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Goddamn Teenagers (Worm, AU/time travel)

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FaerieKnight79 said:
Sounds too much like work, and Alec is lazy.
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Ace Dreamer said:
But, but... Bacon!
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FaerieKnight79 said:
But, But... Lazy!
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Sadly the shopping options within walking distance of the apartment are not up to French standards, and Aisha can't drive yet. Brian is willing to do shopping for him and Aisha, and pick up occasional one off requests for Alec, but he isn't going to double his shopping lists because Alec can't be arsed to run his own errands
 
I seem to recall that Canadian stuff is cheaper...

When you live on a ranch just six miles from the border and can snowmobile across the border all winter without the bother of going to a road or border crossing station.

Good times.
 
Well, yes, if you can easily smuggle goods for yourself across the border that would be cheaper, due to avoiding tariffs. Although when factoring in the cost of transportation, it may end up breaking even or being slightly more expensive. But if you have to rely on unknown 3rd parties to smuggle the goods across the boarder (and multiple state lines too), then costs are going to skyrocket. Now you're paying the cost of the product, the fuel, hazard pay, plus whatever markup the smuggler decides to charge. Suddenly that $5 package of back bacon is costing you maybe $30.
 
FaerieKnight79 said:
Well, yes, if you can easily smuggle goods for yourself across the border that would be cheaper, due to avoiding tariffs. Although when factoring in the cost of transportation, it may end up breaking even or being slightly more expensive. But if you have to rely on unknown 3rd parties to smuggle the goods across the boarder (and multiple state lines too), then costs are going to skyrocket. Now you're paying the cost of the product, the fuel, hazard pay, plus whatever markup the smuggler decides to charge. Suddenly that $5 package of back bacon is costing you maybe $30.
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I'm sure, with a bit of imagining, we could figure a way around that. Say, a parahuman called 'The Ambusher', who can teleport themselves and significant amounts of non-living material? The restriction being only while they're not observed by a sapient being? Could do good business...
 
Ace Dreamer said:
I'm sure, with a bit of imagining, we could figure a way around that. Say, a parahuman called 'The Ambusher', who can teleport themselves and significant amounts of non-living material? The restriction being only while they're not observed by a sapient being? Could do good business...
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They'd likely work for a drug cartel as either a drug smuggler or a hitman/woman.
 
FaerieKnight79 said:
They'd likely work for a drug cartel as either a drug smuggler or a hitman/woman.
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Rather boring, and very much against the social good. Yes, the money isn't as impressive, but I'm sure bacon smuggling is the way to go!

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Where did they get the idea? Well, you see there was this elderly fisherman, fishing out of Brockton Bay, said it was a pity you couldn't get the good bacon. What was his name? Alvin? Ervin? Erwin! That's it!

Not so much 'Ambusher' ('Ham Busher'), more Bacon Tree(ter)?
 
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Ace Dreamer said:
Rather boring, and very much against the social good. Yes, the money isn't as impressive, but I'm sure bacon smuggling is the way to go!
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I very much doubt bacon smuggling would ever be considered by someone with such a power.

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In fact, I very much doubt bacon smuggling is something anyone puts any serious consideration into doing.
 
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A Matter of Taste, Part 5
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    • "Yo!" Aisha said, as Alec opened the door. Seeing Lisa behind him, she waved to the older girl. "And Lisa, awesome! So anyway, Bro got like, so much takeout, and looking at it there is so much more than we can eat, and I figured, hey, more the merrier, and--is that wine?!?!"

    A few minutes later

    "Is that wine?" Brian asked, incredulous, as Lisa followed Alec and Aisha into the younger girl's apartment.

    "Yes," Lisa replied flatly. "After Piggot Piggotted at me all afternoon, I got home to find Dr. Weaver at my kitchen table, and she Dr. Weavered at me. She gave me the wine, I assume as a combination apology and recovery tool."

    Gift of wine was automatic gesture. Recognized signs of stress and exhaustion, due to experience with your older counterpart. Is subconsciously conflating you and your older counterpart. Will experience distress if she becomes aware of this.

    Motherfucker.

    "Uh-huh...," Brian replied, skeptically, interrupting Lisa's very legitimate internal panic attack.

    "It is literally the best wine I've ever had," Alec added confidently from his seat at the table. "Scary Godmother has good taste."

    "I decided to allow it," Aisha declared, "as a special occasion, with dinner, so long as they don't drink too much."

    "There might have been begging involved," Alec said. "My French heritage would not allow me to pass up such excellent wine."
    Note:
    Alec: What is shame? Can you eat, troll or fuck it?
     
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    • Ravenwood240 said:
    You have no idea how seriously some people take their bacon.

    If one of them triggered with that power...
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    If I ever got isekai'd into Worm, asking Panacea if she could please make a bacon tree would be on my bucket list.

    Something something, "Do I have permission to heal you?" "Bacon tree." "What?" "Powers often need to experience a diverse range of stimuli under careful supervision, just like human children do, or they can develop something not unlike an intolerant or even allergic response. Now I'm willing to let your poor deprived power examine my boring mitochondria, but I can truthfully tell you most solemnly that your road to heroism would be much healthier if its sidewalks were planted with ethically-sourced bacon." "... What?"
     
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    There is something someone once said about American supermarkets; they contain plastics, chemicals, wood pulp, chemicals, more plastics and if you're lucky somewhere in the fruit aisle might be what someone from outside of America might consider Food... just don't expect it to not also contain chemicals and plastics.
     
    Financial Planning
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    • "I thought there was a thing about child labor laws?" Amy blinked in surprise. She knew she was getting paid... something for the work during the Endbringer thing, but hadn't really thought about her subsequent work.

    "The--Valkyrie," Carol ground out, "makes an exception for, never mind." She shook her head. "You're getting paid. It is a fair wage for a medical expert, but it is also a lot of money for someone your age, even after taxes."

    Amy looked at the paper Carol offered, and blinked in shock. That was... a lot of novels and video games.

    "... and so you should talk to someone about financial planning," Carol continued. "Whoever you feel comfortable with," she elaborated, after an awkward pause. "Myself, your father, your aunt and uncle." She sighed.

    A Few Minutes Later

    Still in a daze, Amy knocked on her sister's door. One thud and some shuffling later, Vicky opened the door, Chekov peering around her ankles.

    "So...," Amy said, shuffling awkwardly, "let's talk about the armor and helmets you wanted to get..." She handed her sister the paper.

    "Huh?" Vicky said, looking down at the paper. "Oh..., that's a lot of money! You could get, hmmm, I have a list!" Amy's sister scurried back into her room, and began rifling through her desk.

    "Mrrrrrreow!" Chekov contributed, rubbing against Amy's ankles. For lack of any better ideas, Amy crouched down, and began dispensing scritchies. She was rewarded with purring.
    Note: Yes, this is taxed, Dr. Weaver's power only goes so far.
     
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    • BORED?! You got BORED?! HOW DARE YOU!
    ...

    In all seriousness though... Okay, yes it's a slow burn slice of life. And it doesn't start picking up speed for a while. If that's not something you enjoy, I could see someone not liking the story.
     
    The Shape of Things to Come, Part 9
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    • "Uh, Amy?" Vicky asked hesitantly. She was glad to see her sister so enthusiastic, but some of Amy's choices were not what Vicky would have expected.

    "Hmm," Amy said as she considered the list of protective items she had compiled.

    "Why do you want so much armor and stuff? It seems like it would get cumbersome in, you know, the hospital?"

    "Oh, no," Amy replied. "Only the ones at the top here are for me, the flexible tinkertech weave that can go under clothes and the panic button thing. No, the rest is for you."

    Awwwww, Amy was just the best sister. "Amy," Vicky chided playfully, "it's your money! You shouldn't be spending it all on me!"

    "But I want you to be safe," Amy said, turning to her sister. "Especially after all the statistics and stuff you found, I worry." Amy turned her head half-away, and continued softly, "I worry a lot. You're important to me."

    Vicky sighed, and pulled Amy in for a hug, which Chekov joined with vocal approval. "I love you too," Vicky continued. "I can figure out my stuff. Besides, I've got my forcefield, I'll be fine, and even if not you'll fix me up." Vicky really wasn't sure what the fuss was about, after all she'd been heroing all this time now and she'd been fine, and that was before all the new safety stuff.

    Amy shook her head, burrowing into Vicky's chest. "At least take the helmet," Amy pleaded, "and the torso thing, if something happens to your brain, if it loses oxygen or blood flow..." Amy shuddered. "I don't know what I'd do," she concluded softly.

    "Come on," Vicky responded seriously. She pulled back and gently nudged up Amy's head to establish eye contact. "What's wrong?"

    "It's a patient," Amy mumbled, looking down again. "Parahuman, during the Endbringer attack. Wasn't anywhere near the monster, just bad luck. Bam, all of a sudden, half her brain is gone. They had me help with the autopsy."
    Note: Remember Iraq and Afghanistan, and how much people talked about the combat casualties? It didn't get talked about as much, but psychological casualties among medical staff were fucking out of this world. Consider, for example, the staff that went with seriously injured patients on the planes as the patients were transferred to out-of-theater medical centers in, e.g., Germany. You're looking at long hours, in a small confined space, with people who are so badly injured that you wonder how the hell they can be alive, people who in a prior conflict would have died. And all to often, were vocally or visibly exhibiting severe distress the whole time, while the medical staff had no choice but to see and hear it all.

    Obviously Amy hasn't experienced anything nearly that bad yet, but she also doesn't have the training they did, and the EB casualties are still fresh in her mind.
     
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