- Location
- The Internet?
So many people forget that one of the families Heartbreaker ruined was his own. Emily, have a little sympathy.
"I'm sorry, you want my dead future past ex-boyfriend to do what?"
Goddamn Teenagers (Worm, AU/time travel)
Magician's Apprentice, Part 6
Lisa slowly, and fuzzily, drifted back to consciousness. Not her bed. Hospital noises.
Medical center. PRT. Power over-exertion. BEST HOST with you.
Well. That was unusually helpful and straightforward. With a groan, Lisa sat up, and blearily examined her surroundings.
"Oh!" Taylor said, looking up from a notebook. "You're awake, we learned so much!"
"What happened?" Sure, Power had already told her some of it, but Taylor didn't know that. Oh, and a second independent viewpoint was helpful or something, that would be her story if asked.
Taylor shuffled awkwardly. "We were, uh, asking your power about that box thing, and then you got fuzzy headed and your nose started bleeding and wouldn't stop."
OK, well, that was the headache then. Still, answers were good!
"Right!" Taylor said, standing up, "the nurse said to give you water when you woke up if you wanted, here." The tall girl retrieved a cup and straw from somewhere, held it up for Lisa to drink.
Lisa allowed it.
Note: At this point Taylor's notebook, if properly reviewed, would be stupidly classified. Fortunately, a casual reader likely wouldn't even notice the Secrets Not Meant For Mortal Eyes, what with all the insect nightmare fuel.
Medical center. PRT. Power over-exertion. BEST HOST with you.
Well. That was unusually helpful and straightforward. With a groan, Lisa sat up, and blearily examined her surroundings.
"Oh!" Taylor said, looking up from a notebook. "You're awake, we learned so much!"
"What happened?" Sure, Power had already told her some of it, but Taylor didn't know that. Oh, and a second independent viewpoint was helpful or something, that would be her story if asked.
Taylor shuffled awkwardly. "We were, uh, asking your power about that box thing, and then you got fuzzy headed and your nose started bleeding and wouldn't stop."
OK, well, that was the headache then. Still, answers were good!
"Right!" Taylor said, standing up, "the nurse said to give you water when you woke up if you wanted, here." The tall girl retrieved a cup and straw from somewhere, held it up for Lisa to drink.
Lisa allowed it.
Note: At this point Taylor's notebook, if properly reviewed, would be stupidly classified. Fortunately, a casual reader likely wouldn't even notice the Secrets Not Meant For Mortal Eyes, what with all the insect nightmare fuel.
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Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
missing word(s)?
needs re-wording?
should be 'you wanted. Here." '? (missing close double-quote)
---
Lisa. Over-doing it. Inference Engine answers, answering all the questions. Because it's BEST HOST asking. How could that cause problems???
Hmm. Lisa's acquiring a Best Friend, isn't she? Kicking, maybe the odd bit of screaming, but she's being dragged there.
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Typos fixed in the text! Thank you very much!
- Location
- Philippines
Given the stress of being the one to watch over Doctor Weaver in case she goes off the deep end, another Taylor Hebert to regularly deal with might just send her off the cliff.
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
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I don't think she watches over Dr. Weaver, more... interacts with her in a way that keeps the good doctor stable-ish. And, not really by her own choice, either. Her Power... has opinions on the subject.
Taylor junior... is more a peer. And, is likely no longer suicidal, which is good for Lisa. But, is still socially disjoint. But, so is Lisa. So...
And, of course, QA is smirking in the background.
There Will Be Bugs, in someone's future!
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- Location
- Philippines
I didn't mean in the sense where she watches over her and keeps her from going insane, but rather in the sense where Cauldron introduced her to the "big leagues" by reminding her that she is expected to notice first and to warn other people if Doctor Weaver snaps or is otherwise compromised. She's not her therapist - she's the canary in the coal mine and she is expected to tattle if something smells off.
Here's the relevant section.
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Magician’s Apprentice, Part 7
"So," Lisa said, less parched. "What was learned about the box of stickers?"
"It's really interesting," Taylor began. "It's a bio-engineered brain thing that counts as a person for power purposes but isn't actually a person or self-aware. It's connected to a power that, hmm."
The taller girl flipped through her notebook. "So," Taylor continued, "the power is very shouty and annoying. Other powers can't not listen when he starts talking, and he won't shut up. He got in trouble with, I think that's Valkyrie's power and my power, and…" Somehow Taylor maintained a tone of excited interest, even as Lisa wondered if it hadn't been a mercy that her Power previously stopped her from focusing.
Wait, why can I remember now?
{Redacted} is a cheating cheater who cheats, her power and mercy are great.
Well that wasn't comforting at all. Lisa held up a hand to pause Taylor so that she could process.. whatever that was, but then her stomach expressed a more urgent need, and Lisa felt a sharp craving for… wait a minute.
"Why am I having cravings like I'm coming off a hella bad period?" Lisa asked tentatively.
Taylor shuffled awkwardly again. "It was, uh, a really bad nosebleed.
Note:
L: … did you hold my continued health and sanity hostage until my Power cooperated?
T: Not intentionally?
"It's really interesting," Taylor began. "It's a bio-engineered brain thing that counts as a person for power purposes but isn't actually a person or self-aware. It's connected to a power that, hmm."
The taller girl flipped through her notebook. "So," Taylor continued, "the power is very shouty and annoying. Other powers can't not listen when he starts talking, and he won't shut up. He got in trouble with, I think that's Valkyrie's power and my power, and…" Somehow Taylor maintained a tone of excited interest, even as Lisa wondered if it hadn't been a mercy that her Power previously stopped her from focusing.
Wait, why can I remember now?
{Redacted} is a cheating cheater who cheats, her power and mercy are great.
Well that wasn't comforting at all. Lisa held up a hand to pause Taylor so that she could process.. whatever that was, but then her stomach expressed a more urgent need, and Lisa felt a sharp craving for… wait a minute.
"Why am I having cravings like I'm coming off a hella bad period?" Lisa asked tentatively.
Taylor shuffled awkwardly again. "It was, uh, a really bad nosebleed.
Note:
L: … did you hold my continued health and sanity hostage until my Power cooperated?
T: Not intentionally?
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Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
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L: Explain.
T: All I did was... ESCALATE. I got the impression my Power thought it was a good idea...
also...
L: Give me that Liver. I don't care if it is cooked, flavoured with garlic, or is with bacon and onions. GIVE IT TO ME!!!
(Stomachs can be rather clear in their demands...)
L: And. Dark chocolate. Gimme All The Dark Chocolate!
grommile
nasty-minded old cynic
- Location
- NERV-Mercia
- Pronouns
- Traditional/Animate
Did you know strong dark chocolate is a source of dietary fibre? 🙂
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
L: Don't Care! Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie!
(You expected rationality???
)((Dark chocolate also apparently has useful affects on the mind. Who'd a thought???))
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grommile
nasty-minded old cynic
- Location
- NERV-Mercia
- Pronouns
- Traditional/Animate
I was expecting "awesome" rather than "don't care"(You expected rationality???
FaerieKnight79
Verified Pixie
- Location
- The Internet
I was expecting "awesome" rather than "don't care"
It's chocolate, "don't care" is the expected response.
grommile
nasty-minded old cynic
- Location
- NERV-Mercia
- Pronouns
- Traditional/Animate
Look, my response when I realized dark chocolate had significant dietary fibre was "awesome! not as practical as one might like, but awesome!"
FaerieKnight79
Verified Pixie
- Location
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Then that just makes you the odd one out. The majority of people couldn't give a flying flip of a rat's rear end if dark chocolate counted as "dietary fiber" or not. It's chocolate, and that's all that matters to them. Ether because they love chocolate, or because they hate it.
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
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100% dark chocolate. No sugar, just the cocao solids. Can take a while to work up to that, 75%, 85%, etc. - some just can't take the bitterness.
But, if as for Lisa, it patches a... unfortunate shortcoming in the human metabolism - 'Gimmie!'.
I like the Dark, up to about 95%; 86% is the best though.
Good for you, bad for for you, who cares?
It's dark chocolate.
Good for you, bad for for you, who cares?
It's dark chocolate.
I like dark chocolate, unfortunately it doesn't like me... or my brain doesn't like it... or something. It triggers migraines, all the migraines. Last time I had an entire snack bar of dark chocolate I was in hospital for 11 days while they tried to work out why I had near constant repeating periodic migraines that just wouldn't stop. Eventually they ended. Got released from hospital after getting an MRI and it being inconclusive on issues due to old scar tissue. Next time I had a little bit of Dark chocolate I got a migraine. Tested that a few times since. Eat some and I get a bad headache or a migraine depending on how much I eat. Haven't had dark chocolate since and not a single migraine either.
Unfortunately dark chocolate can cause migraines in certain people. I don't know the mechanics of why that happens and why only certain people are effected, but I know quite solidly that it does.
Also, the difference I put between "a bad headache" and a "a migraine"; Can you get out of bed without wanting to vomit due to the pain in your skull? Do you still have a sense of balance? Can you open your eyes without feeling like the street light down the road is trying to carve images into the back of your skull even through heavy drapes? If the answer to any of these is yes, then it's a bad headache. If you are staggering around like a drunk person (assuming getting upright didn't trigger enough dizziness that you laid right back down and/or threw up) using the walls to keep upright and you feel like you want to decapitate yourself to remove the pain while squinting to keep the evil that is light out even though it's 2am and all the lights are off; That's a migraine - at least to me it is.
Unfortunately dark chocolate can cause migraines in certain people. I don't know the mechanics of why that happens and why only certain people are effected, but I know quite solidly that it does.
Also, the difference I put between "a bad headache" and a "a migraine"; Can you get out of bed without wanting to vomit due to the pain in your skull? Do you still have a sense of balance? Can you open your eyes without feeling like the street light down the road is trying to carve images into the back of your skull even through heavy drapes? If the answer to any of these is yes, then it's a bad headache. If you are staggering around like a drunk person (assuming getting upright didn't trigger enough dizziness that you laid right back down and/or threw up) using the walls to keep upright and you feel like you want to decapitate yourself to remove the pain while squinting to keep the evil that is light out even though it's 2am and all the lights are off; That's a migraine - at least to me it is.
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Magician’s Apprentice, Part 8
"So," Lisa said around mouthfuls of greasy PRT cafeteria chili mac. "Horrifying bratty power mastering powers to listen to him. Was that the extent of it? And why do I have a note that it knows what it did?"
"Sort of?" Taylor said, taking a sip from her even more disgusting protein shake, Brian was a bad influence on the girl.
"… 'words of power'? Or maybe 'command words'? Anyway he got in trouble for spoofing them. It let him bypass safeties and rules and things on other powers. I'm unclear whether it was him doing it on his own, or whether he was getting tricked into it, but it was a really big deal and bad."
That didn't sound good. That sounded, in fact, very not good. Visions of Nilbog and Eagleton flashed through Lisa's head.
Registering that Taylor was looking pleased with herself and wasn't talking any more, Lisa asked, against her better judgment, "… what kind of safeties and rules?"
Taylor shrugged. "Trump stuff mostly, expanding range and allowing secondary power expressions?" Taylor turned a page in her notebook. "Oh, and making more tinker things, and maybe plagues?"
Nope, nope, nope. Lisa very much did not like where that was pointing.
Note: This is my explanation for why, for example, Riley was able to do so much S-class shit that really should have been blocked on the shard side.
"Sort of?" Taylor said, taking a sip from her even more disgusting protein shake, Brian was a bad influence on the girl.
"… 'words of power'? Or maybe 'command words'? Anyway he got in trouble for spoofing them. It let him bypass safeties and rules and things on other powers. I'm unclear whether it was him doing it on his own, or whether he was getting tricked into it, but it was a really big deal and bad."
That didn't sound good. That sounded, in fact, very not good. Visions of Nilbog and Eagleton flashed through Lisa's head.
Registering that Taylor was looking pleased with herself and wasn't talking any more, Lisa asked, against her better judgment, "… what kind of safeties and rules?"
Taylor shrugged. "Trump stuff mostly, expanding range and allowing secondary power expressions?" Taylor turned a page in her notebook. "Oh, and making more tinker things, and maybe plagues?"
Nope, nope, nope. Lisa very much did not like where that was pointing.
Note: This is my explanation for why, for example, Riley was able to do so much S-class shit that really should have been blocked on the shard side.
- Location
- The Internet?
"Broadcast is brat."
"Brat shard summer: what your local PRT branch wants you to know."
"Turning to social media now, It's the latest trend sweeping our schools. It's called the crisis point challenge, and it might be killing your teens. Tune in at 11 for the full team coverage."
Youthful Indiscretions
"The Mann act?" Max asked. He knew more than most about parahuman and medical law, but he'd never heard of that one.
"And others," the lawyer said wearily. "They have evidence of you traveling with minors across state lines for 'immoral' purposes."
"What?" Just, what? He'd done a lot, but didn't diddle kids.
The lawyer sighed. "Apparently there are photographs, and either the Special Agent In Charge has gotten a lot better at poker or they have a solid case. From the sound of it, it would have been a years ago, possibly even before your father died, something with a teen girl or girls."
Oh. That.
Max forced himself to maintain a neutral expression, as his mind raced. This wasn't about Jessa or Nessa, this was about Heith, maybe, when they first got together? Or one of the 'celebrations' she had organized for him. Shit. There might actually be photos, they'd had a Polaroid that one time and…
But fucking how?
"… no statute of limitations," the lawyer continued, "and it's federal, not state. I'm going to need to bring in a colleague for this, my speciality is financial matters. Not… this."
Historically, the Mann Act had a reputation for being used to unfairly target politically disfavored people. E.g., happily married interracial couples.
"And others," the lawyer said wearily. "They have evidence of you traveling with minors across state lines for 'immoral' purposes."
"What?" Just, what? He'd done a lot, but didn't diddle kids.
The lawyer sighed. "Apparently there are photographs, and either the Special Agent In Charge has gotten a lot better at poker or they have a solid case. From the sound of it, it would have been a years ago, possibly even before your father died, something with a teen girl or girls."
Oh. That.
Max forced himself to maintain a neutral expression, as his mind raced. This wasn't about Jessa or Nessa, this was about Heith, maybe, when they first got together? Or one of the 'celebrations' she had organized for him. Shit. There might actually be photos, they'd had a Polaroid that one time and…
But fucking how?
"… no statute of limitations," the lawyer continued, "and it's federal, not state. I'm going to need to bring in a colleague for this, my speciality is financial matters. Not… this."
Historically, the Mann Act had a reputation for being used to unfairly target politically disfavored people. E.g., happily married interracial couples.
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Ace Dreamer
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Is it 'flee the USA time' for Max Anders? It's difficult to see how he's going to get out of this one...
I wonder what Nessa and Jessa think about this? With the benefit of age and maturity?
Ace Dreamer
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Sounds very much like the (classic issue of) celebrity & power. Inappropriate use of power, often granted for other purposes (such as management of an organisation). Arguably the human weakness for generalising ("They're powerful in that area, they must be powerful in all areas!"). Of course, Nazi ideas about the 'infallibility' of the Leader ('Fuhrer')...
Dunno, honestly...