#1 Shatterbird Fan

Diana, she/her, aro massive worm spoilers ahoy. I can not guarantee cohesive thoughts. pfp by @lizardinkart

[trans-queen-administrator]

Hazel clearance isn't so bad if you take a bit of time (6 hours) to think.

[trans-queen-administrator]

The first three hours were done last night and I decided to take a break and sleep, and then I couldn't fall asleep because I kept thinking of different sets of letter tiles and my mind would start to rearrange them.

[trans-queen-administrator]

Hazel clearance isn't so bad if you take a bit of time (6 hours) to think.

[trans-queen-administrator]

Had a ton of fun walking off into the endless all-devouring blizzard and then returning as a shambling incoherent mess!!!

[trans-queen-administrator]

Found a cursed blade buried in the snow upon the frozen lake, and now I am doomed to wander endlessly in the blizzard as the sword warps me into something greater and more horrible than I've ever dreamed.

[trans-queen-administrator]

Had a ton of fun walking off into the endless all-devouring blizzard and then returning as a shambling incoherent mess!!!

[trans-queen-administrator]

I modded Silksong to have the parasite infection for an entire playthrough because I am sick in the head (it was a fun challenge) and I noticed a detail I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else. Minor spoilers and speculation on the meaning ahead.

If you get kidnapped by the slab wardens with the parasite then Hornet will scream, pass out, and when she awakens the parasite roots inside her will have destroyed the cage and murdered the guard. A lot of people know this by now probably, it's cool as fuck, but there's another minor part to this sequence. After the parasite breaks Hornet out, all silk heart silk regeneration will be fully disabled until you sit on a bench. The cage surpresses Hornet's power enough for the parasite to fully take over, and that leaves a mark on her after it's done. The parasite already works by surpressing her silk, reducing her to not being able to use it to heal or cast spells, and when it gains further power it overtakes her to the point where she cannot generate silk naturally.

There's a case to be made that the parasite feeds on silk. Greyroot is one of the few NPCs we meet who seems free of any silken influence, and in the twisted child ending the roots feed on Grand Mother Silk herself to grow more powerful. Additionally, you find the root baby parasite in Bilewater (my favorite area in the game), which is a place already filled with silk eating parasites in the muckmaggots, so another feeding on that would make sense.

Another fun way the game shows the parasite's influence on Hornet is her cocoon on death. It's wrapped in pulsing grey roots, perhaps they're feeding on the convenient bundle of silk? The root cocoon also holds my other favorite parasite detail I've never seen mentioned, and the only objective upgrade that comes with the parasite infection. Popping your cocoon will make the roots flail in an area around it, much like the witch crest heal, and this will actually deal damage in the area! I used it in the High Halls and Bilewater arenas, if you place the cocoon in the right place you can trigger it as a way to quickly deal with enemies. But anyway, that's yet another way the root parasite latches onto silk. Not conclusive proof it feeds on it, but it could be pointing towards that. More likely it just feeds on vitality somehow, and Hornet's is linked to her silk.

Anyway, so much detail was put into this parasite infection it's incredible. Game of the year I love the abortion sidequest, might talk about it even more later who knows.

[trans-queen-administrator]

Oh! Another bit of detail for the parasite I forgot. If you use a silkeater then the animation is different, a grey root will wrap around and choke the thing until it explodes into the same wood/dust particles that Hornet's silk does when she tries to bind while cursed. How is there so much care put into this single quest it's insane.

[trans-queen-administrator]

I modded Silksong to have the parasite infection for an entire playthrough because I am sick in the head (it was a fun challenge) and I noticed a detail I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else. Minor spoilers and speculation on the meaning ahead.

If you get kidnapped by the slab wardens with the parasite then Hornet will scream, pass out, and when she awakens the parasite roots inside her will have destroyed the cage and murdered the guard. A lot of people know this by now probably, it's cool as fuck, but there's another minor part to this sequence. After the parasite breaks Hornet out, all silk heart silk regeneration will be fully disabled until you sit on a bench. The cage surpresses Hornet's power enough for the parasite to fully take over, and that leaves a mark on her after it's done. The parasite already works by surpressing her silk, reducing her to not being able to use it to heal or cast spells, and when it gains further power it overtakes her to the point where she cannot generate silk naturally.

There's a case to be made that the parasite feeds on silk. Greyroot is one of the few NPCs we meet who seems free of any silken influence, and in the twisted child ending the roots feed on Grand Mother Silk herself to grow more powerful. Additionally, you find the root baby parasite in Bilewater (my favorite area in the game), which is a place already filled with silk eating parasites in the muckmaggots, so another feeding on that would make sense.

Another fun way the game shows the parasite's influence on Hornet is her cocoon on death. It's wrapped in pulsing grey roots, perhaps they're feeding on the convenient bundle of silk? The root cocoon also holds my other favorite parasite detail I've never seen mentioned, and the only objective upgrade that comes with the parasite infection. Popping your cocoon will make the roots flail in an area around it, much like the witch crest heal, and this will actually deal damage in the area! I used it in the High Halls and Bilewater arenas, if you place the cocoon in the right place you can trigger it as a way to quickly deal with enemies. But anyway, that's yet another way the root parasite latches onto silk. Not conclusive proof it feeds on it, but it could be pointing towards that. More likely it just feeds on vitality somehow, and Hornet's is linked to her silk.

Anyway, so much detail was put into this parasite infection it's incredible. Game of the year I love the abortion sidequest, might talk about it even more later who knows.

[trans-queen-administrator]

Thinking of starting up analysis posts again, for Silksong instead of Parahumans. This game has consumed me.

[trans-queen-administrator]

WHAT'S good everyone, it's Mr Beast and TODAY we're coming at you from THE FLOODED WRECKAGE OF BROCKTON BAY! Today we've got an AWESOME challenge! Me and the rest of the Slaughterfam gathered 50 people from Dolltown and SURGICALLY MODIFIED THEM IN OUR IMAGE! I'm talking full body transformation, this one looks just like me, check it out haha! Anyway TODAY we're going to let these look-a-likes LOOSE downtown, where the heroes will all try to ruthlessly MURDER them thinking they're us! Not very heroic, hahaha! The last one standing get ONE MILLION dollars, and as a special treat they gain IMMUNITY from EVERY OTHER MEMBER OF THE SLAUGHTERFAM 9! They've already been Bonesaw'd once, after all. The winner ALSO gets a 50% off coupon for the SPONSOR of this Video, Fugly Bob's! We're going CRAZY with the giveaways today, and it's ALL thanks to YOUR support! Let's follow Jack downtown and see if the PRT can spot the imposters, but first, don't forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and COMMENT down below who YOU think is gonna win the ONE MILLION DOLLAR PRIZE!

[trans-queen-administrator]

What's your opinion on Alec's arc? Love your essayposting so glad you're back btw

Thank you! :D

Alec is a character I admittedly don't really care that much about in the grand scope of Worm. I think he's interesting, but largely overshadowed by Cherie who's one of my favorites in the entire story. They're both Heartbreaker's kids, but compared to Cherie Alec came out a lot better. That's the primary thing that interests me about him, he's the best he could be considering his environment and it's still terrible.

For his arc... he doesn't have much of one, to be honest. In my opinion most of his character is actually for Aisha's arc, right down to him dying for her character development. But that doesn't mean there's nothing. Alec starts not feeling much, or at least thinking that, and he grows to care for Aisha, enough that he selflessly dies for her. I do really like that it's proof that he can improve despite the absolutely horrible upbringing and things he's done. Other than that, I struggle to point to ways Alec actually changed through Worm. It's a small arc with a small improvement, but it's still meaningful and significant in the context of who he is. Anyone can try to be better, it's never pointless or impossible.

[trans-queen-administrator]

Does it count for Shatterbird if Alec makes her

Not in my eyes, since I wrote those with just before Brockton Bay in mind. But honestly that would be the worst thing Alec could ever do to her which is very fun!

[trans-queen-administrator]

Slaughterhouse Nine ranked on how likely they are to wear a maid outfit:

1 - Siberian. Bonesaw would want to play dress up, so that's the cause. If Siberian ever put a maid dress on it would crack her egg, and she would make it part of her outfit permanently, finally wearing some damn clothes. Matches the black and white striped skin, can make it invincible to keep it around.

2 - Murder Rat. Bonesaw dresses them up in one for fun maybe, same as Siberian, and it would only stay on until she gets bored. No agency, no say in it, neither Ravager nor Mouse Protector are thrilled but if they didn't want a maid dress they shouldn't have gotten Bonesaw'd.

3 - Bonesaw. It's a frilly fun dress that fits her cutesy aesthetic. I think she'd probably do it for a bit but likely switch to her usual outfit after. Probably a non-black variant, since she seems like she'd like colorful outfits more. About as likely as the previous two to wear one (and is the likely reason both would wear it in the first place) but would not stick around in a maid dress unlike them.

4 - Burnscar. No backbone, if Shatterbird asked her to put it on she'd put it on. Shatterbird is the #2 possible cause of maid outfits in the 9, although while Bonesaw makes others wear one because it's cute Shatterbird does it so she can feel superior to them. It's less likely for Shatterbird to make it happen because she'd maybe have to realize she's bisexual first.

5 - Jack. Neither Bonesaw nor Shatterbird would be a cause of this, and Jack would probably never put one on of his own free will, but if he did wear a maid outfit he'd stick with it for a shockingly long amount of time. Would modify it to show his chest like normal, attach knives to the bottom, and spin around to kill everyone in a half mile radius. Gets super pretentious about it too. "You see, the maid is a role in society that is always underestimated, overlooked. But without it, you all cease to function. By wearing this dress I remind you all of how fragile your civilization is, and invoke your greatest fear of the lower classes rising up in revolt. It's a metaphor, Skitter, you wouldn't get it."

6 - Cherish. Would only put it on if forced by Shatterbird, who hates her guts and therefore has a motive to humiliate her like this. Cherish would try to pretend it's planned and fine but would despise wearing it, taking it off the first chance she gets.

7 - Mannequin. Would only do it if he thought it was unnerving and weird and trans humanist. Which it could be, but I don't think that he's vibing with one very much so it'll never happen. Everyone here and below is very unlikely to ever even touch one.

8 - Crawler. Can't fit. Would try, but can't fit. Sorry big guy.

9 - Shatterbird. Would actually fucking die before thinking of putting one on herself, she needs to feel better than others and as a previous spoiled rich kid (affectionate) and pretentious asshole (affectionate) she would never be able to fathom a maid outfit as being anything other than demeaning. To her, being in a position of service or labor, which is inherent to being a maid, is probably a fate worse than death.

Honorable mention - Damsel of Distress. Canonically wants a mansion full of maids (and butlers iirc but shush), so there's a bit of a fixation on the concept there. She would absolutely rock one with her white hair and general aesthetic though, and I think she's slightly more likely than Shatterbird to accept that a maid outfit is not inherently a marker of lower class and to incorporate one into her outfit for the aesthetic.

Honorable mention 2 - Number Man. It's a professional outfit. Doesn't fit his aesthetic, but he'd have nothing against one.

[al3xand3r245]

I'm just saying. I support Jack Slash in a maid dress. I think he pulls it off.

[trans-queen-administrator]

Jack Slash, Maid Slayed. Absolutely sensational.

[trans-queen-administrator]

Slaughterhouse Nine ranked on how likely they are to wear a maid outfit:

1 - Siberian. Bonesaw would want to play dress up, so that's the cause. If Siberian ever put a maid dress on it would crack her egg, and she would make it part of her outfit permanently, finally wearing some damn clothes. Matches the black and white striped skin, can make it invincible to keep it around.

2 - Murder Rat. Bonesaw dresses them up in one for fun maybe, same as Siberian, and it would only stay on until she gets bored. No agency, no say in it, neither Ravager nor Mouse Protector are thrilled but if they didn't want a maid dress they shouldn't have gotten Bonesaw'd.

3 - Bonesaw. It's a frilly fun dress that fits her cutesy aesthetic. I think she'd probably do it for a bit but likely switch to her usual outfit after. Probably a non-black variant, since she seems like she'd like colorful outfits more. About as likely as the previous two to wear one (and is the likely reason both would wear it in the first place) but would not stick around in a maid dress unlike them.

4 - Burnscar. No backbone, if Shatterbird asked her to put it on she'd put it on. Shatterbird is the #2 possible cause of maid outfits in the 9, although while Bonesaw makes others wear one because it's cute Shatterbird does it so she can feel superior to them. It's less likely for Shatterbird to make it happen because she'd maybe have to realize she's bisexual first.

5 - Jack. Neither Bonesaw nor Shatterbird would be a cause of this, and Jack would probably never put one on of his own free will, but if he did wear a maid outfit he'd stick with it for a shockingly long amount of time. Would modify it to show his chest like normal, attach knives to the bottom, and spin around to kill everyone in a half mile radius. Gets super pretentious about it too. "You see, the maid is a role in society that is always underestimated, overlooked. But without it, you all cease to function. By wearing this dress I remind you all of how fragile your civilization is, and invoke your greatest fear of the lower classes rising up in revolt. It's a metaphor, Skitter, you wouldn't get it."

6 - Cherish. Would only put it on if forced by Shatterbird, who hates her guts and therefore has a motive to humiliate her like this. Cherish would try to pretend it's planned and fine but would despise wearing it, taking it off the first chance she gets.

7 - Mannequin. Would only do it if he thought it was unnerving and weird and trans humanist. Which it could be, but I don't think that he's vibing with one very much so it'll never happen. Everyone here and below is very unlikely to ever even touch one.

8 - Crawler. Can't fit. Would try, but can't fit. Sorry big guy.

9 - Shatterbird. Would actually fucking die before thinking of putting one on herself, she needs to feel better than others and as a previous spoiled rich kid (affectionate) and pretentious asshole (affectionate) she would never be able to fathom a maid outfit as being anything other than demeaning. To her, being in a position of service or labor, which is inherent to being a maid, is probably a fate worse than death.

Honorable mention - Damsel of Distress. Canonically wants a mansion full of maids (and butlers iirc but shush), so there's a bit of a fixation on the concept there. She would absolutely rock one with her white hair and general aesthetic though, and I think she's slightly more likely than Shatterbird to accept that a maid outfit is not inherently a marker of lower class and to incorporate one into her outfit for the aesthetic.

Honorable mention 2 - Number Man. It's a professional outfit. Doesn't fit his aesthetic, but he'd have nothing against one.

[trans-queen-administrator]

Worst ever Worm post: (rancid edition)

Infinite Period Trio Torture Fanfic

Bonesaw Hornyposting

Taylor x Villain Moodboard Collection

Gaylor's Ship Name Chart

Ebony Steel

Ziz's Worm Fanfic Inspired Flowchart

Bakuda, Cornell's Own Resident Hamasian

Ward Comment Compilation

Sophia Crushing On Hookwolf + Even More Racism

Ack's Deleted Works

Something Even Worse (Write-In)

Why is it called Worm and not Insects? (See Results)

Voting ended onMay 21, 2025

Sorry to everyone who followed for my analysis a year and change ago. The rot has consumed me and I can only post about drama now.

Anyway I saw the post by @worm-fanon-polls and wanted to try it with the worst candidates I know of, thank you for the idea and sorry for the existence of this.

Pictures of each entry below cut. Names censored to prevent harrassment, most of the time there will not be direct links. These are very bad, and your day may be significantly worse for seeing them. CW Racism, Pedophilia, Sexism, and more.

Infinite period. I think this is the tamest on the list. A terrible fanfic all around, one excerpt doesn't do it justice. Its entirely Taylor getting revenge on the trio, Madison is forced to have her period constantly as a punishment and the story is not normal about it, shockingly.

2. Bonesaw Hornyposting. Right what it says on the tin. Halfway through a worm liveblog, OP got horny on main about Bonesaw. Y'know, the 12 year old. Amy/Riley kinkposting by the same person not pictured due to image limit.

3. A collection of moodboards made for shipping Taylor with various villains from Worm, almost all of which are turned into airbrushed white boys for this. Villains moodboarded include Kaiser, Alabaster, Uber, Scion, Jack Slash, Ash Beast, and so many more. Here's Uber and the compilaton as a whole.

4. Gaylor's Ship Name Spreadsheet. A popular queer-focused discord server for worm fanfic made a spreadsheet to get ship names for rare character pairings, with plenty of people around the server participating. The names range from mediocre jokes to very poor taste to incredibly racist. Some examples:

Aisha x Purity: Kay Kay Kougar Bakuda x Greg: Yellow Fever Shatterbird x Miss Militia: Ambiguously Brown

Link to a copy

5. Ebony Steel. Speaking of bad ships! I'm just sending the ao3 tags, that's enough to make the point.

6. Ziz's Worm Fanfic Inspired Flowchart. Ziz is the name of a real life murderer and cult leader, name chosen because of the worm character. While her blog doesn't actually focus on Worm much beyond quoting it a few times, this flowchart detailing her mindset puts "Escalation..." as the final step, and with her being somewhat active in the worm fandom and the flowchart also having an Undertale reference there's a good chance this is referencing the common fanon of Taylor as the Queen of Escalation. This one is speculatory, if you want just think of this as a section for Ziz's murder cult as a whole.

7. Bakuda: Cornell's Own Resident Hamasian. OP (who is generally incomprehensible) posted this to r/Cornell, as if those people would know who Worm was. As a friend has said, maybe he just thinks Bakuda is real?

8. Victoria Comment Compilation. A collection of comments about Victoria on fanfics, Worm, and Ward. This is getting dangerously close to Amy discourse. Here's one of the very normal comments as an example to give a taste of the horrors.

9. Sophia crushing on Hookwolf. Someone on Reddit listed their favorite ships, which were massively racist in multiple ways. Shocking, the Worm fandom has never had a racism problem aside from this.

10. Ack's Deleted Works. If you don't know, Ack is one of, if not THE most prolific and popular fanfic author in the fandom. Everything he writes gets massively popular, and I will withhold from commenting about the quality of the works. I think it's okay to name names when it's the most known person in the fanfic scene. Anyway before he wrote generic power fantasy, he wrote a whole lot of Danny x Taylor smut, and although these have been deleted they can still be found and often leak into his 'normal' fics like Security. I will not link them or show an image because uhhh I actually do not want to put underage erotica on this post, so here is a moderator of r/Wormfanfic driven to insanity by them.

Anyway yeah this fandom is hell. If you know another terrible post please add it on.

[trans-queen-administrator]

Last call for votes on this wretched thing!

[trans-queen-administrator]

I looked through the Ward comments(grievous mistake) linked in your Worst Worm Posts ever poll. I didn't realize the anti Victoria brain rot was so widespread.

It's dire out there.

[trans-queen-administrator]

Worst ever Worm post: (rancid edition)

Infinite Period Trio Torture Fanfic

Bonesaw Hornyposting

Taylor x Villain Moodboard Collection

Gaylor's Ship Name Chart

Ebony Steel

Ziz's Worm Fanfic Inspired Flowchart

Bakuda, Cornell's Own Resident Hamasian

Ward Comment Compilation

Sophia Crushing On Hookwolf + Even More Racism

Ack's Deleted Works

Something Even Worse (Write-In)

Why is it called Worm and not Insects? (See Results)

Voting ended onMay 21, 2025

Sorry to everyone who followed for my analysis a year and change ago. The rot has consumed me and I can only post about drama now.

Anyway I saw the post by @worm-fanon-polls and wanted to try it with the worst candidates I know of, thank you for the idea and sorry for the existence of this.

Pictures of each entry below cut. Names censored to prevent harrassment, most of the time there will not be direct links. These are very bad, and your day may be significantly worse for seeing them. CW Racism, Pedophilia, Sexism, and more.

Infinite period. I think this is the tamest on the list. A terrible fanfic all around, one excerpt doesn't do it justice. Its entirely Taylor getting revenge on the trio, Madison is forced to have her period constantly as a punishment and the story is not normal about it, shockingly.

2. Bonesaw Hornyposting. Right what it says on the tin. Halfway through a worm liveblog, OP got horny on main about Bonesaw. Y'know, the 12 year old. Amy/Riley kinkposting by the same person not pictured due to image limit.

3. A collection of moodboards made for shipping Taylor with various villains from Worm, almost all of which are turned into airbrushed white boys for this. Villains moodboarded include Kaiser, Alabaster, Uber, Scion, Jack Slash, Ash Beast, and so many more. Here's Uber and the compilaton as a whole.

4. Gaylor's Ship Name Spreadsheet. A popular queer-focused discord server for worm fanfic made a spreadsheet to get ship names for rare character pairings, with plenty of people around the server participating. The names range from mediocre jokes to very poor taste to incredibly racist. Some examples:

Aisha x Purity: Kay Kay Kougar Bakuda x Greg: Yellow Fever Shatterbird x Miss Militia: Ambiguously Brown

Link to a copy

5. Ebony Steel. Speaking of bad ships! I'm just sending the ao3 tags, that's enough to make the point.

6. Ziz's Worm Fanfic Inspired Flowchart. Ziz is the name of a real life murderer and cult leader, name chosen because of the worm character. While her blog doesn't actually focus on Worm much beyond quoting it a few times, this flowchart detailing her mindset puts "Escalation..." as the final step, and with her being somewhat active in the worm fandom and the flowchart also having an Undertale reference there's a good chance this is referencing the common fanon of Taylor as the Queen of Escalation. This one is speculatory, if you want just think of this as a section for Ziz's murder cult as a whole.

7. Bakuda: Cornell's Own Resident Hamasian. OP (who is generally incomprehensible) posted this to r/Cornell, as if those people would know who Worm was. As a friend has said, maybe he just thinks Bakuda is real?

8. Victoria Comment Compilation. A collection of comments about Victoria on fanfics, Worm, and Ward. This is getting dangerously close to Amy discourse. Here's one of the very normal comments as an example to give a taste of the horrors.

9. Sophia crushing on Hookwolf. Someone on Reddit listed their favorite ships, which were massively racist in multiple ways. Shocking, the Worm fandom has never had a racism problem aside from this.

10. Ack's Deleted Works. If you don't know, Ack is one of, if not THE most prolific and popular fanfic author in the fandom. Everything he writes gets massively popular, and I will withhold from commenting about the quality of the works. I think it's okay to name names when it's the most known person in the fanfic scene. Anyway before he wrote generic power fantasy, he wrote a whole lot of Danny x Taylor smut, and although these have been deleted they can still be found and often leak into his 'normal' fics like Security. I will not link them or show an image because uhhh I actually do not want to put underage erotica on this post, so here is a moderator of r/Wormfanfic driven to insanity by them.

Anyway yeah this fandom is hell. If you know another terrible post please add it on.

[silvianorton]

How to Write Lisa Wilbourn/Tattletale

So, you want to write a Worm fan fic, and you want it to include Lisa Wilbourn. Except... how the fuck do you do that?

I’ve had a lot of people say that writing Tattletale is intimidating, or that she’s difficult to write. There are a lot of reasons for that, and one of them is that she is, paradoxically, one of the most—if not the most—fleshed out characters in all of Worm and Ward. Taylor and Victoria are her closest competitors, and both of them are the PoV protagonists of their respective stories.

The goal of this work is to give writing advice, and create a broad reference one can use to figure out her place in a fan fic. I’m focused on canon accuracy, with some of my own editorializing mixed in. As this is meant for writing fan fic, feel free to take what you like, and leave what you don’t. Ultimately, I’d rather someone had the info and choose not to use it, than not have it and make something up instead.

Note that this contains Ward spoilers and content; you have been warned.

Now, without further ado:

Who is Lisa Tattletale?

In fanfiction, Lisa wears many hats. She can be anything from the thief with a heart of gold, to a poor little meow meow forced into villainy... To a vicious manipulator who basks in her victim's suffering, or a mastermind who's always one step ahead. Or sometimes she's just an idiot who can't function without her power.

But which of these is the real Lisa? The answer is a little bit of all of the above—except for that last one; Lisa is smart even without her power.

Lisa was, technically, forced into villainy in the sense that she was forced to be a cape. Lisa didn’t want to be a cape. She spent anywhere from six months to a year living on the streets, content to be a homeless pickpocket and con artist. Her parents used her for her power, and as a result she was reluctant to use it for anyone other than herself. Joining a team, being a cape, would just be more people using her for her power.

Enter Tattletale.

Tattletale is Lisa’s cape persona. More than that, it’s who she is. Lisa is, in a lot of ways, the mask for Tattletale. Her power is what people care about, not the girl who wields it, so it stands to reason that she’d put more emphasis on her costumed self than her civilian self. She chose and carefully crafted both of her personas, because it gives her a measure of control over how people see her. Her image is meticulous, and the masks she wears are iron clad. All of this can be traced back to her trigger, and the reasons she ran away from home.

Sarah watched her brother die, and then her parents used her. So she ran. She ran, and then she became Lisa and never stopped running. She doesn’t look back, and doesn’t think about her past. She just moves forward, and that means using her power. Because now Coil is using her for her power in much the same way her parents did, and she can’t just slip the noose, otherwise someone else will do the same thing he is.

She has to show them that she can’t be messed with. She can’t be used. All anyone cares about is her power, so she’s going to throw it in their faces.

Before I move on, I’d like to add a bit more about the name “Sarah Livsey.” This was Lisa’s name before she ran away from home and changed it. It doesn’t come up often in Worm, but when it does it’s usually an antagonist using it as a gotcha. From a writing perspective, there’s a few things I think should be made clear: it’s not her “real name”, it’s just her old name. She’s not Sarah pretending to be Lisa, she’s Lisa and her name used to be Sarah. She prefers Lisa, and is ultimately disinterested in doing anything more than move past her old name. It’s a source of discomfort, a reminder of her past that she wants to leave behind.

I suppose, to sum up my advice; don’t linger on it, don’t make a big deal about it, and don’t treat it as her “true self” or what have you. Lisa is Lisa, not Sarah.

As for what motivates her: Lisa thinks that what she needs is freedom, power, and control. She wants to be important. The smartest person in the room. Influential, rich, in control. Not the leader, necessarily, but one of the people that everyone has to listen to. The advisor behind the throne, so to speak. Lisa thinks that if she has this, she’ll be okay; she’ll be safe, and can keep the people she cares about safe.

What she actually needs is a friend that cares about her. Not just cares about Tattletale, but about Lisa. The girl behind the power. Her team, at least at first, cares more about Tattletale than Lisa. I say ‘at first’, because Taylor genuinely liked Lisa, and her joining the Undersiders caused the whole team to get closer. Sure, Taylor never hesitated to use Tattletale’s power, but whenever Lisa was hurt, Taylor would think about her. Taylor would worry. There were at least three separate occasions in Worm where the stakes were high, and Taylor wanted to stay with Lisa over doing anything else. Jack Slash hurt Lisa, and Taylor wanted to prioritize staying with her over warning people. Agnosia plague, and Lisa had to argue with Taylor to get her to leave. Behemoth, and Taylor spends the whole fight thinking about and asking about Lisa. Taylor is Lisa’s best friend.

And arguably her only friend.

Despite this yearning for friendship that she has, Lisa doesn’t expect it to last. She’s never surprised when people leave her, and pretends that because she wasn’t surprised, she’s not hurt by it. She is hurt, of course, but she pretends she isn’t. Lisa is a collection of masks, worn one over the other, hiding the scared, lonely girl underneath.

On that note, she doesn’t like to show her vulnerability. She hides her feelings, her pain, and her struggles, largely by running away from them, or by pretending they didn’t happen. Her face shows the pain when she’s hurt, but she doesn’t process it. She just moves on. Or, tries to, anyway.

Worm 19.7 is one of the moments that is crucial for understanding Lisa. It's the moment she breaks down, and tells Taylor about her trigger. She, for the first time in years, opens up to someone and shows vulnerability. It took all that for her to reach that point, and she never really does that again. Not even during Ward. She’s never as vulnerable with anyone ever again as she was with Taylor in that singular moment.

Speaking of Ward, that's where we get out third moment of vulnerability for her (the second being during Gold Morning). She talks to Victoria in Ward 20.9 and admits that she doesn't care about the world if her friends aren't in it. She's ride or die for those closest to her, and that's basically the core of her morality.

In regards to “forced into villainy”: while I partially addressed it earlier, I think there’s another part that bears focusing on: Lisa likes crime. She likes being a villain, and her intent was always to take over Coil’s organization, not to get free. If freedom was her goal, there were dozens of easier ways to accomplish it. No, she wanted to win, and she wanted to be the best.

She doesn’t have a lot of qualms with selling drugs, running weapons, or keeping most of Coil’s mercenaries on board. Senegal was a piece of work, and she kept him around. She’s not nearly as nice a person as Taylor paints her to be, and she’s definitely not a hero.

In the end she loves being a villain.

How mean is she?

Towards her friends? A few playful barbs, for the most part. Towards anyone she doesn’t like, or anyone she considers an enemy?

To be honest, I’m not really sure what her limits even are. In Ward, she makes frequent jabs at Victoria, even specifically poking at Victoria’s rape trauma;  “...you deserved those years at the asylum”. She’s happy to poke at Armsmaster, and Dauntless, and even antagonizes Eidolon and Alexandria. She pokes at Jack Slash. Lisa likes to needle people, because reactions give her data to work off. They let her use her powers more efficiently.

This doesn’t mean she isn’t nice, of course. When she was manipulating Taylor to join the Undersiders she did go out of her way to befriend her. More than that, she does her best to improve Taylor’s life and self confidence. She’s shown to have a friendly relationship with some of the random people on the streets and around the Lord Street Market. In Ward, she frequently goes above and beyond for the other Undersiders and the Heartbroken. She’s personable, affable, and people she’s close to trust her.

Broadly, Lisa is someone who doesn’t give way for other people. She hides her feelings behind masks and barbs. You either accept her as she is, or you don’t. If you’re willing to meet her on her terms, you’ll find someone who’s not nearly as bad as she seems outwardly. Or at least, you’ll see that she’s capable of genuine kindness.

For her friends, she’s smart and witty, with maybe a few playful barbs that deftly avoid the harsher triggers.

For her enemies, she’s all acid and razor blades.

Relationships

Speaking of friends and family, how does Lisa act around people she cares about or is close to? Disclaimer: there is more conjecture here than in other places, and some of this is extrapolation that I can’t easily source.

We’ll start with her parents: Frank and June Livsey. They were distant at best, and suffocating at worst. Her brother got the worst of the expectations, which is part of what eventually drove him to suicide, but Lisa herself was mostly neglected. Until she got her powers, of course. Her parents flipped on a dime, and went from blaming her for her brother’s death, to pampering her in exchange for her power. This relationship is the source of her transactional mentality that overlays everything else.

I’ve talked a lot about Taylor and Lisa, and will talk more about them, but what about the other Undersdiers?

Lisa and Brian have a friendly, somewhat professional relationship. She likes and trusts him, and he likes her. There’s a tension to it, given how Lisa sees the world through the lens of “I’m only wanted for my power”, and Brian sees the world through his own lens which requires him to be the leader. But, broadly, they like one another.

Alec and Lisa have, in my mind, a distant and casual relationship. They don’t engage emotionally on almost any level, and both of them prefer it that way. Alec snarks when she asks him to do something, she banters back, and the thing gets done.

Lisa and Rachel are antagonistic towards one another initially and that only changes after Taylor puts in the work to understand Rachel. Lisa, despite having a power that gives her the answers, is unable and unwilling  to properly connect with Rachel. Rachel hates being manipulated, and Lisa is... well, Lisa.

Lisa and Aisha have an interesting relationship in that, at first, they don’t really know each other. But, after Taylor leaves for the Wards, Aisha is basically the only friendly and functional member of the Undersiders left for Lisa to bond with. So, they bond, somewhat. This extends into Ward, where Aisha is Lisa’s closest friend for a long while, despite the fact that often, Lisa doesn’t even remember she exists.

Parian and Foil aren’t close to Lisa, and don’t like her. Both of them largely blame Lisa for the fact that they’re villains. There’s more nuance to the relationship in Ward, with Lisa considering them friends, and helping Foil with March, but there’s always a gap with them that doesn’t exist with the others. At least part of this is because Lily and Sabah are heavily involved in kink and BDSM, and Lisa is repulsed by that.

Lisa and Coil’s relationship is, obviously, one of antagonism. Lisa wants to take over his organization, and Coil wants her under his control. She’s scared of him, but not terrified. The fear is more out of respect than anything else, but she genuinely believes that she’s smarter than him. She can and will outthink him. Which, she does, actually. She beats him. She wins.

Underlaying all of this, and any other relationships she might develop, Lisa is lonely. She craves friends in her life that love her for who she is, and not for her power. She wants close connections, and people to spend time with. People she can trust. People like Taylor, like the Undersiders before they basically all died. Lisa is defined by her regrets, and one consistent regret is not holding the people she cares about close enough.

Yet, contrasting that, she can’t interact with people without manipulation or transactions. She befriends Taylor while manipulating her. Befriends the Undersiders via transactions with her power. In Ward, she eventually befriends Victoria through an endless string of transactions, and even then it’s not a close friendship, although it’s primed to become one.

She’d let the world burn for her friends, even if they’d sooner leave her to save it.

Power/Negotiator:

Her power is, put simply, a way to analyze data. Go from A to C to G. She can skip steps, but the better the data she’s working with, the better her conclusions. In Ward, Victoria describes Lisa’s power as pinpointing weaknesses, both physical and psychological. The more she knows, the more she has to work with, and the more reliable she is.

Hence Lisa being smart even without her power. Her uses are limited, and as such a lot of her work is done with minimal power usage. Letting it go off the rails is a surefire way to get bad info, so she’s typically working with flashes of inspiration.

When using her powers to cold read someone, she tends to talk aloud, and work off their reactions. This can be seen at the bank job, and then later interrogating Cherish.

Crucially: This changes somewhat in Ward when she knows more about passengers, but until then, Lisa doesn’t refer to her power in the third person. It’s not “My power told me”. It’s “I figured it out.” Her power is, for all intents and purposes, her thoughts. Her conclusions. Her insights. So she tends not to think in terms of “my power slipped it’s leash” and more “I let my walls down by accident.” It’s not about restraining her power, it’s about restraining herself.

Because Lisa needs to know everything.

Lisa is someone who is never satisfied not knowing. She’s incapable of holding her tongue, and she can’t stop poking. She thrives on learning every secret she can.

She also blames herself when she doesn’t know something. The bank goes bad? It’s because she didn’t know enough. She should have pushed herself harder to figure things out. Coil gets the jump on them? Her fault for not seeing it coming. One of her friends gets hurt? Her fault her fault her fault.

Because a core piece of Lisa’s character is that she blames herself for Rex’s death. It’s obviously not her fault, but she triggers because she “should have known.” So her power lets her know things. But it never lets her know enough. It’s never enough for her. It can’t be.

Linked to this, there’s a common misconception that Lisa cares a lot about people who are suicidal. This is overblown. Yes, part of the reason she decided to pull Taylor onto the team was because she saw some of her brother’s depression in Taylor, but that on it’s own wasn’t enough to do anything more than get the ball rolling. She cares deeply for the people in her circle, but not so much about people beyond that. Sure, if she can do something that ultimately helps other people, then why not? Her shelter post-Levi was a legitimate shelter, even if she was also using it for gathering information and spreading her influence. But if you were to give her a choice between one of her friends and a group of people she doesn’t know? She’d pick her friend.

Of course, she also repeatedly drops everything to help with S-class threats, because she’s not a monster. She’s not heartless.

She just reserves most of her heart for the people closest to her.

Cops and Robbers:

Cops and Robbers; AKA, the conversation that gaslit the entire fandom. The version of Cops and Robbers that Lisa sells to Taylor has been largely taken as gospel by the fandom, down to there being fics where the Unwritten Rules are literally a pamphlet that gets handed out. And while yes, the Unwritten Rules do function to some extent, they’re not nearly as codified or as well known as Lisa says.

Yes, there is a “truce”. Yes, identities are taken seriously (although more so for heroes than for villains). And yes, there is a degree of caution when it comes to escalating force. The heroes come down harder on people who kill, and the villains will sometimes band together against someone who’s bad for business, or represents an indiscriminate threat to all of them. All of these things exist and are observable, but in a far more fluid and informal way than Lisa implies they are. Also, that conversation takes place mere days after Lung tried to kill them for opperating in his territory, and minutes before the bank, where Kid Win nearly killed Taylor, and Taylor held a knife to Panacea’s throat.

Because she was lying to Taylor. She was painting a picture of the scene to help convince Taylor that staying a villain wouldn’t be that bad, actually. She was overstating how the “truces” between heroes and villains tended to work, because that helped soften the blow of committing crimes for Taylor. Lisa wanted to convince Taylor that being a villain “wasn’t actually that bad or risky” because it served her interests to do so.

But also, she was being idealistic. See, that Cops and Robbers conversation wasn’t just Lisa manipulating Taylor, it was also her lying to herself. That world? Unwritten rules, one great game of capes, the “real monsters” being smacked down, that’s the world Lisa wishes she lived in. She wants to be a small-time, street level thief who taunts the heroes, and then goes home to relax with her friends.

She doesn’t want to fight monsters. She doesn’t want to fear for her life and safety. She doesn’t want to be a villain. She wants it to be a game.

But she can’t have that, so instead she becomes a Warlord.

Sexuality and Romance:

Right, this one is... controversial, as all things relating to sexuality in fandoms tend to be. Lisa is, canonically, ace/aro. It’s easy enough to read her as some form of Demisexual, based on the text of Worm, or asexual and some sort of romantically inclined. There’s also that fact that the definitions for aro/ace can be hazy, and you can easily get different answers on what it means from different people. 

When writing fan fiction, sexuality is mostly a guideline, and one people are ready to ignore. My default assumption is that it’s fine to change character’s sexualities to fit your story, with the caveat that there are good and bad ways to do it. Honestly, this becomes an entire essay of its own, and I’m not sure this is really the place to get into the weeds with it.

So, assuming that you’re wanting to approach your shipping concept with some respect towards canon, what does this mean for writing Lisa’s character?

Lisa is mostly uninterested in pursuing people for sex or romance. She claims this is because of her power “taking all the mystery out of it,” but even without it she’s the sort of person who would end up in her mid twenties and abruptly realize she’s never seriously considered dating anyone, and then have a small crisis about it.

She cares deeply for people, and isn’t shy about displaying that affection for them. And by people I mean Taylor, because she was never as close to anyone else as she was to Taylor. Hugs, kisses on the cheek, and just general closeness are all in her comfort zone, provided she likes and trusts the person in question.

Also, even during the time when she’s blaming her power for her asexuality, she’d rather have her power than have sex or romance. I’ve read a lot of fics where a power blocker is what finally “lets her be in a relationship”, but if Lisa lost her power, she’d be frustrated. Upset. Her entire sense of self is built around knowing everything, and getting rid of that isn’t going to relax her, or magically “fix” her.

On that note, there’s not really anything to be fixed in regards to how Lisa views relationships. That’s just how she is, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Now, let’s say that you want to write Lisa dating someone anyway. How do you do that? Well, first of all is writing attraction: Lisa isn’t attracted to people. She can tell when people are attractive, but it’s more detached. She notes how they look, mentions what parts look good, and moves on. She doesn’t get blushy, or stammering, or embarrassed, or anything like that. She’s more likely to scowl and rant honestly. Even if you’re not writing her as ace/aro, this is still the mask she wears, and the way she controls other people’s image of her.

She values trust and friendship over grand romantic gestures. Any romance between her and another character wouldn’t look too different from a very close friendship. Maybe some extra kissing, but she broadly isn’t going to be invested in the physical intimacy outside of the casual stuff listed above, and isn’t going to get all that worked up by anything.

Additionally, Lisa doesn’t pine for romance. She’s not going to obsess over not having a partner, or think about not dating, or anything like that. Not outside of the occasional “yeah that’s not a thing I do”. She might obsess over someone she likes, but that’s not necessarily a romance thing. She just cares deeply for her friends.

The most important thing, I think, is to look at what she gets out of the relationship. I’ve seen this often in a couple different dynamics where Lisa dates someone to “fix them”. They’re depressed, so she dates them to make them happy. They have struggles, she dates them to distract them. They have an unhealthy fixation, she dates them to fix that. This is never good. For any ship, really, but I see it a lot with Lisa in particular. What does Lisa get out of doing a bunch of emotional labor for someone? She gets... to date them? Which she wasn’t that interested in to begin with. Maybe companionship? Sure, if it’s someone she likes and is close to. Mainly, if Lisa wanted to have a partner, she could find one who doesn’t require a ton of upfront work.

The closest comparison I can make here to canon is that Lisa helped Taylor come out of her shell a bit when she joined the Undersiders. Took her shopping, encouraged her to go after Brian, and so on. But, she wasn’t the sole source of encouragement for Taylor, and most of that was in service of getting something she wanted: Taylor on the team in a more permanent capacity.

As mentioned earlier, Lisa isn’t the easiest person to get close to. She pokes, prods, and pries, and it’s hard to tell how much she knows about one’s secrets and thoughts at any given time. At the same time, since she knows so much, she’s going to struggle to spend a lot of time around someone who’s generally unpleasant to be around. Lisa’s also someone who blusters a lot, hides her feelings behind a mask. What she says isn’t always what she means.

Additionally, Lisa isn’t someone who likes to take the lead. She prefers to work from the shadows, or alongside someone else who’s willing to take the reins. You can see this in how she defers to Brian, even when she could easily get him to agree with her, and how she defers to Taylor later, despite their relationship having started with Lisa manipulating her. In Ward, we all see her warming to Victoria over time, in part because Victoria was decisive and kept coming back to interact with her. Lisa wants someone more assertive, generally speaking.

Really, the best way to write a ship between Lisa and someone else is just to write them as friends, and the rest will follow.

Character Voice:

A common question I get is “How do I get Lisa’s voice right?”

It’s a complicated question to answer, actually.

Lisa is often written as snarky, but that's not quite right. She’s witty, not snarky. She’s a brat, but it’s usually calculated. She’s petty and annoying, intentionally so, and that’s the undoing of Coil. She never stops being annoying, to be clear, and needles Accord, the heroes, Cauldron, Victoria and Breakthrough, the various villains of Ward, the Wardens, and probably everyone in-between. I can’t source them all, because I’d be linking most of Worm and Ward. She’s truly wonderful.

In combat. Tattletale is someone who banters, but her banter always has a purpose. She wants to distract. To needle. To unsettle. To create openings and pull out information. More than that? She’s trying to prove that she’s smarter than everyone. She needs to get the last word, she needs to one up everyone, and she needs to succeed. Part of this is her own “people only want me for my power” insecurity, and part of it is this burning, driving need to not be used.

One thing that's easy enough to forget is that Lisa is a seventeen year old girl in Worm. She's mature beyond her years due to a heavy dose of trauma (like most capes), but she's still a teenager. A lot of her non-cape conversations with Taylor at the beginning of Worm were pretty normal. Shopping, joking about putting on weight because of her half of the burger, talking about boys, talking about their teammates, and so on. Lisa isn't a jokester, despite frequent enough quips. She's mostly normal, if smarter than average, and just a bit mean.

Lisa, when with friends especially, is more subdued. She comes off as charming, intelligent, and confident. She dresses well, but specifically to blend in; her goal is to look normal and forgettable. Lisa is good at poking and pushing her friends to open up, and generally does so right up until the point where it’s unwelcome, and then backs off. But, she does this out of care and affection. Also, related to loyalty, she literally only says  ‘bye’ once in Worm, and I’m half convinced that was a mistake, because she goes to insane lengths to avoid saying it otherwise; if nothing else, she never says ‘goodbye’.

Also manipulation, but that manipulation can easily be seen as “for their own good.”

Crucially, Lisa sees everything as manipulation. She heard the phrase “communication is manipulation” and took it to heart. She can’t help but interpret social interactions as battles to be won, as games to win, and as things she can cheat at. She tones this down with people she cares about (Taylor), but she never really stops trying to stack the odds. And if it’s not a competition, it’s a transaction. She’s trading something she can do, usually using her power, for whatever it is they have to offer. Some degree of friendship and companionship, usually.

There’s a moment in Ward, in her interlude, where Lisa thinks of Lily as a friend. And at the same time, it’s abundantly clear that Lily doesn’t see Lisa that way. But Lisa goes through the motions anyway. She performs the transactions, and uses her power for the team and her friends; even when she gets nothing back. Because that’s the only way she knows how to interact with people. It’s the only way she knows how to show affection.

By being useful.

Additionally, she’s fairly unflappable. In addition to mouthing off to practically everyone, her reactions to being attacked by Cody during the Behemoth fight are fairly subdued. She panics more when he turns his attention to her specifically, but even then she’s good at keeping her composure, and her mask stays up.

In addition to all that: Lisa is corny. A little bit silly. She uses a combination of strange words, odd slang, and crass language. “Copacetic” is a word she uses almost as much as Taylor. She uses pet names like “hon”, “pal”, and “sweetie” constantly, to name but a few. She’s literally used the word “Dastardly” to refer to her crimes. She swears more than you’d expect, and not always at appropriate times. During the Behemoth fight, she spent a long time dramatically writing the word “fuck” and underlining it several times. She’s crude at times as well; in an iconic Ward moment, her only reaction to bad news was to say “oh, balls.” That’s seared into my brain, because it’s just so emblematic of how she speaks. It’s like she learned every fancy word she could, and intentionally used them all as crassly as possible.

When Lisa speaks, you get the impression that she loves words. Not just fancy words, but all words. She likes using them creatively, and pulling together the perfect sentence. She’s the type to take metaphors and similes, and smash them together in odd ways. Lisa likes to play with her words, and play with the people hearing them. It’s not just about being right, it’s about showing off and being right.

All the world’s a stage, and she’s the star actor.

Conclusion:

In the end, there’s more information on Tattletale than not. I’ve had to leave out a lot, and even now I’m not confident in how I’ve explained her as a character. I consider myself one of the biggest, if not the biggest, Lisa fan, and I still feel like I’m learning more about her character all the time. If you disagree with any of what I’ve written, feel free to reach out or leave a comment. I’m always looking to expand my understanding of Lisa’s character. If you have a question about her that I didn’t answer, likewise reach out, and I’ll do my best to answer it in some way.

I may return to this later once I’ve reread Ward, as there is a lot there I have either forgotten, or don’t have in my easy access memory banks like the majority of Worm. Although, most people are likely to write about Worm Lisa anyway, lol.

Thanks for reading!

Sources and good Lisa references:

Undersiders recruit Taylor; Lisa says “dastardly”: Insinuation 2.6

Undersiders bring Taylor to the loft for the first time: Insinuation 2.7

Lisa’s cops and robbers theory: Agitation 3.6

Lisa and Taylor vs Glory Girl and Panacea at the bank: Agitation 3.11/Agitation 3.12

Lisa tells Taylor about Rachel’s power influenced thought process: Hive 5.10

Brians brings Lisa and Taylor coffee; Lisa explains she’s not interested in romance: Tangle 6.2

Lisa needling Armsmaster and Dauntless post-gala: Tangle 6.7

Lisa tells Taylor about Coil: Extermination 8.8

Lisa’s interlude in Worm: 8.x (Bonus Interlude) | Worm

Lisa and Taylor going to merchants part; Lisa’s shelter; Senegal sucks: Infestation 11.4

Lisa vs Jack Slash: Plague 12.4

Lisa interrogates Cherish: Snare 13.7

Agnosia plague, making Taylor leave her: Prey 14.8

Lisa and Taylor kiss: Prey 14.11

The one time Lisa says ‘bye’: Colony 15.10

Piggot vs the Undersiders and Travelers: Monarch 16.3

The Undersiders beat Coil: Monarch 16.13

Lisa’s breakdown post Echidna: Scourge 19.7 | Worm

Taylor visits Lisa before turning herself in: Imago 21.7

Parian’s interlude right after Taylor turns herself in; Lisa stressed dialogue: Interlude 21

Lisa vs Cody during Behemoth: Interlude 23

Lisa in the hospital during Behemoth; “FUCK”: Crushed 24.3

Lisa tears into Taylor during Khepri, and then helps her anyway: Speck 30.1

-Ward sources-

Victoria meets with Tattletale: Glare 3.6

Tattletale’s interlude in Ward: Interlude 10.x

Aiden’s interlude, second half is him interacting with Tattletale: Interlude 10.z

Tattletale takes Victoria and Sveta to a meeting; bickers with both of them; admits she thinks that Parian is weird for liking kink: Black 13.10

Victoria sees Tattletale finding her brother’s corpse: From Within - 16.8

Tattletale tells Victoria she deserved the rape; Heartbroken say nice things about Tattletale: From Within - 16.10

Tattletale and Victoria talk at the end of the world: Last - 20.9

[cpericardium]

I did what I was told//but I was a man born invisible