[open] Oh the weather outside is weather

[wannasmash]

Who: Izuku "DEKU DON'T" Midoriya and YOU. Featuring a Warmblood who will, per this month's effects, influence you to be your best self... whatever that may mean.
What: Catchall log with: a snowball fight, fishing Paul out of a collapsed basement, giving mushrooms to Illarion, event things. Event plotting comment.
When: January
Where: A park. Abandoned basement. The Red.

Content Warnings: fantasy violence against a snake-shaped rock monster, panic attack, teens in danger. Mention of: being kidnapped, child abuse and/or neglect. More TBD in comments below.

Open prompts:
Snowball Fight!
Wallflower Time (Snake Den at The Red) (Event)
Taking Note (Snake Den at The Red) (Event)

Comments

[terriblepurpose]

Unfortunately for Midoriya, Pauline (and Paul's) reaction to being thrown off-guard is almost always to prickle. Fortunately for Midoriya, he seems to have a natural ability to disarm them both. He descends into a patter of earnest puzzling, Pauline lowers her sharp elbows somewhat, and sighs. He's impossible to be irritated with when it is, really, her fault.

"There's nothing comic about this," she mutters, "Apparently. But yes, that's it, more or less. I didn't mean for it to be so...ambiguous."

She looks up again and drops her arms fully to her sides, her mouth pressed thin, and then adds: "I'm sorry."

[wannasmash]

Ambiguous. Oh no. As if he isn't confused enough already. Midoriya blushes again.

"Ah--no--You don't have to apologize!" He waves his palms a little. "You're having a... a very weird day."

That alone is penance enough in Midoriya's book. He was also never good about defending or demanding apologies for himself.

He tilts his head slightly. To Pauline, comic means something different than American-style manga. It takes him a moment to rifle through the rudimentary English vocabulary he sometimes uses and figure out where their language barrier snagged.

"...You did think it was pretty funny though."

His smile is kind and polite, as ever. He sounds like he's mildly commenting on something incidental, like the weather, and his eyelids lower just a little. Some people stretch their faces wildly and drawl when they're teasing someone. Midoriya's not going to just laugh at a friend, but he's not above gently prodding them for their hubris. It's a sign he feels comfortable enough to.

[terriblepurpose]

Before Pauline came here, she had been quite sure that in terms of social skills, there were few who could outplay her. That is, she's realizing, part of why she keeps finding herself at all ends - she keeps overcomplicating things, shading in nuances that don't exist or aren't necessary.

Midoriya letting her off the metaphorical hook is, therefore, a relief. His gentleness of teasing is of a type she does recognize, even if she's never had it directed at her by a peer before. (She's never had peers before. That's part of it.)

"I do. I was unfair." She smooths out her skirt, conceding more easily now that she's already evidently forgiven. "...and I did, before you went ahead and were earnest about it. You should be more careful about agreeing to things for strangers, you know. What if the ring was poisoned?"

"It wasn't," she supplies, quickly.

[wannasmash]

Midoriya isn't all-seeing. He's not sure what his being earnest has to do with killing Pauline's prank vibe, so he just blinks in confusion. He can only ascribe it to cold feet or the ring's importance, maybe. He's curious about her father, but doesn't pry.

Does she really need to specify it's not poison? Apparently she does. Midoriya gets the feeling that's not what she was really bothered about.

"That kind of stuff doesn't happen much in my world. The ring would be too much evidence to leave behind. We mostly worry about people leaving bombs in suspicious packages. You can bet I won't be holding one of those. But alright, Pauline-san, I won't take rings from strange people in the future," he promises.

[terriblepurpose]

That gets a laugh from her, like an unexpected burst of sunlight, and she tilts her head to the side. It's not a coquettish gesture, but the same inquisitive little adjustment of angle her other self uses when anything intrigues him.

"I never know what to expect with you." She sounds slightly admiring of that. "As long as you promise. No other strange jewelry, either. I would hate to have to avenge you."

Which she says lightly, knowing that she would hate it, and also that she would avenge very, very thoroughly on his behalf.

"Now - I haven't asked. Are you having a good night, besides - well." This.

[wannasmash]

It's odd talking to a friend who is wearing a different face, but Paul shows through so much--like now, when Pauline cants her head like a bird surveying someone. It just comes from a different, lower angle now. It's familiar and confusing all at once. Like facets on a crystal that occasionally blind the viewer unexpectedly, Midoriya still thinks she's very pretty. But he's settling into the familiar cadence of his friend being confident and witty, most of the time.

One corner of his mouth lifts in a wry smile. "Yes. Definitely no strange jewelry, not even the cursed kind that has to be thrown in a volcano... It's an old story. Avenging won't be necessary."

Heroes aren't in the business of personal vengeance of being judge and executioner, but they do often get payback for someone else's sake by putting a stop to harmful criminal activities.

"I should ask you that. I'm not the one whose body suddenly changed."

Pauline isn't getting out of Midoriya being concerned about her. At least she still has her memories. He's thankful she's still his friend.

[terriblepurpose]

Pauline is thankful for Midoriya's continued tolerance of her particular brand of friendship, and her eye rolling at the repeated asking after her well-being is exaggerated to the point of comedy - and fails to conceal her genuine appreciation for checking in again. His persistence in challenging her and her facades is more welcome than she sometimes feels comfortable with.

Midoriya wouldn't be easy to take advantage of on purpose, she thinks, but it might be too easy to take him for granted in ways that she doesn't want to. (Like, for instance, allowing him to worry about her in the wake of a muddled prank.)

"I am. Better now that I'm talking to you." It sounds a bit like a dodge, but she means it, and she tries to convey that as earnestly as she can. "...I am curious about the volcano?"

[wannasmash]

Someone groaned and called him "mom" the other day for refusing to allow him to purchase alcohol before getting a tattoo. A compliment, honestly, and far better than other insults flung at him in childhood. Midoriya loves his mom. Midoriya is no longer a pushover, at least not where he thinks it matters, but it is still his first instinct to discern why someone might be abrasive instead of just writing them off. He's had a lot of practice, growing up with his childhood friend.

He gives Pauline a dubious look, which on him just looks like the faintest of doubts, before indulging her distraction.

"There was a movie..." he pauses, wondering if she's even aware of what movies are or if she calls them that. "Uh, someone wrote some English fantasy books about a powerful ring that could only be destroyed in this one volcano before an evil lord could get his hands on it. A wizard asked his friend to do it, because he knew he wouldn't use it for himself."

It's Midoriya's turn to pull a face, because he knows it sounds so weird pulled out of context like that. It's a similar feeling to someone catching him writing in his Hero Analysis notebook, and having to explain his weird nerd hobby.

"...It was very popular."

[terriblepurpose]

"I believe you," Pauline says, with the complete honesty of someone who does - that sounds a sight better than many epic tales she's heard. She has learned what 'movies' are, along with a few other general recurring unfamiliar words, but the idea that they could involve evil lords, wizards, magic rings, and volcanoes is novel.

"We should see this movie some time, if you'd like to," she offers up, pleased at the prospect of being able to make a real commitment to amends already, "I've never watched one with someone else. In fact, I've only watched one, and it wasn't nearly as interesting as that one sounds."

"...you worry too much I won't like things." It's an observation she makes with a little more weight than she gave to her previous words, eyeing Midoriya. "You're clever, and you have good taste. Why wouldn't I like the movie about the wizard's friend?"

[wannasmash]

He's still painfully aware it sounds like the plot of a bad special effects movie, the kind shown on TV on Saturday mornings, usually involving actors running around in creature suits. Luckily, this one has good ones, even if they're outdated. (Some actors still run around in creature suits.)

"It isn't even my usual kind of movie. But it is good. It's about eiyuu--heroes, the old kind. You're from another world, but... It's fantasy, which means it takes place in a world different from mine anyway. It might actually explain more about itself," he muses thoughtfully, tapping his chin.

He suddenly brightens, fingers splaying out in surprise.

"Oh! We can have popcorn if you want! It's a snack people eat when watching movies. It's crunchy, and we put stuff on it. I have some bad news, though: It's three movies, and they're kind of long."