★ blind the masses with a grin, stir up the media

[liedol]

⭐ Who: Ai and you!
⭐ When: End of May through July
⭐ Where: Various prompts around Yumemigaoka and the Dream Sphere
⭐ What: An Ai catchall for the next month! After a suspiciously well timed vacation out to Hokkaido, Ai's back in Yumemigaoka and ready to catch up on everything she missed. I'm also down for doing closed/private prompts so hit me up on Discord if you'd like to plan something!

Comments

[thezekeinator]

I'm -- touched that you thought of me!

[And despite saying this with his usual confidence and bombast, he truly is. Zeke lifts the charm out of the box carefully...]

[...causing the box to bump against a stapler, which promptly falls on his foot. His expression of delight immediately twists into an expression of delight hiding a lot of pain.]

[liedol]

. . .

You want me to get the first aid kit again?

[ it is Not her first day as zeke's coworker ]

[thezekeinator]

....I'm good.

[Zeke slowly bends over, picks the stapler back up, sets it down, and tries not to die. Right on the joint...]

Sounds like your vacation was wonderful, though.

[liedol]

Oh, it was!

[ She immediately lights up, Zeke's injury forgotten in a snap. It's not that she doesn't care it's just... look, when you work with a guy like Zeke, you end up learning to just take a certain degree of grievous bodily harm in stride. ]

I'd wanted to visit Hokkaido [ with the twins ] for such a long time but with things being so busy, I never got the chance. It really made me realize how valuable making some time for yourself [ and your kids ] is. I guess I could stand to do a little more of it

[thezekeinator]

[Yes, that's fine, thanks. Pretending it never happened is the best route he's ever been able to think of.]

[Zeke flashes his brightest grin.] Leave a little work for those of us still living the single life and oozing over with time to take on! The up-and-coming crowd has nothing but promise too, from what I've seen.

[liedol]

That's what I've been hearing...

[ Might as well unpack some more snacks while she's here... seriously, how did she manage to carry all this stuff back?? ]

You don't think anyone's already got an eye on them for Mentoring, do you?

[thezekeinator]

Won't lie and say I didn't snap up one of them. I'm not trying to be greedy, though...

[Plus he doesn't think some of them put in for a Mentor anyway. The worst way to start someone off is to force them into it, right?]

Not worried that someone you took on would get a bit too much time in the public eye?

[liedol]

I won't pretend I'm not thinking about it... [ Sigh.

It's natural for it to happen, of course. When she'd stepped up to fill the shoes Odette left behind at the DU, that was by choice. She'd been repaying the kindness that had been given to her in her own way – but it had created expectations. Now anyone she took under her wing was expected to turn into the next Ai-Doll and that's not a pressure Ai wants to inflict on anyone without their knowingly agreeing to it... let alone a child. ]

I've been hoping that working with a few of them at once will take at least a little bit of the pressure off. And since I'm still active at the DU, too, it's not like I'm looking to be replaced anytime soon. But... it's kind of unavoidable, isn't it?

[thezekeinator]

[Zeke brings one hand up, hand open like he'd find some secrets of the universe in his palm if his unpatched eye were actually open. Think think.]

I think the public's worse a danger than the other Dreamers. [After all, no one thinks he's anything special, despite all he'd learned from her! And the public had paid less attention back then as well. But the more connected the world gets, the more trouble people like poor Odile get into...]

We could keep your mentoring to the Dream Sphere, and have them learning from someone else on paper.

[liedol]

I did think about it... But that also increases the risk of it being leaked and turning into more of a scandal. Even if it's something totally mundane, people really get hyped when they think they've learned something they're not supposed to know. I don't think anyone here would do it on purpose, but... they're kids, you know? Maybe they're not the best at lying or they really do want to keep it a secret but they're so excited that they tell just one person and that person tells just one person and before you know it...

[ Things had worked out with Amane but that had been a little different - his identity was a secret they'd both been determined to keep and Ai had known him since he was practically a baby. That was a different rapport and a different level of trust; she wouldn't expect the sort of lying she eats, drinks and breathes to come easily to anyone that age.

Another sigh! ]

It doesn't really have an easy answer. Or I guess it does and I should stop taking on trainees but why should I have to?

[thezekeinator]

I thought about some of that. It's only a scandal if we're trying to cover it up, right? If it comes to light, we admit openly that your skills are too valuable not to pass on, but we didn't want to cause any trouble for the trainees, so we had you assist mentoring in a different capacity.

[Zeke feels pretty confident that the most boring possible thing is admitting to exactly what you're doing. Acting like you have something to hide? That's bad. Defending and deflecting? Blood in the water. But fail to actually offer any juicy red meat for the press to get into is the surest way to get them distracted with some other scenario they can milk.]

Could even formally recommend it under the Division's whole "Necessities" purview, especially the mental health part.

[In some ways... Zeke and Ai are very different people. What with him proposing "not lying" and all.]

[liedol]

Hohhh... you know, that's not a bad idea at all.

[ It is a little funny to be in a situation where Ai is the one dithering about telling a lie and Zeke is the one suggesting a way to artfully sidestep the exact truth.

Maybe she trained him a little too well. ]

How would we make sure everyone else at the DU knows who they really answer to? Word of mouth?

[thezekeinator]

[Hey, Zeke believes in doing what's best for people! Sometimes that's a tricky river to navigate, is all.]

Probably puts too much weight on the whole thing, the way I see it. We have a policy, something written down somewhere, and if anyone really runs afoul of it they get read in. Otherwise, is anyone here really watching things that closely? It's the public perception we need to worry about.

[liedol]

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies", huh?

[ She gives him a little grin, conspiratorial, teasing and approving all at once. Somehow. ]

Zeke-kun, I'm a bad influence on you.

[thezekeinator]

[Zeke's own smile is a mixture of smirk and sincerity.] You don't get too much credit. I did go into government work, after all. People just think I'm too -- straightforward, to deceive at all!

[Read: stupid, or at least chaotic. Which, to be fair, most people couldn't be blamed for thinking about a guy who calls himself the Bringer of Chaos at the top of his lungs and directs the study of loading down Dreamers with weaponry just to see if anything will get to the other side.]

[liedol]

That's the best way to do it. But you shouldn't rely on it too much, or people won't believe a word you say!

[ :)) not that she would know :)))) ]

I'll keep that in mind, though. For the time being, if I register someone, is it alright to put them under your name? You won't have to be responsible for them, of course, but it's probably better than signing them up with somebody else and causing all sorts of confusion.

[thezekeinator]

Works perfectly for me. I've been taking on a kid or two myself already, so a couple more won't look strange or suspicious in the least.

[Zeke's so aggressively loud and -- well, himself -- in both the Dream Sphere and the real world that he's seen as a more prominent member. Where did he learn THAT from?]