#interlude 3

The queen is pacing around her throne room “what the blazes is his problem?” She mutters… “pure vanilla cookie used to be so… kind… whoever Divine Vanilla is he is most certainly not the same man… I suppose he was the only of us to struggle under the power of our beast… however… ugh… this is simply too far! And cacao is backing him up-“ she punches a wall, leaving a crater behind. Cookies scramble to get out of the way.

…“they are… my friends yes? They should understand I cannot simply- abandon my kingdom to go on a wild goose chase! If he be within my land I feel it is well within my rights to keep him anyway. Since such a thing would indicate he already exists as part of my hoard… I can handle the problem of the beasts better than any of them can! Their methods are… frankly BARBARIC! And yet they have the gall to call me the violent one! I only hurt those who ask for it by threatening my treasures.”

“…Your radiance.”

“…yes smoked cheese cookie…?”

“Perhaps you shouldn’t be so hasty in declaring them as a lost cause. They are powerful allies.”

“I am WELL aware of this. Furthermore they are my friends. But I will not go to war with them. Especially not against the witches! Their plan is madness! We have no more power now than the beasts did when they were sealed. In fact, it is likely far less… I cannot protect my people from within a tree, if they shall demand I go to war I would have no choice but to pick the side that saves my people. I… Will not lose another war.”

“I do admit this plan seems… risky to say the least… but it is not the time yet. You can abandon them when they are or no more use.”

“…I… it will not matter if they keep advancing their troops onto my land! They are my friends… but they seem to… forget that sometimes. If it is a war they want it is a war they will get I have slain destruction itself they should fear my name.” She says darkly… staring over the horizon. The souljam of destruction resonates. Smoked cheese shudders.

“…I think you are spending too much time with the beast. Your radiance.”

“Please. He is no beast. Not anymore.” She gestures to the souljam fastened around her neck “I have successfully remade him! Something the others always have and always shall fail to do. I have broken the beast. Why… It is only a little longer until my other half is tamed completely! And yet… some part of him still resists.”

“…may I remind you this is a very dangerous man you are toying with. And with the beast of deceit on the loose who knows what could happen”

“Let him come. Let him try. And let him fail. I will not fall. I shall deliver victory. Maybe then they will finally respect my wishes… if not… I could do with more souljams.” She says, smiling proudly

“…Wonderfully greedy as always my queen.”

“My friends would be much happier in the city anyway… and they’d finally remember to be such once more… I could… fix them… yes. This plan is… all I need. You are dismissed.”

Smoked cheese scrambles out of the room as fast as possible.

“We are running out of time to act. The souljam- it- Are you sure this new ally of yours can do this?”

“She is the cream of the crop! I need to do a lottttt more digging though. She’s good to bet on though.”

“Do not let your feelings get in your way Mozzarella Cookie.”

“I’m not. You know that. I never do.”

“I’m beginning to realize that if I want this done. I’m going to have to do it myself.”

“You’re free to try. Plus she always lets you off with a mind wipe…”

Oh El is malen, huh. I forgot that one. Ignore all my considering Mishram's face as El, I guess.

El's actually kinda chill idk I mean he'll kill you but he won't be an asshole about it. I'd watch him and Odium talk for a while.

Odium infusing those gems is probably not a good sign. Or, a really good one, if Dalinar succeeds. (He won't)

Elsegates as in the corrupted Oathgates? Good, I love terms.

What's going on with the Shattered Plains? It's gotta have some power source.

(This is me, writing reactions as I read, because why the fuck not. They're not complete, mature thoughts taken after I sit back and evaluate what I've read. Consider them as such)

The building housing the local Parahuman Response Team division didn’t really stand out. The exterior was all windows, reflective enough to mirror the mottled dark gray of the sky overhead.  Only a shield logo bearing the letters ‘P.R.T.’ marked it apart from the other buildings of downtown Brockton Bay.

Maybe it's just because I have shatterbird on the brain because I've read several versions of Slaugherhouse 9 attacks on Brockton Bay in fics recently, but like... while I get that you can't just build every building without windows out of fear of Shatterbird showing up in your city, it does seem ill-advised for the PRT to have that much window on their HQ. If Shatterbird does show up...

Those entering the lobby would find a strange juxtaposition at work.  On the one hand, you could see the various employees in suits, hurrying in and out of the building, talking in groups.  A team of four PRT officers was on standby, each stationed at a different area of the lobby, outfitted in the best equipment money could buy.  All had chain mesh and kevlar vests, helmets that covered their faces, and firearms.  The equipment differed, however, as two of them had grenade launchers hanging from straps on their shoulders with bandoliers of various specialty ammunition across their chests, including a fire extinguishing grenade, an EMP round and various stun grenades.  The other two had what appeared at first glance to be flame throwers; were they to pull the triggers, they would eject a thick, frothing spray of foam, enough to contain all but the strongest and fastest villains.

This is definitely weird compared to the last two Interludes...

In stark contrast to this, there was the gift shop that would be thick with youths when school ended, sporting a selection of action figures, posters, video games and clothing.  Four-foot tall pictures of the various Protectorate and Wards team members were placed at regular intervals around the lobby, each backed by bright colors.

Definitely really fucking incongruous, yeah.

There was a cheery tour guide waiting patiently by the front desk, smiling handsomely at anybody who happened to glance his way.  On schedule, he would introduce tourists and children to the PRT offices, the armory, the training area and the parking lot with the parahuman containment vans, showing them what it took to manage the local heroes.  For those willing to pay for the premium tour, wait up to two hours and suffer a PRT squad escort, there would be an additional stop on the tour – a glimpse of the Wards’ Headquarters.

This is a little too 'Omniscient impersonal narrator' compared to the last two Interludes.

“Director Piggot.  Ma’am,” Aegis greeted her, his voice strained.  His costume was in shreds, and was more crimson with his own blood than it was its original white.  

Given that Aegis probably gets hurt a lot, since he's not actually invulnerable, per se, why wear white when he's gonna bleed all over it?

Although he's probably still wearing Clock's uniform, isn't he?

Director Piggot didn’t look away, but one of the men standing behind her looked a touch green around the gills, “I can take you at your word.  You don’t need to stick your arm all the way through your chest to demonstrate.”

Aegis is still a teenage boy. 'Look What I Can Do!' is still a big part of the mindset.

 Maybe next time, the rest of you can talk Gallant out of inviting his girlfriend along.” The protests overlapped. “It was her sister in the bank! 

Yeah, I'm... I mean, oddly enough, Amy probably would have had a better time of things if Vicky didn't get invited, but its a tall ask to keep her back

“You’ll have to forgive me,” Piggot smiled, “The paperwork gets to be a bit much sometimes.  Maybe you know where to find the documentation from our military and science teams, for this Alternator Cannon?” “Christ, Kid,” Aegis groaned under his breath, with his ruined voice. Kid Win looked more upset about Aegis’ reaction than anything else, “I, uh.  I didn’t get it officially cleared, yet.  I just thought it would be better to use the cannon and do what I could to stop the robbery.”

Yup. Definitely the Collateral Damage Ken :rofl:

Because also like Ken, he's just not as interesting. :P

Who's POV is this scene actually from though?

Director Piggot frowned, “The amount of time and money that would require, for an event that might never occur… no.  I suppose you can keep the cannon.”

Bet she planned on conceding this so the next bit about taking out the power source, etc, is received better.

“I’m going to have nightmares,” Clockblocker groaned, as he tenderly touched the welts around his nose and mouth, “Nightmares with lots and lots of spiders.”

Valid.

As.

Fuck.

“Shadow Stalker is AWOL?” Gallant asked. “Couldn’t make it in time,” Aegis grunted, “Told her to stay put.”

Carefully keeping hidden from the readers just what Sophia is.

Gallant considered for a moment, “Could be, but my gut tells me Piggy just wants to scare him.  He needs to stop testing the limits with the people in charge, or he’s going to get in real trouble at some point.”

Isn't Gallant usually the one calling people out in fic for calling Piggot 'Piggy'?

Flanderization, probably, I guess. Gallant is still a teen.

“And I’ll hold that position for not even the rest of the summer before I graduate and pass the mantle to you,” Clockblocker smiled self deprecatingly, “No worries.  Take charge.”

Rapid turnover does seem a major flaw in 'eldest runs the show'.

“Okay guys,” Gallant said, “Before we get started, I think it’s important to make some things clear.  First off, most importantly, today was not a failure.  I’d even say that today was a win for the good guys, and we start establishing that here and now.”

Okay, that really is putting Lipstick on a Pig, Gallant.

Taken.  Stinger is some villain in California with power armor, a jetpack and homing missiles, and Pestilence is a creepy psycho in London.”

All the Good Names are Always Taken!

“Skitter?” Gallant put the name out there. There was a clatter of keys as Clockblocker checked, “It’s not taken.” “Then it’s good enough,” 

I mean, it's not the worst name out there, really. I can see why Taylor never tried to push back on it.

Following behind Armsmaster and Miss Militia was a teenage girl in an enveloping white robe.  Panacea.  She had an ID card on a cord around her neck, featuring her photo and the word ‘GUEST’ in bright blue letters. “She was kind enough to volunteer to come here and patch you guys up,” Miss Militia told the young heroes, “Can’t send you home with horrible injuries and hundreds of bug bites, can we?  That would give away the show.”

Well, that and it would just kinda suck to go home like that.

Panacea really is a huge boon to the BB PRT, Protectorate and Wards, isn't she? Makes covering identities much easier.

She shifted the position of the rocket launcher on her shoulders, and it dissolved into a blur of green-black energy.  The energy lunged and arced around her for a few brief moments, then materialized into a machine gun.  It only held that form for a few seconds before it flickered and solidified into a sniper rifle, then a harpoon gun, and  finally settled in the form of a pair of uzis, one in each of her hands.  She barely seemed to notice, beyond the automatic action of holstering the guns.

Does the gun just constantly change when she's not using it? Can Miss Militia drop the guns? Hand them to someone? How does that work?

“I- A lot happened,” Panacea hedged. “Any detail helps.” “Um.  I’m sorry,” she said, looking down at the ground, “I got smacked across the head, but my power doesn’t work on myself, and I’m not really the type to go out in costume and get into fights, so having my life threatened, I dunno.  All that… I can’t put my thoughts in order just yet.”

I mean, I get why she's not saying much. Hard to really explain without hinting around too much. "I think she's a thinker" "Why?" "because she knew shit literally no one else should know but I'm not telling you because I can't."

“But I got them anyways, and I got international attention over it.  The healer.  The girl who could cure cancer with a touch, make someone ten years younger, regrow lost limbs.  I’m forced to be a hero.  Burdened with this obligation.  I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t use this power.  It’s such an opportunity, to save lives.” “But?” “But at the same time… I can’t cure everyone.  Even if I go to the hospital every night for two or three hours at a time, there are thousands of other hospitals I can’t visit, tens of millions of people who are terminally ill or living in a personal hell where they’re paralyzed or in constant pain.  These people don’t deserve to face that, but I can’t help them all.  I can’t help one percent of them if I put in twenty hours a day.” “You have to focus on what you can do,” Gallant told her. “Sounds easier than it is,” Panacea answered, with a touch of bitterness, “Do you understand what it means, to cure some of these people?  I feel like every second I take to myself is a second I’ve failed somehow.  For two years, it’s been this… pressure.  I lie in bed, awake at night, and I can’t sleep.  So I get up and I go to the hospital in the middle of the night.  Go to pediatrics, cure some kids.  Go to the ICU, spare some lives… and it’s all just blending together.  I can’t even remember the last few people I saved.”

Some anti-Amy people really seem to want to ignore this whole bit from her, sometimes, judging from some of the posts I've seen on r/parahumans.

God, Amy needs a hug, a break, therapy and a girlfriend, stat.

She sighed again, “The last person I really remember?  It was maybe a week ago, I was working on a kid.  He was just a toddler, an immigrant from Cairo, I think.  Ectopia Cordis.  That’s where you’re born with your heart outside your body.  I was putting everything in the right place, giving him a chance at a normal life.” “What made him so memorable?” “I resented him.  He was lying there, fast asleep, like an angel, and for just a second, I considered just leaving him.  The doctors could have finished the job, but it would have been dangerous.  He might have died if I’d left him on the table, the job half done.  I hated him.”

I'm surprised she's saying all this to Gallant, of all people. But A) She is evading the thing she really can't share (her crush on Vicky. When does that get revealed to the reader anyway?) and B) She knows Dean is too well... Gallant to actually share something like this revealed in confidence.

But also, yeah, the people who act like Amy didn't have it bad are full of shit. Doesn't excuse what she does, not even close, of course, but those haters are just insane.

“No, I hated that he would have a normal life, because I’d given up mine.  I was scared that I might intentionally make a mistake.  That I might let myself fuck up the procedure with this kid.  I could have killed him or ruined his life, but it would have eased the pressure.  Lowered expectations, you know?  Maybe it would have even lowered my own expectations for myself.  I… I was just so tired.  So exhausted.  I actually considered, for the briefest moment, abandoning a child to suffer or die.” “That sounds like more than just exhaustion,” Gallant replied, quietly. “Is this how it starts?  Is this the point I start becoming like my father, whoever he was?” Gallant let out a slow breath, “I could say no, that you’re never going to be like your father.  But I’d be lying.  Any of us, all of us, we run the risk of finding our own way down that path.  I can see the strain you’re experiencing, the stress.  I’ve seen people snap because of less.  So yeah.  It’s possible.”

I wonder if Amy feels conflicted about how much she doesn't like Dean because he is just such a genuinely good dude.

Like, I can imagine she hates all the unsolicited 'I want to help', I relate to that hard, but it is hard to hate someone who is just... that fucking nice.

I'd like to think she feels some confliction, anyway.

“Take a break.  Tell yourself it’s something you have to do, to recharge your batteries and help more people in the long run.” “I don’t think I can.”

Listen to him, Amy. For God's sake, fucking LISTEN.

*pretends she can yell hard enough that the characters can hear her*

LISTEN!

“She threatened to talk about stuff.  Stuff worse than what I just told you, I guess.  Threatened to tell me things I just don’t want to know.  Said she’d use what she knew to ruin my relationship with Victoria and the rest of my family,” Amy hugged herself. “My sister’s all I’ve got.  The only person with no expectations, who knows me as a person.  Carol never really wanted me.  Mark is clinically depressed, so as nice as he is, he’s too focused on himself to really be a dad.  My aunt and uncle are sweet, but they’ve got their own problems.  So it’s just me and Victoria.  Has been almost from the beginning.  That smug little monster threatened to tear my sister and I apart using yet another thing I didn’t want, another thing I had no control over.”

My desire to strangle Lisa grows.

Though honestly, while it would have wigged Vicky out, I doubt it would have actually made her hate you forever, or whatever, it coming out at this stage. She'd need a hot minute to come to terms with it, especially if it's revealed by Tattletale in that context, but otherwise...

But Amy is so used to hating herself that she assumes everyone else would hate her for this just as much.

“Does… does this have anything to do with the, erm, rather strong feelings you have towards me?” Panacea went still. “I’m sorry,” he hurried to say, “I shouldn’t have brought it up.” “You shouldn’t have,” she stood up and started towards the door.

So I gathered Dean does know (about the incest crush) by the time he dies, from reading on the wiki (IIRC), but does he know yet, or does he just know there's something there, but he's not sure what?

“Take care of my sister, okay?  Make her happy?” she murmured, as she hesitated in the doorway. “Goes without saying.” They rejoined the main group.

No mention of the on-again off-again element. When does that come up? Or is that just pure fanon?

But yeah, I think this scene would solidify for the coming into this blind reader the idea that Amy is a significant secondary character to this story. Like, Interlude 2 could just have been setting up the bank and showing off the darkside of the Heroes, but here, the additional focus on Amy's inner life like this - she's clearly not just a side character.

Interlude 3 | Page 1 Back | Next

Well, that was rather more than a day. Whoops. Also, this comic passed 3000 followers a while back and I intended to comment on it sooner, but then I didn’t. Whoops! Anyhow, I’m doing it now. Hooray! So many followers!

Yet another thing I’ve been slacking on is Patreon requests. Bigger whoops. I promise I’ll get to that real soon, but boy have I needed a break!

i’m not going to spell out what exactly happened, especially in the latter half. i suggest slowly rereading this fic with an eye towards physicality and symbolism, keeping in mind Dana’s classpect and how we’ve seen her use it in the past. consider, as well, the introductory note’s use of the phrase “aggressively canonical” and what that might imply. this isn’t a huge ask imo considering “stomach” is a measly 3,994 words long, compared to the nearly 40,000 words contained in just one of chapter 8’s many fingers. there are more answers present within the text than you might expect, but you’ve got to put the pieces together yourself. failing that, there’s always the godfeels fan server...

but now to the meat of your question, which i very much do want to talk about at excruciating length (after the break).