Zeezombiex

Give it that little edgy guy vibe to go with soft boy nerd Ryland.

My goal was I wanted him to feel like a person. Not just an archetype. I didn't really plan for it to go how it did. I just kind of let it happen naturally. The first piece i wrote as his POV i literally went in with almost no plan at all for how i was gonna characterize him or express his inner monologue. I like where I landed though. Hes actually kind of sad and relatable. Its kind of hard to explain him honestly but im going to attempt anyway.

I think his changes are for the most part specific to Ryland.

He's still capable of being an asshole. He doesn't really care about anyone else. He often doesn't give a shit about the opinions of others. He can be rather dismissive. Due to that he does crappy stuff.

He has a whole fling with Savannah and can't even remember her name. Definitely douchebag behavior.

Before Ryland he was fine with being an asshole. He only is truly considerate towards Ryland. He stops shamelessly flirting and fooling around with multiple partners and stops picking on Colt as much. He takes Ryland’s thoughts, concerns and opinions seriously.

He's not infallible though and does fall back in to some bad habits as well. The bender in part 9 being a big one.

I also think of his confident exterior as a kind of shield. He has a lot of buried insecurities. Literally calls himself damage. He thinks he's poisonous. I think thats always been there. He just had no reason to analyze it before.

Essentially though Ryland makes Tom want to be better. Most of that is specifically for Ryland, but it does end up impacting others too. He also has a protective streak for Ryland which often gets used against him.

I'm thinking a SNL character.

Maybe Angelo Skaggs

Sleep deprivation for everyone!

Boo boo kisses for Ryland.