#although things are about to get a lot harder with me doing family liveblog nights bc

[charmre]

Impromptu Zelda night!!

Finally made it to and through the last temple in the ice lands and made my way back to the Temple of Time only to find out that my puny, weakened little self can't get past the vitality part of the Temple of Time!! And that there's a FOURTH shrine even lol!!

I acquired fast travel and stocked up on supplies and made my way to the island of the fourth temple and explored around

Haven't gone in yet, but that will be next time!

[journeysintowebcomics]

Worm Liveblog #66

UPDATE 66: Benign Villain

Last time was the last of the interludes! Bonesaw was the last one to be introduced and went to torment Panacea, actually succeeding even if she didn’t join the team. Now it’s time to return to the main story, so let’s do that!

‘Plague’, is the name of this arc. Maybe it’s related to how the Undersiders are taking over parts of the city like a plague, or maybe it’s a description of the Slaughterhouse Nine or Cauldron’s activities. I guess I’ll know for sure once this arc is afoot.

Looks like it’s a moment of peace and relative calm. Taylor is doing origami with a few beetles, while Charlotte and Sierra watch and provide commentary, it seems. Charlotte in particular finds creepy how the beetles are moving in such an organized manner, the opposite to how mindless bugs usually are. Bugs shouldn’t be like that, she says!

“They’re so organized and human.  Bugs shouldn’t act that way.”

“I don’t really believe in thinking that way anymore,” I said, absently.

“What way?”

I had to stop to compose my thoughts.  I glanced at Charlotte, and Sierra, who was standing by the fridge, silently eating her breakfast.  “I don’t believe in shouldn’t, like there’s some universal rules about the way things should be, the way people should act.”

Well it’s easy to think that when you and a lot of people you know have powers that lets you and other beings act in ways they shouldn’t act. I think it’s the kind of mindset you get from watching everyday facts like the laws of physics be treated as an optional thing. You get…this feeling like anything’s possible, maybe? Taylor has adapted quite well to having powers and being involved in a superpower-filled environment! Hard to believe this is the same Taylor from the start of the story. Character development, I love you so much – and there’s still a long way to go.

“So there’s no right or wrong?  People and animals should do whatever?”

“No, there’s always going to be consequences.  Believe me when I say I know about that.  But I do think there’s always going to be extenuating circumstances, where a lot of things we normally assume are wrong become excusable.”

“Like rape? Are you going to tell me there’s a situation where rape is okay?”  Charlotte asked.  I would have thought I’d touched on a hot subject if her voice wasn’t so level.

Oh, sweet baby Jesus. I hope you didn’t sprain a muscle with that particular flailing thought, Charlotte. I thought what Taylor said implicitly explained there are things that don’t become excusable, I mean—how did we get to this from beetles making origami? Things escalated in five seconds flat!

Taylor was only talking about bugs, anyway. So what’s she making here?

I directed a housefly into one hole and settled it inside, then fed a braided length of twine through the holes.  I handed the result to Charlotte and ordered the bugs to start making another.

“A necklace?” Sierra asked.

Ah. I thought the box the beetles were making was…much larger. It’s a box just large enough for a fly to be inside, Sierra and Charlotte each will have this box in some sort of item with them, as a tracker and an alert button of sorts. If they’re ever in danger, all they have to do is crush that box, and a swarm will arrive in a minute or less. It may be good to have it as a necklace, if you have it hanging from your wrist there’s some risk you’ll crush it accidentally and hanging it from your keys has the same danger. It’s a clever way to use her power, that’s for sure. I never stop being amazed at the practical uses of her power.

She’s even making a rudimentary symbol system to alert them if there’s any danger like weapons, or to tell them how many people there’s nearby. That reminds me, what are Sierra and Charlotte going to do? It’s unlikely Skitter would send them to mess with people from dangerous rival groups, so I think it’s possible they’re going to stay here in the territory. Given what the Merchants did, people coming to attack is a possibility.

I drew three lines that crossed in the center, using the flies and beetles that were working on a cube for Sierra.

Asterisk. The word is asterisk.

Just as I hoped, it doesn’t take long for me to find out what these newly-minted henchmen…henchwomen, I guess…are going to do.

“For now, just door to door.  I’m going to mark the places you should visit, where there are families or groups of people.  I need the info I can’t get with my bugs.  Who are the people in my territory?  What do they need: Maybe medical care, clothes, more food, maybe someone’s giving them trouble?  You find out, take notes, then pass that information to me.”

So basically, they’re going to do logistic and administrative work. Just like Taylor promised, they’re not going to do anything criminal. It’s a good induction into Taylor’s budding quasicriminal control over the area, and it should go without any problems given its simplicity.

…

Twenty bucks they have to crush the cube before the arc ends.

For now this is the only task they have to do, they’ll continue making their signal system later. Now it’s time for what most people want to hear about when it’s about working: money. I’m sure they’ll be pleased to know about their payment, being a villain here in Brockton Bay seems to give you quite a lot of money if you have connections, and Taylor here has connections. I’m sure she can spare enough money to give them a very good salary.

“We’ll try for six to eight hours a day, five days a week, but consider it flexible. Not to spook you or anything, but I’ll know if you’re slacking.  I’m thinking two hundred and fifty dollars a day, and obviously it’s under the table, so you’re not getting taxed on it.”

…two hundred and fifty dollars a day, that’d be $31 per hour, more or less, and $5000 per month, supposing you work twenty days a month. Huh. Can I get hired too?

One of the lessons Taylor learned from Coil is to make your employees want to work for you, and that’s achieved through a good payment and a good work environment suited to you and what you do. Part of these two recruits’ job is also be a moving Human Resources office, looking for people to join the organization and referring them to Taylor. After all, wouldn’t you want to join a place where the employees are paid well and genuinely look happy?

…okay, them wearing masks and most likely looking sinister isn’t going to make a crowd of eager young people gather to take part in this shebang, but maybe that’s for the better.

Ah, Taylor has been doing what she said she’d do! She’s working on costumes and masks for the rest of the Undersiders! It’ll all have the same protections she has, and although it’s not easy, she’s doing her best. She’s using the fabric of the failed attempts to make the masks for her employees.

Charlotte took a black mask that would cover her eyes and the lower half of her face, adjusted it until the eyeholes were in place, and then set about fixing her hair

I’m…having a bit of a hard time picturing that mask. Also, are they wearing uniforms of some sort? I hope they are wearing uniforms! Because it’d be harder to believe a random person with casual clothes and mask is working for Skitter. Just something to keep in mind.

Once Charlotte and Sierra get going to do their job, Taylor returns upstairs to take a breath and reflect on how it’s like to be the new villain boss of this place.

I missed staying at the loft, when things were easy and I was free.  I was happy with how things were going with my new recruits, but I was realizing that living with them would mandate changes to my lifestyle.  There were appearances to maintain, and I couldn’t be seen slacking off or being a slob. I couldn’t sleep in or put off my shower until later in the day.  I couldn’t let myself collapse in a sweaty heap after a hard morning run.  I’d woken up at six in the morning to be sure that I could run, shower, dress and look like I was on top of things by the time they were up.  After a late night, it left me feeling a little worn around the edges.  I harbored some concerns about my ability to help Dinah if this kept up.

Wow do I know how that feels. I miss the days I could sleep in whenever I wanted. But yeah, most of the changes and new behaviors Taylor has to learn is all about keeping appearances, because even if they’re people of her age that I’m sure would understand the feeling of wanting to slack off, you just can’t show such things to your employees. Luckily that all is the kind of stuff you can get used to, except the not being able to sleep in part. That’s something you can’t really get used to, you’re doomed to feeling sleepy when you’re not 100% doing something.

It has been an unspecified amount of time since Bryce’s rescue, and I think it’s a few days, maybe a week. What happened with Alec, Cherish, Rachel and the Siberian was all in the same day, or two days at most, I noticed the visit to Panacea happened at the same time than the Siberian’s visit to Rachel. Taylor was worried Charlotte and Sierra would denounce her to the Protectorate, and spent those days ready to defend herself in case, say, Miss Militia burst in with a grenade launcher, but nothing happened, they returned, willing to be part of Taylor’s work. Nice!

Taylor’s work this morning is mostly working on the costumes, and watching over Sierra and Charlotte, making sure they wouldn’t be in danger, and monitoring them to some extent. Some people ignored the girls’ attempts to talk with them, something Taylor decided was fine for now. Better leave them to get used to the new situation, only if they continue to ignore her attempts to reach out she’ll take charge of that problem.

Apparently overwhelmed with the requests from his various rulers of the Brockton Bay territories, Coil had started delegating some of his people to act as intermediaries.

I wonder how many people are under Coil’s payroll as rulers of territories, other than the Undersiders. I doubt the Protectorate would allow him to take control of the city by installing rulers everywhere, but there must be enough for this to be a big step in the right direction, as far as his plans are concerned, right? The Travelers aren’t ruling any territories, and I don’t think there’s abundance of parahumans to work for him, but there may be a few unnamed ones working in other places of the city.

I got in contact with Mrs. Cranston, the intermediary he’d designated to me, and outlined what I needed.  Waste removal was a big priority, as was clearing out the storm drains so the water could drain from the flooded streets.  I let her know that my services were available if she wanted help identifying where the blockages were, or if the trash removal teams needed protection from interference.

So basically, the rulers of the territories are expected to do most of the work when it’s about improving the conditions of their places, as if they’re the mayors of tiny cities. That’s kind of neat. Some of the Undersiders will do better than others, that’s for sure – I can’t picture Rachel calling anyone to tell them about blockage in the storm drains.

Some time passed, and Taylor receives a call from Charlotte. There are two families leaving because of a rat infestation.

Of course. The trash would offer a steady diet to vermin, and the flooding would deter many of their natural predators. The rodent population had exploded, and it could easily be getting to the point where it was interfering with people’s daily lives.

Must be one of the problems Taylor described, those that stem from the waste removal need and the clogged storm drains.

There’s something mundanely awesome about Taylor taking this in her own hands. She goes to clear a rodent infestation, wearing her costume and all! It’ll deliver the message she’s ready to help the community here, even with problems as seemingly menial as a rat infestation. Already attacking the rodents with her insects, Taylor steps out of her hideout and walks there. Will there be any rats left by the time she gets there? I’d be more concerned about them returning. It’s a possibility, I think.

On the way there, Grue calls Skitter, telling her he’s on his way to talk with her.

So he was already on the way when he called?  I wasn’t sure what to think about that.  It suggested it was a social call with the assumption I would be okay with it, which I didn’t mind, but that didn’t really fit his personality.  More likely there was something that he wanted to discuss with me in person.

Eh…it’s true things are more or less okay between Skitter and Grue now, but I still have a bit of a hard time imagining him going to see her just to shoot the breeze. This most likely is related to some urgent matter. It could be about the visit Regent and Heckpuppy received. That’s definitely something the rest of the Undersiders would want to hear about.

…say, I hope Skitter will make her bugs move away the hundreds of dead rodents somehow, because that’s a huge biological danger. I thought she was making them run away, not outright killing as many as she could – although that will make it harder for the rodent population to grow again, yeah. All the owners of the house can do is watch the clouds of bugs hover and get into the house.

If I thought Skitter was the mischievous sort, I’d think she was all stealthy while arriving just because she wanted to mess with them, hah.

“Is this some sort of game to you!?  We were prepared to leave, and you keep us from getting our things?  Add another infestation to the one that’s already there!?”

Apparently they weren’t convinced by Charlotte’s arguments that she was going to help, and I can’t say I blame them – the way this was described, it was almost like the stuff of nightmares, clouds of insects hovering over your house and what not. I’ll give this man credit, he has guts, challenging Skitter to a fair fight. I hope it won’t come to that, that they’ll see all Skitter’s doing is helping them – not that the impromptu rat extermination will guarantee they’ll stay, I think.

To gain some time to show what she’s doing, Skitter makes a kid count to one hundred, and hurries up the work, gathering the dead rats and carrying them out of the house, parading right in front of the family and all. Quite a morbid thing to see, but it’ll get the message across about what Skitter just did.

I knew I wouldn’t quite have enough time to clear out the entire house of the rat corpses, so I cheated by hauling the rats through the walls, into the unoccupied neighbor’s residence and out the kitchen window at the back of that building.

Hah! I’m glad it was unoccupied, or else Skitter would have more irate people wanting to punch the daylights out of her.

The last of the rat infestation was carried out when the one-hundred count was over, at which point Skitter turns to the angry patriarch and tells him they can fight if he wants. Having see what she had done and that the vermin complaint was gone, he doesn’t, although I doubt he likes Skitter more than he did before.

One of the mothers was the one who asked for help, so Skitter talks with her about what there’s to be done now. Sterilize everything! Oh, yes, please do. I like rats, but I sure would sterilize the heck out of the house if I had found out there used to be a few hundred nesting there. The problem is that this family doesn’t have the means to do all that, nor the money to replace everything that needs to be replaced. Good thing Skitter is here! She’ll get things in order.

Living in this situation has been a major ordeal for everyone here. Not only they have no utilities, all they have is rainwater and rice, and the propane tank they had received is almost depleted. It’s possible other neighbors nearby are in the same situation. Major respect for everyone here, I know I’d be so restless in such situation. Skitter is going to get them supplies and clothing, and even doctors to check them just in case. Leptospirosis isn’t something to take lightly, yeah.

The mother, bless her enduring soul, is worried about having to pay back for all this help, so of course Skitter tells her it’s all okay – she’s not here to make herself be some sort of loan shark.

“Thank you,” she said, again.  I felt bad for feeling the way I did, but I thought her gratitude was a little muted for what I was giving her.

Oh, come on, Skitter, what did you expect? Did you think she’d fall to her knees, open her arms to the sky and bellow ‘oh, thank you so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you!’? Who would do that?

Since all is fine here, Skitter is finally free to go talk to Grue, who’s watching from nearby, and is amused that Skitter is being an exterminator. She defends her actions by saying doing this will help solidify her powers, making the people want to support her. That’s depending a bit too much on people’s gratitude, but eh, there’ll always be some people who will want to make amends and get rid of the proverbial red in their ledgers, just so they’re not indebted to Skitter anymore.

Grue thinks that man is resentful towards Skitter because he wanted to protect the families, and then this ‘little girl’ arrived and got rid of the problem in, what, fifteen minutes? It’s egg on his face, from his perspective. When Skitter muses about recruiting him so he’d have the power to help his family and other people – no way he’d accept – Grue says he’d be intolerable, that he’d question her every move and overall be a pain in the neck. Hm. Good analysis.

As expected, every Undersider is taking their job as rulers in a different way each.

“Regent and I are going on the offensive.  I’ve got Aisha and I making constant, coordinated attacks against enemies in my territory, terrorizing groups with attacks from the cover of my darkness, or from someone they can’t even remember fighting.  Regent’s got a squad of Coil’s soldiers with him, and he’s tracking and kidnapping the leaders of enemy groups and gangs, using his power to control them and then having them sabotage their own operations, or start fights with other groups that leave both almost totally wiped out.  Then he cleans up the mess.”

“And us girls?”

“Lisa’s running the shelter, and she says she’s doing it to get more info, but I think she doesn’t mind how it connects her to the community there, either.  You, too, are almost nurturing in how you’re treating the people in your territory.  And you’re acting like you’re getting that aspiring superhero thing out of your system. Or entrenched deeper into it.  I can’t tell.”

He’s not kidding, that’s definitely being on the offensive. I’m sure it’s very effective, too. Tattletale’s way of dealing with her territory isn’t too different from Taylor’s way, Rachel’s way is...uh...well she’s not interested in ruling over her territory, I’m sure all she wants is to be left alone with her dogs. The people in her territory are still very unlucky.

Also yeah! She’s being nurturing, and it’s because that’s just how she is, she has standards. She’s not going to force a reign of terror unless the people in her newly-claimed terrain forces her to. Skitter will be ruthless towards her enemies, no doubt about that, so why not to be kind and ‘nurturing’ to the residents of her territory? It’ll work better this way when it’s recruiting time.

Grue thinks the differences is because of the genders, Skitter thinks it’s because of the powers. No, I’m pretty sure it’s because of the personalities. Grue takes good care of those he cares about and it’s not like he has any reason to care about the civilians in his turf. Regent is a sociopath to some extent, so of course he doesn’t care about improving their living situation. Heckpuppy is...uh, well I think that one’s pretty obvious. Tattletale’s a rather empathic person, thanks partly to her power and partly because she can actually be rather nice. I don’t think I have to explain how Skitter is like, but yeah, this all fits her.

“Maybe. But… no,” he changed his mind after thinking for a second.  “I think both you and Lisa could be a lot more aggressive.  It kind of worries me that you aren’t.”

They started recently, I don’t think it’s necessary for everyone to make big power moves. Grue and Regent are moving pretty fast, and Skitter is already doing well in terms of repelling hostile forces from outside, judging by what happened with those thirty-or-something Merchants from an arc ago. I’m sure when it’s needed they’ll get aggressive. This isn’t the only concern Grue has, though, he’s also worried Skitter won’t get profit from her territory.

“He has his own money.  Money that he has to devote time and attention to earning.  If your territory never starts earning for him and just becomes some black hole that sucks up tens of thousands of dollars of his money each week, you think he’s going to be okay with that?”

I don’t think there’s anything to worry about on that regard. Coil’s controlling and stuff, but he’s not worried about getting loads of money. Sure, he’s not going to be happy about throwing cash into a bottomless well, but he can get even more loads of money anytime he wants. Skitter may want to look for ways to get money, though. Just in case. No peddling drugs or asking protection money, I doubt she’d do such things.

“I can get all of the people in my territory onto Coil’s side.  And I have over three hundred and fifty thousand dollars I can put towards infrastructure here.”

I don’t mean to demean Skitter’s efforts, but I really doubt the people in this territory will be onto Coil’s side, ever. Not only he’s this nebulous mastermind figure that if he showed himself in front of everyone he’d become the poster boy for those villains you would immediately distrust – skintight black faceless costume with a snake print from head to toe doesn’t scream ‘nice guy’, you know – I’m sure everyone would immediately assume he has some ulterior motive. It’s easier to trust Skitter because she’s getting involved, she’s doing things with her own hands, Coil wouldn’t do such thing.

Also, three hundred and fifty thousand dollars is nothing when it’s about infrastructure. That money’s going to be gone in no time.

Once Grue points out Skitter’s plans won’t happen quickly at all, she has to acknowledge that, and feels dejected. Coil isn’t going to let Dinah go over a start, that’s for sure.  Nor...once the territory is already going well. The only time he’s going to do it is once the city is under his control, and it’s not like he has any intentions of doing it. She may be putting a bit too much stock on Coil’s , uuuuh, sense of honor? Not going to work.

Anyway, onto more grave matters! And it’s just what I expected, it’s about the Slaughterhouse Nine visiting them. Okay, it’s not exactly what I thought, but it’s close enough. There’s no mention of Rachel getting visited, and they know someone in Coil’s headquarters and Hookwolf got contacted too. I should have guessed they’d have this much information, what with Tattletale being so good at gathering information. It’s only matter of time before they find out about the Siberian’s visit, thanks to Tattletale and because I doubt Heckpuppy will hide that wolf.

“And at the PRT offices?  Shadow Stalker?”

“As good a guess as any.  We’re not sure where she wound up.”

Good question. I had completely forgotten about Shadow Stalker! Now that I think about it, if I had remembered her, I’d have thought the Slaughterhouse Nine would try to recruit her, but they didn’t. Last time I knew anything about her, police had arrived to her house after her life was thoroughly destroyed. Maybe she’s not in Brockton Bay anymore. Well, no surprise there, Regent threatened her quite well, unbeknown to everyone except him. If she’s somewhere in the city, he’d know. Heck, she was extremely zealous regarding her role as a vigilante-y parahuman, but I don’t know if she’d join. Not that her personality and stuff would stop her from getting a visit, if that group truly wanted to.

“So what does this mean?”

“It means Hookwolf is calling together a meeting of the local powers that be. Crook, criminal, mercenary and warlord. We have to decide if we want to go.”

Ah, he’s taking action! Good for him, he wasn’t kidding when he said he was going to have to get help. Maybe this way they can know who was visited, perhaps that information could be useful in some way? Not that the Undersiders immediately agree about going – it may be a trap, or a way for Hookwolf to get rid of the competition. They’re wrong, but there are lots of reasons to be wary.

The problem is that if they don’t go, they’ll miss information they should know, and asking secondhand through Coil – if he goes – or anything like that doesn’t guarantee they’ll find out anything, because whoever they talk to may withhold information. Iiiiii can’t decide if going has more benefits than not going, honestly. I should go, if only to have the information.

...if Coil wants them to go do they really have any option? I don’t think Coil would take kindly to them not going. Better spare yourselves the trouble and just go. Besides, as Skitter says, the powers of everyone who would be present could work together to defend and attack back to some extent. But, you know, with all this talk about the Slaughterhouse Nine maybe attacking, now I’m thinking maybe they will. It’d go a long way into establishing them as major threats – not that they haven’t been plenty of established as a threat yet, you know what I mean.

“But if Tattletale is right, and Hookwolf isn’t on the side of the Slaughterhouse Nine, if we can trust Skidmark to have the basic common sense to back the rest of us up if they attack-”

Ask Dinah what are the odds of Skidmark backing you and everyone else up. I’m almost certain it’s an amazingly tiny percentage.

Skitter wants to go, and part of the reason why she wants to go is because going would heighten their reputation as villains to fear, and whatever’s said in that meeting will be useful. Guess that’s settled! This is where this arc is going to now!

“Why do I get the feeling your decision here is motivated by your rushed attempts to get more control, more rep and finish this phase of our territory grab as soon as possible?”

“Because it is.”

I kind of have the feeling what Grue said to Skitter may have influenced it too. Grue would have decided not to go, if it had been up to them, and he’d have used this time to make sure the territory that belonged to him would be alright. But since it’s not up to him, and the situation is critical, well, better go, yeah?

The meeting is tonight. And since I’m not going to be able to read more for today, I better leave that for next time.

Next time: in seven updates