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dreamwraith · 2 years

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Shiptember Day 3: 3rd Wheel

Ship: Pitch Pearl (parasite theory; Phantom was a ghost bonded to Danny)

Summary: During a cross-country road trip, Sam and Tucker notice something going on between Danny and Phantom. They call Jazz in a panic, but she blows past their every excuse until reaching the real reason for their discomfort: Sam and Tucker don't want things to change.

“Tucker!” Jazz interrupted, her voice ringing through the speaker phone. “Slow down! Start over. What’s happening between Danny and Phantom?”

Tucker forced himself to draw in a deep breath. “Okay, so….” He sat on the hotel bed in a further attempt to calm himself. “It started once Phantom got behind the wheel—”

“You guys let him drive? He doesn’t have a driver’s license!”

“He and Danny were still merged when they were learning how to drive,” Tucker said defensively. “So, he knows how to drive, he just can’t get his driver’s license because he’s not technically a citizen. It’s total bullshit which is why we agreed to make him part of the rotation.”

“And if a cop pulled you guys over?”

“Then Phantom would have overshadowed them. Come on, Jazz, we thought this through. We’re adults now too, you know.”

Jazz snorted. “You’re all barely eighteen,” she muttered.

Sam looked away from the window, and the two friends shared a commiserating eye roll. Dealing with Danny’s sister could be trying sometimes.

“Anyway,” Tucker said forcefully, “that’s when it started.”

“What started?”

“The…” Tucker met Sam’s eyes again, hoping she knew how to describe what they saw, but she only shrugged. “The thing. The thing going on between Danny and Phantom. Danny sat in the passenger seat and coached Phantom through the motions until he started picking up on it again. That was fine. Then the inside jokes started. Just. Little jokes about when Jack and Maddie were trying to teach them. Danny or Phantom would laugh and it was like…like…”

“And that made you and Sam feel left out? Is that what this is about?”

“That’s not the issue here,” Tucker said, evading the question. “It. Just. Didn’t. Stop.”

“They shared a mind for almost two years, Tucker. Of course they’re close.”

“Not like this,” Tucker insisted.

Sam pushed away from the window and approached Tucker on the bed. “Has Danny been hanging out with Phantom?” she asked Jazz.

“Wouldn’t you guys know that better than me?” Jazz asked, confused. “I’m at Harvard, remember? I haven’t seen either of them since Spring Break.”

“Yeah, but you speak to them on the phone, right?” Sam pushed. “Does Danny ever mention Phantom?”

“Of course he does. He keeps me updated on things over there. Phantom fought off an invasion last week, right? He’s worn out, and that’s why you all insisted on this trip?”

“Personal details, Jazz,” Sam clarified. “Does Danny mention anything beyond Phantom’s hero activities?”

“Maybe? I didn’t realize I was supposed to be looking for that kind of information.”

“He’s your brother!” Sam exclaimed. “Shouldn’t you care about how he’s doing?”

“Danny’s doing just fine,” Jazz said, defensive. “A little depressed that you guys are leaving for college, but otherwise…”

“She meant Phantom, Jazz,” Tucker said. “Your other brother.”

“What?”

“Phantom’s your brother too!”

“I love him like a brother, but why do I get the feeling you two are trying to create an artificial relation between us?”

Sam and Tucker shared a forlorn glance. “If Jazz doesn’t even see him as a brother,” Tucker whispered to Sam, “what are the chances Danny sees him as a brother?”

“Evidence would suggest the odds are slim to none,” she replied, huffing.

“And anyway,” Jazz continued, “ I talk to Phantom on the phone too. I don’t need to ask Danny when I can just ask Phantom directly how he’s doing. He’s stressed and suffering from PTSD, by the way. I think this road trip will be good for him. He needed to get away from Amity Park for a while and remember it’s okay to relax every now and then.”

“Does he mention Danny?” Tucker asked quickly.

“Why are you guys so fixated on this? I just said Phantom has PTSD! That’s a little more important, you know.”

“Just answer the question, Jazz,” Sam said. “We’re focusing on one problem at a time, we’ll deal with that later.”

“What is the problem exactly?”

“Does Phantom mention Danny?” Sam repeated.

“No,” Jazz said forcefully, almost groaning the word. “Not very often, anyway. Mostly just when he saves him. He likes bragging about it. I think he gets some sort of ironic pleasure out of rescuing Danny because of their past. But otherwise, I guess their paths just don’t cross very often. Is that what you guys are getting at? You think they don’t hang out?”

“I never noticed them hanging out,” Tucker confirmed. “And Danny and I share everything! I would know if they were best buds.”

“Once they started talking, it was like they had just rediscovered an old friend,” Sam explained.

“So?”

“So they haven’t stopped talking.”

“So?”

“So it’s been six fucking hours!” Sam exclaimed.

“So?” Jazz repeated pointedly. “They have a lot to catch up on. They’ve been separate for, what? Two years?”

“So you’re saying…” Tucker and shared another glance with Sam, “six hours of nonstop talking, laughing, gossiping, and touching? That’s not weird at all?”

“Touching?”

“Danny keeps touching him,” Tucker whined. “He just won’t stop, it’s like he’s, he’s drawn to him or. Something. And Phantom keeps leaning into, like what? What the fuck?”

Jazz started laughing.

“It’s not funny!” Tucker and Sam shouted.

“Oh my gosh, you two are jealous!” Jazz cried, laughing still. “I can’t believe this!”

“I’m not jealous!” Tucker objected.

“This is serious, Jazz!” Sam yelled over Jazz’s laughter. “Your brothers are falling in love with each other!”

Jazz snorted a laugh and squeaked, “That’s why you guys keep pushing the brother angle, oh my, ohhh my sides…”

“Jazz!”

“It would be so much easier for you two if Danny and Phantom were actually like twins, wouldn’t it?” Jazz said, snorting still, her tone mockingly sympathetic. “Then you could just sweep all the discomfort under one easily labeled trash can and throw it out, huh?”

“What are you talking about?” Sam demanded.

“Forget it. I can see you two aren’t mature enough for that sort of introspection.”

“Hey!”

“What makes you think they’re falling in love?” Jazz asked. "One six-hour conversation during a long car ride doesn’t really mean anything, you know.”

“It’s the way they’re speaking to each other,” Tucker said, groaning. “I don’t think you understand, Jazz. And it wasn’t just during the car ride. It was at every rest stop, too. It was during dinner. It was in the backseat. It was everywhere! We arrived at the hotel two hours ago, and they’re still talking! They went swimming together, Jazz! Swimming!”

“Oh no,” Jazz said in mock horror, “Swimming! I hope they brought protection.”

Disgusted, Tucker shoved his phone into Sam’s hands. “You explain it to her!”

Sam groaned. She sat on the bed beside Tucker, but Tucker didn’t want to sit anymore. He stood and walked over toward the window, maneuvering around the bags Danny had yet to unpack. He had set them beside the bed he had chosen, the bed he and Phantom would share. It had seemed like the least awkward arrangement when they had been making plans. Sam would get her own room; the boys would get the room with two beds. Danny and Phantom were bi, so Tucker had been just a little bit shy about sharing his bed with either of them, and Sam definitely couldn’t without stirring up old flames, which meant the two who used to share a body would have to share a bed.

Easy.

Phantom would sleep with his human half. Danny could sleep beside his ghost half.

Easy.

Nothing would happen between them, right? Danny certainly hadn’t seemed all that uncomfortable with the idea. He had only shrugged. Phantom had only seemed grateful he was actually going to sleep in a bed at all. Danny had warned him not to hog the blankets, and Phantom had warned him not to snore.

But that had been at the start of their trip. Tucker wondered now if Danny would be so blasé about sleeping beside someone like Phantom. Dubious past aside, Phantom was the hottest heartthrob in their year group, as voted by the senior yearbook—and he hadn’t even been in the running! How was Danny’s gay little heart supposed to resist Phantom after they had spent all day acting like lovestruck fools?

Was Tucker going to have to wear earplugs just to drown out their whispering? Was he going to wake up and find them spooning?

He had hoped it would happen before, but that was just because he wanted to tease them! He hadn’t wanted it like this.

“They’re so focused on each other it’s like they’re the only two people in existence,” Sam complained to Jazz.

“I’m sure they haven’t forgotten about you and Tucker.”

“Yes, they have!” Sam snapped. “You’re not here, Jazz! Trust me. They wanted to be alone so bad they ran to the swimming pool just to get away from us.”

"Did they say you couldn’t come?”

“No…”

"Then they weren’t trying to get away from you. You could have gone too.”

“Yeah, well, no thanks, I don’t feel like throwing up. I can handle only so much lovey dovey shit in a single day.”

“You could try being supportive, you know.”

Sam snorted. “They don’t need any support.”

"They will once this dream is over and they have to return to reality.”

Tucker froze, his hand halfway toward the curtain. Behind him, he heard Sam suck in a breath. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Have you two forgotten how hard same-sex couples have to fight to be accepted? Danny hid his attraction to guys for so long out of fear, do you really want to be the ones who make him feel ashamed again?”

“This is a little more extreme than having a crush on Kwan,” Sam objected, but her voice had softened.

"Yes, it’s going to be even harder because Phantom isn’t just another boy, he’s a famous hero, an infamous troublemaker, a mystery to all Amity Park! He is under intense scrutiny, and once he starts dating another boy, that scrutiny is going to turn on Danny. Danny won’t just be judged for dating someone of the same sex either, he will be judged for dating a ghost. What would have been accepted in a straight couple will suddenly look amoral between two boys in a biracial—bi-species?—relationship.”

“Oh no,” Sam said softly.

"The worst offenders will, of course, be Mom and Dad.”

“Shit,” Tucker added. He glanced over his shoulder at Sam, but she was staring blindly into the distance.

“If Danny is serious about pursuing Phantom, he will eventually tell Mom and Dad, and then he’ll be back in that uneasy position where he has no idea if our parents will kick him out because of his connection to Danny Phantom.”

“Would they?” Sam asked quietly.

"I don’t know,” Jazz answered honestly. "They’re paranoid. They might suspect Phantom of brainwashing Danny somehow. It’s easier to believe this is all Phantom’s fault than to accept Danny likes the infamous ghost boy. They might accept Danny’s choice, but it’s equally likely they’ll try to ‘fix’ him.”

Tucker drew in a sharp breath through his teeth.

"Danny delayed and altered this confrontation, but so long as he pursues a connection to Phantom, he’s always bound to circle back to seeking Mom and Dad’s acceptance. Don’t make him have to fight for yours as well.”

Tucker pushed a hand beneath his glasses and rubbed his fingers against his eye. He turned away from the window and pressed his back against the wall, suddenly feeling sick.

“But, Jazz,” Sam said, “Phantom is Danny’s ghost half. They can’t date. They’re the same person. This isn't like if Phantom started dating some random human, this is his human half."

“First of all, that was two years ago. In all that time, Phantom has been fighting, defending, training, and only occasionally relaxing. Danny has been living as a normal student trying to catch up on his grades so he could graduate high school after spending those first two years flunking nearly every class. If you believe they are still the same person after living such extremely different experiences, you haven’t been paying attention. People change. Growth is inescapable, especially for Phantom. He’s had to learn some tough lessons that Danny has never had to face, and they have affected him as a person.”

Sam’s eyes finally met Tucker’s. She was frowning, which alerted Tucker to his own. He was relieved to see she didn’t like hearing this anymore than he did.

"Secondly,” Jazz continued, "Danny has repeatedly stated Phantom was a ghost that fused with him during the accident, he's not his ghost. It might just be a matter of disassociation where Danny is trying to distance himself from a very stressful period of his life, but from what he and Phantom have told me, they truly believe the portal accident brought two souls together for a time.”

Sam made a soft “oh” sound.

"They may look similar to us, but their souls are not the same, according to them. It might just be all in their head, but it's what they believe. That might be why they’re able to look at each other as strangers and talk for six hours without getting bored.” She scoffed. "I have no idea how they could talk so long, but I never had a crush before either, so…”

“Oh?” Tucker said archly, gaining a little of his fire back. “Danny says otherwise.”

“Danny’s a filthy liar who needs to keep his mouth shut.”

“So, this really doesn’t bother you at all?” Sam asked, cutting off Tucker’s teasing retort.

"Not really. What other people do with their lives is their own business so long as they aren’t hurting anyone. It’s something you two will learn in college someday too. I tried so hard to fix peoples’ problems when I got here, and it was totally the wrong thing to do. I hurt my friends, and I exhausted and stressed myself out over things that were none of my business. There’s only one thing I care about now. Are they happy?”

Tucker and Sam shared another look. Tucker pushed himself up from the wall, turned toward the window, and pulled aside the curtain.

“Yeah,” Sam said. She still sat on the bed. She didn’t need to see Danny’s lovestruck expression. They had been seeing it nearly all day.

“And you’re sure they’re falling for each other? It might just be friendship.”

Three stories down, Tucker saw Danny and Phantom in the pool. Or rather, he saw Danny in the pool. Phantom sat on the edge, his bare legs lazily kicking the water. Danny’s body drifted chest-deep in the water, his arms folded over the ledge, cushioning his cheek as he stared up at Phantom. It looked like Phantom was talking about something—flying maybe, given the smooth glide of his hand gestures—and Danny was just watching him.

Watching him with a little smile, a soft glow in his eyes completely unlike the kind that used to be there when he and Phantom were one.

“No way,” Tucker said. “I haven’t seen Danny look at someone like that since—” Tucker cut himself off and guiltily looked at Sam.

She sighed. “Danny has that dopey expression whenever he looks at Phantom now. You know the one.”

“Kind of strange since they don’t look that different,” Tucker said. “How can Danny be attracted to someone that looks so much like him?”

“Actually, that’s very common! You might notice couples often look alike, and this is believed to be caused by something called ‘positive sexual imprinting.’ It isn’t the only determining factor, of course, but scientists and psychologists have long studied why we—and other animals—are more attracted to mates who share physical—”

“Yeah!” Tucker interrupted. “Danny can just develop a crush on himself because humans are strange! Got it!”

"If you don’t believe me, google ‘couples that look alike.’ You’re touching on a huge academic topic here. Maybe I should make a paper about this…it's probably why Danny was attracted to Sam. You two look alike too. Remember that rumor about you two being twins?”

Sam grimaced. "That's not the same thing."

“Isn't it? I’ll repeat, Danny and Phantom aren’t brothers. Just because you two see them as brothers doesn’t mean they feel the same way. If you can’t let go of your preconceived notions and listen to what Danny says, you aren’t any better than my parents.”

Tucker grimaced. “That’s not fair…”

“Neither is forcing my brother to accept your views at the cost of his happiness!” Jazz snapped. “Danny loves you two. You are just as capable of hurting him as our parents. Knock it off. You knew all of this already. You two are just trying to justify how upset you are by shifting the blame onto Danny and Phantom. That way you don’t have to confront what’s really making you two upset.”

“Oh yeah?” Sam said hotly. “And what’s that, Doctor Jazz?”

“You and Tucker are leaving Amity Park to attend your dream colleges,” Jazz said, gentling her tone. “But Danny is staying behind. Your childhood where the three of you fought ghosts together is over. After Danny and Phantom separated, you still clung to this idea that he and Phantom were still somehow the same, because that’s how everything started. But now that they’re falling for each other you can’t hold onto that belief anymore. This is the end of that chapter, and the beginning of something new, something you two won’t be a part of. That’s why you’re upset. That’s why you want them to stop.”

Tucker made a low noise and stared down at Danny and Phantom.

“You’re getting a little too good at that phsycobabble stuff,” Sam said quietly.

“Please, I should have let you two discover it on your own if I really wanted it to stick. But Danny and Phantom don’t have that kind of time. If they actually fall in love on this trip—or even if they just get closer —that will be good for them. Phantom needs that human connection, and Danny will need someone after you two leave for the semester.”

“Why doesn’t Danny just leave with us?” Tucker asked, subdued. “He doesn’t have to stay in Amity Park anymore.”

“He said he didn’t feel right leaving Phantom to deal with the ghosts on his own.”

“Really?” Tucker perked up a little. “So maybe this thing isn’t actually all that new.”

“Nope.”

“You said they never mentioned each other,” Sam accused.

“I said Phantom rarely mentioned Danny. Danny talks about Phantom’s all the time. I suspected something like this might happen. It seems even Danny isn’t immune to Phantom’s heroics, but I could never be sure if it was just admiration or…admiration, you know? What about Phantom?”

“What about him?”

“Do you think he feels the same way?”

“Yes,” Sam answered promptly. “Without a doubt.”

Tucker groaned. “If he ever took his eyes off Danny, it was only because he was driving. It was his idea to go swimming…”

“Oh, the dreaded swimming. All that bare skin. How scandalous.”

“Shut up, Jazz.”

“Are they still in the pool?” Sam asked warily.

Tucker hummed, watching as Danny pushed away from the edge. Phantom slid into the water so gracefully he had to be using his flight powers. They were still talking. They were still focused entirely on each other. The underwater lamps rendered Phantom’s glow obsolete, and for a moment he didn’t look any different from a human aside from his white hair. He dove under the water, and a second later, Danny was yanked under with him.

“They were just talking, but it looks like they’re playing now,” Tucker said.

“Are you two watching them?”

“Noooo,” Tucker and Sam said in unison.

“You two are impossible.”

“Shut up, Jazz,” Sam said loftily, “our friend is falling in love here. These are trying circumstances.”

“Yeah, yeah. Give them privacy, you stalkers.”

Tucker made a rude noise. Danny and Phantom finally broke the surface, both of them panting. Danny’s face was red, but he was laughing. He splashed Phantom, and Phantom splashed him back. They did that a few more times, and then Danny threw himself at Phantom, and they went under again.

“They really do look happy,” Tucker said quietly.

“Just let them do their own thing,” Jazz suggested. “Neither one of them has had a serious relationship in a while. I doubt they’ll be able to think clearly if they are infatuated. Just give it time. They’ll calm down. Eventually. You have all summer, right?”

Sam groaned. “Don’t remind me…”

“All summer to watch our friend fall in love with a super powered hero and forget about us,” Tucker said. “Fun.”

“Maybe we should crash their little pool date,” Sam said thoughtfully.

“Oh!” Tucker let the curtain fall closed and turned around to face her, his eyes bright. “Now that sounds fun! I’m going to cannonball right between them!”

Sam flashed him a wicked grin.

Jazz groaned through the speaker. “Why do I even bother…?”

“Thanks for your help, Jazz,” Sam said, lifting the phone. “But we need to breakup their romantic night now. Bye.”

“Bye. Tell Danny I love him. Oh, and, if it comes up at any point in this trip, remind them to practice safe sex or I will personally come down there and give them a lecture they’ll never forget.”

“That’s so won’t be necessary with the two of us on duty, right, buddy?” Tucker said, grinning at Sam.

She cackled. “You bet!”

“Uh-huh,” Jazz said, unconvinced. “You two will keep two hormonal teenagers from doing anything when one of them has ghost powers? I bet you twenty dollars you’ll catch them making out in the backseat at some point.”

“First of all, that’s my car and they better fucking not,” Sam said. “Secondly, you’re on. We got this, right, Tuck?”

“Right!” Tucker said, pumping his fist. “There will be no falling in love on my watch!”

“You can probably stop them from kissing, but you can’t stop them from falling in love.”

“Ha!” Sam scoffed.

“Watch us!” Tucker shouted.

“That’s—you know what, never mind. Have fun. Don’t get yourselves killed.”

Sam and Tucker laughed. “Bye, Jazz!”

Sam ended the call, and Tucker pounded his fist into his palm. “Let’s do this!”

#Danny Phantom #Danny Fenton #pitch pearl #DP Shiptember 2022 #3rd wheel #Danny and Phantom as separate people #bittersweet #Timon- and Pumba-inspired panic lol #Warning: Sam and Tucker try to claim Danny and Phantom are like brothers as an excuse for why this shouldn't happen #Jazz is unimpressed and calls bullshit #implied road trip #writing trance

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ghostgothgeek · 2 years

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Here we go! Prompts for Shiptember 2022. You can choose one each day or double up if you'd like!

Please use the tag #DP Shiptember 2022 for your posts!

#let's get some FLUFF up in this bitch #enjoy the random photos #DP Shiptember 2022 #Shiptember #Danny Phantom #let's see your cute romancey ship content!

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mymadmedleyw · 2 years

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quarter to midnight (2733 words) by AllisonNoir

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: Danny Phantom

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Relationships: Clockwork/Pariah Dark

Characters: Frostbite (Danny Phantom), Clockwork (Danny Phantom)

Additional Tags: Dark Ages, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Eye Trauma, Observants (mentioned), Pariah Dark (referred), Partial Blindness, Worldbuilding, Ghost Hybrid Character(s), Shiptember (Danny Phantom), Day 6: Elopement

Series: Part 1 of fate written in the sky

Summary:

The Master of Time was the only daily visitor of the feared place. Little did he think lines gathered now to befall at last the day for rising the long forgotten power.

Yet, it came: Frostbite brought news. It keyed into bringing to light old hopes and once-taken promises.

It was high time to be freed.

#frostbite #clockwork #dark ages #dp shiptember 2022 #pariah dark #mind the fic tags #day6: elopement #danny phantom #dp fanfic

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ave-aria · 2 years

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“Danny and Valerie were so absorbed with building their snow fort that they failed to notice that Sam and Tucker had already forfeited the match.”

Shiptember Day 5: Building a Fort! I know it probably meant ‘blanket fort’ for the romantic undertones but with these two I couldn’t resist. Apologies for the extremely messy coloring - maybe I’ll clean it up later. ;)

#DP Shiptember 2022 #Danny Phantom #Gray Ghost #Valerie Gray #ice powers #Cryokinesis #Building a Fort #snowball fights

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ave-aria · 2 years

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DP Shiptember Day 3: Confession.

(This one was very late. Shhh)

“Hey Phantom,” Valerie said, approaching him in the field near Casper High. “Playing with your pesky dog again?”

Danny tensed, slightly, then eased up as he saw she was in civilian form, her backpack slung over one shoulder, no weapons in sight. His reaction was more of a reflex than anything. They’d made a truce over three weeks ago - and while they were both wary, it finally seemed to be sticking, this time.

Rolling her eyes, Val dropped her backpack on the sidewalk and approached Cujo. “You know, for a mangy mutt, he’s kinda cute when he’s little like this,” she admitted after a moment.

“Yeah,” Danny agreed. “Cujo’s got the puppy dog eyes down pat.”

“Cujo, huh.” Valerie huffed, as the dog trotted up to her without a care in the world. His tail wagged. Reluctantly, she bent to scratch under his chin. “Hey, if you named him Cujo, why does this little troublemaker have an ‘A’ on his collar?”

Aaaand the tenseness was back in his shoulders.

“You don’t already know?” Phantom asked, keeping his guard up.

“Sure,” Valerie drawled. “I always ask questions when I already know the answer.”

“But I’ve been trying to tell you for months--” He started, then snapped his mouth shut. If Val didn’t already know, then that meant...

Val raised an eyebrow at him, then crossed her arms. “Well?” she asked. “I’m waiting.”

Phantom held his breath, looking her over, then let it out in a sigh.

“Valerie,” he began, “Cujo’s not my dog--” he sighed. “--He’s yours.”

A pause.

“Run that by me again?” Valerie said.

“--Well, not yours, exactly,” Phantom corrected himself. “He belongs to your dad. Or--to Axiom Labs, actually.”

He gathered Cujo in his arms and brought him over, adjusting the pup’s collar. Valerie leaned in, a frown pinching her eyebrows together as she examined the tag. Axiom Lab’s Signature “A” sat proud on the front side, metallic blue, and their logo, an atomic symbol, marked the reverse.

“That... is Axiom Lab’s logo,” Valerie conceded at last. She let go, leaning back. “But I don’t think they have dogs?”

“They don’t. Anymore.” Phantom said. “Axiom got rid of them. Replaced them with--” he hesitated. “An automated security system,” he settled on at last.

She looked at him, her eyes locked on his face.

“You mean my Dad’s,” she said, after a moment.

Phantom reluctantly nodded.

Valerie’s face was unreadable. She seemed conflicted, looking down at Cujo with something mixed in her eyes. Cujo, confused, tilted his head back and forth.

“So, what,” Valerie huffed at last. “You’re saying this is some kind of messed up Karma?”

Phantom tensed. “What?” he asked, though he had an inkling where this was going.

“--That my Dad’s security system put this dog out of work,” she elaborated, balling her fists. “And so it’s just natural that the dog would turn up and wreck Axiom labs in return? That it was my dad’s own fault for losing his job? That he deserved it?”

“I didn’t say that,” Phantom said.

“Well, good, cause he didn’t deserve it!” Valerie snapped. Cujo whined when she started to pace. “ - I mean it’s not like my Dad was out to get the dog or anything, Phantom! He was just doing his job! Minding his own business! What right does this ghost dog have to just, to just swoop in, snarling, trying to exact some kind of messed up revenge--”

“Actually he was just looking for his squeaky toy,” Danny said.

Again, Valerie stopped in her tracks.

Phantom reached into his belt pouch and pulled out the bear toy, giving it a squeak. Cujo’s head immediately snapped towards it, his glowing ears perked up.

“He’s just a dog, Valerie,” Danny reminded her.

Valerie stared at Cujo for a long moment. It was hard to tell what she was thinking, watching as Cujo snatched the toy from Danny’s hand and shook it, making it Squee-a-sQUEE-a-squEAK; but after a minute, her defensive posture slowly melted, her eyes going soft and sad.

“He’s just a dog,” Valerie repeated, voice wavering.

Phantom sighed. “Listen, Valerie,” he began. It was a little hard to have a serious conversation as the pup kept squeaking the toy, but he did his best. “It’s not your fault, or your dad’s fault, or mine, or anybody’s. Sometimes bad things just happen. And I’m sorry. I wish I could fix it.” He scratched Cujo behind the ear. “I just want you to know I didn’t, like, train him to attack you or anything.”

“I know,” she sighed, reaching up to scratch the dog’s ear too. “I just hate it, that’s all.”

“I mean, if you want someone to blame, I guess we can slap that on Axiom Labs. They didn’t have to put their dogs down, or fire your dad, or anything.” Phantom shrugged. He paused when he saw Valerie’s eye twitch. “What?”

“They--put him down?” Valerie repeated, looking at Cujo.

“Valerie...” Phantom gave Val an uncertain look. “He’s a ghost. What did you think happened?”

Her eyes flickered from Cujo, to Phantom, then back, frozen. Cujo looked back at her, then furiously squee-ee-squee-eeee-EAK’ed his chew toy, shaking it hard. It dropped out of his jaws, flopping to the ground. Cujo stared down at it, for a long moment, then looked up at Valerie, tail wagging.

Valerie stared at Cujo, then sighed. “C’mere, you little troublemaker,” she murmured, gathering him from Phantom’s arms before Danny could object. Cujo seemed perfectly happy to be in her arms; he liked her, for what it was worth. He didn’t even like Sam as much as he liked Valerie.

Val scratched his ear, looking sad. “Sorry pup,” she said. “Shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. I’ve been trying to be better about that.”

Cujo licked her fingers, then barked.

She bent and gathered the toy from the ground, waving it in his face. “I guess I never thought about it,” she said at last. “--That you’re ghosts. That you died.”

“Well.” Phantom hesitated.

“I didn’t want to think about it.” Valerie said. “The truth is, I just wanted my revenge.”

Phantom didn’t know what to say.

“Well.” Valerie said. “If he’s my dog, I suppose I should take some responsibility, shouldn’t I?”

“I mean, you might have to settle for joint custody.” Phantom’s lips quirked, kniwing how Cujo sought him out any time he escaped the Zone. “But I’m sure we can work something out. He likes you.”

“Oh, does he, now?” Valerie put Cujo down on the ground, then waved the squeaky toy. “You want it? You want it, boy?” she asked, squeaking it erratically. Cujo barked, down on all fours. Reeling back, she tossed the toy across the field, and Cujo was off like a shot.

Sighing, Valerie turned to Phantom. “Forgive me?”

Phantom clasped her hands. ‘Nothing to forgive.” He assured. “But, uh.”

"Hm?”

“You, uh, might want to brace yourself.”

“...For what.”

Cujo came bounding back, in full ten-foot hulking guard dog form.

Danny reached out and made her intangible, (--in an amazing display of trust, she LET him--) and Cujo, going in for the tackle, phased right through her.

“He kind of gets over excited about his squeaky toy.”

“Ah.” Valerie said, sighing. “I should’ve known.”

#DP Shiptember 2022 #Valerie Gray #Cujo #Danny Phantom #Gray Ghost #Axiom Labs #Sketchy Sketch #Sorry for the Length

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ave-aria · 2 years

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DP Shiptember Day 6: Hands.

I know this event is supposed to be for more light, fluffy entries, but you cannot give me the prompt “hands” for this pair and not expect it to turn out just a little angsty, now, can you?

“What is your biggest regret?” she asked him one night when they were curled up together on the couch in the dark. It was a quiet night, one made for secrets and confessions, for laying their souls bare to their partner as they held each other close.

He turned to look at her, his eyes scanning her face. “You already know the answer to that,” he said with a frown. “Don’t you?”

“What, not telling me your secret sooner?” she asked, somewhat sarcastically. Because it was a rather standard answer, but honestly if he had told her any sooner, she probably would’ve riddled him full of bullet holes. He didn’t laugh, though, just kept looking at her with that dark shadow behind his eyes, so she answered, more seriously this time, “The portal accident. Right?”

He was quiet for a long minute, looking at her, and she couldn’t read his expression. Then, he shifted, moving to lay his head against her shouder, arms wrapped loosely around her body.

“You had just gotten your new suit from Technus,” he said, his voice distant.

Oh. Valerie thought. She, too, went quiet.

“I had taken Axiom’s jetpack,” he said. “So I could fly high up into the upper atmosphere to catch him. You followed.”

She, remembered the incident, how misguided and angry she’d been that she hadn’t even wondered where the new suit had come from, just that it let her hunt her enemy. Looking back physically hurt, sometimes. It wasn’t a fond memory.

“You cornered me,” he went on, and she could feel him shiver against her body. “The new taser on your hoverboard caught me in its trap. The electricity coursed through my body, frying my nerve endings. It felt like dying all over again.”

God. She closed her eyes. This was really shaping up to be more of her greatest regret than his, wasn’t it? She had nearly killed him, again. She had made him relive his trauma, again. Her own greatest regret was simple - she wished she had seen who Phantom truly was, sooner - but every misstep along that journey felt like her feet being raked across hot coals.

Why on earth was he taking the blame for this when she was the one at fault?

“I reacted on instinct,” he said, closing his eyes. He paused, taking a deep breath. “We blasted apart before I even knew what was happening. You were floating in space, upside down, body limp. And my fists were smoking green from the aftermath of the ectoblast. And I just-- I felt my heart sink.”

She curled into him. “Danny,” Valerie said. “I came after you. You were just defending yourself, okay? It was no different than any other time we fought.”

“But it was,” Danny said, his voice breaking. “Until then, I thought - I thought I could control the situation. I thought, who cares if she’s trying to kill my ghost half? I was quick. I could stay out of trouble. And if not, it’s only me that pays, right? I could hold out and you would eventually come around. And you did.”

He paused. “But that was the moment I realized it. All this time, I was flirting with disaster. Because it wasn’t just me in danger, was it? I wasn’t careful, that day, and you - you almost paid the price.” he lifted his head to look at her.

“It’s my greatest regret, something I can’t take back.” he said. “I wish I had never hurt you with my own two hands.”

#DP Shiptember 2022 #Gray Ghost #Valerie Gray #Danny Phantom #screenshot redraw #stars #hands

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ave-aria · 2 years

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Day 1: Tension.

Kicking off the first day of DP Shiptember Week, a little Gray Ghost. ...Danny, I know you’re super into this and all, but please maybe display a little self preservation before you get shot, ok? ...No? Alright then

Last year I did a different ship for almost every day of the week, but this year I’m in a bit of a Gray Ghost mood, so expect something a little fluffier tomorrow ;)

Valerie locked eyes with Phantom across the battlefield.

She was always making the same mistake. She would have him cornered, right where she wanted him, straight down the sights of her gun. But just as her finger tightened on the trigger, something would stop her. She’d catch sight of his stunning eyes, his playful smirk, and suddenly, she’d falter.

Too many team-ups, she told herself. Too many temporary truces messing with her head. He was reliable in a fight, and strong at her back, and now her body couldn’t tell the difference between friend and foe.

The worst part was, it felt right. They made a good team; his attacks moved seamlessly in tandem with hers, like they’d always been a team. Like they were supposed to be.

And she couldn’t shake the feeling that somewhere in the past, she’d gotten her wires crossed - how else had they ended up as enemies, rather than side by side?

Then, “This was fun,” Phantom quipped, playfully grinning ear to ear. “Same time next week?”

Was that a fucking pick up line? She fumed.

“Why you--!” Valerie found her determination, squeezing the trigger, just a fraction after he disappeared.

Fuck him. Valerie threw her gun to the ground, shattering it on the pavement below. This had gone on long enough. No more team ups! No more....

The thought tugged at her chest, strangely disappointed. She tried her best to ignore it. They were enemies. He’d ruined her life, hadn’t he? What business did she have, acting otherwise?

Still... When she thought about those eyes, that smirk, his hair...

Yes, he was still her enemy, that much was true.

But she couldn’t deny, deep in her heart, that there was definitely some tension, there.

#DP Shiptember 2022 #Gray Ghost #Danny Phantom #Valerie Gray #guns #Sketchy Sketch

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ave-aria · 2 years

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DP Shiptember 2022, Day 2: Flirting. I intended to have this up yesterday, but, well. Life happens. ;P

“You know, Phantom.” Valerie teased, lids half lowered and a smile tugging at her lips. “It’s a shame I have to waste such a pretty face.”

“That’s only if you can hit me,” he challenged.

Valerie quirked an eyebrow. “I can, Phantom. In fact, next time we meet, I’ll even give you a ten second head start.”

“Aww.” Phantom whined. “But then it’ll take you longer to catch me.”

“...You two flirt weird,” Danielle said, from behind them, rolling her eyes. “If anyone asks - I don’t know either one of you.”

[Day 1 - Tension]

#DP Shiptember 2022 #Gray Ghost #Danny Phantom #Valerie Gray #Dani Phantom #Day 2 #Flirting #Sketchy Sketch #Free To Color #I suppose it doesn't matter that it's a day late #I'm like one of two people doing Shiptember right now I think! lol #today's will be posted tomorrow

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dreamwraith · 2 years

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Shiptember Days 1 & 2: First and Comfort

Ship: Pitch Pearl (ambiguous; no real romance yet, just two lonely kids finding solace in each other's company)

Summary: On the first day of his freshman year, Danny flees the derisive laughter of his classmates and tries to find sanctuary on the school roof where he can nurse his wounds in private. He soon discovers the roof is already occupied by a mysterious kid with snow-white hair and neon green eyes.

Danny covered his swelling eye with his hand and held onto the rail with the other. His depth perception was completely thrown, and he tripped once or twice on the steps leading up to the roof. No one saw. No one had followed him out of the cafeteria. Sam and Tucker would have, but they were scheduled on a different lunch this year. So, it was only Danny.

Danny, his anger, his humiliation, and the ache in his chest that made tears gather in his eyes and loneliness squeeze his chest.

He paused in the stairwell a moment to suck in deep, ragged breaths. The door to the outside was only a few steps away, though. He wasn’t going to spend his lunch in the creepy stairwell when the outside world was so close. He just needed to get outside where none of the other kids would see him. He needed the sun on his face and the wind in his hair. Things wouldn’t seem so bad if he could just feel a little freedom.

He managed the last few steps and pushed open the door.

The fresh air gusted across his face—the half that wasn’t covered by his hand—and blew his hair back from his forehead. He breathed in deep and stepped outside. The wind was a little stronger than he had expected up on the roof, but it wasn’t so bad it would disturb his lunch. The sun felt wonderful on his skin. The scenery was pretty nice too. This was one of the lower roofs, and the trees by the picnic table stretched well above the parapet, their leafy branches swaying in the breeze—

Someone was already up on the roof.

Startled, Danny froze in place and clutched his lunch bag to his chest. Another boy was sitting on the parapet to Danny’s right, seemingly unaware of Danny’s arrival. That was…good. Danny wanted to be alone. Maybe he could eat in the stairwell after all and…

…feel worse as the small space and dim lighting made despair claw at his heart…

No. No, there was more than enough room on the roof for them both to be alone. Danny would just eat far away from the other boy. On the other end of the parapet, in fact. That was a whole classroom away. And the other boy didn’t seem at all interested in Danny, so that was…good. Yes.

Danny walked toward his chosen spot and sat on the roof—the roof and not the parapet because he wasn’t insane. He criss-crossed his legs under him, set his lunch bag in his lap, and tentatively explored the edges of his sore eye with his fingers. Dash Baxter had tripped him on his way to a table, and Danny had smacked his head against the edge of a bench seat. A tray had been overturned on him, and the cafeteria had roared with laughter. The teacher who had come to investigate had simply accepted the excuse Danny had tripped—see the spilled tray?—and never mind that Danny had a packed lunch clutched to his chest.

It wasn’t the most auspicious start to Danny’s Freshman year…

His cheekbone hurt. He winced as he probed the bruise. His eye was starting to swell too after having taken some of the blunt force. He was going to have a lovely black eye, and if middle school was any indication, the black eye was just going to keep his humiliation fresh in everyone’s mind. He could expect more mockery and more bullying in the coming days. Which was just great.

“So much for getting a fresh start,” he mumbled to himself.

He unrolled his lunch bag and glanced at the food Jazz had packed for him. A sandwich—a little squished at this point—an orange, and his favorite candy bar with a little smiley face drawn onto it with a sharpie.

A tiny smile pulled at his lips. A small sliver of warmth fought back his hurt feelings, if only for a moment.

He decided to eat the candy bar first—he needed the comfort—and glanced up at the other boy as he pulled open the wrapper.

The other boy still hadn’t noticed him. Or perhaps he was just ignoring Danny. Maybe he was trying to escape bullies too and didn’t want to risk drawing attention to himself. But there was something about his posture that…just didn’t seem to fit the “loser” stereotype. He looked as scrawny as Danny, but even sitting on the ledge, he held his back straight, his shoulders set with a confidence Danny envied. He wasn’t afraid. Not of bullies and definitely not of falling.

He sat crosswise on the parapet, one leg dangling over the edge, the other tucked under him. He was watching something on the ground. Just staring at him balanced on the edge of the roof like that made Danny’s stomach knot. He didn’t know if it was because the boy could fall or…for some other reason.

There was just something off about him. It might have been the white hair gently blowing in the wind, but Danny had met a few of Sam’s goth friends; he had seen stranger hair choices than someone deciding to dye their hair white. The boy’s black shirt and pants suggested he might even be goth himself. His eyes maybe? Danny shouldn’t have been able to see them from so far away, but the green of his irises were as bright and vibrant as his parents’ ghost portal.

Maybe that was it. Danny was associating the boy’s green-colored eyes with the creepy ectoplasm his parents were always playing with.

Mystery solved, Danny returned to his lunch. His feelings dragged him down again as he ate. Anger was harder to summon now that he was (more or less) alone, and without that distraction, the pain and loneliness set in. Everyone had laughed—everyone. Even the band kids. Even Mikey. Without Sam and Tucker, Danny was just…miserable. And he had a whole year of being alone.

Danny pressed the heel of his palm to his uninjured eye and angrily brushed a tear away before it could fall. He wasn’t going to cry over a little thing like public humiliation. He was stronger than that. He could handle the blows. He would be like the kid on the parapet who looked calm and confident.

Danny glanced up at him.

He sucked in a breath and froze as their eyes locked. The vibrancy of the boy’s green eyes held him captive now that they were focused on him. Unease crawled along Danny’s skin, making his hair stand on end. There really was something off about the other boy. It scared Danny. It must have scared him. Why else would his heart be racing? Why else would—

The boy smiled and lifted his hand in a tiny wave.

Before Danny could help himself, his hand did the same. He tried to smile, but his lips wobbled as something cracked open in his chest. Quickly, he looked down, biting down hard on his lip as that one little kindness broke the spell on his depression and set loose his tears. He pulled his knees up to his chest and hid his face behind them. He wouldn’t cry in front of this stranger.

If there were any kindness in the world, the boy would have ignored him, but apparently his response to seeing someone cry was to do something about it. Danny didn’t hear anything. One moment the boy was sitting on the parapet far away, and the next he was sitting on the roof beside Danny, their shoulders touching. He didn’t wrap his arm around Danny or anything, but the physical contact still struck Danny the same way the tiny handshake and smile had. A sob broke loose.

“Do you need some ice for that eye?” the boy asked. Like the rest of him, there was something off about his voice, something that caught in Danny’s ears and made the sound echo in his mind, but the tone was soft. Gentle.

The offer and obvious sympathy in his words were more arrows striking Danny’s heart. Ice would have been nice, but Danny realized he needed—wanted—the comfort more than the ice. He shook his head.

“Ah…” They sat together in silence for a while as Danny struggled to get his crying under control, but then the boy asked, “So, uh, do you come up here very often?”

Danny gave his head a tiny shake. “No, this is my first time. I just needed to be alone.”

“Oh.” Hesitantly, the other boy asked, “You want to be alone?”

His shoulder had tensed against Danny’s; he was prepared to leave.

“I thought I did,” Danny said quickly. He wanted to add more—thought he probably should so that the boy would understand how his kindness had changed everything—but the words caught in his throat.

The boy must have understood anyway. He relaxed again and leaned into Danny’s side, the press of his body acting almost like a hug even though his arm hadn’t moved.

“My name is Danny Phantom,” the boy said.

A wobbly laugh fought its way past Danny’s throat. “Is that really your name?”

“Surprisingly, yes.”

“You’re not mocking me or anything?”

“Uh…”

Danny sniffed and wiped his face clear of tears. “My name is Danny Fenton. My parents hunt and study ghosts. Danny Phantom? Danny Fenton? It’s like a play on my last name.”

“…Oh.” The boy’s voice had gone a little high pitched.

“Funny coincidence, huh?”

“Funny…yeah…” the boy—Phantom, because thinking of him as Danny would have been weird—cleared his throat. “They hunt ghosts?”

Danny winced. That was the part that pushed everyone away. “Yeah. Lame right? Ghosts aren’t even real.”

I don’t believe in them, please don’t think I’m weird just because of my parents.

“…Really?” Phantom sounded amused, which wasn’t a good sign. Ridicule often followed. “You’ve never seen one?”

Danny scowled, but with his face pressed to his knees, Phantom wouldn’t see it. “How can I see one if they’re not real?”

Phantom shrugged, his shoulder moving up and down against Danny’s. “Maybe you have seen one and you just didn’t recognize them as a ghost. How would you know?”

“I’m pretty sure I would recognize a ghost if I saw one,” Danny grumbled.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, they got, like, sharp teeth, and, and…” Danny wobbled his hand. “Creepy eyes? At least, the food Mom and Dad are always, uh, contaminating look like that. I guess a normal ghost would be all transparent. They’re supposed to walk through walls and stuff, so they’re probably not even solid.”

“Okay, sure.”

Danny turned his head a little and glared at Phantom as best he could. “You’re laughing at me.”

Phantom laughed aloud instead of hiding it in his voice. Danny pushed himself up onto his feet, his face burning. Phantom’s laughter cut off and he grabbed Danny’s arm before he could go far. “No, wait, I’m sorry, it’s not what you think.”

“I’ve had enough of people laughing at me,” Danny growled, glaring at the green eyes below him.

Phantom lifted his eyebrows and twisted his lips, looking concerned. “Is that what happened to your eye?”

Danny covered his black eye and glanced away from him. Phantom’s expression made him unsure if he really was laughing at him, but why else would he find it funny? “I tripped.”

“Over what, exactly?”

Danny bit down on his lip. Phantom tugged on his arm, and slowly, hesitantly, Danny allowed himself to sit beside Phantom again. “It was just Dash being a jerk again,” Danny explained, his shoulders sagging. “You know what he’s like. I was an easier target than one of the others because my friends aren’t on my lunch break, and apparently, I’m his favorite victim. I’m entertaining, he says. The others don’t try to fight back or anything.”

Phantom gently pulled Danny’s hand away from his eye. Danny caught the hint and warily turned his face toward Phantom, squinting his eye against the bright sunlight.

“It’s not like I’m not used to it,” Danny continued. “Dash is always on my case about one thing or another. It doesn’t even hurt that bad.”

Phantom brushed his fingers under Danny’s eye, and Danny flinched.

“Sure it doesn’t,” Phantom scoffed.

“Well, when you touch it, it does!”

“Are you sure you don’t want ice?”

Danny gave his head a tiny shake. “I’ll get some pain killers from the nurse’s office after lunch. If I start walking around with a bag of ice over my eye, that’s just going to start everyone off on me again.”

Phantom frowned. “Start everyone off?”

Danny shrugged. “You know, like…laughing and making fun of me.”

“Because you’re in pain? Because someone hurt you?” Anger stirred to life in Phantom’s tone, startling Danny a little. They had only just met, why was he acting upset on Danny’s behalf?

“Uh, yeah, I guess?” Danny leaned back a little from Phantom, and Phantom’s hand slipped away from his face. “That’s how these things work, right? They don’t know I’m hurt yet. If I make a big deal about it, they’ll laugh harder to put me in my place. They’ll convince themselves I’m faking it or something.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Yeah, but it’s high school.”

Phantom’s lips pressed into a tight, thin line.

“It won’t be that bad once Sam and Tucker find out,” Danny said, trying to reassure himself and a total stranger. “They’ll back me up.”

“Your friends?”

“Yup.”

“But they won’t be there tomorrow during lunch.”

Danny blew out a sigh. “No.”

Phantom stared at Danny’s black eye and then glanced around the roof. He looked unsure, a little conflicted. Danny thought he knew what Phantom was about to say, but it wasn’t until Phantom’s eyes met his again that he knew for sure. “You could spend your lunches up here with me, if you want.”

Danny quickly shook his head. “I don’t need your pity.”

“What makes you think it’s pity? Maybe I want company.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “The guy sitting alone up on the roof wants company? Yeah right.”

“I do.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“Well…” Phantom tilted his head to the side and brushed a hand up the back of his head. “That…that’s how you make friends, right?”

The uncertainty in his voice startled Danny into looking at the other boy more closely. Phantom had such a confident air about him Danny had just assumed he had no need for friends, either because he already had friends or because he was a loner, but now Danny had to wonder if Phantom was actually as lonely as Danny. Maybe Phantom had been separated from his friends during lunch period too.

If he had any.

“What if Dash follows me up here?” Danny grimaced at the thought. “I don’t want to lead him to you. You shouldn’t get hurt because of me.”

Phantom snorted. “I hope he does follow you up here. I have something to give him.” He lifted his fist to demonstrate.

Danny laughed. “Dude, he’s, like, twice your size. You’re no bigger than I am.”

Phantom laughed louder and pumped his fist. “I’ve been defending myself from things much larger than me since before I can remember.”

Danny thought it more arrogance than confidence that strengthened Phantom’s tone, but there was something…haunted? In his eyes that made Danny wary of asking just who the hell had attacked him when someone like Dash didn’t give him pause. Danny swept a glance over Phantom’s clothes again, noting for the first time how worn his jeans were over his knees and how his black shirt actually looked a little too small for him. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but it didn’t seem like a good thing.

“Are you a transfer student or something?” he asked.

��Or something,” Phantom agreed with a little grin, not elaborating.

“Where did you come from? How long have you been here? I don’t think I’ve seen you in any of my classes.”

“Elsewhere, a couple weeks, and…” Phantom shrugged. “I’m pretty good at not being noticed.” Another little smile touched his lips.

Phantom was setting himself up as a mystery, and Danny, despite his best efforts, couldn’t help feeling intrigued. Was Phantom doing it on purpose or were there actually secrets lurking behind those bright green eyes? The widening of Phantom’s smile as Danny stared into his eyes only dared Danny to find out for himself.

Danny looked down at his hands and allowed his own smile to spread across his lips. A small one, yes, but a real one. “Alright, fine. It’s not like I have anywhere better to go during lunch. I guess you’ll have to do.”

He hadn’t gone up to the roof expecting to befriend a strange kid, but when the school year began, he had been hoping for a change, something that would define his high school experience. He wasn’t sure if Phantom could do that all on his own, but the warmth spreading up Danny’s chest toward his cheeks as Phantom laughed might do the trick.

Because that was definitely new.

#Danny Phantom #Danny Fenton #pitch pearl #pre-slash #DP Shiptember 2022 #Danny and Phantom as different characters #first meetings #writing trance

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