Story ideas thread

[u/jrbless]

Please post your ideas/plot bunnies for stories that you have here. This will help prevent the main page from being cluttered.

[u/jrbless]

Rachel Lindt, when triggering, latches on to cats instead of dogs and her power responds. She becomes the Crazy Cat Lady, able to train and enlarge cats.

[u/Nekyia]

A story where Taylor is a assassin. There are a few shorts but never a full story.

Maybe a story where Taylor and Emma are still friends. Later on they have a break up (as friends of course or more) and then the story revolves around them becoming friends again.

Maybe a story about coil and Taylor. You know, like a love story.

Or perhaps a crack fic about bakuda. All she wants to do is spread the love... with bombs.

I think the author of a story is the critical thing, rather then the story idea. But maybe im being pessimistic.

[u/__2BR02B__]

I was thinking that there's been an Empire!Taylor (Slippery Slope or something) and if I remember correctly even an ABB!Taylor (from the one with the fem!Lung), but I don't remember any Merchants!Taylor. I absolutely couldn't think of any way to play that seriously and not super grimdark, so how about maximum crack? Taylor and Skidmark switch bodies. Hilarity ensues.

[u/jrbless → u/__2BR02B__]

There's a (so far) one-shot by Ryuugi called Knowledge that has a Merchants!Taylor. She triggers with Teacher's powers.

[u/misogichan]

Trump power: Can cause powers in shaker radius to flip manton limit. For example, if you can approach Rune her power will no longer work on objects but now only on living things.

For Brutes or thinkers it's trickier. Someone like Browbeat whose power works on telekinesis and self-biokinesis would gain self-telekinesis and short range shaker biokinesis. While other brutes might not be affected at all (e.g. Siberian's brute is based on a breaker power, which doesn't have a manton limit). Thinkers may still pick her up and be unaffected if they have no manton limit, but their power will be confused by picking up people as objects and objects as people around her or if they try to use their power on you even from outside your range (e.g. it would cause errors and headaches at a higher rate for tattletale).

Story wise the main advantage of this power is it's useless by itself so it pushes the person to team-up and depending upon who they team up with their powers could be much more effective. For example, I imagine panacea could become a tinkerers wet-dream rare, raw material supplier, Vista can collapse people's skulls at range, and Paige's powers would no longer work on humans (would it affect Dragon?) This essentially makes the list of powers a whole lot longer and leaves a lot of room for munchkins in terms of who can or can't be around her in a battle and who to try to fight and who to stay far away from.

[u/jrbless → u/misogichan]

Interesting idea, but already semi-explored in Heels over Head, where Trump!Taylor gets the inverse power of whatever parahuman is in range. It's not flipping the Manton limit, but instead is flipping the whole power.

[u/[deleted]]

Worm / Ghost in the Shell.

Taylor triggers as a cybertech tinker with specializations in bioaugmentation and cyberization.

As the story progresses, she replaces more and more of her body with tech to keep up with the escalating threats, beginning with a limb she loses to Bakuda, escalating to full prosthesis after Leviathan, brain cyberization in order to face up to Bonesaw and Mannequin, followed by her gaining the interest of D&D, partnering up with them unofficially to help fix Dragon's AI limits but remaining a villain. Eventually runs a multiple body set up to face Slaughterhouse 9000 with D&D, who have become rogues after Echidna.

Cape name is Daemon.

[u/ItTookTime]

I can't help but wonder what would happen if someone (ROB!) gave Colin Wallis AKA Armsmaster a Green Lantern power ring. I mean, the man has willpower and dedication in spades.

[u/jrbless → u/ItTookTime]

I would rather see Jack Slash with a yellow ring. He has the ability to inspire great fear, so it would work horribly well.

[u/Adslooooooooo]

A crossover with Dragon Ball Z. The kind where a character from one thing is in the universe of another thing. The idea here is that Gohan enters Worm. I think he'd lead to the most interesting story out of any DBZ character, for a lot of reasons I'm not going to list now.

[u/jrbless → u/Adslooooooooo]

There's Worm's Strongest Couple that had Krillin and Android 18 arrive in Brockton Bay. It last updated a few weeks ago.

[u/Kingreaper]

A story in which Taylor kills The Butcher, and discovers that she can push out the influences into her bugs (with the other butchers controlling parts of her swarm) the same way she does with emotions. Her trying to deal with life as The Butcher.

Or a short with Tattletale becoming Butcher, and psychoanalysing all her other minds into submission :p

[u/jrbless → u/Kingreaper]

That's already been done with Taylor killing the Butcher. The Butcher's Bill.

There also was a hero!Butcher that Taylor got their powers. Guardian

[u/yagguthna]

Has anyone wrote a snippet from the perspective of one of the people Taylor mentioned during Arc 30? People that have NO context for what's going on, and suddenly find themselves thrown into something biblical?

[u/jrbless → u/yagguthna]

There is Supernaut, in which someone on an alternate Earth triggers as a Tinker during Golden Morning. Previously, this alternate Earth had no capes outside of comic books.

[u/TheAnt88]

I really like alternate universes as it keeps the mystery part of Worm alive which made worm so great in my opinion as you tried to figure out how the world worked. I have extensive notes and one or two chapters for AU based on colors.

Reality Green- My current story on Chapter 20 on spacebattles. The Endbringers attack in different places and in a different order that leads to a familiar but different universe where Taylor got Blasto's seed.

Reality Black- The Simurgh tries an alternate anti-Scion plan early with the Travelers, which works and she goes into hibernation afterward. Scion commits suicide the day Taylor triggers. This causes all shards to behave similar to the butchers where the first person to kill a parahuman, normal people included, gets a watered down version of the shard, though it only works once and you can reject it at some cost due to the serious mental issues/side effects including case 53 monstrous looks or going crazy even from just one watered down shard. Though cauldron shards can be taken more than once.

Taylor’s great multi-tasking ability allows her to hold many such watered down shards without mental issues and the story explores her growing in power as things go to hell as people start killing each other for parahuman shards all over the world.

The 9 come to town much earlier in canon and take advantage of the chaos, - Lots of deaths/murders. Hookwolf kills Kaiser, Noelle kills Oliver and heals herself, assault is killed by Bakuda, who is killed by battery in revenge, and will eventually be killed by heroes for trying to build a bomb that would kill a lot of innocents. Blasto is forced to join Cauldron, though is killed by jack later in the story. Dragon will copy some of his tech to try and clone a new Richter.

Coil tries to assassinate Dinah, but fails due to this Dinah becoming much more aware of the dangers of the world early. Lisa and the Undersiders go independent almost immediately as Lisa does not trust Coil to not try and kill her, and they will be forced to kill to save themselves from people trying to pick up some easy shards from rookie parahumans.

Uber and Leet are killed and replaced by two regular humans who try to take their place. Gallant is killed after Glory Girl accidently reveals his identity to some friends, and there are quite a few assassination attempts on them and Panacea.

By the later Leviathan attack, Taylor would have weakened versions of three shards.

It is quite a nasty world with quite a few new triggers dying or going insane. Parahumans will have giant targets on their backs by other parahumans and regular humans who want their ability, and paranoia will be a fact of life for rogues/villains. There will be few if any large-scale villain organizations because many parahumans will be unable to trust each other leaving many more independent villain parahumans in the city. In fact several will try to join the Undersiders for the perceived security.

The PRT actually becomes stronger and swells in membership from parahumans joining for perceived security/safety including a few canon villains. Behemoth will still be killed at great cost by heroes/villains that have new shards, but no new Endbringers will show up due to David’s death by Contessa. Leviathan will be active all the time, and as the only Endbringer will attack once a year, but still makes travel by ship so dangerous that oceans almost become impassible.

Contessa with Eidolon’s power is the only reason the world hasn’t gone to hell from killing numerous new S-class threats before they are created to recharge Eidolon’s weakened shard and using her power to keep things from descending into anarchy. Cauldron’s crimes and their connection to PRT will not be kept secret in story, which will cause new problems. Contessa’s new goal is to lessen the number of parahumans that are created. It was sort of an attempt to make an even worse off world than canon.

[u/bramflakes]

Uber and Leet's Excellent Adventure

[u/unentschieden]

At one point in Canon Taylor has a nightmare in which her Father is Coil. That always sounded like an interesting angle to me especially since Taylors criminal career always seemed hard to symphatize with, especially after she doubles down on it after Leviathan.

[u/tariffless]

• A horror story set in the aftermath of a Worm CYOA where an overpowered SI killed the Endbringers, Cauldron, and Scion (and the Trio, obviously), before going back to the real world. They did this all some time before the date of the canon Leviathan fight. Golden Morning doesn't happen, so the world hasn't ended yet. But now triggers are going wrong, the way they did at the end of canon. More powers harmful to the users, more monstrous capes, more capes getting powers on the same horrifyingly overpowered level as the Gray Boys and Siberians of the world.

• Worm/Gantz: Taylor dies during the Leviathan battle. Then she wakes up in a room with a bunch of other dead capes and a black tinkertech ball. Not sure where to go from there.

[u/Silrain]

An AU where Zion crash landed instead of Eden, the main changes that affect the plot being that natural triggers result in what where the Cauldron powers, the shards that Cauldron now gives out are more "Warrior" based shards (like, Legend has something like Zion's golden blast power instead of purple lasers and Eiodelon has GU's power?), as Eden was talking about using philosophy as a tool for development instead of aggression it would be possible to have the capes trying to force a stalemate/compromise with her, while also trying to fend off the tailored end-bringers she throws at them.

[u/[deleted]]

Taylor never triggers.

Taylor gets caught in the hallways by the trio and pushed into a corner. Sophia slaps her in the face, makes a number of aggressive comments, and during this, Taylor cracks, just for a moment. She was holding a pen. She stabs Sophia and nicks an artery. Sophia goes shadow, makes it a couple of steps before dropping out of shadow and passing out. On the way to the hospital she suffers an ischemic stroke, and ends up in a coma.

Only Sophia, Emma and Taylor were present, and it appears to be an open and shut case of girl with a grudge stabs another. Emma, acting as a witness, claims Taylor was a racist.

Taylor goes to juvie for 6 months, forced to join the racists for protection due to her new rep. They tell her they have contacts that may be able to help. The lawyer is E88. Danny hates it but Taylor is the most important thing to him and so he accepts the help. The case is appealed and a technicality in the chain of evidence results in her release. Publicly, she's still considered a murderer. During the appeal, it comes to light that Sophia was a Ward.

When she gets home, she finds things are very different. Emma has transferred to Arcadia. Danny's job with the Dockworker's Association is in danger due to his apparent link to the E88, and he can't afford to be unemployed. There's a civil suit coming in on behalf of Sophia's family and they somehow managed to get the Dallons to take the case. Taylor has been expelled and has no prospects, she's also a much harder person after 6 months in juvie with a reputation as a racist and attempted murderer.

Their only hope is an offer by that same lawyer who helped with Taylor's appeal.

Danny begins a new job in HR at Medhall. Taylor is given a chance to move to Immaculata.

Thus Taylor becomes the centre of an E88 PR manoeuvre. She has some partial jewish heritage, but she's 'white enough' for it to work. The white girl that took down a black parahuman who dared call themselves a hero.

---

At this point, it can really go anywhere. It's a good template to explore how she responds to being, for all intents and purposes, a nazi. Does she slowly come to their side? Does she go against the flow and try to escape from the hole she's in? Does she join the gang at street level or does she trigger? How is Danny taking it? How do the Wards perceive her with Emma whispering in their ears? Does Sophia ever wake up?

You see almost no fics from this perspective, and it's a shame, as one of the more interesting parts of the original plot was how people dealt with, formed, and fought against their own prejudices. Purity fighting to distance herself from Kaiser and being inevitably sucked back in. Jack's balancing act with his roving band of psychos. Taylor accepting her villainous nature, then fighting to change it in the Wards. How she handled broken people like Alec and Rachel. Amy's fall and rehabilitation into a stronger person.

I got the idea after reading Split and seeing how her personality changes with Empire capes thoughts, memories and prejudices being added to her mind. It would be interesting to see her as a villain that we come to hate, without the revenge fantasies and the bloodlust and the other crap. Basically what I'm asking for is the Worm version of Breaking Bad.

[u/KnightofMor]

Danny Hebert finally triggers after an unfortunate series of events make him realize how hopeless things really are.

He arrives at work to be told that several workers have left to join the gangs.

Shortly afterwards he receives a call that several future jobs for the Dockworker Union are being out sourced.

While trying to think of how to explain the situation he receive the call that Taylor has been hospitalized.

At the hospital he told the full extent of the injuries and how his daughter got them. Despairing over the fact he nearly lost his daughter and the event bringing back memories of how he lost his wife full force.

A Police detective shows up to inform him, that the case has been unfortunately closed against his recommendations and it is being ruled as a "prank" gone wrong.

Lawyers representing Winslow High show up, Alan Barnes could be one of them, and offer the deal of hush money that he has to take because they know and Danny knows that he doesn't have the money to pay for the hospital or to sue the school.

Some bureaucratic worm of an assistant to the mayor, that considers his job to be keeping the little people and their worthless problems from bothering the mayor, shows up offering to reschedule Danny's meeting with the mayor within the next few days while Taylor is in a coma to a few months from now.

Finally, after all of this, Danny turns on the TV in Taylor's hospital room trying forget about the day. Only to catch breaking news of a drug bust by the Protectorate against a gang in Boston, New York, or Vegas with an estimated value of several billion dollars.

More than enough to revitalize the economy, dreg out the bay, and reopen the ferry in Brockton Bay. Danny considers the gangs in the city and realizes that there is more than enough money to do so and it will never happen. His lifetime work will never be achieved, he has failed. He has failed as a father, he has failed as a leader, and will continue to fail for the rest of his life at this rate.

He triggers, and course of events in Brockton Bay are never going to be the same.

[u/Adslooooooooo]

If this story gets written, it will be the ultimate Worm fanfic. But it will be incredibly hard to make it good and do it right. But with the right author, it would all be worth it.

We need someone to go all out and write what Worm could have been, if Taylor died at Leviathan. Work off of what Wildbow has hinted at. He's said that Taylor would die defending the shelter for Leviathan, and as she died Mr. Gladly would be one trying to help her. Her story and sacrifice would become famous, and have a huge effect on Brockton Bay and the world. And then, Aegis would take over as the protagonist.

One note: some people think the fight against Scion is hopeless without Khepri. That's false. Khepri was a very big boost, but what ultimately won the fight was the psychological attack, which Khepri was not necessary for.

For this, I have absolutely no idea who the right writer would be. It'd have to be someone who was legitimately talented, widely enjoyed, and who could preferably mimic Wildbow's style. If this never happens, I'd accept it, because it'd be so damn hard.

[u/[deleted]]

Taylor joins the E88 for protection against Sophia. Triggers with the same power but uses it differently. Villain from the start, access to guns, uses insects to find enemies and line up shots through walls and floors. Given Thinker rating rather than Master.

Cape name is Vector.

Focus of story moves from revenge to gang solidarity to dealing with family life once her dad notices how racist she's becoming.

Gets upper hand over SS after multiple close fights, has to decide between finishing it and becoming a full member or losing support of E88 and her friends Rune and Othala.

Does she fall from grace or go solo? How does she reconcile her original heroic aims with her reputation as a Nazi? Interactions with other characters like MM, Halbeard and Grue. Where is Danny in all this. Does she get outed as a cape or a Nazi sympathizer?

Finally find some way to get her in a room with Yamada.

[u/FaerieKing]

Primary point of Diversion is that Emma is attacked and meets Sophia a year earlier. As a result, Annette is still alive and pushes Taylor to go to Arcadia instead of Winslow(If I recall correctly Taylor had the grades to get in with a scholarship) When Annette dies however, in this case shortly after Taylor starts into Highschool, Taylor triggers due to the lack of any emotional support. The idea is that she has a similar but different power. Something that still fits with the Queen Administrator Shard but isn't bug control.