#neoyi talks

[neoyi]

Okay, cool. I can finally talk about the absolute catharsis I felt after fifteen years hoping - dreaming - of this moment because holy SHIT, they did it. They goddamn DID IT.

VLAD GOT HIS REDEMPTION ARC.

Let's talk about it...

By the end of the third season, Vlad Masters had ostracized the entire planet by exposing his true self (why), demanding money and total command of Earth, and completely wailing on Jack Fenton, driving away the only member of that family who unequivocally adored the man where every other Fenton knew him for who he truly was: utterly despicable and incapable of seeing the bigger picture.

Because, after all, he is a villain and that's just what villains do. Villains want power. Villains want to rule the world. There need not be more than that, and in another show, there wouldn't have to be. As far as Hartman was concerned, there is only a binary Good vs. Evil.

You would be hard-pressed to view the Vlad in "Phantom Planet" as the same man who anguished in desperate madness when his perfect clone son died in his arms. That was a Vlad who, by that point, had taken his biggest gamble and lost. I guess one could see his reasoning in season three as a "fuck it all, what even is the point" mode. But while "Eye For an Eye" (tellingly, the last major script helm by former main story writer Steve Marmel... just saying) promised a personal conflict, by the end of the show, he's made it much more external, far greater than what he and Danny's interwoven plot originally started off as.

Vlad is pathetic. Vlad is narcissistic. He is egotistical, entitled; a bitter, arrogant man who lives in his dream castle with all the money and privilege in the world that would leave him content a hundred times over, and it's still not enough.

Money is not Maddie Fenton, the woman he loves. Money is not Jazz, a child that should have been his. Money is not Jack's friendship whom he denies severely, the only part of his life who willingly embraces him. And money is not Danny, who is a half-ghost like him, and by all rights, should have been his son.

No one else could ever understand to the fullest extent of their uniqueness than Vlad and Danny would to each other, and the latter, for the longest time, hated that. Hated the way Vlad talked down to him and manipulated him, hated the whispers into his ears with promises of grand power if he just joined the billionaire's side and become his ward, hated when he caved in just once in front of Vlad's eyes who responded with a smug "See, I know you" reaction. Danny was fortunate to have good moral compasses from his family and friends, but the thing is, though, it's not about the healthy support structure he had, because Vlad had the chance to get some, too. Jack and Maddie loved Danny no matter what he was, and dollars to donuts, they would have for Vlad if the latter had approached them with his problems.

But he chose instead to be bitter and miserable, taking it out on everyone and expecting them to fall into his train of thought. The show knew what he did was wrong, but until season three, never stopped repeating his truest desire: to find love and squash his crushing loneliness.

Hartman couldn't provide a damn on what exactly was Vlad's "destiny" in "Infinite Realm"; it was vague gesturing to excuse his villainy. He was more than happy to abandon the life he's made for himself and the woman he loved in spite of two decades of planning, all on a whim for whatever time period the Infi-map was willing to take him, hoping maybe this one will give him the unconditional worship that he thinks he's deserved (by force, of course.)

Because he's the villain.

And for the longest time, the show ended with the idea that Vlad deserved to be stranded, away from people, because he simply could not help himself. To be fair, there is a lesson in that - some people genuinely DO go so far that there really is nothing more we can do other than stop the problem before they cause any further harm. I'm not denouncing that.

What I AM denouncing is the the narrative plant that's dug its way into the greater plot where an older Vlad in "The Ultimate Enemy", realized what a fool he had been. What he wouldn't give to start all over and be a better person. You don't just give someone a sympathetic goal like "looking for love", constantly provide the necessary stepping stones, and not have it set up for something far more substantial than what we got.

And even then, even if it still ended with Vlad being too far gone, I wonder, should the supposedly original plot arc for season three had been made, would Vlad's fate there been far more appropriate than whatever cartoonish supervillainy he ended up as by the time "Phantom Planet" ended?

I cannot speak for Gabriela Epstein. I cannot say how much Nickelodeon allowed her to tinker with the DP world. All of this is presumptuous speculation on my part, but this entire comic feels like they looked at season three, particularly "Phantom Planet", realized what a travesty that was, had their work cut out for it, and went about to make a post-series finale story that still paid tribute to its ending while wiping it off the map.

Vlad's redemption is the crux.

Within just a few panels, Gabriela Epstein provided an explanation on the why of Vlad's actions circa-season three. The Infi-Map was aimless because Vlad's purpose was aimless. And Vlad's purpose was aimless because his need to be in control was a manifestation of his greatest fear: being alone.

"A Glitch in Time" recontexualizes why Vlad traveled across time in "Infinite Realm." It wasn't a generic bad-guy-wants-to-rule-the-world-through-latest-plot-claptrap, but an act of utter desperation from a man who had since lost the biggest connection to his very being: Danny.

It started with Maddie (someone whom Vlad only interacts once in the comic, but is an acknowledgement of his villainous origin, nonetheless), and it may still end with Danny.

Never, in a million, billion years, have I even thought about another redemption arc... for Dark Danny.

And I am kicking myself for not even considering such an option. I had pegged him so far gone, so far past the breaking point to think otherwise. Dark Danny was suppose to be the outcome of a Danny at his literal worst: a too-late, too-little scenario. Back then, it was a symbol of Danny's rejection of what Vlad expected and desired of him.

But the comic made me sit down and think about the implication of Dark Danny's very existence, that of a man who lost his family and friends ten years ago as a child. Like Vlad, he, too was alone, and had carried a tremendous amount of pain and anguish that his human half just could not bear.

Yeah, they died because of a time loop HE created, but that doesn't erase that he was born from a horrible trauma that he could not properly cope with. And Vlad, try as he might, did not fix it. All he ended up doing was separate a ghost - infamous for their obsessions, and now, as the comic established, a carrier of human emotions - to exist. And Dark Danny carried so much raw emotion that he retaliated very, very violently.

Everyone's respond at that time was to fight him and stuff him in a Fenton Thermos for eternity. I am not saying Danny wasn't justified in fighting his darker self because the dude legitimately caused massive damage and likely murdered a hell of a lot of people, I am just saying Dark Danny is the byproduct of a scared, lonely, traumatized child.

And what does he do? He tries to take what he thinks is his by any means necessary. Vlad got his wish, he got the son he wanted.

And he's facing him now.

And he gets it.

He finally fucking GETS IT.

Which shouldn't have been a surprise because his "The Ultimate Enemy" counterpart got it. He looked at the devil that he created and lingered as a hermit in regret. And now Vlad - Vlad Prime - reacted the same.

Only this time, he can fix it.

I did not anticipate that Vlad's redemption would happen at the same time as Dark Danny's. I didn't expect the two of them to link other than the latter being another number in Vlad's bullshit entitlement count.

I love that it isn't Danny who heals him, but Vlad. It had to be Vlad. In order to own up to his actions, Vlad had to look at the eyes of the boy he was entrusted and corrupted beforehand and apologize for what he put him through. And I don't mean just "The Ultimate Enemy", Vlad is apologizing for everything he's done up to this point.

He (temporarily) sacrifices his body to stabilize Dark Danny who has fucked up the time stream so much that he wouldn't be able to exist otherwise. And only then do the two of them get what they've longed for.

Vlad gets a son.

Dark Danny gets a family.

Holy forking shirt balls.

I have a lot of problems with alternate counterparts sticking around longer than they should in the "main" setting of a show. Usually I'm fine when it's an alternate counterpart demonstrated as someone the hero is trying so hard not to be, because it's compelling to see what could have been under different circumstances. It's another thing when you have another version of the main character running around doing their own thing. Multiverse characters are inherently messy just by existing, but it gets worse when they take away from the uniqueness of the central protagonist.

There's something awkward about two Danny Phantoms living in the same world, and in any other scenario, I would have hated it. But Dark Danny is of a vastly different background brought forth from a long, nuanced, engaging history between him and Vlad.

Danny's central journey - the cusp of the show - has always been the Spider-Man mantra, "great powers = great responsibilities." You are in charge of how you carry the burden of your powers. Vlad has been the one constant always challenging and belittling his selflessness. "A Glitch in Time" had Danny asking himself, what is his purpose? Who is he now that everything has been neatly wrapped up?

Writing anything about who Danny is means Vlad is presented in some way, shape, or form. They are so thoroughly linked to each other, and it's that link that simultaneously serve to push their own individual character arc, and their relationship with each other.

So, Vlad gets a son. Dark Danny gets a family. They get a second chance, and it is up to them to work it out. I have no idea if Vlad got his wealth back. Everything is restored as is, except Danny's secret identity is secured again (which I am 100% fine with except for one notable exception, but that's another topic for another day) and implication that Vlad was just a crummy mayor with no indication the greater public is also aware of his Plasimus mode (which I am also fine with.)

There's a part of me who thinks he should have lost the money and power he's accumulated because he gained them through his vice, but if he's back in his Wisconsin cheese castle, then he can damn well use the money he has to not only benefit the world (charities, improving human lives, funding Fenton Works ;D...), but to raise his son.

Dark Danny is going to have to adjust to the idea that his father is Vlad, something he was already expected to do so when he orphaned himself and moved in with him. But it's Vlad who has to work the most out of the two: as a parental figure - as an adult - he's always had a power over Danny regardless of what timeline they're in. Most of the time, he's abused it heavily.

The second chance Vlad has been given here means he has the ability to provide a safe, healthy environment. It's more than he deserves. He failed with Danny and he absolutely failed with Dani (another can of worms in itself; she's not mentioned in the comic, and I imagine it's because her story would need a comic of her own), he cannot fail with this Danny.

Vlad shouldn't have been given a child at all until there was a guarantee that he could work through his bullshit, but Dark Danny is a special case. He is a kid who needs a home and someone to love him unconditionally, and Vlad needs to learn boundaries while giving selfless love in order to be loved himself.

Clockwork gave Vlad a test, so get studying, dude.

This does not erase how Danny Prime feels about him. He may never want to forgive Vlad, and that's his right. He can acknowledge however, that, in order to help those in need of healing, a door can be opened, even if slightly ajar.

For Vlad, that may just take a bit longer and that's completely understandable.

Vlad can't have the kind of relationship he wants with this Danny, but maybe one day, they can be equals - friends.

Like christ, I think this is the first time Vlad has actually, genuinely asked if Danny was alright.

The comic was already good prior to this, but just knowing - understanding that Vlad was more than "a villain" - meant after fifteen looooong years, we finally see the promises of a brighter future for a man with shitty priorities, but a sympathetic goal.

"It's over, isn't it? It's over, isn't it? It's over, isn't it..."

[atinylittleghoul]

okay @riinlai‘s post reminded of something from the ye olde DP phandom days.

you see at one point in time (and by that i mean like 2007) some people in the DP phandom got into gankutsuou -mostly around neoyi’s and busoni’s neck of the woods- which led to fanart fanfic and DP/gankutsuou AUs.

now i had to have been at least 11 or 12 when this became A Thing. and while i was into anime at the time no one really talked about gankutsuou for whatever reason so i had no idea wtf that was.

so whenever i saw DP/gankutsuou stuff i just. assumed that gankutsuou was someone’s DP AU thing because i thought the count looked like vlad (or at least in the fanart DP fans made of him) and that albert was danny.

it wasn’t until years later when i was a teenager that i came across some official gankutsuou art and screencaps that i went “wait so that WASN’T an AU? it was an anime all along??”

[ecto-american]

THIS IS REALLY RANDOM BUT does anyone else remember the chess piece fancomic? because i see a lot of people on here reminiscing about the old days of the DP fandom, but i've never seen anyone mention it? which is weird because i remember it being really popular back in the day but now everyone seems to have forgotten about it.

I know EXACTLY what you're talking about, which is so fucking weird because it used to be like? All over deviantart???????? I think as a general rule, most phans only really remember fanfictions and not really fancomics, which is a shame. I know there were some really good ones out there.

For those who don’t know what we’re talking about, Chess Piece is basically a comic by Neoyi on devianart. It's a DP AU set in the 1920s where Prince Danny is basically trying to find the seven gems. I don't really remember much beyond that, and the original place where you can read it (not on deviantart, it had it’s own website/blog of sorts) seems to have been taken down. I don't think it was ever completed, but again, the artist is Neoyi, and their deviantart can be found here.

[twilly224]

Haha sorry for the phone quality and bad art and bad handwriting but yeah! My brain went “what if all the knights were borbs and nobody questioned it” and I drew this.

@neoyi @silkspinningservant this was the thing I was talking about on the stream!

[neoyi]

I've been reading the Delicious in Dungeon manga in my free time and I JUST finished reading up to the part where they delve into Senshi's backstory and MAN, I HAVE THE FEELS NOW.

No wonder he wanted to feed the "young ones." No wonder he wanted to understand the dungeon's creatures. NO WONDER HE DID NOT WANT ANYONE ELSE TO STARVE MAAAAAAAAAAAAAN.

I'M GONNA LOSE IT WHEN THE ANIME GETS TO THIS PART.

[neoyi]

⭐ GASP!!! DASHING THIEF PEACH!!!!! ⭐

[neoyi]

Dave the Diver is perfect for the ADHD in me, a game that constantly gives you something new to do with its mini-games, side quests, and other knick-knacks while maintaining its chief fishing/restaurant sim without feeling overwhelming. I am engrossed with this game.

It has so much of what I love: helping NPCs with their Problems, organizing in-game items (arranging the menu to pick which sushi to sell is serotonin), collecting animals to complete a bestiary - I had this game for like three days and already clocked in fifteen hours. And I bet I haven't scratched the surface!

[neoyi]

Specter had to be paired with Plague because if he'd have been paired with King Knight, there would have been a murder.

[neoyi]

It's been a while since I read the Nimona comic, but the movie did a great job keeping the core of its message: corrupt government indoctrinates/always question/rebel against them, and learn to understand/empathize those ostracized/fucked over by higher power/society.

I remember the original comic ended on a more bittersweet note, with a more gray take on each of the main characters. Nothing wrong with it, but I love that the movie ended up hopeful. This time, Nimona is both accepted for who she is AND gets to be with her found family.

The other thing I took from this movie (although the same applied to the comic) is that Ballister is a mega hot DILF.

10/10 best dad.

Fully recommending Nimona. It's a funny, heartfelt, and queer as fuck movie. Teenage, shapeshifting girl wants to do murder with her awkward dad, like how is that not great?

[neoyi]

I see why this game took half a decade to finish; it's like a deranged 90s comedy-specific cartoon as if drawn on MS Paint, and yet it moves so fluidly with incredible exaggeration in... well, everywhere! Characters, enemies, the surreal, nightmarish backgrounds, whatever!

These screencaps don't do it justice, Peppino alone has so many varied expressions and poses that it blows my mind. I didn't think it was possible to draw 50,000 facial expressions for anxiety and/or rage, but Pizza Tower did and Peppino is a charging ball of sheer, relatable stress (He works in food service, I can't blame him!)

ALL of these I've taken myself are actually, legitimately, IN the game and they're amazing and funny and unexpected and funny.

And the music goes so hard. It goes so damn hard. Like it's earworm as if heard from the perspective of an anxious person.

This is a game that really does demand a lot from my fingers though, so I'll have to try and take it easy.

[neoyi]

YAKUZA 8 IS A SERIOUS AND POIGNANT GAME ABOUT LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE NO MATTER HOW OLD YOU ARE AND HOW MUCH LIFE HAS THROWN YOU FOR A LOOP. THROUGH DETERMINATION AND HOPE YOU CAN STILL SET OUT TO DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH THE LIMITED TIME YOU HAVE.

[neoyi]

Bless the Shovel Knight fandom for doing the Lord's work. I played an entire course with the Luan mod and my night has been made. Shout-out to Majora'sCask and Carpetcat for all their hard work - the sprite work is incredible.

You can get the mod here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3112789666

[neoyi]

Well...

I just finished Inscryption.

[neoyi]

Watching Bluey meant I'd be reading a bit of info on the show as a whole, so it's somewhere in the greater scope of the internet that I stumbled upon a general consensus from Bluey enthusiasts that "Sleepytime" was such a masterpiece that it ended up the highest rated IMBD episode for a time (over the likes of even "Breaking Bad" and "Attack on Titans" which is hilarious.)

What I did not expect, aside from the supremely beautiful depictions of space (hats off to the animators, this episode is gorgeous) and the incredible use of music (I did not know they used Gustav Hoist's "The Planets" which... I really need to get off my ass and listen to the whole score someday), was how inconsolable it left me.

Excuse me while I get emotional over a cutesy cartoon about a puppy who learns that someday she'll get older and be a "big girl" and that means learning to stand on your own two feet because the people you love may not always be there for you through varying circumstances, but also, they're in your heart and their influence will positively impact and carry you forward.

INCONSOLABLE.

[neoyi]

*takes a deep breath*

Okay, game, I'm ready to be proven wrong and that this game isn't the Man of Action energy vibe that I felt it was giving me, thus supporting my initial hesitations to play when it originally came out.

[neoyi]

My latest webcomic-turned-print grabs.