I saw a thing a while ago about Danny’s ice core making all food and drinks cool down instantly so he gains a sudden likeness and tolerance for spice because it’s the only thing he can taste or use to warm up anymore. My mind immediately went to — as teenagers — Manny sneaks some spice into Danny’s food as a prank, because of the whole “white people can’t handle their spice” thing, and is disappointed and impressed when it fails.
It turns into a thing where he keeps adding more spice to Danny’s food and Danny just keeps smiling. Manny officially gives up when he sees Danny munching on a ghost pepper like it’s a cracker.
Dan would more likely bite ur face off if you tried it with him but for Manny...for Manny, he comes RUNNING. SPRINTING. JUST BC HE SAID HE NEEDED A HUG. He's a no touchy dude and his gaurd is always up. He got softer when dating a certain tiger. aaah the big infamous douche being soft (and vice versa ofc)
Okay, now you've got me imagining this: yandere Dan Phantom.
Imagine if young tigerghost had their first kiss right before the events of ultimate enemy in the bad timeline. Both of them excited and nervous that they finally have confirmation the other person feels the same way. Then, the disaster at Nasty Burger happens, leaving Danny all alone in his own timeline and he isolates himself from the Unite gang - Manny included - out of despair. By the time everyone hears about what happened to Danny, it's too late; Dan has already come into existence.
Now when the gang confronts Dan, they're still trying to call out to Danny and believe that he's in there. Dan however has no hesitation when it comes to knocking them all out, until it comes to Manny. Something inside him still yearns for the tiger, which surprises him. He thought he'd killed off his human emotions (quite literally too), so this feeling must be something else. Dan leaves without finishes off the Unite gang, but they keep coming for him. They never reach out to Vlad (why would they) so the Unite gang never got the full story; they still believe that Danny is somewhere inside of Dan.
Especially Manny. Because every time he looks at Dan, he sees something flash behind Dan's eyes, every time he sees Dan, he sees a flash of the boy he kissed all those years ago, the boy he still holds a candle for. Every time the two of them get close, Dan seems to crumble slightly, hesitate a little more, as if all he wants to do is crumble into Manny's arms instead of beating him up.
Dan would write the nagging feeling off as his ghostly obsession. Every ghost was obsessed with something, and clearly he was obsessed with this masked tiger. So what if he takes Manny hostage one day, instead of just fleeing from the fight? Now I'm just imaging the kind of conversation they'd be having in the ghost zone, with Manny pleading and trying to appeal to Danny. But Dan just yells at him that Danny is gone, so Manny then starts calling out to Dan, and Dan just breaks. Even though Manny's the one beat up and bound, Dan hold him and cries, saying he'll keep Manny here forever and make sure that nothing is ever able to take the ones he loves away from him again.
From then on Manny doesn't have the strength to try and break free. He can't stand seeing the man he loves upset, even if that man is literally only a ghost of the person he once loved.
I keep thinking of this scenario where El Tigre and Danny Phantom being one universe right? And Paulina has this somewhat crush on Manny because she seems attracted to the whole “bad boy” thing and Manny’s well known for being a menace at times and has that Rivera Charm. And she is absolutely FLOORED when she sees Manny going after Danny of all people!
Holding the door for Danny, carrying literally anything for him, hanging out with him almost all the time, openly flirting with him but also turning into a nervous pile of red-faced mush whenever Danny reciprocates, and clearly trying to impress him at pretty much every turn!
And she keeps asking herself how Manny could be so in love with Danny while barely passing her a glance?
Manny: My crush said “Is there soccer on?” and turned on the game and walked away. Two hours later, I’m like “What is he doing?”. He’s napping. He turned it on to occupy me like a toddler.
Danny pinched the bridge of his nose.”So- let me get this straight…”
He looked down at the two teenagers who summoned him. One of them, the blue haired girl, was slowly taking steps to get behind the boy. At the same time, the boy was stretching his arm out to protect her. He narrowed his eyes at the boy.
“You have no one to take to some event where you need a plus one, and instead of either staying home or going with your friends, you decided to try summoning the ghost king to ask for help?” Danny asked. He was glad he wasn’t putting up with any crazy cultists this time, but moments like this are a reminder of why some adults dislike teenagers so much.
The boy smiled sheepishly and nodded.”Well… yeah?” He said.
Danny sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.”Well, you’re out of luck. I can’t magic someone to life, and I’m not just going to take someone and force them to be your date.” He said.
The boy turned around to look at the girl. The girl shrugged before her eyes lit up as if she suddenly had an idea and whispered something into the boy’s ear. The boy’s jaw fell and he briefly glanced back at Danny before turning back to his-- friend? Sister?
After a bit of back and forth, the boy cleared his throat and looked up at Danny’s hovering form.“Well…. What about you? Could you go with me? Your highness? Ghost-iness?” The boy asked. His cheeks turned red as he spoke.
“Excuse me?” Danny blurted out flatly.
The boy’s cheeks turned red. He reached a hand back to rub his neck.“W-Well, I mean… You are kinda handsome and I can’t show up dateless, so…. Will you go with me?” He asked.
This wasn’t the most insane thing Danny had been asked by summoners — one asked him to kill an entire bloodline — but it still felt like it.
Danny thought about it. He had a list of believable lies and excuses that’d explain his sudden disappearance to his parents. But did he really want to go?
“When is it and how long do I have to be there?” Danny asked. Both teens looked at him surprised. The boy’s blush grew a little more noticeable.”I don’t have all night. I’m busy.” Danny added.
The girl glanced at her watch.”In about thirty minutes. I heard it’ll only last an hour or so.” She said.”This dude is gonna talk about space stuff and his job as an astro-engineer or whatever.”
The halfa was immediately sold and sighed.“Alright. I’ll go with you.” He said. He floated down onto the floor and held his hand out.”Since we’re apparently going to be dates, you can just call me Danny.” He said.
The boy lit up and clasped both hands around Danny’s.”I’m Manny!” He said.
