#(She has no idea why everyone thinks Tsubasa and Gundham are weird)

[more-than-a-princess]

"So, I know that your administrators would not want you to wear this," Tsubasa said, holding out the green denim jacket for Sonia to take, "so my advice would be, don't get caught, huh?" They laughed, lightly shrugging. There were tons of factors at play that their processing unit hadn't calculated for, but Sonia seemed to sometimes push back just enough upon the expectations of her programming that the cyber angel assumed that if she wanted to wear it, she'd find some way to do so. And, if she preferred the idea of just hanging it up somewhere to look at, well, fine with them.

Virtually every square inch of the jacket was covered up with buttons, pins, and patches displaying all manner of horror and occult iconography, from famous slasher characters to horror manga panels to unsettling symbols of knowledge best left forgotten. The part Tsubasa thought was coolest, though, was admittedly the one they had the least personal hand in. After some consulting, they'd bought all the patches and buttons and affixed them themselves, but the large painted backpiece was beyond their abilities. Instead, they'd handed the jacket over to one of their club friends who worked as a tattoo artist with some ideas. Thus, primed with canvas sealant and nano protector so it wouldn't come off in the wash, the jacket's back featured a unique, gristly, darkly romantic scene all worked around the words MADONNA OF DARKNESS in bold, eye-catching font.

"I really did try to come up with my own access code but I kept coming back to what you told me before, and I think your classmate kind of nailed it on the first try," Tsubasa explained with another laugh. "Nothing I could think of was anywhere near as fitting." For her, or as a cool thing to put on a battle jacket. Plus, their area of expertise was digital, cybernetic things, which wasn't quite Sonia's thing. "I did ask him first, just to make sure it was cool. It worked out - he's super easy to talk to." Why had everyone told them that Tanaka-san was so hard to understand, and hard to have a conversation with? Well, whatever. They grinned. "So, happy birthday, Sonia-san! You don't need a jacket to be totally cool, but I hope you like it anyway, huh?."

Sonia's Birthday Asks 2023 - Accepting until Monday, October 16!

The days leading up to the fall holidays in Novoselic were always stressful, but perhaps being half a world away made them even more so. She'd just returned from another business lunch, finalizing details for a campaign to support international study between Japan and Novoselic, when she found Tsubasa outside her dorm room door with a gift. It had come with a series of apologies regarding the mess, but she had shown her friend in, hoping they wouldn't mind the various trunks and valises open and half-stuffed with items to take home. Members of Novoselic Castle staff were arriving in the morning to help the princess with her packing, after her father couldn't contain his laughter at watching his daughter attempt to pack her own suitcases. He'd commended her efforts, but ultimately it was safer to have professionals finish the task.

A mess Sonia had only added to once Tsubasa had presented her with their gift. Her blue eyes had lit up, admittedly far more than when discussing the series of launch events for international studies, as she quickly shucked her brushed wool coat in cherry red onto a pile of of skirts before taking the green denim jacket carefully, in awe over the various adornments that her friend had taken such care in selecting for her. She'd slipped it on right over her coordinating cherry red shift dress, the combination of green denim and soft red wool making the Princess of Novoselic look like a punk-meets-prep Christmas display. Naturally, Sonia adored it.

"Those are words I tend to live by," She grinned, turning in front of her full-length mirror for both herself and Tsubasa to see. "I have an entire room connected to Novoselic Castle's underground corridors for my occult collection, and my family does not bother entering. Truth be told, I wonder if they fear it might be cursed!"

She laughed. She could only hope, even with her replica haunted dolls and antique texts describing various exorcisms. Pins and patches of those too had made it onto the jacket, Sonia beaming as she took in the horror manga panels, the slasher film icons. "This is so very beautiful and detailed, Tsubasa-san," She told them, turning to face them finally. She'd advised Tsubasa find somewhere to sit, though there was mostly only her desk chair and a small corner of her bed not being occupied with the contents of her upcoming trip. It was almost silly: she had an entire closet and then some at home, and her mother hated the 'trashy' Japanese fashions of Shibuya that she'd explored with Anzu some time ago. Still, she insisted: at least she could wear them when she wasn't working. Just like the jacket. "Thank you very much for this gift, I love it!"

Upon their mention of the 'access code,' Sonia glanced over her shoulder to where the back of the jacket was reflected in the mirror. Moving her hair to over one shoulder so the panel could be in full view for them both, she smiled before raising an eyebrow at the design. "The amount of blood, and candlelight, and roses is stunning! And the...ah, lovers, seem to be passionately entranced with one another." She did not mention aloud that one character, a woman, had long golden hair and a blush over her cheeks while the other, fitted with feminine curves but a sterner expression, pale skin, and darker features, was, to Sonia, unmistakably a woman as well. Ensuring her family would disapprove of her being in possession of, much less wearing, such a piece even more. 

Well, they'd simply have to cope with her new item that supported gothic LGBTQ romance.

"Ah, you spoke with Tanaka-san!" Sonia exclaimed, clapping her hands together in delight. She was always pleased when he made new friends and, for the first time in a long time, her heart did not ache at his mention. "Yes, he is a wonderful person and I do not doubt he elicited a positive response at his old nickname for me to be utilized here. Most do not find him approachable, but you are like me then and find him easy to talk to. But truly, am I really 'super cool' in this jacket? I have never been cool before!"

Glamorous, yes. Refined, of course. And a bit (a lot) nerdy: but cool? Sonia Nevermind had never been cool, but she could surely trust Tsubasa's opinion: they were the walking personification of coolness. 

#more-than-a-princess answered #quickdeaths #Non-Despair AU: Hope's Peak Academy verse #(Sonia's Birthday Asks 2023) #(Thank you for this one! I'll be responding to the others from you gradually too as I work to get to all of my asks) #(Sonia 'I understand chuuni' Nevermind over here) #(She has no idea why everyone thinks Tsubasa and Gundham are weird) #(They are super cool to her)