avalononline | Video; UN: Rubitsune

[ The video starts and the girl on the other side of the camera looks... Concerned. ]

Just how many of us are there? [ She starts, almost tripping over her words to elaborate. ] Kids, I mean. Just how many of us here are kids?

Are we all staying at the inns?

[ She pauses, biting her lip for a moment before speaking up again, her voice a little more sure this time. ]

I think we should look out for each other. [ Because adults can't be trusted to. Even the ones who mean well. ] A lot of us are small, I'd bet. And a lot of the other kids I've seen don't really seem like fighters. Those of us that are, we should help them.

Those of us who don't know how to fight can learn from those of us who do know, and those of us who don't want to know how to fight can be taught how to keep a better eye out for themselves and the rest of us.

The more of us that know how to defend ourselves, and the more of us that can keep an eye out for each other, the better chance of survival we have in a situation where we are at a noticeable disadvantage.

[ She wasn't quite suggesting a gang of feral children, but close enough. ]

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[ And oh how excited ruby looks, her own medium-grey eyes twinkling. ]

In my world it's rare for Japanese people to have red hair. I'm haafu, but technically I shouldn't be able to have red hair since you need the gene somewhere on both sides, but there was no history of marrying foreigners on my dad's side. And sometimes, when people get frustrated with me, they claim I'm 'not really Japanese', and they point out my hair so...

It's just really nice to meet someone else with red hair, especially a shade so close to my own, who is also Japanese.

[Of all the meanings disguised in looks—expressed through eyes, for half his appearance—the worst were less subtle. Soft delight is still new.] Sorry. [Honestly.] It shouldn't matter if you're half...

[He's lingering on that "nice"; though he doesn't know what to do... whether he's meant to smile in turn... and only ends up seeming flustered.]

I um, [searching,] you should be proud of it. [Is that hypocritical?] I think... it must be special.

[For her, of course, yes.]

Since it's rare.

[He's safely still outside himself. Reassuring.]

[ She smiles a little. ] I know it shouldn't matter, but it matters enough to others that they judge me on it. It's really frustrating.

[ At the rest of what he says, she looks thoughtful. ]

I guess where I'm from there's a few things about me that are rare. I never thought about such things as being special though, just different. [ It's hard to think of yourself as special when the first half of your life was spent with you being trained to be an extension of your father's will rather than your own person, and the second half saw you under the control of a crazy man in charge of a cult. ] I'm not sure I can really be proud of things that I have no control over.

[ She looks back to him. ]

Is that weird? I don't mind if it is. I feel better about being proud of things I worked hard to do, anyway.

[ Not that she felt pride very often. She'd never be enough in her own opinion, but sometimes she excelled past what she expected of herself and that felt really good! ]

[It's the opposite where he's from—where unique's replaced normal.

If you're Quirkless, if you're average, if your growth's without its difference, then your merits were overlooked. Special something's were all that mattered, and his Quirk's his own proof. He, himself, through loss of advantage, now too keenly aware of things. But, "half and half" indeed... in all his difference, for all its "special": it's completely indecent. Not the "what" he is that stings him, but those reasons behind it.

There's his own ridiculous father: so desperate to have his chimera, he'd at all but forgotten he's human.

The little frowns returns, briefly, and then he's trying to seem warmer.

Her thinking's not wrong.]

No. It's not weird.

[Your own hard work.]

It's your own talent.
No one else can claim it either, if you've earned it. Whatever it is.
I think, it's fine to put your pride in that.

[In doing things herself?]

It's probably fine to be proud, sometimes.

[Cautiously. He's been arrogant before, out of hurt, and he's trying to be honest.]

[ Unique is admittedly what her own father wanted. Uniquely talented. Uniquely capable. Uniquely perfect to take over once he was done. She still remembers some of that - it wasn't that long ago that she was kept in safe houses, away from the world, being taught what any future crime lord should know.

And now, well, a different sort of perfection is desired from her. The perfect follower. The perfect weapon. The perfect tool. It's no wonder that she didn't feel pride very often, not when perfection was the bare minimum desired of her. She didn't even know it was wrong to expect that of her specifically, just that it felt crummy. She already has enough reasons to be glad that Leader Korei isn't here, but the fact that she is the only one expecting perfection of her is a really, really relieving feeling. ]

[ She doesn't miss the switch to text, but decides better than to speak of it. Always better to let people save face, right? ]

Sometimes, yeah. Feeling pride every so often makes you want to feel it again, which makes you work harder to be better. That and when you get better, you can look back at what you used to be proud of, and then realise that wasn't anything compared to what you're capable of now.

Growth feels good.

Video; UN: Rubitsune

(Take as much time as you need :D )

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(Sorry for the wait! I had to take hiatus.)

No worries, same here!

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