#chapter 9.1

[manga-meow]

[thebloodofazra]

Qnother name for this chapter: Lin Wen, master of psychological manipulation.

I'm soooooo normal about Kyereh showing signs of emotional deconstipation. The panel where he reaches out to touch the rain was MUACK chef's kiss.

The watchmaker jumpscared me so bad, I thought he was Illirik's dad for some reason 😭😭😭😭😭.

Anyway, amazing chapter! Thank you so much for it! Take care of yourself!

Wen grew up with Illirik, she KNOWS how to make things go her way when the other party is being needlessly stubborn. Also, I'm so happy you noticed the rain scene!!! It's very small, but it's one of my faves in this chapter too. Thank you so much, as always, for leaving your thoughts!

[animegadaisukiidesu]

[krixwell-liveblogs]

Actually, maybe the Trump class covers those with powers to fail spectacularly at business and still somehow be seen as successful by the public.

[manga-meow]

[manga-meow]

[krixwell-liveblogs]

“There will be more.  We’ve got a lead on a young man who could be joining as a new member, assuming we can get close enough to him to make the offer.  I trust you know your classifications?”

Hm, interesting. Is this someone we know?

“I do,” Weld nodded.  He’d memorized it as a rhyme, as suggested by his old boss.  Maybe that had been the intention from the start:

Mover, Shaker, Brute and Breaker.

Master, Tinker, Blaster and Thinker,

Striker, Changer, Trump and Stranger.

Ooh! Okay, so we’ve got some interpretation to do here:

Mover is obvious. Moves stuff. Telekinesis, launching and the like. Pretty simple. ...Wait. I guess this could alternatively be those whose own movement is enhanced, such as fliers or speedsters. But then where do telekinetics fit in? Shaker?

Shaker sounds like a variant that can’t quite move things, but can make them react physically in some way.

Brute, we’ve been over with Lung. Physically strong and/or defended.

Breaker: Breaks stuff. Faultline probably falls under this.

Master: This one we’re well aware of. Covers Taylor and Paige, those with the power to control people or other living beings.

Tinker: Parahumanly skilled at technology. Tends to have a specialty, such as Bakuda’s bombs, Armmaster’s small technology or Leet’s one-time inventions.

Blaster: Ranged strikes, such as lasers. Lung also falls under this due to his blasts of fire.

Thinker: Those whose mind give them an upper hand, like Tattle.

Striker: Probably covers super-strength, among other things that would enhance one’s physical attack power.

Changer: Changes one thing to another, as with transmutation or transfiguration.

Trump: ...powers that override other powers in some sense, maybe?

Stranger: Probably the miscellaneous category. I’ve said before that this system needs to have one, and this sounds like one. Alternatively, this could be “we don’t fuckin’ know”.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

End of Sentinel 9.1

And thus ends the first non-Interlude chapter without Taylor in it. (Although Director Piggot may have been alluding to her at one point.)

We finally got to know Weld, which was fun! I had been looking forward to that, and what I found did not disappoint - he’s a very nice guy, with refreshing optimism, even if he did make a pretty big faux pas in not reading the room or researching the people he was replacing. I hope we get to see more of his experience as the new leader of the Brockton Bay Wards.

And it’s entirely possible that this Arc will stick to that topic. Nothing against her, but I’m okay with taking a break from Taylor for a while to follow a different POV.

Taylor may have been the primary POV character for eight Arcs, but it’s become increasingly clear that it’s hard to call her a main character, especially over the course of these last two Arcs. This story, so far, doesn’t have a main character. It’s a story not about a character, but about society at large, which we’ve so far happened to be seeing through the eyes of one Taylor “Skitter” Hebert.

(Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely do want to see what she’s up to later.)

So, next chapter... we might be going back to Taylor and presumably seeing the things I predicted for this chapter (whether her plan involves the Undersiders, what her plan actually is), or we might be sticking with Weld to see how he tries to rectify this awkwardness he’s created.

Or, hell, what if this Arc involves checking in on multiple groups of Sentinels, one per chapter? That’d be a neat gimmick, though I think I’d prefer sticking with Weld.

Either way, see you next time!