#chapter 12.2

[krixwell-liveblogs]

Taylor could use a hotel vacation, though.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

Artists in order:

synapsekisses, ArtLounge, scarfgirl, cedeelbe, LinaLeeZ, icehippo, CopperRose98, Ellenrules, lonsheep, astrisjursen

More excellent art by assorted artists!

synapsekisses’ Bonesaw looks great in that super frilly dress. I love the look of the blood stains in particular.

The imgur link I was given for ArtLounge’s Tattletale had the caption “I tried to draw Tattletale, hope you guys like it!” - I do! I really do! The pose and expression are perfect, and the coloration, linework, etc. are well done. :)

scarfgirl’s Endbringer survivor badge is a fun idea, and the depiction of a water-ready Narwhal in it is very cute!

cedeelbe beautifully depicts Shatterbird’s glassy dress, and the pose is very nice. Elegant, but deadly. The fact that the glass she’s manipulating that’s not on her dress looks like wings is a neat touch.

LinaLeeZ’s Bonesaw is a masterpiece of derangement. Each component, from the interesting lighting’s effect on her face, to the scalpels, to the heterochromia (I notice the next piece has that too - was that mentioned in her description in Interlude 11h?), to the twisted grin, to the bloodspray beyond what’s permanently on her dress... they weave together to portray how crazy this girl is quite well.

icehippo’s Bonesaw seems to focus less on her derangement and more on how cute she can be - at the very least, I think this depiction of her, complete with one of her spidery toolbots as a pet on her shoulder, is cute. Even though she’s probably thinking about how best to use my body parts in her experiments.

CopperRose98’s piece, apparently titled “Septillions of Tiny Knives”, is really cool because while it might not be obvious at first glance, if you look a little closer, the entire image is filled with glass shards, and only some of them are colored to illustrate the movement around Shatterbird and to create the image of a bird. There’s also the colored glass her costume is made of (I forgot that it was described as colored), which creates a neat color patch effect. I like this a lot.

I like EllenRules’ design for Jack Slash. I’m guessing it wasn’t intentional, but I think he kind of looks like he’d be a werewolf.

lonsheep’s Bonesaw... let’s be real, Bonesaw would absolutely be the type to literally give someone her heart - or more likely someone else’s - for Christmas and be annoyed if she caught them giving it away. But yeah, what I’m trying to say is that I like that she’s holding that heart there and looking quite pleased while doing so. I also really like the way the blood red dominating the entire picture works with the blood stains and the natural color of the heart. Siberian and Jack Slash in the back also look great - Jack in particular looks quite affable, which seems about right. :)

And finally, astrisjursen’s Bonesaw is a bit more subtle about her derangedness than other pieces, but it works well. I quite like the half-and-half technique being done between her face and a skull, visually symbolizing the dark side underneath the cuteness, and the shading is great.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

So why could I feel calm now?

I think it was that realization that there were moments where I was helpless to act, oddly enough.  This boat?  Speeding across the Endbringer-made lake?  I had to be here.  There was no other option, really.

Huh.

Taylor’s brain, constantly: “oh no things might go bad here what can i do” This situation: “nothing” Taylor’s brain: “huh. okay.”

As I clutched the metal rim of the boat with one hand while we soared forward, the wind in my hair, I could accept the fact that I couldn’t do anything in this time and place to get Dinah out of captivity sooner.

This is kind of interesting. Taylor has hangups about bystanderism and complacency that do make sense, but overall, Wildbow seems to be using that as an example not to follow. We’ve seen, plenty of times, Taylor stressing herself out about her desire to help. Now we’re seeing Taylor allow herself a moment of calm, of complacency, and it’s probably the mentally healthiest moment we’ve seen from her in the entire story. If I’m not misinterpreting Wildbow’s intentions, we’re seeing an argument between the narrator and the narrative about how deeply one should care about helping people around oneself at one’s own expense. The narrator argues fiercely for always putting others first, using Charlotte and Tattletale as surrogates for the audience, but the narrative is highlighting how unhealthy this actually is for her.

I don’t think Wildbow is teaching that we shouldn’t care about helping others. He probably means some of what Taylor is saying, stands by her stance on bystanderism. But I do think he’s trying to show us that there needs to be a balance.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

“It seems,” Hookwolf said, “The Travelers and the Undersiders won’t agree to our terms for the truce.  Merchants, Pure, Faultline, Coil?  Are you willing to band together with my group?”

But yeah, I suppose the truce proper isn’t really in effect yet.

And it’s looking that it’ll be Undertravelers vs Empire Mercoiline.

Maybe having it both ways was Coil’s plan here? Getting a foot in on either side of this conflict?

Purity, Coil and Skidmark nodded.  Faultline shook her head.

“You’re saying no, Faultline?”

Ooh! Another ally? Or are they going to pull the same schtick they did last time and go with “whoever pays more”?

“We’re mercenaries.  We can’t take a job without pay.  Even a job as important as this.”

Looks like it.

Well. The Undertravelers have money to spend, but so does the guy who provided them with that money in the first place.

Question is whether he’ll make a bid or let the Undertravelers have Faultline.

Besides, the other groups probably aren’t poor either.

“I will handle your payment here as I did for the ABB, Faultline,” Coil said, sounding just a touch exasperated.

Alright, guess he’s going for it. I suppose his main objective is to get as many people against the Slaughterhouse Nine as he can.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

“Mannequin went after Armsmaster.  Armsmaster was hospitalized.”

That was some small shock to everyone present, though I might have been less surprised than some.

Huh.

Well, I guess she’s less surprised by Armmaster being someone the Nine would be interested in.

Armsmaster as a prospective member for the Nine.

Yeah, that.

I mean, even from Taylor’s perspective of the guy, it seems like a stretch, but she has reason to be somewhat less surprised.

“What you suggest is too dangerous,” Faultline said.  “We’d all be gathered in one or two locations for them to attack, and if Armsmaster was attacked, we could be too.”

That is true.

“And their whole reason for being here is recruitment,” Coil spoke, “Perhaps the plan would work if we could trust one another, but we cannot, when many here were scouted for their group, and may turn on their potential rivals to prove their worth.  We would be vulnerable to an attack from within, and we would be easy targets.”

Funny you should mention that. *glances at Bitch*

[krixwell-liveblogs]

“And Miss Militia?” Hookwolf asked, “A truce?”

“Keep the business to a minimum, no assaulting or attacking civilians,” Miss Militia said, “We still have to protect this city, there’s no give there.  Don’t give us a reason to bother with you, and we’ll be focused wholly on the Slaughterhouse Nine in the meantime.”

Those seem like reasonable terms.

“Good.  That’s all we ask.”

The leaders of the new group crossed the roof to shake hands.  In the process, things shuffled so that our group, the Travelers and the heroes were near the bottom of the roof.

The underdogs.

...That would be a good name for an AU version of the Undersiders led by Rachel.

The heroes moved off to one side, as if to guard us from any retaliation, making the separation in forces all the more obvious.

I appreciate that they seem to protect the Undertravelers here, whether it’s intentional or not on their part.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

This argument is starting to feel like it’s from A Series of Unfortunate Events.

The characters aren’t quite as stupid as most ASoUE side characters, but it’s got that same sense of hopelessness.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

That gave everyone pause.

Coil went on, “If Jack Slash is killed, the event is likely to occur at some point in the more distant future instead.”

Though “more distant” may not be as distant as people would be likely to assume.

So years in the future, but not many.

“Dinah Alcott,” Weld spoke.  All eyes turned to the metal-skinned boy.

Oh hey, Weld pieced it together! Nice work, buddy.

“Beg pardon?” Coil asked.

“Thursday, April fourteenth of this year, Dinah Alcott was kidnapped from her home and has not been seen since.

Oh nice, a canon date for the bank robbery. That was back when the exact amounts of time passing were fairly clear, so I’m pretty sure that can be extrapolated to give canon dates for everything that happened in Arcs 1-3. Maybe 4 too.

Dinah had missed several weeks of classes with crippling headaches in the months before her disappearance.  Investigation found no clear medical causes.  Police interviewed her friends.  She had confided to them that she thought she could see the future, but doing so hurt her.”

That must’ve been a pretty cool thing to have a friend who could do at that age.