You know, as much as the current situation is in need of justification (which it will hopefully get soonish), I do rather like it. Because things are happening again, and they are new. I was kinda worried it would go the Taylor Varga route and keep repeating the same thing (except it would be "Taylor (ab)uses the rules through the power of actually reading them" instead of "X is scary, you shouldn't fuck with X", X being some member of the Herbert family). That's great if you really, really like that particular thing, and don't get bored, ever, but I'm not that person. So seeing something else is nice.
FaerieKnight79
Verified Pixie
- Location
- The Internet
Well, looking back over the last two pages...
Looks like a situation where Taylor's status it's self is an integral puzzle piece in how the PRT will need to handle this. After all, if Taylor wakes up but is a vegetable or a totally different person due to her snark trying to put her back together on it's own then Taylor Hebert is effectively dead. Thus Vicky's assault was essentially murder. But if Taylor wakes up and is still herself, the PRT can't charge Vicky with attempted murder without compromising Taylor's identity as Maul. The fact Vicky was meeting with Taylor Hebert, who at this point is a minor celebrity, then flew off with a bloody fist (and possibly bloody cloths) was public knowledge and likely all over PHO already. Since Taylor is 'known' not to be a parahuman after the earlier outing with Amy, Bonesaw, her uncle, and Vicky the question would be raised of how she survived if Vicky punched hard enough to kill a normal person.
Night
Widow Null
- Location
- Hoff
It's not like Vicky can only be arrested for attempted murder (or manslaughter; extreme emotional disturbance and the fact that I doubt Vicky calibrated her hit with intent to kill) though. That's certainly her top count, but it's hardly the only thing she could be charged with. This could for example be assault with a deadly weapon. And you don't have to prove motive to prove she did the crime; you don't even actually have to address motive under the law.
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- Location
- Bowling Green
Another note that people seem to be overlooking in regards to the Vicky/Taylor thing, Vicky was injured when Taylor accidentally turned off her powers, which is a rather big thing for someone who has been pretty much invincible since her trigger. It also caused her issues big enough for Taylor, who only interacts with her as a friend of a friend, to notice and remark on them.
For the past few weeks ever since something knocked her out of the sky, part of her power, which she has used to define herself, has suddenly started fighting against her. Her main methods of protecting herself are suddenly no longer reliable taken in out in a way she could not see or resist, and the resulting issues were probably not actually addressed by anyone, just left to fester until she seemed to get over them.
She is then confronted by the person who did it to her with no warning or lead up, just Taylor leading her into a secluded place then going "Hi, I'm Maul, by the way, remember how your powers got changed a few weeks ago and you got hurt and it screwed with your head? That was me sorry."
Her punching Taylor is not excusable and definitely will have consequences, but it is understandable.
For the past few weeks ever since something knocked her out of the sky, part of her power, which she has used to define herself, has suddenly started fighting against her. Her main methods of protecting herself are suddenly no longer reliable taken in out in a way she could not see or resist, and the resulting issues were probably not actually addressed by anyone, just left to fester until she seemed to get over them.
She is then confronted by the person who did it to her with no warning or lead up, just Taylor leading her into a secluded place then going "Hi, I'm Maul, by the way, remember how your powers got changed a few weeks ago and you got hurt and it screwed with your head? That was me sorry."
Her punching Taylor is not excusable and definitely will have consequences, but it is understandable.
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- Location
- In the depts of despair.
They should at least treat is as something more serious than the "You're Grounded" everyone, up to and including her lawyer mother, is acting. While she cannot be procecuted by attempted homicide yet, she should be at the very least under home arrest with tinkertech handcuffs included and the family should be already working within the system to reduce it from murder to manslaughter until they can be sure Taylor will wake up.
They way everyone acts as if this was a case of 'boys will be boys' and having Carol musing about Vicky building a greenhouse as part of the punishment is what is causing me dissonance.
They way everyone acts as if this was a case of 'boys will be boys' and having Carol musing about Vicky building a greenhouse as part of the punishment is what is causing me dissonance.
Panacea was right there.
Furthermore, details of a trial can be kept secret in real life for a variety of reasons. Personal information can be redacted on basically no justification. I'm sure that they have a system in place that allows people to be charged for crimes against parahumans in their civilian identities without publicly outing the victims.
I don't think Vicky's family will be going to bat for her the way they normally would. Carol is openly speculating to Miss Militia about them all being mastered. It seems like the effects wear off over time; would Amy still be willing to keep quiet about the people that Vicky would have killed if Amy weren't there to put them back together? What happens when Amy has that light bulb flicker on above her head and she thinks, "I didn't love Vicky, she made me love her." Life has been pretty shitty for Amy, and her unwanted feelings for Vicky are a big part of that.
Think about Carol again; she's not being mastered any more. She's also getting her husband back, who was apparently not taking his meds because of Vicky's aura. New Wave is all about accountability, and now Vicky isn't screwing with everybody's heads in such a way that she gets away with having none.
Let's be honest here: Vicky deserves to go to prison. She'd already have a few corpses to her name if Amy hadn't covered for her. She just assaulted a Ward with a level of force that she believed would be lethal. Legally what happened here is like someone shooting a cop, who barely survives due to a concealed ballistic vest. You get arrested for that. You go to jail for that as quickly as the criminal justice system can conceivably put you there. You don't get grounded.
Trying to justify Vicky's reaction by talking about the circumstances leading up to it would do Vicky no good at all; it would entail admitting to assaulting Taylor (and, incidentally, everyone nearby) with a Master power previously. Human-influencing Masters get zero sympathy, and Vicky is the bargain-bin version of Heartbreaker. If a court knew everything she had done, she'd probably get birdcaged.
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Prince Charon
Just zis guy, you know?
So far, the person posting most of the excuses is the author, who knows more about the situation than we do. However, given the issues with the chapter so far, not least being how oddly calm and low-key everyone is being about this, the next chapters will need to be brilliant on a level that this author has not yet shown (previous chapters have been quite good, and well thought-out, but not phenomenally brilliant - and this one was, as noted, less good).
- Location
- Bowling Green
Considering that her parents are Heroes who work with the PRT, 'Grounding' is probably going to be treated more as 'House Arrest'.
We are only seeing the outside perspective of whats happening, after everything went down. We have no idea what's happening off screen or what the actual official response
She deserves to go to Juvie. Prison would be a bit much considering her age, and the fact that she would probably actually respond to rehabilitation.
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- She/Her
@CmptrWz Reading the last few pages, it sounds like the main source of everyone's issues is that there's no indication of what you're saying in the chapter itself, by any if the characters. I suspect a large amount of this would be alleviated if they demonstrate that they're aware there will be severe consequences.
Basically, what this seens to boil down to is that you're aware that there is an explanation, and that more details are in the chapters ahead. However, as you're posting every other day, we never see any acknowledgement in-story in conjunction with the events. With no way to understand or learn these reasons, the only conclusion we can reach is that everyone's out of character.
Taylor Varga understands this. It arguably gets too bogged down in the minutiae while setting things up, but why someone might act OOC is set up and explained sufficiently beforehand that anything that isn't is a cause for suspense, rather than questioning the characters. Here, it just looks like bad writing.
Basically, what this seens to boil down to is that you're aware that there is an explanation, and that more details are in the chapters ahead. However, as you're posting every other day, we never see any acknowledgement in-story in conjunction with the events. With no way to understand or learn these reasons, the only conclusion we can reach is that everyone's out of character.
Taylor Varga understands this. It arguably gets too bogged down in the minutiae while setting things up, but why someone might act OOC is set up and explained sufficiently beforehand that anything that isn't is a cause for suspense, rather than questioning the characters. Here, it just looks like bad writing.
FaerieKnight79
Verified Pixie
- Location
- The Internet
I don't think Vicky was actively trying to kill Taylor. She just, as usual, neglected to consider that not everyone is a brute.
And note that Miss Millitia wasn't being 'calm and low key'. When Vicky's name was brought up in the hospital as the one who attacked Taylor Miss Millitia got very focused and suddenly decided she needed to visit Glory Girl right now. Carol was likely, as mentioned already, in shock upon learning what Vicky had done. Even so she dove strait to the heart of the matter, putting two and two together and asked a very important question of Amy. A question with an answer that suggested this wasn't the first time Vicky had almost killed someone. And did nobody notice that Carol said that grounding was THE MINIMUM that would occur, and wold be in addition to anything the legal system decided upon?
And consider how harsh that would actually be for Vicky. She triggered because her family wasn't paying any attention to her, friends were deriding her due to not triggering (until then), and so forth. Her aura was basically an extension of her need to be noticed and adored. As Glory Girl she had fame, she had everyone loving her (or fearing her if criminals), a boyfriend she might not have otherwise had, and nothing could possibly go wrong. Then she's grounded. She can't go out and 'beat up criminals'. She can't be among her 'adoring fans'. And when it comes out she'll lose any popularity she once had in school. will the wards want to hang out with someone who tried to knock the head off the newest ward? A ward they actually like? Will Dean still want to be her boyfriend? With one action, she probably just lost everything that mattered to Vicky.
Wonder if she'll second trigger due to this?
And note that Miss Millitia wasn't being 'calm and low key'. When Vicky's name was brought up in the hospital as the one who attacked Taylor Miss Millitia got very focused and suddenly decided she needed to visit Glory Girl right now. Carol was likely, as mentioned already, in shock upon learning what Vicky had done. Even so she dove strait to the heart of the matter, putting two and two together and asked a very important question of Amy. A question with an answer that suggested this wasn't the first time Vicky had almost killed someone. And did nobody notice that Carol said that grounding was THE MINIMUM that would occur, and wold be in addition to anything the legal system decided upon?
And consider how harsh that would actually be for Vicky. She triggered because her family wasn't paying any attention to her, friends were deriding her due to not triggering (until then), and so forth. Her aura was basically an extension of her need to be noticed and adored. As Glory Girl she had fame, she had everyone loving her (or fearing her if criminals), a boyfriend she might not have otherwise had, and nothing could possibly go wrong. Then she's grounded. She can't go out and 'beat up criminals'. She can't be among her 'adoring fans'. And when it comes out she'll lose any popularity she once had in school. will the wards want to hang out with someone who tried to knock the head off the newest ward? A ward they actually like? Will Dean still want to be her boyfriend? With one action, she probably just lost everything that mattered to Vicky.
Wonder if she'll second trigger due to this?
Which is kind of like shooting people because you keep forgetting that they aren't bulletproof.
Do you go to juvie if you shoot a cop? She used lethal force against a Ward. That is "shooting cops" levels of bad juju.
She's 17, this is not her first time maiming somebody, and she's been indiscriminately Mastering people. Not on purpose, but that excuse sure didn't save Canary, who only had one offense to her name, and it wasn't against a Ward.
Yup, it sucks to be a violent criminal. Which is exactly what she became when she assaulted a Ward.
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FaerieKnight79
Verified Pixie
- Location
- The Internet
Well, yeah. And until now Vicky hadn't had to deal with any consequences for that carelessness. her sister always patched up her victims, and due to mastering everyone around her nobody questioned her. Oh sure, she might have a reputation for damaging property excessively. "collateral damage barbie" and all that. But Amy would never have considered telling anyone she was patching up her sister's victims. And the victims would be too intimidated to say anything. Besides which, would YOU want to be the criminal trying to bring up charges on Glory Girl because she almost killed you while you were mugging someone?
- Location
- In the depts of despair.
Not even intimidated, Amy made sure that the way she healed them they would be too disoriented to even know how hard they had been hit.
- Location
- Bowling Green
First, If you shot the cop after they admitted to accidentally attacking you, leaving you a wreck with issues that just got swept under the rug, then had it sprung on you just as you were getting over it, then probably.
Second, what happened to Canary was a complete mockery of the justice system and is something that the PRT and Protectorate should seek to avoid, not replicate.
Third, there is quite a bit going on in the background that we have not seen, so we should avoid condemning Vicky without that information.
Oooh, oooh. That is something that I can easily do!I think a new chapter would resolve this nicely.
Hint. Hint.
I'll get right on it after dinner. Tomorrow.
- Location
- Bowling Green
I give it a 50/50 chance.
- Location
- Australia
I already provided one. High end Alexandria package who fled, unless she has a confoam grenade on her, Vicky is only commingle willingly.
Also, she's not an adult. 17.
I see her either becoming a heavily restricted Ward, put into the asylum, or joining the S9. Being birdcaged would require her family to actively work against her... Which Carol probably won't do if she's down.
Cryptix
Oberon Main
- Location
- LA
As someone who has this same problem, even though on an obviously smaller scale, its not like that at all. Its more like haha we're playing, haha you can stop it now, haha oh god you broke my arm. I'm being completely serious right now. I'm a semi-professional MMA fighter who's 6'8", this is a serious problem for people like me. Now imagine how it is if you're an 17 year old teenager who's not completely right in the head and just found out that they're sitting next to the person that embarrassed and injured you in public and made you feel afraid for the first time in your life in years.
- Location
- Australia
Warning For Marginal Behavior (Spaghetti Posting)
Yes. This. She nearly killed someone she thought was a normal person, and she has shown zero signs of remorse.
Screw 'house' arrest. Let's go with 'real' arrest. She committed a violent crime. There is no way the PRT and Protectorate would be just talking to her. For all they know, this is the first sign (or the tenth) of her cracking up, and she needs to be in custody stat before it recurs. Currently they're acting as though they know what the readership knows (ie, all of her problems led to this, and she's not really a danger to anyone) when they don't.
Wrong. She admitted that she had no reason to believe that Taylor could take it. And in Vicky's world, everyone is squishy.
Miss Militia should've placed her under arrest the moment they got there. It's kind of law enforcement standard procedure.
She triggered because she was fouled in basketball. Anything else is fanon.
So wait ... she deliberately did something that could/should have killed someone, and you're saying that she needs to be cut slack because it's going to negatively affect her?
Yes, it's going to negatively affect her. It's called suffering the goddamn consequences of your actions. So what if she's never had that happen before. Suck it up, princess. Consequences happen to everyone else. Now it's your turn.
If she does, it'll be the whiniest second trigger in the history of second triggers. "I actually got called on my bullshit, my life is over."
Which is why MM should've called in backup. Like a squad of PRT, loaded with confoam.
Vicky has committed a violent criminal act. Not getting her into custody as soon as possible is a horrifically negligent act on the part of the Protectorate and PRT.
And? Does not give her immunity to arrest.
When she was made into a pool of flesh, Carol ignored her thereafter. Nearly killing a Ward without any physical provocation and then showing no remorse afterward? Carol's a lawyer. She'd drop Vicky like a hot potato.
Okay, this is on a scale of you punching a 10 year old in the face as hard as you can and being surprised that they fall over and start bleeding heavily from the nose and other orifices. I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that you don't make a habit of doing that.
And Vicky had a week to get over that, and her powers were recovering. This is not a case of "this happened 5 minutes ago".
And I say again; not only was trying to kill Taylor totally disproportionate, not arresting Vicky on the spot shows the PRT and Protectorate up as being ineffectual idiots.
The law applies to everyone.
Let me try to put this into perspective.
Suppose it's Taylor who had the Brute capability. In every single fucking fic where Taylor has such abilities and has accidentally (or even purposefully) lashed out at someone and hurt them badly, no matter her motives, no matter her previous standing, she's been arrested immediately (or at least the attempt has been made). Sometimes even charged. Sometimes even threatened with the Birdcage.
In canon, when she slapped Emma, she was immediately restrained and handcuffed (by Shadow Stalker, but Battery was there and she didn't disapprove). Despite the slap only knocking Emma over. If Emma had come to harm, hit her head, whatever, she would've been under arrest for certain.
Vicky? Slap on the wrist, you're grounded, oh and you'll have to build a greenhouse for Amy.
Seriously. Wow.
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- Location
- Ukraine
They can. "She would have died if not for Panacea who was right there".
That sounds plausible enough if they don't admit she was punched in the head.
- Location
- Australia
On MM, I don't disagree with you majorly, and I'm on my phone, so eh.
I was saying 'kid' to someone saying stop being a kid.
As for what happened in canon, are you saying she doesn't visit because we don't see it? If so, you're assumption is weird. We follow Taylor, not Carol.
ManOfManyColors
Totally not Zelretch
- Location
- Europe
@Ack, kinda missing the point there. You make good point-from Vicki centric POV. I disagree with your suggested course of action on basis of public POV. When in conflict of interest with a powerful Parahuman, you seize every chance to get them to cooperate, limit the chance of them going on a rampage, and get them something to do.
Now, Vicky is not directly threatened, and busy with greenhouse. She can be taken into custody once case is made and preparation finished.
Now, Vicky is not directly threatened, and busy with greenhouse. She can be taken into custody once case is made and preparation finished.