My bunny slippers just ran for cover

[will_you_still]

Morgan doesn't strictly need to sleep. Even if she didn't want to put up with the annoyance of constantly having a caffeine buzz and having to ask for coffee on almost every summon, there are naps. Naps can keep a daeva going for quite a long time.

But there's something unutterably pleasant about curling up in a proper bed in pajamas and just sleeping. And then waking up and getting breakfast in those pajamas. So she does that, because immortality's a long unpleasant time if you don't enjoy the little things every now and then. Like adorable bunny slippers and soft pajamas and sleeping in.

She's midway through a fruity salad thing that counts as the standard fairy breakfast when she feels the summon. Showing up to a summon in pajamas? Eh. If they're proper summoners she bets they've seen worse, and she doesn't particularly care if they think she's unprofessional.

She puts her spoon down and accepts the summon.

Comments

[acanofworms]

"There are some interpretations of the situation and the word 'well' that might make this sentence true."

[will_you_still]

"What's your interpretation?"

[acanofworms]

"Glam is a young person who has made some serious mistakes and is afraid of their consequences, who doesn't trust the system and is lashing out at it. They very rarely do anything really harmful, they're a very strong asset against both villains and Endbringers, though unfortunately the Simurgh has limited their usefulness there. And their antics would be the kind that I would love to ignore if they didn't threaten to wear away even more at our image. They are, basically, a teenager with powers.

"As for an interpretation of the word 'well,' that will depend wholly on what your plans are."

[will_you_still]

Oh, that's not so bad. She was expecting to get chewed out for not helping with the full breadth of her powers.

"Ha. Teenagers are terrifying enough without superpowers. The antics definitely need to stop," she agrees, "and I will do my best to make them stop. What happens specifically will depend on how they take to talking to me. While I'd like to toss them to the Wards for a year for some discipline, I can't help but think that it would, ah, explode horribly. What's the Protectorate's view on villains that leave the country?"

[acanofworms]

"Villains are, for all intents and purposes, still criminals. All relevant laws apply, plus a few others because they are parahumans."

[will_you_still]

".... So it could work if they fled to a country that didn't have a government to extradite them?"

[acanofworms]

"...are you planning to move them out of the USA? Because that would be a felony."

[will_you_still]

"I am thinking through my options," she says, a little tartly. "I'm not actually currently planning anything in regards to Glam, just trying to figure out all of the possible actions and their consequences."

[acanofworms]

He sighs. "I've explained to you what the Protectorate's main objectives are, haven't I?"

[will_you_still]

"I think if you did it might have been during emergency relief while I was downing ridiculous amounts of coffee and trying to learn everything about the world by observing it. Would you mind restating them?"

[acanofworms]

"The two main ones are to provide structure to parahumans, and to work on our image. When parahumans aren't organized into something with a good image, the populace resents us, hates us, and there is war and strife. Just look at the many third-world countries now ruled by parahuman warlords that don't last a week. Look at their heroes-to-villains rate.

"To do that, we need to bend. We can't be above the law, we need to be held accountable for our actions. It's why the Protectorate is under the PRT, it's why the Directors of the many units are all required to not be parahumans. And that means that we are often forced to arrest and send away capes we would rather have on our side, helping. Yes, Deputy Chief Director Reinhold has talked to me about your conversation and your desire to 'redeem' villains. And we often do. We offer them bargains, we reform them, we change their identities so we can have them on our side. We can't always do this.

"Do you understand why we obey the law, Morgan?"

[will_you_still]

"Yes. I haven't broken any laws, but I am not dismissing it entirely as an option, because it could in some cases be worth it, if it means the world is safer."

[acanofworms]

"Trust me, I understand that, and I cannot say that I am completely faultless. But the thing is, it's very easy to convince ourselves that something that looks good at the time is actually good. We don't actually know what actions make the world safer, in the long run, and as an organization, the Protectorate must keep its image and must follow the law, because if we break it whenever it looks like it would make the world safer, it won't be."

[will_you_still]

"And I understand that, it is in the best interests of the Protectorate to protect its image, I will not argue that you should take over the United States and run a parahuman ruled regime the likes of which the world has never seen before," as gorgeous as that could be if someone intelligent were in charge, "or that you should even help me do it in any way. But I think the system is broken and there needs to be more options available to parahumans that lead them to helpful paths instead of pranking the PHQ. So I'm trying to think of ways to subvert it or fix it, and not limiting my available options."

[acanofworms]

"And at the same time, if you commit a crime, the Protectorate can't publicly associate with you and will be forced to try to capture you, for that very same reason."

[will_you_still]

"I understand that, too."

If they catch her.

[acanofworms]

He sighs. "With that in mind, then... I wish you the best of luck, and hope we don't have to waste the very same resources Glam is making us waste on you."

[will_you_still]

"I am really not the type to pull petty pranks at that scale," she says dryly. "But yes, point taken."

[acanofworms]

"Good."

[will_you_still]

Pause.

"Is this a good time to mention my current solution to the third-world-country warlord problem?"

[acanofworms]

"Does it involve bringing local criminals to those third-world countries?"

[will_you_still]

"No. Well, yes, but probably not immediately, I don't want to let a bunch of criminals at a place that has no law enforcement and tell them to go nuts, but. I mean. Is it illegal to become a warlord?"

[acanofworms]

"...unless you're planning on violating international law or committing crimes against humanity, the word 'illegal' will have a hard time applying to anything you do at one of those places."

[will_you_still]

"That was my understanding."

[acanofworms]

"I can't officially endorse this plan. That said, I can't say creating more parahuman organizations and helping stabilize the world is something that would make me unhappy." He scratches his chin. "It might even be one of the best possible uses of your time, in particular."