#15.4p1

[krixwell-liveblogs]

Sundancer had once described her life in costume as intense, violent and lonely.  I’d had a hard time understanding the last point.

Not too surprising considering avoiding loneliness is part of why you’re in costume in the first place.

That had been about the same time that I had been riding the high of having friends for the first time, after a couple of years spent in almost total solitude.

Right, she’s talking about their meeting in Hive, rather than when they parted ways in Prey.

Maybe, if the subject had come up again in recent weeks, I might have understood, nodding my head in sympathy.

And that’s largely Coil’s fault, splitting the team up like he has, right?

Powers raised us above the common people.  It was maybe arrogant to think that way, to say I was better than the likes of Sierra, Charlotte or my father, but I sort of was.

...this is very dangerous territory, Taylor.

I hope you get proven wrong soon.

You’re not better. You’re different. You have an extra feature, but it doesn’t make you better. I think that’s the entire point of both the franchise and the in-universe powered people being called Parahumans rather than Superhumans.

I had all the potential they did and then more.

The potential for this kind of thinking is what had me headcanoning up a parahuman supremacist organization that tries to cause as many trigger events as possible, all the way back in Shell. (That headcanon still stands, by the way.)

[krixwell-liveblogs]

“And with his power, that might make for a bit of a pinch.”

“His power?”

Are you talking about how he’d be able to pursue a potential replacement in one world and only getting rid of Taylor if the replacing succeeded?

Also... nobody’s filled the rest of the team in on what exactly they’re up against?

I paused.  “Tattletale clued me in.  He creates parallel realities.  Makes two different decisions, and he gets to see the outcome of each as they unfold.  Decides which he wants in the end.”

Brian frowned.  “And he’s been doing that with us?”

“Since before I joined the team.  Send us on a job in one reality, keep us back in another.  If we succeed, great.  If we fail… well, nothing lost.  He deletes the reality where he sent us out.”

Pretty solid use of the power, really.

He rubbed his chin.  I noticed he had stubble.  “So he gets two tries at everything.  Including dealing with any of us who cause him any trouble.”

I nodded.  “Which is why we need to play along for as long as possible.”

“Fair.  What’s your plan B?”

“Plan B… well, it’s not so much a plan as a fallback.  If I get found out before we make any headway, it means fighting Coil and his underlings.”

It’s worrying that that’s apparently plan B rather than, like, plan E.

“The Travelers and Circus included.”

“Tattletale and I have talked about how we might approach that.  The problem is that Coil would be backing them up.  Normally I’d suggest we go on the offensive, so they don’t have time to go after our weaknesses, but with Coil at work, we have to assume that it’s all the more likely that the Travelers would get that one lucky hit off, or that they’d pick the plan of attack that would work out for them.”

True. But playing defensively has its flaws too, such as giving them that time to go after your weaknesses.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

Colony 15.4

Howdy! It’s me again!

Last time, *LOUD SHIP HORN NOISE*

This time... morning after, perhaps checking on Taylor’s territory?

I don’t have much to go on, and I’m running kinda low on time for this session anyway, so let’s just cut to the chase and find out what 15.4 is about!

[krixwell-liveblogs]

I couldn’t see Brian’s face without raising my head, and I didn’t want to do that and risk waking him.  I’d left my glasses on the table with the knife and gun, so I couldn’t see that well anyways.  I settled for studying the fabric of his sleeveless shirt, the nubs of lint, the weave of the textile, and how it shifted with the slow, deep and rhythmic breaths he was taking.  I could smell his sweat, with the faint traces of his deodorant beneath.

The Taylor focuses on the fabric. Heh.

...concept: Skitter version of “Art of the Dress”, with references to the other Undersiders’ new outfits (the number of characters even fits) and to using spiders instead of some of the actual dressmaking terms.

It was funny, because when we’d settled in, I hadn’t been able to smell anything.

...oh shit, guys!

What if Brian is the Scentless Man?? :o

Such a twist!

[krixwell-liveblogs]

I nodded, glum.

“And really, can you honestly say that your services are worth the cost of everything you’re taking from Coil in the way of resources, plus the cost of the agents he’d need watching Dinah at all hours?”

Coil and Dinah’s powers synergize quite well, making her much more useful to him than she already would be to anyone else, which is already quite a lot of usefulness.

“So you think he’ll say no.”

“Tattletale thinks that Coil may be considering dropping you from the team once he has what he needs.”

I turned to look at Brian.  His forehead was creased in a frown.

Sounds about right, honestly.

Did you not expect such a backstab, Taylor?

“You think I’m expendable.”

“To Coil?  Possibly.”

I nodded.

“It’s something to keep in mind,” he said.

“Thing is, I don’t know how that really changes anything.  Should I stop helping the people in my territory?  I’m not going to.  It wouldn’t be fair to them, and it would tip Coil off.”

Fair point. There’s also the issue of what you do with the territory afterwards, if this leads to parting with Coil.

“I think it was a bad idea to tip him off by making the deal in the first place.  Now he knows you’ve got pretty strong morals.  On a level, anyways.”

I nodded.  On a level.

Seems like a fair description to me.

He went on, “I imagine it’s troublesome to have someone with those sorts of moral concerns that could throw his long-term plan off course.  He might be looking to replace you.”

I wonder if he’s got anyone in mind.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

Aisha wheeled around, not appearing even half as guilty as she should have.

“I asked Coil’s lieutenant for some.  He asked me how many gallons I wanted.  How weird is that?  I mean, seriously, who needs gallons of blood?  Or maybe I could use it.  Paint someone’s house, see if I can’t freak them out hardcore,” Aisha smiled wickedly.

Pffft.

So where do Coil’s people get it? Their enemies? Do they just buy it from a slaughterhouse (a regular slaughterhouse, not the Nine)?

I do suppose gallons of blood could be useful if you want to fake a massacre crime scene with the corpses gone.

“Ignore that question.  What were you saying to Taylor, about not giving her a note?”

“It’s fine,” I told him.  “She’s being protective of her big brother.”

I don’t think Brian has ever really seen that before his Interlude. Sure, it’s probably happened, but he may not have realized what was going on beneath Aisha’s surface.

It probably raises a lot of thoughts about how he’s supposed to be the protector.

Aisha plastered a fake smile on her face.

“I didn’t know you cared,” Brian told Aisha, with a touch of sarcasm.  “I’m dropping this only because Taylor’s sticking up for you.”

Sure, there’s a touch of sarcasm, but I think there’s some genuineness in this too.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

Aisha woke up before Brian did, venturing downstairs in a long t-shirt.

Good morning, sunshine!

“Thanks for cleaning up,” I said, quiet.  I could remember her reaction the last time I’d been talking to Brian, and added, “And for not getting upset.”

“I can’t help him, don’t know how.  So I’m putting it in your hands.”

I think you made a good choice there. Though we don’t need Taylor starting to feel like this is another responsibility.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me.  If you screw this up, I can and will make your life a living hell.”

Heh.

It’s true.

I frowned.  “Honestly?  That’s not very fair.  I think I probably will screw up along the way.  This isn’t going to be smooth sailing, whatever happens.  So maybe it’d be better if you just trust that I’m going into this with the best intentions for him.”

She plucked a piece of bacon from a plate and popped it into her mouth.  “Maybe.  But no. Don’t fuck this up.”

I appreciate the concern, but this is seriously not something Taylor needed to hear right now.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

Aisha rolled her eyes and began serving herself.

It was nine-thirty.  Assuming it would take us half an hour to forty-five minutes to get to Coil’s place, that left us only about an hour to get ready.  We ate in awkward silence.  Aisha took the first turn in the shower, leaving Brian and me alone once again.

Careful. You never know when she’ll be back.

I wonder what happens if Aisha lets her power take hold while she’s showering. Will they start wondering why they hear the shower running?

Except Aisha’s power usually takes care of things that indicate her presence, so they might not be able to remember that the shower is running? For instance, Taylor isn’t able to detect her with the bugs when the power is active. But that’s a lot more direct than “the shower is running”, which is more on par with the sort of things Aisha said she’d do to drive someone crazy.

I didn’t know what to do with myself.  We had taken a step forward, but I didn’t exactly have any experience on this front.  What was I supposed to do?  What did I say?  I wanted to hug him, to hold his hand or raise the idea of spending time together later, but I didn’t know what was allowed, or what would be pushing boundaries or taking things too far.

Do what feels right, I think.

...not that I really have much more experience, especially if it has to be in meatspace.