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Wormverse ideas, recs, and fic discussion thread 1

Taylor's a girl with a lot of stress, so she needs an extra special massage
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Working Out the Tension

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"Your shoulders are just too tense," the masseuse said with a grunt, letting go and rubbing her fingers. "It's like I'm trying to knead steel cables."



It certainly wasn't like I was going to relax here. Not when I was almost naked, covered by only my underwear and the thick towel. Also, my bugs were reading some printouts of the various businesses I was running and I had to keep on thinking about what it meant and what should be done in response to all that.



"Sorry," I said, trying to untense and not managing it. "How do most people relax?"

"I like a good brownie laced with weed myself," the woman said, digging her elbow into the meat of my shoulder and grinding it back and forth. My skin moved around but I couldn't feel my muscles giving at all.



"Listen, the boss bought some special massage machine a few months ago, that's supposed to really do wonders for people like you. Never used it yet," the middle-aged woman said, straightening up and stepping towards the door. "I can get it and that should do the trick for you."



I didn't have much of a reason to say no. At least, no to that instead of just saying no to it all and leaving while thinking of a way to tell Lisa I hadn't enjoyed her birthday gift. So I shrugged and stayed on the table, breathing in the herbal infusion that was supposed to help people relax.



Then I started to shake. So did everything else in the room, actually. I lifted my head and stared at the door as something big and heavy clomped down the hallway outside. What little my bugs could tell me just reinforced that, with the addition of it being metal. Before I could do anything more, the door swung open with enough force behind it that it bounced off the far wall in splinters. And it hadn't been a wooden door, either.



"MASSAGETRON 3000 IS HERE TO ASSIST IN YOUR FULL-BODY RELAXATION," a voice that the people down the block could perfectly hear boomed as the light from the hall was cut out by the sheer bulk of the robot standing in the doorway, five red eyes gleaming as it stomped into the room. "DO NOT RESIST."

"Okay, I think- guhph," I spluttered as a massive metal hand pressed down on my upper back, driving me down onto the padded table. Though, to be fair, it was a warm hand with a lavender scent. Even with the humming and vibrations, it was also still keeping me pinned and helpless.



"TOTAL SOFTENING OF THE MUSCLES IS A GUARANTEE," the voice boomed as a sound somewhere between a jackhammer and a chain saw started up somewhere above me. "NO MATTER HOW LONG IT MIGHT TAKE TO ACHIEVE THE PROPER STATE."



If I got out of this with all (or even one) of my bones intact, Lisa was going to get an earful over proper birthday presents.
 
Mister Ficser said:
A part of Alec's mind silently wondered if there might be a record-keeping Shard somewhere, one imbued with all the memories of the 'previous' hosts that the Entities had used throughout the past.
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There's an idea here. Shards likely keep a record of their hosts, so what if someone's Shard let them interact with (copy/imprints of) previous hosts via dreamscape or something? Almost a "here's how other's have used the power you've been given" kind of thing?
 
Thozmp said:
There's an idea here. Shards likely keep a record of their hosts, so what if someone's Shard let them interact with (copy/imprints of) previous hosts via dreamscape or something? Almost a "here's how other's have used the power you've been given" kind of thing?
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I have seen this happen, like, once before?
The unfinished fic where the Nine showed up at Taylor's school when she was like five or six, and held the students hostage, didn't actually kill any of them because that would go against the rules of the game Jack had set up.
Point being, Taylor eventually triggered and could communicate with what claimed to be one of the previous users of her power.
 
So between inspiration from friends, family, and a new medication helping with my mood swings, (Which are either a result of intermittent explosive disorder, bipolar disorder, or autism, the last of which we know I have) I think I might start writing again.

As a test...

The Jackasses in Worm: Chapter Two: Schemes, Scams, and Strategies! Oh My!



It started with an argument, as usual. The Jackasses just escaped from their fight with the heroes, using a smoke cloud created by Warrior's beams and running away with their tails between their legs back to their base. Unfortunately, now they had to figure out whose fault it was, because, of course, they did.

They had their costume put away and were in their normal attire. Raphael, a jean jacket, red shirts, and jeans. Alex, a grey jacket and black leather pants. Kyle, a black Metallica shirt and jeans. Damian: a grey hoodie, like Alex, and black leggings.

Raphael was leaning on the wall as he tended to do. Alex was sitting on the arm of the couch. Kyle was sitting on the couch. And Damian was simply sitting on the floor.

Can we skip the part where they just bitch and moan about they're lives? No…it's important to the plot?

God fucking dammit. Alrightalrightalright, I'll allow this only this time!

"This is not my fault," Kyle said.

"Yes, it is!" Raphael got up from the wall, "You literally told me we didn't need a plan, and that's why we-"

"No, I didn't!" Kyle got up next. "I just said we wouldn't go to you for plans, considering they always fail. It was Alex that said we didn't need one!"

"WHAT!?" Alex got up as well. "Bullshit! It would've gone perfectly if you idiots didn't fuck everything up!"

"Guys…" Damian said.

"Yeah, that's what it was, us fucking up, not you refusing to question whether someone would backstab you or not!" Kyle said.

"Guys!" Damian said again.

"WELL, I DON'T-" Raphael was interrupted.

"GUYS!" Damian shouted this time.

"WHAT!?" the other three Jackasses said.

"It was no one's fault," Damian got up and started to pace.

This was standard. Ever since Raphael suggested pwnageshow and UnrealEntGaming to crossover with his YouTube channel, Ultimate, they had fought. Some exaggerated. Some were not. And Damian always had to step in to calm things down.

The question was, would they listen?

"Everyone was just against us. We had no way to plan around it." Damian said.

"Speak for yourself!" Raphael pointed. "I could've planned circles around them!"

"Then please," Alex said. "Tell us a plan to make enough money to have this city eating out of the palm of our hands ASAP."

"Ok, I suggest we try to use one of the villains to get rich fast."

"How?" Kyle asked. "And which ones?"

"There's a dog fighting ring somewhere here. If we get the perfect dog to put in the ring, we can make big bucks!" Raphael said.

"And how do I know you're not going to use this opportunity to sell me out, get me arrested, and me raped by a tall, fat, African American prisoner named Joe in the showers!" Alex said.

The other Jackasses blinked.

"That's…incredibly specific…" Raphael snickered.

"And it doesn't matter," Kyle said. "Because it has nothing to do with us using villains to get rich?"

"Actually, it does," Raphael grinned.

"How?"

"Because we're not going to find a dog to throw into the ring," Raphael clapped his hands. "We're going to find someone that can shapeshift into one to throw into the ring."






Trickster didn't consider himself judgemental. He didn't like some people, but he had perfectly valid reasons to do so. But he didn't judge people unfairly. And in recent times, he barely did it. He was more concerned about his teammates following his orders, regardless of whether they thought it was right or not.

However, he could make exceptions, he could change the rules, he could…

What? No, not for whether or not he considered what his teammates wanted. But for whether or not he judged people.

These two idiots seemed just the type to do that too.

Trickster stared down these two men, one wearing a green jean jacket and one wearing orange gi of all things. The one in the jean jacket was clearly uninterested in what they said. He was just looking into space, without a care in the world. And the big guy, on the orange gi was laser-focused. Maybe a little too focused. After all, Trickster was sure someone shouldn't have eyes wide open, for a meeting.

Trickster took a puff of smoke. "So…you want my shapeshifter?"

Warrior nodded. "Just on the rare occasion, we'll give you part of the money, sixty/forty."

"Why not fifty/fifty?"

"To tell the truth," Warrior said. "We're a little tight on money. We imagine you're doing better?"

"Quite possibly," Trickster took another smoke. "It would be hard without knowing your intake."

"A couple hundred every day."

"Yes, that is minimum," Trickster sighed. "If I were to do this, how much money would we make?"

"With what we have currently?" Warrior said. "A few hundred to a couple thousand. Depends on the dog we fight, but if you gave us more we could make more."

Trickster rubbed his chin and considered this. "Ok, I'll do it. Just one question."

"What's that?"

Trickster pointed at Ultimate. "What's wrong with him?"

Ultimate suddenly started paying attention. "Hm? Are we talking about me?"

Trickster gave a look to Warrior.

Warrior shook his head. "Theory is he's autistic. But never mind that. Introduce me to your shapeshifter"
 
Some other ideas I had for an overly effective massage
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Working Out The Tension II

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I wasn't sure how to describe my motion as I made it out of the massage clinic and into Lisa's car. It was something between an ooze and a shamble and I could only imagine how I looked to anyone else watching me right now. At any rate, she pushed open the back door for me and lifted her eyebrows at me.



"Well, you look more relieved than I've ever seen you before," Lisa said as the driver started the car. "I don't think I've ever seen you so stress-free."

"I feel bone free," I moaned, gingerly reaching up and touching the side of my neck. "There aren't grip marks or anything there, are there?"

"Nah," my friend (redesignation pending) said with a wave of her hand. "Except for how fluid and agile you look, you look just the same as before."



That seemed like a minor miracle, after all the ways I had been bended. Maybe a gymnast's legs were supposed to bend that far backwards but I was pretty sure that you were supposed to ease into that kind of position!



To be fair, I had felt my muscles giving underneath the steady pressure MASAAGETRON 3000 had inflicted on me. Moments before my bones had given out as well, of course but I had to admit that I didn't feel tense at all any longer. Every bit of stiffness had been thoroughly worked out of me.



Also, I thought that I was going to be smelling that floral scent for days now. It wasn't a bad smell, exactly, but the robot had used a lot of it. And I was pretty sure that the scent molecules or whatever had been ground into my skin during the massage. I wasn't going to sniff myself right now, though, and not just because I didn't think I had the strength to lift my hand.



"I always thought that I had a knack for picking out the right presents for people," Lisa said, seeming more than a bit smug as she leaned back against her seat. "The knowledge that you worked out some of the stress that you've been carrying since before I met you, that's reward enough."

I narrowed my eyes and stared at her. She smiled back at me guilessly, her eyes innocent, not a trace of any thing else but concern for her friend to be seen on her features. It took an effort but I managed to get the same expression onto my face and even kept it there for a while.



"Lisa, I'm thinking your birthday present is going to be a subscription to every dating service in Brockton Bay, alright?"


"No need, someone cursing when they realize how thoroughly I've outmaneuvered them is all the warm glow that my heart needs," Lisa said with a smirk.



"Well, I'll just have to find some kind of birthday present for you that can match the satisfaction that I got from yours," I said. "That's what friends are for."



And Lisa and I were such good friends.
 
The problem is, you have to set Lisa up with something that while unpleasant, actually works.

Good luck.
 
WestOrEast said:
Yeah, in lieu of someone suggesting something very clever, this is as far as the ficlets are going to go.
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Pot brownies or the equivalent? Taylor wouldn't need to be present, so Lisa couldn't read her for cues, and she's not going to waste her power of the food in their fridge unless she has reason too, and she probably wouldn't notice until she'd already had a few.

Alternatively, use a bunch of spiders to web Lisa into her bed overnight as an excuse to serve her 'breakfast in bed' and give her a 'pajama day' or something.

And that's stuff that Taylor could do without finding a Tinker like the Massagetron creator, or someone else with helpful powers.

Get Parian to make a bunch of frilly clothes and replace all of Lisa's clothes while she's in the shower? Find a tinker to make a bunch of invisible robots that do nothing important other than being invisible, stick them all around, and watch Lisa gets paranoid as her power notices them but can't tell what's going on?
 
So I have an idea based on the premise of the new crossover fic Gotham New Neighbor fic
forums.spacebattles.com

Gotham New Neighbor (Worm/Batman)

Due to an experimental Bakuda bomb, all of Brockton Bay disappears from Earth Beth, the positive side of this is that Gotham City now has a new neighbor The world of DC will be mainly based on the webcomic "Batman Adventures of the Wayne Family", although it will have elements from other...
forums.spacebattles.com forums.spacebattles.com

But in reverse as instead of entire city of Brockton Bay being teleported next to Gotham City it's instead Gotham City being Teleported next to Brockton Bay.(pre-canon)

Now for this type of crossover you may think I may go with the concept of "Gotham villains curb stomp the Brockton Bay villains" but no because while most of the villains Gotham City are tech based... however the problem for them is a lot of the materials they use don't exist in Earth-Bet forcing to preserve what they have but eventually they are going to run out and won't make anymore of stuff.

So villains like the Mad Hatter, Bane, Professor Pyg, and Mister Freeze are serious trouble.. save for the Scarecrow who does not need his fear toxin to crippled an entire city.

Meanwhile the Batfamily (save Nightwing and Batwing who weren't in the city at the time) does not like the state of Earth-Bet and how they sometimes allow certain villains to get as much leeway as they should.
 
brer rabbit said:
So villains like the Mad Hatter, Bane, Professor Pyg, and Mister Freeze are serious trouble.. save for the Scarecrow who does not need his fear toxin to crippled an entire city.

Meanwhile the Batfamily (save Nightwing and Batwing who weren't in the city at the time) does not like the state of Earth-Bet and how they sometimes allow certain villains to get as much leeway as they should.
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I dunno I think playing into the tinkertech is hard to replicate thing doesn't really work with DC because especially with Mister Freeze and Bane and even Mad Hatter their tech is mass producible. I mean the freezarang is obviously based on Mister Freeze's tech. But mostly I think the worm "deconstruction" of tinker tech not getting into mainstream thing just doesn't really exist in the media it's pulled from, Vulture got boned by osbourne over the tech that makes the fight suit and goblins glider work he literally tries to kill osbourne over it BUT evil industrialist osbourne can't then sell that tech to the military without fingers asking questions. mister freeze was working on cryo for his wife and the company pulled the plug. Mad hatter is totally batty when he gets the mind control to work and more interested in alice than in money and even if the company held the patent mind control is not good for the bottom line. and Bane is often a drug dealer selling the very drug that makes him super strong so how anyone can say that it's not available to the mainstream can blame the FDA or Batman kinda.
 
Happy Hampster said:
Mad hatter is totally batty when he gets the mind control to work and more interested in alice than in money and even if the company held the patent mind control is not good for the bottom line.
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He is actually interested in money, his tech isn't cheap to produce after all.
edit:
He actually uses that exact line at one point, to explain why he is running a credit scam.
TLDR make weird little dolls that look "foreign" and have a front company that claims they are a traditional good luck charm that you put under your pillow at night, then have the dolls have mind control tech in them that makes people withdraw as much money as possibly from their banks and forward it all to overseas accounts.
 
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brer rabbit said:
Now for this type of crossover you may think I may go with the concept of "Gotham villains curb stomp the Brockton Bay villains" but no because while most of the villains Gotham City are tech based... however the problem for them is a lot of the materials they use don't exist in Earth-Bet forcing to preserve what they have but eventually they are going to run out and won't make anymore of stuff.
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Two other points I'd like to bring up:
  • I, personally, don't find fanfics about characters from world X beating up ones from world Y very compelling. There are exceptions, but they are exceptional (and usually don't focus on X beating up Y).

  • Out of all the DC rogues' galleries to pit against Brockton Bay's parahumans, you pick Batman's? Catwoman, the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Two-Face are just guys. Bane is just a big guy on steroids, Killer Croc is a linebacker with a skin condition.
    There are some exceptions; Mr. Freeze and Scarecrow are borderline tinkers, Clayfaces are inconsistent but intimidating, Poison Ivy can be terrifying if the writers notice how few limits her powers have. But for the most part, Batman is a normal human fighting normal humans, and that doesn't match the dynamic in Brockton Bay. What's the Penguin gonna do against Purity?
Culture clash between Batman and a world where heroes can't just beat all the villains and stick them in Arkham or whatever could be compelling, though.
 
Happy Hampster said:
shoot her in the face
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If it was that easy, one of Brockton Bay's unpowered crooks with guns would have already shot her dead. Especially since this is Purity we're talking about! She's not just exposed to gang wars; she actively hunts non-white criminals, and since she's a known Nazi, I doubt any minorities would hesitate to pull the trigger.
What does the Penguin have that they don't? A top hat?


brer rabbit said:
Batman and Worm crossover fics are pretty popular so me picking this lot isn't unusual.
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I'll grant you that. But Gotham villains versus Brockton villains would still be pretty one-sided, if both sides were working together. (But between the anti-ABB alliance and the Joker, I'm pretty sure the Gotham villains have worse teamwork.)
 
GreatWyrmGold said:
What does the Penguin have that they don't? A top hat?
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yes, so what stops her getting shot? i've seen no notes that the lighthouse look makes her immune to bullets she's a blaster/mover not a brute her schtick could really be beaten by him aiming through the black umbrella or by shading his eyes with his top hat.
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SinisterPorpoise said:
TLDR make weird little dolls that look "foreign" and have a front company that claims they are a traditional good luck charm that you put under your pillow at night, then have the dolls have mind control tech in them that makes people withdraw as much money as possibly from their banks and forward it all to overseas accounts.
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oh yeah i forgot that episode it was quite good. I felt a little sorry for Mad hatter because on one hand he's the worst sort of friendzone twat and on the other he genuinely cared about alice and on the third hand his mind was full of mice.
 
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Happy Hampster said:
yes, so what stops her getting shot?
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Genre conventions.

Granted, Worm isn't super consistent on this point. Early in the story it's established that capes are absolutely vulnerable to mundane people with attitude, with one of the first heroes dying to a brick to the head, but then things like that almost never happen because, at its core, Worm isn't particularly interested in telling a gritty noir story or anything like that and is more invested in a traditional superhero narrative with superheroes battling great threats above the heads of masses.

Fortunately, the same applies to a lot of Batman incarnations, so there isn't a particular tonal conflict. My main point of reference for Batman is BtAS, so IDK how comics do it, but as I recall, in it guns are a theoretical threat in that people run for cover when the shooting starts, but a major character actually being defeated by a bullet is not something that occurs.

In any case, "how come normal people go up against metahumans and win" is a thing present in Batman already, especially when he interacts with other parts of DC, and the answer remains the same: vibes and presentation are more important than power levels, if you want the Penguin to encroach on E88 territory, then he just does that because he's smart or because the changed logistics due to the sudden city appearance enable him to or because of any other plausible enough excuse you can come up with.

If you absolutely want justifications, well, a lot of Batman villains are organized crime leaders, even the Joker has minions somehow (and the ones who are loners do tend to have powers), and nothing says they can't recruit capes. They're generally smart and/or charismatic enough to keep those capes in line, so there you go: the Penguin is not dangerous because he has a fancy suit, he's dangerous because he's rich enough to keep Faultline on retainer.
 
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illhousen said:
he's rich enough to keep Faultline on retainer.
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or the much more deadly Deadshot or if he wanted Slade the terminator.

edit should mention that the Joker upon finding out the E88 are Nazi's goes on a one clown mission to kill them all and probably succeeds if batman is busy dealing with the ABB which because of the human slavery and relatively more researchable capes he'd probably be going after them first and deal with the nazis after more research and prep because taking out the rage dragon is easier if you are a non powered human with knockout gas designed for regenerators than going after a guy that makes spikes out of any metal or a chick who's whole schtick is taking away shadows with lazers.
 
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GreatWyrmGold said:
What's the Penguin gonna do against Purity?
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Buy the building she lives in?
Have her baby kidnapped?
Convince her that at least he isn't as bad as Kaiser, and is willing to grease the legal wheels of her attempting to go legit if she targets a few of his rivals?
edit:
Speaking of Worm/DC crossovers in general, I think that Hookwolf( and StormTiger and Cricket) would make a pretty good Batman villain.
"Petty Thug with Superpowers, but no ambition to go beyond Petty Thuggery" certainly fits Gotham imo.
 
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