two, two, two posts in one; 4/6

[wearingguess]

[ hey, it's a prismagram post from 1stQadrMargaFan! you know, that one c-plus/b-minus-list influencer who's always posting magic tutorials, fashion selfies, food pics, and random animal encounters. (well, not so much recently, but... yeah.) ]

Hello, First Qadr!!
Thank you all so much for your comments and messages over the past couple of weeks. I can't believe I went three entire days without responding to anything! 😳 But I always read everything you send me, and I will try to answer you all as soon as I can. 🧡🧡🧡

But now I must make an important announcement!
✨ Starting today, this account will be going on indefinite hiatus ✨
I will keep comments open, but I won't be posting any more pictures or videos. This is just a personal issue and there's no need for anyone to worry! 🦋😸🍇
I want to say thank you again. Your support over the past several months has meant more than I can possibly express!! You're all breathtaking, with and without your Moonheld and Moonblessed traits! Let's all keep doing the very best we can to look out for one another! 👋🥰

[ a few minutes later, there's another post, from another account: laurea. this one's video. long antennae and parts of the colorful underside of a pair of butterfly wings are visible on the subject (who doesn't appear particularly jazzed about them). ]

Hello.
Ah... this message is primarily for my fellow Moonblessed. For those who don't know me, I am Titus Alexius.
I have been thinking about this quite a bit lately, and... I think that we ought to, if possible... that is, to the extent that it is possible...

[ deep breath! ]

I think we should stop moonlacing.

[ and now the hurried qualifiers. ]

We need to do a little, of course, to survive. Obviously we should all feel free to do that amount. But beyond that minimum, we should most likely refrain.

[ he hunches his shoulders and looks down!! ]

This will certainly be a great sacrifice... and terribly difficult, especially during the moon cycles... and no doubt quite unpleasant in many ways as well. For some of us more than others. But while the effects of chroma generation initially seemed exclusively beneficial, with the very worst of them still being harmless, it is now more than clear that there are others that are neither predictable nor safe.

[ now he shuts his eyes. ]
...All of Port Sylvel paid the price for that. And many perished in the subsequent battle as well. We cannot bring them back, but we owe it to them not to let it happen again.

[ another deep breath. then he opens his eyes and looks back into the camera. ]

At least that is what I think.
I would like to know what all of you think.


[ there's a slightly awkward pause!! ]

...On that note, I am also looking for work.
I am willing to do anything, though... physically demanding work is probably best avoided, unless you don't mind its being accomplished poorly and only after a likely unreasonable length of time.
Nothing that requires moonlacing, either, though I suppose that much is obvious.

...
And that is all. Thank you!

Comments

HUSH I LOVE IT AND YOU AND THEM

[numbertwohero]

[It's a lot. Not just the amount of words, or the time it takes to tell them, though that's a lot, too, and he listens to it all, supplying tissues and more tea until it all runs out, and even then he listens.

It's a lot. But the least he can do is listen, since Titus has lived through it all.

But in the end...in the end, there's only one thing that matters.

Titus is his friend, and Titus is hurting, and whatever the method of his creation, Titus is a person, with valid and real feelings and desires and dreams.

Shouto's quiet for a long moment, processing everything. Finally, he takes a deep breath, letting it out in a slow sigh, before finally looking back up at Titus.]

...I understand why you said all that about moonlacing, now. After what happened at Port Sylvel, and what happened when you went home. But...I still want to hug you. If that's okay with you.

[He doesn't have words to express just how he feels about the rest. But if there's anything he's learned here, it's that sometimes you don't need words.]

[wearingguess]

...

It's okay.

[ he tries to hesitate but doesn't quite manage it. in the end, he doesn't even wait for shouto to be the one to initiate. he's just too exhausted, too wrung-out, too fucking sad... and at the same time, so overwhelmed with gratitude and love. ]

[numbertwohero]

[The way Titus all but collapses into his arms tells Shouto everything he needs to know about just how lost he's feeling, but honestly it's okay. Or, it's going to be, somehow. Shouto's arms wrap tightly around the smaller boy, his face buried in Titus's hair, and he'll hold him for as long as he needs. Not for the moonlacing, but for what it means.

And after a while, he murmurs a quiet comment into that hair.]

For what it's worth--I don't think differently of you, just because you weren't born the same way as most people. You're a person. And I care a lot about you.

[wearingguess]

[ his voice is a little muffled for obvious reasons!! ]

Todoroki... thank you. So much, for everything.
...I really hoped that you would feel that way. Aladdin told me people would, but I was so afraid...

[numbertwohero]

There's nothing to thank me for. If anyone thought that made you less of a person, they'd be wrong.

[He's quiet for a moment, a hand stroking Titus's back, before he speaks again, voice a little uncertain.]

It's not the same, but--I kind of know how it feels. A little. I was only born because my father wanted to create someone with a quirk strong enough to overtake my world's number one hero. He couldn't do it himself, so he forced my mother into marriage for her quirk and had children until one of them met his standards.

[He's never actually said this to anyone. It still feels weird to be saying it.]

I wasn't a child, I was a creation. A means to an end. So I mean--I'm not trying to say I know exactly, but...I think I get it.

[wearingguess]

[ titus tightens his embrace... a little fiercely. ]

That is... a terrible reason to be born, I think...
But nonetheless, I am so glad that you were. And that you are here.

[numbertwohero]

[That's okay. He doesn't mind at all. In fact, he nestles just a little further into the embrace, holding Titus as close as he can.]

I feel the same way about you. You're a good friend, Titus. And I'm your friend, too. I'm here if you want to talk about anything, any time. Or if you don't want to talk, and just...need this.