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WHO: Fuu Hououji and you
WHERE: Heropa & Nonah
WHEN: Throughout August
WHAT: Fuu is out and about in the summer!
WARNINGS: None.

Heropa and Nonah, out'n'about
[In the run-up to the school year starting again, Fuu wants to get in as much of her actual job as she can... that is, writing video game reviews for a man who takes editing a teen entertainment magazine way more seriously than any one person possibly should.

So she's wandering around the arcades (the lovely air-conditioned arcades) and outside; if you're at a game or playing a game or if you're even concentrating on your phone a little too hard, you might find her looking over your shoulder.]

At the beach

[August is a time for swimming! Or, if you're Fuu, finding some less crowded areas of Florida beach to do a little magic practice. Today she's seeing how much sand she can pick up with her Binding Winds spell and how fine a blade she can shape with her Emerald Typhoon. Though keeping in mind the setting, she keeps it more to an Emerald Light Breeze.

She notices that even modest displays of magic seem to be clearing the beach more than they ought, and sighs at the suspicious looks being aimed at her. This hadn't happened in June.]

Oh dear. It seems I'm still being viewed as a witch.

It's not easy being green (St. Walker)

[Well, it's been a couple of months now since that incident where people were living out altered lives. That's long enough for it not to be so awkward anymore, right?

So she'll head over to Walker's house and ring the doorbell--she's got a few treats that the woman at the animal rehab place told her would suit an opossum, and for Walker himself, some tea. ~~Earl Grey. Hot.~~

???

[Got another idea or want one? Drop me a line!]

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[Occasionally, Barnaby takes a jog along the beach, which is how he happens to notice Fuu practicing her abilities -- or, rather, he notices the thinning crowds and pinpoints the most likely cause.]

People with powers weren't always viewed favorably back home, either. [His words are more matter-of-fact than anything. Gently, though, he adds:] If there's one thing you can count on, though, it's that public opinion changes like the wind. Try not to let it get to you.

[Ah, it's Mr. Brooks! Fuu smiles; she hasn't seen him in a little while. And his insight is valuable, being experienced as a professional hero.]

What an appropriate simile. [She knits her fingers together.] It's a natural reaction for people to be afraid of imPorts, knowing that there are those like Mr. Calendar Man who create mayhem. Even though there were many more of us working to stop him...

Still, you're right, it's better to wait for these things to pass. I'm sure if they were to throw another convention there would still be plenty of attendees.

[He politely returns the smile. Fuu is young but earnest, a little like a certain hero he worked with back home, so she’s surprisingly easy to talk to.]

He isn’t the first, and he won’t be the last. [That’s the unfortunate truth of the situation.] We have to keep reminding the public that our abilities can be used for good too. It was a similar situation where I’m from, and there was never a shortage of fans who wanted to shake our hands back there either.

[She nods.]

You're right, as much as it's unpleasant to endure these times when we're distrusted. [She looks at him consideringly, remembering the conversation they had when he was younger about how to market heroes.] You did talk a little about NEXTs volunteering for hero work in your homeworld. Is there as little choice there in the powers you have as there is here?

Well, it's not volunteering so much as it's doing hero work as a job, with a salary and everything. [Having met enough people who just did voluntary hero work on the side in their respective worlds, Barnaby is compelled to make the distinction.]

In any case, there's no way for anyone to choose what power they end up with, no. On top of that, it's a lot rarer than it is here for someone to have more than one power. For better or for worse, what you have is usually what you get.

It really does sound similar to this Earth--apart from the interdimensional transporter. [minor detail, that.] It must be difficult for some people to learn how to use their powers in a good way, easier for others.

[She's thinking of the magical abilities she encountered on Cephiro--Ascot's ability to summon fearsome creatures, Hikaru and her fire.]

I'm curious, is the work also in an official government capacity?

That's true. Some people's powers have more destructive capabilities, like mine. Others, like shape-shifting, require less brute strength and more stealth. Either way, you need forethought and practice in order to use them to their fullest potential.

[Thankfully, he didn't have to go through a rough period of transitioning. Since he was a baby when his powers manifested, his parents took the brunt of the hardship.]

We're approved by the Justice Bureau and are authorized to make arrests like police officers do, so...in that sense, yes.

[Ah yes, his capabilities that allow him to treat bullet wounds as a boo-boo.]

It must take people quite a while to figure it out. I think I remember you talking about a Hero Academy... sometimes I think an official institution like that would be helpful here, though only on a voluntary basis.

[Still not enamored with the government's willingness to use people her age as heroes.]

Well, there's Xavier's... [A beat.] I suppose that's not quite the same thing, though, is it. That said, there is someone there who coaches imPorts on how to control their powers. Not everyone wants to do hero work, of course, but I imagine most would like to get a proper handle on their abilities at the very least.

[Underaged heroes aren't unheard of where he's from, so it doesn't bother him so much on principle. Still, they actually had labor laws and constant oversight by the Justice Bureau. Here, these things don't seem nearly so well regulated.]

There is? I'm happy to know that--not for myself necessarily, but for people from worlds where unusual abilities are things like popping your joints in and out again. It would be entirely too possible for someone to hurt themselves or someone they care about, discovering something like that unexpectedly.

[She's not personally acquainted with any such cases, but it is easy for her to imagine.]

Exactly. It's difficult enough for imPorts to integrate themselves into society. Add unstable powers into the mix, and suddenly it's even more difficult for them to get the support that they need.

[It was the same for NEXTs back home, especially children.]

If you ever know someone who needs help, please send them along to Kotetsu T. Kaburagi. He's actually the one who coaches people, and he's always happy to lend his assistance.

[She smiles.]

I will be sure to remember that name... I do think I've seen him here and there on the network. It's kind of him to offer such help.

I'm fortunate in that way; I already knew how to use magic. Miss Porter just enables me to use it in this world as well as the place I learned it.

You're right. That is fortunate. Are your powers from back home completely unaltered, then?

Hm... superficially, yes. The source is a little different, since Earth in of itself is not a magical land. I've noticed that I get a sense of physical fatigue if I use it too brazenly.

So, if I'm understanding right...your powers derived from the planet when you were back home, but now its generated entirely by you.

Yes, the laws of physics were slightly different there than they were here. [as breezily as if she were talking about traffic laws.] Everything there was governed by a person's will--their strength of heart. Now, I suppose, it's governed by strength of nanite.

People in your world could basically will themselves into having powers, in other words.

[He can't imagine something like that, particularly having come from a place where powers are still fairly stigmatized.]

[She's not sure that's exactly how it works... since Clef had to give her, Umi, and Hikaru magic. But they weren't born on Cephiro, and once they'd unlocked the ability to access it, they could invent just about any spell.]

Basically. Once you figure out how to reach your magic potential, you can shape it into many things. It's very useful if you're being attacked and need a new spell right now.

Do the nanites still let you do that? Improvise new spells, I mean.

[Of course, he realizes he's starting to ask a lot of questions, and he gives a small, apologetic smile.]

Please don't feel like you have to answer everything, by the way. I know you were practicing before I came along, and I don't want to be a hindrance to you.

[She smiles back.]

I don't mind. I ask plenty of questions myself. [anyway, a normal conversation will alarm fewer beachgoers.] I can still make new spells, yes--I haven't had to create something entirely new, but the spells I've already devised are still malleable enough that I believe I could do so if I was pressed.

[At least she's a good sport about it.]

Your abilities must be very versatile, in that case. When push comes to shove, having that element of surprise makes a big difference. [That can be a little trickier in his case, where it's pretty much common knowledge that his powers last 5 minutes at a time, but he's managed to find ways around those limitations with a little bit of ingenuity and forethought.]

[Fuu smiles. She did certainly catch some former enemies by surprise with an unexpected new spell.]

I can attest that it does. There have been times when I would have come off worse if I hadn't been able to make things up on the spot.

[although the improvisation would have meant little if she hadn't been pouring her entire heart into it as well.]

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