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tagged by: @foxglowe

tagging: @eggsoup , @orionin , @ixiv , @ssaecularis , @whipslashed

hush, my sweet ;

these tornadoes

the biggest thrill of living in seoul, or presumably any metropolis for that matter, has always been the lack of boredom in one’s affairs.

take for instance taeyeon, who, granted, has built herself quite the social circle over the years of traveling from busy street to another; never has she ever found herself in deficiency of things to do, work that needs to be tended to, friends to lovingly bother. and that’s just the greatest charm of her situation, she thinks - it’s come to the point where it wouldn’t really matter whether she rounded the corner or kept walking straight, simply because there will always be a destination point. and when one starts meeting acquaintances on every second step they start realizing that the whole idea of a small world might actually be true.

today, she spots baekhyun warming up on his guitar, leisurely seated on one of the park benches and a colorful trail of late-autumn leaves sticking out in waves of golden brown beneath his feet. she almost considers herself lucky; if not anything else, taeyeon is sure that at least things will be interesting, as they somehow always are with him ( she fancies banter, or maybe banter fancies her, but she doesn’t really think it even matters, in the end ). it takes her half of a moment to slide next to him when the time is right and he starts properly playing, smile mischievous and eyes gliding after the masses of people that turn their heads on their way past them, curious, anticipating.

“hope you don’t mind me joining in.” she says that but there’s really nothing courteous in the manner of her voice or the way she crosses her legs, one after the other, waiting for her cue - it’s been awhile since she’s sung anything at all so she’s grateful he picked an easier melody, not a lot of highs. tone starts rough and raw, a distant hum in the face of the crowd, expands into something greater, atop guitar strings being pulled and pinched, atop his voice when he eventually joins in. people stop then, they stare, gawk in awe at the two beautiful strangers and she can’t really blame them, not right now, not when they’re gathering around them like a cage and whispering things she cannot hear. the song ends as quickly as it began.

she pulls her hat off her head and into her extended hands, gestures a chin forward, lashes battering, smile vibrantly cold like the wind, and she quietly watches as everybody reaches to their wallets to give them little tips, the fruit of their labor. she bows slightly after, doesn’t say thanks.  when she turns back to baekhyun she’s already splitting the revenue in her mind, “i’d say we do fifty-fifty or you take me out for a nice meal,” a chuckle, low, teasing, “you should be aware i’m great company so choose wisely.”

[ kkt: taeyeon ]

    •   you say that like you don’t dig it     •   i have some tea in the fridge, i can heat it up for you     •   no fresh tea until you’re nicer though     •   also some blankets of the average variety

[ kkt  ⇒ drummerboy (rioh) ]

           ⇒ are you offering me some weird form of netflix and chill right now?

           ⇒ except without netflix which is the fun part

           ⇒ and with leftover tea........ rioh step up your game

           ⇒ give me fresh tea + food + entertainment then we have a deal <3

tagging ; anybody who wants to bother with this tbh

ugly + bad humor under the cut!

it is not the first, and taeyeon guesses, it will certainly not be the last time that somebody has called her a fraud; people have always had that awful quality of skepticism running through their veins, ruining her carefully arranged attempts at baiting in new customers, almost as if they’re there to make her life harder on purpose ( paranoid, some may also add-in to the adjectives building up under her name, but she is very much convinced that the boy currently lounging on her couch has just these vile intentions ).

and it’s not that she has any right to judge them - really, she doesn’t, sometimes even she fails to believe the words that roll off her tongue, but the trick there has always been to look confident, appear truthful. whether you indeed are the honest persona that you want to project is simply a thing that should be left for interpretation; a good lie is only half a lie, taeyeon knows well, so she observes, deducts, never makes up everything, so who are they to say she is a fraud? she’d much rather fancy herself as a twenty-first century sherlock holmes, the psychic edition. it’s a far better title anyway.

naturally, she never goes into a fight unprepared; pretty smile, warm tone, devil-may-care attitude, what’s not to love about bleach blondes and cigarette smoke stuck in the very fibre of her clothes? many succumb to her charm just out of curiosity, what could this mysterious girl really do? rioh is not one of those people.

and everybody has pride - taeyeon certainly has one part too much - so it’s only common sense that she would get aggregated at all the comments coming through at her direction. sure, it’s early sunday and they’re watching a good movie with a bowl of popcorn stuck somewhere in between the messy cushions and their overlapping bodies,  but she doesn’t really care, she has things to prove and she’d rather prove them quickly and move on once and for all. he says something about her being a cult leader and it only gives her a proper reason to shoot up and grab one of her tarot bundles, a new one, still neatly boxed, and hurl it at him from across the room.

“i am done!” taeyeon says, mockingly overly-dramatic ( and maybe just a little bit really so ), “i refuse to let my profession be the root of all your jokes, drummerboy!”

one moment later she’s already sitting on the coffee table, blocking his view of the TV and taking out her precious cards from their packaging, shuffling them with skillful ease and a smile that slowly unravels upon her expression when she looks down to examine the pictures upon them. her gaze glides up then, meeting his, lids descending until her eyes narrow with suspicion, “my plan is simple rioh,” taeyeon starts, all matter-of-factly, “i shall give you a reading. free! look at how generous i am. you will be surprised at how good i am at this and thus you will become my true fan and follower. any objections? no? good.” 

 + SEND ME CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONS! 

7. how would they fare in a zombie apocalypse?

she thinks she will survive, she’s always been the confident kind; true, zombies do seem like a steep mountain to climb over but taeyeon’s never been the type to cower in fear and let her mind get clouded. rational, quick on her feet, not to mention morally ambiguous - her biggest problem would be her purely physical capabilities, the limits of her body. she’s never been an athlete, and truthfully brains can only get you so far when you’re being swarmed by zombies on all sides. in the end, like always, it just comes down to luck.

21. what’s the weirdest thing you’re likely to find in their room?

there are many conventionally weird things a person can find within taeyeon’s room, so really, it all depends on what you’re looking for. at least six different tarot decks remain stored away in the drawers of her many dressers at a time, all pretty pictures and the slight regret of two am binge buying ( she refuses to admit her obsession over these things and opts to claim they’re more of a deliberate collection ). on the bookshelves one can occasionally discover an astrology guide wedged between a bunch of mystery novels in a varying degree of quality, an expanded study of tarot, works on the human psychology and finally, her favorite; a small black leather tome labeled “introduction to satanism”. it’s a gift! she swears!

28. android, iphone, or other?

currently android, though she has had a variety of different types in the past, from more expensive phones to outright bargains. 

35. what’s their starbucks order?

taeyeon is an opportunist by heart, does not - and will never! - miss out on the holiday specials, gingerbread in the winter, pumping spice on halloween, always driven by her curiosity to try at least a sip before it’s all gone. routine fails to be apart of her daily life as a whole; what she picks out depends purely on her changeable mood and can vary greatly. sleepless nights require something black and strong, summer heat brings her to the classic ice coffee and one can usually find her sipping something deliriously sweet when she’s high on her own happiness.

42. how do they feel about astrology?

1. Do they prefer to wear headphones or earbuds when listening to music?

2. What do they do when they're feeling tired and need to stay awake?

3. Do they usually eat mild, medium, or spicy salsa?

4. Pizza, McDonalds, or Chinese take-out?

5. How do they react to finding out someone has a crush on them?

6. How do they feel about unrequited love?

7. How would they fare in a zombie apocalypse?

8. Gold, silver, or copper jewelry?

9. How much ice do they put in their drinks?

10. Do they use Instagram, Facebook, or Tumblr? If so, how much/often?

11. What's their desktop background?

12. How are they at taking care of plants?

13. Did they have any phases? (e.g. emo, punk, scene...)

14. How did they do academically in high school?

15. Are they the big spoon or the little spoon?

16. How do they like their eggs?

17. How do they like their toast?

18. Queso or guacamole?

19. What are they like as a neighbor?

20. How do they behave when confronted with deadlines?

21. What's the weirdest thing you're likely to find in their room?

22. What fictional character do they relate to the most?

23. Do they like raisins in their pastries? If no, will it stop them from eating it?

24. When forced to do a group project with other people, what role do they usually play?

25. Does your muse listen to vinyl records? Do they use iTunes? Do they legally or illegally download music?

26. How would your muse do at taking care of a goldfish?

27. Is your muse a dreamer or a realist?

28. Android, iPhone, or other?

29. What's their Subway order?

30. Trendsetter, trend follower, or trend ignorer?

31. What about themselves do they usually not tell people? What are they embarrassed of?

32. What's their ideal vacation?

33. White, red, or rose wine?

34. Are they outdoorsy? Do they enjoy hiking, camping, etc.?

35. What's their Starbucks order?

36. What colors make up most of their wardrobe?

37. Do they believe in any conspiracy theories? Fear a zombie apocalypse/AI overtake? How do they think the world will end?

38. Do they play video games? If so, which ones?

39. What would you see if you looked through their trashcan?

40. What kind of videos do they get recommended on YouTube?

41. Are they an exhibitionist? Do they ever change in front of windows? Have sex when they know people can see/hear?

42. How do they feel about astrology?

43. Why do people usually call them on the telephone? To complain? To ask for advice? To ask them to do something for them?

44. Have they ever had any pregnancy scares?

45. Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter?

46. Do they meme? Enjoy memes? Create memes? Find them horribly annoying? How about shitposts?

47. How do they go about asking someone out or confessing their feelings about someone to them?

48. When do they usually go to bed?

49. In the "sleep vs. grades vs. social life, pick two" situation, which two do they pick?

taeyeon tries to remember, everything, all the good, the bad, the worst, claims that it’s an anchor for her mind to guide her only forwards, a map to help her never retrace these awful steps again. and she prides herself in the clarity of all her actions, the careful reasoning behind each and every word she allows to slip past the barrier of her lips; father told her once, in the few times her parents had been home, there’s always at least two ways to say the same thing.

it didn’t become apparent to her that he had not been lying until she was forced to smile to strangers through gritted teeth, defining their fortune, saying this and that just for a few won to keep her afloat. she was grateful then, the first time she had been truly grateful for anything to him - but then again it had been the only proper semblance of advice taeyeon had ever received from either of them so she didn’t particularly feel indebted.

it’s almost a little bitter, but of all her precious memories she might as well throw out the ones with them, if she had to dispose of any at all. she finds no familiarity or warmth there, no group hugs or family gatherings, no one to kiss the pain away when she fell on the sidewalk and scraped her knee to blood. taeyeon was alone. if she has to feel anything, it might as well be cold, and glad that she no longer has to be bothered to try and put on a happy face for the pictures on the walls.

the only one she misses is her grandmother. but she left her too, for a better place, some say ( taeyeon isn’t sure ).

today is the day she hates the most of the year. it’s a funny thing that, people have dates that they love, anniversaries that they cherish; taeyeon has a calendar full notes, do this and that, all marked in red, red arrows, red pointers, red reminders to keep her updated, and then she has a hole within it, white, untouched. she supposes that it’s proper to grieve over the dead or pay some kind of respect - she’s not religious, doesn’t particularly know what to do, lights a candle in her parlor and decides on visiting her grave. there’s a small bouquet already there when she arrives, daisies, flowers left to rot in the cold of the winter hissing at her ears. shame. they might have been pretty still in the soil.

she warms herself with hot coffee afterwards, two blocks down and heart sunken in her chest. her feet feel heavy on the way out of the cafe, almost like her conscience’s finally decided to chide her for all her wrongdoings all at once but it doesn’t matter because her phone is ringing and–

colliding with a stranger might not have been part of her overarching plan. a little dazed, taeyeon manages to mutter a silent sorry, as they both bend to reach for the device now laying on the ground. their hands touch then,  just a little, a fleeting moment of electricity jerking her awake, but a different awake, no, this isn’t the grimy seoul streets, it’s something else.

it’s the blurry silhouette of a kitchen door, height markings etched onto the wood on the side, each line higher than the other.

it’s the ugly sight of floral patterned walls, dark colored chairs and a knitted tablecloth, tarot cards left spilled over one of the counters.

it’s her grandmother, back first, head down and face digging into the surface of the dining table, maybe she’s sleeping, maybe she’s playing her joke.

it’s a girl screaming, wailing, trying to yank the life back into her, but to no avail, all that’s left is cold on her fingers and wet across her cheeks.

when it’s over, taeyeon refuses to accept that there are tears welling in her eyes, threatening to overflow, her throat clenching in on itself so hard she almost thinks she’s suffocating; no, she catches his gaze, looks for something inside, anything, comes up disappointed. inhale, voice low, “what the hell was that?” exhale, tone stronger, “what the hell was that!?”