Lisa looks very Eris with that apple. I could totally see her putting one in a PRT building that says “to the most heroic”
Oh my cod, yes. She totally would, wouldn’t she?
I gave her the apple because of the “fruit of knowledge” symbolism, but the Apple of Discord is so fitting too!
“And then Skitter somersaulted through a window, and came back through the same window ten seconds later, carrying the redhead’s brother.” Achievement unlocked! Krixwell has joined the universe of Skitter Facts.
Ahaha! Yeah, I suppose that would fit right into that. 😛
The interactions here are great if you think about them from an outside perspective, especially ‘That won’t do. You’ll come with me.’ and ‘This isn’t really negotiable.’ Great examples of how some things Taylor does that are ordinary/altruistic come off as really intimidating due to context, power, awkwardness, and costuming. Sierra can’t see Taylor’s face, she sees a supervillain in a mandibular mask who just claimed she can flay cows with her mind, and she’s strong-arming her into a sleepover.
Yeah, she really came across more forcefully than she probably intended. Throughout the Sierra flashback, there’s a common thread of it not really having sunk in for Taylor that she’s seen as a villain even by those who accept her protection – she regularly seems surprised at Sierra’s hesitant wariness towards her.
Another good example, that I don’t remember if I commented on, was the way Taylor practically told Sierra she was good at delivering excruciating pain. She said that to assure Sierra that Sierra’s request for Skitter to hurt the Merchants would be carried out, but when you don’t know much about the person saying it other than that she’s a villain, it carries some scary connotations.
I really, really like the dynamic resulting from this.
“I’m not sure I follow that logic” It’s not terribly sound, but the idea is that if he’s already that far gone, a few more hours won’t make much of a difference. They’re already in what statistics calls the “long tail”, where the probabilities are low enough that they’re basically flat.
Ahh. Yeah, I suppose that makes sense, at least somewhat.
During the incident with bakuda, the bugs in skitters swarm followed the last order she gave to them before she fell unconscious, which is why the John Cleese thing happened, since the last order she gave was essentially come to my position. So if she maintains the standing order of don’t attack people if I don’t tell you to, the people should be fine
Alright, yeah, I suppose that’s fair. But what about when she’s out of the area? Do they continue to follow her last order even when she’s out of range?
It’s a date and yuo caNNOT TELL ME IM WRONG
I don’t know if you’re talking about Skitter/Tattletale or Skitter/Sierra, but either way… can’t argue with that. 😉
BEE2 never fails to liven up the party
This was a pretty good chapter! We got Taylor being great framed by Taylor being cool.
She’s come a long way in combat, and finally made use of her power’s rather large (even when not in overdrive) range to fight from a distance while sipping her tea in a place of safety. And she wrecked her enemies, to the point that we skipped over her dealing with two thirds of them.
The highlight of the chapter, though, was the flashback to what happened between the end of last chapter and this fight. I really like Taylor’s compassionate side and her dynamic with Sierra, and I especially enjoyed this particular exchange:
“This is strangely domestic for a villain.” I turned to look at her and she hurried to add, “I mean-”
“It’s fine. I’m not offended, I am a villain. But I’m also a person under this mask. Someone who prefers tea to coffee, who enjoys reading, who…” I floundered. “…likes sweet and savory foods but dislikes anything spicy or sour. Point being, I’m someone who wants to make sure you get taken care of. Especially if you’re among the people I’m protecting in the territory I’m claiming. Go. Find a bed.”
I really do hope Sierra sticks around for a while.
And then, at the end of the chapter, we got some Tattletale, which is always as good thing. And based on what she said, it’s pretty clear what the next chapter is going to be about: We’re going to be attending, or spying on, a Merchant get-together along with Tattle, which sounds like a lot of fun.
See you then!
“I don’t want to leave just yet.”
“Merchants are throwing a big bash tonight, so I doubt they’ll be attacking your territory. In fact, I’m wondering if they were attacking your territory to get cash or stuff to barter at the event as much as they were responding to your claim.”
Huh, yeah, I suppose if they already had plans to attack the area, that explains why it happened so quickly.
“Maybe.”
“And Chosen aren’t a threat right now? They haven’t said or done anything yet?”
So sign of them yet, no. I suppose they’ll be an issue eventually, though.
“Not yet, no. Haven’t run into any.”
“Grue and Imp are probably going to want to wind down and go on the defensive later today. You can have one of them babysit your territory if you’re worried. You have no good reason to refuse. Come on, let’s go see what a Merchant’s party is all about.”
Oh, so the bash isn’t just a reason Taylor can come out, but also the reason why she should – it’s what Tattle was thinking of as a source of information.
Attending a Merchant meeting, presumably in civilian clothing… this could be interesting.
“Boy scout badges?”
“From what I can gather, you get one for attending one of the Merchants’ ‘events’. Colors are supposed to represent what the each one was about.
Ah, fair enough.
It translates to a kind of respect, showing you’re loyal, whatever.”
That does makes more sense than rewarding them simply for sheer brutality.
“I’m not sure I understand.”
“And neither am I, to be honest,” she replied. “And that bothers me.
I’m not sure what’s not to understand here, but it’s not like I have any right to get on these girls’ cases about not understanding one thing I (think I) did.
So in the interests of getting intel and maybe getting a lead on this missing boy of yours, do you think you could get away from your territory, tonight, to join me in figuring this out?”
I was going to use this quote to comment on Tattle saying “missing boy” without Skitter having mentioned his gender, but then I remembered that we just skipped over Taylor telling Lisa everything.
The point I was making still stands, though, even if it doesn’t apply right here – I like when Lisa’s dialogue has her casually mentioning details she hasn’t actually been told.
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