recommendations | Inbox

...Really? I should check it out then.

[But Darin leans in with a grin.]

Oh? Really? No groom?

[He elbows her lightly, teasingly.]

I hope you know if you did have someone in mind, they'd have to meet my approval first! Not just anyone could date my adorable and precious apprentice~!

[Darin, you have literally no room to talk.]

I'm sure you can find the books at any local library. And there have been many movies made in the series. "Young Frankenstein" is a quite funny one!

[ The kind of classic comedy that transcends language. ]

Oh, Darin, no! There isn't-- I mean there was one boy, but I don't think he even likes me like that... It was only for charity...

Ooooooh?

Only for charity?

Care to explain~?

[ Momo's cheeks turn as red as her costume. ]

It was--! I--!

Ohhh, I shouldn't have said anything...

Edited 2018-11-18 18:07 (UTC)

Hey, come on now! It's only me! I won't tell anyone~!

So, what happened? Who's the lucky guy~?

It-- I... Ohhh, Darin-san, it's really nothing.

[ Her words are in complete opposition to the way she's slumped over her workbench, avoiding eye contact completely. ]

At the swear-in ceremony last month, there was an auction for charity where people could bid on an imPort and get a kiss if they won. I... put myself up for auction, because I thought it was for a good cause.

[ She takes a deep, shuddering breath, and then says in a very small voice: ] ...It was my first kiss.

W-Whoa! You sold off your first kiss?! That must have raked in thousands, right??

[Darin might not realize just how important a young maiden's first kiss is.]

[He walks over and leans on her workbench, concerned.]

...Do you wish it was different?

Fo-four hundred and fifty dollars.

[ But that's not really the point. ]

I just wish it had been something more special. I-I mean--! It's not that Lester-san isn't special! [ He is a demigod, after all. ] But I wish my first kiss had been with someone who wanted to kiss me because they liked me. Not because it was for charity.

[Darin crosses his arms in thought. This was a really delicate subject, and he had to handle it with care. He couldn't just say something like 'well it doesn't count!' because that was stupid and of course it counted. Plus that would be completely dismissive.]

Well, how does this Lester guy feel? Maybe he bid on you because he does like you?

[ Momo is quick to shake her head no, her gaze still averted. ]

He's in a relationship already. With a boy named Max.

Ah.

[Well, there goes that line of reasoning. Darin runs a hand through his hair, awkwardly. He couldn't figure out girls his own age, let alone the heart of a maiden ten years his junior!]

...Do you feel like...like maybe you aren't special enough? Is that it?

[ Oh, Darin. You're trying. But... You do not know how to talk to girls.

Momo looks up at Darin finally, her eyes beginning to water. ]

...Do you think I'm not special?

Momo...you're the most amazing girl I think I've ever met.

[Darin walks over to his own workbench and brings his chair over to sit with her.]

This isn't about your power, either. You could be powerless for all I care, but do you know what I truly admire about you? You have possibly the biggest heart and the sharpest mind I think I've ever seen. At your age, when you should be out there having fun or figuring out what you want to do with your life, you're out there putting everything towards your dream. You put that dream, which I might add is to help and save others before your own wants and desires of the moment.

Do I think you're special? Momo, you're one of the first people to make me realize I have a purpose and a meaning in this world. That I can be so much more than what I thought I could be.

[He reaches out to take her hand comfortingly.]

I admire you.

[ Maybe she was already feeling emotional. Maybe her period is coming up. Maybe she's been under a lot of stress lately. Maybe she's just a teenage girl. Who knows why teenage girls do the things they do?

Darin takes her hand and she absolutely just bursts out sobbing, her free hand coming up to cover her face as she cries helplessly, wordlessly, tears dripping down her face and over her fingers and onto her blueprints. ]

Hey, come on.

[Darin reaches his arm across her shoulders and pulls her in closer for a hug.]

Listen, Momo. You're special. You're undeniably special. And someone is going to see that and they're going to look at you in a way no other person ever has. To them, you won't just be a hero. You'll be their entire world.

[Darin feels like a huge jerk now for teasing her earlier.]

You know, if I were your age, I'd probably be crazy about you!

[ Clearly embarrassed by her outburst, Momo does her best to stop the tears, wiping her face on her sleeve. She still has hiccups of a sob, but she does her best to make her face into something presentable for present company. ]

Oh, Darin-san... Thank you. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me.

Hey...don't be sorry. Don't ever be sorry. I know a little thing or two about doubting yourself.

It's okay to feel that way, sometimes. As a budding hero, you have to keep your best face forward. You can't show any weakness. You're a symbol.

Sooner or later, the person you want to be becomes a mask. You don't even realize it when it happens. And when you do, suddenly it all becomes about keeping up this facade so you don't disappoint the world around you.

[He gives her a somber smile.]

I want you to know...you don't have to act around me. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to be anything but Momo. I'll never fault you for it and I sure as hell won't turn you away.

[Because if there's anyone who knows anything about masks and facades, it's the guy sitting next to her.]

To me, you'll always be Momo first. Anything else will always be second.

[ Momo nods sadly. ] No one has ever said it like that before... Put a name to the pressure we're under.

[ She looks up, expression suddenly wide-eyed as though she's afraid she's said something wrong. ]

That's not to say I don't want to do it! It's worth it, to help people! To be a hero... Who can inspire and protect people who need that... It's all I've ever wanted.

But... [ She slumps down again, using her sleeve to wipe away the teardrops that had fallen on her blueprints. ] Sometimes I think it doesn't leave much room for me to be anything else. You say I'll be Momo first... I don't know that I know who Momo is, sometimes.

Well...Momo can be anything she wants to be. Being a hero doesn't mean you can't do other things.

...Have you considered taking a break? Allowing yourself to just...relax? Spend time with friends?

[ Momo resolutely shakes her head. ]

The Hero Course is very competitive. I can't slack off for a moment. I'm already at a disadvantage, being here. I have to do what I can not to fall behind.

"Competitive?"

[Darin makes a face.]

Why does it need to be competitive? You all want to be heroes, right? You should be supporting one another.

We do-- we are, in school. But there are also competitions, to see who is the best among us.

Every year, U.A. hosts a sports festival. It's televised nationally, and attendance at the stadium is always sold out. It stands as students' first real chance to show off our talents to Hero agencies. The results of the sports festival helps us obtain internships later on.

[ She slumps a little in her chair, remembering her defeat against Tokoyami. ] I scored well in the first two events, but lost in a head-to-head match against one of my classmates, Tokoyami-san. He ended up going on to tie for third place overall.

But that...

That's an almost insane amount of pressure to put you kids under! How many of you have even mastered your abilities? They're putting people who grow at different paces up against one another and then televising it on a national scale!

[The more he hears about this, the more it upsets him. He knows he shouldn't rail on the school Momo obviously loves, but...someone as skilled as her...someone with so much potential...she's so committed to this that she can't even figure out who she is, yet!]

...It's...Hrgh...

[He obviously has more to say but he's biting his tongue for her sake.]

That's what we're there for! To learn to master our abilities, and become real Heroes!

[ Momo can see that Darin is keeping his true feelings back, but it just doesn't occur to her that anything U.A. does is wrong. ]

I know that but...I mean. You can't learn heroism in a class room! You can train your powers and abilities all you want, but heroism? True heroism? That's something that comes from in your heart...

[He sighs.]

Do you know why I took you on as my apprentice? It wasn't just because I wanted someone to teach me and help me around the forge.

Inbox - MoM

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)