Fanfic / Danny Phantom: Lost

Lost is the third story in Stranded. Danny and Star get lost in the Ghost Zone together.

Tropes:

• Abhorrent Admirer:
  • Colette flirted with Danny, but her being pretty doesn't detract from how spoiled and annoying he finds her.
  • Paulina is still this to Danny as he finds it absurd that he used to be flattered by her crush on his ghost-self until he saw how irritating she is.
• Actually Pretty Funny: Star finds it hilarious when Danny Phantom pretends not to know who Paulina is just to mess with her.
• Aloof Big Sister: Downplayed. Star does not hate her baby half-brother Pierre, but she is not thrilled about him coming to visit, along with her mom and the rest of that side of the family.
• Alpha Bitch: Colette is an even worse one than Paulina because she's an obnoxious and entitled Spoiled Brat who torments Star and steals her boyfriends just for kicks.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents:
  • Star is mortified by Stella's snobby comments and pretending to be a French person.
  • Johnathan seems to be a more sympathetic version since he at least tried to be nice to Danny and didn't realize that inviting himself and Star for Cocoa was embarrassing her.
• And I'm the Queen of Sheba:
  • When Sam says she's just worried about Danny, Tucker thinks, "Yeah, and I'm a vegetarian".
  • In a flashback when a crying Star claims she just has something in her eye, Valerie replies, "Yeah, and I'm an XXXL".
• Androcles' Lion: The Monster of Specter Island ends its feud with with Danny and Star after the latter feeds him and they set him free.
• Anger Born of Worry: When Danny and Star return, Jack, Maddie and Johnathan are angry at them for vanishing. It's said to be the most worried Danny and Star saw their families.
• Aristocrats Are Evil:
  • Downplayed, as she is more selfish and thoughtless than evil, but Stella is from a wealthy, high-bred family who has no respect for the middle-class. It's also implied that her family is the same way, because according to her, she was raised to believe that her opinion mattered more than what the "commoners" believe.
  • Stella's husband, Jean-Luc, is not necessarily evil, but he's a Blue Blood vineyard owner who treats anyone not on the same status as him with complete disdain and scorn, and has no problem stepping on others to get what he wants.
• Asshole Victim: At the end of the story, Box Ghost scares Colette and Jean-Luc. He's overjoyed at finally scaring people.
• The Atoner: In the end, Stella begins working to earn Star's forgiveness for how she abandoned and neglected her over the past four years to avoid losing her forever. She not only owns up to her mistakes and apologizes to Star and Danny, but promises to be there for her daughter more by relocating to Amity Park for the foreseeable future.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Stella was shown to be a selfish and neglectful parent who favored her new family, not caring about how her actions affected Star, all while spoiling her rotten. When Star disappeared, Stella seemed sincerely worried for her, only to show how selfish she truly is by refusing to take responsibility for her daughter's disappearance. However when Johnathan plans to terminate Stella's visitation rights after calling her out for being a bad parent to their daughter, combined with Star still missing, Stella finally realizes just how serious this situation is, which shows that she really does love her daughter deep down and wishes Star was home safe.
• Babies Make Everything Better: Discussed. When confronting her mother, Star says Pierre's birth is the only reason Jean-Luc hasn't yet dumped Stella for another woman.
• Battle Couple: Danny and Star defeat Skulker together moments before admitting their feelings for each other.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: After calling her mother out, Star storms off and cries her eyes out over what had happened. She wishes she and Danny were as far away from her step-family as possible. Desiree happened to have overheard her.
• Birds of a Feather: Stella and Jean Luc Bevier; both of them are spoiled, selfish, and shallow rich upper-crusts who only care for themselves and look down on the lower-class.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Star claims that her stepsister Colette is this. According to Star, Colette acts sweet and polite in front of her mom, but in reality is no different than Paulina.
• Blue Blood: According to Stella, she was born to one of New York's richest families, who came there all the way from France generations ago.
• Bond Villain Stupidity: As Danny notes when he sees the Plasmius Maximus has a switch to restore powers, Vlad doesn't learn from his mistakes.
• Brainless Beauty: Stella looks like a grown-up version of her daughter, but is lacking much of her common sense.
• Bratty Teenage Daughter: Colette is Jean-Luc's spoiled brat daughter who likes to take what she wants whenever she wants.
• Break the Haughty: After being told by Star she hates her and Johnathan threatening to take away her visitation rights, Stella finally realizes how her callousness and elitism has severely strained her relationship with her daughter. She strives to make amends by apologizing to Star and Danny for her earlier unacceptable behavior, and promises to become a better mother and person.
• Brutal Honesty: Star is very upfront to her mom about her flaws and doesn’t sugarcoat that Stella severely messed up from the start with her insensitive and self-absorbed attitude toward the former and Danny.
• Calling the Old Woman Out: After thinking Danny left because of their insensitive comments, Star finally calls her mother out for her vapid attitude, leaving her loving family for a womanizer and his spoiled brat daughter, and for not fulfilling her role as a parent. When Stella tries to defend herself and orders Star to apologize, Star then admits she hates her mother.
• Casanova Wannabe: Tucker questions how Danny got Valerie and Star, two former popular girls who despised his very existence, to like him.
• Cassandra Truth: Apparently, Dash bragged about how he once got shrunk with Danny Phantom and they survived a ghost attack together. Star didn't believe it until Danny confirms it.
• Character Development: Stella begins hers at the end of the story after realizing the gravity of her mistakes and how she needs to make some serious life changes if she wants to reconcile with her daughter. She starts to shed her snobbery by supporting Star and Danny's budding relationship, and agrees to make some real mother-daughter bonding time for Star (without Colette or Jean-Luc). As a minor detail, Stella also drops her fake French accent and begins calling her daughter by her nickname (Star) instead of her full name (Estelle).
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Neither Sam nor Paulina enjoy watching Danny Phantom flirt with Star.
• Clueless Chick-Magnet: Danny doesn't realize Star and Sam are both into him and trying to take his interest away from the other.
• Cuddle Bug: Star has developed a habit of hugging Danny when she sees him. Danny doesn't mind or recognize her growing attraction to him, but Sam does and isn't happy about it.
• De-power: Thanks to an explosion from the Plasmius Maximus, Danny is slowly losing some of his powers.
• Disneyland Dad: Gender-Inverted. Star says that while her parents are divorced, her mother still sends her a lot of expensive gifts and money year-round, and that she makes multiple trips a year to see her daughter in order to "spend time with her".
• Doesn't Know Their Own Child: Stella doesn't know much about her own daughter outside of what's on the surface.
• Dramatic Irony: Paulina thinks Star and Danny are perfect for each other because they're both losers, all while nursing a hopeless crush on Danny Phantom. Both are unaware that Star has been nursing a crush on Danny Fenton, Danny Phantom's true identity, and grown very close to him.
• Dumb Blonde: Averted. Now that she's not Paulina's Beta Bitch anymore, Star no longer acts like this. She's revealed to be very intelligent and reasonable, and takes her studies more seriously.
• Dysfunctional Family: Star's parents are divorced. Her mother has her new sleazy husband, spoiled stepdaughter, and newborn son, all of whom Star can live without.
• Easily Forgiven: Played with. Danny accepts Stella’s apology for her earlier insensitive behavior but everyone else doesn’t. Star only gives her mom the chance to make up for all the years of neglect, Johnathan only lets Stella keep her visitation rights to make Star happy, and the Fentons make it clear they won’t tolerate anymore rude comments from her about Danny.
• Entitled to Have You: Paulina certainly shows this attitude with Danny Phantom, outright declaring he’s supposed to love her.
• Establishing Character Moment: It’s quickly established how much of a stuck-up asshole Jean-Luc is when he refuses to greet Danny and insults him in French. It becomes obvious we’re supposed to hate him.
• Everyone Can See It: Johnathan and Colette certainly pick up on Star’s obvious attraction to Danny.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • Stella may look down on Danny at first but doesn’t go out of her way to be a jerk to him like Jean-Luc since she doesn’t insult him directly. She's also genuinely worried when Danny and Star go missing.
  • Nobody wants to be friends with Klemper because of how clingy and annoying he is.
  • Star felt it was excessive of Danny Phantom to shoot Box Ghost with a ghost ray even if he was irritating.
• Exact Words: When Star questions Danny Phantom about living in the Ghost Zone, he responds, "I don't really like living in the Ghost Zone. I spend every chance that I get in the Human World". It's technically not a lie, he just left out that he lives on Earth.
• First-Person Perspective: The first chapter focuses on Star recapping the previous two stories in her diary.
• Forceful Kiss: Colette plants one on Danny just to spite Star. Danny didn't take it well.
• Former Friend of Alpha Bitch: Star and Paulina are at each other's throats after the former recognizes how terrible a friend the latter is.
• Friend Versus Lover: Sam and Tucker do not like Danny spending so much time around Star, especially after she finds out his secret. Star tries to make some kind of compromise, as she doesn't mind not being friends but doesn't want to be enemies with them. Tucker seems to consider it, but Sam rejects it.
• Freudian Excuse:
  • Colette's attitude likely stems from being spoiled by her father and her mother leaving them.
  • Stella was born into a family that taught her from an early age that her opinion mattered more than what the "commoners" believe. Because of that mindset, she never thinks or cares about the consequences of her actions or words and how they affect her loved ones.
• From Bad to Worse: A disastrous dinner with Star's step-family ends with her and Danny getting lost in an unfamiliar part of the Ghost Zone.
• Full-Name Ultimatum: Estelle Joy Strong and Daniel Fenton receive it from their respective dads after they return home from the Ghost Zone.
• The Gadfly:
  • Colette hits on Danny just to annoy Star.
  • Danny Phantom pretends not to know who Paulina is just to mess with her. Star takes great joy in watching him make a fool out of the snobby Hispanic mean girl.
• Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: When Star begins freaking out over being lost in the Ghost Zone, Danny has to calm her down by slapping her in the face.
• Give Geeks a Chance: When Colette tells Danny she’s genuinely interested in him, he asks her why since he’s heard that she’s dated guys older and wealthier than him that drive fancy sports cars and can afford to buy her any expensive gift she wants. Colette admits she enjoys all the gifts and attention, but likes Danny because she finds him interesting. Danny isn’t flattered because he doesn’t like her anyway for her terrible personality and awful treatment of Star.
• Gratuitous French: It seems Stella tends to use French words in her sentences, even when talking to her English-speaking daughter. She drops it at the end when apologizing to Star.
• Has a Type: Colette becomes genuinely interested in Danny because she sees him as a challenge.
• Hate at First Sight:
  • Danny quickly grows to hate Colette because of the unflattering stories Star told him about her and her annoying, bratty personality when she hits on him just to hurt Star.
  • Jean-Luc despises Danny immediately for being a “commoner” and openly insults him, sometimes in French. The feeling becomes completely mutual after Danny sees Jean-Luc is just as much of a complete jerk as his daughter Colette, and insults both of them in Esperanto.
  • The Fentons instantly despise the Beviers because (as far as everyone knows) their rude behavior towards their son is what caused Danny to go missing, which isn’t helped by their insensitive attitudes, inability to accept responsibility, Jean-Luc flirting with Maddie (which earns him a smack from her), and Stella’s constant fighting with Johnathan.
• Hates Their Parent: After thinking that Danny left because of her mother and Jean-Luc's comments, Star ends up arguing with her mother, calling her out on all her faults and after Stella refuses to take responsibility for her actions, Star outright says she hates her before leaving to go find Danny.
• Heroic BSoD: Star has a panic attack after realizing that Desiree teleported her to the Ghost Zone.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Star knows French and is a skilled bowler.
  • It's later revealed that despite always being self-centered, Stella did truly love Johnathan when she married him. Also, she still loves her daughter and it's shown that in Star's early childhood, she was not always a bad mother to her.
• Hidden Disdain Reveal: Johnathan confirms he never liked the A-Listers, even when he didn't know the extent of their bad influence on Star.
• Hopeless Suitor: Paulina continues to fixate on Danny Phantom even when he makes it clear he doesn't reciprocate (anymore) or see her as anything but another citizen he saved.
• Hypocrite: Despite claiming to like Danny, Colette wasn’t at all concerned about him when he went missing along with Star, as she only thought about going to the spa. When Danny returns, Colette flirts with him without even inquiring about his well-being and just blames Star for the whole thing, while trying to paint herself as the better option for him.
• I Can Change My Beloved: Colette thinks she can make Danny more preferable for her boyfriend, but Star thinks Danny is perfect as is.
• I Hate Past Me: Star regrets that she ever treated Danny so poorly before. She later admits to everyone that she regrets the awful person she became just to join the A-Listers since it wasn’t worth all the harm she caused.
• I Love You Because I Can't Control You: Colette originally hit on Danny to irritate Star, but his rejecting her advances made her like the "challenge" he presented.
• Innocently Insensitive: Stella doesn't seem to comprehend when her comments come off as rude or insulting to people she talks to or about.
• Insistent Appellation: Jazz still insists on calling Skulker "Ghost X", since she thinks her name for him sounds better.
• Insulting from Behind the Language Barrier: It’s quickly established how much of a stuck-up asshole Jean-Luc is when he refuses to greet Danny and insults him in French.
• I Regret Nothing: Star does not regret leaving the A-Listers and is happy she is no longer friends with them, having found better friends in Danny and Valerie.
• It's All About Me:
  • Paulina refuses to change the cheer the squad have been using when Star finds it underwhelming, because she was the one who made it.
  • Jean Luc, Stella, and Colette Bevier. All three of them are spoiled, selfish, and shallow rich aristocrats who only care for themselves and their rich lifestyles.
• It Amused Me: Colette’s reason for trying to seduce Danny since she likes to mess with Star for her own warped entertainment.
• It's All My Fault: When Desiree sends them to the Ghost Zone after overhearing her wish, Star blames herself for their predicament but Danny (as Phantom) tells her that it's Desiree's fault.
• Jerkass: Something the Bevier father and daughter have in common. Jean-Luc is a pompous jerk to anyone not attractive in a skirt, while Colette is a two-faced spoiled brat who makes hidden insults towards Star.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • Colette quickly deduces that Star likes Danny as more than just a friend. Her overprotective behavior towards him was definitely a big clue.
  • Johnathan plans to use his connections as a high-ranking lawyer to terminate Stella's visitation rights so she can't see Star anymore. While it's true that he plans to manipulate the court system, he is right when he points out that Stella has been a bad parent due to her thoughtlessness, not caring how her actions negatively influenced their daughter, and the fact that she had sided with her stepdaughter over Star. What makes this worse is that unknown to Johnathan, Stella was a corrupting influence on Star for years, turning her into a selfish, shallow, two-dimensional popular girl because he thought Stella still loved Star and encouraged her to spend time with their daughter whenever she was in town. In hindsight, it would have been better for Star if Johnathan cut Stella out of her life from the start.
  • Johnathan is also correct that Star’s disappearance is Stella’s fault because her insensitive attitude and immaturity is what drover their daughter away.
  • Subverted when Stella and Johnathan begin arguing about the fate of their marriage. Johnathan reveals he is still very angry that Stella left him for another man, even more since she abandoned their daughter. Stella fires back that their marriage was already dead when she met Jean-Luc and it's not like they could've stayed together until Star left for college. Johnathan does not argue that point, but he retorts that she still did not have the right to cheat on him or abandon Star in the first place.
  • Star is disgusted to no end by Paulina’s fixation with Danny Phantom since it’s pathetic that she refuses to get it through her thick head she has no chance with the hero given his obvious lack of interest in her.
  • While he was just saying that to mess with Paulina, Danny Phantom is right that he can’t be expected to remember all the people he’s rescued since there's a lot of them, so Paulina shouldn’t expect him to know who she is just because he saved her a few times in the past.
• Jerkass Realization: Stella has one in chapter 17 after Johnathan informs her that he plans to terminate her visitation rights after calling her out for being a bad parent to their daughter. This and Star still missing causes Stella to finally realize how serious the situation is, that her selfishness has consequences, and she made a mistake, wanting her daughter back home safe.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: At first when Stella learns that Star is missing. When yelling at Johnathan, she seems genuinely worried for Star, but then in the next chapter, Stella refuses to take responsibility for her daughter's disappearance, going as far to say she sacrificed her figure to give birth to Star. It's Subverted when Stella faces the possibility of losing her visitation rights and the chance to apologize to Star.
• Lack of Empathy:
  • Stella and Jean-Luc act like snobs when first meeting Danny and refuse to apologize for insulting him when Star calls them out on their attitudes. Though Stella does feel bad when her flippant attitude causes Star to lash out at her, and she makes amends with the kids.
  • Unlike Stella, Colette and Jean-Luc aren’t the least bit worried about Star when she goes missing, something an outraged Johnathan points out to a delusional Stella. Colette is more interested in going to the spa to relax, much to Johnathan's disgust and Stella's mortification.
  • Jean-Luc tries to take the opportunity to hit on Maddie at the police station during the search for Danny and Star. Needless to say, Maddie is totally disgusted and doesn't hesitate to deck him for it.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • Now that the teachers are not favoring the A-Listers, they are being punished whenever they are caught in the act of bullying the other students.
  • Stella left her husband and abandoned her family to live with Paris with a French man and his daughter. In this story, Star has had enough of her actions and calls Stella out. When her ex-husband Johnathan plans to terminate her visitation rights, Stella realizes that because of her thoughtlessness, she's going to lose her daughter.
  • Star gets back at Colette for trying to come in between her and Danny by dumping a glass of water on her head at the restaurant.
  • In the last chapter, Jean-Luc and Colette are completely soaked by a fire hydrant Cujo destroyed.
• Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Danny has made it a vow to never acknowledge the whole incident from The Ultimate Enemy ever again. Star questions why he won't tell her, but recognizes it was traumatizing and doesn't press on.
• Like Parent, Like Spouse: Okay, they aren't a couple but Star is slowly falling in love with Danny, a Nice Guy who is more rational and down-to-Earth than her. Meanwhile, from what we've seen, her father Johnathan is also a Nice Guy and the more reasonable parent.
• Love Confession: After surviving Skulker and finding a safe place to talk, both Danny and Star finally admit their feelings for each other while Star learns Danny's secret.
• Love Epiphany: While going to save Star, Danny starts to realize he may have feelings for her.
• Loving a Shadow: Johnathan admits to himself that his love for Stella blinded him to the type of person she really was until it was too late.
• Mama Bear: Maddie gets back at Jean-Luc for being a total prick to Danny by slapping him. She also makes it clear to Stella that she hasn't forgiven the latter for her snobbery towards Danny and being indirectly responsible for him disappearing, and any further cruel words towards her son will NOT be tolerated.
• Missing Mom: Colette's mother never appears. According to Star, she apparently left her family due to Jean-Luc's philandering ways.
• Must Make Amends: In the end, Stella admits her self-centered attitude has pushed Star away and becomes determined to fix this by making amends with and actually listening to her. She apologizes to Star and Danny for her deplorable behavior and resolves to move back to Amity Park to be closer to Star in order to mend their relationship.
• Never My Fault: Stella does not see herself to blame for Star's disappearance, even after she badmouthed Danny for not being good enough for her daughter. Subverted when Johnathan brings up how bad of a parent she is to Star, and Stella finally admits to herself that she made a mistake and wants her daughter back.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Despite Johnathan's understandable anger at his wife for cheating on and leaving him, he does not try to get in the way of Stella having a relationship with their daughter Star. Stella was a corrupting influence on Star, causing her daughter to grow insecure enough to befriend toxic friends and become a spoiled mean girl in the first place.
• No Sympathy: Jean-Luc and Colette don't show any concern at all that Star and Danny are missing, carrying on with their own activities. Johnathan points this out to Stella, in which she weakly defends them by saying they are dealing with Star's disappearance in their own way. Johnathan is clearly unconvinced.
• Not Helping Your Case: Stella does nothing to endear herself to Johnathan or the Fentons with her snobbery, insensitivity, refusal to take responsibility for her blunders, and blind defending of the Beviers' obnoxious behavior, even when Maddie slaps Jean-Luc for hitting on her and Colette prioritizes going to the spa during the search for Star. For all Johnathan and the Fentons know, Stella and Jean-Luc’s rudeness is the reason for Star and Danny going missing, and Stella only makes things worse by refusing to acknowledge she did anything wrong.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Star admits to everyone that she was just as snobby and mean to Danny at first as her mom was, but he still gave her a chance to make up for her mistakes and become a better person, so she’ll give Stella the same chance.
• Official Couple: Danny and Star admit their feelings and, after going on a date, go steady.
• One-Steve Limit: Averted and Played With. Star's real name is "Estelle" and her mother's name is "Stella", both of which mean "Star".
• Only Friend: Valerie was the only one of Star's friends who she could talk to about her parents' divorce.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Colette refuses to leave with her father so Stella can talk to Star and Danny in private and tries kissing up to her stepmother as usual, Stella doesn't budge and firmly says Colette's name to make her listen. Both Colette and especially Star are shocked, as Stella had never used such a tone with her before.
• Parental Favoritism: Stella seems guilty of preferring Colette over Star, which makes it even more tragic since Star is her biological child.
• Parental Neglect: Stella is so engrossed with the rich lifestyle Jean-Luc lives that she barely has any time for Star. Star eventually calls out her mother for never visiting or at least checking up on her when it really mattered, like when she came down with chicken pox, lost her pet goldfish, or was lost at sea and stranded on a deserted island.
• Parental Obliviousness: Johnathan wasn’t aware of Star’s or the A-Listers' bullying until she told him since he didn’t peg them as THAT bad of an influence on his daughter despite never liking them.
• Parent with New Paramour: Stella has remarried and Star really hates her stepfather, viewing him as a creep and refusing to call him "Papa".
• Pervert Revenge Mode: Maddie slaps Jean-Luc as payback for hitting on her and being a complete jerk to her son, Danny.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Johnathan apologizes to the Fentons for what they’re going through after Danny goes missing, especially since his ex-wife Stella played a role due to her insensitive and thoughtless actions.
  • Star gives Stella one last chance to make up for her mistakes since her mother sincerely regrets it and she remembers how Danny previously gave her a similar chance.
  • Despite his unresolved issues with her, Johnathan allows Stella to keep seeing Star for their daughter's sake.
  • At the end, Stella promises to make it up to Star and Danny for how she acted so insensitive earlier.
• Punch-Clock Villain: Danny sums Kitty up as this. She doesn't have any real enmity with him like his other enemies, treating him cordially when she encounters him in the Ghost Zone. She really only causes trouble when her temper flares up and even then she'll be happy to stop once she calms down.
• Rage Breaking Point: Star blows up at her mother and stepfamily when she thinks Danny left because of their insults, which ends with her tearing into them, especially Stella, for their flaws and declaring to her mom she hates her before following Danny out.
• Rejection Affection: Colette originally flirted with Danny just to mess with Star but became genuinely interested in him when he turned her down and accepts the "challenge" of stealing him from Star. Danny is not the least bit flattered since he rejected her for a reason, namely being too much of an annoying Spoiled Brat.
• Rejected Apology: Downplayed. Star knows her mother Stella is genuinely sorry but refuses to forgive her right away since a single apology doesn’t make up for years of abandonment and insensitivity. However, she gives her mother the chance to earn her forgiveness.
• Relationship Upgrade: Danny and Star become a couple near the end of this story.
• The Reveal Prompts Romance: Star and Danny officially become a couple after Danny reveals his secret to her.
• Rich Bitch:
  • Colette tries to demean and show up Star every chance she gets by flaunting her wealth and status, and expects everything to happen by her word.
  • Stella is much older but she is just as shallow and materialistic, and seems to have very little respect for the middle-class.
• Sand In My Eyes: In a flashback when Valerie finds Star crying in the janitor's closet about her parents' divorce, Star tries to lie that she just has something in her eye. Valerie doesn't buy it.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Star and Danny quickly flee while Kitty and Johnny 13 are distracted by their lover’s spat.
• Secret-Keeper: Star vows to never tell anyone Danny's secret without his permission.
• Shadow Archetype:
  • Stella looks like her daughter, but much more shallow and rather unable to see how her actions negatively affect people around her when she wants something, like a more handsome and suave husband even when she was already married. She's essentially what Star could have been if she remained with the A-Listers and didn't have her Character Development kickstarted by her feelings for Danny.
  • Colette is another one to Star. They're both rich kids who live with their divorced father, but Colette is what Star could have ended up being like if Johnathan spoiled her.
• Shallow Cannot Comprehend True Love:
  • While Star and Danny aren't dating yet, Stella and Jean-Luc are confused as to why she would be so close with an unpopular middle-class boy who isn't even into sports.
  • Colette doesn't understand why Danny isn't affected by her flirtations and only views his rejection of her in favor of Star as a "challenge".
  • Paulina is shocked that Star would turn down Danny Phantom for Danny Fenton.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: When pressed about it, Danny and Star insist to her mother's family that they are just friends. Star hopes that will change, while Danny is unable to process his feelings for her.
• Shipper on Deck: Multiple characters for Danny and Star.
  • Johnathan Strong seems to recognize his daughter's interest in Danny quickly and voices his approval of her new "friend" more than the A-Listers.
  • When Star admits to liking Danny, Cujo overhears and gets happy at the notion.
  • Upon seeing Star, Frostbite finds her more amiable than Sam and thinks she'd be a worthy mate for Danny.
• Shipping Torpedo: Stella and Jean-Luc dismiss the idea of Star being with Danny, finding him too plain and unimpressive for her. However, Stella seems to start coming around in the end when she apologizes to Danny and agrees to give him a real chance.
• Shout-Out: To Spider-Man: The Animated Series when Danny Phantom reveals his feelings for Star, who admits her feelings for Danny Fenton and finds out his secret.
• Sibling Rivalry: Stepsisters Star and Colette hate each other and compete for things, with Colette usually winning due to Stella taking her side.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: Danny and Star's close romance disgusts Sam. Justified, given Sam's feelings for her old friend.
• Skeptic No Longer: Jean-Luc and Colette don't believe in ghosts until the Box Ghost shows up in front of them.
• Slimeball: Jean-Luc, Star's stepfather, who she has no real love for. She describes him as "Pepé Le Pew without any charm", since he seduced her mother while she and Star's father were still married and made her leave her family.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Paulina sees herself as Danny Phantom’s soulmate just because he saved her a bunch of times and is surprised that he supposedly doesn’t remember her. He clarifies to her that she’s no more special to him than anyone else he’s rescued by pretending he doesn’t recognize her just to mess with her.
• Smarter Than You Look: Despite her vapid and shallow demeanor, Colette is quite perceptive as she notices that Star cares for Danny as more than just a friend, given how protective she is of him.
• Spoiled Brat: Colette is an even worse one than Star or Paulina ever were, as she is spoiled rotten by her father and so used to getting what she wants that she won't take Danny saying no for an answer.
• Sure, Let's Go with That: When Desiree sends both Danny and Star to the Ghost Zone to grant Star's wish to be with Danny somewhere far away from her family, Star assumes Desiree sent Danny Phantom instead of Danny Fenton because she didn't specify which Danny she meant when she made the wish. Not wanting to let Star know they're the same Danny, he pretends to believe her theory.
• Teasing from Behind the Language Barrier: Jean-Luc insults Danny in French throughout the story. Danny returns the favor in the end by insulting him and Colette in Esperanto.
• Tempting Fate: Just as Jean-Luc and Colette scoff at the thought of ghosts being real, the Box Ghost shows up and scares them.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: The Box Ghost is thrilled to finally scare someone when he spooks Jean-Luc and Colette.
• Toxic Friend Influence: Star admits to her parents that she acted like a Beta Bitch in the past to fit in with the A-Listers.
• The Unapologetic: Jean-Luc makes it clear he’s not sorry for insulting Danny since as far as he’s concerned, he was just telling the truth. Star just calls him a French scumbag and tells him to drop dead.
• Understanding Boyfriend: While they aren't dating, Danny finds himself sympathetic to Star's plight with her step-family and offers to join her when they arrive in Amity Park, earning a kiss on the cheek from her as a result.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid:
  • Star was once a kind, innocent girl as a child. However, her parents' divorce, her mother's corrupting influence and actions, and her stepsister's bullying caused her to become insecure enough to befriend toxic friends and develop into the selfish, shallow, two-dimensional mean girl seen in canon.
  • Downplayed. Stella was always a thoughtless and selfish person, but chapter 17 reveals that when she married Johnathan, Stella genuinely did love him but they grew apart over the years, and chapter 18 also shows that she was not always a bad parent to Star. However, Stella eventually cheated on Johnathan and left him, as well as neglecting Star in favor of her new family while she merely spoiled Star instead.
• Uptown Girl:
  • Deconstructed. When Johnathan and Stella were first married, they were happy and in love despite their different backgrounds, as Stella came from an upper-class family and was raised to believe that she was inherently better than "commoners", while Johnathan came from a middle-class family but with hard work, became a successful lawyer. Their different values and upbringings eventually caused them to drift apart over the years and Stella ended their marriage when she ran away with an upper-class Frenchman.
  • Seems to be hereditary, as Star plays this straight while she seeks to be involved with Danny, who is also middle-class while she comes from a rich family.
• Visit by Divorced Dad: Gender-Inverted. Star's mother Stella, who moved to Paris with her new husband and his daughter Colette and just had a baby boy Pierre, is coming to visit for the weekend with her new family. A visit Star isn't exactly thrilled about.
• Villainous Crush: Colette is very taken with Danny, who wants nothing to do with her.
• You Can Talk?: To their surprise, Danny and Star find out that the Monster of Specter Island can actually speak when he thanks them for setting him free.
• Wacky Parent, Serious Child: Stella is more naive, spoiled, ditzy, and immature than her daughter Star. Deconstructed as Stella’s careless and selfish behavior severely strains their relationship.
• Womanchild: Johnathan calls Stella out on her immaturity for driving Star away with her callous and unapologetic attitude.

---