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journeysintowebcomics · 5 years ago

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Worm Liveblog #120

UPDATE 120: Hope

Last time the Travelers plus Cody managed to escape from the quarantine. Everyone has powers – well, Oliver kind of doesn’t – and it’s all fine and dandy while they drive to the next city. This peace lasts until the first signs something’s very wrong with Noelle show themselves. Let’s continue.

Looks like there was a time skip, because Trickster is now standing at a front desk. A receptionist for someone. Trickster feels the need to smoke, and although the receptionist says that’s a bad idea, he does so anyway. He’s at Boston right now, one year and three months have passed since their arrival to this world. That means by now they’re officially a team, hm...

You know, I wish I could have read any discussion they had to decide their names. That could have been interesting to read! But yeah, by now, they all have their names, I bet. Trickster does, after all.

How had Jess put it? This world was sublime. A world that was awesome in the truer sense of the word, greater in so many respects. In a metaphorical sense, the peaks were higher, the valleys lower, works of art more artful, extremes more… extreme. It wasn’t a good thing. Make the mountains twice as tall and the chasms twice as deep, and things start crumbling.

Iiii don’t know if it’s really that worthy of admiration. I don’t think the entire world has as big of a mess as Brockton Bay does, but given entire islands have been obliterated, there are superpowered villains everywhere, and you don’t know when your life is going to be turned upside-down and most likely ruined, I sure would prefer a world like the Earth without parahumans. Besides, it’s not like the general population gets to enjoy the high technology and all that. Most of those are limited to the heroes and villains’ use. It doesn’t seem to me like any random person lives much different of a life than they would if there were no powers around. No, thanks, you keep your awesome world, I’m satisfied with mine.

The person Trickster came to meet is called Accord, and looks more like the kind of supervillain that tries to make things civilized and orderly for his own again. Like Coil, but less sinister. And less successful, since he’s not even the most influential villain in Boston. Accord shakes Trickster’s hand and asks for the reason for his visit. Well it turns out Trickster is here to reach some agreements and introduce himself, as it’s customary for him when he arrives at a new city. Gotta make sure you’re not stepping on anyone’s toes, you see.

Hah! He asks for permission before committing crimes. I doubt many villains are like Skitter in that they want to keep their communities orderly and with the least amount of trouble possible, but it’s good he’s being prudent. You don’t want to mess with villains.

“If I granted that permission, Trickster,” Accord raised a warning finger. “I would not be doing so for free.”

Trickster nodded. “I understand, and I wouldn’t expect you to. We’ve recently passed through Richmond, Paine, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Each time, we paid a modest up front fee to anyone that hosted us in their territory. We also offered up a twelve, thirteen, twelve and ten percent share, respectively, of our take. For you, if you’ll allow me to make an opening offer, I’d suggest ten thousand dollars up front and a fourteen percent share of anything we gain. We’ll be saying for ten days.”

And it turns out ten days is longer than they usually stay. Golly, that means they have been a very, very, veeery long time in Brockton Bay by now, that’s the most stable place of residence they have had. It’s because Coil can help them, I’m sure. But yeah, they’re on the move more often than I thought. Destructive Noelle or not, I thought it was like...a monthly thing. At this rate they’ll run out of places to be at in this country!

Trickster seems to be trying to be particularly flattering, offering Accord more money and being generally polite. Since he gets information before making a move, I suppose he was told he had to be as flattering as possible. Regardless, it’s working. Accord sees right through Trickster, but he’s accepting the offer, although with a warning not to scam him.

I’m not sure what Accord’s power is. There’s a lot of emphasis on things being rather orderly, but I’m uncertain if that’s an indication of what his superpower is, or if he’s just a very neat person.

Accord looked down and corrected the position of the pen on his desk before turning back to Trickster. “Fifteen thousand dollars, and fifteen percent of any take. The heroes don’t have a strong presence here because they don’t need a strong presence here. I maintain the peace. It will cost me if I have people here, active and causing trouble.”

Okay! Maybe he does keep the community safe to some extent. In that case, he should keep under wraps that he’s getting a share of the bounty from any stealing the Travelers do. Just in case. I’m sure there’d be people who would be very upset about that, even if they can do nothing about it.

Since the Travelers are here, Accord offers to forgo the fifteen thousand dollars from his fee and reduce his share, as long as they complete a job for him. Hey, Luke, there’s a job offer! The job is to steal tools from a tinker. Seems like Accord isn’t a tinker at all.

“Blasto. A tinker. Not quite the destructive personality his name implies.”

“I read up on him. Blasto from the latin prefix, meaning bud, germination or seed. Tinker botanist, grows walking, sentient plants in giant glass tubes.”

Not what I’d have imagined from that name, I admit. My knowledge of latin prefixes is quite lacking, turns out – and given I speak Spanish as my native language, that’s kind of sad. But, you know, if the intent is to steal tools and destroy this Blasto tinker’s stuff, Trickster and Sundancer is perfect for this. They should be done in no time! Which is why I suppose it won’t be that simple.

That said...I doubt it’ll get written. It’d be quite the side story! But it’d extend this origin interlude for maybe a tad too long. I’m not sure how well this all was received back when it was written, but I know I’d be kind of annoyed at a meandering interlude. Still...hey, Mr. Wildbow, how much do I have to donate for you to write how this went?

Not only he’ll forgo the entrance fee and reduce his share, he also will make costumes for the Travelers! Oh boy! Does that mean the costumes they’re all wearing in the present were designed by Accord? Didn’t expect that, honestly.

And you bring the world a little more in order, Trickster thought. Accord was a thinker, and the running theory on his power was that he got naturally smarter as the problems he was addressing got more complex. It gave him an intuitive understanding of groupthink, politics, and convoluted designs. It also made him a local warlord capable of devastating counterattacks. The power failed to grant him the same advantages in a one-on-one fight, and he wasn’t quite the same battlefield strategist when it came to direct assaults.

Which was, Trickster understood, why Accord wanted him and the other Travelers to handle the attack on their own.

Huh. That’s...a power. I’m not entirely sure how useful it is, I admit. It’s...a bit underwhelming, to some extent? But he has achieved some success, so I suppose he knows how to get use out of it. Maybe he’s like Tattletale. More like a mastermind type of person. Just that instead of finding out secrets like Tattletale does, he finds...solutions to problems.

Say, I just realized that when they attack Blasto there really are veeeery high chances it won’t go according to plan, thanks to a certain leader whose name I won’t reveal. He hasn’t been a particularly impressive force when it’s about attacking someone else’s lair. Personally I can’t let go of the Slaughterhouse Nine rescue, really.

Only four people will need costumes. Trickster himself, Sundancer, Ballistic...hm. Genesis wouldn’t need a costume because she does everything with her creations, Oliver wouldn’t want to be anywhere near a battle, so...Noelle or Cody.

Cody. The text pretty much says Noelle won’t get a costume. So this Cody person is still going with the group, one year later. He hasn’t gotten in the way of their return home. Say, how far in the past is this, I wonder? Could it be Cody’s...not-being-in-the-team is a more recent change than I thought?

The relatively pleasant discussion is interrupted when Sundancer bursts into the office, alarming Trickster, who had told her to stay back and not meddle. That she was disobeying and ruining Trickster’s carefully calculated meeting plan meant something was very, very wrong, and he should be worried. Hah! He’s got more immediate things to be worried about, right there! Accord isn’t happy at all with Sundancer.

Accord stepped over to the window behind his desk and stared outside. Trickster waited patiently as the man composed himself. Long seconds passed, and Trickster couldn’t help but imagine the worst case scenarios that would have Sundancer forgetting common sense and crashing a private meeting between supervillains.

I can only imagine it’s related to Noelle. Maybe she’s out there, causing immense amounts of havoc, in a sample of what will happen to Brockton Bay in the present. It’d be quite the way to establish how big of a Noelle threat is.

And there’s the immediate threat! Accord isn’t happy at all, and is already laying a series of demands. One: he’ll get the full amount of money he demanded. Okay then. Two: they’ll complete the mercenary job and receive nothing in exchange. It’s going to suck, but I guess it was to be expected. Three: Sundancer has to die. Beg your pardon?

Trickster tensed. Really, really didn’t want to have to fight this guy. “Let’s… not be so hasty.”

Okay then! Accord just made the stakes go way higher. So, Sundancer is very obviously alive in the present, so as I see it, there’s only one possibility: Trickster killed Accord. I really doubt by now fleeing Boston is an option, and given how upset Accord is with the...imbalance Sundancer brought to his turf, I don’t think he’d accept something else in exchange of her life. Unless she proves to be absolutely stellar in the mercenary job. Who knows, maybe she burned Blasto’s lair to the ground and that saved her.

How to convince the lunatic to leave Sundancer alone? If he couldn’t, would it be better to fight and kill Accord now or wait until he could recruit the others? Accord wouldn’t have invited him to a meeting if he didn’t have some kind of safeguards. Traps? For all Trickster knew, there was a pitfall in the floor or dart traps in the walls. Accord’s power, his knack for complexity, would make it trivial to weave such things into the architecture of his home and office. If he knew, he could use his power, time it to put Accord in the way of his own trap… but it could be something else entirely.

I meeeean...if he has the ability to make traps and safeguards, I’m certain making it so Trickster can’t use his power effectively to attack him would be easy as pie. Also, given how it was remarked Accord isn’t very good in one-on-one confrontations and is a warlord, I think it’s plausible he has a few people ready to act if things go pear-shaped. He wouldn’t rely on himself to ensure his own safety if he knows he wouldn’t be enough.

Accord was still talking. “Others aren’t so accommodating. They are freefalling, careening elements, bouncing off any and every surface, damaging everything they touch. Pyrokinetics so often fall into this category, I’ve found. Rest assured, it’s better to eliminate this disordered element before it does too much damage.”

...suddenly I have a nagging feeling Sundancer burning Blasto’s plants and lair to the ground would make things worse in Accord’s eyes. Scrap that plan. New plan: lose your powers, and then get them back before you get to Brockton Bay. There, problem solved. I’m a problem solver now, Accord-lite, praise me.

Turns out Trickster does think of a possible alternative on how to handle this. He appeals to Accord’s sense of order, saying Sundancer is an agent of harmony despite her powers, and that she’ll prove it to him. Trickster has effectively placed the burden of proof right on Sundancer’s hands. Masterful leader move, pal, throwing the weight onto your subordinate and friend. But hey, she’s alive in Brockton Bay, meaning it worked, meaning I have no grounds to complain. Besides, he’s going to discuss it with Sundancer right now. I for one am looking forward to finding out what he intends to suggest she does.

Trickster gets ten minutes to male Sundancer go into Accord’s office – alone. As expected, Sundancer is taken aback by the fact her life is in danger just like that. I share Trickster’s opinion in that Sundancer wouldn’t ruin Trickster’s meeting if there wasn’t a very good reason, though...she even tried to bring it up immediately, and Trickster didn’t let her speak. At least he’ll get briefed by someone else.

When the timer hits zero, you’ll walk into his office, then you’ll perform a ballet routine.

Well! That’s not going to bring up any good memories, is it. Given how one of Sundancer’s memories was freezing and not being able to do a thing, in front of a public, I hope it won’t happen again. At least she won’t have the Simurgh showing her those awful memories over and over, but still...ouch, the things she has to do to survive.

If he gives any sign he’s not satisfied, or the second you fuck up, set the place on fire and scram.”

“Krouse-”

“Call me Trickster when I’m in costume,” he corrected, his voice hard. “Don’t worry about burning him alive. He’ll have escape routes.

Oh, yeah, he’ll have escape routes. You know what else he’ll have? A desire to have both your heads on a plate, just saying. If he gets his office incinerated, there won’t be anything that’ll stop him from getting everyone he has to pursue the Travelers, I’m sure of it.

Since she has to go get ready and hopefully save her own life, Sundancer hurries inside, leaving Trickster to find out what problem is going on that made Sundancer risk ruining everything like that.

“It’s Cody. He touched Noelle.”

Trickster froze. “How bad is it?”

“Three times, Krouse.”

“Three,” Trickster said. “Fuck me. I’m on my way.”

Okay then! It was Cody’s fault. Not surprised he’s being a pain, really. He touched Noelle a total of three times, and that is...bad. For reasons I imagine I’ll find out very soon.

There’s no way Cody’s stupid enough to make contact with Noelle.

There’s no way anyone would do it three times. How?

Hm. I don’t know what exactly are the consequences of touching Noelle, but given the fact it was three times, I doubt it was an accident. It happening once would give him the benefit of the doubt, it happening three times pretty much guarantees it was on purpose, unless it turns out there was a really contrived reason like...some parahuman slamming Cody onto Noelle three times or something. But seriously, what happens when you touch Noelle?

Apparently whatever’s happening is among a crowd, and Trickster searches while thinking how everything they have been doing recently is minimize damage. Well, given how they keep moving because of Noelle, I imagine she’s the source of the damage. Does this mean lately she’s been getting worse? More powerful, dangerous?

What Trickster encounters reminds me a lot of those very mutated monstrous humans that arrived with the Simurgh. It’s a very deformed person, attacking bystanders and being rather violent. This mutant’s nature is revealed right afterwards:

Three seconds later, the man snapped back into the same position, in front of the creature. Perdition… Cody. Except not quite. The man carried through the shoving motion, but Perdition wasn’t there any more.

That’s Cody? Goodness gracious, what did he do?! Holy crap. What I note is that nowhere in the description Trickster gave of that thing attacking, he mentioned it looked like Cody at all. The extent of those tumor things on him and the twisted crooked factions must be such there isn’t much left of Cody. Noelle must have some sort of mutagenic quality, then. Perhaps she mutates those that make contact with her skin? Since that was what was fizzing and all that. And the more you touch her, the worse it gets. Cody touched her three times. Here’s the result, I suppose.

Innocent children are about to get attacked, and Trickster shouts to get Perdition’s attention. May as well exploit Perdition’s hatred of him! And it works, Perdition swivels around, looking for Trickster to do him some harm. Trickster keeps moving around to stay out of his sight while Perdition shouts slurred threats, accusing Trickster of having taken everything from him. Technically he did – except the part about ‘my girl’, because Noelle was never his – but it’s not like Trickster one day woke up and thought ‘oh you know what’d be a riot? Let’s ruin that Cody guy’s life’. Perdition is lashing out as usual, really.

Some of the time, the powers would be different. Most of the time, going by precedent, they were stronger. Trickster was left to wonder how Perdition’s powers had changed. Duration? Range? The amount of time reversed?

Huh, that so? It could be the mutations are an attempt to enhance the powers of those who touch her, then? And it doesn’t work properly because she didn’t take the vial correctly. That doesn’t take into account the eye thing from last chapter’s ending, though...right now my thought about that is that maybe she’s not immune to her own mutations. It could even be that Perdition touching her made her even worse.

Perdition uses his powers to keep track of Trickster, getting him closer and closer to him to perform some murderin’. Trickster tries to stay away, although that soon leads to...well...casualties. There have been at least two so far. Damn. Trickster makes some calculations and tries to think of a plan on how to handle this.

What he does is hurry, swap himself with one of the casualties’ bodies, and shoot Perdition to death. Well! That was anticlimactic. I’m pretty sure if Perdition knew how simple that was, he’d be very upset. So this is why he’s not part of the team nowadays...not really how I expected him to die, although I did expect Trickster to be the one to kill him.

The next scene starts with Francis arriving to a place, where I suppose the rest of the Travelers are hiding. Oliver is already waiting for him, and the effects of his half of the power potion are shown: Oliver is handsome. Like, real handsome and smarter and also learns skills? He got lucky, then. If this is the extent of what his botched power has, then he’s incredibly lucky. But it’s still Oliver, so he’s as milquetoast and socially stunted as usual. Maybe forever, given how he’s...pretty much in a stranger’s body.

...

Maybe he wasn’t as lucky as I thought at first, when I think about it like that.

Fuck you, Simurgh, Krouse thought. They’d all been forced to deal with their individual tragedies. Noelle’s went without saying. Jess hadn’t gotten to walk, Luke hadn’t gotten to fly, Oliver got a physical and mental overhaul without any fixes for the real problems, and Marissa had been thrust into the situation she’d fought so hard to escape, where she was forced to pursue a life she didn’t want.

Krouse’s tragedy was waiting for him inside.

Wow. Things are pretty bad for everyone here, but the way it’s worded Luke’s plight is so out of place. He didn’t get the power to fly. That sucks, but it certainly isn’t on anyone else’s level. Surely there must be something else about this situation that’s more fitting to bring up as Luke’s tragedy. Maybe that he’s very dissatisfied with being part of this group and feels they’re getting nowhere? That��s the impression I have of him in the present, after all.

Between Francis and Oliver they manage to drag Cody’s corpse to the living room, where there are...another two. Two more of Cody. Okay then! Looks like something’s going on. Does someone care to explain? One Cody is bad enough, the universe doesn’t need two more, hah!

Noelle is upset right now and it’s Francis’ duty to go calm her down. Before he goes he glances at the bodies.

They all stared at the bodies. This would be the third incident. Or incidents three through five, if he wanted to count it that way.

This can mean either this is the third incident where mutated people go and cause destruction, or this is the third time Cody has touched Noelle. Both are equally plausible, honestly – but I lean towards the former, because...then it would mean Noelle is causing some awful terror and destruction. Just like a Simurgh thrall would. Everyone else in the Travelers, taking her around the country, are doing their part as well.

There’s a lot of injured people and a few casualties because of the many Perditions. The...real Perdition? He’s somewhere inside the house. Nobody has found out what exactly happened, why Cody would touch Noelle three times despite presumably knowing really well what would happen. Francis will have to deal with this problem, since he’s the leader. First he goes to smoke for a while.

Sundancer has arrived! And she’s unharmed, thank goodness. Looks like her dancing routine in front of Accord went well, then! Or not, as she says two lines later. It satisfied Accord anyway, so may as well take that as a victory.

“No,” she said. “He said I wasn’t perfect, but that he saw what you meant. He said I was trying, despite myself. I… I don’t know if that was a compliment or not.”

That’s definitely a compliment. If it wasn’t, then she wouldn’t be here alive, or at the very least there’d be mercenaries pursuing her. She must have done well – not being the agent of chaos and disorder Accord thought she’d be, despite her incendiary powers.

Since Mars has been declared not responsible for the incredible chaos from today, Accord wants Francis to bring the real cause. He decides he won’t be bringing Noelle – obviously not, because that’d be incredibly dangerous and, more importantly, there’s no way Francis would backstab Noelle. Instead, he decides he’ll take Cody. Hah! Well it’s pretty clear Cody isn’t harmonious at all, so...maybe that’ll work. It helps that those berserk things were literally him.

Mars isn’t into the ‘let’s blame Cody for everything’ plan because it’s very likely Cody will die, and Francis although isn’t happy about it either, sees no other option. Is he going to inform everyone else of his decision? Because I figure everybody would like to be aware one of their teammates is going to be murdered by a local villain, even if it’s Cody.

As Francis sees it, there’s only one scenario where Cody would be in contact with Noelle three times, and it is that Cody went to wherever she is, was a major dick like he usually is, and made her so upset she attacked him so badly Cody has broken limbs. An arm and a leg. Well those sure are two of the three contact spots!

“He had a goal in mind, only he didn’t anticipate how fast she moves, how strong she is. He was trying to do one of two things. Either he did something general, said something, with the aim of making her go berserk… or he tried to kill her. One way or another, Cody wanted to end this. End our mission. Free himself. He doesn’t give a fuck about the promise, so I don’t see why the promise should protect him.”

Cody was trying to kill her? I’m not sure about that. He has to know Noelle has some form of fast regeneration, meaning hurting her physically is a chore and almost unlikely to work. Also, he has to know touching her is a very bad idea. No, I’m leaning more towards thinking he was once again disparaging people around and trying to not be an outsider, and for some reason he was...talking with Noelle...and said something he shouldn’t have...and...okay this reasoning is kind of falling apart by the seams. Fucking Cody. What the hell was he planning?

Well at least Francis is going to talk to everyone else before taking a decision, he even is going to have a word with Cody to see if his suspicions have a reasonable base or not. That’s more than Cody usually gets, really – although I doubt he’ll appreciate it at all, what with Francis being the one to talk to him and what not. Oh well. Now that that’s...somewhat settled, Mars has the task of going to get a lot of food for Noelle. A lot of meat, in fact. Right, I kind of remember that was necessary. Geez.

Before she leaves, there’s something else to bring up!

“I almost forgot. Accord. He wanted me to pass this on.”

She handed him a piece of paper. There was a number printed on it. Different area code.

Holy crap, Mars, you can’t just forget something Accord asked you to do. You almost died today because you metaphorically stepped on the guy’s toes, and you were about to do it again. Goodness gracious...and the reason why she’s hesitant to even remember stuff Accord asks is because she doesn’t want to interact with guys like him. Hah! Boy will her time under Coil’s employment be a treat, then. Coil and Accord seem to be a rather similar kind of person, just that Coil is far more sinister in so many different ways – although I’m sure Accord has his own shady plans, of course.

Once Mars has left, Francis dials the number and gets in contact with whoever it is. Francis doesn’t seem to appreciate much having to call acquaintances of Accord. It’s only when this person says it’s a long-term job I have a hunch of who it is. That you, Coil? Will it turn out Accord and Coil do know each other? Hah! Well! I was saying they were kind of similar in terms of the way they work, but I never thought they knew each other.

“I know Accord through a mutual acquaintance. Through this acquaintance and my own resources, I’ve gathered a fairly robust set of data on you Travelers.“

Intereeeesting. I think there’s a pretty good chance this acquaintance is the entirety of Cauldron. In that case, could it be Accord got his powers from Cauldron? Also, if they got information about them through Cauldron, then it means that big shady organization that gives powers is aware of the Travelers and how they got the powers. Oh boy! No indication Cauldron has sent superpowered thugs to take due revenge for the Travelers pretty much stealing powers, hmmmmm...could it be Cauldron is letting them do whatever they want, knowing they can use them later? It’d explain that, at least.

The person, who I’m absolutely certain is Coil, says he’s offering a solution to three things in exchange for them working for him. That’s enough to get Francis’ attention, he’s willing to listen. Make your offer, Coil!

I thought he was Luke Brito, not Luke Casseus. Either way, there are records of one Luke Casseus and one Noelle Meinhardt who were once in the hospital at the quarantine, and seem to have appeared out of nowhere. Most people would simply think those teenagers used fake names for some reason, but Coil has more information that indicates there’s something going on.

Also, Meinhardt is a cool last name. I like it a lot.

“Rest assured, Trickster, there is no need for any alarm. The fact that I know these things is an asset to you. A contact of mine in the PRT has taken over your case file and requisitioned all details on your encounter with Myrddin. That case will not be pursued further.“

I suppose Myrddin gave all the information and control of that particular investigation and just…focused on the myriad of other things he has to deal with. I guess that makes sense, but I’d have thought the PRT would be far more attentive with investigations involving roaming Simurgh thralls. Coil and Cauldron’s influence is quite notable.

So, Coil has three solutions that will solve all of the Travelers’ problems. One is that Coil will offer all the money they need. Right, about that...since you’re offering, can you send them $15000 in cash, they need it kind of urgently.

The second solution is that he’ll send them home. Naturally, they wouldn’t work for him unless he made such an offer. The contacts he’s talking about are undoubtedly in Cauldron, more concretely the one who can make portals to reach Cauldron’s buildings. Given Coil’s...demeanor, I think he really would have fulfilled his end of the deal once he had taken over Brockton Bay, at least when it’s about sending them home. Unlike Dinah, there’s really no reason to keep the Travelers around, it’s not like they’re especially noteworthy as a team and other than Noelle their powers are nothing too remarkable. Who knows, though...maybe he’d have tried to keep Noelle, for one reason or another. Make clones of his soldiers or something to have a permanent source of non-powered mercenaries.

The last thing Coil offers is not said in the text, but I imagine it’s related to Noelle, since that was the other thing the Travelers were so worried about. They wouldn’t work for Coil unless he promised to fix her. Which is very...unlikely, really...but not impossible. If there’s someone who maybe could, it’s Cauldron. At a very, very, incredibly exorbitant price, I suppose, but they could. Don’t ask me how, though, because I don’t have the slightest idea. I’m not part of the group who sells bottled powers around.

Francis goes into the house, where Luke tries to get him to join them into a meeting about what they’ll do about Cody. The chance to explain they’re throwing him at Accord and hoping for the best! But nope, first he wants to talk to Noelle.

“After, Luke,” Krouse said. He spun around, faced his friend. “I think we’ve got what we’re looking for.”

“What?”

“A way home. Maybe even a fix for Noelle.”

Maybe a fix for Noelle, he says, meaning that even though that may be what Coil offered, he didn’t phrase it as a certainty at all. Merely a possibility. But...a possibility is the best they can get, really.

Promising to tell everyone else – sans Cody, I imagine – what the solution to all their problems is like, Noelle knocks to the door of Noelle’s room, where she immediately tells him to go away. Boy, even if she returns to normal, she won’t be anywhere close to Francis, I’m sure of that. It’s over between them, isn’t it?

Doesn’t take much to convince her to let him enter, so he does. The inside of the room is all broken, no word on if it was like that before Cody pissed her off.

“Come to talk?” she asked. “Keep me company?”

“I was planning on doing it a little later. Things are kind of a mess out there, you know. The Cody situation.”

“Nobody keeps me company any more. Only you.”

Ouch. Not even Mars? That must hurt. I had the impression Noelle was in good terms with pretty much everyone, that only Francis visits her...well, that really sucks. Is it perhaps because they’re afraid of touching her and making more of those deformed copies happen?

Noelle sure doesn’t try to deny Francis’ theory about Cody’s murder attempt, she instead says she can’t die. She has tried to end it. So yeah, she does have fast healing.

“I’m one of them. Or I’m becoming that way.”

“Maybe.”

“An Endbringer.”

So that was the Simurgh’s plan? To create a...pseudoendbringer? Since they were never human in the first place, from what I was told ages ago, it’s unlikely Noelle will turn into one, but she’ll...be pretty close to one if things get worse, she fears. And apparently, given what she can do, it’s not an outlandish possibility.

“I’ll be just as bad as the Simurgh. In a different way. I touch someone, and then I spit out copies. Uglier, stronger… meaner. I can’t control them. If I got my hands on one of the major heroes? Someone like that Myrddin guy?”

It’ll be even worse if she gets her hands on many of the major heroes. Many evil copies of the major heroes roaming around and destroying everything would make things go downhill fast, that’s for sure.

You know, in general I’m against clones as a plot point, but I think this is fine. This is interesting!

Francis brings up that he talked with someone who maybe will be able to help them, and that they should give it a try because this person knows a person who has a way, who goes between worlds.

Aha, so this is how Coil got Francis aboard. He promised hope, not by promising to heal Noelle and send them all back to their worlds – but by promising to get them out of the Simurgh’s plans.

“No, listen. The Simurgh? This guy said she has a weakness. Two ways where she can’t see the future. Two ways to break free of her cause and effect.”

Noelle didn’t say anything.

“The first way, you’ve got to be basically immune to powers. Scion is. He’s immune to precognition, throws everything out the window when he shows up. I saw it when he fought the Simurgh. She couldn’t automatically dodge his stuff, because she either couldn’t read his mind or she couldn’t see the attacks before they happened. So he hit her, a bunch of times. I saw it.”

That supposed weakness isn’t going to lead anywhere, really. What is Coil going to do? Get Cauldron to fill the Travelers up with powers until they’re like Scion? Hardly. I don’t think it’d even be feasible because...I mean...having more than one power into you has to make some of them interact with each other in nasty ways, no? Taking half a vial is bad, taking two or more has to be bad too if you don’t know what you’re doing. No, the whatever this second way is like has to be what they’re looking for.

Also, that’d be hella expensive and not even Coil would be able to buy it, I’m sure.

Krouse was getting more excited, had to press his hand flat against the floor to stop it from shaking. “And the other way? There’s thinker powers that mess with her ability to influence events. If another precog gets a hand in events, the Simurgh automatically shuts them down and vice-versa. The way this guy said it, the precogs get overloaded with the second-guessing the other precog, on top of having to figure out all the quantum possibilities and split paths. And this guy? He has a power that messes with precogs some, and the precog working for him has a power that will help circumvent the Simurgh’s power. Get it? So long as we work for him, we’re free of it. No more cause and effect. No more feeling like we’re doomed no matter what choice we make. We go from that kind of safety to home. To our world.“

I suppose this precog is supposed to be Dinah, because I can’t recall anyone else who has that kind of power and is under Coil’s employment – also, employment is definitely not the right word to use when it’s about Dinah, Coil, that’s imprisonment. Either way, if not Dinah, then...Tattletale is the closest one I can think, but she can’t foresee the future and I’m sure Coil knows that rather well. No, it has to be Dinah.

Which would give the Travelers a lot of encouragement to get in Skitter’s way, really. If Dinah is giving them the safety they need to not be destroying everything in their path, then of course they would disapprove of Skitter trying to free her. Still...do things really work like that? I don’t know, something’s off here.

I just find a bit hard to believe Dinah can singlehandedly stop the Simurgh’s cause and effect. Is there a ratio of effect or what? Does Dinah have to think of the Travelers? The details are a tad vague. I’m sure Mr. Wildbow thought the details well, so I’m not going to insult him by insinuating he didn’t think things through with that paragraph, but the amount of details given to me the reader right now is kind of lacking. I’m kind of leaning towards the possibility Coil is wrong about how this all works. Or he’s hiding something. This just...needs more building upon.

What follows to this is the reveal of what’s going on with Noelle. I had months to imagine what could be so bad it needed a vault and widespread panic, and this doesn’t disappoint. It’s worse than I expected. What can I say, I’m somewhat optimistic by nature, the worst case scenarios aren’t something I indulge into if I can avoid it, haha...ha...but yeah, this is nasty.

Around where her pelvis should have been, she’d changed. The mass of tissue left her tall enough that she had to hunch over to avoid hitting her head on the ceiling, and she was lying down. Half of it was angry, red, wrinkled or blistered. The other half was smooth tissue, dark greens, dark brown and pale grays. The head of an animal, half-bovine and half-canine, extended from the front, large as a horse from the back of its skull to the tip of its flaring nostrils. Another head was in progress, emerging just to the left. Two forelegs extended to either side of the heads, rippling with powerful muscle, ending in something that fell between claw and hoof, massive and easily capable of tearing through steel.

There were the fingers and thumb of a hand, extending from her right hindquarters, each digit thicker around than Krouse was, with another, smaller limb extending from the palm. Her rear left hindquarters featured only a mess of tentacles, some bearing partial exoskeleton, some long enough that they had to encircle the massive head and numerous limbs, or wind in a wreath around her as she lay down, lest their coiled mass fill the master bedroom of the house and leave Krouse nowhere to sit. Despite the apparent lack of bones, the tentacles were capable of supporting her weight.

It’s like she’s piling more and more tissue and forming...limbs. And a couple heads, for some reason? I’m morbidly curious if she can see through that head that’s already formed. Oh god. Here I am, trying to distract myself with banal thoughts like...how do the Travelers manage to move Noelle from city to city, do they steal a freight truck every time? Sorry, I’m thinking of all kinds of things to distract myself about how horrible it must be to be Noelle right now, augh

I can see why nobody else but Francis visits her, though. It must be hard to...to see Noelle and try to not focus on what’s going on with her. Not many would have the...bravery to face her and try to make small talk or anything. What would you even say if you went to see her? How uncomfortable, for both Noelle and someone else, would it be to sit around and try not to talk about the elephant in the room? This is a situation nobody is prepared to deal with. I can definitely understand why it’s easier to just...not go see her at all.

But damn that must feel very lonely for Noelle.

She’d tried to starve herself, to die of thirst. It had turned out badly. She’d gone berserk and killed forty people in one autumn night. Their tissues had played a large part in building the massive fingers and thumb that extended behind her.

Welp! The Simurgh really knew what she was doing. That’s all I have to say. Well played.

And so that’s how the Travelers started working under Coil. Because they were given hope. And nooooow that hope is gone. Here is the present time now, where Coil is dead. No wonder Noelle went berserk and escaped the vault. Where could she have gone...? Where could she be hiding? Because...if she was destroying anything, they would have heard about it even before they saw the broken vault.

But it still can happen. In the very near future. The rage of Noelle.

He had no doubt as to who had died here. Could remember the scene as it had been just before he’d been knocked unconscious, could remember where people had been standing.

Another wave crashed against the beach. He heard the seagulls cawing angrily, wanting the morsels that littered the ground in front of him.

Krouse spent a very long time staring at the stain.

This must be the end for this interlude arc. It’s quite the ending, pretty poignant. A quick check on the next chapter link shows that yeah, a new arc is starting next time.

So yeah, that’s it. The Travelers’ arc is over. Must say, this may be one of my favorite arcs so far. It sure makes a few things seem different than before. I appreciated the extensive peek into the circumstances of the Travelers and everything they went through. They’re quite a tragic group, really. In one single day they went from just a normal gaming team to a superpowered bunch without a home and having to lug around someone who is...slowly and horrifically mutating into a mess of flesh that creates mutant copies of people. Pretty amazing they all have held onto their sanity, really.

I’m sure the next arc – which I suppose will be about possibly finding and fighting Noelle – will be quite a thing! I’m looking forward to that.

Next time.

Next time: in three updates

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

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cynthiajayusa · 6 years ago

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Outshine Film Festival Celebrates 10 Years

The OUTshine Film Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary season in Fort Lauderdale this year with over 50 films, a red carpet and celebrity studded opening night, a week of parties, and exclusive panel discussions with up-and-coming directors, producers, and film talent from the LGBTQ community.

“10 years is a milestone anniversary, and we’re very excited to be part of the cultural landscape in Fort Lauderdale. We’ve been growing steadily every year, and have extended the film festival by an additional day to be able to bring in more award-winning films and accommodate more attendees.” says Victor Gimenez, Executive Director of the OUTshine Film Festival.

The film festival’s will kick off on October 18th, with the Opening Night documentary, “Studio 54” film at 7pm at Savor Cinema (503 SE 6th St, Fort Lauderdale), which highlights nightlife entrepreneurs Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell as they recount the story of how they created one of the greatest clubs of all time. The film will be followed by the opening night party at a stunning private waterfront residence in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Although I was too young to attend Studio 54, growing up in New York City I heard many stories and once I came out I heard many more. Having said that, there was so many things that I didn’t know, that I found out form watching this movie. Obviously I don’t want to list them as I want you all to go see the movie, but one of the incredible things I learned was that Studio 54 was only opened for 33 months. In less than three years they created a brand that was and is iconic.

Studio 54 was the epicenter of 70s hedonism – a place that redefined what a nightclub could be but also came to symbolize an entire era. Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell came out of nowhere to preside over a new kind of New York society. With unprecedented access to Schrager, who tells the whole unvarnished story for the first time, and a treasure-trove of rare footage, director Matt Tyrnauer constructs a vivid, glorious portrait of a disco-era phenomenon and tells the story of two friends who stuck together through an incredible series of highs and lows. While watching the interviews with Ian that were done for this movie, you can still see the love he has for Steve, almost 30 years after his passing. This is a bond that even death could not break!

The OUTshine Film Festival’s 10th anniversary season will include over 50 films, with 34 feature length films and 17 shorts, multiple panel discussions with filmmakers and talent, and nightly parties and events throughout the 8 day festival.

Some of the other films for the first week are:

My Big Gay Italian Wedding (Puoi Baciare lo Sposo) – Friday, October 19th – 7pm – Savor Cinema

Antonio and Paolo live happily together in Berlin and are finally getting married. They decide to celebrate in the small village in Italy where Antonio grew up. While his mother immediately supports his intentions, her husband Roberto, the town Mayor, is much more reluctant. Paulo, who has not spoken to his conservative mother in a long time, must get her to the wedding as a condition of the marriage. Throw in a couple of wacky roommates and the aisle to the alter is paved with hilarity, hijinks and lots of love!

Consequences (Posledice) – Friday October 19th – 9:15 pm – The Classic Gateway Theatre

After being sent to a youth correctional facility, 17-year-old Andrej meets Željko, the informal leader of a group of inmates. Soon Željko starts exploiting Andrej in return for keeping his homosexuality a secret thus causing Andrej’s sense of responsibility and moral integrity to be put to the test. Andrej must ultimately choose between Željko and his reckless lifestyle and staying true to himself.

Reach – Saturday October 20th – 12:30 pm – The Classic Gateway Theatre

Socially awkward band geek Steven (Garrett Clayton) is planning to kill himself, but then is befriended by the new quirky kid in school Clarence. They form an inseparable bond as Clarence finds creative ways to pull Steven out of his depression. Steven reaches out of his comfort zone forming stronger relationships with his father, friends, and teachers…Reach out, be kind, save lives.

Going West – Saturday October 20th – 5pm – The Classic Gateway Theatre

An unemployed music teacher takes his estranged transgender father on a road trip to the west coast of Norway in order to honor his late mother’s excellent quilting skills. It’s a mostly playful affair with splashes of drama and everyday tragedy. The film cheerfully avoids the most tired clichés associated with the road movie genre and takes an honest and refreshing look at Georg’s transgender identity and the effects it has on everyone. Tender, quirky and spunky, Going West is a warm and touching feel good film about life, loss and love.

It’s Raining Men (Men’s Shorts) – Saturday October 20th – 5pm – Savor Cinema (total run time 104 minutes):

Sparrow Directed by Welby Ings, 15 minutes, New Zealand The Boy Who Wanted to Fly (El Nino Que Queria Volar) Directed by Jorge Muriel, 15 minutes, Spain. In Spanish with English subtitles Sam Did It Directed by Dominic Burgess, 10 minutes, USA Something About Alex Directed by Reinout Hellenthal, 19 minutes, Netherlands. In Dutch with English subtitles Sailors Delight Directed by Jonas Ritter, Loucas Rongeart, Louise Aubertin, Eloïse Girard, Amandine Thomoux, Marine Meneyrol, 6 minutes, France Odd Job Man Directed by Marianne Blicher, 22 minutes, Denmark. In Danish with English subtitles Femme Directed by Alden Peters, 17 minutes, USA

“Greater Fort Lauderdale has always been a hub for creativity, and we’re excited to see the OUTshine Film Festival continue to thrive in our destination and offer both the LGBTQ and the Ally community a place where they can come together, share experiences, and enjoy award-winning films with their friends and peers.” says Noelle Stevenson, Vice President Film, Music, Fashion & Create at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitor’s Bureau.

“This year, we��ll kick off the festival with a private filmmaker’s soiree at the “Manor Mansion” estate, featuring DJ Tracy Young, hosted by the Greater Fort Lauderdale’s CVB film, music, fashion & create division.”

To see a full listing of all the films, the parties, or to purchase tickets or for more info go to: Outshinefilm.com.

About OUTshine Film Festival

The OUTshine LGBT Film Festival is a bi-annual film festival with a mission to inspire, entertain, and educate the public and encourage a sense of community through international and culturally diverse film, video and other media that offer historical and contemporary perspectives on the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience.

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/10/18/outshine-film-festival-celebrates-10-years/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2018/10/outshine-film-festival-celebrates-10.html

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