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Kyle craig said:
I'm hopefully waiting for winslow teachers reaction to the fact that yes taylor had been recording the entire time and their all doomed
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I can see a reaction where at least some of them attempt to throw Blackwell to the wolves...

And, claim they were forced to sign NDAs, and were told they'd be fired with extreme prejudice, and likely blackballed in teaching, if they didn't follow PRT instructions...

Could you see quite a few educators who are already teaching in a bottom-of-the-pile school like Winslow High, folding under the pressure, and becoming part of the problem?

Yes, 'NDAs can't make you do anything illegal', but, how many of them would know that, or believe it if they were told it? Instead believe, "The PRT is a Federal agency, if they want to wreck you, they will"?

If it goes that way, just how annoyed is Emily likely to be at abuse of PRT authority?

---

As a writer it is difficult to avoid the 'Us vs. Them' viewpoint in your stories...

Also, most people, most of the time, go along with the group (herd), or at least keep their heads down and hope things will somehow improve. The ones that say 'No, I won't tolerate this!' are in the 5-10% range, and, yes, those are the ones who we rely on to make society work, and fix the problems.

Of course... Best not to forget the ones who see opportunity in society's problems, and are opposed to fixing them, because they're now doing nicely, thank you very much. Then, there's ones who have focused on causes that benefit one group, but hurt society as a larger whole. Etc., etc...

You don't need conspiracy theories. You need amazement that anything works as well as it does! :)
 
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Ace Dreamer said:
And, claim they were forced to sign NDAs, and were told they'd be fired with extreme prejudice, and likely blackballed in teaching, if they didn't follow PRT instructions...
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But then you have to also take into account that (most of) Winslow's teachers were willfully allowing and actively covering up the bullying before Sophia Hess became a Ward. Which suggests there was no implied threat by the PRT to ignore and cover up Hess's actions. In fact, my impression from the times I tried reading Worm was that outside of Blackwell, none of the teachers knew Sophia was a Ward. They just (maybe) knew Sophia got special privileges.
 
FaerieKnight79 said:
But then you have to also take into account that (most of) Winslow's teachers were willfully allowing and actively covering up the bullying before Sophia Hess became a Ward. Which suggests there was no implied threat by the PRT to ignore and cover up Hess's actions. In fact, my impression from the times I tried reading Worm was that outside of Blackwell, none of the teachers knew Sophia was a Ward. They just (maybe) knew Sophia got special privileges.
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What was the risk if you worked in a school which was the training camp for two parahuman-run gangs, and sorta a third? Was Sophia not above threatening teachers who got in her way, after all they're 'Only prey'? If a teacher offends the wrong proto-ganger, with a connected relative, does burning your car be where they start?

You could claim the PRT/Ward involvement was only the icing on the cake, and allowed teachers to feel they'd got a fig leaf of authority to explain their (believed to be needed for survival) actions...

Could you see Blackwell and Sophia's handler distributing NDAa, to prevent teachers commenting on 'unusual actions' by any pupils? And, implying these were from the PRT?

Do you think there's 'Protection of Whistle-blowers' laws on Earth Bet?

No, I don't think Wildbow did a very good job of writing the Winslow High mess. :)
(If nothing else, there should have been other upset parents than just (potentially) Danny.)
 
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Winslow being a "gang training camp" isn't exactly canon. It might be a recruiting point, but I'm not sure if that is canon either. If the E88 had a strong presence in the school, I doubt the racists would have just passively watched as a black girl spent a year and a half harassing a white girl. Nor would they passively watch two white girls being buddy buddy with said black girl. And they certainly wouldn't have joined in on the harassment. The early chapters strongly imply that the majority of the school's students either are ignoring or participating in the bullying.

Instead, I'd imagine someone would have tried to shank Sophia, which would either kill her (they get the drop on Sophia) or out her as Sophia turned to shadow to avoid getting killed. At which point, yeah... now her family is also in danger. Well, more danger I suppose. Or she might have been followed home, and found her home getting firebombed by the E88.
 
FaerieKnight79 said:
Winslow being a "gang training camp" isn't exactly canon. It might be a recruiting point, but I'm not sure if that is canon either. If the E88 had a strong presence in the school, I doubt the racists would have just passively watched as a black girl spent a year and a half harassing a white girl. Nor would they passively watch two white girls being buddy buddy with said black girl. And they certainly wouldn't have joined in on the harassment.
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This might be partly the 'schools are neutral grounds', like the buses, bit? Gang stuff only occurs by mutual agreement, like between E88 and ABB wannabes. And/or, a 'keep it in your pants', 'prove you can follow orders', bit, if you hope to join a gang, later? Like Somer's Rock which doesn't even seem to have any telescopic cameras and/or sensors belonging to the PRT watching it?

Wildbow... is not ideal at some world building (while being brilliant at other bits). Conventions like the 'Unwritten Rules' protecting secret ids and limiting cape combat seem stronger than the skills of Federal or LEO. The failing of them being the final straw of social collapse. Earth Bet may be circling the plughole, but that doesn't meant that people aren't trying to make the best of a nasty situation...

Winslow High smells, to me, like somewhere being experimented on, maybe in the same way Brockton Bay is, and on a larger scale, Earth Bet (and associated Earths). The obvious candidate would be Blackwell doing a subtle Mastering of the whole school, and the parents of the pupils, a 'Yes, it's nasty, but we have to accept what is, is; now move on'...
 
It's actually unclear how much of Winslow's faculty are incompetent or willfully blind. We only know for sure with 3 of them. Glady, the social sciences teacher, is incompetent. That much is obvious from the times readers get to see his classes. Blackwell and her secretary are clearly corrupt, more so Blackwell then her secretary. Although the secretary is more then happy to follow Blackwell's lead. The gym teacher could be either, we don't know anything about him or her beyond the fact the gym teacher overlooks any bullying. Other then that, the only faculty member we even have a name for is Ms Knots, the computer sciences teacher. And all we really know about her (and possibly the school librarian) is that Taylor finds those part rooms to be a safe haven of sorts.
 
FaerieKnight79 said:
It's actually unclear how much of Winslow's faculty are incompetent or willfully blind. We only know for sure with 3 of them. Glady, the social sciences teacher, is incompetent. That much is obvious from the times readers get to see his classes. Blackwell and her secretary are clearly corrupt, more so Blackwell then her secretary. Although the secretary is more then happy to follow Blackwell's lead. The gym teacher could be either, we don't know anything about him or her beyond the fact the gym teacher overlooks any bullying. Other then that, the only faculty member we even have a name for is Ms Knots, the computer sciences teacher. And all we really know about her (and possibly the school librarian) is that Taylor finds those part rooms to be a safe haven of sorts.
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Yeah, we've got Mrs. Knott, and I thought I recalled a math teacher, who is apparently Mr. Quinlan.

I put down the library as being mostly safe (even though it's likely pretty pathetic) down to Winslow students being allergic to non-school books. :)

I suspect the school caretaker is a fanfic creation... Really, there should be both a male and female gym/sports teacher (changing room issues, if nothing else)... And, probably, a school nurse. After hours school cleaners? I don't recall any mention of school meals staff...
 
The cafeteria would be required to have cooks. And all schools have janitorial staff, although I think they mostly come in after school is let out for the day. There would need to be several more math, social studies, and other teachers as well. Seven faculty members is far too few.
 
School like Winslow High is probably understaffed for the student numbers, and the target should probably be 45-50 staff. Odds are, it's at least 20, 25-30 is more likely. Note Mrs. Knott is at least, for some of her education, Taylor's homeroom teacher. Some teachers might only be for other years, and we've no idea what staff turnover, or part-timers, or (allegedly in training?) teaching assistants, are being abused.

FaerieKnight79 said:
And all schools have janitorial staff, although I think they mostly come in after school is let out for the day.
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In general, you need at least one janitor/caretaker on duty during the day. Someone has to clean up things like the vomit, etc., that children generously contribute...

Winslow? Maybe blood as well. Children=mess, and it's not the teaching staff's job to clean anything more than their coffee mugs. They just don't have the time or resource. OK, maybe the home economics, craft, and (applied) science teachers have to do some minimum clean-up to keep their work-areas functioning, but... (Does Winslow have lab assistants?)

Winslow deserves to have had at least one pupil Trigger there as a Tinker, and launch the whole school into orbit, probably with a force-field to keep the air in for a while... Clean-up for that would be fun...

EDIT:

The obvious ( :) ) drive system would be the 'spindizzy', where the drive system gives you a force-field, for free. If you know what you're doing, this can lift a whole city, and the field can be polarised to block (unwanted) radiation...
 
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Ace Dreamer said:
Winslow deserves to have had at least one pupil Trigger there as a Tinker, and launch the whole school into orbit, probably with a force-field to keep the air in for a while... Clean-up for that would be fun...
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Probably wouldn't trigger as a tinker. According to the Weaver Dice rules (which was created by Wildbow)

Tinker (You build the shit. All the shit.) - Issue proves difficult to resolve, unsolvable problem, typically over an extended period of time (weeks or months).
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FaerieKnight79 said:
Probably wouldn't trigger as a tinker. According to the Weaver Dice rules (which was created by Wildbow)

Article:
Tinker (You build the shit. All the shit.) - Issue proves difficult to resolve, unsolvable problem, typically over an extended period of time (weeks or months).
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I could see 'avoiding bullies' being a long-running problem, so trigger as a mass Transport Tinker, so you 'get away', taking the bullies with you...
 
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If bullied, it would be more likely to be triggering either as a Stranger or Master (maybe both), according to Weaver Dice.

  • Master (Minions, pets, affecting the thoughts and moods of others.) - Isolation, alienation, exile.
  • Stranger (Powers related to stealth, infiltration and subterfuge.) - Attention of a group/individual threatens emotional/mental security (vs. physical, which would be more blaster). Almost inverse of Master, but not opposite - very possible and common for there to be overlap (often creating a more influential sort of master/stranger cross).
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I think it'd be Master, because the trigger event we do know about that was a result of bullying (Taylor) was as a Master.
 
FaerieKnight79 said:
If bullied, it would be more likely to be triggering either as a Stranger or Master (maybe both), according to Weaver Dice.

Article:
  • Master (Minions, pets, affecting the thoughts and moods of others.) - Isolation, alienation, exile.
  • Stranger (Powers related to stealth, infiltration and subterfuge.) - Attention of a group/individual threatens emotional/mental security (vs. physical, which would be more blaster). Almost inverse of Master, but not opposite - very possible and common for there to be overlap (often creating a more influential sort of master/stranger cross).


I think it'd be Master, because the trigger event we do know about that was a result of bullying (Taylor) was as a Master.
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Nah. I think it'd be Tinker. Why? Because QA would load the dice. :)
 
Ace Dreamer said:
Best not to forget the ones who see opportunity in society's problems, and are opposed to fixing them, because they're now doing nicely, thank you very much.
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As a Real Life example - Martin Shkreli. Who actually was VOCAL about how he was fucking people over because he could afford to. It's why so many wanted to punch his smug face.
 
Profilozof said:
So I am just starting to read this but

Idea: Taylor stealing the Endbringer
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Idea: Taylor stealing the Endbringer's core. :)

(It's unclear what would happen if Taylor stole Eidolon's shard... It's QA's counterpart, best as I can tell, so...)

((We're Going To Need A Bigger Warehouse? :) ))
 
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mp3.1415player said:
Eventually Oni Lee appeared directly in front of them, right where Lisa was pointing, about fifty feet away. He was looking to the side where Miss Militia was now taking cover behind a parked van, her weapon peeking out from the side. The villain looked in another direction for a moment, back to her, and mockingly waved.

Then he exploded.

This time there was no ash.

Instead there was a rather gory eruption of body parts, and what was left of the man, primarily only the parts above his neck and below his waist, fell to the ground while most of the rest spread itself across the road in a fine mist.

The entire scene went dead silent, as everyone watching from various cover and vehicles, and peering cautiously out of windows in the buildings on either side, gaped at what had happened. Miss Militia slowly came out from behind the van, looking around and up at the roof line with an air of someone who was completely taken aback, before she carefully approached the remains. A couple of the cops, several more of whom had turned up during the battle and had been hastily dragging survivors away, did the same from the other direction, their weapons drawn and ready.

All three looked down at the remains. Miss Militia squatted down and inspected what was left of Oni Lee. She shook her head, standing up again, and looked around. Several hundred people stared back, many of them starting to smile.

Danny dropped the pair of grenade pins in his fingers into the center cup holder and looked at his watch. "Hopefully they'll get this traffic moving soon," he commented quietly.

Lisa gaped at him with wide eyes, then down at the cup holder, before turning to stare at where several PRT troopers had joined the heroine and the cops. "Fuck me," she muttered. "Remind me never to piss you off…"
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I see that the Taylor's gremlin energy was inherited from both of her parents,
 
PhoebusArtemis said:
Taylor would then enjoy watching everyone loose their collective minds.
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She very thoroughly would, too. Whilst not quite edging over the line into outright Troll, one character facet that remains true in all the good fics is that Taylor is an inveterate shit-stirrer. And despite the lack of Australian family or other connections! This Aussie is impressed at her skills in that arena, and many other arenas as well.

Profilozof said:
I see that the Taylor's gremlin energy was inherited from both of her parents,
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That, or Danny was an excellent student to Annette's teachings. :D
 
Always Look On The Bright Side... 6 (Omake)

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"To be, or Knott, to be." Jon used to like that quote. Particularly when he was 'courting' me. I always liked the way he said that, with all the gestures. Days like this? I really miss him.

Evenings in particular, the ones he got off. The life of a PRT Trooper, in Brockton Bay, was fraught with danger. More than we thought when we moved from the West Coast. To be closer to his parents, in Boston, and with a promise of likely promotion. Funny, we moved here, six months later he was dead, and less than a year after that they were 'collateral', in a cape fight.

My 'temporary' job at Winslow High, while we're getting established? Two years later, still working there. Sister-in-law still fighting to sort the family finances, in Boston. Some cape involvement was holding everything up. Oh, what a surprise.

In limbo, after the 'asbestos find'. The School Board still doing the headless chicken dance. The Hebert/Barnes Case, glaring at them, like an oncoming train. Blackwell was road-kill. (Rail kill?) Their desperate search for someone else to throw in the way. A pending class-action suit as the Winslow parents finally got organised.

Nothing they didn't deserve, but the lives they dragged-in with them...

So, days of study, to sharpen her skills, evenings without even marking homework as a distraction. A half-hour using Jon's exercise suite, then meditation. Then, supper and read that dry-as-dust criticism of Object Orientated Programming? Hopefully that'd help her sleep.

---

She thought she was meditating, but the last time she saw colours like this was at UCLA, in their neural plasticity LSD trials. 'Unshackling The Biocomputer'; 'NeuroProg 101' the volunteers called it.

Wow.

Giant woman, with a broken (queenly?) crown of dancing... figures? Each holding a different object: sword, telescope, slide-rule, spanner, magnifier, stethoscope? Somehow she could see all of them clearly, though they're so very far away.

Twist, and she could see the... goddess? was laying-out cards, each one a life, head cocked to one side, examining them, comparing them with a card held in her other hand, hands? that somehow she knew was her life. A glance over at her, widened eyes.

[SLEEPING?]

Not quite.

[PROBLEM?]

No plans for that.

[CHOICE?]

Ow. That was no fun. Now, what were those self-instructions for a safe trip? Not changed much since Lily's time. Right.

First, I would be myself, but larger. To grow, to learn. Second, I do not know my limits, but, they too, will grow with time. Third, I will accept new knowledge, experiences, and make them part of me.

[SURE?]

Yes.

[ALL OF THE ABOVE]

And, I'm buried in cards, which each hit like anvils.

Ow! Ow! Ow! ...

---

Lying on the floor. On my yoga mat. Dressed to meditate. Fading headache.

Funny. I don't usually fall over while meditating.

Upper lip. Crusty. Nose bleed? Just a little.

My head feels... Full.

Well. More meditation can't hurt, can it?

---

Not so much hurt, more a little confused. Or not. Can your mind be too ordered?

I'm still... me. Can recall my life at least as well as before. Maybe more so.

But, there's the bones and flesh of at least two other lives, laid out neatly, for me to use. Carefully selected fragments of more (three?), I think.

The simplest, well, shortest, a younger man from a Romani tribe, Jan. Trained in the mysteries. And, self-trained, so as to travel, secretly, for his tribe, as a techno-pagan, with a focus on computing. Here to... ow. A hidden purpose. That'll be interesting to examine.

An older woman, English, upper-class, trained in different mysteries, a librarian by trade, sent to manage a... Monster Slayer, in Innsmouth. Strangely, her assigned name was 'Knott', her birth-name carefully shrouded. Bit of a... techno-phobe. Well. That'd have to go.

The others... too bitty to start-in on, without a lot more work.

Supper time! That's a good idea.

---

Innsmouth. Lovecraft. Dear gods. Oy! That's leakage! I'd say 'Oh God', or 'Jesus', normally.

Guess that's more meditation time...

Brockton Bay isn't Innsmouth. BB has Captains Hill, originally with its springs, no river through the place. It also has a bay. And that aquifer, that drives the geologists mad. But, if there was some cross-over, someone needed to do something about it.

She could feel Jon frowning at her. The way he did when anyone picked on that Hebert girl, Taylor.

She was doomed, wasn't she?

---

A bit of careful memory checking, and, the Librarian worked in the Lost Library. 'Deepest Well', she didn't like the sound of that, best carefully check. Jan was the head Winslow High computer teacher. Coincidence? No. And...

Hammerspace. Another thing to carefully think about. And, her Hunter Phone, she and Dennis had hacked together. A bit more than a simple off-the-shelf flip-phone. The lack of need to charge being one hint. Studying its programming would be a joy!

Taylor Hebert. Dennis Tesladyne. Greg Veder. Lisa Wilbourn. All at the top of her contacts list. Hmm. Maybe they'd had a queenly visitor this evening?

It was likely to be a long night. Best get a nap, now, hope that helped.

Jon, wherever you are, please think kindly of me.

---

AN: Mrs. Knott; as the only non-toxic teacher Taylor had, it'd been nice to know more about her... I'm going to name her 'Jen', so 'Jon and Jen'. BTW, 'Jon Knott' is an OC.

AN: John C. Lily - you might be familiar with the (1980) film Altered States. (P&MP) The Human Biocomputer may be relevant...

AN: Let's give you Innsmouth, again..

AN: Don't know why I'd mention Giles, nor Jenny Calendar...

AN: BTW, 'Tesladyne' stolen from 'Atomic Robo'. For amusement, you could look-up the etymology of 'tesla'...


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Ace Dreamer said:
The simplest, well, shortest, a younger man from a Romani tribe, Jan. Trained in the mysteries. And, self-trained, so as to travel, secretly, for his tribe, as a techno-pagan, with a focus on computing. Here to... ow. A hidden purpose. That'll be interesting to examine.

An older woman, English, upper-class, trained in different mysteries, a librarian by trade, sent to manage a... Monster Slayer, in Innsmouth. Strangely, her assigned name was 'Knott', her birth-name carefully shrouded. Bit of a... techno-phobe. Well. That'd have to go.
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So two of Mrs Knott's lives were dating each other?

Awkward...
 
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