#and i'm sure hayden is not losing any sleep over this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

puricodraws · 4 months

Text

Here's a long post no one asked for, but I gotta get off my chest. Lots of infodumping about Kingdom Hearts and in particular the casting of it's voice talent, so strap in y'all. So something I find very interesting is the way Square/Disney has treated the character of Kairi throughout the years. She started out as a damsel character, and was hated by very vocal group in the fanbase. I myself didn't really care about Kairi any which way, I didn't find her particularly interesting and I could understand the hate for the character like... a little bit? But what's funny to me is how that perception has changed over the years. Maybe there is still a very vocal group of people hating on Kairi on some forum I'm not aware of but I feel like the general consensus on her these days is: That's our girl. We can recognize that she is a victim of bad writing and the damsel trope. She's become a bit of un underdog in my mind. Like, treat her better Square! Come on!

The issue with Kairi is that she's just a... nothing sandwich. Kairi is a sweet girl, she likes Sora, she likes to write and makes good luck charms. She's also secretly a princess and therefore has a pure heart and can do nothing wrong. She is a little bit sassy sometimes, but not too much, she cares about her friends and will jump into danger to protect them, but most of the times she is the one who needs to be protected. She's strong, but not too strong, she's sweet and easygoing, and she's boring as hell. In the games at least... She rules in the manga.

In the game she softly lowers a bottled letter to Sora in the ocean, while in the manga she tosses it in there with all her might.

In the game she sort of runs away when Axel tries to kidnap her but in the manga she THROWS HANDS at one of the nobodies who tries to capture her.

Also later in the story when she is kidnapped by Organization XIII, she actually manages to escape for a bit by wiggling through the bars of her prison cell, and then throws hands at Demyx, who is actually trying to help her out. (the manga takes some liberties with the story, it's great you should really read it if you get the chance)

Shiro Amano actually lets her put up a fight and let her actually try to escape by herself when she's captured. Watching this girl be strong and throw hands without hesitation is so so great. Shiro Amano said: Girls should be allowed to go feral once in a while, as a treat. Also I would be amiss if I didn't mention this moment with Olette:

(In the game, Olette awkwardly and weakly puts up a hand to protect Kairi when Axel shows up in Twilight Town to kidnap her, but is just ignored in the most disrespectful way.)

Anyways, back to Kairi. It's sad to say, but her original characterization is just boring. She doesn't really want anything for herself and she doesn't really have a function in the story except to wait around for the boys to pay attention to her or get kidnapped and need to be rescued. And while in recent years the writers are finally exploring her being a keyblade weilder and having her actively participate in the story, they still just can't resist damseling the poor girl, fridging her, and putting her on the sidelines while Sora and Riku take center stage. It's great to see how the fandom's perception of her has changed over the years, people are seeing how Square has been dropping the ball and are actively rooting for Kairi to get more stuff to do. Fans are creating mods of the games to make Kairi playable, are writing fanfiction exploring role reversals where Kairi is the hero and there are several notible fan comics comics that explore her character in a really interesting way.

Anyways, now to get to the actual thing I wanted to talk about: How she's casted in the English version of the games, and how the inconsistent approach to the casting feels... a little disrespectful. Having a consistent voice for a character is something I, and many others really appreciate. It shows a level of care from the creators to bring a consistent group of actors together to bring life to the world. Now, VA's being replaced in the Kingdom Hearts series is not uncommon. The series is known for casting well known actors, and actor availability and budget are problems for which recasting is the solution. For example: Billy Zane got recast as Ansem by Richard Epcar, Brittany Snow by Meaghan Martin as Namine. And then of course there are Christopher Lee, Wayne Allwine, Leonard Nimoy and Rutger Hauer, who had to be recast because they sadly passed away. (RIP, Kings)

Like, all of that makes sense. So here's the confusing situation with Kairi:

Xion and Kairi share a VA in the JP version. This is an intentional creative decision that ties into the lore of Kingdom Hearts. Risa Uchida has consistently voiced these characters in Japanese for years and does a fabulous job.

Sadly this was not the case in the English version. Hayden Panettiere originated the role of Kairi in English, but they got Alyson Stoner to voice Xion when the character debuted in 358/2 days in 2009, which was originally a DS title. Before this they also got Alyson to voice Kairi in the re:Chain of Memories dub in 2008.

These titles were likely smaller budget, which becomes pretty obvious when you look at the overall quality and presentation of the cutscenes. In Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 the dialogue was recorded in English and the japanese lipsynch animation were redone to match the English dialogue. This was not the case in 358/2 days. The dialogue was recorded to match the japanese lip flaps, and the animation was not altered at all to marry the two together. So availability and budget could have been an issue in getting Hayden Panettiere to record for these games. At the time I also considered the possibility that Hayden simply didn't want to do it anymore. It wouldn't have suprised me, because these things happen. Take Brittany Snow for example, after KH2 she got her big break in the Pitch Perfect films, and probably became too busy to come back as Namine. From 2006-2010 Hayden starred in the popular TV series Heroes, which could have impacted her availability and desire to do KH. And with the lower budget for these projects, and where Hayden was at in her carreer at the time, it could stand to reason that she was simply not interested. I should also mention that in this time period Kairi barely got anything to do. When she did show up it would be for a couple of lines of dialogue. As for Xion, 358/2 days on the DS had around 10 or so voiced cutscenes. So the amount of voice work needed for the character was notably smaller compared to one of the numbered games. So the amount of voice work needed, budget, and availability could all have been factors to why Alyson took over for Hayden during this time.

Now don't get me wrong: Alyson is amazing and is, as far as I'm concerned, the definitive voice for Xion. She originated the role and brought so much to the table. She has a wonderful voice, is a talented actress and we have no choice but to stan.

Before long it became apparent that Alyson replacing Hayden permanently was not on the table. In 2010 Hayden reprised her role as Kairi and took over the role of Xion in the secret ending of Birth By Sleep!

So at this point it seemed that the original creative intention for these characters would be honored. Kairi and Xion should have the same voice actress, for lore reasons, and that actress should be Hayden Panetiere, who originated the role.

And wouldn't you know it, in 2012 Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance comes out for the 3DS. It's another hand held title, but the budget is lit. There is lipsynch animation for voiced cutscenes, and the amount of voiced cutscenes is comparable to KH1, KH2 and BBS. Kairi has a few appearances, but has only one line of dialogue. Same goes for Xion, while she does get a line of dialogue near the end of the game. Hayden came in to record for Kairi and Xion and it really seemed like she would be taking over the roles from Alyson.

So obviously, at this point in time it's all but confirmed that Hayden wants to work on KH, and the creative team were making an effort to consistently bring her back as Kairi and Xion. That would be a tough deal for Alyson though, was she gonna get replaced permanently as Xion? Well wait a second and I'll tell you!

So in 2013 Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix was released. It was the first in a series of HD remasters of the Kingdom Hearts series, and the collection included KH1, KH re:Chain of Memories and around 3 hours of newly made cutscenes retelling the story of the DS game 358/2 days. Days originally featured mostly textbox cutscenes. These scenes were remade from scratch and would feature newly recorded voice acting in Japanese and English. Now I don't need to get into it but... The 358/2 days cutscene "movie" is.. not very good. It's boring to watch through, which I think is to blame entirely for the way they approached it. They remade all the cutscenes true to their original appearance, but forgot that there's no action gameplay to break up hours of dialogue scenes. The pacing is bad, the action is non existent, and what's worse is that it doesn't have adjusted lipsynch animation at all. This means the English voice acting was done to match the japanese lip flaps, resulting in awkward pauses and weird deliveries of lines.

The saving grace was that Alyson Stoner was reprising her role as Xion, recording new dialogue for the cutscenes. They also reused her previously recorded dialogue for the DS cutscenes as well. So... I guess Hayden isn't taking over Xion after all? Or perhaps it was easier to get Alyson to come back, so that they could reuse some of the original voice lines from the DS version? I can't imagine that THAT would've been the deciding factor though, because there weren't that many cutscenes from the DS version that would have to be redubbed should they get Hayden back on board. It's hard to say what the reason for this was.

But I was happy to hear Alyson as Xion in the "definitive" version of the 358/2 days story. She has a pleasant voice, and she portrays Xion beautifully in my opinion.

So then KH HD 2.5 Remix comes out in 2014 and features no new Kairi/Xion content. It does feature the Final Mix version of KH2, originally released exclusively in Japan in 2007. This version had new cutscenes, which were now finally dubbed in English for the HD remaster. What's more is they they also reanimated the lip animation to match the new English voice acting! An interesting thing to mention is that at this time, Meaghan Martin had completely taken over the role of Namine, fully replacing Brittany Snow. They luckily didn't choose to redub Brittany's original lines with Meaghan. But it does result in this funny moment where following Roxas' prologue Namine's voice is suddenly different for a single scene.

Anyways, flash forward to 2017, and the release of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Remix, which included a brand new title by the name of, and hold on to your wigs for this one....

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-

This was the first look at what a next gen Kingdom Hearts title would be like. You got to play as Aqua and it was wonderful and heartbreaking and cool as hell. At the end of this game a cutscene plays where after a decade Kairi finally gets to be involved in the plot again. She is summoned by Master Yen Sid to begin her training as a keyblade weilder. And she is voiced by.... Alyson Stoner??

A few years later KH3 came out, and Alyson Stoner voices both Kairi and Xion in it. She does a great job. But it's all so confusing.

It seemed so clear that the studio's intent was to get Hayden back as Kairi, and potentially Xion as well. And KH3 was the next big budget numbered title in the franchise. The casting for this game was insane, they got the full cast of Frozen to reprise their roles. Idina Mcfreaking Menzel showed up for Kingdom Hearts! What happened to getting Hayden back? I don't get it at all. This is not to shit on Alyson at all, her Kairi is adorable, and I honestly can't imagine anybody but Alyson Stoner playing Xion. Whenever Hayden picked up the role of Xion I was excited to hear her, but it never felt quite right.

But yeah, this whole situation unfolded in the weirdest of ways. For years it seemed they were absulutely set on getting Hayden to voice these characters. Was she not available to come in for KH3? Well, to answer that question:

Apparently, Hayden wasn't even ASKED to reprise Kairi.

This could of course be a situation of her representatives getting the offer from Square/Disney and choosing not to give it to her. Which happens in Hollywood, and sucks. But there's also a very real chance that Square/Disney didn't even bother reaching out and offering it to her.

Seeing how they decided to recast Hayner, Pence and Olette in KH3, even though their actors are still working as VA's and would have likely loved reprise the roles, I'm leaning to the possibility that they simply didn't bother to reach out to Hayden.

Hell, that's what she said herself.

All in all it's an interesting series of events. It's confusing, and a bit saddening as well. I can speculate why it all happened, but who can really be sure what their reason for replacing Hayden were. Perhaps they decided to do it because they found Alyson to be a better fit for the character? I may be reading into things but there's this interview Hayden did for the release of KH2 were she talks about the recording process and how the voice directors would keep telling her to "raise her voice an octave higher and make it sound more princess like." I gotta say the way she said that irks me..... I love the way Kairi's voice sounds in KH2! Hayden has a beautiful voice, it's a bit lower and more mature sounding than your average cutie girl voice. I would have loved to hear that quality in the character moving forward. Alyson ended up doing a lighter, cuter version of Kairi in KH3. And I do enjoy how Kairi sounds in KH3. Like, it's fine, she sounds very adorable, and it's fine.

But idk man... it feels... weird. I can't help but feel as though they replaced her voice with a younger sounding one, taking away the strength and maturity of the voice that I loved so much. Effectively infantelizing her. And then of course they proceed to damsel her, fridge her, bring her back to life and put her on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.

I feel like it all ties together with how the writers see her. She's not really a main character after all, she's not a priority. After years of showing a dedication to keep her voice consistent, it was all just thrown out of the window in the end. It makes me feel like they just didn't care in the end, people would be more upset if Sora or Riku got recast, but they just assumed no one would really care about Kairi. I can't help but care though.

I just wish for a future where Kairi can become a main player in the story, and where she is allowed to grow and mature. Where she isn't used as a carrot to dangle in front of the male lead. Where she isn't kidnapped or killed off as motivation for someone else. Where she can be a girl who is not just pretty and adorable and easy going and sweet, but a girl who is strong, silly, determined and is willing to fight like hell for the things she cares about.

Where she is allowed to interact with the world around her, and discover what her place in it is. Where she can discover what she wants for herself, instead of constantly having to be something for someone else!

IDK, maybe that's too much to ask from a Kingdom Hearts game though, haha.

#long post #puri gets deep #kingdom hearts infodump #kingdom hearts #kairi #if there are any typo's in this please forgive me #tumblr is held together with scotch tape and is not loving me making such a huge post lolol #also don't take any of my feelings and speculation as facts it's just how i feel #in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter at all #and i'm sure hayden is not losing any sleep over this #but i just had to get it off my chest

22 notes · View notes

residentdormouse · 1 year

Text

Monumental Management of 'M' Words

@mrsmungus , my marvelous mutual, please accept my modest message in response to your masterfully manipulated monologue. It was truly a magnificent marriage of meticulous mechanics and methodical melodies, meshed into a miraculous manifestation of literary mastery. My reply will be meager at most. At least, between Harold’s malevolent manifesto and Glen’s mounds of medicinal marijuana, I should be able to maintain a moderately measured influx of alliterative mayhem without getting too monotonous.

Although, I must admit, I may now have made it my mission to unlock the ‘Find your Alliteration’ achievement. Challenge accepted. I also have three more instances of it, myself, but none that these words match up with.

My Words: Magic, Mystery, Mood, Money, Mature

Your Words: Never, Night, Nonsense, Nervous, Naked

Anybody else out there - feel free to jump in if you are so inclined! Just throw in an '@' and let us know! Open to all!

Magic

(I honestly expected more being that I'm adding much more magic than called for. I went with the first one that seemed to hit an extra alliterative note.)

“ID?”

Harold froze in his spot by the entrance; he hadn’t anticipated the issue. He should have. Why should it be any different here? He was barely an adult to them. Certainly below drinking age. Sure they had monsters and magic, but they also had a societal structure much like their own. Why wouldn’t they have ridiculous restrictions like the ones he was used to.

“He’s with me, Bronx.”

“That ain’t how it works, Max…”

“Sure it is.”

Tension would have been high if Max actually gave a shit about his jurisdiction here. As it was, there was only an odd type of silence as she raised her eyebrows in a challenge, an annoyed stare down that the smaller woman had no intention of dropping anytime soon. Every minute out here was a moment she was held back from the mayhem inside, and he knew that was nothing she was going to humor for long.

Mystery

"Motherfuck, Din! You can't just go starting fucking fires and shit! Fuck!

"I was JUST GETTING WARM!" Dinny's face started to take on a red color as large tears began to well up and pour down his face. Sobs broke out into a full blown fit, and Lloyd just picked up the speed of his frantic pacing.

The unknown woman turned back to her. "There anybody else with you?"

The question pulled Hayden back to the moment, and her eyes widened as the thought sunk in.

"Fuck! Yes, uh, five others…."

"Where?"

She turned to their mystery rescuer but realized she wasn't sure where everybody had decided to spend the night; she was already in the room when sleeping quarters were established. Glen thankfully was already aware.

"Two in the room next to us. Three in those two rooms."

Despite the vast age difference, a leadership position was clearly being taken by the new addition, and Hayden instantly noticed the ease at which she did it. Again, she started at Glen first.

"You stay here and get them to calm the fuck down." She didn't wait for a response after addressing him, and Hayden instantly felt her gaze jump to her. "You get over to that one. I'll get these two rooms."

Mood

Her smile returned in full now; it was hard not to be in a good mood around Teddy.

He continued on, "So anything you're really excited for?"

"Honestly, Teddy, not really sure. Glen would say cold beer, but I really don't know..."

It suddenly occurred that she really wasn't looking forward to much. All of her memories were after Trips, power being absent in most of them. Candlelight dinners in their home, painting landscapes in the outskirts, smoking by their fireplace as Glen told tales from his past... And there were the nights they would both come back late from committee duties. A fire would be started, hot tea setting at the ready, and he would find a good book. Fantasy, sci-fi, even poetry. He’d read aloud and she would massage any aching muscles he had, losing herself in the story and his voice… Power wasn't needed for any of this; she just needed Glen.

When she really thought back on it, most of her memories with power were spent at the CDC. The only other time there was power before Boulder was the night she first met Glen. Good company for sure, food, music…

"I guess music. We’ve been using the stereo sparingly, but yeah, I'd like to hear more music."

"Hell yeah! That's going to be great too. Movies, cold beer, and music. The stuff that makes it all worth it."

She laughed, but couldn't fully agree. She left what made it all worth it back at the meeting hall, and the way she left it started to nag at her.

Money

(Almost all of my money references are about betting - 'I'd put money on' 'smart money says'. Only two times was it about actual currency.)

"I was talking to Stu earlier, about the plan to go to Colorado."

Nodding in understanding, Hayden was relieved to jump into a relevant conversation that she could actually have input on. Not everybody had Glen's ability to bullshit about everything and anything. Certainly not her.

Hayden jumped in, "I'm gonna take a stab and say you already knew why we were heading there."

Fran looked down and shrugged sheepishly. "I honestly thought I was going crazy."

"Yeah, we all did. Stu was the one to put it together. Glen insisted Mother A. was from a commercial." She shook her head at the memory. Maybe it helped that she didn't remember much before Trips; information is easier to accept when you didn't believe it to be impossible for years.

"He told me about the paintings too. So, I guess you know…" Fran instinctively put a hand over her belly, and Hayden nodded affirmatively.

"We couldn't confirm, but if I was betting, I know where I'd put my money… on Glen and his damn prophetic pot dreams." Hayden gave a sad smile. Her earlier conversation with the man in question popped back to the front of her thoughts. This confirmation would put more weight to his other predictions…

Mature

The only uses of 'Mature' I have are the ratings on both fics. 😅😬 Damn, that is a fail on my end.

#nightly nonsense that I am here for #mouse's tag games & reblogs #riding the train to alliteration station

3 notes · View notes

goldngguk · 5 years

Text

red // 05

part one of trilogy series

warnings // fluffy cuteness, jealous kookie

word count // 2.3k

trilogy masterlist

Don't do it. It won't end well, you know that. You can't let this happen. But then again, maybe there's no point in trying. Maybe this is all inevitable. Maybe you don't have a choice. Do we ever?

She was startled awake to the sound of loud vibrations against her bedside table. The wood trembled from the sensations of her phone as it received a new message. She groaned, rolling over and stretching for the device.

She laid her head against her pillow trying to recall what her dream had been about. It didn't really even feel like a dream. It was more like the voice in her head speaking to her through the darkness. But what was it talking about? Too exhausted to think or get up, she set her phone down only to watch it vibrate again when a new message popped up.

《???:》 Y/n?

She blinked at the unknown number for a few seconds before remembering who it was. She had given him her number at the café the day before during their conversation. She immediately added the number to a new contact.

Jungkook sat on a couch in his dorm room pleading with himself not to sound so cringeworthy. Forcing a conversation with her was something he did not want to do, especially if it was about something as unimportant as her obviously messed up sleep schedule.

He chuckled at the message causing Yoongi to look up from the burrito of blankets he had wrapped himself with. "What's so funny?"

Jungkook glanced up at his older roommate before shaking his head. "It's nothing, hyung. Go back to your nap."

"It's okay. I should be getting up now anyway. They'll call us down soon." Yoongi rolled out of bed and Jungkook's eyes went back to his phone.

After showering and finishing her hair and makeup, Y/n headed for the filming room.

"Hey, Y/n!"

Jimin jogged up beside her. "How are you today?"

"I'm good, thanks. I'm ready to get to work."

Jimin giggled. "Me too. I don't like to sit for too long." Y/n smiled and the two walked together to meet the group.

"Oh, look who's late," Jungkook said when Jimin entered the room.

"I am not late!"

"Everyone else is already here though," he smirked. Hobi laughed and punched him in the arm.

"You haven't even started yet! Besides, Y/n came with me!"

Jungkook's eyes flickered towards hers as she followed Jimin into the room. He felt his stomach drop. Why is she with him? Were they together? What were they doing? He watched the questions consume his mind. I don't like it.

Y/n took a seat next to him, immediately making his negative thoughts disappear. "Hi," she smiled.

"Hello." He tried to choke back the next sentence, but it seemed he couldn't help himself; it just slipped out. "You look pretty."

"Oh, thanks," she replied before turning her attention towards the staff who would be directing the episode.

Jungkook nodded and looked down to play with his thumbs. I can't believe I just said that. It seemed like all of his confidence from the night before flew right out the window when he saw her come in with Jimin. Of course, he wouldn't be a problem for Jungkook; the golden maknae who could do anything. At least he hoped not. He really hoped not.

The staff finished putting the set together and began to record. The first episode of the second season (ep. 21) of Run would be a relaxed episode, saving the more intense games and plots for later. Today would be a board game competition. “You will split up into two teams of six and play two out of three games. The third game will be all vs. all. If the winner of the third game is from the losing team of the first two games, the team can avoid the punishment picked by the staff.” The members nodded and began to decide their teams. The first group included Jimin, Yoongi, Taehyung, Hayden, Hobi, and Maya. The opposing team was made up of Jin, Mason, Namjoon, Y/n, Jungkook, and Cyrus. “Now that the teams are made, we will discuss the first game. It's water beads. There is a piece of filter paper placed on a hollow stand. Each of you will drop a bead or a drop of water onto the paper. The person to make the beads break and fall through the paper is the loser.”

Each team took turns adding beads until the overconfident Kim Seokjin decided to push his luck and dump a straw full of water onto the paper. Needless to say, the paper broke and Jin's team lost the first game. “Well that didn't go as planned,” he shook his head as Jungkook slapped his shoulder.

The second game was a test for the BTS members to see how many English words they could memorize on a card in ten seconds without the help of Culture. Jin recited five of his six words, while Namjoon got all of his. “Dog, dinosaur, duck, jello, jam, jerk, cracker, crocodile…”

Jimin snickered before attempting to mock him. “Crocodoll,” he said with a roll of his tongue. Hobi joined his fun, giggling, “Crocodiiiile.”

Jungkook went last. He looked up in thought before remembering his words. “Stream, strong, streamer, rabbit, ring, rocket. Was that it? I think that's all I have.” Everyone praised him for his memory and dialect.

“That was really good, Jungkook!” Y/n said, patting him on the back. His cheeks turned rosey and he smiled back at her. After watching the other team crash and burn, it was decided that Jungkook's team was the winner of the second game.

The third game which would be played individually was Uno. Within a few times around the circle, Y/n was the first to go out. She jumped from her spot and took a seat on the couch behind them. Taehyung seemed to not fully understand the concept of the game. “Tae,” Joon said, slapping him on the knee. “You didn't say uno. You have to draw four cards.” This went on for a while until the members made a game out of it.

“Okay guys, he gets it. You have to let him say it when he lays his card down.” Without even realizing how it happened, Taehyung went out and got second place. Hobi was right behind him.

After a few more rounds, Y/n laid her hand on Jungkook's shoulder and discreetly held up a 1 until he realized. “UNO!” He gasped. “Uno, uno, uno, uno!” He flung his final card across the room causing everyone to bust out in a fit of laughter. Only a minute later did he play the card and get fourth place.

“You would have lost if I hadn't told you,” she giggled as Jungkook held up his hand for a high five.

“They didn't even notice!” They both laughed as they watched the game continue until it was just Jimin and Yoongi left. In order to save time, the boys decided they would draw cards. Whoever held the highest card would be the last winner. Jimin drew a green eight while Yoongi played a red reverse.

“What is that worth? Did we even establish this card?”

Jimin waved his hand at him. “It's okay, hyung. I'll allow it. You can redraw.”

“Awww,” Y/n cooed. “Jimin, that's so sweet.”

Jungkook's gaze shot between Jimin and Y/n. Sweet? What is that supposed to mean? Does she like him? He could feel his face heat up for the hundredth time that week and his fists clenched into balls-- not that Jimin was any threat to him. He couldn't possibly be.

Yoongi drew a draw 4 card, making Jimin the loser despite his good sportsmanship. “That's okay, Chim. You're still the best sport here.” At this point, Jungkook's blood was boiling. Jimin was stealing all of her attention. He needed to do something, anything that would bring her back to him. He noticed the way she leaned on the couch, exposing her hand on the cushion next to him. He slowly crept his hand closer until his fingers feathered over hers. She immediately looked up at him, but she didn't withdraw due to the considerable amount of butterflies fluttering in her stomach. What is he doing?

He mentally celebrated his success before pulling his hand away. Jimin who?

The twelvesome wrapped the shoot and the staff declared dinner would be ready soon. The punishment for Jimin's team was to clean up afterward.

“Hey, Y/n. C'mere for a sec.”

Hayden and Maya were still standing in the middle of the room. She turned in her heels dramatically and made her way to them.

“Yeah?”

“So, Maya's been filling me in on a few things-”

“Oh good god, Maya what did you tell him?” She asked her sternly.

“Just what he needs to know. I'll be going now.” She winked at Y/n and left the room with a swing in her step.

“I swear that girl gets on my nerves sometimes.”

“Don't change the subject. As your very best friend, I demand to know what's going on between you and Jungkook.”

“Hayden, nothing is going on between us! We literally met three days ago, and you know Maya! She's always trying to hook me up with random people. This is no different.”

Hayden nodded his head, staring at her suspiciously. “So you would tell me if something was going on?”

“Of course! What about me do you not know?”

“Okay, Y/n. I believe you. I just think Jungkook might have an eye for you.”

“Good grief.”

“That's all I'm saying. He's showing signs and I think we've all noticed.”

“Kay Sherlock, I'll be sure to keep you posted. Can we go eat now? I'm starving.”

“Yeah yeah, let's eat. But seriously-”

“Hayden!”

After an uneventful dinner, everyone turned in for the night. When arriving at their dorm, Y/n shoved Maya inside and kicked the door shut behind her. “Why would you talk to Hayden? We talked about this. It's nothing and I don't understand why you keep insisting that it is.”

“I'm sorry, Y/nickname. I didn't think you'd be that pressed about it.” Y/n followed her into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

“I'm not pressed, Maya. I'm tired. You always do this. Every time I interact with a male that isn't in our band, you blow it out of proportion. I don't want a boyfriend. If I did, I would have one. But I don't. I thought that after everything I went through with Luke that you would understand that.”

“I know. You're right. I just get so excited when you loosen up. You work so hard all the time and I care about your feelings. I want you to be happy.” Exiting the bathroom, the two sat on their mattresses to face each other. Maya looked into Y/n's eyes, reading her like an open book. “I know you're lonely,” she spoke softly.

“I'm not lonely, My. I have the greatest friends in the world to share my life with. And I know you care.”

“That's not what I meant,” she said tilting her head endearingly.

“I know what you meant. But I don't have time for that kind of thing. In our career, you have to decide what you want; love or success. You can't have both. Between the touring, the practice and recording, red carpets and events, press following around every corner; it can be too much for some people to understand.”

“I think there's someone who understands that perfectly.”

“Which only means double the time apart.”

“So celebrities and normal people alike are both no-nos.”

“Now you're getting it.”

“Okay! Okay, I'll leave you alone. Just- at least think about it. I really think having a little fun could be good for you right now.”

“If it will make you feel better, then fine. I will. Now go to sleep.” The girls each climbed into their beds-Maya almost immediately drifting off. Before Y/n could shut her eyes, she heard her phone vibrating.

a.n. // DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO THE TIMES IN THE TEXTS. THEY ARE NOT CORRESPONDENT TO THE STORY. Oooh, who's Luke? And what does he have to do with you?

taglist // @darkdragonskies @kalisica

49 notes · View notes