#the two of them underestimating their smarts and social skills respectively....

[nenoname]

[danpuff-ao3]

Hello! How about your favourite femslash pairing, please? Thank you!

You see...the thing is...I don't have one favorite anything so you'll have to forgive the LIST. I'll consider my favorite ships for my favorite characters and then try to pin down one for each, yeah? (Wow I am bad at this game haha.)

Hermione

Hermione/Ginny: friends to lovers with added angst from previous Hermione/Ron?? Even better if there's existing Ginny/Harry and Hermione/Ron for MEGA ANGST (and then everyone comes out and lives happily ever after.)

Hermione/Narcissa: age gap! Weird "Hermione becomes Draco's stepmum" drama. Sophisticated, posh Narcissa and outspoken brainiac Hermione finding true love!! Oh and Hermione becoming Minister and Narcissa living her dream of being Minister's wife. Super cute.

Hermione/Minerva: AGE GAP. Super smart, capable, strong women being badass and awesome together. Also, Hermione likes cats.

Hermione/Pansy: enemies to lovers! Starcrossed lovers. Also sorta opposites attract. Pansy seems more into fashion and dating and gossip, while Hermione cares more about social justice and knowledge and idk just different priorities. And they can sort of get the wrong idea about each other. Pansy can prove she's more than just a vapid little girl, and show Hermione the value in things like beauty. And what can be learned by being a bit nosy. And maybe put some party planning skills into hosting events for Hermione's various causes. Maybe Pansy seeing the light and making amends postwar. But also while in school?? Just the whole hate sex vibe. Or maybe forced proximity breaks down those walls?? Idk just so much potential.

Hermione/Lavender: similar to Pansmione in the whole "girly girl hooks up with bookworm" vibe. Also the idea of both being Ron's exes, haha! But idk something about showing a bit more grace and appreciation for hyper-feminine ladies and not turning out noses down at fashion and dating and other "girly" interests. And having those "not like other girls" girls learn to respect those things or at least not judge them so much. And also remembering they were both Gryffindors and super brave. Both fought in the war. Also I forget which book but there was a scene in a Care of Magical Creatures class where creatures were loose and Lavender was one of the ones helping rally them up while even her bestie Parvati was hiding in Hagrid's Hut? (Iirc.) Also Lavender's interest in "silly" things like Divination. And like imagine postwar Lavender lives but is scarred, and Hermione is a bit impatient with her vanity but comes to be more compassionate and understanding and helping Lavender regain her confidence. And idk just Hermione the know-it-all having to learn more from others and be more open minded and let go of her preconceived notions and initial judgments.

Hermione/Fleur: okay this is the winner for me. I can't get past the idea of them bickering and having formed Opinions about each other that get challenged. The idea of them learning so much from each other and coming to respect and admire one another. And realizing the other is super strong and capable and intelligent and independent and loyal and brave as heck. Shared values!! Oh and the idea of them coming together over challenging archaic laws about magical creatures and beings!!!!

Ginny

Ginny/Hermione: [see above]

Ginny/Hooch: not enough of it but c'mon, age gap!! Two athletic ladies!! Bonding over Quidditch! I dig it. They're both pretty badass and I don't see either putting up with bs from anyone, let alone each other. Hooch might underestimate Ginny due to her age but Ginny comes into her own and proves her worth and earns Hooch's respect!!

Ginny/Gwenog: another rare pair fantasy that I need more of!!!! Again, two athletic ladies. Are they teammates, or opponents on the pitch?? Either way, I'm into it. But because there's so little of it, I still think my favorite for Ginny is:

Ginny/Luna: they're just so sweet and adorable. All the time spent together, working together, in Dumbledore's Army during that last year. And, because I'm astrology nerd, the fiery Leonine energy of Ginny and the airy Aquarian energy of Luna is such a perfect match!! (Also Leo and Aquarius are oppositions which makes it even more fun but let me not delve too deep into my astrology rabbit hole.) But it's how much of those respective energies I see in both of them and how it works together that sells me! Fire is spirit and zest and passion! Air is sociability and learning! Luna with her head in the clouds, so curious and creative! Ginny so adventurous and protective. They're both so self-assured and independent they could have their own separate lives but also share a life together that is fulfilling and peaceful and lovely for them both. Ginny can travel for Quidditch and Luna can travel for her creatures. And I bet Ginny likes the travel and exploration enough to join Luna when the season is over. And I'm sure Luna can get work done in whatever place Ginny has games in!! Idk they just work so well together.

Luna

Luna/Cho: Ravenclaws unite!! Idk there's something sweet about it. Pretty, popular Cho and the kooky "weird" girl?? Cho's really nice and patient and probably can't see past Luna's zaniness right away, but eventually she does. They just seem like a really cute, sweet pair.

Luna/Hermione: such an almost opposites attract sorta thing. They're both clearly brave. Both appreciate knowledge. Luna's curious and creative and...yeah, a bit kooky! She's independent, self-assured, confident, compassionate, open-minded. Hermione's a bit too strict and judgmental and by the book. Luna with her head in the clouds is probably a bit much for Hermione, but I feel like they could learn from each other and be so fun together. Hermione learning to loosen up and be more open-minded herself. And if she doesn't ever believe in all the same things Luna does, learning to respect them and find the worth in them. Seeing what she can take from what Luna shows her. Luna showing Hermione how to let loose and have fun. Hermione keeping things structured and stable in their lives together. Learning and growing together and challenging each other's way of thinking!

Luna/Ginny: but yeah, this one still wins. See above in the Ginny section!

TL;DR apparently Fleurmione and Linny, but what was I supposed to do?? Not sing the praises of other femslash ships I love????

Oh wait, it would be remiss of me to not also mention:

Lily/Alice:?? Idk much about Alice, but could be cute, but mostly I'm obsessed with Harry and Neville growing up as BROTHERS. I cry how adorable.

Lily/Narcissa: okay but how about this so that Harry and Draco can grow up as brothers?? Also the drama potential of pureblood Narcissa and Muggleborn Lily. All the angst of the war. The temptation if they're both married at the time. Lily showing Narcissa that there's more to life and how colorful and vibrant her world can be outside of the cold, dark, restrictive walls of her upbringing.

....I love femslash, okay?

[wintermelonbear]

Artistry

Pairing: Damian Al-Ghul Wayne/Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Trope/s: Childhood Friends, No Powers AU

Summary: A story in which two seemingly dissimilar eight-year-olds build bonds through their love for martial arts. Written for the MGI Trope Tussle 2021.

Words: 4808

Damian and Marinette first met when they were 8 at his mother’s Wushu studio. At first glance they were an unlikely duo, before meeting in martial arts class their social circles ran entirely parallel with one another with Damian attending a private school that was a feeder for Gotham academy and Marinette attending a public elementary local to her, but they truly brought out the best in each other.

Damian had grown up inside his mother’s studio, working day in and day out from the tender age of 3 to improve his weaponry and martial arts skill. His mother and father, divorced but trying their best to co-parent for his sake, each preached to him about the importance of self-discipline and concentration. When his mother and her father, Ras himself a master martial artist, had competed in Wushu they were national champions. As a third-generation practitioner of Wushu, Damian had a lot riding on his shoulders.

Marinette’s mother had practiced Wushu as a child in China. When she first arrived in France she found herself disappointed that there were no local Chinese martial arts centers, let alone Wushu training centers. Sabine always thought it would be a passion she could pass down to her future child, but there was only so much she could teach on her own. However, as fate would have it, after a falling out with Tom’s father Roland the Dupain-Chengs found themselves in a city not too far from Gotham, New Jersey. Sabine was pleasantly surprised to find that the martial arts scene was much more alive there than it had been in Paris. However, between the bakery and her young daughter Sabine had little time to spend practicing martial arts. It wasn’t until Marinette’s kindergarten teacher suggested that Marinette be enrolled in a sport to better her hand-eye coordination that Sabine finally put her daughter into formal martial arts courses.

At first, everything was fine until it became apparent that Marinette was progressing much faster than her peers, despite her typical clumsiness she was surprisingly adept at martial arts. Sabine wasn’t entirely surprised as while Wushu was difficult to teach within the confined space they had at home, she still took the time to practice Tai Chi with her daughter on the weekends, providing Marinette with martial arts fundamentals and self-discipline. With Marinette’s slight inclination for martial arts paired with her hard work she was outperforming her classmates and even some of the older kids at the studio she went to. Eventually, Marinette found herself ostracized by her peers, but her teachers at the studio refused to advance her because they had an in-house rule where children could not be advanced more than two years past their age group. Tom and Sabine knew that pulling Marinette out of the sport entirely was off the table, the pure joy that spread across her face every time she mastered a new trick was proof enough that she was in love with the sport. So they set off to find a new studio to train at, where Marinette’s needs as a budding martial artist would be met. After looking around for a while, they decided to give Talia’s Wushu academy a try despite it being a little over a 30-minute drive from their house.

In regards to the first year of their friendship, Marinette would describe it as very professional, and almost nothing more. It took a while for Damian to become more cordial with her. When asked, Marinette would say “Damian didn’t like me, but he tolerated me enough as a partner because there was only so much practice he could have done alone.”

At first, Damian did not like Marinette at all, in fact, maybe he even hated her. When he first met her, Damian thought she was like every other “talented” kid that came into his mother’s studio, only to realize talent alone would get you nowhere in the sport of Wushu. On her first day, she immediately took up the spot next to him at the front and center of the class and offered him a warm smile, “Hello my name is Marinette, I’m new here.” Damian returned her greeting with a harsh tut of his tongue and the turn of his head, he was there to train, not to make friends. Marinette’s expression was aghast, but she quickly recovered and mumbled a soft “okay not talkative then…this is going great….” Damian suppressed an eye roll, simply because he knew his mother would not tolerate that in her classroom.

Against every one of Damian’s expectations, Marinette proved herself to be a hard-working individual. Eventually, after seeing her work on her technique and tricks after class during open gym hours, seeing that she wasn’t relying purely on natural ability and truly was putting in the effort to become a better martial artist, he began to tolerate her. The first time he returned her daily “Hello” with the nod of his head Marinette’s facial expression went from neutral to shocked to absolutely beaming. Damian simply raised his eyebrow and continued with his pre-class warmup.

Over time Marinette had grown a deep respect for Damian; she wished he was a bit friendlier, but despite their rough start Marinette realized early on that, while gruff and unfriendly, Damian was kind in his own way. He always pointed out when someone’s technique was wrong so that they wouldn’t hurt themselves, he always helped bandage someone up when they were hurt, and he always stayed after class to help his mom clean up. Most people would think he did it out of obligation or his mother’s demands, but Marinette loves people watching, and even after just a few months Marinette has observed that Talia would rather Damian use the time to better himself and will insist that she, or one of their workers, handle the menial tasks.

It was not until Damian saw Marinette work through her struggles that he gained respect for her. While Wushu is a largely performative sport where everyone’s moves are choreographed, Talia wanted to ensure everyone was also learning basic self-defense resulting in regularly held sparring sessions at the end of class. Marinette was a great performer, she was highly expressive and could easily recall choreography, but she had minimal exposure to actual sparring and her reflexes were not as sharp and trained like the others. She managed to win against her opponents in the first few classes by utilizing her creativity, but eventually, her lack of experience caught up with her and in her third month at the studio, she began her losing streak. Looking at her lose to her opponents time and time again he couldn’t help but wonder to himself, “will you still be here tomorrow?” Growing up in the studio, Damian knew that most of the people who were considered to be “gifted” had a tendency to drop out the moment things no longer came naturally to them, they grew frustrated with themselves and then with the sport. At this point, he figured he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Instead, the stage was set for her to become the most prevalent figure in his life.

Despite being in the same classes for over 3 months Damian and Marinette had never sparred. It was actually quite odd that they hadn’t yet sparred, the pairings for the most part were random. Talia reasoned that with the right circumstances even someone who seems weak could win; it was important to never underestimate an opponent and lower your guard. After bowing to one another their eyes met. If you asked them as adults they would unabashedly say that they love the other’s eyes, it was like staring at the calm before a storm. Their eyes were clear, fierce, and piercing. Despite being clearly disadvantaged Marinette showed no fear. She met his first few strikes blow for blow and even managed to evade a few of his strikes with a few unique tumbling passes – something Damian noted that she excelled in. He could tell she has been studying him, observing his strike patterns from his previous matches. Rather than reacting to his strikes, she was anticipating them – a smart move considering her reflexes were lacking. Unfortunately for Marinette, this meant that one unanticipated fake was all it took to defeat her.

That night during open gym hours Marinette approached Damian on her own for the first time. “There is only so much I can practice on my own, please train with me.”

“Why would I do that?” Damian held his face firm, his mouth in a thin line and his eyebrow slightly quirked.

Marinette’s eyes steeled over with conviction. “Did you know that every time you get up from xie bu you duck your chin down in your struggle to regain balance? It’s obvious you’re trying to shift your center of gravity. Instead, try leaning on your front leg from the beginning. The first few times you try this method, you should put a ball between your chin and neck to keep your head held up until you get used to it.”

“How did you–?”

“Notice? I love observing others, I can help you. There’s only so much we can practice on our own. I need help with my reflexes and you need someone who can review your performances. We can’t do this alone. You don’t have to like me, you just have to work with me. What do you say? Deal?”

“Tch. Deal.”

At first, their conversations mainly consisted of Marinette’s one-sided chatter during their warm-up, breaks, and cool-down stretches. It took a while for Marinette to get Damian to open up, but once she found the right topics she found that he was strongly opinionated about almost everything and shared quite a few hobbies with her. While Wushu was the common interest that brought them together, they were much more alike than they thought. They both enjoyed art, video games, and superhero shows to name a few common interests. Damian would say he would want to be a hero without any powers, someone who relies on their own skill to punish evil-doers. Marinette on the other hand would love to be a magical girl who could save others without causing too much damage. After hotly debating the topic of normal heroes and powered heroes, Damian and Marinette came to an agreement that both sides had their own set of struggles and perks.

Damian and Marinette found themselves spending more time with each other both inside and outside of the studio. After arguing over which type of paint was superior, Marinette was team watercolor because of its varied use, relative cheapness to oil paints, and blendability where Damian was a more traditional artist who believed that the blending capabilities of oil paint were just as good, if not better, and their longevity was worth the cost, the two decided to settle it with a paint off. Art sessions quickly became a biweekly tradition between the two, whenever the Gotham botanical garden would have a new exhibit Marinette would insist they go to sketch the flora. Damian quickly found that Marinette was almost as passionate about plants as he was about animals, with the way she flitted about the garden he couldn’t help but wonder if she had been something like a ladybug in her past life. There were also plenty of weekends spent sketching Damian’s pets, though Marinette would note that no drawings could capture what good boys Titus, Alfred the Cat, Jerry the Turkey, and Bat Cow were.

Together they found new ways to integrate Wushu into their hobbies, Marinette had plenty of friends at school who loved art and plenty of friends who did Wushu at the same center, but Damian was the only one she shared nearly all her passions with.

With their art, they began making flyers and posters for the studio, and banners to cheer on their classmates at competitions – Damian would argue he only did this because it would increase morale, which in turn would produce better results for the studio. Marinette struggled with the posters at first as a lot of proposed designs incorporated traditional Chinese characters, she couldn’t even write in Pinyin! Tom and Sabine had prioritized teaching Marinette about her French roots, in the event that one day they decided to move back to France, and neglected teaching her much about Chinese heritage. Marinette still learned basic conversational phrases: yes, no, please, thank you, and familial titles, but she was nowhere near conversational or fluent. After realizing Marinette did not know how to speak Mandarin Damian made it his personal goal to make her at least conversational before they would begin to travel internationally for competitions. Many of the major Wushu competitions took place in China and if Marinette was going to be his partner in the couples division he was going to make sure she was able to converse with any interviewers they may meet, and that if she were to end up lost – he swears Marinette was born without a sense of direction – that she could find her way back to him or their hotel. He hoped that while working on the banners he could work in a few lessons on traditional Chinese characters and simplified Chinese characters so that Marinette could at least read signs. Apart from art, reenacting scenes from video game cutscenes and superhero movies became one of their favorite activities, it became a way to train while still having plenty of fun. Sometimes after mastering a new move-in Ultimate Mecha Strike, they would break out the crash mats to test if the moves in the game were actually physically possible.

Even the hobbies Damian didn’t share with Marinette he was willing to partake in, and the fact that he was trying meant the world to Marinette. Damian was rarely physically affectionate in the first few years of their friendship, and it was even rarer for him to vocalize his emotions, and so Marinette quickly learned that Damian had a tendency to express himself through his actions. A lot of people failed to see how warm and loving Damian truly was, but Marinette saw it in how he interacted with everyone. For example, when Damian’s eldest brother opened up an acrobatics and gymnastics center Damian immediately volunteered to design and paint a mural on the outside that would more easily catch attention, Marinette watched him alter the design day and night and sort through hundreds of color palettes to ensure the pairing was just right. She saw his kindness through his interactions with his family and hers, the painting of her mom and dad baking, a gift from Damian for their 20th anniversary, hung up in the living room was more physical proof of it. When Marinette began sewing he proudly wore her designs and when she began to take commissions, he always kept her business card on his body in the event someone asked about his apparel.

One of Marinette’s fondest memories with Damian was when they decided to host a bake sale to offset the cost of international travel for the competition team. It was near the Mid-Autumn festival so Marinette and her parents decided to make mooncakes. Damian had some experience in the kitchen helping his mother make baozi and baklava, but he definitely wasn’t as experienced as Marinette who grew up in a bakery, yet he still came over to help them with the first few test batches and to help design packaging. Watching him carefully weigh out the ingredients her parents listed and chat about his favorite flavors with her parents in French filled her with so much warmth. The kitchen was filled with banter as a discourse between traditional baked mooncakes and skin mooncakes arose. Marinette and Sabine preferred snow skin mooncakes, the chewiness pairs well with pastes like red bean and taro, where Damian and Tom were strongly on the side of the more traditionally baked mooncake, arguing that the crumble of the pastry paired with fillings like salted egg and lotus paste was clearly superior. Marinette was unsurprised that Damian was strongly advocating for traditional flavors, but her father? The same man who made mustard macarons? It wasn’t until Marinette suggested thousand-layer mooncakes were simply croissants with a pasty filling that everyone else was willing to set aside their different preferences to unite against her. While the thousand layer mooncakes and traditional mooncakes baked, and the snow skin mooncakes steamed Marinette and Damian got to work on the packaging. In order to reduce cost, they had ordered plain packaging and planned to carve potato stamps with Mid-Autumn festival motifs: the moon, rabbits, flowers, fans, and lanterns. Despite having seen how proficient Damian was with a blade in training, Marinette was pleasantly surprised, if not downright awed, by Damian’s precision with a knife. By the time Marinette had finished carving out one flower Damian had finished three lantern carvings. After finishing stamping the final package Marinette daringly pressed the still paint-laden potato stamp onto Damian’s cheek which quickly devolved into a paint fight. The picture of Damian and Marinette covered head to two in paint was proudly pinned at the top of her corkboard, Marinette would never forget the sound of the kitchen filled with laughter that day.

Damian’s parents were extremely supportive of this arrangement. Talia thought it was a great opportunity, open gym hours were busy and she couldn’t give all her attention to Damian, having a training partner could really help him grow. If they got along well they could even enter paired events together! Bruce was enthralled that his son found someone to spend time with other than his friend Clark’s son, Jon. Jon and Damian were great friends, but Jon lived in Metropolis and so the boys rarely saw each other outside of business galas and Skype calls. It was nice knowing his son had someone he could spend time with in person, Bruce was concerned that Damian’s interpersonal growth would be stunted by his lack of interaction with his classmates at school. To see his son being a kid, laughing freely, filled him with great joy, he knew that being the son of a billionaire and a top-notch martial artist had put a lot of pressure on Damian’s shoulders, but he never knew what he could do to help his son. Seeing the walls in Damian’s room at the manor fill up with pictures of him and Marinette smiling, Damian smiling, made Bruce figure that everything was going to be okay.

Sabine and Tom grew to love Damian like their own son with the more time he spent at each other’s houses. At first, they were a bit skeptical, they didn’t quite understand what their daughter saw in the boy, but they trusted her judgment and boy are they glad they did. Damian was like a missing piece of their family, despite his hard exterior, the boy was extremely loyal and caring, they could always count on him to have Marinette’s back. Sabine especially had a soft spot for him after watching him correct Marinette’s brush strokes on the banners, teaching her the differences between what she wrote and what he was writing. The two watched their daughter give herself wholly to this boy, and in return, he gave himself back to her and that was all they could’ve ever wanted for Marinette, to love and be loved.

As they grew older they shared more than just common interests: their dreams, their fears, and the pressure they faced from their families. Marinette knew what she wanted for herself – something Damian was envious of. When they were 11 to offset the competition costs, Marinette’s mother began designing and sewing their competition outfits. Once Marinette saw what her mother was doing she wanted to help, and she ended up falling in love with fashion design. From the age of 13 and onward Marinette designed all of her own stage wear, as well as Damian’s. Sabine would joke that with such a talented daughter it’s a shame they didn’t stay in Paris. Damian wouldn’t admit it – Marinette would – but the thought of possibly never meeting Marinette made him feel uncomfortably empty; he wonders how he bore with that feeling before becoming close with Marinette. Damian wasn’t sure what he wanted for himself, he would love to take over his mother’s Wushu studio, maybe even expand it, but he was always raised with the expectation that one day he would inherit his father’s corporation. Despite loving both options, loving both his parents, there was also a part of him that wanted something that was completely Damian, he had already spent so much of his life living in the shadow of his parents. It wasn’t until high school that Damian opened up to Marinette about this, as the time to make decisions grew closer Damian naturally grew more anxious about his future. Marinette rarely gets the chance to comfort Damian, oftentimes he bottles his emotions up until they’re ready to burst, and even then Marinette has to slowly coax him into talking about them, even if it is with his brothers and not her, she just wants him to feel safe with his own emotions. The first time Damian opened up to her about the pressure he felt as his parent’s only biological son she immediately swept him into her arms, stroking his hair she began to tell him about how loved he was. She told him “Damian I love you, your family loves you, my family loves you. I just want you to know how loved you are. I speak not only for myself, but for everyone who loves you when I say this, do what makes you happy. Your parents will be happy as long as you are, they trust that they raised you to make good decisions for yourself. Even if you don’t know what it is that makes you happy yet, don’t be afraid to explore your options; I’ll be right here by your side and I’m going to support you no matter what. You’ve told me before that even if you inherit the studio Maya would co-own it with you, or even if you inherit your father’s business you would be working alongside your brothers. You are not alone, the world is not riding on solely your shoulders.” Damian was completely silent, if not for the wetness on her shoulder and his grip tightening around her, Marinette would figure he was unphased. Marinette has known that she loves this boy, far past the platonic love she just expressed, but for Damian, it was at this moment that he realized that not only was he loved, but he was in love with Marinette.

“WELCOME TO THE WORLD WUSHU CHAMPIONSHIPS 2019 LIVE FROM GOTHAM, NEW JERSEY” roared overhead on the speakers.

Damian and Marinette were standing in a hall away from the main room where other contestants were preparing themselves both appearance-wise and physically. Marinette herself was fixing the crown braid in her hair. The women’s event would take place in the morning to late afternoon, where the men’s event in the evening giving Damian ample time before he needs to warm up to support Marinette. He gave Marinette’s ensemble a once over and with his cheeks tinged red he muttered “I like your costume, you look really cute”, quickly averting his gaze.

Marinette immediately flushed, almost as red as the silken top that adorned her torso, and brought the hands that were adjusting her braids down to her hips and leaned forward, exclaiming in a hushed shout as to not disturb the other competitors warming up, “Damian Al-Ghul Wayne, are you making fun of me? I just want to make sure that any pictures taken do not make me look like a hot mess. Could you imagine what could happen if Audrey Bourgeois sees pictures of me completely frumpled looking and cancels my apprenticeship?? Oh my God and then Parson’s will find out and rescind me and then I won’t be able to visit you at NYU!” Marinette’s hands now rested on her cheeks smearing away her perfectly placed blush. How Marinette managed to go from disgruntled to spiraling in less than a minute is still a mystery that still eludes Damian after years of friendship, but it was his duty to calm her down. He understands her nerves, they had spent the last few years dominating the juniors division and as they entered the senior division there was a lot of pressure for them to win there too. Unfortunately, for every person who wanted them to win, another five were praying for them to slip up, but now is not the time to be overcome by nerves, her turn would come soon and she cannot afford to be overwhelmed by nerves.

Damian fully grasped her wrists pulling her hands away from her face, “Marinette, genuinely you look stunning”. After that comment, Damian noted to himself that it seems like there was no more need for the blush she applied anyways. With the soft tut of his tongue, he smoothed out the harsh lines of her smeared blush using the pad of his thumb. He whispered, just loud enough for her to hear, “Don’t worry too much about your hair and makeup, the most important thing is your form”. Marinette leaned into his touch and gave a small nod, calming down from her spiraling thoughts, he always knew how to ground her.

“Contestant number 54 you’re up next!”

“That’s you; you might want to fix up your makeup real quick, but everything is going to be fine.” He handed her a bag with her cosmetics and a wipe and quickly clapped his hands around her shoulders to guide her to the main stage so she could focus on herself.

Fixing her makeup Marinette shot him a cheeky grin, “wish me luck?”

“You don’t need luck. Marinette you have the skill, you know that.”

“Next up is Marinette Dupain-Cheng from New Jersey, USA! She is definitely a fan favorite to win today on the Women’s Taolu floor. She is internationally known for competing not only in the women’s division but also in the couples’ scene. She’s been training for the individual event from the age of six and for the partner event from the age of nine with her studio mate Damian Al-Ghul Wayne, who is predicted to win the Men’s Taolu event. While we do not have a couples’ Wushu competition here, since turning 18 they have been dominating the senior international couples’ Wushu scene and have gone undefeated.”

Taking off her team jacket, with a quick nod to her parents, Talia, and of course, Damian Marinette strode to the center stage. Damian would never grow sick of watching her transform on stage, it was strikingly similar to the magical girl shows she had been obsessed with as a child. The moment Marinette stepped onto the mat her whole demeanor changed. Her back straightened up, her head would be held high, and most of all, the look in her eyes was filled with inextinguishable fire.

By the end of the event after getting changed Marinette and Damian were making their way to his car. Once Damian turned 16 and got his license, it became a tradition for them to go out for a celebratory meal together without their parents. “Marinette!” Damian heard a voice call out, Agreste he noted in his head. Marinette had met Agreste and Tsurugi while vacationing in Paris. While they weren’t the worst, in fact, Tsurugi was typically pleasant company, Damian was in no mood to socialize after the several rounds of interviews he had to endure after winning first place in Men’s Taolu. Many of the interviewers failed to understand that while yes, he had more opportunities to train as he is a third-generation Wushu champion, it was his hard work that got him to where he was, not his genetics.

Seeing Damian continue on to his car, not wanting to keep him waiting, Marinette quickly bid them farewell with a promise to see them tomorrow. “Hey wait for me!” Marinette called out, running after Damian. Despite his pride usually preventing him from heeding to his peers’ commands, Damian stopped in his tracks, his breath shallow and wondering why Marinette’s voice still makes his heartthrob despite having heard it call out to him for over 10 years. Feeling her hands latch around his arm gave him a sense of comfort. Her grip was strong and steady, yet still gentle. He couldn’t help but envision his hand in hers instead of his arm. The bouquet and hand-painted card in his car were waiting to see if she felt the same.

[echoeternally]

Hi there! I have a bit of a strange request for you, if that's okay. I'm currently in the process of planning/writing a longer Star Fox fic that prominently features Panther, and by extension, the FoxPanth ship, and I was wondering if you could give any pointers on writing Panther and/or him and Fox together?

This isn't strange at all! I'm even delighted, like, someone asking me about a pairing that I originally thought almost no one else would enjoy, and so they can write it too? It's like a dream, my gosh!

Give me one more second, like, I'm so amazed that this happened with my rare pair for Fox/Panther. FOXPAN! Of all pairs, I'm thrilled!

Ok, ok! Let's see what advice I can scrounge up for you.

A lot of people are under the impression that Panther is a pretty clear cut character in one regard or the other, but he actually offers a lot of flexibility to write about. That's probably why I gravitate to using him so often for Star Fox content.

Writing him playing off of Fox has a surprisingly enjoyable kind of chemistry, but it depends on what you go for with them. Coming to me means that you're in for the shipping, so, that I can help with!

Kind of prefacing that a bit because I know this is going under a cut, which I'm adding in here. More below, of course! Also, it's going to be a lot longer than you're expecting, so...I'm hoping that helps!

...

~Panther's Background~

Ok, I'll start with Panther as a character, since understanding how you want to portray him is the first part to nail down right.

People kind of mistake Panther to be a flat villain and a basically a pervy flirt, nothing more needed to build his character. It's easy to write him off as such, given how little canon support the games give.

There are some very, very crucial elements that he's given with his appearances, however, and they tend to be overlooked.

First and foremost, a lot of folks like to lump Panther in as "just another Star Wolf crony," which is fair if you don't focus on him.

However! What's critical that too many people ignore is that, in Panther's debut appearance, that's a brand new Star Wolf too. With the story for Star Fox: Assault being what it was, Panther is part of the Star Wolf team that no longer operates as mere mercenaries for the main villain and the obvious rival team, but he's part of a team that becomes allies to Fox and friends by the endgame.

Anyone can take that any way they want, but Panther is basically part of the lightest and kindest, perhaps even the most fleshed out version of Star Wolf. So, people that gleefully like pairing Fox off with Wolf because he has those "hey pup" lines? They should very well like the roster from Assault, because that's the installment that gave the most credibility to Wolf even being capable of defecting.

There's a lot of ways that it could be explained, but notably, Panther is the new big member on the main roster. Sure, they could fill a seat with anyone, but look at who they chose: this lighthearted goofball that enjoys playing with his rivals as much as he does causing trouble. A far cry from the likes of Leon, Pigma, and Andrew, who were on the more ruthless side of Star Wolf.

Many like Panther to be along that side too, and depending on how you want to characterize him, that could work out.

My personal preference, however, is that Panther is part of the catalysts that helps Wolf defect from being fully evil.

He's less interested in hurting civilians and being some kind of hotshot assassin. There's no hard support that Panther's criminal record involves heavy war crimes and murder, and canon biographies about him state him to be an elusive criminal that troubled Cornerian army officials.

Rather, Panther is entertained by causing mischief and enjoys playing around. He's cunning, but in ways to further his goals and those of his allies, not to play as a pawn in another's schemes.

I like to create the background that Wolf and Leon got low and desperate when searching for new recruits, and after meeting up with Panther, they adopt similar traits from him, easing up on their rougher traits in favor of getting their work done.

Basically, I favor the idea that Panther helped make Wolf better. (Which is totally a fun basis for Wolf/Panther, something that I've wanted to write for a few years too, lol.)

~Characterizing Panther~

It really depends on what you're doing with writing him, because you can make him a criminal even still and have that work nicely. However, I tend to give him ways out of being locked into a shadier background, focusing on his lighter traits, and making him more of a "gentleman thief" type of character foremost.

(For reference, I made him that kind of a thief in my fanfic, "Your Thieving Heart," because I really enjoy the idea that Panther's a cat burglar, as opposed to...well, whatever other people prefer.)

If you're focusing on an action or adventure story, I'd recommend using his craftier traits to help him stand out. Panther likes to play head games, because he'll tease and taunt his opponents, baffling them silly until they're clueless to his true motives.

He's also a skillful shot; in Star Fox: Command, Panther is the only playable character that does not use a Lock system for his Wolfen, which means that he makes a single shot that pierces most opponents. And in Assault, he makes a good support to both Star Wolf, and later on, Star Fox, so he can coordinate well in dogfights and combat too.

A story that's geared less to fighting, such as a drama or a comedy, would focus more on Panther's playful traits. Obviously his flirting, which I'll get to in a moment, but also, tweak the way that his playful and cunning manifests.

His teasing can be used to hide other facets of his character (maybe he's actually hurting and lonely deep down) or otherwise his goals (maybe he wants to get flowers for a partner and jokes about missing a meeting to do so).

His smarts can be used to show a more analytic or thoughtful side to him; while Panther isn't the type that would be the smartest in the room, he's absolutely underestimated by everyone, and can get away with a lot of surprises as a result.

Character flaws are pretty simple. Panther can be arrogant, so he can go a little too far touting his prowess and skill, as well as take his joking a little overboard without realizing when to back down. Since he is a criminal, he definitely has a less than luster past, which can hold him back, depending on how you want to write his criminal history. Also, I tend to think of him as a type that comes across charismatic and social, but in reality wants something quieter.

That last bit has support from a profile description in Command, which states that while Panther proclaims himself to be a "ladies' cat," he actually is known to fall "totally and completely in love" with his partner.

So, where people tend to limit him to being confident and flirty, that's the short and simple version to Panther. The deeper way to flesh his character out is to make him a hopeless romantic type, who craves and wants to find someone special to help fulfill his life.

Because a large portion of Panther's character gets limited to flirting with Krystal in his two major appearances, he's not given time to really show off the depths of his feelings. (I think Command tried, but that story got botched in a few too many places.)

He's not a misogynistic type, if I remember correctly, because he doesn't make any crude comments to berate or belittle Krystal's character, but rather, makes strong efforts to prime up his character instead, doing his best to come across as enticing and viable to her as possible.

Panther is super desperate and longing for love, and he's not above trying whatever methods he can to get there.

~Shipping With...Fox!~

So, how does Fox come into play on that? It's pretty easy, since Fox is also a flexible character as virtue of being the main player controlled character for the franchise. In other words, you can project a lot onto Fox in manners however you might like.

There are specific traits to Fox that remain part of his core character, however. He's obviously a strong leader, leading the legendary Star Fox team. If we go by Star Fox 64's ending, he's pretty humble, given that he turns down joining military ranks (presumably greater glory) to keep his life in a freer style with his contract work. (This gets played up as the series goes along, though Fox was actually pretty cocky in Star Fox 64, and somewhat so in Star Fox: Adventures as well.)

Given how his personality matures by the time of Star Fox: Assault and whatever went on with Star Fox: Command, Fox is something of a type that does abide by rules and doing the greater good type of work, but still retains some of his "off the books" or "go it alone" type of work.

So, since he's a hero that dances close to more lawful work, though still manages to find ways to slide around for what his objectives desire, that does make him a mostly "no nonsense" type, though on the friendlier and nicer side, of course. Fox can be portrayed as pretty orderly, in other words, and doesn't favor causing more trouble than he can handle, even if he's not above it.

Does that sound like something of an inverse to Panther, who tends to get into trouble and be mischievous? I should hope so!

Because they have foiled personalities from one another, that gives Fox and Panther elements of "opposites attract," since Panther can be silly and troublesome, while Fox tries to be serious and respectful. Panther has a shadier history with the Cornerian Army and his past is riddled with mystery and lack of depth. Fox, meanwhile, has staunchly strong and heroic ties with the Cornerian Army, who rely and count on his efforts to help them out. Additionally, he has a fair amount of his background explored as well, especially so compared to the enigma that is Panther.

Going by how flustered Fox gets in Star Fox: Adventures, Assault, and Command, he's also a bit sloppier in the romance department. He's seen as a stammering type, and shier around those that show interest in him, namely how Krystal does in the former two installments. He ends up being too protective of her in the last game included for that group, and kicks her from the team thinking that it was the safer option, when it really did nothing to stop her.

Those that ship Fox with Falco can also write him in angles to being oblivious to love, since Falco tends to be a bit harsh with Fox, which many like to write as him being guarded with his true feelings. So, combined with the information above, Fox is something of a romantic novice or rather inept at it.

Panther, whether he's actually good at romance or just likes to think he is, still comes across as an opposite to Fox on that level too. Whereas Fox falters and hesitates in romantic matters, Panther boldly strides forward to do his best in a quest for love.

There are some tricks to helping Fox and Panther work even better than just playing off of their foil traits however.

For starters: Both can be portrayed as very lonely souls.

Fox is a character that lost his parents at a young age, with his mother being out of the picture in every game installment, and his father dead before he's even 18. That's rough stuff, at least in my book. So, I'd consider that Fox has some isolated sides to his character that not everyone knows about, and that he has a side that grieves for his loved ones, and a side that longs to find a way to be loved and cherished in some manner once more.

Huh, does that sound familiar again? Someone that desperately wants to find love to fill a void in his life?

Oh wait, that's literally part of Panther's core too!

See, both Fox and Panther are seekers of love. While Fox may not be as forward with his intentions, he cares deeply for his team, his allies, and his planet, if not the entire Lylat galaxy. While Panther may not have such grand showings for compassion, he'd be the type that would be impressed, if not charmed, by someone so compassionate and caring.

If you take the idea that Panther helped make Wolf and Leon better, then it's likely that he also has a good deal of compassion in him too, seeing the best in people that the rest of Corneria and Lylat write off as the worst out there. Finding the light in the darkness is a kind of hopeful trait that Fox would absolutely be drawn to, since he can struggle to do the same.

Of course, both Panther and Fox are also skilled pilots, so, they have at least that much in common. Fox's skills are something that have outright impressed Panther in canon, and he compliments Fox a few times in both Star Fox: Assault and Star Fox: Command, commending Fox as his personal rival. It's not hard at all to shift that from mere respect to a deeper admiration.

Both are also very loyal and willing to see their goals through to the end. Fox proves this repeatedly in the games, but Panther shows such qualities in his appearances too, sticking by Wolf's side in spite of the challenges they face, and committing to his goals until they either are toppled enough to stop him, or until they are fully realized in a capacity that satisfies Panther well enough.

Typically, I like to mix things between "opposites attract" and "like attracts likes," to balance them out. Both Fox and Panther want to not be lonely and fall in love, to share their lives with someone. They're both also types that would be lonely in a crowd, though none are likely to suspect so, since they both come across confident and social enough to prove otherwise. Fox may find Panther's slippery side somewhat alluring, since he follows a freedom that Fox may sometimes wish he had from his more uptight and legacied life. Panther, meanwhile, might find Fox's loyalty and noble traits very endearing, because that means he'd firmly stand beside anyone that he committed himself to, something that Panther absolutely wants.

Naturally, you can play around with how you might like to portray them, based on the choices you'd make with your story, but those are some elements that I noticed and liked to help build it up.

While a lot of it is fairly made up with loose ties to canon, that's kind of the point to many fanfics. And even still, there is enough canon support to characterize Panther and Fox in a way that could make them a harmonized duo, to the point of romantic involvement.

Phew! Even I didn't realize how much I'd have to write about them until I actually put it all down, lol.

I do hope that you find this helpful. If you want any more information with building the pairing up for writing, please let me know! I'd love to increase the support that FoxPan gets out there, haha!

Thank you for asking too! This was a lot of fun to write out.

[seijurosempress]

@shoichee​ I hope this meets your expectations✨ (Bc I refuse to tolerate any more bullying today. Also- Matchup under the cut)

First, I just want to say- I’m sorry. (but not really). I know our love for Hayama runs deep but the moment you choose violence with him, that’s it for you. RIP. It was nice knowing you 😔 But, remember when we first spoke and I asked you if you shipped yourself with Imayoshi and you refused to answer my question? Well- [Insert ‘Surprise shawty’ tik tok audio]

Best Match: Imayoshi Shoichi

Your subconscious knew what it was doing when you picked out your URL. The moment you said you related to Dazai and then proceeded to talk about socioeconomic issues revolving around globalization while we simultaneously talked about dumb stuff I knew there were only a few guys that could handle your energy and Imayoshi hands down tops that list

Even though Hanamiya out of all people might say Imayoshi doesn’t have the best personality, I actually think you two can balance each other out and understand each other in a way other people may not be able to

Honestly, right off the bat, y’all will probably bond over some form of teasing. Whether it’s making some remark aimed directly at the other, or one of you takes a jab at someone else and the other happens to overhear, it will be the start of a beautiful relationship

Gemini and Leo’s have really good chemistry so it’s no surprise you’ll manage to get along, regardless of your- argumentative natures.

You two are like the two sides of the same coin. While he presents himself as a kind and easy going person, speaking politely to others- until he inevitable shows them his real personality- you, on the other hand, can come off a little cold and critical, scaring people off when you first meet them even though you’re genuinely kind and easy going once you start to talk to them

If you guys meet purely by chance, maybe you’re in the same class, you’re introduced because of a mutual friend, or because one of you overheard the other, the moment you hear how the other carries themselves in a conversation will automatically peek your interest. 

Have you ever seen that meme where they’re like “oh you wanna kiss me so bad”? yea, that’s you two. I can see you getting into the most amusing squabble, just trying to throw the other one off, Imayoshi smirking if and when one of his comments goes right over your head

You’re both pretty smart (I spent a solid hour trying to double check this and still failed but I’m like 80% sure his IQ is pretty up there) so I can see you two meeting because of that too

Scenario: 

Imayoshi is just minding his business, checking the updated class rankings posted in the hall across your classroom. Why? He doesn’t know, if he’s being honest. It’s not like anyone could ever surpass him, he’s been at the top of his class each time since his firs- What’s this? He got bumped down? Who the hell are you? Wait no, he knows who you are. He’s heard your name before countless times, mostly followed by your voice as it traveled throughout the hallways, your laugh bubbling out of your small frame soon after in reply to whichever friend had just made a funny remark. Funny. You didn’t seem all that smart at first glance, could he have actually... made a mistake? His gaze flickers to the other side of the hall where he immediately found you, eyes wide and a small smile adorning your features as you listened to your classmate speak. A low hum escapes him as he analyzes your appearance once more. He notices the way your makeup highlighted your already attractive features, the small accessories added to your uniform making you look put together and stylish. Maybe he had underestimated you, he though as he saw you take your turn to speak, your answer leaving your classmate open mouthed with a baffled expression. He felt the slight tug on his lips, the beginning of a small smirk forming on his face as you smiled widely at the response you had gotten.  However, the amusement only lasted a split second, his features falling in disbelief when you turned around, tripping over your own feet and falling face first into the open classroom door. “What are you staring at?” Someone, probably Sato, asks as he strolls up beside him. “Nothing” he sighs, adjusting his glasses on his face. Is it really nothing though? a small voice inside him asks just as a series of curse words and noises fall from your lips, eliciting his own to quirk up into an amused, lopsided smile. Even if it is “nothing” for now, don’t be surprised when both of you “coincidentally” find yourselves bumping into each other more often from now on as he tries to figure you out.

I can see him realizing he has feelings for you while you two are hanging out. Maybe you two will be studying after you asked him to tutor you in math since it’s his best subject, or well, attempting to study at least as you’re nearing half an hour of your 5 minute snack break. He’ll probably be doodling in his notebook while you scroll through Instagram, and it’s not until he looks up to see you so focused on whatever was on the other side of the screen, your fingers quickly tapping away as a smile pulled at your lips that he asks what you’re doing. Without a second thought, you absentmindedly tell him about whatever argument you’re getting into in the comments section under a random photo you came across before you’re back to focusing on the matter at hand. 

His whole trademark is that he’s good at analyzing people, and as a Gemini, he is not an exception to his own skills. He’ll suddenly come to the realization that, while he enjoys pushing people’s buttons, he enjoys the thought of you two being a team even more. While you can be loud and social, making and laughing at jokes, you also know when to get serious and get stuff done, something that that he would appreciate considering he likes respectful and considerate girls.

The problem now is- he may be aware of his feelings...but are you?

He’ll probably try out multiple ways to hint at his feelings towards you but they’ll just go right over your head. In your mind, you can’t see anyone having any romantic feelings towards you and sure he may be acting a little weird, but you’d probably just shrug it off as it being all in your imagination.

Meanwhile the whole time Imayoshi is just standing there like- Is she serious? No one can be this oblivious???? but yet  ✨here you are✨

Now it’s his turn to be frustrated by your conversations because you’re just not getting it? So he decides to try something more straight forward. Girls like pickup lines, right?

He could literally see the moment your brain stopped working. Your face flushed red as a nervous giggle bubbled out of you. All common sense left your body as you made finger guns at him, giving him a slight nod before turning around and walking quickly out the room

it would take you a few minutes to collect yourself, strolling back in the room 30 minutes later, leaning against the same spot you left him moments prior and giving him a pickup line of your own. *queue Imayoshi’s mischievous smirk* “Oh? Is that so?” (he’s such a little shit he’ll probably pretend like he didn’t say anything first to get back at you)

I can see this going back and forth for a while until he finally asks you out on a date, but this time he’ll make sure to do it in a way that will prevent you from escaping and leaving him alone and confused again

Your PDA is most likely kept to a minimum, partly because of your Venus in Virgo and partly because he doesn’t like spontaneity. Your outward relationship will consist of hand holding and pecks but that doesn’t mean your private life remains the same, just because you’re dating now doesn’t mean you’re suddenly immune to his habits or him to yours

You say you want to spend some quality time together? “How about a movie night?” he asks, his smile deceiving you long enough to trap you in his arms as a scary movie plays in his blacked out bedroom. “I don’t like scary movies” you whine, your body pressing into his and a pout pulling at your lips as he “innocently” chuckles, “Oh really? I must have forgotten”

You say you’re a bit cynical about relationships but I think it’s because your Neptune, Pluto and Lilith are ruled by air signs. This means you enjoy spontaneity and creativity in what you do and therefore always gravitate to doing things in which your outcome depends on yourself and not other people. Imayoshi is the kind of person that respects other people’s needs as we can see when he allows Aomine to skip practice if that’s what works for him. This will help you maintain a healthy balance in your relationship, allowing you to be able to feel more at ease and not trapped or like you have to be a certain way with one another

You decide to keep pursuing dancing? He’s proud of you, and will not hesitate to show off and boast about your achievements to the rest of the team

You had a rough week and you want to spend the whole day gaming with headphones on? It’s fine he’ll take the opportunity to relax and go fishing

On the other hand, you want to go shopping? Suddenly he’ll find himself walking hand in hand with you as you and his sister stop at every single store only to leave with more bags that you can carry. 

At first, you would insist you could both take care of yourselves at the mall, but he soon found out that you two should not be left alone. She might be his sister but she’s younger and impressionable and she looks up to you? And you can be a bit scatterbrained so you lose track of her time so you always end up bringing her back really late, along with an armful of shopping bags that he’ll only have to go back and return within the week because being hasty runs in his family and his sister didn’t pay much attention to how much money she was spending

Overall- I think that what really makes you a good match is your ability to communicate with one another. Both of you are pretty honest and straightforward (although your executions are vastly different) which will help you navigate through any obstacles in your relationship

You keep each other on your toes and bring fun into your relationship while also settling down, talking about serious stuff and getting genuine advice from one another when you need it the most. The balance you maintain allowing a stable foundation for the relationship to grow and blossom. He did something hasty? It’s okay, you know exactly what to do to fix it. Someone keeps hitting on you insistently? He’s already walked over to intimidate him to go away. You want to spend quality time together but he wants to go fishing? There you are by his side, scribbling in your notebook and reciting your poetry to him as he listens carefully with a small smile on his face that you’ll definitely not tease him about later. You need help with your math again? he’ll tutor you in exchange for you making him a bento with his favorite meal. Until he learns that you somehow burned half the rice and left the other half uncooked. Perfect balance of give and take. 

Bonus: Takao Kazunari

You are literally the girl version of Takao omg. (I literally JUST got your message about being the new Takao too smh I know I’m slow but let me finish this first)

You two are so alike and you would make the most chaotic duo but as much as I want to ship you two, I can just see you two being really good friends so I feel the need to include him in this

Midorima would be so done with your shit, he’d probably see you two together and immediately turn around and start walking the other way because he just KNOWS you’re bound to gang up and bully him

The first time you saw is lucky item you probably burst out laughing and thought he was joking until you saw his face flush red

After that, every time you ask about it he just grumbles out his answer, still salty about your initial reaction

Takao never fails to remind you either, trying to hold back his laugh whenever you try to make it up to Midorima but he ends up ignoring you, or you somehow just manage to make it worse

When it’s just you and Takao, you could be minding your business when suddenly one of you makes ONE singular little comment and that just sets off the other, adding onto it until both of you are crying with laughter

Honestly, the only time I can see you taking one another seriously is when you’re having discourse

He’s an optimistic person while you’re a realist which can set off some very interesting discussions between the two of you, your argumentative nature leading both of you to talk about anything and everything as you challenge the other’s ideologies

If you decide to try out a relationship, it’ll be filled with excitement and adrenaline, both of you needing very little persuasion to try out new things

You’ll be his partner in crime and he’ll be yours. You want to mess a bit with your younger neighbors? Why not? You want to go check out the new mall a few town’s over because they have a store you’ve been wanting to check out for months? He’s your man.

While the relationship is fun, you both can get a little ahead of yourselves, going with the flow and getting sucked into your own world; you’ll need someone to ground you

Usually, this role can be plaid by Midorima but it proves to be a bit problematic when he’s nowhere in sight

The amount of times you two have lost track of time or gotten caught up in something because you ran into some friends or even met new people and got lost in conversation, by this point Midorima has probably given up trying to keep track of your whereabouts when you’re together

I wouldn’t be surprised if you two ended up making your own language. He’s good with kids and bad at being quiet while you enjoy making new words and trying out sound effects which he would without a doubt find amusing. You’d probably go as far as to make children believe they’re actual words, could you imagine Midorima’s face when he goes over to Takao’s house and his younger sister starts talking to him in the made up words you taught her

Ultimately while your personalities are very alike, you tend to clash at the wrong points and it would take you working together to compromise to make a romantic relationship work

Both of you surround yourself by others, often finding yourself in the middle of everything, your personality constantly making other people gravitate towards you. This can prove conflicting when you’re together as now you’d have to learn how to share the spotlight, so to say

While you love fashion and makeup and shopping, the poor man just wants to enjoy his trading cards

Although you should use it to your advantage and make him drive you around in Princess Mia’s Midorima’s carriage.

Your might also find yourself more often than not at a crossroads, your realist point of view conflicting with his positivity which can lead to arguments between you two

Overall- a relationship with you would be exciting. There would never be a dull moment and you’d constantly encourage the other to have new experiences and make the most of your time. But moving into a more romantic territory would mean that you’d have to learn how to prioritize things in your life, knowing when to buckle down and get things down and how to successfully come to terms with and work out your differences. 

Sidenote: I meant to make these a little longer but my brain cell only has so much KNB knowledge stored in her small little filing cabinet that may or may not be a single folder covered in dust and stuffed in some corner

[tigerseye46]

tell us about ur new oc!

Thanks for giving me an excuse to talk about her! I have a lot.

I’ve actually mentioned her before but before I figured everything out. I rp her in a server with my friends.

Her name is Huáng Xiàróng (煌 夏荣 Brilliant Summer Glory)! Her name used to be Yuán but I changed it. I’ve created one design for her, I don’t draw often so it’s not the best but I tried. I’ll post her demon form and picrew of her human form at the end.

Originally she was supposed to be a motherly figure. That… uhh did not exactly go as planned. I kinda made her feral instead- also she used to be a straight up villain.

She’s a rabbit/bunny demon. Specifically a Manchurian hare. She has a mix of black, brown and gray fur with three spots on the side of her face which are replaced by freckles in human form. She has a notch on her ear and some spots there too. She has slight wavy hair with braids in the back.

Her hair is black with green strands, kinda like Mei which was completely unintentional and I only realized that now. Her eyes are green but they change to red when angered and brown when annoyed. She has a frilly dress. She has a tattoo on her back, 戰士 meaning warrior. Her height is 6 feet and 2 inches. She’s around 3000, maybe a bit younger and physically looks 35 - 40.

Small tw here, she has scars from years of fighting.

Abilities:

She can shapeshift to various things including a normal bunny form and a bigger, more terrifying version of herself.

Like most rabbits, she’s extremely fast (super speed).

She has the ability to control and manipulate fire.

She can jump high.

Super strength

And friend suggested the ability to possibly summon and ride a cloud.

Backstory: (I’m just going to copy and paste her backstory that I used for smth)

Xiàróng was born in the Qin Dynasty to two rabbit demons. Her parents were fierce demon lords that loved to mess with humans with their army. Her parents trained her in the hopes that she would follow in their footsteps and she did. She became a fierce warrior with a strong love of fighting and battling.

She led her armies into villages, messing with humans and demanding offerings. She loved the absolute terror that popped up on their faces as her army swept in. She enjoyed the amusement she felt every time they thought they could defeat her along with the absolute adrenaline that came with fighting.

Her parents were extremely proud of her and at times, fought with her but they mostly stayed regulated to their hideout. One day, they passed away in the field of battle, she rose and took their place. Xiàróng became better known as a fierce rabbit demon lord and grew her armies, even allying at points with some other demons.

She became renowned as her parents always hoped she would be. She loved her army and always made sure their efforts were rewarded. She treated them as a second family to her and they shared a deep bond.

One of Xiàróng’s generals told her about a monk journeying west to get scriptures and if she eats him, she can become immortal. While initially excited at this prospect, she declined when she found out that the person guarding him was the Great Sage. She then made sure her army never crossed paths with Sun Wukong and the rest of the pilgrims.

She continued onward and she thought the whole thing could last forever.

But obviously, nothing lasts forever. Humans started advancing and her demon army started falling, either passing away in battle, getting tired of fighting or deciding that they wanted to move on and pass off as humans to live normal lives, sometimes a mixture of the last two.

Xiàróng never stopped fighting and refused to quit until she faced a fierce opponent in battle that caused her spirits to wane. She eventually realized that with humanity’s advancements she longer had the edge that she used to. She decided to sadly give up fighting about 500-1000 years prior to modern day. In her current identity, she works at a boring office job to survive all while longing for the good old days. 

The group finds her when they need her to face an opponent she had previously faced, possibly the same one that caused her spirits to wane.

(She also had might or might not have had a kid at one point when she was still a warrior. Mildly debating on the kid thing but I’m probably going with it.)

Likes and Dislikes:

She absolutely loves fighting, she loves the thrill that comes with it. She values hard workers as she had to work hard to get to where is. She loves to reminisce about the good old days when she was feared and respected. She likes the summer season. Her favorite colors are red and green. She likes drinking tea. She adores the outdoors. She likes (also dislikes) being alone. She likes people who value their family. She is a big fan of action movies. She likes exercising. She likes organization and plans. She loves her motorcycle and weapons. She loves being the leader of projects as it gives her a sense of power. She loves fire and is often entranced by it. She likes using her jumping abilities. She likes exploring nature.

She dislikes the modern advancements humans have made as she believes it puts her as a disadvantage and is part of the reason she is no longer feared. She dislikes mundane office work as she believes it to be below her skill level but does it to survive. She dislikes people who desert others as some of her army left because they were tired of fighting and wanted to move on. She hates being called cute. She hates slackers. She hates people who underestimate her. She dislikes interacting unless she has to.

Strengths and Weaknesses:

Strengths:

Xiàróng is extremely proud of her abilities. She is extremely brave and will gladly take action when need be. She is rather confident. She is observant because of her years as a demon lord. She is a strategic individual since she spent so much time with her generals planning out attacks. She is also rather smart from her years of teaching from her parents about different subjects. She will give her honest opinion if someone asks her. She is hard working. She is tidy and always makes sure to keep both her workspace and house clean. She actually has a motherly side to her and is rather gentle when interacting with children and is capable of being gentle when others are having a bad day, although this depends on who they are. She is agile.

Weaknesses:

Her belief in her abilities cause her to have excessive pride in them. Her bravery leads her to take reckless actions. Her longing to reclaim the past and become once again known as a fierce demon blinds her to the possibilities that come with the future. She holds on too much to the past and practically clings to it. She has a short temper and can snap easily. Her honesty leads to bluntness and people not liking her because of her opinion. She can also be rather dishonest sometimes. She acts as if she knows better than others since she’s been alive a long time and has a wide array of knowledge.

General Personality:

Xiàróng is not a sociable person, although she used to be back in the old days when she had her demon army. She can be quite dramatic especially when she’s explaining her past to people. She has a loud personality that appears when she’s explaining her history. This is a subtle and desperate attempt to reclaim what she used to have. Although, other than that, she is rather quiet and prefers not to interact unless absolutely necessary. 

She prefers to keep to herself a lot of the time despite rabbits being social creatures. She feels out of place and longs for a world where she can go back to fighting and a time where her army was all together, laughing and smiling. Fighting is all she’s known for the longest time and believes that’s what she’s mostly good at. 

Since some of her army has either passed away or left to find better lives, she is not a big fan of letting people close especially in a world of humans since these were people she once used to attack and mess with. She does rarely encounter some of the demons that used to be her army. She’s short tempered and aggressive. She appears cold due to her isolation and circumstances. Under her cold personality, there is a loud, bright and caring personality waiting to get out if she lets someone get close, maybe if she did, she could go back to the way she used to be.

She doesn’t care about the group at first until they keep dragging her along. She is terrified of Sun Wukong because of his reputation and is kinda wary of his successor but helps him out. She purposefully annoys Pigsy and has debates with Tang. Also I kinda ship her with Sandy but we’ll see how that goes-

Trivia:

Talents: Foraging, cooking, singing, Can expertly play pipa (Chinese lute) and piano, gardening, great medical knowledge, wrestling, sword fighting and spear fighting, stealth, hand to hand combat, whittling, excellent leadership skills, making strategies.

She has a motorcycle that she takes good care of.-Romance movies are a guilty pleasure of hers.

She is ambidextrous.

She’s bi.

She has a tattoo with the characters 戰士 meaning warrior on her back.

She has a small house in the woods near a mountain range outside the city.

She was around when the Journey to the West was happening but avoided the pilgrims since she didn’t want to risk angering Sun Wukong if she tried something.

Hobbies: poetry, training with her qiang and jian, exercising, running, singing, gardening, cooking, playing the pipa and piano, foraging, whittling/wood carving, origami, watching television

Her surname Huáng meaning brilliant refers to the family’s cleverness along with wanting to shine. Xià means summer, summer represents something in China such as the direction south, the color red, the sound of laughter, the heart, fire and a creature called the red phoenix. Red, in turn, symbolizes happiness, vitality, good luck, good fortune, energy and passion. Róng meaning glory is because her parents were hoping she’d be renowned by people all over.

Picture:

Link to the picrew I used for human form: https://picrew.me/image_maker/332600

Human form:

[frontproofmedia]

Luis Nery vs. Brandon Figueroa Final Press Conference Quotes And Photos

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Published: May 14, 2021

CARSON, CALIF. – Undefeated super bantamweight champions Luis “Pantera” Nery and Brandon “Heartbreaker” Figueroa faced off Thursday at the final press conference before their world title clash live on SHOWTIME this Saturday, May 15 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The press conference also featured former unified super bantamweight champion Danny Roman and hard-hitting Ricardo Espinoza, who meet in the 10-round co-main event, plus undefeated super featherweight contender Xavier Martinez and former world title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos, who duel in a 10-round showdown that kicks off the telecast at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The event is promoted by TGB Promotions. Martinez vs. Burgos is promoted in association with Mayweather Promotions. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at AXS.com. Dignity Health Sports Park will be open to fans in a limited capacity, with all guests remaining socially distanced and subject to local and state health guidelines throughout the event. Nery vs. Figueroa will see the powerful two-division champion Nery pursue a signature win at super bantamweight, while the rising Figueroa looks to use his all-action style to earn a career-best victory and announce his presence amongst the sport’s elite. The winner of this fight will face WBO 122-pound champion Stephen Fulton, Jr. on September 11 on SHOWTIME in a unification showdown. Here is what the fighters had to say Thursday: LUIS NERY “In the ring, I’m going for the finish. Everything is on the line. I just have to prove what I’m capable of inside the ring. I don’t care about anything else but that. “I think people got carried away about my performance from my last fight. You’re going to see that my power translates on Saturday. Brandon is going to be the first person to see how my power really translates to super bantamweight. “We’ve all been waiting to fight with fans in the stands. The fans are part of the thrill of boxing and how boxing is supposed to be. I can’t wait. “I’m ready to fight anybody that will improve my legacy. I want to keep winning and moving up divisions and putting together a resume that matches up with all of the legendary Mexican fighters. “Brandon’s style really fits with what I want to do in the ring. I know that I can achieve everything that I want in this division and show all of my skills in this fight. This style will go better with mine than Aaron Alameda’s did in my last fight. “We just need to put on a great fight Saturday. This is going to be an all-out war from the first round on. People are going to be talking about it for a long time after. “I’m only focused on Brandon Figueroa. After that fight, I’ll be ready for Stephen Fulton, Jr. Once I beat him too, he can tell me how my power feels at this weight.” BRANDON FIGUEROA “I had what was probably one of the best training camps of my career. I’m more than ready for this fight. I feel like all of my advantages are going to be used Saturday night and I just can’t wait. It’s going to be an exciting fight. If I’m this excited now, I can’t imagine what it’s like with the fans there. I’m willing to put it all on the line Saturday night. “Nery is going to learn a lot about me on Saturday night. My size will definitely help me. I feel like he hasn’t fought a guy this big, this strong and he’s going to find out on Saturday night. I’ve trained tremendously for this fight. I have the best conditioning in the 122-pound division. My volume output speaks for itself and I feel like a lot of people underestimate me. After Saturday night, they won’t. Once the bell rings, it’s go-time and I come to fight. I come one hundred percent and I’m coming to take that belt home. “This game is all about proving yourself in and out of the ring. I feel like my hard work speaks for itself. My fights speak for themselves. I’m just glad I get to share the ring with Luis Nery. I know he comes to win as well, but I don’t think he wants it as bad as I do. If it goes my way, Stephen Fulton is next and that’s a fight that I’ve been wanting for a long time. It’s time to unify. If that’s not what you come to boxing for, then what are you in boxing for? “Fulton is the fight I’ve been wanting. I know he’s been talking a lot. First of all, I need to get through Luis Nery. I just can’t wait for these big fights and these big names. I’ve been trying to fight Fulton for a while and now it’s going to be made if everything goes well Saturday night. He’d be next and I can’t wait to put on a show again. “I know Luis Nery comes to fight. He’s a strong fighter at the 118-pound division but the 122-pound division is a different story. I feel like we’re just going to have to find out Saturday night, though. I come forward. I bring the pressure and I’m definitely going to bring the power, the size and all the advantages I have to make sure that we give the fans a great show. I do respect him as a fighter but we’re just going to have to find out Saturday. “I feel like this is a fight that could be Fight of the Year. I know everything is on the line and I’m going to go out there and make sure I give it my all. If I do that, it’s going to be a great fight.” DANNY ROMAN “I’m a former unified champion and I’m still overlooked. I’m still the guy who you have to beat at super bantamweight. “I’m going against a great opponent. He has a high knockout rate, so I have to fight a smart fight. Props to him for taking the fight, but I’m not overlooking him. Everyone is a threat when they get in that ring. “I know that the champions are trying to avoid me and skip over me for other fights. But I deserve respect and I’m going to show why they’re avoiding me on Saturday. “Espinoza is a great fighter who has great power. I’m taking this fight like I’m facing another champion. Anything can happen inside of the ring. All I can control is my performance against Espinoza on Saturday. “I’m trying to make a statement on Saturday night. I’m going to show everyone that I’m still at the championship level.” RICARDO ESPINOZA “Danny Roman has fought some really quality opponents that are high in the rankings, but this is my time. This is when I show that I can step up in competition and prove that I belong with the best. “The reason why I think I’m going to win this fight, more than anything, is because I believe in myself. I have a great team behind me and if I have faith in myself, all good things are going to happen from now on. “I admire a lot of fighters but I don’t want to compare myself to any of them. I am Ricardo Espinoza and I’m one of a kind. “Danny Roman is definitely a great opponent and I feel like my preparation and training can showcase why I can be considered one of the best in the division. Saturday night will be a great showcase for me.” XAVIER MARTINEZ “You’re going to see me stay composed throughout this whole fight. I was winning my last fight decisively and I got too overconfident. I fell asleep against an experienced fighter and he took advantage, but I was still able to get the win. I learned from that and I’m going to take it into this fight. “I’m not too worried about a late opponent change. I had a sparring partner who was very similar to Burgos, so it worked out well. This is another big fight for me. Fighting someone with his experience will make me step up my game. “I think fighting in front of the fans is going to help all of us. The fans give us a lot of drive. It’s going to make this an even more exciting night. “This is boxing, and in order to find out what you’re made of in this sport, you have to go through adversity. Getting knocked down two times can defeat a fighter mentality. I learned a lot from that fight and it’s helped me become a more mature fighter. “I’m going to keep my foot on the gas. I’m going to stay on my toes. All it takes is one punch to change the fight. I just have to stick to the game plan.” JUAN CARLOS BURGOS “The fight will be on short notice, but it won’t affect me at all because I have been training since January. I was going to fight in Tijuana on February 27, that didn’t happen. I was going to fight in early May, that didn’t happen. So even though the fight is on short notice, I am plenty ready to go on Saturday night. “Xavier Martinez is a good fighter. He is undefeated for a reason and I’m sure that we’re both going to give the fans a show. It’s going to be a great fight but I am coming plenty prepared and ready to give the fans the show they deserve. “There is a reputation that I have come up short in the big fights. But against ‘Rocky’ Martinez for example, I felt like I won the title and the judges just robbed it from me. I am more than ready to redeem myself and show what I am capable of on Saturday night. “This is definitely a big fight for me and I’m going to have a great opponent in front of me in Xavier Martinez. I have a lot to give still and I want to show that Juan Carlos Burgos is here to stay still.”

(Featured Photo: Esther Lin/Showtime)

[introverts01]

Just how to Go From Introvert to Exhibitionist

As a youngster I was very withdrawn, usually spending my time on the computer system, reading, playing video games, or seeking other solo leisure activities. I 'd hang around outdoors biking, exploring the neighboring areas and also hills (which today are filled with homes), or capturing hoops, however I 'd usually favor doing these points alone or with people I recognized extremely well. I never felt as well comfy around strangers, and I never took care of big family members occasions. Psychological examinations like the Myers-Briggs secured me directly as an autist. Any individual who recognized me would have explained me as an autist without a reservation. Like several introverts I was pushed by others to mingle more. Yet I mainly resisted this pressure, partly due to the fact that I enjoyed being an introvert. I typically checked out characters as doing not have in intelligence and depth, and also I can't state I intended to count myself amongst them. However, over a long period of time, I eventually found myself ending up being a growing number of extroverted. I embraced hanging out with other people, headed out of my method to satisfy brand-new individuals, could easily present myself to strangers, and also really enjoyed it. The Myers-Briggs test now identifies me an extrovert To the people that recognize me today, this wouldn't be unexpected. I'm not the sort of extrovert I imagined as a youngster though. I feel I have actually done a good job stabilizing the autist and also extrovert parts of myself, such that I take pleasure in both sorts of tasks similarly. I really feel equally as comfy staying at residence reading a book as I do mosting likely to a brand-new social event and introducing myself to people I have actually never ever fulfilled. I enjoy both group as well as solo tasks, each for different factors. Some weeks I'm even more introverted as well as mostly stay home with my family members. Other weeks I have a full social calendar with an occasion virtually every evening. I enjoy both just as much.

introvert extrovert ambivert definition In order to end up being an exhibitionist, I found that I needed to get rid of a number of blocks to being more extroverted Possibilities are that if you're in the exact same watercraft, you have some of these blocks also. Blocks to becoming an exhibitionist. * Underestimating extroversion. Spending quality time alone as well as with individuals are equally important. If you're extremely shy, you might underestimate the positive role people can play in your life, such as understanding, relationship, development, laughter, and so on. The ideal outcome is to strike a balance between the two. You do not have to give up the autist tasks you enjoy. In fact, when you balance them with more social tasks, you'll most likely find them much more gratifying. After several nights of being around individuals, I really eagerly anticipate an evening by myself to review, practice meditation, write, and so on. And after great deals of time alone or with my family, I'm itching to go out as well as be around other individuals.

hobbies for introverts * Underdeveloped social skills. Social abilities can be discovered like any type of various other skill set. One factor autists shy away from social activities is that they do not feel comfy due to the fact that they don't know what to do, specifically if the unexpected were to occur. Being able to start up a conversation with a complete stranger AND feeling entirely comfortable doing it is a learnable ability. The even more you do it, the better you get at it. Accept the fact that you're a novice, as well as don't contrast yourself to others. * Picturing yourself as the wrong type of exhibitionist. If you locate the extroverted individuals around you superficial and perhaps also frustrating, why would you wish to be more like them? You would not. When I was a child, I really didn't want to be extra like the characters I understood. Also as a grown-up, my vision of a character was an in-your-face salesman that just intended to develop a shallow partnership with you so they might sell you something. It seemed really phony as well as bogus to me. As well as naturally that vision stopped me from ever before wishing to be like that. Yet you needn't pick such a minimal vision for yourself-- you're totally free to develop your own vision of a favorable means to be much more extroverted. * Associating the wrong individuals. Why would you wish to spend more time with people you do not such as? If ending up being much more extroverted means spending even more time with people you prefer to avoid, you'll have no motivation to do it. Once more, you're totally free to damage this pattern as well as create a social team that you 'd like to be a component of. * Overvaluing on-line interacting socially. Online interacting socially has its place in your life, yet it's a pale darkness compared to in person, belly-to-belly interaction. Voice and also body movement can connect a whole lot greater than message, as well as emotional bonds are easier and also faster to establish personally. I feel a lot closer to the neighborhood friends I have actually understood for just a few months than I do to the people I have actually known online for several years yet never ever fulfilled personally. It's just not as fun heading out to supper with a laptop. You don't need to get rid of online socializing, but don't allow it to crowd out conference individuals in your area. If you do that, you'll only cause your social skills to lag even more behind. If you have some of these blocks and intend to surpass them, the very first step is to recognize them as well as consider how they're holding you back. Then start to service them just as you would any type of various other challenge in your life. Focus your purposes, set goals, make strategies, as well as begin acting. It might be uncomfortable and awkward initially, but just approve that, and also obtain relocating anyway. Suggestions for becoming much more extroverted. Right here are some extra recommendations for exactly how to end up being more extroverted: * Envision the sort of exhibitionist you would love to be. What's your optimal outcome? If you feel as well withdrawn and wish to be extra extroverted, start by working with your vision of your end result. Chances are that if you have actually been making little progress in this field, you have a somewhat adverse vision of extroverts. When I developed a positive vision of being an extrovert that consisted of structure real connections with smart individuals I respect (in contrast to arbitrary, shallow interacting socially), I soon began attracting those partnerships. Being a "stupid jock" kind of exhibitionist still has no interest me. * Consider relationships in terms of what you can provide, not in terms of what you can get. If you look for to develop new relationships based on common offering as well as obtaining, you'll have no lack of pals. Recognize individuals with whom you would love to develop a connection, and start by providing. I've discovered that my geeky understanding is actually a significant strength when it comes to interacting socially due to the fact that there are a terrible great deal of non-geeks that had actually like to comprehend geeky things better, and also I can describe it to them in means they'll understand. For instance, I have actually been teaching some regional speaker good friends about blogging and also web marketing, and in return I'm discovering a lot from them regarding speaking, wit, etc. There are lots of intelligent people available that 'd love to have a nerd as a buddy. What can you offer a connection that will be of benefit to somebody else? When you identify what that is (and also it's probably various points), you'll have a simpler time bring in brand-new pals right into your life. * Discover the right social group for you. Purposely think about the types of people you 'd want to have as friends. There's no policy that claims this has to be your peers or associates. I in fact find myself much more curious about making buddies with people who are much older than me instead of individuals my very own age or slightly younger. Individuals around my age (34) often tend to be extremely profession- and family-oriented, but commonly in a somewhat brainless, socially conditioned manner in which isn't focused around any kind of knowingly chosen life function or idea system. And also people in their 20s, while commonly extremely energised, tend to be largely unfocused ... or focused on trivial pursuits that simply aren't that vital. So it's been hard for me to find people near my age where we have sufficient alike for a lasting friendship. I seem to have an easier time making friends with people in their 40s, 50, as well as older. They generally have higher understanding and experience, more fascinating stories to share, extra sources (info and also concepts, funds, get in touches with), and also a much better sense of that they are as well as what they intend to perform with their lives. Commonly I discover myself going to get-togethers where I'm the youngest individual in the space, however that really feels really comfy and typical for me. Don't hesitate to extend past one of the most obvious peer group as well as hang out with individuals from various ages, areas, cultures, nations, etc. You might find the range to be a lot of fun. * Play from your strengths. It's fascinating that lots of introverts have no difficulty interacting socially online. Because environment they're able to play from their staminas. But you can additionally utilize your strengths knowingly as utilize to branch out into even more face-to-face socializing. As an example, after I graduated university, I met a female on a regional BBS (before there was much of a World Wide Web). We got to chatting online over a duration of weeks. Ultimately we met in person as well as became buddies, as well as I soon fell under her pre-existing social team with osmosis. My social calendar went from empty to complete almost over night. That female, incidentally, has actually been my wife for the previous 7.5 years. If you mingle on-line, see if you can not make use of that toughness to develop new regional relationships. While people have actually done this in international forums like on the internet video games, I think it's much easier to try it in local online forums. As an example, there are message boards for people who've recently relocated to Las Vegas. * Join a club. It's old guidance, however it still functions. The advantage is that you'll locate people who share comparable rate of interests, that makes it easier to construct brand-new relationships. One excellent club can fill your social calendar. For example, with my membership in Toastmasters, I obtain invites to lots of other local gatherings. I do not most likely to everything, yet it's nice to obtain those welcomes. Plus belonging to a worldwide company with 200,000 members worldwide creates social inroads around the planet. If you sign up with a club and also find that it's not right for you, give up as well as join something else. My spouse as well as I have actually both been through a variety of regional social teams that just really did not resonate with us (also monotonous, as well slow, as well disorganized, way too many problem drinkers). However one great group is all you require. * Establish your social skills consciously. You can learn to become better at developing rapport, presenting yourself, keeping a conversation going, asking somebody out on a day, feeling socially comfy instead of anxious, and more. You don't need to be superficial and also manipulative regarding it, but truly develop these skills because it will significantly improve your life. One technique I locate exceptionally effective is to ask the various other person exactly how s/he got going in his/her current job. 80-90% of the moment the individual will certainly state something like, "Well, that's a fascinating tale ..." And I genuinely like listening to these stories. A tiny fundamental set of social skills can go a lengthy way due to the fact that you'll reach reuse them each time you meet someone. Whatever skill you would love to create, attempt doing a Google or Amazon search on it, and you'll probably locate lots of articles and also publications. Realize that when you hold on your own back from interacting socially, you're not just depriving on your own-- you're additionally depriving other individuals of the chance to learn more about you. How much longer do you want your future partner or friend to stay alone? Here are some follow-up messages that additionally explore this subject: 1. Improving Social Abilities 2. A Concern for Introverts 3. Risk vs. Compensate in Human Relationships

[gumnut-logic]

V. T. Green (Part Eight - The End)

Title: V. T. Green

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight

Author: Gumnut

20 - 25 Oct 2019

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: “Did you discover this, Brains?” He frowned. There was something familiar about this. Maybe they had discussed it recently.

“Oh, no, this is V. T. Green. The man is brilliant.”

Word count: 3555

Spoilers & warnings: None.

Timeline: Standalone

Author’s note: Here we are, the final chapter. I’ve been staring at this for far too long, so who knows what’s in here. Thank you for all your wonderful support on this fic. I hope it lived up to expectations and I hope you enjoy this last bit.

Many thanks to @scribbles97 , @vegetacide  and @thunderstorm-bay for all their wonderful help with this.

Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

-o-o-o-

 Virgil slammed the door to his rooms behind him. Okay, so he was being petty, but they should have known. Why didn’t they know?

Whatever.

Now he was here, he had no idea what to do with himself. A glance around the room and he realised this was not where he wanted to be.

His ‘bird.

He would go and work on his ‘bird.

With one hand.

He stared down at the sling restricting the movement of his arm. A moment of thought, and he was sliding the offending piece of material off his arm.

Scott had force fed him his medication so there was only twinging. He tentatively stretched his arm out.

Ow.

Okay, respect needed.

At least he could shower and change his clothes.

His train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door. “Virgil?”

Gordon.

A sigh. “Leave me alone.”

“Not this time, bro.” The sounds of fumbling and a second later Gordon waltzed through the door.

“What the hell did you do to that lock?”

Gordon held up the unit in one hand. “This one?” Wires hung loose from the half disassembled electronic device. Virgil stared at it.

“What? You didn’t know I could do that? Hmm, you’ve underestimated me, bro. I should get angry and storm out.”

Virgil’s shoulders dropped and he sent his brother a flat-eyed glare. “Fine. Do that. At least I’ll be left alone.”

The lock landed on a side table and Gordon shut the door quietly behind him.

Virgil ignored him and began pulling off his shirt, prepping for his shower. His arm and shoulder protested loudly.

“Hey.” Gentle hands pulled the sleeve of his flannel shirt off his arm. “You shouldn’t have that sling off yet.”

“Yeah, well, I stink and I want to shower.”

His brother’s hands didn’t stop helping him. The flannel shirt landed on the couch, followed slowly by his grey undershirt.

“You’re not pulling my pants off.”

“Why not?” Gordon looked up at him, no trace of humour in his expression. “You’ve helped me with everything.” That gaze intensified.

Virgil sighed. It felt wrong to have his little brother helping him like this. “That was different.”

“Why? Because you’re the older brother? I’m sorry, Virg, I can’t change our birth order, but I’m still going to help you.”

“Gordon...”

His brother darted in and undid his button and, before he knew it, he was standing there in his briefs.

No smart ass comment passed his brother’s lips despite the green coffee cups on his underwear. The two men stood staring at each other for a moment.

Virgil’s lips curled up slightly in a smile. “It must be killing you to hold it all in.”

Gordon bit his lip, but his eyes sparkled. “Not saying a thing.”

The smile became a grin and Gordon’s expression became pinched with strain. Before he knew it, Virgil was laughing his ass off. He ended up holding his arm close and sitting down on the couch in order to not injure himself with his own humour.

His little’s brother’s face broke out in a grin and he sat down beside him. “That is so much better, Virg.”

The laughter petered out into a fond smile and Virgil reached out to put an arm around Gordon’s shoulders.

The aquanaut backed off immediately. “Hey, you’re almost naked! A little too much skin, bro.”

Virgil grinned and mussed his hair instead.

“Oh, man. Gettorf!” Gordon flailed at his fingers.

He let his brother off the hook and sank into the couch cushions. “Thanks, Gordon.”

A brown gaze so similar to the one he so often saw in the mirror. “Virgil, do you think I’m smart?”

He froze, the question such an echo of what he had asked Scott the day before, his heart lurched.

“Sure, Gordon.”

The gaze didn’t blink. “No, you don’t, Virgil.”

“Gordon! Your achievements-“

But Gordon was shaking his head. “You don’t, Virgil.” He held up a hand. “I’m not angry, not hurt, don’t worry, I’m happy with what I am.”

“No! Gordon, you are smart.”

“Not the same smart as you. Or John.”

“Maybe not, but smart comes in many different forms.”

His brother shrugged. “How did I get into this room, Virg?”

“You broke the lock.” Another job to add to his list.

“I disassembled the locking mechanism.” A pause. “Did you know I could do that?”

“Uh-“

“You didn’t, did you?”

Virgil looked down at his hands. “No, I didn’t.”

“Virg, I have a whole array of skills I don’t use day to day. Some of them I hope I never have to use again, ever.”

A darted stare at his brother. “WASP.”

“Yep.” A quirk of a smile. “I doubt my brothers are aware of half of the things I’m capable of.” The smile became grim. “And I’d like to keep it that way.” A shrug. “Okay, maybe Scott knows more than most, but...” He turned to face Virgil. “I don’t want you to see how smart I am.” He straightened and the smile came back. “I like being the goofball brother.”

Virgil’s smile was soft. “You’ll always be the goofball brother. No contest.”

“And you will always be the grumpy bear before his morning coffee no matter how many smarts you declare.”

The smile became fond. “How did you know, when no one else did?”

Gordon shook his head. “Sorry, bro, I didn’t. You told me with your reaction.”

“At least you considered the possibility.”

“Didn’t I say that the first rule of International Rescue is if Virgil says it is, it is? That didn’t come from me, you know. John passed that on in a lecture after I screwed up, and he heard it from Scott when he screwed up before me. Scott heard it from Dad. It is a rule that has been learnt the hard way by all of us. Except you. Because you are damn good at what you do, Virg. You may not realise it, but trust me, your brothers do.”

Gordon drew a breath. “We didn’t realise that you were V.T. Green because we have gotten so used to your expertise in action, we forgot the theory behind it all. We know you’re smart and we rely on it every day. I’ve seen your head buried in so many engineering journals over the years, I should have realised it sooner, but don’t you dare think that because we didn’t connect the dots between you and a website, that we don’t know our brother has whatever it takes.” A small smile. “Because you always do. That brain of yours has saved our butts so many times, Virg.”

“But, Brains-“

“What is this? A competition?” Gordon frowned at him. “Brains is smart, too. So are John, Alan, Scott, Tin, Grandma and even me. There is no shortage of genius on this island. It just comes in different forms, just like you said. It has to. Otherwise this crazy rescue organisation wouldn’t work.”

The room fell silent. Goosebumps rose on Virgil’s arms, the air still a little cool at this time of the morning. Another reason to sleep in. Give the island some time to warm up.

“I’m sorry, Gordon. I shouldn’t have exploded like that.”

“What? Of course, you should have. It doesn’t hurt to surprise everyone now and again. Keeps them on their toes. Well, all except for Tin.”

Virgil snorted. “Nothing gets past her.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she bugged your underwear.”

He stared at his brother. “What?”

Gordon just grinned at him.

“You are the goofball, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question.

“And you wouldn’t have me any other way.”

He reached out to tousle Gordon’s hair again and the man ducked off the couch.

A fond grin. “No, I wouldn’t.”

-o-o-o-

Virgil managed his shower and Gordon left him to it. It gave him time to think. Time to look at it all from a different perspective. Kayo had dobbed him in for a reason. His sister never did anything without a reason and honestly, now the cat was out of the bag, it lifted the worry from his shoulders. Perhaps he should thank her. Maybe grab some of her favourite chocolate from that little shop in southern Australia.

But he still had to face Brains and for the first time in his life, he was hesitating in approaching his fellow engineer.

There had never been anything but a strong and honest friendship between himself and Hiram Hackenbacker. His friend was just that little bit older than him, just that little more experienced...

And so much smarter.

He had been inspirational when Virgil was younger. His studies had been both guided and assisted by the brilliant young engineer discovered by his father. Brains had been there at the start of his career and he had been a constant companion in his engineering endeavours ever since. He owed him so much.

He sighed.

It would be up to Virgil to approach Brains. The man’s social skills were almost inversely proportional to his genius.

He should have spoken to him earlier.

Brothers were one thing, they would forgive him eventually. They were his brothers.

But friends...mentors...

He didn’t want to lose Brains’ trust.    

He managed to get some pants on without too much trouble. He gave up on the undershirt and slipped the sling on over his bare chest before draping his flannel shirt over his injured shoulder and slipping his good arm through the sleeve. It wasn’t the greatest solution and Grandma would likely frown at him, but he didn’t care.

What he did care about was hunting down Brains and apologising.

He made it through the house without encountering anyone, oddly enough, and caught the elevator down to the labs.

Virgil had his workshop. Brains had his labs. Perhaps that illustrated the subtle differences to their individual approaches to engineering. Traditionally, Brains tackled the theories and experiments. Virgil’s domain was more maintenance. His ‘experiments’ little more than finding solutions to mechanical problems encountered in the field or during repairs.

Brains designed and built Thunderbirds.

Virgil kept them in the sky, under the water and in space.

And it was there in the corridor between Labs One and Two that he realised exactly what his problem was.

He was in Brains’ shadow and he hadn’t even realised it.

The thought stopped him in his tracks.

He was familiar with the shadow cast by his high achieving eldest brother. Scott Tracy had always been a hard act to follow. But Virgil’s focus was so different to Scott’s he felt he had carved out his own niche and, to be honest, he was quite comfortable beside Scott. He fit well as his second and a small niggling voice at the back of his mind sometimes warned him that he was relying far too much on his brother for skills he had no wish to develop himself.

But Brains...Brains shared his interests, worked in the same field, was so much smarter...

Had he slipped into being Brains’ second as well?

The thought felt wrong. Virgil wasn’t competitive. He was happy where he was...wasn’t he?

He still had those thousands of notifications in his inbox.

Shit.

“Virgil?”

He jumped. He had been completely lost in thought standing in the middle of the corridor. Brains was staring at him.

Virgil straightened. “Uh, hey, Brains.”

“H-how are you feeling?”

A blink. “Um, okay.” He was such an on-the-ball conversationalist this morning.

“I was h-hoping that while you are off r-rescues we could...” But Brains’ voice petered off and a frown crumpled his brow. “I am s-sorry, V-Virgil, that I did not r-recognise you as V-V. T. G-Green.”

Virgil shifted where he stood. “I didn’t know you read my blog. Well, until the other day.”

“Oh, your blog is amazing. That polymer is brilliant. I also enjoyed your discussion with O’Malley regarding tensile steel versus polysteel in bridge construction. Where did you get that idea for interweaving the two materials?”

“From that bridge in Mexico last year. The one that buckled due to uneven weight distribution on the secondary pylon grouping.”

The engineer was running calculations, Virgil could tell. “Yes, I can see that now. Do you think that would have m-managed the harmonic wind factor as well?”

“Oh, definitely.” And that led into a discussion of harmonic pressure and the properties of the new combination of materials. They slipped easily into engineering jargon and they ended up in one of Brains’ labs deep in the most fascinating and satisfying discussion Virgil had ever had with his friend.

It was Scott standing in the doorway several hours later that finally snapped them out of the land of scientific imagination. By that time, the self-healing polymer was modelled and ready for initial experimental trials.

“Am I going to have to share him with you now, Brains?” Scott was smiling, obviously amused. Virgil wondered how long his brother had been standing there.

But Brains grew flustered. “Th-that’s entirely u-up to V-Virgil.”

Virgil held up a hand. “Hey, nothing’s changed. I’m still the same wrench monkey I was yesterday.”

Brown eyes caught his. “N-no, Virgil, you are so much more. I-I’m j-just s-sorry I didn’t see it b-before.” His friend’s shoulders dropped.

“Hey.” He walked over to the engineer and placed his good hand on Brains’ shoulder. “I should have told you. Though, I honestly didn’t realise...a lot of things.” He squeezed gently. “But now we know and we can move forward.” It was quite exciting really. Brains had experience Virgil could learn from and Brains saw possibilities in several of Virgil’s theories.

“Wh-why did you shut d-down your website?” It came out in a rush, the worry on Brains’ face obvious.

Virgil was very aware of his silent brother still standing just inside the door. And, no, he hadn’t missed the bottle of pills in Scott’s hand.

Voice quiet. “Abby Applegate. You made me realise the potential I was making public. I pulled it to give myself time to work out what I want to do with my theories.”

“You want to keep them under the blanket of International Rescue?” It was Scott’s commander voice asking the question and it had Virgil automatically straightening his posture in response.

He turned to his brother. “I haven’t decided yet.”

“But isn’t this technology that the Hood could...”

Virgil held up a hand. “This technology could save thousands of lives and, yes, if it got into the wrong hands it could make our jobs harder, but...” And as he was saying it, the idea clarified in his mind. “It could save so many more lives than we ever could, if we release the technology so manufacturers can build it into their products to prevent us from needing to be called in, in the first place.”

“Virgil-“

“No, Scott. I have to think on this further, but this polymer, at least, will be released in some form. Maybe we can release it through Tracy Industries, maybe some other way, But I don’t want to deny the possibilities it could mean for sheer safety in areas like marine habitation or airships, for example.”

His brother’s glance immediately flicked to the other engineer in the room. “Brains?”

Virgil couldn’t believe it. The rational part of his mind knew it was only reflex on Scott’s part, but... “No! This isn’t Brains’ decision, it’s mine!”

He saw the moment of realisation as to what he had done flicker across Scott’s eyes. His mouth opened but Brains interrupted. “Th-this is V-Virgil’s decision.”

Virgil straightened his spine.

Scott echoed his stance, but his voice was soft. “Yes. Yes, it is.”

“I need to remember that.”

-o-o-o-

When Scott finally dragged him out of Brains’ lab, Virgil discovered it was later than he expected. He and Brains had well and truly gotten lost in their discussion. It was lunch time, but a very late one. His eldest brother continued the dragging all the way to the kitchen. There was pill taking demanded, followed by a glare directed seat at the table.

Food appeared in front of him.

Brothers wandered into the room and found their own lunches. Soon there were conversations bouncing around.

Gordon clapped him around his good shoulder as he entered. “So, when is Four getting this groovy polymer upgrade?”

“It doesn’t even exist yet. We’re still a way off a workable application.”

“Hey, just getting in first dibs. I read your blog entry on that you know. It was amazing.”

Virgil stared at him. “You read my blog entry?”

“Sure. Brains was over the moon about it and I wanted to know more. Plus, it was great sport to see you put that colon-custard guy where he belonged.” Gordon grinned.

Okay, that was an image. He held back a shudder. “Coloncous.”

“Whatever. You scored big.” His fish brother swiped a piece of carrot off Virgil’s plate. “Let me know next time you want to take down another hot air balloon, I’d like to watch.” He grinned and headed off into kitchen, likely to pilfer from other plates before finally throwing his own lunch together.

A glass of juice appeared at his elbow, Scott arching an eyebrow to match Virgil’s query, the message obvious. Look after yourself.

Brains wandered in, distracted as usual. This time it was John who stopped him from colliding with the furniture and directed him to a chair before he collided with anything else.

Kayo slunk into a seat beside Virgil on his good side, nudging him with her elbow. “Forgive me?”

“For what?”

“Telling.”

A one shoulder shrug. “I guess.”

“They had to know.”

“I guess.”

She stared at him a moment, her expression assessing him. “Letting an opponent underestimate you makes good tactical sense. Just don’t underestimate yourself.”

“I...” But the words escaped him as her green gaze pierced him, pushing her point home.

Her hand rested on his shoulder and she leant in and whispered in his ear. “Though I must say it was great sport to see you get one over all of them.” She smiled. “Never underestimate a Tracy.”

And with those words she was gone from his side and delving into the refrigerator as if there was no physical space between him and the appliance.

A blink. Kayo was a law unto herself. He shook his head and couldn’t help but smile.

A sudden exchange of words at the kitchen counter ended in an outraged squawk. “Gordon!”

Alan had raw egg in his hair and dripping into his eyebrows and onto his cheeks.

A second later, Gordon had flour in his hair.

As Virgil leapt out of his chair and Scott dove across the room, another egg sailed through the air and the butter dish made airborne. It got loud and there was yelling.

“What the hell are you two doing?!” Scott was answered by a cloud of flour.

“Hey, guys, cut it out!” Virgil reached into the fracas with his good arm and yanked, landing himself a furious Alan screaming profanities at Gordon and coated in what equated to omelette.

His eldest brother grabbed a glaring Gordon and restrained him. There was moment of stunned silence before an angry Scott broke it. “What the hell are you two doing?”

“Teaching the squirt a lesson.”

“Screw you, Gordon!”

“What? Did you underestimate your dumb brother, genius boy?”

“I never said you were dumb!”

“You don’t think I’ve got the brains to keep up with you.”

Virgil had to pull Alan back again, his balance off due to one arm in a sling. His littlest brother was furious. “I never said that either!”

“But you thought it!”

“HEY!” It was Virgil’s voice, not Scott’s that brought the argument to a dead stop. “Gordon, what the hell?”

The aquanaut lost the glare and let his shoulders drop, shifting to a nonchalant stance as if he wasn’t coated head to toe in flour and egg. He ignored Virgil and addressed his little brother. “Point made?”

Alan shook off Virgil’s grip and straightened up, his shoulders squared. “Point made.”

“We good?”

A stare at his next eldest brother before Alan once again shifted his stance, relaxing even further. “We’re good.” And to Virgil’s astonishment, Alan’s face split into a grin. “That was a smart move with that first egg. Did not see it coming.”

“You shouldn’t expect anything less, little bro.”

“I know, I know, point made. You’re smart, I’m smart. Now show me how you flipped your wrist like that.”

Virgil stared as the two youngest brothers huddled together discussing how to slingshot an egg with a single wrist twist. Across the room, Scott appeared equally mystified as to what had actually happened.

Eventually the engineer just rolled his eyes and wandered over to the sink to wash the flour off his hand. Scott ended up beside him, the smother hen helping him clean his one hand.

Virgil rolled his eyes.

“We good?” Scott’s voice was quiet almost tentative.

A frown. “Of course. Yes, we’re good.”

He was surprised at the smile that spread over Scott’s face. A wet hand squeezed his shoulder and handed him a towel.

And dried his one hand.

Oh, for the love of...

Scott was grinning at him.

“God, you’re an ass.”

“Yeah, a smart one.”

Virgil cuffed him up the back of his head.

-o-o-o-

FIN.

[creepingtowardstheedge]

Dawn Hayes | Deputy

The Basics:

Full name: Dawn Hayes Meaning: ‘Awakening’ in Old English Nicknames: Day (Aiden), D (Aiden), Miss Know-It-All (Pratt), Birth date: January 30, 1989 Age: 29 years old Height: 5’6” inch | 173 cm Gender: Female Zodiac: Aquarius Sexuality: Heterosexual MBTI: ENTJ Alignment: Lawful Good Temperament: Melancholic Phobia(s): Deep waters Guilty pleasures: Drinking juice straight from the carton, junk food, cigarettes Language(s) spoken: English, German, Spanish and French Hobbies: Running, hiking, cycling, reading, playing the piano, cooking Side: Resistance John’s tattoos: Pride (chest), Envy (right upper arm)

Background:

Hometown: Hope County, Montana Current location: Joseph’s Island, Hope County Nationality: American Ethnicity: American, as far as she knows. Family: Cynthia Hayes (adoptive mother) Pet(s): Daisy (her dog) Education: Degree in Modern Languages Occupation: Hope County’s Deputy Past job(s): She worked for a few summers as a babysitter for the children of her mother’s friend. Brief story: Being abandoned when she was a child, she grew up in an orphanage. She had no memories of her parents, but was told that the caretaker of the orphanage found her on the doorstep of the building and no-one ever reclaimed her. When she was 10, she was placed in a foster home and moved from one home to another until she turned 14, then was taken by a widow who later she became very attached to, and who treated her like a daughter. When she came of age, she started looking for her parents, seeking for answers, determined to know the truth. She found out that her father left her mother when she was pregnant and her mother started drinking and died after a few years. She never looked for her father, realizing that she didn’t want to have a relationship with him, since he abandoned her and her mother. After school she enrolled in the police academy and graduated successfully after a few years.

Skills and Abilities:

Physical strength: 6/10 Offense: 7/10 Defense: 8/10 Agility: 8/10 Speed: 9/10 Intelligence: 9/10 Stealth: 8/10 Precision: 7/10 Stamina: 7/10 Teamwork: 9/10

Talents: 

Languages: She studied modern languages in university, so she can speak English, Spanish, German and French.

Diplomacy: At the station she was in charge of talking to the victims’ relatives, trying to talk some sense into them and to prevent the situation from going bad.

Teamwork: Always tries to resolve conflicts between people in a group.

Photographic memory and remembering details.

Shortcomings: 

Big heart: Could have never been in charge of interviews and talking to suspects, she would have bought whatever they said.

Trust issues: Though she’s kind to everyone and tries to help whoever she can, she doesn’t open easily to others and tends to push people away in an attempt to prevent herself from getting hurt.

Physical appearance and characteristics:

Face claim: Emmy Rossum Eye color: Brown Hair color: Brown Glasses/Contacts: Contacts for work, glasses at home Dominant hand: Left hand Build: Slim Skin tone: Fair Tattoos: An orchid on her right calf and a dream catcher on her ribs. Piercings: None Marks/scars: When she was a child she accidentally poured boiling water on herself and since then she has a nasty burn on her shoulder. Notable features: None Clothing style: She doesn’t really care about what she’s wearing, everything is fine as long as she’s wearing something. Allergies: Pollen

Relationships:

Earl Whitehorse: It’s like the dad she never had. She loves how grumpy he always is, and she mocks him sometimes, telling him that he’s getting old and should retire. She admires him, and would always try to take a leaf out of his choices.

Joey Hudson: At first they just didn’t get along, the both of them being stubborn and proud, but eventually learned to coexist and would sometimes join forces against Staci and Freya.

Staci Pratt: Staci is like a big brother to her. Sometimes they quarrel, but they always find a way to make peace. She looks up at him and sometimes asks him for some career and personal advice, because she knows she can count on him.

Faith Seed: She knows that the young lady has gone through some difficult times is her life, and sometimes would feel sorry for her, but, despite everything, she doesn’t sympathize too much with Faith, as she chose to be on Joseph’s side.

John Seed: According to her, John’s the most dangerous one of the Seed brothers, being so obsessed with sin, guilt and atonement. What scares her the most is that he would do anything for the Project, including sacrificing his own people without even blinking. He’s ruthless and sadistic, and she has a feeling he doesn’t care about any of his people, so she tends to be very careful around him, not knowing what he could do next.

Jacob Seed: She thinks he’s the most pragmatic and practical one of all the Seed brothers, but she tries to stay as far away as possible from him, because she knows that when he wants something he will sure as hell get it, so she tries not to underestimate him or any of his soldiers.

Joseph Seed: She doesn’t know what to think of him. His chilled and calm attitude scares her much more than the aggressive mask of the Baptist, and she thinks he could be capable of everything. He’s manipulative and charismatic, and she would sometimes have doubts whether he would be lying or telling the truth about the Collapse. She knows he’s a dangerous man, but sometimes she tends to forget how dangerous he can be.

Freya Williams: They get along pretty well, even though it’s not always easy to be around Freya. Dawn always tried to be kind and polite, but never passive, since she doesn’t let anyone push her around, and between the two girls started developing a sort of mutual respect and trust.

Aiden Lewis: Her best friend, her partner in crime. Aiden is like a brother to her, Dawn always having dinner at his house when they were younger. His family always treated her like a daughter,  they immediately bonded when they first met and since then they’ve become really close. He’s always able to cheer her up, telling jokes and making her laugh, but he also knows when to stop making fun of his friends and Dawn is grateful for that.

Riley Denvers: Dawn and Riley have a somewhat mother-daughter relationship. They sometimes fight, but always re-conciliate - mostly thanks to Hannah’s help - because they are not capable of being mad at each other for more than 10 minutes. They’ve known each other for a very long time and know they can always count on each other, no matter how angry or mad they can be.

Hannah Thompson: Dawn was the first person to stand up for Hannah in school, and since then they became really good friends, taking care of each other and always being there in times of need. Hannah always knows what’s the right thing to say, so Dawn knows that she can tell her anything and never be judged for it.

Hunter Davis: She likes to talk about serious things with Hunter, since he’s very smart and cultured. She admires her friend, he had to grow up fast and never relied on anyone else, and even though he’s not very good at socializing, he’s a good listener and knows when to be there for his friends.

Sasha Maxwell: They met a few times, when Dawn went to John’s bunker for the Confession or when Joseph visited his brother, and Sasha was always kind to her, treating her tattoos when John marked her, but Dawn couldn’t believe she was there by choice and not as a prisoner and always tried to convince her that she was on the wrong side of the war and that Joseph wasn’t as holy as he wanted others to believe.

Jake and Sean Denvers: soon

Judith Denvers: soon

Scarlett Reed: soon

Tyler Reed: soon

Other information:

At the police station, she’s the diplomatic one. She always tries to talk things through, trying to avoid the fight as much as she can, but wouldn’t hesitate to use her gun if needed.

She always tried to stood up for those who couldn’t do it for themselves, even in high school, helping Hannah when no-one did.

She went through some difficult times in her childhood. She never forgave her parents for leaving her, and she still feels so much anger towards them. Most of all she felt abandoned, and during her time in foster homes she felt as if no-one cared about her.

After having found her real parents, she found out that her real surname was Monroe, but never even thought about taking it. She adopted Cynthia’s surname instead,

She was kind of a troublemaker in high school, always being in detention with Aiden for skipping classes.

She loves her Border Collie Daisy more than everything. She’s a dog person in general, though she also likes cats, but she never had one because Daisy tends to be very possessive and would never let a cat go near Dawn.

Her favorite drink is hot chocolate, she would drink it all day, possibly on the couch, listening to the cracking of fire and watching the snow falling outside her window.

When she was younger she wanted to be a social worker, as she wanted to help children who were not lucky enough to have a decent family, but eventually acknowledged the fact that she was too emotionally involved to do her job properly. She would have probably just punched all terrible parents in the face.

She’s not good at trusting people, so she tends to push people away because she doesn’t want to get hurt or to hurt others. For that reason, she never had long relationships. She’d really like to settle down, but due to her trusting issues she never allowed herself to be happy and to find that person she wants to spend her life with.

Dawn is a fan of post-apocalyptic and dystopian movies and books. She particularly loves The Walking Dead, Mad Max: Fury Road, and I Am Legend, and her favorite book is Lord of The Flies.

[coffeeandtin]

I have a sort of headcannon question for you. What do you think Goody and Billy like about the other besides what they can do for each other? What makes them best friends?

Oo, that is a really good question; especially since a lot of their relationship seems to be rooted in mutual need. And if I may, can I look at that aspect for a sec?

I think, be it drugs, or support, or navigation of social situations, Goody and Billy grew to need each other. Which is to say, that while though need plays an important part in their relationship, they would have survived had they gone their separate ways. Looking at the scene where Goodnight explains their relationship to Teddy, I think they also use the necessity of their relationship as a smokescreen. They have to appear to need each other. After all, what else *ahem* would two such socially disparate people be doing together?

Also, on days when Goodnight’s self-esteem is less than stellar, it is helpful for him to think that Billy might need him as much as he needs Billy.

But getting to the original question: What do they like about each other?

-Short answer: I think they balance each other out.

-Goodnight is enamored of the way Billy moves. It’s not simply the elegance of the way Billy tears through enemies; though, let’s face it: That’s a thing of beauty. It’s the way Billy moves his fingers when he’s thinking, or the way his eyelids get heavy when he’s had opium. And the way Billy dismounts his horse? What’s not to love about that?

-Billy likes that Goodnight is smart. When Goodnight phrases something in such a way that it befuddles people, Billy gets no small sense of satisfaction out of it. But it’s not just that Goody is educated, and witty. It’s also that Goodnight isn’t ignorant, or anything like what Billy has come to expect from white men. (And if Goodnight does happen to do or say something that isn’t particularly respectful, he’s far more willing than most to learn from his error.)

-Goodnight can carry a conversation, and Billy can contribute where he likes.

-Both men are amazingly skilled killers, and they both respect the other for it, if for entirely different reasons. Goodnight earned a name for himself, and while the cultural double standard can be aggravating (To Billy’s knowledge Joshua Faraday is the only person who’s dared Goodnight to prove how awesome he is.), Billy genuinely does enjoy it when Goodnight settles a dispute by dropping his own name. On the other side of that coin, Goodnight is aggravated, but not usually surprised when people underestimate and/or try to provoke Billy because of his size, heritage, or both. By and large, Billy lets it go in one ear, and out the other. This never ceases to impress Goody, but at the same time, he can never stop himself from smiling when Billy does opt to prove some asshole wrong.

-Goodnight truly does find Billy mysterious, and he revels in the fact he knows him better than anyone else.

-Billy thinks that Goodnight is kinder, and gentler than he gives himself credit for. And considering everything Goodnight’s gone through, Billy considers that something of a miracle. Goodnight thinks the same is true of Billy.

[defineguilty]

FULL CHARACTER INFO SHEET

BASIC INFORMATION

♛┋FULL NAME: Neal George Caffrey ♛┋NICKNAME(S): Do aliases count as nicknames? ♛┋OCCUPATION: FBI Consultant / Former Con-Artist ♛┋AGE: 32+ depending on verse ♛┋DATE OF BIRTH: March 21st ♛┋GENDER: cis male ♛┋PRONOUNS: he/him ♛┋ORIENTATION: bisexual biromantic ♛┋NATIONALITY: american ♛┋ETHNICITY: white ♛┋RELIGION: catholic, but not really practicing actively 

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

♛┋FACE CLAIM: Matt Bomer ♛┋EYE COLOUR: blue ♛┋HAIR COLOUR: brown ♛┋DOMINANT HAND: right ♛┋HEIGHT: 5' 11½" // 182cm ♛┋BUILD: athletic ♛┋TATTOOS: none ♛┋SCARS: none to speak of ♛┋PIERCINGS: none ♛┋GLASSES: occasionally when undercover/under an alias, but he has perfect vision ♛┋STYLE: Sophisticated & elegant. He very rarely leaves the house without a suit, often accessorizing with a hat. Usually somewhat vintage, but styled on the modern side. The most casual he usually goes is suit pants with a T-shirt or sweater.

FAMILY

♛┋PARENT #1: James Bennett (father) ♛┋PARENT #2: Angela Caffrey-Bennett (mother) ♛┋SIBLING(S): n/a ♛┋CHILDREN: n/a ♛┋PET(S): n/a ♛┋RELATIONSHIP WITH PARENTS: Non-existent. His father was a corrupt cop who killed a fellow cop and was arrested for it. Until his 18th birthday, Neal was led to believe his dad was a hero who died on the job and knowing the truth about his definitely messed up his entire world view. Add to that the fact that James tried to use Neal to get off after running from authorities for a murder he did commit and Neal certainly has all of the daddy issues. His mother, Neal feels less strong dislike and anger for. She was never a very stable presence in his life and the arrest of his father didn’t exactly help her. Instability and substance abuse made her a rather unfit mother and even though Neal would never say she was bad to him, Ellen was always the only real mother-figure he had. He hasn’t talked to his mother since he was eighteen and she hasn’t reached out either.  ♛┋RELATIONSHIP WITH SIBLING(S): n/a

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

♛┋HOMETOWN: St. Louis, Missouri ♛┋CURRENT: New York City, New York ♛┋LANGUAGE(S): English, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, French, German, conversational Italian & Swahili ♛┋SOCIAL CLASS: middle class ♛┋DEGREE: three MBAs and two doctorate degrees but... none of them legit. (in reality, Neal never graduated High School) ♛┋RAP SHEET? bond forgery (at least that’s the only thing they caught him on) ♛┋PRISON TIME? 4 years for bond forgery, another 4 years after breaking out of prison just before his sentence was up -- to be served as a consultant for the FBI

PSYCHOLOGY INFORMATION

♛┋JUNG TYPE: ESTP ♛┋ENNEATYPE: Type 3 -- The Achiever: Focused on the presentation of success, to attain validation & 7w8 ( Type 7 -- The Enthusiast: Pleasure seekers and planners, in search of distraction & Type 8 -- The Challenger: Taking charge, because they don't want to be controlled) ♛┋MORAL ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral / Chaotic Good ♛┋TEMPERAMENT: Sanguine ♛┋SCHEMA: Insufficient self-control (very strong). Other contenders include  Unrelenting standards, Emotional inhibation, Abandonment and Entitlement  hahaaa ♛┋INTELLIGENCE TYPE: Linguistic & Visual are at the same score. Interpersonal is second place. ♛┋NEUROTYPE: Neurotypical

PERSONALITY DETAILS

♛┋POSITIVE: charming, witty, inventive, creative, intelligent ♛┋NEGATIVE: sly, dishonest, distrusting, guarded, detached ♛┋DREAMS/AMBITIONS: Neal’s main goal is always a sense of fun and adventure. he doesn’t have a set end-goal either way -- not the white picket fence life, but also not the life of the fancy villa in some country that doesn’t extradite as some sort of crime lord. He likes the thrill of a con, so if he can make it happen, keeping that alive is what he cares about most. ♛┋FEARS: Among is main fears is definitely turning out like his father. Having idolized him for so many years before he knew who he really was and then seeing a few similarities between them after all really does scare him. He’s aware he’s far from the most honest person alive, but he likes to believe he would never turn to murder or betraying his own closest family and friends the way his father did.

RELATIONSHIPS / SEX

♛┋RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Verse dependent ♛┋PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIPS: Several ambivalent on-off relationships (see Alex Hunter), plenty of casual affairs and only a few more serious relationships. The first big one being with Kate which, obviously, was something he was incredibly serious and passionate about. Also the only relationship to date he was so open about and had no shame admitting he’s deeply in love and would do anything for her. The only other (canon) relationship, although also without labels attached, was with Sara which remains his most healthy relationship, though it was foiled by circumstance and perhaps, just Neal’s inability of honesty at the time. ♛┋LEVEL OF SEXUAL EXPERIENCE: high ♛┋STORY OF FIRST KISS: Technically, it happened in the third grade after he drew a girl in his class a nice picture and they then proceeded to date for three weeks, which really just consisted of them holding hands twice, Neal drawing more pictures and that one first kiss at recess. Showed Brittney Nicole too -- his tooth gap clearly wasn’t that bad. ♛┋STORY OF FIRST TIME: Neal had just turned 17 and at the time, had his first more serious girlfriend. They’d been dating for a few months at the time and it happened after a night of plenty of shenanigans on a random Saturday. For Neal, sneaking out was never an issue anyway since parental supervision wasn’t exactly a thing, so no sneaking had to take place, and she’d told her parents she was staying at a friend’s place. Originally, they’d planned to just do whatever they felt like, something they both enjoyed very much (usually that meant Neal rigging the games at a local Arcade and winning her a bunch of stuffed animals or them hanging out at his favorite pool hall where he’d regularly earn a little extra by making some older guys who underestimated him play for money) but that night, they decided to up the stakes a little. They stopped by a second-hand store in town, bought complete outfits (suit and a cocktail dress, respectively) and then proceeded to drive to one of the fancier hotels in town. Somehow, they convinced the guy at the reception that they were relatives of the owner and should have been announced. They ended up getting one of the nicer rooms in the hotel for the night (and, for free!) and the exhilaration of the con pulled off well led to both of their first time.

VICES / HABITS

♛┋SMOKES? No (unless it’s part of a cover) ♛┋DRINKS? Yes, but preferably something respectable and only for taste and enjoyment, not specifically to get drunk ♛┋DOES DRUGS? No ♛┋IS VIOLENT? No ♛┋HAS AN ADDICTION? Well, technically he did say that a con is an addiction and that he hasn’t kicked it yet, so. That. ♛┋IS SELF-DESTRUCTIVE? Yes. I think while he comes off very confident and considers himself very confident too, there’s a couple things he just doesn’t believe will happen in his life for him. Among those are stable relationships, so he can sometimes subconsciously be destructive towards those and therefore proof his belief-system. ♛┋HABITS: He likes to have something to do with his hands, especially when he’s nervous. Be it throwing something and catching it again, or just twirling a pen between his fingers. ♛┋HOBBIES: Art, Reading, Cooking, Languages ♛┋OBSESSION(S): Depends on what’s currently important. Kate and the music box definitely developed into a sort of obsession at the time. I think in general, when intense things come up, especially when they threaten his loved ones, Neal has the tendency to get obsessive about them and let those things take over his life (or at least his private life) for the time being.

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

♛┋HOUSE: Raveclaw, though a serious contestant for Slytherin  ♛┋VICE: Pride ♛┋VIRTUE: Willingness to do almost everything to protect/help those he cares about ♛┋ELEMENT: Air ♛┋MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE: Siren or Centaur ♛┋ANIMAL: Fox ♛┋WOULD SURVIVE POST-APOC? Probably not. He’s very smart and would probably find a way to survive for a little while by somehow securing food and the like, but he has practically no combat skills and the second he needs to fight for his life, he would die ♛┋SONG TO DESCRIBE THEM?: Alibis by Marianas Trench

DETAILS / QUIRKS

♛┋PET PEEVES: All of the pet peeves. For someone with an affinity for the illegal, a lot of little things really annoy him. Some examples: the toilet seat being left up, gum on the sidewalk, people eating very fragrant food in confined spaces just to name a few ♛┋NIGHT OWL OR EARLY BIRD?: Night owl ♛┋LIGHT OR HEAVY SLEEPER?: More on the heavy side ♛┋FAVORITE FOOD?: He couldn’t pick. But he does have a real soft spot for cheese. Also risotto.  ♛┋LEAST FAVORITE FOOD?: Deviled ham ♛┋FAVORITE DRINK?: Red Wine ♛┋FAVORITE BOOK (GENRE)?: Non-fiction for genre. I don’t think he has a single favorite book though. ♛┋FAVORITE MOVIE?: He likes classic Hollywood movies, ngl. Sunset Boulevard is among one of his favorites. Romantic movies, in general. ♛┋LEAST FAVORITE MOVIE?: Anything super action-heavy or overly crude. ♛┋FAVORITE PLACE TO BE?: Not in jail is a great start. France, though, if he could have his choice. ♛┋COFFEE OR TEA?: Coffee. ♛┋FAVORITE COLOR?: Navy blue. ♛┋CUSSER? No. Shit is probably the worst thing he’ll say

[classybynina]

90 Most Powerful Secrets in Life.

1. Being great at dealing with people is not an inborn talent. It is made through tons of research and deliberate practice.

2. A big part of emotional intelligence is being able to feel an emotion without having to act on it. Uncontrollable desires make you seem weak, unworthy and pathetic.

3. Don’t ever try to impress people by revealing your secrets or flaunting your achievements, for its effect is often the opposite of what you expected. Stay low-key, stop telling people more than they need to know.

4. Move in silence, never let them know your next move. You are more likely to achieve your goals if you keep them to yourself.

5. Keep your effort and your tricks to yourself and you seem to be an untouchable genius.

6. You must not be afraid of your uniqueness and you must care less and less what people think of you. Confidence is not ‘they will like me’. Confidence is ‘I’ll be fine if they don’t’.

7. If you find yourself constantly trying to prove your worth to someone, you have already forgotten your value. Let others worry about being socially acceptable; those types are a dime a dozen.

8. Trust yourself more and others less. The only way to survive is to admit you are on your own, learn to make your own decisions, and trust your judgement.

9. Respect people’s feelings. Even if it doesn’t mean anything to you, it could mean everything to them. Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all that they have.

10. Set your price high. Even those who turn you down respect you for your confidence, and that respect will eventually pay off in ways you cannot imagine.

11. Don’t underestimate the seductive power of an elaborate vocabulary.

12. Sometimes the easiest way to solve a problem is to stop participating in the problem.

13. People judge you by appearances, the image you project through your actions, words, and style. Act like a king or queen to be treated like one. If you do not take control of this process, then people will see and define you the way they want to, often to your detriment.

14. You are the king or queen and you ignore what offends you. If you waste time and energy in such entanglements, it is your own fault.

15. If you allow people to feel they possess you to any degree, you lose all power over them. By not committing your affections, they will only try harder to win you over.

16. You need to turn your back on what you want, show your contempt and disdain. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.

17. A fake friend can do more damage than a hundred honest enemies. They hide certain qualities and opinions in order to keep you in their side. They are also more prone to envy and ingratitude. Watch who you trust, betrayals are born through friendship.

18. Don’t ever say anything you don’t want played back to you someday.

19. Individuals are honest only to the extent that suits them (including their desire to please others).

20. Evaluate the people in your life; then promote, demote, or terminate. You’re the CEO of your own life. The smarter you are, the more selective you become.

21. Do not underestimate the effects of your pessimistic, unambitious, or disorganized friends. If someone isn’t making you stronger, they’re making you weaker. Flee from negative people’s presence or suffer the consequences.

22. Surround yourself with people that reflect who you want to be and how you want to feel, energies are contagious. Surround yourself with those on the same mission as you.

23. Be with really smart people. A group of smart people can often feed off of each other and become more than the sum of their individual parts. If you ever find that you’re the smartest person in the room, you need to find another room.

24. If you have the right of way, take it. Say “no” without explaining yourself. Don’t be afraid to dissapoint. What you allow is what will continue, don’t tolerate bad behaviors.

25. If you need to turn people down, it is best to do so politely and respectfully. Some people’s insecurity and ego fragility cannot tolerate the slightest offense.

26. When people treat you like crap they feel like crap. People aren’t against you; they are for themselves. Don’t take on their internal struggle, send them off with peace.

27. Swallow the impulse to offend, even if the other person seems weak. Never make this mistake of thinking that you elevate yourself by humiliating people.

28. It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself.

29. Don’t argue with negative people, this is part of how they trap you. Silence is the best reply to a fool.

30. Just because some people are fueled by drama doesn’t mean you have to attend the performance.

31. The values of the world we inhabit and the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are. What you are today and what you will be in five years depends on two things: the people you meet and the books you read.

32. People may not tell you how they feel about you, but always show you. Train yourself to read people, picking up the signals they unconsciously send about their innermost thoughts and intentions.

33. We all eat lies when our hearts are hungry.

34. There is no point in making a display of your controversial beliefs, opinions and dangerous ideas. Think as you like, but behave like others.

35. If you get tired, learn to rest, not quit. It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you don’t quit. Commit yourself to constant improvement.

36. Judge everything by what it costs, not just in money but in time, maintenance, dignity, and peace of mind.

37. Keep your cool and maintain a low profile, patiently building support to your rise to power. Once you learn patience, your options suddenly expand.

38. Never flaunt your wealth, and carefully conceal the degree to which it has bought influence. Consider showing your wealth only on the inside of your house.

39. A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do all you can to create a tranquil harmonious home.

40. Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies.

41. Excessive praise is an almost sure sign that the person praising you envies you. Once envy reveals itself for what it is, the only solution is often to flee the presence of the enviers, leave your enviers to stew in a hell of their own creation.

42. The feelings of achieving success blinds us the most. Give yourself the space to reflect on what has happened.

43. You need to realize that your moment of triumph is also a moment when you have to rely on competence, strategy and focus all the more.

44. Failure will definitely come to you in your journey to power and success. But if you prepare for the fall, it is less likely to ruin you when it happens.

45. Bad luck teaches valuable lessons about patience, timing, and the need to be prepared for the worst. Good luck deludes you into the opposite lesson, making you think your brilliance will carry you through.

46. Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument. If you’ve made your point, stop talking.

47. Don’t get mad, get distant. No matter how strong you are, fighting endless battles with people is exhausting, costly, and unimaginative.

48. Sometimes silence is the best way to let someone know they did you wrong.

49. The best apology is changed behavior.

50. The world is full of men who despise you and fear your ambition. These people will laugh or disrespect your dreams. You must always be prepared to place a bet on yourself, on your future, by heading in a direction that others seem to fear.

51. No one owes you a great career, you need to earn it—and the process won’t be easy.

52. Quitting a job doesn’t jump-start a dream because dreams take planning, purpose, and progress to succeed. That stuff has to happen before you quit your day job.

53. Keep your friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent. Hiring people who possess skills that you yourself lack is probably one of the wisest decisions you can make.

54. A lack of boundaries invites a lack of respect. All working situations require a kind of distance between people.

55. You destroy an enemy when you make a friend of him. Enemies expect nothing so they will be surprised when you are generous.

56. Don’t judge people. Everyone has a chapter they don’t read out loud. Everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something.

57. Take photos or record a video as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone forever.

58. At least once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before. Travel makes the world look new, and when the world looks new, our brains work harder.

59. Exercise is the single most powerful tool available to optimize brain function. Everybody knows that exercise creates a fit body, but what many forget is that the brain is part of the body too.

60. Typically, people who exercise, start eating better and becoming more productive at work. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use their credit cards less frequently and say they feel less stressed. Exercise is a keystone habit that triggers widespread change.

61. Walking gives you energy, makes you happy and enhances your creative thinking.

62. Treat your mental health with the same importance as your physical health.

63. Concentrate on single goal, a single task, and beat it into submission. Power itself always exists in concentrated forms.

64. Give a gift of some sort to those above you. By giving your superior a gift, you are saying that the two of you are equal.

65. Choose your life’s mate carefully and marry only for love and self-development. The right partner is someone who sees more potential in you than you see in yourself, someone who helps you become the best version of yourself.

66. Don’t allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It’s there for our convenience, not the caller’s.

67. Don’t burn bridges. You’ll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river.

68. If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: it infects people with awkward energy, elicits embarrassment.

69. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.

70. Count your blessings. When you focus on gratitude, positive things flow in more readily, making you even more grateful.

71. The most dangerous risk of all – the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.

72. A strong person doesn’t have an easy past. Many people are destined to be weak because they believe life should always be fun and easy.

73. Incompetence is the result of living in comfort and immediate gratification. Incompetent people never gain a proper sense of self-criticism., have lost contact to reality, and overestimate their abilities.

74. When our emotions are engaged, we often have trouble seeing things as they are. Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always stay calm and objective.

75. The more you say, the more common you appear.

76. The more you are seen and heard from, the more your value degrades.

77. Most average self-help books can be summarized into 1 sentence: Good thoughts will bring you good things in life, bad thoughts will bring you bad things.

78. Appear to have no clear strategy. Be like a slippery ball that cannot be held. People feel superior to the person whose actions they can predict.

79. Comfort is the enemy of achievement. You’re only growing when you’re uncomfortable. The more conflicts and difficult situations you put yourself through, the more battle-tested your mind will be.

80. Passion only exists when you are very good at something. Achieving your passion requires work. It’s hard. It’s tasteless. It hurts. It demands entering the pain-zone of effort, risk, and exposure.

81. Failure is the sweat of success. You can’t build your cardiovascular strength without working hard and sweating, and you can’t experience success without failure. We mature with the damage, not with the years.

82. Don’t think of an idea of “perfection”, it will only kill your creative juices. Rather, just take the next small step over and over again. Before you realize it, you have accumulated an empire, better than what you thought might be perfect.

83. Your passion should be an obsession. You should be consumed by solving the problem. Otherwise, you get bored and lose interest. The world is full of fascinating problems waiting to be solved.

84. Attitude and talent will not make you great. Greatness exists due to intelligence, practice, dedication, persistence, hard work, good resources and the ability handle mistakes.

85. Don’t miss out on something that could be great just because it could also be difficult.

86. Spend some time alone. Solitude is perhaps the most mental entropy inducing agent in our lives.

87. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. If that is not enough, step outside, get some fresh air, & remind yourself of who you are & who you want to be.

88. You will never have this day again so make it count.

You’re always one decision away from a totally different life.

89. Events in life mean nothing if you do not reflect on them in a deep way, and ideas from books are pointless if they have no application to life as you live it.

90. You may think that what you’d like to recapture from your youth is your looks, your physical fitness, your simple pleasures, but what you really need is the fluidity of mind you once possessed.

[bonnie-lowkramen]

PERSONAL ASSISTANT TRAINING

It’s about love.

The truly great Personal Assistants all love what they do. They unabashedly and unapologetically love their work in support of others. They blow off comments like, “You’re just an assistant,” because they know better.

Personal assistants are some of the brightest, most organized and resourceful people on the planet. That is why not everyone is cut out for this demanding work. They are very far from being “just” anything. The smartest people in the business world know to invest in the true power of the assistant. They also know to never, never, never underestimate or demean these influential gatekeepers.

I know because I was one.

For 25 years, I worked as the Personal Assistant to Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, and I loved it. Yes, I said it. Friends would say that I was one of the only people they knew who genuinely loved their job. That always struck me as important feedback as I observed how often the world treats assistants with disrespect. That happened to me too. Working with a movie star did not make me totally immune from dealing with people who just didn’t get it.

Personal Assistants are an elite subset of the larger “Executive Assistant” group. Personal Assistants are the women and men who do whatever it takes to get the job done and usually this means everything barring the illegal. Their responsibilities have a remarkably wide range from scheduling the private plane to flying ahead to a vacation location several days ahead of the principal’s arrival in order to prep the house to picking up the dry cleaning and prescriptions. Whatever it takes. And they love it. I did.

Now I teach Be the Ultimate Assistant training workshops for Personal Assistants all around the world. In the training, I teach the skills that are absolutely necessary to succeed. The topics in this intense and highly interactive workshop include:

Leadership

Mentoring & Networking

Communication – In-Person and Virtually

Business Partnerships with Executives

Organization

Event Planning

Travel Planning

Disaster Planning

Handling Workplace Bullying

Career Management

MS Office Computer Technology

Social Media

Cybersecurity

At BTUA, I share the universal truths about this career we love. These apply whether it is a Personal Assistant in Maryland or Malaysia or any point in between.

Here are the top 10 things that assistants do better than anyone else:

They are relentlessly adaptable. They love the variety the job offers and that no two days are ever the same which makes it easy for them to shift gears at a moment’s notice. Their brains are trained to run the what-ifs and prepare for Plans A, B, C, and sometimes D.

They love a challenge. “No” is not an option. True confession: I used to play a game at work called “How few emails or phone calls in the shortest time will it take to get this answer?” I won if it took five minutes or less.

They underplay their power. Looks can be deceiving. The Personal Assistant has the ear of her/his principal and wields tremendous influence and power. Do not underestimate this. Seriously. If you want to get things done, don’t.

Making people happy is their goal. Going above and beyond is SOP. Personal Assistants have an innate desire to please and to figure out the myriad of ways to do that. Assistants are born with a “service heart” and receive great pleasure and satisfaction from being supreme implementers.

They read minds. To be fair, they usually need a clue or two, such as a look on their principal’s face or the way a fellow staffer responded at the staff meeting. Great assistants are clairvoyant and truly know when “it is a good time” to approach the executive, and more importantly, when it is not. Anticipating what needs to be done is their gift and no AI device will ever be able to do what these humans do.

They love to put out fires and bring order to chaos. The assistant is the go-to person in any crisis whether it is dealing with a pandemic or untangling a Zoom meeting gone haywire.

They are master jugglers. The best assistants enjoy managing 12 invisible balls in the air and are able to handle #13 and #14 too. Just give them a fresh cup of coffee.

They are hungry to learn. Assistants know that they need to commit to life-long learning in order to stay at the top of their game. Smart CEOs and business leaders recognize this need and invest in their assistant’s professional development.

They are connected. Resources are an assistant’s best friends. The best assistants have the widest and deepest networks. They know the magic power of relationships to get it done…now.

They yearn to make a difference. Assistants are the ultimate enablers for their managers and companies. It gives them great pleasure to see the results of their plotting and planning. They don’t need a lot of feedback. A little goes a long way.

If fully utilized and are well managed with respect and appreciation, Personal Assistants will function as the eyes and ears of their principals who will prove their value and over-deliver – not just on some days but every day.

BLK named Educator of the Year 2015 from DEMA Domestic Estate Managers Association

Bonnie & her employer of 25 years Academy Award winning actress Olympia Dukakis

Speaking at the Club 42 meeting in London

With Reggie Love, Pres Barack Obama’s Body Man

[workfromhomeyoutuber]

You Need A Budget (YNAB): Humbly Confident Email Marketing Automation Specialist

Headquarters: Salt Lake City, UT URL: https://www.youneedabudget.com/

At YNAB, we build the world’s best budgeting software. But teaching people how to get control of their money and changing lives one budget at a time is what gets us up in the morning. In order to teach the masses the YNAB way of budgeting, it requires sending emails...lots and lots of emails (and messages, really). That’s where you come in!

You are an HTML email-crafting savant on wheels. You scorn the decision makers at Microsoft for their implementation of Outlook 2003’s HTML rendering, but you also love the challenge and job security it brings. Also, it was a different time...who knew CSS would be a thing (everybody knew, but still)?

Even though you love getting into the weeds, creating and troubleshooting HTML emails and in-app messages, you also have never met a mind map that you don’t like. You’re building customer lifecycle messaging funnels in your sleep. You’re targeting, triggering and delaying like a procrastinating hunter! You’re fascinated by the user journey and you absolutely love finding new ways to convert, engage, and retain anyone and everyone who comes into the marketing automation orbit.

Requirements (these are real, actual requirements): 

You have a ton of experience using Marketing Automation platforms. We use Braze, but they all have similar rules (Marketo, Iterable, SFMC, Eloqua, etc.). 

You can take a messaging series strategy, develop the emails (we have designers to design them), implement all of automation details, troubleshoot, A/B test and optimize it to a degree that impresses everyone you know and have ever talked to.

You are a highly skilled HTML/CSS email developer. You can (and probably should) use a solid template as a base, but there’s no email client issue you can’t troubleshoot.

Oh, hey, also, it probably goes without saying, but you can make those same emails look amazing on mobile. Are we still using the word “responsive?” You get the idea.

That gives you a pretty good idea of the job, but first, you need to know if you’ll even like working with us. (We think you will.)

A Bit About Us

We build the best budgeting software around, YNAB or “You Need a Budget” if you have a lot of extra time on your hands. For more than a decade, people have been buying YNAB and then telling their friends what a difference it has made in their lives. (Google us, or read some of our reviews on the app store, and you’ll see what we mean.) We love building something that has a huge positive impact on people’s lives.

We’re profitable, bootstrapped, and growing. YNAB started in 2004 and we haven’t taken any outside funding—we’re in it for the long haul. 

We have one overarching requirement when it comes to joining our team: our Core Value Manifesto has to really click with you. If you’re nodding emphatically while reading it, you’ll probably fit right in, in which case, we can’t wait to hear from you! 

First, let’s talk about life at YNAB and then we’ll go into detail about what we’re looking for. 

Who you’d be working with:

Lindsey & The Gang aka the Marketing Team aka just a rag-tag but lovable bunch of underdogs who defy the odds—making budgeting software hilarious, emotional, and accessible—day in and day out. (Disney, are you listening?) 

We love musical theater, board games, stand-up comedy, the Enneagram, video games, and art, to varying degrees, depending on who you talk to first. Our internal Slack channel is so much fun, it has a growing fanbase. 

Lindsey, our Chief Marketing Officer, will be the first to delete something very important, but also the first to celebrate your wins—big and small. Ryan, our Digital Marketing Director, will quickly become your lifeline in any type of bracketology-related emergency and even under website-launch-level-stress, he can sneak in the jokes that make you feel like, “if Dad’s OK, we’ll all be OK.” 

And then there’s, Ben B. and Janelle, who lead out on Community Engagement and Social Media, respectively. They both have huge hearts, and a tangible passion for our customers, plus they are hilarious. Reema, our Marketing Production Manager, keeps all the balls in the air, while wearing many different hats, basically, if there is a need, yo, she’ll solve it (and yes, that was a seamless incorporation of Vanilla Ice lyrics). 

Plus, our brilliant creatives, Lauren and Marian (designers), Tristan (animation), Hannah and Ashley (video), and Rachel (writing) bring everything to life. They are a veritable idea machine who serve to make us look good on a daily basis. What more could you ask for?

More importantly, you get to work with Arturo, our brilliant marketing developer whose mult-lingual humor and je ne sais quoi (I don’t know what that means, but Arturo probably does) will restore all your faith (if you had lost any) in humanity on a daily basis. 

But wait, there’s more! As the sole Email Marketing Automation Specialist at YNAB, you’ll be working with Support reps to craft in-app messages and Product Designers to communicate with beta testing cohorts that help test new features in YNAB. Essentially, you will be the glue that holds together the YNAB email marketing machine (don’t ask us why our machine uses glue instead of, like, bolts and more-machiney-type things).

How You’ll Work at YNAB

We work really hard to make working at YNAB an amazing experience. In fact, we were recently recognized as Fortune's #4 best small company to work for in the United States! We have a team full of truly exceptional people—the kind you’ll be excited to work with. Here’s how we operate:

Live Where You Want

We’re a distributed team, so you can live and work wherever you want. Proximity doesn’t influence productivity. Taylor, our CTO, was traveling who-knows-where for a couple of years before he bought a farm. Up and move to France for a year? Sure, Todd did that. Don’t like France? How about London, where Janelle trotted off to. Tulsa Remote? Can do. Or if you just love LA or Baltimore or Buenos Aires, we’ve got people there, too.  Not all of us move around, but the fact that these folks have is totally okay because we’re all adults. Just make sure you have a reliable internet connection.

No Crazy Hours

We rarely work more than 40 hours per week. There have been a few occasions where things got a little crazy and people had to log some extra hours. But then they took some extra time off, so it all balances out. We work hard and smart but we’re in this for the long haul, no need to go crazy on the hours.

Take Vacation (Seriously)

We want you to take vacation. In fact, we have a minimum vacation policy of three weeks per year. Five weeks feels about right (plus two extra weeks for Christmas break). It’s important to get out and do something. We’ll look forward to seeing pictures of your vacation in our Slack channel, creatively named #office_wall.

The YNAB Meetup

We get the teams together once a year to catch up on spreadsheets and powerpoints in a Best Western conference room. Just kidding. So far, we’ve done Costa Rica, a gigantic cabin in the mountains, a beach house in the Outer Banks, a ranch in Montana, and most recently, Laguna Beach. We work together, play together, and reinforce the bonds we’ve made as a team and company. Every year, we leave refreshed, motivated, and excited for the year ahead together.

Up Your Game

We’re serious about helping you improve your craft. We budget for it (hey-o!). Think conferences, Lynda subscriptions, dedicated time away from work to learn something new… it’s really up to you and your manager. But we love to see our people growing.  

International is Absolutely Oka

If you are Stateside, we’ll set you up as a W2 employee. If you’re international, you’ll be set up as a contractor. Employee or contractor, it’s all the same to us. You’re part of the team. (We are spread all over the world: Switzerland, Scotland, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Canada, and all over the United States.)

If You’re Stateside…

YNAB offers fantastic health, dental, and vision insurance, where we cover 100% of the premium for you and your family. (No need to check your vision, you read that right, 100%. Although if you did need to check your vision, we’ve got you covered!)

We also have a Traditional and Roth 401k option. YNAB contributes three percent whether you choose to throw any money in there or not. It vests immediately. (Are you a personal finance junkie like our founder Jesse? He set up YNAB’s 401k to have the lowest fee structure possible, where all plan costs are paid by YNAB, not your retirement nest egg. The investment funds available are fantastic, passively-managed, ultra low-cost index funds. You’re not a PF junkie? Trust us, it’s awesome.)

Other Tidbits

Once you start, we DEMAND (in a friendly, ALL CAPS IS YELLING way) that you fill out your “Bucket List” spreadsheet with 50 items. (That’s harder than it sounds!) 

The bucket list really helps in deciding what we should give you for your birthday and the holidays.

We have a bonus plan based on profitability. You’ll be in on that from day one. YNAB wins, you win. That kind of thing.

We’re all adults. There’s no need to punch a clock, or ask for permission to take off early one afternoon to go see the doctor (health insurance premium 100% covered!). We look at what you accomplish, not how long you sit (have you tried standing?) in front of a computer.

We want you firing on all cylinders so we’ll set you up with a shiny new computer and replace it every three years.

Did I mention we make a huge, positive difference in people’s lives? You may not think that matters much, but then a few months down the road you’ll realize it’s made your job really, really enjoyable. Don’t underestimate this one!

If this sounds like your ideal environment, read on because now I want to talk about you. You will play a big, big part in helping YNAB customers achieve success. You will change lives. I’ll only say that six more times.

Now, back to you, our new Email Marketing Automation Specialist...

We’re educators and content marketers here at YNAB, and email and in-app messages are the principal way that we teach and engage with our users after they have made the decision to give us a chance. We feel like our content is something that sets us apart from our competitors in an extremely crowded space, so you will be on the front lines, delivering that content (precious cargo). We’re counting on you. You’re our only hope!

You’ll have all of the tools you need to deliver engaging, personalized messages to these new, budding budgeters as they learn how to gain total control of their money. We have writers and designers to help craft the content that you’ll develop. We have full stack developers who will keep all the systems functioning and keep all the data (for targeting) nice and clean.

Now, we need you to develop the emails/messages, set the targeting, configure the triggers and unleash the campaigns into the world.

You are our ideal candidate if you: 

Have at least 3-5 years of experience using Marketing Automation platforms. Braze is preferred, but experience with any similar platform totally works. This probably wouldn’t include some ESP’s like Constant Contact. We’re really looking for more powerful Automation platforms.

Have at least 3-5 years of experience developing responsive HTML/CSS emails.

Are comfortable creating strategies for all phases of the customer lifecycle (acquisition, conversion, retention, winback).

Have some pretty stellar writing skills.

Make us laugh. 

Manage your time exceptionally well and you are comfortable working remotely. 

Incredibly organized, flexible, and collaborative. 

Never met a deadline you didn’t love. 

Self-motivated and driven by nature, maybe even a little competitive. 

Stay laser-focused on the big picture, without losing sight of every. last. detail. 

Wildly productive and independent, but a team-player at heart. 

Bonus Points: 

You already use and love YNAB. 

You are familiar with webhooks and API integrations and might even know a little bit of JavaScript.

You write some pretty amazing email copy, or at least you know it when you see it.

YNAB is an equal opportunity employer. We believe diversity of backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences to be critical to our success and are passionate about creating a welcoming, supportive, and collaborative environment for all employees. All are encouraged to apply as we continue to grow a smart, hard-working, and diverse team who love working together to build something that matter

How to Apply

Apply here (https://ynab.recruiterbox.com/jobs/fk0q69o) by 11:59PM on March 9th, 2020. Firm. It’s a real deadline. The kind you love.

Attach a pdf of your cover letter. In your cover letter: 

Introduce yourself and explain why this position is of interest to you, and why you would be a great fit. Please limit this section of the cover letter to 1.5 pages. 

On a separate page of your cover letter, answer the following questions (with each response being about a paragraph in length): 

1. What attracted you to this position? (This is not about what attracted you to the software.) 

2. What criteria do you look for when searching for your next company or position? 

3. What are your favorite and least favorite parts of your current job? 

4. Tell us about a time when you had to learn something new to excel at your job. 

5. Tell us about the craziest email client bug/issue that you’ve ever troubleshooted (troubleshot?). What was it? How did you discover it and how did you fix it? What do you do now to make sure you never have to fight it again? 

6. What are some of the differences between emails, messages, and automation strategies that you would implement to convert users vs. those that you would send to retain users? 

If you have a prepared resume, attach it in PDF form. If you don’t have a resume because you aren’t even sure you’re looking to change jobs, that’s fine! An informal list of your work and education history are all we’re looking for.

Please send all attachments as PDFs. 

P.S.  If you’re not interested in or available for this position, but know someone who is, we would really appreciate it if you passed this along!

To apply: https://ynab.recruiterbox.com/jobs/fk0q69o

from We Work Remotely: Remote jobs in design, programming, marketing and more https://ift.tt/381DopO from Work From Home YouTuber Job Board Blog https://ift.tt/2VwQZ5M

[mymuseisacademia]

About

~Basic~

Name: Katsuki Bakugo

Alias: Undetermined 

Age: 15 - 16 years

Gender: Male

Birthday: April 20th

Zodiac: Taurus

Height: 172 cm (5′7″)

Hair: Ash Blonde

Eyes: Red

Blood Type: A

Quirk: Explosion

~Personality~

Katsuki is a crude, arrogant, short-tempered, and aggressive person, especially at the beginning of the series. Katsuki tends to come off as an anti-hero, if not downright villainous for those not familiar with him. This problematic behavior goes all the way back to his early childhood days when he was known to bully a young, Quirkless Izuku Midoriya. He eventually shows no remorse about that. However, after being accepted into U.A. High School and experiencing several personal defeats, one of them even coming from Izuku, Katsuki has gradually changed into a less antagonistic person, albeit still retaining a lot of his unpleasant traits.

Determined and thirsty for victory, Katsuki smiles eerily when in the middle of a battle. He is incredibly focused on achieving his own authentic victories and has learned to never underestimate his opponents. Katsuki is not only very talented at fighting, but also very intelligent and extremely perceptive, capable of strategic planning and holding some of the highest grades in his class, to the point that some even consider him a natural genius.

While a rather volatile hero-in-training, with his volatile nature being seen as villainous by many outside of his class, Katsuki is smart enough to discern who his enemies and allies are. He is not known to be particularly warm and open with the people on his side, but will act less unfriendly and sometimes even kind to those that manage to earn his respect. Because of his attitude and vulgar language, Katsuki's U.A. classmates often react negatively to him, although they have come to appreciate his skills and warm up to his personality. Katsuki matures slowly through his time at U.A., coming to befriend some of his classmates and willingly engaging in social interaction with his fellow classmates, though remaining aloof and solitary for the most part.

Katsuki tends to disregard the notion that Quirks shouldn't be used in public, and will activate his Quirk for a number of reasons, such as to intimidate someone, to punctuate a point, out of frustration, or even if he just feels like showing off. Katsuki values honesty highly and never lies, to the point his brash candor is seen by some as rude and unsympathetic. He is never afraid of speaking what's on his mind and will notice when people are not being truthful to him. This shows that, despite his anti-social habits, Katsuki actually has good judgement of character.

Due to the constant praise of his abilities and his powerful Quirk, Katsuki developed a superiority complex, and because of that, he desires to be the first and best at everything. As pointed out by many people, Katsuki loves to win above all else and cannot stand it when he doesn't, leading him to lose his already short temper or, less often, sulk. As such, he is fiercely competitive and will never settle for less than the number one spot. However, Katsuki also values hard work and fair play, and will refuse to acknowledge a winning result if he feels that his victory was not earned fairly. He detests being looked down by others, which normally angers him, and will hold contempt towards those that don't take him seriously, while recognizing the effort of those that manage to put up a challenge against him, like, for example, Ochaco Uraraka and Eijiro Kirishima.

Katsuki is immensely prideful and prefers to act alone, as he hates the idea of having to rely on others to assist him unless he is recognized as the absolute leading figure within a team. At the beginning of the series, Katsuki's cooperativeness was nothing short of atrocious, often ignoring his partners' ideas and suggestions for his own very direct approaches. After a while, his teamwork skills gradually improve, but Katsuki still comes off as condescending to his teammates due to his usual tone, but he now acknowledges their importance, protecting them from harm while expecting them to do the same for him in return.

Katsuki often has difficulty accepting his mistakes and shortcomings, and will fiercely deny them whenever they are pointed out by others, regardless of who they are. That doesn't mean, however, that Katsuki doesn't listen to advice, having come to realize his faults and how to somewhat improve on them thanks to the words and actions of other people like All Might and Best Jeanist, but because of his pride, Katsuki never outright admits it. He prefers to self-reflect alone and in silence, becoming a bit more brooding during those periods.

Katsuki's pride has cost him victories on numerous occasions, like the Battle Trial and the Provisional Hero License Exam. His pride is so intense that, when pitted together with Izuku against All Might, he outright refused his partner's help, even saying that he'd rather lose than work with Izuku to pass the exam by using Izuku's abilities and power. However, after realizing the true difficulty of the exam and being lectured by Izuku, Katsuki was able to put his pride aside temporarily in order to cooperate with Izuku effectively.

Katsuki has a more vulnerable side, having been led to tears due to damaged pride a few times. Katsuki has also shown moments of fear and guilt, the latter due to viewing himself and his own weakness as the cause of All Might losing his remaining power and retiring as a hero. Still, due to years of misunderstandings, tension and pride, Katsuki has difficulty doing the same thing towards Izuku.

While his inspiration for becoming a hero was the same as Izuku's, the Symbol of Peace, All Might, their beliefs differ: Katsuki feels a hero should never stop fighting or give up, regardless of the threat they face, and that always winning is the mark of a true hero. Furthermore, due to his arrogant and conceited behavior, various heroes, civilians, and even villains have commented on it. However, Katsuki is unwavering in his aspirations of heroism, having outright refused Tomura Shigaraki's proposal for him to join the League of Villains, even after being offered the power and ability to 'win'.

~Abilities~

Overall Abilities: Katsuki has proven to be one of the strongest students in Class 1-A, earning 3rd place in the Quirk Apprehension Test, while placing first place in both the U.A. Entrance Exam, having the most villain points, and U.A. Sports Festival, although his last opponent, Shoto Todoroki, basically surrendered at the last moment. Katsuki's fighting style is all-out offense, using his Quirk's propulsive abilities to close the distance between him and his opponents, followed by a bombardment of close-range attacks that often start with a powerful right hook. Katsuki is able to use his Explosion to propel himself through mid-air, blind opponents, and release long-range blasts, among other applications. Explosion is a versatile Quirk, especially for battle situations, as the recoil caused by the blasts can be exploited by Katsuki for mobility purposes. His overall fighting style and Quirk handling are reminiscent to how Nejire Hado utilizes her Wave Motion Quirk.

During the U.S.J. Incident, Katsuki was able to single handedly overpower and immobilize Kurogiri, a highly capable villain. At the Sports Festival, he was able to defeat Fumikage Tokoyami and Shoto Todoroki, who are also considered two of the strongest students in Class 1-A (although they had disadvantages respectively in their battles against Katsuki, they still proved to be strong despite their respective limitations). When battling Shoto, Katsuki was able to pressure and overpower him when the hybrid Quirk user was using only his ice powers. Even though Shoto was defeated by Katsuki in the Sports Festival, Katsuki acknowledges that Shoto should have won their battle if had used his full power. Many notable Pro Heroes such as Shota Aizawa and All Might have praised Katsuki's prowess; even the League of Villains have taken notice of Katsuki's strength and went as far as kidnapping him even if it meant losing members of the Vanguard Action Squad as his potential membership would have far exceeded the risk. Katsuki is recognized as one of the stronger students of Class 1-A, as noted by Pixie-Bob. Izuku Midoriya stated that the entire Bakugou Escort Squad (consisting of himself, Shoto Todoroki, Katsuki, Fumikage Tokoyami, and Mezo Shoji) working together, have the potential to take on someone of All Might's caliber. After being released from his restraints by the League of Villains, who had kidnapped him, Katsuki was able to take Tomura Shigaraki by surprise by unleashing an explosion at close-range, albeit without injuring the disintegrating villain, and was confident that he could take out some of the powerful villains (which included Kurogiri, Twice, Dabi, Spinner, Mr. Compress, Magne, and Himiko Toga) before escaping, in spite of the fact that Katsuki was unaware of most of their abilities. While Katsuki did hold his own against the Villain Alliance at the Nomu Factory, he found himself struggling against the villains that had surrounded them, had it not been for the timely arrival of some of his own classmates that came to rescue him.

At the beginning of his impromptu second battle against Izuku, Katsuki was able to overpower him when the latter was using 5% of One for All. Much later when Izuku raised his power output to 8% and fought on par with Katsuki, the blonde was still was able to hold his own, but was fairly injured and taken by surprise a few times by the One For All inheritor's heightened physical prowess. In spite of Izuku's drastic improvement, Katsuki won the battle, although, the nature and outcome of the battle were redundant. During the Joint Training Arc, Katsuki claimed he has gotten stronger since his subsequent battle with Izuku. Katsuki has displayed that, despite the cold weather conditions of the winter season weakening his Quirk, he can still fight efficiently. Katsuki has also become slightly less insubordinate when paired with people and has developed a degree of camaraderie, as he utilizes his top-tier abilities to repel opponents that overpower his comrades. With the help of his teammates, Katsuki was capable of defeating Setsuna Tokage, a recommended student who is not only one of the strongest students in Class 1-B, but was thought to have the potential of defeating Katsuki himself. 

Enhanced Strength: Katsuki possesses above-average physical strength, as he is can use his Grenade Bracers without any recoil, whereas Izuku nearly dislocated his arm just from using one. Katsuki was also able to use his physical strength to go toe-to-toe with Izuku when the latter is using his Quirk at 5-8%.

Keen Intellect: Despite looking like he'd just be a punk with no brains, Katsuki has proven to be extremely intelligent and strategic. While he occasionally doesn’t have preemptive strategies like most people, he does analyze his opponents weaknesses in the midst of battle. However, despite his analytical skills, Katsuki sometimes overlooks minor and crucial details. After he and Eijiro Kirishima intentionally lunged themselves at Kurogiri, Katsuki was able to figure out that part of Kurogiri's physical body has to be present when using his Warp Gate, so Katsuki targeted that said portion and successfully immobilized the villain. Even when fighting the weaker villains at the U.S.J., Katsuki quickly assessed which of the attacking villains were the most dangerous threat in the long term.

During the Cavalry Battle of the U.A. Sports Festival, he formed a strategy using the quirks of his teammates in order to get the headbands of Neito Monoma and was successful in doing so. In the climax of his battle with Ochaco Uraraka, he surmised that she had a plan prepared to use against him, but he incorrectly assumed that Izuku was the one that gave her the strategy to begin with; this assumption was corrected when Izuku clarified he wasn't involved with Ochaco's strategy. In the battles against Eijiro and Fumikage, Katsuki barraged them both with explosions in order to discern the weaknesses of their respective Quirks: Eijiro's Hardening weakens in drawn out battles, and Fumikage's Dark Shadow is susceptible to light. At the beginning of his battle with Shoto, Katsuki effortlessly used his explosions to tunnel through the former’s "Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall", and noted that Shoto's aim was off, realizing the wall of ice wasn’t as potent as it was when Shoto battled against Hanta Sero. When paired with Izuku in the final exams, Katsuki begrudgingly put his insubordination aside and came up with a compromise that involved him and Izuku using his Grenade Bracers to unleash maximum firepower at point-blank range to briefly stun All Might, and afterwards, the pair rushes to the escape gate. Katsuki's plan worked for a while, but he oversaw All Might's incredible speed, resulting in the Symbol of Peace destroying his gauntlets, making the duo lose their maximum firepower.

Pro Heroes (such as All Might) have mentioned several times his great potential and battle-sense. Eraserhead stated that in battle, Katsuki shines his brightest. Another testament of intellectual prowess, is that Katsuki scored 3rd place in the midterms, proving how academically efficient he is. Since the League of Villains took Katsuki to their hideout and took time to explain their plan in order to recruit him, Katsuki correctly deduced that the villains needed him alive, so they weren't going to risk killing him. While fighting Seiji Shishikura at the Provisional Hero License Exam, Katsuki anticipated that he would be victimized by the former's quirk, and tossed a grenade to Denki Kaminari, so Stun Gun Hero could free him. This strategy ended up allowing Katsuki and Eijiro breaking free from Seiji's Meatball Quirk, and the trio of U.A. students winning the match after catching the Shiketsu High School student off-guard.

Katsuki was also able to piece together the truth of Izuku's Quirk after being kidnapped by the League of Villains, and seeing All For One steal Quirks which coincided with Izuku's words of getting a Quirk which he correctly deduced came from All Might, with whom he noticed Izuku had a connection to This is another facet of Katsuki being considered a natural born genius.

Katsuki was also able to piece together the truth of Izuku's Quirk after being kidnapped by the League of Villains, and seeing All For One steal Quirks which coincided with Izuku's words of getting a Quirk which he correctly deduced came from All Might, with whom he noticed Izuku had a connection to This is another facet of Katsuki being considered a natural born genius.

Leadership Skills: During round four of the Joint Training, Setsuna Tokage admitted that even if her team had attacked him all at once, they stood no chance of victory. In the end, despite Class 1-B's exceptional teamwork and Tokage's strategic planning, they failed to capture a single member of Katsuki's team, mostly thanks to Katsuki's efforts, adaptability, and skills.

Musical Talent: As shown during the U.A. School Festival Arc, Katsuki is highly skilled at playing a drum kit, having gone through classes in the past.

~Quirk~

Explosion: Katsuki's Quirk allows him to secrete nitroglycerin-like sweat from his palms and detonate it at will to create explosions. The more Katsuki sweats, the stronger his explosions become. As stated by Best Jeanist, Katsuki has a strong grasp on the applications of his Quirk.

Katsuki usually uses small, powerful explosions from his hands to not only blast his opponents but to propel himself and navigate through the air as well. He can keep up his explosions long enough to break through Eijiro's hardening Quirk, and negate Shoto's Giant Ice Wall for short while before being overwhelmed. The blasts are powerful enough to send Katsuki flying at his opponents without much time for them to react, and he can use them swiftly enough to evade incoming attacks, even in the air.

As part of his training, Katsuki submerged his hands into boiling water to expand his sweat glands, then create chain explosions to increase the scale of his attacks.

~Super Moves~

Blast Rush Turbo: Katsuki throws his hands back and uses explosions to propel himself. He uses this both on the ground to increase his speed and through the air to achieve a pseudo form of flight. He first used this technique on the ground during the Quirk Apprehension Test. The first time he used it to fly was during the Obstacle Race.

Stun Grenade: Katsuki starts by creating a sphere of light between his hands that explodes into a large scale flash. Similar to the effect of an actual stun grenade, the flash of light blinds anyone close by. He first used this technique to defeat Fumikage Tokoyami. 

Zero Distance Stun Grenade: A variation where Katsuki fires off his Stun Grenade at point-blank range of the opponent to immediately stun and immobilize them with little lasting damage. This variation was first used against Setsuna in the fourth round of the Joint Training Battle.

Howitzer Impact: This move is the strongest move in Katsuki's arsenal, which involves Katsuki taking to the air, and then using explosions to propel himself in a circular motion to create a tornado. This tornado builds up oxygen to fuel the incoming explosion. After colliding with the target, Katsuki releases the powerful aforementioned explosion. Present Mic compared the effectiveness of the technique to that of an actual missile. Katsuki first used Howitzer Impact in the final match of the U.A. Sports Festival Finals. He has also shown that he can release the fueled explosion in midair, without having to make contact with the target.

AP Shot: Katsuki stretches out one of his hands and uses his other hand to form a circle on the palm of his outstretched hand. Katsuki then fires an explosion through the circle, which creates a concentrated blast beam. By focusing the path of his explosions into a single point instead of around his whole palm, Katsuki creates a concentrated blast with reduced area of impact, but with enough power to successfully pierce solid concrete. 

AP Shot: Auto-Cannon: A rapid-fire version of his AP Shot Technique. The explosion power is reduced in order to avoid dealing severe damage to human targets. This variation was first used against Seiji Shishikura in the first stage of the Provisional Hero License Exam.

Explode-A-Pult: While in mid-air, Katsuki grabs an opponent with one of his arms, then propels himself in a spinning motion by firing explosions with his free arm. Once he gains enough momentum, Katsuki forcefully throws his opponent with the aid of another explosion. He first used this technique against Togaru Kamakiri in the fourth round of the Joint Training Battle.

~Gear~

Grenadier Bracers: An adjustment added to Katsuki's hero costume that stores his nitroglycerin-like sweat. Once filled, he can pull the grenade pin in order to release a large blast, as shown when he fought Izuku in All Might's Heroes vs. Villains test. It has enough explosive power to destroy all parts of the building within its blast radius. This equipment was first used during the Battle Trial.

Improvised Grenades: Around the belt of his Hero costume are several containers made to look like hand grenades. These can store Katsuki's nitroglycerin-like sweat, and be used as regular grenades at a later time. These were first used in a practical way during the Provisional license exam by Denki.

Knee Pads: These are very blunt metallic attachments to Katsuki's knees. They are designed so he can "kill with his knees", but he has not displayed such use for them as of yet.