#because oh boy was this strange | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

elizabethemerald · 4 months

Note

I wish you would write a fic where the ultimate portal caused Claire to become a half-ghost like in Danny Phantom

Claire focused, past the pain in her hands, on the staff in her hands. She could feel her body splintering and breaking, cracks spreading up her hands and arms and out from her eyes. This was going to kill her, but as long as she could get the remainder of Trollmarket out, as long as she could save her friends, save Jim, she would be ok with her fate.

She felt Jim join her with a hand on the staff, she heard him shout as he did so. The unbearable, excruciating pain of the portal ripping through her reduced a little as first Jim, then Toby, then Aaarrrgghh and Blinky and finally her little brother. It wasn’t enough, she knew even with them trying to take on some of the load, that this would still be her death.

The swirling purple cloud swept out from the staff, encircling all of the trolls in the Gyre Station and for just a moment the dark purple was replaced with glowing green. Then they vanished from the station to reappear hours later.

“What’s this?” An older, wise sounding male voice said.

“Another? Just like me?” Said a younger male voice.

“You are mine, body and soul.” Hissed a woman’s voice that would come to haunt her nightmares in the weeks to come.

Claire put her hand to her head. Ever since the portal she had been feeling off. She wasn’t sleeping, could barely keep food down, and she was constantly shivering. Her dreams had been strange and terrifying but she never remembered them other than a sense of horror when she awoke.

She shook her head and reached for one of her textbooks in an attempt to distract herself. She watched in annoyance as the book fell and slammed into her bedroom floor, driving a spike of pain between her eyes. She huffed in annoyance and crouched down to pick it up… and her hand went right through the book like it wasn’t there.

Claire could feel her hand tingling even as she was able to it through the book and through the floor beneath it. She was panicking, but rather than feeling her breathing pick up and her heart race, she couldn’t feel either. Her feet slipped through the floor and she started sinking as her panic grew even worse.

“Hey, Big-Eyes! I- whoa!” NotEnrique galloped into the room to grab her shoulders and tried to pull her back into her bedroom. “Come on, Sis! The ‘rents are home! Can’t have you falling into the living room!”

She took a deep breath, her first in who even knew how long and she pulled herself the rest of the way out of the floor. There was something glowing on her chest, but she ignored it as she forced herself to be solid, and breathe and for her heart to beat like it was supposed to.

“Don’t tell anyone about this ok?” Claire asked her brother, even as she tried to still her shaking hands.

There was a new guy in Arcadia Oaks. He didn’t stand out that much from any of the other high school students she had seen, but something about him seemed to pull her focus. She could feel the shadows around her swirling around her ankles as she narrowed her eyes at him. She watched him breathe out a small cloud of fog, look around in confusion, then zero in on her.

She glared at him and gripped her collapsed staff tightly in one hand and a gaggletack in the other. He hurried over to her, a friendly smile on his face, but she didn’t trust that any more than she trusted his human appearance.

“Hi! My name’s Danny!” The stranger said. He held out a hand for her to shake.

“I’m Claire, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind holding this for me would you?” She thrust the gaggletack toward him.

Danny looked at her in confusion before he took the horseshoe out of her hand. He twirled it on his finger for a moment before it slipped off and hit him in the head. As he scrambled to pick up the fallen horseshoe Claire could see strange, green glowing marks on one of his hands. They didn’t look too different from the black marks she could feel on her own hands.

“Do you want your horseshoe back?” Danny asked as he rubbed the side of his head and offered her back the gaggletack. Claire took it, but kept her eyes narrowed at him.

“Claire!” She startled as Jim called out to her. Only a moment later her boyfriend had his arm around her shoulders as he glared at Danny.

“Well, I’m going to head out, Claire, you and I should talk soon. I might be able to help you out a little. I know what it’s like to go through all this by yourself.” Danny handed over his phone number and waved goodbye, giving Jim a wary look as he left.

Jim had been suspicious and paranoid about Danny, but Claire finally convinced him to keep his distance while she met with the strange guy. There was just something about him that sang to her, <Same, Same, Same> his presence seemed to say. Whatever was happening to her since the Ultimate Portal, he seemed to know and maybe could help her.

She had all but ordered him to wait for her signal rather than escort her to the meeting. He and Toby were around the block, if she texted or if they heard anything disturbing they would intervene immediately. She rolled her eyes, as long as she had the shadow staff she would be fine, and for some reason she didn’t think Danny would threaten her.

Danny had shown her the Litchenberg figures that crawled up his arm and told a very brief version of his accident with a portal to another world. Claire just as hesitantly showed him the black cracks that now marred her arms, she could hide them when she wanted to, but anytime she didn't focus on them they reappeared.

Apparently they were the same. Halfas. Half alive, half dead. An exclusive club of five now. The information just about knocked the breath out of her chest and she almost fell through the floor, except Danny was able to grab her and turn her solid again.

“By the way would you like me to get rid of your passenger?” Danny asked, glancing at her eyes, seemingly to look into her soul. Was that something Halfas could do? Claire looked at him in confusion and he explained. “Looks like you might be partially overshadowed. Er, I suppose humans call it possessed.”

“I’m possessed? Yes! If you can get rid of it, do it!” Claire hissed, terrified of what she might have brought back with her from the portal.

Danny reached into her chest and pulled out a glowing golden orb before tossing it aside. Claire could feel more than hear the being scream as it left and she felt like a great weight she had been carrying since the portal was suddenly gone.

“What was that?” Claire all but shrieked, desperately keeping her voice down so Jim and Toby didn’t storm the area.

“I don’t know, but she was powerful. I don’t think you’ve seen the last of her.” Danny looked wary, his eyes tracking something Claire couldn’t see or sense before his face brightened. “But maybe you got to keep some of her powers, my girlfriend back home was possessed by an angry plant ghost and sense then has been able to influence plants around her. We think with enough practice she might be able to fully control them too.”

Danny didn’t stay in Arcadia for long. After he showed her how to transform into her half ghost form, and wasn’t that a trip and a half, he left. He had his own responsibilities in a city called Amity Park in Illinois. However he promised to come if she called.

She added him, Toby and Jim to a group chat where they could all vent and share memes about the supernatural problems they dealt with. Danny added his two best friends and apparent partners, Tucker and Sam. Claire was absolutely not taking notes on what it was like to have a polyamorous triad, even if she did send lots of questions about it to Sam.

Her and Danny talked a lot about ghostly powers and the other halfas. She knew to be wary of Vlad Masters and that Ellie Phantom was Danny’s clone/daughter and was traveling the world. Apparently Dan Phantom was Danny’s alternate time-line future self who was on parole to see if he could be trusted in this timeline. She decided she didn’t need more information and vowed not to mess with time travel.

Danny guessed she had a “shadow-core” and that was why shadows seemed to jump to her command when she was upset. They both went back and forth before they decided she was probably a protector spirit like Danny was. Her final thoughts before the portal had taken her life were about protecting her friends and the trolls. She was a little worried about how unhealthily codependent she was with Jim and Toby, but according to Sam that was par for the course, and that Danny would freak out if any of them were hurt while out of his sight.

Life in Arcadia continued on in a terrifying way. Gruesomes swarmed to the city in anticipation of the battle to come. Claire was able to free Draal from Gunmar’s control with her ghost form. The Defenders of Arcadia raced to Merlin’s tomb, only to find the ancient wizard wasn’t dead. And now Jim was… Jim was… in a way him slipping out of her sight in the black potion Merlin had created felt just like her opening the portal. She didn’t think he was a halfa like she was, but in the same way, Jim’s life ended and would never be the same.

Now Morgana was free and the Eternal Night was upon them. Morgana, who had possessed her, used her to revive Angor Rot. Morgana who was one of the most powerful sorceresses in history. She desperately hoped that Team Trollhunters would be able to defend the city and the world, but she also knew that sometimes you have to call for help.

Danny and Team Phantom answered in a big way. Danny flew his team to California and worked to defend the citizens alongside the Trollhunters. Sam worked with the local plant life to restrain and trip the Gumm-Gumm hoard while Tucker focused on coordinating emergency services and the defense.

Claire and Danny fought side by side while Jim fought Gunmar. The two of them were barely able to defeat Morgana, with Claire wresting full control of her shadow staff from Morgana before the two of them banished her to the Shadow Realm.

Danny apologized profusely, he had wanted to get some help from the other ghosts but something was making them nervous and behave strangely. She wasn’t sure what that was about, but she told him he could call on her and the Trollhunters would answer. Blinky mentioned possibly creating a Gyre tunnel to Amity so they could travel back and forth easier. Toby and Tucker weren’t thrilled by that announcement.

Love this prompt. I think team Trollhunters and team Phantom would work together really well. They 've both got a self-sacrificial hero, a goth who gets possessed by a powerful enemy, and a best friend who the writers are desperate to pretend is straight. oh also an enemy who literally has two faces and unhealthy obsession with the hero's mom.

Also did you think about the fact that the by becoming a halfa, The Ultimate Portal has to kill Claire at least half way? Devastating. The parents will never forgive themselves.

I forsee team Phantom eventually retreating to Arcadia if the GIW /the Elder Fentons ever go too far. Leave the ghost hunters behind and retreat to magic and fucked up city. Also the number of people in this city who have two halves is extradinarily high. Jim, Claire, Danny, Aja, Krel, Varvatos, and all the remaining changelings.

Power levels: Baseline Danny is stronger than Morgana's possession. Danny and Claire are about even with full power Morgana, making it a tense but winnable fight. Ghost King Danny is about as strong as Merlin and Morgana working together, and about as strong as any of the Arcane Order individually, though I think the full order actually working together would be able to destroy even the Ghost King, just like the Ancients against Pariah Dark.

The events of 3:Below and Wizards would play out very differently with the help of Team Phantom and I doubt that Rise of the Titans would happen at all.

Thanks for the prompt! Feel free to send me more prompts!

#danny phantom #trollhunters #tales of arcadia #crossover #danny fenton #claire nunez #Oh also both of the goths are part of powerful families in their city #i don't know you if you expected the double triads but I feel like at this point thats kind of my brand #Douxie realizes the danny is the ghost king the first time theymeet #he pretends not to notice just like he does with all the other troll/alien/ghost bullshit he's seen in his life #Jim is a jealous of Danny at first but danny gushing about his amazing boy and girlfriend changes his mind #and makes him consider some possibilities #Danny is wary of Jim because he doesn't know if jim knows about claire and he remembers how people in his city reacted to his secret (badly #also he can sense a powerful magical bond in jim ie the amulet and doesn't want to mess with any strange amulets

25 notes · View notes

erstwhilesparrow · 11 months

Note

any book or tv show recommendations mayhaps?

oh! hello! (had a second of "WHO ARE YOU AND HOW DID YOU FIND ME" and then i checked your blog and was like, "ah, okay, never mind, you are entirely aware i am in the midst of being really pretentious about mcyt right now." welcome!)

under a cut for I Talk A Lot crimes:

hm. okay, tv shows first because i know that'll be short:

NBC's Hannibal (2013) - Huge massive content warning for cannibalism and gore but also the prettiest murders you've ever seen. Feels weird recommending this one because it feels so widely known, but I do love it and I don't watch a lot of other TV. Borrowed from Wikipedia: "FBI profiler Will Graham is recruited by Jack Crawford, [...] to help investigate a serial killer in Minnesota. With the investigation weighing heavily on Graham, Crawford decides to have him supervised by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter." Things only get worse for him from there.

Mars Red - Deeply cerebral anime about vampires. Full of theatre references, musings on life and time and death and what it means to sit on the edge / outside that as a vampire. Very very pretty. Plot-wise, it's about a group of not-particularly-connected vampires in 1920s Japan who've been recruited to a special military unit working to protect humans from other vampires.

Revolutionary Girl Utena - It's free on YouTube both dubbed and subbed. So much is happening. I am nowhere near done unravelling it and I may well be casting longing glances toward the project of unravelling it for the rest of my life. Utena Tenjou is a student at Ohtori Academy with dreams of being a prince straight out of a fairytale. She is drawn into a mysterious duelling tournament with Ohtori Academy's Student Council for the hand of the Rose Bride.

books:

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - Utterly enchanting. A man called Piranesi wanders the House, a functionally infinite building so enormous its upper levels are filled with clouds and its lower levels are flooded and have tides. There is a plot, but most of my love of this book comes from how we as readers get to explore and luxuriate in the House alongside Piranesi. I've seen this called 'anti-horror' because it takes a premise that would be really easy to do as horror (forever lost in an enormous impossible structure with almost no human contact) and makes it something looked with wonder and joy.

Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi - Fun! Funny? Playful for sure. Almost a fairy tale. It feels distinctly like sometimes the narrator is winking at you. A woman from a country that doesn't seem to exist on any map attempts to tell her daughter about where she came from, and about their family's history with gingerbread.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - A fairly significant part of the reason for my obsession with architectural / spatial horror. What if the thing that made a house haunted was not any particular ghost, but simply that something had gone wrong in the house itself? Eleanor Vance is invited to stay at the eponymous house while it is being investigated for supernatural occurrences, and attempts to navigate connecting with the other inhabitants of the house and escaping from the demands of caring for her mother.

My Own Devices by Dessa - I love Dessa's writing in whatever form it takes. I've seen plenty of writing described as 'sharp' or 'smart' but Dessa's one of the few people for whom I feel this is truly an apt description of her work. Her writing sounds like she talks fast, is terrifically smart, and knows what she's doing, and most terrifying of all, I think that impression is right. This is a series of essays, or it is, as the subtitle suggests, "True Stories from the Road on Music, Science, and Senseless Love". It's delicious to read.

How A Poem Moves by Adam Sol - I love poetry; I am so bad at reading and talking about it. This is a way into reading / talking about poetry better! It's a series of mini-essays by a professor at the University of Toronto who teaches poetry! He takes a fairly varied collection of contemporary poems and talks about a few things that each poem does particularly well. It's designed to be accessible and even inviting to people who do not read much poetry. For a taste of his work, his blog here.

When Fox Is A Thousand by Larissa Lai - A retelling of a Chinese folktale. A fox spirit haunts a young woman living in (roughly) contemporary Vancouver and a poet of the T’ang Dynasty. I remember reading this, going, "Oh, that was Good," and never figuring out how to say why.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt - Six deeply isolated classics students at a liberal arts college in New England murder one of their friends. Apparently a pretty big part of popularizing dark academia. I think it would be fair to describe this as gripping / compelling / convincing. I can't quite figure out what else to say, though I loved it while I was reading it.

On A Sunbeam by Tillie Walden - Graphic novel. Makes me ache in a way that reminds me of summer. I described it to a friend once as "full of that feeling of having to do something very frightening, and being reassured by the thought that you will be able to return to people you love for hugs and snacks afterward." A young woman named Mia joins the crew of a ship in charge of restoring ruins in outer space, while also searching for the girl she fell in love with years ago at boarding school. Available online free here, though physical copies do exist and can be bought.

#chattering sparrow #if there's like. a more specific vibe you want. feel free to ask again #i am. a little bit more likely to be able to curate for a specific vibe if we're allowing for short stories and poetry and #Strange Online Experiences though #looking at my list of books and going 'oh boy. i do not have a good track record of finishing books.'#some of these summaries are. bad. this is because i have a habit of going 'i have no idea what just happened but i loved it!'

4 notes · View notes