★ 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 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?]