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Project Gamer: Anime Adjacent

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Mister Ficser said:
Feel bad for her? Absolutely.

Have good options for helping in her personal life? That... would require a softer touch than Al typically employs. She's a teenage girl, Al doesn't want to be involved in her life in any regular capacity.

Part of the blockade that prevents her issues from being fixed is the fact that we've been outright told that, if Piggot knew of the situation and Sophia's part in it? She'd still protect Sophia and try to force Taylor to work with her.

There's no such thing as a good cop, here. Some members of the PRT might have a semblance of morality but they're still part of an organization acting in a manner that they don't agree with. Silence, here, is acceptance.

So, if Sophia can't be removed using official channels and Al isn't really up to murdering a teenager?

He has to get creative.
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He purposefully allowed The Locker Incident™, which I can't imagine him allowing to happen like that. Accidentally, sure, but not on purpose. Taylor hadn't done anything up to that point that deserves torture and attempted murder, especially as horrific as that. She's a dumb teenager, not Sophia a murderously psychotic one.
 
Boomburst said:
It's weird regarding the situation with the "Piggot learning about it" situation. If my memory isn't failing me about that? That reaction is with the "Taylor has joined the Undersiders publicly" and robbed a bank, then Taylor goes to see Piggot for one reason or another. So, the simplest situation? Anonymous whistleblow on Sophia with definitive proof that nothing about that situation smelled good.
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I don't think it would matter. Sophia is an active and enthusiastic participant in the law and order game. Brockton Bay is freaking drowning and the PRT are so out numbered and out gunned that it's hilarious. They can't afford to turn her away for anything less than obvious murder.

Taylor would be a lot less forgivable a character if she wasn't inexplicably right all the time. Authority figures really are all compromised and against her. People really don't care about doing the right thing. There really is a conspiracy to stop things from getting better.

Lycanthromancer said:
He purposefully allowed The Locker Incident™, which I can't imagine him allowing to happen like that. Accidentally, sure, but not on purpose. Taylor hadn't done anything up to that point that deserves torture and attempted murder, especially as horrific as that. She's a dumb teenager, not Sophia a murderously psychotic one.
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At the point he inserted there's no reasonable way to prevent the locker incident without going to jail. He has no way to be in Winslow and calling in a bomb threat would just postpone them doing something worse to the girl at the earliest opportunity.

Edit: Hell, Taylor even mentions escaping from a bunch of jocks after the locker who were "going to duct tape her" to something. I can't help but feel like that situation ends in some sort of sexual assault but no one cared.
 
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Mister Ficser said:
The North-East seaboard of the United States often suffers from terrible winters. The condition of New York often makes its way to the national news but Boston, even further north, is basically frozen or buried under 15 centimeters of snow during the dead of winter.
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There's WoG that Brockton Bay has some of the mildest winters in the northeastern US. There's also a throwaway remark that the mild weather might contribute to why there are so many capes there, because they're less likely to freeze their asses off.
 
Mister Ficser said:
Empowered Investment had leveled up reasonably quickly until it hit level five, then it slowed down pretty hard. That didn't stop him from using it, not at all, it was just tedious. Alec needed more SP, more regeneration or, ideally, both.
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Alec needs to drop the van investments as a bad plan. 8 investments per day vs 18 for an object he can carry with him during work. More regen is just more investments going to waste while your van is in the parking lot and you work.

It's probably narratively interesting to have the powers based in an unusual object, but you cant have him being worried if he will manage a win or not, and wasting more than half his powers.

Putting all the uses toward the multitool is much more likely to work out for him.

This is taking it as read that a split focus like he employs is setting himself up for failure.

I nearly cried when Alec charged the pistol. Splitting it even more ways. Dear god did the man not pass highschool math?

Even if you want to call the multitool and the van done and move on to the guns - you made sure the mags were compatible, put all your charges in a specific mag each day. A mag that enchants your bullets before firing with 1800 investments and works with both guns is so unthinkably better an option than two guns with 900 investments each.
 
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Boomburst said:
It's weird regarding the situation with the "Piggot learning about it" situation. If my memory isn't failing me about that? That reaction is with the "Taylor has joined the Undersiders publicly" and robbed a bank, then Taylor goes to see Piggot for one reason or another. So, the simplest situation? Anonymous whistleblow on Sophia with definitive proof that nothing about that situation smelled good.
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Plus, in the event they don't do anything, more evidence to burn them with. Again, Sophia is on probation, she does not have the same rights to privacy as the rest of the wards, they can check her phone records without any extra justification. (She doesn't even try to cover her digital tracks)
 
MaimakteriAnn said:
Alec needs to drop the van investments as a bad plan. 8 investments per day vs 18 for an object he can carry with him during work. More regen is just more investments going to waste while your van is in the parking lot and you work.

It's probably narratively interesting to have the powers based in an unusual object, but you cant have him being worried if he will manage a win or not, and wasting more than half his powers.
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I wonder if he could empower his vehicle through its keys...
 
TheOneYouFeed said:
There's WoG that Brockton Bay has some of the mildest winters in the northeastern US. There's also a throwaway remark that the mild weather might contribute to why there are so many capes there, because they're less likely to freeze their asses off.
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That's because wildbow custom created it as an area that is really good for Taylor's power multiple people have picked over the conditions the bay has that allows the main named bugs to survive there and where those are actually found and the conclusion is there isn't a real life place in the world that has all of the big named ones like the black widows and the brown recluses that were really important.

More generally I would add that Al can't help Taylor because of their personality clashes. Put simply the bullying left heavy scars on Taylor which as both Brian and Lisa complain about in canon makes her a headache to have as a teammate or friend. Basically because of it she's a huge control freak who wants to dive into cape life for escapism because she has been left with huge self worth issues which she tries to run from by escaping into a new cape identity where she can be worth something.

However, the problem is that she is always trying to prove her worth to herself which she does by personally achieving things ideally with her own hands as she'll take doing it via her swarm but chafes doing so and would much rather be a brute. More specifically she's a crusader always aiming at a huge goal or doing something to work towards it which is where it gets into being a headache because she's always pushing for working on it.

Additionally, because of how her power gives her so much sensory information and multitasking she loves suddenly flipping the board and throwing everything into chaos since she can keep track of it and make so many moves at once to take advantage of it but doesn't communicate with her teammates which makes her a real headache especially for the likes of Brian who wants to be small time with minimal risks.

This is also because of and compounded by her trust issues meaning she's incapable of asking for help unless she has a gun to the other person's head or is in a situation where they can't refuse without seeming unreasonable. Due to it she will take things further than board flipping mid fight and basically force her teammates to go along with what she wants such as when she surrendered to the prt without consulting them but left instructions she relied on Lisa putting together and doing because if they didn't it would screw her and them over.

Al is just not the kind of person who can deal with all of that and worse because of his powers she'd be pushing him to strengthen her as much as possible while aiming to rush into speedrunning the local villain population before treating the S class threats as a checklist.
 
Mister Ficser said:
Not a bad idea, just not the right time of year.

The North-East seaboard of the United States often suffers from terrible winters. The condition of New York often makes its way to the national news but Boston, even further north, is basically frozen or buried under 15 centimeters of snow during the dead of winter.

I understand that it's something like a mild taste of Canada.

...Oh my god. I just realized! With Brockton Bay being so close to our neighbors to the north, they might sell poutine! That's the real reason that Regent went there!
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Alternately use them as ammunition against someone by expeling it from the inventory as a balster power!

Assault: "that man is a rat bastard, and a rat blaster"
 
Would it be possible to recreate something like Mahoraga's Wheel from JJK? I'd imagine that'd be pretty useful in any situation ranging from fighting a Rage Dragon to Endbringers and Time-bubbles.
 
famfrit said:
That's because wildbow custom created it as an area that is really good for Taylor's power multiple people have picked over the conditions the bay has that allows the main named bugs to survive there and where those are actually found and the conclusion is there isn't a real life place in the world that has all of the big named ones like the black widows and the brown recluses that were really important.

More generally I would add that Al can't help Taylor because of their personality clashes. Put simply the bullying left heavy scars on Taylor which as both Brian and Lisa complain about in canon makes her a headache to have as a teammate or friend. Basically because of it she's a huge control freak who wants to dive into cape life for escapism because she has been left with huge self worth issues which she tries to run from by escaping into a new cape identity where she can be worth something.

However, the problem is that she is always trying to prove her worth to herself which she does by personally achieving things ideally with her own hands as she'll take doing it via her swarm but chafes doing so and would much rather be a brute. More specifically she's a crusader always aiming at a huge goal or doing something to work towards it which is where it gets into being a headache because she's always pushing for working on it.

Additionally, because of how her power gives her so much sensory information and multitasking she loves suddenly flipping the board and throwing everything into chaos since she can keep track of it and make so many moves at once to take advantage of it but doesn't communicate with her teammates which makes her a real headache especially for the likes of Brian who wants to be small time with minimal risks.

This is also because of and compounded by her trust issues meaning she's incapable of asking for help unless she has a gun to the other person's head or is in a situation where they can't refuse without seeming unreasonable. Due to it she will take things further than board flipping mid fight and basically force her teammates to go along with what she wants such as when she surrendered to the prt without consulting them but left instructions she relied on Lisa putting together and doing because if they didn't it would screw her and them over.

Al is just not the kind of person who can deal with all of that and worse because of his powers she'd be pushing him to strengthen her as much as possible while aiming to rush into speedrunning the local villain population before treating the S class threats as a checklist.
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This is another part of why I would think Alchemist would save her prior to triggering, if the "horrific attempt at torture and murder" wasn't enough.
 
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Worm 05
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    • How to Beat Fried Worms

    Disclaimer: Worm is owned by Wildbow, and we're all thankful for that.

    -----

    Chapter 5: Character Creation

    -----

    Alec knew something was off when he got to work several days after his weekend off. Most of which had been spent at a shooting range on the west side of Brockton Bay. He'd ended up spending almost all of his game-derived money on ammunition, burning through almost a full thousand bullets between the carbine and the pistol.

    It took time to get a gun broken in. To learn what kind of ammunition they preferred, how the bullets would group.

    The fact that everyone else at the shooting range had been white wasn't lost on Alec. Neither had he missed the gaze of a blue-eyed, blond-haired man that was consistently hitting bulls-eyes with a pistol at a range beyond what Alec himself was accurate at with his carbine.

    His first cape encounter. Subtle and silent, for a given measure of silence on a gun range, but memorable all the same.

    But that was Friday, and this was Monday.

    And what caught Alec's attention was a new vehicle, parked in the employee lot. A white truck that didn't match anyone else's on shift. Initially he'd thought it belonged to a new employee.

    Then he saw the letter 'L' at the start, before a bit of a space and a handful of numbers.

    That was a government plate.

    The man barely kept back a grin as he hiked up his backpack and headed on in to get changed. He hadn't even clocked in yet when Lawrence tried to pull him aside.

    "Is this work related?" Alec asked as he kept an eye on the clock in the changing room, his ID in hand.

    "Can you please try to not be difficult today?" Lawrence asked, meaning it was work related. "We've got an audit today. I need you to be on your best behavior!"

    "I've always performed my duties as requested," Alec answered as he swiped his badge and then headed to a bench to start changing. "So long as I keep doing that, we should be fine. Right?"

    "Yyyes," Lawrence Veder managed to grind out. "Just... keep out of the way. If someone from the Department of Labor tries to talk to you, tell them you're busy!"

    "Alright," Alec agreed. "Easy enough."

    The poor, simple little... alright, Lawrence Veder wasn't little. He was still a simple, vindictive man.

    Changed and buttoned up, as policy dictated, Alec began his day. He went to the supply closet, loaded up a cart with the tools and replacements that he needed, and got to work. As he stocked bathrooms and made his way through the hospital, he kept his ears open and his eyes sharp.

    The nurses were nervous, though about what was hardly anyone's guess. Haley was riding rough on them, well into harassment territory, though she likely couldn't comprehend that.

    When Alec caught sight of someone he didn't recognize heading towards Veder's office with a big old metal clipboard in hand?

    That was Alec's cue to skadoo. He'd gotten a number of notifications overnight about his traps catching rats and mice and, even after factoring in the ones around the apartment complex which he'd already emptied and refilled this morning?

    He still had a good five or six that needed to be cleaned.

    "What are you doing in here?!" one of the cooks hissed as Alec walked in, his cart in front of him. "Get out!"

    "Boss told me to keep to my schedule," Alec said, rebuffing the small, angry woman.

    She was wearing a hair net, today. That was new.

    "So I'm checking the traps."

    The woman's face flushed red as Alec walked right by her. He bent down and checked underneath of the stove, but that trap was empty. He checked one underneath of a counter with a void underneath and came back with a small, dead mouse.

    The cook, Alec never got her name because she didn't wear a nametag, had grown about as red as a tomato.

    Checking behind the fridge, though?

    Alec pulled a trap out from behind the fridge with a great, big, black rat dangling limply from it.

    "He's a big one, ain't he?" Alec asked as he dropped the corpse into the trash bag on his cart and set the trap aside. The rat was a solid thirty centimeters long, and that didn't include the tail!

    He'd been fully prepared to falsify evidence if he'd needed to but the theatrics in front of what's her name, the cook, were potentially important.

    Speaking of, the poor woman had gone absolutely pale. From bright, cherry red all the way to cauliflower white in the span of about fifteen seconds.

    The man was tempted to whistle as he walked by her but he didn't want to seem like he actually knew what he was doing. Instead he just kept his head down and headed on back towards Lawrence's office.

    "Hey, boss," Alec greeted, his head down and eyes locked on to the trash bag on his cart as he stepped into the room. There'd been voices talking inside but he'd intentionally interrupted. "Just back from checking the kitchens. The rats are getting even bigger!"

    Alec reached down, pulling the vermin's corpse out of the bag and held it up for Lawrence to see.

    And the inspector that Alec had been conspicuously avoiding the gaze of.

    "...Alec," Lawrence squeaked out. The man's face was an ugly puce color and sweat seemed to be beading on his forehead. "You should... leave those for the... exterminator!"

    "But I thought the director said we couldn't hire an exterminator?" Alec asked, quoting something he'd heard Lawrence say just the day before. "He sent you an email about it, right?"

    "...That is an especially large rat," the inspector said, finally cutting into the oppressive silence that surrounded Lawrence's heavy breathing. The man pulled a pair of latex gloves out of his pocket and snapped them on, then held his hand out. "May I?"

    Alec handed over the dead rat, his eyes locking on to the inspector's visitor pass.

    Bill, apparently.

    "An adult specimen," Bill noted as he rolled the corpse over in his hands. He checked under its tail, then turned it around to pull the mouth open. "Female, very healthy. She's been here a while. And..." Bill pressed his fingers against the rat's torso, depressing the flesh. "pregnant. Have you caught any others?"

    "Oh, loads," Alec answered as Lawrence waved his hands frantically. "I have to empty the traps first thing in the morning, then empty 'em again 'fore I head out for the day. I don't think the night shift has been checking."

    "...I see," Inspector Bill commented as he dropped the rat back into the trash, then pulled his gloves off to dispose of them as well. He held out his right hand towards Alec. "Bill DaVois, I'm with the Department of Labor."

    "Alec Mist," Alec responded in kind as he reached out and shook Bill's hand. "Wait, the government type? Lawrence told me to tell you that I'm busy."

    "He did?" Bill asked, turning towards Lawrence.

    The larger man was breathing heavily and sweating.

    And clutching at his chest.

    "Alec?!" Lawrence wheezed, his eyes wide. "Get-Get a doctor! I'm having a-"

    Lawrence lurched forward and threw up on his desk.

    Alec... didn't bother trying to analyze the situation. He didn't bother waiting for Bill to catch on, either.

    He ran out the door and started yelling for a doctor.

    -----

    Alec sat in his van and stared at the document he'd been handed not long after Lawrence had been wheeled off, a nurse doing his best to get the man's blood pressure under control while he was in the middle of a heart attack.

    Alec hadn't been fired. They weren't going to try and pull that stunt while someone from the Department of Labor was physically in the building.

    But he had been placed on paid leave, pending a review of what had caused Lawrence to have a heart attack.

    The Gamer wondered what would happen first.

    Would he get to go back to a job where he was expected to do things that were well outside of his contract?

    Or would the hospital have to replace the entirety of their administrative staff?

    Alec dropped the paper on to the passenger seat and started his van.

    He... would probably have another job lined up before either of those things happened, regardless.

    -----

    For Subduing the Vile Lawrence Veder...
    You have gained: 100 Experience!
    You have become: 125 USD Richer!
    Congratulations! You have reached...
    Level 2!
    You have gained...
    1 Attribute Point!

    Worm Version 0.0.5: Character Sheet
    StatsDetails
    Level: 2
    HP: 100
    SP: 200
    -STR: 1/20
    -VIT: 1/20
    -DEX: 1/20
    -AGI: 1/20
    -INT: 2/20
    -WIL: 1/20​
    Abilities Skills Traits Items
    • Empowered Investor 5/20: You can invest your energy into an object, repairing it by 5%, empowering it by 5% of its original value and investing 5 points into it. Once that investment value reaches 600, the empowered object will develop a special trait. Another trait will be revealed at 1000 investment, then they will be improved or added to for every 1000 points after that. Cost: 100 SP
    • ERROR! Previous skill levels not allocated!
      Axe 1/20
      Hand to Hand 1/20
      Short Blade 1/20
      Long Blade 1/20
      Pistols 6/20
      Rifles 6/20
      Cleaning 5/20
      Repairs 3/20
      Cooking 2/20
      First Aid 1/20
      Sneaking 2/20
      Running 1/20
      Driving 4/20
      Mechanics 1/20
      Metalwork 1/20
      Carpentry 1/20
      Trapping 5/20
    • None!
    • Weapons
      9mm Pistol (+50)
      9mm Carbine (+50)
      Equipment
      Multitool (Pliers, knife, screwdriver, can opener, scissors) (+80)
      Miscellaneous
      1990 Chevrolet Step Van (Exceptional) (+73)
     
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    • If alchemist got the labor guy's phone number he could probably help it Alchemist sues for wrongful termination, and if Alchemist wins that against the hospital he'd definitely have to worry less about money.

    And he'd definitely have a strong case against the hospital, not sure how much money he could win but the average payout is around 37k-40k.

    Edit:

    You could probably also get Brandish on your side pretty easily too, she's apparently a skilled lawyer and her helping the little man against a hospital that exploited him is good PR. Not only does she bring star power but also could be convinced if you mention them working Amy like a Slavedriver if she rotates between hospitals like in some fics. While she's definitely neglectful towards Amy, Amy is still her daughter and mentioning it would make Alchemist look even better in her eyes, especially if he's 'that janitor who always gave her coffee' or something.
     
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