#sword of get absolutely fucked up is technically Not a placeholder

[the-eng1ne]

my game will be playtested on monday and we do not have the assets still so it will be tested with the placeholders i drew in the gamemaker sprite maker with my mouse. heres some of my favourites of those

[cynthiaandsamus]

Just gonna dump some musings about my very very old edgy teenager Danny Phantom OC to document him for no one really but myself.

David Masters, recently adopted son of Vlad Masters transfers into Danny's school with a Future Trunks-ass haircut and fashion sense that screams that he thinks the early 2000s Celtic Cross emo girl is the greatest thing ever. His ghost alter-ego is Shadow Specter, turning his hair black with red accents and curling both sides of his haircut into spiky C-shape with one side flipping up and the other side flipping in the same direction like a lopsided super saiyan and a sort of half-cape that ends around his upper back. Despite being Vlad's adopted son the two don't like each other very much, David being a hollow replacement for Danny and he knows it, making for a strained relationship to say the least despite him generally doing what Vlad tells him to.

Power-wise he's basically a midpoint between Danny and Vlad, basically given a few months of intensive beatings labeled as training by Vlad, the 'showing the ropes' he offered Danny on their first meeting allowed him to get the hang of his powers a lot faster than Danny but he lacks the practical experience and versatility Danny has and has a penchant for getting easily angered and frustrated during fights as opposed to Danny's dry quipping. His signature ability is the power to manifest an ectoplasm sword similar to Fright Knight's but designed by an emo teenager with curves bent into a gentle S shape and similarly curved handles that make it look flame-like despite being solid. His first encounter with Danny goes pretty well and he's able to outmatch him at every step but gets absolutely bodied by the Ghostly Wail which ends the fight in a draw since David flees and Danny is too exhausted to give chase. David essentially flies straight to Vlad and is like "Why the FUCK didn't you tell me he could do that!?" and Vlad's very petty about it saying that Shadow Specter is supposed to be better than Danny in every way and doesn't need the handicap of a full briefing which basically puts some serious tension in their relationship right off the bat.

Throughout various skirmishes Danny slowly catches on to his tricks and is able to exploit his emotional vulnerabilities, though brief flashes show Shadow Specter's eyes glowing red when he becomes really angry, leading to a rage mode that makes him a good deal stronger at the cost of what scant rationality he has, even increasing the size of his muscles and ectoplasm blasts when he really gets going. David knows he's only a placeholder until Vlad can either convert Danny or perfect his cloning technology and his frustration, ruthlessness and instability grows. He hasn't had the time to mature or the support network Danny has and despite being technically stronger he's always just coming up short. This frustration peaks during one of his encounters with Danny after Danny's figured out how to use his ice powers to create makeshift weapons to block his sword and he goes absolutely ballistic eyes turning red as he slashes his sword and ends up ripping a hole to the Ghost Zone, sucking him and Danny inside.

Exhausted from the fight, the two realize they have no idea what part of the ghost zone their in or how to get back to either of the two portals they know of. During this David de-ghosts and lets Danny see he's been one of his classmates all along, not someone he really had any meaningful interactions with but it helps hit home that he's a kid just like him. With some time to reflect, Danny tells David that his voice changed recently and that's why he can use the Ghostly Wail. He says there's been a lot of changes going on with both of them lately (simultaneously solidifying the ghost/puberty metaphor) and that eventually these changes will stop and they'll get used to them, but that doesn't mean that how they handle them doesn't matter. He's noticed his own powers growing in a direction Vlad or his future self could never have predicted because he lived through the pain and angst of being a teenager, and how David's have been growing in response to his anger in frustration, making him feel good and strong when he's angry and vengeful. Danny says he doesn't want to be someone like Vlad, someone buried in revenge and obsession, he doesn't want to live in somewhere like the Ghost Zone, a literal dimension of grudges and regrets, and he doesn't think David should either. He reaches a hand out to David and offers to help him break away from Vlad and his anger so they can both work through these changes together.

David stares at Danny's hand in the silence of the Ghost Zone for what seems like forever, transforming into Shadow Specter one more time and slashing at Danny, coming inches from his neck and ripping open another hole back into the real world. Fleeing from the blow, Danny escapes back to his hometown and looks back to see Shadow Specter standing on the other side of the closing rift in the Ghost Zone with tears in his eyes, believing he's too far gone and resigning himself to the realm of grudges and regrets he's created.

[infinitethree]

OOC::

I DIDN'T FORGET THIS TIME!

Chapters three AND four now up, rip Quackity, you pissed off the wrong people.

and because I'm not sure if I'll be able to work it in elsewhere; the chapter title that got yeeted was "A Crown of Eranthis". Erantis symbolizes hope, new beginnings, and rebirth.

It would be the next chapter chronologically, but uh...things got shuffled because of tone issues. So A Fistful of Petunias (one of my absolute FAVORITE titles) got shifted to be the first chapter of the next fic.

...Though, ngl, I could still have A Crown of Eranthis be the second chapter. Eeh. Depends on how the tone shakes out, and if I need to split things up again.

There are a LOT of words after the cut, largely about overall plans.

In other news, I have a decent chunk of the next chapter of Chaos, Fitting In, and Sibling Acceptance Rituals done. Shenanigans happen.

I hope everyone is ready for Caper and Spark, the time looping Tommy and Dream. And if his majesty decides to grace us with his fucking presence, Ranboo Prime!

++ I have a lose plan for how things will shake out from there. This plan is roughly:

2-4 chapters left for Chaos, Fitting In, and Sibling Acceptance Rituals. At minimum there will be the Prank Guild and a chapter wrapping it all up. A Path As Unlikely As It Is Inevitable: somewhere in the ballpark of 5-6 chapters. Interspersed multiverse travel & slice of life segments. Progress is a Relative Thing (as is Okay): Adjustments. You'll understand what that means when we get there. Unclear number of chapters. Swords, Shields, and a Beating Heart: 4+ chapters. Take a wild guess who shows their faces! Bastard lad is introduced for the (chronological) first time. There's a solid chance this will only be more confusing for people, but that's fine! That's what his whole goddamned backstory fic exists for.

...But the Stars Shine Brightest at Night: 2+ chapters. Setup is paid off, Daz is shown to be a terrifying fucker, etc etc.

And that's the current plan. Will things change? Probably, yeah! Do I know how? Fuck no, my muse is a chaotic bitch who just decided that tonight was the night to finish A Grave Tactical Error for no fucking reason.

Speaking of which, for those curious about the plans on THAT end of the timeline:

Quiet Strengths, Often Overlooked: 2 chapters. Reformation Team is formed. You get to see it this time! Favorite chapter title is "A Fistful of Petunias".

Plans and Revelations: 5 chapters. Reactions. Favorite chapter title is "Jaisone Choked by Columbine". It only slightly wins out over my second favorite.

Begrudgingly Accepted Assistance: 3 chapters. A visit. Technically, these are all done already. However, they were written before All Things Being Equal was started. There are definitely some major alterations that will need to be made. Favorite chapter title is "Azaela-scented Hope".

Fifty-Two Cards, Twenty Questions: 2 chapters. Healing and information. Favorite chapter title is "Is the Path Lined with Asphodel, or Mock Oranges?".

Something Close to Freedom: 2 chapters. An unexpected result. This is the final part of the reformation arc. While others might take place in that time frame, this is all that's currently planned. Favorite chapter title is "Solidago Hanging by the Door".

After that, things get a little murkier. I think I want to do something a bit more slice of life to fill things in and be a bit of a breather. This is where you might see ones like "To He Who Holds the World" or "An Undead Ex-President" be rewritten to adhere to the new timeline/events.

And then we have the BIG rewrites. These titles are, very obviously, placeholder ones. No idea how long they'll be, but there are mmmmm a few changes already becoming clear. :)

Visions 2: Electric Boogaloo (tentative title: The Past that Haunts): I have no fucking clue if Vio will remain the primary POV character or if Day will grab that from him again! I'm so torn, because on one hand...the glory of Vio realizing that Day knows about this reality because he lived through it. On the other, Day! Day POV!! I might start with Vio and swap to Day. Even so, that might mean losing out on the 'what the fuck am I experiencing right now' confusion of Day waking up in canonland. Some extra elements are in play that will alter things significantly. minor fun fact: Visions has the highest number of kudos by a notable margin! People really, REALLY like Day apparently! I can't blame them, he's so good. Vacation: The Revengence: The least-planned one. We're gonna get some fun interactions this time. Does this mean Theo spotting Niki and wordlessly radiating 'get near my family and fucking DIE' energy? Yes. Yes it does. That also might happen in the last one, again, still unsure. Dee and Tubbo still get along like a house on fire, and might even light a literal house on fire. Them being weird uncles to Michael will almost certainly be dropped, I'm sorry to the possible one person who liked it. Also likely to be dropped is the visit with Dream and Techno. I will absolutely find another use for the 'you're a garbage man with garbage words trying to build a throne from your TRASH' line from Orph because it's one of my favorites. Heavy Handed 2: 2 Heavy, 2 Handed (tentative title: Dies, Died, Will Die; Lives, Lived, Will Live): The current chapters will still more or less be there, just...redone. There's also two new chapters planned--Day talking w/ Sapnap, George, Ant, and Bad, and then Day, Vio, and Sam. Those are both FRAUGHT conversations that Theo isn't going to be present for for. Obvious reasons. Like, one is deeply personal due to feelings of abandonment and betrayal (which Theo would ABSOLUTELY resent them for) and the other is personal due to the literal torture that Sam condoned (which Theo would try to murder Sam for and tbh might STILL try and murder him for). There are a few other changes planned. Ones that maybe impact a few things. :) Still probably no actual fight though lmao. In all honesty, I would seriously consider throwing that element, and consequently this entire fic, out if it hadn't been referenced several times already later on. Day has a solid reason to want to move over (Atlas can't leave the SMPza due to admin bullshit, they're effectively all trapped there due to being unwilling to leave him behind) and Vio has a good reason to want to force Day to tell the truth about his past (if/when it got uncovered later nobody will ever trust him again + he would NOT want the angry, resentful immortal who went through horrible torture to skip out on therapy). But since it was, it's staying in. Aaand that's about it! I'll be using the tag RoadmapRoadtrip for any further talk of future plans.

We're...going to save the things going on with Blood & Gold (Daz's backstory, tentative title.) for another time. Bastard lad deserves his own post and also this one is getting LONG.