video

[notgood]

[Hello Network. Here's someone who hasn't changed at all in age!! Still a perfectly reasonable adult... well. Maybe, still just an adult. A well-dressed one, at the very least!]

Chauncy Anderson, here. Thank you everyone who’s been kind to me during my… adjustment period.

I was intending to announce that I’ve passed the bar exam on this version of Earth, and so I can officially offer my services as a defense attorney again, but…

[He glances behind him, as if looking to someone outside of the frame.]

There’s obviously other things going on right now. With so many ImPorts changing ages somehow— which I'm not even going to touch on how insane that sounds— there's even more children and minors running around than usual. The government's continued failure to address the endangerment of children happening here, I'm working to start a program to help counter that. I was hoping to ask for some adult volunteers and get a list of existing minors...

[And, a break in the professionalism, as he closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose;]

But now some of adults are minors, and the minors are adults. Some of which even forget being adults to begin with. So this will be put on hold, until this... passes? I don't know. Maybe this is just how things are going to go?

[That seems to be the extent of his ramble, and finally he sighs.]

...Also, side note, but I've seen several ImPort minors in the past few days try to get into bars with fake IDs. Give it up. No one's buying it. You look barely old enough to drive, no one's going to give you tequila shots.

Comments

action?

[creatot]

Chauncy-san, you look stressed... Do you want some tea?

action!

[notgood]

I already have some coffee, but thank you.

[The problem isn't a matter of caffeine, Chauncy.]

[creatot]

Coffee isn't going to relax you, it'll only hype you up! You should have a nice cup of green tea.

video;

[grandtheftequine]

No one except half the bars in Maurtia Falls, you mean?

[notgood]

[...Yes, unfortunately...]

It doesn't help if you're encouraging that kind of reputation.

[grandtheftequine]

I'm sure it helps someone.

video

[freysgodi]

Um. Yeah, a pause would be good.

Was the exam hard?

[notgood]

Yes, but over with now.

[Pause.]

I'm still not used to seeing you like this.

[freysgodi]

Like I am? My friend showed me how to trim some of this back, [he scratches his face] but my sword gets passive aggressive if I try to do it without him.

Video

[drivesadesk]

[A scaly teenager shows up on the screen.]

Yeah, apparently I used to be an adult in this place? It's weird. So why not just fix the rogue machine so it stops abducting kids in the first place?

1/2

[notgood]

[IMMEDIATELY HORRIFIED? SORRY JONATHAN, YOU CAN'T JUST SHOW UP LIKE THAT, HE'S A NORMIE.]

Uh.

2/2

[notgood]

I don't think there's a choice...

[STILL... STARING...]

Re: 2/2

[drivesadesk]

Sure there is. Just turn it off.

[The porter has an off switch, right?]

Or unplug it. Or take out the batteries.

[After a pause, Jonathan looks confused.]

Why are you looking at me like that?

video;

[therewillbeorder]

Congratulations are in order then, Anderson.

[He remembered Chauncy from the protests and had been intrigued. A lawyer could potentially come in useful.]

I take it the bar exam is a significant achievement?

[notgood]

Counsellor Anderson, if you want to be respectful.

[Which he doesn't think you do.]

Significant enough. But passing is only the first step. Getting a good enough reputation to build a clientele is the longer and more excruciating part.

video;

[restingstitchface]

[The video feed, active and recording, shows a young man who resembles Jonathan Crane - looking particularly unhappy about this situation.]

I, for one, would press on with this project of yours.

[If you don't get volunteers, make them, he thinks. Though he knows enough to keep that to himself.]

video;

[notgood]

[Funny thing is, during their conversations, Crane never did actually show what he looked like. It took looking at previous posts by Crane for him to get a good enough look, and now...

He knows this isn't right.]

...Is it because you'd be a participant?

[You know, since you look like a child. But maybe Crane would interpret it as a volunteer instead.]

vid

[h2no]

[there's... a couple kids occasionally visible in the background of the video. also a giant bat? it seems to be having fun with them, at least, and not trying to eat them, despite the severe look it has.]

Hey, congrats! Passin' that as well as adjustin'. Couldn't have been easy. [he is genuinely impressed because other "adjustment periods" involve a lot less productivity.] S'a good idea too. I'm short on time but I'll do part-time if you'll take me. Kids back home usually leave at about ten or eleven to go traveling an' I was no different, so this sorta crap is ingrained in us.

Re: vid

[notgood]

[Giant... bat. Ah huh...]

Thank you.

Whether or not it's 'ingrained' on you, I would be putting you through the same questionnaire I'll be asking all adult volunteers to figure out your suitability.

video;

[cognitivism]

My, congratulations Mr. Anderson. I've heard the American Bar can be challenging.

I think your project has some merit, but I am curious to hear more details on what you would want to achieve. Are you suggesting another registration process or something more akin to a foster system?

[ He has had a lot of dealings with the Japanese foster system, so this should be interesting. ]

video;

[notgood]

It is.

[But he's already passed it once before now, so...]

Akin to a foster system, but with differences. My concerns lie in that there are teenagers- and younger- who are essentially left to fend for themselves. A job, which for most teenagers is a choice and not a requirement, essentially becomes necessary in order to survive here. Some of the choices and decisions that are also put on them should be an adult's responsibility to handle.

The point isn't to take away freedom from younger ImPorts. It's to give them more freedom to be a kid while they can.

video

[ct_7567]

[ Everyone is, it must be said, being very cordial and understanding about this whole business. The same can't be said about the face coming from the communicator that Chauncy may recognize as previously belonging to one Martin Darkov's guardian, now looking approximately twelve years old and managing an expression of skepticism that would be more at home on an adult's face. It's a gift. ]

...you want a list of kids.

[ STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER! ]

video

[notgood]

[And he matches the name up with the face, despite the face being much, much younger.]

For organization. As I would a list of adults, who intend on volunteering.

video;

[burger_king]

They need better fake IDs. [ Says the guy who doesn't drink but still has to pretend he's older sometimes, for reasons? ]

I've heard a lot about you and your project.

video;

[notgood]

[Said flatly:]

Do they.

[this CHILD saying this!!]

And have you really? From who?