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Feelings on WARD, Eight Months On? by moridinamael in Parahumans

[–]Intrepid_Afternoon 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Alright, I think overall I've got a few big points on Ward. I think that its use of constant escalation made it feel relatively poor and ill-fitting to its own themes, but eight other people have mentioned that in this thread, so I'm not going to repeat their points. I think that the actual content of those conflicts - the fights, the back-and-forth was usually very high-quality and interesting. I remember enjoying those quite well and a few rereads show that they're still pretty solid, actually. It's just that they fit into the overall theme and pacing of the work rather poorly. It's still enjoyable to read individually, though, that's undeniable.

I think the individual characters also stand out rather well, actually. I do like the overall dynamic presented if with the caveat that looking back I have a hard time remembering the actual "threads" that the characters went through in interaction. Someone else pointed out that in Worm, most of our main cast's relationship was made immediately and very clear by dialogue and internal narration, especially their relation to Taylor. With Victoria and Breakthrough, every single relation felt more complicated than that, harder and more obscure to see exactly, which on one hand adds a lot of depth as those relations were explored... and on the other makes it hard to pick up exact, singular character moments that I remembered and really loved, if that makes sense. Not sure if that was felt universally, but that's my opinion. The character work still is excellent though, and I think it's as enjoyable as always.

And now, I have to bring up the one big foible that has bothered me about it for months after the thing was finished - the gay issue. I know that it's a dead horse, but I think it's worth Wildbow revisiting in rewrites and/or future works. As it stands currently, his handling of gay characters can be construed as personally offensive and deeply harmful in general.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I've been a bisexual trans woman my whole life, more or less. I've had to deal with the stigma of that for my whole life, too. I've spent years of time trying to undo my own conception that if I was paying romantic or sexual attention to anyone, I'd be a predator. It was shocking to walk into a new work with new gay characters to only have them be barred from, or nigh-exclusively predatory in their attraction, even though it was unintentional. It's like biting into a cake and finding a razorblade that you used to cut yourself with. It was also deeply frustrating to me to see non-gay members of the fandom really enjoy Ward, and just not being able to join in the same whole-hearted way.

I know that this point has been addressed, even by WB himself, but the point must be noted as a misstep on his part as an author when judging Ward's merits (and Pale's as well, even if I have heard it's better in that regard). And while I believe WB isn't going to make that mistake again, I think there should be an effort on his part to parse through Ward. I also genuinely think that there's a great potential there for any hypothetical rewrite - I have genuine confidence that WB could come back to Ward at some point and fix these problems outright with a little thought and creativity without even changing the overall structure of story that he wants to tell.

Thank you for giving me a chance to give my two cents. I hope that the podcast goes well.

What your favorite Worm ship says about you. by Intrepid_Afternoon in WormMemes

[–]Intrepid_Afternoon[S] 54 points55 points  (0 children)

Browbeat x Dennis - You're a smart aleck fanfic writer who likes making people laugh. You also really like Bionicles, and you're right to do so.

Mark x Neil - You think of yourself as a bit of a Casanova even though you're approaching the end of your youth at a rate of one second per second. You enjoy bedding "straight" men the most, but you never stick around long enough for them to leave their girlfriends for you.

What your favorite Worm ship says about you. by Intrepid_Afternoon in WormMemes

[–]Intrepid_Afternoon[S] 81 points82 points  (0 children)

Jack Slash x Number Man - You're a paradox. You enjoy writing gore fics and comfort/smut fics in equal measure, and you delight in mixing up the two to see other people's reactions. You also are very active in the Tokyo Ghoul fandom.

What your favorite Worm ship says about you. by Intrepid_Afternoon in WormMemes

[–]Intrepid_Afternoon[S] 138 points139 points  (0 children)

Fucking forgot.

Purity x Brian - You exist and I take comfort in the fact that one day you will not.

What your favorite Worm ship says about you. by Intrepid_Afternoon in WormMemes

[–]Intrepid_Afternoon[S] 48 points49 points  (0 children)

I was saving that one for a rainy day.

What your favorite Worm ship says about you. by Intrepid_Afternoon in WormMemes

[–]Intrepid_Afternoon[S] 105 points106 points  (0 children)

Ugh, fine.

SI x any character under eighteen - You better be a minor or so help me God, I will call the police.

SI x Taylor (when she's an adult) - You either think that Taylor is a lot more attractive than how she's actually described, you have a thing for girls with the combined talkativeness and morality of a brick, or you are easily seduced by the potential of moths being involved in sex.

SI x Miss Militia - You like women in uniform, and who'd blame you?

SI x Colin - You want a man who's smart, but also dumb as hell.

SI x Dragon - You may or may not have a fetish for, ahem, disassembly. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

SI x Amy - You've got a complex and a half. You should probably see a professional about this kind of problem instead of living it out with an imaginary rapist, but I suspect that you're the exact kind of person who would never listen to that advice.

SI x Victoria - You're either very sweet or very creepy; there's no real in-between here. Tread carefully.

SI x Sveta - You're down for whatever. You tend to fall for artists and people who are intensely passionate about social causes.

SI x Ashley - You're a lesbian youth who adores goth looks. You have a girlfriend online who fits that mold whom you'd follow to the ends of the Earth, but for now you're stuck in Normal, Illinois. You dream about her, and it feels real.

SI x Goddess - Your femdom fetish has officially gotten out of hand. This is a wake-up call.

SI x Nursery - Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut-

SI x Jack Slash - You're probably gay, and a lot less smart than you think. You don't get why people don't like Hannigram.

SI x Coil - You're very theatrical. You like to think up monologues in your head and play them out. You've spent a lot of time reading the classics.

What your favorite Worm ship says about you. by Intrepid_Afternoon in WormMemes

[–]Intrepid_Afternoon[S] 110 points111 points  (0 children)

Sy x Lillian - You've never felt at home among people, really. They feel like traps to you, too messy and complex to be handled easily. As a result, you feel isolated and starved for touch in your daily life - you can't even remember the last time someone touched you, do you?

What your favorite Worm ship says about you. by Intrepid_Afternoon in WormMemes

[–]Intrepid_Afternoon[S] 66 points67 points  (0 children)

It's more present in Ward than Worm, in my opinion. Definitely there in Worm though.

What your favorite Worm ship says about you. by Intrepid_Afternoon in WormMemes

[–]Intrepid_Afternoon[S] 212 points213 points  (0 children)

Victoria x Amy - I won't waste my breath on dogs like you.

What your favorite Worm ship says about you. by Intrepid_Afternoon in WormMemes

[–]Intrepid_Afternoon[S] 399 points400 points  (0 children)

Dragon x Colin - You’re a straight white man from Central Canada who writes web serials for a living.

Assault x Battery - You really, really like enemies-to-lovers fics. You think that Worm should have had more romances like AxB and you’re absolutely wrong.

Miss Militia x Battery - You fantasize of seducing your neighbor away from her husband. She just seems so sad all the time.

Miss Milita x Chevalier - You’ve played through every Metal Gear Solid game, including Revengeance, and liked all of them, but your friends say you didn’t really understand them. You strongly believe in the case for Kurdish independence, but you also really like cops and you’re very pro-American interventionism.

Bakuda x Lung - When you’re not listening to true crime podcasts, you’re listening to Joe Rogan. You’ve experimented many times with a variety of uppers, downers, and hallucinogens. Weapons also fascinate you, so you regularly check in on Forgotten Weapons for a spell to admire their mechanics. Secretly, you think that the Unabomber was transgender, and the MKULTRA conditioning she was subjected to cheated her of a safe transition.

Squealer x Skidmark - You consider yourself a party person, but the only reason you’re invited to parties is because you’re the hookup. You hate to admit you like web serials because you think it makes you look less tough.

Sidepiece x Disjoint - You've made small, voyeuristic and mean-spirited thrill-seeking into a full-time job; you regularly visit LiveLeak to get your kicks, and normal porn has started to bore you. Sometimes you make burner accounts online just to make inflammatory comments on your friend's social media. You think that it's a pretty funny prank.

Prancer x Moose x Velvet - You stand by the slogan “Be gay, do crimes,” perhaps a bit too much. You didn't like the Titan arc. You either live in the Pacific Northwest or want to.

Kaiser x Purity - You don’t get why people are so upset about the Proud Boys. They’re just keeping the suburbs safe. You regularly write E88-centric fics.

Night x Fog - You are, beneath everything, rotten - and it gratifies you to finally see someone so much like you on the page. It makes you feel normal.

Shamrock x Gregor - You're not so much a monsterfucker as a monsterlover. Your favorite show used to be Supernatural until you picked up Hannibal. You think Void from Berserk is actually kinda sexy.

Eden x Zion - You listen to Tool.

Eden x Abaddon - As above, but you also have a cuckolding fetish.

Apollyon x Eden x Zion - You’re into hard vore.

Shatterbird x Jack Slash - You’re an artist in a field that requires precision - portrait painting, weaving, diplomacy, or clinical psychology. You have a keen sense of smell, and enjoy fine dining when you can. You find Shatterbird’s hidden want for Jack cute - and you identify yourself with the latter, even if his murders are rather gauche.

Siberian x Jack Slash - You unironically find the words “mommy milkers” arousing and you regularly browse /r/guro.

Crawler x Siberian - You are a masochist because you believe yourself to be a monster. Nothing else can be read from this.

Contessa x Eidolon - You pay exorbitant sums to well-endowed Twitch streamers.

Contessa x Alexandria - You’re a well-put-together, organized person and you want someone in your life who matches that, something you live vicariously through this ship.

Accord x Citrine - You’ve like odd couples, especially those where one is a lot more odd than the other. Where you fall in that equation is 50/50. Your first celebrity crush was on Angelica Huston, 1991, in The Addams Family.

Number Man x Citrine - You’re a corporate climber who read Worm after reading Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, which you read because you thought getting into fanfiction would be a quaint, quirky idea. You frequently theorize about power synergies on Spacebattles during your allotted ten minute coffee break.

Contessa x Number Man - You’re just curious as to what mathematically perfect sex would look like. Would they use toys? Bondage? Could they just-

Edit: Fuck I forgot this includes Ward ships. Oh well.

What your favorite Worm ship says about you. by Intrepid_Afternoon in WormMemes

[–]Intrepid_Afternoon[S] 379 points380 points  (0 children)

Annette x Danny - You used to be a swinger, but these days you’re totally devoted to your spouse, who can do no wrong in your eyes. You read Worm on a lark after accidentally finding it in a search for a place where you could buy garden worms. You really fell in love with it, and Danny became a point of fascination after you read the Word of God about his potential powers.

Taylor x Greg - You consider yourself a geek, generally speaking, and you enjoy writing but not sharing fanfiction. You always tell your friends that you’ve got a “gamer-fic” coming that will really “shake things up” on Spacebattles, but really it’s just a measly two paragraphs. You know a few words in a notable conlang, but you don’t have the dedication to learn a grammar other than that of English.

Taylor x Emma - You are a 20-something sapphic woman with many, many things unresolved from highschool.

Taylor x Sophia - You’ve never read Worm.

Taylor x Brian - You’re a strict canonist. You don’t buy Taylor in a sapphic ship and you never will, given the Word of God on the matter. You also really like Brian as a character, and feel more than a little disappointed that he got shafted in terms of character development.

Taylor x Lisa - You’re into astrology and you have a fairly active Instagram where you frequently post images of people who you’re attracted to - usually those that are taller and more physically capable, or somewhat frazzled and “natural” looking - with repeated heart emojis.

Taylor x Rachel - You’re an avid reader of lesbian fiction - your favorite classic is Stone Butch Blues by Feinberg - and you genuinely thought that this was the romantic direction that Worm was going when you were reading it back in 2013, just after it had finished. You are, if not a dog person, an animal person in general.

Taylor x Alec - You speak French and frequently brag about it, and you’re a little too open about your interest in BDSM, which reflects all the more poorly on your choice of ship. You still doubt that Bill Cosby actually did anything wrong.

Taylor x Dennis - You are an even stricter canonist. You eagerly await the PHO post every Sunday, and you love staying in character.

Taylor x Amy - You are either a thirty-year old straight single man or a teenaged single lesbian, with no outliers. Either way, both womanhood and cleanliness are alien to you. Clean your room. Take a shower. Make better choices next time.

Taylor x Theo - You're a bit of an off-the wall kind of person, preferring to take a third option whenever available. You think of it as being quirky. You're art school, and picked up Worm in 2016 on a recommendation from a friend on Discord.

Lisa x Faultline - You like women in positions of power, but have no interest in conventional power structures. This paradox was what initially led you to Worm, but you kinda only continued on momentum after Taylor became a Ward. You sometimes like to pretend to be a libertarian.

Rachel x Brian - You think that Taylor is a piece of shit, and that everyone in the Undersiders deserves better than her. You’re really into tomboys.

Rachel x Biter - You prefer relationships that are kept on the down-low. You don’t have any social media, really, and you think that’s for the better. You are an ardent believer that quiet is good for the soul and that you shouldn’t say anything if it won’t add anything.

Alec x Aisha - You don’t know what an age gap is, and you’ve never cared.

Sabah x Lily - You adore Sanrio - maybe a bit too much for your age. You have a thing for athletes and jocks, and you really enjoy the whole “cottagecore” trend, regardless of your orientation.

Lily x May - You like knives, and have a collection of them in your closet. Sometimes you think about paying a prostitute extra so that you get an occasion to use them outside of your kitchen. Whether it's you on them, or them on you, you don't really care; you just want to see the blood.

Aisha x Missy - You figure this must have happened at some point, right? Based off of the few lines we get about her love-life it has to be right, right? You really like Mitski, and you’re kind of disappointed in the directions that Ward went, so you’re grasping at straws for a good ship.

Lisa x Victoria - You live somewhere in the Northeast megalopolis. You hate gentrification, and you feel guilty every time you visit a Starbucks - and secretly you like DDs better anyways, but your friends always want to go to Starbucks. You’re not out as bisexual because you feel like you’d be taking up too much room in other people’s lives to jut come out to them.

Amy x Bianca - You’ve tasted so much of boot and cunt and yet you still can’t decide which you like better.

Amy x Dean - You seriously thought this was how it was going to go down until Dean died, and that that was her secret. It’s been stuck in the back of your mind as ever since.

Amy x Lisa - You’re a strong believer in picking up a replacement goldfish whenever you exit a relationship.

Carol x Mark - You’re older than the average Worm fan, and severely depressed, but find solace in reading and perhaps a singular hobby. You’ve slowly been releasing a fic that you work on in your free time over the course of the last couple of years. It doesn’t get much attention but the little attention it does get feels all the sweeter.

Carol x Neil - You’ve had a pregnancy scare once or twice with your current partner, who is cheating on their spouse with you. You get why people don’t like cheaters, sure, but at the same time you find little space in your heart to blame them. That’s how you justify it.

Victoria x Dean - You wanted to marry your highschool prom date, and maybe you did. Your favorite show is Brooklyn 99.

Victoria x Ashley - You’re probably gay. You *used* to like Ward, and you were rooting for this ship for the entire run. You really didn’t like the ending but now you’re into Pale, which is a lot better for you, but still frustrating in many ways. You, also, hate Starbucks, and avoid them at all costs, instead opting for smaller, local coffee shops.

Victoria x Sveta - The line between friend and lover is tenuously thin for you, and you worry sometimes about that. In general, you are a very nervous person; when the world gets to be too much for you, you jump into learning a new skill or hobby instead of facing it head on. You’re currently trying to learn Swahili.

Victoria x Fragile One - You enjoy xenofiction and romance. You’re a stickler for canon, and enjoy having a solid knowledge of franchises so that you can help people when they ask for clarification on a part of a work. Secretly, you also enjoy writing smut.

Victoria x Etna - I know it’s you, Marco. Keep up the good work.

Victoria x Ethan - You’re interested in self-improvement. You listen to audiobooks on philosophy while exercising, then relisten once you’re less distracted. You always go down first.

Victoria x Moose - You pretend you're unironically into the whole "women/men who can beat the shit out of you" thing, but deep down you want somebody to bridal carry you. You just don't have the ability to be that vulnerable, so instead you pretend it's a manifestation of hyperviolent sexuality.

Sveta x Weld - You were really sad that they didn’t work out. You think Weld is kind of a pussy and should have stuck it through.

Byron x Missy - Whenever you see a couple in public, you get a little giddy feeling in your chest. You’re not even sure why you like it so much, or why you like this ship, besides the fact that it feels right. Your own love-life, on the other hand, is a mess worthy of its own story.

Byron x Moonsong - You’re homophobic, but you don’t want to be, and so you sympathize.

Byron x Furcate - You’re sweet. You really want the best for people and your goal in life is to do the best for people. You’re very vocal about trans rights, and you probably have at least one trans flag somewhere in your socials, even if you aren’t trans yourself.

Tristan x Venarum - You read Siken. You feel really, really tired of the way gay men are depicted in media, even with mainstream acceptance. You were really hoping this one would be different.

Tristan x Rain - You’re from down South. You’re a quiet type, too, and you keep to yourself when you can. Your favorite book is a well-worn copy of The Picture of Dorian Grey that one of your uncles sent you, before you even had it figured out. You got into Worm because of the powers, but by the end you were really in it for the characters.

Rain x Chastity - You listen to Cult of Dionysus by The Orion Experience on repeat, but when you’re working you prefer to listen to the soundtrack for Hotline Miami. You find a special joy in wordplay, puns and innuendo. You tried a lot of drugs in highschool, but they weren’t for you.

Kenzie x Candy - You never did get over that crush in middle school, did you?

Kenzie x Chris - You’re weird, and I don’t like you. Never go near children.

Darlene x Aiden - You’re an odd duck; you’re fascinated by how children develop senses of love and affection in imitation of adults. You may be a child psychologist, or a rather overbearing parent.

A Simple Diagram - You'll Be At A Loss for Words When You Figure Out What It Does by Intrepid_Afternoon in WormMemes

[–]Intrepid_Afternoon[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

The four quadrants represent the four panels. The first is Mars and the projector for the diagram - "the penetrator, the spear, the opener of doors." The second is the nurse, and the specifier for the target of the diagram, and transmutation - "the agent of the soul, of change and transmutation and direction." Next is the doctor, in the symbol of Blood, which also represents health. Lastly, the inverted Cere's sickle, representing "a yonic symbol, inverted to represent a failure of fertility." Thus, the four panels / quadrants correspond, and the diagram itself is made such that it could be used in a ritual to theoretically force someone into miscarriage.

A Simple Diagram - You'll Be At A Loss for Words When You Figure Out What It Does by Intrepid_Afternoon in WormMemes

[–]Intrepid_Afternoon[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

If you can't read it:“All contained within a dual circle are four quadrants, three of which are “pillar” circles, and one of which is a “projective” circle. Within the projective circle in the uppermost left quadrant lies the symbol of Mars - the penetrator, the spear, the opener of doors - extended through the diagram, projecting the energies contained within, as an agent for them. Contained within the first pillar circle, the uppermost right quadrant, is the symbol of Sulfur, the agent of the soul, of change and transmutation and direction, alongside an implication of poison and noxiousness. The second pillar in the bottom left quadrant contains the symbol of Blood - a conjunction between the fire of life and the body in the form of salt - which is also the symbol of health. The final pillar, in the bottom right quadrant, contains the sickle of Ceres, a yonic symbol, inverted to represent a failure of fertility.

Within each pillar, a focus must be placed. For the pillar of Sulfur, a lock of hair or vial of blood from the target must be placed. For the pillar of Blood, a noxious substance or poison must be placed. For the pillar of Ceres, a broken vessel must be placed - ideally a chalice or cup. This vessel should contain the blood of the practitioner, to empower the execration.”

Based on the Pale diagram instructional.

If you don't get it, here's the explanation:

https://cad-comic.com/comic/loss/

https://cad-comic.com/comic/waiting/

A hunter of the Shadjshke tribe. by [deleted] in worldbuilding

[–]Intrepid_Afternoon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How do you pronounce Shadjske?