322 Posts
1 EP
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Total
16 Years
Male
"Instinct"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Chimera on Nov 18, 2018 16:15:11 GMT -4
695 WC thoughts and prayers | Chimera was in the infirmary a lot over the last three days. After being released from the hospital with a confirmed broken rib and a whole lot of bruises--they'd shaved a patch of his chest during the X-rays, and his skin had looked like somebody had painted him with prunes--he was told to refrain from moving much and to ice his chest as much as possible. Other than that there was nothing that could be done for the broken bone. It wasn't puncturing anything and there weren't bits of it in his muscles. It was a clear crack from trauma and it would heal in time. So for at least the first week of healing he'd been assigned a bed in the infirmary and given pain medication and told to lay there and do nothing for a while. Which was not the worst thing in the world.
He could do with a week of quiet after...everything.
Don't think about it right now. Don't don't don't.
Chimera winced as his thoughts drifted for just long enough for a flash of gory memories to cross them, the phantom noises of gunshots and explosions fading as suddenly as they'd sounded. As nice as it was to be in the quiet and to be resting, being alone was not doing wonders for his mental health. He had his laptop closed next to him, but he didn't want to play any games right now or chat with anyone. Yojin was likely in the dorm room right now. His eardrums had taken a bad, bad hit, so talking was hard to do for a while. His band mates were scattered to the wind with Levi having left the school for reasons he didn't quite understand, and Darren...he'd gone through his own hell at Semper Fi, and was probably recovering just like he was.
According to other students and the news (as much as Chimera could have stomached watching) there had been attacks all through the campground like the one he'd gone through. It was horrific. Even thinking about it made Chimera want to cry or scream or shut off the lights in here and sit in the dark for a few hours until everything went away. He didn't want to remember seeing a man shot through the head. Or having to break another man's finger off his hand to stop him from detonating a bomb right in his face. Or seeing Alex's arm with a fresh bullet wound in it, or knowing what Risaka had done to...
No no n o non on no no no no--
Chimera tossed one of his long arms over his eyes and hissed at the pain the sudden movement brought, even despite his painkillers. This. This week, this month, this...however long it was going to take to get past this. This was going to suck a whole fucking lot. He just wanted to forget everything about it.
But that was impossible. He couldn't forget it.
Not just literally but...some part of him still wanted to hold onto that. That he'd still fought to save his friends, despite how horrified he'd been. Despite how much pain he'd been in (and still was). It wasn't a "good memory" in a sea of horrific sights and smells and sounds. It still made his stomach do back-flips. But he still wanted to hold onto the memory of doing something to help.
That was what being a hero was, right? Helping. Being brave.
Man, he wished he could have pulled that off in a less traumatizing situation.
Chimera kept his arm above his eyes, keeping everything dark for a long while as his breathing slowed and steadied. The ice on his chest had turned his whole torso numb, and the latest dose of medication was helping, as long as he didn't do anything dumb. Maybe...maybe he should message Yojin, or just poke his nose into the group chat, and see who was around. He'd be less alone that way. Less likely to see and hear things that weren't there.'
It wasn't having somebody actually here, but it would be something. |
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414 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
17 Years
Female
"Halo"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Emi Ryoko Tachibana on Nov 19, 2018 19:10:14 GMT -4
Paparazzi were scum, in Emiās eyes. Stalkers and tricksters with no respect for privacy, throwing common decency to the wind for the sake of the next celebrity snap. They gave real journalists a bad name, and the world would be much better off without them. Still, she couldnāt help but admire their tenacity. The absurd lengths they would go to to get their scoop were morally questionable, but surprisingly effective. She could borrow some of them for an important story.
News was flooding in regarding the events of Semper Fi. Sheād been quick to comment on the videos released, but her voice was quickly lost in the swarm, having too little substance to stand out. If she wanted her vlog to stand out to expose the militaryās misdeeds, sheād need an angle nobody else in her field had. A first-hand account would do the trick. It was that train of thought that led her to the schoolās infirmary. Sheād barely started at the school, and she didnāt know a single person in the infirmary, but in her mind those were just details. She could find somebody and get their story ā if she happened to befriend them along the way, that was just a bonus.
Most of her gear was hidden inside her bag, but a tripod was a little harder to hide. The tube bag she carried just for it gave away that something specialised was inside, but she walked with purpose and had no intentions of stopping for questions. She poked her head through blinds, showing next to no concern for the various students. The first was wounded too lightly ā he didnāt look like heād been in the eye of the storm. The second bore no injuries at all. Judging by the thermometer in her mouth, she probably wasnāt even injured at all! Emi furrowed her brow, drew the curtains shut and moved on, ignoring the calls and questions that followed.
And so Chimera would be treated to a new visitor: a discontent Emi staring at him, once she had drawn his curtains aside. At the same time, she came across a battered, bruised beast. No, human. Mutant. She was still training herself to remember that the school had more than its fair share of those, and that was fine. Her initial silence as she looked the boy up and down would likely be all too familiar to such an obvious mutant, but at the very least, she looked disapproving before she saw him, as opposed to as soon as.
Even then, as soon as she realised sheād found her treasure, any and all semblance of negativity vanished. In its place, a large smile appeared. āO-hai-yo! Youāre one of those guys recovering from the Semper Fi situation, right? Oh, hold on a second!ā She disappeared behind the curtain for a few seconds, only to return with a chair. For herself, of course. āThat stuff sounded really shady. And terrible. I hope youāre doing better after all of that,ā she continued as she sat herself beside his bed. Hopefully he didnāt smell. āDid I introduce myself already? Emi Ryoko Tachibana. Iām pretty new here.ā
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322 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
16 Years
Male
"Instinct"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Chimera on Nov 20, 2018 22:00:33 GMT -4
507 WC sup new girl i'm dying | The sounds of people moving about in the infirmary didn't stir Chimera at all--he was used to it by now, given the amount of people who were in here and the amount of students with medical Quirks who helped out. He wondered for a moment if Rin or Elise were here. Then he recalled that he'd seen Elise around the armory and met Rin at the camp and suddenly didn't want to know anymore. If they were here, then it was possible they weren't here helping. Sure, Elise could heal, but what if something worse had happened to her than a few minor injuries? What if she'd been shot, like Alex, or had her eardrums ruptured like Yojin, or had her bones broken like he had? What was the limit on Rin's healing? He knew she had some but...was it just blood? Like her Quirk? What good could that do against bullets and grenades and...and...
The curtain to his little segment of the infirmary opened and he was jolted out of his spiraling thoughts. Was that the nurse? He lifted his arm up, vision blurred by the lights after having them covered for a while, but when he saw the girl standing in the entry he didn't recognize her. She was a student, though. Was she looking for somebody in particular? He was having a hard time making out her expression while his eyes came back into focus. Before he could manage it though, she started to talk to him. Chimera blinked twice.
Huh? Who? What?
"I--" he tried to get a word in but in an instant she'd left, grabbed a chair, and returned, seating herself right next to his cot. Confusion filled his furry features. She...wasn't talking like one of the nurses' aids. In fact the way she was barreling through an introduction was more than overwhelming for him right now. Though he heard the word "Semper Fi" clear as a bell. His stomach churned. What was she doing? Why was she here? Who was she?
At least she answered one of those questions for him. Emi...? Not a name that jumped out at him immediately. Was she a classmate of his? She said she was new, it was possible he just didn't remember her yet. But that still didn't explain why she'd come into his "room" and just started chatting with him. Still, Chimera tried to force himself to smile. It didn't work very well, instead it just looked like he was in pain. Which he was. "...hi, I'm...Chimera."
"What..." he drew in a slow, deep breath, despite the slight discomfort it caused. He'd been told to breath deeply, or more problems could occur. Yay. "...what are...what are you doing here? Are...are you one of th-the nurses?"
Chimera really doubted that, but maybe she was just bad at the whole "bedside manner" thing. He wasn't one to judge. He was Yojin's roommate.
He was never going to find anyone else worse at being comforting than him. |
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414 Posts
0 EP
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Total
17 Years
Female
"Halo"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Emi Ryoko Tachibana on Nov 23, 2018 8:00:31 GMT -4
He hadnāt immediately screamed for her to leave. Good. That meant that he wasnāt too traumatised to work. Unsurprisingly, he looked confused, but that was probably because of the pain! Either way, it was up to her to make him feel a little more comfortable. The camera knew when people were nervous, and she had to at least try to keep her fellow student from being an internet laughing stock. āOh, weāre going by hero names? Then Iām Halo!ā Her eyes showed a brief bout of confusion, but she decided to roll with it. If an alias made him feel more comfortable, then so be it.
āDo I look like a nurse?ā A genuine question, if the confused look in her eyes meant anything. āI guess I could pass off as a pretty nurse! But no, just a student with a mission. Call it an... investigative project.ā Even she knew better than to announce herself as a vlogger to what was most likely a hesitant intervieweeā¦ But she wasnāt going to be able to hide the camera, or get him to say the right words without some semblance of honesty. Sheād have to start with the facts, and then move to Plan B if she lost him.
āI want to interview you. Seems to me like youāve been through a bit of a rough time. And, erā¦ā She paused, showing a mild frown. Sheād never tried interviewing a patient before, but something told her sympathy might help! āIām sorry you had to go through that, and I hope youāre resting up well.ā She avoided glancing at his very obvious wounds. āIn the meantime, thoughā¦ Since youāre pretty much bedridden, how about you chat for a bit? I believe everybody has a story, and thereās a lot to learn from yours. What happened with the military, I mean. Not that the rest of it isnāt interesting too, probably. But for now, thatās my focus!ā
She rested a hand on her bag. āSo, Iāve brought my camera with me, and a bunch of other fancy gear. And I want you to talk to it. Spill the beans. Let the world know whatās been going on at Semper Fi. How does that sound to you?ā
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322 Posts
1 EP
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16 Years
Male
"Instinct"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Chimera on Nov 24, 2018 13:03:31 GMT -4
400 WC roll your charisma! | Chimera couldn't emote well in the state he was in. His body was too heavy and painful for him to shrug at Emi's question about looking like a nurse, or even cock his head as she explained what she was doing in his curtained off section of the infirmary. An investigative project? She wanted to interview him? For a moment his brain didn't put two and two together. Was she just looking for a mutant to interview? There had to be other less injured ones she could go looking for. He didn't doubt that Maxi would love to be in the spotlight, even though his Quirk was far more subtle that Chimera's own. However Emi was quick to clarify exactly what she was looking for in her "investigation".
She wanted to know more about Semper Fi.
His throat, already suffering a little cotton-mouth, became a desert.
He averted his eyes from Emi and tried to adjust so he was facing away from her, even if only by turning his head. No. Not in a million-bajillion. He was already trying to force those images out of his head unsuccessfully, why would he agree to just tell somebody about it--and not even somebody who might have his best interest at heart, like one of the teachers or, hell, even a therapist. She'd openly stated she wanted to interview him. She even brought a goddamn camera. Chimera avoided cameras even on his best days, he sure as hell wasn't about to let a stranger start to record--
...oooooooooh, that's who she was. Chimera suddenly and very clearly remembered where he'd seen Emi's name before. The student chat. She was a self-proclaimed vlogger and had pestered him already to let her film him.
This was not good.
"...you...do realize that...people died there, right?" His throat tightened around his words, choking him just a little. Whether it was because he was talking with such a dry throat or because just saying those words made his whole body tense in fear was hard even for him to tell. "I s-saw people die. Why...why the heck would I want...want to relive any of that, just for views...?"
He kept his head turned away and his eyes closed shut. He didn't want her to see how much pain he was in. ".....I'm n...not some...damn...sympathy piece." |
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414 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
17 Years
Female
"Halo"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Emi Ryoko Tachibana on Nov 24, 2018 19:45:09 GMT -4
She was losing him. She could see the hesitation growing long before he spoke, which thankfully gave her a few extra seconds to think Plan B through. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) she could begin to understand why he was so upset. The news was still a whirlwind of rumours and realities, but one thing was clear ā the students had been greatly mistreated. For him to confirm that people had died there brought a deep frown on her face, but was it because of the fact or because of how much harder it would make her job?
She fell silent for a few seconds. Talking was her strong point, but sympathy much less so. Being in a hospital must have sucked, and so did being in pain, but beyond thatā¦ Well, she could see that the boy was very unhappy, and that was about it. Worse, she might have offended him. She couldnāt have that. āI never said anything about sympathy.ā She did her best to keep her voice calm and just a little understanding. āThatās an option, but I wouldnāt ask a fellow student to do that. Not all the way, anyway.ā
Another pause. Even if he wouldnāt look at her, she was looking right at him, trying to get a read on his reactions. āChimera, right? Youāre in a hero school. I can guess that youāre pretty strong-willed. Not the kind of person up for crying on a camera. You kinda look it too. I mean, I look great now, but I break down real easily when I get hurt. Ruins my day. Canāt imagine what it feels like to be stuck in here all day.ā
She shook her head, realising she might have gotten a little bit off-track. He was the focus, not her. āBut thatās what I use this for.ā She patted her bag ā and presumably the camera inside it. āIt helps me learn these kinds of things, and more importantly, it helps me teach other people. You really think I would come and chase down injured people just for views?ā She would, and currently was, but he didnāt need to know that.
āNahā¦ Iāve got something better in mind. Revenge.ā Another pause to let the words sink in. āDonāt know if youāve seen it yet, but the news is a bit of a frenzy. Nobody has the full story. Iād bet somebodyās running damage control to try and keep the truth quiet.ā A possibility, but there was no way to be sure. In the age of the internet, any and every conversation could easily be derailed by mixed messages, misrepresentation and complete fiction. Things seemed to be a bit more clear-cut with Semper Fi, but not enough for her ā and hopefully not enough for him either.
āThese people that have hurt you, scarred you mentally, left you stuck in a bed and done things only you knowā¦ They might get away with it. The military will put out a few PR statements, some random people will get fired, theyāll claim theyāre investigating what happenedā¦ All for long enough for the outrage to die down, and for people to get bored of the story.ā She raised an eyebrow, letting him mull over the idea again. If she was lucky, the boy had just enough of a spark left for the idea of corruption to start a fire.
āNow, neither of us are strong enough to go to war with the Japanese Military, so the next best way to make sure justice is done is to light a fire under their asses. How do you do that? With new content. A never-before-seen eyewitness account. Sure, āsympathyā goes a long way to help, but more than that, I want you to inform. Make people see and hear what was done to you, and let the world know exactly what you think of the people that did that to you. You do it in a way that they donāt want to ignore ā in fact, they want to share it with everybody they know. And suddenly, Semper Fi is big news again. Some big wigs start buckling to pressure and actually do their jobs. The people that hurt you are forced to face up to what theyāve done, in a legal court and the public eyeā¦ And then theyāll never be able to show their faces outside again, once the people know the whole story. Thatās why you should relive it.ā
She leaned back in her chair as she finished her speech. She knew better than to show a smile about it, but she allowed herself an internal smirk and a pat on the back. A job well done.
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322 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
16 Years
Male
"Instinct"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Chimera on Nov 26, 2018 8:27:23 GMT -4
659 WC Whee loaded questions | Can one scoff mentally? Chimera felt like he was scoffing mentally, hearing Emi compare getting hurt and 'ruining her day' to being literally hospitalized for being shot at. She was right about one thing, though; she couldn't imagine what it felt like to be stuck here. Maybe if she had walked through Semper Fi herself and see people's brains painting the floor she would be able to imagine, and understand just why nobody felt like talking about it so soon. It was too raw in everyone's minds. He was tempted to just tell her "give me a week or two" to get her off of his back for now, but as she continued, it was clear that she wasn't going to wait so long for the story she wanted. Was this what being hounded by paparazzi was like? Harh. One step closer to heroism here.
But she did manage to perk his ears (literally) with her next spiel.
Chimera hadn't had the time or energy to look up how this was being handled online or in the news. He'd been busy reliving the memories and being helplessly injured--he didn't need to go online and see pictures of bodies or hear accounts of the fight, he had all that going on in his head on repeat. Emi was right, though. He was one of the few who had been involved in the attack who were here at the school and mentally together enough to talk about it. It wasn't like Emi could just trot into the hospital with a bag full of recording equipment...though that would have been hilarious to see fail. Yet, the way she described it, nobody else was talking about this from the Quirker's perspective. What? Not even the teachers who had been there? Why were they keeping quiet and not blasting shame at the military for their crimes?
A spike of anger rose through Chimera, even in his tired, drugged state. Righteous anger, undoubtedly. He was used to politics covering these sorts of things up. He was American, after all. But this was military men shooting up innocent high school kids, and nobody was getting the truth out there...why??
Emi could have been lying to get him to agree.
Yet, if she was telling the truth, then...
Then...
Chimera closed his eyes tight. No, he still didn't want to relive this!! He didn't want to talk about what he'd seen and what he'd done. Get Alex to do it, he loved blathering to the camera for attention. He was hospitalized, though, and with worse injuries than the rest of them. And Chimera was here, conscious, angry, and with a lot of very clear memory of what happened in Semper Fi. If nobody did anything, then nothing would change. Not the way it mattered. Wasn't that why he'd come to U.A? To help change things for the better?
There was still something holding him back, though.
"...if I said yes--IF--would...you make my face visible" he spoke quietly, containing his emotions poorly, but still trying to keep it down for the sake of the others in the infirmary, "My...face? What if people spread it around not because of what...what we're saying, but because I...look like this? It's...it's a fact that mutant Quirks are the least accepted of us out there...we're 'freaks'. Monsters. How are you so sure that...you won't just be making a freak show?"
The question was loaded. If she said his appearance didn't matter, then she was full of crap, and he'd tell her to find someone else. If she said she wanted him because he was a mutant, then he wanted nothing to do with this. He wouldn't be used because of how he looked. But there was the chance she had an answer that didn't give him an out. Then what? Would he really do it?
Did he even know himself? |
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414 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
17 Years
Female
"Halo"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Emi Ryoko Tachibana on Nov 28, 2018 16:57:04 GMT -4
Sheād piqued his interest. Emi hadnāt heard a yes, but as long as she didnāt hear a no, she had a chance. It wasnāt as if she had expected it to be easy ā if anything, the fact that her first choice was entertaining her at all was a small victory. He might have been (understandably) hesitant, but he was still listening. Responding. Engaging. Considering what she was asking of him, a conversation could only mean good things.
āYou ask good questions,ā she said ā mostly to buy time. They were heavy questions, and any one of them could ruin her chances if she gave the wrong answer. It was good for her, then, that while her goals were rooted in selfish desire, she couldnāt achieve them without good intentions. āHmā¦ It wouldnāt be hard to blur you out. Iām not sure it would do much to hide who you are, though. Youāve got an, erā¦ distinctive look, but Iām sure you donāt need me to tell you that. A blur isnāt going to do much to hide that youāre covered in fur or have rabbit ears.ā Of course, she could go with an audio-only interview, but that would defeat the purpose. There was nothing for her to gain from leaving that option on the table.
āMore to the point, I think itās a bad idea. Hold up-ā She pre-empted the assumed frown. āand stay with me for a second on this one.ā She paused, trying to make sure sheād found the right words. āHiding a face wouldnāt do as much to get a message across. You were the one that brought up sympathy, right? Would you sympathise more with words on a page, a disembodied voice or a face to match the tone? ā¦But none of thatās what youāre worried about, is it?ā
Another pause, longer this time. There was no hiding that the boy was unmistakably different. He had every reason to be concerned, and trying to convince him that nobody would notice was ridiculous. So how else could she play this? She closed her eyes too, took a deep breath in, and decided to go with the truth.
āI wonāt lie. People will laugh. They always do. Iāve made putting my face on a screen my job for years, and there are always people ready to make fun. Laugh. Bully. Iām guessing you donāt need to go on the internet to find people like that.ā She pulled the zip of her bag open, rifling through its contents for something. The makings of a smile showed as she found the words she needed. āYou know when I got the worst of it? The day people found out I was a ādirty quirkerā. Lost years' worth of work, overnight, just for being different. It was pretty brutalā¦ And my quirk doesnāt even show unless I want it to. I got over it, but stillā¦ Shit sucked. So I made it my goal to make sure none of us would ever go through that again. To do that, I need a hero.ā
She pulled her hand out, and with it, her iFruit. The latest model, of course. A double-tap of its button prompted a ping and the screen to light up. āWhatās the definition of a hero?ā She kept her eyes on Chimera, but if he looked at the phone, heād see that it was recording and transcribing her voice. Within seconds, the device had an answer, delivering it with the barely-natural voice that most digital assistants shared:
āA person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.ā
āThereās nothing in there about having big floppy ears or being able to shoot fire. But the way I hear it, thereās a lot about being brave.ā She dropped the phone back into her bag, its purpose served. A proper smile took its rightful place on her face as she found her stride. If there was one thing she was good at, it was talking her poor victimās ears off. āEven if there had been civilians in this whole mess, I still wouldāve looked for the Yuuei students. Not because itās easier, but because theyāre training, by definition, to be brave. Now, youāre going to have to take my word for it on this one, but if somebodyās got a good platform and speaking up and they sound confident, people are going to listen. Doesnāt really matter if what theyāre saying is right ā but it helps a lot that you probably will be. Theyāll talk and share, and yes, that means some people wonāt like it, or make fun of it. But most people, which Iām sure you know deep down, will hear you out, as long as you tell the truth about what happened there. And then youāll be āChimera, the boy who survived Semper Fi. A hero in the making, daring enough to speak out against the military.ā And beyond thatā¦ itās a step in the right direction. History shows it, all over the world. Suffragettes, American Civil Rights, the Queer Movementā¦ Real change never starts until the minority starts talking out loud about their struggle. I can handle the loud part if you can handle the talking.ā She gave him a wink ā hopefully sheād be able to convince him that she was very confident on that front.
āThereās always going to be a few outliersā¦ But anybody that finds it in themselves to make fun of a student speaking out surviving an attack isnāt a good person. If it makes you feel better, theyāll get shunned by all their sane friends for being a racist and picking on a kid-ā Pun unintended. āBut to be honest, theyāre not the kind of person weāre going to convince anyway.ā An interesting choice of pronoun, as if sheād already made his mind up for him. āā¦Sorry.ā She put on a meek smile. āSometimes I get carried away. I just-ā 'Have a lot of passion for my goal.' āthink about this stuff a lot. My point wasā¦ If you didnāt have at least a little bravery in you, you wouldnāt even be listening to me. Heck, you wouldnāt be in this hospital bed, because you wouldnāt be in this school at all. So I know youāre on the right track.ā She just needed him to go a little further.
Pulling a water bottle out of her bag gave him time to mull over her words. By the time she'd helped herself to a drink, she had more to say! āAnd, no offence, but if youāre planning to be a hero, nowās as good a time as any to start being a little less self-conscious. How many heroes do you know that get away with hiding their face? Especially the mutants.ā One, off the top of her head, and Geist mostly got away with it as a holdover from his villain days. āThink about it some time.ā
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322 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
16 Years
Male
"Instinct"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Chimera on Nov 30, 2018 1:17:04 GMT -4
800 WC good social roll emi | Chimera was not seriously considering this.
...at least that was the lie he was trying to sell himself as Emi began speaking.
She started with the obvious: that hiding his face was somewhat pointless. Not only because he was still a giant goat-dog-rabbit-man covered in white fur and with horns that no amount of censor-blur was going to make look normal, but because it took away the person behind it. That was her whole spiel; to get a student who had been through Semper Fi, and get them to tell the world the truth. Only a real student was going to get the ball rolling. Not a black screen over a voice, not a blurry white mess, but a visible, wounded, real student. And he was pretty unmistakable. Nobody was going to think she went out and asked some random teen on the street to fake being a UA kid for views when she had a very obvious Quirker in front of her, with very real injuries to boot.
So she wasn't just using his appearance for views. She needed him to put more sympathy--yeah, that was shitty, but still--and credibility into the video.
That was one point to her favor. Just one point, though.
Wait, why had she stopped talking?
Chimera rolled his head back to look at Emi during her pause, and as she began speaking again, his brow knitted, very much confused and worried. Well, he didn't need her to tell him that people would laugh or bully him for his appearance. That was something that until very recently he'd been subjected to on a regular basis. Then she starting talking about herself--and not in a shallow, selfish way, either. Chimera swallowed a lump in his throat. Ah. Crap. Her talking about the day her Quirk came to light did no favors for his resolve. He...well, he had no idea what that must have been like. Chimera had looked like this since he was born, and been treated as such throughout his life. Emi had been just a normal girl with a normal hobby and then one day she was different. Even if it was in a way that nobody would notice if she didn't tell them, even if it was something she could have hidden from the world, it still was part of her and she wasn't "normal" anymore. He...
...he could relate to that. Not because of his Quirk, but...
Nope, not adding that to this train of confusing feelings right now.
...but it was still true.
And that's what she was here for, for putting those differences out there and being brave enough to not be scared of it. Yes there would be assholes who would laugh at the inhuman looking Quirker, or say something hateful and cruel, but for every one of those weren't there going to be a dozen others who needed that? Needed to know that people who were different were out there and fighting to get change done? Chimera sighed and closed his eyes long enough to raise his paw up again and drag it down his forehead over his muzzle and down to his mouth, where it sat, hiding whatever shape his lips were making right now. That was why he was here. Change. Proving mutants like him could and did do good things. That they weren't freaks. That they were just as human as anybody else was. He was still terrified, though.
He waited for her to stop talking (it took a while, all things considered. Did she even need to breathe?) before he dropped his arm to the side. He sighed deeply, his lungs stretching in a way that made his rib ache in a way that the pain killers mostly managed to soothe. This...this was going to suck. He was going to be out there for the world to see if he said yes--not just Quirk wise, but as a person. As a victim. As a future hero. As a kid who got shot up by corrupted militia. As a freak with rabbit ears, a goat's face, and dog teeth.
Being brave is acting even when you're scared, a voice in his head chimed.
And a hero is brave.
"Alright...I...thought about it," he spoke, finally, after what felt like a minute of silence between the two of them. His face was no less twisted with doubt, and yet, he forced a weak, anxious smile, not even bothering to hide the feelings behind it. Last chance to say no. "...and...if you promise that I don't have to...like, give my full name or...something for legitimacy, then...I...I'm in."
".....but maybe give me until my painkillers kick in all the way. Talking. Hurts." |
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414 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
17 Years
Female
"Halo"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Emi Ryoko Tachibana on Dec 2, 2018 12:20:17 GMT -4
A tense but necessary silence. After the word dump sheād given the boy, his ears deserved a bit of peace. She kept an eye on him at first, but within a few seconds sheād shifted to attention to her phone ā something she could stare at without making anything uncomfortable. Her eyes snapped back to him as soon as he spoke, calm but curious. Finally, she heard acceptance. Hesitant, nervous acceptance, but that would do for her. Another smile appeared ā gentler and warmer, compared to her usual self-assured self. It didnāt last long; once he asked for some time, she was on her feet, bold as ever.
āGreat! Thatās fine, no worries. You take some time to get better and ready. Iāll come back soon. Is an hour alright?ā She didnāt wait for an answer before she grabbed her bags. āDonāt worry about any names. I think your face is proof enough, donāt you? Worst case scenario, some teachers can vouch for you later. Either way, Iāll sort it out. See you soon!ā With a wave and a smile, she slipped back behind the curtain, wandering off to get emergency supplies.
As Emi quickly realised, there wasnāt much to get. Makeup for furry boys wasnāt commercially available (yet), and she carried everything she needed for high-quality film with her. So what was left to get for her hospital-bound victim? The answer, Chimera learned as she popped back into the infirmary, was a lot.
A carrier bag in each hand, and two more hanging off her arms. āOkay, Iām back. I wanted to get something nice, but I forgot to ask what you like, soā¦ You donāt mind if I put these here, right?ā The bags were down before she finished asking - two on his bed, and the rest on her chair. If he chose to look inside, heād find her idea of hospital gifts. A throw blanket and a pair of down pillows. A travel brush and a manicure set. Matcha tea bags, several bottles of water and a variety pack of snack bars. A BLT, and a chimichanga from a Mexican take out (she was especially proud of that one). A box of macaroons and several bowls of instant ramen. Random, and questionable, but as least he couldnāt call her cheap or uncaring. Even the ramen screamed quality ā as much as noodle packaging could anyway.
Emi, oddly enough, seemed quite excited to share her gifts. āI figured that some of the stuff here might not be the best, soā¦ I could do a bit to make things a bit better! I only had an hour though, so it was a bit of a rushā¦ I just grabbed everything that seemed right so you didnāt think Iād ditched you! Anyway, I hope youāre feeling up to it now.ā She started setting up shop regardless of his answer.
In short order, sheād pulled out the rest of her set-up. Preparing for a shoot was easy when her kit was fairly lightweight. A tripod and a DSLR to sit upon it, with an on-camera mic on top of that. There were two oversized wands poking out of the tripod bag, but instead of tending to them, she pulled out a handheld recorder and a pair of headphones, resting the latter on her neck. āOkay. I think here will be fine, as long as things donāt get too loud.ā She spoke from behind the camera, fiddling with the lens to get her angle. āItāll be up to you to say what you feel is right. I can ask some questions to get things started, but this is about you at the end of the day. Say what comes to mind ā if itās too personal or you flub a sentence I can always cut it out later. And most importantlyā¦ relax.ā She fixed her gaze on the boy. āTalking to the camera always seems intimidating at first, but youāve got this, hero-in-training."
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322 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
16 Years
Male
"Instinct"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Chimera on Dec 2, 2018 12:54:29 GMT -4
603 WC such nice memories | By the time an hour had passed and Emi returned to Chimera's "room", his pain had dulled to the point that he could prop himself against his pillows into more of a seated position. That was a lot better than being on his back. He felt more alert without the pain. Hell, his appetite was coming back, too. That was a good thing, right? How much could he eat without getting sick, though, was the real question. He felt like he hadn't eaten in a week...maybe he hadn't, outside of the plain broth and tea and crackers he'd been given here.
So Emi showing up with a ton of food might have been random as hell--and a bit ridiculous--but he couldn't help but perk up at the sight of it, like a dog presented with a bone. "I-I don't mind. Um. Is it--can I just...thank you?"
Assuming Emi wouldn't stop him he plucked out the BLT from the bag and opened the bread, eating the lettuce by itself with tiny little rabbit-like nibbles. And then as soon as it was done her ate the rest of the sandwich in one bite.
Okay. Yeah. He'd been starving.
Thank you crazy-persistent vlogger girl.
...well now there really was no way he could back out of this, right? He wasn't a food-motivated person but she had gone out of her way to bring food to him, along with some softer pillows and blankets than they had in the infirmary--everything felt like it was made of cotton blended with paper--and a...brush? Well. He did probably look like he hadn't brushed his fur in the last few days. But that manicure set only made him snrk with laughter. He had claws, and quite well-maintained ones at that. What was that going to do for him. It was the thought that counted though. After downing a couple of the energy bars Chimera wiped his muzzle off with a napkin, listening to Emi talk. Again.
Aaaaaaaaaand there was the camera, all set up and ready to go. He gulped.
HELP ME.
"...uh, maybe...if you can give me some questions, instead of just making me improvise? I. I don't even know how to start, let alone...how to sound like I'm not a complete idiot on camera," he gave Emi an awkward, nervous smile. What was she even looking for here? Details on the fight itself? A broad over-view of everything from a student's perspective? Gorey bits? Hopefully not that last one. He was feeling better with the pain medication and food in him, but...his shoulders still visibly tensed when her thought too hard about it all.
But it needed to be put out there, didn't it. All of it. The blood was part of the tragedy after all, and if he glossed over every violent thing he'd seen, then it would be doing wrong by those who had sacrificed themselves for his sake and the sake of all the students that day. Still, she didn't need everything. He could leave out the part where he ripped a man's hand off to keep him from suicide-bombing the group, or the part where Risaka threw a frag grenade into a tank full of soldiers, or how Yojin had sprayed a group of soldiers with battery acid, or how Alex was going for the kill after he'd been shot...or...or...yeah.
She didn't need to know those things. Nobody did, but themselves.
...and anyone Alex had already blathered to, he noted mentally. The little shit. |
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414 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
17 Years
Female
"Halo"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Emi Ryoko Tachibana on Dec 3, 2018 17:48:46 GMT -4
Sniggers from behind the camera. It hadnāt been recording, but she could see the goat-boy helping himself to some lettuce. If nothing else, at least sheād been able to lift his spirits before making him relive his nightmares. Before theyād even gotten to the bad part, she could see and hear his nerves settling in ā mostly the latter, since her gaze was elsewhere. Sheād gone to pick up the wands, activating them with the press of a button. They were portable lights; dimmed so as to avoid blinding them both, but enough to alter how the camera saw the scene.
āTry starting with the basics. Your name- or hero name, I guess. Age, occupationā¦ Which is student, obviously. You want them to know the important stuff, right? Like why youāre at Yuuei, how you ended up at Semper Fiā¦ What life is like, being, you knowā¦ different.ā
The only problem was how she planned to hold both lights and operate the cameraā¦ At least, Chimera might think that. The answer became obvious once she let go of one of the wands in mid-airā¦ And it stayed there. Naturally, oneās eyes might be drawn to the band of white crystal around where her hand had been. Under her watchful gaze, white grains materialised from in front of her, flying up to the wand and creating a bridge between it and the boyās curtain railings. With her light held in place, she repeated the process for the other wand, completing her makeshift studio.
āJust, you knowā¦ introduce yourself, like youāre meeting somebody new. You want to be friendly, but also inspiringā¦ To do that, people will need to know why they should care about you at all.ā She was barely looking directly at him, opting to watch him through the lens instead. āAnd brush yourself off a bit. Youāve got a bad case of bedhead. ..Bedā¦ body. Unless you just always look like that. In which caseā¦ā She coughed, deciding to focus on the white balance instead. āIāll start rolling once you start talking.ā
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322 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
16 Years
Male
"Instinct"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Chimera on Dec 3, 2018 21:52:06 GMT -4
1720 WC wow that's long | Huh. Crystals. That...must have been her Quirk. Chimera took a moment to be a bit confused, and then curious, as Emi used her Quirk to secure the lights where she wanted them. He had expected something a bit flashier, maybe? Which was probably a stupid thing to assume--his Quirk was pretty flashy, but he was nowhere near as charismatic (or insane) as Emi appeared to be. In a better setting he'd have asked for more details on what she could do with it, but as he was staring down the barrel of the camera, his question died on his lips.
Just introduce yourself. Be friendly. Charming, even. And inspiring, too.
And don't choke.
"So...no pressure. Got it." His voice was dry enough that he nabbed a bottle of water as well as the comb. He brushed his fur down so it wasn't as over the place as it was, but, ugh, the knots in them needed more than a brushing to get out. At least he looked like a goat and not like a dust bunny. He stalled another little bit by downing the whole water bottle. Then, he breathed in...
ā...um. Hi. Nice to meet...ā
Nope. Try again.
ā...Iām Chimera. Iām...I'm fifteen years old, and I-I am a first year at U.A. The hero school.ā As opposed to what, the dance academy? ARGH he was blowing this. He just had to keep talking, and eventually something resembling working sentences would come out. Monkeys at type-writers. Or...goats in interviews? āA-As I think everyone can see Iām...I have a very obvious mutation Quirk. It gives me fur and horns and...well, you canāt see them right now, but rabbit feet. Iāve always looked like this, since I was born, and..." he breathed again, and broke eye-contact from the camera, "And it wasnāt a very easy life. I grew up in the foster care system, I went from home to home, and a lot of people saw me...like a monster. Like I was inhuman.ā
This is what being brave means.
āFive years ago, I was finally adopted by a family. One of my parents is mundane, and the other also has a mutation Quirk. I-In fact all of my siblings do. Weāre all foster kids. All of us...are different. We're all mutations in one way or another, and we'd all been through that kind of...life. Thatās why I chose to come to U.A, and to try to become a hero." Because? "Because I am sure there are other people like me, or like my siblings or my mother, who are treated like monsters or worse because of how we look. It...doesnāt make us any less than everyone else just because we have fur, or antenna, or bear hands...uh, spelled b-e-a-r...we're still people. Still kids, in my case.ā
Even if it's scary.
āWeāre still people. And. And when I was at Semper Fi, with all of my friends who are also different--even if not as...obvious, as I am--we were...we...ā
.....
Chimera's hands shook in his lap, his ears drooping and eyes widening just so. Now. Now he had to say it, didn't he. He had to. He had to say everything he could. So that they knew, so that they could understand. God, he didn't want to think about any of it. So...he tried his best to just talk, without thinking. Without remembering. It was impossible. He didn't want to do this.
But the words spilled out of him, and didn't stop.
ā...there was an explosion somewhere. Close to where I was with my roommate. I ran in its direction to see if I could help. I asked them, right away, what was wrong. What can I do. I. I wanted to make sure nobody was hurt. But as soon as they saw me, this soldier...he reached out for me, like he was trying to grab me by the throat. I. I ran away, and...and...he started shooting at me. He--He only missed because...another soldier stopped him, tried to pull the gun away, and I turned around and I s-saw..the man who had attacked me...shot the one who saved me....right in the head.ā
Don't think about it.
ā...I found my friends again. They. They had found a little girl--a little kid, like, not even a middle-schooler--whose leg had been broken by this...this mob of panicking, confused people. There was shooting going on, and tanks moving out. Students were getting arrested. No. No, no, it wasnāt just.....it was people with Quirks--any Quirk--being arrested. Being...shot at. Or. Just shot. But it wasnāt the whole camp. Soldiers tried to help us, too, who knew this was just...wrong. The girlās father was a soldier and he helped us get to cover behind a tank. But the people attacking us...they had one, too, and they took our the...wheels? Treds? I donāt...ā
āWe. We had to do something, or...or we would be shot. Two of us went to defend against the soldiers attacking us. Myself and my roommates stayed behind, using our Quirks to fix the tank, and to...we...ā
ā...he added cots to the side, and a shield around it. When the gunshots died down we started grabbing people. Anyone. Whoever was hurt, students or civilians or, hell, soldiers we didnāt know were for or against us. We. We couldnāt leave them. They could have died from their injuries. We didnāt know when help would get to them. So we...we did what we could.ā
āI donāt remember escaping. I took a blow to the head, and when I came to, I was in the hospital. My friends...we were alive. But. We were hurt. My roommateās deaf now. Canāt hear anything. He...he might recover, but itās not certain. One of my friends who had protected us...he was shot in the shoulder, in the chest, been concussed...he...heās still in really, really bad shape. I was shot four times in the chest. I...I have two broken ribs, and...the bruises on my chest. Just. If I hadnāt had a bullet-proof vest on, I...I wouldnāt have...ā
I wouldn't have survived.
But I did survive.
He'd had to stop himself from eating a man, and had been shot, and had broken some bones, and had watched hell raise up around him in a matter of seconds, but he was here. Chimera was here, and he was alive, and he had survived. The fear cleared from his eyes. He'd survived. He'd gotten by with nothing compared to the others. He was here and able to talk. He could do this. He had to. He had to, he had to, he had to.
Alex, Risaka, and Yojin. They're brave. Even if they were scared, they still did what they had to. Without them he wouldn't be here, too.
Chimera stared into the camera.
āI donāt know what the media is saying about this. I. I canāt look at it, right now. Even talking about it. Even....thinking....I...I almost wish I wasn't here. My friends and I did nothing wrong. None of the students did. We went to Semper Fi to learn from the military. Fuck--we wanted to. We want to be heroes! Isnāt that what soldiers are, and always have been? But what happened there...that...they werenāt shooting at criminals trying to harm their people. They werenāt being heroes. They...they weren't shooting at monster. They were shooting at kids. Weāre kids!! We're only fucking kids!!ā
Chimera could feel a pounding inside his head that sounded like his head echoing up from behind his broken ribs, but he ignored it. His whole body felt hot all of a sudden. Like he was sitting in the middle of a bonfire. He kept speaking. āPretend I didnāt have a Quirk--pretend none of us did, if you have to. Iām fifteen! I have parents and sisters and a brother barely a year old, and I have friends, I play sports. I love bad music, I am a person! And those soldiers wanted to kill me! Wanted to kill everyone just like me! And weāre just kids! What...who in their right mind would think that this was...okay?! Does anybody know who even gave the command for them to attack us? Soldiers, trained fucking soldiers, shooting to kill a bunch of teenagers on a field trip...?ā
Oh, why did the room get blurry all of a sudden?
āWe...weāre just as human as anyone else...ā
...the same reason my face feel wet.
Chimera's hands jumped from his lap to his face like he'd been bitten, shock pulling back the fire from his expression. Thick, wet tears were pouring from his eyes, turning the whole room--Emi, the camera, the lights--into a mess of blotches and color. Oh. He hadn't cried since then. Since he'd returned from Semper Fi, come to in a hospital room with no memory of getting there. It had all felt so numb and he...he hadn't even noticed it until now. How much he'd buried it, how much it hurt, but at the same time how much he felt.
Still. The whole world didn't need to see him cry. He buried his eyes under his paws. It hid his eyes completely, but his muzzle was still visible, words clear.
ā.....and we still...I still want...to be a hero, and protect people, and do good. Not just to show other mutations like me that itās...that itās okay...but...but because I want to. I want to do good. Thatās...I canāt...think of a person in this school who doesnāt want that...ā his voice shook, "...who...doesn't still want it..."
ā...but...I...I....I canāt...Emi....just....just cut th-this somewhere...good...I...ā
his shoulders hunched into themselves as much as his injuries allowed, paws still hiding most of his face. "...please...I...I'm done. I can't. I'm done."
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414 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
17 Years
Female
"Halo"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Emi Ryoko Tachibana on Dec 7, 2018 11:38:36 GMT -4
Emi kept quiet. Uncharacteristically so, seeing how easily sheād run her mouth earlier, but she knew better than to interrupt the boy. Whatever he felt like saying would have to come from the heart, and that meant she would only intervene if he was seriously struggling. As it happened, she never needed to. After a shaky start, he found his voice., and she started recording.
Things went well, at first. With a fixed angle, there wasnāt much for her to focus on, and so she made herself his moral support. A small smile from behind the camera would, she hoped, keep his spirits up and help fight the nerves. It gave her time to think about his words ā whether or not that was a good thing was something she could consider later.
Emi had long since accepted that her life would have been better if she had been quirkless. Sure, few people would complain about being left in a miniature mansion with only house help for company, but the allure of luxury had worn off very quickly, and the need for companions had grown even faster. Still, she lived relatively well, and even when her quirk threatened to ruin her life a second time, she had bounced back. Her situation wasnāt ideal, but it was manageable. At least she didnāt have to bare her quirk for the world to see. At least she still looked like a human being (and a very attractive one, but that was besides the point). At least her family hadnāt outright abandoned her for talents she couldnāt get rid of. Chimera had meant to educate the world with his story, but the first person heād reached was the girl sitting behind the camera. It was yet another reason why she did what she did ā to learn about the world around her, since her house arrest had denied her that.
Admittedly, his wasnāt the kind of perspective sheād had in mind when she woke up that morning, but it was a perspective nonetheless. Whether she would take anything from it was another story, especially with what came after.
The boy needed to talk to somebody. Not the camera, a professional. Somehow that had flown over her head when sheād introduced herself, but there was something about his shaking, his stuttering, those despondent eyesā¦ As long as she was looking, it was impossible to ignore. At the back of her head, she knew it was great. If he could get such a visceral reaction out of her, then he was going to make an impact on the web. But for once, somebody had managed to get a selfless thought to the forefront of her mind.
That didnāt mean she was going to stop, of course. This was gold.
And then it got worse. Reports and grainy videos were one thing, but an eyewitness account was bound to tug on the heartstrings. She knew that ā in fact, she was counting on it. She hadnāt, however, thought it would get to her. Only a little, mind you, but it was enough to make her forget her smile. Then it got worse. The gunshots, the wounded, absolute chaosā¦ All things she already knew, even if that didnāt make things any better. It wasnāt until he spoke his mind that she felt a sinking feeling in her chest. At some point, her eyes moved from him and to the Chimera in the camera. It didnāt take long after the tears started rolling for her to decide that the floor was much more interesting. Thankfully, he didnāt last much longer after that. His begging forced her to look at him again, as pitiful as he was. Cut the film. That was what any reasonable person would have done. And yet, a little voice in the back of her head stopped her. It wasnāt like he could see whether she had stopped, and there was still one little thing she needed from him. Besides thatā¦ he still needed help.
She stood up, slowly walking over to his bedside. Hopefully the hospital had left a box of tissues nearby, but if not, she would venture out to find them. She hovered the box a few inches from his face. āā¦Here.ā It was hard to miss the hesitation in her voice. All sheād had to do was listen, but even that was relatively new to her. And quite uncomfortable, sheād realised. āThat wasā¦ā Perfect? No. Calling it perfect felt dirty. āReally good. Powerful. Iā¦ā
She cursed herself mentally. Talking was her area of expertise. Comforting, not so muchā¦ But she had a general idea. People liked being touched, right? Her free hand slowly placed itself against the boyās shoulder. āIāmā¦. sorry. That that happened to you. You didnāt deserve that. Nobody does.ā There were probably more reassuring words, but they wouldnāt come to her. āIsā¦ Is there anything I can do to help?ā
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322 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
16 Years
Male
"Instinct"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Chimera on Dec 8, 2018 14:09:23 GMT -4
345 WC good bedside manners | Chimera didn't respond to Emi immediately, his face still kept hidden even as she held a box of tissues up for him to take. Her words sounded strange. Rough. Very different from the smooth-talking Emi who had drawn him into this in the first place. When her hand touched his shoulder he finally moved. He lowered his hands, the fur on his palms stained wet like his cheeks, and he took some tissues and balled them up to dry his eyes. Everything just felt raw, like he'd been wounded all over again, like he'd just woken up in the hospital right after everything had ended. Only this time he wasn't dazed, and didn't have Yojin or Alex there. Somehow, their presence had made it better. Emi was trying at least. Poorly, but trying nonetheless. He shook his head.
"No. I...I mean, no, thank you. I. I don't know. I need a...a second." Chimera's voice was tightened by crying and from simply speaking so much--he hadn't said more than a few sentences at a time since day one, let alone that. "...I...went really, really off there, huh...I'm sorry. I...I couldn't stop."
A half-laugh, half-choked sob managed to pass through his throat.
"I don't think there's m-much else to do...I'm...super tired all of a sudden...I should rest..." A lie. He felt wired and hurting and terrible, and there was no way in hell he'd really be able to sleep now. He wanted to look up everything now, and see if anything he'd said would help. Maybe talk to his friends, if they were online. Play a game. Something, anything--just to take his mind off these open wounds before they started to bleed. Like they hadn't already.
Chimera finally dared to look up at Emi. His red eyes were still wet and the fur his tears had stained was matted down. He must have looked like a mess.
There were worse things.
"...do you r-really think this is going to something, for anybody...?" |
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