metaheroes | Reddit | text

Entry tags:

Reddit | text | anonymous

Display Name: fck_u_anon0902
Profile Photo: A selfie of a brunette teen girl with a hand blocking her face, middle finger extended
Notes: swearing likely, possible discussions of trauma/kidnapping/brainwashing

Looks like my free ride is over. I'm still not sure about these guilds, though.

Has anyone here decided to join the Alliance? What made you choose them?

I want to keep being a hero, but I have a bad history with fucking adults telling me I can only do it if I officially register with their way of doing things.

I just don't know if I can trust they're really good.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Not with the alliance but several people I care about are.

The guilds are certainly worth the protection and finances they offer. As far as trusting either, well, at least the society is upfront about their expectations. Being wary of the Alliance truly being 'good' will likely serve you well.

And if it goes south, you won't be alone in pushing against it.

you're with the Society, then? what's that like? it doesn't make things awkward between you and the Alliance people you know?

idk if I trust the Society any more than I trust the Alliance, tbh. like, yeah, they're upfront. but they're also villains. I've done that villain shit. I've lived that life. I don't want to go back.

The people who know me know my values and that I make my own decisions. Sometimes we can help each other out, too, if our guilds limit our own movement.

I am not implying I trust the society more, simply that I do trust them to operate in the way they operate. There are secrets. There are unsavory characters I prefer not to interact with. The same would have been true in the Alliance, and they respect my boundaries. There's pageantry in both, but I don't have to hurt anyone.

Regardless, I am not trying to convince you to join the Society. I think the Guilds are worth their protection, but worth being aware there will be parts you do not like either way.

but like, how *does* the Society operate? do you have a crime quota you have to meet? if I joined the Society but kept being a hero on my own time, would they try to stop me from doing that?

I run a business and they get a certain amount of my income. Certainly not all of the items I traffic are legal, but I also generally have control over what I want to take off the market. Occasionally I am directed to make a sale I don't know the details of.

I am required to maintain a public persona that does vaguely villainous things every so often, but it's entirely theater. I've helped a good deal of people, and no one's thought twice about it, so long as I am not doing it under their monicker.

I'm older than you and have experience navigating corrupt systems, but I also don't feel they've made any real effort to breathe down my neck about my decisions.

idk. it's nice that they're not stopping you from helping people, but I really don't think I could stomach the idea of willingly calling myself a villain again. I don't think I could join the Society.

I know that's not what you're trying to get me to do, I'm just sort of thinking out loud.

bc you're right. I am young. and older people, heroes and politicians, and parents, and parole officers... they're always trying to tell us young people what we can and can't do, and how we should or shouldn't feel about the shit we are doing. I've gone through a lot of shit just because I chose to put on a mask and help people. authority figures locking me up, messing with my fucking head. they fucking made me cry on national fucking television, trying to convince other young heroes like me that what we were doing was wrong.

I want the security and money that the guilds say they're gonna give me. but I can't go through that shit again.

Edited (phone typo) 2023-01-29 18:29 (UTC)

Then don't. Your own feelings are the best compass you have. I'm sorry that all happened to you, and it's wise to protect yourself.

I think you'll find you aren't the only one with those concerns or that sort of history. There are good people in the Alliance, and I genuinely believe no one is going to get on you for helping people. The security is there.

It sounds like you want to join, you're just afraid of the unknowns. That's what our hearts do when they try to protect us from things that were never in our control. I say go for the resources, find people who can help, and if you have to abandon ship later, well, you seem very capable of that decision.

[ UGH! She hadn't meant to trauma dump like that, and now that she did, it's kind of embarrassing. At least her name isn't attached to this... ]

thanks. that's a lot of really nice stuff to say to some stranger on the internet.

I guess I just have a lot of soul searching to do. but I'll put one tally mark in the "join" column.

When I was disoriented and hurting and young, kind strangers helped me get on me feet again. You've carried more than your share; it's good you can let others help when they offer.

Good luck with your decision. You'll figure it out.

thanks. I'll try.

and hey, where's that business of yours? in case I ever need something less-than-legal.

I run the antiques shop in Excelsior -- you'll know the one.

Everything illicit is in the back. I get plenty of Alliance customers.

Excelsior, got it.

thanks for being so chill, even after I spilled all my crap.

I'm told that's one of my talents.

I didn't go with either of them, but I'm still doing my thing! I know they're supposed to make things easier on us, but it felt WEIRD, y'know?

[ Fuck, it's Peter. Lana feels guilty now for not just talking to him one-on-one to get his take on the guilds. But she wanted to get a larger sample size, so an online post was the best way to do that. ]

how are you paying rent and shit, though? you have time for off the books superheroing and also a part time job at McDonald's?

[WHOOPS~~~?]

I mean, that's how I did it BEFORE I wound up here? Is that super old school of me?

I've also got some good friends here! They help out with some of that.

[ Lana decides she'll come off anon, just this one time. ]

hey, that was my reddit post.

I'm a little nervous trying to make it by on my own, now that my free ride at the hotel is up.

you would think I would be used to this bullshit by now, I've been on my own for so long back home... but somehow it feels different, doing it in a whole new world.

[Peter didn't figure that one out on his own, this time. He's actually surprised to get that text from her, and now that he's not "masked up", so to speak, he definitely feels like he can talk a little more openly.]

Hey, it's ok. I totally get that. This place is super screwy in a lot of ways, and... it does feel different. There are so many more heroes around, too, so that's pretty intimidating. Lots more people to get on your case for not doing something the "right way", you know?

exactly. and I kind of had enough of that bullshit back home. I don't want people telling me what I can and can't do.

but tbh, they're going to try to do that whether I join or not.

Yeaaahhhh, they definitely are. It's kind of like trying to dodge the Jehovah's Witness people. I still go to school, too. It kind of feels like a weird new form of bullying, people constantly trying to get you to join up with a group.

But like I said, I haven't joined anyone. It doesn't feel right. But I'm lucky to have friends here who're willing to support me with all the other stuff, and you know you can count on me to help you out when and where I can, ok?

I mean, I don't want to mooch off of the friends you're mooching off of already. that's just like... double mooching.

but for real, thank you. it's nice to have you in my corner again.

Okay yeah, but that's just me. A double mooch. :)

You're welcome, Lana. Any time. And hey, now we get to fend off the guild people together! It'll be like being on a mini-team of our own.

I'm gonna be straight with you. Every organization is going to have their own agendas and preoccupations and red tape and all that wonderful bullshit.

But you can probably do better than a group that has "Villainous" in its name. That really told me all I needed to know.

I'm not saying I'm gonna join up with the villains instead. that's the last fucking thing I want to do.

I'm just asking, what are your reasons for signing up with any guild at all? why not just go rogue and make it on your own?

I've only ever been able to do good when I had the support of an organization behind me. I don't know. It keeps me honest? Even if some things about this "Alliance" are annoying as hell.

But also, I'll admit, I kind of followed my friends. Sorry if that's disappointing to you.

that's not disappointing. tbh I've joined teams before just because that's what my friends were doing. it's just that we didn't have government support for that shit.

but while you're here, I might as well ask: what are your top pros and cons for joining the Alliance?

The top positive thing is really the support it gives you. I'd have been homeless and on the street here if not for them.

The biggest con is having to present a family friendly image for their bullshit. Do you have any idea what it's like to be able to curse in front of people?!

i joined. they were making me go to school anyway, and they make all metahumans fight when they're attacked. doesn't matter if you don't join they still tell you what to do if they know you exist this way's well stocked healers and money for mcdonald's

I'm kind of done with school, tbh.

[ She hasn't graduated, technically. But that was never a guarantee that she would anyway, back home. ]

what do you wish you had known about the guild before you joined? like what insider secrets can you give?

i said i was in school. they don't tell me anything i knew they were weird from school just remember if you join that people never do anything for free. adults always want something. yeah you can have the thing you need to save lives but first i'm gonna make you suffer

ok but like. what do they want? how do they make you suffer.

you're being really fucking vague here.

because that's not about the guild. it's just about how adults make deals with kids or anyone they've got something over i don't know what they want - go to their school, fight their fights. it won't do you any good telling you what other people want

alliance gives you a whole ass apartment. do you know rent is like in most of these places? get that gvmnt housing

Honestly, my choice was pretty easy. A few of my friends were already here and already chose the alliance and I wasn't going to just be on the sidelines as a civilian after everything that happened back home.

And well, at home my friends were also part of a government group for all the world saving stuff they did, so it never occurred to me to even think of joining the alliance as weird.

I was planning to sign up with Alliance when my free ride runs out. I trust both the Guilds about as far as I can throw their headquarters, and historically speaking, forced militarization and registration don't tend to end well...but hey, free food and rent.

[Plus, if they really were as sketchy as they felt like they were, it would be easier to keep an eye on them from the inside.]

Vetted alliance answer: Yes.

Honest answer? If you want to be actively in the field, it can be safer to be with the guild. There is support given, and if you're young, running the risk of the disproportionate response that comes to unaffiliated Metas working the streets can be dangerous. Not QUITE as bad as some things got in my native world when they put a registration act into effect, but bad.

If you're going to join a guild, the more important thing is having PEOPLE you trust to have your back. Something more than just the structure.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Reddit | text | anonymous

un: wanderlust

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

cw brainwashing, manipulation

Re: cw brainwashing, manipulation

no subject

no subject

no subject

PM

PM, off anon, un: bombgartner

Re: PM, off anon, un: bombgartner

UN: webhead

still anon;

UN: webhead

>> just a straight up text to Peter's phone

ohhhhh snap

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

un: gunfireparty

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

UN: verucasaltlives

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

UN: fuk_me_urslf0902 | default userpic

un: shénshòujìng

Voice; UN DisArmed

UN: prodigalwandering