( there's no saying whether or not his hair is dyed... it is a mystery. )
Mmm... yeah, kind of. ( "mutation" is language used in conjunction with quirks, certainly, but it didn't describe all of them. it's been generations since they started showing up in humanity, first at random, but then passed down through family lines. a mutation was typically a quirk that either didn't resemble that of a person's parents or a unique combination of the two. ) It's... going to sound goofy when I say it, but they're like - superpowers, I guess. Though a lot of them can be pretty mundane... Most people have one now, so that's why they had to find another word for it.
( they weren't really "superpowers" when 80% of the population had them, after all. )
If none of this sounds familiar to you, then - yeah. It's been hundreds of years since quirks started showing up, so if something like that had never happened... ( he drifts off, thoughtful, not even really able to picture what a world like that would look like. he would certainly be a drastically different person, if he hadn't been born with his quirk. and there wouldn't be any heroes, so he would probably have a different dream...
he blinks, his eyes refocusing on her. ) Hm? Yeah. Saitama Prefecture, actually... Um, are you from Japan as well?
( he would think so, but he doesn't want to assume?? though, since she asked, it seemed likely?? how different would her version of japan be if it was a quirkless society? )
[ it's almost the opposite of the fate of mages, then. they've vanished from the world, becoming reclusive and rare; what he describes is like a world where magic has become completely integrated with normal society. although the comparison isn't quite right, because it sounds like a "quirk" is like... like only having access to one spell, but not having to pay the price for it. she knows what superpowers are, of course. that is what they sound like, and it's not a silly comparison to make at all. it's just easier to think of as a real thing if she uses her own experience as the mirror. ]
I see... It's hard for me to imagine. [ she hesitates a few moments, and then she adds, halting and uncertain: ] There is something a little bit like that in the world I'm from, but it's rare, and most people don't know anything about it.
[ generally, it's not something she should talk about. but it doesn't really matter here if she tells someone she's a mage, does it? they're on an alien planet, surrounded by all kinds of things that could be called magic. there are definitely aspects of it that she'd rather keep to herself, and certainly she won't tell people that she's a sleigh beggy, but it isn't the same as it is back home. she's not strange in this place — or rather, she's not the only strange one.
even so, it does make her feel a little more at ease to meet someone with a culture in common. ]
Ah — yeah, I am. Actually, I'm also from Saitama Prefecture. My relatives worked in Tokyo, so... [ she shrugs. it's a popular place to live, when you have to commute to work every day. she was passed around to a few different prefectures after her parents were gone, but the last family was in Saitama and she spent the longest there; it's easiest to say that's where she's from. ] I've been living in England for a while now, though. In the countryside.
( comic books and the historical mythos of the superhero also exists in his world — if such a basis hadn't already existed before the creation of hero society, certainly it might have found a different pattern to model itself after. but coming from a world where he understands the fictional concept of a "superpower" and knows well how it contrasts with how quirks have manifested throughout their world... maybe that's why it feels so hackneyed and embarrassing to describe it like that.
shinsou is unhurried; it seems to him like she's considering saying something or not, so he waits, and it's... interesting, and just as unclear as he had been a moments ago, what she means. ) That's... Hm. ( he ponders for a moment, trying to figure out a way to word how he's interpreting her description. ) Like... a secret underground, or...?
( before heroes had been integrated into society in laws and licenses and culture, they had existed in a similar way, operating as vigilantes in the shadows and out of the public eye. it's the only thing that he can think of from his own frame of reference that makes sense. )
What - seriously? ( he seems genuinely shocked at this, and the thought of being from the same exact prefecture but from different worlds is a crazy one, even if it is most likely home to millions on any version of earth out there. but the happenstance of sharing where he was from with someone not even from "his" world is pretty amazing. ) England, huh... You must have already adjusted to one culture shock, then. ( he smiles; a genuine one, and whenever it is genuine, it always looks a little shaky, as if fledgling. ) I only went to school in a different part of the city... This is my first time "traveling" like this.
Sort of like a secret underground... maybe. It's, um... [ she makes some vague handwaving gestures, trying to think of how to explain it. ] You know, it's a kind of... It's like... [ she gives up and sighs: ] Magic.
[ as soon as the word is out of her mouth, she finds herself worrying that she was wrong. that being in this place won't be enough — that she'll still be thought of as strange, even here, where everything is unfamiliar. but maybe people will think that about her regardless, just because of being the way that she is. there's nothing she can do for it, though. it's not as if she could pretend to be normal forever. ]
A lot of people can't see it. It's not like we're not allowed to tell people about it, but if we do, it can get... complicated, for a lot of reasons. There aren't many mages left, anyway, and they usually keep to themselves.
[ given the ones she's met, she thinks that they probably still kept to themselves even when there were more of them. maybe it's cultural, or just in their nature. ]
I only found out about all of it when I went to England, so... in a way, it was two culture shocks at once.
[ she seems exhausted just remembering it, but she means it in good humour, and she meets his smile with one of her own, small and private. ]
( his voice is flat, but it's more characteristic to shinsou rather than disblieving. there are plenty of quirks that simulate what many would call "magic," though science has gotten so muddled in with the study and classification of superhuman abilities that it's hard to think of any bizarre quality or power a person might have as "magical" anymore. he recalls any number of fantasy stories he's read, watched, or played — a kind of hidden world of magic was a common thread that ran through many.
hopefully shinsou's unfazed reaction does something to assuage chise's nerves: he clearly doesn't seem alarmed, perplexed, or suspicious.
he seems to take everything she tells him and inwardly reflect on it for a moment, and then he turns to face her, raising one finger to his lips with all the solemnity he could muster. ) Even if it isn't forbidden to talk about, I'll keep quiet about it. ( a quick, flickering smile tugs at the corners of his mouth for a moment, but it dies down just as soon as he lowers his hand. it seems serious, and he isn't making light of it to make fun of her — it was more his acknowledgement of her confiding in him about something that would have been a far more grave secret back home.
especially if she's one of only a few mages left, that would make her valuable — that can be dangerous. )
That sounds like it must've been tough. ( he offers a small smile in return. ) But if you could deal with that, you should be able to handle this place, no problem.
( he lapses into a thoughtful silence, then he ventures, ) So... what kind of magic do you do, then?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
—chise
( there's no saying whether or not his hair is dyed... it is a mystery. )
Mmm... yeah, kind of. ( "mutation" is language used in conjunction with quirks, certainly, but it didn't describe all of them. it's been generations since they started showing up in humanity, first at random, but then passed down through family lines. a mutation was typically a quirk that either didn't resemble that of a person's parents or a unique combination of the two. ) It's... going to sound goofy when I say it, but they're like - superpowers, I guess. Though a lot of them can be pretty mundane... Most people have one now, so that's why they had to find another word for it.
( they weren't really "superpowers" when 80% of the population had them, after all. )
If none of this sounds familiar to you, then - yeah. It's been hundreds of years since quirks started showing up, so if something like that had never happened... ( he drifts off, thoughtful, not even really able to picture what a world like that would look like. he would certainly be a drastically different person, if he hadn't been born with his quirk. and there wouldn't be any heroes, so he would probably have a different dream...
he blinks, his eyes refocusing on her. ) Hm? Yeah. Saitama Prefecture, actually... Um, are you from Japan as well?
( he would think so, but he doesn't want to assume?? though, since she asked, it seemed likely?? how different would her version of japan be if it was a quirkless society? )
no subject
I see... It's hard for me to imagine. [ she hesitates a few moments, and then she adds, halting and uncertain: ] There is something a little bit like that in the world I'm from, but it's rare, and most people don't know anything about it.
[ generally, it's not something she should talk about. but it doesn't really matter here if she tells someone she's a mage, does it? they're on an alien planet, surrounded by all kinds of things that could be called magic. there are definitely aspects of it that she'd rather keep to herself, and certainly she won't tell people that she's a sleigh beggy, but it isn't the same as it is back home. she's not strange in this place — or rather, she's not the only strange one.
even so, it does make her feel a little more at ease to meet someone with a culture in common. ]
Ah — yeah, I am. Actually, I'm also from Saitama Prefecture. My relatives worked in Tokyo, so... [ she shrugs. it's a popular place to live, when you have to commute to work every day. she was passed around to a few different prefectures after her parents were gone, but the last family was in Saitama and she spent the longest there; it's easiest to say that's where she's from. ] I've been living in England for a while now, though. In the countryside.
no subject
shinsou is unhurried; it seems to him like she's considering saying something or not, so he waits, and it's... interesting, and just as unclear as he had been a moments ago, what she means. ) That's... Hm. ( he ponders for a moment, trying to figure out a way to word how he's interpreting her description. ) Like... a secret underground, or...?
( before heroes had been integrated into society in laws and licenses and culture, they had existed in a similar way, operating as vigilantes in the shadows and out of the public eye. it's the only thing that he can think of from his own frame of reference that makes sense. )
What - seriously? ( he seems genuinely shocked at this, and the thought of being from the same exact prefecture but from different worlds is a crazy one, even if it is most likely home to millions on any version of earth out there. but the happenstance of sharing where he was from with someone not even from "his" world is pretty amazing. ) England, huh... You must have already adjusted to one culture shock, then. ( he smiles; a genuine one, and whenever it is genuine, it always looks a little shaky, as if fledgling. ) I only went to school in a different part of the city... This is my first time "traveling" like this.
no subject
[ as soon as the word is out of her mouth, she finds herself worrying that she was wrong. that being in this place won't be enough — that she'll still be thought of as strange, even here, where everything is unfamiliar. but maybe people will think that about her regardless, just because of being the way that she is. there's nothing she can do for it, though. it's not as if she could pretend to be normal forever. ]
A lot of people can't see it. It's not like we're not allowed to tell people about it, but if we do, it can get... complicated, for a lot of reasons. There aren't many mages left, anyway, and they usually keep to themselves.
[ given the ones she's met, she thinks that they probably still kept to themselves even when there were more of them. maybe it's cultural, or just in their nature. ]
I only found out about all of it when I went to England, so... in a way, it was two culture shocks at once.
[ she seems exhausted just remembering it, but she means it in good humour, and she meets his smile with one of her own, small and private. ]
no subject
( his voice is flat, but it's more characteristic to shinsou rather than disblieving. there are plenty of quirks that simulate what many would call "magic," though science has gotten so muddled in with the study and classification of superhuman abilities that it's hard to think of any bizarre quality or power a person might have as "magical" anymore. he recalls any number of fantasy stories he's read, watched, or played — a kind of hidden world of magic was a common thread that ran through many.
hopefully shinsou's unfazed reaction does something to assuage chise's nerves: he clearly doesn't seem alarmed, perplexed, or suspicious.
he seems to take everything she tells him and inwardly reflect on it for a moment, and then he turns to face her, raising one finger to his lips with all the solemnity he could muster. ) Even if it isn't forbidden to talk about, I'll keep quiet about it. ( a quick, flickering smile tugs at the corners of his mouth for a moment, but it dies down just as soon as he lowers his hand. it seems serious, and he isn't making light of it to make fun of her — it was more his acknowledgement of her confiding in him about something that would have been a far more grave secret back home.
especially if she's one of only a few mages left, that would make her valuable — that can be dangerous. )
That sounds like it must've been tough. ( he offers a small smile in return. ) But if you could deal with that, you should be able to handle this place, no problem.
( he lapses into a thoughtful silence, then he ventures, ) So... what kind of magic do you do, then?