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So I just finished Worm and it was really great. The only thing that really bugged me is that the author seems exceptionally fond of the phrase "head space." At first I thought it was just some vocabulary choice on the part of Taylor, but nope; it turns out pretty much every single character uses "head space" instead of one of the many alternatives that mean the exact same thing and actually show up in a dictionary ("state of mind" is an obvious potential substitute). It's one of the few things where it was obviously the author's personal voice coming through into the writing. I felt like the ending was really satisfying and answered most of the big questions. Worm's biggest strength is probably the fact that the author obviously had a general idea of where he wanted to go with the story from the very beginning. Milky Moor posted:Personally, I thought Taylor was a pretty uninteresting protagonist. Worm's real strength was the world and the secondary characters, all of whom were more interesting than Taylor. I agree with this. None of the Undersiders were very interesting/entertaining except for Tattletale and potentially Regent (though his subplot never ended up going anywhere). I actually liked more of the heroes a lot more and wish I could have seen more from people like Clockblocker, Vista, or some of the well-established Cauldron heroes like Legend. Ytlaya fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Jul 2, 2016 |
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Jul 2, 2016 23:17
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Doctor w-rw-rw- posted:
I mean in the sense of "what are superpowers/Scion" and general elements of the world, not specific plot threads. Fans posted:I liked Taylor but Worm's relentless escalation got to the point where I was just "Okay, there's no way she should be alive by now" and it really killed it for me. Pact is starting to get to the same point, but if it's really ending it might do it just in time. Found this post while reading through previous pages and it is another gripe I had with Worm. There was virtually no down time at any point. There was one part where I actually skipped through a few chapters just because I knew that Taylor would find some way out of the situation and I didn't really care about how she did it (the part where something like 7 Dragon suits try to capture the Undersiders). I feel like this got a lot worse post-Leviathan. edit: Another thing that bugged me a little was the part where the "anti-Slaughterhouse 900 task force" splits up to attack different towns and Golem's group somehow ends up defeating multiple Shatterbirds, Burnscars, and I think one or two other groups of cloned characters. I have no clue how they could have won that fight, especially since IIRC that group was mostly (or all?) heroes who couldn't even fly. Ytlaya fucked around with this message at 00:17 on Jul 3, 2016 |
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Jul 3, 2016 00:10
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I've been reading Twig, though I'm not very far (just started the 2nd arc not too long ago). It's very good so far, has a more polished feel to it than Worm did. Sy is a kind of interesting character, with some of the stuff he does being very morally questionable. A good example is the stuff with Mary. On one hand it is kind of morally reprehensible to emotionally manipulate the poor girl, but on the other hand she would be dead if not for his actions and (for now, at least) she has something vaguely resembling a support group. Regarding Aegis as a possible Worm protagonist, I'm not sure how well that would have worked in terms of fight scenes. Isn't Aegis just a guy who can fly that is really hard to kill and is somewhat stronger than a normal person (due to the adrenaline stuff, irrc)? There's a lot more you can do with Taylor's power than that.
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Jul 5, 2016 19:47
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Namarrgon posted:That said, Aegis could have quite some potential in the S9 arc. Bonesaw or Jack could really go to town on him without any significant damage (his power was redundant physiology; break a bone, surrounding muscle spontaneously hardens and takes over function, he is stronger than normal because his body allows him to go all-out without being scared of trivial things as rupturing tendons) Oh, no doubt he would be useful. I just think it would be hard to have much variation in his fights. Did they ever mention how Leviathan killed him? Wouldn't you have to completely destroy his head or completely crush or cut his body into little pieces? It seems like Leviathan's normal attacks wouldn't be sufficient to kill him, unless he drowned.
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Jul 5, 2016 21:43
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Milky Moor posted:I want to say that Clockblocker or some other Wards basically say they they were asked to identify the red smear that was Aegis post-Leviathan. Honestly, if any of the Wards could have become the protagonist I would have assumed Clockblocker, Aegis is kind of random.
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Jul 6, 2016 00:24
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I'm currently in chapter 2.4 of Twig and have some bizarrely specific questions about the appearance of the main characters (because I'm bad at using my imagination to create a mental picture otherwise). Correct me if I'm wrong about any of the following: Sylvester - Small guy with medium-ish length black hair combed/slicked straight back Gordon - ??? except for him being fit and large-ish. Was his hair ever described? Jamie - Brown hair with a sailor ponytail and glasses. I have the easiest time picturing him. Helen - Medium-long blonde hair in loops, somewhat taller than Sylvester maybe? Lillian - No clue. What is her hair color/length? It may have been mentioned at some point but I forget. Mary - Maybe medium length brown hair? She had white ribbons earlier, not sure if she still wears those. I know it's kind of weird to focus on this stuff, but I have trouble creating pictures in my head unless characters are given a somewhat detailed description. edit: I also have some trouble imagining the way kids their age look. It's a weird age sort of between what is generally perceived as a "child" and a "teenager."
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Jul 6, 2016 22:04
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Nettle Soup posted:Keep an eye on the top banners, there tends to be one for each of them, although no Helen yet as somebody pointed out earlier. Is there a Lillian one? Oh, I'm loving it so I don't have a problem sticking with it. Overall it seems much more well written than Worm in an "objective" sense. I just like to have a more concrete idea what people look like. Regarding the banners, there was one banner with all of the kids but it only had silhouettes, one with Sy (who I already have a good idea of), and I don't know who the people in most of the others are (the one with a blonde sitting in a lab or the one with some girl pulling on threads). Maybe the one with the threads is Mary? She has the white ribbons. One of the things I really like about Twig is that, at least so far, the conflicts are a lot more interesting than most of the ones in Worm were. It's fun watching Sy and the others hatch and execute plans.
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Jul 7, 2016 01:59
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Milky Moor posted:One of the things I really think WB should try and improve on is nailing down character appearances. They're either mentioned exactly once and in passing, or in an incredibly vague manner, or simply not described. Yeah, I think it would help to have little things mentioned in passing like "______tied her long brown hair into a bun" or something that describes a characters appearance without it being straight exposition.
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Jul 7, 2016 05:09
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Nettle Soup posted:Lillian: Hahahahahah. I thought Lillian was the oldest or second oldest of them? And for some reason I assumed she had black hair though I may have just imagined that.
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Jul 7, 2016 19:03
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TheRagamuffin posted:I wonder if he did the same thing with the oil rig fight, but with way worse odds? Also probably fudging it for a few characters since it was the last couple arcs. By that point he must have at least had in mind how they would have defeated Scion, so I doubt that Tailor could have died. I just finished Arc 4 of Twig. It is very good; the characters in particular are dramatically better than most of the ones in Worm (even if I subjectively prefer the comparatively light-hearted (in the sense that it isn't raining constantly with bio-horrors everywhere) setting of Worm). I really hope things end up okay for these poor kids  Sy in particular is probably doomed in the sense that he'll never be able to enjoy or appreciate a normal life (as illustrated by his previous escape attempt and realization that he couldn't deal with not being super smart). I was relieved when it was finally made explicit that Sy actually deeply cares about the other kids on a personal level, since early on it seemed like he was just manipulating everyone, particularly Mary.
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Jul 10, 2016 01:11
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Namarrgon posted:That's where I disagree. I don't think she is the inventive badass at all. Absolute bug control over such a radius is immensely powerful in that setting. Swarm-tactics alone would put her in the top-tier of capes (line of sight utter dominance over nearly all capes without improved endurance), in a team she'd be the perfect short-distance glass cannon. The battlefield awareness is something you probably figure out after the first handful of swarm attacks. Swarm decoys and insect-made materials are also extremely obvious steps. Yeah; Taylor can more or less automatically win against pretty much anyone who isn't either tough enough to withstand insect bites (and somehow keep them out of their nose/mouth/eyes) or capable of instantly killing all insects that approach them (and I'm pretty sure a minority of heroes/villains have abilities that fit either of those criteria). And that's ignoring her other capabilities. I think that it's actually a coincidence for the sake of creating tension that most of the people she goes up against have some sort of counter to her abilities, because most heroes/villians could probably be easily defeated by her just siccing a swarm of insects on them. When it comes to "projecting power over a large area", her power is one of the most powerful in the entire series. I don't know if I can think of a single person who has an ability that is more powerful against against normal, unpowered people. But, on the other side of that coin, the few people who can counter her abilities can do so pretty much absolutely. Assuming she didn't take them by surprise (like with Alexandria), there are a bunch of heroes/villains that she is completely and utterly powerless against. For example, she probably wouldn't be able to defeat that one Ward Browbeat by herself (since IIRC he has some localized telekinesis that would prevent her bugs from biting him or tying him up). Overall, being capable of easily defeating a majority of existing heroes/villains is definitely sufficient to make her power one of the better ones, especially when you consider how powerful her secondary "sense everything in a quarter mile radius" ability is when used in conjunction with a team. Hell, being able to see everything within a radius that big could be an entire power in and of itself. Imp's ability is kinda similarly in the "absolutely powerful unless it isn't, in which case you're hosed" category. Ytlaya fucked around with this message at 23:23 on Jul 12, 2016 |
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Jul 12, 2016 23:20
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Doctor w-rw-rw- posted:Keep in mind though that a ton of capes mask their power or express the lower level power in less threatening ways, because being a sociopath and using your power on innocents quickly earns you anywhere from forced conscription into the Wards or Protectorate to a swift Birdcaging, or even a kill order. Well, consider someone like Foil or Parian. Neither of their powers are nearly as powerful no matter how they choose to apply them*. They're both good, but not "can automatically defeat most heroes/villains without even revealing yourself" quality. The same goes for a bunch of other people. The powers that can almost guarantee a win against most opponents are relatively rare. So I just finished 6.1 in Twig and have a quick question. When Mary says she likes Sy and then Sy says "no, you actually like Gordon", was this an example of Sy being awkward and trying to help Gordon out (through setting him up with Mary) or was the stuff Sy mentioned actually accurate and Mary actually does like Gordon more? It was kind of nice seeing what I think was Sy's first romantic-ish positive reaction to a girl. It seems like the guy can understand everyone's feelings except for his own. *Though Foil's are really great in very niche situations; it seems like she could have been the key to defeating Siberian during the first Slaughterhouse 9 attack, since IIRC her ability nullifies Siberian.
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Jul 13, 2016 05:42
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Milky Moor posted:Isn't Foil's power literally make any object basically 'Kill Anything Regardless Of Defenses Or Protection'? It makes her bolts capable of penetrating anything regardless of defense/protection, but that's only situationally powerful and dependent upon the enemy being someone she can hit with her arbalest in the first place. It's also not useful against groups of enemies. Were you joking about Parian? Parian's stuff is capable of temporarily tanking strong opponents like Endbringers, but from what we've seen it doesn't seem like they'd be difficult for heroes/villains to contend with. Foil even mentions how she felt she could easily avoid Parian's creations if they attacked, and she doesn't even have the ability to fly or superhuman strength/speed.
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Jul 13, 2016 06:34
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Doctor w-rw-rw- posted:Wildbow has stated that with the right application of her power, she could go up against an Endbringer Go up against, sure, but not do any actual non-superficial damage. Milky Moor posted:Foil's power isn't tied to her arbalest though, is it? She just imparts her power onto things she holds. Get her a rifle. No, I think she can apply that to anything she touches or something. So she could use a rifle as long as she was manually loading each bullet.
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Jul 13, 2016 07:56
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NinjaDebugger posted:Foil's power is really odd, but the details we know would generally preclude it working with a rifle, unless it was something more like a tranquilizer rifle. Ah yeah, forgot about those two aspects of her power. I guess it wouldn't be too hard for some tinker to make a gun that fires bullets with an edge, but it would be kind of pointless since they would only penetrate slightly deeper than regular bullets (since she would probably only be able to charge like 1cm of the bullet). The crossbow actually does seem like the best long-range weapon for her.
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Jul 13, 2016 17:31
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Ugh, I knew that the "Chekhov's conflict" of the Mary/Percy stuff was going to end up becoming an issue at some point. Right now they're pursuing Percy. While logically it seems like Mary has nothing but Percy's word against the Lambs' to persuade her that he actually cared for her (and she's probably used to the idea of him trying to emotionally manipulate her), I'm pretty sure that Sy's emotional blind-spot when it comes to Mary will prevent him from really selling any attempt to reassert the lie. If I had to guess, I'd assume that Mary won't end up going back to Percy, but I'm expecting there to be a lot of drama between now and then.
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Jul 14, 2016 01:34
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Pavlov posted:Hey Ytlaya, you have an anime avatar, do you read the stuff from the japan webfiction thread? I never tried it and I'm wondering how it compares to Wildbow's stuff. To be honest, it doesn't compare very well. There are a handful of web novels/light novels that are good, but even then the translation is often less than stellar. Here are the ones I've enjoyed: Rokka no Yuusha (https://rokkathetranslation.wordpress.com/) - Probably the closest to Wildbow stuff, particularly in terms of having a bunch of really tense situations and pretty well written fight scenes, and the translation is one of the few that is actually pretty decent. Has an interesting, unique fantasy setting that isn't based on Tolkien. Probably the best LN/WN I've read. Hai to Sensou no Grimgar (https://grimgarthetranslation.wordpress.com/) - People randomly appear in stereotypical fantasy setting with no memories, but the execution is very good and "realistic." For example, even as the protagonist's party becomes more skilled, nothing ever really becomes "easy" and it constantly reiterates how literally anything can kill you if you let your guard down. Also one of the few titles with a solid translation. Ascendance of a Bookworm (http://www.novelupdates.com/series/ascendance-of-a-bookworm/) - Good translation by the goon blastron and a much better premise than most other reincarnation stuff (and there are a million). In this one a woman is reincarnated as a girl in a very poor family in a surprisingly realistic medieval-ish setting. She likes books and wants to make/read books in this new world where only the nobility can afford them. To be honest, these are the only ones I've read that I can recommend in good conscience. The vast majority of Asian (there are also a bunch of Chinese ones) web novels are completely terrible wish fulfillment dreck. I consider myself someone with a somewhat high tolerance for dumb anime poo poo and even I can't deal with how bad most of those titles are. For example, one of the most popular web novels around has the protagonist buy a slave, who then becomes the love interest because the protagonist is the only person to ever be nice to her (and even decides she wants to stay a slave after he decides to release her). The website "novelupdates" is a good source for information on various Japanese/Asian web novels, though you absolutely cannot trust their rankings. Just about every single high ranked title is terrible. edit: "Dog had positioned himself so his body was between the small children Gordon had rescued and the worst of the gore and death." - Dog is a kind soul 
Ytlaya fucked around with this message at 03:28 on Jul 14, 2016 |
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Jul 14, 2016 03:24
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Pavlov posted:Yeah I kind of assumed. Actually I know Rokka because it has an anime. When it came out someone spoiled the later plot twists and they were really, hilariously bad. The Rokka LN is far better. The anime only covers the first book of over 5 now, and it doesn't really get into the main plot until after the first volume. I can't imagine how unsatisfying the anime's ending must have been, given that they don't even start travelling though that "country" with all the kyouma
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Jul 14, 2016 03:54
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Pavlov posted:It was LN spoilers I mean. The show was a pretty well done locked room mystery, but burnt pretty much all its goodwill at once with people at the conclusion when the girl in the cow outfit appeared to reset the status quo. It is there mostly to serve as a wish fulfillment device. People like the idea of being reborn as totally awesome and powerful in a fantasy world. There are some reincarnation things that aren't wish fulfillment (like Ascendance of a Bookworm), but the vast majority are. edit: So I just got to the point where (Twig 6.9)Jamie revealed he has feelings for Sy. So sad, even if it is a bit silly that literally every human Lamb except Gordon is interested in Sy. Ytlaya fucked around with this message at 04:20 on Jul 14, 2016 |
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Jul 14, 2016 04:18
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Why was Mary in bed with Sy at the begnining of 7.1? Rick asks if Sy and Mary are an item, Gordon drags him outside, and then Lillian gestures "lie?" and Sy nods. I'm assuming that meant her asking whether him and Mary being together was a lie (because there wasn't much of a reaction from Lillian), but it could also be interpreted as her asking him if he was lying about not being with Mary. Edit: Also, I'm kinda surprised that Gordon is still alive after the 9 month timeskip. They made it seem like he was just about expired with the heart issues and then suddenly 9 months have passed and he's seemingly doing more or less okay. Ytlaya fucked around with this message at 09:27 on Jul 14, 2016 |
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Jul 14, 2016 07:27
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These kids do a lot of hand squeezing in Twig. I'd be curious to find out the average number of hand squeezes per chapter. I bet it's like 3 or 4. Hm, chapter 7.5 says the Brechwell Beast is 3.5 stories tall at the shoulder, but the banner image that I'm pretty sure is of the Brechwell Beast (with Gordon giving it an apple?) is most definitely not 3.5 stories tall. Maybe the Brechwell Beast has a small child that shows up later. Ytlaya fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Jul 15, 2016 |
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Jul 14, 2016 23:45
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thespaceinvader posted:I always thought that banner was Dog? Dog has a bunch of metal parts, including his low jaw, and I don't recall him having horns and tusks. The Brechwell beast, on the other hand, was described having horns and tusks just like in that picture (among other aspects of the description fitting). edit: Also Gordon has Hubris with him, who first shows up in the chapter with the Brechwell beast Ytlaya fucked around with this message at 22:19 on Jul 16, 2016 |
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Jul 16, 2016 22:17
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I feel like (chapter 7.11)Lillian is inevitably going to end up opposite at least some of the Lambs (definitely including Sy), and it makes me sad. Her relationship with Sy was always the only potentially viable one for Sy to have, since Mary has a bunch of baggage and reasons for seeking a relationship with Sy that aren't healthy, but the ideal "end game" each has in mind are too different. I'm not quite sure who I agree with. Sy's #1 priority is to act in the interest of the Lambs. While I'm sure he would be willing to do some terrible stuff in order to accomplish this, I'm not so sure that helping/allowing Fray to disseminate Academy knowledge is one of those things. While Lillian is correct about there being terrible consequences to spreading such knowledge, I feel like (as Sy mentioned) her perspective has been colored to a large extent by Academy propaganda. While the Academy maintains some semblance of order, we already know for a fact that their end game involves a bunch of absolutely reprehensible stuff (like the sterilization and tethering that Fray simply sped up). While the rebellion's end game might end up just as bad, it seems like a much better idea to go with the option that at least has a possibility of not being a dystopian hell-scape. I'm sure her ambition to become a professor also plays a big part, though I'm not sure whether that alone is enough to outweigh her loyalty to the Lambs. On the bright side I'm actually getting the impression that Mary would choose the Lambs even if she learns of Sy's lie regarding Percy's letter. edit: I just got to the part where Sy tells Mary about the lie. That was dealt with very well. I'm so used to stories taking advantage of any opportunity to create conflict and drama, and it was nice to see someone act in a pretty realistic way. Ytlaya fucked around with this message at 08:21 on Jul 17, 2016 |
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Jul 17, 2016 06:22
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Man, this stuff with new-Jamie is really sad. He seems like a good guy, but Sy just can't emotionally deal with him looking the same as his late best friend. In general, the relationships between the main characters in Twig are so very well done. Knowing that there's probably not going to be any happy ending just makes everything even more bittersweet.
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Jul 18, 2016 03:09
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Gitro posted:The (1.2 spoilers) expiration dates make it pretty much inevitable that it's going to be a bittersweet ending at best. Sy mentions a few times that his death is going to be wracked with pain and loss of bodily functions as the wyvern erodes his brain, Gordon's a steadily failing patchwork of parts, Jamie's got the risk of total mindwipes or some other fate as his brain can't handle the accumulation of memories, Mary's not going to make it out of her teens before being riddled with cancerous growths and/or organ failure IIRC, Helen's reliant on Ibott keeping her going but Sy still expected to outlive her, though Ashton's an unknown. Honestly, I don't totally understand why Sy has an expiration date. Fray is an adult who also uses the Wyvern formula, and it seems like you can stop using it at any time and just go back to normal. It would be one thing if they were still increasing his dose to "stress test" the formula, but I'm pretty sure Sy mentioned them stabilizing it some time back. Actually, one minor plot hole of sorts is the fact that so few people use Wyvern. Given how extremely powerful people under the effect of Wyvern can be (Sy and to an even greater extent Fray), it's surprising that the Academy doesn't give it to more people. They already know what dose people can handle. I guess it could be interpreted as risk aversion (due to the situation with Fray), but if that was the case it seems like they'd stop giving it to Sy. Milky Moor posted:Taylor is self-righteous as gently caress and it's the most annoying part of the story that she is always right. The only character who even gets to have the moral high ground on her is maybe Miss Militia. I always considered Taylor's rationale as similar to the people who argue that a benevolent dictator is superior to a democracy. Like, it's potentially true in the short-term, but overall it's a bad idea and very short-sighted. The same goes for Taylor's "let's forcibly seize power to make things better" approach. The only reason she's able to accomplish anything in the first place and get a support base is because she's using Coil's money (which is basically money earned through the equivalent of insider trading, due to Coil's power). She reasons it away as "well the heroes clearly can't care for people, so it's up to the villains", but the kind of obvious answer to that is "well, then help the heroes." Which is why I was so happy when she did end up defecting (and subsequently disappointed when she ultimately decided to stop being a hero for reasons I couldn't quite parse).
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Jul 18, 2016 18:33
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Namarrgon posted:Made perfect sense to me. I don't get the feeling she ever gelled that well with the heroes, and the Undersiders were still the first real friends she made. Also better friends than the Wards. I mean, she's still a drat teenager at that point. It's not really clear why she got along with the Undersiders so much better, though. Tattletale (and maybe Bitch) I can understand, but the others not so much (she was never close with Regent and things became very awkward with Grue). It's also not clear why the Undersiders need to continue being villains post-Coil (if you can even call them that; I don't know if they actually did anything outright villainous post-Coil). Seems like it would make more sense, if they absolutely can't deal with being heroes, to be government sanctioned rogues or something. edit: In chapter 8.7 of Twig, and Sy is really loving poo poo up. It's a simple mission to retrieve some family's daughter and he's about to get everyone killed. Way to go, bro. Ytlaya fucked around with this message at 22:06 on Jul 18, 2016 |
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Jul 18, 2016 21:34
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Senerio posted:Skitter spent most of her formative time as a cape struggling with near-death experience after near-death experience with the Undersiders. By the time she'd joined the Wards, she'd dealt with The ABB, Leviathan, Coil, The S9, Noelle, Dragon (twice), the PRT, and the Wards. After that, life with The Wards must have seemed like a cakewalk, and she wasn't bonding via near-death experiences anymore. Also she had "Jack Slash is going to end the world" on her mind, and dealing with that took most of her energy. That makes sense (though more the "was preoccupied with the end of the world" thing, since she was getting along well with the Undersides pre-Leviathan, which was the first near-death situation). I'm curious as to why the Undersiders were still considered villains during the long time Taylor was with the Chicago Wards. There was mention of them negotiating with other groups, like Accord, and I'm trying to figure out what the gently caress those other villain groups were even doing in Brocktown if the Undersiders were negotiating them away from actual criminal activity. Are the Undersiders just villains by virtue of their past crimes and the fact they don't want to join the Protectorate (which might be the only way to absolve yourself of past crimes as a villain)? I remember Taylor negotiating some sort of peace/ceasefire with Miss Militia's Brockton Bay Protectorate, but I'm not sure if that actually means they stopped technically being villains.
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Jul 19, 2016 18:54
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Senerio posted:They were literally the first people outside her father to show even the most remote concern for her well being since Emma. Also I'd put Bakuda as the first near-death situation. Oh, forgot about Bakuda. But yeah, the main reason I think the "preoccupied with the end of the world" thing is (or should be, at least) a bigger factor is that "having other good friends" doesn't really make sense as a reason why you couldn't become friends with new people.
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Jul 19, 2016 23:12
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TeenageArchipelago posted:I may just be weird here, but I think that it has more to do with how writing a million words about her interactions with the Undersiders built a strong relationship between the audience and them, and shifting that was something that we wouldn't have been happy in the short term, so he got the gang back together instead. or something like that. While I understand story/character-wise why she ended up wanting to go back to the Undersiders, I don't understand it much from the reader's perspective. Ever since the Slaughterhouse 9 arc the Undersiders were kind of boring. Even though he had a perfectly good excuse, PTSD Grue was not a fun character (and never really recovered, at least on-"screen"), and this really messed up the Undersiders' dynamic because Grue was previously the core of the group. Regent/Imp are fun, but they don't interact that much with Taylor. Which pretty much just leaves Tattletale (and even she just ended up becoming some sort of exposition device). I think part of why I was disappointed is that I was looking forward to the development of the characters in the Chicago Wards and their relationships with Taylor, but that was mostly just skipped (literally, with the time skip). I don't know if I agree with "they kept their distance from her because of her killing Alexandria(etc)"; they seemed to be making a genuine effort to become friends with her (like the thing with pretending to have dicks in their suits), and it was their decision to have her join them in the first place.
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Jul 20, 2016 23:46
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Wittgen posted:Why yes, you can make the Undersiders look a lot worse by completely ignoring the undersider who has both the best arc and the most interesting relationship with Taylor. Haha, I didn't even notice I forgot Bitch (who I agree was definitely the most interesting of the Undersiders, so it's funny that I forgot her). I still feel like wildbow could have done better at making the Undersiders feel closer as a group in later (mostly post-Leviathan or maybe S9) chapters. Taylor is close with a few individual members of the group, but the rest of the group doesn't really seem to interact with each other that much.
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Jul 22, 2016 22:22
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Jesus a lot of the wildbow fanbase is insufferable. I just came across this one guy unironically saying they should make Worm into an anime (and not one of those children's anime, he made sure to note!) as well as people giving some cringe-worthy attempt at humor related to the idea of a Worm cartoon show. edit: I hope that at some point Twig goes into some more detailed history. I'm curious as to how the Crown reached its current state. Ytlaya fucked around with this message at 22:23 on Jul 28, 2016 |
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Jul 28, 2016 22:06
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Oh man, (Twig 9.17 spoilers) I foresee Sy ending up being separated from Lillian as a result of her deeper allegiance to the Academy. He can then pursue Mauer, his true love. Though I'm curious as to how in the world any of them could make their way back to the Academy at this point. Sy and Jamie are directly responsible for killing nobles, and I really doubt that the Crown would let that fly under any circumstance.
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Jul 28, 2016 22:51
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Also wouldn't Endbringers have the relevant gravitational pull if they had the mass of several galaxies? I agree that Twig would translate to television much better than Worm. There isn't really anything in it requiring an extreme level of special effects (except for possibly the appearance of the towns, etc). My main concern would be how to translate the parts where Sy is having to quickly think about a solution to some situation. The only way to really do that would be to have time slow down/freeze and show Sy's thoughts, but that would look kind of cheesy and dumb in practice.
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Aug 1, 2016 19:51
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I'm pretty sure he's correct? Most of the fiction people write online is probably fanfiction, and I imagine that a large percent of the people who end up reading web fiction like Worm (etc) come from that general community.
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Aug 16, 2016 20:59
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So, one thing I liked about Worm is how most of the combat-related powers are sufficient to more or less make the person immune to conventional forces, like the police or military, without making them into ridiculous demigods like you tend to see in Marvel/DC. Either the person can deal directly with being shot with a gun, or they can avoid being shot entirely (like how Skitter doesn't actually have to be physically nearby to use her power, or how Grue can hide in his smoke). Marvel/DC heroes tend to be either one extreme or the other; either they could easily be dealt with by a bunch of guys with guns (Spiderman or Cyclops, for example) or they're absurdly powerful like Thor or Superman, with very little in between. It's actually kind of funny that Glory Girl - one of the characters that's touted as being a top tier badass hero - is probably one of the most vulnerable to conventional weapons. Like, a single person with an automatic weapon could easily beat her, since one bullet knocks down her shield and makes her vulnerable.
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Aug 25, 2016 22:39
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mossyfisk posted:As I recall, Lung doesn't do Endbringer battles. He 1v1'd Leviathan in his youth and then decided it was a waste of time? I seem to remember his power capping out or something during his fight with Leviathan. I can't remember if it was actually his cap or if there was some other reason he stopped getting stronger. Milky Moor posted:Yeah, that's kind of weird. A whole lot of Worm capes are incredibly vulnerable to some regular guy with a handgun. Wildbow handwaves it a fair bit (as does most superhero fiction) with some stuff about how no one kills and stuff, but that fails to account for people who just don't give a gently caress. Most aren't immune, but they have some way to avoid it (or aren't combat-oriented, like Tattletale). I mean, obviously if you had like 100 dudes with automatic weapons they'd be hosed, but against several people they have ways to come out ahead. I mean, off the top of my head: Skitter - doesn't have to physically be nearby Clockblocker - I think he can freeze bullets as soon as they touch him? Narwhal/Shielder/Lady Photon/everyone else with forcefields - presumably can block bullets Genesis - doesn't have to physically be nearby Sundancer - I don't think she has to be immediately nearby when using her ability, though I could be wrong Weld - made of metal Grue - Can't really shoot him without just randomly spraying a bunch of bullets everywhere Regent - pretty vulnerable, but could easily disarm a handful of people Browbeat - local telekinesis that can probably block bullets + ability to control his own body which probably means he can easily heal from things Satyr - creates copies, doesn't have to expose himself ...the list goes on. Obviously there are exceptions (and those exceptions can usually compensate through teamwork), but "someone could just whip out a gun" is not as much of a plot hole as it would normally be, especially if heroes/villains are working in teams. Regarding something like your example (Assault shooting Skitter at the Gala), keep in mind the fact that villains choose what do under the assumption that heroes won't use lethal force. If they knew lethal force was on the table, they could just have Skitter attack with a bunch of insects from a distance or something.
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Aug 26, 2016 22:11
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Milky Moor posted:Sure, but the question then becomes: why would you ever assume that? You have to ignore Worm's whole infalliable precogs designed a gang cold war MAD scenario to stop god-beasts that couldn't actually every be stopped because they have a galaxy's mass of matter in them so cape stuff could work in-setting but people IRL get shot for way, way less. Yeah, it makes zero sense that so few powered criminals are violent in the Worm universe. While non-violent crime is also more common in the real world, in the Worm universe the main motivation (economic stress) is completely removed for powered individuals, who have the option of easily getting a job as a hero. You could argue that villains might avoid this because they don't want to risk their lives, but the fact that the vast majority of villains volunteer for Endbringer fights contradicts that. Namarrgon posted:I really did not like the 'shard drives you to conflict ' part. Seems like you could remove it completely and nothing in the story changes. Yeah, this doesn't really explain why some powered characters aren't remotely violent (like Parian or something). I guess they wanted some excuse for why nearly all powered people end up as heroes or villains (which, by the nature of their jobs, fight one another).
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Sep 1, 2016 00:25
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Milky Moor posted:You don't need to remove because it isn't actually in the text as presented. Oh, for sure, it's completely unnecessary to add the "shards drive to conflict" angle. It's basically like handing a bunch of random people (with a stressful background/mental health issues) in a country guns and the fact that this would obviously result in a bunch of violence. There shouldn't be any need for the worm aliens to worry about people not using their abilities.
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Sep 1, 2016 17:01
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The Shortest Path posted:Yeah there's a massive drop in quality around then, it kinda sucks for a while. I would say that it started to go downhill (though I was still enjoying it) post-Leviathan. It just seemed to get a little too grimdark and depressing for my tastes, and the negative tone seemed to sort of clash with the fact that you know Skitter will find some way out of every tense situation she finds herself in (I found myself just skipping chapters during the part where Dragon sent a bunch of suits after the Undersiders, because I knew it was a foregone conclusion that they'd win somehow and just wanted to find out what happened next plot-wise). It briefly got more interesting again when she decided to surrender and become a Hero, but then she just stayed sorta moody and weird (not that she didn't have some good reasons, but it still wasn't fun to read).
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Oct 10, 2016 22:48
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I'm finally catching up on Twig after having last stopped around Arc 10, and it is very uncomfortable to read because everything just keeps going to poo poo in various ways. Probably my one gripe about Wildbow's writing, despite considering him probably the best of the web serial authors I've read, is that he has a bad tendency to always have things go wrong and stick characters in super bad situations. It can make things a bit predictable sometimes, because you can always rely on the expectation that a plan isn't going to work. This was also a problem with Worm. I would like it if he occasionally mixed in times that the Lambs/Sy were just completely successful and everything went perfectly. To its credit, though, Twig is much better than Worm in terms of the "constant escalation" problem the latter had.The story has managed to stay more or less down to Earth, and Sy has yet to travel very far from his city or encounter any grander plots involving the King or whatever. I found it an interesting decision to have his last mission technically "with the lambs" be with Mary. In recent chapters he had grown comparatively distant with Mary relative to some of the other Lambs, so it was neat to have her get so much focus for an entire arc.
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May 15, 2017 01:21
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