That was a very interesting chapter. We got to see Tattletale’s hideout, which was rather… different than the Hive, we met their less-than-perfect escorts to the Merchant meeting (the country of Senegal does not deserve this blight upon its name), and we finally got an answer – probably a correct one – to what determines when the overdrive happens, if not explicitly what makes it happen in the first place.

I enjoyed it, though I do wish we’d gotten more private time between Taylor and Lisa. Maybe we’ll get some of that after the meeting.

Anyway, next chapter, it’s time to find out what a redband Merchant arrangement is like. It probably ain’t good. It’s entirely possible that Taylor will find it necessary to step in with her bugs, even though she’s out of costume and at risk of being figured out by one or more of the escorts.

Hell, maybe the Merchants intend to make a larger-scale attack on the construction sites, or something else that could harm Danny. That would be a neat way to motivate Taylor and tie everything together with his appearance in 11.1.

See you next time!

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!

So! This was a really cool chapter – Skitter has a theatrical side that shows once in a while, and she used it to good effect here. She’s now the Queen of Skitterville, and the fifth or so of the population that showed up to her announcement seems to be mostly fine with that, after she explained her good intentions, set an example of the Big Man despite all his best dunks stabs, and was sorta kinda publicly accepted by a Protectorate member.

I really enjoyed the forthright interaction between Battery and Skitter. I hope we’ll see more of Battery (with a speaking role) in not too long, because she seems interesting. Maybe we’ll even learn the true relationship between her and Assault someday! 😛

And finally, we met the dreadlock redhead whose brother Taylor will certainly be trying to save when she goes up against the Merchants. I’m pretty certain that we’re doing that in this Arc at this point, unless Wildbow decides to pull a bait-and-switch and go “SURPRISE IT’S THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE NINE” instead. We’ll have to see, but I’m fairly sure we’re sticking with the Merchants for now. (Though we’ll probably be getting to know the Fellowship with those Interludes at the end of the Arc, so they might be somewhat relevant nonetheless.)

Next chapter… maybe we’ll meet up with the other Undersiders and discuss how the claims went and how everyone’s adjusting? Or maybe Taylor intends to do some planning at the Hive before launching an attack on the Merchants on her own? Or, perhaps, we’ll dive straight into it.

It’s a little unclear to me still how much the Undersiders will work together when it comes to attacking enemies in their separate territories, but I’ll just have to see.

…huh. It’d be really fitting if Bitch’s territory just so happened to be frequented by Fenrir’s Chosen. Hookwolf is the perfect nemesis to her.

Anyway, yeah. See you then!

That was quite the chapter! We got a super vivid and creative nightmare sequence, a tour of Skitter’s base (which I have chosen to call the Hive

– not to be confused with Arc 5 – unless Skitter comes up with a better name), and last but certainly not least, we finally got to see Danny again!

The theming of guilt throughout this chapter was really thorough, as was the buildup to Taylor running into the subject of some of it. The nightmare was prompted by guilt in several ways – over Danny, over Dinah, over Shadow Stalker… Taylor doesn’t like being alone in the Hive because it leaves her thinking about that guilt… and, as mentioned, she managed to run right into one of those three, the one we haven’t seen since 6.9.

And damn am I glad to see him again. If it’s not clear enough yet, I really like Danny as a character – I’d go so far as to say that he’s my favorite mundane. And even on a list that included the parahumans too, I don’t think he’d fall that much lower than Tattletale. He’s not really the kind of character I usually find myself enjoying, but he’s so damn sympathetic. 

Interlude 1 did a really good job of showing us why we should feel for Danny, and with it, showed us how much he didn’t deserve any of what he had to deal with in later Arcs. I really don’t think 6.9 would’ve hit anywhere near as hard as it did without what Interlude 1 did for Danny’s character.

I suppose in a lot of ways I like Danny for the same reasons Joyce Byers made it to my favorite character spot in Stranger Things. Without getting into too many spoilers, Joyce is the mother of Will Byers, the latter being the kid who disappears in the first few minutes of the series. Over the course of the series, Joyce’s desperation and more importantly resolve to find out what happened to her son and get him back home if possible makes her an incredibly sympathetic character. I guess there’s something about parents who are desperate to help their children but don’t know how that really resonates with me.

Anyway, this was a chapter that’s been a long time coming. The reunion didn’t, ultimately, make me cry like I thought it might, largely because the two of them still remained sort of distant, but it was damn good nonetheless.

Next chapter… it’s time to claim some territory. Exactly how Skitter intends to do that, I’m not sure, but I don’t think the Merchants are going to like it. Judging by what was said about them in this chapter, I’ll think they’ll be the primary antagonists of the Arc, or at least the first ones. The Fellowship of the Meat can have their turn afterwards.

So yeah, see you next time!