black-and-white thinking much?

Roy had his hands on his hips as he stared down at a battered Gaster. "What the hell was that stunt you pulled back there?"

Gaster was sitting on the dirt, leaning against the remains of a fence, speaking in a dazed monotone. "I failed, obviously."

"You tried to solo five trained mages is what you did. You should have asked for backup."

Gaster looked down at himself. "No, I should have been able to do it myself."

"I do not care how skilled you think you are. That's not something you can do yourself."

"So when are you going to kick me out?"

Roy froze. "What?"

"I have failed you. Stop talking to me like you're still trying to convince yourself. Throw me out already."

"Why would I -" The realization hit Roy: of course trying to shut down the arrogance hadn't been working on Gaster, because that wasn't arrogance at all!

So he kneeled to look Gaster in the eyes and tried again, more gently this time. "You have already earned your place on the Wizard Council. You do not need to prove yourself further."

"But you said I'm too weak to do this job!"

"It is not weakness to need others. There are seven of us for a reason."