#definitely drawing him more sinister than he actually is lmao

[pinkcadavart]

Huntsman

[matsunoluvr]

୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ love and deepspace men and their random habits

warnings: none!!

characters: rayafel, xavier, zayne, sylus

link to master list here!

author’s note: feeling like a short and sweet one today, sometimes writing more than i want can take the fun out of writing so i’ll stick true to myself this time 🗣️

more below the cut! ☆〜（ゝ。∂）

he like, drums his fingers a lot. you know like that rhythmic tapping on desks?

rafayel enjoys moving around his fingers and stimulating his brain in little ways whilst he’s waiting for some paint to dry to paint another layer or when waiting for you to finish an activity.

he also picks at things, paint on the wall or at scabs (bad habit, you tell him but he never stops) - he complains and says it doesn’t hurt when you bandage it up

rafayel hates growing out his fingernails but he doesn’t bite them, he tends to pick them until they peel shorter then clip them neat with nail clippers

how to combat both his picking habit and nail peeling at the same time? slap on some nail polish, he gets to peel to his hearts content and look amazing at the same time!

“Cutie, come here. I peeled off all my nail polish, can you redo it?”

i feel like in game xavier already blinks quite a lot more than all the LIs, but i can see him also doing those like, long hard reset blinks

he’ll blink loads at once then do this longer blink and then be fine, i can just see him doing this

maybe it’s because his hair looks like it’d get in and irritate his eyes lolol

when you and him get plushies he keeps the ones he keeps on his bed, i feel like he’s usually minimalistic when designing his house but his bed??

it’s like a plushie fortress, when you visit you could literally drown in them

“I like sleep, and I like you. It’s the best of both worlds, want to join me?”

zayne is the type of person to ACTUALLY rub his temples, like what person actually does that? zayne of course.

he also subconsciously clicks pens a lot, not loud and at a high frequency - but if you pay attention to his hands you’ll notice he gently clicks and then un-clicks the pen when in deep thought

he definitely does this more when he’s stressed, the feeling of the pen popping out against his thumb is therapeutic

zayne keeps around fake plants and a watering can because he somehow found a sick sense of amusement watching you water them every time you came to his office.

“Why am I smiling? No reason.”

he genuinely rubs his hands together and it makes sylus look like a fly, he just looks so sinister and mischievous when he does it

if you ask him why he rubs his hands together he just shrugs his shoulders

“Just habit, sweetheart.”

really it’s because he has sweaty palms LMAOO and he’s an old man, of course he’s gonna do old man things

i feel like sylus likes to chew on things, imagine one time you catch him clenching his jaw and decide to give him some gum

it’s not like he doesn’t know what gum is he just never really though about buying some

after that you find stacks of gum in his draws and he’s always chewing a piece, the only thing he dislikes is discarding gum.

AN; silly silly men doing silly silly things, i didn’t think too much about these just slurred random ideas and wrote them down LMAO

[serpenteve]

So I ship Darklina, but I actually...don't hate Mal? Sure, he was a dick sometimes (so is the Darkling, in different ways), but he was also like 17 or 18 right? And, to me, he'd changed by Ruin and Rising. He went through a lot of character growth. He's not my favorite character by any means. He's probably one of my least favorite, simply because of how boring he is, and I think him and Alina would have been better off as friends or siblings for a platonic familial type thing. But he's also a teenager. That doesn't give him an excuse for being a dick but I feel like from what I've seen from Darklina stans (and what I myself have done in the past) is we hold him to such a high standard but we excuse everything the Darkling does. Yes, he's the villain, but he's also a love interest, which means he does need to be somewhat held accountable. I love the Darkling, he's my boy, and he makes Mal look like a piece of cardboard in comparison, but if we're able to love a centuries old villain and forgive his mistakes, shouldn't Mal at least get some grace? Heroes are allowed to mess up, especially teenage ones. Hell, when I was 17 I was a wreck. It just feels weird to write off everything a centuries old man does but tear apart everything a teenager does, you know?

But I also understand the Mal hate and I don't expect people to love him (I don't even love him lmao). I just wanted to see if some Darklinas are more open towards Mal because I understand most Darklinas hate his guts (understandably so).

Sorry for the long ask. What are your thoughts on Mal?

I don't think all Darklinas hate Mal but a lot of people who hated a number of things in the books happen to be Darklinas. If you hate the book romance, then you're more likely to criticize other aspects of the storytelling like the plot and writing choices.

I definitely think people's perception of Mal hinges on whether they feel like he redeemed himself in Ruin & Rising and/or whether or not they were exposed to the fandom discourse and reactions surrounding the characters. For example, if you read the Grisha trilogy after seeing people endlessly simp for the Darkling and talk about Mal like he's the Worst Character Ever™️, then probably you will think book!Mal really isn't that bad and people excuse the Darkling's actions despite him like.........destroying an entire town for funsies and terrorizing Alina across the country 😂

The whole Mal vs Darkling debate originally arose out of audience expectations. Mal was presented as a heroic love interest while the Darkling was basically a false romantic lead turned villain who Alina kinda still had the hots for but had to heroically resist lest she become seduced to the dark side. The Darkling wants to control and exploit Alina and will stop at nothing to do so. Therefore, we expect Mal to embody the opposite of this: support Alina in doing what she wants and not treat her like a trophy he's entitled to. Instead, Bardugo---perhaps unintentionally---set the opposite in motion.

I actually really don't mind Mal in Shadow & Bone. Yeah, he was kind of an ass to Alina at parts, but he apologized and helped her get the stag and most of his faults can be overlooked as dumb teenage boy things. The problem arose in Siege & Storm when Mal grew entitled, possessive and emasculated because Alina had this power he did not and Alina had this great destiny that didn't revolve around him. Regardless of what Bardugo intended with this lover's quarrel, many readers interpreted this as Mal wanting Alina to be weak and dependent on him. And now, when readers look back at his more annoying traits in Shadow & Bone that initially didn't bother us that much, it holds more sinister implications. It wasn't that Mal and Alina were drifting apart, it was that Mal doesn't care about Alina until someone else cares about her and then he realizes "oh shit! my biggest fangirl that i took for granted has been taken away and has a life of her own??? unacceptable!!11". This combined with the Grisha being coded as any marginalized group and Mal's bigotry towards Alina and then her ending where she lost her powers so the author could pair her with Mal also left some.................IMPLICATIONS 👀

And listen, it would be one thing if I was the *only* reader who was whining about how Mal's character drives me up the wall......but like literally 3/4 of the fandom hated his ass because Bardugo accidentally made him toxic in a very *familiar* way that the Darkling's toxicity is not---at least for that part of the fandom. And this clash between reader expectations and what was actually on the page is what gave rise to a lot of Mal hate. You mentioned that readers hold Mal to a higher standard than the Darkling and that's true. But it's also because Mal is supposed to be a hero, not a villain. The expectations we had for the Darkling were literally on the floor after he decided to randomly massacre Novokribrisk. Whereas Mal being toxic in exactly the same way a chauvinistic garbage IRL man would be toxic was way too much for some readers and we just ended up shipping Alina with the Darkling out of pure spite. Especially when said villain is saying things like "I've seen what you truly are and I've never turned away? Can he stay the same?" or "He’s otkazat’sya. He can never hope to understand your power, and if he did, he’d only come to fear you."

ALSO, I'm a big believer that the reason the Darklina shippers grew in number is directly because the Darkling and Alina are never in a romantic relationship. The failed and wasted potential was indeed a huge draw, but the fact that we never got to see what their canon relationship would be like allowed us to fantasize about an ideal situation in which the Darkling comes to the error of his ways and learns to treat Alina as an equal. The quotes I mentioned above are up for interpretation. He says he will never turn away and that he would be able to understand Alina's power...........but he also proved that he isn't above using her as a weapon without regard for what she wants. Because we never get to see the Darkling and Alina in a real romantic relationship, we can now choose to interpret that line seriously in fanworks, regardless of whatever the hell Bardugo intended with it.

[tfw-no-tennis]

mtmte liveblog issue 15

death awaits!

oh god the cover. I aint ready 

the cover of overlords open mouth w/rodimus floating inside or w/e,,,,the overlord mouth fixation continues i see

and of COURSE its by nick roche. of course

oh god the tension and dread in the first page, as we get overlords sinister promise to murder everyone, starting with rewind, and then seeing chromedome rush over to open the door, and knowing that 30 minutes have passed already...

that full page spread of everyone vs overlord is amazing

also I always thought that ambulon was trying to kick overlord but now that I look closer he’s actually jumping away from overlord, having just crashed one of those hover...thingys....into him...which is honestly cool as hell. also I'm never over the fact that ambulon kinda looks like he’s smiling here, just having a grand ole time as overlord tries his best to murder everyone

and chromedome just seeing this and saying ‘rewind?’ is fucking killing me thanks

PIPES NO DONT DO THIS. YOURE JUST RUBBING SALT IN THE WOUND. PLEASE don't talk about how much fun you're having on your wacky space adventure oh god, that’s just asking to be murdered,

GOD AND THERE HE GOES, DRIVING TO HIS DOOM. PIPES NO

AUGHHHHHHHHHH AND THERES OVERLORD WITH HIS GIANT FOOT. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

PIIIIIPES ;_; 

his messed up goodbye thoughts are brutal...plus the final shot of him laying all busted up....god :( 

that guy seriously had some awful luck this trip. rip lil guy

BUT he sounded the alarm!!! so good for him!! that's a pretty amazing final act right there

oh my god I forgot abt this scene where rewind is like ‘so brainstorm why is my husband saying your name in his sleep :))))’ and brainstorm is like ‘haha idk its certainly not because we’re working on a secret project together, so jot that down!’ lmao brainstorm....

also dw rewind brainstorm is not fucking ur husband, just look at his evidentially extensive collection of perceptor-style microscopes...my man is microscopesexual 

I forgot abt the metabomb omfg

‘some of my favorite words are monosyllabic’ rodimus ily, himbo of my heart,

fort max :( rung :( 

oughhghghg I forgot abt the scene of tailgate making cyclonus a new horn ;_; and then cyclonus materializes menacingly bc tg dared to volunteer their room for movie night hvbfshdjkfbaskj cyclonus anti-social icon

AUGHHHH GOD THE PANEL OF RATCHET TALKING ON THE COMMS AND OVERLORD IS JUST, RIGHT BEHIND HIM, WITH HIS BIG STUPID LIPS, OH MY GOD

what the fuck, is drift a flying car??? hello??? what the hell????

seriously he’s got like, rockets and shit, what the fuck

anyways, the entire exchange b/w ratchet and drift here kills me, for multiple reasons.... ‘my faith and my sword’ lmao love it. and then ratchet refusing to leave drift and calling him his friend ;_; aughhh

rodimus w/the squad like ‘lets go gays!!!’ 

also I guess cosmos WAS on the lost light lol, totally didn't remember that, I'm guessing he left at some point to go be in the other series lmao 

I'm sorry but ‘amazing. you speak entirely in name’ is so fucking funny, but also like stfu overlord you're not allowed to be funny

MAGNUSSSSSSSS

now I'm confusing myself lmao, rodimus DID know abt overlord, didn't he??? wasn't that the whole thing???? I don't remember if he was involved w/the whole mnemosurgery plan but he at least knew that overlord was there...but we haven't been told that in-story yet so now I'm questioning that lmao

oh god I forgot that overlord almost kills magnus, jeeeeesus. good thing he’s a russian nesting doll otherwise he probably would've died fr 

also damn that's gotta be scary for everyone else, bc magnus is The Big Guy, and a renown fighter...plus drift got all fucked up...yall are in for a bad time 

tailgate gettin his panic on I see

swerve w/the meta narration lmao 

cyclonus ily sm.......

rodimus charging at overlord....ohhh my boy not your best idea

cd and rewind both saying ‘I thought you were dead!’ HHHHHHHH I'm destroyed fuck it all

rodimus (inadvertently) saving the day by saying ‘til all are one’...iconic!!

FORT MAX IS HEREEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

drift just casually chillin w/no legs

chromedome going into extreme detail about all the mnemosurgery he’s been doing on overlord for WEEKS while rewind is Right There....my dude.

this issue has a LOT of completely white backgrounds but I cant even rlly blame milne bc this seems like more drawing work than usual

oh god cd don't say ‘we’ll finish this conversation later’ at a time like this, that’s never a good idea,

rewind no don't do it :( :( :( 

that panel of cd’s arm getting cut off...AUGHHH

GODDDDDDD IM FUCKING CRYING. AUGHHHHHHHHHHH I.....

so incredibly fucked that cd does what’s best for rewind by blowing the pod up....hhhhh god 

and then that last panel of cd laying on the ground....fucking destroy me!!!!!!!!

also I love that at the beginning of the issue we see whirl with the missile launcher thing, and that’s what cd uses at the end here....good bookends. jro is really great about putting stuff in the story that just seems like innocuous filler/fun character building but turns out to ALSO be plot relevant later

HOLY SHIT I forgot about the cast page with the big red X’s thru the dead people’s profiles....jesus christ 

AUGH this issue was a rollercoaster, phew...and the emotionally devastating conclusion to this arc is still yet to come! 

I will say that it’s super interesting looking back on this, in the sense that rewind & chromedome are introduced as the first ever gay tf couple, and a few issues after we get told this explicitly, rewind is killed. this doesn't really end up being an issue representation-wise bc literally everyone is gay and there are a bunch of other significant gay characters/relationships later on, AND rewind comes back later 

but still! it’s interesting to think about how, at the time this came out, the phrase/concept ‘bury your gays’ wasn't really something that was talked about a lot (or like, it was, but not as often as nowadays, and not really under the term ‘bury your gays’ iirc), but at the time of publication this would have fallen under that trope (though rewind coming back later negates it imo). I think it would've been tough for this story to come out nowadays due to the backlash that would've occurred from rewind’s initial death (it also makes me wonder if there was any backlash when this DID come out) 

to be clear, this isn't a writing criticism - in fact, the reason this is able to work at all is because of the crazy amount of representation mtmte has. it’s like, youre able to kill off gay characters without it being ‘bury your gays’ if literally all your characters are gay by default, and there are a bunch of significant gay relationships happening - technically speaking, any death in mtmte is bury your gays lmao 

this is a completely disjointed rant but my point is like, if this issue came out in 2020 people would probably be pretty put off by rewind dying (understandably), but in the context of the series as a whole I don't consider this to be bad writing/bad representation/bury your gays 

and like, WERE people really mad about this in 2013? I am curious now, bc I would definitely feel kinda betrayed if I didn't know all the stuff that happens later 

but its pretty nice, because now I'm free to enjoy the writing and be emotionally devastated by rewinds death in a normal way, and not a ‘I'm angry at the writers for killing off one of the only gay characters’ kinda way

anyways I'm tired as hell so I'm going to bed, ill continue the emotional devastation later, phew

[dylan-o-yumm]

And angsty anon here again with another request a angst one! After the last ones wasn't not that angsty... Anyways how about nero got mind controlled or possessed by something that he even hurt his s\o but not through words like more that he even stabbed her with his sword... And after that he just got out of his trance and see what he have done even he hadn't control over his body in that time... Or other way that someone from the dmc crew got him out of his trance after stabbing his s\o...

(I have literally had this idea in my head for so long, but it was actually the other way around, so his s/o hurt him somehow cause ya know… angst. So thank you for requesting this so I can finally write it lmao) Also this is 7K, I usually try to make requests around 1 - 2k words but I obviously got a little carried away… 

You and Nero had stepped out of the van to clear a path being overrun by demons, while Dante and Trish stayed in the van with Nico to rest up after having a pretty intense battle with one of the higher class demons only moments prior. They kept watch, to make sure you and the young devil hunter didn’t get into any trouble, ready to jump up and help at a moments notice. However, you and Nero handled the demons fairly easily, the battle only lasting about ten minutes before all the demons were gone or dead. 

You were covered in blood, thick splatters lining your clothes, face and hair, but you didn’t mind too much, just happy you and Nero got them all without a scratch on either of your bodies. You were panting, turning to share a look with your equally bloodied partner. His lips curled into a cocky smile, chest only slightly heaving since he was a lot more used to this kind of work than you were. You smiled back at him, shaking your head slightly at him inability to take demon hunting seriously. Well, he took it seriously, but he always found a way to make it fun. 

You heard Nico whistle loudly, drawing both yours and Nero’s attention back to the van, catching a glimpse of her waving you over. You chuckled and began walking, the white haired boy jogging slightly to catch up and playfully nudge you as he fell into step with you. He complimented your fighting skills, adding that you weren’t as good as him, but you were definitely good, to which you shouldered him in return. You both laughed, a light and warm air hanging around the two of you. 

Until that air suddenly disappeared. 

The air got cold, to the point you were expecting snow to start falling from the sky and coating the ground in a thin sheen of white. You let out a breath as you stopped walking, a puff of white escaping your lips and dying as it get further from you. Nero had stopped walking too, eyes narrowed and brow furrowed as he scanned the environment, looking for any signs of demons lurking about. His hand tightly gripped Red Queen as he stabbed the tip of the blade into the cobblestone ground and revved the handle until his sword was purring with power. 

You couldn’t see any signs of demons. Or not the ones you were used to anyway. 

You spotted a cloud of black smoke hovering inches off the ground, swirling like a pool being stirred. Goosebumps formed on your skin, both from the cold and the sight you saw, the thick, black, mist slowly sliding across the floor towards the two of you. You didn’t have to be an expert demon hunter to know that whatever this was, it wasn’t good. Nero looked just as confused as you, clearly never having seen anything like it before, his usual cocky smirk replaced with a frown and curious eyes. Neither of you knew what to do, how do you fight smoke? 

It all happen too fast for you to react, the smoke darted into the air and zipped from where it was, over to Nero in a flash. It took advantage of his surprised gasp, slipping past his parted lips and down his throat. Nero couched to get it out, doubling over as he let his sword clatter on the ground, hands on his knees and turning away from you. You rushed over to him, panic settling in your chest as you placed your hands on his back and tried to get a look at his face, just to make sure he was okay. He kept turning, enabling you to see him as he choked out what sounded like a weak “get back!” 

“Nero, I don’t know what to do, you need to look at me..!” You tried to keep your voice calm but there was no hiding the evident worry in your tone. You kept your hand on his back, listening to him chocking on the smoke like he was about to throw it up, patting and stroking his back in an attempt to both sooth him and get whatever the hell was inside of him, out. 

All of a sudden, his chocking and coughing stopped, his struggle coming to a stop and for a moment you thought it worked. That he had gotten rid of the odd, black mist. However, he slowly stood up straight, an eery vibe surrounding him and causing you to take a hesitant step back. He wasn’t standing… like he usually would. Instead of his usual cocky posture that would have every demon shaking with fear, he stood tall, shoulders square and puffing his chest out. You couldn’t help but shake while your teeth chattered, the overwhelming and sudden coldness feeling like it was freezing your body from the inside out every time you breathed in. 

“N-Ner-ro..?” You shuddered, instinctively wrapping your arms around yourself to contain whatever heat you could. The man before you slowly turned to face you, making a gasp escape your lips and your heart to skip a beat when you saw that his eyes were completely back, even the whites of his eyes were clouded by the dark shade. He smiled when he met your gaze, but it was sinister and… evil. This definitely was not Nero. 

Instead of answering you, whoever this was simply laughed darkly, sending shivers down your spine. He advanced towards you, bending down to swiftly catch the handle of Red Queen in one fell swoop as he dragged the blade on the floor behind him, taking long and intimidating strides in your direction. You stepped back for every step he took but your distance was much smaller than what he was gaining, his eyes pricing into yours as the sickening smile never left his face. 

Your lip quivered as he quickly shot a hand out to grab a hold of you by your hair, his teeth gritting as he did so. You yelped and cried as he brutally slammed his boot into your shin, causing you to fall to the floor in pain. You couldn’t hold back the tears, both from fear and pain, cowering and bowing your head. What could you do? You couldn’t kill him, Nero was still in there somewhere. You didn’t even want to hurt him, no matter how much he didn’t look like your Nero right now, he still… was? You hoped that there was a way to get him back, there had to be. 

“Silly, little girl… You love this vessel don’t you? That is going to make killing you so much more fun” He spoke slowly, mocking you as you choked back on sobs. His voice had an echo to it, it was deeper too, not sounding like the kind hunter you knew and loved. You knew you were going to have more than a bruise on your shin from where he kicked you, even your knees where going to be grazed and red from being forced onto the floor. You made the mistake of hesitantly bringing your eyes up to his, tears streaking down your cheeks as you pleaded him to stop with a single look. 

He responded to you glances by tightening his grip on your hair, forcing you to keep looking up at him. You winced and bought your hands up to hold his wrist, wanting lessen his grip but he was too strong. He didn’t seem to have Nero’s strength, but this demon was strong enough on his own. It was like it was just using Nero’s body as a boat to get him from one place to another, or maybe it was easier to kill people when you weren’t a swirling pool of smoke. Either way, you could tell he had some trouble lifting Red Queen, since he was still dragging it on the floor behind him instead of holding it properly or lifting it. 

“Dante!” You screamed, not knowing what else to do. Maybe the older devil hunter had some experience with this kind of thing and could help get Nero back without hurting him. Nero, or not Nero, didn’t seem to like you calling out for help. His evil smile turned into a fearful frown, glancing towards the van for a moment. You were too far away from the three, meaning this possessed Nero still had plenty of time to kill you before running away. And he seemed to have that idea in mind. 

He took his hand out of your hair to raise a fist, planing on bringing it down harshly on your face, but you were quick to roll to the side and out of the way. He groaned in anger, grinding his teeth as he came after you, dragging the sword still as you stood up to your feet shakily, your knees and shin throbbing intensely as you put all your weight on it. Nero was faster, your pain being a disadvantage as he placed both his hands on the swords handle and swinging it across his body, the tip of the blade sliding across your stomach and tearing open both your shirt and your skin, blood immediately dripping from the cut. It wasn’t too deep that your guts were falling out, but it was deep enough for you to possibly need stitches. 

You could hear Dante shout Nero’s name in fear, shock and anger as he ran towards the two of you, yet he was still too far away. You fell backwards, back hitting the side of a building as you dodged another swing of the blade, falling on your backside and groaning in pain as you clutched your bleeding stomach. You took one glance at your blood stained hands, the need to make sure your tummy wasn’t spewing out your guts too strong. However, the moment you took your eyes off of him, Dante screamed your name, the most distressed you’ve ever heard him. Instead of looking up, you looked to the side, finding Dante’s form getting closer and closer. 

“NO!” Dante yelled, just as the blade of Red Queen was brought down into your thigh. You screamed in agonising pain, the tip of the blade ripping through to the other side of your leg and stabbing into the floor. You were skewered on Nero’s sword, pinned to the earth as crimson stained your backside, sitting in a pool of your own blood. You could feel the blade tickling your femur, having luckily missed it by a hair. The loss of blood was a lot faster than you expected, already feeling lightheaded and your vision faded in and out. The pain was unbearable, but you couldn’t cry out anymore, shaky breaths and quiet sobs escaping you instead as you fought to stay conscious. 

“Sorry, kid” Dante huffed as you saw his fuzzy image pull out Ebony. He was standing in front of you now but he was addressing Nero. You shakily rose your hand, panic filling your cloudy mind in fear of Dante shooting to kill. However, as you blinked, you didn’t hear a gunshot, but the sound of the butt of Dante’s gun coming in contact with Nero’s skull made you wince. Your head lulled to the side, watching as Nero fell to the ground, blood oozing from his forehead but he looked like he was sleeping. You assumed Dante knocked him out, the older male crouching before you and checking over your leg. 

“I’m gonna have to pull it out so I can get you to the van. Alright, kid?” Dante asked, his tone strangely calm, and you were thankful for that because it sent a odd wave of comfort over you. However, you couldn’t focus on him as you saw Nero’s body shaking and twitching like he was having a seizure. You tried to talk, wanting to tell Dante to make sure he was okay, but all that left you was a panicked and pained squeak. 

You watched as the black smoke shot out of Nero’s mouth, up into the air and flying off into the sky as a means to quickly escape. Nero’s body slumped, the twitches and jolts he was having subsided and he was left looking like he was a sleeping child. Only then could you relax a little, now that whatever that thing was, was gone for now. 

You didn’t have time to answer Dante, your vision fading to black before you could say or do anything. 

~*~

“—not gonna like that. She will want to see him…” You heard a soft, feminine voice, hardly paying attention to the words she spoke as your eyes fluttered open slowly, adjusting to the harsh white light in the room. You knew immediately that you were in a hospital, the smell alone was more than a hint. The constant beeping of machines and quiet chatter of other patients or nurses were like a wave rolling over your ears, noticing it for only a moment before you subconsciously blocked it all out. 

You immediately winced as you tried to move your legs to stretch out a bit, wriggling your toes. However, a sharp pain shot through your thigh and began throbbing in a pattern that was mimicking your heart beat which was slightly faster than it should be. Your stomach didn’t feel too great either, a tightly wrapped bandage was easily evident around your waist, likely keeping stitches in place and making sure to prevent you from moving too much. You hissed as you settled back down, shifting your eyes to see Dante and Lady conversing over by the door. It must have been the short haired girl who you were hearing earlier. 

You don’t remember anything that happened after the odd smoke left Nero’s body, you didn’t even know when that happened, whether it was just yesterday or a week ago. You assumed Dante took the sword out of your leg when you passed out, while Nico drove the van over to where you were bleeding out. It only made sense that Dante put you and Nero in the van before speeding off to the hospital, since he wasn’t the kind of person to sit around and waste time. You half expected Nero to be sitting on the chair beside your bed, ready to greet you when you woke up, but you looked over to see it empty. Your heart sank when you realised you couldn’t see the young demon hunter at all. Lady and Dante were there, so why wasn’t he?  

“Hey, kid! You’re awake.” Dante’s surprised and overly excited voice draws your attention to him as he walks over to your side. Lady follows slowly behind him, stopping to stand beside him and smiling kindly at you. You ignore the sympathetic glances aimed at your leg, taking in a deep breath before Dante speaks again. “You’re lucky. Doc said they’d get to cut your leg off if it were any worse” He chuckled, making you wonder if he were joking or not. 

“How’re you feeling, Y/n?” Lady asks as she places a hand on the older devil hunters shoulder, silently telling him he’s being a bit overwhelming for someone who just woke up after being tortured by their boyfriend. Her tone is soft and calming, her different coloured eyes staring at you with a mix of concern, sympathy and motherly love. Your eyed darted between them, since they both obviously knew what was on your mind but were too afraid to talk about it. As much as you loved and appreciated them, they weren’t exactly who you needed right now, and they both knew it. 

“I’ll feel better once I talk to Nero. Where is he?” They both tensed when you said his name, visibly shifting uncomfortably. You last saw Nero unconscious after being possessed, which lead to a bunch of horrible thoughts to cloud your mind. The longer they didn’t speak, the more your mind raced, wondering if Nero was okay and… alive. There was every chance that the demon that possessed him, managed to kill him on the inside, which is why you didn’t see Nero wake up after the smoke left him. 

Thankfully someone spoke and eased your mind out of a dark place. 

“He’s okay. Whatever possessed him is gone, but we were gonna track it down and kill it as soon as we knew you were okay.” Dante states softly and calmly, which sent shivers down your spine for some reason. However, you didn’t care about the demon right now or the fact that it was possibly taking over someone else body to harm other people, all you cared about where Nero was and why he wasn’t with you. The look on your face told Dante your exact thought and you were thankful that he stopped beating around the bush. “He feels horrible, Y/n. He feels like he can’t see you because… he doesn’t deserve to or some shit.” He sighed, scratching the back of his neck and shaking his head sadly. 

You frowned at the Sparda twin, pressing your palms into the mattress and forcing yourself into a sitting position, ignoring the sharp pain in your stomach. The two quickly tried to get you to lie back down but you swatted their hands away, a grimace stuck on your face but you didn’t care about the pain at the moment. Lady had her hands on your shoulders, trying to coax you into lying back down, while Dante’s hands hovered over you like he was ready to grab you and force you down himself. 

Your mind was swimming, trying to understand what Dante had told you. Nero didn’t deserve to see you? Did he blame himself for what happened to you? Surely Nico was smacking sense into him since his logic was ridiculous. You weren’t scared of Nero in the slightest, even though it was his face you saw when his sword impaled your leg. You weren’t afraid of him, nor did you blame him for the actions of a demon. 

“I need to see him” You spoke firmly, the need to talk with your devil hunter was stronger now. You had to reassure him, make him see that he wasn’t the one to blame. Maybe talking to you would make him realise and see things clearly. If the positions were switched, and it were him in this hospital bed, you’d probably be feeling a lot of the same things he was going through right now. However, you don’t think you’d be able to stay away from him while he was injured, not as badly as you were. “I have to see him” You looked at Dante when you spoke, keeping your eyes on his and pleading for him to do something, anything to get the person you need the most, in the room with you. 

“I’ll go talk to him, but don’t get your hopes up, kid. We’ve all talked to him, but he doesn’t seem to want to change his mind” Dante huffs, already walking out the door before Lady can stop him. You knew if anyone were to get Nero’s ass here, it would be either Dante or Nico, and if Nico was already attempting to persuade him, maybe Dante was your last hope. 

~*~

Dante had walked into your’s and Nero’s shared home, ignoring the still bloodied sword laying on the porch. Dante had told Nero to clean it last time he was over, but it was clear the young devil hunter couldn’t bring himself to do so. The house was surprisingly clean, which Dante was surprised about, figuring Nero would have dug himself so deep in his guilt that there would be rubbish everywhere and a foul smell left lingering in the air. However, everything looked the same as it did the last time he was over, neatly stacked books, pillows fluffed. Dante wondered if Nero maybe just didn’t touch anything at all and it was all left how you last left it. 

“NICO! I’m done! Stop pushing!” The sound of Nero’s aggravated yelling echoed throughout the house, causing Dante’s brow to raise. The boy was definitely pissed off, it didn’t sound like the typical banter he had with the artisan, no, this was harsher and far more intense than sibling-like arguments. Dante had never heard Nero yell with such aggression and anger in his tone before, clearly the kid was on the breaking point, ready to melt down if he hadn’t already. 

“Fine! But don’t come running to me when Y/n leaves your ass for being such a stubborn fuck!” Nico yelled back just as loudly in her souther accent, but she didn’t sound as angry as she was trying, the hint of sadness in her tone was obvious to the older male. He didn’t interrupt them, staying in the lounge room while the fought in the kitchen, the yells coming to a stop as Nico stormed out and huffed as she stomped to the garage where the van must’ve been. 

Dante made his presence known by rolling around the corner, leaning his shoulder on the wall and folding his arms as he eyed his nephew who was hunched over at the sink. Nero sighed when he noticed Dante standing there, unable to calm himself down now. If he were to get yet another lecture when he had just finally gotten out of the first one, which seemed to last for hours, there would be no way he could keep himself calm. And Dante knew this. 

“Please don’t, Dante. Just leave.” Nero sighed tiredly. 

“That hurts, kid. Can’t an uncle come and check in on his nephew every now and then?” Dante quipped, noticing the now more noticeable stubble on Nero’s jaw and chin. He wasn’t scruffy or dirty at all, just a sign he should shave soon. Dante was actually surprised at now neat Nero seemed to be keeping himself, since whenever he himself is going through a tough time, he looses all regard for hygiene. The kid is tougher than Dante in some respects. Nero ignored Dante and continued to face the sink, refusing to look at his uncle. 

“Listen… Y/n woke up today and she’s been asking for you — scratch that — demanding for you.” Dante sighed with a hint of a chuckle in the back of his throat. Nero furrowed his brow, heart skipping a beat as he turned only his head to glance at Dante. His knuckles turned white from gripping the counter so hard, an attempt to keep himself grounded and not blow up at the slightest push that he knew Dante was going to give. 

“So, she’s awake now? Thats good…” Nero sighed, relieved that you were showing signs of improvement. He was so worried you wouldn’t wake up, even though everyone knew you would and told him so. 

“See, you still care for her. So, go and see her” Dante stated nice and slowly, each word feeling like a punch to Nero’s gut. “Don’t leave her to her thoughts. You know she’ll overthink this and get worried about you.” 

“Yeah, I care about her. Always have, always will. And that why exactly why I’m not going.” Nero sighed frustratedly, already seeing where this conversations is going. He knew his reasoning, but hated that he had to explain it to everyone. Either way, no one seemed to understand or care for his side anyway. 

“That makes no sense!” Dante unfolded his arms to shrug in an over exaggerated manner. 

“It makes perfect sense!” Nero bit back. 

“Nero, this is getting dangerous. You wont even look at your sword! You’re gonna end up getting hurt because you wont take your weapon when fighting demons. Blue Rose wont be enough, kid. Don’t make me tell Y/n you got yourself killed one day…” Dante pushed off the wall, stepping over to Nero and placing a hand on his shoulder, tone calmer than usual. He didn’t want to think of Nero getting hurt, but it was the truth and it was something that scared him. 

“What would you know about it, huh?! You don’t love anyone the way I love her!” Nero quickly spun around, slapping the hand off of his shoulder and pointing an accusing finger in Dante’s face. “She is the one thing I swore to protect! The one thing I wouldn’t let get hurt! And it were my hands that put her in the hospital!” He shouted, getting up in Dante’s face as he felt that familiar lump in his throat forming. 

“So melodramatic” Dante rolled his eyes with a smirk. To Dante, the situation seemed simple. All Nero had to do was go see you, say he’s sorry, even though he did nothing wrong, but chicks always like to hear apologies. Then, everything should be done and dusted, your relationship with Nero back to the way it was as if nothing happened in the first place… apart from the scars that were bound to replace the stitched up wounds on your stomach and thigh. 

“Melodr—! Just because it wasn’t me that stabbed her, doesn’t mean I didn’t watch it all happen! I could see it all through my own eyes and feel it with my hands! Every time I close my eyes, all I see is her crying and begging me to stop hurting her…!” Nero quickly flicks away an angry tear with his thumb as he takes a step back from Dante. But, that doesn’t stop the older male from grabbing Nero’s collar and pulling him up, shaking him slightly.  

“Get a hold of yourself!” Dante keeps his pitch at the same level but his tone grows angry, having had enough of Nero’s complaining. He gets that what happened was horrible, but you didn’t die, you got out of it with some injuries, but you were alive. And in Dante’s eyes, thats all that mattered. “Man up and go be with the love of your life instead of whining about things no one can change! She needs you right now, and the fact that you aren’t with her is hurting her more than any of her wounds!” Dante pushed Nero back, huffing in annoyance, but forcing himself to calm down. 

Nero didn’t know what to say, stumbling back and staring wide-eyed at his uncle. He didn’t want to admit it, but Dante’s words were seeping in, slowly making him change his mind. However, there was always that feeling, that image in his mind, making him more scared to face you rather than stay away from you. If you looked at him with that fear and pain again, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. Hurting you was his biggest fear and now that he had witnessed it, he would hold that nightmare of an image with him for the rest of his life. 

~*~

You were conversing with Lady and Nico, the artisan had arrived about two hours earlier and apologised for Nero being a ‘dumbass’, as she worded it. She was sorry she wasn’t there when you woke up, but she figured you would want to see Nero so stayed behind and fought with him to get him here, but to no avail. You asked her if she saw Dante, to which she said no, having stormed out too quickly to see if anyone showed up. 

You had no idea why Nero was so hellbent on staying away from you, was it fear that he’d hurt you again or was it something else? All you wanted was to talk to him, to let him hear that you didn’t blame him for what happened. You were so close with him, that the fact that he wasn’t there with you, made your heart ache an awful lot. The need to get up and go find him yourself was nagging you, as if mocking you since there was no way you’d be able to get up and walk about. Not with your leg so injured. 

You were listening to some story Nico was telling about her dads findings and what she learnt from it to make certain weapons. You were thankful she was trying to take your mind off of things, even Lady kept being sarcastic and playful to get a laugh out of you. And it was working, Nero was nothing more than a thought in the back of your mind while they were talking and it was relieving to be in the moment. However, you were back to thinking of the young devil hunter when Dante suddenly walked in, usual smile on his face. 

You feel your heart drop when you don’t see Nero walk in with him, your face visibly falling and everyone could tell. Nico huffed in annoyance when she didn’t see him either, beginning to mutter under her breath about what a moron he is being, while Lady came and stood beside you, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder. You glanced at her for a moment, seeing her smile sadly only made you feel worse. They all thought you were pathetic, didn’t they? They found it sad that you’d get your hopes up for someone so easily. 

“Well shit, kid. I didn’t know my presence made you so sad…” Dante chuckled lightheartedly, tilting his head to the side a little as he crossed his arms in a playful manner. You quickly wiped the sad look off your face and smiled, not wanting him to think such things, even though he was clearly joking with you. He smirked as he shifted to the side a little, gesturing his hands to the door “… Hopefully this gift will cheer you up a little.” 

Your smile faded, not sure what the older devil hunter was talking about. A gift? What could he have possibly gotten you? You knew it wasn’t going to be balloons or teddy bears or a card, which only made you more curious. You felt like smacking yourself in the face when you saw what the supposed ‘gift’ was. A certain white haired man with a blue coat walked into the room, head down in what you thought to be shame and embarrassment. His eyes quickly glanced over your body, like he was checking on you before casting his gaze to the floor and stuffing his hands into his pockets. 

“Nero…?” You whisper, completely not expecting him to walk through that door after seeing Dante walk in alone. You figured Dante had failed to convince him to come, hence the carefree smile he wore when he came in, a way of masking his disappointment and sorrow. However, now it seemed that smile wasn’t fake at all. 

Nico stood up from the small couch, ready to yell at the young, blue eyed male, but she quickly stopped herself, settling on smiling and slapping her knee in excitement. 

“Well, look who ripped the poll out of their ass! Good to see your ugly mug here, man!” Nico practically yelled ecstatically, similar to the tone she used when she first met Dante and how excited she was then. If you couldn’t feel the thick tension in the room, you would have laughed. Nero subtly lifted his eyes to glare at the artisan. You knew she could be a bit brash with her words some times but what she meant was ‘thanks for changing your mind. This is the right decision’.

“Okay, lets give these two lovebirds some time to talk…” Lady smiled sweetly at you as she placed a hand each on Dante and Nico’s back, ushering them out of the room with a little shuffle in her step. She stopped when she came side to side with Nero, taking her hand off of Nico after giving her a friendly push out of the room and resting it on Nero’s shoulder. Her smile faded into a serious look, coming in close to the devil hunters ear and whispering “You both need this. It’s good you came here, Nero.” 

Nero didn’t smile or nod as an indication that he heard her, instead he continued to look at the floor and pursed his lips into a thin line, but you could see the flash of recognition in his eyes, like he were thinking over what she said. And with that, Lady and the other two had left the room, closing the door quietly behind them and leaving you and Nero alone. You couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous, but isn’t this what you wanted the whole time?

“I - uh - I wanted to see you. What have you been up to?” You ask awkwardly, not knowing what to say with him standing so far away from you and avoiding eye contact. You just wanted him to come over and hug you, kiss you, something that would make things feel like everything was normal again. When he didn’t answer, instead looking at you from behind his eyelashes shyly, you figured cutting right to the chase would be easier and probably what he was expecting. “Why were you avoiding me, Nero?” You ask softly and sadly, your expression showing every thought that ran through your mind when he wasn’t there with you. 

“I…” Nero sighed, trying to find the words he wanted to say, but couldn’t for whatever reason. “It doesn’t matter right now. I’ll explain later, but right now I just need to…” He finally looked up, scratching the back of his head with a frustrated expression on his face. He didn’t seem mad at you, but more mad at himself, or maybe because he couldn’t find the right words. Either way he slowly made his way over to you, the distance between the two of you feeling like miles when it was no more than two metres. 

“I’m an idiot for not being here with you… I should have been here the entire time. I should have been holding your hand, waiting for you to wake up.” He suddenly sounded so hurt, like he wanted to go back in time and make sure he never left your side. He makes it to the side of the bed, slowly and hesitantly taking your hand in his and rubbing his thumb over the back of your palm. “I’m so sorry. Not just for that, but…” He trailed off as his eyes shifted to your leg, visibly swallowing the lump in his throat. 

“Don’t you dare.” You state harshly, pulling him down to your level by his hand so you could wrap your other hand around his neck. A surprised gasp left his mouth ad you hugged him as tightly as you could in the awkward position. He was hunched over your horizontal form, while your torso twisted uncomfortably as you hugged him. He seemed shocked for a while, his mind unable to catch up to your actions. “Don’t blame yourself. It wasn’t you.” You state firmly, pressing your lips to the side of his neck because it was the closest part of him you could reach for a kiss. 

“I don’t blame you, Nero. I’m not scared of you. I still trust you with my life.” You pulled away to look into his emotion filled, blue eyes. He let your words sink in, hand tightening around yours in reassurance. He realised that he definitely should have come to see you sooner. You managed to make him feel warm and loved within the two minutes he had been there. He slowly managed to smile, pressing a sweet kiss to your lips before burying his face in your neck.  He relaxed against you, sighing heavily like he were ridding himself of all the painful and sorrowful emotions. 

“You’re way too good for me.” He mumbles into your neck. He knows that the image of you pained and pleading him to stop hurting you would always be something that stayed with him, but it was easier to push that aside when he was with you. He could think rationally with you around. He still felt like it was somehow his fault, but that is just the kind of person he is. With you, he will always be fearful of loosing you, but its better to live a life with the person he loves rather than pushing you away. 

He ended up explaining everything he felt, all the things he said to Dante were spilled to you in an emotional evening. There were tears from the both of you, but you worked through it together. He managed to find a way to apologise for something every five minutes to the point where you were laughing and being him to stop. Thats he image he wanted in his mind forever. Your smile and laughter. Seeing you happy was like a cure for any sickness, and he’d cherish you for the rest of his life. No matter how cheesy it sounds… 

[thejolteonmastertj]

So ya’ll think ____, but I don’t think it needs to be that obvious, in fact, I think it would be even MORE interesting if it was just ____.

My Hero Academia manga spoilers for the most recent chapter (chapter 221).

So thanks to chapter 221 we have gotten a good look at AFO’s “doctor,” (right) and he still looks suspiciously just like the doctor who diagnosed Deku as quirkless back in chapter/episode 1 (left).  Another piece of evidence we’ve had from the anime is they have the same voice actor.

Assuming that this is indeed true, most people have either jumped onto the AFO is Deku’s father bandwagon, and/or have theorized that Deku was actually born with a quirk and the doctor stole it when he was a kid.   Now, either of these theories could be true, but I don’t think either of them is a given. 

In fact, I think it would be far MORE interesting if it all did turn out to be a coincidence, and Deku having been born quirkless would ironically have been what saved him from getting turned into a Nomu as a kid like the Winged Nomu that was hinted to be connected with one of the kids from Deku’s neighborhood.

For an even thicker plot, however... I don’t think Deku needs to actually be related to AFO to cause drama.  If Deku’s connection with the doctor is ever revealed, combined with Deku’s 6 different quirks that are going to be emerging, I think characters within the story are going to draw connections between Deku and AFO even if it is unwarranted.  Bakugo has already brought this up.

It’d be kinda cool if our crazy theorizing got reflected and perhaps satired within the story itself lmao.  But with regards to Deku’s connection to AFO being vague... the interesting part is that they would not be entirely far from the truth.  It’s already been established that the OFA quirk came from AFO.  There are several different directions it can go from here.

With regards to the doctor being involved, Instead of Deku having lost a quirk (although this is still possible), I think it’s even more likely that the narrative will go more-so along the lines of the doctor having DONE SOMETHING TO Deku.  The reason for that is this: 

To our knowledge as readers, we might know the doctor had nothing to do with Deku getting OFA...

...  but the other characters in the story don’t know that.

There are two theories that someone within the universe could conceivably come up with that would make the most sense to them as characters within the story.  The first is that Deku is AFO’s secret love child (i.e. he has the same or a similar quirk), i.e. that he is connected to AFO in some way.

The second theory which could develop from the first and/or might be given more leeway if the AFO doctor’s past identity as Deku’s physician is ever made known to characters within the story is perhaps even messier than the last.  But recent events in the manga make this a scarily likely possibility in the far-ish future.  To be frank, if I was a character within the story, I might consider that Deku is a hecking Nomu.

These Nomu are shown in chapter 221, and the doctor states that Shigiraki has “Been getting by with just scraps and leftovers of my work,” (Viz translation) meaning the Nomu we have seen so far are not representative of what has been possible at any given point.  The Nomu shown here in his lab look much more human than the ones we’ve seen before.

It should be clear to other characters in the story that Deku doesn’t like talking about his quirk, he kinda freaked out when Asui asked him about it on the bus ride to the USJ.  According to recent events in the manga we know Deku is going to develop not two, not three, but SIX different quirks out of nowhere.

Deku can use the random mutation explanation for one or two quirks, but not six.

Having more than one quirk and the quirk being ‘unsuited to his body’ (as it was frequently described in the beginning before he learned to control his quirk), is basically the definition of the Nomu (perhaps without all of the physical enhancements that keep a normal Nomu from being destroyed by their own quirk).

While it’s clear that Deku is not nearly as mentally compromised as the other Nomu we have seen so far, Deku’s habit of muttering and his freakishly high tolerance for pain might be something that someone in the story who thinks he is a Nomu (or has had some other experimentation done to him) might attribute as a side effect of the experimentation. 

Obviously, we as readers know he’s not actually a Nomu, but unless he explains the entire background of OFA to someone the ‘Deku being a Nomu’ theory will be one of the few logical theories from the perspective of characters within the story.  

Basically the whole “ArE YOu __’s Love cHild” running joke might eventually morph into something with serious consequences.  Not that I think everyone would turn on Deku, but I still think it would cause problems in the long run.

Of course, it’s also possible that AFO ACTUALLY DID plant something sinister within the OFA quirk for real, which would also work with the narrative of Deku having something DONE TO HIM as opposed to a quirk being taken from him... but that would also open up an entirely new can of worms on its own lol.

In conclusion, in whatever form it takes, I do think that the theme of Deku coming to terms with the fact that his quirk reminds Bakugo (and probably others) of AFO will become a major theme in the story moving forward.  It’s highly unlikely that the characters in the story will voice their suspicions out-loud right way, but I think it will eventually play a role nonetheless.  AFO’s doctor may only thicken that plot in some way, possibly by planting or confirming suspicions other characters may have about Deku’s origins.

[bigskydreaming]

So this is kinda a Bobby Drake post but its also kinda not because its more of a just in general musing on characterization and what distinguishes between a character being written as in character and as wildly OOC. So its actually rooted in a lot of Dick Grayson thoughts I’ve been having lately, as well as being relevant to some Scott McCall musings.

Its a Martha Stewart Home Living pot-pourri thingamabob! Something for everyone! I think. I don’t really know what pot-pourri is or even how to spell it and I don’t really know why the fuck I pulled a Martha Stewart reference out of my ass in the year 2019, like, none of these things are like any other thought I’ve ever had ever, like...who am I right now. Whatever. Shut up. My metaphor absolutely works and this isn’t just my brain on sleep deprivation. I like, totally get symbolism.

OKAY! RIGHT! ACTUAL CONTENT OF THIS POST:

So, the only adaptation Iceman’s had just a very minimal presence in was the 90s X-Men animated series. He only appeared in one episode, in one of the later seasons, and most people talk about that episode as though Bobby was wildly out of character because he told no jokes, yelled quite a bit, and told Scott to fuck off a lot, which is also what he did in a flashback scene to when he quit being an X-Man years before the show started, and retired from the hero life to settle down with Lorna.

Except the thing is, that episode is actually WAY more true to his overall characterization than Frosted Flakes in the X-films ever was, or also, pretty much any time Bendis writes him or other writers use him in similar ways to him - like that thing where Bobby stands in the background and says one-liners and also occasionally does something with his powers whilst monologuing about what he’s doing and how.

Because Bobby absolutely is that cheerful, determinedly optimistic heart of the team at a lot of times (sound familiar, lol)....but like.....he also historically has a decades long history of being written as the team hothead when for instance its just the original five and there’s not one of the X-Men’s other resident hotheads available to fill the role of the impulsive troublemaker who second guesses Scott’s decisions in order to make Scott actually think things through. Like the thing in the cartoon about Bobby quitting the team and storming off because he was fed up with Xavier constantly lying to them all and keeping secrets from them - that was lifted STRAIGHT from the original run of the comics, where he did precisely that, for precisely those reasons. Bobby was actually the X-character calling Xavier on his bullshit long before Scott started being written that way, ironically enough....

In fact, during Simonson’s original X-Factor run, it was pretty much ALWAYS Bobby filling that role going against the grain and questioning their official decisions and making everyone else think things through. Because at the time, Warren was pretty much entirely focused on his Archangel issues, Hank was dealing with his continuing physical mutations, that also had a side effect for awhile of giving him a host of mental health issues that interfered with his ability to reason through things as intelligently as he usually did....

And Scott and Jean were of course constantly getting bombarded with Sinister drama and trying to raise their kid except oh no, an evil fox person from a thousand years in the future has kidnapped him and infected him with Minecraft and now this giant asshole who looks like the bastard lovechild of a Transformer and a Smurf is quoting the Book of Revelations like he’s standing on a NY street corner wearing a sandwich board and ringing a damn bell. They all had shit going on, so it was actually Bobby who the kids staying with them (Rictor and Tabitha and Rusty and Skids and Wiz Kid) usually went to first when they had problems or like, Julio got kidnapped again or shit like that. 

Point being, there are many many instances and entire runs of different books between the 60s and the early 90s where Bobby is a happy go lucky jokester, its true....but he’s equally depicted as this guy who runs pretty hot and he’s not going to blindly follow orders that sound fucking dumb to him, he’s going to ask Scott to break it down for them or go back to the drawing board because “why are we pretending to hunt other mutants again and just leaning into the anti-mutant hysteria? Guys? Is it just me or does this all seem really fucking dumb and counter productive?” Like he makes jokes when he can afford to spare the spoons for that, but he knows how to be serious when the occasion calls for it.

Its just after the big Blue/Gold relaunch in the 90s, writers just....stopped writing him this way. But given that the cartoon was written and aired....in the early 90s....those previous decades of Bobby being written this way WERE the source material they were going off of at the time.

So that character most fans EXPECTED to see when they watched the cartoon in later years and saw he was guest-starring in an episode - like yeah, that is very much his characterization and always was.....on his good days. But like everyone (and certain other faves of mine, lmao) he has his bad days too, and guess what counts as a bad day? 

Coming home to find out that secret government agents have kidnapped your girlfriend and when tracking her down to rescue her discovering that no, wait, actually she was not kidnapped at all, that was a job offer and she accepted and just....did not tell her live-in boyfriend that hey, I’m gonna go be a superhero again but like...for the government which is completely the opposite but whatever, look the point is don’t freak out or think I was abducted or anything because that’s definitely not what happened here, I just dumped you and started dating my new team leader Havok and forgot where I put my Dear John letter. (You want to talk OOC in that episode, it wasn’t Bobby that was unrecognizable, it was Lorna).

But like, that’s a BAD FUCKING DAY. That’s a day where it would be utterly bizarre for Bobby to be acting the way he often does, like he doesn’t have a care in the world, trying to make light of situations and buoy spirits, which he can AFFORD to do, because usually he is not the central focus of big team-encompassing plots....its rarely him tied directly into the angst of the story, freeing him up to be the guy who focuses on making sure the morale of the teammates more directly affected by the angst doesn’t like....dip into the negative integers.

But you just flat out can’t do that with him in a story where THE ANGST IS ALL HIS, its CENTERED around him, because if he was right in the thick of all that and wisecracking and acting like this was any other mission, its no big deal....he’s going to come across as the world’s most immature, shallow and emotionally insensitive dumbass, because there is a time and a place for that, and that time and that place is not when you think your girlfriend has been abducted by the government and then find out that nah dude, she just disinvited herself from your relationships, whoops, sux2BU.

So if you take any given scene from that one episode and hold it up for comparison against say, a comic written in the last five years where he himself has relatively low stakes in whatever adventure he’s having.....those two characterizations are going to look COMPLETELY at odds. Like one or the other has to be WILDLY OOC because like, the two depictions seem like they’re depicting two entirely different men.

But they’re not. They’re just depicting one man in two entirely different contexts. We all take our cues from the situations we find ourselves in and our physical and social location and environments. We’re all totally different people on our best days than we are on our worst days. But these are all just....different facets of any given individual because we’re all fucking complicated little contrarians who often don’t even make sense to OURSELVES let alone outside perspectives. We each contain freaking multitudes. We are a million different things over the course of our life, and snapshots taken twenty years apart often are gonna look like we got a personality transplant between now and then...because we’re not MEANT to skip over twenty years of in between continuity and act like that doesn’t make all the difference in the world. The journey IS just as important as the destination.

And I guess the point of this particular post is that....IMO the key to strong characterization is recognizing that any character can theoretically be capable of just about any response or action or choice....in the right situation. None of us, no matter how well we know ourselves, can actually say we know for sure how we would react if suddenly dropped in a situation we had zero prior experience with. So I think where a lot of writers get turned around when writing characterizations is they go into a plot, an outline, a narrative, with their mind focused on the characterization they want to show, the way they want to depict a certain character.....instead of letting the situation, the scene, the narrative, inform that character’s actual characterization in this specific context.

If you try and FORCE a certain behavior with a character because you’ve rounded up and that’s the over-all characterization you personally enjoy best with that character, so that’s what you want to write....without fully taking into consideration how the stressors and other aspects of the situation they’re in that are UNIQUE to that situation, that are things they perhaps haven’t encountered before or dealt with often...and thus are things that would be MOST likely to prompt or provoke an unusual or more extreme response from a character than they would normally show in most other situations....that’s when characters get bent out of shape and end up most OOC, I think.

Because writers try and squeeze specific attitudes or reactions or behaviors out of characters caught up in a scenario where those attitudes are just....not appropriate responses to what’s happening around them. And thus they end up coming across as 2-Dimensional, more aggressive than the actual situation calls for, or more immature than the gravity of the actual situation warrants...they end up coming across like they’re a name card placed on top of a situation rather than a character immersed in all three dimensions and existing fully as PART of the situation...because the writers aren’t LETTING them. They’re not letting the character actually engage with what’s happening, react in the moment, have an unexpected response....because they’ve already decided what they want the character’s overall ‘feel’ to be before the actual situations were even written in the first place. 

And written like that, a character is never going to feel real. They’re always going to feel like an afterthought, like something hastily thrown on top of the otherwise completed project as a last minute addition you want to at least make sure is THERE because it just occurred to you that crap, I totally forgot to include this totally crucial element, and you don’t want it to seem like you just completely forgot that thing existed.....but that slapdash shot taken from halfway across the court when the buzzer’s already started ringing and you’re late to school with absolutely no more time to make changes...like....its still usually not gonna do anything to help improve your grade, because just because you threw it in at the very last possible second doesn’t mean that its presence is actually contributing anything to the entire project...especially not when compared to all the other elements you took your time thinking through and carefully integrating into their proper places.