blue talk & love!

the rooftops are, for the most part, pretty bare bones all year round. the landlord doesn’t have too much of a presence around the complexes ( siujing hasn’t even seen them since she signed the contract! ) but perhaps they’ve got a soft spot for christmas. because, for the first time in the year she’s lived at dallyeog, there’s something other than cleaning supplies and mismatched potted plants adorning the rooftop.

specifically, christmas trees! even completely undecorated, they’d been such a surprisingly endearing sight that siujing ended up bringing colourful tinsel and baubles to jazz them up a little more. it’d taken her half a day to cart her ornaments and hang them up around all four complexes, but if no one else was gonna do it, why not? the warmth she feels seeing the four little tree topping stars twinkle on her way home is definitely worth the effort. hopefully, someone else around the complexes can enjoy them too.

but any good christmas tree isn’t complete without a few presents under it! her bank account protests her window shopping at a couple of sweet shops, so siujing decides on homemade cookies. she gets four batches done ( chocolate chip, every single type of nut in her house, raisin oatmeal, and the quintessential shortbread cookies ) before she runs out of flour. it’s quick work, baking then packing them into festive bags printed with fairy lights and snowflakes, and she’s got a backpack full of them to distribute when she finishes.

siujing gets up to the rooftop of complex #1 and grins when she sees the updated decorations. someone else has joined her in spreading the christmas spirit, with adorable decors made by hand and utterly charming. she’s arranging the presents under the tree as jauntily as she can when she hears someone come up, and she turns around to find eungi behind her.

🌸         IF there was one thing in the world that yeo poppy hated, it was being taken for a fool, being made out to be the ‘dumb blonde.’ what an absolutely stupid stereotype ( so what if she wanted to dye her hair a lighter color? it wasn’t the end of the world ) and, yes, poppy had more than one ounce of self-awareness. she recognized the fact that she could be a little … dimwitted sometimes, but that didn’t make her anything other than human. poppy grumbled to herself as she stormed out of the grocery store, cursing the universe for giving the prettiest faces to the ugliest people. stupid men and their stupid egos. the girl pulled out her phone and began typing faster than the speed of light. if there was one good thing that could have come out of the idiot at the grocery store all but cat-calling her before calling her stupid, it was that she could tell siujing about it. 

POPPY ♡ SIUJING : okay word to the wise POPPY ♡ SIUJING : if any guy comes to you and asks, “hey can i all but imply that this girl i think is cute is really a dumbass in disguise” PLEASE explain to him how much of a bad look it is POPPY ♡ SIUJING : also kick him in the groin POPPY ♡ SIUJING : for the common good

of course, poppy’s blood was boiling but she didn’t really expect siujing to enact that advice ( well, not the last part of it ) but if her friend could go on and be able to look some misguided person in the eye before explaining to them why negging was bad, the world would be a better place.

POPPY ♡ SIUJING : i mean i was just out getting fruit and suddenly this guy is acting like he’s a comedian POPPY ♡ SIUJING : you’re not funny. i am not laughing.

her phone starts buzzing, message tone sweet but insistent with how many messages she’s getting. siujing has her notifications differentiated and this one’s a delicate tinkling — friends only. though maybe she should set up a tone for Distressed Friends, with the fury that poppy’s sending messages her way.

the incoming advice is a mini-rant in disguise, poppy clearly infuriated by whoever this anonymous grocery-shopper with terrible dating sense is. she’s not sure if she should be glad she’s never had a client like that before, or worried that those people aren’t aware they’re the ones who do need some coaching on their dating approach. they’ll find their way somehow, she hopes. before they meet someone like poppy who’s definitely willing to take her own advice, sooner or later.

siujing checks in on her friend first before she responds to the rest of it, but really, the rest of it just confirms that she’d much rather fuss at poppy in person than over text.

💬 » [ POPPY 🌸 at 7:54pm ] that’s terrible!!!! 💬 » [ POPPY 🌸 at 7:54pm ] are you okay?  💬 » [ POPPY 🌸 at 7:56pm ] come over :< i have shortbread!!

it’s not that she thinks poppy needs in-person comfort; in all likelihood, her friend is just pissed off and it’ll be water off a duck’s back. poppy is, as she knows, much stronger than that. she’s a far cry from the lost girl who’d had to track down siujing’s apartment for her lost moving in box. still, there’s just something much more reassuring about having someone right there in front of you, that makes it easier for those little inconveniences to evaporate. a warm hug is better than a virtual one. plus, she does have shortbread.

it’s her first night at her new apartment, and baking manages to make the apartment smell a little more homely and make a good impression. multitasking! it’s the housewarming thing, the sort that starts neighbours off on the right foot. siujing isn’t the best baker by a long shot, but she’s got a couple of reliable, tried and tested ( and tweaked, and tried, and tested again ) recipes that she’s confident in. one of them being oatmeal cookies, generously sized and studded with gooey chocolate chips and sweet raisins.

half an hour and most of fine line later, she’s laid them out to cool on her makeshift rack made of a lattice of utensils. they’ve lovingly misshapen, the careful crosshatch pattern she’d made on each one looking a little different from its neighbour. siujing splits them into two even batches, one for each apartment on their shared level, covering each plate with clingwrap.

the first plate goes to her immediate neighbour, siujing holding her freshly baked goods and goodwill in a pretty plate with a rim of burnt orange. she waits for a minute — no one answers. they’re out, maybe, or just not in the habit of answering the door for strangers ( which, fair enough ). siujing leaves the plate in front of their door with a sticky note, her greeting squashed into it.

hello, neighbour in 408! i’m jing and i’ve just moved in next door — nice to meet you! i hope the moving in hasn’t been too distruptive, but if it has, i hope these cookies make up for it! ( and, of course, please let me know if there’s anything i can do to make it better ) they’re chocolate chip raisin oatmeal, please enjoy them :) see you around!

hello hello! i’m rini ( s/h, 22, gmt+8 ) & here’s lai siujing, september baby!! she’s currently a dating coach & getting her feet down in the field, even though ( gasp!! ) she’s not all that knowledgeable about ~love~, to be honest. her september vibes are from songs about september, the horoscopes & the fact that her birthdate falls on a monday — kind of a mishmash of things, but that’s also what september feels like to me! always on the cusp of something, though she rarely knows what it is exactly. she’s tender & full of whimsy, with a touch of uncertainty mixed in.

here’s her about & bio page! under the cut are the misc/intro facts about siujing & some plot bunnies, so ♡ this if you’d like to plot~