Tumgik
#just read liveblogs. erm.
mellohirust · 1 year
Text
so we all agree that dsmp volume 1 is ours forever now right. right. i love you fanon i love you canon-divergency i love you aus i love you fanartists and fic authors and game devs and musicians and cosplayers i love you dsmpblr etc
2K notes · View notes
henghost · 4 months
Text
Twig Liveblog for Arc 8
good arc! of course the main downside is the absence of mary and helen (and ashton i guess) 😭 you can't split the lambs up it's like sawing a child in half!!!!!
the main thrust, for me, was seeing how lillian and sy would work as a couple--it turns out the answer is: poorly. they do NOT belong together ‼️ they are adorable though. i posted about it some but it is nice to see him happy and horny, albeit abnormally horny. that was an insane fucking scene where sy and lillian happen to catch emily and drake "in the act," it's written with such intensive detail, sort of a "primal scene" for the two. but it can only end in catastrophe. i said this in the last liveblog but it bears repeating: lillian's goal is literally to become an important figure in the institution that is oppressing, abusing, mutilating not only the lambs but like the entire civilian population. (that was another funny scene where lillian gets confronted about the atrocities of the akkkademy and she's like "erm akshually it's not as bad as you think, they were doing the best they could," like hmm where have i heard that one before 😐.) i certainly understand why they like each other, but cmon sy, GET OUT OF THERE!
i appreciated the sy/neojamie sections too. the chapter wherein neojamie reveals that there are secret codes in jamie's old notebooks was quite powerful. perhaps they could... i mean... i know there's baggage but wouldn't it be cute if they... jamie is sort of like young f!mauer if you think about it. anyway.
i find the idea of the "primordial experiments" interesting. they're dangerous, but i suppose the question remains as to whether they're dangerous in and of themselves or only dangerous because of the response from the academy they necessitate. that is to say, is it only life over which the academy can't exert control that is "dangerous"? yeah, i guess you could say i'm a mauerist. he's just so.... he's just like me fr fr (sexy).
i am also like the duke. i found his interlude fascinating: the intranobility conflict, the experience of being "superhuman," the description of the Twins (😳), and the vague threat against the lambs. it's hard to say which one he wants: my first thought was sy, due to the focus on "developing a new brain," but this could also apply to neojamie, who is after all a newer model. i'm excited to read more!!!!
25 notes · View notes
mihai-florescu · 1 year
Note
Mihai. Mihai my enstars professor mutual. What the heck is going on with ryuseitai
Ok so i read some liveblogs but i havent read comet show or submarine so a lot of references to those were lost on me (im waiting for them to come to engstars) and thus im not the best professor for this story.
But the tldr is that there's an agency in Okinawa (same place Submarine was held in during the ss arc), Crimson Production, that opposes ES's monopoly and that's where a bunch of ex ryuseitai kids have gone to (theyre called Antistars). Tetora goes to help these kids and the media publicizes it as him leaving Ryuseitai. Shinobu goes to find out the truth, talks to Tetora about the opposing ideologies, the next day the news state that he also left Ryuseitai. So the rest of the group go to Okinawa to see what's up. They trespass, Tetora and Chiaki have an argument and fight, but dont worry, Tetora is a spy on the inside of CrimPro and needed to make his loyalty to them believable. Chiaki opens up to Tetora about his time in the war (i realise as i type this how ridiculous this game sounds to an outsider...)
This was a distraction for Kanata and Midori to find and free Shinobu, and to find papers to destroy the company. They get caught. The 5 are reunited inside the agency and Tetora reveals he is a spy for ES but he does genuinely want to help the antistars kids who are mistreated by CrimPro for being former ES idols. So CrimPro are evil and need to be destroyed but im a bit confused at this part ngl. Something something yakuza something something they actually kill people so it's super dangerous (i think this part has a callback to Submarine that im not getting). They cant go to the local police cuz the organization has inflitrated it so the only option for Ryuseitai is to renounce ES and join CrimPro.
While making the announcement theyre actually sending ES secret messages, dangerous stuff if they get caught. Theyre gonna hold a live for CrimPro which is a distraction for ES to intervene, and while theyre preparing for that, Tetora has a self hating monologue about his own skills and merits. He's not being self sacrificial bc he's a hero but bc he doesnt mind putting his life in danger::::)
At the live they discuss about roles and who's the leader. Tetora cant become Chiaki, but he can be his own person with his own skills, and like this maybe he can even surpass Chiaki. They keep their colors but those expectations of having to fill in Chiaki's shoes are going away. So anyway, back to the live, Ryuseitai had secretly sent back to Eichi evidence to condemn CrimPro and now he's ready to bust them down (i dont know if Eichi is there personally with the police or if he's just in charge from above... i assume the latter?)
They tell themselves that they're not harming people but just destroying the environment where the evil had spread (Chiaki compares it to the war, but i think he's being idealistic...people Did get hurt in the war too. There's a cenotaph for the students who killed themselves afterall...) And uh. Then we get to the epilogue, that I haven't seen translated yet. I assume they're successful (imagine if we went through all of this only for someone to die lmao)
So. Ta daa. Thats it. Erm. I know this isnt new to enstars but i feel like things have felt more dangerous and high stakes, especially in the ss arc and 1.5 (negi just. Faked being shot by a hitman. That shit was traumatizing. This is set after that). I dont really know what other stories we could get of Ryuseitai set in our current year if im being honest. This felt like Climax yknow?
Well, im looking forward to translations of this story cuz im not entirely clear on everything just with the livetweets. And looking forward to reading comet show and submarine when they come to the english server. Hope this was helpful^_^
23 notes · View notes
knightbugs · 2 months
Text
WORLDS WORST BAD BATCH LIVEBLOG - EPISODE 9
-- DISCLAIMER: this liveblog fucking sucks and to understand my thought process you need to either read it while watching the bad batch or you need to have every episodes events completely memorised --
--DISCLAIMER 2: this liveblog along with episode 10 are from the same time as the others from 2023, i just forgot to post them--
crosshair has lost his binocular depth cue privileges
omega is in JAIL.
AGAIN.
why did the droid become american this guy was british before
bros name is cadburys
WHY DOES THE DROID KEEP SWITCHING BETWEEN BRITISH AND AMERICAN
ah hell nah dont retrieve omega she doesn't want that
your PROPERTY ?????? she is a PERSON thank You
TERMINATE HER ?? *WHERE* IS YOUR BOARD OF ETHICS MISTER.
tjis droid is being neglected
how is omega a pure genetic replication if she's a GIRL. transgender
she KILLED HIM (temporarily)
omega #1 leg engineer
ah fucking hell he found her
WOMAN IS HERE SHES DEAD
BOUNTY HUNTER WOMAN HII ! she was badass
'you first' trading red flag
GUNFIGHT !
all his dollars are GONE
his ass got EXPLOADED
weirdass test tube pod thingys !! with GUYS in there
SHE KILLED THE DROID SO HARD
erm. the thing is cracked. ERM
she got nickelodeon slimed
she is NOT about to climb a fucking ladder while handcuffed. omega you are insane
GET AWAY ROBOT BOY WHY ARE YOU AMERICAN AGAIN
he is writhing like a bug turned upside down
HES BRITISH AGAIN. WHAT THE HELL
WHT TYE FUCK BANE HAS FLAMETHROWER ARMS .???? *AND* JETPACK BOOTS ??!!?!
WOOOOO YAAAY WRECKER
get outta there bad batcj
omega CRYING sje was forced to eat cement when she was 6
worlds most kidnappable child
oh cadburys is back and his systems are sabotaged as fuck
'an experiment in a CHOOB'
hunter is having Dad Moments
--EPISODE 9 DONE--
2 notes · View notes
hotvampireadjacent · 2 years
Note
Yo been following since you were liveblogging the green sun part in Homestuck lmao just wanted to say glad to see you still posting part of my og Tumblr experience lol
erm....................... you have the wrong person because i never read homestuck but i have been on tumblr for 10+ years
13 notes · View notes
hena-of-brightwall · 3 years
Note
OMG I just discovered your blog thru your reblog of my Fable III liveblogging and I already LOVE Hena so much? It's so rare to find Fable III OCs that are more than quirky & fun bc lol it's Fable. And there's nothing wrong with quirky & fun but I love reading about Albion's multifaceted heroes and Hena definitely is one of them! I instantly followed, I wanna learn more about her!!
Oml I don’t think you know how much that means to me tysmmm If you wanna know more about Hena, here’s some fun facts!! - She is hella scarred up and mainly uses Tannar’s Glory hammer but she loves her scars and her wife loves to kiss them and says they’re badass - Her wife is a sweet woman from Brightwall, her name is Abby and she’s a bit... erm, suggestive - She and Abby almost got married in Mourningwood but Hena decided that she’d always said how she’d take Abby on a date to Bowerstone market one day- so why not a honeymoon and whole wedding too? - Hena never asked Abby to move in with her until she became queen, she traveled a lot and didn’t really have a home anyway - Once moved into the palace the couple adopted a son who’s name is Chris, though because of the Bowerstone schooling and snooty nobles and lack of friends- Hena eventually moved her family back to Brightwall in the house of slats - Hena often visits The Dark Sanctum just to hang out and receive praise while under a mask (not being seen as queen), but don’t tell Abby ;) - Hena cares very deeply for her family but struggles to communicate that and is away a lot, she's often so happy with the family she has that she doesn't know what else to do but smile in awe - Hena would abolish the monarchy if she felt the kingdom were ready, but alas- it clearly isn't. She is found of Turner’s ideals but doesn’t voice this. - She viewed Walter as her dad, and Jasper as sort of like an other dad only nothing to do with Walter - She still places small flowers by Walter’s statue, and one day the family will make him a flower crown - She’s super into fashion and design but will promptly deny this when asked about it - She is looking into the ideals of Dans Mourir and may have secretly adopted a hobbe named Teddy (The family knows, the kingdom does not) - she is still getting over her trauma with her brother and the darkness, and must never be without light. She wants a second chance for Logan- but somewhere away from her Im so sorry this is turning into such a long post,,, there's just so much about her I haven’t said haha im really am very happy that you like her
3 notes · View notes
fullmetal-analysts · 4 years
Text
Tag 9 people you’d like to get to know/catch up with
Thanks for the tag, @greedfromfullmetalalchemist! a delight to drop in and see this in my notes ^_^
let it be noted: I’m a trash hamster running this blog for my three friends who do not know how to tumblr but whose podcast/liveblog of FMA is excellent and a thing I thought tumblr would enjoy—so, my opinions aren’t the official Fullmetal Analyst Podcast opinions :P
3 ships*: RoyAi so, I am personally deeply confused to find myself not just liking but thoroughly and actively shipping a het ship? like?? when and how and why??? (I will tell you why—because their story is beautiful and nuanced, the respect running so deep it turns into a bedrock of loyalty and trust, not unconditional but instead foundational, which will always be more meaningful to me.) and ohman, so FMA is the home of all my favorite Dynamics™ but not very many of my ships? apparently? So.... erm..... I do love Greedling, but I am very new to it and mostly just into it because Greed is my trashiest trash son and I want him to have love and happiness. hmmmmmm and maybe Envy/Greed?  I haven’t seen any content of them and idk what their ship name is/if they have one, but they are the two humunculi who actually seem to have pretty intense issues about their own identities, and I would be fascinated to see the backstory on their relationship over the centuries. they definitely seemed to have ~issues~ worth working out. for sure not as any sort of endgame, just like, yeah I would read fic of that.
*alternatively, 3 “oh I could watch these two on screen all fucking day and never get bored” dynamics are— Olivier + Mustang (they are!! so catty!!!! it is THE ACTUAL BEST!!!!!!!), Greed + Ling (I know I said I ship it, and yeah, probs, but mostly it’s just LOOK AT THEM SASS IT IS PURE GOLD), and okay, hear me out, but I fucking love Hohenheim + Father?  Like, either character, on their own, can go and eat an entire basketful of sharp rocks, but when they are together it is just two exasperated, tired gods bickering and that is the shit I live and breath for :P
Also obvious Ed + Al, but that goes without saying
Last song: Don’t Try So Hard - Queen
Last movie: Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) dir. Taika Waititi
Currently reading: Borne by Jeff Vandermeer and having Way Too Many Feelings about it ;-;
Currently watching: I’m showing my girlfriend Dirk Gently’s Hollistic Detective Agency, though as soon as that’s done I’m going to take her on her first ever watch of FMAB, keeping time with the podcast! mostly watching OSP and ExtraCredits on youtube outside of that, because New Content™ is hard on my brain atm xp
Currently consuming: frozen pizza was lunch/dinner, followed by some prosciutto and cantaloupe for dessert-ish
Currently craving: sangria, which me and a friend will be making tomorrow! ^_^
I tag @royai, @later-slayer, @borkthemork, @rizaisthesuperstar, @presumenothing, @humming-fly, @fma-facts, @chewytran, and @the-shrimp-alchemist
If you see this and you weren’t tagged, feel free to do it anyway!!
7 notes · View notes
theorynexus · 4 years
Text
Well, I accidentally seem to have ended Homestuck’s Meat Epilogue on 69.  I might just cut this page off half-way through so I can get a 70.
That’s all we need: 69 with Meat. Will the innuendos and double entendres ever cease? ... Oh, and before I continue, I just wanted to ask:  Jake’s supposed illegitimate children mentioned via the rally sequence---     is that a reference to Hiveswap and Grandpa Harley?   I have not actually played or watched a playthrough, so I can’t be certain, but that nonetheless seems to be the case.  Hmm. There were some other thoughts that I’ve had over the last few days that I wanted to add in there, and I’ll do so if I remember them as I continue with this post, I guess.   Most importantly, I would just like to announce that I’ll be taking a little break before starting up my Candy liveblog.  I want to experiment a bit with starting up a reread of Homestuck from the beginning and creating a sort of interesting narrative that relays all of the important things that pop into my head as being important/relevant for certain early pages, either because they connect to them plot-wise, are foreshadowing said later events, or represent important themes/ideas being implemented early on.  I’ll at least spend a dozen or so posts on doing that, I guess, before I start the epilogues back up again.  I don’t know if I’ll continue doing that or move on to Homestuck^2, after I am done with Candy.  Maybe I’ll go back and forth between the two, at that point, depending on how popular said quasi-liveblog information/analysis jamboree becomes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tumblr media
Oh, hey, we seem to suddenly be in a war zone. I wonder if this is retroactive dream bubble shenanigans, if this is what’s happening in the Black Hole, somehow (or, erm... trans-black hole, for souls that are seemingly destroyed? Maybe there’s a second afterlife-- not counting the “afterlife” that comes from reviving via dream self or whatever?).
Tumblr media
Yep. Seems to be “what happens to those who get sucked into the black hole.”  My guess is that Alt!Calliope created a sort of new world or story or paradise for them to “play in,” or whathaveyou. (In which case:  Whoops, LE’s going to be in there, assuming he didn’t get split into his constituent parts of Gamzee, ARquiusprite [or AR and Equius?], and Caliborn. This of course assumes that Alt!Calliope does not and/or cannot exclude anyone from said realm, which might indeed be quite possible.)       
Tumblr media
Hehe~   Meat.    Also, that “Deed is Finished,” seems to reference the end of the Meat Epilogue. For some reason, it also makes me think of Christ just before his death. As for Jade’s behavior... again, the obvious parallel is with the, “ What a daring dream, to combine the finest qualities of humanity with the elegance and nobility of the animal kingdom. How you wish you could know their world,” line from about Jade’s introduction.   Not all TOO much to say, there, albeit it’s a bit silly.  We’ll see what implications it has.    (Quite the nice image, her being so covered in blood, with a giant pool of it surround her, as well~)
Tumblr media
This suddenly feels like an excerpt from an entirely different story, with the same characters; yet a different setting.   Somewhat like the supposed sequel/prequel story (or parallel tale?) that will supposedly come out eventually for Doki Doki Literature Club?   I wonder when that will eventually be released... .  But I am distracted. I guess this impression to some extent comes as a result of the similar military-ish themes.
Tumblr media
MECHA DAVE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Tumblr media
(But in all seriousness, my suspicion is that this Dave comes from the Candy timeline.   The alternative is that he might actually be from within the Homestuck^2 period of the Meat continuity?    My impressions are somewhat hard to sort out, there, though.) Wait a minute... I for some reason have a sudden impression of there being a Davebot in one of the Dream Bubble walk-arounds.   Is that a false memory?   Nah, I guess maybe I was thinking about the e-bubbles, or something, upon looking into it.
Tumblr media
Well... that’s interesting. I like that glowing shades business.
Tumblr media
I appreciate this confidence. I wonder: Is it because he’s gotten in touch with his ultimate self, or what?  That seems quite likely.  I wonder how strong the connections are between these new split timelines emergent via the epilogues.  They should be pretty strong in connection, regardless.  Hmmm~
Tumblr media
***sudden glint of a galaxy reflecting in the glasses***
Tumblr media
Well. I guess that no further interactions will ever definitely and definitively occur between Alt!Calliope’s realm and the living world. Probably. The imaginary line lines are quite intriguing and compelling, though.  It... feels like something more should be said about it, and likely I shall indeed be compelled to theorize on the matter at a later date, perhaps when I have more perspective on the matter. Right now, however, my mind feels a bit fogged, and I am uncertain about what to make of it, both in the sense “what I ought to sculpt my understanding of it into,” and also in the sense of, “what theory and/or explanation ought I to craft from this jumble of words”? For now, I suppose we’ll just have to wait, and I will have to thank you all for following along with my epilogue liveblog(s). I hope you and the others who join you in the future shall continue to enjoy and perhaps even enrich yourselves by following along as I post all that comes to my mind, either whilst I am reading, before, or after. ... Dangit, I didn’t make sure to write a Post 70.
1 note · View note
callioope · 5 years
Text
Tagged by @ruby-red-inky-blue! Thank you for the tag!
i. name/alias: Liz
ii. birthday: January 11
iii. zodiac: Capricorn, although if you count Ophiuchus, I’m now a Sagittarius honestly Capricorn forever
iv. height: 5′ 3″
v. hobbies: writing, reading, playing dungeons & dragons, sometimes watching tv shows though there are just a small few I watch at at time, procrastinating working on my ComicCon costume, procrastinating getting back into fencing (I’ve done preliminary research tho my friend who did it with me in HS just wants to find a place where we can fence each other w/o having to take lessons, i think), sometimes hiking, sometimes pretending i’m learning to play ukulele when i just play the same 5 songs over and over, sometimes knitting when i don’t get stuck on how to seam a hat
vi. favorite color: green, purple, pink
vii. favorite books: His Dark Materials, the Harry Potter series, the Hunger Games trilogy, The Old Kingdom Trilogy, Wicked, Crown Duel, Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow
viii. last song I listened to: “Super Trouper” from the Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again soundtrack
ix. last film I watched: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (erm, sorry for the brief liveblogging last night)
x. inspiration for a muse: usually a line from the text (if writing fic) or song lyrics, definitely song lyrics. my original work is mostly inspired by dreams i’ve had.
xi. dream job: author, zookeeper for red pandas specifically
xii. inspiration behind my url: sometime in HS, many, many, many moons ago, i decided I didn’t like the username I had been using and I needed something cooler. I was into greek mythology at the time and the greek muses are pretty cool so i looked them up for inspiration. calliope is the greek muse of epic poetry which is the closest thing to novels that you can get at that time considering novels didn’t exist. i figured calliope is probably a pretty popular username, so i added an extra “o” for whimsy. for the record i pronounce it “cal-lee-oop” sort of like “alley-oop” which i recognize may not actually be intuitive considering the “e” at the end of calliope is pronounced, but there you have it. 
Tagging: @magalis, @mythologicalmango, @firefeufuego, @crazy-fruit
5 notes · View notes
Text
Homestuck Liveblog #182
UPDATE 182: Nothing Goes According to Plan
Last time the epilogues had started. First the meat route! Featuring John going to fight Lord English with many teenage versions of his friends, and Dave and Karkaroni launching their candidacy for president to stop Jane from getting there. Let’s continue.
Wherever John just zapped everyone to is very dark. Given the final destination likely is the place where they’ll fight Lord English, this would be inside one of the bubbles, no? I don’t remember them being particularly dark or dreary, so maybe they’re in the space between the bubbles instead. Shouldn’t be too difficult to find the one with Lord English, just look for the one with the destructive light show.
Apparently they arrived very early. It’s Caliborn, Gamzee and that robot rabbit. Hm. Perhaps this is when they went to fight Caliborn according to the clay theater show?
Lord English is holding something that looks like... Lil Cal? It’s definitely Lil Cal, and Lord English is definitely waltzing around with it in his little spotlight in the middle of the nowhere, swinging the puppet around by both its floppy arms. Well, rather, he was waltzing around. He stopped the moment you looked at him.
...okay then, of all things for Caliborn to be doing, dancing the waltz with the puppet wasn’t really one of them. Consider me surprised, story.
John and Caliborn do a staredown that’d have filled like eighteen pages of Homestuck, and John gives him a thumbs-down. Caliborn takes umbrage with that, although it’s just for a little while, before laughing and deciding this really was the moment represented by the clay theater thing. So, if I recall correctly, that ended with the Original Wonderkids being trapped in the juju, and Dirk shoving Caliborn and the red sprite whose name I don’t remember into the puppet. Foregone conclusion?
CALIBORN: BE QUIET.
CALIBORN: I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT YOU JUST INTERRUPTED A GROUNDBREAKING INTERPRETIVE ART PIECE.
CALIBORN: IT WAS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND. PERFORMED ONLY ONCE. AND MADE MORE VALUABLE FOR ITS RARENESS.
JOHN: wow.
Yes, John, the guy who will destroy existence and also ruin everything still is a dork. Surprise?
Caliborn seems very confident everything will go according to plan and maybe he has reasons to believe that. I mean, it has to, for this to not be a paradox and doom everybody in the process. And yup! Effectively, the ninth page is all about how the heroes lost and got trapped in the juju. It didn’t go all according to the claymation theater because there were some minor and unimportant deviations, but it ended with their loss. I do wonder if we’ll see what happened after they got trapped, though. Kind of doubt it, given this is from John’s point of view.
Nope, it’s Jane. Alright, time to see what’s going on with her and how accurate Dave and Karkaroni’s assessment of her is.
So, I have read several paragraphs now. I can definitely see why those two would say that, and although it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, I do sense a constant and unsettling ‘I know better than everyone’ vibe over all this. Then there’s the matter of word choice:
In fact, Jane is pretty sure that Karkat Vantas would probably literally burst into flame if too many people happened to look at him at the same time, like a vampire walking out into the sun.
Wait. Jane lowers the pillow from her face and stares at her brass-and-glass art deco ceiling. Was that vampire thing xenophobic against Kanaya? Or whatever it was that Kanaya was supposed to be? No, of course not, she assures herself.
---
And despite being inarguably the dimmest of his family’s impressive ecto-biological stock...
Oh, dear. Stock. That’s likely a problematic word, isn’t it? Jane thinks. She crosses it off her mental list of “appropriate words to say during a press conference.”
----
And the consorts? Who had even given them the right to vote in the first place?
----
But Earth C’s paper-thin idyllic history was very close to a boiling point—its very first boiling point, in fact, which will have everything to do with the problematic nature of troll reproduction. The first generation of natural-born trolls obviously cannot be entrusted to a troll.
Which was absolutely not a xenophobic thing to think. It was just realistic. The citizens of Earth C were able to rest easy knowing that the government held careful rein over the... well, over matters of equity.
All that? It’s not outright awful, but it’s enough to leave a nasty aftertaste when you think about it for a moment. Can’t say I know how anything’s supposed to work in the so-called idyllic society of Earth C, or what kind of intricate social problems exist, so I can’t really comment about most of this without making a loooooot of assumptions that are a burden to deal with, but all this about controlling troll reproduction is an uncomfortable callback to the Condesce’s efforts to control human reproduction and mold it to her tastes. I doubt Jane would go that far, but it still is too much of a similarity to it. When I said last update she totally was the Condesce’s descendant it was a joke, not a wish for this, golly.
That aside, in all this I have the impression Hussie isn’t walking the walk, or whatever the colloquial saying goes. I don’t know why exactly he decided to go in this direction with the character, but to me it feels like he’s both trying to push in that direction and try to keep Jane similar to how she was in Homestuck. It’s just a few paragraphs and she hasn’t even said a word to another character, but to me it feels like he’s not committing to the characterization he’s trying to make here. You can’t do both at the same time, seriously. Maybe it’d work if it was an entirely new character instead of an existing character – and by Jove this story doesn’t need new characters, that’s for sure – but yeah, right now? All this with Jane? It’s...not really working for me. It feels kind of clunky.
I definitely can see why I heard people were unsatisfied with the epilogue, though! A character being given unsavory traits and inclinations it didn’t have before must have been an unwelcome shock.
Welp! Time to call Jake! I suppose she’ll try to get his political endorsement thanks to the major political capital he now has. Let’s see if it works!
JAKE: Ahoy ahoy!
Jane has to suck in a hard breath to stop herself from groaning. Why were so many of the finest young minds on this planet slaves to this foolish man’s perky glutes?
Can Jake be treated as more than a one-dimensional character with an ass jutting out? Would be great.
Apparently getting shot with horse tranquilizers is how the shows have been ending for a while already. No wonder there are riots every time, so much for the underdog victory in that show. Still, it’s working, because he’s adored by everyone. Jake sounds like he’s okay with this, but really, he must have a breaking point. You can get shot with horse tranquilizers only so many times before you demand it to stop.
JAKE: Its beginning to feel like all people want from me is to stick my derriere on a signpost for their own profit.
Funny you’d say that, given how much it’s been featuring in this epilogue.
Jake isn’t really the brightest bulb, but he’s not so dense he wouldn’t notice this, yup. Maybe he’d be relieved to know Dave and Karkaroni want him to wink and give double pistols at the camera instead of showing his butt on a billboard. If that’s what makes Jake support them over Jane I’ll laugh and also feel pretty bad for him.
In all this, Jane invites Jake to see her, saying she’s ready to give him what’s best for him. That’s...pretty manipulative, knowing what she wants. Still, she managed to convince him to go see her, so that’s that. I don’t think this meeting will go like she wants to, so I’m kind of dreading it. Next page!
Apparently John never considered the possibility they’d lose against Caliborn. I mean, it’s hard to imagine you’d get trapped into a juju that’s essential a complete void in the universe, but still! He says he screwed up, and praises Rose. Looks like John is alone in the space he’s in, while the rest of the Wonderkids are in their own little pockets of nothingness not too far away. Inside this juju they can’t feel time or space, which is...good? Means they’re not going to die, at least. Dave and Jade are powerless. Can Rose use her seer powers?
ROSE: What did my future self say it was we had to do?
JOHN: erm... she never rea—
DAVE: WHAT?
JOHN: she—
DAVE: I CANT HEAR YOU
JOHN: UM, SHE NEVER REALLY TOLD US WHAT WE HAD TO DO, EXACTLY?
JOHN: JUST WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, IN A REALLY LOOSE SORT OF FASHION?
ROSE: DOES THAT MEAN WE’RE STU—
What does it say of me I thought she was going to say ‘stupid’. For charging ahead without getting as many details as possible of what future Rose said, I guess. Maybe it’d have been less of a shock when this happened.
Apparently what future Rose foresaw is that they would be trapped in the juju and then freed in the future. Sounds about right, I think that was implied to happen in Act 7. So it’s only matter of time before they’re freed, although, knowing who wrote this, I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of the fight against Lord English is just shunted aside with a vague description of how it went. Hah!
From what John can imagine, the battle outside is going just like the claymation theater had predicted. By now Caliborn must be getting shoved into the puppet and thrown into the fabric of the multiverse, to doom everyone. You know, now that I think about it, how are the New Wonderkids going to leave wherever they are right now? Without John they’re kind of stuck. Whooops.
It doesn’t sound like Terezi is in the new world. Either she isn’t or she completely cut contact from the rest, because John misses her. I figure he’d at least know what she’s up to, if she were around. Hm.
She wouldn’t have let you neglect relationships with certain friends for so long that you missed whole chapters of their lives. She wouldn’t have put up with you moping around with the salamanders for so long. She would have kicked your ass for being such a loser about everything. She would have poked you in the forehead and called you insufferably lame and told you to pick up the damn phone. You would have called her a weirdo and pretended you hated it, and maybe you would even have believed you hated it. But now, sitting here in this little white cubicle, contemplating your regrets, you don’t think you’d have hated it much at all.
Definitely sounds like she isn’t around. I can’t remember what happened with her in Homestuck...maybe something in these epilogues will answer that?
Also, it’s possible John is depressed. It’s not impossible, really! It’d be surprising if after the events of Sburb and its very traumatic qualities they’re not affected in some manner. Some seemed to be better-adjusted, somehow, but it’s not out of the question others have been affected negatively. Maybe John is depressed. Nothing to do in this juju than tell the rest about that, I suppose.
It’s strategy meeting time right there at Karkaroni’s hive. Dave is in charge of everything, outlining their strategy and what the consequences of Jane’s reign of terror will be. Most of it goes over my head, I admit, thanks to Dave’s verbose way of talking, and Karkaroni and Jade don’t seem to be faring much better.
DAVE: are you two even listening or are you just making noises with your mouths
KARKAT: HOW DARE YOU.
KARKAT: I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M BEING ACCUSED BY DAVE STRIDER, REIGNING EMPEROR OF SPEWING ENDLESS VERBAL DIARRHEA DIRECTLY INTO MY INNOCENT HEAR DUCTS EVERY DAY OF MY FUCKING LIFE, OF MAKING THOUGHTLESS MOUTH NOISES.
KARKAT: JADE, ARE YOU HEARING THIS?
JADE: im scandalized
JADE: especially when
JADE: there are much better things we could all be doing with our mouths.....
...
...
...
...did I mention already I have heard so much dissatisfaction about the epilogues? I didn’t get many details back then, but I definitely am realizing why I heard those opinions all the time. What’s wrong with you, Jade. Nobody else knows how to react, so Dave just continues his strategy meeting.
From what I can gather here, Dave’s opinion is that Jane will capitalize on the very violent and very disturbing features of troll life back in Alternia, and boy is there plenty of that. The average person would be incredibly fearful of a repeat of any of that, especially if the Condesce is brought up. Really, in terms of humans, I’m preeeeetty sure Jane has their vote, no contest. Can’t say I wouldn’t vote for her if I was told about the brutality of troll life and the effects it’d have on us. It’s all about how it’s presented, and Jane would definitely present it at its most raw.
Jade gives an overview of the consequences of the Jane presidency in a manner that stuns our dear underdogs here, and also dog hormones are mentioned. Are you telling me that in the fusion Jade was somehow implanted with her dog’s endocrine system? Was that a thing? Because if she wasn’t then this doesn’t make sense at all, unless somehow her dog ears and tail are secreting hormones. It’s illogical. Not that Jade being fused with her supernatural omnipotent dogsprite is incredibly logical.
You know, when I started reading the epilogues I didn’t really expect to be reading about Jade’s polyamorous urges. I don’t want to read about Jade’s polyamorous urges. Let me just...skip this until the topic changes.
I can’t believe that took the rest of the page, and that’s not a joke-y ‘I can’t believe’. Well then. Next.
Oh, great, it’s Vriska. You know, I like Vriska enough, buuuuut her influence in the narration was never really something I liked of her. Guess I’ll have to endure that, then. The narration starts with reminding she still has quite the hero delusions. Peachy! Off to kind of a bad start. Still, what’s important is that she’s facing Lord English and she has just deployed the juju that’s hosting the Wonderkids, so this really is picking up from Act 7. I didn’t think this would be happening yet here we are. Nice!
Now that the juju has been deployed, the majority of those present – Meenah, Tavros and a myriad of unnamed ghosts – should be retreating, but Vriska wants to see how Lord English destroys reality, which he does with just a roar, sending literal pieces of reality crashing down and bonking Vriska on the head. Above her, a black hole is forming, consuming reality itself. It’s so strong that, without Tavros to anchor her, she’s lifted off the ground and sucked towards it. She’s unable to hold onto the juju or onto anything, and disappears into the black hole.
Well that was quite the random aside, but that’s how Homestuck is.
John and the rest emerge from the juju, just in time to see the huge and realize things are falling apart. There’s nothing about Lord English being nearby, so maybe he was absorbed into the black hole as well? Not much time to wonder about that, because reality unravels.
In Jane’s office reality isn’t unraveling, though, what’s unraveling is her patience, because Jake doesn’t figure out entering through the door is what anyone would do, instead of entering through the window from what’s likely not a ground floor office. Once he enters like any person without powers would do, Jane receives him.
And intimate knowledge of his hoarding habits—particularly the type of sultry, cerulean content he is known to hoard—is exactly why Jane is wearing a blue dress with a very high hem. Jake’s bow tie practically spins at the sight of it.
Thaaaaat’s also manipulative. Clever and it most likely will work, but it’s manipulative. I’m still having a hard time trying to associate this with Jane, honestly.
Well she tries to seduce him, which, knowing how hard of a time she was having enduring her romantic trouble in Homestuck, is darkly hilarious, especially when it fails completely because she’s not good at this. All Jake can do is spit bourbon at her. After that little stunt she’ll need to have incredible patience not to kick him out immediately, but the political capital must be really worth it.
Although she’s clearly very frustrated, she still plows ahead and starts talking about the economy, trying to get Jake up to date with the intricacies of what’s going on. He doesn’t know anything at all, so she has to explain to him everything. She still seems to be kind of aiming to seducing Jake, though. Sigh.
Who are they now? The same Jake and Jane who passed like particularly dysfunctional ships in the night a decade ago? Or is Jane wiser, and Jake kinder? Are they better versions of themselves?
Well it sure wasn’t the other way, Jane sure didn’t get kinder and Jake wiser. That much was very clear just from this update.
I’m not entirely sure if her reminiscing about how they may be all drifting apart and how the trajectory all of their lives have taken is fake – part of me believes it may be sincere, after all – but what I’m sure of is that she doesn’t miss Jake. She makes sure to say she does, though! And he reciprocates. This leads to a lot of kissing. This sure escalated fast! And on Jane’s favor, dare I say. It was a complete accident, but it’s going pretty close to what she had intended.
Or not, because through all this Jake keeps thinking of Dirk and his abysmally romantic attributes. Boy, if Jane heard about this she’d be even more frustrated. But yeah, pretty clear Jake hasn’t gotten over Dirk no matter what. Seems to me like he’s doomed to think of Dirk for quite a while. He realizes that in a flash of inspiration and yelps in panic, deciding to scram and ending Jane’s underhanded romantic overtures. That went pretty badly!
JANE: What the...
JANE: Everliving fuck!
It really is for the better she’s not aware what was going through Jake’s mind, hah! She even calls Dirk to talk about what happened. He’s not understanding, he simply states you can’t be nice to Jake if you want him to be interested in you, and pretty much tells Jane to stay on her line and stop trying to play romance with Jake because that’s his turf. Paraphrasing. This is starting to seem more and more like Jake won’t throw his hat in their ring, in my opinion.
She’s also looking emotional support, and she’s not getting it from Dirk because she has other things to deal with, more important than the election of president of the entire planet. Rose is here, and given how they have a mutual problem, they have to talk about it. But that’s for next time!
2 notes · View notes
ponyforyou · 6 years
Text
About Me
Yo I haven’t done one of these since back in like...MySpace days. What a throwback. And since I’m kind of in-between seasons, why not do something like this? Besides I got tagged and you gotta respect the tag. So enjoy learning mundane things about me!
Tagged by: @the-infinite-accent​
Rules: answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs 
Nickname: Pony! of course
Gender: Female
Sign: Aquarius
Height: 5′2″
Time: 13:43 PM
Birthday: February 3rd
Fave Bands: Ooph, I hate questions like this because I’m never able to answer, and I focus less on artists and more so just individual tracks, BUT a few groups that never let me down are Clean Bandit, Gorillaz, Oh Wonder, Autoheart, I suppose. I usually find one song I like by an artist and then never really venture further into their catalog because lazy.
Favorite Solo Artists: Dan Croll, Childish Gambino, Billy Eilish, Mura Masa, Cashmere Cat, Suboi, Yuna. 
It’s really hard to pick these sorts of things because honestly, are they my favorites? Probably not. I don’t know that I really have a favorite artist. And I’ve been listening more to soundtracks a lot lately. But these are mainstays. Then again I really love my shit post playlist, so.
Song stuck in my head: Bellyache - Billie Eilish. I’m in love with her aesthetic but damn girl how did you not see the copper waiting at the end of that long flat road
Last movie I watched: The Thing. 1982 version, not the shitty 2011 remake.
Last show I watched: Dragonball Z jesus christ
When did I create my blog: December 2016 I think, way too long ago for me to still be watching this show 😂
What do I post: erotic kirby fanfiction
Last thing I googled: Leopard Seals. Have you guys seen those bastards? They’re beautiful but they also skeeve me the hell out. There’s something very alien about them.
Do I have other blogs: Livebloggers are a hive mind, I am Zephyr, I am Lore, I am Jet, I am all haha nope
Do I get asks: Yurp! I should respond more consistently/quickly, but I love each and every one I get!
Instruments: Sax, alto and bari; trumpet, poorly; the very little piano I picked up when I was younger
Why did I choose my url: Well it only made sense to transfer my reddit username over; it’s semi-inspired by Nathan For You, my nickname is Pony, yadayada the worst liveblog in history was born
Following: 25, 90% of which are memes disguised as tumblrs
Followed by: 1302. Damn, I honestly never expected to break a few hundred.
Average hours of sleep: If I was left to sleep until I naturally woke up, I’d probably sleep 10 hours a night. As it stands, during the week I average 6.5-7 hours, and on the weekends something like 9 to 11. 
What I’m wearing: A colorful floral print dress, navy tights, silver sandals, a sleeveless, silver/light grey cardi-warp-vest-thing, and 2 big ole coats because it’s constantly freezing in my office and I probably shouldn’t be wearing sandals in the first place
Dream job: Paid to do absolutely nothing. Paid to liveblog? Paid to sleep? I all seriousness I still have no idea and I’m halfway to 50 kill me
Dream trip: I really want to take several months to travel, hitting all the places I’ve always wanted to visit: the UK, Ireland, France, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Africa, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand. Several others I’m sure I’m forgetting. Being able to take like 6 months away, no responsibilities, and just travel, spending a week here, a week or two there - sign me the fuck up. But if I had to narrow it down, I’d really like to spend some time in Japan. 
Fave food: That’s also tough, I don’t really know. I can tell you all the foods I don’t like and make you very angry if you like! I guess my tried and true is probably salad. You can’t really go wrong with a salad, and I could live off of them daily. 
Fave song: Right now, I’m listening to the NieR: Automata soundtrack since I finished the game like 2 months ago, and my favorite track is Blissful Death. And Possessed by a Disease. And Fortress of Lies. But guys seriously go play NieR
Last book I read: I am currently trying to trudge my way through “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens, and guess what - I really don’t like Charles Dickens
Top 3 Fictional Universe I Want to Join: Hrm, Steven Universe, why not. Erm, Pokemon or Neopets because I’m a child and also give me all the pets. Aaand...Animal Crossing. WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO LIVE IN ANIMAL CROSSING?!
Tags: I’m tagging @dazdndcunfusd, @katdiscovers, and all of my followers! If any of you guys decide to do this as well, tag me so I can read all about you! ♥
15 notes · View notes
knightbugs · 4 months
Text
WORLDS WORST BAD BATCH LIVEBLOG - EPISODE 8
-- DISCLAIMER: this liveblog fucking sucks and to understand my thought process you need to either read it while watching the bad batch or you need to have every episodes events completely memorised --
CROSSHAIR
OH MY GOD HES AFTER THE BAD BATCH
PH MY GOD HES GONNA KILL THE BAD BATCH
bomb diffusing lessons
epic prank moment
hii echo
oh the guys are observing them
oh they are getting the guys oh wrecker is zooming away HI TECH
wrecker has sustained fall damage
DID THEY KILL THEM AND JUST. PLOP THEIR BODIES THERE ?? LMAO
thats a lotta explosives !! yipppeeeee !
kiss explosiev :3
tech transferring files like some kind of NEEEEERD
ITS TGE EMPIRE D-:
crosshair ?? is crosshair there ?
ITS CROSSH.AIR. get tgat toothpick out of yuor mouth boy
hOW did rhey not see them lmao
HES HACKED THE CROSSHAIR COMMUNICATION SYSTEM 💥💥💥💥💥
erm. crosshair ill have you know rats are actually very intelligent and beautiful creatures and you should not use their likeness so rudelWHAT DO YOU MEAN AIM FOR THE KID
OMEGA IS KILLING OMEGA HAS DISCOVERED: THE THRILL OF THE FIGHT
wrecker is a fucking BEAST
FLAMETHROWER AA
theyre pretty well camouflaged tbh.
crosshair
hi tech :-) WHA T THE HECK WRECKER THAT WAS SO RUDE LET HIM INFODUMP
oh you little scumbag why would you put the fucking engine on they're gonna get fucking FRIED in there. burnt to a crisp minecraft death message style
god that animation for ghat engine is cool as hell
crosshair is being artificially tanned by that thing
TUCK YOUR LIMBS IN WHEN YOU ROLLLL YOURE GONNA BREAK YOUR ARMS
crosshair is fucking died
WHOS THIS FELLA
COWBOY HAT COWBOY HAT SPACE COWBOY
THAT DROID IS SO BRITISH ITS HILARIOUS
mm yes the rattlesnake sound effect we love emphasising the cowboy vibe
hunter is DEAD
BRUH HE TRANQUILISER DARTED OMEGA
crosshair looks like he's been pushed down a flight of stairs
SICK HUNTER POV SHOT I LOVE THIS I LOVE HOW MUFFLED THE SOUBD IS. awrsome
HE FUCKING TOOK JHER WHAT THE SHIT. not cool cowboy man
--EPISODE 8 DONE--
1 note · View note
Text
Worm Liveblog #33
UPDATE 33: The E88 Attacks
Last time Taylor got assaulted publicly, was slightly injured, and received no support from anyone except Brian. Let’s leave it at that. Onwards!
The ending of the latest chapter was that E88 was doing their statement. And indeed, they’re doing that, and not in the ‘saying words’ sense of the word. They’re taking action. Actions speak louder than words, after all. The bad thing here is that their actions are immensely destructive. Right now, Purity is being broadcasted, showing how she’s destroying the place where Heckpuppy had kept her dogs before. That was a close call!
The building hadn’t even finished falling down before she started work on the next two, devoting one beam to each.
“Were there people in there?” I asked, horrified both at the idea and at what this woman was capable of doing. “What about those other buildings?
So, since he jig’s up, E88 has no other option than to fully embrace villainy and destroy everything. That’s not going to be good. I expected things to get bad, but I didn’t think they would go into full-blown destruction! I guess this means the Undersiders hiding won’t be an option, because if I had to guess, I’d say this is meant to draw them out. She’s attacking a place where Heckpuppy was known to be, after all. Can they stand aside while the city’s getting destroyed because of them? Well...um, they may be villains, but I don’t think they would. Nobody really would unless they had absolutely no attachment to Brockton Bay in any way.
And indeed, Taylor’s first reaction is to start putting on her costume. Nice! Brian’s reaction isn’t the one I expected but it’s also understandable: let the Protectorate deal with it because it was Coil’s fault, not theirs. I don’t know, are there enough heroes for that? It was said there was quite a number of capes in the E88, it’s not impossible they’ll find themselves outnumbered.
There’s not much time for arguing because Purity addresses them directly – well, to them and the Protectorate. Oh, jolly.
“You took the most important thing in the world from me,” her voice was without affect, flat. “Until she is returned, this doesn’t stop.  I will take this city apart until I find you or you come to stop me.
...wait, let me check something. I remember Purity had a baby. Aster, was that the name? According to a quick Google search, Aster is a female name. So her baby was taken away. That’s what’s causing such amount of destruction, not the release of everyone’s personal information. Or it could have been both. In that case, maybe Coil’s responsible for this too. He had no qualms with making a lot of people in E88 be revealed to the public, he’d have no problem taking a baby. That’s going to be a problem, if he truly did it.
The cameraman is murdered in a descriptive manner I’m rather sure wouldn’t be otherwise allowed in the news, golly. These people aren’t kidding around! Not that I ever thought that. Interesting powers, Night and Fog’s. One of them can turn into mist, and the other...well, I’m not sure what’s the power because it all happened inside the mist, but it’s extremely violent.
The cameraman’s completely gone, as if he was never there. Ouch. Say, I wonder how Grue’s darkness will interact with the fog. One’s a cape turned into mist, the other is a byproduct of a power. I suppose the fog can be enveloped by the darkness, but who knows, I may be wrong.
“We are not the ABB,” Purity spoke, not bothering to turn the camera back to herself, “We are stronger, both in powers and in numbers.  We have discipline, and thanks to you, we have nothing left to lose. I will have my daughter back, and we will have our restitution.”
Here we go, again with the restitution. The Undersiders’ lives, perhaps? Killed in a very public way? And afterwards...well, I suppose they’ll run away, if not stopped by the capes of this city. Since the Undersiders were outright called out, Taylor insists they must do something, but Brian’s still unconvinced.
“That’s not- Taylor, I don’t want people to get hurt or killed, either.  I’m not a villain that aims to hurt people.  I’m just being practical.”
In Brian’s favor, I’ll say that going ahead to confront anyone like Taylor wanted to do wasn’t a good idea. If they’re going to do something it’ll have to be carefully planned, and for that they’ll need to gather everybody. The problem is that the longer it takes; the more people will die. Truly, nobody wins in this scenario. Brockton Bay must be horrible to live in, what with a crisis happening every other day!
Lisa’s contacted to verify the situation and make sure she knows what’s going on. She’s okay, so the rest aren’t in immediate danger. So, what are the options right now?
Lisa’s voice was tinny through the low quality speaker.  “Purity?  I saw the bit on TV.  From what I picked up, child protective services and a contingent of capes went into her place and walked out with her baby while she was at work, before she even had a chance to hear about the email.  Mama bear snapped.”
...well that sure explains it. Of course that’d be the consequence of revealing the mother of that baby was a dangerous cape. I had the impression Purity loved her baby a lot, of course she’d snap. I doubt simply getting the baby back to her will stop anything, though. I mean, her life’s still destroyed, that’s not going to change, and if/once she’s captured and sent to the Birdcage, it’s impossible they’ll let her keep the baby. That baby’s going to be taken away no matter what.
Lisa also informs Coil told Kaiser he was the one to send the information to the media, but Kaiser’s keeping it under wraps, most likely to incentive his group to look for the Undersiders and cause destruction. I’d say making things harder for Coil may be another motivation. I mean, Coil’s objective is to take over the city, and I don’t think it’d be a stretch that other big villains suspect that or are aware of it in some way. If Kaiser knows, then this could also be a way to have a revenge against Coil. If there’s no Brockton Bay to take over, then Coil’s plan is ruined.
Just like I had thought, Coil won’t implicate himself publicly because there’s no way a mastermind would step out of the shadows. Since that’s not an option, then what’s there to be done? Brian hasn’t changed his mind about not fighting, but what do the rest think? Lisa...I think she’d want to fight once she’s prepared. Alec wouldn’t want to. Rachel is a mystery to me.
Indeed, Lisa wants to fight! Mostly because at some point Purity and her group will reach the place where the hideout is at, and they’ll destroy everything, including friends of the Undersiders. That’s enough to get Brian into a reluctant fighting mood. Good! So now what’s the plan? Gather everybody and then go fight them after a plan is made. Also sew Taylor’s wounds.
Brian held up the needle and thread, “Let me apologize in advance.”
For Taylor’s wellbeing I really hope those are medical needle and thread, Brian, because otherwise this is a quick route to one hell of an infection – infection that’d be near the brain, may I add.
Scene cut! Coil is rich and you can never forget it. He got a modified ambulance to pick up Grue and Skitter, and now they’re going in direction to where Purity and the rest must be, or at least that’s my guess. A couple of Coil’s soldiers are disguised as paramedics. Going to the meeting point?
Grue rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m not sure I’m as good a person as you’re making me out-”
Yeah, I don’t think Grue is exactly a good person, but he’s also not a bad person. Or at least there are worse people than him. He’s still rather honorable, but he’s no hero. His friends, his sister and himself are the priorities, the rest of the city’s not as important to him.
The discussion’s cut short when the ambulance stumbles upon some of E88’s powerful capes. Well, guess it’s fighting time! The first foe they encounter seems to be able to inflict in themselves an effect similar to what Heckpuppy does with her dogs. There’s also a man with a tiger mask and a woman with lots of scars.
...Hookwolf can do the same thing Heckpuppy does to her dogs. Oh boy, Mr. Wildbow, I bet that was intentional of you! Making his power similar to hers! Also, Hookwolf used to be in a parahuman fighting ring. Huh. I’m not sure what to think about him running a dogfighting ring when he was in a fighting ring himself. Well, I’m sure he wasn’t treated like a dog, but still...
Cricket and Stormtiger’s powers go undescribed. A bit underwhelming, this Cricket villain, she kind of sticks out like a sore thumb among the rest of the names. Their powers aren’t mentioned yet, but that’s because the plan right now is to run away. No time for fighting! Coil’s soldiers don’t like the idea of running away; they want to shoot them. Uh...not really a good plan? I’m not sure, it’d depend on what Cricket and Stormtiger’s powers are.
Well, at least the soldiers are willing to listen to the Undersiders. Grue puts some darkness to cover their escape. Erm...I’m not...exactly sure how subtle that is. I mean, this big blob of darkness covering the block in middle of daylight can’t be subtle, right? Anyway, they start running through it, but they can’t get too far before Stormtiger reaches them. Looks like he has wind powers of some sort, based in the claws he has. Alright, wind powers are interesting!
He used one of the translucent blades on his hand to tap the side of his tiger mask’s nose as he turned to look down at me.  When he spoke, his voice was deeper than Brian’s, “Don’t need to see you, sweetie.”
I was really, really growing to hate enhanced senses.
Figures. You know, I thought Mr. Wildbow would avoid writing a fight here. I mean, Purity seems to be this arc’s big target, yes? In comparison to her, these three aren’t important. Unless Purity arrives during it or intervenes in some way. I can’t avoid thinking this may be kind of...filler? It’s too early to judge that, though, I haven’t read not even a single word of the fight. For all I know the Undersiders focused on running away and did it, in which case I’ll eat crow. So I guess I’ll refrain from further opinion about how relevant this maybe-fight is until it’s over and done.
But yeah, that’s the end of the chapter. Alright, the situation is escalating! After all this is over, E88 is likely not to matter anymore, just like the ABB. Two big groups taken off the story in a relatively short span of time! Well, there’s a possibility E88 is a tad more resistant than that, but given its powerful members’ lives have been turned upside down, that may affect everything in some way. Depends on how stubborn Kaiser is.
Okay, I’ll go for the next chapter now.
Hookwolf doesn’t waste any time, he goes straight towards the two Undersiders here, and orders Stormtiger to find the rest. It’s worth noting Grue can’t be smelled. I remember one of Heckpuppy’s dogs had noted that too, during that interlude back then. Nice, Mr. Wildbow! But of course they know Grue’s around here, the fact there had been darkness around is a clear indication he’s in the area. No element of surprise there.
Hookwolf turned to me, “The dog girl.  Where’s Bitch?”
He really isn’t going to forget what she did, eh? And once again he can’t get revenge. I feel some satisfaction at knowing that.
This is not the time to ponder what’s the terminology for Hookwolf’s powers, Skitter!
Skitter tries to dissuade them by telling a half-truth, that they split up earlier and wanted to back off. It doesn’t seem to me like they care, even if Stormtiger’s reply is that he doesn’t believe them. Skitter’s efforts are nulled when one of Coil’s soldiers shoot at Hookwolf’s group and, just as Skitter and Grue guessed, they’re not affected or are prepared in some way. Also, I was mistaken about what Hookwolf’s power was.
The scarred girl with the buzz cut dashed forward, reaching behind her back to draw two scythe-like weapons, each only about as long as her forearm.
Oh, pffft, yeah, only about as long as her forearm. That length is bad enough, you know!
Hookwolf turned back to me, “Suspiciously competent for an ambulance driver. Pretty fucking sure that’s one of Coil’s people.  What are you doing with her?”
Huh. Unexpectedly perceptive, even if maybe it’s a bit obvious. Maybe it’d be a good idea for the Undersiders to avoid being linked to Coil, for the time being? It’s something a bit out of their control, yeah, but still...Kaiser and others could interpret that as Coil and the Undersiders being on the same side, and that seems to me like something that should be avoided at all costs.
While Cricket may or may not be turning Coil’s soldier into mincemeat in the darkness Grue left around, Skitter analyzes her options. There aren’t really that many, because Hookwolf and Stormtiger can counter the bugs. Cricket’s the most vulnerable one, I’d say, but Skitter can’t focus on just one person right now, not with another two getting ready to attack her, I think. Cricket’s done with the soldier – thankfully the soldier isn’t dead, just...rather injured. Ouch.
Interesting! Stormtiger’s claws are wind, indeed, compressed wind that grows in power with every second and can be released when he wishes it. It’s not full wind control, but it sounds like it can have a lot of attack power. I find it a bit...hmmm...a bit random? A bit random that he has enhanced senses and these powers. There’s no correlation between them. Guess it’s just to have a tiger theme!
“Want to see what happens when one of them is buried inside you when he turns it into one of his blasts of wind?”  Hookwolf asked.  Again, the low laughter at my expense.
...thanks for the colorful mental image, Hookwolf. That’s a horrible way to die. I mean, skin is generally pretty good at keeping wrapped everything inside you, but with enough air...yeah, better not to think about this any further, the details are better unsaid, eh?
Grue’s approaching, still unnoticed, well, except by Skitter’s bugs. He’s also carrying something...something I can’t identify.
He was carrying something three and a half feet long, nearly a foot wide, a rounded off shape that was all smooth metal.
‘Nightstick’ was my first thought, but that’s too big to be a nightstick – not that a nightstick would have been very useful at all. I suppose there’s a possibility this is a weapon that was stashed in the ambulance, something that belongs to Coil’s soldiers, some kind of special weapon against capes. Whatever it is, it makes Skitter be alarmed, and she tries to run away. Neither Hookwolf nor Stormtiger recognize this as something to be worried about. Guess you’re going to have the element of surprise after all, Grue! He throws the object he’s bringing and covers it with darkness so the enemies don’t see what it is, and fires at it with his gun while Skitter runs and covers her ears.
His arm jerked twice as he fired the gun at the oxygen tank he’d fetched from the back of the ambulance.  The first shot missed.  The second didn’t.
Oooooh, right! An oxygen tank explosion! Oxygen is highly flammable when it’s concentrated, yes! A cylinder of oxygen as large as Skitter described it should have quite the explosive strength. And indeed, it does! So much Skitter has to worry about being deafened by the explosion! That’s some quick thinking, Grue, nice!
Stormtiger was defeated in a rather anticlimactic way, he didn’t even do much. It’s a shame, I liked the concept of his power. To make sure he wouldn’t stand up soon, Grue shoots him in each leg, and that’s that. Hookwolf’s still prepared to fight, though. Is this why you weren’t able to fit Hookwolf in the fight earlier, Mr. Wildbow, besides what you said about him not fitting? Because he was going to appear here again? Or could it be that he moved Hookwolf to this scene, instead of it having been planned since the beginning? That’s possible.
Hookwolf can modify his body, indeed, moving metal inside him to take different forms, whether it gives him that quadruped shape from earlier, or armor, or weapons. So it’s more similar to Kaiser’s than to Heckpuppy’s, in a way. He makes an outrageously large hook and arm, and since going to fight that thing’s an awful idea, running away is the decision taken here.
Cricket leaves the hostage aside and focuses on Grue, and he...weeeeell...he loses. He’s not unconscious or dead, but she manages to hurt him a lot. I suppose everything’s up to you once again, Skitter. That’s the burden of being the protagonist, you’re almost always going to be the one to finish the fight. What’s going to be the trick today?
Well, since Hookwolf’s not going to be affected by the bugs very much, she starts swarming Cricket little by little, enough to be bothered by them. Also, Cricket has radar. Echolocation? Same difference, in terms of function, and doing it continuously makes the bugs go haywire. Hah! You really have a lot of bad luck, Skitter, when was the last time one of the important enemies could be affected by the bugs in a significant way? Pretty much never. Bakuda would have been the only one, I think, and in that moment Skitter was in a place mostly devoid of bugs. She’s really unlucky, seriously.
Okay, at least Hookwolf’s busy climbing a building, for...some reason. That should be of help for Skitter, she only has one foe to deal with. Not that she’s doing awesomely, Cricket hooks her with one of the scythes and tries to slice her through the stomach. If I remember right, Skitter has that part armored, doesn’t she? Once again her foresight while making that costume may have saved her.
That radar also makes people disoriented...I think. At least Grue’s having trouble aiming. Skitter tries to stab Cricket in her back, but all she manages to do is stab the thigh. That’s painful enough, but it doesn’t stop Cricket. She bludgeons Skitter with her scythes and Grue barely manages to save her. Teamwork!
I twisted the knife, and pulled it out of her leg with a two-handed grip.  Or, to rephrase, I pulled the knife through her leg, dragging it horizontally through the meat of her thigh, toward her hip, and out.
That hurts! And...that’s a really sharp knife, isn’t it? Cutting through flesh isn’t that easy unless the blade is very sharp, especially when it’s developed muscles like Cricker surely has. It’s more akin to cutting beef than chicken. Cricket’s very lucky her artery wasn’t severed with such move; the knife mustn’t have been very deep into her thigh. But it’s enough to make Cricket fall, so it’s a success. One opponent more for Skitter’s growing list of foes defeated during her career.
Apparently Hookwolf wasn’t able to do anything at all about the cloud of darkness, nor returned down to fight, he just stayed up there on the top. That means there’s a chance of reprieve, once they manage to get back to the ambulance to look for first aid help. Grue’s rather cut, after all. Nothing crippling, fortunately.
“Looks worse than it is.  I’ve fought people like her before, in sparring and fighting classes.  She was showing off with the first few cuts. Shallow, inflicting pain, not really meant to disable or deal real harm.”
“That’s stupid,” I muttered.  “I’m glad, but it’s stupid.”
“She probably didn’t think about it.  I’d bet it’s something she learned and incorporated into her style while fighting for a crowd.”
That’s...quite the strategic mistake, but I suppose it has worked well enough for her so far, or she’d have changed it. My guess is that not many have the chance to run away or counter. I hope their deaths were swift enough.
It takes them some time to get away far enough from Hookwolf to feel safe enough to dispel the darkness. Grue’s wounds are bad enough to require stitches – a lot of stitches, I suppose.
The rest of the Undersiders were waiting inside a church, Heckpuppy already transformed her dogs. None of them expected Grue or Skitter to have been attacked, Skitter quickly explains what happened. It seems the rest didn’t have any problems, they sure got lucky, just a few thugs.
I duly handed over the cleaning solution and some antiseptic wipes.  I heard Grue mutter, “Shit, I hope Cricket isn’t the type to put poison on her weapon.”
Oh goodness, the thought never crossed my mind! Thankfully Cricket doesn’t do that, but still...that’d be quite the dirty trick, eh? I don’t think many capes would do that unless their powers produced poison.
Now that all the Undersiders are back together, there’s time to discuss what the plan of attack will be. Purity’s still rampaging around, she’s still the main target here.
“I’m thinking guerrilla strikes,” Grue spoke, turning to Tattletale, “We have the dogs, we use their mobility to harass, catch any roaming groups off guard, take them down, disappear before reinforcements or heroes show.”
Is there really enough time to attack roaming groups? If anyone manages to alert others, the tables will turn and not in the Undersiders’ favor. Besides, Grue’s not in condition to fight or even to ride the dogs, according to Tattletale, and if she says it then that’s final. Grue will have to stay behind. Maybe his darkness powers wouldn’t have been very useful against Purity, anyway. Night and Fog may still be with her, though? His absence will be quite the disadvantage.
What’s the plan of action?
“Direct action,” I echoed her.  I didn’t like the sound of that.
“We go straight for Purity.”
Good enough. It’s going to be difficult, but maybe not way more difficult than the rest of the fights so far. They can do it...I think. The exact details aren’t said right now, Tattetale will say it while they’re sewing Grue’s wounds. So it’ll be for the next chapter, then? Most likely not, knowing Mr. Wildbow’s writing style, he’ll want to make the plan a surprise.
The chapter ends with Skitter echoing the same thing Grue had told her: apologizing about having to stitch a wound shut. The mere thought of having to undergo that continues giving me goosebumps. So, my opinion about this fight...
...well, I think Grue being hurt turned it from a fight that wasn’t needed into a fight that...well, it still wasn’t needed but at least wasn’t inconsequential. I can see why Mr. Wildbow decided to make it happen. Making Grue be hurt in some other way would have been a bit humiliating, wouldn’t it? He’s not completely out of commission, but he’s weakened enough he won’t be able to do much, if anything at all. That was the direct consequence of this fight, and therefore it had a point.
Seeing Hookwolf in action was interesting, too. Stormtiger being defeated so fast was kind of a bummer, but those things happen. Maybe in the future he’ll return, maybe not. Cricket, while not having an impressive power like the others, is really used to fighting and was the main foe here. There’s something interesting about a cape without flashy powers managing to hold her own against others. I enjoyed that.
Overall I’d say my fears of this being filler went partly unfulfilled. That’s good enough for me. So, dealing with Purity may be happening next time. I don’t know if I’ll be able to show the entire fight in one update, it depends in how many chapters it takes and what length they have. This is a big deal, after all, I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes three or four chapters. But yeah, I’ll leave that for next time. Thank you for reading.
Next update: three updates
8 notes · View notes