#i got kind of strangely emotionally attached to the spider somehow

[piplupod]

bwuh. i think the spider was a male wolfspider (thank u to friend who did the initial IDing that i then double-checked so i did not have to look through five billion photos of spiders) which means there are hopefully no hidden egg sacs in this case 🙏

[journeysintowebcomics]

Worm Liveblog #14

UPDATE 14: Trigger Event

Last time I had finished Arc 3, and was about to start Arc 4! Turns out the Undersiders managed to pull off successfully the bank robbery and got away with minor injuries, the worst of them being a dislocated shoulder – which I’m told really can be fixed by pushing it back into the socket, but it hurts a lot. Arc 4 is titled ‘Shell’, and that tells me absolutely nothing about what its contents, so let’s start.

Taylor returned to school after...what, two days of not going and two days of leaving in the afternoon? Her grades must be awful by now. I’m almost 60% sure Taylor is going to leave without completing the school day. So, the setting is the school, and the very first line is spoken by the Brockton Bay Miss Congeniality Award Winner -- Emma. This arc is off to a potentially painful start, isn’t it?

Indeed, Emma has come to taunt Taylor and tell her nobody noticed her absence – which is true, not even the teachers seems to have noticed. Taylor tries to defend herself by acting blasé and shooting back a few jabs about Emma’s lack of maturity, content that if Emma was taking the time to do the old routine of scathing words and opening old wounds, then she wouldn’t have time to prepare the proverbial tar and feathers later. The fact that Mr. Wildbow conspired with his authorial fiat to make Emma be deliciously clueless about the events of this story makes this scene almost funny:

“Really, Taylor?  Tell me, what are you doing with yourself?  You’re not going to school, you have no friends, I doubt you’re working. Are you really in a position to call me immature, when I’ve got all that going for me and you just… don’t?”

If you knew, Emma...you know, somehow I’m not sure what Emma’s reaction would be if she ever finds out Taylor is a cape, or if she finds out Taylor is a supervillain who robs banks and threatens people with black widow spiders. I’m not sure if Emma would be surprised and wondering if she missed any hints, or if she’d be befuddled Taylor didn’t send swarms after her as revenge, or if she’d scoff and think ‘oh, of course Taylor is a criminal’. Maybe she won’t ever find out. For now there’s a strange feeling of satisfaction at knowing that Taylor is officially a budding villain and Emma is clueless about it.

Taylor laughs in Emma’s face, pretty much ending the scene, and scampers out of the classroom without a care in the world. Well this went better than it could have gone! It’s a relief, honestly. Taylor muses that she has been...curiously fine despite, you know, committing a felony the day before. The reasons why are simple: one, she went to school, breaking the pattern of skipping it. In fact, she just completed a whole day of school! I sincerely congratulate her for that. The other reason is that her recent actions aren’t in the front page of the newspaper. We made page three of the Bulletin, coming behind a one and a half page story on an Amber Alert and a General Motors advertisement. Given that having a big article describing her terror wouldn’t make her look like a heroic person, this must be great for her conscience. It also helps that those who are considered as ‘heroic people’ are getting bad publicity right now: All in all, the story had been more focused on the property damage, most of which was caused by Glory Girl and the Wards. Hmmmm...how did the other Undersiders react? Was any of them bummed about the lack of front-page recognition, or are they fine with being relegated to the third page? It doesn’t say – yet.

Now that Taylor spent a whole day in school, she’s in liberty of doing what she wants, so she goes to the Docks, but not to the Undersiders’ hideout. She’s going to a market. Alec, Brian and Lisa were there. No sign of Rachel, I guess it’s because committing crimes isn’t enough to forge bonds of camaraderie with the person you tried to mutilate less than a week ago.

Oh. There’s a different reason here. She’s well known enough that she’d catch someone’s eye, and from there, it’s only a short leap to figuring out who the people she’s hanging with are.” Huh...Brian is right about that. I hadn’t considered it...but I’m supposing Rachel likes it more this way. She’s not the most sociable person around, she may be fine with having to stay away from everyone’s eyes.

It also helps that this way Rachel is conveniently away from the way dogs are treated around here. A woman walks by, carrying a dog wearing a sweater. That’d be enough to make Rachel ballistic.

“The sweater. The dog being carried.  Rachel would be up in her face, telling that woman it’s not the way a dog should be treated.  Screaming at her, maybe threatening violence, if one of us didn’t step in to handle things.”  

Rachel is like a more extreme and rage-filled Cesar Millan. Somehow I have the feeling saying that would be a ticket to getting punched in the gut. To the surprise of no one, it’s said mistreatment of dogs is what would make Rachel be truly angry, which prompts Taylor to ask the big mystery of the day: “Has she killed anyone?” ...apparently she has! Honestly? I didn’t expect that. I thought that Rachel would be the big red herring here, that somehow she hadn’t caused any deaths, but turns out she has, even if it may be classified as ‘manslaughter’. I doubt Armsmaster cares about the distinction, so that’s one killer found. Which one could be the other...hmmmm...

Alec returned from the stall wearing a Kid Win shirt. Classy behavior, Alec. He must be feeling real proud of causing damages to Kid Win’s stuff. Next Alec will buy a skateboard painted like Kid Win’s hoverboard and use it to light up a bonfire, I guess.

Given that right now they’re spending money around, Taylor asks what’s going to happen now with their, hm, “job and payment”. “It’s just a matter of handing the cash over to the boss later tonight.” I had thought the boss would pick up the cash from where they had left it! Is Lisa going to hand it over in person? Nobody cares because they all trust the boss. Other than that, they’re free to do whatever they want until they have a new job to do.

I felt kind of conflicted about the ‘take it easy and wait’ plan.  On the one hand, taking a break sounded awesome.  The last week had been intense, to put it lightly. On the other hand, it sort of sucked that we wouldn’t be out there on another job, since I’d be waiting that much longer for a chance on getting more details on the boss.  I’d just have to hope I could find something out tonight.

Sorry, Taylor, there are...273 chapters left. You’re not finding something out tonight. Besides, the more she spends with the Undersiders, the less she'll want to betray them, I’m sure of it. They’re pretty much the only people willing to spend time with Taylor and be her friend, I doubt she’ll be in a hurry to tattle on them once she gets attached to them emotionally.

Lisa steals Taylor aside for a shopping trip, taking her aside and talking about what she’d buy. Is she faking her enthusiasm so she could take Taylor aside? This felt a bit forced to me. Anyways, that’s the end of the chapter. It was...largely uneventful. There’s not really much to comment there, however, there is something I was passed here by my screener, one of the comments in that chapter.

she’s spending so much time trying to figure out which of the others have killed; it’s going to turn out Lung didn’t make it, i’m betting.

It’d be a twist! But sadly it wouldn’t work, because if Taylor had caused Lung’s death, well, I don’t think Armsmaster would have been roundabout over it. Besides, he’d be punished much more than he was, right? And finally, the Undersiders would have heard something if the leader of this big gang in the Docks died. No, it can’t be Taylor. That’s good for her, the thought of someone dying because of her...that’d hit her hard. To the next chapter!

Lisa channels those TLC programs about what clothing people have, telling Taylor what her clothing says about her. It’s largely accurate.  “You’re observant, detail oriented and focused.  More than any of the others.  You watch, you interpret, and then you act with this careful, surgical precision. That’s a strength and a flaw.” Perfect! I agree. And you want to change it so everyday people are caught off-guard by Taylor’s personality? Not really, apparently.

“I don’t like lying to my dad.” ...there’s going to be a lot of lying, won’t there? From what I see of Mr. Hebert, I can’t say he’d approve of Taylor being one of the Undersiders. Lying to him or telling him and having to go against his will anyway...it’s like choosing the lesser evil, isn’t it?

Lisa proceeds to show the extent of her powers, informing Taylor of her theories. “At first I thought your dad was abusing you.” That’s...a bit of a nonchalant way of saying that, Lisa. Thankfully, Taylor doesn’t react to that. Lisa theorizes that what bothers Taylor the most is at school, and this has been a topic of discussion with Brian and Alec. “I could help make the suckish parts suck less,” she offered.

...

...

...that’d be...I’m not sure if it’d be great or not. My initial thought is “oh, please, go ahead!” but this would cause all sorts of trouble, wouldn’t it? Those bullies would back off, but people can be insidious. Things can get worse. Lisa could risk being accused of something. Taylor could get interrogated about the strange friend who pranced into the school and confronted a few people. This could go wrong in many ways, I think...

“Having me try on clothes is fine,” I told her, doing my level best to keep my voice calm, “But you interfere directly in my problems, and I’m gone.” I can always appreciate somebody who wants to keep both sides of life apart. The smallest leak can lead to Taylor being found out, after all. They discuss the clothes Taylor is going to buy, Lisa is paying for it all. “A bribe in exchange for your silence,” Lisa winked at me. Keeping silent about offering to solve Taylor’s problems, you mean?

Apparently not. This is about how badly Lisa managed to screw up, about Panacea being in the bank. Looks like the rest of the band didn’t find out she was there. It’s less about they doubting her skills, and more about they being teenagers. They wouldn’t let her live it down. Hah! Lisa reiterates that she’s willing to intervene in Taylor’s life whenever she wants. Hmm...foreshadowing? A simple gesture of friendship to further the characterization or Mr. Wildbow setting things up for Lisa taking action in the problems if Taylor’s life? I’m not sure. Or it could be nothing, and I’m clinging to this for nothing. What can I say, I love mysteries, I tend to focus on anything that can hint something happening later in a book.

Once the shopping is done, they all reunite at Fugly Bob’s, where the food is so greasy paper bags turn transparent and there are foods like ‘Hideous Bob’. Anyone with any sense then waited a year to give their hearts a chance to recuperate. Really now. I think my brand marketer heart is the one that needs to recuperate. I literally shuddered. Thank goodness this is fiction!

Taylor inquires what’s going to happen later. Any other crimes to commit anytime soon? Taylor hopes it’ll be less intense, with less confrontation with capes. Taylor doesn’t want to risk dismemberment. Nothing is said, so I guess there’s no plan for the foreseeable future. They continue eating a while longer before Taylor decides this is a grand time to ask for an infodump. “I know it’s kind of cliche, but when people with powers get together, isn’t it kind of standard to share origin stories?” Please do, guys! I’m interested in hearing everyone’s backstories. Judging by everyone’s reactions, there aren’t happy memories at all. That’s the end of the chapter. Will there be answers the next chapter? I hope there are.

Hello there, I finished the update and decided to add this caveat. Fair warning, since things got heavy, I wasn’t exactly in mood to joke around or anything like that. Sorry, things are getting tough here.

So yes, next chapter. It starts in a promising way: “Let me put it this way.  When you got your powers, were you having a good day?” Taylor says ‘no’. Looks like getting powers isn’t done through happy thoughts. There are many with the potential to have powers, but only someone who has been pushed far enough will acquire them – and not always, I suppose. Would I be correct to suppose that Taylor’s awakening of her powers was a byproduct of her bullying? Some would think that it’d be her mother’s death, but...I don’t know, the way Taylor has to reign in her powers – like shown in the first chapter – shows a link between anger and her powers, instead of sorrow.

Nobody tells their backstories, but Taylor wants to tell hers. Well that’s nice. I’m a bit disappointed I won’t hear the backstories for the rest of the Undersiders yet, but there’s a lot of Worm left. There’s time for that. So, Taylor, how did you acquire these powers of yours? The people I’m talking about… I don’t want you to take revenge on them on my behalf or anything. Looks like my guess was accurate.

“I guess I feel that if you guys jumped in and beat them up or humiliated them or made them tearfully apologize, I wouldn’t feel like I’d dealt with things myself. There wouldn’t be any closure.”

Judging by how you’re going to stoically endure it, there won’t be any closure at all unless you move away from them. It says a lot of Taylor’s inner strength, I guess. So, Taylor starts talking. She starts by telling there were three girls making her life miserable, and that her worst moment happened at a time those three stopped. During that time, one of the girls that sometimes joined in taunting Taylor apologized and turned into her friend – and now I’m afraid of reading anything else, because I’m already guessing where this is going. I can’t say I have ever experienced something like this from any side, but false friends are a bit of a touchy point for me. Tough luck, me, you’re going to read this.

...wow. This is actually worse than I had expected. I heard Mr. Wildbow got inspirations of moments that did happen to people he knew. I can only say that if this is copied verbatim from one of those moments...I hope the person who went through this is okay and is happy right now. So, to describe it in few words: the bullies filled Taylor’s locker with used tampons and pads, left it in there for two weeks, and locked her inside. No wonder this is one of Taylor’s worst days ever!

Gaining this new power was very disorienting at first, like having a whole new sense – which is pretty much what this was. Suddenly Taylor could feel the bugs’ location, what they were seeing, and it was all very confusing. Taylor was taken to the hospital and while she was under observation, she pinpointed what was going on in her head. And that’s how she got her powers. Oh, that friend? She simply didn’t talk to Taylor again. And that’s Taylor’s trigger event. Highly unpleasant. This is grim, really.

Alec says what I’m sure a lot of people have thought or said while reading Worm: “Why don’t you use your power?” And he isn’t happy with Taylor’s response about how it’d be easy to guess it was Taylor doing it – they would have no proof, in my opinion – so he insists. Brian...he sides with Alec on this, and Lisa says nothing. Looks like even the characters in this story have a hard time wrapping their heads around Taylor’s refusal to fight back.

Alec wants to give crabs to the capes they encounter and is disappointed with Taylor refuses. I’m not sure what to do with this information, hah!

So, Taylor explains why she refuses to do anything, and it’s because it’d enter into this complicated Ouroboros of constant retaliation. Bullies suffer lice, they get frustrated, they torment Taylor further, Bullies suffer even more lice, they get even more frustrated, they torment Taylor ever more...and so and so, until somebody gets hurt. Paraphrasing. Taylor has repressed a lot of anger, too, so she knows her own limits and that if she lets her anger take over her, she won’t contain herself for much longer. All in all, it really is a show of Taylor’s strength, if anything for other people’s sake. She may be angry, but she isn’t angry enough to actually try to make other people suffer.

Lisa leaned forward, “Tell me it wouldn’t be awesome if we kidnapped their leader, pulled a hood over her head, dragged her into a van and dropped her off in the woods at midnight, ten miles out of town, with nothing but her skivvies.”

Honestly, Lisa? Hell no, it isn’t awesome. I’m all for revenges -- honestly I have a bit of a vindictive streak, I admit it – but that’s too far, isn’t it? Lisa disappoints me a bit by smiling at the mental image, but in the end she refuses to acknowledge it, saying it indeed would go too far.

“Then why the fuck are you a supervillain?”

“Escape.” The word left my mouth almost immediately, before I’d had a chance to even think about what it meant.

Escape from her everyday life of school bullying, you mean? Blowing off some steam and frustration? It’s not entirely wrong, Taylor herself admits it.  All she wants is to keep these two lives separate and spend time with friends. “Yes, Taylor, we’re friends,” Brian said, “And we appreciate, or at least, I appreciate that you trusted us enough to share your story.” Alright! It’s official! Taylor, you’re definitely not going to betray the Undersiders now that Brian said this. Guess you’re a villain from now on! Have fun.

Now that Taylor shared her story, it’s somebody else’s turn, but nobody wants. Alec doesn’t bother to say a thing, and Lisa simply says she’ll tell once she had a few drinks, but she’s still underage. Golly, how about that, haha! I always find it a bit amusing when seasoned criminals are concerned about comparatively minor offenses. The supervillain refuses to indulge in underage drinking! Man I love that trope; too bad I don’t read see it very often.

Since nobody wants to share, Brian decides he was going to be the one to bring up the exposition now. Great! I know pretty much nothing about Brian, this should be a chance to see his past, what kind of life he had before being a supervillain...hmm...something I noted is that the powers and the trigger events themselves have no link, at least in Taylor’s case, so I can’t guess what Brian went through that caused him to acquire powers. What’s for sure is that it was very bad. How bad...that remains to be seen next time.

Next update: five updates