What it says on the Tin, what do you guys consider the best or your favorite abandoned fic and any reasons why you like it? Mine is Deep-Level Storage, a post-GM/post-Wards Worm/Battletech fanfic, the concept was right up my alley with Taylor AND Dragon waking up 3025 and, of course, both deciding that this particular state of affairs is completely unacceptable and that they're gonna do something about. It's been a bit more recently that it was abandoned (I think), with the last ch realesed in 2023. I love BT fics and a Taylor in BT is a concept I'm in love with. DISCLAIMER: This is NOT Critism of these authors. Everyone's got their reasons for leaving a project. Do NOT attack fanfic writers just because they left a project, it's boorish and entitled.
Go Gently, a crossover with welcome to Night Vale, it has a unique tone to the story and very different take on Taylor that still manages to stay in character.
Is that the one where Taylor's neighbor is Lung?
Yeah
Good story. I need to reread it sometime
This sounds great. I am always hesitant to pick up abandoned fics. But if it's a nightvale crossover I can just imagine it concluding with an abrupt "And now, the weather." as the simurgh whips out a transdimentional electric sitar.
A Bad Name is a fantastic fic about a guy working for the Merchants to afford food and weed, who get the Gamer power. The focus, as with all good Gamer fics, is much more on the character and the people he interacts with than the power.
It died in 2020 and experienced a brief revival early last year, but that only ran for about four...ish chapters, only one of which had substance rather than setup. Still, hope springs eternal .
Also "I Woke Up As A Dungeon, Now What?" [Edit: fixed the title] Taylor reincarnates as a hole in the ground. The story is better than it has any right to be.
Thanks for mentioning that one. The world building and political history is unreal for a fic.
I loved seeing Taylor fight smart with her bugs. Sure, they're a bit bigger than the bugs she's used to, but fundamentally, what makes her dungeon so dangerous is her ruthlessly effective and clever strategies. Psychological warfare, pitfall traps, camouflage and illusions, loophole abuse, exploiting terrain...
I know it's incredibly unlikely but I still hold out hope for that one. If I could choose any fic to be resurrected it would be that one.
Do you know if the author has ever written any original fiction? I'm not sure how to find out.
Anyone have a link? Google can't find it.
The only one I remember along these lines is when she took over Coli's base as a dungeon that could buy minions / upgrades, but I can't find that again either
https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/i-woke-up-as-a-dungeon-now-what-dungeon-worm.620521/
Dungeon is quite good, but Taylor is kinda TINO...
It's kind of hard to stay the same person when you've literally been reincarnated as a location.
Skitterdoc 2077
I need more of this fic so badly. One of the better cyberpunk works ive seen in general
Have you had the chance to read Ghost in the City by Seras?
PREMIER Cyberpunk fanfic!!
I will give it a look thx for the rec!
The only negative here is that it's not a Worm crossover... sorry for this.
That fic is wayy too pro-Tiger Claw, as someone who 100% 2077 game and read nearly every lore in game, it is very hard for me to love that psycho gang...
Does anyone know what happened with this fic? I love it and it seemed to have been going strong when it suddenly stopped...
Nothing needs to have happened. Motivation is a fickle thing, and there aren’t many external motivations to “force” authors to persist when they don’t feel like it. Stories get dropped all the time.
Memories of Iron is excellent, its a story about Taylor getting all the memories of Tony Stark.
The author died shortly after finishing the leviathan fight iirc.
Honestly where it ends is pretty decent, imo the sequel hook is less appealing.
[removed]
very much so
Probably but it was my first thought too tbh.
you know it is
After someone mentioned it I just read panic see her by the same author and it was very well done.
A Change of Pace Worm/Dishonored: Both finished and abandoned. One of the first stories I've read in the fandom years ago. A well made fusion of each setting(Dishonores/Worm), with neither side overwhelming the other. Great mystery. Best friendship between Taylor and Vicky imo, which was rare since a lot stories were bashing Vicky during the era this came out.
A Finely Honed Blade: One of the best stories where I believe it handled an overpowered protagonist the best. Taylor is the most powerful cape in every scene, yet it feels like she constantly fails at her goals or comes up short. It kind of reminds me of One Punch Man where having overwhelming powers doesn't solve everything.
Icon: Very good story, with the protagonist getting stronger overtime but not in a crazy way that would break the setting or make it boring. Taylor practically has Dauntless powers, that is applied to her body but not an object. Great side characters and AU elements. I wish the author revisits. They also wrote Pariah(Taylor with Hatchet Face powers) and Slouching Towards Nirvana(Taylor in MHA post GM). Both finished and amazing.
Scarab (Worm/Scion): Super old and kind of short. One of the best Leviathan fight in my opinion, since it mostly most strategy and power synergy. Felt like it was going to lead into something interesting, but it was abandoned.
Let there Be Light (Green Lantern/Worm) and No Evil Shall Escape My Sight (Worm/DC): Both are amazing Green Lanterns fics, with No Evil Shall Escape My Sight having a great Levithan fight, and Let there be Light having cool AU elements and search/rescue scene. Fun read.
Heroic: Cool crossover, but died before anything big happened.
Bats and Bugs (Worm Batgirl): Best Batman crossover imo. Taylor as Batgirl (Cassandra Cain practically) due to tinker experimentation.
Slouching towards Nirvana is only technically finished tbh. It's stopping off point felt a little awkward, and it was supposedly going to get a sequel that never ended up happening. Still, for the time it ran, it was an excellent fic, that did a really good job making both the power and the setting and circumstances interesting to me.
Oh gods! i remember the Bats-and-Bugs one! it was soooo nice!!
Is A Change of Pace the one where Tattletale gets wet-tinkered into the Heart artifact?
Just a Phase since it is what really got me into Worm fics.
One of my favorite forced Wards fics. So sad it got dropped.
Has to be either An Imago of Rust and Crimson or The Student. Honorable mention to A Finely Honed Blade.
Someone has already mentioned both Manager and Silencio. To that I’ve gotta add in: - Constellations (https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/constellations-worm-okami.414320/ ): Taylor becomes bff’s with best-dog Amaratsu and proceeds to (mostly by accident/act of dog) become a major player in the Brockton Bay parahuman scene. - Copacetic (https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/copacetic-worm.283578/): a post golden morning fic where Taylor has settled into a quiet college life in a new world, and then people start to develop super powers.
Two more I can’t believe I forgot (though I think it has been about a decade since they updated so it’s probably understandable😭): - Atonement (https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/atonement-worm-au.312449/): Taylor dies in the locker and Madison, consumed by regret triggers with discount Spider-Man powers, Peter Parker’s trademark quips, and a disconcerting disregard for her own safety. - Intrepid (https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/intrepid-worm-au.337516/): which follows a similar thread but has all of the trio gain powers, Emma joining the Undersiders, Madison go independent, and Sophia lean into working with the Wards. Meanwhile, a paralysed Taylor joins Faultline’s crew. Also has a spin-off (Odyssey: https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/odyssey-vista-centric-worm-au.445787/) following Missy and Dinah as a part of a band of roving preteen antiheroes travelling the US to take Dragon’s daughter back to her mamma.
Crime and Commitment.
It's a canon-power (mostly) Taylor deciding to go all in with Coil's 'rule the city' plan. Things quickly spiral out of control.
Probably my favorite demonstration of "The Queen of Escalation" I have read in fanfiction.
Idk... a Bug Tornado of biblical proportions generating literal lightning as a "SIDENOTE" of Taylor having a heart attack due to GympieGympie venom to keep awake from a broken hip has SOLIDLY put "The Weaver's Web" into first place.
Ill bump that up my to-read list then cause that sounds fuckin hilarious.
That's not the first time she's created lightning from bug swarms in a fic (actual thing in nature), but it's rare enough that the "if I had a nickel" meme might apply.
Huh... i couldn't think of another occurence. Could you share some more?
"Cut strings" or smth. There are two first about Taylor and Lisa being puppeteered by Regent. One of them has "puppet" in the title. The OTHER has the bugborne lightning
Here's the lightning one: https://archiveofourown.org/works/37250416/chapters/114750931#workskin
Cut Strings: https://archiveofourown.org/works/37250416/chapters/114750931#workskin
i strongly disagree on the canon power aspect
That's why I put the (mostly). The mutant bug breeding programs definitely were a a surprise!
For me it’s I’ll Be Your Worthy Opponent. The premise is quite engaging and the author clearly had a handle on how to make such an overpowered ability interesting.
Going for a Walk and Not Just a Doll both by Slider. They were both incredibly interesting AUs that had at least as much if not more potential than sliders other shorter fics, but both were abandoned just after they established their premise.
Starry eyes by Helnae is a fantastic alt power Taylor fic where she becomes friends with eldritch beings from beyond our planet and it’s great.
It, unfortunately, ends on an abrupt note...
Yeah. It seems like the author hit a bit of a rough time. I'd love to see it continued.
There are two of us.
Worm: More Than Meets The Eye was amazing, with a good storyline and the crossover elements not taking away from the story. It also ended mid-plot line after Taylor was forced out of town by a coalition of villains.
It has a properly dangerous Coil, a reason for any supposed Cauldron incompetence, none of the stereotypes seem to be overly done and everyone acts like people.
(TL;DR description is that Taylor is a “Transformers” Tinker due to a bit of Primus deciding to link to her while in the locker)
I didn't want to say it myself because I refuse to believe it's dead ToT
Link?
Here you go
El-Ahrairah 100%
Such a interesting power. Great dynamics and I was happy with a lot of the small changes they made to the verse.
Also manager. I always mentally pair those two together in my head for some reason.
The Great Escape
Eidolon is my second favourite character in Worm behind Taylor, and one of my favourite characters period, and it portrays his character so perfectly that everything else could’ve been abysmal and it still would’ve been decent, and as a bonus it has perhaps my favourite parahuman oc
I don't really know how to put into words how good this story is. The way it handles Eidolon's character is phenomenal.
To this day, David has not recovered from the comment she made about clones.
I Woke Up As a Dungeon, Now What?
Taylor gets reborn as a dungeon in a fantasy world.
Insane world building and set up and then just as the plot actually started, it died! Tragic as :(
See you in the dark is a great crossover fic that got me into Worm fanfics. It has somehow kept the mc’s character and tone as the main character of a comedic anime while also followed Worm’s grim tone.
The multimedia parts are so good!
Anything by Ryuugi
Seed, AU featuring Taylor with Blasto's power.
Nemesis definitely.
How to train your endbringer
Pick a card
El-Ahrairah
https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/el-ahrairah-worm.372987/
Superb fic where Taylor can basically see the true purpose of every shard, as well as how the person obtained it. It goes very deep into shard theory in ways I've only seen done in very good bonesaw fics.
Essentially, she's a PRT official that coaches the Wards and Protectorate on how to use their powers better. This becomes very interesting when she meets Dauntless (guy who can empower objects) and Jack. The latter of whom the author actually manages to make an interesting power interaction instead of just an instawin like most bad wormfics.
It died a bit after the slaughterhouse arc.
Compulsion
https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/compulsion-worm-prototype.821228/
My favorite crossover by far. Handled an extremely OP organism by the name of Alex Mercer very well. Alex has interesting interactions with powers being weaker or actually stronger against him given what he is.
It also gets the vibe of the first game and his personality down pretty well. He's an extremely paranoid person and the presence of people who just want to use him or are afraid of him remains familiar. He's tied to Taylor for quite a bit of the beginning as a "Case 52", but ultimately this is just an extension of the masquerade he needs to maintain.
He remains a freelancer for most of the fix, and generally isn't tied to Brockton Bay for significant parts of it when tensions arise. (Unless he's the centre of those tensions of course)
Him needing to eat 5 grown men a day very quickly makes the canon gang wars heat up even quicker.
Died at 300k words just after the Bakuda/ABB aftermath arc and gang bar meeting take place. Heavily implied the masquerade was going to fail and Coil was beginning to heavily consider Alex in his plots.
I don't know if Leaf is abandoned but its if Lift from Stormlight Archive was in worm, and it captures lifts character perfectly, it was also what got me interested in Worm in general so it holds a special place for me.
also The Least Dangerous Game, which is a cross with The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon, where Taylor mentally traumatises people with a spoon, last chapter was in 2017
I read that, was about to mention Leaf was just slow to update, then realized from your description that it's a different "Leaf" XD
Headpats was a pretty fun fic.
As an FYI for anyone who doesn't know RavensDagger abandoned Headpats in favor of an original work with a similar premise called Fluff. Currently on book four I think?
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/35958/fluff
Paper and Sand, in which Worm is a time loop where those that slay Scion are reincarnated as new endbringers in the next loop. Taylor becomes Khepri, a slasher-movie type whose purpose is to "refine" shards somehow. But they still have memories of their pasts (except maybe Behemoth,) providing plenty of angst, especially since Annette is alive as an active hero in this AU that attends Endbringer battles.
But it died just when it was starting to really pay off. It's the only fic I've considered writing expansions and omakes for, and it died right before it peaked. I'm still salty.
I would sell my soul to the counterforce for the return of Thaumaturgic Awakening.
Extra Edition. I really like PHO only fics Edit:
Also, Arana. One of the best smug bugs I've ever read.
I read through the comments but I don't think anyone mentioned Denial by Nara'la. Everyone thinks Taylor is an unbeatable cape but she insists it's all a series of big misunderstandings.
https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/denial-worm-alt-power-comedy.679429/threadmarks
Pick a Card will always be one of my goat fanfics. I so so desperately want just a smidgen more.
Manager. It went just past the Leviathan fight, there were plans in place for getting the Undersiders free from Coil, and it wasn't a power-thief story where Taylor immediately starts curb stomping everyone
Silencio Such a great story with tons of potential.
Glad to see someone mention Silencio, one of my earliest intro’s to the fandom and a fic which I always hope will be revived.
Same.
Yeah, I'd love to see that work completed as well :(
Most of my favorites were already mentioned here. But ill throw in a couple more.
Constellations by unwelcomestorm kind of fits the bill I think. Absolutely incredible fic. It does keep getting extremely random updates out of nowhere so I wouldn't exactly call it dead. Maybe it'll wrap up before the heat death of the universe.
Memetic me. Really odd story that never gets any attention here. Established an absolutely fascinating power then hardly explored it at all.
Then a couple HP crossover fics I would love to see picked back up. Most notably path to victory: a severus snape story. That one is an awesome one even if you arent really into the HP Fandom. But riding acromantulas and understanding magical biology and salve would be great to see resurrected for me personally.
Synesthesia my beloved 🥲
"A Champion on Earth Bet" by sun tzu. The main character, Avatar, is the Superman analogue of his world who got thrown into the Worm-verse.
I like this story much because the story is inarguably better than every other story that has 'actual' Superman thrown into the world. You can actually feel the power of hope and see humanity working together to rise up rather than Superman just outdoing everyone and bringing "The Power of Hope" because of it.
Don't think it was abandoned, actually. Just takes a very long time to update.
The writer really knows how to write.
There's been an interesting omake series by a reader, following the hypothetical adventures of a different member of the Global Champions.
Ohhh, I'll go check them out. Thanks, dude!
Link?
Same thread as the main story, but in the Apocrypha threadmarks. "Omake: Storytime" is the start.
Fire, Fire, Burning Skitter is one I found the other day and binged everything available. Story was fun and I enjoy a good OP Taylor.
Very "technically" not abandon but I enjoyed Taylor Varga until the author abandon it.
No a chapter saying the word bacon over and over does not count as a chapter.
Meta
I like metafics and that one had a lot of potential. I would love to see it reach the important points in the story(wardlord taylor, Echidna, alexandria death, S9000, Golden Morning and Khepri!!!!).
Seeing the wider world reacting to Taylor's journey and her ending. Specially the revelations about parahumans and the end of the world. How the PRT is partially a fraud...
The various Internship fanfics. They were all excellent but they all died before they finished.
Swallowtail was a great one. Really interesting altpowers and OCs, greatly divergent from canon but still felt tonally resonant with Worm.
Prison of Glass.
The defining example of "OP SI story told from outside POVs" and it died just after the most badass Armsmaster in the fandom.
Constellations, hermoso y muy suave. Pero abandonado desde hace 4 años.
Swallowtail. Taylor gets a shaker/stranger power and ends up joining Faultline. It's an AU, and basically everything is different, but in subtle ways, it all adding up into its own unique world that feels adjacent to canon but twisted in a very creative way. Alas, it was last updated almost 2 years ago. https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/swallowtail-worm-au.970396/
Also, A Harbinger of Those Halcyon Days. It's a crossover with Eclipse Phase in a similar way to Tinker, Taylor, Builder, Nexus, if you've read that one, but takes things in a notably different direction. The beginning isn't great but I really liked where it was heading. Unfortunately it was only written for about 2 months and hasn't been updated in 6. https://archiveofourown.org/works/55520581/chapters/140900065
I would also include TTBN here but I still hold out hope for it until a full year has passed since it was updated, even if that's coming up fast.
Newest and Greatest, certainly deserving of a place here, is "The Weaver's Web".
If you want something older and a bit more obscure: "The Weaver Option" is a Loooooongfic in the 40k Universe and is still uploading about twice a year.
You do realize that OP specifically asked for first that are abandoned, right? Meaning the fic hasn't been updated in over a year, at least.
How To Drill Your Way Through Your Problems was a good one, it had a well written SI-OC which is hard to find anywhere, the fights and character interactions were really good, and they used a power that thematically opposed Worm's darkness (row row). The fic was abandoned because the author didn't connect with his SI as much as he used to, but it was fun while it lasted and the community built around it was pretty great, making omakes and stuff.
Link?
You... do realize that literally just putting the name in google will put it as the top result, right?
Either way, here
Taylor and the Manic Pixie Bomb Girl ("A live-action remake of the award winning fic By One Sting, written by acclaimed author Elpis.") is a great crackish fic about Taylor accidentally killing Lung that first night, and then being recruited by Bakuda to be the new boss.