Sooooo, guess who fell back into the proverbial hole known as 2000’s cartoons? Yeaaaah… Danny Phantom is my main obsession right now. (I can hear some of my followers groaning right now. Haaaaails pick a different obsessiooooon… it’s not happening)
But anyway, just listen- you don’t understand, just- *notecards flutter everywhere helplessly* I- jus- LISTEN.
What if, you know, despite there being an obvious hero to villain relationship in Amity Park, Danny Phantom became the little brother of everyone in the Ghost Zone. Hear me out:
All the ghosts that go to Amity Park are trying to take it over and hunt things or gain attention etc, etc.
But let’s say, every once and a while, Danny will visit the Ghost Zone. If it’s to check on all the ghosts or something else, no one really knows what motivated him. But he’s there one day and suddenly, in the span of 6 hours, he’s raced Johnny 13 on his motorcycle down one of the most dangerous roads in the Ghost Zone, cheered and whooped and whistled for Ember at one of her mini concerts, much to her absolute confusion, let Walker hold onto him in the prison before going human to phase out, and entertains Skulker for something to hunt.
None in the Ghost Zone speaks of this day, it’s a socially unspoken taboo.
Then on another day, Danny pays a visit, he claims he’s getting his friends and sister off his tail for a bit–they are nagging and nagging and nagging. Klemper decides to be all “friendly” and Danny thinks, ‘why not? What bad could come of being his friend for a day?’ And so he does, in the form of dodging icicles and playing with a mix between trucks and doll houses (all made of ice) but for the most part, it’s okay.
The next week he comes back it’s mostly by force when Young Blood’s parents want him to babysit… again (see: the comics). He chases YB around the Ghost Zone, playing pirates and cowboys vs Indians and construction builders, when finally Danny resorts to Skulker: “can I have one of your nets?” He makes it to sanctuary, Young Blood tied in a net while the Savior of the Ghost Zone is exhausted beyond belief, so when it’s nap time, all YB’s parents see when they come home is Danny just kind of… floating in midair, while their son rests on Danny’s chest–he’s actually calm for once and they wanna pay him triple. Danny declines, GZ money is kind of void in the real world.
Next week he encounters the Box Ghost (“Beware!”) but they don’t really do anything aside from speak about boxes. It’s a boring conversation but Danny let’s the Box Ghost indulge himself. In that process, BG accidentally mentions he’s got a thing for the Lunch Lady (“Eew,” Danny gags off to the side where no one can see him.) He considers Box Lunch, their daughter many years into the future, the girl only he’ll remember, and is suddenly, “well maybe I can set them up.” If BG or LL knew anything about Danny helping with their lunch date, they don’t mention it.
Every week he visits and he gets roped into something. Be it Johnny owing him a solid after Danny fills in for a shopping spree with Kitty, stopping a couple bullies from picking on Sidney Poindexter, playing DOOMED with Nicolai Technus, which inevitably leads to a conversation–an embarrassing one–about Valerie, Danny entertains them, decides to help them out.
No one says anything, they think maybe it’s just a fluke. But with how nice he’s been, nobody knows what to think. They wonder if something awful has been happening, but according to Spectra and her most recent attempt at creating misery (she failed, by the way, Danny is just too good) Amity Park is just the same as it’s always been.
One week, as Danny enters the Ghost Zone, not three seconds in he encounters Skulker, who has the little whelp come with him. Skulker drags him off to a river in the GZ (so cleverly named Styx) and he witnesses hundreds and hundreds of sharks, ones that had been killed because they’re commonly hunted. Danny can only stare in awe, everything is so beautiful.
An unspoken truce happens in the Ghost Zone, so while Danny has been nice, they pay back the favor. Technus gives Danny some cheat codes to DOOMED, Ghost Writer helps Danny with his English homework because Lancer has been busy lately, Ember teaches Danny some lullabies which is a godsend blessing whenever he babysits Young Blood. Skulker keeps a look out for test days and stressful study weeks, dates which the denizens of the GZ avoid attacking Amity Park. Kitty helps toughen up Danny’s costume with armor and “Honestly, Phantom, that jumpsuit is SO 2 seasons ago. Try this instead.” Sometimes she’ll even slip him a binder to wear, everyone knows all his somehow end up ripped or torn due to his fights with them. The Lunch Lady, shockingly enough, has some healthy recipes whereas everything is balanced and works well, she’s not all MEAT EVERYTHING, Desirèe teaches Danny how to tell when someone is lying, grants a few small wishes of his, and well, Danny learns some skills that no one else would have taught him. Slowly, everyone grows accustomed to having Danny being sweet and kind, and they watch him grow older because he’s a Halfa. “Look at our little baby, going off to the destroy things.”
Everyone just decides that from now on, Danny is their little brother. You screw with him, you screw with all his big brothers and sisters.
Bonus: Danny already has some big, scary friends. So if it’s to give Danny a break, sometimes Frostbite will allow Danny to come and watch the games his people play, Pandora teaches Danny some power control techniques, Clockwork will drink tea and listen to Danny ramble on about space and being an astronaut and ‘did you know that there’s a planet made entirely of diamond and it rains sideways?’ In those moments, Clockwork discovers that despite having Sam and Tucker and Jazz, Danny is kind of lonely. No one really wants to talk about space with him, so it’s always so endearing and heartfelt when Danny gets excited, when his eyes light up and he becomes passionate and he gives fun facts about space and tells puns about space, and Danny is just so innocent. He could never turn into a monster.
