Commercial Break (Worm / Slut Life) (Borderline SFW)

[Guardian54]

I am rapidly getting annoyed with this premise, at least with the doubling down of the author on a clear problem that basically is impossible for any sentient (let alone sapient) species' cultural development trajectory to reach.

Guardian54 he sayeth: "the first sign that an author should not do much worldbuilding is an absolute refusal to retcon. Unwillingness is to be expected as there are often cascading effects, but absolute refusal is a bad, BAD sign."

(Yes, I know how badly retconning to make initial history actually plausible instead of ASB has cost me, by making my "SI Archives" end up on its 6th Draft right now with the POD pushed back further and further, but it gives me the chance to make an Even Greater Canada, so...)

...Sudden realization: You are making slut Life sound like the Eldar. Which, of course, means Taylor should not choose "Stuck here Forever" even on her Nth run after Golden Morning

Personally, I am perfectly willing to chalk it all up to "Slut life verse's legal science is weird and would be absolutely illegal in America or maybe even anywhere else on Earth, and there is literally nothing Cindy can do but make Taylor as comfortable as she can because getting her out would be illegal and there are probably cameras everywhere".

"Slut Life is somewhat of a crapsack world" is a perfectly valid way of seeing this after all.

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There's "crapsack" and then there's "TOO STUPID TO FUNCTION". If contract law is that stupid then the society cannot possibly work with any entities that can even pretend to be people.

Hell, even AI would evolve to favour high-fitness strategies!

I don't care about any arguments based around Earth laws. They are invalid, as they are not on this earth.

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You mean the contract laws as you seem to sell them, which are not any system that will actually work with any civilization EVER as it is too easy to obtain assent to just about anything.

Other than dismissing it as force majeur abduction of primitives for fun, experimentation and profit, which would work just fine. However, you would need to show it being thought of as such by SL HQ later.

Do you know where empathy came from? "What if I'm next?" is where empathy came from. Which means having a clearly forced/tricked contestant is IMMENSELY BAD for the show becuase there are no doubt a number of folks who find the show generally okay but would gladly commit murder before letting themselves be forced to perform. And I mean bad to the point of "If you aren't giving this girl +200 credits to start and allowing her to use various exploits, the viewers might shoot your recruiters on sight in broad daylight out in the streets".

A justice system that doesn't protect people from involuntary enslavement in a post-scarcity society... is one that will get torn down pretty fucking fast by a general uprising. The military arm? They have ties to non-military folks, and will inevitably decide that if they're the tools by which power is enforced, then they might as well hold the power themselves. And since time travel is not mentioned to allow paradoxes... then they can act just fine. So long as the multiversal secret society (they have many members with them) is reacting then they can deal with it just fine.

And of course, if you so much as touch upon the Draka as an excuse for bullshit plots (a steaming heap of idiot ball author fiat)...

This is a society where sex is seemingly considered such a mundane, everyday part of life that even pregnancy and childbirth is considered just a side thing that happens to be a fetish, and even kids aren't considered too sacred for it. If anything, are you sure the viewers won't simply declare you a drama queen and that "it's not a big deal!"?

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If offspring are not considered valuable then the society is almost certainly too stupid to exist and this is all some huge simulation in some supercomputer somewhere. Because any race that evolved sapience and cultural evolution will end up completely dependent on generation-to-generation teaching/learning relationships.

That's an option: Slut Life is actually a simulation run in the Quantum Foam while the Core and Arm commanders are fighting it out.

Alternatively, and I just realized this: Slut Life are basically pre-Slaanesh Eldar. So... never ever choose "You're Here Forever" even on your Nth run through

How would they figure that they're unwilling participants if, for example, they got their memory wiped, or are specifically in it to roleplay being kidnapped to another world?

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So, why didn't they wipe Taylor's memory or just brainwash her, hmm? Would be much easier.

It's quite possible that the SL society had gotten desensitized to sex and time to such a degree that this wouldn't be an issue at all. They do have memory erasure/restoration, apparent easy time travel and medicine to the point of practical immortality. Still quite possible that they'll consider this drama queening and overblowing the situation.

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And this is why the Infinite War and continued tensions afterward was such a good thing for SupCom humanity. They don't end up wriggling endlessly in the mud in decadence without trying to be creative.

Also, notice the time travel involved does not appear to permit paradoxes, and is inter-universal which basically means "wormhole to this this this coordinate in this this this universe code, at this this this local time"... which means Einsteinian Relativity is fucked with a chainsaw as there is a universal timeframe. Which means the moment SL encounters a sufficiently powerful warlike civilization (Total Annihilation lore would like a word), they're screwed. Unless they are in fact all a psionic (e.g. soul) upload MMORPG.

 

[MissileTeatime]

I really don't understand why such a big deal was being made about that first contact. It was clearly intended to fall under "willing suspension of disbelief". You might as well complain that Worm doesn't explain how Taylor's powers work in the first two arcs!

Another subtle threat!

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Yeah, as another poster referenced, that line in particular was intended to be in a BDSM context. I can see your interpretation, I can even see Taylor taking your interpretation, but it's evident from context that Cindy meant it as something other than a threat.

 

[necrolectric]

Good points have been made on both sides of the contract issue at this point.

An even better point, I feel, would be to stop arguing back and forth about this and give the author a chance to show how he originally planned to resolve this situation, rather than continue rehashing an argument that OP has already asked to stop.

 

[Guardian54]

An even better point, I feel, would be to stop arguing back and forth about this and give the author a chance to show how he originally planned to resolve this situation, rather than continue rehashing an argument that OP has already asked to stop.

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The problem is that we've seen what doubling down on authorial decisions can do (e.g. A Cloudy Path) and since the ratio of beautiful prose to plot holes here isn't as high (e.g. not as wordy) as ACP, we're more up in arms about it. More importantly, we have had MASSIVE Negative Experiences with the sort of author reactions observed, which together makes for a Bad Combination.

The Limp Noodle "Taylor Reacts" rings those old ACP alarm bells pretty loud, for me at least.

 

[Kade Lanik]

The problem is that we've seen what doubling down on authorial decisions can do (e.g. A Cloudy Path) and since the ratio of beautiful prose to plot holes here isn't as high (e.g. not as wordy) as ACP, we're more up in arms about it. More importantly, we have had MASSIVE Negative Experiences with the sort of author reactions observed, which together makes for a Bad Combination.

The Limp Noodle "Taylor Reacts" rings those old ACP alarm bells pretty loud, for me at least.

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You're assuming that's where it will wind up. Just as author fiat has lead to things like ACP, it also leads to Taylor Varga which is ch*rping amazing. Both have fans, both have people who hate them with fiery passion. Sometimes for the same reasons.

No literary or authorial method is entirely negative or entirely positive. Often a they will be both, to different people.

At this point we aren't far enough into the story to really know how it's going to end up. This is the first act, as it were, not even a week into story time. Expecting more out of Taylor at this point would be incredibly unrealistic without additional external influence given what's she's been through since Emma turned on her. It's how things are handled later as things progress and we see if Taylor's character grows and changes that's important. There's this funny little thing in literature called a character arc, where they character grows and changes as a person. You may have heard of it, given that it's can be considered pretty damned important in serious writing.

So shut up and read the fic. If it winds up being something you hate then stop reading it. An author cannot please every reader they have. Any story is going to have fans and detractors. There have been just as many fics ruined by trying to appease everyone who read it and complained, as have gone terrible places alienating the reader base. If you have something constructive to add that would improve the way it is written technically, fine. If you spot a place where the author is being inconsistent then by all means bring it up. Just stop trying to get them to change everything about the characters and story to suite what you want.

Frankly, trying to force the author to write the story you would write is a disservice to them, the readers, and you. We're here to read Jona's story, as he writes it. As trite as it sounds, if you want a different story then damn well write it. That's the point of fanfiction.

 

[edale]

I am rapidly getting annoyed with this premise, at least with the doubling down of the author on a clear problem that basically is impossible for any sentient (let alone sapient) species' cultural development trajectory to reach.

Guardian54 he sayeth: "the first sign that an author should not do much worldbuilding is an absolute refusal to retcon. Unwillingness is to be expected as there are often cascading effects, but absolute refusal is a bad, BAD sign."

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Remember what I said a while back about a 1-man hatebox?

You're doing it again.

Take a look back at all the posts about this type of thing. Every single one of them, except for yours, also contains (or attempts to contain) something constructive to try and help the author improve things (and no, I'm not taking that back if you find one or two examples otherwise), even if it's just bringing up a question or two the author might not have considered.

You mean the contract laws as you seem to sell them, which are not any system that will actually work with any civilization EVER as it is too easy to obtain assent to just about anything.

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A: Author already spoilered that the contract's not valid, but that won't be discovered until "much later", most likely when Taylor takes the Contract Law course; at which point the second contract would be in full effect.

I'm really hoping SL Corp gives Taylor some sizable bonuses/perks/etc. as compensation once this is discovered. (something like "here's 50 points you can use to add to your contract for the remainder of your stint on the show, and you can select one extra reward free of charge." would be awesome... and fitting for how much Taylor got screwed over... quite literally by that point... They'd probably expect her to do things like putting the points towards things like more entertainment options, or better food selections; but we all know Taylor'd game the system to get an extra superpower-equivalent or two outta it).

B: Author's specifically asked, multiple times, for the contract discussion to be stopped. Asides from, at most, 1 post to wrap things up, everyone's followed this dictate.

Continuing a line of discussion after the author's asked it to be stopped can result in the mods stepping in... and you're not exactly in the best position atm if that happens.

Please censor yourself better.

 

[Ack]

Yeah, as another poster referenced, that line in particular was intended to be in a BDSM context. I can see your interpretation, I can even see Taylor taking your interpretation, but it's evident from context that Cindy meant it as something other than a threat.

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She's a lawyer.

Her job is to understand how people might take her words, and adjust them accordingly.

Of course, she's utterly shit at her job, so there's that ...

Good points have been made on both sides of the contract issue at this point.

An even better point, I feel, would be to stop arguing back and forth about this and give the author a chance to show how he originally planned to resolve this situation, rather than continue rehashing an argument that OP has already asked to stop.

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He originally planned to ignore it and carry on.

But as requested, I've stopped talking about the contract angle.

Cindy, on the other hand, is fair game.

 

[edale]

She's a lawyer.

Her job is to understand how people might take her words, and adjust them accordingly.

Of course, she's utterly shit at her job, so there's that ...

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It's not been stated that she's a lawyer (if she was, she'd likely have spotted whatever is invalid in the registration form already). It's been stated that she's there to help Taylor fill out the form and understand the different options, and is a former contestant.

You don't need to be a lawyer, or even understand contract law fully, to help someone select options on a premade contract form.

Now you could go with the argument that she has spotted this, and is purposefully not saying anything to ensure Taylor becomes a contestant against Taylor's will, but the author has said more than once that this is not the case, and Cindy is genuinely trying to be (mostly) helpful (there was the misleading bit about Siblings after all, but the full contract might have incestuous as an option, like with the Married Couple).


You know, in Taylor's situation... I'd be asking for a lawyer, preferably one not on SL's retainer. To go over what I'd already signed, as well as the full contract I'd be forced to sign.

 

[Guardian54]

There's this funny little thing in literature called a character arc, where they character grows and changes as a person. You may have heard of it, given that it's can be considered pretty damned important in serious writing.

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Unless Taylor does massive whiplash "Serious Gamer Mode" come Credit Crunch Time as contrast, all we've been seeing is "Too perverted!", "Personal hangups!" and of course "Railroading!" for thousands of words. Now, I strongly SUSPECT it's just a setup, but a foreshadowing thought from Cindy on the credit balance at some point and/or how Taylor seems so averse to the punishments, and to gaming the job credit system for that matter, would be nice.

It's really the railroading of the supposed "typoes" that really gets to me. I mean having the Supervillains collectively decide to NOPE out on the bugs and present no candidates would do the same without quite as obvious railroading (even though we can all see that Taylor would NEVER choose a Supervillain for a master).

And the complete lack of minmaxing as part of Credit management is HIGHLY disappointing for someone who canonically has been figuring out how to repair/replace textbooks and school materials while working-class (i.e. less than lower middle class) for many months of the sort of bullying you usually only ever hear about for school shooters (suicides don't generally make the news). Textbooks, no matter how worn and nineteenth-plus-hand, are by absolutely no means cheap. And yet Taylor manages to hide this from Danny. Either Danny is an imbecile (which he clearly is not, as he keeps a work gang alive in BB, which means he must have some constant job turnover that keeps enough guys willing to look to him for work and on call to surge when needed, as work gangs die out FAST under a certain critical mass of availability) or Taylor should be very good at resource management.

Right now I'm sticking around to watch the crunch and celebrate then. This is much as I stuck around skimming later chapters of ACP after marathoning through to the end of "Arc" 22 in May 2017, hoping for Taylor to get squished.
Unlike that experience though, I actually believe that this Taylor will have a tolerable adventure without too much wangst.
The problems I have though? "If the launch pad/tower looks of questionable integrity questionable, how well the rocket or spacecraft is built may be rendered moot."

You know, in Taylor's situation... I'd be asking for a lawyer, preferably one not on SL's retainer. To go over what I'd already signed, as well as the full contract I'd be forced to sign.

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And you wonder why I have problems with "limp noodle Taylor"??? The lack of immediately demanding a lawyer not employed by SL is pretty much canon Taylor levels of retarded (Which should as I have said previously not be possible given her parentage and upbringing).
And signing something that reeks this much of suspicion and duress is something Taylor should know better than to do coming from Earth Bet. Period.
Constructive criticism? We've suggested touchups, and then detailed one possible quick patch fix VERY explicitly.

Since he's clearly not taking our advice, I'm going to pull back now like I did between May 2017 and the Last Battle on the SB ACP thread, and wait for Taylor to get steamrolled (by her failure to pay real attention to credit costs in this case). Then I'm going to come back and cheer as Taylor gets it.
Unlike that experience, I fully expect this Taylor to have actual character growth eventually, but if the starting point has cracks in the foundation, well... see my last line above before quoting you.

 

[edale]

And the complete lack of minmaxing as part of Credit management is HIGHLY disappointing

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And how, pray tell, is min/maxing properly possible before Taylor has even heard/seen all of the options?

Your complains may or may not be valid, but there's no way to know that until Taylor gets further into the contract process.

And you wonder why I have problems with "limp noodle Taylor"??? The lack of immediately demanding a lawyer not employed by SL is pretty much canon Taylor levels of retarded (Which should as I have said previously not be possible given her parentage and upbringing).
And signing something that reeks this much of suspicion and duress is something Taylor should know better than to do coming from Earth Bet. Period.

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And there's the one-man hatebox again, nothing constructive at all.

Constructive criticism? We've suggested touchups, and then detailed one possible quick patch fix VERY explicitly.

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Please go back over what I said about constructive criticism again. Although your wording suggests you already know what I'm about to say.

You used the collective 'we' in this statement to cover everyone talking about the topic, which is true, collectively potential solutions were mentioned; BUT you haven't offered up much/anything on that front.

And no, repeatedly saying to hide a battleship in Taylor's nipples, and then complaining loudly when anyone argues against it, is not constructive... or particularly sane...

 

[Guardian54]

And how, pray tell, is min/maxing properly possible before Taylor has even heard/seen all of the options?

You used the collective 'we' in this statement to cover everyone talking about the topic, which is true, collectively potential solutions were mentioned; BUT you haven't offered up much/anything on that front.

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1.Canon Taylor: "Imma take a notebook and do some outfit sketches and some research on local capes before really starting to prep a costume."
Here: "I got shafted once already by this lot but I'm not going to notebook the hell out of everything and get a mostly full picture before selecting anything, despite risking them shafting me AGAIN, more literally this time."
Ask for a printout of the option list, and a pen you can take notes on your arm with (I for one am paranoid enough to do a "scrap paper could be a disguised contract" routine with these fuckers after that first move, and I'm less paranoid than Taylor.)

2. Here be the very detailed "look, we've already developed the patch fix for you, just apply it and the plot hole gets plated over just like that" bit that I posted:

You should probably listen to Ack and just go retcon in that one line instead of ranting THIS MUCH about it. Just have Tricher say "Thank you for signing on with Sunshine Lifestyles, wholly owned subsidiary of Slut Life" or something. It's an extremely simple fix for what you said was "a throwaway plot point that turned out less expendable than I thought", and being this obstinate on a throwaway point this early on in a story's development reeks of railroading so extreme that you might as well start with dropping Taylor off at the start point of the show.

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Very importantly, This would still leave a "the second contract with Slut Life was signed under duress and kidnapping" plot possible, WITHOUT using "corporate laws are different" in a cop-out that we (Ack and I are the "we" here, Ack I hope you don't mind?) are telling him flat-out will not work even in a megacorp-dominated society as it's too easy to entrap people into selling themselves (because kidnapping the opposing CEO, putting a Psi Disruptor Cannon to their head, and forcing them to sign over the company would apparently be valid if kidnapping Taylor and forcing her to sign is valid!

Constructive criticism is basically "That's not going to work, try this alternative, which ____explanation here___ or think up something else." which is exactly what I posted.

BTW I was already letting everything be, until I as a biologist caught wind of those who thought that a society without an incest taboo or inherent mental value for offspring could have naturally evolved, biologically or culturally. It's an avoidance that evolves basically (in geologic/evolutionary time) the moment sexual reproduction does, before even anisogamy (discrete sperm and eggs) for fuck's sake!

And what about YOU? Have YOU contributed ideas besides pure defence of the author and the utterly unproductive "don't like, don't read" sentiment?

 

[Jonakhensu]

Recruitment 1.7

---

Cindy made her way through Slut Life's corporate offices with purposeful strides. She was on a mission of information, and she would not be denied.

"Hey, there, Cindy," Jacob Tricher called, stepping into her path. "How goes our newest star?" Cindy didn't even pause, turning slightly so that her shoulder caught his side as she stepped around him. He wasn't worth the time right now, and slowing to deal with him was not an option. "Hey!" he yelped in shock, his coffee cup sloshing its contents over his suit. "Damn it, now I'll need to get this dry cleaned again," he whined, rushing off to find some paper towels.

Coming to Bob Ross's office, she stopped in front of the secretary. "Is Mister Ross available?" she asked, barely keeping her agitation in check. Based on how the secretary's eyes widened, she figured it was still noticeable.

"Let me check for you," the secretary said. Picking up her phone and pushing one of the buttons, she waited a moment before saying, "Sir, Miss Matos is here to speak with you." She waited for a reply before turning back to Cindy. "He says he has a few minutes, so you can head right in."

"Thank you," Cindy answered before making her way into the office.

"Ah, Cindy," Ross exclaimed. "This is earlier than usual. Did something happen with Miss Hebert?"

"Yes," Cindy replied, trying to force herself to calm down. Shouting wouldn't help anything at this point. "There's been a few irregularities in her contract form, and the science types are trying to bribe her, supposedly with permission from us."

"Hm," Ross mused, starting to sort through a number of files and papers on his desk, "why don't you have a seat while I see what I can find. I don't recall there being anything especially strange, other than the Insect Queens, but I might have forgotten something I rubber stamped."

"So they really think she'd be able to control the queens?" Cindy asked.

"It's a possibility," Ross replied, still shuffling through his papers. "We still don't know what her limits are, and it'd be irresponsible to set one of the queens up to get controlled before we at least know how long the control lasts. I believe one of them may volunteer to be around her for a short time in control conditions should the opportunity present itself, though." Putting a small pile of papers down in front of him, Ross turned to his computer and began searching his emails and memos for pertinent details.

"That makes sense," Cindy acknowledged. "But what about the others? I found multiple owner candidates in the form that were in the wrong place or were given the wrong credit values. I know the form is set up to show the owners from lowest to highest credit value, so why did some of the no credit owners end up further down the list?"

Pausing in his computer search for a moment, Ross picked a few pages out of the stack. "Here is the paperwork pertaining to the amazon and the supervillain. Both parties decided that Miss Hebert's abilities would not deter them from participating, provided they be provided additional compensation. I signed off on the compensation, but some bean counter in accounting decided it'd be best to take it from Miss Hebert's allotment instead of using additional funds."

"I can't really blame them for wanting to be paid more," Cindy noted, "but taking it from Taylor doesn't really make sense. Unless they were trying to ensure she didn't choose them, of course."

"That would be my thought as well," Ross agreed. "Nothing we can do for it now, though. The contract would need top level authorization to be changed at this point. Several levels above my own authorization, in fact."

"And that brings me up to the bigger question," Cindy commented. "What the hell are the scientists up to?"

"What indeed," Ross murmured. "I think I just found the right email. Give me a moment, there's some confidential information in it, so I'll need to see if you're cleared for any of it first."

Cindy blinked at that. "Shouldn't I be cleared for everything involving Taylor? How am I supposed to help her without accurate information?"

Ross grimaced. "Unfortunately, there's a few things about Miss Hebert that are outside the usual non-disclosure agreements."

"If that's the case," Cindy said testily. "Can't I just sign a few more?"

"Let me check with the higher ups," Ross began, "if they approve, I can bring you further in, but if not, you're going to need to drop it."

"The higher ups?" Cindy asked incredulously. "How much higher do you mean? You're one of the senior executives!" A second later, a thought clicked into place. "Oh. You mean those higher ups, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," Ross agreed. "I've already sent them an email. Hopefully they'll respond quickly." Shaking his head, he added, "They know a lot more than they're willing to share. They could answer a number of the questions the scientists have already, but they won't. Both because they don't think it's that important for us to know and because the scientists would resent being denied the fun of finding out for themselves."

Cindy blinked in surprise. "That sounds like the ones I've met," she finally agreed. "So, while we wait on that email, what can you tell me?"

"Not terribly much," Ross admitted. "Now, give me a moment, I need to see what the scientists have already figured out. That should be going semi-public soon enough, so it should be a safe starting point." Turning away from Cindy, he began reading through the email.

"That'll be a good start," Cindy commented, "considering they're the ones trying to get Taylor to sign up to be their lab subject." She settled down to wait. A minute later, she poked at the Newton's Cradle on Ross's desk, setting it to swinging with a rhythmic 'clack clack.'

Finally, Ross turned back to his subordinate. "As far as I can tell, you should be cleared for everything the research teams have already discovered." Pausing for a moment, he began explaining, "Taylor Hebert has what appears to be two extra lobes in her brain. On Earth Bet, they refer to these lobes as the Corona Pollentia and the Gemma. The researchers don't know those names, but it is common knowledge on Bet, so Miss Hebert should know them. What she doesn't know, however, is that those structures form a link between her and an organic supercomputer on a parallel Earth."

"I'm… not sure how to take that," Cindy admitted. "Is that going to cause any problems for her?"

Bob Ross spread his hands in front of him. "Our scientists don't know. They suspect that there's a limit to how far away Taylor can be from the computer before the connection snaps. They're also reasonably sure that this would be a bad thing, possibly fatal."

"So she'd need to stay on Earth," Cindy stated. "But we're using a standard contract form. It's not set up to handle a contestant on a twenty-four hour day cycle. Damn it, I'm going to have to head over to Legal and pick up a new contract so we can start again, aren't I?" Consideringly, she noted, "At least it might let us fix some of the oddities I've been finding in the contract.

Ross shook his head. "I'm afraid most of the changes our contract designers came up with would stay, even with a new contract. Still, it's not quite to the point of needing a new one, yet," he temporized, "assuming Miss Hebert is willing to take a bit of a risk. Now, before I explain what they want to try, let me go over the initial offer."

"Alright," Cindy replied. "I'm listening."

"Miss Hebert is the first person we've seen with this type of organic computer interface. As such, they'd like to study it more. This would, of course, be non-invasive, unless she gives explicit permission for specific tests. They aren't going to vivisect her, or anything extreme like that."

"I'm sure she'll find that reassuring," Cindy dryly replied.

"Now," Ross continued, ignoring the snark, "what they would like to do is attempt to move the computer with her, probably to an alternate, uninhabited version of whatever planet we send her to, or at least a nearby planetary body. Finding places to keep a continent sized organism is harder than you'd think."

"Continent sized?" Cindy exclaimed in shock.

"Yes," Ross confirmed. "There's a reason we won't be trying to stash it into a Capsule or something." Continuing, he said, "Now, that leaves another issue. They don't know what kind of programming the computer has, so they can't be sure it has any form of restrictions that would cause it to stop functioning should it be moved."

"Which would be bad," Cindy noted.

"Very," Ross agreed. "To that end, they plan on contracting a hacker to look around and see if any issues can be headed off. If not, the scheduled move would, of course, be canceled."

"So most of the risk is from the hacking attempt?" Cindy asked.

"Mostly," Ross agreed. "He really is quite the excellent hacker, or so I've been informed, and will be instructed to back out if he thinks he's about to trigger any fail-safes or booby traps, so the risk will be minimized. Of course, there's also a potential issue with the transport, but once proper contact has been established, that should be relatively easy to mitigate."

"I take it you want me to convince Taylor to accept?" Cindy asked.

"If you can convince her without unduly worrying her, that would be preferable," Ross agreed. He paused for a moment, looking intently at his computer screen. After a moment, he sighed and said, "Apparently, the higher ups feel you should have all the information you need to perform your duties to the best of your abilities. They fear informing you of more would be ill advised. Frankly, I agree with them, to a degree."

Cindy was crestfallen. "I thought you have faith in me," she muttered.

"Oh, I do," Ross said. "As much as I would like to tell you everything I know, I also wish I didn't know it. If you ever climb higher in the Society, remember this. Sometimes, ignorance really is bliss. I'm sure you sleep much better at night than I do."

Cindy was about to angrily retort when she paused to really look at her boss. In that instance, he looked much older and worn down, as though a heavy weight had been piled upon his shoulders and he kept the world from noticing through sheer force of will. "I'll keep that in mind, sir."

"You do that," Ross said, straightening up. For a moment, Cindy wondered if she had imagined things. A close look at Ross's eyes belied that notion, however. They looked far older than she remembered them being even a few minutes before, as though he was no longer hiding a part of himself from her. "Now, I think you've left Miss Hebert alone long enough." Reaching under his desk, he pulled out a small box, placing it on the desk. "Here's a little apology gift for Miss Hebert. I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

"What is it?" Cindy asked, taking the box and carefully not shaking it. Any gift for Taylor had even odds of being alive.

"I think I'll leave that as a surprise for the both of you," he replied with a smirk. "Now, off with you." Taking the hint, Cindy picked up the rest of her things and made her way out of the office. Once his subordinate had left the office, Ross slumped from fatigue. "Sometimes I hate my job and what I have to do for it."

---

Back on the space station, Taylor was getting rather bored. She was currently in the gym, jogging on the treadmill while her crickets attempted to chirp out 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'. It was still a work in progress, but she was getting closer. Still, there was only so much exercise she could stomach at one time, and that point was quickly approaching.

"Hello!" a voice called from the hallway, surprising her and causing her to stumble. She managed to catch herself on the railings before she fell on her face. Shutting off the treadmill, she made her way out of the room as the voice continued, "Where are you!"

"Damn it, Liana," another voice said. "We should at least try to act civilly."

Taylor warily made her way toward the voices. There was probably a guard or something on the access point to the station, but that didn't mean these people hadn't just overpowered the guard.

"Come on, Meagan," the other voice whined. "I am being civil! I just want to get started, that's all."

"Hello?" Taylor called. It was obvious they were here for her, so there wasn't really any point in not greeting them. After all, there weren't enough hiding spots if they were out to get her.

Two young girls in strange outfits came around the corner. One was wearing a smooth, wine red outfit that looked like it wouldn't restrict her movements at all, while the other wearing a surprising poofy outfit and a large witch's hat. Both of the girls looked like they couldn't be much older than thirteen.

"Ah, there you are," the girl in the hat said. "You must be Taylor. We were told you wanted an introduction to Emotional Magics."

"Are you two magical girls, then?" Taylor asked.

"That's right," the girl without a hat replied. "I'm Meagan, and this is my partner Liana. We were chosen to give you a bit of help for two reasons."

"First, we're each powered by one of the pits… or wells… that you can access," Liana began.

"And," Meagan continued, "we can provide you an important insight: light and dark magical girls can work together." After a pause, she said, "I use the Well of Will, which, according to the paperwork we received, is your largest emotional pool."

"And I take my power from the Pit of Obsession," Liana finished. "Without seeing the ring in use, we can't be sure if you're better suited for Obsession or Despair, but lets face it, of the Pits, Obsession is definitely the least worrisome, at least if you channel it correctly." Turning toward Meagan, she asked, "Isn't that right, Snookems?"

Meagan sighed. "Yes, I'm one of Liana's obsessions. The upshot of that is that I have an easier time calming her down and it makes it really easy for her to gather energy. The downside is that she's a bit… possessive."

When Taylor looked at Liana questioningly, she just shrugged. "I figured it was better than obsessing over a boy band or something. That shit can get creepy."

"You already get creepy enough as it is," Meagan said with a sigh. "Anyway, before we inadvertently scare her off the darker emotions," she started, turning to Taylor, "is there a place we can sit down and talk properly?"

"Sure," Taylor said, a little off balance by the rapid fire back and forth from the two girls. "We can use the observation room. It's got a great view of the Earth."

"Sounds good to me," Liana cheered, grabbing onto Meagan's arm and pulling her along while Taylor led the way. Once they were in the room, she commented, "That really is a nice view."

"You don't often see Earth like this," Meagan agreed. "At least not in person. It really brings things into perspective."

A moment passed quietly before Liana spoke up, "So, what made you decide to become a magical girl, anyway?"

Taylor looked over at the girl and replied, "My Earth is a bit of a shit hole, and I want to be a hero." Shrugging, she added, "I figure a year of experience and extra abilities couldn't hurt."

"Sounds reasonable," Meagan replied. "With that outlook, I can see why you're suited to draw from the Will well."

"You said something about more abilities," Liana commented. "Does that mean you can already do things?"

Taylor blushed slightly and looked down in embarrassment. "It's nothing powerful, but I can control insects."

"Really?" Liana asked. "So can I! Want to see who can control them better?"

Before Taylor could say anything, Liana was glowing softly. "What are you doing?" she asked as the crickets and ants began fighting her control. She let a few do what they were attempting before clamping down on them again. She did not need her ants climbing out of their container.

"Wow," Liana said in lieu of answering. "This is a lot harder than it should be." She began growing a little brighter and started sweating slightly she fought Taylor for control. "This is supposed to be a low mana spell!" she complained. "It's like I'm trying to control a whole herd of deer or something, and it's just a bunch of ants and stuff!" With an indignant huff, she stopped glowing. "Fine, then, be that way."

"What just happened?" Taylor asked.

"I was trying to control some of the bugs you have up here, and it was a lot harder than it should have been," Liana explained. "I could still see… something, but it didn't make all that much sense."

"You should have focused on the spider more," Taylor opined. "She has much better eyesight."

"What? Hang on a moment, I want to try something," Liana said before glowing slightly again. Taylor noticed the slight pressure of resistance coming from the spider, but that was all.

"Weird," Liana muttered. "Is that how insect senses really work?" She shook her head and promptly stopped glowing. "You see through their senses too, right?" she asked. At Taylor's nod, Liana exclaimed, "How do you not get a headache?"

Taylor shrugged. "They told me I would have been in the hospital long enough to be put in the mental ward. Apparently, starting with a few insects is easier."

"And what's your range?" Liana demanded eagerly.

"I don't know," Taylor admitted. "This station isn't long enough for me to get out of range."

"Don't worry, Taylor," Meagan cut in. "It really isn't that important right now. We should be going over your possible wells and get you set up for an empowerment ceremony."

"Right," Liana agreed, shaking herself. "Sorry about that. I tend to go off on tangents sometimes. Hyperfocusing can happen sometimes. Comes with the Pit."

"What do the two of you recommend?" Taylor asked, ignoring the comment for now but making a mental note for later.

"Well," Meagan started, "it really depends on you and your situation. All three of your potential choices can be quite powerful, though Despair can be less so. Once things start getting better, it becomes harder to draw on it for power."

"I don't think that'll be a problem for a long time," Taylor mentioned. "Earth Bet isn't the best place to live, after all.

"Ah, but you're forgetting how long you're likely to live," Meagan countered. "Our magical girl bodies don't age, after all. And, if you were smart about it, you also signed up for Infinite Telomeres, so you're going to be around for a while unless something major happens."

"Were you a contestant, too?" Taylor asked, figuring that would be the only way this girl would know about that option, even if she did seem rather young.

"No," Meagan replied, "but I've seen enough shows to get the general idea. Now, as I was saying, Despair is very hard to hold onto forever, at least if you're doing your job right and don't go rogue, which leaves Obsession and Will."

"As a bonus," Liana cut in, "Obsession has an affinity with Despair, so you can still get most of the same spells as you could with that Pit. Of course, it doesn't really matter much. Only the really powerful spells need you to have a certain Pit."

"Or Well," Meagan added. "Light emotion magical girls have almost the same set up. One main well and two wells you have an affinity for."

"I'll be honest," Liana continued, "Even though there are a lot of good magical girls who draw on negative emotions, we're at least twice as likely to go rogue. I'm not sure what would have happened with me if Meagan wasn't there for me to fixate on. If you want to go Obsession, that's fine, but you need to make sure at least one of your obsessions can keep you grounded. If you don't have that, you'll probably go rogue sooner or later, and then we'd have to kill you."

Taylor shuddered at the girl's tone. Someone who looked as young as she did should not sound that eager to kill somebody. "I don't think I have anything like that right now," Taylor admitted sadly.

"That's alright," Meagan said. "At least you know it, and are willing to admit it. So, I guess that leaves you with Will as a choice."

"And now we get to the interesting bit," Liana cheered. "Most of the time, a new magical girl is in a bit of a hurry, so they make a bunch of choices they otherwise wouldn't. You get to actually think about what you're doing, so you should be able to make much better choices."

"Now, the first question," Meagan began, "is what kind of role do you want to play on the battlefield?"

"What do you mean?" Taylor asked. "Doesn't everyone just fight?"

"Well, yes, to an extent," Liana explained. "Meagan, here, is a front line skirmisher. She gets close and personal while dodging in and out of attacks."

"And Liana is more of an Area Denial expert," Meagan continued. "She makes it hard for people to operate around her, either by cursing nearby items, using tremors to knock people down, causing distractions by controlling animals, things like that." Looking over Taylor, she asked, "So, what role would you want to have? Front line combatant, area control, scouting, general support, long range combatant? There's a lot of choices."

"It's also important to keep in mind what skills you'd like to have when you head back to your Earth," Liana added. "Half the problems people have is planning for the immediate battle while forgetting about preparing for a war."

"I don't really know," Taylor admitted. "I just want to be a hero and help make Brockton Bay a better place." She paused for a moment, thinking, "Though it sounds like staying out of direct combat would let me have the longest career and do the most good. Maybe a generalist with a long range combat focus?"

The two magical girls looked at one another before Meagan pulled a sheet out of a pocket. "Here's a list of things we can try to set up for you. There's a bunch of obscure rules and oddities to it, but we'll explain it while we go, and you can confirm it all later when you get empowered. You'll have plenty of time to come up with any specific questions on anything after we leave."

"We'll also give you a way to contact us with any questions," Liana added, "though we might not get back to you right away. Battles don't always have convenient schedules. Now, let's get planning!" With a slight cackle of glee, she bent over the paper, beckoning Taylor to look as well.

The three girls spent a good two hours discussing the different options before they had mostly exhausted Taylor's questions. Unfortunately, a good number of those questions didn't have answers currently, but Meagan and Liana promised to let Taylor know if they found answers for any of those questions. When the two magical girls made their way off of the station, Taylor was happy that she had possibly made two new friends and confident that she would not regret becoming a magical girl.

---

Once Meagan and Liana were away from the Slut Life complex and fairly assured of their privacy, Meagan turned to Liana and asked, "Why did you stop me from telling her that she'll only be able to use magic when transformed?"

Liana grinned feraly. "We both know that's not true, Meagan," she stated. "It's just stupidly difficult to concentrate correctly without the mental boosts we get from the transformation."

"It's still true enough for something like nine hundred ninety-nine out of a thousand girls, though," Meagan protested.

"Sure," Liana said with a shrug. "But they wouldn't be able to deal with what Taylor does every day. You have no idea what it's like trying to actually make sense out of what bugs see. If she can handle that mess, casting spells as a normal girl should be easy." She grinned again and added, "Do you know what the number one thing is that makes people unable to do something supposedly impossible?"

Meagan sighed but gave in. "No, what is it?" she asked.

"Being told that the thing they're going to try to do is impossible," Liana concluded. "I want to see what nonsense Taylor's going to be able to pull off, especially given what happened when I tried to control her."

"You tried to what?!" Meagan exclaimed. "Damn it, you're lucky she didn't notice!"

"I didn't try to have her do anything," Liana protested. "I just wanted to see what she saw and stuff." She shuddered briefly. "I'm not about to do that again anytime soon. I'm pretty sure if I did, my brains would end up leaking out of my ears." To herself, she mused, "I never thought someone with an eldritch abomination in their head could seem so nice..."

"What?!"

 

[Ack]

It's not been stated that she's a lawyer (if she was, she'd likely have spotted whatever is invalid in the registration form already). It's been stated that she's there to help Taylor fill out the form and understand the different options, and is a former contestant.

Click to shrink...

Actually, yes it has.

Recruitment 1.1
<SNIP>
"What different senses?" Taylor asked. "You have it in a dark box."

"That's… a fair point," the lawyer admitted. "Let's let the little guy out and see if that makes a difference." Putting action to words, she reached over and opened the box. "How's that?"

Click to shrink...

the lawyer admitted.

Click to shrink...

the lawyer admitted.

Click to shrink...

lawyer

Click to shrink...

You don't need to be a lawyer, or even understand contract law fully, to help someone select options on a premade contract form.

Now you could go with the argument that she has spotted this, and is purposefully not saying anything to ensure Taylor becomes a contestant against Taylor's will, but the author has said more than once that this is not the case,

Click to shrink...

Except that everything that Cindy is doing and saying is going against that.

and Cindy is genuinely trying to be (mostly) helpful (there was the misleading bit about Siblings after all, but the full contract might have incestuous as an option, like with the Married Couple).

Click to shrink...

Except that in the image that comes with the actual form that you read, those siblings are obviously incestuous, and really? In a setting like 'Slut Life' how else are the words 'have fun' to be understood? Every owner who doesn't want to instantly have sex with the character is described as such.

Cindy deliberately lowballed the 'siblings' option so Taylor would take them. She lied.

You know, in Taylor's situation... I'd be asking for a lawyer, preferably one not on SL's retainer. To go over what I'd already signed, as well as the full contract I'd be forced to sign.

Click to shrink...

Probably against SL's regulations somewhere.

 

[SystemSearcher]

You know, in a situation like Slut Life, I'd assume there's no need to explain what "have fun" actually means. It seems pretty darn obvious all things considered, so Cindy probably simply made a mistake rather than lie. How could she know that Taylor wouldn't realize the obvious?

 

[Ack]

"I take it you want me to convince Taylor to accept?" Cindy asked.

"If you can convince her without coercing her, that would be preferable," Ross agreed."

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I notice coercion is not off the table.

So much for being the nice guys.

Cindy's doing a lot of convincing Taylor to do stuff that's against her best interests.

 

[SystemSearcher]

I notice coercion is not off the table.

So much for being the nice guys.

Cindy's doing a lot of convincing Taylor to do stuff that's against her best interests.

Click to shrink...

Isn't that, like, the basis of business?

 

[Ack]

You know, in a situation like Slut Life, I'd assume there's no need to explain what "have fun" actually means. It seems pretty darn obvious all things considered, so Cindy probably simply made a mistake rather than lie. How could she know that Taylor wouldn't realize the obvious?

Click to shrink...

Because a) she explained the sexual aspects of the other owners, and b) the OP straight-out said she deliberately deceived Taylor on this one.

Isn't that, like, the basis of business?

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In most business, however, both parties have come to the table willingly.

And don't have coercion or even mindwipe as an option for forcing someone to do what they want.

 

[SystemSearcher]

Because a) she explained the sexual aspects of the other owners, and b) the OP straight-out said she deliberately deceived Taylor on this one.

In most business, however, both parties have come to the table willingly.

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Not necessarily. There are many, many cases when something mandatory, taxes-related or something else like that, end up trying to gaud you into getting more stuff. Hell, that one time my university told people to get Sberbank cards as entrance passes on a mandatory basis, they tried to plomp a random, non-necessary retirement program onto a bunch of tired, sleepless students.

Honestly, you see maliciousness where I see just someone trying to do their job while also not being too much of an asshole. I'm not quite sure where exactly our perspectives begin to differ.

 

[Ack]

Not necessarily. There are many, many cases when something mandatory, taxes-related or something else like that, end up trying to gaud you into getting more stuff. Hell, that one time my university told people to get Sberbank cards as entrance passes on a mandatory basis, they tried to plomp a random, non-necessary retirement program onto a bunch of tired, sleepless students.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, but in those cases, people have the option to walk away. Yes, the option is a bad one, but it's actually possible to do it. The students could've dropped out, or organised protests, or even tried to fight it legally. At the very worst, they could simply walk away and do something else.

Taylor literally has none of these options open to her. She can't leave and she can't refuse to sign the next contract. She's got a legal penalty hanging over her for signing a contract under emotional duress.

The only option she has to get out of this is suicide, and even that might not work.

She's still being shat on by everyone she encounters. Only in this case, she's being told that some of the shit doesn't stink.

 

[SystemSearcher]

Yeah, but in those cases, people have the option to walk away. Yes, the option is a bad one, but it's actually possible to do it. The students could've dropped out, or organised protests, or even tried to fight it legally. At the very worst, they could simply walk away and do something else.

Taylor literally has none of these options open to her. She can't leave and she can't refuse to sign the next contract. She's got a legal penalty hanging over her for signing a contract under emotional duress.

She's still being shat on by everyone she encounters. Only in this case, she's being told that some of the shit doesn't stink.

Click to shrink...

I'm not sure, I'd say bad option is pretty much indistinguishable from no option in this case. Or, well, in both cases.

After all, refusing to sign the contract anyway would still be a bad option. Going to jail over a legal issue is a bad option after all.

And honestly, what else can Cindy do in this case? Legally it's nothing. Hell, it might be actual official policy to conceal the Incest bit that she could do nothing with once again.

I just don't see Cindy as malicious here. She's not a good cop, she's not another layer of deceit, she's just trying to do her damn job while not being a huge asshole, and being forced against that by legal policies of her company.

 

[Guardian54]

Except that in the image that comes with the actual form that you read, those siblings are obviously incestuous, and really? In a setting like 'Slut Life' how else are the words 'have fun' to be understood? Every owner who doesn't want to instantly have sex with the character is described as such.

Cindy deliberately lowballed the 'siblings' option so Taylor would take them. She lied.

Click to shrink...

For once I must sit astride the line instead of howling from one side at the other.

Lots of siblings are naturally touchy-feely and teasing. Big Sister Breast Checks are a trolltastic-older-sister stereotype for a reason.

And when "Professional Gamer" is a job choice there is no reason at least one of Taylor's new siblings (derived from her rather distant idea of what sibling-like relationships should be like) won't be a gamer and rope her into playing video games with them (incidentally giving her IDEAS).
TBH I think that choice should like the "Married Couple" owner have an "Actively Incestuous" versus "Not Really" (i.e. you'd have to actually try to seduce them) toggle...

You know, in a situation like Slut Life, I'd assume there's no need to explain what "have fun" actually means. It seems pretty darn obvious all things considered, so Cindy probably simply made a mistake rather than lie. How could she know that Taylor wouldn't realize the obvious?

Click to shrink...

That is NOT how contract law works.
In any legal system that actually has contracts, i.e. where abducting the CEO, putting a planet-killer weapon to his less-than-planetary-durability head, and forcing him to sign over the company won't work, THAT WILL NOT WORK.

Isn't that, like, the basis of business?

Click to shrink...

It's also the basis of getting HORNETS where Cindy has probably never had HORNETS before. HORNS? Almost certainly. NETS? Possibly. HORNETS? NO.
(Inb4 "Huh, this is surprisingly delicious..." when she visits Taylor's home and is invited to dinner, with a dish made from giant hornets)

 

[Fragment off]

Just a question. As the fact that QA is half broken been discussed yet?

 

[Ack]

I'm not sure, I'd say bad option is pretty much indistinguishable from no option in this case. Or, well, in both cases.

After all, refusing to sign the contract anyway would still be a bad option. Going to jail over a legal issue is a bad option after all.

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As opposed to just about any business negotiation in the real world, where "I don't like that contract, so I'm not going to sign it" does not lead to jail time.

I'll say it again: Taylor is screwed, and Cindy's help is more pretend than real.

And honestly, what else can Cindy do in this case? Legally it's nothing. Hell, it might be actual official policy to conceal the Incest bit that she could do nothing with once again.

Click to shrink...

So, conceal a vital part of the contract that Taylor really should be allowed to understand in full before signing it? Bullshit. Why would concealing just that bit be required?

And even if it was, willingly going ahead and deceiving Taylor and not even feeling guilty about it? Says a lot about Cindy, doesn't it?

I just don't see Cindy as malicious here. She's not a good cop, she's not another layer of deceit, she's just trying to do her damn job while not being a huge asshole, and being forced against that by legal policies of her company.

Click to shrink...

She's most definitely another layer of deceit. And worse, she's pretending to be on Taylor's side while doing it. She's being the Good Cop, and either ignoring or not bothering to take note of any irregularities in the original contract while repeatedly doing her best to verbally condition Taylor with subtle threats and guilt trips (with the carrot of "hey, bugs you can play with" and "maybe if you're a good girl, I'll get you bees so you can have petty revenge on the guy who got you into this"). Without, mind you, even attempting once to convince her boss that Taylor really wouldn't be a good fit for SL and "maybe we should just void the contract and send her back to Earth" ... because she doesn't believe this. Even with all the unhappiness Taylor has shown so far, Cindy is still set on the idea that being a Slut Life contestant is actually what Taylor will want, once she's gotten used to the idea.

For once I must sit astride the line instead of howling from one side at the other.

Lots of siblings are naturally touchy-feely and teasing. Big Sister Breast Checks are a trolltastic-older-sister stereotype for a reason.

And when "Professional Gamer" is a job choice there is no reason at least one of Taylor's new siblings (derived from her rather distant idea of what sibling-like relationships should be like) won't be a gamer and rope her into playing video games with them (incidentally giving her IDEAS).

Click to shrink...

The jobs are pretty well divided into "no sex involved", "people will look at you/feel you up" and "yes, you'll be expected to have sex". They're reasonably explicit with this.

As for older sister breast checks, I wouldn't know. I'm a guy with one younger sister.

TBH I think that choice should like the "Married Couple" owner have an "Actively Incestuous" versus "Not Really" (i.e. you'd have to actually try to seduce them) toggle...

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I agree, totally.

That is NOT how contract law works.
In any legal system that actually has contracts, i.e. where abducting the CEO, putting a planet-killer weapon to his less-than-planetary-durability head, and forcing him to sign over the company won't work, THAT WILL NOT WORK.

Click to shrink...

I also agree with this.

It's also the basis of getting HORNETS where Cindy has probably never had HORNETS before. HORNS? Almost certainly. NETS? Possibly. HORNETS? NO.
(Inb4 "Huh, this is surprisingly delicious..." when she visits Taylor's home and is invited to dinner, with a dish made from giant hornets)

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Heh.

Cindy is playing Taylor while pretending to be her friend.

Calling it now: all of her manipulations are gonna be ignored and forgotten when Taylor finally gains some agency in this story. Just saying.

 

[D'znn-Xy'lll MetaChthonia]

...so the Secret Society is being pointlessly obstructionistic (are they Cauldron by any chance?). Hope they got Accelerator as the hacker wince he would be the only one that could do it (also I would be very surprised if the Entities didn't put some form of defense against the exact thing they're planning for QA just because).

 

[Guardian54]

As opposed to just about any business negotiation in the real world, where "I don't like that contract, so I'm not going to sign it" does not lead to jail time.

So, conceal a vital part of the contract that Taylor really should be allowed to understand in full before signing it? Bullshit. Why would concealing just that bit be required?
And even if it was, willingly going ahead and deceiving Taylor and not even feeling guilty about it? Says a lot about Cindy, doesn't it?

She's most definitely another layer of deceit. And worse, she's pretending to be on Taylor's side while doing it. She's being the Good Cop, and either ignoring or not bothering to take note of any irregularities in the original contract while repeatedly doing her best to verbally condition Taylor with subtle threats and guilt trips (with the carrot of "hey, bugs you can play with" and "maybe if you're a good girl, I'll get you bees so you can have petty revenge on the guy who got you into this"). Without, mind you, even attempting once to convince her boss that Taylor really wouldn't be a good fit for SL and "maybe we should just void the contract and send her back to Earth" ... because she doesn't believe this. Even with all the unhappiness Taylor has shown so far, Cindy is still set on the idea that being a Slut Life contestant is actually what Taylor will want, once she's gotten used to the idea.

The jobs are pretty well divided into "no sex involved", "people will look at you/feel you up" and "yes, you'll be expected to have sex". They're reasonably explicit with this.

As for older sister breast checks, I wouldn't know. I'm a guy with one younger sister.

Calling it now: all of her manipulations are gonna be ignored and forgotten when Taylor finally gains some agency in this story. Just saying.

Click to shrink...

1. Force majeur by a laughably technologically superior society is a thing. Also, Taylor WAS interested in getting more superpowers, so she's not COMPLETELY unwilling (and probably some part of her feels that having an audience who's interested in seeing her is a self-esteem booster

2. I think this is Idiot Ball by the SL organizers.

3. Meta reason: Cindy has read Worm and tons of Worm fanfiction, recognizes Taylor Hebert, and wants to boost her up with as many powers and good social experiences as she can.

4. Yeah, but the siblings are not explicit with things, unlike the Married Couple, hence I'm saying they COULD well be the "non-incestuous" type.

5. Same here. I wouldn't know but I've seen it stereotyped enough that there's probably some level of truth in there somewhere and same-sex siblings are much more likely to roughhouse and tease physically (though if I had a brother instead I'd keep my distance because young males tend to punch and kick for real, and I for one absolutely hate physical contact so I'd expect similar of a brother)

6. Taylor's pretty tunnel vision about lots of things, revenge included, so... yeah, probably.

 

[SystemSearcher]

...so the Secret Society is being pointlessly obstructionistic (are they Cauldron by any chance?). Hope they got Accelerator as the hacker wince he would be the only one that could do it (also I would be very surprised if the Entities didn't put some form of defense against the exact thing they're planning for QA just because).

Click to shrink...

There's one more hacker who is even more ridiculous than Accelerator. I can't say who it is, but there's definitely one.

 

[CrimsonFate]

Magical bug girl Taylor here we come. Wonder if Taylor get convinced to become a psychic because of finding out her power is a alien supercomputer in a different dimension.

 

[Guardian54]

Magical bug girl Taylor here we come. Wonder if Taylor get convinced to become a psychic because of finding out her power is a alien supercomputer in a different dimension.

Click to shrink...

"When the power said 'talk with your AI', I did not think my AI would be quite this large... but I took it for compensation for the contract fuckup anyhow, and now I can talk my power into not mashing my anger and aggression buttons so much, yay!" Taylor Hebert, in deadpan tone.

 

[Ack]

1. Force majeur by a laughably technologically superior society is a thing. Also, Taylor WAS interested in getting more superpowers, so she's not COMPLETELY unwilling (and probably some part of her feels that having an audience who's interested in seeing her is a self-esteem booster

Click to shrink...

In canon, when she slept with Brian for the first time, she was irritated that he covered them with darkness because she knew he could see her.

Also, if one society is able to enforce their will to the point of saying "Sign this contract or go to jail", contracts no longer mean anything. They're just cosmetic window-dressing. At this point, everyone not part of the People In Charge are just serfs.

2. I think this is Idiot Ball by the SL organizers.

Click to shrink...

Cindy's got a very one-sided idiot ball. Anything she wants to do to help Taylor, she can't see her way to doing, but she's perfectly okay with using loaded language to condition her to accept the situation.

Apparently she's a lawyer with no idea how to interpret contracts ... or she's just decided not to look at the contract because there's no possible way her lawyerly training could help Taylor get out of the obviously dodgy contract given to Taylor by the obviously dodgy colleague.

3. Meta reason: Cindy has read Worm and tons of Worm fanfiction, recognizes Taylor Hebert, and wants to boost her up with as many powers and good social experiences as she can.

Click to shrink...

For a very weird definition of 'good social experiences'. "Yeah, let's give her a whole heap more of 'useless/manipulative/asshole authority figures' to deal with. Oh, and have her meet her supposed peers who then try to MIND CONTROL her without her permission!"

Sending her home to spend a week in the psych ward (in fact, that would be nullified, now that she KNOWS she has powers, and has no mental problems from controlling bugs) would be FAR preferable to the crap they are piling on her now.

4. Yeah, but the siblings are not explicit with things, unlike the Married Couple, hence I'm saying they COULD well be the "non-incestuous" type.

Click to shrink...

This is Slut Life. Do you really, honestly believe that? Especially with the picture supplied?

5. Same here. I wouldn't know but I've seen it stereotyped enough that there's probably some level of truth in there somewhere and same-sex siblings are much more likely to roughhouse and tease physically (though if I had a brother instead I'd keep my distance because young males tend to punch and kick for real, and I for one absolutely hate physical contact so I'd expect similar of a brother)

6. Taylor's pretty tunnel vision about lots of things, revenge included, so... yeah, probably.

Click to shrink...

Which will irritate me considerably.

 

[TMTMTM]

"I didn't try to have her do anything," Liana protested. "I just wanted to see what she saw and stuff."

Click to shrink...

Oh wow that could have ended so fucking horribly.