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My apologies this page is nine entire minutes late

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Zoey Nillesen

Bones does not like Neros attitude... I get it tough its horrible what happend but its still really wrong what Antaras did.

KiIIstreak

Yup, that’s a proper “Nero” response. Cold and to the point. 💔

moby

I wonder if he's more irritated by Nero taking it out on Usma this way versus his mentality?

Zoey Nillesen

Also Nero you look curious at me Kasko next page 🫠

Norwein

I get that feeling too, it's as if Bones is more annoyed for Usma who's been treated very coldly by Nero, than at Nero himself, although his whole attitude here is quite..well, something. The gang has been with Nero for a good while and he still found it in himself to question them like they're about to leave him right this instant. He of course ain't meaning it in a bad way & I love his "rigid realist" approach, but yeah. Boy is likely just tense, understandably so. Saving the gods is a no game.

moby

It's really interesting to see all the personalities at play here and how they combust this way. Nero is correct: it doesn't change anything. Antaras still killed and tortured so many through selfish means, wholly aware of what he was doing though focused on his goals. He needs to be stopped, even if that requires killing him. However, neither are the gang. He's not an entirely heartless person, he's a grief stricken man that made an insane and ruthless gamble based on that versus a hunger for power. And Nero taking that out on Usma is both very cruel but understandable. Not only is there no way to assure her story (at the moment) but there's also his own black-and-white thinking on top of the very sad reality. One can make the argument that Usma staying with Antaras up to this point still makes her suspicious, especially knowing all his horrible deeds. One also can make the argument that he's her father and it only made sense not out of familial ties but possible fear. And this doesn't encapsulate all the other perspectives at play, including Bones who dislikes Nero not for his care but his cruel sense of justice and isolation. It's really nice!

Diznits

nero adamantly sticking to the fact that antaras is a mass murderer who has ruined the world. truly monstrous things have been done out of love and i adore how they're all shown to be processing it. i love the disapproval in boneslav's expression, who probably has come to the same conclusion, but is also probably sick of nero's shit /lh

Terror

Nine minutes late is unacceptable, I am upset and you should feel bad. /s

Jelly Faun

Well...he traded manners for long legs, after all.

Steven Marshall

Bro really went "sad story, don't care". Got to respect him for sticking to his morals even if it makes him divisive to his peers and the readers (I know Nero isn't hated or anything, but I imagine a lot of people find it hard to warm up to him like it is for the other main characters). I do wish he was a little gentler with Usma though. The "you got a problem with that Usma?" comment after she had to relive her trauma and complicated history with Antaras felt like an unnecessary attack (she's clearly too fatigued to fight back, both physically and verbally) and was cold, even by his own standards.

Leafelora

Nero says we don't have time for pesky things like SYMPATHY c'mon losers we have a schedule to keep stop cryin'

luugburz

GET HIS ASS BONESLAV

Tholfbutt

Nero is prepared to die to save the world. He’s ready to be the opposite of Antaras- he’s prepared to lose everything to stop this madness, he’s prepared to live with the consequences, and he’s prepared to be alone should that come of it. Remember what Tongue said. “How heavy it must be…”

Robo87

Alright edgelord you need to reflect for a second at where your anger and frustration is being directed. He has a point, but it’s still cruel to tell a heavily traumatized and grieving young doe “cool story, still gonna kill your dad btw”. And on THAT note…my sweet orange boy, ya got lucky and killed a wolf once. This does not make you the deer Rambo. You are casually talking about killing an experienced buck twice your age and triple your rack size and that’s not even mentioning the fact he has an insta-death cheat *edit to clarify I do love Nero and I even understand why he’s acting this way. It’s still not right, but I’m sure with time he will accept Usma’s intentions, and hopefully even become friends

JKurv

That’s some foreshadowing for sure…something’s going to happen that will make them have to stop Nero. He will try to go too far somehow. Maybe he tries to put the innocent fawn down too? Between this and the “free is good, right? RIGHT?” dialogue I won’t be surprised if he pulls a Daenerys Targaryen and become the surprise villain or semi-villain at the end.

Mouri

Probably won't ever see it but I do wish we'd see Nero spar with Boneslav, that boy needs to be knocked down a few pegs. He keeps pissing people off because he's got it in his head that he's destined to do this so absolutely nothing could go wrong When in fact.... he was beaten by another deer his size at the gathering. How does he plan to take down a buck larger, angrier, and with the power of God AND loss on his side ?? And why does that plan involve being mean to a doe who hasn't once been mean or snappy towards him ??

BlueAtka63

I get Nero's idea, but getting angry at Usma is completely wrong. Poor yhing suffered everything she just told, and he's cruel to HER??

BlueAtka63

Which innocent fawn?

sorwoes

I spot Nero's little tine growing more and more mwahaha

Han

i dont see usma and Ant's relationship ever restoring itself after this shitshow is over- guy's a mass murderer who knows he fucked up yet would still trade the world for the zombie baby in a heartbeat. I understand why usma wouldn't want ant to die. That's her dad, afterall, so she could want him to atone in some way, but it's far too late for that. Doubt a deer jail exists, so ant needs to be put down if it ever truly came down to it. He's beyond saving. usma needs to understand ant is a danger to be kept alive due to the extremes he'll take to get what he wants (obviously without caring about anyone else's input on the matter... looking at you usma). If ant did it before, he has the power to do it again. I'm with nero here, especially when ant would likely kill the gang without a second thought (pretty sure ant even said he would, actually), usma excluded. No use for nero to sugarcoat it when the fate of the world was placed on shoulders. im with nero here. can't wait to see the 🐜 get crushed.

Khali Hagen

I don't see this is as him being cruel. He's telling it like it is. The story IS sad, but Antaras needs to be stopped. He's not being cruel he's asking Usma if she can accept that? If not, maybe traveling together is NOT in her best interest. If he wanted to be cruel he'd explain exactly how he'd kill her dad to hurt him like he hurt others. He doesn't. He just says, "IF it comes to it I won't hesitate. Can you accept that?" He's being honest. He's not sugar coating it. He's not angry at Usma. Usma did nothing wrong. But he's making it clear that he won't try to reason with Antaras in the end just to spare her feelings. If he can make use of War to take Antaras out he will if Antaras will not back down. Deep down Usma has to realize that it may very well come down to it anyway. Even without Nero or War, Antaras has angered Eve and Loss. She probably realizes that he's not walking away from this unscathed even if the fawn is birthed. Antaras was FAR crueler in his response to her when she was trying to talk to him about Eve and he got "big" and snapped at her to bully her into shutting up.

slavicandsapphic

I will lowkey disagree about him being cruel. His wording was specifically antagonistic. She just got done telling how EVERYTHING started, how TRAUMATIZED she is, and bro went “you got a PROBLEM with that, *usma*?” Its hard to read tone over text, especially for me, but that’s not said as a blunt truth, its said with a mocking tone. I do think Nero thinks hes justified, that hes correct and all his friends are the ones in the wrong for “coddling” Usma. In his perspective, she waltzed up to the group after being with the guy who is causing such pain n is now “switching sides”. For him, for someone who is so fiercly loyal to his beliefs, its asinine to think someone could abandon theirs. So he thinks she hasn’t and is going to defend Antaras. He does it cruelly because, to him, she will never change and the “sob story” is the proof he thinks he has. However, what he hasn’t stoppped to think about(yet) is how Usma’s role in this was basically nothing. How her father did this on his own, how she had literally no power to stop anything. I personally believe that, in Nero’s head, he still holds Usma partially responsible as he doesn’t have Antaras to go after yet. He’s a proud character, something tells me he’s going to get humbled hard. ETA: Nero also keeps saying how he wants to get this DONE, that HE will be the one to take them down. Bro’s got an ego the size of Jupiter rn 💀

Khali Hagen

Only Ratt knows' Nero's intentions, cruel or otherwise, for sure. I'm not sure how I would behave if God came from down high and said, "Yo here's your mission that I am entrusting to you only." I also remember the Seer telling Nero how heavy this burden must be on him "sweet boy". I can't blame him if he's just stressed as all get out and impatient to get this over with.

slavicandsapphic

I mean, yeah only Ratt FOR SURE KNOWS, but Ratt’s great at the subtle cues of the story. Boneslav is scowling at him, Usma looks depressed after what Nero says, and Rumi immediately tries to make Usma feel better. You can take away context clues that Nero’s being cold to Usma even after everything. And I don’t know how I’d behave either, but I wouldn’t be an ass to the person who told me the backstory/how they were forced into this situation. I’m not blaming Nero, per se, but he does not exist in a vacuum. Complex situation with complex feelings all around, so I think Nero will come out of this situation with a more enlightened view of the world. He sees things in black and white most of the time, so this will be a huge challenge for him to see Usma as anything else but Antaras’ daughter. Ty for bein civil btw, love long talks fr

JKurv

The one Eve/Oudia is carrying.

moby

In a way he is both opposing and parallel to Antaras. Risking it all, martyring himself for the cause despite the fact that there are others around him that care about him. He is not meant to do this mission solo, as the Tongue said, and yet he seems to be ignoring this advice and not leaning on anyone. It's bound to bite him in the end.

Khali Hagen

Oh for sure he's going to at some point get a "come to Jesus" moment about his attitude. We saw how his herd mates, Hovus and Biro responded to him when they learned about the red forest. The Sire and his own father for disobeying orders. Cutlass when they first met, and now Boneslav. Even Runi got in his face when he wanted to wake Usma up. At some point he's going to get the uppity knocked out of him and he's going to be forced to THINK through situations and his responses to them. A part of me was like, "Kasko why did you even ask you know how dense Nero is when it comes to subtlety and tact?" Lol.

Jean

Nero may be cold, but he has a point. Antaras, no matter how sad and forelorn he may be, has caused suffering, loss and grief to countless other deer. If taking him down once and for all is what it takes to restore balance to the world, then so be it. Nero's anger is certainly justified, but misdirected. Usma had no say in any of this, in fact she wanted the complete opposite. Heck, she even ran to the group for help she was so desperate. I hope Nero's heart softens towards poor Usma over time.

Azoth

Nero's motto of "I'll save the day, but I'll be a dick about it" is evergreen

PantheraCorax

I feel like, what others mentioned regarding parallels, that if Nero continues down this path, he will also end up alone, though due to his ego and resistance to empathy towards his peers. Hopefully the others can keep him from going too far down the path of no return, as this mission was never meant to be a solo one! Great storytelling, though! I love how complex all the characters are and that it’s not all hunky-dory in their lil makeshift herd!

Stavia

Honestly, if Nero wants to take it out on anyone, he better do it to Antares and Antares only. Usma’s not trying to defend Antares, only to tell the whole story. True, he’s a mass murderer with the gods on a leash just to save a single unborn(?) fawn that may never arrive, but this wasn’t decided on a whim. It was a horrible action spawning from being pushed to the edge of insanity and grief. He needs to be stopped, absolutely. But this isn’t some cartoon, cackling creature without a care in the world except to destroy intentionally. This is a deer like any other, one who lost his wife and child after being mocked by others for his prediction that could’ve saved them all. Unfortunately, this very same deer just so happens to know how to summon the gods and use their powers. Trying to stop him with just brute force is a one way ticket to Loss. Usma was a witness and a victim, not a perpetrator to the crime. Nero needs to get his head out of the sand and see that there’s only ONE deer to blame, and it’s NOT Usma, constantly reminding everyone that he doesn’t care, only that he’s gonna kill whoever’s responsible and anyone that gets in his way is collateral. It seems that Boneslav’s running out of patience for Nero’s attitude, and I don’t blame him at all. (Sorry for the long comment, I just wanted to express my thoughts and what kinds of lessons the story can teach us! ❤️)

SimplyBones

Oh Nero, darling... he'll need empathy to truly solve the problem, shoving it all down just to clean cut the problem only leads to more, sometimes worse, issues. I get his perspective, and he is right to an extent, you cannot let emotion cloud your judgement, not on something as devastating as what Antaras is doing. Not when there's so many that are suffering because of him. But this path will hurt if he falls into the mistake of being bullheaded about it.

Silfnix

I sincerely love reading everyone’s comments. The range of responses reflects the complexity of each character; no one is black and white (except Boneslav 🥁 j/k). And I love the range of possible outcomes. Nero is def in character to be abrasive about his outlook, even when he’s right, which is irritating for the gang (and some readers). In The scene where Nero and Boneslav air their grievances, Bone’s got him dead-to-rights when he says “You care, but do it cruely” and we get to see Nero’s face as that hits home. For me, seeing Nero’s moments of vulnerability still make him likable, and complex, even when his words are harsh. Also Boneslav being able to drag him off by the anter like a tantruming child is VERY cathartic when it gets to be too much 😆

Grey

The comments are interesting! Personally I agree with Nero. Motive doesn’t negate what was done—even if the world-breaking was an accident, the mass slaughter was very intentional. I do think it’s interesting he’s trying to goad Usma into a reaction though. I wonder if he’s trying to judge her sincerity in wanting to help the group stop her father, especially when it’s made clear what might have to happen.

Spiritstrike

I honestly might have to agree with Nero’s point. Antares breaking the world and letting deer kind suffer should not give him sympathy. He knew what he did was wrong and he still let it happen and still won’t let Eve and Loss go. Antares is a tragic character, not a sympathetic one

CattleCastle

actively antagonizing his friends after hearing all of that is crazy of him. Nero traveling with the only ones who will have him, acting like He will be the only one to accomplish this. He might've been chosen but this ego is enough to drive anyone away. Did he forget he's being shown the way by Bones? I also hope for a Nero Humbling

JKurv

“Burning too hot to see reason” Still betting that Nero is somehow War, or connected to War.