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r/Parahumans•
the_terran

(Spoilers) Possible plot points for Worm sequel

Friction between newly formed groups

  • The new Protectorate (Wardens) with Legend, Miss Militia, Chevalier, Valkyrie.
  • Teacher and cronies, including Trickster, Satyr, Ingenue, Lung, and most of all Contessa.
  • Defiant and freed Dragon
  • Sort of Undersiders
  • Other players, Marquis, Yangban, Thanda

Other issues

  • Trigger events are going wrong
  • Blasphemies are still around
  • Sleeper is sitting in a chair
  • Jack's stuck in time loop but someone may try to get him out, perhaps someone new with a Trump power. Or someone just talks to him.
  • Valkyrie, Nilbog, and Bonesaw may try to resurrect people. First two providing body and soul, with Bonesaw connecting them
  • Simurgh is up to something, cloning somebody (Eidolon?)
  • Tohu, Bohu, Khonshu are currently dormant. There may be more dormant Endbringers
  • Another entity may show up, perhaps the one who caused Eden's crash
  • Imp is chaperoning a bunch of sociopathic kids Heartbroken

Anything else I missed?

Posted Apr 19, 2015, 9:59 AM UTC

21136
NamedByAFishAdamantine•

Sleeper is sitting in a chair.

Well, shit. That writes off chairs altogether. I guess everyone has to sit on the ground, now.

44
Drinniol•

Don't be ridiculous. We don't have to sit on the ground just because Sleeper has a chair.

We can sit on pillows like the Japanese.

5
NamedByAFishAdamantine•

Oh, and we all know how that worked out for them. Leviathan drowned Kyushu to get rid of that ridiculous pillow craze.

3
ughzubatFuthark•

too bad it didn't work

4
JzadekMover•

Jack's stuck in time loop but someone may try to get him out, perhaps someone new with a Trump power. Or someone just talks to him.

Jack's confirmed as out of the story. In the Word of God post detailing his trigger event, Wildbow says he's saving Number Man's trigger for the sequel, but doesn't do the same with Jack. Then, at the end, he straight-up confirms 'Jack's most likely not going to get any more spotlights, so it's fine'. TBH, much as a I enjoy^(?) Jack, that's probably for the best. Worm should avoid the Joker trap.

24
GreatWyrmGoldThinker•

It's already fallen into the Superman trap...

The title says spoilers, so it's okay to say I'm referring to when Superman somehow came back to life (I'm sorry, "awoke from a healing coma") in reference to Taylor essentially doing so.

4†
AWorldW-OShrimp•

Eh, I'd disagree. Worm established it's well within Contessa's ability to perform brain surgery with a handgun prior to that chapter. Even more importantly, the story takes care to note that Contessa fires two shots when Contessa would never need more than a single shot to kill any normal human.

Unlike Superman's "death", Taylor's temporary death cliffhanger gives readers all the tools they need to suspect that Taylor may not actually be dead up front, and operates entirely within the boundaries of abilities already established within the narrative.

In fact, if you look at the comments for 30.7, you'll see many readers suspected that Taylor might not actually be dead for this very reason.

So no, comparisons to Superman's death aren't fair at all.

25
GreatWyrmGoldThinker•

Let's say Contessa could; I'm going to say that even with her power that's improbable and leave it at that. Why would she? And what clues did we have, other than "Contessa shot twice"?

3
AWorldW-OShrimp•

I'm going to say that even with her power that's improbable

Then you're not giving her power enough credit.

Contessa's power is the most broken power in Worm, bar none, if she is able to utilize the power to its full effect against the target in question. Nothing is beyond the Path to Victory. People can and do survive bullets to the brain in real life, and that's before a completely broken superpower is added into the mix.

With Path to Victory, there is no "improbable". If the task in question is even remotely possible, if there's the slightest, .00000000000000000001% chance that a perfectly normal human could pull it off, than the chance of success is 100%.

Why would she?

Because she's not a bad person, and she doesn't think Taylor necessarily deserves to die after accomplishing what Contessa had been working for the whole story.

And what clues did we have, other than "Contessa shot twice"?

This is the only clue necessary, because it's a huge one. Contessa would kill a normal human instantly in one shot. She would absolutely never need two bullets to kill a normal human being. Never, ever, ever. Ever. So, why two? That's already more than enough grounds for readers to be doubtful of whether Taylor is really dead.

You don't need to take my word for it, either. Look at the comments section on 30.7. As I said, you'll see multiple readers there theorizing that Contessa just performed some impromptu brain surgery.

Frankly, comparing a cliffhanger that lasted for the equivalent of a couple of chapters and gives readers the tools to be suspicious immediately with perhaps the biggest event in comics that completely betrayed its promise to readers with a major asspull is pretty silly.

If you don't like that Wildbow pulled a death fakeout, that's fine, but he didn't betray any promises to the reader, he operated within the established limits of his characters' abilities, and he gave readers ample reason to question what was really going on. Comparing this to Death of Superman just doesn't fly.

11
Ranku_AbadeerStriker•

in battery's interlude they say flat out that cauldron has the ability to take people's powers away permanently.

“Meaning you employ those countermeasures you talked about.”

“Revoking your powers in the worst case scenario, yes.”

“Is that revoking of powers a part of the process of however you give people the powers, or is it something that one of your in-house capes does?”

The Doctor was typing on the computer. Without taking her eyes from the screen, she said, “The latter. You don’t need to worry about someone using a loophole or flaw in the process to take away your abilities.”

the doctor says one of her in house capes can and has taken people's powers away before, easy to assume that it's contessa.

10
malgaladThinker•

Contessa does not need to shot twice to kill a person. Period.

She can kill you by just saying a random word, that will trigger a panic attack from some distant long forgotten memory, and you'll die. And her power automatically chooses the shortest path, so unless she willed to "kill Taylor in a way that will plant doubt into readers"...

8
TildeAlephChanger•

To be fair, how many times more has that happened to Superman vs in Worm...

5
GreatWyrmGoldThinker•

To be completely fair, how much longer has Superman been going on than Worm?

-3†
TildeAlephChanger•

Well, if you go by word count...

/s

19
GreatWyrmGoldThinker•

You know, just because Worm was a great story doesn't mean that everything about it was perfect. Fallacy of division.

1
ShareDVIКрасная перчатка/Red Gauntlet•

What happened to the Meta-Tinker-Godslayer-Gun after the Golden Morning

20
malgaladThinker•

Well, it's only purpose is to list through possible realities and break into sealed ones, so... I guess nothing?

Yeah, there're sealed off Earth Aleph, but I can bet Teacher has a key or can produce one, it should be easier.

2
GreatWyrmGoldThinker•

To be fair, there aren't many gods left. (And it might be more of a bomb than a gun.)

1
GreatWyrmGoldThinker•
  • I'm most interested to see why trigger events are going wrong, though learning about Sleeper and the Blasphemies would also be neat.
  • I don't think Jack's getting out. If a Trump power could do it, the PRT probably would have known.
  • I never really thought much about the possibility of those three resurrecting people. I also don't know how much of the human in the parahuman Valkyrie picks up, or if she can put even that part anywhere else.
  • Simurgh is Simurgh.
  • I thought one of the twins died?
  • Doubtful. It was noted that the Entities leave "breadcrumbs" to stop their kind from coming to worlds where they were already, and it was stated/implied that those wouldn't go away just because the entities "died".
  • I think a Heartbroken protagonist would be plausible. Some connection to the Undersiders of old, but new faces and new methods.
17
pitaenigmaMaster•

The trigger effects are going wrong because Zion isn't limiting them any more I think. No Manton Effect= people aren't resistant to their own powers.

12
DrSoaryn•

My understanding was that they were breaking because they were the shards from Scion. After his death they had to go SOMEWHERE so they went to the nearest available people with carona polentia. And since they stayed with Scion, they weren't limited.

As a side note, I think most of them will be showing up around the area scion died because they went to the nearest possible host as opposed to one designated by Scion.

12
the_terranOP•

That's interesting. Perhaps Contessa shard of Scion will find a new host making a new Contessa or Conte/Count?

8
dogninja8•

Part of that shard went to Dinah, so it might not be as broken as contessa

6
GreatWyrmGoldThinker•

The corona polentia is created by shards; shards aren't attracted to them.

Things didn't go wrong when Eden died. Well, not this wrong. Usually. The point is, I think that Scion "dying" just means the individual shards aren't directed by any central intelligence.

4
ThirdFloorGreg•

Things went pretty wrong when eden died.

7
SpareLiverTrump •

Reread Contessa's interlude, it seems that things went that wrong.

3
CruithneSimurgh's latest album•

That makes a lot of sense, I like that idea. I think the idea that they're no longer being limited by Scion is flawed because Scion wasn't actively limiting any shards- he and Eden had done all their limitations before they sent them off.

3
blames_irrationallyStumble, Mover 2•

With the Blasphemies, I really want to know their origin. They're described as inhuman, and the theory that they're Tinker's creations gone haywire sounds awesome to me.

3
KeoaratrShaker•

IIRC Trickster died together with Othala. Marquis I think was recruited by teacher, or they at least have some sort of agreement. I'm curious about what Panacea is doing, since Marquis didn't seem to know. I also wan't to know if Dauntless will ever be freed from the time bubble.

16
GreatWyrmGoldThinker•

I can't see Marquis agreeing to work under Teacher, especially since that usually entails the use of Teacher's power.

I doubt that Dauntless will be saved. Or Alabaster or Jotun, but no one ever remembers them, now do they?

12
NamedByAFishAdamantine•

Alabaster or Jotun

Not-Dauntless or Also-Not-Dauntless, you mean?

21
GreatWyrmGoldThinker•

Technically, Skitter, Eidolon, and Scion are also not Dauntless.

13
ughzubatFuthark•

Can I be not Dauntless?

14
NamedByAFishAdamantine•

No, everyone except Skitter, Dauntless, and those other two guys are Not-Skitter.

5
NamedByAFishAdamantine•

If Valkyrie, Nilbog, and Bonesaw try resurrecting people, I would love to see the conversation with the Undersiders when it turns out they can't bring Taylor "back."

14
GreatWyrmGoldThinker•

"We don't have her soul or brain or anything. Also, she was kinda cray-cray by the end, so you wouldn't like what we brought back even if we could."

16
gmrm4nThinker•

The Undersiders wouldn't ask for her back. Tattletale, Imp, and Bitch know she's alive, they're just letting her live her life. However, I can see Bonesaw trying to bring back Taylor out of a combination of guilt and scientific curiousity, then realizing she's still alive. What she does next...

3
GreatWyrmGoldThinker•

NamedByAFish seemed to be suggesting a situation where she would.

Couldn't Bonesaw just make a clone of Taylor? You don't need to be dead to be cloned...

3
AWorldW-OShrimp•

Fortunately for the Undersiders, I don't think that they would try. Sadly, nobody except Taylor's friends have any reason to want her alive. Khepri is just too horrifying.

8
pseudonarne•

they weren't attacking her she just couldn't tell the difference at the time...(but having her back when not needed would be a different story i'd assume)

5
malgaladThinker•

First they weren't attacking because of Canary's song, and afterwards - powerful individuals like Teacher, Narwhal and GU were interacting with her, and you don't wont to step in their way.

3
sanctaphrax•

What was the deal with Nix and Nyx, anyway?

11
Wildbow•

Twin sisters, took Cauldron vials, one went Case 53.

22
sanctaphrax•

THANK YOU.

I've been wondering about that ever since they showed up.

7
AparadisefoundSeventh Choir•

Wildbow, do you still enjoy answering questions about the Wormverse, or does it ever get tiring? I watched a David Foster Wallace interview once where he said he was just exhausted of people asking him about Infinite Jest and would rather talk about current projects because they are what define him right now.

4
Wildbow•

I like answering interesting questions. Ones that help broaden the Wormverse. Pedantic ones or ones that sort of put me further into a corner (How exactly does ___ work? What are the numbers for ____ power?) aren't fun and I mostly ignore them.

14
ughzubatFuthark•

Can I ask what kind of question counts as pedantic?

2
BrutusnessShibboleth, Thinker•

This may be an unimportant question and you can ignore if it you'd rather, but it's kind of stuck in my mind during re-reads. Does Spruce's disintegration ball power coincide with his extreme neatness and, perhaps, germaphobia? Like, he snapped under the pressure of disgust and wanted to "clean" everything?

1
blames_irrationallyStumble, Mover 2•

Was about to ask if that was serious, then I saw that it was you posting. Thanks!

3
RidtomShaker•

Possible plot-points:

  • Glory Girl and Amy. Did Amy fix her?

  • The two Damsel of Distress clones. We never see what happens to them afterwords I think.

  • The Blue Empress. Ruler of Supreme Earth and now in contact with Earth Bet.

  • Tattletale grooming Aiden as a successor? Possible.

  • Dinah searching for Taylor in the multiverse.

  • The Adventures of Browbeat!

8
GreatWyrmGoldThinker•
  • I don't think she could. Give Contessa a gun and she could probably sort something out.
  • Are those the only S9k clones?
  • Big time.
  • Anything with the former Undersiders would be neat; I think that would be best for a side thing, though.
  • Heh...Browbeat would actually be a decent choice for the viewpoint character, or at least a supporting one.
4
VolcanusPrimeBreaker•

Cherish in old Brockton Bay

7
earmite•

I think it might be interesting to have a story set several hundred years in the future. At that point, all of the shards that the entities had seeded would have found hosts, so the only new parahumans would be from shards that had budded. Different parts of the world might have dynasties of parahumans controlling things, or different clans vying for power. You also have the potential for a caste system, or, at the very least, some racism against nonpowered.

And I think Wildbow has said that shards wouldn't work too far from Earth, so if we'd figured out space travel by then, you'd have all sorts of trouble with powers not working once you got too far away. Maybe they work fine on the Moon, weakly on Mars and Venus, and not at all farther away. You'd have the nonpowered outer planets in conflict with the weakly powered rocky planets in conflict with the superpowered Earth.

I think one of the great things about Worm is that it had several larger conflicts that shaped the story. There was the general hero/villain dichotomy, and all the problems that caused. There were Endbringer attacks, along with all the other lesser S-class threats running around (Taylor and co. only ever have to deal with the S9, Echidna, the S9K, and Nilbog, but there are plenty more lesser S-class and A-class threats out there like the Three Blasphemies, Ash Beast, Sleeper, and there are certainly more out there that just never made it into the story. And then there was the Cauldron/Zion threat. So we had 3 major, broad sources of conflict driving the story, that forced our protagonists into all kinds of crazy situations. I hope Wildbow does the same with Worm 2, setting up a vibrant universe with lots of different things happening that the characters have to deal with.

There's so much possibility in the Worm universe. Whether the sequel is set immediately after the end of Worm or far in the future, I think Wildbow has a huge range of stories and scenarios to write about.

5
HalbeardedDragon•

Did Teacher make a copy of Dragon's code? It seems like something he'd do as insurance.

2