#web serial

[meowcats734]

Her first shot blew the spective’s torso apart in a torrent of glinting red. The subsequent blast of subzero breath halted the tentacles on the wall mid-swing, the freezing impossibly thorough and quick.

An unearthly warbling roared out as the spective screeched in pain, their body reforming from the wetness on the floor.

“STOP IT!” they screamed. “You’re hurting me!”

And I would have stopped if I could. But the time to reach out a hand had ended the moment we’d discovered that those people were still conscious under the wax. So I stuck to Ana’s back as she took another bite from the enchanted ice cream cone and exhaled frost in the spective’s direction. After Ana’s first devastating shot, the air had turned crystalline and strangely floral; I estimated she could use maybe one or two more artifacts before the context clash killed us. 

For now, though, it was manageable. Although the ambient magic caused bits of the atmosphere to congeal and shatter like glass, as long as I kept my airway clear it was harmless to us, and the reality disruption was worth it. The tentacles on the walls and floor were utterly immobilized by the surreal frost Ana belched.

The spective switched tactics, the liquid at our feet climbing our suits and trying to entomb us, but Ana must have considered the possibility from the moment we stepped into this house, because her counter was instantaneous and effective. She’d used an enchanted handheld fan to blow the spective’s body apart earlier, and she aimed it downwards with a mechanical whirr. Though it was nowhere near enough thrust to achieve liftoff, the gale blasted the spective’s fluids clear of us in a two-meter circle. 

“I just wanted a little longer,” the spective said, voice cracking in panic as they realized they were outmatched. “I’ll let them go when I’m finished. I’m not hurting anyone! I promise!”

My heart ached for the damn kid who never got a chance to grow up before their powers consumed them, and if I was the one with the aeroblasters and ice-spitters I would have set them down for a second chance. 

But Anachel was the reason I was still alive, and I trusted her in this as she trusted me in peace. She fired the fan in a recoilless violation of kinematics, hurling another round of what was supposed to be compressed air at the door. Unfortunately, physics was breaking down from the presence of so many separate magics, and what came out of the blades of that magic fan was more like a spray of high-velocity glass. It ripped a half-dozen holes through the locked door and penetrated into the walls beyond, but didn’t blow the door bodily off its hinges like Ana had been hoping.

“STOP.” The spective drew inwards, a torrent of wax swirling around the child’s body like a cloak, but Ana scarfed down the last of the ice cream cone and unleashed frost of a kind that the world would never see again. Whatever sorcery the spective was about to unleash was abruptly aborted as their body became a statue of snow-coated red.

Ana’s fan finally sputtered to a halt, but no more attacks streaked after us. Maybe the spective was having a hard time with the chaotic aftereffects of too many magics intermingling, or maybe they were simply exhausted after being blasted and frozen time and time again.

Or maybe they were scared of Ana. They were just a kid, after all.

Whatever the reason, even though Ana kept her guard up and a mundane pistol in her hands, we fled the final stretch of wax with no issues. The worldskein was intact enough that the air no longer tinkled like shattered glass, so I tapped Ana on the shoulder and indicated my helmet.

Diligent as she was, she lugged us two blocks away from the red, smoking house before finally helping me out of the tightly-strapped helmet. Wordlessly, I rested my bare forehead against her faceplate. After a gentle, cool moment she unbuckled her own helmet, shaking out her short, dark hair and kissing my forehead.

It was over. We were out.

I let out a long, shuddery sigh. “We’re going to have to take a different job, aren’t we?”

She nodded. “We should get paid for the intel, at least. But depending on how permanent the damage is, we may have taken an outright loss when we factor in repairs, unless we want to seek proof of conviction.”

Ugh, we’d be in even deeper trouble if things came to conviction. “No, I’m done with this neighborhood.“

As always, Ana took charge where I was weak. “Then let’s hit the trams, yeah? You can find something nice for us to do tomorrow. Calming.”

“Yeah. Yeah.” I nuzzled her plastic-sheathed shoulder, and Ana scratched the top of my head affectionately. “Tomorrow will be better, I’m sure.”

Ana chuckled. “Hey, Tsu? When you pick a job posting, make sure to steer clear of a spective that specializes in dramatic irony.”

And on that cheerful note, Ana and I began our long, defeated walk back to Songserra.

A.N.

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What do you think of the "revenge bad" tropes frequently found

it actually pisses me off sooooo much when characters are like “ohhh but if i hurt or kill the bastard who made my life and others’ a living hell i’m just as bad as they are!” like grow up and shoot him what are you catholic

[else-creates]

Nobody Can Help You: Chapter 03

[qrowscant]

LINK ROT / TRANSMISSION 001 / APRIL 3rd, 2024

Link Rot is a multimedia webserial following those within a research station. Once dedicated to the study and containment of a newly discovered life form, complications arise following its unexpected merge with the station's AI. TRANSMISSION 001 - In which you survive the unthinkable, and the world is worse for it.

General warnings can be found in the 'About' section. Any videos will have flashing warnings if applicable.

additional rambling under the cut

wow!!! it's been (checks archive) almost exactly a year since i originally conceptualized Link Rot, and since then it's grown into a beast of a story i cannot wait to tackle.

currently i'm aiming for updates once every month/month and a half (with occasional vacations to work on bite-sized projects). i'd like to do more, but i have a job and don't want to burn myself out. for now, i will take things slow B) maybe this will change in the future!

i hope you all enjoy reading my story as much as i enjoy creating it. there's a couple of hidden things on the website, so if you find anything fun let me know

and lastly,

take this

[reachartwork]

Samantha "Sam" Small is a 14 year old high school freshman and superhero-in-training, recruited by the Delaware Valley Defenders to protect Philadelphia. Her powers let her bite through metal and smell when people bleed. Her interests include soccer, women, putting herself in danger, and Shabbat dinner with her Pop-Pop Moe.

Chum is a slice-of-life/action web serial, currently around 1,100,000 words. It has been described as "good enough to spend hours organizing info on it", a "beautiful coming of age story", and "a superhero story to rival worm". It's got dinosaurs in it. It's got heartbreak in it. It's got really good fight scenes in it.

Go read it on Royal Road or Wordpress and consider joining the Chumcord!

[maxwell-grant]

So is Worm good from what you have read

"Yes" doesn't begin to cover it but yes. Worm is a brain-rewiring mobius strip disguised as a bible disguised as a superhero web serial that either cured your cancer or shot your dog or both depending on who you ask, and it has many extremely dedicated, brilliant scholar priest surgeons publicly dissecting it on this platform on the regular to the point I don't think I have much to add to the conversations surrounding it, even if I do have some The Thoughts about it. I had never even really seriously thought about superhero prose before and Worm isn't a thing I go back and reread frequently but it did a complete and total 180 on the way I think about superheroes and even fiction, and I've never stopped thinking about it since I've read it.

It is a monumentally impressive story with completely absolutely incredible characters that I cannot stop thinking about. No matter where it was going, even past stretches that were less interesting or more of a slog to read or worse, I could not put the story of Taylor Hebert down for one minute. Tattletale fascinated me every step of the way, I had to keep up with her. Rachel Lindt was a character I feel like I'd been waiting my whole life for. What was I gonna do, not see them through? I feel like Worm easily loses you if you don't particularly connect with the characters enough to justify to yourself the amount of time you'll spend with them, but man, I could not unglue my eyeballs from these people enough (I love all the core Undersiders, to be clear, I'd say it's Rachel > Taylor > Tattletale > Aisha and Alec and Brian, there are very small gaps between these, I just don't go berserk for the last three like I do for the first three, I'm taking Bitch and Skitter to the grave I'm dead serious)

Everybody who read it has one or several gripes with it with some major dealbreakers in the mix. Tumblr's kinda the only place online where you can really talk about them at length without the spectre of John Wildbow hanging over the discussion, which enables discussion to the point where yes, maybe it does look like to outsiders that nobody can agree on whether Worm is good or what is it even about or whether it even has worms in it (it has at least one, although it's a very big one).

And it is good, it has the Undersiders in it and the Undersiders are one of the greatest groups of characters ever put together, but everyone has at least one major point of contention with Worm whether it's the timeskip or the length or the racism or the gross fatphobia or aspects surrounding the Dallon-Pelham Torment Nexus and etc. I'd say it has maybe the most racist vision of Latin America I've ever seen in a superhero text a hair short of pro-colonial tracts in Golden Age comics and that is a tall fucking order by any metric (part of why I started WEON4 as a project was motivated by spite, to try and make my own stories about non-American superheroes even if just as practice). It is Complicated, and that winds up making it so fascinating to talk about.

Worm has self-sustaining ecological systems of posts up here, far away from the Spacebattles and Reddit battlegrounds where it has different ones and that's not getting into Weaverdice or the sequel or Wildbow's larger body of work, which I haven't gotten to and probably will not any time soon because Worm was enough of a commitment as is. Do I recommend Worm to everyone? It is certainly not to everyone's tastes and I personally find it difficult to describe it simply enough to make it sound appealing or not like a pyramid scheme. But yes I do think it's good, in fact great, in fact, amazing, except when it isn't, and except it Plainly Sucks, but then something like Taylor vs Mannequin or Kevin Norton's interlude or "You needed worthy opponents" happens and it fucks harder than anything has ever fucked before and you don't walk away from it the same, so yes I guess "good" will have to do now.

It's certainly a lot but I definitely found it worth my time to read and then read the texts written about it here. You'll have to take my endorsement of Worm as proof of it's quality and proof of how deranged it makes it's readerbase, they're not mutually exclusive. If you can make it, Worm and the wormosphere has layers and layers to wade through and talk about and enjoy, despite how we're all so very small in the end *gunshot*.

[vajrapoet]

After being murdered, Raxri Uttara awoke in a healing pool at the end of the world.

In the depths of their Second Death, Raxri heard the Holy Madman speak: Walk. Uncover the truth of your death. Reattain your Enlightenment. There is no one to save you but you. Master yourself. Let the world sing through you. You are not alone. You are the world and the world is you.

A WORLD SHORN OF LIGHT. A SWORD DANCER TORN FROM THE HEAVENS. 

GOD OBLITERATING VAJRA is a new weird progression xianxia webnovel set in the sword & gun Maritime Buddhist inspired Utter Islands. Follow RAXRI who wakes up at the end of the world without their memory. Join them as the world is revealed to them, make bonds, and cultivate their love once again against a world that has ended after a failed Revolution.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Slow Burn in an Immersive Fantastical Antirealist Universe.Esoteric Buddhist Disco Elysium Xianxia. Sword and Gun Xianxia setting. Multiple POVs with a few Major POVs. Nonbinary Sword Wizards, Goth Devilwitch Gunners, Giant Dragon Blademaster. Ruthless, Brutal Martial Arts. Death is common. The world is dark and the end has come. Fucked up romance. Cultivation Systems inspired by IRL Eastern Esoterica. Ghosts and Demons. Horror. Warfare. Bigotry. Class Struggle. Optional Sexual Content. Strong Language. Revolution.

ABOUT HINGSAJAGRA

Hingsajagra is the Fantastic Realist world of God Obliterating Vajra. Inspired by Esoteric Buddhism and Revolutionary Asia. Giant cats turned into apartment complexes, ghost horse steeds that tire not, walking giant mechanical armors turned into public transportation, charnel wizards summoning the long-dead, witches wielding the Pureflame of Creation, the Machine God beginning its slick advance into forever progress... the Age of Furor is upon us. The Latter Day of the Law. The Termagant Buddha watches closely.

logo by me, art by @gnarlyghost!

[elcuervoborracho]

you could grind meat on those

[gengarguy27]

A series of offensive in universe Worm memes (not for snowflakes)

[eddathegreat]

Oh this is gonna get fucky

[st-just]

"Make your entire main cast walk into a magic thing that plunges them into a nightmare of their deepest darkest fears realized' really is an absolutely amazing character exploration cheat.

[fireandslate]

Blank Slate is a dark fantasy web serial about fire, lesbians, religious oppression, and cultural exchange. If any of the following pique your interest, you might want to check it out!

Pseudo-medieval post-apocalyptic kingdom

evil church that is just catholic enough to be cool

malevolent sellsword haunted by a benevolent demon

uncertain-hero minstrel who is smarter than she lets on

cold-eyed and conflicted traitor knight

deranged and ironhearted nun awaiting her own execution

evil knights

mysterious druids

the occasional outburst of spectacular violence,

and, most important of all,

an indestructible thread of hope--

--hope that eventually winter will end, and a new spring will bring new beginnings to the kingdom of Frydain.

Sometimes dark, sometimes sapphic, sometimes mystical, and always updated on Sundays, this character-driven fantasy web serial is available to read at fireandslate.com!

[distortedsense]

Art for The Day My Dream Died

[else-creates]

Nobody Can Help You. Prologue A: The San Francisco Incident

Superhumans have existed for decades. Superheroes are a simply a specialized division of law enforcement answering to the Department of Superhuman Integration. As a result Superheroes exist to protect the status quo, serving a government and the politicians' wealthy donors through a legal monopoly on force. To the average Superhero, it's not about saving people... It's just a job.

Who protects the people in a world where the heroes have been bought?

Who do you call for help when the heroes don't work overtime?

Who stands up for the rights of the people when the heroes side with riot police to squash dissent?

In Port Xavier that job falls to Cassie 'Culverin' Queensbury and the rest of her team 'The Nobodies' because when the heroes aren't Super then... NOBODY CAN HELP YOU

[qrowscant]

things feel out of order

[reachartwork]

"The Goon Economy: Why People Choose to Work for Supervillains"

Leslie Lester, for Psychology Today, October 2022

When asked why anyone would choose to work for supervillains, most people imagine costumed henchmen cackling maniacally while fighting Spider-Man. The reality is far more mundane - and more economically fascinating.

"It's just a job," says Former Employee X under the condition of anonymity, who worked security for a major East Coast villain organization. "Better benefits than Netsphere, better pay than private security, and yeah, higher risk, but you've got clear procedures for hero encounters. Most guys never even see a cape."

The numbers support this pragmatic view. While exact figures are difficult to obtain, conservative estimates suggest supervillain organizations employ hundreds of thousands of workers across the U.S., from direct muscle to legitimate business employees. The total economic impact likely rivals major corporations.

But why choose such high-risk employment? Dr. Sarah Chen, economist at MIT, suggests three key factors:

Economic Pressure: "In cities with active supervillain presence, these organizations often control major employment sectors - construction, shipping, waste management. Sometimes working for them isn't really a choice."

Risk vs. Reward: The average "muscle" for a villain organization makes 1.5-2 times standard security work, with comprehensive health coverage and legal protection. "When you're living paycheck to paycheck," Chen notes, "guaranteed medical care becomes very attractive."

Systemic Integration: Many workers start through legitimate businesses, becoming gradually involved in illegal activities. "It's rarely a conscious choice to 'become a minion,'" Chen explains. "It's more like finding out your company has mob ties - but you've got a mortgage and kids in school."

The psychology is equally complex. Dr. James Morrison of Harvard explains: "These organizations offer what many legitimate employers don't: clear advancement paths, protection from both heroes and rivals, and often a sense of belonging. They're filling gaps in our social safety net."

The rise of powers-based crime has only increased this trend. "Supervillain organizations have better protocols for superhuman encounters than most legitimate businesses," Morrison notes. "If you're working in a city where hero-villain battles are common, that matters."