Jenny and Ted discuss Agitation 3.6.

Episode Notes:

• The art of tense exposition
• Lisa’s philosophy of capes: the fun, the bad, and the ugly
• With capes taking the place of local sports, the Brockton Bay minor league teams must be doing terribly… who wants my Brockton Bagels AAA jersey?
• Lisa’s identity may be built on differentiating herself from the “real” bad guys
• Do these teens have any sense of non-utilitarian philosophy?
• Either Lisa’s math is off in Brockton Bay, or she thinks the Nazis are just “having fun”
• Even if the odds of being in prison with Lung are pretty low… that’s a big risk, Lisa!!
• Is belief in the unwritten rules mostly copium?
• Maybe Alec will show Lisa a Spiderman movie from Earth Aleph
• Are you having fun yet, Taylor? Why so serious, Taylor?
• Taylor’s compartments are not air-tight anymore
• Good Guy Identity
• What Taylor and Lisa do share is a need to prove themselves
• Taylor’s “no fun” aura
• Endbringer predictions

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-3-agitation/3-06/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Agitation 3.5.

Episode Notes:

• Litigating Lung’s hospitalization
• She’s smarter than he thought and he might be smart enough to realize that
• Teasing out ‘tease’
• Taylor’s insinuation is risky and inadvisable in some ways… but is it worth it nonetheless?
• She’s very emotionally set on being a “good guy”
• Taylor finds her voice in righteous anger
• We try to fix the argument on Armsmaster’s behalf but he basically just needed to be way chiller
• Is Taylor being overly cautious?
• Jenny’s picks for Murder Sweepstakes will surprise you!
• PHQ speculation, predictions, and names

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-3-agitation/3-05/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Agitation 3.4.

Episode Notes:

• It’s the biggest cliffhanger yet
• Jenny can’t read the next chapter yet so she must theorize right away!!
• The Armsmaster Collective Theory
• The phone call is another delightful Wildbow mystery box
• Predicting the future of Danny and Taylor’s relationship
• Do we like secret identity tension in superhero stories?
• School’s out forever, Taylor
• Taylor runs verbal rings around Danny and he’s just happy to be here
• The tragic cost of finally opening up
• Jenny speculates about the event that she believes triggered Taylor’s powers
• Now there’s going to be five Dallon sisters
• What if Alec is the weakest link goodbye?
• Taylor and Lisa’s budding friendship also has a shaky foundation
• New Earth, whosa dis?
• Brockton Bay NIMBYs
• Predictions and names

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-3-agitation/3-04/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Agitation 3.3.

Episode Notes:

• Poor Undersiders, thinking they matter to their boss
• We're so entertained by Lisa
• Lisa's power works like Minesweeper. Trust us, that makes sense.
• We're pretty sure Lisa can't read minds or tell the future! Taylor might be safe!
• Jenny can't resist more theories about Emma
• Could Taylor have just escaped her bullies by joining the Wards? In writing these notes, Ted realizes it would be bad OpSec to transfer her and it might not have worked like we suggest in the episode!
• By heist movie rules, this job is going to go super well
• The Wards have SUCH cool powers
• Could Taylor control someone's gut microbiome?
• Would you want people to know it if you could shoot them with emotion beams? Why or why not? Discuss.
• Shadowstalker and a potential path forward for Taylor

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-3-agitation/3-03/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Agitation 3.2.

Episode Notes:

• Putting this chapter through its pacing
• Sharing Wildbow’s thoughts on writing early Worm
• Worm’s medium can break both genres and writer’s block
• Taylor’s gangdar
• The heroes are allies of capitalism
• Brian porn
• We're excited for how Wildbow writes fights, especially when there are skill mismatches
• Brian just wants to teach (people to fight)!
• Alec, you're the dork
• Jenny's willing to lose at least two of the Undersiders at this point
• Everyone thinks the boss thing is weird! It's not just us!
• What if Lisa's just really good at seeing the future and is pretending she can't?
• Taylor's cognitive dissonance mirrors our own
• What if Taylor's dad is at the bank and it all gets very angsty??
• Names!

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-3-agitation/3-02/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Agitation 3.1.

Episode Notes:

• Crabs? Crabs???
• Taylor's quitting school… and Jenny’s opinion on that was a huge surprise to Ted
• General Sophia’s victory
• The Undersiders are so good at gang recruitment. Better than the ABB!
• Brockton Bay is a real mess. Taylor should revitalize it as a seafood hub
• Taylor's out there wooing Brian with her punctuality
• We're so into this crush and all of Taylor's decisions which will definitely not come crashing down around her ears
• We probably like Brian. Mostly
• Wildbow is good at writing teen characters with teen-type flaws
• What Taylor sees as ugliness
• Are worms and crabs bugs? WHO CAN SAY
• Predictions about Danny and the bullies, and cape names

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-3-agitation/3-01/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Insinuation 2.x.

Episode Notes:

• The interlude formula is character work mixed with exposition
• Why doesn’t Superman have bugs all over his face?
• Practice makes her appear perfect
• Think of the Brockton Bay Public Works budget, Glory Girl!!
• Glory Girl is a loaded gun with a hair trigger… but at least she’s crushing Nazi bones!
• Ted coins the phrase “cow down”
• Does the girl make the aura or the aura make the girl?
• Is it worse to compare Victoria to Donald Trump or to Emma?
• Victoria asks for a favor Amy can’t refuse
• A strong counterexample to the gendered powers theory
• Victoria watched too much 24
• New Wave, new theories
• Finally, extensive details about crime and crime lords in Brockton Bay
• We're already seeing the ripple effects of Taylor's actions
• Okay, maybe Armsmaster had a point
• What would we do with the burden of Amy's power?
• Does Amy first do no harm?
• The dicks-destroyed-to-arcs ratio is surprisingly high
• Does Amy want to be good or just better than her sister?
• Victoria as deconstruction/reconstruction
• Jenny can't stop thinking about Emma
• We're hoping Taylor has to face off against the New Wave, but we're not liking her chances
• Who would win in a fight: Glory Girl or Lung?

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-2-insinuation/2-x-interlude/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Insinuation 2.9.

Episode Notes:

• A narratively advisable detente
• Maybe Rachel is only 67% likely to betray you
• Is violence good sometimes?
• Taylor’s power also involves training
• What’s behind Brian’s smile?
• Regent and Lisa explain his power
• Bug’s relationship to pills
• Danny could be an asset to Taylor
• The insinuation is going both ways, Taylor!!!
• A second gun has entered the chat
• This arc, Taylor is a lying liar who lies
• The reasons people lie about powers
• It’s been… checks notes… 17 hours since chapter 3??? And she’s won two fights???
• Taking a step back, these first two arcs are totally copacetic
• Briefly, some factors that might go into whether Wildbow wants to revisit Worm
• Predictions that include a boss-hero conspiracy!!
• Next interlude: Grace Lands?
• The name game

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-2-insinuation/2-09/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Insinuation 2.8.

Episode Notes:

• Wildbow calls our bluff on a scary cliffhanger
• Taylor has hidden depths of protagging
• Is Rachel just Mean Rachel from Animorphs, with a totally different sense of style?
• Rachel's sibling rivalry feelings are justified
• We're so satisfied at seeing Taylor take her finger off the off-switch of her power
• Taylor seems to be better at tactics than strategy
• Positive echoes of Brandon Sanderson and Naomi Novik
• Taylor finally gets her boy fight
• Brian: manipulative schemer or kind of okay?
• The Undersiders' dysfunction has excellent pacing
• Can't catch bug girl off guard with some measly darkness!
• To Taylor, Rachel is always Bitch
• These are Very Good Dogs (and Rachel is a very good dog trainer)
• We predict: a missing body part and a heist

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-2-insinuation/2-08/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Insinuation 2.7.

Episode Notes:

• The loft feels like (narrative) home
• Brian’s conscientiousness
• Is Lisa’s power finding “known unknowns”?
• Being undercover when dealing with Lisa
• Quick poll: would you recognize a TiVo?
• Supervillainy as a teen job
• The undersides are pretty non-hierarchical?
• Puppet theory
• Taylor gets the friend group she is so desperate to have
• Seeing the good in the bad part of town
• Conflicting needs for community and purpose
• Password Corner
• Predictions

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-2-insinuation/2-07/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow