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Goddamn Teenagers (Worm, AU/time travel)

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    • "Starting today," Dr. Weaver said to Lisa, "we have arranged for your access to another opportunity to workshop your prompt engineering skills."

    Naturally, Power had a contribution of his own. She is enjoying this.

    Well. That wasn't ominous at all.

    "Specifically, I have found teaching to be an effective way to force oneself to examine any skill from new perspectives, improving one's own mastery."

    "Ooooh, do I get to train Thinktank? Or more people totally not working for the artist formerly known as Accord? Or Valkyrie's people?"

    "Perhaps in time, but first it would be best, I think, to start with someone closer to home, and who presents fewer security concerns."

    Power proffered a name.

    "Oh, come on!" Lisa sputtered in outrage.

    The older woman, of course, was unfazed. "It will be an educational experience."

    It will be a good learning opportunity!

    Traitor.

    Shortly thereafter

    Dennis looked up at the door alarm, after a slipping on his mask. A familiar blonde had entered in casual but color-coordinated attire. Unusually, she was not smiling. "Something wrong, Lilac?"

    The blonde sighed dramatically. Before she could respond further, a gaggle of giggles drifted out of the kitchen.

    Lilac sighed, again (dramatically, of course), and changed direction.

    "Uh, you sure you want to go in there?" Dennis asked.

    "Sadly, yes. Blame Dr. Weaver."

    "Ok, but fair warning, Missy said something about knitting."
    Note: You know, a murder of crows, a clan of hyenas, a gaggle of giggles (preteen, female, inherently ominous). If that's wrong, I don't want to be right.
     
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    • dc2008 said:
    "Ok, but fair warning, Missy said something about knitting."
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    Knitting what with what? With Missy, you really don't know...

    (Some people have knitted chain-mail, from the plastic-cord industrial fishing nets are made from, then sprayed them silver... Work pretty well against reenactment blunt weapons... So, maybe..)
     
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    Failing the Sniff Test
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    • "I'm home!" Vicky called out, as she shut the back door.

    "In the kitchen," her father's voice replied.

    Entering the kitchen, Vicky saw he was prepping dinner, and went to wash her hands.

    "Mrow?" Chekov chirped in greeting from his spot on top of the fridge.

    "Your mother is working late, will Amy be joining us for dinner?"

    "Nah," Vicky said, rewarding Chekov with scritchies and pets. "She said something about being worried for the dogs' health but I think she wanted a break after all the everything. Said she'll come in tomorrow afternoon for her hospital shift and then be back for dinner."

    "Mew?" Chekov added, sniffing Vicky's hand curiously before signaling for uppies.

    "Ahhh," Vicky cooed as she obliged. Chekov immediately started rubbing against her arms and face. "I missed you too."

    Her father laughed. "You probably just smell like dog and he's trying to mark his territory."

    Vicky laughed. "Yeah, I'll go take a shower and then come help finish dinner."
    Note: Kitty is not jealous and territorial nope nope nope, just friendly.
     
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    • Another good one!

    Take my poor woman's meow react:

    😺

    At this point, I'm wondering if there's going to be a pun on the Chekov's Gun trope, involving that cat...
     
    Consolidation
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    • "What exactly did happen with Miss Lindt," Emily asked Dr. Weaver.

    The other woman shrugged. "Exactly what I said at the time. Overwatch monitors for non-trivial risks of death or permanent injury. Albino Wonderboy and his friends didn't trigger any alerts."

    "... well, it worked out well enough, I suppose. Good training, and a good deterrent to anyone else thinking of going after the Wards."

    Dr. Weaver nodded. "There have been some knock-on effects. It likely would have happened anyway, however with this incident very publicly demonstrating the Empire's impotence, Lung appears to have taken steps to ensure Coil can't turn on him. He--"

    "Sorry," Emily interrupted. "What?"

    The other woman blinked. "Oh, I thought I'd laundered that through the usual intel reports. They cut a deal to... Huh, I suppose I could just give you the file. I'll get it for you after we finish."

    Emily massaged her temples, and reminded herself of just how much good the infuriating woman had done. "Fine, what did Lung do?"

    "He's in talks with Uppercrust, I'd give it 70/30 that they work out terms for Lung to join the Elite under Uppercrust's sponsorship."

    "Fuck," Emily said, with feeling as she leaned back in her chair.

    Dr. Weaver waggled her hand. "On balance, it should be a stabilizing factor? It discourages Coil from attacking Lung, while Coil's various outside associations already discourage Lung from openly attacking Coil. It should strengthen Uppercrust's position relative to Bastard Son, and act as a moderating influence on Bastard Son more generally. The man isn't stupid, after all, and will see that Lung could very well replace him, should his behavior prove too disruptive. Of course, Uppercrust would not look kindly were Lung to resume his prior more disruptive behavior, and Bastard Son acts as a deterrent against Lung just as much as Lung acts as a deterrent against Bastard Son."

    Emily looked down at her notes, which succinctly said 'Lung = Elite WTF', with numerous underlines. "I will have questions, after I gather my thoughts." Many, many questions.
    Note: Oh, what was that about Coil... and she's already gone.
     
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    • dc2008 said:
    and reminded herself of just how good
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    missing word 'much'?

    ---

    And... future-Taylor raises Emily's blood pressure. Yet again.

    And, Emily realises just how many fragile eggs (hand-grenades?) Dr. Weaver is juggling.

    Emily: I can see she's doing good work, but, why, why, did she have to be doing it in my city???

    (Chekov's Fully-Automatic Gun? I vaguely recall a fanfic where The Thinker having crashed caused some wandering shards that... had rather broken detect-Trigger-worthy logic. So, a cat could Trigger with being-a-gun (and bullet-summoning) powers. Cat-Gun? Cordite-Cat? Is it good, or bad, such problems seem unlikely for this fic? :)
    Sometime people recycle stuff from science fiction...

    In the book Tactics of Mistake by Gordon R. Dickson (1970) one of the standard military weapons was a rifle called a Dally gun. So named because it was developed by a man named Dally. The soldiers call it a "Dial-a-gun". (Now, Fallout 4 has its own version of the Dally gun.)

    Why should you care? Because a Dally Gun can shoot any ammunition you feed it. Any. So. Not as good as Miss Militia, because you need to have 'fed' the gun the ammo, but...

    "Victoria? What are you doing?"

    "I'm just loading the cat. Open up, Chekov!"
    )
     
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    School Daze, Part 11
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    • "I'm sorry, just, no," Taylor said to the excited underclassman. "You can't adapt Winslow defense techniques to, quote, shovel-fu. Winslow is not a defense training center. Shovel-fu is not a thing."

    "But—."

    "The shovel," Taylor continued, "is not even a well-defined class of weapons. You have everything from a trowel, which would functionally be a knife or baton, to one of those ones we learned about in history, which are basically hatchets, to something in the spade size range which is…"

    Noting the expressions of her audience, and more importantly the look on Amy's face, Taylor trailed off.

    "No," Amy said, rotating her hands in a 'more' gesture, "tell us more!" Amy's guffaws interrupted whatever else she was going to say.

    A few seats down the lunch table, Dennis looked significantly at first Chris, then Dean. "She cannot ever meet Missy."

    Dean rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, I'm pretty sure they're both in that empowerment thing Vicky goes to?"

    "We're doomed!"
     
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    • dc2008 said:
    to, quote, shovel-fu. Winslow is not
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    should that be 'quotes', or 'quote, shovel-fu, quote'? (The second 'quote' being 'unquote' if Taylor is being really picky?) I've also seen single quotes around the emphasised text in some writing styles...

    ---

    Come on, Taylor! Call a spade a spade! :)

    I think it is entirely reasonable Taylor having a firm knowledge of the full range of shovel-related improvised weapons! It's the sort of thing I took an interest in, at her age! Like taking books on poisons and fungii out of the adult library when I was too young to have adult library tickets, by borrowing my Dad's tickets. No one talked to me about it, though...

    'Nerd'? What to you mean 'nerd'? :)
     
    Ace Dreamer said:
    should that be 'quotes', or 'quote, shovel-fu, quote'? (The second 'quote' being 'unquote' if Taylor is being really picky?) I've also seen single quotes around the emphasised text in some writing styles...

    ---

    Come on, Taylor! Call a spade a spade! :)

    I think it is entirely reasonable Taylor having a firm knowledge of the full range of shovel-related improvised weapons! It's the sort of thing I took an interest in, at her age! Like taking books on poisons and fungii out of the adult library when I was too young to have adult library tickets, by borrowing my Dad's tickets. No one talked to me about it, though...

    'Nerd'? What to you mean 'nerd'? :)
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    As a matter of formal written grammar, it's an interesting question and one I didn't immediately see a clear answer for. Fortunately, Taylor here is speaking in the vernacular, and is a teen, so I think some degree of sloppiness is OK.

    Also, Taylor is indeed adorkable.
     
    dc2008 said:
    As a matter of formal written grammar, it's an interesting question and one I didn't immediately see a clear answer for. Fortunately, Taylor here is speaking in the vernacular, and is a teen, so I think some degree of sloppiness is OK.

    Also, Taylor is indeed adorkable.
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    I recall using just 'quote' myself, and being told off by a friend seriously into programming that 'one must always close quotes' (and brackets), because otherwise you are quoting (or bracketting) everything after. I swear they once sat down and just said 'close quote', repeatedly, for another friend, who never did that. Told them they needed to end each day by saying 'close quote', repeatedly. Possibly causing a bit of annoyance...

    Did I say some of my friends were strange? :)

    Taylor has the excuse of having an English Prof. as a mother...

    dc2008 said:
    vernacular
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    Conveying that can be a pain... And, annoys some readers... Just like spelling mistakes in PHO bits annoys some, even though they're entirely 'in character'...
     
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    Trying to convey different speech patterns in text can be frustrating. If you can pull it off, the reader gets to the point they know who's speaking based on how they speak. But it's hard to pull off convincingly. I know for one character who was suppose to always use an overly formal and speech pattern, I conveyed this via never using contractions in their speech.
     
    FaerieKnight79 said:
    Trying to convey different speech patterns in text can be frustrating. If you can pull it off, the reader gets to the point they know who's speaking based on how they speak. But it's hard to pull off convincingly. I know for one character who was suppose to always use an overly formal and speech pattern, I conveyed this via never using contractions in their speech.
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    Yep, and this can be so very difficult. I am well aware that some of the characters here do not yet have clearly distinct voices. Part of the downside to such a large cast.
     
    Enthusiastic Motivation
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    • "Hey-o!" A familiar voice called out.

    Lisa stuck her head out of her bedroom. Aisha was, in fact, in her apartment, examining her snack collection.

    "Hi? Why are you here? Wait, how are you here, I know I didn't give you a key."

    She does, in fact, have a key.

    Wait, what the—

    Lisa's discussion with Power was interrupted by a crumbled ball of… what appeared to be paper napkin?

    "I said," Aisha repeated, "let's go to the gym!"

    "We already went to the gym? Gym should be endured in moderation, for reasons. Wait, I was doing important work! From home!"

    Aisha rolled her eyes. "This is for self-defense, not for running and shit. Taylor and Brian will be there, it'll be fun! Maybe if we're both there we can sneak up on her, god knows I haven't been able to on my own."

    "But… we already have the self-defense thing? With the group? Later this week?"

    "Yeah but they coming for Wards now! Ask the voice in your head, you don't want to be an underachiever, do you?"

    Oh my god how did Brian keep up with this I don't even! "I'm a thinker! My proper place is in a fortified command post! Surrounded by armed guards!"

    Aisha looked unimpressed. "You like nice things, right? Food and clothes and shit?"

    Lisa blinked at the non-sequitur. "Yes?"

    Aisha nodded confidently. "That ain't in a bunker, and before you say delivery, tell me with a straight face that you've ever got nice shoes delivery and had it work out first time."

    You do, in fact, like nice things. And you, just last week, enacted an elaborate review bombing scheme in revenge after shoes you ordered pinched your toes.

    Fuck you too, just because she's right doesn't mean you have to agree with her!

    "Come on!" Aisha said tugging Lisa back into her bedroom.

    "But my work?" Lisa protested.

    "Uh huh," Aisha replied in an unimpressed tone. She gestured toward Lisa's multi-monitor setup. "Looks to me like you were doom scrolling PHO and shitposting."

    "That can be work!"
    Note: Chaos Gremlin, Fo' Justice! And shit! We got a good thing going, not gonna let you fuck it up!

    Also note: On the long side, but I couldn't bear to split this up.
     
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    • Aisha is the Hero we Deserved, but not the one we got in the OG timeline. Sadly.
     
    Things Money Can’t Buy
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    • "State has smoothed over the remaining issues with Mrs. Krieg, so she will be arriving this evening, along with the kids," Phil said.

    "Send Tagg, from me, a box of those cigars he likes," Emily replied.

    Phil made a note to talk to Tagg's assistant. "Initial landing is in Boston, but she has requested an escort to the Bay to retrieve what personal effects she can."

    "Fine. Make sure to consult, hmm, Assault on this one. We wouldn't want an incident."

    "Good idea."

    "Also, when she gets here? See if we still have that ratty backpack of photos, toys and stuffies that was in Krieg's car when we caught him. Have Armsmaster screen it, expedited basis, clean up any bloodstains. Anything we can, we give to her when she gets here."

    "Are you sure that's safe? Normal M/S protocols would require—"

    "Won't be anything she wasn't exposed to when a guest of her Gesellschaft mongers," Emily said dismissively, "catching flies, honey, vinegar, all of that."

    Later

    "This is dirty pool, boss," Assault said to Emily upon seeing the contents of the backpack. He smiled. "Wish I'd thought of it myself."
     
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    • Ah, but that's an e-tool. To think of it as merely a shovel is to do it a disservice. E-tools are practically the swiss army knife of camping. When it comes to dispatching foes, you can be blunt about it. Or you could be cutting them to the quick. You can dig a hole, then bury your fallen foe in it. It's 3+ tools in one.


    Also, I can honestly say that I've never thought of a trowel as part of the "shovel" family.
     
    Culture Clash
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    • "Ooooh, what's that?" Amy's sister asked.

    "Donno," Amy said with a shrug, as 'Mina looked up from her patch of warm to see what the fuss was. "Fancy envelope, though. PRT gave it to me, said it was safe but might be weird."

    Opening the letter, Amy starting skimming its contents, "let's see, it's a handwritten thank you note for helping this woman's husband, but…" Stopping, Amy jumped forward to the signature line. "Who is 'Mrs. James Fleischer?'"

    Vicky blinked. "Is that Mrs bad-at-bombs, aka Mrs. Krieg?"

    "Oh." Amy shook her head. "I had sort of blocked him out. That might explain why it's so fucking weird."

    "Give it to me, I'll read it and tell you the good bits?"

    Amy complied and began idly petting 'Mina. She watched in morbid fascination as her sister's face shifted from anticipation, to confusion, to bafflement, to something like awe.

    "So?" Amy asked.

    "Well… she thanked you for helping her husband, which is nice I guess. She apologized for you getting caught up in the schemes of 'those kraut bastards', which, sure. She also assured you of her dedication for getting revenge against those responsible for mastering her husband and getting you hurt. But…"

    "Is the whole thing as weird as the opening?"

    "Weirder. It's like, was this what it was like talking to people in the past? Like, oh, nice weather we're having, by the way the Earth is flat and the moon is made of cheese? I don't know where this woman has been living but it ain't reality."
    Note: Sorry, I don't have it in me to write a rambling, painfully overlong note from a women under immense emotional strain, whose batshit world view drawing freely (and without regard to contradictions) from idealized neo-nazi gender and lifestyle norms, English cultural superiority theory, idealized 50's white Americana, and horrific levels of white supremacy and internalized misogyny. And yes, she signed "Mrs. James Fleischer".
     
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    • Honestly, this is one of those writing situations where leaving it only vaguely described like this is probably better writing, as well as better for both author and readers' mental health. :)
     
    dc2008 said:
    And yes, she signed "Mrs. James Fleischer".
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    There are people you meet, talk to, then, carefully don't make any sudden movements, smile at politely, then walk away, making sure you keep watching them at least out of the corner of your eye. Then make significant efforts to avoid, in future. I've met one or two of those, at different times...
     
    On Optimized Exercise
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    • "Oh my god, that is not natural," Lisa said, trying to catch her breath after racking her (small) weights.

    "Fuck yeah, I'm badass," Aisha said proudly, as she finished and sat back in the… weight machine torture thing. "Taylor though," Aisha said, gesturing toward where Taylor was working with the punching bag, "she's the serious one though, even dad is impressed."

    "Fuck me, yeah now I can see it. Wonder how much the Doc can do?"

    Aisha rolled her eyes. "I asked her about her workout routine once, but she also cheats."

    Lisa blinked. "What, like drugs?"

    Aisha shook her head firmly. "No, like, imagine what kind of people she hangs out with, ah, back home? Yeah that's who helped her work out her routine."

    Lisa was struck by a sudden memory. "What, oh my god when she said driving like a maniac during the EB alert was good practice or whatever, I thought she was joking!"

    Aisha snorted.
     
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