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lakesbian · 10 months

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I’ve been stuck too nervous to start arc 17 because of all the conversation about it making me nervous. Is there anything you think will convince me to get to it?

this is going to contain some arc 17 spoilers because i can't talk about why it's good without saying at least some concrete things about it

anyway. after some research (making a post asking why people don't like it) i have come to a conclusive awareness of the most prominent reasons 4 the two primary camps of opinions abt arc 17

why some ppl think it's one of the most excellent arcs in the book: - extremely well-written fucked up horror tragedy - extremely cool and scary and interesting perspective on the simurgh (give it up for the simurgh everyone give it up for the simurgh) - engaging character writing & dynamics - context 4 a bunch of worldbuilding shit delivered in an interesting little packidge - some of the best character concepts in the book (noelle/krouse) why some ppl find it boring (have not actually seen anyone who Hates it i think just ppl who find it boring/uninteresting): - no taylor PoV or undersiders for the entire arc - flashback that puts the main plot on pause for the entire arc - underdeveloped and/or uninteresting focal characters - unlikable/annoying focal characters

now obviously i am an arc 17 enjoyer. so my refutations to the reasons i've seen ppl disliking it for are: - this is 100% a matter of personal taste. like it's understandable to be less engaged w/ parts of the story that aren't about your guys of choice, but it worked for me because i enjoy the rotating cast of perspectives. i like how it expands the world of worm more. it Is time spent away from taylor and friends, but it's finally providing context for one of the most built-up mysteries in the book, so, like. i do not mind taking a brief taylor break to read what's basically a really good wormverse horror story. we already have like 1.6 million words of taylor so i think if you're going in with the awareness that you're going to just take a little one-arc break from her and then get back to her & try to be open-minded about it you might find it not such a big deal

- i can understand why it induces "AUGH come on i wanted to find out what happens next" syndrome but i'm a "that's ok we get there when we get there :)" person about books so again i personally did not mind. the pacing just works 4 me. like you get the mystery of wondering what's wrong with noelle -> the dread of having it revealed via arc 17 that she's a simurgh plot and subsequently this was always fated to happen and end horribly -> being thrown back into the Noelle Incident afterwards with full awareness that because it's a simurgh plot horrible things are going to happen. which is good! it provides context at the perfect moment to maximize the impact of revealing how tragic and awful the situation is.

- i do agree that the travelers aren't as well-developed as they could be, oliver & cody particularly, but it wasn't an issue for me during the arc. i think they all have the amount of characterization necessary to make it feel appropriately tense. even if they aren't the most distinct characters in the book, they do their jobs Well Enough. i actually really liked some of the genesis/trickster interactions in particular, and i think the most important character (trickster) ends up really well characterized in a fascinatingly detailed way. it overall captures the gist of what we need to know to be compelled by the travelers just fine.

- no none of them are especially likable but this one is like. fully just a personal taste thing. i don't care if characters in a book are likable people, i care if the narrative & themes are well-written and compelling. which they are! also the fact that krouse fucking sucks and the character dynamics are all unpleasant and uncomfortable is genuinely a pro of the arc 4 me. them fucking sucking and causing problems is part of their charm, and also literally integral to why their character concepts are interesting. "found family that never should have been a family" is by default going to involve some level of suckiness. also, like, taylor isn't likable. she's manipulative and violent and uncommunicative and would generally be awful to hang out with. all of which is part of her charm. if you can like taylor for the interesting ways in which she sucks (affectionate) then surely you can like the travelers for the interesting ways in which they suck (affectionate). but even if you don't their Story is still worth breaking down and paying attention to. because it's good.

best case scenario for reading it is you think it's excellent (which it is) worst case scenario you just find it kind of boring. which isn't a big deal, there are plenty of worm arcs that people find meh. if you've gotten thru the rest of worm you can get thru arc 17 too, it's ultimately just another worm arc at the end of the day. one i would highly recommend, but ultimately just another worm arc. no reason not to give it a try, because all that will happen is you'll either go "that was good" or "didn't love that" and then carry on with the rest of the book.

#ask #scarf don't look #worm spoilers #hope that helps

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elonaackerman · 3 years

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In a few hour's the spoiler leaks are going to be released for the final chapter of Attack on titan manga and the official translation on April 9th so before all that happens what are you're thoughts and predictions between the character's and the end of the storyline?

https://ww7.readsnk.com/chapter/shingeki-no-kyojin-spoilers-raw-chapter-139/.

Hello Kian ! I see several of your questions about the ending and I must say I was lost myself with everything happening. However, I think I elaborated a good theory now !

Theory number 1: Eren is alive

This is the theory I acknowledge the most. Many people say that Eren not dying would be too strange after he already survived so much times to his expected deaths, but I don’t think so. Isayama loves to take some clichés and to twist them:

Here is a brief list:

- The MC not dying in the first episodes

- The power of will and friendship (which is shown to be useless in the Trost arc)

- The guy protecting the girl (Mikasa is Eren’s bodyguard, not the contrary)

- The main trio sticking together until the end

- The MC being « special »/being the « chosen one » (Eren is an usurpator)

Something very used in films/books is to use the absence of body as a way to cancel the absolute truth of a death. By showing us a body, Isayama can fool us by transgressing this common rule of « body=dead ».

Also Eren’s death in chapter 138 was just serving Mikasa’s development arc climax. It didn’t solve any matter of their world.

You know I feel like Eren was very relaxed when he saw Mikasa approaching to kill him. He probably already knew what she was going to do and even closed his eyes when she did it (you can see it since on the last panel, Eren has his eyes closed). I feel like if Eren acted this way, it’s because he transferred his consciousness to his body (all this time his head was controlling the titan so he may have regenerated a head on his body). It would explain why this concept was introduced to us with Reiner in season 3 and then never used again.

Plus, Grisha said everything would go along to Eren’s plan, but if Eren didn’t succeed, the Rumbling is stopped and hell awaits eldians: they will be killed after what happened, considered too dangerous, more than they already were. And even if the titan power is removed, there will still be a large part of hate and of revenge in the Rumbling survivors’ hearts. I don’t believe the « Code Geass theory » which says that Eren did the rumbling so the world could see Eldians defending it, and stand united with Mahrs against him (in the role of the bad guy), especially since some Eldians sided with Eren and that he exposed them in Revelio or even in Paradise with his devoted Yeagerists. It’s not realistic at all and it doesn’t fit nor Eren’s character, nor SNK spirit.

Eren had defined goals: « exterminate them all », and that’s what he did, he doesn’t seem to want to stop the rumbling on this panel:

Isayama said he didn’t like characters who weren’t true to their goals, that let the story change their plans and motivations too easily. He wouldn’t give to his MC the traits of a writing he despise.

Another reason why I believe the guy is alive is because his POV was hidden all this time. What’s the point of not giving to us Eren’s perspective while his final battle, when it would have been more powerful, if you did not have a big secret/plot twist generator to hide ? I think Eren and Ymir, who smiles like a creep in 138, manipulated everyone: the way Armin came with all the titan shifters in 137 with the help of Ymir was already really suspicious. Kruger, for example, had no reason to stand against Eren.

Chapter 137 was Armin, 138 was Mikasa so we will surely get Eren perspective for 139. And it will be weird if we have it while the guy is dead. Of course we’ll see what happened in chapter 130 between Eren and Historia (I can’t wait for their POVs) and Historia’s baby. The final panel makes me even more sure that Eren is still alive otherwise who on earth would say « You are free » to a new born child ? Eren x Freedom is canon.

• The Attack Titan

We know the path is a place out of time. It’s in this place that titans are sculpted by Ymir, and that’s why I think it makes sense for Eren to be the first owner of that titan: the attack titan is the only one who ascends in the past instead of descending in the future. If physically it seems to be passed down following the classical timeline, all of it is actually playing in the paths. The Attack Titan was only possessed by rebels, directly influenced by Eren’s mindset. It disappeared at a time, and it was also a part of Ymir’s titan: it’s her rebellious part designed to « attack » the world 2000 years later. I think Isayama might add depth again to the title of the story in 139.

• Major deaths

I can’t help but think: why did Eren let Mikasa cut his head and even indicated his location with titan marks ? I think that it’s possible he wants his last friends to fly away from the battle, thinking they have won when they didn’t, so that he can restart the Rumbling without killing them. The survivors would be Levi, Mikasa, Armin and probably Annie. I think Reiner will die to let Gaby eat him, so that Falco and Gaby, representing the future, can be saved.

It makes sense for Reiner to sacrifice himself for his little cousin: he lived for the ones he loved even if he didn’t wish to live himself, and since Gaby represents the new generation, hope, and that she was the potential inheritor of the Armored Titan, I am convinced she is the one who will eat him.

After that the most probable thing is that Levi and Mikasa, who grew incredibly closer, will live together, same for Annie and Armin. Eren will achieve the Rumbling then go back to Historia and we will have that Akatsuki no Requiem ending.

However, a darker possibility is that everyone except Falco and Gaby might die. I am in denial 😄✌🏻

But, I ask myself how Eren will make titans disappear. I think he might have plotted something with Ymir, after all isn’t she free from King Fritz now ? Or maybe Falco will eradicate the worm (bird vs worm is kinda obvious). However I do not think the people transformed into titans will turn back to normal, it’s not Isayama’s style to « bring back » dead characters, it would make Jean’s and Connie’s deaths less tragic. I think that only shifters will loose their ability and the 13 years thing.

Theory 2: if Eren is dead

• Ymir’s manipulation

I don’t wanna believe it but what if all of this was Ymir’s plan ? If he IS dead, it’s Ymir who is the mastermind and manipulated him so that the parasite would die and that she could get out off the paths. « I took the world’s freedom to gain mine » what if it’s YMIR TALKING in 133 ? She could even had sent the dream to Mikasa in 138 so that she would know WHERE Eren was and kill him, all of this after Ymir took revenge on the world. Remember, the titan who protected Zeke came from earth, and Ymir entered in contact with « the source of all organic life », which means she could be the one behind the birds we keep seeing, including the one on Mikasa dream. She could be smiling because her plan WORKED.

Also remember in the paths where Eren was talking to the Alliance ? He was in his kid Eren form, like Ymir, we didn’t see his eyes, showing his slavery and a strange alike-look. Ymir was standing right next to him, in the exact same position, mirroring him as if he was a sort of reflection/puppet of hers. Everybody thought the contrary until now, that Ymir followed Eren. While she was here, Eren was saying that the only way to end all of this was to take his life: what if Ymir made him say that ?

It makes even more sense when Ymir helped Armin with summoning shifters and that they also had their mouths don’t moving.

• Eldian Society ?

The only way to resolve everything if Eren is dead is to create an Eldian empire domination with the rest of the world being weak and wiped out. Everybody would live on Paradise and would be teached about the cycle of hate and the heroes who stopped the Rumbling as new Helos, giving us an explanation of that picture in the opening (it could also be Eren’s society as well meant to not repeat the same mistakes as well)

I hope you liked it ! Let’s not suffer too much during the waiting and organize cottagecore RM and EH weddings with the beach Aruannie one instead of crying 💁🏻‍♀️

#rivamika #snk #aot #ackerman clan #erehisu #levi #levi ackerman #ackerman #mikasa #eren #snk 139

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mikkeneko · 3 years

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Got tagged by @ushauz to do Ten Favorite Characters. This post will probably take me a couple sessions to put together, so expect lateness.

As always I am stuck on the scope of the question. Ten favorite! What does that even mean. Ten I thought were the most interesting? The most enjoyable? Characters from comfort series I read a lot, or only read once but really stuck with me? Through the years? Recently? I guess I can just pick the first ten who come to mind.

1. Ista dy Chalion from the Curse of Chalion/Paladin of Souls books. People like to talk a lot about how there should be more middle-aged matron action/adventure/fantasy heroes, well, here’s one. We meet her, at the start of the books, in a very bad place -- she had a stint as a Chosen One god-avatar in her teenage years which absolutely wrecked her life, and she never recovers from it. (Although even in the midst of her Noble Tragedy, she never loses sight of the fact that her nobility does afford her a certain amount of privilege that other women will never have.)

Over the course of the second book she is finally able to move on and recover from it. She starts the book as a crushingly depressed/nervous wreck of a powerless widow, and ends it as a demon-eating sorceress-paladin of a bastard god, with a sexy illegitimate trophy twink on her arm to boot. (I very much doubt that she and Illvin would ever be able to marry, all things considered, but one of the important things she learned -- as a woman whose entire social life had formerly revolved around chastity and propriety -- was to stop letting that bother her.) And she does it all without ever letting you forget that she is a highborn noble lady.

2. Wei Wuxian from The Untamed. Given how much of my mental real estate he’s taking up recently, I surrendered to the inevitable and gave him a spot on the list. I outlined a lot of the reasons I like him so much in this post, but aside from all of that there’s the fact that good (or at least good-hearted) characters who use ‘dark’ powers are magnetically appealing to me.

3, 4, 5. I almost feel like Fai Fluorite (from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles) Anders (from Dragon Age) and Caleb Widogast (from Critical Role) should all have to share a spot on my list given that they all follow the basic formula of being the Traumatized Cat-Loving Magic Man. It’s not quite that simple -- they all have pretty distinct stories that go in different directions -- but I sort of feel like... I spent 369,149 words explaining why I love Anders, I don’t think I can do it again but tiny.

6. Homura Akemi from Puella Magi Madoka Magica gets a spot on this list, I think, and a spot in my heart. I don’t talk much about the series because I don’t have a lot of original things to say, but I was just reminded of this show recently and how good it was and how good she was -- my brilliant, brave, determinator of a girl with a love as vast as the ocean. And sure, maybe she was willing to burn down the world for the sake of that love, but I sort of feel like that puts her in good company on this list.

7. I’ll go ahead and put Geralt of Rivia (from The Witcher, games and Netflix) on here; I dunno if he’d still make the list 10 years down the line, but I’ve spent a lot of time in 2019-2020 mooning over how great he is, so might as well. He’s not as firmly dead center My Type as some of the others, but he certainly fits the criteria of Unfairly Attractive, Extremely Traumatized, Surprisingly Sassy, and Tragically Good-Hearted. The good-heartedness is key! He could be as pretty and traumatized and witty as he likes but if he were fundamentally an asshole, I would not care about him.

8. Ciaphas Cain (of Warhammer 40k.) In a landscape of published fiction where heroic action characters all tend to follow very similar beats, the debonair, devious and cowardly Ciaphas Cain stands out in a way that really wormed its way into my heart. His books do tend to be a little formulaic, but sometimes that’s just what you need. And the best part about reading the entire series in one go is getting a sense of the shape of the man behind his constant façade of self-deprecation and realizing that as much as he demurs being the brave and kind hero that his misleading reputation paints him as, he is actually pretty damn heroic on his own measures -- he cares about people, even the people under his command who he properly should be thinking of as disposable pawns, he’s way more tolerant of (non-hostile) xenos than 99% of his countrymen, he moves time and time again to block harm and do good in a way that goes beyond his pretty flimsy excuses of ‘well I had to do it to maintain my reputation.’

The main reason he’s so convinced that he’s not a real hero is that he’s been raised in a (lbr, openly fascist) empire so steeped in propaganda of glory and sacrifice that is literally impossible to live up to (since the number one tenet is dying gloriously for the Emperor.) He led an entire caravan of people from the heart of bombed-out, occupied territory in a refugee march that ended up liberating the entire damn planet, he did that, and while he would never have survived without a healthy dose of luck it was still his leadership and skill that took full advantage of that luck. The Imperium of Man, frankly, doesn’t deserve Ciaphas Cain.

9. Raoden and Kaladin (of Elantris and The Stormlight Archives) both share a slot as Brandon Sanderson protagonists who occupy pretty much the same narrative role: they have lost everything, been socially and physically rejected pretty much down to the dust, tossed into a role of waiting for death to come for them in a variety of cruel forms; and instead of giving in to despair they both say no. they both say, I do not accept this for me, and I will not accept this for them either, and they both gather fellow outcasts around them and build themselves a kingdom out of mud and scraps. Yeah, it’s a trope he uses a lot, but it’s a trope I like. (And, come to think of it, a category that Wei Wuxian and Ciaphas Cain both fall under as well. Hm.)

10. Skywise (of Elfquest.) Honestly, at this late date I doubt I could muster an essay explaining why he is the Best Elf. All I can tell you was that this series was super duper important to me when I was a teen, and he was my favorite character from that series. He loved to explore, he loved new knowledge and the sky and the stars, and he loved his friends and family a whole lot.

That’s that! Hmm, who to tag? @cygnahime, @cerusee, @araglas1989, @drowningbydegrees , @jaggedcliffs, @fairandfatalasfair, @fledgling-witch, @overthinkingfeathers, if you have not already done it and are interested!

#kaladin stormblessed #ista dy chalion #long post #wei wuxian #homura akemi #caleb widogast #geralt of rivia #skywise #raoden #ciaphas cain #fai fluorite #hi yeah I still love anders #mikke meta

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millennialdemon · 3 years

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Coming off of true trainwrecks the likes of Mars of Destruction and Skelter Heaven, I actually came out of Dark Cat with a sense of respect and gratitude for its competence.

For the uninitiated, Dark Cat is a notoriously bad OVA from 1991 that you will see listed in many Worst Anime Ever countdowns. It follows 2 brothers, “dark cats” Hyoi and Rui, who investigate supernatural happenings and purify evil with their somewhat undefined powers of shapeshifting and increased strength/agility. The majority of the story in the OVA is about a school girl named Aimi, who is pining after her childhood friend Koizumi, who since the rejection and sudden death of his crush, has been suffering a depressive episode and ignoring her. Hyoi and Rui sense dark forces are manifesting at the school, and they keep an eye on Aimi while fighting off the increasingly brazen appearances of demonic enemies.

A monstrous ex-dark cat named Jukokubo is revealed to be manipulating Aimi with his dark powers, and Hyoi and Rui fight him, but not before Aimi succumbs to the evil magic -- as well as her own violent jealousy and overprotectiveness of Koizumi -- and transforms into a horrific tentacle monster that kills seemingly everyone in the school.

In the end, Koizumi realizes that Aimi was in love with him the entire time, and doesn’t fight her when she engulfs him completely. Apparently this act of selfless love was enough to purify them both, and although they do indeed die, their souls are “light” and able to ascend. This throws a wrench in Jukokubo’s plan to prove that humans are The Worst, so he turns tail and leaves his boss fight against Hyoi, threatening to return again. In the epilogue, Hyoi and Rui reflect on the mission and wax poetic about the nature of humanity while crossing a busy street.

… Ehm… happy ending, yes?

Now then: there are actually quite a few things I enjoyed about Dark Cat, and they are all very simple things that I had come to miss after days of watching other entries from the Bottom of the Barrel.

It had a narrative, and was -- mostly -- comprehensible in its storytelling, as rushed as it may have been. There was an undeniable presence of an art director, something I’m not convinced was present in a few of the other similarly rated titles I have seen. Some of the shots were noticeably well composed and even clever, and required an artistic vision and some decent effort to create. The animation wasn’t awful, the designs ranged from serviceable to genuinely charming (I like the subtlety of Hyoi and Rui’s cat-like features!), and I liked that the characters actually emoted. It wasn’t as generic as I expected and took some risks, even if they didn’t pay off and left it with a reputation of being “too grotesque to be enjoyable”.

I can understand the common criticisms of the gore and body horror being poorly animated, but I won’t decry it for existing and “being ugly”... of course it’s ugly, it’s body horror reminiscent of The Thing from The Thing. (Now would be a good time to warn people not to look this OVA up, unless they are sure they are okay with body horror and gore of this calibre. Tentacles with teeth and spines rip out of people’s skin from the inside and deform their hosts, it is quite awful! I would also include a warning for trypophobia -- there are shots where the mutations form clusters of holes on the skin.) The body horror in Dark Cat being disgusting and making my skin crawl isn’t a fault -- I think it’s the intended purpose. Though I will concede that:

The phallic imagery of the horrific flesh mutations, particularly that of the teacher who attacked Rui, was… bizarre, considering that otherwise the OVA isn’t particularly dark in tone or otherwise sexually graphic.

Perhaps having grotesque body horror is completely unexpected in a story about two bishounen teens (?) who can turn into cats and fight ghosts.

Yes, Dark Cat, the OVA put on Worst Anime Ever lists for being a grotesque spectacle, is just as commonly placed on those lists for being a dumb anime about guys that can transform into house cats and who fight supernatural entities with not so amazing powers. This is a gripe I’ve seen in a few popular reviews, but there was no point during my watching experience that I thought, “Man, these teens are pansies, they don’t even turn into big scary lions or anything! What’s the point, it’s practically a power-down! cinemasins ding” because I don’t go into anime expecting every single male character I see to be Big & Strong & Cool, because I uh… don’t have brain worms I guess? I don’t know what to say about this criticism really, other than people who watch a lot of shounen have very strange hang ups about super powers.

Otherwise, it seems the biggest reason Dark Cat is lauded as One of the Worst -- perhaps even ahead of the silly concept and nauseating gore -- is actually because of the abysmal english dub. It’s my honour to say that I didn’t watch the dub, so it doesn’t factor in at all into my impressions!

So in the end, perhaps my only true gripes with Dark Cat are:

Despite having no particular issue with body horror and gore existing, the extent of destruction and graphic death gave the OVA a bit of a snuff film vibe.

The conclusion to the story was quite bad.

It could be surmised by the brief plot outline I wrote earlier that Dark Cat isn’t a very complicated story. Demons and ghosts exist and wreak havoc on emotionally vulnerable humans, and supernatural soldiers try to mediate between the realms by purifying tortured ghosts and saving those dragged into darkness by evil entities. These beats are common in the supernatural genre of anime, but Dark Cat’s handling of its tragic morality tale left me more confused than anything.

Koizumi didn’t do anything wrong -- he shouldn’t have had to die for the sin of not reciprocating Aimi’s feelings, nor for developing depression after the rejection and death of his classmate and crush. Aimi… did things wrong, but was nevertheless the most compelling character in the OVA. Throughout Aimi was kind, patient, and forgiving when it came to being treated badly by Koizumi. In the finale however, it is revealed that Aimi was the one responsible for Koizumi’s crush’s death, assumedly having murdered her out of jealousy or out of revenge on Koizumi’s behalf for hurting his feelings. Prior to this, the first students to be killed by the tentacle monsters just happened to be the ones that had bullied Koizumi in class earlier that day -- implying that Aimi was getting revenge on them, as well.

It was with these revelations that I started to wonder: Why not just let the flesh monster manifest as a direct result of Aimi’s negative feelings? Aimi confessed to murdering Koizumi’s crush before the events of the OVA -- would she have done so if she wasn’t being influenced by the malignant force set on her by Jukokubo? I feel that her arc would have been much more interesting without the introduction of a non-compelling and badly designed villain like Jukokubo, because then we would know it was all her. Even if she was influenced by forces exacerbating her pre-existing jealousy and rage, that is a more satisfying option than having a big dumb green cat of a villain to trace everything back to so neatly.

And really, what did Jukokubo do in the story beyond take the spotlight, and the blame, from Aimi? He had some previous relation to Hyoi and Rui, but it’s not developed at all, and his ideological rivalry with Hyoi was trivial. Hyoi could have come to the same conclusions about holding out hope for humanity without Jukokubo there to insist he be a guest to debate on his political podcast.

The lack of accountability regarding Aimi is a part of why the resolution to her conflict with Koizumi feels so wrong -- he succumbs to her feelings because he realizes the evil was born from her suffering, and he feels that he has to sacrifice himself to make up for unknowingly hurting her so much that she turned into a monster from hell. In the end she is absolved via being purified and getting to die with her spirit entwined with Koizumi’s, and he apologizes for having not recognized how he was hurting her.

Aimi kills his crush, kills his bullies, and ends up -- inadvertently, at least -- killing almost all of their classmates, because she was tilted about her childhood friend not realizing she had romantic feelings for him. And when Koizumi learns all of this, he apologizes and dies with her, and this is proof of humanity’s goodness? The dark clouds part and the rain stops and Aimi and Koizumi ascend in a heavenly ray of light, because he decided, while she was devouring him, that he was wrong to ignore his murderous best friend’s love for him?

I guess it’s fine -- it was probably mostly Jukokubo’s fault anyway, and everyone was just an unfortunate victim of his meddling… 😒

Other than the bad writing, the string of deaths that happen in the finale when the monster lets loose in the school are quite uncomfortable to behold. Deformed student bodies are splayed and strewn around classrooms, and the bullies are rendered into unrecognizable mounds of pulsating flesh in their homes. The violence of a fight against a monster like this, I can handle, but the graphic images of helpless death were difficult to stomach. And in this OVA, there is no miraculous reversal of the demon’s damage once it is purified -- there is no implication whatsoever that everyone who died isn’t still just as dead as Aimi and Koizumi in the end.

The main thing I was actually worried about when I watched Dark Cat was that there would be sexual assault, thanks to reviewers griping it for “generic hentai tentacles”. I am relieved to say that there is none, at least not insofar as deserving a comparison to actual porn. There is sexual content scattered throughout the horror scenes: The occasionally phallic appearance of the tentacles, shots of the tentacles coming down from under skirts, and there is one shot of nudity when Aimi’s shirt is ripped open as she transforms, though I would say it’s too horrific and ugly to be sexualized or otherwise considered “fanservice”.

What is the point of the hits of sex imagery in Dark Cat? I have no idea. This isn’t Alien, it isn’t about the horror of sexual assault or the violence of creation -- though the main horror of the scene where Rui is ambushed by the teacher seems to be that she uses magic to seduce him, only to reveal a very phallic tentacle from her mouth that she means to kill (or infect…?) him with, which can have multiple, potentially offensive readings… it is a one off, however -- and there doesn’t seem to be any moral posturing about it as is often seen in slashers. I couldn’t parse any sort of consistent STI allegory regarding the plague of tentacles upon the student body, despite how many summaries I have read that describe the tentacles as that, a “plague”.

… I realize I am probably the only person on earth to give any aspect of Dark Cat’s production this much thought. To sum up: It seems to just exist for the shock value. Considering the extent of disgusting imagery already present a la The Gore and Deformation of Human Bodies, I don’t think this OVA benefitted from featuring some explicit looking tendrils, beyond cementing its abhorrent reputation.

Is this all to say that I think Dark Cat is a good OVA? No, of course not. It’s tone deaf, and tasteless, and has awkward pacing and bad writing. But compared to the utterly soulless and artistically devoid works the likes of Skelter Heaven and Mars of Destruction, I would say the fact I was able to write this much about Dark Cat is testament to that fact that it at the very least, contains content -- and some of that content was like, decent! Skelter+Heaven was such a mess it was all I could do to understand the sequence of events, and Mars of Destruction was so bland I literally have no posts about it on the blog despite watching it more than once. Psychic Wars was a snoozefest I barely finished that similarly has no mention on the blog, and Hanoka’s production gimmick couldn’t save it from being a totally forgettable romance story.

Therefore, Dark Cat is the best worst title I have seen thus far, by virtue of being executed with an average amount of competency for an OVA from the early 90s, and for having a balance of good and bad elements that gave me something to hold onto and mull over after viewing.

3/10.

Oh, and I loved the bad 80s insert songs.

#:Dark Cat #dark cat #2138 words later the verdict is. It was ok

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flusteredmountainman · 5 years

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Since a bitch got sent one (1) ask only about. my ask meme that I created lol I’m going to go through and answer B) all of them bc i can... its selfcare.....

First 3 answers above the cut, other 47 below lmfao

Favourite of the main 6? I think the title of my blog speaks for itself lol

Least favourite of the main 6? Garbage stink piss man (Lucio)

Which of the main 6 do you want to slap the most? The aforementioned piss man but.... also kjaenfjkfea at times. Julian very badly because he’s just Like that but he’d probably enjoy that unfortunately

Which of the main 6 have the most similar interests to you? (favourite colour, flower, food, drink, season, hobbies etc.) Portia tbh!!! She’s a very sweet spring girl and I also have a fairly similar personality to her.

Who has the most tragic backstory? Mmmm.....muriel.......... I mean everyone has a pretty sad past but Muriel’s really is something else. The man is Heavily traumatised and I desperately want to give him a hug :(

Favourite side character? Mazelinka.... adopt me challenge kjaefkjnaf. i cant stop thinking about “goat bitch” what a fucking icon

Favourite animal friend? Faust!!!! shes a good girl!!!

Best/worst of the courtiers? fuck i dont remember any of their names but valerius is. hot basard. worst is vlastomil hands down im kinkshaming anyone who wants to fuck the worm

Fuck, marry, kill (asker’s choice) Well skajfnkajf I’ve shot myself in the foot but. TBH its like. Marry Muriel, fuck everyone else, kill Lucio (full disclosure I only just finished julians upright ending and haven’t played Nadia’s yet so this may change except for wanting to marry Muriel and kill Lucio lol)

Romance or fluff? (Muriel) Fluff!!!!! Muriel deserves all the affection in the whole wide world. He gets sick? Bundle him up in furs by the fire and cuddle up into him with a good book. You look at him once? he blushes. it really doesnt get fluffier than that ++ a lot of his character arc in general is going to be.... letting himself trust you............. which is. so fucking wholesome

Wild night out or quiet night in? ( Muriel ) Quiet night in lmfao. We’d just hang out inside drinking hot chocolate and talking until we fell asleep propped up against the wall in his tiny house having completely lost track of time.

Adventure or domesticity? ( Muriel ) I wanna say adventure because. I love travelling! I love going out and trying new things! And Muriel very does Not but I feel like getting him out of his comfort zone would do him some good! Starting small would probably be best, like maybe a tramp or going camping once in a while, then building up to bigger trips to other cities once you’ve convinced him you’ll both be ok as long as you’re prepared.

Cute date to the aquarium/zoo/park or elegant dinner date? ( Muriel ) I already answered this one B) I said: “ Definitely somewhere casual!!! I feel like he’d be most at ease somewhere like the park on a sunny day! Pick a nice grassy spot by a creek and bring a basket and have a really nice, chill picnic, and have a nap together in the early afternoon sun. Go for a walk after and talk about Plants (because i. am a biology student lol) and generally just have a really relaxing time. Give the man a flower? Tuck it behind his ear? and he’d die kjnaefjnaej. Alternatively….. aquarium………. “

Coffeshop AU, high-school/college AU or modern AU? Give a headcanon about the one you chose jnakfjkjaf coffe shop AUs are so cliched but I actually love them for the settings of meetcutes. You meet Muriel when he’s on his rounds as a part time dog walker around the block and you barrel straight into him coming out of the shop when you’re checking an email, spilling the (now cold) remnants of your beverage all over him. You apologise profusely and he shrugs it off, blushing over your fussing and awkwardly tries to excuse himself. You insist on helping him finish his walk with All these dogs, anyway, you like dogs so it’s no trouble, and he begrudgingly agrees to finish the interaction sooner. You end up having a nice chat with him and notice in the weeks after that he starts coming by the shop without the dogs during the times you’re usually around, even though he doesn’t drink coffee. Your conversations with him during these short interludes quickly become the highlight of your day, and you start to suspect, eventually, that he feels the same :)

If (Muriel) turned up on your doorstep at midnight covered in blood, how would you react? Well I’d clean it off.... of .......course............. 👀👀👀

You’re stranded on a desert island; which 2 of the main 6 do you want with you? Muriel of course not only because I adore him but he’s. also a mountain man. Handy. And Asra because hes a good good magic boy and can make sand into water so.... handy. also asra is just an incredibly blessed person so kajefnkjaef

If your apprentice could go back in time and change one thing before the events of the game, what would it be? lucios birth :^)

You’re sick; who do you want to take care of you and why? I think I’m becoming predictable but. Muriel kjaefnkjafnjf you took such good care of him so it’s only fair that he should return the favour. He’s got a surprisingly good bedside manner and is generally just very gentle. Cooks eggs and grumbles that you should be taking better care of yourself but when you say thanks for all his help he blushes and kinda. stands up slightly straighter bc hes secretly happy he can Help

If you were trapped in an elevator with one character for 8 hours, who would you want it to be and why? Jojaefafjoafe ok so. Porbably Portia because she seems 1. one of the least likely to panic and 2. Would have fucking great conversation the whole time.

Give a headcanon about Nadia She loves romcoms!!!! She would never ever admit it to anyone though, but she’s a huge sucker for romance stories in general. Cries at the end of mamma mia. Uses it as an excuse to snuggle all the way into your shoulder.

Give a headcanon about Asra He’s extremely lactose intolerant but he eats it anyway bc hes Chaotic and gives 0 fucks about how bad his guts feel afterwards, the cheese was Worth it dammit (and I say this bc thats also me kjaenfnef)

Give a headcanon about Julian Had a brief stint in his teen years where he unironically identified as sapiosexual

Give a headcanon about Portia She loves playing with hair/having her hair played with! Catch her falling asleep with her head in your lap as you weave your fingers through her hair.

Give a headcanon about Muriel I also already answered this one!: “ He’d be really into gardening if he knew how! Catch me digging up all the dirt around his house and planting herbs, flowers (*cough* forgetmenots *cough) and other medicinal plants, and some strawberries for when spring comes! “

Give a headcanon about Lucio Unironically identifies as sapiosexual now even though he’s a huge dumbass himself

Give a headcanon about a side character/the apprentice (asker’s choice) Nadia’s dad gets pegged

Give a popular opinion that you disagree with People calling Muriel a dom. have you. looked at this man. I have to laugh

Give an unpopular opinion Lucio sucks lol

Tarot or zodiac? Zodiac!!! Mostly bc I know exactly 0 things about tarot, I appreciate the aesthetic tho!

What is your patron major arcana? Oh worm I just looked at all the explanations in the wiki and tbh. The empress uh. dragged me with how much I ID with that (both reversed and upright) so akejfkjfae thats mine

Upright or reversed ending? Upright

Ot3? Me x muriel x asra (muriel has 2 hands and 2 tiny partners)

Brotp? jakjefnkanfe i love. portia and julians sibling banter. the good shit

Favourite non-apprentice-based ship? asriel............................. till i die............. (pordia is also fucking god tier)

Is the apprentice you, or your OC? thats just me bich kajefnkjnafe we living our best self indulgent lives

Tell me about your Apprentice(s) im a big bi mess and i would die for muriel and thats it really

Favourite piece of worldbuilding lore? already answered: “ I really love how much of a shithole Vesuvia is kjbanefknaefk like. No formal process of trial/law? Public executions just being how people Do things? someone fucking help this city lmfao”

Favourite background/location? ok i really love nopal bc of all the cacti but tbh like. really anywhere theres a lot of cool nature? the forest is fucking good

The Forest or Nopal? bring the cacti from nopal to muriel’s hut in the forest and it’s perfect

The Palace or the shop? thheeee shop. i like the palace but i think id get Overwhelmed not being able to just. be in my own space a lot lol

The Rowdy raven or the library? the library with a healthy amount of alcohol lol.

Favourite sprite?

43. Favourite character design? I !!!!!!!!! really. love Asra’s design bc of its howl callback but all the designs r fucking cool 44. Best masquerade outfit? Nadia’s..... glamorous..... 45. Best scene? Muriel. hugging. faust you and asra. hes so fucking wholesome ill cry...... or just straight up both of his books akjenfkjafn 46. Worst Scene? Honestly any containing lucio 47. Favourite song on the soundtrack? I love Crowd hammer! (predictable) but also memory 48. Best tale/bonus content? I dont remember names im terrible but i/ love the muriel one ofc kjneafkjn 49. Best CG?/ 50. Favourite memory?

#muriel #its not. an ask but imma tag it that way #asks #hcs #it speaks #nadia #lucio #julian #portia #asra #jaye writes

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journeysintowebcomics · 5 years

Text

Worm Liveblog #93

UPDATE 93: Counterattack

Last time Panacea and Glory Girl’s story reached a rather tragic end. It’s unlikely either of them will appear in this story again, unfortunately. Now it’s time to return to the story. Shall the Undersiders start planning their attack on Coil, now that they got a truce with the Protectorate? Let’s continue.

As much as I wanted to make it a focus, taking care of my territory was something I had to handle in my downtime.

Sure says something about the quantity and gravity of everything Skitter has to deal with that something like an entire territory with possibly hundreds of people in it is something to deal with in her downtime. That’s not the kind of thing you usually would say is secondary, yet here we are. This is followed by worries she’s not paying enough attention to her, and to that I can only say it’s something to actually be concerned about. Communities getting neglected often leads to resentment, and she currently is the only person in charge in this area. Everyone will judge her because of the lack of attention she gives them. Discontent in society will lead to rebellion, and the last thing she needs right now is a rebellion in her territory.

...

...although a rebellion brewing in her territory would be kind of an interesting thing to deal with, wouldn’t it? Maybe it’ll happen and it’ll be the focus of a future arc.

They all had gone their separate ways to do whatever they wanted, just to relax before tackling the very daunting goal for the next week. Skitter used her time to take care of her territory, Regent controlled people in his turf, Heckpuppy took care of her dogs, Grue and Imp tried to sleep. Well, more like they all tried to do such things, because in the end they didn’t. They had to give some thought to their plans.

With a hundred problems we needed to handle, we’d agreed the most important thing was to deal with the most inevitable ones. There was no point in working out a complicated and involved attack plan against Coil if we didn’t wind up fighting him. There was a point in dealing with the Chosen; they were bound to attack us at some point, regardless of how future events unfolded. Better to take the fight to them.

Does this mean they’ll fight the Chosen first, because offense is the best defense? The Chosen are going to attack at some point in the near future, so may as well attack them first? I’m all for that, I am, but...I don’t know if they have time. I mean, the only reason why they’re considering attacking Coil is because Dinah is currently out of commission. That chance isn’t going to happen again. Do they have time to counter the Chosen and attack Coil, all in the span of one week? It’s not impossible, I guess, but it’s going to be...very difficult, to say the least.

But hey, looks like this arc will be about a preemptive attack onto the Chosen. I’m game. Them not having Hookwolf will make things a little easier. Maybe it won’t take as long as I’m thinking it will.

Apparently this is the day after they decided to attack Coil. Last night Tattletale, Grue and Skitter reunited to discuss strategy plans, the other three not being involved in the discussion.

“I wouldn’t have minded,” Imp said. “I wouldn’t have anything to contribute, but I’d like to follow along. And I can’t figure out my niche in the group with the trio being so… trio-ish.”

“Trio-ish?” I asked.

“Tattletale, you and my brother. Making all the plans, you’ve got the nemeses…” Imp paused. “Is nemeses a word?”

That’s the power of being the main characters of the story, Imp! But eh, it’s not like Grue and Tattletale have nemeses. Nemesii. Whatever. Tattletale does have Faultline, but Faultline has done nothing of importance for a long time. Grue had Shadow Stalker, and now she’s...not around. Isn’t she in jail? Skitter’s the one with a revolving carrousel of nemesiseseseses, by virtue of being the protagonist of Worm.

Although they’re aware three of their teammates have been brainstorming and having discussions they’re not privy too, they’re okay with that, enough to joke around in a moment that’s honestly kind of cute.

“Let’s quit and start our own group!” Regent said, throwing one arm across Imp’s shoulders and gesturing dramatically with the other as he continued, “Regent, Imp, and Bitch, the Othersiders, a spin-off team. And we’ll stick with Coil while the others turn traitor, and we’ll have this epic fight…”

Imp took his cue, “And Brian and I will go head to head, and it’ll end in this dramatic moment where he says something pretentious-”

“Et tu, sis?”

“And then I’ll say ‘Yeah, it’s me’ and finish him! No mercy.”

They were playing off one another, joking.

And he calls me the dork?

Maybe it’s because I’m cherishing the rare moments of levity in this story. There’s so few moments where the characters can relax and mess around. Worm is a dark story, and for that reason such moments are rare...it’s a pity, really.

It’s planning time? Tattletale is here, Grue isn’t, and there’s no mention of Heckpuppy. The reason Grue isn’t around is because he needs to sleep, and this is a thinly-veiled jab at Skitter for not getting enough sleep. By now I’m sure she won’t get a night of good sleep at any point of Worm. So! Strategy meeting!

Mayoral elections are coming, oh boy. I don’t think that particularly affects the Undersiders, and Coil has agents working for him as mayoral candidates, anyway. It’s just another iron on the fire. Not worth doing anything about, in my opinion.

Next topic: Hookwolf’s group and Purity’s group are having trouble. Now that Hookwolf is gone, Purity would be the one to lead everyone, but that’s not going smoothly, it seems. Ideological differences, perhaps?

Apparently it’s that. Hookwolf may have been slandering Purity, and now people who believed everything he said will refuse to work under her. Also, capes like Stormtiger and Cricket want their turn as leaders and I’m not convinced that’ll happen. The point is that with the current dissensions and inability to unite, it’s a prime moment to strike. Yup, it is, but...really, is there time for that?

“Something to keep in mind,” I said.

“Something to exploit?”

I glanced at her in surprise, and she shrugged.

“Elaborate? You’re not suggesting we ally with them, are you?”

Do they have anything to gain from allying with the Undersiders? There’s no common threat now. I don’t really see a reason for villain teams to cooperate with each other.

Tattletale is proposing a truce; Imp completely rejects it on basis of having gone her entire life suffering the disdain of racists of all ages. I know truces and that kind of thing are necessary sometimes, but honestly, I’m supporting Imp on this one. I as a reader see no particular reason to ally with the Chosen or with Purity’s group in any manner, and the mere thought of working with them feels...gross. Again, no bigger threat. No excuse to ally with them.

Thank goodness, it seems the idea of possibly making a truce with the racist factions isn’t going to work.

Tattletale also brings up they have a truce with the New Wave hero faction, which is good. Doesn’t seem like she’s aware of what happened to Panacea and Glory Girl, or if she knows she doesn’t say anything. Mr. Wildbow takes the chance to set up the in-character reason to not look for her in the future.

Amy had crossed my mind as I’d reflected on the various encounters with the Nine, and I’d thought about going to look for her. Having her in the group would be invaluable, no question. Even touching base with her could leave us options if someone got hurt or if we needed resources. That said, the major issue was that I couldn’t be sure she’d actually join or even listen, and we were trying to operate with certainties. I couldn’t afford to go when it meant potentially wasted time.

Pretty unlikely she’d cooperate in any manner. Even if she did, she’d sabotage it in some manner or make it not be as useful as it should be. It took the agnosia miasma covering the city and threatening to kill everybody for her to cooperate with the Undersiders, all because of her rather black-and-white way of interpreting morality. Any requests for help would have been useless – leaving aside that she planned to leave Brockton Bay, anyway.

Thinking about Atlas reminded me of one thought I’d had during our downtime. “It’d be fantastic if we could get a tinker in the group,” I said. “Between Bakuda, Armsmaster, Mannequin and Bonesaw, I’m sort of starting to appreciate what they bring to the table.”

It’s starting to seem like tinkers are pretty useful for any kind of team, indeed. Even the Merchants had a tinker, even if she was...well...you know how she was like. Neither Purity nor the Chosen have tinkers, do they? But yeah, it’d be nice to get a tinker for the Undersiders. It’s not like they can put an ad or anything, though. Asking Coil to look for a tinker for the team would be a solution, but what they want is to attack him, no way they’ll ask him for help.

“You’re almost a tinker,” Regent told me.

He says that because Skitter is able to create stuff with her bugs and is generally quite versatile with them. Skitter wants more than what she’s capable to do, she wants someone who will open up a world of possibilities. That’s what a tinker is good for. Too bad there are no tinkers who are seeking to join anybody.

“It’s a shame that there’s not really any tinkers around that aren’t already committed. Unless you want to make a point out of recruiting Leet?”

There was a bit of a pause as we all considered the idea.

We simultaneously broke into laughter.

Oh. Right, that guy. He and the other guy are still alive?

In Regent’s territory, the Chosen have been causing havoc, and by havoc I mean petty defacement of buildings, just as a way to taunt Regent because he doesn’t have a way to counter them. What he does have is Shatterbird, who can blast the tags with sand until the walls are clean. It didn’t even take long. I wonder if this is the first time the Chosen have done this here. Can’t decide if it’d be petty or stupid to keep spray-painting his territory if they know Regent can clean it easily.

“Why spend a few hundred bucks on a sandblaster when you have a Shatterbird? Who’s a good little power tool?” Regent gave Shatterbird a pat on the cheek. “You are. Yes you are.”

Shatterbird must be seething with anger right now. I bet Regent says and does stuff like this often, he’s that kind of person. Not the kind that’d be always antagonistic for no reason, but the kind who’d casually do this if he feels like it.

It’s fitting for Skitter to ask Regent to treat Shatterbird with respect, but it still is kind of silly. Regent already gave a good reason to taunt and mess with Shatterbird – keep her emotionally drained to lessen the chances she breaks free – so there’s no really a reason to risk she getting away. The moment she escapes from Regent’s control; she’ll try to kill everyone in her way as retaliation for all this. Heck, even if she had been treated well, she’d do it for the fun of it.

As an idle thought, I noted that her teeth were in surprisingly good shape. It made me wonder how the Nine took care of their teeth. Did they threaten some dentist and force him to do fillings and whitenings? Or did Bonesaw handle that? It was odd to think about.

Hah! What a time to be wondering something like that. The thought of the Slaughterhose Nine coercing a random dentist to clean their teeth and then leaving without major fuss is kind of funny. Nah, Bonesaw surely made sure the teeth don’t go into bad condition. She reinforced the teeth, it wouldn’t be surprising if she...I don’t know, implanted whiteners into them.

It’s time for a confrontation. There are several members of the Chosen around, and it doesn’t seem like any of them are parahumans. This should be easy.

A swarm of insects make everyone rush to the outdoors, trying to get away, giving Regent the chance to batter them with shards of glass in what must be a pretty painful experience. The point of this attack isn’t to kill, it’s to get them to stop bothering him. Not sure if it’ll work, but it’ll be a lesson learned for a few days, I’d say. It depends on if the leaders of the groups take this as a major insult or not. With some luck they’ll be all ‘that’s what you get for fooling around there’ buuuuut that’s unlikely.

Attacking the mooks is easy, the parahumans are the problem here – because yup, there are a few of those here. Rune, Night and Fog. Night is the one I’m worried about the most, I don’t think there’s a way to counter her, and if there is, they better think fast, because there’ll be retaliation for this attack soon.

Purity isn’t here – of course not, why would Purity hang out with the foot soldiers messing around? -- Crusader isn’t here...which one is Crusader, again? Well, it doesn’t really matter. There’s another parahuman, and it’s one I don’t think had been mentioned ever before.

Victor. He was a talent vampire, stealing people’s trained skills, keeping them if he held on to them long enough, and leaving that person temporarily bereft of whatever skill they’d spent their lives learning. People like him had a tendency to pick up martial arts, parkour, weapons training and other combat skills. He tended to pair up with Othala, the girl who could grant powers, meaning Victor also had super speed, super strength or invincibility. If he was wounded, she could give him regeneration instead.

But her power demanded that she touch whoever she was using it on, and it limited her to granting one power at a time. If he had invincibility, it meant he didn’t have super strength, pyrokinesis or any of that.

Sounds useful. If I understand this correctly, does this mean the people who got their talents stolen don’t lose them permanently? Even if Victor keeps those skills? How many different skills can Victor have? Unlimited, or is there a limit?

Well, it’s less impressive when Skitter is able to tie him with the silk, making him fall to the floor and keeping him down for the count. Night and Fog are the big threats, anyway. The current idea is to bait them somehow. They’re formidable opponents, that’s a dangerous plan.

Our last run-in with Night and Fog had been ugly. That had been months ago, and we’d basically lost. I wasn’t content to simply lose, though. I’d replayed the scene over and over in my head since it had happened, doubly so since I’d found out Coil’s power. If he could create alternate timelines and choose the results, and if he’d used his power to save us, what had happened in that other timeline? Had we died?

Definitely. I don’t doubt in alternate timelines they died.

Countering them is pretty difficult. Night is a tough one because, although her transformation doesn’t work when her opponents can see her, she has a myriad of ways of forcing them to be unable of seeing her. Fog is...well, a gas. Have you ever tried to contain large quantities of gas without specialized tools? Regent tries to block him with a glass barrier, yet he manages to seep through cracks. Right now it looks like it’s matter of time before Night and/or Fog manage to do something that’ll give them the advantage. Good thing Skitter seems to have a plan...whatever it is.

“This power is so hard to use,” Regent complained. “So much to focus on.”

“You’re doing fine.”

“I’m doing fine because she’s helping. I think.”

Really? I didn’t expect that. Why would Shatterbird try to help? Self-preservation, perhaps? I thought she’d try to resist as much as possible so Regent had higher odds of dying so she’d be set free, but I suppose she’s not sure she won’t die first or something. I imagine if necessary Regent will use her as a meat shield. Meanwhile, Skitter tries her silk strand restraints strategy on Night, it doesn’t work very well.

At least she’s able to stop the smoke grenades and her cloak, thanks to those same silk strands. Night’s remaining way of forcing her to look away is with a flashbang, and that works. It takes no time at all for Night to transform and rush towards the rest of the Undersiders, while Skitter tries to help with her swarm. I don’t know if things are going well...it seems to me the Undersiders aren’t doing much progress. It’s matter of time before things go pear-shaped.

Night gets to where the rest of the Undersiders are, ready to attack. It wouldn’t take her long to kill anyone if given the chance. Thankfully, she doesn’t get to attack, thanks to Skitter, so she runs into the closest place she thinks will help her transform. Although she’s out of Skitter’s sight, she still doesn’t transform, until she’s knocked out.

Imp stood over Night, holding a taser.

I completely forgot about her! So that’s why Night couldn’t transform, Imp was there. Now Skitter and Imp shall stand around, taking turns to blink...leaving Tattletale and Regent over there to fight everyone else by themselves. Welp. Even though Night has been dealt with, I’m not sure this is on the Undersiders’ favor.

Oh, nevermind, they’re moving Night towards the rest. Over there Fog is kept inside a box, and Rune isn’t in a state to fight. The Undersiders win, the enemies are embarrassed. That went well! Better than I expected, that’s for sure. Time for a serious conversation! Starting with Tattletale telling them to get out of their territory, and Rune retorting the Undersiders took the entire city as their territory. Iiii’m pretty sure that was Tattletale’s way of telling them to leave the city, yeah.

Time for a show of strength – as if defeating them wasn’t enough, hah. Well, better to be safe than sorry, so Skitter gets intimidating and tells them they have them defeated in every way and deserve to take over the city. Also they’re getting taxed, the Undersiders till take everything valuable that’s in the base they had nearby. Okay then! Spoils of war for the victor--

“But that’s not enough, is it? So there’s another tax. We’re borrowing one of your teammates.”

The Chosen weren’t the only ones who looked shocked at the declaration. I snapped my head around to look at Regent. There was no surprise there.

Fuck them. They’d planned this, and they hadn’t told me.

Oh goodness! That’s unexpected. And looks like this is a plan Regent and the others agreed to without telling them. Tattletale must know too, I imagine. Interesting! And dangerous, too. Is there a guarantee whoever they borrow won’t betray the Undersiders whenever they can? Unless...

...unless what they mean with ‘borrowing’ is that Regent will control someone. In that case, it’s not a bad plan. Purity is going to take it as a major insult and may try to have their revenge, but yeah. It’s interesting and could be useful.

I wonder which one they’d take. Everyone has their pros and cons. Hard to guess which one would be the best option. Buuut that’ll be for next time.

Next time: in seven updates

#worm #worm liveblog #liveblog #webserial #webserial liveblog

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