Elysium by Yun-Yun-Hakusho
The Reaping is a Worm fanfic by Para_Docks
in which Taylor triggers with a power reminiscent of Glaistig Uaine.
Found on SpaceBattles and on FF.net.
This fic provides examples of:
- Accidental Murder: The first person Taylor claimed was Sophia/Shadow Stalker. At the time Taylor thought her only power was to sense other parahumans. She found out Sophia was a parahuman, figured out she was Shadow Stalker a supposed hero and confronted her. Sophia attacked her and Taylor claimed her by accident.
- All Your Powers Combined: Elysium is able to use the powers of any 3 parahumans she has used her Touch of Death on. As of the latest chapter she has acquired the powers of at least 36 capes.
- Asshole Victim: Taylor tries to focus on truly nasty villains like Hookwolf as reaping targets. After the Nine's attack, she heads out of town to reap people that have potentially useful powers but don't help with things like Endbringers.
- Dead Fic: The author has declared the fic dead.
- Death by Adaptation: Tattletale, Bitch, Victor, and Bonesaw.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: Skidmark, Squealer, Mush, Grue, Regent, Alabaster, Hookwolf, Victor, Othalla, Night, Fog, Kaiser, Shatterbird, the Siberian, Mannequin, Burnscar, Crawler, Hatchet Face, Cherish, and Jack Slash.
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: Taylor can only use three powersets at once.
- The Dreaded: Elysium, unsurprisingly considering just what her power is.
- Invisible to Normals: When Elysium claims a parahuman their body dies, but they live on as ghosts that can only be seen or heard by her.
- Logical Weakness:
- Since Taylor can't create projections of her claimed capes like the Fairy Queen, and has to use her abilities herself, she's more vulnerable.
- Some powers just don't work well together, like how Mush's trash would get snagged in Hookwolf's blades if she used both at once.
- Since Trickster/Typhon's power just moves but doesn't harm, August Prince can be affected by it. Cherish's power can also be used on him, to the point that Taylor thinks that she can make it feel to August's power that her claiming him would be a Mercy Kill.
- The Man in the Mirror Talks Back: Taylor could initially only see her ghosts in reflections. However, that seems to have been forgotten about in the writing very early on.
- Mental Fusion: Downplayed, but if Taylor keeps a ghost out too long, their personality traits can bleed into her a bit.
- Mercy Kill: Elysium has done this twice. First to Grue and Tattletale after having their throats slit by Oni Lee. The second time was during the Leviathan fight to a mortally wounded Aegis.
- Nothing Is Scarier: One cape, Gasconade, actually finds Behemoth less scary than Elysium, since Behemoth is still a known quality, while Elysium is still an unknown despite the information they already have on her.
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Almost every cape on Taylor’s team has a name from Greek mythology. Subverted with Theo Anders/Colossus and Dinah Alcott.note
- Taylor is Elysium after the resting place of heroes.
- Aisha is Lethe after the river of forgetfulness.
- Emma is Tartarus after the prison of the damned.
- Francis Krouse and Noelle Meinhardt are Typhon and Echidna.
- Superpower Lottery: Taylor/Elysium has the potential to become a Triumvirate tier cape, see All Your Powers Combined.
- Noelle/Echidna after being cured of her power induced mutations gains the power to create creatures that temporarily give people (including herself) the powers of any single cape she has touched.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: While Taylor/Elysium and Emma/Tartarus are on the same team and can work together they barely stand each other.
- Total Party Kill: Both the Archer's Bridge Merchants and the Slaughterhouse Nine get TPK'ed by Taylor.
- Happens to the Undersiders before Taylor shows up to claim Tattletale and Grue.
- Downplayed with Empire 88; Purity, Rune, Krieg, Stormtiger, Crusader, Fenja, and Menja are still alive, and all but Purity and Rune are in PRT custody.
- Was It Really Worth It?: Taylor/Elysium asks Emma this when she realizes just how broken her former friend is.Elysium: “‘Was it worth it, Emma?’She didn't speak. I could read it all in her body language. Confusion, not knowing whether I meant her deal with Cauldron, or everything. And then a lot of thought. I let her have it.It took about ten minutes for the projection to shake her head. It had only taken 2 for tears to start spilling from her real body's eyes.”
