Broke
is the ninth side story to Stranded and the eighth one to be written by NeoMark. Dani runs out of money so she and Wulf set out to make some.
Tropes:
- The '80s: Danny and his friends go to a convention about cartoons from that decade.
- Abhorrent Admirer: Queen Leona quickly becomes this to Danny because of her desire to conquer the world, trying to harm Star, and threatening his loved ones to force him to marry her.
- Accidental Truth:
- Vivian points out that Dani could be mistaken for Danny's twin if it weren't for her height.
- After seeing Danielle in her ghost form for the first time, Jack and Maddie believe she is Danny Phantom's little sister.
- All Amazons Want Hercules: Queen Leona wants to make Danny her consort because she's impressed with his strength and tales of defeating Undergrowth.
- All for Nothing: Danielle's attempts to make money ended up being pointless when Danny, unaware of what she was doing, reveals that they have safety money for her in case she goes overboard with spending for food. This leaves her so upset that she decides to spend money on food to feel better.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: Queen Leona wants Danny to be her husband, even if she must threaten Team Phantom to do so.
- Animal Jingoism: Upon witnessing the fight between Wulf and a ghost monkey named Hou, Misty's spell book says, "the old stereotype of dogs and monkeys lives on". Misty asks if the book meant dogs and cats but the book explains it's different in some parts of Asia.
- Anti-Villain: The Fear Felines have a strong sense of honor and agree to leave Team Phantom alone after being beaten by them.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Defied. When Danny says she won't believe what happened at the convention, Dani points out he hunts ghosts and she's his clone, so she doubts it could be crazier than stuff they experience. Dani takes it back after Danny tells her what happened.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Queen Leona rules the Fear Felines and is a skilled fighter.
- Attempted Homewrecker: Queen Leona of the Fear Felines doesn’t care if Danny is already dating Star because she wants someone strong like him to be her mate, and she’s willing to threaten Team Phantom to make him hers. Subverted after she loses and forms an alliance with Team Phantom.
- Big Eater: Danelle is as usual with a massive appetite, though it lands her in trouble when it's part of the reason she ends up broke. Even before she spent all of the money that Danny gave her, she spent what funds she had prior on fast food and Italian cuisine.
- Blatant Lies: When Danielle denies knowing how she and Wulf could have run out of money, he reminds her that he was with her during the last three days she spent it.
- Broke Episode: Danielle looks for a job because she spent her whole allowance.
- Brutal Honesty: Theodore reminds Donovan that Danny is the guy whose girlfriend he tried to steal.
- Bullying a Dragon: Donovan's gang throws an object at Dani's head out of spite. She gets back at them by pouring trash from a dumpster on them in public, which makes everyone laugh at them.
- Corrupted Character Copy:
- Man-Lord is an expy of He-Man, as evidenced by his use of phrases like "Fabulous secrets were revealed to me and thanks to them, I have the power!" and "By the might of the Grey Spine!". He becomes scrawny when his sword is destroyed. But whereas He-Man is genuinely heroic, Man-Lord picks a fight with Danny to test his strength and is reduced to a coward as he powers down.
- MECH is a stand-in for M.A.S.K., only for them to behave more like Venom, the villains of that series.
- The Fear Felines are a more villainous take on the ThunderCats, with their leader Leona being a Gender Flip of Lion-O. Though to their credit, they agree to leave in peace after Danny bests them.
- Cruel to Be Kind: Reginald threatened to sell Donovan's car and donate it to charity if he didn't get a job and buy a new one.
- A Day in the Limelight: Danielle and her quest to make some money takes center stage in this story, with Danny and friends off to a convention being secondary.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Queen Leona and the Fear Felines become allies with Team Phantom after being impressed by their skill and bravery when they beat them.
- Dumbass Has a Point: Theodore is the first one to notice how similar Dani looks to Danny.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Downplayed. Theodore and Vivian are surprised that Donovan would go after some random girl just because she looks like Danny, but it doesn't stop them from helping him.
- Everyone Has Standards: The manager of Big Jimmy's fires Donovan, Theodore, and Vivian for bullying Dani on store property, even though the three were on break. Plus, they were lousy employees during the week they worked for him.
- Evil Is Petty: Donovan, Theodore, and Vivian decide to bully Dani by throwing something at her head just because of her physical resemblance to Danny and they were looking for something to take their anger out on.
- Food as Bribe: When Wulf tries to scold Dani for spending money on food to feel better about trying to get money for nothing, she orders food from a barbecue place to appease him.
- Hate at First Sight: Donovan dislikes Dani because of her uncanny resemblance to Danny. The feeling is completely mutual.
- Heel–Face Turn: Queen Leona and the Fear Felines regard Team Phantom as allies after losing to them and even help them deal with Moltus.
- I Gave My Word: Queen Leona says this when accused of starting an earthquake right after entering a ceasefire with Danny.
- Graceful Loser: After losing to Danny and accepting his lack of interest in marriage, Queen and the Fear Felines become allies of Team Phantom and help them beat Moltus.
- Kick the Dog:
- Toadman and his goons bully Dani just because she reminds them of Danny.
- Hou insults Dani by calling her a cheap copy of Danny Phantom.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Donovan, Theodore, and Vivian not only get fired from Big Jimmy's for bullying Dani on store premises, but Dani gets back at them by pouring trash from a dumpster onto them, humiliating them in front of everyone, before Wulf scares the trio away.
- Misplaced Retribution: Donovan, Theodore, and Vivian bully Dani because she looks similar to Danny.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Queen Leona is willing to get rid of Star to make Danny hers.
- "Near and Dear" Baby Naming: It's revealed Danny was named after Maddie's grandmother Danielle.
- Never My Fault: Donovan still refuses to accept that he never had a chance with Star or that his despicable actions are what made her hate his guts and have his dad punish him, continuing to blame Danny.
- Noble Demon: Queen Lemona leaves Danny and his allies unharmed after being beaten.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Out of Maddie's relatives, her grandmother Danielle was the only one who didn't hate Jack.
- Oh, Crap!: Danielle has this reaction when she realizes that she spent all of her allowance on snacks.
- Pet the Dog:
- Dani is willing to use herself as a distraction to keep the Fentons from attacking Wulf.
- Jack actually appreciates Dani Phantom admiring the Fentons.
- Eleanor gives Dani $500 as a reward for saving her dog.
- Queen Leona and the Fear Felines help Team Phantom fight Moltus.
- Revenge by Proxy: Dani looks similar enough to Danny that Donovan decides to make her "suffer in his place".
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Queen Leona is fine with fighting by herself.
- Scarpia Ultimatum: Queen Leona threatens to hurt Danny’s friends if he doesn’t agree to be her mate.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Donovan tries to use this to intimidate the manager of Big Jimmy's when he fires him and his friends. Subverted because the manager doesn't care.
- Shout-Out: As noted above...
- Man-Lord is one to He-Man.
- MECH is one to M.A.S.K.
- Moltus of the Abnormaloids is one to Metlar of the Inhumanoids.
- Lepardo, Cougo, and Queen Leona of the Fear Felines are one to the ThunderCats.
- Strength Equals Worthiness: Queen Leona decides to make Danny her mate after hearing about his combat prowess. She gives up after he beats her.
- Take Over the World: Queen Leona wants to diplomatically take the world as part of her kingdom after marrying Danny.
- Tempting Fate: After Jack and Maddie fail to capture Dani, Maddie says things can't get worse. Jack admits the snacks he ate are about "to make their way out".
- Time Skip: A five-minute one after Dani says she doubts anything at the convention could be crazier than stuff they faced before.
- Villain Respect: Queen Leona seeks to make Danny her mate after hearing stories about his combat prowess. The Fear Felines are also impressed by Danny’s fighting skills after losing to him and form an alliance with Team Phantom, with Queen Leona even dropping her goal of making Danny her king.
- Villainesses Want Heroes: Queen Leona wants Danny as her mate so she can have a powerful king and is fine with threatening Team Phantom to force him into doing it. Subverted when she drops her plans after losing to Danny.
- Villainous Crush: Queen Leona of the Fear Felines wants to make Danny her husband because she’s impressed by his strength and is willing to threaten Team Phantom to get him. Subverted when she accepts he’s not interested and changes her ways by having the Fear Felines help him and Team Phantom deal with Moltus.
- Villainous Rescue: The Fear Felines come to Team Phantom’s aid against Moltus out of respect for Danny’s fighting skills after he beat them.
- We Are Not Going Through That Again: After Dani saves Eleanor's dog and receives $500 as a reward, Wulf takes the money from her so she won't squander it on a dozen pizzas, saying this trope word-for-word.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Wulf calls Danielle out on blowing through her allowance on junk food.
- Women Prefer Strong Men: Queen Leona wants to make Danny her mate because she’s heard rumors of his strength. She gives up after being beaten by him.
- Would Hurt a Child: Donovan sees nothing wrong with bullying Danielle, who is much younger than him.
- {{Yandere}: Queen Leona is willing to threaten Team Phantom to make Danny her king. It’s subverted when she drops her pursuit after losing and becomes allies of Team Phantom.
- Younger Than They Look: Queen Leona claims to be 17 years old in human years.
- Your Costume Needs Work: Wulf receives this kind of criticism from hecklers during his stint as a team mascot.
- Zeerust: As Danny and his friends go to a convention about cartoons from the 80s. Tucker thinks of the "goofy” ways they thought the future was going to be and admits he'd love to have cars that turn into jets.
