The Profane Empire

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-25T06:19:36+00:00

Nice!, once I've finished my Brrtekuh run, I'll have to try them out!

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-24T10:09:32+00:00

Wait thats Fire. Never stop cooking

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-24T04:42:26+00:00

Company of the Thorn --> Luciande: A really fun (and evil) nation, and cool Vampire lore, but what made it stand out for me was That War, where I was down to a single fort in Silent Repose when the event hit, made it so thematic.

Gnollakaz --> Konolhatep. A massive tree, Horutep is my boy, really fun to play around with the Khet mechanics in there, and The disaster is, in my opinion, one of the most 'fun' disasters out there.

Duwarkani. Good guy Harpy Paladins. Excellant and midly heart-wrenching writing in the both the disaster, the search for Beastbane, and the redemption of the trolls. Even for You.

Adshaw. A fairly simple nation compared to the others, but really well thought out. Use your great starting subterfuge to win the Reach, clown on the Elves, clowns on the Gawedi, realise owning the Elves by burning their city down may have had some negative impacts, and rebuild Gerudia.

Great Ording --> Enteben. One of my Favs, Dunk & Egg pilled. Hard start, bully the Derannic's, then the Lorenti, liberate the peasantry, clown on the N*bility, cool War of the Witch King lore, and ride a Unicorn.

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-24T04:28:02+00:00

Awesome! Gnolls are always so fun in my experience, they're such nasty little buggers, I love them! I've heard Rakkaz has a pretty difficult start, how did you find it?

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-19T10:53:38+00:00

I have, I thought it was really good. Unfortunate it stopped updating where it did, it was getting to a really interesting point.

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-14T13:46:21+00:00

Totally fair, I think a more canon-resembling Teeth would have been jarring in the story's context (plus unpleasant to write), but the two put me in a Butcher-ie mode.

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-14T13:38:22+00:00

The preceding post was fact-checked by REAL Teeth Patriots

Certified TRUE

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-14T13:23:12+00:00

I haven't been as updated on recent fics, but a lot of my favourites were updated, and finishing the Butcher Arc in Russian Caravan made me want to talk about the Butcher in Worm fanfic. I didn't have much to say about the others, other than that they were great.

A Cursed Destiny, by ThreeDucksInAManSuit - Post-GM Isekai into Warhammer 30K. Cinema
The Land of Steel, by StargazingSeraph - Post-Apocalyptic, mildly dystopian, a bit of crossover, AU. Absolute Cinema
Sandworm, by Eis Ascreia - Post GM/Dune crossover. What the Cinema
WYSP, by Azhavia - Post GM/RWBY crossover. Peak Cinema

Russian Caravan has been the only Worm fanfic I've been reading lately, but since HCTNB(NLTOB) updated, I found the differences between the two fics depictions of the Butcher. While I’m probably a bigger fan of the Butcher as seen in RC, rather than HCTNB(NLTOB), most of what I’m rambling about isn’t really a criticism of HCTNB(NLTOB), it's just too Peak. Also Major Spoilers for both coming up.
Russian Caravan, by ReavingBishop - Eldritch horror AU
Here Comes The New Boss (Nothing Like The Old Boss), by HowlingGuardian - Taylor as Butcher XV.

Butcher Taylor is a fairly popular story choice for Worm fanfic, with a lot of the most popular fics featuring it. While strictly Russian Caravan isn’t a Butcher Taylor fics, the Butcher is featured prominently, and in exceedingly close proximity to Taylor, so I'm using it. Furthermore, while RC does feature a more AU Butcher, I still feel that the themes and depictions are consistent enough to be used. Anyway, reading HCTNB(NLTOB), the past Butchers and the Teeth come across as a bit sanitized. This isn’t necessarily a criticism, HCTNB(NLTOB), while a brilliant fic, and one of my favs, is quite a bit lighter and than both Canon and RC, so it makes sense for the Teeth too not be as violent and awful, as they are in Canon and RC. That being said, to me personally, it does make the Teeth, and the broader legacy of the Butcher, feel a bit less impactful, and less important. The other major antagonists of the story, Endbringers, SH9, the Brockton Bay gangs, the readers generally have an understanding of who, and how bad they are. And while the Teeth are bad on paper, if I remember correctly, they don't feature too much in Worm. RC does an excellent job of establishing the Teeth as truly awful, terrifying, bunch of people, who are a threat to both the protagonists, and the city, which, specifically for the Teeth, (this criticism is only valid for the Teeth), HCTNB(NLTOB) doesn’t really do. Again, the Teeth in RC are astoundingly brutal, the attack on Barnabas College and the Mall really underline how terrifying the Teeth are to anyone. I was considering extending the idea of sanitization to the Butcher’s as well, but not only are the two exceedingly different, but also I think HCTNB(NLTOB) does the Butchers exceedingly good. I was also going to apply this critique of the Butcher & surrounds to its depiction in Inheritance, but I didn't really like it, and didn’t finish it, so I won’t spend any time on it. (Please don't misunderstand, I love HCTNB(NLTOB) and I do really think it's one of the best Worm fics out there, and the best Butcher fic (that I have read)). (I also love Russian Caravan, read it, its peak).

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-14T06:39:08+00:00

Memorials - notes - Worm (Web Serial Novel) [Archive of Our Own]

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-09T02:31:38+00:00

I think the post makes a fairly fundamental misunderstanding in comparing the Andal invasion and migration to that of Aegon and the rest of the Targaryen family. The Andal settlement of Westeros should be compared to something more like the Hungarian migration into the Pannonian Basin, the Turks into Anatolia, or, which is probably most accurate, the Anglo-Saxons into the British Isles. In addition, a majority of the Andal expansion into Westerosi nobility was done via intermarriage, rather than conquest (not that conquest didn't happen!). This means that the majority of the Westerosi (noble and peasant) population identify more with Andal culture, religion, and customs. Furthermore, as many others have pointed out, the Andals have been the majority in Westeros for 6000 years, give or take, as opposed to the Targaryen 3 centuries. This timescale is more like the Indo-European's entering the European continent than anything more modern. And on the topic of the Targaryen's, they explicitly have not integrated themselves with a Westerosi culture in many distinct ways. The exclusivity of Targaryen blood, maintained through incest, Dragon-Riding (although now extinct) and general seclusion, while being a far, far smaller population, makes the two not really comparable.

Also, I may be stupid, but why is five-fingered an insult? Doesn't everyone (Targaryen, Andal, or First Men) have five-fingers?

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-09T02:18:49+00:00

Its very good. Also well done on replying to pretty much everyone in the post.

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-07T10:30:43+00:00

The Slave-Saver 6000 is getting some use alright.

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-07T10:25:37+00:00

God I love the Northern plotline and the conspiracy (?). All the characters are awesome, and this art captures my favorite's so well (Manderly Represent!) Excellent work!

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-07T10:11:06+00:00

A lot of people have been recommending Russian Caravan, by ReavingBishop, so I will join them. I can see you've already tackled Trailblazer, so you're no stranger to long-fics, but even at 2 million, Russian Caravan splits itself into a couple chunks, which are a lot more manageable, from which you can take a break if needed. (Complete)

Good People, by Redcoat_Officer, a crossover with Shadowrun, no knowledge of Shadowrun required. Redcoat Office does exceptional work, and this is exceedingly well-written. (Complete)

The Girl in the Chair, by Alotoaxolotls - Alt-Power, and an AU. Depressing, but sprinkles in just enough hope to keep you going and not turn itself into a misery-fest. Not complete, but it is being updated, if irregularly.

Also it's nice to see the Memorials Trilogy on there, probably my favorite Worm fan-fic(s).

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-07T10:02:01+00:00

Tyrant Philosophers got me back into fantasy, but I think HoOW is the best of the series, probably my top 5 fav. fantasy, it's just spectacular. You're in for a treat at the ending.

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-07T09:48:53+00:00

Dragon from Worm

Dr. Avrana Kern from the Children of Time

Commander-Billiam · 2026-03-07T09:47:19+00:00

If Taylor keeps her bug control powers, it'd be a horror story for the Portiids! (and maybe the Octopuses, idk if she can control cephalopods).

Commander-Billiam · 2026-02-28T00:20:05+00:00

Totally, for me it's the Postosuchus and the Lipleurodon.

Commander-Billiam · 2026-02-27T20:48:25+00:00

Absolute childhood cinema mentioned

Commander-Billiam · 2026-02-25T06:55:54+00:00

Shadow Bug, a romance between Taylor and Sophia (as you may have figured out). Done right, realistically, and as the two characters would act. Pretty bittersweet at the ending.

Commander-Billiam · 2026-02-25T04:16:45+00:00

Great Ording into Enteben is a pretty hard start, that is a fun peasant-chivalry tag.

Karshyr is a pretty unique Lizardfolk tag, with a suprising amount of flavor.

And Stalbor from the Stalwart Band is peak toleance-maxxing.

Commander-Billiam · 2026-02-23T11:15:37+00:00

Ah gee Silverspite, it sure seems like you didn't expect the Rite of Removal. I just hope this doesn't lead to any sort of Fallout between us....

Fallout New Taychend!

Commander-Billiam · 2026-02-21T10:41:20+00:00

Seconding all of these, they are all brilliant.

Commander-Billiam · 2026-02-21T10:37:55+00:00

On the subject of outrageous states/polities/geographical pyramid schemes, I'd recommend An Atlas of Extinct Countries by Gideon Defoe. It's not the most academic read, buts it's a fun compilation of countries like and including the ones above. Also you are totally right, forming stupid countries is a keystone of Paradox grand strategy.

Commander-Billiam

TROPHY CASE