#villains code

[jabber-wock]

Drew Hayes question: Is Fred worth it? I read and loved Super Powereds, Villains' Code (although I haven't gotten Chilling Reflections yet, so no spoilers), and NPCs!! but I read book one (and maybe 2? I'm not positive tbh) of Fred and it was just kind of meh. It felt so episodic in a way that I didn't find that engaging and I also didn't fall in love with any of the characters that much. Should I give it another shot? Does it get better? Will I become A Normal Amount of Interested™️ about yet another of this man's series?

[shap3shifter-witch]

I leave tumblr for 6 months and Forging Hephaestus has an active fanbase

this is the best thing ever hooooooly shit im sooo hyped

[agoodslowclapmoment]

[drewhayesalyzer]

Quote stolen from my reply to a comment on my fic that deserves sharing:

[Xelas] is the ride or die friend but sometimes she is the one driving the car and you're tied up in the trunk.

[toririvas]

HELLO EVERYBODY.

I GOT CHILLING REFLECTIONS. I FINISHED CHILLING REFLECTIONS.

GOOD GOD. I HAVE TO SLEEP AFTER THAT! HELP ME

(READ IT IT'S GOOD)

[myupostsheadcanons]

Chilling Reflections (Villains' Code, Book 3)

I was able to finish reading the book while heading across state to the KS Renaissance Fair. (harhar, that the plot of the last 5min Sherlock book was also about a RenFair) I had planned on reading it all the same week it came out, but had meat-space stuff get in the way - sorry.

Yes, you should read "Villains' Vignettes" before reading this book. Events that happened in that Volume are talked about in this book. While it does do some explaining, the over all experience is a lot better if you already read what happened. The Halloween story and a young Ivan ending up an accidental hero in another dimension have elements that are important to characters growth in this one.

Spoilers Under Cut:

VRX77... yeah, i guessed she was an alternate universe Tori by the second time she showed up in the book. I first thought, by the title of the book that Vicki was going to be a cold-based version of Tori tho. But turned out the "Chilling" part of the book was because of Jokull the Frost Giant and his role within the C-plot of Faithful and Bert's schemes.

I do find it a rather interesting development with Ivan and Fornax, that whenever Ivan loses control and Fornax takes over, that once Ivan gets behind the driver's seat again, he is unable to maintain the same amount of dominance between his will and Fornax's will. That Ivan can't not access as much of Fornax's powers with out risking Foranx slipping into the driver's seat. It is a clean way to nerf Ivan, make it to where he can't just show up and fix everything, and Drew then doesn't have to keep throwing Hammers at the Earth (Or having Ivan go to another world for a while).

But what about Lodestar swooping in to save the day? She has only been back to work the last couple years, she did spend the past several years as a full time mom and not using her powers. There is only one of her, and she isn't as ruthless as people like Professor Quantum or the members of the Villains Guild. She has been taken out of fights before, or has been distracted by a larger threat while something else happens under her nose. This has happened at the end of both Bones of the Past and Chilling Reflections already.

Jokull counted on Lodestar to show up when he took Ivan. He knew that if Lodestar wouldn't kill him, eventually he would push Ivan far enough to become Fornax and get the same result. The latter happened, unfortunately.

Though not unfortunately, it did FINALLY clear the air between Ivan and Helen and they aren't pussy footing around their feelings for one another anymore... (hits Nexus with a rolled up news paper for being a peeping tom)

I would like to see more of the extended cast in the next book or in the VVV2. It does stream line the story focusing most of the POVs to a handful of groups. I do miss having more of Glyph and Pest Control, or even some of the other Villains... doing Villain stuff. It has been even commented in this book that Tori and Bev don't act very villainous, they just don't pull their punches like a Hero would, they are more Vigilante than Villain.

Cloe getting a taste of Edict's powers, and realizing why people who've ran into her counter parts put Edict on the same level as Nexus and Captain Bullshit. She was able to change Faithful's powers without him even realizing what happened, he probably doesn't even know yet, and i hope this comes back to bite him in the ass.

I've came across a few old science fiction stories that are based around Faithful's powers before. It is the belief that He is the only real person and that nothing else around him is real. He is a God in his own mind and he believes in himself thoroughly.

With Mr. AV coming back into the picture at the end of the book, it is likely that Donald/Cyber Geek is going to get that training that other Cyber Geeks were able to get. It was funny as fuck when Cyber Geek randomly found a guy named Full Bars with the power to amplify all cell and wi-fi signals just when he needed the help accessing the internet the most. I read that part out loud in the car to my brother and he thought it was funny too.

I have this sneaking suspicion that Rick and Ren/Medley are going to have a lot of common ground (on body image and shape shifting). And, just maybe, they can learn something from one another. something that Ivan can not teach. Perhaps Helen brings it up to Ivan as a possibility.

Kyle finally putting the pieces together that Tori just may be Hephaestus... that would be an awesome 'popcorn worthy' show down when it finally gets out into the open. All because Bev wanted a nice pair of caprices.

So... are we like seeing Professor Quantum become the true Villain? The first meta, paranoid as fuck, afraid of losing control, has back up plans for back up plans, treats people as tools, works against other heroes, has no problems with killing people that get in his way.... That was a dick move putting that mind-control chip in Ellie and making her see her "dead" friend.

Speaking of.... Ike and Settler are alive.... somewhere....

Ranking: 7 out of 10.

Too much going on sometimes. There are at least four different antagonist plots going on at the same time, on top of the monster invasion from extra space. Drew perhaps needs to step back a bit on the gas and put in some more Personal Life Drama stuff like he had in Super Powereds.

[wetfloor-sign09]

I need good villains code fan art/fan content I know the fandom is mostly adults but I can starving

[unconnectedreads]

I need more Lance content.

It's just...OK so stay with me.

He's described as looking like your basic meat-head jock from any '90s high school movie.

He's a pretty nice and affible guy, as indicated by how he's the first person to greet Tori out of the apprentices.

He seems comfortable in social situations and unlike Beverly, there is no out-right hatred for the capes.

He has no history of villainous or criminal behavior that we're aware of.

He has a family that he doesn't think will mind him bringing an unexpected guest for the holidays which seems to mean that the relationship is good.

Honestly, the character he most compares to in looks and demeanor on paper is Apollo.

But when offered the opportunity to join the heroes with no strings attached he just goes 'Nah, I'm cool with being a villian?'

I need more information.

[zachdefense]

In my latest of book trades with my brother, he's finishing up Mistborn with The Lost Metal while I'm catching up on the Villains' Code series with

Bones of the Past

And not to be a "guy who's only seen Boss Baby" about this but I get some heavy Worm vibes from this series. Girl who gets super powers and ends up working with villains due partly to circumstances outside her control, but mostly due to her own choices. Moral ambiguity asking questions about if the villains are really worse people than the heroes. And hell, they use the term "capes" to refer to powered people, which I haven't seen anywhere else outside of Worm.

This being the second book in the series, it really works to test the lines between hero and villain. Tori, our main character, I don't think she commits a single crime in this book. But what keeps her squarely in the villain camp is her attitude. She kills and orders the deaths of a not-insignificant number of people in self-defense; while on the flip side, the heroes focused on in the book are actively training to tone down the casualties when they're stopping crime. And of course, the final showdown ends with heroes and villains working together to stop a greater threat, as in the previous book. almost like that's a theme or something

This book also does a lot more to play with the idea of secret identities than I've seen elsewhere, which was a lot of fun to read. After the last book Tori had one out-of-costume friend who joined the hero's side. In this book she not only gets to know his team, but is introduced to a new squad of heroes that she meets and befriends. Watching her get to know and care about people that she may have to fight the next day introduced some interesting conflict.

The worldbuilding feels very comic-booky, which took me out of it a bit in the first book (what do you mean one organization controls all super-powered crime in the world???), and I don't really agree with one or two of the larger themes (don't really like what you're saying about punitive justice so far, Mr Hayes), but aside from that it was a really fun read. Feels like the kind of series that should have a much larger fandom than it does (only one result on AO3? Seriously?). Would give it a thumbs up, especially if you're a fan of

large casts of super heroes with unique powers

side characters that are interesting enough that they should have their own novels

unlikely allies who have to work together

Superman being a genuinely nice person to talk to

worldhoppers that know too much, stir shit up, and leave

the kind of villains that would name themselves Johnny Three-Dicks or Captain Bullshit

I might have to pick up some of Drew Hayes's other stories to check out after this. His Super Powereds series sounds like it could be fun while I'm on this superhero kick, but that's his only series that my brother doesn't have in person for me to borrow, thus slightly inconveniencing me.

[drewhayesalyzer]

Chloe Henson, my love!!!

@soleil-in-retrograde @rollforluck4 @ofekma @hartsnkises

favorite character from any media BUT it has to be a woman. in the tags now go (pls talk to me about your favorite fictional women pls pls pls pls)

[roll4luck]

Drew Hayes give us Nexus/Captain Bull crackship in the next book PLEASE, a crumb I beg of you, I love them both and they would love and hate each other it would be amazing

[jabber-wock]

I'm reading Villains Vignettes and its so fun!!! Im on story two, and letting Ivan just really go to town murder wise makes me so 🥰🥰🥰

[animentality]

[kianamaiart]

Pretty Pretty Please I Don't Want to be a Magical Girl: Villains

[drewhayesalyzer]

So hyper. I think Imma binge Villains Code fanfiction instead of sleeping.

[toririvas]

oh yeah! I wrote a fic finally!

Ellie/Ike, 5.9k, sad. bones of the past spoilers obv