Tag: chapter intro

Snare 13.9

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There’s a lightning storm outside. Let’s read some Worm.

So! Last time, shit went downhill harder than a cross between a bicycle and a sailboat with a strong wind on its side.

Shit obviously doesn’t belong down there, so now Taylor and co. need to figure out a way to beat their paralysis before Bonesaw fucks them up too much, and ideally to convince her to fix one mr. Brian “living freezer room” Laborn, so they can transport the shit back uphill.

Yeeeah, this ain’t gonna be easy. The wind and the hill are against the sailcycle now, and it’s intent on picking the vehicle apart and reshaping it into something completely different, like a biboat.

My extensive use of this analogy may or may not have something to do with me having just been out biking against strong wind.

As for more specific predictions, I’ll defer to Pastwell:

The situation reminds me a lot of when Bakuda got her hands on the Undersiders, with our protagonists being paralyzed at the mercy of a crazed villain who intends to fuck with their bodies. The stakes are higher, though, because of how Bonesaw does things, and this time, I don’t think they’re coming out with just a concussion.

I do think at least three of them are going to make it out of this situation alive, not counting Grue, but there’s little chance this isn’t going to lead to permanent changes for at least one or two of the protagonists, unless they somehow manage to convince Bonesaw to fix things without using that to her advantage.

Which, incidentally, is the only way we could get Grue home.

Regent is are out there still, but he has no reason to believe something’s wrong inside yet, so I doubt he’s going to be coming to their rescue. I suppose it’s possible that a stray light blast from Purity could cause an opening for the Undertravelers somehow.

I’m guessing there’s either one or two chapters left in this Arc (not counting Interludes). The next one’s probably going to be horrifying and hilarious and I’m very much looking forward to it.

(See also this ask about whether Grue will live or not and a couple more long-term things. TLDR: His chances are really bad.)

In hindsight, I’m going to up the minimum survival number to four or five. And that’s still not counting Grue, so if he does survive, he doesn’t count against that.

Other than that, I don’t really have any other solid predictions. I just want to move on and see what creative way Taylor gets out of this one.

Let’s go!

Snare 13.8

Krixwell JaceLeave a comment

Hey, everybody, what’s good? Well, Worm is, so let’s read some!

Last time, Taylor tried and failed to enlist the Protectorate’s help against the Nine, but in some way, the conversation she had with Miss Militia and Legend (the rest of the Protectorate members who were around acted as background props, though for all I know the fact they were present for that might have a bearing on their views on Skitter later) gave Trickster an idea.

I don’t know what the specifics could be, but I suspect Trickster’s idea involves us learning more about him and his team. We’ve been getting more build-up for the revealing of those details in this Arc than any before it, especially in the last chapter, and I think it’s about to pay off – if not in this chapter, then at least before Trickster and Skitter’s excursion ends. And, hell, failing that it’ll still probably be before the end of the Arc (which I suspect is coming up soon).

Maybe the idea also involves bringing in someone he knows in Brockton Bay who hasn’t been introduced before? I don’t know. I’m also not sure how that would come to mind based on the conversation Skitter had.

But hey, there’s a way to find out…

Snare 13.7

Krixwell JaceLeave a comment

It’s Wormerin’ time!

So! Last time, the first major ambush on the Nine was a success, but in the process of executing Plan B, the Undertravelers left Grue behind on a rooftop after his impatience made him choose to fall from a fairly high altitude. It’s likely that impatience is why he wound up (according to Cherish, who might have something to gain from lying) being captured.

Of course, the Undertravelers can’t have Grue getting Bonesawed or Siberian’d or… pretty-much-any-member-of-the-Nine’d. So now the next goal is to rescue him as soon as possible, and also figure out how to use Shatterbird and Cherish to their advantage when Cherish has told the other Nine about Regent. Of course, even if they fail to do that, just having them out of the fight is a benefit.

Y’know, in a sense, the victory last chapter can be partially tied back to the same event that earned Tattletale her glasgow smile. If she hadn’t tried to mess with Jack by alerting him to Cherish’s betrayal, she wouldn’t have been in the position where she’d want to make a deal with the locals. Yet. And that’s a major reason the Undertravelers are still alive, so hey, at least her backfiring attempt wasn’t entirely in vain.

Enough about last chapter, though – what are we in for this time?

Time is of the essence for the Undertravelers, so to convey the speed of events, I suspect we (the readers, not the characters) might skip the planning this time and go straight to the attempt to rescue Grue. Maybe. It’s also possible we’ll be hanging out at Coil’s base a bit first, hopefully learning about what happened to Imp.

Whether it’s this chapter or not, the mission to save Grue is probably going to go well. I doubt Wildbow would kill him off-screen between chapters if at all, although doing it that way might be worth it for the angst of Taylor being faced with a Bonesawed husk of his former self when they come to rescue him. Damn, that’d be dark.

So yeah, without further ado, I wanna read!

Snare 13.6

Krixwell JaceLeave a comment

Howdy, everyworm! Krixwell here for another chapter!

So, what all happened last time? Ah yes, Taylor and Rachel had a remarkably open conversation that may have been a breakthrough in their relationship, we got some details on Genesis’ power and limitations, and Taylor pitched her plan for attacking the Nine.

Which I suppose is what we’ll be doing today! Taylor has a plan that we’re not being told (that’s good, it increases the likelihood of success on a meta-level), and by the way these things usually go, it’s time to execute that plan. This is “then I told them what we’d be trying to do” being shown instead of told, by way of seguing into them actually trying to do it.

So, how is this going to go?

In a word, “well”. I don’t really have a clue what Taylor’s plan is besides “attack, no holds barred” – though I hope it involves the shogi tactic, which I think was set up too well in the original planning chapter to be completely dropped – but since we as the audience don’t know what it is, either the plan needs to be successful, or it needs to be spelled out what went wrong and what was supposed to happen, and the former is usually better writing. Thus, the Unspoken Plan Guarantee. That said, complications will still likely arise by the end of the chapter, after most of the plan has worked out.

So yeah, without further ado, let’s tango!

Snare 13.5

Krixwell JaceLeave a comment

Boop.

Howdy, everyone! It’s time for some more Worm!

Last time, Burnscar turned up the heat on Skitter’s territory, Skitter lost hope in the survival chances of the defenders in Slaughterway’s Game of Death while playing fair against enemies that don’t, and Charlotte was great, taking initiative to protect the kids.

This time, I think we’re going to figure out where Bitch went during the escape from Burnscar. Did she run off on purpose, due to what Burnscar said about her relationships to her teammates? Did she get captured? Did something else happen to put her out of touch with her team?

The second option seems unlikely, because we know Burnscar was spending most of her time off-screen fighting Genesis. It’s possible that Bitch got captured by a different Slaughterhouse member, but why would they do that while it’s not their turn?

We might also get some further discussion on the alternative approach to the game that Taylor suggested, although there’s a good chance we’ll eventually skip to the execution of that plan, in order to keep it an unspoken plan. I certainly hope it involves the shogi idea, though.

So yeah, without further ado, let’s go looking for Bitch! Probably.

Snare 13.3

Krixwell JaceLeave a comment

Howdy! Krixwell here, ready for another session of Worm liveblogging!

*sits down*

…

So.

When does the liveblogger guy show up?

…

…

…

Oh wait, that’s me.

…

…

…

I should probably go up on the stage and start liveblogging.

…

Hello! It’s time for me to read the next chapter of Worm, 13.3! Last time, stuff happened and it was good. This time, hopefully more stuff happens and perhaps it’ll be good too.

More specifically, I think this chapter will deal with Taylor wanting to go back to her territory to defend her gang against Mannequin. I’m not entirely sure she’ll have the opportunity to (just a minor hunch, no real reason) – though if she does, Bitch, Grue and Genesis ought to be with her to help out.

It’s also possible that Imp will show up by the end and tell the others about Cherish’s deal. Or maybe we’ll put that off for later, or the deal might be such that the others don’t need to know. I doubt that last one, though.

So yeah, that’s what I’ve got in mind going into this chapter. Let’s find out how wrong I am!

Interlude 13½ (Donation Bonus)

Krixwell JaceLeave a comment

Oh hey, what have we here?

A look into Mannequin’s… wherever he keeps his think pan, perhaps? Maybe we’re about to see what he’s up to in Skitter’s territory before Skitter does, and get some insight into how his senses work?

(I still suspect one of them is temperature, but it’s definitely not just that. He’s able to read Scrabble pieces, after all.)

Or maybe we’re taking a break from Skitter and co. to check on Hookwolf’s side or the southern Undertravelers? Unless we follow someone outside the group who interact with them, the latter would have to be from a Traveler’s perspective, since Tattletale and Regent have both had Interludes already. In that case we’d probably end up finding out more about the Travelers’ secrets too.

Or, perhaps, we’ll be following someone entirely new. Ooh, or Sierra or Charlotte – I’m still hoping for an Interlude like that.

Well, one way to find out – let’s read some Worm!

Snare 13.2

Krixwell JaceLeave a comment

BANANA POWER, BANANA POWER, BANANA POWER

wait what?

uh

hi?

Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Hi there! It’s time for some more Worm!

Last time, plans were laid, teammates were mixed, webs were spun and Imps were pissed off. Well, one at least.

This time, we may be focusing on getting Grue, Genesis and Bitch settled in or near the Hive, unless Wildbow decided what we saw at the end of the previous chapter was enough on that front. Hopefully there’ll also be some focus on getting to know Genesis. There’s also a decent chance we’ll be going on a tour of the nearby territories.

Alternatively, we might skip right ahead to Mannequin’s trap. There are eight Slaughterhouse testing rounds to get through unless something/someone interrupts the game, so we might see some faster pacing in order to get through it all.

The best way to find out is to jump in, so let’s go get ensnared by this next chapter of Worm!

Snare 13.1

Krixwell JaceLeave a comment

Sugar. Spice. And everything nice. These were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect little Arc.

But Professor Wildbow accidentally added an extra ingredient to the concoction… Chemical Slaughterhouse!

Thus, ARC 13 OF WORM WAS BORN!

And it’s called…

Snare?

Interesting. In terms of its relation to bugs, that mainly makes me think of spiders and their webs. In a more (para)human context, that implies a trap of some kind, likely one that our protagonists are going to walk right into.

It’s also worth noting that we’re likely focusing on Mannequin and Cherish in this Arc, and Cherish’s power can be seen as her manipulating the webs of emotions and relations in people’s heads. She’s also been known to ensnare victims, like that one guy in her Interlude.

So, what are we in for this chapter?

Perhaps we’ll have Taylor going to check on Tattletale or her dad in person? Or maybe we’ll focus on her efforts to make things better in her territory?

Honestly, I really don’t know. First chapters of Arcs are almost as hard to speculate on as Interludes. I’m probably better off just jumping into it and seeing what’s up!

Arc 13, Snare. Let’s go. 🙂

Interlude 12½ (Donation Bonus)

Krixwell JaceLeave a comment

Howdy! It’s time for Interlude… uh, which one was it again? Let’s count them up:

1, 2, 3, 3½, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 10, 10.5, 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e, 11f, 11g, 11h, 12… ah, yes, 12½!

Well, still makes more sense than “Act 6 Act 5 Act 1 x2 Combo!!!”.

So, what are we in for today? I guess I should just let Pastwell do the talking, since my predictions haven’t changed since the end of the last chapter:

Anyway, my predictions for next time are pretty much the same as for this one, though obviously without the one that actually happened in this chapter. I’m holding out hope for either Charlotte or Sierra’s POV, or for a check-in with someone on the other side of the rift Hookwolf created. I’d like to get to know Battery more, for one thing.

I suppose it’s also possible we’ll follow a Traveler and get some more information on what’s going on with Noelle and/or on the Travelers’ tight-knit backstory, now that Hookwolf’s schism has forced the Travelers’ cooperation with the Undersiders into the spotlight and Noelle has actually been seen.

Thank you, Pastwell.

So yeah! Let’s just jump right in and see if any of my suggestions come to pass!