Tag: Homestuck

Arc Thoughts: Sentinel

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Arc 9, Sentinel. Interlude: The Arc.

This was a nice diversion from the perspective we’ve been following, much like the singular Interludes it so much resembles. We got to know the Wards a lot better than we already did, including a couple new ones, and they’re all great, except for Sophia.

Maybe the story as a whole mirrors the Arc-Interlude structure on a larger level (don’t tell me). I’ve commented on Arc 8 feeling like a climax, an “End of Part 1” – maybe we’re going back to Taylor’s POV for the duration of Part 2, this was an interlude between the parts, and we’ll have another Arc like this one after whatever constitutes the climax of Part 2?

On top of allowing us to get to know the Wards – who may have a larger role in the story after this, perhaps – this gave us some time away from Taylor and the Undersiders, during which they could put their plan together, recruit a new member, and get ready to start fucking around in a constructive direction. I’m looking forward to learning what they’ve been up to, and who Imp is.

The Arc title

For once this was pretty obvious. Sentinel is a word that describes exactly what the heroes do, and this was an Arc all about the heroes.

We ultimately didn’t see any crabs, but I still think sentinel crabs are the way this title continues the theme of the Arc titles having to do with things Taylor can control, which is kind of clever.

Prediction review

From Arc Thoughts: Extermination:

Arc 9 is largely a mystery for now, due to the cliffhanger in 8.8, but it’ll presumably deal with Taylor setting the first parts of her plan into motion. If Taylor decided to involve the Undersiders in it, we’ll also be dealing with her trying to regain their trust.

There’s also a chance we’ll learn more about Noelle’s situation towards the end of the Arc, given the tendency of Interludes to cover content relevant to the Arcs on both sides.

Nooope.

Well, we did get back to Taylor setting the first part of her plan into motion eventually, but from a very different perspective than I had expected when I wrote this.

I do want to note that once I figured out the gimmick of the Arc – which was easy given the title and the first chapter or two – I was able to make some fairly accurate predictions about the structure of the rest of it. For the last three chapters, I successfully predicted specifically who was the next POV in line, which is something I’ve never really been able to do for the Interludes due to their much larger number of characters to pick from.

Predictions for Arc 10

First and foremost, tagging is going to get just a little bit more annoying now that I’ll have double-digit Arc numbers to write three times per post. :p

Other than that, we’re presumably going to finally learn what Taylor’s planning to do. It kind of seems like her plan involves personally setting right the specific wrongs she sees, but I doubt it stops there. I think she intends to try to fix the systems and social dynamics in play, to the extent she can… but how?

We’re also going to get to know Imp. My prediction for her power amounts to it being “something mischievious”, but I’m honestly more interested in who she is as a person and how she became part of the Undersiders. Maybe she’ll be a bit mischievious to match the name herself? I’d appreciate that, I like mischievious characters.

I’m also curious about whether Chariot has anything to do with them, or if Piggot’s right about him working directly for Coil – or, the third option, someone entirely different. If him working for the Undersiders (or working for Coil and being planted in the Wards at the Undersiders’ request) isn’t addressed relatively early in the next Arc, I’m prepared to dismiss the hypothesis.

So yeah, I guess that’s it for Sentinel! See you next time!

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“What we do is dangerous.  Sometimes we die.  I don’t see why I should worry about what happens five years from now when I might not even be here.”

Fair enough. Might as well worry about the present instead, and try to survive that.

“Are you having second thoughts about being on the team?”

Vista gave Flechette a look, “No.  Not in the slightest.”

I was right that Vista wasn’t sure she’d be alive in five or six years, but she doesn’t seem to be worried about that. She seems to just be treating it as a fact of life that yes, she might die before she fills 18.

“But if you’re concerned about risking your life…”

“I didn’t say I was concerned,” Vista said, a note of exasperation in her voice, “Just that, hey, it might happen.  I’m being realistic.”

…exactly.

“I can’t tell if you’re being amazingly mature about the topic of death or if I should be really concerned about you.”

To me it looks primarily like the former, but… can’t it be both things?

I mean, Vista is very mature, there’s no doubt about that. But why? Has she actually had the opportunity to have a normal childhood to any reasonable extent before being thrust into the world of heroes and villains and death and destruction?

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“Then Trevor could just not use his powers?” she spoke.

If the instinctive desire to use one’s powers is a thing, this would be a perfect line to lead into a confirmation.

“Sure,” Kid Win folded his arms, leaning back against the back of the couch.  “What do you think, Chariot?  You think you could keep from using that power of yours?  Be normal?”

Eh?

Chariot frowned, looked down at his scratched-up hands, “No.”

It’s hard, being a kid and not using your power. It’s hard, and nobody understands.

Kid Win nodded in agreement, “It’s a part of you, Chariot, a part of how you think, now.  I’m telling you this is the best option.  The safest.  Having a team means you’re protected, free to do what you need to do.”

You got this, Kid. You’re doing great.

Chariot’s expression indicated clear interest.  Then he frowned, “I don’t want to give up my stuff to others.  It’s mine.”

Back to that again… Hm.

Something struck Kid Win as off about the reply.  What was it?   It was out of tune with the flow of the conversation, didn’t quite match up with Kid Win’s own experiences being recruited.  Maybe it sounded forced?  But why would Chariot fake reluctance?

That’s very odd. Did someone instill this mindset of “don’t ever give others your stuff” on him, and now he’s repeating it even if he doesn’t really mean it?

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“Fuck!” Weld cursed, the metal spikes of the darts jutting out of his jaw, cheekbone, eyebrow and forehead, “Takes forever to get my face right after something like this!”

Ahaha, sorry, pal.

More bad news: You’ve also just revealed your weakness to the enemy.

Trickster’s teleportations had placed the enemy’s group in the interior of the building, with the Wards surrounding them.

So a reversal of how it was earlier?

Surrounding one’s enemy wasn’t quite an advantage when the enemy could teleport, but for a moment, they all paused where they were, various weapons at the ready.  It was the kind of momentary peace that fell when everyone was waiting to react to what the others were doing.

One of few tactical situations that don’t quite have an analogue in chess. Not on the scale of the whole board, at least.

A wind blew past them, and Kid Win blinked as a fat droplet of water spattered against his visor.  It was starting to drizzle.  He glanced up at the corpses where they hung on the walls of the building.

“So don’t change the dizzle, turn it up a little
I got a living room full of fine dime brizzles
Waiting on the Pizzle, the Dizzle and the Shizzle
G’s to the bizzack, now ladies here we gizzo

When the pimp’s in the crib ma
Drop it like it’s hot
Drop it like it’s hot
Drop it like it’s hot…”

– English Romantic poet, John Keats

(linked page has autoplaying sound)

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Trickster swapped him with Vista, placing him several feet back.

Unfortunately Trickster has quick reactions.

Ahead of him, he could see the girl where he’d just been, within a few feet of the teleporter.  Clockblocker found his footing, darted forward once more.  Again, Vista’s powers helped close the distance.

Good luck!

Kid Win, Flechette, and Vista joined him in charging the enemy, so that Clockblocker wouldn’t be set too far back if he was teleported to their locations.

Good thinking! Still, though, there are other people Trickster could swap him with, including three corpses that would drop him down 20 feet.

Sundancer moved the orb in between them and Trickster, igniting a few of the pieces of wood that were exposed and above the water.  Vista responded by raising her hand to shrink it dramatically.

Niice.

Reminds me of a scene in Homestuck where a character raises a hand to casually shrink a meteor with a soft smile.

Weld ducked one of Ballistic’s attacks, then charged for the orb, striking it out of the air with one fist.  The blow dispersed it enough that Sundancer couldn’t draw it back together, and a wave of hot air washed over everyone present.

Huh, nice! I guess metal beats fire if it hits fast enough.

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I don’t know what the name for Parian/Flechette is, but I do know it’s a popular ship, so somewhere someone’s got to have a name for it.

There ARE loads of Lily/Sabah shippers but I don’t recall ever seeing a ship name, which is weird. I guess the Wildbow fandom just doesn’t really do ship names. :/

I think that Needlepoint is the ship name for Lily/Sabah

I don’t know of any ship names for Parian and Flechette, but how about Pins & Needles?

You caught on to the hints far quicker than the last live blogger that got to that part! As for ship names, Needle and Thread certainly fits.

Needlepoint! Is the ship name i prefer. There are probably others. These others are blatantly inferior. (Pun ship names are the best. Like the ship name for Taylor/Lisa: Smugbug.)

Nice! I like Needlepoint. Certainly a lot more elegant than “needle gal pals”.

YAY you finally reached Lily’s interlude! Her and Sabah are second only to Rosemary as my favorite ship from anything ever!!!

I really liked their interactions. I hope it works out for them! 😀

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Flechette palmed one of her throwing darts, glanced at it.  She’d been with the Wards a year before she had been given the arbalest and the chain reel.

Huh, interesting. I wonder how she fought before.

Her darts had been her weapon of choice for a long time, alongside a rapier she’d eventually retired after too many fights using it had turned out badly.

Oh, I see. Neat.

She hadn’t had the heart to change her codename, even if it didn’t quite apply anymore.  Maybe when she graduated to the Protectorate.

Does the name Flechette mean “dart” or something along those lines, then?

“Hey,” Shadow Stalker called out, disturbing her from her thoughts.  “Here!”

Tired, she thought, mind’s wandering.

Been there, done that, got a bunch of Homestuck shirts a while back that I quite like. One of them has a quote from Once Upon a Time, but I haven’t actually seen more than like ten minutes of that show. I have seen Once Upon a Time… Man, though, and parts of Once Upon a Time… Life. Those are very different shows from Once Upon a Time, unless Once Upon a Time is very different than I think it is. Which reminds me, before I watched it, I thought Frozen was going to be about Elsa and Anna trying to get Olaf somewhere. I guess that’s because Olaf was featured way too prominently in the trailers… honestly, he’s entertaining, but I’m pretty sure he’s only in that movie to appeal to the kids. You could easily cut him without having to change much, and the other characters are entertaining enough by themselves to make up for the absence of his comic relief. Unlike Jar-Jar Binks, who actually does important stuff in Star Wars Episode I. Jar-Jar gets a lot of shit, but I honestly think he was one of the better parts of that movie. Then again, I don’t really like Star Wars as a whole all that much in the first place, so maybe I just have different sensibilities than the average Star Wars fan.

Anyway, what were we talking about?

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While he swayed back, stunned, blood streaming from his nose, she reached out and grabbed him by the lower jaw, her fingers digging into the bottom of his mouth.  Instinctively, desperately, he bit down, hard, but the construction of the girl’s gauntlets was good enough to safeguard her fingers.

Oh yeah, this guy’s gonna have worse than a headache by the end of this.

She used her grip to pull him to one side as she’d just done with his compatriot, helped by a swift kick to the side of one leg.  Rather than use her knee to deliver the telling blow, she brought the heel of her free hand against the gap between the man’s skull and his jaw.  He screamed, crumpled toward the ground, his hands moving to where the strike had hit.

Oof.

So while we’re here, I feel like it’s worth noting that Flechette and Shadow Stalker hit it off while fighting an Endbringer, one of the enemies no one will blame you for going all out on.

Which means Flechette didn’t see then how Shadow Stalker seemingly goes all out on pretty much everyone.

Gonna be interesting to see what she thinks of Shadow Stalker after this fight.

Shadow Stalker waited a moment before letting go, forcing him to twist and squeal in agony before she let him finish collapsing.

After watching him a moment, perhaps to be sure he wouldn’t retaliate, Shadow Stalker glanced at Flechette.  “Your man there is getting loose.”

Mister Notkneedick?

Flechette had been caught up in the spectacle of watching Shadow Stalker fight.  A kind of horrified fascination.

It gets hard.

To pry your eyes away.

She saw the thug she’d shot in the crotch, on his back in the water, his pants still fixed to the wall.  He was struggling to work his legs out of the jeans.

Huh. I guess he really doesn’t want to get caught.

She loaded a shot and fired a bolt just beneath his armpit, nailing his sweatshirt to the ground.  Another just above his opposite shoulder and behind his neck secured him.

Try getting out of this one, Houdini!

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Search your blog for Angry Banana Bunch, you’ll find an untagged ABB gag.

Another untagged ABB gag: Awesome Beach Bodies.

More unmarked ABB gags: Ablatives But Better, Amplified Banana Blasters, Absolute Beetle Buffoons.

Two untagged ABB gags when Bakuda makes her entrance: Achoo Blessya Babes and Asplody Beach Balls.

More untagged ABB gags: Antithetical Bottle Breaker, Actual Bad Boys, Archer Biting Babies, and Anti-Bitch Brigade (one of your better ones). I was also wondering if you intended to make a “Fuck you, Max” tag.

Another untagged ABB gag. Allflavor Bean Bags. Also, I’m seriously considering starting Homestuck and Steven Universe just so I can get all your references.

Another untagged ABB gag: Amorphous Basket Balls.

Thank you!

Due to blog search being kind of unreliable, I was unable to find some of these, but I really appreciate this nonetheless. Those I could find have been fixed.

I think I decided against making a “Fuck you, Max” tag at some point, but I’m not sure. At least that gag wasn’t constantly changing, so it’d be way easier to apply retroactively if I were to change my mind.

And as for Steven Universe and Homestuck, I think you should do it. They are both great. Though fair warning, they both have a sort of slow start (SU does it better than Homestuck though), so I recommend you avoid judging them too early. With Homestuck in particular it’s worth noting that up until a point in Act 4, the story was being based on people’s suggested commands, which explains a lot of the floundering early on.

By the way, when you finish watching/reading, I recommend you check out the liveblogs of my friends @loreweaver-universe (SU) and @mindareadsoots (Homestuck). 😉

Krixwell JaceLeave a comment

(Homestuck spoilers below)

I’d peg Coil as a Prince of Doom, of sorts, or a Prince of Time MAYBE. Probably Doom.

Hm. I have a hard time seeing Coil as a Prince (”destroy aspect and destroy through aspect, directly”, with a bonus tendency to lack the aspect) or a Hero of Doom (limitations, rules, restrictions, sacrifice)… I’d interpret a Prince of Doom as someone who breaks the rules of reality, and that doesn’t really describe Coil for me.

A Prince of Time would be someone who destroys time, death, progress and/or destruction, and destroys through those. I could sort of see part of this if you define picking a timeline as destroying the other, but I’m not quite sold on it.

That said, with how varied classpect theories are, you could be interpreting these very differently than I do.

Which brings me to another thing: Sharks has asked me to ask you all to either limit Homestuck asks, or provide explanations. Sharks hasn’t read Homestuck, so he has been forced to rely on friends to explain these things to him so he could judge whether they were spoilery to me. So if you could try to help him out on this, that would be appreciated.