#wanted to take a break from zine pieces and draw something cute! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

calucadu · 5 years ago

Text

Ochako’s discovery

This is the piece I made for the @kindergarden-zine, a multifandom kindergarten themed zine!

The zine is super cute! Everyone worked super hard to make their lovely pieces 💜

I’m extremely happy with how my piece turned out! I’m very proud of it and I loved working on it! 😊

Ochako’s discovery, a Boku no Hero Academia/My Hero Academia One Shot.

Summary: Ochako is a four-year-old girl in kindergarten that hasn’t developed a quirk yet. She’s been explained what they are, and lives with two parents who have special abilities of their own, but she hasn’t found hers yet.

Characters: Uraraka Ochako, Uraraka Ochako’s Mother, Uraraka Ochako’s Father, Original Characters.

Rating: General

Read on AO3

Or read below the cut

Ochako is a four-year-old girl in kindergarten that hasn’t developed a quirk yet. She’s been explained what they are, and lives with two parents who have special abilities of their own, but she hasn’t found hers yet.

One Monday afternoon, when she’s in the living room playing with her blocks, she feels a strange tingling sensation running through her fingers. Instinctively, she lets the power flow from within her, and her eyes grow wide in amazement as she sees a green block slowly rising towards her.

Screaming, she runs towards the kitchen, without noticing that the toy is following her. When she reaches her mum and dad and asks for help, she’s surprised to find that they aren’t scared like she is. In fact, quite the opposite: they seem delighted with whatever is happening to their daughter.

Ochako is about to scream louder when tears come rushing down her cheeks and her mother picks her up.

“It’s your quirk, sweetie!” She tells her, overjoyed. “It’s finally manifested!”

The block comes cluttering to the floor loudly as the child lets out a shaky breath of relief.

Her parents explain what it means to have a power and they even tell her she’s lucky because hers is fantastic. Ochako feels pleased with herself for discovering something so cool!

As she tries to understand her new power, she suddenly remembers some of her friends have also developed their quirks. She can’t wait to show them hers!

She’s giddy the next morning, nearly bouncing up and down with excitement as her mother dresses her in the cute little uniform she has to wear for kindergarten.

Her mum giggles as she watches her, scolding her lightly when she wriggles too much and doesn’t put her arm through the sleeve of her blue shirt.

“Ochako, sweetie,” she says lightly, trying to get her daughter’s attention, “we need to get you dressed.”

Breakfast goes by more or less the same way, with her father struggling to get her to finish her milk. Ochako keeps floating her Sippy cup away from her mouth and giggling while her dad tries to persuade her that the faster she finishes, the earlier she’ll be to kindergarten, but her daughter just doesn’t want to listen.

She stops abruptly when a pang of pain hits her and she clutches her stomach, forgetting about her Sippy cup, which comes rushing to the floor, spilling milk everywhere.

Her father is about to scold her when he notices something’s wrong and immediately goes to her side, picking her up and asking her to tell him what is happening to her.

“My tummy!” She wails, sobbing loudly. “It hurts!”

Worried, they decide to take her to the doctor, who immediately pins the pain to overuse of her quirk, and her parents have to instruct her to be careful when she makes things float. Ochako doesn’t quite understand it, but with watery eyes she agrees to listen to their warnings.

Her tummy stops hurting by the time they get her to class, but she’s not as happy as she was that morning.

She’s scared to use her quirk again because she doesn’t want the pain to return so she just spends the entire day moping in a corner as she doodles.

Back at home, when her parents see she’s visibly upset, they tell her that the doctor’s warnings didn’t mean she can never use her power again, only that she needs to be careful.

Because that doesn’t seem to make it much better, her mum comes up with a way to get her to use it again. “Honey, you’ve got to practice your power, little by little if that’s what you need, to make the pain go away.” She’s smiling as she says it, crouched down so she’s levelled with her daughter. “Like how you learnt to tie your shoes. At first you couldn’t but after you practised and practiced you could do it perfectly!”

“Yeah, now you’re so good at it!” Her father chimes in when he sees their daughter perked up noticeably.

“Pwactice.” Ochako says, her eyes shining once more. “Okay!”

At home she starts to experiment with her newfound ability. She lifts her crayons up when she gets bored of drawing, and she watches intently as they slowly crash into one another in the air.

This causes her to get tummy aches often, though, forcing her to stop abruptly. The crayons all end up scattered on the floor as she clutches her stomach and wails.

She tries not to do it too often, even though something inside of her nags at her to work compulsively on her ability. She repeats to herself what her mother told her: if she practises, the pain will go away.

Bored of her toys, she decides to try her quirk on something bigger. With a little bit of difficulty, she clambers up the small table where her mum’s favourite vase is, and places her small hands on it, releasing her quirk. The object shakily goes up. It’s heavy since it’s full of water and flowers, and it takes a lot of concentration from her to keep it in the air.

She wants to get down from the table, so she sort of throws herself off. Tumbling down makes her forget about the vase, which also falls to the ground, smashing completely when it hits the floor.

In pain – from both her usual tummy aches and her knees, from falling – and in shock because she’s realised she’s broken her mummy’s special object she got as a gift, Ochako starts wailing uncontrollably, terrified of her mum’s reprimand.

Her mother is alerted by both the crying and the crashing, and runs into the hall, where she finds the tell-tale signs of her daughter’s crime.

“Are you hurt?” Her mum asks her, and her child slowly nods her head, tears running down her cheeks. Sighing, she instructs her not to move so she can clean the mess and tend to her.

Ochako nods again, trying to stop the sobs she can’t help but emit. Her mum tut-tuts gently and walks over the broken porcelain carefully to pick up her child.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she shushes her as she calms her down, rocking her against her chest and stroking her hair lovingly with her free hand. “I know it was an accident and that you didn’t mean to break it.”

“I’m sowwy mummy.” Ochako hiccups against her mother’s shoulder, grabbing her shirt tightly.

“It’s okay, sweetie.” Her mum whispers as she cradles her, trying to soothe her with her soft voice. “I forgive you.”

When she manages to get her child to stop crying, she looks into her eyes sternly and tries to tell her off. “That doesn’t mean I’m not angry though.”

Her mother can’t exactly forbid her from using her quirk at home, but she does limit how she must use it. Ochako has to practice her little gift, or she will never learn how to master it, and doing so at a young age is the key to success. “From now on you’ll only be allowed to use your quirk when your father or I are in the room, do I make myself clear?”

While Ochako doesn’t understand all of the words her mother said, she does get the overall idea, so she nods her head hesitantly.

Her mummy hasn’t said anything about using her quirk in class though, so Ochako’s happy to practice there. She plays with her pencils all day long, giggling inanely.

When she gets bored of making her own things float, she decides to play with something else. She finds the closest thing that’s not hers to be her classmate’s bright yellow hat, so she grabs it from his head and lets it slowly raise up, watching in amazement as it floats away. The boy starts crying immediately, demanding her to give it back while screaming that his mummy will punish him if he loses another one of his things.

Panicking, she looks at the boy but tries to tell him she doesn’t know how to get things down. Normally they fall to the ground when the pain gets too much to bear.

Alarmed by the child’s wailing, the teacher approaches the pair and quickly notices what’s wrong. She grabs the floating hat and crouches next to the children as she fights the headgear from trying to fly away.

“You’re not supposed to do that with your quirk.” She scolds her softly, smiling lovingly at the still weeping child next to her. “Please give him back his hat and apologise.”

Ochako doesn’t know what she did wrong – after all, she’s just practising her ability – but does as she is told. Releasing the power inside of her mind makes it stop floating and the hat immediately stops struggling in the teacher’s hands, who gives it to her.

Hesitantly, the girl thrusts it against the boy’s chest, flushing in embarrassment as she forces out a low “I’m sowwy.”

It’s not only the humiliation and shame she’s just felt, it’s also the weird sensation of not knowing what she’s doing wrong. What is she supposed to do with her power then? On top of that, her mum had already told her off. Ochako isn’t as happy with it as she was at first.

She thinks it’s a useless quirk, and all it does is give her tummy aches and make her believe she’s misbehaving.

As a result, she decides to stop using her quirk.

“What’s wrong, Ochako?” Her father asks as he picks her up from class that day.

The little girl just pouts, unwilling to unfold her crossed arms or stop staring at the ground.

“Nothing.” She mutters back.

Her dad chuckles warmly as he picks her up and scoops her into a big hug. “Did you miss me?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that why you’ve got such a long face?”

Ochako doesn’t answer. She does lift her head up slightly, and her big, round eyes lock with her father’s for a few seconds before she turns her gaze back to the floor again. She shakes her head and remains silent.

“Will a hug make it better?” He asks good-humouredly and she quickly smiles, spreading her arms widely to tell her dad that she’s ready for him to accept her invitation. He cuddles her to his chest and rocks her against it, shushing her gently.

Ochako is playing in the living room with some toy cars while her parents watch her. Her dad sometimes joins in, going ‘vroom, vroom’ and making her giggle as he trails the plastic vehicle over her body, up and down her arms and shoulders. He tangles it in her hair and she shakes her head to try to get him to remove it from there.

After playing for a while, her mother frowns, looking at her daughter with concern when she finally notices something is off. “What’s wrong, honey?” She asks, kneeling down in front of her daughter. “You haven’t been using your quirk for a few days. Is your tummy feeling alright?”

“No.” Ochako takes a while to answer her, unable to look at her mother as she lies to her.

“Oh, baby, come here.” Her mum coos, picking her up and putting her on her lap. “Have you been using it too much in class?”

Her child doesn’t answer. She just averts her eyes and continues to play with the red car in her hand, hoping it will make her mum stop asking questions.

“Ochako, you can always tell mummy if something is wrong.”

“My power is bad.”

“Why do you say that?” Her father asks her, and she looks away, unwilling to answer. She shrugs her shoulders and her mother lifts her chin up with her fingers.

“Did anything happen?”

“Your power isn’t bad.” Her dad sighs, closing his eyes before scooting closer to them. “Show me what you can do, I bet it’s amazing.”

And just like that, Ochako feels a little bit better. She hops off her mother’s lap and touches the toy car, making it float.

“Bring it over to me.” Her father instructs. When she gets up and is about to reach for it, he tells her to stop. “No. With your quirk. Make it come to me.”

The girl frowns. She’s never done that before, she’s not sure she can. But she tries to, anyway, because she loves her father and because both her parents are looking at her expectantly.

She concentrates on trying to get it to move in the direction she wants it to. It’s wobbly, but the car slowly heads towards her father, who catches it in his open hands.

“See? You’re going to be a star.” He smiles at her.

Ochako feels her heart swell inside her chest.

Finding out she can make things go from one place to another changes everything! The girl feels like she’s discovered a new power altogether. It’s not just making things float – it’s making them move. With an intention, a purpose.

Ochako’s invented a new game. She likes touching other people’s objects and making them fly from one part of the classroom to another.

Smiling, she lifts her tiny hands up and carefully traces the teacher’s red pen with her fingers. She lets go of the object and watches with wonder in her eyes as it slowly drifts away from her. With a faint giggle, she follows the movements until she starts feeling queasy and lets the pen drop onto the floor. It rolls on the ground and ends up behind a cushion. The little girl tilts her head in bewilderment, but quickly forgets about it when she finds a new object to play with. This time it’s a pink and yellow ball just slightly bigger than her hands.

“What are you doing?” Someone suddenly asks her.

Startled, Ochako turns around and sees Naoko, a dark-haired girl in her class she’s not overly acquainted with. Her head’s tilted to the side and there’s a quizzical look on her face.

Relieved that she hasn’t been caught, she goes back to making things float.

“Pwactising!” Ochako replies happily, showing her how she makes the ball fly only by touching it.

“Will you get in trouble?”

Ochako decides not to answer that one, hoping the girl will leave her alone.

“Your power is so cool.” Naoko whispers, a soft smile on her face. “I don’t have mine yet.”

Because she doesn’t answer, the girl comes closer and sits down next to her. “What else can you do?” She finally asks.

“Just this.” Ochako replies as she makes the ball drop onto the floor.

“You can make it fly!”

Ochako nods her head and goes to pick up the object. She feels energy tingle through her fingers and she giggles. “It tickles.”

She doesn’t let it go until a few seconds later, and then she watches with a giant smile on her face as it rises through the air. Naoko claps in excitement as she whispers: “You’re so cool!”

Ochako has always wanted to fly. When she was smaller, she used to run around the park flapping her arms as if they were wings and pretending she was soaring the sky.

“I want to fly.” She states, staring up at the sky with an unreadable look on her face. “But I don’t have wings. I’m not a bird.”

She wishes she were because when she makes things float around, she herself wants to fly.

Granted, she’s never tried to make herself fly, so she doesn’t even know if it’s possible, but she sure wishes she could.

One day it occurs to her that she could try it out on the playhouse they have in the kindergarten’s playground.

It’s big and colourful and made for the children to clamber over and play. It has three slides and various ladders, as well as two tunnels. Normally they use it by pretending it’s a castle, but this time Ochako has a different idea in mind.

Going up the small steps she finds herself overlooking the whole playground. She can see the recent drawings they did that are up on the windows, decorating their classroom.

She smiles, sort of confident, but mostly excited.

Placing both her hands on her cheeks, she slowly lets her quirk flow from her fingers. Feeling a warm tickle being emitted from them she lets her power emanate and slowly her body starts floating upwards.

At first she feels elated – she can fly! But then, as she sees her feet getting further away from the ground and she feels the familiar nauseating sensation in her tummy, she starts to scream, terrified.

She doesn’t know how to get down, and even if she did, she could fall and hurt herself.

Ochako is too busy screaming and kicking her legs to notice the teacher is running towards her to aid her, but when she feels a tight grip on her ankle, she immediately stops wailing.

“Ochako-chan!” the teacher calls out to her. “Let go of your quirk!”

For a moment the young child is petrified. How can she do that? Her eyes go back down and she panics when she sees that not only her feet but now the woman’s as well are far from the ground.

“It’ll hurt!” she screams, closing her eyes.

“I’ve got you!” the woman urges her “Do it now!”

The hint of urgency in her tone of voice forces Ochako to follow her instructions, and she lets go of her quirk. Her tummy does a leap as she notices the new feeling of falling from a distance and she screams, trying to brace herself before they hit the ground.

She lands on a cushiony substance, and when she opens her eyes again, she realises a bubble has wrapped around her.

“I’ve got you.” The teacher smiles at her, relief clear on her face as she says it.

Ochako pants as she’s lifted by the woman, who gives her a once-over before putting her back down onto the floor.

“You must never, ever do that again. Do you understand?” The teacher reprimands her, forcing tears to well up in the little girl’s eyes. “It’s dangerous.”

“Okay.” She whispers reluctantly and slightly dejected, her lower lip wobbling.

“I’m just glad you’re okay.”

When the teacher leaves, Ochako feels tears roll down her cheeks and she starts sobbing uncontrollably.

“Why are you crying?” A soft but slightly squeaky voice makes her turn her head. Through blurred vision she sees Naoko staring at her with a worried look on her face.

“I got told off for making myself fly.”

“But that shouldn’t make you cry. Flying is so cool!”

Unfortunately, those words don’t make Ochako feel better.

It only gets worse when her parents come to pick her up. They explain to her that the teacher phoned because she wanted to speak to them about her recent behaviour.

While the adults talk Ochako doesn’t listen, but feels shame heat her cheeks. Her teacher is telling them about how she’s been misbehaving, taking other children’s stuff and hiding it, and then trying to fly, putting herself in danger.

She hears her mother gasp, horrified, and the child looks away, her lip wobbling yet again.

“Ochako…” She utters, shocked and clearly disappointment. She’s about to scold her when Naoko comes running, her own parents calling for her.

“It’s not bad!” The child screams.

“Naoko!” Her mother says, grabbing her daughter’s wrist and pulling her away. “Don’t interrupt! It’s rude.”

“Ochako isn’t a bad person! Her power isn’t evil.”

The teacher sighs but gives her a wide smile. “It’s not evil, Naoko. It’s dangerous. She could’ve hurt herself.”

“But she’s good!” The girl tries to say again, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Naoko! Let’s go!” Her mother insists, not pleased with her own child’s behaviour.

“She could use her power to do good!”

Ochako’s father clears his throat. “Yeah, you’re right. She could and she should. It’s how you use your quirk that matters.”

Naoko immediately smiles, finally feeling relief that someone listened to her.

“And I want my daughter to understand that. It’s true that I want her to be safe. Her safety is what’s most important to me, but I don’t want her to be discouraged. I want her to learn how to use it and to experiment. I want her quirk to grow with her.”

He sighs before kneeling down, and he picks his daughter up.

“I believe in you, Ochako. I believe in your abilities and I know you’ll one day figure them out. Don’t rush it, enjoy learning how to use it.”

The small child just looks at him with wide eyes, curiously waiting for what else he has to say.

“That doesn’t mean you should be stealing people’s stuff or throwing yourself from the swings. You need to use your quirk responsibly. And use it to do good.”

“What does ‘use it to do good’ mean?” Ochako asks, her voice soft.

“It means doing what you think is right in order to make the world a better place.” Her mother says as she strokes her child’s head. “And your father is right. We shouldn’t limit you or your power, we should help you make it grow.”

The teacher stares at them with surprise in her eyes. “That’s not…” is what she tries to say before she’s interrupted by Ochako’s father.

“It’s okay, I think we’ve finished here for today. Thank you for your hard work.”

He places his daughter on the floor and crouches next to Naoko.

“What’s your name?”

“Naoko.” The girl quickly answers.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He replies, getting up and offering his hands to both small girls, who take them without hesitation.

“We’d love to have you around some day.” Ochako’s mother smiles warmly at the child before introducing herself to her parents.

“We’d also like that.” Naoko’s mum replies, surprise clear on her features as she returns the grin.

“Shall we go, then?” Ochako’s father asks, but before he can start walking, the two girls share a look and they quickly start running. He just follows them, laughing as he lets them lead them out of the kindergarten.

#ochako #ochakos discovery #kindergarten #zine #kindergarten zine #bnha #multifandom #bnha zine #multifandom zine

5 notes · View notes

oveliagirlhaditright · 5 years ago

Text

Silver Doors

I didn’t have time to audition for the Naminé zine, but if I had--and got in--this is what I would have put in there.

A Naminé character study. At the start of her life, she associates silver--and colors and shades somewhat close to it--as safety; and she carries on with this sentiment through everything she goes through... but never thinks she’ll ever be able to actually touch this hope until the end. Somewhat a companion piece to my Kairi story “Turn Me to Gold”. Slight Replinami and Namiku... and canon SoNami, and a bit of RokuNami if you squint.

When Naminé first came into the world—into the pristine, white castle that she would later learn was called Castle Oblivion—she latched onto the idea of the color silver saving her fast.

Why? Because she was new to the world, and even though she should have had Kairi’s memories at the time… she didn’t. So, colors were still mostly new to her.

And when all these people in black seized her nearly at once—and then forced her to draw, and gave her a few crayons so she could do so—she imagined that maybe, somehow, she could get taken to another castle (for were they the only buildings in the world?)—that was perhaps just a bit darker than this place and her dress that was getting dirtier and dirtier—and that she would be safe there.

And when she first saw Sora. Who, in her opinion, had eyes that were close to the shade she was imagining and even zippers that were exactly it… Naminé fell in love with him, and sold her soul in the process.

But later, when the Riku Replica was created, Naminé started finding some hope through the shock of silver she saw in him, too.

…And maybe that was why she was selfishly glad when he chose to hold onto his feelings for her, even when he learned that they were a lie.

Or before that… when he had still had the fake lucky charm she'd given him, with its gray charm… Naminé had prayed that he could hold onto it—even if Sora couldn’t his own, because his feelings for Kairi were coming back to the surface more and more—but Sora had unintentionally turned it back into a card, so it was no good. And then when the Riku Replica faded away, after his fight with the real Riku… even with the promise that she now had with Sora, Naminé couldn’t help thinking that the world was an empty and ebony place without him.

… Strangely enough, the next time Naminé felt anything at all when it came to color, was with a Vexen clone.

How a Vexen clone had found her at the Old Mansion in Twilight Town, Naminé didn't really know. But he thankfully didn't mention to the Organization where she was, and was instead good to her when he took her to the Tram Common area for a fieldtrip. And the wise scientist told her about Twilight Town some, so that she might understand it better.

And the selfishness that was within Naminé—that was so unlike Kairi, she knew—wished she could use that knowledge to try and escape DiZ… But she would never do it. She had made a promise to Sora, hadn't she? And if that meant working with DiZ—who Naminé hated and feared, even though she shouldn't have been able to feel anything at all—then so be it. "The only thing I don't like about this city, Xion, is its brown and red color scheme. This town is ours—a property of Organization XIII's—so shouldn't it moreso resemble our own monochrome color scheme?"

Truth be told, that was the exact oppositeof what Naminé wanted—given the trauma she'd undergone in Castle Oblivion—and she tried to explain to Vexen some of her issues with those colors without giving the truth away.

“If you—…we—make Twilight Town so sterile… isn’t that the exact opposite of what we’re trying to do in getting Kingdom Hearts? So that we can enjoy vibrant things again with our hearts? …But if you decide to not listen to me and do this anyway, Vexen… could you add some blue to the white and black? I- I like that color.” And Naminé did. The blue lights that connected to Sora's pod—that reminded her of his cerulean orbs when he was awake—were something she deeply loved... and silver still, she supposed. Just not white.

And she must have saidsomethingright, because Vexen smiled at Naminé and ruffled her hair some… and thankfully didn’t do anything to Twilight Town.

…

After Naminé had thought of Sora’s eyes again, she’d felt her feelings for him returning. And she wondered who she cared for more: him, or the Riku Replica.

…But this was ridiculous, Naminé decided as she crossed out the picture she’d just drawn of herself holding both of their hands. Sora would actually ever choose her over Kairi… and the Riku Replica was gone. And she didn’t even have a heart to feel with at all. So, all of these sentiments of hers were false… so why was she torturing herself with it? Besides… they were all still so young, that Naminé had her doubts that what Sora and Riku felt for Kairi (that she had once based Sora and the Riku Replica’s thoughts for her on) was really a crush, or just friendship. Sora may have felt so strongly for Kairi, but she wasn’t certain about Riku (and he wasn’t the Riku Replica, anyway)… and it wasn’t like what like anything they had towards Kairi would somehow be transferred over to her.

She was doomed to never have neither silver, she thought, or the safety for herself that she saw in them. Thankfully, as a distraction to these maddening thoughts of hers, it was around this time that Naminé first started seeing Xion's black hood—that glistened a certain way in the sun—as she attempted to repair Sora's memories.

…

And when Naminé's life didend up getting mixed up with Xion's, she was glad that it was. This girl was selfless and good. And in an alternate universe where DiZ alone was doing all of this, the blonde knew that he wouldn’t have even presented her with a choice… but Xion wanted to give this girl who was so much like Sora—and Kairi, in a few ways—at least that.

But at some point… the white witch even wrestled with what she wanted to do about Xion, because she came to realize that she could potentially save her... but that was only potentially. And DiZ would never allow it...

And wouldn't she be breaking her promise to Sora, if she delayed him waking so long and maybe even risked him waking to find out no one remembered him?

And Naminé got the sense that even Xion wouldn’t want to wait for this answer, if her existence continued to endanger Roxas’.

So, all of this was why Naminé settled on the idea that Xion going away was for the best, when everyone pressured her about it, but she still had her doubts. And oh, how she hated herself.

And maybe that was part of the reason that she promised the girl she'd take care of Roxas: surely, she owed both these poor souls something.

And if Naminé cut some inches of her white dress off—to save as a grave marker for Xion while she still remembered her, before the wind blew it away—then Naminé found the uncomfortableness of her dress being so short, as penance for all she’d done and a gift to another.

…

Naminé’s thoughts of silver—of home, of safety—when it came to Roxas were short and to the point… but perhaps they were some of the most important ones of all.

…When Roxas tried to save her from DiZ—and reached out to her—much in the same way she had helped him against Dusks and the Twilight Thorn before… Naminé felt hope was within her reach for the first time ever, and that she was truly cared for by someone.

So even while she disappeared near him twice, she smiled.

…

The next time Naminé would really be able to think about anything at all—at least in her own body. And not of Terra, who she had forced herself to reach, even without consciousness, in order to save the Guardians—would be when she was brought back to life by Kairi, Sora, Ansem the Wise, Ienzo, and Even... as she sat in that sterile chair, and was thankful for it, yes, but still selfishly wishing that there was someone who cherished her more than anyone else, who could be there for her in this moment.

Sora and Kairi were currently going around to worlds and helping them out in secret—Naminé could see this in their memories—and while it was cute… she didn't think she'd get the reunion from them that she was hoping for. …So was she ever impressed, when Dilan and Aeleus escorted her outside and she saw Riku waiting for her with his hand outstretched—dreaming of taking her away, it seemed. He wasn't the silver she'd once dreamt of. But he wasn't far off. And as blue petals flew all around them, Naminé touched fingertips and found that she could have peace over chaos, after all.

#kh #kingdom hearts #fanfiction #namine #character study #replinami #namiku #canon #canon compliant #oneshot #mine #my work #Shanna writes #my writing #some connections to Daenerys here. which is partly why I added the 'doors' part to the title since Dany sees red doors as safety

3 notes · View notes

primal-screamer-blog1 · 6 years ago

Photo

Ruby loved being under the red lights. She was Mexican and Japanese, a tiny, bronzed, energetic spitfire with wide hips and impossibly long legs. Legs that drove men from all over California to see in the flesh. And after hours on the 405 for a long L.A. weekend, flesh was exactly what they wanted. They’d line up and lay down hundreds for her to crawl into their laps, wrap her long athletic legs around their necks and writhe on top of them. And Ruby wasn’t the only one drawing a crowd; Seventh Veil was home to some of the most sought after women in Los Angeles. Between Ruby, Roxanne, Alexis, Lola, Kenzie and Jade, the headlining girls of Seventh Veil were just as well known, if not moreso, than the boys in the bands that they all dated. In their big cars, with their big hair, they commanded the strip, bringing in money, men and any excess they could ever want. Naturally there was a cover charge. “C’mon, what about $10? I got a 10.” Nikki pleaded with the bouncer, a tall, muscular man named Rob who wore all black and had a tattoo of a shark on his neck. “How you gonna afford to tip these girls if you can’t even get in the door, kid?” If it were anyone else, Rob would’ve had Nikki out on his ass for talking him down to half price. But Nikki had been coming around for as long as Ruby had been working there; all the boys in Motley Crue had. The rock n’ roll of the strip had quickly become the lifeblood of the clubs. He knew Nikki was trouble, but not the kind of trouble he would ever have to worry about. “I’m gonna tip, I’m just not gonna be here for too long is all. One dance and I’m out, I swear.” “Nikki! Please. Spare me the sob story. You could have any of these girls all over you for free anytime you want. Why are you trying to pay for a lap dance?” Nikki sighed and tried to look inside over Rob’s shoulder. He couldn’t see past the obnoxious fake smoke that fogged up the entryway. “I just gotta talk to Ruby.” “Yeah?” Rob laughed. “You and ‘bout every other red blooded male in California. She making you pay for it all of a sudden?”“I don’t pay for shit, man. Look, this is the only place I can talk to her without her trying to fucking kill me. I got a show tonight anyway, I swear I'm in and I’m out.” Nikki held two fingers up. Rob shrugged and lifted the red velvet rope separating the two of them. “You got an hour.” “You fucking rock, man.” Through the plaster Arabian palace archway and neon signage, Nikki made for the bar. If this conversation were going to go the way he wanted it to, he’d need their tallest, cheapest shot. Leaned against the bar top, Roxanne was on her break, sipping a diet coke and flipping through a copy of Cosmopolitan. “Nikki?” Her melodic voice called over to him. She smiled and waved him over with a manicured hand. Roxanne was a tall, slim strawberry blonde with big blue eyes and big tits. She wore white cowboy boots and a red one piece with blue and white fringe, a costume she’d come up with for her “American Woman” number that Tommy really loved. He also loved her freckles. Nikki wrapped her in a short hug and let his hand rest on her hip. “Hey Roxanne.” “You haven’t been here in a while , Nikki! Where’ve you been? Making Tommy wander out all on his own!” She had a sweet, southern accent that always made him smile. “I’m sure Tommy’s doing just fine without me.” “We make sure he has fun out here.” She giggled and sucked down nearly half her diet coke, letting out a tiny burp. It made sense that her and Tommy got on as well as they did. “Does Ruby know you’re here?” “Not yet. Was hoping to chill out a little bit before talking to her.” “You comin’ to apologize?” “Apologize for what?” He gave her a shy grin. “Oh c’mon, Nikki. You’re on the shit list and you know it. She told us all about what you did.” “She did?” He winced.“Been talkin about it since she got here.” She went behind the bar and poured him a tall glass of Jack and Coke. “On the house. You’re gonna need it.” “Is she that mad?” He took the mixing straw and tossed it in the trash, taking a big swing instead. “Boot in the head didn’t let you know?” “Okay. Point taken. I’m an asshole.” “Just say you’re sorry, Nikki. It’s not a big word. She’ll forgive you.” “Where’s she at?” “On stage, dummy.” Roxanne giggled and pointed behind him. Ruby was crawling down the catwalk towards the tip bar where a cute blonde boy held two twenties in the air. The room was full, men talking and laughing, pinching Alexis or Lola on their asses as they worked the room while Ruby danced. She wore a studded red leather harness on top of a black g-string pulled high up above her ass and a black satin bra. Her strappy black stilettos brought her tiny 5’3 frame to 5’7 and her long black ponytail, teased up high made her look even taller. Up in lights, she unfolded herself into a split to “Slave” by the Rolling Stones. She tucked the boys money into her g-string and fell back into him, laughing and wriggling in his lap. Next to him, his drunk friend howled and threw a handful of ten dollar bills on her chest. She pulled herself up on stage and spun around on the pole before pulling her bra down to reveal a set of black sequined pasties. She fell down into another split, tossing her bra at the high tippers. Nikki stood back and watched her. He’d seen her dance plenty of times before; they met outside three years ago trying to buy drugs from each other. Nikki always loved seeing a hot woman dance, but something about watching Ruby specifically was fun for him. She danced the same way she played music. When she took the stage, she showed something vulnerable and something wild that he’d never seen in a woman. Raised to adhere to strict social conservatism, Ruby was brought up in the elite high society of Manhattan. It was a complete accident that, while attending an all girls boarding school, she was introduced to Black Sabbath and AC/DC records. Every Tuesday after her SAT prep, Ruby’s mom paid a 19 year old college student to teach Ruby classical piano. In reality, she was learning to play ‘Crocodile Rock’ and memorizing the names of singers in metal bands. In no time, she was sneaking out to meet punk boys at hip, underground parties in Brooklyn where she saw bands like the Stooges and the Ramones. It was when the Germs toured through the city that a young Lorna Doom handed off a copy of California punk zine Flipside to Ruby. After that, she became obsessed with maps of Los Angeles and would harass the local record store to bring in X tapes every time she went in. When she turned 17, a boy she was dating put on a copy of a barely formed Black Flag’s single Nervous Breakdown. “Holy shit.” They were angry, they were weird and they were unlike anything she’d heard before. She packed her bags and sold her bike to buy a Greyhound ticket across the country. Seventh Veil was the first place that would take in a skinny 18 year old with no home, no references and no clue. After being at an all girls school for so long, she took to the locker room camaraderie immediately. She went from timid and awkward to bold and brash, someone unafraid who knew how to make space and make noise. Spinning around the pole or swinging a microphone, whenever Ruby was on the stage, she gave her all to stake her claim in what she’d built for herself. When she danced, Nikki could see all that liberation in the smile on her face. So it was a little disappointing to see that smile falter as she caught sight of him. She staggered a bit as they locked eyes and awkwardly moved to the other side of the stage, regaining composure away from his glance. When she came back around, Nikki had grabbed a seat up front next to the blonde and his friend. Ruby flipped her ponytail to hide her eye roll and crawled over to him. “What do you want?” She said just loud enough for him to hear, sliding down onto her elbows and pushing her ass in the air for the rest of the audience. “I wanna talk to you.” “No way. Go home, Nikki.” “How about a private dance then?” “Fuck you!” She pulled herself up onto her knees and tugged the straps of her leather harness down. Nikki placed a hundred dollar bill on stage. “Come talk to me.” Nikki didn’t seem to understand what he was asking. She stood up and threw one long leg over his shoulder and dragged his seat in closer. She slid down into his lap so that she straddled him, one thigh pressed up against his arm in a flexible fold. Her nipples, covered up with pasties, pressed against his chest. The guys next to them whooped and tossed stacks of dollar bills into Nikki’s lap as she wrapped her other leg around his waist. He was instantly hard. She tangled her fingers into his knotted black hair and purred into his ear. “Are you really trying make a scene, Sixx?” She pulled back and looked up into his eyes. His expression had a slight glaze, his mouth dropped open. His hands rested nervously on her hips. The answer, she could see from his hesitation, was no. Nikki was known for his impulse - it’s what they bonded over. They spent their nights buried in drugs and living out their highs with fireworks, bar fights and loud music, bringing them to early mornings of come downs, shivers and heightened emotions. Cocaine addled conversations birthed ideas for Motley Crue and eventually led to Ruby forming her own band, The Plastix. They talked books and broken homes, b movies and beat poets, deep dark fears and depraved, debased perversions. But whenever they would come too close, whenever things got too heavy, Nikki would pull away. He would tug up his sleeves and show his scars, recount memories to the point of tears, but if she ever moved to soothe him, he flinched. Nikki was always unknowingly crying out for help, but his problem was he never knew what to do once he got it. It was why she stopped giving him so many chances; she knew he would never take them. She felt bad for him. “Fine. Let’s talk.” She pressed her forehead to his and pulled away. She finished her number with a final upside down spin down the pole and motioned for Jade - a vampy brunette - to take her spot on stage. Ruby stepped behind the zebra print curtain backstage and emerged a few minutes later in a black sweatshirt and leg warmers with a drink in each hand. She led Nikki to the VIP lounge - a purple velvet couch and a clear lucite table tucked in a corner behind a velvet rope. Under the black light, she sipped on her vodka cranberry and pushed a refreshed Jack and Coke into his hand. “Got ya a bunch of cherries.” She commented, snatching one out of his drink and sucking the whiskey off it. “Thanks. I never wanna ask for them.” He pulled his black fringe over his eyes before doing the same. “You’ll empty half a bottle of hairspray onto yourself but you won’t ask for cherries?” “I don’t care if people wanna call me a chick. I just don’t want them thinking I’m a kid.” Ruby pulled his hundred dollar bill from her bra and slid it across the table. “Where’d you get the money?” Nikki made a face and quickly shoved it into the pocket of his leather jacket. “Tommy let me pawn his stereo.” He mumbled. “Nikki!” “I know.” “C’mon, you can’t do that! You don’t gotta….throw money at me anyway. I would’ve just talked to you afterwards.” “Without trying to punch me in the head?” “Okay. I get your approach.” She shrugged and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “But all I’ve wanted lately is to just talk to you. I really wish you would’ve just tried that. I don’t want your money.” He crunched up the bill in his fist. “I thought maybe I could just buy back what I stole from you.” He sighed. She wanted to yell at him more; tell him that she didn’t care about the drugs. She cared that he lied to her and used her. She’d seen him do it to enough people to feel stupid that she let it happen to her. She wanted to tell him how he made her rush to work even more hectic than L.A. traffic normally made it. She wanted to tell him about dancing with aching joints and having to wear a smile when you can’t feel the muscles in your face. She wanted to tell him that just because he wanted her attention, that didn’t mean he could fuck her over. But she didn’t. He already knew all of that. He was trying. “Why have you been so shitty to me lately?” He went quiet. There was hardly a time she caught him off guard that he couldn’t immediately divert his attention to scribbling in his notebook. He opened his mouth to say something and then stopped himself before chugging his drink. He was the one who wanted to talk, after all. “It’s weird for me that you’re dating Vince.” Ruby lifted an eyebrow at him before letting out a confused laugh.“What?” She snickered. “I’m not dating Vince.” “What are you talking about? Yes you are.” He knitted his brows together. She stopped laughing when she saw that he wasn’t. “I’m fucking Vince. First of all,” She leaned in closer to him and lowered her voice, taking on a more serious tone. “I don’t wanna date anyone. I deal with enough men here. I don’t-” She held up a hand and cut herself off before getting carried away. “Second of all, what does it matter? You fuck my friends all the time!” “Yeah! But-” “You were just fucking Jade in your freaky sex closet two weeks ago! She said it smelled like gouda cheese. I thought that was part of why we were friends, we hook each other up!” “I know. I know .” He fell back in his seat. “It’s just uncomfortable to me. I mean, it’s Vince . He’s so skeezy.” “You think I don’t know that? Look I told you, I’m not trying to marry the guy. We’re just having fun together. Nikki, why are you so concerned?” “I dunno, you’re not stupid, Ruby, why do you think?” For a moment, they just looked at each other and waited for the other to say something. When she didn’t, he sipped his drink and looked away. It wasn’t the first time since she’d known him that he looked so sad she wanted to kiss him. If only let him know that his feelings weren’t completely displaced. Instead, she leaned back with him and watched the spinning disco ball above them sparkle. Another thought in a long line of the same, she thought about a future with him and what that might be like. “You know you and me aren’t ready for this, right?” “Yeah.” He popped another wet cherry in his mouth. Something in his expression lifted when he looked back at her. He leaned into her shoulder, his teased up hair brushing into her face. “What do you mean?” “You know what I mean.” “I do.” He smiled at her. He pulled a knotted cherry stem out of his mouth and placed it in her hand. “I just wanna hear you say it.” “Please don’t make me.” She groaned to keep herself from laughing, not wanting to encourage him. She stuck his cherry stem in her mouth and swallowed it. He grinned at her. “I’m gonna make you.” She sighed and her smile dropped. She pushed the melting ice in her drink around with her straw. “Things are changing so quickly.” She let out a sarcastic laugh before nudging him off of her. “You don’t want a girlfriend anymore than I want a boyfriend, Nikki. Think about it. You wanna be a rockstar. You’re gonna go on tour and meet girls and make money. You’re not gonna have time to be with someone and you’re not gonna wanna be.” “That’s bullshit, though. You’re gonna do all the same stuff.” “Yeah, maybe. I want to. And I wanna do it without having to worry about when I’m gonna see you next or who you’re hanging out with or if you care who I’m hanging out with….I just don’t want it. I don’t want to do that to you.” “Well then, I don’t get why you’re doing it with someone else.” “I’m not. I don’t care about him the way I care about you. If we ever got close like that, I’d need it to be serious with you. And I’m not ready for that. You’re not ready for that.” He wanted to argue. Not because he had anything much left to say, but because he was still frustrated. He yanked his last cherry off its stem and sucked on it before swallowing it down. He wasn’t sure if he regretted coming here or if what she said made him feel any better. She wasn’t wrong and in a way, she told him exactly what he wanted to hear. That night, Nikki went back to the Whiskey-a-Go Go to play a show with his band. They went on 45 minutes later than they were supposed to, something Mick was sure to thoroughly blame him for. “Where the fuck have you been?” “Don’t worry about it, old man.” “Oh, I’m real fucking worried.” The crowd didn’t care. They came out for Motley Crue and stayed out with them long into the night, far past their last song. Particularly, a buxom redhead who reminded Nikki of his first girlfriend had stuck around the club long enough to come back with them for their nightly afterparty. She stayed tangled up in him all night. And when he went to bed with her, pounding her into the mattress, he heard Ruby moaning louder than she ever had in the room across the hall. Working his conquest harder than he normally cared to, he waited until he was sure he heard Ruby cum before unloading himself down the new girls back. He left her sticky and sweaty in the sheets to smoke a cigarette in the cool night air. Ruby was already out there. He thought she might be. His pressed his bare back to the brick wall next to her and pulled his pack out of his low slung leather pants. She was wearing one of Vince’s vintage car t shirts and a pair of black denim shorts she arrived in, her feet shoved into Tommy’s oversized sneakers. “You staying over tonight?” He asked her. She shook her head and handed him a lighter. “Nah. I’m almost on my way out. Just gotta find my shoes.” She watched him light up and made sure to grab it back before he could stick it in his own pocket. He pushed his hair out of his face and quietly exhaled, both of them choosing to listen to the Alice Cooper playing from a car down the street rather than speak. She watched the smoke dissipate in the air, the sounds of laughter carrying over from the strip just a block away. They both smelled of boozey sweet summer air. It was peaceful. For the second time tonight, Nikki felt like being honest. “You know, I can hear you and Vince. In my room. Mostly you.” He told her. Before she could say anything, he stumbled over an explanation. “It’s not a big deal. I just thought you’d wanna know, it makes it kind of difficult for me to uh...not think of you. In that way.” He stammered and immediately felt stupid. “Yeah?” She raised an eyebrow at him. She put out her cigarette on the concrete and exhaled her last hit. “Same.” She gave him a sly grin and slipped back inside. “Goodnight, Nikki.” Nikki went to bed happy that night. She was thinking of him too. ***fan fiction writers are creators too! we work really hard and put a lot of time into our stories. if you enjoy someone’s content, please consider leaving them a comment. it’s really helpful! thank you. Taglist: @triplehaitches

#motley crue #the dirt #nikki sixx #douglas booth #fan fiction #fanfic #fan fic #motley crue fan fiction #motley crue fan fic #motley crue fanfic #vince neil #tommy lee #mick mars

14 notes · View notes

lululeighsworld · 6 years ago

Text

Memories are the Music of our Hearts

The Ouran Host Club decides to attend a local Obon festival during summer vacation! Mori shows off a hidden talent, Haruhi takes on the role of instructor, and Tamaki reaffirms what he's wanted all along.

I wrote this fan fiction for @ohshc-music-room3-zine! Reminder that there are a few physical bundles of the zine left and that PDF sales are still open!

@chiisagi and I collaborated together to make this idea come to life! Find her art work here!

And as always, a big thank you to @thislittlekumquat for being my beta reader for the project!

On AO3

Summer.

A time known for its dreadful humidity, vacations from school, and most importantly, festivals. No matter where one found oneself in Japan, a festival was never too far away this time of the year. Colorful lanterns often lit the way as the sun dipped below the horizon, illuminating the festival with a cheery atmosphere. Although it was becoming more normal for festival-goers to wear casual clothes, many people still donned a yukata for these events despite the difficulty and time it took to dress in them.

The clicking of geta on the hard pavement rang in Haruhi’s ears as they followed the path of paper lanterns, worried that they had kept the others waiting for too long. They noticed their group of friends standing at the entrance, their faces so recognizable at this point that it was near impossible to not pick them out. Haruhi waved to their friends and slowed their pace, drawing the Host Club’s attention.

“Sorry I'm late! I had some difficulty tying my obi.” Haruhi shouted as they tried to catch their breath, stopping just short of the gate.

“Wow Haru-chan! You look amazing!” Honey-senpai was the first of the group to run up and greet them, bursting with excitement as always. “The floral pattern of your yukata is lovely!”

“Thank you, senpai. You brought Usa-chan along with you tonight I see?”

“Mhmm! He wanted to experience the festival too!”

“Hey Haruhi.” Hikaru greeted. “If you were running late we could have met you halfway.” He spoke as he and his brother approached Haruhi and Honey, soon followed by the others.

“I wouldn’t want you guys to get lost somewhere.”

“That’s true. Maybe we all should have met at your place?” Kaoru chimed in.

“Showing up in limos in Haruhi’s small neighborhood could potentially cause another scene like last time, remember?” Kyoya remarked from behind the twins.

“Mhmm.” Mori agreed, his short and simple contribution causing Haruhi to smile. It was good to see everyone again during summer vacation.

As the group continued to idly talk, Tamaki stood silently towards the back with his cheeks burning bright red, holding onto Kyoya’s arm for support. Haruhi looked so pretty in their blue floral yukata, matching barrette clipped into their bangs and a beautiful flower decoration behind their left ear. His crush on Haruhi was no secret amongst the other members, and as much as they teased or joked they only wished him the best. Kyoya pinched the top of his hand to bring him back to reality and gestured to the festival behind them as an idea. Once Tamaki had managed to recover from the initial shyness, he decided to make his presence known, jumping into the conversation with his dramatic, sing-song voice.

“Well everyone, shall we head in? There’s lots more to do than just stand here and chitchat.”

“Yeah! Let’s go everyone!” Haruhi enthused, the other boys nodding in agreement as they all made their way inside.

Taking their first steps onto the cobblestone path, the sights and sounds of the surrounding festival reminded Haruhi of the few times they had attended when they were younger. Back then they attended Obon with their father to honor their mother. While now was certainly no different, Haruhi thought it was reassuring that their mom would see them having fun with their friends tonight.

All around was laughter and chatter from the other festival-goers, while off in the distance Haruhi heard the steady rhythm of a drum. Everyone had agreed to participate in the festival dance later that evening, but until then, they would amuse themselves with the various stalls that lined each side of the walkway.

“Hey, why don't we play a game to pass some time?” Hikaru suggested, Kaoru following his brother’s gaze. The younger of the twins pointed to one stall as he finished the thought.

“How about goldfish catching?”

Everyone thought it was an excellent idea, cheering in agreement as they headed to the stall. They were all handed both a paper scooper and a bowl of their own upon paying their 100 yen, everyone helping one another roll up the sleeves of their yukata before giving the game a chance. The rules were simple: be quick and catch as many fish as possible before the scooper disintegrated in the water, and no standing in the pool.

Catching fish was much more difficult than Haruhi recalled from their childhood, their paper scooper breaking after only a few submerges into the water. The boys seemed just as unlucky, unsuccessful in their attempts to catch even a single fish. However, Mori appeared to make up for their bad luck, finding a rhythm and capturing goldfish after goldfish before his paddle eventually broke. His bowl nearly overflowing with fish, he was forced to carry the plastic bags of his winnings in his arms. The group was now in quite the dilemma, for Mori would be unable to participate in the festival dance with his arms full of fish.

“Your goldfish are all so cute, Takashi! Look, this one here has orange speckles!” Honey pointed out as he watched the fish excitedly.

“But it will be impossible for Mori-senpai to navigate through a crowd of people with all these bags in his arms.” Tamaki frowned and tapped his index finger to his chin.

“And we can't exactly take them either since they’ll get jostled around while we dance.” Kyoya thought aloud, allowing the rest of the group to ponder on their next course of action.

“Maybe the stall would take them back?” Hikaru suggested.

“Or perhaps we could put them on a bench and hope someone takes them home?” Kaoru proposed and looked around to see if there was a bench nearby.

As the others discussed the possible options, Mori set his sights somewhere off into the distance, leaving the group so he could carry out his own solution. A little way down the lane stood a group of girls who had noticed the Host Club, recognizing their pretty features and charming air. The Strong and Silent Host made his way towards the group of girls alone, wearing a smile on his face. Haruhi happened to notice that he had taken off, watching the scene unfold out of the corner of their eye.

“Would you like one?” Mori shrugged his arms, gesturing to the many goldfish he carried. Each of the ladies was thrilled to receive such an adorable gift from their upperclassman and thanked Mori generously before they departed to enjoy the rest of the festival.

“Well that sure got all those fish off your hands, huh, Mori-senpai?” Haruhi asked as he returned to their group. He nodded in typical Mori-fashion and watched as the group of girls showed one another their fish in excitement.

“Yeah, they seemed really happy about it too.”

The group continued to wander around the festival, browsing the stalls and bravely trying a bit of the food. They each bought something different, allowing everyone to try out the various tastes and flavors. Haruhi had decided to purchase taiyaki, cutting the fish-shaped cakes into smaller pieces for sharing. The twins had bought ikayaki and dared everyone to at least try a small bite of the grilled squid on a stick. While they all stepped up to the plate, not everyone agreed that they would like to have a second bite.

“Say Haruhi, when is the dancing supposed to begin, again?” Hikaru asked as he threw out the stick to the chocolate covered banana he had been eating.

“It begins at 8:30. What time is it now?”

“According to my watch, it’s about twenty after eight o’clock,” Kyoya reported.

“Already?! It doesn’t feel like we’ve been walking around for that long!”

“Is something the matter Haruhi?” Tamaki asked, sensing concern in Haruhi’s voice.

“If we dawdle for too much longer we’ll be stuck in the back of the crowd for the dance. And that’s no fun since we won’t be able to see the performers.”

“Well, if we’re all done eating, why don’t we head on over? We came out tonight to dance, correct?” Kyoya suggested and nodded towards Haruhi. “Lead the way and we’ll follow close behind.”

“Come on then guys, let's go!” Haruhi motioned towards the gathering crowd.

The group soon found themselves encompassed by people on all sides, everyone full of excitement and cheer as they waited for the dances to begin. A few feet away stood a two-level yagura; the lower level serving as a stage for the dancers, while on the second level stood a nagadou-daiko, which a performer was already drumming away steadily on. Lanterns decorated the stage, bathing the area with enough light for everyone to see where they were going. Haruhi’s eagerness continued to build as the crowd grew. They turned to look at their friends, who wore expressions of nervousness.

“Is something… wrong?” Haruhi questioned. “You were all so bubbly a few minutes ago.”

“Well, I believe what everyone is thinking here is—”

“—None of us know the actions for the dances.” The twins spoke in turns, the others nodding in agreement.

“You're kidding me, right? None of you know the movements?”

“I would keep in mind that the last time many of us visited a festival was when we were children. And even then, I'm certain our parents would have taken us home before it had gotten too late.” Kyoya answered as everyone else agreed. Haruhi sighed as they thought about their next steps.

“Well, I suppose this time I will be the one instructing you guys! You all better watch carefully and not miss a beat!”

With minimal space available, Haruhi did their best to explain and demonstrate the actions to the dances they could remember as the others paid close attention. They practiced as the opening taiko performance played, Haruhi giving key pointers as well as warning them that they might become separated during the dances.

“I think I’m going to mess up these actions big time. Was it a step with the left or right foot first, again?” Tamaki looked to Haruhi for help, feeling a tad silly that he couldn’t keep the order straight in his head.

“The right foot, Tamaki-senpai. Don’t worry about messing up the steps too much though. Remember, it’s all about having fun!”

Haruhi’s smile made Tamaki’s heart skip a beat as they spoke and blood rose to his cheeks, painting them a nice, bright red. The ever-outgoing Host Club King could only bring himself to nod as Haruhi tried once more to explain the actions. Though he listened carefully, the tutorial was cut off by a very loud man announcing that the fun was about to start.

“Is everybody ready?” came a booming voice, pausing to give the crowd a moment to cheer in reply. “Alright! Here we go everyone! 3 - 2 - 1, leeeeet’sss begin!”

Enthusiasm surrounded the yagura as Haruhi and their friends danced together, the atmosphere amplified by so many others also enjoying themselves. The first few songs were slower in tempo, the crowd moving in a circle around the yagura as they danced. Everyone watched Haruhi as they led the group at the front, doing their best not to hit anyone in the face with their sleeves or step on someone’s toes. After some time there was a bit of a free dance, which allowed everyone to jam out as they liked. Although standing in the middle of the crowd was quite warm, everyone held it together, having a good time as they danced and laughed to the beat of the music.

To start, the group had managed to stay together, but they were eventually separated as the dances became more hectic, Tamaki finding himself amidst unfamiliar—albeit exuberant—faces. He had met a few of his friends so far, matched up with Kyoya as well as the twins during the group dance. He was honestly having fun, watching the demonstrators so as to not mess up the actions too terribly. That was, until Tamaki switched places with his dance partner, turned around, and realized who his new partner would be.

“H-Haruhi?!”

“Oh hi Tamaki-senpai! Looks like we’ll be partners for a bit!”*

Tamaki could feel his blood run hot as his cheeks flushed red, his actions turning clunky and disjointed. He was too worried about messing up big time in front of his crush, of all people, though he did his best to keep on dancing to cover it up.

“Are you enjoying yourself so far, Tamaki-senpai?”

“M-mhm.”

Haruhi’s expressions of delight as they moved along to the music eased Tamaki’s nerves immensely, allowing him to enjoy the moment too. Even though he was certain that he had made a few mistakes, he had forgotten all about trying to be perfect and let himself smile and laugh.

“Sha!” They shouted in synchronization, laughing together as they continued to dance. This moment was the most amount of fun Tamaki had experienced in a long time, apart from club activities. As the night progressed, he was truly thankful that Haruhi had invited them to the festival that night, because he was making priceless memories with the people he felt happiest around.

As the dancing continued, people joined in and left as they pleased, each Host Club member making their way out of the crowd once exhausted and convening at the meetup spot they had decided upon earlier. Now only waiting for Haruhi, the other members talked amongst themselves as they did their best to keep cool in the humid evening air.

“Sorry you guys! Every time I tried to leave, the crowd kept pulling me back in!” Haruhi panted, relieved to have escaped the suffocating air of the dances. They quickly opened the bottle of water they had run to buy once free, taking a long swig to rehydrate themself.

“You wouldn’t think it, but dancing around like that sure builds up a sweat!” Tamaki said as he wiped his brow with a cloth. Kyoya and the twins did their best to beat the humidity by waving fans in one other’s direction. On the other hand, Mori and Honey seemed to be the only ones who were not tired, their endurance built up from martial arts training preparing them for such high-energy activities.

“Well, should we make our way over to the fireworks?” Haruhi prompted as they finished quenching their thirst.

“It would be best to get going before it becomes too congested.” Kyoya tucked his fan into his sleeve, the twins continuing to bask in the cold air provided by their own.

“Where’s the best place to watch from, Haruhi?”

“The fireworks happen over the river, right?” Kaoru explained, answering his brother’s question. “If we get close enough to see its reflection it’ll be a beautiful show.”

“You’re right, Kaoru. Follow me! I know just the spot.” Haruhi began to walk down the gravel path towards the river, followed close behind by the others. A few lanterns lit the way, but for the most part it was dark, the sun having set a while ago. Given that it was a clear night, it surely would be an excellent fireworks show under the stars.

Haruhi did know of a great spot to watch the fireworks; however, it appeared they weren’t the only ones to have that idea. A small crowd had already started to form along that section of the river, forcing the group to stand back, away from the river bank.

“Ooh I can’t see, everyone’s too tall!”

“Here, Mitsukuni.” Mori moved before Honey could respond and hoisted the boy up to sit on his shoulders. Now he towered over the crowd and had the best seat in the house.

“Thanks, Takashi! Look Usa-chan, now we’ll be able to see all the fireworks!” Honey cheered as he rested his chin on the plush rabbit’s head.

Off in the distance the dances continued, the music adding to the already excited air as people chatted with one another. The group talked amongst themselves, discussing how fun it might be to hold a summer event like this for the Host Club. However, as the wait was drawn out, the chattering wavered almost uneasily. Now and again a small child protested, questioning or upset with the nervous energy. Haruhi could see the anxious anticipation in the set of the twins’ eyes and the way Honey-senpai slouched atop Mori-senpai's shoulders. Even Kyoya and Tamaki seemed a tad restless, the vice president cleaning off his glasses with the speed of a turtle as their King looked out over the river in a daydream-like state.

Just as the feeling of impatience started to feel too heavy, the first firework rang out with a bang, immediately drawing the eager crowd's attention from the dark where they’d been waiting. It lit up the sky and created a beautiful reflection in the lake below, leaving everyone breathless as more and more fireworks were set off.

“Look at those ones Hikaru! It’s like they’re sizzling!”

“Fireworks sure have become fancier since we were little, huh Kaoru?”

“I wonder how much a show like this would cost to have for the Host Club… hmm…” Kyoya mused to himself, making a mental note to jot down later.

The fireworks glistened over the water with every loud bang, lighting up the sky with sparkles and excitement. Haruhi let a gasp fall from their lips as an especially high firework burst in the sky, changing colors from yellow to blue as it dispersed. Amazed at the sight, Haruhi leaned so far back to see it that their head brushed against Tamaki’s arm, pulling the other’s attention away from the show. He looked down at Haruhi, watching as their eyes lit up at every firework, wondering what they were thinking.

“The fireworks sure are spectacular, aren’t they, Haruhi?”

“Yeah… I’m glad we could watch them together. It was fun to hang out with everyone outside of our Host Club activities.” They paused for a moment, trying to collect their feelings as a rainbow of color exploded before their eyes. “I really appreciate you all coming out tonight, too.”

‘I think my mom also had a good evening.’ They thought to themself as they watched every color imaginable dance across the dark canvas of night sky. Haruhi’s previous comment drew Tamaki’s attention for a concentrated moment before he looked back up, watching as the sky was decorated with bright oranges and fiery reds which were very reminiscent of the festival. He almost missed what Haruhi said as the grand finale started, their voice drowned out by the loud booms and cheers from the crowd.

“We should all definitely hang out like this more often.”

Despite the surrounding darkness, there was just enough light from the spectacle above that Tamaki could make out the smile that bloomed across Haruhi’s face.

“I think that’s a great idea. What do you say, you guys?” Tamaki looked at everyone around him before lifting his gaze, his next words unheard as the other members remained absorbed in the firework show.

“Let’s make lots more memories together in the future.”

Thank you for reading! This project was an absolute delight to be a part of and I will hold this experience near and dear to my heart!

Definitions for some less familiar terms!

Geta: A Japanese wooden shoe. Obi: Sash worn around a kimono. Obon: Summer festival originating in Buddhist customs. Taiyaki, ikayaki: Popular Japanese foods. Yagura: Wooden tower structure often found in Japanese castles. Nagadou-daiko: Elongated taiko drum.

#ouran high school host club #ohshc #chiisagi #ouran zine #ouran #my writing #haruhi fujioka #mitsukuni haninozuka #hikaru hitachiin #kaoru hitachiin #kyoya ootori #takashi morinozuka #tamaki suoh

11 notes · View notes

dotzines · 5 years ago

Photo

Artist spotlight: Sam Howard!

✿ Instagram ✿

Header source: [X]

Introduce yourself Hello! I am a university student studying geeky drawings and how to make them, sometimes including doodles of games like Night in the Woods, Stardew Valley, and, more recently, Maplestory 2. I love drawing cute beasts and other humanoid-monsters and their individual melodrama with routine. Also I worship chocolate covered raisins and hope that doesn't negate any cool thoughts you might've had about me until this sentence. When did you start drawing? Are you a digital or traditional artist? I started drawing about 3 years ago when I decided I wanted to pursue art as a career (and worked mad hard to build skills to feel "worthy"). I work mostly digitally, but I adore doing traditional work for sketches and conceptualizing. Do you use any traditional mediums? If so, which are your favorites? I'm very simple, I mostly just use graphite and the occasional markers and ink pens. I love cartoony looks, so it works well for me!

Why do you prefer traditional over digital? (or viceversa) I get a lot cleaner colors for digital and overall the crisper look I yearn for. I prefer to sketch things out traditionally sometimes, but digitally allows me to save multiple renditions of sketches for me to compare to very easily within the same file without mess or struggle with color picking/matching! I also adore the ranges of doing more dramatic lighting and comparing which I like better haha. What do you think is the most challenging part about being a traditional/digital artist? With digital art, it is harder to maintain loose sketches or lines. I hate using smoothing in Photoshop because of the inherent (and purposeful) lag that comes with it, but with the tablet I've got it's necessary or else the lines jitter insanely due to the nibs for the tablet not exactly working (especially since this isn't exactly a drawing tablet). On that same note, having your medium being expensive but durable (as opposed to traditional being over time) isn't the most convenient or adaptable. What inspires your pieces? Goofy mishaps in day-to-day life. When I or other friends tell silly, seemingly small stories about their day or my day I feel a melodramatic urge to be romantically artsy with their/my entertaining 5 to 20 seconds!

image source: [X] Explain your "everyday" drawing process My first thoughts are usually "What would be bouncy fun" or "What's something this character would do odd in a normal situation" to at least get the ball rolling. If neither of those work for my goal then I ask what has happened to me or someone else similarly that I can draw from, and then I make 3 thumbnails. Do you have an artist you admire (or more than one)?

Saira Vargas (https://www.instagram.com/sairasays/) is a huge inspiration to me due to the fluidity of all of her character drawings. They all swoop the viewer in and follow them out of their form with amazing line-less grace I wish to have! Jewel Suan (https://www.instagram.com/swansgarden/) also has stunning art that conveys human body motion in such dramatic and silhouette-perfect ways, it's like feeling a good stretch! Is there an artwork you are most proud of? Why? I was in my first zine recently and I finished this piece https://www.instagram.com/p/BxHeJLUlfWq/ for it. I feel like I colored it exactly the way I want to continue doing so, and as something that matches my style. I was also really proud of the lineart being crisp, since I had struggled to find a brush that I was comfortable enough with the maintain a look like this. I did it within a couple of weeks, and though I'm disappointed I didn't try shading it very much, I love the overall mood and movement of it!

Do you listen to music (or tv shows/films/anything else) when drawing? I often listen to Jenna Marbles podcasts or video game soundtracks, such as Night in the Woods or Pokemon Colosseum!

image source: [X] What makes art interesting for you? The fact I can make silly thoughts comprehensible in an organized way! Sometimes in a goof-infused organized way. What do you do when art block strikes? It's not often, but when this happens I try and take breaks so I can focus on my surroundings and genuinely absorb all the things I appreciate in life. This knocks me out of my funk, but I always take an extra minute to realize my art is from people whose hearts I love and remember it's not all for the art, but for those who watch/look at it, so I can make sure I don't forget the reason I make it. What’s the most valuable art advice you’ve ever received?

Make multiple iterations of everything you do! Your first idea will always suck, your second will have already been thought of, and your third can be the rock ready for polish.

#Sam Howard #artist spotlight #red zone artists #red zone

2 notes · View notes