#i feel so bad for not knowing the difference between a main and a secondary blog

[formylovetodaryldixon]

"Like there was no tomorrow." CH.2—Daryl Dixon.

Chapter Summary: Everything seems peaceful the few days you spend in the prison while your best friend recovers from an illness, but after a rough night when walkers threaten to break in, the so–called Governor attacks the place the next day, causing Daryl's group to scatter, leaving you and him to go on your own.

PAIRING: Daryl Dixon x reader

WARNING: Death, blood, a lot of bad words hehe (but also romance and even some comedy if I can get it right hehe)

ERA: From prison onwards.

A/N: Sorry if this is boring :( I didn't elaborate on the fight between the prison group and the governor because they were different scenes and this chapter was getting really long, but I hope you like it. Spoiler alert: Daryl talking bad about your falcon a few times made me laugh hehe

Chapter 1

“What happened to your arm?”

With a slight nod, you point to Daryl’s left arm, specifically to the inner part of his elbow that is covered by white tape. On the way back to the prison, the quiet place stretches between a dirt road and dust that the car kicks up, trees on the sides and a lot of vegetation that almost creates the illusion that nothing happened to the world, but every so often when you two leave behind a walker that is swinging aimlessly along the road, you realize that nothing is as it used to be.

“Nothin’.” Daryl shifts uncomfortably, shooting you a glance before looking ahead. You roll your eyes even though you knew you were probably the only person Daryl had ever fully opened up to, (showing you his scars and all), but he still maintained that reserved personality of his even when the world had changed, and it’s silly, but you are kinda glad to know those little things are still intact. “Can ya tell yer rat to stop lookin' at me like that?”

Sitting on your right wrist, Aeris has her eyes fixed on Daryl, her deep, dark–colored gaze watching for the slightest movement, but it’s like she’s searching the depths of his soul. It’s an overflowing interest that makes you chuckle.

“Look at my baby hating you.” Your free hand strokes her soft fur, black and white feathers and a mix of them. “Good girl.”

Daryl frowns.

“How ya even know she’s a girl? Did ya look up her skirt?”

You try to hide the mockery in your next words.

“Aeris was hurt when I found her, but she learned to listen to the walkers as you call them and find her way out of those flesh—eating things on her own. I don’t mean to insult you, but I don’t think a boy would be that smart without being taught first.” You shrug. “You know that men’s stupidity knows no bounds.”

Daryl scoffs.

“Yer hatred is bigger than yer height.”

Shocked, you laugh.

“Asshole!”

He looks at you in exasperation, but remembering and missing those old times.

“Woman, ain’t ya tired of cursin’ at me? I still don' know how I let ya kiss me with that dirty mouth.”

You frown, playing dumb.

“Well, it’s not like a curse you while running, is it?”

Daryl scoffs again, but a smile appears on his lips.

“Yer silly, y’know?”

You chuckle, settling into your seat as the sight of the prison comes into view. The place is big, but so is the horde of walkers stacked against the fence, always growling, all day and all night, hands outstretched and mouths open in their relentless attempt to kill. A man and a woman are on the other side, stabbing their knives into their heads through the grates, trying to lessen the dead weight hanging over the bars.

When the man sees the car arrive, he opens the secondary and main gates, and Daryl drives inside through both as the people outside seal the place back up. The moment the car shuts off, you put Aeris on your shoulder to grab your backpack from the floor, opening the door to feel the first rays of the day’s sun on your covered skin. The grass is losing its color, and in the distance you can see the land that has been piled up, with cross—shaped woods on top of it.

Graves.

When you turn to meet the two people, the young woman stops dead in her tracks, the man a step behind.

“Shit. Is that a falcon?” Her beautiful green eyes glint in the light, but her gaze is unsure.

“No. S' a flyin’ rat.” Daryl stops beside you, but he ignores the serious look you give him. “(Y/N), this is Maggie and Rick. This is (Y/N), my…”

His next words hang in the warm air.

“Believe it or not, I’m his ex. And probably the only one.” You smile as you shake their hands, trying to hide your laughter at Maggie’s incredulous look, the way her mouth struggles not to hang open in surprise and Rick’s frown and slightly widened eyes. “Nice to meet you two.”

“Yeah. Same here.” Maggie clears her throat before continuing, trying not to smile too much as she glances at Daryl before looking back at you. “I’ll take you to Sam.”

You nod before walking with her, leaving the men behind. Daryl's gaze follow you, his blue eyes narrowing under the stifling heat and the feeling of being exposed like that, because you always had that strange power over him, the way you could mock him and he would hate you silently (again, not seriously) while saying thank you at the same time.

Love was confusing, and stupid sometimes. Daryl knew that better than anyone, but when he turns around to meet Rick, he has to swallow, trying to keep a serious expression.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just… you never mentioned you had a girlfriend." Rick shakes his head, doing his best not to smile too much. "She's beautiful and she looks like she can take care of herself, you know? With the gun and her falcon, but she kinda hates you. I can see that."

Looking away for a few seconds, Daryl swears in a low voice.

"Nah. Hatin' me is her love language." Suddenly tired of that conversation, Daryl walks away towards the fence, without being able to hear Rick's chuckle. "C'mon, I'll help ya clear the way."

Back inside the prison, you find out Sam was developing peritonitis from her appendix, which was a few days away from rupturing but was treated in time, thankfully. You feel relief in your bones knowing that surgery wasn’t necessary, and although Maggie’s dad could perform it, knowing that he’s a vet made you feel slightly nervous but infinitely grateful.

“So…” Maggie tries not to smile too much, still in disbelief, because she too finds it strange and fascinating to know more about Daryl’s past, considering that he didn’t let much of himself show. “You and Daryl? I see you like men who don’t comb their hair.”

You laugh.

“What can I say? The heart wants what the heart wants.”

She laughs with you, leading you towards the cells on the left of the large place.

“I met Daryl when the group came to our farm, and no offense, but he doesn’t seem like the kind of man who was in a relationship, was it something serious?”

“Uh. Something like that…” You shrug, just to downplay the silent pain that came after that night. “We actually broke up months before all this started. But don’t let his rudeness fool you, because between us…” You move closer to her a little, only to whisper a comical revenge against him. “Daryl liked to cuddle.”

Maggie has to cover her mouth with a hand to keep from laughing out loud, stopping at a half—open cell.

“When you’re done talking to Sam, I’ll be outside if you want to join us.”

She gives you a kind smile, the same one you return.

“Thank you, Maggie.”

As she walks away, you enter the cell. The first thing you see is Sam’s hair that’s spread out on the pillow, hands clasped together over her stomach, one of her arms hooked up to an IV, closed eyes that flutter open as she senses your presence in the small room. At that moment, her tired face lights up through the pain she’s surely still feeling inside, but she smiles when she sees you sit on the edge of the small bed, Aeris making a sound that seems to be her own way of greeting her friend.

“I’m glad to see your favorite girl has taken care of you while I’m gone.”

As your hand takes hers, Sam squeezes it lightly, sighing at your warmth mixing with her own.

“Don’t be jealous. You two are my favorite girls.” You chuckle, but the happiness merges with the huge relief in your chest at seeing your person still alive. “I’m so happy to see you’re okay, Sami. I guess running into Daryl wasn’t a curse after all.”

You’re joking to lighten the mood and she knows it, laughing with you at Daryl’s expense.

“Daryl’s been so attentive ever since I got here that night, always coming to check on me, asking if I needed anything else, even staying to talk to me for a while, though we always ended up talking about you.” Sam smiles, weakly. “It’s pretty clear that Daryl hasn’t forgotten you, love. But really, maybe that’s why I wasn’t surprised when Maggie told me that he was the one who gave me blood all this time.”

For a second, you feel your heart stop, eyes slightly wider, but now the tape on his arm makes all the sense in the world.

“What?”

“Yeah. He even joked that he had special magical blood. Didn't Daryl tell you that?"

You shake your head softly, trying to put your scattered thoughts in order.

“You met him. Daryl is awfully quiet most of the time.”

“Really?” Sam frowns, but keeps a smile. “Well, with you, Daryl seemed like a different person. I liked the way he looked at you, kind of intense, but it seemed like he was trying to tell you what you meant to him: maybe the poor guy didn’t know how to use his words. Also, don’t think I didn’t notice his hand on your lower back.”

For a few seconds, your gaze gets lost in an empty spot in the room. There in the back of your mind, stored deep in your memories, you always thought about his reasons for breaking up with you when everything seemed to be fine. The lack of love was painful but understandable, but other reasons didn’t seem to make sense, not when it was Merle who said that, if Daryl had fallen in love, he would be in love for life.

“But that’s in the past.” You say, looking back at her. “Now we just have to worry about you getting better so we can go home.”

Sam nods, though neither you nor she delves into the fact that maybe the word home no longer exists.

“How are the old folks? I miss them. You left them protected, right?"”

You smile softly.

“They're fine, worried about you, but fine. And yes, I left them all the things they needed until we can go back.”

When Sam’s eyes begin to close, you can see the heaviness of her exhaustion, so you let her rest before heading out of the prison to help.

When another heavy night falls, and with a candle that smells like cinnamon and that hides the rottenness of the outside and the world in general, the silence keeps you company as you turn the page of the book about exotic animals on the table of what used to be the prison dining room. You had already read that book a couple of times, but the words silence the thoughts in your head, loud words capable of driving the sanest person crazy, those voices that were only your own fear of dying in the most grotesque way possible. You had already seen how the walkers destroyed the skin, making their way through as if it were chewing gum, images that played in your head when it was time to sleep, and for that very reason, you no longer slept much.

But just when a sharp pain in your lower back begins to throb and your hand finds that region, you hear someone's footsteps before seeing Daryl at the entrance.

“Hey. I thought ya were sleepin'.” He says, approaching, always in that low, hoarse voice. “Ya okay?”

“Yeah, my back hurts a little.”

Daryl sits down on the long iron chair, his legs on either side.

“Why? And don’ tell me s' cause yer gettin' old.”

You chuckle.

“It’s nothing…” Your hand leaves that area, only to pretend it doesn’t hurt like it does now. “During the time this started I went through a tin roof while Sam and I were escaping a horde of walkers. After the pain and the shock, it was pretty funny actually. I just... disappeared like a damn magic trick!” You laugh, earning a scoff from Daryl because he didn’t find that memory funny while hating himself knowing that you were hurt along the way. “Luckily I landed on my back and not on my knees.”

As if someone is squeezing his heart, Daryl tries to pretend not to notice the pain of having left you alone when the two of you could have escaped the city, together.

“Turn around.” He says, seriously.

You frown, looking at him in confusion.

“Why?”

“Woman, jus' turn around.” You do it, in the chair, placing one leg on the other side so your back is facing him. You can guess what he’s about to do, but knowing doesn’t slow down your heart rate when you feel the contact of his fingers on your shirt, right in the area where Sam said he always put his hand. “Here?”

“Yeah.” Your back arches slightly under the pain, but at the same time, the pressure he exerts is pleasurable. For a moment, silence reigns in the room, and while it’s not awkward, because you enjoyed his silence as much as hearing his voice, you have to clear your throat to make any noise other than your heartbeat. “You’re not doing this to get into my pants, are you?”

Daryl chuckles.

“I don’ think ya’ll lemme get in yer pant ever again.”

You chuckle, too.

“Nope. You’re banned from that place forever.”

When his hands leave your body after a while, you turn back around, but the thanks you’re about to give him gets stuck in your throat when he speaks again.

“Where’s yer flyin’ rat?”

The sarcasm in his voice makes you roll your eyes.

“I don’t know, I guess she went out to eat, but if you’re good maybe Aeris will bring you a squirrel for you to eat in a stew.”

Daryl scoffs, but you know him too well to know that he wants to laugh.

“I’ve never eaten falcon.”

The corner of his lip curls into a smile and you laugh sarcastically, because even though you know he’s joking, Aeris is a daughter to you.

“Do something to her, and this time it’ll be a bullet that hits your forehead and not a peach.”

You stand up, closing the book and ending the conversation, but before you can take a step, Daryl's hand closes around yours, stopping you.

“Peach, hey, I was jus’ messin’ with ya.”

You can see the worry on his face, and hear the apologies in the way his deep voice turns soft, but the more he looks at you, the more it feels like you might sink into a new kind of ocean.

“I know.” You say, smiling slightly to reassure him. “I was just going to wait for her outside. Do you want to go or do you have something more important to do?”

The relief in his eyes is clear, transparent in the way his gaze softens as Daryl stands up. You two walk in silence for a moment, but it feels like the night breeze can bring back old memories, old feelings, an echo that you can only hear in your ears.

And for some reason, it feels like going back to the beginning where you two were only strangers, because when you read a story from its first page, the characters are presented as two different worlds, travelers who venture to explore unknown territory, and when they meet, for the first time, it’s like witnessing the collision of two universes. But no one teaches you the risks of falling in love.

“I, uh…” You think deeply about your next words, and if it’s okay to say them out loud, but when he looks at you intently, it’s like the night brings back memories of when your mom died and he was there for you, all the time. “I’m so sorry about Merle, Daryl. I saw the cross outside with his name on it.”

Daryl mourns his brother’s death, but he can’t help but remember the best, colorful memories of the times he shared with you, which are turning blue inside him, because in that moment of loneliness when Merle left, Daryl wanted nothing more than to be with you.

“Thanks, peach.”

But as time mercilessly pursues you and prevents you from falling into a deeper conversation like the night outside the prison, your gazes turn towards the terrifying scene in front of the two of you the moment the door connecting to the outside opens. On the left side of the place, the outer gate falls under the weight of the horde of walkers, and although the second inner gate stops them for a few minutes, it won’t be enough.

“Hey! Rick!” Daryl is only a few steps away from him and a young boy with a sheriff hat, and Rick turns around showing his own fear as time runs out. “We need to use the guns, s’ the only way.”

Rick nods, quickly.

“Okay, Daryl says you know how to shoot, right, (Y/N)?” You nod too, and he runs a few steps back to the pile of guns in a large canvas box. His breathing is ragged, just like the others as Rick hands a long gun to the young boy, doing the same with you as Daryl takes one on his own, each of you filling your pockets with ammunition. “Carl, (Y/N), magazine goes in here. Release is here. Make sure it latches. Pull back the operating rod and rounds feed up. Keep squeezing the trigger for rapid fire, okay?” As Rick takes the lead while he explains the workings of the weapon, he takes a second to lean over the boy. “You fire or you run. Don’t let them get close. Okay?”

The moment the gate finally falls and the first walkers take the first step towards you all, time gives Daryl a second to look at you.

“I’ll be fine.” You say quietly before looking ahead.

In the no longer so silent night, the sound of incessant gunfire resonates, taking down the first row of walkers who fall forever this time, silencing their grunts as you all do the same with the next group and the one behind. The tail of the gun hits you in the shoulder, a bump each time you fire a bullet that hits the heads of those who used to be normal people, with normal jobs, being someone else’s family. But it’s funny how the suffocating situation still allows you to remember how your dad exercised that paternal authority over you, always doing what he wanted you to do, but as the last walkers finally return to the land where they belong, you can’t help but give a silent thanks to the man who, unknowingly, saved your life in that new world.

When the last walker is shot down and the last bullet is fired, silence falls over everyone like a foggy night.

“Ya okay, peach?” You feel Daryl’s hand on your shoulder, and it’s like waking up from a trance under the warmth of his fingers.

“Uh? Yeah.” You nod at him while, above your head, you hear the sounds Aeris makes before landing on your shoulder.

“Shit. Is that a falcon?”

The moment the young boy turns to check that everyone is okay, his eyes stop on Aeris, admiring her in fascination.

Rick chuckles.

“(Y/N), this is my son Carl. Carl, this is (Y/N), Daryl's…”

It’s confusing for everyone.

“I’m not related to this man, not at all…” You shake your head, pointing at him, so seriously that you hear Daryl scoffs. “It’s a pleasure, Carl. This is Aeris.”

“That's cool. And she’s beautiful.” He smiles.

And between that thick feeling of terror and confusion, it’s almost funny and sad to see the innocence in a young man who surely learned to shoot to protect his life and others.

A few hours later and in the farthest part of the prison where the sick were quarantined, everyone finally got a break from danger as the dead came back to life in that place too. Now, in the solitude of your own cell, sitting on the edge of the small bed, it’s endearingly awkward the way Daryl silently enters, trying to get closer to you as he sits down next to you. But for a moment, it’s as if you both need a minute to contemplate with different eyes what just happened, the constant game of tug–of–war with death, surviving one more day.

“Ya okay?” He asks, his voice low. “Ya look a lil’ shocked.”

You take a deep breath, trying to let go of the bad feelings.

“Yeah, it’s just… I never believed, not for a second, that the way my dad forced me to learn how to shoot was going to save my life one day. And at this point in my life, I know well how to do it, but I never imagined I’d actually have to.”

Daryl nods, but when the ocean depths in his eyes stare at you, you fear what he might say.

“Can ya stay?” It’s a question, but it sounds like a plea that makes you hold your breath. “Ya an’ Sam can stay here. We can… find a way to bring yer new parents over.”

His words are tender, but something stops you from saying yes.

“Mark’s not going to leave his home. I know him, and asking him will only make him feel like a burden, and I don’t want to put him through that. Thank you, really… I really appreciate what you did for Sam. You and everyone here.” When you look back at him, you think of the times you told yourself that if you fell too deep into his gaze, you’d just have to swim back to the surface. “I’m glad to know you found a family, really, but this isn’t my place, Daryl.”

Daryl has to look away when his fears threaten to overwhelm him, but they are enough to fill the emptiness of the world.

“Try to sleep, peach.”

And coldly, he leaves.

But when morning comes, it all happens in the blink of an eye.

The man with the eye patch kills Hershel without any remorse in front of his daughter and the group, his new family, and then, there are gunshots and injuries when a battle breaks out, fire and explosions, and a tank knocking down the fences while letting the walkers in. Out of focus, like being outside your own head and body: one by one, behind a wall, you shoot those who try to shoot you and the people around. But the big group disperses into small ones, the injured and some children, and there are screams everywhere, words you can't make out over the repetitive sound of the bullets. From somewhere in the distance, you hear Sam's voice, but it's like the wind is pushing it through you and into the smoke, getting lost forever.

But there are too many walkers for you alone, and in your own escape plan, while taking down the man who got out of the tank and others trying to get away, you find Daryl just as he shoots another guy in the head with an arrow.

“Daryl…”

He's out of breath when he turns around, but the surrender in his gaze is overwhelming.

“Peach, we need to go.”

You take one last look at the fallen prison, nodding as you look back at him.

But once far away and with a full view of the place, the sight is heartbreaking, lonely despite all the walkers that begin to enter the prison. Fire and smoke are the only things you hope are left in the ruined place, an image that sticks in your memory as you begin to turn your back to enter the woods.

The ammunition in your pockets weighs like you’re carrying lead, but with a shaking hand against your lips and a whistle traveling through the place, the pressure in your chest is released slightly as Aeris’s voice echoes, until the moment she lands on your shoulder.

“Peach, hey, we need a plan, okay?” Daryl’s hand stops you.

“I have a plan…” You turn to him, the gun still in your hand and your breathing ragged, hot in your chest like you have a fever, but you want to believe it’s because of the strength you used to run there, and not because of the fear of losing your family. “Ellie didn’t answer last night when I tried to talk to her on the walkie–talkie, and she always answers. I want to believe that Sam is okay, that she will be able to protect herself with the little I was able to teach her all this time, but Ellie doesn’t know how.”

However, when you try to turn around again, Daryl stops you when he steps in front of you.

“Can ya wait a damn minute?” He breathes through slightly parted lips, his chest rising and falling at an abnormal pace. “It took us a whole day to get here from the city, and ya wanna walk back there? ya crazy, woman?”

In a second, you feel like circumstances have put back that concrete wall life once put between the two of you when you parted, and it’s then that the world regains sound when you realize that this could be the end. So, gathering courage, you dare to look deeply into his eyes because you no longer have time to be afraid, because heartless time has finally caught up with you.

“Maybe I am a little crazy…” You try to laugh, but your smile falters. “You know something? I once told you that I was trying to find my place in the old world we lived in, to do something useful with my life so that it would have meaning the day I die, and I think now is the time. I don’t care if it takes me a week or a month, I’m going to get to them. You can do whatever you want, anyway, that’s what you always do…”

The moment you start walking, Daryl knows again that falling for you years ago was forbidden, like biting the apple of discord every night in which, secretly, you two enjoyed clandestine encounters, because the desire to be together was like fire inside him, and you, you were going to be the only person for whom he was going to fall in love deeply, he knew it and he would know it forever.

“Ya don’ know why I broke up with ya.”

With a broken smile, you try to push the memories of that night to the back of your mind, because, in a constant struggle between your mind and your heart, that last one wanted to believe that you two could have worked out despite the fears and insecurities.

“So what? Do you want to tell me now?”

The air of the world doesn’t seem enough to reach the emptiness that your departure left in his chest, but now, Daryl knows that he will follow you to the end of the world, or to hell itself if necessary. So, with a grunt that masks his feelings, Daryl starts walking in your direction, muttering under his breath before continuing on.

“Yer insufferable sometimes.” As he passes you, you chuckle as you start walking in the same direction. “If anythin' happens to us, we’re eatin’ yer rat.”

And among that world that tries to continually tear you down, slowly kill you, you find a small spark of hope among the ruins.

Or so you thought.

@fluffy-dixon @stunkbiggu @kurogxrix @carbonnite-copy

[troublesomefox21]

Naruto Founders HP Houses

I'm still stuck in a Warring Era headspace. I don't generally agree with how the sorting in Harry Potter works, especially when there is so much overlap with a lot of the traits. This is also assuming that the main four brothers have to be divided into the four houses. I'd love to hear your thoughts, so!

Senju Tobirama: I would easily put him into Ravenclaw. While he fits with most if not all of the traits assigned, I'd sort him simply due to his intelligence and creativity. While I could name the countless jutsus and such that he made, I think that his skills towards actually designing Konoha and it's civil structure are often overlooked.

Uchiha Izuna: I think he could debatably go between Slytherin and Hufflepuff but I'm going to put him in Slytherin because his stubbornness outweighs his loyalty to his brother... He's a genius in his own right and there's no denying that but I think a lot of his skill comes from repetition and practice over the basics is what kept him so on par with Tobirama who probably had a new technique every time they fought. If that's not ambitiousness, along with his desire to keep his family safe, I don't know what is.

Senju Hashirama: If I'm honest, I feel like he could go either way for the remaining houses but I'm going to put Hashirama as Gryffindor actually. I think the relationship he has with Tobi pulls at the trope where one sibling underthinks while the other overthinks. He's known as the GOD of Shinobi, right? I think that a certain level of brashness is required to acquire such a title. I'd also argue that Gryffindor's, that Hashirama, doesn't think in a world of black and white but almost absolute grey. (That, in my opinion, is why so many Gryf's in HP are so freakin different at their core.)

Uchiha Madara: This one is a little ironic, almost, but I do think that he's a Hufflepuff. It may be a slight bias on my part because I'm a Puff but I think that they're often misrepresented. I think that a big part of Madara's problems was that his sense of loyalty was literally split between his Izuna, his family, and Hashirama. Disregarding Zetsu and his ability to manipulate others and their debatable will, I think that people all too easily say that Madara is bad because he left the village/went rogue. I just bring this up because going back to loyalty, patience and trustworthiness- Madara's choice was taken out of his hands on multiple accounts. Tobi, when he was the one who got one over on Izuna, when his clan said that they wanted peace with the Senju over the arguable continuation of the war and also when he wasn't voted as the Shodai?

I could go into further detail and again, I don't think that HP sortings are as black and white, nor as simple as it's often depicted to be. Another big thing is at what age they should be considered at sorting. If we're talking straight up eleven years old, I would genuinely put the Uchiha brothers and Hashirama all in Hufflepuff just because they'd be more naive in a lot of ways. Tobirama is and always will be, in my mind, a Ravenclaw and honestly one of the best examples of one. There's so many ways things could have gone differently if any one of them did something different. The ripple effects, as well as the following sortings, of a single change would be drastic to say the least.

Other mentions!

Uzumaki Mito: There's not nearly enough known about the Uzumaki in general and what we know about Mito seems like even less than the clan at large, somehow? Either way, I'd say that Mito, at least, is a Ravenclaw... I have so many questions as to what Uzumaki fuinjutsu was actually like between the years of Konoha's founding and when Uzu fell. Still, I think that her Strength of a Hundred seal or whatever, was pretty big even in her time. I think that secondary would probably be Gryffindor based off of vibes and the fact that she left her country to literally join a village that'd been founded by two clans that hated each other since the seeming dawn of time. Pretty crazy.

Senju Touka: This girl is Slytherin through and through. To my knowledge, there's not another kunoichi mentioned during that era for the Senju nor the Uchiha, actually. That being said, I think it's pretty insane that, at least by most fanfics and theory, she took one look at an Uchiha stereotype and said give me a sword and I'll put them in a genjutsu to see how they like it.

Uchiha Hikaku: I feel like a lot of Uchiha's in general..? Could probably be sorted into either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff? I think it's a bit hard to say for sure and I can't really explain it. For sorting sake, I would say Gryffindor because with a lot of stories I've read, the relationship between him, Izuna and Madara is funny.

Uchiha Kagami: Absolute Hufflepuff. If I have one type of trope i like for this time period, it's when baby Uchiha has no sense of self preservation and has to get saved by Tobirama over and over for whatever reasons. Kid takes one look at him and imprints.

For Senju Kawarama and Itama: Kawarama died first, right? It's hard to say for either of them because, I swear, they're only even mentioned in a few episodes at all. I kind of like the idea of Kawa being a Slytherin with Itama prolly being a Puff. Idk.

[lousyglitch]

Scott pilgrim takes off inhabits the same artistic space as the matrix 4, or even the final fantasy 7 remake. I mean this as a good thing. It has the distinct touch of an artist that made something that defined a generation revisiting the art that outgrew them a thousandfold with more maturity and different interests.

These interests usually skew meta, they're about what drives someone to revisit something made by a past version of oneself, about the experience of suddenly gaining more influence than anyone could reconcile, where criticisms of your work (which you also, no doubt, have many) become synonymous with criticisms of your culture. If you've been here a while, you probably know (and are tired of) what I'm talking about, manic pixie dream girls and aloof average male protagonists, toxic nostalgia, pick your theme and it's a video essay title.

Imagine having every read of your 2004 funny video game-coded coming of age comic reverberate infinitely toward every direction, people saying your main character taught a whole generation of men to be self-absorbed while the exact opposite type of people rant about how your secondary lead "ruined a whole generation of women" because of hair-dye or whatever. Imagine Edgar Wright makes a movie adaptation of your cute little comic that somehow launches the careers of half of the current celebrity pantheon simultaneously. How would that change you?

Well, for one, it makes you less relatable. The truth of an aloof nerdy guy dating in his early 20s is a lot more universal than the truth of an artist in his 40s forever defined by the event horizon of a thing he wrote half his life ago. The matrix 4 couldn't stop talking about how it feels to have created the matrix. The final fantasy 7 remake can't help but to constantly examine what it means to remake final fantasy 7. It's easy to see why someone would hate that indulgent meta trend, I'll probably never write a generation-defining story, why would I care about the first world problems of someone who did? It can feel distant, and at its worst it can feel insulting. Like it's pointing the finger at the fans, whispering 'you did this to me'. I get that.

I get that, but I love it.

It's the fundamental difference between wanting something that is like something you liked, and wanting someone that is from the same creator of something you liked. The difference between feeding the mona lisa into an AI and finding a new authentic da Vinci. You can't make something entirely new if you religiously stick to using the parts of something that's already there. The human behind the work will always have influences you didn't realize, thought patterns and aesthetic preferences that weren't entirely clear in their previous work, no matter how much you deconstruct it. More importantly, the human will also change, and this organic self-continuity will reflect on the art. I don't want the creator of something to hold their own creation with the same zeal as its fans, because someone who did that simply wouldn't have been capable of creating the original piece in the first place.

I don't want a product, I want art.

Scott pilgrim, the original, indulges the most earnest impulse we have-- that of self-mythologizing, of creating a narrative off of our own lives. To depict the mundane as fantastic, interpersonal relationships as adventures. It resonated with so many people because it was earnest, and it was also picked apart to hell and back because it was earnest. Its flaws were on display, and not just the ones it intended to show. But in my opinion, the opposite impulse, that of washing off everything that could be criticized and presenting the cleanest possible image of yourself through your art, is just... bad. it makes for bad art, or it just freezes you. The very first hurdle of creating anything is getting over that, then maybe the spotlight will fall on you. If it does, you'll get everything you ever wanted, but everyone gets to see through you.

So, how do you revisit something like that? You have two options. Either you take all the pieces and try to reassemble them exactly how everyone remembers it, signing your name as a formality, looking at a mirror in which you no longer see yourself, or you talk to it. You dialogue with your own work, with who you used to be. You travel in time and talk to yourself. You question them, acknowledge them but also teach them a thing or two. You don't respect the product, you respect the feeling. You find the same earnestness that made you put pen to paper for the first time, and you point it towards your new loves and fears. Maybe you make it less about the main guy, take the chance to develop your secondary characters, maybe you give the girl more agency. Maybe you summon the future and refuse its answers. Maybe you fight yourself.

That's the harder choice. It submits your new self to the scrutinizing eyes of a whole new generation, it risks alienating the people who identified with your previous piece. It's riskier, probably less profitable, and by any pragmatic lens probably a bad idea. But it's the only way you can make art. It's truth, the truth that got you there in the first place.

It's how you get it together.

[fantasyforbeginners]

When you’re constructing characters, how do you figure out everyone’s personalities without listing off character traits or relying on nebulous “vibes?” I’m able to figure out the characters’ trauma, values, motivations, justifications, etc..but, so to speak, I’m missing the wrapping that’s supposed to go onto the present. So you have any advice?

Honestly, I find the most useful question when I'm writing scene-to-scene stuff, or trying to figure a character out, is What are they hiding (and why)?

Say a character doesn't want anyone to know they're upset. The source of the upset can range from something small to something larger (or appear to be small but actually be large, or vice versa). Do they hide it because they're ashamed to admit they're upset in general, or the source of this upset specifically? Do they hide it because they think there's more important things to focus on? How do they hide it? Do they get snappish, or force smiles/jokes?

It sounds to me like you have a good idea of the characters' Core (their inner workings, fears, hopes, etc) but are lost on the Presentation. Gonna copy and paste from a meta I did for the fantasy show The Dragon Prince, since they're really good at demonstrating the difference in their foil/character dynamics:

One thing that I find particularly useful when it comes to discussing/analyzing characters, or when creating them, is the difference between a character’s core vs their presentation. The most classic kind of example we see is the “jerk / bad boy with a heart of gold” archetype where the character’s presentation is one way (outwardly prickly and/or mean) but their internal core (values, priorities, ‘truest self’ etc) is very warm, loving, and caring. We see it so often it borders on the point of being cliche. However, it is useful in explaining just how much a character’s core can differ from somebody else’s, but their presentation might be similar, or vice versa, with their presentations being different but their cores being similar. And obviously even that is simplistic (characters can have pieces of one another’s core but still be very different.

I'll use an example of two of my own OCs from @alvoskia (aka my fantasy debut is getting published in 2026 and I'm very excited!!) since I had considered merging the characters because they fulfilled similar purposes, but ultimately decided on keeping them separate because of their presentations were different enough.

George and Bill are two very similar characters. They have a similar background—in the fact, the most similar out of anyone in the main case, since they were raised by the same adoptive mother figure since they were very young (under 1 year)—and similar goals. They love their friends, want to help them, are generally good/kind hearted, slow to anger, etc.

However, Bill is more of a peacemaker where George is more avoidant. Bill attempts to address and smooth things over, whereas George puts everything in a box. Bill is more responsible and George younger and more mischievous. Bill will hide his problems because he doesn't want to burden others, and George hides his problems because he's pretending that he doesn't have any.

Similar cores, different presentations.

That said: how to craft presentations?

There are certain characters where I knew their personalities right away, others where I thought I did and then they surprised me while I was actually writing. (For example, I gave my main protagonist—George and Bill's mutual friend—a fierce temper, which I thought would be her main character flaw from the start. It turns out her temper is secondary to her current main flaw, at least, of constant comparison of herself to others / her ego and penchant for resentment.) Some characters, like George because he's a side main character, took a while (aka multiple books/drafts) for me to feel like I fully had his reactions ironed out.

That said, if we feel like we don't know anyone's personality, it can make us feel like we don't know where to start writing wise, so "finding the personality along the way" isn't necessarily helpful advice.

What I find, then, is that most characters fall into 2 categories: they have certain traits/values and the personality traits we expect, OR there's a purposeful contrast between traits and personality. The "jerk with a heart of gold" is a contrast, for example, that we see so often we do expect it.

For an example of the 1st category (i.e. when the core + presentation are the same and played pretty straight), basically every character in Avatar: The Last Airbender has the values/cores and then presentations of what you would expect. Fire is wild and out of control and more overtly violent; Zuko is hot headed, destructive, and impulsive. He has to learn control of his temper and improved control of his bending, as well as to let go of the more violent ways of his people.

Meanwhile, my Fire aligned character isn't angry or impulsive. She's very bright and warm and sunny, but also performative and deeply caring / passionate.

Or, for a less element/power aligned variation: say you have a character who is a Healer. The Expected Character Traits (Presentation) is someone who is very caring and therefore very selfless, someone who is going to be patient and understanding. Their Core is probably going to be wanting to help people (values) and afraid of not being able to help/save others.

The immediate contrast to that would be a more prickly, less compassionate doctor (common on live action tv shows who have an "genius but an asshole" character, less so in novels) who has a softer side occasionally shown, but is a lot tougher, maybe jaded from the patients/loved ones they couldn't save. An example could be Bones from Star Trek.

To be clear, the contrast isn't necessarily better than the played straight option; both can be extremely interesting (or boring) depending on the execution. Shows like Grey's Anatomy have everyone be a nurse and/or doctor, and have a wide array of personalities on display. There's also a variety of ways to get in the Middle between contrast and playing straight. Perhaps the healer character only cares about healing their loved ones, or will withhold certain aid because they think others need to be tougher, or is also motivated by their faith and that puts them into some kind of crisis with their profession. Maybe the healer is nice and gentle to everyone but when someone tests their patience or doubts their knowledge, they get immediately cold/terse, etc.

It can also be useful in creating conflict. If a character's core values peace/rationality, than a loud/emotional/impulsive character (some of which are more personality than not) would get on their nerves, even if their plot goals may align.

Basically:

Think about what personality traits would either contrast (hide) or highlight (accentuate) the cores and conflicts you want your characters to have.

Other useful questions to ask are:

What is the line of separation between how my character reacts to adverse situations when they're scared, or when they're not?

How does my character react because of their unaffected personality, or because of their trauma?

If two characters have similar cores, do they get along with one another? Why or why not?

If two characters have similar presentations (i.e. both are show-offs) do they get along, or dislike each other? Why or why not?

How much does my characters' traits change personality wise because of circumstances? (ie. a character who is very observant when relaxed or concerned could be deeply caring, but when they're stressed, it can turn to 'right for the jugular' style anger)

More ideas on character construction can be found here!

[simplegenius042]

Music Monday & WIP Wednesday

Tagging @voidika @raresvtm @josephseedismyfather @noodlecupcakes @imogenkol @socially-awkward-skeleton @inafieldofdaisies @aceghosts @cloudofbutterflies92 @cassietrn @direwombat @adelaidedrubman @derelictheretic @davrinsgriffons @shallow-gravy @strangefable @statichvm @carlosoliveiraa @g0dspeeed @wrathfulrook @starsandskies @ladyoriza @la-grosse-patate @thewanderer-000 @omen-speaker @alypink @shellibisshe @josephslittledeputy @skoll-sun-eater @afarcryfrommymain @strafethesesinners @turbo-virgins @florbelles @minilev @justasmolbard @yokobai and @seedsplease + anyone else who'd like to join.

Now onto the Hazbin Hotel songs for The UnTitledverse, Life, Despair & Monsters and one song centered around Arraknis and the Arachnoids in regards to their envy and hatred towards humanity, and a WIP Wednesday for The Silver Chronicles. You can listen and read below the cut:

First up is more on Smile Tunes and more on Samuel Who's side of the story helping Charlie with the Hazbin Hotel alongside the other staff. Samuel is like 50-50 on the whole redemption thing since he knows that some people like Angel Dust don't deserve Hell but people like Alastor definitely do (also he has complex feelings towards "redemption to get into Heaven" since he himself is barred from Heaven for like eternity, not out of any wrong doing, but because his murderer, Edward Carmine, didn't take the ritual he was conducting seriously and unintentionally sent Samuel's soul straight to Hell and barring him from Heaven, instead of the original plan which was Edward sacrifices Samuel's soul so he himself can get a one-way ticket straight to Heaven or be barred from Hell for eternity). Samuel pretty much follows Charlie everywhere and acts as a younger/older adoptive brother (ageing gets weird in Hell), but their dynamic is like "she's the passionate dreamer and he's the guy that uses the fancy sometimes political words to sell the dream" and add Vaggie and you get the additional "call out the opposition's BS while keeping the dreamer grounded". This side of the plot for Smile Tunes is to prove to Heaven that redemption can work before the next Extermination; and what better way than to send one of their apparently fallen/lost exorcists (Kingsley) back to them along with some redeemed sinners. Though Kingsley is noticeably a little different from a regular exorcist as both Vaggie and Samuel come to figure out...

[CW: Mentions of violence and sexual themes]

"I can do this, somehow I know it I'll get Heaven behind my plans ("Charlie, hold on.")

There's just no way I could blow it Not in this once-in-a-lifetime chance ("It's just a meeting.")

To change their minds and touch their hearts Or whatever angels have ("This could be bad.")

Cheer up, Vaggie This could be swell Something tells me that today will be a happy day in Hell!"

"Okay, but just don't sing to them." "That bitch is halfway down the street." "Is she-?" "Oh, she's dancin'." "Ugh, no..."

"There's a warm fuzzy feeling that wafts through the air Every street so revealing, it's hard not to stare It's a realm so appealing, it beats anywhere If you don't mind the smell It's a happy day in Hell!"

In Life, Despair & Monsters, sometime during the midway point, there's a conflict between two antagonistic groups; the Ruins of the Midnight Rise, the main antagonistic force of this series led by Sir Enigma Malvolio and his fucked-up science fair rejects, and the Occult, the secondary antagonistic force comprised of undead magicians and magic-using zealots determined to bring back the Kin (reality benders who were akin to Gods) lead by a lich named Aggravor. They both are an issue towards the protagonists, although both Malvolio's Midnight Rise and Aggravor's chapter of the Occult are rivals to each other; one former a symbol of progress and the future (albeit to unethical degrees) and the latter focused on tradition and the past. The song below pretty much sums up the relationship between these two groups, albeit it would have been Malvolio's progress winning rather than Aggravor's stagnated approach.

"Is Aggravor as strong as he purports? Or is it based on his support? He'd be powerless without the other zealots he's amassed!" * "Oh, please!" "And here's the sugar on the cream He asked me to support** his team!" "Hold on!" "I said no, and now he's pissy That's the tea!"

"You old-timey prick, I'll show you suffering!" "Uh oh, the TV is buffering." "I'll destroy you, you little-" "I'm afraid you've lost your signal

Let's begin I'm gonna make you wish that I'd stayed gone, tune on in When I'm done, your status quo will know its race is run Oh, this will be fun!"

"Fuck!"

[* The Occult is made up of a lot of zealots, not just a few individuals with Aggravor leading this chapter of the Occult. ** The Midnight Rise would never join the Occult and the Occult would never want the Midnight Rise to join them, especially since Aggravor's in charge and has a strict definition of the characteristics they seek for in applicants. However, Aggravor would most definitely have sort out Malvolio for support in the Occult's endeavours, believing himself to understand what a Displacement like Malvolio would want (due to his own experiences with the Occult's founder, the Arcane Urias), however, gets proven very wrong very quickly].

In my LORE, the Arachnoids are beings from another dimension that were called by the Omniscience (basically the living will of the uni/multiverse) to help it expand. The Arachnoids made several sacrifices to enter the realm of the Omniscience such as replacing all their flesh with technology (given the realm of the Omniscience had gravity which crushed the Arachnoids as soon as they crossed the border between dimensions) and straying from their pacifistic roots (especially when building the Exterminators). The Archnoids utilized the Omniscience's power and helped it create worlds and structures and whatnot. They were pretty much the Omniscience's little helpers that built pretty much every natural force and element there was. Until the Omniscience learned to do so by itself, eventually doing what the Arachnoids could never do; which was create life (the Eldritch which were basically the Omniscience's children, and humanity + animals and stuff). The Arachnoids were surprised and curious and wanted to replicate this by making their own life... which resulted in the "Lost Ones" and the "Old Ones" who were swiftly abandoned. It wasn't until they discovered energy from a creature known as a "Paragon" which they utilized to create "the Kin", reality benders and reality-warpers that were the drafts for what would eventually become "the Old Gods" (until those were replaced by "the New Gods" after an incident involving Olympus warring with the other Old Gods). However, it wasn't an event known as the "Extermination Purge Wars" (a conflict that involved a vanished universe, Discord becoming "the Mad Kin of Carnage", and the Arachnoids' use of the Exterminators to wipe out around four generations of Kin). Due to the lack of explanation for such extreme action, especially to the Eldritch, Old Gods and the Bronze Era of the Time Bureau Authority, the Arachnoids were banished from the Omniscience's realm, and were forced back to their own home dimension (with the Exterminators and Boss Series deactivated and locked away in some dimensional pocket prisons/tombs). The Arachnoids have hated humanity for a long, long time, due to the fact that humanity is "important" to the function of the Omniscience while the Arachnoids basically built everything that allowed the Omniscience to become what it is today. Arraknis did not take his species banishment well, and has made plans for vengeance and to prove everyone wrong that the Arachnoids are the superior beings, and not humanity. I believe this song exemplifies this well:

"Let me stop you right there, save us all precious time ("Oh, okay?") If what you're suggesting is letting them climb Up the ladder, oh, they'd rather cross the Pearly Gates? ("Well, um...") Sorry, sweetie, but there's no defyin' their fates

'Cause Hell is forever, whether you like it or not Had their chance to behave better, now they boil in a pot 'Cause the rules are black and white There's no use in tryin' to fight it They're burnin' for their lives until we kill 'em again ("Okay, but-!")

Just try to chillax, babe, you're wasting your breath Did I hear you imply that they don't deserve death? Are they winners? Are they sinners? 'Cause it's cut and dry ("Well actually, if you take a look-") Fair is fair, an eye for an eye

And when all's said and done ("Said and done!") There's the question of fun And for those of us with divine ordainment Extermination is entertainment

Bow-now-now-now-now, guitar solo, fuck yeah!

Hell is forever, whether you like it or not Had their chance to behave better now they boil in a pot ("Where did all you come from?"*) 'Cause the rules are black and white There's no use in tryin' to fight it They're burnin' for their lives until we kill 'em again

Fuckin' Hell is forever and it's meant to suck a lot So give up your dumb endeavor, 'cause you don't have a shot Long as I got your attention I guess I should probably mention That we've made the determination To move up the next extermination!" ("What?!")

[*Whoever's speaking probably just got freaked out by the amount of Arachnoids that there really were in the room]

First snippet is of my FC5 WIP Oh, I Love It And I Hate It At The Same Time. You And I Drink The Poison From The Same Vine. Hiding All Of Our Sins From The Daylight... or as I like to shorten it as, the Daylight AU, because David Kushner's song encapsulates Silva and Paul's relationship. In this AU, essentially Paul escaped with Silva (instead of being separated during the Tumultite Massacre where Silva ends up with her sister and daughter like in her canon story). So the experience leaves them scarred together and worsens their codependency with one another. Silva's a deputy and Paul is a wasp "beekeeper". The Seeds want Silva to themselves but Paul is a significant obstacle in the way:

Jacob shifted on the couch, still stiff, still cautious. Beside him, Joseph was as calm as ever, patiently awaiting their host to return from the cabinet behind them.

It took all of Jacob's self-control to not just take a glance behind him to know what exactly Paul was getting, but given how observant the older man was, he decided against it, not desiring to be put on the spot.

He could hear the sound of glasses clinking and the cabinet creaking close, and it wasn't long until Paul rounded the corner of their couch and sat on the sofa across from them, placing three short glasses and a bottle of an alcoholic beverage down on the table that separated them.

Jacob hardened his eyes on the bottle, the cork plugged in at the mouth of it; a kind of scotch, from what he could read from the label.

Glancing to Joseph, he could see his younger brother's shared blue eyes narrow on the beverage. Neither had requested for a drink, and it bugged him that Paul picked an alcohol drink specifically.

It couldn't be for hospitality, the older man was already well-informed on the Project's rules, so it confused the men to what their host was doing.

Unscrewing the cork, Paul filled the three glasses half way with scotch, placing the bottle back before taking a glass for himself, making no gesture nor indication for either of the eldest Seeds to take a glass for themselves either.

Neither brother moved to take a glass for themselves, and Paul didn't comment on it.

The beekeeper sipped from his glass, a smirk spreading from the taste of the scotch. He focused his pale hazel eyes onto them, intrigue practically written on his face as he spread his legs and crossed one flatly on top of the other, though his face made a strange twitch when he did that.

Jacob finally noticed Paul's clothes were different; similar, but different. The color was still yellow and black, however he was wearing a Henley shirt, two of the top buttons left unbuttoned, revealing some of his dark skin. A contrast to the buttoned shirt he wore underneath his vest and suit. His pants were also different; they were missing the loops and belt he wore in their first meeting, and one of the legs seemed more baggy than the other. A minor mistake, likely another of his self-woven clothes.

It was casual attire; fitting, considering his casual attitude.

Swirling the glass in his hand, Paul didn't waste any time in asking, "So, what brings the eldest two Seeds to my figlia and I's home?"

Jacob looked to Joseph, his younger brother subtly leaning closer as he directed his words to Paul, "We were hoping we could speak about a very dire matter."

Paul raised a brow and tilted his head. Jacob noted that he didn't look worried, just curious. It was the same kind of tic Silva herself had.

"And what would be so dire that Silva and myself are unaware of?" Paul questioned in response, taking another sip of his glass. His tone lacked concern. Gratingly to Jacob, he looked more amused, his smile placid.

Joseph didn't waste time beating around the bush, as they agreed on previously, "I speak of the coming end. The Collapse that will bring upon flames and destruction across the valley, on the mountains and along the river."

Paul lost his smile, pausing mid-sip. His hazel eyes looked to Joseph, expression indiscernible. Jacob couldn't tell whether the older man's mind was racing or shocked into a forced stop.

Not even a minute, Paul finished the rest of his glass, placing it gently back onto the tabletop, empty next to the two filled ones. His eyes never left Joseph.

Paul changed his posture; taking his leg off the other, he sat up and leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees while his hands interlocked, nose resting on his hands while his focus narrowed on Joseph.

Jacob tensed, eyeing the man before him as he studied his younger brother. Paul didn't bat an eye to Jacob, making him more suspicious.

Admittedly, his first mistake when meeting Paul was regarding the older man as weak; his previous clothes gave off the impression that his stature was slimmer than it actually was, and his nonchalant and carefree attitude blindsided him.

In actuality, Paul had muscle, clear enough from the clothes he wore now. Not as obvious as Jacob himself, but still well toned. The suit he wore in their first meeting merely gave off the illusion of a lack of strength. And his jocular behavior was likely played up as well, to maintain a distance from his other qualities, such as his sharp perception.

It had Jacob curious. Who exactly was Paul Yellowjack? Was the man before him an illusion of his true self or did he simply exaggerate some of his present traits?

Most importantly, how did Silva fit into this? Does she know who the man before him is or was she as unaware as they were? For some reason, that didn't seem right to Jacob.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Paul let out a hum, breaking eye contact with Joseph as he leaned back up, seemingly satisfied by whatever conclusion he came to.

Paul grabbed another of the filled glasses, holding it by the rim, watching the liquid as he watched it swirl.

He gestured towards Joseph, stating, "Continue."

[jayz4dayz]

RWBY Volume 9 Was A Total Missed Opportunity:

Putting this out there right now. Volume 9 is by far my favorite volume of RWBY for many reasons which I will not be addressing in this post, but there are a few things that have been on my mind since it's been released where I feel the storyline went wrong and could have been something so much more meaningful for the character's story arcs and development.

Starting off with our main man or should I say our old man Jaune Arc. His presence throughout Vol. 9 felt out of place not just for his character, but also the way his development was handled didn't feel right in the slightest. Becoming a crazy old crackpot because he foolishly made bad decision after bad decision, completely altering and undoing a lot of his character's timeline, and turning into this sort of secondary antagonist for Team RWBY made no sense to me. The way he said so many out of pocket things throughout the different episodes, including completely crossing a line with Ruby and being insensitive towards her mental and emotional condition instead of showing genuine concern like he normally would have, made me cringe to where I wasn't enjoying what I was watching anymore. Not in a good way!

Here's how I would have done it:

Going back to the very end of volume 8 where we see Jaune running towards the portal and barely missing it by mere inches, followed by seeing him fall into the dark abyss and joining the same fate as Team RWBY and Neo. Instead of that, we see him jumping through the portal at the very last second and making it to Vacuo by the skin of his teeth. The others see him and question why he's alone and where Team RWBY was, only for him to go "Uh..." and then the screen cuts to black and the credits start rolling.

We're gonna skip the three year hiatus and jump right into the beginning of Vol. 9 where only Team RWBY and Neo have fallen into the Ever After. For the first few episodes leading up to the reveal of the Rusted Knight, I don't think much needs to change except for the fact that they won't ever encounter Jaune, but they will still encounter the Rusted Knight who, in this version, is someone that would have had the entire fandom shook to their core when the big reveal of the Rusted Knight's identity happened: Pyrrha.

Now, how would she get to this point, you might ask? Well, remember when she got pierced by Cinder's Arrow and her body seemed to disintegrate? This scene:

This death compared to all the other characters who were killed off was unique in the fact that there was no body left behind and it almost appeared her energy was transported to another place. Hmm, perhaps another realm such as the In Between or the Ever After? Why this happened, in my opinion, was because of the use of someone else's semblance. We know very little about Pyrrha's family and have only seen her mother on screen once, so we don't know much about her backstory or semblance either. However, if her semblance worked anything like Raven's to where she needed to be attached to someone in order for her semblance to work and transfer her loved ones to a safer location to escape a deadly threat, now we have something. What if her mom's semblance transported the body to another realm of her choice right before the moment of death? (I like to call it a "divine intervention" semblance.) If that's the case, then why wouldn't it make sense for a mother's love to send her daughter somewhere familiar and (relatively) safe and still accessible to Remnant? The Ever After was based on a children's tale that everyone knew growing up and Pyrrha being as smart as she is would instantly recognize where she was transported to. Maybe she had knowledge of her mother's semblance and knew this might have happened one day, or maybe not. I find the one scene her mother is in to be very interesting because while she was talking to Jaune, she had a very bitter-sweet attitude about it and almost talked as if she knew more than she let on, but I digress.

In the story's timeline, when Team RWBY arrives in the Ever After, Pyrrha would have been there already for a couple of years. That would have given her enough time to establish herself and explore the different acres because let's be real here, Pyrrha wouldn't have stumbled upon the time travel fruit and messed around with it like Jaune did, nor would she have focused all her energy into the people of the land even though she would protect them with her life if she had to, but at the end of the day, she was just trying to figure out a way home. Once she stumbles across Team RWBY, it would all make sense why the Tree didn't let her return to Remnant yet. By this point, I'm sure she would have encountered Alyx, Lewis, and the Curious cat, probably handled the situation a lot better than Jaune did, and give Team RWBY a cautionary tale about the Curious Cat in a way that wasn't bitter or vengeful. The bee's having their special moment still would have happened, the team's fallout with the Curious Cat still would have gone down, and then we get to the scene with Neo's Jabber Walker clones and Ruby has her mental breakdown and identity crisis. I don't see Pyrrha blaming Ruby for what happened to the Paper Pleasers despite her immense sorrow for the loss of her only friends she had during her time in the Ever After. Her experiences with the Paper Pleasers would have been way different too because there's no way she'd be a gold-hearted tyrant like Jaune was painted out to be. I do see Ruby blaming herself and still running off anyway because she feels like a burden and a failure as a leader. I didn't enjoy the way Jaune was the center of focus when Ruby was very clearly in a dangerous state of mind and I'm positive Pyrrha would have picked up on it right away and address it to Ruby's team after the fact and not go off on her for not doing enough.

Team RWPY would go on the search for Ruby and still find her in Neo's torture dungeon, which would have been just as painful to watch, especially from Pyrrha's point of view. Ruby having to watch Pyrrha die in Vol.3 and now she had to witness Ruby "die" in Vol. 9 is kind of a trippy coincidence that fits so well. The only difference being Pyrrha immediately taking the initiative to find Ruby before the cat does and the final battle being way more epic. Jaune certainly gained a lot of battle experience throughout the series, but Pyrrha was always ahead of him in that respect and without a doubt would have sharpened her skills to perfection while she was on her own in the Ever After. Ruby emerges as a new version of herself, they defeat the Curious Cat, Neo ascends, and all of the girls finally get to go home together, hand in hand.

I can even go as far as to say this would have made Vol. 9 Beyond so much better too. Picture it, Team RWBY and Pyrrha leaving the portal and the first person to see them is Jaune. The potential for Arkos here is so strong it kills me inside! They'd have a raw moment between each other, there'd be lots of crying on Jaune and maybe even Pyrrha's part too, a long hug, and most definitely a romantic kiss that would have tied their relationship arc together in such a perfect way. It would have brought Pyrrha back and that's honestly all I want.

Of course, this is all just for shits and giggles, but I'd love to hear what y'all think or if you have something else to add! ^-^

[themanwiththeplan05]

Do any of y'all remember my Magical AU for H*R? No? Well too bad, here's a post about it.

I'm talking about The Cheat, just like I promised last time. If you don't care, good news! Reading is optional! Read more after the image.

For those uninterested, rock on! \__/,

Okay, you've taken the plunge. Here goes nothing.

The Cheat is actually a familiar! Like Strong Sad, he also has a shadow form that he can freely switch between, but unlike SS he has no qualms about doing so in front of other people. On a similar note, he also does not go through any major personality changes when he switches, and is always in a state of at least semi-permiability (which is why his bottom portion sinks into the ground).

As a familiar, The Cheat is naturally much more animal-like than the other residents of Free Country. However, through the long-term exposure of FC's particular brand of strangeness, he's actually much more cognitively aware of things to such a degree that he can hold his own in any kind of conversation.

Main Ability: Semi-Permiability (permanent)

Secondary Abilities: Common Speech, Astral Projection, Item Transfer (linked to Main Ability)

Shadow Version:

The main difference between the mainline universe version of The Cheat and EXPMAU TC is in regards to his role in The Brothers Strong's lives. Since (spoilers) they all got sent to FC when they were fairly young, TC had no choice but to act as a sort of surrogate parent/guard dog, meaning he's naturally more protective over them (especially SM). Funnily enough, this nature has only really grown over the years, meaning that he can be unreasonably wary of new things. He will still leap in front of The Brothers to protect them, despite the fact that all of them can hold their own with ease.

His shadow form has glowing spots, which are relatively strong as light sources. He can control their strength at will, and turns them off when he sleeps. He usually takes this form for energy conservation, when he feels safe, for speedy travel, and whenever he wants to prank someone by popping back up into his normal form.

Main Ability: Shadow Manipulation

Oh, and as a side note, only Strong Mad knows who actually summoned The Cheat. And it wasn't him.

That's it! Have a good day, and tune in next time when I finally make a master post for all this junk!

[cienie-isengardu]

I remember scrolling MK reddit and a post basically asked why Bi-Han let Sareeena live and consensus was basically Bi-Han thinking with his lower head and feeling bad for her, though a lot of people leaned towards Bi-Han being horny unironically and sparing her because he thought she was pretty and because he didn't seem her a threat.

Like lmao, I get Bi-Han is not socialized that great and I can see where people are coming from but I'm hoping he's not that shallow lol.

Nah, Bi-Han is not that shallow. The man does not comment on women's beauty - or anyone’s for that matter, the way the clearly horny characters do, like Johnny, Erron or Kano. His intro dialogues also has no sexually creepy undertones, the way Kano and Mileena sometimes imply things. So I think it is safe to assume that Bi-Han in general is not a sexually driven type of person. 

It would help a lot if the game or tie-in material gives us more direct reasoning for his action, however even the provided basic knowledge allow us to see the main difference between Scorpion and Sareena and it’s not about gender (though that may play some secondary role), but the fact that Hanzo, presumably, wanted to kill Sub-Zero, not for rivalry over the Map but because he was a Lin Kuei, an sworn enemy of Shirai Ryu clan, while Sareena was doing just her duty - following Quan Chi’s orders and there was nothing personal about their fight. So in a sense, Bi-Han could feel some kinship with the woman even despite her attempt at stopping his effort to save Earthrealm and trying to kill him, because he understood well what it means to serve merciless masters, as he himself, no matter how praised, was ultimately just a tool in Grandmaster’s schemes. Sareena has never been anything other than another obstacle in his path to beat down Quan Chi and steal the amulet back, so I can see why murdering her could feel pointless as it didn't serve any real goal of his.

Hanzo on other hand was tipped by Quan Chi about Sub-Zero’s mission - something the sorcerer did not deny at all 

Quan Chi: Greetings, I see the ninja has been successful in retrieving my map... as I have forseen.  Sub-Zero: Let's get something straight... I am not a ninja. I am Lin Kuei. Scorpion was a ninja!  Quan Chi: Ah yes, your Japanese counterpart. It's unfortunate that you happened upon him in your battle with the pesky Shaolin monks.  Sub-Zero: Scorpion was tipped off... he knew I was breaking into that temple, and if he weren't there - there wouldn't have been a battle! You are responsible for this sorcerer!

and as the game shows, Scorpion managed to get inside the Shaolin Monks Temple before Lin Kuei. But instead of quietly stealing the man and getting the hell out of the place while his rival was busy fighting Shaolin Monks, Scorpion literally was introduced as a man who mocked and provoked Sub-Zero  (“You will fail. Hahahaha”) and challenged him to fight over the Map ("The map is mine Sub-Zero. Fight!").

When the both men met again in Netherrealm, Hanzo accused Bi-Han for killing him in cold blood to which Bi-Han responded he had no choice. 

Warrior: I am a dead man. But somehow you have retained your mortality, which would mean you are vulnerable to death.  Sub-Zero: Wait... I know your voice.  Scorpion: Yessss... I am Scorpion. You killed me in cold blood.  Sub-Zero: I had no choice. If I had not stolen that map I would be the dead one.

Maybe Sub-Zero did not trust Scorpion to not attack him again as he did not believe Shirai Ryu would respect the act of mercy. Maybe he figured out he must kill his sworn-enemy, because Lin Kuei tradition demanded that and if Grandmaster learned about Sub-Zero sparing Scorpion’s life, he would be severely punished. Whatever was the reason, Bi-Han took no pride in killing Shirai Ryu, as he did not boast about that. When returning to Lin Kuei Temple, Bi-Han greeted the leader with “Grandmaster, in honor of the Lin Kuei, I bring you this sacred Map of Elements.” but there was no as a bonus, I also killed the filthy Shirai Ryu dog. Instead, he was clearly angry at Quan Chi for creating the whole situation in the first place by hiring the second assassin of the enemy clan (“[Scorpion] knew I was breaking into that temple, and if he weren't there - there wouldn't have been a battle! You are responsible for this sorcerer!).

So to my understanding, killing Hanzo was dictated by unfavorable circumstances and long-termed enmity between Shirai Ryu and Lin Kuei clans that forced Bi-Han’s hand while Sareena was just a demoness doing her job the same way as he was doing his. Frankly, Fujin too was not killed by Bi-Han, nor I don’t think sources implied he attempted to murder any Gods of Elements or Shaolin Monks on purpose - otherwise I think Raiden would be much more angry at the Lin Kuei assassin. Or at least mentioned that, in similar fashion to intro dialogue in which Liu Kang said "The Shaolin's losses have left many angry" to past!Scorpion, who took part in murdering Shaolin Monks in MK11.

Also, when Sareena came to aid Bi-Han in his fight against Quan Chi, Sub-Zero was understandably surprised by demoness’ action:

Sub-Zero: Why did you help me?  Sareena: You are still mortal... that means you can escape the Netherealm.  Sub-Zero: There won't be anywhere to go if I don't get the amulet back.  Sareena: Take me with you... I've waited an eternity to escape.  Sub-Zero: You don't understand. I can't leave without the...

but there is literally zero implication he finds Sareena sexy or hot or trying to pull the card “I spared your life so you own me” to get a “reward” from her. I repeat, a relatively sexy/beautiful lady just asked Sub-Zero to take her with him and Bi-Han’s mind was solely on the mission - getting back the amulet before Shinnok destroys his realm. 

Dunno about you all, but that interaction for me doesn’t sound like Bi-Han was thinking with his dick or in any way ever was smitten by Sareena’s beauty; he was a man on a mission and there is a chance he may be just more merciful than people want to give him a credit for. 

The last one brings me back to MK9, in which I still think Bi-Han's head gesture was a voiceless support for Johnny to not kill Baraka, the same way Raiden did for Cyrax. He may not have any love for strangers, he may mock Hanzo, but I don't think he is the cold killer that takes pleasure in killing like some characters do.

[gaydinosaurbananamilkcarton]

Hi it’s the Sakura anon, thank you for discussing your take too. Honestly not sure on what sort of story should she have that is “hers” you know? I was discussing this to someone and they think we should keep the fangirl and the immaturity she demonstrates in Part 1 and I agree cause we want her to be flawed but we give her room to grow and be consistent with it.

Personally for me, I feel like the Team 7 introduction back in Part 1 was the audience having a rough idea of the sort of “main” journey those three (well minus her) will take. In my take, I like the idea of Sakura having a primary, secondary, and tertiary motivations when becoming an Shinobi. Not sure what they can be but one should involve with her parents and it can deal with something medical in order to tie in that she will train to be a medic nin at the end of Part 1. And focus on her relationship with them cause parents in Naruto seem to get the bad stick here. I really like the idea of her trying to make a name herself or something related to identity (like what does she want people to think about when they say “Sakura Haruno”) the important motivations for her. And what I mean by that in the parenthesis is what sort of impact she wants to leave behind. Now for the Sasuke crush thing, her fangirl of him decreases each arc. And officially ends before the Sasuke Retrieval Mission begins in Part 1. I think in the end of Shippuden, after Sasuke apologize to her. I wouldn’t mind if they say something like “would you like to friends” cause I don’t think their interaction should end on a bitter note.

Now getting to the fights and action, in the earlier arcs before Chunin Exam she should have like two solo fights. One solo fight is when she was told to guard Tazuna (like at the bridge) after mastering tree walking. Second solo fight is while Kakashi is fighting Zabuza and Naruto, Sasuke fight Haku. She fights maybe two or three of Gato’s goons, but obviously we have her struggle. Chunin Exams we give her a little bit more better showcase of her skill. But after Chunin Exams and beyond, we show her train (not sure what honestly). Give her some solo fights in Konoha Crush arc without breaking canon timeline too much. Tsunade Rescue Arc, I actually think she doesn’t need to join Naruto on that. We can give her own personal arc there (like character building) and we can probably build up the Sound 4 from there. Since after the arc, her confronting Sasuke when he leaves Konoha can have them exchanging dialogue differently than in canon. The Sasuke Retrieval Arc, she HAS to be there cause that is way too important event that we can’t have her miss. Though we let Naruto and Sasuke fight in the valley there without Sakura interference.

Shippuden is where we give her more her own personal arcs like Sasuke had. And she actually fights (while healing people) in the Pain Arc. Now I’m just gonna say this, I’m not sure if it’s necessary to make her as strong as Naruto and Sasuke. But I do definitely think she should be stronger, just not sure how big or small the gap between her male teammates should be. Also I would like to see her interact with more women in Naruto and have meaningful bonds with them. As for endgame relationships , I honestly don’t ship her with anyone so I make her single by choice cause why not.

So sorry for how long that was long, but I would like to hear your opinion on this.

Hey again. To begin, I like everything that you said here, I wanted to add my own thoughts though.

1. I think that it would be hard to give Sakura more of a story or add to her character because her character was created to revolve around sasuke, and she does. Sakura needs more of a background. We don’t really know much of anything about her and her relationship with her family. Expanding on that could be a base for her actual goals. If we’re starting over, I say keep the fangirl but tone it down. She needs an actual vision that doesn’t revolve around sasuke. Sakura is a smart girl, we know that. Instead of having her stick by sasuke when he was mean to her, I say give her more of a backbone and have her go off to do her own thing, improving her character. Her cutting her hair was supposed to be a new start, but nothing really changed after that. Make her story about discovering her self worth after all the times she relied on others to save her (which the story tried to do but ultimately fucked up). Have her be the first character to match the power of Six Paths characters without any special genetics or exclusive power boosts so that her “I finally caught up to them” actually meant something and wasn’t a complete embarrassment.

On your power comment, not only is it unnecessary to make her as strong as Naruto and sasuke, it’s impossible. Her bloodline was nothing special, and they didn’t have any special abilities like the uzumaki’s and the uchiha’s. I do agree that she does need more power though. When I was younger watching Naruto, I would always wonder why she didn’t get trained by Tsunade AND Might guy. Her and Lee didn’t have any special abilities that gave them an advantage, but Lee was strong as shit, able to beat those with powers when he had nothing. If she trained with Guy, her taijutsu skills would have drastically improved. She could have even trained with Kakashi (because that’s his fucking job, which he did NOT do.)

Instead of giving her powers like Naruto and sasuke, she could instead focus on expanding her natural abilities, or she can even make some of her own. She has astounding chakra control, and it always bothered me that no one ever delved into how much that can actually do. expand on her super strength via her chakra control and include super speed (like Guy and Lee) Her super strength could have been so much more than it was. Let her punches create vacuum blasts like Eight Gates Guy. Let her punches create red/pink flames through air friction, heat, and her chakra to match her cherry blossom theme. She has the natures for wood release, so she could have learned that. I wish they would have kept inner Sakura around because that actually could have been a gateway to so many new techniques, maybe even spawning a Susanoo style version of it. Some may hate this idea, but she should have taken obito’s other sharingan.

Her training arc was bullshit. What was she taught? How did it help her? We know none of that. I think not including this was detrimental to her character. In the end, I think that Sakura should have surpassed tsunade’s abilities. Tsunade is a Senju. Where the hell is her sage mode? Sakura not having sage mode is the biggest mistake with her character. Making her a carbon copy of tsunade wasted her potential. Her whole thing about having perfect chakra control and the seal would've given her the necessary reserves for Sage Mode. I like the idea of slug sage mode. This would have been perfect for the war arc. (Which she could have contributed more to other than medical. She could have fought Madara too when she had the opportunity to do so.)

The pain arc should have been different for her. Instead of being in the hospital she should’ve been out there in the field fighting. She should have fought pain with Naruto, even if she lost. It would have been way better than sending hinata out there. She would have gotten major props for this, especially if she didn’t completely suck. In the series as a whole she needs more fights. Especially major ones that actually affect the story.

Forgot the name of the arc, but instead of Sakura pretending like she wanted to join sasuke in the Akatsuki, he should have given her an ultimatum. He was going to destroy the village, and if she abandoned the village (and became a rogue ninja), he would spare her. She would then refuse, and a fight between the both of them would happen. Sasuke would be injured, and he really wouldn’t be doing much of anything other than dodging when he could, and THIS would be the perfect time for Sakura to go on a rant about how it hurts her to fight him, how dumb he is, etc. Of course, she’s emotional so she wouldn’t be fighting at her best. This would actually give their storyline some angst AND show that she’s matured past her stupid schoolgirl crush. The fight would last until Naruto and Kakashi arrive to break it up, so probably not that long.

I don’t entirely hate the idea of her being with sasuke, I just think that the romance was written in the most horrid way possible. The main couples of naruto (sasusaku, naruhina) give the energy that they don’t even like each other, they’re just together for the purpose of Boruto series existing. The only good thing to come out of her and sasuke being together was sarada. (Genuinely don’t even think they had sex, probably artificial insemination) If she was trained by might guy the ship between her a rock Lee would have shot through the roof. I do think she should have had people who she actually had relationships with other than ino, because she had none. Her and rock Lee would have been a perfect duo.

[2manythoughtz]

Reasons Why Nate Is The Most Misunderstood Character Of Euphoria

Nate is probably the most misunderstood character of all the series, people both adore and hate him, but why is that?

When you think of Euphoria the first characters that come to mind are Rue, Jules, Maddy and Cassie. While they’re all very well-defined characters, I think we can all agree that Euphoria is great at leaving a cloud of mystery around these people. So, while you take in their backstories and see what they’re up to, you might question their actions and their reasoning since they don’t exactly show you everything you want to know.

While plot holes and mischaracterization aren’t new to fans, what seem like small mistakes when talking about the main characters can later become big trouble for other secondary characters like Nate.

To refresh your mind, Nate is the youngest son of a very important and wealthy family, his great looks and athleticism made him one of the most popular kids in school. He’s the usual asshole jock you can find in any kind of movie, only in Euphoria you can see so many different shades of him that you end up confused and you don’t know what type of person he is.

Why is he so misunderstood in the series?

As I said earlier, he is your typical jock. He’s a douche who plays football, gets the girl, throws wild parties and is overall a pretty bad person. That is until we see his backstory and realize that something is wrong.

1. Sexuality

I’m gonna stop on this point for a while because I feel like no one ever cared/understood what was going on. Ever since we got our first look at Nate’s backstory, during episode 2 of season 1 “Stuntin like my daddy”, I think people have entirely misunderstood his character based on his sexuality.

As we get to see, his psyche is very dark and twisted because of his father’s influence from a very young age, though it was indirect it didn’t stop him from getting this obsession with sex. We can see this through his whole relationship with Maddy which is very sexual and almost obsessive, which to me feels like kind of an anchor to his heterosexuality. But that doesn’t mean that he is homosexual, differently from what everyone in the series seems to think as soon as they find out that he has dick pics on his phone.

So what is he? Truth is, it doesn’t really matter? I don’t think people should concentrate on the right label as the show is good at portraying the fact that sexuality is fluid. If you think about Rue, everyone was so quick to accept her and her relationship just because she’s the protagonist, Jules also gets acclaimed for her initial confusion but Nate gets immediately ridiculed and seen as this weird boy.

Another thing that I see a lot of people talking about is his obsession with Jules in the first season, which to me doesn’t sound like a romantic interest at all and it just goes so far as for the sexual part. They’ve only shared nudes and Nate was no stranger to receiving nudes from other people, both men and women apparently, so there was never something special between them. Yes, they texted a lot and he seemed genuine in getting to know her, but let’s all remember that it all started because Nate knew Jules had hooked up with his father and wanted to protect his family’s name.

I really like how in the first season no one really talks about his preferences that much because we’re all focused on his toxic side after he attacked Maddy.

The second season was a hot mess, that is no secret. I’m not surprised he went for Cassie, if you think about it really hard it makes sense. She is everything he liked and everything Maddy wasn’t. At least at first, in the end, we’re left with a lot of questions after the school play which makes fun of Nate being gay for no apparent reason. We’re left with this curiosity, is Nate really gay and hiding his preferences because that’s what he’s been taught? Or is he simply confused and still trying to understand himself?

2. Trauma

As much as everyone hates Nate’s ways, we must remember that everything happens for a reason. In his case, Nate’s father is the real reason behind his behavior. This is in no way a reason to excuse what he did in the series nor justify him, just trying to understand the reasoning behind his character.

Euphoria has done an incredible job of showing the different traumas that affected most of the main characters, it’s amazing to see how their childhoods impacted their teenage years regardless of how serious you think their problems might be. In this sense, Nate’s childhood is very well described.

Not only he had an emotionally absent father, but he’s only seen his dad being obsessed with having the perfect family while hiding away every flaw they might have. Nate is born with this unexplained anger inside of him that we later find out is passed down by his father, that alone makes it hard for him to grow up without anyone ever noticing it.

The rest of his family is messed up as well, but the father is the real reason for how he behaves. Nate finds out about his father’s sexuality through the recordings of his random hookups with gay men and trans women, this significantly impacts little Nate’s mentality.

Not only does he learn that his father is cheating on his mother, but he also tries to hide his preferences meaning that they’re wrong. Of course, we know that that is not the case, but everything is very well explained in season 2 when we see Cal Jacobs in his teen years having difficulties with his sexuality as well, but that’s another topic to look into.

Nate’s constant obsessive behavior is just a replica of his father’s desperate tentative to have a perfect family while hiding himself. One of the main reasons why I don’t think Nate is necessarily gay is that he is never shown to have a genuine interest in men romantically speaking, just trying to fill his father’s shoes.

3. Toxic Relationships

As I said before, he is in a very toxic relationship with Maddy in season 1 and in yet another toxic relationship with Cassie in season 2. That definitely goes to define his view of love and relationships, not only that but his only example of a regular couple is his parents who barely talk to each other.

Maddy can be labeled as his first love, he goes as far as saying that he would kill for her. But it is also shown that they argue a lot and have many differences that cause them to yell at each other and become physical and that only goes to reinforce his idea that with love comes anger and it’s ok as long as it’s not out there for everybody to see.

That is shown when Nate reacts violently to Maddy insulting him in front of his family and everybody standing there. But when faced with the question about his sexuality he breaks down because he doesn’t know what acceptance is, he feels like he has failed.

With Cassie everything seems to be perfect, she’s gentle and delicate and he thinks she would be perfect to be his future wife. But as their relationship develops, we can see that he quickly regrets his decision once he sees just how broken she is. She’s perfect on the outside but she may be worse than Maddy on the inside and I believe that will definitely shape his view of relationships in the future and he’ll think twice before getting with anyone.

This can also be proved by the fact that even if he and Maddy broke up, they kept meeting up and acting like a couple, even when he was with Cassie. To me, this shows that he’s not comfortable getting with new people and would rather stay with the old toxic ones.

As I said earlier, Nate seemed genuine in talking to Jules even if he wasn’t honest with her. When she finds out that the boy she has fallen for is none other than the school’s jock she is disappointed and scared which is understandable from our point of view, but I think that left Nate bittersweet. He knew he was blackmailing her but from his point of view as long as she kept quiet he wasn’t going to do anything to her, what might’ve developed into a friendship became a hate relationship.

Going into seasons 1 and 2, Nate never tries to hurt Jules again and seems kind of melancholic that they’re not talking anymore. That might be just another way for him to see that he is not fit for friendships with the other sex and keep his view of women as these objects for his pleasure and status.

4. Self-esteem issues

Throughout the series, we can see that Nate is not this big confident jock as everyone think he is. In fact, he is very self-conscious about himself in every way. We can get a first glimpse of this in the second episode of season 1.

Nate has been working out ever since he was a child to get the perfect body, he is ashamed of his insecurities and tends to hide from others. He doesn’t like changing with his teammates in the locker room, he doesn’t feel comfortable having people around him and he needs to be in control of the situation and also everyone close to him.

His sexuality of course is his number one insecurity, he doesn’t know how to hide it so he tries his best to focus on finding the perfect girl. As I anticipated before, his relationship with Maddy feels like an excuse to feel and show his heterosexuality even though we know he isn’t. As soon as that facade is over he doesn’t seem to care about anything, not Maddy, not Cassie and definitely not Jules.

His aggression, his jealousy and his need to protect those he cares about all come from the fact that he is insecure, he fears they will leave him and he’ll lose the only people he actually accepts. At the end of the day, he is still a teenager and feels just like most teenagers which is something I feel like most people completely forget and see him just as this grown asshole that only cares about himself.

In conclusion, while Nate is probably the most hated character in the series, he is so complex and has a lot of potential, it’s a shame that it was wasted in the end. There is so much more to say about him that I think was completely missed throughout the second season. There is so much people want to know about Nate’s future, is he going to hide all his life and play pretend like his father? Or will he break the cycle and finally be himself?

What do you think? Feel free to join the discussion with your personal thoughts! Do you agree? Do you disagree? Let me know!

[quietbluejay]

Transformers: Escalation #6

the final issue of Escalation! Next up we're going to do one of the spotlights i missed whoops, Ultra Magnus. Trust me, it's pretty relevant

this time: the clichemeter starts making an ominous fast clicking noise

so many dramatic pauses

"Kneel my a-"

BOOM goes Hardhead's shot

Megatron smokes

Megatron: you know…i almost felt that

I feel like it would be deeply unfair to make anyone take a shot at every cliched line in this single page

Wheeljack orders Hardhead and Jazz to take Megatron down

Jazz is just like, dude how??

friend: tfw narrative power levels are a thing and the main bad guy can just walk off your attacks because he's a higher tier character then you me: i hate to say it but i guess the whole "point one percenter" actually isn't too bad a way of trying to explain this

incredible image

Prowl tells Hot Rod that he needs to tell Nightbeat to prep the orbital jump

Hot Rod: What? No way, I'm needed here!

Prowl: What's needed...

Prowl: is that facsimile's genetic template. Otherwise, all we've fought for here, everything we've lost...

for the sake of continuity and also my sanity i think we have to ignore that line about Hot Rod outranking Prowl for things to make sense

Prowl tells Wheeljack and Jazz he's coming, and roars off towards the explosions

Prowl: And Prime? Don't be dead. Just...

"Don't be dead"

there's a shot of Optimus' lifeless head

hey whoever chose this typesetting colouring turn on your location i just want to talk

honestly Optimus moving his mind around between different components is wild and i kinda wish we'd seen more of it also first instance of infraspace

"While my consciousness downloads into secondary buffers in my trailer section"

there's a shot of the trailer, open, with a couple computers running inside

"And..."

"I am not alone"

spooky

Mystery figure: Prime

Optimus narrating: and I...

"...know it"

Back in the real world, someone is yelling "Prime?!"

and now back to the circus

"Good, so...get cutting!"

it looks like Ratchet is deploying some kind of cutting tool

geez, just tell him, dude

it cuts to Ironhide's real body which is sitting outside the secret doors

he can't get to a safe distance because his holomatter emitter doesn't have the range

Ratchet: eh, okay

Ratchet: but we're cutting it very fine

01:14

Prowl pulls up while Hardhead is still shooting at Megatron

Prowl points out that Megatron doesn't seem to have any long range weaponry and no way to access his altmode. So...

"...we keep falling back. When we've got some distance, we attack again. Now move!

Prowl: you too Hardhead

Hardhead: yeah yeah

Megatron lets loose with the mouth laser and I cannot take this seriously

Message: Prowl - it's Prime

Prowl: Prime? But I thought-

Optimus quickly explains about Roller

Optimus also has a plan

or at least - if ore-13 is the same thing as ultra-energon, then he knows its weakness (and Megatron doesn't)

Skywarp, getting v. close: there's one. kill it!

he hauls them up and Ratchet's holoavatar grabs them

Ratchet: get yourself out of there!

they vroom vroom away as the timer ticks

ironhide...

"…we're just not stopping him"

Megatron is just standing there

"he's not showing any adverse reaction"

Optimus tells him to hold position...

another meme panel

Optimus: Megatron…

Megatron turns around

"eh?"

omae wa mo...

...shindeiru

meanwhile, due west, Hot Rod is getting shot at

he yells at Nightbeat to get him out of there now

the orbital jump takes effect

meanwhile, Megatron collapses to the ground

he struggles back up to standing

Megatron: -not...

Megatron: ...enough...

Megatron: ...I-

he falls to his knees

still so weird that skywarp is the black plane

Skywarp: I was hoping for a headcount!

Megatron is sparking

Skywarp vops him away

"well there's always next time" says Thundercracker

he then gets voped away as well

immediately, Optimus starts collapsing and Prowl rushes to catch him

Optimus mentions the spark crushing when Prowl asks if he's okay and says he's going to need some CR time

he asks about the facsimile

Prowl: Hot Rod's got him

Prowl taps a thing on his head

Prowl: Hot Rod?

"Prowl, this is Nightbeat."

and now over to the ship

Prowl: Nightbeat? Where's Hot Rod?

Nightbeat: In a CR chamber. He's sustained some pretty severe damage courtesy of Skywarp and Thundercracker.

Prowl: and the facsimile?

talk about a shaggy dog story

Ratchet is watching

he has no clue what to do next

and now two of them have been taken out

and they have no clue who is behind this

it's a panel of Jimmy and Verity lying unconscious on his floor

in Jimmy's hand is the weird card with the M on it

and now time for florida man (and someone who is probably really wishing he was in h/c genre rather than whump)

Hunter: look, what do you want with me?

Cowboy Hat Dude smirks

(oh wait I forgot his name is Dante)

Dante: You? Nothing. You've served your purpose.

Dante: Though I suppose, with the right reconditioning...

and now, over to washington

the guy talking (who is wearing a black suit) comes over to the guy stand on the edge of that pit

black suit:...in numbers!

black suit: what's our status?

other guy (who is wearing a purple shirt and pants): Let's see...Skywatch Indigo reports the Eureka excavation is on schedule, but we don't expect yield for some time

other guy: as for these two, Agent Red...

yikes

back over to Decepticon command in Oregon

Megatron strides from the CR chamber

Megatron: for this ignominy...

Megatron: heads must roll

Megatron: As Prime has seen fit to introduce reinforcements, so shall I. Astrotrain...

Astrotrain is standing there

Megatron: ...get me Sixshot!

Astrotrain looks shocked

Megatron's face is ominously in shadow with only his red eyes glowing

Astrotrain: What?

Astrotrain: You can't be serious! We've never used him at this stage! It's...unthinkable!

Megatron: I did not invite debate. Let there be...

Megatron: ...devastation!

owo

and end issue!

[readingtillmidnight]

Skater Boy by Anthony Nerada

Source: Audiobook ARC from NetGalley

Release date: 6 February

Genre: young adult contemporary romance

If you like: queer coming of age, explorations of toxic masculinity, pop-punk, flawed protagonists trying to be better, Sk8ter Boy by Avril Lavigne but gay

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Synopsis

Stonebridge High’s resident bad boy, Wesley “Big Mac” Mackenzie, is failing senior year—thanks to his unchecked anger, rowdy friends, and a tendency to ditch his homework for skateboarding and a secret photography obsession. So when his mom drags him to a production of The Nutcracker, Wes isn’t interested at all . . . until he sees Tristan Monroe. Mr. Nutcracker himself.

Wes knows he shouldn’t like Tristan; after all, he’s a ballet dancer, and Wes is as closeted as they come. But when they start spending time together, Wes can’t seem to get Tristan out of his head. Driven by a new sense of purpose, Wes begins to think that—despite every authority figure telling him otherwise—maybe he can change for the better and graduate on time.

As a falling out with his friends becomes inevitable, Wes realizes that being himself means taking a stand—and blowing up the bad-boy reputation he never wanted in the first place.

Content warnings

Explicit language

Bullying

Alcoholism

Underage drinking

Racism (as experienced by a Black love interest)

Past domestic abuse

Childhood trauma

Smoking (cigarettes + weed)

Homophobia

Physical violence

Review

Why'd Wes have to go and make things so complicated 😔🤘

I hadn't expected to, but I found myself relating to Wes quite a bit. His experience of being labelled as a bad kid, and then only being seen as such without being given the chance to break that expectation, as well as his feelings of anger and fear and powerlessness, that no one wants to listen to him, that he can't open up to people, that he's inferior and will never amount to anything, took me right back to primary and secondary school lmao. (I'm so glad I'm not a teenager anymore.)

I also empathise with how awkward Wes feels around Tristan, or when he's trying to talk to people who aren't his friends; not knowing the right thing to say, or when he says something that comes off as angrier or meaner than he intends—that's literally me, baby!

A part I don't relate to is the bullying. Wes is like, a legit bully, like pushing kids into the lockers like in american high school movies kind of bully. While he's not the main aggressor among his friends, it still kind of hurt to read about how he hurt people in the past. I liked how his character arc developed, with him facing up to his actions and apologising to his victims, although I do think he was forgiven pretty easily; I personally would have held a grudge until I died, but good for them!

At the start of the book I was worried that this would be a whole "find a bf and magically all your problems are fixed!" kind of story, but while Tristan is definitely a motivating factor for Wes to improve himself, I really appreciate that Wes was the one who decided to take initiative and begin the first steps to becoming better.

There's layers of complexity to Wes and Tristan's relationship, because (a) Tristan is Black, and so deals with racism that Wes could never understand, (b) Tristan is out and Wes is not, (c) Tristan is a perfectionist and has a goal and life plans, while Wes is flunking high school with no plans to apply for college, (d) Wes had an abusive childhood, and Tristan has loving supportive parents, and (e) Wes is poor and Tristan is wealthy.

These are a lot of issues to handle in one book, and while I feel like the author does a good job discussing and resolving most of these elements, there's one point that I feel didn't get fully resolved, and that's the wealth disparity between them. Wes is super aware of this, he constantly notices the differences between the way they live, which makes him feel self-conscious around Tristan.

Spoiler warning, but at one point Tristan dresses Wes up in like a pricey cardigan and a polo shirt to meet his parents, and later Wes is furious and leaves early because he feels out of place and insecure, and that Tristan is trying to change who he is. Later, they talk and Wes comes to the conclusion that he was over-reacting, which, yeah, he was. But Tristan never apologises and is like "you know I would never have made you change your clothes if I knew it would make you feel bad!" He also makes fun of one of Wes's friends, and Wes wonders if part of the reason why he doesn't want to introduce Tristan to his friends was because he felt embarrassed.

I feel like this is a pretty big deal, and an obvious source of tension, that doesn't seem to get fully resolved. Most of Wes and Tristan's discussions about their relationship revolve around Wes apologising, but Tristan, even though he never does so intentionally, never apologises for making Wes feel inferior in this aspect.

I also feel that Tristan was kind of one-dimensional. From Wes's perspective, Tristan is perfect and flawless, and he puts him on a pedestal, while Wes is the one messing up. Tristan's only flaw, as far is I can tell, is that he struggles with anxiety, but he never seems to show it to Wes, for all that he encourages Wes to be emotionally vulnerable with him. I would have liked it if Tristan messed-up, or needed Wes to support him or comfort him in some way (Wes does support him, at near the ending, but that doesn't really count), to balance out their relationship a bit, instead of always having Tristan encouraging him, and having Wes mess up and make up for it.

The climax of this book gets really chaotic, huge shit goes down, like life-ruining shit. He manages to work it all out in the end, but I feel that it came way too easily, especially the problems he had with his friends. I feel like it got dismissed as some sort of misunderstanding, like Wes was the one making a big deal out of nothing. Afterwards, he and his friends talk it out very maturely, but where was all that maturity when shit was going down!!

I realise that a lot of my review sounds like I'm complaining, but this is really worth a read! The way this book discusses toxic masculinity, emotional vulnerability, dealing with trauma (because Wes is very clearly traumatised) is so well-done, and you can tell from the author's note that he put a lot of love and thought into this book. I would discuss this more but this review would get very spoilery.

To finish off this review, here are some nitpicks! These are minor details and do not affect the overall story! Some of these are purely personal issues I have that may not apply to other people!

Wes is stated to be a punk, and a lot of this book (the title, the chapter titles, the marketing) is about pop-punk, or scene music in general. But Wes doesn't seem to listen to pop-punk? The only band he mentions listening to is Metallica, which, last I checked, is a metal band. He wears a Linkin Park t-shirt once (huge slay) and mentions the My Chemical Romance reunion (double slay), but that's about it. He seems to be more of a metalhead tbh, which there's nothing wrong with, but I was hoping for more pop-punk references. (This sounds greedy, since almost every chapter title is a pop-punk reference, and I did appreciate that, but I wanted more!!)

I didn't vibe with the audiobook narrator. I'm kind of (very) picky about audiobooks, so the fact that I didn't dnf shows that he did a decent job at least, but I feel like he missed the mark on narrating the dialogue. Sometimes I couldn't tell the difference between Wes's internal narration and when he was actually speaking which was confusing, and the narrator also read everything in this sad, hesitant sort of voice, which works for the overall vibe of the story, but makes the happy, lighthearted moments in the book feel sad as well.

Minor spoiler, Wes's mom got him and his friends tickets to see Metallica, but later they start growing apart and the concert is never mentioned again (unless I somehow missed it?), so its unclear if they did go to the Metallica concert. I need to know if they went, because if they skipped out on it due to their beef, I will be very sad on their behalf.

[haleigh-sloth]

A stupid soccer manga has won my heart

After BNHA and Oshi no Ko burned me so bad I told myself I wouldn't get engrossed into something that was unfinished in order to avoid being burned again. Welp. That didn't last very long.

In order to heal from BNHA Julie and I started watching various anime we've been interested in and started Haikyu. Then I saw Blue Lock recommended to me on Crunchyroll and remembered hearing about it a few years ago when it was just starting. I always thought the art looked pretty and I was enjoying Haikyu and thought maybe I'll try the pretty soccer manga out. Glad I did.

Because wow, I did not expect a sports manga to have this much of a grip on me. It's VERY complex and deep. It's not just the soccer aspect that's complex or deep (it is, but that's not what's so good here). It's the characters and the relationships and emotions they all go through. It's such a good story that has completely different stakes than a battle shounen/fantasy manga, which is the vast majority of what I have read up until now. So this has been so refreshing to read for me.

The ONLY thing I don't like:

Info-dumping. I think it kind of comes with the territory. This aspect is like any other shounen manga where the characters have to explain in detail what's going on and what their thinking process is etc. It's not a complaint of mine, it's just a component of these types of manga I don't particularly enjoy and have to force myself to power through. Is what it is.

All the things I do like:

The characters. This is a character driven manga. It is not driven by world-building, as the world is the one we live in just within a ridiculously intense soccer training program lol. The manga is entirely driven by relationships which is the best kind. The protagonist is actually interesting and likeable, and he actually has moments when he's clearly slipping. The secondary characters are a really good balance between likeable and frustrating. You want to root for them but also you want Isagi to win. The manga has a large cast and gives a LOT of characters decent focus, but not too much to where it just feels too "backstory heavy" and too crowded (I think that's a complaint I have about a LOT of manga I read in general). The people you need to focus on are given the right amount of screen time, not too much and not too little.

The concept. Completely different from Haikyu where the concept is pretty wholesome overall revolving around team work and building each other up etc. Blue Lock has a weird concept that encourages an "every man for himself" philosophy mixed with "there's no "I" in "team". I'm fully caught up, 288 chapters in and neither one of these philosophies has beaten the other out. It makes it seem like it's unclear which philosophy will win in the end, though I'm pretty sure the obvious answer will be a healthy combination of both (represented by the relationship between the 2 main main characters).

The stakes. The stakes are not life or death. Nobody will die here. But damn it certainly feels like they will. Blue Lock's setting is really sinister and prison-like, you know how on every manga cover the characters have chains around their necks (unless the author just finds that hot, which he very well might tbh). It's just soccer but it's really intense! The stakes are also emotional and relational. Characters that may be teammates at one point may be enemies the next time they meet, and they have to work through that often. Sometimes, like in the current arc being written right now, their teammates might be their own damn enemy. You never know. Also with the stakes, the setting has a naturally built in cruelty to it. Nobody dies, but some characters whose stories and personalities may come across as well-deserving of the reward in the end simply just don't make the cut. It makes you feel bad for them, it's probably one of the most realistic and depressing aspects of the manga. Especially because the main character doesn't have a sob story to evoke empathy or anything. Like he'll be fine if he doesn't become the top player ever, but that wasn't the case for everyone. That reality sucks but the manga doesn't change that. It's still sad to see though when it does happen.

The relationships. The main character is obviously at the center of a lot of characters' arcs. He is the driving force for a lot of them, for better or for worse. The relationships are all detailed and not just "Oh the protag inspired this character to be the best version of themselves with their wholesomeness!". Yes there is some of that, but Isagi is not a little angel. And in fact, Isagi is the ignitor for two characters' complete deterioration. There are also other relationship dynamics that get some focus but have less to do with the progression of the overall manga. The main character manages to be at the center of so much happening while still not being completely over-hyped. The impact he has on other characters is VERY convincing, the good impact and the bad impact. It all is very well done, and what makes it even better is the impact they all have on him. It all works and flows really well together. On that note also--there's a line up of men obsessed with the MC but it doesn't come across as ridiculous. It's funny, for sure, but it also is convincing and isn't overdone or done poorly. Good job manga.

Last but not least: the fucking unhinged, unseriousness that just comes out of nowhere after the first act ends. Like this is just pure gold. I could not stop laughing during the entire U20 arc. I think I just couldn't believe my eyes. The one-off lines like "you fit through some tight spaces, that's hot" and "don't spread your legs or people will think you're a loose guy" were like "...okay...did I just read that", but then you get one guy blatantly asking another guy out and that guy SAYING YES (with conditions of course lmao). The icing on the cake is that within all this unhinged unseriousness you get one guy saying he loves the other, using the really intense term for "love" in Japanese implying it's a really intimate feeling. I mean what more could you possibly want.

I could go on and on and on but I don't have the time. I am just really happy having found something out of my norm to get into. I'm also glad that it has the uniqueness it does, like the hilarious thirst lines and flirting that just kick it up a notch in terms of entertainment. But also it still has some of the best character dynamics that I can't wait to see finish out throughout the rest of the manga. I really want more people to read this manga. Join me. Please.

[deeply-unserious-fellow]

I think part of why most people I've talked to like Hazbin Hotel better then Helluva Boss, and why most of the writing problems in Helluva aren't as present in Hazbin, are because Hazbin is an ensemble show that treats all it's characters as EQUALLY IMPORTANT, while Helluva Boss is an ensemble show that just. Really wants to be the Blitzø and Stolas show.

Like oh my god that show wants to be about only Blitzø and Stolas so bad. It's why Moxxie gets more focus then Millie(he's closer to Blitzø), it's why the Stolitz drama gets dragged out the way it does, it's why Fizz has been getting more attention then the rest of the supposed main cast lately. Viv and Brandon(who doesn't get brought up very often when discussing the writing in Helluva Boss despite being the main cowriter?) CLEARLY just wanna focus on Blitzø and Stolas' backstories and relationship, despite marketing Helluva as an ensemble show. Moxxie gets some time as an individual, but I think that's more of a biproduct of him being around for longer then the other side characters tbh. Like they were initially concieved FOR Hazbin, and I'm not really sure where production went from there, but I believe they were originally just supposed to be an assassin duo that showed up in Hazbin a couple times? Idk details are fuzzy so if anybody knows more and feels like sharing feel free to rb/comment with your knowledge. Anyways Moxxie has more depth because he's been in development for longer, and as season 2 progresses it really feels like they're running out of shit to talk about with him. Everybody else is secondary to those two, which would be FINE if the show was PRESENTED as being about Stolitz, but it's kinda. Not. The show, especially if your going off of the pilot, is presented more like "the Office but in Hell". That is the concept most people are drawn in by. So when the people who signed up for a funny ensemble show in Hell start watching and end up with just a bunch of relationship drama and some occasional focus on like 1 or 2 other characters, they get confused and put off. It's like trying to watch the Office but getting Bojack Horseman(I think. I don't know much abt BJH-) instead.

Meanwhile Hazbin is advertised as an ensemble show and, so far, has fulfilled that promise. All 4 of the episodes we've gotten so far have focused on different characters and, between them, given an equal amount of focus to everyone except maybe Niffty. Episode 1 had Charlie and Vaggie leading the subplots, episode 2 had weirdly Vox and Sir Pentious as the focuses?, episode 3 was about. Pretty much everyone really but Velvette, Carmilla and Vaggie got especially highlighted because of their songs, and episode 4 was focused entirely on Angel and his relationships with the rest of the cast. Like. That's how ensemble shows are supposed to work. And while Charlie is still the main focus of the show, and I'm sure we'll see her get highlighted a whole lot more in coming episodes, Hazbin is still at it's core about EVERYBODY. Even characters that aren't even close to mains are getting attention! And aside from some uh. Very obvious pacing issues, the show handles the ensemble cast surprisingly well! And like, I think the main complaint I've seen(that isn't a straight up controversy) is that the Hotel isn't the main focus of the show? Which like. To be fair we're only like four episodes in? And also fits into my false advertising argument about Helluva but honestly this post is getting long and my brain is kinda melting and it's almost 2am and I have school tomorrow so I'm gonna cut this off here.

In conclusion Hazbin Hotel is generally more well liked than Helluva Boss because it's a true ensemble show, while Helluva is actually the Blitzø show PRETENDING to be an ensemble show. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk :)

[ryanhamiltonwalsh]

I saw Megalopolis last night.

One of my favorite things is when an artist banks on earlier successes and cashes in that cred to take a huge creative swing, so in that sense, I love that this exists. It is also one of the biggest, most expensive messes I've ever seen on screen with much of the cast tonally delivering different varieties of "over the top" performances than all of the other characters, both main and secondary. Things that don't need explaining are intensely over-explained—there is literally a montage of spinning newspaper headlines coming at you—and things that desperately need explaining are not explained whatsoever. But the film is so excessive, so saturated with information, that you are discouraged from doing any reading between the lines or inferring things on your own because the message Francis Ford Coppola telegraphs to you from the jump is: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW AND *CAN* KNOW ABOUT THIS MOVIE IS WHAT I SHOW YOU ON SCREEN. In that way, making a guess about why certain characters have superpowers, for instance, distinctly feels like you're writing Megalopolis fan fiction. There is nothing to suggest you can figure any of this out on your own, or should try to.

For 2/3rds of the movie, only a select amount of the theater audience was laughing at all of the patent absurdity they were being show with a straight face, but at a certain point, the tide shifted and everyone was of this mind. You could literally see people in the crowd often throwing up their hands in a "wait...what?" motion repeatedly. Voiceover narration comes and goes, sometimes paired with even more exposition literally written in stone. Sometimes it looks genuinely gorgeous, other times like a film student just bought a green screen.

I love the movie that Aubrey Plaza and Shia LaBeouf thought they were in; their performances are beautifully absurd and unhinged. Adam Driver, to me, only seemed truly comfortable during the sequence where he gets absolutely twisted on various substances and chants self-talk mantras like "When you jump into the unknown, you prove you are free" which is what FFC is doing here, and my admiration for that act is boundless. He could have ended his career with a small period piece all shot in one cabin and it would be lauded and celebrated but he would never forgive himself for not trying to make this. I truly gotta salute this legend for this move. But in the end, there's this enormous irony in the room at all times which is, basically:

This is a movie about literal 'world building' that is very bad at worldbuilding.

You couldn't make up a more dramatic fatal flaw for a film to have, right? Kind of beautiful. Kind of tragic. Forget about it, Francis, it's Megalopolis.

p.s. There is a 2 sec shot of the fate of Dustin Hoffman's character that is the funniest thing I've ever seen. One companion said of it, "It felt like a Kickstarter stretch goal. If we hit this amount, we'll film and show you the fate of Nush Berman."

p.s.s there is a scene where someone connects a USB drive to a computer and does so correctly on the first try. It's the most unrealistic thing that happens in a movie where a gun shot to head heals fully between acts.

[dailycass-cain]

Nightwing #106's secondary story contained part one of an arc that looks to involve a certain someone. So I'm gonna go into my thoughts of the story (not the full issue cause the main one had 0 Cass in it).

The issue felt "different" than the last two times Dick and Cass were together in a story. The first was the infamous Nightwing Batgirls #7-8 aka the worst issues of that series.

Dick was just the icing on top of why that arc was bad (outshining Babs whose arc it kind of felt like it was intended to be), weak motives from the antagonists (Seer just fell off completely in it and the Saints looked like more chumps than actual threatening antagonists).

That's not even going into the "seeds" now that are obvious as to "why" Cass/Steph are siding with Selina in Gotham War which apparently this arc (and the Catwoman issue it crossed over with) was supposed to set (which did badly save for the passion Cass had with art).

Then the last two months we had Knight Terrors: Nightwing #1-2. A descent Dick story, but the Batgirls again took up the secondary spot (I mean obviously), but their whole presence in the story (at least Cass/Steph) felt superfluous in the entire story.

Obviously, I wanted to know more of the "what" Cass/Steph endured in the tale (I mean what was teased feels like a story in itself and it feels like those fans of the Batgirls are robbed of that). However, in the grand scheme of the two issues their part came across as the weakest and unnecessary.

I guess three times was the charm for writer Michael Conrad in the tale as (so far) the crux of the story is, Dick is being stalked by someone who wants to probably kidnap him for his fortune, and he currently is hanging with Cass and Steph.

This one instantly establishes a few elements I dig that weren't present in the past stories. #1 The sibling bond between Dick/Cass. It's something I kind of missed and it was showcased "a little" during Fear State on the Nightwing side (alongside emoji Cass earlier in that run).

So already the story gets that going with it. This leads to #2 and that is Cass "the teacher". We got it a little near the end of Batgirls, as Cass helped Steph, but really the last time we've seen Cass sparring and teaching was with Duke in the um.. Signal one-shot.🙃🙃🙃

But I do love the nod to past Cass stories of how much she has quickly mastered this new form of martial arts that Dick is learning.

It showcases the depth between the two, but it also shows Dick is a quick learner from Cass's teachings.

I do love that Cass helps everyone in the family get better in combat. Like, it feels nice to see Dick learning as Steph, Tim, and Duke in the past have. Now if only we'd get Damian and Jason onboard the Cass-training montage.

I also can't help but giggle slightly that Lady Shiva is probably smirking not even knowing that her daughter is doing the teaching job just with fewer broken bones being had.

Will we see a payoff to this in this arc with Dick? Probably given the various antagonists Conrad introduces here that are aching for a beating.

But that sibling nature is again recouped further in the tale as Dick teaches Cass something she's not so good at: cooking.

And again the moment is cute. Not overtly over the top save for showcasing Conrad's knowledge of the character being an eating fiend.

Artist Serg Acuña does a great job of going have and half here. Being quite fluid during the action scenes while also being quite expressive in the cooking ones. Showcasing the gremlin we know and love of the character.

The scene also slyly continues the subtext of Cass/Steph as well with the aprons Dick/Cass wear in the story being something Steph chose for the two to wear. "Watcha up to scheming Stephanie Brown?"

At the end, we get two amusing nods: one more current, and the other old.

First I truly did enjoy seeing Conrad continue this little nugget from Batgirls:

I love it when writers are allowed to continue a few story beats from their prior runs. Of course, I'd love to know why Cass loves this story the most. Maybe one day Conrad will go into it.

Regardless, it's a niche little quirk started in the Gabrcyh run of the character (at least her passion for watching movies but her boob tube addiction came from Horrocks) that I like.

Something that is a longstanding tradition or at least used to be. Again, I just couldn't help but think of this Gotham Knights bit where a social worker came to visit Bruce about Jason when he was off duty with Tim/Cass. And it led to this:

Really my only criticism is well, DC didn't promote this story AT ALL. This story came under the radar with no buildup and it feels wrong for that.

I perhaps get the "why" maybe. Who knows how long this story was approved and put in? Last minute? Or maybe again the last two attempts weren't so good. Either or feel reasonable.

Regardless, this and the main story of Nightwing has me quite intrigued and curious where this goes down. Will it have more Cass/Steph? Who knows. But Conrad has got his hooks into me just by what was given in this first part.

If not, well at the very least we got some proper quality Cass/Dick content. Something I just felt was lacking. Again the last two stories really did no justice to either character.

Here it did.