Brockton's Celestial Forge (Worm/Jumpchain)

So I'm wondering when the PRT is going to realize Sophia's involvement in Taylor's trigger. I can't remember this is story went with the idea that she kept the identities of her bullies secret. Even if she did, since they know that Taylor is Lady Khepri, it seems pretty likely they will want to investigate her trigger even more then they did before.

On another note, Hanna's introspection pretty clearly outlined that Piggot is making things worse in order to avoid the repercussions of her bad decisions. I mean we knew that, but the fact that Hanna basically outlined it here in her thoughts, and doesn't have a problem with it, is a bit confusing. I know Hanna is a bit over the top with following instructions, but this isn't maintaining policy, this is Piggot delaying reversing a series of bad orders because she will be called to task for them once she does. I struggle to see how that would look like anything except Piggot trying to sacrifice others to cover her ass.
 
Piggot: All we know is that the Celestial Forge is entirely focused on their complex inscrutable, potentially sinister plans and that all their effort is bent toward their endgoal, whatever that may be!

CF: PARTAY OUTFITS! Woo! 🥳
 
You know, now that Aisha's on talking terms with her Shard, I wonder if she can directly weaponize her power. Especially with a Call Bead.
Just imagine Lethe pointing at a foe, and just utterly scrubbing their mind of all memories.
I don't know if her shard is set up for that. The Slug can do it, and he has the Eden version of her shard, but Aisha's power profile seems to be more of a "target certain information for deletion" effect than "delete information stored in target repository".
On another note, Hanna's introspection pretty clearly outlined that Piggot is making things worse in order to avoid the repercussions of her bad decisions. I mean we knew that, but the fact that Hanna basically outlined it here in her thoughts, and doesn't have a problem with it, is a bit confusing. I know Hanna is a bit over the top with following instructions, but this isn't maintaining policy, this is Piggot delaying reversing a series of bad orders because she will be called to task for them once she does. I struggle to see how that would look like anything except Piggot trying to sacrifice others to cover her
She doesn't have a problem with it because it would result in Piggot almost immediately being pulled, and she feels they need a director already set in the role, not one that would be learning the department during the crisis(es).
 
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I mean we knew that, but the fact that Hanna basically outlined it here in her thoughts, and doesn't have a problem with it, is a bit confusing.

When all your choices are bad, is it surprising that you're making a bad choice?
Hannah makes it clear she's aware Piggot's past mistakes are at least in part to blame for current problems, but that as far as she's concerned now would be the absolute worst time to try to replace her.

You ever had to train or work with someone new at your job? Depending on the level of skill needed it can be months before they're more of a help than a hindrance.
 
I don't know if her shard is set up for that. The Slug can do it, and he has the Eden version of her shard, but Aisha's power profile seems to be more of a "target certain information for deletion" effect than "delete information stored in target repository".

Agreed. But you know what she could do? Point at a foe and utterly scrub them from all memory and history everywhere and for everyone including themselves.
Just fucking Case 53 someone in broad daylight.

Who are you? You don't know.
Why are you on this battlefield? No idea.
Who's side were you on? No one is sure.
 
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You know, now that Aisha's on talking terms with her Shard, I wonder if she can directly weaponize her power. Especially with a Call Bead.
Just imagine Lethe pointing at a foe, and just utterly scrubbing their mind of all memories.
Read a Harry Potter story once where they did that. and like some poeple forgot that were magic at all. Lockhart ended up being the key to make it work of all things. He had a whole come to the light character arc. sorry m high
 
I intend to keep this city from being caught in the backblast of the next time Apeiron decides to act on the full scale of his abilities.
Oh… oh dear… the poor director still hasn't figured out that at no point has he demonstrated the full scale of his abilities. Like even when he made the knives for the Undersiders… he could have made guns with no recoil, no heating or cooling issues, that fired five times faster than they should, were completely silent, and in the hands of a skilled user had limited ability to direct the bullets to their target. And that's before he got into modifying the ammo.

transported to a secondary sight over
Probably "site" here, even if someone else is looking at them now.
most severe laps in this case.
Probably "lapse" unless someone really is being made to jog through the Dust corridors.
My dad's meeting mee there. Is there anything we still need to…
"me"
 
One of the funniest things about this story is the fact that Joe hasn't even got to the good stuff yet. If he hadn't cared about the collateral damage his actions would cause he would have solved the problems of the city in an expedient, if very, very not civilian-friendly fashion.

I just find it very poignant and fitting for a good man like Joe that his very nature is what holds him back.
 
Director Piggot shook her head. "Perhaps not specifically strategic. Noone will say I was the primary target of his actions, but it's clear that Apeiron is capable of operating in a comprehensive fashion. I refuse to believe that he would be unaware of the impact he is having."
Piggot: Apeirons continued campaign of being himself and not acting like a deranged lunatic is a direct attack on my past actions! He is making me look like a control freak!

Seriously... this girl...
 
To clarify, what do we think is going on with Dauntless' Arclance? Did Joe really redesign it in such a way that other parahumans could use it so easily? Or are all of the Shards going "Oooh, Shiny!" and reducing limitations for their hosts so that they can play with the new toy?

...yes, I am totally imaging Eidolon sneaking into Shawn's house in the middle of the night to steal Dauntless' lance. In his pajamas and barefoot. While the Pink Panther theme song plays on the TV in the background. And that Shawn's son has left Legos on the floor.😏
 
So I'm wondering when the PRT is going to realize Sophia's involvement in Taylor's trigger.

Piggot and MM have figured it out. They know Taylor was bullied to the point of Triggering and they know Sophia was one of them. As soon as it gets passed up the chain, those people scrutinizing every action PRT ENE has done and is doing are also going to put two and two together and get four.

Piggot and MM are sitting on the info right now because they both know this WILL be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
 
This chapter showcased how the local PRT is burning down with explosions happening in the background. It was fabulous and I got nice feelings about it.
 
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Aperion's luck is unable to do much to benefit him on account of his ungodly power, so it instead resorts to helping out his mortal allies and arranging coincidences for the sole purpose of intimidating the rest of the world.
I wonder whether Joe could animate his luck, or rather the statistical abnormality acting in his favor, into a being in and of itself. Child Of Monsters did something similar.
So I'm wondering when the PRT is going to realize Sophia's involvement in Taylor's trigger. I can't remember this is story went with the idea that she kept the identities of her bullies secret. Even if she did, since they know that Taylor is Lady Khepri, it seems pretty likely they will want to investigate her trigger even more then they did before.

On another note, Hanna's introspection pretty clearly outlined that Piggot is making things worse in order to avoid the repercussions of her bad decisions. I mean we knew that, but the fact that Hanna basically outlined it here in her thoughts, and doesn't have a problem with it, is a bit confusing. I know Hanna is a bit over the top with following instructions, but this isn't maintaining policy, this is Piggot delaying reversing a series of bad orders because she will be called to task for them once she does. I struggle to see how that would look like anything except Piggot trying to sacrifice others to cover her ass.
Probably for the same reason that she didn't have a problem with their previous holding-pattern; it isn't her being thrown into the minefield. Yet.

Speaking of which how many potential Second Triggers is this now?
She doesn't have a problem with it because it would result in Piggot almost immediately being pulled, and she feels they need a director already set in the role, not one that would be learning the department during the crisis(es).
Yeah which is kind of explicitly not the case; even her worries about positive public perceptions, the ones where she mentally categorizes things as "necessary" because they achieve those perceptions even if they sacrifice functionality, are outdated and inappropriate for the current situation.
When all your choices are bad, is it surprising that you're making a bad choice?
Hannah makes it clear she's aware Piggot's past mistakes are at least in part to blame for current problems, but that as far as she's concerned now would be the absolute worst time to try to replace her.

You ever had to train or work with someone new at your job? Depending on the level of skill needed it can be months before they're more of a help than a hindrance.
Tolerating bad behavior because of the costs associated with removing the people with those behaviors, filtering for people incentivized to make dealing with them costly as a survival mechanism, is what got them into this problem in the first place.

Even if it's costly, even if it's so costly that it is functionally Mutually Assured Destruction, they need that willingness to immediately remove all defective/malign elements of their command-structure even if only just to keep them in line; if Piggot is being distracted from the duties she's being used to fulfill by the possibility of avoiding harm then either guarantee or remove that possibility.
Or worse, filling their mind with nothing but memes. All Rick Astly, all the time, with never a thought of anything else.

I really want to see Lethe test this terrifying power on the Nazis.
Agreed. But you know what she could do? Point at a foe and utterly scrub them from all memory and history everywhere and for everyone including themselves.
Just fucking Case 53 someone in broad daylight.

Who are you? You don't know.
Why are you on this battlefield? No idea.
Who's side were you on? No one is sure.
What wonderful utterly polar-opposite ideas; to either make someone into forbidden knowledge or to fill them with forbidden knowledge.
 
handle on things, That they could support recovery efforts
that (no random capitalization)
Hanna noted their somewhat sedate pace
Hannah
Noone will say I was the primary target of his actions,
No one
"English professor at the university. Died two years ago in a car accident.
accident." (Add quotation mark)
You were supposed to call you mom,
your mom,
"It consisted of the complete erasure of what is known as the "Borgles Meme" from unresistant memory, electronic memory…"
'Borgles Meme' (Don't use quotation marks inside a dialogue sentence)
"They will be transported to a secondary sight over the course of the evening,
site
 
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The department had stumbled across the secret identity of Lady Khepri.

So that Chekhov grenade finally exploded. And the best part is that Piggot decided to not report it to the rest of the PRT for as long as she can, and I guarantee you this is going to make things worse somehow.

"Apeiron knows. He knows and he has made a statement on the matter."

Everyone misinterpreting the Celestial Forge actions is one of the most amusing part of this fic.

@LordRoustabout I wanna challenge you to write a chapter in Aperions POV without ever using the term "whole new level" I'm noticing it more and more

Yep. Show, don't tell. Unfortunately it's hard when you get powers faster than you get action (because of the extremely slow pacing).
 
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