Just a Phase [Worm]

[Evilreadermaximum]

it's very likely that trying to escape would be a very poor idea.

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Probably true, but, well. It's Taylor.

Somehow don't see that stopping her once she realizes Alex ain't gonna do shit to help her leave the Wards.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Probably true, but, well. It's Taylor.

Somehow don't see that stopping her once she realizes Alex ain't gonna do shit to help her leave the Wards.

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Time for Taylor to brush up on the survival skills she learned in nature camp all those years ago.

Fair enough. However, big name capes and tinkertech are far from the only thing that make a place difficult to escape from. If Alexandria had sufficient say in location and was smart about placement, the camp is almost certainly based in a remote location for both safety reason and to deter escapes. And given that it'll be in the western united states and Taylor has no significant Mover ability or survival skills, it's very likely that trying to escape would be a very poor idea.

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She could use it as part of how she breaks unruly Ward. Leave a few openings in the defenses for escape attempts only for those escapees to come crawling back when they realize they have no where to go.

 

[Nikas_Zekeval]

She isn't socializing at school either, despite it having nothing to do with the PRT, Protectorate, or Wards. Armstrong needs to act as her legal guardian and correct her self-destrucfive behavior, nkt enable it. With no authority at the school, he's limited to the Wards as a peer group he can encourage her to socialize with. His first attempt wasn't the tours, it was the pizza party. Taylor weaseled out of that in under a minute, so he needs another relatively informal and unstructured evironment he can order her and the Wards into. I'm not seeing a very long list of options, but the tour thing also is something he can show his superiors that he's Doing Something to get Phase with the program, and likely a few other things. He's dealing with limited options, multiple competing objectives and priorities, and also running a PRT branch.

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One, it has been days, maybe a few weeks since Taylor showed up. Armstrong, Gauss, and apparently you, expect over a year and a half of peer abuse and borderline parental neglect to be wiped away in an instant. Things don't work like that, as any psychologist would tell Armstrong and Gauss if they consulted with one rather than lawyers.

Jumping in Taylor's face and demanding she throw away her traumas is like my example of shoving your 'cute puppy' in the face of someone traumatized by a dog attack, and then getting affronted when they understandably recoil from the reminder of their trauma. Or maybe demanding someone who suffered from an abusive relationship immediately start dating again after getting out of that.

Frankly when I hear whining about "why doesn't Taylor just join/befriend the Boston Wards" I hear "but I WANT IT NOW!" The PRT and Wards forcing the issue is just them setting back any potential resolution of the situation in their favor, in both time and probability. Much more and it will enter "The beatings will continue until moral improves" territory.

To be fair, we don't know what sort of esoteric tinkertech might be in play at the camp. So I'd call it a tossup if Taylor can escape the place. Granted it's been a while since I read this fic so Taylor's powers are fuzzy to me but I doubt Alexandria would be very keen about having a camp that could be escaped from.

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The second they try to transfer her is the second she bolts in Boston.

Fair enough. However, big name capes and tinkertech are far from the only thing that make a place difficult to escape from. If Alexandria had sufficient say in location and was smart about placement, the camp is almost certainly based in a remote location for both safety reason and to deter escapes. And given that it'll be in the western united states and Taylor has no significant Mover ability or survival skills, it's very likely that trying to escape would be a very poor idea.

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The survival triad is hours without proper shelter, days without water, and weeks without food. Early on Taylor mentions her power covers the first. Getting a winter weight coat was more to disguise the fact that with her powers she can flat out ignore Boston winter weather.

 

[Highlord]

The longer the injustice festers the more the protectorate as a whole looks like a bunch of criminals

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The are a bunch of criminals. That's why they focus on PR to the exclusion of all else.

 

[Rymu]

The second they try to transfer her is the second she bolts in Boston.

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Maybe. Depends on the exact state of affairs at the time.

The survival triad is hours without proper shelter, days without water, and weeks without food. Early on Taylor mentions her power covers the first. Getting a winter weight coat was more to disguise the fact that with her powers she can flat out ignore Boston winter weather.

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Didn't remember that bit to her power. That's a good point in Taylor's favor to surviving. However, water will be the real big problem because she'll likely being in a rather arid area if it's not an outright desert.

 

[The Dude]

Didn't remember that bit to her power. That's a good point in Taylor's favor to surviving. However, water will be the real big problem because she'll likely being in a rather arid area if it's not an outright desert.

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She's going to be phasing through the heat, so she won't be sweating like a normal person or suffering the stamina drain caused by said heat.

She just needs to bring as much water and food as she can carry... which she can definitely get, because they won't be able to keep her out of the supplies... and she'll be able to hike her way clear of anywhere they're likely to put the place.

 

[Rymu]

She's going to be phasing through the heat, so she won't be sweating like a normal person or suffering the stamina drain caused by said heat.

She just needs to bring as much water and food as she can carry... which she can definitely get, because they won't be able to keep her out of the supplies... and she'll be able to hike her way clear of anywhere they're likely to put the place.

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Tracking inventory and keeping mundane eyes on Taylor's actions would almost certainly counter any sort of prep Taylor could try. The camp runners are hardly going to be morons and have dealt with tons of less than cooperative kids with varied powers even if Taylor is a rather potent Trump they don't know much about.

Also what makes you think that the camp would be placed too close to civilization for the ratio of supplies required to the supplies that Taylor can stockpile to be a survivable experience? Taylor's only unique advantage is her Trump power. Everything else between phasing to steal supplies and being immune to environmental conditions is bound to be common as far as powers go. Given that Taylor is untrained in anything resembling survival skills and even if we're generous about her camp experiences they're a thing that's she's years seperated from... I just don't see Taylor both escaping camp and making it to civilization. And even if she does, the PRT would be looking for her for sure.

Thus continuing to wait out her wards years whilst doing her best to not do shit for the PRT is her best route.

 

[The Dude]

Tracking inventory and keeping mundane eyes on Taylor's actions would almost certainly counter any sort of prep Taylor could try.

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What prep?

They can track and monitor all they want, she literally just has to walk into the supply room, grabs the shit, and walk out of the compound. They've got nothing that can stop her other than physically not keeping any food or water anywhere in the compound.

Also what makes you think that the camp would be placed too close to civilization for the ratio of supplies required to the supplies that Taylor can stockpile to be a survivable experience?

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Because it's a boot camp for fuckup Wards, not a nazi death camp or a maximum security prison for dangerous capes.

The place would be built assuming the people going in are at least willing to pretend to play ball because they want to stay out of prison.

 

[Rymu]

What prep?

They can track and monitor all they want, she literally just has to walk into the supply room, grabs the shit, and walk out of the compound. They've got nothing that can stop her other than physically not keeping any food or water anywhere in the compound.

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Not keeping everything in one pile and keeping an eye on things would do well enough to delay Taylor, and I feel like it's hard to say that they'd have nothing or nobody who could handle her. Especially given that Taylor didn't exactly do well in her only cape fight as a vigilante. Plus even fi they can't deal with her directly, tracking her mundanely and just capturing her when she has to sleep should be easy. For again she doesn't having any particular powers for movement.

Because it's a boot camp for fuckup Wards, not a nazi death camp or a maximum security prison for dangerous capes.

The place would be built assuming the people going in are at least willing to pretend to play ball because they want to stay out of prison.

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Doesn't have to be. Just pull a Holes and put the camp in the middle of nowhere, southwestern united states and most of your job is done for you by the environment being utterly inclimate to any sort of escape without powers that Taylor doesn't particularly possess.

 

[Nikas_Zekeval]

Not keeping everything in one pile and keeping an eye on things would do well enough to delay Taylor, and I feel like it's hard to say that they'd have nothing or nobody who could handle her. Especially given that Taylor didn't exactly do well in her only cape fight as a vigilante. Plus even fi they can't deal with her directly, tracking her mundanely and just capturing her when she has to sleep should be easy. For again she doesn't having any particular powers for movement.

Doesn't have to be. Just pull a Holes and put the camp in the middle of nowhere, southwestern united states and most of your job is done for you by the environment being utterly inclimate to any sort of escape without powers that Taylor doesn't particularly possess.

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One question, how do they justify sending her to a Juvie prison camp to the Youth Guard? Right now they can't force her to go through power testing because she is on paper a voluntary Ward. Being 'on strike' is hardly enough to justify such a move. They'd have to catch her in her after school hobby, maybe. And she'd pull a runner on the spot if they managed to nail that down.

Without that? The same problem with "I refuse to do anything I don't have to".

You might get Wards who take the camp as a deal to avoid being kicked out or a black mark on their records, but guess what? Taylor wants out, and she doesn't give a shit what goes into her "Ward Permanent Record."

 

[Rymu]

One question, how do they justify sending her to a Juvie prison camp to the Youth Guard?

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No clue. Depends on what the camp actually is on paper. Like we know Sophia got sent there to try to clean up her act after getting into the wards on probation but that hardly guarantees that the place is for new wards with issues or fuckups. If memory serves, and assuming Piggy's actions are legal, the Wards are rather under the power of their superiors and who is to say that Taylor's lack of cooperation can't be punished through as extreme of means as being sent to Alexandria's little camp. Either as the only punishment offered instead of a black mark because the one handing out the punishment to Taylor knows she'd take the mark and not care, as a result of accruing too many black marks, or Taylor taking it instead of a final black mark due to the system having a (seemingly) worse punishment for accruing too many marks on her record. That or Taylor might not know entirely what the camp means and tries to take the punishment of going there as a tactic to kill time and get away from the Boston Wards she doesn't like.

 

[SlickRCBD]

That's because faculty tend to be as willfully blind as they are cowardly and generally corrupt.
Which is what led to how I ended the bullying being done to me in school. Violence, contempt, and a total refusal to cooperate unless my parents we present. And when the principal refused? Walked out, daring the sniveling coward lay hands one me, then walked home and notified my father. Little shits that we're the faculty learned real quick the extent of their power when their previous chosen weren't able to shape a narrative.

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The result is that you get suspended, and when you come back, you find you have be given various restrictions and loss of privileges.
Most of them you don't care about because you don't attend extra-curricular activities, but they prevent you from randomly picking study halls at random and restrict where you can go during lunch instead of being able to go wherever you want, making it easy for the bullies to predict where to find you and do something.
Naturally the staff are still blind when the bullies do approach you and pull something until you retaliate.

Also they threaten to expel you and send you to the "alternative" high school with all the B.D. students. If you have any hopes of going to college being expelled for "bad behavior" would probably put the kibosh on that. Especially if you can't afford college and need a scholarship.

Also the schools I attended had no qualms about restraining you if you try to leave without permission. Due to being "restrained" rather painfully and nearly suffocating from being face down on the floor with somebody shoving their knee in the small of my back as a 2nd and 3rd grader, I HATE being restrained and made helpless and tend to react rather violently to attempts to do so. Which only got me into more trouble.
Never mind that I was trying to "walk away from the person antagonizing you" like they had just got done preaching, and they were the ones to grab me, you never do anything to a staff member when they are physically disciplining you. "You should have just done as you were told, then it wouldn't be necessary".
According to the police, and not just the police counselor, as they are the adults acting "in loco parentis", they are fully in their rights to do that and I'm in the wrong to resist, just like resisting a cop is wrong.
So daring them to lay a hand on you would get your bluff called, and you'd just get in trouble if you did try to do anything physically in response to them grabbing you to stop you.
Sorry, I had trouble with four and a half bad faculty members (the half was an enabler who never did anything directly, but was the principal and refused to believe me "you're exaggerating, I refuse to believe they would be that unprofessional/painful/ever do that" and just supported the bad staff members in whatever they wanted) in 2nd & 3rd grade, then I was bulled by peers in 8th grade and on to high school.
I changed schools after 3rd grade, then again from 7th to 8th. 8th to high was another change, and high school was actually better than 8th grade because the bullies would get punished as well for fighting, even if I got punished worse after the first time or two because "you have been in multiple violent incidents with multiple people. Why is it always you they pick on? 'Obviously' you must be doing something to antagonize them. You need to learn to de-escalate the situation and stop getting involved in these violent incidents. Figure out what you're doing to antagonize them and stop doing it. Learn some peer relations skills." *rage detected*
Also my experience is not unique. I found this some years back:
https://web.archive.org/web/2018092...m/what-happens-when-bully-victims-fight-back/



TL;DR?
If you try to walk out and dare them to try to stop you, they will and the police will side with them if all they do is physically stop you. Heck, if you do anything in response to them laying hands on you YOU get charged with the crime.
Resistance just gets you more punishment.
School officials have the authority of parents for physical discipline, and to a lessor extent police. You are their responsibility, and they have the power to enforce their authority.

 

[Rymu]

I'd forgotten that one of the fun parts of worm discussions is people disbelieving some of the shit that happens in canon, that gets exaggerated in fanon/fanworks, and then turns out ot be entirely tame in comparison to what some posters will reveal.

Anyways I think that direction is getting off topic. It's well established how shit authority figures can get and that Taylor trusting them is a sucker bet on her part at best.

 

[MovingTarget]

Fair enough. However, big name capes and tinkertech are far from the only thing that make a place difficult to escape from. If Alexandria had sufficient say in location and was smart about placement, the camp is almost certainly based in a remote location for both safety reason and to deter escapes. And given that it'll be in the western united states and Taylor has no significant Mover ability or survival skills, it's very likely that trying to escape would be a very poor idea.

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She can steal PRT equipment to aid in escape, a back pack full of ration bars and a bandolier of water bottles at the least or just hitch a ride on a supply truck.

 

[hjgz89]

What would happen if Taylor was send to the camp and succesfully escapes?

1 The PRT now has to deal with someone who has a serious grudge against them, with powers tailormade for fighting a guerrilla war against them.
2 The story of Taylor would get out, wich would damage the PRT and embolden other wards who have issues with them. Taylor escaping out of a perviously inescapable camp would encourage them to try. And with enough attempts, some of them would escape.
3 The previous points would seriously damage Alaexandria's image as the unstoppable bringer of justice.
4 This would make Congress take a closer look at the PRT and Protectorate. That would reveal things Cauldron does not want revealed.

All in all, sending Taylor to the camp could result in her becoming the symbol for a anti- PRT movement.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

"We are going to have to send the Wards out on more of these anti-bullying campaigns, to schools where they are lower income and have significant problems. Because Phase just publicly called us out, and not doing it will tell everyone she was right."

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I know it is kinda late to bring this up again but how likely would it be that the PR blowup would be bad enough to make it so other neighboring Wards departments have to send their teams out to do similar anti-bullying campaigns to lower income schools.

Mostly asking because I had a thought about Emma and Sophia somehow being forced to do one at Winslow following the failure in Boston.

 

[Ashley9469]

Oh God the whole GOD DAMN SCHOOL would be able to feel the Schadenfreude in that situation.

OMAKE! OMAKE! OMAKE!

 

[Highlord]

Oh God the whole GOD DAMN SCHOOL would be able to feel the Schadenfreude in that situation.

OMAKE! OMAKE! OMAKE!

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"Aw, look at rich kids and their oh-so heroic handlers, slumming it like they care."

I'm reminded of a Worm fic I read a couple years back. After being declared not worth their august attention, Piggot writes off the majority of the docks and leaves them to the nazi filth, declaring victory when crime drops for the important people. She's then shocked and angered when a militia, capes included, forms around the Union, and becomes spitting mad when Assault points out "You threw them out to fend for themselves, so they are."

 

[Nikas_Zekeval]

Oh God the whole GOD DAMN SCHOOL would be able to feel the Schadenfreude in that situation.

OMAKE! OMAKE! OMAKE!

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Connie looked at Taylor with worry. "Why are you smiling so much?" She carefully didn't say "have a demented grin'

Taylor giggled, something to Connie's memory she never did. "I just got word some people involved in my situation have started paying off their karma at a vastly accelerated rate."

 

[Rymu]

I'm reminded of a Worm fic I read a couple years back. After being declared not worth their august attention, Piggot writes off the majority of the docks and leaves them to the nazi filth, declaring victory when crime drops for the important people. She's then shocked and angered when a militia, capes included, forms around the Union, and becomes spitting mad when Assault points out "You threw them out to fend for themselves, so they are."

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Do you happen to remember the name of that fic?

 

[Evilreadermaximum]

Do you happen to remember the name of that fic?

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kinda sounds like Wildcat of the docks

 

[Highlord]

kinda sounds like Wildcat of the docks

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That's similar, but I remember reading it in 2018. I'll try to dig it up later.

 

[Nikas_Zekeval]

That's similar, but I remember reading it in 2018. I'll try to dig it up later.

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I remember one in the massive snippet threads which was a Pacific Rim crossover, where Taylor's parents were Riley Becket and Mako Mori. Basically they popped up in Earth Bet after punching out of Gypsy Danger.

Edit: found it, here's a link to Spacebattles for it: https://forums.spacebattles.com/thr...-fic-discussion-thread-6.272089/post-12127422

 

[SlickRCBD]

They'd probably try to jump her with it. Not letting her in on it until she was already en-route on a plane. Or they'd try to sedate her so she wakes up in a cell.

Which just means she'd phase out, and go about blowing the entire organization wide open. Again, which she should be doing already.

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Why do that instead of not letting her know what she's actually being sent to until she arrives?
Let her think it is some regular training camp most new Wards are sent to once school is out for the year.
Then the camp is too isolated to escape from, especially with no money or ID.

If she does escape, by the time she tries to tell her story the PRT will have poisoned the well by assassinating her character, painting her as a troubled teen that is an attention seeking liar who makes up stories to try to get others in trouble and was sent to the reform camp.
It's amazing how effective an adult with Authority saying that will make it an uphill battle for a teen to be believed. The adult doesn't need to provide proof, but the standard of proof for the teen to their claims investigated suddenly skyrockets to needing enough evidence to convict in criminal court (not civil, that standard is too low for "an attention seeking liar".).
In Taylor's case they can use her school record of "false" accusations as proof, as well as why she was signed up for the Wards to be reformed.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Why do that instead of not letting her know what she's actually being sent to until she arrives?
Let her think it is some regular training camp most new Wards are sent to once school is out for the year.

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Well that runs into the same problem Armstrong and Guass have when trying to get her to do anything Wards related. That being Taylor can't participate in most things until after power testing which is still completely voluntary. I can't imagine that a Wards camp even one for unruly Wards would be allowed to operate outside of the program's own safety requirements. And another reason being that Taylor would just straight up refuse to participate in Wards summer camp because of her current predisposition to any Wards activities to begin with.

 

[Nikas_Zekeval]

Why do that instead of not letting her know what she's actually being sent to until she arrives?
Let her think it is some regular training camp most new Wards are sent to once school is out for the year.
Then the camp is too isolated to escape from, especially with no money or ID.

If she does escape, by the time she tries to tell her story the PRT will have poisoned the well by assassinating her character, painting her as a troubled teen that is an attention seeking liar who makes up stories to try to get others in trouble and was sent to the reform camp.
It's amazing how effective an adult with Authority saying that will make it an uphill battle for a teen to be believed. The adult doesn't need to provide proof, but the standard of proof for the teen to their claims investigated suddenly skyrockets to needing enough evidence to convict in criminal court (not civil, that standard is too low for "an attention seeking liar".).
In Taylor's case they can use her school record of "false" accusations as proof, as well as why she was signed up for the Wards to be reformed.

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Well that runs into the same problem Armstrong and Guass have when trying to get her to do anything Wards related. That being Taylor can't participate in most things until after power testing which is still completely voluntary. I can't imagine that a Wards camp even one for unruly Wards would be allowed to operate outside of the program's own safety requirements. And another reason being that Taylor would just straight up refuse to participate in Wards summer camp because of her current predisposition to any Wards activities to begin with.

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And the Youth Guard is going to raise holy hell if they try to send Taylor to Alexandria's boot camp. One, 'black marks'? "For what, refusing to participate in activities your own regulations claim are voluntary? Or was that a lie we have to bring up to Congress for even more oversight authority?"

Two, Taylor is the goose laying golden eggs for the Youth Guard. Most Wards drink the Kool-Aid and have an Omerta where it comes to talking to the Youth Guard. Taylor is a rare Ward who is happy to talk to them. So they are going to be hyper-protective against any move to force her to knuckle under the system and lose that access.

Three, "Get on the plane, trust me" is not going to go well. Taylor is going to ask where they are trying to send her and why. Jim her Youth Guard Rep will be in that meeting as well. Things will be in writing. A bait and switch? Taylor calls Jim's number, which she memorized, as soon as she escapes.

Then it isn't Taylor's word against the PRT's. It is the Youth Guard going full court press about the PRT's abuse of power and documented lies and illegal pressure to pressgang an innocent teenager.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Then it isn't Taylor's word against the PRT's. It is the Youth Guard going full court press about the PRT's abuse of power and documented lies and illegal pressure to pressgang an innocent teenager.

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It might also snap Danny out of his funk when he sees the PRT trying to slander his daughter, because seeing the organization he trusted to keep her safe try and make her out to be a villain would probably make him reconsider a few choices he made in the past.

 

[Rymu]

I feel like you might be thinking a bit too much of Danny there. Still even if it does affect him, I don't see Taylor forgiving him any.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

I feel like you might be thinking a bit too much of Danny there. Still even if it does affect him, I don't see Taylor forgiving him any.

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It doesn't matter if Taylor never forgives him he would still fight for his daughter, considering in canon he still stood by her and defended her when she was outed as a villain.

 

[Highlord]

Why do that instead of not letting her know what she's actually being sent to until she arrives?
Let her think it is some regular training camp most new Wards are sent to once school is out for the year.
Then the camp is too isolated to escape from, especially with no money or ID.

If she does escape, by the time she tries to tell her story the PRT will have poisoned the well by assassinating her character, painting her as a troubled teen that is an attention seeking liar who makes up stories to try to get others in trouble and was sent to the reform camp.
It's amazing how effective an adult with Authority saying that will make it an uphill battle for a teen to be believed. The adult doesn't need to provide proof, but the standard of proof for the teen to their claims investigated suddenly skyrockets to needing enough evidence to convict in criminal court (not civil, that standard is too low for "an attention seeking liar".).
In Taylor's case they can use her school record of "false" accusations as proof, as well as why she was signed up for the Wards to be reformed.

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You're missing the point. Taylor is the one with infinite scaling escalation on her side, once she decides that all authority is illegitimate. She phases through security measures, steals information, and makes a hobby of blowing it all out into the public sphere. Or she tears out all the stops and starts leaving claymores in the bathrooms of PRT directors and politicians. Sadly, we will never see escalation to that point, since most people seem too hardwired to even dare thinking of such things.

The so-called adults can play their games all they want. As in all things in Worm, the one with the powers makes the rules, and not even the conspiracy of chucklefucks has shit on her. If they decide to press past the line, Taylor not only steps around them, she proceeds to destroy them with their own tools.

Unless, as is the usual, the writer decides to have Taylor choke.