i know you, that look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam

[thespaceopera]

[ Calibration Rooms ]
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ROOMS BY CHARACTER

N - P Nami Natalie Goodman Natasha Romanoff Noctis Lucis Caelum Nono Okita Souji Otono-Tachibana Makie Pavel Chekov Prompto

Q - S Riona Cousland Theirin Rip Hunter Sam Winchester Seymour Krelborn Shinji Ikari Shouta Aizawa Signy Mallory Sokka Sorey Steve Rogers

T - V Takashi Shirogane Takeshi Tyrion Lannister Uraraka Ochako Vash the Stampede Velvet Crowe Victor Nikiforov

W - Z Yuan Ka-Fai Zaveid Zelda

Comments

[expellerhead]

[aizawa watches her enjoy the surf for a second before getting up and dusting himself off as well, heading over to those things gathered at the table. the helmet is a familiar feature; the concrete, he may be able to guess. the shells, mochi and doll hand are a little more unrecognizable, so he goes for the strangest thing first and plucks the doll hand up from the table.]

[willynilly]

[If he's expecting something cutesy, some memory of a little girl's toy doll, it certainly isn't that. Instead the scene is familiar, sand sinking away around him to reveal hard concrete and imitation foliage instead. What might have once been a peaceful cityscape is now a sight of disaster, a different perspective of a battle they all shared months ago.

A man covered in severed hands mocking a wounded and captured Aizawa in the distance, while No. 13 is slowly devoured by his own black hole, the students looking on in horror. Blood and broken bits of a space suit are scattered around them: once strong and well-respected teachers, now fallen heroes punished for their efforts to save children who are still learning how not to die in situations like this. Iida is running for the door, pushing his legs as fast as they'll go to reach the exit and find help.

And amidst all the terror and dread felt in this moment is that urge, pushing, pushing one's body to move: do something. do something! help them!

Kicked into action by that urge, protective rage and determination fueling her forward, Ochako screams as she dashes towards the enemy instead of away. She reaches into the black mass that had nearly killed her heroes and pulls with all her strength.

don't die don't die don't die don't die

"Iida, run!!"

please don't die

i don't want anyone to die...!!

The memory lasts until All Might breaks through the door, until all of them are saved, until the threat of death and that awful feeling of dread finally shifts into relief. When the view transforms back to the beach, Ochako isn't playing in the water but instead merely standing in it, facing out towards the water.

On the table, the doll hand is gone, replaced by a ratty-looking hoodie.]

[expellerhead]

[right.

kinda wished he hadn't touched that one now.

that day hadn't been good for anybody. the second noumu had shown up, all of aizawa's attention had been focused on finding a way to get free, to get to the kids, hide them somehow. he hadn't been thing clearly, probably on account of the concussion, and he hadn't even had a second to spare to think about what was happening with thirteen and the other students.

he'd gotten most of that story after the fact.

reliving this from a different perspective isn't any more pleasant so he sink into a crouch, staring down at the sand as he collects himself. jesus. he'd known they were scared, he saw their faces, heard them screaming, but to feel it is just-

...anyway. she's right over there, and she must've seen it too. he should check on her.] You alright?

[willynilly]

[Ochako doesn't answer right away. She ducks down to a crouch in the water, reaching in and coming up with cupped hands filled with water and wet sand.]

...It was scary. That's... the first time I ever thought I could actually die. Or that I could see someone die... someone I couldn't save.

[expellerhead]

[comes over to the edge of the water, hands in his pockets.]

Mm. There's a moment like that for every hero, just...usually comes later in your career. [after appropriate counseling sessions to give them the tools to deal with it mentally and emotionally. thank god they didn't lose anybody, thank god those kids fought so hard, thank god iida got free. everyone had done everything they could and as such, they all survived, mostly unscathed.] You all performed admirably under circumstances like that. You should be proud.

[willynilly]

I don't know if I'm ready to feel proud about that day. I know I should... I know we did a good job.

[And it sure would be nice, to be able to think back on what happened without being overwhelmed by the pain and horror of that day. Since then they've been okay, but...]

Sensei... did anything like that happen when you were in school?

[expellerhead]

Like that? No. [they had their own trials and tribulations, but he can honestly say he and his classmates were never jumped by villains on their home turf. absolutely not.] Internships usually aren't until second year for a reason.

[willynilly]

Mm... I'm glad.

[Well, she can understand that. It's only in the last year or so that things have gotten especially bad- nothing she'd ever read while researching schools with her parents before applying ever mentioned this kind of violence targeting the classes. Surely someone would have brought it up.]

Villain fights on TV always make it look so different than what it's actually like. I guess... there's really no way to share that feeling unless you experience it.

[expellerhead]

[yeah, it's new and it's shitty. maybe it happened with much more frequency years and years ago, but establishments like UA hadn't been as prestigious there. there's a lot to unpack behind the mentality of those who are attacking students, and it's not something uraraka should have to worry about, though it's inevitable that she will.]

What do you think? If you knew what it was really like when you were younger, would you still have enrolled? [he wouldn't blame her for either answer, really; not wanting to be in constant danger is a completely reasonable thing. but at the same time, being unable to ignore injustices is a core part of being a hero too. ochako has both common sense and chivalry in spades.]

[willynilly]

[Haaaaah, well. Much as she'd like to immediately burst out a confirmation, she can't really do that. She's not Bakugou, or Iida, or Deku. She's not pursuing her passion out of a desire to be strong or do good. If enrolling would cause her parents nothing but stress and worry, then surely finding another option to earn money would've served the family better.]

Mn... I... I don't know. I can't say for sure one way or the other. But I would have thought about it first, and prepared myself... I would've learned how to fight before my work study. Everyone else is so skilled already, like they'd been training for years... all I ever did was make things float. Sometimes I think I got in on pure luck, geez.

[expellerhead]

If the practical score had been just for offensive capabilities then yes, you would've failed. [it's true. she knows it and there's no point in sugar-coating it; that she chose an office whose specialty was combat is proof enough that she is aware of her own shortcomings as a hero.] But so would a lot of other students. You were accepted to UA because you have sufficient potential. How you utilize that is what actually determines whether or not you're cut out for the job.

[willynilly]

[She falls silent for a while at that, resting her hands in the water, allowing the gentle nighttime tide come in and out, in and out, the cool, predictable pattern soothing her scattered nerves.

Finally she straightens up, turning to face Aizawa, her lips upturned in a bright smile.]

You know... you were really scary the first day of class, and I didn't know what to expect. I was worried. But... I'm glad you're our homeroom teacher. You're brutally honest, so you don't lie just to make me feel better.

[His words, and any small compliments within them, are genuine, and he truly does care for his students. The state that day's battle had left him in, his determination to protect them with all his heart... that's all the proof she could ever need. Her smile broadens into a proper grin, offering a thumbs up. It's okay, sensei. She's okay.]

It means I can always trust you.

[expellerhead]

You should trust all your teachers, [aizawa growls, but it's just for show and she'll probably know that. so instead he'll just reach over and roughly tousle her hair, since uraraka seems to respond to affectionate gestures more than anything else in the time he's spent observing her here.] We're going to be your colleagues too, some day. [ because you can make it, if you try. ]

[willynilly]

[She ducks her head a little, cheeks extra-pink, genuinely surprised by the gesture, though not unhappily. Aizawa's moments of quiet affection are few but that makes them all the more meaningful. They're different in that sense - she's never felt the need to hold back - but she can still understand that it's just his way.]

I do trust all of you. And I'm really looking forward to working with everyone someday. But I trust them for different reasons, you know? Like, All Might is always encouraging us, and No. 13 is my role model for a future career... you all have different strengths. But I know you're doing your best to help us make our dreams come true. So... thank you.

[expellerhead]

You should tell 13 that when we get back. They'll be overjoyed. [since number 13 does primarily rescue, it's not often they get direct praise and admiration from people, even when they're so high-profile. it'll mean a lot to them.] ...I'm going to look for a way out. I'll see you in the morning. [he's not nosing into his student's memories any more than he already has, hell no. it's too severe a violation of privacy.]