic attack realizing I may never fully control this. Tiny portal popped out a neon yellow ecto-cake pop. Comforting yet sassy, 2/10
Jazz had opinions on the whole issue, of course she did, she always had opinions. Her pointing at him, “your power doesn’t lack control. You lack brakes”.
“That feels personal”.
“It was meant to”.
She told him to try meditating more, or journaling, or to stop focusing on a good pun over avoid a punch; massive fuck no to that last one. Never.
Then Leonardo Da Pinchi scared the bejeesus out of her by scuttling quickly across the living room floor, holding a knife in one of his pinchers. Her smacking Danny after he smirked and snickered at her, “now who’s the one that needs calming breaths”.
Then Vortex decided to be an ass and assault the town with unpleasant weather patterns again, basically holding the city hostage beneath a permanent thunderstorm.
“You will all kneel before my reign!”
Danny, crouching like a gargoyle, whispers to himself, “okay, okay, no panic. No jokes. Calm center. Steady mind”, pausing and adding, “though kneeling is rough on the knees”. A hint of a portal flickers, Danny glaring, “nope. Not today, Satan”; and zips off into spectral battle.
Lightning cracks across the skyline, Vortex cackling while little tornados rip around throwing cars and people, at least most folks are running away, and what cars aren’t already up into the air are trying to get away as fast as they can. Danny’s dodging lightning bolts and palm sized storm clouds, the occasional miniature sun. The streets goddamn chaos, some people are trapped on buses, a lot of children are crying, the ghost sirens are going off only to be swallowed by all the thunder.
Valerie, as the Red Huntress, is trying to redirect people, block lightning bolts and over aggressive hail, attempting to fire back at the ghost only for her blasts to get eaten up by tornadoes and spat back out at buildings or her; she’s clearly more than a little bit frustrated. “Phantom! Would you hurry up and deal with this asshole!”.
Fuck. “I’m trying!”.
Last time he basically only beat up this guy ‘cause he stole the dudes powers, weather powers he no longer has. So yeah, this is one of those moments where he gets a little bit scared. meaning… a bunch of fucking portals pop up, twenty to be exact. They erupt across the street like mirrors punched into reality. One swallows the next lightning blast and redirects it harmlessly into the harbour. Another opens up beneath some civilians, dropping them gently into a lobby at a nearby hotel. Another sends some mini storm clouds off to a pet adoption fair.
It’s pandemonium with a crap ton of paperwork for dear mayor Vladdie to do… meaning the guy is going to get back at Danny for all of this bullshit one way or another. Betcha that guy is really regretting ever bringing Vortex to this town so badly right now.
Danny floats in the center of the madness, breathless, and for once, he doesn’t fight the portals; he aims them. Not perfectly, not elegantly, but rather instinctively. Sometimes his powers just be like that; his intangibility, invisibility, and gravity nullification were the one’s most notably like that. He just… knew how to do it as long as he went along with his body, instead of trying to logic it out.
He flies in through one, out through another, rebounding off of a billboard, zips through a third, and lands feet-first on weather assholes back. Smirking at the small, “oof”, from the ghost. Danny grabbing onto the guys lightning bolt horn things, “forecast says…”, sending the shock of his ghost stinger, “…scattered unemployment”; throughly shocking the ghost to high hell.
The rain stops as the steaming ghost slumps over some, people start cheering before he even finishes getting the ghost into his thermos. He’s so totally going to have to have a word with the Observants about letting their little piece of shit storm god ghost out again.
Later on, in the school field under clearing skies, Valerie finds Danny in civilian clothes. He’s covered in debris and feeling way too sore to bother getting up. Her looking down at him and crossing her arms, “you disappeared during the attack”.
“Yup. I was… around”.
She smiles, “funny, that’s exactly what Phantom would say”.
Danny freezes, “uh”, and a tiny portal opens beside his head, revealing a llama in some distant field… the llama stares judgmentally.
Valerie snorts, chucking some food into the portal, the llama looks pleased. “Relax, Danny, you absolute shit kicked dumbass. You suck at fighting weather phenomenons”.
Danny groans, lifts his head up to bang it back down into the grass, ending up sticking his head down into a new portal instead that’s underwater. Jerking his now very wet hair back up, “fuck, goddamnit”, shaking his hair and eyeing her, still not moving from his spot on the grass, “how long have you known?”.
“You once returned a library book while hanging upside down, Star also watched you do it by the way. She also saw you screaming into a toilet, why you did that in the girls washroom I don’t know. And she saw you eat a ghost, which, why?”.
“Right”. WOW Danny really fucked up that secret keeping, goddamn.
She rolls her eyes, “subtle as a dead skunk”, shrugging a little, “your dumbass non-existent self-awareness got me my friendship back though, ain’t no point hiding my suit if she knows about your suit, so I guess thanks”.
He groans, and another portal opens up, raining flower petals from somewhere tropical.
Valerie shaking her head before stepping closer, kneeling down, and flopping over to lay on the grass next to him, “can you control those yet?”.
Danny looks at the pulsating green tear in reality, the impossible stars inside it, the chaos humming under his skin. “Control? No, fat goddamn chance”, he grins, “buuuuuut, I am getting the hang of making an entrance”.
Then he takes her hand, uses his feet to push his back upwards against the grass, dragging her along with him limply, and they fall through one of the portals in the grass.
They emerge on top of a table in a bakery three blocks away, Leonardo Da Pinchi the crab was waiting, clicking one claw and waving around an Oreo cookie. And, of course, Star’s there in a work uniform, trying to catch Leonardo Da Pinchi.
Danny scrabbling up off of the table and grabbing up the crab, holding him up above his head away from Star, “hey! You leave Leonardo Da Pinchi alone!”.
Valerie sitting up on the table slowly, “why does the crab have a name and how do you know it’s the same crab?”.
Star puts her hands on her hips and glares at Danny, “he or she keeps stealing all the Oreo cookies, either it goes in a boiling pot or take your weird crab home, get it out of here”, sighing, “it’s weirder that you named a normal crab, than the fact that you did that”.
Danny blinks and lowers his hands, holding Leonardo Da Pinchi to his chest. Then the fucking dick pinches his nipple, which of course startles him into making another portal… one that he immediately yeets Leonardo Da Pinchi through. Looking to the portal comically horrified, “what no! That was a claw-some throw but I was only trying to sidestep the drama, not relocate it!”, scrambling through the portal, shouting, “I’m gonna claw it a day! And- oh hey he’s good! Thanks for catching Leonardo Da Pinchi, Skulker!”.
The ghost can just barely be heard through the portal shouting, “just get this thing out of my suit! My poor wires and- ow! That’s my eye!”.
Star grumbling, “I didn’t mean to portal the poor thing literally inside of a ghost”.
Valerie and Star eye each other before the former gets off of the table and joins the other in walking towards the portal, grabbing Danny’s legs, and yanking him back into the bakery. At least the portal closes. Valerie points at him, “you can”, sighing heavily, “‘claw’ it a day here”.
Danny pouts, “but what about Leonardo Da Pinchi?”.
Star huffing, “you said he’s fine, he’s happier wherever he is and not at my job, that pays me quite nicely but probably won’t if I just let a crab run around free range”.
Danny sighs and slumps into a chair, “fine, I guess the aquarium is an okay place”.
Valerie patting him on the shoulder, “and you can even visit him whenever you want”. Star shakes her head, walks off into the back, and comes back out with some pastries on plates and sets them down in front of them.
Danny eyeing the food then Valerie, “is this a goddamn date now?”.
She smirks and rolls her eyes, “what do you think, ghost boy?”. A chair immediately falls down through a portal.
Star glares, “I will take back the food if you do that again, control yourself, oh my zone”, and walks off muttering about witting ‘chair disappeared due to ghost shenanigans’ report.
Danny very awkwardly takes a bite out of the iced bread thing, Valerie laughs very meanly at him.
End.
Prompts: Danny develops the ability to make portals. Now, if only he could control it.
Danny develops a fun new trait.
Danny thinks his secret is well kept, but it's really not. How did [random citizen] find out?
Danny's powers grow faster than he can handle.
Danny is laying in the middle of the schoolyard staring at the sky in the middle of the day.
Skulker is really not paid enough to deal with this
"When I said 'Let's get out of here', I didn't think you'd go this far."
Danny comes to term with the fact that he'll never understand his full power set
Danny and Phantom have managed to keep things a secret for nearly four years, regardless of Danny’s parents making that progressively harder and harder. But maybe they, mostly Phantom, got a little too comfortable with the situation they’ve got going.
Danny rubs his forehead, glaring down at the homework in front of him, he doesn’t know why anyone would need calculus. Sure he knows why he needs it but still, Danny just didn’t want to have to take two more science classes. It was either he take two science classes or one math class, sure his dumbass didn’t clue in that that was because calculus was fucking hard. His teacher wasn’t happy, he wasn’t happy; but he got a goddamn spare. A spare that actually gave him some proper time to spend with his body buddy. His little ghostie. Normally he could just meet with a ‘trusted’ teacher or the class advisor about finding and thus needing at school time with his soulmate; an aid option pretty much all schools put in place for kids who either couldn’t or didn’t want their folks to know. But Danny gets the wonderful luck of his soul mate being literally dead. Guy just pops out of a portal and bam! Danny’s got his ‘other half’ and now they both literally need each other to be healthy… and happy for that matter. Not only does Danny think that Lancer -the only teacher he even mildly kinda trusted- wouldn’t go for ‘gotta let my spooky boo externally cuddly with me!’, but also frankly Danny doesn’t want to deal with the goddamn ‘necrophiliac’ jeering if Dash and co. found out. Ugh.
Everything was fine, perfectly peachy, before his parents figured out how to basically suck ecto-energy out of things to generate electricity and shit. And especially before they decided to make amplifiers for it in and around the school, you know, to solve the whole ‘Casper High is a ghost hot spot’ problem. Except that was a problem because Danny and thus Phantom were mostly there for seven hours a day! If he could leave school during lunch or skip class and leave then he’d have been fine, but no Vlad and his stupid teenagers should wear trackers because of all of the abductions rule.
Fucking jerk.
Even if he had a point. Still. JERK.
Danny letting his head fall down and thunk on the desk/papers, “ugh this isn’t helping anything”. At least if Phantom was here and not out throwing fisticuffs Danny could try to hash this shit out with him, not that Phantom was any better at goddamn calculus than Danny was. Guy was a sorta god, not a mathematician.
Didn’t help that Phantom seems tired, meaning Danny’s tired, thank you mom and dad for your crazy ass inventions and thank you ghosts for still wanting to spar in a town that’s using your presence for free energy. Stupid cores. Granted the other ghosts got a nice free pass back to the zone via the ‘Phantom Thermos Express’ but Phantom just got Danny. Sure technically Phantom could go to the zone too but the too frequent and too prolonged separation just drained both of them more. Been there tried that. At least Phantom sends him a little soothing ping, likely picking up on a bit of the annoyance; no human can hide their emotions from a ghost for shit, even more so when you’re soul mates apparently.
Scratching his head a little before jumping from a somewhat soft knock on his door… not soft enough to be Jazz and she’s at college anyways, but weirdly soft for his mom; definitely not his dad though. Danny lifting his head a little, “yeah?”.
“Sweetie? Are you busy at the moment?”.
Oh fuck, he’ll beat himself with his own text book and give himself a concussion that Phantom will have to fix, if there’s about to be an invasion and she wants him ‘safely in the dungeon’. “Not really no. I’m just sitting here deeply regretting my math related choices”.
She of course opens the door, laughing slightly, “you wanted a spare, mister”, and moves to sit down on his bed. Not a great sign, but definitely a sign that there wasn’t an invasion on the horizon. So no having to fling off a warning alarm ping down the currently strained emotional line and panic his spooky, yay.
Danny leaning back in his chair and quirking an eyebrow at her, “so, what is it?”.
His mom eyes him a little, concerning, “so…-”. That’s not a good start, last time she started a surprise conversation like that it was ‘cause there had been a whole ass blob ghost stuck in his hair. “-do we need to put spectral blockers in your room?”.
What? Okay he gets that his room is horribly contaminated, more than the rest of the house is even, but they know that’s just because of a mixture of the crap kept in this house and himself. And it’s not like she could have seen Phantom in here, since there wasn’t any cameras and Phantom never just hung out in Danny’s room alone. Why would the guy? It was a hunters house! And he’s pretty sure no other ghosts just chill in his room ever. That situation with Elle was a massive outlier. So he makes sure his eyebrow looks very dubious, “…why?”, blinking, “I’m pretty sure no ghost is barging in here trying to steal my model rocket ships or homework, they’re welcome to take the homework if they want to though, not gonna complain there”.
The look she cuts him is absolutely judgemental, he just smirks before dropping it and rubbing his neck when she frowns a little. Him sighing, “okay seriously, what is it?”.
He’s not sure whether or not to be thankful when she just cuts to the chase. “Why is Phantom sneaking into your room almost every night? Is It threatening you? You know you can tell us if a ghost is harassing you right?”.
Zone fucking damnit he’s told Phantom to stick to invisibility around his house! Sure that’s kinda hard when the guy is running low on energy, but still! Danny blurting out, “what ghost!? No ghost is entering my room!”. She stares at him.
“I’m not being threatened or anything, mom!”; what is he actually supposed to say though? Like really?! He can’t exactly easily explain away a well known town ghost just barging into his room all the damn time! Oh and his anxiety and shock is probably gonna make Phantom want to rush back to him, hopefully that doesn’t result in him taking a hit or something. But hey, at least Phantom’s not stupid enough to fly into his room with his mom right here… hopefully.
She’s obviously misunderstanding his not so mild panic, her furrowing her brows in worry, “are you sure? Me and your father are good hunters even if Phantom is a tough one”.
Ha yeah in no world would his parents be able to actually beat up Phantom unless he let them, which well, he might. Dumbass. Lovable dumbass but still. He glares a little, response less panicky this time, “no mom seriously”.
She does not look impressed with him, “well if that ghost isn’t harassing or threatening you then what is It doing coming into your room at all hours of the night?”, crossing her arms, “I know you teens are a lot more tolerant and even fond of that spook, but that’s still a ghost and I would hope you’re not giving It Fenton Tech”. He one hundred percent totally was. She sighs, “and even if that was what you’re doing, doing that here? If you’re going to be doing something you know we won’t like at least be smart about it. And at night? Please tell me you aren’t part of the ‘Phan club’ that’s romanticized Phantom”.
Danny absolutely can not help full body cringing at that, that whole club was so embarrassing in both his and Phantom’s opinion. Not to mention the amount of stalking it’s led to. Putting his face in his hands, “mooomm no, just no. Nothing is going on, I swear”.
“Do I need to instal motion sensors and a net trap and ask Phantom myself?”.
Danny -like a fellow dumbass. Phantom was clearly in good company- speaks before his brain can catch up with his mouth; an ability usually good and reserved for witty comebacks not digging Danny into a hole, “I mean I wouldn’t object to him being all tied up”…. By the time that comment catches up with him he’s very glad his hands are already over his face. Fucking hell he is a moron.
“Want to repeat that without mumbling it into your hands?”.
Danny’s, “…no?”, is a smidge actively pathetic. At least at this point Phantom shouldn’t be worried since he can probably pick up that whatever nerves and shit Danny’s giving off is embarrassment induced. He’s not looking forward to the pestering he’s gonna get from the ghost later though, stupid ghosts and their love of gossip.
“Danny from where I’m sitting and from what I’m hearing it sounds like you’ve been letting some teenage ghost sneak in and out of my house through your bedroom window, and like you absolutely are part of that fan club. And did you really think I wouldn’t notice the human-shaped blur zipping into the exact same window constantly?”.
Danny groans, she wasn’t going to drop this and, like, what can he even say? “I tell him to go invisible”.
He can feel her staring at him for a beat, “you… tell him to go invisible”.
Danny looking back up at her, “yeah…”.
She pinches the bridge of her nose and squeezes her eyes shut a little, “at least you’re not the one being stupid”.
“Um. Your welcome?”.
He’s not surprised to get glared at this time, him giving her a definitely nervous wobbly smile and a little chuckle. She stands up, making him crane his neck as she crosses her arms down at him, “I am not impressed and you need to give me even one good reason to not basically force a Spector deflector on you”. Oh that would be bad, he hated those things since they rather painfully forced Phantom out and kept him out; not to mean toon made it so Phantom couldn’t even touch him without being in pain. Combine that with tired and low on energy and Phantom’s ecto being sucked dry for free town energy, both of them would wind up mildly comatose and ClockWork would show up to lecture them again. Omnipresent in-laws were the worst.
Danny blinking and glaring a little right back, “shouldn’t ’I like him’ be enough?”.
“With a human, Danny. A human. Not a ghost. Why a ghost? I understand why you wouldn’t be interested in Tucker, but there’s tons of fit lean boys at school if that’s your type”.
“Oh zone, it’s not about a type!”. Though yes, Phantom was his type. The fluffy sparkly hair, the green freckles, lean and fit but not super muscular, the glowing eyes almost always filled with amusement, and the stupid little stars he’d make for Danny’s amusement.
“Then what Danny?!”.
Shit Danny distracted himself a little, and being tired wasn’t helping; his own core almost aching with it.
Then, because of goddamn course, Phantom thunks into the wall below the window, sticks an arm in and hoists his chin up onto the sil. Danny turning his head to stare at the ghost, “seriously?!”, getting up, completely knocking the chair over, grabs a blanket, and smashes the blanket down on the ghosts head, “you have got to be kidding me! what’s wrong with you!”.
Phantom flails slightly before just grabbing the blankets like a spider, baring his teeth a little, “I, am tired”, huffing while his form vibrates faintly, “and I want my space cadet”. To be fair to the guy, the pull was absolutely there; after all cores learned to adapt to the general needs and wants and likes of their soulmates.
Danny whining back a little bit, “I know but this is like the worst timing”. Phantom just scrunches up his face in response.
“Oh no you don’t”, his mom fists up the back of Danny’s shirt and yanks him and thus Phantom inside. Danny’s back basically smashing into his mom’s stomach, Phantom all but head butting his chest, and the blankets getting smushed between the two boys chests. Danny jolts away from his mom like she’s on fire and gets Phantom behind his back protectively, why the guy is still holding the blankets between them Danny has no freaking clue. Maybe it had to do with the urge to slip in and cuddle up with his mates (Danny’s) own core? Danny glancing at his ghost then looking back to his mom, “uh. Please don’t shoot?”.
“I don’t mean to cause trouble, Mrs. Fenton?”.
“You don’t mean to,” she glares at both of them, “and yet here you are, floating in my house, a hunters house, after entering via my son’s window. You see the problem, right? What the hell are your intentions with my son, ghost”.
At least they’re not getting shot at! Though if this was a few years back then they definitely would be. His parents weren’t great but they were better. Plus her giving him, giving Danny, a faintly worried look means this is legit more about Danny than ‘ghosts’. And hey, maybe Phantom will have a better way out of this conversation than Danny?
“There’s absolutely nothing suspicious about this”.
Saying THAT makes it sound like there is something suspicious, asshole. Danny kinda wants to hit him.
“Do you take me for a fool, Phantom?!?”.
“I’m just a little guy in another little guys comfy room. He has nice blankets!”.
Zone the guy’s just gonna piss his mom off at this point, and there is absolutely no getting out of this at this point, blurting out, “he’s my soul mate”.
Phantom sags in the air dramatically, finally drops the freaking blankets, and basically smushes his collar ‘bone’ and neck into Danny’s shoulders. Danny wants to melt into the touch more than a little bit, core vibrating happily; pushing his shoulder blades back automatically. Phantom groaning, “oh thank the Ancients, I thought you were never gonna do that and I did not wanna be the one to and I am very tired and would like to board my very lovely spaceship right now I got stabbed so many times”, looking at Danny’s mom, “please stop sapping my ecto to fuel your town, it is, like, so annoying and tiring. And unlike my fellow spookies my soul mate has yet to give his corpse the boot so no I will not be ‘fucking off’ to the Infinite Realm and that will not do anyone any good”.
Danny glaring at him slowly, “and I’m not dying anytime soon”.
Phantom grins stupidly, “oh I’m not complaining, it’s nice to feel a heart beat again”, pulling a couple faces, “the lack of emotion awareness is super annoying though, I’ve been trying to piece if you needed help for like half an hour”.
“Well excuse me for not being made partly of emotions”.
“You’re excused”.
Danny, and Phantom for that matter, jumping when Danny’s mom snaps, “what do you mean soul mate”.
Uh, well, hmm, well him and Phantom are touching so… man this was gonna be the only time Danny’s legit happy about that whole soul mates cores glow when they’re in contact with each other thing. Danny just kind of awkwardly grabbing the hem of his pj shirt and yanking it up, revealing the faint blue glow coming from inside his chest. Phantom glancing at it, chuckling, nodding to himself and just… phasing into Danny’s body aka fleeing this entire situation like an asshole. Danny wobbling slightly and dropping his shirt hem, glaring at where Phantom was, “really man?”.
‘I am not kidding about being tired. Walker showed up and was being such an ass’
Ah okay that made even more sense, Walker always gave Phantom the run around and also made him do a shit ton of damage control.
‘Exactly! So now space wants his squishy little space ship’
Geez stupid needy ghosts.
‘Hey!’
His mom jerking forward and putting a hand tentatively on Danny’s shoulder, and basically staring at his eyes, “what was that? What did Phantom do? Are you okay? Soul mates, Danny?”.
Danny makes a point to stare back at her, so that she one hundred percent can see that his eyes are not green, and if Phantom decides to be a funny guy and flash his eyes over Danny’s, then Danny’s gonna zap him one.
‘Boo. You’re no fun’
Danny thinks Phantom can just deal with it and not make this situation worse or more awkward, thank you very much.
‘Hmpf’
Danny clears his throat awkwardly and puts a hand on his mom’s wrist, “I’m fine, mom. He’s just resting from getting into brawls for the past however many hours”, swallowing, “and, ah, yeah. Soulmates”. She saw his chest, his core, it’s not like he can fake that shit. Everyone’s cores glowed when they were with their soulmate, that’s just how shit worked. Like the universe was trying to make sure people didn’t miss their person once they found them. He still thinks it’s weird that people in the past didn’t even have cores, ghosts might be annoying sometimes and gossiping asses but the world being more spiritual, more connected to the zone, was worth it to have cores. She glances down at his chest and pulls her hand away from him, so he lifts his shirt up again. The glow was brighter this time, because of fucking course it was, their cores were literally melded together right now or over lapping each other, however exactly it worked. Plus there was two cores there now. She blinks, “it’s… brighter”.
Danny nodding awkwardly, “er, yeah. Two cores and, uh, his is, like, all, um, cuddled up with mine now”. Ghost cores were a hell of a lot more intimate and active than human ones were. Cores were an addition to human bodies, while a ghosts body was an extension of their core. A bodies soul manifesting in a more physical state, and a soul manifesting a body in a more physical state. Him swallowing, “ghosts, interact, with things with their cores remember? Including each other”. Sometimes Danny felt a little bad he couldn’t really do anything with his core back beyond tugging on their bond or zapping Phantom’s core when they were in contact like this, but Phantom didn’t really seem to mind.
‘A living core can’t play at fighting for dominance, and I like my dominance’
Oh geez there’s absolutely no way to stop himself from blushing a little at that; Phantom, of course, laughing at him immediately. He absolutely drops his shirt because now he one hundred precent feels over exposed. Almost blurting, “he’s not hurting me I swear”, sagging a little because he might as well just be goddamn honest at this point, “kind of the opposite actually”. Again with the whole ghosts cores were more active thing.
She stops staring at his chest to eye his face, “are you sure, Danny? And what do you mean the opposite? And what about It- about Phantom resting?”. He can appreciate the sorta correction.
Danny looking to his bed and then back to her, “I’m sure, but could we, maybe, sit down if this is going to be a whole conversation?”. She blinks once before nodding and awkwardly following him to sit on the edge of his bed. Danny rubbing the back of his neck and mildly trying to ignore the way she’s still staring at him, “ghost cores interact a lot more, they actually communicate. I don’t just get or give faint pleased purrs and hums or hints of my persons emotions and them hints of mine. I’m pretty much an emotional open book to him and I get specific emotional replies back from him some. There’s words and specific tones, pulls and pressures”, shrugging a little, “stuff a living core isn’t really, you know, normally meant for. So mine kinda expels energy more, hence the whole I’m a contaminant thing”, and chuckles a little awkwardly.
“So you’ve known the why for that the whole time?”.
Danny cringing a little and glancing around, “yeah, sorry”, clearing his throat and looking back to her, “and ghost cores are more, ah, needy? of each other so all of everything is more draining than normal when we’re apart”. Normally human soul mates just got emotional, grumpy, bummed out, and unmotivated when apart too long. While ghosts could and would outright de-manifest their physical forms back into their cores, but that was extreme since ghosts cores could actively connect and communicate across the ectoplasmic atmosphere of the zone and shit. That even sorta worked in Amity! Before his parents started sucking the town dry of its free floating ecto anyway. Grumbling a little, “especially with the lack of free floating ecto in town now”.
She blinks at him before putting her elbows on her knees and knitting her fingers over her mouth, staring at forwards, “is… is that why you’ve seemed more tired lately?”.
‘Oh so they have noticed’
Okay there’s no reason to be an ass, there was no reason for them to think too heavily that had anything to do with him being tired. He was in his senior year of high school, of course he was more tired! School was harder, university was a looming threat; adulthood neigh! His friends were more stressed, he was more stressed; it made sense his folks would think it was school and nothing else. Clearing his throat, “part of it for sure, yeah. Phantom wouldn’t really get all that tired fighting, since he could just replenish from the free floating stuff and nothing else was draining him. And he could just send his own energy through the portal and all the free floating stuff at me when he was in the zone for a while”. Sighing, “and the amplifiers at school plus the stupid trackers, I really hate those things, makes it difficult for me to get any good physical touch in during the day since he gets drained so much if he leaves my body, my core, and stays inside the school. The spare’s nice but the amplifiers drain him, so he needs a good core cuddling after”; what ever the amplifiers did manage to suck from Phantom through Danny’s skin the guy just replenished easily due to their cores close contact making the self generation easy for the guy.
She looks back to him, eyeing his chest with a small amused glint in her eyes, which is legit relieving to see honestly. “So Phantom is… hmm, ‘core cuddling’ you right now?”. Danny, of course, blushing instantly, because as cute as it was it was also absolutely embarrassing to be called out on. Sam and Tuck teased both of them enough as it was! And ClockWork’s silent amusement wasn’t much better!
‘I’ll take amusement over Clocky’s judgmental stares any day!’
Oh so would Danny. If ClockWork decided to stare judgmentally they absolutely could and would follow you around and do just that for multiple hours. After all, time was merely an optional concept to them. Phantom’s told him the tale of ClockWork doing that for three days to him once!
‘Never again’
It was very effective.
Danny glancing around, “he needs to rest and replenish”, grumbling a little, “and fine, it’s nice”. Sure sometimes Phantom tried to interact with his core way beyond what a human core was capable of, making Danny’s wires get jumbled up or crossed or whatever, but eh it was usually an accident or something the guy tried not to do more than once or twice. Like when the guy tried to poke at what Danny’s Obsession was, something humans don’t have and that ghosts have a hard time grasping humans not having. Phantom was still pretty insistent that Danny’s would be space though, Danny’s not gonna argue on that.
His mom sighing and rubbing her forehead some, “and that ‘rest’ is needed partly because of the Fenton Ecto Sifter?”, sighing again, “somehow everything we make seems to wind up hurting you somehow”.
‘Whelp. Now I feel like an Ass’
Danny giving what he can of a feeling of a supportive pat to the guys core, it vibrates back in a way that rattles his chest a little, him shrugging, “I mean, I’m always either connected to or housing a ghost so”, rubbing his neck, “and we both know you guys mean well. You’re trying to help the town with its weird level of ghost problems and sure there’s some bigotry, but like, less than there used to be”.
Her eyeing him, glancing at his chest and back up, again, she was going to be doing that a lot for the next while, wasn’t she? “If it wasn’t for your core I’d have a hard time believing you aren’t being manipulated here. Even then I still want to ask if you really like Phantom, like a ghost. Natural instinctual attraction or not”, shaking her head, “I know the answer yes, of course. Same as it was a yes every time Vlad asked if I really liked your dad”.
Danny really doesn’t get how Vlad’s still so interested in going after his mom when the guys got Plasmius. Like really dude. Sure sometimes people dated outside of their soul mates even after they found said soul mate, but that was usually with all parties being a-okay with it. Or, you know, people just being asshole cheating douche bags who seemingly didn’t give a shit about hurting others or themselves. Phantom was definitely not in the ‘willing to share’ category.
‘Ha ha. No’
Yeah neither was Danny himself.
Danny chuckling a little, “mom, I’d have to be blind and deaf to think you and dad don’t love each other”.
“Exactly”.
Danny nodding and swallowing, “yeah. So, uh, obviously I like like Phantom, and he’s pretty jazzed about me. But it’s, uh, not like we both aren’t aware that it’s weird”. One of them was alive! The other was dead! One was a mostly average space crazy wannabe astronaut and the other a freaking death god. One had ghost hunter parents and the other had literal time god for a parent. Frankly it was a good thing both of them were already slightly weirdos beforehand.
“And he… actually feels that same way about you? Likes you like that?”.
Danny can’t help but glare at her, “yes mom, if anyone can attest to ghosts having emotions it’s the guy who can freaking feel them. Especially when Phantom can be a sappy corny shit head”.
‘Oh you love it’
Sure, maybe he does, doesn’t make it any less corny though.
She blinks, “language”, shaking her head, “and they feel the same? They feel just like human emotions?”, blinking again and tilting her head a little, “I can’t imagine how that would be possible?”.
Part of him wants to brush this off as bigotry but he’s mature enough now to know at least some of it is just pure genuine confusion. Genuinely not getting how it’s possible. So he doesn’t give her too much of a hard time, “if anything his emotions are more. Ghosts are always feeling something, there’s always emotions, and they always hear and feel and pick up on them too. Humans don’t. Hence his little comment about my lack of emotion awareness making it hard to tell what’s up earlier. Ghosts seem to communicate with raw emotion a lot, even with people who aren’t their soulmate”, rubbing his neck, “I’ve learned how to a little, with Phantom any way. But eh. And I definitely think he comes off ‘more human’ because of learning stuff from me”.
‘Oh yeah you living guys are terrible for misinterpreting things and fall for bullshit. Your lack of purpose and odd ways of bonding’.
Rude! But yeah propaganda didn’t really work with ghosts for a reason. “Like ghosts literally have a ‘manipulative’ emotion, they can tell when another ghost is being manipulative so ghosts never hide when they’re being like that, so he was always confused by ya’ll accusing him of being manipulative when he wasn’t. Ghosts don’t know that humans can’t just tell”, shrugging, “lots of things like that”.
She hums, nodding a little, “I guess I’ll just have to take you word for it”, looking at his face, “but how long has this been going on? You and… and Phantom? How long have you known?”.
Danny flushing almost immediately, he knows damn well she wasn’t going to like the answer to that, “uh, since the beginning? The portal opened up and he just kind of came out of it crashing into me, and we both just got bashed into the wall by the impact. Then, well, you know how it works”, coughing awkwardly, “the tingling and core purring and feeling like you just got dunked in an ice bath. Like a card being jammed in a card slot”, furrowing his brows, “also different though, like my core was trying to dissolve my insides to soup. Phantom actually got gooey and, uh, scared the crap outta me by dissolving into ecto on top of me”, rubbing at his chest a little because he had absolutely freaked out when that had happened. He had found his person and they had gone and dissolved into goo on him! “That’s uh, the first time he went, uh, inside me. His core basically ramming into mine, which yeah wasn’t great. He knows how to not be too much now”, chuckling awkwardly, “living cores aren’t really meant for direct contact like that, you know”.
“Alright I’m not impressed this has been going on that long, but-”, sighing, “-I understand you not telling us, especially back then. With how close-minded and firm we were”. Danny just nods a little so she continues, “and I would have freaked out if your dad had dissolved on me too, so that I completely get. You not saying anything because you were focused on It-him. I’m guessing Phantom, entering you, didn’t freak you out too much purely due to his core touching yours and how that felt?”.
Danny clearing his throat and nodding slightly, “yeah, it basically blitzed me out and made me feel like a sensitive over exposed live wire that was constantly being grabbed at, pretty sure I saw some colours that don’t exist. Like rubbing up against a cold sun filled with static, flickering thoughts and feelings I definitely couldn’t make sense of. He freaked a little over me being a limp ragdoll on the floor for, like, an hour or two”.
She cringes, “I’m glad Phantom is gentler now”.
Yeah so is Danny.
‘I just think of your core like it’s an egg! Easy to crack or break but holding something lovely’.
Danny putting a hand over his chest, over his core, when Phantom sort of swirls or twists around it like a cat. Purrs get exchanged of course, while Danny nods at his mom, “yeah. And just to make it clear, I didn’t have to ask him to be nicer, he just did that on his own. Don’t think I need to point out that he’s the protective type. No ones allowed to hurt me, including him”. It was really really obvious.
She blinks but actually smiles a little after a beat, “ah so Phantom started playing at protecting the town because of you then”.
“I wouldn’t say he’s ‘playing at’ any thing. He’s legit protecting mom, whether you guys like to see it that way or not. And sure fine, me living here is definitely part of it”. It was literally the guys Obsession after all, not that Danny would be saying that. You don’t out a ghosts Obsessions.
‘I would take over your mouth if you tried anyway’
Danny mildly hates that the first thing that brings to mind is ‘kinky’ and he is ignoring the mild smirk emotion thing he’s getting from Phantom.
She doesn’t look like she really believes him but she’s not outright saying he’s lying either so… eh it’s something. “Alright. Okay”, sighing heavily before nodding and smiling at him, “well, a soulmate is a soulmate, regardless of it being odd and me not being super happy about it”. What a way to both accept and not accept it. “Though I am happy knowing that someone capable has been looking out for you with all this ghost madness, besides just me and your dad. But I’m going to insist that Phantom at least tries to go about this in the human way. We’re human, you’re human. It- he comes over for supper, eating or not. Me and your dad judge the ghosts worthiness, while both of us work to ignore the ghost part”, sighing again and scratching her head, “maybe it’ll become less ignore and more okay with eventually, I don’t know Danny”.
Danny looking away and shrugging, “I, uh, never really expected okay. And I didn’t want it to be a big deal or cause issues. I wanted to just keep on keeping on, you know? And fine, I’m protective of him”. Which was working somewhat okay for him! He’d have liked to keep doing that! But if they do wind up becoming okay with this, with ghosts as a whole even maybe, then it’d be amazing.
“I can’t say I blame you, your aunt Alicia did the same with your grandparents”, giving Danny a bit of a look, “though I’m glad you didn’t have a fake marriage with someone just to continue to lie to us”.
Danny can’t help snorting at that a little, “I mean Sam and Tuck would totally go for that but no”. Sam would be on board purely to piss off her parents and Tuck was a weirdo who’d go along with just about anything.
She laughs a little too, good, “and I do want you at least talking to Mr. Lancer about this because, sweetie, you’re not cut out for calculus”.
Cut deep why don’t you.
‘Ha’.
Oh shut up. “And what? Tell him I’m mated to a ghost? Like sure, now I don’t have to worry about him calling you guys about that kind of statement but still”, glaring a little, “and that still wouldn’t solve the issue with the amplifier or me not being able to get out of said amplifiers range without a tracker going off”.
His mom looks suddenly a lot more awkward, “we could… code the Sifter to ignore his specific signature, the amplifier wouldn’t matter then. We’ve… had complaints over not already doing that”.
Okay that slightly ticks him off just a little bit, “you deserve to get complaints over that if you’ve been able to just do that this whole time”, groaning and putting his head in his hands, “your guy’s Phantom hate is really annoying, and not just because of the mate situation. That too but, ugh, you know what I mean”. Then he gets that fizzing sensation behind his eyes and can feel the little pricks of annoyance from Phantom, guy clearly had a thing or two he wanted to say. Sighing into his hands, “Phantom also has an annoyed thing or two to say about that“.
“We… we thought we were doing what was best for the town and by that do you mean, overshadow you? Instead of… coming? out?”.
Danny, still talking into his hands, “he’s still recuperating”. The eye fizzles gets a little more persistent, but hey at least he sorta asks now unless someone really pisses him off or he got over protective of Danny… Dropping his hands to look at her, quirking an eyebrow.
She sighs slightly, readjusts to be sitting up a little straighter, and nods at him, “alright, but Phantom better not get up and start puppeting your body around”.
That’s fair enough he supposes. And Phantom, the guy who is definitely not known for self restraint in this relationship, promptly flares his green eyes over Danny’s. Phantom crossing Danny’s arms at her and laying into her immediately, “I get that you guys have this whole ‘we’re ghost hunters and we don’t like ghosts’ thing going and that yeah this town has some bizarre ghost issues”, rolling Danny’s eyes, “how you guys keep attracting gods I do not know”, glaring at her again, “but being actively and knowingly malicious towards me is just kinda dumb since y’all do need me because again with the whole attracting gods thing-”. Okay Danny knows they don’t actually believe in the whole gods are ghosts thing. “-whether you believe they’re gods or not-”. Oh hey look Phantom’s valuing his input. “-oh shut up you, I always value your input”. Way to go making himself look crazy in front of Danny’s parents. At least all Phantom does that time is glare at nothing and give Danny’s core a little bit of an internal smack.
His mom blinking at Danny/Phantom, “is, is Danny still aware in there?”; she was very clearly tense but trying not to show it.
Phantom rolling Danny’s eyes, clearly not impressed that that was the part she was choosing to comment on, “I’m not actually over shadowing him. Just using a couple of things, with permission”. Sure the guy could do that without permission too but that wasn’t important right now; and it wasn’t something he was wholly opposed to either. “Enthusiastic permission sometimes”. Oh zone he did not need to say that! And Danny was gonna fight for his mouth back if the guy says something like that again.
At least Danny’s not the only one that found that statement embarrassing, his mom flushing a little and coughing, “right…”, clearing her throat, “maybe me and Jack have let our, opinions, cloud our judgment slightly-”. Danny seriously doubts she realizes how surprising that is to actually hear her say even if he’s heard it multiple times in the past year. “-but not having a way to at least weaken a clearly strong ghost is far more foolish. And frankly, the only reason I’m rethinking that, with you, is because of my son being your soulmate”.
And Phantom… Phantom sticks Danny’s tongue out her and makes a, “bleh”, sound. The fizzing fading as Phantom just gives Danny back his full control. Danny blinking a couple times before shaking your head, “that was real mature”.
‘She hasn’t earned my maturity’
Oh for fucks sake.
“You okay sweetie?”.
Danny sighing and making a point to give his mom a small smile, “I’m fine, he’s just being pouty”, shaking his head and frowning a little at her, “and mom, I get where you’re coming from with the strong thing but seriously, the town likes and has accepted Phantom, it’s way past time you guys did too”.
Her sighing and sagging a little, “I’ll… try, but as for accepting you two together, I stand by having suppers together”.
“Ah technically-”.
“I don’t care about technically’s, mister. Suppers without this, body sharing situation”.
“Yeah yeah yeah”.
“And I’ll call Mr. Lancer if you don’t”.
“Mom!”.
She smiles a little and shakes her head, “no buts. You can’t not have physical time with It- him, with him, and I’m sure the school will let you have a private library room for forty minutes”, narrowing her eyes a little, “just to hang out of course”, then sighing, “because yes, I… don’t think this relationship should be made public”. Danny absolutely can’t help flinching at that. It’s not surprising that she wouldn’t want anyone or, forbid, the whole town knowing about the Fenton son having a ghost for a soulmate. She winces, “I don’t mean it like that, I don’t mean it negatively. Just that, well, Phantom has that Phan club I accused you of being in, and I’ve seen the mobbing chasing videos”.
Danny blinking and cringing, rubbing his neck, right yeah, that. “Heh. Yeah. If it’s anything, he doesn’t like all that either and fine yeah that would make me trying to finish school a lot more difficult”.
“Yes, it would. Just like you not telling Mr. Lancer currently is”, her shaking her head slightly, “I’m not saying you have to tell him which ghost, but if you do I highly doubt he, of all people, would go harassing you about it”.
Okay that was fair, Lancer was pretty chill like that. And it wasn’t like a guy who side hustled as a drag queen was gonna give a crap about Danny being gay af, “oh I know he won’t, I’m just, not great at telling people things like this?”.
“Clearly”.
Danny wincing, “hah, yeah, sorry, again”, swallowing, “but you are going to Phantom proof the Sifter? Like, actually do that? Because yeah, that’s definitely not helping”, gesturing around a little, “makes him tired, and me tired, it’s messing with our communication, he can’t be in the zone for a long time, has to spend more time in me, yadayada”.
And she… she actually ruffles up his hair for the first time in this entire conversation, “yes, Danny, I meant what I said. Especially if it really is causing that many issues. Even if I did fully oppose this, which I do not, trying to break up soulmates is pointless, cruel, and never works. Like it or not, Phantom’s your soulmate; you have proof of it. And knowing your father he’ll act like he never ever once even had a problem with Phantom’s entire existence”, smirking, “he’ll probably even whip out the baby photos”.
Danny sputtering a bit, “what- no. Uh, he’s, um, probably already seen them anyways so there’s no point totally no point”.
‘Oh I definitely haven’t’
Danny blinking, blurting out, “wait you haven’t?”. That's weird, Danny would have thought ClockWork would have just shown the guy purely to mess with both of them.
‘Naw, Clocky says that’s totally your parents job. I will have so much fun with that’
What no! Ghost baby photos weren’t nearly as bad as human baby photos! Ugh!
“Do I want to know why you’re blushing? And what would make you think he’s seen them already?”, levelling Danny with a bit of a glare, “that ghost better not be snooping through our personal things. Our weapons are a different matter, he’s a ghost I expect that kind of snooping”.
Well he’s glad she can acknowledge that a ghost going through ghost hunter weapons was reasonable. “Uh, he’s just bugging me about the, baby photos comment”, and rubs his neck, “and his parent has a weird power set”.
She blinks at him, “his… parent”.
Danny quirking an eyebrow, “yeah?”. And wait shit right his folks still don’t believe that ghosts can reproduce or that adoption is a thing. “Uh, Phantom was literally never alive. A born ghost”.
She blinks harsher this time, “I… I think I’m going to want to revisit that later”, and then mutters, “that shouldn’t be possible”, to herself. Danny should probably refrain from giving her any more world shattering news today.
‘Like her son’s parent in law being the literal manifestation of time and older than the universe itself?’
Yeah! Like that!
‘Or like her son’s soulmate being the literal manifestation of death?’
That too. Definitely that too.
‘Then there’s also that you’ll probably be some kinda Ancient too when you finally kick it. Probably space. Eh definitely space’
Oh fuck him so much.
‘Who knows! Maybe you’re already an Ancient and just the Ancient of life! And that’s part of why we’re soulmates!’
That’s a massive mental plot bunny and an existential crisis that he doesn’t need to deal with right now… or ever possibly.
Danny shaking his head out, “uh yeah, probably a good idea”, pouting slightly, “but please get dad to at least spare me for a little while?”.
She still looks a little too wide-eyed but she does smile at him a bit meanly, “oh I don’t know mister, you’ve avoided it for almost four years already”.
“Moooommm”.
“I’ll hold him off for two diners, just two, but only if you tell him yourself about this”.
Oh zone. Was that worth it? Because yeah… dad, dad absolutely would just pull out the photo albums immediately. Especially once he found out they were soul mates and not ‘just a couple’ and that Danny and Phantom had been a thing for multiple years. And those ‘two dinners’ would give his dad some time to take shit in and calm the fuck down… damnit. At least an omniscient parent in-law didn’t need time to adjust to things!!! Danny sagging a little, groaning, “fine”.
She smirks at him, “good because he’s home and waiting”.
“Wait what!”.
“Do you really think I’d see Phantom going into your room all the time and not talk to your dad about that?”, she ruffles his hair again, sighing, “I convinced him to let me ask you about it alone, since he can be so, well, excitable”.
Okay… that was fair he thinks. His dad could be worse than FrostBite and Pandora, which was saying something.
‘Pandora only gets super excited about you because you can use weapons weirdly good’
Danny thinks Phantom is just jealous. Danny nodding a little at his mom, “yeah that’s true”, glancing at his desk, that shit was so not getting done tonight or ever possibly. Clapping his legs and pushing himself to stand up, “well I guess there’s no point in not just bitting the bullet now, huh?”.
She giggles at him faintly, “not really no. But are you sure you don’t need to lay down or sleep with Phantom ‘resting’?”.
Danny blinking, slightly confused, “no? I was tired and he’s still resting but I’m not tired now because he’s got some rest. That and I’m not being drained now from the, you know, connection picking up on him getting drained and hurt and stuff. And core contact is still physical contact so that helps too”.
She eyes him like she’s trying to sus out if he’s being honest or not, “hmm, okay”, getting up and walking with him to his door, “he’s probably worry tinkering with the toaster, again”.
Danny glaring as they head down, “I hate that stupid toaster”.
“But your dad loves it and that’s what matters”.
His mom gesturing him into the kitchen, “well go on”. Startling the hell outta his dad, who sends a couple pieces of toaster or random tech maybe, flying, “Danny-boy!”, tilting his head at Danny, “Mad’s talk to you about that darn spook?”.
Danny whines a little, shifting on his feet. Beating around the bush with his dad wasn’t only pointless but also dumb, “uh, yeah. About that-”.
“Is It breaking in!? Do I need to fight It!?! Did you manage to befriend a spook somehow!?! Does Phantom like space things and that’s why It’s busting into your room!?! Did you dare It to repeated duels for the Fenton family honour!?!”.
Oh goddamnit dad. “You don’t need to fist fight my freaking soulmate, he’s had enough of that tonight!”.
‘I mean, I’m not that tired now’.
Danny thinks Mr combative can chill out and not offer to fist fight Danny’s dad; especially since said dad would definitely say yes and probably eagerly.
His dad stills and blinks, “your soulmate!?! YOU FOUND YOUR SOULMATE!?!”, and suddenly Danny’s being bodily lifted up and swung around, “that’s amazing Danny boy! And he’s a ghost hunter!”, pausing and lowering Danny a little, not enough for Danny’s feet to actually be touching the ground but enough for his head to stop spinning a little, “a ghost ghost hunter. But still!”, and then continues swinging Danny around a couple more times. Eventually putting Danny down, his mom steading him while his dad chuckles awkwardly, “sorry ‘bout that kiddo! But a soulmate! Wow!”.
Danny shaking himself off violently, “uh, yeah. Zinged and everything”.
His dad laughing a little again, “ah I remember when me and your mom zinged”, then frowning a little and bending slightly to be just a little bit more on Danny’s level, “but why was your soulmate trespassing in the dead of night like on some sitcom? You could have dragged him in through the front door?”; rubbing his neck, “you know, when I imagined meeting my son’s soulmate, I pictured a barbecue. Handshakes. Possibly a back breaking hug. Not espionage!”.
‘Not espionage, he’s says. As if I’m not literally a ghost busting into a ghost hunters home’
Oh Phantom’s clearly a bit offended that the sneaking around might not have been super needed with Danny’s dad, at least now anyways. “Dad. He’s a ghost. One you’ve actively talked about dissecting in front of me???”.
His mom flinching while his dad goes wide-eyed, “oh”.
“Yeah. Oh is right”.
His mom sighing and putting a hand on Danny’s shoulder, “obviously that’s not happening, not now and not ever”. His dad nodding immediately, “I, uh, that hasn’t even been on the table for at least a year, and it never would have been if I’d know, that’s for sure”.
“Good?”. What is Danny even supposed to say to that? If either of his parents was actively cool with trying to chop Phantom up now he’d start throwing fists himself!
‘I’d totally be your cheerleader. I’d rock the outfit and everything’.
That was a mental image that Danny doesn’t know what to do with.
“So how long have you known?! Did he rescue you like a princess? Or did you bump into each other on the Nasty Burger roof? Was it a meet cute!”.
“What?!? No! Oh my zone dad”, Danny groaning and putting his head in his hands immediately. Ugh why are his parents so embarrassing??? Danny, at feeling his eyes fizz up again, just gives up. Let Phantom say whatever dumb shit he clearly wants to. Phantom not moving Danny’s hands from his face, snickers, “I yelled catch before body slamming him into a wall when your portal yeeted me out at him”. Yup. Stupid.
It almost sounds like his mom jumped, “P-Phantom! A little warning, both of you!”.
Phantom moving one of Danny’s fingers to peek a green eye out and smirk at Danny’s parents, “I will not apologize”.
Danny’s dad blinking at the green eye, “I’m confused and don’t want to jump to conclusions”. His mom sighing and turning to the man but keeping an eye on Danny/Phantom, “Phantom being a ghost and Danny being a human has apparently made things a bit weird”, sighing, “and we need to make the Echo Sifter Phantom tolerant”.
The man laughs, rubbing his neck and straightening back up fully, “ah yeah, I guess draining the ecto out of Danny boys soulmate would be pretty rude of us”.
Phantom fully dropping Danny’s hands and eyeing the large man, “ya think? I’m strong so I don’t care that much but it’s still annoying as fuck”. Dude can’t just be swearing at his parents!
Danny’s mom chastising him immediately, “language”; his dad doesn’t look super impressed either.
“You literally shot at me last week I think I can swear a little, as treat”.
Okay no Phantom can shut up now. At least the guy doesn’t fight him on giving him back control when he pushes for it. Danny shaking his head out, “don’t be a dick”.
“Danny!”.
Danny pouts at her and shakes his head again, eyeing his dad, “uh, ghosts are more involved with their cores so he kinda just, um, cuddles up with mine and recovers after fights and sh- stuff. And you know, the whole doctor recommended physical contact”, rubbing his neck, “explained it to mom”, and nods his head at her.
She nods at his dad herself, “it’s just part of being soulmates with them. So yes, Phantom is around, under Danny’s skin, a lot. Most of the time probably”, and looks back to Danny questioningly.
Danny wiggling his hand back and forth in the air, “eh? It depends, he was away more pre-Sifter, since we could still be connected via all that free floating ecto-”.
He’s legit not surprised when his dad interrupts him, “-so we need to stop depleting the town quite so much?”.
“That’d be nice yeah”.
His mom giving him a bit of a judging eyebrow, “only enough that what you guys are doing works again though, this town does not need to be contaminated enough to start growing ecto-plants”.
‘I for one don’t see the issue with that’
Of course he doesn’t, he’s a ghost. Granted Danny doesn’t take much issue with it either but that’s because Danny was firmly ‘ghost friendly’ and had been around ghost flora and fauna plenty enough. “Yeah yeah, okay”.
Both of them nod firmly at him, his dad going wide-eyed seconds later, “wait if he’s here then that means I can get the photo albums!”.
No no no no, Danny looking, panicked, at his mom immediately; trying to beg with his eyes. She smirks at him a little before turning to his dad, “Jack hon, no. We’re having some proper suppers with his soulmate first”.
“But he’s had supper with us?”.
“We didn’t know Phantom was there and Phantom wasn’t even out with us. Those don’t count”.
His dad deflates a little, “ah I guess you’re right”.
She nods strongly, “and they’re soulmate meet and greet suppers, not a research chance”.
“Aw but-”.
Danny can’t help but chuckle a little over how his dad shuts up immediately at her glaring. These ‘suppers’ were going to be weird and awkward as shit though. And he still had to talk to Lancer, ugh. Because yeah, fuck Calculus.
End.
Prompts: Maddie has been noticing the ghost boy actively going into her son’s room. What could the ghost boy want with her son? (Could be halfa Danny or split Danny)
Soulmates AU (can be platonic/romantic/familiar/nuanced)
Drs Maddie and Jack Fenton have created a new source of green energy that feeds on the ambient ectoplasm in Amity to simultaneously generate power and weaken those pesky spooks.
Good dad Jack reveal!
Anything involving Danny and Maddie's relationship. Fluff or hurt/comfort, good parent Maddie
Phic Phight - The Fenton Spectral Containment Research Tests
For: @corvidspectre
The Fenton family conducted a rigorous scientific review of traditional anti-Ectoplasmic Entity methods, only to find that nearly all performed poorly or produced bizarre non-helpful side effects.
Project: Empirical Evaluation of Historical Anti-Ghost Countermeasures
Lead Team: two doctorate certified ecto-ologists, Dr. Madeline Fenton and Dr. Jackson Fenton. One phd certified psychologist, Jasmine Fenton. One ecto-ologist intern, Daniel Fenton.
Abstract
Historical Anti-Ectoplasmic Entities Countermeasure Efficacy: A Controlled Review
This study evaluated a range of traditional anti-Ectoplasmic Entities practices under laboratory conditions using controlled instrumentation, repeatable protocols, and marginally cooperative spectral subjects. Methods tested included salt barriers, iron wards, holy water aerosolization, mirrored containment arrays, Latin exorcism playback, sage fumigation, bell resonance exposure, and candle-circle deterrence.
Results demonstrated that most classical protections failed to produce consistent suppression of Ectoplasmic Entities. Salt lines were physically disrupted, iron caused only incidental spatial entanglement, and holy water prompted relocation rather than banishment. Mirrors generated severe perceptual anomalies, while prerecorded Latin rituals proved ineffective when poorly pronounced. Sage smoke enhanced visible manifestations, bells produced erratic resonance-dependent responses, and candle circles primarily improved environmental aesthetics.
Across trials, Ectoplasmic Entity reactions appeared less governed by material properties than by subjective preference, symbolic recognition, and personality persistence after death.
The study proposes a new behavioural model, Reciprocal Superstition Dynamics, wherein spectral entities respond selectively to beliefs they themselves endorse. Researchers conclude that successful non-harming non-capture focused haunting mitigation may require psychological intervention, negotiation strategies, or postmortem conflict resolution rather than historical deterrent objects.
Historical Claim: Ectoplasmic Entities cannot cross a line of salt.
The Fenton team constructed a perfect 3-meter diameter sodium chloride ring using laser-guided dispensers. Moisture content calibrated, grain size standardized, purity: 99.8%.
They then invited Subject DM-5, a Draconian maid apparition, into the lab. She approached the line, paused, looked offended, then slowly bent down and blew on it. Half the ring dispersed. She crossed while muttering, “Pathetic”. Daniel F. was amused, which seemed to please the ghost.
Result:
Salt barrier ineffective against entities possessing lungs, wind, legs, gravity nullification, sarcasm, or contempt. See: nearly all Ectoplasmic Entities
Follow-up Discovery:
The ghost did avoid iodized salt, but only because she claimed it “smelled modern”.
2. Iron Poker Repulsion Trial
Historical Claim: Iron wards Ectoplasmic Entities.
The Fenton team suspended twelve wrought iron objects in a Faraday cage around Subject LL, a food-Obsessed lunch lady Ectoplasmic Entity. Subject LL passed through all of them unhindered, then became trapped for forty minutes inside a decorative Victorian coal-burning stove. Ectoplasmic Entity was extracted through the means of a food fight started by Daniel F. and Jackson F.; Madeline F. was unamused.
Result:
Iron does not repel Ectoplasmic Entities. It merely creates embarrassing geometry problems. Cooking related objects remain the best way to lure, trap, or converse with Subject LL.
Secondary Observation:
Haunting intensity increased whenever cast iron pans were insulted.
3. Holy Water Aerosol Dispersion System
Historical Claim: Holy water banishes Ectoplasmic Entities.
The Fenton team atomized consecrated water into a fine mist and dispersed it through HVAC ducts into a sealed containment chamber containing three simple wisp Ectoplasmic Entities. All three Ectoplasmic Entities vanished instantly. Celebration was premature, as they had merely floated to the dry side of the area and were shrieking through the containment walls; Daniel F. stated they were shrieking obscenities.
The Ectoplasmic Entity known as Phantom later came, took a cup of the consecrated water, and drank it. Jasmine F. was incredibly annoyed, and attempted, once again, to get the Ectoplasmic Entity to attend therapy. Madeline F. admonished the Ectoplasmic Entity for contaminating the test materials; It was non-apologetic, stated water “tastes like zone apples”.
Result:
Holy water functions less as weapon, more as an annoying weather pattern or ectoplasmic-like fruit juice.
4. Mirror Reflection Containment Study
Historical Claim: Mirrors trap Ectoplasmic Entities or reveals them.
The Fenton team placed 64 mirrors in a hexagonal chamber to create recursive visual fields. Ghost Subject E-10, a multi-eyed Greek Ectoplasmic Entity, manifested six times simultaneously, became self-aware of multiple angles, and screamed. Then every mirror in the room reflected the researchers instead, but older.
Daniel F. resigned to rest briefly, disturbed by the sight; muttering about “inevitability”.
Result:
Mirrors interact with Ectoplasmic Entities unpredictably and may also bully the living.
5. Latin Exorcism Playback Experiment
Historical Claim: Sacred Latin drives away Ectoplasmic Entities.
Instead of a priest, they used a studio-grade speaker system with pristine audio playback. Upon hearing it, the resident poltergeist corrected the pronunciation, then it demanded the verb tense be changed. Turns out the Ectoplasmic Entity had been a grammar instructor in 1720.
Phantom then offered to let Its “time dad” correct the wording before a retest. Offer was taken, unfortunately time-related Ectoplasmic Entity turned out to be, similarly to Phantom, a trickster. Sacred Latin instructed subject C-1, a size changing dog Ectoplasmic Entity, to slobber all over every chair in the area. Daniel F. found this hilarious.
Result:
Latin potentially effective only when grammatically competent, and not translated by Ectoplasmic Entities of the trickster variety.
Air quality sensors showed particulate rise, latent ectoplasmic energy sensors showed that Ectoplasmic activity also rose. Several invisible Ectoplasmic Entities gathered near vents and used the smoke to write rude messages in cursive.
One with seemingly small hands drew a pirate ship. No one knew why, however Daniel F. flipped the invisible writer off.
Result:
Sage smoke increases visibility of haunting graffiti, which only stands to encourage Ectoplasmic Entities to play with it.
Infrared cameras showed the Ectoplasmic Entities merely using the candles for mood lighting. One Victorian-themed Ectoplasmic Entity asked if everyone wanted to “do séances properly for once”. Another requested softer shadows. Subject E-3, a musician rocker ghost, stated it “gives me new ideas for stage lighting”.
Result:
Candle circles improve ambiance, not security.
Final Scientific Conclusion
After three years, twenty-seven trials, and substantial property damage, the Fenton’s published a landmark paper:
Historical anti-Ectoplasmic Entity methods are largely ineffective unless the Ectoplasmic Entity personally believes in them.
This theory, dubbed Reciprocal Superstition Dynamics, suggests Ectoplasmic Entities are governed not by physical law, but by aesthetics, stubbornness, and unresolved personality traits. Jasmine F. specially adding that therapy was a more effective deterrent.
End.
Prompt: The Fentons trialing some more old fashioned anti-ghost measures, like salt circles and wearing stockings inside out, with mixed results
