PYRRHIC

[SPEECH START]

I have called this press conference to make an important, long overdue announcement. ¶

I took over as CEO of Brandt & Goetsch in February of last year, after looking forward to and fearing the position for years. / Although I inherited the title of CEO from my late father, no one was more surprised than myself when that moment came so soon after his death—it had always been our plan for me to take over leadership at the firm but not under these circumstances. ¶

I accepted the role and all its associated responsibilities, knowing that taking on this position would mean shouldering some burdens. / I’ve always believed that this law firm—founded by my father—was a part of me in the same way that my heart is. / I had been groomed to learn how to protect and make it successful for generations, so carrying his legacy within me seemed natural. ¶

But there has been a lot of change in my life since then—as there tends to be when one is thrust into such a position—and I’m here to say finally, after a long delay: ¶

There is no cause to be proud of Brandt & Goetsch. / I have lost faith in the values that this firm once embodied; given everything that has happened over the last year and throughout history before today, I refuse to remain complicit with its mistreatment of mutants. / I do not wish to be associated with a legacy whose reputation is soiled by greed, corruption, and cruelty. ¶

I am renouncing any affiliation with Essex House, the Essex Corporation, and Nathaniel Essex himself. Brandt & Goetsch has dissolved its partnerships with the mentioned parties and will cooperate fully with the FBI’s investigation of Essex Corporation. ¶

As I stand here today, I am not seeking forgiveness for the atrocities Brandt & Goetsch, and the Essex Corporation committed. / Doing so will not reverse any of the damage caused by our cruelty—and doing so would only benefit me without helping those we’ve let down. ¶

But I must take this opportunity to apologize for the role Brandt & Goetsch played in Essex’s cruel and unethical practices. / We were a part of it—and we did nothing to stop him or put an end to his actions. ¶

So instead, I will stand here and take full responsibility for the actions of Brandt & Goetsch. / We have abandoned the unethical business practices that led to our company’s downfall—and will no longer be a part of Nathaniel Essex’s attempts to reap financial gain from people suffering emotional pain. ¶

To this end, I have decided to close Brandt & Goetsch, New York, on October 31st of this year. / My choice is not easy, but the current climate makes it imperative that I take this measure. ¶

In the meantime, I urge everyone to take their business elsewhere. / Many firms will provide the same services as Brandt & Goetsch without exploiting those who need them most. ¶

I will temporarily retire from law practice and take a hiatus from public life. / This decision is not a reflection on the firm or its partners but a recognition that they are caught up in a system I cannot support. / My commitment now is to protecting mutant rights and ensuring that mutants are treated fairly in our society; however, it will be on my own terms. ¶

Thank you, and good evening. ¶

[SPEECH END]

tldr:

not a televised event but this will definitely be in the papers and local news

b&g ny will officially close on halloween night

yes she used her powers to let the board go along with this

yes everyone is confused as to why everyone agreed for a company shutdown out of nowhere with the only reason being ‘miss brandt said so’

yes there are some people speculating that maxine is a mutant

no she did not disclose her mutant status to anyone

nor did she publicly announce it, either

and she probably never will

maxine is unemployed

and so are a lot of people

WHAT WAS YOUR CHILDHOOD LIKE? WHO RAISED YOU?

"not unlike most childhoods, except for the luxurious lifestyle. there were good moments, bad moments, and moments that mustn't have been important because they'd been forgotten. i distinctly remember the scent of honeydew melon wafting around the house. that was my mother's favorite reed scent. i wouldn't say i particularly had a fun childhood overall, but it wasn't miserable relative to my social circle's childhoods. i'd use the words fine and expected."

"from the ages of one to five, my parents were a clean 50/50 in raising me. i remember this because i was six when they hired a new maid—petra—to take care of me, specifically as i was growing older and attending school. that was when the house started to get a little busy. we all had our own routines. i remember spending most of my childhood with petra, since my father worked all day and came home in the evenings, and my mother… to be honest, i never really knew what my mother did during the day. she didn't have a job. all i remember is how we would spend weekends together, up until i was fifteen, teaching me how to smile and brush my hair with a denman brush in front of the mirror for hours on end."

"since i was a child, my father always asked me how my day went during dinnertime. he always liked to steer conversations into academics. and choosing friends wisely. and work, of course. he'd mostly talk about work, wherever we were. at home, vacationing in south korea, spending our sundays at the country club. he'd play pool or poker if he wasn't talking about work. those were his only hobbies, and to be honest, he wasn't very good at either of those things. sometimes, you only get to be good at one thing in life. but i don't think he cared. i think he just enjoyed the essence of it."

"petra was the person i saw and interacted with the most during my childhood. she'd be the one to wake me up, dress me, make breakfast for me, and send me off to school. we'd watch television together in the afternoons, and she'd help me with my homework. she was the loveliest woman i'd ever met. she had children of her own, too—two boys who lived back in their hometown. when i was ten, she taught me how to make a slingshot, and i broke one of our celadon vases. my mother didn't let that go for two years."

ANY SIBLINGS? DO YOU STILL TALK?

"none that i know of."

WHO DO YOU CONSIDER FAMILY?

"none to speak of."

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU LOOK LIKE MORE?

"my mother. i have everything she has, except for my father's nose. her hair, lips, eyes, body—it's all from her. i think that's why she was incredibly… protective of how i looked. she never hid the disappointment and irritation on her face when i so much as had a single strand of stray hair across my forehead. or how she'd pinch my skin as a sign that i was getting fuller, by her standards."

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE MORE LIKE?

"my father. though, to be clear, it isn't anything to be proud of. i don't think i'm a raging narcissist. i've got that, at least."

DO YOU HAVE CHILDREN?

"absolutely not."

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE FAMILY MEMBER?

"when i was younger, definitely my father. relative to my mother, he made a genuine effort to bond with me. or, at least, that's how i thought it was back then. he humored my nonsensical questions as a child and my more genuine curiosities as a teenager. he had the answers to everything, and i appreciated that."

"i never got the sense that my mother ever liked me as a person. even as a child. though, to her credit, my feelings of being born to be corrected didn't just stem from her. i felt that from my father, too, but in a completely different way. my mother always viewed me as something that needed to be strapped to a table and tinkered to perfection, while my father took on the role of a … whose every word was law. he influenced a lot of my worldviews and how i think. he's the reason why my english name is maxine. he chose that for me."

WHAT ABOUT YOUR LEAST FAVORITE?

"between the spineless man who lied to his family about being a mutant and was complicit in a flurry of human rights violations for decades—which, in turn, endangered his daughter and left her to fix the calamitous mess he left behind, and the narcissist who very clearly didn't want a child and, at several times, openly displayed her disdain through her endless criticisms of my arms, my belly, my legs…"

"…at least my mother hated me to my face. i appreciate the honesty."

DOES YOUR FAMILY HAVE ANY SECRETS?

"my family is built from all the truths we'd covered and forgotten."

"my father lived half a life until the day he died for reasons i can't quite accept. i can't accept the fear he felt, even if i have that same fear. i'm carrying it for him now, too. i can't accept his greed, even if i'm just as fearful of losing everything i have, as meaningless as they are. it's all very grecian, really. "

"my mother wanted to be an artist in a family of doctors who clawed their way out of poverty through intellect and hard work. i only know this because the last time i visited her hometown, her old paintings were thrown out of their house because they were soaked and mottled. it must have been maddening to have never had a voice your entire life."

"i can see why they were a perfect match. she was waiting to blossom, and he had a knack for blooming. and along the way… it all went wrong."

"when my father died, so did my mother. anyone can tell there's nothing behind her eyes anymore. she lives alone in our old house. doing nothing. speaking to no one. i tried—heaven knows i tried. it was the only time i've ever begged for my mother. i felt alone during that time. i felt, ironically, powerless."

"she loved him more than anyone or anything else in the world, and that will never change. even after i'd told her how my father lied to us both. after i'd told her i was just like him. because maybe that would've swayed her. she told me not to ruin what was left in her mind about her husband."