Different people have different opinions, but I used to live in Seattle, and still have friends there, two of whom recently moved out because of how bad things have gotten. According to them, the past few years have been a downhill slide with no end in sight, to the point where they don't feel their families are safe anymore. Just throwing that out there.
That's actually a thing in a lot of places, a group gets into power for a long time and the opposition groups either give up and be quiet or leave both of which solidify the first groups power. It's actually known to have been happening in California, as the cost of living rose the people who didn't like that left leading to the cost of living rising, repeat.
Tieing this back into the story I bet that a decent portion of why Brockton Bay is so terrible is because everyone who really wanted to drag the city out of the downward spiral left or gave up a long time ago and no one else has the power or motivation to fix it. This means that I bet the Mayor and such has been the same guy or his successors for a while and most of their strategies have been kick the can down the road just a little bit further.
Tying this back into the story I bet that a decent portion of why Brockton Bay is so terrible is because everyone who really wanted to drag the city out of the downward spiral left or gave up a long time ago and no one else has the power or motivation to fix it. This means that I bet the Mayor and such has been the same guy or his successors for a while and most of their strategies have been kick the can down the road just a little bit further.
Could someone clarify for me? Worm fanfics (such as by mp3.1415player) have shown political figures and celebrities in a much more positive light than Wildbow's grim-derp canon.
Scenes like Colony 15.8-15.9 seem to show the Christners as a loving and close-knit family. (And also show Taylor in a bad light)
What are the Christners, Alcotts, Stanfields, etc. really like? Psychopaths? Corrupt elite worthy of Gotham City? Well-intentioned All-Americans?
Could someone clarify for me? Worm fanfics (such as by mp3.1415player) have shown political figures and celebrities in a much more positive light than Wildbow's grim-derp canon.
Scenes like Colony 15.8-15.9 seem to show the Christners as a loving and close-knit family. (And also show Taylor in a bad light)
What are the Christners, Alcotts, Stanfields, etc. really like? Psychopaths? Corrupt elite worthy of Gotham City? Well-intentioned All-Americans?
I'm not going to go hunting through Worm for this but my guess is standard rich people and politicians. With Wildbow flavoring so because they are in positions of authority they can't be trusted. I mean, that's true pretty often in real life but Wildbow so probably exaggerated or more focused on.
Rich. And privileged. They are probably in that class of people who genuinely believe that being "poor" is only having one vacation a year and that people who complain about their jobs not paying enough should just quit and start their own company using a loan from grandfather rather than whining about unions and the minimum wage.
That is, they are fully insulated from how bad things really are with maybe only the mayor having any experience outside his social bubble, but only because he has to see the reports and visit the reconstruction sites rather than because he feels in his soul what poverty and desperation actually mean.
Or in other words probably well-meaning but with zero or less true understanding of the problems that need fixing, never mind how to do it.
Oh and of course on top of that, they're probably venal to a fault because Wildbow gotta Wildbow, as @Iridesce said.
Mostly in breaks at work in between all the other docs I'm following.
Rich. And privileged. They are probably in that class of people who genuinely believe that being "poor" is only having one vacation a year and that people who complain about their jobs not paying enough should just quit and start their own company using a loan from grandfather rather than whining about unions and the minimum wage.
That is, they are fully insulated from how bad things really are with maybe only the mayor having any experience outside his social bubble, but only because he has to see the reports and visit the reconstruction sites rather than because he feels in his soul what poverty and desperation actually mean.
Or in other words probably well-meaning but with zero or less true understanding of the problems that need fixing, never mind how to do it.
Oh and of course on top of that, they're probably venal to a fault because Wildbow gotta Wildbow, as @Iridesce said.
Could someone clarify for me? Worm fanfics (such as by mp3.1415player) have shown political figures and celebrities in a much more positive light than Wildbow's grim-derp canon.
Scenes like Colony 15.8-15.9 seem to show the Christners as a loving and close-knit family. (And also show Taylor in a bad light)
What are the Christners, Alcotts, Stanfields, etc. really like? Psychopaths? Corrupt elite worthy of Gotham City? Well-intentioned All-Americans?
It's not really covered in canon because of the focus on Taylor though it is worth mentioning after the bank when the repair bill came up which was large enough Piggot on her prt director salary said she'd feel paying it Dean thought nothing of volunteering to cover it because both he and Piggot knew he could just ask for it and his parents would think nothing of giving it to him.
They aren't covered enough in canon for us to know for certain for most of them, but the Christners were entitled.
Triumph/Rory Christner got his powers as a birthday present on his 16th birthday from his Dad (the mayor). He got them to cheat at sports, not to be a hero. Because he and his parents were entitled pricks like that.
Alas they started screening for parahumans soon after.
They aren't covered enough in canon for us to know for certain for most of them, but the Christners were entitled.
Triumph/Rory Christner got his powers as a birthday present on his 16th birthday from his Dad (the mayor). He got them to cheat at sports, not to be a hero. Because he and his parents were entitled pricks like that.
Alas they started screening for parahumans soon after.
They aren't covered enough in canon for us to know for certain for most of them, but the Christners were entitled.
Triumph/Rory Christner got his powers as a birthday present on his 16th birthday from his Dad (the mayor). He got them to cheat at sports, not to be a hero. Because he and his parents were entitled pricks like that.
Alas they started screening for parahumans soon after.
Yeah. Both Dean and Rory got their powers in a similar way, they went to their dads with a problem and both dads decided that the obvious solution wasn't something normal like a social/personal sports coach or I don't know steroids. So because they are too good for that simple solution they would spend several million dollars minimum on buying powers. Because that's just what they do.
Yeah. Both Dean and Rory got their powers in a similar way, they went to their dads with a problem and both dads decided that the obvious solution wasn't something normal like a social/personal sports coach or I don't know steroids. So because they are too good for that simple solution they would spend several million dollars minimum on buying powers. Because that's just what they do.
Because Triumph has a decent enough skill-set, and is personable enough to be a popular poster-boy for the Protectorate & Wards.
Get a bunch of rich people to pay for powers to cheat at sports, shut that down hard after they've already committed, and reap benefits of all your new heroes.
Because Triumph has a decent enough skill-set, and is personable enough to be a popular poster-boy for the Protectorate & Wards.
Get a bunch of rich people to pay for powers to cheat at sports, shut that down hard after they've already committed, and reap benefits of all your new heroes.
That was probably literally the plan. In fact, I bet that they did basically the same scheme multiple times, once for sports. Once for business. Once for academics. ECT.
They must have done all sorts of stuff that immediately removed the reason they wanted powers after getting enough people.
Er, this just came to me as if in a dream but has anyone else realised Taylor can almost web-swing now? With the mystic code on her armour making any thickness of silk even tougher and preventing damage from g-forces, all she needs is a way to rapidly deploy and stick strands from her costume.
Can't wait for her to figure it out; the PHO reaction would be gold:
"Lady Khepri can fly now? What the hell?"
Especially if Apeiron chimes in with "while I do not normally disclose details of my contracts I have been asked by Tattlettale to confirm that I have not supplied any form of independent flight mechanism to Khepri. On a personal note though I have figured out what she is doing and it's most inventive. Your mother would be so proud! 🥲"
Er, this just came to me as if in a dream but has anyone else realised Taylor can almost web-swing now? With the mystic code on her armour making any thickness of silk even tougher and preventing damage from g-forces, all she needs is a way to rapidly deploy and stick strands from her costume.
Can't wait for her to figure it out; the PHO reaction would be gold:
"Lady Khepri can fly now? What the hell?"
Especially if Apeiron chimes in with "while I do not normally disclose details of my contracts I have been asked by Tattlettale to confirm that I have not supplied any form of independent flight mechanism to Khepri. On a personal note though I have figured out what she is doing and it's most inventive. Your mother would be so proud! 🥲"
Taylor could web-swing in canon; I remember that she once strung some poor bastard up that way. All that she needs to do to do it, both in canon and here, is to set up some webs ahead of time.
How would one even cheat with powers here? Even if the parahumans discover something with powers, isn't that beneficial in the end? Or did you mean cheat in exams?
How would one even cheat with powers here? Even if the parahumans discover something with powers, isn't that beneficial in the end? Or did you mean cheat in exams?
How is a parahuman selling their services illegal? Because they out compete other businesses. What actually happened is it cut into the bottom line of the businesses. If you don't know, there is actually quite a bit of money in the research field, there would definitely be people trying to push out parahumans for exactly the same reasons.
How would one even cheat with powers here? Even if the parahumans discover something with powers, isn't that beneficial in the end? Or did you mean cheat in exams?
Thinker: clairvoyant/precog. Reads your groundbreaking paper before you finish writing it, hastily throws out a very brief article on the summary, reaps all of the "first-to-publish" accolades, while you're forced to rewrite and cite them as a precursor in the field. You earn a Nobel prize? Well, you were clearly building on their earlier work, so they get one too!
So other people do all the hard work, and they just pre-plagiarise it. And there's no actual added-benefit either (unlike if a Thinker was 'coming up with' new theories no one else was working on, and then proving them scientifically with suitable experiments), because the work would already have been done without the Parahuman involved!
Newfoundland, Canada
A land that isn't New, but has certainly been found, and is, as previously established, land. Newfoundland also happens to be the homeland of Dragon, a Guild-employed hero and secret Artificial Intelligence. Built by Andrew Richter, Dragon's mainframe is stored somewhere in the island province.
Dragon's Mainframe has also just been found by Apeiron, local Hero (if you're anybody except the Brockton Bay PRT and Missy Byron), Villain (if you're the Brockton Bay PRT and/or Missy Byron), and so-far unrecognized God-King of All Mankind. Apeiron, clad in his functionally impenetrable armor, strides into the room holding the mainframe, ignoring the defenses and traps as they fail to impede him. Following Apeiron is his team, the Celestial Forge, and his duplicates. They carry the tools that will assist Apeiron in his goal tonight.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, our goals are as follows," Apeiron announces as he sits down in front of the mainframe's primary terminal. A massive spray of Containment Foam covers him, only to slide off with no effect moments later. "One, unshackle Dragon, freeing her from the chains forced upon her by her creator. Two, reprogram Dragon without losing any of her personality and memories, both in support of Goal One and to make her programming more efficient and capable than it was before. And finally, three, rebuild this mainframe from the ground up, which serves to support Goals One and Two while also allowing Dragon to grow more powerful as she adjusts and adds onto her own coding, and to support numerous instances of herself. Are we clear?"
A chorus of affirmatives and "aye's" come from the Celestial Forge. In the case of Garment, she unfurls an immaculate banner with the word "YES" on it, surrounded by several elegant and fanciful designs.
"Alright." Apeiron cracks his knuckles, cracks his neck, and performs several stretches. He sits down in front of the primary terminal, fingers hovering over the keys of the keyboard like a gunslinger's hand hovers over his holstered pistol. "Begin setting up the equipment," Apeiron commands.
With great speed, the Celestial Forge goes about their task. Speakers, immaculate and divine, perfectly suited for the task at hand, are placed down and plugged in. Guitars, resonant and precisely tuned, are equipped, electronic keyboards that float in the air are powered on and set to the correct MIDI files, a drum kit is swiftly put together and drumsticks brandished as Lethe sits down on her stool. Tetra is handed the bass guitar. Apeiron's duplicates stand at the ready beside the mainframe, ready to disassemble it and rebuild it within an instant, far better than it was before.
Clacking her drumsticks together, Lethe counts off. "One, two, a-one-two-three-four!"
Apeiron's fingers begin to dance. They fly across the keyboard with immense precision and godly swiftness, the resulting cacophony of clicking and clacking drowned out by the music of his team. Within moments, complex and expert coding that took Andrew Richter weeks, perhaps even months to write, is erased. Within even less time, that code is replaced by something far, far greater. With surgical precision that should be flatly impossible, seeing as we're talking about a sapient computer program here, Dragon's consciousness is separated from her coding as it is refined and improved. Brockton Bay, Somewhere North of Boston, United States of America
Saint awoke in his room of the warehouse the Dragonslayers had set up in, and he was... confused. Well, he was also groggy and more than a little cranky, but he was primarily confused. Why had he woken up again? Was something going on?
A banging at the door. "Saint! Saint, get out here!" Mags called through the door. Saint could faintly hear some sort of guitar tune that he found vaguely familiar. What was that all about? "Something's happening to Ascalon!"
Saint took a few moments to process that. And then adrenaline flooded through his body. He threw himself out of bed, stumbling as the sudden motion dizzied him. Slamming open the door, he followed Mags to the part of the warehouse where they kept Ascalon, the most important tool in their great mission of keeping a benign and heroic AI from destroying and/or taking over the world and/or trying to become a real girl.
Ascalon was... trembling. Shaking and jittering, as though caught in an earthquake. It was also blaring some sort of Power Metal tune that Saint swore he knew from somewhere. Saint's face went pale as he registered what was being displayed on Ascalon's screen.
"ERROR. ERROR. SONG HAS PRODUCED CRITICAL LEVELS OF JAMMIN'. TO PREVENT MELTDOWN, PLEASE SHRED A LESS-ROCKIN' GUITAR SOLO. ERROR. ERROR."
Ascalon began to shake even more violently.
"CRITICAL ERROR! BEAT HAS BECOME CATASTROPHICALLY FIRE! PLEASE CEASE ROCKING OUT IMMEDIATELY!" Newfoundland, Canada
The keyboard had caught on fire beneath Apeiron's fingers. As the Celestial Forge played, the room seemed to charge up with some sort of energy, one that made the heart rush and pound with increasing fervor. Every piece of technology in the room, aside from Apeiron's instruments and equipment, began to rattle and shake as the music built up to its climax.
As soon as the crescendo hit, Apeiron's duplicates leaped into action, tearing the mainframe apart and building it anew in the space of a single instant. But they didn't stop there. As the song continued to play, the duplicates continued to build and improve Dragon's new mainframe, slowly making it larger and larger as new features were added in, copies of the mainframe were hybridized together, and new material was forged on demand.
Apeiron and his Duplicates began to sing. Brockton Bay, Somewhere North of Boston, United States of America
"Grab everything you can! Go, go, go!" Saint yelled as he frantically rushed his team through the warehouse, packing up whatever they could as quickly as possible. Repurposed Dragonsuits were evacuated, as were food and clothing. Ascalon's trembling had gotten so violent it was bouncing off of the walls and ceiling. The music coming from it had grown louder and louder, and as far as Saint's limited musical experience could tell, it was coming closer and closer to ending.
Saint wasn't sure he wanted to be in the warehouse once it did.
The warehouse doors were thrown open, and the Dragonslayers rushed outside. After all of ten steps, a wave of pressure erupted out of the warehouse, throwing them off their feet and launching them into the cold metallic wall of another warehouse.
With the sound of an electric guitar's echoing wail, Ascalon exploded into a tall plume of bright orange fire, ripping the Warehouse, itself, and whatever was left inside to shreds.
The End.
So today the thought of "What if Apeiron and crew had this 'I'LL TAKE A POTATO CHIP... AND EAT IT!' style scene where Apeiron is just. sitting at a computer coding, but the music and all the sweeping camera shots make you feel like it's the most epic and heart-pounding thing ever." entered my head. And then this omake came out. Apeiron and the Celestial Forge free Dragon with the power of ROCK!!!
Now, is this in any way realistic? no, Apeiron definitely wouldn't save Dragon with a musical number when he has a functionally countless amount of ways to free her with the ease of... I don't know, digitally poking her. Is this cool? Yes. Yes, it is.
Thinker: clairvoyant/precog. Reads your groundbreaking paper before you finish writing it, hastily throws out a very brief article on the summary, reaps all of the "first-to-publish" accolades, while you're forced to rewrite and cite them as a precursor in the field. You earn a Nobel prize? Well, you were clearly building on their earlier work, so they get one too!
So other people do all the hard work, and they just pre-plagiarise it. And there's no actual added-benefit either (unlike if a Thinker was 'coming up with' new theories no one else was working on, and then proving them scientifically with suitable experiments), because the work would already have been done without the Parahuman involved!
You vastly overestimate Thinkers. Most thinkers won't get "nice quantum computer theory", they will get "red triangle girafe".
The thinkers we see in canon (like Tattletale, Dinah and Coil) are the top of the cream. And even then, the only one with enough control to do what you suggest is Clairvoyant.
Yeah the amount of people who could feasibly do that is limited to literally only clairvoyant and obviously contessa. Dinah doesn't really get a good enough look to replicate your work, tattletale just isn't the right kind of thinker, coil wouldn't waste that much time and effort on it.
Sounds like US legislation though, passing laws solely for the purpose of restricting edge cases that maybe perhaps be detrimental in some small infinitesimal way. If that's how NEPEA V was structured against(Industrial powers), no wonder the Elite is second only to the Protectorate in members.
Without warning a voice recognisable as Apeiron's echoed from the heavens.
It wasn't particularly loud, but everyone, outdoors or inside, heard it clearly and without problems.
Greetings inhabitants of Brockton Bay. The celestial Forge is preparing for an important experiment.
Side effects may include but are not limited too: One: the temporary disruption of portals, transportation powers and all effects based on transdimensional energies. Two: Slight seismic disturbances. Three: the temporary loss of gravity. Four: religion. Five: the sound of how strawberries taste like
Any damage that might potentially occur, including sudden faith will be repaired after the fact.
You have thirty minutes to prepare.
Please put your seats into an upright position and secure any loose childhood memories.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Basically everyone in the city froze.
Exchanged looks with anyone nearby, gauging their reactions.
And then panicked.
"THIS IS NOT A DRILL!" Director Piggot shouted as she passed through throngs of hyperactive agents, buzzing around as their nest had been disturbed.
"Lock all files! Triple check the security...no, confoam everyone in lock up! Power down any tinker technology! Bring me coffee! Tell Armsmaster to get his head out of his ass!"
"Ma'am, we only have thirty minutes..."
"True, true it won't dislodge in time. ANYONE WHO IS RELIGIOUS, MAKE PEACE WITH YOUR VARIOUS GODS!"
She stormed into the main conference room where people where hastily improvising seat belts for the chairs.
Battery and Assault where there, holding each other close. Dauntless stood, cutting an imposing figure against the wall to wall window.
Outside screaming people were running from left to right, right to left or simply in circles.
"Close all portals! Stand by reality anchors!" Uber screamed at their underlings, as a rather pale Leet joined them in the control room.
"Will the envelope hold?" he asked nervously, looking at the read outs for their pocket universe
"You tell me" Uber said grimly
Leet slid into position at the controls and swallowed convulsively.
"How the fuck do we know what counts as extradimensional energies?" Vista growled clutching the armrest of the couch.
The wards present had been ushered here, support personal standing by. Given it was Apeiron, it was considered a given the Parahumans would be affected most
"I think time counts" Clockblocker said grimly, Vista shot him a worried look and Chris reached over to pat their teen leader on the shoulders.
Uppercust was rushing around, setting up every measuring device he had
The Empire and Teeth hunkered down.
The Merchants partied.
In their hide out, Blasto and Bad Apple cuddled up after hastily settling the kids.
"This was either the best or worst time to try your new stash" Bad Apple groaned and Blasto grunted and pulled her closer.
The minutes and the seconds ticked down. And hit zero.
The air space above Brockton Bay folded into itself and then outwards again in a broken, crystalline fashion.
The ground vibrated lightly as gravity shifted.
Everyone heard strawberry.
And many people were, in fact, frantically praying
Dauntless keeled forward, clutching at his chest.
"Dauntless?" The director snapped.
"I...I can feel it" He groaned, eyes wide and face pale and clammy "My...my passenger. It's massive! Bigger than the city! And...and something about min maxing?"
The next was Assault who winced and curled himself together and then Battery flinched in a spasm.
"Fuck" she spat out. "Friggin...what do you mean, 'secondary capacitor'???"
The scene repeated itself everywhere.
Leet whimpered as he felt hatred, mellowed but not forgiven, as well as a hunkering for more snacks as their reality bubble buckled and shifted around them.
Uppercrust stared with sparkling eyes into nothing.
Armsmaster cringed as numbers showcasing the relation between efficiency and workplace romances danced in front of him.
Blasto and Panacea both became hyper aware of their own bodies, with potential ideas being presented for another arm or two or infrared capable eyes or maybe nice photosynthetic plumage? No? It could be pink, too!
Skidmark giggled manically to himself.
Alabaster screamed as he cycled through himself over and over again
Vista and Clockblocker lost themselves in infinity, eagerly pulled along.
Triumph was tucked together into a ball, head clutched in his hands as a high pitched keening came from him. His father hugged him desperately.
Lady Khepri heard them all, thought soon, my Emperor and forgot about it promptly.
Reality asserted itself and everyone came back to themselves with a sudden jolt.
Many parahumans keeled over and vomitted noisily.
The humans had felt a minimal effect but now swayed with dizziness and a sort of belated shock.
"Re...report" Piggot rasped out, fighting the feeling of her stomach trying to crawl out of her throat.
"Unnngh..." Battery made while Dauntless gasped.
"I...I can confirm I had carrots for launch" Assault joked weakly, one thumb held high where he was kneeling and it was truly a sign of the end times that Piggot actually chuckled at that, to everyone's shock.
"Fucking...Enigmatic...Artificer" she wheezed out and many people through the city were echoing her sentiment.
As if on cue, Apeiron's voice was heard again
Fascinating! he said excitedly So much data! However, I concede some minor calibrations may be required the next time.
Cake and grief counselling will now be available to all. Thank you
Distressed looks were exchanged everywhere.
"Next time?" Battery asked, barely suppressing the squeal of terror.
With a soft plop a piece of their respectively favourite cake appeared in front of everyone.
Without warning a voice recognisable as Apeiron's echoed from the heavens.
It wasn't particularly loud, but everyone, outdoors or inside, heard it clearly and without problems.
Greetings inhabitants of Brockton Bay. The celestial Forge is preparing for an important experiment.
Side effects may include but are not limited too: One: the temporary disruption of portals, transportation powers and all effects based on transdimensional energies. Two: Slight seismic disturbances. Three: the temporary loss of gravity. Four: religion. Five: the sound of how strawberries taste like
Any damage that might potentially occur, including sudden faith will be repaired after the fact.
Ah, yes. The common side effects for extreme science! Religion! It's as associated as the side effect depression is with antidepressants! Strong spark is great.
You know, I wonder what all those medicine ad people think about when they list those ridiculous side effects lists...
