[Honestly, Aizawa still sort of gets the feeling that he's maybe not the most ideal adult to be talked to about...frankly any of this, really? He's still rather surprised Shouto's come to him for any of this in the first place, even if he did recommend talking to people about problems in the past. He just hand't actually thought about including himself to be among those people...
Not for heavier matters like this, anyway. Questioning what's real and what's not. Imparting...very, very personal memories. That technically aren't even Shouto's own, from certain angles, but--
Still bad enough that he even has this now, isn't it? Still plenty bad enough. Aizawa is properly frowning by the end of his story, and the silence that follows is maybe more than a little bit stunned.
He'd thought it must have been bad, but he hadn't thought it was that bad.]
...Shouto. [At length, and very slowly, sharper concern at the edges of the words.] Your family life at present does not correlate this closely to this memory you're talking about, does it?
[The memories are fairly out of left field for most people. They don't line up with how they live life in Recolle. Aizawa knows this, but at this particular moment he still finds that he'd really like to make sure that's the case here, first...]
[Shouto's family situation isn't... quite as bad here. His father is certainly still a piece of shit he'd sell to Satan for negative one corn chip- but he's on good terms with his mom. He loves his mom and she'd never do anything as cruel as this.
The silence only seems reasonable after a bomb of a confession like that.]
My mother has never hurt me. She would never hurt me.
[But apparently, she can forget him. Which hurts in a completely different kind of way.]
[At this point Aizawa's just. Setting his juice pack on the coffee table in front of them now, for a bit, since conversation this heavy kind of...tends to kill any kind of juice craving like that. His cat is now peering out under the table with marginally less haughtiness and marginally more concern, as if the atmosphere's changed on a palpable level (and it kind of has, really, because this kind of talk does not.......generally happen in Aizawa's living room).
He's sighing as he straightens again, though, rubbing at a spot under one of his eyes. ...What does he do with this information. Is there anything he can do with this information? Why is he getting this information? He still doesn't really understand, but asking now would be terrible timing, and in the end it wouldn't matter too much since...this is already out there now. This is something he knows about now.
He hopes--that the other Aizawa out there back then knows this too? He hopes that other place has already taken measures about this...surely there's some form of social services there.....
But that doesn't really help him here, now does it?]
...That's good. That she wouldn't. [Here at least, apparently, but that weighs enough in the air without having to be said.] ...I suppose that story also makes sense, now that I have it to correlate with your reaction back there. Must have been the fire extinguisher that set it off...
[Another long pause. Aizawa sighs.]
I'm sorry about that. I'm going to ensure that doesn't happen again, at least not by my hand.
[Shouto looks down at his juice box and... takes a sip. He's been dealing with that information for something like two months without telling anybody about it. It sucks to reveal, but it's definitely better than not having anybody know about it.
Unfortunately for Aizawa, other Aizawa has no idea about any of this. Because there's only one person other Shouto's shared this information with, and it wasn't a teacher.
The fire extinguisher was unfortunate timing, he's pretty sure. Just deeply unfortunate timing.]
It's not like you could've known about it. ... But thank you.
It's true, I didn't. But now I do. And that makes all the difference.
[Things Aizawa may or may not realize eventually....just how out of the loop his past self is about some of this. But the future is strange and full of possibilities, so who knows...who knows.....
The cat is also slowly approaching Shouto's legs now. It's--sitting expectantly right up next to his left ankle now? So that sure is a thing. Aizawa doesn't notice this, but rest assured it's a pretty high honor Shouto. Maybe you've earned it...]
I appreciate you telling me about this, even though you certainly didn't have to. [And he...well, no. He's glad to know about it, Aizawa supposes, even if it's a rather burdening thing to know. Having something that big hanging in the background behind Shouto, unaddressed, would probably be exponentially worse than this.] ...I'll be sure to respect your wishes, so nobody else outside this room's hearing about this any time soon. I can promise that.
[Shouto likes keeping things to himself, and maybe there's a part of him that's sure nobody would believe him. He's just the son of a hero. It's his word against a hero's... Obviously people are going to be much more likely to believe his father instead of him.
Shouto bends a bit so the cat can sniff his hand... Is he allowed to pet?]
... I appreciate it. [It's his baggage to share on his terms.]
[The cat sniffs Shouto's hand accordingly--very carefully and somewhat disdainfully, as if this is an immense hassle to do but it's decided to do it anyway so Shouto should be grateful clearly--but, after a moment or so, it seems to decide that this hand is more or less acceptable. So it stretches up a bit to fit its head into his palm properly.
Aizawa, finally noticing this, scoffs a bit.]
--Looks like that guy's finally deigned to have a look at you. About time. [Answering the question that isn't asked, because he can take a guess:] Pet him if you want, looks like he wants you to. Don't let his act fool you, he'll accept them every time.
[Cat icebreaker really...thanks, cat....anyway, Aizawa's slowly shifting to stand up off the couch now, rubbing the back of his neck as he does.]
...Anyhow. It's good you've decided to talk to someone about these things--that's the thing to do, when something's bothering you, so you're forming very good habits here. It--doesn't have to be me, every time. It doesn't have to be me in general, actually. But anyone at all is better than no one, probably. [He idly picks up the juice box off the table again, turning to Shouto.] ...I don't think I can tell you what you want to hear, exactly. If it's advice on what to do, about all of this, I'm unfortunately a pretty insufficient guide. Because I'm really not sure myself, at the moment, without all the facts to make a properly rational suggestion.
But I can tell you what not to do, I suppose. If you want to hear it.
[Shouto loves cats so much. Like kindred kitty spirits... He starts petting the cat's head gently.. for as long as cat is going allow it.]
I don't really know who else to go to. Mom doesn't understand and- [Yeah, he'd rather pull out a tooth than speak to his father about anything.] my Father isn't around often. It feels weird to talk to my friends about this. And... I don't think anybody has enough to make a fully informed decision right now. But I'm glad you listened.
But any advice is better than no advice. I'd like to hear it.
[That's a big mood, Shouto...THAT'S A REAL BIG MOOD, AIZAWA AGREES........
But the cat's accepting these headpats graciously enough, for at least a couple minutes or so. And while that's happening in the meantime, Aizawa's nodding shortly.]
That's fair enough, then. I wanted to make sure you know you've got other options. [Because he feels....pretty exceptionally insufficient about now, yes. But Shouto does seem to confirm knowing that, and the logic for this time seems sound enough, so Aizawa supposes that's at least one mystery he can put to rest this afternoon.
But advice, alright, okay. He settles his weight back on his heels slightly, one hand tucking into one of his pants pockets, the other hand idly holding the juice box but not moving for another sip yet. First things first, after all. Well...]
Don't stop talking to people about things like this. Don't withdraw from the friends you currently have due solely to things related to this, either. Same goes to the Retrospec app, don't distance yourself too far from that either--it's a piece of the crux of our problems, probably, but it's also the best network of support we all have at our disposals at the moment, if only because everyone on it's more or less on the same page in a way most people in our lives aren't. It can be easy to forget that, probably, but you shouldn't.
...Don't treat your family any different than you have been, either. Real or not--from what I can tell in the last couple months, at any rate--the people not on this app still seem perfectly capable of their own thoughts and feelings, tampered memories regardless. It'd be safer and more beneficial to continue treating them as normal people, even if they can't see everything we do. We weren't able to see everything either, until the app was put upon us. We can't really tell them anything about this, but we can at least try to keep their worries to a minimum.
Real or not, your schoolwork's still important too, so don't let that start slipping either. It's all real enough for me to be grading it and testing you about it, so let's keep that process as painless as possible for the both of us. ...Try your best not to do anything too stupid in general, too. But that should be a given, and I think you already knew that.
[Hmm. ...He takes another sip from his juice box, finally.]
[Pretty solid advice, all things considered. Shouto continues petting the cat until such time as it decides to leave.
He wasn't planning on withdrawing from his friends. They're good people, and that isn't going to change because of whatever memories he gets out of the app. They're still themselves. He's still himself.
He hopes, anyway.]
I don't want to worry mom. Not any more than I have already, anyway.
I try not to do stupid things.
Yes. Don't pull away from my friends, treat people on the app like they're still people, do my schoolwork, and don't do stupid things.
[The cat enjoys this for pretty much the entirety of Aizawa's advice-giving, and then gets up to wander away to the kitchen at around the same time he's done. It was a nice petting session all around, though. Shouto has probably earned +1 point of cat favor this afternoon, a small perk to...everything else about this conversation....
But Aizawa nods slowly as Shouto recaps in rather fewer words, idly finishing off the last of his juice box as he does.]
Right. Mm, you know how to repeat things back when you hear them, at any rate...but you go ahead and carry all that out, and then I'll know that you're actually taking it to heart. So do that, please.
[Shouto's a straightforward person who says exactly what he means... or says nothing about it. So he'll keep his word on this. It sounds like sound enough advice, even if he's... not entirely sure what to do around his mom. He still loves her and wants the best for her, but knowing she forgot him- that's going to stick with him for a while.]
... Do you mind if I stay here a little while longer? It's okay if you don't want me to.
[It's a tricky issue to be sure, with no easy solution...you might have you be on your own for that particular problem, sorry Shouto. But at least with this advice you won't have too many other things to worry about on top of that...hopefully....
Aizawa's slowly and methodically folding up the juice box to throw away shortly (who even does that, Aizawa why are you like this), turning towards the kitchen himself--but he glances up at the question, brief undiluted surprise crossing his features. --That's a very unexpected request, to say the least.
...But...
Aizawa frowns at him for a drawn moment, but that's about it--a moment. Shortly afterwards, he turns away and starts back towards the kitchen with a shrug.]
If you want to? Don't see why not, I suppose. Though I wasn't expecting guests today [he's never expecting guests, actually] so you'll have to forgive the setup in here being less than ideal for visitors right now.
Is it really so unexpected? Aizawa gave good advice, he has a cat, and remembered that he went missing. An appropriately trustworthy adult to talk to.]
I'd like to. Thank you.
... No, I haven't really had an appetite. [Understandable, considering his last month was stressful and coming back hadn't been that soothing either.]
[That's very sound trustworthy adult criteria, Shouto....too bad Aizawa's still pretty sure there's better adults out there. Or other more exciting things Shouto would surely prefer to be doing that aren't hanging out in his math teacher's apartment??
But oh well, he's not a mind-reader and he's not about to launch into another interrogation about this. The one they just had was plenty enough, and if this is what Shouto wants to do then that's just...how it is, apparently. Aizawa will question it inside but not out loud.]
Well, I hear eating's generally a good way to start up an appetite again. Though if you don't want to I'm not about to bend your arm over it. [Still, since he's here anyway...Aizawa gestures over his shoulder for Shouto to follow him to the kitchen.] But if the concept isn't terrible to you right now, I've just made enough fried rice back here for multiple helpings. It's probably still warm, if you want any.
[He had an overly exciting time this last month. He'd much rather do something quiet and lowkey. So sitting here, in his math teacher's apartment, watching a cat seems like a very soothing time.
So he'll follow Aizawa to the kitchen, and wait to see where Aizawa keeps his plates and utensils.]
[You know, that's fair...being in Aizawa's apartment is also about as quiet as you're going to get, too, so it all works out.
Anyway they both get into the kitchen and the rice is unearthed again alongside plates and utensils and such, and Shouto is offered a small helping, and they both end up sitting down to eat at the small two-chair table in there, and Aizawa's cat returns to camp out next to Shouto's left leg again. It's probably a pretty nice and uneventful time. The fried rice isn't exactly the best ever made or anything, but it's perfectly average and decent enough.
At some point afterwards Aizawa probably offered half of it for Shouto to take home in tupperware to ease his mom's cooking or something, maybe, though whether it's actually accepted is up to him. Either way, all in all: a pretty chill rest of the afternoon.]
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Not for heavier matters like this, anyway. Questioning what's real and what's not. Imparting...very, very personal memories. That technically aren't even Shouto's own, from certain angles, but--
Still bad enough that he even has this now, isn't it? Still plenty bad enough. Aizawa is properly frowning by the end of his story, and the silence that follows is maybe more than a little bit stunned.
He'd thought it must have been bad, but he hadn't thought it was that bad.]
...Shouto. [At length, and very slowly, sharper concern at the edges of the words.] Your family life at present does not correlate this closely to this memory you're talking about, does it?
[The memories are fairly out of left field for most people. They don't line up with how they live life in Recolle. Aizawa knows this, but at this particular moment he still finds that he'd really like to make sure that's the case here, first...]
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The silence only seems reasonable after a bomb of a confession like that.]
My mother has never hurt me. She would never hurt me.
[But apparently, she can forget him. Which hurts in a completely different kind of way.]
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He's sighing as he straightens again, though, rubbing at a spot under one of his eyes. ...What does he do with this information. Is there anything he can do with this information? Why is he getting this information? He still doesn't really understand, but asking now would be terrible timing, and in the end it wouldn't matter too much since...this is already out there now. This is something he knows about now.
He hopes--that the other Aizawa out there back then knows this too? He hopes that other place has already taken measures about this...surely there's some form of social services there.....
But that doesn't really help him here, now does it?]
...That's good. That she wouldn't. [Here at least, apparently, but that weighs enough in the air without having to be said.] ...I suppose that story also makes sense, now that I have it to correlate with your reaction back there. Must have been the fire extinguisher that set it off...
[Another long pause. Aizawa sighs.]
I'm sorry about that. I'm going to ensure that doesn't happen again, at least not by my hand.
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Unfortunately for Aizawa, other Aizawa has no idea about any of this. Because there's only one person other Shouto's shared this information with, and it wasn't a teacher.
The fire extinguisher was unfortunate timing, he's pretty sure. Just deeply unfortunate timing.]
It's not like you could've known about it. ... But thank you.
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[Things Aizawa may or may not realize eventually....just how out of the loop his past self is about some of this. But the future is strange and full of possibilities, so who knows...who knows.....
The cat is also slowly approaching Shouto's legs now. It's--sitting expectantly right up next to his left ankle now? So that sure is a thing. Aizawa doesn't notice this, but rest assured it's a pretty high honor Shouto. Maybe you've earned it...]
I appreciate you telling me about this, even though you certainly didn't have to. [And he...well, no. He's glad to know about it, Aizawa supposes, even if it's a rather burdening thing to know. Having something that big hanging in the background behind Shouto, unaddressed, would probably be exponentially worse than this.] ...I'll be sure to respect your wishes, so nobody else outside this room's hearing about this any time soon. I can promise that.
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Shouto bends a bit so the cat can sniff his hand... Is he allowed to pet?]
... I appreciate it. [It's his baggage to share on his terms.]
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Aizawa, finally noticing this, scoffs a bit.]
--Looks like that guy's finally deigned to have a look at you. About time. [Answering the question that isn't asked, because he can take a guess:] Pet him if you want, looks like he wants you to. Don't let his act fool you, he'll accept them every time.
[Cat icebreaker really...thanks, cat....anyway, Aizawa's slowly shifting to stand up off the couch now, rubbing the back of his neck as he does.]
...Anyhow. It's good you've decided to talk to someone about these things--that's the thing to do, when something's bothering you, so you're forming very good habits here. It--doesn't have to be me, every time. It doesn't have to be me in general, actually. But anyone at all is better than no one, probably. [He idly picks up the juice box off the table again, turning to Shouto.] ...I don't think I can tell you what you want to hear, exactly. If it's advice on what to do, about all of this, I'm unfortunately a pretty insufficient guide. Because I'm really not sure myself, at the moment, without all the facts to make a properly rational suggestion.
But I can tell you what not to do, I suppose. If you want to hear it.
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I don't really know who else to go to. Mom doesn't understand and- [Yeah, he'd rather pull out a tooth than speak to his father about anything.] my Father isn't around often. It feels weird to talk to my friends about this. And... I don't think anybody has enough to make a fully informed decision right now. But I'm glad you listened.
But any advice is better than no advice. I'd like to hear it.
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But the cat's accepting these headpats graciously enough, for at least a couple minutes or so. And while that's happening in the meantime, Aizawa's nodding shortly.]
That's fair enough, then. I wanted to make sure you know you've got other options. [Because he feels....pretty exceptionally insufficient about now, yes. But Shouto does seem to confirm knowing that, and the logic for this time seems sound enough, so Aizawa supposes that's at least one mystery he can put to rest this afternoon.
But advice, alright, okay. He settles his weight back on his heels slightly, one hand tucking into one of his pants pockets, the other hand idly holding the juice box but not moving for another sip yet. First things first, after all. Well...]
Don't stop talking to people about things like this. Don't withdraw from the friends you currently have due solely to things related to this, either. Same goes to the Retrospec app, don't distance yourself too far from that either--it's a piece of the crux of our problems, probably, but it's also the best network of support we all have at our disposals at the moment, if only because everyone on it's more or less on the same page in a way most people in our lives aren't. It can be easy to forget that, probably, but you shouldn't.
...Don't treat your family any different than you have been, either. Real or not--from what I can tell in the last couple months, at any rate--the people not on this app still seem perfectly capable of their own thoughts and feelings, tampered memories regardless. It'd be safer and more beneficial to continue treating them as normal people, even if they can't see everything we do. We weren't able to see everything either, until the app was put upon us. We can't really tell them anything about this, but we can at least try to keep their worries to a minimum.
Real or not, your schoolwork's still important too, so don't let that start slipping either. It's all real enough for me to be grading it and testing you about it, so let's keep that process as painless as possible for the both of us. ...Try your best not to do anything too stupid in general, too. But that should be a given, and I think you already knew that.
[Hmm. ...He takes another sip from his juice box, finally.]
I think that's about it. Got all of that?
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He wasn't planning on withdrawing from his friends. They're good people, and that isn't going to change because of whatever memories he gets out of the app. They're still themselves. He's still himself.
He hopes, anyway.]
I don't want to worry mom. Not any more than I have already, anyway.
I try not to do stupid things.
Yes. Don't pull away from my friends, treat people on the app like they're still people, do my schoolwork, and don't do stupid things.
... Right?
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But Aizawa nods slowly as Shouto recaps in rather fewer words, idly finishing off the last of his juice box as he does.]
Right. Mm, you know how to repeat things back when you hear them, at any rate...but you go ahead and carry all that out, and then I'll know that you're actually taking it to heart. So do that, please.
[Sigh. A small pause falls.]
...Did you need anything else, Shouto?
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[Shouto's a straightforward person who says exactly what he means... or says nothing about it. So he'll keep his word on this. It sounds like sound enough advice, even if he's... not entirely sure what to do around his mom. He still loves her and wants the best for her, but knowing she forgot him- that's going to stick with him for a while.]
... Do you mind if I stay here a little while longer? It's okay if you don't want me to.
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Aizawa's slowly and methodically folding up the juice box to throw away shortly (who even does that, Aizawa why are you like this), turning towards the kitchen himself--but he glances up at the question, brief undiluted surprise crossing his features. --That's a very unexpected request, to say the least.
...But...
Aizawa frowns at him for a drawn moment, but that's about it--a moment. Shortly afterwards, he turns away and starts back towards the kitchen with a shrug.]
If you want to? Don't see why not, I suppose. Though I wasn't expecting guests today [he's never expecting guests, actually] so you'll have to forgive the setup in here being less than ideal for visitors right now.
...Have you eaten anything yet?
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Is it really so unexpected? Aizawa gave good advice, he has a cat, and remembered that he went missing. An appropriately trustworthy adult to talk to.]
I'd like to. Thank you.
... No, I haven't really had an appetite. [Understandable, considering his last month was stressful and coming back hadn't been that soothing either.]
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But oh well, he's not a mind-reader and he's not about to launch into another interrogation about this. The one they just had was plenty enough, and if this is what Shouto wants to do then that's just...how it is, apparently. Aizawa will question it inside but not out loud.]
Well, I hear eating's generally a good way to start up an appetite again. Though if you don't want to I'm not about to bend your arm over it. [Still, since he's here anyway...Aizawa gestures over his shoulder for Shouto to follow him to the kitchen.] But if the concept isn't terrible to you right now, I've just made enough fried rice back here for multiple helpings. It's probably still warm, if you want any.
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So he'll follow Aizawa to the kitchen, and wait to see where Aizawa keeps his plates and utensils.]
I'll try a little. Thank you.
call it a wrap here y/n? :V
Anyway they both get into the kitchen and the rice is unearthed again alongside plates and utensils and such, and Shouto is offered a small helping, and they both end up sitting down to eat at the small two-chair table in there, and Aizawa's cat returns to camp out next to Shouto's left leg again. It's probably a pretty nice and uneventful time. The fried rice isn't exactly the best ever made or anything, but it's perfectly average and decent enough.
At some point afterwards Aizawa probably offered half of it for Shouto to take home in tupperware to ease his mom's cooking or something, maybe, though whether it's actually accepted is up to him. Either way, all in all: a pretty chill rest of the afternoon.]