video;

[duelo]

[ When the video comes up, a man with carefully groomed facial scruff and a set of green eyes whose uncertainty can easily be read even through a camera is sitting on his bed, wearing a gray Henley and scrubbing his chin with one hand.

His brow is creased slightly and he isn't frowning, but that's mostly because he's not sure he ought to be. This could actually be the best thing that's ever happened to him, but he's still undecided because he's still not sure what to believe.

Derek clears his throat before speaking, sounding equal parts curious and skeptical. It kind of sounds too good to be true, the part that sticks out the most for him: the part where he'd just get to be Derek out in the open without having to worry who knows what he really is. ]

Is it true that all the imPorts have special abilities? No one cares? No one—

[ He pauses for a second, as if trying to find the words that will make sense to the masses. ]

—they're not afraid of us?

Comments

[hatestrashcans]

So far it's true.

[ Honestly, Marco's only answering to distract himself and because this guys is attractive. What? He's 17 and shallow! ]

It's not true that nobody is afraid of us, but in general, no, people aren't scared of us. Nobody's running away from us or trying to round us up or anything. There are some towns where people will give you the stankeye, but that's about it.

[duelo]

[ Derek huffs a little with something caught between amusement and relief. ]

I'll take a stink eye over being literally hunted down any day. Happily, even.

[ God knows he's given plenty of his own to others in his time. ]

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[threeisapattern]

[Derek is... not the person he expected to show up here, if anyone from home was going to. Not that he really wished being kidnapped to another dimension on anyone so much as he was feeling homesick, but - yeah.

So, Derek. Stiles starts the video feed pretty much immediately, showing him in his bedroom with Derek-the-husky chilling out on his bed.] Where are you?

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[duelo]

[ Derek looks genuinely surprised to see a familiar face. ]

Stiles? Uh...De Chima? It's the Port city in Virginia.

[ His eyes shift to the dog reflexively but move back to Stiles. ]

What are you doing here?

[ It hasn't occurred to him that normal humans might be here, as well. ]

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[fridgeflower]

We're not out of the woods, but people here are generally way less genocidal than they are where I'm from.

Y'know... Knock on wood.

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[duelo]

Knock on wood, indeed. I could for sure do without the genocide. I'm Derek. I'm new here, obviously.

[thetrueeve]

[Eve appears, her cheerful self as always, waving.]

Not afraid of powers at least, from what I can tell. Everyone was super nice to me the other day when I was asking questions! Just don't be afraid of them yourself, okay? We can all get through this together.

[She gives him a thumbs up.]

[duelo]

[ He smiles a little, in spite of himself. ]

Do the locals get on the network, too? It was more them that I was worried about than other imPorts.

[mofi]

Hi Handsome. [ Murphy grins. ] To answer your questions, yes all imPorts have fun abilities and not a lot of people seem to give a shit about it.

[duelo]

[ Derek gives an uncomfortable smile and a nod. He never really knows how to deal with compliments like that when they pop up unexpectedly rather than when he's attempting to use his looks to accomplish something. As a teenager, he'd reveled in it, but he'd been a narcissistic little shit back then. Now, it just sort of takes him off guard. ]

Hi. That's definitely something to mull over. It'll be a nice change of pace.

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[devilishly_handsome]

I mean, you'd think they'd be wary of a clearly non-human and definitely part infernal person walking around, but...nope. They just think it's neat.

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[duelo]

[ Well...that's a little unexpected and it shows on his expression for a flash before he gives a thoughtful little facial shrug. ]

I'll take it. It's a better attitude than what I'm used to.

[ video ] » ID: Wanda Maximoff

[divaricate]

That sounds a liiiittle optimistic.

[ video ]

[duelo]

What would be a more accurate description, you think?

[gigue]

Not yet.

[Vanya is uncomfortable at the best of times, and on camera her shoulders are hunched, her overall body language lacking confidence.

She adds, quieter:] But maybe they should be.

[duelo]

[ Her response definitely catches his attention and Derek lifts an eyebrow. The way she holds herself reminds him of someone in his past, but he can't put his finger on it. ]

Why do you think they should be afraid of us?

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[am_i_a_monster]

Most of them aren't afraid of us. A lot of them are fans of imports. You can find the craziest fan stuff.

[She becomes more serious.]

You still have to be careful. 'Cause there's always going to people that will judge, fear and hate people without really knowing them. If it's not because you're an import, it'll be some other reason.

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[duelo]

Well, there's always exceptions to any rule. I couldn't have hoped for a completely safe haven. Just the fact that I randomly showed up here is enough to prove that theory wrong, in and of itself. I think that's true of people in general, with or without special abilities added into the mix, though, don't you? Human nature and all that. When you don't understand something, you learn to fear it. Fear drives hate because hate feels like you're making a choice when fear feels like a weakness.

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[anathemic]

[ Anathema's always been completely open about what she is — even if it led to her being written off as a kooky hippie, more often than not — but it's true, this place is even more accepting of weirdness. ]

So far, yes, for the most part.

But it also varies based on the city. Some are a bit more aloof towards imPorts. Nonah is very welcoming.

[ She sounds a little bemused. It was like scenting blood in the water; as soon as people realised you were an imPort, they started clustering, taking your picture, asking you questions, offering to buy you a drink. Not what she was used to. ]

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[duelo]

I'd prefer aloof, if I'm honest, over overly welcoming or proactively aggressive toward us.

[ He's spent a lot of years just being on his own, so he's having to relearn being in crowds, never mind being the center of attention. ]

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[deadlycurves]

Most of them seem to regale us and want to know all the dirty details of our personal lives-- like we're goddamn celebrities or something.

[He hates it, can you tell? He lived that life already, years ago, he really hates that particular aspect of being in this world. Along with everything else that is just being in this world at all, and what it's keeping him and the rest of his family from doing. Fixing. Un-breaking, after they massively broke it in the first place.]

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[duelo]

[ That idea is really, really unappealing to Derek. He's already made a mental note to avoid Nonah, if he can, if what that other woman implied is true.

So when he responds, it's with a flatness in tone and expression that shows exactly how he feels about that. He does. not. want. any. part. of. it. ]

Super. I mean, I'd prefer it to being hunted, but if I could just...not be the center of attention whether it's good attention or not, that would definitely be preferable.

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[iminthebook]

There are a few bad eggs out there, who are either afraid, or hating on us, but most seem to either simply accept us or outright idolize us.

It's still taking some getting used to.

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[duelo]

The bad eggs — how proactive would you say they are about that hate, exactly?

[perfectlyhuman]

Yeah.

[ Well, sort of. There was something weird going on a few weeks ago, but, for the most part...]

We're like superheroes.

[duelo]

[ So Lain isn't an anomaly... That makes Derek even more angry. Why the hell are they dragging children into all of this? ]

Yeah? That's kind of cool. Back home, it was very different for me.

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[bifroster]

It's kind of strange for those of us who never had powers before coming here, but yeah, they're pretty accepting. I suppose it's because we're all caught up in this weird mess.

[She has a feeling there is some emotional baggage there, but figures that one, it's his business to tell or not, and two, a discussion about all that controversy is not what he needs.]

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[duelo]

I heard about that. That's hard for me to wrap my head around, still, actually. I've always had mine. I can't imagine how it must've felt for those of you who hadn't. I'll take mostly over not at all, though. It'll be a nice change to just be me.

I'm Derek, by the way. I realized belatedly that I never said in my original video.