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She couldn’t help but notice the way that the pages at the bottom of the pile were neatly organized, tidy, everything in line.  The newer pages, the ones at the top, were the sloppy ones.

Getting more stressed as you went along?

Pages were slightly out of alignment, some dog-eared or stained.

Treating important documents like this, how could you!

(I had to put two out of three copies of my work contract in my windowsill to dry off yesterday. Turns out my bicycle bags weren’t as waterproof as the seller claimed. I’m honestly surprised I managed to save the papers.)

The same progression could be measured in the print.  The older pages were typed, printed as forms with everything in its place.  Abruptly, it all shifted to handwriting.  Shatterbird’s destruction of everything glass and everything with a silicon-based chip inside.

Ohh, right, that’d do it. I was kind of wondering why they were using so much paper.

Computer screens and computers.  The handwriting, too, grew less tidy as the rise of the piles marked the passage of time.  On occasion, it would improve for a day or two, when her captains and sergeants complained about illegible handwriting, but it inevitably slipped back into disarray.

Before she knows it, she’ll be a doctor instead of a director.

Also I guess captains and sergeants are ranks that exist in the PRT.

A strong metaphor, Emily Piggot thought.  Every part of it said something about the current circumstances.

Things getting steadily worse and by now it’s so bad that it’s hard to tell what’s even going on sometimes?

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It’s like the world’s gone mad, and I’m the only sane person left.

You might not be entirely wrong about that.

So who’d feel like this? I’m thinking Sundancer.

Director Emily Piggot finished the last

Oh! I guess we’re following right on from Skitter’s message, and talking about PR a fair bit.

Emily, huh?

Remember that whole thing with “JPIGGOT”, back in Parasite? Back then, I was informed that the J was likely an error born from Wildbow not having finished naming her yet (which also told me that we would be finding out her actual first name sooner or later).

I’d like to suggest a compromise: She writes and thinks of her name as Emily, but her parents were jerks so legally, it’s spelled with a silent J at the beginning – Jemily Piggot – and that’s what the PRT used to determine her username back when she didn’t have the authority to object. She doesn’t like that spelling, but she never got around to having it legally changed.

of her coffee and paused to survey the enormity of the task that lay ahead of her.  The scale of it could be measured in paperwork.  Piles of it.

Everyone’s favorite thing!

Sometimes two feet high, the stacks of paper were arranged in rows and columns on every available surface, including the top of her coffee maker and the floor around her desk.

For the previous quote, I was looking for an image from Homestuck that I thought was something like this, but it seems I misremembered, because this is the best I found:

image

and that’s really not that much for the comically overworked aesthetic.

There were stacks of stapled pages, each topped with a weight to protect it from the gusts and breezes that flowed through the open window frames.

Oh man, yeah, even just one of these piles getting caught by the wind would be a disaster.

Interlude 13

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This is actually the 24th Interlude (not counting the bogus April Fool’s ones I added), but sure.

I literally just wrote this about an hour ago, but for the benefit of archival readers going back to this chapter’s tag later on:

Next chapter, I’m pretty sure we’re going into an Interlude. Who did I speculate on us reading the perspective of, again? Oh yeah, one of the Travelers. There’s been so many signs that we’re about to find out about their past that I suspect we’re going to find out before Taylor does, in the upcoming Interlude.

So what am I expecting, more specifically?

Hm. Maybe a bit of flashbacking, possibly put into contrast with how things are now among the Travelers, and a look at how they feel about having just been in Bonesaw’s clutches to save Grue. I don’t know what to expect regarding their actual backstory, but I do have my theory that it involves someone or something being after them, possibly Cauldron.

There’s also the question of which Traveler’s perspective we’d be following. I’m kind of hoping for Sundancer, though I certainly wouldn’t object to getting to know Ballistic a bit better either. Trickster seems most likely, though, since the personality underneath his facade was hinted at in the Arc.

Noelle would also be very interesting. See what all of this, and her situation, looks like from her perspective.

In short, I’d be up for anyone, but Trickster and, secondly, Noelle seem the most likely suspects.

If it’s any of them at all. If I drop that assumption, I have no clue who it’d be, though, and it’s more fun to speculate on the guess I do have.

So yeah! Let’s jump in and find out!

End of Snare 13.10

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S.S. Taylor x Brian is back from the depths!

This was a good dénouement. We got to learn what the hell just happened with Brian’s new power, singular, and while it did lead to some hurt feelings along the way, we got some excellent relationship development between Taylor and Brian. I’m not just talking about their romantic relationship, here – I mean their relationship as a whole. In the process we also learned how Brian’s holding up after all he’s just been through: Not great.

I also appreciate that Brian called out some of Taylor’s self-destructive behavior. Honestly, out of everything at this point, that’s the thing that’s pulling me back towards the ship the most. Taylor needs someone to remind her to live for herself, not just others.

Maybe this would work better as a moirallegiance.

So yeah, now the two of them will have to figure out what the hell they are to each other. Let’s not rush them, though.

Next chapter, I’m pretty sure we’re going into an Interlude. Who did I speculate on us reading the perspective of, again? Oh yeah, one of the Travelers. There’s been so many signs that we’re about to find out about their past that I suspect we’re going to find out before Taylor does, in the upcoming Interlude.

Which I’m going to get started on shortly, so stay tuned! See you there!

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“I’ll get the message to them promptly.”

I hung up.

Thank you, Cranston.

I returned to Brian with a mug of tea for myself and a glass of water for him.  The television was on, and he sat in the middle of the couch.  He patted at one cushion.

Somehow this reminds me of Interlude 11h.

With the way he was positioned, there was no way for me to sit a distance from him.

image

At the same time, when I did sit, he didn’t reach out to touch me, to put a hand on my shoulder, or any of that.  We watched terrible late night TV with the volume so low we could barely hear it, not talking, not making body contact, barely even looking at each other.

Well, at least they’re there? With each other? Just supporting each other by being present?

…y’know what I don’t understand? How going to a movie at the cinema is supposed to be a social experience. You’re not supposed to talk or even look at people, just sit there and watch the movie. What’s social about that besides occasionally sharing your snacks with the person next to you?

He’d confessed feelings for me, after a fashion; I had a special place in his thoughts, even if he didn’t know what that meant, exactly.

It’s something, yes…

Now how do you feel about that at this point?

We were sharing personal parts of ourselves we’d never let others see.  We even cared about each other.

Man, the serial readers who went down with the ship in Arc 7 and clung onto the shipwreck until Arc 13 must’ve felt so vindicated when these last two chapters came out. The shipping scene around the time of this chapter must’ve been wild.

Although exactly how wild depends a lot on what Taylor is about to say about her own feelings on this whole thing.

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“Mm hmm.”

“We can give them the location of the Nine if they’re interested.”

Can you? They just relocated, you gotta find them again first.

“Should I give them your contact information?”

Oh man, if she does this, it might only be a matter of time before she gets a call from Dragon.

“They have enough tinkers that I’d be worried about them tracking me down.  No.

Fair enough.

If they want to get in touch, I’ll leave it to them to figure it out.  Not going out of my way.”

“Alright.”

“And one last thing.  Tell them ‘thanks for the help’.”

Ahaha, there we go, there’s the sass I was waiting for!

(Although the Protectorate did very indirectly help, by way of being at one end of the conversation that inspired Trickster to come up with the plan to save Grue.)

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“Cranston here,” the woman on the end of the line replied.  “What can I do for you, Skitter?”

Oh yeah, that’s her contact at Coil’s base, right?

Cranston was the woman Coil had assigned to me, as he’d assigned employees to the others, so he wasn’t personally dealing with each of us when he had other things to focus on.

Yes.

“Need glasses.  Coil has the prescription on file from when he got me my contacts.”

While I absolutely understand the desire to get away from the hell-bowls as soon as possible, there is a stated risk of Shatterbird getting out of Regent’s control.

Also, you’re going to need another pair of lenses, for your mask. The old corrective ones would’ve been caught in the Shattering, just like your glasses.

“I’ll have them for you by morning.  Anything else?”

“No- wait.  Yeah.  Can you pass on a message to the PHQ?”

Ooh, I’m looking forward to seeing what choice words she has for them!

“Coil has contact information.  Hookwolf’s contingent exchanged contact details with the other teams, including the PHQ.”

Nice.

“No.  I mean, without going through Coil’s channels.  I need to give them a message from me.”

Hmm. Might have to seek them out on your own.

“That can be arranged.  I have a pen and paper, if you’d like me to take dictation.”

Alright, nice. Going into how she got this message to them outside of this phone call would probably be narratively pointless anyway.

“Tell them Burnscar’s dead and Bonesaw’s missing a pair of hands for at least a little while.  Four and a half members left.  If they were being honest about waiting for the right moment to strike, this is probably a good one.”

Oh yeah, that’s a good point! Let’s get them in on this at last.

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“Stay?  When I asked you to keep me company, I was being genuine.  Rather not be alone with my thoughts.”

Well, neither does Taylor, I suppose.

I sighed.  “I could do with some tea.  I could make you some coffee if you wanted.”

Sounds nice.

He shook his head.  “Jumpy enough already.”

Heh, good call. 😛

“I’ll be right back.”

I headed into the kitchen, put a kettle on and began digging around for teabags.  It wasn’t easy, when I was half-blind.

Hey, at least it doesn’t come with being half-ghost as well. o_0

Once I had the teabags and a mug set, I got my cell phone out.

Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters?

Don’t have them bust the ghost half of your body, that’ll make you fully blind.

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“It’s not your job to look after me.  If you want to get on my case because I’m putting you and the others at risk, that’s fine.  It’s your right to yell at me for that.  But don’t make me feel bad because you can’t be the macho guy, protecting me.”

I don’t think that’s the point, Taylor, but I see where you’re coming from.

(Also, isn’t it part of his job, as leader of the team, to look after his teammates? Maybe not to this extent, but I’m just nitpicking Taylor’s claim.)

“That’s not-” he stopped.  “No.  I’m trying to say I think about you more than I should.”

Aw 🙂

I’m not entirely back on the ship yet, but it’s entirely possible that we’re heading into territory that remove the main reason I left it, namely that it was explicitly not mutual. I leapt overboard when the canon sunk it at the harbor, and now the ship is being raised from the depths using ping-pong balls.

I doubt I’ll be going back on board, mainly because since the sinking, Taylor and especially Brian have started displaying contrasting traits that make me less keen on the two of them together. If canon supports it from Taylor’s side again, I might change my mind, but for now I don’t think I’ll ever be as into it as I originally was.

Brian is a sweet guy, though, when he’s open enough to show it.

I looked away.  I might have asked whether he thought about me more than he should because he cared, or because I was a fuck up.

Have you been listening?

I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer, either way.

Fair enough.