#johnwiseman

[mindblindbard]

John is a himbo 😭 I'm sorry but it's the truth

No need to apologize for the truth: Nick and Humorous Button take after John, which says all there is to know.

Morbid-Confident Button takes after Hope.

John and Hope are basically a jock/goth power couple. . . Annnnnd now I want to write an AU where the two met in high school.

[mindblindbard]

This was the only thing that came to mind after the post about Hope and John being the Goth/Jock power couple:

This is not inaccurate. Ironically, Hope is most similar to the Buttons most likely to not forgive her.

[mindblindbard]

My Button is extremely close to her brother, but wants absolutely NOTHING to do with any of her parents.

Will that be a scene about that, or make a big impact in anything?

Yes to both questions! Button can refuse to meet with John and Hope, and that refusal will have major repercussions later on the story.

Nick will also be sad, but that only impacts his dialogue.

[mindblindbard]

First things first, you are an amazing and hard working writer and I adore your sense of humor. Secondly, i wonder why did buttons parents object to them enrolling at Aeon? I understand the safety side of it—for both Button and the organization, but at the same time they also seem to encourage Button to look past thier mindblindness and believe in themselves. It just seems kind of contradicting, but maybe I'm missing something.

Aw, I’m blushing! In regards to your question (which is a great one!), John and Hope are somewhat stereotypical. Parents often claim to have faith in their children, but then will encourage their progeny to stick to safer, more secure choices, especially if they believe a choice has the potential to make their child unhappy (or they secretly doubt their kid’s ability to handle adversity despite outwardly being supportive).

Their pushback over Button’s enrollment at Aeon is similar to the pushback one might receive upon telling their parents that they plan on studying, say, theater tech and interpretive dance at university. Hope and John are concerned that Button may eventually regret the decision to join Aeon, especially if anything goes sideways. Coupled with their residual guilt over leaving and unavoidable worry that Button may be choosing a dangerous path in order to follow in their retreating footsteps--their resistance makes sense, even if it doesn’t make for A+ parenting.

Kids often expect perfection from their parents and become disillusioned and bitter when they inevitably realize that parents are still flawed people who simply happened to procreate (see: resentful Buttons). Likewise, parents often underestimate their children because it’s their baby damnit and must therefore be guided into making the right decisions. Other than the psychic stuff, it’s a fairly common situation.

Contrast Hope and John’s attitude with Nick’s, who’s in total support of Button’s decision, and you get at the root difference between being a parent and being an older sibling. Nick may be protective, but his view of Button’s capabilities is more realistic (or even over-estimating) since siblings usually have an easier time seeing each other as humans than do parents and children.

I pity Nick’s eventual kids, however, since he’s already like 87% that dad who honks from the car and hollers “I LOOOOOVE YOU!” out the window during school drop-off.

[mindblindbard]

hi! i was replaying chapter 1 and i noticed that as we're walking out of the house if nick telepathically tells john (who is still in milwaukee) that button is coming to lunch that would make his brainrange at least 90 miles? is that correct?

Nick's telepathic brainrange when trying is insanely far due to his telepathy/telemetry dual inheritance (telemetry is a fancy word for psychic farsight) Hope's psychic reach can also go over 90 miles if she strains. "Resting brainrange" (ie range that their abilities always work at, without deliberately pushing their limits) on the other hand can be fairly limited--for Nick, it's a few blocks but for Hope it's 60 miles.

Nick is a pretty dang huge deal. He’s easily more powerful than both his parents, who are already both level tens. Pollard’s Scale doesn’t really go high enough for Nick, in the same way it doesn’t go low enough for Button. This is played down some in Mind Blind’s narrative because Button is accustomed to the disparity. Even if Nick is superpowered, he’s still their obnoxious older brother. 

Eventually, the stat screen will include an “Aeon Student Manual” which will go into more depth about the different Ment powers and the abilities of UCRT’s roster. Reading the guide won’t be necessary to follow the story (or it shouldn’t, which is why I’m writing without it first), but it will clarify a lot of smaller details.

[mindblindbard]

Ok, let's not think about (redacted redacting) right now T-T. You got a lot of anons ready to rip and tear the parents. But i love John ???? Since the flashback actually. I am weak for fictional dads and he seems like he would be a swell one if circumstances were easier. (Also i cried when he said he loved guilty Button). Can we get some fluff facts about him? And has he ever "heard" about Button's crush on Gray o.O.

2/2 Also sorry! Seems rude to come ask for food and not even mention how much i love your story! Very excited to follow your progress. Mind Blind is currently sitting at the top of my favorite cog wips.

Thank you so much! I’m so glad that someone likes John--he’s such a soft dork. He’s who Nick and Humorous Button inherited their bad puns from. If he and Button are close, then he’s probably overheard all of their crushes since he comes to Chicago every week.

The fluffiest fact about John is that he likes to “go fishing” but he doesn’t put a hook at the end of his line. He just likes to chill at the lake with his buddies, and  that was their decided hobby to do together. John, however, has no desire to impale any fish through the mouths (because it seems needlessly cruel to catch and release, but also because fish are slimy and kind of gross him out). So he never catches anything, and lets his friends rag on him for being a horrible fisherman.

[mindblindbard]

Will button be able to feel like the fault lies not in thier parents, but in them? Like if it weren't for them and thier 0, Hope wouldn't have struggled and the Wisemans be one happy family.

Yes, definitely. The choice "So yeah. That's my superpower. Driving the people I love insane." alludes to this type of self-recrimination, and it can become a recurring theme in Button's interactions with John and Hope.

[mindblindbard]

I am a little unclear about the relationship with our parents. I'm trying to work out how much resentment my button would have towards them! Did button have any contact with them? Did we see them at all? Have letters or phonecards? Attempted visits? Birthday presents etc?

That actually changes depending on how reluctant you come across to Grayson about going to lunch! If Button is highly resistant and expresses resentment, then lunch with John is as a tentative attempt on his part to heal their broken relationship. However, if you go happily without being pressured, it's stated that John drives down every weekend and Button has the option of determining how often they video chat with Hope (or don't, if the relationship with their mom is still strained).

In both cases, Button's parents have tried to stay in close contact. You decide how receptive Button has been to their attempts in the past, however, which shapes how the current lunch plays out.