#Tale of the Phantom

[featherfang]

I present to you: Noble. I'm pretty sure I've never drawn him with his helmet off, so here you go. Noble was found in South America, and is the good old Human-Male-Soldior type and has an almost lawful good personality.

He also can't get his friends to stop calling him Perkins.

His name is a nod to the Noble Six in Halo Reach.

[sentient-stove]

“Not Metropolis?”

“If I’m going to be dealing with superheroes, I don’t want to also deal with aliens.”

She was still keeping decent pace with him- perks of not actually being a person he guessed- but Gotham was getting on his nerves. Probably on purpose, the city didn’t want him here and She apparently was willing to annoy him to a second death over it.

“And New York?”

“Shit’s fucked.” Danny offered. “I don’t even want to know what’s going on there.”

“Gods. Above the Empire State Building.” She said, and he tripped on cracked sidewalk, barely slowing his run.

“See? You’re my best bet. I’m late for class and your school’s the opposite direction.”

“I don’t go to school.”

“Tell that to your ‘Gotham Academy for the wealthy or whatever the name is’ uniform and your schoolgirl ponytail.”

“I’m a representation of the people.” She shot him a look, eyes again glowing as the spirit tapped into the the energy around her. “Amity Park, go home.”

“Lady Gotham, respectfully. Nah.”

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

𝔓𝔦𝔫𝔟𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔐𝔞𝔠𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔰

[spookycathymorshaw]

I wish we had more room. If your favorite isn't there, comment !

[tofuingho]

There's an episode of Are You Afraid Of The Dark called the Tale Of The Water Demons and I think it makes a great DP x DC prompt.

Imagine some high powered muckety-muck calling the JL for help because every time they fall asleep, monsters start attacking their house. The JL investigate and quickly realize the monsters are dead people/zombies/ghosts.

Now it's an issue for the JLD. They can't figure out why the ghosts are attacking this guy, so Constantine decides to summon some help. (He summons Danny, but for a change of flavor, it could be Dani instead)

They tell Danny what's going on and he's like "Yeah, no shit."

"What do you mean no shit? Why are they attacking?"

"Because that asshole robbed their graves? If they put back all of the the things they stole, then the spirits will stop."

"Look. You're people can't attack the living just because someone dug up an artifact or antique!"

"Dude. Most of the spirits that are attacking? Are less than a decade buried. That person is a literal grave robber, not some archeologist."

[hypewinter]

Danny felt a familiar tug in his chest. Not another summoning. The cultists never quit did they? Danny was going to ignore it. Just like all the rest. He figured they would try blood sacrifices but then he didn't experience the familiar tang in the air that usually wafted through his nose. That had peaked his curiosity. So he leaned into the summoning a little. Not enough to be summoned but enough to get more senses. He heard..... he heard crying! What? Why was he hearing crying? He leaned into the summoning just a little more. That allowed him to see, albeit vaguely. He caught the glimpse of a form within the circle. It was small. It was...... a child. A child? A. CHILD!? Those cultists had really thought since blood sacrifices didn't work to try a whole human. Danny's blood boiled. He had been content to ignore them until now but no more. He was taking care of this. NOW. With that, Danny allowed himself to be fully summoned. The cultists immediately fell on their knees.

"Oh great King, you have finally answered our plea," the apparent leader said.

Danny ignored him and immediately scooped the child up in his arms. He gently rubbed circles into the child's back, whom he now knew to be a boy who couldn't be older than 8. He felt his rage flair. They had tried to sacrifice an eight year old! Danny didn't even bother listening to the cultists. Instead he dispersed his power throughout the room, allowing all the souls sacrificed over the years to gain form.

"Feel free to exact your revenge," he said simply.

Then he turned and opened a portal, tuning out the screams as he stepped through.

~~~~

It took a while, but Danny finally managed to calm the boy down and convince him he didn't want to eat him. Once he did, he asked for the kid's name.

"It's Richard Grayson," the boy answered. "But my parents called me Dick."

Danny didn't miss the past tense. Were his parents dead? Danny's mouth set into a firm line. If he found out those cultists had anything to do with this- His train of thought was cut off by the sound of sniffling. Right, Dick. Danny would handle the cultists later. Right now, he had a little boy to comfort.

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

Favourite Trash Can Man.

[bakanokiwami]

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TOP 10 CARTOONS ON FANFICTION.NET BASED ON NUMBER OF FANFICTION (1999-2022)

To make this bar chart race, all series titles in the Cartoons Section on November 29 (or the closest date to it) of every year were copy-pasted from Wayback Machine to Google Sheets, rearranged according to number of fanworks, and then inputted to Flourish to turn into a bar chart race.

In 2000-2006, FFN used Miscellaneous Cartoons as a catch-all tag for all cartoons that didn’t have their own category yet. It was then renamed to Misc. Cartoons in 2007 before it was moved to the Misc. section in 2008.

Code Lyoko and Avatar: The Last Airbender were actually miscategorized at first and were found in the Anime section from 2004-2007 (2005-2007 for ATLA). I used their data from that section for those years.

In 1999, fanfiction weren’t divided into sections like Anime/Manga, TV, Books, etc. yet. It was just a small list of mixed fandoms.

Originally, the fanfiction list was sorted alphabetically too, but was changed to number of fics at around early 2013.

By November 2013, FFN started abbreviating numbers above 1,000 to K, so exact numbers aren't available for series with more than 1,000 fanfiction.

This bar chart was made with the assumption that the numbers listed in the Cartoons section are correct. I can't seem to get the same numbers for some of these categories when I go to the specific categories' page and toggle ratings, other filters, and language to All though... I'm not sure where the discrepancy is coming from. (And it’s not the crossover fic numbers that need to be added to serie’s total fics from what I’ve observed.)

Please refer to this post for more bar chart races.

Thanks for understanding and hopefully I didn’t mess up anywhere! 🙏

[starry-bi-sky]

tales of the passerine - danny fenton being bruce wayne's first kid

okay okay. so this is like a continuation/elaboration of my oneshot/prompt i wrote about the idea that Danny was the first batkid. We have a lot of aus where he joins the family after the rest of the bats do, right? So hey! Lets shake things up a bit. Danny is the first to be adopted by Bruce Wayne.

Danny's parents and unfortunately Jazz die shortly after the events of TUE -- how so? I was gonna say an ecto-filter explosion, that would call back to the TUE explosion and trauma behind that. But lets do something new! Carbon-monoxide poisoning.

It's not too unexpected for something to break in the Fenton house, especially with the Fenton parents' questionable understanding of proper weapon handling and lab safety. The water heater broke from a stray shot by one of the weapons, and was promptly MacGyver'd incorrectly. Danny went to stay with Tucker for a guys' night, and came back to a dead silent house.

(Danny's neighbors got a very unfortunate shock when he ran to the next house over in hysterics.)

There was a lot of shuffling around with CPS, the police. People had to be called in to handle the equipment in the lab, and the GIW was rumoring to show up in aid to clearing the scene. When Danny heard of that, he immediately went and dismantled the ghost portal to the best of his abilities. He burned the physical blueprints of all his parents' inventions, their blueprints on the ghost portal, and their most dangerous weapons were destroyed beyond recognition. Anything to prevent the GIW from getting their hands on his parents' tech.

It opened up another investigation, but he was not under the list of suspects. He was placed in the care of Vlad Masters, where they then went back to the rebuilt castle mansion in Wisconsin. Danny, terrified of the future that has once passed and may do so again, shuts down in his grief. Inadvertently, he ends up somewhat repressing his ghost half. Something Vlad, who is grieving Madeline but relishing in Jack's demise and his custody of Daniel, is not very happy with.

Vlad's... gone into a bit of a mental health spiral. He's becoming increasingly possessive over Daniel, the final remnants of his friends and a liminal being like him. He doesn't like that Danny's repressing his ghost half -- both out of genuine concern as a ghost, but also because of his desire to control Danny and groom him into the perfect son. If you ever had a phase where you read Dark SBI found family fics, first off; me too bro, and second off; those are the vibes I'm thinking of.

Danny's mentally shut down from grief! And fear. He's dropped into a bad depressive state -- paralyzed with grief and the terror of the inevitable. Clockwork saved his parents because he believes in second chances, but what's the point of that when his family ended up dead anyways? Danny doesn't wanna believe that he's destined to become evil, and he's holding out onto that hope, but it's a thin line, and he feels utterly hopeless and trapped. He hasn't used his powers or ghost form since he trashed the lab, and Vlad has alarms set up to prevent him from trying to escape.

He's also unintentionally cut off Sam and Tucker -- both of whom are so scared and concerned for Danny too, and are trying their damndest to reach out to him. He keeps ignoring their texts. Danny basically haunts Vlad's manor. He goes out to eat if he has to, attends parties Vlad drags him to, and stays in his room all day if he can.

At parties, Vlad doesn't allow Danny to leave his side, or really talk to anyone -- not that Danny wants to. A product of Vlad's increasing possessiveness. Well, he almost doesn't let Danny leave his side. Danny has a habit of slipping off to hide somewhere for the parties whenever he can, and Vlad reluctantly allows it so long as he stays alone.

This becomes an advantage when eventually, Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham after missing for years, and holds a bright charity ball to celebrate the return. Vlad has been chomping at the bits to get his hands on Wayne Industries, and with the return of its owner there is no better opportunity to wipe out his rival. He goes, and he as normal, brings Daniel with him.

Vlad thinks Wayne will bleed his little heart out for Daniel's poor orphan sob story -- he's a fellow orphan himself, after all. He's not wrong; Wayne's little heart will bleed, just not in the way that benefits him.

Bruce sees Vlad and Danny approaching before they're even close enough to introduce themselves - and like with many of the children he will soon come to care for, it's like someone set a mirror into the past right in front of him.

Danny Fenton's suit is tailor-made for him, and despite the fact that it's his perfect size, the sag in his shoulders, the ducked down head, and the way he hunches into himself all pictures the image of a child in shoes too big for him. There's a far away, glazed over look in his eyes and grief marble-cut into the lines of his face. There's not enough makeup in the world that will hide the dark circles under his eyes.

("My nephew, Daniel Fenton." Vlad's hands are possessive on Danny's shoulders. Bruce immediately notices the way the boy tenses under his touch. "His parents passed recently, and as his godfather I was designated his guardian.") ("I'm so sorry, the loss must've been terrible.") ("Yes, carbon-monoxide poisoning caused it. Daniel was out with friends, when he came home... they had already passed.") (Bruce immediately dislikes that Vlad shared the details of their death unprompted -- he likes it even less when Danny flinches at the reminder and hunches into himself.)

Danny runs off at some point earlier into the charity. At this point, parties are still being held at Wayne Manor (because iirc google search mentioned that was a thing at first before it was changed), so he disappears and hides in one of the empty rooms nearby. It just so happens to be the same room Bruce Wayne hides in when he needs a break from all of the socialization.

Thus begins a long, long process of trust. Bruce can't reveal his hand as being smarter than he looks, but he can be compassionate. Kindness needs no measure of intelligence. He keeps Danny company for as long as he can before he runs the risk of being found.

Rinse and repeat. Vlad insistently wants Wayne Industries, and he'll go to as many Wayne parties as he can to get his hooks into the man. The problem is that Bruce Wayne is never alone, and getting him alone is impossible. Finding him too. It's like the man never stops moving. Always talking to someone, always circling somewhere. He orbits around the room as if he isn't the sun of the Gotham Elite's solar system.

Danny's had such repetitive behavior that Vlad never thinks to believe that Bruce Wayne is disappearing to go talk to him. That "Vlad's" son is even interacting with him at all. Danny never gives him a reason to think so, and neither does Bruce.

Danny doesn't actually acknowledge Bruce until a handful of parties in, where he hands Bruce a small slip of paper he smuggled in that says; "don't trust Vlad". Danny's face stays carefully blank, but he's so tense that his hands are trembling, and he's purposely looking away from him. Bruce plasters a smile onto his face, slips the paper into his pocket, and tells him "okay".

(he's been busy with his own goals with the mafia, but he sets aside time to investigate Vlad Masters. He was holding off. Until now.)

Danny does eventually start speaking to Bruce, he's starting to really like the guy. He's starting to see a little hope, even as Vlad is starting to get more and more agitated with him the more he refuses to use his powers.

He reaches out to Sam and Tucker again, and starts trying to reconnect with them. Vlad has spyware on his phone, and he limits the amount of times he can talk to them. A weird parental control lock of some sort that leaves a time limit on how long he can talk to them for. 30 minutes. Danny doesn't tell them anything about Mr. Wayne.

Danny, slowly, wants out of here, and he's slowly gathering the motivation to do it. Vlad is genuinely scaring him -- and Danny wonders just how truthful the past-future Vlad was when he told him that Danny wanted his ghost half separate. He starts trying to come up with an escape plan.

Vlad has anti-ghost wards everywhere around the mansion, and while they're always on, they boost to full power at sunset. The doors and windows are always locked, all main exits have alarms set on them. The only reason it's not super extensive is because Danny hasn't tried leaving at all yet, so Vlad hasn't had to tighten anything.

At night, Vlad locks the door to his room and puts up an anti-ghost ward around the room. The mansion is on the outside westward side of Madison, more entrenched in rural Wisconsin. The closest town is a four-way stop sign with one house on three corners, and an open bar on the fourth. Not much to go.

He refuses to go to Sam and Tucker; Vlad would look there first. It's too dangerous. Vlad would sound alarm bells and have a manhunt looking for him, Danny can't risk going just anywhere. Too much risk of being found, sold out, or caught. There's really nowhere for him to hide.

Until there is. Bruce is telling Danny about the history of Wayne Manor, and says, as casually as saying the weather; "The manor has dozens of empty rooms, I'm sure Alfred wouldn't mind filling another one if he could." And quietly, hesitantly, Bruce places a careful hand on Danny's shoulder, unrestrictive and gentle; "He wouldn't mind getting one ready for you if you need one."

And there it is. There's his out.

Danny, just as quietly, replies; "I'll keep that in mind."

The ball starts rolling.

Now I've been trying to summarize this au as much as possible for length convenience, but Vlad has been steadily growing more and more controlling. More emotionally manipulative. More agitated at Danny for not using his powers.

He wants Wayne Industries under his thumb but he's been steadily growing more and more concerned with Danny. He's started grabbing him, yanking him around, shaking him; trying to goad him into using his powers. He gets angry when Danny doesn't react, or tells him he doesn't want to use his powers. He hasn't outright attacked him, but he's getting there. This has been happening over the time it takes for Bruce to indirectly offer Danny sanctuary at his home.

It all comes to a head when Vlad stops going to parties at all -- something Danny has to pretend he isn't upset about -- because Vlad doesn't want him around other people anymore. Vlad rarely goes now without him, and only leaves to go to a Wayne function or to handle something at VladCo.

Danny can't wait for Vlad to leave long enough to escape. So he leaves during the night of a big storm. Vlad's locked him in his room, but Danny doesn't bother trying to go for it; he goes to the alarmed window instead. Danny's been repressing his ghost half so long that he can't access his powers immediately anymore -- he can feel it, he knows its there, but he can't quite reach it.

He breaks the lock by hand.

Immediately the alarm goes off through the entire castle, filling the room with red, and he scrambles for the rope the Wisconsin Ghost left for him a few months back. Danny's already out and climbing down the side of the castle before Vlad even reaches his door -- the only good thing about the entire room being ghost-proof is that Vlad can't get in that way.

The rope ends before it reaches the bottom, and he's still twenty feet in the air. It won't kill him if he lands it right. Danny takes his chances, and drops. He breaks his ankle, but he survives.

And he fucking books it to the back garden. He hears Vlad shrieking over the thunder and rain.

I'll save the full experience for a future oneshot, but Danny makes it out into the nearby woods and forcibly experiences what it's like to be in a horror game, trying to hide from the thing that's hunting you. There's only one thing going through his mind; "i'm going to die"

I have this mental image for this scene. Very stereotypical horror imo. Where Danny is hiding behind a tree, with a hand over his mouth, and Vlad is a few feet away from him, glowing ominously red through the trees, trying to search for him.

Danny doesn't get away from this unscathed, but he does get away alive. That's all he could ask for. He gets away by getting his ghost half awakened long enough to transform into Phantom and fly to Gotham.

But he gets to Wayne Manor, he gets to Bruce. Or, at least, Alfred answers the door from his insistent pounding. Danny's just in tears and Alfred gets him in the living room, wrapped in a towel, with ice on his swollen leg before he has to step out and alert Bruce.

Bruce already breaks multiple traffic laws on a nightly basis. And that's just with the sheer existence of the batmobile itself, not including the speeding and military artillery attached. He breaks double the amount trying to speed back to the cave and get out of the suit.

Right off the bat: Bruce will know, at least before Dick enters the picture, about danny's powers. He'll figure out something considering the fact that Danny traveled from Wisconsin to New York in a single night. That'll be a bit of complicated affair, but I've already got something in mind.

Actually it'll probably be very soon after Danny joins the family, because Bruce tries to offer to fight for custody for Danny - the state Danny was in at arrival is clear enough evidence for a trial. But Danny immediately shuts it down, says it's not going to work and then Vlad will know Danny's with him and he won't be safe. He tells him that Vlad cannot know Danny was with Bruce.

Danny's biggest regret was not telling his parents he was a halfa, and while he doesn't want to tell mister wayne (yet), he does tell him about Vlad being one. He needs to know why Danny can't be seen with Bruce. So he tells him, and Danny's current plan is to just hide out from Vlad until he turns 18. That way, he has no more legal jurisdiction over him. After that? He's not sure.

And to wrap this up, since this has already gotten very long and I can make more posts about this au later; I've thought about it, and I'm going to say that Danny does become a vigilante before Dick enters the scene. He goes by, as you probably guessed; Nightingale. "Gale" for short.

[vladdyissues]

Day 19: Pearl

Legend has it that if a sailor wearing a black pearl is ever lost at sea, he can trade it to Poseidon for his life.

[featherfang]

"Not everything will be about what you've done. Instead, it will be about what you do next."

Haar-2 play card style profile pic. I don't care that the Invective isn't in the game, it doesn't mean it can't exist in the world.

I was thinking about how since these are inspired by playing cards, they should have suites, right? For Haar, I think he'd be the King of Clubs. As for the rest:

Skylar: Ace of Hearts (so surprising, yes?)

Noble: Jack of Diamonds

Z Redwolf: The Joker

Corvan Blacksteel: Ace of Clubs

[hugsandchaos]

It was supposed to be a normal camp out. Loki’s brother and his brother’s friends, who he claimed to also be Loki’s friends, were going to share ridiculous stories, Loki would correct Thor’s exaggerations, and Loki would read a bit before falling asleep before the rest. Instead, a familiar green portal opened up above their campsite and Danny fell through. Loki almost laughed at the others’ horrified expressions, but he was quickly distracted by the halfa.

“Hey, Loki.”

“Hey, Danny.”

Honestly, if he didn’t like a sudden turn of events every now and then so much, he’d be midway through giving his friend a scolding by now.

[ghosttrolls]

Watching Danny phantom is like. You have a boy in high school who suddenly has the power to protect his town from the otherworldly evils that are slowly creeping into the normal world, and though the town he lives in does not initially believe these evils exist at first, they slowly come to admit that it's true: the town has been under attack, but this one kid has been defending the entire place this whole time for them. He keeps this responsibility a secret from his parents, and the town does not know who he really is, because he fears how they would react, and he fears for their safety. So he chooses two people to tell, and they work together as a team to bring down bad guy after bad guy.

And then watching Trollhunters is like. There's a high school boy who suddenly gains powers to protect his small hometown from the otherworldly evils that slowly encroach into the public eye, and though at first the population doesn't believe these evils are real, they slowly realize that the town has been in danger for a while, and this one teenage boy has been protecting them this whole time. He keeps this responsibility secret from his mom and everyone else in his life for as long as he can, out of fear of what they'll say, and of putting them in danger. He chooses two friends to tell his secret to, though, and together they are able to save their town over and over.

Watching Danny Phantom is like, hey there's this old guy that is trying to insert himself into Danny's life as a guidance figure. This dude has a crush on Danny's mom hardcore, which is a bit awkward - WAIT A SECOND? He's also EVIL?? This older man who sometimes appears as a mentor and sometimes as a rival is the only adult person who knows Danny's secret, who he truly is. And they fight over that fact constantly.

Watching Trollhunters is like, there's an older man in Jim's life who's trying to offer him guidance, which is cool. He asks Jim if his mom is single, and that's awkward - WAIT HES AN EVIL BAD GUY??? Suddenly this guy appears in Jim's life not only as a mentor but often as a rival instead, and is the only adult who knows Jim's secret. They fight about that secret constantly.

Watching Danny Phantom is like, hey this episode results in his parents finding out his secret about his powers. At first they're shocked and scared for his safety, but they warm up to the idea pretty fast. We love you anyway, they say. We're here for you, we're so sorry you were so scared to tell us. But there's a larger problem, one that will end up wiping their memories. Promise us, they say, promise us you'll tell us again after the memory wipe. We will support you forever and always. Their memories get wiped. Danny does not tell them his secret again. They have to find it out for themselves in the last episode of the show.

Watching Trollhunters is like, in this episode Jim's mom finds out about his powers. At first she's shocked and scared, because she witnesses first-hand the danger he's been putting himself in, but eventually she relaxes that fear as she realizes he's good at his job. You've always been my hero, she says. But there's a bigger problem, and to fix it her memory will get wiped. Promise me, she says, promise me that after my memory is gone, you'll remind me. The burden is too big to carry on your own. I don't want you to lie anymore. Her memory is wiped, and Jim does not tell her. She has to recover her lost memories on her own.

Watching Danny phantom is like. Something made him this way. The burden feels heavy. He tries to undo it, he tries to live a life without it. He takes his powers away and walks around town like a normal kid. But everywhere he goes, he sees people who need help, and feels this tug. He realizes he couldn't just stop helping people, so he goes and gets his powers back. He made himself into a hero this time.

Watching Trollhunters is like. Someone made him this way. He starts regretting all the danger he's put his friends and family in, and all the mistakes he's made, so he wishes he never had powers. That wish is granted. But after living his life as a normal teenager for a while, he realizes the town can't win against the evil without him. He needs to step up and be the hero. And so he picks his sword back up again.

Watching Danny Phantom is like, why do they have an episode where they have to take care of flour sacks as if they're babies?? I don't remember that being required in high school.

Watching Trollhunters is like, oh great, TWO MORE episodes where they have to take care of flour sack babies. Where does this situation in high school cartoons come from anyway??

[logray]

THE CLONE WARS | 7x10, 'The Phantom Apprentice' TALES OF THE JEDI | 1x06, 'Resolve'

[romancemedia]

Anime Couples + Bridal Carry

[hypewinter]

The expectations from everyone around him had been too much. His sister and teachers wanted him to be a good student. His friends wanted him to be the perfect hero. The town wanted him to be everywhere, all at once. And his parents wanted him strapped down to a table.

Danny couldn't take it anymore. It was all just too much. So he left. He disappeared, covering his tracks and only leaving a note to let everyone know he was okay.

He traveled a while before he eventually encountered some heroes investigating an occult crime. All he did was give them a little hint and suddenly they were all over him. He had panicked for a second. Memories of his suffocating past came to him. But to Danny's surprise, these heroes were more worried about him than anything. Something about the knowledge he possessed being dangerous.

It actually felt a little nice being worried over like that and before he knew it, Danny found himself tagging along with these heroes. Apparently they were called the Justice League Dark and their whole schtick was investigating the occult.

Danny had thought he was over the whole hero thing, but he didn't mind helping the JLD. There where finally capable adults in his life who protected him. Who cared for him. They never expected him to balance two contradicting responsibilities. Nor did they expect him to be their main heavy hitter when facing a threat.

For the first time since he had turned on that stupid machine, Danny was allowed to be a kid again. He was allowed to be annoying, to ask a million questions (no matter how dumb) and most importantly, he was allowed to have fun.

Being a hero with the Justice League Dark never felt like the world ending pressure he was under back home. They had even told him he was welcome to quit anytime! Not that he wanted to.

Sure, Danny felt guilty about never contacting his friends and family and letting them know how he was doing. But he was scared. Scared that they might try some way to force him back home.

He could never go back to that place, he just couldn't. To do that would truly crush his soul.