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Almost Recommendable Worm Fanfiction

Discussion in 'Fanfic Discussion' started by NoxedSalvation, Nov 12, 2013.

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  1. chrnno

    chrnno High Inquisitor

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    His intention is(or at least was) to edit the entirety of Worm so there isn't going to a rewrite of the first part in the way you are thinking of Scytale because that implies the story was actually finished instead of being more along the lines of preliminary draft. Not to mention the main change should be the two years time-skip actually having content and that is definitely in the 'second' part.

    As for which is 'bad' I personally was interested enough after reading chapter 1(actual chapter, not what-arc maybe?- you are using) that I kept reading and I felt the climax was in many ways the Behemoth fight(specifically Chevalier's interlude) but the story afterwards was still good.
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2015
  2. Jarik

    Jarik Chief Warlock

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    By Chapters, I'm assuming you mean Arcs?

    But yeah, I got hooked when Taylor joined the Undersiders. Seeing Taylor interact with the Undersiders and struggle with her dilemma of friends was something I found really interesting, which is why I got hooked at soon as I realized what it was about. So it was really just Arc 1 that I struggled with.

    Climax of Worm for me was the Arc "Cell" (where she surrenders to the PRT). The reason I feel it lost a lot of its momentum after that is because it didn't make use of her new place in the Wards. Would have loved to see her struggle to win the acceptance of the other Wards, see her interactions with people she fought with, try to change her general habits and demeanor, etc. Instead there was just a time skip. You never really got to know her new team at all or experience any of that. So it was like the story continued, just without any of the side characters you knew or cared about.

    I think it was that link that ruined that last 6-7 arcs of Worm a bit. Because I found when I went back and reread scenes here and there, I actually loved a lot of them (eg, Behemoth fight, reunion with Undersiders, the whole Scion arc, etc). So it was more the link between the two sections of the story that didn't work. Only other thing I thought wasn't done well was the use of S9 clones - thought that seemed a little lame.
     
  3. Vesvius

    Vesvius High Inquisitor DLP Supporter

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    I've really been enjoying Memories of a Simurgh Victim lately. By far the best portrayal of people affected by the Simurgh I've ever seen.

    Victoria is getting good and mindfucked, and it looks like Dragon's about to kill the New Wave. Meanwhile, after a badass Coil dies, it looks like Taylor's being pushed as his successor.

    I've never seen either of these two things, and I never realized how much I wanted to until I did.
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2015
  4. Nemrut

    Nemrut The Black Mage ~ Prestige ~

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    Memories of a Simurgh Victim

    loving it, loved the portrayal of the Dallon family, or what's left of it, anyway, and especially Brandish. Nice to see (in a manner of speaking) that a tragedy that affected both of her daughters lets her behave loving to both.

    It's really something to see the thought process of someone influenced by the Simurgh, while we also sympathize with those who wish to stop them. And seeing the family depart like this, with no one killing anyone else, I can't help but think that this will lead to something worse. Maybe New Wave will do something really destructive once outside?
     
  5. Ayreon

    Ayreon Unspeakable DLP Supporter

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    On Atonement

    I'm 3/4 of the way through the chapters that have been released at this point.
    It's decent and a bit fun. It's a lot more feel-good than the source material obviously, but I'm fine with that. Where I think it goes a bit too far, is to what extent the Paragon-actions seem to work out.

    I can get behind giving Pandora and Riley a second chance. Mainly because the consequences of trying to fight them would be so bad. The chance that they're actually on the good side (and you therefore never incur the cost of fighting against them) is worth the risk that they might turn against you in the future.

    What I can't understand is putting Ruin/Hunter in the middle of a big city. Are you crazy? She should be living in a remote cabin. She can communicate over the internet and phones and get regular deliveries. If people want to visit her, they can do so at their own risk. Don't put her somewhere where she can accidentally kill dozens of people who did not consent to that danger! It's like someone running around with a fully loaded machine-gun with their finger glued to the trigger. Even if you believe and trust them, the risk of accidents is too damn high! This would not happen in any sensible universe.
    Obviously, the type of story this is, nothing bad will ever come of this.

    Memories

    Really enjoying this story.

    Usually, I would not read a story with "Diabolus Ex Machina" in the title, because I hate that trope, but I like Thinker6's other stories enough to give it a chance.

    Nothing too horrible has happened yet (although Victoria and Amy are pretty fucked already), which makes me anxious. I'm on the edge of my seat here, just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

    The Simurgh is just going to put everyone in situations where they're digging their own graves. I have no hope for a happy ending.
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2015
  6. Mutton

    Mutton Order Member

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    I gave up on Atonement a week or two ago. It had been slipping into "only read due to daily updates" status for a while and just plopped out of that even. There just didn't feel like there was much real conflict. It ended up being a bland spider-man comic
     
  7. Erandil

    Erandil Minister of Magic

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    To know it All
    A Worm/Dresden Files Crossover.
    Taylor gets the power of the Archive - and tries to change the world.


    Calling it a fix-it all story may be a bit harsh but probably not that far from the truth- at least for the scenes we have seen so far. Still I quite like the characterization of Taylor and the others (especially the Friendship between her and Lisa) and find the story well writen and the plot entertaining with quite a few surprises and a nice touch of humour.

    I would give it a 4/5 but I admit that have a weakness for that type of story and character. (Plus it is Dresden Files crossover- that alone is worth a point or two)


    And on a other note.. I am also one of the people who liked the first part of Worm a lot more than the later. Reading about Taylor and how she slipped into villainy was interesting and entertaining, reading about various capes fighting and dying against a near invincible enemy not nearly as much.

    The whole apocalypse setting is one I dislike- and the whole hero saves the world routine even more so which of course meant that for me the ending of Worms was the weakest part. On of the other things that I didn´t like was the power creep in the story - super powers can be amazing- powers like superman (and more) are boring, at least for me.
     
  8. Cxjenious

    Cxjenious Dark Lord

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    I would hesitate to call To Know it All well written. It isn't terrible, but it isn't good. Meh is a apt description.

    The ending of Worm was one of my favorite parts. Khepri's subjugation of every parahuman across all realities was one of the most beautiful things I've ever read. I didn't fall in love with Worm until Taylor had firmly cemented herself as a villain, after the Leviathan fight.
     
  9. Nemrut

    Nemrut The Black Mage ~ Prestige ~

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    To know it All is a guilty pleasure that has some modicum of writing quality, but it is just a curbstomp/revenge story with no real substance to it. Really all there is to it. It just had the good taste to skip the tedious Lung battle, which is kind off rare with these type of stories. Utterly forgettable.

    new chapter of Memories of a Simurgh

    damn it, this story is constantly making me feel things. Now Amy has surrendered all control to Victora, you know, the impulsive, violent, righteous, vengeful, paranoid and traumatized simurgh victim. What could possibly go wrong?

    Pretty sure Amy made a contact with kyubey to gain her powers, only real explanation for what happens to her here and in canon.
     
  10. frantic

    frantic Boosted

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    Dec 31, 2011
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    No.

    I could quote it, but I want other people to know your shame.

    EDIT: Fuck it, some samples of Elohim: A Worm CYOA SI.

     
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2015
  11. Cxjenious

    Cxjenious Dark Lord

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    How dare you!

    In my defense, the stupid idea wouldn't leave me alone, and writing something is better than nothing. Also, that statement was intended for a somewhat serious Panacea fic. My SI is only semi serious.

    You'll be really mad when I tell you about the ASOIAF CYOA I have planned. Because dragons.
     
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2015
  12. Stan

    Stan Order Member

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  13. Vira

    Vira Third Year ~ Prestige ~

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    I'm gonna be honest, I like Nacro Duck's stories only because they're the one person who writes Taylor/Lung, and that's my favorite crack pairing.

    Otherwise, their writing is painfully average. It's easy to ignore in oneshots, but in Journey of the Dragonfly, there's this lack of potential I feel because every scene could have been better if almost any other writer was writing it. The story is fairly predictable because of it, and the dialogue and characters are stilted.

    The author also made the strange and off-putting decision to fill the ranks of the Protectorate with characters outside of Worm like from the Incredibles and Static Shock.

    I'd rate Journey of the Dragonfly a 5/10. It updates every week, so at least that's nice.
     
  14. Stan

    Stan Order Member

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    True, Nacro Duck does make annoying mistakes with grammar. Still, Journey of the Dragonfly is worth a read if only because it is not another alt-power curb stomp fic. It has its strong points - Taylor's interactions within her group are especially good. It updates regularly too. It is the interludes by other characters that I cringe to read - first person never worked well for other characters. Jack Slash's interlude was especially bad.

    I still maintain the author's one-shots are the best in the fandom though.
     
  15. andy50

    andy50 Groundskeeper

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    Apparently he's a tall Black Mexican as well, from now on I will picture as Lebron James with a sombre.
     
  16. Saot

    Saot Groundskeeper

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    So what exactly is it that people find so exciting about the Worm CYOA prompt? There's like 50 stories inspired by it and exactly zero of them are doing anything remotely original or interesting with it.
     
  17. andy50

    andy50 Groundskeeper

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    Their sort of a power fantasy, people like imagining if they were badass with super powers, which while my not be pleasant to read for the reader, is pleasant for the writer. That's basically what I think, I could be full of shit.
     
  18. ibskib

    ibskib Second Year

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    Because Spacebattles is filled with munchkins, just look at all the quests and SI stories. They flock to anything with masssive potential for OP'ness.
     
  19. apoc

    apoc The Once and Ginger King DLP Supporter

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    That particular CYOA also is set up to provide ridiculously OP power sets as well, well above the level of the average parahuman. It's very rare to see any kind of high-power SI or CYOA that is handled well instead of being a masturbatory power trip.

    However SB/V loves just about anything where people optimize/min-max, especially in anything with stats or point-buy like that CYOA, because as ibskib said they love seeing people "game the system" rather than presenting or dealing with actually interesting conflicts or flaws.
     
  20. Cxjenious

    Cxjenious Dark Lord

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    I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm writing my CYOA because I want to. It's fun. Like playing a video game in your head. I don't care about it being original or interesting. I don't particularly care if people like it, though I assume that some will. I'm not writing it for them, I'm just posting it for their viewing pleasure, if they are so inclined.
     
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2015
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