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thathopelessromantic · 3 years

Text

Reckless Good (4/?)

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia/My Hero Academia

Fic Rating: Explicit

Chapter Rating: Teen+ (some implied mature themes)

Pairing: Todoroki Shouto/Midoriya Izuku

Note: Thank you all again for being so wonderful <3 And I hope you all can enjoy the extra momojirou content in this chapter

Todoroki Shouto had accepted his fate as a public figure when he became a pro-hero, but there are some parts of his private life he would like to stay private. When he gets invited to be a speaker in a college lecture series, he goes to the meeting with one goal: to give the coordinator a piece of his mind and finally put an end to people hounding him for information about his family.

The last thing he expects is the curious, and quirkless, hero- and quirk-study professor, Midoriya Izuku, who has no interest in his family’s history, and, somehow, even more ties to the hero industry than Shouto. Intrigued by the professor, Shouto tentatively agrees to the lecture series, unknowingly intertwining their futures.

But the more Todoroki sees of Midoriya, the more questions he has. When a villain attack leaves them living together until the culprits are apprehended, maybe he’ll finally get some answers.

AO3: (x) Chapter One: (x) Chapter Two: (x) Chapter Three: (x)

Friday morning does not bring Shouto any more clarity regarding Midoriya’s email or his list. He spent most of the previous night going over the items on the list, trying to come up with answers for the questions and topics included in it, and feeling inexplicably like he was failing some kind of test. Somehow, U.A. did not prepare him for this part of heroics.

Momo gave him very severe instructions to not do anything work related, but in less than a day he grew stir crazy in his apartment with nothing to do but think about the attack from a few days ago and agonize over how little he can apparently say about his own quirk. So he leaves in the morning in his usual half-assed civilian disguise. He’s supposed to have dinner with Momo and Kyouka later that night, but he needs a distraction until then, so hopefully wasting time around town will suffice.

Shouto isn’t sure how, but his wandering brings him to the Musutafu University campus. The sprawling buildings don’t seem quite so confusing this time around, though he barely has any better idea of how to get around. He wanders the campus for a while, observing the students, there seem to be less of them than earlier in the week, and trying to make some better sense of the layout. The area grows a little more familiar as he reaches the building where he met with Midoriya. He didn’t check the schedule the professor gave him before venturing this way, but it’s roughly the same time they met before so he takes a risk and heads up to his office.

The building is quieter than before, echoing the rest of campus emptying for the upcoming weekend. The bulletin board by the door is just as full, however. He takes the stairs up to the third floor to Midoriya’s office. The door, still just as chaotic, covered in posters and stickers and Shouto’s own young face staring up at him is closed and locked, the lights off inside the office. It was a slim chance that the professor would be in his office again at the same time, he supposes, but now that he’s here and Midoriya isn’t, Shouto’s at a loss for what to do or even what he’s doing there. He loiters in front of the door for a few minutes, as if by sheer will he might force it open and the professor to appear, before he wanders down the hall. A few doors down, there’s a wide office space, enclosed by large glass windows, with openings every few feet. The secretary from the other day – Ko-something. Koyama? Kobayashi? – is sitting behind one of the openings at a desk, typing rapidly at a computer.

Shouto debates with himself for a moment before he approaches the window, clearing his throat to get her attention. She turns in surprise at the sound. Her pale lavender hair is still piled high in a complicated bun at the top of her head, but she’s also wearing a pair of thin, half-moon glasses perched just so on her nose for two of her six eyes to be able to see through them.

“Entropy?” She asks, as if not sure she’s seeing him correctly. “Can I help you with something? You didn’t have another meeting with Dr. Midoriya, did you?”

Shouto almost says yes, but he remembers the disapproving look she gave Midoriya after the desk incident and figures he shouldn’t get the professor in any more trouble with his secretary by lying about some forgotten meeting or something.

“Nothing planned. I was just hoping to speak with him again if I could, but it doesn’t look like he’s in his office.”

“No, he wouldn’t be. Dr. Midoriya has a class at this time.”

That grabs his attention. “Really? Where?”

Kobayashi raises a suspicious brow at him, but Shouto will not be deterred. Kobayashi stares at him for a few more moments before turning back to her computer. She opens a few documents, clicking through pages and charts that flash by too quickly for Shouto to make any sense of. Finding whatever it is she’s looking for, she pulls out a bright purple sticky note and writes out a building and room number for him in neat script.

“That’s where his Friday lecture is. There’s just under an hour left.”

“Thank you.” Shouto takes the sticky note appreciatively.

She waves him off, clearly unimpressed or uninterested or both. He wonders how many times heroes have come to talk to Midoriya that she’s completely unmoved by their presence at the university. Unless she just never cared about heroes at all, which would be an equally interesting pairing as a secretary for the seemingly hero-obsessed professor.

It still takes Shouto longer than he would have liked to find the building she wrote down, but the name sounds vaguely familiar so he’s pretty sure its one he’s passed in his previous wanderings, which helped. The rooms inside the building are all spaced far apart, large lecture halls rather than normal classrooms, and it feels like he has been walking through the halls for ages but only passed three or four doors before he finally finds the room she specified.

The closed door muffles sound surprisingly well, so he has to hope he’s in the right place, and that she didn’t intentionally steer him wrong, as he cracks open the door to peer in. Thankfully, the door he’s come across opens to the back of the lecture hall, so he’s mostly unnoticed as he slips in and hangs against the back wall. The room is surprisingly full for an early morning Friday lecture, and it takes him a moment to find an open seat near the back that doesn’t require him to crawl over any other students.

Midoriya is at the front of the room, his back to the room as he writes across the large white board against the wall. There are already extensive notes made in the same small frantic handwriting Shouto saw in his notebooks, while a video plays on the projector screen besides him. It takes Shouto a few minutes to realize the video is a recording of a villain fight, too distracted following the shifting muscles of the professor’s broad back as he writes across the board and trying to make out the notes without any other context, but once he’s realized what it is that’s playing Shouto finds himself equally as interested in the fight. Based on the costumes, Shouto is fairly certain the hero in the fight is Lemillion, but he’s never seen this particular fight before. He doesn’t recognize the villain he’s fighting and he has absolutely no idea where this shaky footage would have come from.

Midoriya finally turns back to face the room. His sharp green eyes scan over the room, and Shouto can feel the exact moment they land on him, picking him out of the crowd of eager faces and recognizing him as someone or something out of place. Midoriya only hesitates on him for a moment before he continues scanning the room.

“Okay, does anyone else have any observations from the fight?”

A few more hands shoot up around the room. One by one, Midoriya calls on the students, writing up their observations on the video up on the board with the other notes. Once everyone has had a chance to say their part, he steps back and takes a look at the board. There’s barely an open space for more writing as it is, but when Midoriya nods and declares it a “pretty good start” the class only laughs, rather than arguing. Shouto wants to see what Midoriya’s own observations of the fight would be.

“Now,” Midoriya pulls another white board on wheels to the middle of the room, placing it in front of the filled one. “What do we still not know? That our observations alone can’t tell us?”

The pause before people try to answer is considerably longer after his newest question. Finally, someone hesitantly raises a hand to answer. “We still don’t know what the villain’s quirk is. We’ve only seen how it works against Lemillion in this particular fight.”

Midoriya beams at the student. “Right,” He writes the answer on the board. “There’s no guarantee of what we’ve seen here is the extent of their power. We can also only assume at this point how their quirk works or what limitations they might have. What else?”

A few more hesitant hands go up. Midoriya calls on them all, writing up their suggestions as they come, elaborating on many of them as they come in. He calls a few more times for more suggestions but the replies peter out much sooner than their observations. Finally, when no one else raises a hand, Midoriay comes around to the otherwise ignored desk and leans against it to face the room properly.

“No one said anything about the hero.” He points out, calmly. Shouto is surprised that he didn’t realize this fact until it’s called out either.

“But everyone knows what the number one hero’s quirk is,” someone calls from the back. There’s a sound of agreement that goes through the room.

“Do you really?” Midoriya tilts his head to the side, considering. “He’s the permeation hero, right? His quirk is called permeation, but what else do you know about it?”

When no one jumps in with more information, Midoriya calls on someone. “Do you know how Lemillion activates his quirk? Or how he stops using it?”

The student shakes their head nervously. Midoriya smiles kindly, going back to the board and writing that under the last student observation. He calls on someone else in the room. “Is there any part of Lemillion where his quirk doesn’t work?”

The second student doesn’t have an answer either.

“The answer to that is no, actually,” Midoriya informs them. “But just from this fight, we can’t confirm that. So it’s important to note it. Lemillion has an advantage on a lot of opponents because he moves so fast, they can’t keep track of him. If there was some part of his body not affected by his quirk, that could easily be hidden by his quick movements.”

Midoriya writes it on the board too, even though he’s answered his own question. He picks someone else in the room, and it takes Shouto a moment to realize Midoriya is pointing at him.

“Do we know if there is a disadvantage or limit to his quirk that might affect this fight?”

“Any limits or disadvantages Lemillion might have to his quirk will affect every fight he has, though some situations could make those disadvantages worse, or add to his limits.” Shouto answers carefully, thinking back to his own limits and the years of Aizawa drilling it into their heads to be aware of their own limitations in a fight.

A few students turn to look at him as he talks, and he recognizes three girls in the front row from his first time on campus. They recognize him a moment later, hitting each others’ arms and whispering amongst themselves. A few others seem to catch on, but Midoriya doesn’t leave enough time for them to get distracted.

“True,” Midoriya turns back to his white board to add more notes. “Do we know any of those limitations from this fight?”

There are still a few hushed whispers going around the room, and Shouto notices a few students pull out their phones, but the discussion continues mostly the same until the class ends.

Midoriya dismisses the class a few minutes late, but still only about half the class filters out of the room immediately. The rest gather at the front of the room, surrounding their professor and peppering him with more questions about the lesson and homework and just general hero related questions, at least so far as Shouto can figure from what he overhears. Shouto stays mostly hidden in the back of the room until all the students have actually made their way out of the classroom, though a few brave students stop to say something or ask for an autograph. It’s nice to see how they flock to the professor with something almost akin to hero-worship. The three girls from earlier in the week wave goodbye to him as they leave.

Midoriya starts to clean up as Shouto comes down the stairs to join him at the front of the room.

“So what did they miss?”

Midoriya freezes, glancing up at him as if he had forgotten Shouto was still there.

“What?”

“In the analysis of the fight. What’s something they missed?”

Midoriya glances back at the projector screen where the paused video is still visible. “There’s a crack in the far corner of the room.” Shouto follows the professor’s hand to the ceiling in the video where he can see the faint lines of the concrete breaking. “It’s not structurally sound any more, so Lemillion can’t phase through it safely. But if he can shake the building enough for it actually crumble while he’s got the villain in that corner, the destruction could do some serious damage to his opponent that he could avoid by using his quirk. A lot of this fight was dragged out by the two of them trying to corner each other there, each aware of the other’s weakness.”

Shouto tries to remember what he saw of the movement of the fight and align it to what the professor is saying.

“And how many times have you analyzed this particular fight?”

Midoriya laughs. “Just once, in class today. And I watched it before to make sure there wasn’t anything too revealing about either hero or villain, or too graphic to show students, so maybe one and a half times. But I always like to show them new fights. I catch a lot, but there are always students who surprise me and catch things I haven’t thought about. I’ll go home and actually analyze it later though.”

Midoriya finishes closing down the programs and restarting the computer. He takes a picture of the notes on both of the boards before he begins to erase them. Shouto grabs an eraser to help him clear off the boards.

“I was surprised to see you here,” Midoriya says. “I didn’t realize you attended the open lectures here.”

“I don’t.” Shouto shrugs, putting down the eraser. “I was actually just hoping to talk to you again.”

“Me?” Midoriya asks, seeming genuinely surprised, as if there was anyone else around for Shouto to talk to at this moment. “What for?”

“Your lecture series,” Shouto says easily, though he doesn’t think he really had an answer to that question right up until he answered. “I got your list of topics last night.”

“Was there anything wrong with it?”

“No. There was a lot on there I hadn’t even considered. After reading that I’m not sure how much I can even tell you about my quirk.”

Midoriya laughs, though he immediately covers his mouth to smother the sound when Shouto turns to look at him. “Sorry. Entropy-”

“Todoroki.” Shouto interrupts.

Midoriya’s eyes widen and he blinks in surprise. “What?”

“Just call me Todoroki. I’m not working.”

Midoriya looks like he wants to argue with him, but after a moment he nods hesitantly. “T-Todoroki, I’m sure you know more about your quirk than you think. You’re just not used to thinking of it in those terms.”

Shouto shrugs. “Maybe.” He hands off the eraser to Midoriya and the professor cleans them both off before placing them back where they belong.

Midoriya shakes his head. “I’m sure of it. But if you would feel more comfortable talking about it some more, we can. I have to take some of this back to my office, but I’m done with classes for the day after that.”

“Should we talk over lunch?”

Midoriya almost drops the papers he’s gathering. “L-lunch?”

“Sure, it’s just after noon. Lunch.”

Midoriya recovers from whatever shock he seemed to experience, grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair and shoving the rest of his things in the same leather bag he had the other day. “Right. Lunchtime. Sure.”

Shouto considers the professor as they make their way out of the room and back towards his office. He’s not sure what exactly about his suggestion of lunch threw the professor off so much, and he doesn’t seem inclined to let Shouto understand either.

Midoriya’s office looks roughly the same as Shouto remembered his first time visiting, though the desk in the middle is considerably less decorated than the first one. He recognizes some of the posters however.

“You’ve started redecorating.” He observes.

“Hm?” Midoriya looks around before he follows Shouto’s gaze to the desk. The lighting is still rather dim in the office, but Shouto swears Midoriya is blushing as he turns away. “Oh yes. Well, with what I could salvage before they got rid of the old desk. I’ll have to get more though, some things were ripped and can’t really go back up. And most of the stickers were just completely lost.”

“You seem to care about this stuff,” Shouto says, looking around the room. “Why put it somewhere when there’s a risk of it being destroyed like that?”

Midoriya sighs, running a hand over the corner of the desk. “After the first time I lost some posters to an…accident,” he says the word carefully as if he expects Shouto to call him out on what happened, or suggest it was anything besides an accident. “I tried not putting them up. But it was just too empty after that. And these things are meant to be hung and admired. I’d rather get some use out of it.” He points to one of posters of an old hero Shouto recognizes but can’t remember the name of. “And some of them, like this one, are gifts from students. I want them to know I appreciate the gifts they give me.”

Midoriya turns away, putting the papers away in his filing cabinet before he goes behind the desk and grabs a few of the notebooks from the bottom shelves, tucking them away in his bag. He turns back to Shouto with an almost nervous looking smile. “So, lunch?”

They end up at Sato’s bakery, a short subway ride away from campus in the small café area he has in the back. Shouto already had to come this way to pick up the deserts he promised to Kyouka, and Midoriya assured him he was a fan of the food. Admittedly, Shouto had never tried anything off the lunch menu they offered, but he didn’t mind following Midoriya’s suggestions.

The café is painted in the same warm yellows and pinks of the bakery up front, but the walls are decorated with more pictures of food and serene naturescapes, rather than the class pictures and signed hero posters that adorned the bakery walls for those hero fans visiting just because it is Sugarman’s business.

A waitress who greets Midoriya by name comes by to take their order, though she spends half the time at their table chatting with the professor about a visit they got last week from Chargebolt, Pinky, and Cellophane that ended in a near-stampede of fans and Sato had to close early when they sold out of everything before noon.

“At least Sato’s classmates are good for business,” Midoriya says with a laugh as the waitress finishes her story.

She rolls her eyes and waves him off, though she smiles as she does it. “That’s one way to look at it, I guess. I’ll get those orders in for you guys right away.”

“You’re friends with Sato, too?” Shouto asks once they are alone again.

Midoriya wears the same deer-in-the-headlights look as when Shouto suggested lunch. “What? What do you mean ‘too’?”

“I’m fairly certain the first day we met Shinso was also coming to meet with you, you’re…very close with the hero doctor, Aizawa, and Sunspot told me after you took me to the hospital, one of Ingenium’s ‘friends’ had him escort her back to our office. That’s at least three pros.”

“I could have just been meeting with Shinso for the lecture series, same as you. Does that make us friends?”

Shout ignores the question. “There’s no way you would ask Shinso to be a part of the lecture series. You know too much about heroes to think an underground hero would participate in something so public. That also still doesn’t explain the other two. Two pro-hero friends is still more than most civilians would claim.”

Midoriya scratches the back of his head sheepishly. “Well I’m not exactly a normal civilian. My work at the university and the hospital leads to me crossing paths with heroes pretty regularly. Eventually, we became friendly.”

Shouto remembers the proud disbelief of Shinso when they ran into each other the other day, and the protective way Dr. Aizawa talked about Midoriya, fielding Shouto’s questions, and thinks this picture of casual friendships of convenience he’s trying to portray is utter bullshit.

“So Sato’s the same? You just cross paths a lot?”

Midoriya looks even more embarrassed, shifting in his chair. “I guess. I don’t think we could really be considered friends, I just frequent the café and talk heroics with Sato when he’s in at the same time. We’re familiar with each other is all.”

Shouto doesn’t really believe the brush off of their relationship anymore than he did of the first three, but he lets it go for now.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, Shouto trying to figure out something about the professor sitting across from him, and Midoriya looking like he would like more than anything to disappear from the café. The same waitress delivers their food, dropping off an extra pastry neither of them ordered.

“Compliments of the owner,” she says to Midoriya with a wink.

Midoriya sinks further in his chair at Shouto’s arched look.

“Can we just talk about the list?” He asks.

Mercifully, Shouto pulls out his phone to look at the list again while they eat.

Once off the topic of Midoriya’s various pro-hero friends, he starts to open up again, elaborating on the different suggestions he had for the lecture series. He listens to Shouto’s questions carefully, considering each answer he gives as if Shouto is asking for answers about the truth of the universe and not just his own damn quirk. Most of the time he answers off the cuff, but occasionally Midoriya pulls out one of his notebooks and considers something scribbled in them before giving a definitive answer. Shouto sort of wonders how he finds anything among all the hectic writing.

They talk so long the waitress brings them both another dessert and drink, and so long after that the café lunch hours eventually end. Other than the occasional customer grabbing something from the bakery and the handful of employees left, they are the only ones still in the store.

Eventually the waitress herds them out of the café into the still-open bakery lobby. Midoriya apologizes at least a half dozen times, but she only waves him off with nothing more than a fond, exasperated look. They’re left alone in the bakery, save for the cashier who sends them a knowing look as they’re booted out of the café.

“I’m sorry,” Midoriya says with a short bow. “I should have known to go somewhere with longer hours when we were talking about quirks.”

Shouto doesn’t think he’s ever had something he cared enough about so strongly that he would need to plan extra time out for it, but he’s fascinated, and inexplicably, charmed by it. “It’s okay, I don’t mind. I needed to come by Sato’s anyways.” Midoriya relaxes besides him, a relieved smile passing over his features.

Shouto turns away before he stares too long, asking the cashier for the order he had called in the day before. Midoriya drifts away to look over the display case while they wait for the cashier to grab Shouto’s order from the back. She returns, opening the box so that he can confirm the order is correct.

“You didn’t strike me as having such a big sweet tooth,” Midoriya comments as she rings Shouto up.

“I don’t. It’s for Kyouka.” Shouto replies easily. He watches Midoriya’s face, can practically see the wheels turning in his head as he tries to figure out who Shouto is talking about.

“Earphone Jack?” Midoriya finally guesses. “I didn’t really expect her to have such a big sweet tooth, either.”

Shouto shrugs. He had never really put much thought into it. He just knew Kyouka was almost as in love with Sato’s chocolate cake as she was with Momo. Though he doubts either of them would appreciate that comparison.

After Shouto is finished, Midoriya asks for a few things from behind the counter as well. Many of the selections have run out completely this late in the day, and a few options have only one or two items still left, but Midoriya still takes a while to make a decision, deliberating carefully over the limited selection.

He shoots Shouto another apologetic look as the cashier rings up his items. “I always get something for my mother when I visit Sato’s. She likes to try new things, but I think I’m finally running out of new options for her to try.”

Shouto nods his understanding, waving off Midoriya’s unspoken apology. He wonders if he should bring some of Sato's treats to his own mother the next time he visits. He usually brought her flowers, but she might like a small cake for a change.

The two leave the bakery and head back towards the subway. Midoriya easily fills the silence while they walk with more talk about quirks, quickly derailing his own train of thought part way through into a discussion of local heroes. Shouto gives a nod or makes a sound of acknowledgement where it seems appropriate, content to let Midoriya talk and absorb the barrage of information the professor seems to be overflowing with. He thinks it’s all going rather well until they reach the subway station entrance, and Midoriya stops in his tracks.

Shouto looks back in concern as the professor smacks himself in the forehead. His bag of pastries swings wildly for a moment, precariously close to smacking him in the face as well.

“Are you alright?”

“I just talked your ear off the entire walk, I’m so sorry. I’m sure you didn’t need to hear any of that. And what if you had more questions? I-”

“I didn’t mind,” Shouto interrupts. “Even if I didn’t ‘need’ to hear any of it. It was interesting.”

Midoriya lowers his hand and stares at him apprehensively. “You’re not just saying that just to be polite?”

“I never say things just to be polite.” Shouto says honestly.

Midoriya laughs, though Shouto isn’t sure exactly what about his statement warranted laughter, and some of the tension leaves his shoulders. “No, I guess you don’t seem the type to do that.”

Not sure how to reply to that, Shouto looks away. The timetable inside the station shows the next train should be arriving in a few minutes. They stand in silence for a moment before Shouto clears his throat.

“Thank you for taking the time to talk to me,” Shouto says at the exact same time Midoriya blurts out: “Would you like my phone number?”

They stare at each other for a moment, but Midoriya reacts first with a small wince. “I mean, you’re welcome. It wasn’t any trouble. Obviously I like to talk about the subject.”

“Your phone number?” Shouto asks, wondering if he somehow misheard.

Midoriya sighs. “I was just thinking it might be easier, than tracking me down in person, if you had any other questions. Or I guess it could just be easier to track me down in person again, too. If you could text or call. You don’t have to obviously, I know a hero’s personal number is important and private, for a reason. Which is why I offered just to give you mine. And if you did use it, I would never abuse-“

“How many personal numbers for pro-heroes do you know?”

Midoriya blinks in surprise a few times, startled. “I can’t tell you that. Wait, no. I mean-”

“I trust you.” Shouto pulls out his cell phone, passing it over to the still-dazed professor.

Midoriya takes it, but just stares down at the cell without moving.

“So you can put your contact information in,” Shouto reminds him carefully, as if he somehow forgot what a phone was in the midst of their conversation.

Midoriya moves again, finally, if only to give Shouto another disbelieving look. “I think you trust people too easily, Todoroki.”

“You suggested it.”

Despite appearing like he still wanted to argue the matter, Midoriya looks away from Shouto to open his phone and add his contact information. Shouto briefly worries there’s something embarrassing for him to come across as he unlocks the phone, before he remembers the last time Kyouka went through his phone and deemed it “utterly boring” while complaining about the lack of “potential blackmail material,” which he figures means it’s probably safe enough.

Midoriya returns his cell to him, just as the train begins to pull up to the station. Shouto hesitates getting on the train. He has no real reason to keep Midoriya for any longer, but he feels oddly reluctant to leave his company just yet. They stare at each other for a few moments in silence, as if waiting for the other to say something, but Shouto was never good at finding the right thing to say, and he was rapidly running out of time for Midoriya to say something if he wanted to catch this train.

“Thank you,” Midoriya finally blurts out. “For considering being a part of the Hero Talks series. Even if you ultimately decide not to join, I appreciate the consideration. And the opportunity to talk to you about your quirk.”

“Thanks for…wanting to talk about my quirk.”

Shouto steps through the subway doors. He turns just as they start to pull out of the station, and Midoriya is still standing there with a bemused smile on his face.

Kyouka opens the door in leggings and a shirt Shouto is almost positive is Momo’s.

“You’re early.” She says as greeting, though it sounds more like an accusation.

Shouto holds up his package from the bakery. “I have cake.”

Appeased, she lets him into the house without any other complaint. Shouto slips off his shoes and follows her down the familiar entrance way towards the kitchen. Momo is standing over the stove stirring something. Her long hair is down for once, but she keeps brushing it out of her face with the back of her hand as she watches the pot intensely.

Shouto leans closer to Kyouka to whisper. “You’re letting her cook?”

“She wanted to try a new recipe.” Kyouka hisses back, elbowing him in the side. “Shut up.” She glances at him. “I was planning to order pizzas in like an hour.”

Shouto nods, satisfied with her answer. Kyouka rolls her eyes. Dropping the cake box on the counter, she abandons him in the doorway to join Momo at the stove. Momo jumps slightly as Kyouka touches her side, but she relaxes easily, smiling softly as Kyouka gathers her hair and pulls it back into a loose ponytail for her.

“Thank you,” Momo says quietly.

Kyouka stands on her tiptoes to kiss her cheek before she steps away. “Shouto’s here.”

“Oh!” Momo jumps again as she finally sees him in the door way. She blushes, as if embarrassed by their behavior, as if Shouto hasn’t been witness to their relationship since high school. “Shouto, hello. You’re early.”

Shouto shrugs. “I was in the neighborhood. I couldn’t keep sitting in my house.”

Momo makes a face. “I’m sorry. But it’s for your own good. You need to rest.”

“But I’m not even injured any more,” Shouto argues. “And I-”

Kyouka shoves a plate with a small slice of cake on it into his hands. “Eat this and stop arguing with her.”

Shouto doesn’t know how she moves so quick.

She goes to sit at the kitchen table with a plate of her own, a much larger slice of cake on her plate. Shouto joins her, if for nothing else to stop standing awkwardly in the doorway.

“Kyouka.” Momo scolds. “Before dinner? You need to eat something with more substance.”

“I need the sugar. Get my energy back up.” Kyouka says with a sly wink as she slides the first bite into her mouth.

Momo’s blush returns with a vengeance. “Kyouka! I-”

“You should probably eat some too,” Kyouka continues with a satisfied smile. “Don’t want you to be too worn out after our pre-dinner exercise.”

“Should I leave?” Shouto asks, interrupting their not-so-subtle flirting.

“No.” Momo says at the same time Kyouka says “Yes.”

They stare at each other for a few moments, having some kind of silent conversation. Kyouka gives in first with a dramatic sigh.

“Just eat your cake, Todoroki.”

Eventually, Momo decides whatever she is making can be left unsupervised and comes to join them at the table. She did, despite her arguments, take a piece of cake for herself, though it is significantly smaller than Kyouka’s slice. They talk about work, fill Shouto in on what he’s missed recently at the agency or from their old classmates and the cases they’ve been on. It fills the time and they lose track of themselves in the conversation.

Until Shouto notices something off.

“Is something burning?”

Momo shoots out of her chair, almost knocking it over in her rush, and darts over to the stove. Kyouka follows only a moment behind. Shouto turns to watch them turn off the burner and peek into the forgotten pot. The smell of something burning gets stronger. Momo drops her head in defeat.

“Not again.”

Kyouka rubs her back comfortingly with one hand, and pulls out her phone with the other. “How’s pizza sound?”

Momo nods in reluctant agreement, but doesn’t move from her slumped position.

Shouto clears the table of their empty plates while they’re distracted. He takes them to the sink, washing them off quickly and ignoring Momo’s half-hearted protests that he doesn’t need to clean up after them.

“Pizza will be here in twenty minutes.” Kyouka declares, interrupting Momo. “Let’s go sit in the living room until then, okay? Let this place air out a little.”

Shouto takes the hint and opens the window over the sink.

Kyouka nods her thanks to him before she ushers Momo out of the kitchen. Shouto starts to follow them, before he sees the cake box still open on the counter. He stops to close it, but hesitates. It seems a little impulsive, definitely silly and unnecessary, but he snaps a quick picture of the cake before he closes up the box.

He scrolls through his, limited, contacts until he finds the new listing. Midoriya Izuku. He drafts a new message to him with the picture attached.

kyouka couldnt wait until after dinner so it was our appetizer

Shouto sends the message before he can second guess himself, and leaves the kitchen. It’s just an easy way to make sure the professor gets his number is all, since they didn’t actually exchange them. Nothing weird about it.

Kyouka and Momo have already made themselves comfortable on the couch, though they’ve left room for him on the opposite end. Just as he sits down with them, his phone buzzes in his pocket. He just barely resists the urge to grab it immediately.

“Movie?” Kyouka suggests. “Or the same show we were watching from last time?”

“We could watch an episode before the pizza gets here,” Shouto answers, though he can’t clearly remember what it even was that they watched the last time he was over. “Change it after if we want to.”

Momo agrees easily, obviously still thinking more about her cooking disaster than what they’re putting on for entertainment, so Kyouka starts up the new episode. Shouto waits for the opening to finish before he slides his phone out of his pocket, ever so discreetly. Kyouka and Momo already seem more invested in each other than him or the TV show, so he deems it safe and unlocks his phone.

There’s one new message from Midoriya.

‘Our appetizer’? I thought you didn’t have a sweet tooth.

Shouto replies right away, before he can second guess his reply or his eagerness to reply. i can indulge sometimes

A moment later Midoriya replies again, this time with an attachment. It’s a picture of one of the pastries he purchased on a small plate. He’s at a table with someone, part of their profile in the picture alongside the treat. Shouto can’t make out much except for a pink shirt and dark hair the exact same shade as Midoriya’s.

The text below it reads, Mom and I couldn’t wait either.

Shouto smiles, unbidden, before he locks his phone and shoves it back into his pocket. Kyouka and Momo still seem distracted, but he forces himself to focus on the television. They’d never let it go if they caught him smiling at his phone of all things. And he has a feeling they’ll probably want a recap of what’s been happening, so he’d better have some idea of what the episode was actually about.

They get through most of the episode before the pizza gets there and then three more as they eat, giving up switching to a movie. But if Shouto’s being completely honest, not that he would be if asked, he has only a vague idea of what happened in any of the episodes. He did, however, draft three potential new texts in his head to send Midoriya later.

#bnha #mha #tododeku #todoroki shouto #midoriya izuku #tddk #tododeku big bang 2021 #fic #rita writes #7.1.21 #fic: reckless good

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vanna-ch · 5 years

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FILMLANG, Finals.

Clarianne B. Cruz

Reynalyn M. Magallanes

FILMLANG MM23

Introduction about PPP

Definition

Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP) is a film festival in the Philippines in celebration of the Buwan ng Wika. It is organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines. The shortlisted films are shown in cinemas all around the country. For this year’s PPP, ten films were featured, which are the following: Cuddle Weather, G!, I’m Ellenya L., LSS: Last Song Syndrome, Open, The Panti Sisters, and Watch me Kill for the main entries, and Circa, Lola Igna, and Pagbalik for the showcase films. It also featured Verdict, a feature film not competing for any accolades for the festival. Aside from these full-length films, there were Sine Kabataan Shorts that were created by aspiring filmmakers.

When did it happen

This year’s Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino kicked off last September 13, 2019, which also celebrates the centennial year of the Philippine Cinema. Hence, these films were distributed in all cinemas nationwide until September 19, 2019. However, due to popular demand of some films, many have extended their release in commercial and independent cinemas.

Purpose of PPP

Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino aims to promote Filipino artistry in films and to promote the country and its talents in the global scale. It also aims to protect our film cultural heritage and to empower every Filipino through film development and education. The Film Development Council of the Philippines envisions reaching to every Filipino in creating a thriving and self-sustaining film industry that contributes to the cultural and economic development of the country.

Film 1 – LSS: Last Song Syndrome

From the creators of First Day High, My Amnesia Girl directed by Jade Castro presents a runner up film from the PPP or Pista Ng Pelikulang Pilipino 2019 celebrating the 100th cinema viewing in our country presents LSS or Last Song Syndrome, starring Gabbi Garcia as Sarah and Khalil Ramos as Zak, a film that heartbreaks and hardships intertwine that gives inspiration, chase-your-dream-teen, romance, family lesson, and the important theme of this theme revolves around music. Music that creates or gives connection to everyone you meet throughout your entire life. Music that sends you to a different dimension changing your entire being into another you. Music that affects your spirit lifting you to a higher ground relating to what you feel towards your unending journey to an unknown place.

The morning starts with Zak going to commute on his way to visit his crush while holding the precious gifts that he will deliver for her to admire and to try understanding Zak’s feeling towards her best friend. To which he tries his best to court her but ends up failing otherwise because of her having sudden surprise relationships that he was not able to relay her emotions towards her and can’t find any will to confess.

As they both end up in the same place of transportation area, Sarah was able to spot Zak unknowingly because they both ended up singing the tune played in the film. After awhile of finding seats among the crowded people, Sarah and Zak was able to sit together during the trip. They both introduced that they like the same band and idolises Ben & Ben then after, they both told each other their dreams and goals in life wherein Sarah wanted to be a composer of music and that she also joined the music camp back then but wasn’t chosen and thus decided to try harder for them to notice her and then saving their family of hardships and to finally attain her goal in life. While Zac introduced Ben & Ben too, saying his dream to become a producer and saying that his away from his father, living with his mother when he was young.

After all those confrontations and chat they heavily went onto a deep conversation wherein Zak decided to give his empty disk then after wrote Sarah’s first lyric onto the disk with a permanent marker making her more inspired and to not give up on her dreams and goals in life. While for Zak, after all those confrontations and confidence he decided to put up all of his courage and would confess to her best friend so that she’ll finally understand his feelings for her. The two promised to meet each other again at the latter date gig of Ben & Ben. With the trip ending, their conversations were like a glimpse of what it would feel like for their dreams to be achieved and prosper together with their loved ones. But taking a look on their backs as they go in their separate ways apart from the bus that they’ve enjoyed their moments felt that they were destined and was fated to meet to change their entire aspect of life and that they would go higher to achieve their goals and never stop believing into something they can do.

For Sarah’s side of the story further in the film at one point Sarah ended up fired for all the hard work she’s putting up for to let her brother to graduate already but has no choice but to find another job and since her dream is to become a composer but for now toss all dreams aside for the ones you love to support them until they are able to walk on their on steps. But along the way, when the moment that all earned cash for Sarah’s brothers graduation gift was used to buy an expensive branded shoes Sarah’s brother confessed that all of the earned money that Sarah gives to him to be used for the tuition fees as well as the miscellaneous expenses that the school gives but all went to fund his band studio and said that he stopped coming to school ever since and that made Sarah literally broke down and tried to quell her anger upon her younger brother because she knew that as someone as herself achieves to reach and feel her dreams but has to sacrifice, she understood that if it is for her brother’s goal so be it, so she finds another place to work.

Along the way of the two protagonists, Sarah and Zak had gone into a breaking moment that they were both fated to meet at a bar where Ben & Ben will have their gig, there along the crowds full of surprises and endless stream of mixed emotions Sarah and Zak met in the middle of the fans while tearing and crying, looking at each other pretending to not notice the whole crowd going wild for cheering not realizing that Sarah and Zac is behind them going closer to each other wanting to hold each other trying to understand each other’s pain and suffering, until the two Sarah and Zac could reach each other like a dream of wanting to see and know how they ended up going at the same venue, getting closer to each other together with time slowing down as if fate led them together as both of them went nearer giving them their very special moment until they had their first kiss, giving a sign of their affection to each other that the perfect moment was now.

Film 2 – The Panti Sisters

The Panti Sisters is a Filipino comedy film directed by Jun Lana, starring Paolo Ballesteros as Gabriel, Martin del Rosario as Daniel, and Christian Bables as Samuel. It premiered during the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino 2019, and has won several awards, thus extending its release in local cinemas. Aside from the Audience Choice Award, the picture won Best Production Design Award and del Rosario won as Best Actor.

The Panti Sisters consist of Gabriel, Daniel, and Samuel who have discovered their homosexuality at their young ages, but were not supported by their controlling father, Don Emilio y Panti (starring John Arcilla). At the start of the film, Gabriel hops off a jeepney, returning to their patriarchal house after years of being in exile. Reuniting with her parents and her sister Daniel, Gabriel asks their father what is the reason that they were both summoned. Their stepsister Samuel and her mother Vilma Panti were also in attendance, much to Nora Panti’s dismay over seeing her husband’s mistress.

It was then revealed through numerous flashbacks that all of them have received cold treatment from their father that they have never considered returning to their home. Samuel had longed to meet her father, as she never grew up close to him. For a comedic film, their journey as homosexuals were at best, sad and very timely to the Philippine society’s acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. Don Emilio then revealed that he was about to die from cancer, and he is willing to give his 300-million-peso inheritance to his children fairly, but under one condition.

With Don Emilio disagreeing with the sisters’ gender identity, he challenged them that the only way they could get their share of 100 million pesos each is to give him a grandchild before he dies. Much to the sister’s surprise, they jumped to the deal, with Vilma being completely supportive of Samuel impregnating Chiqui, a childhood friend, for the sake of getting monetary benefits from Don Emilio. Gabriel, at first, hesitated, but when her friend Kat decided to help him out, he gave in to the deal. Daniel wasn’t about to jump to the challenge, but after rescuing a pregnant neighbor named Joy from her abusive boyfriend, they made a deal to claim that Joy’s child was Daniel’s instead.

When Chiqui, Kat, and Joy all presented to Don Emilio as pregnant with his grandchild, he still doubted the authenticity of it, so he ran DNA tests to them in order to ensure the kids have Panti genes in them. Kat was indeed pregnant, but she wasn’t sure if his ex-boyfriend or Gabriel was the father. Chiqui was pregnant too, but she agreed to do it with Samuel with believing Samuel loves her the way she loves Samuel. After reuniting with some old family and friends and a friendly volleyball match, in which the sisters’ cousins mock their sexuality, Chiqui found out that Samuel’s main reason for conceiving a child with her was out of dire need for financial gain.

This resulted in a spat between the two, but Chiqui had a miscarriage, in which the sisters felt the true weight of this challenge. Samuel came to her senses about this, and amid his mother’s insistence, he backed out of the deal, especially when Don Emilio didn’t even visit the hospital to mourn for his lost grandson. Don Emilio also found out that Joy’s child wasn’t Daniel’s, also Kat’s child. Both disheartened at their father’s demands, they ran away along with their mother Nora.

After fixing up bad blood with one another, Daniel and Gabriel decided to patch up things together with their stepsister Samuel. One night after bonding together as three sisters, they were faced with trouble. Several men attacked them in the parking area, but they didn’t win over the sisters’ innate martial arts skills. Leaving Daniel alone, she was faced with another group of men, seeking revenge over their defeat. This time, however, they brought a gun with them, and shot Daniel without any hesitation. It was too late when the sisters found her; she was already dead from a bullet through her chest.

On Daniel’s funeral, which was all pink instead of the traditional neutral color scheme, Don Emilio was still hesitant to show his love to his children, in which both Samuel and Gabriel have accepted. However, days after burying Daniel’s body, Don Emilio visited her grave, much to the surprise of the sisters. He then confessed that he had been too hard on them, that the reason for his rough upbringing is that he loves his children so much, and now he is ready to accept his surviving children with all his heart. The tearful family hugged each other, signifying their reunion as one family, and Don Emilio now allows his daughters to call him “Papa”.

The film ends in Kat’s and Gabriel’s wedding, that, despite Gabriel’s gender identity, she chose to be a “second fabulous mom” to Kat’s unborn child and that they will raise the kid together. The cast takes some photos, with Gabriel and Samuel of course, stealing the spotlight one last time.

The Panti Sisters is a refreshing take on typical Filipino films that has homosexual, flamboyant characters, in which Vice Ganda (Jose Viceral) often takes the centerstage. Sure, the color schemes are often bright, vibrant, even trippy at times, but it masks the darkness that the conflicts and the issues of the film. The comedic relief makes it easier to tackle the serious issues, yet The Panti Sisters had scenes wherein the message was delivered in an obvious manner. Jun Lana could’ve done this intentionally to avoid confusion among its target audience, the masses.

The film tackled on a lot of issues that it failed to give proper nods and spotlights to some of the scenes, and without the makeup and the slapstick comedy, Gabriel, Daniel, and Samuel would stay as one-sided characters with stereotypical personalities. Putting it aside however, the film featured wonderful production designs that catches the attention of its viewers. The Panti Sisters also highlights empowerment of people from the LGBT community, breaking away from the barriers that homosexuals are physically and mentally weak. It also shows women empowerment and the effects of toxic patriarchal culture and sexism of the Philippines.

The Panti Sisters is a representation of what the LGBT community wants the rest of the Filipinos to see, not just for the sake of comedy and their entertainment. Through this film, Filipino traits were highlighted both in a good and bad way, which is a wakeup call for all of the masses. Lana emphasizes the negative effects of having an overly-dominant figure in the household, as it stunts the emotional growth of young children. It resulted in an emotionally-constipated family that they only came around when they’re missing one Panti. Hence, albeit being a homosexual-themed film, The Panti Sisters gives emphasis on the importance of acceptance and and love from the family first.

Film 3 – Lola Igna

Lola Igna is a 2019 Philippine film directed and written by Eduardo Roy, Jr., and was one of the entries for Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino 2019. It stars Angie Ferro as the titular character and Yves Flores as his great-great-grandson. It was released last September 12, 2019, which is close to the celebration of Grandparents Day. The film was a great success as it received generally positive reviews from critics, even snagging Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Musical Score, and Best Actress for Ferro. Due to high demand from the public, it extended its release in commercial and independent cinemas across the country until October 3rd, 2019 in UP Film Institute and Cinema ‘76.

Lola Igna follows the story of Igna, a 118-year-old woman who is leading a simple life by herself in the rice fields. The film starts with a shot of her waking up, peeing on a pot, scaring away the birds from her farm using stringed tin cans, and cooking adobong kangkong for breakfast with a mug of tuba (coconut wine), in which she takes time to talk to a framed photo of her husband, Carias. Igna already shows signs of longingness to die the moment she buried a dead bird she found in her farm; even congratulating the bird that it had died, and wished its luck as the bird travels in the other life. Albeit a sweet, sentimental scene that recurs in multiple parts of the film, it is obvious that the flying birds are computer-generated. For the untrained eye, it retains its sentimental message, yet if you spot the artificial birds flying around while the cans clang against each other, it showed some form of comedic relief.

Unlike other Filipino films that “glorifies” poverty so much, Roy has found the perfect balance of portraying poverty in a way it does not fetishize the idea of being poor in the Philippines. Instead of focusing on the economic status of the main characters, through its camera angles and mostly-silent scenes, Roy showed the audience how Igna is content in such a solitude as she waits (rather impatiently) for her death to arrive. Her relatives then arrive in her humble hut, telling her to get ready to meet the mayor. Igna was hesitant, amid Nida’s coaxing, and she refuses to wear the dress that her great-granddaughter, Ana, left inside her cabinet. The red dress, according to Igna, is the one she wants to wear for her funeral.

After dressing up in a simple white ensemble, Igna jokingly tells Nida that her makeup’s fitting for her funeral, which Nida frowned upon. After all, Igna is one of the candidates for the longest-living grandmother not only in the Philippines, but the whole world by an organization named Amazing People of the World. Upon meeting the mayor, it was made clear that when Igna gets the title, she will be awarded $50,000 for every living year she already passed, giving a total of $5.9M. Obviously, the mayor and Nida are both invested in keeping Igna alive, even if the mayor explicitly says that they are not doing this “for the money”. A press conference then follows, with Igna sharing her secret to her long life is to eat fresh vegetables, breathe fresh air, and drink coconut wine from time to time. One press asked Igna if there is anything she’s waiting to happen, given her long time alive, and Igna, with all confidence, she answered that she wants to die. Of course, everyone was in shock at the stark difference of Igna’s wishes to what everyone else wants her to achieve. The mayor dismisses it as part of Igna’s sense of humor, yet it showed some distress on his part, also with Nida’s.

Yet, it is obvious that Igna is pressured by the community with “tourist” activities and stuff, such as taking photos with them, letting people in her home, and Nida exclusively selling shirts, mugs, pins, and magnets with Igna’s face in it. These merchandise, although shows capitalism at one side, gives a connection between the poverty of the town and their desire to improve their resources with Lola Igna’s winning as the oldest living grandmother.

It comes to the point that Igna is already too furious with noisy tourists waiting for her to look out of the window and take photos with her. She takes her urine-filled pot, and pours it to the annoying tourists, with a young man named Tim (Yves Flores) taking most of the hit as he is in front. After driving the tourists away, Tim stays, introducing himself as the son of Lola Igna’s missing great-granddaughter, Ana (played by Merryl Soriano). Igna is overjoyed that she quickly hugs Tim even if he’s still soaking in her own piss. Afterwards, Tim shows his intent to make a vlog about his grandma as one of the oldest living in the world, much to Igna’s confusion (even calling “vlog” as “bla”).

Igna shows Tim a special place in her house, with photographs of her relatives who have passed away. Tim sees the photo of his mother Ana, and it made Igna relieved that after all this time, her missing great-granddaughter is still alive and doing well. Tim stays in for the night, only to be in shock seeing his own great-great-grandma peeing on the pot in front of him. She then starts to open up about her previous job as a midwife after a couple requested to birth their child (in which Igna refused as she’s too old and weak to deliver a baby).

When evening comes and Tim is fast asleep, Igna is left in the dining area drinking her coconut wine. However, she notices someone outside her hut, so she shouts at the figure, but the person doesn’t answer. With slow movements and the suspense coming the background music, Igna goes outside to face the unknown figure, only to find out that it is her husband, Carias. In Filipino superstition, “seeing” your dead loved one, or pagsundo, means that your death is nearing, which makes Igna hopeful that she will be reunited with her husband real soon. The next morning, she goes to Gusting, her gay friend who is also the first child she helped to deliver to the world, and asks if she can borrow her axe and hammer. She also shares to Gusting that Carias was already “fetching” her and she would make her own coffin. Gusting then wonders who would be there to fetch him when he dies as he never got the chance to marry and have children. She and Tim then goes to a lumberjack, asking for some scrap wood, in which Tim carries back to their hut without knowing the reason for it

Igna, overjoyed, then tells Tim her secret about meeting Carias and then requests Tim to make her coffin for her. Tim, obviously confused and hurt with his great-great-grandmother’s request, quickly refuses to do it, saying that they’ve only met for a short time and he wants to spend more time knowing his grandmother. He shares about his struggles back home, where Ana has met another guy and they’re expecting a child real soon. Tim confesses that he feels out of place at home because he doesn’t feel loved, so one of the reasons he went to Igna’s place is that his mother won’t step foot on that place. Igna contemplates on this, and when morning arrives, they learn that Gusting never woke up from his sleep.

Being the first baby that she delivered, Igna shares her grief over Gusting dying ahead of her. Igna shares that she has assisted in the delivery of all the citizens of the town. She then jokingly says that her long life could be credited to her selfishness in being a midwife; that with every child she delivers, it adds more years to her life. However, it doesn’t make her happy anymore because of the long years of her life, she’s the one who always being left behind grieving when someone passes away. Igna also says that she doesn’t know the people from the town anymore, and she’s already tired of living. Tim listens to all of this and after sharing tuba together, he starts building his great-great-grandmother’s coffin.

Over the next few days, Igna has grown kinder to the tourists since her sole wish of having her coffin built is now materializing. She offers to take photos with them, but due to exhaustion, she fainted, and eventually as the story progresses, the doctor explains that Igna had hit her head as she fainted, leading to stroke and comatose. This scene, albeit emotional and filled with suspense, felt rushed and disjointed to the whole film since it wasn’t clearly shown how Igna actually passed out. The transition left viewers wondering how would Igna have hit her head when the tourists near her were quick on their feet to catch her from falling.

Moving on, with Igna unconscious, Nida and Rene finds out that Tim is supporting Igna’s wish of building a coffin, and, thinking it is the source of the evil surrounding Igna (according to a faith healer), Rene destroys it without hesitation. Tim pleaded not to do so since Igna has been telling him over and over again that she wants to die soon, and Nida’s selfishness showed up; she told Tim that if Igna dies, her business and merchandise will suffer a lot. The mayor also forces the family to keep Igna alive, as the results of the award will be announced really soon. Tim finally calls Ana to visit Igna as soon as possible, and he wishes to bond longer with his great-great-grandmother.

Ana, few days into giving birth yet her face filled with beating scars, arrives to the town, in which made Nida angry and resentful over her sister finally returning after many years of abandoning them. Ana tries to wake Igna up over tearful eyes, and in a cliche “finger-jerking” moment, Igna wakes up, wanting to pee. She rips the IV off her wrist, and hugs Ana right away. Tim runs to the town, sharing everyone the good news that Igna is now awake and doing fine. It leads to Nida and Ana reconciling in front of Igna, and it makes her feel happy and grateful to have witnessed it.

Igna opens the windows again to more tourists and fans, even asking who wants to take a selfie with her. After a long day, everyone gathers for dinner and with the mood being set that Igna is satisfied with her simple life as it is, especially with her great-granddaughters reuniting and her family being complete, she shares that death should not be a thing to be afraid of. It obviously set some of her relatives back, especially Tim, but they accept what Igna wishes and now they support her in any way she wants. After dinner, with everyone asleep, Igna sees Carias again, this time, Igna is sure that her time is finally up.

Ana and Tim walk around the farm when morning arrives, confessing to Tim that she already left her boyfriend. Tim’s face lightens up when he finds out that no matter what happens, Ana still loves him as her son. However, she then cries out in pain; she’s about to give birth. With no one with them, Tim calls Igna, pleading her to help Ana to give birth. She carefully delivers the child in the middle of the farm, and from the distance, Carias appears again, but instead of Igna seeing him, it was Ana who sees her great-great-grandfather, and immediately dies after giving birth to a daughter (who remained unnamed until the end of the film). The red dress, that Igna wants to wear for her own funeral, is worn by Ana instead.

In the end, Igna did not get the title as she is being outlived by another woman in Geogria. Merchandise stop selling, and things are slowly becoming more peaceful and quiet around Igna’s small hut, now housing the newborn baby and Tim. One night before going to sleep, Tim records Igna singing a lullaby to the baby, until Igna notices that Tim has been recording her all this time.

For the final scene in the movie, it comes full circle with the first scene where Igna is sleeping by herself; this time, the baby is right next to her, sleeping as well. It isn’t specified how long it had been since the baby looked significantly older. The scene then cuts to Tim’s final vlog, which shows Igna from his point of view, and uploads it to YouTube. Igna carries the baby outside, looking at the fields with his face showing various emotions. At one side, it looks like she found a new meaning to live now that she has to take care of her great-great-great-granddaughter. At another side, however, she looks frustrated as she had helped deliver another human being, which means her years on earth is still far from over.

Lola Igna shows a kind of existential crisis that is not often told and shown to the audience. Usually, this type of crisis is often seen in coming-of-age films marketed to the youth, however, this is the same crisis, but in a different perspective. When we think of “existential crisis”, the common conception that the crisis only affects those who are still not sure of what to do with their life and what’s the point of being alive. Lola Igna, on the other hand, have been living for so long she has lost the will and purpose of staying alive.

Through this film, although marketed as a “comedy” film, has tugged our heartstrings with every life (and death) moment that Igna faces. It is a drama lightened up with Igna’s quick humorous comments and simply our appreciation with the wisdom of the elderly. Lola Igna is a recommended movie for Filipino families who want a feel-good film that’s still etched with various emotions that will make you laugh, cry, and contemplate the value of life that we have.

How do these films represent Filipino Cinema the way they want to?

These three films represent Filipino Cinema in at least three different perspectives. LSS: Last Song Syndrome represents Filipino’s love for music and pursuing their passion, but is often frowned upon if thought of as a source of income or a career choice. It also represents the youth’s longing for love — be it from someone we like or a parent we haven’t seen yet. The Panti Sisters represents both the good and the bad aspects of how Filipinos treat and regard the LGBT community, especially in the familial structure. Lola Igna represents how Filipinos can literally “idolize” anyone that trends on social media that we often become victims of capitalism and consumerism. It also shows Filipinos’ connection with their loved ones even if they’re far away from us. The stories — both main and side stories — show a slice of the Filipino life that, albeit being formalist in nature, builds a connection between the film and the viewers.

LSS: Last Song Syndrome has a coming-of-age feel, with the addition of Ben&Ben songs to add and emphasize certain parts of the film and to give more context to the audience what the film is all about. It is a musical in essence, but unlike most musical films with original songs written for them, Ben&Ben, being one of the executive producers of LSS, made sure that their existing songs and the plot of the film are connected with one another. Aside from the music, colors of the scenes provide the emotions intended. The Panti Sisters has an extravagantly colorful and vibrant color scheme, with filming techniques similar to the typical Filipino slapstick comedy films that the masses are used to. It could be done intentionally since the film targets this part of the audience; the message they want to send is on a serious, even darker, note that if such was delivered in a dramatic, realistic manner, it will not fulfill its purpose. Lola Igna has a lot of still, silent sequences with Igna going about with her life alongside loud, dynamic sequences with Igna being distressed in front of many people shows. The closeup shots are often used with the main character since her emotions are a vital part of the film. Using wide shots to show Igna’s home, especially with Tim alongside her, is a representation of their bonding as grandma and great-great-grandson.

Each film depicts a story in the life of an ordinary Filipino. They can be viewed as a chapter in what the Filipino society was like that can be looked back on by future generations. In celebration of the centennial anniversary of Filipino cinema, LSS: Last Song Syndrome, The Panti Sisters, and Lola Igna are prime faces of how the industry has evolved over the past 100 years. Yet, with all the innovation in filming techniques and change in socio-political and economic structure of our society, there are still traces of the traditional Filipino cinema that survived through time. They still possess a strong Filipino identity, aside from the language, but the cultures they portray in the film. Such cultures include, but not limited to: patriarchy, tolerance (but not acceptance) of the members of the LGBT community, indifference of elders over the creative/music industry, consumerism, and strong family ties.

Resolution

The future of Philippine cinema

Like all countries improving and flourishing with their way of living and how technological advancement will eventually come to appear and support the establishment like our country, the Philippines slowly changing from old its system to the new progress of the government and nation. The Philippine cinema from its old times improved beautifully from the computer-generated imagery or CGI to the plots of the story lots of variants for different improvements up to now. Actually some of the screened films from our country get to international cinemas and some even get achievements that is how amazing our film directors have improved all these years.

Inspiration for future filmmakers

For the future filmmakers, there are plenty of inspirations and motivations that enables then to get references as idea for their desired film, like drawing you have an artist to follow to be inspired more like that idea for movie making for the upcoming directors that will soon reach the top and change the people that will watch. Films can be easily accessed and made nowadays as well with the boom of the Internet and social media. You can now make a short film with your phone, and watch them with the same platform. With its accessibility to aspiring filmmakers, it can be used to explore and generate new techniques and new perspectives for audiences to watch in the films of the future.

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