maskormenace | [VIDEO]

[The video feed presents an older british gentleman at his desk, surrounded by stacks of history books. He looks up into the camera and smiles warmly.]

Good evening, my name is Walter Strickler. I'm a new arrival here, and I thought it best that I introduce myself. More than that, actually, I was hoping to ask a question.

I am in the midst of familiarizing myself with the history of this world, and how it differs from my own... Most of the discrepancies have been fairly minute, others less so, but it lead me to wondering about other worlds. Your worlds, and the histories theirin; if you care to share them. I suppose I'm just curious, is it common for most of us... "imports" to be from worlds that are similar, or ones that are vastly different? Is there anything here that has struck you as odd?

[There's a small pause, an aside glance, as he arranges the wording of his next question carefully.]

And, are 'powers' common where you're from? Whether it be mutations, magic, or anything of the sort. Are these things familiar to you?

Please do forgive me if I take a moment to understand anything you have to share. I must admit, I am still attempting to process all of this... But I would not want to have anyone feeling put-out for my misgivings. Thank you. I look forward to getting to know you all better.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He writes something down on a nearby notebook. There's a lot to catch up on with this world's history. He also marks his paper with a dash, score 1 for similar worlds.]

How interesting, it sounds like we may have that in common. The technology here is much more advanced than what I've seen, but it's not beyond the imagination.

Yeah, I imagine in my world we'll have hovercars some time before I die. Just a few decades after the movies predicted.

I think there's plenty of time for that, then. Which grade are you in this year?

9th grade. I'll be 15 in March.

Well, congratulations. That's an exciting time in anyone's life. ...Though I assume that it would be a fair bit more exciting, being here?

Well, not so much for me, 'cause my powers aren't all that exciting. I like the normalcy, though. The government doesn't make anyone go to school, but it reminds me of home and that's comforting.

I think that's perfectly reasonable. Normalcy can be a very good, healthy thing to have.

I enjoyed going to school when I was your age. And I appreciated it even more once I began teaching. I taught History classes to a local high school.

Uh-huh. I'm never going to go out and be a big, flashy superhero, so... I'm sticking to what I know. My powers are manipulating water, becoming intangible and... cooking really well. Not a whole lot I can do to fight criminals with that.

That's really cool! History's one of the subjects I'm pretty good at. Are you going to be teaching here, too?

No, unfortunately, I've been assigned a different job... Mediation services. [He sounds very unenthused.]

I'm not sure that I'll do anything flashy or heroic with my power, either. But I hope you're at least able to enjoy the experience of having those abilitiess, they sound very intriguing.

... Huh. I would've thought making you a teacher would have made the most sense. This place is so weird.

Being able to cook a good meal has won me a lot of friends. I grew up helping in my parents' restaurant, so I already knew how to cook to some extent, but I can't screw up if I wanted to with this power. It's motivated me to learn new things beyond burgers all the time like our restaurant.

It's as they say, "the fastest way to one's heart is through their stomach". I can see how that would earn you fast friends.

And I have to admit, I don't understand their choices, either. I'll see whether I can transfer to a job in education instead.

And I can help with different diets. When I first got here, I had a friend who'd lived in a world where he'd lived on rations for years, so his stomach just couldn't tolerate much. I was able to help him enjoy eating again. That made me feel really good. I've also learned how to make a few vegeratian and vegan things. It feels nice to be good at something, even if it's just because of my powers.

It's pretty easy to change jobs here, I think. I had a part time job at a clothing store when I first got here, but they were fine with it when I decided to quit so I could focus on school. I think it's because imPorts come and go so often, the native people don't expect to get attached.

That’s incredible. Even if you have no interest in being a hero on a grand scale, I would certainly call what you’ve done its own act of heroism. You should be proud.

And that’s very good to know, in terms of jobs. I’ll get that started sooner than later.

[Tina smiles bashfully.]

It is making a difference in someone's life, isn't it? So it feels like my time here is worth it, just for that.

Hope you can get something that suits you. It can be hard being stuck doing something you don't know much about.

Thank you. It's not that I don't know how to mediate, it's just... not very fulfilling.

[Problem-ridden adults are much more exhausting than teenagers.]

Yeah... I'm not the best at it myself, but even if it's something you're good at it, I'm not sure it'd make a good full time job.

No, definitely not. I'm feeling more convinced than ever to pursue my teaching career again, so thank you for that.

And do forgive me, but I think I've forgotten to ask your name?

You're welcome.

I'm Tina!

Well, it's been a pleasure getting to know you, Tina. And I thank you again for your input.

You, too. I try to do what I can to make it a little easier to be here.

[VIDEO]

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