Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Vongrak.
Mina POV – October 10, 2xxx.
"We need costumes! A dance uniform for the festival!" I announced to the people in front of me with a big smile. Classes had ended for the day, so most of us were in our dorm rooms, and there were a lot of people in the common room just relaxing, so I took advantage of the moment.
"Don't we need to practice first?" Sinon asked from the side. I snorted and waved my hand.
"No!" I said, crossing my arms in front of me. "We can't practice until the music is chosen. That means waiting for Jirou and Miyamura to give us the song. Then we can create a choreography based on that. Until then, we really can't do much." I said with complete certainty.
"That makes sense, kero," Tsuyu said, bowing her head. "Even if we start practicing now, anything we prepare might not work depending on the music, kero," she added.
"Exactly!" I said cheerfully. "And since some of us don't know anything about dancing, it's best if they don't learn moves we won't use to avoid confusion." I said, nodding contentedly.
"So... the idea is to make the costumes?" Uraraka asked, confused. I nodded firmly.
"Yes! We'll be the face of the presentation, along with the band, whoever they are, so we need a costume!" I said firmly. "While the costume also depends on the song, it's much easier to choose since we need something that looks good and eye-catching. We don't need to create it now, but if we can come up with some ideas, it will be much easier, and we can tweak them slightly to fit the music later." I added emphatically.
"Sounds good, how do we start?" Tooru asked excitedly. I raised my chin proudly.
"Luckily, we have two perfect people to design clothes! Let's go to Taylor and Yaomomo!" I said excitedly before turning around and looking directly at where Taylor and Yaomomo were sitting at the table in front of a computer and lots of papers. Yaomomo looked up, confused, when she felt my gaze. I smiled broadly. "Taylor!! Yaomomo!!" I exclaimed happily and loudly. Taylor didn't even flinch, but Yaomomo did, even though she was looking at me.
"Ashido." Taylor said in that neutral, almost creepy voice that only made me smile more widely.
"We need assistance from our master weaver!" I said grandly, which stopped Taylor in her tracks and made her stare at me.
"Master Weaver?" Taylor asked, confused. I nodded firmly.
"You create fabrics, you sell them to UA, so you're completely legitimate and professional, Master Weaver." I said smugly, Taylor just blinked before nodding.
"Sorry, I wasn't listening, I was sorting some things out with Yaoyorozu. So what do you need help with?" Taylor said, ignoring the previous sentence, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. I let out a laugh.
"Well, since the music hasn't been chosen yet and we need it to create a choreography, we were thinking of designing the costumes in advance and not wasting time," I said proudly.
"Oh... that's actually a good idea," Yaomomo said, surprised. "I was helping Taylor get everything ready as quickly as possible; we've already reserved the gym for practice," she said, feeling satisfied.
"Sometimes I have good ideas," I said proudly, chin held high. "And good work!" I added, along with her address. Yaomomo smiled broadly and brightly. How lovely!
"I see, what do you need help with? Do you need a quote?" Taylor asked immediately, giving me her full attention.
"Can I create it for all of you? It's something for the class, so I have no problem using my quirk," Yaomomo said immediately.
"No! Well, yes! Actually, it's a good idea," I said after thinking about it while looking at Yaomomo. "I wanted to come and discuss it with Taylor, since she works with fabrics and knows about it, but if you volunteer, Yaomomo, that'll be just as good." I said, giving a thumbs-up. Yaomomo smiled.
"Of course," Yaomomo said contentedly.
"Even so, we still need ideas, can you help us?" I asked, looking at Taylor with excitement. She just stared at me.
"Hmm, I'd like to say yes, but I don't know how much help I could possibly be to you," Taylor finally said. "I make durable fabrics to be used for creating uniforms and superhero costumes."
"I mainly work with twill, ripstop, and satin fabrics. The first two are quite durable for creating costumes, especially ripstop, which prevents tearing, but none of those options are suitable for making costumes. Satin is better; it's made for decorations on the costume. It would look good under strobe lights or spotlights, but even so, it's not the best fabric for the main part of the costume."
"I don't know what they were planning for the costumes. If they decide to use jackets, then twill fabric would be good and could help, but for everything else I have little experience. Maybe they need something like jersey or tricot fabric. I could use Capture Spiral Silk from my spiders, which is a more elastic spider silk than I normally use, and knit a tricot with it. It should behave similarly to lycra."
"I've never worked with fabrics like tulle, chiffon, lace, or power mesh, so the decorative parts aren't really my strong suit, and I haven't done much with ruffles, pleats, and embroidery either, so my experience is limited in those areas as well." Taylor said it as casually as if she were talking about the weather. I could only blink.
"What?" I asked stupidly. I hadn't understood half of what she said! How terrifying. Taylor just stared at me.
"The fabric I make is thicker and stiffer; you'll need something stretchy and lightweight for your dance costumes. I have little experience with this, and I don't know how much help I can offer," Taylor finally said. I nodded firmly.
"I understand," I said, nodding. I ignored the amused snorts behind me. "Yaomomo, can you help us?!" I asked urgently, turning to Yaomomo. She smiled amusedly.
"Of course, I can create different types of fabrics and textiles, I just need a sample of the material to create them," Yaomomo said easily, and I sighed in relief.
"Great! Then let's go find some inspiration!" I said cheerfully.
"Search?" Taylor asked, confused. I nodded.
"I don't think we can create something if we just draw it or look things up on the internet, right? So let's go to the mall! We can't go too far, so Musutafu's will do! You can see fabrics and knitting and all that! We can also look at different costumes and throw around ideas until we find something. What do you think?!" I asked excitedly.
"A surprise trip to the mall?! Sign me up!" Tooru said happily.
"That's not a bad idea, kero." Tsuyu said excitedly.
"That sounds like a good idea. We can also enjoy ourselves and pass the time. The internships were tough, and now we'll have to practice and prepare everything for the festival. We won't have much time to rest, so we can go for a walk!" Uraraka said cheerfully. I nodded firmly.
"It's a sensational idea!" Penny said happily, bouncing up and down.
"Let's go!" Ruby said cheerfully. "Come on, Tay!" Ruby said, approaching Taylor, who just sighed and looked at Yaomomo, who smiled slightly.
"That might be a good idea, besides, you're right, once everything is decided, we won't have time to rest, it's better if you vent now." Yaomomo said timidly, Taylor just massaged her temple before nodding.
"Okay, let's go." Taylor finally said, and we all cheered loudly.
"Should we look for the others?" I asked excitedly. "Midoriya and Miyamura went with Aizawa to the hospital to visit Eri, so it would be a girls' day out!" I said excitedly.
"Remember we're going to look at fabrics," Taylor said curtly. I ignored her.
"It's only 3 pm, if we leave now we'll have several hours to walk around!" I said excitedly.
"I'll go ask the others if they want to come," Tooru said excitedly. I quickly followed her. Unfortunately, not everyone wanted to join us on our outing, and by "not everyone" I meant Bakugou and Shirakumo; everyone else signed up immediately.
So there we were, a group of 17 of us heading towards the mall. Obviously, we were attracting a lot of attention. Everyone quickly formed their own group. I'd stayed behind with Taylor and Yaomomo, and even though I wanted to have some fun, it was best to wrap this up quickly.
Yaomomo, Jirou, Hagakure, Yunyun, Ruby, Penny, Uraraka, and Tsuyu came with us too; the others got together and went their separate ways. We would meet later to brainstorm before making a decision.
We continued walking around the entire mall while looking at shop windows and stores. The conversations were mainly led by Yaomomo and Taylor, both exchanging ideas about fabrics, textiles and shapes while we threw out ideas and pointed out different models.
We had to go to several costume shops, fabric stores, dance shops, and some places that sold rather extravagant stage costumes. So we ended up bouncing from store to store.
"Girls!! There are boys! And they're looking at us!" Tooru yelled in my ear while shaking me. I turned around immediately and saw the group of boys. I saw them right away; a group of boys stood out like a sore thumb.
Cute! They were cute boys!
There were about five boys, our age, all together, laughing quietly as they watched us. They were all dressed to show off. Tight clothes, clinging to their bodies, showing off their slender figures without any shame, especially since the clothes were revealing enough to show several patches of skin.
hair was well-groomed, and their makeup was flawless; they laughed among themselves while staring at us.
"They're so cute!" Tooru squealed excitedly in a low voice.
"They are!" I said excitedly, trying not to exaggerate.
"Are they?" Taylor asked, tilting her head. I snorted in her direction.
"Yes, they are! Just because you have Miyamura and don't have eyes for anyone else, doesn't mean there aren't other cute guys out there!" I said dryly. Taylor just blinked and looked at the guys one more time and shrugged. I sighed.
"Um... girls... they're coming towards us," Yunyun said uncertainly. We turned around, and sure enough, the group of boys was walking towards us. They all had amused or confident smiles on their faces as they approached.
"They're coming closer! What do we do!?" Tooru yelled as they shook me.
"No time for plans, just act normal!" I yelled in a panic as I tried to calm down when the group of guys finally approached. The one who seemed to be the leader came up to us and looked at us with a wide smile, leaned forward, and tilted his head slightly to look down at us.
"Hey, girls." The boy said as he blinked, his long eyelashes fluttering a few times.
"H-hi!?" I squealed in a panic, more as a question. I mentally kicked myself for stuttering; the boy just chuckled.
"You guys are from UA, right? I thought I recognized you from the sports festival and the news. We're really big fans of yours," the boy said in a soft purr as he gently placed his hand on my arm. I shuddered slightly and froze in place.
"Super fans," said a second boy as he approached, looking at me with a smile. "I like your eyes," the boy said, and I blushed deeply.
"T-thanks! Oh, I like them too! They're like alien eyes!" I blurted out, almost wanting to mentally kick myself. You only had one job, Mina! To say 'your eyes are pretty too,' not to compliment my own! To my surprise, the guy looked at me amusedly and chuckled, making me blush even more.
"You're funny." The boy said, getting closer to me, to the point where I could smell his perfume.
"We couldn't help but notice you were in a group and in your uniforms. Are you on a field trip? Some kind of school assignment?" a third boy asked with a gentle smile. "Or... do you have some time to join us? We could use some strong arms like yours," the boy purred.
"W-we're looking at costumes!" Tooru squealed in a panic. "F-for the cultural festival! We'll be putting on a show! You should come!" Tooru said, her voice rising.
"A show? Sounds interesting," said the fourth boy, approaching us. "We'll make sure to visit them, Class 1-A, right?" I asked with a smile.
"Y-yes, we're class 1-A," Yaomomo said, more composed than we were, although there was a slight blush on her face.
"I'm sure you'll look wonderful, girls, I can't wait," said one of the boys. "Can we join you? We could... give you some ideas, costumes are our thing, if you want some help," he added.
"Oh, no, there's no need to bother you. We wouldn't want to waste your time and cause you any trouble, although we appreciate it." Yaomomo said quickly, and I looked at her incredulously.
"It's no trouble at all, in fact... it's a pleasure." The first guy purred as he took another step closer to us, close enough that I could see his cleavage slightly. I blushed again and looked away from the guy's face, which was now looking at Taylor, who was staring boredly at the guy. Boredly?! Girl, you had a cute guy right in front of you! Even if you have a husband, you're not dead, you can look! Especially since Miyamura's eyes kept wandering!
"Thanks for the offer, but we really have a tight schedule to keep before we get back to campus. I'm sure you have better things to do," Taylor said flatly, so flatly that it seemed to disconcert the boy in front of him, who blinked before smiling again.
"Are you sure? Like I said, it's no trouble at all." The boy took a step forward, but Taylor barely flinched. "We'd love to help future heroes with their errands." The boy tried to place a hand on Taylor's arm, but she just took a half step back without even looking at him. The boy gasped in bewilderment.
"Don't worry, we've got it all sorted out, and in fact, we have to leave if we want to stick to our schedule. Once again, thank you for the offer, but you can go back to what you were doing." Taylor said, still with the same neutrality. This time the boy shuddered slightly as he looked at Taylor, confused.
"Um... oh, okay," the boy said, confused, as if he didn't understand what had just happened, as if he hadn't expected Taylor's rejection. Taylor just smiled and nodded, that flat, cold smile she sometimes wore that made the boy back away.
"L-let's go." The boy said before pushing his group forward.
"N-no, wait!" I yelled, though they didn't seem to hear me. I watched the group of boys walk away before groaning loudly. "I... what was that?!" I asked Taylor. She just had the nerve to blink in confusion.
"Is there a problem?" Taylor asked, confused. I groaned louder, to the point of putting my hands to my face.
"They were cute boys! And you scared them away!" I squealed incredulously. Taylor opened her mouth before looking at the others, especially Ruby, who laughed amusedly.
"You just left the starving hyenas, even more starved, especially when you have a juicy steak in the form of your husband." Jinx said mockingly. Taylor blinked, and her eyes gleamed in recognition.
"Oh, sorry," Taylor said shyly. I sighed. "Do you want me to go look for them? I can still see them with my bugs," she added, pointing in a direction. I sighed wearily.
"No, it doesn't matter anymore." I sighed wearily. Taylor just gave me an apologetic look once more. "Besides... they were acting weird... I think... why were the boys... like that?!" I asked, confused.
"Like what? They were boys-kero." Tsuyu said, confused. "I think so." She said, tilting her head.
"I mean, they really acted differently from Miyamura," I said incredulously. Jirou snorted.
"I think it's obvious that it's not a good idea to take Miyamura as the standard for his gender; he's a completely different breed," Jirou scoffed.
"But... that much!? I thought interacting with two cute boys in our classes would at least help me talk to other cute boys, but they acted so differently! I could barely form words!" I said incredulously, Tooru nodded strongly.
"Yes! They were so... mushy! So flirty! So... manly!" Tooru said incredulously before stopping. "Huh?" Tooru tilted her head. Jinx snorted amusedly.
"Izumi tore the filter they had until it was unrecognizable." Jinx mocked, and I looked at her incredulously.
"Well…" Uraraka said shyly. "It's not just Miyamura, Deku acts differently too. I mean, he has all that shyness, but once he gets out of it, like when he's talking about heroes or working as a hero, he loses that shyness and changes quite a bit." Uraraka said.
"I mean... Aizawa isn't exactly a good example of a normal man either," Yaomomo pointed out, worried.
"And the less we talk about All Might, the better," Jirou said playfully. I looked at them in shock and almost horror.
"Are male heroes or hunters a completely different breed from normal guys?!" I asked in surprise. Taylor snorted.
"I wouldn't call them different races, but it would seem so. You need a certain mindset for this kind of work, something I don't think fits well with very masculine guys like the ones we just saw," Taylor said, shrugging. I looked at her, surprised.
"Yeah, but they're so... different!" I complained again. "Aizawa is so grumpy and intimidating, and All Might is pretty handsome and muscular, and then Midoriya and Miyamura are different from the guys just now too! I mean, none of them dress or wear makeup like that!" I said forcefully in disbelief. Taylor just shrugged.
"I can't speak for any of the others, but Izumi dislikes makeup, although tight clothes... not so much, it depends on the clothes, he doesn't like clothes that are too ornate, or revealing, or impractical and all that." Taylor said easily, I stopped and looked at her confused.
"I understand the clothes, they'd be really annoying when training and all that, but makeup bothers him? Like... he thinks guys shouldn't wear makeup and stuff?" I asked, confused. Taylor shook his head.
"No, physical discomfort," Taylor said simply. "Hmm, you know he can't really express himself outwardly, right? He has to manually move his facial muscles and all that," Taylor said, and we felt it.
"Yes, I remember, he said it at the beginning of the year, right?" Uraraka said, tapping her chin with a finger. "Although it doesn't even seem like a real problem, I mean... he seems very expressive, Miyamura," Uraraka said, confused. Taylor hummed.
"He likes being expressive, he has nothing to be ashamed of about his emotions, so he always tries to match his expressions to what he feels. He started doing it for his mother's comfort, but he's really not ashamed of it, even if he just likes to smile smugly and arrogantly." Taylor snorted, we snorted as well. "But getting back to the other thing."
"As I was saying, he has to move everything manually, all his facial muscles, so he's really more aware of his face than normal, so he can constantly feel the makeup. It doesn't stop him from doing anything, but it bothers him that it's there, constantly, he can't stand it," Taylor said easily.
"Uh... that's a shame, I guess. He'd look cute with more makeup." Just humming, Taylor shrugged.
"He's cute just the way he is," Taylor said easily. I just dismissed her response with a wave of my hand.
"Yeah, yeah, you know your husband is cute." I groaned dryly. "Let's just keep looking for costumes," I said resignedly. All the girls nodded. I took a deep breath before smiling. "Okay! Let's start the search!" I said cheerfully. I might have missed out on some cute guys, but it wasn't a reason to be depressed; there were other opportunities!
Author's Notes: Someone asked about this world's beauty standards for men, and for some reason, this chapter ended up writing itself.