Powers, Identity, and The World; Embracing the Real You - Friday, Period One

[furnaceface]

//Right. So... We don't have much of a discussion prepared for today,// Jono admitted, looking a touch sheepish. //This semester apparently hasn't been much good for that. But we haven't cashed in our 'movie day' get out of jail free card yet, either, so I found an old episode of the Y-People cartoon to show, and then we can discuss it afterward. How you felt about the situation of the young girl, your opinion on the animation, whatever you wish. It's topical, at least.//

He shrugged his shoulders, and then slid a Y-People VHS into an old VCR, because that was just how the 90s rolled, okay?

[Open!]

Comments

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[spin_kick_snap]

"I've never--"

He just liked leaving her at a loss for words. That was the only thing Kathy could really figure. He just liked saying things that were full of so much compassion and understanding that, even when delivered as a lecture and meant as one, she was just left staring at him, mouth open, like an idiot.

"You mean if I don't screw it up?" she asked, trying to put this conversation back onto a script that she knew the lines for.

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[furnaceface]

//That's the great thing about the potential that you define,// Jono replied, shrugging his shoulders simply. //So long as you're living and breathing, you get as many chances as you're willing to give yourself. If you screw it up, do it again. Do it better. Anything less than that would be selling yourself short.//

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy mulled on that for a minute. Before now, talk of her potential had either been the goad to make her work harder or the lash for when she didn't live up to it.

"That's not how I'm used to thinking about it," she confessed.

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[furnaceface]

//It isn't how a lot of people are used to thinking about it,// Jono replied. //Hell, it took me years to figure it out. 'Potential' was this far away, impossible thing that I could never live up to. It got less terrifying once I started setting realistic goals for myself and pushing myself to be better by my standards, not somebody else's.//

That didn't mean he was always smart about it, but at least he was somewhat more at peace with it.

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[spin_kick_snap]

"I know what I want, I'm just not always sure how to get there," Kathy said, voice quiet. "The mirror...it seemed to promise that I could. That I would. And that it could show me how."

They'd all seen how well that had gone.

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[furnaceface]

//There's the trouble with oracles,// Jono noted. //It's one thing to have a window to your future. But if you do nothing but sit and watch for maybes, you'll miss your chance to embrace any of it.//

There was a pause, and then he gestured for the seat at the desk.

//If you'd like to talk about it, luv, I might have some idea of what it is you're aiming for.//

He'd spent plenty of time in tights. He liked to think he knew that sort of look about a person, by now.

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy took a seat, the whole line of her body uncertain. "You wouldn't mind?" she asked. "I mean, I wouldn't blame you if you just wanted me to go now that I've apologized."

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[furnaceface]

//You're not the only one in the room who sold themselves to Gaunt,// Jono replied, shrugging easily as he leaned back against the desk. //I wouldn't mind in the least. It's what I'm here for.//

He was very careful to not say it was his job. While it technically was, that wasn't why he was here every week, after all. He hardly needed to draw a paycheque to get by, after all.

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[spin_kick_snap]

Not even leaving his money criminally under-utilized in a bank account somewhere the way he did. Not even an interest-bearing CD. A bank account. What was this, the 60's?

"Okay," she said, still looking like she wasn't entirely sure whether to believe him, but willing to extend the benefit of the doubt. "Looking back, though, it all seems pretty stupid. Petty. Like when you were little and you were convinced that the one thing you wanted in all the world was that year's huge media-tie-in toy."

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[furnaceface]

//When I was little, the one thing I wanted more than anything was to be a rock star,// Jono offered, a little wryly. //Hannah Montana actually dragged me onto the stage once for a duet.//

A beat.

//Never again.//

Helpful, Jono.

//Still, it was what I wanted to be. Petty though it was. I can look back now and realize how ridiculous it was, but that doesn't change the fact that it was a large part of my identity.//

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[spin_kick_snap]

"Well, the first thing it showed me was my acceptance letter to Stanford," she said, nervously playing with her hair. "Unconditional acceptance, a free ride based solely on merit, not financial need. My parents--I'd never seen them look so proud. And then it shifted to me, talking to some...people...I know. They're all older, more mature, more powerful. But they were listening to me and nodding. They respected me, saw me as an equal and valued person who had thoughts worth contributing."

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[furnaceface]

//Powerful, luv?//

Look Kathy, Jono knew how this game was played. He'd been playing it for a long, long time.

//Peers of yours in your extracurricular hobbies?//

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy nodded. "Yeah. In LA there are people who can fly, and spit fire, and heal others of any injuries in seconds, or knock someone unconscious with a look...And I'm fast. And bouncy. And I dress in rainbows. Which, I know that's my choice, but I'm not about to get taken extra-seriously because of it."

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[furnaceface]

//Bah. Heroes are taken seriously based on the good that they do, not the powers they have or the costumes they wear,// Jono replied. //I've had teammates before with powers like prehensile skin, and lord, give me an afternoon and I can take you through the greatest hits of the most ridiculous uniforms the X-Men and New Warriors had me wearing. You'd laugh yourself sick.//

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[spin_kick_snap]

"Maybe if there's a whole team wearing stupid outfits?" Kathy said. "Looking stupid in a group is one thing. But when someone drops in front of you trailing ribbons and rainbows, believe me, no one's first thought is 'I wonder how much good she's done.' I mean, part of that is why I like wearing them? It only helps me when the people I'm up against underestimate me because I--" She soured. "--Look like I'm one unicorn short of a Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper, but it does work against me when I need to make people listen up quick."

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[furnaceface]

Jono just raised an eyebrow.

And then pulled out his phone.

And turned it on.

And flicked through the photos.

And then handed it over to her.

//I maintain that if it works for you, fine. Dress however the hell you like. It's the work you do as a hero that matters in the eyes of the heroes around you, let them judge you by your merits. And if they won't, then they're not worth the time it takes to worry about it.//

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy had so many questions. So, so many. Like...why was he blue? And huge? And wearing a kilt? And arm warmers.

"Uhhh...Why--?"

Hopefully that encompassed all of them.

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[furnaceface]

//Lost a bet with a teammate.//

That answered at least two of those questions, anyway.

//They still looked to me as de facto leader when a handful of us were separated from the one who actually was in charge and left for dead, though.//

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[spin_kick_snap]

"But rainbows aside, I'm still the least impressive person on the team," Kathy pointed out. "The only kid, the only girl, the one with the least impressive powers. I don't know if they see me as being on their level. Heck, I don't know if I even see my on their level. So seeing them all listening to me in spite of that? I just ate it up."

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[furnaceface]

//I'm going to stop you right there,// Jono said again, and again he was going through the pictures on his phone.

Ah, there.

//Jubilee.//

It had been the nineties. For the record.

//Smallest, youngest. Not the only girl, granted, but her powerset involved making cute little fireworks. And after we all lost our powers, she was the one who stepped up to lead a team of superheroes. Just think about that for a moment. She never had the most impressive ability to start with. And then, without her powers at all, she was leading superheroes. Kicking ass and chewing bubblegum, half the size of everyone on her team, and saving bloody lives in yellow and pink.//

So, go on and tell him some more about how you have no potential because you're a tiny girl with a cute costume and bouncing powers, Kathy. Because Jono was going to call bullshit.

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[spin_kick_snap]

"How much did anybody listen to her when they all did have superpowers?" Kathy asked. "Not when you were all on a level-ish playing field, but before that?"

Maybe one of the reasons Jubilee stepped up with no one else did was because she was already used to not relying on her powers, so she wasn't as lost without them.

"And...it's not so much that I'm denying my potential? It was the mirror showing me everyone else recognizing it, too."

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[furnaceface]

Okay, now Jono found himself wanting to throttle her a little. Which, again, he imagined plenty of people wanted to do with him at that age, too.

Sigh.

At least he was good at tamping things like that down so far nobody could see them.

//Alright, let's say for argument's sake that you're right. That your fellow heroes look down on you for whatever reason. You're short, you're cute, you bounce, you're a girl, fine.// He shrugged. //How long have you been at this? Have you worked with them often? Are they heroes in Baltimore that you're concerned about?//

He tilted his head.

//Or do you work solo?//

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm not saying they do look down on me!" Kathy said, getting frustrated at herself for her inability to make her point more clearly. "I'm just saying that they have every reason not to take me seriously." She felt her voice struggling to rise and reined it in, rubbing her thumb in small circles against her palm to help keep her tone appropriate for speaking to an adult.

"I'm sorry," she said, a few slow breaths later. "I was getting upset and out of line. My question about how much anybody listened to your friend was tangential to my main point. I certainly don't think any of the heroes I know in LA--they're all in LA, the only heroes in Baltimore I know of are from the island--sit around and laugh at me or anything. I'm just saying, I know full well I don't strike anyone as a natural leader or anything. There are a bunch of reasons why I can expect them not to take me seriously. The mirror showed a me that rose above all of those reasons and commanded respect anyway. That was...heady. Exciting. Unexpected."

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[furnaceface]

//Okay...// Jono took a moment to lean his head back and stare up at the ceiling. Hooboy. //And I'm saying, I know exactly what that feels like. I know a few people who do. Hell, I was the X-Men's favourite seat-warmer for months before I quit the team and took up teaching for a while, instead. And it's possible to rise above that. It's possible for you to rise above that. You don't need a mirror to show you that you can, you just need to stop being so bloody hard on yourself and work toward it.//

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm trying," Kathy said, her hands falling back into her lap now that she was no longer in danger of snapping at Mr. Starsmore. "I'm just not sure how."