[video] Introductions are a thing you do, right?

[notveryquirky]

[A rather awkward and uncomfortable looking 15 year-old boy with extremely unkempt hair comes over the video feed. He's obviously not used to things like this.]

[Namely: Being social in any capacity with people outside his class.]

Uh. H-hello, my name is M-Midoriya Izuku, U.A. Superhero High School class 1-A. Not that, um, not that anyone probably knows what that is, alternate universes and all...

[He catches himself slouching as his words drift off to almost whisper-quiet, his bashful nature getting the better of him. He quickly sits back upright, and speaks louder.]

I've just joined the Legion, and so I'd like to introduce myself. Which I...just did. Right. My, uh, my hero name is Deku, which is also my nickname back home, so feel free to call me that...if you want to, of course...

[Normally, he wouldn't be nearly this flustered, but being told you're going to face an unspeakable evil of cosmic, universe eating proportions can do that to a person.]

A-Anyway! I just want to say, I might be young and inexperienced, but I look forward to working with you all!

[Please, someone tell this child to unclench. At this rate it seems like he might pass out from awkwardness if left to his own devices.]

Comments

[thewildflower]

Ah...wordplay, like jokes, right? I see! I can see how that wouldn't really translate, I think. I understand now.

[It's a little bit of a bummer that she can't really 'get it,' but his explanation is enough. At being told he's worried about coming across as rude, Rebecca chuckles.]

You don't have to worry. You aren't coming across as rude, I promise. You just seem a little overwhelmed. I think you're doing great so far, Mi...ah, Deku.

[He's kind of cute, but she won't say that.]

I only thought I might be making things worse somehow, but if you're feeling that tense...well, I understand. Things are tense where I'm from, too.

[notveryquirky]

[Please continue refraining from calling him cute, Rebecca. If you did, he might spontaneously implode from embarrassment.]

[As he continues, he awkwardly rubs the back of his neck.]

Thanks. I was in the middle of getting my Provisional Hero License. There have been a lot of serious villain attacks lately, especially against the students at my school. The licenses would let us intervene and fight villains when people are in danger, so it would go a long way in letting us defend ourselves.

Plus...well. The exams that the hero schools and the Hero Public Safety Commission come up with can be a bit extreme.

[thewildflower]

That does sound very tense. I guess that means you come from a world with superheroes, then? They don't really have anything like that where I'm from, but...well, I've met a villain or two, I can say that much.

[Would a world without superheroes be akin to torture for Deku? Of course, Rebecca's no stranger to danger, there's just no spandex.]

I hope you can get back to your exams soon, then. Maybe you can consider this practice for when you go back?

[notveryquirky]

[It probably would be. Given how much of his time was spent obsessing over superheroes, he'd have nothing to do with himself most of the day.]

Ah, yeah. We probably even have a higher percentage of heroes than this world does. About 80% of humans have superhuman abilities, or Quirks as we call them, so there are a lot who want to use their powers to fight crime or help people. [He pauses.] Of course, there are lots of people who want to use their powers to hurt people or commit crimes, which is where the villains come in.

[It was something of a double-edged sword. As the number of people with powers grew, so to did the number of people who wanted to use them for good or evil.]

What about your world? What's it like? I'll admit, I've never even considered the possibility of alternate realities, but the idea fascinates me.

[He is forever a Nerd, doomed to Nerd for all eternity.]

[He laughs awkwardly at the last suggestion.]

I guess I could. I still need a lot of training with my Quirk anyway, so this is a great opportunity...not, uh. Not counting the impending doom of the multiverse.

[It was an attempt at a joke. A bad one, but an attempt nonetheless.]

[thewildflower]

[Ah...she's still smiling, but there's some slow blinking going on. 80% of them are superheroes?! That's so many superpowers.]

That sounds incredibly dangerous! When you put it like that [or even mention the statistics], it makes sense that there'd be a need for heroes. I'm no hero, but I think I can relate to that feeling anyways...helping people, that's a high calling, isn't it?

[But you know, she's a teenage soldier, not a superhero.]

Have you ever had a time in your world when there was nothing but castles lit by torches, and towns were a great distance apart? When laundry is washed in the river? We have pegasi and magic as well, and I'm an archer in the service of House Pherae's Lord Eliwood.

[She's been asked this question enough times that she thinks she knows how to explain her world simply. Castles, magic, soldiers, lords.]

It's a good thing we're here to stop the multiverse from ending, then, aren't we?

[It's a bad joke, but Rebecca will try to perk him right up!]

[notveryquirky]

[So many superpowers. Even a bunch that aren't...all that useful really!]

[He gets a bit (more) embarrassed when she mentions choosing to be a Hero being a high calling.]

As a kid, I always watched the same video of my idol, All-Might, from his very first appearance as a Hero. There was a bridge collapse, with hundreds of people trapped. But he arrived, and saved everyone with a smile on his face. Even in that disaster, he gave people hope.

That, um...That video was what made me want to be a Hero in the first place. I always wanted to be like All-Might.

[Despite his extreme bashfulness, he seemed rather proud to admit this. Everyone might look up to All-Might, sure, but he was the one who swayed All-Might into choosing him as a successor to the One-For-All. Out of everyone, he was the closest to achieving that dream, however far off it might be right now.]

[Of course, he can't exactly talk about all that, or he'd be betraying All-Might's trust, but he still felt proud regardless.]

Ah, it sounds similar to medieval Europe, but more, well...magical. [What with the mention of magic and all that.] You said you're an archer? Is that as a...a hunter, or as a soldier?

[Given the era he's from, he kind of boggles at the idea of someone as young as Rebecca being a soldier. But given she mentioned being in a Lord's service, and the general picture she paints of her world, that was a possibility that came to mind.]

[He laughs, some of the awkwardness alleviated just from being able to joke around with someone his age.]

That's what Heroes do, right?

[thewildflower]

He sounds like he's wonderful! There's this woman..ah, this lady, her name is Louise, and she's a countess and archer like me. As soon as I met her, I knew I wanted to be more like her! She's so regal, strong, beautiful, kind, and understanding...

[She scratches her chin, feeling a little embarrassed admitting all of that, but she thinks she can relate a little to what Deku is saying.]

Well...I've not been formally trained as a soldier, no. [She'd only had hunting experience, but that didn't stop her.] But after Lord Eliwood and his knights saved my village from mountains, I joined his campaign. I've been one our group's soldiers for almost a year now.

[And she's not even the youngest one in her group, so it's not awkward to think about. She just wishes she were still there, helping.]

That's right. That's what we're going to do.

[notveryquirky]

He is! He's a teacher at our school now. He's been a big influence on me and everyone else.

[He decides not to talk about All-Might's current semi-retirement from active hero duty after his fight with All-For-One. It was still kind of a sore-spot for the whole world at large back home, and he imagines his mentor wouldn't want him dwelling on the negative.]

The way you talk about her, she sounds as amazing as All-Might. I can see why you look up to her.

[Everyone had their own heroes to look up to, even actual Heroes.]

Ah, wow. That must be...I can't really imagine what that must be like. I mean, it sounds tough, but you also sound really competent. People our age don't really become soldiers in my world. I mean, there's trainee heroes, but that's different. But...um.

[He had no not-awkward way of saying "I think it's amazing that you're able to do that but at the same time I feel bad that you have to," so he decided to leave it, and moved on instead.]

If you don't mind me asking, who were you fighting against?

[thewildflower]

It must be wonderful, being taught by your idol like that.

[She learned some things from her big brother and while living in the village, but she can't say she's had a proper education. She's only had her mother teacher how to read and write.]

Your All-Might sounds incredible, too! But if I could be more like Lady Louise...ah, but she'd tell me to be more like myself, of course...but I can do that while still being a bit more like her, I think.

[She feels like she's rambling, but meeting a countess! It has to be like meeting a superhero, right?]

Ah...it is tough, I won't lie, but I've met wonderful people and as long as I'm of some small service to Lord Eliwood, it's worth it. And it's the right thing to do, I think.

[She shakes her head. She doesn't mind.]

At first, we were investigating the disappearance of Marquess Elbert, Lord Eliwood's father, which brought us pursuers from a powerful force known as the Black Fang.