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Vlad coming to this decision on his own is what really makes it for me. The main crew never really asked him or expected him to change. For a lot of the comic, he's the butt of the joke and it's what he deserves. But then he witnessed Danny having his own emotional breakthrough. Being able to see how powerful Danny became after embracing his emotions and letting go of his inner turmoil...like, that did it. He finally let himself look inward too, recognizing his own faults and the hurt that he had caused himself all these years. The focus of the scene is Danny, but I love how clear it is that Vlad's entire perspective just shifted, too

The moment where he tells Dark Danny that because he's part-Plasmius too, that means he's full of emotions, and that he's full of fear......my jaw dropped. Vlad admitting that he's deeply afraid of being alone, and that he pursued ultimate power in the hopes it could fix his loneliness. Doing so hurt all of the people he wanted to have in his life, and made sure he would never recieve the love he so desperately wanted. He says this in front of all of the people that he hurt the most, and he doesn't ask for forgiveness from any of them.

(Also fear being Vlad's driving emotion behind his power, just....ruin me.)

BUT HE TAKES IT A STEP FURTHER. No one is suggesting that Dark Danny needs to overshadow someone as a solution to his unstable form. Vlad comes forward unprompted and offers himself up, as an apology. An apology to the people of his timeline that he hurt, and to Dark Danny. He isn't the Vlad that created Dark Danny, but he knows the potential to be that guy was always in him, so he takes the faults of that other Vlad on his own shoulders. And still, he isn't seeking forgiveness, just a second chance. More time, to do something good with his life before it's gone. Danny tells Vlad he still hates him, but thanks him, and the smile Vlad responds with is everything to me. They're not friends. The wounds he caused aren't healed. But that little thank you is proof that Vlad is already making a difference in the world

He gets to be a guardian to Dark Danny!!!! He gets a family!!!! And it's broken, and hurt, and kind of fucked up, but this is all he ever wanted, and he has the chance now to do better for himself and for Dan. He already understands the root of his problem, the pain and fear that has been driving him all these years. The path forward is gonna be messy and hard for him & Dan, but the first steps are the hardest, and he's already taken them.

All that being said, he better continue being an insufferable fruitloop. Never let the sass die, you silly vampire ghost man.