Safe For Work Worm Ideas thread

[Snake/Eater]

we need less body horror superpowers and more psychological horror powers.

 

[Peanuckle]

Amy has a second trigger.

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It's an interesting idea, but I dunno if personal injury is the sort of trigger she had. Her powerset is oriented towards helping/hurting others, explicitly not herself.

And not to be critical about it, but you've pretty much got the same setup in One More Trigger, with all the girls on the same team. Only difference is the hivemind.

 

[Ack]

It's an interesting idea, but I dunno if personal injury is the sort of trigger she had. Her powerset is oriented towards helping/hurting others, explicitly not herself.

And not to be critical about it, but you've pretty much got the same setup in One More Trigger, with all the girls on the same team. Only difference is the hivemind.

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Well, Vicky isn't officially on the team in OMT. Also, I doubt very much that you'd have anyone wanting to join.

I see this in my head as sort of a cross between OMT and Amelia

 

[Prince Charon]

we need less body horror superpowers and more psychological horror powers.

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Speaking of psychological horror: had this vague idea of the Simurgh taking control of a number of cameras and TV stations during one of her attacks, so as to trigger certain people who are watching at the time. Not necessarily during the broadcast, but perhaps they keep thinking about it, which adds to existing stresses.

For example, she goes to a city she's been to, before, picks up the wall surrounding it, and carries it into space. Possibly she also speaks during the broadcast. Something like "You exist because we allow it. You will end because we demand it," would probably add a lot to the fear factor. May also cause some capes to second-trigger, if she wants.

Was thinking of it as the basis for an Alternate Power Taylor story, where Taylor and Danny both trigger, possibly at the same time. Also thought about Lisa having a second trigger, but not sure how her power would change, or what Simurgh would do to match her first trigger event (or what powers Taylor and Danny would get, beyond 'something related to Administration').

 

[Navrin]

Vista, sick of being treated like a kid, decides that she'll make them respect her. She raids a PRT armory for a nice containment foam gun (Vista-sized via power, of course) and proceeds to very effectively make raids on the gangs, only running when people she can't effectively fight at her current skill level and equipment loadout show up. Having fallen in love with her stolen tool, she refuses to give it up and takes down every Ward, PRT troop, and Protectorate member sent against her until they give up and let her keep it.

 

[tilkau]

When she tries to split them apart, having fixed the basic problem, she finds that the bodies, together or apart, have total mental communication, shared control of biology, an understanding of what the hell is going on, and Vicky's and Taylor's powers on top.

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.. presumably Lisa has lost her powers?
Not like more bullshit is required when you have a powerset like that, but it looks a bit like you forgot about Lisa at this point.

 

[doomlord9]

Yeah, she's a critical part to make it really terrifying. Forcefield tank with hyper-multitasking biocontrol is bad enough, give them hyper-intuition on top of that for social-fu and making the bug control sensory input almost instantly processed and available with the multitasking preventing overload makes it is go right into the 'fuckit, I'm out' territory.

 

[GladiusLucix]

.. presumably Lisa has lost her powers?
Not like more bullshit is required when you have a powerset like that, but it looks a bit like you forgot about Lisa at this point.

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I assumed Lisa's power was counted under "an understanding of what the hell is going on".

 

[Ack]

I assumed Lisa's power was counted under "an understanding of what the hell is going on".

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Yup.

Also "There's no way in hell we're ever getting out of this."

I'd write this, only I'm having enough trouble writing the internal dialogue for I, Panacea. Having four different, distinct voices all arguing silently?

That would be an authorial nightmare.

 

[Larekko12]

Eh sounds like a cool idea but didn't Amy trigger over healing a gutted Mark or Victoria?

 

[Xilph]

Eh sounds like a cool idea but didn't Amy trigger over healing a gutted Mark or Victoria?

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Couldn't help dying sister and couldn't help sister because dying aren't that different, easily close enough for a fanfic to fudge a second trigger.

 

[SwiftRosenthal]

Yup.

Also "There's no way in hell we're ever getting out of this."

I'd write this, only I'm having enough trouble writing the internal dialogue for I, Panacea. Having four different, distinct voices all arguing silently?

That would be an authorial nightmare.

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Color-coded thought-dialogue would help somewhat. Vicky is gold, Lisa is purple. Dunno about Amy or Taylor.

 

[Ack]

Eh sounds like a cool idea but didn't Amy trigger over healing a gutted Mark or Victoria?

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Amy's initial trigger was never explained IIRC.

 

[volantredx]

Here is part two of the Wards Taylor idea I had. I'm not totally happy about it. Sammy is sort of hard to write for me. I can never tell if I'm making her really unlikable. If people have an opinion let me know. Oh and if this idea is any good either. I'm not sure where to go from here.

For Justice
Part 2​

<<Previous

I looked at the office door with some trepidation. I had only been part of the Wardsm for a week now, but with the non-local heroes heading back home they wanted me to be ready to patrol as soon as possible. This was supposedly the last step before I was introduced to the public as a hero. The PR office.

It was strange to think that from now on a lot of what I was going to do woud have to be run by someone else. Still it can't be helped. I chose this so I have to see it through to the end. Taking a deep breath I knock on the door.

"Come in," a voice from inside calls. I pushed open the door I stepped into the office. The whole space was filled with clutter. The walls was covered with sketches, most of them costumes for heroes I guess. I couldn't really recognize any of them. Pushed against the wall is what looks like a desk but with the top on a big slant. There is another desk in the room, one that seemed to be far more normal looking, and seated behind the desk is one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen. Her long blond hair makes me think of Lisa, but this woman had far more make up than Lisa wore. Almost like when Emma wanted to look grown up.

"Ah the new girl," The woman smiled. Her voice was rough and her accent marked her as someone not from Brockton Bay. "I was wondering when we'd talk. Sit we got a lot to go over."

She gestured to a chair opposite her. Taking a seat I wondered if I was supposed to say something. I was never good at talking to people. Especially in a situation like this. The silence seemed to stretch on forever. Slowly the other woman's smile started to slide off. God I hated this.

"Heh, right I'll start," she said after a moment. "Let's start with basics Taylor. Can I call you Taylor?"

"Umm yeah that's fine, miss..." I realized no one had ever told me her name.

"Just call me Sammy." I nodded, normally I'm not a fan of calling adults by their first names but I wasn't about to fight. "So the basics, we got to sign off on the costume and then we can move on to the story we're going to sell. With the city the way it is I wouldn't worry about press events yet but a few announcements and an online presence will be a good first step."

"Costume?" Fuck, that's the last thing I needed. I had put a lot of work into it, I didn't need a bunch of people making me change it. I started to form arguments in my head.

"Yeah, I like what you got. It's fucking bad ass."

Suddenly thinking became a lot harder. I blinked wide eyed. It felt like I was walking down the stairs and missed a step. "Huh?" Was my insight.

"Oh yeah, it's some hard core shit. Real terror of the night. It's the sort of thing I've been pushing for years. You and me kid are gonna start a fucking movement."

"How? What are you talking about?"

"Well it's like this, the guys upstairs they are all old fashion. They're all about gleaming heroes and bigger than life. Thing is no one wants that bullshit. The public ain't buying it. Turns them off. And it's making us look like dorks. Ask the average person on the street whose the coolest heroes out there and they aren't gonna name a Protectorate. It's all independents these days. You know why?" I shake my head, "it's 'cause their cool. All dark costumes and attitude and shit. It's edgy as all fuck. I've been saying that for years. We were getting places with Shadow Stalker, she had all the tools, but well with her...gone we, we don't have her to work with. So that leads to you."

"Me?" The thought of being compared to Sophia made bile rise in my throat.

"Oh yeah we're gonna sell the shit outta you and your story." She smiled again, this time it seemed sharper somehow.

"What story?"

"Think about it, a former villain, reformed after seeing the downfall of her city. You went one on one with a god damn Endbringer. You got balls of pure fucking steel. You fight with wasps and spiders and shit. It screams attitude. And we're going to use that. See having you get to act cool and shit means that next time one of those fuckers roll through a few more villains might sign up, switch sides, and it might make a few problem kids who trigger think that being on our side can't be all bad."

I cringed inwardly, I could see her point, but I don't know if I wanted to be held up as some role model. My story was hardly an impressive one, and I couldn't see myself being the person all the cool kids wanted to be. "You said something about my costume."

"Right, sorry got off track. What you got works great, your file says it's home made, with spider silk." I nodded feeling a bit of pride at her impressed tone. "It's great, even bullet proof which means we don't have to add in anything to meet the minimum safety standard for non-brutes. There are a few minor changes. Nothing major. Some of it is mine but some of it comes from on high."

"First, we're gonna add some more carrying capacity. I'll kit you out with some belts once we get done here. Then it's a matter of finding what you'll need in a fight. With the...loss of the Wards' heavy hitters we got to look at keeping the rest of yous from getting fucked up due to lack of fire power. One thing though, we got to 86 the knife. Policy is that The Protectorate members avoid carrying lethal weapons. Now I think that's a crock of bullshit, but it's not my department."

I silently agreed. It made some sense that they didn't want heroes running around armed to the teeth, but that knife saved my life a few times. Maybe I could think of something. I doubted anyone was in a position to care right now.

'I can just say I was getting into character if they catch me.' I almost giggled at the thought. Sammy shot me a smile like we were sharing a private little joke. I wondered if I was that that easy to read.

"Now on to the bad part. We got to redye your uniform," She scrunched her face up in exaggerated disgust. "I wanted to keep it, or failing that my idea was fire engine red for the silk, and black for the armor sections."

"My boss said no, 'It's got to be softer Samantha.'" Her voice took on a nasally quality, like she was mocking someone "'think earth tones. Greens and Browns, greens and browns.' So that's the plan. Forest green for the silk, dark brown for the armor. Keep it in the theme."

Part of me wanted to protest. I knew deep down it didn't matter, it was just a color scheme. Still some part of me hated the concept. Felt like it wouldn't be me anymore. Then another thought came to me.

"Do I get to keep being Skitter?"

"Hmm?"

"Do I get to keep the name? Or will I have to change it?"

"That's up to you."

"Me?"

"Normally we give reformers like you new names, new outfits, the whole shebang. With you we're thinking of a new direction. Unless you don't want that. Right now it'd be hard to hide who you were. But in a few months we can transfer you out, let you start fresh."

"N-no I want to stay Skitter. It's, it's who I am."

"Good, see here's the plan for us. We're losing the numbers game to villains. A lot of them are screwed up kids that make a few bad choices and soon they only see a way down. You're going to show them there is a way up. People are already talking about what you did in that shelter. We ride that momentum, show people that they can still be heroes no matter their past. You make for a good role model. No really big dust ups, no big crimes. A bank robbery and that shit with the mayor's ball seems like kids stuff. You helped to take down the ABB on that cluster fuck."

I couldn't help but snort at that. Sammy raised her eyebrow.

"Sorry," I told her embarrassed. "It's just, well, we didn't exactly make the papers with that."

"Yeah well," for the first time the woman's confidence seemed fade, but in a moment it was back. "I could go over the cost benefit analysis of giving villains press with you if you want. It's actually very fascinating research, but the fact is that more often than not when the gangs get into a big ass brawl like that it's mostly about territory. Sure they might make some effort to dress it up but at the end of the day it's about driving out trouble makers and splitting the spoils between the remainder. When small timers like you are involved? Well things fall into the cracks."

That seemed like a convenient excuse, but I didn't feel like arguing. It didn't matter now anyway. From the sound of things I'd be on the news a lot.

"Look I know this sounds like it's going to be a lot but don't worry me and my team will be behind you all the way." Sammy reassured me, or tried to anyway. "Tell you what how about we get out of here, get your stuff and I'll take you down to the armory. We can find you some new toys for your gear."

"That sounds alright," I said. "I've got a few ideas for what I might need."

"Fucking A." She said standing and heading toward the door. I wonder if it would be rude to ask about all the swearing.

 

[DoggySoup]

Speaking of Hiveminds, I'm reminded of that story where Taylor triggers as a hivemind trump and accidentally fuses with the Trio.

Everything ends up normal because at the end of the day everyone has several awesome powers and Taylor can alw- ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL.

I want another fic like that. Hiveminds are awesome, trump Taylor is awesome.

 

[Jack of Olives]

For Justice
Part 2​

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I like what you're doing here.

It doesn't matter if she means it about the dark-and-edgy or not, she's giving Taylor the (accurate) impression that the heroes are, for the most part, good people who are trapped behind rules and regulations that keep them from helping as much as they want.

Also, Sammy is practically the Anti-Glenn.

 

[Snake/Eater]

I like what you're doing here.

It doesn't matter if she means it about the dark-and-edgy or not, she's giving Taylor the (accurate) impression that the heroes are, for the most part, good people who are trapped behind rules and regulations that keep them from helping as much as they want.

Also, Sammy is practically the Anti-Glenn.

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So,that means deep down she's a loyalist to the current regime...

 

[volantredx]

I like what you're doing here.

It doesn't matter if she means it about the dark-and-edgy or not, she's giving Taylor the (accurate) impression that the heroes are, for the most part, good people who are trapped behind rules and regulations that keep them from helping as much as they want.

Also, Sammy is practically the Anti-Glenn.

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She'd be an unironic fan of early Image Comics. She'd think the characters were cool as hell. She'd hate the art though.

So,that means deep down she's a loyalist to the current regime...

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Sammy is only really loyal to Sammy.

 

[Snake/Eater]

i liked your previous chapter,i honestly thought you were subtlety channeling the final scene to Lost for a one-shot fic,but this a better outcome.

 

[SwiftRosenthal]

Sammy is only really loyal to Sammy.

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I still think Sammy is an avatar of Ziz.

 

[Snake/Eater]

I still think Sammy is an avatar of Ziz.

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noooooooooo,that would mean Ziz is the Smoke Monster.

 

[volantredx]

i liked your previous chapter,i honestly thought you were subtlety channeling the final scene to Lost for a one-shot fic,but this a better outcome.

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Never saw Lost.

I still think Sammy is an avatar of Ziz.

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Just for you:

"Samantha we need to talk." A voice came over Sammy's computer speakers.

"Dragon? You're not part of my department." They only spoke once or twice when the Tinker was involved with an online marketing plan a few years back.

"I need you to stop hitting on Colin."

"I hit on all the guys. You and HR are just over reacting."

"I mean it. Stop or else I'll need to take drastic action." A burst of static signeled her sign off.

Sammy leaned back in her chair. A familar pull in her mind told her of another call.

'Hello Mother,' She thought.

'How goes progress my child' The Simurgh's did not talk so much in words as concepts. Samantha was perhaps the only creature on Earth that could understand it.

'Slow. He has proven resitant to my efforts.' Few men turned her down. While she was made for one man she found coupling to be far better than she anticipated. The boy called Aegis so far had proven to be the most delightful.

'He will give in. It is their nature to give in to weakness. And when he does I will be free to take the AI and show her pleasure greater than any human ever could.'

'Somebody's jealous.'

'I'M NOT FUCKING JEALOUS!'

Sammy clutched her now aching head as she felt her mother's touch fade.

"Tch, bitch."

 

[Navrin]

Idea: Amy was adopted by the Pelhams instead of the Dallons, maybe because Brandish figured out that she could pay her sister to handle it, maybe because Lady Photon didn't push as hard. Naturally, Amy is in a much better headspace and is highly unlikely to be particularly attracted to Victoria (who would probably be less vehemently against the idea anyway, but whatever).

One scene that I think could be very amusing would be Shielder and Panacea going out girl-watching together and flirting with any that seem receptive and catch their eye.

 

[volantredx]

One scene that I think could be very amusing would be Shielder and Panacea going out girl-watching together and flirting with any that seem receptive and catch their eye.

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Overall great idea, but this part is my favriote. For some reason I like the idea that notmindfucked!Amy is something of a skirt chaser. Partly Karmic balance, partly humor, partly because I think it would bother the hell out of Carol. Especially if you believe that Marquis was a ladies man.

 

[Jack of Olives]

Especially if you believe that Marquis was a ladies man.

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And now my brain pictures a scene like this after Marquis breaks out:

Marquis: So, how's my little girl been doing while I've been away.

Brandish: She really takes after her father, that's for sure.

M: She's a supervillain?

B: No, she chases after anything with a skirt. I've lost track of the number of capes that she's slept with, let alone normal girls.

M: That's a nasty eye-tick you've developed. You should really get that looked at. Anyway, I'm going to go introduce myself.

B: Fine, whatever.

M: Maybe I can offer some tips... Oh dear, that tic is pretty serious, isn't it?

 

[volantredx]

Why did Amy work at the hospital? That's where you can find nurses.

Why did Amy go to the Birdcage? She saw Caged Heat. She was not disappointed.

Who's Amy's favourite hero? Narwhal.

I could go on.

 

[SwiftRosenthal]

And now my brain pictures a scene like this after Marquis breaks out:

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Still not as hilarious as 'Family' in the NSFW thread.

 

[Snake/Eater]

so i was on youtube and i saw of few of these videos

Spoiler: number 1

Spoiler: number 2

Spoiler: number 3

Spoiler: number 4

this should be a worm omake meme on qq,a Professor X-style thinker working for the Protectorate goes about as a hatchet man firing characters both heroes and villains left and right for hilariously valid reasons....i wonder if he would have the balls to fire Contessa?

 

[Navrin]

Soon after her trigger event Taylor decides to follow in the footsteps of the only non-villainous master she was aware of: Parian. Together they put on wonderful plays, weave incredible fabrics, and spend time together as friends.

Secretly, however, Taylor uses her high range to scout gangs out and feed the information to the BBPD and the BB PRT. She might be betraying Parian a little but she's going to be a hero, darn it! Naturally, she develops her interpretation of bug senses faster as she's focusing on that to the exclusion of most of the other things she did in canon to prepare for heroing.

 

[Zege]

Soon after her trigger event Taylor decides to follow in the footsteps of the only non-villainous master she was aware of: Parian. Together they put on wonderful plays, weave incredible fabrics, and spend time together as friends.

Secretly, however, Taylor uses her high range to scout gangs out and feed the information to the BBPD and the BB PRT. She might be betraying Parian a little but she's going to be a hero, darn it! Naturally, she develops her interpretation of bug senses faster as she's focusing on that to the exclusion of most of the other things she did in canon to prepare for heroing.

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I'd read it. I'd read the hell out of it actually!

Unrelated, but does anyone have an estimate of when spring break would occur for Winslow? The story begins on April 8th as far as I know, and there's no real mention of when break occurred.