I honestly can't see the Simurgh hitting Brockton Bay. She already did in the way of Echidna, and PRT falling apart was a result of that. And that just shows how terrifying she really is compared to the other two Endbringers.

 

It makes sense. Thought so too; Jack surviving Brockton Bay means that Theo is forced to into situations to cause his trigger event. Without that pressure, the apocalypse still happens years later, so it's feasible that he'd cause it. I agree that this arc is probably going to be a wrap up chapter to try and ease on the pace a little. It's been way too intense. Hell, the title is Chrysalis. Don't expect a Chrysalis to move fast.

 

Especially with Dragon's attention away from the Birdcage at present. We've already seen that her AI subsystems aren't so reliable and that she has to rely on them when at a certain distance or when appropriately occupied as she is now, by SH9.

(Spoilers should possibly only apply to the absolute most recent stuff - even then, I can't see people going onto what is a discussion thread without getting themselves up to date. Maybe change the thread title to indicate spoiler in late-thread?)

I've tried to preemptively interpret the titles of chapters and never have I got anything meaningful XD. The meaning could be in Taylor throwing off - or having to throw off - her secret identity. Or it could mean some development of her powers. Or it could involve Theo and his powers awakening in an odd way, though, I agree that that seems like a future chapter, not an immediate affair.

But really, the title of the story 'Worm' and this Chapter 'Chrysalis'?

 

I do have to say that the only real criticism I would make of this story is that for a while the pace was just way too frenetic. It was too much. There should have been something of a break between the Coil/Echidna arcs.

Also, I can't wait to see what she does with Theo. The suggestion in his most recent interlude seemed to be that he would get a mental power, rather than a physical one. Wonder if she'll actually make him capable of tackling the Slaughterhouse 9 power-wise, or if she'll go another route.

 

I think, regarding Taylor's second trigger event, that she can't have one. Either that or she'll have to have some different circumstances to have one. Remember when Theo, Kayden and... er, Crusader? went to the college to find out about giving Theo a trigger event, the professors assistant said he theorized that isolation played a major part in whether or not someone had a trigger event. Taylor is never isolated with her bugs around. If anything would have given her one, it would have been when she was inside Echidna.

As for the Cauldron capes getting a second one, I always interpreted the silver liquid as something that induced a trigger event. Remember, after they drink it, they see the same 'entitys' that the other normal capes saw. They just dont have to go through something so horrible to have one.

Also, Bonesaw is the stuff of nightmares. I'm a grown ass 31 year old man, and the scene where she shoved her prehensile spine down Blasto's throat and used him as a meat puppet literally made me lose a night of sleep. Fuck...

 

This is closer to my thoughts on the subject. I think a second trigger is more than just experiencing trauma, even if it's freaking extreme thanks to Bonesaw, and it has to be of a certain kind. It could be dependent on the individual or they have to experience specific feelings from it to retrigger.

 

One thing that still confuses me is why Taylor had one of those visions (of the incomprehensible entities) during the attack on the Merchant's club thing where she rescued Charlotte. Nothing seemed to come of it. Was that explained anywhere?

 

A few times now she, or someone else, seems to have seen the Agents/Passengers without actually being the person affected by them. I admit that I'm confused by that, too. I think it is something to do with the thing Bonesaw mentioned, that Taylor's power can partially work on a subconscious level (I forget the actual word used to describe the type of activity).

She is more attuned to the Agents?

 

When someone has a trigger event other people who've had a trigger event have a vision. I can't remember if people who get their powers from Cauldron also have visions. Someone could probably check if they cared.

 

I'd have thought that Miss Militia asking Dragon "Do you remember" and then not elaborating is enough of a sign that typically people don't see other peoples' Agents. Taylor and a few other people who seem to properly remember seeing them (at least after a few occurrences) are a rarity.

 

Oh yeah, a bunch of people have mentioned it, and the author has commented about it. I think when he tries to publish this he is going to split it up into books and pace things out a lot better.

But at least it has an explanation: Leviathan hit because of the ABB stuff, the Nine (and Merchants and other stuff) hits because they are taking advantage of the aftermath.

So yeah, it's too much shit happening one after another, but at least each new thing flows as a direct consequence of the other stuff- people trying to take advantage of the situation.

 

You might be right. We don't know what other's see or how much they remember. At the very least, people who've had trigger events space-out when someone else has one. That's made clear in 11-6. I just assumed Taylor was normal in what she saw, when she might not be.

 

Scrub triggered. All the other capes in the area got screwed up by it.

Taylor doesn't remember- we do. She forgot. As far as I know, Miss Militia is the only one who actually remembers (and its mentioned that she actually did forget, but her power lets her remember to the point where she even remembers forgetting).

I'm sure Bonesaw and Cauldron know a lot more about them from second hand information. And I bet Dragon and Defiant are going to learn more from looking at Dragon's code.

 

I mean, the event chain is very clear in retrospect, which is why I really like how Simmy has worked out as an Endbringer; then again the evil tree from Kingkiller is one of my favorite villains so that's the type of stuff that tickles my fancy. There are issues with pacing when you just have "several weeks later" and the like, but I suspect that will be cleared up when this goes to print. I mean good lord, it's around as long as the Dresden Files at least

 

Ah, my mistake, I was basing "Taylor remembers them" on the conversation she had with Coil before shooting him. She mentions the Passengers and I completely disregarded that she could be taking their existence solely from Bonesaw's word or remembering that at some point she believed she was seeing what Bonesaw mentioned but not actually remembering them specifically.

 

Time to put on my tinfoil hat. Wildbow recently updated the cast page, and this was one of the things we learned in Lung's entry: "At the most extreme end of his transformation, he is capable of trading blows with an Endbringer, though he has only participated in one such fight."

When asked which of the three Lung fought in another forum thread, he declined to answer, which doesn't really make much sense unless you're talking about the Simurgh... I'm thinking that Lung is the linchpin of the Simurgh's plan to crack open the Birdcage. How it'll happen, though, is beyond me. The Simurgh has quite a volatile melting pot to work with here, and it's only a matter of time before she finds some combination of individuals with powers that'll let them engineer an escape; look at what Tattletale did with Labyrinth and Scrub.

 

First, as to people getting visions, it happens anytime someone is discovering their powers; via vile or trigger event. All other capes in the vicinity get parts of that vision also. Taylor with Scrub and Trickster when he gave the vial to Noelle. They just forget them like they did with their own initial vision.

Second. When it comes to Taylor getting a second trigger event, I don't think it will actually involve anything with her teammates. I think it will actually involve her father at some point, if it does. And I think if it will happen it'll happen in this story-arc.

Chrysalis is a pupa stage for insects before becoming something else. Butterfly being a good example. So I think this is Taylor's chrysalis stage, where an event triggers and she becomes something greater. Which is why I think if a trigger event happens this will be the arc. It will probably involve her personal life and shedding it to becomes something else.

Also, since it's started to be about her private-life vs. cape-life then this will obviously involve her father at some point. Will probably learn her secret identity along the way. Of course, what could make her go Super Saiyan 2?

Her dad dies.

So I'm calling it now. This arc, second trigger event, father learns identity and he dies.

EDIT: Was just rereading some of the Noelle parts, trying to figure out if her condition was ever mentioned, but it wasn't. Then it clicked. She vomits up the clones when she was Echidna.

I really love wildblow's imagination.

 

Nah. Her father dying is too obvious imo. Given we already know she didn't trigger after her mother's death, it'll be very hard to justify her triggering after her dad's death, especially when she hasn't been that close to him lately. She's also become emotionally strong enough to handle something like this, given past scares and her dad nearly dying twice.

 

Well, if we're going by the theory that being alone & isolation will cause her second trigger, then how about when/if she gets sent to the Birdcage? No bugs there so, no one we know who'd be her ally except maybe Panacea (who doesn't like her). She's got Lung there who's gaining power... and she wouldn't have any powers to help.

Though I think it'll take more than that to trigger. I wonder if the 2nd trigger would need similar emotions to her original trigger; along the lines of despair, ect. Circumstances in the Birdcage could contribute to that too.