#extermination 8.3

[inchwormpodcast]

Jenny and Ted discuss Extermination 8.3. Episode Notes: * Welp, it sure was a down chapter * Not to be all Taylor about it but why is

Jenny and Ted discuss Extermination 8.3.

Episode Notes:

Welp, it sure was a down chapter

Not to be all Taylor about it but why is this the best the heroes can do?

What does Taylor think she's going to be able to do?

"So... we good now, Clockblocker?"

The action is out of scale with our hero. What does that mean for the narrative going forward?

Some of the losses are starting to hurt

Compartmentalization keeps her going

This battle feels like a waste of powers

Reluctantly handing it to Armsmaster

Jenny's new theory connecting the source of powers to the Endbringers

What's this Leviathan guy thinking?

Somebody give Faultline the Manton effect override cheatcode already!

Mourning Shielder and Dauntless and the suffering of children

Bastion juuuuust missed the "dying a hero" window

Ruthless Taylor expands her inventory and does medicine

The heroes should take some cues from Taylor's utilitarianism

This chapter is a microcosm of Taylor's growth across the first seven arcs

Some good procedural details

This was a really well-handled action sequence

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

I rose, hurried to him, keeping low so I didn’t walk face first into anyone’s laser blasts or gunfire.  “Your fire, is it radioactive? Is it anything special, extra dangerous?” He gave me a look, lobbed another fireball, “It’s fire, it combusts if I concentrate it.” “Okay.  Great.  I need your help.” He nodded. I showed him the woman.  “Blood loss is a problem.  She needs the wound cauterized.”

More than her bug control power, Taylor's real power, her real contribution is the thought she's putting into powers, in thinking about using them in irregular ways. Probably because she put so much work into trying to figure out how to optimize her power.

Like, if Taylor had gotten a much more straightforward power, would she be the power-optimizer we come to know and love? It's hard to actually know what her mind and personality were like before her power - we have a few mentions and references to go by, but Taylor pre-Locker, and especially Taylor pre-Bullying, just... we don't really have much to go on. And we never do get to see even post-Locker Taylor in much of a 'normal' enviroment. Not for any extended period, no real look at her when things aren't crazy or ramping up to crazy, not really.

People talk about TINO, which is fair, but also like... what the fuck is this girl actually like?

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

Sham down, CD-5.  Acoustic deceased, CD-5.  Harsh Mistress down, CD-5.  Resolute deceased, CD-5.  Woebegone down, CD-5…

Some of these cape names are just hilariously absurd.

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

Too many commands from too many people who hadn’t fought with or against Clockblocker, who didn’t know how his power worked, who had conflicting ideas on what we had to do. This chaos would fuck us over, keep us from accomplishing anything before Leviathan got free.  We needed order, and most of the people who could have given it to us were out of action or nowhere nearby.

Building that theme of people not working together well.

Like, it makes sense the Independents and Corporate Teams and Villains wouldn't necessarily work together well, but the Protectorate and Wards really should try to run Endbringer practice?

Though I suppose it's probably impossible to like... actually do that? How do you prepare for this shit?

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

Leviathan wrapped his tail around the spherical forcefield that surrounded the siblings, bringing it and the pair down toward the roof as he fell.  When they were halfway down, the constriction of the tail broke through the forcefield, snaked around Shielder’s body and Laserdream’s arm. The Endbringer landed on the roof with a shuddering impact and a showering of detritus, crashing through the roof.  He bounded up to the edge of the roof, lunged off it. I could see it like it was slow motion.  Laserdream’s hand glowed and she fired, using the concussive force of her laser to get her trapped hand free, flew up and back out of the way as Leviathan continued to fall. Shielder, still in Leviathan’s grip, had his upper body brought down against the ragged edge of the building in passing. Shielder deceased, CD-6

It almost feels like Crystal's use of her power here is what leads to Eric getting smashed against the building? Is that what anyone else gets from this?

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

while Myrddin gathered it.  Myrddin’s wooden stick was held aloft, and the mist was forming a sphere the size of a beachball at one end. Ok, I could almost buy the wizard angle, seeing that.

So like, what exactly are Myrddin's powers? Just like - anything that can conceptually be called magic? Probably not - he uses 'magic' as his 'interface' but like... what does he actually do?

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

 There was a sound like a bomb going off, water spraying everywhere, followed by an earthshaking crash as Alexandria used the crook of her arm to catch Leviathan around the neck and heaved him backwards and onto the ground.

Like, the story describes how large Leviathan is, and it's not actually as big as I imagine him, and yet I read something like this and it feels surreal because like, surely his neck is too big for this but clearly not?

[thegreatandpowerfulversy]

Oh hey, Taylor is volunteering her basic first aid skills instead of throwing herself straight into the heart of danger. That's honestly a surprise.

.......Of course Taylor's idea of first aid includes using another cape's pyrokinetic powers on an injured woman's face. Of course it does.

We’re winning, I thought.

No, Taylor. You're just losing as slowly as possible.

Heavy casualties, please wait,

And now you're losing a little faster again. Including Tattletale as "losses", whether that's dead or just incapacitated.

...Why is Dragon listing off CD-6 now after each casualty instead of CD-5 from earlier? What does the CD number even mean?

“This is our plan B. We stall, from here on out we prioritize survival over putting this abomination down, and we fucking pray that Scion notices there’s an Endbringer around and shows up before this city and everyone in it is a memory.”

There it is. Legend is down, Miss Militia is down, Eidolon is leaving to keep the rest of the city standing, and the only thing left to do is hope Scion shows up.

Where is the non-powered military at times like this? If you get someone like Narwhal or even Night to cut Leviathan's skin open a little, someone else to paralyze it, even just for a few seconds, and then you can have a helicopter or a fighter jet nearby with missiles. Or maybe napalm to melt through the next few layers.