Taylor Varga/Trivia

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Trivia about Taylor Varga includes:

• Ascended Extra: Erwin, the fisherman/retired intelligence agent. It's uncertain just which fan writer created him (if it wasn't mp3.1415player), but he's become a common supporting character in Worm fic.

• The Cameo: Taylor and the Varga make a cameo appearance (as a Shout-Out to this story) in chapter 15 of The Worm Turns by "Greyff", itself a Worm fic with connections to the infamous fic cycle The Bet.

• Doorstopper: Over two million words as of Autumn 2022, and it isn't done yet.

• Fan Nickname: "SmugNet" for the alternate/subnetwork of shards awakened by exposure to Taylor and the Varga (with "ScionNet" for the original network).

• Rouge Angles of Satin: Almost entirely avoided with only a few exceptions:
  • mp3.1415player consistently uses "different to" instead of the correct "different from".
  • He also has a couple instances of the erroneous "free reign" in place of "free rein".

• Shout-Out: There are a large number of shout-outs and references throughout the story, more often made in-universe by Taylor and other characters with extensive pop culture knowledge than slipped in by the author as a subtle detail. Both kinds will be listed here.
  • Danny explicitly namechecks The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy when the "Assassin's Cloak" and its Somebody Else's Problem effect are first explained to him.
  • Danny to Winslow High's principal: "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."
  • Danny describes Taylor's Nigh Invulnerability as "the ability to take a boot to the head better than most people."
  • Danny describes one of Taylor's proposed pre-Saurial forms as "looking like she eats hobbits".
  • The members of the Dock Workers' Union constantly make Godfather jokes and references about Danny and his position within the union.
  • Saurial's first appearances prompts references on PHO to the Reptilian conspiracy theory and its proponent David Icke.
  • Taylor as Saurial makes one to Jaws (and the 1998 Godzilla film) when she tells an ABB member "I think you're going to need a bigger gun."
  • Taylor (as Saurial) explicitly shouts out The Far Side when in the presence of some of New Wave's members she names a steel training dummy "Thag" before slicing it to ribbons with a bladed Thagomizer weapon on her tail.
  • Dinah joking that she's "97.66% sure" about joining the Wards may be a shout-out to the famous slogan for Ivory soap, "99 44⁄100% Pure".
  • Blackadder: Taylor has "a cunning plan" for how she and Amy will justify knowing each other.
  • In her first private talk with Amy, Taylor has a moment where, while contemplating a question as Saurial, she scratches her muzzle/chin with a claw -- looking not unlike the "Philosoraptor" meme image. And it's not the only time.
  • Multiple in-universe call-outs to H.P. Lovecraft, starting with Taylor's use of a motto in R'lyehian over the door to the very first Family facility: "cchtenff nnnshugg h'uh'e", translated by Dragon as "The Family protects its land and its people".
  • "You have the con, Mr. Varga."
  • "I am Kaiju, Little Salamander. Your arguments are all invalid."
  • "And her little dog, too", referring to one of Rachel's dogs.
  • Brian to Lisa the morning after their rescue by Raptaur and the DWU: "So. This is another fine mess you got us into, Lisa."
  • A backhanded reference to Paul Clifford by Edward Bulwer-Lytton and its immortal first line appears as the first line of the chapter that begins the day Kaiju is unveiled before the entire city: "It was a bright and non-stormy morning."
  • When Lucy announces her intent to get photos of herself with every member of The Family, Eric asks, "Gotta collect them all?"
  • Just before Kaiju's first appearance in the bay on February 15, Mandy intones "Let loose the Kraken!"
  • Leet and Über provide a soundtrack for Kaiju's salvage operation, starting with the theme from Jaws and including music from Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pacific Rim and many more.
  • When Leet and Über play the Imperial March from Star Wars, Kaiju stops her towing long enough to playact as a ninety-foot-tall Darth Vader.
  • The short snippets we see of the PHO thread on Kaiju's debut is littered with them:
    • "I for one..."
    • I picked the wrong day to give up drinking.
    • Another instance of "Gonna need bigger guns".
    • Another "You wouldn't like her when she's angry".
    • One PHO poster, username "EdBaccarat", is a reference to Ed Becerra, author of Legion's Quest among other fics (including omakes for TV) and a frequent commenter in the story thread on Sufficient Velocity.
      • A colleague/friend of Retired Badass Erwin, also called "Ed", may be the same person, but even if he's not is almost certainly another shout-out to Becerra.
  • Alec tosses out a double Simpsons reference by blending Homer and Burns into "Mmmm, steak. Excellent." Lisa calls him on it.
  • In the second "water rocket" omake, an airplane's flight crew witnesses Umihebi flying at a significant altitude, and wearing goggles and a white scarf. One of the crew describes her as looking like a cross between a Great Old One and Snoopy.
  • Danny does a Mr. Burns-style "Excellent" after Chief Director Costa-Brown of the PRT calls and sets up a visit.
  • "Who are you who are so wise in the ways of mathematics?" Rich asks Taylor at the first group tutoring session at the Hebert home, spawning a brief spate of mangled Holy Grail quotes.
  • To The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy when Taylor makes a towel for Amy and tells her she should always know where it is.
  • Amy explicitly refuses to name her purple-hued Family form "Barney".
  • Reference is made to "a neurotoxin that paralyzed facial muscles specifically".
  • In her first omake appearance, Ianthe goes all Judge Dredd on Brockton Bay's criminals.
  • The ends of the wormhole created by Leet's device are orange and blue.
    • There's another (stealth) Portal reference when Sarah mentions to Carol that she promised her son Eric she'd make a cake, and she didn't want it to be a lie.
    • Much later, in "Incident and Flight", we get further cake and lies references.
  • Leet suggests Kaiju should wear a Badass Longcoat and Cool Shades when wielding the "nuclear shotgun", and Armsmaster tells him they don't need the Terminator reference.
  • To The Simpsons when Danny, tongue-in-cheek, says "In this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics". Taylor replies, "Nice reference."
  • In the discussion thread about the non-Euclidean object given to Danny for his birthday by the Family, one poster insists "Soon the things will come from the woodwork out", a reference to the Golden Age SF story "The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out" by Reginald Brentnor.
    • In 2022 mp3.1415player began writing a Worm crossover with that story and its follow-ups, Great Grand-Uncle Schimmelhorn's Toolbox. Given the relative dates, the shout-out here probably inspired the later story.
  • 42 is the answer Vista gets when pondering some equations which have no numbers. She decides she doesn't really know the question she's trying to answer.
  • "MAGA" is briefly mocked in a discussion of slogans to use to promote Brockton Bay.
  • To Wacky Races/Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines in the second "pet shop" omake, when Amy refers to a biomod which allows Lucy's iguana the ability to snicker as the "muttley" mod.
  • mp3.1415player gives Clockblocker -- known only by his first name, "Dennis", in Worm -- the last name "Moore".
  • Battery ends up a list of Raptaur's powers with "a fanatical devotion to the Pope".
  • "Omake - Now They're Just Being Silly" is loaded with them:
    • Ianthe charges into battle bellowing "By the power of Greyskull!"
    • Metis follows with "Leeroy Jenkins!"
    • The Simurgh is done up as Snoopy the World War I flying ace.
    • Kaiju swinging a massive hammer and screaming "Behemoth no baka!"
    • "By Grabthar's Hammer!"
  • There are numerous deliberate In-Universe shout-outs to Stargate SG-1 surrounding the wormhole facility once it's established.
  • When playfully discussing possible nicknames for Taylor, Mandy suggests "The Tallest".
  • An omake revolves around an extended shout-out to Sailor Moon and/or Sailor V.
  • In reading about a meeting in Canberra between the British and Australian governments that the Simurgh almost disrupted, Rebecca mentions that a detachment of King's Men were sent as bodyguards.
  • During a study night at Taylor's, Vicky says, "The internet is a very silly place. We should never go there."
  • Vista hums the Mission: Impossible theme to herself when she sneaks out to visit BBFO.
  • There is a brief shout-out to Discworld when Taylor playfully identifies the cloaked Vista at the BBFO's door as "Death" and gives her a scythe. It's continued when later Ianthe gives her a limited Voice Changeling ability, and while tuning it to just the right voice briefly gives her the voice of Death from the books.
  • Moments later, "Cloak" gives her own version of the classic Chew Bubblegum line from They Live!
  • BBPD officer George Bailey, who responds to an attempted robbery involving Danny, and who warns of problems with the Merchants.
  • There are numerous Airplane! jokes at the end of one of the first study sessions at the Hebert home.
  • Vista as Cloak checking out the PRT building: "I did! I did see a Sophia!"
  • Squealer recounts how she had a dream of, and a desire to build, what was basically a SHIELD helicarrier.
  • In "Omake - Recruitment drive", the various government agents and officials all have names from the cast and production team behind the new Doctor Who
  • When Amy makes a "dummy" brain to put in Squealer's body after moving her brain into a new body, Taylor jokes about naming it "Abby Normal". (When she has to kill that body to fake Squealer's death, she's far less flippant about it.)
  • A "sierpinski gasket" is a physical component of the Space-Time Door from Sailor Moon (and one that needs replacing, because it's leaking).
  • During the attack on the Merchants, Ianthe calls out "We're heeeeeeerrrrreeee!" and "I see dead people."
  • An in-universe instance: Taylor deliberately models her Breksta ("dragon") form after Toothless from the film How to Train Your Dragon.
  • In the omake "Con-Tinuation", a dealer with whom Taylor is bargaining for a rather expensive prop replica says, after one offer, "And I'm cutting me own throat!" Saurial replies "You sound just like someone I met once. His food was pretty good."
  • Among other things, Leet has built Mjolnir armor, a BFG10K and a Mario Kart.
  • After he acquires the martial art just by watching a YouTube video, Über says to Leet, "I know kung fu."
  • When Amy demands to know how Taylor is managing to appear in two places at one time, Taylor replies, "It's... a secret."
    • She repeats it later when Lisa wants to know why Taylor wanted to learn Japanese.
    • And Lisa gets to deliver the line (as Metis) to Amy quite a while later.
  • To Pinky and The Brain:

"So what do you want to do now?" "Same thing we do every night?" "Try to confuse the fuck out of the world?" "That's it."

• • Taylor and Amy essentially repeat the shout-out several hundred thousand words later.
  • And another million or so words later, in reference to the syllabus laid out on the first night of training the DWU security people in all the martial skills the Union's various members have to share, Zephron shouts "And what do we do tomorrow night?" Mark, who's running the meeting, grins and replies "Take over the world, probably."

• • To the Dragonriders of Pern: "You've been reading those McCaffrey books again, haven't you?"
  • Mention is also made of Alan Dean Foster's "Flinx and Pip" stories.
  • PRT lieutenants Gibson, Pratchett and Gaiman, who appear in a group at the Coil Planning Party at the BBFO.
  • "We are the Family. Our biological and technological peculiarities will be added to your own. Prepare for fun."
  • Eric/Shielder calls out, "New Wave, assemble!" (Mention is then made of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films.)
  • In "Guest Omake - Monty Python has a lot to answer for", Taylor figures out how to fake having detachable limbs, and recreates the Black Knight scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Assault. At the end of the chapter, she also does Thing for Amy and Lisa.
  • The active phase of the assault on Coil's base sanity starts with a handful of Zero Wing references, beginning with "All Your Base Are Belong to Us" displayed on his office monitor.
  • Also during the raid on Coil's base: "IM IN UR COMPUTR EATIN ALL UR MONEIZ" and "CEILIN LIZARD IZ WATCHIN U".
  • Shortly thereafter: "Would you like to play a game?" and "Ready Player One".
  • Sergeant Owens refuses to accept wearing a Red Shirt as a reason not to take point.
  • Again with the Lovecraft, with all the Mind Screw Taylor and the Varga inflict on Coil, culminating in the microshoggoth going "Tag! You're it!" in a little girl's voice.
  • A classic Stock Shout-Out to Colossal Cave when one of Coil's mercenaries notes, "I don't remember this maze of twisty passageways. They're all alike, too. Weird."
  • Taylor and the Varga's Mind Screw takes a particularly weird turn when they present a group of mercenaries with an obvious trap right out of a Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner cartoon: a pile of ammunition on a sheet of canvas (badly) painted to look like the ground, with a little "Free Ammunition" sign, the whole thing spotlit by an emergency light -- while a massive cardboard box with glowing eyes peeking out from under it lurks nearby. The mercs are Genre Savvy enough to turn around and walk away.
  • The mercenaries also encounter a painted "hole" in the ground -- into which one of their number falls.
  • To The Princess Bride, with a use of "inconceivable" followed by a You Keep Using That Word moment.
  • In a non-canon omake, Leet has apparently built a Jaeger. He uses it to play ping-pong against Kaiju.
  • When Vectura promises "something cool", Danny asks if it will engrave her name on the moon.
  • Lisa jokingly suggests that to turn Vectura's Transforming Mecha back into its proper shape from the little metal ball it collapses into, she should throw it at the ground and shout, "Mech, I choose you!"
    • When they apply the same feature to Amy's pickup truck, she actually does call out "Mighty Blue Truck, I choose you!" when she restores it to its proper size in Arcadia's parking lot.
  • Dr. Ikari, one the PRT scientists who tested Vectura.
  • Benny and Rudy recalling their visit to the DWU inadvertently evoke The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

"The people he has wandering around there..." "And the things," Rudy put in. "Which may or may not also be people."

• Vectura creates a lightcycle from TRON as part of her PRT power testing.

• • When PRT researchers Doctors Whitney and Franklin (who are blatant expies of Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage) show up for Lisa's sales pitch to the PRT, there are a cascade of MythBusters references, including their propensity for blowing things up, Franklin injuring himself poking at what they're investigating, Vista warning Prospect not to agree to help them else she'll end up losing an eyebrow, and an account of an "experiment" that sounds like a MythBusters episode -- just to name a few.
  • "And their little Cloak, too!"
  • Cops named Webb and Morgan show up at an accident Danny witnesses (and helps out after) on his way home from New York.
  • One of the agencies investigating Danny and the DWU has an agent named "Karloff". Given that we don't see codenames for any other agents that appear in the story, it's probably his real name.
  • The gang plays a video game during one of the math tutoring nights that's all about building rockets and using them to fire rodents into orbit. It's called Gerbil Space Explorer.
  • CEILIN LIZARD reappears at the end of "Omake - They're Everywhere", and IS WATCHIN Sophia.
  • Stan Lee has a cameo appearance as an old man in sunglasses shouting "Excelsior!" as the first train filled with scrap metal pulls out of the DWU yard.
  • In "Omake - LOL", Saurial -- and Kid Win, Vista, some onlookers, a shopkeeper, an incompetent thief and even some cops -- all speak in LOLcat.
  • Also in the same omake, a shopkeeper protests when a cabbage is damaged.
  • The Varga, as Raptaur, quotes the Catch Phrase of Michelle Dubois from 'Allo 'Allo! when beginning Dragon's language lesson in "Ordering and Driving":

Listen very carefully, I will say this only once.

Dragon recognizes the reference and is amused by it.

• • Later in the same chapter, the Varga, as "Big Brother", quotes the opening credits of The Outer Limits when explaining to Dragon the degree of control the Family has over a Pocket Dimension he has just created.
  • When offering her father a chance to try dragon-riding for the first time, Taylor says, in a Spanish accent, "Hello. My name is Taylor Hebert. You are my father. Prepare to fly."
  • Quite a few things the Family does -- mostly in omakes to be sure, but not exclusively so -- emit a "greenish yellow purple light".
  • A CIA operative has come to the conclusion that Danny is running a real-life "Village", and doing a better job than any of its Numbers Two ever did.
  • Dennis makes an off-color Snow White joke about Lucy "feeling happy in public".
  • Played with when Vicky gets the reveal she's been both wanting and fearing. She says, "I could never get the hang of Mondays." Taylor replies, "Nice reference" only for a puzzled Vicky to say "What reference?"
  • Another HHGTTG reference shows up shortly afterward when the narration notes that Vectura's mech "looked like a crab that was hovering in the air in exactly the same way crabs don't."
  • Several times Leet describes lost inventions as having "dropped into the dungeon dimensions".
  • When Taylor goes to collect Über and Leet for some revelations at the BBFO office, she says, "Come with me if you want to learn."
  • The omake "There will be pie" revolves entirely around Carl Sagan's famous quote from Cosmos, "If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe."
  • In the same omake, Taylor and the Varga accidentally create the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic universe.
  • At one point, Metis refers to Taylor and the Varga's work on dimensional portals as "when there's science to be done." Ianthe continues, "They'll probably make a note. With any luck it'll show huge success."
  • Taylor gets in a Star Wars reference when Amy gets upset at the state of the medical industry: "That's it, Amy, let the anger flow through you."
  • "Omake - Happy Human Horror Day" is filled with shout-outs in the form of the various costumes worn by Taylor's friends from Arcadia.
  • In one of the "Convention" omake, there is a tongue-in-cheek reference to "The Gnurrs Come From the Voodvork Out", a Golden Age of SF-era story by Randall Garrett, which also serves as a shout-out to one of mp3.1415player's other Worm crossover fics, Great Grand-Uncle Schimmelhorn's Toolbox.
  • One of the vendors at the same convention is Jeorg Sprave of The Slingshot Channel on YouTube.

• The Wiki Rule: The Taylor Varga Wiki; unfortunately, it is at best vestigial, with only sixteen pages, and no substantial contributions since 2018.

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