Text; Pull Point Plot (Aged-Down Barnaby)

[prepairing]

[The attached ID reads Barnaby Brooks Jr. As a spokesman for a prominent energy drink brand, his name and face are splashed on all sorts of magazines and advertisements, and anyone who's been here for even a short amount of time might know him as a hero who's very public about his crime-fighting activities.

Generally speaking, it's rare for him to use text over the network. Of course, the message that follows doesn't exactly mesh with his usual image, either.]

I've got three questions. If you've got an answer for any of these, I want to hear from you.

#1: What do you know about this symbol?

#2: Who the hell is this?

#3: Do your numbers reflect the market's ACTUAL demand for heroes, or are you all just calling yourselves heroes because it's become the popular thing to do? At this rate, your characters are just going to overlap. Unless you've got a good hook, your odds of standing out or building a solid fanbase are pretty abysmal.

[You shouldn't need a 15-year-old kid telling you this, he irritably thinks to himself. And yet here we are.]

Comments

action;

[prepairing]

[Barnaby bristles at that. Don't point at him!!]

I never said I didn’t need anyone at all. Obviously, I can’t hope to get anywhere without help from teachers or experts. That doesn’t mean I want anyone’s pity or friendship, though.

text;

[prepairing]

So what’s your advice for someone who aspires to become a hero?

private

[khajidont]

He's not exactly his right age either. You can't judge the guy he'll be in the future by who he is now

[Though... Kotetsu would probably be late at his normal age too.]

Just like you

private

[prepairing]

Okay, but his future self wears mouse ears to Disney World.

text

[monster_san]

Let's hope that this strange problem with timelines and proper age is remedied soon, then. But I'm sure you could be an effective hero in a pinch right now, if you had to.

text

[prepairing]

That sort of thing is probably best left to the professionals. Back home you sometimes read stories about NEXTs who try to play hero and only make things worse.

[khajidont]

Where else would you wear mouse ears?

[amadaman]

Time passes, Barnaby-san.

And, well, it's going to wear off. I'm sure this is a temporary thing -- people's memories being shuffled, their ages being shuffles.

[prepairing]

If you’re that age? Nowhere.

[prepairing]

[It’s true. Time passes and people change. Still, though…]

My future life is here, but none of it feels like mine at all. How do I know it’s something I even want to go back to?

[khajidont]

Wait so at what age are you suddenly no longer allowed to wear Mickey Mouse ears?

[JAIME, YOU'RE GETTING OFF TOPIC]

[prepairing]

Once you're an adult, I imagine.

[khajidont]

Not gonna lie, it sounds boring to stop doing some things just because you're an adult.

[prepairing]

The way I see it, you'll be too busy for them anyway.

[khajidont]

So do you already know what you wanna do that's gonna keep you so busy?

text

[monster_san]

[ha. ha ha. YES THAT IS. ALL TOO FAMILIAR.]

That doesn't surprise me in the least.

The way you type 'NEXT' makes it seem like an acronym.

text

[prepairing]

That's because it is. It stands for Noted Entities with eXtraordinary Talents.

[prepairing]

Of course. Once I graduate high school, I'm going to apply for the Hero Academy. If I play my cards right, I'll convince someone to sponsor me by the time I finish.

[khajidont]

The good news is that you do just that. You're a good hero.

The other good news is that I think you also loosen up enough to have some fun SOMETIMES.

[prepairing]

Really.

Hopefully that means I finished what I actually set out to do.

[khajidont]

So what would that be?

[prepairing]

I'm looking for the man who killed my parents. The police aren't any help, so I've decided to take matters into my own hands.

[khajidont]

Then I hope you found him and brought him to justice. Can't give you any answers on that front though.

But after everything's done I do know that Kotetsu's there to help you through it

[hoboagogo]

yeah we don't really have 'heroes' in that kinda way back home
like that sort of thing is just in movies and manga and stuff

nope. what country is it in?

[amadaman]

I guess you won't. That's why it's your older self's, isn't it? Because what you're seeing are artifacts of who you became, not who you are now.