unordinary-diary

[unordinary-diary]

This drawing of Arlo was actually my first idea that inspired this whole thing.

What if I made some super dope fanarts with like, proverbs on them?

Like this sorta. Like a top text bottom text meme but all edgy and cool. What then? Could the world handle it?

[unordinary-diary]

Ensemble and Intelligence

Everyone in the main cast is really smart, actually. Every last one of them. But it doesn’t feel repetitive or unrealistic because they’re all smart in different ways.

Seraphina: is probably the most obviously smart. She’s capable of perfect grades, she’s a skilled liar, good at reading people and puzzling information together, and she’s really really clever. The moment that sticks out to me most is when she used clever wording to trick Nadia, the lie detector, during her interrogation in chapter 28, without hesitation or breaking a sweat. I’d argue that she’s actually the smartest character in the cast.

Blyke: is mostly academically smart. He gets good grades in school and finds the work to be easy. Beyond that, he’s also good at reading people. He’s not as good as Seraphina is, but he’s able to read his two best friends like a book, and he has a much higher emotional intelligence than I initially gave him credit for. He also uses his ability very creatively, even before his power up. A moment that sticks out to me is when Remi was secretly going after EMBER, and Blyke was able to read her and piece together what was going on, meanwhile Isen had no idea anything was wrong.

Isen: is not a high achiever in school, but he excels in writing. He is proficient at gathering, piecing together, and expressing information. He’s also the only character except maybe Seraphina who consistently makes the smart decisions (as opposed to the reckless, emotional, hasty or ill informed/advised ones). Most characters make at least some stupid decisions and mistakes, but Isen is pretty much always focused on logic and foresight. Notable moments include: being able to track down John’s records, tracking down Claire, choosing not to publish the article on fake Jokers because he knew it would exacerbate the problem, tracking EMBER’s movements and basically anything he does on his computer.

John: initially seems like a total birdbrain. He acts like a dumbass, and he gets fairly bad grades. However, it’s clear from the beginning that he’s a good strategist. He thinks on his feet well, he’s good at sizing people up, and when he chooses to, he uses his ability with incredible creativity and tact. His intelligence is largely fighting centered. However, much later in the story, after John’s suspension, we see another side of him. It doesn’t show up much when he’s acting like silly old hair gel John, and definitely not much when he’s too buried in his anger to think straight, but John is really clever. This side of John is a lot like Seraphina’s smarts— he’s good at reading people, and he’s good at putting pieces together and thinking critically. Things that come to mind are when he read Arlo like a book, (something along the lines of “But you do need help. You wouldn’t have lost your cool if you had things under control.) and when he immediately sniffed out Sera’s lies (She said she was talking to Arlo about “Safe House stuff”, and John identifies that as a lie because if it were true she would have kept Remi in the room instead of asking for a private conversation with Arlo).

Arlo: is very cunning. He’s constantly scheming and thinking five steps ahead. He makes many misguided decisions due to his naïveté and misplaced trust, but he’s also very often the voice of reason. He’s a great leader and an even better manipulator. He’s always thinking analytically and connecting dots. An example is the fact that Arlo is the only person who suspected that John was actually a high tier, and looked deeper for more info. He also provided valuable insight in the Spectre investigation, and, like Isen, often encourages others on the side of caution (advising Seraphina not to meet with Spectre, involving John with the Spectre issue, telling Remi not to go after EMBER, etc.) Now, Arlo actually does give off the impression of being stupid at times, which is something I’d like to look at. He has many areas where he acts purely on his emotions and against common wisdom, but that is something that every person does. I think the reason why Arlo’s emotion-based decisions come off as stupidity moreso than other characters is because of the image he upholds: Arlo hides his emotions, pretends he doesn’t care about anything, and portrays himself as a person who acts on logic alone. Because of this, the emotions he acts upon aren’t always immediately obvious, or the audience doesn’t perceive them as being intense enough to make him behave the way he does. Therefore, Arlo’s mistakes (namely: targeting John because he feels abandoned and unfairly burdened, and refusing to believe the authorities are EMBER because he loves his aunt) — can be mistaken for a lack of critical thinking as opposed to a strong emotion.

Remi: is probably the least smart by conventional standards, but she sure as hell isn’t stupid. She has good critical thinking skills, she’s able to come to logical conclusions on her own, and she has good leadership. She was probably the first to put together that the authorities and EMBER are connected, and she was the one to realize that the writer of the Kovoro Mall article (Terrence) had been following them (Ch. 52). Not to mention that it was Remi who came up with the idea for the Safe House. However, the most notable facet of Remi’s smarts is her emotional intelligence. Remi is very good at navigating social situations, understanding herself and others, and she is excellent at communication. Highlights include the way she handled the situation with John (being understanding of him, hearing him out and offering to help him, but without compromising her own values), and the way she expressed to Blyke that she wasn’t mad at him but rather, scared for his safety, which was a clear, concise and honest way of explaining a very intense and complicated emotion, which is difficult to do in the heat of the moment.

[unordinary-diary]

Do you think Elaine will appear more? I think she "walked out the story" after she healed Isen (Roughly chapter 304 ish) and hasn't appeared since.

My answer? Probably not.

Elaine recusing herself from the story seems to have been a way of tying off a loose thread— it gives her a satisfying ending, and an explanation for why she isn’t in the story going forward.

Narratively, I think the reasons she was written out are as follows:

Having Elaine around is too convenient. The story is getting serious, and we can now be certain that Elaine is not willing to get involved with any of their illegal shit. She said she’s still available if she’s needed for anything urgent, but now that they’re openly fugitives, Elaine saying she’s not friends with them and doesn’t want to get involved in anything pretty much crosses her name off the list of people to ask for help. This means higher stakes for the main characters.

I also think this is Uru’s way of handling cast inflation. There are so many characters that have been in plot jail for so long, because new characters are coming in and the story doesn’t have room for all of them. So, some characters get killed, some get left in plot jail indefinitely, and some, like Elaine and Claire, remove themselves with intention.

Another reason is that Cameron seems to be a healer of sorts, and with him around, Elaine’s help may not be necessary. In other words, Elaine left to make room for other characters, and one of those characters happens to have the skillset to replace her.

So no, I don’t think we’ll be seeing Elaine again in the story.

[unordinary-diary]

Prison Tattoos

“Rule number one for surviving prison: the tougher you look, the easier your ability to choose the person you want to be while you’re inside. Be labeled or perceived as a punk, a bitch, or a weakling, and you will have your public perception on the inside chosen for you. So you can lift weights, learn to fight, practice snarling in a mirror — you can do all these things, but none of them will accomplish as much for you as getting a [good] tattoo.” — Chris Dankovich in The Tales of a Former Prison Tattoo Artist

An alternative idea to my first, more pessimistic Season 3 Prediction, in which they find him looking a little more like this ^

For the tattoo designs I did a lot of research and I chose them carefully. The snake tattoo I chose because it is: A. Not affiliated with any particular real-world gang, B. Common among white prisoners (many prison tattoos are racially specific), and C. Notably, not a nazi thing (I did check). Snake tattoos can sometimes symbolize change or rebirth because of the way they shed their skin, but there doesn’t seem to be any one, universal meaning for them. For Blyke here, I thought it would serve as a message to other inmates: “Don’t touch me, I’m venomous.”

The rose with a dagger through it can mean many things in the free world, but in prison it means someone was locked up before they reached adulthood. I don’t know if people typically get this as kids or if they get them when they grow up (probably the latter), but I imagine that Blyke gets it because: “I was a kid when they locked me up. But now... I’m a man. Grr, hng, and other macho man noises.”

More versions of the drawing below the cut

Latest chapter as of Prediction: Side Story — Triple Threat (2)

[unordinary-diary]

Ok what's the rat king au about?

Rat King AU

Ask game

This AU was mostly thought up by my brother, so I don’t actually know why it’s called the Rat King AU. I asked him and he explained that he’d gotten the image of the king of the sewer rats calling upon his army, and that image was associated with this au. Sorry to disappoint, but there are no actual rats involved.

The premise of this au is that John, instead of having his Joker arc, he befriends all of the low tiers in the school and they become the ruling class through not strength but by numbers, kind of like a labor union or a school of fish. They all become the royals, and they call themselves the Royal Council. My brother and I discussed a scene where they show up to turf wars with all these people, and the King of the other school goes to ask: “Okay, one on one, or three on three?” But instead he goes: “Are we doing this one on one, or three on.... seventy-five...?”. John looks back at his group to ask— “Tournament mode or zombies mode?” And everyone is cheering for zombies mode.

John never hides his ability in this au, so because of both his power and the fact that he brought them together, he’s definitely the leader and they kind of... worship him. (Seraphina was also kind of a founding member, mostly because of her relation to John, but she’s a little more distant iykwim.) While they are fighting back against the oppressive system that placed them at the bottom, they’re still very much conditioned to follow the strongest person and that habit doesn’t go away so quickly. John hates the attention. He insists that he’s not the leader, and they all have equal voice, but that is definitely not true no matter how much he tries. (John’s still willing to take charge as a leader and such, he just doesn’t want to be treated like a king is basically what I mean.)

Now, because this is a hypothetical created through brainstorming between siblings while sitting outside at like 10:30 PM, it happens to have a branch that is silly and unserious that was created as we slowly devolved into madness. The funny-funny version of this au is that John’s cult following is like... an actual cult. They worship him for real. They have shrines and posters advertising their glorious leader. They bow to him. John is tearing his hair out. This is not what he wanted. Not just his group but the whole school treats him with reverence because even in the other system he’s still at the top. Arlo can be found putting up “ALL HAIL OUR LEADER JOHN” posters in the halls.

“Why are you doing that?” Someone asks “Don’t you hate John?”

“I do,” Arlo answers. “I’m doing this specifically to piss him off.”

Now in the serious version of the au... probably the silly version too tbh, the Authorities thicken the plot. Be aware that all of the lore after this point was brainstormed about 10 minutes ago so it might have holes.

Arlo probably calls his aunt for advice. “Hey, what do I do? The school is currently run by like 50 teenagers and not a single one knows what they’re doing.” This puts the Royal Council on the authorities’ radar as a threat to the current system. By “coincidence”, a new kid transfers to Wellston within a few days. His name is Berrence. (He probably has a better name in the serious version but right now I can only imagine him as being like.. a badly traced picture of Terrence with his hair recolored neon green or something.) He is a mole for the authorities, pretending to be a low tier within the Royal Council. He makes a list of names of the members and reports back.

So, shit gets real when the authorities start tracking down members. They try to get into the dorms to go and arrest the students, but Vaughn is like “lol nope” so they can’t. They have trouble getting a warrant because they can’t just openly admit that they put a spy in a high school, so instead they target students once they step off campus. Logically they would be killing those kids, but for the sake of the tone they’re just getting locked up without trial. The authorities didn’t count on people actually noticing or caring about the disappearance of low tiers, so when they notice and warn all members not to leave campus, they get thwarted. That’s when the authorities actually end up going on campus and yatta yatta, stuff happens, this is as far as we got.

There was something about a public execution for John where he says something about the One Piece (??idk) and then Seraphina rescues him, but there’s not really a plot beyond the disappearing students part. Not yet anyway.

[unordinary-diary]

Blyke and John: the Followup

In my last entry, I pointed out the similarities between chapters 249 and 121, but I had hit the image limit and wasn’t able to embed screenshots. I got around this by linking the chapters, but this is probably my favorite parallel, and to do it justice I think I need to really put them next to each other.

(121) (249)

(121) (249)

(121) (249)

(121) (249)

(121) (249)

(121) (249)

(121) (249)

(121) (249)

(121) (249)

(121) (249)

(121) (249)

(121) (249)

(121) (249)

It’s the same fucking scene but backwards and in a different font.

They’re the SAAAAAAAAAAME!!!!!!!!

This was definitely on purpose. Shit like this ^^ doesn’t happen by accident.

[unordinary-diary]

Ooh can we hear about the band au for the Unordinary ask game?

oh yes this is one of my favorites!

Band AU

Okay so for this one I actually have stuff written down for it already. Copy/pasted from my notes is their roles in the band:

Arlo: Manager and synth player

Blyke: Drummer

Isen: songwriter, PR guy, and assorted behind-the-scenes tasks

John: backup singer & bassist 

Remi: electric guitar player

Seraphina: Lead singer

Arlo as the manager mostly because I can’t see him not taking the leadership role, and synth player because my brother and I thought piano fit his vibes but we swapped it when we decided it was a rock band. Isen’s behind the scenes because I imagine him staying out of the spotlight. John is on bass mostly because bass strings are really hard to break, and therefore really dramatic to have him break one in the heat of whatever dramatic climax moment there is.

I also wrote a little mock ao3 summary for the au:

Rei’s band was selected to participate in an upscale, annual music event, with a chance to win a lot of money. It’s a tournament style competition for which they have a year to prepare X amount of songs. Not only do they have the chance to win money, but it’s an incredible opportunity to get their names out there, and winning could even make their whole career. Unfortunately, Rei dies before the competition, leaving the rest of the band grief-stricken. Arlo steps up as the manager, and Remi as the singer.

“I can’t do it,” said Remi.

“What?” Arlo asked.

“I’m telling you while there’s still time. I can’t sing and play at the same time with out screwing up one or the other. We have to find another singer.”

Or: Seraphina and John audition for a band.

I also wrote out the start of a plot outline but it’s in word vomit format so I’m not posting it like that. Something that definitely happens though is that Zeke and his cronies are also competing, and they play dirty and try to sabotage our main characters. Also they definitely play a tribute song for Rei.

This one is… probably the most developed au I have? Ive got a vague plot, even. Really this only exists because I thought their abilities could make really cool effects for a concert.

[unordinary-diary]

Blyke and John: Parallel Characters

I’ve written multiple entries about this,

[x] [x] [x]

But I’m back to make a comprehensive analysis about the glaring similarities between these two. I’ll try not to repeat myself here.

‼️SPOILER WARNING for the whole series‼️ but this mostly focuses on the story before John’s suspension.

Firstly, this scene:

ch. 121

This conversation takes place near the beginning of the Joker arc. It’s after John targets Zeke, after he targets Juni, and the day before he goes after Seraphina’s kidnappers. The timing is important.

“If someone hit your best friend, would you let it slide?”

That question is supposed to remind us what John does to people who hurt Seraphina: hunting them down and sending them to the hospital. Blyke shooting a destructive beam really close to John was an example of a trait they share: they both blow up violently when people mistreat their friends.

John’s downward spiral carries strong themes of hypocrisy. He’s angry at the world, he’s angry at himself, and as a coping mechanism, he chooses to believe that everyone else is as bad as he is. That means that most of the traits he hates others for are the same things he hates about himself. In this scene, Blyke is unintentionally calling out this hypocrisy: “What I did is no different from what you do”.

But Blyke’s just trying to connect with John here, he has no idea what John’s been doing. And John, of course, doesn’t give a shit about what Blyke has to say. This line was here for the audience to notice.

They’re both so similar, but their similarity immediately causes tension between them because, well, John was on the wrong end of Blyke’s protectiveness.

I really love the way this was written— there are so many flashbacks to this scene, but they remember it differently. John remembers the part that hurt him— he’d describe it as “the time that jackass shot a beam at me”. Blyke remembers the part that hurt him, or rather, hurt Remi: “the time that jackass hit Remi for no reason”.

Blyke and John are both hotheaded characters with strong ideals. They’re similar enough that Seraphina points it out:

(ch. 80)

As Blyke grows as a character, he becomes more like John: sticking up for low tiers and speaking out against the injustice in the world. But while Blyke is doing that more, John is going in the opposite direction, until they are fully opposed to each other.

Speaking of Blyke’s character arc, it took me a few rereads to actually understand what part of him changed. His kindness, selflessness, bravery— all of those things were there from the start. Blyke’s character arc was about becoming more aware of his surroundings, and how his carelessness can harm others. Blyke was never malicious, but after X-Rei and integrating more with the school, he becomes aware of people suffering around him and how he unintentionally contributes to it. He becomes less reckless, privy to the flaws in the system he grew up not questioning, and uses his power more responsibly. He even comes up with a more controlled way to wield his ability. The part of Blyke that changes is his maturity.

Part of John’s character arc is also about being careful. It’s not as close of a parallel as other things are, but one of the things that John works on during his redemption arc is holding back. Both of them learn self-control throughout the series, and for John, that means acting early before his emotions spiral out of hand.

Adding onto my first point about the two of them wanting to protect their friends— the fact that they can’t do that makes them both angry and desperate. For most of the story, the “block” that prevents John from protecting Seraphina is in his head. It’s his own trauma that holds him back. The block that prevents Blyke from protecting his friends is, guess what? Also John’s trauma! Parallels abound.

Another thing I noticed in Episode 80 is this:

Notice that when Seraphina says “I’d take that over strength any day,” John is looking at the camera. He’s avoiding Sera’s gaze. Seraphina is saying she prefers honesty over strength. John is very strong, and very dishonest, but Seraphina thinks the opposite because John is so dishonest. John appears to be reflecting on this disconnect.

In relation to this analysis, Seraphina is actually pointing out a major difference between Blyke and John. Beyond that, she’s praising Blyke’s traits, (less strong but very open) above John’s traits, (strong as fuck but a liar with his pants on fire). Furthermore, John really cares what Seraphina thinks of him. Knowing that she would think less of him is the main reason why he spent so much time and effort preventing her from catching his lies.

This leads into my main point here: Blyke is the “goody-two-shoes” version of John. Or, more accurately, the person that John wants to be. Blyke has a clean track record and doesn’t really get into trouble. He is respected and left alone by the school without being hated and feared, he de-escalates conflicts without taking things too far, he doesn’t lose control, he’s someone Seraphina thinks highly of, hell, even his grades are better! Blyke represents everything that John wants to be, and the person that he could have been if he’d gone down a different path.

But, crucially, John is also what Blyke wants to be. Well, not wholly, but his ability? His strength? It’s one of the things John hates about himself, but Blyke wants that strength so desperately that he risks his life for it over and over again.

They’re both desperate to be like each other, even when they hate each other the most. Neither of them have any idea how alike they already are.

I don’t know what Season 3 holds in store for us, but I do hope that John realizes that Blyke embodies who he wants to be, because mutual jealousy would be a very interesting dynamic to explore in my opinion. I also hope that it ends up being something they can bond over, by helping each other accomplish their personal goals. (Blyke being another helper in John’s character arc, and John helping Blyke train.)

A side note: John beat up Blyke four separate times. That’s more than any other character, which is interesting because John’s main rival is supposed to be Arlo. For reference, John has beaten Arlo twice, three times if you count the time when Seraphina intervened, and he only beat him unconscious once. But John beat Blyke to the point of passing out all four times, the worst of which being a shot clean through his chest. (shoulder? Unclear. S1 finale).

It’s odd, isn’t it? Out of everyone, Blyke is the one who John physically hurt the most. John’s only grudge against him is an old memory from episode 33, of an event that didn’t actually harm him. John’s grudge against Arlo is much more serious and again— that’s his main rival. So why is it that he’s so much more violent towards Blyke?

The problem here is that I’ve been thinking about these fights as “John picking on Blyke”. And that’s… kind of true? But while Blyke didn’t start any of these fights, they were all consensual in a way. He didn’t seek to fight John, nor was he ever happy about fighting John, but he was always a willing participant.

(138, 153, 206, & 211)

In three out of these four fights, John didn’t even expect to be fighting Blyke going into it. This is significant because while Arlo is John’s main rival, John absolutely fills that role for Blyke. Blyke’s own agency is what leads to most of these events. The reason, narratively speaking, why they fight so much is not for John’s character, but for Blyke.

For John, his reason for fighting Blyke so much is not narrative but moreso symbolic. John is angry at everyone and everything, but ultimately the person he hates the most is himself. It’s only fitting that the character most like him would bear the brunt of his wrath.

As John is having his positive character arc (suspension and post-suspension), he is becoming more like Blyke, and the two of them reach a point where they’re even more similar than they were at the start of the series.

In the Rowden amusement park, John does start to realize how similar they are:

(249)

Additionally, I want to draw your attention to the parallels between this scene:

Blyke and John’s argument in chapter 249

(which the image limit won’t let me add, scroll until you see red hair.)

And this scene:

Argument in ch. 121 (it’s at the beginning)

Two sides of the same coin.

Furthermore, in the S2 finale, Blyke is shown being taken to Keon. There is an implication that by Season 3, Blyke and John will share Keon-related trauma as well. Despite my pessimistic predictions, I do hope that this is a similarity that can bring them together rather than tear them apart.

[unordinary-diary]

*GASP* omg there’s a new post in the Unordinary tag—

oh shit that’s my post

[unordinary-diary]

Part 2

Debating getting rid of the hearts on the text for Remi’s

What if I made some super dope fanarts with like, proverbs on them?

Like this sorta. Like a top text bottom text meme but all edgy and cool. What then? Could the world handle it?

[unordinary-diary]

Thoughts on the medieval au?

Medieval AU

ask game

Okay so the medieval AU focuses on John and Seraphina. It’s basically a ship fic premise, but I’m not big into shipping so I might make it platonic through sheer brute force. Haven’t decided yet. Either way, the other characters aren’t really involved.

(Side note, the name isn’t entirely accurate because it’s not historically accurate to any specific time period. It’s more like those classic fantasy settings that are loosely based on old-timey Europe — you all know what I’m talking about.)

So basically: Seraphina is a rich noble lady, and John is a peasant boy. They meet, and their relationship progresses much like canon. John helps Seraphina loosen up and let go of expectations, in large part by annoying her into being his friend.

The twist is that Sera’s John-inspired character development coincides head on with a fancy rich-people ball or something. You see, there’s gonna be a whole lot of other high-tiers there, and Sera’s mom wants her to go to this ball to find the strongest guy there and marry him. Narissa wants Sera to look her best and be on the top of her game with like, flirting and whatnot to increase her chance of getting the “best” husband. Increase the family’s status or whatever.

Sera, of course, doesn’t want this. As she’s preparing for the ball, she decides last minute to cut off her hair, and by “last minute” I mean in the dressing room. Narissa freaks out but she doesn’t have time to be mad at her daughter so she just has the servants cut her hair even so that it actually looks nice and then they send her off to the event. At the ball, John shows up (snuck in to say hi). Sera decides “fuck this shit” and sneaks off to go have fun with John instead.

So, yeah! It’s a bit trope-y but I think it’s cute.

Might decide to have Arlo also be at the ball, but I can’t think of anything notable for him to do and it would be a little unusual to have a main cast member as a background/cameo character.

[unordinary-diary]

In JWNCAU would John still want to become king of New Bostin? Would he become powerful enough like Jane to be targeted for his powers?

Good question!

ask game

In the JWNCAU, John does still become New Bostin’s king, but because of Jane’s parenting he ends up stepping down and giving the throne back to Zirian. (Jane gets involved and tells John to either be a better king or don’t be king at all, and John chooses to abdicate.) Then, we can get a really sweet moment when John comes home from school and tells Jane he gave up his title. He thinks she’ll be disappointed with his choice but she hugs him and says “No, I’m proud of you”.

As for the second question... considering that the basis for this au is that Jane was left alone, I don’t see a reason why John would be targeted instead of her. In regards to his strength, I do think John would be more powerful in this au than canon, because Jane would help him use it and he wouldn’t have hidden his ability. However, I really don’t think that John is going to be as strong as his mom. I’d give him an 8.0 max. The main reason for that is William. I don’t entirely know how ability genetics works, but I imagine that William’s genetics would give John a lower level than if Jane had a child with another high tier. That’s also my theory on why he was a late-bloomer— Willaim’s genetics made his ability develop much later. It also happened to Terrence: Weak mother + strong father = strong late bloomer, but he’s still weaker than his father.

Another reason why I think John would be weaker than Jane is that Jane was probably pressured her whole life to become stronger and stronger. I highly doubt Jane would pressure John like that, so he’s quite a bit weaker than he would be if she did.

I’m gonna place him at a 7.8 in this au, but with potential to get stronger during the story.

[unordinary-diary]

For the ask game : with the Rei never died AU, do you think Rei would help Remi, Blyke, and Isen doing their investigation, or would he be too protective of his little sister ( if Remi even started doing vigilante stuff in this AU ) ? Also, would he aproove of what John was doing in Wellston ( like Joker and King John arcs ) ?

Rei Never Dies AU

ask game

Okay so, in the Rei Never Dies AU, Remi never becomes a superhero, because her motivation was getting revenge. Without Rei dying, there’s no superhero motive for her. However, Blyke probably still would become a superhero because his motive remains untouched. But, just like canon, he’d be laying low, not looking for EMBER, and easily talked out of it when his friends find out. Though it would be cool if he met Rei on his adventures, I’m thinking Rei saves him from Lennon instead of Kuyo.

As for whether or not Rei would approve of John’s actions during his Joker and King arcs... I think we all know the answer to that. I mean, at this point, deep down, even John doesn’t want John to be doing what John is doing.

In fact, one of my favorite things I’ve imagined about this AU is how pissed off Rei would be when he finds out someone put his little sister in the hospital. I like to imagine he’s roommates with Kuyo in college too, so picture this:

Rei gets home from visiting Remi at the hospital. She dejectedly told him all about what John’s been doing at school, and Rei jokingly asked: “Do you want me to go to your school and beat him up for you?” Remi had laughed it off. Kuyo sees Rei opening his secret drawer with a dark look in his eyes, “Dude,” Kuyo says, “You’re not really getting suited up for this—”

“I’m NOT above beating up a high schooler, Kuyo.” Rei says.

Anyway, I just think it would be super cool to have Rei show up in Wellston as X-Static and face off with John. Whether Rei tracks John down and meets him off of school property, or if he just shows up on campus, honestly depends on how ballsy Rei is feeling.

I also like this idea a lot because from Rei’s perspective, this is no different from his regular vigilante work. A strong person is terrorizing a bunch of people who are much weaker than him. The people responsible for stopping him are looking the other way, so Rei steps in. The only difference is that this time it’s personal.

Unfortunately I don’t know how to make this into a satisfying plot point because... obviously Rei loses, and then what? All it does is give the other characters one more reason to hate John, and gives John one more thing to feel guilty over once he’s chilled out again. Both of those things are already in surplus as it is.

However, since I like this idea so much, I offer two possible solutions to this plot issue:

Rei takes an amp

Rei is able to get through to John

But you know what’s even cooler than options 1 or 2? Both. Just imagine it! Glorious.

I could write more exploring those options but this is getting a bit long so I’ll clip it here.

[unordinary-diary]

I’ve gotten no asks yet so thank you @coldinfluencerbeliever for volunteering! I’m not entirely sure if you meant to participate in the ask game because this is a statement and not a question, but you’re the only one with your hand up so you’ve been called on.

You’re absolutely right! Jane never being captured totally changes John’s entire story. That is the basis for this au:

Jane Was Never Captured AU

Okay so, we don’t know much about Jane, but I’m certain she wouldn’t have tolerated her son being bullied. At this point, there’s no telling whether Jane is above beating up middle-schoolers or not, but even if she is, she’d have gone to the school’s administration, or even the bullies’ parents, and raised hell. Unlike William, Jane has the power and influence to actually do something about the bullying.

This means that while I imagine John still got bullied, and his friends probably more so, John wouldn’t be completely helpless to stop it since he has his mom backing him. His mistreatment would be lessened, and his resentment and anger wouldn’t have built up nearly as badly. While his ability developed, Jane would be giving him guidance that William couldn’t, including teaching him to use his power responsibly. And even if he still went down the same dark path, Jane would be there to smack some sense into him like Seraphina was in mid- season 2. (It’s entirely possible that Jane is too gentle for that, but regardless, I highly doubt that the New Bostin Massacre would have happened in this AU.)

Therefore, in the Jane Was Never Captured AU, John doesn’t go full reign-of-terror, doesn’t get expelled from New Bostin, doesn’t go to readjustment, doesn’t go to Wellston, isn’t involved with the main plot at all, and most importantly: UnOrdinary by W. H. Doe never gets written.

So... it’s possible that Rei never became a superhero. However, I actually prefer the idea that he did anyway, and he was just the first/one of the first/one of very few. But with superheroes being pretty much unheard of (either just Rei or Rei and very few others), EMBER wouldn’t have been created.

So, yeah. The Jane Was Never Captured AU intertwines with the Rei Never Dies AU. It’s basically an add-on, I suppose. Or a branch of it? They’re not really the same AU, but Rei also lives in the JWNCAU.

But uhhh, yeah! John with Jane in his life is basically just a much healthier John. Which, if you think about it, is essentially just Blyke but better at lying, worse at school, plus some hair dye. (These two are so fucking similar it’s been EATING my brain)

The JWNCAU is essentially a catch-all fix-it au, but not entirely, because it means John never gets involved with Wellston. John was also responsible for a lot of the good that happens in the story— without him, the other main characters don’t get their character development. Remi, Blyke and Isen could probably get theirs some other way, but Arlo and Seraphina needed John in order to grow.

This au tears down the whole story and files it down to a blank slate. The parameters for what gets built on that slate is basically: find another way for John and Seraphina to meet, and find some other way for Arlo, Remi, Blyke and Isen to get their character development. That’s the sandbox we’re playing in.

When I was brainstorming this au with my brother, he basically said that “The problem with this au is that it changes so much, I don’t even know where to go with it.” Which... true. But there are SO. MANY. Directions to take this au into. I’m thinking of them as I’m typing.

Anyway, my ask box is open if you want more.

[unordinary-diary]

Alternate Universe story ideas.

[EDIT]: it appears that the medieval au never made it onto this list

- Medieval AU

I wasn’t planning on posting this but screw it— ask me about any of these aus and I’ll tell you about them. If I get repeats and I’ve run out of lore, I’ll just make up more.

I’m only gonna answer asks when I feel like it, so don’t be disappointed if I don’t answer, but also don’t be afraid of annoying me.

[unordinary-diary]

According to the internet it’s Arlo’s birthday?

[unordinary-diary]

What if I made some super dope fanarts with like, proverbs on them?

Like this sorta. Like a top text bottom text meme but all edgy and cool. What then? Could the world handle it?