endbringer, meet gun

[peterxy]

...Very unseasonable rains can be seen in the distance from the shores of Acapulco.

The Brockton Bay Protectorate starts organizing volunteers to be transported or teletransported in batches to it. Heroes, rogues, villains, anyone's assistance is appreciated. A rendez-vous point is set for non-Protectorate capes wishing to volunteer, and Protectorate capes are informed of the situation via communication devices.

Comments

[thinkering]

"...Huh?"

[mxglam]

Sigh. "When I triggered, I was in- a bad spot. The first thing I created was some- one? To get me out of there."

[thinkering]

"Not going to pry, but that's potentially another very important thing to know more about to get the most out of what you have."

[mxglam]

"Yeah, that one I have been trying to reproduce, for a long time. ...I was a bit delirious at the time, that probably helped."

[thinkering]

"Yeah."

[mxglam]

"Breaking out of unconscious expectations is consistently the hardest part of using my power. That may be so obvious as to not be worth stating. But."

[thinkering]

"It seems like it'd be a major obstacle. You could maybe be profitably paired with some kind of Master, if they could doublethink well enough or just have broader range than your power sweeps for."

[mxglam]

"Broader range?"

[thinkering]

"Like - your power can't literally be sweeping the globe to check what everyone thinks. I'd be surprised if it swept farther than visual range or a few blocks. If you made friends with someone who directly affected beliefs and wanted to tell them what the deal was, and they happened to be able to stand outside your 'range' and keep you in theirs..."

[mxglam]

"One, pretty sure it's something like 'visual range,' since my visual range, or something approximately like it, is my limit when creating. Two, that sounds really tactically useful. Three, I may not be as wary of people detecting what I'm thinking as you but my reaction to imagining letting someone else mess with my mind like that is utter terror, so tactical usefulness may not be the most relevant criterion here."

[thinkering]

"Yeah, don't blame you, but I know I'm an outlier so I thought it bore mentioning."

[mxglam]

"Yeah you probably are an outlier, but detect versus affect is way different and the latter is terrifying."

[thinkering]

"Mmhm."

[mxglam]

"This physics discovery is way fun, though," they say, and throw a rubber ball down into an alley and watch as a contrived set of bounces causes it to fly back within their range so they can catch it again.

[thinkering]

"Have fun with that."

[mxglam]

"I will!"

Bounce bounce.

[thinkering]

"The number of other powers you could fake with yours alone is actually staggering."

[mxglam]

"Part of the reason why I don't want to associate my future image too strongly with tinkers."

[thinkering]

"I don't follow."

[mxglam]

"People associate me too strongly with tinkers, they'll be expecting tinker-related stuff and not expecting non-tinker-related stuff, faking other powers becomes that much harder. And a failed demonstration is fairly catastrophic as such things go."

[thinkering]

"You can work cold, though, nobody on the field knew what you could do and nobody was expecting you when you showed up with those gangs. Just 'not expecting' is not crippling."

[mxglam]

"I guess it's more like 'expecting not' than 'not expecting.' As far as powers go, making small objects appear in the middle of a battlefield isn't that unimaginable. Carrying a stun gun isn't either. Or flying, though in this case it's my suit doing the work, I can't actually believe myself into having other powers."

[thinkering]

"Branding'd tell you that not having a theme is death to image. The theme doesn't have to be power-limiting, necessarily. If everything you made was white that would also be a theme."

[mxglam]

"Ooh yes, that makes sense. Guess the next time I fight an Endbringer I can make my turret gun all white and shiny and stuff."

[thinkering]

"If you don't want to be locked in to turret guns you could also maybe just fly around, glowing and blowing theatrical quantities of dust and debris away from yourself?"