[he shakes his head. there's a pause though before he continues.]
My theory right now is that whoever has the school spirit curse is going to maybe end up outside on Friday. It happened to you and it happened to Sagihara. I can't find a pattern for who it hits or why, but...that's a possibility.
[that isn't really what she asked, but it's what he says anyway because sometimes you just think a lot while trying to solve everyone's problems.]
If I was cursed I don't know if I could tell you. [which pisses him off.] But as far as I know, nothing else has happened to me except for the same thing that's happening to everybody else.
[stop she doesn't need to know all of his own personal garbage. ]
Miraculously. [rude. but not totally disagreeable. ] I don't think it had anything to do with switching, no. I think you and I are still the only ones who have. I need to look around and see who might've been hit this week.
[in fact! as though sensing that now is a great time for a subject change! a memory suddenly plays for him, from a time with a very different Catra. two years or so younger, hair longer, and. . . well]
[...wow okay. this is a lot. this is a lot? he can tell that this is from a time past and he obviously recognizes adora but...there's suddenly a little bit of context to some of the things adora has mentioned off-hand.
granted, she never outright said catra used to be this antagonistic, or angry, or whatever's going on.
more than that, there's a vague hint of recognition there. when the memory fades though he's staring at her thoughtfully as if debating what to say.]
[vulnerable, actually. her expression is slack, eyes wide and ears flat against her head. she's folded both of her arms over herself as she takes a step back from him, one second away from bolting]
I-- [. . . christ. these are things. . . she would rather not dwell on]
[quite literally. it's like she can feel every single one of those punches that Taichi takes in the memory, and she jerks back in surprise and lets out a hiss to match. when it's over. . . well. she's staring at him, a little slack-jawed, like she isn't sure what. . . to say?]
...yeah, he kind of feels the same and he's the one who actually lived through it. there's a moment where he seems uncertain himself before he settles on a slight sigh.]
[he settles for slipping his hands into his pockets.]
...we didn't know much back then. Guess you could say we were all tired and confused and just trying to figure out what that world wanted from us. We'd been there for months.
[...] Even now, sometimes, it feels a lot like Yamato and I are still eleven and arguing about things because we don't understand them.
Even the things that make you mad, they're worth dealing with because that person's so important to you. And that's why you stick with those people because you know better. You know you can't...
[..."you can't be without them. you're never better off on your own." it's a sentiment he agrees with, but he doesn't entirely voice it out loud.]
...are there still things about Adora that make you mad?
[. . . she is staring so hard at the ground. so hard!!]
She's just so-- [uuuugh. frustration is bubbling up in her voice now] She has to be the hero. She has to be the one who saves everyone. She thinks it's her-- her destiny, or something stupid like that.
And I just wish she'd stop putting She-ra above her own happiness. That's all.
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Hey, can you blame me?
[perches herself on the edge of the bench]
Are you?
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No. As in no, I can't blame you. I think I'm still pretty much myself. No extra school spirit or anything.
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And nothing else happened to you, either?
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My theory right now is that whoever has the school spirit curse is going to maybe end up outside on Friday. It happened to you and it happened to Sagihara. I can't find a pattern for who it hits or why, but...that's a possibility.
[that isn't really what she asked, but it's what he says anyway because sometimes you just think a lot while trying to solve everyone's problems.]
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[he also isn't answering her question, so she's going to ask it again]
That's not an answer to my question, Taichi.
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[hah.] Kind of a pain, right?
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I guess that means your brain is somehow miraculously in one piece.
[huh. . .]
So my whole "ooooh, school is great thing" wasn't related to my swapping at all?
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Miraculously. [rude. but not totally disagreeable. ] I don't think it had anything to do with switching, no. I think you and I are still the only ones who have. I need to look around and see who might've been hit this week.
[...he looks at her hat.] What's with the hat?
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[also the moment he asks her about the hat she]
[yanks it off her head]
[HISS]
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Uh...?
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[in fact! as though sensing that now is a great time for a subject change! a memory suddenly plays for him, from a time with a very different Catra. two years or so younger, hair longer, and. . . well]
[she's definitely not pleasant, here]
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granted, she never outright said catra used to be this antagonistic, or angry, or whatever's going on.
more than that, there's a vague hint of recognition there. when the memory fades though he's staring at her thoughtfully as if debating what to say.]
...would you rather talk about that instead?
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[vulnerable, actually. her expression is slack, eyes wide and ears flat against her head. she's folded both of her arms over herself as she takes a step back from him, one second away from bolting]
I-- [. . . christ. these are things. . . she would rather not dwell on]
No.
No, I don't.
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Okay. Then we won't. [there's a pause.] That was a while ago anyway so...things are different now. Aren't they?
[like. he's seen how they are with each other, he's aware something changed compared to catra leaving adora to die basically.]
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[and then, a little more firmly, and oh-so defensively]
I don't-- want to talk about it.
[Catra you can't always run from the bad things you've done!]
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...look. Catra--[it doesn't matter what the hell he was going to say, because catra suddenly will get this instead.]
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[quite literally. it's like she can feel every single one of those punches that Taichi takes in the memory, and she jerks back in surprise and lets out a hiss to match. when it's over. . . well. she's staring at him, a little slack-jawed, like she isn't sure what. . . to say?]
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...yeah, he kind of feels the same and he's the one who actually lived through it. there's a moment where he seems uncertain himself before he settles on a slight sigh.]
...don't tell him you saw that, alright?
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Okay.
[. . .]
I didn't. . . know. It was that complicated.
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...we didn't know much back then. Guess you could say we were all tired and confused and just trying to figure out what that world wanted from us. We'd been there for months.
[...] Even now, sometimes, it feels a lot like Yamato and I are still eleven and arguing about things because we don't understand them.
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I wonder if that's just a part of it sometimes.
[. . .]
Like. . . no matter how much you-- like someone, there's always going to be something about them that makes you mad.
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Even the things that make you mad, they're worth dealing with because that person's so important to you. And that's why you stick with those people because you know better. You know you can't...
[..."you can't be without them. you're never better off on your own." it's a sentiment he agrees with, but he doesn't entirely voice it out loud.]
...are there still things about Adora that make you mad?
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[. . .]
Yeah. Sometimes. Even now.
[she's forcing herself to relax now, one hand propped on her hip]
Back then I was mad at her for. . . reasons I'm not really mad about anymore, I guess.
But she's still-- [mrrrrgh. tail lash] Sometimes, she's still so stupid.
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Have you told her that recently? [dryly. but also, just wondering.]
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Just yesterday, actually.
[. . . she is staring so hard at the ground. so hard!!]
She's just so-- [uuuugh. frustration is bubbling up in her voice now] She has to be the hero. She has to be the one who saves everyone. She thinks it's her-- her destiny, or something stupid like that.
And I just wish she'd stop putting She-ra above her own happiness. That's all.
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