It's...actually rather simple? I'm having a little trouble figuring out why exactly you're still having problems with it so I can clarify the right aspect. I don't know what part is causing the difficulty, so I can only shoot-in-the-dark repeatedly hoping I clarify the correct point...
Actually, I ended up writing a huge wall of text, but I didn't want to just delete it all after everything I wrote, so I've put it in the below spoilerbox, no actual story spoilers but don't read if the following explanation does work for you, otherwise the spoilerbox probably isn't the best for helping clarification. So instead, I frame this in semi-metaphorical terms, starting with a few axioms:
Aside from his timeline-splitter, Coil is an ordinary human. He is no stronger, tougher, faster, more perceptive, or even smarter than a human could normally be--and he dumpstatted those first three attributes, and the fourth is exactly why he's gone to such extremes to enslave Dinah.
Coil splits timelines. Both proceed for a while, such that both are turning out quite differently for him. Say in T-A, things are going pretty badly for him, and he's probably going to drop it, but hasn't yet because he's still getting useful information in it. But, in T-B, he -thinks- things are okay, but Sneaky Parahuman--with the power to slowly build invisible boxes and then fill them with water--has been building a box around him without him noticing. So then he finally drops T-A and keeps T-B (which then becomes T-0, the real timeline before he splits again), but by the point he drops T-A, Sneaky Parahuman has already finished building the box and locked it in T-B, now T-0. There is no physically possible way out, and the box starts filling with water. No matter how he splits timelines from that point on, he dies for real, because in no possible scenario can he possibly break the box before he drowns, no matter what he tries. There is no timeline in which he is not in the box and drowning.
It works similarly even if Sneaky Parahuman hasn't -completely- finished building the box yet by the time Coil keeps this timeline where he is almost trapped--even if he splits then, as long as Sneaky Parahuman can complete the box before Coil can walk far enough to get out of where the box is before Sneaky Parahuman closes and locks it, then again--in neither timeline is he out of the box, therefore, in all possible timelines he dies--and thus dies for real.
Remember what he said in his own interlude a while back; Whenever he splits timelines, the first thing he always does when possible is to send one version of himself as far away from the other as possible, because he himself knows the moments after he splits the timelines are when he is most vulnerable.
Now substitute "Sneaky Parahuman" for anyone making secret plans against him, and "the box" with said plans.
It's even possible for him to true-die to sheer dumb luck, like the scenario you paint; suppose he's been running A and B for a while, so differently that due to cosmically awful luck, Taylor is about to bee-kill him in one, and Lisa is about to gun-kill him in another. As long as both of these events are about to happen at almost the same time--which is likely because if he hasn't dropped a timeline yet, then he doesn't realize the danger he's in--then he is "in a box" already in both timelines, just for different reasons. So say Taylor surprise-kills him first in A, and that timeline autodrops. But in timeline B, which he just kept, he's also already stuck in Lisa's box, because she's got her scope trained on him at that very moment. He can split timelines again on the spot, and run right in new-A, and left in new-B, but it doesn't matter, Lisa then shoots him in both, such that no matter how or when he could possibly split or what action he could possibly take, he then dies in all possible timelines. He could go up, down, left right, forward, backward--if Lisa is too good to miss, then he dies in all possible permutations. (Same thing happens if Lisa shoots first, leaving a completely ordinary human Coil to try to run away from a swarm of killer bees that is moments away from reaching him, and there is no tool or shelter within reach that will save him, no matter how he splits) The only way he survives is if the moment Taylor kills him in a timeline which then drops, Lisa does not yet have her scope trained on Coil's skull--he is not in the box yet--then it's physically possible for him to survive if he chooses the right actions.
Which is another thing. He can "only" ever choose two actions at once, which is admittedly one more than anyone else, but still just two--and while he can make one of those choices "never happen", he still can't take back the one he does keep. Suppose there's ten possible actions he could take in one given instant, but in seven of them he dies, and only in three he survives. If he's unlucky enough for both his only two choices to not be any of the three safe actions, Coil ded.
How can he die, you ask? Under what conditions? Simple: being in a physically inescapable situation in both of his timelines (whether that be the -same- physically-inescapable situation in both from a fresh timeline split, or two -different- physically-inescapable situations in two long-running timelines. It works out the same way: he ded.) He just needs to be in a physically inescapable situation in both timelines simultaneously before either drops. Doesn't matter how that happens, only that it does.
I mean, there are some fans who underestimate his power all the time, but I've never before seen anyone get the impression that his power makes him literally immortal.
Coil is -not- immortal. Two factors; killing him in any timeline auto-cuts that timeline for him, but, it also takes him a moment to re-split after a timeline drop, because, this is key, he is a normal human with normal human reaction times, and he is proceeding forward in time at exactly the same rate as anyone else--he has no ability to slow, pause, or reverse time. Like I exampled in my very post above, if someone is already after him before he splits the timeline, and has him dead to rights no matter what he does in either, then yeah, that's it, he's done. Like, say he's walking down a street, and -hasn't- split timelines yet, then a crazed mugger comes out of nowhere and shoves him to the ground and waves a gun shouting "Gimme your money or I'll shoot!" but is about to shoot anyway because crazy, if Coil splits timelines right there--in one, he rolls to the right, in the second, he rolls to the left--he gets shot in both. He might die a second later in one or the other, but it doesn't make a difference how or when he splits the timelines, if he is already in a physically inescapable situation.
But also remember the other thing I said. The two timelines are exactly identical, except for whatever is affected by Coil's actions. Meaning: Anything that Coil does not affect, anything that he does not know about, and he doesn't know a -lot- (because other than this timeline power he is a completely baseline human being with no other special perceptions, he's not omniscient--which is exactly why he has invested so much in enslaving Dinah, to give him access to more perception, but Dinah -also- isn't perfect), proceeds exactly the same in both timelines. If Private Investigator Parahuman with sneaky powers is looking into this matter of a mysterious leader of the most low-profile gang in Brockton suspected to be behind some nasty stuff, and Coil doesn't know about this guy, then as long as none of Coil's actions in any timeline incidentally reach far enough to affect the guy's investigation, no matter how or when timelines are split, then the guy's investigation proceeds unhindered, until either Coil learns about him, or Private Investigator Parahuman with Sneaky powers finally manages to sneak up on the mysterious gang leader first.
Or, in other more metaphorical words; he walks into a box before splitting timelines, box locks and starts filling with water. No physically possible way out, he can split timelines all he wants, it doesn't let him get out of the box before he drowns if he was already in it before he split. Simple--but admittedly not easy. You have to either put the box around him without him finding out and shut the box before he splits, or trick him into walking into that box without a timeline split to begin with when he's trying to avoid exactly that--but he is only human, and can make mistakes.
But it's also -possible- he -could- get stuck in the very situation you describe, if he's already far apart in two timelines but gets killed in both, -if- by cosmic coincidence both killings happen almost at the same time. He split the timeline a while ago, and somehow based on -his- actions, Taylor is closest to killing him in one(say he went to the trainyard in this one, where Taylor is waiting), Lisa in the other(say he went to the boardwalk, where Lisa is waiting). If Taylor kills him with bees in one timeline, forcing an auto-drop of it, and the exact same moment he's walking down the street in the second timeline with Lisa already having him in her sights, then he's -stuck- walking down that street with Lisa about to pull the trigger, and in such a situation even if he were to split timelines again, the most he could possibly do is walk in two different directions--and then get shot in both anyway, killing him for good. But such a situation is phenomenally unlikely to be pulled off unless someone had a power that let them know what was going on with Coil's...and even then, when you lay it out, he's actually dying the same way as -one- person killing him; He's in two very different timelines, and has two people about to kill him in both. One timeline hits him first. He doesn't true-die, just drops the one. But now he's stuck in the other timeline where he's about to be killed by the other person, and even if he splits timelines right then, he literally cannot physically do enough to stop from then "twice" to the same--in other words, he just got shut in the box.
That's really what it comes down to; just "simply" (but not easily) engineer a situation in which he is in a kept timeline, and is then caught in a physically inescapable situation before or as he splits timelines again.
That would indeed be the mere beginning of the War Without End to which I was referring, yes. Best to keep that out of here, poor Blackarrow is having enough trouble without going down a line of discussion that leads to vicious arguments involving quantum mechanics and P-zombies and other shit.
(For the record, that is the side I come down on too for being WoG, but there is absolutely no call to even start talking about the high complexities and implications of Coil's power to add even more confusion to Blackarrow when the basics are already being such a conundrum. I am speaking only from the perspective of the user of the power to keep it as comprehensible as possible, thus, it "looks like" timeline splitting. Blackarrow, ignore everything from rafuki's quote to now, forget you ever read it before you stare too deep into the Madness Beyond )
I'm pretty sure that every parahuman in Worm is killable. There are certainly those that are very hard to kill, either because they just need a lot of conventional damage of they need something specific to kill them.
I can think of a few of minor characters we meet where it isn't clear what will kill them, but it's probably because we don't spend a lot of time with them.
A P-zombie (or philosophical zombie) is something used in thought experiments which acts like a human being without actually being sapient and conscious.
For example, if we hadn't had Dragon's interlude, there could be an argument whether she is actually conscious computer program or if she is just a computer program that is simulating being conscious (a P-zombie). Her interlude proves that she isn't a P-zombie because it's from her point if view and P-zombies, not being conscious, don't really have one of those.
Hello, smart people and people who are not Cherish-dumb. Welcome to the last Interlude of S9 Arc and the last Chapter of Arc 11 11.h | Worm. I don't like this because I wanted to read more about Slaughterhouse 9 adventures in the Slaughterhouse City. Seriously, S9 is my favorite supervillain group of this story. And when I say supervillains, I'm referring at those really fucked up villains, not the tame and relative harmless ones like Undersiders, Travelers or Faultline Crew, to not be confused. S9 is the most interesting, fascinating, scary, creepy, utterly fucked up, overpowered, crazy, psychotic, intelligent, anti-social, terrifying group of supervillains, putting other groups like the former ABB, Fenrir's Chosen, Pure and even Merchants in a corner of shame. I don't know too much about Cauldron, so I can't say if S9 are worse than them or they are worse than S9, but I won't be surprised if they're equally bad as S9 or even worse, because this story is going from a bad villain to a worse villain and so on. But until a possible Cauldron Arc, I'll hold my belief that no other supervillain group is as bad and exciting at the same time as S9. Ok, last time we had this stupid bitch (or, on a more polite tone- no so bright S9 member) recruiting her dear paternal brother, hoping that her teammates would rather kill him than her and that she's going to take Jack's team leadership. She doesn't want to destroy the group because she feels like they're evil and its her duty to do something actually good in her life, she just wants to replace a murderous but intelligent leader with another murderous but foolish leader. This is all she wants, nothing else. I might play here the devil's advocate role but I think that S9 would be even more dangerous and brutal with Cherish as their leader than with Jack. As bad as Jack is, at least he knows how to keep his team from killing each others and from destroying entire cities in the process, while Cherish will never have his iron fist over the team, despite her power. Yes, Jack wants to end the world, but its important to keep his team under a certain control until then (and maybe involuntary giving enough time to heroes/villains to stop him). Cherish will bring absolute chaos as S9 leader and nobody will have time to make a move to stop them. I'm 100% convinced that Cherish will disastrously fail and I'll feel JOY seeing her begging Jack to forgive her and give her another chance to prove how loyal she actually is and Jack will be like:
then proceeds to slaughter her with his knives while laughing like a maniac.
And another thing: Alec, you should seriously start to learn how to fight like a man. I mean, if either Brian or Taylor would have been in your place, they would have kicked Cherish's ass to Montreal and back. But Alec had his ass kicked by her instead. Alec, there are moments like this when your power won't do jack shit against your foes so you have to improvise. Be less lazy and more responsible in the future, ok?
Now back to this last interlude, I think Bonesaw's Scaredy Cat will be either Missy or Amy. Missy because she's by Bonesaw's age and maybe Bonesaw wants to have another child in her team+ Missy have a very strong power+ she also have a pessimistic, fatalistic, even morbid vision of life (but she's not a scared cat, she's actually a fearless child who'd do anything to fight for what she believes is right, so I'm gonna to eliminate her as a possible recruit). On the other side, Amy have great control over biology (and Bonesaw is a medical -Tinker), but have a lot of internal troubles, being AFRAID that she might become a villain like her father and running away from this feeling her entire life. She acts exactly like a Scaredy Cat. She must be Bonesaw's Scaredy Cat.
Amy sat on her bed, staring at the piece of paper in her hands. The header at the top was stylized, a silhouette of a superhero with a cape flowing, with a script reading 'The Guild' extending to the right.
Gosh, I'm so proud of myself. Amy is the last candidate. I'm convinced that she'll never accept to become what she was always running away from, not in a million of years. Plus, she CARES too much for her sister, Victoria, to betray her like this, by becoming everything that the heroine hates- a villain. Bonesaw is not going to be successful with her recruitment, but at least she should try, ok? And its going to be interesting to see the interactions between Amy and the crazy Tinker. I think whatever Amy is reading is the letter that Dragon send to her, where she explained her who is her real father and what he did. Amy is going to finally know that Marquis is her papa? Thank you, Dragon, for this wonderful moment , you're the best when it comes to getting family members together after so many years of being away from each other. Well, I actually wanted for them to meet face to face, but a letter with information can be a promising start.
Mrs. Carol Dallon. Brandish,
Let me open by stating my condolences for the loss of your brother-in-law, nephew, and your husband's injury. I have heard New Wave is currently considering disbanding, and you have my best wishes, whatever route you end up taking. We have too few heroes and heroines to lose them, and even fewer of the truly good heroes and heroines who set the standard for everyone else, parahuman and human alike. If finances ever become a concern, know that all you need to do is ask, and we will find you employment among the Guild's uncostumed staff.
Knowing what you have been through as of late, it is with a heavy heart that I send you this message with further bad news. Marquis, interred in the Baumann Parahuman Containment Center, confided to another inmate that he fears for his daughter's life. I have checked the facts to the best of my ability, and the details I have been able to dig up match with his story. I must warn you that Allfather may have arranged for Amy Dallon to be murdered at some future date, in revenge for his own daughter's death at Marquis' hands.
She had to stop reading there. The paper had been on Carol's bedside table, and Amy had found it while collecting a change of clothes for Mark a week ago. Carol had probably been reading it to him late the previous night, and maybe forgot to put it away due to a mixture of exhaustion and the distractions that came with waking up each morning to a disabled husband and a ten-year career in jeopardy.
Oh, New Wave lost their cohesion after so many members died or were disabled. This is rather sad, I kind of liked this hero group. Carol's husband, Flashbang, is disabled (all "thanks" to Leviathan: Great job, asshole) and I'm staying here and wondering why Amy didn't healed him yet. Maybe because he have traumatic brain injury and Amy doesn't want to use her power on brains because of some very STUPID REASON. A stupid reason like affecting someone's brain might turn her into a villain. Seriously, Amy, you'll use your power to HEAL, not to turn people into zombies or monsters. Affecting someone's brain is NOT an evil power if you're using it for good purposes. On the contrary, is a very useful and positive power. Someone can have a horror power but use it to do good (Taylor is the best example) an incredible destructive power but be an overall good person (hey, Marissa, whats up?) or a beautiful power that can be used for creepy and even horror purposes (Elle -sinister museum mall, her own asylum room). Power doesn't matter, its the user and their decisions and actions what it matters. Please, heal your step father, don't let him live all his life like this. Its not fair. You'll become a better person if you'll face your fears and destroy your boundaries .
Amy knew she shouldn't have read it, but the header had caught her attention. With her family's fate uncertain, she had found herself reading, to see if they were joining the Guild, if something else had happened that could distract them from this.
Now that door was open, and she could never shut it again. She didn't care so much about the possible hit on her. No. What shook her was that she now knew who her father was. She even suspected that, like Tattletale had told her months ago, she'd always known. She just hadn't dug for it, hadn't put the pieces together.
Marquis had been an aspiring crime lord in the bad old days of Brockton Bay. It had been a time when the villains had been flocking to the city to profit off the booming tech and banking sectors, to recruit mooks and henchmen from the city's unemployed dockworkers. It had been an era when the heroes hadn't been properly established, and the villains had been confident enough that some didn't give a second thought to murdering any heroes who got in their way. Marquis included.
The bad old days were how Carol and Mark referred to that time. There were more heroes now, and there was more balance between the good guys and the bad, but things were arguably worse now. Everything was in shambles.
Marquis had been an osteokinetic. A manipulator of both his own bone and, provided some was exposed, the bones of his enemies. He'd been notorious enough that she'd heard about him despite the fact that he'd been arrested more than a decade ago, that the city and the public had remembered him. He'd lived in the outskirts of the city, residing in a large house in the woods, just beneath the mountains. She thought maybe there was something familiar about that idea. Was it imagination when the vague image of a house popped into her mind? The study with the black leather chair and countless bookshelves? Or was it memory, something recalled from her early childhood?
To all reports, the man had been heartless, callous. Wasn't she? She couldn't bring herself to care anymore when she went to the hospitals to heal the injured and sick. It was a chore, something she made herself do because people wouldn't understand if she stopped. There were only so many people she could heal before she became desensitized to it. What else did she know about Marquis? She vaguely recalled Uncle Neil talking about the man when he'd been talking to Laserdream about villain psychology. There were the unpredictable ones, the villains who were hard to stop because you couldn't guess where they'd strike next, but who were less practiced in what they did and made mistakes you could leverage against them. There were also the orderly ones. The ones who were careful, who honed their methodology to perfection, but they repeated themselves, showed patterns that a smart hero could use to predict where they struck next, and often had rules or rituals a hero could turn against them.
Which wasn't to say that one was smarter than the other, or that one was better. Each posed problems for the local authorities and capes.
Marquis had fit into the latter category, the perfectionists, the pattern killers. He'd had, as Neil explained, a warped sense of honor, underneath it all. He didn't kill women or kids.
...............HE DOESN'T KILL WOMEN AND CHILDREN? Marquis doesn't kill women and children. OMFG!!! He's the most gentleman villain of this story. Not only that he's a gentleman, but...he doesn't kill children, which is the best thing a villain can do. Wow, I liked him before but now I love him. Amy, you have a great father, your father is a very decent villain, stop running away from him. Ask Dragon to arrange a way for you two to communicate with each other so you can get to talk to your father and get to know him better. And viceversa. I have tears in my eyes, Marquis is a nice villain (at least for being a gentleman and not killing children), he cares for his daughter and Amy still doesn't want him in her life. Amy, you're a good person, but some of your decisions kind of piss me off. As for Marquis, I guess he killed Iron Rain (a woman) either in self defense or accidentally. And do you know what will be funny? I think that New Wave had to send an all women team in order to capture him. Maybe isn't true, but that would have been a great strategy because Marquis would have hesitated to kill the heroines, giving them an opening to capture him.
Not hard to pull the pieces together. She could remember how quickly Neil had dropped the subject when he realized she was listening. He hadn't outright said that they'd caught Marquis, but she could imagine that the weaknesses that Neil had been outlining had been what they'd used.
Send Lady Photon, Brandish and Fleur against the man. Add the fact that Amy had been there, a toddler, and Marquis had been too concerned about collateral damage to go all out.
It was him. She didn't want it to, but it all fit together.
It was all so fucked up. She was so fucked up.
There was a knock on her door. She hurried to hide the paper.
"Come in," she said, trying to compose herself in the span of one or two seconds.
Carol opened the door. She was pulling on the gloves for her costume. "Amy?"
"Yeah?"
Carol took a few seconds before she looked up from her gloves and met Amy's eyes. When she did, the look was hard, accusatory.
"There's word about some strange howling near the Trainyard. Glory Girl and I are going on a patrol to check on it."
Amy nodded.
"Can you look after Mark?"
"Of course," Amy said, her voice quiet. She stood from her bed and headed to the door. Carol didn't move right away. Instead, Amy's adoptive
mother stayed where she was, staring at Amy. Amy reached the door and had to stop, waiting for Carol to speak.
But Carol didn't. The woman turned and left the doorway, Amy meekly following.
They don't understand.
Mark was in the living room, sitting on the couch. No longer able to don his costume and be Flashbang, Mark could barely move. He had a form of brain damage. It was technically amnesia, but it wasn't the kind that afflicted someone in the movies and TV. What Mark had lost were the skills he'd learned over the course of his life. He'd lost the ability to walk, to speak full sentences, hold a pen and drive a car. He'd lost more – almost everything that let him function.
What little he regained came slowly and disappeared quickly. It was as though his brain was a shattered glass, and there was only so much he could hold in it before it spilled out once again. So they'd patiently worked with him, helping him to hobble between the bedroom, living room and bathroom. They'd worked with him until he could mostly feed himself, say what needed to be said, and they didn't push him to do more.
Victoria was in costume as Glory Girl, but she was unclipping a bib from around his neck, something to ensure he didn't stain his clothes while he ate. Amy's adoptive father turned and smiled gently as he saw the other two members of his family. It was all Amy could do to maintain eye contact, smile back.
"Ready, mom?" Victoria asked.
"Almost ready," Carol said. She bent down by Mark and kissed him, and he was smiling sadly as she pulled back. He mumbled something private and sweet that his daughters weren't privy to, and Carol offered him a whispered reply. Carol stood, then nodded at Victoria, "Let's go."
lollolLady Photon, Brandish, Fleur.... I was so DAMN right about an all women team capturing Marquis. See, Marquis, your chivalrous personality was exactly your downfall. But anyway, don't ever change, keep your chivalrous side even when you might break free from Birdcage (I still think that soon or later we're going to talk about a prison break). It suits you perfectly. Men like you are the BEST. Victoria and Carol are leaving to investigate Woof Lair. So, this whole Bonesaw Interlude happens right when Glory Girl and Brandish will arrive in Woof Lair and will stop Rachel from maiming an innocent family. Its like I'm taking a look in the future. Neat. Poor Mark, he got amnesia, but not the one that made him forget all the people around him, including his own name, but the one that made him forget his skills. He's like a toddler now but unlike a toddler, everything new he's learning he forgets soon. I feel so bad for him .
They left without another word. There was no goodbye for Amy, no hug or kiss.
Victoria can't even meet my eyes.
The slight hurt more than she'd expected. It wasn't like it was something new. It had been going on for weeks. And it was fully deserved.
Amy felt her pulse pounding as she looked at Mark. Made herself sit on the couch next to him. Does he blame me?
It was all falling apart. This family had never fully accepted her. Being in the midst of a family that all worked together, it was hard to preserve secrets. Amy had learned a few years ago, overhearing a conversation between Carol and Aunt Sarah, that Carol had initially refused to take her in. Her adoptive mother had only accepted in the end because she'd had a job and Aunt Sarah didn't. One kid to Aunt Sarah's two. When she'd taken Amy in, it hadn't been out of love or caring, but grudging obligation and a sense of duty. Mark had tried to be a dad. He'd made her pancakes on the weekends, taken her places. But it had always been inconsistent. Some days he seemed to forget, others he got upset, or was just too distracted for the trips to the ice cream store or mall. Another secret that the family hadn't kept – Mark was clinically depressed. He had been prescribed drugs to help him, but he didn't always take them.
It had always been Victoria, only Victoria, who made her feel like she had a family here. Victoria was mad at her now. Except mad wasn't the right word. Victoria was appalled, seething with anger, brimming with resentment, because Amy couldn't, wouldn't, heal their father. They'd fought, and Amy hadn't been able to defend her position, but still she'd refused. Every second that Victoria and Carol spent taking care of
Mark was a second Amy felt the distance between her and the family grow. So she took care of Mark as much as she could, only taking breaks to visit the hospitals to tend to the sick there. She'd also needed a few to process the letter she'd received. The letter. Carol wasn't angry in the same way Victoria was. What Amy felt from her 'mother' was a chill. She knew that she was only justifying the darker suspicions Carol had harbored towards her since she was first brought into the family. It was doubly crushing now, because Amy knew about Marquis. Amy knew that Carol was thinking the same thing she was.
Marquis was one of the organized killers. He had his rules, he had his code, and so did Amy. Amy wouldn't use her power to affect people's minds. Like father, like daughter.
"Do you need anything?" she asked Mark, when the next ad break came up.
"Water," he mumbled.
"Okay."
Maybe people here will judge me for my opinion, maybe they'll criticize me, but I don't really care. Its MY opinion and I'll fight to defend it. So...I'm by Victoria and Carol's side. Amy SHOULD HEAL Mark, she have the power to do it but she doesn't want because she thinks that she'll become like her father. My head hurts thinking at this non-sense. Amy, you're HEALING your father who, despite not being the greatest father, he actually was kind enough with you and took care of you. He did his best, despite suffering of a severe form of depression. If you HEAL him, doesn't mean that you'll kill him or you'll turn him into a monster, zombie or make him sick. You're not a villain, you'll never be one, stop doubting about yourself so much and help your family, help yourself to become a braver and more confident person. Please, Amy, you can still do it. You can still heal him so your sister and your mother will have a nice surprise when they'll return home after being scared by Siberian's apparition (I'm very serious here, if I'd have Amy's power- one of my favorite powers actually- I'll use it on brains without any hesitation, just to heal any brain damage. Because I'll know in every second that I'm doing something right and good ). You should feel the same, Amy, you're more than you believe you're. Much more. Ok, enough with scolding "hugs Amy while she's in her way to the kitchen."
She headed into the kitchen, grateful for the excuse to leave the room. She searched the dishwasher for his cup, a plastic glass with a textured outside, light enough for him to lift without having to struggle with muscle control, easy enough to grip. She filled it halfway so it wouldn't be as heavy.
Tears filled her eyes, and she bent over the sink to wash her face.
She was going to lose them. Lose her family, no matter what happened.
Which meant she had to go. She was old enough to fend for herself. She would leave of her own volition, and she would help Mark as a parting gift to her family. She just had to work up the courage.
Drying her face with her shirt, she carried the mug into the living room.
The TV was off.
Had Mark turned it off because he'd wanted to sleep? Amy was careful to be quiet, stepping on the floorboards at the far sides of the hallway so they wouldn't creak.
A girl stood in the living room, five or so years younger than Amy.
Amy, Amy, you feel so bad for your family, yet you can't do the right thing to do because your self doubt is so damn HIGH. Even Taylor have more self- esteem than Amy and this says a lot....Oh, look, its Alice, she just returned from Wonderland. Hi, Alice, what you're doing in the City Where all Fairy Tales Wither and Die? Ok, I'm going to make a deal. My friend told me that Bonesaw doesn't like swearing (I saw this thing in fanart too). The deal is that everytime when she'll appear in the story, I'll stop swearing, no matter how annoying, brutal, nerve-racking, emotional the situation will be. I'm not going to cuss in the presence of such an educated and sensible child. I'll replace cussing words with words more acceptable by Bonesaw. Let's do this....let's make this happen. How hard is going to be?
Her blond hair had been curled into ringlets with painstaking care, but the rest of her was unkempt, filthy. She stared at Mark, who was struggling and failing to stand from the couch.
The girl turned to look at Amy, and Amy saw that some of the dirt that covered the girl wasn't dirt, but crusted blood. The girl wore a stained apron that was too large for her, and the scalpels and tools in the pocket gleamed, catching the light from the lamps in the corner of the room.
Amy recognized the girl from the pictures that were hung up in the office.
"Bonesaw."
"Hi," Bonesaw gave a little wave of her hand. A wide smile was spread across her face.
"What- What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see you. Obviously."
Amy swallowed. "Obviously." Was it possible that Allfather had arranged for a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine to murder her? Amy's eyes roved over the room, looking for Bonesaw's work. Nothing. She looked over her shoulder and a shriek escaped through her lips. A man was not two feet behind her, tall and brutish, his face badly scarred and battered to the point that it was barely recognizable as human. A long-handled axe sat in one of his massive, calloused hands, the head resting on the floor. Hatchet Face.
Oh, hi, Bonesaw. Do you want to recruit Amy, eh? (aw, God, she's really cute, in a very creepy and unsettling way. She reminds me of one of those killer dolls) Well, I'm not going to wish you success, of course, but I appreciate your effort. And you brought your big friend, Hatchet Face (I said before that Hatched Face was revived by Bonesaw, so he's now a zombie), to help you with recruitment? Good thinking. Oh...no....Amy will be unable to defend herself because Hatchet Face have this power who disassemble any other powers used by someone against him. I'm not sure how Bonesaw managed to revive him by Tinkering the entire process but maybe she found a way to stop his power from working until she finished with him. She's a smart girl, after all, right? Amy, you're not in a very good situation here and your father can't help you either (even if he didn't already lost his skills- including the ability to use his powers, he couldn't use them anyway)
"Runnn," Mark moaned, urging her. She didn't give it a second thought. She dashed for the front door, threw it open with enough force that a picture fell from the wall.
Hatchet Face stood on the other side, blocking the doorway.
"No," she gasped, as she backed towards the living room, "No, please."
How? How had he gotten there so fast? She turned around and saw he was still there, still in the hallway.
There were two Hatchet Faces?
Then the first one exploded into a cloud of white dust and blood spatters, momentarily filling the room. Amy could hear Bonesaw's giggling, felt her heart sink.
Awww, Mark told Amy to run away not caring at all that he himself is in great danger. He only wanted to protect his daughter. Mark, you just became one of my favorite fathers of this story by simply doing what any father should do for his child(ren) . Hatchet Face can....teleport? Did Bonesaw gave him some additional teleportation powers? And....he can also make temporary clones of himself. I think I got it. Bonesaw gave him Oni Lee's powers by probably implanting Oni Lee's brains inside Hatchet Face's cranial vault (after she previously enlarged it) then stitching the two brains together somehow. I mean this is what I think she did, I'm not the medical Tinker here, but its fun to try to think like one. I don't care at all about either Hatchet Face or Oni Lee, they deserved their fate, all I care for are Amy and Mark.
"Get it? You figure out what I did? Turn around, Hack Job."
Amy had figured it out, but Bonesaw's creation demonstrated anyways. He turned his back to Amy, and she saw what looked like a tumorous growth on the back of his head, shoulders and arms. Except the growth had a face, vaguely Asian in features, and the lumps inside the growth each roughly corresponded with organs and skeletal structure. The jaw of the figure that was attached to the back of Hatchet Face's body was working open and closed like a fish gasping for air. The stitches were still fresh.
"You mashed them together. Oni Lee and Hatchet Face."
"Yes! I can't even begin to tell you how hard it was. I mean, I had to conduct the operation from a remote location, using robots, because I would lose my Tinker powers if I got too close to the big lug. And I had to fit their bodies and nervous systems together so that they could use their powers without messing up the other."
"Oh god," Amy mumbled. Is this what she's going to do to me?
"Had to add in a control frame and perform a spot lobotomy so Hatchet would obey me, you know. He didn't lose much. Was never very bright."
"And Oni Lee?" Amy was almost afraid to ask.
"Oh, I barely touched his brain. He suffered some moderate brain damage from his close brush with death, but I revived him. His brain's more or less intact, even. He can't control his body, but he's alert and aware, and he feels everything Hatchet does," Bonesaw smiled wider.
"That's horrifying."
Wow, I was close enough, she not only mashed their brains together, but she also mashed their bodies and their organs together. Neat. They remind me of professor Quirinus Quirrell from Harry Potter. I liked how she used remote controlled robots to operate at distance, explaining how she did what she did to them. No, its not horrifying, Amy, they're some bad people who got what they deserved. The only horrifying thing here is that Amy and Mark are in a serious great danger, they can't defend themselves, they can't fight back against Bonesaw because, even if she's not very strong by herself (though I'm sure that as a Tinker she must have some aces up her sleeves making her capable enough to defend herself even without her experiments- like additional powers, additional weapons hidden inside her body or even additional limbs. A smart and insane child like her is always prepared for everything. Right?), she have Hatchet Lee (I'm gonna call them like this, suit them better than Hack Job ) by her side. This Interlude already keeps me on the edge (I'm more worried for Mark than Amy because Bonesaw have no intention to kill her recruit and for the devastating effect that Mark's possible death might have over her already fragile psyche. Amy already blame herself for not being brave enough to help Mark, she'll downright hate herself if he'll die, feeling entirely responsible- in her mind- for his death). But I still believe that Amy will never accept Bonesaw's proposition and might even think at ways to fight back.
But I'm going to continue tomorrow, its late and I'm tired because I had to concentrate a lot to not swear . Just joking, I'm tired for the only reason of.... being tired. Good night, smart people and people who are not Cherish-dumb, and sleep well and befriend Bonesaw. She's not that bad once you get to know her. Try it, maybe you'll even get some unexpected body modifications as random gifts from her. Two more hands, a second head, a dog head replacing your head, hundreds of eyes all over your body, all your organs exposed outside your body. Who knows, its fun anyway.
I'm pretty sure that every parahuman in Worm is killable. There are certainly those that are very hard to kill, either because they just need a lot of conventional damage of they need something specific to kill them.
I can think of a few of minor characters we meet where it isn't clear what will kill them, but it's probably because we don't spend a lot of time with them.
A P-zombie (or philosophical zombie) is something used in thought experiments which acts like a human being without actually being sapient and conscious.
For example, if we hadn't had Dragon's interlude, there could be an argument whether she is actually conscious computer program or if she is just a computer program that is simulating being conscious (a P-zombie). Her interlude proves that she isn't a P-zombie because it's from her point if view and P-zombies, not being conscious, don't really have one of those.
Someone like Zombie Bakuda, right? She was revived by Glaistig Uaine but even if she behave like a human, she's dependent of the "fairy" lady, demonstrating in this way that she's not exactly herself anymore on the inside.
I get the feeling that blackarrow really misses the meaning and points behind some of the various story points. Like she did with thinking that Mr. Gladly did nothing wrong, or with that Scion thinks all humans are garbage when he was only specifically looking at Eidolon. Me saying these things aren't really spoilers in any way, since it's pretty much what the author wanted to elicit in the readers. It just takes a little analysis, that's all.
Anyway, I'm delightfully enjoying the reactions thus far, notwithstanding these rare erroneous impressions.
I understand your pain, man , sorry.
The only reason I can see for her not wanting to heal brains is that she doesn't want to become a villain because she doesn't trust herself enough -she thinks that she will start doing evil things from that moment which is very untrue from a logical point of view. If she have another reason and is a spoiler, please, don't tell me. Thanks.
I kind of wish for Bonesaw to somehow push Amy to her limits so she'll be forced to start affecting brains and overcome her fears in this way. Maybe deactivate Hatchet Lee's immunity power and make her kill him or threaten Mark with death so Amy will don't have any other choice but to heal him. Something like this.
I get the feeling that blackarrow really misses the meaning and points behind some of the various story points. Like she did with thinking that Mr. Gladly did nothing wrong, or with that Scion thinks all humans are garbage when he was only specifically looking at Eidolon. Me saying these things aren't really spoilers in any way, since it's pretty much what the author wanted to elicit in the readers. It just takes a little analysis, that's all.
Anyway, I'm delightfully enjoying the reactions thus far, notwithstanding these rare erroneous impressions.
Well, now that I'm thinking better, yes, Mr Gladly did something wrong because he gave up at helping Taylor even if it was his duty as a teacher to support/help his students, whatever they wanted his help or not. But still, I'll hold my opinion that he doesn't deserved to die, especially like this. There are plenty of people worse that Mr Gladly who really deserve this kind of death.
I didn't noticed that Scion was looking directly at Eidolon, I was too busy getting involved emotionally in Leviathan battle that I believed that Scion was looking at everyone, thinking they're garbage+ I never trust Scion and I always feel that something is very wrong with his and he'll not remain a hero forever. Maybe Eidolon did something bad to Scion? Or he's so powerful that Scion feels like he'll have troubles facing Eidolon at one certain moment in the story? Or Eidolon is an asshole, Scion knows this and he's pissed that a mere asshole human is so strong and pretends to be a hero? Ok, don't tell me which one is right. And thank you for your support "hugs"
Yep, he's a criminal and a sadistic and merciless gang leader, I agree with you. But compared with Coil, Heartbreaker, S9, Marquis is a freaking angel. Someone who doesn't kill children and women and genuinely cares for his daughter's well-being can't be entirely evil, right?
Well, now that I'm thinking better, yes, Mr Gladly did something wrong because he gave up at helping Taylor even if it was his duty as a teacher to support/help his students, whatever they wanted his help or not. But still, I'll hold my opinion that he doesn't deserved to die, especially like this. There are plenty of people worse that Mr Gladly who really deserve this kind of death.
I didn't noticed that Scion was looking directly at Eidolon, I was too busy getting involved emotionally in Leviathan battle that I believed that Scion was looking at everyone, thinking they're garbage+ I never trust Scion and I always feel that something is very wrong with his and he'll not remain a hero forever. Maybe Eidolon did something bad to Scion? Or he's so powerful that Scion feels like he'll have troubles facing Eidolon at one certain moment in the story? Or Eidolon is an asshole, Scion knows this and he's pissed that a mere asshole human is so strong and pretends to be a hero? Ok, don't tell me which one is right. And thank you for your support "hugs"
Yeah, a lot of people make that conclusion because of the emotions in the scene. Anyway, I feel like you're really not in a position to judge Scion since you know about 0.1% of his full backstory at this point. I don't want to spoil anything, that'd suck and earn me an infraction, so instead I will share with you what I myself took from that scene during the Leviathan Battle when I read it first, not including anything that happened after. As such, I don't think it can be taken as a spoiler.
At that time, my thought process -- what I took from the chapter was that something large was happening behind the scenes, that no one knew about. Scion is pretty much confirmed to be the strongest being on the planet, followed by the Endbringers, and the Endbringers being followed by Eidolon who is in turn followed by Alexandria and Legend. The top dogs, that no one can beat. And among them, one of these top dogs -- the very executive top-top Jesus-dog with a golden body -- has enmity for another one.
It was clear to me from that moment: "Something went down. The #1 Hero hates Eidolon. What could have Eidolon done to invoke Scion's wrath?" I couldn't quite dig in the situation back then, and I won't explain the conclusion of it, since that'd be a spoiler, but again, I'll tell you what I already knew back then:
Eidolon did something very wrong. Did, perhaps, something evil, and maybe he regretted it or wasn't aware of it, or he didn't care and kept being a 'hero' anyway. But Scion knew. He either knew because he was personally attached to Eidolon, or because he had the power to know, being himself.
And for that, Scion resented Eidolon. As the author wrote: "Looked down at him like nobility looks at dog shit."
But he didn't interfere, for another set of reasons of its own.
EDIT: Also, a part of the analysis that I feel is important and distinguishable to mention is that Scion overlooked Taylor and Bitch as if they weren't there. Compared to Eidolon and Leviathan, they weren't important. He had no beef with them. No reason to hate or love them. But Eidolon actually evoked emotions from this bizarre, seemingly divine entity that so far hadn't shown any emotions except deep sorrow in his first appearance.
Marquis is a freaking angel. Someone who doesn't kill children and women and genuinely cares for his daughter's well-being can't be entirely evil, right?
If you could identify Marquis with a D&D personality scale, I'd say he's Lawful Evil. I wouldn't call him an angel, but at his core he has a lot of integrity as a human being that you can't really see in many other villains, or even heroes.
Yeah, a lot of people make that conclusion because of the emotions in the scene. Anyway, I feel like you're really not in a position to judge Scion since you know about 0.1% of his full backstory at this point. I don't want to spoil anything, that'd suck and earn me an infraction, so instead I will share with you what I myself took from that scene during the Leviathan Battle when I read it first, not including anything that happened after. As such, I don't think it can be taken as a spoiler.
At that time, my thought process -- what I took from the chapter was that something large was happening behind the scenes, that no one knew about. Scion is pretty much confirmed to be the strongest being on the planet, followed by the Endbringers, and the Endbringers being followed by Eidolon who is in turn followed by Alexandria and Legend. The top dogs, that no one can beat. And among them, one of these top dogs -- the very executive top-top Jesus-dog with a golden body -- has enmity for another one.
It was clear to me from that moment: "Something went down. The #1 Hero hates Eidolon. What could have Eidolon done to invoke Scion's wrath?" I couldn't quite dig in the situation back then, and I won't explain the conclusion of it, since that'd be a spoiler, but again, I'll tell you what I already knew back then:
Eidolon did something very wrong. Did, perhaps, something evil, and maybe he regretted it or wasn't aware of it, or he didn't care and kept being a 'hero' anyway. But Scion knew. He either knew because he was personally attached to Eidolon, or because he had the power to know, being himself.
And for that, Scion resented Eidolon. As the author wrote: "Looked down at him like nobility looks at dog shit."
But he didn't interfere, for another set of reasons of its own.
EDIT: Also, a part of the analysis that I feel is important and distinguishable to mention is that Scion overlooked Taylor and Bitch as if they weren't there. Compared to Eidolon and Leviathan, they weren't important. He had no beef with them. No reason to hate or love them. But Eidolon actually evoked emotions from this bizarre, seemingly divine entity that so far hadn't shown any emotions except deep sorrow in his first appearance.
If you could identify Marquis with a D&D personality scale, I'd say he's Lawful Evil. I wouldn't call him an angel, but at his core he has a lot of integrity as a human being that you can't really see in many other villains, or even heroes.
I personally don't trust Scion because something is off with him. I don't know but I feel like something is very off with him (if he's stronger than Endbringers why he doesn't kill them and spare humanity from suffering because of them?) Now I know that aliens gave humans their powers. Scion is an alien, he's probably from the same species as the Floating Space Abstract Creatures, but he took a human body. Why they gave people their powers? They must have a reason. And that reason is not a good one. So, there are so many things wrong with Scion that even if I don't know his backstory, I'll never ever trust him (I'm not a person who trust people easy). My thoughts when I read Scion/Eidolon scene were: Scion looks down at humans and think they're garbage. He only pretends to help them. He must have his own plans with them. He's not the hero that everyone should put their hopes in. Now that I know that he was thinking about Eidolon being garbage, I still think the same about Scion .
I agree with you about Marquis being Lawful Evil. I also think that Jack and Heartbreaker are Chaotic Evil and Coil....have no idea, he's not Chaotic Evil but neither Lawful Evil (he doesn't have any moral code, he's just a power hungry villain who'd sacrifice everything for his uncontrollable need for power).
I personally don't trust Scion because something is off with him. I don't know but I feel like something is very off with him (if he's stronger than Endbringers why he doesn't kill them and spare humanity from suffering because of them?) Now I know that aliens gave humans their powers. Scion is an alien, he's probably from the same species as the Floating Space Abstract Creatures, but he took a human body. Why they gave people their powers? They must have a reason. And that reason is not a good one. So, there are so many things wrong with Scion that even if I don't know his backstory, I'll never ever trust him (I'm not a person who trust people easy). My thoughts when I read Scion/Eidolon scene were: Scion looks down at humans and think they're garbage. He only pretends to help them. He must have his own plans with them. He's not the hero that everyone should put their hopes in. Now that I know that he was thinking about Eidolon being garbage, I still think the same about Scion .
I agree with you about Marquis being Lawful Evil. I also think that Jack and Heartbreaker are Chaotic Evil and Coil....have no idea, he's not Chaotic Evil but neither Lawful Evil (he doesn't have any moral code, he's just a power hungry villain who'd sacrifice everything for his uncontrollable need of power).
Whenever I get into any work, be it a book, anime, TV show, I analyze everything I see. Every scene I watch, I ask myself: "Why did Character B do that? What was his reasoning? Why did he have such a reasoning? How does it affect him? What was he thinking when he performed that action? Why did the author think it relevant enough to put in?"
With Scion, I was much the same: "Why is he saving people?"
Like I said, I won't spoil you. I'll just give you theories I had at the time I was at your stage of reading, like I did with the earlier analysis.
Honestly, I have to debunk your idea of him "trying to gain people's trust by pretending to help them" right off the bat, because he has nothing to actually earn from it when you think about it very deeply. Let me elaborate:
He doesn't really show his emotions, besides the intense mental impressions he gives people (that could be accidental and uncontrolled.) But it doesn't really matter. He saves people, be it from robbers or natural disasters. They can love or hate him for it, but he'll never gain anything from it, because he doesn't have any needs or wants. Not any that he shows, or logically seems to have. He doesn't need/want to eat, drink, or sleep from what I can tell, and if he did, I'm pretty sure raiding a McDonald's is child's play to him. He doesn't really want power and he already has a lot of it. On top of that, he's not using the PRT to gain influence over humans. I bet if he really wanted to, he could just beat the Triumvirate into submission and become King of the World.
So to conclude that analysis: Scion doesn't need or want anything. At least not from humans. It's a logical conclusion. There is nothing humans can offer him.
Here are my theories I had at the time:
- My theory top one at the time was that Scion was inspired to be a hero. His suit had to come from someone human. A friend he made? Maybe an adoptive parent, or two of them, like with Superman? So maybe his motives for saving people did so too -- saving people for the sake of saving people. Notice how in his first appearance, he is described to feel "deep sorrow." I thought: "Maybe he's an alien baby, and the aliens were his parents and they died and their essence sort of spread all over the place and gave people superpowers, and now he's alone?" The main reason I thought this is that it actually fits fucking flawlessly with his name, doesn't it? Scion, someone who descended from someone/something else. Perfect name for a stranded last-of-his-species alien baby that's stuck on a planet full of beings alien to him. I thought this theory was unblemished, a perfect deduction on my part. It all made sense, but there was one issue with it: He really disdains Eidolon. He has a reason to hate Eidolon, but no reason to stop or intervene with him. So, like I said, there was something behind the scenes. This theory was still 100% plausible, but it had holes that needed feeling.
- My second theory was that he was related to Eidolon. They both have a lot of powers and seem to be connected with each other in some way, with Scion hating Eidolon. Maybe Eidolon adopted Scion when he was a little alien and as a result of being in such close proximity to an alien, Eidolon got a fuckton of powers. Then he started ignoring Scion, spawning enmity between the two? Scion would also get his suit and apparent heroism from Eidolon, since both of them are heroes, but again, there are holes in this theory. Eidolon, as a parent, would likely push Scion to join the Protectorate. Then there's always the issue that we don't know Eidolon's age so it's impossible to assume he would be at a parent-plausible age when Scion showed up.
-- Regarding both theories, yes, I know Scion was fully-formed and adult when he first appeared, but I assumed it was because the beings he saw when he made his body predominantly were adult human males, and that he could have still been a child in mind.
- My third and last theory was that Scion was an Endbringer (and even then, I didn't know what they were, so I kept making theories,) that somehow turned good. The first Endbringer, in fact, since there were no mentions of Endbringers prior to his appearance. It'd make a certain modicum of sense, seeing that Scion is Endbringer-levels powerful, clearly not human, and definitely has an alien mindset that can't be easily explained, with no real personality to speak of -- he's just "Scion." More a force of nature than proper person, just like the Endbringers. What I didn't understand with this theory was why he'd hate Eidolon, act good, or attack his brethren with so much lethal power. This was where most of your own worries seeped into my mind at the time -- what if he's pretending, what if he's an Endbringer that's trying to look good before humans only to betray them? But it didn't make sense. Again, he has the strength to make Leviathan fuck off pretty much a handful of combat rounds after his appearance, and that means he can juggle the Triumvirate like a trio of miserable, powerless bowling pins. He could easily destroy the planet in maybe a month.
Take your pick. I later made three more theories as it went on, but they contain information with spoilers, so I can't include them here. All I will say was that Interlude 18 (Donation #1) influenced most of them.
Whenever I get into any work, be it a book, anime, TV show, I analyze everything I see. Every scene I watch, I ask myself: "Why did Character B do that? What was his reasoning? Why did he have such a reasoning? How does it affect him? What was he thinking when he performed that action? Why did the author think it relevant enough to put in?"
With Scion, I was much the same: "Why is he saving people?"
Like I said, I won't spoil you. I'll just give you theories I had at the time I was at your stage of reading, like I did with the earlier analysis.
Honestly, I have to debunk your idea of him "trying to gain people's trust by pretending to help them" right off the bat, because he has nothing to actually earn from it when you think about it very deeply. Let me elaborate:
He doesn't really show his emotions, besides the intense mental impressions he gives people (that could be accidental and uncontrolled.) But it doesn't really matter. He saves people, be it from robbers or natural disasters. They can love or hate him for it, but he'll never gain anything from it, because he doesn't have any needs or wants. Not any that he shows, or logically seems to have. He doesn't need/want to eat, drink, or sleep from what I can tell, and if he did, I'm pretty sure raiding a McDonald's is child's play to him. He doesn't really want power and he already has a lot of it. On top of that, he's not using the PRT to gain influence over humans. I bet if he really wanted to, he could just beat the Triumvirate into submission and become King of the World.
So to conclude that analysis: Scion doesn't need or want anything. At least not from humans. It's a logical conclusion. There is nothing humans can offer him.
Here are my theories I had at the time:
- My theory top one at the time was that Scion was inspired to be a hero. His suit had to come from someone human. A friend he made? Maybe an adoptive parent, or two of them, like with Superman? So maybe his motives for saving people did so too -- saving people for the sake of saving people. Notice how in his first appearance, he is described to feel "deep sorrow." I thought: "Maybe he's an alien baby, and the aliens were his parents and they died and their essence sort of spread all over the place and gave people superpowers, and now he's alone?" The main reason I thought this is that it actually fits fucking flawlessly with his name, doesn't it? Scion, someone who descended from someone/something else. Perfect name for a stranded last-of-his-species alien baby that's stuck on a planet full of beings alien to him. I thought this theory was unblemished, a perfect deduction on my part. It all made sense, but there was one issue with it: He really disdains Eidolon. He has a reason to hate Eidolon, but no reason to stop or intervene with him. So, like I said, there was something behind the scenes. This theory was still 100% plausible, but it had holes that needed feeling.
- My second theory was that he was related to Eidolon. They both have a lot of powers and seem to be connected with each other in some way, with Scion hating Eidolon. Maybe Eidolon adopted Scion when he was a little alien and as a result of being in such close proximity to an alien, Eidolon got a fuckton of powers. Then he started ignoring Scion, spawning enmity between the two? Scion would also get his suit and apparent heroism from Eidolon, since both of them are heroes, but again, there are holes in this theory. Eidolon, as a parent, would likely push Scion to join the Protectorate. Then there's always the issue that we don't know Eidolon's age so it's impossible to assume he would be at a parent-plausible age when Scion showed up.
-- Regarding both theories, yes, I know Scion was fully-formed and adult when he first appeared, but I assumed it was because the beings he saw when he made his body predominantly were adult human males, and that he could have still been a child in mind.
- My third and last theory was that Scion was an Endbringer (and even then, I didn't know what they were, so I kept making theories,) that somehow turned good. The first Endbringer, in fact, since there were no mentions of Endbringers prior to his appearance. It'd make a certain modicum of sense, seeing that Scion is Endbringer-levels powerful, clearly not human, and definitely has an alien mindset that can't be easily explained, with no real personality to speak of -- he's just "Scion." More a force of nature than proper person, just like the Endbringers. What I didn't understand with this theory was why he'd hate Eidolon, act good, or attack his brethren with so much lethal power. This was where most of your own worries seeped into my mind at the time -- what if he's pretending, what if he's an Endbringer that's trying to look good before humans only to betray them? But it didn't make sense. Again, he has the strength to make Leviathan fuck off pretty much a handful of combat rounds after his appearance, and that means he can juggle the Triumvirate like a trio of miserable, powerless bowling pins. He could easily destroy the planet in maybe a month.
Take your pick. I later made three more theories as it went on, but they contain information with spoilers, so I can't include them here. All I will say was that Interlude 18 (Donation #1) influenced most of them.
Yes, I agree with Scion about being an Endbringer (I actually had this theory some time ago) and if he's an Endbringer, this make Endbringers entirely aliens, never creatures created by Tinkers or mutated animals. But now I wonder if they have a connection with the Floating Space Abstract Creatures (unless they're Floating Space Abstract Creatures themselves who just took different forms). Its possible that Scion hates Eidolon because maybe Eidolon killed someone dear to Scion: his girlfriend, his boyfriend, his kids, whatever Scion's species have as people close to them and he doesn't try to avenge them because its possible that he doesn't feel the need of revenge, like humans. Maybe he can only feel sadness and hate (and attachment), but no other feelings. Its possible for Eidolon to be such a huge asshole to kill an alien and piss off another alien with possible bad consequences for humanity? I wonder what Alexandria and Legend would say if they'll ever find out what Eidolon did (whatever he did).
Maybe Scion doesn't want anything from humans on the moment but he might want their help in the future. Against other enemy alien race? Its possible that he's planning to turn humans into his soldiers so they can fight for him. Probably he's not that strong to fight himself so he needs help. By winning humans trust, he's sure that they'll help him against his enemies. This is another theory I have for Scion's real goals (a theory that I have talked about in a couple of reviews). Or maybe I'm just paranoiac and Scion will remain a goody-two-shoes until the very end? Maybe the ultimate villain will be either Cauldron or Eidolon (great, you just made me doubt of Eidolon. I might even stop seeing him as a hero). Ok, I'm going to have Scion the benefit of the doubt until I'll find more about him. Then I'll decide if I'll start trusting him or see him as a cunning enemy. But now I'm doubting more and more about Eidolon. Welp, what did you do to me, you "evil" person?
I'm not very much of a person who analyze things (especially during emotional scenes). I'm more on the emotional part, seeing things from the perspective of what characters feel about them. As you probably noticed, I get emotional pretty easy, especially during sad scenes so my rational part of brain stops working.
Yes, I agree with Scion about being an Endbringer (I actually had this theory some time ago) and if he's an Endbringer, this make Endbringers entirely aliens, never creatures created by Tinkers or mutated animals. But now I wonder if they have a connection with the Floating Space Abstract Creatures (unless they're Floating Space Abstract Creatures themselves who just took different forms). Its possible that Scion hates Eidolon because maybe Eidolon killed someone dear to Scion: his girlfriend, his boyfriend, his kids, whatever Scion's species have as people close to them and he doesn't try to avenge them because its possible that he doesn't feel the need of revenge, like humans. Maybe he can only feel sadness and hate (and attachment), but no other feelings. Its possible for Eidolon to be such a huge asshole to kill an alien and piss off another alien with possible bad consequences for humanity? I wonder what Alexandria and Legend would say if they'll ever find out what Eidolon did (whatever he did).
Maybe Scion doesn't want anything from humans on the moment but he might want their help in the future. Against other enemy alien race? Its possible that he's planning to turn humans into his soldiers so they can fight for him. Probably he's not that strong to fight himself so he needs help. By winning humans trust, he's sure that they'll help him against his enemies. This is another theory I have for Scion's real purposes (a theory that I have talked about in a couple of reviews). Or maybe I'm just paranoiac and Scion will remain a goody-two-shoes until the very end? Maybe the ultimate villain will be either Cauldron or Eidolon (great, you just made me doubt of Eidolon. I might even stop seeing him as a hero). Ok, I'm going to have Scion the benefit of the doubt until I'll find more about him. Then I'll decide if I'll start trusting him or see him as a cunning enemy. But now I'm doubting more and more about Eidolon. Welp, what did you do to me, you "evil" person?
I'm not very much a person who analyze things. I'm more on the emotional part, seeing things from the perspective of what characters feel about them. As you probably noticed, I get emotional pretty easy, especially during sad scenes so my rational part of brain stops working.
Hey, I'm not pushing you. Just giving you my thoughts on the matter.
Anyway, all I was saying you shouldn't judge books by their cover (even if it's golden.) I just pointed out something you omitted, then it spiraled into an analysis of Scion (and partly Eidolon.) You should take what I tell you with a grain of salt -- take things exactly as they are. I bet you started out thinking Armsmaster would be a saintly goody-two-shoes, but let me tell you that if there's a thing Worm is good at, it's subverting expectations and giving a weight of reality to things.
Someone like Zombie Bakuda, right? She was revived by Glaistig Uaine but even if she behave like a human, she's dependent of the "fairy" lady, demonstrating in this way that she's not exactly herself anymore on the inside.
No not at all. The defining feature of a P-zombie is that it is impossible to tell that someone is one. It would be like if say Brian didn't have any inner thoughts or self-awareness but otherwise acted exactly the same as he does now.
Hey, I'm not pushing you. Just giving you my thoughts on the matter.
Anyway, all I was saying you shouldn't judge books by their cover (even if it's golden.) I just pointed out something you omitted, then it spiraled into an analysis of Scion (and partly Eidolon.) You should take what I tell you with a grain of salt -- take things exactly as they are. I bet you started out thinking Armsmaster would be a saintly goody-two-shoes, but let me tell you that if there's a thing Worm is good at, it's subverting expectations and giving a weight of reality to things.
Yes, even in real life I kind of judge people after my first impression about them. And this helped me few times, an example being back at highschool when I had a crush on a boy that every girl believed him to be perfect (handsome, intelligent, gentleman type). He seemed to like me as well and he even asked me for a date but (surprising even myself) I refused him and I told him that I don't think he's someone I want to be with (despite my intense crush on him). Why I did that? Because he liked alcohol too much and he was kind of arrogant with people around him. I felt that something was off with him and later, much later, I found out that he beat up very bad one of his girlfriends, sending her to the hospital. My impression about him was right, he was an abusive asshole and I could have been in the place of that poor girl (I know how to defend myself but he was a pretty strong man+ he also knew how to fight so I'm not sure how successful I would have been in a fight with him). And there were other times when my first instinct of judging people after their appearances actually helped me.
First time when I meet Armsmaster, I saw him as a very serious, but fair hero. With time, I started to see him as an arrogant prick. After Leviathan's Battle, when he was ready to sacrifice Taylor, I really, really HATED him. But now I'm warning up to him and even if he's not one of my favorite heroes, I like him a lot for his ambition, badassery and personal beliefs.
But I JUDGE and I'll keep JUDGING people like Coil, S9 and Heartbreaker because I can't see any good in them (except Burnscar and maybe Bonesaw), they're very evil persons who deserve nothing but only bad things to happen to them. And people who made experiments in Cauldron. No matter their intentions, killing/mutilating people in the name of science is something that I'll never agree with and I'll never accept. And people who are doing that are assholes. Yes, some people deserve to be judged after appearances, some people not.
I personally don't trust Scion because something is off with him. I don't know but I feel like something is very off with him (if he's stronger than Endbringers why he doesn't kill them and spare humanity from suffering because of them?) Now I know that aliens gave humans their powers. Scion is an alien, he's probably from the same species as the Floating Space Abstract Creatures, but he took a human body. Why they gave people their powers? They must have a reason. And that reason is not a good one. So, there are so many things wrong with Scion that even if I don't know his backstory, I'll never ever trust him (I'm not a person who trust people easy). My thoughts when I read Scion/Eidolon scene were: Scion looks down at humans and think they're garbage. He only pretends to help them. He must have his own plans with them. He's not the hero that everyone should put their hopes in. Now that I know that he was thinking about Eidolon being garbage, I still think the same about Scion .
I agree with you about Marquis being Lawful Evil. I also think that Jack and Heartbreaker are Chaotic Evil and Coil....have no idea, he's not Chaotic Evil but neither Lawful Evil (he doesn't have any moral code, he's just a power hungry villain who'd sacrifice everything for his uncontrollable need for power).
Would you trust the undersiders? Amy? Faultline? Because if so, you trusted them very easily.
Also, I recommend you to remember that the interludes, and chapters, are mostly done from the perspective of a character, for example taylor.Taylor, from what I have read, is selfish, with moral myopia, besides being an unreliable narrator , she has become, or becoming, what she hates, you can say whatever you want about taylor, but she is an anti-villain, or a villain with good intentions, that's not bad, after all, because a world like worm can not make good prosper without a higher amount of negativity and bittersweet moments.
I do not hate Taylor, but I see his defects on a realistic level, the same with everyone else, it's true that many of the characters you want dead deserve it, but you're too emotional to do a logical analysis, which is fine, but the human mind, and probably the alien mind, is more complicated than just a couple of moments and scenes.
Would you trust the undersiders? Amy? Faultline? Because if so, you trusted them very easily.
Also, I recommend you to remember that the interludes, and chapters, are mostly done from the perspective of a character, for example taylor.Taylor, from what I have read, is selfish, with moral myopia, besides being an unreliable narrator , she has become, or becoming, what she hates, you can say whatever you want about taylor, but she is an anti-villain, or a villain with good intentions, that's not bad, after all, because a world like worm can not make good prosper without a higher amount of negativity and bittersweet moments.
I do not hate Taylor, but I see his defects on a realistic level, the same with everyone else, it's true that many of the characters you want dead deserve it, but you're too emotional to do a logical analysis, which is fine, but the human mind, and probably the alien mind, is more complicated than just a couple of moments and scenes.
I see Taylor as a Chaotic Good. She wants to do good things, she wants to save people that she believes they deserve to be saved (for example Dinah), she's indeed an anti-villain, a vigilante, just like Punisher for example. But I love her for this, she's my second favorite character (but I'm still ready to criticize her if she'll do something really awful in the future and especially I'm still pissed on her because of how she's treating her father). She's not like Sophia: I'm a vigilante because I'm the strongest and all others are my preys. She really wants to make the world something better no matter the ways of doing that. Honestly, as long as she never stop trying to save Dinah, I'm going to agree with whatever she'll do, even if this means hurting heroes (I'm not going to hold Taylor responsible for almost anything- EXCEPT for straight up murdering heroes or torturing absolute innocent people- as long as is for the good of Dinah). I care so much for Dinah and I want her to be saved, no matter the costs. I didn't trust Faultline and some of Undersiders at first but I started to warm up to them once I found out that they're very capable of doing good. I trusted Amy from the beginning but I didn't liked her. Now I like her but I don't understand some of her actions. But everyone with their preferences. Your favorite characters might differ from my favorite characters and viceversa. Your preferences/judgement of their actions might differ from my preferences/judgement of their actions and so on.
I wouldn't say Taylor is my favorite character (Lisa is more interesting than her), but I always had this impression that she was an Hero willing to make her hands dirt. She sets a goal, that goal can be something good, but she will do a lot of bad things to be succefull. Honestly this what I like about her, she knows the world is not black and white.
Whem I first read Worm, I thought that Scion was an "Almithy Idiot" a creature who is so powerful, but don't have there own thoughts or free will and that he was acting on some one else's orders (some one with a bone to pick against Eidolon).
Whem I first read Worm, I thought that Scion was an "Almithy Idiot" a creature who is so powerful, but don't have there own thoughts or free will and that he was acting on some one else's orders (some one with a bone to pick against Eidolon).
That actually crossed my mind as well, but I almost instantly discarded at as a legitimate theory for reasons I can't quite remember. It's actually really funny in hindsight, when you look at Interlude 18 and his overall backstory and the source of his beef with Eidolon.
I get the feeling that blackarrow really misses the meaning and points behind some of the various story points. Like she did with thinking that Mr. Gladly did nothing wrong, or with that Scion thinks all humans are garbage when he was only specifically looking at Eidolon. Me saying these things aren't really spoilers in any way, since it's pretty much what the author wanted to elicit in the readers. It just takes a little analysis, that's all.
Anyway, I'm delightfully enjoying the reactions thus far, notwithstanding these rare erroneous impressions.
It's not about a different interpretation but misinterpretation. Scion was specifically targeting Eidolon with his loathing and Mr. Gladly's reluctance to involve himself was explicitly explained. I'd agree about a different interpretation if, for instance, Scion arrived after Eidolon and as soon as he arrived, an aura of disgust washed over everything, which could be interpreted as being targeted at all humans, and so on.
Interpretation can only occur if there is room for interpretation. It was a targeted description of how Scion looked specifically at Eidolon with disgust. There was no room for "so he hates humans" or "he hates Eidolon."
If he looked at the entire scene, at every parahuman in turn, then sure. That'd leave some interpretation about the direction of his feelings. But he overlooked Skitter and Bitch and focused on Eidolon, leaving no room to interpret what the author was trying to convey. A simple information.
Scion doesn't like Eidolon. Him specifically. He doesn't care all that much about the rest.
It's not about a different interpretation but misinterpretation. Scion was specifically targeting Eidolon with his loathing and Mr. Gladly's reluctance to involve himself was explicitly explained. I'd agree about a different interpretation if, for instance, Scion arrived after Eidolon and as soon as he arrived, an aura of disgust washed over everything, which could be interpreted as being targeted at all humans, and so on.
Interpretation can only occur if there is room for interpretation. It was a targeted description of how Scion looked specifically at Eidolon with disgust. There was no room for "so he hates humans" or "he hates Eidolon."
If he looked at the entire scene, at every parahuman in turn, then sure. That'd leave some interpretation about the direction of his feelings. But he overlooked Skitter and Bitch and focused on Eidolon, leaving no room to interpret what the author was trying to convey. A simple information.
Scion doesn't like Eidolon. Him specifically. He doesn't care all that much about the rest.
I've been disgusted by a group before and only bothered to look with disgust on a single individual within a group, ignoring the others. You don't have to look at every member of a group with disgust to be disgusted by that group.
When I first read that scene, I interpreted Scion has thinking himself above humanity in general (as represented by the greatest human, Eidolon). And yes, I noticed that Scion ignored Skitter and Bitch.
I am speaking only from the perspective of the user of the power to keep it as comprehensible as possible, thus, it "looks like" timeline splitting. Blackarrow, ignore everything from rafuki's quote to now, forget you ever read it before you stare too deep into the Madness Beyond
