#someone pointed out the 'pay at pump only' sign which is soooo

[subsequentibis]

other very interesting thing abt that deleted scene is that the color grading is totally different from like most of s1. wonder if it was going to get corrected to something else later... it's SO yellow. makes it look oddly bright and cheery for a failed robbery & triple homicide. wrench is so cute in it. i need to eat him

[ramirei]

Assertion of the Heart - introduction + preparation 1 + 2

Takamizawa Arisa is eager to make friends and fit into class at her junior high school. However, she doesn’t fit into the girl groups and the only person she talks to is Enomoto Kotarou who sits in the seat behind her. Though she feels close to Miura Karen, a fellow classmate who doesn’t fit in class, she was scared of being singled out by her peers. Shibasaki Ken, Kotarou’s friend, takes notice of the conflicted Arisa but – “It’s too boring to hate all the time.” What awaits Arisa as she takes a step forward in her own way!?

Find the masterlist with all the chapters here!

Please support Honeyworks by purchasing the novel here! (CDJapan is also a good alternative)

We finally get Arisa’s story after wondering about it for so long!! This time, we’re going back in time to their junior high school years before they were all friends, so this is gonna be interesting. If you’re wondering why I’m posting this as a double chapter, though this novel has way more chapters than the other novels, a majority of them are also way shorter than usual. I’m going to be posting them as double chapters, but preparation 9 and preparation 10 will be getting their own individual posts as they’re much longer chapters.  

introduction

She took a step forward, pushed by the words of someone she saw on TV. Opening the classroom door, she yelled in a loud voice, “You can’t let things go on like this!”

The cries that spilled from her heart may go nowhere. Even so, please reach someone.

Please –

   Enomoto Kotarou Born November 29, Sagittarius, blood type O. 7th grader. In the soccer club. Arisa’s classmate. Has an unrequited love for Setoguchi Hina, his childhood friend from another class. His older sister Natsuki is a 9th grader in the same junior high school. 

preparation 1

Today was her third day since starting junior high school.

Everything was different from when she was in elementary school; Takamizawa Arisa couldn’t get used to it at all. At the same time, she failed to join any girl groups and even now was alone in class.  

This time for sure, I won’t fail! Arisa told herself while heading towards the classroom.

The hallways were full of students playfully running around. She was just about to bump into someone when, flustered, she stepped to the side.

“That was dange…” She started, about to admonish them in a loud voice, but restrained herself by tightly placing strength in her stomach.

She had just decided to not stand out and behave herself in junior high school. If she spouted everything that was on her mind, then it would only become a repeat of what happened in elementary school.

She paused briefly, then walked along the corners of the hallway as much as possible.

It wasn’t like Arisa had a reserved personality. Rather, she was someone that liked talking and sometimes she envied seeing girls happily gathered together. However, she had poked her nose into other people’s affairs and had unintentionally spoken harshly during elementary school, which ended up with her often being left out by her peers.

Due to that, she also ran into constant problems with her classmates.

After becoming a junior high school student, she was supposed to have grown up slightly from her past mistakes. She couldn’t have it be the same as it was before.

Arisa stopped walking and tightened the grip she had on her bag, I will definitely make friends!

She couldn’t say something like she couldn’t do it after being moved to tears by her mother when she had told her on the day of the entrance ceremony, “It’d be nice if you’re able to make friends.”

Her grandfather, a Shinto shrine priest, even gave her a full-blown prayer, “With all respect, please allow Takamizawa Arisa to make 100 friends…!” Though she was painfully embarrassed when he had read the ritual prayer out loud in a booming voice, that only meant how worried her grandfather was as well.

Arisa took a deep breath and told herself not to say anything uncalled for. Besides, she also had to not poke her nose into other people’s businesses. She needed to prevent people from thinking badly of her as much as she could.

She tried practicing her smile in front of the classroom entrance, but, because she wasn’t used to it, her cheeks went stiff and she only managed to lift a corner of her mouth.

No, no, this isn’t right… it’s kinda scary…

If she didn’t smile more naturally, refreshingly, or pleasantly, then it seemed as if it would have the opposite effect and people would retreat from her with a bang. If only she could be like the girl she saw on TV in the pudding commercial the other day and smile refreshingly!

But, it’s not like I can smile like that! Yes, that was what her mind shot back at her.

“Yo, Takamizawa. What’re you doing?”

Arisa’s shoulders stuttered in surprise at suddenly being talked to. Behind her was a male student by the name of Enomoto Kotarou and who was also her classmate.

“B-But I’m not doing anything…?” She responded, playing it off.

Kotarou hummed at her reply and looked towards the classroom. He then looked back at Arisa, “You ain’t gonna go in? The classroom.”

“I’m going in! You don’t have to tell me…” Even though she said this, she stood, unmoving, and hesitated in front of the entrance.

Her back was pushed with a clap and Arisa entered the classroom staggering. Kotarou laughed slightly, then entered the classroom.

“Enomoto!” At being called, he stopped walking and immediately entered the other conversation.

Arisa followed him with her eyes while walking towards her seat.

“I’m Enomoto Kotarou. I’m good at soccer so I intend to join the soccer club. My goal is to become a regular and go to nationals!” That was what he said when he did his self-introduction during homeroom on the day of the entrance ceremony. After declaring his self-confidence, he had smiled widely and did a peace sign.

…He has a good memory, remembering my name.

Though Kotarou sat in the seat directly behind Arisa, they have never had a direct conversation. That was why she hadn’t expected him to talk to her naturally like that.

The other boys gathered around Kotarou in no time and it became lively to the point it was noisy. Kotarou likely also only knew a few people from the same elementary school. Despite that, by the third day after starting school, he brazenly secured his position as one of the popular boys. Even though they started from the same place with few friends, it felt like a huge gap had widened between them before they had even reached halfway through the track.

Not bad… Enomoto. Arisa looked at Kotarou with a sharp, challenging expression in her eyes while quietly pumping herself up with a sense of rivalry. One hundred friends… even if it doesn’t go as planned, I gotta start from one person first!

♦     ♦     ღ     ♦     ♦

Enomoto Kotarou was joking around with the boys when he felt someone’s gaze on him. He turned around, going, “Huh?”

The moment their eyes met, Arisa sullenly turned away.

Wha, why, was I being glared at? Was it because she didn’t like that he had talked to her?

It was usual for girls to be in a bad mood, so it was no use for him to pay any mind to it, but… Kotarou scratched his head and remembered the kinds of girls he was usually around.

Still, I don’t understand Takamizawa, man.

He had never once seen her talking with other girls. Kotarou became curious as he ignored the conversation of the boys around him and looked at Arisa once more. Kotarou casually averted his gaze since he was definitely being glared at.

For now, it might be better if I don’t look at her… He didn’t quite understand it, but he would let sleeping whatevers be. *

* Kotarou is thinking of the proverb “let sleeping dogs lie” but he doesn’t remember it properly.

Yamamoto Koudai Born November 7, Scorpio, blood type A. 7th grader. Classmates and friends with Ken. Acquainted with Kotarou. Silent and loves books. Hit the nail on the head with those words. *

* These words: “Shibaken, you’re nice to girls. It’d be nice if you were nicer to me, too…” (from the Heart no Shuchou MV)

preparation 2

“Hey, Koudai.” Shibasaki Ken called to Yamamoto Koudai in the seat behind him, leaning his chair over. It was lunch break.

Koudai, reading with an expressionless face like he always did, didn’t try at all, not even a bit, to look at Ken. He probably completely saw through the fact that it wasn’t anything important.

“It’s seriously soooo boring. Hey, do you have anything interesting to talk about?” Ken said with both hands behind his head.

Koudai dropped his gaze from his book and audibly sighed, “None. Rather, why are you using my name without honorifics?”

“Ain’t it fine? We’re classmates, aren’t we? You can skip the honorifics with me, too.” Ken said lightheartedly while smiling.

In reply, Koudai pushed his glasses up and returned to reading. It seemed like he didn’t feel like continuing the conversation any further.

Ken turned, facing his body towards Koudai instead, and stubbornly called out to him, “Hey, heeeeeey,” he continued, “What’re you reading? Is it interesting?”

“Whether or not it’s interesting is up to the individual.” Koudai replied in a flat tone while his chin was rested in his hand.

“Hmmm. Then, is it an erotica?” Ken asked, taking a peek at the thick book that Koudai was reading.

“The Karamazov Brothers by Dostoyevsky. If you’ll read it, I’ll lend it to you.”

“Ah, my bad. I have absolutely no interest. So, that whatever Brothers, what kind of story is it?”

“If you’re not interested, then there’s no point in asking. Anyway, why are you talking to me?” Koudai closed his book with a plop and finally looked up, probably because he had lost his concentration.

“It’s fine, ain’t it? Help me kill time.” He replied with a smile.

Koudai said, “Seriously?” with a dumbfounded expression.

Koudai was an acquaintance Ken made after starting junior high school. So far, they have yet to find a common ground. Both their personalities and hobbies didn’t match at all. You might say that Koudai, who was taciturn and loved books, and Ken, who had a flashy appearance and features, were polar opposites in just about everything. If they had not been in the same class or if their seats weren’t in front and back of each others’, then they would probably hardly talk to each other. There were several other people in class that they could get along with. Despite that, the reason Ken had dry conversations like this with Koudai was simply because it was troublesome for him to move seats. Since he was using the other person to kill time, anyone would’ve been fine. That was why Ken was quick to make Koudai, who sat behind him, his partner. With that reason, Koudai became the person Ken talked to the most ever since the entrance ceremony once they realized it.

“Well, you’re bothering me.”

“Don’t worry about it. Anyway, it’s not a rule that we can’t use our phones in class or anything, right? Hey, Koudai. You don’t feel like running for student council president?”

“I don’t understand what you’re asking at all with that question.”

“Become the student council president and get rid of the cell phone use ban. The whole school would be happy, y’know? I’ll even give you my sincere vote.”

“It doesn’t feel like it’s completely sincere. Don’t go forcing people into things. Why don’t you run for it yourself?

“’Cause that kind of thing is impossible for me. I don’t wear glasses.”

“Running for student council president doesn’t require you to wear glasses.”

“But when you think of a student council president, ain’t it obvious they gotta have glasses? Like a sign of their trustworthiness?” He said with a laugh.

Koudai answered with a face that said, “What?”

Ken didn’t hate these irrelevant and somewhat engaging conversations. Although Koudai thought it was bothersome, if Ken pitched a ball for a conversation, he would usually catch the ball and sincerely reply back. That was why, without realizing it, even he started to want to throw that ball.

“Ah… it’s too boring. Hey, Koudai. Do you have something fun…”

“That’s why, why don’t you just read a book? I said that earlier.”

Ken turned his eyes towards the door while not paying any attention to Koudai’s troubled voice.

“Seriously, don’t follow me!”

“I’m going back to my own classroom, too!”

He nonchalantly followed the two exiting the classroom and arguing with each other with his eyes. That’s a girl from our class, right? The other person with her was probably a boy from another class. They were a pair that were often seen together.

“Hey, Koudai. That girl earlier with the huge chest…”

“That’s Setoguchi.” Koudai corrected him while pushing his glasses up, his eyebrows furrowed.

Setoguchi Hina was quite on the cute side even amongst the other girls and her name often came up in gossip amongst the boys. On the other hand, he knew nothing about the boy.

“I wonder who that guy was that went out together with Setoguchi with the huge chest.”

“Oh, Enomoto…”

“You know him?”

“He was in the seat next to me during the committee meeting.” Koudai looked towards the door the two went out of and tilted his head, “I think his name was Kotarou?”

When Ken rested both elbows on top of Koudai’s desk, he leaned forward slightly. “Then that Enomoto? Who is he? Is he Setoguchi’s boyfriend? You mean the two of them are dating?”

“Well, who knows… they’re often together, huh.”

“Doesn’t he come to our class every day, that guy? To see Setoguchi.”

“Isn’t that fine?” Koudai immediately attempted to return his gaze to his book.

Enomoto… huh.

Setoguchi Hina didn’t consider him as a companion at all and it was almost rather pitiable how she was treating him so harshly. Despite that, he wasn’t discouraged and kept turning up.

I wonder what kind of relationship they have?

The corners of his mouth slightly lifted as he lightly pulled Koudai’s sleeve two or three times. “Hey, aren’t the two of them interesting?”

“What are you scheming? Stop it.”

Ken laughed, “C’mon.” He stood up while stared at by Koudai’s disapproving eyes. “Let’s go tease them a little.”

“Can you not get me involved?”

“This will definitely be more interesting than the whatever Brothers!” Ken said as he pulled Koudai by his arm, an unamused expression on his face, and headed towards the back door of the classroom.

Just as Ken brought Koudai out with him into the hallway, Kotarou was about to enter his own classroom.

“Heeey, Enomoto.” Ken called out with a smile while keeping a grasp on Koudai’s arm.

Kotarou looked back and said, “Who are you again?” and furrowed his eyebrows slightly. He then looked over at Koudai next to Ken. “You know Yamamoto?”

“…Sorry, Enomoto. I said it was better if he laid off it and more or less warned him.” Koudai said to Enomoto with a slight shrug.

“What’re you talking about? Warned?”

“Ahh, don’t worry ‘bout it. It’s between us.” Ken stepped forward and smacked Kotarou’s shoulders as Kotarou looked at him with a suspicious look on his face.

“This flashy guy is your friend, Yamamoto?”

“No, not at all. Just a classmate.”

“Don’t be cold like that! Aren’t we friends? Anyway, it’s still lunch break, so why don’t we have a talk on the roof?” Ken said with a smile.

In response, Kotarou’s expression became more and more annoyed, “Don’t go deciding things on your own. I still haven’t done my math homework. Yamamoto, do something about him!”

“Impossible ‘cause I’m a victim, too.”

“If it’s homework, why not just make Koudai let you copy his? I was thinking ‘bout doing that, too.” Ken laughed while pushing both by their backs.

“Y’know… did you not think about the fact that I might not have done it?” Koudai made a dubious face while moving his glasses in his hand as if in habit.

“Deepening our friendship is important, too, ain’t it? ‘Specially since we’ve gotten to know each other like this!”

“I don’t want to do anything like getting to know you. Let go!” When Kotarou raised his voice, the girls that happened to pass by started giggling.

“Guys sure get along well.”

“Looks like they’re having fun.”

The three of them suddenly stopped walking after hearing those comments. They waited until the girls left, then all looked at each other.

“You’ve made them misunderstand, saying that we look close!” Kotarou lowered the tone of his voice, embarrassed.

Ken smirked and pulled Kotarou’s shoulder towards him, “Enomoto. Which girl was your type? I might be pretty interested in the girl with the long hair.”

“Huh!? How the hell should I know.”

“Oh, come to think of it, you have Setoguchi, don’t you?”

“Stu….pid, I didn’t say anything!” Kotarou staggered backwards while hiding his red face with his arm.

He’s easy to read. Holy crap. Wow, this is fun. Ken endured his desire to laugh out loud and moved his hand to his mouth, “Why don’t we just become friends?”

“Huh? Why should we? I don’t want to!”

“I mean, isn’t it better if you have an excuse to come to our classroom?”

“…What are you scheming?”

“Well? I wonder?”

Enomoto Kotarou. He’s interesting as expected. The two of them might unexpectedly be able to get along well. Ken took the two of them along towards the roof as he thought this.

[gyrlversion]

We Tried The Celebrity Spin Class That Americans Are Obsessed With

Hey, I’m Josie and I love spinning. I go twice a week most weeks. I love it so much that when I heard that SoulCycle, the cult American spin studio, was coming to the UK, I dragged my colleagues along for the ride. Literally.

From a spin snob, to a complete gym newbie, these are our thoughts…

Ben:

Spin classes completed: 0.

As someone who has never been to a gym class in their life, I was a little nervous and a bit skeptical about trying a spin class.

Sam:

Spin classes completed: 1 or 2.

I’ve done spinning a couple of times, and while it’s tiring it doesn’t kill you afterwards, which is ideal.

Hanifah:

Spin classes completed: 10+

I used to regularly attend the gym and spin classes, but I’ve recently taken a bit of a break.

Remee:

Spin classes completed: 30+

I’ve been to a fair amount of spin classes, so I know the general deal (still can’t get on the bloody bike though).

Josie:

Spin classes completed: 70+

I’m a spin snob — I know what I like when it comes to a spin class.

Hanifah: I’ve heard soooo much about SoulCycle. I’d heard that Beyoncé apparently goes, so it’s obviously supreme. I was really really excited to go and do a workout fit for Queen B! I didn’t expect it to be anything like the other spin classes I’ve been to before.

Sam: I try to attend the gym at least three times a week, but I don’t often do classes as I fear human contact and like to keep my head down when exercising. I think I’ve heard of SoulCycle being mentioned before, but before going I didn’t have any opinion on it. I’d heard it was boujie, but I was still going to show up to class in my holey trainers.

Remee: I know SoulCycle is the OG spin class, and although I’ve been to some spin classes in New York, I’d never gone to SC. I know it’s a big hit among celebrities, so I was intrigued to see if it was any more special that the others I’d been to.

Josie: I feel like anyone who has gone spinning before has heard of SoulCycle. I’d heard people utter its name as if it was the holy grail of static bicycle riding. So when I heard a studio was opening in the UK, I knew I had to try it out. I usually go to a Psycle studio as I handily have one down the road from my house and I’d heard they were basically the same thing, so I didn’t feel nervous, more intrigued about where I would see the differences and whether my loyalty to Psycle would be shaken…

Ben: Like I said, I was a bit nervous and skeptical at first, but after a few minutes I was really into it. The music got me pumped and the low-lit room really added to the atmosphere as well as not making me feel self conscious. But I’m not going to lie, the inspirational quotes and mindfulness just aren’t really my thing. If you’re into that stuff it’s cool but it’s just not for me. The playlist was great — our instructor, Josh, had a good mix of bangers and high tempo songs in there which really got me into the mood.

Hanifah: The class was great, but if I’m honest, there wasn’t too much that was uniquely SoulCycle. That doesn’t mean I didn’t love it though – I was a big fan of the candle shrine – it gave it a calming vibe. I really liked the instructor, he was motivational without being obnoxious. I appreciated the fact that he encouraged everyone to go at their own pace, because I know that these classes can get competitive at times. I loved his music – he started off with Beyoncé’s “Countdown,” and when that began I knew I’d gone to the right class.

Sam: I thought Josh was good at reminding us we didn’t need to keep up, which I needed to hear as I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to (which tbf was partly true). The room was insanely warm, and I’m NGL, it would have more pleasant in a cooler environment. I could do without all the motivational speeches, but I liked the fake candles. Music was great – a real mix of pop and indie remixes. I didn’t see any real difference between SC or doing a cycle sesh at my gym though.

Remee: The class was really good! High energy, and the instructor was super friendly and motivating. I liked the candles too, I usually go to Psycle, and they could do with some candlelight! Music was a great mix, he definitely had something for everyone. I would say though, if you’ve never done spin before, it might be a bit hard to follow and there wasn’t any effort put in to get people on the right leg and on the right beat like spin classes normally do. Maybe this is because SoulCycle’s whole mantra is a “do it at your own pace” kind of thing, but come on, for 24 quid per class, you want to know you’re doing the workout right, right??

BuzzFeed

I whip my hair back and forth.

Josie: I love Psycle because I always come out feeling really positive and on a bit of a natural high. I’ve managed to narrow down the list of instructors to the ones that I like and I’ll always try to book classes with. I know that they will play the music I want and that I’ll come out feeling on top of the freaking world. SoulCycle gave me the same good vibes. The music was great with the soundtrack flitting between Ariana Grande, Beyoncé and Temper Trap, and the crowd was clearly feeling it. Josh was the right side of motivational without being overly cheesy. The seats of the bikes were also the comfiest spinning seats that I’ve sat on too which was a huge bonus. I did kind of miss the disco lights of Psycle, and while my colleagues all loved the candles schtick, I only found out after the class that they weren’t real flames so spent most of it imagining us all dying in a spin-related inferno which put a bit of a dampener on my mood.

Remee: This is probably the boujiest boutique gym I’ve ever been to. The space is pretty bright and clean and it definitely looks fancy. There was even facial oil on offer in the ladies changing rooms! And I never ever thought I could be impressed by a water machine, but oh my god, it was seven times filtered and it was DELICIOUS! WATER WAS DELICIOUS! The changing rooms however, were far too small. As someone who has been to spin before, I wasn’t nervous, but when loads of people started showing up the changing rooms got really hectic and started making me a bit anxious. Also, what’s the point of having three types of moisturiser if you can’t even get to it because there are 14 bare bums in the way? It was legitimately stressful being in there.

Ben: I really enjoyed the changing rooms, (I feel like the male ones must have been less busy). I literally used every product in there and they all smelt amazing. I left feeling refreshed and smelling great, which was a real feat considering how much I had been sweating during the class.

Hanifah: Going into the changing room, I noticed that it was very luxurious, but I didn’t really feel comfortable because it was so so packed! After the class I used all the products in the shower, and I felt the opulence. I would’ve loved to spend more time in there but I couldn’t get a seat, so I really just wanted to get out of there.

Sam: I was excited about all the stuff that you get given as part of signing up – towels, shoes, water. What can I say? I’m easy to please.

Josie: SoulCycle is premium. The white and yellow colour scheme feels super LA and sets you up for feeling like this is going to be a really positive experience. One negative about the whole thing was definitely the changing room situation. They were too small for the amount of people that were constantly milling in and out so while there are great facilities, you can barely reach any of them and feel like you’re taking up too much space most of the time. I would definitely recommend turning up in your gear so you don’t have to battle people before and after your class. Other than that the whole place is pretty swish. I mean, Le Labo shower gel?! Drunk Elephant moisturiser?! Dyson hairdryers?! How much money did they spend on this!

Ben: I’ve never sweated so much in my life but I feel strong AF! SoulCycle may have just converted me to spinning.

Sam: It was cute for a taste, but not for a swallow.

Remee: The class was energetic and fun, but the space is just far too small and crowded to enjoy the full experience. If it were bigger it would be great for a workout when you feel like you want to pamper yourself a bit too. You’re paying a premium to have a great workout BUT to have the best facilities, so if you don’t get to use them, it doesn’t feel worth the money.

Josie: I enjoyed the experience but I’m Psycle loyal for now.

Hanifah: Overall, I really liked it – I felt like I got a great workout and a mindful experience all rolled into one. I’d say it does live up to the hype – it’s pretty glam, I just wish it wasn’t so packed.

Services were provided by SoulCycle London to BuzzFeed free of charge, but we were under no obligation to be positive in our coverage. You can book a class at SoulCycle or find out more, here.

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