#halfagone rambles

[halfagone]

One of the things I love the most about AUs where Danny moves to Gotham City is how easily he fits in. There are AUs where Danny makes a statement and gets noticed for the great guy he is and I enjoy those too, but I love the AUs where Danny fits in as if he's always been here. Where he doesn't stand out, doesn't make a statement.

There is something so quietly compelling about this transition in Danny's life. Danny has always stood out in a negative way. His parents are the town hacks, his sister is a genius that he'll never compare to. Friends who create rallies for their respective causes and actually makes people listen. Even amongst the outsiders, Danny sticks out like a sore thumb.

Danny likes Paulina because it's safe. Anyone would have a crush on the most popular girl in school. That's expected, that's normal. Of course he wants to be popular, what kid doesn't want to be popular?

The A-Listers stand out, not because they're particularly special, but because everyone else has set the standard that only they can reach. They present these kids as what every student should be, and everyone else is just failing to reach their level.

Danny has always striven for normalcy but the only way to achieve it is to fundamentally change who he is and he can't. No matter how hard he tries he can't be that person. He can try, and god has he tried, but he can't change who he is.

And then Danny moves to Gotham.

You can use all sorts of reasons for the move. Maybe this is a scenario where a reveal goes sideways and Danny has to flee. Maybe he has a bad breakup and he wants a fresh start. Maybe he's going to college out-of-state. Maybe he received a promotion at work and his boss wants him to manage the new Gotham branch.

No matter what reason you use, it all leads back to square one. Danny is in a city where he hardly knows anyone, but has heard all the horror stories for. The crime here is nothing like he's ever experienced before. At least with the ghosts, Danny knew they were coming thanks to his ghost sense. He doesn't always get the same courtesy with Arkham breakouts.

But he adapts. It's his specialty. He adapts to new powers and new enemies all the time, he can adapt here too. Human crime might not be his specialty but he knows how to protect himself. And for once he doesn't stand out for it.

Danny is paranoid and hypervigilant? Don't worry, most people here are. They have to be. Danny has scars on his knuckles from fighting ghosts? That's not the mark of a troublemaker, that's the mark of a survivor. Danny keeps a metal baseball bat by his front door? Okay, maybe that's a little strange; most people keep their weapons by their bed.

The point is that all these habits ingrained in Danny's psyche aren't out of place in Gotham. Here, no one thinks strangely of his behavior because they've all developed habits to help them survive. There is a different normal here in Gotham, a different standard, and for once Danny can reach it.

For once Danny is normal and he didn't have to change himself in any way to achieve it. It's proof that there was never anything wrong with him. He just didn't fit in with Amity Park anymore, but there is a place out there where he can.

Gotham City might not have been the home he grew up in, but it's accepted him more than the one he left behind. On the outside, this community might seem rough and harsh and brutal. But these people understand Danny better than anyone else could, because they know what it feels like to fight every day just to survive.

And I think there's something so cathartic about leaving one home, and all the fears that come with that, only to find a better one you never thought you could have.

I don't know. It's just so personal to me.

[gingkos-eldritch-secret]

Fanfiction commentary and recommendations: The why´s and how´s and Part I of 'Lex Luthor´s ascend from supervillainy to fatherhood'

Okay, so. I know it may be weird, but bear with me for a moment: i love to comment on fics or stories like some people would a youtube video - with all the comments and snark and further ideas that entails. (though that works best in a chapter-for-chapter basis) And all the random tangents my brain will go off of. Which is why I thought: why not share my thoughts? (also thanks to the comment from @norapretzel) Since I have about 300 fics of the Phandom in my 'Please update I need more' tab folder, I wanna share just why I put them there and what makes them worth reading. (Seriously, tab groups or tab lists are the best thing ever. They have made my life so much easier. And stopped my laptop from regularly fighting for it´s life.) I don´t know how regular this will be or even if, because work and life in general. But anyways: it´s just for fun and to put something out there.

I will begin with the fanfic I am currently reading: 'Lex Luthor´s ascend from supervillainy to fatherhood' by halfagone (milkywxy) [@halfagone]

The other parts can be found here:

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

My most recently read chapter is chapter 35 which means: the first mini-arc as well as a few important plotpoints have been mentioned if not completely finished. I have binged those first 35 chapters sometime between late afternoon yesterday and evening today so it will not be as detailed as it would be if i only mentioned one chapter - I do apologize for that.

Anyways, here the actual commentary instead of my usual ramblings:

As for the first point. The most important point. The reason you should read this? It´s a story about family and the difference between the people who raised you and those you actually view as family. It´s about trust and that sometimes you can´t trust those you want to trust the most and that that´s okay. It´s about family by choice and that it may sometimes look or feel weird (especially if viewed from the outside). It´s also about burdens and how one handles them - how it can become unhealthy under circumstances. It´s a story about many themes and plot points and details that play together to become something more. I do hope it doesn´t sound too philosophical to be honest. But to just put it in a nutshell: 'Lex Luthor´s Ascend from supervillainy to fatherhood' is a story about family and how to overcome obstacles together.

The story begins at a gala. Or, more precisely, at a gala where Brucie Wayne (and oh, he holds onto that persona with an iron grip) and Lex Luthor (who has SOME kind of respect for the guy, even though he has his own son run the company instead of himself) are having a talk. And while we all know and love Bruce for this persona it does mean it paints him in a rather incompetent light for other people in this circle. This does not stop him from being a worried parent though. Oh no.

This man has the audacity to tell Luthor IN HIS FACE (though not in those words) that he fears him to be an (more or less accidentally) incompetent father figure. Which Danny predictably finds hilarious when Lex later tells him.

So here we see a first glimpse of the relationship between these two - a relationship that seems to have already been developing for quite some time already. It´s also here that we find out that Danny is stranded in this dimension - i do not want to say 'trapped' but in a sense it is the correct word. (all his friends, his family, everything he knows - they are are not here. He is the only one in this dimension. And even if some things are similar enough - I doubt it´s the same.)

While sad to think about, i do believe that he is making the best of his situation and he already seems to have found himself a parent figure. A parent figure that seems to actually care even. Who wants his best and won´t put their own work before the wellbeing of their child. Though we´ll only get there a little later in the story.

And personally I must say that it´s just damned funny to see the 'showdown' between Lex and Bruce go down. It´s such a stark contrast to the conversation Lex and Danny have later in the chapter that i did have to laugh quite a bit at all of the reactions both them tried to hide xD

I don´t want to sell the story short, but I also don´t want to spoil all too much, because honestly? That just takes the fun out of a story. So I´ll just summarize the next bit for a bit:

What follows are some serious and some funny conversations between Danny and several Heroes and Danny, as well as our favourite halfa and his new father figure about the nature of their relationship, his life before all of this, the nature of cloning and clones and no one has asked to be born and should not be treated any less for their parentage. Also about people being superweapons and how well (or bad) that can turn out. (And also the question: Are Lex Luthor and Superman bitter Exes? An important question I must admit. It would honestly explain so MUCH about their relationship. And even if it´s not true: i kinda want Danny asking it out loud at a press conference with Clark Kent and Lex Luthor present. That would be just hilarious xD)

And honestly? After the heartwarming talk about clones I kinda want Danny ripping Superman a new one about his behaviour with Kon. It would 1) be a very amusing thing to watch and 2) Our boy deserves a brother who will defend him from the people who have hurt him the most.

After that we get to Cass and Danny meeting and my god, those are such frankly adorable scenes that i DO NOT WANT TO SPOILER. So I´ll just ignore that whole comment in my head and just say: it´s the most adorable thing ever and i think i have diabetes after reading it. Also: I think my neighbours were about to knock on my door to ask where all that squealing came from and if i needed help because of all the running around they heard. I may or may not have run around my flat squealing like a little kid. Maybe.

What we also get to is Lex´ reaction to their meeting and it did not disappoint. He´s just such a tired dad now. Before long he´ll have talks about their children and their relationship with bruce. And both will probably be absolutely suffering during it lmao. As well as the batfamily as a whole. They don´t know what to think yet but they are already preparing the shovel talk xD

We also get to see one of the many abilities and strenghths Danny has and how he constantly holds himself as small as possible - our boy has a low self esteem and such a low opinion of his own intellect that it just physically hurts me :')

Okay so it´s quite late now - those were the first 5 chapters. Those are part commentary and part speculations and i hope it was entertaining. I did expect to get out a bit more, but my brain wants to go to sleep and and who am I to deny my brain it´s rest? Will try to at least do another 5 chapters tomorrow but I can´t promise anything ;p

[ghoulysaphomet]

Holo there

I'm Saphomet. Also known as Ghost, and a plentitude of other names.

This is my art/writings account where I'll try to post fanart whenever I do some, and ramble about my WIPs.

Main account where i reblog whatever i want: @timstolejasonscorpseagain

I've written fanfic since 2012-3, can't remember for sure, and posted them to deviantart and ffnet. I moved to ao3 in 2014.

I have a lotta wips. Sorry 'bout that.

Terfs and bigots of any kind aren't welcome::) fuck off::)

I absoloutely love doing angst, themes of death, monsters, blood/cannibalism and codependency. Sometimes I do Smut, too.

If you've read any of my works and have any questions feel free to ask!

Wishing everyone a good day.

A list of my all-time favourite fanfictions

In alphabetical order. I will attempt to update this as I find more stuff to read! ::,)

Ao No Exorcist 

The sound of an omen from the center of a hurricane by bluewindfall

Batman (all types)

Artificial Gravel by thenafics

chew until it bleeds by dukeaubergine (18+)

Ignore the Previous Message (or don't) by JpegDotJpeg (18+)

I’m Pretty Sure Tim Steals Clothes: An Elaboration In The Form Of A Long Fic by PrinceJakeFireCake

Not so Alone by Blueseabird2

of crime lords and literature by adelfie

scapegoat by envysparkler

BNHA

(How to) Forgive and forget by Legal_kidnapping

And thus, we live  by  Kail_lizuc

Everything i want to do is illegal - a self help book - by AdyingFlower (possibly discontinued)

Grandmaster of miscalculation by silver jackdaw (cizzi) (Possibly discontinued) 

Lovers of lost dimensions by Miss_nighteye (terryh) (18+)

Lusus Naturae by WildTama

Neutrality order (Series) by AngeliaDark  (suggestive themes)

Proximal by artistfingers, Perfectly_Inconspicuou

Something's gotta give by Worldstubbiestcat (confirmed Discontinued)

Speak no evil by bibivi 

Speak of the devil by Gentrychild

Take only what you need by Intent_To_Stay (Confirmed discontinued)

Yesterday upon the stair by PitViperOfDoom

Danny Phantom 

by your grave (the monster we made) by UnderForeversGrace

Death Day Evolution by gamma_radio

definition of insanity (is doing the same thing) by UnderForeversGrace

lie like a tombstone (yet secrets will bloom) by murphy_kitt

Tourist Repellent by TorScrawls

Vice series by dweeblet, paenling (dweeblet), Patchykins

What Big Eyes You Have by Gingersnapped

What it means to be by UnderForeversGrace

worth the war underneath my skin by UnderForeversGrace

DP x DC 

a part of me that'll never be mine by halfagone (milkywxy)

Bus to Nowhere by foldingfacets 

Funeral Rites by BumblingBeesAndWillowTrees

Have You Heard of Danny Wayne? by FortunateCookie

If You Give a Bat a Burger by Cielle_Noire

I'm King Boo by TourettesDog

Life, Death, and In Between by SaturdayNightFrights

Our Empty Graves by suomifae

Phantom Children: Redux by apotheosis_avaritia

Phoenix Down by Imp_y

regular boy: daniel wayne by diamondrozie

TWINcognito mode by nerdpoe

Gravity Falls

Blood bath by RoboticSpaceCase (18+)  

Faking it by BurnerAccount

Hunter x Hunter

Once bitten x Twice shy by korns

Song for the Yellowed Woods by Grandoverlord (possibly discontinued)

Legend of Zelda

A Hero’s spirit by SilvermistAnimeLover 

Language of Monsters by Laufskadus (Possibly discontinued)

sewn back together wrong by ballroomnotoriety

Linked Universe 

Alone we fight by SilvermistAnimeLover

Bush Ghost by Tricksterburd

Degrees of Resurrection by Gintrinsic

Creation (Both Haunted and Holy) by GhostPlasma

In a mockery of recollection series by Depths

Let's not and say we did by sincerelyMystic (Possibly discontinued)

Scales, Wings, and Mythical Things by FantomoDrako

Year of the Rabbit by BlindBrilliance

Naruto

Flip the coin/Face the change by Inrainbowz

Time travel? What the fuck? by Dragonpyre

One Piece

(Ir)Responsible by oumriel (Possibly discontinued)

(Two) small mercies by fingersfallingupwards

Burning rubber series by Kitsune foxfire (Possibly discontinued)

Feral by Kitsune foxfire

Near death experiences by Monch_Monch

Switching it up by kitsune-foxfire

Take the world by storm by Geokat

Turning myself into my brother by artistic_arsonist

Young but built to fall by Fingers-falling-upwards [possibly discontinued].

Supernatural

A spanner in the clockworks by All_five_pieces_of_exodia

ache in the rain (and remember the wounds) by Scribblurri

Auribus Teneo Lupum by Unknown (possibly disccontinued)

Ben has two dads by regala_electra (18+)

Brothers blood series by diana_lucifera, stormageddon (Fave to re-read. Possibly discontinued)

Delicate broken bird by Sparrowshellcat

Consequentiality by Kerfluffling (18+)

Fortress by glasslogic (18+. Amazing worldbuilding. Possibly discontinued.)

Memory is a fickle siren song by sleepypercy (18+)

The Time Dean was Sam's Girlfriend and Jess Entered the Winchester Family Business, and Something unpredictable (but in the end it’s right) by fleshflutter and  phoenixflight for fleshflutter  (in the same section since 1 is a sequel done by a separate author and isn’t a series. 18+) 

I want to make it clear that regardless of whether a work is finished or not, there is no shade or shame at all from my side. It's been an absolute pleasure to read any of these works, and the authors owe me nothing.

[halfagone]

Do you know what my favorite part about writing for DPxDC is? The multiverse facet of DC means that we don't have to be as stringent about canon. All the crossovers we write are Alternate Universes in one way or another. I could mesh three different continuities and pieces of media together from the DC side alone and it could still work because this is an alternate universe.

"That's not canon in [insert comic series here]!" Well this isn't Prime Earth, so it's fine. I never meant to imply that this took place in the main continuity. I am playing with my blorbos in the Elseworlds where nothing bad can happen ever, just the way I like it. Or, you know. I might make it worse in new ways.

Danny Phantom isn't innocent of this either; it can and has redacted its own canon before. Reality Trip is probably the most well-known example of this, but A Glitch in Time would absolutely count as well. Hell, you could even throw Memory Blank in for good measure!

I love being able to create new worlds and think, in the back of my mind, how I could absolutely have two versions of my characters meet one another. All these things could absolutely coexist with one another, because they are simply from another Earth, somewhere far out in the multiverse.

It might not be Earth-0. It might even be Earth-6789B or something, but it's a lovely Earth and the multiverse is a very big place. You can stay on Earth-2 and I'll be here out here watching the meltdown and roasting marshmallows over the fire.

[halfagone]

Did I just boop so much I gave myself a hand cramp? Yes. Did I regret it? Not at all. Will I continue to boop? You bet your ass I will.

[halfagone]

Do you ever think about how Dan could have both Danny and Vlad's memories? Obviously not all of them, since in The Ultimate Enemy Dan didn't know where Vlad's portal was so he couldn't destroy it. But imagine all the other things he could remember.

How much Vlad resented Jack and how much Danny loved him. How much Vlad blamed Jack for an accident and how much Danny forgave him despite all his wayward attempts that made things worse.

How much Vlad adored Maddie and how Danny knows all those ideals are false, that she's no longer than woman he used to love. Maybe how she was never that woman in the first place.

How Vlad was a billionaire, the elite 1%, and how Danny used to be bullied and shoved into lockers. What it was like to lose friends and what it was like to have them.

How much he hated the world for what it took from him and how much he loved it despite all the grief it gave him.

Do you ever think about what it's like to loathe another part of yourself you never wanted to become?

No, just me, okay maybe that's for the best-

[halfagone]

The Danny Phantom fandom fascinates me. That's the only word I can think of when I consider the fandom's behavior on certain subjects. It's just. Fascinating. Genuinely.

If you know me, I am a huge Danny Phantom fan. But I am also a huge DC fan, and spend most of my time in the crossover community, DPxDC. Something that I've noticed in this position, standing in two different fandoms, is their treatment of specific tropes and AUs. One of the biggest ones I've noticed is Alpha/Beta/Omega AUs, otherwise known as Omegaverse AUs.

DC has tons and tons of Omegaverse AUs, Batfam fics in particular have some of the sweetest platonic/found family verses under this AU umbrella. The Danny Phantom fandom, on the other hand, generally stays away from this AU. I've seen a lot of reasons why, and I know it can be a large squick for some people, and that's totally fine.

However.

However, DP fans will do something different, and instead take bits and pieces from Omegaverse tropes and change it into DP lore. The biggest example I can think of is fraids. What are fraids, you might be asking? Fraids are essentially packs, just... ghost-style. What do I mean by this?

Fraids = Packs.

Fraidmates = Packmates.

Fraid bonds = Pack bonds.

The similarities are very obvious once you sit down to think about it.

Of course fraids tend to be based more on platonic bonds, but as stated above, packs can be entirely platonic as well. The large number of found family fics seen in the Batman fandom is evidence of this too. So it's really fascinating to me that DP just chose to instead create this whole fraid concept.

Is it because of Omegaverse AUs' reputation? Is it because people wanted a more obvious way of distinguishing platonic fraids to the so-called sexual packs? I have seen multiple fics with the concept of fraids that were very sexual, so that might not be the case.

I don't know, it's just... fascinating.

In the DPxDC fandom I've seen a brand new emergence of this as well. Of course, thanks to the DP side of things, we also have the fraid concept, but more and more recently I've seen a new trope called "Mom Danny".

I will be transparent and say that I do not like the Mom Danny concept, but I will try to offer my observations with an objective eye.

In all the times I've viewed the Mom Danny concept or prompts, one thing stands out to me: Danny is feminized in one way or another. He's called a twink, his smaller stature and short size are over-emphasized, in some cases he's GNC and wears skirts and dresses, or he's trans and writers will lean into his AFAB characteristics. And that is startlingly like omegas in Omegaverse. On top of that, Sam becomes "Dad", since she's the more butch member of the pair. So she's an alpha to Danny's omega.

We've come full circle and gone back to gender stereotypes.

It's so, so fascinating.

[halfagone]

...Bruce and Danny cuddling as father-son for the first time must be so heartbreaking and fulfilling all at once. Bruce, the hands that hurt and cannot heal. Hands that held broken corpse after broken corpse, yet can never keep the living ones close. Danny, who only knows hands that hurt him. Hands of others that hold him back, hold him down; his own hand that pressed a button and brought the killing blow.

Just the quiet trust of a moment shared for the first time. Maybe one holds their breath for it. Maybe it's just so thoughtless, a moment of relief or a need for comfort, that it doesn't even cross their mind. Just the ability to finally let the people who love you into your life again.

...I should really sleep.

[halfagone]

A Mandalorian Halfa Jedi?

I am thinking... about my Danny Phantom x Star Wars AU again. I mentioned this in the Haunting Heroes discord server, but imagine this:

Danny gets lost in the Star Wars universe, maybe they're part of the same universe, maybe not. We know that Earth technically exists there, so it's possible. Nonetheless, Danny gets lost and is eventually picked up by the Jedi. It is during the Clone Wars era, at the height of the war. Ectoplasm either functions the same as the Force out in larger space, or it easily passes off as the Force. Therefore, Danny is considered Force-sensitive and brought to the Jedi council.

He's far too old, older than even Anakin was, but he already displays some skill with the blade (thanks to his mom's training), and he's far too powerful with the Force to leave for the Sith or Dark Side users running about to find him. Those like Count Dooku or Asajj Ventress or whoever Dooku's master is (and, depending on the timeline, Maul and his brother Savage as well).

It's decided that Obi Wan should train him, since he did well with Anakin despite Anakin's older age for a youngling and lack of familiarity with Jedi customs and culture. As well as Obi Wan's own young age as a Padawan himself at the time. Surely, Obi Wan could whip him into shape and they need all the help they can get on the field.

Anakin does not like Danny at first. Not at all. He might have joked all he liked beforehand about Obi Wan getting another padawan, but seeing it happen is an entirely different experience. Danny gets along well with Obi Wan, with his dry, witty humor and his tendency for unorthodox strategy. Worse still, Ahsoka likes Danny. These two are peas in a pod, partners in crime. It feels like he's been forgotten and replaced and by someone seemingly better.

And then one day, when the 212th and the 501st are stationed together, he finds Danny shaking with night terrors, the Dark Side so strong in him Anakin is literally freezing from the cold. It's only then that he understands Danny a little bit better, and sees himself in this kid. Danny fights the Dark Side within him just like he does, and he never lets it consume him. Maybe for once, he can learn a little something from this kid too, and not let it overwhelm him.

And here is the part where I realized a golden opportunity:

What if the Jedi think Danny is a Mandalorian that was cast out for being Force-sensitive? Danny has an affinity for weapons beyond the blade, like cannons and guns and snipers. He talks about how his family taught him to use these weapons, that he's known this all his life. He talks about how his family wears suits all the time and hardly ever takes them off. He talks about always being afraid to reveal his powers to his parents, and how ultimately he ran away because of them.

Oh all the scenarios that could come out of this~

But now I'm also thinking about how strong Danny would feel in the Force. How much Danny could do on the battlefield because now he doesn't have to hold back. Droids might have more intelligence than a lot of sentients give them credit for, but if it's between the very alive, flesh and bone, clones of the Grand Republic Army and the Separatists' metal droids, Danny is absolutely going to be ruthless if it means the clones are safe.

Danny can literally control the weather. Imagine what happens when Danny creates an electrical storm for the first time to take down an enemy starship and the clones just look between themselves, whispering about how: "I didn't know Jedi could do that." "Is that how the Force works?" "Kriff if I know-"

And that's another thing! Clones! Danny would be absolutely appalled that so many clones were created and their freedom at the end of the Clones Wars is still up in the air.

It also ties beautifully with his love for space and now he's living the dream! Except space isn't what he thought it would be. And there are planets out here that have barbaric standards. It's the adventure of a lifetime! But there's a part of him that still wants to go home.

Just- all the possibilities and shenanigans this could bring. ✨

[halfagone]

Master List

Hyperlinks to Major Fics

lex luthor's ascent from supervillainy to fatherhood | lex luthor's guide series - Based on Father-Son Relationships between Lex Luthor and Danny Fenton.

Off With [the Demon's] Head - The hot mess that is the Al Ghul-Wayne family. Includes: Dad!Danny, Young!Ellie, my OG Danny and Ra's Paradox Fic.

what was lost, found again | lost and found series - Where Danny finds Jason digging his way out of his own grave and brings him home.

down the rabbit hole (goes the throne) - No One Knows AU, Major Canon Divergence. Amity Park has many secrets and Batman Inc. are left to discover them.

bloodlines | born from flesh and bone, clay and stardust series - Danny is the biological son of Diana (Wonder Woman) and Bruce Wayne. A prophecy is involved.

billy batson and the phantom - Adventures of Billy Batson and Danny Fenton. Oh, and Vlad is there too, I guess.

all I am to you is a tragedy, right? - In which a grieving Bruce Wayne brings a Danny Fenton from another universe back with him. This has consequences.

Insomniacs Anonymous - Three-way crossover between DC, Danny Phantom, and Miraculous Ladybug. Social media and chat fic. Now with plot!

pay your dues - An exploration of politics in the Infinite Realms, and the debts that must be paid in full.

weekend wonders - A character study into Stephanie Brown and her resolve as a hero, especially when a close friend comes into suspicion.

present, future, past - Time travel fic in which Bruce falls into the future where everything seems perfect, better than he could have hoped it would be. It doesn't last.

trust no one (trust me) - In a world where the GIW are more competent than in the show, Danny draws some unwanted attention. The people he leaves behind search for him.

bones and all - Inspired by horror films, video games, and fiction. A ghost story set in the DPxDC crossover.

Other Ongoing Series

Please note that some fics may overlap on more than one series.

Readable Arrangements - Short Works for DPxDC, mainly romance.

It's All About Presentation - A collection of gift fics.

Writing Problems? I Say Writing Solutions - A collections of works from "Who Wrote That?" games.

Martydom - Stories exploring heavy topics, such as gore, violence, etc. Must check tags for each work.

oh, the (in)humanity - Hazmat Suit AU. Now featuring multiple timelines.

Our Gentle Sin - Centered around a romance between a Danny from another universe, where the end of the world has come and gone, and Bruce Wayne who helps him relearn what it means to be human.

Blood is Thicker Than Water, But So Is Ectoplasm - In which Danny is a clone of Batman.

Co-Written Works

Born to Make History | written alongside NightShiftShenanigans (@nightshiftshenanigans) - Patrol Partner Event; No Capes AU, Ice Skating AU, featuring Enemies to Lovers Danny and Jason.

For more completed works and series, explore here:

[halfagone]

I'm gonna be honest, I'm surprised that Fantasy AUs aren't more popular in the Danny Phantom phandom. I've definitely seen some, but they don't get the same kind of buzz as most other alternate AUs get. In fact, most AUs that change the background setting are widely less popular. And that reflects in DPxDC too. Fantasy AUs aren't very popular in DC, and not in Batman media either, despite the comic continuity known as Kingdom Come. So there aren't many fans from that side bringing in the fics.

Which is still strange to me, considering how popular the Ghost King Danny concept is. And Bruce is literally called the 'Prince of Gotham', that's a golden fic opportunity.

So I guess what I'm trying to say here is, who should I marry Danny off to next? If no one will write it, I'll just write it myself, you know how it goes.

(also if anyone does have any idea why Fantasy AUs aren't more popular, I am all for hearing them :3)

[halfagone]

Kryptonians and Ectoplasm

I have... SuperPham thoughts. I mentioned this on Discord the other day, and it went somewhere along the lines of this:

In an AU where Danny is biologically Lois and Clark's son, that means the radiation of the portal turning on, killing him, and bringing him back to life is likely a concentrated version of how Clark came back to life due to exposure to enough ultraviolet rays or ion radiation. He essentially has the ability to photosynthesize like a flower, and in this essay I will-

And well, that's all I had at the time. So here's the essay:

The Ghost Zone could very easily be translated to the Phantom Zone in the crossover. However, in many main forms of DC media, Kryptonians such as Dru-Zod and his allies were sent to the Phantom Zone as a punishment for their crimes, effectively cutting them off from their powers. Which means it's likely not ectoplasm that's substituting for the ultraviolet rays of a yellow star, but the process of opening the portal.

Even if looking beyond a half-Kryptonian Danny AU, there can be a lot of applications to this. And taking a look at Superman lore gives some clues to how we can further integrate this into DPxDC.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am not a scientist, be it physicist or biologist. This brain child was born from pure imagination and unlimited access to scientific articles.

For those that might be less familiar with this timeline, the period in which Superman dies and is seen replaced by four other Superman (one of which is Superboy, or Kon-El, the clone to Kal-El and Lex Luthor) is known as "Reign of the Supermen" and consists of a number of comics.

I won't get into the specifics of all these Supermen, but Clark comes back to life after roughly six months. [Taken from the DCAMU movie "Reign of the Supermen", in which the prologue reveals that the battle to the death between Superman and Doomsday was 6 months ago.]

So it took roughly 6 months for Clark to fully recover. Yet for Danny it took, probably, 5 seconds for the whole thing to be said and done. Which could possibly explain why he's so powerful, beyond the mixture of ectoplasm in his system for this AU.

On the other, other hand, there are many headcanons surrounding how ectoplasm functions on a more scientific standpoint. One of my personal headcanons is that ectoplasm feeds on the electromagnetic waves that humans emit through emotions. The stronger the emotion, the more ectoplasm pools together. Hence, when a person dies, all that ectoplasm pooling together and imprinting on said ectoplasm creates a ghost. [This headcanon is first discussed in chapter 28 of LL's Ascent.]

But we've already established that Kryptonians can be revived through ion radiation. So what is ion radiation? In simple terms, ion radiation is "a type of energy released by atoms that travels in the form of electromagnetic waves (gamma or X-rays) or particles (neutrons, beta or alpha)." But... didn't we just say that ectoplasm likely isn't the reason Superman came back to life? Especially since the Phantom Zone hampers Kryptonians' powers?

That is very true, and if you think about it, this would mean ectoplasm and Kryptonian biology exhibit a lot of the same characteristics. What would be the difference then? Ectoplasm retains the electromagnetic waves, hence how it maintains ghosts' personalities and memories.

However, hampering with these electromagnetic waves could explain why ghosts lose themselves over time, and might give headway to how anti-ecto weapons harm ghosts. But that is a topic that requires more research, and will have to be left for another day.

So ectoplasm retains electromagnetic waves, what about Kryptonians? They can't do the same. Once they are cut off from sunlight, or any form of ultraviolet rays, their powers go with it. Common headcanons for ghosts determine that they can go for some time without continually feeding on ectoplasm, although they gradually grow weaker the longer they go without a source.

But ectoplasm does not emit electromagnetic waves of their own. Perhaps ghosts could filter their ectoplasm and make this possible, maybe that's how they give people the creeps when they intrude on their territory. But otherwise, plain old ectoplasm won't do this. But do you know who does emit electromagnetic waves, according to this logic?

Kryptonians do.

Their emotions emit these waves, and when traveling to the Phantom/Ghost Zone, that would mean all the ectoplasm around them would feed on their emotions. Unfortunately, there is no source of sunlight in the Ghost Zone, which means not only are they cut off from a main source of nutrition, they are constantly being leeched off on from ectoplasm.

This could mean that going to the Ghost Zone, for a Kryptonian, might just be a death sentence. Which makes Dru-Zod's exile to the Phantom/Ghost Zone that much more grim and cruel. We know from the Flashpoint Paradox timeline that Kryptonians will slowly wither away and quite possibly die without any source of ultraviolet rays.

So what would this mean for a half-Kryptonian Danny AU? Well for one, it would explain why Danny is so powerful. His dual nature as half-Kryptonian and a halfa means that all the weaknesses he has from his Kryptonian biology is canceled out by his nature as a halfa, and vice versa.

This wouldn't entirely strip Danny of weaknesses. In some ways it could even compound his weaknesses depending on what's used against him.

Yet it's still something very interesting and tasty to think about. And provides a lot of possibilities for future plot points or alternate universes.

[halfagone]

I need more purple-eyed Danny in my life. I've only written one fic where it's relevant, but every time I see a picture of it I go instantly feral over it. People have probably said it better than I ever could, but another connection between Danny and Maddie would be so perfect for angst and up the creepy factor with Vlad and it would be so angsty and- Okay, I am realizing a lot of this comes from a desire for emotional hurt/comfort in fics, but it is no less true. lol

[halfagone]

So I had been writing this thing the other day for the DPxDC Zine (btw the interest check just came out today, if it's something you'd like to see), and it made me think about what I enjoy the most about certain ships I tend to write.

I am a multi-shipper at heart, I like to believe that there are so many facets of characters you could lean into or explore that leads to different character and relationship dynamics. But I think of all the stories I've read and written, I tend to enjoy Tim/Danny the most.

I enjoy how similar their family dynamics are even if they didn't come from the same socioeconomical classes. Even if you believe that Danny and Tim's parents genuinely love them, you can tell in so many ways how much their absence and presence alike has carved their personalities.

Tim might not have died like Jason or Cass or Damian or Kon or Bart or Clark or--you get the idea. He might not have died like so many other heroes have but he can understand Danny in ways they can't either.

These two are some of the few heroes I've seen with negligent parents. Tim's parents might not have gone as far as accidentally kill him through malpractice but it was enough that Bruce had deemed the Drakes suspicious and looked into their activities.

Characters like Jason and Stephanie, both of whom had abusive fathers and drug-addict mothers, would totally look at Tim and Danny and their home lives and never think past the surface level. After all, they have good families and a roof over their heads and a warm bed to sleep in and consistent access to food.

And that's the most insidious part about child neglect. Hardly anyone will ever think it's bad enough.

And then you look at their hero careers. I've said this before but out of all the other Robins, Tim had the most to lose and he lost it all. When these two started out, it had not been at rock bottom like so many other heroes.

Instead, they had chosen the hero life even when they could have stayed in the sidelines, away from most of the danger. It wasn't until a month after his accident, after Danny defeated the Lunch Lady, that he decided to become a hero. He could have kept his head down and hidden his ghost half, made Phantom a one-off incident, but he wanted to help people. He saw what good his powers could do and he didn't want to waste it.

Similarly, Tim could have stayed as a bystander who just so happened to know more than the average citizen. Yet when he saw Bruce's self-destructive behavior in the wake of Jason's death, he wanted to do more and save the hero that protected the city. Tim knew the stakes from the start and that could have scared him off, but he wanted to help people most of all.

Their stories mirror each other in such impactful ways, yet their personalities are different enough that you can see their characters shine through in their relationship.

I am still a multi-shipper, always will be, but these two prove how much meaning even a seemingly crackish crossover couple could have and that's just so wonderful to me.

[halfagone]

I won't lie to y'all, I'm surprised by the number of fellow DPxDC fans that believe Barbara and Bruce dating is the most common canon.

Especially because when they discuss her relationship to Bruce in some canons they also don't mention how those were the same continuities where she got married to Tim Drake.

Should I also mention that one time the comic writers gave hints towards Barbara and Jason being a thing?

This has nothing to do with Bruce or Barbara's age at this point, it's just that DC authors had this weird obsession with Barbara where they had her date every possible Batfamily member.

Barbara is only a year or two older than Dick in most canon timelines. They went to school together.

I know it makes some people uncomfortable to have Barbara and Dick date because they've gotten so used to Barbara and Bruce, but the only memorable canon continuities where those two date are The Killing Joke, Batman Beyond, and Lego Batman. And almost everyone I have spoken to loathes The Killing Joke.

It has some incredible monologues from the Joker but the story itself just wildly undermined Barbara's character between having her sleep with Bruce and then using her as a prop against Jim Gordon that ultimately got her shot and paralyzed from the waist down. There is a reason the Young Justice cartoon had that part of her story changed out of respect for her character.

I don't know, you guys, it's just... wild to see that make a comeback when I've gotten so used to so many DC fans saying fuck that.

[halfagone]

Me: *looks up League of Assassins lore for Reasons™*

Me: ...Bruce you need to stop having children with Talia.

In other news, I have four more plot bunnies-