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Taylor Hebert, Medhall Intern [Worm Fanfic]

Discussion in 'Creative Writing' started by Ack, Feb 26, 2019.

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  1. Ack

    Ack (Verified Ratbag) (Unverified Great Old One)

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    Yes, Taylor just located a bunch of Coil moles.
    Max is gonna be pissed that they got in but very pleased that they got located.
     
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  2. Simonbob

    Simonbob Really? You don't say.

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    "Kaiser! Your intern defeating ME?! I think not. I shall have better interns. Two of them! And they'll be Parahumans!" Maniacal laughter came from behind the door.

    Mercenary 1 looked at Mercenary 2.
    "You know, working for this Coil guy, well, the money's good. But I wish he'd just get back to planning how to take over the city. This is getting creepy." Much nodding, as more maniacal sounds drifted out.




    I was just thinking, two of the Empire parahumans were part of that mess. They're going to talk to their friends. It's a good story, after all. Black thug girl, white girl with potential, them saving the day in civies, oh yeah, they're going to talk.

    Then, Taylor finds a bunch of moles. Heh.
     
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  3. Zackarix

    Zackarix Hera's Divorce Lawyer

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    There's the uncomfortable part of this story. Everything seems to be going great for Taylor, the bullying is being dealt with, and then you remember that the black girl is being thrown under the bus while the white girls are getting slaps on the wrist. And because Sophia's impulse control has just been compromised she throws away the safety net associated with being a ward. She's a terrible person, but I still feel a little sorry for her.
    Uh oh, somebody just spotted a leak.
    To be fair, he would have gotten away with it if not for a sharp eyed intern.
     
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  4. SlickRCBD

    SlickRCBD none

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    If Tattletale was involved in their placement, she could have done it on purpose. Remember, she's working under duress and hates Coil's guts. Sabotaging things like that to get back at Coil for making her an offer she couldn't refuse would not be out of character for her.
     
  5. SilverBadger

    SilverBadger Know what you're doing yet?

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    Wow. You know how Taylor phrased Emma's 180 to the police made me realize something. I don't think I've ever seen a fic where Taylor, or anyone else, accuses Sophia of being a master. The audiance knows she is not, but I imagine the characters probably get some educational videos in school/kid tv/etc for "signs your friend may be mastered" like all the "signs your friend may be contemplating suicide" ones. The cops might check it out as a possibility since without OOC knowledge, it is off that the teachers are on Sophia's side (in a city with Neo Nazis and Asian supremicists... the black girl is running things?). Pair that with a lifelong friend suddenly turning and you have decent reason to suspect mastering.

    Really great chapter. I am loving all the out of costume interactions.
     
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  6. SlickRCBD

    SlickRCBD none

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    I've seen one where Emma is the master, but you're right, I've never seen one with Sophia accused of being a master.
    Well, except that after I made a similar observation on CaerAzkaban, Somebody did a drabble where Taylor calls the PRT and reports that she thinks Emma has been mastered, but that's the entire fic. Unfortunately while they migrated messages to groups.io my link is dead as the message numbers are not perfectly aligned.
    Basically all it had was Taylor placing a phone call to the PRT reporting that she suspected Emma was being mastered, along with the teachers and explained why and called herself a bad friend for not thinking of this possibility months earlier. No more than 100 words.
     
  7. Simonbob

    Simonbob Really? You don't say.

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    I've seen one or two. I don't remember their names, though.
     
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  8. macdjord

    macdjord Well worn.

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    I know of one.


    I've got a complete archive of the mailing list back to the end of 2012; if you give me the link you have I might be able to find it.
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2020
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  9. Ack

    Ack (Verified Ratbag) (Unverified Great Old One)

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    Sophia literally has nobody but herself to blame.

    1) She instilled her twisted sense of the world into Emma when Emma needed a hug and a lot of therapy
    2) She lied to Emma about what they were doing to Taylor. If she'd stuck with what she'd said, Taylor might have actually been accepted back into the group.
    3) When she became a Ward, she kept being a bitch to Taylor.
    4) She couldn't let go the idea that Taylor had to be kept down at all costs.
    5) Even before Victor removed her critical thinking, she wasn't the sharpest spoon in the drawer.
     
  10. Gindjurra

    Gindjurra Versed in the lewd.

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    Maybe. But if their backgrounds all come from different places, they have different ages and some or all of them are supposedly natural born citizens? Big problem.
     
  11. Crazael

    Crazael Could be wittier.

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    Oh sure. It just amused me that there was a potential perfectly benign explenation. For all that SSNs are used for secure identification, they arent a particularly secure number.

    I've seen a quest where Emma claims this to Taylor in the hospital after Taylor forces her to live through the Trio's bullying campaign from her perspective and Emma triggers from the experience.
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2020
  12. Gindjurra

    Gindjurra Versed in the lewd.

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    I used to have a program on my desktop computer many years ago - it had an 80386 processor to give you an idea - that would convert any SSN you fed it into the location that issued it.
     
  13. Crazael

    Crazael Could be wittier.

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    Considering a quick google search mentions a release date only a year after I was born... that was quite some time ago.
     
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  14. Scopas

    Scopas I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    Great update, Ack! I think that this might be my favorite of your many, many Worm fics - this Taylor is remarkably optimistic about her future, and it's nice to see an iteration where her self-worth isn't solely tied to powers or her ability to lay on the pain.

    It's also nice to see Greg maturing into something other then a complete waste of a character.
     
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  15. Zackarix

    Zackarix Hera's Divorce Lawyer

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    Sure, but the characters don't know the full context of the situation. It's one thing to throw the book at Sophia, it's another thing to be offering the other two girls (who as far as they know are just as guilty) plea bargins so that she takes all of the blame.
     
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  16. Gindjurra

    Gindjurra Versed in the lewd.

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    Why would this be surprising?

    The other two girls are white, and the guy pushing for them to be let off relatively lightly while the black girl gets thrown under a bus that is on fire is the secret identity of a white supremacist supervillain who has the power to steal people’s skills from them - critical thinking and good judgment are both skills in this context.
     
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  17. RoninSword

    RoninSword Sky God

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    Perhaps its more, from Taylor's perspective, why is it better for Emma and Madison to get plea deals and the full book at Sophia.
     
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  18. Gindjurra

    Gindjurra Versed in the lewd.

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    It wouldn’t take much skill theft to make someone not question what you say in a confident, authoritative tone about a subject that person recognizes you as an expert in.
     
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  19. Zackarix

    Zackarix Hera's Divorce Lawyer

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    Where did I say it was surprising? I said it was uncomfortable because this seems like a fix fic until you remember who Taylor's saviors are and what biases they have. They're coming down hardest on Sophia, but not because of her actual sins even if the reader knows that she's the most deserving of punishment.
     
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  20. Ack

    Ack (Verified Ratbag) (Unverified Great Old One)

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    Madison got the shit kicked out of her and will be telling all to the cops.

    Danny has stated that Emma needs therapy, and Alan has said she will be going to boarding school in Boston.

    Authoritative statements have been made indicating that they will each be facing some kind of comeuppance for their misdeeds, and both are turning on Sophia, who doesn't get to simply go away (which Taylor would've been happy with, in canon). Mr Grayson is a lawyer and someone who has shown himself to be on Taylor's side, so she trusts him to make the right call. If he, for instance, suggested that the girls be publicly whipped for their actions, Taylor would be going "WTF?" but in the context of what's happened, it makes sense, and she's trusting him to get it right.

    We do shape our expectations of what should be to what those we trust say it should be.

    So no, Taylor isn't exactly puzzled over why Sophia's being smashed. In fact, she thinks Grayson's being smart by focusing on the weak link (Madison) to bring down the person who's most likely just to keep trying (Sophia). It's like a CSI episode in miniature. The fact that he focused on getting Sophia as his end goal rather than arriving at it organically isn't immediately obvious except to those in the know.
     
  21. macdjord

    macdjord Well worn.

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    You know, I don't think I've seen a fic where the trio get caught and punished by having Taylor publicly whip and abuse them, but now I kinda want to...
     
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  22. Crazael

    Crazael Could be wittier.

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    It would certainly be an interesting read.
     
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  23. Ack

    Ack (Verified Ratbag) (Unverified Great Old One)

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    Why did my brain go straight to the NSFW section of QQ for that one?
     
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  24. Kanzid

    Kanzid Getting sticky.

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    Thanks for the chapter. Definitely interested in finding out how much is going to be revealed about Shadow Stalker both to Taylor and in general. If Sophia was being smart I'm fairly sure her best option at this point is to leave town and set up as an independent some where else though I wouldn't expect her to do that. The obvious question is will she try to punish Taylor for ruining her life.

    I've definitely read one that hasn't been linked so far. IIRC Taylor reads something about Masters just have Emma turns on her when she returns from summer camp and starts to investigate following Emma and Sophia around for a bit to gather info before taking it to the PRT. She's then put in M/S confinement as a precaution while the PRT investigate things. They find out there isn't a master involved but do find Sophia is Shadow Stalker who was still an independent as this was early on and probably take her into the rewards before thanking Taylor for her investigation and I think suggesting she joins the PRT when she's older. I'm fairly sure Taylor then goes to Arcadia with a hint at a possible follow up involving the New Wave situation.
     
  25. Crazael

    Crazael Could be wittier.

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    Because that is exactly where that sort of thing would show up?
     
  26. macdjord

    macdjord Well worn.

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    Honestly, I never considered a SFW version. It would be hard to do; even if you made it non-sexual, most ways of handling it would still be NSFW.


    Are you talking about this, or is there another one? Because if so, I'd like to read it.
     
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  27. Kanzid

    Kanzid Getting sticky.

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    Not that one no, I was able to remember I came across the fic on Reddit and found the link Taylor's Guide to Dealing with a Master, enjoy.
     
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  28. KinKrow

    KinKrow A DREAM ABOUT DREAMING

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    Sophia does, however, have the smoothest of brains.

    It's so shiny and pink!
     
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  29. SlickRCBD

    SlickRCBD none

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    Does that mean that they get new SSN's if they pass the citizenship test, or do immigrants with work visas not get social security cards?
    I know that when I worked for Walgreens two people I worked with took the citizenship test the same day and passed. One in my department (DTR), the other one in the attached warehouse department.
    Also recall that you have to reside in the U.S. legally for 7 years before applying for citizenship.

    Do you instead mean becoming residents together?
    As somebody born and raised in the U.S., I'm fuzzy on the details for immigrants with green cards and social security numbers. I know they covered some of it in school, but that was decades ago. Also I'm pretty sure a lot of laws have changed. INS no longer exists.
     
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  30. Crazael

    Crazael Could be wittier.

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    I believe you only get a SSN when you brcome a citizen. Residents get something else. Ive only known one such group, and they were a family who all became citizens together, so they had sequential SSNs.
     
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