ghostycore

[ghostycore]

FIREFLIES — in the cards for @twosunnies!

the horizon over bandisbul beach has darkened, seasalt spray dancing along the remaining sparks of the bonfire that's slowly dying down. later hours of the night have chased almost everyone back to their tents, leaving her and yunseong left by the beach. he's laughing about something, his side of the blanket they're sharing slipping off as he talks, leaning in like he's trying to catch it back. danyi grins at him and tugs the blanket to her instead, beckoning him closer if he doesn't want to be left out in the cold. takes a sip of her whiskey and it burns as it goes down her throat, the few ice cubes melting fast in her cup. it's not the best quality stuff, settles uneasy in her chest, but it's good enough to use as an excuse.

she knocks her knees against yunseong, bare skin bumping up against warmth, and doesn't move away even after she's caught his attention. "hey, dummy," danyi calls. she's got him the way she likes him, a little sunburnt and his hair damp with waves caught on a surfboard. and that's why the surfer has her feeling fuzzy, giggly like she's not herself. thank god no one else is here to see her like this. danyi leans in, bumps her nose against his cheek. "i want a s'more," she says, eyes trailing the corner of his lips. steals something sweet off him, the tint of her lips leaving the faintest imprint over his. "ugh," marshmallow soft feelings are gross, she pushes his face away—then tugs him back, the smallest admission with her hand curled around his jaw.

[ghostycore]

"it... could be cute," danyi agrees, though her expression says anything but. "maybe that grandma had like, cataracts." she may be a liar, but she's got eyes, okay? no one's skin is gonna look good next to the colour of shrek .but she's gotta respect grandma's grift, because danyi's planning on building on her little lie to convince jaewon to cough up another stack of bills.

"it's just like, not meant for you, man. i bet it's been around you when some really bad things happened, right? it's the aura, i can feel it..." she nods convincingly, as if jaewon hadn't just told her himself that he thinks it's bringing him into near-death situations. totally a psychic intuition, right. "you don't need to cleanse it, it just needs to meet the right person. not you. here, drop it in the box, i'll take it off your hands," an oh so generous offer that's really just meant to snatch a free ( albeit ugly) stone into her mystic rock collection for suckers.

and besides, jaewon'll be getting a new, superstition guaranteed crystal out of this. plus, bonus static! "wait, you felt something!" the pseudo psychic snatches the offending piece of—what is that? it might actually be a piece of shiny plastic, but it's just translucent enough to reflect light in a way that she could definitely sell as good luck. "this is a piece of quartz, man, it's telling you something! clear quartz clears your mind, channels your karma... all good things. trust me. you felt it, right?"

jaewon believes in it. mostly because he doesn't see a reason not to believe, another what if? hatch on the wall of reality, that he reaches into with a blind faith attached to it. it's beautiful, in a way, even if it's pure simplicity and obliviousness behind it; a smile on his lips, even if it is a snake from beyond it that bites its poison into his open hand.

"i ... i thought it's cute," he says, albeit with defeat evident in his voice. his lips purse together, a puzzled look accompanying it with the raise of his eyebrows; it's a stare of disbelief, moving from the little pendant, to danyi's own face. could a little thing such as that carry so much misfortune? "green looks good with my skin, that's what she said, too... why would a grandma lie? fuck, danyi; i feel like such an idiot."

it was spare change, or at least he tells himself that in a desperate attempt of consolidation. "do you need to, like, cleanse it?" like blind, and definitely not guided by the past experience, jaewon places his hand atop the ... suspicious box. it takes a moment after it, furrow of eyebrows; silence and focus coming together. then, with a grimace, he pulls his hand back to his chest, pained. "fuck, danyi, it shocked me! what the is that meant to happen?!"

[ghostycore]

danyi's usually really good at reading people. sort of. when she puts the part of her brain that's focused on looking out for herself on pause ( almost never, really ), the fortune teller can tell what someone's coming to her kiosk for. the unanswerable life questions, like the mysteries of the cosmic universe and all the futures in your palms that any grandiose lie could cover; or the inconsequentialities, your next promotion or to watch out for the colour blue in the next three days, just to soothe a little uncertainty. she's pretty good at telling people what they want to hear.

not to sound defensive on a rant, though. sometimes a girl makes mistakes! sometimes she hits the nail on the head and predicts something entirely unattributable to fate—thanks, confirmation bias. and sometimes she misreads the situation and thinks a customer's asking for a séance with their apparently not-dead parents. all she's saying is, that request could've been worded better, you know?

"whoa," danyi raises her hands, shrugging. the slighted customer is sugar burnt bitter, the cheerful expression she'd seen a few days ago turned sour and confrontational. the psychic has her fingers are spread open, not quite seeking peace. "you asked and i answered, man. i didn't say anything wrong, chill out, jeez..."

jinah isn't suspicious by nature. she's been taught growing up to see the good in people and believe what's on the surface; people have no reason to deceive anyway, her parents used to say. it's how she finds herself in this sticky situation of sorts, gears in her mind turning a little too fast for her liking as she eyes the little the listening elle kiosk just a few feet from where she stands, arms folded across her chest and eyes narrowed towards its owner behind the little table.

the tale unfolds a month prior when she was on break and curiosity got the best of her and she tried her hand at the fortune tellers kiosk, asking a simple question to cure her boredom. now, whether it was dumb luck or danyi actually had divine powers to get a prediction correct, she couldn't tell. but evidently it didn't stop jinah from returning again, this time asking something more complex with slimmer chances of good ol' dumb luck saving the day. and just as she suspected when she asked about the whereabouts of her parents, the supposed "psychic" had the sheer audacity to essentially go full-on ouija board on her. while jinah may not have all (any) the answers on the whereabouts of her parents, one thing is certain: they aren't dead.

so here she is, ready to go face-to-face with danyi in a full on dispute that's relatively out of character for her.

"interesting you still have this booth up and running." she lets the words fall from her lips, tone ice-cold and the opposite of anything anyone has ever heard from jinah. the normal bright and sweet girl is nowhere to be found in this instance, though no one should really blame her. you don't play with a girl's very much alive parents– but clearly danyi needs a lesson in that. "you know..." she drags her sentence out, palms hitting the wooden table with a slight thump as she hovers over the girl and her kiosk. "it's not good to lie to people, especially about such personal things! you could be ruining a lot of people's lives!"

@ghostycore

[ghostycore]

at the risk of losing this blog too, i wanted to announce to everyone that tumblr has unfortunately deleted my blog for zurie, my blog for jinam and the main so i'm kind of at my wit's end right now. i've contacted tumblr, but that can take literal weeks to resolve, so i'm thinking of trying to remake the main and hope for the best. just wanted to reiterate to everyone that sunsetkrp is NOT closed despite the termination of the main !!

[ghostycore]

danyi can't wait to get rid of this conscience thing that's nagging at her, zurie's voice making it wince with guilt. the makeup artist still sounds rough, even though it's been a few days since that unfortunate trip with the tree. there's an awkward squeeze of her lips into a line; she's not too good at empathy or whatever this is called. "sucks for you," danyi says, and immediately feels yelled at by that stinky little conscience in her head. amends it with a quick, "hope you feel... better soon..."

and zurie's question forces her to say some extra words out loud. ugh, can't she just pretend it's a totally coincidental drink that just so happened to find its way to sephora? danyi's index finger taps the corner of the table, the cup of coffee sitting right next to where her finger lands. a coincidence, really. "uh... this one's black coffee. if you need it, 'cause of your, y'know," she gestures to zurie's throat with a circling motion, that little weed hangover.

and that's it, apologies and making it right or whatever is done! goodbye and good riddance, conscience! it's not her fault that zurie's a noob, but it's also not not her fault for whatever weakling symptoms the other girl's experiencing. hangover cure delivered, and maybe it's up to danyi to build her tolerance. "got any plans tonight? i mean... hair of the dog, right?"

how could she have been so stupid ? maybe because she rarely ever looked a gift horse in the mouth, or more precisely because she never turned down a packed bowl. sure, she could smell the faint hints of mold spores that had taken hold of the improperly dried cannabis, but a buzz was a buzz, right ? she'd held the mouthpiece right up to her lips just the same and flicked the lighter with a purpose. and now ? she was paying the physical price.

after a doctor's visit and a fib about accidentally inhaling mold during a home renovation, she'd learned she had a mild lung infection. it was nothing too serious; it would clear up after a round of antibiotics, but she still had a slight cough, with some strain on her lungs. she'd persisted enough to come to work though — what else would she do with her time ?

still, zurie considered the entire thing her own fault for the most part. she'd knowingly smoked weed she knew was moldy; that was the main reason why she peered at danyi with kindness as she sidled up despite the fact it was she who'd passed it off to her. "hey ! i'm doing better, just a tiny cough left," she spoke, her voice still wearing the weak effects of illness. she stole a glance at the lapis roasters cup danyi had set on the counter. "ooh, what'd you get ?? i should go get a cup of pure black; it would probably do wonders for my throat," she comments, not even hazarding a guess that the coffee would be for anyone other than danyi herself.

[ghostycore]

[ghostycore]

REDHANDED — in the cards for @wiildgeese!

danyi isn't always looking to make a quick buck. sometimes, it's a dishonest buck, too. and jvyeon's coats go for a few hundred thousand won that would fetch a price if resold for sure, so is it her fault if their security's faulty and oh so tempting?

the woman in question tries on a sleek, matte navy coat that boasts of new! goretex pro, 100D! and pricetag that costs a bomb. weighs a bomb too, with padding and pockets aplenty. but hey, the pockets are wonderful for packing a little extra—she glances at the staff behind the counter from underneath the handy hood, hiding her face. the other woman doesn't seem to be looking... so the sticky fingered customer swipes a couple of climbing knick knacks into those pockets, zipping it up.

the coat rustles as she moves, fabric brushing up noisily against itself. terrible for a quick getaway, no matter how much water and weather this coat is supposed to fend against. danyi sidles up to the entrance, looking back at the staff to check, one last time, and makes direct eye contact with her. oops, eh, whatever. time for a getaway, as she snaps her head back and crosses the sensors in front of the store. alarms go off half a second later, the culprit already halfway to her kiosk.

[ghostycore]

the signs are blaring neon, the colour that warnings would be made of if sodam's eyes were any less hopeful. or inebriated, maybe; danyi picks up another white claw and waves to the attendant, pointing to sodam and her lovely card that it'll be charged on. "'dam, i can't tell you what the signs are! you've gotta feel them for yourself," a pointed finger taps her friend's nose, cold from the condensation frosting the metal can, "not force them, y'know." a lie she's been saying since high school, promising a fate that they haven't gotten to yet. "besides, a reading's twenty bucks... but i'll make it ten for you, special!"

danyi lets herself be yanked along to their next destination, lady luck left far behind. the top of her can's popped open and spilling along their path, giggles shared between the two of them like bubbly beer. it's a strange little friendship they have, the lies woven in that make it stronger than it should be, danyi encouraging in a way that's definitely just enabling, and bumping up into sodam's extensive line of ill-fated soulmates along the way, another one that has her whirling around with her cheeks flushed.

"that guy?" she orientates herself to sodam's right and looks direct at the newest guy, features awash with the same glow that has everything's covered in the mini golf course. it's weird that he's alone in glogolf, but that's a chance if she's ever seen one! "you go," danyi instructs, taking the glasses from the other, "and it'll fall into place. trust me, the stars know it all." the disbelieving psychic gives sodam a wink and pats her bum, pushing sodam in the direction of said med student. "c'mon, you're hot and he's... okay," a wiggle of her fingers, "so we can, whatever, hit a ball his way and if it's fate... it'll happen!"

she takes another sip of her cocktail, elbow resting against the bar top as she watches her friend score (that is, if she could even call it one). course two and sodam's already on double bogey, the same way these mini golf outings have been two too many. not that she's complaining — she's been reminded countless times that patience is key, plus danyi's good company. not a big price to pay if what's promised will be given to her some time, next time, any time now. a soft chuckle escapes her lips, hands clapping together at danyi's small win. good things come to those who wait, so she does.

the grin on danyi's face is matched across her own, though not as wide or electric. "direct action. got it," she parrots, nodding to cement the mental note she's made in her head. "you know i believe in you. you're never wrong." usually a glass half full kind of person, today a drink too many to be told to put two and two together. "but really, you gotta start telling me what the signs are. why do you think i wear contacts? i'm pretty much blind without this prescription." bright features begin to grimace like a petulant child, letting confusion take control. sodam notices the poor worker behind danyi finished with keeping score, thanks them before pulling her friend in the direction of their next course.

"holy shit!" an abrupt stop, followed by a sharp pivot to face the younger. "danyi, my three o'clock. that's the med student i was telling you about." faintly tilts her head to the side, a subtle cue towards what should've been buried and gone from the night of the kyungdae party. but if they're here now, at the same time, the same place, is the universe trying to tell her something? oh. so this is what danyi meant. "what do i do now? do i just go up to them?" her hand lifts up to remove neon glasses off her nose, no longer covering the red that tints her cheeks. "not that i don't trust myself, i'm not a fucking coward. but you know what's best. come on, how do i direct action?"

[ghostycore]

yunseong is easy to read when he's up close, with the stars that she doesn't call upon hung in his eyes. the exact opposite of her duplicity in his clean cut uniform, though it's clearly rubbing off on him, with the new ideas he brings to her lap. she knows he'll take her up on the demand, the timbre of his voice the same as when he's fresh off catching a good wave, eyes stuck on her. cute, she thinks, then frowns at the thought. not while the snack attendant's out of boardshorts and missing his surfboard. that's not cute!

she flaps her hands in the direction of the upgraded cards, throwing the thoughts to the back of her mind. there are far more things to do, people to fleece, than split hairs about maybe cute puppies and their eyes. "hide over there, you can handle the fancy tech shit," danyi says, pointing in the direction of candycake's new display. the cardboard signage's just big enough to hide yunseong and probably close enough for whatever signals need to be picked up. "i'll give you a sign... i don't know what it is yet, but you'll know when you see it," she instructs, shooing him away with that.

"and—" she catches his arm before he can go, a pause stilling her open lips, but only for a moment. mu danyi doesn't second guess herself. "—we'll grab dinner after," she adds, a small one shouldered shrug accompanying it. well, yunseong might have a shift to finish but hey, that's not her problem. the fortune teller shoots him a grin and starts rigging up the cards, laying them open in an arc across the small stand.

and maybe there really is something to opening up earlier, because it's not long before someone new arrives, pausing in front of the pricelist taped to the front of her kiosk. danyi raises her eyebrows at the girl, glancing down at the cards. "hey," she says, "want a tarot reading? it's twenty bucks, if you wanna find out about your future, love life, career..." something in her potential sucker's eyes light up at the mention of love, so danyi pokes at it a little harder, "it's great for finding your soulmate, y'know?"

hook, line, and sinker, danyi's new customer nodding and handing over the cash. psychic telepathy has her looking up for yunseong, her eyes meeting his and darting down to the girl in front of her, waiting for the other to pick up on her signal. "here, pick three cards..."

when she justifiably hurled a name at him, he goofily clutched at a metaphorical dagger in his heart, pulling it out with an exaggerated gesture. "oh danyi ... you know i love it when you wound me with your words," his voice wears a playfully thick layer of honey, and his eyebrows wriggle at her emphatically. he knew he embarrassed himself around her regularly, but he couldn't find it in him to care or even slightly let up on his willingness to be her stepping stone in any situation. he'd become her little pushover through and through, icy words like a warm breeze against his cheek; he saw only light in her.

his stance can't help but shift into a prideful one, as danyi tests out the mechanism in the cards. her pleased reaction was well worth 100 lectures from his boss later for being late coming back from his break. as long as she could have a successful session with her client and they were properly deceived, he'd consider the day a win. many may have questioned his devotion to helping with such activities, but those people had never tasted the stinging kiss of mu danyi. he was reminded of just how clueless those people were as she drew him closer to her heavenly form.

when the suggestion — or more precisely, demand — leapt from her visage that he remain at the kiosk to help her, for a miniscule beat, the fact that he was already late to return to work was stored at the base of his tongue. those words never had a chance of making his past his teeth, though. he softens under her gaze as always, voice deeper than normal from the worry plucking at his vocal chords; "of course i will ... i was already planning to." his grin is as comfortable as ever, showing no intention of abandoning her on this endeavor. "where do you want me ?" he asks, coffee colored hues trained on her with rapt attention.

[ghostycore]

the door's closed shut behind her, the screens cycling through a mall that's currently unattended, save the two of them. not that either sora or danyi would be any good in an emergency, with his eyes already turning hazy, and, well, she's more likely to be the one causing emergencies than solving them. case in point: they're not quite hotboxing the security room right now, the ventilation just bad enough for them to not get caught. sora really did find the perfect place for tree. danyi tosses her snacks over to the other when he asks, and it falls short of accurate, landing in a pile by sora's knee.

"ouch... that's fine. chips taste better crushed, anyway," danyi waves the issue away, leaning down to take the joint between her two fingers. there's a satisfied sigh as she leans back, watching the smoke curl from her lips. mall fans sputter and blow the smoke back at them, danyi holding the joint back out to sora. "brought the usual, your highness," she says, her other hand sweeping an arc above the contents of the snacks now spilled over onto the floor. no, it's not a pun. sora's stupid picky about his snacks, but none of his feedback has really managed to reach her ears. she won't pass up the chance to needle him about it, though. "take your pick, the c.u. had some good shit today."

Night’s at Sunset Galleria were thoroughly unmatched. The atmosphere changed, less crowded and stuffy. Sora’s in charge of yet another closing shift at Wangto Records and with a particular slow day, got the pass from the main manager to close an hour early. He doesn’t fight it.

The routine is executed down to perfection. Long legs take him up escalators towards the back end of the mall, he walks just a bit before taking a sharp left. One more dingy looking hallway, a right turn, and he’s standing in front of the security room that’s become a second home. 

He knows no one is around, has practically mastered this security guard’s routine (aka they’re out miserably trying to flirt with all the pretty girls at Sunset and soon is found passed out in their car afterwards) so he doesn’t think twice about twisting the door handle. Curious eyes scan the multiple tiny screens flashing through different stores and levels.

It’s not long till he shoots Danyi a text and rolls up a joint, tucking it behind his ear as he waits. The room begins to reek but thankfully Suh Sora has become a pro at this and knows how to flush out the smell, as if he wasn’t there at all. He doesn’t startle at the sound of the door opening, instead eyes meeting Danyi’s. 

The boy halfheartedly salutes back, plucking the freshly rolled joint from behind his ear, and soon sparking it up. “Whaddya bring?” Sora nods towards the mysterious plastic bag, full of munchies that are going to taste near divine in a couple of minutes. 

[ghostycore]

superstition is the name of the game that danyi plays, all of it built on sandcastle beliefs that come in with the waves. it's just too easy to build them up, with a promise of luck, manifestation, and trinkets to aid naïve believers. she's not saying that these things don't work, but from experience... they usually don't.

so jaewon running to her with a dinged up charm is just another pawn in the game she's all too good at. "that... is really ugly." danyi wrinkles her nose at it, eyes squinted, lips pursed and recoiling. the most physical manifestation of the gross grass green that the stone is. she points at it, "that's bad luck, because it's ass green. ugly things can't bring you good luck, man!" danyi slaps him on the back with cheerful gusto, just to wind him out of the little breath he approached her kiosk with.

"don't worry, though! i'll fix you up, hold on," she rummages around in the rundown box of miscellaneous rocks she's collected, stolen and/or obtained by other means for this very purpose. it's purposefully beaten up, to give it that air of vintage heirloom secrets; it's not because she dropped ice cream on it once. "it's not about the stone, it's about how you approach it," she says, sage bullshit coming easily to her. danyi places both hands palm down over the box, pats the frame of it once. "here, try it. you need to feel for the energy... you'll know when you know!"

he's not superstitious. he swears he's not, hand put into fire in the sake of this statement, sworn on his life, even. but the gloom of series of unfortunate events which have followed him the instant he's bought the little green crystal has lined itself in a nearly daily repetition, in a way that has to be more than a mere coincidence. in a way that has him looking over his shoulder twice no, thrice over every time that he leaves the room. a flat tire. a lost airpod. broken pencil scare. splashed by an inattentive driver the second he's walked outside of his apartment building. broken vape. it's suspicious & it terrorises him.

who else to turn to, but the girl who can... read the stars?

"okay, so." he says, nearly out of breath. jaewon takes the little necklace out of his pocket, shoves its dangling aventurine charm in front of danyi's face and then swallows, hard. "i'm gonna sound crazy, but; can you teach me how to... use this? manifest, or whatever. the grandma on the street told me it's meant to bring me luck, but i swear, i've been in nothing but near-death situations ever since i bought it."

@ghostycore

[ghostycore]

BAD GIRL GONE GOOD — in the cards for @bezeniths!

this may come as a surprise. mu danyi is not the best person to exist in daegu ever. maybe her track record speaks for itself, but not everyone knows about it... like zurie, for instance. her gaze catches the other girl looking green in the face on her shift at sephora, and that unusual pang to her conscience has danyi feeling bad for once—not at all like herself! dang, she decides, but that's the luck of the draw, right?

after all, how was danyi—careless, reckless, the worst person to be around at a party—meant to know that zurie was going to have the worst trip ever? she may have given zurie the joint, and egged her on, but is that really her fault? so she's not admitting any fault of hers, danyi says, even as she finds herself at lapis roasters and buying ( with real money! her money! ) a cure all black coffee for the make up artist in question. she doesn't even finagle it with a sneakily placed piece of glass at the bottom or float a couple of ants on top, just pays with her real, actual card and a carrier to go. who is she!

and the con psychic finds her not-victim still tinged a faint green and in need of a pick me up, placing the box on top of the make up counter. "uh... hey." ugh, awkward! she's still not apologising, but danyi grimaces and asks anyway, "how're you feeling...?"

[ghostycore]

danyi's fiddling with the idea of closing early, barely half past three—it's unusual in itself for her to be even be open this early. it's yunseong's fault, really, that she's here at all; but can you blame her for hitching a ride and getting free labour all in one go? and fine, it probably was a good idea to open up at too-early-o'clock because the listening elle has been having a good day in the sun, gullible group of tourists she'd charged a premium on and a couple of students looking for easy ways out of an upcoming math test. she understands the kids; danyi's selling them confidence sandwiched between the stars, the easiest way out of holding down an actual job too. why work when you could lie?

and speaking of not working... yunseong comes into view, tail practically wagging when he shows off the, let's say, upgrades to her tarot cards. she raises an eyebrow, a laugh over her lips. "you're excited," danyi teases, snatching the cards from his hands and holding them up. they look exactly like any old deck, their potential abundant for the next lucky customer her kiosk'll receive. adds a "fuckin' nerd," just for effect; nothing he'd just said makes any sense to her, to be honest, but she's not in the business of understanding tech. just using it for dishonest purposes!

"so..." danyi button mashes the little remote and watches the upgraded deck of cards flip all over the table. "holy shit," a laugh, and the psychic leans over the stand, her smile full of promise and mischief as she pulls her unknowing scapegoat closer. "they look haunted, that's so creepy," she says, amused approval in the tint of her voice. looks the other over in his xpixel uniform, an absolutely horrible outfit that's just lame enough for him to go unnoticed. "you should stay and help," danyi decides for him, "it'll be worth your time!" ( six hours later: no it won't! )

smoke and mirrors ft. @ghostycore

he couldn't help but be pleased with himself; after all, the idea was pretty genius. his excitement to show off the tarot cards he'd had worked on at keyboard warriors to danyi was peaking, and he was now rushing through the mall, eager to catch sight of listening elle among the hustle and bustle. it could probably be considered strange how much responsibility he shouldered for the kiosk on danyi's behalf — especially considering she didn't pay him. well, not monetarily anyway. but he always happily obliged whenever she dropped by xpixel seeking his help, and he certainly didn't see that changing anytime soon.

as a crystal ball and enchanting mirrors come into view, his chest is hit with a few knots of nervous tension. it often happened before they did this, and as composed as he typically was, he couldn't help but allow his mind to process all that could go wrong. people didn't usually like to be fooled, and if things got dicey, yunseong knew he may have to defend himself. while he was athletically gifted, he was very much a lover and not a fighter. maybe danyi knew some moves that could protect them both ?

when she came into view, for whatever reason, any doubts he had fell at his feet, forgotten entirely. his signature grin, cool as a cucumber, returned to his features as he put the tarot cards down on the table in front of her. "just picked these babies up from keyboard warriors. i had them install a tiny mechanism inside each of them that responds to this bluetooth device," he declares, clearly and confidently. he holds up a conspicuously small electronic, as if it were of utmost importance. "when you're doing the reading, the spirits are going to become extra active. whatever cards you draw will start moving on their own, no strings to be found. the client is gonna flip !" he explains smoothly, elevating his hands and clawing them ghoulishly.

[ghostycore]

danyi's got her legs kicked up and chilling, scrolling through the never-ending algorithm of her fyp when she hears someone yell. nice. it's a good day when she manages to piss someone off, even if she's got no idea how or why or even, who. the fortune teller glances up from her screen, a silly ad for something that definitely isn't real ( fake recognise fake! ) much less interesting than whoever's standing in front of her.

"nope!" she says, a shameless lie that pops on her tongue when she denies the accusation. it's clear by the other woman's glare that she's not here to know what the love lines on her palms say, but it doesn't mean danyi's not gonna get anything out of this interaction. her grin is lopsided when she shrugs, holding her hands up in false innocence. "chill, maybe you've got the wrong person," she lies, "or, y'know, you just gotta take it up with the cards, man!" and because she's never one to back down, throws in an extra, "hey, you should try it for yourself. you never know!"

MISFORTUNE ft. @ghostycore

there's many texts eileen receives from her mom that makes her roll her eyes or turn on the 'do not disturb' function. recently, her mother has turned to swearing by particular tiktok fortune readings and has even recounted the couple of times she has visited listening elle. most of it is pretty harmless horoscope stuff, things that fit the narrative of nearly every forty-something year old's life. but when eileen gets a voice note of her mother sharing the good news ("eileen-ah! the stars have finally aligned for you, you're fated to get married this year!") she's less than pleased.

it finally boils over when her mom spams instructions on what she must do to secure a groom and some ridiculous wedding plans. the next thing eileen knows, she's storming through the mall in the opposite direction of barracuda. she makes a beeline for the kiosk in question and doesn't even wait till she's near to start yelling across the hallway. "hey — are you the owner of this kiosk?" eileen parks herself in front of danyi with a less-than-friendly expression. "what kind of bullshit are you selling your customers?"

[ghostycore]

GOOD DEALS — in the cards for @awakesnake!

in another life, mu danyi could be one of those drug sniffing police dogs. which is to say, sora probably took one puff and a huff and she's appeared on the double, a bag of unidentifiable snacks in her hand. there's chips from that one vending machine in front of haesmuli's theatre four that'll drop something free if you hit it at the right timing, and sour strips she bummed off some xpixel employee at the snack bar. miscellaneous, crinkly bags from the back of the convenience store fill up the rest of it, dumped out at the end of the day for utterly unknown ( expired ) reasons. what doesn't kill you... makes you best friends with the bathroom, but that's a problem for tomorrow's danyi!

and sora, recipient of said snack baggy, dealer of actual baggies. "hey dude," she says, one hand coming up in a loose two fingered salute. is the security room the best place to get high on a tuesday night? maybe, with the screens flickering blue and no mall cops in sight. there's the smell of sour grass and smoky musk, all too familiar around her to be mistaken for anything other than weed. danyi grins as she plops down to the ground. leaning against the plaster wall, her palm held out in the universal gimme sign. "i got your snacks!"

[ghostycore]

DESTINY — in the cards for @realityclub!

neon lights slide like a lens flare over their faces, shading danyi in highlights of yellowbluepink, with green that carpets the floor with the smell of old plastic and sugar sweet drinks. they're on course two, drink tres, and she's not good at keeping score, but she did get into on someone else's card and hasn't been spotted for swiping the glowstick glasses that perch on her nose, or the rings that shine underneath the black lights. so yeah, danyi probably owes sodam a little bit, maybe a lot — so she's helping the other girl find her soulmate, destined one, love of her life, all of that and more on the mini golf course.

not that the cards are telling any truths, though, other than sodam's photocard and the credit she'd paid. but who says crazy things can't happen? they've seen the signs twice now, and third times the charm, you know. maybe her mom's right about the spirits; maybe danyi's a crock full of shit and idle lies... but she makes a great mini golf partner. those two might balance out.

she tosses the stray ball into the goal, head tilting to the side with a little touch of smugness. "kobe!" danyi scores, well, cheats... but only in the way that the very best of mini golf players get away with. her hand tilts back with a flick, blinking back at the glogolf staff frowning in confusion between her 'hole in one' and where danyi's standing. she gives them a wide wink, laughing and pulling sodam over to her. "see? direct action," whatever that means, she barely passed college, "you just gotta believe." danyi nods over her sage advice, then bestows her prop glasses over sodam's face, a grin illuminated by the glow of neon across her friend's peripheral vision. "and remember to look out for the signs, babe!"