fandomhigh | Superheroing 101, Thursday, Period 4

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Superheroing 101, Thursday, Period 4

When Billy had agreed to teach the class today, he hadn't had any idea how uncomfortable he would be feeling. If he'd known what this week would be like...well, okay, he probably still would have agreed to do it, but he might not have said yes quite so quickly.

"Hey guys," he said, shifting from side to side nervously once everyone had arrived. "So, last week, we talked about some of the problems superheroes can run into from outside forces. Today, we're going to be talking about more internal problems, namely, superhero ethics." Billy figured he didn't have to spell out why he was up here, and Electroclash wasn't. "The Super Powers Authority has a really complicated explanation for this, but I don't think it's such a difficult topic to figure out. If you're going to be using your abilities to help people, you can't abuse your power, end of story. Superheroes are role models, and that means you're going to be held to a higher standard, and yeah, maybe that's not entirely fair, but it's what balances out the ability to be amazing and help people when no one else can."

"If you ever have to wonder whether something you're doing with your abilities is wrong or not, it's probably not ethical," he continued. "Ethics are what separate us from the bad guys, you know? Obviously, you don't want to use your skills for anything evil, but like, showing off to impress people? Not cool. Using your abilities for personal vendettas? Probably not a good idea. I know the topic of ethics isn't black and white - the SPA seems to think it is, but at some point, everyone's gonna run into a situation where the right thing to do might not be clear. Really, it's up to you guys to make sure you can sleep at night with a clear conscience, knowing you're being the best hero you can be."

"I thought maybe we could try to come up with situations where being ethical might be difficult, because then if we ever end up in a situation like that, we might have an easier time knowing what to do. I already came up with a few examples of my own." Yes, he was passing out a handout now, because he was just that thorough. "Think of it like a self-assessment, to see what you'd do."

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Ethically!

Lex Luthor

Raven

Sam LaCroix

Tony Stark

Luke Castellan

Stephanie Brown

Squall Leonhart

Elphaba Thropp

Kate Daniels

Shane Gooseman

Butters Stotch

And be glad Electroclash doesn't let Billy talk every week.

Raven really didn't want to be out and about with the rest of the student population and their amplified hormones today, but she'd already missed enough classes. She kept her shields tightly raised around herself and did her best to focus on the class.

When might it be difficulty to be an ethical superhero?

[Billy might be neat, but messy threads are certainly welcome here!]

"I think if your family or friends are involved and you want revenge and not just to simply save them, ethics might get tossed out the window," Sam decided after some thought.

"Any time personal feelings are involved, ethics become difficult," Squall added. "And people are annoyingly inconsistent when they try to tell you whether personal things or the public good is more important."

Are you a good future superhero, or someone whose ethics might be called into question? Let's find out!

You woke up this morning and discovered that you have the ability to generate lightning in your hands. You have been bullied relentlessly at school by the same neanderthal, and today is no exception. Upon being cornered, do you:
a) Hold back on the firepower and take the beating. Hurting the bully will only bring you down to his level, and you know you're better than him now.
b) Show the bully a hint of what you can do, in the hope of scaring him off. Sure, he might be stupid enough to beat you up again anyway, but at least you tried.
c) Zap the crap out of him. He totally has it coming!

Edited 2012-02-16 10:49 (UTC)

Raven had to go with a write-in:

None of the above. I would teleport away regardless of if I had lightning powers or not.

Lex circled b, because he was honest enough to know that if he had the chance to zap Oliver Queen with lightning, he would, just a little.

b. Answer c is unethical and answer a is stupid. The pragmatic path is to use enough force to dissuade the bully without getting in trouble.

Elphaba circled b, though she'd have to admit that c sounded appealing.

Goose chose option b, even though he was tempted to go with option c.

During an evening of intimacy, your electricity-controlling powers flare, and afterwards, you discover that you accidentally fried all the electronic things in your partner's dorm room. Do you:
a) Explain what happened, apologize, and offer to buy your partner new things to replace what's been broken, while making a mental note about how to maybe avoid a similar situation in the future.
b) Explain what happened, apologize, and offer to try to fix what's been broken. Maybe your powers can undo the damage!
c) Pretend you don't know what happened, and flee from the room without saying anything. It's at least partly your partner's fault for doing whatever they did to make you flare out in the first place!

Raven went with A, of course. And she'd be mortified.

Lex circled b again, then added. Suggest replicating the conditions to see if it happens again. For science. And to find ways to prevent it happening again.

A or b, depending on how much money you have available. Also, you should spend your future evenings of intimacy far away from any electronic things that can be damaged.

Elphaba read the question and shook her head.

She circled b, and resisted the urge to add 'not that this would ever happen' after the answer.

Goose selected b again.

Who might never be allowed to make a handout again.

Once she pings in!

Whereas Billy might've disliked the timing of this lecture, Electroclash found it suited her fan-fucking-tastically, because now she didn't have to look at any of the students and horrify herself by fancying anyone who looked older than they were supposed to be.

She kept her head down, and entertained herself by looking over Billy's handout and assigning the different reaction options to her group of friends.

electrocynic is right, it is really hard not to type "Herping" sometimes. :D

It is, isn't it? :D

Also, aww, Billy. Electroclash wants you to teach all her classes for her now.

Heee! He is so earnest, he cannot help it!

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Superheroing 101, Thursday, Period 4

Sign In! [Heroing 02/16]

Re: Sign In! [Heroing 02/16]

Re: Sign In! [Heroing 02/16]

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Re: Sign In! [Heroing 02/16]

Re: Sign In! [Heroing 02/16]

Re: Sign In! [Heroing 02/16]

Re: Sign In! [Heroing 02/16]

Re: Sign In! [Heroing 02/16]

Listen to the Lecture [Heroing 02/16]

Re: Listen to the Lecture [Heroing 02/16]

Discussion [Heroing 02/16]

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Take the Self-Assessment [Heroing 02/16]

Take the Self-Assessment: Question 1

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Take the Self-Assessment: Question 2

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Talk to Billy [Heroing 02/16]

Talk to Electroclash [Heroing 02/16]

Re: Talk to Electroclash [Heroing 02/16]

OOC [Heroing 02/16]

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