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may-day-voice · 3 years

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7 Minutes in Heaven

Eijirou Kirishima's Timeline | 172732014 ft. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

please do not repost, but you have permission to reblog :)

Happy [early early!] Birthday to Eijirou Kirishima & Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu! <3 I just couldn't wait...

• Watch/ Listen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FfH9DvMCSMM

• Read on Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/1111162577-eijirou-kirishima-pro-hero-au-172732014-7-minutes

The city streets were drowned in the noise of traffic from cars and people alike while you walked on patrol, your head muddled with thoughts of that interrogation weeks ago. Seek still sat in your basement, now freed from the cuffs after the odd exchange he willingly offered between himself and the rest of the party. It was a surprise to even see Bakugou agree to the now enacted plan.

However, it irked you to keep all of this from the Commission, to enact actions outside of their jurisdiction and rules. To break the law, even though Shinsou assured everyone they were only bending them a little with ease. The Commission’s history wasn’t painted in gold, but they had learnt from their mistakes during the War. Surely, you thought.

You grumbled under your breath in an attempt to ignore the exasperation you felt, but it still persisted knowing Seek was still on your premises, in your basement. You were holding a fugitive outside of the Commission’s knowledge, and you agreed to it. Anything for Kirishima, you thought. He wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t important, and for his friends, people you had grown to know over the course of the year.

And then, another thought crossed your mind. Kirishima’s birthday was soon, grumbling deeper to yourself. You haven’t thought of a gift, or even anything special for him lately. With all that was happening, it slipped your mind, pondering on any small thing that would constitute a birthday gift even.

The city streets drowned your thoughts suddenly catching wind of the panicked cries of the crowd around you, and people running past from something behind. You felt the ground tremble, turning to spot a building crumbling from its foundations. You immediately took off running, pushing through the crowd upstream until you reached the corporate building, watching people flooding out from the doors.

“What’s going on?” You asked, pulling someone over briefly.

“We were told to evacuate, and then something exploded inside,” quipped a woman in a suit before she took off running.

You turned to the peak, finding it swaying from wherever the explosion had blown away a part of its concrete skeleton before you soon landed on any Heroes that were present. You only spotted one by the doors, directing people to leave and flee as fast as they could from the zone. You swore you’ve seen him before.

“Has everyone evacuated?” You asked, aiding people out along with him.

“Almost, but you should leave, this building doesn’t have long.”

The concrete began to fall apart, crashing into the ground and crumbling with resounding destructive force, threatening to crush anyone who wasn’t looking. Without thinking, the Pro-Hero ran towards a small crowd, his skin covered in steel before he took the blow of a large chunk of rock, protecting the few from being crushed themselves.

You stared at the man, finally realizing who he was now that he activated his Quirk.

“Real Steel?” You whispered, only distracted momentarily before you noticed more stone showering over the citizens fleeing the scene. With a running leap, you threw a kick or two in the air, sending a harsh shockwave into a few pieces of stone, destroying them into dust before they collided into bodies.

It caught the attention of the Pro-Hero, his steely gaze staring back into yours, curious now of your Quirk until-

“Thumper?”

You turned to find Kirishima, carrying a few elderly professionals in his arms and allowing them to make their way from the building. He had already activated his Quirk, covered in dust and debris from the building inside.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, concerned and confused.

“I… was in the Neighbourhood,” you replied wryly.

“Red Riot, is that everybody?” Yelled the Pro-Hero ahead, reaching the both of you.

“That’s the last of them,” responded Kirishima. “Now we have to-“

A sudden crack caught your ear, the sound of it resonating inside your head when the building itself split in twain. It shattered, its foundations now collapsing and now falling immediately to its demise. You felt your body suddenly collected in a pair of large arms, fleeing from the doors while you watched the building fall. Its shadow grew quickly onto all three of you.

“We’re not going to make it!” Yelled the fellow Pro-Hero while Kirishima turned to find the building edging closer.

With a swing of his arms, you felt yourself crash into the floor, watching Kirishima immediately grow in size, pushing his Quirk to cover himself entirely in stone. His body hovered over yours, watching the building behind him descend closer until the sheen of steel joined him, joining and interlocking their arms to shield you from the crash.

The quiet screamed in your ear. There was hardly any movement while you covered your head with your hands and arms, wrapping yourself into a ball. The trickle of debris echoed around, feeling pressure push against your back and hugging onto you tightly.

“Thumper?” growled a voice from behind, finding a large arm wrapped around your own. You felt Kirishima’s breath on your neck, huddling close.

“I’m here,” you said, reaching your hand to grab his. “I’m okay.”

“Thumper, huh?” Spoke another voice close to you, eyeing the sheen of Real Steel’s arms locked with Kirishima’s that sheltered your head. “I figured that was who you were. Kiri talks about you non-stop.”

“Tetsu, man, shut up,” replied Kirishima.

At this close proximity, you noticed finer details on the man - a toothy grin much like Kirishima’s while you stared into his silver eyes. The steel glinted against what little light cracked through the rubble, but was dulled by the dust. That didn’t help you eyeing his large bare chest through his Hero outfit and the size of him overall. Out of any of Kirishima’s work colleagues, you had yet to meet the Real Steel. At least this close and personal.

“Tetsutetsu, right?” You asked, staring into his silver eyes. “The Real Steel? Wow, I mean, your track record is amazing.”

“Thanks, it’s good to hear some recognition,” he responded with a toothy steely grin. “How’s Fourth Kind? I heard you’re from his agency?”

“He’s doing amazingly, but I think he’s going to kill me after this.”

“Another smack on the head?”

You burst into giggles at his response, agreeing with his sentiment before the rubble shifted on top. Despite the amount of rubble that pushed against the strength of both men, it didn’t seem to phase either of them, now utilizing less of their Quirks and maneuvering a little to compensate for the situation. Each little movement brought all three of you closer in the vicinity you had, finding Kirishima clutching onto you all the same.

“Tell him I said hi,” continued Tetsutetsu. “When we get ourselves out of here, I mean.”

“The Sidekicks shouldn’t be long,” reminded Kirishima while he still protected your head from the rubble. “You called the agency, right?”

“Yeah of course I did,” snapped Tetsutetsu. “What do you take me for? An intern?”

“I was collecting anyone unable to evacuate. Doesn’t hurt for me to confirm. How long ago did you radio in?”

“I don’t know, ten minutes, maybe. Literal concrete was falling from the sky.”

“Guys, hey, the more we agitate the rubble, the less room we-“ Your words were interrupted by the sound of movement amongst the concrete shifting atop Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, forcing Tetsutetsu to move closer in, pushing you into Kirishima and keeping you snug between the both of them. Your hands pushed against Tetsutetsu’s chest, feeling the cold steel across his skin while your body pressed into Kirishima’s, his heat permeating across your back and his breath washing atop your neck.

It was compromising.

“Wow, you really are cute,” voiced Tetsutetsu, staring down at you.

“Tetsu, don’t push it,” warned Kirishima, almost with a growl in his voice that you felt across the hairs on your neck.

“Hey, I can’t help it. It’s not often I get to spend some time with someone cute-looking, even when trapped under massive amounts of rubble.”

“Yeah, well, don’t get any ideas.” Kirishima’s grip tightened around your frame, protecting you from the rubble but hugged onto you almost possessively.

“Kiri, relax, I get it, you talk about them all the time.”

“He does?” You questioned, finally getting a word in.

“Of course, man’s got a huge crush on you, like heavy.”

“Tetsu!” Yelled Kirishima, feeling his grip pull you in.

“I’m only being honest. He really really likes you, like I can understand why,” continued Tetsutetsu with a grin. “I mean, you asked him out, he takes you out, literally every time anyone at the agency spots you for training with him, they can tell how much you light him up. And from what I can see now and from what I saw up there, I feel unlucky that I hadn’t met you first.”

You couldn’t tell if the heat from the tiny space was getting to you, or if you grew embarrassed from that semi-confession of sorts. Your hands still pressed against Tetsutetsu’s chest, feeling his heartbeat calm and steady. However, Kirishima’s arms and hands clutched onto you, still holding you to him while his lips pressed against your neck, unmoving and quiet. You felt his breath against your skin, feeling his embarrassment just as much as you felt yours. It only brought a smile to your lips, imagining Kirishima sharing his life with others and now knowing he shared you with them.

“Thanks Tetsutetsu, that’s very kind of you to tell me how much Eijirou really cares,” you said while your fingers clutched onto Kirishima’s, squeezing his half-hardened hands. “It’s flattering actually.”

Tetsutetsu chuckled while he shifted slightly again, holding his steel arm across your head and clutching onto Kirishima’s shoulders, sharing a bridge of strength upholding the rubble.

“Hey, that’s what bros are for,” he commented with a grin. “All I’m saying is that everything Kiri says about you is true.”

“You okay Eijirou?” You asked, attempting to shift your gaze to turn towards him.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he spoke against your neck, tickling it a little, while his arm protected you from the debris. “Sidekicks should be here by now.”

“Yeah, and most likely digging through the rubble,” continued Tetsutetsu with a stern tone, his eyes scanning around while listening intently to any sounds outside. The shift of rock brought some hope in all three of you, catching wind of the distant yells of people above.

“Hey, isn’t this almost like the first time the both of you worked together?” asked Tetsutetsu nonchalantly.

The question caught both Kirishima and yourself off guard, realising the situation was awfully similar. The mission in Esuha City together was a memorable experience, chuckling under your breath at the circumstances that followed after.

“So, you know the details of that day too?” you asked in jest, slightly turning your gaze back onto Kirishima.

“Who could forget? The whole place came crashing down, and explains how the both of you work well together, oh, and the day Kiri couldn’t stop talking about you,” explained Tetsutetsu, still attentive to the sounds and cries of people through the rubble.

“Tetsu, remind me to only work with you outside of Esuha City,” commented Kirishima in exasperation.

“Huh? Why?” questioned Tetsutetsu, a little offended by his statement.

You couldn’t help bursting out into giggles, still holding yourself close to Kirishima to avoid agitating the rubble any further. Both men looked between themselves and you, soon calming down from their quips to smile. They both shared a look, one that they both agreed upon, while Tetsutetsu returned to listening to the shifting of rubble and concrete above. Kirishima returned to you, hugging you closely onto him while you still shook from laughter at their behaviour. Within this moment, there was an accord. You felt protected between the two, understanding where they both stood as Pro-Heroes and as friends.

“Hey! We’re down here!” yelled Tetsutetsu, crying through the rubble.

The sound of rock shifted and eased on their arms, hearing the clear voices of Sidekicks and emergency personnel yelling back in response. Soon, sunlight breached through the cracks, seeing it glint against Tetsutetsu’s skin, gleaming against his steel. The debris still crumbled around with pebbles and dust until Tetsutetsu’s arm was freed to stretch above, leaving your head shielded by Kirishima’s hardened arm.

“Come on, you first,” ordered Tetsutetsu, his silver eyes staring into yours.

You turned to Kirishima, wanting any sign of confirmation from him before making a choice, only to be given a toothy grin by the redhead, still within the rubble.

“Go ahead Thumper, we’re right behind you,” he reassured, lifting his arm to allow some room for you to shift underneath.

With a nod, you moved slowly into Tetsutetsu’s chest, pressing against him to spot the sunlight above, finding open hands ready to pull you out from the broken debris. You reached out for them, feeling Tetsutetsu’s hands hold you tightly and safely before the sunlight stung your eyes a little. Hands grabbed you from everywhere, pulling you out from the dust until you laid above being examined by medical staff on your condition.

Tetsutetsu grinned at the sight of you being freed before he turned to Kirishima, finding a disapproving look on the man’s face.

“What now?” complained Tetsutetsu with his hand out to Kirishima. A moment passed before Kirishima grabbed hold of his hand, shifting from the rubble and allowing some of its weight to collapse from behind him. He still stared into Tetsutetsu’s eyes with that disapproval until they softened with a small smile on his face.

“Thanks for making me look good,” he spoke genuinely.

Tetsutetsu grinned back, ready to climb out until he felt a harsh tug from Kirishima’s hand, holding him back from leaving.

“But the next time I see you touch Thumper’s butt again, I’ll kill you,” warned Kirishima with that same smile.

“I was helping them get out,” retorted Tetsutetsu, releasing his hand from Kirishima’s before he climbed into the sunlight, being helped by emergency personnel above.

Kirishima soon followed suit, chuckling to himself before seeing the bright sunlight sting his eyes a little. It wasn’t long until he was helped by Sidekicks on his well-being in the aftermath being led to the ambulances on standby. He soon spotted you across the way, already examined by medical staff and being attended by a few Sidekicks from Fat Gum’s agency as well. He caught your smile from afar, noticing your well-being and how very little you came out unscathed from the ordeal. Good. The last thing he wanted was to see you with scars from unnecessary things.

“You okay?” you asked, watching Kirishima approach you after relieving the SIdekicks by his side.

“Of course I am,” he replied immediately, examining your head. “What about you?”

“I’m fine,” you chuckled. “Thanks to both you and Tetsutetsu. He’s a good guy.”

“One of the manliest you could ask for.”

“Manlier than you?”

A stern look crossed Kirishima’s face, causing you to chuckle at his response.

“I’m kidding,” you piped with a chirp. “No one’s manlier than you.”

“Except you,” he quipped.

You sighed knowing to give up on that kind of argument. Kirishima joined you by the ambulance, sitting next to you while watching the aftermath unfold. The building was no more, crumbled to a mass of broken concrete and stone. You leaned your head onto Kirishima’s shoulder, enjoying the calm until-

“Before I forget, I hope you have a happy birthday,” you mulled in passing, catching his ear. “So much is going on and getting my wishes in early is probably the best course of action.”

Kirishima was taken by surprise by your statement, however, you thought it best to send him at least well wishes from you. If a gift was impossible, and finding the time to spend with him was out of sight, it was the least you could do.

“Hey, we’re all going to head back to my agency, how about you join Tetsutetsu and I tonight?” asked Kirishima nonchalantly. “We were thinking of hanging out at Cantina’s. Shinsou suggested it.”

You raised your head to stare into his eyes, surprised by the sudden invitation. “Um, sure, is it a special occasion?”

“Kind of, not really. Tetsutetsu and I share the same birthday, so we decided to celebrate it early together before the actual day arrives. I think it’d be good if we all enjoyed it together.”

You smiled brightly at the suggestion, only to hear a familiar gruff yell catch both Kirishima’s and your ear. Tetsutetsu reprimanding Sidekicks was a sight to behold, lecturing them for the amount of time they took to answer a call. However, Kirishima chuckled under his breath, knowing the kind of stress that was placed on the Hero and close friend. He never intended a crisis to be the first time to officially introduce you to his work colleagues, but the trust was there. He had no worries at all.

#eijirou x reader #eijirou kirishima #kirishima x reader #tetsutetsu tetsutetsu #bnha tetsutetsu #bnha au #bnha fanfiction #bnha #pro hero red riot

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gh0stbra1nz · 3 years

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my thoughts on aadsig ep 11 + overall

this episode was probably one of my favourites. the growth and the handling of emotions were done so well and everyone’s story has actually already reached a satisfying ending, even if it’s only the penultimate episode. genuinely one of the best concluded dramas － no loose ends, no character forgotten and no change too abrupt. as always the show hit very close to home, what with the father claiming that everyone looks down on him and the violent rage that follows (though when we’d told our father he’s delusional we ended up very differently from jun lol), with his reaction to being exposed (mine was only threatened once with a call to the police but the way the father in the drama handled it was so similar it struck me).

jun’s growth is possibly the most satisfying, realistic and relatable for me. it was hard for him to stand up for himself and even harder to truly cut himself off from the pain that had made home in him for years, because at that point it really is a part of you and feels as though it shaped you into who you’ve become － it’s as though without it you are less than the nothing you already were. it’s something i still struggle with regarding this particular part of my life and seeing jun going through it was emotional, to say the least.

the friendship in this show! i genuinely love how they portray relationships of all types. though the drama in itself wasn’t spectacular i do think the writing for each character’s personality and how they interact with one another was done really well.

in the end however the relationship between sobin and jun still feels incredibly dry romantically to me. their interactions just come off as friendly in my eyes and their playful flirting as awkward. i genuinely cannot see them as a couple and don’t think i ever will － and not solely because they wrote such a perfect relationship between soohyun and jun. frankly, sobin and jun just don’t click to me, at least.

on the other hand, soohyun and jun. i’ve talked a fair bit about why i love their dynamic and why i truly believe that they should have ended up together. honestly, throughout the majority of the show it felt as though the director and writer wanted to portray them as love interests for each other (or just, y’know, the usual queerbaiting stuff ig). the way scenes were cut/shot, the lingering stares, the subtle and not-so-subtle acts of affection and emphasis on their every interaction － loosely speaking, they were the two characters who interacted the most in the whole show, so obviously they would feel to have the most chemistry and sound base for a relationship; because they’ve grown accustomed to one another, they’ve grown attached to one another, they’ve become so comfortable that jun opens up to soohyun about something as personal as his abuse, whilst sobin mostly keeps her emotional (and literal, at times when the presence of both was needed even, which i found questionable on her part as jun’s supposed partner) distance from jun, both of her own volition and the latter’s.

it was so interesting to see how soohyun and jun balanced each other out and what was incredibly validating of this was in today’s episode, when they were sitting on that bench and directly saying how they couldn’t imagine not having met each other. it’s come to the point that they truly can’t be without the other and whilst jun and sobin talk about missing each other a lot etc, it’s almost never shown, which makes it harder for me as a viewer to believe it when jun and hyun actually show their need for closeness and a genuine interest in the other.

in the end, sobin felt more like a buffer of sorts to keep things heteronormative because － and i mean this objectively － her role in the story and growth of the characters was quite literally non-existent. her character brought about minimal change for that of a main which solidifies the idea in my mind that she was there to keep things straight and that’s it. if we were to imagine the show without her, honestly not much changes? there are no effects on jun or hyun who are fellow mains － actually, even just skipping her existing scenes when watching the show is enough to give base to my opinion on her writing. even if soohyun and jun wouldn’t be canonically paired up in the end in a version without her, their interactions and dynamic are so layered with romanticism that it’d be an unavoidable thought in the viewer’s mind and an inevitable conclusion that they do, at least, feel something for each other. the second official version of the show's poster wouldn't help either. sobin felt very much to be there merely to put some distance between canon and this idea.

this is not to shit on sobin but rather how she was written. initially i was interested in her story and how it would entangle with the others, but half way through or so she reached a peak and fell flat, no longer having the mystery of her full story to carry her left her character with no purpose and to serve only as a filler. if they had to write her as jun’s partner i wish they’d put more thought and effort into how the two, and particularly she, behaved with who she supposedly loved, because whilst once we learned all of hyun’s story his presence remained fundemental to the plot and jun’s character － not to mention he himself keeps changing for the better － sobin doesn’t carry any weight in the storyline, nor does she affect the characters or continue her road to growing. in all, it seemed as though her character － of the three mains － was the one that underwent the least transformation.

as for soohyun, i know nothing about the manhwa except for the fact that he’s the gay character in it. in the drama, so far, unless they decide to abruptly shove miju or youngran (?) in his face and we dismiss that brief scene of him putting his finger down when asked if he liked one of the girls, he has actually never truly shown romantic interest in anyone (besides jun but that’s my opinion lmao). even if they erased his sexuality (despite the fact that this show was going for the air of progression and being true to one’s self) they at least － so far － haven’t forced him with a woman which is something small to appreciate (the bar is low).

in the end i’m happy i was queerbaited into watching this drama because, whilst not perfect, it resonated with me a lot and both hyun and jun have come to mean a lot to me as characters. it was realistic and respectful in portraying trauma and mental health issues which i really appreciated.

#at a distance spring is green #anyway it ends tomorrow so hopefully not too much happens that invalidates this post/my opinion/feelings regarding the show/characters #i hope nobody takes my opinion about sobin and subsequently her relationship with jun personally or as from someone who wanted to see the #guys together just because theyd be gay #but rather the opinion of someone wh just couldn't grasp their two personalities/characters being together romantically given the #source media #long post #im sorry #until the end i'm being an annoying presence in this tag lmao #now imagine if i knew how to gif.... i would have driven yall mad #k.txt

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yolkyeomie · 3 years

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Crescendo | Kang Yeosang

summary — The beating of a heart is like a crescendo, screaming louder and louder in one's chest until it's reached maximum capacity, and you’re about ready to burst.

word count — 8.6k words

pairing — yeosang x female!reader

genre —violinist + college au, band au there if you look around a little bit, fluff with like a hint of angst in the later parts

disclaimer — SORRY THIS IS SO SHORT,,, this is more of prologue than anything tbh. also I have almost zero knowledge on college and violins so if this is horrible I’m so sorry. also typos. lots of typos.

part I | part II | part III

There was just something about summer that you liked so much. You just couldn't exactly put your finger on what.

Maybe you liked the sunny days that it would bring? The giant ball of light in the sky beaming down at full power onto every human in sight. It would illuminate the world with a golden glow, bringing out the more natural and earthy colors hidden from the other seasons. The heat would call for unplanned trips to the cool waters and hot sand of the beaches or a quickly made dash to the nearest frozen ice cream shop. Perhaps it was because there was no more school, no more time needed to spend on slaving away for hours at a desk just to not retain any knowledge given.

Or maybe you liked it because it was the time you’d see children the happiest. Every time you biked along the sidewalk to and from your home you’d come across a playground almost always filled to the brim with the joyous sounds of laughter. Children scattered around the playgrounds like little ants to a picnic, grabbing whatever they found the most intriguing for the day. Some would be swinging, some would be sliding, some would even be chasing each other around without any of the equipment catching their attention at all.

However, there was a possibility that you enjoyed the summertime because of the theater your town held. It wasn't very big compared to the ones that could be found in the big cities of your country, but it was nice nonetheless.

There were white walls lined with a fake golden trim along the floors, bright lights nearly blinding one as they walked inside of the theater for the first time. There was a slightly smaller stage than normal, not too tiny but definitely smaller than you’d seen in the more famous theaters. The seats weren't in their traditional curved angles either. They were in neat straight rows leading all the way to the back of the theater where the volunteer tech crew would operate behind the scenes.

Every year your high school would hold recitals for their students in that theater. They would use these performances as a way to showcase their students' growing talents in the art of music or to spotlight their shyer students who never had gotten a chance to show everyone what they were made of. You weren’t in any sort of music group nor did you know how to play any instruments, so you never participated. But you did show up to every recital you could.

When you were in tour first year the only reason you had attended the performance was because your English teacher had promised to raise their overall grade for the year if they did. You were a decent student, overall you had average grades but wasn't the most outstanding person in your class. A few extra points to curve your grades were always appreciated so you had planned on attending the performance.

You had tried to grab a couple of friends to go with you, but all of them coward out when they got the chance. Some would say they were too busy, some would outright tell you they didn't want to sit through a performance they had no interest in. So you ended up simply going with your family, more begrudged than you originally were for the recital.

You had sat through choir members and members of the school's small orchestra and band repeating nearly the same song over and over again. Each song had a different tune, maybe a different style depending on how much creative liberty the singer or player gave themselves. One song was sung a bit louder than the others, another song was played by a small thrown together orchestra than simply a soloist, but they were all the same.

It was boring, and you were growing tired of listening to the same thing constantly. The only thing willing you to stay in your seat the entire time with the arm crushing strength of your mother and your need to get extra points on your grades for the year.

Near the end of the recital was when you had gotten hooked. Your family had finally decided they were going to pack it up for the night, her father had to work early in the morning and you were going to be thrown over towards your grandparents for summer. Just before you could have risen out of your chair to leave behind your parents, you heard it. A different melody than the ones that have been rocking your brain that night.

There was a boy walking on the stage, probably no taller than you was at the time. He was tiny for a first year boy, probably one of the shortest in his class as well. His hair was like a fluffy brown bunny's tail, bouncing and tousling itself around with every step he took. There was a string instrument in his hands, from what you could see was a red-tinged wood violin. You couldn't quite see the expression on his face either though, due to the distance you were from the theater stage.

You hadn't even realized you were holding your breath until he plucked one of the strings, letting the note resonate through the theater and bounce off the walls and into their ears. He had played a note, on a different key from the other performers. He was playing a song that his fellow violinists hadn't picked. He was different.

The sound was like a siren's song that grabbed the audience's attention and placed it to the stage. His melody started out soft and somber, almost as if the violin itself was conveying its unspoken emotions. The violinist was trying to use those emotions his instrument lent him to serenade the tears in the audience's eyes to fall and hit the ground simultaneously, creating their own beat to his song.

After a moment of enticing the audience to his performance, he sped up his pace. His quiet song suddenly grew in size until it overpowered every other sound in the room. He strummed each string with a quickness you didn't even believe was possible, his bow striking each note like it was powerful enough to create an earthquake. In a sense, it was like he and the violin had become one being, his string instrument becoming an extension of his arm as he played.

The audience whispered in wonder and amazement of the boy's talents, unable to take their eyes away from his figure. It was an enchanting sound so you couldn't blame them. The violinist had brought you into a world completely different from reality, where every object and plant in sight was made out of his musical chords.

How does a boy, barely over the age of fifteen, have this much power in his hands? You would be cursing yourself if you didn't grant him the title of prodigy right then and there.

Unfortunately for you, you couldn't listen to the rest of his alluring song. Your family had dragged you out of the theater to finally retreat to their humble abode for the night. After that night you had declared to yourself that you’d find the violinist who played that song, whether you had to search all summer for him or dig around your school for him. You’d attend every recital and every performance your school's small orchestra had just to get him to play for you again.

However, you lucked out each time you tried. Your school's orchestra didn't allow students outside of their instrumentalists into the classrooms. The violinist boy was too short for you to find in a crowd at their performances either. You even tried to find someone who might be close to him, but no one seemed to step up to the plate. This went on for the rest of your high school years. The only time you could see him where those days after the school year had ended, listening to him play those high energy tunes and somber melodies for his recital before he disappeared from existence once more.

That was, until now.

Plus you made a little bit of money on the side as well, and who didn't like money? Sure most of it was going to your tuition for college but there were times where you liked to splurged on your own interests every once and awhile.

"You seem tired," a feminine voice commented, making you turn around to face her. It was a girl, around your age, walking towards you, her long sleeves rolled up against her arms to mirror the way her shorts looked. She sat down on the pavement next to you, handing you a water bottle ice cold to the touch. "I would be too if I rode around in this crazy heat. I'm surprised you haven't melted at the mere light of the sun yet."

"I almost did," you responded, taking the water from her hands gratefully. "Today was unreasonably hot... I felt like I was sitting right in the middle of hell. And the fact that my bike is made out of metal, too? It's a miracle I didn't get third degree burns or something."

The girl went quiet for a moment, her brow furrowing in thought before speaking again. "You know I can always do it for you? The delivering stuff. It's my family's business anyway, I should be helping them out, not relying on you to do all of the hard work for me."

"Are you serious?" you questioned, suppressing the unusually strong urge to laugh. "You can't even ride a bike or skate. Nor do you have a car either, it'll take you hours to get from one house to the next. And I like the money I earn from doing this for you, I can't get a job anywhere else so this is just perfect for me."

"But still!" She complained, a pouting donning her lips as you screwed open the bottle cap. "I feel bad seeing you bike along in this hot ass weather for my family! I gotta do something to give you... at least a little relief."

You laughed at her desperation, placing the water by your side to face her fully. "The relief you can give me is not playing your cello so loud in the morning. You play wonderfully, trust me, but it's so loud and I'm so tired." you clarified, reminiscing on every time she'd walk up to her house with the sound of a cello's notes wavering through the air.

The girl wasn't in their school's orchestra, she had picked up on the instrument as a hobby. She didn't have a desire to play it in a school setting or professionally no matter how much everyone would suggest otherwise. Yet she suddenly began to really start practicing more often when her next door neighbor had moved in two years ago. You remembered exactly how frustrated the girl was when she discovered that he played guitar at maximum volume in the middle of the night without any regard for anyone else.

To counteract his annoying behavior, she'd open up all the windows in her house and began to play her cello as loud as she physically could in the morning times. It became a war of the instrumentalists after that and neither of them seemed like they were going to stop any time soon.

"Oh you know I can't do that," She responded, glaring at the house to their left where the guitarist resided. "He'll take it as me surrendering to him. I don't even want to think about what he'll do in the middle of the night once I stop. Probably bass boost his guitar so that it's even louder than normal! Oh god, I won't ever get any sleep if he does that."

You found it funny really. The two had never even met each other face to face. "Right... and we don't want that happening do we?" The girl shook her head vigorously in response to your words, taking your sarcasm very seriously. "I still think you can at least tone it down a little bit... this is our last year, in a few months we'll be dragged off into a bigger city to attend colleges and universities for another four or more years. Are you really going to be playing your cello first thing in the morning in your dormitory?"

"Well..." the girl pauses, taking your words into consideration. "No... I won't really need to since I'm not bringing it with me."

"Exactly!" You exclaimed, clapping your hands together and giving the girl a mocking smile. "Now I think you should at least go over to that boy's house and settle this raging war before you move onto better things. Make amends with him, he might even become a new friend of yours for the future. If not, you're not gonna see him again. There's a very high possibility that he's not going to the same college as you, or that he might not be going to college at all!"

She rolled her eyes at your suggestion, forcing herself off of the ground reluctantly. "Fine. I'll go make amends with him or whatever. But I'll only do it if you give up on the violinist boy from the recitals."

You stiffened at the mention of your high school goal, your very unsuccessful goal of finding him and making him play a song for you. "It's like you said, this is our last year here as teenagers. You've been trying to find him longer than I've been waging this musical war on my neighbor. It's about time to lay to rest, you. Seriously, it's more painful to watch than those terribly edited movies from my parents' watch for the "nostalgia"."

"Ouch there was no need to stoop that low," you mumbled, making the girl laugh in turn. "But I guess you're right. I've failed at finding him for this long, I might as well just give up now."

The girl nodded before patting your shoulders in reassurance. "If you really want to hear someone play music so bad for you, you can always ask me. I know a cello sounds nothing like a tiny violin but I can always try?"

"Actually that doesn't sound like a bad idea," you mumbled after a moment of thinking.

"Perfect!" The girl hummed, nearly jumping with excitement to show off her talents and pleasing your several years long urge to have someone play for you. "Usually I only play for my family but I'm very willing to show off what I've been working on. There's this one song I've using to annoy the guitarist boy in the morning and—"

"Go," you reminded her, your smile growing wider at her friend geeking out about her work. "Go get your cello and actually play it for me."

She nodded at your words, skipping on her feet as if she was as light as a feather towards her house. You knew it would be a bit of a struggle in moving her instrument from her room to the outdoors but if the girl was willingly and happily doing it, she had no reason to stop her.

It was a little funny though, how much you were surrounded by people who were gifted and talented in the form of music. Your school's orchestra knew you because of how you’d always try and snatch a peek into their classroom and attended their performances. Your closest friend was a cellist, but only played for hobby and the boy next door was a guitarist. All these connections started happening because a boy you had been chasing after for four years was a violinist.

You'd think you’d pick up some sort of instrument to attract them to you, and trust and believe you tried. You attempted to start playing many instruments after that summer night in your first year. Guitar, flute, piano, trumpet, you even tried to learn the violin yourself. You just weren't musical gifted, you didn't have the patience nor the ears to learn any sort of instrument that passed your way. The best you could do was play a sad tune on the kazoo or laugh into a harmonica.

It's even funnier when other’s learn that your mother used to sing and play the piano while your father played the clarinet when they were in high school. Go ahead and laugh, you knew you were a musical disappointment. Music was practically flowing strong in your blood and you sucked at it. Don't even get started on dancing either, it was a frightening sight to see. Those who could live to tell the tale never told the tale to anyone.

A melody began to float through the air once your friend disappeared into her house, catching you off guard. It wasn't the sound of an electric guitar, shocking the hair and making your skin prickle with its overbearing and booming sound. It was soft and sweet, vibrating through the air as if it was playing with the wind that blew by every few minutes. You could immediately identify the instrument as a violin, it's slightly strained notes from the bow connecting with the strings were all too familiar to you.

You turned towards the guitarist's house where the song was the loudest. To your knowledge, the boy didn't play any other instrument than the guitar. Yet the violin's sweet yet sorrowful song was coming from his house. Without even thinking you rose off the ground, following the song's notes like it was your guide. You had heard the door of your friend's house open again, signaling that the girl had successfully brought her cello from her room to the front of her house. Unfortunately for her, you were walking a little faster than she could drag her cello case.

"Y/N?" The girl called, trying to catch your attention. "Y/N, where are you going?"

You stood in front of the guitarist boy's house, right before where the balcony was hanging. The door to the balcony was ajar, letting the cool afternoon air into the room and releasing the melody of the violin out. "Is that the guitarist boy's room?" you called out to her friend, not taking your eyes off of the balcony. Just as you spoke the violin came to a screeching stop as if the mere sound of your voice was disrupting the flow of its song.

"No," the girl responded after abandoning her cello and running to your side. She pointed to the other side of the house where the window's blinds were closed yet light still shined through them. "His room is right across from mine, I should know I get the brunt of the blow every time he strums his stupid guitar."

Your voices dropped into pure silence when you saw something moving in their direction from the balcony. The door to the outside area slowly screeched open as the figure on the other side pulled on its door handle, stepping onto the wood floor of the balcony and letting the floorboards creak under their weight. Your eyes widened at the sight of a red-tinged violin, it's body scratched from its long term usage and its color dull from the lighting the setting sun had given them.

A boy stepped into view after the violin, the brown hair bouncing on his head like a bunny's tail. His resting face looked like you were staring at a statue, unable to catch any hint of movement in most of his features unless he blinked his eyes every few seconds. Right beside his eyes was some sort of mark, more of a rosy color than the rest of rather pale skin. He must not leave his house that much. After a few moments of silence, he leaned over the balcony's hand railing and spoke, "What do you want?"

The girl beside you glanced between the boy and you frantically, trying to piece two and two together. "you... is that the—"

"I want," you yelled up to him, interrupting your friend's question to respond to the boy above them. A smile began to play on your lips as you spoke, excitement festering up in your chest. You had found him. You had found the violinist from your first year. "I want you to play for me one of your best songs yet."

II.

There was just something about mornings you hated, no matter the day of the week. They'd always leave you more exhausted than you were the night before, whether you had gone to sleep late or not.

Maybe it's because of the dorm room you stayed in, assigned the room the moment you had gotten accepted into your university. It wasn't tiny, but it was definitely much smaller than your room at home. Your belongings barely had enough legroom with your roommate's whole entire area taking up more than half of the room. Despite being rather clean, to an extent, and cool during the day it was also incredibly hot at night.

A few months back the air conditioning unit for the floor you lived on broke down due to age. The university had reassured the students that they'd be looking into the broken unit and the technicians would be coming in and out of the building to fix it. However, they were rather slow with the process. Instead of just moving toward the third floor where the problem had started, they were moving from room to room on each floor the building had.

Apparently, they were just going to fix the problem in one go, however one go suddenly turned into a few days. A few days turned into a few weeks. And a few weeks turned into two months.

Thankfully they were on the edge of the summer season, the crisp breeze of the autumn air in October beginning to blow throughout the city. However that breeze simply abandoned them every time the night fell, the hallways and the common room being filled to the brim with students trying to escape the blazing heat. One would think it would be much cooler around the nighttime, so did they.

You weren't the heaviest of sleepers either, which meant you'd wake up at even the slightest vibration of a phone. One could only imagine your reaction when your alarm clock suddenly blared its ear piercing wake up call. The irritating buzzing of the built on alarm would always shock you out of bed like a cat. Yet even when you knew you were wide awake, you constantly struggled to force yourself up and out of your room. If time would allow it, you would lay in your very warm and comfortable spot in the bed for at least an hour or more.

What's even worse for you was that your dormitory was co-ed, which meant that next door to you was a group of boys who were sharing a room for the school year. They were loud, constantly moving around in the middle of the night, and screaming at random times of the day which usually ended up being the time that you used to study. There were always noise complaints about those students. No one on their floor, or the floor above and below, like them that much. Yet they never seemed to tone down the problem, they made them worse with every noise complaint that was filled to their resident assistance.

Every time they'd get a noise complaint, they'd go and find someone else who was just a little too loud one day and pin the blame on them. It was a way to show that everyone in the building made a commotion and that they shouldn't be the only ones punished for it. You didn't really care about what they were doing until you had suddenly become a target one day.

"I'm sorry, what?" you questioned them, leaning up against the door frame with your arms crossed. In front of you stood the two boys that lived in the dorm next to you, nearly towering over you like the buildings in the city thanks to the monstrous amount of height. They appeared to be up to no good when they had randomly shown up, and you were absolutely right.

"Are you the one who has been playing that music for the past three days? What was it... classical music?" He asked, tugging at his hair as he spoke. He glanced towards his roommate for confirmation, who nodded his head vigorously in response to his question. "Are you a music major or something? Maybe in the orchestra? If not it's been blasting really loudly lately and my roommate here has a majority of his classes at eight am. Right, Jaehyun?"

The boy didn't seem like he was on board with being used as an excuse at first, raising his eyebrow and staring at his roommate in confusion before turning to you. "Right, I have to get up so early for all my classes. I'd really appreciate it if you keep the violins and cymbals and triangles to like a minimum so that it doesn't bother me anymore."

"If not we'll take it to the RA," His roommate quickly added to put their threat in full effect. "And we'll file a noise complaint for disturbing us."

You scoffed at the thought, wanting to slam the door closed and forget about their petty revenge. "Aren't you the same duo that got a noise complaint filed to them last week because of an extremely loud yet unidentifiable thud..." you began before turning on your heels and correcting yourself. "Oh, my apologies. I meant boom, extremely loud yet unidentifiable boom that came from the laundry room. Only for one of the students on the lower floors to go down there and find that one of the washers and dryers had literally malfunctioned and exploded?"

"Listen," One of the boys tried to interject, his ears burning bright red as you kept talking. "That's not... listen, we—"

"Didn't they go on the security cameras to find out who had done the damage? Because a washer and dryer going suddenly haywire on its own is extremely worrisome and dangerous for the students who may have been around during that time. And weren't you two—"

"Classical music is such an amazing genre of music!" The roommate interrupted, yelling over your voice in a panic. There was a pained smile on his face as he hooked an arm around the other boy, punching his arm to follow along as he spoke. "I mean, it has such a clean and light texture to it, simplistic but a great melody nonetheless! God, it gives me nostalgia for a time I wasn't even alive in! Isn't that right, Jaehyun?"

"Oh," the boy spoke, his eyes darting in between his roommate and you. Slowly a smile began to grow on his face to mask his growing embarrassment as he gestured towards the other boy. "Of... of course! Johnny has such nice music taste! So you know when he says a genre is really good it really means something. Seriously love classical music, man. Lulls me right to sleep!"

Needless to say, they choose to not bother you as much as they used to. The strange and loud noises that would echo through the dormitory walls had gotten significantly lower since that day. They didn't stop completely yet but it was enough for you to keep your peace of mind before waking up every day.

Your mornings had gotten relatively calmer after that incident as well. Both of those boys were usually out of the dormitory by the time you were awake to attend classes or work, so you didn't run into them much during the week. You'd have calm enough mornings to where you didn't feel the need to nearly pass out on a car or bus ride to your campus and almost miss your stop. It felt like a dream come true when you would hop out of whatever vehicle you were in and would be right on time before your classes even started.

"Y/N!" A feminine voice screamed, catching you off guard when an arm suddenly slung around your neck. You clutched onto the bag hanging off your shoulder as you nearly tumbled to the ground at the sudden addition of weight, bringing the other girl down with you as you struggled to comprehend what was going on. They got a few stares from the other students who were arriving and leaving the campus but no one said a word to them. Thankfully everyone practiced the art of minding their business. "You'll never guess what I got!"

"Do I want to guess?" You questioned, shoving the girl's arm off of you so you could regain your balance. Once you were stable enough to stand up, you turned around to see who had stumbled into your path. The girl's eyes were wide with innocence and excitement as she stood in front of you, fidgeting in place as she tried to contain herself. Most of the energy she'd originally be exerting into jumping up and down was focused into the beaming and bright smile she couldn't wipe off of her face even if she tried. "Do I have to guess?"

"Yes, you have to," She demanded, holding her hands behind her back to hide whatever got her spirits high. The girl must have ordered some sort of object online again and simply couldn't wait till after your classes to show you. "It's so worth it, I promise! Just... just guess!"

A sigh escaped your mouth as you straighten your posture, reading deep into the girl's expression to try and figure out what it was. "I'm going to guess—"

"Two front row seats to our school's very own band performance!" The girl nearly squealed, shoving two flimsy pieces of paper in your face. You took a few steps back in order to align your sight with the tickets, taking them out of the girl's hands to inspect. Both tickets were for general admission, their names printed on it with the date they were expected to attend the performance. "Aren't you excited? I literally fought tooth and claw to get these before they sold out, and you know these sell out fast!"

"Band? Like the guys who play trumpets and bass drums during school games?" You questioned, glancing up from the tickets to face your friend. The tickets didn't have exactly who was performing written down on it, simply stating that it was a live music event. "Why would you go watch them play? I thought you were more of a... pop genre person?"

The girl rolled her eyes at your response, snatching the tickets from your hands and placing them back into your pockets. "No, not the band. Who goes out of their way to specifically watch our band team play?" She hissed. "I mean like rock bands. You know, the type of people who play the drums and guitars in one big band and perform on stage with a lead singer and everything. That type of band."

"My point with you being a pop genre person still stands," you mumbled in response.

"Yes I do like pop music, I understand that," The girl clarified. "But we're going to see Aurora. Our school's very own rock band! Do you seriously not know who they are? I know you listen to classical and orchestral music and all, but I thought you were at least in the loop with Aurora!"

You scoffed as you began to walk forward, shoving your hands into your pockets and you spoke. "Just because I don't listen to the popular music right now doesn't mean I'm out of the loop! I'll have you know that I am a very big fan of idol groups. I even participated in those farewell events when groups’ oldest members start enlisting in the military."

"Idol groups have absolutely nothing to do with Aurora and you know it," your friend grumbled. "Do you seriously not know who Aurora is? At all? Have I seriously been friends with a hermit crab this whole time?"

"Fine then," you shrugged. "Go ahead, tell me about this Aurora band since you're so obsessed and knowledgeable about this group I've never heard of."

Aurora is a much bigger thing than you had imagined. From your friend's knowledge, it was a group of boys who had gathered around the beginning of the year together, all of them having several different traits and personalities that simply meshed together all too well. They had created the band, Aurora, for fun at first as they were all instrumentalists with different crafts. They had started busking in order to make money as a side job and quickly grew in popularity with the audiences they performed to.

Their university had caught wind of their musical abilities and had asked them to perform during the annual club fairs to help attract more students. After that, they seemed to have skyrocketed in popularity within the college campus. Jung Wooyoung, the group's bassist, Song Mingi, the group's lead guitarist, Choi San, the group's drummer, and Jeong Yunho, the group's lead singer, had become some of the most well-known people on campus.

Everyone seemed to know them and wanted to listen to their music, which is why your friend was so excited to be getting front row tickets to their next performance. You thought it was funny though, Wooyoung was the guitarist boy that lived next door to the girl.

"The past is in the past!" She exclaimed, throwing up her hands as the two entered the university's building. The indoors wasn't very crowded, all the students attending were spread throughout the area either taking a break before their classes began or nearly booking it straight up the stairs in fear of being late. "Sure I wanted to murder him with my cello beforehand, but it's okay because we put our differences aside like you said we should have. And it's good that we did because we ended up going to the same university."

"So..." you began, thinking for a few moments before turning towards your friend. "Does this mean he's your favorite member? I mean you've got the background and chemistry for a nice little love story don't you think?"

"Oh absolutely not," she immediately responded. "We may have made up that summer but I have not spoken to him since. Plus my favorite member is their drummer so if anything I'd like to start a love story with him. Do you think I should plan out of my outfit for the music event? What if I actually start a love story with him like in those tv shows my parents used to watch? We catch each other's eyes during the performance and before we're about to leave I get asked backstage to meet him in person!"

You visibly cringed at your friend's fantasizing, putting four feet of space in between the two of you. "Gross. Go to class before you contaminant me with your fantasies."

"Oh shut up." She rolled her eyes, stopping in her tracks so that you were forced to wait for her. "Everyone likes to fantasize about their love life every once and awhile. It's natural to want something grander than reality to happen to you."

"You are the most cliche woman I have ever met," you mumbled, glancing over your shoulder to look at the girl. "You just told me you want to make eye contact with him and immediately fall in love just like that! Have a fun time dreaming about that while you stand in a crowd full of people in your general direction."

"You're so mean to me!" She yelled, causing everyone in the vicinity to turn and stare at the sudden commotion. "You're just mad that the violinist boy from freshman year refused to play music for you even when you got on your knees! And you were looking for him your entire high school career!"

You sprinted towards the girl at full speed, clamping your hands over her mouth to silence her. She screamed into your hands as you dragged her away from the public eye and muffled her voice. "Heejin, are you out of your mind?" You growled, looking behind you to see if anyone had heard her. "I thought we had both agreed to pretend like that never happened?"

The girl pried your hands away from her mouth and smiled innocently up at you. "We did promise. I just never forgot."

You shoved the girl towards where her lecture hall was located, a frustrated frown growing on your face as a pinkish flush began to creep across your face. "Go to your stupid business math class. Go before I chase you all the way there!" you threatened through gritted teeth. Her friend laughed at the girl's response, skipping like a child to her class for the day.

You really did get rejected that day, it was too ingrained in your brain to forget. The boy had stood on the balcony staring down at the two with a bored and uninterested expression in his eyes, tilting his head like a dog's when you screamed your demands up at him. Honestly, you didn't know exactly what you were expecting. Did you really think that he was just going to pick up his violin and start playing whatever tune he knew just because you asked him to? You didn't even say please!

You had spent a good ten minutes arguing with the boy about how you had been searching for him for years just to make him play at least ten seconds of a song for you. Each time you'd explain your situation to him, he'd immediately give you a dry response of why he kept declining you. He didn't even say it politely! He stared at you straight in the eyes and told you," I don't want to play for you because you aren't worth it."

You swore if you could jump high enough, you would have bounced onto the balcony and strangled him for his rude behavior. It was truly a sight for sore eyes watching an angry and frustrated high school senior scream up at an innocent looking but totally uninterested boy on the balcony. The argument was always almost completely one-sided as well, which made it slightly embarrassing to watch from the sidelines.

You had forced your friend to promise you that she'd either forget the whole incident or pretend like it never happened. Either one was good with you since your friend was known to tell everyone's stories when you weren't paying attention. She had gone this far without saying anything so the urge to talk about it must have been truly bubbling up inside of her. It's been a few months since the incident occurred and the memory is still fresh in your minds.

"God, I'm never gonna live down that stupid incident am I?" you grumbled, practically stomping towards your end destination. "Just when I thought maybe I was finally growing past it, she has to go and bring it back up again. Doesn't she know I'm still healing from that embarrassment? It took a toll on pride and this is how she helps mend the wound? By opening up again?"

You stopped in place when a melody began to waver in the air, following along the cold breeze of the university's air condition. The music notes hopped from breeze to breeze as it traveled through your ears to the next. The sound continuously grabbed your attention as each note was struck no matter how many times you turned to keep walking. It was hitting you like a rock to the head as your brain immediately identified the music maker to a violin.

You slowly turned around to see a few students peering through a crack in some double doors, staring intently on what was on the other side. "They're at it again," one of the older students spoke, holding the door open for his friends to look through. "They're much earlier this time than usual, we'll only catch a little bit of the performance. Do you think something important is happening?"

"You think they're competing for first chair again?" One of the younger students asked, glancing up towards the boy who had spoken beforehand. He shrugged in response to their question, but he seemed to agree for the most part. "Whatever it is, I bet Hong is about to take the first chair again. He's always the first chair. No one can beat that boy when it comes to the violin."

"Kang is always right behind him though, don't forget that," another voice reminded, trying to get a better view of the inside. "Both of them are musical prodigies, and the conductor has always been fond of Kang's playing style. I think he'll get first chair this time."

You couldn't help but let curiosity take over, standing just a few feet away from the group of friends and trying to peer through the small windows of the door. It was rather dark near the entrance to the room, but farther back was lit up by lights that illuminated the wood floor stage where two performers stood. The doors seemed to have led towards an auditorium from the looks of it. You couldn't exactly see their faces from how far away you were, but you could make out a little bit of what was actually going on.

A boy stood in the middle of the stage, the music coming directly from him as he strummed the violin with his bow, grace and elegance oozing off of him. He seemed rather focused on playing his violin precisely, not missing a single note in the song as he allowed the rich and melodic song to ring through their ears. The opened door seemed to amplify his sound even more, ringing within your brain as if it was trying to engraved its sound into her ears. Hearing a violinist play in person was truly much different from hearing it through speakers.

In a chair behind the violinist sat another figure, holding what seemed to be a violin as well in his hands. You assumed that it was the competition who had played their song earlier before you had arrived on campus. His shoulders seemed to tense as the violinist held his final note, a plaintive sound echoing through the auditorium as he held his form to leave an everlasting effect on his listeners.

The students in front of you held their breath as he finished, staring intently at where you assumed the conductor was sitting for his reaction. There was a moment of silence after the note finally fizzled into nothingness, no longer bouncing off of the walls after finding a home in the audience's ears.

"It's Park," the younger student spoke, standing up from where they originally crouched down. "Park is the first chair once again. Honestly, was I expecting a change? No, not really. He's just that talented."

"I was really rooting for Kang this time," the other student spoke, huffing as they crossed their arms in disappointment. "I wonder what he did to not get picked again this time. Usually, Kang performs wonderfully but we weren't early enough to catch his turn."

"Whatever it is," the older student added, shutting the door to the auditorium and shrugging his shoulders. "I'm sure Kang will get over it. I mean that's always next time! But I guess I say that every time this happens..."

When the trio had disappeared from sight, you couldn't help but open the door to the auditorium and peek inside. You had been walking past this exact area how many times and you didn't even notice an event like this happening? Your either extremely stupid or completely oblivious, there's no in between.

You pulled on the heavy auditorium doors, peering in the room to take a look for yourself. The room was chilly, much colder than the breezes nature had been giving you so far. It was like you had stepped straight into the freezer, feeling the need to rub your arms for warm to make sure you didn't suddenly die from the cold. "How long has this place been here? I could have sworn this was an administration office or a classroom... literally anything but an auditorium..." you mumbled to mumbled, your eyes drifting towards the stage.

Only one violinist was at the stage, his instrument dangling in his hands as he sat in silence. The other violinist and conductor were nowhere to be seen, abandoning him to be alone with his thoughts. He must have been the one who wasn't picked by their conductor for first chair, reveling in his defeat by his peer. "Is it that serious?" you mumbled, going to close the door before you zoomed to your class, only just a few minutes late.

Though you saw the violinist rise from his seat in the corner of your eye, approaching the edge of the stage to leave the room. Of course, being the generally nice person you were, you pushed the door back open, holding it open for the violinist to pass through. "Hey, are you about to— Woah! Woah, woah, woah, don't do that!" You yelled at him.

The violinist had raised his instrument high above the ground, a bored and uninterested look in his eyes as he debated on whether he was going to let the violin drop from the height it was at and scar it. It definitely wasn't going to shatter and break, but an ugly dent would be achieved through the notion. Your yelling seemed to stop him in his tracks, preventing him from possibly making the worst decision in his life.

"Don't violins cost a lot of money?" You nagged, forgetting about the door you were holding open and marching towards him. "I know you might be frustrated over whatever just happened but is it really worth breaking your instrument? You should be satisfied with the fact that you even got the chance to be chosen as an option for, what was it, first chair? Whatever it is, I think breaking your violin might be a really bad..." you trailed off as you got closer, slowing down your pace as you got closer to the stage

The violinist stared at you through his long blonde bangs, his eyes gleaming in the dingy and dim stage lights. Despite the horrible lighting it seemed to illuminate him as if he was some sort of statue on display, every curve and sharp corner of his face being highlighted just perfectly. His impassive expression refused to let you in on any sort of emotion or thought in his head, locking you out with every chain known to man. His eyes glanced over you, reading you like an open book before he finally spoke. "Why... do you care?"

Your eyes dropped from his face to his violin, taking note of the bored expression and the red tinged violin in his hands. It seemed like it had been used frequently, it's the color worn from age and usage with scratches scattered throughout the instrument's body. "Oh...," you trailed, dropping your hands to your side in defeat.

How long had he been here? Hiding right under your nose in what seemed to be plain sight. How long were you going to go without realizing the violinist from your freshman year was attending the same university as you? "It's you again."

The boy titled his head curiously, a moment of silence expanding over them like a blanket. You felt like you were going to twitch and squirm under his gaze, the eerie silence of the auditorium and his almost blank stare making the atmosphere uncomfortable for you. All you could think about was the one sided argument you two had; how you had embarrassed yourself in front of your whole neighborhood just because you wanted him to play a song for you. The amount of humiliation that was crashing over you like angry waves could have washed you right of the auditorium if it wanted to.

The violinist crouched down on the stage to look down on you, resting his head on his hands as he began to speak. “Do I... know you?”

“Do you know me?” You repeated, disbelief prevalent in your tone of voice. “Did you really just ask that? Of course you know me! Remember from this summer? Just a few months back?”

The boy nodded his head as you spoke, absorbing all the information you were telling him and letting it process in his brain. He closed his eyes as he began to form his final thoughts, leaning back on his heels before opening them again and staring at you. “Ah... I remember now. You were Wooyoung’s fling for a couple weeks... right?”

“What?” You exclaimed, a rosy pink tint spreading across your face as you spoke. You’ve never even spoken to the guitarist boy when he lived near you, nevertheless have a fling with him. The mere thought of doing something so... dangerous like that made your skin crawl. “No... I don’t... listen, are you serious? You don’t remember who am I at all? Not a thing about me seems to trigger some sort of memory in you?”

“Not to be rude,” he responded, lifting himself out of his crouched position and beginning to walk across the stage to the stairs positioned at the side. “But you don’t look like the most memorable type. I mean if I don’t remember you are, would anyone else be able to?”

His blunt honestly was like a knife to the chest, only he was repeatedly sinking the weapon into your already open wound. Had he always been this straightforward with people? Of course he was, that’s why you never got him to play a song for you. You didn’t even know whether or not you liked the fact that he didn’t recognize who you were because he had formatted his words. You’d much rather be remembered for something embarrassing you did than be forgettable as a whole.

Though by the time you had clocked back into reality, a snarky and rude comment ready to hit the bullseye on the back of his head, he was gone. There was no sign of violinist boy anywhere in the room, as if he has quiet literally disappeared into thin air. “I should have just let him smash his violin to pieces,” you rumbled, now not only late to class but also filled with bitter rage that wasn’t even reciprocated.

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honeyleesblog · 2 years

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meaning of chiron in astrology

A bright comet with large dust and gas trails as the comets orbit brings it close to the Sun. Illustration. You zodiac sign is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to your astrological makeup, and if you've rarely resonated with your sun sign, it's likely because this makes up only a small portion of your personality. Rather, your entire birth chart — the position of the planets at the time and location at which you were born — offers you a more holistic astrological self-appraisal. If you've ever looked up your birth chart, you'll recognize the more obvious zodiac placements, like your rising sign, moon sign, or Venus sign. But knowing lesser-known birth-chart aspects, like Chiron (denoted by a key symbol), adds nuance to your astrological profile that sometimes helps everything else just click.

"When looking at a birth chart, someone's Chiron placement will always stick out to me, because in addition to representing our childhood wound, [Chiron is] our greatest superpower," Miami-based clairvoyant astrologer Valerie Mesa tells POPSUGAR. "My favorite thing to point out about Chiron is the fact that its symbol looks just like a key, and that key is precisely what unlocks our greatest potential in due time."

What Is Chiron? Originally dubbed an asteroid when it was first discovered in 1977, Chiron is now classified as a minor planet and a comet, according to Britannica, and its orbit runs between structure-hungry Saturn and chaotic Uranus if that gives you any indication of its overall vibe. It was named after the centaur Chiron in Greek mythology, who was not like other centaurs in the sense that Chiron is said to have been more educated and wiser than his fellow centaurs. Additionally, while other centaurs possessed the upper body of a human and a horse's lower body, Chiron's front legs were human.

What Does Chiron Mean in Astrology? In astrology, Chiron is typically known as the "wounded healer," a nod to Chiron's history as a teacher, his knowledge of medicine, and his inability to heal himself after being struck with a poisonous arrow — an event that resulted in a long period of pain and, eventually, in his tragic, albeit noble, death. Deeply personal and complex, your Chiron sign mirrors these themes of chronic pain. It's essentially the area of life in which you're wounded and vulnerable, representative of a lifelong burden you carry.

"This [also] showcases humility and strength in character, similar to the way we, as humans, go through life carrying our own pain and burdens, despite how outgoing and approachable we seem to the rest of the world," Mesa says.

Of course, wounds are just one part of what this minor planet represents; Chiron was a healer, too. Knowing this, Chiron also signals the areas in which you have the most opportunity to help others grow through what you've learned and endured. But reaching that point isn't easy and often requires years of reflection and individual growth. "Depending on the energy or aspects surrounding your natal Chiron placement, it's only when we actually rise above our pain or feelings of inadequacy that we can reap the benefits of this strange comet," Mesa says.

What Is a Chiron Return and When Does It Happen? Similar to a Saturn return or other planetary returns, individuals also experience a Chiron return when the comet finishes a revolution through the zodiac signs and returns to the sign it was in when you were born. A full Chiron revolution takes around 50 years — right around the time of the proverbial "midlife crisis" — bringing about a "spiritual rebirth" that can be even more challenging than a Saturn return, according to Mesa.

"It's almost like you have no choice but to return back home to yourself and take care of business, so to speak. Imagine traveling for years and years and suddenly returning back home to an empty house you barely recognize," she says. "[A Chiron return is] definitely not as tragic, but that lack of familiarity is what propels us to dig deeper and become reacquainted with our higher self . . . It's a period of intense healing, but it also requires some sort of surrender in the process."

What Is My Chiron Sign and What Does It Mean For Me? Outside of visiting a professional astrologer who's able to read your birth chart in full, the easiest way to find your Chiron sign is to use an online Chiron-sign calculator. You'll need to know your date, location, and time of birth to get the most accurate assessment, which will usually tell you the zodiac sign, degree, and astrological house Chiron falls in for you.

As you learn your Chiron sign, it's important to remember that this aspect of your chart is deeply personal, and decoding how it applies to you specifically will require some introspection on your own life experiences. Generally, each zodiac sign's overarching characteristics will give you an indication of how your deeper wounds might manifest — most often by embodying too much or too little of those characteristics. Mesa uses Aries — bold, impulsive, independent — as an example. "There's a need to reflect on one's reasoning behind the fear of being a leader or the unconscious tendency to dismiss others' opinions entirely," she says of Chiron in Aries.

Below, Mesa offers her insight as to the possible wounds or difficulties each Chiron sign might experience throughout their life and, in turn, how each could possibly transform their experiences into healing and growth for others.

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vsb2124 · 5 months

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Discover the Serenity Within Your Ultimate Guide to Finding Yoga Classes Near You

In the fast-paced world we live in, filled with constant hustle and bustle, finding a moment of peace and tranquility is essential. Yoga, an ancient practice that harmonizes the mind, body, and spirit, has become a beacon of serenity for many. Whether you're a seasoned yogi or a beginner, the search for the perfect yoga class is a journey worth taking. Join us as we explore the world of yoga classes near you, from local studios to the convenience of online sessions.

Embarking on the Journey: Yoga Classes Near Me

The first step in your quest for inner peace is to explore the yoga classes available in your local area. Simply search for "yoga classes near me" to unveil a plethora of options. Local yoga studios offer a unique and immersive experience, allowing you to connect with like-minded individuals on a similar path to wellness.

From Hatha to Vinyasa, the variety of classes available ensures that you'll find one that aligns with your preferences and fitness level. Beginners can ease into the practice with foundational classes, while more advanced yogis can challenge themselves with vigorous sessions. Check out community bulletin boards, social media groups, and local event listings for recommendations and reviews, ensuring you choose a studio that resonates with your needs.

The Digital Frontier: Online Yoga Classes

In today's interconnected world, the boundaries of yoga extend far beyond the studio. Online yoga classes have emerged as a convenient and accessible way to integrate this ancient practice into your daily routine. A simple search for "online yoga classes" will open up a world of possibilities, with renowned instructors streaming live sessions or offering pre-recorded classes.

One of the key advantages of online yoga classes is the flexibility they afford. You can practice in the comfort of your own home, at any time that suits your schedule. This accessibility is particularly beneficial for those with busy lifestyles or geographical constraints. Whether you're a stay-at-home parent, a globetrotter, or someone with a hectic work schedule, online yoga classes bring the studio to you.

Finding Balance: Yoga Near Me and Beyond

As you delve into the world of yoga, consider combining the benefits of both local and online classes. A balanced approach allows you to enjoy the sense of community and connection offered by in-person sessions while also taking advantage of the flexibility and convenience of online platforms.

Explore local workshops, retreats, or outdoor yoga events to enhance your practice and connect with fellow enthusiasts. Many studios also offer a hybrid model, allowing you to attend classes in person or virtually. This flexibility ensures that you can maintain your practice regardless of external circumstances, adapting to the ebb and flow of life.

Tips for Choosing the Right Yoga Class

With a plethora of options available, choosing the right yoga class may seem overwhelming. Here are some tips to help you navigate the vast landscape of yoga offerings:

Consider Your Goals: Are you looking to build strength, increase flexibility, or find mental clarity? Different styles of yoga cater to various objectives, so identify your goals before selecting a class.

Check Instructor Credentials: Look for classes taught by certified and experienced instructors. A well-qualified teacher can guide you through proper alignment, ensuring a safe and effective practice.

Read Reviews: Take advantage of online platforms and social media to read reviews and testimonials from other participants. This firsthand feedback can provide valuable insights into the quality of instruction and the overall experience.

Trial Classes: Many studios offer trial classes or discounted packages for newcomers. Take advantage of these opportunities to experience different classes and find the one that resonates with you.

Assess Accessibility: Whether you choose a local studio or an online platform, consider the accessibility of the classes. Choose a location or time that fits seamlessly into your routine, increasing the likelihood of consistent practice.

#online yoga classes #yoga classes near me #yoga near me

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sophiemsmsmsmgallery · 3 years

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I’ll tell you who SOPHIE was - she provided me with the soundtrack to my existence.

SOPHIE - a futuristic goddess, an ingenious music producer, ethereal visionary, a trans icon.... just an icon generally speaking - tragically passed away at the age of 34 in Athens, Greece after falling off a rooftop whilst attempting to capture a picture of the full moon. Her gut wrenching death brought me to tears. This is the first time a famous person’s death has affected me so deeply. Her bold, hyperkinetic approach to producing musical art was so impeccable and refreshing considering so much of modern day’s music tends to sound incredibly predictable. Whilst alive, visionary SOPHIE generated a following of intensely adoring, dedicated fans. Honestly, don’t EVER mess with a SOPHIE fan. Trust me!

She worked with the biggest popstars, rappers, K Pop groups, rappers and upcoming artists but still remained so humble despite her enormous talent. However, she hadn’t reached household name status during her life. Sadly, many people only had heard of SOPHIE after her tragic and unexpected death. This motivated me to write a piece dedicated to this beautiful and timeless mastermind. I do acknowledge that its been exceptionally challenging to summarise how SOPHIE impacted my life onto only a few pieces of paper. However, its the least I can do. Therefore, I present to all of you my written tribute which shall focus on how her extraordinary music has featured during key moments of my lifetime and expanded my initially narrow knowledge of beauty, gender and identity like never before.

Let’s commence this written tribute by travelling back in time to when I had just turned 15. During that time period, my disposition was extremely introverted. In all honesty, like almost all teenagers suffering the displeasing side effects of bloody puberty, I was barely approachable. I adopted the entire persona of a full time punk kid wearing a thick leather jacket whilst applying extremely heavy kohl eyeliner and dying my hair jet black - which looked devastating. I would also scribble quotes associated with the punk ideology and act like some pretentious snob towards anything that was unrelated to punk, industrial or rap music. That was the most rebellion I exuded at the time (trying not to feel complete despair as much as possible for my former teenage self)

That captious mentality caused by teenage angst was erased the minute I listened to a snippet of the musical force of nature named ‘BIPP’ by SOPHIE on a Swiss MTV sponsored advert. The high pitched vocals singing ‘However you’re feeling, I can make you feel better’ provided by Marcella and overall catchy, hyperkinetic production mesmerised me like there’s no tomorrow. Nothing had captivated my imagination like the timeless ‘BIPP’ did so I typed aggressively and rapidly into the Google search engine straight away. I had to know who the mastermind lurking behind this masterpiece was. I had to know of the mastermind who provided me with this pivotal musical epiphany. Then the capitalised name ‘SOPHIE’ popped up right in front of my eyes.

After listening to ‘BIPP’ in its entirety on repeat, I instantly began to read up on SOPHIE and stumbled upon her 2013 interview on BBC Radio 1 with SOPHIE where she concealed her identity by having her 5 year old niece respond to the host’s questions instead of herself. At the time, I assumed Sophie had implemented a voice changer to project the voice of an infant. SOPHIE’s dry humoured response, namely ,,I’ve got a cough!’’ to the host’s bewilderment over the child sounding voice stood out for me. Earlier in her career, SOPHIE’s anonymity prompted much speculation in the music industry and press. I always perceived this bizarre, hysterical act of Sophie’s as a ‘two middle fingers up’ to our environment fuelled by mainstream culture, especially how so many people obsess over notable figure’s personal business and public image instead of their artistic accomplishments far too often. This has to be the ultimate moment my own curiosity for Sophie’s ingenious musical productivity became insatiable. Later on, I would await the 2015 McDonalds commercial anxiously to have my ears blessed with her gratifying track ,Lemonade’ over and over. The synthesised sounds that fizz like pop rocks. Nabihah’s crisp vocals which repeat ‘Candy boys, c - c - candy boys’. The overall ear worm appeal of the track. Flawless!

In the meantime, I discovered that Sophie happened to be a very well known affiliate of the divisive,unique PC Music label based in London, England. During the time period, I was - to be quite frank - not an avid bubblegum bass or hyper-pop listener in the slightest. I worshipped bands such as The Clash, Dead Kennedys, Rammstein,Tool, The KLF and additionally adored rap music ranging from N.W.A to Eminem. They totally divert from the hyperkinetic, exaggerated take on the pop genre embraced by the PC Music label. However, my teenage idols and SOPHIE objectively share something fundamental in common - Through their trailblazing musical output, they push every single barrier possible and deconstruct what constitutes as ,normal’ in modern day society. Even just after releasing her first full length album ‘Product’, SOPHIE embodied a bold form of rebellion against society’s conventionality and unforgiving temperament by incorporating lyrics alluding to a mostly genderless nature and sexual fetishes eg BDSM. As an extremely naive, self conscious teenager, all of this completely perplexed but intrigued me. Any glimpse of art connected with an attitude of non conformity resonated with me in practically seconds and continues to even at 22.

This longing for anything unorthodox traces back to my own childhood. To explain some details about my background, I grew up in a rather small, very conservative village in Switzerland from the age of 9. Even uttering anything LGBT related would illicit responses ranging from loud gasps to shocked faces at my high school. As a non Swiss resident, the educational setting demonstrated to be more than challenging at times. One incident that stands out to me especially is when a classmate ranted about his disapproval of non Swiss inhabitants receiving Swiss pass and then continued with yelling ‘All my family voted for the SVP kick all of (you fucking foreign scum) out!’.Just to clarify, the SVP is the largest party in Switzerland and leans very far right politically. As you can presume, I was utterly distraught by this disconcerting interaction and confess to losing any fragment of self confidence remaining in that moment. Luckily the Swiss MTV channel existed, which was far more on trend with the times and embraced marginalised communities. I will forever cherish Swiss MTV introducing me to SOPHIE’s impeccable, lawless music and being a form of escapism in my bedroom from the racist, homophobic climate prevailing in my village.

At the age of 17, Graduation finally arrived at the door which was an absolute relief. A few hours later, the celebration party took place in a secluded barn and my boyfriend immersed himself into the role as DJ for the night. Towards the end, he sneakily included Product era classics including ‘Vyzee’ and ‘Hard’. I could barely contain my excitement. We all almost choked on the horrendous party smoke, spilt our cheap beer on each other’s outfits and chanted ‘Shake it up and make it fizz!’ and ‘I get so hard.’ Ironically, I believe my Swiss colleagues didn’t exactly recognise the discernible sexual connotations exhibited throughout the song which causes me to giggle ever so slightly looking back. However, it felt liberating hearing SOPHIE’s fiercely electronic, transparent music and seeing my classmates enjoying it - especially as all you would hear on most music outlets there was either dreary Indie or Luka Haenni - the Swiss equivalent to Justin Bieber. That’s the most I’m able to recollect from that peculiar night - aside from a trampoline burning to the ground due to someone placing a candle on it. After all that jazz, a thrillingly new chapter for myself - and even for SOPHIE - would unfold.

At 17, I returned to my place of birth, England, and enrolled at Sixth Form in the South to complete my A Levels. I initially felt extremely elated to move back to England and finally entering the era of adulthood in my life. However, the atmosphere at Sixth Form and in the South of England seemed ... so unfamiliar to me which was heartbreaking. My mind had totally adjusted to a Swiss and my mind endured unsettling feelings of anxiety during the entire first year at British college. However, SOPHIE’s music once again presented itself as a form of therapy for me. She released the ethereal, stunning ballad ‘It’s Okay To Cry’ during this time period. After watching its music video and deciphering the lyrics I realised... Oh my goodness, SOPHIE just came out as a transgender woman! I recall being touched by the exquisite, idiosyncratic song featuring 80s style synthesised arrangements. SOPHIE’S bravery mesmerised me. I knew in that moment, Sophie would revolutionise the music industry, especially the habitat of music production dominated by cisgender, heterosexual men. She proved my initial predictions right - and on many occasions.

The day after SOPHIE released ‘Its Okay To Cry’, I overheard an energetic conversation carried out by a few of fellow openly gay and trans classmates who I’m still acquainted with to this day. They couldn’t contain their excitement about SOPHIE.

Despite the crippling anxiety having affected me so severely at that point, I intervened and expressed my admiration for everything SOPHIE. I felt blessed attending a sixth form alongside gay, non binary, trans classmates who took pride in their identity and sexuality. It put my mind at ease being surrounded in a more progressive environment compared to the intolerant ambience pervading my village in Switzerland. SOPHIE’s music had connected me with such a progressive, solicitous and just simply amazing group of friends. They agreed with me that SOPHIE’s courageous move will impact the music world in such a striking manner and encourage more LGBT people to pursue their goals no matter how extravagant, especially an acclaimed music producer igniting the music industry like SOPHIE. Then all of a sudden they mentioned the track ‘Yeah Right’ and how it blew their mind away due to SOPHIE’s ‘badass as hell instrumentals.’ With all the shame in the world, I confessed I hadn’t heard it yet. Their facial expressions conveyed so much disappointment. One of my classmates quickly plugged their Bluetooth speaker into his laptop and then pressed the play button. From a personal perspective, ‘Yeah Right’ featuring Vince Staples and Kendrick Lamar perfectly stands out to me despite SOPHIE’s extensive and majestic discography to her name.

I contemplate the masterpiece as a pivotal moment in rap music history. Even during 2017, Sophie began exhibiting red lipstick, latex gloves, tight clothing corresponding to a more feminine image which totally distances from the aggressively macho image attached to the rap industry. From the moment Vince Staples commences with his lyrically cutting verses to Kendrick Lamar proceeding with his gripping and more than memorable cameo - I realised that a 3 minute long but significant moment music history in general simply named ‘Yeah Right’, had occurred. Her production on the track astonishes me due to its avant grade and timeless edge. To me, it is a masterpiece that echoes the the extremely distant future of music. I reckon we’ll be dancing to ‘Yeah Right’ at the club in 2137. For 4 consecutive years, ‘Yeah Right’ has been reigning champion of most listened to song on my Spotify account and can express with all certainty... it’s my all time favourite song. In all honesty, it cured me of my severe feelings of apprehension and anxiety at Sixth Form.

After regaining my confidence and FINALLY passing the dreaded driving test - after failing three times in a row - the first song I blasted on my speakers in my cheap, run down car was ‘Yeah Right’ and rather fittingly, Sophie’s live version of the officially unreleased ‘Burn Rubber’ whilst driving to university I was about to attend. I genuinely cried all the lyrics to the song whilst driving on the mundane roads of Southern England and FINALLY felt like a free, independent adult. Even during brief chapters of my life such as passing my driving test, SOPHIE made a crucial and ravishing appearance.

The last three years of my life have played out in a rather turbulent style. Towards the middle of 2018, the year unravelled in a fashion that I certainly hadn’t anticipated. I’ll summarise it to the best of my ability even thought it is extremely difficult to. My longtime best friend, the closest person to me, sadly died to long term chronic illness. I couldn’t articulate my utter grief into words and sadly still struggle to this day. It was a sudden blow to the heart which couldn’t be paralleled to anything else I’ve felt in my short lifetime. A month prior to her untimely passing, SOPHIE had released her acclaimed, gallant debut album ‘Oil Of Every Person’s Un Insides.’ Although OOEPUI is a extravagant, historic work of art, I shall describe how the tracks ‘Is it Cold In the Water’ and ‘Faceshopping’ impacted me.

I perceive ‘Is It Cold In The Water? as a hauntingly riveting piece of music, with vocals sung Cecile Believe that send shivers down my spine. The lyrics ‘Earth shaking, I feel alone’ encapsulated on a personal level how I couldn’t envision an existence without my best friend by my side mocking my naturally deep, monotone voice, her showing me a piece of clothing she had just designed herself as she was an aspiring designer and hurting with laughter whilst impersonating certain celebrities. My raging anger against the world intensified. I placed my formerly devoted belief in a higher existence under the microscope - a belief system that I unfortunately haven��t revisited ever since. ,Is It cold in the water’ epitomises the dilemma and hardship of entering unknown depths without any inkling of what overcoming the ‘cold water’ and how its aftermath would materialise, metaphorically speaking. I realised I had to place my feet in the cold water in order to heal and adjust to coping with my best friend’s death despite how petrifying the concept as such seemed at the time.

And then there’s the outstanding ‘Faceshopping.’ I’ll confess... when I originally listened to this track, I was rather, dare I say, baffled afterwards. The experimentally electronic provided by Sophie galvanised me as usual. However, as a cisgender woman who has dated men right up to the present moment, I was initially under the very ill informed assumption that I couldn’t identify with a lot of the album’s content produced by an trans woman. That display of shambolic ignorance was quickly put to rest when I analysed the lyrics of ‘Faceshopping’ with an open eye. It clicked that the song could symbolise more than one meaning. It examines the age of the internet and the lengths modern day go to in order to pass as beautiful, especially in the name of personal branding. Furthermore, the powerful track demonstrates SOPHIE’s mesmerisingly fervent opposition against what traditional values regard as beauty which is unquestionably ingenious. I feel the lyric ‘My shop is the face I front’ denotes a person’s individual freedom of complementing their psychical appearance - whether through simply makeup or plastic surgery - and evolving their true gender identity shouldn’t be shunned. As someone who has been extremely self conscious about my appearance since the tender age of 12 caused by several factors eg bullying at school, ‘Faceshopping’ uplifted my spirits and enlightened me that no influence other than my personal self shall control how I beautify my own body.

Skipping to 2020, the world has been transformed to a severe extent due to the Coronavirus infecting and heartbreakingly taking millions of people’s lives. With this almost dystopian nightmare occurring, I felt extremely poorly - physically speaking - which had been affecting me since October of the same year. Ultimately I was rushed into hospital in December. After countless physical evaluations and days passing by whilst lying in a lonesome hospital bed, my doctor informed me that due to the severity of my current condition, the likelihood of permanent infertility is extremely high. The news put me into a state of shock. After my doctor left the room, the tears couldn’t stop streaming down my face. I had always envisioned raising my own children. Forgive me for the hyperbolic language but in that moment I felt defeated.

With the prospect of my womanhood being affected forever, I put my headphones to shut out the continuous ambulance sirens blaring outside. I pressed Shuffle Play on my SoundCloud and the first song that appeared was SOPHIE’s ‘Heav3n Suspended Livestream’ version of ‘My Forever’. Cecile Believe reiterating ‘Everbody’s got to own their body’ so ethereally, and the song as a whole proved to be therapeutic in the moment. After pressing the repeat button 20 times - at the very least - I had ANOTHER epiphany: no establishment should dictate what constitutes as femininity or womanhood. Even in the modern day society, childless people continue to be stigmatised, often branded as ‘selfish’ or ‘undesirable’ in many communities. I applaud the progress we’ve made in terms of tackling stereotypes associated with infertility. However, more work still needs to be carried out on this matter. Although it’s only my individual interpretation of the song given the circumstances of my poorly health at the time, the lyrics reassured me that everybody’s - without a doubt - GOT to own their body. Gosh that sounds so rhetorical!

After this pivotal awakening, I was rushed into surgery which lasted about two hours. The next day - feeling extremely lethargic - I woke up to the fantastic news that the doctors saved my physical health from infertility. I will always be so grateful for their treatment of me and my painful condition. Two weeks into recuperation post surgery, I had no choice but to exercise to boost my mental state caused by inactivity and to get my blood circulation going. As a lifelong, passionate dancer I conceptualised and performed a dance routine to SOPHIE’s club inspired, sublime ‘Take Me To Dubai’. - in front of my cracked bedroom mirror, ironically. Still, dancing again and no physical illness bringing me down felt like a individual rebirth. I was anticipating how 2021 would spell out for me - despite Covid 19 still permeating globally. 2021 finally arrived and not even a full month into the ‘glorious new year’, SOPHIE died.

I recall waking up to numerous messages and notifications capitalising the words: SOPHIE HAS DIED!’. In all honesty ... I froze. It didn’t register for about an hour. Afterwards, I couldn’t disguise the heartbreak and shock that SOPHIE was no longer with us - especially given the cause of her death. It’s been two weeks and I’ll acknowledge that I haven’t overcome the sentiment of anger and upset yet because of her untimely passing .The soundtrack to my existence is gone.

Whether SOPHIE’s musical stylings resonate with you or not, you can’t underestimate her fearless disposition and overwhelming talent. She inspired so many fans to embrace their true identity even when their environment was striving to silence them. She challenged our establishment’s shallow interpretation of beauty, gender and identity. Despite coming out as an trans woman and transphobia still being prevalent globally, SOPHIE didn’t let this form of prejudice stand in her way of achieving her dreams. Her revolutionary mark she left on the industry shall never be underemphasised by so many of us.

SOPHIE,

Thank you for everything. I will never ever forget you,

ROBS.

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annalyticall · 4 years

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Anime Newbie in her Twenties Ranks her First 10 Anime

With the recommendations of my sister @ging-ler and friends, I started watching anime just over a year ago and within that time I’ve watched a total of 10 - some clocking in at almost 200 episodes and some with only 12. I told myself a while ago that once I had finished 10 anime shows I would rank them like some Anime Newbie WatchMojo list, so, here we are. Really this is just an excuse to force more of my unwarranted opinions onto unwilling followers.

I should also preface this by saying I don’t think any of the anime I watched this year was bad, and I enjoyed a lot about every show even if I ranked some low. However, the top three anime on my list are the ones I would recommend to anyone following me even if they don’t watch anime.

10. Death Note

Despite absolutely loathing the “protagonist” since episode one, I really enjoyed the first half of Death Note! The story was intriguing with all of its wild twist and turns and I found myself immediately invested in what was going to happen next. Unfortunately, after the death of who I thought was by far the best character, the show seems to go off the rails as it introduces new characters and contrived plot devices in the second half that were frankly hard for me to care about at that point. The ending was satisfying but I forced myself to sit through a lot of painful meandering to get there.

9. Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop was the first anime I watched as suggested to me by @mcsherrybr. The smooth and jazzy art, atmosphere, animation, action, and music were all a lot of fun, as were the lovable ragtag group of misfits that made up the main cast. I enjoyed myself a lot while watching this western/sci-fi melding pot of a show, and I only ranked it so low because the last few episodes were a huge disappointment to my found-family-trope-loving heart.

8. Violet Evergarden

Violet Evergarden, following the story of a child soldier learning to love, is absolutely beautiful to look at and listen to. The music in this anime is, for me, THE best music from any show on this list. This is also the only anime that made me sob several times while watching it. The collection of short episodic stories that explore the deep facets of human love and connection are incredibly resonant and will stay with me for a long time. However, the strength of the small story arcs made the rushed overarching war story and finale weaker in comparison. Similarly, the memorable characters introduced in the one-off side plots were more interesting to me than the cast of rather bland reoccurring supporting characters. While I will remember a lot of great individual moments, I can’t seem to remember a single character’s name besides Violet’s, but that might also be due to being one of the shorter entries at only 12 episodes.

7. Hunter x Hunter (2011)

Going from one of the shortest anime on this list to the longest, Hunter x Hunter was an great and engrossing story during the entirety of its 160+ episodes. It’s colorful and playful, but can also be very dark and at times even heart-wrenching. Because it contains so many distinct arcs, there is a wide variety characters and stories to get attached to, and some, like the Chimera Ant Arc, I even cried over. But this also left me with issues regarding the pacing. The show has great action and introspective moments but will often drag with long drawn-out pauses between fights to explain simple concepts (though I understand that’s a common trope in old shonen anime in general). The world-building is rich but also caught me off guard with some strange ideas, and admittedly not all of them I liked. Some eccentric characters and concepts rubbed me the wrong way and ended up hindering my enjoyment of the show. Overall though, it was a lot of fun and I left with a few more endearing favorite characters, like Leorio and Killua.

6. Erased

Also a 12 episode anime, Erased was amazingly impactful for how short it was. Even as I followed the unfolding murder mystery, I was also touched by the meaningful themes and kind-hearted characters I met along the way. The already-strong story is accentuated with great symbolism, art, and music. The only problem I had was with the mystery itself; I was able to tell who the true killer was within the first 4 episodes, which didn’t lend itself well to suspense and I spent the remaining episodes frustrated that the main characters couldn’t see some obvious clues.This is a minor problem, though, since the finale has less to do with mystery and more about the morals and resolution of themes that I felt was satisfying.

5. Demon Slayer

Demon Slayer is gorgeous. The stunning art style, fluid animation, and breath-taking music are all valid reasons to watch it, but the main character Tanjiro and his unwavering devotion to find a cure for his sister-turned-demon Nezuko are the reasons to stay. Tanjiro is unbelievably gentle as he shows even the evil demons he has to slay a hard-fought kindness, and it’s those tender moments between all of the amazing action sequences that really elevate this show for me. The issues I have lie with the rest of the cast. While I love some supporting characters, like the pig-headed Inosuke and the stoic Giyuu, others have very niche personalities that can get annoying if they’re on screen for too long, which they definitely tend to be. Still, the bond between Tanjiro and Nezuko is so strong that it gets me through even those dragging scenes.

And it’s written by a woman!

4. My Hero Academia

Hey so this might come as a shock for anyone who’s followed me for a while: My Hero Academia is not my favorite anime! I do love it a lot - it’s the only anime on this list that has inspired me to read the manga, write fic, and buy merch. There are so many lovable characters and exciting arcs in this show that there is bound to be something for everyone to enjoy, both inside and outside of canon. It’s a wonderfully paced and animated deconstruction of the superhero genre and besides its deeper themes and commentary, there’s also just a lot of endearing teenage goofin’ to be had, and the show balances the tone of these two almost-equally engaging aspects of the story fairly well.

The downside, for me, is the show’s sexualization of female characters, especially the teenagers. With the likes of pervy fellow classmate Mineta, it’s a flaw that’s hard to avoid and takes up an unfortunate amount of screen time. There are in-universe characters that protest against this behavior, and the female characters are still well-written for the most part, but that doesn’t make up for the canon material including it at all. It’s not a huge part of the show but it’s present enough that it really knocks the ranking down for me.

3. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Out of my top 5, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is the only one that is complete. Because of that, I can tentatively say that so far, it is the best completed story on this list. From beginning to end, the pacing was perfect - the action never dragged, the characters were never unnecessary, and the plot twists were never unearned. I found myself more invested than I thought I would ever be for the large cast of characters, and everything, including its ending, was satisfying to watch. The animation is fluid and lent itself well to the most impactful scenes, especially involving the flame alchemist Roy Mustang. It’s also written by a woman! Really, the only nitpicks I have were with tonal problems - serious moments would sometimes be ruined by too much slapstick or visual gags.

As I mentioned before, my Top 3 are shows I would recommend to anyone who’s unfamiliar with anime simply because they’re good solid stories with almost no distracting anime tropes. This is a good place to start.

2. The Promised Neverland

The Promised Neverland is deceiving; on the surface it looks like a sweet show about a bunch of adorable kids playing together in the spacious green backyard of their quaint orphanage. Once you finish the first episode, however, you will quickly discover that there is definitely something more sinister lurking under the surface. This show is an expertly executed dark horror/thriller that always had me on the edge of my seat. The cute aesthetic never distracts from the suspense, in fact, it adds to the discomfort when the horrific visuals and expressions are contrasted against the character designs. I loved all of the characters, including the antagonist, who manages to be just as sympathetic as she is menacing. The sound design and music are also beautiful and adds so much to the rich atmosphere. I am definitely excited to see where this series will go!

1. Mob Psycho 100

ONE, the creator of Mob Psycho 100, said the single word he used for the concept for the series was “kindness”. Kindness shines through so much of this story following the life of Mob, a super-psychic kid that just wants to fit in, and I adore every second of it. While many shonen anime stories force the child protagonist to get stronger, become more powerful, and fight in battles against hostile adults, Mob Psycho 100 says “that’s stupid. Kids shouldn’t have to be traumatized by immature power-hungry adults. The only strength that anyone should pursue is strength of character, motivated by self-love and love for others.” And it says it with the most beautiful animation I have EVER seen in a show. The simplistic character designs mean the animators can have as much creative freedom as they like with expressions and movement, and they absolutely use that freedom. Humor is a large part of this mostly-comedy anime, but it makes the serious and introspective scenes so much more important when they do happen. The shifts between these two tones never feel awkward or imbalanced.

Mob Psycho 100 has inspired me to become more experimental and joy-seeking with my art, as well as just become a better person in my own life, which I can’t say for many other anime or many other pieces of media period. Even though a Season 3 hasn’t been officially announced yet, I can still safely say Mob Psycho 100 will forever hold a special place in my heart.

#Well I did it i ranked all the anime i've seen #now to watch naruto lol

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eccentricpony · 4 years

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juza dating hcs? thank you !!

Hey all! I received quite a few requests for Juza headcanons, so I tried to hit a few aspects of the relationship with this one.

Mostly gender neutral but some fem!reader towards the end.

First Date

· Firstly, don’t be insulted that you’re going to have to ask him on your first date. If you’re too high on your horse to take the initiative with this shy boy, you ain’t going anywhere.

· It’s not that he doesn’t like you – quite the contrary, he likes you too much and when you’re around, the already limited amount of pleasantries which he uses to converse is reduced from level 3 (Short, yet complete, sentences) to level 1 (Single words, often times mumbled).

· “Hey.” “Yup.” “‘s okay.”

· Unfortunately, “Want to go out with me sometime?” is at least level 4.

· To your great relief, despite his furrowed brow you received a whole two words response of “Yeah, sure” when you asked if he’d like to go out with you sometime. The faintest of blushes painted his angular cheeks, and he could probably feel the heat in his face because he deflected his gaze to the pavement.

· You decided you’d meet at a pretty casual local restaurant for dinner on a Saturday night. Well, more like you suggested it and he nodded, but he did consent.

· The actual dialogue of your date was abysmal.

· If Tsuzuru read the manuscript of your verbal exchanges, he would think a bot wrote it.

· A very poorly programmed bot.

· BUT

· His body language belied the staleness of the conversation.

· He tried not to chew on his thumb nail, but he kept his elbow on the table, hand close to his mouth. He’d look around the room wishing that someone would throw him a cue on what to say next, and every so often, his eyes would fall on you and he’d smile cautiously. It was one of those crooked grins that hooked up the side of his pretty mouth, made his eyes squint slightly. And when his cheek lifted it made his high cheekbone even more defined. Normally, you weren’t this quiet, but whenever he smiled like that it made your motor skills seize.

· Still does, actually.

· The night ended cordially, and unsurprisingly anti-climactically. You didn’t get a goodnight kiss but really just be glad he showed up at all, he was terrified. With a little patience and guidance, he’d make it up to you later in the relationship.

Romance

· Despite many of his fellow classmates finding him very scarousing, they either never built up the nerve to ask him out, or they tried to ask him out but they gave up when they discovered they’d have to carry the entire conversation, probably forever.

· Hey, their loss is your gain.

· It’s true that you’re probably never going to get Homare-level flowery speech from O High’s reluctant neo-gangster, but he finds his own ways to show you how he feels.

· And talk is cheap anyway! You’ve come to love Juza as a man of few words, but many actions. It may not seem like he’s listening to you due to his lack of responses, but he absorbs everything you say like a sponge.

· Case in point: Juza picks up some drinks for you both from your favorite coffee shop to surprise you, and you’re astounded that yours is perfectly customized to include all your preferred “no __” and “extra extra ___” even though he hasn’t heard you say it for a few weeks. Maybe all the line memorization has improved his overall information retainment, but know that anything to do with you receives priority storage in his mental notepad.

· You allow his actions to speak for him, without making him feel badly for it. And it sure as hell pays off.

· He knows that if you seem upset, he can lay next to you and pull you carefully into his chest without worrying that you’re going to make a big deal about it. You also won’t be angry at him later for his not verbally consoling you. He trusts that if you need to talk about it, you will, and you trust that every action he makes is sincere and from his heart.

· Juza really loves skinship. It allows him to speak to you without using words.

· Sometimes in public, if you’re shopping for groceries or sitting on a park bench, he’ll curl his fingers around the back of your neck and gently stroke your spine, gazing down at you with fondness.

· If you do happen to ask the reason for the sudden affection, he’ll just smile more widely.

· “Just thinkin’“ he replies succinctly, but dripping with tenderness.

· It’s not even accurate to say that he has an opinion on PDA because he doesn’t really behave differently to you in either situation, whether you’re around others or not.

· He takes your hand in his all the time, without apology, regardless of location or surroundings, lightly stroking your knuckles and squeezing your hand on occasion to emphasize a softly spoken statement.

· At the same time, he knows what to qualify as universally unacceptable in public forums. And those things he reserves for alone time.

Alone Time (mildly NSFW)

· This boy may have the face of a sinner, but he has the romantic experience of a saint.

· I mean, he’s had a couple of awkward, clumsy juvenile makeout seshes but certainly nothing heart-stoppingly passionate or memorable.

· That is, until you enter, stage left.

· Juza isn’t a complicated man. You need not worry about layers of manly posturing, disguising what he really wants or needs, because he will just make it plain. As best as he can, at any rate.

· He’s handsy, without question, and usually any sexy time that he initiates will begin with a subtle transitory finger glide. The hand across your back creeps steadily down your collarbone. The fingers along your knee trail seductively up your thigh.

· Once in a while, if he’s really wanting you while you’re in public, he’ll hold your hand innocently, then find a way to “accidentally” brush the backs of his fingers across your butt. Or if he’s growing really restless, he’ll find a way to nestle your clasped hands in the dip of your lap, and then twitch and reposition that hand persistently until you get the hint. Grinning at you all the while with a fiery stare that could melt a metal bar, as though you were the only other person in the room.

· You didn’t expect this kind of mischief from stoic Juza, but hot damn, you’ll take it.

· Juza has also mastered the coy eyebrow raise. He doesn’t even realize he’s doing it, but what he intends to be simply his manner of questioning your interest in a tumble is drenched in such a lusty smolder that you’re instantly seduced every time.

· He’s not overly vocal when it comes to intimacy (surprise, surprise), but his functioning vocabulary includes an essential set of words that influence you to slow down, go faster, or just basic terms of affirmation and praise.

· That’s the functioning vocabulary.

· The non-functioning vocabulary, when you manage to flip a switch that turns stony Juza into steamy Juza, includes some unpredictably dirty words that evoke even dirtier thoughts, which ultimately crescendo into a Juza that is reduced to guttural groans that resonate like soft purrs through his heated body. His sweaty, taut, heated body.

· Since this wasn’t a NSFW request I’ll stop there, but have fun with that imagery.

Relationship

· He said ‘I love you’ first.

· To be more precise, he said “Love you.”

· It seems completely improbable, I know, and you never would have believed it when you first started dating, but despite the chiseled poker face, Juza Hyodo is brimming with passion.

· It was evident to anyone in Autumn Troupe who had witnessed his unyielding persistence as a fledgling actor. He was determined to improve his theatrical abilities, and that same steadfast devotion applies to everything in his life to which he is extremely loyal.

· One such thing being you.

· Case in point: riding the crimson wave.

· “Hey Juza, umm… I need to pick up some, ahh… girl stuff.” Juza just stared at you blankly, expression unchanged.

· “So if you want to go wait in the car, it’s okay.” You added, blood rising into your face.

· “Why‘m I doing that?” he countered with a blank stare, wondering if he did something to piss you off. This was challenging, and not entirely unexpected, that you had to explain yourself more plainly. You were still working on emphasizing your verbal nuances, and maybe you didn’t make your objective obvious enough.

· “You know, in case you don’t want anyone to see you buying feminine products-”

· “You think I care about them?” He held your hand tighter, resolutely, looking back down the aisle like a man with a purpose. “C’mon, let’s go get your stuff.”

· He made you stop by the pain reliever aisle as well, in case you needed anything for your cramps.

· And he bought you a carton of ice cream, just in case you thought you might have an emotional craving for some later (okay, he had every intention of eating some, too)

· The TL;DR is you were a work in progress like any other happy young couple. You were, and are, patient and never forced him to chatter needlessly. And in turn, you have a partner who is sincere, resolute, and loyal to a fault. Sure, it took some time for him to adjust to a partnership (namely communication), but now you couldn’t imagine being with anyone else.

#a3!#a3! actor training game #a3! imagines #a3! headcanons #a3 x reader #a3! juza #juza x reader #juza hyodo #juza #a3 juza #a3 headcanons #a3 imagines

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