deernet | 1-800-BUGGELOO | video

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1-800-BUGGELOO | video | un: rin

[ Green = Midoriya | Blue = Murderbot | None = Locals ]

Beasts can be people. I had to see if there was a person in there. That's why I used a Moon Drop on the Bugge.

Waste of a Moon Drop... Just kill it like we all do, Deku. [ The voice comes from a grizzled Hunter with their hand on their hilt. ]

[ Midoriya isn't filming this. He and a group of farmers are the subject of this onlooker's stream. A few Hunters are interspersed with them, identifiable by the badges that match Midoriya's own. They know him by his Hero name, Deku. His green Hero gear is lightly stained with his own warmblood. He's bruised and exhausted, but anyone familiar with him knows that he'd be much more injured if he actually came off worse in a fight. ]

If there's a chance I can save someone without killing, I have to try.

These are my crops! The blood of the Bugge enriches them, don't you understand? I have to feed my children! [ A farmer brandishes their harvesting sickle. ]

I--I'm sorry. If you need help, I--Please, let me help. There has to be another way. There are other ways to make the soil better, just--we can figure this out together--

[ Several people in the crowd push forward, and Midoriya flinches with a step back in time with them. He can feel several stabs of alarm in his head. It evokes multiple memories of a group of people ganging up on him, and he's not good at using words to defend himself. He wants nothing more than to wrap his arms around his head and not look at them, but these are people he wants to protect. He has to face them. ]

Congratulations, you are being streamed live to DeerNet. Don't do anything you'd regret.

[ The voice is flat and even, near emotionless but with a slight edge to it. If anyone looks at their relic, it is streaming with a one second delay. ]

[ OOC: replies will come from Murderbot and Midoriya ]

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At first he doesn't know what to say. Nothing has worked so far. He hesitates, and in that moment of hesitation, the people he calls his community pipe up:

"We've listened enough! This is our way of life. He's come in and stepped all over it with his power. He even called backup!" A man with a basket of rotten turnips gestures angrily at Uraraka.

"We have to feed our families!" interjects a woman clutching the hand of another woman, and peeking out from behind their legs, a small child.

When Uraraka arrives on the scene, everything is all right. This is what she strives to tell people with her presence. This is what Midoriya wants to believe. Stepping out from behind her, he puts a hand on her shoulder. (Lower than he thought. Sometimes he forgets she's shorter than him. She has such a big personality.) He knows she'd try to incapacitate anyone who tried to hurt him, but that's not a situation that will help things.

"I'm sorry about the harvest. I wanted to see if there was a person in the Bugge... and I didn't want the harvest to come from suffering and death. Is it just--easier to kill someone, without even trying to save them? Even I don't know what will happen if I run out of choices, I--I know that I might have to kill someone to save. But... a Hero's job is to give hope, even for those you'd rather not save."

They cry out against his stammering, a chorus of "We don't care what you think," "You're being selfish," "You don't have what it takes," and "Leave my property." Midoriya shrinks into himself, trying to manage the stabbing pains in his head from his Quirk, and he half-turns toward the road.

The hesitation makes Ochako's heart ache, because she knows this was never Izuku's strong suit - speaking in front of a crowd like this - and with all the animosity and upset being spewed at him from all sides...it must be triggering Danger Sense to a dizzying amount. Ochako reaches for a his hand unconsciously, holding it tightly in her own to ground her best friend and give him something to focus on. I am here. I won't leave you.

"I came all on my own - no one asked me to!" She spits to the man with a glare so hot and cold it'd make Todoroki jealous. "Because Heroes give help...even when it's not asked for." She looks over her shoulder and smiles at those wide, green eyes, hoping it'd calm him down enough to get back on his feet. And when he does, Ochako's right by his side, looking resolutely into the crowd and feeling a touch of heartache, especially at the little ones dragged out to witness this mess. She understands, deep down Ochako understands, but teaching a child that bloodshed is the answer to their problems...it's not right. It's not, and though this may be a custom and tradition of another world she and Izuku have no right to butt into, it's wrong. It's wrong and unpredictable. Unsustainable.

When Izuku speaks, calmly but without confidence, and gets berated for it, Ochako's brows knit together and she tightens her grip on her friend's hand to keep him securely in place. He is not going anywhere, she won't let him get punished and feel dejected just because a bunch of people aren't willing to listen to reason. Her temper flares, for just a moment, irritation sparking a flame inside her chest.

"AND IF THE CYCLE STOPS, WHAT THEN?!" She boldly raises herself up, head held high despite her small stature. Number one in guts and roundness, Bakugou wasn't kidding about that... "You all should know better than any of us that Trench is unpredictable and fickle in how it works, in keeping its supposed 'laws' in place! If you kill this Beast now and it doesn't come back, what backup do you have?! Will you slay another creature in hopes it will do the same?! Will you embrace your children with blood on your hands and faces?!"

She squeezes her eyes shut and takes a deep breath again, trying to find her focus, her center.

"We're not here to stop you from eating, but to lose your reliance on something that's not guaranteed, to act with kindness and compassion instead of slaughter. You're here now, upset and scared, because if you don't do this, the crops wither, right? Why?! Why should you have to feel anxious and terrified each year to sustain yourselves?! Give your families a future they can feel safe in! One that doesn't mean they have to shed blood...

"I'm not asking to make the change overnight, but to think. Think of the future that lies ahead for you, for your families, for the little ones in your arms. If Trench ever decides 'no more', then the decision will be made for you. Not by me, or my friend, but greater beings beyond all of us. Don't wait for that moment to happen, be prepared for it. Pave a path so that the next generation can build upon it. Sow the soil for them now, so they don't have to feel what you're feeling. So they don't have to wade through blood just to pluck a grape from a vine. That's...that's not a future that can make them smile carelessly."

He blinks in surprise before squeezing back. When she looks at him, he presses his mouth in a thin line to (poorly) hide chewing his lip. He knows she can be a staunch protector, but she also tends to blurt out things bluntly.

But she is here.

"It's always been this way. He should have thought of a solution before he took ours away," someone says bitterly. "We don't have the means. We don't know what to do now."

"I'll look for a way," Midoriya says. "I don't need you to agree with me when I have nothing to give you. She's right--giving help unasked for is what Heroes do. So I have to go."

He's almost a frozen statue except for the wind messing up his curls and tears slipping down his cheeks. It's his turn to squeeze Uraraka's hand and tug.

"Let's go, Uraraka-san. We're trespassing," he says barely above the sound of the wind.

It's increasingly difficult to keep her expression neutral in the face of all these people shouting their hatred and contempt. Ochako can take it aimed at herself, but when the blame and fingers are pointed towards her best friend, she can't help the kneejerk want to bite and scratch. Of course she doesn't but Ochako is only human, she hates these single-minded people...relying on mere luck and a chance that the Bugge will continue it's death and rebirth cycle. It's just...just like the citizens back home - unwilling to change their ways, to help those they see who are in need, because surely a Hero will take care of it. A Hero will come.

When they have the means to be their own Heroes...

Ochako opens her mouth to respond, but Deku cuts her off, and she closes it to listen to him and watch each tear roll down those freckled cheeks. He's right, they are trespassing now, and Ochako definitely agrees that without a proper solution, not killing the Bugge right now is the worse option, but going forward--

"Don't put this all on your shoulders. It should be up to them to look for a different, more sustainable way to live," she spits, expression placid but tone sharp and frigid. But Ochako doesn't press, just moves to follow Deku away from what is undoubtedly going to be a slaughter. Neither of them need to see that.

"...I'm sorry, Deku, I only made it worse."

"Us. We're part of this world too now. We should be part of the solution if we can help."

It's not sustainable, and lives are lost in the process of fighting the Bugge. It can't last. These locals are probably more equipped than Midoriya when it comes to finding soil fertility solutions, but he still feels responsible and connected--if they'll let him. He's part of this world and this community.

"You didn't make it worse. You're the reason I can even stand up at all."

It's even how they first met, her catching him. But here he speaks in the metaphorical sense. She's always looked out for him and told off people who were mean to him. She saw him trying so hard for his dream and wanted to help. It came naturally to her.

They move to the path that leads into the city. However, he turns in the other direction that goes further into the fields and toward Salt Lake. His throat feels tight. It's a dam straining against the force of a flood, and he's about to be swept away. The tread of his Iron Soles is uneven. He buries his crumpled face in the crook of his bracer when he feels his eyes overflow.

"I--I'll be fine," he hiccups.

Ochako hums in acknowledgment, nodding softly as they walk together, farther away. She understands what Izuku is trying to say - yes, they should play a part in this world and trying to help the people in it, but the real, hard truth of the matter is, this isn't their world. They will always be foreigners to it, and applying their world's customs, traditions, and morals to Trench, who is so alarmingly different, is bound to result in harsh pushback. Maybe some can take a stand, or begin the shift, but it was never going to happen in that moment.

"Deku..." Ochako looks sideways at him and her chest tightens for a moment. It's strange feeling - happy that Izuku can lean on her like she does, because she wants him to when he truly needs it, but also sad because she really doesn't...feel like she did anything to help this time at all. But seeing him like this, trying so hard to hold back...

Ochako acts before she thinks, reaching out to pull him to her in a tight, loving hug. Her hands wrap loosely around his shoulders and ease his watery face towards her own shoulder - a place to cry. She won't judge, and she won't say a single word. No more than--

"Don't hold back, it's okay." She's here for him, through everything - good or bad.

While settling into a new place, he adopted an entire city of people to protect. He started thinking of them as his own. That makes this hurt more.

At first he is unsure what to do, stiff and awkward as ever, but Uraraka is one of the people who have been teaching him the language of comfort and connection. She's never made fun of him for crying, not that he can remember. He clutches her right back, gauntlets bumping awkwardly. His face finds her shoulder easily and buries into it. It's soft with the results of her training a firm foundation underneath.

It soaks immediately with his tears before wet sobs can escape him. He's an ugly crier. Todoroki said that heroes cry when they need to. Midoriya continually tries to take that lesson to heart. Instead of his usual apologies, he struggles to say,

"Th-Thank you Uraraka-san... I want to protect their smiles too..."

It comes back again and again to heave in his chest, then slowly draws away like the tide. Tension leaves his shaking shoulders, and he is limply tired and raw. It would be nice to keep his face sheltered from the world in the press of her shoulder, but he knows he can't forever.

It's so like him to do that, and though Ochako and the other two boys here adopted the same attitude, Deku just goes to the extreme...as he is wont to do. Nippon taught her that she can be a Hero anywhere, and that they're needed in all walks of life, but putting every life on the shoulders of one person, one boy...

Leaning her head against Deku's, Ochako rubs his back slowly, making sure to keep one finger raised at all times. She's a tactile and loving sort of person, learned it from her parents who she's especially close with, and the gesture right now is one her mothers would often do when she was very small, still getting used to her quirk and the aftereffects of her nausea. Slow, tender circles to calm down an upset child, and her heart breaks a little when moisture sinks into the fabric of her costume.

"I know..." she can feel his weight sinking on her and she takes it. Ochako takes it all onto her herself, because that's what friends do. They support you when you're overburdened and heavy. They keep you up. "And you are, you do so many great things and try so hard for everyone you meet. That's what I've always admired about you most of all - you care so much."

But. "...We can't help people who don't want it. I know it's a Hero's duty to help those that need saving without being asked, and to act without thought, but...we can only offer our hands. It's up to the people whether or not they hold on - whether or not they race back into the fire tomorrow." Heroes can't change people. That's not a power they possess, no matter how strong.

Ochako moves back a little, to see her friend's face and tip his chin up to look her in the eye and see her own smile. "You're a good person, Deku, and an amazing Hero...don't let this weigh on you too much, ne? This...wasn't a fight we could win, not when this 'tradition' is so ingrained in their society, but...heh. M-Maybe we sowed the seeds to make them think a little harder about what they do next time, a-and we can try again, too!! We can keep trying."

Because that's what Heroes do, too. They don't give up.

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1-800-BUGGELOO | video | un: rin

i wish i had that superpower fjlsd

i had to eat hair to get it.

damnit all might!

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maybe wrap here?