14898/NIMBYism

NIMBYism
Date of Scene:	11 May 2023
Location:	Uptown - St. Martin's Island
Synopsis:	Why do so many people bother Earth? Monet has a theory.
Cast of Characters:	Meggan Puceanu, Monet St. Croix

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Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Metropolis isn't Meg's usual stomping grounds. She spends far more diurnal hours in New York, evenings in Gotham, and other times in between. London is a long way away for the blonde Tuath de Danaan, not entirely a bad thing.

She proceeds to open a door from the House of Mystery out to the street, but the expectation to find herself on the street is met. /What/ street is another matter altogether as she promptly trips across the doorstep into chaos. Extra chaos, anyways, since all kinds of a crowd gather outside the Daily Star for a press scrum gone wrong. Some kind of announcement involving speakers, microphones, heaps of people complaining about no affordable housing on /their/ block.

"Really? *This* is what you wanted me t' see, house? You've gotta be kidding me."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
And Monet St. Croix is busy over in Metropolis. It's a -decent- area at least. Not up to /her/ standards, but at the very least it's not somewhere where teh lower class people stay. She doesn't like mingling with the peons unless she has to. So her face has a look of passivity rather than irritation.

The people gathering have her attention over as she glances at them curiously. Mind going to try and extend forwards to see what she can get from the voyeurs that were lollygagging.

Meggan's arrival gets a quick look of interest. "What brings you here?"

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Noise permeates the discussion between several reporters, fair housing advocates, and irritated Metropolitans. Supporters wave signs. Protesters wear Karen haircuts and demand by waving phones around, one beleaguered city councillor standing to the side in a knot of disapproving, frowning folks. Another couple cops poking their heads out from the special crimes unit aren't really up for involving themselves, their peers from the beat at least making their presence known. No one has come to blows but plenty of accusatory fingers and bitter statements roll through the group as they get their precious press coverage.

"It's ridiculous. Our children can't even afford to live here!"
"They should work harder. I had a house at your age."

Meggan puts her hand to her brow, trying to see through the sunlight splashing down. It's too late to go back into the House of Mystery; the door she walked through simply isn't there anymore. That leaves her abandoned, marooned on an island of asphalt, trying to avoid being run over by a pair maneuvering a piece out of a gallery and going around Monet with more care than the English woman. "Hey--"

--"llo!" See, she can eliminate the confusion by being polite. "I've not an idea at all. Miss Lamplighter." Her fingers ruffle her curling blonde hair, the shade brighter than before, not nearly white-gold so much as gold now. "Have we ever properly said hello when not fighting monsters in the sky? I'm Meg."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would just go to shrug her shoulders over while glancing. Things seem somewhat normal. People complaining about being driven out of the area. She would murmur, "This is what is called gentrification. It's rather common as those with higher incomes move over to areas with lower prices, in turn buying up swathes of it and raising the appearances of the area, which in turn leads to higher real estate and property values." She would just turn her attention over to it a little more.

Speaking as one of thsoe that would have bought /up/ areas for this sort of thing, as would her family, she sees nothing particularly surprising. It's just the way capitalism works. Musing over idly and scanning the mind of one of those speaking that 'he had a house'. "Bought for by his parents as he worked for the family business and frequently engaged in sexual harrassment over with those underneaht him." SHe would correct over to anyone that was paying attention.

She moves over to put herself just in front of the crowd of protestors and the reporters, makingsure that Meggan wasn't overrushed or anything. "I'm not noticing anything aberrant."

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
People driving others out, keeping others out, isn't something new. The banner showing the proposed housing build shows a rather small apartment, probably no more than fifteen units, but it's still apparently cause for shouting about parking being already tight and general calls.

"Gentrifi-what? I thought America didn't have titles," Meg murmurs, vaguely bemused, her hand waving off an apology from one of the men in white gloves carrying the piece out to a waiting van. The couriers don't pay another look to the pair of women except to make sure they don't crash into anything.

The blonde frowns a little. "Pretty sad, but that's the whole problem I had growin' up. Even now there's no way I can afford to buy a house back home. Too damn expensive. I mean, I can sleep in the forest or the rivers just as easily as anyone but I can't invite guests over to sit in the parlour and it's a pond."

The lot of an elemental, anyway. "Dunno why the house thinks I need to see this, but they're pretty unhappy. I'll give it a bit of a wider berth, if you don't mind."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod over at Meggan, "Not at all. This si merely the process of capitalism at work." She could go into more details, but Meggan clearly understands the basics and the process si upsetting her. "Come, let's go elsewhere. Unless there's a sudden need for you to be here.." She glances over at the reporters present, looking for anyone of particularly high importance that might signify thisis a bigger story. Oh well, doesn't look like Ms. Lane is here. Or Ben Ulrich.

Offering her hand over to Meggan to take, "There's a coffee shop nearby if that would be acceptable." It's not her preferred class of establishment, but it's nearby and thus somewhere Meggan could be to the side and hopefully relaxed. "This should resolve itself simply soon enough."

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
"I don't care so much for capitalism but the other systems don't function very well either. Plenty of people harmed either way," Meggan murmurs, tossing her head at the concept and shrugging all the same. The sharper edge to the conversation and moods from the crowd keep her tipping slowly into a spiral of unhappiness. Anger? Not exactly, though hopefully no one is getting too eager to throw a punch or else she might just fling them over a wall without trying. Never very good around here, in Superman's city.

Monet's recommendation works well enough for her. Fingers link up with hers, and if the flowering basket put on a lamppost halfway down the block just starts to flower more excitingly, that's purely by chance. "I don't mind at all. Here I am, blabbing away on the street. You know somewhere good, I'm all for it. John and I usually don't stay around this side of the city, anyway."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The two would head along, "I would hardly call it -good-, merely acceptable. But for our purposes it will be sufficient." She goes to lead Meggan along with her, a lazy strut in her step as hte two would head towards the coffee shop. The protest is for now ignored and pushed away to the back of her mind. There will be some sort of supervillain going on a rampage soon enough, or an alien invasion. That will actually be interesting.

Monet would let Meggan entwine her fingers with her own, glancing over at Meggan with a gesture of surprise. That was unexpected.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Two heading into the unknown, as friends and acquaintances often do. "You haven't heard any more about those aliens being a problem, have you? The big ugly guy showing back up threatening us?" The question is raised lightly enough. "I thought Hawkwoman and you sent a loud message. You looked cool doing that. I can't fight like that."

Grinning, she carries on without too much fuss, her thoughts as clear as diamond and liquid as water without even trying.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would shake her head, "Nevermind, they seem to be a rather constant problem for this city. It has as nearly as big a target upon it as the spaceport." She's speaking more in amusement rather than literality. "And thank you for your appreciation of my abilities. It's lovely to be recognized." There's her smugness going up as Meggan makes offerings to her ego and vanity as she looks quite happy.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Metropolis is all sparkle and razzle-dazzle, aiming to be that All-American city. Something about that renders it all a touch false, a pretty facade hiding worse than meets the eye. Somewhere, the cracks have to show. Somewhere.

Meggan's not looking for them exactly, but she definitely keeps an open eye. "You did a fine job. The big pain hasn't come back, though I have the feeling he'll keep knocking until he gets the idea no one means to hand over whatever he was lookin' for. Bit of an arse, really, but the big bad ones always are. They think they deserve to have all the power and right to choose and the rest of us have to stop that. They never stop, do they?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod, "At some point the hostile will return. It is inevitable. He's been humiliated once, he'll attack again or risk losing face - if only to himself. His pride will not permit him to let resistance stand. As a conqueror, it means that to his soldiers and thse areas he controls will see him weak, and that he is prime to be usupred or defied." That's the way that logic goes with fascists.

"And yes, when he is stopped, there will be others. It is guaranteed."

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
"I suppose." She sounds a touch dubious. "I mean, if it's not great bloody angels then it's aliens, or talking weasels or huge sea monsters from way down by the ocean floor. They're comin' here over and over for a reason, though it can't just be because we have a man in a fancy red Cape, is it? I mean, you'd think Diana would be a ward against them instead of drawing all of them in." She shakes her head a little, happy to keep pace with Monet no matter how fast she moves. Or how slow. Meggan can essentially fall in effortlessly or float her way along, not required to hide her talents quite as much here as in Gotham.

"Of course more come. They can't seem to leave us well enough alone. I just wonder what it is that keeps drawing all that attention, other than us havin' some kind of target on our backs."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod over, "This planet has.." She goes through her mental notes.. "Among the highest meta-being population proportionally of anywhere in the galaxy. The center of so many high powered beings from divergent planes of existence also draws in thsoe that personally oppose them or those that take a concern or interest in such things. Because this planet has so many threats and things of value, a great many target here, if only as the reputation." She's rather blunt over o that.

"High profile beings make for just as high profile targets."

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
"You've travelled off planet or that come down from some cool office that studies those things? They might keep track of that at the spaceport, I dunno. Maybe the cool Lantern knows that. He seems /really/ into data, you know?" Her grin widening, Meggan allows Monet to decide whichever direction she wants to go. One of them is go with the flow, the other directs the current, and it's all fine and good. No reason to complain. "So you're saying we sort of left the porch light on and attracted all the moths 'cause we' re a big party, and there's no way to shut the noise off. I know that was a big deal a couple of years ago. Like should we be broadcastin' and being all kinds of noisy because all the predators out in space would show up and want to eye us up, and we're kind of babies compared to that. Better to walk lightly and quietly in the forest."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would shrug, "It is at least part of the reason why the Shi'Ar showed a significant interest in the planet and have since been willing to back off." This is all logic as far as she's concerned! Well, also that in the last two or three years there have been multiple alien invasions, what might be angels, multiple invasions by other-dimensional entities from numerous planes.. She's since given up on keeping track of them.
    "A.. Close enough metaphor." She doesn't bother to add the many, many clarifications needed to it. Meggan grasps the concept, which is enough for Monet to go along with.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Meggan rolls her shoulders. "Where'd the Shi'ar go? Back to their home planet or just roaming around? I know space is big, like stupid big, so it takes a long time to get places unless you're apparently owning some cool green ring." No, she would never be a Green Lantern. Not near enough willpower needed for that. Meg's probably a very dangerous blue girl who can love-stare better than any care bear. On second thought...

"So weird though. Like, as much as meeting people is nice -- Ms. Starfire is lovely -- it's also leaving me worried about what sorta nonsense will show up tomorrow and what all we got to deal with next. I doubt you have to worry much about that, you seem very sure."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would shrug, "Likely both. They have the space to do as they wish." Not going into the elaboration as to just -how- big Shi'Ar space, and their population was. Chandrilar was an ecumenopolis with more beings living on it than there were sand pebbles in Earth's ocean. "So long as they stay away from here.."

She would nod over, "I have my own obligations.. Primarily such extraterrestrial threats are the provenance of the Justice LEague and SHIELD." She's just a mutant!

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Big space is big. Meggan can understand it better than most, given who Mom is, but it's like Mom is a multitude where the Shi'ar are involved. "I'm pretty happy if we can live on doing whatever we'll do, even if we make a few mistakes along the way. Nice to not have people trying to get involved all the time."

Her shoulders lift and she smiles. "Obligations are important! Hopefully you find them satisfying."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would sigh, "Yes, we all do what we can with what we have availale. To help people and to when possible limit damage and casualties. There are few other things we can do but provide strength and assistance. You are a strong, cofident woman, Meggan Constantine. The world is safer with you here to protect it."