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

[mxglam]

Sigh. "So it's pretty much decided, I suppose. I'm going to be a Ward."

They look up at the ceiling, then close their eyes.

"...any ideas on how to convince people to put a spotlight on me without explaining that part of my power?"

[thinkering]

"I think tonight proved that you don't just need attention, you need the right kind of attention, and you need to nail that before you get lots of it. Look, even if all you can conjure without bolstering are small mundane objects you could still outclass Miss Militia but for experience and your need to sleep. You need solid tactics and a reputation for not killing people or you will aim a gun at an Endbringer and annihilate half a continent."

[mxglam]

"...so basically just let it happen."

[thinkering]

"That's not what I said."

[mxglam]

"Well, I mean, it's not, but it also kinda is. The Protectorate knows a lot about making heroes get the kind of attention I need, and I'm not telling them about that part of the power unless I absolutely need to, the desire to be understood and to have someone else who can back me up in that particular dimension is nicely satisfied by you, so other than being extroverted and nice and particularly cooperative with Marketing and Branding I'm not sure there's a whole lot I can do?"

[thinkering]

"Yeah, more or less. Not all heroes get spotlight. You'll be sidelined to a greater or lesser degree if you aren't media-friendly, mission-friendly, or audience-friendly, all of which are different things. I'm not media-friendly because engaging on that level seems like a waste of time to me, Boots isn't mission-friendly because he shoots off at the mouth, Dad isn't audience-friendly because his power is boring and mostly not good for showy fights."

[mxglam]

[thinkering]

"Which means if you say something the Protectorate doesn't like, like 'I got off attempted murder charges by being press-ganged into the Wards', that is the last time you see a camera for a year."

[mxglam]

"I think I have more sense than that."

[thinkering]

"You have sense, I'm just trying to impress on you how consistently you have to use it. Like, say tomorrow afternoon you meet a reporter who wants to know why you decided to join up, what you were doing before that, etcetera."

[mxglam]

They nod. "Right. But in any case, we don't know that the guy is dead. He wasn't when he got in the ambulance."

[thinkering]

"He might live, yeah."

[mxglam]

Sigh.

[thinkering]

"Anything else you want to cover before you or I tell Chevalier you're joining up?"

[mxglam]

"I don't think so. It should probably be me, though you can come if you like."

[thinkering]

"I will if you want me to."

[mxglam]

"It makes me feel happy and kinda smug to hear you say that. I don't mind either way." And of they go, waiting for her if she moves in a way that suggests she's coming.

[thinkering]

"Smug? Seriously?" she asks, rolling to her feet.

[mxglam]

"Yeah!" they say, holding the door.

[thinkering]

"Why?"

[mxglam]

"Well, when a person has standards as high as yours to like other people, signs that I'm one of them are most definitely cause for smugness, methinks."

[thinkering]

"You may or may not have just killed a guy and you're being coerced into the Wards. I thought you might need emotional support. If all I'm doing is stroking your ego I'll just go build something instead."

[mxglam]

"Oh, it's not really an ego thing, it's a... warm fuzzy kind of smug? I like you. And I like that you like me - or at least don't despise my presence. And in any case, yes, the emotional support is helping, I just found my stride again, you know? Talking helps. If I talk a lot, especially about what I'm thinking, it helps me sort it all out, understand myself better and what I'm feeling and deal with it in a less descructive and more coherent way."

[thinkering]

Lorica throws a robot at them. The robot lands on their shoulder. "Be warm and fuzzy about the bot, I'm going into tinker fugue for the next two hours."

[mxglam]

They giggle. "Okay, have fun. And, hey, thank you. I know it looks like I'm all okay and maybe shrugging it off or something but you helped a lot and I'm really happy I met you." They pet the bot. "I'm keeping it."