#webserial liveblog

[violivs]

NMTDaily: VOX POPS

- Hi all! I’m going to be rewatching along with TCWs NMTDaily and making posts about each episode, or as many as I can (I might miss some, but I hope not!)

- I want to start by saying thank you again to The Candle Wasters for making my favorite thing. Just, the amount of joy and creative fulfillment and friendship and delight I’ve gotten from this show and this fandom is still unmatched. Thank you so much for making it and sharing it. The love and care and skill with which NMTD was made still shines through and I’m still so awed by it. I think I was probably somewhat overdramatic about my reactions to Lolilo in places where you, TCW, could see, on my main blog, and you didn’t deserve that. I really hope I didn’t send you any aggressive asks about it, or make you uncomfortable in any way. I’m a little afraid I did, but I don’t know for sure. If I did, I apologize. I’m older and more mature now, I promise. I hope you’re all doing so very well now!

- I didn’t realize until today that Project I: VOX POPS was posted first, before any other video in the series. I didn’t start watching NMTD until right around the time Benedick’s first Q&A video was posted, so I binged the first chunk of episodes around that time. It will be interesting to watch them at a slower pace this time!

- I am immediately overwhelmed with warm fuzzies at seeing these characters again. They’re such babies! I love them!

- I never made a post about this, but Ben’s first line being about how he shares a (differently spelled) name with a Pope is both a great first line for him on a character level since he starts as kind of a cocky overconfident asshole (a cover for his soft sensitive insides) AND it’s evidence for my theory that he’s probably Catholic, but lapsed/non-practicing/maybe agnostic or atheist solely because I WILL keep projecting parts of me onto this character, it’s just what I do at this point. Other evidence: he has a confirmation name. We don’t get his full name til Lolilo, but still. And he’s partly Scottish, which can account for the fact that English people usually are not Catholic.

- “you need to imitate an eagle, that’ll scare them away!” That’s Ben’s second line and first bird reference! Already! Wow.

- The favorite band question! Mumford and Sons! Fife and the Drums! Sheep Dog and Wolf! The LORE! The REFERENCES! We’re already off to the races.

- “I don’t need chat-up lines” Beatrice I love you , and you have no idea what’s coming.

- I forgot about Beatrice’s Favorite T-Shirts Ranking System lol

- Extremely funny that Ben says bananas are his favorite food and then he goes on to become synonymous with mangoes instead. Sorry, buddy, you will always be Mango Skin Boy to us. xD

- I forgot how delightful Dogberry and Verges are in this episode

- “that you would leave me” oh Meg. Oh honey. Oh no.

- I’ve seen nine seasons of Doctor Who and only five episodes of Game of Thrones since 2014. Sorry Bea, I side with Ben on this one. And I’ve seen one season of Community. I’m slowly hacking away at the list of media referenced in nmtd that I need to watch!

- love it will not betray you, dismay or enslave you, it will set you free! ❤️

- Balthazar plays every instrument, of course.

- Bea must not have an ear for music if she hated that question enough to force Ursula on-camera so she doesn’t have to answer it… Unless Ursula asked her something else she didn’t want to answer! Lol

- Ben makes me cringe so hard a couple times this episode. And yet I still love him. To be fair, that’s just every Benedick at the start of Much Ado, though. The cringy lines are completely in character.

- I decided to save the full story of how I discovered NMTD for whenever the NMTDaily email for Ben’s first Q&A episode goes out, because then it will actually be ten years almost to the day since I started watching. But I’m so impatient and excited to tell the story!

- It’s amazing how back then, these kids were my contemporaries and the Lizzie Bennet Diaries cast felt impossibly old compared to me. Now the NMTD kids are babies and I’m older than Lizzie Bennet! Trippy. It sure has been a nice ten years.

Until the next one! Happy NMTD Day, fellow flamangoes!

💖🥭🦩

#nmtd #nothing much to do #NMTDaily #webseries #violivs NMTDaily liveblog

[girlboysollux]

ngl broski i don't think that's alex

#liveblogging a 13 year old webseries #marble hornets #<- currently on entry 18 cuz im slow as shit

[lakesbian]

you have no idea how excited i am to have stumbled across the wildbow reader corner of tumblr finally. have you read twig? also, have you read a web series called blood is mine by another creator, by any chance? thoughts on either if so?

its so sad and tragic for you that you found out wildbow webserials tumblr is a thing and your favorite of choice to ask about is twig. twig is the least favorite child of the fandom. i havent read it yet but i'll liveblog it Eventually. i have not heard of blood is mine either worm and pact are the only webserials i've read. sorry i feel like youve just been stumbling through the desert and i have no water for you

#ask

[tumblezwei]

I just love how this show is addressing how that shounen protagonist mindset can be damaging, like most shows just cast the whole, "We got this don't give up!" or "I've got a plan!" "You always do" and the most problematic "(Insert main character here) always knows to get us out of tough spots and solve problems :) " in a good light and keeps going but this little webseries casts it in a realistic one. There's only so much one person can take

Yeah!!

Like, the shounen protagonist archetype isn't bad, I actually really love it most times, but I do really appreciate RWBY taking it and going "ok but what if we gave this character just a little bit more room to be a person instead of a moral."

If you saw me during my Symphogear liveblog, you'll know that one of my least favorite parts was Hibiki's father somehow instilling his kid with this mantra "don't worry I'm fine," and how it infuriated me. Because Hibiki is a lot like Ruby, and seeing this girl learn to brush away her anger and sadness and tell herself that she'll be fine pissed me the fuck off lmao.

So yeah, I appreciate RWBY for what it's doing

#ask #anon #rwby9

[ty-bayonet-betteridge]

Ok I’ll bite. what is the worm liveblog about

the webserial Worm by Wildbow!!! its about a teenage girl with superpowers who tries to be a hero and discovers that there isn't really any such thing. unfortunately ive already spoiled a good bit of it if uve been reading the liveblogs but there's still some wild shit i think u could have easily missed. read it i need more mutuals who are as obsessed with it as i am becoming. link to it!!!

#wormblr #parahumans #asks

[ewingstan]

Okay I know I'm asking this as someone who's already, theoretically, reading Ward. I know I'm asking this as someone who's going about it at a tremendously slow pace, to the point that people have started liveblogging and surpassed me in the time it takes for me to finish an arc. I know I'm asking this as someone who's already reading two other overly long webserials at the same time, who's nominally in the middle of more print books than I can keep track of, who's working and will be resuming classes in just a few weeks, etc.

But should I play Higurashi before Umineko or

#leo says #umineko when they cry #higurashi when they cry #sorry but i love reading as much overly long bullshit at once as possible #the reason i despair at death is because it means i won't be able to read everything ever written

[icharchivist]

Sorry! I read the final fantasy but I have like. No knowledge on the series so Brotherhood always reads as FMA O////O

DLKJFDF THIS IS TOTALLY FAIR, NO WORRIES!

I keep putting the accent on "brotherhood" too so it adds to the confusion of distancing it from FF ahah, no worries on your side and it makes total sense!

hell the fact i figured out you talked about FMA despite you not mentioning it by name really shows how much "Brotherhood" is more evocating of FMA than anything else LMAO

FF is a really huge saga of video games and each number is a stand alone series (so you don't need to play them all, 7 and 15 for instance have totally different characters, worldbuilding, lore ect..).

And 15 especially was in a situation where they released a movie and a webseries before the release of the game, set before the game happens.

the movie is called Kingsglaive and it focus on the political incident that triggers the events of the game, and the webseries* of like, 6 episodes of 13mins or so, is called Brotherhood and it's just showing you the basic dynamic of the 4 main characters and how they met/swore devotion to one another.

(*the webseries is still up on youtube for free with subs). (the webseries is also technically set after the events of the movie so they mention what happens in it a bit especially in the last episode, but the majority of the anime is flashbacks from the past so it’s a good first watch too)

ngl my biggest problem with ff15 is that like. Those infos should have been *in game* not outside of it. (or well there's a lot of problems with 15 but this is my little mew mew of a game, so this is my main issue).

But therefore since i want to replay 15 i went on to rewatch the webseries and perhaps i'll rewatch the movie too because i love pain and suffering! What's not to like!

So yeah it's kind of accessible if you want to give it a try since it's made as promo material and all, just so you know.

Anyway yeah this is my 4th time liveblogging FF15: Brotherhood so i'm just on first name basis with this anime now. Since FF15 ripped my heart away it's only fair i call it by its little name.

Sorry on my side for the confusion ahah

That said like i said, i'm always up to talk about FMA, i love it to death, so that works out for me too ;D it was just the timing that made it confusing ahah

Take care ;D

#ichafantalks fma #ichareply #anonymous

[swapauanon]

Okay so, starting my liveblog of the RWBY Fairy Tales webseries.

In a minute.

#rwby liveblog

[journeysintowebcomics]

Worm Liveblog #122

UPDATE 122: Kill the Endbringers

Last time Dinah had been taken to a hospital, and there was a very good chance Skitter would get everyone in trouble by letting her desires and ‘I know what’s good for you’ attitude cloud her judgment. Thankfully, she realized that before it was too late! Now what? Let’s find out.

Well looks like Dinah is convinced she won’t be accepted back into her home. Wow, the chapter has barely started and things are looking pretty rough already. Reminder Dinah is young. This kind of thoughts must hurt, wow. Skitter, trying to smooth things over, promises she will be received with arms wide open. Welcome home, Dinah!

“They will want you.  Just wait,” I said.  “They’ll welcome you with open arms, and there won’t even be a hint of fear.”

Oh dear. Don’t make promises that are out of your control, Skitter. Seriously, if this doesn’t go like she is saying it will...that’s going to scar Dinah so badly, and completely break her trust on Skitter. This is not good at all. I hope Dinah’s fears aren’t rooted in reality, I really do.

She even is worried because she looks pretty bad, consequences of Coil’s mistreatment and also the drugs. She thinks it’ll remind her family she has powers and freaks people out with predictions. Hmmmm...with some luck seeing her so...um, emaciated may invoke feelings of pity, perhaps some guilt if they’re aware Dinah feels so out of place. I almost would suggest she takes a look at the odds she will be welcomed back, but...but I fear they may not be favorable. Oh, geez...ignorance is bliss?

I’m not even human anymore.”

“You’re definitely human, Dinah.”

“Then why do they call us parahumans?  Doesn’t the ‘para’ part mean half?  Paraplegic, only half your body works.  Parahuman, half human.”

Hmm...is that really what ‘para’ means? I mean, paranormal sure doesn’t mean it’s half normal, it’s way above that. Paragliding is...um, it sure isn’t half gliding. Parasite doesn’t mean half a site, it’s all about adding an intruder into a body. The conclusion I’m getting is that ‘para’ is not really a reliable prefix. Thank you for coming to my linguistic discussion, was it too noticeable I have no idea what I’m talking about?

The next paragraph is Skitter making the point I was making, that ‘para’ doesn’t really mean ‘half’. She even brings up the word ‘paranormal’, like I did! Aaah, same wavelength! And she finishes her argument by saying her parents can’t judge her for stuff she didn’t choose. To that Iiii will have to disagree. They certainly could. They shouldn’t, but they could. Nothing to do but hope they don’t. I wonder if perhaps Skitter will get to talk to them before they see Dinah? I’m not entirely sure it’d be a good idea or not, but...perhaps she should consider that. Maybe.

The reason why Skitter is so aware of things like prefixes and semantics is because her mom used to be an English teacher. She has continued paying attention to that sort of things as a way to remember her. Honestly that’s pretty sweet of her. It’s...it must be nice to have something to remember your deceased loved ones by, like that. I’m glad. Speaking of family! She also mentions how she has a father, and how he is, well, not someone she has seen for a while because she puts him in danger.

As expected, the effects of Dinah’s withdrawal happen pretty quickly. Dinah is already heaving, with Skitter holding her hair. Damn, I hope she’ll be okay – but she says she won’t, the painkillers didn’t help at all. Afterwards, she says once again there’s no way her parents will accept her. You know, from how many times she’s saying it, I’m starting to fear she’s right. I want to think they will, but...with how much she has repeated it...I fear she’ll do something that’ll force the futures where they don’t accept her.

“And even if they do take me, it’ll be weird, because they can’t ignore my power now.  They pretended I didn’t have one.  Pretended I was an ordinary kid.  Pretended the headaches didn’t mean anything, like they pretended the heart disease wasn’t a thing.”

“Heart disease?  You?”

Dinah shook her head.  “Not me.”

She didn’t elaborate.  Related to her trigger event?

Oh. There’s that too. It’s going to be impossible to pretend things are fine and back to normal when Dinah was kidnapped because of her powers. I mean, measures will have to be taken so something like that doesn’t happen again, right? That’s got to include some sort of tinker technology, or guards, or something. Also, they’re a former mayor’s family. That could be used as a cover story of sorts for any noticeable security measures.

Reassuring Dinah this is the drug withdrawal talking, Skitter gets a comb and tries to make her look more presentable, so at least the parents don’t have a first sight of a young, haggard girl in the middle of the throes of withdrawal. Golly, I get shivers just from thinking about how Dinah will look. She’s feverish, she’s sweating like crazy...this won’t be pretty at all, obviously. But surely Dinah’s parents would look past all that and take her back, right? At least because seeing her like that will make them worry. Right?

...right?

Dinah asks Skitter to go knock on the door and bring her parents out. It’s time to face the music, let’s see how this particular subplot ends. Crossing fingers for a positive result! Skitter goes to the entrance and rings the bell, it doesn’t work. Instead she knocks on the door and lets a pair of flies go inside, she finds Dinah’s parents. The father takes a frying pan and gets ready, in case it’s an attack.

...

Skitter still has her costume on, doesn’t she? Cripes, what a thing to find when you open the door. No wonder the father closed the door right away! Damn! Still, I’d like to think that, if villains were to attack a residence, they wouldn’t be politely knocking on the door. Not that this fact is going to make the dad lower his guard, is it.

Of course, their first reaction is to think Skitter is trying to extort them – a reasonable thought, given she’s a villain and the first thing she says is that she has their daughter! Well, she said she brought Dinah, but still. Skitter hurries to make things clear, and doesn’t mince any words. Better that way, probably. Better for them to be aware of what Dinah is going through, than seeing her sorry state and then fall into more despair. I mean, the blow will be hard, but it’s...easier when you’re aware of what’s coming, no?

...

Gosh, that must be a nightmare for any parent.

“She has abilities, then?” the dad asked.

Oh. They didn’t know? If they didn’t, then that really adds to Dinah’s fears, then. Would they accept her, even though she has a power? Honestly, I had interpreted it all as the parents trying hard to pretend she didn’t, but...there’s really no point to feign ignorance here. Even if Skitter is a villain, she already has Dinah in her clutches.

Even though Dinah is still afraid, she accepts Skitter’s help and steps out of the car, being brought towards her family. Contrary to what Dinah was predicting – and much to my relief – her parents don’t hesitate to approach. The mother immediately hugs her, the father comes behind just a second later, which I’m sure was more out of caution towards Skitter than because of anything from Dinah. There we go! A family reunited, and there doesn’t seem to be even a bit of trouble brewing. Times will be hard for them, given Dinah’s withdrawal, but I’m sure they’ll be fine. I hope.

The father even thanks Skitter! Which she tries not to acknowledge. The guilt of having been indirectly responsible for the kidnapping in the first place, you see. There’s also something else, something that’s somewhat selfish, but perfectly understandable, in my opinion:

I wasn’t sure I felt good about that.  I’d gotten this far by making the most out of every resource I had available, and by being smart about things.  This was throwing away a resource, tying my own hands.  The decision felt dumb, even as I knew it was the right thing to do.

I know, right? It’d have been so tempting to try to convince Dinah to stay and give advice about how to fight the end of the world. Dinah herself saw that in the cards, so to say. If Dinah hadn’t said it, I think Skitter would have kept her, justifying that with how it was to prevent the end of the world. She’d have promised herself that she’d return Dinah once the end of the world was averted, even if that took two years, no? I don’t know what the rest of the Undersiders would have said, but I doubt they’d have tried to return Dinah to the family. All in all, Skitter has done the right thing, even though it may feel dumb right now.

With nothing else to do there, Skitter asks the driver to get going. She also finds two pieces of paper, probably left by Dinah. I hope they’re not meant to be private, because Skitter will have to ask someone else to read those for her. Perhaps they’re little predictions about odds? Possibly about the end of the world?

Scene cut!

Heeeere’s the team! The team and also Ballistic, who isn’t part of the Undersiders, but personally I’m not discarding he may join in some manner. The situation kind of demands it. Parian is also here.

I turned to Parian.  “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Tattletale got in touch.  I… I apparently missed a lot.”

“You’re up for this?”

“No.  But I want to know what’s going on, in case it affects my territory.”

Oh dear! I’m pretty sure it involves the entirety of Brockton Bay. Welcome to the Noelle situation, Parian, we’re very screwed right now. There’s only one hour and forty minutes until dawn, and then it’s showtime. Probably.

There’s been one sighting of Noelle. What’s she doing, I really have to wonder. Is she just wandering around aimlessly? Either way, Parian makes a wiener dog for everyone to ride, which is simply hilarious. Here comes the cavalry, riding a wiener dog! Hah! Awesome.

“This is so lame,” Imp said.  “How are you supposed to build a decent rep if you’re caught riding a wiener dog?”

Aw, come on, Imp, it’s great! Don’t be like that.

There’s some nice banter that ends in Imp having to settle for the plush wiener dog, while Skitter rides on Bentley with Heckpuppy. Along the way, Tattletale asks if everyone is okay with she taking charge, and they all ask Ballistic for an assessment of how dangerous Noelle is. Give the deets, pal!

“It’s why I’m here.  Consider Noelle a triple threat,” he said.  “She’s strong, she’s got nothing to hold her back, now, and she’s smart.”

She’s a natural tactician, he says. I’m going to have to doubt that a little, not because I doubt Noelle isn’t smart, or able to come up with plans. I’m doubting it because, well, she was in a gaming team. That’s completely different to something like this. Skills usable there may not transfer to other things. Still, it’d be bad to underestimate Noelle. It has been said a lot about how she’s very dangerous, I’m sure she’ll be a genuine threat.

Whooops, Ballistic is sitting out of the fight. So is Parian, but that one isn’t really terribly surprising, Parian has nothing to do with any of this beyond protecting her territory. The reason why Ballistic is sitting out is because he’s sure Noelle will use him against them somehow. That’s...a reasonable concern, really. It can happen.

...is Skitter seriously underestimating Noelle right now? Come on, you can’t be serious. Ballistic says the reason why Noelle was fooled with all the lies she was told was because she trusted Trickster blindly. Even though he got her into this situation in the first place, technically? I guess that, although she blamed him, she saw him as the only one who could help her. He being the only one visiting her must also be a factor, I’m sure.

“He became team leader more because he’s fast at thinking on his feet than because he’s good at making the right call.  He took it on himself to make a whole lot of wrong calls.  I let a lot of that slide because he used to be a friend.  And maybe because they weren’t blatantly wrong.  Just a little wrong, a little disagreeable.  But at some point every call was a disagreeable call and every word out of his mouth became a white lie.  He started lying to us for what he saw as our own good.  Not Noelle with her delicate state, but us.”

I read earlier Noelle was good at being intuitive and making moves because she read the situation well. This paragraph here makes it sound like they named Francis the team leader because he was the closest they got in terms of skill.

Speaking of Trickster! He may make things much worse, or he may be of help, depending on if he’ll help them or not. Personally I think he won’t help. Tattletale just said his focus would always be on Noelle and himself. No way he’s going to do a thing if it’ll hurt Noelle, even if it’s to save Brockton Bay. What does he care, if this isn’t even his world?

There’s some briefing about what Noelle can do, I don’t really see anything we don’t already know. What’s important to remark here, at least the way Ballistic says it, is that they have to get this all done before Noelle makes clones. Parian tries to say those clones are people, Ballistic quite reasonably says they’re not. And yeah, they’re not. The way those Cody clones were acting...yeah, I doubt they could be considered people. Oh boy, there’ll totally be some clones going on, right? I bet some if not all of the Undersiders will have to face clones of themselves.

As a general rule I still don’t like clones, but...honestly, the way Worm is doing it, it seems like it could be interesting to read! Neato!

The regeneration will be somewhat troublesome, especially since it’ll make it much harder to kill her. Skitter right away says she doesn’t want to do that unless there’s no other choice. Hum.

Ballistic turned my way, and he had a funny tone in his voice as he asked, “How do you think you’re going to handle this?”

“Containment,” I said.  “If I get enough spiders together, I could try to surround her in web.”

Hum. You know, I’m not sure containing her will be a terribly good idea. She has gotten stronger; the kind of long-term containment she’d need would have to be carefully planned in order to work. She can’t just be shunted into the Birdcage, after all! And anything can happen in the time it takes to finish a vault or something to contain her. It’s way too dangerous, way too risky. I’m not sure it’s worth it. I hate to admit it, but...maybe lethal force has to be considered? Because Noelle is pretty close to being too dangerous to not subdue lethally anytime soon.

I mean, personally I think it’s not impossible the characters will figure a way to defeat Noelle without killing her, but...given the situation...I admit lethal force is more and more like a necessity here. Oh well! Skitter has been really resourceful in the past, it’s not really impossible she’ll figure something out!

Still, Tattletale accuses Ballistic of having no consideration towards Noelle because he’s suggesting to kill her, and needless to say, Ballistic didn’t like that at all. Geez, Tattletale. That could have been handled waaaay more tactfully. I can’t blame Ballistic for deciding to leave right away, he doesn’t even wait for the sausage dog to stop moving before he gets off. Welp! There gooooo all the chances of Ballistic joining the Undersiders. No way it’s happening now, or at least it’s much less likely.

Then again...maybe I’m being too callous about Noelle? I just think she is a huge danger, given everything that’s been shown. It’s always possible I’m just taking it waaaay too callously. After all, it’s way easier to make these calls when they’re fictional characters in a story.

In what’s another possibly bad move, they try to convince Parian to fight. She refuses, asking what she can do to protect her territory. She’s not interested in dealing with Noelle.

“I really don’t think we have a choice.  You fought Leviathan,” I said.

Parian shook her head, “I almost wish I didn’t.  I only did it because I promised myself when I was a kid, when I first learned about the Endbringers, that I would fight them if I ever got powers.  That’s why I did it, because I didn’t want to betray the kid version of myself.”

“Wouldn’t your child-self want you to do this?”  I asked.

“I don’t know.  But I didn’t make any promises to myself about this.”

Honestly I can’t blame her for not wanting to get involved in that. Leviathan is an Endbringer who threatens to destroy so much of the world. Its name makes everyone tremble in fear. Noelle is...well, for now, she is more of a domestic affair for the Undersiders. I don’t discard the possibility Parian will have to fight at some point, but right now? I think it’s fair she doesn’t join the fight.

Not really any time to discuss it further, because they encounter the heroes. They’re right over there. Hi! Guys, there’s a pseudoEndbringer about to destroy the city! It’s another day in Brockton Bay – and I’m so making that the slogan for Worm: It’s Another Day in Brockton Bay.

Miss Militia is here, and her immediate reaction is to aim at them with a rifle. How welcoming. There’s some wreckage here, and Miss Militia wants to know if the Undersiders had anything to do with it. Skitter very truthfully replies they were indirectly responsible, which...is that really the best thing to be saying?

...maybe, because it’d be coming out at some point, anyway.

Miss Militia’s reasoning is that there are reports that fit with what the Undersiders have done in the past, and a hero has been kidnapped. Huh. Noelle is already making her move, it seems! How screwed are we?

“Vista,” I finished Miss Militia’s thought.  “You’re talking about Vista.”

Huh. That so? That’s one versatile combatant out of the fight, indeed. I remember Skitter had mentioned earlier that they should ask the heroes’ help so they could bring containment foam and also have Vista use her powers to help. That’s going to throw a wrench into Skitter’s hopes for containment. Right now, though, the priority is explaining to the heroes they didn’t do this...directly, and that Noelle is a huge threat. That shouldn’t be hard to convince, right? I hope, at least. Time to take a look!

...or not. It’s an interlude. Well, I guess that was a time for a cliffhanger, but it certainly wasn’t what I wanted to read, I admit. I wanted more of the current situation. I hope this interlude will be worthwhile, because...yeah, I wish I could skip it to continue with the story. But hey, let’s tackle it. Onwards!

Kevin Norton, hm...the name doesn’t sound familiar. Then again, it’s likely it has been a while since I read it, so it’s not impossible I just don’t remember him. Hell, it’s possible a Norton was already shown and this is a relative. Who could this man be? He has a dog, too.

“I’ve saved millions of lives.  Billions.”

Another hand signal bidding another small woof of agreement.

He’s making some hefty claims, too. I won’t be surprised if he’s telling the truth, though. A lot can happen in Worm. Who knows, maybe he singlehandedly prevented a widespread tragedy, by foreseeing it or something. Who knows.

Nobody’s paying Kevin Norton any heed. Some parts of his clothing are pretty much falling apart. Kevin talks to the dog he’s with, saying he’s not getting much money and calling himself ‘the most powerful man in the world’ when asking for money. There’s not really much success here, so instead he decides to give the vital backstory info for the reader’s benefit. Just who are you, Mr. Kevin Norton?

Seems like he was in this area ages ago, and so much has changed since then. Kevin reminisces, remembering people who treated him well, and hopes they’re okay. Meanwhile, he gets some comfort for himself by saying he has a lot of responsibilities and he hasn’t shirked them – in fact, he makes it sound like the mere thought of having left them aside is the worst thing that could ever happen.

Also, he’s very alone. Nobody to support him, it seems. As if the world wants to make things a little worse for him, it starts raining.

Seems to me Kevin has regrets. There sure is a lot of talk about courage and cowardice here. Perhaps it’s related to he being the most powerful man in the world, according to himself? Maybe if he had been a little braver, he wouldn’t be in that position – like being the most powerful man in the world ruined his life. It’s one of those ironic things so popular in fiction, no? I wonder what’d be Mr. Wildbow’s take on it.

A woman gives Kevin ten pounds. So this is England, most likely. Quite a distance from Brockton Bay. Kevin braces himself for the judgmental scolding people who give him a lot of money usually give, and the woman doesn’t do anything like that. Instead, she makes conversation, praising the dog and asking why it’s called Duke. Kevin brings up once again he’s the most powerful man in the world. Boy, he’s fixated on that.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Hm?” he perked up, withdrawing his hand.

“You had a look on your face.”

“Just wondering when the last time I had contact with another person was.  Might have been a few years ago.  Pastor gave me a hug as I left his shelter.”

“That sounds so lonely, Kevin.  Years without human contact?”

“Not so lonely.  I’ve got one friend,” he said, scratching Duke’s head.

Lisette nodded.

“But you shouldn’t forget.  The little stuff.  Even a handshake?  That’s something special.  Meaningful.  Value it, even if you get it every day.”

A lonely existence with many, many years without contact. Meaningful contact that wasn’t, say, the brush of fingertips when giving money. Makes me wonder what kind of life Kevin used to have before. So much melancholy in his tone, that’s for sure.

Kevin asks the woman – Lisette, is her name – to walk with him while he talks about himself. While the woman comes with him after some hesitation, she keeps her distance because hey, no harm in being cautious. Kevin starts talking. The beginning of his problems happened when he got into a relationship with a woman who in the end wasn’t really the right one for him, but he doesn’t blame her for his trouble. In the end, Kevin realized he’s gay. Still, that wasn’t the cause for the destruction of his relationship, anyway. It turned abusive in pretty much all ways possible, and Kevin left after a while. Since then he’s been living on the streets.

The place he has taken Lisette to is where he slept first. A bit of nostalgia there – I guess...we all look to our beginnings, huh.

Lisette is asked to hold Duke’s leash for a moment while Kevin got to the water’s edge, splashing some on his face. The situation takes a turn for the unexpected when suddenly there’s a golden man floating there. Huh. Parahuman, no doubt. Duke seems a bit...hm, ears flat against the head is a sign of apprehension, right? And Lisette is speechless.

You know, unless something changed very drastically in Worm and I don’t recall/didn’t notice, there’s only one golden guy floating around untouched by debris and dirt. Is this Scion? Did Scion just...appear out of nowhere to hang out here?

“Hello old friend,” Kevin said.

The only answer was the pouring rain.  The golden man didn’t speak.

“Wondered if I would see you here,” Kevin continued.  “Been a long time.  I’d nearly convinced myself I’d imagined you.  That old dog over there, he wasn’t even born when I left, and he’s on his last legs now.  Twelve years old.”

Apparently he did, and it’s not the first time. Kevin had met him before, in this same place. Probably after leaving that abusive woman. Kevin nonchalantly returns to Lisette, and reveals Scion wasn’t ever that guy’s name. An alias, really, like all parahumans have.

This here is the reason why Kevin is the most powerful man in the world. Oh, please give more details! I’m actually intrigued by that. What’s up?

So, looks like I was right in that he met Scion shortly after he fled, encountering him and finding out Scion is sad – even if golden man’s face never changes, he’s sad in the inside, and has always been. Kevin hadn’t liked that and went to shout at him for being more miserable than Kevin was back then. Since Kevin wasn’t instantly vaporized with a laser beam back then, I guess Scion didn’t take offense to that.

In a fit of frustration, Kevin shouted at Scion why doesn’t he go and help someone. Why doesn’t he do something useful with his powers like save people or something. I guess he didn’t use to do that before, hm. And so, since then, Scion has been the hero everyone knows...because that’s all Scion has, it seems. He’s empty, according to Kevin. Saving people is...pretty much all he has. So that’s why Kevin says he has saved billions – he gave Scion the push to go be a hero, and therefore countless lives have been saved. Good thing it was Kevin who found him, then. If Scion was as easily influenced as Kevin is making it sound, then someone coming and telling him ‘hey, go commit crimes’ could have happened too, and things would be so much different right now. Maybe there’s an alternate universe fanfic with such a premise, it could be interesting to write and/or read.

According to Kevin, Scion understands, he just...doesn’t say a thing or react much or even does anything. He marches to the beat of his own drum, except when Kevin gets his hands in the way and makes him stop the beat for a second.

“It’s almost like he’s autistic,” Lisette said.

“How’s that?”  Kevin asked.

“Too connected,” Lisette said.  “Too much in the way of stimuli, drowning everything out.”

“Enhanced hearing, hearing the whole city at once?”

“Maybe.  Or maybe he senses things we don’t,” she said.  “The most powerful person in the world, and looking at him now, he’s like a child.”

Huh. Interesting thought. I wonder if that’s what’s going on. Sensing too much at once, and willfully having to cut the connections to things – or perhaps even unconsciously as some sort of protection mechanism for his psyche. Could be, no? If so, it’s a bit of a miracle Kevin got through to him at all. Hmmm...lucky, that was.

“Why?  Why avoid him?”

Kevin didn’t take his eyes off the golden man.  “He scares me.  He chose me to listen to, of all people.  I’m the most powerful person in the world, just because of that.  Because I can tell the strongest, most capable man in the world what to do.”

Hmmmm...yeah, that sounds like it can be kind of unnerving. Scion is...a mystery. His origins are unknown, all that’s known is his actions, and those are thanks to Kevin. Kevin’s nudging is what has built Scion, pretty much.

At this point I just have to wonder if maybe there’s something up with Kevin and he doesn’t know it. I mean...there’s always the possibility Kevin is being deceitful in some way, but...I don’t know, something about him seems kind of sincere. I don’t think he’s hiding something. Why is Scion listening to him, of all people? There has to be a reason, no?

Still, that’s...such a scary thought. Because since Scion doesn’t even give any indication what he’s thinking, or how he’s interpreting things, if Kevin says a wrong word some bad stuff could happen, and I think Kevin is well aware of that. Honestly, anyone would be terrified. I know I would.

It seems Scion returned every once in a while just to listen to Kevin talk. Kevin just...tended to oblige, not really minding it much, until one night Kevin said something. Something that somehow got a reaction from Scion, and given how it was established he doesn’t bother reacting to anything, that’s very significant. Kevin doesn’t say what it is, but later Scion said it and the entire world latched onto it. That scared Kevin to no end. Okay, what was it? No way this intermission won’t say it! With all that’s been said about it, Mr. Wildbow just has to, no? I want to know!

“What did you say, if the word wasn’t Scion?” Lisette asked.

Ah, I see. So, I don’t really remember the details about Scion’s one and only word, but I faintly recall it was, well, ‘Scion’, and that’s why they’re calling him that. It seems Kevin said something and Scion latched onto it, but it actually was a word similar to that one.

Shenanigans ensue when it’s revealed it was actually Xion, because Kevin is a huge Kingdom Hearts fan and wanted to share some theories he had been building.

Okay, no, hah! Just joking. That’s just what came to mind when trying to think of something similar to ‘Scion’. I got nothing, I admit. Can’t think of a word.

“Only realized later.  Was talking about home, religion and family.  Talking about a memory from my childhood.  Don’t even remember it that well, now.  But the word he paid attention to was Zion.”

“That’s Hebrew, isn’t it?”

I went to search ‘Zion’ in Google, of course. The first result is Zion, a reggaeton singer, but unless Scion here is about to bust out some urban rhythm, that can’t be it. The next result sounds more like it:

Zion (Hebrew: צִיּוֹן‎ Ṣîyōn, LXX Σιών, also variously transliterated Sion, Tzion, Tsion, Tsiyyon) is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole (see Names of Jerusalem).

That’s from Wikipedia, of course. So, as I see it, maybe it can be a hint about an origin. Nothing indicates Scion popped up into existence twenty years ago or whenever Scion first appeared floating in the air, maybe he has existed for way longer than that and heard that word before. Could be a hint about origins? Hm...

The other possibility is that it’s not so much something related to him, instead it’s something he’s familiar with. Or maybe he’s searching for it. I don’t know. Something’s up with that word, that’s all that’s plainly obvious. Doesn’t seem Kevin here has any ideas, either.

The reason why Kevin came here was to talk to Scion, and make a request. Seems that Kevin once told Scion to go fight the Endbringers, but he fears he wasn’t specific enough, that maybe he should have said to kill them so they couldn’t hurt anyone anymore. That because of that, Scion just...wasn’t bothering to try all he could to kill them, and that because of his bad choice of words, a lot of people have died. Boy that’s terrifying. It’s pretty much what I had said earlier. Part of me almost hopes this doesn’t work, if only so Kevin doesn’t blame himself for all the death and destruction.

Kevin is close to death. He came here to get his affairs in order, which he’s doing by telling Scion that about the Endbringers, and also by telling him to come to Lisette here if he ever needs anything.

Kevin sighed.  “I’m here to get my affairs in order, and you’re most important after Duke.  I want you to keep doing what you were doing.  Help people.  Try to communicate with the good guys more.  I told you to do that before and you didn’t listen, but you should.  And if there’s a problem, if you need someone to listen to, someone to visit from time to time, look for this young lady.  Lisette.  Because she’s good people.  She’s a better person than I am.  Braver.  Has to be braver, if she’s stopping to talk to a homeless motherfucker like me, following him someplace.”

Wow. That’s got to be pretty awful for Lisette. Here, Lisette, you deal with the superpowered guy who doesn’t even give any indication he wants to listen to you. Honestly, it’s a bit of a curse, given how much grief that brought Kevin, and how Lisette, who is privy to why exactly it made Kevin so antsy, will have to undergo it too. It sucks for her, honestly. Goodness gracious.

I’m not sure if Scion will come to her or not, but...what’s done is done, no? Guess she...well...will have to deal with it, if he does come. I know it’s not like Kevin could have asked her permission because really, who’d say yes? But still, wow, that’s rough for Lisette.

Of course, Lisette seems kind of panicked about this. With good reason!

Kevin didn’t turn around or stop walking as he raised his voice to respond over the sound of the pouring rain.  “Good deal, isn’t it?  Ten pounds to become the most powerful person in the world.”

Methinks she may be regretting giving those ten pounds, honestly. That’s pretty rough.

That’s where the interlude ends. I see the tags here, where the character names usually are written, only has ‘Scion’. I guess that means Lisette won’t appear anymore, which is...understandable, honestly. What are the odds she goes to hang out in Brockton Bay for no reason at all? As I see it, it’s possible she’ll appear in a future interlude, but that’s it. I hope she’ll be okay, even if she was given this burden to deal with.

So, the intermission was...it was interesting. Somehow, although half of the time I’m annoyed by intermissions, Mr. Wildbow always manages to deliver. I can’t remember an interlude I ended dissatisfied with. I guess next time the story continues! But for now, this update is over.

#worm #worm liveblog #liveblog #webserial liveblog #webserial

[violivs]

4 Pals Arc 2 Reaction Post

Attempt #2, let’s do this. 

Adaptational choices I’m obsessed with: Iris as a trained fighter with a natural Freeze response to threatening men, too real, very good and important to talk about, love the nuance as opposed to the danger prone vs. pro martial artist with no fear dichotomy the Daphne character gets in Scooby Doo properties; Ace having anxiety is wonderful on a representation level AND on a Shaggy character choice level; all the Scooby Doo references from let’s split up to the making of really absurdly tall sandwiches give me life. Every Scooby reference makes me so happy, I love it. I’m still sad there’s no logical way we could see Ruby the dog, though. Also hell yeah so happy Sam is bisexual as well as Sidney, I am here for it. 

Shipping: I’ve been shipping the Fred/Daphne dynamic since I was little and the show only danced around their flirting without confirming it, so when Sam and Iris start actively pairing themselves up to look for clues, cuddle and laugh together a lot, go on picnic dates, protect and comfort each other, and are otherwise adorable and really comfortable together, I kind of can’t help myself. I ship it, damn it. I do wish Sam would prioritize her comfort over the camera more, though. I guess I’m a multishipper, because I also like the Mystery Girls, but they need more scenes together tbh. On a brotp level I am really here for Sam and Ace and Ace and Iris this arc, especially. They’re great. 

Plot: I totally feel for Sidney, she shouldn’t be saddled with all the work when Sam is perfectly capable of doing his own Googling, and she shouldn’t have to feel unsafe in her own home. I also hope the friendships stay intact through this. I also appreciate the highlighting of the unique ways being a woman interacting with men is often really scary, and I hope they shake off their harasser safely, I also sense something more behind Sam and Sidney’s equally intense reactions to each other and frustrations with the mystery thing this arc. Insecurities, personal history as friends, jealousy over Iris? What could they each be dealing with, that makes them so unable to get along? I’m so curious. Also, I initially thought the statues were being taken away by the city and/or the artists for maintenance and repairs, but maybe not? Given the threats, something is up for sure. I love this webseries so much. 

#four pals and a dog #4 pals and a dog #four pals #webseries #my textposts #my liveblogs #sort of #four pals spoilers

[themodethecitythesoul]

So Carmilla s2 was a bit of a meh for me, but season 3 is an absolute joy and that's that

#carmilla #carmilla webseries #ly liveblogs

[libraryleopard]

me watching ep 3 of the uncanny upshurs: awww gemma’s hair is so cute

me watching ep 14 of the uncanny upshurs: OH

#lulu speaks #i'm really enjoying this so far! #there's fairies and witches and Relatable Twin Feels™ #lulu watches things #lulu watches webseries #the uncanny upshurs #lulu watches the uncanny upshurs #webseries #lulu liveblogs

[thelreads]

What are your top 5 series, anime/cartoons/live action anything?

Oh ho ho, my friend, you made a mistake by leaving the question open for me to pick, because now I'll just gush over the same anime/manga stuff I always talk about

-Re:zero. Amazing webnovel that not as much deconstructs the Isekai genre and the "the chosen one that shall save us from evil" but completely demolishes it with a tactical carpet bombing, turning lot of stuff over it's head. Quite depressing at first, but things improve and most of the ideas the story break also are reconstructed later on with more positive and realistic visions. That being said, i absolutely don't recommend it for anyone lol

-Tower of god. Webseries that I don't even know where to begin explaining. Mystery and emotions, amazing fights and such loveable and interesting characters- this one I can recommend without much worry, both the webseries as well as the anime.

-Toradora. Classic. Love this romance story. It's far from perfect, but there's something so sweet about the developing and changing of feelings between the characters.

-Sleepy princess of the demon castle. This one I recommended a while ago, and honestly I don't have much more to say besides "it is a blast"

-Neon Genesis Evangelion. Now, anyone that read my hitoribocchi liveblog probably suspects I like this one a bit, and they are right. The faux religious symbolism is still cool, the story is heavy and it hits you with how human and flawed those characters are, and the end is complete madness. That being said, as re:zero, I can't recommend it.

-Tonikawa. like Toradora, another romance I appreciate a lot, but this one what really made me stay was the mystery behind the story, the things that were happening behind the curtains, and I must say I'm pleasantly surprised over getting almost everything correctly.

-Dr Stone. A Minecraft Speedrun of the human history, with a lot of cool stuff. You'll learn more about science in here than you probably did in school.

And those are the ones that first came up to my head, give me another chance and I'll probably bring up Welcome to demon-school, Horimiya and my next life as a villainess lmao

#inbetween #personal

[shortcrust]

Four songs I have had on repeat recently (with bonus editorialisation)!

1. 18 Yellow Roses by Bobby Darin, which I had never heard before until it came on Spotify radio the other day. I was just bobbing along and then the punchline in the last verse hit me like a fucking freight train and I am so entranced by this atrocity of a tune and I suddenly understand where Rachel Bloom was coming from on that I Love My Daughter (But Not In A Creepy Way) song.

2. Didn’t Leave Nobody But The Baby that is to say, the sirens’ song from O Brother, Where Art Thou? I particularly love the cowbells and other instrumentation in the back of this track, it’s just so transportive to the tone of the film. Mom said its MY turn to get seduced by sexy ladies in the Deep South and turned into a toad.

3. Shirley Bassey’s I’d Like To Hate Myself In The Morning, because I’m making a M*A*S*H playlist as a personal form of liveblogging the show and its called Major Houlihan’s Lonely Hearts Club and this is basically the title track.

4. Desert Pete by the Kingston Trio, because sometimes you have a normal quarantine and sometimes you find a rec post and go on a two-day binge of an original animated webseries with furry OCs based on native south- and north-American mythology that has musical vignettes.

Thank you for the tag, @jenpsaki! I would like to pass it along to @sucker69420 and @theburialofstrawberries and @cobraking, please give me song recs by way of your passions.

[keyofjetwolf]

Carmilla Final Thoughts

Firstly, and generally, I had a really good time liveblogging the show! And before I get too deep, I want to thank @cello-moon​ for sponsoring this for all of us. Your enthusiasm for me doing the show has been infectious from the beginning, and has brought me some of my biggest smiles every month. YOU ARE THE ANGLER FISH MONSTER OF MY HEART

I mentioned this in today’s liveblog itself, but there’ve been a lot of elements I’ve been interested in watching develop throughout this, both as a creator and a consumer. The (professional) webseries format isn’t one I’ve delved into very much. (The only one I can bring to mind that isn’t Carmilla is The Guild.) It’s an interesting storytelling structure, one that I think hasn’t yet seen its full potential, and it’s been cool to see the ways it works, and doesn’t, for Carmilla, at least for me.

Now I’ve gone through the whole series, I admit to some disappointment with many of the major plot choices and direction. Most of that disappointment, though, is fueled by frustration at how we came so so so close to doing something I felt was new and interesting AND OH HOW I WANTED. That’s the stuff that really makes you want to scream, the moments of near-brilliance just out of reach. Adding to that, I’m not sure we COULDN’T have done it! Perhaps not in all instances, but in some!

Which is actually, I think, the beginning and end of my frustrations with the show: when all is said and done, in those moments, I was rooting for it to be something it never had any intention of being.

At some point along the way, I said how Carmilla was like fanfic. I meant then, and I mean now, that in a largely positive sense. It’s very emotion-forward, it likes to have fun, it knows what it’s here to do -- and to NOT do -- and it’s 1000% devoted to doing it. It also, however, comes with the fanfic (general!) tendency to not be especially interested in much outside of its very specific view. CARMILLA/LAURA OTP5EVA DON’T LIKE DON’T READ

Which isn’t ...... okay, it IS a criticism. But also not! There’s room in the world for all kinds of stories, and gods know, this is an area where stories have come few and far between. AND IT WENT HARD. There was no ambiguity about it whatsoever, it totally fucking went there in an assortment of ways so many stories just DON’T, and it’s long overdue.

Man though, in a perfect Jet Wolf-shaped world? It would’ve been all that AND MORE.

I wanted so so so much for the show to say a little more, to do a little more. I wanted Laura to have a real significant dose of growing up and have that stick in a way that was meaningful (or at least meaningful in my own definition of the word). She got her impossible fairytale ending where everything Just Worked Out, and so consequently didn’t really have to learn anything, which is I think the biggest itch I can’t scratch. Also though: Danny’s anger at sacrificing herself but not being martyred the way she wanted was fucking BRILIANT, and could’ve led to so many interesting ideas about the nature of sacrifice, the purity of it, the sanctification of the dead, SO MANY AVENUES. Perry’s legit-ass PTSD meaningfully explored (WITH BONUS DEAN-POSSESSION JESUS WEPT), LaF walking that continual moral grey line and having to come to terms with (or absolutely refusing to pay) its cost, HETEROSEXUALITY ENDING THE WORLD

But with all this -- and I know it sounds weird, but it’s true! -- comes the fact that my frustration is evidence of how invested I became in Carmilla. I really came to love the characters, even as I wanted to shake and scream at them. I think they could’ve carried so much of what I wanted from them, and I’ll regret that we didn’t get the opportunity to see it.

Brass tacks and all that, though, I had an awesome time liveblogging the adventures of these kooky kids, and I hope you had just as much an awesome time with me. Full thanks once again to @cello-moon​​, whose sponsorship brought the show to us all. And if you had a bit of fun watching this show with me and want to toss a thanks my way? Well, here are some suggestions!

Tell me! Your comments and participation help fuel my enthusiasm, particularly in whatever weird ass timeline we now find ourselves.

Sponsor me at my Patreon! It’s that sponsorship that keeps my puppy fed and allows my job to be entertaining you. Not only does becoming my patron let the content flow here, but you can get some pretty fucking sweet bonus exclusive shit, too!

Tip me at Ko-Fi! If you really enjoyed my liveblog of Carmilla, this is a great way to let me know. All tips this month (and several months to come) will go toward something I can’t share yet, but desperately want to make happen, and will share if I’m able to accomplish it!

Send me love/hate mail! I’ve got a shiny PO Box, after all, might as well use it. (Doc and I share it, by the way, so you can send her stuff there too!) If you’ve got a thing you’d like to send my way, I’d super fucking love to receive it!      Jet Wolf (and/or Doc Holligay)      PO Box 1621      Billings, MT  59103

I leave you, friends, with this final very important Carmilla thought:

WHERE WAS THE TIARA YOU COULD’VE HAD DEAN ALMOST ANYA WEARING IT AS SHE TRIED TO END THE WORLD IT WOULD HAVE BROUGHT IT ALL FULL CIRCLE WHAT KIND OF MISSED OPPORTUNITY IS THIS JUSTICE 4 TIARA 2K20

#jet wolf watches carmilla #long post for ts

[erythristicbones]

Ok I'll bite: How would you recommend a person get into Carmella??? I keep seeing funky vampire gifs but when I look it up there's like four things it could be

Oh, boy! Well the Carmilla series that I keep talking about and reblogging and haven been hyperfixating on hardcore is a Webseries from KindaTV that you can find all of on Youtube. The channel is here, and I'll go ahead and link the Playlist to each season bc I have them saved for a rewatch liveblog I'm planning on doing sometime soon; Season 1, Season 2, Season 0, and Season 3

There's also the movie, which I haven't personally gotten to see bc I was broke when it came out and I've yet to buy it myself, but I will get to one day 🥺

and the series itself is based on a novella written in 1872 by Sheridan Le Fanu which I could also link but tbh the webseries is pretty different and that's the part I'm into so 🤷‍♀️ you can look up the book if you'd like (like i did way back when I originally finished the series)

#i'll go ahead and throw this in the tag i guess? #carmilla series #should anyone else be curious and want the links #but yea i discovered this lil webseries as a baby gay of 18 and i doubt there will ever NOT be a place for it in my heart #i got distracted by other hyperfixations for a few years #and was too shy to engage in the fandom while it was popular #but now im braver and Carmilla has been the only thing on my mind for a solid 2 months now #cant believe there was a time where it wasnt all i thought about #so long story short: i recommend getting into it by watching the seasons on youtube in the order i have them listed #as that was the order they were released