Feyblue

Fate/esoterica

Mira Grace

Dɪᴀʟᴏɢᴜᴇ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✦ #8AB8E6 || Tʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✧ #EBB40E

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So strong and beautiful... can she even be called human?

Mira's eyes snapped open, and she shot upright in her bed with a start, the images that had coursed suddenly through her mind playing and replaying in the back of her head as she tried to make sense of the stream of memories she'd just witnessed. A terrifying battle, a victory snatched from the jaws of defeat, the image of Saber's lithe form dancing across the battlefield, and the celebration that followed all blurred together amidst the haze of sleep.

She rubbed her eyes, and as her vision refocused, it fell upon the ticking clock on the shelf opposite her bed. It was noon already? She'd slept in a lot later than usual... Then again, after exerting so much effort in summoning Saber, it was only natural.

Right. Saber. The last thing she remembered was dragging her Servant into a spare room with the help of a few of her puppets, then setting about healing her injuries as best she could. She'd been so exhausted afterward that she hadn't even bothered changing out of her day clothes before passing out.

She shambled to her feet, rubbing her eyes again and peering out the window. The courtyard was still black as night, the light of the sun not allowed to penetrate the absolute line of separation that distinguished her own territory from the lands outside. A few mana-based lights floated over the garden, painting the outside of her manor in an eerie, ghostly blue radiance. The trees and even the individual leaves of grass were utterly still, without so much as the slightest gust of wind to disturb them. It was as if the whole mansion was frozen in time - a still image, where nothing changed and everything continued onward into eternity.

And yet, there was a new feature in this still picture - an equally motionless, statuesque figure that stood watchfully by the front door.

Saber.

Mira turned and rushed out of her room, quickly scampering down the stairs and rushing into the main hall where solemn portraits hung illuminated by ghostly lights, seen by no one. Swinging open the door, she took a deep breath to calm her racing nerves, and then stepped outside with as much composure as she could muster.

"S...Saber?" She piped up sheepishly from behind her Servant. "You're up and about already... That's good, but... Are you alright?" It was no use feigning confidence in her own treatment. Honestly, she wasn't sure how much she'd managed to actually fix, beyond simply containing the damage from spreading any further. "I'm sorry I couldn't do better, it's just... healing magecraft isn't exactly... er... my strong suit."

How do *you* get into your characters' heads?

This might seem a little odd, but usually, I associate each character I create with a certain spoken voice - usually an actor/voice actor from a game, movie, anime - whatever's the last thing I watched that left enough of an impression on me that it's the first thing I think of when creating a character, and thus "cast" the voice/actor I'm thinking of as the character. At that point, I have not only a defined mental image for the character - how they look and how they move - but also a defined voice in my head that I can imagine delivering their lines. Oftentimes, just to make sure it sticks, I'll do my best impression of that particular voice and act out their lines to get a particular feel for how they sound and the way they'd respond to given comments. At a certain point, I just stop thinking about it, and let the scene play out with the "voice" speaking each line as it occurs to me, such that it's more like watching a pre-scripted episode of a TV show or a video game cutscene than coming up with something in pieces.

Fate/esoterica

Lancer

Dɪᴀʟᴏɢᴜᴇ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✦ #0EB94D || Tʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✧ #FFFA90

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The radiant spear blurred forward, crossing space in an instant with overwhelming force. In that instant, Lancer's enhanced eyes could see clearly the outcome of the battle. A momentary look of shock, then dismay, and then finally, acceptance appeared upon the face of her adversary. He, who had been so sure of his victory, now had no choice but to accept his defeat. This Servant whose name she knew not... He had been a formidable opponent. If he'd gone all out, she had no doubt that she'd have been defeated utterly. However, his overconfidence had been his downfall, and now, perhaps her strongest enemy would fall before her, leaving her path clear to claim the Holy Grail!

Yet at the exact moment her triumph should have been sealed, something changed. A momentary flicker of something, and then...

Gone. Archer was gone. In an instant, she knew what had happened. His Master, watching from somewhere distant, must have used a command spell so that he could escape his certain death...! She'd spared no effort and held nothing back, had delivered a blow with as much power as she could give it. He should have died, she should have won, and yet...!

"DAMN IT!" She roared in rage as her spear returned to her hand, its power fading just as quickly as it had appeared. All of that effort, and for what?! She'd revealed her identity, had shown close to the full extent of her power, and her enemy had simply escaped?! Worse yet, he now knew not to underestimate her. The same trick wouldn't work again. She'd missed her one chance to defeat this enemy, and now...

She wanted to scream, wanted to roar her rage to the night, wanted to unleash her power on something, anything, and tear it utterly apart to relieve her mind of this humiliation and failure! In an instant, the scales of fate had tipped away from her victory right before her very eyes, and there had been nothing she could do to stop it from happening. The odds had been snatched from her, and now... and now...

She took a deep breath. No, she hadn't lost yet. She was getting ahead of herself. Just because the odds didn't look favorable didn't mean she'd suffer a repeat of her life's greatest disappointments. She could still grant her wish. She could still save him...!

Her Master was watching. It was uncouth to be such a sore loser. It was regrettable that she hadn't killed her target, but nevertheless, she had demonstrated her full might for her Master's sake, and had won a glorious victory over a powerful adversary. Even if she hadn't ended his life for good... even if she hadn't returned bearing a prize for her master, that could not be helped. Perhaps he'd forgive her recklessness.

So, her spear vanishing from sight, she gave one last glance towards where her enemy had disappeared, and then hastily leaped away, soaring across the sky and back to her Master's side...

---

That night, Edward's mind would be filled with disjointed images. Eyes that were not his own, and a body that wasn't his watched as a life he shouldn't have known unfolded.

Nine figures danced in the sky over a cloudy hill. A sword glistened within the darkness. And then... he met her.

The radiant woman reached out her hand toward him, a gentle smile upon her face. She spoke his name, and in that instant, he was whole.

The cries of men and ringing echoes of steel slowly drowned out the wind upon the hill. Sword clashed against sword amidst royal halls, fires burning brightly as the world seemed to come tumbling down. Warhorns resounded across countless battlefields, and toasts were drunk and oaths were sworn to glorious victory. Triumph, the royal crown, and a solemn procession. A ceremony of some kind, but before its nature could become clear, the images continued. Scene after scene appeared and receded just as quickly, but through all these moments, one thing held constant: she was always there, by his side. A life not his own, yet as familiar to him as his own fondest recollections would flash before his mind, until in one instant, it was cut short by a lone enemy. And as he lay dying, the last thing he saw was...

The radiant woman clung tightly to his hand, tears streaming down her face. She cried out his name, but only silence answered her.

As he woke, her screams of despair would still be ringing in his ears.

---

Lancer sighed, staring once more over the edge of the balcony as the cool breeze washed over her, rustling the hem of the thin white silken bathrobe in which she'd draped herself. Her hair was still damp from her earlier shower, but she was too preoccupied right now to worry about drying it. Her arm had mostly healed, in that she was able to move it... but it still felt stiff and sore, reminding her of her close scrape with death the night before. The war had only just begun, and already, she'd been pushed this far... Inwardly, she cursed her misfortune. It was only to be expected that something like this would happen, but still... Biting down angrily on her thumb, she turned and shambled back into the apartment. Fretting about it wouldn't change anything. Maybe she'd go seduce her Master a bit to take her mind off her anxiety...

Speaking of which, her dear Edward had been sleeping an awfully long time, hadn't he? Probably, his body was still trying to cope with the exertion of the last night's battle. A Noble Phantasm wasn't easy to power even with time to prepare, but she'd gone and used hers without even consulting him. She'd understand perfectly well if he was angry with her for that. Nevertheless...

"Master?" She cooed quietly, creaking open the door and peering into Edward's room of the penthouse. Really, he couldn't be angry waking up to see a beautiful girl fresh out of the shower, clad in a loose robe and awaiting his every order, right?

...She sighed at the thought. A normal, happy life like that, loving and beloved in equal measure... It was nice to pretend, in any case, but she wouldn't stop until her fantasy became a reality.

@Seirei no Hai

♦ A New Era ♦ - A My Hero Academia RP

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𝔇𝔦𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔲𝔢 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #F50A83 ||| 𝔗𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #0A8BF5
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Unsurprisingly, the teacher hadn't been impressed. As he'd gone through their answers, he'd repeatedly lambasted the students for only focusing on their own Quirks, or a single aspect thereof. And yet, when he'd gotten to her essay, he'd almost seemed... proud of her?

She didn't really understand it. Like with the others, he'd told her that she needed to find more ways to use her Quirk. However, he also hadn't expected her to employ it in the way she'd suggested, but what was more, he was actually glad she'd just relied on everyone else's abilities? It didn't really make sense to her. She was supposed to be here to find new ways to use her own Quirk to solve things herself, but she'd only depended on others, as usual... So then why wasn't he mad at her?

The rest of the class passed by rather quickly. Apparently, she'd need to record herself using her Quirk in daily life, which didn't seem like it'd be difficult, since even if she couldn't record herself doing things with her Quirk, she could always just project memories of what she'd done, so if she just recorded her surroundings, then... Except if she was supposed to present it in the classroom, there wouldn't be much space to project real, solid copies of things. In that case, she'd have to use a video camera. But she'd never had a need to use such a thing before, so she neither had one nor knew how they worked. For a moment, she entertained the thought of asking Yoshida to help her, but then quickly recalled his earlier admonition, and her earlier gloom came back in force. The moment the bell rang, she began packing her things, and departed without a word.

Leaving the class and heading downstairs, she found her way out of the main school building. Already, she was starting to get used to its floorplan, so navigating its many halls and floors would likely grow easier soon. As she emerged from the east wing, she found herself over in the small courtyard she'd seen upon her arrival that morning, the leaves of the large tree she'd climbed fluttering in the breeze. She didn't really have anything else to do that day, so she probably should have just returned to her room... But then she remembered that whoever her roommate was would probably be moving in, so if she went back, she'd only just get in someone's way. Even if they were already done, it would probably be incredibly awkward. It was best if she just didn't bother them for right now.

So, not really knowing what else to do, she was just about to sit down and just watch the rest of the day pass by when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a sight she couldn't bring herself to believe. And yet, even as she blinked, rubbed her eyes, and adjusted her glasses, the familiar specter didn't disappear. Then... that meant...!

In an instant, she had leaped to her feet and was rushing for the front gate, which had already begun to slowly close as two figures made their way slowly up the front walk. She crossed the courtyard at a dead sprint, spreading her arms wide and then-

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𝔇𝔦𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔲𝔢 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #FF741D ||| 𝔗𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #DFD989
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Their only warning had been a sudden series of loud, quick footsteps. Having just walked through the gate, Asuka had just been consulting with her map of campus to try to figure out where the dorm building was, while Harukaze had been doing... something. She'd been hobbling along rather strangely close beside Asuka, as if purposefully placing herself in the taller girl's shadow, and had pulled up the hood of her rather tacky mantle, letting its brim droop well over her face. What the hell, did she think they were breaking in or something? Who or what was she hiding from? The only person around who Asuka could see was some blonde kid standing outside, who they quickly passed once security allowed them in. Regardless, it wasn't like she had much time to think about her unwanted companion's strange behavior, because suddenly, from the opposite direction, a golden comet with a tail of blonde hair slammed into her rather gloomy counterpart and pulled her into such a tight tackle hug that the younger Motome was certain that Harukaze would snap in two. For her part, the raven-haired girl gave a slight squeak of surprise, then awkwardly tried to return the unexpected hug.

"F-Fumi?!" She exclaimed, her artificial leg creaking as she tried to retain her balance, then gave up and settled for simply leaning against the much taller girl who'd just ambushed her.

"Haruka! What are you doing here at Komei? I'm glad, though...! I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to call, I was really busy today. We had a big fight and I found someone who's really fast and strong like you and I almost beat him and then we-"

Asuka blinked, rubbing her eyes in disbelief. There was only one person she knew with such long, braided hair... especially considering that a particular rather distinctive lock of it was sticking bolt upright and twitching wildly back and forth. But... In all her life, she'd never known her sister to be anything other that disturbingly placid, calm, and gloomy. Had the world gone insane? Why was her sister, who had gone through life so quietly you'd swear she'd been dosed up on bull elephant grade tranquilizers, dive-tackling people out of nowhere, gushing about... whatever the hell she was rambling about? She'd known that Fumika admired Harukaze, and had spent a lot of time with her, but wasn't this a bit much? In the first place, when had Fumika ever shown the capacity for this much emotion? It was like... like they were actually friends, and not just that Harukaze was willing to put up with her antics, unlike Asuka herself...

The younger Motome frowned, tossing her braid back over her shoulder and giving a quiet huff. She folded the map brochure back up and slipped it back into her bag, grumbling to herself all the while.

"I come all this way to make sure she's settled in alright, and she doesn't even notice I exist. What am I, chopped liver?"

Two blue eyes peered quite suddenly down at her from between curtains of blonde hair as her sister's head popped up, perching on Harukaze's shoulder while still not releasing her from her clingy embrace.

"I don't know. Are you?" Just like that, her voice was back to the way Asuka remembered it, with that quiet, airy quality that made it sound like she was talking in her sleep. Even though her eyes were looking straight at her, it was like she couldn't even see her there. And in the first place, what sort of response was that?! There was no way she wasn't being mocked, no way her insufferable elder sibling wasn't just sarcastically telling her to get lost. That idiotic look on her face, the way she feigned obliviousness all the time... There was no way she was that stupid. No, this had to be a deliberate insult on her part, a way of getting her back for what she'd said all those years ago. Her real meaning had to be something like "You want me to stop bothering you? Fine, I'll just ignore you completely! La la la, I can't hear you!" It was so disgustingly childish it made Asuka want to smack her.

Asuka bit her lip, once again holding back the familiar anger. She took a deep breath, and, in her defense, at least managed to limit herself to just a retort. Really, if she wasn't so patient with her annoying sibling, then really, she could have done much worse, so Fumika should have been grateful.

"Nice to see you too, idiot," She shot back, her tone oozing sarcasm.

Her elder sister blinked, frowned, and then slowly shrank back behind the tiny girl she was still clinging to, as if she was trying to hide behind her, as if she was being bullied... Just what the hell was that supposed to mean? "Oh, how could you be so mean?" You conniving, insufferable little...! Just as quickly as she'd tried to drive it back, she found the old anger boiling over yet again. Don't act like you weren't telling me to piss off just now. Don't play innocent and try to guilt trip me, I know you don't want to see me! The younger Motome glared daggers at her sibling, but for Fumika's part she simply looked away. So she was back to pretending Asuka didn't even exist. Fine. If that was the way she wanted it, then that was what she'd get.

"Well, enjoy your little reunion," She muttered, turning and taking out her phone. There really was no point... She'd tried explaining this to her parents, and yet they'd asked her to come anyway. It didn't matter where she was, though, whether in Hosu or back home...

Because Motome Fumika clearly hated her sister.

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𝔇𝔦𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔲𝔢 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #C9C916 ||| 𝔗𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #3F9CB1
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Haruka winced, her eyes darting back and forth as she tried to steal a glance at the rest of the school. She wanted to shake free of Fumika's grasp, wanted to hide before anybody could notice her, but she couldn't do that without upsetting her friend. Damn it, damn it, damn it! How had she managed to get herself roped into coming to the one place she absolutely couldn't afford to be seen? And why... why did he have to be standing just outside at a time like this?! If Fumika kept saying her name, he'd hear her for sure. What if he got curious and came back? What if he saw her?! What if anyone saw her?! If word got out that there was a strange dark-haired girl on campus, Jett was exactly the sort of person who'd immediately realize who it was based on nothing but gut instinct. And if he figured out that she'd been there and hadn't told him, he'd be furious. He'd demand answers, and regardless of whether or not she gave them to him, their "friendship" would be over. If he found out what had become of her... Wouldn't he be angry at her for failing? If he knew how helpless and weak she was now, he'd be disgusted! Or... even worse, he'd just pity her! Either way, she'd never be able to stand on his level, never be able to look him in the eye again. And if she didn't tell him anything, then he'd just get angry. He'd hate her for sure. And then, she'd...

"Fumi, I'm happy to see you, but stop being so loud, please!" She hissed, trying not to make too much sound. If Jett so much as heard her voice, then he'd know it was her.

"I'm sorry," Fumika apologized, the hurt look on her face turning to one of confused guilt that made Haruka want to slam her head against a wall. Of course she couldn't understand what was going on, and her stuck up little sister's attitude hadn't exactly helped things either. This was Fumika, after all.

"It's not your fault," She said quietly. Damn it, even if this did work, it was sure to backfire on her later when Fumika's curiosity got the better of her... but for now, honesty was her only chance. She needed to get moving, and quickly, before Jett could come back. "Don't apologize. It's just... there's someone at this school who absolutely can't know that I'm here, no matter what. He's very close by, and we need to run, right now."

Fumika blinked, seeming surprised, but, as usual, she didn't question it. Haruka breathed a sigh of relief. Even though she had no idea what was going on, Fumika would still do what she was asked without question. That much, if nothing else, she could count on. "But you can't run, though," She said innocently. Haruka winced again, but for different reasons. One of these days... She'd definitely have to teach Fumi the meaning of tact one of these days. She wasn't sure how she'd do it, or if it was even possible, but it needed to happen.

"No. No I can't. So you need to carry me, alright?" God... Why did she, of all people, have to ask for such a thing? It was so pathetic... so utterly pathetic that she, who was faster and stronger than anyone, now had to rely on someone else just to keep her pride...! But there was no choice. Any moment now, Jett could see her!

"Okay." Fumika nodded, let go of her, then, in an instant, picked her up and scooped her off the ground as if she was weightless. For perhaps the first time, Haruka gave thanks that she was so diminutive. That'd make it easier for Fumika to get her away.

Turning, Fumika glanced at Asuka and then frowned. She seemed to want to think long and hard about something, but she didn't have the time, so, instead, she simply spoke.

"Sister. We're going to the dorms now."

Asuka looked up, then did a double take, seeing Fumika staring blankly into the distance and holding Haruka in her arms. Without waiting for a response, Fumika took off, leaving her little sister to sprint after them, trying to catch up.

"Oi, wait! What the hell, you two? Why are we running all of a sudden?! What's even going on?!"

From under the brim of her hood, Haruka glanced back over Fumika's shoulder at the gate, ignoring the cries of protest that came from the younger Motome.

Please. Please don't let him have heard. Please don't let him come back. Please... Please don't let him see!

@Aerandir

♦ A New Era ♦ - A My Hero Academia RP

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𝔇𝔦𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔲𝔢 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #F50A83 ||| 𝔗𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #0A8BF5
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As introductions wound down, Hitomi seemed concerned about something. She asked if anything was wrong, prompting a look of confusion from Fumika. How could she have known or understood so easily what she was feeling? Even Fumika didn't understand why she felt this way... yet someone other than her had already figured out that something was wrong with her? That wasn't good. She was being a bother. She shouldn't be dragging others into her own affairs. If she did, she'd just...

But how to answer? Something definitely was wrong, and Fumika didn't like to lie. But her second question... That was easier to deal with. She didn't want to talk about it, so, in response, she merely shook her head, and then turned her attention to the problem she'd been given: a disaster area of some kind, where they, as heroes, were supposed to do what they could to help with recovery.

Looking at each detail she'd been given, she began to think about her own usefulness in such a situation. And the more she thought about it... well, the more she realized that despite her Quirk's versatility, she couldn't do much on her own. Even if she could get to the root of several problems in the area, any solution she might have for them would only be temporary at best, and restricted to one location at a time due to the range and tangibility limitations of her projections. However... White Hat hadn't said that she had to deal with this using only her own Quirk, right? They were all supposed to be in the same area, which meant other heroes, better suited to fixing things up, could take care of that. She cringed a little at the realization that, once again, she was simply deferring to relying on those around her, but nevertheless, this was a situation where other people's lives would be on the line, right? She couldn't afford to hold herself back because of her pride, like she had when fighting Kenichi. She simply needed to address one problem at a time, and take the simplest possible solution.

She took a mental tally of the classmates around her and the abilities they'd explained.

First, there was the squishy man, Donny, whose Quirk apparently let him eat anything. Given that it had been enough to bring down a building in their earlier training exercise, it didn't seem like there was any limit to how much he could consume, either. Out of all their Quirks, his would probably be the easiest to work with.

Second, there was the shiny girl, Mina. Her Quirk wasn't particularly impressive, but, the more she thought about it, the more Fumika realized it might also be useful in a situation like the one that had been described to her.

Third, there was the winged boy, Acion. Given that he'd specifically mentioned that his Quirk might be suited for a job as a coast guard, it wasn't difficult to think of ways she could employ his abilities.

Fourthly, there was some posing girl who Fumika hadn't seen before. Apparently, her Quirk generated energy? She'd have to make a mental note not to get too close to her, or else she might end up scrambling Fumika's own signals... In any case, that was a very important asset to have.

Fifthly, there was... a Haruka? But no matter how she looked at her, that wasn't Haruka. She was too tall, and too big, and not nearly as cool-looking. Since she couldn't be Haruka, though, then what was she? A Haru? ...In any case, her Quirk apparently allowed her to analyze, disassemble, reassemble, upgrade, and power technology. Combined with the abilities of the posing girl, Fumika now had a fairly good idea what the best solutions to each problem would be.

The sixth was the odd one out: Hitomi. While being a fluffy sheep was very nice, honestly, Fumika hadn't the slightest clue how to use her Quirk given the situation... Wait, though, hadn't she said she could grow her fluffy hair really quickly? It wasn't as important as some other things, but maybe...

Now that she had her mental list of what everyone could do, it was time to address each problem. She banished all other thoughts from her mind, and focused on each individual aspect of the disaster she'd been given.

Search the area for survivors. I can use my "Recording" to send out waves of particles to analyze anything I can see. By combing the city, I could quickly locate anyone trapped in the rubble. If I can't get to them, Donny could dig his way to them, or Acion could fly them to safety. At the same time, we locate and remove any looters from the area. We could also keep searching even when it's dark, because Kasuke could provide more than enough light for us to see. Having her glowing all the time could also help us to signal survivors and let them know that help is on the way.

Meanwhile, we need to take care of water and power. I'm not sure how we could handle the water shortage, but the electrical girl (Fumika hesitated for a moment trying to find a name, then realized that the posing girl had never introduced herself) and Sanageyama could probably restore power to the area by working together. We might also be able to use solar panels to collect power from the light that Kasuke emits.

Once the area is clear, we can begin taking care of problems. Preserving what's still intact is most important. While searching the city with my Recording, I could identify the damage to standing structures, and move from building to building, projecting supports to keep them upright so that workers could fix them more permanently. Sanageyama might be able to help here, since she said she's good at schematics and building things.

Once we've prevented further collapses from happening and worsening the damage, we can deal with the gas and sewage leaks. I could locate the source and project a temporary patch to stop things from overflowing long enough for a real patch to stop them for good. We could then use Donny's Quirk to quickly clear up the rubble in the tunnels, and to deal with the toxic waste. We could even do both at once, since I could make copies of him to speed up the cleanup.

Hitomi could manage supplies at the shelter. She said she can grow her hair quickly and that she's good at making clothes, so she might be able to make clothing and blankets for the people who need them. We could also give her any valuables we find while searching for survivors, and direct people at the shelter to approach her if they're looking for something, like a lost and found.

Fumika set down her pencil and looked again at what she'd written. This looked like a fairly comprehensive plan, and, based on what she'd been told, she didn't see any reason why it wouldn't work... But at the same time, it almost seemed more like she was just writing how best to use other people's Quirks, rather than finding ways to apply her own abilities to solve the problem. Or, in other words, she was just stating the obvious of how they'd probably react to the situation in the first place. Was this really right? The purpose of this class was to develop her own abilities... but here she was, just depending on the people around her, as usual. She sighed. There wasn't any better plan she could come up with, in any case. Her own Quirk wouldn't provide anything more than information on problems, and a short-lived solution. This was the simplest path... But still, it felt so unsatisfying that it almost hurt her to turn it in.

She sighed again, and returned to her seat, her hair drooping as her eyelids fluttered. This really had been a tiring day...

♦ A New Era ♦ - A My Hero Academia RP

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𝔇𝔦𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔲𝔢 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #F50A83 ||| 𝔗𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #0A8BF5
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Fumika stared in surprise and disbelief. She'd answered the sheep girl - no, Hitomi's question, so she'd expected that she'd just go back to what she'd been doing. But instead, she had simply smiled and said... she wanted to be friends? It didn't make sense. No matter how she looked at it, today was definitely strange.

"Friends...? Okay... I like having friends, but... Everyone here is so weird. I'm not doing anything. I'm not even getting in their way. And yet people keep saying they want to be friends with me..." Fumika murmured to herself. She wasn't a paranoid person by nature, but... Really, how could she be expected to believe something like this? For years, everyone had only reacted to her attempts to communicate with annoyance and disgust, so she'd made a careful policy of meticulously staying out of everyone's way. She was an observer who never interfered, who was never even noticed. That was what she was used to. No, that was what was "normal." And yet, despite not knowing anything about her, and despite the fact that they surely must have realized that she was too stupid to be like them...

Fumika's attention seemed to slip, and her eyes began to wander as her focus completely abandoned the conversation she was having. Hitomi might find herself quite confused, watching as Fumika's otherwise placid expression slowly changed into one of intense concentration, her brows furrowing in thought and her lips slowly pursing themselves into a sort of contemplative pout. She thought about it long and hard, and then, suddenly, the answer came to her. Of course, there really was only one obvious conclusion. She was honestly disappointed in herself that she hadn't realized it sooner. It was probably because she'd kept getting distracted. A computer worked best when it was focusing on one problem at a time. She knew that, but she still hadn't focused on finding the answer even when it was right in front of her. Maybe she hadn't wanted to know the reason. Maybe she'd wanted to think that she had changed. But Fumika was a person who operated very heavily based on past precedents, since, after all, she couldn't forget her experiences even if she'd tried. As such, she knew well enough that she wasn't acting any differently now than she normally did. And so, if it wasn't her who had changed, then it was...

Of course. It was her environment that was different. This place was a school for heroes, and heroes were supposed to be nice, right? That must have been why nobody had asked her to stop being annoying yet. And the reason why they wanted to be friends wasn't because she was behaving differently, but because heroes were supposed to work together. She'd been thinking about it all wrong. She couldn't just work with herself anymore, and remain an observer who never got in anyone's way. She would have to work with them, one way or another, so of course they'd try to be friends with her, no matter how awkward it was. She should have realized sooner, should have understood that by distancing herself, she was only further burdening them. It was bad enough to force them to deal with her. By not understanding how much of an inconvenience she was being, she'd only be making it worse. So, then... the right answer... It must have been a balance between what she wanted and what she was familiar with. She needed to make friends with everybody, but stick to just observing and doing what she was told, like she had done when working with Luelle. They wouldn't be mad at her so long as she was useful to them and didn't interfere when she wasn't welcome. That way, she wouldn't drag anyone down like she had during the training exercise when she'd foolishly tried to decide things for herself, either. The optimal path, the path of least resistance, was right in front of her... But it felt wrong, somehow. It didn't make her chest feel warm like it had been when she was with Yoshida.

Wait. Now that she thought about it, was there any guarantee that her friendship with Yoshida was any different? He'd seemed happy to see her, had been nothing but nice to her... But now that she thought about it, hadn't he looked kind of strange sometimes? It was like he'd been sad, or angry. And he'd run off during lunch... Was that because she'd been bothering him? Her sister had done things like that sometimes. Fumika hadn't even realized she was causing her trouble, but in retrospect, she'd always taken any chance she could to leave. It wasn't until she'd finally said it that...

No. A computer worked best when focused on exactly one problem. There was no time for distraction. Besides, those things... Fumika didn't like thinking about those memories. Any time she remembered, it would only hurt.

After Yoshida had returned, he'd even said that she didn't need to follow him around... Haruka had never told her anything like that. She'd always been so excited, always wanted to tell Fumika a new story or teach her a new lesson. Because Fumika was there, Haruka had always seemed more energetic, more happy. She hadn't even had to say anything. Just listening to her talk, just admiring how amazing Haruka was... that much had always been enough. That was what it was really like to have a "friend." Yoshida was cool like Haruka was. He'd praised her, had been nice to her... He'd even smiled when he saw her. But he'd always been the one asking questions. He'd always kept her thinking about things, always tried to make her do or say things, like he was testing her somehow. And then... Since he'd left... Since he'd said those things, didn't that mean he'd realized it too?

He realized that I'm stupid. I only got in his way. That's why he didn't want to see me. He wants me to leave him alone.

In an instant, Fumika felt something change. Up until that moment, the "wanting" she'd felt had been warm. It was uncomfortable, like a fever, but at the same time, there was something consoling about it, like a warm blanket to keep the chills away. Even if she'd felt as if she was burning up, she wouldn't have wanted to take the "blanket" away, because it was better to be warm than to be shaking in the cold.

But now, suddenly, it felt as though her chest was made of lead. It was as if the "blanket" had been stripped away, and an ice pack was shoved against her shivering body. Every part of her being screamed at her, told her that this situation was wrong, that something needed to be different, that this couldn't be right. But how could it be wrong? It was just like it always was. The only difference now was that she'd learned her lesson since last time - that she'd managed to realize her mistake before it was too late. She should have been happy, or relieved. After all, she'd figured out all the right answers, and had finally determined how best to go about her life without bothering others. This was it. This was the path of least resistance. And yet, even though she knew that, still the feeling didn't go away.

She shook her head, rubbing her bangs against her cheeks to try to banish the thought. It wasn't entirely successful. Even when she didn't think about it, the strange feeling didn't go away. It still hurt. It still...

Conversation. She'd been having a conversation. But the teacher looked like he was about to start talking...

"Sorry. I thought too much," Fumika apologized cryptically, then immediately silenced herself, hardly even looking at the girl next to her. It was fine, though, because Hitomi probably wouldn't care so long as she wasn't saying or doing anything to make a nuisance of herself. It was best this way. This was the best course of action. She didn't need to think about it, didn't need to question it. All she needed to do was...

The teacher finished his introduction, and asked them to explain what they could do. Instructions. She could follow instructions. That was easy. That wouldn't bother anyone. She waited until most of the others had finished talking, and then, seeing that nobody else was standing up, reasoned that it must have been her turn. So, she stood up, and did as she'd been told.

"My name is Motome Fumika," She began, giving the exact same introduction with the exact same emphasis as she had when Hitomi asked her name. "Whenever I look at something, I can record it and store it in my hair. Then my body can generate a copy of anything I saved, and make it do what it was doing when I looked at it. I can also copy myself based on what I remember, which is everything. Well, everything since I had hair." She reached out a hand to demonstrate, and her eyes flashed green as her hair sparked to life, sticking up for just a moment, a thin shell of "dust" splitting off from the surface of her skin and forming itself into what appeared to be a baby wrapped in a blanket, which she caught and held up. It was rather plump, and one could just barely make out a few faint golden strands atop its head, like the fuzz on the surface of a peach. It appeared to be squeezing a rather plush stuffed rabbit, its face half buried in the toy's fuzz. "This is me from my first birthday. It's one of my earliest memories. I remember everything after that." The baby vanished into blue light, and Fumika's eyes returned to their normal azure hue, her hair flopping limply back down around her face. She took a deep breath, rubbing her eyes before pushing up her glasses and continuing again.

"I'm not sure what else it's good for, but it can be used to rescue people. Like, when the roof collapses, I can make things to hold it up. Oh... but then I got trapped, so maybe that's not a good example... Anyway... I think Yoshida called it a video camera?" She trailed off, realizing what she'd just said as her former train of thought came back unbidden, and her chest clenched in an odd sort of pain. She should have known, should have-

No. No more. A computer worked best addressing one problem at a time. She had her instructions, she'd finished introducing herself. Thinking now would be an inconvenience. So, she stopped thinking, and did as she remembered.

"Anyway, it's nice to meet you."

She bowed, sat down, and then returned to silence, trying desperately to focus only on the lecture even though the pain in the back of her mind still wouldn't go away. But this was the right choice. If it meant that she wouldn't bother someone as nice as Yoshida, then...

...Then why did it still hurt?

♦ A New Era ♦ - A My Hero Academia RP

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𝔇𝔦𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔲𝔢 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #F50A83 ||| 𝔗𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #0A8BF5
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Fumika blinked as a sound... no, a voice suddenly piped up from next to her. She'd been so focused on the door that she hadn't realized somebody had moved over to sit next to her. And, given that she'd lived all her life out in the countryside, what she thought she heard wasn't unfamiliar to her.

She blinked. She stared. The fluffy hair was close enough to wool, and then there were those horns and ears... But the more she thought about it, none of this made sense, because...

"But Hitomi is a girl's name, and this is clearly a girl, so if she's a sheep why are her horns so big? Girl sheep don't have big horns," Fumika mumbled to herself, tugging at her hair as she once again nearly lost herself in thought. She gave a long "Hmmm..." as she contemplated this, only to suddenly come to a surprising realization.

"But sheep also don't talk, and sheep aren't people, but this sheep is a person and was talking to me, and if she gave me her name then... Oh!" As if only just now realizing that this Hitomi had just introduced herself, Fumika looked down to her outstretched hand in confusion. This was one of those greeting gestures she'd heard about, right? She was supposed to shake her hand... But her particle shell had already fully regenerated, and just bumping into Luelle's hand during cooking class had felt bizarre enough. She really didn't like that lingering feeling of pressure... Oh, but she had another "her" already there. So long as "Fumika" was the one to shake her hand, it would be fine, right?

Reasoning thus, she had her copy scoot over, reaching out and giving Hitomi's hand a rather awkwardly robotic "shake," while Fumika herself bowed her head respectfully.

"My name is Motome Fumika," She recited dutifully, her introduction seeming oddly formulaic and practiced, but also very impersonal, as if she was unused to actually giving her name save as part of some larger, rehearsed procedure. "It's nice to meet you." As she raised her head, she blinked, and her copy vanished, her eyes returning once more to their usual aquamarine hue as the dim markings in her hair receded. There really was no sense in maintaining her projection, since it looked like people had stopped coming in, and trying to keep it there was making her sleepy. She craned her head, looking over the crowd, only to lower it with a sigh. There was no sign of the nice Yoshida - or even the mean Yoshida, or any Yoshidas at all - anywhere to be seen.

Speaking of which, hadn't Hitomi asked something? Right, she was wondering if she'd been waiting for someone. She nodded a bit gloomily, and then shook her head. "I was waiting, but it doesn't look like he's coming," She explained cryptically as she switched seats with where her copy had just been sitting. If nothing else, she could at least do as he'd asked her to. "I guess that means I'm supposed to keep being the main character."

@Silver Carrot

♦ A New Era ♦ - A My Hero Academia RP

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𝔇𝔦𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔲𝔢 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #F50A83 ||| 𝔗𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #0A8BF5
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Fumika delayed somewhat as she gathered her things. For one, she wasn't sure where she'd placed some of them, as she'd been in a bit of a hurry to claim the Main Character seat like Yoshida had asked her to. That much aside, she also remembered that the apron she was wearing wasn't just a projection, like she'd usually use, but was rather actually a real apron. But she hadn't gotten it herself, and had instead had it handed to her by the squishy man, so then she had to look around and find where she was supposed to put it back. Between these and other distractions, it was about five minutes before she finally made her way outside, paying less attention to her surroundings than she did to the map inside her head. If she remembered correctly - which, of course, she did - then her next classroom was on the same floor as this one, just two hallways over. Now that she thought about it, wasn't the way this school did things kind of strange? Usually, each class kept to a single classroom, and the teachers would come and go, rather than the students having to relocate. Although, she'd read that it worked the other way in America once. Now that she thought about it, Komei was surprisingly Western.

But then again, since different classes required different environments suited to different activities and different Quirks, she supposed it was no surprise that they had different rooms for each class. It would have been hard to do the team training exercise they'd performed earlier within a sealed classroom...

"Oh. I'm here," She murmured, glancing up at the door in front of her as her thoughts returned to the present. It seemed like several other people she'd already seen before were on their way down another hallway, but the thought of bothering them never crossed her mind. It would have been rude to pester them, after all, and she only would have been an annoyance. As she stepped into the Quirk Application classroom, she quickly noticed that she was one of the only people there, aside from some girl she'd never seen before and a teacher she didn't recognize. She recorded them both, noting with some curiosity that the girl's hair was tremendously fuzzy... Almost like a puppy perched on her head. Or a big, fluffy pillow. Fumika bit her lip. She was jealous. That must have been so nice. Her own hair matched it for quantity, and was soft and smooth, but it was cold to the touch. What she had must have been more like a blanket. Fumika liked blankets. It made her feel so safe and comfy to stretch them out on the floor, then roll across them, having her copies wrap her up as she did so. It was like being a turtle, except instead of a hard shell-

Oh. Right. She was standing in the doorway again. The teacher had been angry at her last time she did that. Quickly, she shuffled off into the same corner as before, preparing to take the "main character" seat once again. But, as she did so, she thought better of it. After all, Yoshida had never said what class he had after Hero Gear. So then... that meant he might be in the same class as her, right? Her antenna stood on end at the realization, and she immediately took a step back and sat in the seat next to the desk by the window, while a copy of herself formed in the "main character" seat to reserve it, just in case. For the most part after that, she simply stared into space, but every now and again, she shot an impatient glance at the door, checking each new arrival and feeling her hopes rising and falling in turn as Yoshida yet failed to appear.

Of course, it was only natural that the simplest, best course of action would be to stick close to her best friend here. That was how Fumika had always operated back home, so she'd been hoping to adopt the same routine at her new school. However, there'd only been one class at her old school, so she'd never experienced the sort of feeling she was now becoming aware of. This anxiety, this wondering of whether or not he'd arrive... She had no precedent for it. Either she'd had nobody to wait for, or the person she'd wanted to see was always by her side. As such, even when she didn't have any friends, she had never experienced this feeling. It was hard. She didn't like feeling this way. It would have been so much better if she could have always been in the same class as Yoshida. She wished... no, she wanted...

So it was that Motome Fumika came to understand the kind of "wanting" known as "loneliness."

And so, before she knew it, she came to want something other than to be a hero - something not rooted in a desire to please someone else.

She just wanted to smile like Yoshida had smiled at her. If she could just stay together with him, hear him talk, spend more time with him, then maybe...

She frowned. She'd heard it mentioned by other people sometimes, but... was this really how it was supposed to feel? The thing she called "loneliness" was a very strange sort of "want" indeed...

Naraka

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𝔇𝔦𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔲𝔢 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #18B150 ||| 𝔗𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || #ADB984
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It had been almost ten minutes since she'd set out, and as of yet, Victoria hadn't seen even the slightest sign of another living being. The air was utterly still, silent, and calm, without so much as the chirping of a bird of the noise of a cricket to disturb the absolutely peaceful, lifeless world in which she now found herself. It was unusual... perhaps even unsettling. No distant voices, no dogs barking, no cars passing by or people coming and going... But most importantly, there was nobody shooting glares at her, no voices speaking her name in hushed tones and retreating just as quickly the moment she paid them heed. It was as if all of the unpleasant people who made her existence a living hell had been simply erased. Truly, this place was her utopia!

...No. Not all. Somewhere, there were still enemies waiting for her, endeavoring to trip her up and kill her at the slightest opening. She couldn't rest easy just yet, especially considering that, as of yet, she hadn't seen or heard anything that might indicate one of her enemies was nearby. And yet, for all she knew, someone might have been stalking her at that very moment, despite her efforts to conceal herself by darting through narrow alleys and avoiding wide open spaces, trying to make as little noise as possible so as not to draw attention. Every now and again, she shot a glance back over her shoulder, but saw nothing. Victoria had just been getting used to this reassurance that she was alone when it happened.

She was just crossing a local park when, from somewhere in the distance, she heard a roar and a loud crash. The ground shook, and a plume of smoke began rising up into the air a few blocks away. Immediately, she took off towards the source of this disturbance as fast as she could, but thought better of this decision a moment later. She turned to the left instead, and began circling a little way around the area as she approached. She couldn't just rush into a battle blindly. That blast earlier hadn't been exactly subtle, and she couldn't have been the only one who'd noticed it. More likely than not, anyone else looking for prey would begin to converge on this location, and if she just jumped into the fight without thinking, she'd probably just end up surrounded when fresh combatants arrived. She had to think tactically. While she was itching to try out her new powers, it would be best to wait until the perfect opportunity presented itself. In the mean time, though, she might as well watch and get a feel for what her enemies could do.

Picking up a skateboard that someone had left lying by a nearby bike rack and smashing through a large glass door, she slipped into an empty building which appeared to be some sort of science center for the local university. It was roughly a block away from the source of the explosion, but it was three stories tall. If she could just force her way up to the rooftop, she'd have an excellent vantage point from which to view the fight. And even if somebody found her and tried to attack, she'd have the high ground. It seemed like the best course of action, in any case, so, rushing through the darkened halls until she located the nearest stairwell, she sprinted upwards towards the roof...

♦ A New Era ♦ - A My Hero Academia RP

@ZerothEvery Single Day: "What did you do today, Fumika?"

"I hung out with Yoshida."

"Anything else?"

"I hung out with Yoshida."

"...So that's it, then?"

*Stops. Thinks. Pauses. Finally...*

"I hung out with-"

"WE GET IT."