Safe For Work Worm Ideas thread

Well there was that one time in The Dark Knight where Two-Face let someone live... then immediately flipped a coin on the driver of the car they were in instead. The problem with Coil isn't that he cheats, but that he cheats in such a way that it appears like you had no chance to begin with.

 

I think her parents would be best. Annette wasn't in, or survived the car crash that killed her in canon. Cut to a few years later, and the whole family is in another crash. Taylor survives in the back seat, gets tinker powers, and manages to turn the wreckage, heavily using the A/C, into a makeshift cryochamber for the two.

Only problem is why she can't go to the Protectorate and/or get Panacea to fix things.

 

Well, that's easy to solve with brain damage. Apparently not a lot of healers can undo that sorta thing. And while Panacea *can*, she claims she can't and no one other than Vicky (and Bonesaw) seems to call her on it.

And there are other reasons not to consult Bonesaw. Though Freeze-Taylor might be crazy enough to try it anyway.

 

Actually for a more Animated Series Freeze Taylor would like trigger with some sort of Crygenics Tinkering, The parents are actually vegetables in icepops and legally she can't keep them arround if she joins the protectorate because of the expense (or at least she thinks that they won't). She turns to crime to support herself and try and keep the materials necessary to sustain them while she looks for a means of fixing them until she gets captured. She later learns they raided her base and thought they were hostages and released them which killed them, or keep her in jail so long that they die of neglect since she can't maintain their systems. Now you have a Taylor with nothing to loose out for revenge against Protectorate EnE.

Taylor: Tonight, justice will be done, and the crimes committed by you and yours will be answered in kind Armsmaster
Armsmaster: At the price of this city, you would doom Brockton Bay to be torn apart by every two bit villain just for your revenge.
Taylor: Not revenge Armsmaster. Think, To have your every desperate dream dashed, denied and then crushed after so many months of struggle for even a slightest light of hope. I was no villain, I was a desperate girl they and chose me to hurt instead of those others? No, Armsmaster this is not revenge, this is Justice. Come tonight there will be one less gang infesting this city.

 

Considering possible parallels with his origin story in B:TAS, Emma would actually work great as a Clayface. Let her be disfigured in that alley, and become dependent on a chem tinkers work to regain her looks, Same over exposure as in the series and voila, Clayface. Lisa's burning need to be recognized as the smartest in the room makes her the Riddler if nothing else, same mental hangups to an extent. Coil could be the Mad Hatter with blackmail instead of mind control, though Nilbog could do it so horrifically better. Lets see, who else...Burnscar/Firefly if she never joins the 9. Amy/Ivy if she gets pushed into starting to hate all people...

 

This is more of the SFW branch of the idea, as the NSFW version is taking a while to get into writable form. BTW, any suggestions for a cape name for this Lisa, other than Witch-Girl or Wicce?

A number of the branches off this idea still lead to Sarah running, and what brought her to Brockton Bay in canon still might (though this is more likely if she's alone). However, Coil's recruitment methods are reasonably likely to be different: a Thinker who sucks in combat and has a power that tells her how screwed she really is can be recruited with simple brute force, but a Tinker with an eccentric theme who isn't focused on combat, but can make a good accounting of herself if need be, and still has a few of the 'magic items' that she made with her parents' money, requires different methods. Coil being Coil, he's likely to still be too aggressive when he eventually succeeds, and she'll probably end up hating him, but maybe not as fast or as much.

Likewise, the Undersiders' methods and jobs are going to be different when they have a witchy Tinker instead of a bitchy Thinker, so while they might still end up pissing off Lung, having something like the canon Lung fight occur would rather stretch credibility. How they meet Taylor is thus very likely to be different. In fact, while the butterflies from this won't prevent the bullying (which started before Sarah even triggered, I think), they might alter the trigger event, and thus Taylor's powers... or they might not. The same is true for Dinah, who may have triggered as late as a week or two before the bank job and kidnapping.

One possibility I've been considering for an alternate meeting with the Undersiders is an effect of one of the direct advantages of having a Tinker on your team: the equipment they might share. In this case, Lisa made a new dog-mask for Bitch, which has various powers. One of the most important is a 'charm' built into the nose, which gives the user something close to a dog's sense of smell, and effectively gives Bitch something a little like Tattletale's canon power, at least for personal interaction (it isn't going to let her sniff out your password - though Lisa could probably make something to let her divine it - but she's going to know how you feel, in more detail than you might expect). Lisa intentionally set it to up let her understand the people around her better, which has the side effect of Bitch recognizing that the girl who helped her out on one of her solo runs against Hookwolf's dog-fighting rings is suicidal, from being pretty much 'a puppy that's been kicked too many times, and is still being kicked.'

Bitch being able to understand people better doesn't mean she likes talking, though, nor that she's any good at expressing herself, so she goes to Lisa for help. Of course, Lisa still has pretty strong issues with suicide, and especially with people driving someone to suicide, but her ways of dealing with it won't be entirely the same (similar, very likely, but there would be differences for a number of reasons). Trying to find ways to attack the bullies in ways that making things better for Taylor instead of worse would very much be on the agenda, if they can get her to tell them (as this Lisa isn't Tattletale, the sort of bullshit deduction that canon-Lisa does either isn't happening, or needs more preparation, with different specialized 'divination tools;' on the other hand, she can do a lot more things, as long as she has time and material to work with).

I'll try to go into more detail about Lisa's power in another post, but a lot of what she makes are consumables, and/or grant Thinker powers or other relatively subtle effects. Not everything, though.

 

I had an idea which has refused to go away.

A self-insert (possibly the idea came up because I was heavily involved with finishing Security!) gets dropped into Worm.

"Right," he says. "I know the story. Time to fix this shit." Then he promptly gets run over by a bus.

He pops back into existence in the same alleyway (or wherever) where he first appeared, somewhat confused. Okay, a lot confused.

"Um ... okay? Looks like something saved me. Maybe I'm Coil and I don't know it. Or Cody." Cue internal dialogue where he debates which one is worse, and how save-scum powers seem to make one into an asshole. "Right. Let's try this again."

This time, he gets a bit further, maybe even into the PRT building. However, when he tries to explain carefully and logically to the Director (after waiting three and a half hours to see her) exactly what's wrong with the world and how he can fix it with his SUPERIAH KNOWHOW, she has him escorted to the street. Where, remonstrating with the guards, he steps into the street and is run down by a taxi.

Cue Groundhog Day shenanigans, where he tries ever more desperately to get someone to actually listen to him, and dies in ever more bizarre ways, including the following:
Run down by Armsmaster's motorbike
Eats the Fugly Bobs Challenger and dies of heart failure
Fallen on from a great height by Aegis
Accidentally punched out by Manpower
Shot by Miss Militia
Fails to see a piece of string frozen by Clockblocker
Swarmed by bugs when mistaken for a supervillain by Skitter
Punched out by Glory Girl on purpose
Incinerated by Lung
Blown up by Bakuda
Shanked by Oni Lee
Drug overdose by Skidmark
Run over by Squealer's latest contraption
Kicked in the groin by Menja and Fenja
Stomped on by Trainrwreck

... and so on.

Eventually, our reluctant hero decides that enough is enough, and starts trying to screw the world over. Mayhem ensues ... but the odd thing is, each time he tries to make stuff worse, it actually (by odd coincidences) improves matters. In the end, he accidentally talks Scion into committing suicide when he was actually trying to egg him on to destroy the world.

"Fuck it," he mutters as he wanders off stage. "I just don't care any more."

And that's when the cycle ends

 

Sounds depressing. Might not make it past the first few bits if all it consists of is just him failing to make a difference repeatedly.

Might just be my current mood, so don't take my word for it. You write gud.

 

I assume, as it's obviously crack comedy, that it'll run on "Three Stooges" logic.

 

The whole idea is to write it for laughs.

You assume correctly.

The other idea is a whole lot darker. I'm calling it "One Bad Day".

1) Taylor is in the bathroom, right at the beginning of canon. She gets doused. Pissed off, she follows the girls to the door of the bathroom and throws something at them. Sophia sees it out of the corner of her eye and instinctively goes to shadow for a moment. Taylor sees this and puts the pieces together. She starts down the stairs, intending to either go to Blackwell's office or to the nearest pay phone, so she can call the PRT direct and tell them the truth about Sophia. Sophia doesn't want this to happen, so she gives chase. Taylor doesn't care any more, so she calls up a swarm to surround her; Sophia can't get close without being bitten and stung, and she can't get close in shadow because the bugs are so thick around Taylor. She grabs a pen and goes to stab Taylor, because she doesn't lose. The fight gets really nasty, especially as she's being stung and bitten nonstop. When it's over, Taylor's hurt but Sophia's dead. Emma and Madison have fled, and are calling the cops right now. Taylor knows that she's just killed a Ward, and that the Birdcage looms in her future.

2) Around the same time (the night before or the night after), Amy has been called in by Glory Girl to fix a broken thug, but he's got brain damage. She refuses to heal the damage, but Vicky presses her. Amy's been feeling a little depressed, and it becomes clear to her that Vicky just wants her to fix a stupid mistake. Vicky's hugging her, which isn't helping, and finally she gives in to temptation and kisses Vicky. Vicky tries to struggle, but Amy instinctively makes it so that she doesn't want to. She just wants this one kiss. The trouble is, by the time she gets her impulses back under control, she realises that she's done a real number on Vicky's brain. She reverses the 'love me' aspect, but Vicky's still not much more than a vaguely self-aware puppet who's slavishly fixed on her every word. She could probably go in there and rebuild Vicky's personality into something like the original, but she doesn't dare. So she spends a day or so trying to figure out what to do, until Carol realises that Vicky's not the same as she was, despite Amy ordering her to 'act normal'. So then she flees with Vicky, running away from her mistakes and taking them with her all at the same time.

So, when Amy and Taylor encounter one another, both trying to find someplace safe to hide until they can figure out what to do ...

 

Now that sounds like I might read it. I know you set out for the first idea to be comedic, but that kind of scenario depresses the fuck out of me. While the second is a calamity of fuck-ups, believable fuck-ups, and could prove to be a really interesting story of Skitter/Pandora/Glory Girl versus the World. I like it.

 

The first idea could be good comedy if done right, and I trust you not to fall into the obvious pitfalls of making things feel too serious or bleak

The second?... well I really, really don't think you accidentally totally mind-wipe the person you love without some serious shit going on around you, like S9 serious. I can see Amy making Victoria 'ok' with it a la Don't Worry Be Happy and then a thoroughly freaked out Amy being slowly convinced by a happy Victoria that this is better, that's she's happy with this... well it's kinda obvious what Amy might do in that scenario however reluctantly _{conflictconflictconflict}.

Then of course say. Carol discovers or becomes suspicious of Victoria being a little too close to Amy (though not NSFW-close), a few questions, and for all her flaws Carol would put 2+2 together and be in the right (for once) for all the wrong reasons (again). And off into the world the two sisters go, meeting up with Taylor.

I can see an interesting story behind that; debates on the choices, free will, morality etc of the decisions, chapters from Amy/Victoria/Taylor's point of view... but the idea of reading brain-wiped Victoria being a shell feels wrong on a number of levels. Admittedly this is just my perspective though and I always welcome another Ack-fic.

 

What about si story where Ack becomes the President of the United States .... in the Optimal verse.

 

Well, it's called One Bad Day for a reason. They've both made horrible mistakes in the heat of the moment, that they can't come back from. I mean, if Vicky was fixable, Amy would do it, unless it meant rewriting her entire personality. Their bridges have been well and truly burned.

Taylor believes, rightly or wrongly, that the murder of a Ward will put her straight into the Birdcage. She can try to claim extenuating circumstances, but with Emma and Madison ranged against her, she believes that she will never, ever get a fair hearing. (Not that she regrets fighting with Sophia, just that the end result is sucky for her.)

Amy is wracked with guilt and, if she were alone, she might actually give herself up, to go to the 'Cage or wherever. The trouble is, Vicky needs her on a fundamental level; Amy is fairly certain that without her, Vicky would sit and stare at the wall until she died. So she can't give in to the self-destructive impulse; she has to take care of Vicky.

 

I don't know that one.

 

It's the world where Eden didn't die and there are no Heroes or Villains....

Just Wardens and Shepherds.

And the Butcher Queen of Brockton Bay.

 

Interesting first lines for Worm fics:


"Welcome to the Oval Office, President Calvert."

I knew that my day was taking a turn for the weird when I woke up to find the Simurgh on my front doorstep in my bed.

Ruling the world with an iron fist; it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. My name is Dinah Alcott, and this is my story.

Director Blackwell of the Brockton Bay PRT sipped from her coffee, then picked up the first document of the day. She frowned. Veder again. Can't that boy stay out of trouble?

 

Ah, of course.

interesting.

 

I am going to find and murder one kitten every day in which I don't get to read a new chapter of this story, starting tomorrow.

 

Can they be puppies instead? I like kittens.

And Ack, you might want to do something about that Bunny infestation you have. It's not good to let breed out of control.

 

That's the point.

 

..... Yes, This is a Worse/or Better outcome then a Trump Administration.

This would be interesting.

 

And here I thought the Optimalverse was the one where Celestia was an AI.

 

I live in Australia. This is par for the course

 

You had my interest, now you have my attention; I can see that being a really good story, normal beefs with someone else's writing style, interpretation, etc aside. I guess my main problems with that would still be the whole 'brain wiping the person you love' thing. Taylor's story seems really damn good and really plausible but Amy mind wiping Vicky for that still feels off.

My obviously personal suggestion would be that it would still be an unfixable number on Vicky with huge repercussions but nowhere near the total husk it came across as.

An idea that just popped into my head as I wrote this is that Amy starts believing, with good reason and more and more evidence as the story goes on; if she starts mind-controlling other people, learns how to do it reversibly, then eventually she might be able to fix the problems she created with Victoria... but this minion is way too useful, and that one was basically an S9 candidate... and Amy slowly gets convinced by herself and her 'team' that she isn't really being a bad person because these people were completely evil...

And she can never quite bring herself to try major reworking on Victoria because it has to be perfect.

At the end of the day though I really don't want to destroy your muse and this is the first time I seriously started trying to involve myself in this part of the idea's of a fanfic. As I said; you had my interest anyway.

 

Hmm ... that idea has merit. She slowly gets sucked into the trap until she's a full-blown supervillain.

 

Dude...I've seen you do 'dark' and you can do 'dark' I might require anti-depressant drugs, but this sounds interesting....

 

Mercurious is right, you do dark really damn well and enjoy it a lot more than I thought I would.

In terms of Amy? She'd see the trap but between her team, the good she can see herself doing by removing these people as villains, her shard finally easing up on her and maybe "rewarding" Amy with the first (of many, many) steps to 'fixing' Victoria; I can easily see her going Gavel on the Brockton Bay and beyond. Not fluffy nice super-villain like the Undersiders but dark and supremely morally fucked up...

Then again how would people have reacted to someone like Heartbreaker doing something similar? How many people would defend Amy and her team? How would Cauldron react to the world's best healer suddenly disppearing; didn't she attend a Simurgh battle only a few weeks/months ago? Hell I can imagine Amy still attending Endbringer battles and fully going by the truce but a lot of people who freak deliciously

 

Well if she does her 'good work' of mind raping villains into not being evil well enough no one would notice until long after an end bringer battle when they start noticing that every villain Panacea treated has stopped breaking laws. Hell if she REALLY felt proactive she could go on a recruiting drive starting with all of New Wave, just to help them understand.

 

"Handshake" Starring Amy instead of Taylor? At least I think that was the name of the snippet...