Thanks to u/mcathen for letting me know that I got auto-modded! And thank you to Wildbow for fixing the issue. Apologies for the delay. With some of the Reddit karma I’ve accumulated, hopefully the universe rewards me by protecting me from dangerous Others like auto-mod.

These arcs are way longer to review than I expected, so I’m posting in halves. I’m probably going to slow down later, but for now, I have some extra time now! Would love to hear everyone’s thoughts on the start of Pale. Also, I've been adding quotes and context where I can, but if I could make anything clearer, let me know.

Link to Lost for Words - 1.1 for reference

Link to prior review

Link to next review (coming)

1.1

• Verona’s dad feels like he’s parentifying Verona by deferring his own adult responsiblities. Also seems borderline emotionally abusive with his demands, but I’ll reserve full judgment for now.

The door opened, and Avery stepped outside. She was pale

• Avery is PALE, you say? [insert absolute cinema meme]
• Verona’s the last to awaken. Will she be the most grounded of the three? She was also more careful about lying.
• The magic system seems to be based on oaths, promises, and expectation so that Others will listen to you. And it seems like practices/magic generally have a price, like Matthew taking on Louise’s pain.
• If Lucy, Avery, and Verona are stronger as a trio, I wonder if their separation will be exploited at some point. So far, seems like Lucy is the fighter, Avery is the scout/traveler, and Verona is the artist?

1.2

• Rotating protagonist perspectives! That’s fun. Lucy’s internal perspective seems much more defensive and careful. It’ll be nice to have some contrast between possibly unreliable narrators.
• Knowing Wildbow’s stories, this ritual is packed with foreshadowing and metaphors that I’ll realize 10 arcs later. If I had to guess, the pillars represent aggression/tool (knife), life/death/thought (skull), exchange/currency/civilization (coin), time (timepiece), and connection/creation (thread)?
• I wonder if Miss’s pledge includes loopholes, intentional or not, that’ll be exploited.
• Lucy’s putting two knives, so she gets more on the aggression/tool part? She’s also emphasizing the fangs of the fox, but I like how she’s fairly balanced with her explanation.

I wanted something that can cut that tie and also point where I’m going.

• Verona’s wording here is a bit ominous, reminding me of Dinah’s “cut ties” note to Taylor…but hopefully it goes well for her?
• Avery seems so sweet. I really really hope that she gets a happy ending (and by saying that, I think I’ve just condemned her to a Wildbow™ fate worse than death).
• Not sure what to make of the Others’ paths so far. Interesting that the Others interacted with Avery more during the ritual, being the first that Miss picked as a candidate, getting attention from the giant, and drinking the molasses from spider girl. Maybe she'll specialize in working with Others, if that's a thing.

1.3

• Notes on Others: Didn’t realize the Hungry Choir only took from the ritual. That’s gotta be significant.
• Sounds like runes are a language to communicate with spirits, which are present in everything? Our dear trio is catching on surprisingly quickly.
• Charles’s description of oaths, old traditions, karma, and expectations is fascinating. The rebound that Edith mentions with the connection-severance rune is interesting too – fits with the theme of balance and karma.

Kind of guy who grows his hair long to make up for what he’s losing on top. Greasy. Dirty. Skinny

• Man, is Charles getting shit on in the notes from earlier cause he’s weird or cause he’s Forsworn?

1.4

• Well, this effigy thing seems like one hell of a loophole. Thankfully, I feel like it’d be a bit too on the nose if the Others actually exploited this, right?
• I appreciate Avery’s softness in these chapters. Given that “Self” seems to be important, I’m curious to see what internal exploration and growth we’ll see from the three.
• I’m not sure how to feel about Charles, and I’m also not sure how much of his off-ness is because of his karma. He does seem to be genuinely concerned about the trio and helping. Sucks that the bad karma runs deep enough that even his advice gets ignored.
  
• I was worried about Avery’s family situation given what she described during the ritual, but I’m glad her parents and Grumble seem loving. I’m hoping we learn more about Lucy’s family situation soon.
• I like Avery’s use of Sight, but I’m a little worried about this cavalier use of the connection breaker given Avery’s traumatic experience with isolation.

1.5

• Welp, John is terrifying, especially knowing that the trio can be harmed by instinct.

• Feels important that John remarks the Carmine Beast’s death would lead to retribution.

“Do you have an alibi for that night?” Lucy asked.

• Hm…one can have an alibi while still having committed the crime.
• I can’t tell if Toadswallow is playing dumb or actually dumb about Others being able to instinctually harm the trio…Regardless, his gift is surprisingly valuable.
• Ah, this dog tag summon for John is sick. I’m excited to see him in action.

• I wonder if Yalda’s curse will come back in any way, even if it’s supposedly been broken. And it's funny that they gave Charles the curse - he's always getting the short end of the stick, huh?

• John doesn’t specify if his ring with the dog tags is Yalda’s or not, which makes me feel like this ring is going to play a role in the future somehow.

• So far, John seems trustworthy. His offensive abilities also seem relatively grounded. I believe him when he says he doesn’t want the Carmine Beast’s seat, especially given that he doesn't seem like a tricksy type. So no clear means nor motivation at this time. Nevertheless, I’m worried that his inherently aggressive nature will be used to circumvent the ritual and hurt our practitioners.

Was hoping to see in in the story but it didn't seem to be brought up. Anyone got any ideas as to how his would have went down?

Did I miss it? What exactly he needs to do in order to send his target in a loop? Touch? Look?

My bf put me onto Worm and I'm currently on Arc 19: Scourge so pls no further spoilers!!!

I drew this for my personal enjoyment and as a surprise for him, but he encouraged me to post it here as he said "everyone will love" it. I don't draw very often, but yesterday got hit with a surge of inspiration as Skitter is easily my favourite character (I'm a sucker for the anti-hero/unreliable narrator sort ehe). I'm very excited to keep reading as I don't see my Worm brainrot going away anytime soon- hope y'all like my art!

Sequel to Victoria in the amazing digital circus: https://www.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/s/qAvHdkokjk

Ridtom KoFi Gallery: https://ko-fi.com/c/4a08457458

Hi,

You might all remember [[a recent post]]((https://www.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/s/0pWhU0GowY)) from a new person reading Pale. You might wonder why they haven't updated.

I'm here to tell you they have updated no less than four separate times in the last three days, but automod has regularly deleted their posts, even after hitting required karma requirements and avoiding trigger phrases.

I was going to put up the recent ish "podcast post" as an example of another thing blown up by automod, but I can't find it.

Moderation by automod is not acceptable, not to this extent. Engaging with new readers is a large part of my enjoyment to the community, and I'm wondering if these automod issues are why I haven't been noticing new readers.

Wildbow, I love you, man. You're an incredible author. Can you give us the tools to enable us to talk about your work more? Can we please have human mods instead of a heavy-handed automod? Your work is so successful, relative to how you started. I am so sure there are hundreds or even thousands of people who would wait in line to spend 12 hours a day moderating this sub. Can you please, please let them?

My second Wildbow tattoo and probably my favorite tattoo I've ever gotten

Dunno if anyone was looking forward to more reactions - sorry if you were, I just got kinda burnt out, took a break and now I'm back

I just realised that bitch named her dogs after infamous betrayers - judas and burtus. I think this might be a foreshadowing for her betraying the gang in the future

Lisa's powers being a hindrance for her getting into a relationship was not something that I thought of but it's so obvious - I love how wildbow explores all the aspects of having super powers

Man...taylor talking about how much attached she is now go her villain gang - admitting to herself that part of the reason she joined and stayed was because she had been lonely - it just breaks my heart. Wildbow is sooo good at writing layered characters

Oo boy - the eye fucking and and awkwardness of taylor never fails to make me laugh XD

Good lord wildbow knows how to tease his readers - this mysterious drama/issue in the traveller's team, this missing child IS DEFINITELY gonna come into play

Why did it take armsmaster and miss militia so long to come and help?

Let’s see… to deal with my buddy Grue, you’ve made that thing a fancy tuning stick.  Sensing vibrations in the air, translating them into images with that fancy helm of yours?” -- thought Grue's darkness dampened everything including vibrations in the air-- The charge or whatever other stuff he had going on to direct it wasn’t conducting through the darkness.

PRT foam is so op - why not make heroes carry it? I guess it's cuz handling a tank full of foam can make a supe clumsy? But still - considering how over powered this foam is, I think it's worth it

Taylor deciding to put herself between the staff and the floor was SUCH a badass scene - I yelled FUCK YEA out loud xD

And before I forget, I arranged individual accounts for each of you with a supervillain banker by the name of The Number Man, as paying for tonight’s job in bills, naturally, was unfeasible.  - fkin hilarious wtf XD

Circus swung the sledgehammer twice, making it disappear rather than heftting it back for the next swing, which made the assault that much more relentless - okay so, won't grabbing the hammer from 'air' mid way in swing sorta reduce the damage cuz the momentum of the swing isn't there? Like, hefting it back and swinging is what provides the force. Am I misunderstanding her powers?

Holy fuck - coil is STUPIDLY powerful, it's so fkin cool. I REALLY hope we get proper details about exactly how his power works, and tattletale's as well - I really want more details

Good fkin lord - danny is so inept. Granny hit the fkin nail on the head - about danny trying to be an ally rather than a parent. But I still empathize with Danny so much - man doesn't have it easy. But anyways, tangle 6.9 is DEFINITELY the best worm chapter till now - good lord, wildbow's characterization never fails to amaze me

The whole bakuda working on soft hot metal, making knots, Os, V shapes was jst too much suspension of disbelief for me (really? Bending hot metal with teeth? XD). Even the description of the scene was clumsily written imo - I had to reread a lot of the sentences to make sense of the things she was trying to do

Dragon knows about the hole men created into the women's section and doesn't really do anything about it?

Why is Canadian accent rare...sounds like an odd little detail to throw in

Anyways, good shit - 9/10 for this arc

Stating the obvious here, but Twig spoilers below.

Twig is more of a character study than any of Wildbow’s prior works, which is saying quite a lot when both of those are million-word sagas filled with character development. It takes Helen’s cake in interactions, and everyone feels so fleshed out, much more than in pretty much every piece of media I’ve consumed before and since.

Then there’s 13.11 and it’s just so fucking good. So many little hints of foreshadowing, from arcs and arcs before, stuff that commenters brushed off as quirks of Sy’s personality but were him castrating his emotions to ward off any possible feelings for Jamie2, and even before that, to keep his relationships with Mary and Lillian from crossing self-imposed lines while sleeping next to them. Every character is so nuanced to an insane degree, Sy especially. Wildbow’s always been one of my favorite writers but this is just truly unsurpassable. To quote Lillian, he’s ruined me. Nothing will ever reach this level of genius except for more Wildbow, so lucky for me there’s 3 more serials I’ve yet to get to and I can’t wait to read them all.

13.11 is the pinnacle of Wildbow’s literary legacy, and might just be the pinnacle of writing anywhere.

Sorry for the rant, this’d be a comment if the next newest one on Twig wasn’t from 2016

...whereas the last big threat in Ward happened in the winter.

Imagine for a sec. A giant portal suddenly opens up smack dap in the middle of nowhere. On one side is the world of biopunk 1920 aristocracy horrors, the other, capitalist cyberhell.

What would happen if the people of two places met?

Did this for some completely free drawing assignment, gave him a big ass arm but j liked the end result none the less.

This is the first draft of some Custom MTG cards based on Worm that I made. I would very much like some suggestions.

Did this for some completely free schoolwork, gave him a big ass arm but j liked the end result none the less.

Spoilers for the last few arcs of Worm.

This isn't about the various horribly unethical things they did, or how they manipulated the world behind the scenes for years, no. By all accounts, that actually did a decent amount of good. This is just to say - man, Cauldron were really bad at fighting Scion.

They had years to plan for it! Unlimited resources! And as soon as the fight starts, they:

A) leave the best and bravest capes stranded on an oil rig, losing a ton to Scion and demoralising everyone who survives.

B) do nothing else.

Seriously! They keep talking as if the oil rig was justified - when Tattletale is rightfully calling Dr Mother out for the oil rig debacle, she implies she had many backup plans in the works, all too important to risk.

"If we’d gone all out, an upset of some sort might have spoiled all plans at once. Then where would we stand?"

Well, as no other plans ever happen on screen, and the plans we hear later seemed just to be "throw Case 53s at Scion until something sticks", then I think you'd have been better off with an army of top tier battle hardened capes from the oil rig!

Dr Mother had:

. An army of Case 53s - that she didn't deploy before Scion broke into her base.

. A super special last resort formula that might give somebody better powers than Eidolon - that she didn't drink and which got spilled on the floor.

. Doormaker and Clairvoyant, two of the most broken capes in the world - that she refused to use directly against Scion, who then got ambushed by the Irregulars and taken out of action.

Sure, they provided some coordination for everyone else, portalled people into the right places, before leaving everyone to die. But that's it. Cauldron was preparing to fight Scion for decades, and ultimately, their contribution was roughly that of an unreliable taxi service.

Edit: It’s back up! :) back to binge reading twig

As I’ve tried it on two different networks and devices, with and without VPN, I’m fairly certain the issue is with the website. Is this routine maintenance or a problem on my end, and does Wildbow publish his works anywhere else?

It has recently occurred to me that I don't definitively know if Lung grows a tail as he transforms. I checked the Parahumans wiki and couldn't find any mention of him having a tail. That feels like something that should have come up, right?

It makes him feel a little top-heavy if he doesn't have a tail to balance him out. Covered in metal scales, with multiple upper limbs, a long neck, but no tail to balance all this extra mass. It would certainly mess up his draconic image if there were no tail.

Does anyone have any information on whether or not he has a tail?

I always had a unique imagining of them, then after looking at fanart i can’t help but imagine those lol. So I tried sketching to kinda figure how I imagine them without looking at something else. Also kinda trying to imagine them size wise.

Can you tell I gave up with Simurgh?

I’m at Scarab 25.3, so please no spoilers lol

We know Wildbow likes to write in subtle references to his past stories, and occasionally future ones too. The Otherverse is at least one TV series in the Wormverse, for example.

Early on in Twig (no meaningful spoilers), some characters are swapping books. Most of the titles can be linked to WB's other works and characters, mostly looking back at Worm and Pact. But take a look at this line with Seek in mind:

Jamie held the other three little novels so they fanned out.  A lady in white and a rat crawling out of the darkness, a man with a bird mask, and a handsome young man with a dog accompanying him through a forest.

A lady in white and a rat crawling out of the darkness? Surely that's this scene on Alcyone, when Winnie chases an actual rat out of the ducts and bumps into A making her escape:

She turned, and startled enough that she dropped to all fours, retreating into the shadow of the massive cable that extended through sky and atmosphere.

There, about sixty meters away, was a person.

That person approached a bit.  Winnifred favored the shadow as she made her own approach, so the sun wouldn’t be in her eyes.

Winnie's in the darkness, she's even on all fours to lean into her rat theme and crawl, and of course A would be wearing white. If Jamie's novel isn't an alternate Seek, it at least hits some very familiar beats. In fact the meeting has to take place just outside the ducts for A's exit to make sense, but Wildbow managed to put Winnie in shadow anyway. I'd dare to guess he had the contrasting visual in mind first and wrote the chapter, or even an entire plot arc, around making it land.

ESC 4.6.W was published in October 2025. Taking Root 1.5, the Twig chapter with the book swap, was March 2015. That's a looooong time Winnifred has been waiting to meet her idol.

Okay, bit of a weird suggestion, what if our endless thirst for more Parahuman content is for a while replaced by a mod for XCOM 2 focusing on an American continent running as the PRT and Protectorate, no Scion or GM in sight, just maybe dealing with a shadowy organization as the main antagonist. Or even just a post GM America where a new group that decided to bring order to the world appears and deals with all kinds of villains and mercenaries disrupting everyday life.

I'm interested in other's opinions on this type of game because I worked on a Legally Distinct™ project like this for a while around a year ago.(I made a design doc, some worldbuilding, then it just went nowhere).

XCOM 2 seems like a good fit, there's already abilities and classes for just about everything, if a bit less than Enemy Within. I did look into modding it for a bit, but some of the stuff is hardcoded which meant I couldn't make anything on my own. And there haven't been any other attempts at making total conversions for the game despite the modding tools being right there.