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Post by zuyuri on Jun 11, 2022 21:38:52 GMT
"I...I'd appreciate that. Having people who know the area are good company to keep." It was better to stick with Bella, who knew he could accidentally set something on fire due to frustration, than someone that would leave him high and dry the minute a mailbox combusted. "Provided my work schedule can get me to a good time. Between homework and my job, it's hard to find some peace and quiet."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 12, 2022 18:28:00 GMT
Bella breathed a little sigh of relief. Zuko wasn't totally objected to the idea. That was good. She just hoped Utena wouldn't get too protective if she found out about him. Her sister always seemed worried that someone would hurt Bella again or bully her. When she was younger, relying on that had been kind of a relief. Now that was older, she hoped that maybe she could branch away from her sister a bit and take care of herself. She was pretty decent with her powers now after all, she just needed to work on throwing a decent punch. Zuko mentioned having a job though and that caught Bella's interest. "Oh, where do you work?" she asked.
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Post by zuyuri on Jun 13, 2022 4:01:06 GMT
"I'm a barista at Coffee Cafe. It's one of the few places where I can keep my powers in check." This time, Zuko answered without any hesitation or sense that he didn't trust Bella. So far, she had been incredibly accepting of him, even when he had accidentally burned several of her blooms. Perhaps it was because the cafe was a comfortable safe place for him. It had been where he had gone when he left his mother behind, injured from her wrath.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 14, 2022 1:37:41 GMT
"Wow, that's cool. You get all the coffee you want," Bella said with a laugh. "But I bet you deal with some pretty rude people, right?" Customer service jobs tended to be like that. Bella never saw the purpose of treating people like waiters or cashiers like crap. How was yelling supposed to make the situation better? Bella could never handle a situation like that. She'd start crying in a second.
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Post by zuyuri on Jun 14, 2022 2:46:37 GMT
While Zuko’s laugh was quieter than Bella’s, there was a small glint of good humor in his golden eyes. It was shorter, too, seeming more like a few soft huffs. “Ah yes, give me all the caffeine I need and I’ll do everyone’s homework for them. Just don’t expect a decent grade.” Academics was an Achilles heel for him. This ‘school’ part of, well, school, was so different. Especially not with yelling teachers. “And don’t get me started on customers. Do you know how badly I wanted to smack a guy for making the girl behind him cry?”
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 15, 2022 0:20:49 GMT
Bella snickered. "I'm the opposite. I'm okay with the book stuff. Fighting...I'm still trying to branch beyond shooting vines at people or trapping them in thorns." If there were no plants around for her to use, Bella was kind of screwed. Yes, she could carry some on her, and she'd been working on trying to remember to do that every day, but if her plants got frozen over or burned to a crisp, she just had herself to rely on. And with Bella's self confidence being an issue, relying on herself made her a bit nervous. Zuko mentioned rude customers though and it looked like he'd already experienced his fair share of them. Bella sighed. "Why do people have to act like that? You'd think they'd use that energy for something more productive, you know?"
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Post by zuyuri on Jun 15, 2022 19:00:52 GMT
A shadow of a smile crossed Zuko’s face. Had she meant to make the pun ‘branch out?’ Even if she didn’t, it was adorable. He liked that she wasn’t afraid to be herself. She didn’t have to mask her true self. She asked about rude customers, and he shrugged dismissively. “You’d think the whole ‘treat others the way you want’ that people learned in the third grade would stick, but hey, I’m no psychologist.”
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 17, 2022 0:00:45 GMT
It was kind of funny, how much Zuko's smile changed how he looked. It made his face light up a little bit more and seem less dark and brooding. And it made his scar look not as angry. She still wondered how he got it, but you didn't ask questions like that when meeting someone for the first time. Maybe the one exception were some of the teachers around here who liked to tell a tale or two about old battle wounds. "If it stuck a little better with some people, superheroes might have an easier job," Bella commented. Some villains were just like that. They felt the need to hurt others for one reason or another, whether they just liked it or they felt like it was justified. But how was that supposed to make things better?
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Post by zuyuri on Jun 17, 2022 4:34:03 GMT
Bella's comment made Zuko smirk again. Ah yes, the old "kill them with kindness" excuse that so many people liked tossing it out when it came to talking about how some actions could have been avoided. Villains wouldn't have done whatever they wanted because of a hug. "Easy, yes. Fun, not so much. Although heck your powers of growing plants also doubles as aromatherapy. Don't some plants have anxiety relieving smells or something like that?" He pictured Bella making a whole lavender field sprouting in front of a crazy gang, and instead of attacking, they just buried their faces in the buds and relaxed, allowing the other heroes and police to subdue them easily.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 18, 2022 22:33:48 GMT
Bella nodded. "Mm-hmm. Lavender, chamomile, peppermint, they're all supposed to help calm people down. Might take a lot of flowers to subdue someone though." She gave a little laugh. "Or a lot of tea, if you go that route." Chamomile tea was something she turned to a lot if she needed a good night's sleep, but that probably wasn't going to stop a supervillain from trying to blow up the planet or something. "I think we'll have to stick with traditional methods," she said. Fighting of course was the number one way, but students were also taught techniques in trying to calm a crook down and talk them out of surrendering. Stuff like that was just as useful as martial arts.
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Post by zuyuri on Jun 18, 2022 23:37:59 GMT
“Well damn it. Better keep some pots so I could heat it if push came to shove.” He was joking, sort of. Stamina was a big thing to have in fights, and it wasn’t every hero’s strong suits. His acting and dance choreography had secretly been an asset as well as a release for him. It helped him quench his fire. He still had a nasty temperament, but after leaving his mother’s grip, he had begun to figuratively let off steam.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 20, 2022 1:52:24 GMT
"Eh, you never know. Maybe a pot or a frying pan will be someone's choice weapon to fight evil doers," Bella said jokingly. "My sister would probably get a kick out of that." She remembered Utena going through tons of articles and catalogues trying to figure out which one she wanted to learn how to use first. Heck. she was probably going to learn how to use more once she graduated. Although Bella had seen how far she'd already come with the sword and she was already pretty good.
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Post by zuyuri on Jun 20, 2022 3:05:43 GMT
“Does your sister have powers besides using a frying pan as a weapon?” Zuko asked. If Bella had her, in lack of better words, flower power, then her sister might have also had a great power. He was interested in meeting Bella’s sister. Was she as accepting and willing to look beyond a person’s power flaws?
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 20, 2022 23:57:24 GMT
Belle laughed a little. "Utena's more the sword type. She has rapid healing, so she bounces back from injuries and stuff in half the time. She always says it's not the same as shooting lasers or something like that though, so she wanted to learn how to use some kind of weapon." Utena was already pretty good at it. She had a strong drive when it came to that sort of thing. When Utena had a goal to reach, she always gave it her all, although that also meant she could get frustrated if she wasn't progressing as fast as she liked.
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Post by zuyuri on Jun 21, 2022 17:31:04 GMT
“I see.” So there was combat here. He was interested in how that class would go. His dual swords were usually just for show or, when he had been desperate after leaving his mother, a means of survival when he refused to use his fire. But deep down, there was a twinge of jealousy. Her powers of healing were useful. Someone like him couldn’t bounce back so easily. It was destruction and more destruction from every angle.
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