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

[alicornucopia]

"Lorica has technical constraints on her costume. And so far I see no evidence that there is a 'we', that you're willing to work with me on anything, or that you have the slightest understanding of what things are and are not 'that hard'. You're not going out in costume until you've been cleared by me, do you realize that?"

[mxglam]

"...look, you do realize parahumans are a bunch of traumatized people with typically combative and asocial personalities and more power than anyone ought to have in their hands, right? I mean, there's a reason villains outnumber heroes two-to-one, and if when they try to become proper recognized heroes they face this kind of opposition it's no wonder. There are like a million different ways you could've phrased that."

[alicornucopia]

"I don't like your tone."

[mxglam]

"I'm sorry! But I wasn't exactly super happy about yours, either, and I'm pretty sure mine wasn't any worse than that, and again, with an environment full of superpowered traumatized people who could be triggered by the color chartreuse, I think all of us should really be trying to get along a bit better."

[alicornucopia]

"You do not seem to be trying to get along, nor do you seem to have any respect or self-control to be resorting to threats against an unpowered Protectorate employee like that. Meanwhile, I am trying to do my job, and until I can do my job you cannot do yours. Are we clear?"

[mxglam]

"I was not threatening you, I'm not likely to be triggered by the color chartreuse, I'm just trying to prevent this from happening in the future with someone else, because going Are we clear? at someone is a very unfriendly thing to do. I don't know if it's because I'm a minor, in which case, please don't do that, minor capes have it even worse due to the whole hormones interacting with trauma. Can you talk to me in a way that isn't patronizing and doesn't include threats of unilateral uses of institutional power? It'd be nice if you could at least explain to me why you're right instead of going 'you'll do what I say or you won't do anything at all.'"

[alicornucopia]

"I have been trying, but you haven't been listening. And this is not a social skills lesson and you are not a psychologist and I insist that you stop trying to force everything to happen on your own terms. The world is simply not like that."

[mxglam]

"I agree, it is simply not like that. Are you going to also not try to force everything to happen on your own terms?"

[alicornucopia]

"This is not a conversation between peers. If you can't work with me, you can park inside headquarters forbidden to partake in any activities that might earn your keep as long as you like and it will not bother me at all."

[mxglam]

"I'll pick this conversation up later. With the understanding that I'm not budging on the gender thing for the moment, and that as you stated you do not care if I do since it'll cause me to be parked in HQ, could you explain to me why you are right?"

[alicornucopia]

"Market segmentation," says Phyllis Constance Yates, as though she's recapping a lesson on how to count to ten, "an apolitical stance, and a relatable public image."

[mxglam]

"I wasn't clear, I apologize. What do you mean by market segmentation, why is it good, what are its cons, how much of an impact does it have, why is an apolitical stance desirable, how much would the gender thing if kept relatively quiet affect this and what are the likely drawbacks and benefits of it, why does gender in specific have to be relatable as opposed to everything else, what are the costs of having exactly one hero in the Protectorate not in the gender binary and how do they weight against the gains for the tiny minority of the population that would relate to that?"

[alicornucopia]

"I don't have all day to educate you."

[mxglam]

"That's alright, you can do it in parts, since I'm not going out heroing without your say-so anyway it doesn't need to be all of it today."

[alicornucopia]

"I am not here to educate you in the first place," Phyllis Constance Yates points out.

[mxglam]

"No, but educating me is a necessary condition for you to do what you are here to do."

[alicornucopia]

"My job description doesn't say I have to convince you, just that I have to outfit you. The job of holding you still to be outfitted is technically left to your captain, Director Piggot, or Chevalier."

[mxglam]

Their suit quickly change colours many times, flowing through all colors of the visible spectrum, at the same time as various types of armor and cape appear and are replaced, a bit less quickly. "They can hold me still as much as they like, I'll still look exactly the way I want to look. The best way to deal with me is giving me information and talking to me like I'm an actual person who is capable of reasoning. After all, if you're correct, I will agree with you in the end, will I not?"

[alicornucopia]

"I have the strongest suspicion that you will be pigheaded indefinitely."

[mxglam]

"How can I allay this suspicion without at the same time sacrificing the part where I'm actually allowed to reason things out and make meaningful choices?"

[alicornucopia]

Phyllis Constance Yates folds her arms. "I think you're coming from a place of fundamental misunderstanding of what's going on here."

[mxglam]

"Oh, yes, I have never had a choice, I have to listen to you and do whatever you say or no banana?"

[alicornucopia]

"I'm not offering bananas. All that's on the table here is your ability to represent the Protectorate in a public setting without damaging assorted delicate operations about which you have no understanding."

[mxglam]

"You keep saying I have no understanding of this and that, but this is not pertinent information unless you actually either offer me this understanding or point to a place where I can get it."

[alicornucopia]

"You don't need to understand it personally to acknowledge others' expertise. How you've made it to seventeen without learning that I have no idea."