[Iphigenia Pavlina]

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[attr="class","gold"]Sadako Gotoh

[attr="class","gold"]words

[attr="class","gold"]notes

ulla

[attr="class","sun"]A Foreign Sun *

I never thought I'd see

Iphi was on her way to Sadako's place to continue their tradition. Since they were first assigned as roommates, Sadako was very eager to share her love of scary movies from day one. In a bizarre twist of fate, she was paired with the most significant challenge she could have ever hoped for. The downside of Iphi's quirk was that the patterns she could identify and trends found in media just meant that it was tough to catch her off guard regarding recreation. She would know if an established troupe or pattern was found in a genre. Sadako had personally taken this up as a challenge, and thus the tradition was born.

With a duffel bag full of her usual "gear" for this ritual, she would venture towards Sadako's apartment with their established schedule meaning that this time it was her turn to stay over at her place. She took it upon herself to bring a decent volume of snacks as well as her favorite brand of green tea to share. Climbing up the stairs to the apartment she would give three knocks on Sadako's door. "Sada, I'm here!" she had a much less serious tone compared to her normal day-to-day demeanor. After all, Sadako was one of the most important people she trusted implicitly in her life.

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[Sadako Gotoh]

What was harder than any UAU test? Tougher than any villain you could face while patrolling the streets of Tokyo? If you answered something like tungsten you would be wrong. The answer was scaring Iphi. Not in one of those cheap prank kind of ways either, you know the ones. Jump scares, or other harmful practical pranks. Sadako always hated those. What she didn’t hate was horror movies, something she had shared with Iphi on their first Halloween together in uni. To her shock, Iphi was completely unphased at all that the horror movies had to offer. Even though Sadako was a fan of horror she still got spooked, but Iphi was just next level!

Until now.

Because this year that was all going to change, this year Sadako had gotten her hands on a new horror flick and while it wasn’t spooky season quite yet, it was an excuse to hang out with Iphi and not talk about work for once. These days that was part of the reason why she held onto their little tradition. Hearing a knock on her door, Sadako beamed. “Coming! ~” she wasn’t nearly as serious as Iphi, but she always felt obligated to be a certain degree of professional at work that she wasn’t at home.

Opening the door for Iphi, Sadako’s apartment was decorated with fake Halloween cobwebs near the ceiling and cute paper cut out chibi ghosts haunting her apartment. Of course the lights were turned off too, in favor of lighting the place up with living candles. Some people might think the scaring happens when the movie starts playing, but a veteran like Sadako knew the tension started long before. “Welcome, Iphi! Come in come in!” She grinned, having put in a fake set of plastic vampire teeth, complete with a black cape too. “How was your trip? Oooh! Just put your things on the counter here.” She was already finding bowls to put the snacks in.

Iphigenia Pavlina

[Iphigenia Pavlina]

[attr="class","foreign"]

[attr="class","dust"]

[attr="class","gold"]Sadako Gotoh

[attr="class","gold"]words

[attr="class","gold"]notes

ulla

[attr="class","sun"]A Foreign Sun *

I never thought I'd see

Part of Iphi wondered if Sadako put nearly as much effort into her work as she did with counseling and decorating if she'd even need to be at the agency. Then again, she knew better than anyone that you needed hobbies, which she was slowly starting to get back into. Her expression would soften seeing all the cute decorations and all the effort Sada put into their routine. She couldn't but get into the spirit since they started doing this more frequently, as Iphi had been so caught up with Ouros that she had neglected her best friend from time to time.

"Super cute, you get some work done?" she stuck out her tongue, giving a slight giggle as she placed down the duffel bag on the counter. She would ruffle through it before pulling out some more comfortable clothes consisting of sweatpants and a t-shirt with a pumpkin on it, rounding out the whole outfit with a witch hat that she brought and placed on her head. "Think today is the day?" part of Iphi hoped not, as this ritual had become less about the movies and just a chance for her to see her best friend outside of work. "And don't worry, I know the rules!" she was comfortable enough to help herself taking a bowl from her host and filling it with chips. "No work talk" she would place the bowl on the kotatsu. "Oh, I brought that new sencha I was talking about on Tuesday! I've never tried it, but I was catching up with Felix on campus, and he was saying good things." She would grab a few, placing them down before settling underneath the kotatsu and scooting a bit to make room for Sadako.

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[Sadako Gotoh]

Sadako winced just a little bit as Iphi teased her about work. “P-Plenty as always! Otherwise they wouldn’t call me the Studious Hero.” She giggled with a little wink and a salute. No one called her that. “Love the hat Iphi, I see you’re in the spirit to get spooked too.” If Sadako told some of their coworkers about this side of Iphigenia, there’s a good chance they might not believe her.

“Think?” She beamed as she scooped a dvd up from the counter and waved it back and forth gently. “I know! This year horror directors have really been trying out some new things, some things I bet your brilliant mind won’t see coming.” She teased, poking at her own temple with her index finger. “No work talk.” She repeated, softly nodding her head. “Unless it’s really important, feel free to after the movie. If you aren’t scared stiff then that is.” She stuck her tongue out at Iphi.

“Really? Felix-kun said that?” She eyed the tea curiously. “Well then we’ll have to try it.” She walked past Iphi to slip the dvd into the player, grabbing the remote before she joined her under the kotatsu and let out a small, relieved sigh. “This is so nice.. I’m always freezing,” she took out her fake vampire teeth. “It’s probably a family thing since we have cold quirks, but I don’t know.” She looked at Iphi and shrugged. “Whoever invented kotatsus have to be a billionaire by now.” She could feel her shoulders and legs relax instantly. “Ready to get scared?” She had grabbed a pillow for her own eyes, but offered Iphi one too with a cheeky grin. Once she hit play on the movie it quickly became apparent what it was about. Spirits. A Japan classic, but the direction in how it was shot was wildly creative and at times absurdist.

Iphigenia Pavlina

[Iphigenia Pavlina]

[attr="class","foreign"]

[attr="class","dust"]

[attr="class","gold"]Sadako Gotoh

[attr="class","gold"]words

[attr="class","gold"]notes

ulla

[attr="class","sun"]A Foreign Sun *

I never thought I'd see

"If anything I'll be making sure you're not scared. Like always!" she would gently nudge Sadako with her elbow as she would settle under the kotatsu. "Yup!" she a bit of a cheeky smile on her face as she confirmed Sadako's question. Knowing about the crush, Iphi was trying to bring them together by making them all hang out more. It was even more convenient that she was able to convince Felix to join up with their agency. It was mostly due to his skill set which was exactly what they needed more of at their agency, but she'd be lying if she didn't admit that part of it was because she knew of the crush. Perhaps it was fate?


Iphi's shoulders would slump with an exhale. "Honestly, one of the best things about living in Japan." her cheeks would turn a rosy red as she began to warm up. "The kotatsu originates from Muromachi period (corresponding to the fourteenth century), and its origins come from the traditional Japanese cooking system known as irori, which includes a fireplace located in the mid-" she realized that this wasn't the time or place to offload this information. Hence, she cut herself off "whiiiiich isn't the point!" she would hand Sadako a tea while opening one herself. "Spirits, huh? At the very least, I'm sure it will be good. Oh, and speaking of cold, how is Rin? I haven't seen her since she passed the entrance exam."

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[Sadako Gotoh]

“That’ll be impossible.” She chuckled as Iphi nudged her with her elbow. Sadako blushed faintly at Iphi’s cheeky yup. Her crush on Felix had never been a secret. They had been dating before after all, and Sadako was full of regret when they first started uni. She didn’t remember how it happened, but she was pretty sure she got drunk one night when they were first getting to know each other. There she told Iphi her whole sob story and how she left the guy she loved, all the while still loving him. Things only started getting awkward years later when Felix came to Japan and started working at not only Ouros, but UAU too.

“So trueee..” she chimed in with a blissful sigh, only opening her eyes to suppress a giggle as Iphi launched into one of her encyclopaedic lectures. She could only imagine what having a mind like hers would be like and she had to admit, she was a little jealous of Iphi’s power. Not because she hated her own chains, no, but any lazy bones like herself could see the value in having an intellect that great. It probably would have made slacking off easier for her. Not Iphi though, nothing could make Iphi slack off. She admired that about her. A drive that could rival even the most fierce shonen protagonist. “Really? It’s that old?” She tilted her head, honestly surprised by this revelation. She grinned back at Iphi as she ‘snapped out of it’ and happily accepted her tea, blowing on the top of it.

“Rin? She’s great. We text multiple times a week, she’s been busy moving in at the dorms just like we did once.” She took a sip of her tea but still burnt her tongue a little. “Ow!” She murmured, putting her cup down gently. “She hasn’t been to my office for counselling. She also hasn’t been checked into the infirmary, I checked with Hebiru-san personally.” It was clear that Sadako cared, and was still a bit overprotective. It was hard not to be, she had grown up with Rin and knew how sensitive her sister was. To make matters worse they were pursuing the same career path, and Sadako knew all about how the world would try to make her feel bad for choosing this life, simply because she was a woman. It was something Sadako and most likely Iphi too had both had to persevere in the face of. Rin had a tough life ahead of her.

The movie featured a couple of famous actors, some of whom you saw the faces of everywhere, regardless of genre or movie. Of course Sadako even recognized the lesser known actors, being that her quest to scare Iphi had turned her into a bit of a movie buff. She felt a shiver travel up her spine as the spirit in the movie crawled out of a hole in the ceiling. Then, all she could hear was the tense music and the screams from her TV as she pulled the pillow up to cover her face. Was Iphi scared? She couldn’t help but sneak a quick peek.

Iphigenia Pavlina

[Iphigenia Pavlina]

[attr="class","foreign"]

[attr="class","dust"]

[attr="class","gold"]Sadako Gotoh

[attr="class","gold"]words

[attr="class","gold"]notes

ulla

[attr="class","sun"]A Foreign Sun *

I never thought I'd see

Leaning over slightly as Sadako blushed "You know you've never been one to get so embarrassed so easily." she would cup her tea blowing on it gently "Maybe I'll have to go find out what's so special about him myself" she would take a sip knowing that Sadako wouldn't take her words seriously. Heck, even if she did have feelings for him, which she didn't, Sadako was her best friend and there was no way she'd do anything to get in the way of her happiness. She would then set down the tea and remove her witch's hat, opting to reach for some snacks as well as getting herself more settled for the movie

"I'm so glad! I adore Rin, as you know. Hopefully, I'll teach a class that she's a part of." She would reach for another chip and in a rare case of her dropping her business-like air, she would continue to chat even with her mouth full. "At least she hasn't taken entirely after you. Second Year, you lived at the nurse's office!" Sadako could be just as reckless as she was in the past. "Do you remember the 2nd year exams we took? Hopefully, Rin and my sister don't end up in the same boat." Whenever they could be paired up in the past, they would and back then, Iphi was eager to prove herself capable even without a quirk. She couldn't even count how many times she either saved Sadako or Sadako saved her, which usually ended up with them being beaten up. In Iphi's eyes, this was what really brought them closer and sometimes, it was so weird to think that her spunky best friend was now a guidance counselor.

After a big stretch, her attention was entirely on the movie. They were both pretty casual when it came to watching movies which usually meant a lot of chatting undercut some of the tension. She would never admit it, but Iphi did it mostly for Sadako who did actually get scared "Oh, Ichiya Katagawa is in this? I saw him on T.V the other day doing an interview. He's gotten really popular I guess!" she mostly watched the news but occasionally on slower days she would tune into the morning show. Looking over, she would see Sadako cowering a bit, not able to look at the screen, to which Iphi would gently pat her on the back. "If it makes you feel less scared, I doubt the ceiling being made of that material could support that spirit...unless they weighed less than 30 kilograms..." even with the screams coming from the screen, Iphi would remain unphased. She really couldn't feel fear in the traditional sense as she tended to logic her way out of fear. "Honestly, this is better than 'In the Cabin' so far." it was the last movie they watched together, which ended up being an old classic that was...well, it was a bit outdated.

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[Sadako Gotoh]

''H-H-Haven't I?!'' She stammered out, her face tomato red as she cleared her throat. ''Yeah?'' She cracked a smile, ''You can't tell from just a glance? I mean.. A-Anyway!! We're not here to talk about him.'' Even though she could, for hours, probably. ''I'm sure you will in time, she's in the hero course after all.'' She stretched her arms one last time to get cozy, setting herself up to get spooked by the incoming movie.

She was mid sip when Iphigenia called out her recklessness. ''That's rich coming from you, Iphi, weren't we both a bit gung-ho back then?'' Maybe it was just her memory playing tricks on her, but she recalled times where she got wheeled into the nurse's office, just to find that Iphi was already occupying one of the beds with her own set of injuries. It's why she couldn't be mad when the current first years got a little reckless. She still remembered her own early UAU days, and how the entire education had a way of humbling you through every single year you progressed forward. ''Hopefully not!'' She chuckled, still occasionally having nightmares about their second year exam. ''Well, I heard they made the exams easier now, right? Not that Rin and Aella couldn't handle it of course!''

''Yeah mega famous, I feel like every other movie I put on he's in it. If I was an actress I'd want his agent.'' Never ending acting jobs! Although she had to admit she quite liked her current career and didn't feel any call to the big stage. ''Really? Is that so?'' She smiled, appreciating the pat and the distraction with weirdly specific facts that could take all the horror out of any movie. ''Yeah? You like it?'' Her face lit up as she lowered her pillow again. ''Wait, but you're not even scared. They don't call you 'Iron Iphi' for nothing.'' No one called her that.

Iphigenia Pavlina