I'm honestly not clear why you brought up Ellisburg at all. You still haven't addressed my own counterpoint that if the Worm setting had the level of paranoia you seem to be expecting re: Simurgh'd victims, I'd expect Earth Bet to go: "Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." anytime the Simurgh hit a town.
If the level of paranoia you're basically assuming was in-character to the Wormverse, you know what they'd be doing? They'd be nuking every site the Simurgh hit instead of bothering with a quarantine.
I was basically agreeing and bringing in examples. Nuking cities with people in baring truly dire situations would never fly even in Worm; it's one thing to nuke a clear cut enemy target (the example here being ellisberg) it's another thing to agree to nuke your fellow citizens. Would a general (arm-chair or actual) have thought "wouldn't life be easier if we just nuked everyone?" would it of every got off the ground. No.
Wether a nuke would work in destroying ellisberg is irrelevant the point is attempting to destroy it. Assuming it worked there would be no civilian collateral unlike an inhabited city.
Somewhat short, experimental Interlude. I keep feeling like I'm doing something questionable, but then I reread it and feel like it actually works? I dunno.
Yes I know my MSpaint skillz are awful. You can probably guess the intention anyway from context.
Edited in: fantastic art produced by @Synth has replaced MSpaint atrocities. Thanks!
4.b
Oni Lee
The world jerks abruptly. One moment, the Simurgh has descended, the battle barely begun.
The next, he is standing amid ruination. It takes a moment to realize the skeletal creature retreating into the sky is most likely the Simurgh. Only Lung can match an Endbringer for size, and it's too vast, even as diminished as it seems to be, to be any other cape. He knows what Lung's bones look like at that scale. They don't look like that.
A glance back shows a Lee-shaped blur of grey in an area where nothing moves.
Hm. An unfortunate event-
-as it was probably caused by Bakuda.
Disturbing.
He should find Lu-
-Bakuda and check-
-cheeeck why she acci-
-deliberately caught him with his own time stop bomb.
Completely inappropriate. He should interro-
-interrooog-
-ooooooooo-
-kill her.
Yes. Bakuda needs to die.
Fingering his knife, Oni Lee begins to scan the rooftops. Last he recalled she was over at that one -ah. But he has been trapped in a time stop. Not for an age, this is clearly the same attack, so no more than a few hours, but... she has likely had time enough to escape.
Hmm. Too much damage to readily track her, particularly given how the passage of time is unclear. What then?...
Eyes tracking across the cityscape, he spots black and white strips of some kind where buildings belong, seemingly swaying in the breeze. Hmm.
Follow the destruction. One of the better ways to track a tinker who builds bombs. He didn't recall any of her bombs having this particular effect, but he had never been able to keep track of all the madness she conceived. It could be something she cooked up while he was inactive.
He transported himself to the nearest one in a matter of moments. Up close he could see people seemingly trapped inside the strips -the strips were black, the people white outlines, circles and dots for eyes. They struggled as if trapped on one side of a pane of glass, clawing desperately for freedom, and he could hear their unearthly screams.
Hm. He had thought little of Bakuda's casual joy when opening up Calvert, as he already knew tinkers lost themselves in their work, heedless of morals. Now he wondered if he'd overlooked a streak of cruelty. An inauspicious trait in a colleague. All the more reason to execute her swiftly.
Two quick movements later, he was watching his previous self touch one of the black ribbons. They turned black, outlined in white, layered onto the ribbon, and after the usual delay, turned into a dotted mess of white on the ribbon.
Do not touch these ribbons. So noted.
He looked around, ignoring the fearful faces of civilians. Was there a trail? Footprints are harder to track on concrete than dirt, but there can be signs. Mud clinging to the boot, for instance. With some assistance from his power, he investigated all around the ribbons. After he'd moved on from a point, his prior self shouted for his attention -he'd missed something. Something about a car he'd ignored, crushed in by fallen rubble.
Returning to the location, he studied the car more closely. He found what his prior self had likely spotted -irregular black-and-white bands of corrugated material, out of place in the car. It could simply be an atypical piece of customization... but he found a connection to the ribbons more likely. A trail.
He followed it, saw how the road had footprint-shaped corrugations. An easy trail.
He's disappointed when following it leads to branching footstep trails, which branch again. Not a good path to Bakuda. He'd begun to suspect it was unrelated anyway, and found it even more likely now that he'd seen the path branch. A new trigger, or a cape responding to the attack. One with a power that could be spread in some form, if he had to guess.
He returns to the rooftops, and looks again for signs of her presence, this time discounting the ribbons. He de-
-de-
-decides to head for the center of the battle.
He frowned, thinking. Bakuda had kept to the edges of battle in prior combat. It would be out of chara-
-aaaa-
-aaaracter, but she'd been harboring plots without his awareness. Clearly she was a skilled actress, and he should assume nothing about what he "knew" of her was accurate. Much of it was almost certainly deliberately misleading.
He nodded sharply to himself and shifted rapidly toward where fliers were centered, flying below the Simurgh. He paid little attention to the clouds, beyond noticing their new motion. Not relevant. He finds himself wondering where Lung has gone, but the thought doesn't stick. Slides away, his focus returning to Bakuda.
He frowns again. Something about... Master infl-
-unimportant. Bakuda needs to die before she discovers her betrayal failed to dispose of him. Never give a tinker time to prepare. Pressure them, seize the initiative, kill them.
Once underneath those harrying the Simurgh, he-
"Oi! Bloke, ya here to fight or evacuate? Alex-what's-her-face says yer useful." Someone standing on an adjacent rooftop, dressed in a ren faire way. If there was a specific intention behind the design, Oni Lee didn't see it.
He responded curtly with "Fight." more focused on scanning for clues to Bakuda's location than engaging the reject.
"Ya need help getting closer?" Go away I am busy.
The irritation didn't show in his voice as he said "Not necessarily, but help would be appreciated." Maybe they knew where Bakuda was.
Abruptly, the assault on the eyes was bouncing excitedly next to him saying "How close, how close mate? I can get ya right on top of her-"
His head jerked toward the man and he said "Take me." and the idiot clapped him on the shoulder and abruptly he was struggling to grab onto a bizarre surface, tinted slightly blue. What? He struggled for a few seconds, spotted a better place to grip, reappeared on it, and took in the sights. Ah he thought with disappointment, the fool thought I meant the Simurgh.
Still.
He'd sworn to Lung that should an Endbringer attack Brockton-
-Bay, he'd contribute-
-to the fight, and now he had (Which ones remained?) Bakuda's bombs-
-to actually harm the monster.
Bakuda could wait.
He had a promise to keep.
He picked out his next travel point and prepared to arm, ignoring a distant scream.
You were clearly striking out for something different here, and it...sort of worked? Not sure how it could be improved. An actual artist could do a better face, but I get the impression that the mystery caused by the vagueness of the image is key.
Amusing - and relieving - to see Oni Lee's fanatical loyalty to Lung override the Mastering. The question is whether it was the Simurgh or some newly triggered cape that attempted it.
Pretty sure those faces are not the Simurgh - I seem to remember her being porcelain white all over, including her unnatural blows-without-the-wind hair. Soooo...Madison? Bakuda? Does Bakuda have blonde hair?
You were clearly striking out for something different here, and it...sort of worked? Not sure how it could be improved. An actual artist could do a better face, but I get the impression that the mystery caused by the vagueness of the image is key.
If I were a better artist, the face would've been less comprehensible. Like, shadowed and ominous and probably half-cloud or half-building or bouncing between such weirdness.
Instead you get what I drew, which, notably, looks far better when Spraypaint has been applied all over it than it does with no such effect. Wheee.
Pretty sure those faces are not the Simurgh - I seem to remember her being porcelain white all over, including her unnatural blows-without-the-wind hair. Soooo...Madison? Bakuda? Does Bakuda have blonde hair?
I don't think canon addresses Bakuda's hair color. In Exploding Canon, at least, her hair is black.
The Simurgh's hair color is described inconsistently by canon Wildbow and I'm a shit artist who has never been able to pull off "silver-ish hair" even by my standards. I think he describes her as "Platinum Blonde" at one point (I know at some point I noticed he has a lot of blonde women in Worm and Pact), while I know in the Laussane RP he indicates the hair is the same ivory color as the rest of her body.
You know, on my first read through I (briefly) thought that Oni Lee constantly changing his mind might be a product of his constant copy-pasting, each new version thinking slightly differently about affairs than the last, possibly exacerbated by nearby parahuman shenanigans.
Which actually creeped me out more than when I realized that it was actually straight-up Mastering.
Too bad. It's generally been that sort of cerebral horror that really gets me.
Testing it with a mix of a photo from a Brooklyn rooftop and one of my Simurgh images. (Two versions; one with either as the 'base'.) Will report back later when results finish.
You know, on my first read through I (briefly) thought that Oni Lee constantly changing his mind might be a product of his constant copy-pasting, each new version thinking slightly differently about affairs than the last, possibly exacerbated by nearby parahuman shenanigans.
Which actually creeped me out more than when I realized that it was actually straight-up Mastering.
Well of course that's happening too, though maybe not to the exact extent you were imagining. So you can feel free to be horrified by the chapter anyway.
Too bad. It's generally been that sort of cerebral horror that really gets me.
I've never been entirely clear what "cerebral horror" is (Beyond that it's not abusing jump-scares and the like which... I don't really consider horror anyway) but I suspect you'll like the next Interlude.
... it took until I was at the far right to be sure you weren't just fucking with me.
I like it.
Working on editing Interlude appropriately. Much thanks!
EDIT: Done! I like how in the image I used for the last bit, it kind of looks like the Simurgh is making the finger-wagging motion with one hand. I suspect that was originally supposed to be shoulder and/or hair, but it sure looks like a hand going "naughty naughty" to me. I'm going to pretend this is deliberate and intentional foreshadowing now.
Well of course that's happening too, though maybe not to the exact extent you were imagining. So you can feel free to be horrified by the chapter anyway.
I've never been entirely clear what "cerebral horror" is (Beyond that it's not abusing jump-scares and the like which... I don't really consider horror anyway) but I suspect you'll like the next Interlude.
What I mean to say is that...stuff like jumpscares and toothy monsters don't make me feel scared as far as fiction is concerned. At all. Possibly because I mostly see them as cannon fodder for cookie cutter FPSs and the like. Plus, theres the fact that it's fiction, and I can thus trust in the fourth wall. Any made up thing that's trying to make me afraid is working against the current, you know?
It's very rare for me to feel scared by anything I watch/read/play (I can count the number of times it's happened on one hand), but when I do...it's usually more existential terrors that get to me. I think the freakiest thing I ever read was an MLP fanfic I read once that portrayed a Celestia who's response to crime was to erase the memories of the criminal and supplant his identity with one of her own choosing. The story took place from the perspective of a thief who got to watch his own memories slide away like loose sand even as he know he couldn't do anything to stop it and...yeah.
If you're going to explore anything similar to that, the yes, I imagine I will most likely be pleased.
I'd say so, and I didn't even give the Funny rating.
What I mean to say is that...stuff like jumpscares and toothy monsters don't make me feel scared as far as fiction is concerned. At all. Possibly because I mostly see them as cannon fodder for cookie cutter FPSs and the like. Plus, theres the fact that it's fiction, and I can thus trust in the fourth wall. Any made up thing that's trying to make me afraid is working against the current, you know?
It's very rare for me to feel scared by anything I watch/read/play (I can count the number of times it's happened on one hand), but when I do...it's usually more existential terrors that get to me. I think the freakiest thing I ever read was an MLP fanfic I read once that portrayed a Celestia who's response to crime was to erase the memories of the criminal and supplant his identity with one of her own choosing. The story took place from the perspective of a thief who got to watch his own memories slide away like loose sand even as he know he couldn't do anything to stop it and...yeah.
If you're going to explore anything similar to that, the yes, I imagine I will most likely be pleased.
Ah. Hm. Less "existential terror" and more "The more I think about this, the more fucked-up it gets." re: Interlude coming later.
Personally, I tend to like the toothy monster and eldritch abominations from beyond the veil. They're usually aesthetically pleasing to me. You can still make a monster scary as fuck, but it has to be through context -the Aliens movie is fantastic, the creature's design is fantastic, but if the movie's story hadn't been able to carry the whole thing, the Alien design by itself wouldn't get to me at all.
Test the first would be great for suggesting that holes are being punched into reality and terrible things are happening. The second one is just fantastic on its own.
I'm leaning toward sticking to the black-and-white images on their own, though. I like a lot of aspects of them that I'm not sure Deep Art's shenanigans could replicate readily. (I mean, if you have fun with Deep Art and produce anything you find especially cool/relevant, go ahead and post it, maybe I'll change my mind, but if you want to drop working on it for whatever reason, that works for me too)
I'd say so, and I didn't even give the Funny rating.
Ah. Hm. Less "existential terror" and more "The more I think about this, the more fucked-up it gets." re: Interlude coming later.
Personally, I tend to like the toothy monster and eldritch abominations from beyond the veil. They're usually aesthetically pleasing to me. You can still make a monster scary as fuck, but it has to be through context -the Aliens movie is fantastic, the creature's design is fantastic, but if the movie's story hadn't been able to carry the whole thing, the Alien design by itself wouldn't get to me at all.
Test the first would be great for suggesting that holes are being punched into reality and terrible things are happening. The second one is just fantastic on its own.
I'm leaning toward sticking to the black-and-white images on their own, though. I like a lot of aspects of them that I'm not sure Deep Art's shenanigans could replicate readily. (I mean, if you have fun with Deep Art and produce anything you find especially cool/relevant, go ahead and post it, maybe I'll change my mind, but if you want to drop working on it for whatever reason, that works for me too)
It's times like this I wish we had a little more control over the format of our posts. Ideally, what I think would work fantastically is if you could set images to be behind the text without interrupting the flow at all. Then I could simply change them from black/white to 10%gray/0%gray (mostly transparent) and they'd be this eerie background noise up until the point where they became Ziz.
+ 
= 
+ 
I now feel suitable dread!