#or browbeat

[benrobertson2004]

It’s really funny that wildbow had Maggie explicitly say she had no romantic feelings for Blake because I’m 90% sure it’s just because someone in Wordpress comments at the time was shipping them as the book came out

[artbyblastweave]

So, Wildbow pretty famously retconned Browbeat to death because he got sick of fan jokes about every new character secretly being Browbeat under a new identity. I've got mixed thoughts on that.

Unfortunately for all, my de facto reaction to that kind of meta-level contrarian stunt is "Power Move TBH," even if it was broadly comorbid with a proximity to the fandom that kind of blew out Ward's kneecaps with a .50 cal. Overlooking the fact that I think it was really sincerely funny, there's an argument to be made that it trims the fat; adding an additional heroic casualty for a grand total of seven out of twenty two named heroes operating in Brockton Bay at the time of arc 8. Browbeat is also specifically an independent hero who was headhunted for the Wards relatively soon after his debut- a distinct dynamic from the other wards who get pulverized, from the superheroic family business of New Wave, or the adult professional superheroes who bite it. This is a very Taylor shaped guy, the same kind of just-starting-out teenaged cape with an uncertain future. Him getting unceremoniously pulverized for the bad luck of having a front-line power therefore presents a bit of a "there but for the grace of god" moment for Skitter, if you choose to look at it like that. This is the kind of thing an editor would probably make him do anyway, if he wasn't cut entirely. But the thing is that I am kind of attached to the original outcome for Browbeat, which is that he dips. I think it actually adds some subtle verisimilitude to the story. The number of heroes we actually see is significantly lower than the alluded-to headcount in the early arcs; more indie heroes are alluded to then ever actually appear, and a combination of Leviathan casualties and departure during the ensuing civilian exodus is usually how I've seen that discrepancy squared. But it hits better if a named character cuts and runs. In the story as currently written, every hero who lives, remains in Brockton Bay to try and hold the line. I kind of liked the version of the story where that wasn't the case, where you can infer that at least one of these teenagers went, you know what, I'm not so completely committed to heroic altruism at the age of 16 that I'm gonna hang around to do it in a town without running water, I'm going to pursue a less horrible gig elsewhere. That's not really a thing that happens too often in Big-two comics, and if it were to happen it would likely be painted as a notable departure from expectations. But one of Worm's major themes is that unlike in the comics, there's a gigantic spread of motivations and personality types amongst the officially designated heroes, and it's a nice reminder that all those different personality types are going to have different thresholds for throwing in the towel and moving on to greener pastures. Or it was, until he just died instead

[germesthegenie]

Considering I’ll probably need it for when I get back to reading Ward Arc 12, here’s a try at a Foil design

Outfit heavily inspired by a game I’ve been playing for the past week (hence the lack of posts lol). If you can guess which game uhh I’ll draw a Worm/Ward character of your choice ig (pre-Ward Arc 12 pls)

[brightwingedbat]

New kitty, Valens Browbeat. Son of @commanderhorncleaver's Gaius. Ash warrior, interrogator for business, fun-loving charmer for free time. Shares in the family resemblance, but knows how to smile unlike his father and his half-brother Raevik. ( @alta1r1an's)

[notdefendingtaylor]

if swiftism is a cult then it has the least effective missionaries ever

[kyliafanfiction]

I've said more than once that Wildbow doesn't understand fandom and I was thinking about him killing Browbeat (not sure why) in response to the memes about him being a stranger and so on, and like - I think Wildbow saw those memes as a criticism?

Like a 'Wilbow is such a terrible author for not remembering this minor character' but like - I don't think they were? They were just fun for the people doing it?

[heavencasteel420]

Am I dreaming, or is this really rude and presumptuous?

I mean, to start with, that’s literally wrong (he gets high twice onscreen and this is said to have been a regular occurrence since moving to California), but also that seems like a pretty bad-faith reading of “compulsively.” Many generally harmless things can be done compulsively, from checking whether you turned the stove off to playing phone games. I asked the first question because I’ve seen this user get mad at people for not considering S4 Jonathan a carefree stoner (seemingly because they’re a St4ncy shipper and that interpretation suits their vision of that ship). Maybe they didn’t see it and that’s why their response was off-topic, but given their general behavior, maybe not.

Again, this is a response to a post where I said that Jonathan’s morose/compulsive weed usage was “so special to me” and “they didn’t ruin his character.” Is that demonizing? And, no, I don’t “cry” (Jesus) about characters drinking one beer…but if they’re drinking it before work/school in the morning, that is TV for “this is a problem.” And also it’s a sign in real life that someone is struggling.

(I posted my answer in this screenshot before I saw theirs in this screenshot; I was hoping against hope that we wouldn’t have to get into all of that.)

This is just such a high-handed, aggressive way to approach this conversation. What, am I on trial here?

More of the same.

They do not know.

[dagda-the-doodler]

Browbeat!!!! Wildbow may have literally forgotten about you and had to retcon you into dying, but I only almost forgot about you!

[zizbombs]

can parian, eidolon and bakuda start a podcast

[askvectorprime]

Dear, Vector Prime.

Besides Victorion, I believe there are other combiners called "Slammoth" and "Quakebreak", could you tell me what kind of members they are made up of?

Dear Vote Victorious,

Yes, these Combiners do exist, but never in the same realities as each other or Victorion. Indeed, they usually exhibited a combination of very similar traits and overlapping components; I have observed instances of both Slammoth and Quakebreak who exactly resemble Victorion in all but name. Curious indeed! Speaking in terms of broad trends, though, Quakebreak was the nemesis of Devastator, who used his seismic powers to reduce the Constructicons' fortifications to rubble; conversely, Slammoth used her teleportation ability to keep up with the Stunticons, matching Menasor in brute strength.

You wished to know about their individual component members… well, it just so happens that our previous correspondence has reminded me of an outlying incarnation of the group—one that has absolutely nothing in common with Pyra Magna and her Torchbearers.

Having crash-landed on Earth aboard the Ark, the Icebreakers were reactivated by Teletraan-I in response to a Decepticon energy signature. Brought online during what was the first of your planet's ice ages, they scanned what were determined to be the dominant lifeforms at the time, different prehistoric megafauna. They were led by Heavytread, a woolly rhinoceros whose naturalist background helped them navigate the wild environment. He often butted heads with Fangtron, the group's hunter and tracker, a mighty sabretooth tiger. Their comrades were Browbeat, an ever-stalwart Irish elk; Fearswoop, a terror bird with a timid disposition; and Barbearian, a cave bear who was always ticked-off by something or other. Through their tenacity and skill, they survived for over a year in that hostile alien world, avoiding the countless traps set by the one-eyed Decepticon who hunted them relentlessly. When the time came for their final confrontation, they united to form the mighty Slammoth—who took the shape of her namesake animal—and fought to slay their foe, even if it meant their own extinction.

[all-pacas]

This is not a CamChase post, but, I actually do want to talk about something I feel is deeply underappreciated by fandom, which is: Cameron and Chase are actually friends.

Long before they ever sleep together, all the way back in early S1. The two of them are almost always shown to get along! Cameron sticks up for Chase the entire Vogler arc, refusing (incorrectly) to believe he would rat, or that he should be fired. Chase, noted apathetic, actually tends to go out of his way to compliment or stick up for Cameron in early episodes: he passes along her good ideas to House (Maternity), defends her from House's criticism (Detox), and compliments her good ideas in Pilot and DNR, something he notable never does once for Foreman.

They get along! They have a joking conversation about lab results and House and Foreman's fight in Socratic Method. In Paternity Chase makes a sort of borderline inappropriate joke that the patient should take his mind off his pain by admiring Cameron's boobs; Cameron laughs instead of getting offended. In Sports Medicine, he teases her about her upcoming date with House. In Hunting, before the meth hookup, Chase is openly worried about her and asks Cameron to drinks; he even offers to do extra work so she can take it easy! Chase! The laziest man alive!

But to me, the most telling example is in in Mob Rules. We're at the start of the Hameron arc, and last episode Cameron asked House if he liked her, which he didn't answer either way. And what does Cameron do? She talks to Chase about it.

CAMERON: Did House seem weird to you? CHASE: Are you expecting him to be weird? CAMERON: We spoke about how we felt. CHASE: You told him you liked him? CAMERON: No, of course not. CHASE: What are you talking about, then? CAMERON: I asked him if he liked me. CHASE: Why would you do that? CAMERON: Because… I like him.

They're friends! Chase reacts with zero surprise that Cameron likes House; she goes to him for advice in a moment she's feeling vulnerable. He already knows she likes House, Cameron wants his opinion. This is a conversation between friends.

In fact, this happens a few times. Notably, Cameron tries very hard to get Chase to open up to her in Cursed:

CAMERON: You know, parents are never as bad as kids think they are. CHASE: You like my dad so much, ask him out. CAMERON: [joking] I’d make an excellent step-mom, I’m very lenient. [pause] He’s your father, you never see him, and he’s here. Unless he’s done some unspeakable thing, you should lighten up. CHASE: Right, thanks for the tip.

And, yeah, she clearly doesn't get it, but she's trying! She's joking around, she cares. Cameron tries to get Chase's advice in Sleeping Dogs Lie, she commiserates with him in Deception, she unilaterally defends Chase in The Mistake. They joke around sometimes, she confides in Chase when the TB guy in TB or Not TB asks her out: Cameron goes to Chase for relationship advice! More than once!

These are conversations that do not happen with other characters: Cameron and Foreman indicate they respect one another medically, but never have personal conversations; Chase doesn't open up to anyone, period. But whenever Cameron is looking for advice or to share romantic gossip… she goes to Chase. And Chase, for his part, likes to tease her (and she him: sex can kill you was 1000% Cameron trolling him), but honestly tends to be… if not automatically sympathetic, he listens, he jokes about TB Guy, he knows about her crush on House and treats it like old news. They're! Friends! I would actually argue this is probably the main reason Cameron goes to him when she decides she wants casual sex: Chase is someone she, in fact, likes. Even if that liking is not romantic. (Even the btw we should have sex, I will never love you is uh. Unless you are totally deranged that is not how you approach a fwb situation. Unless you. You know. Know Chase isn't gonna be offended because he already knows you're friends and aren't trying to drag him.)

And this actually does continue once they do date, btw. They're constantly hanging out. Chase spends entire episodes of S5 just hanging out in the ER. He still likes to tease her (Whatever it Takes), she inexplicably/hilariously still ropes him into her House drama (Ugly), but I can count on one hand the number of times they bicker or are unkind and mean it. They are friends! They always were friends. And that was the case long before they ever hooked up. In an AU where they never dated, they would still be friends. Their (romantic) relationship was badly written, no one likes it, I get it. But honestly I really do love how well they got along in S1-2, and I wish people appreciated that friendship more.

[quasi-normalcy]

"Picard season 3 was the perfect end to the TNG era!"

How the TNG era begins: Humans prove their worth on the galactic stage by solving a space mystery, choosing reason over violence, and liberating a captive alien godling.

How the TNG era ends: The crew get together to do a Death Star trench run on a Borg cube, annihilating an entire species.

[thedreadvampy]

also I'm really not trying to be a dick to people who are being nice to me but like I truly do get very thrown off by how obsessed people are with What Other People Will Allow Them To Do

call me narcissistic but I moved this entire party inside decades ago. I'm the only person I'm trying to impress and I'm a very, very harsh critic. Other people - eh, what they think seems like their problem.

[germesthegenie]

I will draw the LEAST voted option (and the rest maybe in ascending order)

[autoacafiles]

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Browbeat

"Even the threat of power has power." —Jeska, warrior adept

Artist: Mark Tedin TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link