#Midori sings when she's nervous | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lumizwrld · 10 months ago

Text

ＰＲＯＦＥＳＳＩＯＮＡＬ✯

"I love, you love. This love, we're professional..."

➢ !Dom¡ Ryohei Arisu ♥︎ Afro-Latina Reader

☕︎ word count ・3.2k (This late ass lil Valentine's Day smut, I'm so mad bc I wanted to post this on valentines Day but I ended up changing some things around.♥︎) GIF~ @jeongjinman

⚠︎NSFW WARNING⚠︎

cw ✐ outside the borderland universe, valentines day sex, shy arisu turning into dom, sensual, passionate, roughness, dirty talking, teasing, arisu eating reader out, cowgirl, missionary, reverse cowgirl, swallowing, submissive reader, moaning, whimpering, groaning, arisu being a good boyfriend, only Arisu Ryohei's perspective

✍︎ Summary = Not only had it been Valentine's Day, but it was also the day that Arisu showed his all to you. Being your boyfriend of just 1 year, he wanted to end this Valentine's Day off with a banger. As you're met with his surprise, you also find him hiding away from you (knowing his cowardness). After met, you encountered with his aggression, his frustration with himself, handing it all out to you in the most sinful way. ✧

It felt like she was never going to walk through that door, time unexpectedly reached a standstill lingering for her urgently to open that door and die from the death-defining adornment of all my love scattered through the apartment loft.

Anxious, I spent hours trying to find the best-looking outfit I could find and made sure it was her favorite color. Midori, the creation of yellow and blue. A green dress suit that complimented black pants and a pair of dress shoes embodied on me. I only desired perfection yet, she wouldn't want it any different. She would be happy even if I wore black sweats and a white t-shirt. From what I can recall earlier, she preached, “Please don’t go overboard about today, when I come back home, let's just smoke and lay in each other's arms? That could be our lil Valentine's Day right there." however, I feel like sometimes she doesn’t know how tenacious I can be when I listen to her.

Call it crazy, I was never the type to do anything so grand as this. Granted, I’m best with my hands yet I’d never expected to create an outbreak of devotion to her. Petals of roses scattered all over the floor, the flame of the candles shining so bright like an August day, inhaling the air of romance in the atmosphere, and centering the stage with her favorite songs faintly singing their way throughout the place….

God, she's gonna kill me…

“Shit Y/N, stop making me panic like crazy just hurry please…” I prayed in my head, disregarding the fact that the more I kept my eyes on the door the more I’d be tempted to faint. “C’mon baby, make it home quick.”

Pacing, fidgeting of fingers as I tried to ignore how nervous I was. “Shit.” I groaned to myself, placing my arms behind my head. For a moment, I thought I heard keys fidgeting at the door. Anxiety rushed all over me again, striding toward the door and then taking a slight step back.

“Fuck,” I groaned, “I-I can’t do this…” I uttered in my head.

“Baby I’m home-“ She spoke before being astounded at the place. I could sense her soft footsteps kissing the floor, loving every moment of this affection. Nonetheless, I hid in the master bathroom. Heart pulsating out my chest, I had no clue why I felt terrified to meet her.

She drives me crazy, I hate the way I get with her…

I hate that she tenses me up without doing absolutely anything to me…

Her gentle voice sang out my name yet I refused. It was guilt, agitation, and love fighting in my body right now. I couldn’t regulate to move.

“Ryohei? Where are you amor come out,” She questioned, sauntering up the stairs to the bedroom. “Baby you don’t understand how in love I am with the place. You didn’t have to do this.”

“G-Give me a second hani, I-I’m in the bathroom.” I notified her, head thrown into my palms as I elongated a groan.

“Hey…” She expressed, embracing her body against the bathroom door. “Don’t hide from me. Don’t be nervous baby, I love what you did. Thank you for that.”

A weak giggle flew from my lips, “Hani I’m fine I swear. I just had to use the bathroom that’s all. You love it huh?”

I could hear her voice pitch up scarcely, chuckling while battling to open the door for me. “Ryohei c’mon, I wanna see you.”

Hesitated, my hands trembling as if the temperature plunged in the room. I held my breath for an instant, my hand reaching out for the knob. A slight turn for the lock, gradually opening the door was all I needed to do before her eyes lit with a thousand stars.

“Hi…” I spoke, shoving my hands in my pockets as her eyes scrutinized my frame.

“You went all out for me,” She confessed, creeping closer to me with her hands elevated towards my chest. “You look so handsome cariño, oh my god…” She adored, inclining her head against my neck.

“I’m sorry for-“

“I know it’s okay, you went all out for me I know this probably overwhelmed you.”

“I just feel like I made this awkward now. I hid away from you and it’s like…I’ve been waiting for you all day you don’t understand mama I-

How swiftly, her lips shut my doubts up. Her fingers, locked themselves up behind my waist. Her tongue, communicating with mine. She made me melt in her embrace, I didn’t know where to position my hands. It was so bad how this kiss instantly made me desperate for her.

My head tilted inwards, permitting her hand to crawl up my back to the strands of my hair. She certainly knew for a fact that this was all gonna be in her control yet, I desired things to change for a second. Her free hand seizes my neck as her kisses trailed down my lips to my jawline. I guess this was her turn to show me her devotion to me cause, it had me to a point where it illustrated all over my face how badly I wanted to touch her beautiful body. All her pent from work, relieved from my bare hands. Even though she was always the one to command, I yearned for this to be all about her.

“How was work baby?” I communicated, my hand going for the back of her head as she made love to my neck.

“It was slow, but…All I thought about was you. I couldn't wait to get here.”

“That's…” I spoke before sighing at her gentle bites. “Good to hear baby, I've just been doing this all day.”

“I can tell, you do love me.” She whispered in my ear. Kissing it gradually, she was luring me deeply into her pool of lust.

“C’mon baby, let me take this off you.” I offered, taking her coat off. As she became free from the restriction of her puffer coat, her hands latched onto my entire body. “Baby, it's okay you don't gotta rush.”

“It's not me rushing, you deserve this.”

“I deserve this? All I did was just show you how much you mean to me, you always show me how much you love me. Granted I do, but I wanna do it in a form-”

I could feel her taking the lead, slowly walking back to the bed as she clung to me. “Mi amor, you talk too damn much. Just look pretty and let me do everything okay?”

I giggled, “Alright don't fuck with me like that."

She giggled in unison, “You’re everything to me. I love you, but you need to realize how much you are worth. You're worth every fucking thing on this planet.”

I guess this was it.

I guess this is where it ends.

All this shyness, is gone.

I guess, this was where I made a mark.

I pushed her onto the bed, leaping on top of her frame. My hands grasping her neck as if she disrespected every inch of me. This went along with a harsh, desperate kiss.

I heard a whimper, yet that didn't cross my mind at all. I could tell she was surprised with every bit of emotion rushing throughout her body in this moment. Mainly, I was focused on one thing.

“Nobody’s ever told me that before until I met you. You love me too damn much, that's one thing I fucking hate about you. I hate how you make me feel this way and don't let me do anything in return.” I spoke right in her ear, her pants in mine as a form of a response.

“Ryohei…” She sighed.

“I want you,” I demanded, finding my way down my belt buckle. “I want you to let me do everything.”

Her hands reached on my belt, supporting me with unbuckling. Crazy, it seemed like I had her wrapped around my finger.

Assertive, her hand went inside my pants.

Heart felt, the way I spoke in her ear.

Temptation, her hands trying not to go any further.

“I won't stop you at all.”

“Y/N…”

“Do it please, I promise I won't stop you.”

Her desperate hands found me in my boxers, exposing myself on her own. Her kisses deprived my lips again, this time with a sense of belonging to be submitted to me.

Her defeat, she wanted this from me all along.

So in my response...

Don't hold this back, let it out….

First, it was me losing myself in between her legs.

Her thighs were gripped with my cold hands as I kissed the lips of her deprived pussy, darting into her eyes while I licked her sensitive clit. She felt the exhilaration instantly, her hands lost in my hair as she whimpered for me to slow down and stop. Still, such a beautiful woman who doesn't know how hard-headed I can be.

"Fuck." She moaned, "Ryohei just like that, lick me like that."

I answered her demands, licking her til she would see stars while I had my free hand teasing the entrance of her hymen. Entreating her right, she kept trying to close her legs yet I retained them open with all my might.

"You're all in my mouth." I teased, "All in my mouth."

She winced, panting at my fingers fucking her, imitating what I had planned for in a moment. Her begs and cries, all in my ear like a siren luring in a sailor. She had me hypnotized.

"I've never been so jealous of fingers in my life." I teased once again, "Mama, why are you holding yourself back?"

"I-I'm not."

"No?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Why are you lying to me?" I spoke, inching myself up to her face. "Don't lie to me."

I then lost myself in her eyes, brushing her hair from her cheeks. Nobody said anything, just a swift grab from her back, switching positions that transitioned this moment.

Her warm skin was positioned on top of me as her hand latched on my chest while straining to place me inside her. Her eyes revealed all her lust, how she begged for me without even saying a word. Gradually, she consumed all of me. Songs in unison, allowing me to thrust deep inside her warmth. It was as if this was the last day we'd be together. Who would have known, I'd be the one in control of this.

“Hold my hands mama, let me help you.” I panted, observing her lustful face as her body fucked with mine. “Nobody can hear you let it out for me baby.”

“Don't say that Ryohei.” She moaned, tossing her head back.

“Why?” I conversed, “The way I'm talking to you, does it bother you?”

“You know exactly what you're doing.” She groaned, vigorously grinding herself to the profound thrusts I provided.

“Tell me then, what am I exactly doing then? Speak to me mama, tell me what I'm doing to you.” Overstimulated, her hands released mine and grasped on my neck. This encouragement I gave was gonna finish with something grand I persisted to myself. However, it seemed like even when this is finished. She's gonna want more.

My cold hands rushed to her nipples, caressing them with gentle squeezes. The evil giggles she made that were intended with lust filled my ears, moaning afterward when I brought her close for me to suck on.

“I want you on top.” She panted faintly.

“What did you say?” I questioned, slowing my strokes.

“Please,” She panted, “Get on top of me.”

My eyes dilated, soon switching positions. She looked so innocent, like a porcelain doll. So fragile if I were to even touch her, she’d break. My arms found themselves beside her head as she held the support placing me inside her again. Silk soft legs, trapping me around my waist as a so-called embrace.

“Is this a trap?”

“What are you gonna do if I say yes?”

Aggressive, I thrusted once. Her gasp left her lips however before getting just a slight exhale, I placed my index finger right inside her needy mouth. Creeping myself closer to her face, she was like a model, a sight of pure beauty to me. This was all mine.

All of her was mine...

All of mines, to ruin...

Sounds of sin, the aroma of sex, the sloppiest of kisses, the sensing of sweaty skin, all at once could be seen as a form of art. My hand went from her lips to fondling her chin as the other maintained my balance, compelling her to look directly into my eyes as I slowly stroked up the pace.

“You want it like this baby?” I moaned, observing her surrender her beautiful body to me. "Tell me your beautiful thoughts I promise it won't hurt to just tell me."

“I-I can’t,” She panted, straining to fuck me in unison. “Control me fuck, I feel like such a whore Ryohei I'm sorry-”

“No no, fuck me like a whore then, don’t be scared baby. Show me how much of whore you can be to me.” I encouraged her, leaving her to snatch my hand and kiss my fingers, slowly suckling them.

“Ruin me, ruin me.” she entreated. First my thumb, then my index finger along with my middle. She replicated what she would do to me, It was to a point where I could die right from how much of a slut I turned her into. Neediness overfilling her eyes as she wished for me to cum...

Was it bad that I faintly felt it?

“Ruin? Did I bother you too much hani? I'm sorry, that's all my fault. Isn't it?” I giggled, moaning afterward.

“Don’t apologize,” she panted, removing my damp hair that began to cover my eyes from the thrusting. “I love everything you’re doing to me.”

“I forgot to tell you how beautiful you looked today. Mama is this what you want from me?" I intended, my lips inches away from hers. "Yes, this is what you want, right? You want me to talk to you like this when I fuck you like this baby? Tell me I know you do." Brown profound eyes, darting right into her soul as she hesitates to choose which action to make, panting or moaning her heart out of the pleasurable feeling of me penetrating her swollen pussy. Her grip was so strong I couldn't help but moan to her embrace on it.

Her eyes were in such worry yet, smiling like a complete slut at my weakness. Her right hand on my neck, resisting herself to combust from me. “Keep talking like that and I swear I’ll cum all on you.”

“Do it, mark all the things that belong to you. Mark your territory baby, cum on my dick.” I intended, deepening my penetration to hit her where it hurts.

Her head was sunken into the pillow and her hand that existed on my neck soon felt her body. Rushing hands, all on her breast. Generously squeezing her nipple to the stimulation, god it was all my fault she acted this way with me. Her luscious lips were soon bitten. I could tell she was starting to feel her climax.

“I…I can’t…Ryohei…” She moaned, arching her back leaving me to slide my hand under. Obtaining her close, I departed subtle kisses on her neck down to her chest.

“Do everything on me. Like I said before, show me how much of a slut I turned you into.” I groaned, maneuvering my head to her deprived breasts, brushing her finger away to allow placement of my tongue on her nipples. Sucking passionately, I offered her soft bites to signify my admiration to her breast instead of just her pussy and her lips. And so, just when I thought this session would last for a while longer, I winced at myself gaining a strong sense of sensitivity. “Tell me where you want me to cum mama, give me what you want.”

She panted, “No, no don’t do it yet, please. I wanna keep going please, don’t stop Ryohei please.”

I awed, “I’m making you feel good, aren’t I? You want more of me huh?”

“S-Shut up.”

“Shut up? Mama think before you speak. You said you love everything I’m doing, right?” I taunted, pulling out of her. “You told me to ruin you, don’t take back anything.”

“R-Ryohei why did you-”

She found herself on top of me again, this time her eyes darting to the ceiling. My grip, so profound, and down on the stands of her hair, her back arched to the tension. Devouring, her needy pussy embracing my dick made my body rush with nerves. God, I’d loved to watch her fuck me if we placed mirrors on the ceiling. Observing her face full of pain from my thrusts, her perky nipples all alone likewise yet the hypnotic bouncing would be such a movie I’d reminisce every single fucking day.

“Lose yourself to me Y/N, let me be the only one to see you like this. I wanna be the only one to make you this filthy.”

The exertion she had was overwhelming mine, I felt depleted to where I lost grasp of her hair. She sensed me discharging, “Amor, please. Don’t stop please, let me help you.” She pleaded, going on all fours. “I need you.”

The minute she slid up, I directly jerked up from the sensation on my tip. Yet, she never left that spot. I worshiped every moment, her pussy fucking my tip knowing damn well she desired for me to cum.

“You want it inside you mama? Advise me.” I demanded, seizing her arms and bearing them back aggressively, gasping on her back. “Let me do it inside you, let me cum inside you.”

“Do it then Ryohei, let it out please.”

“Y/N, I'm starting to...W-Wait I feel it.”

My eyes latched, throwing my head back as I moaned as loud with all the strength I still had.

Yet, this feeling only grew stronger.

Grasping my hair, I couldn’t help to sustain my body from all this pleasure.

But, once I opened my eyes. Her beautiful eyes were met with mine, but her mouth was full of me.

“I thought…I thought I came inside you….” I huffed, wincing at her subtly licking me.

“You really did lose yourself." She giggled, following her tongue down my shaft.

“Fuck,” I huffed, “You're an evil woman y’know?”

“Yeah, you know I love you right?”

“Uh-huh”

Her tongue had found a home on my dick, licking my hardened tip as she motionlessly kept her gaze on me. “Good, I want you to remember that.” She grinned, spitting on it as she watched me jolt up again.

“Y-Y/N!?…” Whines, the pain yet pleasure filled my soul. Seizing her hair, I forcefully fucked myself into her filthy mouth for a moment. “That’s what you wanted huh? All of me in your mouth right like this?”

Her soft giggles flew in the air, “Yeah, it seems like you wanted it more than me.”

I soon hauled her up to my face, kissing her passionately as I released her from my grasp.

Once again, she got on top of me but soon began wrapping the covers on us. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” I spoke, caressing her in my arms as I kissed her forehead. “God, you took everything outta me.”

As we snuggled in each other’s arms, it went silent. Taking in this void of quietness, my lips soon parted those soft, heavenly words of...

“Hani, I forgot to tell you once you got home...Happy Valentine’s Day.♥︎"

102 notes · View notes

missduplicities · 2 years ago

Text

Chapter 52 (pt. 3)

Eunha originally planned to sleep on her free day. She was really tired from the recording, and spending the night with Taehyung didn’t help much. After they had dinner with the rest of the guys, Taehyung and Eunha set a blanket on the garden and looked up at the night sky as they talked for hours. She felt very comfortable with her head on his chest like it was always meant to be that way. When they realized it was already 2:00 am, and that Jimin didn’t seem to have any plans of leaving, Eunha suggested he stayed over.

“You can sleep on the couch,” she quickly explained. “Either the one in my room or the living room,”

“Is it okay with your roommates?” he asked, trying hard not to blush.

“I mean, they don’t seem to have a problem with Sooah and Jimin’s casual sleepovers,”

“Yeah, but I’m not Jimin,” “What does that mean?”

“Well, they don’t like me like they like Jimin,”

“What the hell are you talking about?” she asked, actually upset. “They love you,”

“No, they just know you love me,” he said with a smile. “It’s different,”

“Taehyung, they like you, you’re their friend, too,”

“I feel like Ji-Eun doesn’t trust me,” he said. “Midori only talks to me at school, and Sooah has not made eye contact with me since we started dating,”

“Oh my God, that’s not true!”

“Well… I’m just nervous,”

“Why? You’ve known them for a while,”

“I mean about spending the night with you,”

“Oh…” Eunha said in a low voice. “I mean, you don’t have to,”

“I want to,” he said, looking her in the eye.

“Well, we can watch a movie,” she said, growing nervous by the minute. Eunha stood up before he could say something else and just walked inside the house. Taehyung followed her, a bit confused, leaving the blanket on the grass. “What about a scary movie?”

“I don’t like scary movies,” he said, following her with his hands in his pockets. “I get easily scared,”

“That’s a shame,” she said, not quite knowing what to do. Once they got into her room, she just remembered there was no TV there. She didn’t want him to think she was giving him the wrong sign. “Do you like board games?”

“What?” he asked, clearly confused.

“I have Uno cards,”

“Can you play that with only two players?” he asked.

“Uhm, not sure,” why was she so nervous? She wasn’t doing anything wrong.

“Eunha?” he chuckled, getting close to her. “Why are you nervous?”

“I’m not!” she lied.

“You are,” he said with a smirk.

“No, I’m tired, that’s all,” he only smiled and held her hands, looking down at them. She was so nervous she could feel her heart on her throat.

“The first time I held your hand I understood what people say about their partners being tailor-made for each other,” he said in almost a whisper. “They fit great together, don’t you think?”

No, now she was properly blushing. There was nothing she could do or say, so she just stood there trying to remember how to breathe.

“How did I land you?” he said, looking at her with such tenderness she felt she could cry.

“I love you,” it’s all she could say, clutching his hands.

“I love you, too,” he said, gently grabbing her face and kissing her forehead. She hugged him tight, resting her head on his chest as he pressed his chin on the top of her head. “Eunha?”

“Yeah?”

“You know you’re safe with me, right?” he asked in a small voice. “I will always keep you safe, especially from me,”

“Why are you saying that?”

“No reason,” he said, planting another kiss on the top of her head. “I just want you to know it,”

“I know,” she hugged him tighter. “I know I’m safe with you,”

“Want to listen to some music?” he asked.

“Sure,” she said, still holding him tight. “I want you to sing to me, actually,”

“That’s not going to happen,” he said with a chuckle.

“Why not?” Eunha whined. “I have a piano,”

“In that case, why don’t you sing to me?”

“Please!” she said, kissing him on the cheek repeatedly. “Please, love,”

“Why don’t you teach me to play the guitar?” he said, in his best attempt of getting away. “I always wanted to learn,”

“I’m not a good teacher,” she said, already going to her bed to pick up her guitar.

“I beg to differ,” he said with a smirk. She only rolled her eyes as she sat on the floor with her guitar in hand. “Do you know any chords?”

“I know a couple,” he said, sitting in front of her. “I know one single song,”

“Then play it to me,” Eunha said, passing him the guitar. He grabbed the guitar and tried to remember where to place his fingers. He managed to strum a few strings but became self-conscious when Eunha started taking pictures.

“I don’t remember,” he shyly said.

“You’re doing well, I think I can tell what it is,” he tried again, and now Eunha properly recognized the song. She smiled as he tried to play that song from the movie she remembered watching years before, and she helped him correct the position of his fingers to play the chords. After he succeeded in playing the chords on a loop, she started singing the verse. He didn’t stop playing, but he turned to look at her with so much love she started blushing.

“Stop that!” she said.

“What?” he asked.

“Looking at me like that,”

“Like what?” he asked. “Like I love you?”

“Yeah,”

“Well, I do,” he said, getting close enough to steal a kiss.

“Play it again from the top,” she said. “But sing this time,”

He started the song again but didn’t sing, so she sang the verse again. It wasn’t until the chorus that he joined her, singing in perfect harmony. She even stopped singing so she could hear him better and felt her heart physically grow in her chest. He was still shy, but he kept singing in his low beautiful voice, the voice Eunha now dreamt of listening to for the rest of her life.

The following morning, Eunha woke up in bed after getting only two hours of sleep. She hung her head from her loft bed, peeking at Taehyung, who was sleeping on the couch. The guitar still lay on the floor where they had left it last night. Eunha tried to be discrete at getting off the bed, not wanting to wake him up, but she heard him mumble as soon as she set foot on the floor.

“Are you up?” he said in his hoarse voice.

“Yup,” she said. “Did I wake you?”

“No,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “I was waiting for you to wake up,”

“Are you hungry?” she asked, growing nervous once more.

“Not really,” he said as he stretched. He stood up and smiled at her, and she didn’t get how his face could look so precious and all puffy. “Good morning,”

Her stomach actually turned around.

“Morning,” she replied. He walked towards her and hugged her tight, picking her from the floor and kissing her cheek repeatedly.

“You look gorgeous,” she scoffed at the thought of it, knowing it took her at least an hour to look decent in the mornings. “What are your plans today? I don’t have classes, do you want to do something?”

“I was thinking of going to visit James,” Eunha said, picking her hair up in a ponytail. “I haven’t heard from him, have you?”

“No, he hasn’t replied,” he said as he checked his phone. “Oh, shit,”

“What?” she asked, already worried.

“I have 6 missed calls from Jin,”

“Call him, he might be in trouble,”

“He never gets in trouble,” he said, although he was already calling him. “Hyung?”

“Where have you been?” Seokjin asked.

“Uhm… I was asleep,” Taehyung did not dare to tell him he spent the night at Eunha’s. “What’s wrong,”

“I need your help,” Seokjin said. “The dickheads who were supposed to finish painting didn’t come and I’ll have people install the appliances tomorrow morning, I need you to help me finish painting,”

“Why don’t you hire someone?”

“I can pay you,” Jin said. “I’ll die of boredom if I have to spend another day with strangers who barely talk,”

“Can I tell Eunha?” he asked, looking at her.

“The more the merrier,” Jin said.

“Would you help me paint Seokjin’s restaurant?” Taehyung asked.

“Sure,” Eunha said a bit confused.

“Alright, we’ll see you in a bit,” Taehyung said.

“Okay, I love you both,” Jin said, hanging up the phone.

“Is he okay?” Eunha asked.

“Yeah, he’s just anxious with the whole restaurant thing. “This is really important for him,”

“I mean I get it,” she said. “He seems really passionate about it. We should get going then,”

They got downstairs thanking there was no one at home, both wanting to avoid the jokes and comments their friends probably had to make. Eunha confidently walked towards the kitchen counter, where she found Ji-Eun’s car keys and took them.

“Can you do that?” he asked.

“What? Drive?”

“No, I mean… take her car whenever you want to,”

“They’re using Midori’s today,” she explained. “And Sooah is probably riding Jimin, I MEAN, with Jimin!”

Taehyung burst into laughter. He laughed so hard he fell to the floor, unable to come back up for a while. Eunha’s face was bright red. She had to actually help him to his feet and push him to the garage, and he kept laughing until they got to the car.

“You should’ve seen your face,” he said, still laughing.

“It’s not that funny,” she said, a bit upset.

“Oh, come on. I mean, you’re not lying,” she hit the brakes so fast his neck hurt. “Ouch! What?!”

“Do you know something I don’t?” she asked, looking him straight in the eye.

“I don’t think so,” he said, rubbing his neck. “I mean, Jimin hasn’t told me anything but I kind of just came to the conclusion that they’re, you know…”

“No, I don’t think so,” Eunha interrupted, resuming her drive. Is not like she hadn’t thought about it; she was sure she even had joked about it before, but hearing it from Taehyung was different.

“Would that be wrong?” Taehyung warningly asked. “I mean they are adults and they are dating,”

“We’re also both adults and we’re not-” Eunha stopped talking, though she wished she would just stopped existing. Taehyung wasn’t brave enough to keep looking at her, but he knew he had to say something, anything, to make things less awkward.

“Just so you know,” Taehyung started.

“No, don’t say anything,” Eunha pleaded but he went on.

“I’m good with not having sex,” he burst out. Eunha felt her ears burn so she fixed her gaze on the road. “I mean, I’m good with whatever you want,”

“Yeah, let’s switch the conversation,” Eunha said. “When is Yeontan’s birthday?”

“Eunha,” he chuckled. “There’s nothing wrong with talking about it. It’s no big deal, honestly,”

“Well, I wouldn’t know,” Eunha said, not really wanting to. Her nerves betraying her once more.

“In that way, me neither,” he said with a smile. “But yeah, I just wanted you to know that,”

“Cool, thanks for the info,” she was unable to go back to being a normal human being. Taehyung felt a bit sorry for making her uncomfortable, but it wasn’t a conversation he regretted having. They finally arrived at Seokjin’s place and got out of the car as if nothing had happened. Jin didn’t ask any questions about their day (or night), he was happy his friends came to help.

0 notes

sangonomiyashrine · 3 years ago

Note

Hello there! May I have a kin assign for Literally any of your sources? :D

I'm a INFP-T, Demiflux and use She/they/nya pronouns + many more! usually described as the mom friend and therapist friend, I've been told my voice sounds calming and sleepy, as for personality i really cant say, though im definitely the kind of person who doesn't mind social interaction if it's with the right people.

I almost always get along with people, I also often experience rapid mood swings and try my best to control them. Id say im pretty kind?im a people pleaser and apologize for everything, always afraid that every little thing I do will make ssomeone leave me.

Im insecure about myself and often try to shape myself to fit the persons standards im talking too.

Im sensitive but not afraid to tell someone to go away if that makes sense, and I love getting attention (probably because I lacked it), when I get attached to someone Im willing to do anything and everything i can for them.

Some things I like are cooking / food! I plan to go to culinary school when im older, I like bunnies and all things soft and cutesy, but I also adore alt, horror, paranormal, folk lore, true crime and a lot of other things!

Aesthetics I enjoy are Softcore, Kidcore, Grunge, Angelcore, cottagecore and so many others! I like to sing and edit too, and i collect plushies. I also like to game!

My birthday is June 22nd, Im a cancer :D

you remind me of..

I also thought of Yuri (ddlc), Rika Kim and Sakura Haruno.

Mikan Tsumiki - she's a people pleaser who apologizes much too often, hoping that others will not hate her. she's rather insecure, which leads her to try to act in a way others will like. this is what makes her so anxious and nervous in most interactions. I think that she enjoys being around the "right people" a lot though, loving kindness from others after she learns to accept it. she would do anything for these people who truly care for her. it's implied that she was greatly neglected in her childhood, which is why she is so attention-seeking (it's heavily implied she trips for attention). in her ftes, she's shown to have a strong interest in horror, and she probably likes cutesy stuff too. despite her seemingly weak nature, she is good at taking care of people who are in a more fragile state than her.

Maple - she'd probably take the role of mom friend in a group, being a kind person and a people pleaser. I can see her successfully being able to calm and be there for others. she likes to be around people, feeling pretty disappointed when she isn't given sufficient attention from others. while she's generally calm, she can lose control of her emotions easily despite trying hard not to. we can see this when ranmaru takes the id card for her and she loses her temper, but is shown feeling bad about what she has done and trying to control herself. she is very attached to midori, and willing to do a lot for him.

Sayori - I'd say she's the therapist friend in the club, always being the one to calm others, encourage others and stop disputes. she's very concerned with getting along with others, and can be very people pleasing to stop conflict and others from disliking her. in ddlc+, she shows that she can be insecure and apologetic, overworking herself due to thinking yuri was disappointed in her. due to her depression, she can experience mood swings, but she tries hard to not let it show. despite her conflict avoiding nature, she can be a little pushy if the situation calls for it.

#kin assignment #kin matchup #danganronpa #ddlc #yttd #mikan tsumiki #sayori #maple

3 notes · View notes

sammyysblog · 5 years ago

Note

Hello! I would like to request a YTTD matchup! I am a 19 yo spanish girl that likes drawing, reading, videogames and music! I am either hyperactive or really quiet, no in between. I love sweets and I'm scared of darkness. I also have trouble expressing myself when talking and get anxious easily. And I am also very loyal! I love star shaped things and shiny things!(Also, I would like to say that, please no Gashu, Safalin, Midori or Miley ;;) Thank you!!

Hello there!! Welcome 🌟 No prob, I won't include them~

Boys

I would pick Alice Yabusame for you!! Ok, he seems like a scary guy at first, but I truly believe he would be the most precious person when in a relationship and with those he cares about!

He would definitely be a big tsundere, that's for sure, and would get all flustered and embarrassed when hanging out with you in public or when cuddling with you, but! He would try his best to overcome his embarrassment!!

He would care deeply about you and would put your well-being before anything else! He wouldn't be the best with words, so his advice would be kinda all over the place snsfs but he would try very hard!

He would make sure you feel safe with him and when you can't sleep or if something scared you, he would be there for you and hug you tight!

Girls

I would definitely choose Nao Egokoro for you!! She would be the most supportive person in the world ;;;;; First of all, she's pretty anxious as well, so she would totally get you and you would feel really comfortable explaining what you feel to her!

She would be the best at comforting you too, so when you feel scared or unwell she would bring you cookies (star shaped cookies) and sweets to cheer you up!

She would hug you and cuddle you and sing sweet lullabies to you to calm you down dgjdgjs and be really happy to see you all extincted!!

If I had to pick a doll that isn't one of the floor masters btw, I would choose Hayasaka! I feel like he would get anxious and nervous really quick, so much like with Nao, you would feel free to talk about what worries you with him!

He would be kinda introverted and quiet most of the time, and wouldn't be great with words, to the point where I can picture him stuttering and getting flustered when it comes to tell his feeling to you gnsljss but he would try his best to show you how much he cares about you!

Here you go, I really hope this was okay with you!! Thank you, have a great day 💖

#yttd #your turn to die #kgs #kimi ga shine #alice yabusame #nao egokoro #ask #who would i ship you with

8 notes · View notes

emboldens · 5 years ago

Photo

“when I ask you about your first love i am always secretly hoping that you will say your own name. now, wouldn’t that be beautiful – to above else have a heart that was proud of itself.”

BASIC INFORMATION

Full name: Marlene McKinnon Pronunciation: Nickname(s): Mars, Mack, Lena Birthdate: 05/27/89 Age: 30 Zodiac: Gemini Gender: Female Pronouns: she/her Romantic orientation: Lesbian Sexual orientation: Lesbian Nationality: British Ethnicity: Japanese on her mother’s side, Irish and English on her father’s side Current location: London Living conditions: Living in the moment!

BACKGROUND

Birthplace: London Hometown: Wiltshire, England Social Class: Middle, formerly upper Educational achievements: Graduated secondary school with honors Father: Brian McKinnon was a smalltime character actor and BBC show runner infamous for his divisive, often politically incorrect dark comedies. Although his personality found popularity within the small niche of cynics and unsuccessful satirists, having his wife’s career overshadow his own tore away at his insecruties. These frustrations were never explicitly expressed, but glimmers of his envy more often than not took form through the mean-spirited “jokes” and the occasional arguments he subjected his wife and child to. He passed away in 2008 after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer. He once claimed that his biggest dream was to play James Bond. Up until his death, this statement was believed to be part of his comedy routine. It was not. Mother: Midori McKinnon (nee Iizuka) born into family of wealthy hotel owners who’d moved to London for better business prospects. Their wealth gave her access to the theatre world, where she slowly and steadily thrived, landing supporting roles in West End productions of Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, and Jesus Christ Superstar, in addition to her occasional stints at the Globe Theatre. By her mid-to late thirties, her career made a breakthrough in Hollywood, where she gained international renown for her grace, beauty, and intelligence. However, the poise she carried herself with did not translate as well off-camera, as she was subject to bouts of deep melancholy, stemming from an allegedly troubled childhood, a dissatisfaction with her marriage and her later estrangement from her daughter, and a family history of mental illness. She took the world by surprise when she took her own life at the young age of 45. Today, her performance as Ophelia in a 1991 production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet is considered legendary. Her biggest dream was also to play James Bond. Sibling(s): None Birth order: Only child Pets: Two cats, Vita and Virginia, and a St. Bernard named Samus Previous relationships: Alecto Carrow, TBD Arrests: 3 Prison time: None

OCCUPATION AND INCOME

Current occupation: Bar owner Dream occupation: Wife of a lesbian Alpaca breeder Past job(s): Prior to opening a bar, she was a saleslady at Lush. Spending habits: Mostly thrifty, but occasionally makes large transactions for things she sees as investments for her business. In debt?: Yes Most valuable possession: Sentimentally? Her copy of Matilda, which was the first novel she ever read.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Physical strength: Average Speed: Average Intelligence: Above Average Accuracy: Average Agility: Average Stamina: Average Teamwork: Prefers to work alone, as her issues with authority mostly get in the way. Talents/hobbies: With over eleven years of vocal training and the fortune of having a musical actress for a mother, Marlene can sing surprisingly well, boasting a four-octave mezzo-soprano range. She doesn’t tell anyone about it, because she likes surprising people at karaoke nights. Shortcomings: Fears vulnerability and commitment, has a tendency to appear frivolous due to her cheeky demeanor, occasionally self-destructive Languages spoken: English, some Japanese. Drive?: Yes Jump-start a car?: No Change a flat tyre?: Yes Ride a bicycle?: Yes Swim?: Yes Play an instrument?: Yes Play chess?: No Braid hair?: Yes Tie a tie?: Yes. Pick a lock?: Yes Cook?: Debatable

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS

Faceclaim: Sonoya Mizuno Eye colour: Brown Hair colour: Black Hair type/style/length: Long, sleek, and straight Glasses/contacts?: Yes Dominant hand: Left Height: 5′7 Weight: 56 kg Build: Lean and fit Exercise habits: Weekly gym visits, jogging regularly Skin tone: Fair Tattoos: Butterfly with shadow ( Right shoulder, 2007 ), Moon cycle band ( Left arm, 2007 ), Velociraptor skull ( Right hand, 2008 ), Pterodactyl skeleton ( Chest, 2009 ), Apatosaurus skeleton ( Left leg, 2010 ), Spiderweb ( Elbow, 2010 ), Van Gogh skull smoking ( Collarbone, 2011 ), Floral sleeve ( Right arm, 2012 ), Floral design ( Neck, 2012 ), Marlene Dietrich smoking ( Right arm, 2013 ), Semicolon ( Left wrist, 2015 ), Band-aid ( Above the heart, 2016 ), “It’s chaos. Be kind.” ( Above the left elbow crease, 2016 ), The Star and The Moon tarot cards ( Left arm, 2017 ), Junji Ito comic panel ( Upper back, 2017 ), Phoenix ( Thigh, 2018 ) Piercings: Outer conch, labret, and brow Marks/scars: None Clothing style: Casual, monochromatic. Not a big fan of dresses or shorts. Allergies: None Diet: Mostly, but not exclusively vegetarian Physical ailments: TERRIBLE period cramps

PSYCHOLOGY

MBTI type: INFP - A (64% introverted, 66% intuiive, 57% feeling, 69% prospecting) Enneagram type: Type 9 Moral Alignment: Chaotic neutral Temperament: Sanguine Element: Water Emotional stability: Marlene appears to be stable on the surface, but her repressed feelings of guilt, anger and grief over her broken relationship with her mother still linger within, making her prone to bouts of extreme despondency. Introvert or Extrovert?: Introvert Obsession(s): The Leaky Bucket will know when Marlene is on her period because on the first two days, the pub’s radio will exclusively play a single female artist’s discography on repeat. Last month, it was Mitski. The month before, it was Regina Spektor. On a month she denies existed, it was Taylor Swift. Compulsion(s): Humor as a coping mechanism, repressing negative feelings, self-awareness without self-improvement Phobia(s): None Addiction(s): Nicotine Drug use: When she was younger Alcohol use: Occasionally Prone to violence?: No Prone to crying?: On her monthly cycle, yes. Believe in love at first sight?: Yes, but to her, this is very, very rare.

MANNERISMS

Accent: English, London dialect Speech quirks: None Hobbies: Casual video gaming, interior design, music curation Habits: Sitting on surfaces that aren’t meant to be sat on, smoking Nervous ticks: Lip biting, staring at the ground, blinking, diverting the subject with crass humor Drives/motivations: Maintaining her current lifestyle. Fears: Cockroaches Sense of humour?: Almost anything goes. Puns are her guilty pleasure, though she won’t admit it. Prefers subtle humor over loud, straightforward jokes, but either is fine. Enjoys vulgarity. Loves banter. Do they curse often?: Moderately.

FAVOURITES

Animal: Wolf Beverage: Bubble tea Book: Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan Colour: Red Food: Pork dumplings Flower: Plumeria Gem: Emerald Mode of transportation: Train Scent: Petrichor Sport: Gymnastics Weather: Sunny & breezy Vacation destination: Reykjavík

ATTITUDES

Greatest dream: Slow life. She aspires for nothing more than a peaceful existence with a person who understands her and her values. Greatest fear: the Duolingo Owl Most at ease when: Curating playlists for the Leaky Bucket Least as ease when: Somebody ( namely, certain Black family cousins ) threatens the security of her bar. Worst possible thing that could happen: For the Order to dismantle, or lose their ideals Biggest achievement: The Leaky Bucket! Biggest regret: Not reaching out to her mother before it was too late.

#i don't know how to improve the quality of tumblr photos and at this point im too afraid to ask #edits.#about.#penumbrafeed

7 notes · View notes

zukalations · 6 years ago

Text

Dream Stars’ Salon - Fuji’s Bar w. Ranju Tomu (Flower Troupe)

This Kageki feature from the mid-2000s had directors Fujii Daisuke and Ueda Keiko trading off hosting a ‘bar’ where they would conduct talk features with young otokoyaku stars. The interview between Fujii and Ranju Tomu was published in the February 2006 issue.

Dream Stars’ Salon - Fuji’s Bar w. Ranju Tomu (Flower Troupe)

Fujii: Welcome to ‘Fujii’s Bar’.

Ranju: Thank you for inviting me.

Fujii, Ranju: (laugh)

Fujii: I think the first time I met Tomu (Ranju) was your debut in CAN-CAN, when I was attached to the production as an assistant… You’ve grown up a lot since then.

Ranju: No, I haven’t grown up a bit~ (laughs)

Fujii: Is that so. I think the really cute thing about Tomu is that you’re really bright and friendly, and while you’re mature you can still be a little bit spacey. You’re someone who’s very easy to talk to. You had the ‘otokoyaku’ atmosphere even as a ken-1, didn’t you. I think I remember in Nao-chan’s (Iori Naoka’s) dinner show, you were ken-5, but they introduced you as ken-15… (laughs).

Ranju: I was constantly being used for that punchline in dinner shows and such as a junior actress (laughs).

Fujii: And then recently it feels as if you’re getting younger by the year (laughs).

Ranju: Yes, people say that to me all the time! (laughs) It really makes me think about how hard I was working as a junior actress…

Fujii: Really… Yesterday, I went to see the Flower Troupe performance, and felt like the kindness and big-heartedness I felt from Tomu is something nobody else could express.

Ranju: That makes me so happy~. For my character of Nicola in Palermo in the Setting Sun, that ‘big-heartedness’ was what I most wanted to express, so I’m really happy to hear that.

Fujii: And then in the revue show you had a really natural sexiness. Recently, you’ve come to the point where you can do things without having to push yourself past your limit, right?

Ranju: I’ve had people telling me ‘You’re more relaxed’ or ‘you seem so natural onstage’, so I do feel like I’ve begun pushing myself less onstage, but in a good way…

Fujii: That might be why you’re really standing out recently. By the way, Tomu, did you like Takarazuka ever since you were little?

Tomu: I started watching Takarazuka when I was in middle school.

Fujii: And did you decide ‘I want to join!’ from the start?

Ranju: No, it was when I was thinking of my future path during high school that it started to get to me. I thought ‘I at least want to try out for it’. So then for a year, I took entrance exam prep lessons in secret from my school…

Fujii: But weren’t you taking dance since you were little?

Ranju: When I was in elementary school I took classical ballet for 3 years, and then in middle and high school I was put in the ‘Creative Dance’ department. We had ballet lessons and danced to our own choreography…

Fujii: So, you can do choreography too!

Ranju: That would be a huge challenge, but I would like to try it once, I think.

Fujii: Oh, that would be great! If you hadn’t passed the exam, what path do you think you would have taken?

Ranju: I like English, so I had the vague idea of studying English in college and doing some kind of work related to that.

Fujii: You’re a really flexible person, so I can definitely picture that. Your grades have been excellent ever since you entered Takarazuka, and then you kept getting roles in shinjin kouens and Bow Hall performances, and lots of appearances in dinner shows. Are there any shows for you that were turning points, Tomu?

Ranju: Maybe the 2001 Bow Hall, Manon. That’s when I really started to aim for being an ‘otokoyaku’.

Fujii: Slightly wicked roles, like your character of Lescaut in Manon, really suit you, don’t they. And then that same year you had your first shinjin kouen lead, Michelangelo. What do you think about that?

Ranju: I was so desperate. It was like I was pushing to the limits of my energy, so I don’t really remember the particulars.

Fujii: But I think it’s exactly that which helped you suit the role so well, perhaps. And then the next year was Drenched in the Amber Hued Rain and Cocktail!

Ranju: In the show Director Fujii created and directed, Cocktail, I was able to sing with Haruno-san, Sena-san, and Ayabuki-san in the opening sequence, and then in the basketball scene I was playing the part of Haruno’s opponent, so I was thinking “is it really okay for me to be doing all this…?” It was a revolutionary show for me, internally.

Fujii: Is that so; it seemed perfectly ordinary to me, though (laughs). When all the current Flower Troupe otokoyaku are gathered, they’re so interesting, no matter what you look at.

Ranju: There were so many stellar otokoyaku when I was a junior actress. Maya Miki-san, Kaikyou Hiroki-san, Aika Mire-san, Yabuki Shou-san, Takumi Hibiki-san, Hatsukaze Midori-san, Kizuki Ayumu-san, Ranka Rea-san...And then at the time, Sena-san, Mizu-zan, and Kiriya-san were in Flower Troupe too, and everyone was so cool… I was like ‘what even is this troupe!’ (laughs)

Fujii: (laughs) And was it good training?

Ranju: For example, they would give very clear advice about the best way to wear a tailcoat, and precisely how many centimeters and millimeters until it started to look ‘just a bit off’. Even now, when it comes to how we’re holding a tailcoat, the senior actresses will still suggest ‘so, let’s do it this way this time’ and keep an eye on that. I think they all have a great aesthetic sense of ‘how an otokoyaku should be’.

Fujii: It’s something that’s passed down from senior actresses to the junior actresses. You were ken-7 in Cocktail.

Ranju: Yes. I had a lot of different experiences that year, with Gone with the Wind, Shadow of the Moon, and Elisabeth.

Fujii: How do you feel about singing, Tomu?

Ranju: I’ve studied it for a much shorter time, compared to dance. When I entered the Takarazuka Music School, if I had to use my voice in singing or acting, I never knew what I ought to be doing… In Director Shibata’s acting class he would always call on me as ‘that girl over there, with the strained voice’. I had a complex for a while that made it hard for me to get my voice to come out. Right now it’s not as bad as it was before, but unlike dance, where I can just go with my feelings, I have to think about using my voice more and tell myself ‘I just need to do it how I did in the rehearsals.’ When I hear Osa-san singing, I think that it feels really good, and I want to be able to use my singing to express what’s inside myself that way too…

Fujii: In the shinjin kouen of Elisabeth, it definitely seemed that while your gestures and such were very striking, you were nervous about the singing.

Ranju: Especially in the Takarazuka shinjin kouen I never got over the nervousness… I was in a battle with myself every day until the Tokyo performance. I remember that even right before the performance, I had shut myself in the dressing room baths and was singing. Finally, at the very end, it felt like I had made it over a huge mountain during that performance.

Fujii: That was a good experience for you, wasn’t it. You seemed to be enjoying yourself singing in the recent production of Ernest in Love, so I thought ‘she seems like she’s grown a bit…’

Ranju: Thank you very much.

Fujii: You were playing all sorts of roles in 2005, weren’t you. Hachigorou in Kurawanka was such a skillfully done role that it almost made me think you were ken-30 (laughs).

Ranju: (laughs) Although it was a hard time with the switch roles and things, the junior actresses put so much energy into it, and I think that show really helped everyone in the cast grow.

Fujii: After that you played Gunther in Marakesh: The Crimson Tombstone, and the outside performance R-HATTER*. You were so cool!

Ranju: Although at first I couldn’t even picture how things might end up, but Hattori Yuukichi-san was very understanding of what a ‘Takarazuka otokoyaku’ is, and put together choreography that showed off how the otokoyaku looked.

Fujii: But it was the kind of choreography that you wouldn’t see very often in Takarazuka, right. It needed a very high technical level, didn’t it?

Ranju: Yes. At first I was struggling just to keep up. Performing with foreign male dancers was a very valuable experience for me that really made me rethink ‘the appeal of an otokoyaku.’

Fujii: Although you’ve developed quickly and have the image of a ‘star student’, have you ever had times where you’ve come up against a barrier or that you can’t relax?

Fujii: I’ve never relaxed… Since I haven’t been practicing since I was a child, I feel like if I don’t practice more than everyone else I won’t be able to do it. When I was in the music school, I would dance at home until late at night, and I had my family buy a tap mat so I’d be tapping away at that...I was desperate (laughs).When I was a junior actress I hated being called ‘star student’ and I would break down sometimes. “Even though I’m always at my limit trying to deal with things, why do they still say those things about me…” I would think.

Fujii: I’ve never seen Tomu in a panic like that.

Ranju: I don’t let people see that (laughs). I hate failure, you see. Starting when I was around ken-3, I was able to act in the plays together with the senior actresses, and in the revues even though I was one of the youngest I would be able to join them, but I still couldn’t do things at the level the senior actresses were at… A lot of the time I would end up in the dark, deserted rehearsal room just crying, ‘Wah~’ (laughs)

Fujii: Oh… But you don’t do that any more now?

Ranju: No, if I can’t do things how I think I should be doing them, I’ll have a cry at home (laughs).

Fujii: You don’t want other people to see, yes. So, how are you going to progress from here? Can you tell me roles you want to play, or dances you want to do?

Ranju: In terms of plays, I want to do a really passionate grand romantic story. In terms of dancing, I’d like to do something in latin style, or some really vigorous dancing that they don’t do a lot in Takarazuka. Also, a really Takarazuka-style duet dance… When I was in the music school, in Shime-san’s (Shion Yuu’s) class, she told us “in your loudest voice, shout out your dream of what you want to do onstage”, you know. So, I said “I want to do a duet dance wearing pure white, surrounded by white smoke!” (laughs). I do want to do a charmingly romantic duet dance.

Fujii: So, finally, what do you think is the appeal of ‘Ranju Tomu’?

Ranju: Eh~, do I have to say it myself? I’m blushing… (laughs) Let’s see, first would be ‘Passion’. That’s been my theme ever since I was ken-1.

Fujii: Oh~ that’s great.

Ranju: From now on, I want to develop ‘big-heartedness’ and ‘sweetness’.

Fujii: Wonderful! I think Ranju has the ‘Takarazuka atmosphere’ in the best way, and you’re really irreplaceable. I’m looking forward to seeing how you flourish from now on.

Ranju: Yes. Thank you very much!

* This was a co-ed modern ballet production featuring Japanese and foreign ballet dancers as well as a few Takarazuka actresses.

#takarazuka #article translation #sienne: ranju tomu #troupe: hana #staff: fujii daisuke

10 notes · View notes

hotcocosharing · 7 years ago

Text

History Repeats Part 4 (IM RP)

After playing sly fox Shun in both Second Chance and Glory Days, here I am role playing as our playboy doctor Maki who’s bumped into an ex, desperately trying to avoid history repeating itself again. Well, I’ll say both of them should try harder if that’s what they want but WHAT do they WANT?

That’s the ultimate question for everyone, isn’t it?

Me as Yukihisa Maki x amixofmidori as Midori Page

❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ ❥ Midori’s POV

Oh what - he’s laughing? How interesting. That particular chuckle had been one of which I hadn’t heard in years and still - for better or worse, prevails with a lucid intoxicating effect I can’t quite shake off. Thank fuck Yuki’s only stopping by for a shirt change. Although I don’t notice it straight away; once I’m done driving, I can feel a tight pain in my knuckles from how hard I’ve been gripping the steering wheel. It’s possible that I’ve done so as a nervous tell; that or I’m expecting some kind of instruction whilst driving as I always received whether I wanted the help or not.

The wander from the car-space beneath the apartment complex up to my front door itself takes a little less than 45 seconds including the short yet silent excruciating pain of waiting for the elevator. Heels tapping with a sharp snap against the ground with every step I take; the once affectionate phrase of “Welcome home”, is mumbled quietly - singeing across the tip of my tongue to burn like a poison. Lights flicked on from the switch on the wall just inside from the door - I pace without hesitance straight to the bedroom. “Feel free to make yourself comfortable; I’m sure you remember where everything is.”

Pulling my hair down from the high bun it’s been in all day and shaking it out gives me just enough time to take a deep breath, collect my thoughts and curse like a half drunken sailor, condemning myself for even suggesting and getting into this position. Quickly making a choice of one of the shirts which has been hanging in my wardrobe for far too long; I swing the still straight pressed material over my shoulder and head straight back out to the living room where - momentarily - I’ve briefly left company.

“Here”, I smile sweetly handing over to the shirt, “Stone grey - to match your eyes… and your heart.” Being close enough; playfully, I’m able to reach out and quickly undo a top button - an activity that I was once very, very use to - before my hands are swatted away.

“….you still take your coffee the same way?” Before I get an answer - the expression Yukihisa wears contorts ever so slightly to one which I just read into as worse off than how he was before. So here goes the next suggestion, “Or something stronger perhaps? Whiskey?”

For the life of me - I can’t figure out why I’m trying to keep the ex of whom I’m convinced is the reason and effect of all my relationship issues to date around for perhaps; more than just company.

Yukihisa‘s POV

A cool chill took my spine as I set foot inside the apartment, the combination of wet sticky clothes against my skin and being back to a place where I was once so familiar with was strangely unsettling as well as Midori’s lingering stare and witty remark that I wasn’t sure if she wants me to respond or not.

Putting the shirt over my head with the dripping dress-shirt in hand, I could feel the corner of my lips curved up followed by a devious reminder. “I’m on the hunt for an orgasm, remember?” Perhaps my words were weighing on her much more than it would on me but she was the one who unbuttoned my shirt so naturally then walked away and pretended nothing had happened. I could only return the same favor and changed the subject, “Is there a blow dryer I’d use? Unless you’ve another pair of trousers or pants hiding in the closet too?”

It seemed like a reasonable question, surely I didn’t want to walk out with a dry shirt but soaked garment beneath my waist. I wasn’t fooling around or tempting her with anything. Laughing internally at the fact that I changed my clothes in front of her actually didn’t count unless I stripped my other half naked too. Then, that would be seducing her or showing off which both sounded ridiculous.

I shift my gazes momentarily and scanned across her place which looked pretty much the way it was years ago but then the couch looked different or did she move it- didn’t we share countless nights of trials and errors, in which involved a lot of positions that she didn’t think is humanly possible to achieve? Or the coffee table which was glass instead of wood as she often complained how cold it was against her bare skin when she bent over? The sound of door closing and footsteps approaching dragged me out of my unnecessary daze, this shall be over soon.

#yukihisa maki #im maki #irresistible mistakes rp #irresistible mistakes #voltage rp #voltage role play #voltage inc #im rp #im role play #voltageocrp #voltage oc x canon #history repeats

1 note · View note

fyoonjisung · 7 years ago

Text

[COMPILATION] 170815 Jisung Fan Accounts & Post-Its in Wanna One’s Fansign

*if we left out anything, please do tell us here *grammatical errors and paragraph errors were edited but not to the point of changing the meaning or situation of what happened *credits and sources are listed at the end of the compilation *includes fan accounts of other Wanna One members related to/about Jisung *pic credit: Summer Dew For more pictures of this event, check this compilation OTHER FAN ACCOUNTS COMPILATION:

[170812] [170813] [170817] [170818] —————————————————————————-

QUESTION: Who was the one that thought of the “fighting“ action that was done by you and Daniel? ANSWER: a. Daniel b. Jisung ✔

QUESTION: Which of the following Baskin Robbins flavours that Jisung like the most? ANSWER: a. Rainbow Sherbet b. New York Cheese cake ✔ c. Green Tea d. Cherries Jubiles *OP’s comment: So sweet so so sweet. Jisung is really warm hearted. I gave an “army of rice” to Jisung and her really like it a lot. It was a bottle of rice and I added a note stating, “army of rice.” Then, when the staff wanted to clear the bottle. Jisung said “leave it here for a while.” He asked if it’s real rice and I told him it’s real rice. I really wanted to tell him, “please don’t get hurt. I felt that you always sau good words, I even cried during your showcon ment.” Jisung replied, “You guys really care for me and love me a lot which make it hard for me not to care and love you guys. I’ll not get hurt, don’t worry. I’m more sorry that I made you guys worry.” When Jisung saw the question, and selected “New York Cheese cake,” he said “yes, that’s right. It’s this!!! But I’m unable to see this ‘till now”

QUESTION: What type of food can you eat? ANSWER: a. carrot b. carrot c. carrot d. others Jisung’s answer: Nope! [PIC] [PIC]

QUESTION: Jisung is...? ANSWER: 1. Handsome 2. Sexy 3. Cute 4. Pretty 5. Funny 6. Others Jisung’s answer: 7. It’s all about hair, hair *When Jisung saw OP, he asked if it’s hard as it was raining and thanked OP for coming. After looking at the post-it question, Jisung said “ohohohohhh” and started being flustered because he don’t know what to choose. OP mentioned that Jisung really took a long time answering this question and wrote “It’s hair, hair.” Then he looked at OP and ask what does OP think. OP was also flustered as Jisung suddenly asked this question and she replied “ooooh all it’s good. Jisung is handsome, sexy, cute, pretty and funny.” OP’s answer made both OP and Jisung becam flustered. Since OP still have some time, she said, “hope that Jisung know many fans are cheering for him,” and Jisung replied he knows and thanked OP.

QUESTION: Which dongsaeng does stuff by himself without saying anything? Please choose three! ANSWER: a. Sungwoon ✔ b. Minhyun ✔ c. Seongwoo d. Daniel e. Jaehwan f. Jihoon g. Woojin h. Jinyoung i. Daehwi j. Guanlin k. Others *OP mentioned when Jisung saw the question, he check Minhyun’s name immediately. Since OP request Jisung to choose three, he really had a hard time choosing the three and in the end, unable to select. OP also mentioned that it hurts when she kneeled down. When Jisung heard it, he said, “Oh, really?” and started worrying if there is any sharp objects on the floor.

OP: Jisung oppa, as I’m too nervous, I can’t think of anything to say. Can you just write anything~ Jisung: I like you (in Japanese) *OP is Japanese

QUESTION: To Jisung, I heard that you enjoyed watching musicals, any of the following musicals that you want to try? (Or is there any that you have watched?) ANSWER: 1. Jekyll and Hyde 2. The Phantom of the Opera 3. Miss Saigon 4. Wicked 5. Lion King ✔ 6. Jesus Christ Superstar *OP mentioned that when Jisung saw the post-it note he said he really like watching musicals. His expression was full of joy when selecting “Lion King.” QUESTION: Any character that you the most? ANSWER: Simba!!

QUESTION: Which of the following cocktails does Jisung oppa like the most? ANSWER: 1. Midori Sour 2. Peach Crush ✔ 3. Kahlua & Milk 4. Others (Jagermeister)

QUESTION: Jisung, when did your left ear piercing hole close? ANSWER: 1. 21 years old ✔ 2. 22 years old 3. 23 years old ✔ 4. 24 years old 5. 25 years old 6. 26 years old 7. 27 years old *OP also asked Jisung if ear piercing is painful and Jisung said that it’s not.

QUESTION: Leader fairy, if you are Wanna One’s maknae, which member do you think you can lean on? ANSWER: 1. Ha Sungwoon 2. Hwang Minhyun 3. Ong Seongwoo 4. Kim Jaehwan ✔ 5. Kang Daniel 6. Park Jihoon ✔ 7. Park Woojin 8. Bae Jinyoung 9. Lee Daehwi 10. Lai Guanlin *OP said that when Jisung saw the post-it note, he said that he didn’t expect that he will receive such question. After choosing, Jisung said, “you’re suprised, right?!! Suprised, right?!!” (OP said Jisung took a really long time to choose)

QUESTION: Which of the following rice grains does Jisung like? ANSWER: 1. Brown rice 2. Black rice 3. Polished rice 4. Barley rice Jisung’s answer: Polished rice *OP: I think that the question that I asked has been answered a thousand times but Jisung still kindly answer my question just like the first time he received it. OP mentioned that Jisung is really handsome. When she saw Jisung, she said, “OMG, you’re really handsome. Honestly, I thought you were normal looking.” Jisung replied, “Aye, I’m still normal looking. The photos look better, don’t they?” Jisung then started saying that he is still very normal looking and OP told Jisung he is not, he is not.

QUESTION: Please draw a heart for the following questions. ANSWER: - Sea ❤ VS River VS Mountain - Sparkling Water ❤ VS Sports drink VS Juice - Winter V ❤ S Summer - Chicken V ❤ S Pizza * Jisung wrote “Handmade burger” too

QUESTION: Jisung ah, when will you sing, “I’ll be by your side?“ I want to hear it ANSWER: 1. Concert 2. VAPP 3. Fanmeeting 4. Now ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Jisung’s answer: VAPP & Now ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

QUESTION: Which of the following musical you would like to try? ANSWER: 1. Thrill Me 2. Goddess is watching ✔ 3. Hedwig 4. Others

#wannaone #wanna one #wannaone jisung #jisung #yoon jisung #e:to be one #170815 f #kang daniel #ong seongwoo #park jihoon #lai guanlin #park woojin #ha sungwoon #hwang minhyun #kim jaehwan #bae jinyoung #lee daehwi #c: fa

2 notes · View notes

ramirei · 8 years ago

Text

A Good Morning on Friday: audition 4

“I have to do my best on Friday. After all, I won’t be able to see you for two days.”

Hamanaka Midori and Narumi Sena are connected by the fact they both attend Sakuragaoka High School and, for one reason or another, their eyes meet inside the train they take to school every morning. Even though both are interested in the other, “good morning” won’t quite come out of their mouths due to their nervousness. Now a senior in the same class as Sena, Midori realizes his true feelings as he repeatedly practices his “good morning”s…?

Find the masterlist with all the chapters here!

Please support Honeyworks by purchasing the novel here!

We’re getting into Nichiyoubi no Himitsu territory now!!

Since I could say these words without practice, I gotta try my best. I can’t be satisfied with just looking at you when I love you.

audition 4

Their midterms ended just as June began.

Although the rainy season for the Kanto region hadn’t been officially announced yet, it was only a matter of time. It looked like it could even be announced tomorrow judging by the wavy situation in his hair.

It’s daaat time of year again, so damn troublesome. Midori sighed and looked up at the gloomy, overcast sky outside the window of the audiovisual room.

Midori had naturally wavy hair, so the increased humidity at this time of year was his worst enemy. He would spend valuable time in the morning styling his hair perfectly, but come lunch break his hair would somehow end up frizzy and curly.

Would my hair look okay if I use a straighten-whatever thing? Tho dat looks like it might end up makin’ my hair floppy.

In any case, he needed to think of a countermeasure immediately. He couldn’t have Sena seeing him with poofy, unstylish hair from the humidity. Definitely not. At all costs.

“Midori’s making an even funnier face today.”

“Is he telling us to take a picture of him holding his guitar by the window looking all serious or something?”

“Hmm, I can’t decide between a picture or a video.”

“Haha! If we take a good one, should we send it to Hiromichi?”

“Better not. If he ends up laughing, he’ll get fired, y’know.”

As usual, couldn’t Suzuki and Kuma talk quietly so he wouldn’t hear their laidback voices? Midori deliberately pretended that he hadn’t heard anything despite his eyebrows twitching. Every person had their own way of spending their break time during club activities.

“What’s he even worrying about now? Wasn’t he super energetic before the midterms?”

“Yeah, you’re right… He was grinning while singing that mysterious song, wasn’t he?”

Who ya sayin’ was grinning? In da first place, what’dya mean by a mysterious song? It’s a masterpiece!

Midori was muttering to himself when Suzuki said something outrageous, “Yeah, yeah, that song where he only sang ‘good morning’ over and over again.”

“Dere’s other lyrics besides just morning, idiot!” Midori butt in without thinking.

The two of them cocked their heads and said, “Oh, really?” “I don’t really remember.”

If it was going to be like this, there was no choice but to sing the song itself, “Morning! Morning, morning, good morning! Today is a nice day, good moooorning!”

It was a song he wrote with all he had the day that he and Sena said “good morning” to each other for the first time. He finished his performance with an instrumental break and a “tada!” which the others responded to with applause. Their weak applause was probably because they were so moved that their hands weren’t working well.

“No matter how you look at it, you were grinning, weren’t you?”

“You were really excited from the song.”

“Shut up, ya two! Listen, a person’s heart is revealed through dere music.”

“So?”

“It means dat I’m happy.”

Midori’s world had changed ever since the day he was able to say “good morning” to Sena. Even so, it didn’t mean that the distance between them had dramatically become shorter since he still became nervous in front of Sena like usual. It took everything he had just to say good morning to her, so he was still unable to even talk about his favorite band with her. But this was a huge step forward for Midori.

“Midoriii. Sorry to interrupt you while you’re all happy, but can I say something?” Suzuki quietly raised a hand with a meek look on his face.

“What?”

“It’s about the number of songs we’re doing at our concert for the cultural festival. Don’t you think 5 songs too much?”

They just decided on how many songs they’d perform at their meeting the other day, so what had happened? First of all, even though he said, “too much,” wasn’t 5 songs the same amount as last year?

Suzuki wryly smiled at Midori’s puzzled face and continued, “We wanna do it, too, y’know. Since it’ll be our last high school cultural festival.”

“Den…”

“It’s true, but we’re also seniors this year, aren’t we? Kuma and I are taking summer cram school courses and even Hiromichi has started job hunting, so I don’t think we’ll have that much time to practice.”

Kuma continued, taking over for Suzuki, “We talked about it with Hiromichi after the meeting. And we agreed to it cause we were caught up in the mood… Seriously, it’s our bad.”

What da heck is dis… He was in shock as if something had punched him in the head. But he couldn’t blame them because what they pointed out was “right.” At least, that’s what Midori thought. Even so, whether he could come to terms with it was another issue. Midori desperately spun ideas around in his head as he tried to search for loopholes. A concert dat’ll be impactful even if we have less songs… Oh!

There was a way. There was, but there was no doubt that it was a huge gamble.

The corners of Midori’s mouth lifted after a bit of hesitation, “Den let’s bring it down to 3 songs and since we’re at it, let’s make an original song, yeah?”

“What… doing something like an original song is pushing it.”

“He’s right. Let’s just do songs from your favorite band for all 3! Hiromichi’ll definitely agree to it, too.”

“…it’ll be fine if just 1 song is an original.” Midori refused to back down.

“Huh?!” Suzuki and Kuma both yelled. Their faces showed that they couldn’t believe him.

Midori’s determination nearly snapped in half from their reactions, but he continued to smile and said, “You said so, too, Suzuki. It’s our last high school cultural fes. Let’s end it big with this one song.”

“T-That’s easy for you to say, but who’s gonna compose and write the lyrics?”

“Me.”

A dead silence fell over them in that moment. Midori stared at them, his eyes asking, “What?”

Both sighed, “The fact that you’re an examinee student ain’t gonna change, either, Midori.”

“Didn’t you say that you failed the midterm for classical lit?”

“That’s right, when do your extra lessons start again?”

“…I think it’s from tomorrow?”

“Don’t cock your head like you don’t know!” Suzuki interjected.

Kuma broke into laughter while clapping his hands. He was probably exaggerating his reaction on purpose.

Midori shrugged as he felt the threads of tension that were stretched between them come apart, “Well, it’s gonna be like dat, so during extra lessons…”

Just as he was about to say that he would come to club practice late, Suzuki nodded without delay, “We got it, we’ll take a break from the club.”

“Huh? W-Wait a sec, we don’t gotta ‘specially take break or anything.”

“No, no, you should be focusing on your extra lessons. You don’t wanna repeat a year, right?”

“And Hiromichi said that he’ll be busy ‘till next week cause of his part-time job, so ain’t this timing good?”

Midori received a blow when Kuma backed up Suzuki with his support. What da heck, don’t just readily say the club will be takin’ a break…! Midori didn’t hide the fact that he was grouchy and sullenly pouted his lips. However, Midori himself was clearly the source of the problem so he couldn’t complain too much about it.

“Once extra lessons end, we’re gonna have another meetin’ ‘bout da cultural fes! Just you wait and see!”

“Yes, yes.”

★ ★ ★ ☆ ★ ★ ★

Extra lessons for classical literature taught by Akechi began the next day.

Midori wasn’t the only one in the class; there were other students that failed their midterms, too. Within those students was someone he didn’t expect.

W-Why is Narumi here…?

He thought he was imagining it at first, but the person sitting next to him was the real person herself. Though she missed class because of work, she wasn’t like Midori. She didn’t do things like falling asleep in class and it seemed like she always submitted her assignments on time. He couldn’t imagine her failing.

“Hey, Hamanaka, stop daydreaming and look at the blackboard.” He was lost in his thoughts when a warning came from Akechi from the front of the classroom.

Midori’s shoulders shook in surprise and, flustered, he averted his gaze from Sena. It couldn’t be helped that he was curious. He casted a glance at the seat next to him. Sena was sitting with her back straight and she was looking right at the blackboard. It didn’t seem like she noticed his gaze. She was attentively listening to Akechi’s explanation and every now and then she would write notes with her mechanical pencil on her printout.

…Dis is no good, I gotta be serious, too.

Once his attitude changed, time passed by quickly. Homework was then handed out, announcing the end of the lesson.

“If you still have any questions, come to the Language Prep Room,” Akechi said. He was the first to leave; some students remained in the classroom while others left.

It’s not dat weird if I talk to her now, right?

Midori pushed back his restless emotions and stood in front of Sena’s desk, “G-G-G-Good job today!”

“…Good job to you, too, Hamanaka.” Sena said with a soft voice, calling him by his name, as she smiled bashfully.

It immediately made his heart beat even quicker.

As if to further spurred by his energy, Midori’s mouth moved on its own, “Why’re ya in dis lesson?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, uh, I was thinkin’ dat you havin’ to take extra lessons is kinda unexpected.” She looked like she could study well and he couldn’t imagine her getting bad grades.

He continued to mumble to himself, causing Sena to lower her eyebrows in concern, “Actually, my credits for classical literature are in jeopardy.”

“O-Ooh, you did look like you’re busy wit work.”

Sena nodded slightly, “I’m also doing stuff like turning in extra homework for other subjects, but I was thinking that it might be better to be directly taught by a teacher. That’s why, this time, I had Mr. Akechi let me take the extra lessons.”

So serious! He didn’t say it out loud, but Sena seemed like she was too overly serious. He thought she was a hard worker, but she was even more of one than he had imagined.

Compared to dat, I wrote “I’ll go to university if I pass” on my career survey, ain’t I 1-dimensional?

“W-What about you…?”

“Me? I’m in da group dat always gets failing grades!” Somehow that came out more boastful than he intended, so much so that Midori wanted to hold his head in his hands.

Sena’s eyes widened, puzzled, then she giggled, “That’s not good if you’re always getting bad grades!”

Oh-Oh my gooood! She’s so cuteeeeee.

He was grateful to be able to see Sena’s smile in such close proximity, going, “Ahem, cough,” and clearing his throat. “W-Well, I plan on makin’ an effort on da quiz on da last day of extra lessons.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. ‘Cause if I don’t, I’ll end up havin’ to come ta school durin’ summer break… I can’t be wastin’ my last high school summer on extra lessons, right? I can’t, dat’d be hell!” He said, invigorated by his own passionate speech. He then noticed Sena looking like she wanted to say something. Midori cocked his head to the side and looked at her, “Hm?”

When he did so, Sena stared at him and slowly opened her mouth, “U-Um, if it’s alright with you, during summer break…” He didn’t hear the end of what she was trying to say.

Her smartphone began to vibrate where she left it on top of her desk. The oscillation was long, so, rather than being a text, it looked like it was a phone call.

“Oh, it’s my manager.” Sena told Midori, “Sorry,” and excused herself to take the call, “Hello? Good afternoon. Huh? Yes, extra lessons have already finished so it’s fine!”

Midori returned to his seat since it’d be bad for an outsider for himself to listen in on the conversation. He crammed his writing utensils and printouts on his desk into his bag and could tell that Sena was also beginning to clean up her belongings in the neighboring seat.

Even tho she just finished extra lessons, it’s work next, huh…

“It was moved up, yes? Rather than walking to the studio from the station, I think it may be better and more reliable to take a taxi… Oh, then I’ll be waiting by the rear gates.” Sena bowed slightly to the person over the phone, saying, “Please do so,” and ended her call.

“…You’re going to work after dis, right? Good luck.”

“T-Thank you!”

He said it. He was able to say it. His voice wasn’t shaking this time and Sena had replied with a smile.

Doesn’t dis mean we can have a nice conversation now when we couldn’t before?

Judging by her phone call, it seemed like she was in a rush and it wouldn’t be good to hold her up any further than he already had. He needed to end their conversation quickly.

He suddenly grabbed his bag and began to walk towards the door. However, he didn’t even walk three steps before Sena called out to him. He turned to look back at her and their eyes met. Her face flushed, “Um, that… about before…

Before? Oh, now dat she mentioned it, we were talkin’ bout what we’d be doin’ for summer break.

He stood still and waited, but Sena couldn’t quite get what she wanted to say out. Was it something that hard to say?

Midori was careful not to rush her and asked, in as gentle as a tone as possible, “Is there something wrong?”

“…S-Sorry, it’s nothing! S-See you tomorrow.”

“Y-Yeah…? See you tomorrow.”

Sena nodded, gripping her bag in her hand, and rushed past Midori. Through the parts in her hair, he could see her red ears.

Does Narumi have a fever or somethin’…?

He was thinking just a while ago that her face seemed red. Maybe that was the cause.

“Oh! Is that the latest issue?”

“Yeah, it is! The one that went on sale yesterday. I bought it since Sena is on the cover.” He could hear bright female voices in the hallway.

Once he heard Sena’s name, Midori stood and strained his ears to listen without realizing it.

“I heard that this is the first time a magazine reader model has been on the cover.”

“Isn’t that amazing, then?”

“Right! And she even has a special feature.”

“She’s getting tons of support now. She’s probably gonna do something like make her CD debut.”

“Personally, I’d want her to be in a drama.”

Midori felt like his heart was being squeezed as the girls talked. When he could no longer hear the two girls’ voices, he dragged himself down into a squat, “…Doin’ somethin’ like releasing a CD or bein’ in a drama, it’s like she’s a celebrity.”

If Haruki had been there, he would laugh and say, “She is a celebrity, y’know,” like he had before.

Even Midori realized that Sena was a celebrity. But he may have put brakes up somewhere in his mind so that he wouldn’t think so hard about the fact.

I mean, dere’s no helpin’ it.

“Narumi Sena” was someone who began work in the entertainment industry when she was a junior high schooler and, now, her popularity was on the rise. In comparison, “Hamanaka Midori” was just a high schooler you could find anywhere. What would happen if someone like him was in love with her? No matter how he thought about it, it was an “ill-matched love.”

…But I’ve already fallen in love, so dere’s no goin’ back.

Even if two people were well-matched, there was no guaranteed that they would fall in love with the other. If he wanted to make Sena look at him, he only needed to try his best.

In da first place, a word like “givin’ up” doesn’t exist in my dictionary!

Outside the window, the evening sun set. And yet it left behind a deep blue color in the sky. He absentmindedly thought that summer would soon come.

“It’d be nice if we could meet at least once durin’ da break.” Midori said, letting his weakness slip, as he couldn’t help but wryly smile.

He smacked his cheeks with both hands as if to encourage his spineless self.

“Be a man, Hamanaka Midori…!”

★ ★ ★ ☆ ★ ★ ★

His chance came sooner than he expected.

The next morning, Sena boarded the train at her usual time. Except, this time, she was by herself as, strangely, Akari was nowhere to be seen.

“May I sit next to you?”

“Go ahead!” Midori said out of reflex. He was in confusion. Sena’s words were whirling around in his head.

The seat to his right sunk a little, indicating that someone had sat down. Midori stiffly turned his head. What came flying into view was something that made him swallow his breath.

“…”

There was no way that he would be mistaken at this close of a distance. The person sitting next to him was Sena.

Huh? Wha? W-Wait, what? Dere are other seats completely open so why… He suddenly realized something. Wasn’t this actually a chance?

Midori secretly glanced at Sena from the corner of his eyes. Sena was looking down and gripping the hem of her skirt. She opened and closed her mouth as if there was something she was trying to say.

Maybe it’d be betta if I start da conversation first? His mouth became dry as he hastily tried to find something to talk about. As he did so, an announcement was heard inside the train. If he didn’t hurry, they’d arrive at their stop.

You’re gonna be a man, aren’t ya, Hamanaka Midori!

He tightly clenched his fists and lifted his head with determination. He took a deep breath and said, his throat trembling, “…can I have?”

“Huh?”

“Can I have your phone number?”

“Phone…” That was all that Sena murmured. He may have been too abrupt with his question. It was then that she giggled.

S-She’s laughin’ at me!?

Did he say something weird? Or was the way he said it really that bad? His face became red and even more hotter as he stressed about why she was laughing.

What he heard next was Sena’s joyful voice, “…I was thinking the same thing.” Sena bashfully smiled.

He saw her smile out of the corner of his eye. He was immediately overcome with an urge to yell, but it wouldn’t turn into sound.

Oh, geez, what da heck! She’s so cute… Midori bent forward in his seat and pressed his face hard into his bag.

“Wha, Hamanaka? What’s wrong?”

“…Thank you.” Even though this was so lame, it was better than letting her see his completely softened expression. That’s what he was thinking as he mumbled without moving an inch. His voice came out in a mumble, but Sena definitely should be able to hear it.

He took a deep breath then, slowly and quietly, looked at Sena from the corner of his eyes. By coincidence, Sena was also looking in his direction and their eyes met.

“!” Midori forgot how to breathe and stared at Sena.

Sena’s gaze wandered, like she was flustered by his gaze, but then she smiled. Though it had only been just one moment, her face had immediately become an obvious bright red.

I’ll definitely, definitely, contact her…! That was what Midori vowed in his heart as he gripped his smartphone.

This was his “ticket” to seeing Sena during the summer break after all.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ★ ★ ★

“Can I have your phone number?”

Sena felt an indescribable feeling when Midori asked for her number. She was happy because she had been determined to ask for his, too. It was as if they understood each other’s feelings and her heart beat rapidly from the thought.

But, after that day, time passed without them ever messaging each other at all. When they had exchanged numbers, they also sent each other messages like “Thanks,” and “Thank you,” but that had been their first and last exchange.

It’s kinda hard choosing the right time to do it…

If they were going to talk through an app, then she wanted to compose herself and properly think about how she was going to phrase her messages. But, with how work has been lately with no breaks in between, actually getting a hold of time was difficult. There was a photoshoot today, too. She had her phone in her hands numerous times, but their breaks would end before she could muster her strength and courage to text him.

“We’ll be taking a 10-minute break!” The staff member’s voice resounded throughout the studio.

Sena rushed up to her phone as she said, “Great work!”

I wonder if Hamanaka is busy now? When she looked at the clock in the studio, it was already past 9:00pm. He probably wasn’t asleep yet, but what if he was watching TV or working on their homework for their extra lessons? It was probably better to send him a text rather than call him.

“Sena, great job! You’re in great condition today, aren’t you?” Her manager, who had been gone until just a moment ago, said. She grinned and patted Sena’s shoulders.

“Thank you very much.”

“Well then, let’s go to the waiting room, shall we? I have some important news for you.” Her manager walked towards the waiting room without waiting for Sena’s reply.

She always went on about how, “You should communicate and have a good relationship with the staff,” and would often stay at the studio with them. Sena thought it was strange. But it looked like she had a private matter to discuss.

Her manager was entirely beaming with smiles, as expected of the “important news” she spoke of. “Just a while ago I had a call, you see, and I just heard about it, too.” She said with an energetic voice as she opened the door to the waiting room.

It was Sena’s first time seeing her manager, a veteran in the industry that raised countless stars, be this excited. This was most likely how great the news was.

Sena followed her into the room and asked, a little nervously, “Did something happen?”

“Actually… you passed the final screening process of the movie auditions we were talking about before!”

“R-Really!? Me?”

“Yes. You did great.” Her managed smiled. She patted Sena on the shoulders, making her stumble.

She couldn’t believe it. She was so shocked that there was no strength in her body.

“But! You don’t have the role of the heroine, but her best friend.”

“Huh? But, I…”

“I was told that the director nominated you for the role. He said that your smile was great.”

“…”

There were people that watched me properly at the auditions as well…

She had practiced vigorously since the day she decided to accept the auditions, but she had been uneasy while waiting for the results to be announced. There were many actors that usually appeared in dramas and movies at the audition as well as many play and musical actors. Although Sena was a part of the world of entertainment as a reader model, she had zero real acting experience.

Her manager had told her, “Let’s aim for the lead role!” and suggested auditioning for the role of the heroine, but she herself knew the best that she lacked the ability for it.

But I was even given a role… What do I do, I’m so happy.

“I was told that the filming will begin during summer break. You’ll only have one month but…”

“I’ll practice my acting even more until then!” She had yelled before she even realized what she was doing.

Her manager’s eyes widened in surprise, then she laughed, “Yes, that’ll be great. Really, congrats.”

Sena’s voice wouldn’t come out and it took all her strength to just nod. It was gradually beginning to hit her and even now she wanted to run off somewhere in celebration.

I’ll be able to act again. This time, I’ll do more…! She couldn’t control herself. It was as if how nervous she had been at the auditions was a lie.

“This means that this summer will be even more busy than ever.” Her manager said as she took her phone from the pocket of her suit jacket, “Yesterday, the details about the magazine sponsored event came in, but, like we thought, it looks like some things about the stage have been completely revised from last year’s. Seems like they want to do singing performances and skits on stage.”

“I see, so it’s like we thought.” Sena had heard from the editors beforehand on the photoshoot set. Everyone was excited about it and she was looking forward to it as a participant. Although she was a guest, it didn’t mean that she would just show up at the event and do nothing.

“Putting time aside to practice will be even more necessary than last year.”

“It looks like it… well, this may be precisely the right time to say it.” Her last sentence came out as if she were talking to herself. Sena cocked her head to the side, asking what she meant, and her manager said with a serious expression, “I think you’re well aware of it even if I don’t say it… but right now is an important period for you. Whether you will end your career as just a reader model and progress forward; this summer will be a turning point in your career.”

She was unable to reply immediately. It wasn’t like something unexpected had been said that she couldn’t form words properly. Like her manager said, Sena was quite aware of it. She accepted jobs outside of magazine shoots to jump past the limitations of being a reader model. However, now, favorable winds that she had never experienced before were blowing in her direction. She was unmistakably approaching the crossroads of “whether to end her career as a reader model and progress forward.”

However, but… really? Me?

She had been aiming for that “point beyond” a reader model since who-knows-when. However, her sight of that point had been faint and she had thought that her aspirations were only just aspirations. Now, the fact that that dream may be within her grasps was something that she couldn’t immediately believe. She had, after all, thought that that dream had been unreachable.

“Of course, during this period you’ll have to work even harder than you have before to do your jobs, practice various things, and to improve yourself or you won’t last. This is also the most important point but…” Her manager quietly took a deep breath. Sena waited nervously for her to continue, “From now on, please act more with an awareness as a pro. Although you should also be acting as such during work, please think that everyone will be watching your daily life as well.”

“…Because we don’t know who will be watching wherever I go, right?” This was something that her manager told her constantly. Sena nodded in understanding.

The expression on her manager’s face remained serious as she continued, “That’s right. I won’t tell you not to fall in love, but even if you get a boyfriend, for now be careful so that the people around you stay unaware. There will be times when that will only trouble your partner.”

A shock ran through Sena as if a dictionary had been thrown in her face. Since falling in love with him, she hadn’t even considered that she might trouble Midori. Of course, it was just a possibility, but she couldn’t say otherwise either.

…It’s a secret love.

Once it’s summer, she won’t be able to see Midori for a while.

She felt lonely thinking that, but, on the contrary, maybe it was for the better. If she had invited him out in the classroom after their lesson a few hours ago, “If it’s alright with you, would you like to go out somewhere during the summer break with the two of us?” it would’ve been terrible to cancel on him.

Now is the time for me to focus on work! It’ll be fine like this, right…

Really? Will it really be okay? You won’t regret it?

Questions jumped around in her mind like pebbles thrown into a river. She was unable to answer them even though they were questions about herself. Her gaze dropped. Until when will the “for now” that her manager spoke of end? It may even continue until after her high school graduation. When she thought of that, she became restless.

She wanted to invite Midori to go out somewhere during the summer break. That was what she truly felt.

Just once… If it’s just once, wouldn’t it be fine? She should go out in a disguise so she doesn’t cause trouble for Midori and isn’t discovered. Then she’d be able to make good memories in her last year of high school.

Sena tightly gripped the hem of her dress. So that the love she felt for Midori wouldn’t overflow any more than it already has.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ★ ★ ★

The closing ceremony for their first semester was on Friday.

The labor of cleaning classrooms and bringing textbooks home continued. Midori was already exhausted. He survived his final exam at the beginning of July without failing, but the discord in the pop music club continued and was the cause of his anxiety.

However, what caused the most grief in Midori’s mind more than anything else was his own cowardice.

In da end, I couldn’t message her last night eitheeeeeer….

A sigh, unexpected of such a delightful morning, spilled from Midori’s sloppily opened mouth. The reason behind it was the fact that he was still unable to even call or text Sena after exchanging numbers with her. Last night, too, he had paced around his room indecisively while holding phone, so much that his parents were becoming exasperated from the living room on the 1st floor.

I wonda if Narumi’s takin’ da train today?

Sena seemed like she was busy with work like usual since he hadn’t seen her on the train on either Wednesday or Thursday. She had also gone home early during the middle of the day on both Monday and Tuesday so he hasn’t been able to have a “conversation-like” conversation with her for the most part.

On top of that, summer break was starting from tomorrow.

He thought it would be nice if he could at least see her once during the break, but it was turning out to be difficult after all. He wanted to message her to check her schedule, but he didn’t have the courage to press either the call or text button. Only time passed by.

The speed of the train dropped little by little.

…Oh, it’s almost 8:07, huh?

The train entered the 2nd train platform right on time today as well.

I wonda if Narumi’s takin’ da train today? Midori, spurred on by both his expectation and nervousness, lifted his head at the same time the door opened.

She was there. This morning she was together with Akari.

His heart leapt a beat when he found Sena.

Bzz. Bzz.

He didn’t know whether it was perfect timing when he felt his phone vibrate from his pants pocket. He didn’t have evidence, but he had a feeling.

Midori didn’t hesitate as he took out his phone and checked the screen.

I was right! It’s from Narumi.

He opened the app as his heartbeat quickened, then opened the chat.

“Can we meet next Sunday?”

He casually glanced at the girls next to him after checking the screen twice. Sena was standing in front of the door, her phone gripped in her hand, and she was staring intently at the screen.

Aren’t her ears and neck red?

Midori froze, his mouth half open, at the unexpected sight.

Now dat I think ‘bout it, if I rememba, dat time during da makeup lessons for classical lit, too, she was…

Didn’t Sena also mention “summer break” that time as well?

Maybe, just maybe?

I mean, I’m gettin’ way too ahead of myself, ain’t I.

He repeated “calm down, self!” over and over to himself in his mind. He only exchanged numbers with Sena. He may have started progressing from just a classmate to a friend, but he was only just at the starting line now.

She’s only askin’ whether we can meet on Sunday and she might’ve invited otha people too!

Midori shook his head from side to side and sent a reply, “Of course.”

“Read” immediately appeared next to it. As soon as he saw the notification, another text came from Sena.

“Would you like to go to the amusement park?”

Amusement park? Amusement park!? Oh, wait, I see, I musta misread it. His head wasn’t working properly since it was still morning. Midori rubbed his eyes and looked at his phone again, Are ya serious? Amusement park? It really says amusement park…

Midori was still in disbelief and sent a sticker that said “W-W-W-What!?” However, immediately afterwards, he tapped his fingers on the keyboard with ease, “I’ll go!”

“Yaaay ☆ I’m looking forward to it ♡.”

Midori sent another sticker while hiding his wide grin with one hand. Right when it said “read,” Midori nonchalantly looked to the side at Sena. When he did so, Sena also looked up from her phone and turned to look back at him.

Their eyes met, only for a moment.

They immediately turned their heads away from each other at the same time.

Even tho we’re in front of each other, we’re havin’ a conversation with stickers…

Sena was definitely thinking that as well and laughed at the thought. It was so embarrassing and Midori couldn’t control his cheeks.

Somehow, dis is, ain’t we kinda got a good feelin’ going on?

Midori leaned his head against the window with a tap while gripping his phone in his hand. The clear blue sky and pure white clouds stretched across the window.

Their final high school summer was just around the corner.

#honeyworks #kinyoubi no ohayou #nichiyoubi no himitsu #a good morning on friday #narumi sena #translation #rei's translations #vocaloid novel #kokuhaku yokou renshuu #akechi saku #hamanaka midori

18 notes · View notes

penumbra-rp · 5 years ago

Photo

Congratulations Ricci, you have been accepted for the role of Marlene Mckinnon!

Thirty’s a dirty word for a young woman. Simultaneously, she’s failed to grow up yet succeeds in decaying. Grief doesn’t die, and nor does guilt, but kinder feelings perish slowly, driving Marlene to sigh through Order meetings, feeling hope’s rotting carrion reek a new stench of cynicism. She admits to nobody that she doesn’t believe in any of it. Still, she tries to cling to their ideals, praying that she might earn something for herself as a witness to the sincerity of their hope, waiting for a spark of life to reawaken amidst their earnestness of their idealism.

Admin Becky: Marlene has shaken off her past and shed the weight of perfectionism like a creature determined to find a new, more comfortable skin to grow into. Her stubborn cynicism will undoubtedly help keep the Order grounded, whilst those who dream of cutting corruption out of society may provide her with sparks of hope to alight the kindling of blind rebellion in her chest. I adore how she has formed a sense of maternal kinship towards all those looking to do the same, turning her into something of a figurehead, a beacon, for all those who are lost in the world as she had once been. It makes her so perfect for the Leaky Bucket, her sharpness enough to defend a place that is much a home to some people as it is a refuge.

Please check out our checklist for joining Penumbra.

01. Out of Character

NAME: Ricci

AGE: 20

YOUR BIRTHDAY: 01/25/99

PRONOUNS: she/her

TIMEZONE: GMT+8

02. In Character

CHARACTER: Marlene McKinnon

CHARACTER’S PRONOUNS: she/her

FACECLAIM: I’d like to play Sonoya Mizuno because having no titties is integral to Marlene as a person.

CHARACTER’S BIRTHDAY: 05/27/89

PERSONALITY:

[ + ] Diligent - Though most may assume such based on the careless with which she carries herself, Marlene isn’t lazy, just selective about what matters to her. When she finds something she cares about, she puts her all into making it work. Seeing the fruit of heartful labor is incredibly rewarding for her.

[ + ] Understanding - An unexpectedly sharp mind accompanies a secretly tender heart, and the combination allows Marlene to easily see situations through the eyes of others… when she wants to.

[ + ] Maternal - Deny it she may, but behind her mask of recklessness and flippancy is a woman that cares deeply about the people in her life. She notices that Order members are getting younger and younger and is overwhelmed with the desire to protect them, wanting to save them from suffering from the same cynicism she regards the world with.

[ + ] Bold - Whether it’s feigned or not is up to debate, but Marlene carries herself with a certain kind of confidence, unwilling to expose her vulnerabilities to anybody she isn’t close to. She isn’t afraid to take risks if it’s for something she cares about or believes in.

[ + ] Self-destructive - Her past history with family deaths and abandonment has left residues of self-loathing within her. Though not explicitly self-hating, Marlene occasionally regards her life with very little care, preferring thrill and adrenaline over her own welfare and safety.

[ + ] Hedonistic - When the working day is done: girls – they wanna have fun. Girls just wanna have fun. That’s all they really want.

[ + ] Irresponsible - It’s the first thing anybody notices. Laid-back and free-spirited as she is, Marlene prefers not to take herself, or life, seriously, preferring to face the tragedies of the world with a sharp wit and a strange, vulgar sense of humor. If life’s a joke, be the first to laugh, she says.

[ + ] Turbulent - Though never easily angered, Marlene is prone to bouts of mania and sadness, her emotions as ever-shifting as the earth’s climate ( thank you, Carrow energies ). She is driven less by ambitions and more by impulses, riding the next new wave of excitement whenever it comes.

BRIEF BULLET POINT BIO:

- Marlene McKinnon is twenty-six years old when her mother takes her own life. Midori, she says, nervous fingers flicking the corners of a page she has yet to read as her gaze lifts to meet the pairs of eyes stare, with scrutiny or with pity, at the newly-orphaned woman standing behind the funeral parlor podium. It should be easy to talk about a woman so many had loved (West End loses its angel to heaven, the obituary had said,) — but Marlene knows her mother has never been one for platitudes. So she tries harder. Midori was a great woman. A great mother. A pause. A breath. There was this time, when I was a kid, I remember — she starts, and doesn’t finish, because in the precise moment Marlene scours her mind for a happy memory, she comes up empty.

- After half a lifetime of striving to crawl out of her mother’s shadow, it is ironic that death makes Midori’s already pervasive presence near inescapable. Tabloid writers and so-called journalists hound Marlene with questions and interview requests in some futile attempt at digging up whatever was left of the story her mother failed to bury. Marlene denies them any answers. The facts they pry out of less trustworthy sources are somehow mostly correct: Her husband’s death years ago had devastated her, but the marriage was tumultuous. She has not spoken to her daughter in more than five years. She left her with nothing.

- Nothing material. That much is true. The pain of abandonment stings but the blow hardly hurts her financially. In fact, she’s proud to say that in half a decade of estrangement, Marlene has built herself a place she could call her own. London isn’t the kindest to neophyte businesswomen, yet the Leaky Bucket has only blossomed under Marlene’s management, slowly growing into a home for scrappy university students and young adult delinquents, far rowdier than the upper class crowd her mother once surrounded herself with. It’s chaos, but it’s hers. Sometimes, her self-made success bears fruit to kinder daydreams. In the best of her imagination, she gets to greet Midori’s disgusted scowl with a grin and a sardonic, “Love me yet, ma?” In her worst, it’s Midori that smiles. The woman’s expression softens at the sight of her daughter’s work, her small lips forming words she would never have spoken outside of this contrived daydream: Marlene, I’m so proud of you.

- Midori leaves no will, no note. But all mothers, in some way or another, leave their daughters an inheritance of scars.

- What is hard to love is even harder to grieve. If the world remembers Midori for her voice, Marlene remembers her for her silence. Wide-eyed and love-starved, a child Marlene had begged for her mother’s affection in the only language the woman seemed to speak: achievements. Thus began a childhood of ballet and piano and voice lessons she hardly enjoyed but felt she needed to pursue, insatiate heart seizing whatever scraps of love she might find in her mother’s smallest of smiles. The harder she tried, the harder it got, because the more she strove to become her mother, the more she learned to accept the impossibility of growing into her mother’s insufferable perfection. The child will spend ballet recitals staring at two empty seats, silently praying for an audience she knows will not come. When Midori does come home, exhausted from hours upon hours of theatre rehearsals, Marlene will have her Clair de Lune rendition be dismissed with a cold frown and the words: You can do better. Outside her family, she will receive more appreciation, but her efforts will no doubt invite the disappointed gazes of her mother’s peers, matched with hushed remarks that the demons lurking within Marlene’s mind will later on replay: not as talented, not as charming, not as electric, not as beautiful, not as poised — she’s not her mother.

- Grief, complicated and disquieting, writhes within her bones. “My ma’ named me after Marlene Dietrich,” the present Marlene half laughs as she addresses the funeral visitors. “Guess she knew I was gonna grow up wanting to wear suits and fight Nazis.” This is the the truth, but not the one her gut feels it needs to spit out. Family, she thinks, is synonymous with fracture. Once, she was content with neglecting the word’s brokenness, but death shatters it past the point of repair. Stammering out a eulogy feels like choking on the shards of whatever it was she failed to fix. Inside, the fragments wound her. Later on, the tabloids will speculate the reason behind Midori McKinnon’s death and come to ill-founded conclusions that a self-loathing Marlene will find herself agreeing with: It was her daughter’s fault.

- The desire to become worse than the bad daughter her parents seemed to believe her to be exacerbated during her college years, ignited by the unexpected invitation to a selective extra-curricular club headed by a certain Albus Dumbledore. Eighteen years old and already far too jaded to fully believe in their fanciful ideals of change, Marlene accepted the invitation half-heartedly, less for their causes and more for the new warmth of knowing she belonged somewhere. Still, in their presence, she found herself braver. The long stirring spark of anger finally turned flame, triggering a new pattern of explosive dinner rows with her father, which pushes an already silent Midori deeper and deeper into her shell. The Order of the Phoenix brought about a new era of rebellions: against corporate giants, against her family, against expectations.

- Mostly, she rebelled against herself. Graffitied a body that failed to be perfect, needling ink stains over skin she always loathed wearing, singed her insides with liquor and passed-around party pills. Here is the revolution against the girl who got it all wrong. Staring at the mirror, she made peace with the woman behind the glass — an unwanted daughter who will make herself repulsive if the only alternative was accepting that she was unlovable. Michaelangelo said: I saw an angel in the marble in and carved until I set him free. With the new knowledge that she was not made of marble and possessed no inner angel, Marlene stopped carving herself in her mother’s shape.

- Too many scandals. Too many arrests. They told her she couldn’t come home anymore. She wanted to tell them it never felt like a home anyway, but her anger was quieter than her grief. The stammering of her heart and her eyes’ threat of tears reminded her later that the daughter who craved their love hadn’t died in a revolution fire as she suspected. She just became quieter. The urge to beg for their acceptance was too loud to ignore, but she willed herself to forget it, and with a pocket full of too much borrowed money and her sights on a burnt wreckage, she set off to carve herself a place of her own.

-Only years into adulthood does Marlene learn to blame herself less. It happens sometimes. Some people are built with their atoms all wrong, their fuses too short, their gears too rusty. Brilliant as the public claimed her mind was, to those close to her, it seemed Midori’s brain was short of the ability to process happiness, to register hope. Perhaps it’s merely genetics, or the high stress of nightly West End performances, or perhaps her mother, and her mother’s mother, and every mother that preceded, had all starved their daughters of love — this is their heirloom, this absence — and none of them learned to give what they never received.

- The child Marlene’s dream of becoming her mother sees fruit later on, albeit in all the worst ways. Her eyes are her mother’s. The way they see the world in sepia tones. Her heart is her mother’s. The way it feels bone-hollow and restless in its hunger for colour. Her exhaustion. Her cynicism. Her loneliness. When she hears the news of her mother’s passing, all she can think of is that college summer spent driving a breaknecking Volvo down vacant roads if only to have that adrenaline-roused daydream of collision burst against all her empty.

- Thirty’s a dirty word for a young woman. Simultaneously, she’s failed to grow up yet succeeds in decaying. Grief doesn’t die, and nor does guilt, but kinder feelings perish slowly, driving Marlene to sigh through Order meetings, feeling hope’s rotting carrion reek a new stench of cynicism. She admits to nobody that she doesn’t believe in any of it. Still, she tries to cling to their ideals, praying that she might earn something for herself as a witness to the sincerity of their hope, waiting for a spark of life to reawaken amidst their earnestness of their idealism.

- The younger Order members, with willingness to throw their lives away for impossible ambitions, terrify her to no end. But they awaken something in her, a new protective instinct, a maternal spark. She wants to save them from her fate, defend their youthful optimism from whatever threatens it. Family, she has always believed, is synonymous with fracture. As the Leaky Bucket bustles with the liveliness of young rebels, they sweep up the shards of old and construct a new definition, one that allows hope to blossom, slowly and organically, within Marlene. If she cannot save the world, she will protect every bold soul that has the audacity to try.

INTERVIEW

i. How do you feel about your current occupation?

Marlene lays her back against the wall of the Leaky Bucket’s storefront, offering a wide grin to the video camera in front of her. Turning away, she crosses one leg, plucks a cigarette out of a pack tucked in the small pocket of ripped black jeans, and sets the tail end ablaze with a lighter, less because she feels like having a drag and more because it might look cool on video.

Perhaps it doesn’t, but the inhale of smoke feels good anyway. “I feel incredibly lucky. Enjoying what you do isn’t a privilege everyone is afforded.” Marlene folds her arms, letting her cigarette dangle between two fingers. “My Ma’ used to say that life in late capitalism is like a Japanese claw machine. All the opportunities are laid out in front of you, seemingly within reach, but the chances of getting anything are actually slim to fuckin’ none.” Her mother never actually said that, but the metaphor was too good to go to waste, and attributing her own words to somebody else makes her seem far less pretentious than she feels at the moment. A knife of a smile cuts through her face. “So let’s fuck up all the claw machines, yeah?”

ii. What song would you say describes yourself?

The drums come first. Then, a single chord. Then, the abrupt, unwanted stab of truth — MY GOD, I’M SO LONELY, SO I OPEN THE —

“Off the top of my head?” Marlene laughs a little, a flippant shrug rolling off her shoulders. “No Scrubs?”

Despite her words, a different song plays in her mind without her warranting, echoing from the memory of having it on repeat weeks earlier, a day before her monthly cycle was due. In her hormone-induced despair, Marlene had drowned herself in cheap wine and the honesty of an annoyingly catchy pop song, all at the expense of any perceived rationality. No, she forces her mind to sing, I don’t want your number, no— nobody, nobody, nobody — I ain’t gonna give you mine and no — NOBODY, NOBODY, NOBODY —

The Marlene of memory sang along as she stared at the bathroom mirror, dragging cotton pads over the streaks of mascara running down her cheeks. Through her tears, she laughed about the melodrama of it all — the runny makeup, the snot on her nose, her being alone, her naked reflection, her illogical emotions — angry and amused when the more practical side of her mind had made an unglamorous acknowledgment of Maybelline eyeliner’s waterproof quality and interrupted the movie-worthiness of her misery, all while she adjusted the seriousness of her expression to validate herself to a nonexistent voyeur that might have found something poetic in her PMS. “I’ve been big and small,” she blubbered through snot and laughs and half-breaths, “And big and small… and big and small… again and…” And still, nobody wants me. Still, nobody… wants… me… “Give me one good movie kiss… and I’ll be…”

NOBODY! NOBODY! NOBODY! NOBODY! NOBODY! NOBODY! NOBODY! NOBODY! NOBODY! NOBODY! NOBODY! NOBODY!

The Marlene of present tilts her head, leaning back to take a long drag of her cigarette. “Nothing comes to mind, really.”

iii. Does reputation matter to you?

The chorus of tiny Mitskis fall silent in her mind as a new thought interrupts their melody, prompting her fingers to click against her skin with one abrupt snap. “Bad Reputation!” she says, grin falling open in excitement. “Joan Jett. What a fuckin’ banger. Bit cliche,” she adds, dismissing the notion of her own predictability with an expression of mild disdain and a noncommittal wave of her free hand, “but succinct enough to answer both questions. You could say it’s two birds with one Joan.” Marlene punctuates her sentence with a laugh that rings hollower by the second, ever mortified by her own cheesiness, then raises her chin to greet the camera with a wide, self-loathing grin. “Edit that out or I’ll stab somebody.”

iii. …Does reputation matter to you?

The breath she inhales comes out through her nose as a quiet chuckle. “What a unique question. Genuinely.” Her palm strikes her chest, above her heart. “I don’t think I’ve ever been asked this before.”

Marlene’s smile fades as she presses the tip of her cigarette to her lips. After one long drag, she exhales, letting a now pensive gaze rest on the wisps of dissipating smoke.

It’s hard to be honest when it comes at the risk of being known. Past the smoke tendrils, Marlene’s brown eyes linger on the camerawoman in front of her. Small ashes rain from the tail end of her cigarette. An expression of uncharacteristic earnestness sweeps over her features. “It’s a bit…” she trails, biting her lip. “Complicated.”

If thirty years of life taught Marlene anything, it’s that most women spent their existences doing less growing, and more outgrowing. It’s a hasty generalization that she draws from the narrow pool of her own experiences, but sometimes, she thinks it’s true. Sometimes she looks at women and tries to guess what they hate about themselves. What they like, too. The camera operator is pudgy and small and square-jawed, but she carries herself with confidence behind the lens, as if she knows she belongs there. The girl is beautiful. Marlene wonders if she can tell it to herself without doubt.

She thinks of a younger Marlene, sixteen and tightening a belt around her waist as far as it could go to create proportions that would distract from the absence in her chest. This younger Marlene is overcritical of her reflection: narrow eyes, a flat nose, small lips. Reputations, Marlene thinks, stem from appearances, and appearances are all any girl is ever taught to care about. I think all women grow up hating themselves, she doesn’t say.

“The world we live in carries far too much prejudice,” she says instead, though she wonders if serious words carry any weight if they are said by a person that seems to never take anything seriously. Marlene furrows her eyebrows. “I’m a woman of colour and a lesbian. You get things like catcalling, sexism, homophobia, microaggressions. Not all the time, obviously — people aren’t as bad as we make them out to be — but you have all these unpleasant experiences scattered throughout your existence.”

The younger Marlene doesn’t look anyone in the eye. She keeps her head down, afraid that if anyone looks close enough, they’ll discover the dirty secret lurking in her gaze. In the rare occasions where one does find it, it’s not bad, because they’re ecstatic to unearth a glimpse the same irreverence reflected in somebody else’s. The younger Marlene lets another girl slip a hand under her Catholic school uniform and finds that her touch makes her hate herself less, but the thought of being seen sucks the air out of her lungs harder than a belt tied too tightly around her waist.

“Women like me,” she says, drawing her words out slowly as not to let any useless emotions spill out, “all we have to do is exist, and people of more small-minded worlds automatically draw their own conclusions.” Feeling a new load weighing down her shoulders, Marlene shrugs. “We’re born with bad reputations.”

She doesn’t know what she can do for the world. She doesn’t know how to pry the hatred out of women. How to help them outgrow the unnecessary need to be beautiful. She thinks of other, younger, smaller Marlenes out there, wants to teach them to laugh at the absence of mass on their chests and point instead to the pulse heaving against it — there, she will tell them. That’s the most beautiful part of you.

And she thinks of the Marlenes who are afraid of this pulse and what it wants to love. Her heart swells with the urge to save them, but she doesn’t know how. If she could build a world where love was easier, she would. “Does it matter to me? I like to pretend it doesn’t. But I know —“ she pauses, nervous, afraid of being misconstrued, and wills every bit of sincerity to leak through her words. “I know I don’t want anybody else to suffer. So it matters.”

iv. What is your relationship with your parents like?

With a scoff of relief, Marlene decides that her quota for serious answers has been met. “My Da’s Catholic. My Ma’s Asian. I’m a clinically depressed raging homosexual with sixteen tattoos, five piercings, two terminated pregnancies, three previous arrests, zero university diplomas, an alcohol business, a nicotine problem, and a mild to mildly severe addiction to being a little bit of a cunt.” The corner of her mouth curls into a small smirk. Marlene turns to the camera, shooting a wink that brims with both impishness and affection. “Naturally, I’m their pride and joy.”

v. What languages can you speak?

A length of sleek black hair falls over her face as Marlene throws her head down, hand hovering above her mouth to conceal the quiet laugh of a scoff that escapes her throat. “Trickiest question that’s been asked thus far.” Leaning back, Marlene raises an eyebrow, mouth quirked into a flippant smile. “Because I’m getting this sinking feeling there’s a secretly correct answer, and if I don’t give it, the Duolingo Owl will find my address and set my house on fire.”

vi. If your home was on fire and you could only save one item, what would you choose?

Brown eyes widen in mild horror. “…Russian For Beginners.”

vii. Which Hogwarts University faculty did you study at? The Gryffindor School of Applied Science, the Ravenclaw School of Humanities, the Slytherin School of Social Science, or the Hufflepuff School of Art?

“When I was younger, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, just that I wanted to do something good. So Environmental Science.” The fact that Marlene McKinnon studied in Gryffindor surprises a lot of people. The fact that she never finished the course surprises less. “It’s funny, because I think I did a lot more harm than good. In my second year I ended up dating someone in the non-renewable energy industry. I cheated on her — not my best moment — and it pissed her off — understandably so — and long story short, I guess it’s half my fault that there’s now a hole in the ozone layer in the shape of my pussy.”

vix. What is your social media username?

“I don’t want strangers on my personal accounts but —“ Marlene pauses to snag a slip of paper from her pocket, reading off a spiel she had prepared moments ago. “‘Follow The Leaky Bucket on Instagram at Instagram-Dot-Com-Slash-Capital-T-The-Dot-Capital-L-Leaky-Capital-B-Bucket for a chance to access our secret menu.’” Throwing her hand to her forehead in one lazy salute, Marlene turns to the camera and offers a smile and one last farewell wink. “And review us on Yelp, while you’re at it.”

#accepted

0 notes

missduplicities · 3 years ago

Text

Chapter 47 (Double Birthday pt. 5)

Time had stopped for both of them, but not for the rest, apparently. They didn’t know how long they had been kissing, but neither of them wanted to stop. Unfortunately, they were interrupted by a phone call on Eunha’s phone.

“It’s Ji-Eun,” she said as she saw her friend’s name on the screen.

“Don’t answer,” Taehyung mumbled, kissing her on the cheek repeatedly.

“I have to,” she said with a chuckle, succeeding at getting away from him to answer the phone. “Hi, honey,”

“Hi, love,” Ji-Eun said. “Everything alright? We’ve been looking for you,”

“Yeah, everything good,” Eunha said, quickly looking over Taehyung. “We needed some air, so we went for a walk. What is it?”

“We’re singing happy birthday to the girls in a minute. Jimin is bringing the cakes,”

“Oh, we’ll be right there. Don’t start without us!”

“Alright,”

“They’re waiting for us to blow the candles,” Eunha explained.

“It’s not their birthday anymore,” Taehyung complained, annoyed to be interrupted at what he had been waiting for.

“It’s still their party, so behave,” Eunha smiled fondly at him, finding his tantrum endearing. “We should go back then,”

Eunha held out her hand to him and he took it. When she started walking, he forced her to stop by tugging her arm.

“What is it?” She asked.

“You’re gorgeous,” he said, looking at her straight in the eyes. Eunha tried hard not to blush, but her red hair was only making it more visible.

“Thanks,” she mumbled. “We really should go,”

“Eunha, are we dating?” Taehyung wished he didn’t ask that way, but the words left his mouth before he could even process the thought. “I mean… Do you… Do you want us to?”

“Can I be really honest?” she asked, not knowing his heart stopped beating and he couldn’t breathe for a minute. “That’s the only thing I’m sure I want,”

Taehyung could breathe again; she continued.

“But…”

“But?” He asked, getting anxious.

“I don’t want to share anniversary dates with Jungkook and Midori, in case they’re dating now,” Eunha admitted, making him laugh. “I know it’s ridiculous, but-”

“No, it isn’t,” he said with a smile on his face. “I completely understand,”

“So… why don’t you ask me again in a couple days?” he couldn’t tell if she was joking (she wasn’t).

“Only if you promise you’ll say yes,”

“Hm… we’ll see,” she joked. “Until then, we’re just friends, right?”

“Friends that kiss each other, right?” he asked, making her laugh this time.

“Not in front of our other friends,”

“Good enough,” Taehyung said. They started walking back towards the house, holding hands and sharing complicit looks. They were glad neither Jungkook nor Midori was outside anymore, so they didn’t ask any questions. Eunha turned around to make sure no one was looking, and she didn’t need to say anything else for him to understand what she was expecting. Taehyung grabbed her waist, pulling her close, sealing the distance between their lips. Eunha laced her hands behind his neck, kissing him with a rush of excitement that was going to last long. When Taehyung stopped, it was her this time who wasn’t happy about it, but they needed to go back to the party.

“Alright, so, crossing the door we’ll pretend this didn’t happen, right?” Taehyung asked, looking from her eyes to her lips.

“Yeah,” Eunha said, feeling dizzy.

“Cool,”

“Okay,” Eunha opened the door before he could do any other move, and she walked straight to her friends with Taehyung following close behind.

“Everything alright?” Namjoon asked; they bumped into him as soon as they crossed the door. Taehyung became nervous for some reason, and ran away to the bathroom, avoiding a potential interrogation.

“Hi, yeah,” Eunha said with a shy smile. “I got a headache, so we went for a walk. Where are the birthday girls?”

“Kitchen,” Namjoon gave her his usual gentle smile.

“There are not many people left,” Eunha said as she and Namjoon made their way to the kitchen. When they arrived, they saw Jimin and Seokjin helping with the girls’ cakes, trying to turn on the candles.

“This doesn’t work,” Jimin said, getting frustrated with the lighter. “Do we have matches?”

“I think I still have some,” Midori said as she walked to the counters, trying to reach the top. Jungkook came in to help, of course, taking some of them by surprise when he grabbed Midori’s waist and effortlessly lifted her so she could reach the matches. What really surprised them was Midori’s reaction, or, in this case, the lack of it. She didn’t complain or cursed at him for touching her, instead, she thanked him with an almost shy smile before giving Jimin the matches.

“How is it going, Mochi?” Eunha asked Sooah as she put one arm around her neck. “Are you enjoying getting old?”

“I can’t complain,” she said with a smile. Jimin was still struggling with one of the candles, while Sooah enjoyed the concentration on his face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just needed some air. I’m fine,” she assured quickly as she saw Sooah begin to worry about her. “I got to spend some time alone with Taehyung, so I can’t complain either,”

“Did you guys get to talk?” Sooah asked.

“Uhm, not much,” Eunha said, fighting with all her strength not to start smiling like an idiot. “But we enjoyed each other’s company,”

At that moment, Taehyung entered the kitchen next to Yoongi and Hoseok. Judging from their look, Eunha could tell they were still oblivious to what had happened between them outside just a couple minutes ago. When Eunha and Taehyung accidentally exchanged looks, both of them blushed a little and quickly tried to play it off. Jimin (with the help of Seokjin) finally turned on the sparkly candles for both cakes, and they instantly started singing happy birthday to the girls. Jimin couldn’t stop taking pictures and videos of his girlfriend, which was making her nervous. Midori was also nervous, for her own reasons, so she tightly held Sooah’s hand until they finished singing happy birthday. Some of Midori’s friends approached to congratulate her, so Jungkook made sure to stay right next to her the whole time. Jimin and Hoseok seemed to be pretty popular, both with girls and boys who followed them around all the time and tried to make conversation. Jimin succeeded at escaping from them to get some time alone with Sooah, taking her to dance.

“Is it me or is Jimin enjoying Sooah’s birthday a little bit too much?” Eunha asked Yoongi, looking over her best friends giggling and kissing as they danced.

“He’s been in a great mood since they came back from the picnic,” Namjoon said.

“What picnic?” Eunha asked.

“He planned a whole romantic picnic with the mountain view,” Yoongi explained, slightly making fun of him.

“That’s so cute!” Eunha happily said. Taehyung looked at her, just to confirm she wasn’t making fun of his best friend and that she, in fact, thought a picnic was a romantic plan. “I mean, he’s been in a great move since he came home before sunrise to cuddle with her on bed,”

“You’re such a snitch!” Yoongi jokingly pushed Eunha’s arm.

“Is that even allowed?” Ji-Eun asked, only half-joking.

“It’s not like we have lots of rules,” Eunha said. “Besides, isn’t Jimin like our fifth roommate?”

“It’s not Jimin I’m worried about,” Ji-Eun said. Taehyung’s neck almost snapped as he quickly turned to look at her, worried she meant him. He was thankful no one noticed, they were all looking at Jungkook and Midori. Jungkook was firmly standing next to Midori as she said goodbye to some of her friends. When some of her guy friends approached, he kindly reminded them he was still there by grabbing her by the waist.

“You’re right,” Eunha said. “We need to discuss the rules,”

“It’s not like they won’t sneak out to our place,” Taehyung said, looking over them.

“It’s not like she doesn’t own a whole house they can sneak to,” Yoongi reminded them. “You know, that’s something I didn’t miss,”

“What?” Seokjin asked, finally joining them with a newly open bottle of beer. “Hormones?”

“Well, to put it shortly, yeah,” Yoongi sighed.

“Come on, Yoongi-ah,” Seokjin laughed. “You were just like that a couple years ago. Poor Namjoonie always came asking me to help find you and Hoseok,”

“If we learned to be sneaky that’s thanks to you,” Taehyung said, also laughing at the memories. “I mean, Jimin and Jungkook learned well, right?”

“Ooh, so Yoongi and Hoseok were the trouble makers?” Eunha asked.

“When it comes to girls, yeah, I’d say that,” Namjoon said with a big smirk.

“Come on, hyung,” Taehyung teased. “You were just like that. Girls seemed to have a thing for Professor Kim,”

“Rumor has it they still do,” Eunha said in a low voice only Yoongi could hear, making him laugh as he understood what she meant. “So, who was more problematic in that way?”

Taehyung turned to look at Eunha, a bit worried she asked that question.

“I wouldn’t say we were problematic, per se,” Taehyung started explaining, but he was cut off quickly by his hyungs.

“Jimin, Yoongi, and Hoseok,” Namjoon and Seokjin said at the same time, then burst into laughter.

“That was a long time ago,” Yoongi defended himself. “Then it switched to Hoseok, Jungkook, Taehyung, and Jimin,”

“Yeah, the youngest and their evil leader,” Seokjin agreed.

“Taehyung?” Eunha sarcastically said with a smile, turning to look at him, having fun with how nervous he got. “I didn’t see it coming,”

“When Jimin and Taehyung were 20, they were very ho-” Seokjin started.

“Hot,” Yoongi interrupted, just to save their friend’s from more embarrassment, unaware that he’d be the one embarrassing himself. “I mean, that’s what the girls said. They were very popular back then, getting a lot of attention,”

“Yeah, I remember we couldn’t go out for some drinks without them getting asked for their numbers,” Namjoon said, rather proudly.

“Anyways, that was many years ago,” Taehyung said, in a hurry to change the conversation. “Wow, look at the time! It’s getting late,”

“Oh crap!” Yoongi said as he saw the time; Taehyung was glad his trick worked. “Who is driving?”

Yoongi and Seokjin looked at each other, knowing both of them had drunk enough for it to be a risk.

“Do you have your license?” Yoongi asked Taehyung. The younger guy regretted bringing up the conversation, not wanting to leave the party.

“Uhm… no,” he lied.

“Give me your wallet,” Yoongi demanded.

“No, I do, I remembered,” he said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

“Why doesn’t Professor Kim drive?” Eunha genuinely asked.

“Oh, I don’t… I don’t drive,” Namjoon said, becoming very small suddenly.

“Well, we should get going then,” Seokjin said. “Let’s say goodbye to Sooah and Midori,”

“I don’t think either of them wants to be interrupted right now,” Namjoon said and they all turned to look at the girls, only to find Sooah and Jimin kissing down the hall. Midori and Jungkook had disappeared yet once more.

“Well, goodbye to you,” Seokjin said to Ji-Eun and Eunha, giving his car keys to Taehyung.

“Thanks for coming guys,” Ji-Eun said with a bright smile.

“Thanks for having us,” Namjoon said, sharing a smile. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, well, in a couple hours,” Ji-Eun said, looking at the clock.

“What’s in a couple hours?” Taehyung gloomily asked.

“We’re hiking, want to come?” Ji-Eun said.

“Taehyung hiking?” Yoongi laughed. “What’s next? Namjoon driving?”

“I can hike!” Taehyung defensively said, frowning at his hyung.

“Well, if you want to come, we’re meeting at 7 am at my place, now let’s go so I can sleep!” Yoongi said. “Goodbye Eunha, Ms. Yang,”

“Mr. Min,” Ji-Eun politely bowed as the oldest guys made their way out. “Get some rest!”

“You too!” Namjoon from outside already.

“Bye,” Taehyung said to Ji-Eun, then turned to look at Eunha with a sad expression that melted her heart. “Uhm, good night,”

“Goodbye,” she said with a warm smile. “Drive safely, okay? Let me know when you get home,”

“Yeah,” he lingered a bit more, still looking at her.

“Taehyung-ah!” Yoongi yelled from outside. With a sigh, Taehyung obeyed and joined his hyungs at the car. The last people left started leaving after that until it was only the girls, Jungkook, Jimin, and Hoseok, who helped clean the place. Ji-Eun and Eunha told the guys that Taehyung had taken the others home a while ago, now the three left were debating who had drunk the least so they could go home.

“I think it’s better if you stay,” Midori sincerely said. Eunha and Ji-Eun looked at each other, remembering their conversation about rules. “You can stay downstairs and we can sleep in my room,”

“If that’s not a problem for you,” Jimin said, looking at all of them. “I think it’s safer, so you girls don’t sleep here alone,”

“Sure thing, gentleman,” Eunha mocked him, making him blush a little. Sooah laughed a bit and kissed him on the cheek. “Well, Ji-Eunnie and I will be waiting upstairs so you girls can say goodbye,”

“Please, take me with you,” Hoseok pleaded, not even joking. The girls laughed and left to Midori’s room, where they threw themselves to the bed and prepared to sleep.

“I really can’t comprehend how you can go hiking tomorrow,” Eunha said with her eyes already closed.

“It’s relaxing, I swear! You should come with us,”

“No, thanks,”

Next to enter the room was Sooah, who was still wearing the smile Jimin had left her. She happily joined her friends in bed and cuddled Ji-Eun.

“That was probably the best birthday I’ve ever had,” Sooah said.

“That makes me really happy, Mochi,” Eunha mumbled, almost asleep.

“Did you guys have fun?” Sooah asked.

“Oh, yeah!” Ji-Eun said. “I didn’t know Seokjin was finally opening his restaurant, he seems really excited,”

“He is?” Sooah asked.

“Yeah!”

“I didn’t even know he was doing that,” Eunha said. “I’m happy for him,”

There was a loud knock on the door that startled the three girls, followed by the voice of Hoseok.

“Sorry to interrupt but I’m here to beg you to come and get Ms. Lee with you and lock the door so she doesn’t escape,”

“Ha-ha, very funny!” Midori sarcastically said, opening the door. “Goodnight guys,”

“Night!” Hoseok said in a high-pitched voice and ran downstairs to join Jimin.

“Goodnight, gorgeous,” they heard Jungkook say. Ji-Eun, Sooah, and Eunha turned to look at each other excitedly, waiting for Midori to close the door to discuss the details.

“Night, number 2,” she said, closing the door. Before she could do it, Jungkook grabbed the door and stole one last kiss before letting Midori sleep. Eunha did as Hoseok proposed, and locked the door once they were all inside. They spent the following hour listening to Midori’s story about what she’d done that day after leaving them to go to Jungkook’s apartment. She told them he’d cooked for her and they all melted. Midori also told them he’d been really sweet and nervous before saying he was in love with her, and they screamed so loud the guys actually ran upstairs to check on them. After convincing them it was only a bug and that they were okay, the guys left so they continued with the stories.

Sooah told them Jimin had taken her to a beautiful spot on a mountain, which turned out to be a recommendation from Kim Namjoon himself. Jimin had prepared a pretty basket with the help of Seokjin, who taught Jimin how to make pasta from scratch. They shared a glass of wine and a couple kisses under the shadows of a dancing tree that suited them well. When Eunha asked her what her thoughts on Jimin’s wardrobe choice were, Sooah confessed she had never felt so nervous next to him, and that was a lot to say. It was even worse when he took off his leather jacket and the sunlight revealed the tattoo she hadn’t yet seen. Just by telling the story, she went very nervous again.

They laughed for a while before finally going to sleep. By the time she woke up, Eunha realized she didn’t get to tell the girls about what happened with Taehyung, but even she was unsure that had happened. She was trying to convince herself it had only been a sweet dream when she saw the notifications on her phone.

Kim Taehyung; 3:38 AM:

I forgot to tell you we arrived home safely.

I miss you.

Kim Taehyung, 3:52 AM:

I can’t sleep just thinking of you

Kim Taehyung, 4:32 AM:

I can’t stop thinking about our kiss. Did it really happen?

Kim Taehyung, 4:33 AM:

Sorry if I wasn’t good, it was my first kiss.

Kim Taehyung, 4:49 AM:

The idea that we may kiss again is stuck in my brain.

Kim Taehyung, 4:52 AM:

When can we kiss again?

Kim Taehyung, 4:58 AM:

You’re probably asleep, sorry.

Have a good night, Seong Eunha. I surely had the best night ever.

1 note · View note