ectoberweekofficial

[ectoberweekofficial]

Dreams

ectoberweek24 day 3- two sentence tw- none summary- Sam dreams

masterlist ao3 part 5 of AHINWTG

Sam dreams. She dreams of a black haired boy, but in her dreams she is the black haired boy. 

She dreams of school hallways filled with the blurry afterimages of people. She The boy is always alone. Friends are hard to make when your parents are crazy.

She dreams of a town, of a restaurant with a blurred out name. 

She thinks it might be the empty shell of a building that people say exploded killing several people.

The dream is washed out colors and sepia tones. It is a strange dream, but it is not a nightmare.

She approaches a building. Her house. An average townhouse. The house was a streak of gray in the midst of the washed out colors of the rest of the dream. She was inside the house now and it was hard to see, like she was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses inside.

Inside was a large orange figure and a slim teal one. They were blurred to the point where you could barely recognize them as people. Their color stood out starkly in the gray toned house. There was fear and longing and love and heartache and confusion and despair and a whirlwind of feelings when she looked at them.

But there was also another figure. One with red fire for hair and they were gentle and kind and love and loss and betrayal.

Then Sam was in a dark room with shadows flickering along the walls and eyes watching from the darkest corners. The room was cold and she was frozen in front of a hole in the wall. There were eyes there, watching her. Shadows flickering, waiting to grab her and pull her in. Then there was a shove and she was in the tunnel-like hole and there was lightning and pain and screaming and betrayal and pain and pain and pain and pain and pain and pain and pain and pain and so much pain and—

Sam gasped as she shot up in bed. She was gasping for breath, her eyes wide and unseeing. Her gaze flickered frantically around the room, not taking anything in except for the fact that she wasn’t in that dark room anymore. She wasn’t in that strange tunnel. She wasn’t in pain. Was she? No. She wasn’t. It was a dream. 

It was a dream.

She was shaking and her sheets were drenched in sweat.

She turned on her bedside lamp. She didn’t want to be in the dark right now. She hugged her knees to her chest. She kept looking around her room, gaze flickering to the corners expecting to see shadows curling out towards her.

It was a dream. She closed her eyes then quickly opened them again.

Already the dream was slipping away. She tried to hold on to it, but it was like dust floating away on the breeze. And did she really want to remember? It was important. She was sure of it. But was it? It was just a dream, afterall. A nightmare, but still just a dream.

She rested her head on her knees, letting herself take a moment to just breathe. Then she slid her legs over the side of the bed and stood. She needed a drink of water.

She walked over to her dresser and then stopped. 

There, where her glass of water should be, was the planchet.

[ectoberweekofficial]

In the Graveyard

ectoberweek24 day 1- graveyard shift fandom- dp x dc tw- none summary- Danny sees something unusual

masterlist ao3

Danny hums quietly to himself as he walks between the graves, picking up trash and wilted flowers. The moon is full tonight, and the sky isn’t too clouded which is nice, especially considering this is Gotham. He takes a bucket and rag and starts cleaning off the gravestones.

Of the two jobs he has, this was probably his favorite even though it hardly paid. But it’s peaceful, and they let him work at night. It’s also a way for Danny to spend his time since he doesn't need to sleep. He can. It was just… nightmares. He’d rather be here, earning a little bit of money then trying to sleep through memories of his time in the lab.

He’s almost done, ready to go back to his apartment and enjoy a cup of coffee and some late night t.v., but as he stands and starts heading towards the last row of gravestones he feels a shiver crawl up his spine. His breath clogs in his throat, and he feels his eyes flash.

There is something tugging at him, pulling him toward one of the graves he’s already passed. 

He follows the pull. It doesn't feel like a ghost, but there’s something there, something he can’t ignore. 

As he gets closer the pull gets stronger, and with rising fear he can see the dirt shifting on one of the graves. And like in a horror movie, a hand presses up out of the dirt.

Danny freezes for a moment, before jolting forward. He grasps the hand in his and pulls, using his intangibility to pull the person through the dirt. The boy, because the person can’t possibly be older than sixteen, collapses on the ground. Danny crouches by him, turning the boy over onto his back. The kid’s dressed in a fancy suit although it’s streaked with dirt, and Danny winces when he sees the kids fingers are bloody, fingernails torn.

He dug himself out.

Who would bury a child. Danny glances at the gravestone. According to the inscription the kid died six months ago. Danny feels the barest touches of ectoplasm, it shouldn’t be enough to turn someone liminal let alone raise someone from the dead. 

But none of that matters right now. He has to get the kid to his apartment. Danny doesn’t think he should take the kid to a hospital. They’ll ask too many questions that Danny won’t be able to answer. No. he’ll take the kid with him, treat his wounds and try to find out what happened. If the kid is liminal he might need Danny’s help with the side effects.

“Hey there, kid. I’m going to take you back to my apartment, okay? I’m not going to hurt you, okay? I promise. I’m going to help.” Danny glances at the gravestone again. He hopes that the kid can go back to his family, that they’ll accept him. But Danny won’t force it. He knows that sometimes families can’t accept when you’re different from what they want. 

But Danny can’t help but hope this kid’s, Jason according to the gravestone, family will be different. That they’ll be loving and accepting, all the things that Danny’s family wasn’t.

He picks the kid up, his eyes stare blankly up at Danny.

He’ll need some help coming back to himself. Danny will feed him some ectoplasm.

He’ll take care of him. 

Danny will make sure he’s safe, and that no one can hurt him.

[ectoberweekofficial]

Ectoberweek 2024 Masterlist

prompts ao3

In the Graveyard day 1- graveyard shift fandom- dp x dc tw- none summary- Danny sees something unusual

Cornered day 2- cornered tw- mentioned blood but nothing graphic summary- Danny tries to protect his friends

Dreams day 3- two sentence tw- none summary- Sam dreams

Tick Tock day 4- two sentence prompt tw- character death, blood summary- Danny hears a ticking coming from his chest

Sacrifice day 5- two sentence tw- neglect summary- The Fentons are scientists

Meet My Clone Sister day 6- two sentence tw- none summary- the Hogwarts trio meets Ellie

Search day 7- ectology tw- none summary- Sam and Tucker keep searching for more information

[ectoberweekofficial]

Search

ectoberweek24 day 7- ectology tw- none summary- Sam and Tucker keep searching for more information

masterlist ao3 part 7 of AHINWTG

Sam dragged Tucker to the library. She was exhausted. She had hardly been sleeping. It seemed that every night was another nightmare, but she couldn’t remember what they were about when she woke up. She couldn’t count how many times she had thrown the planchet out the window, burned it to ash, buried it, tossed it in the pond at the park, or otherwise tried to destroy it. But each morning, it was back on her desk.

She still hadn’t been able to make herself open the file they’d stolen from the school.

She dragged Tucker to the library’s basement where they kept all the old records no one really cared about, but the library still kept for some reason. At least, it was helpful to them now.

“Sam, what are we doing here?” Tucker asked. “On a Saturday. We’re supposed to be relaxing, playing video games and eating junk food.”

“You mean doing homework, which you’re going to procrastinate anyway. So stop complaining and start looking through the newspapers and other files for any mention of the Fentons.

Tucker grumbled, but started going through boxes filled with what looked like random papers.

An hour went by and still they had found nothing.

“Saaaammm!” Tucker said, collapsing dramatically on the floor where he had been sitting going through a file box. “This is boooring.”

Sam said nothing. Her movements were just as quick and focused as they had been when they had first started searching. She needed to figure things out, she needed to know what was going on, otherwise she’d go mad with the lack of sleep.

“Keep looking. I’ll buy you Nasty Burger for lunch.” she said, already grimacing at having to spend money on meat.

Tucker perked up and kept searching.

Another hour went by, and Tucker had started to fidget. He was going through files much slower than Sam. He was about to complain or ask for a break or anything really to break up the monotony when Sam stood up suddenly.

“I found something.” she said, walking over a desk in the basement corner and shoving some dusty files to the floor. Tucker winced but leaned over to see the article that Sam was pointing to.

It was just a small article talking about an accident that had happened in the park. It stated that the Fentons claimed they had been testing one of their inventions which had apparently decided to explode. The article treated this like a common occurrence going on to note that no one had been hurt this time.

They returned to their search with more vigor, finding three more articles. One had to do with the Fentons wanting to construct some strange addition to their house, but that the housing committee had stopped them. Another was an article about how their daughter, Jazz, had won an academic award. 

The third paper looked like someone had spilled ink on it. They could only make out part of the article which said something about the youngest Fenton making a discovery about a gorilla that was being temporarily kept at the zoo a few towns over. The picture and his name were blotted out with ink.

They searched for a bit longer but found nothing more.

As they sat eating at Nasty Burger Sam’s expression stayed puzzled.

“What’s wrong?” Tucker asked.

“I couldn’t find any mention about the Fenton parents deaths, or anything else about them. I checked all the obituaries. But I couldn't find any mention of them. And there was also a whole year’s worth of newspapers missing.”

“You’re looking too much into it Sam. The library probably just lost the box, and the newspaper might have forgotten to publish the obituaries.”

“Maybe.” Sam muttered. But she didn’t look convinced. Something was strange, and she would just have to keep looking.

[ectoberweekofficial]

Sacrifice

ectoberweek24 day 5- two sentence tw- neglect summary- The Fentons are scientists

masterlist ao3 part 6 of AHINWTG

The Fentons were brilliant scientists. Or so they claimed. There was still no proof to all their theories, but they were persistent. They would have their proof. They’d show the world they had been right all along. Ghosts were real. Ghosts were evil.

And once they finally had a specimen, they would be able to discover how ghosts form and how to prevent ghosts from forming. Because who wanted to turn into an evil amalgamation of negative emotions?

So, they built weapons for creatures they hadn’t found yet, and published papers on topics hardly anyone believed. And they worked and worked and worked.

They had a little girl, but she was strong and independent. She could take care of herself. They needed to focus on their work. Afterall, someone had to be able to protect them from the evil ghosts. How better to care for their daughter than to work to defend her against threats?

Then they had a son, and that was okay too. They had always wanted two children, and this way Jazz could take care of little Danny so that they could focus on their work.

Once they’d proven their theories, once they’d defended the world against the threat ghosts posed, they’d spend more time with their children.

The years went by, and still they had no proof. At least both their children were independent now. 

They loved their kids. They did. But they needed to protect the world. And aren’t the many more important than the few? Sacrifices had to be made for the greater good.

And they were almost finished. They would be able to prove the existence of ghosts soon. And then they’d destroy the ghostly dimension and make sure no more ghosts were formed. No one would have to suffer from ghosts again. And the Fentons would finally receive the renown they were due.

They built their portal. But it didn’t work. They researched and they researched and they researched. They delved into the mystic texts that they’d previously tried to ignore. They were scientists. They didn’t believe in nonsense like magic and witchcraft. 

But the more they looked into it, the more they saw that all the texts said the same thing. They all required the same thing in order to breach the veil between the living and the dead.

They looked at each other then. They had to decide what was more important.

But wasn’t it obvious? They were doing this for the greater good. They needed to be willing to do whatever it took, to sacrifice whatever it took, to see their research through.

They asked him to come downstairs after school. They told him they needed his help. He had helped in the lab before, though usually it was just to clean. He was just happy to spend time with them.

They had him slip on a hazmat suit and asked him to check some of the wiring inside the portal. 

He stepped in, and they flipped the switch.

Green light filled the portal, and a scream echoed through the lab. 

It was working. The portal was opening. They couldn’t help but feel excited.

But then the light died as the scream did.

When the light had faded, all they could see was a lump near the edge of the portal.

They cursed. They had been so close. This was supposed to have worked. They had done everything right. They had double checked their blueprints and the portal itself. They had even given in and followed the ancient texts.

They frowned. There was only one factor that they hadn’t been in complete control of. The boy. He must have done something wrong for it not to have worked. And as they looked at the portal, their frustration mounted. The inside was singed, metal corroded and wires frayed. It would take them months to fix it.

At least they still had the girl.

They turned to leave the lab. They’d clean the mess up later. But then there was a groan, and they turned back to see the boy raise his head.

They told him it was an accident. His heartbeat was slow, but he seemed fine.

That’s why it hadn’t worked, they thought to themselves. The boy hadn’t really died. They’d have to try a slightly different approach next time. Maybe it would work if the sacrifice was already dead? But first they’d up the portal’s voltage. More electricity should do it.

Because a portal to the afterlife needed the sacrifice of something loved in order to open.

But they would never succeed. 

They didn’t love him enough for it to work.

[ectoberweekofficial]

Tick Tock

ectoberweek24 day 4- two sentence prompt tw- character death, blood summary- Danny hears a ticking coming from his chest

masterlist ao3

Ever since Danny’s encounter with Dan, who had shoved the medallion in his chest, Danny has felt different.

He rubs at his aching chest. He swears that sometimes it feels like it’s still there. Vlad had removed it. But it doesn’t feel like it.

It probably doesn’t help that his ghostly appearance has started to change. Frostbite says that it’s normal. That his core is still developing, and that Danny’s form will naturally change as he goes through what amounts to ghost puberty.

But that doesn’t mean Danny has to like it.

It had started simple at first, fangs and pointed ears developing. Then his skin tone had started to change. He refuses to look in a mirror when in ghost form. He looks too much like Dan.

Then his hair started to float. And that was okay. It made it look like he was floating in space. Then it looked more like fire than hair.

His friends try to reassure him, telling him that it doesn’t matter what he looks like. He isn’t Dan, and he wouldn’t turn into him because he had avoided the Nasty Burger Incident.

He doesn’t like going to Nasty Burger anymore either.

But they only say those things because he’s not being honest with them. He doesn’t tell them how it feels like the medallion is still in his chest. He doesn’t tell them that sometimes when he’s floating above the clouds by himself in the stillness of the night, he can hear a ticking. He had looked around at first before realizing that the ticking came from his chest. 

From his core.

And he has started having strange dreams.

Dreams of things he doesn’t remember but feels like he should.

They feel like memories, but they can’t be.

They were filled with destruction and grief and loneliness and regret.

Danny avoids sleeping as much as he can. His grades start to get worse. His friends are concerned, Mr. Lancer is frustrated, his parents… his parents don’t even realize. They’re too busy hunting down Phantom.

He doesn’t care. He just doesn’t want to dream anymore.

Danny comes home from school one day to see his parents sitting on the couch. They’re scowling at him.

“Danny, Mr. Lancer called us. He said you’re failing several classes.” his mom says, crossing her arms.

Danny’s only failing two, but he doesn’t think that will help his case.

“We’re very disappointed in you, Danny. You should be doing better.” His dad frowns at him.

“And if you’re struggling, you know you can come to your dad or me for help.”

Danny bites his cheek to keep from throwing angry words at them. When would he go to them for help? They’re always busy. He hardly even sees them anymore except for when they’re chasing him as Phantom. 

“Do you have anything to say for yourself, young man?” his dad asks.

“Sorry.” Danny grits out. “I’ll do better.”

“You will. From now until you get your grades up, you're grounded.” his mom says.

Danny wants to laugh. As if they’d notice if he left the house. They’ve never noticed before. They never notice when he comes back bruised and bleeding; they don't notice when he doesn’t come home at all.

“We’re also going to be meeting with your teacher.” she says, standing up. “We’ll be meeting with Mr. Lancer tomorrow after school.”

“Where?” Danny manages to ask through the fear gripping his heart. The ticking in his chest grows louder. 

“He’ll be coming here.” his dad says.

Danny relaxes a bit. At least it isn’t at the Nasty Burger.

The next day, Danny is waiting anxiously in their living room. His parents are still downstairs.

The doorbell rings and he lets Mr. Lancer in exchanging half hearted greetings. They wait in awkward silence for a few minutes before Danny stands up.

“I’ll go get them.”

He makes his way downstairs. He can hear his parents moving around, probably building some new weapon to hurt Phantom with, Danny thinks grimly.

“Mom, dad, Mr. Lancer’s here.” he calls out from halfway down the stairs. They don’t answer and Danny rolls his eyes as he continues down into the basement. The first thing he sees is something glowing red on one of the lab tables. He immediately doesn’t like it. 

“Mom, dad, Mr. Lancer’s here.” he says again, and this time they hear and start heading up the stairs, passing Danny and talking to each other about their latest invention.

Danny’s phone buzzes in his pocket. He sees a series of text from Tucker.

sup man sam got us inthrough your window jazz hearrd but worry not sam talked her into not snitchin when the adults are done we can go to sams

Danny smiles. With the promise of hanging out later, the meeting he’s going to now doesn’t feel that bad.

They’ve only just started talking, Danny distracted by the ticking in his core growing louder and faster though no one else seems to hear it, when Danny feels a pulse of energy. He frowns. The pulse of energy came from the basement. Is a ghost coming through? But his breath doesn’t fog, so what—

In a single moment reality tips from order into chaos. The ticking in Danny’s chest builds to a whine.

Then Danny is opening his eyes, coughing hard enough that he fears he’ll cough up his lungs. He squints, trying to peer through the smoke. There is rubble everywhere. Close by he sees—

Danny gags, retching. There are bodies. There is blood. There are limbs not attached to bodies.

Danny retches again, but nothing comes up.

Smoke and dust hang heavy in the air, and Danny wonders how he could possibly have survived whatever just happened. Why did he survive when—

There is a ringing in his ears that masks the near whine coming from the rapid ticking in his chest.

It is too much. He cannot handle this. He feels unconsciousness tugging at him, and he doesn’t resist.

It’s later that he finds out that there was an explosion in the basement. An explosion that then started a chain reaction with all the other dangerous things in the lab, ending with the portal erupting with the fury of untamable energy finally unleashed.

It decimated not only the Fentons' house, but the surrounding ones as well. There is death and injuries, and everyone is wondering how Danny survived.

Meanwhile, he wonders if he can even die again.

He feels empty, blank, he doesn’t resist the social workers guiding him into a car. He doesn’t process the fact that they’ve dropped him off at Vlad’s mansion. He doesn’t even remember why that’s a bad idea. At least not until it’s too late, and Vlad has placed a power canceling cuff around his wrist and a shield around the house that is logged onto Danny’s ectosignature so that he cannot even escape in human form.

He is trapped.

He spirals.

Vlad grows frustrated and then angry at Danny’s lack of accepting Vlad as his new father figure.

It is not even Danny’s idea this time.

It is Vlad who grows tired of Danny’s mopping. It is Vlad who chains Danny down onto a lab table, ignoring Danny’s pleas that sound like madness to Vlad.

Vlad who stands over him, ghosts gauntlets raised, before he plunges them into Danny’s chest. He pulls out Phantom. Phantom who without his human half does not know how to handle the grief that tears at his core. Who does not know how to handle the destruction of one of his obsessions. There is still space. But he can hardly think of that amidst the grief. 

Phantom flies into Vlad, tearing out Plasmius. Plasmius who is also suffering from a partially broken obsession.

Ghost cores are not meant to merge. They repel each other like magnets. But when two cores with such similar obsessions, that are both cracked and mourning come so close together, it is like the irresistible pull of magnets. But ghost cores are not meant to merge. And so two cores come together, but at the same time two cores both try to flee in different directions.

Madness is the only logical outcome.

Madness that seeks to consume everything in an effort to end its suffering. It will destroy everything. For maybe, when there are no more reminders, it will finally feel peace.

But the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

[ectoberweekofficial]

Meet My Clone Sister

ectoberweek24 day 6- two sentence tw- none summary- the Hogwarts trio meets Ellie

masterlist ao3 part 2 of CvH

They had been in Amity a week and everything still seemed extremely weird. And it wasn’t just the classes. It was also the fact that they used electricity and other muggle tech. And all around the town there were signs of magic. It was so strange to see signs of magic in what looked like a muggle environment. 

Harry kept waiting for aurors to show up to obliviate everyone.

And the classes taught at Casper made him and Ron uncomfortable, and Hermione was always bordering on arguing about the content. Harry didn’t struggle as much. He hadn’t grown up believing blood magic and necromancy were evil like Ron, and he hadn’t delved into studying all things about British magical history like Hermione.

But of course, Harry’s life was never simple.

“Is that your sister?” Harry asked, pointing to a girl who looked about two years younger than Danny, although they looked like they could be twins. They were at lunch and Harry was trying not to think too hard about what was in the food. He definitely preferred Hogwarts meals. He had seen the girl before and been curious. 

“Ellie? No. She’s my clone sister.”

“What?” Hermione asked, dropping her spoon.

“Oh yeah. There’s this creep that wants to kill my dad, marry my mom, and take me as his son. Since we kept refusing he tried to clone me.” Danny smiled at his…sister. She waved at them, coming over.

“Hey, I’m Ellie. You guys are the visitors from the weird magic school, right?” she plopped down on the seat next to Danny, reaching over to steal one of his fries.

“And you’re a clone?” Hermione said, her eyes flickering between Danny and Ellie.

“Yup.” she said, stealing another fry from Danny. 

“What’s a clone?” Ron asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

Hermione stared at him. 

“Well, you see,” Ellie started, and Danny snorted, “when a Fruitloop is so obsessed with having another woman’s son as his own, he takes some of his DNA, and makes a baby, that he then grows with magic till they’re about the right age, then he tells them that they’re meant to replace the original, but they’re too smart and decide they’d rather be the original’s sister, and they both beat up the Fruitloop.”

Harry stared at her incredulously. Beside him he could see Ron gaping, and Hermione opening and closing his mouth.

Across from them Danny rolled his eyes while Tucker and Sam laughed.

“That’s not quite how it happened.” Danny said. “But basically yeah.”

“You have a Dark Lord?” Hermione finally managed to say.

“He wishes he was a Dark Lord.” Danny said, chuckling.

“What even is a Dark Lord anywary.” Sam said, rolling her eyes. “Is it just someone who does magic you don’t agree with? What is it that makes someone a Dark Lord, and who gets to decide?”

“Sam,” Tucker interrupted, “let’s not get philosophical again.”

She huffed and crossed her arms but fell quiet.

“Besides, Vlad’s a Fruitloop, not a Dark Lord.” Danny said, rolling his eyes.

Hermione looked like she wanted to argue about the Dark Lord thing, but Ron elbowed her in the side. She glared at him, but picked up her spoon and angrily started eating again.

Harry decided to redirect the conversation. “So, why don’t you have Defense Against the Dark Arts?”

“What’s really considered dark?” Sam started, but Tucker spoke up quickly.

“I think we cover the same basic concepts when it comes to spellcrafting. And there’s classes on the different magical races–”

“The people you classify as creatures.” Sam interrupted, glaring.

Tucker continued as if she hadn’t spoken, which was probably for the best. “and their history and traditions. But that’s more of a social class. It’s still a required gen ed so we can be more aware of each other.”

“Really?” Hermione asked, sounding interested. “I wish they taught that at Hogwarts.”

Sam opened her mouth, probably to make another controversial comment, But Danny spoke over her.

“You can probably buy the textbooks to take back with you when you leave at the end of the semester.”

Harry relaxed, glad that it didn’t look like they’d be getting into another debate.

This was a strange place. But he was eager to learn more about magic, even if it was different than Hogwarts.

[ectoberweekofficial]

ILLUSTRATION UPDATE! || Friday , 1. November || 2024 Ectober week 2024!

Happy Halloween! Ectober week day 7. @ectoberweekofficial The the dulier marjetice, a rare species of flora, sadly the only way they can grow, is by feasting on dead human tissue. Poor Danny didn’t know what he was getting himself into. #ectoberweek #ectober

[ectoberweekofficial]

“So, the course tackles theories about the afterlife from a chronological perspective. We’ll be doing readings on religious and occult beliefs before we start moving into more contemporary beliefs. Is anyone familiar with the work of the Fentons?”

Danny raised his hand on instinct but immediately wished he hadn’t.

“Well, that’s one more than I expected! Your name is—?”

Danny put his hand down like it burned. “... Danny.”

Or: Danny enrolls in an ectology course his senior year of college.

ECTOBER WEEK 2024 DAY 7: ECTOLOGY

[ectoberweekofficial]

Cornered

ectoberweek24 day 2- cornered tw- mentioned blood but nothing graphic summary- Danny tries to protect his friends

masterlist ao3 part 6 of GD

Danny ran after his friends. He was panting even though he was pretty sure he didn’t need to breathe anymore. But old habits were hard to kill. At least they didn’t need to worry about tripping over anything, but that also meant that the monster wouldn’t trip over anything either. He risked a glance over his shoulder and gulped. 

The beast was only a few yards behind them. They had already seen it tear a Spirit to shreds. Danny wouldn’t let that happen to his friends. He couldn’t.

He veered off in a different direction.

“Hey, lizard face! Over here!”

The beast snarled and started chasing Danny instead of his friends. Danny gritted his teeth, trying to quell his panic, and ran harder.

The creature was only about the size of a large dog, but that still meant that it came up to Danny’s chest. Not to mention, that it reminded Danny of the monsters from A Quiet Place but with a crocodile like head and two extra sets of limbs. It was more terrifying than any movie monster Danny had ever seen. But that might also be because it was chasing him.

Danny could hear his friends calling to him, but he ignored them. He sensed movement behind him, and he swerved to the side barely avoiding one of the creature’s clawed hands. 

Danny could see more light up ahead. He was approaching the edge of the Forest. Soon he wouldn’t be able to run any farther. 

He reached the edge of the trees and spun around, feeling the barrier at his back. He wished, how he wished, that he could run past the trees, but the barrier at the edge of the Forest kept them all in. It didn’t keep the creatures in though. Did the barrier keep them from coming back in? So far, none of the creatures who had left the Forest had come back. 

The creature had stopped running, simply observing Danny and emitting a low growl.

“Come on!” Danny yelled. “Come at me!” 

The monster snarled, standing up on its hind legs, and if Danny still had a heart it would have stopped in fright.

Then the creature leapt at him and Danny dove out of the way. One of its claws sliced through Danny’s arm and he cried out. Danny climbed to his feet quickly, clutching at his arm as it started to bleed green. He stared out at the creature who had paused. It scented the air. It glanced back at Danny, and he froze, getting ready to run again. But it scented the air again, turning its snout towards the direction of Amity. Then it settled down onto all its limbs and started running towards town.

Danny collapsed onto the ground. He closed his eyes. His arm hurt, and he couldn’t help but feel guilty. He had saved himself and his friends, but he had sent the creature towards town where it might hurt someone else.

But what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t fight back. He didn’t have any weapons. He didn’t have any way to fight back, to protect himself and his friends.

“Danny!” Sam and Tucker rushed to him.

“Why did you do that?” Sam said, barely holding herself back from punching his shoulder.

“I had to get it away.” Danny said.

“We could have gotten away together. Then you wouldn’t have gotten hurt!” Sam said, her voice verging on the point of yelling.

“Yeah, man. Don’t sacrifice yourself like that. We don’t want you to get hurt.” Tucker said.

Danny sighed. “Sorry.” he said, but he knew that he’d do it again. He’d do anything to protect his friends.

[ectoberweekofficial]

Oct 31 Ectoberweek 2024: A Shape that Reflects Your True Nature

Prompt: He thought he'd been prepared to take off the mask on the hazmat suit and see what he looked like underneath. He couldn't have been more wrong.

Words: 100

------

Danny stared into the bathroom mirror. Vlad gifted Skulker a knockoff Fenton Ghost Peeler for their latest fight to “strip him of his mask to show the public the monster they call a hero” and blah blah give up heroing and be my son blah blah blah.

Except… no one could’ve expected this.

“Why… am I a rabbit?”

“What’s your favorite video game?” asked Tucker.

“Doomed.”

“A different one.”

“A Link to the Past?”

“That’s it! The Ghost Zone is like the Dark World, and that’s your Dark World form.”

“I was hoping for something manlier.”

“So was Link, probably.”

[ectoberweekofficial]

LAST PART OF THE ECTOBERRRRR

Today: ectology

I absolutely WILL redo the 4 days i am still missing now in november though !!!

And most importantly: happy halloween everyone <3 and dont forget to have a pumpkin ready, just in case the fright knight shows up ! (Uhm... would pumpkin soup still count ?)

[ectoberweekofficial]

Ectoberweek Day 31

He thought he'd been prepared to take off the mask on the hazmat suit and see what he looked like underneath. He couldn't have been more wrong.

Danny in the artystyle and in one of the iconic scenes from the manga "Uzumaki - Spiral into horror" by Junji Ito.

Anyone watched the new Uzumaki anime? Sad to see what happened with the animation after episode 1, but I think we can conclude Junji Ito's masterpieces cannot be animated properly with the circumstances of today's anime industry. At least the first episode was nice...

Anyway, this gave me the idea for this prompt.

Happy Halloween!

[ectoberweekofficial]

Ectoberweek Day 31: He thought he'd been prepared to take off the mask on the hazmat suit and see what he looked like underneath. He couldn't have been more wrong.

Summary:

He thought he'd been prepared to take off the mask on the hazmat suit and see what he looked like underneath. He couldn't have been more wrong. The portal messed him up more than he thought.

Notes:

Finally finished Ectoberhaunt/Ectoberweek! I am SO PROUD OF MYSELF! This is the first time I've ever done an october/danny phantom event and I did EVERY DAY! A huge feat for me aaaaaa ;0;

Danny stood in front of the mirror, his fingers trembling as they hovered over the fasteners of his hazmat suit. His heart pounded in his chest, the rhythm unnatural, more of a low thrum than a proper beat. He had convinced himself that he was ready for this, that after weeks of sleepless nights, of nightmares and flashes of what had happened in the portal, he could finally face the truth.

Just a glance, he told himself. A brief peek to confirm that he was still himself under all of this — under the glowing eyes, the strange strength, and the eerie stillness of his pulse. It was just a precautionary suit, after all, something to contain his energy when he fought ghosts. At least, that’s what he had convinced himself it was. But now, as his fingers slowly undid the clasp, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible awaited him beneath.

The latch clicked open, and Danny felt his breath hitch in his throat. He wasn’t breathing, not really — not since the accident. He was pretending to breathe. The reality of that settled in the pit of his stomach, cold and unyielding, like a stone lodged where his warmth should be.

With a slow, deliberate motion, Danny peeled the suit away from his body. His eyes, glowing a harsh ectoplasmic green, locked onto the mirror.

At first, he saw that he had unusual pale skin, the white hair that had replaced his once-dark locks, and the faint glow that always seemed to cling to him in his ghost form. But as the suit fell away completely, his reflection twisted. Shifted.

His skin… no, it wasn’t skin anymore.

Danny’s breath—or the shallow imitation of it—caught in his throat. His face, his chest, his arms, his entire body, charred and burned, was revealed. Blackened skin, cracked and mottled like the surface of scorched earth, stretched over his bones. Green ectoplasm pulsed through the cracks, like veins of molten fire running just beneath his surface. His fingers twitched, and the motion caused flakes of charred flesh to crumble from his hands, only to be replaced by more seeping ectoplasm.

Oh God.

His eyes widened, horror seizing him as he stumbled back, hitting the bathroom wall. His reflection followed, the sickening reality of what he’d become staring back at him. This wasn’t just a ghost form. This wasn’t just some new transformation.

This was him — his real body.

“What… what the hell…” Danny whispered, though his voice cracked, barely audible. He reached a shaking hand toward his face, his fingers brushing against the charred remains of his cheek. The sensation was numb, like touching something distant, not really his own skin. His heart, that dull thrumming echo of a heartbeat, sped up, each pulse a painful reminder of the accident in the ghost portal.

Memories flooded back in fragmented flashes. The screams, the burning sensation, the searing light that had enveloped him when the portal had torn open and ripped through his body. He had never really seen what he looked like after the accident — he’d never wanted to. He had convinced himself that his ghost form was just another side of him, a reflection of his powers, of the energy that had saved him from the brink of death.

But he hadn’t been saved.

He had died.

The boy who had entered that portal was dead, reduced to ash and embers. What stood before him now was something else entirely—something that only wore Danny Fenton’s face when the hazmat suit was on. But beneath it, there was nothing human left.

Just this… charred, hollow corpse.

Danny’s legs gave out beneath him, and he slid to the floor, his back pressed against the cold tile wall. He clenched his eyes shut, trying to block out the sight of his twisted reflection, but he couldn’t unsee it. The truth had sunk in, deep into his core.

He was no longer the boy who lived. He was the boy who had died. Everything since that accident, everything he had tried to hold onto—his family, his friends, his life—had been a lie. Phantom wasn’t just a mask or a persona. It was all that remained.

He let out a shaky breath, or at least tried to. It caught in his throat, more of a rasp than anything else. What would his parents say if they saw him like this? If they knew the truth of what had happened to their son? Would they even recognize him as Danny, or would they see him as just another ghost — just another monster to be hunted and destroyed?

He pressed his hand to his chest, feeling the unnatural smoothness of his charred skin, the faint vibration of ectoplasm flowing beneath it like blood. It was a grotesque mockery of life. He wasn’t healing, wasn’t recovering from this. This was him now. This was all he had left.

Tears pricked at his eyes, but even they were tinged green, drops of ectoplasm that burned as they rolled down his cheeks. He looked up at his reflection once more, his glowing eyes locking with the hollow, scorched thing staring back at him.

And for the first time since the accident, Danny Phantom understood just how much he had truly lost.

He wasn’t prepared to take off the mask — not now, not ever. Because the mask, the suit, the human skin he hid behind, was all that kept him tethered to the life he so desperately wanted to return to.

But the truth had always been waiting beneath. A truth as blackened and charred as the body he now inhabited.

And now, there was no hiding from it.

[ectoberweekofficial]

Ectoberweek Day 30 Tarot: The World

Summary:

The World: Represents an ending to a cycle of life, a pause in life before the next big cycle beginning with the fool. It is an indicator of a major and inexorable change, of tectonic breadth.   AKA Danny has a vital decision to make for the safety of the entire universe

In the heart of the Ghost Zone, the air trembled, pulsing with a strange, foreboding energy. Danny Fenton floated before a rift—an impossible tear where eerie green light fractured into both his world and the human world. It was a sight he’d never imagined: the boundary between life and death, reality and spirit, coming apart.

Beside him, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz stood tense, their faces illuminated by the ghostly glow. All silent, staring with a mixture of pride and dread. They all understood the weight of the decision before him, but only Danny knew what it truly meant.

"Are you sure?" Jazz whispered, her voice a steady anchor despite the shaking in her hands.

Danny nodded, his throat tight. He could feel the Ghost Zone calling to him. It had been growing for years now, a quiet hum in his veins, urging him closer. Every battle, every ghost he’d sent back, had led him here, to this final choice.

He’d fought countless battles to protect both worlds from destruction, but this threat—the collapse of the boundary between realms—was something else entirely. The rift was eating away at the very fabric of existence, and if he didn’t act soon, both the human world and Ghost Zone would be consumed.

"The Zone’s reaching out to you, isn’t it?" Sam asked, looking into his eyes. She understood; she’d always understood. Her hand lingered on his shoulder, grounding him. "It wants you to join it, to stabilize everything."

Danny exhaled, nodding again. “It does. If I… if I merge with the Zone, it’ll seal the rift, strengthen the barrier between our worlds.”

Tucker stepped forward, his expression pleading. "Danny, there has to be another way. You don’t have to… You don’t have to give up everything!"

But they all knew the truth. He’d felt it within him, even before the rift had appeared. His connection to the Zone was deeper than he’d ever wanted to admit. The Ghost Zone wasn’t just another dimension to him—it was a part of him. Its spirits, its very essence, had woven themselves into his core from the moment he first transformed.

“If I do this,” Danny said, his voice thick with emotion, “I won’t be Danny Fenton anymore. I’ll become something else. I’ll be part of the Ghost Zone—its guardian spirit. It means I won’t be able to come back. Not like this.” His gaze drifted over each of them, committing every face to memory.

Sam reached out to grasp Danny’s hand. She was crying, her fingers trembling. "Danny, …. We don’t want to lose you."

He took her hand, squeezing it gently. "You won’t. I’ll still be here. And I’ll still be me… just not like I am now."

Jazz swallowed, fighting back tears. "You’re doing this to protect us. Both worlds."

Danny nodded. “It’s the only way. If I don’t… everything we know, everyone we love, they’ll all die.”

Silence settled over them, broken only by the low, ominous hum of the rift, growing wider and more unstable with every passing second.

Tucker stepped forward, his face resolute despite the tears welling in his eyes. "Then do it, Danny. If this is what you have to do to keep everyone safe… then do it. We’ll never forget you."

Danny felt a surge of warmth, their acceptance fortifying his resolve. He turned to face the rift and took a steadying breath. The energy crackled around him, an invitation and a warning all at once.

Slowly, he stepped forward, raising his hands to the tear. As his fingers touched the edge, an overwhelming surge of power coursed through him. The rift responded, reaching out with tendrils of pure ghostly energy that wrapped around him, pulling him in. The force intensified, and he felt himself being pulled apart, as though every molecule was stretching, merging, fusing with the Zone itself.

Pain, sharp and all-consuming, ripped through him. But with it came clarity, a sense of purpose he’d never known before. He felt the souls of the Ghost Zone flooding into him—old friends, former enemies, lost spirits who’d once haunted him and those he’d saved. Their energy joined with his, intertwining as he became the pulse and heart of the Zone.

With one final surge, he pulled the edges of the rift together, feeling the Ghost Zone shift and settle around him. The rip healed, sealing the boundary between worlds, stabilizing the fragile line between life and death.

But he was no longer Danny Fenton. He was something more, something eternal, and he could feel the entirety of the Ghost Zone stretching out before him—an endless expanse of memories, history, and energy that pulsed with his every thought.

In the human world, his friends and family watched, eyes fixed on the spot where he had stood. The rift was gone, and the green light dimmed. For a long moment, there was only silence, an aching void where Danny had been. Then, as they turned to leave, a gentle breeze swept past, carrying with it a soft whisper, a voice they all recognized.

“I’m still here. I’ll always be here.”

Jazz looked up, her heart filled with a bittersweet ache. She could almost feel Danny’s presence, lingering, like a memory or a dream. Sam and Tucker stood beside her, sharing quiet looks, each knowing they’d never truly be alone as long as the Ghost Zone lived.

For years to come, the people of Amity Park spoke of a new, powerful presence in the Ghost Zone—a spirit unlike any other, one that guarded the balance between worlds with a fierce, protective love. Some said he appeared to lost souls, guiding them back home; others spoke of a gentle, watchful star that kept the worst of the ghostly threats at bay.

And though his family and friends never saw him again, they knew, deep down, that Danny Fenton had found his place—watching over them as the guardian of the realms, at peace and whole, forever.

[ectoberweekofficial]

ILLUSTRATION UPDATE! || Tuesday, 29. OCTOBER || 2024 Ectober week 2024!

@ectoberweekofficial day 5! The game inspired this XD v:who are u,what are u doing? D2: oh just leading ur soul where it belongs,don’t worry this won’t hurt a bit.

[ectoberweekofficial]

Ectoberweek Day 30 - Tarot

I wanted to focus on shapes and colors this time, so no sketch, no lineart, no blending and an excessive use of the lasso tool.