Scene I'd Like to See: More Incredibles
Apr. 26th, 2016 01:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wingedbeastSetting: Classroom after class.
Wot: Do you know why you're here after class?
Dash: No. I mean, I know you think I put that tack on your seat, but I couldn't have. I'd-
Wot: You'd have to have a superpower, like super speed, which our society fully knows some children are born with.
Dash: Uh... yeah. But, there's no way I'd have a super power.
Wot: These bits of mischief tend to happen just as there's a breeze between you and whatever mischief happens. And, your parents have a disagreement on whether or not to sign off on you joining the track team.
Dash: Uh...
Wot: And, there's something else, that I'll let you in on.
Dash leans in.: What?
Wot: Teachers are given literature in how to identify children that have super powers and how to respond.
Dash: You're not supposed to know.
Wot: That's right. And, I certainly don't want anybody taking away my memories, giving me gaps in my memory that cause problems, like have happened with some of the schools you went to before your family settled, here. So, Dash, I won't tell anybody what I know and you don't have to tell anybody that I know. Nobody has to move, make plots, or lose chunks of their life to a shadowy government agency.
Dash slumped in his chair.
Wot: I'm not angry, Dash. I wish I could respond more openly to your situation. I wish you didn't have to hide. Arguably, it's not as bad as it used to be.
Dash: It used to be that I'd be trained to be a superhero.
Wot: Dash, you're ten years old. And, you're right. You'd be taken away from here to some facility where you'd be trained to be an agent of the government. You'd be a superhero, and you'd also take orders, and you'd have no choice.
Wot: Have your parents talked about The Wave at all? Not what you do at sports arenas.
Dash: The lawsuits. How a bunch of lawyers ruined it for superheroes, 'cause of making up injuries and blaming them on us.
Wot: That's debatable at best. But, the reason that it pushed superheroes into their secret identities was that the lawsuits were too expensive for the US government. The benefits of putting people in costumes became too much. But, before that, superhero was your only legal option.
Wot: If you didn't want to be a superhero, to put your life on the line, sometimes just to stop some monument from being defaced, your only other option was to break the law.
Dash: That's not what Dad said. He said that it gave him a purpose.
Wot: Some people took to it. Some people didn't. Some people had to hide themselves just to have any kind of life. Others were found out, but didn't want to be taken away from their family, their friends, their life, for a cause they may not believe in. They would find themselves without legal options, so they'd resort to crime.
Dash: You mean that super villains were...
Wot: It's one of the things you'll learn in life, Dash, that people aren't easily sorted into the good ones and the bad ones. Mostly, they're people. Sometimes, they're people in one situation. Sometimes they're people in another.
Wot: I'm telling you all this, Dash, so that you know that, while this isn't the best situation, you still have it pretty good.
Dash looks down and kicks at the floor under his desk.: You won't let me join track, either, will you?
Wot: I don't have any control over that. But, Dash, why do you want to join track?
Dash: Well, duh! I'm super fast. I'd win. I'd be able to show off how great I am!
Wot: I won't disagree that you're great. But, would that really show it off?
Dash: Yeah. I'd win.
Wot: And the other kids? The ones who ate right, trained on weekends, dedicated themselves? What about them?
Dash: Well, they wouldn't be as fast as me.
Wot: Nobody would be. You have an unfair advantage.
Dash: That's not my fault.
Wot: But, that is why you want to join track, isn't it? You can win, easily, by a lot. What a way to excell, huh?
Dash: I'd only win by a little bit.
Wot: Then you wouldn't be excelling, would you? You'd be tricking people into think that you're excelling.
Dash: I can't do anything fun.
Wot: I didn't say that. I'm just pointing out that excellence isn't easy. And, that's what you want, Dash. You want to excel and to for other people to see you excelling, don't you?
Dash: Yeah, doesn't everybody?
Wot: A lot of people, yes. There's nothing wrong with it. And, there are ways for you to do that without cheating.
Dash: I don't want to lose my power. I like being fast.
Wot: You don't have to do that, either. There are other things you can do, other programs you can join. If you want to follow in your parents' footsteps and become a superhero, there are programs that will prepare you better than any race you can run.
Dash looks up, skeptical.
Wot: Chess club could use some members.
Dash: Boring old chess isn't going to help me stop any bad guys.
Wot: Strategy, tactic, being able to put yourself in the shoes of your opponent in order to predict their next move. Did you think every super villain was defeated by, I don't know, wearing a cape too close to a jet engine?
Dash: No.
Wot: They had to be out-thought. You aren't a super power, Dash, you're a person who happens to have a super power. That power won't do everything for you. But, if you can match wit for wit and move for move, you can stop a bad guy without them even needing to know that you have super speed.
Wot: And, Dash?
Dash: Yeah?
Wot: I know you have what it takes. I haven't just noticed the wind you leave when you run fast. I've noticed your timing. I've noticed your choices on who to have between you and a teacher when you play one of these mean pranks. For the innocent act you put on, I could have suggested Drama Club.
Dash: I do this and you won't tell?
Wot: Dash, I'm not telling anybody about your power, full stop. That's not a bargain, that just is what is. You can join Chess Club, you can learn to play and play well and, I have no doubt, excel at it. That's why you should join Chess Club.
Dash: But, you won't tell anybody?
Wot: Not unless you become a supe rvillain. I don't think that's going to happen in grade school. But, do tell your mother to come talk to me about this.
Dash: Why?
Wot: Because parents need to know that teachers are doing the right thing.
Dash: Why are you doing this for me?
Wot: Because, Dash, you are a person. I don't think there needs to be another reason.
Wot: But, Dash, the pranks have to stop. They're not funny. You're hurting people and that has to stop. You're old enough to know that getting away with something doesn't make it right.
Wot: Do you know why you're here after class?
Dash: No. I mean, I know you think I put that tack on your seat, but I couldn't have. I'd-
Wot: You'd have to have a superpower, like super speed, which our society fully knows some children are born with.
Dash: Uh... yeah. But, there's no way I'd have a super power.
Wot: These bits of mischief tend to happen just as there's a breeze between you and whatever mischief happens. And, your parents have a disagreement on whether or not to sign off on you joining the track team.
Dash: Uh...
Wot: And, there's something else, that I'll let you in on.
Dash leans in.: What?
Wot: Teachers are given literature in how to identify children that have super powers and how to respond.
Dash: You're not supposed to know.
Wot: That's right. And, I certainly don't want anybody taking away my memories, giving me gaps in my memory that cause problems, like have happened with some of the schools you went to before your family settled, here. So, Dash, I won't tell anybody what I know and you don't have to tell anybody that I know. Nobody has to move, make plots, or lose chunks of their life to a shadowy government agency.
Dash slumped in his chair.
Wot: I'm not angry, Dash. I wish I could respond more openly to your situation. I wish you didn't have to hide. Arguably, it's not as bad as it used to be.
Dash: It used to be that I'd be trained to be a superhero.
Wot: Dash, you're ten years old. And, you're right. You'd be taken away from here to some facility where you'd be trained to be an agent of the government. You'd be a superhero, and you'd also take orders, and you'd have no choice.
Wot: Have your parents talked about The Wave at all? Not what you do at sports arenas.
Dash: The lawsuits. How a bunch of lawyers ruined it for superheroes, 'cause of making up injuries and blaming them on us.
Wot: That's debatable at best. But, the reason that it pushed superheroes into their secret identities was that the lawsuits were too expensive for the US government. The benefits of putting people in costumes became too much. But, before that, superhero was your only legal option.
Wot: If you didn't want to be a superhero, to put your life on the line, sometimes just to stop some monument from being defaced, your only other option was to break the law.
Dash: That's not what Dad said. He said that it gave him a purpose.
Wot: Some people took to it. Some people didn't. Some people had to hide themselves just to have any kind of life. Others were found out, but didn't want to be taken away from their family, their friends, their life, for a cause they may not believe in. They would find themselves without legal options, so they'd resort to crime.
Dash: You mean that super villains were...
Wot: It's one of the things you'll learn in life, Dash, that people aren't easily sorted into the good ones and the bad ones. Mostly, they're people. Sometimes, they're people in one situation. Sometimes they're people in another.
Wot: I'm telling you all this, Dash, so that you know that, while this isn't the best situation, you still have it pretty good.
Dash looks down and kicks at the floor under his desk.: You won't let me join track, either, will you?
Wot: I don't have any control over that. But, Dash, why do you want to join track?
Dash: Well, duh! I'm super fast. I'd win. I'd be able to show off how great I am!
Wot: I won't disagree that you're great. But, would that really show it off?
Dash: Yeah. I'd win.
Wot: And the other kids? The ones who ate right, trained on weekends, dedicated themselves? What about them?
Dash: Well, they wouldn't be as fast as me.
Wot: Nobody would be. You have an unfair advantage.
Dash: That's not my fault.
Wot: But, that is why you want to join track, isn't it? You can win, easily, by a lot. What a way to excell, huh?
Dash: I'd only win by a little bit.
Wot: Then you wouldn't be excelling, would you? You'd be tricking people into think that you're excelling.
Dash: I can't do anything fun.
Wot: I didn't say that. I'm just pointing out that excellence isn't easy. And, that's what you want, Dash. You want to excel and to for other people to see you excelling, don't you?
Dash: Yeah, doesn't everybody?
Wot: A lot of people, yes. There's nothing wrong with it. And, there are ways for you to do that without cheating.
Dash: I don't want to lose my power. I like being fast.
Wot: You don't have to do that, either. There are other things you can do, other programs you can join. If you want to follow in your parents' footsteps and become a superhero, there are programs that will prepare you better than any race you can run.
Dash looks up, skeptical.
Wot: Chess club could use some members.
Dash: Boring old chess isn't going to help me stop any bad guys.
Wot: Strategy, tactic, being able to put yourself in the shoes of your opponent in order to predict their next move. Did you think every super villain was defeated by, I don't know, wearing a cape too close to a jet engine?
Dash: No.
Wot: They had to be out-thought. You aren't a super power, Dash, you're a person who happens to have a super power. That power won't do everything for you. But, if you can match wit for wit and move for move, you can stop a bad guy without them even needing to know that you have super speed.
Wot: And, Dash?
Dash: Yeah?
Wot: I know you have what it takes. I haven't just noticed the wind you leave when you run fast. I've noticed your timing. I've noticed your choices on who to have between you and a teacher when you play one of these mean pranks. For the innocent act you put on, I could have suggested Drama Club.
Dash: I do this and you won't tell?
Wot: Dash, I'm not telling anybody about your power, full stop. That's not a bargain, that just is what is. You can join Chess Club, you can learn to play and play well and, I have no doubt, excel at it. That's why you should join Chess Club.
Dash: But, you won't tell anybody?
Wot: Not unless you become a supe rvillain. I don't think that's going to happen in grade school. But, do tell your mother to come talk to me about this.
Dash: Why?
Wot: Because parents need to know that teachers are doing the right thing.
Dash: Why are you doing this for me?
Wot: Because, Dash, you are a person. I don't think there needs to be another reason.
Wot: But, Dash, the pranks have to stop. They're not funny. You're hurting people and that has to stop. You're old enough to know that getting away with something doesn't make it right.
