First Session: Broen

Alright. Well. That was a lot. A lot of information, a lot to digest. But also a lot of context, a lot of understanding. There was no one way to do things, but even so he couldn't help but feel that it explained a lot of... everything.

Losing his powers. Getting them back. Losing them again. And just from the way Broen spoke, it was obvious that his powers meant a lot to him.

He could work with it, though.

"I think even calling them good deeds and bad deeds is a bit simplistic. Realistically, you're looking at two metrics. You're looking at selfish actions compared to selfless actions, and you're looking at things in the short term and the long term. Selfish actions are intended to benefit you. Selfless actions are intended to benefit others. But both can do the opposite. Selfless actions become selfless because they're decisions made to help others, but that doesn't mean they can't benefit you. Often they don't, which is why you get the mentality of good doesn't pay."

Valli realized he was probably dumping a lot on him, but Broen seemed fairly quick on the upkeep, so he kept going.

"I'd like you to think about the two things you did - both at Woodland Imports, and with the whole world-eating monster - and think about why you did those things."

There was definitely a moment of blink blink what? when Broen ever so casually dropped a nigga roll up in your hood into the conversation, because hold on? But after a moment he let it roll over him, mentally switching gears. Unexpected, but not exactly bizarrely out of place or anything like that. He could work with almost anything, after all.

"I think that, in a way, your demeanor reflects that. You are doing what people would consider good things. They're positive actions, things that help others. And, in a perfectly fair and cosmically balanced world, you'd be rewarded for helping others. But this is why I talked about good and bad being oversimplifications, because it sounds as if, regardless of the outcome, your reasoning for those actions were selfish. You saved people, but that wasn't the purpose. And when you talk about these things--about why you did them--it affects how people view you. Someone who stops a baby carriage from getting hit by a car because they wanted to save the baby will be treated differently from someone who does so because they wanted to make sure the car didn't dent. Even though the actions have the same results, the reasons for things change how people perceive you. They change how others react to things. To the feeling of gratitude, and the social results of these behaviors. People are inherently distrustful of those who do seemingly selfless actions for selfish reasons."

Valli didn't really believe that. Not really. People so often said they didn't care, but most people did. That was part of the fundamental human condition, and as far as he could tell Broen was at least as human as him. Humans cared about what other humans thought. That was what they did.

"The rewards for being selfless are social. The universe, as a whole, doesn't care about any one person. It doesn't weigh the cosmic scales. It doesn't say lets punish Broen for what he does. What you're dealing with are chance, and risk taking, and odds. Often it's harder to be selfless than selfish, simply because of the circumstances of those decisions. The universe didn't decide anything. It simply happened."

Even Valli, who didn't really believe in chance or luck, had to admit that it was... well, it certainly sounded a lot like Karma was kicking him in the teeth. There was no getting around that.

Broen was a lot of things. He had anger issues. He felt that life was kicking him while he was down.

"What's your support circle like?" Valli asked, considering the options, and what he could suggest to someone in such a poor situation.

"It makes sense," Valli said. "It's important to have a good support structure, and people you can lean back on. But considering what you've told me, it's understandable that you feel... unsettled by people not being angry with you. The mentality that people are told is that if you are a bad person, people won't like you. Something like instant forgiveness feels cheap, like it should be something you have to earn. But people have a high capacity for forgiveness."

He considered it for a moment, weighing his options as he did.

"I think it might be helpful to you to consider not just yourself, but to make an active effort to consider other people and their reactions to things. To think of why they do the things they do. Why they might choose to forgive you. But in more general terms, why they act the way they do around you. Why do they chose to be kind to you, even when you were cruel in the past?"