#learning and eventually excelling at something (magic/skating)

[violetrains]

So last night I couldn't fall asleep and as I was lying awake in my bed, thinking, I realised this parallel:

Damn, there are suprisingly many similarities in Bloom's and Luna's arcs

And now I just cannot stop thinking about an soy luna x winx club au about Luna being a fairy and having Stella's role as the Fairy of the Sun and Moon with her necklace!!!

[enriquemzn262]

Talking about anime, with the current season finally over, let me tell you what I saw this time, which is actually quite the short list:

The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World

Aka the Red Ranger Isekai, based on the manga of the same title which I have actually kept up with for years, a fun twist to the normal isekai slop by having the overpowered otherworlder have an actual reason to be like that: He’s quite literally a power ranger.

Red himself is a ton of fun, a true power ranger that can be enjoyed by both fans, old and new, of Power Rangers, and shonen fans not tired of their loud and overly positive MCs. The supporting cast of characters is really good too, from a busty ADULT mage girl who’s as competent at battle as the MC, and is actively researching his powers, to a tsundere swordsman who learns to tolerate Red, his accompanying princess who’s both pure and experienced, and eventually another ranger.

Good animation, not great but at least consistent in its quality, good music, great humor (for once), and a cool story about a natural born hero trying to go back home and in the process making friends and saving people.

8/10

I May Be a Guild Receptionist, But I'll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time

Aka Girumasu, another fantasy adventure anime that’s an isekai in everything but the isekai character, with the twist being that the female MC is actually really powerful, but likes her cozy office job too much to actually become an adventurer, instead, as the title says, she only gets involved in combat to make sure her work doesn’t pile up via reports of defeated adventurers and unconquered dungeons.

Good premise, interesting start, but by the end it was veering too much into the adventuring side she was so desperately trying to avoid, turning it into a sort of bog standard story, thankfully the supporting cast keeps things interesting enough to keep your attention to the end.

Very good animation, is actually much less horny than your usual adventure anime, the female lead is actually allowed to have a personality outside of both romance and combat, and there are some very neat magic concepts hidden along the way.

7/10

Medalist

The story of a little girl who really, really likes ice skating, and how through her talented yet insecure trainer, slowly becomes a top notch athlete, helping defeat her and his own internal demons in the way.

Never been much of a fan of sports anime outside the human horse racing series, and an anime with a preteen female lead is usually trouble outside of magical girl shows, but I caught a scene of one of the girls skating, found it to look gorgeous, gave it a try and never looked back!

Superb animation, a nice blend between CGI and traditional 2D, great characters, especially the main girl, Inori, who keeps getting the funniest facial expressions, and Tsukasa, the main male character and trainer, who’s a bundle of excitement and raw emotions, a nice extended cast who keep on getting their moments to shine, and some excellent music to boot!

I watched the Spanish dub on Disney+, but sometimes would change to the OG Japanese, and man, both were great.

10/10, my absolute favorite of the season, it’s confirmed to have a second season, so please give it a try if you can!

Those were the only three I watched from start to finish, I tried Sakamoto Days but watching it reminded me why I dropped the manga, also tried one about an office guy reincarnated as the main villain in a dating game, but after watching Bakarina all those shows are the same derivative slop so I just didn’t get past the second episode, and finally there was Uber Blat or something like that, which I thought had a female lead, since I really like action shows with them (they mean I don’t get to watch the millionth horny bumbling teen with a heart of gold who’s also a badass in combat and gets all the girls and bleh), but nope, it was a guy, and it was as generic as I expected after enduring the first 4 episodes.

Man, what a weak season overall, without Medalist and Red Ranger isekai I would have completely forgotten about everything in it after s few weeks, I did take the opportunity to rewatch the Ranma 1/2 remake AND Frieren tho.

The Apothecary Diaries is hitting Netflix tomorrow, if the upcoming season is as bland as this one, I may just stick with that one, as I have only heard good things about it, plus, female lead, that’s almost always a sign of a good anime!

[villabella12]

@arcvmonth Day 28: Hey, Who Hired This One?

FINALLY THEY ARRIVED: Raya and Maria!

I've finally made perfect (except Raya's) refs for them after 2 years and due to a long ass art block. These two are apart of an ARC-V AU that I don't have time to even explain on the Day 18 prompt

Raya Sylvester

Full Name: Raya Iryna Rian O'Sylvester

Age: 14-15

Sexuality: Bisexual (is dating Vivien, an OC)

Overview: A fiesty girl with a huge burst of energy, Raya isn't a kid who will not go down without a duel. With expertise knowledge of Ritual Summoning, she was able to perserve her family's legacy ever since she stepped into dueling, ready to share such information to other's who's willing to learn. Despite her absolute knowledge and strength, a part of her wants, or something that's drawing her, to unravel family secrets, mysteries, etc. All the while facing a familial foe.

Trivia:

She's a witch, like, literally a witch that casts spells and all but she's a specific type of witch called an "Arcane". Weak in magical battles, powerful in non-magical battles, usually illusion-based

Was named AFTER a friend of her mother, Ray

Due to the Original Dimension splitting, Zarc, and Ray being split into four, not reviving until later, Raya never got to meet them in person, only hearing them from her mother who used to be a part of said dimension alongside her father, whom was at the hospital due to an accident

Was closest with her father. Basically the reason why she started dueling in the first place

Is an only child, considers Yuzu as her "sister"

Besties with Gong, close friends with Maria and Shingo (a bit unsure abt him), childhood friend of Yuya's tho not as close as before

Unknown where she goes to school. Many (in-universe) speculates she's being homeschooled? Who knows

Is dating a student named Vivien, met her at the local park she always skates at, who's secretly a mermaid fish person

Excellent hockey player. Nearly broke a window at You Show's

Has a familiar named "Ramzi", which is a wolf

Student of the Fortune Prep Duel School but regularly visits You Show

Bad influence towards the You Show kids, just keep her away she'll teach them how to commit arson/j

Strong AF. She's not playing around until she carries a boulder

Has a deep connection to cryptids and cryptozoology as a whole (Been interested in them since 4 y/o)

Somehow has a book that documents all classic Duel Monsters like Blue and Red Eyes, Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, Elemental Heroes, etc.

Wears a green and orange tinted glasses during duels since she hates flashing lights (dont question whys that)

Is a HEAVY sleeper

Skater girl. Likes to skate in anyway shape or form, can be a bit of a risk-taker

Absolutely DESPISE vanilla. Thinks its too plain or bland

Her family blood, and the lineage, ISNT technically originated in the world she lived in (or in any dimensions). Instead, one of her ancestors accidentally stumbled upon her world and just popped her family lineage out of nowhere

Which also means that she and Seth are basically cousins, albeit just connected to each other

(Also there's an AU where she's adopted by the Arclights)

Sometimes uses the "Danger!" Deck since she has a deep interest in cryptids and cryptozoology as a whole. Also adds in Ritual Cards in the process

Maria Rosario

Full Name: Marigold Jaylen Villasca Rosariò

Age: 16-17

Sexuality: Pansexual (is dating Michael Arclight)

Overview: With the harmonies in her heart, Maria never fails to impress the audience with her musicianal talent as she riffs her Duel Guitar out in the Action Field. Student st the Leo Duel School, it was her goal to finish off the XYZ course and by the next summer, will eventually drop out and move to another duel school that fits her interest in music. With the help and aid of her ace monster, Ibong Adarna, there's always a chance once she's cornered in a duel.

Trivia:

She has a twin brother (Mariano) and younger twin siblings (Olive and Oliver)

She's as tall as Shun, Kaito, and Reiji but right around 2 inch shorter than them

Maskina, the city she lives in currently, isn't her hometown, it's somewhere else roughly around 6-8 hours to travel there

She works as an intern nurse at the Maskina District Hospital, for family purposes

Her mother left her and her family to work on a boat delivering goods from other countries when she was 10

She's alot more closer to her dad than she is with her mother for 6 years

Huge fan of guitars, owns like 5 of them and half are like gifted to her in her birthdays (didnt use them as much as her Duel Guitar)

Also has a collection of guitar picks

Her Duel Guitar was mabe by someone who knew her family for years, have met her, saw what her energy is, then BOOM Duel Guitar! Still is unsure who made it

Sometimes uses a duel disk

(Yes the whole Duel Guitar thing is inspired by Romin I just wanted to see it in a different style in other YGO mainly Zexal and ARC-V)

Listens to music while studying but gete too much into it and starts to dance in her room

HUGE fan of Dear Nevada (A famous Indie Band)

Part of a upcoming Indie Band called "Here in L.A." (she came up with the name)

Wants to try out new things, mainly food, but is push back because of how she WANTS it to taste like

Has hemophilia (blood doesn't clot properly) and asthma + colorblind (can see the world as black and white)

Has a great singing voice, but sometimes her voice cracks whilst singing high notes

Doesn't sleep as much due to work, her eyebags are covered in make-up

Like Raya, she's also a childhood friend of Yuya's, still defending him to this day from anyone who dares to hurt him

Like Yuya, she can also see and hear her monster's voices and spirits, making them her secondary friends besides humans

And can see and hear the dead as well ( like ghosts and all. Freaks out abt the revelation abt this hidden ability of hers)

Has plant powers and can manipulate and grow plants from the ground. Reason why you shouldn't fuck around and find out around her

Her family's magical and doesn't get along with each other so their powers nearly kill them

Had atleast 2 dogs, all loud af at night, love and hated them at the same time

Has different talents that she barely even do anymore: like carving, playing sports (volleyball trauma), and dancing

Not really close to her aunts (despises them) and uncles (has neutral feelings towards them) but is incredibly close to her many-MANY cousins

Dresses up adrogynously during formal events, sometimes in special occasions

Also Maria has a playlist of her music taste:

[dearheartwitcher]

ocs masterpost

for ease of access! in-depth descriptions of all my favorite ocs, all in one post. you can find even more of my ocs (brief descriptions + reference images) over on my art fight page! (you have to be logged in to view!)

[[MORE]]

DnD Characters:

note: for some of these, i have to omit large portions of info as i am either actively playing them, or saving them for a future campaign, and i dont want anyone im playing with to see and accidentally spoil themselves

Fennryn Autumntide—

They were separated from their parents as a baby, and instead raised by an older dwarven woman named Rhiannon Autumntide (AKA Anna). They lived in the forest on the mountain together. She taught them how to fend for themself, and a basic respect for nature and other living things. Their relationship was very teacher/student, but as the years went by they saw each other as family. Fenn solidified this by taking Anna’s last name when they were of age. Eventually, Anna passed away, and Fenn was left in the woods alone.

Fearful of dying alone without ever having experienced life off of the mountain, Fenn sets out to find an adventure. And they find one, alongside a younger tiefling man named Finn. Finn is an experienced pirate, but he is vulnerable. Finn and Fenn trust each other explicitly, and after some time, they fall in love.

Fenn is tall, muscular, and an older elf. They’re around middle aged.

Alistair—

Alistair is a mystery. They are a bizarre-looking half-elf, with a wicked grin, and glowing cyan eyes that lack pupils. They are seemingly fairly young, despite their hair beginning to grow white at the roots.

Alistair is extremely curious, and values sating that curiosity above most things. They spend much of their time exploring and researching. They also have a complete lack of respect for personal boundaries, and love to study and inspect whoever they can get their hands on. (They’re good with a pair of pliers, if you’re willing to let them pull a tooth. They’d be happy to show you their collection.)

Alistair also thrives on positive attention, especially from people who don’t give it easily. Perhaps that’s why they insist on hanging off of Frey as much as they do. Frey Matthias Wolfe is a rich bastard. He’s a man of study as well, but he’s a real mean bitch. And Alistair loves him.

Alistair’s patron... Is a whole other story. One that will remain secret, for now.

Jesse—

Jesse was spawned from the thought “I should make a mean nerd for everyone to bully!” And the execution, imo, was flawless. A 24 year old human man. Jesse is a bard, and he hates it. He has been traveling on his own for a while, and finished his bard college education a couple years ago. He’s pretty studious, and he’s determined to learn everything related to magic that he can.

Despite being a jackass, and kind of a stick in the mud, he does have some semblance of a sense of humor. He also likes to use his intelligence and skill to feel superior to the people around him as often as possible. He is visibly extremely disturbed by corpses.

Jesse is very vague about his past and his reasons for traveling alone.

Ford—

Ford is my newest character! He is a firbolg cowboy. Extremely tall (approaching 8’), with a powerful build. I can’t say much about him yet! He is seemingly very friendly and happy to lend a helping hand whenever he can. He has a sister, named Clementine, who owns a small grocery store.

Cressida:

(note: cressida city + the world its a part of belongs to my boyfriend @ghost-gore ! all the characters that mine know belong to him as well. warning for gore on his blog.)

Ellis—

Ellis is a demon who works in limbo under a man named Crow. Ellis is technically speaking, pretty old, but he looks just as much the young man he was when he died. He keeps his long hair back in a ponytail, and can’t seem to ever wear his suit properly.

Ellis’ powers allow him to see and alter people’s memories. Limbo, as it works out, is a mess of memories. He is always very busy keeping things in order. He’s no stranger to making mistakes, but he has a knack for fixing them to make up for it. When he has a moment to himself, he likes to slip into the dreams of humans. He thinks they’re interesting! (But he keeps accidentally bringing them nightmares...oops. Don’t worry, he can fix it!)

Ellis is in love with his boss, and has been for over a century. He has a hard time keeping it subtle, but fortunately(??) Crow is oblivious. But a century is a long time... And things have gotten intimate between them more than once.

He is also good friends with a much older demon, named Cordia. They like to meet up for drinks, and bond over funny cat pictures.

Rosier—

Rosier is an old, powerful demon. He was once a high-ranking officer in “Hell”’s military. He was charming, and an excellent strategist. (Having a powerful beast form also helps.)

However, something triggered him severely. In a frenzied panic, he shifted into his beast form and flew off.

As a beast, he has large red eyes, long antennae, sharp claws, and huge black wings. Years passed as he isolated himself, and legends spread of the Mothman. Rosier lost himself more and more, until he lost the ability to speak. He stopped seeing any people as the apocalypse happened all around him.

Later, living in the ruins outside of Cressida, he is found by a young hero named Ghost. Ghost is initially intimidated by Rosier, and treats him as an enemy. They fight a few times, before Ghost realizes that Rosier isn’t necessarily a foe— he’s just defending himself. Ghost then begins to treat Rosier almost as a pet.

After some time rehabilitating Rosier, Ghost brings him back to Orion HQ, where they work for Cordia. Cordia is one of very few demons old enough to recognize Rosier.

Eventually, Rosier is able to read, speak, and transform back into a more human shape. He still retains a few of his moth form’s traits, including fully red eyes, fur here and there, and limbs that fade to near-black at the tips.

Cyrus Darcy—

Cyrus is a rich bitch whore. He cares about three things ONLY: wine, sex, and himself. Money is power and he has more than enough of it. His parents passed away when he was a teenager, and they left him a fortune.

Cyrus always gets what he wants. If money can’t get it for him, he has another trick up his sleeve that can. Cyrus is a celestial, meaning a human born with supernatural powers. Cyrus has the power of suggestion, meaning that he can give anyone a short command that they are compelled to follow.

Cyrus has all the makings of a villain, but in actuality he is very neutral. He just wants to have a good time unbothered. He uses his powers mostly to get randos to leave him alone. (Randos like Arley and Kier, who are sent by Cordia to recruit Cyrus for Orion. It takes a while.)

Evelyn—

Evelyn (AKA Evie) was born in the Victorian Era, to a rich father. With money and good looks, she was often pursued by men wishing to court and marry her. She was disinterested in all of them. She preferred to spend her time reading and studying. Evelyn loved to learn, but she also loved a good romance or fantasy to sweep her off her feet.

Enter Cordia, who spent her Victorian days posing as a man. They had a passionate love affair, until Cordia made a sudden exit from Evelyn’s life.

Many years later, Evelyn awakens in the afterlife as an angel. When she and Cordia meet again, it is as equals and business partners.

She is now working as a librarian/an archivist. She also boxes, because she likes to feel strong.

Marcy—

Marcy is a thotty rave twink. They love music, they love neons, and they love to flirt. Marcy is very enthusiastic, and they are a little bit in love with basically everyone. They flirt constantly, and are not shy with physical affection. They like to do drugs and make out and they’re happy to do that with pretty much anyone who’s willing.

Marcy is also a celestial. Their powers allow them to control their personal gravity. They can jump really high, and come down hard, among other things! They mostly use it to help themself go fast. They used to be in roller derby! And they still love to skate.

(ps they have thighs for days and an ass that wont quit. thank u)

Other:

Bonnie Briary—

My newest oc! She belongs to a world where monsters are real, but hidden. Monsters aren’t super common, and they generally avoid integration with human society. (The setting is also a blend of modern + victorian fantasy. Think Lemony Snicket ambiguity.)

Bonnie is shy, sweet, and curious. She likes to study plants in particular. Her style of choice is cottagecore/fairycore blend. She has a garden that she loves very much.

Faust (belongs to tovomiel on ig), is a trash punk gargoyle monster, who for some reason has decided he likes Bonnie. He teases her relentlessly and loooooves to make her flustered. The catch is, he’s too shy to make a move beyond teasing and the occasional kiss. Bonnie, sweet as she is, is dying for him to stop leaving her hanging. Shenanigans ensue.

[queen-swagzilla]

Born in Dreams, Forged in Blood -  Chapter 1

Rated: M (largely for profanity)

Summary: Katsuki Bakugo was not a good communicator. To be fair, neither was Izuku Midoriya. Looking back on their dumpster fire of a friendship, communication was probably the most significant missing piece in their interpersonal puzzle. Luckily, their translator is back in town, and they're about to take UA by storm.

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She kept her eyes glued to her phone, scrolling lazily as she ignored the whispers that sprang up around her. As each person entered the classroom, the murmurs grew louder.

“Who is she?”

“You think she’s in the wrong classroom?”

“She looks kinda mean.”

“She looks like a delinquent.”

Idiots. Did they really not realize how loud they were being? She kept scrolling, opting to read through the hero analysis forum instead of indulging their curiosity. There was some excellent information about Bubble Girl and Centipeder that she wanted to dive into. Nighteye’s sidekicks were always fascinating, and she’d much rather learn about them than deal with petty high school crap.

“What the hell are you doing here?” A gruff voice demanded from the doorway. Finally, she looked up.

“Nice. Really welcoming.” She replied dryly.

“Answer the fucking question.” Katsuki snapped.

“If you’re looking for welcoming…or friendly, Bakugo’s the wrong person. He’s more of an acquired taste.” A girl on the other end of the classroom joked. The one who had said she looked mean. She snorted but didn’t respond.

“Shut the hell up, Kirby.” Katsuki glowered. “Seriously Sana, why are you here?”

“BAKUGO! You are being very rude!” This time, it was an uptight dude with glasses.

“At least he fucking greeted me directly instead of insulting me within earshot.” She snapped, finally turning to glare at them. “You don’t fucking know me, and I don’t need you to tell me how shit works with Katsuki.” Glasses and Kirby both looked affronted, but Katsuki was grinning.

“Good. For a minute there I thought you’d lost your teeth.” He dropped into the desk next to her. “But you still haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?”

“What does it look like?”

“It looks like you’re sitting in my classroom and not explaining yourself.” He grunted. “Does Deku know you’re here?”

“Nope! It was supposed to be a surprise. Where is he?”

“How the fuck should I know?” He demanded. She leveled him with an unimpressed stare, and he rolled his eyes. “He’s in the infirmary after breaking his entire fucking body during training.”

“He’s still in the infirmary?” The annoying girl yelped. Sana rounded on her, eyes flashing.

“Hey, I’m trying to have a conversation. Wanna keep your big nose out of it?” She snapped.

“I MUST ASK THAT YOU TREAT US WITH RESPECT!” Glasses shouted.

She scoffed. “Like you treated me with respect? Whispering about me while I was right here? I don’t think you even tried to lower your voice. You—“ she pointed at the Kirby. “Said I look mean, and you—“ she pointed at Glasses. “Said I look like a delinquent. So step the fuck off me and stay out of my business.”

“Easy, Sana. They’re Deku’s best friends. Round-Face is Uraraka and Four-Eyes is Iida, our class rep.”

“If these are his best friends, we need to talk to him about his shitty taste in people.” She muttered to him. He snorted.

“Deku likes everyone. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be Deku. His friendship requirements are breathing and having a pulse.” He rolled his eyes.

“Whatever.” She turned her gaze back to the now tremendously offended duo. “Keep your noses out of my business. Same goes for any of you who were talking shit when you thought I wasn’t listening.”

“Seriously, dude, take it down a notch. You don’t want to be lashing out when Aizawa gets here. Pay them back in training.” Katsuki muttered. She grinned at him—a sharp, toothy, vicious-looking thing.

“Figured it out?”

“I’m not stupid.” He snapped. “I was surprised.”

“A good surprise?” She prodded. He glared at her mutinously, and her grin widened.

“No. You’re a pain in the ass and I hate you.”

“Liar.”

“Woah!” A surprised voice sounded from the doorway. “You’re talking to him and he’s not yelling! That’s awesome!” A spiky-haired redhead bounded toward them, followed by a blonde boy, a black-haired boy, a pink (like literally head-to-toe pink) girl, and a purple-haired girl.

“What, does he usually just scream at everyone?” She asked dryly.

“Yeah! Our boy’s feral, but it looks like you’ve got the magic touch. Only like…three people do, and it’s not exactly reliable.” The blonde one explained. She snorted. That sounded about right, but—

“I thought you’d grown out of that.” She muttered. He glared at her.

“Maybe they understand each other. She seems like she’s basically the girl version of Bakugo, ribbit.”

“Shut the fuck up Frog-face.” Katsuki snarled. “I don’t care what you think of me, but don’t you dare talk shit about her. You don’t know her.”

The silence that boomed through the room was deafening. “Being the girl version of you isn’t an insult. It’s not really true, but it’s not an insult.” Sana said after a long, surprised moment.

“Trust me, she meant it as one.” He snapped.

“Alright, problem children. Sit down and shut up.” Aizawa grumbled as he dragged himself into the classroom. The class hastened to comply. “First of all, as I imagine you’ve noticed, we have a new student—Sana Kimura. She was scouted by Principal Nezu after an incident with a villain in Kyoto. I trust you’ll all welcome her to 1-A.” He drawled. “Second, Midoriya won’t be joining us today due to his most recent set of injuries. Recovery Girl has informed me that she will not be relaxing visiting hours, so if you want to see him, you see him before 8 pm and leave as soon as visiting hours are over. If you try to overstay your welcome, you will be barred from future visiting hours indefinitely.”

Sana raised her hand. “Excuse me, sir. He usually bounces back faster. Is something wrong?”

“No. The damage was too extensive to be healed in one pass, so she’s keeping him longer. Her quirk drains stamina, so she’s keeping him in the infirmary. No need for concern.” He assured her. “You’ll find that Midoriya spends about half his time in the infirmary. The shock and concern will eventually fade.”

Katsuki snorted. “She’s more of a mother hen than my actual mother. Not a chance.”

“Shut your face.” She grumbled, kicking at his chair.

“Anyways,” Aizawa said, interrupting before they could start arguing.”We’ll be skipping team exercises until Midoriya returns, just so that we can keep the playing ground fair. Since we have a student with abilities that we aren’t familiar with yet, I’d like for you all to be on the same page when we start sparring while she’s included.”

“Sensei, Deku already knows what her quirk is.” Katsuki interrupted.

“That may be, but I’d wager he hasn’t seen it used in quite some time, let alone fought against it. The more information his classmates can gain, the less objective I can be regarding your ability to make quick evaluations or learn from previous experiences. I’d rather you all take on those challenges together. Besides, I’d like to have more teachers available when we do our initial evaluation of Miss Kimura’s ability and potential.”

Katsuki seemed to accept that logic, so he slumped back in his seat.

“So we won’t be training today? At all?” The candy-cane looking dude from the back asked, voice monotone. Iida looked rather sour at the thought, frowning deeply. She didn’t really care unless he yelled about it later. The guy was fuckin’ loud.

“I’m going to allow you to use homeroom as a study period, and for hero training, you can choose to either train physically or continue to develop your coursework. Some of you are performing disastrously in your core subjects, and I’d strongly advise you to prepare for your exams.” His eyes skated over the room, landing in a few key spots that she didn’t pay attention to. “Use the extra time wisely, and don’t do anything stupid.” Sana watched in amusement as the adult-in-charge whipped out a sleeping bag and curled up in a cocoon on the classroom floor.

“Yo, Bakubro—could you help me with the calc homework? I’m stuck on number ten.” The redhead spiky dude asked.

“Why didn’t you ask me last night, Shitty Hair?”

“You were asleep by the time I got to it!” He complained.

Katsuki sighed…well, growled, and held out his hand. “Let me see what you tried so far.” He turned to Sana. “This is Eijirou Kirishima. The blond one is Denki Kaminari. That’s Hanta Sero, Pinky is Mina Ashido, and AirPods is Kyoka Jiro.”

She gaped. “Woah, you actually learned their names? You must really like them.” She chuckled incredulously. He muttered under his breath, so quickly that it sounded like a growl to their companions, but she heard it clear as day.

“Shut the fuck up.” He’d said. “If they know that I actually like them, they’ll want to hang out even more.”

She threw her head back and laughed, but acquiesced. “Well, I trust your taste in friends. You’re more discerning than Zuku. He’d befriend a serial killer if he had the chance.” She said, still chuckling. “It’s nice to meet you guys.”

The redhead grinned. “Nice to meet you too! How do you know Bakubro and Midoriya?”

“Her mom went to college with our moms. I’ve been stuck with her since birth.” Katsuki snapped.

“Right, that’s definitely why you called me and Deku-screeched at me for an hour when you got accepted to UA.” She drawled. He glared at her, snarling.

“Deku-screeched?” Earlobe girl—Jiro—snorted.

“You know how Zuku mutters super fast under his breath? Well when he gets super excited about it, sometimes he does it really loudly. He sounds kinda like an auctioneer, but with Present Mic’s quirk.” Sana replied. “I thought he was trying to blow my eardrums out when he called.”

“First of all, shut the fuck up. Second of all, at least I told you that I got in. Third, Aizawa said you were scouted after a villain attack. You haven’t said shit about a villain attack. Start talking.” Katsuki demanded.

“I thought you wanted me to shut the fuck up.” She teased. The glare he shot her this time was different. Yeah, it could have melted glass, but it was a little more pleading. She sighed. “Can I tell you later? When Zuku’s here? I figured we could catch up on everything at once. I think between the three of us, there are some things we don’t want to talk about more than once, if possible.”

He glowered but conceded. “Fine. But we are talking about this.” His voice dropped again, too low for the rest to hear. “You and fucking Deku are going to give me heart attacks.”

She ducked her head, inky black hair falling into her eyes. “Of course we’ll talk about it. Sorry, Kacchan.” There was a dramatic collection of gasps, and she glanced at Katsuki’s friends. “What?”

“N-nobody but Midoriya is allowed to call him that!” Kaminari stammered. She laughed.

“Sorry, Zuku might have started it, but it’s a childhood friend privilege.” She replied. “He couldn’t pronounce Kacchan’s name when we were younger, and I liked it because it sounded cute. It’s really just for me and Zuku, though. At least, as far as I know.”

“Yeah, because I hate it, but I can’t get you two to stop.”

“Yeah? Then why did you blow up your couch the last time I called you Bakugo?” She snickered.

“Stop exposing me, asshole.” He growled, turning to the messy homework that Kirishima had slid onto his desk.

“While he’s making sure Kiri doesn’t fail, why don’t you tell us about yourself?” Jiro suggested, pulling her chair closer.

“YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE STUDYING!” Four-Eyes barked. “PLEASE FOLLOW MR. AIZAWA’S DIRECTIONS! MISS KIMURA MUST HAVE WORK TO CATCH UP ON!”

“What did I just say about minding your own business? I can make my own decisions.” Sana snapped. “But if you guys need to study, I can help! Kacchan and I can tag team!” She offered, switching gears from being pissed at Iida to smiling pleasantly at Katsuki’s friends, who were making her feel substantially more welcome than the rest of the class had.

“We’re actually caught up for once, and I think we can revise later.” Mina smiled. “We’re supposed to make you feel welcome, right? We wanna get to know you! But thanks for offering.”

“Yeah, I might take you up on that later. Bakugo’s smart, but he can be vicious.” Kaminari joked.

They all ignored Katsuki’s answering snarl. “Alright, then. Well, what do you want to know?” She asked, a little nervous. It was always nerve-wracking being the new girl.

“Where did you transfer from?” Jiro asked.

“Shiketsu. I didn’t apply to UA—it would have cost too much for me to get an apartment.”

“Even though mom and Auntie Inko both said they’d let you stay with us,” Katsuki muttered. She ignored him.

“Since you’re living in the dorms now, accommodations are taken care of. It all worked out. Even if I hate the reason the dorms were built.” She continued, shooting a nasty glare at the back of Katsuki’s head.

“I didn’t want to get kidnapped by shitty, delusional villains.” He growled.

“What’s your quirk?” Kirishima asked, leaning in.

“Uh…well, it’s called Kinesis. But I guess vibration is a simpler way to explain it.” She shrugged. “My hero name will be Aftershock.”

“That’s way better than King Explosion Murder.” Kaminari sniggered. Sana pinned Katsuki with another glare.

“That is not your hero name. Zuku and I worked really hard on your hero name! AND you helped me with mine!” She pouted. He ignored her. “I swear, if I see King Explosion Murder on your provisional license, I’ll start ruining your perfect, disciplinarian life routine, starting with your sleep schedule. You know I can.” She threatened.

“Give it a rest. It felt weird to use it with the shit going on between me n’ Deku. Doesn’t mean I don’t like the name.” He mumbled. She pinned him with a completely unimpressed look, and he knew exactly what it meant.

It meant ‘you can stop the shit between you and Deku whenever you decide to stop being a jackass, and you know it.'

“What hero name did you come up with for him?” Kirishima asked. Sana grinned.

“Ground Zero.” She stated proudly.

“That one’s awesome!” Mina cried. “Did you pick one for Midoriya too? I mean, Deku isn’t the worst hero name, but it’s not really as awesome as his quirk.”

She bit her lip. “Kacchan and I have differing opinions on that.” She stated, deflecting. Sure, she had an idea, but she had no idea if Katsuki did. Hell, she hadn’t even seen them since Izuku had mysteriously developed a quirk, and her little broccoli boy had seemed to want to keep his late development under wraps.

She’d still seen that quirk of his in action at the Sports Festival. It was amazing, and she wanted answers.

“Well, what’s your idea?” Mina pushed, leaning closer.

She pursed her lips. “I came up with it when he wasn’t that good at using his quirk. You know; he’d break his bones if he used it, but he still stood up for everyone and tried to keep his friends safe, even if that meant fighting off bullies quirkless. I thought he should be called ’Stronghold’.” She explained.

“And I thought that screwed with our theme—battle focused heroes with conceptual names.” Katsuki supplied, annoyed. Sana raised her eyebrows in surprise. He was willingly sharing information about his relationship with Izuku? “I thought he should be called Last Stand. Like the person who’ll keep going, even when they don’t think they’ll win.”

“Those are both great!” Kirishima cheered. “Super manly!”

“Why would you need his name to match?” Kaminari asked, face screwed up in confusion.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but that’s a good question.” Jiro agreed, annoyed that Kaminari had thought of it first. Sana glanced at Katsuki who looked a little constipated if she was being honest.

But he surprised her again, dropping Kirishima’s homework and turning to the group. “When we were young, the three of us wanted to be a hero team.” He barked. “When we were coming up with names, it felt weird that our ideas didn’t fit. But that’s not a fucking problem anymore since we’re not a fucking team."

Sana pouted. “We’re not?”

Katsuki refused to look her in the eye when he replied, “Absolutely fucking not.”

“But Kacchan—“

“No.”

She huffed. “I go to school here now, you know. I’ve got three whole years to wear you down.” She reminded him. All of a sudden, Katsuki looked like he wanted to jump out of a window. “If you make it to graduation without caving, I’ll still have family dinners and holidays. You might as well accept it, Kacchan.”

“I don’t have to accept shit.” He grunted, going back to the homework in front of him. His four friends watched them bicker, eyes bouncing between them. They had to wonder—who would come out on top? And if it wasn't Katsuki, they wondered if he’d really consider it a loss.

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[freedom-shamrock]

Jingle My Bell

Happiest of holidays to @rescue-satellite!  I’m your @mlsecretsanta secret Santa and I have some love squarish fluff for you Also posted to AO3 if that’s easier for reading.

"Evening M'lady," Chat said, landing lightly on their designated rooftop for the evening.  He caught her hand as he bowed, dropping a light kiss on her knuckles as he gazed up at her through his lashes, still coated with mascara from today's shoot, he realized.  

A hint of pink kissed her cheeks and she smiled at him.  It was only recently that she'd stopped passing his more overt affection off, and he rather liked the change.  The blushing was new, too.

"Good evening to you my Kitten."  She reached out and tapped the bell at his neck, making it ring.

He grinned.  "Bug, you totally ring my bell."

For some reason, she found this absolutely hilarious, and her laugh devolved into snorts that sounded oddly familiar.  "Yeah," she said, when she could finally talk around the giggles.  "Well you knock my spots off."

It was always nice when she was in a playful, punny mood, and now that he thought about it, that had been her tendency the last few months.  He couldn't chalk it up to anything specific.  They'd been partners for nearly four years.  Their team expanded about three years ago, which took some of the pressure off, but she was still the most intense and serious of them.  They'd all grown up a bit, sometimes as a result of horrible experiences fighting Hawk Moth's increasingly violent monsters of the week.

"You're happy," he said, leaning onto his staff and relaxing.  "It makes me happy."

The blush was back and she tried to look away before he could see it.  It didn't work, of course.  His night vision was too good.  "It's Christmas," she said.  "While I could do without being cold, I really love this time of year.  It's always seemed magical, even before I learned magic was real."

Chat Noir nodded.  His Christmases had been decidedly less magical in the last five or six years, but becoming a superhero and going to school helped make that a little less of a downer.  "I have your gift," he said, wiggling his fingers.  "Would you like it now, or are we going to run first."

She reached out and gently booped his nose.  "You're going to have to work a bit to find your real gift," she said.  Her other hand held out a small white box tied closed with a green ribbon.

He plucked the box from her hand.  "What's this, then?" he asked.

"Your first clue," she said, alternately bending and straightening her knees in a way that made her whole body wiggle.  How could she go from sexy to adorable like that?  She was giving him whiplash.

"My.  First.  Clue," he said slowly.  He shook the box, surprised to hear a muted jingling within.  He raised an eyebrow at her.

Giggling again, she leaned forward and dropped a loop of braided black yarn loosely about his neck.  It hung to the center of his chest and there were a number of shiny silver rings embedded in the braid.  "This will make it easier for you to collect all the clues."

He looked over the rings, not bothering to count them just now.  "That's a lot of clues, My Lady."

"The last clue will direct you to your real present."  She straightened up, clearly very pleased with all of this.

"Did you do this with your gifts for everyone else?" he asked, suspecting she hadn't, but wanting to be sure.

Ladybug shook her head.  "Of course not."  She shrugged.  "They're wonderful.  But they aren't you.  You deserve special treatment, and… I thought maybe you could benefit from a little fun this time of year."

"You know me too well," he teased.

"No," she said quietly.  "But I hope to know you better."

"I have a gift for you, too," he said.  "But I didn't bring it tonight."

She lightly booped his nose again.  "If your clues take you close to home, you can pick it up and bring it at the end.  Or we can meet another time."

"You're not coming with me?" he asked, puzzled.

"Nope.  I have to get things ready at the end."  She leaned in to whisper, "but you're a clever kitty, and I'm sure I'll see you soon.  Happy hunting!"  She spun away, her bandalore already soaring into the air.

Chat Noir watched her depart.  Any opportunity to watch His Lady was a good opportunity, really.  Once she was gone, he tugged carefully at the ribbon with his claws.  Inside the box he found a replica of his bell, roughly have the size.  It hung from a loop of red yarn and was adorned with a green bow that matched the ribbon he'd just untied.  When he held it up, he could see red embroidery on the ribbon's tails.

#1 Where I first fell for you

His sweet Bug was sending him on a scavenger hunt to find bells, and this was his clue.  He grinned and tied the first clue to one of the rings on the braid she'd draped over him.  Where she first fell for him?  Since he wasn't entirely sure she really had fallen for him, it must be a joke.  An idea sparked in his mind, and he scrambled across the rooftop, eager to reach the place where they'd first met.

Hanging from the top curve of a lightpost where Ladybug had first crashed into his life, he saw a glint of bronze.  A controlled ascent with his staff allowed him to quickly confirm it was another bell.  This one with green yarn and a doubled red ribbon with four tails.

#2 I was ready to give up You inspired me to stay Ladybug

Warmth blossomed in his chest.  They'd been partners for two years before she told him about this.  It had been during their first akuma, after they'd made mistakes.  She'd not been confident in her ability to truly be a superhero and planned to give up the earrings.  But something he said as they stood facing the anger of the police, with Hawk Moth at their backs lit a spark in her.  They were close friends by the time she shared this, and she'd picked a time when he'd lacked confidence in himself.

He happily pounced and bounded over to Trocadero.  He made sure to approach from the side where the police were lined up.  Sure enough, up on another lightpost, hung another bell, again with a green ribbon.  HIs Bug had a pattern.

#3 Pigeons are nothing to sneeze at unless you're a green-eyed blond with allergies

He laughed.  Mr. Pigeon was still one of the silliest and creepiest akuma.  He tried the park first, where they'd had their first stakeout.  Nothing there.  So he headed off to Grand Palais, where the final fight had taken place.

Getting in through the roof was easy for a superhero, and after a few moments his keen sight caught a glint of the bell hanging from the filigreed arch over the Great Staircase.

#4 In stormy weather I realized I will trust you to guide me, always

He tied the bell next to the others, all on one side of the braid.  It made for an odd necklace, and it slipped bell-heavy side down.  She was focusing on their early akumas, and this one was at the TV station.

He didn't find anything on the roof, and he rethought the clue.  She'd trusted him to guide her… oh.  He could see in the dark.  He once again found easy access from the roof, which took him right into the stairwell.  They'd had several chases through here, and he wondered why she'd picked this particular one.  Something about the line on that third tail stuck out to him.  This suddenly felt like she was making a point.

Down a few landings, he found it tied to the railing.  Glancing up and down, he smiled.  This was very likely the landing where she initially thought she'd be fine on her own, reconsidered, and let him take the lead.

He untied the red yarn and looked at the ribbon's three tails.

#5 I'm so sorry I scared you but I learned something important you give the best hugs

That one was easy.  He still had nightmares about her leaping into the mouth of a tyrannosaurus rex.  Sure, she'd done even scarier things since, but there was extra terror that first time.

The bell hung from one of the upper branches of one of the small trees across from Marinette's family's bakery.  The storefront was dark, and when he looked up, the only light came from her bedroom.  He smiled.  She was probably up late designing something amazing.  For a black cat, he was actually incredibly fortunate to be blessed by two such amazing women in his life.  While neither seemed romantically interested in him, their friendships were too important to risk pushing for something else.

#6 You've scared me, too. I still have nightmares where you vanish and I can't bring you back

Ouch.  That stung a bit.  But at the same time, it really spoke of how much she cared for him.  During the fight with Timebreaker he'd been so focused on the ridiculous joy of having two Ladybugs at his side, and to be fair, they'd featured strongly in a few of his fantasies.  But later… he'd remembered what it felt like to have his life force sucked out of him.  He'd ceased to exist, effectively died.  With time, and help from Plagg, of all people, he'd stopped having panic attacks every time he saw inline skates.

He made his way back to Trocadero, the other side of the tower this time.

#7 While some may try the best they can do is mimic I will always know which cat is mine

She'd never been duped by Copycat.  Though she'd asked questions to be certain, he'd always suspected that was more of a diversion than a real need.  The fact that she'd known he wasn't the thief when his doppelganger strolled in to steal the Mona Lisa meant the world to him.  That she chewed out the police over it still made him happy.

The Louvre was closed, and he wasn't ready to risk their security system, so he started out at Theo's studio.  Just outside, he found the next bell.

#8 You're an excellent gamer almost as good as me With your Catouken and my Tatsukitty we'll be an unbeatable team

He'd been surprised how well she could drive the mech.  It was like she'd been born to do it.  The next bell wasn't in the park where he'd rescued Marinette and met up with Ladybug.  He traveled their path from the battle as best he could from memory, eventually ending up at Parc des Princes.  The bell was dwarfed and tough to spot, hanging from the roof ring between two pennants.

He waited to read the clue until he was up on the roof.

#9 It may not have been memorable but it was my first kiss, too

He'd found out about the kiss later.  It had been bad enough that he'd been turned against his Lady on Valentine's Day, that he'd tried to use Cataclysm on her.  He shuddered.  But then to find out she'd cured him with a kiss?  And he didn't remember.  He wondered why she hadn't tried that technique for getting him out from under akuma control since?  Though to be fair, he'd learned to shake it off in the last year and a half.

The ribbon had four tails, but only two were embroidered.  As he ran his fingertips over them, he realized she'd used green thread for almost hidden embroidery on the other two tails.  He tilted them a bit.

I'm willing to try again if you're interested

He stared at the green ribbon, his eyes wide and an almost painfully huge smile on his face.  Apparently he'd been mistaken about his Lady's feelings toward him.

He laughed as he practically danced across rooftops on his way to the fountain, where he was certain the next clue waited.

#10 I'm sure you've realized I'm not 5000 years old We were born within months of each other

His breath caught as he read this one.  The last two lines were a little worrisome.  They roughly knew each other's birthdays, down to about a week.  But this… this was less about the day and more about the year, which really, neither of them should know.  Sure, he suspected she was around his age, but her words were so certain.

He took a breath and focused on the rest of it, trying to find the clue.  The only way he was going to get answers was if he followed this through.

It came back now.  The history book and the Egyptian exhibit.  Apparently the Louvre was still an option.  Fortunately, the bell was perched on the top of the glass pyramid, easy enough for him to get to.

#11 Your puns are no knightmare my father will wish to match wits But they may stand out when spoken by the other you

Again, this one suggested knowledge of him that she shouldn't have.  He didn't pun as often as Adrien, but it wasn't like he avoided it completely.  Nino and Marinette loved his sense of humor, though Alya merely put up with it and Chloe groaned in objection noting it was his one flaw.  Apparently Ladybug's father was keen on wordplay as well, and he wondered if he dared hope he was going to get to meet him.  Someday.  Soonish.

This clue took a little more time to work out, since it seemed to be isolated to the first line.  He was also not doing his best thinking now that it seemed his Lady knew who he was and might be willing to consider kisses.

The bell hung from the flagpole at city hall, and it was his third guess that took him there.

#12 You had a chance to see me But respected my wishes I know how hard it was to close that door

This one he knew right away.  He closed his eyes and recalled how it had felt.  Facing Alya as an Akuma had been hard, and of course she was brutally tough.  At the end, Ladybug dashed into a closet to hide when her miraculous timed out.  He was sure she'd meant to fully close the door, but it hadn't latched.  Reaching for the lever, he was struck by the strongest temptation to pull the door open.  To dart in after her.

Instead, he'd respected her words.  She'd share her identity when she was ready, and he could wait.  It had been hard to push the door closed and leave.  And she'd known and understood that made him understand better that it wasn't so much about what she'd wanted to do.  She just wanted to keep them safe.  To protect their families and friends.

He made his way to Le Grand Paris.  Fortunately he was a familiar enough face, that his arrival was not unusual.  Apparently Ladybug had spoken with the front desk staff, so they were also expecting him.  They smirked and wished him luck.

The bell hung on the lever to the very closet Ladybug had used.  It was the last one he had room for on the increasingly jingly necklace he was wearing.

#13 Visit your princess for your favorite pastries And receive the only gift worthy enough for you

Princess and pastry.  That was obviously Marinette.  He'd always had a vague suspicion that Ladybug knew Marinette, and apparently she'd left hisgift with his good friend.  He wondered what gift she could possibly be referencing.  Seriously, pastries and her time were all he wanted.  Okay, so maybe he wanted cuddles and kisses, too, but he had to be realistic here.  Maybe she'd commissioned Mari to make him something.  That would be awesome.  Marinette made the best clothes.

With jolting footstep and every leap, the bells over his chest rang and clashed together.  He rather thought he sounded like a whole team of reindeer all on his own.  Before long he'd reached Marinette's balcony.  Her fairy lights had been joined with decorations of holly and ivy made out of fabric.  The effect was festive and cheery.  Over her skylight a banner had been hung.  Red and green ribbons had been cut and sewn to spell out "Kitty Door."

Grinning at the clear invitation, he reached down and lifted the plexiglas cover.  "Hello, Princess?" he called softly.  It was late at this point, probably past midnight, and he worried about waking her or her parents.

Marinette popped out from under her bed and beamed up at him.  She was wearing black and green fleece pajamas.  "Chat Noir," she called happily.  "Come in.  I was beginning to worry."

Careful not to drag his feet over her bedding, he dropped in and came down the ladder.  Her room looked so different, which was strange since he'd been over just a few days ago after school.  The lighting was low and soothing and more red and green decorations adorned her walls.  In front of her chaise, she'd set up a small table with a plate of the bakery's best treats, in his opinion, and two steaming mugs of cocoa.

"Hmmm," he said, taking in the snacks.  "You must have had some warning for those to be hot."

She grinned, totally smug.  She was up to something.  She and his Lady loved elaborate surprises.  "Please have a seat."

He sat down at the table.  "And will Ladybug be joining us this evening?"

She giggled.  "You could say that."  She sat beside him offering him a plate.  When he took it, her hand reached out and ran over the bells he'd collected.  "It looks like you found all of them."

"All thirteen," he agreed.

"Were they too hard?  Too easy?"

"Just right," he said quickly.  How much had Marinette been involved in this project.  Now that he was thinking about it, the embroidery looked like her work.  "They reminded me of a lot of important moments."

"Did you have fun hunting for them?" she asked, smirking over the brim of her mug.

"You're mighty pleased with yourself this evening, Princess," he said.  "You're toying with me."

She giggled again, a sound she'd heard a lot this evening.  "I've learned from the best."  She set down her mug.  "But I'll stop now.  Just tell me what you're here for.  What did the last clue say?" she prompted.

"It told me to visit you for pastries and a gift," he replied, feeling a bit like playing with her now.

"What kind of gift?"  She spoke as if wondering aloud, her fingers drumming on her chin.

Chat Noir shrugged, making his bells jingle.  "I have no idea, though it sounded pretty impressive."

"Ah, yes," Marinette agreed.  She leaned forward to reach under the chaise.  She came up with a stiff green piece of paper in one hand and a gift bow in the other.  She looked at the bow for a moment before slapping it on top of her head while holding out the paper.  "Here's the tag."

He stared at her, puzzled for a moment before reaching for the oversized tag.

To: Chatdrien With love from: Maribug

He gasped, his breath wheezing in audibly.  His eyes flicked back up to her face.

"Hi Kitten."  She waved at him.  A little red being, smaller than Plagg, but clearly a kwami zipped out from hiding and landed on her shoulder, beaming at him with big blue eyes that matched his Lady's.  Marinette's.

He pointed at her for a moment, waiting for his mouth to come back on line.  Marinette was his Lady.  She was his precious Bug and she'd just revealed herself to him and…  "You… you know!" he blurted.

Her hand reached out for his cheek.  "I do."

"Is that why you…"  She cut him off with a shake of her head.

"I've known for a while."  She glanced away.  "I probably should have told you, but…"  She sighed.  "I'm sorry.  It wasn't right of me."

"You've nothing to apologize for," he said.  "God I'm dense.  I can't believe I didn't see you."  He caught both her hands in his.

"It was miraculous magic, actually," her kwami assured him.  

"It's just… there were too many coincidences and the glamour… for lack of a better word, broke."  Marinette shrugged.  "This is Tikki."  She scooped up her kwami and held her out toward him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tikki," he said, hoping she could see that he meant it.

Tikki let out a high giggle. "You're such a sweetie, Chat Noir.  You might be my favorite of Plagg's kittens yet."  She dropped down to a small cushion he hadn't noticed on the table, and picked up a macaron.

"You didn't tell me because you felt guilty, did you?"  That would rank near the top for awful reveals.

"Absolutely not."  Her voice was firm.  "I wanted to get you something you really deserved, something you wanted and needed, but… nothing was good enough.  You've always wanted to know who I am.  Without the masks in the way, maybe I can take care of you like you deserve."  Her cheeks went a delightful pink.  "I know you like me as a friend, and Ladybug as a bit more than that."

He snorted.  "I like all of you a whole lot more than that."  He ran one claw over his bells until he found the ninth one.  "This one turned me into a puddle of sheer joy on the roof of Parc des Princes."  He leaned in to press his forehead to hers.  "The sheer idea that you might be open to a real kiss, made me completely stupid."

She sighed, looking relieved.  "Yeah, well it's only fair.  You and your…"  She leaned back and waved at him with both hands.  "Everything, make me a mess.  You have no idea."

He let out a laugh, suddenly more happy than he'd been at any point in his life that he could recall.

"I know you're home alone for Christmas tomorrow," she said, reaching under the chaise again.  "How about you detransform and put on these nice jammies I made you."  She dropped a pile of black and red fleece in his lap.  "You're staying over.  It's a Dupain-Cheng family Christmas for you," she said firmly.

He gawked at her.  "R-really?"  He held up the pajamas, Ladybug themed to match her Chat Noir set.  He glanced at the shirt hem and, sure enough, found her sneaky little signature.  "Won't your parents find it odd to wake up and find me here?"

"Marinette told her parents you were going to be alone," Tikki said.  "They practically demanded that she invite you over."

Marinette's smile went shy.  "I was hoping tonight would go well, and you'd be happy enough with your present that you'd want to stay."

"I love my present," he said softly.  "I'm keeping it forever."

[alexiela73]

Bruhhhhh I love the dance teacher s/o! Could I get that but with Mccree, Widow, (a different dance than ballet for Widow oc) and Genji?

I’m glad you enjoyed them!

Widowmaker:

Before she had become desensitized to the world

Before she became Widowmaker

She had been Amelie Lacroix, a beautiful and talented ballerina

Dancing had been her work, her life enjoyment, and had calmed her when stressed

As of late, Widowmaker thought that perhaps it would be good to dance again, but ballet didn’t seem fitting considering she’d moved on from her past

Deciding to learn a new dance, she’d heard from Gabriel that bachata was rather sensual and could be a bit difficult

Loving a challenge, Widowmaker went in to hopefully succeed and only take one or two classes

When she saw you though, what started as one or two classes turned into more

You walked out into the room with a confidence and beauty that Widow has seen only once or twice in her life. And when you demonstrated what this dance was like, her eyes couldn’t leave you

The way your body moved with the music was intimate, sexy and admittedly, she wondered what it would be like to dance with you

This was different from how ballerinas dance, and Widowmaker was quite eager to learn, especially if it meant the chance to dance with you

She stayed for each class and learned quickly. It wasn’t hard, not for her

Perfection was a must for her, and she wouldn’t admit it but she practiced at home too. And possibly with Gabe

Reaper, surprisingly, is the one who told her to go make you hers. He could see the distraction in her eyes on the job, could see in the way she walked when she was thinking of you and dancing

Widowmaker wasn’t the type to run from a challenge, and you were no different. When you asked her to perform that dance with you that you had shown on the first day of learning, she performed it more exquisitely then you could imagine it

The way the two of your bodies moved against each other…nothing was more perfect, or more arousing

In your ear, she purred in French that she would take you to dinner tonight

Breathlessly, you agreed

And that’s how you seduce your dance instructor.

McCree:

Angela was forcing Jesse to get out and do something other then drink

When Jesse said he didn’t know anything else to do, Angela smiled

Then she told him that she had tried dancing in her free time

When Jesse grunted, Angela said he’d participate in some dance classes or face Ana’s wrath

Dance classes it was

Angela told the director wherever they could fit McCree

Stunningly enough…it….was contemporary. Which a few people laughed at

Jesse went, but had no plans to be participating

The notion of having to do this seemed stupid to him

Except… then you walked into the room

You’re voice was kind and friendly, as you explained how the lessons would go

Just your voice was enough to fascinate McCree

But when he saw you dance…the dance style itself held no interest, but the person dancing it…made it seem so beautiful

Jesse hadn’t realized so much feeling could be put into such movements, and yet whatever emotions you were choosing to use for your drive were coming across to him so clearly

Nothing had ever intrigued him as you did

Jesse came back for the lessons, but managed to get away for three classes without actually doing anything

And then you walked up to him and jabbed his chest

“You’re here for a reason, are you not?” you demanded. “ Either you participate, or get the hell out of my class.”

Jesse had never been manhandled like that (other then Angela and Ana, but the difference is he wasn’t attracted to them)

Jesse tried, but it looked sloppy and he felt ridiculous

With a sigh, you offered some after class lessons for free, wanting to help him improve

He agreed because it meant spending more time with you…but as he practiced, the last thing he expected was to start actually enjoying the dance itself

Whatever magic you were working on him had succeeded. It took three months, but by then he was enjoying himself and working hard in his dances. Surprisingly, the man was good at it

And the two of you had an easy, unadmitted but obvious attraction for each other

He eventually asked you out

Genji: 

This was all Zenyattas idea

Meditation was great but Zenyatta was worried Genji was remaining a little too cut off from others

When Zenyatta had to explain his reasoning for signing Genji up for dance classes, Zenyatta said it was a test

It was the only thing he could think of to get Genji to agree

Meditation was good. But movement also helped tune ones soul in with the world

Dancing was one way ancestors aligned themselves with the world

Genji did not want to do this but he would not refuse his master

All he asked was that Zenyatta at least make it something interesting

So when he showed up a week later, he was instructed down to the ice rink and was surprised

There was a class for ice dancing

Which seemed a bit simple, Genji thought, though he wasn’t the most skilled skater

Everyone had a warm up for going around the ice, and luckily he became more steady as he went

And then you skated out onto the ice, and he froze

Standing straight and making it look easy, you welcomed everyone to the class and immediately said that wherever help was needed, you’d give it

Then you performed a small piece with your partner, and Genji realized that this kind of dancing required a lot of trust and a lot of strength/balance. 

If the dancers made a wrong move, the partner could end of up hurt

But you were passionate, and he admired that

Genji was cautious, and realized that before he could even try the simplest of moves he needed to work on stabilizing himself on the ice. If he was wobbling on two feet, one foot would be impossible

When you smiled and asked if he needed any help, Genji blushed. Then, to your surprise, he asked the best methods for becoming more confident on the ice 

You gave him advice, talked it through. He liked how you took your time with him, not finding him silly at all for the questions he had

At the end of the second lesson, he did something he’s never done before

He asked if you’d talk to him more about it over a cup off coffee

With an impish grin, you agreed

After a few months, he became an excellent ice dancer and was in a serious relationship. Zenyatta was proud

[shiratorizawaheadcanons-blog]

Dorky Middleschoolers

Sen: Y’all now know that I’m tired as shit of life so here. Have some nerds. Let’s just say the middle school years of the third years would have been 2011-13 but lil Goshiki is a fresh young lad from 2013-16. Wow. 

Ushijima

- Ball is life was literally written everywhere. His phone screensaver, on the back cover of every notebook and the posters in his room were all related to volleyball. Though his dedication to the volleyball hasn’t faded, the tacky posters and screensavers have all been erased from existence.

- He was really excited about growing body hair for no reason other than “a beard would look cool on me right?” but then his facial hair grew out in a patchy worm over his top lip so he just ended up shaving it all off whenever he noticed it. Goodbye sweet bearded dreams.

Semi

- Was really into visual kei. Not the neo-visual kei, but 80s to 00s type visual kei with stuff like Buck-Tick and Dead End. At first he started listening to it to torment his sister in the room next door but found himself genuinely enjoying it.

- He kept trying to decide if makeup worked on him or not. He first wore eyeliner at one of his skating competitions and ended up using it a lot by himself but it literally just made him look like the walking dead; his mum tried to stop him from walking out the house like that but his sister said “no, he needs to learn for himself.”

Reon

- His voice cracks were the most embarrassing thing for him. He’d always end up squeaking in the middle of talking to someone, especially people he had crushes on. He just ended up not speaking to people because he was conscious of being laughed at.

- He lied about getting his first kiss from a girl outside of school. He wanted to seem cooler but never told Ushijima about it so when others asked Ushijima about it, the truth came out because everyone knows that Waka and Reon tell each other everything.

Tendou

- He was popping a lot of awkward boners. He just ended up walking around with his school bag in front of him out of a habit, even if the unspeakable being wasn’t awake. Physical Education classes weren’t fun either when for some reasons a football was attracted to another set of balls... often.

- He was sick of getting bullied all the time and ended up lashing out at one of them. Like any school situation, he as the victim got blamed for it. He ended up taking on a sort of delinquent look to get people to stop bothering him when in reality he’d rather be at home watching a magic girl anime or something.

Goshiki

- He'd always make really dumb excuses to not do things. “I can’t go to this because of this” was often heard from him when he wanted to avoid a social situation but it would always wind up badly for him when people did it on him and he saw all his friends out together without him.

- He’d bite his lips a lot so they were often cracked and dry. He tried to carry vaseline around with him but it’d only be with him for about a week before disappearing somewhere from his oversized school bag. How would you even find anything in that giant chasm of a backpack??

Shirabu

- He had a lot of temper tantrums. It was usually over really dumb things like spilling his soup or finding that the trash hadn’t been taken out from his room. He was really spoiled growing up so when one maid suddenly snapped at him for being so mean to everyone, he ended up bawling his eyes out upon realising how badly he treated them.

- Shirabu had braces but was pretty self conscious of having them. In his first year in middle school, people used to call him brace face and he stopped smiling because he got really conscious of it. However, everyone stopped mocking him when he took them off and everyone was in awe of how perfect his teeth looked.

Kawanishi

- He grew up in a religious family but started having doubts about everything. His mum raised him as a Christian but he decided some time later that he didn’t believe in any of it. Kawanishi still decided to follow along, in fear of hurting his mother’s feelings.

- He used to be a top student and do his homework whenever he came home. After joining way too many clubs, he would end up taking a nap as soon as he got home so now he’s in the habit of sleeping first before waking up at like 8pm to do his homework in a rush while eating dinner then going back to sleep again

Yamagata

- He was the kind of guy that would say really shitty things to people on online games. He would rage quit, flame and report people just because they weren’t playing well; generally he was just such a shitty person to play with online. Eventually almost every single one of his accounts got banned as a result.

- He had the worst acne breakouts at the worst of times. He’d end up picking at them so he’d get little marks on his cheeks and chin because of it and ended up feeling really bad about not listening to his mother about not doing it but after seeing his sister did it as well, he makes sure to tell her that it’s bad to do it but won’t make her feel ugly in the process.

Mirai

- The worst thing ever was getting your period in the middle of class and having to explain to a teacher why you had to leave the room. She got so pissed with one teacher that wouldn’t let her leave that she just screamed that she was “bleeding gallons and needs to fucking leave.” Detention was worth it when her skirt was saved.

- She fucked around a lot in her classes because she was always the smartest kid around. Only when she had two months before her final exams did she realise that she could get screwed. She still managed to pass with excellent results but the warning of somehow almost failing all that she had built up before scared her into reality.

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 4/9/20

The Dorm of Love and Secrets, Vol. 2 | By Nikki Asada | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Five years ago, an elite and a laidback high school combined, resulting in a new school where relations between “high-class students” and “no-class students” are horrendous. Asahi Suzumori is a member of the normal class, and when her dorm catches on fire, she accepts an offer from Tsukigase, the capricious student council president, to masquerade as a high-class student and live in their dorm, where she meets and falls in love with Yokaze Takagi, a kind boy with a sad past. Volume two mostly consists of them growing closer, but with Yokaze holding back because of a deal he made with Tsukigase that will enable him to regain something precious if he follows certain rules. The leads are okay, if a trifle bland, but I do enjoy manipulative Tsukigase and Asahi’s protective friend, Sho. The series is complete in four volumes, which feels right. – Michelle Smith

Fire in His Fingertips, Vol. 1 | By Kawano Tanishi | Ghost Ship – There’s a subtitle as well, but this is only a brief. Ryo and Souma are childhood friends. Both are very bad at communicating. After rescuing her from an apartment fire, she goes to his place and, despite some reluctance/consent issues, they have sex. And indeed they do that the rest of the book as well—this is a josei title, but still firmly within the Ghost Ship mission statement. Ryo manages to be a strong enough character to make this work and show us her latent attraction to Souma. Souma is a little more annoying, as his refusal to admit his own, clearly deep, feelings for Ryo is what leads to all the consent issues in the first place. Cautiously recommended to those who like sex and firefighting. – Sean Gaffney

Gal Gohan, Vol. 2 | By Marii Taiyou | Seven Seas – I’m not sure why this series is not pinging my “be careful, teacher/student romance” radar. I mean, it clearly is going to be. There’s no way that this series is going to pair Miku off with anyone other than her reluctant cooking professor. If anything, the series is going in the opposite direction, seemingly adding at the end a third person to the club (and no doubt adding a new romantic rival). There’s plenty of busty fanservice, and suggestive teasing (both from and of Miku). But, as I noted in my review of the first book, the whole thing is written so wholesomely that you end up accepting all of it. It’s the sweetest title about a big-breasted gal who wants to date her teacher you’ll ever read. -Sean Gaffney

Given, Vol. 1 | By Natsuki Kizu | SuBLime Manga – Since I’m always looking for good music manga and I’m always looking for good BL manga, it really was a given that Given would appeal to me. Ritsuka is a self-taught guitarist who has lost touch with his passion for music, but that missing spark eventually reignites after a schoolmate asks him for lessons. While Mafuyu’s past and personality are both mysterious, he does seem serious about wanting to learn, ultimately winning Ritsuka and the rest of his band over. Although it’s Mafuyu’s presence that really drives the story at this point, it’s the thoughtfulness that Kizu has put into the characterization of the entire cast—both leads and supporting roles—that really makes the manga work for me. How the characters all relate to one another is beautifully expressed not only through words but through Kizu’s artwork. I am definitely looking forward to reading more of Given. – Ash Brown

Guilty, Vol. 5 | By Ai Okaue | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Man, Guilty sure has evolved since its first volume! It initially seemed like a soap opera about unfaithful spouses, and it still is that to some degree, but has morphed into psychological suspense at this point, as Sayaka begins to put the pieces together about why Rui has been so intent on ruining her life and for how long she’s been manipulating events. Kazu is a target, as well, but his sins are far worse than Sayaka’s, and he finally seems to appreciate as much here. Sayaka exhibits grit in the face of devastation, Rui is an unhinged (yet not wholly unsympathetic) antagonist, and the main ship for readers is Sayaka’s relationship with her first love, Akiyama, who is seemingly happily married with an adorable child. Complicated! The plot might verge on melodramatic at times, but it never crosses over into ridiculous. Looking forward to the next installment! – Michelle Smith

Knight of the Ice, Vol. 1 | By Yayoi Ogawa | Kodansha Comics – I didn’t realize, before I read Knight of the Ice, how hungry I was for a manga about figure skating! Our two leads are a pair of childhood friends who are on the verge of becoming something more. Petite Chitose Igari works for a magazine while closet otaku Kokoro Kijinami is a world-class figure skater whose star is on the rise, but only if Chitose continues to cast a spell on him from his favorite magical girl anime. The tone is fun and I like the characters, both main and supporting, a lot. My one complaint so far is… I wish there were more skating! There’s a fabulous glossary that explains all about scoring and the various jumps, but I wish we would actually see that in the manga. Perhaps it’s yet to come. – Michelle Smith

Laid-Back Camp, Vol. 8 | By Afro | Yen Press – It turns out we didn’t have to wait at all for the next camping trip, as the whole cast goes to Izu in this volume. Well, they get there about halfway in, and it will continue next time. We see Rin bonding with her family (and getting extra equipment for her scooter, which she chooses to drive rather than get in the big van with the others), pranking Nadeshiko into thinking she slept through the entire camping trip, getting caught in horrendous traffic jams, and, when they finally arrive, finding a site that is not closed because of the time of year after all. Basically, all the things that can go wrong or right on a camping trip. There’s also setup for some birthday parties, but we’ll have to wait for book nine for those. Peaceful and wonderful. – Sean Gaffney

A Sign of Affection, Vol. 1 | By Suu Morishita | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – As expected from this author, this is cute as a bug’s ear. Itsuomi is a student who speaks many foreign languages (and travels to many foreign countries—this may be the first manga I’ve seen where “I’m going to Laos” is a genuine apology and not a desperate excuse) and then he meets our heroine, Yuki, who is deaf. They hit it off immediately, and have some great chemistry, making him want to learn a new language so that he can talk to her better. There’s some romantic rivalry on both sides—Yuki has a childhood friend, clearly in love with her, that she’s oblivious to, and Itsuomi is surrounded by girls a lot because he’s hot. Despite that, I want to see these two grow closer. Excellent debut. – Sean Gaffney

UQ Holder, Vol. 19 | By Ken Akamatsu | Kodansha Comics – This serves to give us even more pactios (Karin, Kirie at last, and even the two hangers-on, Shinobu and the other one), remind us that Tota is a deadpan playboy as opposed to Negi’s unwitting playboy (and also that Kirie is still one up on everyone else in that department), wrap up Karin’s backstory with most tsundere Judas Iscariot shenanigans, introduce a new Big Bad, and throw in some truly fantastic fights, reminding us that Akamatsu may love fanservice and tease, but he also really loves battle sequences. We also see who Karin was not around during the events of Negima. As such, the story seems prepared to move in a new direction, and I assume it will do so next time. Fans should be happy. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown

[stephmolliex]

Your new iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max needs a portable, foldable, or even rollable keyboard

Those gorgeous big screens mean you're going to be using your phone more -- and it could even become your primary computing device. You need, and your iPhone deserves, a physical keyboard for when you've got serious work to do. AppleInsider surveys the scene. You know that there are keyboard cases for the iPad: protective cases that feature a slightly cramped physical keyboard. There was a little spate of keyboard cases back when the iPhone 6 came out, too, but those failed because they were too cramped and too small. Now, though, we are now looking at a range of iPhones that are bigger than ever before. No doubt: there will be new phone keyboard cases made and you can bet money that the first device to get one will be the iPhone XS Max. That size of screen and that powerful a device mean it's a serious tool and a keyboard makes the most of this. You don't have to wait for manufacturers, though. If you can't yet get an actual iPhone keyboard case, you've still got options. You already have many different ways of using a physical keyboard with your iPhone -- and you may already have what you need. What you've already got If you have an external Bluetooth keyboard of any kind, it will work with your iPhone. It may not be terribly practical to rip the Apple keyboard away from your iMac Pro and carry it around in your pocket, but you can do it. Slightly more practically, if you have a older iMac Bluetooth keyboard going spare, you could throw that into your luggage and put up with funny looks at check-in. Then just a bit closer to actually being practical, you may already be using an external keyboard with your iPad. If it's in an iPad case then there's nothing you can do: it's wedded to your iPad. Yet if it's any kind of external one then you can pair it with your iPhone exactly as you did with your iPad. What's more, very many external Bluetooth keyboards can be paired with multiple devices. You pair each one separately and assign it to a particular button or keystroke on the keyboard. Then swapping between iPhone and iPad is a matter of a tap and possibly counting to five before you begin typing on the new device. We've done this many, many times. Writing on our iPad, we get a text message on our iPhone. Tap a button, type a reply onto the phone, tap another button and be back writing on the iPad. That's worth it for the convenience and the speed and the sheer fun of making your message recipient jump because you've just sent them a 100-word reply in seconds. It's not worth it, though, if your keyboard can only be paired with one device. Yes, you can pair and unpair it as often as you like but sometimes these connections are less Bluetooth and more alchemy. You can have to schlep through the same pairing process over and over again before it works. The alternative is to buy a keyboard especially for your iPhone and that's when you can go to town with ridiculously small ones. Not only small but foldable or even rollable. Typing is a very personal thing: your absolutely perfect keyboard may very well not be ours. We'll keep digging into this and examining the best in each class that we can find but so that you know the range of possibilities, this is what you can buy while you wait for your new iPhone to arrive. Just small keyboards For reference, the standard Apple Magic Keyboard without a numeric keypad is 27.9cm wide (10.98 inches). The model with a numeric keypad is 41.87cm (16.48 inches). Now compare that to just one example of the small keyboards you can buy. The HDE Bluetooth 3.0 Keyboard Mini Travel Size is only 11.5cm (4.5 inches) wide. Or put it another way. This keyboard is narrower in width than any shipping iPhone is in height. Turn your iPhone to landscape, pop this beneath it and you'll have a little room to spare on the sides. Maybe this is too small for serious use and it's surely far too small for protracted typing. However, it's only going to cost you $13.99 to find out. That's actually a typical price for this size of keyboard or slightly larger. Foldable keyboards We were once early for a meeting so took a table in a Starbucks, got out a foldable keyboard -- and wondered why this little girl on roller skates kept circling the table. Trying not to be too obvious about it, we looked around for her parents and there they were, quite nearby and completely unconcerned. So we ignored the little girl and carried on working. Until eventually, on about the tenth orbit of our table, she called out "That's really clever" and skated off back to her family. She meant our keyboard and she had a point. There is something about being able to take out a CD jewel-case-sized device, crack it open and be typing on what's close to being a full size keyboard. This is the one she liked and it's our favorite too: the Microsoft Universal Foldable Keyboard. It typically sells for around $75 but be sure to follow that link to check it out: Microsoft has very similarly-named ones that we don't like as much. This one, though, this is good. The feel of the keys is remarkable: for such a slim device it has excellent travel on the keys, you're really conscious that you're pressing down on a physical keyboard. There is one thing that you'll notice when you open it up. It's a split keyboard. Yes. It takes time to get used to that split between the two halves of the keyboard and especially so if you're a touch typist. However, when we say time, we mean seconds. You very quickly get used to it and can type at something approaching your full speed. Note, though, that we find if you ever stop to think about where your fingers should go then you immediately start getting it wrong. If you just get on with your typing, though, it works very well. In fact this one works so well that we've used it for at least tens of thousands of words. It hasn't got quite the depth of travel of, say, the Apple Magic Keyboard, though, and the spacing of the keys is tighter so your hands aren't in a brilliant position. If you like mechanical keyboards, that is the ones that really clack when you type, then you're out of luck for foldable ones. Except there is the iClever, which comes close. The iClever Wireless Folding Keyboard has just a little more of an old-style keyboard feel and it folds up like a steampunk one would. Where Microsoft's folds in two like a book, the iClever one comes in three sections that click back into place. When extended out into its full 16.2cm (6.46 inches), you can also switch on a back light. It's an LED backlight which gives you a choice of three colors and, truly, we think the carrying bag it comes with is a bit more useful. However, it does look cool. The iClever Wireless Folding Keyboard is typically sold for around $37. You're kidding, right? We don't carry that Microsoft keyboard absolutely everywhere - but that's because it doesn't quite fit in the pockets of all of our jackets. When it does or when we're wanting to carry just a little luggage, we do. If you don't have jacket pockets, if you never carry any kind of bag, or if you are simply curious to see whether this is real, you could buy yourself a rollable keyboard. It is real and there are a few of them but here's one: the 2 in 1 Rollable Wireless Keyboard by Glosse which costs around $26. This one rolls up into a little case and that's very clever. Still, when we learned of rolled keyboards, we weren't thinking of ones like this that have each line of keys on a separately hinged mechanism. Truly, we were imagining something like the rolled up piano keyboard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation". You can get keyboards like that, ones that literally roll up, but they all connect via USB wire and so are no use for iPhones. One more thing There is one more type of keyboard that might be good if you can figure out where to put your iPhone. It's a projection keyboard. You place the projector unit on a flat surface and, using lasers, it displays a QWERTY keyboard in front of itself. Then as you "type", it detects which parts of the laser's path your finger interrupts and then interprets that into which key you must've pressed. These were one of those devices that were promised for years, built up quite a fanfare when they came -- and then somehow seemed to fade away. Nonetheless, they exist and one example, the AGS Laser Projection Bluetooth Virtual Keyboard typically sells online for $29. It's worth it That projection keyboard might be a gimmick. Even if it isn't, you're typing directly onto the wood of a table or whatever surface is in front of you and that's not going to be good for your fun or your fingers. Then the rollable ones and the folding keyboards could be flimsy. We've had our Microsoft one for some years now and it's had the odd little problem not registering a keystroke from time to time but otherwise is strong and robust. The onscreen keyboards of the iPhones are excellent and you can type on them very well -- but you can type so very much better on an external keyboard. You've heard that for years about the iPad and it's the reason there are so many keyboard and keyboard case options for it. Now it's also true for the new larger-screen iPhones too, given that the iPhone XS Max is a good percentage of the way towards the iPad mini's size. Keep up with AppleInsider by downloading the AppleInsider app for iOS, and follow us on YouTube, Twitter @appleinsider and Facebook for live, late-breaking coverage. You can also check out our official Instagram account for exclusive photos. https://goo.gl/Pzypmj

[veritas-roleplay]

FLORA BORGIN ♦︎ HUFFLEPUFF ALUMNA ♦︎ NEUTRAL ♦︎ FC: JESSICA HENWICK ♦︎ TAKEN

B I O G R A P H Y :

Flora Eurydice Borgin was born September 22nd 1956, the only daughter of Hyperion Borgin and his wife, Artemisia. It was a long and difficult childbirth– Artemisia was too old to have children, everyone had agreed, and her pregnancy had been a surprise and worry for everyone. But after thirteen hours of arduous labor, Flora was born. She wasn’t the ideal child– she was a girl, for starters, and she was a rather sickly infant– but she was welcomed into the Borgin family as a blessing. She was the only child they had, and the only child they would ever have. The Borgins had long ago resigned themselves to a childless marriage, and in a moment, Flora became the most precious thing in their lives. She was their future, and they knew that no matter what, they would give her the best possible life that she could have.

It wasn’t an easy childhood for Flora, but it was a happy one. Born with Tinnitus and some hearing complications, Flora’s life was never going to be uncomplicated. Her mother had sensorineural hearing loss which had eventually left her almost entirely deaf, and a young Flora spent much of her early years learning to speak and how to sign. Her hearing problems were fairly minimal for her childhood, and it wasn’t a concern of either of her parents that she would have the same hearing loss as her mother. It was natural to them, after all, for someone Artemisia’s age to lose her hearing. But Flora was quick to pick up sign language, and eager to learn. The rest of her time was spent in Borgin and Burke’s, wandering the shelves and sitting behind the counter with her father, resolutely counting out coins and doing little tasks that he set for her. Her mother would come to fetch her, and the two of them would goto barter for pieces to sell in the shop. Flora was a quick and eager helper for her mother, and her sweet little face was the tipping point of many a deal, and watching her mother work was like watching her weave a magic all of her own. They would have fun too, and do any and everything they could think of doing, whether it was painting, skating, attending galas, or even just playing Gobstones together in the storeroom. The shop was Flora’s home and safety net, and she loved it as much as she loved her family, and they in return loved her as much as they did the family business.

The change was slow, but Flora’s mother started taking her on fewer and fewer acquisitions. Flora thought that it was her, that her mother felt that she was holding her back from making deals, but it was the furthest thing from the truth. Hyperion and Artemisia sat her down when she was eight years old, and told her that Artemisia was sick, and badly so. They’d done their best to keep the full extent of it hidden from Flora, to give her as much time with her mother and to preserve her happy childhood, but it was getting harder and harder every day for her mother to feign health. They couldn’t hide it anymore, so instead, the Borgins prepared for the inevitable.

And it came, as they all knew it would. September 15th, 1964, Hyperion and Flora buried her mother. The Borgin family dropped from the close-knit family of three to the quiet father-daughter pair of two. Flora’s birthday that September was a somber and dark affair, and  she and her father couldn’t even bring themselves to speak to each other. For the first time, Flora was truly confronted with how close death was to destroying her fragile little family, and it terrified her. Her mother had always seemed so strong; she was the fixed point of the Borgin family, the true strength of it, keeping Hyperion on task and Flora happy. And with her gone, Flora knew that she had two options. She could stand back and watch her father become the bitter, lonely man he’d already started to become, lost and consumed by his own grief, or she could step up to the plate. Flora took her mother’s ring and wore it around her neck at the end of a chain, put up her hair, and got to work. She wasn’t her mother. She was Flora. But she was Flora Borgin, and Borgins never gave up.

Flora became a facet of the shop just as her mother had. She was small, and she wasn’t as good with customers as her mother or father were, but she was determined and she was good at keeping herself busy, which was enough for her father. It was slow, but laughter finally reentered the Borgin house, and she and her father slowly adjusted to life without Artemisia. And it got easier, eventually, to handle the grief of her loss. She was remembered in the household, but Hyperion and Flora were learning to live without her. They still had each other, and that bond was something they could always rely on.

Leaving for Hogwarts was a harder challenge than Flora had thought it would be, and she begged her father to let her stay home with him instead of leaving. The shop was her home, and leaving it felt like a betrayal. It felt like abandoning her father once again, and she feared him slipping back into the man he’d been after Artemisia had died. But come September first, she reluctantly boarded the Hogwarts Express, and was carried off to her new life. She curled up in her seat and cried the entire way there. But the Hogwarts Express pulled up in Hogsmeade, and before she knew it, she was climbing into a little boat and sailing across the Great Lake.

Hogwarts was bigger than any place she’d ever seen. Her homesickness melted away as she was lost in the wonder of the castle, and she embraced her new home a little more with each step. She was sorted into Hufflepuff– a house that brought a series of snickers from her fellow purebloods, for reasons that she didn’t quite understand. But she went and she sat down at her new table, among the smiling and eager faces, and waited for her life to properly begin. She settled into the Hufflepuff dormitory with the other first year girls, and the next morning, she was part of the eager crowd hurrying up to the Great Hall.

Classes felt like a breeze, and Flora soared through her studies while she was at Hogwarts. Quiet in class, but excellent at papers and examinations, it was enough to keep Flora doing respectably in class. Not that she needed to. Flora knew exactly where she was going to end up after she was done with school. But there were things she couldn’t learn at home, and Hogwarts offered her a look into the before unseen parts of the wizarding world. Weekly letters passed between her and her father, and she awaited each note from home hungry for whatever details she could get about the shop and how her father was doing. She raced home every holiday and break, wishing she could make the Hogwarts Express move faster, and would run all the way from the station back home to the shop. Her arrivals were treated as monumental homecomings, and Flora couldn’t decide which she loved more– going home, or returning to Hogwarts at the start of each term.

When the time finally came, however, she was ready and eager to graduate. Her father was there to cheer her on, and the two of them went out to celebrate after the ceremony was done. Her life as a student was officially over, and her new life at the family business was finally ready to begin. Her father gave her her own key to the shop, and, as soon as the celebrating was over, it was back to work.

The war wasn’t something that really came onto Flora’s radar until after graduation. She didn’t care about muggleborns and their rightful place in society at the bottom; she’d spent her entire Hogwarts career side-by-side with muggleborns and blood traitors, and she was used to them. She’d known that many of her friends were considering joining the Death Eaters, but it wasn’t something that had ever bothered or fussed her. She couldn’t and wouldn’t join, and even if she could, she knew that they wouldn’t let her. She wasn’t a fighter, she wasn’t of use to anyone in a combat situation. Even with the training, she still couldn’t do it, and people seemed happy to agree with her on that one.

But that didn’t mean she was entirely useless. Raids on pureblood homes were becoming more and more common, and Flora and her father opened the shop up to those like them as a safe haven and house. Business boomed as they stored sensitive items in the shop, and Flora stepped into the role of smuggler like it had been made for her. Nights were spent sorting through items and wares, keeping things safely squirreled away and protected in the shop’s storage rooms until their owners came to collect them once again. Her days were spent manning the shop along with her father, occasionally traveling beyond the safe confines of Knockturn Alley to acquire items and heirlooms from grateful clients, and sweep those things better left unfound under the carpet until it was safe to own them again.

But hiding away couldn’t keep her safe forever, and she and Hyperion reluctantly agreed that changes had to be made for her own safety and their own good. He wouldn’t be around forever, and while Flora was strong, he wanted to be sure that she wouldn’t be left alone when his time finally came, that she would be cared for, respected, and loved. To protect their future, a sacrifice had to be made. Flora looked forward to the next inevitable development in her life with complete dread. She had no qualms with being a wife, no issues with being a mother. But giving up her family name and abandoning the title of Borgin wasn’t a fate that she was ready for. And she didn’t think she’d ever be.

D E T A I L S :

☛ CANON INFORMATION : [ relative of Borgin ]

☛ AFFILIATION : neutral ( Death Eater ally )

☛ BLOOD STATUS : pureblood

☛ AGE : 24

☛ FORMER HOUSE : Hufflepuff

☛ TRAITS :

   Positives : sophisticated / thrifty / observant

   Negatives : jealous / dependent / over-analytical

☛ OCCUPATION : Borgin and Burke’s employee

C O N N E C T I O N S :

CLARA MACMILLAN, KALA PATIL, EVAN ROSIER, OCTAVIA ROWLE : close friends, values

ROSALYN BURKE : family friend, extremely close, worries about

BENVOLIO SLUGHORN : in talks of betrothal, enjoys spending time with

WALDEN MACNAIR : former flame, finds difficult to deal with

MAHIRA SHAFIQ, GRETA CATCHLOVE, BERTRAM AUBREY : finds irritating, avoids

RABASTAN LESTRANGE, LUDO BAGMAN, PROTEUS TRAVERS : finds intimidating

[devilssnarerp]

Congratulations KIRSTIN! You have been accepted as Anastasia Zabini. Please go through the checklist and send in your account within 24 hours. If you need more time, make sure you send a message to the main.

Anastasia is our first Ravenclaw, and I can’t wait to have her with us! The fact that she’s a Zabini is even more exciting since the family name is so prominent. I can’t wait to see how Anastasia changes over her seventh year, and to see how she develops over the coming months.. Welcome to Devil’s Snare!

OOC INFO -- About the Player

Name & Age:

Kirstin, 21

Preferred Pronouns:

She/Her

Timezone & Activity Level:

PST

Anything Else:

No

IC INFORMATION

Character Name:

Anastasia Loretta Zabini

Age & Year:

Seventh, Seventh Year

Birthday:

April 16th

Birthplace:

Falmouth, UK

Blood Status:

Pureblood

House:

Ravenclaw

Face Claim:

Logan Browning

Personality:

Anastasia was raised a proper young lady, the perfect muggle debutante but with the bonus of being born with the gift of magic. Her mother got lucky: Ana’s quiet and calm predisposition made for an easy child to be molded. Training gave her poise when she walked and grace when she danced, but only luck in the genetic lottery gave her the natural charisma that draws people in and puts them at ease. She does everything she can to never let on about her intense fear of vexing anyone she cares about, undoubtedly stemming from a mild case of anxiety she has kept secret since childhood. An excellent work ethic almost got her placed in Hufflepuff, but Anastasia’s thirst for knowledge, to prove herself, and to make some small impact on the world convinced the Hat she was destined to be a Ravenclaw. She has never been shy, but tries to keep her head down in groups as her mother taught her a good girl should. The etiquette classes she took all throughout her childhood have stuck firmly in her mind, and it’s a very rare and concerning day when Anastasia doesn’t say please and thank you or slurps her soup at dinner.

Biography:

From birth, Anastasia Zabini was a very loved girl. Her dotting mother hosted numerous little get-togethers so all of her friends could see just what a beautiful baby she was, took the infant to every park in town so strangers could look on in envy, and bought the little girl every pretty dress she laid eyes on to accentuate the infant’s darling little features. However as the little Anastasia grew from a petite child to a young lady, her father’s affection grew less and less. He was so stressed and busy with work all the time, when he came home all he would do was sit down with the news and drink his whiskey. Anastasia tried everything to win him back, from learning to mix his drinks perfectly to making him baked Alaska at only 9 years old. When none of her efforts worked, she believed she must have made some mistake along the way and vowed never to displease anyone ever again. Little Anastasia spent much of her childhood at primary school like the rest of Britain’s children, but after school and on weekends she was rarely out of the company of both her mum and younger brother. Only a year younger than she, the two children got along surprisingly well and rarely competed for anything. Their mum brought them up to be the epitome of obedience and respect, with piano lessons and etiquette classes every Sunday until they were sent off to Hogwarts. As a trio, the family was closer than any other, and never once did Anastasia doubt she was cared for. At the end of her final year in primary school, Anastasia got her letter from Hogwarts. She spent that summer questioning her mother endlessly about the castle and all its wonders. She received a beautiful owl on her final night at home as a gift from her brother, who had saved up all his pocket money to buy it (though it still wasn’t nearly enough, so really their mother paid for it, but Ana needn’t know that part). She swore to write him every week while she was away, and to send him pictures of all the most exciting aspects of her new life at school. Upon her arrival at Hogwarts, Anastasia was sorted into Ravenclaw where she quickly befriended many people and sent pictures of all of them home to her brother. It was with those letters that Anastasia first became interested in muggle photography, a secret passion that has continued throughout her life. In her fourth year, she had the fortune of befriending one Trenton Rosier, a Slytherin she had been set up on playdates with thanks to their parents, but hadn’t particularly taken to. Now, at 15, she was enraptured by his quiet manner and charm and agreed to tutor him in divination, a subject she excelled in while he barely managed to keep his head above water. Eventually, at the end of their fifth year, Trenton asked her out out; it turned out to be the most wonderful day since her arrival at Hogwarts. The two started dating, and soon became the golden couple of Hogwarts (or at least to those who knew them). Around that time, Anastasia’s mother sent her a letter telling her daughter that her father had suffered a stroke but was recovering very quickly. Since then, Ana’s mother said, he had stopped drinking completely and become much more of the man he once was. Anastasia was delighted to hear that not only was he becoming a better husband but from the sound of it she was about to reconnect with the father she had never stopped loving, even when she felt he didn’t love her. Her last couple years at Hogwarts sailed by smoothly, and with her many Outstanding grades in her O.W.L.s Anastasia has begun pursuing a career in Department of Magical Law Enforcement, specifically Wizengamot Administration Services. She is well aware that as a witch fresh out of Hogwarts there is less than no chance of her getting onto the Wizengamot, but is planning to work her way from the bottom up, even if it means fetching coffee and fresh quills for a year or two. During the summer before her seventh year Anastasia began a correspondence with the head of the department in an effort to build rapport and, hopefully, get some tips that may help her get the inside track when it comes time for her to apply for the job.

Headcanons:

(I.) After her father recovered from his bout with alcoholism, Anastasia’s parents began spending more and more time with the old social group from her childhood, including Trenton’s parents. At first Anastasia loved to hear about the fun, thankfully alcohol-free times he was having, but over the years she started to sense his growing frustration with muggles, something even young Ana didn’t entirely agree with. She saw the merit when he told her the entire magical community was being repressed because of the muggles’ fear, but their opinions differed when it came to deciding what the appropriate action might be to correct that. Her father, and even her mother, seemed to believe brute force was absolutely necessary if wizards were ever going to be able to live their normal lives without hiding like rats, and to make matters worse, recently Anastasia has been getting a strong impression that Trenton shares that view.

(II.) Anastasia’s favourite subject in school has always been Divination. To her disappointment she wasn’t lucky enough to be born with the gift of being a seer, but hard work and a strong faith in the validity of the subject have led her to nearly the top of the class, and she has formed a bond with the Divination professor she admires so much, and sees as a mentor she can go to when she is unable to talk with her own mother. And it doesn’t hurt that Anastasia finds the view from the Divination tower to have the most beautiful sunsets in the entire castle.

(III.) Over the coming Christmas break the Zabini family is planning on taking a trip to see some family friends in America, and Anastasia couldn’t be more excited. Not that she has much interest in sitting in on the adults’ idle chit chat, but she and her brother have made plans to discover the hidden magical underworld of Salem, one of America’s oldest wizarding settlements. The history is extensive and yet there are surprisingly few books on the subject in the family library, or even the Hogwarts one, and the two youngest Zabinis have been waiting for years for this opportunity to discover it first-hand.

OPTIONAL INFORMATION

Wand:

Alder and dragon heartstring, 9 ¼", bendy

Amortentia:

Trenton’s cologne (the one she originally hated, but grew to love); cigar smoke (her father smoked Cubans); fresh baked sugar cookie (her mother nearly always had some in the oven); baby powder (she can’t wait to start her own family)

Boggart:

Not just the body, but they dying breaths of any one of her family members

Dementor:

During Christmas break of her second year, Anastasia and her brother were ice skating on a pond near their house when the ice broke and her brother fell in. Ana was petrified for a moment, unsure of what to do or how to help without falling in herself, and had it not been for a brave stranger who heard her screams and came running, it is likely her brother would have died. For years Anastasia felt horribly guilty over this day, despite her mother’s insistence that it wasn’t her fault and the only long-lasting damage little scar on her brother’s wrist.

Patronus:

A dove, symbolizing love, peace, and new life

Anything Else:

Nothing

[queen-swagzilla]

Born in Dreams, Forged in Blood - Chapter 1

Rated: M

Summary: Katsuki Bakugo was not a good communicator. To be fair, neither was Izuku Midoriya. Looking back on their dumpster fire of a friendship, communication was probably the most significant missing piece in their interpersonal puzzle. Luckily, their translator is back in town, and they're about to take UA by storm.

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 She kept her eyes glued to her phone, scrolling lazily as she ignored the whispers that sprang up around her. As each person entered the classroom, the murmurs grew louder. 

 “Who is she?”

“You think she’s in the wrong classroom?”

“She looks kinda mean.”

“She looks like a delinquent.”

Idiots. Did they really not realize how loud they were being? She kept scrolling, opting to read through the hero analysis forum instead of indulging their curiosity. There was some excellent information about Bubble Girl and Centipeder that she wanted to dive into. Nighteye’s sidekicks were always fascinating, and she’d much rather learn about them than deal with petty high school crap. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” A gruff voice demanded from the doorway. Finally, she looked up.

“Nice. Really welcoming.” She replied dryly. 

“Answer the fucking question.” Katsuki snapped. 

“If you’re looking for welcoming…or friendly, Bakugo’s the wrong person. He’s more of an acquired taste.” A girl on the other end of the classroom joked. The one who had said she looked mean. She snorted but didn’t respond.

“Shut the hell up, Kirby.” Katsuki glowered. “Seriously Sana, why are you here?”

“BAKUGO! You are being very rude!” This time, it was an uptight dude with glasses. 

“At least he fucking greeted me directly instead of insulting me within earshot.” She snapped, finally turning to glare at them. “You don’t fucking know me, and I don’t need you to tell me how shit works with Katsuki.” Glasses and Kirby both looked affronted, but Katsuki was grinning. 

“Good. For a minute there I thought you’d lost your teeth.” He dropped into the desk next to her. “But you still haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?”

“What does it look like?”

“It looks like you’re sitting in my classroom and not explaining yourself.” He grunted. “Does Deku know you’re here?”

“Nope! It was supposed to be a surprise. Where is he?”

“How the fuck should I know?” He demanded. She leveled him with an unimpressed stare, and he rolled his eyes. “He’s in the infirmary after breaking his entire fucking body during training.”

“He’s still in the infirmary?” The annoying girl yelped. Sana rounded on her, eyes flashing.

“Hey, I’m trying to have a conversation. Wanna keep your big nose out of it?” She snapped.

“I MUST ASK THAT YOU TREAT US WITH RESPECT!” Glasses shouted. 

She scoffed. “Like you treated me with respect? Whispering about me while I was right here? I don’t think you even tried to lower your voice. You—“ she pointed at the Kirby. “Said I look mean, and you—“ she pointed at Glasses. “Said I look like a delinquent. So step the fuck off me and stay out of my business.”

“Easy, Sana. They’re Deku’s best friends. Round-Face is Uraraka and Four-Eyes is Iida, our class rep.”

“If these are his best friends, we need to talk to him about his shitty taste in people.” She muttered to him. He snorted.

“Deku likes everyone. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be Deku. His friendship requirements are breathing and having a pulse.” He rolled his eyes.

“Whatever.” She turned her gaze back to the now tremendously offended duo. “Keep your noses out of my business. Same goes for any of you who were talking shit when you thought I wasn’t listening.”

“Seriously, dude, take it down a notch. You don’t want to be lashing out when Aizawa gets here. Pay them back in training.” Katsuki muttered. She grinned at him—a sharp, toothy, vicious-looking thing.

“Figured it out?”

“I’m not stupid.” He snapped. “I was surprised.”

“A good surprise?” She prodded. He glared at her mutinously, and her grin widened.

“No. You’re a pain in the ass and I hate you.”

“Liar.”

“Woah!” A surprised voice sounded from the doorway. “You’re talking to him and he’s not yelling! That’s awesome!” A spiky-haired redhead bounded toward them, followed by a blonde boy, a black-haired boy, a pink (like literally head-to-toe pink) girl, and a purple-haired girl. 

“What, does he usually just scream at everyone?” She asked dryly.

“Yeah! Our boy’s feral, but it looks like you’ve got the magic touch. Only like…three people do, and it’s not exactly reliable.” The blonde one explained. She snorted. That sounded about right, but—

“I thought you’d grown out of that.” She muttered. He glared at her.

 “Maybe they understand each other. She seems like she’s basically the girl version of Bakugo, ribbit.”

 “Shut the fuck up Frog-face.” Katsuki snarled. “I don’t care what you think of me, but don’t you dare talk shit about her. You don’t know her.”

The silence that boomed through the room was deafening. “Being the girl version of you isn’t an insult. It’s not really true, but it’s not an insult.” Sana said after a long, surprised moment. 

“Trust me, she meant it as one.” He snapped.

“Alright, problem children. Sit down and shut up.” Aizawa grumbled as he dragged himself into the classroom. The class hastened to comply. “First of all, as I imagine you’ve noticed, we have a new student—Sana Kimura. She was scouted by Principal Nezu after an incident with a villain in Kyoto. I trust you’ll all welcome her to 1-A.” He drawled. “Second, Midoriya won’t be joining us today due to his most recent set of injuries. Recovery Girl has informed me that she will not be relaxing visiting hours, so if you want to see him, you see him before 8 pm and leave as soon as visiting hours are over. If you try to overstay your welcome, you will be barred from future visiting hours indefinitely.”

Sana raised her hand. “Excuse me, sir. He usually bounces back faster. Is something wrong?”

“No. The damage was too extensive to be healed in one pass, so she’s keeping him longer. Her quirk drains stamina, so she’s keeping him in the infirmary. No need for concern.” He assured her. “You’ll find that Midoriya spends about half his time in the infirmary. The shock and concern will eventually fade.”

Katsuki snorted. “She’s more of a mother hen than my actual mother. Not a chance.”

“Shut your face.” She grumbled, kicking at his chair.

“Anyways,” Aizawa said, interrupting before they could start arguing.”We’ll be skipping team exercises until Midoriya returns, just so that we can keep the playing ground fair. Since we have a student with abilities that we aren’t familiar with yet, I’d like for you all to be on the same page when we start sparring while she’s included.”

“Sensei, Deku already knows what her quirk is.” Katsuki interrupted. 

“That may be, but I’d wager he hasn’t seen it used in quite some time, let alone fought against it. The more information his classmates can gain, the less objective I can be regarding your ability to make quick evaluations or learn from previous experiences. I’d rather you all take on those challenges together. Besides, I’d like to have more teachers available when we do our initial evaluation of Miss Kimura’s ability and potential.”

Katsuki seemed to accept that logic, so he slumped back in his seat. 

 “So we won’t be training today? At all?” The candy-cane looking dude from the back asked, voice monotone. Iida looked rather sour at the thought, frowning deeply. She didn’t really care unless he yelled about it later. The guy was fuckin’ loud.

“I’m going to allow you to use homeroom as a study period, and for hero training, you can choose to either train physically or continue to develop your coursework. Some of you are performing disastrously in your core subjects, and I’d strongly advise you to prepare for your exams.” His eyes skated over the room, landing in a few key spots that she didn’t pay attention to. “Use the extra time wisely, and don’t do anything stupid.” Sana watched in amusement as the adult-in-charge whipped out a sleeping bag and curled up in a cocoon on the classroom floor. 

 “Yo, Bakubro—could you help me with the calc homework? I’m stuck on number ten.” The redhead spiky dude asked.

“Why didn’t you ask me last night, Shitty Hair?”

“You were asleep by the time I got to it!” He complained. 

 Katsuki sighed…well, growled, and held out his hand. “Let me see what you tried so far.” He turned to Sana. “This is Eijirou Kirishima. The blond one is Denki Kaminari. That’s Hanta Sero, Pinky is Mina Ashido, and AirPods is Kyoka Jiro.”

She gaped. “Woah, you actually learned their names? You must really like them.” She chuckled incredulously. He muttered under his breath, so quickly that it sounded like a growl to their companions, but she heard it clear as day. 

“Shut the fuck up.” He’d said. “If they know that I actually like them, they’ll want to hang out even more.”

She threw her head back and laughed, but acquiesced. “Well, I trust your taste in friends. You’re more discerning than Zuku. He’d befriend a serial killer if he had the chance.” She said, still chuckling. “It’s nice to meet you guys.”

The redhead grinned. “Nice to meet you too! How do you know Bakubro and Midoriya?”

“Her mom went to college with our moms. I’ve been stuck with her since birth.” Katsuki snapped. 

“Right, that’s definitely why you called me and Deku-screeched at me for an hour when you got accepted to UA.” She drawled. He glared at her, snarling.

 “Deku-screeched?” Earlobe girl—Jiro—snorted. 

“You know how Zuku mutters super fast under his breath? Well when he gets super excited about it, sometimes he does it really loudly. He sounds kinda like an auctioneer, but with Present Mic’s quirk.” Sana replied. “I thought he was trying to blow my eardrums out when he called.”

“First of all, shut the fuck up. Second of all, at least I told you that I got in. Third, Aizawa said you were scouted after a villain attack. You haven’t said shit about a villain attack. Start talking.” Katsuki demanded.

 “I thought you wanted me to shut the fuck up.” She teased. The glare he shot her this time was different. Yeah, it could have melted glass, but it was a little more pleading. She sighed. “Can I tell you later? When Zuku’s here? I figured we could catch up on everything at once. I think between the three of us, there are some things we don’t want to talk about more than once, if possible.”

He glowered but conceded. “Fine. But we are talking about this.” His voice dropped again, too low for the rest to hear. “You and fucking Deku are going to give me heart attacks.”

She ducked her head, inky black hair falling into her eyes. “Of course we’ll talk about it. Sorry, Kacchan.” There was a dramatic collection of gasps, and she glanced at Katsuki’s friends. “What?”

 “N-nobody but Midoriya is allowed to call him that!” Kaminari stammered. She laughed.

“Sorry, Zuku might have started it, but it’s a childhood friend privilege.” She replied. “He couldn’t pronounce Kacchan’s name when we were younger, and I liked it because it sounded cute. It’s really just for me and Zuku, though. At least, as far as I know.”

 “Yeah, because I hate it, but I can’t get you two to stop.”

“Yeah? Then why did you blow up your couch the last time I called you Bakugo?” She snickered.

“Stop exposing me, asshole.” He growled, turning to the messy homework that Kirishima had slid onto his desk. 

“While he’s making sure Kiri doesn’t fail, why don’t you tell us about yourself?” Jiro suggested, pulling her chair closer.

“YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE STUDYING!” Four-Eyes barked. “PLEASE FOLLOW MR. AIZAWA’S DIRECTIONS! MISS KIMURA MUST HAVE WORK TO CATCH UP ON!” 

“What did I just say about minding your own business? I can make my own decisions.” Sana snapped. “But if you guys need to study, I can help! Kacchan and I can tag team!” She offered, switching gears from being pissed at Iida to smiling pleasantly at Katsuki’s friends, who were making her feel substantially more welcome than the rest of the class had. 

“We’re actually caught up for once, and I think we can revise later.” Mina smiled. “We’re supposed to make you feel welcome, right? We wanna get to know you! But thanks for offering.”

“Yeah, I might take you up on that later. Bakugo’s smart, but he can be vicious.” Kaminari joked. 

They all ignored Katsuki’s answering snarl. “Alright, then. Well, what do you want to know?” She asked, a little nervous. It was always nerve-wracking being the new girl. 

“Where did you transfer from?” Jiro asked. 

“Shiketsu. I didn’t apply to UA—it would have cost too much for me to get an apartment.”

“Even though mom and Auntie Inko both said they’d let you stay with us,” Katsuki muttered. She ignored him.

“Since you’re living in the dorms now, accommodations are taken care of. It all worked out. Even if I hate the reason the dorms were built.” She continued, shooting a nasty glare at the back of Katsuki’s head.

“I didn’t want to get kidnapped by shitty, delusional villains.” He growled. 

“What’s your quirk?” Kirishima asked, leaning in. 

“Uh…well, it’s called Kinesis. But I guess vibration is a simpler way to explain it.” She shrugged. “My hero name will be Aftershock.”

“That’s way better than King Explosion Murder.” Kaminari sniggered. Sana pinned Katsuki with another glare. 

“That is not your hero name. Zuku and I worked really hard on your hero name! AND you helped me with mine!” She pouted. He ignored her. “I swear, if I see King Explosion Murder on your provisional license, I’ll start ruining your perfect, disciplinarian life routine, starting with your sleep schedule. You know I can.” She threatened. 

“Give it a rest. It felt weird to use it with the shit going on between me n’ Deku. Doesn’t mean I don’t like the name.” He mumbled. She pinned him with a completely unimpressed look, and he knew exactly what it meant. 

It meant ‘you can stop the shit between you and Deku whenever you decide to stop being a jackass, and you know it.'

“What hero name did you come up with for him?” Kirishima asked. Sana grinned. 

“Ground Zero.” She stated proudly. 

 “That one’s awesome!” Mina cried. “Did you pick one for Midoriya too? I mean, Deku isn’t the worst hero name, but it’s not really as awesome as his quirk.”

She bit her lip. “Kacchan and I have differing opinions on that.” She stated, deflecting. Sure, she had an idea, but she had no idea if Katsuki did. Hell, she hadn’t even seen them since Izuku had mysteriously developed a quirk, and her little broccoli boy had seemed to want to keep his late development under wraps. 

She’d still seen that quirk of his in action at the Sports Festival. It was amazing, and she wanted answers.

“Well, what’s your idea?” Mina pushed, leaning closer. 

She pursed her lips. “I came up with it when he wasn’t that good at using his quirk. You know; he’d break his bones if he used it, but he still stood up for everyone and tried to keep his friends safe, even if that meant fighting off bullies quirkless. I thought he should be called ’Stronghold’.” She explained. 

“And I thought that screwed with our theme—battle focused heroes with conceptual names.” Katsuki supplied, annoyed. Sana raised her eyebrows in surprise. He was willingly sharing information about his relationship with Izuku? “I thought he should be called Last Stand. Like the person who’ll keep going, even when they don’t think they’ll win.”

“Those are both great!” Kirishima cheered. “Super manly!”

“Why would you need his name to match?” Kaminari asked, face screwed up in confusion. 

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but that’s a good question.” Jiro agreed, annoyed that Kaminari had thought of it first. Sana glanced at Katsuki who looked a little constipated if she was being honest. 

But he surprised her again, dropping Kirishima’s homework and turning to the group. “When we were young, the three of us wanted to be a hero team.” He barked. “When we were coming up with names, it felt weird that our ideas didn’t fit. But that’s not a fucking problem anymore since we’re not a fucking team."

Sana pouted. “We’re not?”

Katsuki refused to look her in the eye when he replied, “Absolutely fucking not.”

“But Kacchan—“

“No.”

She huffed. “I go to school here now, you know. I’ve got three whole years to wear you down.” She reminded him. All of a sudden, Katsuki looked like he wanted to jump out of a window. “If you make it to graduation without caving, I’ll still have family dinners and holidays. You might as well accept it, Kacchan.”

 “I don’t have to accept shit.” He grunted, going back to the homework in front of him. His four friends watched them bicker, eyes bouncing between them. They had to wonder—who would come out on top? And if it wasn't Katsuki, they wondered if he’d really consider it a loss. 

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