"Taylor Varga" by mp3.1415player
https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119/

"Taylor Varga" is a fan fiction fantasy story inspired by "Luna Varga",
a four episode 1990s Japanese Anima which can be seen around the
internet if you try hard. Here is the trailer for Luna Varga:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sgY-i1JSJs

"Taylor Varga" is also inspired by "Worm", a online fantasy web serial
that I have bounced off a couple of times, that was completed in 2013.
I may try again some day. They say that a working understanding of Worm
is needful to understand the story line but I managed without it. I
just did not like the desperation of Taylor in that story.
https://parahumans.wordpress.com/

Taylor Varga is 307 chapters, 1.9 million words, started in 2016, and is
not finished in 2022. Or, is it finished ? No one really know. The
author says not but has not published any new chapters in over a year.

I found the story totally interesting after a crazy start of a fifteen
year girl, Taylor Hebert, being tormented to death by three maniac
girls. Taylor is rescued and merged with Varga, an impossibly old five
hundred foot tall dinosaur who casts magic spells right, left, and
sideways. Taylor has the changer ability to manifest as little or as
much of Varga as she wants to, the minimum being a reptile tail that she
hides using magic. The result is a double helping of snark with two
sides of snark also.

Note that Taylor's Earth is incredibly different from our Earth. Three
very large beings called Endbringers are constantly attacking the
various populations of Earth, killing many people, and destroying
cities. Also of note is that fact that many of the citizens of Earth
have been triggered into becoming "capes", super humans with various
powers, that fit in several superhero or supervillain groups.

Also note that Sufficient Velocity is the fourth and final place where
Taylor Varga was written. The story apparently started at Space Battles,
https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.398991/
and then moved to An Archive Of Our Own:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/7830346/chapters/17874580
and Fan Fiction:
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12404721/1/Taylor-Varga

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Lynn

In article <ujme5i$1irs7$1@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>"Taylor Varga" by mp3.1415player
>
>https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119/
>
>"Taylor Varga" is a fan fiction fantasy story inspired by "Luna Varga",
>a four episode 1990s Japanese Anima which can be seen around the
>internet if you try hard. Here is the trailer for Luna Varga:
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sgY-i1JSJs
>
>"Taylor Varga" is also inspired by "Worm", a online fantasy web serial
>that I have bounced off a couple of times, that was completed in 2013.
>I may try again some day. They say that a working understanding of Worm
>is needful to understand the story line but I managed without it. I
>just did not like the desperation of Taylor in that story.
> https://parahumans.wordpress.com/
>
>Taylor Varga is 307 chapters, 1.9 million words, started in 2016, and is
>not finished in 2022. Or, is it finished ? No one really know. The
>author says not but has not published any new chapters in over a year.
>
>I found the story totally interesting after a crazy start of a fifteen
>year girl, Taylor Hebert, being tormented to death by three maniac
>girls. Taylor is rescued and merged with Varga, an impossibly old five
>hundred foot tall dinosaur who casts magic spells right, left, and
>sideways. Taylor has the changer ability to manifest as little or as
>much of Varga as she wants to, the minimum being a reptile tail that she
>hides using magic. The result is a double helping of snark with two
>sides of snark also.
>
>Note that Taylor's Earth is incredibly different from our Earth. Three
>very large beings called Endbringers are constantly attacking the
>various populations of Earth, killing many people, and destroying
>cities. Also of note is that fact that many of the citizens of Earth
>have been triggered into becoming "capes", super humans with various
>powers, that fit in several superhero or supervillain groups.
>
>Also note that Sufficient Velocity is the fourth and final place where
>Taylor Varga was written. The story apparently started at Space Battles,
>
>https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.398991/
>and then moved to An Archive Of Our Own:
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/7830346/chapters/17874580
>and Fan Fiction:
> https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12404721/1/Taylor-Varga
>
>My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
>
>Lynn

I looked at the site and it wasn't clear to me how to proceed. I
certainly don't want to read hundreds chapters in a browser.

It it collected into an epub somewhere on the site?
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

On 11/22/2023 8:48 PM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
> In article <ujme5i$1irs7$1@dont-email.me>,
> Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>> "Taylor Varga" by mp3.1415player
>>
>> https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119/
....
> I looked at the site and it wasn't clear to me how to proceed. I
> certainly don't want to read hundreds chapters in a browser.
>
> It it collected into an epub somewhere on the site?

No on the epub as far as I know. There was one previously on "An
Archive Of Our Own" but it is out of date. Even if so, the sheer length
of the story makes a huge epub or PDF.

Start with Chapter one (Threadmark 1).
https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119/#post-6891533

When you reach the end of the chapter, there is a tool on the bottom
right of the chapter posting that has three widgets: a left arrow (for
chapters 2 on), a button for Threadmarks, and a right arrow (from the
beginning to the next to the last chapter). Click on the right arrow
and it will take you to the next chapter posting.

I forgot to mention that I have been reading this for four months. It
is HUGE !

Lynn

On Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 9:48:35 PM UTC-5, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
> In article <ujme5i$1irs7$1...@dont-email.me>,
> Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >"Taylor Varga" by mp3.1415player
> >
> >https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119/
[snip-snip]
> I looked at the site and it wasn't clear to me how to proceed. I
> certainly don't want to read hundreds chapters in a browser.
>
> It it collected into an epub somewhere on the site?

Step 1: Access https://fichub.net

Step 2: Enter the URL listed above, i.e.
https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119
into the box which appears at the top of the page and click "Export"

Step 3: Wait for a few seconds while the Web site generates EPUB/MOBI/PDF
files

Step 4: Click "Download as EPUB"

Step 5: Profit

The site can also be used to generate EPUB files for other fics. It's not as
robust as FanFicFare (available either as a standalone tool or as a Calibre
plugin), but it's easy to use and it works with FanFiction.net, which doesn't
play nice with most WebToPub tools.

In article <91db0501-aae1-47e8-96bb-72d563290f5bn@googlegroups.com>,
Ahasuerus <ahasuerus@email.com> wrote:
>On Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 9:48:35 PM UTC-5, Ted Nolan
><tednolan> wrote:
>> In article <ujme5i$1irs7$1...@dont-email.me>,
>> Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >"Taylor Varga" by mp3.1415player
>> >
>>
>>https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119/
>[snip-snip]
>> I looked at the site and it wasn't clear to me how to proceed. I
>> certainly don't want to read hundreds chapters in a browser.
>>
>> It it collected into an epub somewhere on the site?
>
>Step 1: Access https://fichub.net
>
>Step 2: Enter the URL listed above, i.e.
>https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119
>into the box which appears at the top of the page and click "Export"
>
>Step 3: Wait for a few seconds while the Web site generates EPUB/MOBI/PDF
>files
>
>Step 4: Click "Download as EPUB"
>
>Step 5: Profit
>
>The site can also be used to generate EPUB files for other fics. It's not as
>robust as FanFicFare (available either as a standalone tool or as a Calibre
>plugin), but it's easy to use and it works with FanFiction.net, which doesn't
>play nice with most WebToPub tools.

Cool, that seems to work..

Thanks!

Worm has come up here several times, and it sounded both interesting and
too unrelievedly grim for me, so I may try this though girding up for
length can be daunting sometimes (though I am reading One Piece..)
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

On Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 9:41:59 PM UTC-5, Lynn McGuire wrote:
> "Taylor Varga" by mp3.1415player
>
> https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119/
>
> "Taylor Varga" is a fan fiction fantasy story inspired by "Luna Varga",
> a four episode 1990s Japanese Anima which can be seen around the
> internet if you try hard. Here is the trailer for Luna Varga:
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sgY-i1JSJs
>
> "Taylor Varga" is also inspired by "Worm", a online fantasy web serial
> that I have bounced off a couple of times, that was completed in 2013.
> I may try again some day. They say that a working understanding of Worm
> is needful to understand the story line but I managed without it. I
> just did not like the desperation of Taylor in that story.
> https://parahumans.wordpress.com/ [snip]

There are roughly 12,000 fanfiction stories based on *Worm*.
https://wormstorysearch.com lists 13,812, but some are duplicates.

The *Worm* fandom is a bit unusual in that, like you, many readers and
even some authors never finished the *Worm* canon. Objectively, Taylor's
ultimate accomplishments are above and beyond the accomplishments of
almost any other progression fantasy/SF protagonist. Subjectively, it's
misery porn all the way. Many people are not willing to read 1.675 million
words describing desperation, mental and physical torture, betrayal, etc.
Not to mention that the last third (give or take) of the serial often drags..

I did finish *Worm* and I don't regret it since it did give me the answers
that I was looking for. However, many of the answers are scattered
throughout the text, so you need to go back, re-read certain sections and
compare what you thought you knew with what (and why) actually
happened. Seemingly throwaway scenes suddenly become important a
million words later. It also helps to read the author's after the fact
explanations which cover a lot of different things.

It's a lot of work and not everyone is up to it.

On Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 10:25:16 PM UTC-5, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
> In article <91db0501-aae1-47e8...@googlegroups.com>,
> Ahasuerus <ahas...@email.com> wrote:
> >On Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 9:48:35 PM UTC-5, Ted Nolan
> ><tednolan> wrote:
> >> In article <ujme5i$1irs7$1...@dont-email.me>,
> >> Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >"Taylor Varga" by mp3.1415player
> >> >
> >>
> >>https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119/
> >[snip-snip]
> >> I looked at the site and it wasn't clear to me how to proceed. I
> >> certainly don't want to read hundreds chapters in a browser.
> >>
> >> It it collected into an epub somewhere on the site?
> >
> >Step 1: Access https://fichub.net
> >
> >Step 2: Enter the URL listed above, i.e.
> >https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119
> >into the box which appears at the top of the page and click "Export"
> >
> >Step 3: Wait for a few seconds while the Web site generates EPUB/MOBI/PDF
> >files
> >
> >Step 4: Click "Download as EPUB"
> >
> >Step 5: Profit
> >
> >The site can also be used to generate EPUB files for other fics. It's not as
> >robust as FanFicFare (available either as a standalone tool or as a Calibre
> >plugin), but it's easy to use and it works with FanFiction.net, which doesn't
> >play nice with most WebToPub tools.
> Cool, that seems to work..
>
> Thanks!
>
> Worm has come up here several times, and it sounded both interesting and
> too unrelievedly grim for me, so I may try this though girding up for
> length can be daunting sometimes (though I am reading One Piece..)

*Taylor Varga* is primarily an "OP [overpowered] fix-fic" with an ever
increasing amount of slice of life and self-congratulatory content.

The nice thing about the fic is that it's kind of "front loaded". The first few
hundred K are slow, but they include a reasonable amount of character
development, some action, and some munchkining with the powers. Then
things become progressively slower although they never quite grind to a
halt.

If you had read *Worm*, I would recommend trying *Taylor Varga* with the
proviso that, even if you like the opening arcs, there is a good chance that
at some point you will drop the fic because of the ever slower pacing and
the amount of mutual back-patting. As long as the reader is OK with that, it's
a perfectly harmless way to spend some time.

Since you haven't read the *Worm* canon, I am not sure how well it will work
for you. Part of the attraction of fics like *Taylor Varga* is that the reader
gets to compare how badly everything went in the canon with how well
everything goes in *TV* and its ilk. If anything, things go *too* well most of
the time and characters often act in an unrealistically nice and conflict-free
manner. Some readers even call them "plastic".

In article <07acc1d7-184a-4874-ae0b-13460af7f99dn@googlegroups.com>,
Ahasuerus <ahasuerus@email.com> wrote:
>On Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 10:25:16 PM UTC-5, Ted Nolan
><tednolan> wrote:
>> In article <91db0501-aae1-47e8...@googlegroups.com>,
>> Ahasuerus <ahas...@email.com> wrote:
>> >On Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 9:48:35 PM UTC-5, Ted Nolan
>> ><tednolan> wrote:
>> >> In article <ujme5i$1irs7$1...@dont-email.me>,
>> >> Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> >"Taylor Varga" by mp3.1415player
>> >> >
>> >>
>>
>>>https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119/
>> >[snip-snip]
>> >> I looked at the site and it wasn't clear to me how to proceed. I
>> >> certainly don't want to read hundreds chapters in a browser.
>> >>
>> >> It it collected into an epub somewhere on the site?
>> >
>> >Step 1: Access https://fichub.net
>> >
>> >Step 2: Enter the URL listed above, i.e.
>>
>>https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119
>> >into the box which appears at the top of the page and click "Export"
>> >
>> >Step 3: Wait for a few seconds while the Web site generates EPUB/MOBI/PDF
>> >files
>> >
>> >Step 4: Click "Download as EPUB"
>> >
>> >Step 5: Profit
>> >
>> >The site can also be used to generate EPUB files for other fics. It's not as
>> >robust as FanFicFare (available either as a standalone tool or as a Calibre
>> >plugin), but it's easy to use and it works with FanFiction.net, which
>doesn't
>> >play nice with most WebToPub tools.
>> Cool, that seems to work..
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Worm has come up here several times, and it sounded both interesting and
>> too unrelievedly grim for me, so I may try this though girding up for
>> length can be daunting sometimes (though I am reading One Piece..)
>
>*Taylor Varga* is primarily an "OP [overpowered] fix-fic" with an ever
>increasing amount of slice of life and self-congratulatory content.
>
>The nice thing about the fic is that it's kind of "front loaded". The first few
>hundred K are slow, but they include a reasonable amount of character
>development, some action, and some munchkining with the powers. Then
>things become progressively slower although they never quite grind to a
>halt.
>
>If you had read *Worm*, I would recommend trying *Taylor Varga* with the
>proviso that, even if you like the opening arcs, there is a good chance that
>at some point you will drop the fic because of the ever slower pacing and
>the amount of mutual back-patting. As long as the reader is OK with that, it's
>a perfectly harmless way to spend some time.
>
>Since you haven't read the *Worm* canon, I am not sure how well it will work
>for you. Part of the attraction of fics like *Taylor Varga* is that the reader
>gets to compare how badly everything went in the canon with how well
>everything goes in *TV* and its ilk. If anything, things go *too* well most of
>the time and characters often act in an unrealistically nice and conflict-free
>manner. Some readers even call them "plastic".

Hmm. Thanks for the analysis. That leaves me kind of ambivalent, but
we'll see.
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

On 11/22/2023 10:41 PM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
> In article <07acc1d7-184a-4874-ae0b-13460af7f99dn@googlegroups.com>,
> Ahasuerus <ahasuerus@email.com> wrote:
>> On Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 10:25:16 PM UTC-5, Ted Nolan
>> <tednolan> wrote:
>>> In article <91db0501-aae1-47e8...@googlegroups.com>,
>>> Ahasuerus <ahas...@email.com> wrote:
>>>> On Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 9:48:35 PM UTC-5, Ted Nolan
>>>> <tednolan> wrote:
>>>>> In article <ujme5i$1irs7$1...@dont-email.me>,
>>>>> Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>> "Taylor Varga" by mp3.1415player
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>
>>>> https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119/
>>>> [snip-snip]
>>>>> I looked at the site and it wasn't clear to me how to proceed. I
>>>>> certainly don't want to read hundreds chapters in a browser.
>>>>>
>>>>> It it collected into an epub somewhere on the site?
>>>>
>>>> Step 1: Access https://fichub.net
>>>>
>>>> Step 2: Enter the URL listed above, i.e.
>>>
>>> https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/taylor-varga-worm-luna-varga.32119
>>>> into the box which appears at the top of the page and click "Export"
>>>>
>>>> Step 3: Wait for a few seconds while the Web site generates EPUB/MOBI/PDF
>>>> files
>>>>
>>>> Step 4: Click "Download as EPUB"
>>>>
>>>> Step 5: Profit
>>>>
>>>> The site can also be used to generate EPUB files for other fics. It's not as
>>>> robust as FanFicFare (available either as a standalone tool or as a Calibre
>>>> plugin), but it's easy to use and it works with FanFiction.net, which
>> doesn't
>>>> play nice with most WebToPub tools.
>>> Cool, that seems to work..
>>>
>>> Thanks!
>>>
>>> Worm has come up here several times, and it sounded both interesting and
>>> too unrelievedly grim for me, so I may try this though girding up for
>>> length can be daunting sometimes (though I am reading One Piece..)
>>
>> *Taylor Varga* is primarily an "OP [overpowered] fix-fic" with an ever
>> increasing amount of slice of life and self-congratulatory content.
>>
>> The nice thing about the fic is that it's kind of "front loaded". The first few
>> hundred K are slow, but they include a reasonable amount of character
>> development, some action, and some munchkining with the powers. Then
>> things become progressively slower although they never quite grind to a
>> halt.
>>
>> If you had read *Worm*, I would recommend trying *Taylor Varga* with the
>> proviso that, even if you like the opening arcs, there is a good chance that
>> at some point you will drop the fic because of the ever slower pacing and
>> the amount of mutual back-patting. As long as the reader is OK with that, it's
>> a perfectly harmless way to spend some time.
>>
>> Since you haven't read the *Worm* canon, I am not sure how well it will work
>> for you. Part of the attraction of fics like *Taylor Varga* is that the reader
>> gets to compare how badly everything went in the canon with how well
>> everything goes in *TV* and its ilk. If anything, things go *too* well most of
>> the time and characters often act in an unrealistically nice and conflict-free
>> manner. Some readers even call them "plastic".
>
> Hmm. Thanks for the analysis. That leaves me kind of ambivalent, but
> we'll see.

I found Worm to be very icky and depressing, I did not make it past the
second chapter. I find Taylor Varga to be interesting and over the top.
Ahasuerus is right, Taylor Varga basically a feel good story. Still,
I *like* feel good stories.

Lynn

Ahasuerus <ahasuerus@email.com> wrote:
>
> Wildbow's answer to these problems was clever, but he had to create a
> complex secret history and add layers of obfuscation in order to make it
> work.
>
> The other aspect is that, as one Wildbow fan wrote a while back: "He
> [Wildbow]'s an emotional dominatrix and I love it". It's not for everyone.
>
The recent essays he has posed after the end of _Pale_ are interesting -
he mentions _Worm_ as being based on "writing what you know" :)

Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> "Taylor Varga" is a fan fiction fantasy story inspired by "Luna Varga",

But do either of them ever say "I kill you filthy, Varga"...