20 Facts

by inactiveGE

Written for the 20 facts Danny Phantom fandom challenge community on lj: 20 facts about Vlad Masters, some are just character analysis. Feedback on any other characters you'd like this done for, or pairings, whether platonic or romantic, would be nice.

Written for: 20ghosts
Title: 20 Facts Facts Vlad Masters Hid Behind the Bathroom Mirror
Author: greenelysium
Subject:Fun, angst
Rating: pg-13 for a few references and my bad mouth.

Disclaimer:I do not own Danny Phantom

Warnings: Hints of Danny/Vlad, but very small hints.
Author's Notes: It's split into two-the first ten are fan speculation and character analysis, the second is purely fun fandom 'facts'.

1. Vlad is a man; he is not an old man or a young one, he is simply just a man. By the time Danny first meets him, he is somewhere in his mid-early forties, because Danny's parents aren't that old yet either, and their age is continuous with Vlad's since they went to college together. Vlad, Maddie, and Jack were all in college in 1981, and Danny was born in 1990's, lets say 1991. After a little while, Vlad spent 20 years building up his career, enough that even Jazz knew his name by heart, proving she probably grew up with knowledge of him. By the time they meet him, the oldest he could possibly be is around 45, which is middle-aged in today's world. And no, his white hair is not any indication of age; this came with the ghost part, just like when Danny drains his powers during "Phantom Planet", his hair is partially turn white.

2. Vlad does not love Maddie. He may have possibly loved her in his college days, but even this is doubtful by the evidence shown in "Masters of all Time", where his obsession with Maddie is achieved through their marriage. That's where the truth comes out; not when you're out thinking what-ifs and making idealized promises. What matters is what you do in the situation you wanted to be in, and that's where your true colors show. Vlad is shown to be controlling and still obsessive, content but malicious and needing someone to curb his greed.

3. Vlad is capable of genuine human emotions. He is not the despicable old prick he constantly pretends to be. In many ways, yes, he's a selfish, impetuously stubborn and pigheaded man who could beat a three-year old in temper tantrums and still have everyone love him. But he's also very weak emotionally; he does expose them, rarely, but they are exploited and used against him time and time again. If anything, Vlad is a victim of emotional abuse. He constantly faces rejection and has had no real friend to speak of since his accident. Of course he has to make up for it by overcompensating with money, sycophants, and world domination, but when he realizes that the powers he thought gave him some grand destiny turned to his disadvantage in "Phantom Planet", the real remorse and loneliness sink in. Now imagine, if he has time to think in space, (because that meteor did not kill a super powerful ghost), wouldn't it be a chance for real introspection, the time for epiphanies and grand realizations? You can't be abandoned by literally the whole world without it changing some aspect of you.

4. Vlad does not sleep with random women; especially if they look like Maddie. Even if he's totally crazy and obsessed with the woman (whom he does not love), he has way too much pride and way too much shame in his rejection to ever let anyone else know. Plus, there's the emotional handicap he's constantly hit with. Also, Vlad hates people. He hates almost everyone he meets and sees them as pawns. The only person he has really come close to respecting is Danny, because he even treats Maddie like she should be honored to be his husband by kissing his hands and feet in their alternate reality together. If anything, I think Vlad invents ways to get off, (What did he really want with all those Danny clones?)

5. Vlad doesn't hate Danny. He may not love him either, though that is debatable since he never gets a chance to prove how he would act in that situation, but he definitely respects him. Vlad will lie openly to everyone else in the show and use them while they constantly remain ignorant. But there is an honest side he has only with Danny, and this might come from their similar backgrounds. Of course, Vlad also sees himself as the rightful father to Danny, believing he is the only possible correct guidance for the younger teen. This path line would most likely become similar to Maddie's, where Vlad would loose sight of the individual person, and generalize them into the rest of the objects he owns.

6. Vlad has an addictive personality; when he sets his mind on something, he gets it, and he constantly thinks about it until he can use it for all its resources and then throw it away into his array of meaningless things he owns: Item A would be the Green bay Packers, and item B would be his treating of Maddie in "Masters of all Time".

7. Just because Vlad is actually an emotional puppy when given the opportunity does not mean he can ever be trustworthy. Even if it ever came down to truly loving someone, he'd still probably end up playing little mind games with them. He is, essentially, a vindictive and manipulative man who is not, by any means, trustworthy. This is a man who lies to himself, and very effectively I might add, about his consistent lonely and discontent nature by running the ghost world's most powerful ghosts and obtaining a generous sum roughly equal to the amount of several of the worlds wealthiest people. Is this a man you want to be trusting with your innermost secrets?

8. Vlad does not let just anybody into his life, and this is proven when you ask the question: How many people really know Vlad? What about humans? Sure, maybe Valerie was deceived, and Maddie knows about the cunning human side, but how many people know the whole story? Exactly. He doesn't trust just anyone with the information; only the ghost zone and Danny could possibly hope to fully understand him. Thus it would be a given that Vlad wouldn't even lift a finger to help some long-distant relation who was orphaned by something tragic. He sure as hell wouldn't love them, maybe he might throw money at them if legalities provoked, but Vlad is still a man who enjoys his privacy and time to think. The only circumstance in which he would take someone in was shown in the alternate timeline when Danny's parents die and he turns to Vlad, whom he believes is the only one to understand his loneliness. And that's key-their type of lonely. Vlad needs a person to understand him before he considers respecting them or 'taking them in'. Even his so-called daughter Danni didn't stand a chance to fatherly affection, because he wouldn't stop until he replicated Danny Phantom/Fenton. Why go through the trouble of replicating any random person? No, he was replicating the only person who could ever know him, the closest person to him.

9. Vlad and Plasmius are not the epitome of evil. They may have a lot of qualities that would push them into the stereotype, but much of these defensive actions are just that-purely defensive. When he goes on the offensive, he's often provoked, i.e. Danny ruining his house; in effect, he becomes mayor. And in getting the votes, its not that 'he's so evil he possessed hundreds of people', but rather 'he cares so little about people he overshadows them without thought'. There's a difference. Vlad has a conscience for things that are important to him, and sure, maybe his sense of ethics when it comes to these things is a little twisted, but they have some reason in them. When he is overtly controlling and possessive of Maddie, it also shows a blatantly soft over-protective nature. He is angry when Skulker is about to kill Danny because he wanted Danny alive and safe, just unable to use his powers. He just cares very little about people, and about the world in general, and yes, he has a super huge ego when it comes to these things. But this just stems from his isolation, and the abandonment of certain friends, and quite possibly the fact that he never even really considered Jack a friend and therefore probably never had one true confidant.

10. Vlad is smart. While I know most people here would say 'No Duh', I mean he's smart enough to not mess up time streams or try to destroy the world-which in effect would be destroying him-for his own 'personal gain' as fanfic promotes. I mean, I know the man is greedy, but not in a stupid way. And yes, some people might argue the actions he takes in 'Phantom Planet' were just a tad idiotic, I think it was more a move of desperation, and letting his ego get the best of him. He had been so invincible for so long, the thought that something could defeat his ghost self-who was not Daniel- was unthinkable. He might have been able to think of the world intangibility himself if he didn't want the credit solely for him in he first place, because he hates everyone else and doesn't care about anyone except for Maddie and Danny; this includes the ghost zone.

And now for the more fandomish facts:

11. Vlad's cell phone is red. It is a bright, flamboyant red, sleek and shiny and it alerts to the public that he is the man. And he doesn't trust any of the brand makers to make his cell phone either-he made it himself, in his own labs, and it has wireless access even within the ghost zone. On its speed dial, more notably, there are only three numbers: Skulker, Maddie's individual cellular device, and Danny Fenton's device. Two out of three don't know he has theirs.

12. After Danny destroys his Mansion, Vlad stays at the most luxurious hotel in Wisconsin, in the most prestigious sweet which a princess once inhabited during her American visit a few years ago. Well, Vlad was just a bit ill at ease when he first saw the room, and indeed, it had been inhabited by a princess. Everything screamed pinkish delight and flowery primness and he wondered if anyone had thought to change the room décor. He didn't see the point in remodeling a room he'd be staying in for one day, though no doubt he could, so he decided to just take a warm shower. When the helicopters above his house started flashing cameras and Phantom makes his wall invisible, he does not blush when they stare at his blatant naked form. He is not ashamed of his body, he knows it is rated one of the top in the elite business world. No, the crease in his brows and the grimace on his face are not due to his birthday suit, but instead by being caught in the floral monstrosity. The next day, as he ghosts through town while waiting for feedback from his minions who were assigned to embarrass the Fenton boy in a similar way, he comes upon a magazine stand and inwardly groans as he thinks about the stern talk he'll have to give both his lawyer and publicist. Slamming the magazine he stole down on the table where they're collectively gathered later that afternoon, he growls "I'm not gay."

13. There is very little that can shock Plasmius. One reason for this is that, after signing contracts with a majority of the ghost zone's most feared creatures, he lost the ability to care about the unknown; for Vlad Plasmius, the world is divided into two segments: Those who matter, and those who don't, and there is a very clear line between the two, helpfully drawn in by a neat brick wall, and big yellow signs stating where each person belonged. And for Vlad Plasmius, there had only ever been two people on the important side, and that counted himself, and Maddie; everyone else could die in a tragic cruise accident and he wouldn't even watch the broadcast on TV. But when Maddie is staying in his home with her family, and he discovers her son's secret for the first time, Plasmius knows shock, and he understands fear, because he doesn't know the emotion swelling up in the pit of his stomach, or why a part of him wants to keep the boy safe from harm forever.

14. Vlad never tries to be cool. He doesn't care about 'hip' teen lingo, only ever using it in heavily sarcastic quotation marks. He knows everyone wants to be him, everyone wants to talk like him, and everyone wants him. Except Danny. But he doesn't count anyways. Teenagers don't count in general. Teenagers don't exist.

15. In one timeline Danny doesn't know about but Clockwork does see, Danny accepted Vlad as a father. In this timeline, Danny grows up, but does not become evil as would be expected. In fact, Danny's leaving of Amity Park almost instantaneously affects his ghost life-where he has virtually none. His teen years become so normal that Vlad and Plasmius are to the point of pressuring Ivy League colleges and explicit studying as opposed to practicing the ghost side. But in this timeline, the phantom inside Danny becomes very angry at the active suppression Vlad enacts on him, and eventually tears and gnaws at Danny's mind with the only control he has. Danny doesn't live to his eighteenth birthday in this one. Vlad is able to disguise it as a drowning accident, but who drowns partially submerged in a shallow pond?

16. This is a Public Service Announcement: Vlad Plasmius does not die after being hit by a rock in 'Phantom Planet'. He Plasmius here and thus already dead. Thank you, now back to your squealing, Fangirls. Yes, that's right, he is not dead. Yes, that means alive.

17. His love for the Packers does not exceed his love for Maddie. They are equal and he in no way thinks that Maddie should be insulted by this.

18. Vlad doesn't run. He flies as Plasmius, yes, but in Human form, he never runs. He strides around purposefully. Everywhere. And if he seems to be walking way too fast, it's not a jog, but in fact he has ghost minions pulling an invisible platform below him, they're doing his walking for him. And no, he does not have scrawny legs. He has invisible ghost muscles everywhere but he applies his human form to his own rule of aesthetics: Sleek.

19. Sure, the cape in his Plasmius form is a little ironic, but it's not his fault his lab coat ruined any future prospect for a better suit. He likes white anyways. It makes him feel godly. That's right ghosts, bow down, bow to the ever powerful white and red…where did the red come from? Whatever, red is his color too. It's flashy and young and him in every way that matters and no it does not mean flamer you insignificant peon, (Danny).

20. The first time Vlad Plasmius sacrifices himself, the sacrifice part was in gigantic sarcasm quotes, and it was applicable to the world. The second time he does it though, its very real, and very shocking, and only for Danny. And even though Clockwork is looking at him with an oddly mixed glance, Vlad knows that, despite his strong sense of ego, this will be fatal and his last action. Because he knows Danny is more important for the world than he is, and he cares too much about his reckless eighteen year old former foe to see him die. And though it is ironic, Clockwork promises that Daniel will know of Vlad's sacrifice for him one day before he calls Time In. And the ghost Zone never knew it was Vlad that hit them, not Plasmius, with his final breath.

Number 15 can be interchangeable for this one:
15. Vlad Masters doesn't shave. Just as he is incapable of loosing his godly mane of beauty, he is also incapable of growing anymore,(It is surprisingly hard to mimic perfection). He is perfectly preserved by Plasmius, who has similar vanity issues, and for similar reasons enjoys the way his hair holds its shape in ghost form.