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[thearchitect] image/text

[ The photograph attached to the post depicts the front of a small shop called Polydegmon's Lapidary and Brew. It's got that 'new store' look, where everything looks pristine and nothing has been touched by grime or dust settling in the corners yet. It's not the most terribly modern-looking place (look, the rent was cheap).

He wouldn't even be advertising it here if a certain someone didn't bug him to. Honestly, he could do without the publicity... ]

I am now accepting commissions as a goldsmith and alchemist. My hours are from midday to six, weekdays only. Or whatever it is you call them. No, my prices are not negotiable.

[ Attached beneath the above terse remark is the address to the store. ]

Additionally, I will NOT accept requests for items to use in warfare of any sort. At all. If I find that you have done so then I will make sure you regret it for the remainder of your days.

(ooc: Please respect that a character will suffer some kind of IC consequence if they try and use his products as IC war propaganda or in serious IC war efforts. Doubly so if they deceive him for it.

[CW: Discussions of warfare in certain threads. Please use discretion when reading.]

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[It might be tricky to add a charm to the device but with some fandangling it should be easy enough. Maybe he should add a longer chain to attach it or something.]

I mean- boys can do it too! I used to think about getting an All Might charm for my phone. I think a lot of girls like getting them, that's all. I haven't seen the trend happening here.

[ Be honest, Izuku: can you see this old and serious man with something as tacky as a phone charm? ]

Ah, I see. Mayhap I could create something...

[ He gives his device one more look then puts it away. It's a problem to consider later in his own time. ]

And what is an 'almite'? Is that some form of vilekin?

[ GENUINE QUESTION HERE. ]

[If he's trying to be hip with the fellow kids. But from the way he uses his device to text it's going to be hard to get there.]

Eh- No, It's...

[Oh no. Don't get the poor kid started.]

It's actually All Might. He's my favourite Pro Hero back home. He was the strongest hero back in his prime days! The strongest one, always saving everyone with a bright smile and his catchphrase, "I am here!!" no matter what kind of danger comes his way! ...

[Izuku got started. But also, he looks a little strained by the end of it.]

He's my mentor now. I didn't realize I'd miss having a charm of him on my phone.

Then make a new one. There is an abundance of clay here. Or mayhap you would prefer glass? I have some of both here, including coloured powders for the latter.

[ Well, it's refined sand for the glass of course. But what's the difference to an alchemist? ]

Since he matters so much to you, you can hold his image more clearly than anything else. Why not try it now?

[...! What a good idea- why didn't he think of it? Now this is going to be a pseudo-crafting class.]

That's- I'll do it! I'll try to make my own All Might charm! ... I think I'll take the clay, it'll be more durable than glass.

[Because heck knows he'd break a glass one eventually.]

[ His lips curve and he glances up at his familiar. ]

Nyx, if you would?

[ The gwiber trills and swoops into the back room, returning a short time later with a neatly wrapped block of clay grasped in one of its feet. It drops the block into Emet-Selch's hand - bearing a faint imprint from being held - then retakes its perch.

The Ascian peels back the waxed, waterproof paper and carves off a small piece with some wire, which he then hands to Izuku. The rest will be wrapped up once more to go back into storage. ]

[The gwiber is such an interesting familiar to have. He thinks it's amazing and cool. Having a dragon-like creature must be a lot of work and he idly wonders what its diet is and such...

When the clay is presented to him he nods and takes it with a thank you. The clay is fresh and malleable and maybe in another world, he'd be able to just shape this clay into some sort of All Might blob. But here he can picture something he wants to be done in his mind and can let his alchemy magic help him create that image. It's useful and maybe a little bit like taking a short cut but he really does like alchemy.]

Alright.

[There's a small flash of magic with it. With some focus, he does shape something that appears to be a decent-looking charm! But gosh, it's still kind of odd-looking for a character, isn't it? It's kind of ugly, and you can say it.]

Ahh! I did it! This looks like his Golden Age outfit!

[ He is expecting someone more...wise-looking. What in the heavens is this strange, buff man? ]

That is your teacher?

[ Nyx, having returned after putting away the clay, sticks her head down to examine the figure as well. She sniffs dismissively and straightens. ]

[Nope, this strange dark-eyed beefy man is his teacher.]

That's right, he is! He's the strongest hero of our age! I've been following him since I was small, he's the one who's dropped Japan's crime rate to the lowest it's ever been!

[Despite that tone given, Izuku is a total fanboy...]

Ah... So he's a hero...

[ This muttered with some disgust that he does try and mostly suppress for Izuku's sake. Unfortunately he still looks put out. ]

And he took you on as his pupil? You do not seem the type to solve your problems with brawn.

[Wow, Emet-Selch- Even if he's right he doesn't have to say it.]

Ah- I ... Well. I guess I used to be like that, I wasn't really the strongest-looking kid in middle school.

[He looks a lot better now! He's getting there! Izuku looks down at the keychain, looking grateful.]

Actually, I was probably the last person who he should have picked. I wasn't anything special, I wasn't even strong. But for some reason, he did pick me to train. Now I'm learning more than ever and it's all thanks to him giving me a chance.

[ For some reason, this renders Emet-Selch silent. He, too, stares at the keychain. If the figure is accurate and not exaggeration, this mentor - All Might - must have had the advantage of great physical strength. But he can see none of that in Izuku. Oh, he doesn't doubt that the boy is training, but pure strength cannot solve all the world's woes. He knows that better than most. ]

...Tell me: what makes a hero?

[ He picks up one of the raw stones as he asks, making cursory attempts to begin cutting it into a nicer shape. ]

[The question makes Izuku look up at him. For a moment he lets it settle in the air. It seems that no matter how many times that Izuku has addressed this sort of question he's still trying to find answers to it. It's a concept more than it's an answer, isn't it...]

Ah... I think that term can mean different things to different people.

[He smiles, looking back down at the All Might charm.]

A hero can be someone who puts themselves on the line to protect people who can't no matter how hard the situation looks. That saves people with a smile and takes on danger without looking back or without fear.

[But that's the simple way to answer it.]

I think it's more than that, though. I think what makes someone a hero is the willingness to know when to look at someone and think about how you can save them. And it doesn't always mean fighting. It can mean how you can forgive them for something they've done wrong because of something that's hurt. Or how you can take them out of a bad situation and show them something brighter.

[There are two very specific people he thinks of when he says all this. Ironically, one being a villain and one being a little girl Izuku did everything in his power to save.]

Edited 2021-07-30 20:16 (UTC)

[ He listens silently. Anyone actually watching his hands would see he isn't working on the raw amethyst with any kind of serious effort.

Irhya had told him he was a hero to his people, but thinking back to the mountain of bodies it had taken to get to where he had been, how can anyone tell him that with a straight face? He's obviously the villain of this story. Hythlodaeus had been right: his deeds would never have been accepted by his people even if he had managed to bring them back. ]

...Ah.

[ His hand slips and the tool cuts deeply into his finger. Blood quickly wells from the wound and begins to drip on to the table. It stings, but he can't seem to muster the appropriate response for this sort of situation. ]

Ack?! Finger! Your finger!

[Izuku quickly takes up some scrap paper and with a spark of alchemy changes it into soft tissue. And he offers them quickly!]

Tissues, for your finger...!

[... Something about Emet-Selch's expression...]

A tissue?

[ He takes the flimsy paper - it IS paper, right? - and stares at it before using it to dab at his finger. 'Tissues' seem rather useless. They don't absorb much liquid at all. ]

My apologies, I was lost in thought. So: you strive to be the sort of hero you just described?

[ It almost seems like he's back to normal. ]

[Izuku blinks, looking somewhat anxiously awkward for a second. Hey, his tissue is good enough to sop up some blood! But maybe they should transmute a proper bandage.]

Eh- I... Yeah. I hope I do. I still ... have a lot to learn, though.

[...]

I know now that the concept of being a hero is more than just... what my books might say. Or what I see on a show. And that villains aren't always as black and white either. That's... all.

[ His familiar makes a grumbly sort of noise, flapping off ponderously into the back room again. There are some scraping sounds and then it returns dragging a first aid kit backwards by its mouth.

He bends down to pick it up once it's close enough, setting it on the bench. ]

Have you forgiven anyone for their crimes yet? Who is the worst villain you have faced thus far?

... I don't think I can call any one or the other worse or the worst.

[That is a loaded question and for a second Izuku is not too sure how to answer it.]

There's someone that I ... I feel like if he had different circumstances, that things would have been different for him. When I look at his eyes all I can think is... It looks like he wants to be saved. Even through the trouble and hurt that he's brought on the people around him.

[...]

I'm still trying to figure him out. I'm still trying to...stop him. But I think if I get the chance, I'd like to try and understand him.

[So he hasn't exactly been able to forgive the man yet. But he wants to give that chance.]

[ He is silent as he opens the medical kit and removes a small patch of gauze from within. Odd though he had found the tissue, it had at least cleaned up the wound. Emet-Selch tends to his finger, listening without comment.

He wonders if the Warriors of Light feel the same way about him as Izuku does towards this villain. ]

...You cannot save everyone in the world, boy. Even if you save them from themselves, letting them live can often be crueller than simply killing them.

[Izuku looks up a the man and considers thought words. He's heard them before and each time he has heard them he's been unsure how to digest them.]

I don't know.

[He's honestly still trying to learn what the right thing to do is. The unfortunate fact of still being a young man growing up and deciding how he wants to see the world.]

How is someone supposed to judge something like that? How do you understand someone who's gone down that road?

[ A one-shouldered shrug. ]

Are you going to tell me you have never had a single contrary thought in your life? Have you lived piously? Virtuously? Have you never killed a man because the alternative was letting hundreds, even thousands more die?

[... It's a fair question. But honestly, Izuku has always tried to live his life the right way. Even if choices are hard or even if there's only one choice to make.]

If I can help it I'll never let anyone die.

[Not even the hypothetical man he's supposed to kill. It might sound naive to hear that but Izuku thinks there always has to be an option to win and save everyone. No matter what. Even if it costs him his own safety. As long as everyone else is safe... Everyone deserves a chance to change or live if there's an option for it.

A typically reckless way of thinking.]

I want to be able to save everyone. If someone is good or bad... I just want to try. Everyone deserves a chance to be heard.

Edited 2021-08-28 22:48 (UTC)

Hmph. Absurd.

[ He finishes patching up his finger and closes the kit but keeps his hand resting on the lid. ]

But then again, the very notion of 'heroes' is absurd to begin with. As if there is a universal metric of 'good'...

[ Sighing in aggravation, he glances at Izuku. ]

I think we shall leave our lesson there for now. I would be happy to continue another time.

[Oh... That hit a nerve. Izuku looks up, looking slightly unsure of the outcome. He'll stand by what he thinks but it makes him wonder what Emet-Selch might think of all this. Izuku knows his view on the world is wanting the best outcomes but he is learning that that's not always possible. Even if he refuses to accept that.

He quickly nods.]

R-right, sorry for taking up so much of your time, Emet-Selch...! And thank you for the work.

[He starts to collect up his things!]

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emet_sulk - 2021-09-01 08:05 (UTC) - Expand

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