Song for Saint and the Dragonslayers from Worm. Spoiler: Lyrics Their mouths move but I can't hear them Their voices sound like televisions when they're tuned to snow And I'm wondering just what they know They can't sleep, they have no eye lids Their bodies hum just like our heaters in the microwaves But their heads turn, and they'll be watching you And this is not a joke my boy They're not something we understand They don't think or live the way we do Their fingers bend, but it's not because they tell them to They don't breathe or drink anything They say they don't need things that we still need And now I'm wondering just what that means They don't sleep, they have no eyelids I hear them moving near my window when I'm down for bed I think they're after what's inside my head I can't think, the wheels keep spinning There's more of this than I can see, I'm not sure what they need But my hands are tied, there's nothing much that I can do And this is not a joke my boy They're not like us, parts are missing There's no hearts or blood inside their chest They don't feel, or laugh, no shame, or regret Don't know just what it means To lose some things that you cannot get back And now I'm terrified of what they lack Oh, they'll come for our heads They'll come for our heads Oh, they'll come for our heads They'll come for... I heard a knock on the door But there was no answer I peaked through the crack And the hand pulled me through They dragged me outside then And you tried to stop them But there were too many You did what you could
Depressingly, I think even Saint deserved better than that, if only in the sense that people generally consider a quick death better than extended suffering.
Spoiler: Twig Arc 10 Wow. Sy and Mary seriously do bring out the worst in each other. I mean, they're spectacularly deadly, but Sy sinks to the lowest possible moral level in order to fit well with Mary and she eggs him on, and he does nasty things to her own agency. They love each other but they're awful for each other, it's so great. I hope that it's not just Mary that Sy runs away with or that she gets to stay behind with Lillian and be happy, the Sy that she makes on her own is interesting but would be exhausting for more than just this arc.
Spoiler: Arc 10 The thing is, I think Sy knows this. This is why he wouldn't make a move with Mary in the first place. While he wouldn't object to running away with Mary if none of the other Lambs would come... well, it's interesting how he's trying to balance her influence with hallucinatory brain-ghosts of the people he deems most moral. Also, song for the Lambs. We were kings and queens of bedlam We were happy to exist, In discomfort we’d created Though we dreamed of more than this We had embers in our bloodlines Iron lungs beneath our skin Though our hearts were barely beating We were bleeding out within
Actually, thinking of songs for the Lambs... have a Mary song. There was a little girl, who had a little curl Right in the middle of her forehead And when she was good, she was very, very good But when she was bad, she was homicidal!
Spoiler: today's chapter Describes how Mary's feeling about Sy right now pretty well I've been noticing a recurring mystery of missing kids. The kids Percy replaced were sold to someone (the revolutionaries?), the Baron does something to the first born of Warrick...I wonder if they're all going to the same place?
Yes like Spoiler holy fuck Sy she would have gone with you you could have taken them all with you. And they'd be frustrated at him for it but also sympathetic and they wouldn't be able to do as much and their last days would be short and miserable and free. But Sy wants them to be happy/successful and he doesn't think they need him for that. Also Lillian/Mary is still increasing in intensity. Sy ships it.
Because I am still emotional, a song for the Lambs. Spoiler: Lyrics You're on your own now, we're tired of lending hands A new agenda, it cuts you from all our plans So get in line boy, and keep that mouth of yours closed Don't need opinions, just work them hands to bones We stood in places, watched them tear us apart Cut us open, and ripped out all our parts But we kept quiet, we let them have their way We made our point by having nothing to say We all broke up right on cue We'll take you down with us too Better jump ship, this bastard is sinking fast Nothing to save here Our worth has all but passed, The muddy waters are slippin in through the cracks The ship, the ship, the ship is sinking, the ship, the ship, the ship is sinking We sit on our hands and watched it all fall No one blinks an eye (eye eye eye). There's not much worth saving Just lots of buildings And concrete colored skies And you came and picked us up You combed our hair, and made us look like people And we learned to feed ourselves again We built some homes and filled them full of clones But we wont wait till you get back We'll be gone long before you arrive We were never built to last But we'd like to tell ya Thanks for the good times, it was nice to have known ya We'll all be just fine, and we'll try to write ya We appreciate the lies, but were done believing you
AHHHHHH. Spoiler: Arc 10 Chapter 20 I thought Lillian might be the one to come, but it's Jamie, it's always been Jamie, ah god. Jamie is the one going out there to keep Sy from figuratively falling apart even though it might mean Jamie literally falls apart. It's Jamie.
My precious evil children. Spoiler This is also good because it gives Sy a thing to do (save Jamie, ensure he lives for a reasonable amount of time and also explore bisexuality) other than what he was probably going to die (freeze to death or go out in a blaze of glory). Sy needs people to keep him going.
Spoiler Yeah, basically Jamie literally saved Sy's life here. How are they going to keep him alive, though? Fray might be able to, but Sy's scared of Fray. It's going to be tricky. And... I have no fucking idea if Jamie will live or die here. Probably die, but... maybe? maybe?
Spoiler: what if... Jamie seems to have somehow snuck a glimpse at the Wyvern formula, it's possible he's started in on the other basics...and before he lost his memory he was getting tantalizingly close to unlocking the secrets to Academy science by basically picking up scraps and piecing them together. And Sy has access to a reasonably sympathetic/bribable Academy student right now (he accepts organs! Sy can do organs!). I could see the two of them going full on mad science like Fray.
Spoiler: Today's chapter Aw, today's chapter was so nice. Lillian looks after Helen and sneaks her cake! Helen cares about Lillian! Ashton is adorable and enjoys Helen's hugs which is communicated through pheromones because he's bad at pretending to be human! And Lillian is there for Mary when things are bad just like Mary's there for Lillian. Sy is an asshole, and this is universally agreed. Sy and Jamie have a bit of a head start. I wonder if Lillian will keep using Wyvern to make sure the squad can't be outmaneuvered?
Spoiler: Today's Chapter So uh, how long until Helen kills and eats Ibbot? Because it sure seems to be building up to that. Not like I'd cry for him, he's basically her extremely abusive father who preprogrammed her with bloodlust. I mean...
Spoiler: Cut to the Quick I'm really enjoying this arc so far. Not just for the delicious Symie subtext/text, but it really feels like Sy and Jamie are genuinely in a really good place right now, even if Sy is routinely playing cards against himself and losing which is probably not a great sign. They've got their own place with hidden weapons, stolen art and furniture, even mood music. I mean obviously this is all so it can become sad when the red rash mutates into a fullblown apocalypse plague, but it's nice.
Spoiler: Today's chapter spoilers NONBINARY JAMIE CONFIRMED YESSSSSS Now all we need is trans girl Sy
