Cauldron is definitely the kind of people to use ambiguity on contracts to claim terms were broken, and they've had a lot more practice than Taylor. Best case outcome is probably "forcing" Taylor into using the empty planet as a lifeboat when the big S starts his tantrum. Not that she wouldn't agree anyway but Cauldron also aren't the type of people to take "Yes" for an answer.
Contractual Villainy
- Thread starter Sandy River DL
- Start date
JVR
Contessa's #1 Fangirl
- Location
- Cauldron Compound
That was already their plan. Taylor is clearly one of their "Plan B" options to ensure humanity's survival, which is why they've been so friendly and helpful. She's their next "Parahuman Feudalism" experiment, but this time with a whole planet to herself. It's because of this that I think her odds of interpreting the rules in her favor are likely to succeed. Worst case scenario, she gets told "Naughty, naughty!" and given some rule clarifications. In the meantime, she can (fairly truthfully) say "Hey, it was my first time doing this and your instructions weren't exactly detailed for how to deal with the situation I found myself in."
- Location
- East of Sun, West of Moon
"Aska" is modern Swedish for ash as well. "Cinderella" in Swedish is "Askungen", literally "Ash-Child"...
In fairness I'd be very spiteful at life in general, personally, if the only reason I survived being almost frozen/starved to death in a blizzard is because my bitch former sister-in-heart wanted to be an extra massive piece-of-shit. I'd probably be far more bitter than Taylor, so kudos to her for at least having a modicum of logical reasoning left.
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- Location
- usa
Heck yeah! Dread Pirate Amy is a go!
- Location
- Oslo
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Who's, uh, this "sweet Kyne?"..
Sandy River DL
(Verified Destroyer Leader)
- Location
- Lake Michigan
- Pronouns
- Her/She
Some people say 'sweet Jesus'. And in this fic Taylor worships what's basically the Elder Scrolls deity Kyne.
- Location
- Oslo
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Where... did she learn about her? 🤨
Sandy River DL
(Verified Destroyer Leader)
- Location
- Lake Michigan
- Pronouns
- Her/She
Her mother, and more is actually being covered in the next chapter.
- Location
- Livin' in the Land of the LOST! *roar*
Actually, Taylor is part of a rather different plot:
Bullshit powers are bullshit.
- Location
- North Carolina
More seriously...I want to see one of the Wards get introduced to Blissfruit...
- Location
- Beyond the Unknowable Veil
Better idea. Armsmaster AND Director Piggot.
- Location
- North Carolina
Honestly...Blissfruit might actually kill Piggot remember, her Kidneys are fucked.
- Location
- Beyond the Unknowable Veil
It'd be a fun thing if Taylor's new world has medically intriguing plants….
Edit: I can't think of a good way to get the fruit to Piggot unknowingly, but imagine the fallout if that happens and she finds her kidneys are in better condition than before after sobering up?
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Agriculture 3
Sandy River DL
(Verified Destroyer Leader)
- Location
- Lake Michigan
- Pronouns
- Her/She
Brockton Bay, Earth Bet, Feb 6, 2011.
Darting forward, I grabbed Emma by her pauldrons and heaved. While in November I'd have struggled to do much, my new physical lifestyle meant that I sent her sprawling at her teammate's feet. Triumph just sighed and pulled her upright.
"And that, Zenith, is why throwing yourself at someone is not part of the playbook. You're lucky you didn't break your nose in the process," he scolded. Sounding genuinely put out by it too. "And that's on top of how you're looking like you managed to concuss yourself."
Hooking her arm around his shoulder the best he could, he then added "Which means we need to disengage for safety reasons."
Well, that was… anticlimactic.
Watching the Wards leader hauling his subordinate away felt almost hollow, like I'd been cheated. I'd wanted to turn back in kind some measure of the humiliation she'd inflicted on me, and I'd been denied. But there was also something… right about it, too. A challenge overcome by turning it on itself, rather than by base violence. A triumph of civilization over primitive savagery, if I were to be poetic.
Glancing back at Leonard's, I reached into my sole currently accessible pocket and my fingers brushed against a small piece of metal. A gold nugget I'd found yesterday and must have accidentally left there. My best guess was that it was around four ounces in weight, and Leonard's was a local place…
Placing the nugget on the counter took mere seconds, and then I triggered the recall system.
***
Kairafon, Tǩóymos, Feb 6, 2011.
Shrugging off the backpack the moment I reappeared at home, I set it down with the other supplies along with my visor and headed off to find Emily. The other girl, it turned out, was stretching on a rock looking up at the darkening sky, her costume laying discarded on the ground beside her. Doing my best not to stare, I wandered over.
"You're back sooner than I was expecting," she commented, arching herself so that she could look at me better, doing an excellent job of showing off just how well the past month had been for her. Even with the dwindling light, I couldn't miss the light tan or admittedly subtlety toned muscle that had built up.
Swallowing, I replied "Glory Girl didn't pursue me, and then the Wards took long enough to show that I was able to do some more shopping. Zenith then managed to hurt herself badly enough that Triumph had to call things off before much of anything happened. Honestly, it was a bit disappointing how uneventful it was. Though the fact that she might've concussed herself by failing to bodycheck me is amusing…"
"So she is Emma then."
I blinked. "What?"
Emily snorted. "Bitchy redhead you don't like, right height, right build, had this look of superiority when she blasted you last time… Your smugness at her injuring herself cinched it honestly. Zenith is Emma and you recognized her faster than I did."
Then a sudden inhalation. "Your contract… you've basically been hired to be a safe villain for the Wards haven't you. And Emma knows who you are too, and is trying to keep bullying you thro-"
Harsh fluorescent light flooded the area as a portal suddenly appeared. In the stark white hallway of the Cauldron compound stood a woman clad in a suit and a fedora on her head.
"That is far enough Miss Jacobs."
The portal then collapsed into nothingness like it had never been. Silence sat for several long moments before Emily spoke again. "What the fuck was that…?"
"My shady benefactors most likely," I replied to my now wide-eyed friend. "At least that looked like their hallway. They're into a lot of sketchy things, and I have no desire to know more than I already do. Which I'm not allowed to share by the way."
Swallowing audibly, she rolled over onto her front and sat up. "Right. Safer topics than mysterious creepy shadow organizations. Like religion maybe?"
I snorted and sat down next to her. "If that's your idea of casually inquiring, it needs work. Just ask if you're legitimately curious, it's not like I'm going to try and convert you."
"I'll admit to being somewhat interested in what exactly is up with the Kyne stuff," she replied with a slight shrug. "Not particularly into religion myself, too much evil shit being justified by abusing it for me to be comfortable with any of the ones I know of, but I don't believe I've heard anyone but you talking about Kyne."
Gazing up at the sky, I sighed. "The Cult of the Storm Hawk isn't exactly common knowledge, and most who have heard of it are put off by the whole 'cult' thing. It's 'cult' as in the religious order of a deity within a wider pantheon, not the scummy isolate you from everyone to become dependent on the leaders kind most people think of. Nobody actually knows who the other gods might have been though, as only Kyne has had anything uncovered beyond vague references. We know she was part of a group called the Hearth Gods worshiped as part of everyday life and that her husband died, but that's about it for how she fit into that now lost pantheon."
"Her origins are unknown like basically everything else, but she's a mother goddess with dominion over storms and the hunt, a warrior who defends her children and cares for them in death. She asks little, beyond that her adherents respect the natural world and each other. Mom picked it up when she ran with Lustrum, and I took to it rather strongly after she died."
Emily, to my surprise, slid herself about and dropped her head onto my lap. "Huh. That's rather bare-bones and not what I'd been expecting. Now I think the question would be 'where did Lustrum find a fragmentary religion'? Because she doesn't strike me as the type to go digging for ancient faiths to revive."
"If Mom knew, she never said," I admitted. "Though I do know that she didn't just make it up, as some video game company on Aleph's been funding research into it for almost twenty years, and I saw something about a temple being found in their Ukraine a year or two back."
Squirming in a way that set my cheeks ablaze, she said "I wonder if anything new will come out of that then? Who knows, you might find yourself needing to familiarize yourself with a new god or something. I know reconstructive religion's a popular thing these days, but you and whoever else worships Kyne seem to have the most interesting one."
"Honestly, I'd make a note of it and just stick with Kyne herself," I replied with a couple of pokes to the cheek in the hopes of getting the squirming to stop. "Because barring any particularly appealing rediscovery, I think the Hawk's enough for me. An agricultural deity would be nice though, given our project."
Emily's lips twitched, before she stood up and headed back towards the shelter. "Well, we should probably start getting ready for bed. You especially, since you're the one who did most of the running around and stressful shit. Passing out in your armor isn't fun from what you've said, so you'd best avoid it again if you don't want to wake up all stiff."
Letting out an annoyed groan, I stood and followed her. Why was she being such a mother hen? It was… odd.
***
Kairafon, Tǩóymos, Feb 7, 2011.
A loud boom jolted me awake. The first thing I noticed was that the air was heavy and oppressive. The second was the wind buffeting the still makeshift shelter. Drenched in sweat, I sat upright as another boom, this one long and rumbling, sounded. Thunder. It was thunder. And I was in the tropics. Scrambling in a half panic, I slid past a stirring Emily and all but jammed my visor on. Sending the drones up as high as I could get them, I breathed a sigh of relief as the storm was almost immediately revealed to be to the east and moving further in that direction.
Flopping back down with a groan, I declared "We need weather radar fast."
"Wha?" Emily eloquently inquired groggily.
"Wet season's starting I think. Near-constant rain, heavy fog, possibly hurricanes. It's not going to be a fun time for the next few months…"
My friend mumbled something unintelligible before speaking again. "Great. What time is it?"
"About quarter to seven, so not that much earlier than we normally wake up," I replied after checking my HUD. "We're lucky and the storm's missed us, but there's still a heavy fog out there and the wind could pick up at any moment. I'm reasonably certain the shelter can take it, but getting it reinforced would be a good idea. Then once the weather clears up enough, we're going to start working preparing to replace it with something sturdier. My current thought is making us some concrete, as that's easier to put together quickly than bricks. We'll need to get a bunch of plywood sheets to make forms for the walls and fire bricks to build a kiln for firing roofing tiles, but it shouldn't be too hard to pull off because it isn't one of the contracted jobs, we can just go in, grab what we need, and then pop back home without any strings attached."
Then, stretching as I stood, I added "And actually, screw building a radar thing. We don't have what I'd need and we've got like twenty pounds of raw gold that we might be able to trade to Toybox for a more capable weather monitoring system than a primitive ground-based radar could without whatever strings going to my… benefactors… would inevitably have."
Giving an annoyed grunt, Emily pulled herself out of bed as another rumble of thunder rolled across us. Dressing quickly, I thought I heard her mutter something about 'amazing legs', but probably imagined it. Even with the changes in lifestyle I'd been through having burned off my old paunch, I wasn't much to look at. A toned stick was still a stick.
As I exited the shelter, the eastern horizon lit up in a brilliant curtain of blue-violet light as lightning shot through clouds hidden from sight by the dense fog enshrouding Kiarafon. If it weren't for the fact that I was wearing my visor and hadn't been looking in that direction, I probably would be blinking spots out. A tooth-rattling rumble hit seconds later just as I was crouching down to check the wire path into the shelter for leaks. Glancing at the drone feed again, I sighed. There still wasn't a clear view of the storm's size, and it looked to my inexpert eye like it was going to pile up against the mountains and flood the Alexandria.
The terrace with the crops was hopefully high enough not to be drowned, but the isthmus would definitely get inundated, which would be somewhat problematic. Kyne willing, the raft would still be usable for getting to and from the mainland.
"Out of curiosity, how does your faith view this sort of situation?"
Emily's voice from behind was unexpected, but I managed to disguise the flinch as turning to look at her. "A bit early for theological questions isn't it?"
The other girl snorted. "It came to mind, so I'm asking. Do you need to make offerings, or just pray for better weather?"
I couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Nah, we just accept things as they are. Storms are a part of life, and accepting that is necessary. Praying for safety is one thing, but asking that a storm not pass through is selfish. Far too often people forget that the world does not revolve around us, and that our problems with the natural world are because we keep failing to take it into account, instead of it being bad."
"Yeah, that's rather different from what I'm used to hearing about," she replied with a thoughtful note in her voice. "Though it's a sensible one I think. A nature goddess, no matter how friendly to humanity, would logically be focused more on nature than helping people control it. Also works out nicely from a secular standpoint, as your religion's original adherents probably noticed that praying or offering sacrifices for good weather didn't really provide notable results."
"Some religions have strict rules and mandated sacrifices," I grinned, "But that doesn't actually help people with the actually living that way part. 'Respect nature and the people who are just trying to survive it along with you' is much simpler and more straightforward. The Cult of the Storm Hawk has exactly zero principle that can be used to justify intolerance of anyone but the intolerant, as they make things harder on everyone else by weakening the group."
"Well, that's my curiosity settled for the moment. I'll get to work on breakfast while you finish up with what you're doing."
And wasn't that an abrupt shift. I was pretty sure I hadn't offended her in some way, but it was a little disconcerting regardless. Or maybe it was just me being still not fully awake.
***
Unnamed Location, Tǩóymos, Feb 8, 2011.
We needed a proper boat. The raft just was not suited to the task of hauling piles of rock, let alone doing so on the more open waters of the sound I had never actually gotten around to naming. It was good for traversing the Alexandria and moving small loads of material, but a freight barge it was not. In retrospect, grabbing a pallet or two of cement bags on a raid might have been a smarter move, but this at least meant getting some better local infrastructure.
Which was probably why I did it in the first place, come to think of it.
Then I froze, eyes widening as something clicked into place. My power, I might have just figured it out. Stubborn focus on creation of infrastructure, ability to casually determine what I needed for building major projects, instinctive ease in identifying the utility of resources… There was only one thing I could think of that really fit.
"I'm a civilization Tinker…" I breathed, almost not speaking the words aloud. That… it couldn't be the case. It was beyond anything any cape had had. But, a part of me reminded me, wasn't that also true of the Triumvirate? Or, more specifically, Eidolon. Actually, he, the Fairy Queen, and the Butcher were all… odd capes. Could there be some connection there?
I shook my head at that. I was getting back into Void Cowboy territory there, and straying a bit far from where I'd been intending to be thinking. The conspiracy theorist track was not a good one to be in for a cape, and if I were right about my specialization… Not good. And similarly, I should probably work more on my long-term planning. Too many times already had I run into issues with not looking far enough ahead, like with the shelter. Finding local foods was important, but without a proper handle on the local seasons and no weather information, a solid building that could withstand big storms is something I really should've gotten started on before now.
That firmly set in the back of my mind, I turned my focus to other matters as I kept punting my way through the shallows. Specifically, the layout of what Kairafon would become in the near future. The storehouse was already our active project, but an actual house was definitely up next, followed by various workshops for smithing and other tasks. Farm buildings would come after that, as would more houses for later recruits.
And speaking of recruits, I'd want to get in contact with Amy again. Both to let her know I was still alive, and to see if I could talk her into defecting before she was overcome by stress. She didn't deserve to be treated as a walking medkit like the news and PHO often did. Sure, her power would be a great benefit to my… whatever it was I was up to, but more importantly she'd be able to be Amy instead of Panacea. Aside from emergencies, her power would be used for what she wanted, rather than as a band-aid on the festering wounds of a dying city that didn't appreciate her.
The question was, how best to get in contact? I couldn't exactly rely on going out and bumping into her in civvies, but at the same time I didn't actually have any other means of getting a message to her beyond possibly sending her a PM on PHO and neither option for that, making a new civilian account or a cape one, was likely to actually work. Going the civilian account route would mean she'd probably ignore it as some rando trying to get close to her, while the cape account most definitely would go nowhere due to being a villain. Sure, she'd been clear that she, personally, didn't give a shit, but Brandish catching her chatting with a villain would likely not be conducive to finalizing Amy's recruitment…
Making a cape account was still going to happen though, as it'd be useful in both PR stuff and later recruiting, even if it probably wouldn't help with getting Amy onboard faster. What the screen name would be was another question of course, as I wasn't sure if it should be a personal cape account or one for the group I was building. Which itself needed a name, and a determination of just what it was that I was doing. Which probably should come first, as a country had different naming needs than a cape team or a movement.
Eh, going for the personal cape account was probably the best choice, as people would actually recognize who it was that way. I could always launch a more general account later if it were needed. It'd also have the benefit of not making it look like I had a larger organization than I actually had. People would assume that I was just giving a fake sob story at that point, rather than understanding that it was something I was building to alleviate my situation, which would take away the protection I got from being a known destitute. Also, the PRT would have to start being more aggressive towards me if it looked like I was building or already part of a gang.
Better by far to start the primary recruitment drive after it was clear that I wasn't going to be challenging the US Government's authority. I knew how well rocking the boat went for Lustrum.
Moving on from that line of thought, I had to decide if I was going to use my cape name as my handle or something alluding to it. I could even slip in a reference to where my base was with little issue or hint at being somewhere other than Bet. It'd take a pretty good Thinker to get that, say, 'Dawn Of The Coast' meant that I was based in a tropical coastal area on a different Earth, and I doubted I warranted Watchdog attention. Other villains would be a bigger concern, but there weren't any that high-end in Brockton Bay and I doubted that any outside group would be paying attention to a minor villain of little consequence.
Well, the Elite might because I was a Tinker, but that would require them paying the dying wreck of a city any consideration.
I froze mid-sweep. There was another group I would have to worry about once I started recruiting beyond possibly getting Bastard Son after me with intent to press-gang, the Nine. They were generally cowards, but they'd still attack places with major cape presences if things were unstable enough or they felt that getting at specific capes was worth the risk. Typically capes who were inspiring hope. A Tinker offering a fresh start to the people of a city on the edge, far from the crumbling mess of Earth Bet would definitely be targeted by both Jack Slash and Mannequin…
Well, I had months before that became an active concern. Months to plan out a response. And, perhaps, ensure any such attack backfired on them…
Darting forward, I grabbed Emma by her pauldrons and heaved. While in November I'd have struggled to do much, my new physical lifestyle meant that I sent her sprawling at her teammate's feet. Triumph just sighed and pulled her upright.
"And that, Zenith, is why throwing yourself at someone is not part of the playbook. You're lucky you didn't break your nose in the process," he scolded. Sounding genuinely put out by it too. "And that's on top of how you're looking like you managed to concuss yourself."
Hooking her arm around his shoulder the best he could, he then added "Which means we need to disengage for safety reasons."
Well, that was… anticlimactic.
Watching the Wards leader hauling his subordinate away felt almost hollow, like I'd been cheated. I'd wanted to turn back in kind some measure of the humiliation she'd inflicted on me, and I'd been denied. But there was also something… right about it, too. A challenge overcome by turning it on itself, rather than by base violence. A triumph of civilization over primitive savagery, if I were to be poetic.
Glancing back at Leonard's, I reached into my sole currently accessible pocket and my fingers brushed against a small piece of metal. A gold nugget I'd found yesterday and must have accidentally left there. My best guess was that it was around four ounces in weight, and Leonard's was a local place…
Placing the nugget on the counter took mere seconds, and then I triggered the recall system.
***
Kairafon, Tǩóymos, Feb 6, 2011.
Shrugging off the backpack the moment I reappeared at home, I set it down with the other supplies along with my visor and headed off to find Emily. The other girl, it turned out, was stretching on a rock looking up at the darkening sky, her costume laying discarded on the ground beside her. Doing my best not to stare, I wandered over.
"You're back sooner than I was expecting," she commented, arching herself so that she could look at me better, doing an excellent job of showing off just how well the past month had been for her. Even with the dwindling light, I couldn't miss the light tan or admittedly subtlety toned muscle that had built up.
Swallowing, I replied "Glory Girl didn't pursue me, and then the Wards took long enough to show that I was able to do some more shopping. Zenith then managed to hurt herself badly enough that Triumph had to call things off before much of anything happened. Honestly, it was a bit disappointing how uneventful it was. Though the fact that she might've concussed herself by failing to bodycheck me is amusing…"
"So she is Emma then."
I blinked. "What?"
Emily snorted. "Bitchy redhead you don't like, right height, right build, had this look of superiority when she blasted you last time… Your smugness at her injuring herself cinched it honestly. Zenith is Emma and you recognized her faster than I did."
Then a sudden inhalation. "Your contract… you've basically been hired to be a safe villain for the Wards haven't you. And Emma knows who you are too, and is trying to keep bullying you thro-"
Harsh fluorescent light flooded the area as a portal suddenly appeared. In the stark white hallway of the Cauldron compound stood a woman clad in a suit and a fedora on her head.
"That is far enough Miss Jacobs."
The portal then collapsed into nothingness like it had never been. Silence sat for several long moments before Emily spoke again. "What the fuck was that…?"
"My shady benefactors most likely," I replied to my now wide-eyed friend. "At least that looked like their hallway. They're into a lot of sketchy things, and I have no desire to know more than I already do. Which I'm not allowed to share by the way."
Swallowing audibly, she rolled over onto her front and sat up. "Right. Safer topics than mysterious creepy shadow organizations. Like religion maybe?"
I snorted and sat down next to her. "If that's your idea of casually inquiring, it needs work. Just ask if you're legitimately curious, it's not like I'm going to try and convert you."
"I'll admit to being somewhat interested in what exactly is up with the Kyne stuff," she replied with a slight shrug. "Not particularly into religion myself, too much evil shit being justified by abusing it for me to be comfortable with any of the ones I know of, but I don't believe I've heard anyone but you talking about Kyne."
Gazing up at the sky, I sighed. "The Cult of the Storm Hawk isn't exactly common knowledge, and most who have heard of it are put off by the whole 'cult' thing. It's 'cult' as in the religious order of a deity within a wider pantheon, not the scummy isolate you from everyone to become dependent on the leaders kind most people think of. Nobody actually knows who the other gods might have been though, as only Kyne has had anything uncovered beyond vague references. We know she was part of a group called the Hearth Gods worshiped as part of everyday life and that her husband died, but that's about it for how she fit into that now lost pantheon."
"Her origins are unknown like basically everything else, but she's a mother goddess with dominion over storms and the hunt, a warrior who defends her children and cares for them in death. She asks little, beyond that her adherents respect the natural world and each other. Mom picked it up when she ran with Lustrum, and I took to it rather strongly after she died."
Emily, to my surprise, slid herself about and dropped her head onto my lap. "Huh. That's rather bare-bones and not what I'd been expecting. Now I think the question would be 'where did Lustrum find a fragmentary religion'? Because she doesn't strike me as the type to go digging for ancient faiths to revive."
"If Mom knew, she never said," I admitted. "Though I do know that she didn't just make it up, as some video game company on Aleph's been funding research into it for almost twenty years, and I saw something about a temple being found in their Ukraine a year or two back."
Squirming in a way that set my cheeks ablaze, she said "I wonder if anything new will come out of that then? Who knows, you might find yourself needing to familiarize yourself with a new god or something. I know reconstructive religion's a popular thing these days, but you and whoever else worships Kyne seem to have the most interesting one."
"Honestly, I'd make a note of it and just stick with Kyne herself," I replied with a couple of pokes to the cheek in the hopes of getting the squirming to stop. "Because barring any particularly appealing rediscovery, I think the Hawk's enough for me. An agricultural deity would be nice though, given our project."
Emily's lips twitched, before she stood up and headed back towards the shelter. "Well, we should probably start getting ready for bed. You especially, since you're the one who did most of the running around and stressful shit. Passing out in your armor isn't fun from what you've said, so you'd best avoid it again if you don't want to wake up all stiff."
Letting out an annoyed groan, I stood and followed her. Why was she being such a mother hen? It was… odd.
***
Kairafon, Tǩóymos, Feb 7, 2011.
A loud boom jolted me awake. The first thing I noticed was that the air was heavy and oppressive. The second was the wind buffeting the still makeshift shelter. Drenched in sweat, I sat upright as another boom, this one long and rumbling, sounded. Thunder. It was thunder. And I was in the tropics. Scrambling in a half panic, I slid past a stirring Emily and all but jammed my visor on. Sending the drones up as high as I could get them, I breathed a sigh of relief as the storm was almost immediately revealed to be to the east and moving further in that direction.
Flopping back down with a groan, I declared "We need weather radar fast."
"Wha?" Emily eloquently inquired groggily.
"Wet season's starting I think. Near-constant rain, heavy fog, possibly hurricanes. It's not going to be a fun time for the next few months…"
My friend mumbled something unintelligible before speaking again. "Great. What time is it?"
"About quarter to seven, so not that much earlier than we normally wake up," I replied after checking my HUD. "We're lucky and the storm's missed us, but there's still a heavy fog out there and the wind could pick up at any moment. I'm reasonably certain the shelter can take it, but getting it reinforced would be a good idea. Then once the weather clears up enough, we're going to start working preparing to replace it with something sturdier. My current thought is making us some concrete, as that's easier to put together quickly than bricks. We'll need to get a bunch of plywood sheets to make forms for the walls and fire bricks to build a kiln for firing roofing tiles, but it shouldn't be too hard to pull off because it isn't one of the contracted jobs, we can just go in, grab what we need, and then pop back home without any strings attached."
Then, stretching as I stood, I added "And actually, screw building a radar thing. We don't have what I'd need and we've got like twenty pounds of raw gold that we might be able to trade to Toybox for a more capable weather monitoring system than a primitive ground-based radar could without whatever strings going to my… benefactors… would inevitably have."
Giving an annoyed grunt, Emily pulled herself out of bed as another rumble of thunder rolled across us. Dressing quickly, I thought I heard her mutter something about 'amazing legs', but probably imagined it. Even with the changes in lifestyle I'd been through having burned off my old paunch, I wasn't much to look at. A toned stick was still a stick.
As I exited the shelter, the eastern horizon lit up in a brilliant curtain of blue-violet light as lightning shot through clouds hidden from sight by the dense fog enshrouding Kiarafon. If it weren't for the fact that I was wearing my visor and hadn't been looking in that direction, I probably would be blinking spots out. A tooth-rattling rumble hit seconds later just as I was crouching down to check the wire path into the shelter for leaks. Glancing at the drone feed again, I sighed. There still wasn't a clear view of the storm's size, and it looked to my inexpert eye like it was going to pile up against the mountains and flood the Alexandria.
The terrace with the crops was hopefully high enough not to be drowned, but the isthmus would definitely get inundated, which would be somewhat problematic. Kyne willing, the raft would still be usable for getting to and from the mainland.
"Out of curiosity, how does your faith view this sort of situation?"
Emily's voice from behind was unexpected, but I managed to disguise the flinch as turning to look at her. "A bit early for theological questions isn't it?"
The other girl snorted. "It came to mind, so I'm asking. Do you need to make offerings, or just pray for better weather?"
I couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Nah, we just accept things as they are. Storms are a part of life, and accepting that is necessary. Praying for safety is one thing, but asking that a storm not pass through is selfish. Far too often people forget that the world does not revolve around us, and that our problems with the natural world are because we keep failing to take it into account, instead of it being bad."
"Yeah, that's rather different from what I'm used to hearing about," she replied with a thoughtful note in her voice. "Though it's a sensible one I think. A nature goddess, no matter how friendly to humanity, would logically be focused more on nature than helping people control it. Also works out nicely from a secular standpoint, as your religion's original adherents probably noticed that praying or offering sacrifices for good weather didn't really provide notable results."
"Some religions have strict rules and mandated sacrifices," I grinned, "But that doesn't actually help people with the actually living that way part. 'Respect nature and the people who are just trying to survive it along with you' is much simpler and more straightforward. The Cult of the Storm Hawk has exactly zero principle that can be used to justify intolerance of anyone but the intolerant, as they make things harder on everyone else by weakening the group."
"Well, that's my curiosity settled for the moment. I'll get to work on breakfast while you finish up with what you're doing."
And wasn't that an abrupt shift. I was pretty sure I hadn't offended her in some way, but it was a little disconcerting regardless. Or maybe it was just me being still not fully awake.
***
Unnamed Location, Tǩóymos, Feb 8, 2011.
We needed a proper boat. The raft just was not suited to the task of hauling piles of rock, let alone doing so on the more open waters of the sound I had never actually gotten around to naming. It was good for traversing the Alexandria and moving small loads of material, but a freight barge it was not. In retrospect, grabbing a pallet or two of cement bags on a raid might have been a smarter move, but this at least meant getting some better local infrastructure.
Which was probably why I did it in the first place, come to think of it.
Then I froze, eyes widening as something clicked into place. My power, I might have just figured it out. Stubborn focus on creation of infrastructure, ability to casually determine what I needed for building major projects, instinctive ease in identifying the utility of resources… There was only one thing I could think of that really fit.
"I'm a civilization Tinker…" I breathed, almost not speaking the words aloud. That… it couldn't be the case. It was beyond anything any cape had had. But, a part of me reminded me, wasn't that also true of the Triumvirate? Or, more specifically, Eidolon. Actually, he, the Fairy Queen, and the Butcher were all… odd capes. Could there be some connection there?
I shook my head at that. I was getting back into Void Cowboy territory there, and straying a bit far from where I'd been intending to be thinking. The conspiracy theorist track was not a good one to be in for a cape, and if I were right about my specialization… Not good. And similarly, I should probably work more on my long-term planning. Too many times already had I run into issues with not looking far enough ahead, like with the shelter. Finding local foods was important, but without a proper handle on the local seasons and no weather information, a solid building that could withstand big storms is something I really should've gotten started on before now.
That firmly set in the back of my mind, I turned my focus to other matters as I kept punting my way through the shallows. Specifically, the layout of what Kairafon would become in the near future. The storehouse was already our active project, but an actual house was definitely up next, followed by various workshops for smithing and other tasks. Farm buildings would come after that, as would more houses for later recruits.
And speaking of recruits, I'd want to get in contact with Amy again. Both to let her know I was still alive, and to see if I could talk her into defecting before she was overcome by stress. She didn't deserve to be treated as a walking medkit like the news and PHO often did. Sure, her power would be a great benefit to my… whatever it was I was up to, but more importantly she'd be able to be Amy instead of Panacea. Aside from emergencies, her power would be used for what she wanted, rather than as a band-aid on the festering wounds of a dying city that didn't appreciate her.
The question was, how best to get in contact? I couldn't exactly rely on going out and bumping into her in civvies, but at the same time I didn't actually have any other means of getting a message to her beyond possibly sending her a PM on PHO and neither option for that, making a new civilian account or a cape one, was likely to actually work. Going the civilian account route would mean she'd probably ignore it as some rando trying to get close to her, while the cape account most definitely would go nowhere due to being a villain. Sure, she'd been clear that she, personally, didn't give a shit, but Brandish catching her chatting with a villain would likely not be conducive to finalizing Amy's recruitment…
Making a cape account was still going to happen though, as it'd be useful in both PR stuff and later recruiting, even if it probably wouldn't help with getting Amy onboard faster. What the screen name would be was another question of course, as I wasn't sure if it should be a personal cape account or one for the group I was building. Which itself needed a name, and a determination of just what it was that I was doing. Which probably should come first, as a country had different naming needs than a cape team or a movement.
Eh, going for the personal cape account was probably the best choice, as people would actually recognize who it was that way. I could always launch a more general account later if it were needed. It'd also have the benefit of not making it look like I had a larger organization than I actually had. People would assume that I was just giving a fake sob story at that point, rather than understanding that it was something I was building to alleviate my situation, which would take away the protection I got from being a known destitute. Also, the PRT would have to start being more aggressive towards me if it looked like I was building or already part of a gang.
Better by far to start the primary recruitment drive after it was clear that I wasn't going to be challenging the US Government's authority. I knew how well rocking the boat went for Lustrum.
Moving on from that line of thought, I had to decide if I was going to use my cape name as my handle or something alluding to it. I could even slip in a reference to where my base was with little issue or hint at being somewhere other than Bet. It'd take a pretty good Thinker to get that, say, 'Dawn Of The Coast' meant that I was based in a tropical coastal area on a different Earth, and I doubted I warranted Watchdog attention. Other villains would be a bigger concern, but there weren't any that high-end in Brockton Bay and I doubted that any outside group would be paying attention to a minor villain of little consequence.
Well, the Elite might because I was a Tinker, but that would require them paying the dying wreck of a city any consideration.
I froze mid-sweep. There was another group I would have to worry about once I started recruiting beyond possibly getting Bastard Son after me with intent to press-gang, the Nine. They were generally cowards, but they'd still attack places with major cape presences if things were unstable enough or they felt that getting at specific capes was worth the risk. Typically capes who were inspiring hope. A Tinker offering a fresh start to the people of a city on the edge, far from the crumbling mess of Earth Bet would definitely be targeted by both Jack Slash and Mannequin…
Well, I had months before that became an active concern. Months to plan out a response. And, perhaps, ensure any such attack backfired on them…
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- Pronouns
- He
Yea. And she is allowed to do it. Because Cauldron simply don't give a sh*te about it. Not like Taylor could go before a judge and argue a breach of contract. And if Cauldron would think Taylor is in breach of contract... bullet or a Birdcage OR taking her teleporter and leaving her on the planet by herself. There is simply nobody to to enforce the contract between them except for Cauldron/C*ntessa. And when you take this into account, the "spitefulness" and "fighting back" kinda falls flat.
And why? She is barely on a radar in a Brockton Bay. She is woefully unimportant Tinker without support and barely able to build a tech known to humanity for thousands of years. Damn, I have seen survival videos in our YT with people who are able to build things far faster than her and withough Tinker-bs. She doesn't even have a russian-style dugout (zemljanka), proper supply of water nor food except what she is able to steal from Earth during her outings. Right now is, she is on the level migratory Homo Sapiens when Homo Neanderthalis were a thing.
If she would be a plan B, they should her put on a better planet. Like they have millions of planets to choose from. They could have put her on a paradise planet on a calm place, like south France equivalent and let her build up in peace. Like if she is the "Plan B" what is the point of everything else? What is the point of putting her in a perilous situations, what is a point of not giving her almost nil resources, what is the point of that "Nemesis" crap? Multi-tasking? Cauldron being Cauldrony (which is a step above incompetent)? Kinda doesn't make sense to me. Don't forget Taylor is a vial cape, meaning she doesn't have a conflict drive.
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Dr. Thunder
Philosopher-King of Florida
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/They
I mean better to have a plan to deal with the Nine in case they show up (and in Worm-fics, they inevitably will) instead of "Oh no oh gods Jack Slash is here"
Plus letting the Nine anywhere near a fancy dimensional teleporter (which Taylor has) is a bad thing and would undoubtedly be worse than becoming Mannequin/Bonesaw's latest victim.
Same reason she's worrying about the possibility of Bastard Son showing up with his army of office supply-wielding minions, preparing for the inevitable worse-case scenario (aside from maybe Ziz showing up for a tropical vacation or something)
Sandy River DL
(Verified Destroyer Leader)
- Location
- Lake Michigan
- Pronouns
- Her/She
Okay, seriously dude? She's a teenage girl who has a lot more to do than your classic 'survival' YouTuber who can go home at the end of the day and has normal modern meals. She has to forage for food to supplement what she can steal, gather materials from a primeval environment, and, you know, do crime. Of fucking course a YouTuber would be further along than her, they aren't subsistence-level raiders/hunter-gatherers. She also is in the process of jumping from 'basic shelter' to Roman villa, which is a hell of a lot better for her current environment than a dugout shelter.
And did you even bother reading why she was thinking about the S9? Because it's stated outright in the new chapter...
Arzte
Lady Of Chaos
- Location
- Where Order Is Not
- Pronouns
- She/Her/Hers
I don't think planning for the S9 will matter for a while. Not only does she literally have more important things to do (mainly survival) but even she acknowledged she's not even approaching the level where they'd know of her in the first place.
On a different note, what an incredibly anti-climatic fight, just goes to show how much single-mindedness makes you throw fights. All the better for Taylor though, she's not anywhere near ready to participate in that, her strongest ability right now is being able to teleport between earths. Not very combat usable.
Speaking of Cauldron, their interest in Taylor's project seems to be the same as many of their other projects, set a wheel in motion and see how it goes. As we saw from Contessa's POV a while back, they're far more likely to interfere with her as part of an objective for a larger path, in that case, one for better coffee. I don't think they really have a greater interest here, they're very much a sit back and let the dominio's fall kind of conspiracy, due to their limited manpower.
I do hope Taylor can get some help before too long, the wet season with two people is gonna suck, they need more manpower.
On a different note, what an incredibly anti-climatic fight, just goes to show how much single-mindedness makes you throw fights. All the better for Taylor though, she's not anywhere near ready to participate in that, her strongest ability right now is being able to teleport between earths. Not very combat usable.
Speaking of Cauldron, their interest in Taylor's project seems to be the same as many of their other projects, set a wheel in motion and see how it goes. As we saw from Contessa's POV a while back, they're far more likely to interfere with her as part of an objective for a larger path, in that case, one for better coffee. I don't think they really have a greater interest here, they're very much a sit back and let the dominio's fall kind of conspiracy, due to their limited manpower.
I do hope Taylor can get some help before too long, the wet season with two people is gonna suck, they need more manpower.
- Location
- france
It rains bears on this world...? Not sure if establishing a colony is a good idea.
That said Pern had the Thread so...
"You can't beat me, Emma. I have an entire civilization behind me."
- Location
- Oslo
- Pronouns
- She/Her
What. What the actual f-
I have even more questions now. Why Kyne? Why Lustrum? Why Bethesda? Why Ukraine? How? When? Who?
Whilst true, it's worth noting that she had just decided that she needed to think in a longer term time frame.
I honestly read the thing about the S9 to be a part of delineating long term large scale threats, so the back of her mind can chew on the problem for a while.
Also noteworthy is that Taylor thinks that the S9 will become a threat *once she is openly recruiting*, which does fit with the " you are not allowed to hope" thing
And yeah, Taylor had been thinking pretty short term, but that is what you do when you are securing the very basics. "What do I need to survive long enough to get what I NEED".
They didn't put her in a benign paradise because that wouldn't challenge and push her.
Sure she'd have an easier time in her setup, and be able to spend more time on her contracted obligations, but those obligations weren't what cauldron wanted to start with, and such a basis would result in a weaker and more stagnant development.
Those regions that come closest to the idea of benign paradise on earth have been pushed along in their development by the pressure of having to defend said paradise from their neighboring peoples. This is something that is not present in a Virgin Earth scenario.
Cauldron wants a lifeboat world, which means something more than dumping a few hundred thousand unprepared refugees in the wilderness somewhere. There needs to be a means to feed them, to water them safely, to provide them with shelter, to provide a basis for law ( even if it's not the laws that the refugees are used to), to provide facility for medical care.
All of this applies to short term emergency stays, like say evacuating from end bringer. It gets a lot more involved and complex the longer term we need to provide for. And a lifeboat earth may need to be able to provide indefinitely.
In an indefinite situation, those refugees need to be transitioned from "Americans of Earth Bet" to citizens of thier new civilization. Something that is tricky and will cause friction.
So what Taylor builds needs to be sound and strong, not just on a physical level, but on a psycho-social level as well. Because it's going to be tested, and hard. She can't get away with the bare minimum
The contract was ultimately to get a basis for being able to use someone who has given up on *anyone* helping her, who is used to and expecting the boot to the knees..
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Tisaku
Head Chief Thinkomancer
- Pronouns
- He
Uhuh. In the process of getting Roman villa-equivalent. Yea, no. And she started thinking about S9 because she thinks she will be inspiring hope. If she is the proverbial Cauldron's Plan B for humanity survival, getting her being killed by S9 doesn't make sense.
So does Gandhi. And he has nukes.It rains bears on this world...? Not sure if establishing a colony is a good idea.
That said Pern had the Thread so...
"You can't beat me, Emma. I have an entire civilization behind me."
This is kinda sus reasoning. To build something like that, you need a support and a LOT OF IT, it's not in the power of a singular person to build something like this even if they have the knowledge (in this case the crippled knowledge in accordance of being a Shard-based Tinker).
To build a fully functional base to house thousands to millions number people ALONE you would need either Factorio-like-based knowledge that exponentially expands with insane level of AI or AIs and robots or support of a large country to just build AND maintain it for years without not even knowing if it will be of use.
Then you have to transport the incredible number of people. Somehow. In a span of seconds and without warning because Scion definitely won't warn them. Don't forget he scrubbed Earth Bet from life. Especially if it will go like in the original Worm and they have only around two years.
Right now, Taylor didn't show anything that is outside of human knowledge. She has only shown a rudimentary understanding of a technology that is known for tens of thousands of years. No shortcuts. No interesting power. Nothing.
And as a challenge and not pushing herself... That is strange reasoning too; even though vial capes lacks conflict drive, the tinker's still build and have Tinker Fugue states... And Taylor would try to help the people anyway. Like... she wants to be a hero. She would offer people to move there anyway. Unpromted and unpushed. Aka she would push herself. But with a virgin utopia world, it would be FAR easier, far less perilous and actually could be offered as an incentive to move qualified people there, like doctors, engineers, specialists, farmers... and other such people... you know, backbone of every civilisation in human existence.
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