#but faultline dude..

[spider-girl-legs]

my dealer: got some straight gas 🔥😛 this strain is called “parahumans” 😳 you’ll be zonked out of your gourd 💯

me: yeah whatever I don't feel shit

me 5 minutes later: dude I swear i just saw a naked golden man flying

my buddy faultline pacing: the protectorate is lying to us

[dnfao3tags]

Monthly Fic Roundup - May 2023

ok look man this is the third fucking time i've had to redo this entire post i dont give a shit anymore i hate tumblr i hope it and i die a very painful death does anybody have any idea how hard it is to edit these things with the shittiest site and shittiest laptop in the world

anyways. nobody reminded me i forgot about mays roundup. betrayal. leave all the writers here a warm kudos and comment :]

— find me here by womanhunt (mat. | comp. | 9k)

Dream and George through various phone calls across time.

— All paths lead to you by Simplysmitten (teen | comp. | 28k)

When George is stressed, he has nightmares, and when George has nightmares, he sleepwalks. In a subconscious search for relief, George sleepwalks to the safest place he can find- Dream's room. Dream finds out more than he bargained for when trying to decode George's nonsensical sleep-talking, but he struggles to make conscious-George as comforted by his presence as unconscious-George.

— i want you, and that’s the way it is by pondsofkoi (gen | comp. | 4k)

Sometimes George combs his hair with enough force Dream thinks he’s trying to yank his scalp out. “Dude.”

— a wish, a child by heartinhands (teen | comp. | 3k)

George wants a child. If he and Dream wish hard enough, there's a chance.

— every sunset by indigoh (mat. | comp. | 10k)

when George goes to sleep, it’s June 2020. When he wakes up, it’s 8 years into the future.

Part 2 of the past, the future, and everything in between

— what a childish thing by tippysleeps (teen | comp. | 7k)

“What year is it,” George repeats. “Um,” Dream frowns. “It’s 2020?” George just stares at him. “It’s 2027,” he says, finally. “2027.”

Part 1 of not afraid of living on a faultline

— Some Other Beginning's End by Scoops (consciousness_streaming) (expl. | comp. | 5k)

George's family takes a holiday to Orlando to visit Disney. Just before George is set to meet Dream, disaster strikes in the form of a werewolf pack taking over Florida, and maybe more of America. While George struggles to survive, scavenging for food and materials for the few survivors, and at the end of his rope--a miracle happens. He might get to meet Dream after all.

— falling in love in the cruelest way by twostorms (teen | comp. | 7k)

Dream can't remember a time where he wasn't at least a little obsessed with George.

— Maw by shrewtz (expl. | comp. | 1k)

To combine their two selves in one way or another, to blur the line between hunger and arousal, to consume a piece of his lover— would it not be the most romantic gesture possible?

— when you kiss my lips, you'll make it stick by demonstars (mat. | comp. | 6k)

Dream's hero's (MUA) journey.

— Can you make it feel like home (if I tell you you're mine?) by JanetBaby99 (expl. | comp. | 19k)

Dream and George go on a road trip together and the tension between them becomes too much. Eventually, it snaps, and they can’t keep their hands to themselves any longer.

— unbreakable heaven by furculaed (teen | comp. | 5k)

“I didn’t mean for it to get so messy,” she breathes, “I thought we could, I don’t know, just do whatever and we’d be okay. I can live with just this, I promise. I can do with nothing, even. I don’t know. Just don’t ask me to stop.” Dream’s breath stops right at her chest. “Stop what, George?” “You know,” she whispers. George looks at Dream, beautiful and breaking at the seams. “Don’t make me say it, Dream. You know,” George begs.

— fall into me by havocrat (teen | comp. | 7k)

Handing the tube back, Georgina smacks her lips together, and they make a little pop sound. It’s a weird feeling, a little sticky, but she kind of likes it. She wonders if it’s anything like kissing Dream for real. “Nice chapstick,” she says, and her voice comes out a little hoarse. Dream’s throat bobs, and she wets her lips again. “Yeah?” “Yeah. Tastes good, too.” She’s aware she sounds like an idiot, but this is the only coherent thought in her head right now, the only thought that isn’t about Dream’s lips and Dream’s mouth and indirect kisses and direct kisses and– God. She needs to get out of there, before she does something they both regret.

— right through your bones by dizzy (teen | comp. | 3k)

George tries to kiss Dream, and it doesn't go as planned.

— tall man’s burden by alreadyhateyou (expl. | comp. | 4k)

Clearly Dream is tall, clearly Dream is taller and bigger than George, in a lot of ways. Clearly, George is really into this. First it’s Dream’s hands, then his shoulders and chest and thighs. Soon it’s everything. Soon George finds out Dream is big everywhere.

— what a fucked up reality show by brokenlikeastitch (teen | comp. | 13k)

“Have you started studying for the map quizzes?” George asks, shoving some of her stuff over to clear the table in front of the chair next to her like she’s making room for Dream. It’s bizarre, and Dream is caught off guard at the sudden conversation. She’s not sure what exactly she was going to say to George, but now she’s even more unsure what to say. “Not yet, I don’t really like thinking about that class.” George giggles, pushing a loose strand of hair back behind her ear as she does. “Me neither, but I don’t want to fail them because I think I’ll jump off a cliff if I have to take this class again, so.” The giggle makes Dream feel a little faint, and she sits down in the offered seat just to make sure she doesn’t accidentally actually fall out in the library in front of everyone.

— This Ambiguous Edge by Amoxil (expl. | comp. | 21k)

Dream and George don’t care about the label. For months, they do everything that couples do. Everything but sex. George is patient, but Dream’s beginning to skirt the line. George wants to see how far he can push him.

— it isn't new (but it's still you) by mocharex (teen | comp. | 15k)

The slow shift from friends to fiancés to having a family together may take years, but, luckily enough, Dream and George have all the time in the world.

— Reasons Not To Be An Idiot by VicIsWriting (expl. | comp. | 30k)

Dream and George– they used to be friends. Sandbox besties, cradle to grave, ride-or-die kind of friends. Now they’re nothing, just strangers on a college campus who barely look in each other’s direction as they pass by, neutral recognition in both their eyes. When their friendship is revived, something new develops too.

— get busy waiting by alreadyhateyou (expl. | comp. | 17k)

Dream claims he wants to wait until marriage, and while George does his best to respect his wishes, it seems like all Dream does is make them both so, so horny.

if you want a rec of your own on next month's roundup, send it in!

[jimmycarterghostland]

I finished reading Tangle 6.8 of Worm.

I like Coil. This dude is such a charming, likable villain. I'm used to seeing villains being over-the-top and arrogantly threatening to kill his underlings. So, seeing him treat the Undersiders well and not showing zero anger toward them, was refreshing.

I like how the Travelers keep showing up. Before I started this proper read of Worm, I did some googling about the Travelers and read some future scenes with them in it.

Also, a few chapters ago, Grue was saying how maybe the mission to embarrass the heroes at that party was a test by Coil to see if the Undersiders would refuse to go on a crazy, unbeatable mission. Grue was in denial so hard. What Tattletale said made much more sense, that Coil wanted the Undersiders to prove themselves by accepting to do the mission and then successfully completing it.

I should be reading three chapters of Worm per day, but I've been breaking that rule by reading more than three per day lately. After I finish this Tangle arc, I'm going to go back to the three-a-day rule. Doing all this reading is giving me less time to work on my own online stories.

I'm still enjoying Worm, though. Tattletale is my favorite character, and I also like Newter and Gregor. I really wish there was more focus on Faultline and her gang. That Gregor interlude left me wanting to see more of them. More Shamrock. More U symbol stuff. More Newter and Labyrinth.

Anyway, I'm now under the impression that Wildbow is a genuinely smart person. I think he comes up with the clever ideas found in Worm on his own. I think he's one of those people who can solve problems in creative ways, something intelligent people tend to do. It definitely makes reading Worm a lot more fun.

[faultlinescrew]

could you please tell me things about newter from your beautiful mind. i like him i wish to know more

Of Course, please accept these assorted ramblings about the silly orange dude who lives rent-free in the hoarder-esq apartment that is my brain.

So circa worms beginning he is 16-ish, Faultline having yoinked him out of the sewers around a year or two prior and whilst Alexandrias interlude muddies things with him in terms of timeline and age a little, he is Designated Teenager at the end of the day. (Ill cut wildbow some slack on that part, Newter is one background character in a billion of em and Timelines are clearly not his strong suit.)

(What I will not accept is Wildbow claiming Newters natrual hair colour to be strawberry blonde. He is not fucking blonde. I will die on this hill.)

So that mix of being a teenager and the nature of being a case 53, an identity-less husk with nothing outside of a non-human appearance to base your sense of self off of- I believe that Newter based a non-insignificant chunk of himself off of the nightclub (though i doubt he is aware of it). A product of his home environment so to speak, becoming The Party Animal: The neon, the attitude, the way he views and enables his power for recreational use. And, y'know, being a walking lsd strip.

Chill, social butterfly, generally amicable person to be around- for all his extroverted whims I think he's very select when it comes offering friendship and even pickier when it comes to trust. Ride or die for Faultline, naturally, but i think out of the entire crew hes particularly close to Gregor (the original two ect ect) and Spitfire (more headcanony, but teenage solidarity).

And for a take thats 100% based off of vibes: Aromantic

[poursomesunaonme]

Dedicate songs to your mutuals, let them know what you think of them.✨

oh god this is gonna be hard LMAOSDFJASFJ but lets see !! ik it's been a min since i've been on here, so im only gonna do em for my mutuals that i've also seen active recently ! under the cut hehe

(update this took forever bc i dont play around with music everything has to be PERFECT)

marie (@maries-gallery) - j'espère by félix dyotte (for the soft lovey dovey vibes i literally cried the first time i heard this LMAOO)

sun (@pockcock) - ava adore by smashing pumpkins (horny vibes horny vibes its literally so hot)

charl (@sweetandtendou) - yuck by charli xcx (there are a thousand i love u infinitely but this is what im feeling rn)

lily (@tyga-lily) - criminal by fiona apple (indoctrinating u to my fav female manipulator)

taro (@dilftaroooo) - trust fund baby by amaarae (dude.)

ix (@prettyiwa) - faultline by girlpool (i had this song on repeat for MONTHS)

marq (@kweenkatsuki) - plw by leon thomas (yes this is andre from victorious and its a fucking BANGER)

phon (@saphhonic) - religion (u can lay your hands on me) by shura (this song actually changed me)

cassie (@cyancherub) - you lose! by magdalena bay (the vibes are here and they remind me of u)

aleks (@princess-okkotsu) - cologne by beabadoobee (it altered my brain chemistry thanks)

wreynn (@honey-tsuki) - sarah by alex g (im forcing the alex g agenda on u idc)

m (@stardusttoshi) - romanticist by yves tumor (im making u a playlist)

moni (@monirei) - crush by solange (gives me major monirei vibes)

kat (@ryukatters) - maurine by say hi (I CANT DESCRIBE IT I CANT)

elle (@f4irycafe) - soft by babygirl (hehehe it's precious)

b (@eldiandiablo) - restless year by ezra furman (its so fun i have to do a little jig every time i hear it)

juliana (@sparklekitteh) - falling by florence + the machine (it had to be her and it was so hard to choose asljdfe)

soph (@astridthevalkyrie) - armistice by phoenix (i can't explain it but here we are)

siri (@bagsyy) - agnes by glass animals (i love this and i love u)

aman (@thegetoufather) - anthems for a seventeen-year-old girl by broken social scene (this altered my brain chemistry as a child thanks)

eliza (@postwarlevi) - when u love somebody by fruit bats (please i cant help but think of u)

fiona (@fionarara) - 400 lux by lorde (a classic for a bestie)

juney (@whats-her-quirk) - midnight by toby sebastian and florence pugh (the first time i heard this i thought of jean LMAO)

scribbs (@nighttimescribbles) - i'll come running (to tie your shoe) by brian eno (this song is so sweet and asldfje)

fawn (@dearbraus) - strawberries by caamp (please i think you'd love this one)

mica (@princesskazuya) - this is the day by the the (this is one of my favs of all time)

luxE (@fuwushiguro) - best to you by blood orange (IM GOING ON A FEELING HERE)

angel (@bakatenshii) - friendly machine by yeule (i feel like you'd love their music omg)

yall join in too ! this is so sweet <3 my love language is sooo totally music !

[rox-reads]

There's a joke to make about absorbing Newter's psychedelic sweat but I am not clever enough to think of it 😞

But Gregor is generally regarded as the responsible, some what well adjusted functioning adult in Faultline's crew. Snail man is just a chill dude

im sure if we all work together we can unlock THE Newter Sweat Joke of the century!

and yea, gregor is so well adjusted its almost weird lol

[aniron48]

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

(besides TICKETYS)

IT'S TICKETYS!!!

Now that we've settled that, thank you for the ask, friend, and I suppose I can pick my second favorite piece of writing for this one. 😁

I think it might actually be this paragraph**, from for the age of the earth, and after:

Before tonight, Bond had always thought of creation as a furious thing, had imagined Earth formed in fire and catastrophe, in ice and violence. There’s some of that here, too, he thinks, a searing need coursing just below the surface like a river of molten rock. But the history of the Earth is so vast that it’s written in geologic time, in eons and eras, epochs and ages; in a call and response of oceans and mountains, faultlines and tectonic plates. In movements imperceptible but ceaseless, toward, and toward, and toward.

I'm proud of this fic in general, and this paragraph in particular, because I took a risk with it: I wrote a short fic that, in terms of plot, is essentially just 800 words worth of two people having sex with each other for the first time, but is also about the passage of time, how the geology of the earth shapes us***, how love comes before us and lingers long after, and about the concept of the sublime, especially the idea of beauty that takes our breath away, even as it has the power to destroy us. Ambitious? Yes! A really weird combination of things to want to write about? Almost certainly. But I don't know that anything I've ever written has ever come this easily, or this quickly, which is usually a sign for me that I needed to do it.

**this will probably only be my favorite until I can find a way to work "está fuera de sí y con sed de venganza" into one of my fics. Stay tuned.

***I would be remiss not to give an extra thank you to @foxsoulcourt -- Cory's gorgeous photos of Yosemite were the very first seed for this fic, too!

Thank you for this, @dude-watchin-with-the-brontes! It's hard to talk about being proud of things but we should all do it more, I think. 💜

[andromedasummer]

i dont remember shit from my science classes about earthquakes and faultlines everything i know is from them happening firsthand in/near my city and also the more intricate sciences i learned from this one autistic dude who would sit beside me in a cafe and infodump about them

[dandyshorts]

look man,, faultline slaps and more people need to talk about it

[queenangst]

30 min fic—maybe Midoriya admitting that he feels responsible for what happened to Nighteye, to the character of your choice? ❤️❤️❤️

for my 30 min fic challenge / read more: ‘30 min fics’ tag

faultline [read on AO3]

Now that it’s all over, Eijirou isn’t sure what to make of it except this: he’s tired.

He’s never felt this tired before, this bone-deep exhaustion, and so as the last of the internships wind to an end all Eijirou can manage is to return to the dorms and pass out hard on his bed. He sleeps for, like, forever. He’s so tired he doesn’t even dream, but Eijirou doesn’t need to.

Every time he wakes up he sees flashes of images that he knows are memories. In the same moment that Eijirou realizes he’s awake he also realizes he isn’t strong enough.

Three days after the Shie Hasseikai fall, Eijirou rises early and goes to train.

He’s not surprised to see Midoriya.

Since the beginning Midoriya has had a fire like no one else. A drive that Eijirou thinks is super manly, but also almost terrifying. It’s like Midoriya treats every single waking moment as an opportunity, as if he has to give a hundred and ten percent all the time like he’s going to lose everything if he doesn’t.

“Midoriya!” Eijirou calls.

Midoriya startles—so much so, in fact, that green sparks along his skin and he leaps sideways a little. Eijirou winces.

“Sorry,” he says, as Midoriya relaxes.

Midoriya chuckles. “No, it- it’s okay. I wasn’t expecting, um, to see you.” His eyes trail down and catch Eijirou’s workout clothes. “Were you, um…”

“I was thinking of going for a run,” Eijirou says. “I hope you don’t mind.”

Midoriya smiles. It’s a bit subdued than normal, but seeing it pulls a fizzy warm feeling through him.

“You don’t have to ask. So you’re fine with doing a few laps?”

Eijirou nods, ready to go.

“I need to get stronger,” he confides as they walk outside together. “I mean… well, I just, the whole thing really put it in perspective, you know? I wanna be better. Plus ultra. So… so next time something happens, I can face it with all my strength.”

Midoriya dips his head, expression sliding into something that’s a mix of understanding and determination.

“Yeah.”

They don’t talk much after that. Eijirou’s not a stranger to running, but even so, he doesn’t do it regularly the way Midoriya does. He lets Midoriya set their pace even if it’s slightly fast, and they do the first lap in silence.

It feels… good.

It feels like Eijirou is doing something. It feels tangible, putting one foot down in front of the other and feeling the impact travel through him, feeling the burn in his chest and hearing his own breathing. That’s what he likes best, even though by the second lap he feels a bit like he’s on the verge of doing too much.

Plus ultra, as they say.

Midoriya doesn’t let up. Like, at all. He slows just a little when he notices Eijirou falling behind, but even still… Eijirou glances over and catches a sheen to Midoriya’s eyes, a tension to the line of his jaw, the clench of his fists as they swing back and forth. He’s straining, wanting to go faster, to do more.

And every few seconds he can’t contain his Quirk, and sparks of green light burst around and follow him in a dizzying but beautiful trail.

“Hey,” Eijirou calls, and notes how out of breath he sounds. “Hey, man, you wanna take a break? I’m sure you don’t have to, but I could use a minute.”

Midoriya runs a little while longer like he hasn’t heard Eijirou.

He opens his mouth to call again, worry stirring, and then Midoriya slows to a walk, gasping.

“Water?” Eijirou asks.

Midoriya nods. The lap brings them close back to the dorms, so they walk the rest of the way. Eijirou really does feel like he’s kind of dying in both a good and bad way, so the water’s nice. Midoriya just sips at it, movements jerky.

See—here’s where Eijirou worries.

He doesn’t want to overstep, but Midoriya looks different. His internship changed him.

And Eijiriou’s did, too, teaching him more about hero work but more importantly about himself. One more thing, though. Fat Gum’s insistence is that everyone work as a team and take care of themselves and each other.

Midoriya doesn’t look like he’s been doing that.

“You wanna just… sit?” Eijirou tries. “Before we go again. Uh…”

“Sure,” Midoriya agrees. His fingers curl around the water bottle. “Sorry if that was a little much.”

Eijirou laughs awkwardly. “You’re intense, man. I mean, wow, plus ultra, haha.”

“Yeah,” Midoriya whispers.

They drop down by the side of the track. Midoriya brings his knees up close to him and holds them, and that’s when Eijirou really stops thinking and has to speak.

“Are you okay?”

Midoriya flinches. Turns towards him. “Huh?”

“About… everything.” Eijirou clears his throat. “I mean, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, man. I know we’re not close, but—if you want someone to listen to you…”

“I…”

Sometimes, you have to take the first step. “Um, you know, I’ve been talking to Hound Dog recently. A little bit. Fat Gum said I should consider it, so I tried. ‘Cause I’ve been having a hard time—dealing. ”

“Oh,” Midoriya says, blinking. He looks down and scuffs at the ground. “Did… did it help?”

Eijirou’s words catch in his throat. He can’t say yes , because talking to Hound Dog has felt a little bit like turning himself inside out and finding that there’s a weak point in his armor. Literally, figuratively, whatever.

“I think,” he starts, then pauses. “I think it will.”

Midoriya hums. He drops his head in his hands, and then scrubs through his hair. Eijiriou reaches out and puts a hand on his shoulder.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Please, Eijirou thinks.

Under his hand, Midoriya’s shoulders shake.

“I don’t want to bother you,” he whispers. “I don’t want to bother anyone.”

“It’s not, it’s not, dude, just—you really don’t have to, but…” He swallows. He wishes Fat Gum were here, or Aizawa-sensei, or really any qualified adult. But they’re not and Eijirou is here and needed, so he has to try. “I know it’s been really hard. And you’re allowed to, uh, yeah.”

“It’s my fault,” Midoriya blurts. He launches to his feet, fists tight, and Eijirou feels like his hardening Quirk has turned inward when he sees the stricken look on Midoriya’s face. “All of it. It’s- it’s my—”

Eijirou stands, too. He feels—not enough for this.

“No, it’s, dude, it’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.”

“Sir… Sir Nighteye died,” Midoriya spits, “because I- I couldn’t, because I wasn’t—”

Fast enough, strong enough. He can’t breathe. Aren’t they the same?

“It’s not like that,” Eijirou croaks. “Come on—look, look at me, it’s not, you didn’t kill him.”

“I might as well have.”

When Midoriya’s knees give out, Eijirou grabs on and holds him up. Midoriya’s shaking bad the way Eijirou used to before presentations, and starts crying so hard Eijirou’s surprised he’s held it together until now.

“No… no,” Eijirou says as hands curl in his shirt. Can he feel Eijirou’s heart beating? “Midoriya, stop, you can’t blame yourself. It wasn’t you. None of that was you…”

He holds on. Midoriya does, too.

“I kept thinking like that too,” he whispers, and feels something in him crack. “That maybe things could have gone differently if I was a little better. But we- we shouldn’t… that’s not right.”

Midoriya sobs.

“I didn’t want him to die,” he cries, “I- I- we didn’t, but I didn’t want him… he wasn’t supposed to, he couldn’t—”

“Yeah.” Eijirou squeezes Midoriya’s shoulders. “It’s not fair.”

“No,” Midoriya agrees. He hiccups, and then they stand there.

“You know it’s not your fault,” Eijirou says after a moment. “You know that, right? You have to know that. It’s not your fault the same way it isn’t my fault the same way it wasn’t any of the heroes’ faults—”

Midoriya whines, and Eijirou says, “No. It wasn’t. It wasn’t.”

“I don’t know how to believe you,” Midoriya replies. “If I just… if I just… it’s different, for me.”

“You have to try. Because it wasn’t.” Eijirou thinks of the little girl Eri, carried to safety in Midoriya’s arms; he’d caught a glimpse of them as he was brought out of the compound. “You wouldn’t say it was my fault because I- I wasn’t strong enough or, or Eri’s fault—”

Midoriya’s head snaps up so fast it almost knocks against Eijirou’s jaw.

“No!”

“You can’t do that to yourself, then,” Eijirou tries, and as he’s saying it he thinks he’s telling himself too. “You don’t have to, um. You don’t have to believe me today. But… maybe tomorrow?”

For a second he thinks he’s said the wrong thing, but Midoriya meets his eyes. Red and swollen, painful, the pinching feeling Eijirou feels inside.

Eijirou couldn’t stand Rappa; he’s not unbreakable. But all it took, all he needed, was a moment.

Maybe that’s what it’s about. A single moment.

“Okay,” Midoriya agrees. “Maybe tomorrow.”

taglist: @happi-tree​ @soyoudneverguess​ @granny-griffin​ @zannish​ @liarielle​ @aroandanxious​ @gwogobo​ @honeyandsonshine​ @cinammon-cinner​ @ship-tost​ @gabs-2002​ @the-reading-obsessed-stitchbear​ @weird-skittle​ @sapphire363​ @fr0znmang0​ @in-honor-of-you​ @cheese490 @anakinthetrashking​ @proheromidoriyashouto​ @lust-nd-love​ @firefletch​ @mamamiamia​ @frankiealexquin​

[thelowlysatsuma]

I'm too nervous to tell you off anon but I'm one of the authors of faultlines and I recognized you username holy shit I'm such a big fan of your sanders sides fics oh my god

YOOOOOOOOO DUDE!!!! oh my god what the fuck that’s so rad?? holy shit I literally wrote all those y e a r s ago (tbh I think I still have some unfinished stuff in my drafts, but that’s besides the point aha) I’d kinda forgotten anyone had read them!

oh my god okay golly while I totally understand being nervous you gotta get that I am in LOVE with faultlines so if you wanna message me or keep sending me asks (even on anon!!!) PLEASE do you literally are writing SUCH a rad thing!!!!

me, desperately trying not to write my goddamn time travel au: oh this is not helping

[spoilertv]

Training Day - Faultlines - Review – “Surfer Dude” http://www.spoilertv.com/2017/03/training-day-faultlines-review-surfer.html

[jimmycarterghostland]

I finished reading Migration 17.2 of Worm.

The Travelers arc is a waste of time. I really don't care about these guys. I dislike them, actually. And I just want to get back to Taylor and the main plot. What makes this arc worse is the fact that it's told from the POV of Trickster, the least likable member of the Travelers. Sigh.

Marissa/Sundancer and her goody-two-shoes nature made me mad pretty early on in Worm, starting from when she was angry at Taylor for taking out Lung's eyes, even though he deserved it and literally tried to murder them. In this chapter, Marissa is slowing the group down by trying to help that monster dude.

Why is Luke referred to as Lucas at one point? As in, his apartment was mentioned as "Lucas' apartment" once in this chapter. Error? I think so.

Also, I found this exchange in the comments:

Commenter: Why is our time being wasted on the Travelers?

Another commenter: I quite like the Traveler’s arc. It’s one of my favorite bits of Worm, for the reveal of the Simurgh’s true power and the similarities (and differences) between Krouse and Taylor. You may not enjoy it, but other people do.

^So passive aggressive. I agree with the first comment, though. This entire arc could easily have been told in dialogue by one of the Travelers. I dislike the Travelers, and I don't like the fact that I have to read these chapters, especially since Wildbow gave us that Noelle being released cliffhanger and now he's got the readers having to read a bunch of flashback chapters. It's irritating.

The Travelers are too unlikable. And their sob story isn't making this arc less of a chore to read. I keep thinking about how they're all jerks in the present day, how they were rude to Taylor, and how stupid(Sundancer and her goody-two-shoes moments), unlikable, and bland they are.

I would rather be reading a Faultline's gang arc instead. At least those guys aren't jerks. Plus, I find them more interesting than the Travelers are. And Faultline's gang actually care about each other.

Before I started this proper read of Worm, I would read random scenes out of order, and do some research on the characters and other stuff found in Worm. I liked the Travelers back then. Now that I've read up to this point in Worm in linear order, and saw what the Travelers are really like, I don't like them. And the more I read of them, the less I liked them. Genesis ended up being the least dislikable out of the bunch, but then she started acting like a jerk toward Taylor a few chapters ago. So, I can't even root for Genesis.

Simply put, screw the Travelers, and I cannot wait to be done with this arc.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

“I did not wish to interrupt you.”

“Don’t worry about it.  Maybe distracting me will help.”

“If you are sure.”  He approached the desk, setting the paper bag down on it, “It was seven o’clock, nobody had eaten yet.  I got us some sandwiches.”

“Thank you.  How’s Elle?”

“Spitfire said she was having a bad day, but she has eaten now.  Perhaps tomorrow will be better.”

Faultline sighed, “Let’s hope.

Maybe getting some more energy in your body will help you with your power.

It’s very easy to let yourself grow attached to that girl, know what I mean?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck!” she swore, as she swiped her hand over the rods and, again, the green wood refused to be cut.

“What are you doing?”

Seriously, though, why green wood?

Is... color involved somehow? Red and blue energy can’t cut green? Ehh, doesn’t seem likely.

“We’ve talked about the Manton effect.”

Ohh. She can’t cut the green wood because it’s organic. But then why could she cut the other wood?

“The rule that prevents some powers from affecting living things.  You have been trying to remove such restrictions from yourself.”

“Without luck.  It’s a matter of time before we’re on a job, things come down to the wire, and I’m too weak, because of this arbitrary limitation.”

Seriously, Faultline overcoming the Manton effect sounds terrifying. Just, red and blue energy crackles and a slice of her enemy’s body falls down on the ground.

“I find it hard to believe that anyone who has toppled a building on someone could call themselves weak.”

“That was luck more than anything else,” she sighed, as she adjusted the positions of the rods.

I suppose the Manton effect might get involved while cutting buildings and such, similar to how it makes it harder for Vista to affect space with people inside. But the Vista example makes more sense, as the power would naturally directly affect anyone inside the space she warps.

“If you say so.”

“It’s not like there isn’t precedent for this.  We know for a fact that some capes who were once held back by the Manton effect have figured out a way around it, or past it.  Narwhal being the most obvious case.”

“Yes.”

I think this has been mentioned before. Like, specifically with Narwhal being brought up in passing. Either way, it was very relevant in 4.10, with Bakuda accidentally bypassing the Manton effect with bomb 227.

Also, it’s obviously not what his power is, but I can’t help but imagine Narwhal as just some dude with a sword for a nose.

[journeysintowebcomics]

Worm Liveblog #24

UPDATE 24: The Life and Times of Gregor the Snail

Last time the fifth arc, Hive, had ended. Now it was time for an intermission before the sixth arc starts. Five arcs done, twenty-six left. Not too bad of a pace, right? I think I’ll be done in...a year and half, perhaps? Anyways, interlude 5, go.

Hmmmm...well looks like this interlude won’t be like I expected. I had thought it’d be some sort of reaction from the ABB or the superheroes about what had happened during Arc 5, but looks like that’ll be left for...later? Hopefully? For now this is a rather normal scene, just receiving stuff given to him by a teen. The character of the day is Gregor the Snail. Not the first character I’d have thought of, that’s for sure! I wonder why Mr. Wildbow chose Gregor as the focus here? Hm...

As pretty much everyone may have guessed, a character whose name is Gregor the Snail because of his appearance and abilities isn’t exactly supermodel material. There’s a rather detailed description, I can imagine how the guy looks like...it’d certainly be unnerving to look, at least until one gets used to it. Gregor’s skin is encrusted with snail shells as if they were barnacles, golly.

Turns out Gregor can’t simply wander into a convenience store and buy stuff. Yeah, no surprise there. That’s why he hires errand boys, and apparently he pays them quite generously. The teen here asks for how long he’d have to do this. “Until I called and you were unable or unwilling to run my errand.  If this happened more than once, or if the reason was not good, I would find someone else, as I did with the last individual.” That sounds ominous. You didn’t mean to make it sound ominous, right, Gregor? It’s just an errand boy. Nope, apparently the guy just decided to stop doing this for Gregor, nothing more than that.

It does sound like this is a wholesome deal. Nothing illegal, just everyday stuff. “So you call me, I run out and grab you groceries, or clothes, or take-out, or shampoo, or whatever, and you pay me three-” No, not shampoo, but yeah, that’s the gist. There’s always a chance someone would try to reach Gregor through his assistant, but it’s not likely. All in all, it sounds like an easy job, and for good money, too. This is the classic ‘sounds too good to be true’ thing. The worst part is that I’m not sure I’d reject such offer just like that. What can I say, it does sound like a simple enough thing to do, and the ridiculous amount of money for that is quite an allure.

This teen accepts the job, and it doesn’t seem like things are going to go too bad for him. Nice. Gregor starts walking towards a club, ‘Palanquin’, the third-person narrating how everyone avoided Gregor while on the street. Gregor hides his skin and face, but since he’s also rather obese, well, that doesn’t get people to approach. It had taken him years to come to peace with this.  With being one of the monsters. And looks like Gregor doesn’t like the pariah status very much. Hmmmm...what was his trigger event, I wonder? What led to his current physical appearance? Whatever it was, there’s no doubt it wasn’t the kind of thing anyone would wish on anyone.

Palanquin is a popular club, and Gregor can enter without waiting, for some reason. It doesn’t take long to find out why, in the second floor Newter is there. Given that Newter is rather young – at least the text here does state that – I really doubt he’s the owner of this club so...could this be a hideout for Faultline’s team? That’d explain it.

Heh, it does seem like Newter and Gregor are rather close to each other. Even though Newter is younger than Gregor, he’s all ‘Gregor, my boy’. Birds of a feather flock together, as I said in reply to that ask like a week ago.

Newter is bragging about his jobs as part of Faultine’s crew. Hah! These people are rather carefree about that! Even Faultline had joined the discussion not too long before Gregor arrived. I guess that they’re not really concerned about things like secret identities or staying undercover, if they’re welcoming third parties into their inner sanctum and bragging about their jobs. They include fighting capes in Philadelphia. Neat!

“It was a close call,” Gregor added his own two cents.  “Chevalier is leader of Protectorate in Philadelphia.  Myrddin leads Protectorate of Chicago.  These are people whole world recognizes.  They got positions protecting big cities in America because they are strong, because they are smart and talented.  We got the job done, as we always do, and we walked away.”

No way! This is a story I have to hear about. You mean to tell me Faultline’s team defeated two famous capes that protect big cities? That’s hella impressive! Now I’m curious how they did that. I won’t ever hear about it, will I? Oh well.

Looks like what these people came her for is to get drugged in Newter’s fluids. Golly, that’s gross. Newter gets water, dips the tip of his tongue in it, and passes it to the girls so they get high. I’m getting shivers down my spine, I’m a bit surprised at how blasé Newter is about all this.

That right there,” Newter pointed to the spoon with the tip of his tail, “Is a little less than an hour of psychadelic tripping.  No hangover, no side effects, it’s not addictive, and you can’t overdose on it.  Trust me, I’ve tried to make someone overdose before, combat situation, and I couldn’t make it happen.”

So Taylor didn’t have to worry about overdoses and the such? From touching his blood and all, I mean. Then again, falling into a psychedelic stupor would have been inconvenient and Newter would have died. I guess this also means Lung will be okay once he wakes up, after the ‘inconveniently long time’ is over. Could be hours, could be days...he got Newter’s blood in his eye, after all.

One of the gals gives Gregor her number before falling into the psychedelic daze, but Gregor isn’t really going to take the chance for human interaction, he throws the number away. “I do not think she liked me because I am me,” Gregor said, “I think she liked me because I am a monster.” He may be right, that may be what’s going on here. I don’t know what this Laura girl thought, buuuuut I imagine some people would be giddy at the chance of hooking up with a cape, no matter who it is. Gregor thinks she showed interest because of how he looks. “No way.  Maybe she likes you because of the person underneath.” They crossed like twenty words, Newter! Oh well, doesn’t matter, the number was thrown away and I don’t think Gregor will bother to talk to Laura again, so that doesn’t matter now.

What’s for sure and the one thing I got from this is that Gregor is very cautious about getting close to people, not only in the physical sense, but also in the emotional sense. All this time looking like he does, unable to even do everyday things like going to a store to buy groceries, that must have taken quite a toll on him. I feel bad for this guy...

Gregor shows concern for Newter’s happiness. No, he’s not getting all philosophical, all he wants to know is if Newter is okay with everything. “Dude.  Look at me.  I have money to burn, I’ve got the hottest girls in the city begging to get a taste of me. Literally wanting to taste me! What do you think?” I think you could have phrased that last part a bit better, but yeah, sounds to me that Newter is ecstatic about his life right now. Is this all Faultline’s work? Because if so, boy is she the best boss so far, compared to Kaiser and the Undersiders’ anonymous benefactor. Then again, anonymous benefactor is rather nice too, generous with the money and all.

Now that he confirmed Newter is okay, Gregor goes to another room, where there’s someone there, a girl lying on the bed and another one, who seems to be like a caretaker.

They had learned the hard way, that the more distant the girl was, the stronger her power. This made her particularly dangerous when she was so lost that she might not recognize him.  Cruel irony, Gregor observed, that she had virtually no power at all when she was most herself.  It was a problem they hoped to find an answer to, someday.

Damn that’s rough, poor girl...I bet it’s a consequence of her power, another power that brought awful changes to the person. Maybe that’s what Faultline’s crew is all about, finding those who got a bad hand once their powers got triggered, and give them a better life – so to say. That’s the common ground I see between Gregor, Newter and Labyrinth. The girl lying down here doesn’t sound like Labyrinth, her power didn’t seem like the type that’s more useful the more distant she is. A prospective member, perhaps? It doesn’t sound like she’s an active part of the team, at least.

There’s a bit of backstory, but no word about her power or her identity. If she was Labyrinth, I think the narrator would have said it. Anyways, going to see Faultline now. Faultline has many cover businesses in Brockton Bay. Now that I think about it, what is your power, Faultline?

As Gregor watched, she closed her eyes, then swiped her hand across the top ends of the rods.  Red and blue energy crackled, and coin-shaped pieces of wood, metal, stone and plastic fell to the desktop.  Other rods, several of which were green wood, were untouched.

Right, um...I’m not sure what that was. I know what the definition of ‘faultline’ is, but other than that, I’m pretty clueless. Faultline seems rather frustrated about the green wood rods not being affected at all, and mentions the Manton effect. Does that mean these rods she can’t affect are imbued with biological matter? That’s what I think this all means, at least.

Also the freckled girl who’s watching over Unnamed Distant Girl was Spitfire. There she is, the one Faultline stole from the Undersiders. Nice to finally meet her!

I’m such an idiot. Wood is already an organic material, isn’t it.

What Faultline is trying to do here is to bypass the Manton effect, she’s testing the theory that it’s all a psychological block instead of a, hm, physical one. If she can trick her own brain to affect organic material...eeeeeh, I’m pretty sure it’s not a psychological block. If I had to guess, it may be due to the components of organic matter. That sounds like it’d be possible to bypass, although with a lot of work.

Faultline requests Gregor to line up the rods again, but he does something else. Betrayal!

Gregor stepped around the desk, grabbed her by the throat with his left hand, and pulled her out of the chair.  He shoved her to the ground and climbed atop of her so he was straddling her, his knees pressing her arms down.  His grip tightened incrementally.

Things are getting rough around here! Par for the course for Worm, I guess, but this is not what I thought I’d see in this interlude! And indeed, thanks to Gregor’s unique biology, nothing Faultline can do would stop him. Right before she’s choked to death, he lets go. Oh. Guess it wasn’t betrayal, after all. Honestly I’m glad it wasn’t, I like what I have seen of Faultline so far. Besides, it’d be rather callous of Gregor to betray the team like that.

He waited patiently for her to recover.  When she looked more or less in control of her own breathing, he spoke, “Months ago, we were talking about this subject, the Manton effect.  You mentioned how it might be possible for someone like us to have a second trigger event.  A radical change or improvement in their powers as a result of a life or death moment. Such might explain how one broke the Manton rule.”

Something like that would explain what happened to Taylor – if the power up was permanent. But it isn’t, I had the feeling Taylor’s improvement in her powers was a temporal thing. If this theory about a second trigger event is true, it’ll need a lot more than a life or death moment like this one to activate. If facing death by bombs used by one heck of a psycho isn’t enough for that, what will be enough? I almost fear what it’d be.

Then again, since this was mentioned, I feel this is foreshadowing of some kind. With some luck, if someone in Worm undergoes a second trigger event, it’ll be someone on Taylor’s side and not a villain.

Faultline forgives Gregor for his extreme measures. He wasn’t going to kill her, it was a way of helping. “What if it had worked, you big lunatic?  What did you expect me to do to you?  Cut off your hand?  Kill you?” Hmmmm...who knows, maybe any lost limbs would grow back. Can’t say I know for sure. Then again, I performed a Google search, and looks like snails can regrow their tails and shells. An arm may not be any of those things, but I’d say it isn’t out of question that Gregor regrows a hand! Thanks for compelling me to learn something new, Mr. Wildbow.

Thank goodness, Faultline isn’t willing to put herself in dangerous situations that go further than being choked and almost dying. Thank you for having some restraint! And Gregor remarks on how grateful he is to her. I feel bad for thinking even for a moment he was betraying her. I bet any readers who read that cringed, or something.

So, turns out Gregor is giving some of his earnings to Faultline, so she can answer some of the questions they have. Can you give a bit of exposition here, Mr. Wildbow? What kind of questions? Whatever they are, Gregor is going to find out before the rest, thanks to him being the one who pays the most.

...looks like the tattoo wasn’t a sign of comradeship or something. Huh. I didn’t think it’d be anything else, but I was wrong. It seems to be more like something that happens on parahumans as mutated as Gregor and Newter? They’re not the only ones with it. Other people have them too.

“You and Newter, you already know, aren’t alone.  On a steady basis, parahumans have been turning up across North America. Retrograde amnesia, all marked by that same tattoo as you are on various parts of their body.  Each was dumped in an out of the way location in an urban area. Alleys, ditches, rooftops, under bridges.”

Okay, there’s no way that’s an accident. Then...does that mean someone’s giving a bunch of people powers? Because this doesn’t sound natural at all, like it happened to Taylor and Grue. The amnesia doesn’t fit; the tattoo is pretty much a dead giveaway on that regard. If that’s the case, then...who is doing this? And why? Why to make capes? It’s not to make some sort of army, that’s for sure, because if it were, they wouldn’t be tossed around like yesterday’s trash. Maybe it’s just for the sake of having more people with powers around, for one reason or another? Wow, this all is something I’ll have to mull for quite a while! Interesting!

There’s one anomaly in the pattern, one ‘Shamrock’ who looks completely normal, has powers that manipulate probabilities, and has the tattoo.

“That’s puzzle piece number one.  Given the dates, and you’re free to look them over in your own time, going by the first sightings, the people that are showing up with these tattoos are getting less and less monstrous with each passing year.  Not always, but it’s a trend.  Then, boom, we get Shamrock.  No strange features to speak of.”

Nevermind, more than one anomaly. So, whatever’s going on may be being perfected. I see...this is definitely something to look into. Who else may know what’s going on, I wonder...just Faultline? This sounds like the kind of thing other capes should be aware of – uh, heroic capes, I mean. Chances are they know too, though.

To make things even more complicated, there’s someone three months ago in Florida who may or may not have dealt powers to anyone who could pay it. It’s amazing something like powers can be replicated like that, I thought it was something born out of stress and horrible situations like Taylor and Brian’s. There may be differences between these artificially obtained powers, and those that are happening naturally. I don’t have enough information to know yet, but there’s no way something as important as this won’t be the focus of an arc! Or more than one arc! Seriously, this is big!

Gregor and Faultline get to the same conclusions I did, that whoever is doing this was experimenting and the process is being perfected. This investigation is going to continue, and for that, Faultline wants to find Shamrock and offer her a spot in the team, or at least get information from her. Oh boy, another powerful member for Faultline’s mercenary crew. This crew is seriously interesting to hear about; my curiosity is piqued.

And that’s the end of this interlude. Well this all went in directions I never imagined. Faultline’s crew, Gregor, the whole thing with the tattoos...it was a blast to read. I completely forgot what I thought this’d be about, I really got into this interlude! And now there’s a new factor to consider when one thinks of Worm. This is looking like a sizable development; I wonder how long it’ll be before Taylor hears of it? I mean, Mr. Wildbow has many talents as a writer and all, but I don’t know if he can handle two big plots like Taylor’s and now this one at once. Chances are the two will be intertwined at some point. Maybe next arc, maybe later...

...for now I’ll just keep reading and see what happens. I had intended to start the next arc today, but this interlude seems good to have by itself. That’s why I’m stopping now. Next time arc 6 will be started. For now, thank you for reading!

Next update: four updates

[mirandaputsherbestbuttforward]

@my-faultlines EXACTLY like it’s just.... white suburban mom looks and it was off putting to me.

that doesn’t mean i dislike her, I think she;’s interesting and I’ll gladly make a dude ryder to romance her at some point??? like i did that back on the days of console for ash and miranda and cassandra for that matter when i had to speed run DAI.

like.... also it came down to her uniform and the way she carried herself in the trailers that did Not give me a gay vibe at all really.