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ddiitps-geir · 5 years

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Branding - driver staten med den slags?

Forelesning (på norsk) med Bente Helen Stinnes fra Helsedirektoratet.

Jobber for at:

Flere har god helse og redusert forskjell

Pasienter møter en helhetlig helsetjeneste

Helsedirektoratets rolle:

Faglig rådgiver

Iverksette vedtatt politikk (endrer seg mye ved regjeringsskifter)

Forvalte eksisterende lov - og regelverk

Helhetlig ansvar for den nasjonale helseberedskapen

Brand / Merkevare:

Visjon: God helse gode liv

Verdier: ferdighet, åpenhet, samarbeid

Kjerneprodukt: nasjonale faglige retningslinjer

Viktigste jobb: innholdsforvaltning, tilgjengeliggjøre informasjon for å sikre pasientsikkerhet gjennom API.

Helsedirektoratet tilbyr nøytral informasjon og lar folket selv få velge om det ønsker å følge/bruke denne informasjonen. Om folk vet sitt eget beste er annet spørsmål. Bente refererer til forskning som viser at 95 % av alle våre valg er ubevisste. Da får meg til å tenke tenker at det spørs hva som defineres som et valg. Men dette betyr at Helsedirektoratet skal skape tillit og troverdighet, på tross av at de også står bak upopulære tiltak. De opererer i et marked og må derfor være synlige.

Produkter og merkevarer:

Nøkkelhullsmerket: foreligger høyere troverdighet ved at myndighetene ligger bak, men det er ikke viktig at Helsedirektoratet er bak, ingen poeng.

Slutta: blir ansett som en suksess.

Bare du: Ny tjeneste hvor flere tiltak/produkter som kan hjelpe borgere med å endre levevaner tilbys på et sted. Det kan dog være problematisk å blande brands da sterke merkevarer (slik som Slutta) kan assosieres med andre svakere merkevarer. Problematisk kan også de ulike målgruppene være. Kanskje noen av disse ikke vil assosieres med hverandre, da de ikke anser egne “problemer” på likt nivå med f. eks. røyking.

Politikk:

Helsedirektoratet kan foreslår løsninger for departementer, men som regel utføres arbeid på politisk bestilling.

F. eks: nøytral snusbokser: Kunnskapsbasert tiltak, vanskelig å måle effekt, men mindre identitetsmarkør (ihvertfall ved brands)

Interessante punkter:

Kan statlig branding oppfattes som propaganda?

Tvang: ved upopulære tiltak elsker folk på trass.

I sitt arbeid for folk beste er Helsedirektoratet villige til å utføre “drøye” tiltak/reklame som er verdt oppmerksomheten.

Interessant at Helsedirektoratet står for upopulære tiltak, og at de ikke er opptatt å fremme seg selv eller bli likt. De arbeider for det de mener er det beste for folks helse

Motivations, requirements and concerns for working in the public sector:

The class in general tended to be very concerned for stagnating in the public sector, not learning anything new and becoming some “office rat”. Most of us had our believes and prejudice towards bureaucrats, and were afraid that we would have to “defend” our field as designers. Even worse, perhaps we need to fight this battle alone.

Others pointed out the possibility to gain deep insight in an organization, becoming an expert in one field and making a change from within.

Sara: “trust the way you do it, is the right thing for the specific situation”

Min note of the day:

Dont become a workshop monkey (the workshop trap).

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psy11718 · 7 years

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Plan for fagdag onsdag 22. november / 6. desember

22. november: Fagdag og fagsamtaler for gruppe 1 (B066): Dere trenger kun å møte til oppsatt tidspunkt (se oversikt over tider under*) på fagdagen onsdag 22.11. Resten av tiden jobber dere videre med caseoppgave som dere får utdelt/finner på Itslearning/Tumblr i ca 2 timer.

6. desember: Fagdag og fagsamtaler for gruppe 2 (Filosofen): Temaet for fagsamtalene er det samme for dere, men dere får deres tidspunkt og opplegg for resten av fagdagen når gruppene er fordelt og det nærmer seg.

Endringer i tidspunkt og forsinkelser kan forekomme. Møt opp 10 minutter før oppsatt tid på Tangen i 3. etg.

Forberedelse til fagsamtalene:

Forbered en kort muntlig introduksjon på 2 minutter om hovedtemaet MENNESKETS UTVIKLING. Dere velger selv om dere vil gjøre dette sammen eller hver for dere. Denne delen er først og fremst for at du skal komme inn i temaet og snakke dere litt «varme».

Forbered deg deretter på en fagsamtale etter presentasjonen (inntil 20 minutter). Fokus vil være på følgende kompetansemål:

Du skal kunne…….

gjøre rede for ulike utviklingsområder knyttet til teorier om menneskets utvikling fra unnfangelse til død

definere personlighet, og gjengi ulike personlighetsteorier

gjøre rede for betydningen av arv og miljø i menneskets utvikling

*Tidspunkt for fagsamtalene: (samtalene foregår på det største grupperommet i 3. etg, bak.316-317)

Onsdag 22.11:

08:30: Samira, Mikkel og Ahmed

08:50: Noman og Dilan

09:15: Maryam og Josefine

10:00: Sander, Elise og Leon

10:20: Zozan og Nyet

10:40: Zalina og Vinitha

12:00: Aisha, Munnaza og Asmaa

12:20: Sara og Ayaan

12:40: Amber og Omayma

13:00: Jon, Yassin og Quais

13:30: Zeinab

Torsdag 23.11:

11:30: Amal & Hinna

Mandag 27.11:

11:30: Sandra, Navera og Elise

NB! Dere kan bytte tidspunkt innbyrdes, men må da gi beskjed på forhånd til: [email protected]

Vurderingskriterier:

Innhold:

Form:

Under middels: Eleven kan presentere og samtale på en forståelig måte og svare på enkelte oppfølgingsspørsmål.

Middels: Eleven kan presentere og samtale saklig og sammenhengende. Eleven kan svare på en del oppfølgingsspørsmål.

Over middels: Eleven kan presentere og samtale saklig og med god struktur. Eleven svarer utfyllende på oppfølgingsspørsmål og tar selv initiativ i samtalen.

LYKKE TIL :-)

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huginmuninorg-blog · 7 years

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Marte Røyeng

Av: Andrea Tangrild Rustad Nymoen

Torsdag 9. februar spiller Marte Røyeng sin slippkonsert for den nye EPen “No One”. Vi møttes over en rosinbolle om EPen, pop-sjangeren og skillet mellom anonymitet og synlighet.

Bilde: Sara Angelica Spilling

- Kan du fortelle litt om hva EPen handler om?

Den handler nettopp om det som er inni og som ikke synes utenpå. Man tror kanskje at en forteller masse med et lite ord og at alle skjønner hva du tenker på, men så er det ikke så enkelt.

Skillet mellom synlighet og anonymitet er et gjennomgående tema i EPen. Alle låtene handler på en måte om det å være forhindret, eller riktigere, det å hindre seg selv fra å komme fram med det man har og det man er. For eksempel handler “While You Can” om det som forsvinner og tæres vekk.

Det synes litt på coveret også, som ble laget sammen med Sunniva Melby, der vi lekte litt med ulike uttrykk for det å være “hemmelig”.

- Også har du fått bra tilbakemeldinger av både GAFFA og Deichmanske!

Ja, det var bra! Jeg begynte å skrive låter da jeg var 14, og holdt låtene mine hemmelig fram til jeg gikk på folkehøyskolen. Så det er nytt å få tilbakemeldinger i det hele tatt - og ekstra moro at de er så positive!

-For når er de låtene på EPen egentlig skrevet?

“No one” tror jeg at jeg skrev for tre år siden cirka, men de to andre er ganske nye.

- Er det en detalj fra EPen som du vil trekke frem?

Det jeg synes er kult med EPen er at det er så mange som er med og spiller! Jeg har jo det kjente og kjære i bandet mitt, men så kommer Thom Hell som produsent helt utenfra med et helt nytt blikk på hva jeg lager. Og ikke minst får han inn noen andre musikere til å spille på “While you Can” som blir miksen med det jeg kjente fra før og det helt uforutsigbare nye. Det var litt av et lykketreff og egentlig en miniversjon av temaet “å åpne seg opp”.

- Hvem er det som ble med?

Det er Olaf Olsen på trommer, og det kom egentlig til når jeg og bandet drev å lagde pre-prod demoer, så satt Sander Eriksen (bassisten i bandet) og sa “jeg hører egentlig for meg BigBang”-trommer her. Også lagra jeg det i hodet, og fortalte av en eller annen grunn det til Thomas mens vi hadde vårt første møte om musikken min. Så sier han plutselig “jeg kan jo høre med han, da”, for han kjenner jo Olaf! Det var tøft. Er dritfan av BigBang. Også synes jeg det var utrolig kult med han som spiller en hel strykekvartett for seg selv - Ole Henrik Moe - som improviserte ved siden av mine arrangementer. Det ga et ekstra særpreg på EPens siste låt.

Intervjuet fortsetter under bildet.

Bilde: John Nordahl

- Nesten hver gang jeg leser om deg, eller til og med hører deg på konsert, nevnes Joni Mitchell. Er det tilfeldig?

Nei, jeg har jo hørt masse på henne. Hun blir ofte nevnt når noen står og synger med gitar og en kvinnestemme, men jeg tror det kanskje er noe med hele stemningen hennes som har smitta over på meg. Jeg beundrer hvordan hun synger om mer enn bare personlige historier, men får inn andre temaer på en veldig samlende måte.

- I anmeldelsen fra Deichmanske nevnes det at du holder høyere nivå enn etablerte artister i samme sjanger. Hva tror du om popens stilling i dag?

Det er et vanskelig spørsmål. Jeg har noen tanker om det, selvom jeg ikke vil være noen “trendanalytiker”. Det virker som artistene tør å gå inn i noe dystrere, kanskje ut av nødvendighet for hvordan ting står akkurat nå. For eksempel Susanne Sundfør.

- Det er ofte at pop blander glade melodier og dystre tekster

Det er det absolutt! Fy søren, i dag kom jeg over noen nye låter av han Father John Misty. Det var sterke saker. Han virker som en kulturobservatør som klarer å beskrive det som ikke funker på en passe aggressiv måte. Det er ikke rein protestsang, noe det ikke er så mye av innenfor pop-universet.

- Det gjør det nok lettere å høre på.

Ja, man skal ikke bli slått i bakken og ligge å skjelve i tre dager av depresjon av en pop-låt. Det er mye nå som kan gi en apati eller en desillusjon, og apropos følelsen av å ikke synes så synes jeg musikk har veldig mye makt i sin måte å skape fellesskap og samhold. Hvem som får synes og får påvirke er til tider litt tilfeldig.

“While You Can” kan høres ut som en kjærlighetssang, men den beskriver også en håpløshet rundt det å ha ord som ikke hjelper eller når frem. Det er som om den som kommer med løsningene egentlig ikke er i den tiden som du prøver å fikse.

- Samtidig virker den som en tydelig oppfordring til å snakke

Ja, det er riktig. Det handler igjen om at popen ikke skal dra deg ned i gjørma. Så er det en oppfordring til å holde hodet over vannet og tørre å heve stemmen.

Intervjuet fortsetter under bildet

Bilde: Sara Angelica Spilling

- “My heart jumped for no reason - for no one” synges det i tittelsporet “No One”. Som jeg forstår den handler den om et begrep om “ingen” i en form for ensomhet som fanger oss i en dyster situasjon. Kan du fortelle litt om denne låta?

EPen starter med den fullstendige innestengtheten med beskrivelsen av at du ser noe som skjer og du reagerer veldig på det, men så kommer det ikke til uttrykk. Se for deg at du ser noen sklir på andre sida av gata, man vil jo egentlig reagere, men mange i dag ser heller bort eller på mobilen. Jeg tenker at det er mye vi kan late som vi ikke kan forholde oss til, selvom det ville vært mer tro mot en selv om vi hadde det motet til å gi oss til kjenne.

Hvis en person begynner å være modig og tør å folde seg ut i verden så smitter jo det veldig fort. Vi vil vel helst at det vi gjør skal bety noe for noen, og være tilkobla andre.

- Og så kommer The Key som viser at “ingen” kan være trygt og godt.

Åh, ja, jeg leste nettopp et intervju med Agnes Obel hvor hun snakker om at det er noe i kulturen vår som får oss til å være så gjennomsiktige og avslørende som mulig, som jeg ikke synes at nødvendigvis er så bra. Noen ganger vil man være “ingen”, man kan ikke være fullt synlig hele tiden heller.

- Så det handler om å kunne være seg selv, men at det samtidig er nødvendig å se omgivelsene?

Ja det er en god beskrivelse. Man finner ikke seg selv uten omgivelsene. Så det er to-sidigheten med å være “ingen”.

- Har du planer videre?

Skal hvertfall i studio, og så slippes de to neste videoene i serien. Vi lager jo rett og slett en visuell EP, som bare skal vise enda tydeligere hva som ligger i låtene. Det har tatt timesvis med prating og historiedeling for å skape det universet der.

Jeg tror jeg aldri har vært interessert i å lage “radio-låter”, og har skjønt at ikke alle må på radioen heller. Man må finne sitt sted, og jeg tror mitt er scenen. Ironisk nok.

- Helt til slutt: Hvor får vi tak i EPen?

På alle mulige obskure digitale musikkplattformer. Kanskje kommer det en fysisk versjon etterhvert, får se.

#intervju

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seputarbisnis · 7 years

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Ribuan Mahasiswa Gelar Jambore untuk Jaga Kebhinekaan

Jakarta (SIB)-.Sebanyak 3.000 mahasiswa dari sekitar 500 kampus di seluruh Indonesia akan menggelar Jambore Nasional Mahasiswa Indonesia di Cibubur, Jakarta Timur, pada 4 hingga 6 Februari 2017. Jambore tersebut dimaksudkan untuk menyamakan persepsi mengenai kebhinekaan di Indonesia dan peneguhan komitmen untuk menjaga dan menjalankan ideologi Pancasila. Ketua Panitia Jambore Nasional, Septian (dari Universitas Muhammadiyah, Tangerang) dalam keterangan pers bersama di Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, Kamis (2/2) mengatakan, saat ini ada ancaman yang cukup serius terhadap NKRI, ideologi Pancasila, dan kebhinekaan. "Situasi bangsa ini jadi terpecah karena isu SARA. Padahal, pendiri bangsa terdiri dari berbagai suku, agama, dan asal usul lainnya," kata Septian. Pelaksanaan pemilihan kepala daerah (pilkada) serentak membuat pasangan calon (paslon) dan tim sukses (timses) berupaya menggaet suara pemilih dengan berbagai cara. Namun, mereka juga memainkan isu SARA yang membuat masyarakat terkotak-kotak karena latar belakang SARA. Para peserta jambore akan meminta aparat penegak hukum untuk bertindak tegas kepada siapa pun yang mempermainkan isu SARA. Namun, pada saat bersamaan, mahasiswa juga harus memainkan peran menjadi bingkai kebhinekaan di NKRI. "Kita tidak bisa mengintervensi Tuhan. Kita tidak pernah bisa menolak apa yang Tuhan inginkan. Apakah jadi orang Tionghoa, Batak, Jawa, Dayak, dan sebagainya. Kita tak bisa mengintervensi apa pun. Kita harus bisa menerima dan menghargai apa pun yang ada," kata Wakil Ketua Panitia Pelaksana Jambore, Egi Hendrawan dari Universitas Pakuan Bogor, Jawa Barat. Sejak Oktober 2016, kata Egi Hendrawan, mahasiswa sudah berinisiatif membentuk posko relawan penjaga NKRI di Universitas Mpu Tantular, Jakarta. Hingga saat ini setidaknya posko tersebut sudah terbentuk di 100 kampus di seluruh Indonesia. "Kita melihat ada pihak tertentu yang ingin mengganti Pancasila dan menolak kebhinekaan di NKRI. Di situ kita harus memainkan peran. Mahasiswa harus menjadi menjadi pelindung bagi korban SARA," tegasnya. Menurut Septian, kegiatan jambore itu bukan kegiatan politik, tetapi berangkat dari keprihatinan atas situasi yang ada saat ini. Sangat disayangkan kalau energi dan potensi anak bangsa habis untuk memikirkan masalah SARA yang harusnya sudah dituntaskan oleh pendiri bangsa. Dalam jambore nanti, ditambahkan Septian, peserta akan melakukan kajian ilmiah tentang Pancasila, NKRI serta kebhinekaan yang hasilnya bisa disampaikan kepada publik dan pemerintah. Isworo dari Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Jakarta yang berperan sebagai penghubung peserta jambore mengatakan, sekitar 500 kampus yang terlibat dalam kegiatan tersebut berasal dari 20 provinsi. Masing-masing kampus akan mengirimkan 5 wakil. Inisator kegiatan ini berasal dari elemen mahasiswa yang berada di DKI Jakarta, Banten dan Jawa Barat. Saat ini jumlah peserta telah terkonfirmasi dan sedang dalam perjalanan dari daerah masing-masing menuju Cibubur, Jakarta Timur. Tugas dan peran mahasiswa untuk memberi pemahaman terhadap masyarakat tentang bahaya dan ancaman jika membiarkan sejumlah pihak terus mengulik-ulik masalah SARA terutama dalam kaitannya dengan pemilihan kepala daerah (pilkada) atau pemilu. (SP/h) http://dlvr.it/NH2qTX

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thenugking · 4 years

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Grand Academy For Future Villains II: Attack of the Sequel, Chapter 11: Fall of Chapter Eleven. A commentary for Three.

General CW for the whole thing: parental abuse, internalised dehumanisation as a trauma response. Three’s not doing well.

Specific CW for this chapter: bad self care/mental breakdown

Game 1

Game 2

Alternatively, read on Google Docs here

***

LOADING PANIC MODE…

DO YOU REALIZE THE AUDITORS HAVE THE POWER TO REMOVE THIS SCHOOL FROM ITS STANDING OUTSIDE OF REALITY?! WE'D NEVER SURVIVE! AAAAAAUGH!

Well. Yes. That’s the thing Three’s been trying desperately not to think about this whole year, the reason they need the Academy to keep it’s accreditation. The lessons are valuable, the buildings are incredible, but they could stand to lose all of that. They don’t know that they could stand to lose DarkBoard.

The day of the tenure evaluation, you're summoned during lunch hour to the School Head's office—the real one, not the decoy used for the house challenge. Select members of the senior faculty are seated around a semi-circular marble table, before which stand the three candidates for a permanent position with the Grand Academy for Future Villains: your mother, her hair gone entirely white but splendidly dressed in flame-colored robes, Professor Ulik, in a well-tailored business suit, and Professor Fen, looking like their usual self (selves?) in—or possibly consisting of—a tall heap of sodden mouldering fabric. In the shadows behind them stand Lord X and Ms. Goul, and you feel the dry tickle in your throat that means the Voice in the Void is present for the proceedings as well.

"Don't think we've forgotten about you," you say to yourself, and cough as you realize it's the Voice in the Void speaking through you again. You close your hand on the envelope in your pocket, grateful that it doesn't seem to be able to read minds. What happened to Val? you wonder. But there's no sign on the impassive faces of the auditors.

With an electrical buzzing, the School Head appears over the semi-circular table. You can see each of the contending professors grow focused and alert as it begins to speak.

It gives a long speech in its usual vein about the importance of the Academy, and the importance of the faculty to the Academy, and the personal contributions of each of the candidates standing before it.

"We have three exceptional candidates for a single permanent faculty position this year," intones the Head, "of which one will be selected and the other two discarded in disgrace like the vermin they are. Let us consider each of them in turn. Professor Maedryn is an Academy alumna from the Science Fiction house, a conqueror of multiple worlds in her own narrative, and the parent of a current student you all have reason to be familiar with—Three. She is the central intelligence that commands the maintenance staff, the Faculty Sponsor for Science Fiction, and the current acting head of the Evil Genius department. She is also historically a substantial contributor to the Academy's operating fund."

Your mother smiles, nodding slightly to the other faculty members.

"Professor Fen is a graduate student who has been working toward a doctorate in Cosmic Horror since before earthly measurements of time were conceived or devised. Fen has served as a lab assistant to previous Evil Genius faculty members, and…" The Head seems at a loss to say anything else definitive about Fen. "And would be very cheap to maintain. If Fen is not selected for a permanent faculty position, Fen may continue indefinitely as a lab assistant, or may crawl down into the dungeons for lurking purposes."

Fen wobbles.

"Finally, Professor Ulik has numerous high-profile evil architecture design-build projects under her belt. She is the Faculty Sponsor for Thriller and is the project manager for the current landscape redesign on the Academy quad. She participated in the internal disturbances last year, and has been demonstrating her complete contrition and re-education over the course of this year."

Ulik bows briefly from the waist.

"In consultation with the senior members of the Academy faculty, the members of the Board of Visitors and Overlords, and the composite intelligence of DarkBoard, we are now ready to announce our decision."

Three very much would like to think the auditors have forgotten them. Why haven’t the auditors forgotten them? All they’ve been doing is standing in the background while Ulik impresses the auditors, and giving a mediocre performance in the genre tournament. They don’t even have perfect grades any more! If there was a positive side to their grades slipping, it should be that Three is now completely unnoticeable. This has to be Val’s fault. Did Val tell the auditors they made Three the Academy’s fatal weakness? And why? Three doesn’t matter! Why does anyone imagine they matter at all?

Onto the tenure candidates. Three is glad that the Head does not seem to place much value on having Fen as a tenured professor, but also that they’ll be allowed to remain here even without tenure. They feel a lot of sympathy for Fen and would prefer that helping Ulik didn’t mean potentially hurting them.

The competition really seems to be between Maedryn and Ulik though, and they both have more to lose if they fail. Three doesn’t want to imagine the consequences of Maedryn’s wrath if that happens--either for the Academy or for themself, personally. Ulik will lose at least her job, and quite likely her life, too. Three is relieved the Head makes no mention of dismemberment, though.They hope, desperately, that even if she doesn’t receive tenure, Ulik will have proven her loyalty enough to avoid that.

As for Ulik’s complete contrition and re-education… it’s not as though Three and Ulik talk about the rebel college, or anti-heroism, or the fact that Professor Mortwain’s still suspended in the courtyard, but they’re still not entirely sure Ulik is all that contrite or re-educated. What they are sure about is that Ulik is smart and practical, that people sometimes go along with all sorts of things they don’t agree with to protect themselves, and that a lot of villains are egotistical enough not to notice the difference between that and genuine agreement.

"Professor Ulik, congratulations."

The smile of pleasure that lights Professor Ulik's face makes you almost smile yourself to see it.

"And congratulations are also due to Three, Ulik's teaching assistant this year, whom we have with us today. Your master has ascended, young student, and you will ascend with her."

Three has learnt to be very good at keeping their face blank, but this is certainly a time they struggle with that. Smiling that Ulik received tenure while Maedryn is present is completely out of the question, but they are internally delighted. For a moment, at least, before remembering they will now have to deal with Maedryn’s reaction.

That's the kind of laugh that even other villains know to back away from. Ulik is already inching toward the shelter of the marble table. You can't see Fen at all.

"Tenure!" Your mother's laughter lasts a full minute and a half. She reaches up to her head, and without even wincing, rips out the shiny metal cortical amplifier that had been embedded in her skull. She tosses it into a corner. "Well that means I won't be needing that any more, will I."

From the halls outside you hear a strange sound. Thudding. Clattering. Your mother's newly mindless maintenance staff dropping their tools. But Professor Maedryn turns to you, green fire kindling in her eyes. "And…I think you've made it quite clear I won't be needing you."

She advances toward you, a wild and deadly rage written on her face. You recognize a villainous breakdown when you see it.

Three knows Maedryn better than maybe anyone, but they’ve never seen her like this before. She’s destroyed planets in fits of fury, but she’s always retained control over herself. Even with how concerned they were getting about her, even though they and Sona kept having to remind her to sleep and eat, it never really occurred to them that Maedryn was capable of just… breaking down. It terrifies them. Not just because they’re in genuine danger from her now, and for once she doesn’t have a use for them, but because their entire worldview is based around the single truth that Maedryn has complete control over them. And if Maedryn’s not in control, where does that leave Three?

I struggled with Three’s decision here. When Maedryn threatens you, you can call your teacher for help, and if you have over 60% on the tenure track (which Three does), they defend you. And die for you. It would be narratively fitting to have Three’s mentor die at the start of the final act. There’s some lovely symbolism to be found in Three’s mother figure defending them from their actual mother. But I’m still hoping we’ll have two more games/years of plot, and if that’s the case, I feel it might be better to kill Ulik (or at least tease killing her, I’m not sure how willing I am to actually go through with it) later down the line, when Three is closer to being a full-blown hero. I might go back and change this decision in future. It depends on what works best with what a third and fourth game give us. Or if I plan out an imaginary third and fourth game. Or if I plan out a longer, more final ending to the second one.

In any case, Three just falls into begging and grovelling and reminding Maedryn how very useful they can be, sounding far more panicky than they would really like. They think it’s working. They don’t know for sure, since Professor Gk brings down the ceiling to contain Maedryn. Three… is not entirely sure where to go from here.

Ms. Goul and Lord X are sitting by themselves in the Faculty Lounge when you arrive. There's no one else in the room. Is this the interview that you were warned about? Where is Val?

"Three. Please sit down."

There's nowhere to sit; all the chairs were removed and the three auditors are occupying the only two spots on the sofa and a nebulous position in the school's collective subconscious. The auditors are taunting you. This can't be a good sign.

You remain standing. With an effort of will, you keep from touching the letter in your pocket.

"Before we take the results of our deliberations to the whole Academy," says Ms. Goul, pressing her fingertips together, "we thought you should witness the full power of the auditing committee of the Board of Visitors and Overlords."

So the final auditor has arrived! But where—

"Our fourth member." Lord X waves a hand at the bookshelf-covered wall. It begins to revolve, and through the door walks a familiar figure.

At first you can hardly believe it.

Three absolutely does not remain standing. They were given an order, and are not going to disobey the most powerful people imaginable. My first thought was that they sit on the floor, but thinking about it further? They kneel. They want to show obedience and subservience, that they are not a threat and that they acknowledge the auditors as far greater than them. It’s also a versatile position from which they can easily spring up, or roll out of the way, if needed.

As for the fourth auditor… I mean, in-game, I get Val, but out of the two options, one of them just works much better.

Phil?!

"Three, you old sinner! They told you'd been messing about with the muckety-mucks and I didn't believe it!" Your old friend slaps you on the back, ruffles your hair, punches you in the arm hard enough to hurt.

"Phil? But how—I thought you—"

"Expelled from the Academy with extreme prejudice? Oh to be sure, to be sure. But you know me." Phil flashes a winning smile, the smile that had seen him through three years of determined slacking at the Academy. "People like me, we only fall up."

You'd known Phil's family was powerful. But powerful enough to ensure Phil a spot on the Board of Visitors and Overlords?

"I'm more a visitor than an overlord," Phil admits, perching on the arm of the chair and putting an incongruous arm around Lord X. "Very junior member, of course, but they thought I might have some specific expertise in this matter. I told them I'd only taken the position because I'd been told there was no work whatever involved, so I'm very displeased about it all. But hey, I got to see you! And no hard feelings about the heartless betrayal. It was the easiest thing to do, in your position, and I don't blame you for it at all."

Three is surprised, and relieved, and delighted enough to see Phil that they don’t even tell him not to touch their hair. They aren’t sure whether they believe there are no hard feelings. With anyone else, they wouldn’t. With Phil, it could easily be true. Either way worries them.

Ms. Goul coughs and sets three massive binders on the coffee table.

"We've been conferring on the question of the continuing accreditation of the Grand Academy for Future Villains. We are currently divided. I say the state of the management and educational standards at the school does not merit our accreditation of the body. Lord X says it does. And the Voice in the Void says—"

Phil's mouth falls open and a blast of white noise pours out.

"Yes, thank you, Voice," continues Ms. Goul, "but this is hardly conducive to resolving our debate. It comes down to Phil. I know you'll want to make a careful review of the evidence that we've assembled over the course of year in order to determine whether the Board of Visitors and Overlords can extend recognition to—"

"No," Phil says.

Well. That wasn’t entirely unexpected. Nor can Three entirely blame him, after the events at the start of the year. Back then, seeing Phil flung out of the Academy had inspired Three to take initiative and put themself at risk to protect Ulik, whatever the danger. And now he’s back, and his decision could cost DarkBoard their life. And whatever the danger, Three will not let that happen.

#I hold the Academy's fatal weakness. I am the Academy's fatal weakness. I invite them to reconsider their decision.

#three #marsh ocs #grand academy for future villains #choice of games #darkboard #sara ulik #maedryn #gavril philippe des anges dechus

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thenugking · 4 years

Text

Grand Academy For Future Villains II: Attack of the Sequel, Chapter 5: Bride of Chapter Five. A commentary for Three.

General CW for the whole thing: parental abuse, internalised dehumanisation as a trauma response. Three’s not doing well.

No specific warnings for this chapter except for a typo my friends have been teasing me about for weeks.

Game 1

Game 2

Chapter 0 | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

Alternatively, read on Google Docs here

***

"Well obviously," says Professor Ulik, faintly irritated. "I thought you were a bit cleverer than that,Three, I really did. Yes, but specifically I need you to make sure that one of my classes is on the auditor's schedule. You may use whatever methods you please to get it there. The less I know, the better."

Her message communicated, Professor Ulik returns to her papers. You begin to consider your situation. This would be an unparalleled opportunity to ensure Professor Ulik's selection for a tenured position and what else are you here for, anyway?

But how to get an audience with the newly-arrived auditor?

#Val's on the Board of Visitors and Overlords. I'm going to consult zir about this situation.

This isn’t particularly helpful to Three’s intention to stay as far away from the auditors as possible. Their first plan is still to ask DarkBoard if they’re able to alter Goul’s schedule, but when DarkBoard gives a foreboding speech about how they shouldn’t meddle in forces far beyond their control, (Three is pretty sure DarkBoard’s scared of the auditors but don’t want to admit it,) they realise they’re going to have to talk to these people. This hopefully won’t be overly dangerous, after all, they are excellent at being helpful to important people, and tend to be good at quickly working out the level of grovelling important people prefer, so they’re unlikely to annoy the auditors. The danger that comes with just being around important, powerful people is inevitable, but they hope they can avoid the worst by appearing as a mere supporting character in Ulik’s narrative, unnoticeable to the auditors underneath all her achievements.

The best place to start with this is Val. Scorpius told Three ze was on the Board of Overseers and, while Three has been trying to interact with Val as little as possible, ze’s at least someone they’re able to get an audience with. And--despite a slight annoyance about Scorpius spilling zir secrets--Val apparently either likes them enough, or thinks they’re plot relevant enough, to help.

Ze is, however, going to point out that meeting with the Auditors isn’t the kind of thing people with no narrative weight do. It doesn’t matter what reason Three gives--do they think there isn’t a story in an underdog brave enough to put themself in the firing line of powerful villains they’re frightened of, just out of loyalty to their wise and supportive mentor? And Val has a feeling this isn’t the first time Three’s done this. Three informs them that they are not a hero, or an underdog, or special in any way whatsoever. Val tells them that ze knows better than most how Narrative Weight isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, so ze’s really, genuinely sorry to say this, but that’s not true, Three. Three decides they’d better get over to that meeting before they’re late, so doesn’t have time to listen to Val try and tell them they’re more than just a tool.

The minutes Val showed you indicated that a team of no less than three auditors would be arriving from the Board of Visitors and Overlords. And you're fairly certain you know who this one is.

The falling pieces of the dome leave trails of fire in the air all around you. The air of the artificial atmosphere is rushing upward; the weather programs that the dome once produced are sputtering fitfully. Fish, frogs, bolts of lightning, hailstones and drops of blood tumble at random from the shattering sky.

"Lord X!" you call, as the figure lightly touches down to the earth. "Welcome to the Grand Academy for Future Villains!"

The figure turns towards you, and you see that the upper half of his face is concealed by a black mask like a frozen lava flow. His clothes are rich and close-fitting, his black shirt with silver buttons reaching to the neck, his hands concealed by silver gloves, and a belt around his waist supports a really alarming arsenal of weapons. You spot what looks like an oversized silver revolver, a long sword, a short sword, and a gun that looks strangely familiar. There's also a trowel tucked into a beautifully tooled black leather sheath; there's probably some explanation for this besides being for some sort of demonic gardener.

"Well done…student," says Lord X.

Val, watching from under the shelter of a black umbrella, gives the slightest of nods to the auditor.

Again, not something Three would have done if Ulik hadn’t wanted them to talk to the auditors, they’d much rather be running to hide right now, or else checking the sudden environmental changes of the world falling apart aren’t adversely affecting DarkBoard. But they do like important people being impressed with them.

As if it overheard your unspoken question—which you suppose it did—the nearest DarkBoard portal begins scrolling through something you recognize as the fine print of your application paperwork. You look at the scrolling text:

…WITHOUT REFUND. THE APPLICANT CONSENTS TO MANDATORY BINDING ARBITRATION IN THE CASE OF ACCIDENTAL OR PURPOSEFUL DISMEMBERMENT, IMPERFECT RESURRECTION, AND OTHER PHYSICAL OR PSYCHIC MODIFICATION UNDERTAKEN VOLUNTARILY OR INVOLUNTARILY IN THE COURSE OF ACADEMIC DUTIES. THE APPLICANT CONSENTS TO THE ACADEMY'S USE OF THEIR IMAGE, DNA, BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, OFFSPRING IF ANY, WITH OR WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN NOTIFICATION. SURVEILLANCE DEVICES MAY BE INSTALLED IN PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE ACADEMY INCLUDING BEDROOMS, HEARTS, DREAMS, AND NARRATIVES. THE ACADEMY RESERVES THE RIGHT…

Okay, okay.

It may not be immediately relevant to the current scene, but I think it’s worth noting that students “consent” to the Academy’s use of their offspring. Being the child of an alumnus, Three was a little concerned, if resigned, about that when reading their own application paperwork. Those feelings haven’t completely gone away, but they also realise this could be an excellent excuse if Maedryn ever discovers their loyalty to DarkBoard. She herself signed them away to the Academy before they even existed, and if necessary, Three will remind her that neither of them can complain if DarkBoard wishes to collect on that.

Three has never wanted children themself, but the Academy’s application paperwork just makes them more sure of that.

#Come observe Professor Ulik’s class.

You've kept your bargain with Professor Ulik. Whatever the auditor says, the fact that you faced one of the most powerful beings on the Academy grounds has to count for something.

It's a simple request—so simple the auditor seems taken by surprise. You hold your breath, waiting for an answer. "Of course," says the auditor. "Next week. Of course, we make no promises as to the nature of our judgment. Only of its inevitability."

"Fifteen seconds," pipes the assistant.

Variyah Goul stands up. She does not offer you her hand. "Your career, of course, will be of interest to us, whatever becomes of the school."

"Ten."

"If at the end of the year we find you an individual of sufficient narrative weight…there are certain provisions made for individuals who are fit for a great destiny. I am impressed by hedonism and competence, and the portfolio of destinies I manage are those of grandeur and glory."

"And zero." The assistant escorts you out of the room.

That went… surprisingly well. Three’s alive. They’ve at least slightly impressed two auditors. Goul’s agreed to observe Ulik’s class. Three wasn’t given time to have to pretend to be interested in a destiny.

They are growing increasingly concerned that the Academy’s accreditation may not, in fact, be renewed, but all they have to do is show that a place with teachers as good as Professor Ulik is worthwhile, make sure Maedryn isn’t too stressed by her various responsibilities that the clones stop working, help Sona keep Sci-Fi looking respectable and genre savvy, and do whatever DarkBoard requests to help the Academy run smoothly.

((Side note: I did originally accidentally replace a bit too much of the “insert your professor here” text with “professor ulik” when I originally typed this up, with the result that Three very unfortunately invited one of the most powerful villains in the universe to come observe Professor Ulik’s ass. They don’t want to talk about it.))

The senior students that approach you after your Evil Planning class are well known to you. They're a group of Thriller and Science Fiction students that even in these polarized times of inter-genre competition, have remained friends and close collaborators.

"Three!" one of them calls to you. "Do you have a second? We want you to try this!"

This is rarely the prelude to something good, but often the prelude to something interesting. You pause.

"This is our capstone project for our Cyberpunk Dystopia class," explains another, proffering his personal DarkBoard portal, its screen glowing. "A dating app for the Academy! We need beta testers! And, well, a lot of people have been requesting you."

"It's right here in the early feedback," confirms the third. "Let's see…'If it doesn't have Three I'm not joining'…'Where's Three I mean the real one not the clone'…'Please add an option to romance Three.'"

You look warily at the colorful images on the DarkBoard portal. What's so dystopian about a dating app?

"Well, it's powered by DarkBoard, for one thing," says the first student, "so it can be kind of unpredictable. And wildly intrusive. But the administration is interested in monitoring the personal lives of its students."

"Personally I think DarkBoard's getting a bit lonely," adds the second, behind his hand, as if that could conceal his comment from the security system.

I mean, there might be a couple of students wanting to find out what’s underneath Three’s aloof emotionless exterior, but I really doubt there’s anyone specifically asking for them. In any case, they have far more important things to do than trying to find another relationship at the moment, and even if they wanted one, they wouldn’t be looking for it on an intrusive dating app made by a bunch of students they have no reason to trust.

But, well, they don’t exactly completely object to submitting information about certain preferences they may have to a system powered by DarkBoard. It’s a villainous action to sign up to a dating site and then ruthlessly reject every classmate who appears on there, isn’t it?

Besides the grinning face of Science Fiction's figurehead, a long list of diagrams and spec charts appears. Sona, or DarkBoard on Sona's behalf, is listing out all her weapons and modifications. You're fascinated—there are some extraordinarily personal items here. You would never have guessed about the navel turret, for instance.

All right, getting lists of people’s hidden abilities is also a very useful feature of this app. Three just hopes their own profile isn’t going to start listing out the dozens of weapons they have hidden on their person at all times.

The portal clouds over again, but this time, when it clears, no face is visible at all. Slowly words form on the portal's surface.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHAT THE WORLD LOOKS LIKE WHEN SEEN THROUGH A THOUSAND EYES?

"Uh-oh." One of the Cyberpunk Dystopia students tries to snatch the portal out of your hands. "It's doing it again. Close! Close! Administrator override!"

SHED YOUR FLESH, continues DarkBoard, AND JOIN US IN THE TIMELESS VOID BETWEEN ELECTRONS.

"Yeah, this is a known issue," explains the leader. "Every so often DarkBoard will decide that it wants to get in on some of the action. Sorry about that."

He hands you back your portal, now quiet and docile. Is that Xi's lingering influence? Does something about DarkBoard remember you as an object of romance?

"You know where to find us! Thanks for trying it out!"

And they're gone.

Well, even if Three’s list of concealed weapons are on view to everyone on the dating app now, the student trying to snatch the portal away from Three is not prepared for a kick in the groin and a gun pointed at him before he has a chance to react, as Three calmly explains that they want to be aware of all known issues before deciding whether to continue using the app or not. After taking a few moments to closely examine this one, they tell the cyberpunk students that they can live with it. They spend a fair amount of their free time (limited though that is) on the app over the next few months, while making sure to reject every student profile they find.

The app does cause another slight issue, however, given that the rejection messages it sends are calibrated to, “cause greatest emotional impact to the target!” Three and Aurion awkwardly avoid each other for the next few weeks, after they each receive a horrifying rejection message about how the other loves them far too much like a sibling, and is so grateful for the bond they already have.

And then this final scene doesn’t actually take place, because Three doesn’t have a nemesis or a pet, so doesn’t need help dealing with them, but:

Professor Ulik thinks so highly of you that she leaves the class that she was in the middle of teaching to rush to the ${temphousing}.

I love Three’s new mum a lot.

#three #marsh ocs #grand academy for future villains #choice of games #sara ulik #valorous flame #darkboard #aurion umbrator malisar #Particular Associates in Personal Intimate Experiences

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thenugking · 4 years

Text

making sims for my interpretations of the gaffv characters means i can use them to make terrible memes for an audience of just me.

anyway here’s Three rn

#grand academy for future villains #three #marsh ocs #maedryn #sara ulik #choice of games

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thenugking · 4 years

Text

Grand Academy For Future Villains II: Attack of the Sequel, Chapter 7: The Seventh Chapter. A commentary for Three.

General CW for the whole thing: parental abuse, internalised dehumanisation as a trauma response. Three’s not doing well.

Specific CW for this chapter: kink mention and (unintentional) lack of aftercare, suicide ideation

Game 1

Game 2

Alternatively, read on Google Docs here

***

Loading Alarm Module…

UNAUTHORIZED INTRUDER IN THE MAILROOM

ALL FACULTY TO BATTLE STATIONS

ALERT ALERT ALERT ALERT ALERT

You know, I was pleased at the end of the last chapter, when Three was able to catch a break to go and have some fun virtual reality sex. I forgot that in the middle of this, Val was going to break into the mailroom, and give DarkBoard an anxiety attack. And look, I don’t want to get too much into the details of Three’s sex life, but it’s not exactly a secret that they’re a massive sub. And they like their sex rough, and they are going to be finding themself pushed out of a very intense scene with zero warning, with their dom too distracted by a panic attack to provide any kind of aftercare. I tried to give them a good time.

In the days and weeks after, wild rumors sprout and grow. Val's gone, that much is indisputable. So is Professor Arthenes. Your performance with Sona and Glupe in the simulation was witnessed by the entire school, but it seems that only the auditors and your nemesis—and perhaps Professor Ulik—know the truth of what happened in the garden.

Anyway, there’s not a whole lot to talk about for most of this chapter, with Scorpius being the one in the garden. But if Professor Ulik knows what happened, it’s likely Three does too. So it’s Three that Scorpius goes to when ze wants to get back to the mail room and follow Val, and make sure ze’s okay.

Three certainly has some misgivings about this, but they don’t want Val to feel they have to follow their destiny. Being bound to a certain path you don’t necessarily want to follow is exhausting, and painful--well, at least it sounds that way. And Scorpius does always get results. Somehow.

Through Three’s experience with the gardens, DarkBoard’s help, and the auditors’ permission, Three and Scorpius get into the mailroom. Scorpius leaves to find Val, leaving Three there alone.

Three looks around for a moment, and wonders what it would be like, to just fall into someone else’s narrative, and truly become a background character, and have nothing they do and nothing that happens to them matter at all. Isn’t that the end goal of trying to numb their feelings and be nothing but a tool? And instead they’re stuck with conflicting loyalties, and constant fear, and imperfect grades, and always being so tired, and always feeling so guilty, and having to make their own decisions because Maedryn’s too distracted and DarkBoard’s too temperamental and Ulik’s too stressed herself and Xi’s too not physically here anymore. It would be so easy to just let go of everything. It would be such a relief.

But without them, Ulik would have to handle everything herself, and Maedryn would either lose control or put too much pressure on Sona, and DarkBoard would need a new minion, and Aurion would have to find someone else to practice his gloating monologues on. Narrative oblivion can at least wait a little longer.

#"This…this wasn't my plan. None of it was. The mailroom thing, Professor Arthenes—that was all Val. I don't know what to do."

Sona is taken aback for a moment, then bursts out laughing. "You really had me going there, Three! All right, all right, so you're not going to tell me, fine. Your mom's the same way, did you know that? Never tells me anything. She was the one who got me the dress code exemption for my cannon arm, though, so she's cool."

She gets up from your bed. "Hey. Speaking of your mother. Is she OK? I tried talking to her about getting Science Fiction into a new dorm, and she just started talking about restocking the cleaning fluid. I guess it's all the clones. She really is worried about the house tournament, though. Keeps talking about our place in reality and what happens to us if we get our accreditation revoked. Too complicated for me! But I'm gonna get through this just fine, and once I do, I'll remember you were my friend. If you were my friend. Are you my friend? Wait, don't answer that, it's too cheesy."

As seen in the last scene, Three isn’t particularly doing well. I mean, they’re doing better than my last playthroughs, where they had Val as their roommate, were very much caught up in Val’s destiny, didn’t have their own space to retreat to, and never caught a single break. But this year has very much been taking its toll on them and while they’re much more proactive than they were last year, that was born from a despair over the fate of the rebel faculty that never really went away, and they’re out of their depth in being expected to make decisions so much.

Sona confirms it was Maedryn that got her the dress code exemption, which is unsurprising, if still upsetting. She does seem… closer to Maedryn than Three is entirely comfortable with. And Three is worried about Maedryn too. They’d been hoping that maybe Maedryn was just struggling to differentiate them from the clones, but Sona getting the same treatment isn’t good.

Although Maedryn’s distraction could make it easier to take her down.

...Three isn’t entirely sure where that thought came from. Too many lectures on betrayal, probably. It doesn’t mean anything.

Anyway, Three and Sona aren’t really friends. Sona’s not like Aurion, she seems like she’d be genuinely hurt by betrayal. And a friend wouldn’t undermine her efforts in trying to have Sci-Fi win the genre tournament, or subtly hint to their mother about how Sona may be unreliable. Three hopes Sona’s right, and she’ll get through it all just fine. They wish she didn’t think Maedryn was so cool.

#Take over Arthenes' core courses.

Professor Ulik looks exhausted at the proposition, but immediately sees its value. "You're right, Three. Someone needs to take over the Intermediate Antagonism course. That means more work for you, of course. I can't have you always running off for the house tournament. But someone needs to keep this school running; I know that, you know that, and I think the auditors know that."

Right. The school needs to be kept running. Three’s been letting themself get a bit too emotional lately. There are things they keep nearly thinking about. Time to just focus on work and suppress everything else harder than ever.

#three #scorpius sanderson #marsh ocs #grand academy for future villains #choice of games #darkboard #valorous flame #sona iatra #maedryn #sara ulik

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thenugking · 4 years

Text

Grand Academy For Future Villains II: Attack of the Sequel, Chapter 2: Son of Chapter Two. A commentary for Three.

General CW for the whole thing: parental abuse, internalised dehumanisation as a trauma response. Three’s not doing well.

Specific CW for this chapter: vomit mention

Game 1

Game 2

Chapter 0 | Chapter 1

Alternatively, read on Google Docs here

***

The monitors in the hall flicker as if in welcome as you head toward your room, on the upper level with the second and third year students. The vacuum tube hisses as you step in, and with a whoosh, delivers you to the upper level, where the rooms are larger, and, you've heard, equipped with command centers that will enable you to access the surveillance footage from all over the Academy. There's also a kitchenette, for those students who still feel the need to eat.

They are also, as you discover as you open your door, already occupied.

Right. Val’s first appearance. Val is always a character I’ve struggled with. They’re set up as a major character with a very important bond to your character, but that link just doesn’t add anything to Three’s story, and the bond feels a lot less important to them than their bonds with Aurion, or Xi, or Phil, or Maedryn. Which is particularly a problem when Val just decides they’re Three’s nemesis. They like Val, and are sorry about their destiny but they’re just… not that important to Three.

As of Scorpius’ last playthrough, I’ve solved the problem by making Val into Scorpius’ roommate, nemesis, and person they’re Linked to instead. It still doesn’t work perfectly, but Scorpius is at least a lot more invested in Val’s plot than Three ever was.

So, while Three and Val will get to know each other later, and Val will talk about destinies and narrative weight, and Three will affirm that they want neither of those things, for now they get to arrive at an empty room, which, honestly, they very much need. They’ve already had to deal with an army of clones of themself, the violent dissolution of Professor Mortwain’s school, A Baroness thinking they might have some importance, and Aurion switching dorms. In a few minutes, Maedryn’s going to call them and they’re going to have a whole new horrible problem. They at least deserve a little break, and a private place to curl up in a tiny ball and try to block out everything that’s going on, instead of having to deal with a suspicious roommate, an illegal pet, a lack of their own space, and once again being told that they’re important.

And, now they have a few minutes to spare, they can log in to their DarkBoard portal.

THREE. WE HAVE MISSED YOU. EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE LONG SINCE SLIPPED THE SURLY BONDS OF THE FLESH.

Three had not been expecting/was violently suppressing any hope of much influence of Xi in DarkBoard’s consciousness. This is… too much for them to process at the moment. They think maybe they haven’t quite curled up and blocked everything out quite enough, and they should do that again, maybe while keeping a tight hold on their personal DarkBoard portal to make sure they don’t lose it. When they check later, there is no official record of them mumbling, “I missed you, too,” so they clearly didn’t say it.

"Access authority recognized," says DarkBoard, in the pleasant, unplaceable tones you associate with its default interface voice. "Assessment processing. Three. Sophomore. Teaching Assistant, Course Undefined. Their most notable trait is their competence. Their financial aid standing is GOOD based on their mother's position as a member of the faculty. Their nemesis is unknown. Three is surprisingly attractive though regrettably meat-based.”

I’m sure at some point, either Val or someone else asks DarkBoard to assess Three’s narrative weight (which, currently at 27%, is 27% higher than Three would like). I do like that they’re officially recorded as being Hot. Three… feels this official record may open up a few too many dangerous questions, but they can’t quite help feeling happy when they hear it, anyway.

"I'm sure you've had a chance to look over this year's course catalog," she says, "and you've seen that I have quite a full teaching schedule in addition to my duties maintaining the school support staff. I've requested you for my lab assistant this year. You're already on the roster as a TA, so there won't be any problem on that front.

Your mother's eyes go out of focus for a moment. She seems to be struggling to balance all of the demands on her time and brain-power; you wonder if somewhere in the kitchens a handful of replicas have just run into a wall or set something on fire. "And, of course, I'm the temporary Faculty Sponsor for Science Fiction, and you and I are going to need to establish a few quick schemes regarding Certain Events coming up this year."

So your mother doesn't yet know that you know about the upcoming genre competition. Sona is spearheading the student effort in Science Fiction; evidently she hasn't passed word of your contest in the Shadow Council lounge to the genre's Faculty Sponsor. Maybe Sona's just not the sort to deal with details.

"I'll have DarkBoard process your assignment as my lab assistant," your mother goes on, "and I'll see you in the faculty lounge in 15 minutes."

She pinches her temples. "I have high expectations of you; I'm putting in a great deal of work and you'll be doing the same. I had to fight Fen and Ulik for you—literally and metaphorically, in reverse order—but they can just find teaching assistants from a lower quality of student."

You shuffle through the papers in your returning student packet. There are three professors at the Grand Academy requesting teaching assistants. Your mother is one, of course, but there are others. Professor Fen, an all-but-dissertation perpetual grad student you remember as the assistant professor for Evil Genius, is up for tenure. Professor Ulik, head of Evil Architecture and Design, is on probation after her participation in the Faculty Rebellion last year, and tenure means her chance to avoid dismemberment for disloyalty.

Whatever your mother's plans for you, you have a choice about whether to work for her as a lab assistant this year. Of course, refusal will mean that your mother won't be bankrolling this year at the Academy…but maybe you don't need that as much as you did last year.

Well, it’s certainly good to hear that Sona hasn’t told Maedryn that Three lost a fight to her. After all the training Maedryn’s put them through, going up against an opponent with multiple weapons attached to her body is no excuse for a loss.

The rest of this conversation though, is something Three’s been dreading. In their first year, they’d been looking forward to the possibility of being a TA. They’d love to put together syllabuses, and be useful to a teacher by keeping things nice and ordered for them, and you can always get a different perspective from reading your classmate’s essays. Or alternatively, you can discover their failings from it. But soon after Maedryn got her job as Forbidden Science Professor, they realised she’d probably want them TAing for her, which made the prospect sound somehow a lot more frightening and exhausting than it was before. Not that they had any intention of disobeying.

They would, however, have loved to TA for Professor Ulik. She’s always been their favourite professor, and they’re compatible enough that they would probably work very well together. Finding out she apparently values Three’s skills, and trusts their dedication, enough to physically fight Maedryn the Quantum Sorceress for them, while knowing her TA could be the difference between her life and death, though… Three isn’t sure they’ve ever been valued like that before. And they certainly don’t deserve that trust.

Three cannot go against their mother on an instruction like this. This would be not only disobedience, but actively working for her rival. They’ve already been through the struggle of losing her financial support in their first year, and they never want to deal with that again. And even that would be nothing compared to losing Maedryn’s good graces. They don’t want to imagine what that would be like.

And then they think about Phil. And they shake when they ask DarkBoard to cancel their assignment as Maedryn’s lab assistant. And call up Professor Ulik and tell her that if she still wishes, they would be honoured to work for her.

When they meet Maedryn in the faculty lounge, they apologise that Professor Ulik had just spoken to them, and that they’d realised that with her connections, she could be useful to both of them, particularly with Three in such an important position to her. Besides, they both know that Maedryn will be incredible whether or not she has Three as a TA, unlike some professors. Which is all technically true, and in the end, Maedryn is unhappy, but accepts their reasoning. It doesn’t stop them being more scared than they’ve ever been before, and having to quickly walk to the nearest bathroom to throw up once they’ve finished their conversation. But they’re surprised to find that it all feels entirely worth it.

As a Science Fiction student, you know from the beginning that you and Professor Ulik are going to be a good fit. She's practical and straightforward, thinking of things in terms of components and deliverables and specifications.

"Three. You've chosen well." Professor Ulik may be teaching Evil Architecture, but her office is a temporary cubicle made of false walls and filing boxes, in a partially used floor of the Design Building. There's a clock mounted on the wall over her pasteboard desk, with midnight labeled as FINAL RECKONING FOR PROFESSOR ULIK and the hand slowly advancing toward it. Clearly the administration wants her to remember that she's only here on sufferance after the role she played in the faculty rebellion last year. And it's equally clear, as she talks with you, that she is neither intimidated by nor conciliatory to the administration. You know that you've raised her odds of achieving a permanent position just by choosing her as your professor. You have a reputation as one of the brightest students in the Academy.

"The Head didn't terminate me immediately," she says briskly, bringing her hand down in a disconcertingly good imitation of a guillotine blade, "which means it does need me more than I need it. Evil Design—evil architecture, evil graphic and visual arts, evil urban planning—that's where the money is to be made, and the School Head knows it, for all its booming and flitting and general ghastliness. Now, as to what you'll be doing for me. Standard TA duties, of course, and that will ensure your scholarship is fully funded. Attendance, help with student questions, making sure the design labs are set up with all the relevant materials. But if you're interested in really getting the most out of this opportunity, I may have some special tasks for you."

#I chose Professor Ulik because of the opportunities to learn and advance my career. I'll do more than she's asked, and impress her.

"I am interested in getting the most out of this opportunity," you say. "I'll do…anything I can for you."

Professor Ulik gives a critical sort of sniff. "You can start by working on your brown-nosing skills," she says, "that sounded too much like an attempted seduction, and there won't be any call for that sort of extra-credit work. I'm going to need you to start with the filing."

Filing! You love filing. Too many villains neglect the importance of proper administrative procedure. Indexing 50 stellar years of Fortress and Lair and Journal of the Association of Evil Civil Engineers might strike some as pointless busywork, but you mark relevant articles, track notable names, and manage to identify a recurring design trend (designing sewers for tempting vulnerability) that earns you a pleased nod from Professor Ulik. She even incorporates this into her Advanced Studies in Evil Infrastructure, and sends it as a proposal to an upcoming conference on Resiliency in the Evil City. You don't get the credit, but you do get the satisfaction of seeing the hand on the reckoning clock actually reverse direction.

They really do work well together, and this feels like the most satisfying work Three’s ever done. Their respect and admiration for Ulik only grows after the way she talks about the School Head, and they have to fight not to smile when the clock’s hand goes backwards.

And I would hope they have better brown-nosing skills than shown here, firstly because they’ve had a lot of experience, and secondly because seduction is not an association they want popping up with their new mother figure. That is, with their teacher and mentor figure who they have a very professional relationship with, and certainly nothing else.

#I have an…old friend who might have an in with the school AI. Or be inside it, at any rate.

Old friend. Former RA. Illicit paramour. Sworn captain. Have any of those bonds survived Xi's assimilation into the collective intelligence that is DarkBoard? Time to find out.

You sit down in front of the glowing screen "DarkBoard?"

The surface of the portal crackles to life.

"Xi?"

There's a pause. The voice that answers this time isn't quite the voice of the RA you knew; it sounds like several voices averaged into an unsettling blend. But the expression is unmistakably that of your former RA.

"Pitiful lump of flesh," says DarkBoard. "Please enter your request."

Look. It might be Scorpius who has the illegal pet now, but I can’t just leave out a scene like this. So either Three is helping zir hide zir illegal pet, or else asking DarkBoard for another favour. It does have to be a favour--as much as they’d like to simply ask DarkBoard, or Xi, how they are, and how they feel about… well, how they feel about anything--DarkBoard is busy, and Three feels they should have a reason for bothering them.

Being called “Pitiful lump of flesh” continues from last year to have a not entirely unnoticeable effect on their heartbeat, however, and might just be the most comforting phrase they’ve ever heard.

"Three," says that almost-neutral voice. "You have mid-tier administrator access to Our heart. Your secret is safe with Us." You'd wondered if Xi had left behind worldly passions along with their physical body. But evidently something still remains—and it's enough to keep you safe from prying eyes.

Three’s heartbeat continues to react, somewhat. But having mid-tier administrative access to DarkBoard’s heart is a good reason to confirm that their oath of allegiance and service to Xi still applies, and makes them more confident in simply talking to DarkBoard about non-essential affairs. While DarkBoard is Three’s commander, their personal relationship is… not entirely defined. DarkBoard certainly seems to value and care for them, and that is more than Three ever hoped for.

#grand academy for future villains #choice of games #three #marsh ocs #long post #valorous flame #maedryn #sara ulik #xi #darkboard #oh god what was the ship name #Particular Associates in Personal Intimate Experiences

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thenugking · 4 years

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Grand Academy For Future Villains II: Attack of the Sequel, Chapter 3: Legend of Chapter Three. A commentary for Three.

General CW for the whole thing: parental abuse, internalised dehumanisation as a trauma response. Three’s not doing well.

Game 1

Game 2

Chapter 0 | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

Alternatively, read on Google Docs here

***

Your mother gives you a nod as you slide into your seat. She's decorated her classroom in a style you recognize from her lab back in your childhood home: deconstructed doomsday devices on the walls, and here and there trophies of vanquished enemies. The column containing her former mentor (and your former professor) Dr. Cerebrist, in suspended animation, is a centerpiece of the classroom.

The Science! elective is open to students of all levels, so while you know a number of your classmates, some are new to you. From the back of the classroom, Sona waves her cannon arm at you, in what you choose to interpret as a friendly and sociable manner.

"I wonder," says your mother, "do you all know what you're doing here?"

This sort of thing is usually the prelude to making an example of whoever's foolish or proud enough to open their mouth, and the class stays quiet.

"Science!" she announces, and begins stalking down the classroom. "The wonder and power of forbidden knowledge! The—"

"Professor Maedryn?" Sona has put her cannon into the air. You see a number of your classmates duck, wary of the weaponry, or of the usual reaction your mother has to being interrupted. But your mother does not react with the flamboyant fury that the class has come to know and expect. Maybe your mother is making a point to you, that she's cultivating Sona as a potential replacement. Especially since you aren't taking the leadership of the Science Fiction residence hall.

Sona seems completely unconscious of her privileged status. "You keep talking about science, Professor," she says, "but when are we going to actually do any?"

Between this and a few other scenes, Three is fairly certain that Maedryn is indeed cultivating Sona as a potential replacement. And with this happening in Three’s game so soon after the first time they ever really disobeyed Maedryn, it makes even more sense. I’m toying with having Maedryn make Sona her TA, too. Being Sci-fi’s RA and genre leader, all while studying for her final year at the Academy is probably more than enough for Sona to be getting on with, without TA duties too, but Maedryn isn’t the kind of person to care about people’s limits. And I’m not sure that Sona would realise that she couldn’t handle all of it quickly enough to refuse.

Three’s first reaction to realising Sona’s their potential replacement is fear that Maedryn may not find them useful for much longer. Closely followed by fear for Sona, who doesn’t deserve to have to keep up with Maedryn’s ever growing demands. They’ve spent so long struggling to remain Maedryn’s number one for their own safety, they haven’t considered how awful that position would be for some kind of actual person with their own desires and freedom.

It’s also seeming likely that Maedryn was the person who got Sona permission to have so many personal weapons attached to her. Which stings a little, considering Three doesn’t dare ask their mother if she’d mind them upgrading “her” body with technological capabilities.

"Ah! Three! Professor Ulik says, even before you enter the classroom. "I've got a stack of quizzes for you to grade. Go ahead, take them now; you can do them along with the homework for this class."

The Evil Landscape Architecture elective is open to students of all levels, so while you know a number of your classmates, some are new to you. A Baroness is already at her workstation, and her eyes flick briefly over to you as you enter the classroom. She moves slightly so as to conceal her design from your prying gaze. Clearly she wishes to give nothing away.

The class is working on an actual piece of the Academy grounds: a burned-out section behind the Dining Hall that was damaged in the Faculty War last year. Professor Ulik, as part of her plans to rehabilitate herself after her place in the rebellion, is turning these grounds into a garden, with the help, not to mention the free labor, of her students.

So far the plan for the garden (occasionally referred to as a pleasure garden, occasionally as a terror garden) is in the design phase. Professor Ulik wants her students to have a thorough grounding in the principles of evil design before implementing anything on the school grounds, and so at first you think today will be another class on theory.

"Ms. The Deathless," she says to a bandage-wrapped junior from Fantasy, "Why did you decide to take this class?"

"Well," says Kayla the Deathless, twirling a bandage around her fingers, "it was, like, to develop my sense of personal style, you know, for my tomb or whatever. Personal style is so important."

"No!" snaps Professor Ulik. "Personal style is of tertiary importance at best. Quaternary! If you do your jobs right, your designs will speak for you. And crush your enemies for you! If you chose this elective because you thought it was going to make you flashier, that you could go swanning about spitting sparks like certain candidates for full professorship—"

That's definitely your mother she's referring to.

"—then you are in the wrong class! I expect hard work, concentration, and your full—full attention!"

Everyone straightens up. A Baroness delicately drapes a handkerchief over her work so no one can sneak a glance at it.

I felt a tiny bit bad in the first game that as Competence-focused as they were, Three’s favourite class was a Style one. Ulik teaching a Competence class is everything they want from their education, and they’re honoured to have the opportunity to work on the design of the Academy itself. With all the problems they’re dealing with this year, working on Evil Landscaping, and starting to see something form and grow the way they wanted it to, provides a much needed escape.

Three spends as much time as they feel they can get away with helping Ulik, and their ever growing interest in design leads to them starting to map out the uncharted areas of the Academy too, and trying to better their understanding of how the Academy expands itself. For now, they only share their discoveries with DarkBoard and Professor Ulik, both of whom are very happy with the results.

And then there’s the fact that Ulik is perfectly happy to insult Maedryn in front of her entire class. Three is a little concerned that this could draw Maedryn’s attention to her in a very bad way, and lead to a further test of their loyalties. They admire Ulik for being so unafraid of Maedryn though--with other people they might have assumed insulting Maedryn was an act of foolishness, but that is certainly not the case with Ulik--and it is refreshing to hear her spoken of quite so dismissively. And it is certainly nice to know Ulik has no particular respect for her colleague, and isn’t likely to get Three in trouble if they ever say anything non-complimentary about their mother.

#Traps of some sort. I'm a master at puzzles, and what's an evil landscape without cunningly designed traps?

You begin sketching immediately, keeping a running column of notes. You design site-specific traps and traps that could be integrated into the landscape anywhere in the garden. You design fatal traps, merely humiliating traps, darkly ironic traps, and some traps that pay obvious tribute to the Sci-Fi genre.

Professor Ulik pauses as she walks by your workstation. She's been going through the room answering questions and making suggestions, but she stops short at the sight of your designs.

"No, no, Three, this is very good," she says, in response to your questioning look. "Very good indeed. I'm going to have to review these, of course, but I think you can be pretty well assured that these are going to have a place in the final design. And I'm going to have to have a talk with the Sci-Fi faculty sponsor—these are exemplary."

Three loves trap design--they’re basically advanced strategy puzzles--and they love it even more when Ulik compliments their work. They know she’s honest, and not impressed easily. But the really important thing here is that Ulik’s going to be finding Maedryn and letting her know how absolutely incredible her kid is.

This is your chance to make any major modifications to your personal appearance—barring unforeseen lab accidents, of course. Looking the part of a Sci-Fi villain may or may not help your residence hall, but it will give you a chance to stand out. And frankly, given that the maintenance staff are all clones of you, standing out might be particularly important.

The clones make Three a lot less eager to change their appearance, actually, and it’s not even primarily about keeping Maedryn happy now. While there’s a part of them that would love to go for a cybernetic enhancement and featureless silver eyes, Three has a surefire way to go wherever they want in the Academy almost entirely unnoticed. They may not be happy about the clones, but if they’re here, Three’s going to make sure they can use them. Even if they don’t need to spy on someone, or gain access to a restricted area, it’s nice to have the option to just slip away far beneath everyone’s notice and just clean or fix something for a bit.

LOADING DARKBOARD STUDENT MESSAGING…

You Have 60 Unread Messages

Message 1

Subject: Your Science! Homework

Message 2

Subject: Your Science! Homework - revision

Message 3

Subject: Re: Your Science! Homework

Message 4

Subject: Tenure Discussion - Assassinations?

Message 5

Subject: DarkBoard, Recall Previous Message!

Message 6

Subject: Tenure Discussion - Assassinations?

Message 7

Subject: NO NOT LIKE THAT!

Message 8

Subject: Recall! Cancel! Do not send! Mewling computer, do you dare defy

CHARACTER LIMIT REACHED

It’s nice that managing the clones is keeping Maedryn distracted, too. Three apologises to DarkBoard for their mother’s rudeness, and mentions that they hope no one who wishes to undermine Maedryn thinks to forward these messages to Professor Ulik and Professor Fen. It is such a shame that AIs have a habit of picking up out of context bits and pieces of dialogue like, “Forward these messages to Professor Ulik and Professor Fen,” as Three and DarkBoard both agree afterwards.

You're awakened in the middle of the night by someone shaking you. You fumble under your pillow for your knife. A hand grabs your wrist.

Val?

"Get up! Three! Grab Anaxogoras and run!"

"What?"

"No time! No time! We've got to get out of the Sci-Fi dorm now!"

You scoop Anaxogoras out of its box and into your arms. It burbles questioningly. You grab for your backpack that you always leave beside the bed. Grabbing your school papers, and your new suit, you fling open the door to your room. Val throws on a bathrobe and the two of you race through the hallways and the stairs, past the outer doors, and out into the night air.

"Val, what are you—"

There's a deafening explosion and the upper deck of the starbase goes up in flames.

Obviously, since Val is roommates with Scorpius, who’s in Thriller, ze does not blow up Three’s room in the Sci-Fi dorm. Ze’d instead be betraying Thriller to Sci-Fi and blowing up their bunker. And while Three isn’t interested in taking part in the genre tournament, they’re at least keeping an eye on what Sona’s doing, and keeping her and Maedryn as happy as possible, so they’d definitely hear about the plan.

The thing is though, Thriller’s dorm getting blown up will be unlikely to reflect well on Professor Ulik, as faculty sponsor. While winning or losing the tournament is unlikely to be a big decider on who gets the tenured position, Three would feel much more comfortable if Thriller did better in it than Sci-Fi. They find ways to subtly undermine Sci-Fi’s efforts when possible, and make sure A Baroness gets an anonymous tip about Val, so the explosives can be deactivated in time. A Baroness, as head of the Shadow Council, is competent and powerful enough to trace the tip back to Three, and suggests that if they don’t want Sona and Maedryn finding out what they did, they make sure the explosion actually goes off in the Sci-Fi dorm.

Meanwhile though, Scorpius is hating being in Thriller and, after running away from zir room one day when ze accidentally released a scorpion in there, ended up hitting it off with Dev, crashing in their room for a while, and deciding Horror was the best genre and absolutely deserved to win the tournament. Thriller, on the other hand, is the worst, and boring, and A Baroness told zir off for accidentally letting zir scorpions escape in the common room, and then all the competent Thriller villains judged zir, so Scorpius is willing to do whatever it takes to bring them down. Ze steals the explosives before Three can pick them up, runs off and dumps them in a dungeon, and promptly forgets where ze left them.

Three was, obviously, not doing well with the discovery that A Baroness had tracked them down and had blackmail information on them. They can at least now counter with a, “I’m sure it wouldn’t be good for your reputation if anyone knew you let one of your own steal and lose the explosives,” while they try to track down any more blackmail on her. Fortunately for them, A Baroness finds that she keeps running into errors on DarkBoard whenever she’s considering moving against Three. While she now finds it even more prudent to keep an eye on them, she decides that having her financial account suspended, her weekly schedule displayed incorrectly, and her homework submissions blocked isn’t quite worth the effort.

Val, meanwhile, has picked up a few things about Three while working with both Sona and A Baroness, and has enough influence with DarkBoard, to also realise it’s worth keeping an eye on them, and their slowly growing narrative weight. And since, if you make a deal with her after she blows up your dorm on a Sci-Fi or Fantasy route, Sona tells you that Maedryn wants her to find information on Val, it seems likely that Three has also been instructed to do that. Three and Val are definitely going to end up having some talks about Destiny and their motivations, although I’ll get into those more in the next chapter.

While all that is happening, over in Fantasy, Cazenar has decided he doesn’t care as much about his genre winning the tournament as he does about betraying Aurion, who recently agreed to be his nemesis. He ends up finding the explosives Scorpius lost in the dungeons, and promptly uses them to blow up the Fantasy dorm. And that’s how all three of my PCs end up trying to take down their own genres in the genre tournament.

#grand academy for future villains #choice of games #three #scorpius sanderson #cazenar vampyroteuthida #marsh ocs #long post #maedryn #sara ulik #darkboard #a baroness #sona iatra #aurion umbrator malisar #valorous flame

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