[Video; un: Uravity]

[floatsaway]

[It took...a while for Ochako to find the courage to really start acting like herself again after all of what happened in July. Thankfully, she has some amazing friends, an absolutely wonderful boyfriend that she would do anything for, and is as resilient as she is stubborn. Moping about and feeling remorseful will get her nothing, she has to act if she wants things to get better, so this is exactly what she's doing today, despite how she's still very nervous and really, really ashamed still. The things she did and said, the people she hurt, the one she killed... That's going to weigh heavy on her for much longer than just a month. But the first step to growing and moving on is to address and confront it. To apologize.

So the video opens up with Ochako sitting in presumably her living room, which...anyone who knows her, or has been to her and Bakugou's home before, will notice is different. Different wall colors, different arrangement of furniture, just...overall different. But she makes no note of that. Instead, she just puts on a sheepish smile to the camera and bows lightly.]

Ehehe...hello, everyone. It's been a while since I posted to the network, ne? S-Some here in Trench might know me, but I bet a lot of others don't. My name is Uraraka--...um! O-Or Ochako, if you're from the Western hemisphere of Earth. [She rubs the back of her head, mussing up her hair a little. Anyone who knows her would know, again, this is a nervous tic Ochako has. She clears her throat and laughs awkwardly.] Last month was, eeh...p-pretty crazy, huh? I know I went, um...pretty crazy. Myself.

[Her smile falls, and so does her hand in her hair, settling into her lap as Ochako sighs. She then sets her omni down on the floor she's kneeling on, looking rather somber all of a sudden as she takes a deep breath in and out, as if preparing herself.]

It's true it wasn't really me, that it was all part of The Reckoning's...stuff, but. That doesn't mean it didn't happen, and I couldn't have tried harder to fight it. Neither does it make anything better, because it was still my body, my voice, that did and said all those things. So, I just...I--

I want to apologize. To everyone I hurt in some way. I am...deeply sorry, for everything.

[She gazes downward, and then bows as low as she can, a full dogeza. Ochako said nasty things, physically and emotionally hurt people she considers very friends. She even went and killed someone in cold blood at some point, among other things. She can still see the blood, hear the breaking of a neck, the splatter of a body on hard ground... Those thing's can't be erased, but she can at least admit they happened, and apologize for them. It's the first thing to do before she starts trying to make amends for it.

She rises, just for a moment, before bowing back down again.]

And to those that helped me overcome...thank you. Even if it was just for a moment, you really saved me. I'm grateful.

Comments

[imaglyphwitch]

[Luz was all too aware about death, but obviously didn't know anything about how badly things had gone for Ochako in that respect. To Luz, Ochako was doing her best to help and be the hero that all of the others she'd likely see were in their own right. Trench had no right to try and take that away from her. But Luz knew that Ochako, in her right mind, was in her eyes the hero that she wanted to be].

I wish I could tell you that you'll be able to resist it the next time, but this place can be very uncertain when it comes to how you'll be able to function. But I didn't want to hurt you, Ochako, and in this case, it was only me. If you'd been threatening someone with me, it would probably be the only time I'd try to fight you.

[Despite how much Luz would never want to].

I try to help people here, however I can. I might not be able to stop really big things, but for what I can do, I'll do my best! And I agree with you on heroes needing saving! Heck, even silly witches need some saving!

[Case in point]!

[floatsaway]

Yeah...sadly, I know. It was like this in Nippon too, but way less, um...terrible.

[Like, the effects were never so bad that someone could get physically hurt, or killed. It usually just caused a bit of an annoyance, or some hurt feelings and fights - that's all. Trench is on a whole other level with the mind/body control thing, and Ochako shudders to think that she can, and probably will, be taken over again in the future. Which is why she makes a little grumbling noise in her throat.]

Mmmh...I know you didn't want to hurt me, Luz-san, and I definitely didn't want to hurt you, either, but I'm use to fighting. I've done it dozens of times, and it's going to be part of my job in the future, or so I hope. Because of that, I'm dangerous if this ever happens again, so...it's okay, really. I'm giving you permission to fight me, and do whatever it takes to make sure I don't hurt people. I'd expect that of my friends.

...In fact, I've already fought against my two best friends already, even if it was just a competition and stuff. I'm used to getting a little banged up, hehe. [Ochako laughs a little. Her mantra is definitely something she's strived for for a long time, and will continue to do so going into her later years as well. Everyone needs a Hero - someone told her that back in Nippon, when she was feeling lost about her future, her hopes and dreams, and her goals. It's true...even if it's not completely the same as back home, Ochako and her friends will always be Heroes.] Ne, then let's promise each other to save one another if we ever need it, ne? Pinky promise!!

[YES, IT'S A CHILDISH THING TO DO, AND WEIRD WHEN YOU'RE NOT IN PERSON, BUT A PINKYY PROMISE IS ETERNAL.]

[imaglyphwitch]

I feel like I'm going to have to find out about this Nippon place, aren't I?

[It sounded like a lot went on wherever it was, and Trench had certainly done nothing to calm these feelings she had from herself being taken over. Luz had to admit that she hadn't exactly had that happen to her the way it had for Ochako: the worst had really come from being corrupted].

I wouldn't want to hurt you, Ochako-san. I know that you're a fighter, and I know that if we did that for real, it would probably get pretty ugly. But I also understand what you're saying when it comes to hurting other people. I can't promise I'll be trying to hurt you, but if I had to stop you? I'll do what I can.

[Ah yes, the competition. She actually didn't mind losing that so much since she wound up talking more to Lexi as a result. But she'd do her best to honor what Ochako was asking of her. After all, if she'd been in her shoes? She'd be asking for the same thing].

Ok, you got it! Pinky promise!

[Did you think Luz was too mature to do a pinky promise? Perish the thought]!

[floatsaway]

[Oh, did Ochako never really tell Luz about her stint in that other, world? The older, more magical/spiritual version of her home country that had literal ghosts, demons, and magical yokai living in it? It was definitely bizarre, though far less dangerous than Trench, despite the oddities. There was definitely dangers, mostly from the monsters and curses that could befall those living in the various cities from troublesome yokai and ayakashi, but...it was nothing compared the ongoing horrors Trench boasts day in and day out. Most times Ochako could combat Nippon's weirdness. Trench is just a whole other level.

She makes a mental note to regale Luz with stories of the older-style Japan one day, when she's up to meeting her face to face again.]

I know what you're saying...no one wants to hurt their friends, but stopping them sometimes means you can't really be nice. [Tough love, in a way. Maybe it's something certain people can grasp better, or worse, than others. Ochako knows her friends and classmates would hate to do the same, but there's just...precious little choice sometimes. Those are the hard decisions Heroes have to make. It sucks, but she's sure anyone else in that situation would ask the same, yeah.] I think that hard lesson was drilled into me the first day of UA - if I expect the world and the people in it to hold my hand, then I'll never walk on my own. If I depend too strongly on my friends to lift me up, I can't soar proudly on my own wings. ...Worlds like this are unkind, and while it's great to want to show mercy and kindness in places where it's lacking...sometimes the best choice is always the hardest one.

But I'll trust your judgement in the future, no matter what.

[And Ochako touches the tip of her pinky to the screen of her Omni. Promise!]

[imaglyphwitch]

[Nope, Luz would have absolutely remembered all of that if Ochako had told her! It sounded like it was a lot and was clearly Ochako's version of Deerington. One day the two of them needed to start talking about the type of things they'd seen in the worlds they visited]!

You're right about that. I really didn't want to do that to you, and I'm glad that then, you didn't fight me. I do appreciate that. And the thing is? I was lucky. I had Eda holding my hand at first, and all she asked at the time was that I didn't jump into dangerous situations.

[Which, if she really thought about it, she hadn't quite stopped doing yet. Maybe Lexi WAS going to have to start keeping an eye on her].

I promise though: if it really gets bad, if I have no choice, then I'll go for that option. The last thing I want is for you to really hurt someone because I was too much of a coward to try and stop you.

[And here, she held her pinky up to her friend].

[floatsaway]

[They definitely do have to have a talk, or even just Ochako telling stories about it to all her friends. They know that she was in another world, but not the specifics, or some of the cool, and downright terrifying things that happened there. Some of what she experienced would make some absolutely awesome stories...and she will never, ever, pass up an opportunity to gush about the Inu yokai.

Lucky...yeah. Luz was definitely lucky that she stopped Ochako when she did, that she incapacitated her, and that she held herself together long enough to retreat on her own. If Luz had any less luck than she did, if Ochako managed to touch her and activate Zero Gravity on her...well. She's trying to keep those thoughts at bay. Falling alone isn't the scariest thing her quirk can do. Simply floating up and up into the endless sky, where the air thins and the simple act of breathing becomes a challenge in and of itself, where no one can find and bring you back... It's a horror that would churn Ochako's stomach without ever activating her quirk at all.]

...It's okay to rely on those around you for help and support, but leaning on them too much stunts how much you grow. I, um...I know that from experience. S'why when the dangers that exist in the world finally cross paths with you, you don't rush into them, but wait for them to come, and react wisely. Gunhead taught me that - centering yourself, and patiently defending until the moment you can strike.

[Pressing her pinky to the spot where she sees Luz's on her Omni's screen, Ochako just smiles.]

Then it's a promise!! That no matter what, we look out for one another...but agree that if things get really bad, if we have no other choice, then we stop each other from hurting others around us, ne? And trust one another to have that strength and resolve not to hesitate.

[A promise between friends...this is definitely what Ochako needs to start setting herself right again. Maybe what they both need.]

[imaglyphwitch]

[Luz would be happy to hear them! If there was anything that could be said about Luz Noceda, it was that she lived to hear about stories! There was a reason she was pleased as punch about running a bookstore with her girlfriend: it was a combination of two amazing things!

Yeah, Luz had known better than to try and ONLY talk to Ochako at the time, but she was also, through talking with the girl, realizing how lucky she was that Ochako in that addled state hadn't seriously wanted to murder her. Luz had not been in the fighting mood then, and that would have spelled death for her, to be unprotected.

And Luz had people who cared about her too much to let that happen again].

I wouldn't lean on people too much...you could say that the time for that ended the moment that Eda woke up in Deerington. At that point it was just me and my sister, and after a time not even that. So the idea that I had to take care of things on my own is just kind of always there.

[But that was good advice from...Gunhead. Seriously]??

You got it! We combine our strength, and we fight to keep the other restrained if it ever gets that bad! The best thing is to make sure we can keep people safe!

[Because that was the thing that would absolutely get Luz to act: saving people].