- Location
- Maryland
Yep. Ultimately in the show, robo-Teal'c helped the real one kill Cronus and avenge his dad.
Ship of Fools: A Taylor Varga Omake (Complete)
- Thread starter Derek M
- Start date
- Crossover
Yep. Ultimately in the show, robo-Teal'c helped the real one kill Cronus and avenge his dad.
- Location
- Buffalo, NY, USA
not familiar with GunBuster and DieBuster, but I KNOW Gurren Lagann doesn't use math to perform magic.
I think you'd need something closer to Nanoha for that, and Varga has Nanoha beat for pure BS through math.
OstermanA
(Unverified Penguin)
- Location
- $PWD
According to my favorite DieBuster/Worm crossover, DB has equations where thinking about them really hard is the secret to warp travel.
This seems like a more fitting amount...
- Location
- Buffalo, NY, USA
So.... right around what Varga could do if he tried? I mean he can do the vista-esque space warping thing, it's just applying the math to a larger distance to go interstellar, or even intergalactic, with that.
- Location
- East of Sun, West of Moon
Until we see Varga convert Jupiter into a bomb and use said bomb to destroy a galaxy, running on the power of Math and Friendship, no.
But I digress.
Lycanthromancer
The Arcane Fuzz
- Location
- USA
It's not that he couldn't. It's that he wouldn't.
Totally different animal, sirrah. (Though it is still a lizard.)
Also, I'm pretty sure he could do worse with less. It's not like he would have to convert a planet for that level of destruction. He's perfectly capable of tearing the Milky Way a new nougat hole without it, if he wanted to.
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- Location
- Buffalo, NY, USA
Erm... He could just magic-up a few million tons of antimater... and drop it in a star. Galaxy go bye-bye.
- Location
- On the sofa. (Probably)
The Sun already converts about 4 million tons of matter into pure energy every second. The Sun would just burp and throw off some fantastic flares in a few million years from having some antimatter dropped in the core.
For those that didn't know, the sun runs on fusion and converts hydrogen into helium. The energy gain from this comes from the fact that one atom of helium has less mass than two atoms of hydrogen. So the sun fuses 600 million tons of hydrogen into 596 million tons of helium every second and the difference in mass is expressed as heat and radiation, we call this sunlight.
All the atomic weapons on Earth going off at the same time wouldn't even be noticeable if they did so on the surface of the Sun. Natural variations in output far exceed the energy output such an explosion would give off, it would be like trying to find a single candle flame in a forest fire.
Of course we might notice the higher than usual concentration of heavy elements in the solar wind for a while but even that would be a miniscule amount compared to the gigatons that fly off into space from the sun every second, it would be like trying to smell a fart in a hurricane.
Man I'm just killing it with the similes today.
- Location
- Buffalo, NY, USA
I think you're SEVERELY underestimating the explosive power of a matter/antimatter reaction (seriously, there's no real comparison to a nuke, there's several hundred orders of magnitude of difference). Especially when you're dealing with the sheer quantity of antimatter I mentioned.The Sun already converts about 4 million tons of matter into pure energy every second. The Sun would just burp and throw off some fantastic flares in a few million years from having some antimatter dropped in the core.
For those that didn't know, the sun runs on fusion and converts hydrogen into helium. The energy gain from this comes from the fact that one atom of helium has less mass than two atoms of hydrogen. So the sun fuses 600 million tons of hydrogen into 596 million tons of helium every second and the difference in mass is expressed as heat and radiation, we call this sunlight.
All the atomic weapons on Earth going off at the same time wouldn't even be noticeable if they did so on the surface of the Sun. Natural variations in output far exceed the energy output such an explosion would give off, it would be like trying to find a single candle flame in a forest fire.
Of course we might notice the higher than usual concentration of heavy elements in the solar wind for a while but even that would be a miniscule amount compared to the gigatons that fly off into space from the sun every second, it would be like trying to smell a fart in a hurricane.
Man I'm just killing it with the similes today.
Couple all that explosive power with the weakening/loss of gravitational force due to the sudden cessation of existence of much of the star's mass (which alone would cause a nova)...
The situation I described would be to a hypernova what a hypernova is to a supernova. You'd atomize a LARGE portion of the galaxy, and sterilize the rest.
- Location
- Beyond the Unknowable Veil
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
If you believe the calculations for method 6 (here), you'd need 1,246,400,000,000 tonnes of antimatter to reduce earth to an asteroid belt (assuming 100% efficiency).
From a gut feeling, blowing up the sun or inconveniencing a galaxy sounds a few orders of magnitude harder.
OstermanA
(Unverified Penguin)
- Location
- $PWD
The sun weighs 1.988435×10^27 metric tons. It literally would not notice a million tons of antimatter.
- Location
- Omniverse #1345
Varga can create EDM. Create true mass EDM, teleport to the opposite side of the planet/star and create true mass anti-EDM.
Boom.
Given its density the amount is well within Varga's range limitations for matter creation.
If he can make NDM it's even easier.
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- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Well, I cited the calculations for shattering earth because that were the ones I knew about, and I'm not firm enough in stellar dynamics to do some for 'shattering the sun'. Based on the mass difference, I'm just quite sure that you'd need orders of magnitude more antimatter.
And even if you annihilated the sun by it's equivalent of antimatter, the effects 10000 light years down - I admit, I'm too lazy to do the calculation, but that energy distributed over the area of a sphere with a radius of 10000LY won't be much.
- Location
- Dallas, TX
The ancient Time Lords of Gallifrey invented block transfer computation, a form of mathematics that by manipulation of mathematics describing reality, changed reality. In Logopolis, the Fourth Doctor encounters the mathematicians of the planet Logopolis who were using the ancient Time Lord math techniques to bleed off excess entropy from the universe (as Time Lords, like a cosmic Reed Richards, are useless). Some of the Doctor Who original novels and audios state that all you really need to make a tardis is Time Lord bio-data (essentially four dimensional Time Lord DNA), a black hole, and math.
Bringing it back to Worm, in the Doctor Who universe, the Entities great goal, was a long solved problem until the Master screwed things up.
The one part of Taylor Varga I had trouble taking seriously were the omake series where the Family encounters the Tenth Doctor and the doctor is completely blown away and amazed at the technology and mathematical abilities of the Family. Fortunately, a) it was an omake and b) The Doctor himself wasn't a mathematical genius (by Family standards.
Yes, as all Stargate SG-1 fans know, you need something much more dangerous than a million tons of antimatter to blow up a star--you need one Samantha Carter.
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
Might want to check that... Standard helium contains two protons and two neutrons, standard hydrogen one proton, so you're missing a couple of neutrons there... While it is a bit more complex that's four hydrogen in for each helium atom. Of course, deuterium is a sort of hydrogen, but the Sun makes that from two standard hydrogen.
But, yes, fusion is about as you head up the elements to iron/nickel each one gives out a little (spare, binding) energy when made. Fission works in the opposite direction, downwards to iron/nickel.
If you want to math universal destruction then collapse of the false vacuum is the way to go. Wrecks space-time and propagates at light speed. Recommended not to be done in any universe where you keep your stuff.
Comes back, again and again, to Taylor having really long lists of ways she could destroy things, that she very carefully avoids using...
- Location
- On the sofa. (Probably)
An element is defined in our chemistry and physics by the number of protons it has. All isotopes of an element are named after its group name even if certain isotopes have nicknames. Thus you fuse hydrogen into helium.
If I wanted to be specific I'd say that the sun fuses deuterium (hydrogen-2) into helium-3 and that that reaction also produces one free neutron and some neutrinos. The Sun also has some second mode fusion going on that creates helium-4 and a slew of other elements in extremely low concentrations. The Sun also contains heavy elements that can undergo fission due to free neutrons so it is also partially fission powered (extremely rare that this happens, as in only a few fission events per second from what I've read). But specifics take time and effort so I simply say hydrogen fuses into helium.
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Questions Asked
- Location
- Maryland
Sadly, not a new chapter. Rather, this is a list of the questions that have been asked to date about this fic. I strongly recommend you only read the sections for the blocks of chapters you have read if you want to avoid spoilers. I will be linking to this post from the first post in the thread, as well.
Q1) When Daniel Jackson was dreaming, why did he only see a single entity in Skitter's reality? Scion comes from a race of multidimensional beings.
A1) Official answer is that Daniel didn't have a lot of time looking in each reality, and he was primarily focused on beings that have some connection or interaction with Earth. That's why the Emperor of the WH40K universe had to direct his attention to the Chaos Gods to warn him. Meta answer is that none of the other entities really play much of a role in the story, and I didn't feel like making up a bunch of exposition just to add them in, especially as they are pretty much the least interesting big bads in terms of personality I've seen.
Q2) At what point in the film/comic timeline was Ripley rescued?
A2) She is rescued just before the events of Alien 3, before she is about to be ejected out onto the prison colony, and before Newt and Kyle Reese, er, sorry, Dwayne Hicks are killed by writer/director fiat.
Q3) Do I have any other plans for the Warhammer 40k universe?
A3) Not at present, as it is one of the few settings more consistently depressing than Worm. I did toy with the idea of tossing Galactus into the Tyranid zone, but the idea of what would happen if the Tyranids somehow managed to WIN is a bit too horrible to contemplate.
Q4) When we meet Harry Dresden for the first time in this story, he claims to only have one daughter, but he (technically) has one with Lash, as well. What's up with this?
A4) Harry didn't learn much about the Spirit of Knowledge in his head until after his time as a ghost. This story starts right after Kincaid snipes him after he returns from South America.
Q5) Wouldn't the Ship of Fools have controls written in a variety of language, i.e., Ancient, English and Chinese?
A5) Originally, sure, but that wouldn't last long. LCARS is basically designed to be configurable, Daniel speaks Ancient fluently (especially before he loses all of his ascended knowledge), and Firefly tech almost certainly supports BOTH English and Chinese by default, as they're both official languages of civilization there.
Q6) What happens if TV jumps into a universe where there is absolutely no magic whatsoever? Does EDM turn into a bomb or suddenly become massive?
A6) By author fiat, this isn't going to happen. From a meta perspective, it shifts storytelling away from the characters into an exploration of the nature of the multiverse, which isn't really the point of this fic. From a personal perspective...I'm suspicious of any scenario where "fundamental laws" are different, and yet humans are able to survive just fine. Like, I think the Marvel microverse is pretty much implausible fantasy... Now, I LIKE implausible fantasy in many cases -- Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc. I just don't want to waste time trying to figure out why the implausible fantasies of different universes don't cause the main cast to grow a tail and turn purple.
Q7) Do Star Trek transporters kill everybody they transport?
A7) No, because that's depressing as hell. What's wrong with you? In-universe, let's assume souls exist and they migrate to the new body. Either Thomas Riker is soulless, or he's a horcrux. Heh, or you can split off a bit of soul and it will grow over time, though I'm amused by the idea that neither Thomas nor Will Riker can die while the other lives.
Q8) Did you screw up by having Ripley's pod eject by itself? It was an escape shuttle in the movie with everybody's pods.
A8) No, there're reasons. If you read through the following chapters, you'll see what happens.
Q9) How do the signatures for each reality work? You mention two universes being the same to the "first significant digit," which implies things.
A9) It is a numeric representation that allows for easy comparison, but is really made up of a number of complicated factors. It's like asking how did they calculate my credit score? The answer is -- they have an algorithm that churns through a bunch of factors and comes up with a value that is a loose approximation, and then we use that loose approximation to screw with your life. This explanation supplants my in-thread vague suppositions.
Q10) If the signature of Saurial's and Skitter's universe aren't the same, then why would they assume it is the same universe?
A10) At this point in the story, they don't really understand enough about the process to be sure. Even the Ancients seem pretty iffy on the whole dimensional travel thing if the Quantum Doorway episodes are anything to go by in Stargate.
A1) Official answer is that Daniel didn't have a lot of time looking in each reality, and he was primarily focused on beings that have some connection or interaction with Earth. That's why the Emperor of the WH40K universe had to direct his attention to the Chaos Gods to warn him. Meta answer is that none of the other entities really play much of a role in the story, and I didn't feel like making up a bunch of exposition just to add them in, especially as they are pretty much the least interesting big bads in terms of personality I've seen.
Q2) At what point in the film/comic timeline was Ripley rescued?
A2) She is rescued just before the events of Alien 3, before she is about to be ejected out onto the prison colony, and before Newt and Kyle Reese, er, sorry, Dwayne Hicks are killed by writer/director fiat.
Q3) Do I have any other plans for the Warhammer 40k universe?
A3) Not at present, as it is one of the few settings more consistently depressing than Worm. I did toy with the idea of tossing Galactus into the Tyranid zone, but the idea of what would happen if the Tyranids somehow managed to WIN is a bit too horrible to contemplate.
Q4) When we meet Harry Dresden for the first time in this story, he claims to only have one daughter, but he (technically) has one with Lash, as well. What's up with this?
A4) Harry didn't learn much about the Spirit of Knowledge in his head until after his time as a ghost. This story starts right after Kincaid snipes him after he returns from South America.
Q5) Wouldn't the Ship of Fools have controls written in a variety of language, i.e., Ancient, English and Chinese?
A5) Originally, sure, but that wouldn't last long. LCARS is basically designed to be configurable, Daniel speaks Ancient fluently (especially before he loses all of his ascended knowledge), and Firefly tech almost certainly supports BOTH English and Chinese by default, as they're both official languages of civilization there.
Q6) What happens if TV jumps into a universe where there is absolutely no magic whatsoever? Does EDM turn into a bomb or suddenly become massive?
A6) By author fiat, this isn't going to happen. From a meta perspective, it shifts storytelling away from the characters into an exploration of the nature of the multiverse, which isn't really the point of this fic. From a personal perspective...I'm suspicious of any scenario where "fundamental laws" are different, and yet humans are able to survive just fine. Like, I think the Marvel microverse is pretty much implausible fantasy... Now, I LIKE implausible fantasy in many cases -- Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc. I just don't want to waste time trying to figure out why the implausible fantasies of different universes don't cause the main cast to grow a tail and turn purple.
Q7) Do Star Trek transporters kill everybody they transport?
A7) No, because that's depressing as hell. What's wrong with you? In-universe, let's assume souls exist and they migrate to the new body. Either Thomas Riker is soulless, or he's a horcrux. Heh, or you can split off a bit of soul and it will grow over time, though I'm amused by the idea that neither Thomas nor Will Riker can die while the other lives.
Q8) Did you screw up by having Ripley's pod eject by itself? It was an escape shuttle in the movie with everybody's pods.
A8) No, there're reasons. If you read through the following chapters, you'll see what happens.
Q9) How do the signatures for each reality work? You mention two universes being the same to the "first significant digit," which implies things.
A9) It is a numeric representation that allows for easy comparison, but is really made up of a number of complicated factors. It's like asking how did they calculate my credit score? The answer is -- they have an algorithm that churns through a bunch of factors and comes up with a value that is a loose approximation, and then we use that loose approximation to screw with your life. This explanation supplants my in-thread vague suppositions.
Q10) If the signature of Saurial's and Skitter's universe aren't the same, then why would they assume it is the same universe?
A10) At this point in the story, they don't really understand enough about the process to be sure. Even the Ancients seem pretty iffy on the whole dimensional travel thing if the Quantum Doorway episodes are anything to go by in Stargate.
Q11) Why wouldn't Metis immediately try to fix Xander's eye?
A11) Because is some ways, his eye is the least of his problems, and calling in both Ianthe and Varga to consult is the best thing to do.
Q12) Can Ianthe copy genetic-based Marvel superpowers to other people?
A12) Amy/Ianthe can turn onions into a living, breathing dragon. What makes you think there is anything about genetics that she can't make her bitch?
Q13) Which Peter Parker is this? There are tons of variations in the Marvel universe.
A13) He is inspired by the Into the Spiderverse version (Peter B. Parker), mostly because I personally LOVED that movie, it fits the theme of the fic, and having a more-experienced Peter Parker is a nice twist to the character.
Q14) Won't Amy find the xenomorph biology fascinating?
A14) Compared to Varga physiology, the creators of the xenomorphs were amateurs. It is interesting...but in a way like an expert in a particular field reviewing a well-done graduate dissertation on an extremely disturbing topic.
Q15) Can Über learn magic the same way he learns other skills?
A15) The short answer is that he can. The longer answer is answered in story.
Q16) What would happen if Harry Dresden soul-gazed Varga?
A16) Either something terrible (for Harry), or absolutely nothing. If you were Harry, would you take the chance trying to soul-gaze something that claims to be an ancient demon?
Q17) Are the characters going to go back in time and rescue everybody's loved ones and favorite characters?
A17) No. In this story, the premise is that the risks of time travel are enough to give Varga the heebie-jeebies. Time travel exists, but it will consist of the closed-time-loop varieties, and the prevalence of time travel in certain universes causes instability and bad things -- to the point that the protagonists are going to try and fix some of that. At a meta level, time travel is a fantastic way to unravel narrative causality and give people massive headaches and confusion.
Q18) Is Harry Dresden's techbane going to shift based on what universe he is in? According to canon, the effect of magic is based on popular belief, e.g., it used to curdle cream.
A18) I'm using the slightly lazy concept that folks follow the rules for their own universe, as they're effectively bits of that universe being extended into another. Otherwise, that's another detail I have to track for each universe, and I would have to make something up for the non-magical universes.
Q19) Regarding the first omake, what the hell? Also, what were the references?
A19) Inception, To Catch a Predator and Predator, Warhammer 40,000, and the film mentioned, which happens to have Colm Meaney (the actor who played Miles O'Brien) in the cast.
Q20) How does Skitter know that Sophia is Shadow Stalker?
A20) This Skitter is not from canon Worm. In canon, she didn't know about Shadow Stalker until after Leviathan. For various reasons that become clear later in the story, I wanted Taylor to get hit by a Bakuda-special during the Leviathan fight. That is obviously NOT what happened in canon, so we're already alternate. In this version, Tattletale figured out the Sophia/Shadow Stalker link a little early. Note that the canon revelation of Shadow Stalker's identity requires a significant part of the cast to take stupid pills.
Q21) Why did you pick the characters you did?
A21) Largely, I picked characters who did amazing things, but repeatedly got crapped on by the universe over and over and over again. Daniel Jackson, Taylor Hebert, Harry Dresden, Xander Harris, Jimmy Olsen, Mile O'Brien, Peter Parker and Ellen Ripley all had the worst luck by author fiat. There are some longer posts in the thread that expound on this in more detail.
Q22) How does Skitter hold onto her shard through all of these world jumps?
A22) Narrative convenience. Pick one of the half-a-dozen reasons various fanfic authors have used to justify Taylor's parasite sticking around when she's no longer in Kansas. Also, see Question 18.
Q23) Why would they bother retrofitting the Ship of Fools instead of just Varga magicking up a new ship?
A23) Basically -- practice, speed of implementation, and crew familiarity. From a meta perspective, it's the freaking Serenity.
Q24) Will everybody be getting permanent symbiotes?
A24) Eventually. Not everybody is instantly ready to jump on the immortality train. Would you accept it if offered by what appears to be a race of alien lizard-people led by a self-proclaimed demon?
Q25) Why does the Ship of Fools need multiple drive systems? Can't they go anywhere with the wormhole drive?
A25) Being able to maneuver in real-space is useful for a variety of reasons. Part of it, too, is everybody being comfortable with the wormhole drive. Using a drive that can hop dimensions and travel through time is a little disconcerting at first.
Q26) Why do you use different gender pronouns when referring to Raptaur?
A26) This is usually based on the perspective of the listener. If they've met Varga, who is identified as male, then they use masculine pronouns. If they haven't, then Raptaur is identified as female. This bit of confusion I lay at the feat of the Taylor Varga author. Much as I love his fic, it does make keeping track of gender references a pain.
Q27) Why does Xander blame Angel for ending magic in the Buffy-verse when it was really Buffy and Twilight?
A27) Because he still hates Angel for a mix of good and bad reasons, and because Angel still facilitated the whole thing. Also, I have my own issues with the way Angel was frequently written (i.e., I have nothing against David Boreanaz or how he portrayed the character).
Q28) What the heck are "gravy" guns?
A28) That's a callout to the Web comic Schlock Mercenary, also referenced elsewhere in the fic as a piece of fiction. Gravy guns are weapons that use gravity in a way that tends to turn soft targets into a gravy-like substance. It's exactly the type of term that military folks would invent.
Q29) Can the Star Trek universal translator decipher FamTalk?
A29) Not out of the box. I'm going on the assumption that a computer translator would need a starting point -- either sizable video samples of people speaking in context, hints of a relationship to a known language, or some other starting point. There are examples in Star Trek canon of it being more capable, but usually it's for author convenience in those cases.
Q30) Does the mutant virus exist in this Spider-Man's 'verse?
A30) No. Nor is anti-mutant hatred caused by sentient bacteria.
A11) Because is some ways, his eye is the least of his problems, and calling in both Ianthe and Varga to consult is the best thing to do.
Q12) Can Ianthe copy genetic-based Marvel superpowers to other people?
A12) Amy/Ianthe can turn onions into a living, breathing dragon. What makes you think there is anything about genetics that she can't make her bitch?
Q13) Which Peter Parker is this? There are tons of variations in the Marvel universe.
A13) He is inspired by the Into the Spiderverse version (Peter B. Parker), mostly because I personally LOVED that movie, it fits the theme of the fic, and having a more-experienced Peter Parker is a nice twist to the character.
Q14) Won't Amy find the xenomorph biology fascinating?
A14) Compared to Varga physiology, the creators of the xenomorphs were amateurs. It is interesting...but in a way like an expert in a particular field reviewing a well-done graduate dissertation on an extremely disturbing topic.
Q15) Can Über learn magic the same way he learns other skills?
A15) The short answer is that he can. The longer answer is answered in story.
Q16) What would happen if Harry Dresden soul-gazed Varga?
A16) Either something terrible (for Harry), or absolutely nothing. If you were Harry, would you take the chance trying to soul-gaze something that claims to be an ancient demon?
Q17) Are the characters going to go back in time and rescue everybody's loved ones and favorite characters?
A17) No. In this story, the premise is that the risks of time travel are enough to give Varga the heebie-jeebies. Time travel exists, but it will consist of the closed-time-loop varieties, and the prevalence of time travel in certain universes causes instability and bad things -- to the point that the protagonists are going to try and fix some of that. At a meta level, time travel is a fantastic way to unravel narrative causality and give people massive headaches and confusion.
Q18) Is Harry Dresden's techbane going to shift based on what universe he is in? According to canon, the effect of magic is based on popular belief, e.g., it used to curdle cream.
A18) I'm using the slightly lazy concept that folks follow the rules for their own universe, as they're effectively bits of that universe being extended into another. Otherwise, that's another detail I have to track for each universe, and I would have to make something up for the non-magical universes.
Q19) Regarding the first omake, what the hell? Also, what were the references?
A19) Inception, To Catch a Predator and Predator, Warhammer 40,000, and the film mentioned, which happens to have Colm Meaney (the actor who played Miles O'Brien) in the cast.
Q20) How does Skitter know that Sophia is Shadow Stalker?
A20) This Skitter is not from canon Worm. In canon, she didn't know about Shadow Stalker until after Leviathan. For various reasons that become clear later in the story, I wanted Taylor to get hit by a Bakuda-special during the Leviathan fight. That is obviously NOT what happened in canon, so we're already alternate. In this version, Tattletale figured out the Sophia/Shadow Stalker link a little early. Note that the canon revelation of Shadow Stalker's identity requires a significant part of the cast to take stupid pills.
Q21) Why did you pick the characters you did?
A21) Largely, I picked characters who did amazing things, but repeatedly got crapped on by the universe over and over and over again. Daniel Jackson, Taylor Hebert, Harry Dresden, Xander Harris, Jimmy Olsen, Mile O'Brien, Peter Parker and Ellen Ripley all had the worst luck by author fiat. There are some longer posts in the thread that expound on this in more detail.
Q22) How does Skitter hold onto her shard through all of these world jumps?
A22) Narrative convenience. Pick one of the half-a-dozen reasons various fanfic authors have used to justify Taylor's parasite sticking around when she's no longer in Kansas. Also, see Question 18.
Q23) Why would they bother retrofitting the Ship of Fools instead of just Varga magicking up a new ship?
A23) Basically -- practice, speed of implementation, and crew familiarity. From a meta perspective, it's the freaking Serenity.
Q24) Will everybody be getting permanent symbiotes?
A24) Eventually. Not everybody is instantly ready to jump on the immortality train. Would you accept it if offered by what appears to be a race of alien lizard-people led by a self-proclaimed demon?
Q25) Why does the Ship of Fools need multiple drive systems? Can't they go anywhere with the wormhole drive?
A25) Being able to maneuver in real-space is useful for a variety of reasons. Part of it, too, is everybody being comfortable with the wormhole drive. Using a drive that can hop dimensions and travel through time is a little disconcerting at first.
Q26) Why do you use different gender pronouns when referring to Raptaur?
A26) This is usually based on the perspective of the listener. If they've met Varga, who is identified as male, then they use masculine pronouns. If they haven't, then Raptaur is identified as female. This bit of confusion I lay at the feat of the Taylor Varga author. Much as I love his fic, it does make keeping track of gender references a pain.
Q27) Why does Xander blame Angel for ending magic in the Buffy-verse when it was really Buffy and Twilight?
A27) Because he still hates Angel for a mix of good and bad reasons, and because Angel still facilitated the whole thing. Also, I have my own issues with the way Angel was frequently written (i.e., I have nothing against David Boreanaz or how he portrayed the character).
Q28) What the heck are "gravy" guns?
A28) That's a callout to the Web comic Schlock Mercenary, also referenced elsewhere in the fic as a piece of fiction. Gravy guns are weapons that use gravity in a way that tends to turn soft targets into a gravy-like substance. It's exactly the type of term that military folks would invent.
Q29) Can the Star Trek universal translator decipher FamTalk?
A29) Not out of the box. I'm going on the assumption that a computer translator would need a starting point -- either sizable video samples of people speaking in context, hints of a relationship to a known language, or some other starting point. There are examples in Star Trek canon of it being more capable, but usually it's for author convenience in those cases.
Q30) Does the mutant virus exist in this Spider-Man's 'verse?
A30) No. Nor is anti-mutant hatred caused by sentient bacteria.
Q31) Who is Antaeus?
A31) He is the Nox played by Armin Shimerman, the same actor who played Quark and Principal Snyder.
Q32) Who is more powerful, Q or Varga, and how do they see each other?
A32) Difficult to say, and the neighborhood would seriously suffer from any attempt to find out. There is mutual professional respect between them.
Q33) Why won't ascended Ancients in the Stargate universe interfere on the mortal plain?
A33) Most likely, the answer is complicated and caused by multiple factors. From a meta sense, it obviously would take a degree of agency away from the protagonists of the various TV shows.
Q34) When do the Asgard appear as human in the Stargate universe?
A34) They appear as human-form gods to primitive humans, usually through holograms.
Q35) Who the heck is Q talking to in purple text in Chapter 22?
A35) That's the power that bound Taylor to Varga in Chapter 1 of Taylor Varga.
Q36) Why do they refer to "north" when maneuvering on a ship?
A36) It was a pre-established common frame of reference, mostly because not everybody was familiar with nautical terminology.
Q37) Why does the one-shot not put Jenkins into stasis if the damage was too bad to heal? That's a canon feature.
A37) It wasn't necessary, as Ianthe was there to assist the symbiote in fixing the massive internal damage caused by a xenomorph "birth."
Q38) Why would the characters condemn the hosts of the System Lords along with the symbiotes?
A38) Most System Lords have had their hosts so long that they're basically insane and unsalvageable, both from the actions of the Goa'uld and from repeated use of technologies like the sarcophagus. Apophis's host was a gibbering wreck in the small time he had before dying, as an example.
Q39) How did Leviathan know about the Family the instant the Ship of Fools appeared?
A39) The Endbringers learn about them through the shard network. Skitter is from that universe and still has her shard, so as soon as they appeared, Leviathan noped-the-F out of there.
Q40) Isn't time travel dangerous? Wasn't cutting their arrival so close to Taylor's disappearance dangerous?
A40) It was exceedingly dangerous, but the consequence of delaying was huge numbers of dead people, both in the ranks of the capes and from civilians in Brockton Bay, neither of which would have been a acceptable. Also, just because Brockton Bay didn't sink into their aquifer in canon doesn't mean the Family or Skitter know that won't happen if they wait too long.
Q41) Why was Amy so out-of-character at times after the events with the xenomorphs in Ripley's reality?
A41) Amy as a character went from a ticking time bomb to somebody having an outlet through her interactions with Taylor and Varga. Those same people then told her that she had to pull a Nilbog on Ripley in order to prevent horrible things from happening to the timeline. Even if she agreed with the premise, which she did, that kind of cognitive dissonance and moral ambiguity is going to seriously screw with a person.
Q42) Why would senior members of the DS9 command staff agree to go off with alien lizards? Wasn't DS9 a major strategic target in a war that literally just ended?
A42) Because Star Trek has no equivalent to master/stranger protocols. Some would argue that Starfleet officers are overconfident to the point of arrogance. To be completely fair, it seems to work out for them more often than not.
Q43) What's up with Anya and Xander going to therapy?
A43) My take is that Anya is a character that was used largely for comic relief when she wasn't an explicit antagonist, when in reality she represented a young woman who was pretty much psychologically broken in a variety of ways, starting long before she became a demon. The Nox would see her as somebody in need of help.
Q44) OK, so they won't time travel to save loved ones. Why not steal them from other dimensions?
A44) Various moral and ethical reasons, some of them ambiguous, and deep philosophical questions about identity and individuality. I actually find this concept more troubling than going back in time. This is not a fic intended to mirror Robert Heinlein's Gay Deceiver novels.
Q45) What's happening with Vicky and the mystery of Amy's jeans?
A45) The appearance of the Ship of Fools has shifted the timeline of events. Basically, Ianthe's time is a lot more in demand, which means that Vicky never found the tail hole in her pants, which in the canon fic leads her almost to a nervous breakdown. In this fic, she's still troubled, and there will be resolution, but via different means.
Q46) Wouldn't Dragon have issues meeting another version of herself, given her hard-coded restrictions on copying herself?
A46) I interpret that as a restriction on the act of creating active instances of herself. She can, for example, copy herself to backup without issue. Finding another instance of herself already active does not count.
A31) He is the Nox played by Armin Shimerman, the same actor who played Quark and Principal Snyder.
Q32) Who is more powerful, Q or Varga, and how do they see each other?
A32) Difficult to say, and the neighborhood would seriously suffer from any attempt to find out. There is mutual professional respect between them.
Q33) Why won't ascended Ancients in the Stargate universe interfere on the mortal plain?
A33) Most likely, the answer is complicated and caused by multiple factors. From a meta sense, it obviously would take a degree of agency away from the protagonists of the various TV shows.
Q34) When do the Asgard appear as human in the Stargate universe?
A34) They appear as human-form gods to primitive humans, usually through holograms.
Q35) Who the heck is Q talking to in purple text in Chapter 22?
A35) That's the power that bound Taylor to Varga in Chapter 1 of Taylor Varga.
Q36) Why do they refer to "north" when maneuvering on a ship?
A36) It was a pre-established common frame of reference, mostly because not everybody was familiar with nautical terminology.
Q37) Why does the one-shot not put Jenkins into stasis if the damage was too bad to heal? That's a canon feature.
A37) It wasn't necessary, as Ianthe was there to assist the symbiote in fixing the massive internal damage caused by a xenomorph "birth."
Q38) Why would the characters condemn the hosts of the System Lords along with the symbiotes?
A38) Most System Lords have had their hosts so long that they're basically insane and unsalvageable, both from the actions of the Goa'uld and from repeated use of technologies like the sarcophagus. Apophis's host was a gibbering wreck in the small time he had before dying, as an example.
Q39) How did Leviathan know about the Family the instant the Ship of Fools appeared?
A39) The Endbringers learn about them through the shard network. Skitter is from that universe and still has her shard, so as soon as they appeared, Leviathan noped-the-F out of there.
Q40) Isn't time travel dangerous? Wasn't cutting their arrival so close to Taylor's disappearance dangerous?
A40) It was exceedingly dangerous, but the consequence of delaying was huge numbers of dead people, both in the ranks of the capes and from civilians in Brockton Bay, neither of which would have been a acceptable. Also, just because Brockton Bay didn't sink into their aquifer in canon doesn't mean the Family or Skitter know that won't happen if they wait too long.
Q41) Why was Amy so out-of-character at times after the events with the xenomorphs in Ripley's reality?
A41) Amy as a character went from a ticking time bomb to somebody having an outlet through her interactions with Taylor and Varga. Those same people then told her that she had to pull a Nilbog on Ripley in order to prevent horrible things from happening to the timeline. Even if she agreed with the premise, which she did, that kind of cognitive dissonance and moral ambiguity is going to seriously screw with a person.
Q42) Why would senior members of the DS9 command staff agree to go off with alien lizards? Wasn't DS9 a major strategic target in a war that literally just ended?
A42) Because Star Trek has no equivalent to master/stranger protocols. Some would argue that Starfleet officers are overconfident to the point of arrogance. To be completely fair, it seems to work out for them more often than not.
Q43) What's up with Anya and Xander going to therapy?
A43) My take is that Anya is a character that was used largely for comic relief when she wasn't an explicit antagonist, when in reality she represented a young woman who was pretty much psychologically broken in a variety of ways, starting long before she became a demon. The Nox would see her as somebody in need of help.
Q44) OK, so they won't time travel to save loved ones. Why not steal them from other dimensions?
A44) Various moral and ethical reasons, some of them ambiguous, and deep philosophical questions about identity and individuality. I actually find this concept more troubling than going back in time. This is not a fic intended to mirror Robert Heinlein's Gay Deceiver novels.
Q45) What's happening with Vicky and the mystery of Amy's jeans?
A45) The appearance of the Ship of Fools has shifted the timeline of events. Basically, Ianthe's time is a lot more in demand, which means that Vicky never found the tail hole in her pants, which in the canon fic leads her almost to a nervous breakdown. In this fic, she's still troubled, and there will be resolution, but via different means.
Q46) Wouldn't Dragon have issues meeting another version of herself, given her hard-coded restrictions on copying herself?
A46) I interpret that as a restriction on the act of creating active instances of herself. She can, for example, copy herself to backup without issue. Finding another instance of herself already active does not count.
Q47) Why was Dream speaking on behalf of the Endless?
A47) He is the most relateable to mortals, and typically acts as the spokesperson.
Q48) Why is Black Widow armed with a Glock 26?
A48) That is the weapon used by Scarlett Johansson in the first Avengers film.
Q49) How is it that the suits used by Spider-Man, Arachne and Skitter allow them to fly?
A49) The Family has access to tech from no fewer than six universes where gravity manipulation is a well-known (if not always commonly available) technology. Between that, plus Dragon, Leet and Vectura, having flying suits is pretty trivial.
Q50) Why does Dresden describe Varga as being an Outsider?
A50) He doesn't. He simply says he is more like one than he is like the demons he knows, despite Varga claiming demon-hood. The implication is that he's dangerous, but the fact that he's trying to setup a meeting also implies he isn't exactly of the, "immediately kill it with fire," type.
Q51) What does Legend actually know about Cauldron's true behaviors at the time of the Leviathan fight?
A51) He knows Cauldron creates capes. He believes it is to increase the number of heroes in the world, and wrongly believes based on what he is told that Numbers Man allows them to accurately create vials (when they couldn't at the time he got his own powers). In canon, when he learned that William Manton was alive, the conspirators lied to him and said Manton may have been behind the Case 53's himself. Legend does not know about the threat posed by Scion.
Q52) Didn't robo-Teal'c go crazy in the original Stargate episode and have to be destroyed?
A52) Yep. They recreated him without his symbiote's mind mixed in to prevent that at the end of that episode. He later went on to help the human SG-1 take down Cronus.
Q53) Whatever happened to the reference to Worm that was found in Ripley's universe?
A53) As a piece of fiction, it never gained the popularity it has in the real world, so it is rather difficult to track down. Also, given the vagueness of the reference, and how much inaccuracy exists in the fiction about other universes, finding it is a lower priority than, say, dismantling Weyland-Yutani. At a meta level, it's more interesting to explore the characters learning the secrets of the Worm-verse piecemeal than it is to hand it to them in a piece of fiction.
Q54) Why are Hera and Zeus so amicable to each other, when in traditional mythology, they're pretty much a caricature of a toxic relationship?
A54) As Varga would explain, there are many reasons for this. The first is that the myths are told by storytellers who aren't above embellishments. The second is that a thousand years is enough time for even an immortal to change and grow. The third is that the gods are influenced in subtle ways by their worshipers, so they have changed as common perceptions of moral behavior have changed. The fourth is that, even if there were rancor, it would be set aside in the face of a guest of high standing that observed all of the rules of politeness. The fifth is that Varga is quite popular with the more activist pantheons for keeping things interesting, which puts everybody in a good mood when he visits.
Q55) Why was Amy's first idea for bugs for Taylor the same as what she created in canon, and why do so many of her other ideas reflect those in other fanfiction?
A55) The ideas are kind of obvious...at least if you're used to playing strategy games or reading comic books, and if nothing else, they have Kevin and Randall to provide suggestions. Also, the very first thing Amy learned about Taylor's power in canon was how she communicated with her bugs, and how to interfere with that. That suggests fiddling with that isn't much of a challenge for her power. If you had the ability to create custom creatures, what would you do? My guess is that you would a) try to increase your range or capacity to manage them, and b) mimic the functions of your typical Bat-clan utility belt -- explosives, capture nets, drugs of various kinds, commonly used tools, lock picks, listening devices, etc. Frankly, if Skitter had the ability to create bugs instead of just controlling them, then she would come up with most of these things herself (and also cuddlebugsTM).
Q56) What is the difference between Vala Mal Doran's back story in this fic versus the canon Stargate universe?
A56) In canon Stargate SG-1, Vala is freed from Qetesh by a Tok'ra uprising approximately one year before Daniel dies due to radiation exposure at the end of season 6. Vala spends some time being tortured by her former servants, but is rescued by the Tok'ra who remove her symbiote and help her recover. She doesn't meet Daniel until she tries to hijack the Prometheus in season 8. In this fic, the Tok'ra rebellion was significantly delayed, so the Family actually rescued her and removed the Goa'uld Qetesh. She recovers with the Nox instead of the Tok'ra (which is much better for her mental health overall).
Q57) In the Interlude featuring Daniel and Sarah, why was Sarah upset when Daniel suggested she use her former status as a Goa'uld host to further her career?
A57) Being taken by Osiris was the most traumatic event of her life. Goa'uld in general propagate the myth that being taken as a host destroys the host's personality, and they deliberately torture their host to try and drive them insane. One of Osiris' first actions after taking over Gardner's body was to murder her mentor, Dr. David Jordan. She then manipulated Daniel Jackson, and then tried to kill both Daniel and her colleague Dr. Rayner. Upon fleeing, Osiris joined Anubis...a Goa'uld so evil that he was banished by the other System Lords. I use this analogy -- Anubis is the pedophile in SuperMax who is despised and attacked by the murderers, mobsters and rapists who are also incarcerated there. Note that by the time Anubis had returned, most of the senior System Lords with clear memory of his atrocities had already been killed by the Tau'ri -- Sokar, Ra, Apophis, and Heru-Ur. One of the few remaining senior Lords from that time, Yu, is so disgusted by Anubis that he would rather go to war with the rest of the System Lords than accept him back. It's pretty easy to assume that even though she was only a host for a relatively short time, her time was probably the equivalent of any trigger event from the Worm-verse.
Q58) Is the 2018 movie The Predator canon in the universe of this fic?
A58) No. Think Darkhorse Comics, AvP, and the original Arnold Schwarznegger film.
Q59) In the Omake about the Joker, why did Taylor/Varga make the mistake of leaving him alive on a Yautja hunting preserve, given how dangerous he is in every fictional depiction?
A59) I made an attempt to justify it as a way of satisfying Batman's fixation on not killing, mainly to keep him from being a pain in the ass, and by assuming that any reasonable person would assume an unpowered person on a dangerous world where humans are hunted as game in another dimension is GONE. The problem, as was repeatedly pointed out, is that Varga is simply too old to not see how that could come back to bite them. I still like the Joker/Ba'al combination, so I may figure out an alternate way to stick that into canon for this story.
A47) He is the most relateable to mortals, and typically acts as the spokesperson.
Q48) Why is Black Widow armed with a Glock 26?
A48) That is the weapon used by Scarlett Johansson in the first Avengers film.
Q49) How is it that the suits used by Spider-Man, Arachne and Skitter allow them to fly?
A49) The Family has access to tech from no fewer than six universes where gravity manipulation is a well-known (if not always commonly available) technology. Between that, plus Dragon, Leet and Vectura, having flying suits is pretty trivial.
Q50) Why does Dresden describe Varga as being an Outsider?
A50) He doesn't. He simply says he is more like one than he is like the demons he knows, despite Varga claiming demon-hood. The implication is that he's dangerous, but the fact that he's trying to setup a meeting also implies he isn't exactly of the, "immediately kill it with fire," type.
Q51) What does Legend actually know about Cauldron's true behaviors at the time of the Leviathan fight?
A51) He knows Cauldron creates capes. He believes it is to increase the number of heroes in the world, and wrongly believes based on what he is told that Numbers Man allows them to accurately create vials (when they couldn't at the time he got his own powers). In canon, when he learned that William Manton was alive, the conspirators lied to him and said Manton may have been behind the Case 53's himself. Legend does not know about the threat posed by Scion.
Q52) Didn't robo-Teal'c go crazy in the original Stargate episode and have to be destroyed?
A52) Yep. They recreated him without his symbiote's mind mixed in to prevent that at the end of that episode. He later went on to help the human SG-1 take down Cronus.
Q53) Whatever happened to the reference to Worm that was found in Ripley's universe?
A53) As a piece of fiction, it never gained the popularity it has in the real world, so it is rather difficult to track down. Also, given the vagueness of the reference, and how much inaccuracy exists in the fiction about other universes, finding it is a lower priority than, say, dismantling Weyland-Yutani. At a meta level, it's more interesting to explore the characters learning the secrets of the Worm-verse piecemeal than it is to hand it to them in a piece of fiction.
Q54) Why are Hera and Zeus so amicable to each other, when in traditional mythology, they're pretty much a caricature of a toxic relationship?
A54) As Varga would explain, there are many reasons for this. The first is that the myths are told by storytellers who aren't above embellishments. The second is that a thousand years is enough time for even an immortal to change and grow. The third is that the gods are influenced in subtle ways by their worshipers, so they have changed as common perceptions of moral behavior have changed. The fourth is that, even if there were rancor, it would be set aside in the face of a guest of high standing that observed all of the rules of politeness. The fifth is that Varga is quite popular with the more activist pantheons for keeping things interesting, which puts everybody in a good mood when he visits.
Q55) Why was Amy's first idea for bugs for Taylor the same as what she created in canon, and why do so many of her other ideas reflect those in other fanfiction?
A55) The ideas are kind of obvious...at least if you're used to playing strategy games or reading comic books, and if nothing else, they have Kevin and Randall to provide suggestions. Also, the very first thing Amy learned about Taylor's power in canon was how she communicated with her bugs, and how to interfere with that. That suggests fiddling with that isn't much of a challenge for her power. If you had the ability to create custom creatures, what would you do? My guess is that you would a) try to increase your range or capacity to manage them, and b) mimic the functions of your typical Bat-clan utility belt -- explosives, capture nets, drugs of various kinds, commonly used tools, lock picks, listening devices, etc. Frankly, if Skitter had the ability to create bugs instead of just controlling them, then she would come up with most of these things herself (and also cuddlebugsTM).
Q56) What is the difference between Vala Mal Doran's back story in this fic versus the canon Stargate universe?
A56) In canon Stargate SG-1, Vala is freed from Qetesh by a Tok'ra uprising approximately one year before Daniel dies due to radiation exposure at the end of season 6. Vala spends some time being tortured by her former servants, but is rescued by the Tok'ra who remove her symbiote and help her recover. She doesn't meet Daniel until she tries to hijack the Prometheus in season 8. In this fic, the Tok'ra rebellion was significantly delayed, so the Family actually rescued her and removed the Goa'uld Qetesh. She recovers with the Nox instead of the Tok'ra (which is much better for her mental health overall).
Q57) In the Interlude featuring Daniel and Sarah, why was Sarah upset when Daniel suggested she use her former status as a Goa'uld host to further her career?
A57) Being taken by Osiris was the most traumatic event of her life. Goa'uld in general propagate the myth that being taken as a host destroys the host's personality, and they deliberately torture their host to try and drive them insane. One of Osiris' first actions after taking over Gardner's body was to murder her mentor, Dr. David Jordan. She then manipulated Daniel Jackson, and then tried to kill both Daniel and her colleague Dr. Rayner. Upon fleeing, Osiris joined Anubis...a Goa'uld so evil that he was banished by the other System Lords. I use this analogy -- Anubis is the pedophile in SuperMax who is despised and attacked by the murderers, mobsters and rapists who are also incarcerated there. Note that by the time Anubis had returned, most of the senior System Lords with clear memory of his atrocities had already been killed by the Tau'ri -- Sokar, Ra, Apophis, and Heru-Ur. One of the few remaining senior Lords from that time, Yu, is so disgusted by Anubis that he would rather go to war with the rest of the System Lords than accept him back. It's pretty easy to assume that even though she was only a host for a relatively short time, her time was probably the equivalent of any trigger event from the Worm-verse.
Q58) Is the 2018 movie The Predator canon in the universe of this fic?
A58) No. Think Darkhorse Comics, AvP, and the original Arnold Schwarznegger film.
Q59) In the Omake about the Joker, why did Taylor/Varga make the mistake of leaving him alive on a Yautja hunting preserve, given how dangerous he is in every fictional depiction?
A59) I made an attempt to justify it as a way of satisfying Batman's fixation on not killing, mainly to keep him from being a pain in the ass, and by assuming that any reasonable person would assume an unpowered person on a dangerous world where humans are hunted as game in another dimension is GONE. The problem, as was repeatedly pointed out, is that Varga is simply too old to not see how that could come back to bite them. I still like the Joker/Ba'al combination, so I may figure out an alternate way to stick that into canon for this story.
Q60) Come on! Scion is an entity with many different powers at his disposal. How on alternate Earth could he be so easily trounced by Varga?
A60) For a number of reasons:
Q61) Why is the plot progressing so slowly? It would be a lot more exciting and cohesive if the author focused on just a few threads and played them through to their conclusion.
A61) There are two reasons for this. One is that the structure of the chapters mirrors, to a degree, the original Taylor Varga fic. That story very much focused on amusing and interesting interactions between the various characters, rather than rushing through the stations of canon of the Worm-verse. The second reason is that I chose to turn this into a massive multi-universe crossover so that I could write some of my favorite characters from other franchises. I try to show plot points related to multiple universes in each chapter to show gradual progress, but I enjoy exploring the character interactions more than just checking off the box whenever a canon threat is nullified. Just as an example, the shopping trip to Hebridan was pretty much unnecessary for the overarching universe-saving plot. The idea of the black sheep of different universes getting together for an adventure was too good to pass up, however. Of course, your mileage may vary, and I'm not trying to write the next great American novel here.
Q62) What has happened or will happen with the Asuran replicators in the Pegasus Galaxy?
A62) The Asuran replicators in Stargate: Atlantis were the human-form replicators turned up to 11, with access to a whole civilization at Ancient levels of technology (or at least Lantean levels). How could they not be an awesome villain? Well...the Asgard are busy cleaning up the Wraith, mostly for fun, while tracking down their wayward cousins, the Vanir. Thanks to the Family, they know how to beat the replicators, and they know that the Asurans exist. The Asurans, on the other hand, pretty much stuck to themselves and worried about how to robo-ascend until the Atlantis expedition poked them with a stick. (The Atlantis expedition arguably caused most of their own problems themselves.) In the context of this story, it seems likely that the Asgard would figure out how to contain the Asurans and turn their sun into a black hole, a supernova, or possibly both. Ancient and powerful warrior race on a comeback tour vs. a failed science experiment currently turtling at home isn't really much of a story, in my opinion.
Q63) What other universes are you going to pull into this story? (The actual question referenced My Little Pony.)
A63) Good question. The short answer is, "whatever catches my fancy and seems like it fits into the plot."
The longer answer is: I am only going to write about universes with which I am personally familiar from a fan perspective. I have seen every episode of BtVS and Angel. I have watched almost every episode of Stargate up through Universe (not the animated series, though). I have seen pretty much every Star Trek except Discovery, and I've followed the news of that show. I watched every episode of Firefly, the film Serenity, and bought every book I could find in the Margaret Weiss Firefly RPG. I read both DC and Marvel comics when I was younger, and have followed the cinematic universes as an adult. I have watched the first two Alien films and read some of the Dark Horse comics (and researched the video games and later films online for this story). I have never sequentially read Worm front to back, but have probably read half of it out of order and love Worm fanfic.
I know jack and squat about My Little Pony. Most anime I only know in passing, with the exception of Robotech/Macross and Starblazers/Space Battleship Yamato, thanks to them appearing on American TV in the 70's and 80's. I missed the run of Gargoyles almost entirely. Any cartoon appearing between about 1990-2010, I probably don't know. More recent ones I know because I now have a kid (which is also why I know about Power Rangers and Pokemon). I have seen most of Battlestar Galactica, old and new, as well as Farscape. I've read Harry Potter, but not Twilight (ugh), The Hunger Games, Animorphs, or Erigon -- or most young adult fiction out recently. Older, classic sci-fi by Asimov, Heinlein or Clark I've read, and of course Tolkein. Tabletop games I know, going back to AD&D first edition, Gamma World, Traveler, Warhammer 40k, and GURPS.
Q64) Aren't Spike the vampire and William Pratt different people, just like Angel and Liam? Why should Spike feel guilty for what he did as a vampire?
A64) There is a whole post I made about the nature of the soul in the Buffy-verse right after Chapter 43. The short answer is this: there is a lot of wiggle room in the canon related to identity and the role of the soul, but there is another factor apart from that. Even if it is true that a vampire with a soul or returned human isn't technically responsible for the vampire's actions, that doesn't really help with the psychology of the situation. In real life, people feel guilty or responsible for things over which they had no control at the time. Things like survivor's guilt, being made to feel guilty by others who are trying to manipulate you, worrying over past decisions that had unexpected consequences -- these are all areas where a therapist would help their patient develop a healthier perspective on things. I would imagine that remembering in first person your body being possessed by a serial killer would lead to massive issues regardless of the logic of the situation.
Q65) Is the Justice League's "battle" with the Slaughterhouse Nine based on a realistic interpretation of everybody's powers?
A65) Not entirely. It is based upon what the Protectorate and Guild know of the S9, combined with speculations about power interactions. Some of it is likely shaded by similar power sets in the DC Universe that don't actually function the same way when you look at the details. As Wonder Woman said, there were likely errors that both favored and disadvantaged the League, so overall it was probably a wash.
Q66) Stars don't actually ignite all at once like a match striking a Yule log. What did Anya and Xander really see?
A66) What appeared to the non-astrophysicist former Vengeance Demon to be a star igniting was merely a dramatic increase in luminosity due to the concealing dust burning off. The color was due to an unusual elemental combination in the nebula. The Nox picked it for being pretty and romantic, and Anya and Xander were focused on things other than the science at the time.
Q67) Where did Batman's cape detector come from? How did he know to use it on Siberian?
A67) The Family figured out how to sense shard signatures before taking out Scion in Skitter's universe. Batman was paranoid enough to ask Dragon about ways to detect the Nine, and that's what she came up with. He didn't ask for it just for Siberian -- being able to see where your enemies are located even through walls is pretty darned useful in any fight. He was, however, smart enough to realize the meaning when Siberian didn't appear and another unknown cape did.
Q68) Is Lilah Morgan Valeria or Valeria's daughter?
A68) No. Doom is the ruler of a nation and went to school overseas. He has ample time in his life to have a serious relationship that didn't work out. That relationship resulted in an estranged daughter. (Note that from my recollection, Lilah mentions her mother during conversations with Wesley, but never her father, which may mean a variety of things. I've chosen to take that as an estranged relationship, and then put that in an alternate universe, because I like the idea.)
Q69) You did a chapter describing nothing but scary villains. Is this now going to turn into a GRIMDARK fanfic where on the INTERNET, there is only WAR, and ANGST, and DEPRESSION, and character mutilation that helps the author express his rage and work out personal issues?
A69) The tone is not changing appreciably. I actually liked the idea of doing such a chapter, because they do crop up in fics, and sometimes they signal a shift in the fic to something dark, but you may consider the intent to be subversion of that trope.
Q70) Did Ba'al ever take the Joker as a host in the main body of the story?
A70) No, that was an omake. Ba'al's host when he escapes the hunting world is the same one he had in the Stargate TV show.
Q71) Are any of the elements from the films or comics related to the Engineers of the Alien universe part of this story?
A71) Yes and no. The Engineers...also known at the time of the first film as the Space Jockeys, were fairly undefined at first. There has been a lot of conflicting information in various comics, films, books and video games about them. In one series of comics, they were depicted as what were basically humanoid Cthulhus. For this story, I'm mainly using Prometheus as inspiration for visual aspects, but I have my own Abusive Precursor ideas in mind for them. Consider this work an alternate universe from canon, even if Ripley's experiences mirror those up to the start of the third film in the Aliens series.
Q72) How could Ba'al, possessing Heartbreaker, evade surveillance by an unchained AI like Dragon?
A72) He did so in the same way that criminals commit crimes in the DC universe, despite the Justice League being around with Kryptonians, demigods, Martians, space cops with magic rings and avatars of the Speed Force running around. In short, the good guys limit their actions to what is legal and practical, and even the most powerful can't do everything and be everywhere...not without turning into the Justice Lords. Dragon limits her surveillance to what is considered legal, she respects jurisdiction and procedure, and she doesn't spam clones of herself every time a new task comes up. Without knowing about Heartbreaker's possession by a Goa'uld, a trip to the Toybox was something to note for intelligence purposes, and something to notify other authorities about, but it wasn't an emergency...whereas discovering a spaceship from another dimension that shouldn't be there was both much more urgent and potentially more important. Note that Toybox was currently in the U.S., so it was ultimately up to the local PRT and Protectorate to monitor the situation -- and we all know how effective they can be at times... Also note that Toybox operates in a legal gray area that both the heroes and the villains find advantageous.
A60) For a number of reasons:
1) Varga in the original anime is magical Godzilla. Really. Go check it out on YouTube. The only thing that has any chance of beating Varga is another of his kind.
2) Varga in the Taylor Varga crossover fic explicitly defines Varga magic as trumping powers. The only thing that comes close to piercing the Assassin's Veil, for example, is Leet's snitch, which is quite likely the best autonomous camera/sensor array ever made by a tinker. It's one of the first things he built, and it's one of his best creations, and it still took reviewing the footage with a sharp eye to note Taylor's tail. In contrast, Kaiju neutralizes both Alexandria and Eidolon in about five seconds.
3) Scion is an idiot savant incapable of functioning normally without his Thinker counterpart. Both his heroics and Gold Morning are prompted by humans literally telling him what to do.
4) Scion is tactically unimaginative, relying on his true form being hidden out of reach, as well as the stacked deck that is powers in the Worm-verse, to brute force pretty much everything.
5) Varga and Taylor basically snuck up on him, stabbed him in the back repeatedly, took a few flailing and ineffectual hits that did no damage, and then dropped half-a-dozen anti-matter bombs on his head.
Frankly, Scion is one of those fictional villains like the aliens in Independence Day that has a glaring weak spot similar to a boss fight in a video game. A better analogy might be Harry Turtledove's Race, or Niven's and Pournelle's fithp, as species that are so mentally handicapped in comparison to humans that they need to have a stacked deck in order to prove a challenge.Q61) Why is the plot progressing so slowly? It would be a lot more exciting and cohesive if the author focused on just a few threads and played them through to their conclusion.
A61) There are two reasons for this. One is that the structure of the chapters mirrors, to a degree, the original Taylor Varga fic. That story very much focused on amusing and interesting interactions between the various characters, rather than rushing through the stations of canon of the Worm-verse. The second reason is that I chose to turn this into a massive multi-universe crossover so that I could write some of my favorite characters from other franchises. I try to show plot points related to multiple universes in each chapter to show gradual progress, but I enjoy exploring the character interactions more than just checking off the box whenever a canon threat is nullified. Just as an example, the shopping trip to Hebridan was pretty much unnecessary for the overarching universe-saving plot. The idea of the black sheep of different universes getting together for an adventure was too good to pass up, however. Of course, your mileage may vary, and I'm not trying to write the next great American novel here.
Q62) What has happened or will happen with the Asuran replicators in the Pegasus Galaxy?
A62) The Asuran replicators in Stargate: Atlantis were the human-form replicators turned up to 11, with access to a whole civilization at Ancient levels of technology (or at least Lantean levels). How could they not be an awesome villain? Well...the Asgard are busy cleaning up the Wraith, mostly for fun, while tracking down their wayward cousins, the Vanir. Thanks to the Family, they know how to beat the replicators, and they know that the Asurans exist. The Asurans, on the other hand, pretty much stuck to themselves and worried about how to robo-ascend until the Atlantis expedition poked them with a stick. (The Atlantis expedition arguably caused most of their own problems themselves.) In the context of this story, it seems likely that the Asgard would figure out how to contain the Asurans and turn their sun into a black hole, a supernova, or possibly both. Ancient and powerful warrior race on a comeback tour vs. a failed science experiment currently turtling at home isn't really much of a story, in my opinion.
Q63) What other universes are you going to pull into this story? (The actual question referenced My Little Pony.)
A63) Good question. The short answer is, "whatever catches my fancy and seems like it fits into the plot."
The longer answer is: I am only going to write about universes with which I am personally familiar from a fan perspective. I have seen every episode of BtVS and Angel. I have watched almost every episode of Stargate up through Universe (not the animated series, though). I have seen pretty much every Star Trek except Discovery, and I've followed the news of that show. I watched every episode of Firefly, the film Serenity, and bought every book I could find in the Margaret Weiss Firefly RPG. I read both DC and Marvel comics when I was younger, and have followed the cinematic universes as an adult. I have watched the first two Alien films and read some of the Dark Horse comics (and researched the video games and later films online for this story). I have never sequentially read Worm front to back, but have probably read half of it out of order and love Worm fanfic.
I know jack and squat about My Little Pony. Most anime I only know in passing, with the exception of Robotech/Macross and Starblazers/Space Battleship Yamato, thanks to them appearing on American TV in the 70's and 80's. I missed the run of Gargoyles almost entirely. Any cartoon appearing between about 1990-2010, I probably don't know. More recent ones I know because I now have a kid (which is also why I know about Power Rangers and Pokemon). I have seen most of Battlestar Galactica, old and new, as well as Farscape. I've read Harry Potter, but not Twilight (ugh), The Hunger Games, Animorphs, or Erigon -- or most young adult fiction out recently. Older, classic sci-fi by Asimov, Heinlein or Clark I've read, and of course Tolkein. Tabletop games I know, going back to AD&D first edition, Gamma World, Traveler, Warhammer 40k, and GURPS.
Q64) Aren't Spike the vampire and William Pratt different people, just like Angel and Liam? Why should Spike feel guilty for what he did as a vampire?
A64) There is a whole post I made about the nature of the soul in the Buffy-verse right after Chapter 43. The short answer is this: there is a lot of wiggle room in the canon related to identity and the role of the soul, but there is another factor apart from that. Even if it is true that a vampire with a soul or returned human isn't technically responsible for the vampire's actions, that doesn't really help with the psychology of the situation. In real life, people feel guilty or responsible for things over which they had no control at the time. Things like survivor's guilt, being made to feel guilty by others who are trying to manipulate you, worrying over past decisions that had unexpected consequences -- these are all areas where a therapist would help their patient develop a healthier perspective on things. I would imagine that remembering in first person your body being possessed by a serial killer would lead to massive issues regardless of the logic of the situation.
Q65) Is the Justice League's "battle" with the Slaughterhouse Nine based on a realistic interpretation of everybody's powers?
A65) Not entirely. It is based upon what the Protectorate and Guild know of the S9, combined with speculations about power interactions. Some of it is likely shaded by similar power sets in the DC Universe that don't actually function the same way when you look at the details. As Wonder Woman said, there were likely errors that both favored and disadvantaged the League, so overall it was probably a wash.
Q66) Stars don't actually ignite all at once like a match striking a Yule log. What did Anya and Xander really see?
A66) What appeared to the non-astrophysicist former Vengeance Demon to be a star igniting was merely a dramatic increase in luminosity due to the concealing dust burning off. The color was due to an unusual elemental combination in the nebula. The Nox picked it for being pretty and romantic, and Anya and Xander were focused on things other than the science at the time.
Q67) Where did Batman's cape detector come from? How did he know to use it on Siberian?
A67) The Family figured out how to sense shard signatures before taking out Scion in Skitter's universe. Batman was paranoid enough to ask Dragon about ways to detect the Nine, and that's what she came up with. He didn't ask for it just for Siberian -- being able to see where your enemies are located even through walls is pretty darned useful in any fight. He was, however, smart enough to realize the meaning when Siberian didn't appear and another unknown cape did.
Q68) Is Lilah Morgan Valeria or Valeria's daughter?
A68) No. Doom is the ruler of a nation and went to school overseas. He has ample time in his life to have a serious relationship that didn't work out. That relationship resulted in an estranged daughter. (Note that from my recollection, Lilah mentions her mother during conversations with Wesley, but never her father, which may mean a variety of things. I've chosen to take that as an estranged relationship, and then put that in an alternate universe, because I like the idea.)
Q69) You did a chapter describing nothing but scary villains. Is this now going to turn into a GRIMDARK fanfic where on the INTERNET, there is only WAR, and ANGST, and DEPRESSION, and character mutilation that helps the author express his rage and work out personal issues?
A69) The tone is not changing appreciably. I actually liked the idea of doing such a chapter, because they do crop up in fics, and sometimes they signal a shift in the fic to something dark, but you may consider the intent to be subversion of that trope.
Q70) Did Ba'al ever take the Joker as a host in the main body of the story?
A70) No, that was an omake. Ba'al's host when he escapes the hunting world is the same one he had in the Stargate TV show.
Q71) Are any of the elements from the films or comics related to the Engineers of the Alien universe part of this story?
A71) Yes and no. The Engineers...also known at the time of the first film as the Space Jockeys, were fairly undefined at first. There has been a lot of conflicting information in various comics, films, books and video games about them. In one series of comics, they were depicted as what were basically humanoid Cthulhus. For this story, I'm mainly using Prometheus as inspiration for visual aspects, but I have my own Abusive Precursor ideas in mind for them. Consider this work an alternate universe from canon, even if Ripley's experiences mirror those up to the start of the third film in the Aliens series.
Q72) How could Ba'al, possessing Heartbreaker, evade surveillance by an unchained AI like Dragon?
A72) He did so in the same way that criminals commit crimes in the DC universe, despite the Justice League being around with Kryptonians, demigods, Martians, space cops with magic rings and avatars of the Speed Force running around. In short, the good guys limit their actions to what is legal and practical, and even the most powerful can't do everything and be everywhere...not without turning into the Justice Lords. Dragon limits her surveillance to what is considered legal, she respects jurisdiction and procedure, and she doesn't spam clones of herself every time a new task comes up. Without knowing about Heartbreaker's possession by a Goa'uld, a trip to the Toybox was something to note for intelligence purposes, and something to notify other authorities about, but it wasn't an emergency...whereas discovering a spaceship from another dimension that shouldn't be there was both much more urgent and potentially more important. Note that Toybox was currently in the U.S., so it was ultimately up to the local PRT and Protectorate to monitor the situation -- and we all know how effective they can be at times... Also note that Toybox operates in a legal gray area that both the heroes and the villains find advantageous.
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- Location
- Beyond the Unknowable Veil
Many useful answers to questions there. I have an additional question. They found a copy of Worm in Ripley's home universe, yes? At the time they were thinking it might be a biography of Taylor as an entomologist. Did they ever look it over? I can't remember anything after that conversation.
YuffieK
(Verified Ninja Princess)
The concept of 'Mathing the Universe into Submission' regarding things like FTL travel has been around for a while. Dune Spacing Guild Navigators, Slartibartfast from HHGttG, even A Wrinkle in Time does it.
I believe that it was an incomplete secondary reference and not the actual book, so they didn't find anything to validate it. Dragon's copy in that universe is probably still looking during her spare cycles.
I believe that it was an incomplete secondary reference and not the actual book, so they didn't find anything to validate it. Dragon's copy in that universe is probably still looking during her spare cycles.
- Location
- Here
Re Question 42: Why would they treat these Alien Lizards any differently then any of the other Alien Lizards they deal with on a regular basis? For the senior staff to deal with a First Contact is Standard Procedure, and they're hardly the first lizards the Federation has seen. Heck, some lizards are members in good standing....
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Troy Guffey
Irresponsible Parasite
- Location
- Western Missouri, USA
Well, I've read at least one fic where they were Johnny-Come-Latelies, and the ones already there are complete a-holes and don't want any more company. Or are only interested in Power, not Enlightenment.
- Location
- Maryland
They found reference to it. Keep in mind that Ripley's timeline is many years from today, so while copies of the story may exist...well, it isn't exactly a literary masterpiece, and it may never have achieved the same level of fan following in her universe during our time. It's like trying to today find a magazine article that was published in a second rate magazine back in the 1920's. It just wasn't important enough to have as part of the big collections, and while there almost certainly are copies somewhere, good luck finding something that tells you where.
EDIT: See new question #53!
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- Location
- Maryland
It isn't so much that they're alien lizards as...why would the COMMAND STAFF go off with any group of strangers on a whim? Especially the command staff of a space station that was a major strategic target in a war that just ended? The answer is that in any rational universe, they wouldn't. In Star Trek, that's just par for the course.