Intermission 2
At an Italian restaurant, away from the offices of You + Me = Love.
There, NeoMark ordered his meal, having left the office for the first time since starting this little side project.
"I needed this." He said, awaiting his food.
"Same here." FP11 said, taking a sip of lemonade.
"And it was fortunate we chose a spot close by." NeoMark said.
"You said it…" The familiar voice of 61394 said.
With the two were other authors. They were BatGuy01, BeConFuzzled Writer, Luiz4200 and 61394.
"Hi, everyone." Lui4200 said as they took seats.
FP smiled when she saw them sit down.
"Hey guys..." She waved at them.
"Thanks for inviting us. It's nice to get out of the office early and nice for a while." BCFW took a seat and began looking through the menu.
"Yeah, and they say I'm too busy writing spin-offs for Infinity Crisis at the moment." BatGuy01 said.
"Well, I insisted he at least shower before we left." FP11 said.
"Really?" NeoMark asks, looking displeased for her to say that out loud.
"Sorry, but… it's true. You were in there for hours." FP11 said.
"I'd say days." Luiz4200 said.
"No offense dude, but you smelled like a bus crowded with people who gorged on burritos." 61394 said with an apologetic grin before taking a sip of his cola.
NeoMark scowled at him, unamused with his choice of words.
"You have such a way with words…" He grumbled sarcastically.
"Speaking of guys with a way of words… Where's Deadpool?" BCFW did not take his eyes on the menu, yet noticed the lack of a mouthy merc that usually accompanied them.
"Oh… he's preoccupied." NeoMark said, pointing to the steakhouse across the street.
They then saw people running away, windows breaking and Deadpool riding on a live bucking bison, yee hawing as he chased a mob enforcer who looked like Hank Hill.
61394 raised a hand.
"Anyone wanna go over there and see what he-"
"No." Everyone responded flatly before he finished.
"Yeah, he'd probably not be too happy with me after my Dragon's Lair prank led to the chimichanga ban." 61394 said.
"The same one that led to me swearing off coffee for at least a month." FP11 said bitterly.
Clearing his throat, NeoMark decided to have them push that aside for now.
"Anyway… now that I'm out and about… let's pass the time for a second intermission chapter." NeoMark said.
"So… now that you're out… What should we do to pass the time for this little intermission? Besides eating, obviously." FP11 questioned.
"Well… I was gonna talk about the honorable mentions… but I'm gonna wait until the last new girl to do that. For now, I guess I can ask some questions before answering some myself." NeoMark said.
"Well, my lasagna-spaghetti-margherita pizza and side of garlic bread isn't due for a while, so lay it on me." 61394 said.
"Linguine with clams, please." BatGuy01 said.
"Same." Luiz4200 said.
"Cacio e pepe, calamari, caprese salad, and…let's see what else," BCFW said to the waiter before they left. "Okay, I'm ready."
"So… let's start with… who among the new girls have you guys actually enjoyed?"
"I'll go first. So, of the shows, movies and games that you brought in new girls from. I've seen Star Vs, Grossology, Loud House, Milo Murphy's Law, Scooby-Doo and I've played some Street Fighter." 61394 said.
"Not Steven Universe?" NeoMark asks.
61394 shook his head.
"Nah, it never looked like something I wanted to watch. But, from the shows I did watch, you're really good at capturing the character's personality and how they'd interact with Danny and make some unique chemistry that's really fun to read. More so than the original works that some of the characters come from."
"I did like the Vanessa chapter and you did an interesting spin to the Makoto chapter too." FP11 said.
"So, you mentioned having problems with Ladybug and Star before." NeoMark said.
61394 had an irritated look that flashed over his face
"Yeah, the reboot movie was better than the completely insane direction Astruc took the show/ No, what I meant was something both Marinette's, Star's and even Danny's show have one thing in common. So do a lot of shows. The trope where the writers make it obvious two characters have feelings for each other but they drag out the two getting together for season after season all for the sake of drama."
"Yeah… not a fan of that one. It'd be better if the two didn't have romantic rivals, like two people who like each other and no one else." NeoMark said.
"That and love triangles are something that really annoy me in fiction." 61394 said. "Yes, feel free to laugh at the irony of the guy who gets annoyed with love triangles picking the story with probably the biggest love triangle in this multiverse."
"And you, BatGuy01?" NeoMark asks.
"Sorry, haven't read much, I'm afraid. Only read the Wendy chapter. Though if I'm being honest, I haven't been keeping up to date with Many Dates for a while. Again, focusing most of my fanfic energy on the Infinity Crisis saga." BatGuy01 said.
"Luiz? BCF?" NeoMark asks.
"I enjoyed Bridgette." Luiz4200 said.
BCFW sipped at his glass of water, eyeing the table awkwardly.
"Do you mind if I am blunt?"
"Not really." NeoMark said.
"Well, I've been in and out with chapters. Some dates interest me, and some I've ignored outright. Mainly due to a lack of interest, like with Kula, mainly because I never played King of Fighters. Dates like Abby I was expecting and enjoyed, but others like Leni and Vanessa have been surprisingly refreshing and exceptionally intriguing, especially with how the dates work out, and part of me would like to see what would happen if Danny chose them. While I have some critique about how some dates find out about Danny's alter ego, and I'll keep that to myself, this what-if alternative journey for the original is lovely." BCFW said, gulping his water.
"Okay." NeoMark said before all 5 male authors looked to the sole female. "So..."
"So...?" FP11 asks.
"I guess now we will discuss the elephant in the room. FP11? You're the author of the original story. Who among the new dates have you liked?"
"I liked the Vanessa chapter, since it seems like a light hearted parody of the Batman and Talia thing..."
"That's a respectable answer." NeoMark said with a nod.
"Like I said, only read the Wendy chapter." BatGuy01 said.
"You all know I don't care about shipping. 61394 said. "I've just been enjoying the ride."
"Ra's might feel insulted by being compared to Heinz but I liked it." Luiz4200 said.
"It is already my favorite chapter." BCFW smiled.
"Alright. So… while we wait for our food… any questions you wanna ask?" NeoMark asks.
"Like what your favorite animal is?" 61394 asks. "Mine are lions."
"I meant about this take on Many Dates. Like why did I pick certain characters. Why didn't I pick certain characters? Who else could I pick? Why exactly did I make rules like no live-action characters? And… my personal "favorite"... will I do spin-offs?"
"Oh…" 61394 said before thinking about it. "You know, in hindsight, that makes more sense."
"I'm curious." Luiz4200 commented. "What do you think of the "The Batman" version of Barbara Gordon?"
"I like her and would have used her… had I not already wanted to use Starfire." NeoMark answered.
"I have two questions actually." FP11 said, raising her hand.
"Shoot." NeoMark said.
"Why did you choose some characters to date Danny? And what inspired you to make changes to your remake of chapters with returning dates?" She asks.
"Ah. To answer the last, because it'd be boring to just re-read the original over again. It's like if we remade a movie or video game, or made a new series based on a popular franchise. It'd be boring to just re-experience the same thing with little change, so I need to do something different." NeoMark said.
"Eh...I guess I can see that." FP11 said with a nod.
"As for your first. As I said, I wanted to add video game characters to the list of people that this website will want to pair up our ghost boy with. As for certain cartoon characters… I wanted to give a little love and attention to the somewhat underknown Grossology. Some characters I replaced with characters I thought were either a better pick or made for more interesting scenarios. I also had to use characters from shows that were very popular at the time the original story came out because, as I said, I felt it made sense to take advantage of what's new and popular at the time. The most recent series at the time of the original that was featured was the 2017 Spider-Man, which, even at the time, wasn't exactly the "new hotness". So, I had to add more shows that were popular at the time." NeoMark said.
"I see." FP11 said.
"So far, you've only had two video game characters show up: Sakura from Street Fighter and Kula from King of Fighters. Any others planned? Or any that aren't from fighting games?" 61394 asks.
"Recall how I replaced Supergirl and Shadowcat with those two because they weren't based on specific versions from animated shows? Well, we have one more, that being Barbara Gordon. I do have someone in mind… but while I did consider using someone not from a fighting game, I think someone who punches for a living would be a better match." NeoMark said.
"Out of curiosity, are you still taking requests? Cause I think people are still asking, even now." BCFW asked with some friendly snark as he looked over his phone. "It's not that surprising, but sometimes, I think you opened a floodgate."
"I think... I'm kind of full. That said, I'm open to someone changing my mind. I'm still unsure on the Monster High character." NeoMark said.
"And they're open again." BCFW smirked. "Well, I'll just say this and let you be. For Monster High, you could use Frankie or just switch it for a goth girl. There should be plenty like Kylie from Ghostbusters and Creepy from Growing up Creepy. That said, watch out."
"Okay, your turn Batguy." NeoMark said.
"Why were you reluctant to include live-action characters, like those from Doctor Who, Power Rangers, and various movies? I felt that characters that are exclusively live-action would make some interesting dates for Danny and might have been worth a read for me." Batguy01 asks and states.
"I kind of went over this in the last intermission but I guess it should be repeated because there's always that person who starts with the most recent chapter." NeoMark says.
"Really?" 61394 asks.
"I had someone ask me to put Sakura Kasugano in recently… I did that for date number 7." NeoMark said.
"It CAN get annoying, depending on the story." 61394 says. "Or creepy when you're using the characters' canonical age. People suggested Jade from Jackie Chan Adventures or Lola Loud was for the original story."
"Anyway… it's not so much reluctance as it is that I just don't wanna do it. I know that upsets a lot of people that characters like The Doctor or the mermaids of H2O wouldn't be featured here… but, think of it this way. I'm also a Doctor Who fan, but I'm a much bigger fan of Power Rangers. Love it, still watch it. It's a huge inspiration for me and the kind of projects I want to work on that aren't fan fiction related. However, you may have noticed I BARELY acknowledged them in the spin-offs I write, even though Jazz dates and marries one." NeoMark said.
"I've noticed." FP11 said.
"Most of the screen time goes to Danny in your stories." 61394 added
"The answer is simple… I didn't see a need to use them. Just because I love these characters and have such an attachment to this franchise… doesn't mean I'm in a hurry to use them or that I think they'd fit in. At any point during Danny and Kim, did you think "this would be great if the Power Rangers were there" before the final chapter? Probably not." NeoMark said.
"Well, you have a point there." FP11 said.
"There is an important thing I need to bring up here. I am a big animation fanatic. One of my favorite things is to draw characters from different art styles together, make it seem like they're talking with each other, sparring, maybe even falling for each other. Live-action characters doing that with cartoon characters… well… I've always felt pairing live-action characters with animated characters was… weird. Plus, as I've mentioned in the first intermission, this story is going to have a minimal body count, so someone from, say the MCU is not likely given that each movie, even the ones with less of a body count, still have body counts. Plus, I kind of want a shared theme or idea with each girl, and I felt characters from animated mediums were easier to picture on the same Earth than animated, live-action, comic book or literary characters."
"I just imagine everyone in the Danny Phantom art style." 61394 said. "It's less of a headache."
"Not to mention the, most likely, simplified history that could be of that media can fit swimmingly into the series. It's one thing to have Boy A and Girl B meet, but intertwining two worlds can be tricky. And this crossover has over thirty." BCFW said.
"Okay, Neo. Your fic, your choices." Luiz4200 said.
"Also, keep in mind that if you take out the 10 I kept from the original, that's 20. Take out characters from the series that were already in the original, that's 15. But even if I went with 30 completely new characters, while I know that's a big number, that's still a finite number. If I open up the floodgates for cartoons, comics, video games, movies, televisions shows, web shows, books, any other medium I forget... suddenly it fills up with a lot of big name characters, or I just pick characters from those mediums I like the most with no rhyme or reason. I personally think that'd be boring, I want to have more interesting choices, and I like to give myself something of a challenge for this story. See? By limiting myself to just animated characters, the idea is that I'm encouraging more creative choices in characters to use. And I've seen people suggest characters from the Ace Attorney games, W.I.T.C.H., Cindy from A Kind of Magic, those are the kind of suggestions I want to see. It doesn't mean I'm going to use them, but I've gotten a lot of interesting choices and suggestions. Restrictions don't necessarily limit creativity, sometimes it forces you to be more creative, like picking someone from King of Fighters. Also, in my own opinion... no. I don't really think pairing Danny with a Power Ranger or anyone else from exclusively live-action would make for a more interesting date. There's a reason the only live-action character I introduced in Many Dates was Segata Sanshiro, because it was funny and I'm a big game enthusiast myself. If anything, it boils down to my own personal opinion... and there's a reason I made it so Doctor Who, and I'm gonna do the same with Power Rangers, are shows in-universe for this take."
"Definitely the smart choice." BCFW said.
"If you include Monster High, you could show the ghouls' reaction to the Power Rangers." Luiz4200 said.
"One reason I don't want to do a version of this story." 61394 said. "Also I've got enough work on my plate."
"So, sorry dude. I know you'd find them interesting, but I don't. Also, it's my story and I'm the guy who has final say on who does or doesn't have a shot at being with Danny." NeoMark said.
"Okay, I can see where you are coming from." Batguy01 said with an understanding look. He continued with an idea he had. "Maybe, I can write my own fic one day where the Doctor's granddaughter Susan has a romantic relationship with our favorite halfa."
"And now… I just want to remind everyone… we WILL NOT be making spin-offs. It's mainly because this is us looking at an alternate universe I'm dreaming up. I know someone's gonna suggest "Wouldn't the same people take the same characters?". That's not exactly a guarantee. Remember, since I'm the one who wrote this and not Flower Princess11, it's not a guarantee the same people would have taken interest, especially with my strict "no live-action characters" rule that I likely would have enforced. Which means no Power Rangers, no Doctor Who, no H20: Just Add Water… none of that. You'd have to use the animated version of H20, Marvel or DC Heroes, and that cartoon adaptation of Henry D-" NeoMark stopped himself. "Uh… scratch that last one."
"Not a fan, huh?" FP11 asks.
"Who is? Anyway… let's do a brief recap of who has appeared in this story so far and who replaced who from the original story… because, again, this might be the first chapter someone's read and is wondering why Danny Phantom isn't here yet." NeoMark said.
"That's fair." 61394 said.
"They are: Kim Possible; Samantha Simpson from Totally Spies, replacing Alex from the same series; Gwen Tennyson, specifically from Alien Force; Abby Archer from Grossology, replacing Emma from Stoked; Leni Loud from the Loud House, replacing Diana from Martin Mystery; Marinette Dupain-Cheng, replacing Sabrina Spellman from Sabrina's Secret Life; Sakura Kasugano, replacing Kara Kent; Lapis Lazuli from Steven Universe, replacing Jenny Wakemen from My Life as a Teenage Robot; Cree Lincoln from Codename: Kids Next Door; Violet Parr from the Incredibles, Jen Masterson from 6Teen; Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo, replacing Phantasma, Star Butterfly from Star Vs, replacing Vicky from FairlyOddParents; Wendy Corduroy from Gravity Falls; Melissa Chase from Milo Murphy's Law, replacing Debbie from Wild Thornberrys; April O'Neil from the 2012 incarnation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Bridgette from Total Drama, replacing their Gwen; Vanessa Doofenshmirtz from Phineas & Ferb, replacing Angelica from All Grown Up; Kula Diamond from King of Fighters, replacing Kitty Pryde from Marvel; and recently, Makoto Kino of Sailor Moon, specifically based on the 90's anime as the original was a bit of a composite character thanks to using attacks not from the original anime. So… yeah… 10 more to go."
"Okay." FP11 said.
"And I can't tell you just what characters I almost put in the first 10 alone." NeoMark said.
"I have one last question. What were your runner ups girls you like who were suggested but didn't make it into the Final Cut?" 61394 asks.
"THAT I will save for the final intermission." NeoMark said before seeing food being brought to them. "Finally…"
"Convenient. Keep it mysterious so the fans will keep making guesses." 61394 said
During the meal
The authors were still chatting, one of them curious about something.
"So, if it weren't for your rules, what characters could we have seen?" FP11 asks.
"That one's a little hard, mostly, because if I did open the floodgates for characters of other mediums, that's a lot." NeoMark said as he stroked his chin. "But I will say if I could pick one live action character, I would probably go with Gia from Power Rangers Megaforce."
"Who? Sorry, while I am planning on binging the Power Rangers franchise eventually, I'm in the dark on this girl." BatGuy01 said.
"She's the yellow ranger of that season and she's my choice for a live-action character. Not because I like that season, it's a pretty mediocre season." NeoMark said.
"Then why that show?" FP11 asked.
"Rather, it's more I have an almost unhealthy fixation on Ciara Hanna that I disguise by saying Gia was the best girl of that season by virtue of Emma being kind of an airhead obsessed with nature." NeoMark admits.
"… I suppose it's good to be honest about your choices…" 61394 said, unsure about him saying that out loud.
"And you know what? I already said one character I would put here who breaks a rule so… screw it. If I had to pick someone who breaks another rule, in this case it's no English voice, and I wanted to be fair and take a reader's suggestion, I would go with Tiffany Lords from Rival Schools." NeoMark said.
"Who? From what?" Everyone asks.
"Rival Schools was the first 3D fighting game by Capcom about high schoolers. Akira Kazama, the big breakout character of that game, made the jump to the big leagues in Street Fighter V, but I would have gone with someone not used in a game in recent years. Tiffany was a cheerleader and a boxer, so you can see why I thought she'd at least be an interesting choice." NeoMark said.
"Good call not going with Tiffany ." 61394 said. "People would say you're trying to pair him with another Kim."
"Figures it'd be a cheerleader who can kick butt. FP11 said.
"Hmmm." BCFW hummed in agreement.
"Tiffany would likely knock out Dash after he annoyed her too much." Luiz4200 said.
"It would be nice to see karma delivered to Dash again. But once again, I'm not familiar with Rival Schools. So I'll take your word for it." BatGuy01 said.
"To be clear, folks, I don't just pick any character. I always try to pick someone I think would make for the most interesting or entertaining date. Sakura from Street Fighter for example, there were other characters I could have used: Karin Kanzuki, Makoto from Street Fighter III, Menat from Street Fighter V, the previously mentioned Akira Kazama… I know I keep saying it's because she won the poll by Capcom that listed her as the most popular Street Fighter character, which she does deserve, but it's also because I just think her being a girl who likes to fight and looks up to Ryu, while being friends with the lamest and weakest character in the series, just made her have the potential for a more interesting or entertaining relationship with Danny." NeoMark said before looking at the desert menu. "Hmm…"
After their meal
All of them returned to the building, all stuffed and a little lethargic.
"I shouldn't have ordered dessert." NeoMark said.
"I told you that 21 ice cream sundaes is a bad idea." BatGuy01 went. "Should have picked just one. Much less fattening."
"You're not wrong, but worth it." 61394 went.
"You can't go wrong with nice Italian food, that's a fact." BCFW went.
"Excuse me? I recall you said Katie isn't here, but who is taking her place?" Luiz4200 asked.
"Oh yeah… Katie Kaboom, you decided not to use her because she's one of the least popular Animaniacs' characters. So… if not her, then who are you using?" FP11 asks.
"I wanna know! I wanna know!" Deadpool went, appearing before them with his hand raised.
"Oh great… he's back…" BatGuy01, BCF and NeoMark grumbled in annoyance.
"So, if it ain't Katie Ka-Bad depiction of girls going through a certain cycle of their lives… who are you using?" Deadpool asks.
"I may not be using Katie… but I am fulfilling a character spot that she did. Something I've learned when I picked up from watching those Build the Roster videos I brought up a few times is that there's this one character who works. Not just in a fighting game roster, but a collection of characters from various works can use this one specific type of character."
"Who?" Everyone asks at the same time.
"The weird pick." NeoMark answered with a smile.
"... come again?" Everyone asked in unison.
"See, Katie was a weird pick. She was someone I don't think anyone expected. We expected Kim Possible, one of the three from Totally Spies, a Teen Titan, a member of the Winx Club… but not Katie. Not one of the least liked Animaniacs' characters. We need someone way out there to get people talking and be all "Can you believe this character appeared here" all over the crossover fanfiction side of the Phandom." NeoMark went.
"I admit Katie wasn't that popular before I added her to my story, I only chose her because I wanted at least one " wacky bad date" but I grew to enjoy writing about her." FP11 said.
"I didn't know who Katie was before the original." 61394 said. "And during the first chapter, I was more focused on the Warners, but FP did a really good job making her a sympathetic fan favorite character."
"A fan favorite who is the star of your least liked spin-off story." Deadpool commented
"Kim is a must have, but they can't all be Kim. We need someone like Katie. To quote Thorgi, who I am not affiliated with but I totally recommend people check out, you can't just have the faces, you need to have the freaks." NeoMark said.
"I can agree with that." 61394 said.
"But keep in mind… when I say "the freaks", I don't mean a monster or something, I mean something super unexpected that it both doesn't come to your mind but also still fits. It could be obscure, though I already have Abby Archer in here, it could be someone who doesn't really fit the rest of the theme, but I got Sakura and Kula. So… I'm going with someone who is more unexpected than necessarily obscure."
"I take it as a fan favorite crossover element. Still, who is it?" BCF asks.
"Now… There is a character I've been wanting to use… and it's the character I have NEVER seen in the requests. I can't tell if it's because people never heard of her, don't like her, or think there are better options. But… I don't care. I want to use her and she's become kind of the perfect weird pick so… I have to use her…"
"I'd ask but you don't do spoilers." 61394 asks, curiosity growing.
"Stop procrastinating already and just tell us. Who is it?" Deadpool asks, growing impatient.
"This so? This should be interesting, seeing as you've put two fighting game characters and a space rock lady on the list." FP11 said.
"Katie's place in the original roster goes to this next girl." NeoMark said as they got into the room and Deadpool turned on the monitor. "So… for my weird pick…"
You're just gonna have to wait for the next chapter.
Special thanks to all authors in this chapter for their appearances.
RonaldM40196867: Spoiler. No. Already did. Probably not gonna have time. Nothing really. Because I wanted to keep characters and shows in the same order as the original. More like I didn't want them to know right away. He will... at some point. Probably not.
Invader Johnny: Impressed indeed.
Menatron the Angel of Ideas: Sorry but... one is from a world too different, the other is either too young or in a committed relationship. Also, I already used one Sakura, from Street Fighter, don't want to repeat names.
danifan3000: I just really wanted to feature more anime characters. 2. He's a moron, so he won't learn.
61394: Totally recommend the recent Viz redub.
The Disquieting One: No spoilers.
Luiz4200: We will find out later.
guardian1989: It's not a Marvel character who is next.
cybirddude: 1. Interesting idea, though not sure if I'll feature it in the epilogues. 2. This one I WILL explore... also, Lapis can't have kids. 3. Dash getting hurt would be for laughs. 4. That can work. 5. Interesting ideas. 6. I'm sure you've figured it out... :) 7. Interesting. 8. Interesting.
pokemon fan 1991: So far... hmm... either Marinette or the redone Makoto chapter.
Jebest4781: Thanks.
Bob the mammoth: Had to continue it.
amit . avrashmi: 1. Returns... I believe 2 more. 2. We shall see. 3. Not sure. 4. 2 more.
guilhermefinamori: I'll see if I can squeeze one in.
Soggy Fysher Woods: We'll see.
Jay the Average Fanboy: 1. Maybe. 2. Probably not. 3. No. 4. I already said I'm not using that series. 5. Maybe. 6. Yes. 7. Neat. 8. I have no idea. 9. Maybe? 10. Kim Possible crossover.
djinn: Thanks.
IrishKatana: Sorry, but 30 is it.
Fanreader26: We shall see.
FC Tiraspol fan: I already said she'd return.
sndWV3: I would recommend not posting anything if you're upset, cool down first.
Leonardo: Not yet.