>> Oh, I'm not laughing. I'd completely understand the urge to actually get past a current limitation to do what you're burning from the inside out to accomplish, and whatever's standing in the way is just. Not. Changeable. <<
Sooth.
>> If I ever gained a "superpower" (not to be confused with Mother Russia) I think I'd have an even worse time with my own ethics than I do now. <<
I can sympathize.
>> I mean, it's hard enough hearing the social script that reads the same way as, "wasn't a witch or wizard who went dark tha' weren't in Slytherin." <<
And then they wonder why.
>> The social expectation from the world around me is, "You're not in jail? A prostitute or an addict?" all in tones ranging from surprise to complete shock-- <<
That really sucks. It can turn nasty. Mr. Pernicious is my salient example of internalized racism, for instance, making himself into what people said he was.
>> while I haven't let that become internalized, mostly through sheer pigheadedness, my REACTION to this crap is far more dangerous. <<
True. Our experiences shape our actions to a significant degree. The greatest temptation is to hit back. Not many people can resist it. Not a lot even try.
>> Striking back at the direct causes of harm like that is so tempting. If they're not around, indirect targets would probably do in a pinch. Gee, that seems to happen a lot in world history... <<
It does. And look what results it gets. Stopping at the right place is very difficult.
But I'll tell you two things. One is that I've wrecked more than a few people just with the powers I already have, and mostly learned not to do that. My words alone can be devastating if I'm not careful. But I don't go about looking for people to pick on, which is more than can be said of most 'normal' people.
The other is that I already know you well enough to feel fair confident of your ethics. Add more power, and you might make some beginner mistakes, but I don't think you'd attack people out of malice or personal gratification. Use excessive force on the culpable, yes; that's a typical power curve error. But it's something one can learn to control. I don't see you as the kind of person to wreak havoc without a damn good reaason. In today's political climate, that basic level of human decency is not to be taken for granted.
>> If I *knew* i could keep a lid on the darker aspects of my personality, I'd really love to have a small superpower. "Small", not because I think making plants grow is "less" useful than an adamantium skeleton, but because I prefer to get in and maximize what I can do with small bits, craps other people have overlooked, whether that's making quilts from damaged clothing, or picking apart a paragraph of fiction to see how many USES a particular phrase has in context. <<
Discreet, perhaps; or even pixellated. A microcosmic talent rather than a macrocosmic one. I think that would suit you.
I've always admired stories about characters who do much with little. With a Single Spell is a favorite novel, and the Myth Adventures series had a similar motif. That's another reason why I like writing some superheroes who just have one modest talent, rather than having them all be multipowered BAMFs.
>> I'd love to have Cyclops' (the Scott Summers, Marvel comics version) ability to see trajectories and three-dimensional spaces in an eye blink. <<
Interesting.
>> Clint Barton has a similar ability, though not obviously born of a mutation. <<
*chuckle* Well, that depends on your definition. X-gene? Canonically, no. But is he wearing standard human eyeballs? Just as obviously not. Even though he's male, I'd bet on him being tetrachromat. His visual acuity is also so far beyond the norm that he's able to compete on a super scale. Just because it isn't flashy like Cyclops doesn't mean it isn't a mutation. Mutation is just a change from a base gene -- as Charles rightly pointed out in the movie, that includes things like red hair. Some things are established in a gene pool, like that one; others are unique. Tony's intelligence is easily high enough to count, he just didn't get it from the X-gene.
>> What would I do with it? Finally be able to draft out a set of slopers that work for custom clothing patterns. <<
That would be handy.
>> I'd take up woodworking and cabinetry which is more like true carving than following a recipe (until the smoke alarm goes off). Teach preschoolers to fold origami cups. Learn to make 3D models in computer programs. Make a living at any of the above, and volunteer my time and skills in the locla community. <<
Very cool.
>> Even a successful use of Dr. Erskine's super-soldier serum isn't worth risking everything I've learned, just to be able to calculate satellite orbits or the vectors of two colliding cars in time to nudge one of them to a less dangerous path. <<
True. That's dicey stuff, even buffered. Because everyone is a mix of light and dark, and most people can't hold focus under that kind of stress. But never let it be said that Steve didn't get anything out of all those beatings. He has fucking unshakeable focus. *snicker* Those poor bastards in the elevator. No wonder he felt compelled to give them one last chance at an exit. There is no way they had fully informed consent for the amount of asskicking they were about to get.
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dancing_serpent
Re: Shudder.
Date: 2014-04-21 09:35 am (UTC)Sooth.
>> If I ever gained a "superpower" (not to be confused with Mother Russia) I think I'd have an even worse time with my own ethics than I do now. <<
I can sympathize.
>> I mean, it's hard enough hearing the social script that reads the same way as, "wasn't a witch or wizard who went dark tha' weren't in Slytherin." <<
And then they wonder why.
>> The social expectation from the world around me is, "You're not in jail? A prostitute or an addict?" all in tones ranging from surprise to complete shock-- <<
That really sucks. It can turn nasty. Mr. Pernicious is my salient example of internalized racism, for instance, making himself into what people said he was.
>> while I haven't let that become internalized, mostly through sheer pigheadedness, my REACTION to this crap is far more dangerous. <<
True. Our experiences shape our actions to a significant degree. The greatest temptation is to hit back. Not many people can resist it. Not a lot even try.
>> Striking back at the direct causes of harm like that is so tempting. If they're not around, indirect targets would probably do in a pinch. Gee, that seems to happen a lot in world history... <<
It does. And look what results it gets. Stopping at the right place is very difficult.
But I'll tell you two things. One is that I've wrecked more than a few people just with the powers I already have, and mostly learned not to do that. My words alone can be devastating if I'm not careful. But I don't go about looking for people to pick on, which is more than can be said of most 'normal' people.
The other is that I already know you well enough to feel fair confident of your ethics. Add more power, and you might make some beginner mistakes, but I don't think you'd attack people out of malice or personal gratification. Use excessive force on the culpable, yes; that's a typical power curve error. But it's something one can learn to control. I don't see you as the kind of person to wreak havoc without a damn good reaason. In today's political climate, that basic level of human decency is not to be taken for granted.
>> If I *knew* i could keep a lid on the darker aspects of my personality, I'd really love to have a small superpower. "Small", not because I think making plants grow is "less" useful than an adamantium skeleton, but because I prefer to get in and maximize what I can do with small bits, craps other people have overlooked, whether that's making quilts from damaged clothing, or picking apart a paragraph of fiction to see how many USES a particular phrase has in context. <<
Discreet, perhaps; or even pixellated. A microcosmic talent rather than a macrocosmic one. I think that would suit you.
I've always admired stories about characters who do much with little. With a Single Spell is a favorite novel, and the Myth Adventures series had a similar motif. That's another reason why I like writing some superheroes who just have one modest talent, rather than having them all be multipowered BAMFs.
>> I'd love to have Cyclops' (the Scott Summers, Marvel comics version) ability to see trajectories and three-dimensional spaces in an eye blink. <<
Interesting.
>> Clint Barton has a similar ability, though not obviously born of a mutation. <<
*chuckle* Well, that depends on your definition. X-gene? Canonically, no. But is he wearing standard human eyeballs? Just as obviously not. Even though he's male, I'd bet on him being tetrachromat. His visual acuity is also so far beyond the norm that he's able to compete on a super scale. Just because it isn't flashy like Cyclops doesn't mean it isn't a mutation. Mutation is just a change from a base gene -- as Charles rightly pointed out in the movie, that includes things like red hair. Some things are established in a gene pool, like that one; others are unique. Tony's intelligence is easily high enough to count, he just didn't get it from the X-gene.
>> What would I do with it? Finally be able to draft out a set of slopers that work for custom clothing patterns. <<
That would be handy.
>> I'd take up woodworking and cabinetry which is more like true carving than following a recipe (until the smoke alarm goes off). Teach preschoolers to fold origami cups. Learn to make 3D models in computer programs. Make a living at any of the above, and volunteer my time and skills in the locla community. <<
Very cool.
>> Even a successful use of Dr. Erskine's super-soldier serum isn't worth risking everything I've learned, just to be able to calculate satellite orbits or the vectors of two colliding cars in time to nudge one of them to a less dangerous path. <<
True. That's dicey stuff, even buffered. Because everyone is a mix of light and dark, and most people can't hold focus under that kind of stress. But never let it be said that Steve didn't get anything out of all those beatings. He has fucking unshakeable focus. *snicker* Those poor bastards in the elevator. No wonder he felt compelled to give them one last chance at an exit. There is no way they had fully informed consent for the amount of asskicking they were about to get.