DP HC - Possessiveness in Ghost Psychology
While ghosts can have a similar psychological structure to humans, that doesn't make them the same.
For instance, possessiveness in humans is typically considered a bad thing.
For ghosts, it's natural & even healthy depending on the situation.
What I mean is, it's natural for a ghost to be possessive of someone & it isn't considered reducing them to that of an object or a pet. In fact, doing so declares that person as being important to the ghost, especially if the ghost formally stakes their claim. That is the ghost elevating them to a higher standard because the ghost felt the need to address it.
Now, if the focus of the ghost's possessiveness accepts & declares that they belong to the ghost, that is consensual. However, if the target rejects the claim, then it isn't. If the ghost continues to assert their claim against their target's will, then that is not healthy.
On the other hand, if the target not only affirms the claim, but then turns it around & stakes a claim of their own on the ghost, then it's not only consensual, it's reciprocal which is very healthy.
Though, affirmation & reciprication looks different depending on the specific relationship between the 2.
Now, there are some ghosts who would react badly to their claim being reciprocated & those ghosts usually are mentally disturbed. They are typically a product of the ancient world or old Ghost Zone monarch. For them, it was either possess or be possessed & the possessed were generally considered weaker.
More modern studies say that it's actually of great emotional & mental benefit to have a claim reciprocated.
In a way, it puts the 2 involved on more equal footing.
Staking a formal claim back to a ghost who'd previously staked a claim on you is actually considered a very sweet gesture. Like, it gives the warm fuzzies. Fluff. Many would trill happily at having their claim returned if the relationship between them is a positive one.
Keep in mind that these relationships don't even necessarily need to be romantic in nature. It can be totally platonic, philial, or familial, even rivalries & adversarial relationships can bring about a certain level of possession depending on their relationship itself. It just represents a deeper form of relationship. Many of these classifications are actually inspired by the Greco-Roman concepts of love. Such as Philia, Storge, Pragma, Eros, Agape, ect.
At the same time, there does exist a level of toxic possession that goes beyond what most civil & even uncivil ghosts are comfortable with. When it happens, it's sort of a mix of the Greco-Roman concept of Mania & the Japanese trope of Yandere. This sort of thing sometimes happens when either a person or love itself becomes a ghost's Obsession & they are unable or unwilling to regulate that Obsession. This Mania can be applied to any sort of relationship, whether it be romantic, platonic, or filial in nature. Though, it's usually romantic. This is somewhat what happened to Vlad.
At the same time, Mania can be treated, but only if the ghost recognizes that there's something wrong with their extreme levels of possession & chooses to seek help.
However, there is also a hierarchy of claiming pertaining to the sort of possessiveness it is. Adversaries get the least amount of possessiveness, while familial can range depending on the sort of familial relationship it is. For instance, filial relationships can sometimes elicit almost, if not as much, possessiveness as one's claim on a girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife/mate depending on the situation & the needfulness of such possession, though it's obviously a different kind of possessiveness. Immediate family & frightmates always require more protective energy than other types of claims.
I suppose that claiming someone is similar to declaring them part of your... family?? Or unofficial frightmates?? It's similar, but not quite the right translation for it. Adopting is also close. So is wardship, but neither really fit. I'm not even sure there is a true right word for it in the English language.
I suppose that it's like being a kept man or woman, but without the sexual or monetary implications. Replace that with general protection &... a certain degree of authority when pertaining to the individual's safety.
So... a little bit like frightmates, but not quite.
Like, Skulker & Ember are dating but they don't belong to each other, that isn't the sort of relationship they have, but Ember considers her band members hers. On the other hand, Kitty & Johnny are dating & do belong to each other through reciprocation, but Shadow just belongs to Johnny & has accepted the possession, but not reciprocated.
However, that's only on an individual level. It also stretches to monarchs & other leaders via right of rule & you can usually figure out what kind of ruler a ghost is by what kind of possession they have over their people.
It doesn't really have much of a logical reason by human standards, but it seems to be somewhat compulsory & even instinctive on some level.
Regardless of the form the relationship takes, possessiveness translates directly to protectiveness. When it doesn't then that's considered a form of abuse amongst the more civilized ghostly societies.
For instance, as far as rulers go, Pariah, Aragon, Dorathea, Frostbite, & Pandora all possess or possessed everyone under their domain. At the same time, Pariah's possession became unreciprocated & didn't equate to protection, Aragon's was accepted, but also didn't include protection. On the other hand, Dorathea's rule is first accepted, then reciprocated & always included protection. While Frostbite & Pandora's rules are both reciprocated & include protection.
Also, having your claim rejected can hurt a lot! Like, in your core. But, I suppose to ghosts, it's similar to the feeling of getting your heart broken as a human.
To belong to a ghost, especially amongst the higher possessions such as family & spouses, involves a lot of possessive language both when referring to you & directly addressing you. Like, there's a lot of them referring to you as 'theirs' & using words like 'my' something or other.
As for Danny specifically, my hc is that Danny is a tutelary, which is a protective spirit. Specifically, a Lar Praestite, which is a Greco-Roman hero spirit that protects an entire town or community. Thus making that town/community their haunt.
Now, before the ghosts connect the fact that Danny is a tutelary, then yeah, @dannyphantom-justiceleauge is right, they would see him claiming an entire town of people as greedy. After that, however? They’d be more like, “Ooooh… Yeah, that tracks.”
As far as his relationship with Vlad goes… It’s complicated… Vlad has staked a Storge-type claim upon Danny, which ya'll are correct, he didn’t reciprocate. However, unknowingly, Danny has instead staked an adversarial claim upon Vlad, who doesn’t reciprocate specifically because that isn’t the sort of relationship that he wants with the boy. So, their relationship sort of falls into a bit of a gray area as far as claims go. Like, it’s very apparent that they want some sort of relationship with each other; the disconnect is with what sort of relationship the other wants. So, the relationship is still pretty toxic, but it’s seen as this weird reciprocal toxicity that fits into a gray area as far as possessiveness goes.
Interesting thing, had Vlad not been a dumbass in the first episode & revealed his plan, Danny would’ve eventually staked a Xenia-type claim with Vlad as mentor & Danny as the mentee. Xenia being the guiding love of mentorship which is sort of a combination between Epithumia, Storge, & Philia. Which, Epithumia is a mutual liking of a skill or subject, but I think that it’s close enough to qualify in this situation.
As for him staking claims upon all the ghosts; I feel like Danny would stop if he knew & would become both embarrassed & uncomfortable, because having been born human, he'd initially see it more from the human perspective mentally (which says possessiveness = bad) even though as a halfa, he'd instinctively feel similar to other ghosts about it.
It'd cause some mental dissonance in him for sure until someone fully explained the whole thing to him in a way he could understand which could actually prompt Jazz to study halfa psychology, how precisely ghost & human psychology differs & how they work together in halfas. If for nothing else than Danny's own sake.
Hell, the final draft of this post could be Jazz's notes on the subject that she lets Danny look at.
DP Ghost Zone Masterlist
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