[It isn't anything at all like he'd expected, and yet...it kind of is, all at the same time. Izuku's mind is as much himself as the rest. Constant motion, always a new thought, all of it warm and welcoming.
Or most of it. There are dark spots. Places shut to him. Things Izuku wants to keep to himself? There's a faint question that emanates from Shoto, but he can respect those boundaries. After all, everyone has something they'd like to keep to themselves. There are things he's lived through, moments...
Overall, his own mind is open, a focused sort of intensity, one stream where Izuku's is many. But there are patches here and there, things iced over, blurry and indistinct. Things he doesn't want to remember. But all the rest...the rest he offers to Izuku without hesitation, a faint shyness in the gesture, almost uncharacteristic. He offers it, and then calls, sort of, calls without words.]
[It's a strange feeling, that reaching. The way he can feel Izuku inside his mind, a connection like the feeling he gets from moonlacing, only a dozen times more intimate. He doesn't hesitate before reaching back, and he can feel the moment of connection as it happens.
When it does, it's sudden. Like being pulled down into that rapidly flowing river, a hundred thoughts and half-forgotten memories rushing over and around and through them. He holds tightly to Izuku in whatever way this is, with whatever he's grabbing, and fights to guide them through the tumble, to a calm spot he can feel with some sort of sense that isn't really a sense at all.
It's a room. Traditional, very Japanese, and the room itself is clearly ancient, though the small TV on a table looks new. There's a woman sitting in front of it, thin and pale and a little ethereal-looking, with a gentle smile on her face as she looks down at the toddler in her arms. A toddler with hair that's half white like the woman's, half red. There's no scar on that face, though, and both of those bicolored eyes are fixed on the TV with an expression of pure joy as he points at the screen. A familiar voice calls from the speakers, from the video playing: 'I am here!'
'I'm gonna be a hero just like him, 'ka-san! I'll be just like All Might!'
The woman laughs, and the very young Shoto makes a grumpy face at her, looking determined. He's so animated, in comparison to his older self, so full of expression and life.
'I mean it! I'm gonna be number one someday!'
Her smile is sweet, fond, but tinged with a sadness that doesn't quite match the rest.
'I know you will. You can do anything you want to do, Shoto, and no matter what that is, it's going to be amazing.'
He knows this room. He knows this moment. And he also knows that the technicians told them not to linger too long, or let themselves get pulled into a memory. But just for a moment...just for a moment, he wants to hold onto that smile.]
[ It feels achingly nostalgic. Not just because of the way Shoto feels, thinking of this memory but because it reminds Izuku of a thousand hundred childhood memories of his own. As always, All Might is a focal point of his thoughts and feelings. Child or young adult, the mere mention of his mentor's name - the desire to be just like him, to be number one - reaches directly to his heart and twists.
The room starts to shift to something less Japanese as he thinks of what it reminds him most strongly of -
Mom! Computer!
Being almost four and watching that same video.
Again? Izuku, I think you're responsible for tens of thousands of this video's views...
It was All Might's debut video, and he'd watched it clutching his action figure. This had been back before he'd known he was Quirkless, and he'd been so eager and hopeful when he'd said He's so coooooooool! When I get my quirk, I wanna be just like him! ]
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Or most of it. There are dark spots. Places shut to him. Things Izuku wants to keep to himself? There's a faint question that emanates from Shoto, but he can respect those boundaries. After all, everyone has something they'd like to keep to themselves. There are things he's lived through, moments...
Overall, his own mind is open, a focused sort of intensity, one stream where Izuku's is many. But there are patches here and there, things iced over, blurry and indistinct. Things he doesn't want to remember. But all the rest...the rest he offers to Izuku without hesitation, a faint shyness in the gesture, almost uncharacteristic. He offers it, and then calls, sort of, calls without words.]
//Midoriya...?//
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[ Izuku isn't certain how to answer, but he does. He mentally tries to take Todoroki's hand, to take whatever it is that he's being offered. ]
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When it does, it's sudden. Like being pulled down into that rapidly flowing river, a hundred thoughts and half-forgotten memories rushing over and around and through them. He holds tightly to Izuku in whatever way this is, with whatever he's grabbing, and fights to guide them through the tumble, to a calm spot he can feel with some sort of sense that isn't really a sense at all.
It's a room. Traditional, very Japanese, and the room itself is clearly ancient, though the small TV on a table looks new. There's a woman sitting in front of it, thin and pale and a little ethereal-looking, with a gentle smile on her face as she looks down at the toddler in her arms. A toddler with hair that's half white like the woman's, half red. There's no scar on that face, though, and both of those bicolored eyes are fixed on the TV with an expression of pure joy as he points at the screen. A familiar voice calls from the speakers, from the video playing: 'I am here!'
'I'm gonna be a hero just like him, 'ka-san! I'll be just like All Might!'
The woman laughs, and the very young Shoto makes a grumpy face at her, looking determined. He's so animated, in comparison to his older self, so full of expression and life.
'I mean it! I'm gonna be number one someday!'
Her smile is sweet, fond, but tinged with a sadness that doesn't quite match the rest.
'I know you will. You can do anything you want to do, Shoto, and no matter what that is, it's going to be amazing.'
He knows this room. He knows this moment. And he also knows that the technicians told them not to linger too long, or let themselves get pulled into a memory. But just for a moment...just for a moment, he wants to hold onto that smile.]
no subject
The room starts to shift to something less Japanese as he thinks of what it reminds him most strongly of -
Mom! Computer!
Being almost four and watching that same video.
Again? Izuku, I think you're responsible for tens of thousands of this video's views...
It was All Might's debut video, and he'd watched it clutching his action figure. This had been back before he'd known he was Quirkless, and he'd been so eager and hopeful when he'd said He's so coooooooool! When I get my quirk, I wanna be just like him! ]