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radamazard · 5 years

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Worthy

My first piece for @theninozine

It was such a blast being part of something that celebrates my favourite boi!

————

A heavy sigh joined the sounds of blaring traffic, its impatience mixing perfectly with the hectic melody that was rush hour in Paris.

Nino had been waiting, barely managing to contain his own excitement for what was to come. For months he’d been planning this, had been raving to anyone that would listen for even the slightest moment and now it was finally here.

Daft Punk, live in Paris, and he’d scored himself a VIP pass!

It sat proudly around his neck, and the glossy plastic bounced with him as he waited on jittery feet. To think, in less than three hours, he’d be watching his heroes right before his very eyes...

The mere thought of it had him vibrating with unrestrained joy, and if he weren’t in public he probably would have lapsed into an embarrassing little… well, his mother liked to call it his ‘excited dork jig’. Personally, Nino thought it was closer to a total cringe fest, but hey, to each their own.

A ridiculous grin split across his face as the light turned green and Nino dashed across the street. The station was in his sights, and he felt his heart beat in time with his steps as he drew closer. As fate would have it though, he never stepped foot in the station.

Right by the entrance he barreled towards, Nino caught sight of a short old man. If asked to describe him, he probably would have said he looked strikingly like Mr Miyagi from the Karate Kid movies, only with a louder sense of fashion. Yet that wasn’t what drew is attention. No, that was the large box the elderly man was clearly struggling to carry.

For just a moment Nino considered ignoring him. After all, he’d been looking forward to this for months and saving up for the ticket hadn’t been easy. But he couldn’t just leave the old guy like that… Could he?

A pained groan hit his ears, setting his choice in stone.

“Hey, let me help you out, du- uh, sir,” Nino offered, as he came up to the old man and took the box. A sharp ‘omph!’ slipped past his lips at the unexpected weight. Man, how had the guy been carrying this?!

“A kind offer, young man. But were you not in a hurry? If you have someplace to be I can manage on my own,” the elderly man replied with a kind smile. There was a twinkle in his eyes, a wordless promise that no ill will would be held. As tempting as that was though...

“Nah, it’s chill. Can’t leave a dude to struggle alone now, can I?”

The old man’s smile only grew, as he gave a sagely little nod.

“Well then, I won’t refuse your kindness. Would you mind helping me get it home? I live only a few blocks from here,” He asked, and was delighted to see the brunet nodding, even as the boy shot the station one last wistful look.

“Lead the way, gramps!” Nino declared brightly. The box pressed tight to his chest, jamming the now useless pass between them. Yet he followed the stranger with a dutiful smile. Together they walked, Nino blind to the tiny turtle god who lay hidden in Fu’s pocket, beaming with pride.

———

The second time Nino met the old man, who he now knew as Mr. Fu, was when he was running stupidly late. Umbrella clutched tight and phone pressed to his ear, he ran, stumbling and careening wildly in the heavy Parisian rain.

“Frick Als, I swear, I had the alarms set and everything!” He cried out in defence, even as he could practically hear his girlfriend’s eyes roll. How she managed that through tone alone he’d never know. “I just- I got hella into the zone and you know what it’s like there! The world vanishes and freedom ain’t even an opinion until you’re violently eje-”

“I know, I know,” Alya cut him off, in a such a way that Nino knew he was forgiven. Thank fuck. “Trust me babe, I know. I’ve been there. I’ve missed more than my fair share of dat-”

A snort interrupted her, and a shudder ran down Nino’s spine as he swore he could feel her heated glare burning holes through his skull. Swiftly, he shut the heck up, knowing better than to say anything more.

“Share of dates. Just- the movie is starting, okay? Get here in ten mins or you’re losing your ticket to Marinette!”

He knew Alya was just playing around… mostly. It’d take a serious dick move for that to be a serious threat, and right now? His dick level was only puddle deep.

As luck would have it though, that was when Nino spotted one very drenched Wang Fu. There was a moment of silence as he watched the man, shirt dripping like a wet dog, hide under a small tree. He looked utterly defeated, defenceless in the sudden rainstorm that had hit only five minutes before.

There was no way he could just leave the guy like this! Not in such miserable weather, where he’d surely freeze his frail old ass off. Not so far from home, at least a half hour from here.

Empathy and hesitation fought it out for a long moment. On the one hand, Alya was waiting for him and he doubted Fu had even seen him. But on the other hand, it was such a dreary sight.

Firmly, and with a certain decisiveness, Nino sighed.

“Give it to Mari, Als. Have a good time with her, ‘kay? I’m not gonna make it in time,” Nino said quietly, as he approached the man and held the umbrella up between them. Warm brown eyes looked up, surprised, before a gentle familiarity settled in.

“Ah, Nino, was it? How good to see you again,” Fu said, with the genuineness of a doting grandfather visiting his grandchildren. “Such perfect timing too. I was starting to think I would be washed away with the storm!”

From across the phone line Alya sighed with a great warmth. “You just can’t help yourself, huh?” she chuckled, her tender mirth intertwined with the quiet static of the rain. “You’re lucky I love you, you doof.”

“I love you too, babe. Sorry again, But I just can’t- you know?”

“Yeah, I understand. Go be the hero I love, Captain Turtle.”

A soft smile graced his lips as Alya hung up, and to his slight embarrassment, he caught Fu staring.

“You needn’t give up your date for my sake,” Fu urged, rather concerned for the teen he’d only met once before. “Please, don’t let a foolish old man and a little rain ruin your day.”

Despite the temptation, Nino only shook his head.

“Nah, it’s chill. I’d feel guilty knowing you were out here, freezing your ass off and soaked to the bone. Where you heading? I’ll walk you.”

“Such kindness,” Fu remarked, earning an awkward laugh from Nino and a shake of his head. “I was heading to the grocer, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind, Mr Fu dude, just lead the way.”

————

The third time Nino met the guardian was under less than desirable circumstances.

An akuma raged, Bomberina, and the citizens ran and scrambled for cover as she twirled. Each spin produced a small explosive, rendering all that were hit to piles of sparkling, holographic confetti.

Nino had been alone when the akuma had appeared, and he’d swiftly ducked into a nearby alley for cover. A nearby trash can lid had been snatched for defence and he clung to it for dear life. Man, if only he were Carapace right now…

But he wasn’t, and thus he stayed the fuck from the raging battle.

Well he would have, if not for a horrifying sight that caught his eye. Several magic explosives were flying right towards a familiar Chinese man, elderly and seemingly frozen in shocked terror.

Near instantly Nino dove from his hiding place, making a mad dash for the soon to be casualty. Before him he held his flimsy, makeshift shield, and his grip held firm as he threw himself in front of Fu. On instinct alone his stance turned defensive, and he ground his heels in, preparing for impact.

Not seconds later, they came. Explosive after explosive hit his flimsy shield, yet he didn’t falter. Not even as a particularly nasty one hit off centre, forcing his wrist back with a sickening snap. It was only once the akuma had stopped, courtesy of a furious Ladybug, that Nino finally let the highly dented disk clatter to the ground.

A sharp wince broke free from pursed lips, snapping Fu from his shocked daze.

“You’re hurt,” Fu uttered, with a heavy amount of guilt laden sorrow. Nino tried to wave it off, only to cry out harshly at the searing pain it caused.

“I’m f-fine,” Nino swore, despite not feeling fine in the slightest. “Seriously, don’t sweat it. I mean, what was I supposed to do, stand there and watch you get blown up?”

“It is what many would have done in your place,” Fu stated. “Most would not risk themselves so fully, just to help another they barely know. Such kindness towards strangers is rare.”

Silence hung between them, thick as the smoke that filled the air three blocks down, where the fight continued on. Not a word was said as Fu reached out to assess the damage to his saviour’s wrist, and the quiet dragged on as Nino let him. Not a word was spoken as pair ended up at Fu’s place, by the old man’s silent insistence, or as Fu attended to Nino’s broken wrist as best he knew how.

It was only as the miraculous cure spread over Paris, enveloping all and washing clean all damage and pain, that the weight between them was lifted.

————

“I don’t think it’s anything special,” Nino admitted, minutes after the cure bathed him in its healing light. By now Fu vanished for a brief moment, returning with a full pot of his very best tea in thanks for the boy’s heroic act. “I was just, ya know, helping. Like any decent person should. I mean, the world’s already a shitty place. Why be a selfish ass and make it worse? Been there, done that. I wanna do something decent, be someone decent. And a little sacrifice is worth that, right?”

Fu listened intently as Nino spoke, with a certain pride welling within that caused the lad to chuckle sheepishly, as though embarrassed or sheepish.

“Uh, sorry. That was kinda corny, wasn’t it? And rambly.”

“Corny? No. Genuine is the word I would use. Genuine as you are,” Fu affirmed, with an odd amount of decisiveness. “Genuine and kind, with a tendency towards selflessness. Along with a great empathy and loyalty, I would say that Wayzz was right about you.”

There was a beat of silence and Fu took amusement at comical shock that crossed Nino’s face.

“You- Wait, what?”

Wayzz zipped out from hiding, barely holding back a laugh as he watched his part time chosen’s jaw drop.

“Are you saying what I think you are, master?” The kwami asked, and as Fu nodded he gave a little cheer.

“Yes. I believe you were right. It is time I entrust another with you, full time. I won’t deny, I will miss you, old friend. But with the luck I have had,” he paused, a twinkle sparkling in his eyes. “I believe it will not be long before our paths cross again.”

Nino blinked slowly, staring at the incredulous scene of Wayzz, his kwami on loan, leaning his tiny forward against Fu’s.

“Wait…” he said slowly. “What is- what’s going on?”

“Is it not obvious?” Fu teased with a chuckle, warm as the tea steeping between them. “It is time this old man learned to let go and trust a little more. So, Nino Lahiffe, I present to you, the turtle miraculous.”

Carefully, the miraculous was slid off his wrist and placed with great care within Nino’s outstretched palm. In dumbstruck wonder he took it and slid it on.

“Until the time that Hawkmoth is defeated, I would like for you to keep it. Please, take care of Wayzz,” Fu gently uttered, and watched fondly as the pair did a goofy little fist bump. “He is a dear friend of mine.”

“Don’t you worry, du- sir!” Nino exclaimed, with the most brilliant of grins. “I won’t let you down!”

#miraculous ladybug #ml Nino #Nino lahiffe #Carapace #Master Fu

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livefromelsewhere · 6 years

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After ten days basking in the nature of Patagonia, it was time to return to big city life and there are few better places to do that than in Buenos Aires, which has the feel of a city that was once the capital of an empire, even though it never was. The city also doesn’t maintain significant scars of Spanish colonial rule (aside from speaking Spanish, of course), since it was a minor colony due to it’s lack of mineral resources as compared to the west of South America. At the same time, it’s definitely the most European place I’ve been down here, which is a result of it’s extremely liberal immigration policies that has led to significant European immigration, especially among Italians (supposedly up to 50% of the population has some Italian blood) and Jews (one of the five largest populations in the world). And, of course, on top of all that, it’s one of the best places to party in South America, as they notoriously stay out all night here.

After a travel (and rest) day brought me from El Chalten to El Calafate to Buenos Aires on Thursday night, I arrived at my hostel after 1:15am to a raging party, which I did my best to sleep through, as I was pretty exhausted. I decided to stay at a party hostel, as I was meeting Pat, a guy I originally met in El Calafate, who was staying there as well. Pat was actually childhood friends with Seth and Kristina (remember them from the W) and he had been traveling with them for a bit after the hike when I met him. I figured I’d rather hang with someone I liked than not, plus he had studied abroad here, so he knew what was what. By the end of the weekend I was definitely ready to move on to a chiller place, but it was the right move for a weekend in Buenos Aires.

On Friday morning, I got up and made my way over to the Teatro Colon, an ornate theater, where I jumped on a walking tour of the Recoleta neighborhood. Recoleta is the nice part of town here, replete with massive palaces that were built by the rich and powerful in Buenos Aires. The area houses a number of parks and monuments to Jose de San Martin, the liberator of Argentina, as well as a Big Ben look a like (above) that the British built for the Argentine centennial, which quickly became awkward after the war over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas in Argentina). I don’t want to get into all the details of it, but basically the British had been living undisturbed on Argentinian land for 150 years and then a military dictator, in a move meant to unite Argentina together, sent off a bunch of untrained teenagers in the 80s to go take it back from the Brits, which was an unmitigated disaster, as they got crushed. Regardless there is still a significant amount of animosity between Argentina and Great Britain because of it. The tour ended at the famous Recoleta ceremony, which is packed to the gills with ornate mausoleums and holds the remains of over 350,000 people in a single city block. It was definitely cool to walk around and check out the rats nest of tombs there. Afterwards, I went with Ben, an American I met on the tour, to grab a bite to eat (delicious shwarma, due to the large Jewish population) and check out the Museum of Fine Arts, which had a very good collection, including works of art by Picasso, Van Gogh, Rodin, Monet, Manet, Degas, Gaugin, & Kandinsky, among a host of Argentinian painters as well. After that I returned to my hostel to get cleaned up and get a hair cut, as I was starting to look like a crappy knockoff of a Duck Dynasty cast member. That evening I met up with Pat and we went on a pub crawl in the Palermo neighborhood. The pub crawl was a mix of travelers and locals, which was a nice change of pace from just drinking with people in the hostel, and jumped from bar to bar before ending the night at a club, which, we, of course, didn’t even get to until 2am because showing up any earlier than that here would be lame. Let’s just say I didn’t get back that night until real late and with a much lighter wallet.

The next day (I’d be lying if I said morning), I woke up and decided to go check out the San Telmo market, a bougie spot for food, which was located just fifteen minutes from the hostel to grab something to help with the wicked hangover I was dealing with. I then returned to the hostel to meet Pat as we were headed on a walking tour of the historic center of Buenos Aires. The tour started with the National Congress and proceeded down one of the main avenues touching on the mishmash of architecture and the political (30,000 people disappeared during the military dictatorship) and economic upheaval (40% inflation last year) that’s thrashed the country in the last fourty years. The tour ended near the Plaza de Mayo, the main square in the city, which was unfortunately under heavy construction, and Casa Rosada (Pink House), the president’s ceremonial residence. We then went back near the San Telmo market to pick up some delicious roasted meat sandwiches from a hole in the wall place that Pat knew about. After returning to the hostel and taking a nap, I had an easier night grabbing a drink at a nearby brewery, while Pat redid the pub crawl from the night before with a few folks he knew from the States who just happened to be in our hostel as well.

On Sunday morning, I returned to San Telmo again (it was a really cool, artsy area) to check out the big Sunday street fair. It stretched for over 10 blocks and consisted of people selling souvenirs, legitimate arts and crafts, and, in an odd twist, lots of antiques that seemed like things you might find at an estate sale. Regardless, it was cool to walk the market and also proved to be a good place to grab some street food to enjoy. I returned to the hostel around 1pm for the days big activity, a visit to La Bomberina, to watch Boca Juniors, the best soccer team in Argentina, play for the right to clinch it’s league championship. It’s basically like going to New York City to watch the Yankees, but if everyone in the US was as obsessed with baseball as all of the sports we have combined. The game wasn’t actually until 5:45pm, so they took us (it was a guided tour as foreigners can’t really buy tickets and you need to go with someone who has an Argentinian ID to even get in the stadium) to a never ending pregame beforehand. We, eventually, walked over to the stadium and into our seats as the crowd was getting worked up for kickoff. It was a super cool experience as the fans, even in our supposedly more chill section (we weren’t allowed to sit with the real hooligans) were extremely passionate. They serenaded the stadium with chants of Vale, Vale Boca! (Basically “Lets go Boca!”) non-stop for the entire game, only breaking to scream and lose their minds as Boca scored two goals late in the second half to clinch the league championship. It was a really fun experience, though the danger of it was way overblown in my opinion, as we had been told repeatedly to be wary while at the game, but it was relatively straight forward. We then made our way out of the stadium and back to the hostel for some food and a very chill night. It was an exciting and exhausting weekend, but now it’s time to check out the neighbor nation of Uruguay for a few days.

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