|
Grundulum posted:Well, we do know what this arc's title is. I agree that the house is the target, not Blake. What about a different kind of breach? The fire and brimstone kind.
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2014 15:24
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 18:57 |
|
|
Wait, I thought Pact updated Tuesdays/Saturdays?
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2014 15:35
|
|
|
Donation chapter, I think.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2014 15:49
|
|
|
Solution to Blake's problem just find a sharpie and mess up the circle a little. Hopefully it backfires on the Duchamp's/Behaim's and there we go series over
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2014 06:00
|
|
|
Pavlov posted:Wait, I thought Pact updated Tuesdays/Saturdays? Wildbow does one bonus Thursday update for every thousand dollars of donations he gets. It seems to be working out at one every other week.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2014 10:17
|
|
|
Its that much? drat thats a decent chunk of change. Dependss how many hours he puts into it I suppose.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2014 10:20
|
|
|
Saros posted:Its that much? drat thats a decent chunk of change. Dependss how many hours he puts into it I suppose. He's stated it's a full time job for him, at 40-50 hours a week.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2014 12:55
|
|
|
Yeah, $26,000 a year from a full-time job isn't that much. I think I'll throw him some money myself...
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2014 12:59
|
|
|
The fact that Maggie Holt is the star of a YA fiction series in the Wormverse has kind of biased me into thinking she'll be a long term ally. Of course that could be intentional to throw off the direction Wildblow actually wants to take the story, or it could have just been a neat easter egg he decided to throw in when naming a character.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2014 19:47
|
|
|
7c Nickel posted:The fact that Maggie Holt is the star of a YA fiction series in the Wormverse has kind of biased me into thinking she'll be a long term ally. Of course that could be intentional to throw off the direction Wildblow actually wants to take the story, or it could have just been a neat easter egg he decided to throw in when naming a character. Maggie is pretty dark for a YA heroine. We probably shouldn't think of her and the character from the books in Wormverse as quite the same person. Silver2195 fucked around with this message at 04:03 on Feb 22, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2014 04:01
|
|
|
Jesus christ Wildbow can write  Of the literal thousands of works I've read, very few have grabbed my gut like these last couple chapters.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2014 13:50
|
|
|
That was a great chapter. I feel he's starting to get up to speed.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2014 16:59
|
|
|
The last two chapters have been really really good.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2014 18:12
|
|
|
Super intense stuff the last couple chapters. Now he has to figure out how to tell leanne the "secret". Blake did all of this right before he was going to eat a real meal and sleep. He needs to take a break for a while. At least he got hood food earlier.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2014 19:05
|
|
|
packsmack posted:Super intense stuff the last couple chapters. Now he has to figure out how to tell leanne the "secret". Well, I guess he was one of the bad parts of town at the time.  (I'm sorry) But yeah, Pact's really picked up. I'm glad... Though I'll be happy if Blake can actually get some rest and prepare at some point. Having Taylor run from fight-to-fight on fumes was one thing, because she wasn't a Tinker, but magic users are kind of defined by being terrifying with a little prep time. He hasn't really gotten to do much of that, between getting on the ground and trying to get food and avoiding imminent death. Kind of makes me wonder if Wildbow's read any Jim Butcher. Blake seems to be following the noir school of "on the way home, get beaten up seventeen times and save two orphanages."
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2014 21:56
|
|
|
Woops, I was phone posting and missed that typo. I also was kind of wondering if wildbow had drawn a little inspiration from Butcher. He has probably read it or at least I would assume so. Butcher is one of the most successful urban fantasy writers around right now. If I was trying to write stories in a genre that I hadn't previously done a large work in, I would read up on what others have done.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2014 23:46
|
|
|
Wow, that last chapter was incredible. I was actually breathing faster and feeling nervous during the phone call paragraphs and their followup. I don't know what Wildbow can do from here, but between Worm's awesome rampup in tension and the drama here I can't wait. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2014 23:53
|
|
|
Things can't ever go quite right for Blake, can they? These recent chapters have been excellent.
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2014 07:00
|
|
|
Elyv posted:Things can't ever go quite right for Blake, can they? There's a very good in-universe explanation for that. His family has so much karmic debt that it's the work of lifetimes to pay it off, and when you're in karmic debt Murphy's Law applies double or triple. It's no surprise that he can't catch a break.
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2014 07:40
|
|
|
This is starting to get really good.
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2014 15:13
|
|
|
Well that's a creative way to deal with Blake.
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2014 15:28
|
|
|
I'd give good odds that because its only a sphere or circle around the house thats affected by the time distortion Rose is still going to be able to flick in and out at will. Still got library access! That said its pretty bullshit Laird got it all set up again and dome before he could even get home. All that for nothing!
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2014 18:32
|
|
|
Not nothing! Counting Coop is probably à big deal in the supernatural world.
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2014 18:46
|
|
|
I like it, I was getting tired of Jacob's Bell. Hopefully Blake will be able to find someone to work for in Toronto, perhaps the Lord, who can offer him protection for service. This will give Blake time to improve his craft and what not before he has to deal with the people in Jacob's Bell again. They'll obviously still be after him because they can't touch the house until all the heirs are dead (I guess?) and it will still be stopping them from expanding the town.
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2014 20:36
|
|
|
Is it just me? Or does that seem like a game-breakingly powerful ability they just used on the house? How long will that last? If that sort of thing is possible, I'm kinda afraid that the series is going to devolve into fridge logic soon. Wildbow's good, and all, but if 7(?) practicioners in a podunk town can dilate time to that degree with an evening's ritual, why isn't the whole world totally hosed up already? Concerns about continuity-gently caress aside, if it does last for a long time, and he finds a way in, they've just gone and given him one hell of a defense against intruders! "Oh, thanks guys. I was wanting to ward my house. You're the best neighbors to do it for me." 
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2014 21:48
|
|
|
Blasphemeral posted:Is it just me? Or does that seem like a game-breakingly powerful ability they just used on the house? How long will that last? If that sort of thing is possible, I'm kinda afraid that the series is going to devolve into fridge logic soon. Wildbow's good, and all, but if 7(?) practicioners in a podunk town can dilate time to that degree with an evening's ritual, why isn't the whole world totally hosed up already? Karmic whiplash I think would keep them from mucking around globally. Also, it wasn't just a few people, it was two powerful family involved in that ritual. It was very involved, took a lot of people, and had to go off just right.
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2014 22:11
|
|
|
Kalas posted:Karmic whiplash I think would keep them from mucking around globally. A very large amount of banked power was involved, with pretty much every edge leveraged. I'm fairly sure it can't be trivially repeated.
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2014 22:18
|
|
|
I'm pretty surprised by the most recent chapter. The end of it seems most comparable to, well, the Leviathan arc. It puts Blake utterly outside of the comfort zone he's found, and totally changes the game. Leviathan turned Worm more than a little post-apocalyptic and signaled a pretty distinct change in the tone and pacing; forcing Blake out of Jacob's Bell has the potential to do something similarly huge. I don't think Pact is really ready for that, though. Leviathan came about after Wildbow told most of the stories Brockton Bay had at the beginning. I don't think Jacob's Bell is anywhere close to as fully tapped. There will probably be another big shake-up later on, when Blake's got his feet under him and Laird and the Duchamps aren't utterly outgunning him any more, but I get the feeling this particular one might be dodged. Maybe Johannes will intervene? We know almost nothing about him, but the last few chapters have been formally introducing the minor players and outcasts of JB - Maggie, the Briar Girl, and now one of the witch hunters.
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2014 23:00
|
|
|
Fetucine posted:I'm pretty surprised by the most recent chapter. The end of it seems most comparable to, well, the Leviathan arc. It puts Blake utterly outside of the comfort zone he's found, and totally changes the game. Leviathan turned Worm more than a little post-apocalyptic and signaled a pretty distinct change in the tone and pacing; forcing Blake out of Jacob's Bell has the potential to do something similarly huge. I imagine Pact will eventually ramp up the power levels similar to how Worm did but I think forcing Blake out of Jacob's Bell actually slows this process down. If he stayed in Jacob's Bell it would be unrealistic for him to survive for very much longer. I think he'll go out and explore the world a bit, learn, grow, and then when he returns he can basically force a stalemate. The whole quote about his grandmother not being a genius makes me wonder if Blake will end up being a genius. “The geniuses are an even bigger threat, yes,” Andy conceded. “And the geniuses are so few and far between they don’t really warrant mentioning. Your grandmother was good. Scary good, but she wasn’t a genius.” For a kid who knows next to nothing about magic he's done some pretty interesting things in his first few weeks of being a practitioner. Maybe not a genius in the traditional sense of being super intelligent but perhaps maybe a genius at intuitively using magic... if that even makes sense. I also just went back and found this... 6. Attend the council meetings. Second Saturday of every month, at the park, in the twilight hours. In a five year term, there will be sixty such meetings. Miss six in total, and your rights to the property will be forfeit. So I guess Blake can't go too far, he's going to have finish performing his rituals to perhaps have a chance at surviving. The demesnes will probably be important since he's lost the house. Also the earlier stipulations before number six were to complete the rituals so he needs to get going anyway. I hope he finds a way to not waste one of the rituals, particularly the familiar one since that seems like an important piece.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2014 00:46
|
|
|
I got in on Worm pretty late, but have burned through the last 15 or so arcs pretty fast as the story has been ramping up. I'm in Arc 23 right now, and I have to say that the end of 22.4 was...amazing. I really didn't expect Taylor to take down Alexandria, especially not in such a brutal manner. I'm trying to avoid the thread until I'm done, but I had to post about that. I can't wait to see where the story goes from here! EDIT: Taylor Hebert posted:“Not a promise, not an oath, or a malediction or a curse,” I said, sounding calm, probably inaudible in the midst of Tagg’s screaming. “Inevitable. Wasn’t that how she put it? I told them. Warned them.” That has to be one of my favorite quotes from the series so far. Devorum fucked around with this message at 13:02 on Feb 26, 2014 |
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2014 09:54
|
|
|
Taylor's real superpower is using the tools she has at hand incredibly effectively. Like, from her first confrontation to the last, that remains true.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2014 10:10
|
|
|
Devorum posted:I got in on Worm pretty late, but have burned through the last 15 or so arcs pretty fast as the story has been ramping up. I'm in Arc 23 right now, and I have to say that the end of 22.4 was...amazing. I really didn't expect Taylor to take down Alexandria, especially not in such a brutal manner. I'm trying to avoid the thread until I'm done, but I had to post about that. Yeah, throughout the story Taylors keeps amazing everyone when she does incredible stuff that no one thinks is possible for her. Even one as a reader tends to underestimate her, then she proves you wrong. I FINALLY finished Worm after taking a small break right before the last Arc. Great poo poo, can't wait for Wildbow to get it on print (what, only 3 years?) so I can buy them all and re-read them. I really hope he gets a lot of recognition for it. I've pointed every single geek friend I have to the serial and all of them are blown away and eat it all in a month. If the books get published and get some publicity, I bet he could be pretty successful and he totally deserves it. Just starting Pact, now! Looking forward to experience the story as a serial instead of a furious race to catch up to the latest arc. Has he said anything about his other projects? Obviously we won't see them for a year or two as he writes Pact, but I was pretty interested in Body and curious about his take on Fantasy.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2014 10:38
|
|
|
veekie posted:A very large amount of banked power was involved, with pretty much every edge leveraged. I'm fairly sure it can't be trivially repeated. Also I'd imagine chronomancers are relatively rare, the Behaims are probably one of the few people in the world who could attempt the act.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2014 17:18
|
|
|
DarkCrawler posted:Also I'd imagine chronomancers are relatively rare What makes you think that?
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2014 02:02
|
|
|
Hugoon Chavez posted:Yeah, throughout the story Taylors keeps amazing everyone when she does incredible stuff that no one thinks is possible for her. Even one as a reader tends to underestimate her, then she proves you wrong. I'm not sure if you're aware, but he wrote 2-3 sample chapters of some of the other ideas he was kicking around. They can be found here: http://wildbow.wordpress.com/
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2014 02:10
|
|
|
Man. That last chapter of Pact... I think that, in isolation, that chapter is probably the single best thing Wildbow has written so far. I'm incredibly impressed.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2014 10:16
|
|
|
Einander posted:Man. That last chapter of Pact... I think that, in isolation, that chapter is probably the single best thing Wildbow has written so far. I'm incredibly impressed. Really? It had the most glaring collection of typos yet. This is the first time that they've been noticeably distracting to me, in fact. Through all of Worm I was never this distracted by them. As for the story, it was OK. Nothing particularly powerful or unusual.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2014 16:06
|
|
|
I really liked the chapter that dropped today, myself. (4.1)
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2014 12:31
|
|
|
Wow, it's only been a week? Blake lands on his feet, dang.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2014 13:18
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 18:57 |
|
|
This is a pretty cool chapter, good to see more "regular" character development for Blake. I really like the way the Lord's envoy got himself into the party and how Rose caught him. Interesting that he didn't even ask permission to enter the place, wouldn't that be bad karma?
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2014 15:35
|
|