#dia de los muertos

[raaorqtpbpdy]

In Memory of Mom

Danny meets a strange, Spanish-speaking ghost wandering around Casper High. His Spanish isn't great, but he's pretty sure she's looking for her daughter.

For the Prompt: Danny encounters a strange spanish-only speaking ghost looking for Paulina Sanchez. Being a first year Spanish student, he only recognizes the words "mi hija" and hesitantly leads her to Paulina. It's Día de los Muertos, but because Paulina has been trying to fit in at school, and her papa remarried and doesn't want to make his new wife uncomfortable, they've fallen out of the habit of setting up the ofrenda and marigolds, leaving their mom/wife unable to find her way home. Paulina can't see or hear her, but Phantom can [From @dreamwraith]

Disclaimer: I am white, and I do not speak Spanish. It is with deepest regret that I must admit to using Google translate for the Spanish dialogue in this fic. If you notice any errors in the Spanish, or regarding Día de Muertos (which there might very well be, though I did do my research), please feel free to correct me. I can only do my best, and always appreciate the opportunity to do better.

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[Warnings for past character death, and mentions of culture death]

Danny typically liked to have more than one day to recover after fighting Fright Knight every Halloween. Not to mention the numerous other ghosts who always had to come out on that stupid holiday to cause as much trouble as possible during the period of time when the barrier between the human world and the Ghost Zone was at it's thinnest.

Of course, Danny never got more than one day, but he would have liked to.

Luckily the ghost that showed during lunch period on November second didn't seem to be causing any trouble. In fact, it didn't seem like she was powerful enough to cause trouble, even if she wanted to. No one besides Danny even seemed to notice her, which at least meant she wouldn't be able to cause any serious damage, even if she tried.

She was speaking Spanish as she walked through the halls of Casper High, and turning her head this way and that as if she was looking for something, or someone.

"¿La has visto? ¿Mi hija? ¿Dónde está mi hija? ¿La has visto?" she called out.

Now, Danny was only a first year Spanish student, and furthermore... he missed a lot of classes, so he wasn't sure exactly what she was saying, but he did recognize the words 'mi hija', 'my daughter'. The last time he'd been to Spanish class, Señora Gutierrez had been teaching family terms. Madre, padre, hermana, hermano, hija, hijo, tío, abuela, that kind of thing.

Subtly, he followed her until she walked into a hallway where there weren't any people, and then, with no one to look at him like he was crazy for talking to the air, he spoke to her.

"Excuse me, are you looking for your daughter?" Danny asked.

"¡sí mi hija!" the woman replied excitedly. "¿La conoces? ¿La has visto?"

Danny knew 'sí', that was 'yes', the most basic of basic Spanish. 'sí' and... and... okay, so Danny couldn't remember what 'no' was in Spanish, but he remembered 'sí'. Ancients, he was really gonna have to start showing up to that class more if he wanted to get the foreign language credits he needed to graduate.

"Uh... tu hija," Danny said, completely confident that he was already screwing up the grammar, "¿que es la nombre?"

"No es muy fluido en español, ¿verdad?" The ghost laughed. "Su nombre es Paulina."

"Paulina?" Danny didn't understand any of the rest of what she said, so he focused on the last bit. "Paulina Sanchez?"

"¡Sí!" she confirmed, enthusiastically. "Mi hija. Paulina Sánchez. ¿Tu la conoce?"

Danny nodded, although he'd kinda fallen off the sentence after 'sí'. "Why are you looking for her?"

"Es el Dia de Muertos," she said. "Quiero verla, pero no encuentro la ofrenda."

Danny had no idea to respond to that. The only word he recognized from all of that was 'la', but he couldn't glean a whole sentence from a single 'the', so he just looked at her with an expression that was half a forced, awkward smile and half a grimace.

"Ummmm..."

Was it safe to lead an unknown ghost to an unsuspecting human? Objectively no. Most especially not when the unsuspecting human was the girl Danny had a massive crush on. But... on the other hand, this particular ghost seemed pretty harmless, and she said she was Paulina's mother. So... maybe it was okay?

"How about I'll take you to her," Danny suggested.

The ghost that claimed to be Paulina's mother nodded excitedly and said something else in Spanish that Danny had no hope of translating. 

Danny led her to the outdoor table where the A-listers always sat, but Paulina wasn't there. After a little bit of prowling the quad, he found her, at an out of the way table no one ever sat at because the the school custodian always ignored it and it was disgusting. 

Paulina had laid her jacket over the bench to sit on, and unfolded a few paper napkins over the surface of the table. She had a handful of sugar cubes, and was poking one with a toothpick for some reason. She hadn't noticed him yet.

As much as he would have liked to go over to her as Danny Fenton and be the hero who let her talk to her mom again, he figured it would probably be suspicious if people knew he could see ghosts others couldn't. A but reluctantly, he looked around to make sure no one could see and transformed into Danny Phantom. The ghost, Paulina's mom, applauded him, like he'd just done a magic trick. To her, it might have seemed that way.

"Thanks," he said, a little sarcastically, and floated over to talk to Paulina.

"Excuse me, Paulina Sanchez?" Danny asked, as if he wasn't sure whether he knew her name or not. "There's a ghost here who wants to speak to you."

Paulina looked up and looked around, then turned back to Danny and raised a perfect eyebrow. She put down the sugar cube she was poking at, and Danny noticed that on her other side, there were two other sugar cubes sculpted into the shape of a skull.

"You mean you?" she asked. "Look, normally, I'd be thrilled, but today isn't really—"

"Oh, no, not me," Danny said. "She has long hair, wearing a nice knee-length dress.... It's kinda hard to describe ghosts in a way that makes them recognizable to people who knew them in life, 'cause colors tend to be different between life-and-death but uh... you and her have the same nose, actually. She says your her daughter? I don't speak Spanish, but I managed to figure out that much."

When he stopped talking, Pauling gave him a flat look.

"Are you messing with me?"

"No," Danny insisted. "She's not a very powerful ghost, so she can't stay in the visible range, but she's here. She wants to talk to you."

"Mamá?" Paulina asked hesitantly. "¿Estás aquí?"

"Sí, hija mía, estoy aquí," Mrs. Sanchez replied. "Estoy muy feliz de verte de nuevo."

Paulina didn't respond for a long moment, apparently waiting. Then, finally, she said, "I don't hear anything."

"I was worried you might say that," Danny said. "I'm gonna have to speak Spanish if you guys want to talk to each other, aren't I?" he sighed deeply. "Alright fine. Apologies in advance because I am gonna absolutely butcher the pronunciations."

"Hija," Mrs. Sanchez said, "volví a verte, pero no había camino para mí. ¿Por qué?"

Danny repeated the words to the best of his ability.

Paulina took a moment to parse them out, with a puzzled expression before finally saying, "Papá se volvió a casar. Su nueva esposa es gringa, así que no le hicimos un ofrenda en casa para que no se sintiera incómoda."

Danny didn't know what any of that meant, obviously, and was grateful he only had to repeat after Paulina's mom, because Paulina herself spoke Spanish very quickly and there was absolutely no way he wouldn't trip over his tongue mimicking her. 

"Pero estoy aquí, debe haber una ofrenda."

Danny mimicked her again.

Paulina looked a little embarrassed. "Sí... yo... hice uno en mi casillero para ti. No quería que no pudieras cruzar."

Her mother gasped. Danny really wished he knew what was going on.

"¿Me mostrarás?"

Paulina's expression lit up when Danny repeated that, and she stood, gathering up her jacket and her sugar cubes.

"Vamos," she said. "I mean, follow me."

She led the way through the empty halls and Danny and her mom followed.

"What were you guys talking about?" Danny asked, then immediately realized what he was asking and quickly backtracked. "I mean, never mind, it's probably personal. I was just curious. You don't have to answer that."

"No, it's okay," Paulina said. "See, my mom passed when I was seven, and every year, me and my dad set up an ofrenda for Day of the Dead with her picture so she could visit us. We moved here from Mexico when I was ten, but we kept up the tradition. 

"Last winter, though, Dad married my step-mom, and she's white, and doesn't know anything about Mexican traditions or holidays. Dad doesn't want to make her uncomfortable, so ever since they got married, we stopped celebrating most of what we used to back in Mexico, so we didn't put up an ofrenda this year, and Mom was asking why she couldn't find it, so I explained."

"Oh... that's... kinda sad," Danny said. "You just had to give up all your culture because your dad remarried?"

Paulina shrugged. "We had to give up a lot of it already, when we moved to America anyway," she said, as if that made it less sad and not more. "At least Sandra's nice, she's just... a little out of her depth sometimes."

"So... where are you taking us?"

Finally, she stopped in front of her locker and turned the dial with her combination.

"I didn't want mom to not be able to visit me, so... I sort of made my own ofrenda in my locker," Paulina explained sheepishly.

The door swung open to reveal the inside. There was a small magnetic shelf stuck on the back of the locker. On it, there was a small electric candle, some kind of orange flower, a pair of black lace gloves, and a heart-shaped locket. The locket was open and propped up so the picture inside was visible. It was the ghost Danny was trying to help.

Paulina reached in an put a few of the sculpted sugar cubes on the shelf next to the locket. The tiny sugar skulls were perfectly to scale with the tiny picture, but absolutely dwarfed by the flower.

The ghost put her hands to her heart and looked absolutely touched by the tiny display.

"Those were her favorite gloves," Paulina explained. "She always wore them when Dad took her dancing."

"What's the flower?" Danny asked.

"It's a marigold," she replied. "Cempasúchil, in Spanish. They're a traditional decoration for the ofrenda. You're also supposed to leave a trail of their petals from the grave to the ofrenda, but... Mom's grave is in Mexico, and the ofrenda is in my locker so...." 

"Ay, esto es hermoso," the ghost said. "Gracias. Amo mucho esto. Te quiero mi hija."

Danny had been to distracted to properly listen, so he wasn't sure how to repeat her words.

"Uh... she says she likes it."

The ghost gave him a look and a light slap that passed right through him.

"A lot, she likes it a lot."

"¡Y te amo!" she added insistently.

"Y te amo, she says," Danny repeated.

"Thank you, Phantom," Paulina said. She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "This means a lot to me."

Danny knew his cheeks were turning bright green, and he cleared his throat awkwardly to make sure his voice wouldn't crack.

"Uh, yeah, no problem," he said. "Don't mention it."

It was then that the bell rang signalling the end of lunch, and Paulina grabbed a couple of books from her locker and headed to class. Her mom followed, even though Paulina couldn't see her.

Danny had to get to class, too. He had Spanish class after lunch, and Ancients knew he didn't need to be missing any more of those.

In class, Señora Gutierrez talked about Dia de los Muertos, and for once, Danny actually sort of knew what she was talking about, thanks to Paulina. Maybe he should ask her to tutor him.

#dp #danny phantom #danny fenton #paulina sanchez #paulina sanchez's mom #dia de los muertos #fic #things i wrote #phic phight #phic phight 24 #spanish

[akiragatr]

#my posts #my polls #spooptober #autumn #halloween #dia de los muertos #october

[darksilvania]

ZUKALAKA [Azucar + Calaca] Ghost/Fairy The Sugary Skull Pokemon Abilities: Familiar Scent* Dex: "Legend says this pokemon was born when a wandering soul possesed a candy offering left at an altar. Its body is made from sugar, paper and wax, with a sigle lit flame that represents its soul. They gather during the night, its burning flames and sweet aroma filling the night, attracting all kinds of spirits." Moveset: -Shadow Sneak -Astonish -Sweet Scent -Decorate

Evolves from ZUKALAKA at level 18

PANDERMORT [Pan de Muerto] Ghost/Fairy The Bread Pokemon Abilities: Familiar Scent Dex: "Its soft and warm body resembles freshly baked bread, and the sweet scent coming from its burning flame completes the illusion. It attracts lost souls with its appetizing display, trapping them inside its bones to carry them back to the grave" Moveset: -Play Rough -Disarming Voice -Belly Drum -Destiny Bond

Evolves from PANDEMORT at level 40 at nightime

COMPARKA [Comparsa + Parca] Ghost/Fairy The Float Pokemon Abilities: Familiar Scent Dex: "They gather in groups during those nights when the veil between worlds is thinner. They travel in long processions, calling for those souls that might be lost in our plain, to help them back into the other side. The flame on their heads burn with a sweet scent that is said to remind you of home." Moveset: -Last Respects -Infernal Parade -Perish Song -Will-O-Wisp

*A warm and sweet scent that fills the field, it lowers the opponents def and spd. when they enter the field.

Day of the Dead pokemons, they were made 2 years ago but I decided to finally finish them this year, they are inspired by several elements from the "Dia de Muertos" celebration

ZUKALAKA is based on the "Calaveras de Azucar"

PANDEMORT is based on "Pan de Muerto" in some of its more traditional forms

COMPARKA is based on the floats for the "Dia de Muertos" parade

And all of them carry elements from the traditional altars, like "papel picado" and candles

#dia de los muertos #dia de muertos #day of the dead #pokemon #fakemon #fake pokemon #ghost #ghost type #ghost type pokemon #fairy #fairy type #fairy type pokemon #fairy fakemon #ghost fakemon #calavera de azucar #pan de muerto #altar de muertos #calavera #skull

[dazeddoodles]

Happy Día de los Muertos!

#the owl house #toh #raine whispers #eda clawthorne #raeda #dia de los muertos #dia de muertos #my art

[reallyndacarter]

This calavera, or sugar skull, makes my Mexican heart sing!

Beautiful artwork by José Pulido

#Wonder Woman #dia de los muertos

[anoiximera]

Día de Muertos

So it's been a minute ha...ha... Ah. This was supposed to be finished on día de muertos and then I got sick for a while and just got better. :'] but I hope you like it! I make a día de muertos piece every year for whatever fandom I'm in and this year it happens to be ROTTMNT so I wanted something... Warm and comforting.

(Edit: Changed to Día de Muertos since that is the correct wording hehe :> Someone thankfully caught it which is much appreciated. My dum dum self didn't ;v;)

#rottmnt fanart #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the turtles #rottmnt #save rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #rise leo #dia de los muertos #future leo #Im slowly working on the next Aon Arc but work is killing me sobs #but i hope you all like this regardless #this holiday means a lot to me so I try to put my all into it hehe #dia de muertos

[the-hydroxian-artblog]

and a happy new year, or something

#dia de los muertos #Tikal #Tikal AU #sth #sonic the hedgehog #sans. #Halloween #it's still halloween somewhere in the world i think #Boom Boo

[lionofchaeronea]

All Saints, Peter Paul Rubens, ca. 1614

#All Saints Day #dia de los muertos #Day of the Dead #art #art history #Rubens #Peter Paul Rubens #religious art #Christian art #Christianity #Catholicism #saints in art #Baroque #Baroque art #Flemish Baroque #Flemish art #17th century art #oil on panel #Museum Boijmans van Beuningen

[karmaduck1]

#technoblade #dia de los muertos #qsmp #philza minecraft #badboyhalo #emerald duo #i miss him...

[ex0skeletal-undead]

Painting by Michele Melcher

#art #illustration #painting #dark art #horror #macabre #floral #insects #bugs #butterfly #monarch #skull #skeleton #dia de los muertos #day of the dead

[karlydraws]

I didn't think I would finish anything before Halloween so I drew this but alas I was fast

#karly draws #trigun #trigun stampede #trigun maximum #nicholas d. wolfwood #wolfwood #dia de los muertos

[littleoil]

Cover Illustration for Educational Magazine

Day of the Dead

#day of the dead #dia de los muertos #illustration #drawing #illustrator #painting #artists on tumblr #art #artist on tumblr #digital art #cute #little oil art #minayuyu #dancing #music #dog #digitalart

[alexsays-no]

Dia de muertos, it's the day our loved ones return to this place and visit us for one night ♡ we leave the ofrendas to receive them with the things they loved the most ♡

"I hope you like it dad "

.

"Ohh... my boy"

#marauders fanart #marauders era #marauders fandom #james potter #james potter fanart #lily evans #lily evans fanart #harry potter fanart #harry potter #dia de los muertos

[kiwie-not-kiwi]

𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗮 𝗠𝘂𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗲 🖤

Happy Halloween everyone !! 🎃 Bert and I wish you a spellbinding night ! 🔥

#bertholdt hoover #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #aot #snk #concept art #visdev #mariachi #dia de los muertos

[vicomeds]

Renata Glasc La Ilusion

Collab that I did with League of Legends Brasil a while back! ☺

#fanart #my art #painting #art #digital painting #league of fanart #league of legends #renata glasc #lol #lol fanart #riot games #league of legend art #dia de los muertos

[darksilvania]

Shiny colors of my Day of the Dead fakemon

#pokemon #fakemon #fake pokemon #day of the dead #dia de muertos #dia de los muertos #calavera de azucar #pan de muerto #altar de muertos #calavera #skull #skeleton #ghost #ghost type #ghost pokemon #ghost fakemon #fairy pokemon #fairy fakemon #fairy type