Buckle up, duckies

International television connoiseur, YouTuber, sex pun enthusiast, hopeless socialite. Trying to get back into Tumblr after a number of years away.

[benzjr]

8 Days, A Week, Story 8: The Profound Frolic of Theodore “The Roach” Roachmont

(also on AO3)

We bring our peek into the lives of these Cornbury middle schoolers to a close with an attempt to peer into the life of Theodore "The Roach" Roachmont. The Roach is many things, and yet also he is hard to describe. An oddball, sure, but what exactly is it that goes on in his head every day? In an effort to answer that question, what we find is hardly what we expect.

The Roach is notoriously difficult to characterize, and I've certainly had no shortage of trouble trying to do so over the course of the Josh stories. A lot of this is because canon failed to characterize him consistently. But that opens up its own opportunity, as much as it is a nightmare to tie all these threads into something coherent. The product here is something that was difficult to write, but also something that I hope helps to illustrate how I've tried to square this circle — that Roach is a boy with untold depths that he simply does not care to seek introspection on.

Putting a lid on 8 Days, A Week as a whole, this story ended up being a year-long detour from the main Josh storyline that I hope has delivered greater detail on some of the people we so intently follow here. I think some of the exposition stories have fared better than others in that aim, largely as a product of there just being stronger storylines for some of the characters, at least in my mind. That said, I feel there are also a few new doors I've opened up along the way that beg their own questions, which is always a good thing to leave one with.

I'm most of the way through a playlist for Roach, but I'm not happy with it yet, so it's not being made public right now. An alternate version of the chapter image is under the cut.

Previously in 8 Days, A Week: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

A Future Super-Something, the first story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Perfect Disasters, the second story: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Over and Out, the third story: 1 & 2 3 4 5

Diamonds on the Rebound, the fourth story

Reminiscence, the fifth story

A Hero’s Prelude, the sixth story: 1 2 3

Dancefest, the seventh story: 1 & 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Sorry Can’t Save Me Now, the eighth story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

[leeah12chuan]

I noticed one of the NPCs in the show and i really got interested in her, she so cute i fancanan that she have a crush on rouch and the superhero him, i make her a persona that's she's a kind and nice and shy person,her dream to become a good dancer, her relationship and friendship with rouch,its like theodore and aleanor from alvin and the chipmunks, it would be so cute <3 i named her daisy lorans i thought it fit her well

[benzjr]

8 Days, A Week, Story 7: Jennifer Shope on the Study of Adolescents in Their Natural Environments

(also on AO3)

After a bit longer of a break than I would've liked, mostly due to unresolved personal matters, we continue to pry into the lives of certain Cornbury teenagers.

Jennifer Shope doesn't play the game. She doesn't really care for all the posturing about "reputation"; she wants her achievements to speak for themselves. But with new faces in her life, and the whole idea of popularity taking over Kevin's, perhaps it's not something she can completely ignore anymore. Maybe it's time for some... observational research.

One of the biggest problems I've had in general when it comes to writing the Josh Carter stories is that I truly, honestly have no idea as to how to integrate Shope into the ideas this universe usually covers. There's pretty clear paths to incorporate Tyler and Kevin, and I feel like I've gotten a handle on how to characterize Roach (though of course we won't see that until the next and final installment of this story). Shope, overall, doesn't really buy into the world Josh inhabits, which kinda cuts off a lot of routes for potential exposition. So instead I sorta just built this side quest for her for this story, because I thought it'd be interesting to see Shope try and grapple with this very foreign world through her own lens. It's certainly a different kind of story from what we've seen so far, and I'm not entirely sure if it necessarily works with the overall aims of what 8 Days, A Week is meant to be, but I hope it offers some kind of depth into her that has, through my own admission, been pretty lacking thus far.

This story also features a cameo from Yolanda Garcia, an OC who belongs to @pepbotnik's Mavis Zero stories. There's a bit of plot development for Yolanda in here as well... perhaps a sign of things to come in future stories?

No playlist for Shope yet — just writing her story was hard enough — but the alternate version of the chapter image is under the cut.

Previously in 8 Days, A Week: 1 2 3 4 5 6

A Future Super-Something, the first story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Perfect Disasters, the second story: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Over and Out, the third story: 1 & 2 3 4 5

Diamonds on the Rebound, the fourth story

Reminiscence, the fifth story

A Hero’s Prelude, the sixth story: 1 2 3

Dancefest, the seventh story: 1 & 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Sorry Can’t Save Me Now, the eighth story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

[benzjr]

Ten years ago today, I introduced the small, sleepy Supernoobs fandom to the starstruck socialite in the making that is Josh Carter. Little did I know then that the eager social aspirant slash reluctant superhero would become part of the fabric of the whole fandom, and part of the glue that kept everyone together, and inspired many other people in this small little space to take on ambitious concepts of their own. I certainly didn't think I'd even ever come back to him after the hiatus I took from him when I really fell out of fandom at large back in 2019. I never thought I'd be this excited again to tell such a big story, and yet, largely, I still am; it certainly helps that the underlying themes and inspirations behind Josh's adventures are a bit close to my heart.

A lot has changed in the decade since I first posted that initial drawing of Josh's design; my age, the things I've watched, the people I'm around, the way I write, even the way I draw everyone. A lot of the people who help keep pushing this forward now I didn't even know back when the Josh stories were starting out — or, at least, not in the way I know them now. There's ways that writing Josh feels like an entirely different challenge and prospect now, and yet there are some that still feel exactly the same.

I want to thank everyone who's read the stories over the years or interacted with the art, even if we don't necessarily directly know each other. It's still pretty wild to think that this little story, this creation of mine that I really didn't expect to be much of anything, actually became something huge within this small fandom. This universe, and my motivation to keep crafting it and exploring it, has not been a solo journey; it wouldn't be anywhere near as massive as it is today without the people who have helped motivate me and really energize me to throw these kids through the emotional wringer all the time. I especially want to thank @whynotzoidbergdotorg, my classic partner in crime and the person I share this universe with through the just as wonderful tale of Mavis Zero; @ghostlyapivorous, who I ended up unexpectedly inspiring to make @superastral-official and then inspired me to get back in the saddle because he stuck it out the years I was away, all the while becoming something of a new partner in crime; @knavewoods, for honestly being as invested in fleshing out this universe as I am; and @jaspydunx for the also awesome, also gut-wrenching @noobs-rewritten that regularly inspires me to put my kids through more angst. For me this has always been something of a communal endeavor, and I appreciate everyone I've gotten to throw things at the wall with over the years.

Fittingly given it's the tenth anniversary, I've already started working on Josh's tenth story; there are ways it goes back to basics, after all the drama and format changes of Sorry Can't Save Me Now and 8 Days, A Week, but it also explores some really interesting and fun new territory that pushes the universe and the worldbuilding that drives the Josh Carter version of Cornbury forward. There's still a lot more of this boy's story to tell, and as long as I have people to share it with, both as a fanfiction and as a journey, I'll try and do my best to get it all out there. It'll be weird if I'm still telling this story in another ten years — it'll already be weird enough in 2029, when Josh's story is as old as the character is inside it — but I guess you can truly never say never?

[benzjr]

8 Days, A Week, Story 6: Kevin Reynolds, Josh’s Biggest Fan

(also on AO3)

Our exploration of the worlds and minds of some interesting kids in Cornbury continues today with the sixth installment of the Josh Carter universe's little exposition series. (I say little, but it's actually the longest story in the canon so far!)

Kevin Reynolds had never really thought much about... most things, really, and even becoming an intergalactic superhero did little to change that. That really started to change when Kevin started following Josh Carter on social media. Enamored by constructed opulence and conspicuous consumption, Kevin began to feel that his life was lacking somehow. Maybe becoming an influencer, like all the people he followed on his phone, could fix that — and with Josh reluctantly becoming the Superdudes' newest virus warrior, maybe he had a way to get a leg up, too. But getting into the game from Kevin's position is hardly that simple...

Kevin Reynolds is someone who I've really wanted to expand upon in the context of the Josh universe. Canon sets him up by alluding to some disadvantages that lean into some really important structural elements of the Josh universe. Some of these things also strike a chord with me personally, having grown up in a less-than-favorable socioeconomic situation and grappling with the kind of environment it's implied Kevin lives in, so some of these things come from experience. It adds an interesting extra layer to Kevin's intentions for joining the game and latching himself onto Josh that don't present themselves when we're exploring these things in the context of Josh himself, in ways that are kind of fascinating to touch upon. Josh's adventure is very much an aspirational ploy, but Kevin journeying into this world is a gambit much more rooted in a realistic place. Despite this overarching gloom that is almost uncharacteristic for these kinds of topics (because we don't have to explore them when we're focusing on Josh), I also still wanted to offer some reminder that this is still very much the Kevin we know, just with some extra emotional baggage and depth that is worth exploring.

There is a playlist for Kevin's story, along with an expanded alternate view of the chapter art, under the cut; Kevin's playlist was one of the few that came to me relatively quickly when devising this story initially, given the similarities between his storyline and Josh's (which honestly my listening is already attuned for). But there's still some important differences between the two that really come out here.

Previously in 8 Days, A Week: 1 2 3 4 5

A Future Super-Something, the first story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Perfect Disasters, the second story: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Over and Out, the third story: 1 & 2 3 4 5

Diamonds on the Rebound, the fourth story

Reminiscence, the fifth story

A Hero’s Prelude, the sixth story: 1 2 3

Dancefest, the seventh story: 1 & 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Sorry Can’t Save Me Now, the eighth story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

[benzjr]

8 Days, A Week, Story 5: Tyler Bowman, Hero, Complex

(also on AO3)

The Josh Carter universe continues to keep one on their toes as it rockets towards its tenth anniversary next month (!) with a shock new chapter post on back-to-back weeks. Who could've seen this coming?

Tyler Bowman sees himself as many things. A good friend. An average student. Reasonably likable. Still harboring that crush. Secretly a superhero on the front lines of a space battle. An inadvertent, but competent leader. So why is it that the hardest thing for Tyler to see himself as is the boy staring back at him in the mirror?

The many quandaries of Tyler Bowman are almost criminally underexplored in the Supernoobs lore, and given the extra year of time it's been in the Josh stories, I feel like some bad habits when it comes to how he handles his multiple identities have really begun to fester inside of him. His relationship with his mission feels problematic in its own right, and so it's interesting to entertain the thought of how that's spilled into the rest of his life. I'm not entirely sure if this is even that great an exploration of some of these questions, but I think it opens the door to a lot of what goes on in his head, which will come into play more as Tyler's life collides further with Josh's in stories to come.

No playlist again on this one; as much as I had really built this component as a really interesting new angle for things, they've become a hindrance to actually getting this story out. I'll have to circle back to them all another time. As with the previous parts to this story, there’s also an alternate full-size version of the chapter art to better illustrate the concept here under the cut.

Previously in 8 Days, A Week: 1 2 3 4

A Future Super-Something, the first story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Perfect Disasters, the second story: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Over and Out, the third story: 1 & 2 3 4 5

Diamonds on the Rebound, the fourth story

Reminiscence, the fifth story

A Hero’s Prelude, the sixth story: 1 2 3

Dancefest, the seventh story: 1 & 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Sorry Can’t Save Me Now, the eighth story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

[benzjr]

8 Days, A Week, Story 4: Zoey Miller, Entangled Reporter

(also on AO3)

After a bit of a delay with the holidays and life getting in the way, it's time to dive into another day in the life of someone at Cornbury Middle School. And what better a person to look at than the girl who's informally chronicled many days in many lives there, Zoey Miller. The life of a blogger is filled with lots of unexpected leads, especially when you live in a town with striving socialites and surprising superheroes. But there are still some things she just can't find the words for.

She's not part of our main trio, but Zoey serves as a different example of how everyone in the Josh Carter universe has their own story, mostly left untold, each navigating this world a little differently or in some way that would be interesting to follow. I was torn between making this a more expansive work of exposition or more strictly adhering to the premise of what a day in the life for her looks like. I chose the latter, ultimately, but that does not preclude me from leaning into the former at some point. Here I just thought it didn't really make much sense to introduce a whole bunch of new details there wasn't really space to properly detail or develop just for the sake of shoehorning things in.

No playlist again for now; I haven't really found that many things that work for her, but I didn't want to delay this forever while trying to figure that out. It's something I'll have to get back to at some point. As with the previous parts to this story, there’s also an alternate full-size version of the chapter art to better illustrate the concept here under the cut.

Previously in 8 Days, A Week: 1 2 3

A Future Super-Something, the first story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Perfect Disasters, the second story: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Over and Out, the third story: 1 & 2 3 4 5

Diamonds on the Rebound, the fourth story

Reminiscence, the fifth story

A Hero’s Prelude, the sixth story: 1 2 3

Dancefest, the seventh story: 1 & 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Sorry Can’t Save Me Now, the eighth story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

[constellaj]

the passage of time is anxiety-inducing

[benzjr]

8 Days, A Week, Story 3: Rebecca Hewitt, Girl Undecided

(also on AO3)

A new month, and a new day in the lives of our Cornbury socialites-to-be and the people they hang out with. Now two years removed from crashing out of her previous social life, Rebecca Hewitt has adjusted well to the fast-moving world of her friends Josh and Simon as they climb their way into middle school superstardom. But with how busy it gets on the way to the top, Rebecca's struggled to truly rediscover herself through all the constant reinvention the thrill of the game demands. How did it all end up this way?

The story of Rebecca Hewitt is perhaps one of the most underexplored parts of the Josh Carter universe, and for that I am truly sorry. Oftentimes I get too caught up in toying with the dynamics between Josh and Simon to really invest in Rebecca's woefully underdeveloped backstory — though given how many female characters in the Supernoobs canon are poorly fleshed out themselves, perhaps that's weirdly par for the course.

Part of the premise of this story is to right some of those wrongs, however, and this is possibly one of the biggest places so far where I commit to that effort, diving deeper into the past Rebecca would rather keep hidden, and how she handles all the things life with Josh and Simon throws her way. Plus, just as an extra bonus, there happens to also be a little dwelling on how some of the show's lesser-spotted canon girls live in this universe, and how they've adapted to the constructs of the vast social game they live in here.

One of the other things that's changed over the near-decade I've written this story is my approach to writing Rebecca to the extent I've developed her. I haven't really explored recently some of the mean streak she had in earlier stories, and so some of the added challenge of this story is really trying to reconcile the various ways I've written her character over the years, and really dig into where some of those things originated. Hopefully I've retconned some sense into it all here.

I'm happy enough with the accompanying playlist for her to feel ready to put it out at the same time as the chapter (unlike with Simon's, which I've still been too busy to really get back to in earnest). As with the previous parts to this story, there's also an alternate full-size version of the chapter art to better illustrate the concept here under the cut.

Previously in 8 Days, A Week: 1 2

A Future Super-Something, the first story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Perfect Disasters, the second story: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Over and Out, the third story: 1 & 2 3 4 5

Diamonds on the Rebound, the fourth story

Reminiscence, the fifth story

A Hero’s Prelude, the sixth story: 1 2 3

Dancefest, the seventh story: 1 & 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Sorry Can't Save Me Now, the eighth story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

[benzjr]

8 Days, A Week, Story 2: Simon Parker, Forever Wingman?

(also on AO3)

Time to mark off another day on the calendars of Cornbury Middle School's most interesting characters. The supersized helping this time goes to Simon Parker, Josh's best friend and trusty wingman -- but what does that really mean? He's been by Josh's side through thick and thin, but an unexpected moment brings what Simon knows -- or at least what he thinks he knows -- about Josh into question.

The thing I really wanted to do -- and the big trouble with -- this exposition arc was trying to illustrate Simon outside of Josh's perspective. Simon and Josh are always together, they're always playing off each other, and generally it's hard to pull them apart. That can certainly open up questions, at least in this universe, as to whether someone like that truly has a life outside of their adjacency to someone seen as more socially interesting. This story, in some ways, touches on that question, while also offering a little insight into Simon himself.

I want to give a big special thanks to Emma (Metacity on AO3) for beta-reading an earlier, pre-final version of this part of the story. While writing this whole thing, it's been really challenging to develop the plot threads and deeper exposition I've wanted to go into on these characters, and so I've had to send this story through considerably more revision work and retooling than a story of mine usually goes through. After plotting this one out, I was really having trouble with certain elements of this, but given how small this fandom is, asking someone from around here to beta would be something of a spoilery buzzkill for them. Emma I happen to have crossed paths with through completely different interests, and it just so happened she also writes fanfiction (though her profile is a little barren at the moment!), and her input helped guide some of the finer details in parts of this portion of the story. There's a bit more of a smoldering slow-burn aspect to it now, but I hope there's still some spontaneity and surprise to it as well.

As with Josh before him, Simon's got a playlist, but I'm not currently happy with where it's at, so I'm going to hold off on it for now. I'll update the post when it's ready. An alternate, full-size cut of the chapter art is under the cut.

Previously in 8 Days, A Week: 1

A Future Super-Something, the first story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Perfect Disasters, the second story: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Over and Out, the third story: 1 & 2 3 4 5

Diamonds on the Rebound, the fourth story

Reminiscence, the fifth story

A Hero’s Prelude, the sixth story: 1 2 3

Dancefest, the seventh story: 1 & 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Sorry Can't Save Me Now, the eighth story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

[depsidase]

[benzjr]

Josh Carter knows what day it is

[arwyen-nyx]

[benzjr]

8 Days, A Week, a Josh Carter story

(also on AO3)

It's been a while since we've last heard from the glossy, glamorous, somewhat precarious world of the Cornbury Middle School social scene. Seven and a half months in fact! That's far too long to live without the potential for bone-crushing, heart-breaking angst, so I'm back to change that.

A series of one-shots exploring a day in the lives of the most interesting people in Cornbury we know: the socialite, the wingman, the girl, the blogger, the hero, the fanboy, the nerd, and the Roach. Each has their own story, their own experiences, their own way they see the world, even when the world they share is the same. The escapades of the popular may be the most notable adventures around here, but everyone has their own life to live.

I first toyed with the idea for doing exposition arcs for the most prominent characters of the Josh Carter universe all the way back in early 2024. It was originally a bit of a joke, but before long, I realized that a lot of the characters in this universe are somewhat lacking in independent exposition, either due to the demands of the story being centered around Josh, or just not really expanding on the smaller ways that the canon characters are a little different here. Given that, I started taking it seriously, and began by putting together playlists for each of the characters filled with tracks that I thought would fit for where we are — and where they are — in the story. After I finished writing Sorry Can't Save Me Now, I started writing this, all the way back in September 2024. Now, over a year later, I've almost finished the bones of this story, but there are still a lot of the littler pieces that need to get done for it (such as a couple of the tougher playlists). Given that, I'm not planning on releasing this as quickly as I did (or wanted to) with some of the previous stories. But I'm hopeful that, in general, this can come out without too much more delay.

As would be appropriate, we start this exploration by taking a day to step into the flashy, stylish shoes of this story's lead character, Josh Carter. A lot has changed since we've last focused on his day-to-day, earlier in the series, and with both the looming threat of a life as a superhero and the ultimate test of his influencer success both quickly looming, how is he handling his increasingly challenging and complicated life?

Along with the playlist, I've also done an alternate full-size version of the chapter art, just to better show off the really interesting concepts behind these images; both of those are under the cut.

A Future Super-Something, the first story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Perfect Disasters, the second story: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Over and Out, the third story: 1 & 2 3 4 5

Diamonds on the Rebound, the fourth story

Reminiscence, the fifth story

A Hero’s Prelude, the sixth story: 1 2 3

Dancefest, the seventh story: 1 & 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Sorry Can't Save Me Now, the eighth story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

[benzjr]

The Josh Carter stories are now available on AO3

After much prodding from @ghostlyapivorous (and at least six months of straight-up forgetting about doing it), as of a few weeks ago, the Josh Carter stories are now available on Archive of Our Own. They've been posted alongside the original chapter art and some of the original Tumblr commentary from across all these years, and the idea is that going forward, new chapters will be cross-posted between Quotev, their longtime home, and AO3.

New chapters, you say? Yes, those are things that are coming! I haven't forgotten about it; by contrast, I've spent basically all year writing the next Josh Carter story, and it's surprisingly very far along. Can't say when it's coming, though, because there's a lot of companion pieces to it that I'm doing that are holding it all up, so I honestly don't know. There's also some art I've been meaning to post here that I haven't, and maybe I'll do that at some point too.

For those who need to be filled in, here are links to the eight stories so far on AO3 in more detail:

A Future Super-Something

It's the year after the Superdudes arrive, and eighth-grader Josh Carter is well on his way to becoming one of the popular kids at Cornbury Middle School. But an unexpected new obligation threatens to destroy all his hard work.

Perfect Disasters

It’s the first days back at school since Josh unwillingly became a virus warrior. And he’s already fearing and dreading the thought of being called to fight the virus. But there’s a newer, bigger threat that Josh will have to face, and it has nothing to do with infected monsters…

Over and Out

Josh's gang might be back together after facing Perfect Disasters, but his hopes for smooth sailing won't last long -- Josh will have to face some of the realities of life as one of the Superdudes, whether he wants to or not. And the threats to Josh's social ladder long game aren't over yet...

Diamonds on the Rebound

Josh continues to struggle with the aftermath of his lunchroom nightmare, but in the distance lies the unattainable white whale of the Cornbury Middle School social scene, all dressed in black… and it’s getting closer to Josh. Can Josh snatch his social redemption, or will the ever-persistent Superdudes knock him off the path (yet again)?

Reminiscence

A trio of one-shots exploring particular points in Josh's past, and the surprise return of something else from the past that Josh will not enjoy facing.

A Hero's Prelude

Another collection of three one-shots, this time exploring Josh’s uncomfortable and reluctant relationship with his duties as a virus warrior. Will these burdensome happenings encourage Josh to become a bigger part of the team? Or will they scare him off from ever fighting the virus again?

Dancefest

When Josh Carter gets hooked up with access to one of the hottest music festivals around, it seems that this weekend will be one of the best of Josh’s life.

Or maybe it’ll be the worst.

Will Josh have a perfect virus-free weekend with his friends, or will he learn exactly what it means to be a hero? And what other surprises will this amazing weekend trip have in store for him?

Sorry Can't Save Me Now

Two ruined weekends, a new hero's existence blown wide open, suspicious friends, and persistent teammates. Josh Carter's life has been falling apart since becoming a Superdude. Can he finally get a handle on things and get back to his epic quest for middle-school popularity, or will his woes unravel him further? An unexpected opportunity offers him a chance to finally strike back... but even vengeance comes at a price.

Have fun with all of these, whether you're reading them for the twentieth time or the first. And of course, comments and all the usual are welcome as they've always been.

[benzjr]

Sorry Can't Save Me Now, Chapter 14: It’s Just A Lot To Think About The World I’m Used To (The One I Can’t Get Back, At Least Not For A While)

Sorry may not have been able to save him, but Josh's reckoning leads to the beginnings of reconciliation. The Yellow Superdude has a long road ahead of him, and a lot to think about.

And so we arrive at the end of story 8! A bit of an epilogue this one because I generally hate when we don't get to see much of what happens after a big finale. It has been a very long time since I've seen the end of a Josh story I started relatively recently, and it's still a little surprising to be back writing him. But I honestly think this has been one of the biggest stories in the universe so far, amplifying all the dizzying heights and crushing lows that make this kid so special. I hope you've enjoyed the ride.

There is more Josh coming, a ninth story in the works; but it won't be for a while, because I've kinda been struggling to get it to feel right. But it'll be diving even deeper than we've ever seen before into all these kids from Cornbury...

Clean version of the chapter art, one last time, under the cut.

Previously in Sorry Can't Save Me Now: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

A Future Super-Something, the first story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Perfect Disasters, the second story: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Over and Out, the third story: 1 & 2 3 4 5

Diamonds on the Rebound, the fourth story

Reminiscence, the fifth story

A Hero’s Prelude, the sixth story: 1 2 3

Dancefest, the seventh story: 1 & 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

[benzjr]

Sorry Can't Save Me Now, Chapter 13: ...But Power Isn't Pain

Sorry Can't Save Me Now continues, as Thunderstrike's all-out assault on the Superdudes reaches a frightening climax. As Thunderstrike grows more powerful and more dangerous, and the Superdudes look more and more helpless in stopping him, the true origin of this powerful villain is revealed... and Josh may have to make an impossible choice.

This is essentially the second half of the battle that started in chapter 12 a few weeks ago, and I think it's one of the biggest, most emotional pieces of writing I've ever put into a Josh story, even going all the way back to 2016. This has honestly been one of the most cohesive stories I've done, and this is a culmination I've been wanting to put out for months. The chapter art is also a creative triumph, as much as it's also held back the actual posting of this chapter a bit; the image size here on Tumblr does not do it justice.

And yet, there's still more to this story...

Clean version of the chapter art under the cut.

Previously in Sorry Can't Save Me Now: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

A Future Super-Something, the first story: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Perfect Disasters, the second story: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Over and Out, the third story: 1 & 2 3 4 5

Diamonds on the Rebound, the fourth story

Reminiscence, the fifth story

A Hero’s Prelude, the sixth story: 1 2 3

Dancefest, the seventh story: 1 & 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11