shellphones | 002 🕷️|| video

Type: Video
Sender ID: angerllust (Angel Dust)
To: general public
Subject: different worlds!
Warnings: nothing in main post, some swearing in the comments

[so maybe you're just browsing the network, minding your own business, when a new message pops on the screen. let's see, nothing out of the ordina--

what is that. no, really, Angel doesn't show himself on the network that often, so either you've seen him around, or you haven't. for those who haven't, he's a very tall, lanky, spidery-looking dude, with pink fur and pointy teeth and strange eyes. he has two (visible) sets of arms, and legs, on top of that! yeah, he's a real piece of work, this one. fortunately, he's not here to bother you about magic. he's here to bother you about other things]

Sup b- er. Pirates!

The name's Angel, an' I got a little survey thingie I'm conductin'. Like, the most informal survey ever, okay? Lemme tell ya, I've been here a little while, an' it amazes me when I hear about other worlds different from my own. It's incredible, like, a lotta you go through stuff I couldn't even imagine.

My question is, out of all the people you've talked to, which world do ya wanna visit the most?

I'll go first! [as cool as Angel usually is, it's obvious he's passionate about what he has to say] This kid told me about a world with little animals or monsters, or whatever, that are called Pokémon! There are a whole bunch of different species, an' I wanna meet 'em all! [wait. he calms himself] ...They don't have cats or dogs, but there are Pokémon for those, I guess. Sounds fun, right?

So, what about you, huh? Lemme know about other worlds you've heard about while bein' here. Or tell me about your worlds. I just wanna see if anythin' beats Kieran's Pokémon-world.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Damn! I wouldn't mind checkin' out yer world, either. Sounds kinda intense. But it'd be interestin' to at least see it.

Yeah maybe. Hasn't been a ton of villains here. I'm a hero, which is an actual job in my world. There's rankings and everything.

Huh? Hero rankings? Like, you mean, who's the strongest, or the fastest, an' shit?

Not quite as detailed as that. Twice a year it's a whole thing, they make a huge event out of it. Your ranking is determined both by the number of cases you handle and complete, as well as your level of public support. Personally, I think public support is more important, but it's weighted a bit heavier on what you actually do.

Being the strongest of the fastest doesn't exactly guarantee anything, although speed definitely helps. [ He would know. ]

Then they parade around the top ten for the next six months.

[Angel listens, and... he squints. because something about this sounds really strange? he's not sure why it rubs him the wrong way, but it does]

So, lemme get this straight; ya got heroes, an' they're worshipped like... like, celebrities? You also mentioned somethin' about villains. So, I'm guessin' a lot of people with superpowers can't all just live peacefully together.

Yeah it's exactly like that. If you're good enough, there's a lot of celebrity, everyone knows your name, brand deals all kinds of stuff that has little to do with keeping people safe.

[ He won't roll his eyes but that aspect feels like such a waste of time to him. Nope. No rolling his eyes. He has to play the game. ]

It's complicated. Not everyone who's a villain is evil or anything. Quirks are managed by the Hero Public Safety Commission, it gets complicated.

[he sits back, crossing his arms. it's none of his business, anyway]

Sounds complicated, yeah... But, whatever! I still think havin' wings would be amazing.

[ Is it? For a moment Hawks looks a bit distant, like he's not thinking about it, but suddenly he smiles brightly. ]

Right? It's really awesome to get to fly. Everyone who can fly, should.

[ He's biased. ]

[Angel would be biased, too, if he had wings. a flying spider would be nightmare-fuel, though, and the last thing he wants to do is scare people]

I know a kid here who can fly without wings, and honestly, it only makes me wanna fly more! ...But now I'm curious. What's yer superhero name, Fly-Boy? You got one, right?

See, that's pretty cool. My adorable intern doesn't have wings, but he can fly with his shadow.

[ He chuckles lightly. ] I'm Hawks.

[fly with his shadow??? Angel puts a pin in that, he'll ask about it later]

Hawks is a good one! Just a little flashy, but mostly cool. Yeah, it suits you.

[Angel, you just met the guy]

Good thing it does, since that's my name.

[ Hero name or name? Hard to say. Just Hawks. ]

[either way, he's Hawks now, to Angel]

I'm Angel. I am, uh. Not an angel at all, but we ain't splittin' hairs about it.

Nice to meet you Angel.

[ Is he a hawk? ~~yes~~ of course not. ]

I'm not sure there are actual angels, so I wasn't thinking that.

Here, or ya mean in general?

In general, as far as I know.

Got it.

Well, we got actual angels back home, but most of 'em are dicks. I mean, at least the exorcists are. Dunno about the rest of 'em, but I ain't holdin' my breath, or anything.

Huh, how about that?

Can't complain about how other worlds are, since mine is a world full of quirks and overpowered people trying to figure out how they all get along together.

You said your world was complicated, but, like, there are rules in place, right? About how people should use their powers?

Quite a few. [ Hawks chuckles lightly. ] Including not using quirks in public without a license.

Thing is, not everyone agrees they want to follow the rules and they take it out on whoever they can get their hands on, uninvolved civilians.

[ohhh... yeah, that's not great. Angel doesn't know if he's surprised by this fact, but it does sound wild]

That sucks. The, uh. Attacking civilians part. Like, I can understand not wantin' t'follow rules, an' shit. But...! I dunno. That's a low even I ain't gonna cross.

Hey I get it, I bend the rules I can get away with myself, but yeah. The attacking innocent people is not great and so they have to be stopped from doing that, regardless of why they're doing it.

[ He's sympathetic to villains in need - but not if they start hurting people. ]

[a nod, to show he understands]

Does bein' a hero like that ever put ya in a tough spot?

[ Hawks hums. ]

It can. I've got a strong quirk with a lot of advantages, but not everything goes my way. I have some pretty significant weaknesses. Frankly, I probably would've done best with a focus on rescue, that's my real strength, but it's not usually showy enough to please my handlers. I wouldn't be ranked as high.

[showy enough? handlers? Angel opens his mouth, then closes it again, thinking for a moment, before he finally shrugs]

I guess ya can't please everyone. Even with those awesome wings.

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