#i have a lot of strong opinions about jazz

[soarrenbluejay]

Supervillains for a community. (Well, except those jerks over in Gotham, insular lot, but they’re they’re one problem) Of course they do- supervillains are a group defined by strong opinions and a willingness to see them through, often with a healthy dash of societal failures and trauma as a catalyst.

The fentons, while not active even on the online message boards, are well known and explosive when they do show up, full of fascinating insights and hours long rants on mad science on hair pin turns courtesy of that ADHD attention span. Bit of the cryptids you feel honored to bump into kind of deal. Besides, like a good quarter of the community as it aged, they’d settled down and had kids (not necessarily in that order) and taken it very seriously! Out in the middle of nowhere, where even the most fearsome government outpost members, the local branch of the IRS, quake before them in fear. Out of the way.

Reveal gone okay-ish, Danny moves to Gotham still to get some air bc now things are Akward and he landed that engineering scholarship which is loads better than any other college would give him with his track record. So- the mysterious Fenton children are finally crawling out of hiding! Everyone is psyched! And roll in to Gotham en masse to witness the fireworks!

Except Danny is Determined To Be Normal. He’s had enough of the throwing himself into harms way shit for a lifetime- he wants to be free to peacefully built Rube Goldberg machines and unintentional increasingly complex bombs to his hearts content. JAZZ, on the other hand- the coveted token Normal One, has finally snapped! She’s watched her baby brother she practically raised throw himself into danger over and over and could do nothing, and now that she’s exposed to this whole network of superheroes outside of small town Amnity, some of those uglier emotions are coming out. And boy is she pissed! And can’t afford to show it much while filing the paperwork to have Arkham legally razed to the ground!

See I love this idea of like, niches in superhero society. A villain the heroes know they can plop their kiddo down with for an exciting afternoon brawl while they take care of a particularly grisly case and come back to a few hours later ranting about some new life lesson and a new move they really want to try. A villain who has a functioning moral compass despite their somewhat batshit long term goal and you can contact to fuck with another villains’s plan so they can laugh at them and you can have an easy afternoon. One who pries up hostile architecture and fills in pot holes, idk man. Get creative here, there’s such potential!

So Jazz becomes a Training villain- someone the heroes know their sidekicks will walk away from in a fight 100% of the time, usually with some new lesson to ponder and only a couple of bruises. Sometimes even snacks!

She also absolutely ambushes mentors to check that they’re worth the kiddo, which they appreciate once they get over being jumped in a dark alley by a 7 foot Amazon trained force of nature. They are not used to being on that side of the jumping, it’s a little unnerving.

(Yes, she low key adopts Shazam upon checking in with him on cursory ‘is the main hero of this city and asshole’ checkin. Yes, the super clones get yoinked out from under Superman’s negligent thumb to go have a blast with Ellie. What about it?)

This however only encourages more assorted weirdos to crawl out of the woodwork. It’s not often one of their own forfeits their potential spot for the running of the coveted Most Normal I Swear prize, but when they do it’s bound to be good! But jazz is off hounding various heroes and punching the faces in of pedophiles and shit whenever there’s no cape within easy reach, and so is a mite bit harder to contact than Danny, who has innocently gotten an apprenticeship under a clockworker for access to their workshop and is gleefully going about doing nerdy shit with great abandon.

Plus this is Gotham. No one gives a shit if someone in the Mad Alchemist uniform and still smoking from their latest experiment pokes their head in a window to bother the local shrimp teen- none of the usual social rules apply, everyone’s crazy here! So everyone drops any and all attempts at masking and just acts their genuine unhinged selves, much to the alarm of the Bats and frustration of Danny.

Bc he cannot get these mfers to go. Away. Even liberal use of the creep stick has little effect when the interloper is calibrated for an opponent with super speed or laser vision or whatever, and he’s trying to maintain his guise as a Normal College Student Do No Investigate.

So he calls in the big guns. He’s not super active in the supervillain kids group chat ever since things in amnity calmed the fuck down post becoming King and then immediately using a loophole that says he will not take the throne until he is grown, as defined by finishing learning his trade a la the medieval standards Pariah set up. So he can just take his sweet ass time with his graduate degree and out of inter dimensional bull shit that much longer! Point is, he hasn’t taken the chance to rant over there in a while, so his Crazy friends are getting a lil worried.

The change to come over and shout at their batshit crazy but (mostly) well meaning parent AND see Danny? Score!

The bats, however, are getting awfully suspicious about this one kid that villains from all over the country are flocking to, especially young and upcoming ones as of recently! And he’s acting his engineering course- all the worst rogues are known to have flown through their PhD studies prior to Cracking. They seem to have a real problem on their hands with this Fenton guy.

[meanbossart]

Oh boy, VaM is kind of a trial and error experience LOL I couldn't really show you how to use the interface and stuff without a whole video or something, but it's not THAT difficult to get a hang of if you just give yourself a day or two to play around, not to mention the number of tutorials you find out there. Luckily, if you only want to use it as a reference software that makes the process far easier (to this day I have no idea how to animate on that thing, since that's not what I use it for)

As for how I use it, it's pretty self explanatory - if there's a complicated pose I want to draw but I'm either having trouble with it, or just want to double-check angles/anatomy, I will use it as a resource! I use for most of my "proper" pieces (y'know, the nicer looking ones) and every once in a while for my silly comics if I'm having trouble with a pose.

Lets use this drawing for example (the character on top of DU drow belongs to @namespara )

I don't draw a lot of mud-wrestling (shocking, I know) but I had an idea of the kind of pose I wanted them to be in. So the very first thing I did was make a rough sketch of what I was envisioning:

I often do a rough sketch first, even If I know I'm going to be pulling the program up because A) It's less tedious than adjusting the models over and over again until I pick a pose and B) because sometimes I'll decide I don't need the reference, after all, and so that's 30 minutes I'll have spared myself of playing around on the software.

Now, this is a pretty complicated pose! It's in a weird angle and the bodies are making contact in ways I'm not used to depicting, so I did choose to whip out VaM for this one. I went into the program and after some messing around, I flopped my little dolls together like this:

Now something really cool about VaM is that you can completely customize your models, and if you have the patience, I would definitely encourage you to do so! Obviously, you don't have to make picture perfect replicas of every single character you have, but as you can see here I have made a DU drow "decoy" to help me better understand some of his features when I draw him: he has a strong brow, a short nose, a square jawline - these are all going to look a very specific way from certain angles, and I might not always be sure of how to draw it right! So it's useful to have models that bear SOME semblance to the character so you can better understand how different viewpoints will affect their bone structure and mass.

Also thank fucking god for the elf-ear slider. Figuring out how to draw those shits from certain angles was a huge pain in the ass when I started drawing DnD races.

So, with the reference in hand, I go over the sketch again:

Now you may notice that I don't stick to the reference 100%. There's three reasons for this:

posing on VaM is tedious as hell. You can get something incredibly natural looking and picture-perfect to reference from if you wish, but it's going to take you hours to do. So, for the most part I just slap guys together until the results are "close enough" and use that.

In my opinion, you should always aim to ENHANCE your reference material, not replicate it exactly!

While VaM is a PRETTY DANG GOOD source of anatomical reference, it isn't perfect, I often supplement it with further reference from real life resources or make tweaks based on my own knowledge where I catch it falling short (and, antithetical to what I just said, I sometimes fuck the anatomy up further on purpose if I think it looks better that way LOL it's all jazz baby).

Then lines, color, yada yada. I don't have a tutorial on that and I don't think I could make one, because my process is chaotic as hell, but I do at times use Virt-a-mate as loose reference for lighting too when coloring - waaaaayyyy less so however, because that process is even more tedious and I feel like I often get better results by just winging it. It is a feature of the program though, and I'm sure it would be helpful for someone who has a difficult time visualizing lights and shadows. I only started using this program a few months ago, so I happened to already have a pretty good understanding of that kind of thing and just don't personally feel like I get much out of that particular mechanic.

Here's a few other examples of pieces that I made reference for (WARNING: Suggestive)

Now, for the question many of you may want to ask:

"Can I trace this junk?"

And to that, I say: Buddy, you can do whatever the hell you want with the reference material you created.

However,

If your goal is to learn and improve your art, and to recreate realistic proportions and anatomy from memory, tracing won't help you.

Developing your own style, your muscle memory, and personal technique will all be hindered by choosing to trace instead of drawing from observation, so I would encourage against it. Hell - even when tracing is employed as a technique, it's usually by high-skill realism & concept artists who are looking to either cut some corners, save time, or just double-check their own proportions in order to improve further - if you try tracing as a beginner, you will most definitely find the result to still look stiff and "off".

So trust me, there is so much more to be gained from drawing from observation. Make note of tangents, compare proportions, use all the elements of the picture to dictate where and how things should go - it will be a far more rewarding experience.

Hopefully this has been helpful! VaM is a really cheap program (you get it on the guys' patreon for I think 8 dollars, just google it!) and it's definitely been worth my money as an artist since I found it. Learning to use it can be a little intimidating at first glance, but as I said above you only really need a day plus one or two tutorials to get a hang of the interface.

A fair warning though, IT IS A SOFTWARE MADE FOR VIRTUAL SEX/ADULT ANIMATION So when looking it up expect to see a some spicy content.

[suzukiblu]

WIP excerpt for tabetharasa behind the cut; alpha Jazz, a dark alley, and a very pretty omega. ( + non-chrono link for mobile users )

Jazz has no idea why Red Hood thinks he smells anything but delicious, but there’s a very reckless and dubiously-ethical part of her that would be willing to prove it to him. Not that she would, obviously, because that would be, again, incredibly unethical and highly inappropriate and also a total dick move. 

She just could, that’s all. Just if it came up or whatever. 

“Well, it’s not,” she says, mildly put out by whatever’s going on here, and Red Hood growls. His scent blockers continue to be useless. Just–absolutely useless, yes. 

Ancients, he smells so good. What is she even supposed to do about how good this omega smells? 

Maybe offer to walk him home, or at least offer him her jacket so he has enough alpha scent on him that no one bothers him on his way back to his den. Although he’s a crime lord–or a vigilante? one or the other, whatever–who’s built like a truck, so that probably isn’t really a concern, she supposes. 

Then again, some people seriously do have no sense of decorum. 

Or survival instincts. 

“Shut the fuck up!” Red Hood snaps. Jazz frowns. That seems like a disproportionate amount of anger in his tone. Maybe he's sensitive about his pheromones. Well, if people have been telling him he smells like death . . . 

Though “death” doesn't necessarily smell bad, in Jazz's opinion. 

Admittedly, that's a liminal's opinion and besides the point anyway. But still. 

“Alright,” she says. “But can you get to your den safely? Or . . . somewhere you can den down, anyway, I don't know. I assume you have a headquarters or a safehouse or two, something like that. Or at least can afford a heat hotel or know a decent clinic.” 

Red Hood hisses at her. It crackles through his modulator, but the sound of it still makes her jeans a little . . . uncomfortable, she'll just say. Sue her, she likes omegas with a bite to them. Johnny 13 definitely didn't win her over by being the sweet and polite type; he won her over by being a blunt asshole in a leather jacket who'd convinced her that he was a sincere and straight-up person. 

She wonders how “sincere” the average Gotham crime boss really is, but it’s a little difficult to concentrate on that question with the scent of old books and burning cedar filling up her nose. And also that note of lilac. That note of lilac is a problem. 

A serious problem. 

“I realize heat drop is probably imminent and you must be uncomfortable, but it’s a valid concern on my part, given your condition,” she says, which normally she’d make sound politely disapproving but really can’t make sound any kind of disapproving right now. Again: the lilac. “So can you?” 

“Fuck makes you think I'd let you anywhere near my den?” Red Hood snarls. Jazz blinks; tilts her head. 

“Nothing,” she says. “What makes you think I was asking to go anywhere near it?” 

Red Hood–stalls, briefly. Jazz tries to be polite about how incredibly obvious a tell that statement was. 

Flattering, but incredibly obvious. 

“I mean, I'd be happy to escort you if you’d like,” she says. “Or lend you my scent, if you need it. But I'm not trying to presume anything.” 

“Fuck off,” Red Hood snarls. “Nobody escorts an omega like me.” 

“Do you think maybe you have some self-esteem issues?” Jazz asks. Heat is almost definitely making him a bit more volatile and emotional than normal, considering the kinds of things he’s been saying to her, but it still seems like a valid question. Being on their cycle doesn’t make people different people; just makes it a bit harder for them to censor and control themselves. 

Or a lot harder, sometimes. 

Judging by how strong Red Hood’s pheromones smell right now . . . 

Well, he might be having a harder time than he’s used to having, so far as “controlling himself” goes. 

Jazz certainly is, all inappropriate knotheaded puns aside. 

Do Poison Ivy’s pollens make cycles hit harder, actually? Or does the suddenness of the effect disorient or throw people off, maybe? 

Well, that’s a worrying thought, since Red Hood seems to be out here alone. 

“‘Self-esteem issues’?” Red Hood repeats incredulously, his pheromones briefly sparking with bewilderment. Jazz decides not to press it, since he might be feeling a little vulnerable right now. 

“Yes,” she says. “Is there someone you can call, if you don’t want an escort or to borrow my scent? I could wait with you until they show. No offense, just Park Row’s not a very nice neighborhood.” 

Red Hood laughs. 

“No fucking shit!” he says, spreading his arms. “It’s Crime Alley!” 

“I know, sorry, I just keep accidentally calling it ‘Park Row’ in my head. Still new in town,” Jazz apologizes. She assumes a crime lord would prefer his territory be correctly referred to, anyway. Seems like a thing. She knows standard humans don’t actually have haunts–even most liminal ones don’t, including her–but sometimes she does . . . well, not forget, exactly, but just . . . expect them to anyway, she supposes? 

She spent way too long in Amity, yes. 

Even without Crime Alley being Red Hood’s actual haunt, though, it’s still disrespectful to call it the wrong name. It’s still his territory either way, and she imagines someone on their cycle especially wouldn’t appreciate the mistake. 

“What is your damage?” Red Hood snarls, his voice modulator crackling threateningly as he visibly bristles, and Jazz catches notes of that electric and unexpected edge in his pheromones again. Still vaguely familiar, but still not quite what it seems like it should be. Just . . . 

Really, if she didn’t know better . . . well, she’d think he was liminal. But that seems like a very unlikely coincidence for her first week in Gotham, so . . . 

Then again, her life is her life. 

It’s not really the time to be asking Red Hood about his levels of ecto exposure, though, and she’s pretty sure they’ve both got more important priorities right now. 

“We don’t really have time to unpack all that, to be honest. You really do need to get home,” she says. “Or at least call someone to pick you up. If you go into heat drop alone in Crime Alley, I can’t imagine it’s going to end well.” 

Red Hood hisses. That might’ve sounded like a threat, Jazz realizes belatedly. 

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she says, apologetic again. “But it’s not safe, is it?” 

“If anyone I don’t want near my ass tries to touch me, I’ll put a bullet up theirs,” Red Hood growls, low and crackling. 

“That seems like a lot of trouble when you’re on your cycle, though,” Jazz says. He’d have a body to deal with, and maybe someone would call the cops–well, she supposes it is Crime Alley, so maybe not . . .? But it’d be self-defense anyway, and if he is a crime lord, maybe he has people for that. 

Hm. 

She really needs to get familiar with this area as soon as possible, yeah. And just Gotham in general, really. Every city has its own idiosyncrasies, but Gotham is its idiosyncrasies. 

Well, so is Amity Park, of course. 

“I think you belong in Arkham, lady,” Red Hood says. Jazz feels like a Gothamite should be more understanding of someone taking supervillain attack side effects and hostile heated-up crime lords in stride, but apparently not. 

“Technically, you’re not wrong,” she says with a wry smile. She’d offer him a handshake, but that’s not really appropriate for an alpha to offer to an omega in heat. Especially not an unmated alpha, which Jazz very definitely is. “I start Monday. Jazz Fenton, psychiatric intern. At your service.”

Red Hood manages to very clearly stare at her without actually taking off the helmet. It's actually an impressive amount of expressiveness to get across, under the circumstances. 

Or there could be a touch of liminal empathy happening, admittedly. That's possible too. Especially with another liminal involved. 

Jazz briefly considers what knotting a liminal omega might actually be like if an empathy loop got established somewhere in the process, which is a lie, because what she’s actually imagining is picking up this liminal omega and showing him exactly how delicious she thinks he smells. 

Definitely inappropriate. 

“They will literally eat you alive,” Red Hood says. 

“I mean, there’s a risk of it,” Jazz allows, because nothing is a perfect guarantee. It’s just not a very large risk. Comparatively, she means. 

“You applied to Arkham on purpose, lady?” Red Hood says disbelievingly. 

“Oh, no,” Jazz says, shaking her head. “They made me an offer. Somebody read my thesis and liked it, apparently.” 

Well . . . “thought we should interview you for either a position or to have your file established for whenever the convictions start rolling in”, whichever. The interviewing psychiatrists had a range of reactions during her interview, she supposes is the best way to put it. 

Jazz really doesn’t think it’s fair to classify her parents as actual supervillains, but an increasingly long list of professionals has, admittedly, not agreed with that assessment. 

She can’t imagine what they would’ve thought if she’d told them about Danny, considering. 

Well, it’s not her problem if someone else is going to be close-minded about things like that. 

“I’m sorry, I’m really not trying to be pushy here, but are you sure you don’t want to call anyone? Or want my scent. Or . . . literally anything,” she says, gesturing a little awkwardly with her shopping bags. “I do get told my pheromones are pretty discouraging to unwanted attention, if that helps?” 

“Sure they are,” Red Hood snorts. Jazz tries not to look disapproving, given his compromised state. That kind of thing can bother omegas in heat, she knows. 

“That’s what people tell me,” is all she says. Obviously it’s not just the default parts of her scent that make it a strong deterrent, but as for the force of the emotions and claim she can put into it . . . 

Well. She just hears it’s “discouraging” to other alphas pretty regularly, that’s all. And also some betas, depending on their sexuality. And, um . . . well, a little closer to “catnip”, for omegas, but . . . 

“I’ll believe it when I smell it, knothead,” Red Hood snorts again. “Prove it.” 

Jazz isn’t sure that’s a good idea, considering–again–his compromised state, but, well . . . he’s clearly a strong omega himself, and maybe she’s a little miffed by him just assuming she’s lying about something like that, that’s all. She knows plenty of alphas do lie about their pheromones or even lay on fake ones, but . . . well, it’s hard not to wonder if he just thinks she’s a lesser alpha because she’s female, or because of how she’s dressed or looks or speaks, or just because. 

Her inner alpha doesn’t love the experience of one of the most gorgeous-smelling omegas she’s ever scented sneering at her worth as an alpha without even giving her a shot to prove it, either way. 

“Are you sure?” she asks.

[sleepy-grav3]

Obsessions

More of a ramble, but it could be taken as a prompt. Closer to a headcanon though.

Tw: swears, bad lab safety, murder (Dan's human half)

So you guys know how Danny's obsessions is either space, protection, or both of them? Well if it had to do with protection, what happened with Dan?

Obsessions are more of a ghost thing. His humanity was killed with his human half? What if that wasn't it?

Protection is actually a much wider spectrum. It doesn't just have to do with protecting someone else, but also yourself.

Getting rid of Dan's human half got rid of his morality, his humanity, the hero in him.

What if it also mutated his Obsession?

A lot of people like to call his obsession violence, maybe even family for a select few. But I think it should be Safety.

Yes, safety is basically synonymous with protection, but there are differences apparently. I'm more focused on differentiating them though. It just helps separate Danny and Dan's obsessions from each other to avoid misunderstandings.

But point is- what if Dan's obsession is actually about protecting himself? What if his obsession is keeping himself safe?

When he got separated from his human half, it was because his human half wanted him gone. There must've been some underlying part of Ending him, killing him, really making sure he was gone. And Dan would know. He was just the same mind as the other half before the separation took place.

So to keep himself safe, to protect himself, he killed off his human half. He knew how smart they were. You can't live with scientists, modifying their inventions to become less lethal, without learning a thing or 2.

And then there was Vlad. He was strong. The human half of him was what made Danny so durable, as he was resistant to anti-ecto equipment thank to that. Which meant Dan was weaker now and Vlad could easily avenge that Danny or take control of Dan. That's not even mentioning that he was only half a being.

So he stole Plasmius and fused, overpowering the other. Then becoming Dan and all that.

But then the whole world was still against him, with the GIW and all that (I don't know if they were introduced by then, but let's just imagine they were). They were a threat. The people hating him could all grow a pair and make weapons if they tried hard enough, so they were a threat.

So he killed them.

Then the time shenanigans came in and he met his younger self. That would obviously mess with reality somehow. Enough that he'd disappear. So he went to save himself by trying to make the same events happen to Danny.

It would make sense. So yeah. Dan's obsession is Safety in my opinion.

Maybe in a redemption arc, he protects his family (he won't admit that he thinks of them like that) because it'll affect his mental and emotional heal. He's trying to save himself from heartache of losing someone else.

Did you think that was it? Hell no. Let's continue with Vlad.

I bet his obsession is family. Obvious enough, but yeah. He considers Danny his son, Maddie his wife. No idea why he ignores Jazz despite her looking much more similar to Maddie than Danny.

Like- yeah, Danny is the one with ghost powers. But Jazz has the looks, specifically the hair. idk, I feel like he should obsess more for her.

"She has my eyes" not really "and Maddie's hair" yep.

That type of thing. He's delusional enough in the show.

Then there's Elle/Ellie/Dani. Obvious and agreed upon enough: Freedom.

But what about Jazz?

What if she became a halfa or considered liminal enough for an honorary obsession?

I'd think hers would be stability. She wants everyone to be ok, normal, and she's canonically a control freak. Sure, hers could be control, but I feel like she isn't much in the controlling thing.

Psychology, for example, is seeking stability and recovery. Recovery doesn't work much because I don't see her fretting over paper cuts or anything like that. But I bet she wants a break for everyone. and everything would be fine if everything went the same. Was normal. Was stable and not out of control like a government branch trying to commit war crimes and mass genocide.

This could probably be put differently. Maybe a different word, but I feel like this fits? Idk, maybe I'm not explaining this right, but this is technically a ramble.

Oh! And this makes sense if Jazz is the halfa. "I'll make sure everything stays the same" Everything becomes stable. There's still a problem, but as long as it's dealt with accordingly, it's ok.

Completely off topic, but there's this artist that draws Jazz as Jazz Phantom with blue hair and I think an orange headband and she's SO pretty like that. I almost want to get back into art to draw fanart with that now stuck in my head. She's just so PRETTY! she's pretty as a human too but- just- I love the blue hair. I love the idea in general. Made me get to the point of actively simping for Jazz and not just being a fan-

Anyway!

Jazz's obsession is stability.

and the Fenton Parents are just plain crazy. They have stuff to block out ectoplasm, right?

They still show skin. They still breathe in air with ambient ectoplasm in it.

What the fuck is their obsession called? Is it shared? Is it the same?

Are their kids part of it?

I'm not sure. Oh shit-

What the fuck would their obsessions be???

Just ghosts?

It could be but it could be more.

It could be so much more.

I bet Wes was hanging around Danny so much that he became liminal enough to get an honorary obsession. Sam and Tuck too.

Wes - Exposing the Truth

Sam - Save the Earth

Tuck - Technology

[selinakylemybeloved]

my batfam music hcs:

not totally sure what kind of music dick would like. on one hand, i think he'd have a workout playlist of hyperpop. on the other hand i think he got really into shitty emo music as a teenager and still listens to it in adulthood. and also that man plays generic dad rock in the car.

babs would listen to video game soundtracks bc she knows they help with focus. i also saw a hc somewhere that she listens to indie pop and i agree with that.

jason pre-pit wouldn't have super strong opinions of music, he'd probably like showtunes (he would LOVE epic: the musical) and possibly some video game soundtracks. i think after the pit, he just likes music that expresses a lot of emotion. edm, rap, metal- doesn't matter, as long as it has a strong vibe and preferably a hint of edge.

tim listens to lo-fi study beat playlists on youtube and nothing else. he's the kind of person who 'doesn't listen to music.' steph has tried to get him to at least have preferences within lo-fi and he completely refuses.

steph listens to literally everything. like, everything. her playlist is hours of whiplash for everyone else. and she doesn't listen to everything in a doesn't-care way, she listens to anything genre-wise but is very invested in the artists that she pays attention to.

cass is a pop girlie through and through. she had a charli, chappell, and sabrina summer. i also think that she wouldn't care much about the lyrics of a song and would probably listen to a lot of music regardless of the language that it's in.

damian acts like he only likes classical music. he has been caught listening to anime openings, jazz, and dick's workout playlist. he denies this. it is unclear to everyone else why he's embarrassed about this.

duke likes most music in that he doesn't have that many strong preferences, but steph has desensitized him to enough music that he can enjoy whatever. he prefers rap and pop, tho.

bruce is a kpop fan

[five-rivers]

Cracked Clay Cup Chapter 4

Phic Phight Phic! @greatbigolhampuckjustforme

“Ughh,” said Danny, falling onto Clockwork’s couch.  

Yes.  Danny.  Despite Jazz lying to him a lot, the name had grown on him.  She wasn’t bad.  Just.  Bad at lying.  And sort of… constantly suspicious.  And definitely not his mother.  He was pretty sure she cared about him.  No one who didn’t care about him would push schoolwork that hard.  

Unless she’d been trying to harvest his brain.  

Yeah, he’d sort of decided that wasn’t what was going on by the end of the second day.  It was still kind of fun to say.  Jazz’s face had made some very funny movements when he brought it up.  It was kind of… endearing.  Yeah.  

“Hello, Daniel,” said Clockwork.  “I take it you had a good time with Miss Jasmine.”

“It was… A time.  I think she did know me before.  She had a lot of funny stories from when I was a kid.  And she had a really nice bedroom for me.  They do their own decorating, right?”

“They acquired and furnished the homes you will be staying in from their own resources, but they may have hired decorators.”

“Okay.  She had very strong opinions about schoolwork.”

“You will find that many of your potential guardians have strong feelings regarding your education.”

“Great,” said Danny.  He rubbed his face.  “Now what?  Do I just jump right into the next one, or do I get, like, a grace period or something?”

“You can take as long to recover from your experience as you’d like.”  He sounded amused.  “You don’t need to push yourself.”

“Mhm,” said Danny.  He stared up at the ceiling.  “Can I see the list again?”

Clockwork set the folder gently down on his lap.  

“Thanks,” said Danny, opening the folder.  “I was thinking about going to the other extreme this time around.  The oldest.  Which page are they?”

“Green,” said Clockwork.  

Danny looked up.  Clockwork’s tone had seemed… off.  But his expression wasn’t any different.  What Danny could see of it, anyway.  He’d turned slightly away, so he only saw the edge of his face.  

He looked back at the manilla folder and the green piece of paper.  

“So,” he said, “ do you know this… Oculus and Orbis?  Those are kind of weird names.  Maybe not too weird for ghosts, though.  Oculus and Orbis.  Eye… and also eye.  Wow.  Wonder if I’m going from someone who wants to steal my brains to someone who wants to steal my eyes.”

“They won’t try to steal your eyes.”

That sounded unconvincing in the extreme.  

“Are you sure?”

“Relatively so.”  That actually sounded rather threatening.  Danny gave him another look, but, again, he seemed fine.  Mostly fine.  

“So…  Married couple.  That’s different.  Maybe they’ll be more like grandparents?  Interests… Coloring.  I guess they mean, like, adult coloring books?  That’s pretty cool, I didn’t mind drawing at Jazz’s.  Watching…  I think they must have left something off here, it just says watching.  Watching… Sunsets?  TV?  Movies?”

“You will have to wait and see,” said Clockwork as he adjusted a painting on the wall.  It was of something generic and pastoral, but it was nice.  

“And… ew.  Astrology.  Do they really like astrology?”

“I can only refer you back to the information sheet.”

“Okay,” said Danny.  “Fortune telling isn’t real, right?”

“It depends on your point of view.”

“You can time travel, right?”

“That is within my powerset, yes.”

“Huh,” said Danny.  “So, you could see the future.”

“I could,” said Clockwork.  “To some degree.”

“So, you already know who I will pick.”

“Not exactly,” said Clockwork.  “Time follows a somewhat more complicated path than that of an arrow.”

“An arrow’s path doesn’t have to be simple, anyway.  It bends, because of gravity.  Unless you’re in space.”

“Indeed.  Have you eaten dinner?”

“Not yet,” said Danny.  “But shouldn’t you already know that?”

“It is polite to ask.”

.

Danny laid awake in bed.  He missed the stars in the bedroom he had at Jazz’s.  The blankets were comfier here, though.  And there were more pillows.  Tradeoffs.  He still hadn’t asked Clockwork if he’d done his own decorating.  

Yeah.  It wasn’t at all bad here.  But he wondered if he had, maybe, acted too quickly with leaving Jazz.  

It was a little too late to doubt his decision, though.  He couldn't undo it.  Not without Clockwork cooperating.  He didn't really want to undo it, anyway.  There were all the other people to visit and figure out and whatever.  

Hopefully, by the end, he'd be able to figure out enough to understand himself. 

He held his hand up over his head, fingers splayed, and tried to reach for the spark of transformation that Jazz swore up and down existed.  Nothing happened.

He sighed and rolled over in bed.  He'd think about it in the morning.  Or never.  Never sounded good. 

.

Danny bounced down the stairs two at a time.  “Breakfast?” he asked, hopefully.  

“Potatoes o'brien with gravy and eggs,” said Clockwork.  “I must confess, I’m surprised you aren’t flying down the stairs.”

“Haven’t really figured it out properly yet,” said Danny, throwing himself into a chair.  “I kept trying at Jazz’s, but I kept running into the walls and ceiling and stuff.  And where would I fly to, anyway?”

“I see,” said Clockwork, sounding vaguely amused.  

“Not what you expected of me, huh?”

“Not particularly.”

“Well, that’s just what happens when you erase someone’s memory and throw them into weird situations with redheads that are a little too obsessed with brain surgery.”

Clockwork’s answering hum was definitely amused.

“Would you like juice with your breakfast?”

“Do you have hot chocolate?” asked Danny.  “With whipped cream?”

“I do,” said Clockwork.  “Would you like some?”

“Please.”

Clockwork pulled an enameled teakettle from one of the cabinets and set it on the stovetop.  The enamel was purple, of course.  

“Are you still set on visiting Oculus and Orbis next?”

“I mean, I’d have to visit them eventually, anyway, right?  That’s the rule, isn’t it?”

“Technically speaking, no.  If you feel a strong enough connection with one of the candidates, you can forgo meeting the rest of them.”

“Wow,” said Danny.  “You really don’t like them.”

“I do not want my feelings to influence you.”

“That’s not a denial.”

Clockwork set the plate down in front of Danny.  “I do not want my feelings to influence you, negative or positive.”

“Sure,” said Danny.  He started to shove food in his mouth.  “So, Jazz told me something weird when I was over there.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.  Something about me being half ghost.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Yes?  Yes?  You mean that’s a real thing?”

“To some degree, yes,” said Clockwork.

“What does that mean?”

“You have a variety of extremely rare abilities,” said Clockwork.  “Whether those are the results of being half ghost, part human, a superb but singular transformation ability, or something else… That is a matter for debate.”

“Okay, so, transformation.  How?”

“Alas, for all that I can see, I cannot see into your mind.  I do not know how your transformations felt to you, nor how you accomplished them.”

“Oh,” said Danny, pushing around a stray piece of egg on his plate.  That was unhelpful, but he supposed it made sense.  “There’s not anything going on like, um, you’re keeping me from transforming on purpose?  Like how you said you’ve changed my appearance.”

“No,” said Clockwork.  

“Okay,” said Danny.  He scraped together the last of the potatoes.  “I’m going to go get ready before I go.  I’m still going to Oculus and Orbis.”

“Mm,” said Clockwork.  

Yeah, Danny could definitely tell Clockwork didn’t like those two.  This would probably be short, compared to his stay with Jazz.  He went upstairs and brushed his teeth before changing.  Jazz had gotten on his case about that more than once.  

What to wear today… hm…  He flipped through his closet.  Hm.  How about the skirt…  It was a nice silvery green.  And what to go on top?  That jacket was about the same length as the shirt.  And, hm, he didn’t feel like going pants-less… Or stockings.  Maybe capris?  He could do capris.  Those were cool.  Then he could show off the socks Jazz had given him.  

Were those here?  He looked through the sock drawer.  They were.  Huh.  

He really wished Jazz had been honest with him.  He really did.  And maybe a little bit less crazy about school.  Because he was absolutely sure that what she’d had him doing was over and above what schools would do.  

He pulled on his solar system socks.  

Okay.  He was ready.  

He went downstairs.  “I’m ready.”

“I see that,” said Clockwork.  “Your socks are very nice.”

“Oh, thanks!”  

Clockwork tilted his staff to the side and a portal formed.  “As before, press the button when you are ready to return.”

Danny nodded and stepped through.  Once the blue rush of the portal cleared from his ears and eyes, he found himself in a massive marble foyer.  Circular decorations in black and gold were inset in the stone.  Waiting in the center, holding on to each other’s elbows, were the strangest couple Danny had ever seen.  

Well, they were the only couple Danny had ever seen.  They were tall, robed in rich fabrics trimmed in gold and black.  Their skin was a textured, vivid green, and they were totally bald.  Well.  They were wearing wigs, but they were very obviously wigs.  One wig was blonde and long, the other was silver and short.  Both of them covered their eyes.  One was also wearing a long skirt and delicate jewelry.  The other wore bulky jewelry, gloves, and some sort of black sheath over its tail.  

“Phantom,” they said, simultaneously, spreading their arms wide. 

“My dear,” said the one in the skirt in a surprisingly high-pitched voice, “it is so good to see you again.”

“You haven’t had any problems with the riff-raff harassing us with this ludicrous custody dispute, have you, son?” asked the other, in a surprisingly low-pitched voice.  

“No?” said Danny, dodging a hug.  “I haven’t had any trouble.”

“Excellent news!  But now you’re back with us,” said the deep-voiced and vaguely masculine one.  “So you don’t need to worry about it anymore.  All our worries are over.  From now on, we have all our days ahead of us, full of joy and light!”

Danny… was pretty sure that last sentence didn’t make sense.  

“Yes, yes,” said the higher-pitched one.  “We will care for you now and forever.  Your days will be filled with the luxury you so richly deserve.”

“Luxury, huh?”

“Of course, love,” said the high-pitched one.  “Luxury, beyond the dreams of the masses.  Not your dreams, of course.”

“Um,” said Danny.  

“The best foods, the best clothes, the best games–  Everything those other fools would deny you!”

Danny had the distinct sense he was being bribed.  

“Okay,” he said, “but, um, what are your names?”

They looked at each other.  “I am Oculus,” said the low-pitched one.  

“I am Orbis,” said the high-pitched one.  

“Right,” said Danny.  “And who is Phantom?  Is that some kind of ghost pet name?”

“It is your name,” said Orbis.  

“Oh,” said Danny.

“Did Clockwork not tell you?”

“He told me my name is Daniel.”

“Hm,” said Orbis.  

“Hm,” said Oculus.  “Be that as it may, your name is most certainly Phantom.  You have no other.”

Yeah.  Danny wasn’t buying that.  

“Okay,” he said, out loud.  “So, um, how do I know you guys?”

“Well,” said Orbis, sniffing slightly, “we rescued you from those awful ghost hunters, didn’t we?  They treated you so terribly, we couldn’t help but intervene, and then, well, we fell in love with you.  Who couldn’t?”  They started laughing.  The laughter went on for… a while.  

Danny smiled tightly and nodded.  

“But enough of that!” said Oculus.  “We must give you the grand tour!  Show you all the things that are now, and will forever be, yours!”

What followed was a lengthy hike through an absolutely enormous, almost castle-like mansion.  There was so much stuff.  So many things.  Toys, furniture, games, computers, decorations, flowers, perfumes, food.  It was dizzying.  

“And,” said Oculus, gesturing grandly at a set of rooms larger than Jazz’s entire place, “these are your rooms!  There’s an ensuite - with a pool of course - and your favorite video games, and we can’t forget your mini-kitchen, completely stocked–”

Danny sort of tuned them out as they went down the list of things in the rooms, eyes sliding over various accouterments and accommodations.  It was all very nice.  But it was also, somehow, empty.  

Well, the stuff was cool.  He didn’t understand what was going on with the people, but… He could stay here a few days.  

.

Danny wandered the frankly enormous house, looking for his supposed guardians.  He was pretty sure it was in the middle of afternoon, and he had yet to see them.  This, he thought, was not conducive to actually getting to know them.  

So, he was searching as methodically as he could, given the nonsensical layout.  There was a swimming pool in the middle of a ring of kitchens, for goodness sake.  There was a library in the basement.  

But finally, he did it.  

“Uh,” said Danny.  He was pretty sure this one was Orbis.  Long haired wig, light jewelry.  Yep.  “Orbis?”

They didn’t turn around.  

“Orbis?” he repeated.  He came close me.  “Excuse me?  Orbis?”  He tapped their shoulder.  They jumped about a foot.  

“Goodness, child!  Why didn’t you say something if you wanted my attention.”

“I… did,” said Danny.  “Are you not Orbis?”

“I,” said the ghost.  “Yes.”

The other ghost glided into the room.  “Did I hear someone calling me?” they asked.  They were dressed identically to the first.  

Danny looked between the two of them as they started gesturing emphatically at each other.  He knew that ghosts could be weird, and there were a number of different lifestyles that could result in… whatever this was… but he sort of didn’t think that was what was going on.  Actually, he didn’t–  Were these ghosts shorter than they were yesterday?  He hadn’t been paying all that much attention to their dimensions…

The gesture battle they were having, as if they thought he couldn’t see them, was definitely suspicious.  Was there a ghost version of sign language?

Yeah, this was escalating.  He edged closer to the arguing ghosts.  He was about to do something that could be considered socially crass, but…

His hand flashed out and grabbed the wig of the nearest ghost.  He pulled it loose.

Without the wig, the ghost was completely bald.  They were also obviously one-eyed.  They turned to stare at him, that one, huge, eye wide and alarmed.  

Now, Danny didn’t remember all that much, but he knew who the Observants were.  

“Yeah,” he said, grabbing the pocketwatch.  “I’m out.”

[going-to-ikea-for-the-fries]

I totally love ur interpretation of alphas smelling kinda nasty it's not my thing but it's very cool and fun!!! (Pls share where you disagree with me I love hearing other opinions)

For some reason to me, omega! Price is fresh baked bread. Like it just seems correct to me idk why

Beta! Price is herbal. Maybe w some very slight powdery notes. But mostly like tea and old books. The smell is on the warmer side even tho I tend to see beta scents as more... cold? If that makes any sense

Alpha! Price is either a sharp, pine scent. Like a Christmas tree farm. OOOOOR this really yummy perfume I have called Jazz Club by replica. It's such a good scent and I feel like either price or ghost fit the vibe of it.

-🔪

Interesting!!! Also Pine Price? Yes yes??!??! 🫵🫵🫵

(I will be highjacking this to post my own hcs!)

(UPDATED) The 141's Scents in an A/B/O AU: Depending on Presentation

Follow-up on these two posts:

As a reminder, these two posts follow a theory of mine that:

Alphas smell so strong and overpowering, bordering on just smelling Bad™️;

Betas smell natural and comforting (average, no major complaints);

Omegas smell sickly sweet and so overwhelming it could make someone ill.

Johnny

Omega Johnny smells like the syrup that surrounds and preserves canned fruit. Canned peaches especially.

Beta Johnny smells like the sea. Salt water, seaweed… that kind of thing.

Alpha Johnny smells like shoe shiner, or another product like that. Maybe wet paint or varnish?

Kyle

Omega Kyle smells like something warm and cosy and gooey that melts in your mouth. My brain is saying honey or honeycomb, caramel or toffee maybe?.

Beta Kyle smells like freshly cut grass, and ivy. Especially when the freshly cut grass is damp too.

Alpha Kyle smells like nearly vinegary and acidic. The best way I can say it is... strong wine that has just started fermenting.

Simon

Omega Simon smells like talc/baby powder. Makes you wanna bury your face in him and sniff like you do to a newborn baby.

Beta Simon smells like old books with yellowed pages. Not necessarily musty or bad.

Alpha Simon smells of black pepper.

ALTERNATIVELY:

Omega Ghost wears scent blockers. You'd never know what he smells like because he doesn't let you. (It's vanilla sugar)

Beta Ghost smells of freshly carved wood furniture, unfinished and unvarnished, still full of splinters and rough edges.

Alpha Ghost smells strongly of burning. Like a campfire, a forest fire, maybe gasoline or sulphur.

John

Omega John smells like lemon merengue. Sickly sweet and tangy at once, with a softness that melts in your mouth.

Beta John smells like a forest, maybe a rain forest, but I could also see him smell of pine and very obviously so. But the kind of pine that people sometimes mistake for mint?

Alpha John smells like rusted iron and dirt... Which a lot of people confuse with fresh blood. Especially when he's angry and his scent mutates.

[mageknight14]

Dissecting the Femme Fatale Archetype: A Dive into Kanon Tachibana's Character

Kanon Tachibana is one of my favorite TWEWY supporting cast members. Probably not a truly unique opinion, as she's one of the more positively-received characters I've seen when it comes to online opinions on the game, but she's one of my favorites because she’s a perfect example of NEO’s more subtle character writing and gets the perspective flipped on her twice when you initially play through the game and then replay it. So, with that, let's get into her character and what makes her tick in particular.

When we first meet her, she doesn’t make the best first impression, what with her stealing the hard-earned victory pin from Rindo/Fret’s noses and sweet-talking them into letting her keep it (I also love how she glares at Shiba’s announcement, having seen this old song and dance).

Combine this with what the Social Network says about her leading other teams to their doom thanks to her honeyed words and sweet disposition and what we seemingly have is a classic case of the femme fatale character, someone who’s NOT to be trusted.

However, as we progress through the game, we can see that there’s actually a lot more to her than meets the eye. Even after point-sniping them, she still comes forward to give the Twisters advice from time-to-time when it comes to matters regarding the Game. Encouraging them to take on more team members, warning against going up to fight the Ruinbringers (Susukichi in particular), all that jazz.

At the same time, however, she also takes care to reaffirm that she’s also suspicious of the Twisters and their capabilities, often showing surprising amounts of protectiveness when it comes to the other team leaders. These switches between friendly teasing and hard-hitting accusations understandably unnerve the team a bit.

On top of that, throughout the weeks, she also shows a talent for picking apart Fret's surface-level compliments/attempts at flattery, herself being an expert when it comes to that sort of thing as noted by her Social Network profile.

While she is mainly looking out for herself and the Variabeauties, she also does have a sense of honor/fair-play when it comes to be able to fight on an even playing field, which she showcases in her alliance proposal to the Twisters on W2D3.

In the span of one convo, she was able to:

-Pick out that the Twisters are the biggest wild cards in the structure of the Game and note them as such, giving them incentive to look into their own capabilities and find her offer more appealing when weighing their options.

-Play into their doubts regarding the Game and reaffirm to them that this is really the only option they have left at this point if they want to have any hope of actually escaping.

-Blow away Fret’s preconceptions that she’s just as ingenuine as he is as shown by his nervous laughter

-Emphasize that if they’re able to pull it off, it’s a win-win for everyone involved.

It’s made apparent that Kanon is an incredibly skilled negotiator, though understandably Rindo still has her doubts about her because she’s been equal parts threatening and supportive, which sends a mixed message. Who’s to say where her allegiance truly lies?

However, a surprisingly strong affirmation on her convictions comes from no one other than Motoi himself, who actually vouches for Kanon’s intentions and belief in the Twisters being genuine on her part. This along with Swallow’s prodding later on gets Rindo to change his tune. Now, there’s a dozen different interpretations on why Motoi would go out of his way to vouch for Kanon’s character but the fact that he was actually right on the money is a pretty subtle hint that they know about each other and how they tick more than people realize…

Then we go into W2D7, where Kanon’s recounting of the Ruinbringers’ activities and her muted reaction towards Motoi’s erasure emphasizing that she’s been at this for a long, LONG, horrifying while, becoming practically numb to it all.

And when Sudden Death in Week 3 comes around, she starts to kick up her critique of Fret and his issues into overdrive, wanting to see him grow for the better knowing full well that she and the Variabeauties might not make it at the end of the week. And unfortunately for her, Fret, and the Beauties, that fear ends up becoming a reality.

The following day, Fret flat out tells the others about how he felt about Kanon: that he wanted to BE like her, finding her genuine nature and confidence in who she is as something to aspire to, and wanted her to see him reach that level.

By then, our perspective on Kanon has flipped: a scheming femme fatale who turns out to be an intelligent, real, and loyal soul. Someone who starts off cold towards the Twisters before coming around to genuinely like and appreciate them (note the little smile in image 2!)

However, this is only half of the real Kanon we get to know and when we take a look back at some of convos within the game, the Reports, and see past Fret’s idealized image of her, we get to see a much more deeper side to Kanon than what was already there.

First, we need to talk about two aspects of Kanon; her hidden resentment of the Twisters/the system she’s trapped in and her trust issues. As noted above, Kanon is quite curiously protective in regards to the other Player teams, even accusing the Twisters of sabotaging them at some points, and this is for one particular reason: she and the rest of the Beauties are in an unspoken alliance with both teams. One where the top 3 teams (besides the Ruinbringers of course) keep their footing by sending new players and other teams to last place. This is something that’s actually alluded to on W2D3, with the Beauties and Purehearts corroborating together to take down the Twisters.

I also want to draw your attention again to these scenes here, where in the second timeline Rindo has Replayed to, Kanon already knows about Fuya challenging the Ruinbringers whereas before in the first timeline she didn’t, hence why she’s a bit more antsy this time around.

The reason for this is because, due to the Wicked Twisters screwing up the balance of powers between the teams with their sheer existence and sending the DRS plummeting to last place on W1D5, Fuya has become more daring/reckless, desperate to etch out a win against Susukichi. While Fuya is noted by in the Social Network to have surprisingly strong Imagination, there's a reason why he and the the DRS are mainly in dead last.

Kanon and Motoi are the most powerful of the (non-Ruinbringers) teams solely because of their ability to manipulate things in their favour despite both being weak in psych/Imagination. In that regard they’re the most "successful" within the constraints of the rigged game. Fuya, on the other hand, while having strong psychic powers, isn't as wily as the other two in regards to their social prowess and failed to keep his team properly motivated and prevent them from feeling demoralized, which is shown most prominently on W1D5 where Rindo uses his time travel to reroute them from fulfilling their duties by playing on their desires in their moments of weaknesses.

With this in mind, it's no wonder that Fuya became so desperate to risk it all against Susukichi. And while the Twisters do almost bring about change by beating the Ruinbringers, it ultimately doesn’t matter in the long-run due to how incredibly rigged the Shinjuku game is and as a result, the DRS are eliminated, getting rid of the Beauties’ and Purehearts’ safety net.

This kind of stuff is what I mean by Kanon being a perfect example of NEO's subtle character writing. At first glance, Rindo's nonchalant note of her behavior in the second timeline isn't anything to write home about, but it's when you look at all these individual pieces and start lining them up all together, a clear picture starts to be formed. It's what makes NEO so fascinating as a work to explore everytime I replay it.

The Reports make it especially clear that the teams have been through this experience for 30 LOOPS, which has left them teetering on the brink of despair and coping with the situation in anyway they can, with W1D5 (as noted before) and W2D4, as well as other segments, exploring this in more detail.

Imagine going through what is essentially a never-ending hell for weeks on end with no opportunity for rest so you come up with a system to at least stall the inevitable before a couple of kids come around to throw that system out of wack but it all ends up amounting to nothing. With this in mind, it’s honestly no wonder that a part of Kanon resents the Twisters for what happened, with her Dive on W3D3 bringing up all of these lingering feelings to the surface.

However, Kanon knows that the Twisters realistically wouldn’t know about any of that. How could they, after all? She knows that they’re fundamentally good kids at their core and knows that her feelings towards them aren’t fair so she keeps them buried to focus more on her tasks. She tries to take all of the responsibility upon herself and not let anyone else get caught up in the crossfire but this leads into one of her fatal flaws: her inability to trust in the capabilities of her team.

Throughout the game, it’s made pretty apparent that both the Twisters (Fret in particular) and the Beauties idolize her, with the latter propping her up as their Kween. And to their credit, Kanon IS a genuinely good leader, one worth looking up to. However, with all of those expectations comes a sense of isolation, a feeling that you HAVE to take on all of the burdens because if you don’t, who else will? This is shown when she splits up the Beauties when the threat of the Plague Noise comes around, not trusting their capabilities. However, all this did was leave the Beauties as slim pickings for the Noise, including Kanon herself. This is actually foreshadowed all the way back in Week 1, where she declines potentially recruiting Nagi because she doesn’t want to ruin the dynamic she and the Beauties have going.

This is also a reflection of how Rindo himself initially acts, not wanting recruit more team members because he’s afraid of getting dragged down into failure and having no faith in his or his teammates’ capability to achieve things for themselves. What’s interesting is that Kanon does it because she wants to shoulder the burden/responsibility by herself whereas with Rindo, he does so because he wants to AVOID having to take responsibility for any potential fallout, relying on someone else to do it for him. However, as the game progresses, Rindo gets better about this, learning to let his barriers down, reach out to others more, and trust in himself and his friends’ capabilities.

In fact, when trying to save Kanon, Rindo nearly makes the same mistake as her by asking Fret to split up, but when Fret shows up, Rindo and co. are down to support him. And although they didn’t succeed in saving her, they were able to grant her the opportunity to die as herself and gain valuable information on combining Fret and Nagi’s powers to combat Shibuya Syndrome that helps them out in the following days.

Overall, Kanon is an incredibly interesting character with a lot going on underneath the surface (in a way, she’s basically Fret’s Hanekoma) and I hope that this analysis on her was able to at least shine some light on her various nuances.

[1-800-crscnt]

-music taste hcs for some clones, more under the cut-

Fox: likes slow songs with meaning you really have to dig for + minimal instrumental + soft but clear vocals & the type of rock music you'd find in sonic amvs from the early 2010s. Occasionally likes a very upbeat songs of most genres, usually as a distraction or quick motivator. HATES short songs (≤ 2 minutes long) and complains about it a lot to Thorn and Doom.

Thorn: likes metal, rock, rap, & punk, but listens to a lot of fast-paced electronic music too. Prefers songs that sound grim, screamy, or just sound like if the vocalists were out to get him. Doesn't like super happy pop music that much, but will endure it and occasionally dance if one of his brothers really likes it enough to dance first.

Stone: loves relaxing non-vocal music, but will sometimes listen to songs with it if the vocals are soft/flat and relatable. Other from that, isn't too picky about what he listens to. Prefers a lot of what I call "background / daydream" music, and is the number one hour-looped game ost fan. likes to hum along. can't stand fast-paced songs.

Thire: doesn't listen to music. it weirds everyone out besides Stone, who finds it "predictable". if he had to choose, it would be between breakcore or R&B. He's mostly using his experience and knowledge from parties he's been to and people he's watched/interacted with to choose what songs he "likes" so people stop bothering about him not listening to music.

Hound: loves EVERYTHING literally EVERYTHING. always wants to discover more music, but prefers more lullaby-like songs because they help him focus and sleep. Jazz and hip-hop are also high ranking on his mental list because he likes dancing and singing along to them, but he doesn't get chances to listen to either of those very often.

Cody: generally likes any song about the high and/or lows of romance with very emotional & strong vocals because he likes learning about different views on love, but likes a bit of psychedelic rock. Doesn't actually listen to music that much, and doesn't go out of his way to do so, might actually even pass up a completely harmless chance if offered.

Rex: likes a LOT of rock subgenres but hates dubstep completely. prefers a deep bass somewhere in the music he does listen to, and music criticizing messed up parts of society. loves shoegaze and the grungy rock you'd hear in games from the early 2000s. is very quiet about this, so most people assume he's just too serious to like music, and he doesn't correct this.

Wolffe: listens to metal and goth music, doesn't have a preference for any specific subgenre. honestly doesn't listen to music that much and tends to pass up chances just like Cody does, but mostly because he thinks it's too distracting. doesn't hate any sort of music, but says he hates random ones to mess with other people.

Doom: into most music actually, but goes out of his way to avoid listening to it in front of people, so all this music discovery is accidental on his part. gets strangely embarrassed about people knowing anything about him, and denies even caring about music. has a heavy preference for anything jazz and disco, but doesn't like metal or hip-hop that much. Avoids depressing songs when he can.

Bacara: is like Thire and doesn't listen to music. doesn't care about it, probably won't ever, and has no opinion about music at all. May find lyrics strange, and (rarely) question people for listening to "something that stupid", but genuinely couldn't care less as long as it doesn't distract anybody.

[speckledfiction]

BG3 Modern Music Taste Headcanons

I've seen a few iterations of this post going around, and I thought they were all very cool, but none of them quite approached it the way I would, so I thought I'd give it a try myself.

Astarion - So, if Astarion has been a vampire luring people out for his master for two hundred years, he's been listening to the equivalent of club music that whole time. I bet he's got some very weird nostalgia picks, stuff that hasn't really passed the test of time well enough to be generally remembered, but that he listened to two hundred times in 1923 or whatever. He seems like he's got really diverse taste, but actually it's just that he lived through all of it. Like I want you to go to this page and click the sample and imagine that Astarion cannot resist gently bopping his head along to it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downhearted_Blues

He also knows all the contemporary club hits, and has Extremely Strong Opinions on them. And then he'll pull out one you really wouldn't expect him to like (say, Kids by MGMT) and say "You know, I came around on that after the 50th time I heard it". Given his age you'd expect him to like classical music, but he hates most of it because Cazador likes it. On the other hand he does really enjoy a bit of smooth jazz. I think he probably likes a lot of opera, partially from living through it and partially because there's no way Astarion doesn't like the most melodramatic music form ever invented. And he must have strong musical theatre opinions too. I bet he likes Sondheim, especially Sweeney Todd and Company, and I bet he says he hates Andrew Lloyd Webber but if you check his music app he's listened to Evita an astonishing amount of times.

Surprising pick: Faithless - Insomnia. I think he'd like dance music that you can really get lost in, because the dissociation (positive) would be appealing.

Wyll- I think Wyll and Astarion probably share a lot of jazz taste, since that was what Ulder liked to play around the house, and Wyll's taste is extremely shaped by his dad. Davis, Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, etc. At some point after he finds out Astarion's a vampire Astarion can admit he's seen them all live, and Wyll will be insanely jealous.

I suspect Wyll enjoys headier rap/RnB - Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator, Frank Ocean, JPEGMAFIA, MF DOOM, etc. I think he might be a little bit shy about stuff that's too overtly sexual, but maybe I'm being unfair. I feel like he might like Lil Nas X also, but I could be persuaded either way on that.

And then I bet he likes a lot of indie folk and rock that's heavy on feelings. Your Sufjan Stevenses, your Laura Marlings', your Hoziers' quite possibly. (And I'm sure contemporary Wyll would think Morrissey is a dickhead, but I bet he still sings along when "There is a light that never goes out" comes on the radio or his shuffle playlist.)

Surprising pick: Showtunes, and stuff like Singing in the Rain, movie musicals.

Gale - Accuse me of being mean if you must, but Gale is a videogame soundtrack man in my mind. Possibly even a vapourwave man. He strikes me as the type who likes to have instrumental music on when he's working, and likes it to be something familiar that almost becomes white noise, and I bet he loves a good lofi Zelda beats to study and relax to on youtube.

He and Wyll probably have some overlap in the indie rock feelings corner, though I bet Gale also likes a lot of classic rock, because one of the big musical influences in his life is Elminister, and you know Elminister is the most dad rock guy ever to live. So Gale's over here bopping his head to When the Levee Breaks and Sympathy for the Devil and tracks such as these. He might even like Rush. (It's okay Gale I still love you.)

Surprising pick: Gale is really into math rock, because he thinks the technical side of it is super cool.

Shadowheart - Shadowheart was raised in a cult that venerates loss and absence. There is zero way she was ever allowed to listen to music beyond Gregorian chants. And while she's still a Shar worshipper, she's fucking bought in on that. She's out here insisting that Deum Verum is the only real music.

Now, after she gets free of Shar, she's going to be reconsidering a lot of things, and also she's going to be a complete sponge, which means a lot of her music taste is going to be influenced by the others. So expect her to pick up indie folk from Wyll and Gale, dance music from Astarion, and so forth. Astarion is probably the person responsible for introducing her to Taylor Swift, in an offhand kind of way, and then Shadowheart is going to take that and run with it. She just is. I bet she ends up liking BTS, too. She's so definitely a kpop kind of girlie. And then when someone introduces her to anime (another thing forbidden by Shar) she's going to get really into jrock too. (She'll never like math rock, though, much to Gale's disappointment.)

I think once her musical tastes expand a bit and the algorithm figures out what to recommend her she also gets into Hayley Kiyoko and Rina Sawayama and Chapelle Roan and Japanese Breakfast.

Karlach - Karlach being into heavy metal is a predictable answer, but I don't know that it means it's the wrong one. Honestly my actual best guess is that what she ends up liking a lot is whatever her local scene's equivalent of punk/post-punk/heavy metal/straight-edge is. Basically whatever the local teens are playing in some grungy bar that's insanely loud and wallops you around the head with a ton of bass. She probably even played one of those basses.

Actually, really niche pick, but if there's a trad music scene in whatever contemporary city she lives in, I could see her being into that too. Karlach feels like someone who's very grounded in her community, and a lot of traditional music is about getting together and playing with others, so I think it would fit.

Now, Karlach hasn't really been able to listen to music in Avernus, so whatever her favourite tunes are, I bet they're ten years out of date. I think she probably has fun catching up with how things have changed once she's free.

She and Astarion might bond over enjoying dance music that you can feel in your bones, and she and Wyll might bond over him introducing her to the rap and RnB artists that he likes. Karlach doesn't pay any attention to the lyrics, alas, but she loves a bit of good flow. (And she does enjoy all the dirty bits, she's going to love contemporary female rappers. She will laugh at every dick joke.)

Oh and then secretly she loves to listen to music that makes her cry. Could be Taylor Swift, could be Sufjan Stevens, could be Andrew Lloyd Webber, could be something I'm not thinking of, but you know it's hidden away in a playlist she never shares with anyone. For when she needs a feelings jam.

Oh and for some reason I think Karlach is the number one Queen fan in the group. She just loves Freddie a whole lot.

Lae'zel - Githyanki society doesn't seem like it has a lot of room for fun, but it does have a whole lot of emphasis on "we're the best civilisation ever", so I bet Lae'zel has been raised on a lot of whatever Githyanki war marches and propaganda songs are. She tries to get the others to listen to it, but they just do not get it.

She is at first very scornful of non-Gith music, but the others will bring her round bit by bit. She probably likes math rock when Gale explains it to her, because she does actually appreciate things that are cleverer than she expected them to be, and I bet she finds a similar way into jazz and some classical music. She would be impressed by the cannons in the 1812 overture, you know?

If Karlach introduces her to heavy metal she'll definitely love that too, I think she'd really enjoy Rammstein and Gwar and bands that are all about on-stage spectacle.

I think my out there pick for Lae'zel is older singer-songwriters - I was thinking Johnny Cash, but Bruce Springsteen hits the same spot for me, and maybe even as far out as Leonard Cohen. But Cash for sure, she puts on his cover of Hurt and it speaks to her (she will never admit this to anyone).

This is very long and I haven't given as much thought to the non-core companions, so the others will have to wait for a part 2 if I ever get bored enough to do it.

[i-wanna-die-like-now]

I'm drunk and I have some thoughts on this.

@alteredphoenix I completely agree! The ice core is amazing and I love it for him-

But!

It has never really made sense to me, nothing about Danny screams ice or cold, I get that it's also a major factor in his ghost sense but man they missed hard, his character (to me) shows warmth and energy.

So... looking Into what Ice and cold can represent in media,

This one sort of fits, being a halfa is new territory, for both him and the ghost zone. Him falling into his powers and discovering new things. All uncharted, new.

Rigidity and stillness... Not so much, Dannys life takes off in so many new directions, there isn't a standstill in his life and he definitely isn't devoid of sentiment. If anything he has more, he's using everything he has just to save people, because it's the "right" thing to do. He has so many emotions and thoughts on all this new information he is being exposed to, processing so many new things.

Absent of hate, yeah I see that, true hate? That's something I think takes a lot for Danny to feel, along with wrath.

This one fits extremely well, Danny has to be really mentally unwell after everything he's been through, he's around his parents that are constantly spouting how much they hate his kind and what they want to do to them. Lack of love? I'm sure he's feeling that, ik I would be. But it also doesn't fit because he has the love of most people in his life, his friends and Jazz, even his parents (albeit half the time) I think it's a huge part of the show how much love he is surrounded with, their friendship is a huge part of it. Jazz accepting him and him accepting Dani, there isn't a lack of love.

(I haven't watched the show in a hot minute tho)

Death, absolutely, he's dead. He's surrounded by death and other dead people.

I don't see Dannys character of one of hatred or destruction, Dan. Sure, but we're talking about Danny.

But most of these aren't in the show, they don't dive into it and so it comes off as extremely out of place. It's not like it makes no sense, him having ice powers was never something I thought needed to be changed, I still don't, it does make me think about why he does have an ice core though when electricity was right there.

Now here's my own thoughts on electricity and how that would have worked.

He died surrounded by electricity and ectoplasm, he can use ecto energy so it makes sense that he would also be able to use electricity. Vald isn't shown to use an ice core so it can't be that it because he’s half dead, there isn't a sold reason as to why it can't be electric. (I wish the show went into more details about cores)

Electricity to me shows warmth and power, Danny is shown to be powerful, he is a newly formed ghost and he manages to beat multiple strong ghosts that have been around for way longer than him. I took that as him being extremely powerful, he is also shown to be compassionate and caring. He's a good person with a good heart, being dead and warm doesn't go hand in hand but I don't think that matters all that much.

He's always moving and flowing, both with his movements in fights and his opinions and values. He's a growing teenage boy and is learning new things about himself and the world, ghosts and the zone included, he's growing and lighting a light in the kids of Amity. Sparking change for ghosts and painting them in a new light for humans. He's both a ray of hope for the citizens he's protecting and the ghosts he helping, almost like a new era, like when we discovered electricity and it changed our daily lives.

He's also dangerous, and deadly.

One wrong move and he could end a life, end whole cities (as shown in The Ultimate Enemy) much like one wrong move with electricity and you're left injured or dead.

Overall electricity is good and it helps us everyday but it can also cause serious harm and I think that suits Danny so well, him being afraid of what he can do with his powers after the whole Dan scare, the warmth he brings Amity and the zone, it fits him perfectly imo.

And them there's the angst of having a power that literally killed him, that would be terrifying.

[inyourfantasyfanfics]

heyy! hope you’re having an awesome day so far, heard that your requests are open so i’m just gonna jump straight into it 😂 ok, could i get some headcanons of any of the bucci gang members taking notice of how the fem! reader (their crush) likes a certain artist/group (no need to use a specific one), whether it’s because she has posters of them in her room, she occasionally hums their songs, or the boys took a glance at her phone one time and see her listening to their songs, and so they decide to listen to that artist/group, regardless of whether or not it fits their music taste, so they could have something to talk about with the reader (i just started imagining abbacchio with his resting bitch face and headphones on, and people thinking he’s listening to rock but nope, he’s listening to k-pop girl groups LMAO) tysm! 🥰

THIS IS SO CUTE YES YES YES OKAY!! I hope you enjoy!!! <3

Bucci gang x Reader

Noticing your music

Bruno

For someone so observant I think it would take him a moment to catch on to who your favorite band is, the smaller stuff like the posters CDs humming wouldn’t be lost in him he’d just not connect it till you are having a lovely afternoon lunch with him and chatting about music (I think he’s a smooth jazz, classical, and maybe even some reggae something with feeling as long as that feeling is sensual)

He takes about 50 mental notes after he connects the dots. This would be a great vantage point to get closer to you. So he asks more questions than you expect, not that you mind.

As soon as he’s alone he’s researching and listening to everything he can. It’s different, sure but he likes it. Plus it’s directly connected to you so he is already inclined to love it.

He casually hums a tune around you to get you to perk up and start a conversation with him and he will take the invitation to discuss and turn it into you two spending the day with each other.

Mista

Knows you like a certain artist but didn’t realize how much till he caught sight of a record for the band and off handedly bought it for your birthday. Figured it could be a safe bet. Once you got it he was more than happy that you got so excited and hugged him over it.

After that he made it more of a point to listen to them and other artists like them and truth be told he started to like them a lot more than he thought he would. He would casually slide in close to you on a large couch and mention that he heard a song claiming it as superior.

He’s looking for any reaction really. If you disagree he will enjoy fake arguing and seeing you get riled up or if you agree he will lovingly gaze at how you excitedly explain why you agree.

Congratulations you made this dude pay more attention to your likes not just music but anything because he got addicted to the sight of you so excited on your birthday he wants it to be constant.

Narancia

Has probably heard the band's music already and probably has a strong opinion on it, I’ll say he disliked it at first… till he heard you sing the god awful lyrics. He was so mesmerized by you to make fun of your music taste. If you liked them they can’t be that bad right?

So he starts listening to them again and then he starts relating lyrics to you. All of a sudden it’s his favorite band too. He will steal posters or little items of that band for you and present them like you were lucky he was in your life.

Soon enough when you're singing to the songs he’s making it a duet and will make you dance around with him. He is so happy that he decided to listen again because there really is nothing better than twirling you in the kitchen.

Abbacchio

Noted your music taste and favorite band before you even had a full conversation with him. He of course probably didn’t like it. It wasn’t the worst sure but wasn’t his cup of tea.

This man is down bad though. I think he’s the type to be pinning after someone silently so that person would never know but he sure as shit do. So he’s so down bad for this lady that he extends out of his comfort zone and listens to it anyway.

You and him would be at a table together by “coincidence” (he learned your schedule and keeps subtly inserting himself into it) and he would very discreetly direct a conversation to music and prompt you to talk. There’s nothing he loves more than to listen to you talk.

He’s the only one who won’t say he listens to the band that’s a secret he keeps. That little piece of you he enjoys in his solitude. He doesn’t feel too lonely then.

Giorno

Clocked it so fast! Bro probably knows your likes and dislikes after the first day of encountering you. He’s terrifyingly observant. And so quiet about it too. He speaks up when it matters though! He would watch you put on a song that you played 5 times in the last week. He knows that because he’s firmly planted himself in your daily routine. Kinda like abba but so much more. He’s not too subtle with showing up in your life.

He is the only one that doesn’t listen to it in private. Instead when he notices a song he will ask about it and the band then ask to listen to more with you. He prefers to do this activity right near you. Listening to music in silence then discussing as if it was a philosophical debate.

Afterwards that band is listened to by him when he’s separated from you. Since he planted his roots into your life that means your firmly stuck in his now and he doesn’t quite like straying from that now so listening to your music suggestions gives him some reprieve from agonizing silence.

[romb-thankyoub]

Here are some sketches I made of a funny idea I had - BB mod but in Jujutsu Kaisen! I feel like they would really would work in this world!

Personally, I think BB and Armaros would both be sorcerers! BB would work for the school/organization, and Armaros would work for Kenjaku- I think BB would play a part in the series much like Gojo where he'd help out the main cast and be powerful and all that jazz. Armaros would be like Choso for Kenjaku but a lot more loyal, in my opinion- he'd have very strong and passionate opinions about non scorcerers lol

But yeah, let me know what you guys think, and let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions for this AU!

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

Finally we’ve got the eddie-is-married stories! Two pretty different marriages in pretty different places but both are delightful to read!

⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️ (omg are they gonna switch to adoption! Or stay with surrogacy? OR BOTH?!? They said only one more kid but you never know… no matter what they do i as always am loving this story and their lives and the beautiful world that you’ve created for them! It makes me so happy!)

🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼 (shannon being present for the lawsuit era is such a fun concept! I love the stories where you pull all sorts of fun new layers out of canon by making such interesting tweaks!)

Have fun writing! And know that every time you post I get so excited you can just imagine me busting out the pom-poms and the jazz hands :p

- PCA <3

YEAH MARRIED EDDIE!

96 for ⚡️ (Def not 2 kids! A lot of people commented that and I was like AHAHAHA my worst nightmare is multiple infants at a time, SORRY TWINS. But I suppose they COULD space it out. I just wanted to write a chapter about Buck and choice, seeing as Eddie already sort of had his choosing to be a parent again chapter):

---

“But you do have, like, an opinion? Right?” Buck asks. 

Bobby smiles. “Yes, I do.”

“Hit me with it,” Buck begs. “You have a stake in this too, now, remember. So I have to get it right.”

Bobby chuckles. “Well, I don’t think you can get it wrong, Buck. Either way you have a baby. And I think you’re right that if you don’t adopt this child, someone else will.”

Buck sighs, relieved. “Okay, so I’m not like… A bad person, no matter what we choose?”

“No,” Bobby answers. “You’re not.”

It should feel like permission to just go ahead and make the choice Buck is pretty sure he wants to make. He’s not a bad person if he chooses surrogacy. So he can choose it. In the gospel of Bobby Nash, whose ethics he trusts, Buck is in the clear. But Buck still hesitates. He’s still not sure what to do. 

“Do you want to know why I think you’re struggling with this?” Bobby asks him. 

“Yes,” Buck nods. Yes, please. Fucking tell him. Because he doesn’t know why it kept him up for several hours last night, just laying in bed with an uneasy stomach. 

“I think it’s a conflict of…” Bobby thinks for a moment. “Two strong but, in this case, conflicting parts of you.”

“O-okay,” Buck replies. He’s not sure he’s following.

“I think,” Bobby continues. “That one of the core parts of who you are, one of the best parts of who you are, is that you’re very motivated to help anyone in need, simply because you can.”

Buck looks at the ground. He feels another wave of guilt. Because now he’s saying he’d prefer not to help where he can. Right? That’s what Bobby is going to say. 

“You are also someone who has had to fight very hard for a family,” Bobby says. 

Buck looks back up at him.

“The security a lot of people have in that family structure, you didn’t always have that,” Bobby explains.

“I guess that’s true,” Buck says. 

“It is true,” Bobby nods. “And that has an impact on a person. Which is okay.”

Does Buck need to go to therapy about this? Is that what he’s saying?

“The way I see it,” Bobby adds. “The surrogacy option with Adriana’s eggs is a really comfortable option. It’s easy. It’s secure. Your connection to the child is obvious. It’s not something that can be taken away, like a potential birth mother changing her mind. There aren’t a lot of risks, outside the normal risks of having a child.”

Buck’s shoulders drop. “You think I’m scared?”

“I think an open adoption is scary,” Bobby says. “Not bad. Just… Scarier than the alternative you’ve already got in your pocket.”

“Right,” Buck exhales. “Yeah, okay… I can see that.”

“I think I’d feel the same, in your position. If that’s any consolation.”

“It is, actually,” Buck says. “Uh, so what do you think I should do?”

“There’s no right answer,” Bobby says. “Especially if Eddie is happy with either outcome. But my advice? Look at those two parts of yourself that are informing this decision and… I guess, figure out which is more important to you.”

☆☆☆

They meet Lourdes at Pepa’s house. 

Eddie is nervous. It’s an uncomfortable sort of meeting. He feels like Buck has expectations, Pepa has expectations, he’s not sure what expectations Lourdes has… All Eddie really wanted is a baby, so his expectations aren’t so defined. But he’s not sure how it’s going to go. 

He knows Buck and Bobby had a long talk about it. One Buck hasn’t divulged the outcome of. Just said he needed to think it through. Which, fine. That’s fine. Not like Eddie needs any sort of decision before today, anyway. Hell, he hasn’t made a decision. They need to have this meeting first, right? 

Pepa introduces Eddie and Buck to not only Lourdes, but her friend, Maria. Lourdes’ grandmother. Another person with potential expectations to account for. So that’s fun. 

“Thank you both so much for coming,” Maria says. “We are truly grateful.”

Eddie and Buck exchange a look before Buck answers her.

“Hey, of course,” he says. “We’re happy to meet you both.”

---

36 for 🔼 (Thank you! VERY fun stuff planned coming up):

---

 Actually, really nervously. Because what if Eddie says it was a mistake?

But Eddie doesn’t say that. Instead, he offers a little, almost coy smile. 

“Yeah?” He asks.

“Yeah,” Buck nods. “I didn’t, uh… I didn’t know it was an option.”

“It’s complicated,” Eddie admits. 

Buck can imagine. Actually, if he starts thinking about how complicated this all is right now, he might start to freak out. But he doesn’t want to freak out yet. He still feels pleasantly high. 

“I’ll bet,” Buck murmurs. 

“Maybe…” Eddie starts. “Uh, maybe you can come with me?”

Buck’s eyes widen. 

“To talk about it,” Eddie says. “I can put a movie on for Chris or something… And we can talk.”

“Okay,” Buck nods. “Yeah, that’d be good.”

Eddie smiles. “Okay.”

“But…” Buck says. “But I… I should be honest.”

Eddie looks worried. 

“Oh?”

“I just… I haven’t done anything with another dude before,” Buck admits. 

Buck knows he’s talked a big game about his sexual history, but if Eddie is expecting anything here, he might be disappointed. 

“Oh,” Eddie exhales. “Yeah, me neither.”

Whoa. 

[plutoshaunted]

Something I think the first two seasons of Danny Phantom did very well was showing a natural progression of Danny's distrust and fear of his parents. It's also one of the most tragic things in the show imo.

At first, Danny believes his parents' love is unconditional. Of course they would love him no matter what. He even says to Vlad in Bitter Reunions "My parents will accept me no matter what."

It makes sense, Danny had always known his parents were obsessive about ghosts but with no ghosts to interact with, he didn't realize just how strong their bias was. Plus, as neglectful as the Fentons can be, they've always loved their children. Sure, he's apprehensive about their reaction, else he would have told them immediately, but he isn't very concerned about the possibility they would hurt him.

As season 1 progresses, Danny starts to have doubts. The first really visceral reaction I can remember him having to his parents is in My Brother's Keeper. Their glee in talking about hunting down the ghost at Jazz's school and ripping it apart molecule by molecule visibly distresses him.

Then, his parents start actively hunting him. And after Public Enemies and Control Freaks, it becomes more complicated with his reputation as Phantom is tanked.

In season 2, the conflict between Danny and his parents only escalates. I'm not going to list every instance, but there are numerous moments in season 2 where Danny reacts in fear, sadness, or anger to his parents' words and actions. I feel like Maddie and Jack also pull even further away from their kids this season too, which doesn't help. When they do express concern over his wellbeing, their help is often very misguided (like in Phantom Menace). But unlike season 1 we don't see them lament over how their kids are pulling away, they've become very focused on their ghost hunting.

In Reality Trip we get explicit confirmation that Danny is afraid of his parents hurting him if they found out what he was.

Sam: "Where are your parents?"

Danny: "Probably looking for me, or a scalpel to dissect me with."

and

Tucker: "We should contact your parents."

Danny: "And tell them what? I'm sorry I've been lying to you and please don't rip me apart molecule by molecule."

And really can you blame him? His parents have given no indication they would accept him as a ghost. He has been shot at, threatened, and insulted by his parents. Plus even if it was in an alternate universe, it's hard to forget Maddie strapping him down to a lab table and threatening him. This kid has major trauma that is not really touched on at all in the show.

I also find Jazz's reaction to Danny's secret interesting. She says its Danny's secret to tell, but it's putting him in danger not to tell them. Not once does she suggest telling their parents. Which really makes me believe Jazz isn't confident they would accept him either, and that she thinks it's safer to keep it from their parents.

In Reality Trip, Maddie and Jack do accept Danny, and Danny erases their memories. Which leads to a weird limbo in season 3. No longer are the Fentons portrayed as a real threat to Danny, in fact they barely interact with him as Phantom in this season. There's a lot of dynamics that suffer in S3, but it really feels like its just treading water. The only real highlight I can think of is the family bonding in Girl's Night Out. It makes me wish they'd let Jack and Maddie keep their memories and played out how this would impact their family dynamic. Or at the very least, have Danny reach out and try to make a truce with them and work on having them accept Phantom. Anything really would be preferable to what we got in S3.

And the reveal in Reality Trip was much more satisfying than the reveal in Phantom Planet, as Maddie and Jack are actually made to confront how they treated Danny and why he didn't trust them.

This is a kid's cartoon show, so at the end of the day, Jack and Maddie were always going to accept Danny. But in my opinion, the show was successful (until it wasn't) in playing up the horror of the situation and the fear that your parents will reject you for who you are.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how it plays out in the graphic novels.

[dailyadventureprompts]

hi! I'm starting a new campaign with 3 people I've played with a LOT and one person I've played with twice a long time ago. I've never been a part of or run a session zero before and to my knowledge neither has anyone else in this group, but I really want to do so now. my problem is I'm struggling to come up with a justification other than "the upfront investment will be worth it trust me" that shows I respect my player's time AND their desire to roll dice and play the game.

can I combine the session zero work AND the first leg of the first adventure on one afternoon/evening? should I just call it a getting to know each other / session zero dinner party and bust out good wine and a 5 course meal? do I run the s0 as an online only thing? do I have individual meetings with the players to flesh out the setting and their characters, and then do interparty relationships and bonds, plus table rules and safeties at the table for session 1?

(sorry if this is a stupid question, I'm screaming internally lol. I've only ever done single adventures and one shots so this is uuuh scary)

So, running a session zero isn't that hard, I've already done a writeup on how to, but if you're asking for reasons why, I've got quite a few opinions on that matter:

D&D is a collaberative storytelling game, and session zero is a vitally important chance to talk to your players as a fellow creative rather than in your slightly distant role as a dm. Perhaps even more importantly, session zero is all about sharing some vitally important information:

Who the fuck are these people: An underappreciated part of a game where you spend most of your time pretending to be someone else is having atleast a base understanding of who's around the table with you. Campaigns are often made up of friends of friends and you need to cement those initial social bonds before you start putting on the funny accents and asking them to wade into battle with you.

What the fuck are we doing: Talking to your party about what type of campaign they'd like to play / your story ideas is how you plant the initial seed of player investment. Because they got to have a hand in shaping how the campaign started they're likely to be more excited about seeing those initial beats play out, which gives you time to ready your plothooks and get them on ramped to your overarching campaign plot.

When the fuck are we playing: One of the most important things is getting everyone together to talk about their availability, you as the dm can organize this, but it's way easier to have everyone in the same room.

Who the fuck am I: After your party have heard the camping pitch, they can get to talking about what they want to play: archetypes, classes, all that jazz. Treat the session zero as a sort of writers room for the serialized adventure you're about to go on, do we have any strong personalities we need to build around? Do we want to set up any dynamics?

Hope that helps friend, also be sure to check out the other posts in my DM starterpack tag