Classmates (A Collab)

The Premise

Some people are born with an extraordinary gift - something some will argue is out of this world. And for these siblings, it’s something that not everyone is exactly happy about…

In a universe dominated by superheroes, intergalactic adventuring and an abundance of spandex outfits, a simple matter such as finding the right school shouldn’t be such a controversy - but sometimes that decision is taken out of someone’s hands. The x-gene marks someone as a mutant, and subsequently places the target on the back of whoever possesses it, born from society’s inherent fear and rejection of difference (whatever it’s presumed to be).

So undeniably, a certain Xavier Institute for the Gifted is the only answer for them.

In collaboration with the amazing @chamwue , this one’s for us

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name: amanda “amy” rhysling hart
age: sixteen
d.o.b: feb 14
hero(?) alias: heartbreaker
mutant ability: unlovability inducement

relatives: david alexander hart (father, 50, estranged), janet francesca hart, nee moore (mother, 48, estranged). there’s more, but she’s not interested in finding them.

appearance: 5’6" and proud of it. amy’s lean and average height, something that you might see in a girl next door. she’s fleet-footed (she has to be) and always just too fast to be caught. her hair is a bleached white-blonde that sits on her mid-back, usually tied into two braids. her eyes are a deep brown near-black, and there’s a rumour she’ll steal your soul if you stare for too long. too many piercings to count, six on the right ear and seven on the left.

aes: imagine pink tartan skirts n’ large black platforms. hearts plastered on jean jacket patches and drawn on old sweatshirts. she wears pink in the midst of a lot of black. fishnets n’ ripped tights (intentional or otherwise) are a necessity. would rather die than leave home without her heart keychain charms. oh, to love love but to never receive it— she’ll wear her heart on her sleeve and pray someone will come to save it.

bio: amanda, named for love (how ironic, she now thinks), was quickly put up for adoption at the age of four when her parents for some reason lost attachment to their sweet baby girl. raised in most states in the northeast, amy’s learned how to fend for herself for the most part. a lot of her childhood was spent homeless. she was introduced to the institute by accident, and for the most part, has gained control over her powers.

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name: naomi nimue hart
age/d.o.b: fifteen / 21st of september
hero alias: prioritise

relatives: david alexander hart (father, 50, estranged), janet francesca hart, nee moore (mother, 48, estranged) & amanda " amy " rysling hart (sister, 16, formerly estranged)

app: 5’5" and slight for the most part, although she has quite wide hips that contrast with her otherwise slender build. her dark brown hair is cut just beneath her shoulders and she sometimes styles it to flip outwards, however she usually opts for a ponytail as a means of practicality. during summer she tends to develop freckles across her nose and cheeks, something that she takes a lot of pride in. naomi’s eyes are a little lighter than her sister’s and tend to be bright with something: if it’s the hint of mischief or pure joy, the jury’s still out on that.
aes: the consumate 90s teen rom com protagonist - midi is the favoured cut of the majority of her skirts and dresses. she goes for a summery colour scheme based in pinks, yellows, oranges: creating a warm visage in her ensembles. when she goes for a simpler look it’s a white top and floral mini skirt, possibly accompanied by a cardigan if the weather turns. any jeans she wears tend to feature some kind of embroidery, such as along the edges of the leg, and then it tends to be a cropped camisole on top to continue the lightness she incorporates into her clothing. her platform preferences are sandles but otherwise she wears kitten heels or simple trainers. hairbands and clips tend to dot her

mutant power: attention manipulation

bio: naomi is a scientific confirmation - her powers developed in what’s considered an empathetic manifestation following her sister’s emerging and the hart’s response. this unintentionally caused a counteractive response where she tried to make her parents see they loved amy really, but in turn they developed a similar disinterest in naomi, having very little time for her either as their mind’s became increasingly fixed on giving up their parental rights all together. naomi spent a great deal of her time in foster care wondering if they ever went onto have more children, but finds herself hoping they didn’t, as she fears the cycle would’ve been repeated. she spent her last two years before being transferred to the institute on the canadian border where she still has friends, and speaking to them caused her to begin to experience suppressed memories of a sibling…

name: ashley “ash” joo-eun lim
age/d.o.b: seventeen // 23rd of june
hero alias: reactor

relatives: hee-chul lim (father, 52), nayoung kim (mother, 49) & angel chang-min lim (twin brother, 17)

app: 5’4" and athletic, all muscle and energy just waiting to be released. her deep brown hair was once a neat pixie, now it’s wild, curly, and all over the place. she ties a little sprout of hair to keep it out of her eyes, though her brother says it’s finally time for a hair cut. there’s a scar across her cheek from a fight gone wrong. ash doesn’t mind though— says it gives her character.

aes: ash is your tough girl love interest taken straight from a graphic novel: muscle tees n’ sports bras, sweatpants and your usual “don’t care” attitude. she wears a lot of monochrome and white, though when she’s forced to dress fancy she tends to gravitate towards cool colours. her bird’s nest of a hair is usually held back by hairbands or bandanas. her favoured shoe are her trusty running shoes, but combat boots are a close second.

mutant power: personal cosmic fire ; ash is able to control combustion on a very detailed scale, able to create large amounts of energy in the form of flames.

bio: angel and ash were two mutants raised by non-mutant parents— who actually turned out to be mutants. her father’s domain was telekinesis while her mother could talk to animals. the powers of their children, though, trumped both parents and they were relieved when they found the institute— it was getting hard to explain why their house had so many fires before someone accused them of insurance fraud.

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name: angel chang-min lim
age/d.o.b: seventeen // 23rd of june
hero alias: heaven sent

relatives: hee-chul lim (father, 52), nayoung kim (mother, 49) & ashley “ash” joo-eun lim (twin sister, 17)

app: 5’10" and less athletic than his twin, on account of having done way less physical training. he isn’t skinny though, as he frequently goes swimming and used to be competetive before his other interests took over - still frequently goes. dark brown hair that recently got shaved down as battling with it’s styling was getting tiresome - currently angel’s contemplating dying it a new colour. has a large birthmark on his left forearm that doesn’t resemble anything in particular, so he refers to it as a rorschach test based on some people claiming there’s a shape discernable somehow. septum pierced and currently has a ring with a fake moonstone that sits in the centre.
aes: very laidback, fitting his nature, with an emphasis on soft fabrics and colours - especially blues, silvers, greens, creams and whites. usually wears corduroy trousers with the ends rolled up and has an oversized jumper or soft shirt, partially unbuttoned to expose whatever necklaces he’s layered for the day. also fond of marbling patterned shirts as he feels they compliment his birthmark. preferentially goes for silver jewellery as it suits his style more - but does have a gold chain he got as a birthday present years ago. usually wears walking boots on his feet, but has a favourite pair of slides exclusively for lazing about the house. occasionally can be found in dungarees, favourite pair are somewhere between white and cream, but it’s hard to tell as they’re almost always paired up with a baggy hoodie or sweatshirt. sometimes has on knitted arm warmers, as using his powers can cause his fingers to go a little numb.

mutant power: personal cosmic wind - similar to his twin, angel manifests a cosmically sourced element that was first mistaken for telekinesis. yes he can fly, no he tends not to do it, as experience taught him the medical bills from a fall will never make anyone happy.

bio: angel’s always been the easygoing one who seems unphased by most things, borderline apathetic at the worst of times. when he swam competitively, his coach always insisted he’d go much further if he was more fixed on winning, but that just isn’t angel. their parents have worried about how calmly he handles everything, but angel’s gotten better at providing reassurance it’s not because he doesn’t care - he just naturally responds in a muted manner. he gives ash advice but never takes offence if she doesn’t want it or feels it isn’t the right kind. and no, it’s none of your business who was born first.

name: xinyi zhao
age/d.o.b: fifteen // 1st of august
hero alias: red fortune

relatives: mei-wen li (mother, 45) & others.

app: 5’1" but she’ll argue that she’s 5’2". chest puffed out and head held high, there’s a pride that’s all-encompassing her. her jet black hair is cut in a short bob often held in two low pigtails with red silken ribbon. sharp brown eyes that glint yellow in the sun— but blink too fast and it’s gone. she’s lithe and dainty-looking, but the way she moves shows that she’s nothing but pure muscle. she has three piercings on her left ear and two on her right, and xinyi want more. she’d also like to dye her hair too, but doesn’t know what colour yet.

aes: her outfits tend to stay on the casual side, plain hoodies and worn jeans. the way she treats her clothes as disposable makes people think xinyi’s a brat, but really— if you transformed into something nearly twice your height, you’d start wearing things you wouldn’t miss. close friends of hers would know that she loves warm reds, pinks, and pastels— and stares at cutesy clothing for a little too long. she’d deny it vehemently though: xinyi’s got a reputation to uphold, y’see, and something like that’s gonna’ ruin it. in public you won’t see her without her trusty oversized bomber jacket, the original plain black barley visible underneath the white pen drawn on by her friends. she wishes she could dress how she wanted, but hey— sometimes life gives you dragons and you gotta’ accept it.

mutant power: red dragon physiology ; xinyi is able to transform into a red dragon from chinese mythology, fire powers and all. at the expense of gaining immense power, she loses the ability to understand english && communicate outside of mandarin.

bio: xinyi’s mother called her liwu once— meaning gift. she forgot the surprise though, as seeing a tiny reptile in your bathtub isn’t an every day occurrence. due to the stigma of mutant abilities, xinyi was heavily sheltered by her mother to the point where none of her blood relatives have actually seen her— her mother just says xinyi’s chronically ill. enrolling in the institute was mostly to make friends: xinyi (mostly) knows how to control her transformation and knows not to wreck havoc (anymore).

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name: lemuel felix keroux
age/d.o.b: seventeen / 3rd of january
hero alias: immunity

relatives: genevra " jenna " keroux (mother, deceased at 41); joshua " josh " ellison (father, 49, estranged) - all other biological relatives remain unknown

app: lemuel is 6’0" and lithe, having started to learn hand-to-hand combat once his understanding of his powers became clearer. his complexion is fair and usually his knuckles are bruised thanks to his training, usually taking the brunt of the action. his hair’s black and falls down to his jawline, curling slightly at the ends, and when longer does take on a fully wavy texture (but he feeps that style never suits him). he has a single strip of silver running through his bangs, dyed as evenly as possible to compliment his parting. his eyes are a light shade of green. lemuel’s earlobes are pierced, he has an industrial piercing in his right ear and his anti-tragus pierced on the left, usually opting for plain jewellery.
aes: lemuel’s go to colour palette is dark - black, navy, crimson, ivy etc. the fabric he likes most is velvet, although he mostly wears it in the form of a deep blue jacket he thrifted when he was sixteen. otherwise he can be seen in his oversized leather coat, and sometimes there’s a romantic gothic element to how he dresses, including wearing sheer shirts underneath his tops and having a fondness for (fake) ruby entric pendants, bracelets or rings. otherwise he goes for an oversized knitted jumper and has a collar poking out, almost entirely wearing black pants; although when he opts for something different it’s flared jeans, with embroidery across the bottoms. usually he wears lace up black boots or walking one’s depending on what the circumstances are. lemuel still uses a satchel he was given to by his mother and has decorated it over the years with badges, sewn on patches and fabric paint.

mutant power: personal shield - lemuel has the ability to shield himself off from other’s superhuman abilities, particularly the mental one’s. when attacked this shield can also be used to protect him from other projections, such as lightning or tremors. if a particularly strong or skilled opponent comes up against him though, the shield can be broken through, hence why lemuel is now actively engaging with training to protect himself properly.

bio: lemuel was the product of a short-lived relationship between two people poorly suited, his father having nothing to do with him, based on his sensibilities regarding refusing to take or accept responsibility. growing up in canada and spending his childhood on the coast, his attendance of the xavier institute occurred when his mother sadly lost her battle with cancer when he was fourteen. this loss still impacts him more than he lets on, but he feels selfish mentioning it knowing what some of his friends and peers have been through regarding their families. jenna keroux was a mutant like her son who could generate forcefields of psionic energy and did all she could to help lemuel control and work with his own powers. having grown up in a french-canadian neighbourhood, he’s bilingual, and based on the therapy he attends, deals with his loss by writing letters to his late mother in french.

The Withers Academy

Everyone likes to keep their options open. And when somewhere specifically designed to better troubled youth dealing with superhuman abilities becomes an option, who wouldn’t believe this to be the more well-suited option for a young mutant?

With a rigid structure of class assignment, state of the art facilities accessible, and over 30 years experience in teaching (with an even longer background when you factor in the age of its founder), it seems far more effective than a certain other place.

But behind this carefully crafted image of specific, personalised care with a couple more rules thrown in is something much more insidious. A place where choices aren’t granted freely, the assessment process decides your life path for you, and the existing graduates of the Withers Academy all seem a little…preoccupied with not entirely healthy thoughts.

original concept entirely belongs to @chamwue !

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name: satsuki yashiro
age/d.o.b: seventeen / 27th of january
hero alias: seraphim

relatives: hikaru yashiro (father, 38) ; kazue fukuda (mother, 36) ; hitoshi yashiro (younger brother, 14)

app: satsuki is 5’7", long and lean. her hair’s a platinum white, carefully kept pristine under her own watchful care, reaching her lower back. on her back, though, are two pairs of wings that sit somewhat uncomfortably. she’s somewhat fey-like, her deep brown gaze an abyss you might sink in to. her ears are pierced— two on her left & two on her right. don’t let satsuki’s dainty appearance fool you, though: she’s all muscle and you don’t want to see her in action.

aes: satsuki doesn’t really have a sense of style— you can’t really have one if you’re kept in a lab all day. she likes white flowy fabrics and long skirts she’s seen in magazines, and thinks it might suit her.

mutant power: seraph physiology: satsuki’s powers are the result of an amalgamation of experiments done to her as a child. she has two pairs of wings and is capable of high-speed flight and possesses a significant amount of holy light manipulation. she is capable of sword-fighting, though that comes from practise.

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name: emmanuel true carpenter
age/d.o.b: eighteen / 6th of october
hero alias: confrontation

relatives: telford porter/vanisher (father, 50, incarcerated); bella carptener (mother, presumed deceased at 30); iris lyonshall (foster mother, 52) & marlowe " marley " thamely (foster sister, 15)

app: emmanuel has finally reached 6ft and is proud of this, although he wishes his figure was a little less on the skinny side and is building up some lithe muscle through regular kickboxing sessions. his hair’s somewhere between deep brown and auburn - with sunlight usually bringing out the red undertones of his hair, or if he’s wearing bronze or gold jewellery. his nose is a roman one and he has a strong jawline, with quite sharp features. it rests at his jawline and is straight for the most part but curls a little at the tips. his eyes are blue-green and tend to brighten more thanks to the fairness of his complexion - with a small mark beneath his right eye that’s either a beauty spot or a tiny mole. he has his nose pierced and usually wears a gold ring, as well as his right ear - twice in the lobe and also his daith. now he’s 18, emmanuel knows he wants a tattoo but it’s just a matter of figuring out what and where.
aes: tends to go for lowkey components - jeans, oversized shirts, jumpers, hiking/bovver boots - but likes dark, rich colours usually in renaissance inspired patterns; including romantic artwork, especially cherbus and ancient greek imagery. sometimes can be found in a headscarf as he really doesn’t like the sun and wears at least one dangly earring for visual flair. also the proud owner of a very dramatic blue velvet coat that might be his prized wardrobe item (although he’s got a few shirts contesting this status). likes knit gloves and arm warmers too - actually makes his own. always wears a belt depicting the sun’s face in gold and tends to loop further chains on his jeans. tends to have his nails painted bronze, which his foster sister helps him out with as he doesn’t trust his hand coordination.

mutant power: minimal contact activity - the slightest brush or tap from emmanuel in a fight can be just as effective as a sucker punch if he knows what he’s doing. granted it also means he worries about unintentionally hurting someone a lot so he avoids embraces or getting too physically close to someone out of the fear he’ll unintentionally expose them to heightened force.

bio: emmanuel is the son of a supervillain, the vanisher, and has grown up wrestling with this since the truth came out ten years ago. he lost his mother only a year after he was born, and it’s believed her disappearance had links to who his father is, but there’s never been a trace of an actual crime, something that still haunts her son even now. he’s visited his father semi-frequently throughout the man’s incarceration but doesn’t know entirely how he feels about this, never mind the guilt associated with how he continues to maintain contact. subsequently, emmanuel spent a lot of time in foster care before being placed with iris when he was fourteen and has found a sense of peace living with her and his foster sister marley…to an extent. more than anything he wants to know what happened to his mom all those years ago but the path this will lead to is no doubt going to be dark, difficult and fairly unpleasant…

name: jack haoming huang
age/d.o.b: seventeen / 10th of august
hero alias: the enchanter

relatives: xinyuan li (mother, 45) ; tianchao huang (father, 48) ; jane xueying huang (little sister, 15) & others.

app: jack is 5’11" and three quarters— something he makes sure to correct every time someone tries to say he’s just 5’11". he’s lithe and lean— little muscle but no fat. his black hair is cut softly and it’s messy in all the right ways. his bangs just barely cover his eyes. jack has piercings, influenced by lemuel. he says it doesn’t hurt, but it does. his eyes are a mundane brown, but you swear they’re purple if he wants something out of you. jack tends to go for all-black as a look— except for white as a pop of “colour”. he likes leather and techwear a lot, and he’s the edgy best friend to lemuel’s “sad boy”. for shoes he likes athletic shoes with a little bit of pizzaz— he’s not built for combat but he’s damn good at being a distraction.

mutant power: hypnosis - by staring into jack’s eyes, he can issue a simple command that his target must act out. the caveat to his power is that the orders are taken at face value: he needs to be incredibly specific for people to do what he wants.

bio: jack was a spoiled son to xinyuan li and tianchao huang— two scientists studying mutants who were delighted to see that their son also had these powers. xinyuan, having minor telekinesis, taught her son when and when not to use his powers, and made sure her son never strayed into a darker path. going to the institute was almost natural for jack, and he made a lot of friends there. he befriended lemuel keroux very early on, and the two boys are like two peas in a pod.

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name: liliwen " lily " chelsea pembroke
age/d.o.b: seventeen/ 22nd of may
hero alias: straight line

relatives: cadoc pembroke (father, 55); adele pembroke, nee bryant (mother, 51) + mabon pembroke (brother, 14)

app: 5’4" and slenderly built, lily attributes her grace to being a talented dancer, even if she considers herself unexceptional in every other sense. she’s got a fair complexion but blushes easily and this always stands out - something she hates, in spite of other people insisting its cute how even the tips of her ears go pink. her hair’s a soft, caramel brown and has a fine texture, resting just below the mid-point of her back with a texture mostly straight but it sometimes curls on itself. she has dark grey eyes with some blue undertones - the grey’s from her mum, blue from her dad - and these are her favourite feature, as she doesn’t always like how slim her face is. surprisingly, lily has her smiley pierced (a whim), and her earlobes are thrice pierced, as well as her rook on the right.
aes: lily prefers a mixture of soft and muted colours - white, cream, beige - with a brighter accent more coming in depending on the pieces she’s wearing. there’s a waifcore quality to some of her styling - she loves lace and sheer fabrics, layering using baby tees and vests - with angelic imagery and motifs heavily featuring too. her skirts and dresses tend to have a loose, midi cut (as she loves fabric that moves in tandem with her) but she loves a beige, plaid mini skirt she has. if she’s wearing jeans or trousers they’ve got to be flaired, and tend to be very plain in comparison to her top half. her footwear is a mixture of trainers, knee high boots and heeled mary-janes which switch out depending on the day and what she’s trying to accomplish. typically her hair’s worn mostly loose, or partially tied back, and fights with the way she flits about like a nymph.

power(s): enhanced precision - once lily has a target decided it’s almost impossible for her to miss. she has incredible coordination and if you need someone to catch something she’s your best bet thanks to how her body just knows exactly how to line itself up. it also means she tends to step back from sports competitions as whoever’s got her on their team gains a very unfair advantage.

bio: born and raised in caernarfon, wales, people don’t always recognise lily’s accent so she has to explain it. she was enrolled in dance classes from a young age by her mum - primarily as a social outlet for her daughter - but genuinely came to adore ballet in particular and still practises to this very day. ironically, before her powers manifested when she was twelve, lily’s ability was entirely a product of time as she wasn’t a natural dancer; so now it’s more of a challenge finding new ways to test herself. her younger brother is also a mutant - revealed to come from their maternal side of the family, dating back 5 generations - but considers his power of levitation to be much less practical.