It's taken me over a month, but I finally finished worm and ward

What a ride. I'm still in that sort of speechless phase about the whole thing, but I wanted to gush (ramble) about it anyway. I thought both stories were phenomenal and really enjoyed the different tone and themes between them.

!Worm was an exciting somewhat traditional superhero story. Lots of great action. Way, WAY darker than I expected. I loved Skitter's rise and fall. It would be hard for me to say if I agreed with her choices or not. Overall she did what she thought was right, and that has to count for something. I loved her dynamic with her team. Tattletale was a fun character.!<

!I think my favorite scene might have been the confrontation in the school with Dragon et all. I loved every scene where you see the heroes interact with Skitter's team and how their response becomes grows increasingly hard-line as she and the others become more villainous. When that comes to a head in the school, and everything after it was incredible. And the fact that Dragon was still being as chill as she could possibly be given everything- wow. Dragon. I genuinely would rank her as another favorite. Such a wonderful person, maybe objectively one of the best. I really enjoyed how much she contrasted from many of the other characters. And Defiant's redemption? So good.!<

!I'm a huge sucker for redemption arcs and anytime the hero tries to talk down a villain, so those were all nice.!<

!Now Ward. Oof. Best summarized as "things continue to go to shit." I knew enough going in to know it wasn't going to be Worm part 2, but I didn't expect it to be as different as it was. But I think that really worked. I liked Victoria a lot as a character. I liked the focus on her interactions with others and the character development. I really enjoyed seeing her grow as a person and the mutual respect and perhaps (gasp) friendship she developed with Tattletale. Speaking of TT, it was nice seeing more of her team and how they've grown, including Foil and Parian. Ashley was a great supporting character, I loved her arc. More Dragon and Defiant. Them being sweet together was a nice palette cleanse. I'm glad we got a nice epilogue and resolution for everyone. It may not have been a truly happy ending, but it was nice seeing everyone get at least a little peace.!<

Special call-out for getting some nice lgbt/trans rep.

They were definitely the most stressful, emotionally exhausting, and sometimes horrific stories I've ever read. I'm disappointed to hear that Wildbow dealt with a lot of bullshit and is unlikely to return to the parahuman universe. It's unfortunate how bad actors can ruin things for everyone else.