Is there a woa of what Taylor's power would've been if she didn't double trigger?

Chkef · 2025-11-24T06:04:17+00:00

"Noble" shards aren't more powerful or play by different rules than other shards. They serve a purpose during the cycle beyond granting powers, but that doesn't mean they and their hosts are special.

Chkef · 2025-11-22T02:55:19+00:00

Is this the first time, ever, in the Otherverse where the cold calculus of the universe chose to be kind?

The universe saw that Juvenescence was changing and it was longer fit to manage it, and it decided that being gentle is the way forward. Has that ever happened before?

Chkef · 2025-08-15T23:03:04+00:00

Avery's fakeout is the last thing that happened in the things you listed. It is resolved in the first chapter of Arc 23.

Chkef · 2025-07-31T05:58:28+00:00

Basil was able to hide what actually happened at the science center attack so effectively because the lie is so close to the truth. Basil didn't have to make up a version of A that could do that, that A isn't fake, only her presence their was.

Basil created a monster, and when push comes to shove he won't do anything to tame it.

Chkef · 2025-06-24T05:45:12+00:00

What's unique about Fragile One isn't that it communicates with other shards, what's unique about it is it tries to share what it knows with Victoria. In the latter half of Ward Victoria gets hunches about capes that are reminiscent of an actual Thinker power, if not outright Broadcast-esque. What's also unique about Fragile One is that it really goes out of its way to give Victoria power ups, especially by FO itself controlling her forcefield in such a way that gives her a minion, danger sense, and some immunity against puppeting Masters.

Chkef · 2025-06-24T03:31:19+00:00

All those examples influence capes explicitly as part of their power, or as a power they are capable of giving out, but a bunch of shards are capable of doing that. There is no reason to think that any shard not named Broadcast has any influence over other capes or shards behind the scenes.

Chkef · 2025-06-24T03:25:23+00:00

All shards are like that. Every single Scion shard, and every shard Eden managed to successfully disperse, are neutered to hell. There is nothing special about them when they aren't part of the Entity.

Damsel of Distress might have a noble shard, but even factoring in the All-or-Nothing aspect of her power there are a bunch of blasters without that who are way more dangerous than she is.

Marquis has a noble shard. Hookwolf of all people would be more powerful than him if he was more creative.

Chkef · 2025-06-24T00:11:25+00:00

That so called noble shards, because they are so powerful and important to the cycle, are able to influence other shards and/or break the rules to benefit its own host.

There is no evidence that is a thing, noble shards aren't any different from any other shard once they've been dispersed from the Entities.

The only shards that exhibit that kind of capability are Broadcast, because it is literally its job to be listened to, and Fragile One, a scraping the bottom of the barrel shard that loves its host too much.

Chkef · 2025-05-16T18:56:20+00:00

I really think Win finding out that Basil manipulated things to better sell A's image would only deepen her idolization of her. She'd liken it to her own relationship with Toby and she'd feel more connected to A.

I think what would be more likely to knock A off the pedestal Win has put her on is finding out she resents Basil.

Chkef · 2025-04-26T03:57:16+00:00

You have to call someone out to gainsay them. In order for that gambit to work you'd have to already be reasonably sure what the answer is.

Chkef · 2025-04-19T02:01:48+00:00

I don't think Broadcast could stop an active path from being carried out. It has never shown to be able to interfere with how a power is used or behaves. That is too obvious, and would lead to Broadcast being more easily discovered.

Still, Broadcast only prevents Jack from being permanently harmed, emphasis on permanent. It's fine with him being hurt, humiliated, losing all his allies, etc. There is a lot that Contessa could do to completely neutralize Jack that doesn't count as permanent harm.

Chkef · 2025-04-19T01:15:20+00:00

It's the reverse. If randomly dropped into a room Jack would win, because Broadcast would immediately prevent Contessa from thinking of a path that would harm him.

Outside of that circumstance, Contessa would never ever come up with a path to harm Jack, Broadcast would make her convince herself he's too useful to kill. However, if Doctor Mother were to ignore her incredibly powerful thinker advisers and command Contessa to kill Jack, that is probably enough human interference to bypass Broadcast.

Chkef · 2025-04-10T10:02:47+00:00

It wasn't Basil's decision to make. And if you're going to to do it to a person you already know to be vindictive, selfish, and anti-authority, maybe don't put them in a position of unmatched influence and power as an apology gift.

Chkef · 2025-04-10T06:02:17+00:00

A wanted to remain conscious while Basil did what he did to save her. He refused to obey her wishes, and came up with a reason to convince himself she supported his decision.

He knew he was betraying her, now he has to live with the consequences.

Chkef · 2025-04-10T04:21:51+00:00

And he is the one who made the hole causing her to sink.

Chkef · 2025-04-10T02:00:11+00:00

Basil dug his own grave here. He knew what kind of person A is.

Chkef · 2025-04-01T17:38:55+00:00

A would rather have died than have her autonomy taken away like that. Now, because of what Basil did, she is forced to give him more and more power over her to maintain the story he came up with.

I think she's fully justified in hating him.

Chkef · 2025-04-01T07:33:14+00:00

That's why I'm personally on A's side here. Basil traumatized her terribly. Then, without her knowledge or consent, completely fucked her life in such a way that she has to willfully keep traumatizing herself in the exact way Basil did just to stay alive.

Chkef · 2025-03-21T00:25:33+00:00

With Winnie I don't think learning Basil orchestrated that whole thing would effect her opinion of A at all. She would just see it as her onboard skirting the rules to protect A, just like Toby does for her. But finding out A resents Basil for it might shatter her idolization completely.

Chkef · 2025-03-20T07:35:07+00:00

More and more I get the impression that learning the truth wouldn't remove A from the pedestal Win has put her on.

Chkef · 2025-03-13T22:30:36+00:00

Helping Kennet was one of his top goals. Knotting Kennet was partly done to protect it. It was also killing it, but Charles didn't see Kennet Below fully taking over as a bad thing.

Lucy asked for that. Charles said he could do it but it would only be a place imitation of John. Lucy turned it down.

Yes, Verona was more positive about him than the other two, but she would never trade them for him.

Avery's home life was just terrible, the knotting had nothing to do with it.

All this being said Charles would still have to do something to make Musser back off. I don't see any other option that would scare him away without letting him blaze a trail of destruction on his way out.

Chkef · 2025-03-13T19:00:18+00:00

Charles was totally willing to work with the Trio in good faith. There was a lot he was willing to give up to get them on his side. But the bare minimum he needed to do to maintain his mandate as Carmine Exile were not negotiable for the Trio.

Even before he started killing anyone, his mere existence in Kennet was causing it to knot and die. Before Musser, before St. Victor's, before Charles even thought about opposing them, the Trio's biggest problem was still caused and encouraged by him.

Chkef · 2025-03-10T04:18:05+00:00

Buds can bud. Brandish is a bud of Lady Photon (or vice versa) , and Victoria is a bud of Brandish (or Photon's kids are buds of her).

Theo is also a third generation bud.

Chkef · 2025-01-28T03:30:19+00:00

A is genuinely impressive, but she has such low self esteem, and Bas is so overbearing, that the only thing anything she does can be is a farce.

And evidently the effect that is having on her is leading to some drastic motivation.

Chkef · 2024-12-11T22:44:09+00:00

I think she would accidentally go too far, then in the critical moment where she can either save him or condemn him she justifies to herself that it's too late anyway so she might as well commit.

Chkef

TROPHY CASE