Chapter 93: Nina on the Couch
Art by Crash X Fusion: The point isn't to punish you. The point is to discuss the anti-social tendencies and examine possible strategies for improvement.
Nina has her first counseling session with Ms. Traveler, and lays out the lowest low points of her life.
Tropes that appear in this Chapter:
- Abusive Parents: Leo and Pam Fangs are the emotionally abusive variety, never bothering to discipline Nina or comfort her about her problems themselves and instead pawning her off on other people.
- The Ace: For the Glandus top students:
- Before Nina, the top student of the Beast Keeping track was a snake biped demon named Silas Hissenger.
- A girl named Cana was the previous queen before Emily.
- Barty Grumbles was the top Construction student until Cain overthrew him on his first day.
- Actor Allusion: Nina ends up singing a song to help calm her down in order to deal with her emotional trauma and pain, just as Stevonnie did.
- Anchored Ship: Donna and Nina's romance gets landlocked after Donna rejects Nina due to confirming her bullying record from Glandus.
- The Atoner: After everything that's she been through, all Nina wants now is to make the most of her second chance, to become a better person than she used to be before getting paroled.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Leo and Pam Fangs, Nina's parents, are officially this. This can also apply to Sonya, who was very friendly toward Nina in order to gain her trust and groom her.
- Bittersweet Ending: Nina discovers she's infertile, loses her friendship with Donna along with having her feelings for her rejected, discovers her old friend Casey has disappeared, and comes to see her parents don't want her around. On the bright side, Nina becomes friends with Dusty and Tyler, she bonds with Slasher and helps put Sonya closer to getting arrested, receives her own palisman from Ms. Traveler, and to get some experience in dating, she asks Lambi out.
- Broken Tears:
- Nina's response every time she gets bad news or feels screwed over.
- Sunny is shown to have dried tears on her face; it's not stated why she was crying, but it may have to do with what happened to Steve.
- Brutal Honesty: Mao puts it bluntly that she is disappointed in Nina for giving werecats a bad name. What makes it more heart-wrenching is that Nina knows she's right.
- The Bus Came Back: While it's simply in flashbacks, Tito makes his first reappearance since "What is it Good For?"
- Call-Back:
- We see a flashback of Nina waking up to find herself impaling Boscha.
- Batters is still mad at Nina for throwing him across a hallway.
- Gus mentions making peace with Nina kidnapping him and forgave her for it: him sticking up for her to his classmates earns her appreciation.
- Tyler mentioned that he gets hit in the head a lot back in "Swap or Not". After almost 80 chapters, he explains that there are repercussions to it, namely memory issues.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Towards the end of the dinner between the Brookes and Fang Tribe, Nina gives her parents a piece of her mind about how they handled her.
- The Cameo:
- Veronica, Tina, Beocrow, and Tyrone are seen hanging out with Donna when Nina went to visit her after her win against Silas.
- Glinda has a silent one when Nina went to her home in an attempt to apologize to her.
- Nina spots Boscha with her friends before trying to avoid her.
- Amity is only seen in two scenes, both times having a makeout session with Luz.
- Willow, Viney, Cat, Bo, and Matt are seen helping Nina, Skara, and Dusty set up missing posters of Casey.
- Cassandra Truth: Sonya tries to tell Nina that the Tarot Guild didn't kidnap Amity, Willow, Gus, and Eve when accused of it during their meeting, but Nina (having learned that Sonya's behavior toward her was inappropriate) won't hear it.
- Content Warning: The chapter comes with a trigger warning regarding the topic of grooming.
- Continuity Nod:
- Following Sonya's first experimental procedure, Nina gained cheetah legs, which she used in her debut.
- Nina continues to show guilt over hurting Boscha, as well as Gus, Amelia, Dusty, and Glinda.
- Nina recounts her duel with Luz to Tyler, and later mentions showing off her drumming skills to the human, both of which occurred two weeks ago.
- Tyler and Eve being on the cheer squad is mentioned again.
- Nina says to Sonya the same thing that Mattholomule said to Bria in "No Dancing Around": "Something I should've done a long time ago".
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Nina went through two of these against Silas, the second time after a quick loss in a witch's duel she issued the challenge to. Thanks to Sonya, she turned it around and gave him A Taste Of His Own Medicine.
- A Day in the Limelight: For the first time, Nina is the main protagonist as her backstory is revealed via counseling session with Ms. Traveler. The Brooke family also gets a lot of focus as a result of this as well as the Fang Tribe.
- Disappointed in You: Mao says this to Nina when she calls her out for making werecats look bad.
- Expy:
- Silas is one of Tung Lashor, a villain from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
- Cana and Bela are based off of Amy and Sammy/Samey from Total Drama.
- The green bloodhound demon who hung out with Silas is one of Muttley from Wacky Races.
- Casey Whiskabee is based off of Casey Hartley from Night in the Woods.
- Banshees cheerleader Andrea Pinkjoy is a witch version of Pinkie Pie.
- Jageera Kipling is a mix of Bahgeera, Pantho from Thundercats, and T'Challa. His last name is a shout out to Rudyard Kipling, the writer of The Jungle Book. Clockwork Cab is a parody of Jaga, Lion-O's mentor.
- Eye Scream: Nina accidentally mauled Cally in her youth, scratching out her left eye which left a scar.
- Familiar: Ms. Traveler gifts Nina with a red shishi palisman, which she names Tugs when she bonds with him.
- Foreshadowing: When Calypso mentions the Tarot Guild during dinner with Nina's family, she and Nina share a look. This hints at Nina having already told Calypso about Sonya, which is revealed later in the chapter.
- Framing Device: Nina's counseling session with Ms. Traveler acts as such for the flashbacks, as Nina recalls all the events.
- Get a Room!: Nina says this the first time she catches Luz and Amity making out.
- Given Name Reveal:
- Nina's parents are named Leo and Pam Fangs.
- Sonya's last name is Mera.
- Tyler's last name is Skullovitch.
- Nina's previously unnamed siblings are named Itchy, Max, and Cally.
- Raine's mother is known as Dr. Hail Whispers.
- Goal in Life:
- Some of the former top students expressed these to Nina; Tito wanted to be a great musician like Raine and Scooter Crane, Stella didn't have a clear goal but wanted to decide it with Emily, who had hoped to succeed Lilith as head of the Emperor's Coven.
- Nina changes her goal from being the first lycan head witch to becoming a better person and striving to gain her independence.
- Hate Sink:
- Leo and Pam Fangs treat their daughter horribly, never trying to be supportive of Nina for the sake of upholding their images and continuously passing her off to other people rather than confronting her themselves. They also planted in Nina's head insecurities that she wasn't good enough for Donna, telling the healer to stay away from their daughter for her own safety.
- Emily sinks further into this as her actions during the war left Nina with permanent injuries, and her telling Donna what she knows about her past leads to Donna cutting all ties with Nina.
- Silas, the previous Glandus top student in Beast Keeping, made Nina's early days there a living hell. Seeing him get defeated by her is a sight to behold.
- Incompatible Orientation: Nina's old friend Casey Whiskabee had feelings for her but when he tries to express them, Nina had to turn him down on account of her being a lesbian.
- Just a Kid
- Kick the Dog: Donna rejects Nina and cuts all ties with her after learning about her history of bullying, shattering the werecat's heart in the process. And this was after Nina asked her to meet not long after learning she was infertile.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Tyler says he has trouble remembering certain things, on account of getting brained on the head often.
- Laser-Guided Karma:
- Silas harassed Nina frequently, beating her up including when she challenged him to a witch's duel. After receiving enhancements from Sonya, Nina kicked his ass without taking a hit, replacing him as top student.
- Cana, the previous queen of Glandus, mistreated her sister Bela, mocked Nina and her friends, and electrocuted the werecat for talking back to her. At some point, Bela cursed her with the plague as retribution.
- Defied and zigzagged for Sonya. Nina sets her up for a sting operation as revenge for her illegal experimentation on the werecat and when she tries to get away, Luz restrains her. Unfortunately, Lupe breaks her out of her convoy, so Sonya remains at large, but is now recognizable by the Emperor's Coven and must lay low once more.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Hail is unaware of her child's whereabouts, but believes Raine will turn up soon.
- Luminescent Blush:
- Emily actually gives one off when Glinda told her friends she wanted to decide their future together.
- Lambi blushes when Nina calls her date outfit pretty.
- Lured into a Trap: Nina gets Sonya to meet with her for an interrogation about what happened to Casey. It soon become clear Nina's overall plan was to get her arrested by Calypso for experimenting on her.
- Make-Out Kids: To Nina's vexation, she catches Luz locking lips with Amity twice. The first time she tells them to Get a Room! The second she warns them that making out in school will get Faust's attention, but they pay her no mind.
- Meaningful Name: Nina names her new palisman Tugs, likely to honor her deceased neighbor, Mr. Tuggers.
- Minimalist Cast: While several characters appear in the flashbacks, Nina, Ms. Traveler, Lambi and Tugs are the only characters seen in present time.
- Multi-Part Episode: This marks the beginning of a multi-part chapter leading into the events of "Reaching Out".
- My Greatest Failure: Nina acknowledges how she acted in the past just painted her and all the lycans of Torso Villa in a bad light...
- My Greatest Second Chance: ...so she becomes determined to now make the most of her being granted parole to make up for those mistakes, with her Goal in Life going from being the Beast Keeping coven head to gaining her independence.
- Mythology Gag: The beginning mirrors the Moringmark comic "Some Dreams
": like Luz, Nina explained her dream for the future as a class report and was heckled by her classmates who thought little of it. Like Camila with Luz, Mao gave Nina her condolences and encouraged her to make her dream a reality. - Not Afraid of You Anymore: Because of the shock collar, Nina's old classmates no longer fear her.
- Odd Friendship: Nina forms one with Dusty and Tyler each, the former bonding with her and opening up with a very personal secret and the latter inviting her to join the Hexside cheer squad.
- Once More, with Clarity: The early flashbacks show when Nina stopped believing in the Titan (as mentioned in "Fairly God-Witches") and fought her sister (as mentioned in the previous chapter).
- Out of Focus: Nina is given the entire chapter to develop with Skara providing emotional support, so the rest of the main cast is shafted. Luz and Gus at least have three lines, while Amity, Willow, Viney, and Boscha have non-speaking cameos.
- Pet the Dog: Tamme Wishbone, captain of the cheer squad, is willing to give Nina a chance because Tyler vouches for her. She also lets Eve stay on the cheer squad despite her being "a walking disaster".
- The Reveal:
- The original Beast-Keeping Head Witch was Scourge the Viking Witch. After his death, he was succeeded by Oso and after him was another Head Witch named Fara Craft who was replaced by Eberwolf after she vanished.
- Werecats can't assume a non-lycan witch form because of a witch named Hotep Koff who trapped them in their lycan bodies so that they were unable to disguise themselves as normal witches. His mummified body in kept in a temple at the Torso Villa.
- Cain became the top student of Construction on his first day attending Glandus.
- Dusty is immortal, which is how he appears in the past.
- Nina met Eve when the SSE solved a case in Torso Villa and once kidnapped her.
- Louis is on the cheer squad.
- Mao Purrsian is in the Healing Coven.
- When Emily stabbed Nina, she got her right in the womb and by extension, the uterus. Because of the damage, Nina is infertile, so she can't have children.
- Emily told Donna about Nina's entire criminal history when she interviewed her.
- After Bo was rescued, Nina told Calypso about Sonya.
- When Sonya performed her first experiment on Nina, the werecat was able to transform so she could have tentacles, gorilla arms, and horse legs.
- Sequel Hook: Nina asks Lambi out on a date to the Bonesborough Brawl, the chapter ending with the two of them leaving for the event.
- Shipping Torpedo: Emily officially gets branded as one, as telling Donna about Nina's past leads to Donna coldly rejecting her upon receiving confirmation.
- Shock and Awe: Cana used lightning spells on Nina to keep her from standing up to her.
- Shout-Out:
- This chapter's title is one to the Hey Arnold! episode, "Helga on the Couch".
- Dusty being immortal jabs at the fact that Ash remained 10 years old for his entire 25-year run as the protagonist of the Pokémon anime.
- Mao's calling out to Nina uses lines from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
- Nina and Slasher sing "Here Comes a Thought". It also counts as Actor Allusion on Nina's part.
- After the dinner, Nina asks why her parents don't want her, a nod to the same heartbreaking scene from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episode, "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse".
- Snakes Are Sinister: Silas repeatedly harrassed Nina when she started out at Glandus, regularly using a whip on her and beating her up.
- Sorry, I'm Gay: Nina ends up rejecting Casey by telling him this.
- Stepford Smiler: Leo and Pam embody this on a permanent basis, but it's an easy tell when they show contempt.
- Synchronous Episodes: This is the first of a set of chapters that overlap with each other.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: When Gus spots some of his classmates about to prank Nina, he tells them to back off. When one of them questions why he'd defend his kidnapper, he tells them he's made peace with her and her actions: this boosts Nina's opinion of him.
- Trauma Conga Line
- The Un-Favorite: Turns out that Nina is this to her parents.
- Unseen No More: Mao Purrsian, mentioned in "A Coven Day Disaster", appears in the flesh.
- Wham Episode: Nina has her first counseling session with Ms. Traveler, where she lists all the progress she's made to better herself after all the recent low points in her life. To help Nina along, Ms. Traveler gives her a shishi palisman while Skara motivates her into asking Lambi out to help her get over Donna, taking her to the Bonesborough Brawl.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It wasn't revealed what happened to Silas after Nina defeated him, and Bela is rumored to have gone to the Forest of Fear after taking her revenge on her twin.
- Whip of Dominance: Silas often used a whip against Nina to emphasize his ranking above her as the top Beast Keeper.
- Wingding Eyes: When Nina fantasizes about going into cheerleading, she imagines Donna looking at her with heart-shaped eyes.
- Whole Episode Flashback: This chapter is told in a series of flashbacks, with Nina's appointment with Ms. Traveler as a Framing Device.
- Womb Horror: After Nina's checkup, Hail sadly reveals to her that her impalement wound had left her infertile. This sends Nina spiraling into a breakdown and sometime later, she's fallen into depression.
