Firstly, thank you for the chapter. It amuses me that I am more apprehensive over this upcoming phone call than the meeting with literal supervillains a few chapters away, but I guess that just showcases your ability to create a connection between the readers and the character.
Secondly, I've come from the Discord to bring my worries over Natural Puppy. I must admit, I had not even heard of TWEWY before today, so I may be wildly off the mark.
What if Joe uses Natural Puppy to, in a hopefully hypothetical situation, boost his confidence levels in preparation to meet with his parents. He is wearing some Natural Puppy-supported clothing, which is affected by most, if not all of his fiat enhancement abilities.
He then cuts off ties with his family. He doesn't regret it, because of Natural Puppy.
Joe doesn't need to go to therapy anymore. He is more confident than he has ever been.
It seems like such a slippery slope. He is much more confident now, so why doesn't he try and fix the Undersiders' problems, the city's problems, the world's problems? He is gaining more and more power with the Spiral due to his confidence, why doesn't he just keep Natural Puppy on to boost his progress? Why doesn't he keep it on for every encounter with another person forever. He has to be better for them, for all of them, after all.
What I am trying to say is, could we get some clarification of how mentally warping Natural Puppy could be using divine-tier clothing, because it seems that unless I am wrong, which is likely, Joe could invalidate most of his struggles, both with his family and the weight of power, at the seductive cost of replacing himself with a more confident, more powerful person.
And I... don't want to see that. Joe's story is so compelling because an ordinary man is actively striving to be a person worthy of the gift, and life, he was given. If Joe basically brainwashes himself to deal with his life's problems, it would be incredibly dissatisfying.