Remove ads

Goddamn Teenagers (Worm, AU/time travel)

Reader mode
Remove ads
Emily’s Reaction New
  • Informational
    • I put a fair bit of thought into Emily's reaction here.

    1. Winslow. Emily is on a hair trigger for any red flags at schools. That time, for a little while before they found out about the stranger, there was a real chance of things blowing back on Piggot and ENE, because Sophia's handler fucked up. Piggot is not taking chances here, especially since some of the other Directors will have noticed her increased influence and be gunning for her.
    2. Emily, somehow, now is in the inner circle of national level PRT decision-making, which means she is entirely serious about saying that she doesn't want Dr. Weaver distracted.
    3. Grue is 'one of the good ones'. Keeps his head down, does his job, follows orders. (And yes that does have some… implications as to Emily's state of mind).
    4. It's someone with a principal's certificate, not a teacher. Piggot assumes (incorrectly) that laxity at the top will flow down in the same way it would in a military unit. Piggot does not fully appreciate that in a school setting, teachers do not fill the existential role of enlisted.
    5. Emily knows that, with Lilac involved, she needs to assert control very forcefully. Otherwise the girl might try to "help" in ways that would cause more problems then they solve.
    6. Emily has a better idea than most of the institutional reasons that would discourage Aisha from making the report.
     
  • New
  • Informational
    • Aisha might be going to get more than the... moderately effective reaction she was looking for?

    OTOH, she's really well placed to see what happens when the full force of a law enforcement organisation comes down on someone who thought the institution they were in would protect them from having to think about consequences...
     
    Ace Dreamer said:
    Aisha might be going to get more than the... moderately effective reaction she was looking for?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Aisha is used to being a poor black kid in a city with an active Nazi gang. She knows shit rolls downhill, and she knows its a big hill.

    She hasn't quite internalized however that her new friend group is a lot closer to the top of that hill than 'poor girl with druggy mom' is.

    She knows her situation has improved some, but she's young. The implications of hanging out with the worlds second most powerful precog, a nationally ranked Shaker, and Taylor(either one) haven't quite sunk in.
     
    Perceptual Universes New
  • Informational
    • TypoNinja said:
    Aisha is used to being a poor black kid in a city with an active Nazi gang. She knows shit rolls downhill, and she knows its a big hill.

    She hasn't quite internalized however that her new friend group is a lot closer to the top of that hill than 'poor girl with druggy mom' is.

    She knows her situation has improved some, but she's young. The implications of hanging out with the worlds second most powerful precog, a nationally ranked Shaker, and Taylor(either one) haven't quite sunk in.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Another issue is that, as with Winslow, the factors that are making the authorities upset aren't aligned with what the teens are upset about. With Winslow, it was about badly monitoring a Ward, and not following M/S protocol, and being obstructionist toward the PRT, and then holy shit there was an extra janitor. Young Taylor was incidental to it all, at least from the perspective of most of the people involved in the response.

    Similarly, Emily's response here is only partly to do with Aisha. A girl getting groped at school, as awful as that is, is not really within Emily's scope of concern. Besides, the girl has no doubt survived worse.

    Aisha will be fine.

    A class principal covering up assaults, or opening herself to blackmail due to an illicit affair on campus, are both bigger concerns for Emily, because both speak to broader institutional concerns about the school she has Wards at. There is also a bunch of national and even inter-dimensional politics and policy stuff going with people who want to fuck with Emily, and Emily really wanting Dr. Weaver to focus on Valkyrie's bullshit because, Valkyrie, seriously.

    Even then Emily isn't rolling out a squad, or calling an M/S alert. She is investigating, and taking it seriously, but she is not taking precipitous action.

    Of course, all of that is way beyond anything Aisha or Missy or Dinah are thinking about. Lisa could have put together most of it if she really thought about it, but she was more focused on Aisha, not all the politics bullshit.
     
    Last edited:
  • New
  • Informational
    • Remove ads
    What are Consequences Can You Eat Them? New
  • Apocrypha
    • dc2008 said:
    Of course, all of that is way beyond anything Aisha or Missy or Dinah are thinking about. Lisa could have put together most of it if she really thought about it, but she was more focused on Aisha, not all the politics bullshit.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    What are Consequences Can You Eat Them? (Omake)

    "Lilac."

    "Yes, Dr. Weaver."

    "I'm assigning you a new Project. For at least a half-hour, and no more than an hour, daily, except in emergencies, and you will log and time this, you will Consider Consequences. I want you to start with a Stakeholder Analysis, including negative stakeholders (the ones you want to frustrate), and initially speculate wildly. Alien demonic lizards are probably too wild, though. Here is a briefing pack on methodology."

    "... Yes, Dr. Weaver."

    "And a warning. Some individuals can be both positive and negative Stakeholders. Do you understand?"

    "No. But I'll study the briefing."

    "And log all the fnords. That's a joke, by the way."

    "Yes Dr. Weaver."

    (FYI, fnord.)
     
    Last edited:
  • New
  • Apocrypha
    • Remove ads
    Teenage Urges, Part 3 New
  • Threadmarks
    • "How come you are all dressed up," Eric asked, nodding toward Aisha. Somehow, by adding a nice looking jacket, putting on a necklace, and doing something with her hair, she had transformed from looking like a badass high school student to looking like she was going to a nice church thing or visiting grandparents or something. "Aren't you going to just be changing into exercise clothes?"

    "It's simple, see," Aisha began, leaning against the bus stop. "The way people's brains work, you can basically do a no powers totally legal master stranger zero thing by showing their brain the right things. Then their brains fill in the gaps with the stuff you want them to be filling in, see?"

    "Huh?" Eric was definitely interested in this, and liked the way her eyes got all lit up and interesting, but still wasn't sure what she was talking about.

    "Dr. Weaver showed me, and I practice a lot at the Boardwalk with the Enforcers, so a bus ride should be fine. See, now when they see me, they won't see poor darkie looking to cause trouble, they'll see…"

    …and the crucifix necklace just sort of pulls it all together!"

    "Uh-huh?"

    "Yep!" Aisha grinned. "And that's how I totally nicked that Enforcer's badge when he put it down and they didn't not once suspect me!"
     
    Last edited:
  • New
  • Threadmarks
    • Aisha. You're corrupting Eric. We're not saying it's not entertaining... But...

    Eric. You need to sit down with your Mother. Tell her everything Aisha said or did. Give her time to process all this. Then, listen to what she says. You may not agree, but, listen.

    Otherwise, Eric? You're Doomed. Totally, Doomed.
     
    Last edited:
    Ace Dreamer said:
    Aisha. You're corrupting Eric. We're not saying it's not entertaining... But...

    Eric. You need to sit down with your Mother. Tell her everything Aisha said or did. Give her time to process all this. Then, listen to what she says. You may not agree, but, listen.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Eric's parents are career law enforcement, and have a good first impression of Aisha as that hyper-prepared kid who gets Eric to pay attention to safety briefings, is good with kids, and tipped them off about the EB attack.

    The presentation is, from their perspective, suspicious. However the substantive content is probably stuff they've been trying to convey to Eric for a while, albeit from a different angle.

    E.g., they absolutely have been trying to teach Kid Wave about the importance of quickly evaluating people, while also cautioning them about people who deliberately try to seem like something they are not. Aisha's little talk likely made the point stick better than anything his parents have tried recently.

    You've also got the possibility for some interesting and uncomfortable discussions around race and class issues. Aisha has a very matter of fact attitude toward such things, and I expect it would make the (white, middle-class) New Wave adults uncomfortable.

    Not sure yet where I'm going with this one.
     
    Ace Dreamer said:
    Otherwise, Eric? You're Doomed. Totally, Doomed.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    dc2008 said:
    The presentation is, from their perspective, suspicious.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    "I have no idea what you're taking about. Aisha seems like a sweet, well put together young woman, and these spurious attacks ought to stop! Did you see the cross? She's even a good Christian for crying out loud!

    "Why, why if you're saying that New Wave ought to profile these innocent babies, our precious children, it kind of seems like maybe the rich, blonde white people ought not to be called heroes, but something else, given the city they live in! My word!"

    ...

    Glancing about, thoroughly bamboozled,

    View: https://youtu.be/kLpTWGqr5Zw?si=dryLZ6QXwalS9W_Z
     
    Last edited:
    Fading Star, Part 4 New
  • Threadmarks
    • "I can't make any promises, Mr. Anders," the lobbyist said smoothly. "I certainly can't guarantee that I can stop this. What I can say," the man said, gesturing with his cigar, "is that I can slow this down. Clog the gears. Give you time to find a more permanent solution."

    Max nodded. "I understand." Finally, a man speaking my language. "What about the investigators, the prosecutors?"

    "In the age of thinkers," the man mused, "it is foolish to speak of bribery."

    "Still," Max replied quickly, "is it bribery if a person receives a better job offer, and his successor has other priorities? Is it bribery if someone's past… indiscretions, shall we say, were to become public? Even the appearance of impropriety can be damning."

    The lobbyist tapped his nose, his previously jovial face a mask. "Yours is a complex case, and there are only so many people who might conduct such investigations…"

    "Compared to the fines… a few placements are not a problem."

    The man nodded slowly.

    "Moreover," Max continued seriously, "opposition research is a long-cherished technique. Family men behave differently from bachelors, and the age of the children can of course make a difference… I'm sure you understand."
     
  • New
  • Threadmarks
    • FaerieKnight79 said:
    And so Max continues to dig himself a deeper hole, not really understanding he's digging DOWN and not UP.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    The way he's going, Max is going to need his driver to do visual checks of the underside of his car, every time before Max gets in to it, and test the brakes...
    (I understand mirror+powerful light on-a-stick makes things easier...)
     
    Fading Star, Part 5 New
  • Threadmarks
    • "… you understand," the recording concluded.

    Quentin Calle looked at the masked man carefully. "And he is willing to testify?"

    "Yes," the masked man said with a straight face. "He has, as a lobbyist, at times walked a very fine line. However, even a lobbyist has standards, and he can't help but think that he too has a family."

    Calle nodded.

    "He will, of course," continued the masked man, "need some measure of protection."

    Calle gave a lopsided grin. "What with the news on the company, I'm sure he would want the usual package for someone testifying against villains. Not that Mr. Anders is a villain, of course, that would be ridiculous. Still, one can't be too careful, and the company has certainly been compromised by villains, that much is public knowledge. No doubt Mr. Anders was compromised by the same master as got his colleague, Mr. Fleischer."

    "Given the subject matter of the conversation," Calle continued, "particularly the reference to family members, I expect the Special Agent in Charge to be extremely understanding."

    The masked man nodded.

    "And of course," Calle said seriously, "No doubt there are any number of people who might have bugged Mr. Anders' home."
    Note: Yes, Max, I'm sure you are very proud of all the things you did not quite say. I'm sure the Special Agent in Charge will care about such fine distinctions. They love it when they think you think they are stupid.
     
  • New
  • Threadmarks
    • Where It Went Wrong for Max New
  • Informational
    • Ace Dreamer said:
    So, Max. We're guessing you're familiar with the phase, 'He's burnt all his boats'?
    (AKA point of no return...)
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Recall that BBPD is still shot through with racists and crypto-fascists. However, the BBPD now also views the Empire as a bunch of unstable irrational idiots who kill cops. I.e., the Empire and its associates have, from BBPD's perspective, gone from "one of us" to "one of them".

    Of course, we know that this has a lot to do with Coil and Marquis shenanigans, which included assassinating key people, framing the Empire for the deaths of two (racist and corrupt) officers, and the "jar of exploding" incident that pissed off the head of BBPD's EOD group.

    Others helped as well, including the K9 group instigating a shoot-out with the Empire at a dog house, the veterans stirring up problems for the Empire (who were themselves facilitated by Coil and Marquis), and Victor's split second decision to snap the gas line at Krieg's house (this was an own goal).

    No doubt there was more off screen. It is very cathartic to watch, and also a terrifying demonstration of the kind of shit Coil can get up to when he isn't getting distracted playing Bond villain Barbie house playset in his underground bunker.

    Even then, it was substantially accelerated through use of Marquis' stash of carefully researched and hoarded intelligence files. Undoubtedly much of what was in there was stale or even useless, but it gave Coil what he needed to make this sort of strategic operation feasible.
     
  • New
  • Informational
    • And of course, Max in his arrogance consistently fails to see how big the problem is, and that he can't bribe and threaten his way out of it. As well as Max now having convinced his lawyer to turn on him.
     
    FaerieKnight79 said:
    And of course, Max in his arrogance consistently fails to see how big the problem is, and that he can't bribe and threaten his way out of it. As well as Max now having convinced his lawyer to turn on him.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Also, Max threw way an achievable plan in search of an unachievable plan. It is entirely reasonable and defensible for a lobbyist to say to politicians (and politicians to say to law enforcement) "I know they are scum but make sure you do everything strictly by the book and triple check everything so that there is <em>no chance whatsoever</em> of them pulling some bullshit to get the charges thrown out, even if they throw infinite lawyers and Thinkers at the problem". Whole that wouldn't make the charges go away, it would buy time. Now Max has done the opposite—the second anyone hears Max is talking about doing "opposition research" on the prosecutors kids, the gloves come off.
     
    dc2008 said:
    I know they are scum but make sure you do everything strictly by the book and triple check everything so that there is <em>no chance whatsoever</em> of them pulling some bullshit to get the charges thrown out
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    "…the children Kaiser, just shoot. Doesn't matter your aim, just shoot more charges onto the docket. You see one lying on the ground stand? Shoot the little bitch twice more on the cross-examination to be sure. We give them no chances to be clever or lucky, understand?"
    -Lung: Ace Attorney

    See also, the casework of Lung v. Bet, with the landmark ruling that 'I am a Dragon, you are now Asian' is acceptable grounds for parental rights in Family Court.
     
    Last edited:
    FaerieKnight79 said:
    And of course, Max in his arrogance consistently fails to see how big the problem is, and that he can't bribe and threaten his way out of it. As well as Max now having convinced his lawyer to turn on him.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    It takes a lot to get a lawyer to turn on you. Like. A lot a lot. You can straight up confess to crimes to your lawyer and they are required to still do their best to represent you and try to defend you in court. (They will often tell you to stop telling them these things, because they are not allowed to suborn perjury so they don't want to know if you're guilty, because that means there are things they can no longer argue in court. But they can still do their best to force the prosecution to prove stuff.)

    But ... yeah, no, Max did cross that line, because he was trying to get his lawyer to commit crimes for him.
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top