#Brian laborn I love you

[junebugtwin]

what if they were happy huh?? what then!!!!

[il3x]

convention of the autistic normalguys (I considered adding Richard Gansey from The Raven Cycle, but it's obvious to anyone within five minutes of meeting Richard Gansey that he is a freak (affectionate)).

[snazzycrown]

Imp is hard to draw because you forget what she looks like every time you try.

This is so true you have no idea-

But look! I did it! Finally!

An Aisha that doesn’t bring dishonor on my family or my cow!

The design is subject to change but yeah, it her

[therealtsk]

God I just adore fanart that depicts the Undersiders having moments where they get to be kids…I love these criminals so much. Lisa has a great singing voice btw it’s canon Wibbles told me himself over coffee and crepes

The Undersiders!! Please tell me the worm fandom is still Alive!!!

[lakesbian]

Grue approached me, “I ran out.  Got extras?” I handed him a fistful of the wrist ties.

Grue wrestled with a gang member with an injured leg, twisting the guy’s arms behind his back and then punching him in the kidney when his struggling made it too difficult to get the plastic handcuffs on.  The guy gave up the fight. “You got any plans for tomorrow?” I turned my attention away from the unconscious girl I was cuffing and looked at Grue. “Well?” he asked. “I’m planless.  No plan,” I fumbled my words.

“Want to come over to my place?  I’m supposed to have a group meeting to discuss progress and whatever for this online class I’m taking, but I’ve also got my sister’s caseworker stopping by to check out my apartment in the afternoon.  I was hoping to buy some furniture and get it put together by then, but I’m tight on time and it’ll be a hell of a lot easier with two people,” he told me, “…and that was a rambling explanation.” “I got the gist.  Yeah, I could do that.” I had seen him smile that boyish grin of his often enough that I could picture it behind his mask. “I’ll text you with the time and address?” “Alright.” He gave me a very ‘guy’ clap on the shoulder, then headed over to catch up to a guy that was trying to crawl away, a little ways down the street.

>lie about running out of wrist ties for detaining people during the gang war the team of teenagers is participating in as an excuse to come talk to taylor >ask taylor on implicit date while punching someone in the kidneys >get nervous and start rambling while trying to justify the invitation >his date idea is taylor helping him put together furniture for his IKEA showroom ass apartment so he can convince his younger sister's caseworker that he is a very normal 40yo 17yo adult man and should be given custody of her immediately >literally just punched someone in the kidneys during a gang war >she says yes >freak out from the successful invitation, respond by awkwardly clapping her on the shoulder like she's a male friend and then hustling off to detain a crawling escapee from the gang war >all of the gang war detainees had to sit there and listen to that >he still genuinely has no idea that he's romantically attracted to her and is going to friendzone her on the date by going "uh, you could be like a sister to me, i think"

brian laborn, everyone. youve gotta love him

[allwormdiet]

Worm Cast Impressions (Arcs 1 to 7)

Easy money says some of these characters are about to fucking die so I'm pausing now to jot down my impressions of everybody who's managed to make an impact (and one or two characters whose lack of impact is kind of impressive)

Undersiders

Taylor Hebert: Character of all time. Simultaneously sanest and least sane person in the entire universe. Deeply concerned about keeping hold of her moral core, constantly innovating in ways to inflict violence on her enemies real and imagined. Has never fully finished thinking her actions through once in her entire life, people keep thinking she's the most cautious girl they know. Her first kiss was partly because she liked the boy and partly because she wanted to piss off her bully. I am cheering for her more often than not and I am so scared of what this story is going to do to her.

Brian Laborn: I want to study him in a lab. Team leader entirely by default, as near as I can tell. Hates using violence as a means of control, really good at using violence as a means of control, seems to default to using violence as a means of control when he's upset. I don't think he's normal about women. Desperately trying to be so so so boring, thinks he's perfectly rational even though he is just as unhinged as his teammates, I suspect that he has built a mental prison with twenty layers of protection around all thoughts that would suggest he is anything other than Normal and Strong and Reliable. Maybe turned on by efficient displays of violence?

Lisa Wilbourn: She is so charming and I am so scared of what's actually going on in her head. I think Taylor's best friend but definitely her biggest enabler. Stop lying and let me know what is going on in your head, I know more about Alec and Rachel than I know about you. Concerned that she's only nominally concerned about Coil being a heinous fucker. Desperately hoping the air can be cleared so I stop worrying about whether she's going to destroy Taylor or something. She has to know Taylor is a wannabe hero.

Alec: The fact that he's really only done one thing that I consider morally in the wrong is kind of incredible when looking at the fact that he's a recovering sex cult enforcer who started living something approaching a normal human life as a homeless preteen. He's had three years to jury rig a sense of humanity and morality mostly on his own and the end result is a selfish lazy jerk, and yet the fact that this is what he's managed to come up with on his own is, without sarcasm, worthy of a fucking prize. He's actually really good at this all things considered. Actually a little bummed that he didn't oppose Coil for the whole Dinah creepfest.

Rachel Lindt: Rachel Lindt is maybe the best character so far. Autistic dog girl who only tolerates human society so she can better feed and care for her animals. I'd say something like "I'd kill for her" but there's no way I could do that any better than her dogs and she'd call me stupid. Only thing against her at this point is the slur usage, which is rough to deal with, but I suspect part of that is just being written in 2011.

Loved Ones

Danny Hebert: You sad bastard. Please survive long enough to reconcile with your daughter. I know he can't provide any material support for the problems his daughter has been dealing with, that the bullies are too well-protected and there's basically nothing that he can do about parahuman shit, but I wish she would allow him to be there for her. Maybe he'd be uncool about it, sure, but maybe not. Makes me sad to think about.

Aisha Laborn: This girl is in dire need of someone to have her back and also, like, pay attention to her; Brian is the closest one to actually doing it but I don't think his best efforts are enough. I know she's gonna be an Undersider in the future so hopefully I get to have a more thorough impression of her, and one that's not marred by the fucking Mercedes metaphor, Jesus Christ that was a rough passage to get through.

Protectorate

Armsmaster: I'd probably like him more if he wasn't so up his own ass about being in charge and earning glory. My suspicion is that he's basically a good guy with some bad habits that nobody can check him on, which has spiraled out of control. Might unironically consider a teenage criminal his nemesis, which is funny but not a great sign of his priorities.

Miss Militia: My prior complaints about her possibly inappropriate response to holding Regent hostage are entirely subsumed by the fact that the last twenty-six years of her life have been lived on terms set by the Protectorate. She was nearly devoured by the machinery of empire and now she's become a component of empire that feeds upon others, and she hasn't even realized it. She never had a goddamn chance.

Velocity: Nothing to really say about him, except there has to have been a way to design his costume so that a teenager with unaugmented strength couldn't take him out with a single blow to the testicles.

Assault and Battery: The name theming feels a bit weird (what, if they got a third would their name be Coercion?) but whatever. I like the idea of a duo with complementary powers, I guess, but there's not really much else here.

Dragon: On the one hand she's in charge of the Birdcage and is friends with Armsmaster, but on the other hand she clearly hates the Birdcage for what it's made her complicit in, and maybe Armsmaster is good to have as a friend. Jury's out, unlike on Canary.

Wards

Gallant: The best way I can think to describe this guy is "blandly nice." It's like if "inoffensive" could be a personality trait. Glory Girl could do better than him, probably, but to be fair she could also do a lot worse.

Clockblocker: I think he's the funny one? Or at least the deliberately unserious one, which is the same thing. The first character confirmed to have developed entomophobia as a result of Skitter, probably not the last. Stopped a bomb from destroying the East Coast which feels like it should get more attention.

Vista: World's most powerful thirteen-year-old. Who deployed her to stop that bomb and fight those Nazis. I want names.

Kid Win: No sense of proportion on this kid, my god. Shooting a laser cannon meant to deal with threats that are theoretically rated higher than Lung into a bank filled with hostages? He's lucky nobody died.

Shadow Stalker: What the actual fuck is going on with her. Who hunts other human beings with broadhead arrows? That's for making someone bleed to death. If she was doing it to the fucking Nazis then that'd be fine, but no, it's Grue and Taylor we've either seen or heard about her getting rough with. Either the Protectorate knows she's a maniac and is letting it rock until she gets herself caught, or else they don't realize what she's doing in which case someone is not doing their job.

Browbeat: Absolute nonentity, to the point it's almost distracting. The description of the bank fight suggests he lost to Regent, which I think means that Regent got close enough to a guy with super strength to knock him out with a taser and didn't get his block knocked off. No wonder the Protectorate wants to trade him out, dude's got nothing going on.

PRT

Director Piggot: I don't like the organization she works for, because the vibes beyond the city level feel rancid, but for Piggot I mostly just sympathize with her. She's trying to corral a bunch of teenagers and adults, who all have some kind of horrific trauma shaping them and also giving them powers that are baseline as dangerous as a fucking gun, into something resembling a fully effective government agency, with no signs of support from the other cities or the higher-ups despite the fact that the literal fucking Nazis have her heroes outnumbered and have apparently had it that way for decades. Let this woman take a vacation or something.

New Wave

Glory Girl: Absolute nerd who seems to love being a superhero, and also making Nazis ragdoll in her spare time. I'd love to end it there, but unfortunately she's got some bad habits; girl desperately needs to kill the cop in her brain and get her impulsiveness under control, the fact that she ragdolled the Nazi on accident and threatened to pull favors in the judicial system to send a first-time offender (and Tattletale) into the Birdcage don't reflect great on her ability to keep a lock on things in high-stress situations.

Panacea: Pathetic girl who is clearly sitting on a pressure cooker of issues. I know what those all are but I'm not going to comment on any of it until we're actually there. For now it's mostly just a pity thing.

Azn Bad Boys

Lung: I was harsh on his characterization at first but I'll admit with time and context I'm not nearly as quick about that. He definitely still sucks, the guy literally murders his lieutenant as a matter of bruised pride and making his life more convenient. Also still cannot shake the feeling that he was basically idling in Brockton Bay for most of his career with the kind of power he has on tap.

Bakuda: She's a monster, but that also kind of oversimplifies things. She's clever, arrogant, grandstanding, and gleefully violent, even as she has the capacity to admire the architecture that another Tinker has crafted and to treat Lung as something resembling a friend. I don't think there's a world where she triggers and is, like, a good person, but I think this was one of the worse lives she could have wound up living. Also, y'know, she's dead.

Empire Eighty-Eight

Kaiser: Rancid smug piece of Nazi shit. Stupid too btw, why are you bothering with street-level robberies and extortion when you own a fucking pharmaceutical corporation? Why are you fighting out in the streets and meeting with other Nazi capes when you could be acting through proxies and bankrolling far-right parahuman cells across the country? Like I'm glad he isn't smart enough to think like that but fuck me.

Purity: Like, actually for real dumb as a bag of hammers. Kaiser barely has to try to wrap her back around his finger and she divorced him; Tattletale barely has to try to get her to back down and she thinks Tattletale exposed her identity to the public. Truly nothing in that skull of hers.

Hookwolf: Nazi capes fuck off

Stormtiger: Nazi capes fuck off

Cricket: Nazi capes fuck off

Rune: Nazi capes fuck off

Night: Nazi capes fuck off

Fog: Nazi capes fuck off

Wait does Coil's gang genuinely not have a name

Coil: Everything about this guy just pisses me the fuck off honestly. He presents himself as some kind of lesser evil, a firm but gentle hand that can guide all facets of the city to a brighter future, but he doesn't have the intelligence or vision to back any of it up; he displays nothing but brute force manipulation tactics involving bribery and blackmail, he's tunnel-visioned and cruel to the point that it ruins his own long-term plans, and before I forget everything about his thing with Dinah gives me fucking hives and I want to beat his skull in with my bare hands. I hope Taylor gets to kill him. Oh, or maybe Dinah.

Nameless sniper: Actively cooler and more competent than Coil.

Travelers

Trickster: genuinely cannot trust a man wearing a top hat in the year 2011, not even as a bit

Sundancer: what the fuck went so wrong with your life that your power is The Fucking Sun

Faultline and Co.

Faultline: Ironically not a super strong read off of her in terms of personality. Seems generally pretty cool going off of how she interacts with and leads her team. Very funny that she has a rivalry with Tattletale.

Newter: Little worried that he's selling his body secretions as a drug to other teenagers but if a parahuman only has one red flag that's pretty good actually

Gregor the Snail: This dude rocks, actually, love the vibes he gives off. Shame that people hate him for being fat and a mutant.

Labyrinth: Would like to see more of her when she's back in reality, otherwise not much to go off of. Cool power.

Other Parahumans

Scion: Fucking creepy

Marquis: probably Panacea's dad, calling that shot.

Paige McAbee: Justice For Paige McAbee.

Dinah Alcott: not really a character yet so much as a particularly horrifying MacGuffin but Jesus Christ what an awful fate

Uber and Leet: Gamers should be more oppressed. Also they beat the shit out of sex workers on a livestream and aren't considered serious enough threats to be consigned to the Birdcage, which feels pretty bad.

Heartbreaker: Haven't even met this guy and he sounds fucking awful. Please god somebody take him down.

Normal Humans

Emma Barnes: I need to understand what's wrong with her. Something happened that gave her the temperament and skillset of a CIA torture technician before freshman year of high school and she turned that onto her best friend for reasons totally unbeknownst to us.

Sophia Hess: I don't know I feel that the one bully who does the most physical harm and acts the most aggressive is the black one. Pretty bad I think. She's also clearly got something going on in her head but tbh that feels like it's going to be more straightforward than whatever is wrong with Emma.

Madison Clements: I feel like she's just here so that Taylor could be bullied without overusing the other two. What's your stake in this? Why do you give a shit? Does it matter? Probably not.

Mr. Gladly: I hated every teacher I ever knew who acted like this and I hate him even more for being utterly useless in protecting a student from blatant harassment. Fuck off.

[felonytaxevasion]

For the record here are my other Undersider drunken karaoke night picks I think about this situation a normal amount (lie)

Round 1 - No One Has Added Underage Drinking To Their Daily Crime Journal Yet

Lisa - Lisa starts everyone off with California Girls because she is, in her heart, A California Girl She's Undeniable Daisy Dukes Bikinis on Top. Lisa is probably the closest thing the Undersiders have to a good singer but she's totally hamming it up here to break the ice in hopes Taylor will participate

Aisha - Every single Rihanna album has gone platinum in Aisha Laborn's bedroom and she will take any opportunity to make this fact known. I think she would pick Only Girl In The World because Aisha really feels like Rihanna made that one just for her specifically. Not a singer with technical expertise but she brings the most passion and joy to her performances

Brian - As stated in an earlier post he picks Bruno Mars Beautiful Girls All Over The World, possibly Just The Way You Are. He did not pick them to serenade Taylor specifically but at one point he does make eye contact with Taylor during the chorus and it embarrasses them both. Aisha pretends to vomit.

Alec - picks the exact same song as Brian and does it worse in every way. Intentionally makes eye contact with each of the Undersiders making sure to really draw out Brian's turn

Taylor - Peer pressured enough to participate but not enough to choose a song she actually likes and listens to in fear of being judged. She performs Fireflies by Owl City with real fireflies and it's equal parts charming and horrifying. Lisa cheers too loudly and Alec hides behind Brian and Rachel from the bugs. Taylor vows to never perform at karaoke again

Rachel - refuses to participate

Round 2 - Everyone is Slightly Tipsy

Lisa - Lisa performs Girls Just Want To Have Fun and gets really into it. She only hits half of the high notes but she tries really hard to hit all of them. It's the closest thing to an impressive performance any of them achieve all night

Brian - cuts in front of Aisha to perform Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Performs all nine minutes even while Aisha boos him and also sings the guitar solos. Experiences joy and whimsy for the first time in months

Aisha - Don't Trust Me by 3OH3. While singing the line "I'm a vegetarian and I ain't fucking scared of him" she gets too excited and flings a bracelet off knocking a glass off a table and shattering it. This does not slow her performance for even a second

Alec - Friday by Rebecca Black. Very pleased with the negative reaction this inspires. Aisha tries to chase him off the stage and the latter half of the song is just them wrestling for the microphone

Taylor and Rachel decline to participate and instead sit in the corner and whisper gay things the whole round

Round 3 - Completely Lost In The Sauce Wasted

Lisa - Incredibly Solemn and Serious rendition of Video Games by Lana Del Rey. Alec dims the lights and everyone sans Rachel wave their cellphone flashlights for her

Alec - Alec has spent the entire night lying and telling Aisha he can sing all the words to Rap God by Eminem. He messes up the words in the first verse immediately. Laughs through the rest of the performance and accidentally makes up a new word that becomes he and Aisha's new terrible "inside joke" they insist on saying every five minutes for the next month

Brian - Low by Flo Rida. Does a whole dance routine to go along with it. Everyone except Aisha has a GREAT time

Aisha - Super Bass by Nicki Minaj. High off the excitement of his last performance Brian performs along and completely steals the show. This leads to the first bout of drunken crying (Aisha. Immediately followed by Brian) followed by drunken declarations of love and affirmation

Eventually the affirmations lead to Taylor agreeing to singing one more song so long as every Undersider individually promises her they won't make fun of her. She picks This Is War by Thirty Seconds to Mars because she is a terrible angsty teenager in 2011 and she sings it very badly. Everyone stills cheers for her though and it is a very good finale

On the way home they get Rachel to agree to do the barks if the rest of them sing Who Let The Dogs Out acapella. This footage is captured by street cams and the footage of the teenage warlords walking down the street barking is presented as a "twisted intimidation tactic" by the PRT for the next three years

[variouspolltournaments]

Submissions open for the Siblings Tournament.

SUBMISSIONS CLOSED

Submit some siblings along with where they come from and (if you want) propaganda through ask or submit a post.

Top 6 submissions are the ones I submitted myself.

Sibling relationship must be canon. Because of this I won't be counting characters who see each other as siblings, simply because I feel like it could be difficult to confirm the canonocity of that.

Incest is banned.

All Tournaments can be found on my pinned post. There you can see the ones that have been completed, the ones that are currently running, the ones that are pending and the ones that have submissions open.

@tournament-announcer

Submissions in bold have propaganda, submissions not in bold do not have propaganda. Whether they do or do not have some already, you are still free to submit some.

SUBMISSIONS:

Misa and Tsubasa Isshiki (9 R.I.P.)

Liquang Yetan and Liguang Qingkui (The Starry Love)

Geordo, Alan, Geoffrey and Ian Stuart (Hamefura)

Lucy, Edmund, Peter and Susan Pevensie (Narnia)

Ron and Hana Stoppable (Kim Possible)

Daimen Kazinski, Fortov Kazinski, Zorian Kazinski, and Kirielle Kazinski (Mother of Learning)

Krauss Ushiromiya, Eva Ushiromiya, Rudolf Ushiromiya, and Rosa Ushiromiya (Umineko When They Cry)

Battler Ushiromiya and Ange Ushiromiya (Umineko When They Cry)

Brian Laborn and Aisha Laborn (Worm/Parahumans)

Mion Sonozaki and Shion Sonozaki (Higurashi When They Cry)

Carter Kane and Sadie Kane (The Kane Chronicles)

Kyle Klim/K and Phi (Zero Escape)

Bianca di Angelo, Nico di Angelo, and Hazel Levesque (Percy Jackson and the Olympians/The Heroes of Olympus)

Apollo Justice and Trucy Wright (Ace Attorney)

Light Field/Snake and Clover Field (Zero Escape)

Aoi Kurashiki/Santa and Akane Kurashiki (Zero Escape)

Mimi and Ini Miney (Ace Attorney)

Dahlia Hawthorne and Iris (Ace Attorney)

Suske and Wiske (Suske and Wiske cartoon)

Mia Fey and Maya Fey (Ace Attorney)

Lana Skye and Ema Skye (Ace Attorney)

Strong Mad, Strong Bad and Strong Sad (Homestar Runner)

Papyrus and Sans (Undertale)

Crystal Maiden and Lina (DoTA)

Ulf and Wulf (The Brotherband Chronicles)

Vex and Vax (Critical Role)

Tiffany and Wentworth Aching (Discworld)

Ward, Tosten and Ciarra (The Hurog duology)

Kitty White and Mimmy White (Hello Kitty)

Brian and Aisha Laborn (Worm/Parahumans)

Hallie Parker and Annie James (The Parent Trap)

Julian Devorak and Portia Devorak (The Arcana)

Shimada Hanzo and Shimada Genji (Overwatch)

Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Simon, Sam, Edd, Erik, Jo-jo, Nicko, Septimus and Jenna Heap (Septimus Heap books by Angie Sage)

Juhani, Tuomas, Aapo, Simeoni, Timo, Lauri and Eero Jukola (The Seven Brothers by Aleksis Kivi)

Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck (Disney)

Stanford and Stanley Pines (Gravity Falls)

Velvet and Laphicet Crowe (Tales of Berseria)

Reko and Alice Yabusame (Your Turn to Die)

Rose Lalonde and Dave Strider (Homestuck)

Miki and Kozue Kaoru (Revolutionary Girl Utena)

Strauss siblings (Fairy Tail)

Weasley siblings (Harry Potter)

Tsukasa and Mirai (Dr. Stone)

Maddie and Evan Buckley (9-1-1)

Luka and Juleka Couffaine (Miraculous Ladybug)

Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Five, Ben and Vanya/Viktor Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy)

Amity, Emira and Edric Blight (the Owl House)

Hiro and Tadashi Hamada (Big Hero 6)

Adolin and Renarin Kholin (The Stormlight Archive)

Klaus, Violet and Sunny Baudelaire (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

Hansel and Gretel (Fairy tale)

Mario and Luigi (Mario)

Wednesday & Pugsley Addams (The Addams Family)

Vivien and Merlin St. Jacques (The Left-Handed Booksellers of London)

Helen and Richard Gansey (The Raven Cycle)

Declan, Ronan and Matthew Lynch (The Raven Cycle)

Fauna, Flora and Merriweather (Disney)

Jacob & Will Reckless (Mirrorworld)

Jeffrey Spender & Fox Mulder & Samantha Mulder (The X-Files)

Cornelia & Lilian Hale (W.I.T.C.H)

Martha, Lettie & Sophie Hatter (Howl's Moving Castle)

Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia Bennet (Pride & Prejudice)

Anastasia and Drisella Tremaine (Cinderella)

Wendy, John and Michael Darling (Peter Pan)

Vi and Jinx (Arcane)

Haley, Alex and Luke (Modern Family)

May and Max (Pokémon)

Chip and Dale (Chip and Dale)

Leia and Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)

Prim and Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)

Edith, Margo and Agnes (Despicable Me)

Emiko and Oliver Queen (DC)

Conner and Jon Kent (DC)

Jo, Beth and Amy March (Little Women)

Jericho and Rose Wilson (DC)

Ianto and Rhiannon Jones (Torchwood)

Kenai, Sitka and Denahi (Brother Bear)

Ellie, Crash and Eddie (Ice Age)

Judy and Peter Sheperd (Jumanji)

Dante and Vergil (Devil May Cry)

Black and White (Not Me)

Tankhun, Kinn, and Kim (Kinnporsche: The Series)

Porsche and Porchay (Kinnporsche: The Series)

Vegas and Macau (Kinnporsche: The Series)

Pat and Pa (Bad Buddy)

Bai Qing and Bai Lang (My Tooth Your Love)

Tyler, Kinsey and Bode Locke (Locke and Key)

Mafalda and Guille (Mafalda)

Bryce and Jackie Napier (DC)

Jack and Jill Wolcott (Wayward Children)

Merricat and Constance Blackwood (We Have Always Lived in the Castle)

Ruffnut and Tuffnut from How to Train Your Dragon

Cinderpelt and Brightheart from Warrior Cats

Firestar and Scourge from Warrior Cats

Twigbranch and Violetshine from Warrior Cats

Snowfall, Mink and Crystal from Wings of Fire

Burn, Blister and Blaze from Wings of Fire

Pearl and Fathom from Wings of Fire

Darkstalker and Whiteout from Wings of Fire

Wren and Leaf from Wings of Fire

Peril and Sky from Wings of Fire

Glory and Jambu from Wings of Fire

Winter, Hailstorm and Icicle from Wings of Fire

Tsunami, Turtle, Anemone and Auklet from Wings of Fire

Sawgrass, Egret, Bayou, Possum and Copperhead from Wings of Fire

Clay, Reed, Marsh, Pheasant, Crane, Sora and Umber from Wings of Fire

Squirrelflight and Leafpool from Warrior Cats

Jayfeather, Lionblaze and Hollyleaf from Warrior Cats

Blue and Luna from Wings of Fire

Ivypool and Dovewing from Warrior Cats

Satsuki and Mei Kusakabe (My Neighbour Totoro)

Seita and Setsuko Yokokawa (Grave of the Fireflies)

Sunday and Robin (Honkai: Star Rail)

rilliane d'autriche and allen avadonia/alexiel d'autriche (The Evillious Chronicles)

Wen Qing and Wen Ning (Mo Dao Zu Shi)

Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup (The PowerPuff girls)

Brick, Boomer and Butch (The PowerPuff Girls)

Hoagie and Tommy Gilligan (Codename: Kids Next Door)

Kuki and Mushi Sanban (Codename: Kids Next Door)

Wallabee and Joey Beatles (Codename: Kids Next Door)

Abigail and Cree Linclon (Codename: Kids Next Door)

Vicky and Tootie (The Fairly Oddparents)

Ed and Sarah (Ed, Edd n Eddy)

Lee, Marie and May Kanker (Ed, Edd n Eddy)

Larry and Loopy Cooper (Kablam!)

Dib & Gaz (Invader Zim)

Taichi & Hikari Yagami (Digimon Adventure)

Yamato Ishida and Takeru Takaishi (Digimon Adventure)

Jianliang and Shaochung Lee (Digimon Tamers)

Ai and Makoto (Digimon Tamers)

Kouji Minamoto and Koichi Kimura (Digimon Frontier)

Olivier Mira and Alex Louis Armstrong (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Liz and Patty Thompson (Soul Eater)

Arachne, Medusa and Shaula Gorgon (Soul Eater)

Ryuko Matoi and Satsuki Kiriyuin (Kill la Kill)

Panty and Stocking Anarchy (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt)

Light and Sayu Yagami (Death Note)

Yo and Minatsuki Takami (Deadman Wonderland)

Kaori and Akira Tanaka (Shiki)

Saya Otonashi and Diva (Blood+)

Rem and Ram (Re:Zero)

Lye Batenkaitos, Roy Alphard and Rui Arneb (Re:Zero)

Mimi, Hetaro and Tivey Pearlbaton (Re:Zero)

Albedo and Nigredo (Overlord)

Aura Bella Fiora and Mare Bello Fiore (Overlord)

Tia and Tina (Overlord)

Enri and Nemu Emmot (Overlord)

Renner, Zanac and Barbro Vaseif (Overlord)

Malty S. and Melty Q. Melromarc (The Rising of the Shield Hero)

Atla and Fohl Fayon (The Rising of the Shield Hero)

Rudeus, Aisha and Norn Greyrat (Mushoku Tensei)

Louise, Cattleya and Eleonore de la Valliere (Familiar of Zero)

Madoka and Tatsuya Kamane (Puella magi Madoka Magica)

Akame and Kurome (Akame ga Kill!)

Ton and Cott (Monster Musume)

Rebecca and Pilar (Cyberpunk: Edgerunners)

The Valac Siblings (Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun!)

Lily and Viole Asmodeus (Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun!)

Shinra and Sho Kusakabe (Fire Force)

Hinata and Hikage (Fire Force)

Lala Satalin, Momo Belia and Nana Aster Deviluke (To Love Ru)

Dennis and Dee Reynolds (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia)

David and Amy Haller (Legion)

Kerry and Cary Loudermilk (Legion)

Norman and Courtney Babcock (Paranorman)

Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang (Mo Dao Zu Shi)

Serina, Nomi, and Renzo Tessaro (The Grace and Fury Book Series)

Delia and Deidre Dennis (Batman Beyond)

Ned and Amy Needlemeyer (Nightmare Ned)

Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling (Darkstalkers)

Maitake and Aitake (Dorohedoro)

Kittan, Kiyoh, Kinon and Kiyal Bachika (Gurren Lagann)

Wilbur Whately and the Dunwich Horror (The Cthulhu Mythos)

Nug and Yeb (The Cthulhu Mythos)

Pyrrha and Patroklos (Soulcalibur)

Idia and Ortho Shroud (Twisted Wonderland)

Kassandra and Alexios (Assassin's Creed Odyssey)

Dipper and Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls)

Daggett, Norbert, Chelsea and Stacy Beaver (The Angry Beavers)

Lanny and Leonard (The X-Files)

Adell, Hanako and Taro (Disgaea 2)

Kori and Yusa (Dropkick on My Devil)

Kyon-Kyon and Ran-Ran (Dropkick on My Devil)

Jou, Shin and Shuu Kido (Digimon Adventure)

Daisuke and Jun Motomiya (Digimon Adventure 02)

Archnemon and Mummymon (Digimon Adventure 02)

Terriermon and Lopmon (Digimon Adventure 02: Hurricane Touchdown)

Masaru and Chika Daimon (Digimon Savers)

Relena and Thoma H. Norstein (Digimon Savers)

Nene and Yuu Amano (Digimon Xros Wars)

Mervamon and Iguneetmon (Digimon Xros Wars)

Yuuko and Yuugo Kamishiro (Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth)

Kaito and Miu Shinonome (Digimon Survive)

Rei and Neo Saiba (Digimon Adventure V-Tamer)

Pal and Pul (Digimon Adventure V-Tamer)

Jared, Simon and Mallory Grace (Spiderwick Chronicles)

Sam Oliver and Morgan (Reaper)

Dexter and Debra Morgan (Dexter)

Astor Bennett, Cody Bennett and Harrison Morgan (Dexter)

Data and Lore (Star trek: the Next Generation)

Dana, Melissa, Bill and Charles Scully (The X-Files)

Clay and Jessie Bailey (Xiaolin Showdown)

Eustace and Horace Bagge (Courage the Cowardly Dog)

The Delightful Children from Down the Lane (Codename: Kids Next Door)

The Interesting Twins from Beneath the Mountain (Codename: Kids Next Door)'

The Annoyingly Cute Triplets Who Lived Upon the Hill (Codename: Kids Next Door)

Fanny, Paddie and Shaunie Fulbright (Codename: Kids Next Door)

Monty and Benedict Uno (Codename: Kids Next Door)

Danny and Jazz Fenton (Danny Phantom)

Katara and Sokka (Avatar: the Last Airbender)

Iroh and Ozai (Avatar: the Last Airbender)

Eska and Desna (The Legend of Korra)

Mako and Bolin (The Legend of Korra)

Jinora, Ikki, Meelo and Rohan (The Legend of Korra)

Bumi, Kya and Tenzin (The Legend of Korra)

Suyin and Lin Beifong (The Legend of Korra)

Richie and Billy-Glen Norris (Mars Attacks!)

Cedric and Neville Williams (Mars Attacks!)

Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson (The Simpsons)

Marge, Selma and Patty Bouvier (The Simpsons)

Rod and Todd Flanders (The Simpsons)

Sherri and Terri Mackleberry (The Simpsons)

Henrietta and Bradley Biggle (South Park)

Ramelthal, Elphelt and Jack-O Valentine (Guilty Gear)

Parasoul and Umbrella (Skullgirls)

Carl Clover and Nirvana / Ada Clover (Blazblue)

Renge and Sayuri (Monster Girl Island)

Briar Moss, Trisana Chandler, Daja Kisubo, and Sandrilene Fa Toren (Circle of Magic)

The Slicer Brothers (Fullmetal Alchemist)

The Mizune Sisters (Soul Eater)

Pot of Fire and Pot of thunder (Soul Eater)

Saya, Kai and Riku Otonashi (Blood+)

Chan and En (Deadman Wonderland)

Ichi and Hajime Mikawa (Deadman Wonderland)

Garfiel Tinzel, Fredrica Baumann, Rafiel Thompson and Fred Thompson (Re:Zero)

Bukubukuchagama and Peroroncino (Overlord)

Pursena and Tersena Adoldia (Mushoku Tensei)

Linia and Minitona Dedoldia (Mushoku Tensei)

Lucy, Lara, Lily, Chrsitina, Ars and Sieghart Saladin Greyrat (Mushoku Tensei)

Kanade and Rea Uryuu (Platinum End)

Lisa and Mimi Alpacas (Peter Grill and the Philosopher's Time)

Peter and Lucy Grill (Peter Grill and the Philosopher's Time)

Chizuru and Tayura Minamoto (Kanokon)

Nozomu and Saku Ezumori (Kanokon)

Ai and Ren Nanao (Kanokon)

Shio and Asahi Koube (Happy Sugar Life)

Otohime, Gouken and Kikyo Yamato (Maken-Ki)

Alilu and Lilu Finian (Maken-Ki)

Clair and Elena Aoki (Gleipnir)

Hikari, Kageri and Akari Domina (Domina no Do!)

Fran, Veronica and Gavrill Madaraki (Franken Fran)

Akira and Rika Hokage (Boy Soprano)

Scott and Alex Summers (Marvel / X-Men)

Anna Marie, Kurt Wagner and Graydon Creed (Marvel / X-Men)

Piotr and Illyana Rasputin (Marvel / X-Men)

Pietro and Wanda Maximoff (Marvel / X-Men / Avengers)

Sam and Paige Guthrie (Marvel / X-Men)

Charles Xavier and Cain Marko (Marvel / X-Men)

Sergei Nikolaevich Kravinoff and Dmitri Nikolaevich Smerdyakov (Marvel / Spider-Man)

Diana Prince and Donna Troy (DC / Wonder Woman)

Starfire and Blackfire (Teen Titans animated series)

Edgar and Eric Jomfru (Metalocalypse)

Agent 216 and the Metal-Masked Assassin (Metalocalypse)

Gisa and Geralf (Magic the Gathering)

The Vendilion Clique (Magic the Gathering)

The Sisters of Stone Death (Magic the Gathering)

Urza and Mishra (Magic the Gathering)

The Primarchs (Warhammer 40k)

Marazhai and Yremeryss Aezyrraesh (Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader)

Briza, Vierna, Maya, Dinin and Drizzt Do'Urden (Dungeons & Dragons / The Legend of Drizzt)

Eilistraee and Vhaeraun (Dungeons & Dragons)

Boromir and Faramir (Lord of the Rings)

Eowyn and Eomer (Lord of the Rings)

Smeagol and Deagol (Lord of the Rings)

Punie, Potaro and Pyun Tanaka (Magical Witch Punie-chan)

Koneko and Kuroka Toujou (High School DxD)

Shidou Itsuka, Kotori Itsuka and Mana Takamiya (Date a Live)

Kagura and Yuzuru Yamai (Date a Live)

Mitsuba, Futaba and Hitoha Marui (Mitsudomoe)

Miku and Ryuuta Sugisaki (Mitsudomoe)

Kazuya and Kazuha Aoi (Freezing)

Satellizer, Louis and Violet el Bridget (Freezing)

Chihiro and Mero Furuya (Sankarea)

Hiroshi and Kaede Yuuki (Full Dive)

Alicia and Martin (Full Dive)

Megumin and Komekko (Konosuba)

Dina and Ziyu Pan (Kandagawa Jet Girls)

Mari and Chiyo Kurihara (Prison School)

Zuko and Azula (Avatar: the Last airbender)

Suigintou, Shinku, Suiseiseki, Souseiseki, Hina Ichigo, Kanaria and Kirakishou (Rozen Maiden)

Jun and Nori Sakurada (Rozen Maiden)

Hayase, Misaki and Taiga Nagatoro (Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro)

Reito and Mahiru Mizuhara (World's End Harem)

Maria and Chifuyu Rehn Kuroda (World's End Harem)

Shouta and Mayu Doi (World's End Harem)

Himari, Yachiho, Maia, Homare and Yumina Azuma (Chained Soldier)

Yuuki and Aoba Wakura (Chained Soldier)

Liliane, Sherwood, Emile, Severin, Sylvia, Gilliam and Salieri von Phoenix (Princess Resurrection)

Hiro and Sawawa Hiyorimi (Princess Resurrection)

Flandre, Francisca, Flanders, Franz, Francette, Fratellis, Franzel and Francine (Princess Resurrection)

Astarotte Ygvar and Asuha Touhara (Astarotte's Toy)

Porhelga and Sigurd Sveinnsson Svarthaed (Astarotte's Toy)

Olivia and her brother (No name given) (Asobi Asobase)

Dokuro and Zakuro Mitsukai (Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan)

Dawn and Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Gary and Tucker (Are You Afraid of the Dark?)

Morty and Summer Smith (Rick & Morty)

Hank Venture, Dean Venture and Dermott Fictel (The Venture Bros)

Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture and Jonas Venture Jr. (The Venture Bros)

Nancy and Drew Qwymn (The Venture Bros)

Pickles and Seth (Metalocalypse)

Stan and Shelly Marsh (South Park)

Kyle and Ike Broflovski (South Park)

Kenny, Karen and Kevin McCormick (South Park)

Hannah and Lex Foster (Hatchetfield)

Renka, Hanabi and Kafuru (Senran Kagura)

Gekkou and Senkou (Senran Kagura)

Imu and Murasaki (Senran Kagura)

Yumi and Fubuki (Senran Kagura)

Ikaruga and Murasame (Senran Kagura)

Mako and Mataro Makanshoku (Kill la Kill)

Maril and Merrill Cavendish (Little Witch Academia)

Honoka and Kasumi Takamiya (Witch Craft Works)

Sophia Croft & Frederick Wentworth (Persuasion)

Marianne, Margaret and Elinor Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility)

Scott and Stacey Pilgrim (Scott Pilgrim)

Batty, Jane, Skye and Rosalind Penderwick (The Penderwicks)

Diarmuid and Aileron (The Fionavar Tapestry)

Noa and Gus (Specter Inspectors)

Kate and Beth Kane (DC)

Mac and Dylan Coyle (Paper Girls)

Matthew, Henry, Rory, Clay and Tommy Dunbar (Bridge of Clay)

Matthew, Judah and Patience Buckner (Cabin in the Woods)

Elizabeth, Veronica and Margaret Liones (Nanatsu no Taizai)

Finis and Cardia Beckford (Code Realize)

Clawdeen and Clawd Wolf (Monster High)

Godwyn, Morgott, Mogh, Rykard, Ranni, Radahn, Miquella and Mallenia (Elden Ring)

George, Charlie and Ted Fan (Nancy Drew)

Dexter and Dee Dee (Dexter's Lab)

[ewingstan]

The Undersiders were never exactly stable as a group, but it does seem notable just how volatile their situation with Tattletale is currently. Yeah, Tattletale's an institution, yeah, she can get entire teams of independent heroes fighting with a call, but the other Undersiders might as well be one of those independent teams at this point. Tattletale wanted to present the Undersiders as a unified power block for Victoria to approach, but she pretty quickly ended up in a two-front defense having to actively convince Imp and Needlepoints that she hadn't gone over a line.

And though she plays it off, keeping everyone happy seems like an active challenge. Parian and Foil never really had the same forged-in-blood intense emotional bond as the core Undersiders, and have little sense of camraderie with the others. Parian is still treating the Undersiders as what Skitter originally pitched it as to her, as a team she could help people under that just so happens to be labeled villainous. Her leaving if she feels like she's aiding something truly evil is an active possibility. Foil is only here for Parian, and has an even stronger incentive to go against anything that stinks of archetypal villainy. And Aisha "killer of would-be warlords" Laborn is an active check on Lisa's ambitions at this point. I almost interpret her "if you think your getting rid of me line" as a threat.

The only people she can fully depend on to have her back for more underhanded moves are Rachel, who she's never been as close to as her other teammates, and Chicken Little, who she outright says she's keeping around cause he reminds her of Taylor (oh yeah get another close emotional attachment to someone who reminds you of a self-destructive loved one that worked out great the last time). I'm starting to get why Lisa always let Brian or Taylor lead things while they were around; she can manage people, but she can't bring them together like they could. And she's pretty obviously hurting from the absence.

[nonplatonicsubtext]

Worm bingo imp "aisha" laborn

aisha laborn ill be thinking about you for the rest of my fucking life. if ward had to be about an existing character it shouldve been her. cant believe i never made the connection until Literally Today that her being a single dad at age 17 parallels brian. fuck me. im a sucker for sibling dynamics too and its not something we get a lot of in wb works but. gaaaaaaaaaaarghhhhhh fuckin biting. thinks about her holding taylor's hand at the end. i love you she/xie queen you're forever

[joysuscreation]

if i can submit a second character portrait request for your consideration. i would love to see a happy brian laborn...thinking oncemore about how before all the horrors happen to him he's described as smiling like a kid at his birthday party and i feel like your artstyle would be So perfect for representing it. enamored with how much personality you draw mouths with

Hmmmmm…possibly

[lakesbian]

you're not misremembering his trigger event, wildbow's dumb ass just forgot to include one critical detail about it in the text and only delivered it via WoG on IRC: brian lied. his ass was fucking lying. he was out there telling lies. not about beating up his abuser for aisha, but about being cold and emotionless during it.

this is what i call the Brian DLC Patch. i.e the bonus information that should've been in the story that's critical for understanding his character. i'm just gonna lazily copy-paste my previous explanation of it:

so yeah, no, you have it exactly, his power exists to hide him. it makes it so no one can see, hear, or even smell him, but he can still watch them. it makes him look bigger, and him trying to look bigger is a form of hiding, too. he'd love everyone to think his trigger event was him being confrontational and tough, but the reality is that he was scared, and he wanted to be able to hide himself and aisha from the man he was scared of. brian laborn is the character ever and we should all like him very much

Hello Worm fandom!

Does anyone know any good analysis/explanation on how trigger events and powers are linked? I don't really get how powers are determined, sorry.

[ranku-abadeer]

I’ve been thinking about Grue lately. (Big spoilers)

I hear a lot when he comes up about how he’s an under-developed character, even to the point where people question how his trigger event lines up with his power. (yes I’m aware that Wildbow has said that he lied about his trigger, I’m referring to people who claim that he made up the entire thing) And honestly, I’m thinking that his character building is a lot more subtle than people give him credit for, and a good portion of that character building ties right in to the details of his power and the story he told about his trigger event.

So I guess this has been a long time coming, it’s time for me to give Grue the treatment I gave his sister. 

First off, I want to establish an idea. Brian Laborn has what you could possibly call two distinct “personalities”, not in the traditional sense, but rather that he has two distinct sides to him that actually don’t overlap much but yet compliment each other in an interesting way.

There is Brian, the relatively laid back, hard working, compassionate, guy who learns quickly, and gets bored once he starts hitting diminishing returns. The guy who would do anything for his family members, and gets offended when Taylor says he sounds noble for saying so. The guy who is willing to become a career criminal in order to get into the position to become his sister Aisha’s legal guardian.

The guy who gives that “boyish smile” that Taylor fell in love with.

And then there is Grue, the methodical, practiced supervillain who thinks nothing of breaking the jaw of someone who was unwillingly recruited into the ABB. The guy who uses intimidation tactics and is concerned with his reputation and always votes for the plan that minimizes the risk to their team, even if the reward is a fraction of the other option. The guy who takes charge of his team and will go after any weakness that he sees in a confrontation. The “macho” guy who would cover up any weakness he sees in himself or else it will end up being taken advantage of in a confrontation.

The guy who can calmly have a verbal sparring match with supervillains who have multiple kills under their belt, and then lash out as soon as no one is looking.

These two sides of him don’t really clash, but instead sort of flow between each other. This isn’t too surprising, after all, just about every cape has some form of crisis of identity, after all Taylor herself has issues with blending the ruthless nature of “Skitter” and the heroism of “Weaver” when she joins the wards.

But Brian had this identity crisis a while ago, he’s been a cape for 3 years before the story began. He found his “middle ground” between these two personas, but the thing is... this “middle ground” is actually fairly lopsided. In the battle between his identities, Grue seems to have won. 

He seems like a fairly open guy at the beginning of he story, but the truth is that he’s not always telling the truth. He hedges when Taylor mentions his combat training, he trails off when he can tell he’s outnumbered in his team, he doesn’t really share his feelings, and he avoids his problems.

In fact, he avoids a lot of things, his emotions, discussing his family, risks in his career, and the eyes of those who hold any sort of power over him. And he forgets that people can see how much he’s avoiding being seen. Taylor does note after all that when he’s at meetings among villains and when he’s stressed out by the attention of someone that he produces visibly more darkness around his body. She says it’s to make himself look bigger, I say it’s to hide.

Let’s look at his trigger event, or rather, what he said his trigger event was.  

  “We weren’t close.  It wasn’t really possible, since I was living at the south end of the city and she was up here.  But one night, I got a text from her.  Two words: ‘Help me’.  I called, but the line was busy.  To this day, I don’t know why I took it so seriously, but I got over to my mom’s place as fast as was humanly possible.  Ran out the front door, sprinted two blocks to Lord Street, downtown, and grabbed a cab.  Left the cab driver shouting for his money as I charged through the front door of my mom’s place and found my sister.

“She’d been crying, but she wasn’t saying what was wrong.  I didn’t bother asking a second time.  I gave her a hug, picked her up and started to leave.  A man I didn’t recognize got in my way.  My mom’s new boyfriend.

“I knew he was the reason she had texted me for help, from the moment I saw her reaction.  Maybe I’d suspected there was something going on even before that, from the way her emails and texts had changed in tone.  It would explain that gut feeling I’d had that made me get over there as fast as I did.  I saw her shrink back, I felt her hold me tighter, and I went cold inside.

Immediately after this line, Brian pauses for a long enough period of time that Taylor thinks that he had finished his story already before he starts on a tangent for “context”, describing how his father taught him to fight. That pause was meaningful, he was stopping to think about how continuing to talk would make him appear weak, because he just conveniently sounds very bad-ass when he gets back to his story.

I didn’t say a word, didn’t make a sound.  I put my sister down and beat my mother’s boyfriend within an inch of his life, my mother screaming and wailing the entire time.  When I was done, I picked my sister up and returned to the cab.  We went to my father’s that night, and we went to the police station in the morning.”

“When you throw a punch barehanded, it doesn’t leave your hands pristine.  A few good swings, you connect solidly with someone’s face, someone’s teeth, and it tears the fuck out of your knuckles.  It was at my father’s place that night, washing and cleaning my hands, when I saw it.  It wasn’t just blood leaking out of my torn up knuckles, but there was the darkness too, like wisps of really black smoke.  You hear about the trigger event, you might think it’s all about rage or fear.  But I’m a testament that it can be just the opposite.  I didn’t feel a fucking thing.”

Now let me just go ahead and say, those lines in bold are all lies. According to Wildbow himself, Brian was abused as a kid by one of his mom’s boyfriends, and when he came to help Aisha, he saw the exact same man and knew that he had done to Aisha what he had done to Brian. 

Now let’s look at some details about his power. He generates clouds of darkness that block out all light and sound and muck with your sense of touch and these clouds do not affect him at all. But there’s also another detail that gets forgotten due to how rarely it comes up.

Scentless man makes Brutus nervous because he is big but he has no smell.  But he is Master’s alpha so Master stops and listens.

-Brutus

Darkness boy isn’t around anymore or I’d be able to smell him.”

-Stormtiger

 I could smell his sweat, with the faint traces of his deodorant beneath.  It was funny, because when we’d settled in, I hadn’t been able to smell anything.

-Taylor

When Brian is using, or has recently used his power, he has no scent. But the thing is, that all 3 of those people have displayed being able to smell things inside his darkness, only Brian’s scent is gone when his power is being used, no other smell is affected. It also just happens that the first person to bring this up is a dog who throughout the chapter repeatedly mentions smelling emotions from other characters. 

So when faced with the person who had hurt him when he was a kid, who had been hurting his sister, he gets a power that lets him hide himself. A power that means people can’t see him shrink back or flinch, a power that means you can’t hear him scream or whimper, a power that means you can’t feel how badly he’s shaking, and a power that means no one can smell his fear. He’s a perfect stranger trigger.... 

But there’s more to it, He’s not the one who needs to hide, not really. He’s a fit teenager, he’s had experience in the boxing ring, he doesn’t just know how to throw a punch, he knows how to take a punch. But above all else he wants to keep those close to him from experiencing the things he has, which is the perfect stress for a shaker trigger. So of course his power doesn’t blind him, he still hears the screams, he still sees the violence, he still feels every tremble of his body perfectly, but everyone else is shielded from it. He didn’t break when his mom’s boyfriend beat him, he broke when his mom’s boyfriend moved on to beating his sister.

He didn’t break when Bonesaw had cut his chest open and crucified him in a walk-in freezer with his organs on display and added nerve endings stretched across the room, making him feel immense pain any time someone even entered the room. He even remained stubborn and refused to use his power to keep Bonesaw from getting the data on his power that she wanted, it didn’t matter how badly she tortured him, he could take it.

But the second his team are dragged out in front of him, with taylor’s skull cut open and Bonesaw straddling Aisha while holding a circular saw? 

Then it stopped.  I could hear a strangled noise.

“Aw.  Look at his heart beating!  So fast!”

...

Another strangled noise, trying and failing to form words.  It was so forced and ragged that it made my own throat seize up in sympathy.

Then Bonesaw starts taunting him. She tells him about how much suffering they have already put his sister through, how they had her begging them for help a while ago and he only just found out about it.

He made a sound that might have been a growl or a howl of rage, but there was no volume to it, and it was more high-pitched than anything else.

Once he finds out how his sister has been hurt badly by those who have hurt him, he howls in rage.

I felt a hand pat my cheek.

...

“It’s just so funny, watching him react.  His heart beat faster when I touched her.”

and then she calls out him reacting to her threats and Burnscar readies to attack his friends and his darkness pools out and he has a second trigger.

Now compare this to his first trigger. My interpretation of the exact scene would be that Brian recognized the man who had abused them both, and he taunted them, talking down about them both. Brian most certainly reacted to how he talked about Aisha. Brian was terrified of the situation, But he wanted to be a shield, he trusted his body and knew what he wanted to do, to beat the abuser’s face in, like how he punched his mom’s boyfriend in the face until his knuckles bled, and how he pulped burnscar’s skull against a counter-top, and above all else he didn’t want people to see any sign of weakness from him, and he wanted to shield those he cared about from the violence around them. And most importantly he wanted them to not see how violent/abusive HE was capable of being. Which I believe is part of one of the biggest details about a line that he says in arc 2 and expands on in arc 5. A line that I actually have never seen anyone bring up in discussions about him.

“I hate this, Rachel.  That you make me do shit like this.  That when I say things like that, I sound like everything I hate most in this world.

That right there. His issues with abusive family members aren’t just limited to his trigger event, this at times leads to extreme self hatred, because he is aware of how similar he is to the people who haunt him at times, he’s even caught himself lashing out at Aisha in similar ways before, and that was a pivotal moment in his life.

“I know, but you’re not getting it.  I was the type to go after someone if they showed a vulnerability.  Wasn’t until I’d had my powers about a year, Aisha tells me I was being an asshole, just like one of her stepdads used to be.  So I tried to be better, but I always wanted to protect her, always wanted to help others. 

He’s deeply afraid of being like other people in his family, and it’s not just his mom’s boyfriends that bother him. He seems to have other traumas specifically related to his mom that eat at him that he doesn’t tell anyone about, even to the point where Aisha is less bothered by their mom’s issues than he is.

“And mommy’s on a bender,” Aisha said.  “Don’t think it’ll end anytime soon.”

It was odd, but Brian looked more upset at hearing that than Aisha was about saying it aloud.  Hadn’t he grown up with his dad?

15.1

“Look, Mr. Laborn, we have to consider Aisha’s perspective.  She’s a serial runaway.  She clearly doesn’t see your father’s place as a home.  Extra care should be given to ensure she sees this as one.  Assuming she winds up here and not at her mother’s.”

“My mother’s,” Brian’s expression took on a more serious cast.

“I’m aware of your concerns on the subject of Aisha’s mother, Mr. Laborn.”

6.3

All together it’s clear that even pre-Bonesaw, Brian was a deeply traumatized individual who was just good enough at putting up a false face and avoiding his traumas enough that no one could use it against him. Good enough even that us readers could barely see a sign of it.

Except his fears still get expressed notably no matter how much he hides them, in fact, they get noticed because he hides them. Every time he is faced with his traumas and fears he defaults to “orders, rules and self-discipline” according to tattletale’s power, and he is always noted to make himself appear larger to the point where his body language is impossible to read.

When faced with the members of Empire-88 accusing him of being aggressive on neutral ground, he swells up to “look more imposing” or possibly to hide his body language from the neo-nazi’s who have a history of attacking his family and have almost certainly targeted him in his civilian identity at some point. When he is spit up by Echidna he becomes a blob of shadow so shapeless that Taylor can’t tell what position he was sitting in. And then when he sees Bonesaw standing across from him at a meeting between major cape groups, his darkness was literally writhing as he struggled to not look at her, which his teammates immediately knew was him withdrawing and burying all of his emotions, every time he does it, his team notices and quickly figures out the reason.

The one time he doesn’t do this is after his second trigger, where he is on his knees, visibly sobbing in front of his entire team, the one time where the pain is so raw that he can’t hide, his default instincts of self discipline fail. 

His power helps him hide, but not well enough to keep those close to him from knowing his reactions. But still well enough to keep everyone, including the readers, from seeing too much of the traumatized scared teenager who knows he is in way over his head named Brian, and instead to see the intimidating supervillain with an impressive track-record named Grue.

[lakesbian]

Put the Undersiders in a busy airport or train station. How do they handle it? Who gets onto a the wrong flight/train? How many times would Aisha use her power to get into the cockpit or engine room of the train?

oh my GOD how is putting the undersiders in a busy airport or train station not one of the Situations we've put them in yet. this is great. paging @simurghed urgently. everyone please share your undersiders go to busy airport or train station thoughts this is my favorite kind of autism to engage in

brian is like. You know he's being brian about this. you know he's got his schedule printed out and all the tickets pointed out and they're in some little binder and he's making sure he specifically is carrying it the whole time. and the one time lisa casually reminds him to make sure he has xyz necessary item he's like I Have It, Don't Be Neurotic, because his coping mechanism for being nervous and feeling like a woman is questioning his Authority (<- assumed as the main and eternal coping mechanism) is misogyny. love him.

obviously taylor is bringing bugs with her wherever they go and i like to imagine if theyre sitting down in an airport waiting for a really long time and they were in one of the areas where the birds have gotten inside and are nesting + looking for food (that's a universal airport feature right? the birds that got indoors and just live there now?) she might entertain alec and aisha and also herself by flying bugs around 4 the birds and leading them on little hunting excursions and into loops and shit.

aisha takes selfies in the cockpit or engine room (shes posing next to the pilot and making bunny ears behind their head with her fingers) whenever she gets bored and then comes back to show them to alec and brian realizes theres Muffled Laughter happening in their row after aishas been Not There for a while and is like. hmm. that cant be good. and is doing a really bad job of trying to twist himself out of his seat casual-style to find out whats all that then. i can also imagine him insisting on seating himself next to aisha

...three seat plane rows. brian sitting in the middle of aisha and alec and having a wretched time. taylor rachel and lisa lezzing it up in the row in front of them.

i think alec would really enjoy take-off on a plane because Wheee he's all floaty :) and then spend the next however many hours experiencing boredom-induced ego death. possible activities include: fiddling around on his ds. making a little teenager-typical 2011-era flipaclip animation. accidentally falling asleep on brian's arm and starting to snore and drool while aisha is doing the same thing on his other arm. watching a bad movie on his little in-flight tv screen and hopefully trying to engage both brian and aisha in conversation about it because he wants to have friends.

okay i diverged from the point of air Port or train Station sorry. ive never been in a real train station so i have less to speak for there but i think it would be fun to watch the undersiders get crotchety with each other in a long line for overpriced airport food.

imagine if you will brian and taylor trying to fit comfortably in a Nappable Position in the chairs in the flight waiting area. leg cramp city

i think this would all probably be very stressful for rachel :( maybe she andt aylor should hold hands about it. to be safe.

i want to see how lisa tries to make waiting in an airport an enriching and fulfilling activity for taylor so bad. honestly it would probably be no matter what. real bonding experience.

brian laborn tries to carry 9 suitcases at once: and other fun adventures in toxic masculinity

alec vasil has to go pee, right now, for approximately 10-15 minutes, when he's asked to find something in a heavy bag: and other fun adventures in shirking responsibility

aisha laborn's mysterious magical snack manifestation: and other fun adventures in robbing the airport

you know if they were at a busy train station brian would do that thing where he ushers the undersiders around physically and it is fully an indicator of his psychological issues but also it'd be cute. it'd be cute to watch him blocking the crowd so everyone else could move more comfortably and use his Height Advantage to guide everyone most efficiently by pressing on their backs. his psychological issues are endearing

people keep asking about How Much Longer Until Boarding and lisa starts getting bored and providing real-time updates of the Precise amount of time left. if theres a delay she reads out why too

???

its nice. to imagine if they could have a fun time going to locations.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

You just needed one look at Aisha to know that she was going to be drop dead gorgeous when she had finished growing up.  All that said, though, she had a streak of hair bleached and some of that bleached hair had been dyed into a stripe of purple.  It was as though she had gone out of her way to look trashy, with ripped denim shorts over neon green fishnet leggings, and a strapless top I would hesitate to even call underwear.  Any envy I felt towards her was accented by an almost offended feeling, as far as how she was spoiling what she’d been naturally given.

Yeesh. Do I have to call in Fashion Jasper from over at Loreweaver’s blog again? I think I do.

“Am I interrupting?” she said, her tone vaguely mocking, as she gave me a look I couldn’t quite figure out.

Please don’t be a bitch, Aisha. Yes, I do want you to call these two out and force them to bumble their way through that situation, but please be the type to do it in a loving manner.

“Aisha,” Brian stood up, “What are you doing here?  You-” he stopped as a solid, heavyset black woman entered through the front door.  Where Aisha’s glance my way had been ambiguous, the look this woman gave me was anything but.  Disapproval, dislike.

Oh cod.

Ohh cod.

I think we’ve got a mother on our hands here.

I realized what I must look like, slightly sweaty, on the floor amid pieces of furniture, stomach showing, practically glowing with a pink blush.  I hurried to grab my sweatshirt and pull it on.

Sure, that’s not incriminating you further.

“Mr. Laborn?” the heavy woman said, “I’m afraid I expected you to be more prepared, but it seems like you’re in the middle of something.”

Well.

It’s not his mom. I guess that’s a good thing. But on the other hand, it seems they have run out of time, which is almost definitely worse than the mom alternative.

[lakesbian]

fyi. you do not want to follow me yet if you care even a little about worm spoilers because i am just going around Posting Shit About The Whole Book 24/7. and i would actually recommend caring about worm spoilers because it's fun to be surprised by some of the shit that's gonna happen. but anyway

i will also thoroughly defend most of the happenstances of Boys Thinking That Talking About Their Feelings Is Girly Shit. taylor commentating "woah bitch is strong....not as strong as a man would be though" is authorial misogyny and all, but for the most part, worm is...really refreshingly good about gender. for all that worm is infuriatingly lesbophobic, i would kill for every book written by a dude to contain worm's level of important female characters written w/ interiority, nuance, and care. yeah, the narrator still can't shut the fuck up about the breast size of random women, but also the women in this book are some of the most viscerally human characters i have ever seen in anything ever. (and i'd ballpark that about 65% of taylor's bad opinions about gender are bad on purpose and intended to be read as a direct result of her trauma.) i presume you're talking about brian specifically here when you bring up unhealthy attitudes towards gender, though, because he's the poster child for that shit. to which i must inform you that this is actually an intentional and really well-written character detail, it's just that wildbow's dumb fucking ass just Didn't Include the singular piece of background information about brian which ties the characterization together in the story. he only revealed it via WoG:

brian lied about his trigger event. his ass was fucking lying. he was out there telling lies. not about beating up his abuser for aisha, but about being cold and emotionless during it. about not knowing who the man was.

this is what i call the Brian DLC Patch. i.e the bonus information that should've been in the story that's critical for understanding his character. i'm just gonna lazily copy-paste my previous explanation of it:

so yeah brian is misogynist and thinks feelings are for girls, but it's an intentionally-written maladaptive coping mechanism stemming from his desperate desire to remain strong enough to care for his loved ones despite how weak his trauma makes him feel using the only tools he has. brian laborn my boy :( i love him you should let him into your heart and home

wrt this from you in the other thread:

hmm, that’s fair. I’m crushingly aware of how unreliable Taylor is as a narrator, in terms of how she sees herself and how she understands other people. See: clockblocker being nice to her during the echidna fight and her immediately thinking “does he have an angle or is he fucked in the head” But I have been assuming that wildbow generally agrees with her attitude towards the world: mistrustful of authority, optimistic about people, generally opposed to murder as much as it can be avoided. Something to keep in mind going forward!

worm is excellent at understanding and depicting the ways in which taylor's trauma impacts her worldview! nothing about her philosophies is detached from the way she sees herself & understands other people. her mistrust of authority is deeply informed by the way systems of authority have failed her in the past--she can no longer trust anyone else to do good with the authority they have, and thus compulsively struggles to take control herself, because she's the only person she knows the full intent of. i don't want to say she's the only person she can trust to do the right thing, because i think she's very aware that she often Doesn't do the right thing, but the fact that she knows her own intents & consistently aspires to do what she thinks is the right thing means that she would always rather see herself in power than a random authority figure she's paranoid about. it's why she speedruns becoming the new leader of the undersiders & is so effective at building up her territory.

as for the optimism, she desperately wants to believe that people are capable of working together, and is ruthless in her fight for a future where that's possible, but is still deeply pessimistic about society's general ability to Do The Right Thing. it's a direct result of how society failed her when she was being bullied, and it's the exact reason why she buys into some of alexandria's rhetoric--of course she believes that people need to be forced or tricked into working together & treating each other fairly! society never helped her, and in her mind, it never would without being given a stick & carrot!

the closest she ever gets to being a wildbow mouthpiece is when she's expressing bigoted sentiment wildbow regards as a normal default anyone would believe, e.g her hatred of addicts. but she's a nuanced and genuinely incredibly written character outside of that--if you want to look for wildbow's general philosophies, what the traumatized unreliable narrator teenager believes isn't the part to be taking as his PoV.

as for the issue w/ rachel's gender writing, it just boils down to:

the garden-variety butchphobia of "butch" being used as an insult for her

the authorial uncreativity in her adhering to gender norms like wearing skirts despite their impracticality and her disregard for social constructs (which gender is, but wildbow doesn't realize that)

and alec's got a similar issue going on where it's made explicitly clear that other characters in-universe see him as pretty, effeminate, etc--he's literally homophobically mocked for it during a chapter you're not at yet--but wildbow can't conceptualize the impact that this should have on his relationship to gender. he's ostensibly a bisexual gender non-conforming boy, but still effectively written as a straight and gender-conforming boy, because wildbow can't grasp the way either of those details would actually impact his personal identity. it's only ever relevant when wildbow is calling his sexuality "hedonist" in a WoG or having someone make fun of him for looking like a princess, the rest of the time he just...forgets about it. sucks and tragic because i would love if that little guy was bi and gnc for real.

The way gender is performed in worm is soooo weird. Most of the time, wildbow is pretty good about having people act like people, but sometime people act like they’re in Sex and the City.

There’s this exchange in arc 4 or 5 ish, where Taylor is having lunch with the undersiders sans Rachel, and they get huge greasy burgers. Lisa says to Taylor “ugh I bet you never gain any weight!” “I have to work to put it on. If it makes you feel better, this will be terrible for my skin.” “It does make me feel better!” Teehee

Literally what ??? One of my friends said that she and her friends used to do the whole “compliment/deny compliment & compliment you back” routine in middle school, so I guess real people do this sometimes. It feels straight out of a sitcom, though, and it’s such a weird tonal shift.