In a Superhuman Society

by Stonecreek

A world with quirks means its people are wind up rather quirky. Whether heroes, villains, or somewhere in-between, every BnHA character deserves to have their story told. These are but tiny 100-word snippets of their lives, told one a day, every day, in 2023. Newest chapter: Mina Ashido is a vivacious hero in training. She's equally enthusiastic about her classmates' love lives.

185. Cathleen Bate (Star and Stripe)

A.N. — Happy birthday, America! It's also the birthday of the No. 1 hero in the United States. Of course the American hero would be given this particular birth date. Many well wishes to Cathleen Bate, who never really got a chance to shine (or exploit her world-breaking quirk).

185. Cathleen Bate/Star and Stripe

The first time Cathleen dyed her hair blonde and put it up in its signature eight tufts truly made her feel she belonged as a hero.

As a girl who wound up towering over most everyone around her, Cathleen found herself ostracized. She couldn't (or wouldn't) New Order people into accepting her; she'd let her actions dictate how she was perceived. Joining the military gave Cathleen the camaraderie she'd only felt from her family. But donning her homage hero getup finally made Star and Stripe feel at home in her body, that the ideal of All Might was within reach.

A.N. 2 — I promise these after notes won't become a regular feature, but we're in a stretch with characters who I like but whose drabbles fought me. I chose to explore a gap in Star and Stripe's timeline, but I also wanted to do a drabble on how Cathleen felt on the way over to Japan for her big fight, knowing she'd be encroaching on her idol's territory.