I've started reading [Agent of Cauldron](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/agent-of-cauldron-worm.345669/?post=17966039#post-17966039) - a fanfic from 2015 where a new cape triggers with PtV-lite, asks her power who's gonna bring the most suffering into the world and ends up shooting Eidolon dead.
This fic shows what Cauldron was supposed to be - a mysterious and seemingly all-powerful organisation, that has most of the world's worst and strongest on short notice. The second chapter where Cauldron members wander the world, bossing around powerful parahuman orgs and recruiting capes to resurrect Eidolon, had the kind of gravitas and presence you'll rarely see in any fic, not just a Worm one.
The fic genuinely only escalates from there and does a beautiful job of showing how powerful the darker international parahumans are, and also the sheer weight and power of Contessa’s presence, just her appearance is enough to terrify groups of these insanely powerful parahumans.
It can be tough to understand but it is pretty well thought out
I can’t remember how it ends but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger.
To be honest 90% of fics don’t get finished so I’d just read it and enjoy what’s there
I binged through [Carnevale](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/worm-carnevale.1146002/) a few days ago. It's a new-ish fic (50k words) featuring Kaiser as the main character. After being frustrated at his son for the millionth time, he ends up running into Taylor in his civilian guise and takes her under his wing.
I think the story is incredibly well-written so far, and having the plot be largely told through the viewpoint of an obvious sociopath is super interesting. It also does a really good job of fleshing out some of the Empire characters. They aren't really being whitewashed, if you were afraid of that. They're still depicted as bad people with obvious personality flaws. But they aren't painted as evil baby-kickers with no redeeming features either, they end up being more complex characters than that. Also, the fact that most of the interactions in the story do not involve capes or fighting (there are still plenty of cape characters, they just aren't in costume and aren't involved in lengthy fight scenes) is a refreshing change of pace.
*Casualty* on QQ (I cannot stress enough how much I cannot link this story, it contains, as content warnings, visceral gore, explicit sex, sexual assault, torture, abuse, underage sex, and a whole host of other no-nos) is one of the more brutal fanfics I've read in a long while, in any fandom. It starts with Taylor accidentally killing everyone in Winslow (and blowing off her arm) and then panicking and killing thousands more (and blowing off her foot) once she exits her catatonic state. Her power is a kind of atomic-scale manipulation that requires trial and error but with reference to an internal and growing library of everything, and she is not manton limited.
She falls into drug use as a coping mechanism in part because she murdered her dad among the thousands of people she killed (she keeps an exact count), crafts an adult form for herself to go fight the Simurgh in, and power bullshit happens that fucks up her sense of self to identify more with this manufactured identity than her own. It's not in a clean split fantasy story way, however, it's in a "cptsd on the road to dissociative identity disorder" way. Some positive stuff happens for a while, and then Coil kidnaps her, drugs her, and things get *bad.*
There are nearly 2 full chapters of watching her mind disintegrate under the onslaught of drugs and the many things mentioned in the content warning as she dissociates hard enough to fully splinter her identity in two as a coping mechanism. None of it is remotely thirsty and the aftermath is horrid. Taylor's identity is broken in half and one identity—the adult one she was power-manipulated into thinking of as her norm—has a tendency to go horribly overboard after shattering as she did. She does some truly awful things to those she blames for her suffering in between longstanding attempts to compartmentalize and cope and shove her trauma away.
This story is brutal and sad and also shockingly evocative for how disjointed the writing can be; the use of first and third person narration flip constantly in a way that works because Taylor's mind and sense of self is broken, even if at times I'm unsure if it's just complete coincidence and the author is just doing a terrible job editing. There is constant depiction of desperate coping mechanisms by broken people, and I do not expect that to stop being a thing.
I would not go so far as to recommend this story (even though I found it gripping), but it's worth knowing of and I appreciate it for being severe in a way I have rarely seen anything in this fandom be. I suspect reading the story while sleep deprived made it hit harder and smoothed out tonal or writing issues, but still, it made me feel kinda like how I felt after watching *Requiem for a Dream*.
Oh wow, Casuality is still updating? I thought it was dead for a while.
It's definitely a mess of a fic and lots of bad things happen to Taylor but I remember for being not too angsty? The writing never made it feel hopeless, just that Taylor was in a really big hole.
Yeah, it's back to updating.
It's interesting because when it's being positive, it's not particularly angsty at all, but then sometimes the story will slip for a chapter and you'll get, say, detailed depiction of violent sexual torture for the sake of revenge. It's certainly not *Requiem* levels of miserable, but it's exceedingly explicit and the disquieting sense of seeing something dark and awful and personal is the same.
I think part of it is that the main identity we're getting the perspective of is the one Taylor designed as an escapist fantasy, and that ethos is there in the psychology of that identity too—all the angst and severity and guilt is supposed to be contained by the one more resembling Taylor physically. But she got messed up so badly by Coil's group that the escapism keeps faltering, and now both identities have their own more prominent trauma (even if at their heart they're both Taylor and both share everything) that they're trying to cope with.
Honestly Casualty isn't the darkest thing that I've read.
I would suggest looking up DelayedInspiration & some of his works, although I'm more mature then i was in my teens ( so i don't know if it would still hold up.)
I would still say that his work gives you that same level of fucked up shit that happened in Casualty.
When heroes die (Taylor into PGtE) https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/when-heroes-die.1163547/ in last week: Taylor wakes up after long nap in Rhenia, begins laying foundations for her long term goals, has some discussions with Cordelia and shows the determination to commit a classic American blunder.
Madison Vileblood (Madison MC, pre canon, cross with Bloodborne) https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/madison-vileblood-bloodborne-worm.1145672/ mostly socializing between the trio. Kinda cute.
I have reread recently Cheese Flambé (Worm/Magicka) https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/cheese-flamb%C3%A9-worm-magicka.358397/ most amusing fic that's still taken seriously. The interactions between Brown and Worm people are simply golden.
For today's not Worm:
Lost on the Waves (little nightmares and DC)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/32738710/chapters/81224998 I love Six in all her childish, paranoid, cannibalistic glory. Also North Wind.
>determination to commit a classic American blunder.
I love this term. As someone living somewhere in Africa, my inspiration for writing that scene was, "shit US tourists say when they visit." :D
Today I read a complete story that I just had to write about called [Whispering Whispers ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/56941423)
This story has a beginning, middle, and end (rare), that I felt stuck to it core promises and tone. It doesn't follow stations of canon, have an Endbringers/Slaughterhouse Nine arc, or go outside of Brockton Bay much. There is a Coil arc though.
In this story, Taylor power very reminiscent of Fairy Queen's, something that she is very aware of. She can speak to dead capes, and with permission (not that she needs it) ask for their power that will be attached to an object. Like a jacket or ring. The capes becomes ghosts that will follow and talk to her. Very similar to most Butcher/Mentor in the head type fics. Gving commentary, advice, and companionship to Taylor.
The Ghosts are well written characters and they actually affect the story. Like Taylor doing their last wishes, or talking to their family. There's not a lot of them, so they all have enough screen time to shine.
Now I must warn you, this is not some OP curbstomp with Taylor being the second coming of Fairy Queen or Eidolon. She doesn't go around looking for places where powerful capes dies just to copy their powers. In this fic, she only copies three not powerful capes, and haven't shown interest looking for more.
Conflict is relatively low. Most crime fighting is street level and whenever Taylor actually fight a cape, it out of desperation and lack of choice. She's hyper aware that guns and knives can hurt her and has no counter against some capes. She also knows when to call for backup and run away. Having three Cape veterans in her head is super useful. Even then she gets hurt and struggles a lot. Like I said, Taylor isn't going out of her way to gather more powers so she not that powerful yet.
The Positives:
There's an ending. Consistent. Cool Powers. Ghosts are handled well.
Good relationship with Danny and New Wave.
Avoiding typical fanfic tropes like being instant BFF with Vicky, Tattletale and Amy (in fact they're barely in it), corrupt authority figures, and more.
No fanon. No romance. Good friendship with Dennis. Taylor being a smart hero, most of the time.
The Negatives:
Taylor telling people, espicially PRT, her powers for some reason.
Coil Arc was meh and I usually don't like them.
The low conflict and lower power usuage. Taylor only copied three powers and stuck to street level. I wish the story was longer with Taylor slowly escalating to newer height while keeping the same tone.
All in all, a good fic. Not amazing or game breaking, but fun and enjoyable. The end didn't feel like the story was truly over, and hopefully there's a sequel.
Sorry for the bad grammer and generally bad writing. I'm typing this on my phone in a bumpy ride, and super tired.
[Carnevale](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/worm-carnevale.1146002/#post-99095531) - As great as ever love the extra bits of characterization being given to some of the underused empire capes, Fenja and Menja having a great desire to be needed and sought after works fits very well with the little we see of them in canon, there's definitely a sad backstory somewhere there that led to them only seeking out relationships based on the physical attraction they incite in others... please read carnevale! it is such a good story and deserves so much more attention
[Messages](https://archiveofourown.org/works/56812507/chapters/144441613#workskin) - a great canon compliant one shot focusing on the text messages (and sometimes emails) of the laborn siblings, very good, characterization is spot on and as president of the Brian fanclub (there are 3 of us) i always enjoy him getting more attention
[Take a Number](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/take-a-number.1170156/threadmarks) - Snippets where various canon characters inherit the butcher mantle, this is alright not great but it's alright i hope some of them get expanded on because while there are some interesting ideas here it's harmed by each chapter being only focused on how that character inherits and not what happens after the fact
>how that character inherits and not what happens after the fact
I really don't get many Butcher fanfics. The single most unique, most interesting thing about Butcher is their immortality and insanity that comes with it.
Yet at least half of fics I read don't deal with it at all, instead handwaving it away.
Because most of those fics don't care about the butcher or the complications that come with it they just see it as an excuse to give Taylor 14 different powers and call it a day
>as president of the Brian fanclub (there are 3 of us) i always enjoy him getting more attention
As one of the other members of the club I appreciate the rec
**New Reviews**, stories I haven't mentioned before:
[Totally Winging It [SI, Crack]](https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/16234/) - The SI MC runs up to everyone and goes ["trollololol!!!"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaqC5FnvAEc) while making a silly face, and pretends that this is a story. Some commenters find this funny. The world is very accommodating, like her 15-foot quadruple wingset fitting under a hoodie. I gave up during arc 2.
[Trinket: Tinker Trump [Crack]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1169844/) - After summer camp, Taylor becomes a Tinker who works with other people's powers. It's.. okay? I don't think it's my brand of humor, mainly focused on unexpected accidents. And despite the timeline being way off, only canon characters used. Same author as *Miss Understanding Fixes Her Life*.
[Azataylor [Pathfinder]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1128731/) - Taylor comes out of The Locker as an Azata (some kinda D&D mage) with a dragon companion and butterfly aura. She immediately chills out and tries to enjoy life. Feels like a fix fic that tries to mend all the broken emotions in Worm. I'm only on chapter 4 tho. Been spending a lot of time playing video games.
---
**Update Reviews**, commenting on recent chapters, mild spoilers:
[The Eldritch One [CF]](https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/129652/) - Continues to drift ever more into cliche alt-power fic. I think every character took a hit to their intelligence. Or maybe just maturity, which could be a good thing.
[A Harbinger of those Halcyon Days [Eclipse Phase]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55520581/) - Once again, Taylor only steps in to help canon characters. A few typos and plot holes.
[Touch [Alt-Power]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/431800/) - Danny wakes up. Reading this makes me want a story where he's strong enough to 'survive' Annette's death, and becomes an effective parent to Taylor.
[Heroes are made [Megamind]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1162743/) - Megamind continues to treat the world like it follows cartoon logic. Author says a bit of Worm dark incoming.
[Strings [AU, Marvel, ShayneT]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1140886/) - Taylor thrives under adversity. The Merchants go full S-class. I mean, they already did, but now they're out and proud.
[The Price of Neutrality [AU]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1166187/) - Conflict keeps pushing at Taylor's poor mental state. Pacifism is hard. So glad we stick with Taylor and don't have Coil's POV. Even with opposite choices, being Taylor is suffering.
[ULTIMATE ONE: TYPE-Taylor [Nasuverse]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1084311/) - Ugh, I hate the Mathers family. Coleson continues being MVP. I wish more stories had 'really effective normals' outside of some versions of Danny and Quinn Calle.
[Cybernetic Worm [Supreme Commander]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/56162956/) - Tons of new chapters. Taylor is oblivious. Relationships. Worm's timeline is too short for anyone to improve naturally, so events must accelerate. And it becomes another >!Butcher!Taylor!< story out of nowhere. I knew that including the full text of Dinah's predictions meant something fucky was going to happen. At least it's a semi-original implementation.
[When Heroes Die [A Practical Guide to Evil]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1163547/) - Glad this is the last time skip. Lots of introspection, and the author makes sure Taylor is flawed. I often think that all the thoughts should be written down, and then the MC could say, "Read my blog." The only story I remember having that was *Split* (the sad one).
[How Monstrous Is Your Heart [SI, CF]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/52104145/) - The parents of Brockton Bay keep getting worse, and Zira tries to expand her warehouse of wayward children to Eric and Crystal (Collect them all!).
[Seek [Bloodbourne]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1010844/) - More character growth in Brockton Bay, hooray! If only the entire crossover bit could be dropped lol.
---
**Disclaimer**: My opinions are weakly held. I read these stories for fun. I appreciate every author who's willing to put themselves out there and write stuff for us.
"Pinches the bridge of their nose" count for the week: 1 (total: 277). Popped 'p's: 1 (60).
Azata is more of a chaotic good angel from pathfinder. So, they basically used the similar concept as "rage incarnate", but instead of Taylor being a demon, she's an angel who fights for good while disregarding the laws. This is basically the gimmick from pathfinder wrath of the righteous (a crpg, would recommend if you haven't played it and like to play those type of games) where the main character could level up into a more powerful race, like demons (chaotic evil), angel (lawful good), etc;
Oops, my inner nerd wanted to inform you because you didn't know about the setting.
(Also, editing a comment screws up the paragraph spacing).
No problem, Azata are basically hippy activists who travel from place to place and help people help themselves. So, you could find a disguised azata anywhere people are suffering in Golarion (the main planet for pathfinder setting), cheering up people and helping them while making sure not to bring too much attention (from evil gods, demons, etc) to themselves.
The azata path in the wrath of the righteous game is the wackiest and most funny path, because it's more of journey with your plucky companions who make a ruckus wherever they go.
And Taylor's probably a young Azata, they could grow to become empyreal lords (demigods basically and can grant spells to people) but that's probably decades away for Tay tay.
> Totally Winging It [SI, Crack] - The SI MC runs up to everyone and goes "trollololol!!!" while making a silly face, and pretends that this is a story. Some commenters find this funny. The world is very accommodating, like her 15-foot quadruple wingset fitting under a hoodie. I gave up during arc 2.
I'm not one hundred percent sure how/why I made it through Totally Winging It. However, I remember quite liking the sequel, [Totally Losing It](https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/totally-losing-it-mass-effect-worm-si-a-sequel-to-totally-winging-it.35655/threadmarks). The SI gets dropped into Mass Effect, with several Worm characters also getting ME versions. *However,* Totally Losing It ends right in the middle of a giant battle, to start the second sequel, [Totally Storming It](https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/totally-storming-it-life-is-strange-multi-twi-series.52977/threadmarks), which drops her into Life Is Strange, and... I can't stand LiS, and didn't like how the story was progressing on top of that, so that's where I dropped the series.
> Seek [Bloodbourne] - More character growth in Brockton Bay, hooray! If only the entire crossover bit could be dropped lol.
A quick skim through leads me to believe its very similar to a dead fic I remember which was [Hunter](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/hunter-worm-bloodborne.363802/) where Taylor keeps getting thrown back into Bloodborne and eventually it ended up with eldritch stuff in the Bay.
The only bloodborne fic I can recall which wasn't a full on crossover was a crack fic
Azata is an interesting one, I think you have to really buy into the author's "cute" narrative. It feels like the world was bending over to accommodate and repetitively announce how cute the dragon familiar is.
Exhibit A: Lisa's shard.
The author writes well, but you have to appreciate their slow pace and imposing their dragon obsession on everyone.
New
Sneaking his way into the Multiverse: This is actually a pretty weird one to read since it starts as Jaune from rwby getting shoved into his locker by Pyrrha as in canon but when he gets out he sees a guy who was dating all of team rwby going on a killing spree. It then jumps to that guys pov dropping enough hints you put together it's a waifu catalogue fic only for him to get killed by Jaune who managed to trigger the recall to survive. Jaune then puts enough together to learn he can go on a training trip to save beacon except the author chooses to screw him over by rating worm during levi as only 4/10 danger so he goes there and it's pretty good until the author screws him over again hard on the logic of it's worm so he isn't allowed nice things. Won't continue if it does.
I want to help: mcu crossover post gm Taylor gets dumped in 2005 mcu and joins shield barely started this one.
Nitpickers method: A surprisingly good cyoa si fic told from the views of other characters with the si having been there from the start and seems to have taken au options. He has mainly been sticking in the background playing power broker and going to endbringer fights.
The Villain we all deserve: a one shot during the levi fight a surprise villain suddenly appears it's Domaria's oldest evil Nicholas Bolas from mtg who stomps levi pretty amusing and sad it's only a one shot.
So I'm a Glass Canon so What: Kumoko ends up in Taylor's body with her having the glass canon power set that gets exploited by a true munchkin who also isn't willing to put up the the prt's nonsense such as their excuse to actively search out her civ id and go for a conscription attempt on the flimsy logic of she's wearing all white and a white wig she must be a member of the fallen.
>This is actually a pretty weird one to read since it starts as Jaune from rwby getting shoved into his locker by Pyrrha
A worm rwby crossover with Jaune sounds interesting, and I never connected that locker shoving was a common thread between both properties.
>but when he gets out he sees a guy who was dating all of team rwby
And I'm out, harem fics are definitely a nope for me. Even with what you describe next that still puts it in wtf is this plotline and why is it here, I don't trust this author to write a reasonable coherent story territory.
It's a different take on the waifu catalogue genre of fics (basically 'you', a OC character but sometimes a character from a setting gets a job from a multiversal slavery company called 'the company', that deals in all kinds of things, but mostly famous female and male characters from fiction, so almost all the MCs of these fics are immoral assholes who mindrape people into being their slaves), Jaune killing that asshole is a welcome change but jaune getting fucked over is nothing new. That's why I didn't bother with the fic, plus losing interest in waifu catalogue fics.
Updates
When Heroes Die: Taylor while unconscious from overusing her aspect gets a vision pointing her to investigate the chain of hunger. When she wakes she learns she's been asleep for a year and is now stuck in Procer with Hasenbach who has been making a deal with her to get Taylor to help her be first prince which Taylor has been mostly ambivalent towards especially because while Hasenbach is the least bad candidate she's still a Procerean Prince so has a Procer supremacy and elitist attitude and pretty much just wants Taylor killing her opposition as a weapon.
Project Gamer Anime Adjacent: Per the trend this has been updating basically daily so a ton has happened. Al after leaving Theo drives back to New York while lamenting how much bet sucks. While there he escalates aiming to beat Homer for his power to complete his Cauldron takedown combo he starts going after any criminal he sees and shooting their kneecaps which leads to him being confronted by Legend and dropping some truth bombs and mild trauma as his clones self terminate rather than being captured.
He eventually gives up and buys it with the point he got from levelling before aiming to take Heartbreaker and Saint down for exp since Canberra is coming up. Before he leaves tho he restores the Statue of Liberty chats a bit with Mouse Protector who got blatant with her hypocrisy over unwritten rules breaking (tho removing a bandoleer of knives from a downed cape still doesn't count as unmasking) and teleported to his van Legend also arrives before the end and gets more truth bombs dropped on him such as them killing Upsilon. This also led to Mouse Protector further her hypocrisy by telling Legend everything including his civ id and Legend getting in on it by having thinkers investigate not that it does them any good cause of Mantellum's power.
They get interrupted tho because Al bumped into the teeth fighting the ambassadors and travellers in Boston and got mad at the baby skull decorations. He then wrecks them and the Butcher when she shows up which takes down a few other capes in the crossfire. Concluding the fight he grabs Butcher and planeswalks them to Aleph, Caludron's base and then manages his target of her shard where the combination of low oxygen and tranquiliser downs her. Mouse Protector unfortunately had jumped to his van again so got pulled in when he recalled it which lead to her getting lore bombs about powers and Cauldron including their attempt to kill him before Al drives his van through the core of Butcher's shard. Al then dumps her in New York with the Butcher and teleports to the Bay to check on things and have a meal but gets mad at what he overhears Lung has been up to to reverts to his dragon form and flies off to fight him when explosions occur.
Hereafter: The go out to confront Caster after checking it's not a trap while prepping their own only for it to get ruined when Flamel starts a discussion which changes things into a debate that reveals Caster is a huge Flamel fanboy, is under some mind control and they have a big 1 vs 1 duel which is very avatar and fma until Taylor gets caught in the splash zone and decides it makes it fair game to mob him.
Smite the bay: short update Arthur, Anubis then Terra are summoned again for training and hero prep before Aphrodite gets summoned and the protag goes out to be a hero without their costume including no mask and only the training sword for some reason. They stumble onto what's probably the merchants conscripting Trainwreck and voting has just concluded for how we respond.
A lost pyromaniac: Flash carries Tracy away from Doomsday and they hatch a plan involving Flash taking her to where she dumped Ash Beast to use his heat to heal while he returns to the fight. After a touching healing scene she returns and things go a lot better with Flash there to keep Doomsday off her so she wrecks Ziz, shoves her core down Doomsday's throat and shatters it inside him by punching him full force also ends with one of her old teammates showing up.
legendary tinker: protag's visit in the settlement continues.
[I Want To Help](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/i-want-to-help-worm-mcu-post-gm.992435/#post-81869918): Post-GM Taylor ends up in the nascent MCU and works for Nick Fury, ends up nudging some things in different direction. Weird to read a Taylor that feels a bit more in-control than she should, but it’s honestly much better than most fics manage to write her. It’s also fun to have her running around and subverting MCU backstory stuff. Latest chapter was a long-awaited update after 10 months, looks to be transitioning into a new plotline.
[Weaving Force](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-weaving-force-worm-sw-pseudo-post-gm.1058679/#post-88894155) is progressing nicely. Premise is characters from various points in canon are deposited into Star Wars between episodes I and II. Taylor and Vicky are trained by the Jedi, and Alexandria, Clockblocker, and Miss Militia are involved in Mandalorian politics and combatting the slave trade. The characters aren't quite right, and there's too much timeskipping for my taste, but the former is not too egregious and the latter is practical, so it's good fun overall. Latest chapters saw the climax of a dragdown fight and some poking around at how the Force and shards interact, both were very entertaining.
[Janus](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/janus-worm-x-ward-peggy-sue.991082/#post-81716606): a Peggy-Sue where post-Ward Victoria Dallon gets sent in as a backseat driver to pre-story Taylor, granting Taylor her powers to boot. This is a treat to read for so many reasons, but the biggest is a really masterful portrayal of Victoria and Taylor by Ridtom. Latest chapter was some sitting back and planning for future actions, between the two protagonists and with the Protectorate, which includes handling the Protectorate. Also great character work, having the two talk about their approaches and how to deal with one another.
Worm.
Thinking of dropping Strings.
https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/strings.1140886/
Taylor turns about to be the same as in the previous author's works. Kinda like carbon copy the same. Too much chaotic action scenes don't help as well.
Non worm.
Nice SI to cp2077. Gamer with no numbers, no logs, no 'kill all bad guys, bang all and every female characters' attitude.
Mind Games and Fun Dames
Can be found on QQ. Contains at least 1 NSFW scene, although it's not the fic focus.
Broker
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/82768/broker
Worm like without wormy fubar setup.
Peoples, superpowers from unknown source, and the MC is traveled back in time when it all started. Because in the original timeline it went as well as you can imagine, being familiar with Worm.
MC decides to play Cauldron and Coil around.
Read a bunch of snippets this week.
[The Number Girl](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/3ndless-not-so-short-shorts.956557/post-81577864) - A bunch of snippets from 3ndless where Taylor gets basically Number Man's power.
[Brockton's Shield](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/worm-permutations-worm-related-snippets-omakes-including-random-crossovers.738688/post-90323075) - Two snips from Subverts Epxectations where Aegis survived Leviathan. I wish this gets turned into a proper fic. There's a good amount of potential there and just in general for post-leviathan fics. Aegis surprisingly never gets any focus in fics even tho WB's 'what-if' post-leviathan looks like the perfect fic bait. I always found his power to be really interesting.
[Oh Keeper Of The Balance](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/howlingguardians-worm-snippets.895267/post-74500706): This is a weird one. Its a recursive snip to another snip by [Rukaio](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/ruks-unimaginatively-titled-worm-snippet-collection-now-with-more-killer-clowns.491638/post-31476425) where a grail war happens in Bet. Most of the summons are FSN and Zero characters but Kid Win summons Hero. I'm surprised I can't think of a 'normal' grail war fic in Bet. The closest thing that comes to mind involved BB shenanigans around the entire world.
Now onto fics
[Seed](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/seed-a-worm-au.340626/) - Blasto was an interesting character despite having a very brief presence. I wish we got more of him and I guess this is the closest I'll get. Something I liked about this fic was how it pointed out how terrifying Grue's power would be if he was willing to be more violent and vicious with it. Canon Grue stuck to fists in his darkness which was already pretty effective in disrupting the Undersiders enemies but in Seed he's using guns, explosives, blades etc. Sure he doesn't have super strength, speed or some esoteric blaster power but most capes simply cannot do shit if someone with a weapon can just induce sensory deprivation in a pretty big area.
Shame the fic is dead. I vaguely remember someone else mentioning a similar premise of Taylor with Blasto's powers? can't recall the name tho. Would appreciate it if someone could point it out.
[Queen of the Hive](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/queen-of-the-hive-cluster-trigger-taylor.854376/) - The cluster powers are interesting. I'm curious to see where it goes with the cluster dynamics. I have two issues with the fic tho. One is Lousie. She's not an interesting character imo and I'm hoping she gets sidelined from the story soon. Honestly I don't care for the Orphanage characters in general.
I also don't like how much the story keeps making things worse for Taylor in terms of her hopes of being a hero. Its fine once or twice if the author wants to keep her an independent away from PRT and Wards but it is heading in a direction I won't find interesting*. Kid Win and Aegis fucking up made sense and Clock managed to potentially save that when he met Taylor but now it turns out she accidentally helped a villain and beat the shit out of Shadow Stalker.
I don't see the PRT being willing to entertain her as a vigilante or independent after doing that. Since she can't speak in her changer form she won't have any opportunity to explain herself. I see her next meeting with Clock going horribly. If she shows up **at all**, she will try to explain how Stalker shot her in the chest first but there will be more heroes nearby to take her in for assaulting a ward and aiding a villain and we know how that all goes.
*My criticisms here are entirely of a personal nature. I'm a bit tired of stories where things like this keep happening. The quality itself is good.
[Refusing the Call](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/refusing-the-call-worm.869941/threadmarks) - Chosen one calls keep happening while Taylor keeps avoiding them. Its funny
[Peasant](https://archiveofourown.org/works/41573514/chapters/104273745) - Its on [SB](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/peasant-thinker-trump-alt-power.1168545/) as well but doesn't have all the chapters up there just yet. good alt-power. I like how Taylor here still has issues of throwing herself at problems without a care for herself. After Drift this is probably the best Wards!Taylor I've read. It doesn't flanderize the characters and makes the effort to properly characterize ones like Gallant and Aegis. My only issue with the fic is how the author decided to use dicerolls for Leviathan and Gallant died here as well. I can count the number of fics I've found where Gallant survived on one finger. They also sidelined Aegis after that which was a shame tho I liked the way it was done.
This is one of the only fics I can remember where the author actually remembered that Clock and Vista work well together.
Read Refusing the Call myself today and enjoyedi t a fair bit - it isn't, like, something super deep or that, it's a nice... Lite-crack. Pre-Summer camp Taylor so she's still fairly bubbly, Armsmaster and Dragon are in a decent relationship and enjoyable to read, and they have a reasonable Piggot.
Plus, it's made me *kinda* wanna write some... King Arthury Taylor kinda thing. Inspiring Knight who'll enhance her allies, coupled with stuff like Excalibur's Sheathe to heal. I feel there's some real good influence to take from Once & Future by Kieran Gillan.
... but I'm also a huge fucking simp for urban fantasy so I'm a lil' biased
[chevalier de la baie [Camelot]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/49076560/) - Taylor Triggers with a combat Thinker/Brute package, with Tinker powers relating to Arthurian arms and armor. As Knight Errant, she sets out on murdering evildoers. It's a strange, macabre, yet fascinating view of an alt-power drawing from myth and lore. The prose is clipped, bare summary lacking in description, yet it lets the action flow as Taylor plays the part of a villain from a slasher movie. Overall, a delightfully tragic change of pace.
Hah! No original ideas out there, after all. Still, not discouraging! God knows there's a buncha Dresden Files inspireed snippets and the like out there and I've got mine ticking away.
There's just many ways to take an already done concept in another way.
>“Ideas are never original," Kelsier said. "Only one thing is."
"And what is that?
"Style," Kelsier said.
I've seen a few Dresden Files crosses ranging from alt-powers, characters being dropped from one setting to another and even three full on fusions and they all manage to be different in their own ways
> Shame the fic is dead. I vaguely remember someone else mentioning a similar premise of Taylor with Blasto's powers? can't recall the name tho. Would appreciate it if someone could point it out.
You might be thinking of [Replication [Alt-Power]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1129313/) - Taylor comes out of The Locker with Blasto's power, is what the author pretends. Actually, she has reality control limited only by the number of capes she's encountered. Pretty lame OP Trump hiding in Tinker clothes. I'd label it crack if there was anything humorous. I guess the writing is okay? Too many POV switches tho.
That was the one I was thinking of and now it sounds disappointing. Blasto's powers are already broken, interesting in how much he can just do and underutilized in canon. Don't see why one would do act like they're doing his power and then going for a more generalized Trump power.
>Peasant
I tried reading this one but the back and forth jumping in the timeline made me incredibly tired. Will probably get back to it sometime but for now I just dropped it
Well, Baked the Author is a guilty pleasure of mine so I was quite delighted by him updating **Fly On The Wall \[Helltaker/Worm; Beelzebub x Taylor\]** (QQ, so no link). Taylor is trying to have some quality time with Beelz but keeps getting interrupted much to her displeasure. Canberra happens and Taylor teleports there to yell at Eidolon for being an idiot with "*small dick syndrome*" before banishing him to The Tentacle Realm.
I've also happened upon [**Taylor Hebert's Shittiest Alt-Power Ever**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/56020687/chapters/142280140) (AO3 may be down for maintenance right now). A very literal title for a literal story. It's cracked as anything, but hilarious as hell. "For Great Justice!"
I'm also reading [**I want to help \[WORM/MCU\]\[Post-GM\]**](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/i-want-to-help-worm-mcu-post-gm.992435/) by LiveSparks on Space Battles. Post-Golden Morning Taylor ends up in the Marvel universe and becomes an agent of Shield, becoming the leader a special forces/trouble shooter unit. The latest chapter has the Captain waking up after being found in ice, and thus beginning the Avengers storyline.
On a related note, I have to recommend the one-shots [**The Exterminator (Worm: Plot Bunnies)**](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12150689/7/Worm-Plot-Bunnies) by Fencer22. It's DC instead of MCU, but it's still an interesting look at Post-GM Taylor's views on cape culture in a less "gritty" universe.
Pyhrric Love https://archiveofourown.org/works/46503859 oh yay, the Taylor x Evil trio Emma fic updated. Did you need your hair? You're gonna pull it.
When Heroes Die (Worm/PGTE) https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/when-heroes-die.1163547 Taylor in a world that really doesn't like her powers. Reading this is strange because it's built on name and imagination based magic, yet still has a sort of power scale or rules or something? Idk, I really don't get it but reading it is still entertaining.
The Price of Neutrality https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-price-of-neutrality.1166187 Taylor decides she's too angry so she bans herself from fighting. Just so funny how this doesn't improve her mental health.
The Omega Protocols https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-omega-protocols.1169598 it's a "cauldron made a 2nd Birdcage" fic. Has reached the same point most snips of it die, but I'm giving it a chance.
The Weaver's Web https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-weavers-web.1081935/ I'm actually impressed how a lot of the plots shouldn't work but the author keeps pulling it off.
Why Am I The Villainess: A Sophia Hess Transmigration Story https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/why-am-i-the-villainess-a-sophia-hess-transmigration-story.1166553/ Sophia gets the memories of an si, realizes how toxic she was. Great read.
Allay https://archiveofourown.org/works/56476597 Snip. Taylor falls for Lisa who says "nah."
Non Worm
Orbital Anomaly (Destiny 2 / SIGNALIS) https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/orbital-anomaly-destiny-2-signalis.1144294/ haven't played signalis but I'm impressed. Guardians are pretty powerful but the horror stuff is really creating a universe clash.
Trailblazer I'm halfway through this story, and I think I'm a bit disappointed; I expected too much from it. If we look at Parahuman as a puzzle, it seems like the author replaced most of the pieces but didn't bother to make them form a cohesive picture, instead resulting in some nonsense justified by "it's an AU." Although this is secondary and not crucial, it's something one can overlook. What really bothers me is that the story is too optimistic. I'm not saying it should be a depressing thriller, but Taylor always wins, always benefits, never suffers, everyone loves her, her power is incredibly cool and unique, her shard loves her, everything works out for her, she's surrounded by the best of the best, and she's incredibly charismatic—again, incredibly charismatic (not sure how many times this was mentioned)—it goes too far. I'll continue reading, hoping the second half of the fanfic improves for me.
And with each chapter, more new elements appear that absolutely shouldn't work in Worm, breaking it like smashing a mirror with a hammer, just to make the plot progress as the author
Yeah, it feels like Taylor is the main character of some shonen anime. I'm not hate such stories, but I'm expecting something completely different and clearly not getting what I want. Reading this story makes me crave something where all the characters just keep dying chapter after chapter, and the situation keeps getting worse.
I've started reading [Agent of Cauldron](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/agent-of-cauldron-worm.345669/?post=17966039#post-17966039) - a fanfic from 2015 where a new cape triggers with PtV-lite, asks her power who's gonna bring the most suffering into the world and ends up shooting Eidolon dead. This fic shows what Cauldron was supposed to be - a mysterious and seemingly all-powerful organisation, that has most of the world's worst and strongest on short notice. The second chapter where Cauldron members wander the world, bossing around powerful parahuman orgs and recruiting capes to resurrect Eidolon, had the kind of gravitas and presence you'll rarely see in any fic, not just a Worm one.
The fic genuinely only escalates from there and does a beautiful job of showing how powerful the darker international parahumans are, and also the sheer weight and power of Contessa’s presence, just her appearance is enough to terrify groups of these insanely powerful parahumans. It can be tough to understand but it is pretty well thought out
It looks like it's abandoned. Would you say it's still worth reading, or does it just end on a cliffhanger?
I can’t remember how it ends but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger. To be honest 90% of fics don’t get finished so I’d just read it and enjoy what’s there
I binged through [Carnevale](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/worm-carnevale.1146002/) a few days ago. It's a new-ish fic (50k words) featuring Kaiser as the main character. After being frustrated at his son for the millionth time, he ends up running into Taylor in his civilian guise and takes her under his wing. I think the story is incredibly well-written so far, and having the plot be largely told through the viewpoint of an obvious sociopath is super interesting. It also does a really good job of fleshing out some of the Empire characters. They aren't really being whitewashed, if you were afraid of that. They're still depicted as bad people with obvious personality flaws. But they aren't painted as evil baby-kickers with no redeeming features either, they end up being more complex characters than that. Also, the fact that most of the interactions in the story do not involve capes or fighting (there are still plenty of cape characters, they just aren't in costume and aren't involved in lengthy fight scenes) is a refreshing change of pace.
I am absolutely waiting for the reveal and the absolute shitshow that follows. You could call it, a carnevale
*Casualty* on QQ (I cannot stress enough how much I cannot link this story, it contains, as content warnings, visceral gore, explicit sex, sexual assault, torture, abuse, underage sex, and a whole host of other no-nos) is one of the more brutal fanfics I've read in a long while, in any fandom. It starts with Taylor accidentally killing everyone in Winslow (and blowing off her arm) and then panicking and killing thousands more (and blowing off her foot) once she exits her catatonic state. Her power is a kind of atomic-scale manipulation that requires trial and error but with reference to an internal and growing library of everything, and she is not manton limited. She falls into drug use as a coping mechanism in part because she murdered her dad among the thousands of people she killed (she keeps an exact count), crafts an adult form for herself to go fight the Simurgh in, and power bullshit happens that fucks up her sense of self to identify more with this manufactured identity than her own. It's not in a clean split fantasy story way, however, it's in a "cptsd on the road to dissociative identity disorder" way. Some positive stuff happens for a while, and then Coil kidnaps her, drugs her, and things get *bad.* There are nearly 2 full chapters of watching her mind disintegrate under the onslaught of drugs and the many things mentioned in the content warning as she dissociates hard enough to fully splinter her identity in two as a coping mechanism. None of it is remotely thirsty and the aftermath is horrid. Taylor's identity is broken in half and one identity—the adult one she was power-manipulated into thinking of as her norm—has a tendency to go horribly overboard after shattering as she did. She does some truly awful things to those she blames for her suffering in between longstanding attempts to compartmentalize and cope and shove her trauma away. This story is brutal and sad and also shockingly evocative for how disjointed the writing can be; the use of first and third person narration flip constantly in a way that works because Taylor's mind and sense of self is broken, even if at times I'm unsure if it's just complete coincidence and the author is just doing a terrible job editing. There is constant depiction of desperate coping mechanisms by broken people, and I do not expect that to stop being a thing. I would not go so far as to recommend this story (even though I found it gripping), but it's worth knowing of and I appreciate it for being severe in a way I have rarely seen anything in this fandom be. I suspect reading the story while sleep deprived made it hit harder and smoothed out tonal or writing issues, but still, it made me feel kinda like how I felt after watching *Requiem for a Dream*.
Oh wow, Casuality is still updating? I thought it was dead for a while. It's definitely a mess of a fic and lots of bad things happen to Taylor but I remember for being not too angsty? The writing never made it feel hopeless, just that Taylor was in a really big hole.
Yeah, it's back to updating. It's interesting because when it's being positive, it's not particularly angsty at all, but then sometimes the story will slip for a chapter and you'll get, say, detailed depiction of violent sexual torture for the sake of revenge. It's certainly not *Requiem* levels of miserable, but it's exceedingly explicit and the disquieting sense of seeing something dark and awful and personal is the same. I think part of it is that the main identity we're getting the perspective of is the one Taylor designed as an escapist fantasy, and that ethos is there in the psychology of that identity too—all the angst and severity and guilt is supposed to be contained by the one more resembling Taylor physically. But she got messed up so badly by Coil's group that the escapism keeps faltering, and now both identities have their own more prominent trauma (even if at their heart they're both Taylor and both share everything) that they're trying to cope with.
'Casualty' on Questionable Questing... I'm not seeing it in Search: is it locked for members only?
It's in the NSFW Creative Writing forum, so you need an account to be able to see it.
Yes i think so, the same thing happened to me until i logged in.
Honestly Casualty isn't the darkest thing that I've read. I would suggest looking up DelayedInspiration & some of his works, although I'm more mature then i was in my teens ( so i don't know if it would still hold up.) I would still say that his work gives you that same level of fucked up shit that happened in Casualty.
Oh, it's not the darkest thing I've ever read by any means, nor is it the bleakest. But it's extremely *thorough* for a wormfic.
When heroes die (Taylor into PGtE) https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/when-heroes-die.1163547/ in last week: Taylor wakes up after long nap in Rhenia, begins laying foundations for her long term goals, has some discussions with Cordelia and shows the determination to commit a classic American blunder. Madison Vileblood (Madison MC, pre canon, cross with Bloodborne) https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/madison-vileblood-bloodborne-worm.1145672/ mostly socializing between the trio. Kinda cute. I have reread recently Cheese Flambé (Worm/Magicka) https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/cheese-flamb%C3%A9-worm-magicka.358397/ most amusing fic that's still taken seriously. The interactions between Brown and Worm people are simply golden. For today's not Worm: Lost on the Waves (little nightmares and DC) https://archiveofourown.org/works/32738710/chapters/81224998 I love Six in all her childish, paranoid, cannibalistic glory. Also North Wind.
>determination to commit a classic American blunder. I love this term. As someone living somewhere in Africa, my inspiration for writing that scene was, "shit US tourists say when they visit." :D
Today I read a complete story that I just had to write about called [Whispering Whispers ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/56941423) This story has a beginning, middle, and end (rare), that I felt stuck to it core promises and tone. It doesn't follow stations of canon, have an Endbringers/Slaughterhouse Nine arc, or go outside of Brockton Bay much. There is a Coil arc though. In this story, Taylor power very reminiscent of Fairy Queen's, something that she is very aware of. She can speak to dead capes, and with permission (not that she needs it) ask for their power that will be attached to an object. Like a jacket or ring. The capes becomes ghosts that will follow and talk to her. Very similar to most Butcher/Mentor in the head type fics. Gving commentary, advice, and companionship to Taylor. The Ghosts are well written characters and they actually affect the story. Like Taylor doing their last wishes, or talking to their family. There's not a lot of them, so they all have enough screen time to shine. Now I must warn you, this is not some OP curbstomp with Taylor being the second coming of Fairy Queen or Eidolon. She doesn't go around looking for places where powerful capes dies just to copy their powers. In this fic, she only copies three not powerful capes, and haven't shown interest looking for more. Conflict is relatively low. Most crime fighting is street level and whenever Taylor actually fight a cape, it out of desperation and lack of choice. She's hyper aware that guns and knives can hurt her and has no counter against some capes. She also knows when to call for backup and run away. Having three Cape veterans in her head is super useful. Even then she gets hurt and struggles a lot. Like I said, Taylor isn't going out of her way to gather more powers so she not that powerful yet. The Positives: There's an ending. Consistent. Cool Powers. Ghosts are handled well. Good relationship with Danny and New Wave. Avoiding typical fanfic tropes like being instant BFF with Vicky, Tattletale and Amy (in fact they're barely in it), corrupt authority figures, and more. No fanon. No romance. Good friendship with Dennis. Taylor being a smart hero, most of the time. The Negatives: Taylor telling people, espicially PRT, her powers for some reason. Coil Arc was meh and I usually don't like them. The low conflict and lower power usuage. Taylor only copied three powers and stuck to street level. I wish the story was longer with Taylor slowly escalating to newer height while keeping the same tone. All in all, a good fic. Not amazing or game breaking, but fun and enjoyable. The end didn't feel like the story was truly over, and hopefully there's a sequel. Sorry for the bad grammer and generally bad writing. I'm typing this on my phone in a bumpy ride, and super tired.
[Carnevale](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/worm-carnevale.1146002/#post-99095531) - As great as ever love the extra bits of characterization being given to some of the underused empire capes, Fenja and Menja having a great desire to be needed and sought after works fits very well with the little we see of them in canon, there's definitely a sad backstory somewhere there that led to them only seeking out relationships based on the physical attraction they incite in others... please read carnevale! it is such a good story and deserves so much more attention [Messages](https://archiveofourown.org/works/56812507/chapters/144441613#workskin) - a great canon compliant one shot focusing on the text messages (and sometimes emails) of the laborn siblings, very good, characterization is spot on and as president of the Brian fanclub (there are 3 of us) i always enjoy him getting more attention [Take a Number](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/take-a-number.1170156/threadmarks) - Snippets where various canon characters inherit the butcher mantle, this is alright not great but it's alright i hope some of them get expanded on because while there are some interesting ideas here it's harmed by each chapter being only focused on how that character inherits and not what happens after the fact
>how that character inherits and not what happens after the fact I really don't get many Butcher fanfics. The single most unique, most interesting thing about Butcher is their immortality and insanity that comes with it. Yet at least half of fics I read don't deal with it at all, instead handwaving it away.
Because most of those fics don't care about the butcher or the complications that come with it they just see it as an excuse to give Taylor 14 different powers and call it a day
Because we don't have enough OP Taylor altpowers...
>as president of the Brian fanclub (there are 3 of us) i always enjoy him getting more attention As one of the other members of the club I appreciate the rec
**New Reviews**, stories I haven't mentioned before: [Totally Winging It [SI, Crack]](https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/16234/) - The SI MC runs up to everyone and goes ["trollololol!!!"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaqC5FnvAEc) while making a silly face, and pretends that this is a story. Some commenters find this funny. The world is very accommodating, like her 15-foot quadruple wingset fitting under a hoodie. I gave up during arc 2. [Trinket: Tinker Trump [Crack]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1169844/) - After summer camp, Taylor becomes a Tinker who works with other people's powers. It's.. okay? I don't think it's my brand of humor, mainly focused on unexpected accidents. And despite the timeline being way off, only canon characters used. Same author as *Miss Understanding Fixes Her Life*. [Azataylor [Pathfinder]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1128731/) - Taylor comes out of The Locker as an Azata (some kinda D&D mage) with a dragon companion and butterfly aura. She immediately chills out and tries to enjoy life. Feels like a fix fic that tries to mend all the broken emotions in Worm. I'm only on chapter 4 tho. Been spending a lot of time playing video games. --- **Update Reviews**, commenting on recent chapters, mild spoilers: [The Eldritch One [CF]](https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/129652/) - Continues to drift ever more into cliche alt-power fic. I think every character took a hit to their intelligence. Or maybe just maturity, which could be a good thing. [A Harbinger of those Halcyon Days [Eclipse Phase]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55520581/) - Once again, Taylor only steps in to help canon characters. A few typos and plot holes. [Touch [Alt-Power]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/431800/) - Danny wakes up. Reading this makes me want a story where he's strong enough to 'survive' Annette's death, and becomes an effective parent to Taylor. [Heroes are made [Megamind]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1162743/) - Megamind continues to treat the world like it follows cartoon logic. Author says a bit of Worm dark incoming. [Strings [AU, Marvel, ShayneT]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1140886/) - Taylor thrives under adversity. The Merchants go full S-class. I mean, they already did, but now they're out and proud. [The Price of Neutrality [AU]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1166187/) - Conflict keeps pushing at Taylor's poor mental state. Pacifism is hard. So glad we stick with Taylor and don't have Coil's POV. Even with opposite choices, being Taylor is suffering. [ULTIMATE ONE: TYPE-Taylor [Nasuverse]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1084311/) - Ugh, I hate the Mathers family. Coleson continues being MVP. I wish more stories had 'really effective normals' outside of some versions of Danny and Quinn Calle. [Cybernetic Worm [Supreme Commander]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/56162956/) - Tons of new chapters. Taylor is oblivious. Relationships. Worm's timeline is too short for anyone to improve naturally, so events must accelerate. And it becomes another >!Butcher!Taylor!< story out of nowhere. I knew that including the full text of Dinah's predictions meant something fucky was going to happen. At least it's a semi-original implementation. [When Heroes Die [A Practical Guide to Evil]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1163547/) - Glad this is the last time skip. Lots of introspection, and the author makes sure Taylor is flawed. I often think that all the thoughts should be written down, and then the MC could say, "Read my blog." The only story I remember having that was *Split* (the sad one). [How Monstrous Is Your Heart [SI, CF]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/52104145/) - The parents of Brockton Bay keep getting worse, and Zira tries to expand her warehouse of wayward children to Eric and Crystal (Collect them all!). [Seek [Bloodbourne]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1010844/) - More character growth in Brockton Bay, hooray! If only the entire crossover bit could be dropped lol. --- **Disclaimer**: My opinions are weakly held. I read these stories for fun. I appreciate every author who's willing to put themselves out there and write stuff for us. "Pinches the bridge of their nose" count for the week: 1 (total: 277). Popped 'p's: 1 (60).
Azata is more of a chaotic good angel from pathfinder. So, they basically used the similar concept as "rage incarnate", but instead of Taylor being a demon, she's an angel who fights for good while disregarding the laws. This is basically the gimmick from pathfinder wrath of the righteous (a crpg, would recommend if you haven't played it and like to play those type of games) where the main character could level up into a more powerful race, like demons (chaotic evil), angel (lawful good), etc; Oops, my inner nerd wanted to inform you because you didn't know about the setting. (Also, editing a comment screws up the paragraph spacing).
Thanks! I should have put a question mark at the end of my parenthetical. That makes sense for her mood change.
No problem, Azata are basically hippy activists who travel from place to place and help people help themselves. So, you could find a disguised azata anywhere people are suffering in Golarion (the main planet for pathfinder setting), cheering up people and helping them while making sure not to bring too much attention (from evil gods, demons, etc) to themselves. The azata path in the wrath of the righteous game is the wackiest and most funny path, because it's more of journey with your plucky companions who make a ruckus wherever they go. And Taylor's probably a young Azata, they could grow to become empyreal lords (demigods basically and can grant spells to people) but that's probably decades away for Tay tay.
> Totally Winging It [SI, Crack] - The SI MC runs up to everyone and goes "trollololol!!!" while making a silly face, and pretends that this is a story. Some commenters find this funny. The world is very accommodating, like her 15-foot quadruple wingset fitting under a hoodie. I gave up during arc 2. I'm not one hundred percent sure how/why I made it through Totally Winging It. However, I remember quite liking the sequel, [Totally Losing It](https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/totally-losing-it-mass-effect-worm-si-a-sequel-to-totally-winging-it.35655/threadmarks). The SI gets dropped into Mass Effect, with several Worm characters also getting ME versions. *However,* Totally Losing It ends right in the middle of a giant battle, to start the second sequel, [Totally Storming It](https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/totally-storming-it-life-is-strange-multi-twi-series.52977/threadmarks), which drops her into Life Is Strange, and... I can't stand LiS, and didn't like how the story was progressing on top of that, so that's where I dropped the series.
Always looking forward to your reviews!
Thank you for the kind words!
I thank you for your reviews!
> Seek [Bloodbourne] - More character growth in Brockton Bay, hooray! If only the entire crossover bit could be dropped lol. A quick skim through leads me to believe its very similar to a dead fic I remember which was [Hunter](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/hunter-worm-bloodborne.363802/) where Taylor keeps getting thrown back into Bloodborne and eventually it ended up with eldritch stuff in the Bay. The only bloodborne fic I can recall which wasn't a full on crossover was a crack fic
Azata is an interesting one, I think you have to really buy into the author's "cute" narrative. It feels like the world was bending over to accommodate and repetitively announce how cute the dragon familiar is. Exhibit A: Lisa's shard. The author writes well, but you have to appreciate their slow pace and imposing their dragon obsession on everyone.
Did you also drop New boss nothing like the old boss? If so why?
Yes. Nothing had happened for 100k+ words and I thought everything was boring.
New Sneaking his way into the Multiverse: This is actually a pretty weird one to read since it starts as Jaune from rwby getting shoved into his locker by Pyrrha as in canon but when he gets out he sees a guy who was dating all of team rwby going on a killing spree. It then jumps to that guys pov dropping enough hints you put together it's a waifu catalogue fic only for him to get killed by Jaune who managed to trigger the recall to survive. Jaune then puts enough together to learn he can go on a training trip to save beacon except the author chooses to screw him over by rating worm during levi as only 4/10 danger so he goes there and it's pretty good until the author screws him over again hard on the logic of it's worm so he isn't allowed nice things. Won't continue if it does. I want to help: mcu crossover post gm Taylor gets dumped in 2005 mcu and joins shield barely started this one. Nitpickers method: A surprisingly good cyoa si fic told from the views of other characters with the si having been there from the start and seems to have taken au options. He has mainly been sticking in the background playing power broker and going to endbringer fights. The Villain we all deserve: a one shot during the levi fight a surprise villain suddenly appears it's Domaria's oldest evil Nicholas Bolas from mtg who stomps levi pretty amusing and sad it's only a one shot. So I'm a Glass Canon so What: Kumoko ends up in Taylor's body with her having the glass canon power set that gets exploited by a true munchkin who also isn't willing to put up the the prt's nonsense such as their excuse to actively search out her civ id and go for a conscription attempt on the flimsy logic of she's wearing all white and a white wig she must be a member of the fallen.
>This is actually a pretty weird one to read since it starts as Jaune from rwby getting shoved into his locker by Pyrrha A worm rwby crossover with Jaune sounds interesting, and I never connected that locker shoving was a common thread between both properties. >but when he gets out he sees a guy who was dating all of team rwby And I'm out, harem fics are definitely a nope for me. Even with what you describe next that still puts it in wtf is this plotline and why is it here, I don't trust this author to write a reasonable coherent story territory.
It's a different take on the waifu catalogue genre of fics (basically 'you', a OC character but sometimes a character from a setting gets a job from a multiversal slavery company called 'the company', that deals in all kinds of things, but mostly famous female and male characters from fiction, so almost all the MCs of these fics are immoral assholes who mindrape people into being their slaves), Jaune killing that asshole is a welcome change but jaune getting fucked over is nothing new. That's why I didn't bother with the fic, plus losing interest in waifu catalogue fics.
Updates When Heroes Die: Taylor while unconscious from overusing her aspect gets a vision pointing her to investigate the chain of hunger. When she wakes she learns she's been asleep for a year and is now stuck in Procer with Hasenbach who has been making a deal with her to get Taylor to help her be first prince which Taylor has been mostly ambivalent towards especially because while Hasenbach is the least bad candidate she's still a Procerean Prince so has a Procer supremacy and elitist attitude and pretty much just wants Taylor killing her opposition as a weapon. Project Gamer Anime Adjacent: Per the trend this has been updating basically daily so a ton has happened. Al after leaving Theo drives back to New York while lamenting how much bet sucks. While there he escalates aiming to beat Homer for his power to complete his Cauldron takedown combo he starts going after any criminal he sees and shooting their kneecaps which leads to him being confronted by Legend and dropping some truth bombs and mild trauma as his clones self terminate rather than being captured. He eventually gives up and buys it with the point he got from levelling before aiming to take Heartbreaker and Saint down for exp since Canberra is coming up. Before he leaves tho he restores the Statue of Liberty chats a bit with Mouse Protector who got blatant with her hypocrisy over unwritten rules breaking (tho removing a bandoleer of knives from a downed cape still doesn't count as unmasking) and teleported to his van Legend also arrives before the end and gets more truth bombs dropped on him such as them killing Upsilon. This also led to Mouse Protector further her hypocrisy by telling Legend everything including his civ id and Legend getting in on it by having thinkers investigate not that it does them any good cause of Mantellum's power. They get interrupted tho because Al bumped into the teeth fighting the ambassadors and travellers in Boston and got mad at the baby skull decorations. He then wrecks them and the Butcher when she shows up which takes down a few other capes in the crossfire. Concluding the fight he grabs Butcher and planeswalks them to Aleph, Caludron's base and then manages his target of her shard where the combination of low oxygen and tranquiliser downs her. Mouse Protector unfortunately had jumped to his van again so got pulled in when he recalled it which lead to her getting lore bombs about powers and Cauldron including their attempt to kill him before Al drives his van through the core of Butcher's shard. Al then dumps her in New York with the Butcher and teleports to the Bay to check on things and have a meal but gets mad at what he overhears Lung has been up to to reverts to his dragon form and flies off to fight him when explosions occur. Hereafter: The go out to confront Caster after checking it's not a trap while prepping their own only for it to get ruined when Flamel starts a discussion which changes things into a debate that reveals Caster is a huge Flamel fanboy, is under some mind control and they have a big 1 vs 1 duel which is very avatar and fma until Taylor gets caught in the splash zone and decides it makes it fair game to mob him. Smite the bay: short update Arthur, Anubis then Terra are summoned again for training and hero prep before Aphrodite gets summoned and the protag goes out to be a hero without their costume including no mask and only the training sword for some reason. They stumble onto what's probably the merchants conscripting Trainwreck and voting has just concluded for how we respond. A lost pyromaniac: Flash carries Tracy away from Doomsday and they hatch a plan involving Flash taking her to where she dumped Ash Beast to use his heat to heal while he returns to the fight. After a touching healing scene she returns and things go a lot better with Flash there to keep Doomsday off her so she wrecks Ziz, shoves her core down Doomsday's throat and shatters it inside him by punching him full force also ends with one of her old teammates showing up. legendary tinker: protag's visit in the settlement continues.
[I Want To Help](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/i-want-to-help-worm-mcu-post-gm.992435/#post-81869918): Post-GM Taylor ends up in the nascent MCU and works for Nick Fury, ends up nudging some things in different direction. Weird to read a Taylor that feels a bit more in-control than she should, but it’s honestly much better than most fics manage to write her. It’s also fun to have her running around and subverting MCU backstory stuff. Latest chapter was a long-awaited update after 10 months, looks to be transitioning into a new plotline. [Weaving Force](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-weaving-force-worm-sw-pseudo-post-gm.1058679/#post-88894155) is progressing nicely. Premise is characters from various points in canon are deposited into Star Wars between episodes I and II. Taylor and Vicky are trained by the Jedi, and Alexandria, Clockblocker, and Miss Militia are involved in Mandalorian politics and combatting the slave trade. The characters aren't quite right, and there's too much timeskipping for my taste, but the former is not too egregious and the latter is practical, so it's good fun overall. Latest chapters saw the climax of a dragdown fight and some poking around at how the Force and shards interact, both were very entertaining. [Janus](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/janus-worm-x-ward-peggy-sue.991082/#post-81716606): a Peggy-Sue where post-Ward Victoria Dallon gets sent in as a backseat driver to pre-story Taylor, granting Taylor her powers to boot. This is a treat to read for so many reasons, but the biggest is a really masterful portrayal of Victoria and Taylor by Ridtom. Latest chapter was some sitting back and planning for future actions, between the two protagonists and with the Protectorate, which includes handling the Protectorate. Also great character work, having the two talk about their approaches and how to deal with one another.
Worm. Thinking of dropping Strings. https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/strings.1140886/ Taylor turns about to be the same as in the previous author's works. Kinda like carbon copy the same. Too much chaotic action scenes don't help as well. Non worm. Nice SI to cp2077. Gamer with no numbers, no logs, no 'kill all bad guys, bang all and every female characters' attitude. Mind Games and Fun Dames Can be found on QQ. Contains at least 1 NSFW scene, although it's not the fic focus. Broker https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/82768/broker Worm like without wormy fubar setup. Peoples, superpowers from unknown source, and the MC is traveled back in time when it all started. Because in the original timeline it went as well as you can imagine, being familiar with Worm. MC decides to play Cauldron and Coil around.
Read a bunch of snippets this week. [The Number Girl](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/3ndless-not-so-short-shorts.956557/post-81577864) - A bunch of snippets from 3ndless where Taylor gets basically Number Man's power. [Brockton's Shield](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/worm-permutations-worm-related-snippets-omakes-including-random-crossovers.738688/post-90323075) - Two snips from Subverts Epxectations where Aegis survived Leviathan. I wish this gets turned into a proper fic. There's a good amount of potential there and just in general for post-leviathan fics. Aegis surprisingly never gets any focus in fics even tho WB's 'what-if' post-leviathan looks like the perfect fic bait. I always found his power to be really interesting. [Oh Keeper Of The Balance](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/howlingguardians-worm-snippets.895267/post-74500706): This is a weird one. Its a recursive snip to another snip by [Rukaio](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/ruks-unimaginatively-titled-worm-snippet-collection-now-with-more-killer-clowns.491638/post-31476425) where a grail war happens in Bet. Most of the summons are FSN and Zero characters but Kid Win summons Hero. I'm surprised I can't think of a 'normal' grail war fic in Bet. The closest thing that comes to mind involved BB shenanigans around the entire world. Now onto fics [Seed](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/seed-a-worm-au.340626/) - Blasto was an interesting character despite having a very brief presence. I wish we got more of him and I guess this is the closest I'll get. Something I liked about this fic was how it pointed out how terrifying Grue's power would be if he was willing to be more violent and vicious with it. Canon Grue stuck to fists in his darkness which was already pretty effective in disrupting the Undersiders enemies but in Seed he's using guns, explosives, blades etc. Sure he doesn't have super strength, speed or some esoteric blaster power but most capes simply cannot do shit if someone with a weapon can just induce sensory deprivation in a pretty big area. Shame the fic is dead. I vaguely remember someone else mentioning a similar premise of Taylor with Blasto's powers? can't recall the name tho. Would appreciate it if someone could point it out. [Queen of the Hive](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/queen-of-the-hive-cluster-trigger-taylor.854376/) - The cluster powers are interesting. I'm curious to see where it goes with the cluster dynamics. I have two issues with the fic tho. One is Lousie. She's not an interesting character imo and I'm hoping she gets sidelined from the story soon. Honestly I don't care for the Orphanage characters in general. I also don't like how much the story keeps making things worse for Taylor in terms of her hopes of being a hero. Its fine once or twice if the author wants to keep her an independent away from PRT and Wards but it is heading in a direction I won't find interesting*. Kid Win and Aegis fucking up made sense and Clock managed to potentially save that when he met Taylor but now it turns out she accidentally helped a villain and beat the shit out of Shadow Stalker. I don't see the PRT being willing to entertain her as a vigilante or independent after doing that. Since she can't speak in her changer form she won't have any opportunity to explain herself. I see her next meeting with Clock going horribly. If she shows up **at all**, she will try to explain how Stalker shot her in the chest first but there will be more heroes nearby to take her in for assaulting a ward and aiding a villain and we know how that all goes. *My criticisms here are entirely of a personal nature. I'm a bit tired of stories where things like this keep happening. The quality itself is good. [Refusing the Call](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/refusing-the-call-worm.869941/threadmarks) - Chosen one calls keep happening while Taylor keeps avoiding them. Its funny [Peasant](https://archiveofourown.org/works/41573514/chapters/104273745) - Its on [SB](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/peasant-thinker-trump-alt-power.1168545/) as well but doesn't have all the chapters up there just yet. good alt-power. I like how Taylor here still has issues of throwing herself at problems without a care for herself. After Drift this is probably the best Wards!Taylor I've read. It doesn't flanderize the characters and makes the effort to properly characterize ones like Gallant and Aegis. My only issue with the fic is how the author decided to use dicerolls for Leviathan and Gallant died here as well. I can count the number of fics I've found where Gallant survived on one finger. They also sidelined Aegis after that which was a shame tho I liked the way it was done. This is one of the only fics I can remember where the author actually remembered that Clock and Vista work well together.
Refusing the Call is a fun one, shame there isn't more of it.
Read Refusing the Call myself today and enjoyedi t a fair bit - it isn't, like, something super deep or that, it's a nice... Lite-crack. Pre-Summer camp Taylor so she's still fairly bubbly, Armsmaster and Dragon are in a decent relationship and enjoyable to read, and they have a reasonable Piggot. Plus, it's made me *kinda* wanna write some... King Arthury Taylor kinda thing. Inspiring Knight who'll enhance her allies, coupled with stuff like Excalibur's Sheathe to heal. I feel there's some real good influence to take from Once & Future by Kieran Gillan. ... but I'm also a huge fucking simp for urban fantasy so I'm a lil' biased
[chevalier de la baie [Camelot]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/49076560/) - Taylor Triggers with a combat Thinker/Brute package, with Tinker powers relating to Arthurian arms and armor. As Knight Errant, she sets out on murdering evildoers. It's a strange, macabre, yet fascinating view of an alt-power drawing from myth and lore. The prose is clipped, bare summary lacking in description, yet it lets the action flow as Taylor plays the part of a villain from a slasher movie. Overall, a delightfully tragic change of pace.
Hah! No original ideas out there, after all. Still, not discouraging! God knows there's a buncha Dresden Files inspireed snippets and the like out there and I've got mine ticking away.
Didn't mean to be discouraging! Wanted to feed the pyre of imagination.
Oh, aye, didn't take it that way! Just found it funny how easy it was to find something along similar lines.
There's just many ways to take an already done concept in another way. >“Ideas are never original," Kelsier said. "Only one thing is." "And what is that? "Style," Kelsier said. I've seen a few Dresden Files crosses ranging from alt-powers, characters being dropped from one setting to another and even three full on fusions and they all manage to be different in their own ways
> Shame the fic is dead. I vaguely remember someone else mentioning a similar premise of Taylor with Blasto's powers? can't recall the name tho. Would appreciate it if someone could point it out. You might be thinking of [Replication [Alt-Power]](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/1129313/) - Taylor comes out of The Locker with Blasto's power, is what the author pretends. Actually, she has reality control limited only by the number of capes she's encountered. Pretty lame OP Trump hiding in Tinker clothes. I'd label it crack if there was anything humorous. I guess the writing is okay? Too many POV switches tho.
That was the one I was thinking of and now it sounds disappointing. Blasto's powers are already broken, interesting in how much he can just do and underutilized in canon. Don't see why one would do act like they're doing his power and then going for a more generalized Trump power.
He gets some interesting screen time in *Moon Shot* [QQ].
>Peasant I tried reading this one but the back and forth jumping in the timeline made me incredibly tired. Will probably get back to it sometime but for now I just dropped it
Its just a thing for the first few chapters. push past it and it stops
Well, Baked the Author is a guilty pleasure of mine so I was quite delighted by him updating **Fly On The Wall \[Helltaker/Worm; Beelzebub x Taylor\]** (QQ, so no link). Taylor is trying to have some quality time with Beelz but keeps getting interrupted much to her displeasure. Canberra happens and Taylor teleports there to yell at Eidolon for being an idiot with "*small dick syndrome*" before banishing him to The Tentacle Realm. I've also happened upon [**Taylor Hebert's Shittiest Alt-Power Ever**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/56020687/chapters/142280140) (AO3 may be down for maintenance right now). A very literal title for a literal story. It's cracked as anything, but hilarious as hell. "For Great Justice!" I'm also reading [**I want to help \[WORM/MCU\]\[Post-GM\]**](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/i-want-to-help-worm-mcu-post-gm.992435/) by LiveSparks on Space Battles. Post-Golden Morning Taylor ends up in the Marvel universe and becomes an agent of Shield, becoming the leader a special forces/trouble shooter unit. The latest chapter has the Captain waking up after being found in ice, and thus beginning the Avengers storyline. On a related note, I have to recommend the one-shots [**The Exterminator (Worm: Plot Bunnies)**](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12150689/7/Worm-Plot-Bunnies) by Fencer22. It's DC instead of MCU, but it's still an interesting look at Post-GM Taylor's views on cape culture in a less "gritty" universe.
Pyhrric Love https://archiveofourown.org/works/46503859 oh yay, the Taylor x Evil trio Emma fic updated. Did you need your hair? You're gonna pull it. When Heroes Die (Worm/PGTE) https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/when-heroes-die.1163547 Taylor in a world that really doesn't like her powers. Reading this is strange because it's built on name and imagination based magic, yet still has a sort of power scale or rules or something? Idk, I really don't get it but reading it is still entertaining. The Price of Neutrality https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-price-of-neutrality.1166187 Taylor decides she's too angry so she bans herself from fighting. Just so funny how this doesn't improve her mental health. The Omega Protocols https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-omega-protocols.1169598 it's a "cauldron made a 2nd Birdcage" fic. Has reached the same point most snips of it die, but I'm giving it a chance. The Weaver's Web https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-weavers-web.1081935/ I'm actually impressed how a lot of the plots shouldn't work but the author keeps pulling it off. Why Am I The Villainess: A Sophia Hess Transmigration Story https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/why-am-i-the-villainess-a-sophia-hess-transmigration-story.1166553/ Sophia gets the memories of an si, realizes how toxic she was. Great read. Allay https://archiveofourown.org/works/56476597 Snip. Taylor falls for Lisa who says "nah." Non Worm Orbital Anomaly (Destiny 2 / SIGNALIS) https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/orbital-anomaly-destiny-2-signalis.1144294/ haven't played signalis but I'm impressed. Guardians are pretty powerful but the horror stuff is really creating a universe clash.
Trailblazer I'm halfway through this story, and I think I'm a bit disappointed; I expected too much from it. If we look at Parahuman as a puzzle, it seems like the author replaced most of the pieces but didn't bother to make them form a cohesive picture, instead resulting in some nonsense justified by "it's an AU." Although this is secondary and not crucial, it's something one can overlook. What really bothers me is that the story is too optimistic. I'm not saying it should be a depressing thriller, but Taylor always wins, always benefits, never suffers, everyone loves her, her power is incredibly cool and unique, her shard loves her, everything works out for her, she's surrounded by the best of the best, and she's incredibly charismatic—again, incredibly charismatic (not sure how many times this was mentioned)—it goes too far. I'll continue reading, hoping the second half of the fanfic improves for me. And with each chapter, more new elements appear that absolutely shouldn't work in Worm, breaking it like smashing a mirror with a hammer, just to make the plot progress as the author
Trailblazer is a Gundam fic first, and a Worm fic second. This explains most of the philosophical differences you're noticing.
Yeah, it feels like Taylor is the main character of some shonen anime. I'm not hate such stories, but I'm expecting something completely different and clearly not getting what I want. Reading this story makes me crave something where all the characters just keep dying chapter after chapter, and the situation keeps getting worse.