[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

[floatsaway]

[She is definitely puzzling it, because clearly something happened, at some point in Shigaraki's life, and Ochako is most definitely curious. There's precious little she can do about it now, but understanding those situations is how she can prevent them from happening in the future. Too many villains are usually the product of an easily avoidable circumstance, if fate dictated it that way, or if people had a hand in altering that future. He's most certainly right about something, though...their current world does need to change.

Just not in the way Shigaraki wants.]

Why I'll try to stop you, too.

[She knows he's not beinf confrontational, and matches that completely. In all honestly, that sort of straightforward honesty of his is what Ochako appreciates. It makes Shigaraki easier to talk to...SOMETIMES. Other times she just wants to break his nose. But in this case, she gets it. Ochako gets it, and is answering with the sincere truth of the matter - they are what they are and nothing will change it.

And yet, hearing what Shigaraki says feels so jarring. There was a version of herself that did all that. She both can and can't believe it at the same time, and the feeling in Ochako's chest right now isn't one she can define easily. But she can't help but smile a little bit. That coat--....ah! The one he always wore, the really nice one. So if was a gift from her other self? Hah...no wonder he favored it so much. Ochako giggles at her Omni, kicking her feet a little - good to know her other self still has a sense of style.

Everything about Decay...ah. Yeah. That makes her smile drop immediately. Because she can understand completely. Because Ochako would probably have the same reaction, honestly. Decay terrifies her, and the prospect of accidentally touching someone and just outright killing them makes her stomach sink and bile rise to the back of her throat. How in the world could anyone go through having such a quirk when it manifested and--

...oh. Oh. She needs a few minutes. Sorry, Shigaraki, but Ochako's leaving you on read for at least fifteen-twenty minutes to process before responding again. Today is a lot. When she finally comes back, it's to ask a question.]

Were you happy?
I mean...that all make you happy?
Being friends, having lunch together, talking and getting gifts, doing all that together...
If that's too personal, you don't have to answer, Shigaraki-san.