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realcube · 3 years

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'you're..you're wearing that-' he hesitated, swallowing the lump forming in his throat, 'for me?'

navi | taglist | nsfw part two

summary ➵ on your first date with tamaki, he’s already wondering why you romanticise a guy like himself

content warning ➵ reader wear make-up, a dress and the accessories pictured above, very insecure! tamaki, mild angst & fluff

credit ➵ thank you to @suneater18 for the request and the pics belongs to hippieartesanatos

the moonlight penetrated through the sombre clouds which waved overhead, creating a picturesque night sky for you to admire on your date; as if the heavens were smiling down upon you, congratulating you for scoring such a nice guy.

well, at least, that is what you would’ve thought if your date was sooner to start. currently, you were shuffling on a park bench, fidgeting with your phone as your eyes flickered between the screen and the gorgeous sight above you, anticipating when your date will finally arrive so you can admire it together.

however, twenty minutes had passed since nine o’clock — the time you had both agreed to meet each other at — yet you were still sitting alone, tamaki no where to be seen. what make it even worse was that he was ghosting all your messages and calls.

perhaps it was the first-date jitters speaking but there was a voice lurking in the back of your head, whispering that you have been stood-up. however, you were too ashamed to just get up and leave now, so you figured that you may as well call your friend and ask them to join you.

your eyes burned with tears which you choked back as your fingers worked on their own to search your contacts for your friend’s number. there was a part of you that believed you were being to hasty but you truly couldn’t bare to just sit here and act ‘hopeful’ any longer. with shaky hands, you tapped your friend’s contact as your thumb hovered over the phone icon.

“(y/n)!”

you froze upon hearing your name called from a distance, your immediate reaction being to whip your head around to see who — or what — was in such desperate need of your attention that they were willing to yell your name from half-way across the park.

and of course, it was none other than tamaki amajiki himself; dashing towards you at full-speed in a torn suit, muddy shoes and..his hair seemed to be unevenly cut. he wore a determined yet petrified expression as he came hurdling in your direction, a single stray tentacle dragging behind him as he ran.

a smile of both confusion and relief tugged at your lips, the pads of your fingers dabbing lightly under your eyes to rid of any puffy skin or dampness while simultaneously ensuring that you wouldn’t mess up your lashes or eyeshadow.

“tama! you’re here!” you squealed, your hands automatically clasping together in excitement as he approached the bench, about to fall into the seat beside you due to how tired he was but pausing as he watched you spring to your feet and open your arms for a hug. his lips slowly curled into a weak smile, his expression softening and he didn’t waste a single second before throwing his arms around you, pulling you in for as tight of a hug that his worn biceps would allow him to.

despite the fact he reeked of an ungodly amount of body spray, you still basked his embrace since this is the moment you spent the last three hours or so preparing for. you were quite shocked at how shabby he looked but you decided against questioning it, out of courtesy. but on the bright side, it really made you feel better about the outfit you had spent hours styling, yet you were still not completely sure about.

tamaki suddenly pulled away from the hug so he could fall back onto the bench, letting out a hefty sigh and momentarily zoning out in order to catch his breath. you weren’t too sure whether it was appropriate to giggle or pout at the sight so you chose to not do either and instead, just awkwardly stand and stare at him.

a sharp inhale was all tamaki needed before he was finally able to sit up slightly and bow his head, folding his hands to you before blurting out, “i am so sorry i’m late, (y/n)!” and before you could even get a word in, he began his breathless explanation, “i got a small tear in my shirt and mirio said he’ll fix it but he made it even worse. then nejire said she’ll style my hair but she only knew a few male styles and said my hair was too long and before i could say anything she was chopping away at my hair-- and somehow mirio’s dog got ahold of my suit and it made the tears even worse! i was so stress and y’know when i’m stressed i stress-eat, so i began eating fish snacks and before i even knew what was going on, it was nine o’clock. so i ran here as fast as i could and i tried to manifest tentacles to help me move faster but it turns out i didn’t eat enough fish snacks so i only have one tentacle and i can’t even move it properly- look!”

the fact he said all of that in seemingly one breath left you stunned in place, with you eyes fixated on his rapidly moving lips until they instinctively shifted onto his single tentacle, laying dejected by his feet until it started squirming around. however, that was all it seemed capable of doing — squirming.

“uuh,” you hummed, trying your best to stifle a snicker as tamaki was clearly in genuine destress. “it’s fine, tama! i was a bit worried that you wouldn’t show but it doesn’t matter, you’re here now so let’s focus on that.”

your words somewhat calmed him down as his shoulders visibly relaxed, his red eyes tearing off the concrete ground to meet your kind gaze. a slight gasp escaped his lips as he noticed how gorgeous your make-up was, but before he could utter a compliment, his eyes went further downwards as he tried to process the whole of your outfit.

his cheeks immediately burned red at the sight; your stunning purple dress, shimmering heels and matching crystal accessories which were evidently worn to complement his own aesthetic. a certain piece which he was drawn to, was the golden, gemmed ear cuff you wore with pointed tips to form a similar shape to his own ears — one of his biggest physical insecurities.

“you look..” tamaki mused, momentarily cutting himself off to think of a word that would do you justice, “perfect.” his voice was hushed, hardly above a whisper but you were still able to make out what he said and a sheepish grin crept onto your features.

“thank you, baby!” you chirped, perking up slightly and giving him a little twirl, causing a burst of red to explode on his cheeks which he was quick to try cover with his hands. it was moments like these when he wished that hoodies were first-date appropriate, that way he could just sink back into his hood and pretend he doesn’t exist.

“you look really nice too.” there was nothing wrong with a little white lie every now and again. however, it wasn’t even said with the intent of being a lie as you secretly thought that the scruffiness kinda suited tamaki, like, he looked badass! like your prince charming who accidentally fell into a ditch.

your compliment didn’t help the increasing temperature of tamaki’s cheeks either, causing him to slump farther back in his seat as he muttered garbled speech under his breath. it took a good few seconds but eventually he was able to peer at you with a single eye through the inbetweens of his fingers, “a-and i like your little ear cuff thing.

everything he said only widened your beam and make you feel more giddy, to the point where you were practically bounced in place, “thanks, tama! i saw it and immediately thought of you, so i bought it.” you stifled a squeal at how observant tamaki was being, praising all the small details of your attire which you thought would go unnoticed. “i decided to wear it today because remember how you showed me the tie you bought for our date?” you explained, vaguely gesturing at said tie which hung in tatters around his neck, “yeah, so, i thought we could match.”

it took him a few moments to process what you just said and while his brain was running on overdrive, you were met by his rapid blinking and frozen stature. having known tamaki for a while now, you knew how this was a fairly common occurrence when was truly stunned by something, so you allowed him some time in silence to consolidate.

“so..” he started, trembling hand dropping from his face and onto his lap so you could see his whole bashful appearance. his gaze seemed to be trained on the floor, until he finally looked up to reveal the twinkle in his eyes, “you’re..you’re wearing that-” he hesitated, swallowing the lump forming in his throat, “for me?”

the thought that you were ashamed to be with him was something that constantly taunted him from the back of this mind. you were heavenly in a way that his words simply could not describe, though that didn’t stop him from trying. it was beyond him how a person as divine as yourself would even give him the time of day; let alone insist that he was beautiful, leave encouraging notes in his locker, comfort him when he shows even the smallest sign of being upset, give him praise on all the thing he was insecure about and so much more.

when he looked in the mirror, he did not see what you see. he viewed his ears as creepy and not a feature he should put on display, hence a part of the many reasons why he’s so fond of his hood. but here you were, all dolled up in his favourite colour just to showcase that you were with him. your ears decorated with pretty cuffs that made them look a similar shape to his, at first glance.

when he’d walk beside you through the corridors of the school or under the shade of the trees in the park, he’d feel the eyes of jealous passersby burn holes through his skin; despite the fact you weren’t even dating him yet, people just hated seeing a guy like himself by your side, apparently.

he stopped eating before meeting up with you so he wouldn’t have any weird manifestation that could draw attention to himself. he started wearing his hood up at all times so people wouldn’t judge him for his elven ears. he refused to touch you just in case people thought you were dating and became envious of him, which would quickly turn to hatred.

so why would you want to look like him? why would you want people to know that you are on a date with him? why did you act proud to be with him?

you quirked a brow at how confounded he sounded, thinking over your answer with a hum; you wore this outfit for tamaki and yourself because you thought it was pretty and it suited you. however, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that there was no need to give tamaki the full truth right now so instead you allowed him to enjoy his rare surge of confidence by replying with simply, “yeah, for you.”

you weren’t going to be surprised that he was flattered, by now you were well aware that tamaki held all your opinions on him in high esteem so that’s why you always tried to be as nice to him as possible — that, and it was just in your nature to be kind towards him when he’s been nothing but respectful to you back.

however, what you didn’t expect was to hear faint sobs from behind his hands and watch as crystalline tears poured escaped from the inbetweens of his fingers, racing down the back of his hands. “tamaki..” you murmured, reluctantly taking a seat next to him to wrap your arms around, rubbing comforting circles in his shoulders like you usually did when he was sad. although, you weren’t even completely sure that he was disheartened by your statement.

“i’m sorry.” you spoke in a hushed voice, leaning in close to his neck until your nose brushed against his skin, resulting in him tilting his head so it rested upon yours. “are you okay?”

“please don’t apologise.” he croaked, stifling his snivels to try show that he wasn’t upset. “you did nothing wrong. in fact, you’ve done everything right. i’m the one who’s been messing up.” he felt your hand ghost over his own and without a second thought, he intertwined his finger with your own, freeing his other palm to place it on your shoulder and exposing his pale, tear-stained face is the process.

“i know it’s hard but you should tell me what’s on your mind, tamaki.” you hummed, gently caressing the back of his hand with your thumb and planting a kiss on the damp skin of his cheek. his cologne was still suffocating strong but if you were to die, it would ideally be while cuddled up to him, under the celestial night sky.

opening up had never been an easy task for tamaki; especially about a subject that concerned his physical appearance and emotions. but there was a knot in his chest that would simply come undone when he was with you. he couldn’t explain it, but all the barriers and walls he had established to avoid getting his feeling hurt or heart broken would come crashing down whenever he was with you. perhaps it was a familiarity, maybe it was your reassuring presence or might just be pure love and adoration.

either way, he found him himself babbling on about anything and everything that bothered him with little regard for his own pride or secrecy, he voiced every thought that came to his mind in the moment. he told you just about it all — all his problems and insecurities —and you listened, offering him encouragement whenever he’d cut himself off, saying something along the lines of, ‘i-i’ll stop now, i sound silly’ or ‘you’re probably tired of hearing me prattle on’. though, of course you didn’t want him to stop until he had gotten everything off his chest as it was a rare sight for him to talk for such lengths at a time so the last thing you wanted to do was discourage him.

“i just..” tamaki stammered, coming to the end of his passionate ramble, “don’t understand why you want to be seen with me, let alone wear those.” he raised his shaky hand from your shoulder to gesture to your ear cuffs, “don’t get me wrong, they look cute on you, but i just don’t get why you’d want to have ears that look like mine.”

“because yours are beautiful!”

he winced at the compliment and at how sincere you sounded, “well, i’m glad you think that, (y/n).” he muttered, not even having to finish his statement as the dejection in his voice made it obvious that he did not view himself in the same light. his gaze dropped to his feet which were shuffling uncontrollably, “i don’t know why i’m making such i big deal about this. aren’t you annoyed?”

your let go of his hands only to slip them around his neck and pull him into your embrace, you felt him tense up in your arms but slowly allow himself to relax his cheek onto your shoulder. “i’m not annoyed, baby. i get what you mean and it’s horrible that you feel that way.” all tamaki could do would tick his tongue in agreement.

“i know i tell you this all the time but i honestly think you’re so attractive, inside and out. i was so excited when you agreed to date me, i could’ve died of happiness on the spot!” you chirped, momentarily jerked your head backwards so you could peck the tip of his nose, giggling as he scrunched his face up cutely at the sudden touch.

your angelic laugh rung through tamaki’s head, forcing his lips into a smile as he gawked at your adorable action. “i love you..” tamaki uttered, raising his voice ever so slightly to ensure that you heard what he said, “so much.” thanks to you, his sobs were now just mere sniffles into the crook of your neck.

you inhaled sharply, eyes-widening at his words; you would’ve never thought he would be the first on to say ‘i love you’, but you were far from disappointed, in fact you felt yourself melting further into his touch.

you felt his grip on you tighten, his breathing slowly retuning to it’s regular pace as he squeezed his eyes shut, cancelling out all his other senses so he could focus on the way your body felt against his own.

he wanted to be confident. he wanted to take pride in himself for you. he was tired of restless nights filled with tears due to his worries berating him for simply existing in your presence.

it wasn’t going to be easy but he needed to start acting on everything you said. because eventually, it wouldn’t just be for you, it’d be for himself.

and of course, it didn’t go unnoticed by you when he started wearing his hood less often, when he began holding his head up higher as he walks by your side, the way he now shoots warm smiles at people who try to glare at him.

and five years later, how he didn’t bat an eye at deadly glare that the waiter — that had been subtly flirting with you all night — shot at him as he got down on one knee, in front of the whole restaurant.

#amajiki x reader #mha x reader #bnha x reader #amajiki fluff #amajiki x y/n #bnha x y/n #amajiki tamaki x reader #bnha tamaki #mha tamaki #bnha x you #bnha fluff #tamaki fluff #tamaki x you #tamaki x reader #bnha x gender neutral reader #mha fluff #tamaki amajiki #mha amajiki #amajiki x you

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datheetjoella · 4 years

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Fantober 2020, Day 29: Soulmate

Author: DatHeetJoella Fandom: Free! Pairing: MakoHaru Rating: T Part: 29/31 (read the full collection here) Word count: 2,872 Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmate, Developing Relationship, Fluff, First Interaction, Mirror Link Read at: AO3, FFn, or right here!

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Green. For as long as he could remember, Haruka had dreamt of green. It was vibrant, ever-present, warm, and above all comforting. Like the essence of happiness was captured in one colour.

Outside of his dreams, Haruka had never encountered a green quite like it - at least, not that he recalled. Grass seemed dull in comparison, while neon signs screamed to call attention to them, but Haruka's green was a gentle shade, bright but still soft.

Haruka didn't know what it was supposed to represent, if it even had a meaning or if it was nothing more than an image his mind conjured up at night because it couldn't be bothered to create something else. But it wasn't unpleasant, far from it, so he hadn't questioned it beyond a fleeting thought here and there.

It was no different this morning; the last rays of green lingered before his eyelids when he woke up and left contentment in his heart. What was different this morning was the time displayed on his alarm clock, that either hadn't gone off or that he'd pressed in his sleep. Seven-fifteen, half an hour later than usual. There went his morning bath.

His good mood instantly vanished and he was almost certain a bad day would follow. With a sigh, Haruka pulled himself from his sheets and dragged his feet toward the bathroom.

The mirror above the sink reflected his sour expression, but he couldn't be bothered to unfurl his eyebrows. It wasn't like anyone else could see him right now and even if they could, he couldn't care less about his appearance or their possible opinion at that moment.

He grabbed the tube of toothpaste and his brush and pinched some onto the bristles, then he sighed again. Of course it squirted out too much, half of it spilling over and wasting away in the sink. Scrap that bad day and make it awful.

The thunder clouds were nearly visible above his head as he lazily brushed his teeth. Perhaps he should've just turned around and gone back to sleep, school be damned. Judging by how this day was going so far, he'd probably miss the train or get hit by a bus on the way there.

He spat out some of the excess toothpaste, but when he straightened his back, he wasn't met with his reflection. Instead, he saw a completely different bathroom, with a white wall instead of small blue tiles, and a completely different person; a person he didn't know.

It was a guy who he estimated to be around his age. His brown locks were styled in the most incredible bedhead Haruka had ever seen and his eyes were squeezed shut, a large hand covering up a yawn. When it passed, he lowered his arm and revealed his heart-shaped face with thick, upslanting eyebrows, a straight and slightly raised nose, full lips and pearly teeth.

Despite the visible fatigue wearing down his features, he was undeniably handsome. Very handsome. But when he opened his eyes and his pupils shrunk as they adjusted to the light inside the bathroom, Haruka's breath was stolen from his lungs. His irises were green. That shade of green Haruka had been yearning for since he was a child.

After eighteen years, Haruka finally saw his soulmate and he was relieved and touched and immensely confused.

Most people first met their soulmate when they were kids. As soon as they heard about the connection mirrors made between two people, a phenomenon scientists couldn't explain to this day, they'd spend days in front of the most reflective surface in their house in the hopes of catching a glimpse of their special someone. While Haruka hadn't been quite that eager, he'd be lying if he said that he didn't coincidentally pass by mirrors more often than before and lingered for longer than necessary.

Not once had he booked any success and after a while, he gave up. If his soulmate and he were destined to be together, they would see each other eventually. As the years went by, the lurch of his stomach whenever he stood in front of a mirror disappeared and the thought faded to the back of his mind, where it lived as a cricket that blended in with the rest of the white noise.

And now, when he overslept like he never did and was angry at the world for the tiniest little things going wrong, the day that had been written in the stars since his birth or perhaps long before that had arrived. It was almost funny. Almost.

Haruka was sure he hadn't seen him before, because there was no way he could ever forget a face as beautiful as this guy's. What did leave him baffled, though, was that he'd somehow been dreaming of his soulmate's eyes for years prior to their first meeting. That wasn't supposed to be part of the deal and he never heard of anyone who experienced it too, not from his friends or family members, not even in the most romantic movies or tv dramas. Had his soulmate been dreaming of his eye colour too, or was Haruka special for some unknown reason?

He didn't have much time to ponder it over. When his soulmate processed what he was seeing, his jaw dropped, then his mouth moved rapidly and he frantically waved his hands. What he was blabbering about, Haruka had no idea since mirrors were not equipped with microphones and speakers, but once he said his piece, he was gone.

Everything happened in a flash and before Haruka knew it, he was staring back at himself again. Like the image of his soulmate was nothing more than a hallucination.

Unsure of what to do now, Haruka quickly finished brushing his teeth and rinsed out his mouth. He wasn't sure if his soulmate was going to come back, but if he left now, then he might have to wait for eighteen more years to see him again.

Fortunately, his patience was rewarded. After a minute, the guy returned with a notebook in hand. He held it up and scribbled on the page in fine letters was, 'Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Makoto Tachibana. What is your name?'

The writing was in English and Haruka felt like an idiot once more. He hadn't even considered the possibility that his soulmate could be from another country. While his name was clearly Japanese and his appearance matched, that didn't have to mean he lived here and spoke the language fluently. Perhaps his ancestors moved overseas a century ago and he didn't speak two words Japanese. The possible time zone difference that came with it might've been the reason they hadn't met sooner. If that were the case, they were going to have a problem because foreign languages were not exactly Haruka's strongest suit. There was only one way to find out.

He held up his hand to tell his soulmate to wait while he went to fetch a notebook and a pen of his own. When he got them, he sped back to the bathroom, where his soulmate remained with a kind smile on his face. The drowsiness had vanished and instead, his eyes were twinkling, making Haruka's stomach flutter. Even without the mirror, Haruka would've instantly known this was his soulmate; never before had a single expression done so much to his insides.

'Haruka Nanase.' He wrote down and then he decided to cut to the chase immediately. He scratched at his chin as he pondered over the correct English spelling. 'Where are you from?'

'I am from Japan, and you?' Was his soulmate's response and his heart sighed in relief. At least he didn't have to worry about his English vocabulary anymore.

'Me too.'

His soulmate's face lit up even more - if that was even possible - and he excitedly scribbled more into his notebook. 'Oh, thank goodness! I was afraid you'd be from abroad and that I would have to write in English the whole time. My English is not so good.'

A tiny smile curled Haruka's lips. So far, that was one trait they had in common. But before he could write that, his soulmate put his pen against his paper again.

'I'm so glad I finally get to see you, Nanase-kun. I was starting to worry we might never meet. I've been looking forward to this moment for so long and I have so many things I want to ask you. Sorry if that's weird.' When writing in his native language, Makoto appeared to be very talkative. It was kind of cute.

'It's not weird. I've been wondering about you too.' Haruka held up his notebook, but then he lowered it again and added, 'and just Haru is fine. No need to be so polite.'

'Alright, Haru, you can call me Makoto, then. How old are you?'

'Eighteen.'

'Oh, you're older than me. I'm seventeen. I'm turning eighteen on November 17th.'

November 17th. Haruka hadn't given his soulmate's birthday much thought, but now it seemed odd he always passed such an important day by like it was nothing, while he was certainly going to celebrate it in the future.

'That's less than a month away. I should get you a present.'

Makoto wrote something, then scrapped it and wrote something else. What was left was, 'Thanks, but you don't have to. When's your birthday?' But crossed out between the lines, Haruka could make out 'meeting you is already the best present I could've wished for.'

Haruka felt his cheeks warm up and he averted his head. Although they met a mere handful of minutes ago, Makoto was already proving himself to be overwhelmingly sweet and kind. Not that Haruka expected anything less of his soulmate.

'June 30th.'

'Only a few months apart. I'm assuming you're in your third year of high school too, right?' Makoto wrote and Haruka nodded. 'Sorry if this is too personal, but do you mind telling me where you live?'

That question made Haruka frown. Makoto was his soulmate and they were supposed to live their lives by each other's side. In order to meet in person, knowing where the other was located was kind of a requirement. Maybe Makoto was a bit too considerate for his own good. 'I was born in Kyoto, but I currently live in Tokyo.'

Makoto's green eyes lit up in something Haruka could only describe as excitement. 'Really? I'm planning to go to a university in Tokyo in April! Meijou Chuo, have you heard of it?'

If Makoto was coming to Tokyo, that meant he didn't leave here yet, but that he would be within reach soon. That brought some peace to Haruka's heart; now he didn't have to jump through hoops to see him in real life. 'I have. What are you going to study?'

'Sports Education. I want to be a swim coach for children.'

This time, it was Haruka's turn to gasp. Did that mean Makoto was a swimmer too? It seemed almost too good to be true, but would someone who didn't love to swim really be his other half? 'Do you swim yourself?'

'I do. I specialise in backstroke. Does that mean you also swim?'

By the look of his broad shoulders, that wasn't difficult to believe. Haruka could only imagine what kind of muscles were concealed by his orange and yellow shirt.

'I only swim free.' Haruka noted down and before he knew it, he added, 'I was offered a swimming scholarship at Hidaka University. I'll be starting in April too.'

Makoto's mouth fell ajar. 'Wow, that's amazing, Haru! I'm so proud of you.'

If Haruka's face felt warm before, then it was scorching now. 'If you're going to a university in Tokyo, then where do you live now?'

'In Iwatobi, a small seaside town in Tottori. I was born and raised here. Have you heard of it before?'

The coincidences were stacking up so quickly it was almost scary. 'My grandma was born in Iwatobi. She lived there for years until she and my grandpa got together and moved to Kyoto.'

'Really? Who would've thought?' Makoto held up his notebook with a small chuckle. Haruka couldn't hear it, but he was convinced the sound was as lovely as his sunny smile was.

'She always made it sound like a beautiful place, so I've been meaning to go visit it sometime.'

'You definitely should, it truly is an amazing place. The view of the ocean is stunning and the mountains are perfect to hike or ride a bicycle through.' Once Makoto was certain Haruka had read it, he flipped the page and wrote something else. 'I've lived here for my whole life, so it's going to be hard to adjust to living in such a big city without my family around. Although I set my mind to it, I've never been all by myself before and I was scared I wouldn't be able to get around, so knowing you'll be there is a great comfort.'

Without conscious input of his brain, Haruka wrote, 'It is a bit scary at first, but you'll get used to it sooner or later. If you're not comfortable living by yourself, you're welcome to come live with me. My parents moved to Hokkaido for my father's work so I live by myself anyway.'

The second he raised his pen from the paper, he began to question his own sanity. He just met Makoto and didn't even know what his voice was like yet, let alone the rest of his life and how he was as a person. Soulmate or not, suggesting to move in together right off the bat was absolutely mental and there was no way Haruka was showing him this page.

To his relief and to his regret, Makoto suddenly wrote. 'I'm sorry, Haru, I have to go. My mom is calling me for breakfast and I still have to brush my teeth and get dressed. I'd love to chat with you more and ask everything I want to know, but if I don't hurry up I'll be late for school.'

The thought of having to part now they finally met after years stung, but even though their worlds stopped turning when their gazes locked, the outside world continued on like nothing had happened. 'It's okay. I have to get going too or else I'll miss my train.'

'Before you go, could I ask for your phone number and email? Then we can easily keep in touch without having to stand in front of a mirror all day.'

Haruka nodded again. 'Wait a second. I don't know them from the top of my head, so I have to get my phone.'

'No worries, I'll wait.'

Once Haruka had retrieved his phone from some side pocket of his bag, he sped back to the bathroom. He wrote the information out on the page and Makoto copied it into his own notebook.

'Thanks! I'll send you a message right away so you'll have my contact info too. Thank you for chatting with me, Haru. I couldn't have imagined a better soulmate.' Makoto tilted his head, eyes falling shut with a beaming grin.

Involuntarily, a smile graced Haruka's face as well. When met with such a joyous expression on such a handsome face, was it even possible not to smile as well? 'Me neither.'

After they scribbled some goodbyes, Haruka dashed out of the bathroom, promptly forgetting to even wash his face because his frantic heart was trying to hammer its way out of his chest. He had to start cooking or else he would certainly miss his train, but Haruka couldn't look away from his phone's screen, waiting for that message to pop up. Until then, he wouldn't be able to get a bite down his throat.

A whopping two minutes later, his phone beeped at last.

'Hey Haru, this is Makoto. Here you have my contact info. Sorry if I'm being too forward, and if that is the case then you can tell me and I'll back off, but do you have time to talk some more later? I've been dying to meet you and like I said earlier, there are countless things I want to ask you. If not, that's alright. Please know that you're always welcome to call me or send me a message whenever you want. I'll try my best to respond as quickly as possible. I hope to hear back from you soon, but there's no rush. Have a nice day!'

Haruka stared at the screen, his stomach tingling with a wave of unfamiliar feelings. Now he was definitely going to be late for school.

Little did Haruka know back then that Makoto and he would see each other in person sooner than he had thought, that Makoto's dreams had been overrun by cobalt blue for as long as he could remember as well, and that their first interaction had not actually been their first meeting. But least of all, Haruka couldn't have foreseen that the mindless proposal he wrote on that October day in front of the mirror but hadn't held up to show Makoto would come true.

#i'm sorry i'm stupid #makoharu #makoharu fic #my fic #fantober2020 #colourful days with you

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prettywordsyouleft · 5 years

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Exposed

Summary: you hadn’t meant to stare at Jinyoung all morning as you had. But you couldn’t help it either after seeing the clip that had blown the internet – and your own brain up – by storm.

Pairing: Park Jinyoung x reader

Genre: flirty fluff

A/N: You all knew this was coming right? That photo shoot and sinful clip that’s been making its rounds on every single social media platform I use was bound to affect me enough to write about it, right? Don’t get too excited, this is still a fluff piece after all. But I had a lot of fun writing it and hope you enjoy it!

Word count: 2375

This has since been made into a mini-series.

Index: Exposed | Stubborn | Your Turn | Change Of Plans [M]

You knew they had been there for some time. After all, you had known Park Jinyoung for years now. He had definitely grown up and during that time so had his body. He was no longer the gangly nineteen year old you had been put in charge of upon GOT7’s debut. Jinyoung had changed in so many ways over the past five years and you had appreciated most of his growth. He was far beyond his years most days.

But you refused to think about all his changes, especially the physical ones.

It seemed to happen overnight. His thin, boyish arms disappeared and one day you noticed the muscles building in his upper arms. Thankfully, you weren’t privy to the stylist team and with his innate ability to hide his body even in the sweltering heat; you were left to only imagining what it looked like under his clothes from time to time. Which suited you just fine. You already had seen far too much skin in this coordinator role than you thought you would ever see in your entire life. You didn’t need Jinyoung to step out of his comfort zone and start showing off his body too. After all, you connected with him so well on a mental level that if you were to see him any other way, you would question your level of professionalism.

Kind of like you were right now.

The photo shoot didn’t come out of nowhere like his muscle definition seemed to. Being one of the team members who organised schedules for GOT7, you had been the one to actually book the gig. You had driven Jinyoung to the shoot set and you had even been there for the entire duration too. How you managed to return to the JYPE building afterwards safely when the shoot was completed, you still weren’t sure. Because you had seen the glimmers of what the entire internet was exploding over now.

You’d be lying if you said you were okay. But you were a professional and it was expected of you to deal with all kinds of things in the entertainment world. And you had done so many times now that you had lost count.

So why were you struggling so much today?

“Noona.”

You leapt in your chair and smacked your knee into the table leg as you blinked rapidly out of your reverie. Jinyoung’s eyes flashed with concern and he leaned over the small table towards you. Before he could do anything more, you held your hands up in defence. You didn’t need him to come any closer. “I’m fine!”

“What were you thinking so deeply about?” he asked with a chuckle, satisfied you were okay and settling back into his seat. Jinyoung glanced down at his script and shook it. “You said you’d help me with this today.”

“Did I?”

“Mm.” He nodded to follow the hum of confirmation that left him, blinking at your dishevelled state. You cursed yourself for appearing off in front of someone so intuned into the way you worked. Jinyoung dropped the script and folded his arms across his chest.

If you could curse out loud right there and then, you would have. Diverting your gaze to your iced coffee, you focused on drinking it as if your life depended on it. And it kind of did in this current state of yours, the cool beverage quenching some of the thirst you were badly experiencing.

“Should we practice then?” he asked and you glanced over at Jinyoung, your eyes falling towards his chest. It was perfectly covered up. He was wearing a t-shirt and a plaid shirt over it with the sleeves folded up exposing his taut forearms. If you hadn’t of seen the clip last night before bed you would have never believed he had shown more skin that he was right now to anyone.

But you had seen that shower scene in full and more than once too. If it hadn’t of been etched into your brain before you attempted to sleep last night, when you woke up to your fellow friends and staff all sending you messages commenting about Jinyoung’s surprising abs reveal, well there was no way you couldn’t remember it avidly after that. It was completely burned into your retinas, replaying over and over and distracting you from your duties. You earnestly wished Mark had work to do here in Korea instead of overseas so you could opt to work with him today. It would be a lot safer for your distressed brain, that’s for sure. You were even prepared to get on a plane and fly to where Mark or Jackson were just to escape this hell.

“Noona,” Jinyoung called out again, amusement laced within his tone. Did he know? You panicked just thinking of how transparent you were being. You were supposed to be a member of staff, not someone who was thinking over just how beautiful his body was. As if his way of thinking wasn’t entrancing enough for you, now you had an ingrained shot of his arms, shoulders, chest and abdominals to fantasise over.

Perhaps it was time for you to look for a different job. Your heart couldn’t cope with all of this.

“Why are you so distracted?” he asked with a smirk, and you looked at him like a deer caught in headlights. Jinyoung knew. You could see it all over his face, the smugness he exuded over you thinking of him like that. How satisfied he must have felt to see someone he��d known for so many years this deeply affected by him. It wasn’t exactly a secret, your flirting with each other. He participated in it just as much as you did. You knew it was a stress relief for him, to unwind from the daily grind and the seclusion of being an idol and actor in the public eye. He was still just a twenty-four year old guy at the end of the day, and one that had urges to please. A bit of flirty banter between you both didn’t hurt anything and probably fuelled him on as much as it did you when exhaustion was taking its toll in keeping up with their busy schedule.

But you still didn’t like it. You didn’t want him to have the upper hand here, to know that you were thinking of what was under his clothes. You sat up straight and became determined to prove him otherwise. You were good at your job, regardless of the troubles that came with it.

“I’m not distracted; I’m just tired of trying to keep up with you.”

Jinyoung pressed his lips together before pursing them a little, nodding slowly. You swallowed, attempting to not pick up on such details about the man sitting across from you. It wasn’t in your job description to care if he had a beautiful set of lips or not.

Even though he really did.

“Shall we practice then?” he offered and you nodded firmly. For the first twenty minutes, you were both doing well. The script was easy to follow and you had done this before with him. Whenever Jinyoung had acting duties, you were assigned to helping him. And so you had spent many hours before in this small practice room conversing lines to him and watching him convey his emotions exceptionally well. Today was no different, and you managed to get through the entire scene without faltering again. Your confidence soared and you even smiled over at the star before flipping over to the next page.

And then you stopped immediately.

“Do we need to do this scene?” you asked and Jinyoung glanced at you, his eyes crinkling up with delight. You scrunched your nose at his instant pleasure, shooting him a displeased look. “You can do this one with your co-star. They’ll give you plenty of time to work with it. Besides you’ve already done the kiss scenes for the trailers, so you’ll be able to continue on with Ye-Eun.”

“You’re so cute today, you know that right?” You faltered at his statement and glanced over at him. Jinyoung grinned. “I never expected you to be like this.”

“Like what?”

“Affected by what I know went live last night,” he admitted, a slight tinge of colour invading his cheeks. Had that not happened you would have been certain Jinyoung was enjoying this all too much. And you knew he was, but the blush eased you somewhat. He was affected by something himself too. It made the situation slightly more bearable.

“I think the whole world is in a craze over what was released last night, Jinyoung. My phone hasn’t stopped blowing up from my contacts commenting about your body. They all seem to think it appeared out of thin air overnight.”

“You knew it didn’t though,” he mentioned slyly and you closed your eyes, hoping your cheeks weren’t nearly as red as they felt. You heard him chuckle again and when you reopened your eyes, you glared at his bemused expression. He recovered too easily and you hated it. “I didn’t take you for someone to like bodies so much though. You’ve seen everyone else’s in the group and not batted an eyelid.”

“That’s not entirely true, many times I’ve been stunned by what I’ve seen. I’m only human after all.”

Jinyoung huffed a little at your correction and then pointed at you. He was going to be relentless in making his point, you could tell. “I’ve never seen you this off your game since you came down with that terrible cold. At least you had a proper reason to struggle then. Though I guess, this is a good reason too.”

“What, that you bared your precious body to the world finally? It’s been five years in the making right?” you mentioned airily, turning back to the script in your hand. “Congratulations for holding out so long.”

“What did you think?” he asked and you choked on the drink you had grabbed again, sucking it up the straw at the most inopportune moment. Jinyoung grinned despite watching intently to make sure you were okay. “Ah, you clearly thought something good about me.”

“Mm, I had hoped you would be the only one not to take off his clothes in GOT7. Guess I was wrong.”

Jinyoung rolled his eyes at your avoidance. “It’s not something I plan on doing often.”

“Good, though I’m sure the influx of your new fans will be disappointed that this moment is as rare as a unicorn is. You’ve been praised to have the best body in the group now.”

“Is that so,” he said softly, looking down at his script and biting at his lips again. “With your own personal evaluation, do you agree with that statement?”

You stared at him for a moment, wondering if you just simply admitted to it that he would stop going on and focus on what you both were meant to be doing. You nodded, quickly. “I’m not one to appreciate abs like others, but yes to me, your upper body is acceptable.”

“Acceptable?” he echoed, his mouth remaining ajar when he finished talking. It clearly annoyed him. “Just acceptable?”

“What are you expecting from me, Jinyoung?” you asked, somewhat impatiently. You had told the truth had you not? Sure, you left out the part about how you had thought about his strong arms pulling you against his chest and keeping you close. That would be crossing the boundaries that you had kept in place for years, even with your flirty bantering. You felt a need to reiterate your position in his world. “We are colleagues. If you want to know the opinion of your body from a woman’s standpoint, ask a fan or someone else that doesn’t work alongside you.”

“I don’t want their opinions though,” he told you, his gaze now firmly settled upon you. It made your heart race in your chest with how intense his focus was. “I just want yours.”

“Why?” you breathed and he cocked his head to the side and stared at you in an obvious manner.

“You know why.”

“We aren’t a couple, Jinyoung.”

“No, no we aren’t.” He seemed disappointed by your lack of a relationship status with him and you leaned forward instinctively, trying to read his expression more closely. When he reconnected his gaze with yours, you flinched back rapidly, whining when your leg hit the table again. He smirked. “What am I going to do with you?”

“I don’t know, but today isn’t very productive, is it?”

“Did you expect it to be?” he asked with a chuckle, standing up. He moved around the table towards you and you leaned back, watching him warily. He chuckled. “You’ve watched too many dramas, you know that right? Settle, I’m not about to proclaim my undying love for you in some magical moment and suck the breath out of you either.”

“What are you doing then?” you asked, slightly dejected by his jest. Jinyoung crouched down beside your leg and gently checked it over. You had worn a skirt that ended at your knees and a pair of nude tights today, so he was able to see your limb through the sheerness of the fabric. He seemed satisfied that you hadn’t caused any damage with the two bangs your leg had received. Jinyoung smiled up at you. And in that moment you knew you didn’t need any proclamation of his feelings as you already knew there was something between you both brewing. And whilst a kiss would have been nice, you were affected enough by how caring he had been just now. Your leg literally felt like it was tingling from his grip and you couldn’t stop the floating away feeling you were experiencing by being this close to him with Jinyoung looking up, full of adoration for you.

Until he smirked. “You really liked my body, enough to hurt yours in the process today, huh?”

“Oh my god, would you just stop?!”

He chuckled and stretched up to peck your cheek. “We’ll take it slow, hm? Maybe one day soon you’ll get to see it again. Though this time, it’ll be for your eyes only.”

_________________

Next: Stubborn

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cheolttage · 5 years

Text

Only You.

Title: Only you.

Genre: Fluff, Romance, Soulmate!AU, College!AU

Summary: “It seems like a lifetime ago that i began searching for you. You, who my love seems never ending for; that went far beyond what i thought i could love. When i am with you, i want for nothing.”

Soulmates are linked via feelings and hear can what your soulmate say in his heart (but you cannot hear him when you guys arrange any meet up, you found out from your mom that it has to happen naturally). You feel whatever your soulmate feels and your soulmate feels whatever you feel.

Word Count: 2.03K

p/s: sorry, it’s my first time writing and I'm really not as creative or as good of a writer as other blogs. I wrote this purely out of fun. Nevertheless, I hope anyone reading this will like it. ^____^

Time check: 3:16am in the morning. You flipped on your bed with the comfort of air conditioning against the merciless summer heat even though it was night. You were on your bed since 11pm trying to sleep; even the bedsheet that felt cool to the skin initially warmed up from your body warmth. What is really keeping you up? You felt so vexed and irritated yet slightly emotional. But you have no idea why.

“I really want to give up”

You heard a voice from your head. Your soulmate has spoken and you finally understood your feeling now.

“Looks like i’m not the only one awake now and someone’s keeping me awake..” you muttered as you got off your bed, knowing well that you probably will not be sleeping any time soon. Stretching your limbs and with a yawn, you wobbled to the kitchen for a glass of milk.

“I wonder what’s keeping him up…” you whispered. You couldn’t help but be curious about what is keeping your soulmate up, so vexed and annoyed at 3am in the morning. Opening up the fridge, you took out a carton of milk and poured yourself a glass of milk before returning to your room. Slowly, you closed your room’s door and sat down before your desk.

“Where is the damn switcH” you said as you struggled to switch on the desk lamp. You decided that since you couldn’t sleep, it will be better to do something than to sit around and stare into space. Deciding on completing your bullet journal for 2019, you opened up your notebook and chose rose quartz and serenity coloured brush marker for the theme. As you started scribbling and designed your notebook, you couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotions because of your soulmate.

You flipped to a brand new page and wrote:

“It seems like a lifetime ago that i began searching for you.

You, who my love seems never ending for; that went far beyond what i thought i could love.

When i am with you, i want for nothing.”

You didn’t know where you got the idea to write that or what made you move your arms to write that but from the bottom of your heart, you wanted your soulmate to feel better and know that he is not alone no matter what he is going through.

Within 10 seconds, you got a reply.

“Thank you, i love you.”

You were a little taken back from his reply because you weren’t sure if what you wrote down will be guaranteed conveyed to him. Afterall, you wrote it down and not think about it out loud.

“You heard that?”

“Yes dummy. I heard it because you were reading it out loud in your mind. Also, we have been talking like this for almost half a year but i still have no idea what your name is.”

“Y/N.”

“Ah. Wonwoo here.”

That was cute. You were happy that your heart was conveyed to him and that he even took a step forward to start calling you names. Not to mention you finally know his name! Your heart was truly bubbling with happiness and you felt fuzzy because, It sounds silly, but little things like these are what pulled people closer together. You were 100% sure that he could feel how happy you are.

“What’s up? You seem really happy.”

“Nothing! Just watching a romance movie.” You lied smoothly, you weren’t sure if he will fall for it but you decided to go with it because you didn’t want to let your feelings known so early.. Yet.

“Sure.”

You heard the sarcasm in his words but decided to brush it off because you were simply too happy to care. Funny, because you were feeling happy but mixed with slight frustration. But you can also sense that the feeling of frustration seems to be fading and you felt even happier to know that your soulmate seems to be less vexed now at least.

“Go to sleep early.”

“You too! Stay positive, things will eventually work out.” You beamed at the thought of your soulmate.

“Alright, i will talk to you again tomorrow.”

“Later you mean? It’s already a brand new day.”

“Right. Later. See you!”

You smiled as you closed your notebook shut before you switched off the desk lamp and dive into the comfort of your bed. Within a few minutes, you drifted off to sleep.

You woke up at exactly 7am ready for school, but feeling lethargic as you were you sat on your bed with your eyes closed for another few minutes; mentally cursing yourself for sleeping this late.

“Tired?”

You shot up at your soulmate’s words and rushed to the toilet, preparing for school.

“No!”

“Sure.” He teased.

You grabbed your breakfast left on the dining table and your bag before you rushed out to school. Time check: 8:20am you are 10 minutes away from being late and you are just outside the campus library. You were literally scrambling to the lecture theatre and you really couldn’t be bothered about how much of a mess you look like at all now. As you ran past the library’s door, the door flunk open and a tall boy walked out. Before you could look up, you felt your head hit his chest.

“AH. I’m sorry!!! I gotta go, i’m late for class!” You said as you looked up.

Damn. He looks great.

But you were really in a rush to continue staring, before the boy can even speak you already ran off like a rocket.

“Wow, she ran off already.. And who did my soulmate see that she found handsome?” Wonwoo muttered before he zoned back not knowing that whoever bumped into him was his soulmate. Before he continued walking to the canteen, he found a notebook lying on the floor.

“Huh? Whose is this…?” He picked it up, but uncertain if he should open the notebook to check whose notebook it was.

“I don’t think it’s nice to open someone’s notebook without permission.. But how else can i return it?” Wonwoo muttered as he fiddled with the notebook.

“Whatever, i should return it.”

Deciding on returning the notebook, he opened up the notebook and flipped a few pages before he stopped on one page.

It read:

It seems like a lifetime ago that i began searching for you.

You, who my love seems never ending for; that went far beyond what i thought i could love.

When i am with you, i want for nothing.

Wonwoo’s eyes widen as he pushed his spectacles up. He found you.

The clock struck 12 noon as lecture has ended, you started packing up your lecture materials before you head to the canteen for lunch and then head home. However, you realised your notebook is missing and started panicking.

“Oh my goodness, where is my notebook?” You whispered as you searched your bag. The more you searched, the more you panic. Suddenly, you heard a voice in your head.

“Looks like someone lost her notebook?”

What? How did he know? Oh, right he can feel whatever you feel maybe that’s why he knows that you lost your notebook.

“Gosh, all my schedules are inside.. What am i gonna do with it now?”

No, wait. Hold up, how did he specifically know that it’s your NOTEBOOK?

“How did you know?!”

“Because i have it.”

Your eyes widened as you gasped.

“Where did i drop it?!”

“This morning.”

You traced back your memory before remembering that you bumped into a guy outside the library this morning.

“WHAT. That was you?!” you gasped trying to remember how he looked like. Though he was extremely good looking, you couldn’t remember the face of a guy you met for perhaps, 20 seconds.

“Yes. Since we can’t arrange a meet up, my favourite place is the campus library.”

You seemed to get the hint though you weren’t sure what time to go. But you decided to try your luck every morning anyway. Before you got your notebook back, you can only rely on your memory for the schedules.

The following day, you can to school extra early and by 7.30am you were already in the campus library and even chose a seat that is eye-catching from every corner deliberately so that Wonwoo will be able to see you.

You waited and waited. It was already 8.15am, you really have to head to class but Wonwoo wasn’t there. You knew he wasn’t there even though you weren’t exactly sure how he looked like but you just knew. You stood up and walked to the door, looking down, to exit feeling defeated. Yet again, before you knew it, the door swung open and you bumped into a tall guy.

“Where are you going, Y/N? Don’t you want your notebook back?”

You were shocked to hear your name as you looked up. A tall guy wearing spectacles and holding a pink notebook. It was the guy from yesterday, your soulmate! Your heart bloomed in happiness almost immediately.

“W-Wonwoo?”

“Hi Y/N, thank you for finding me good-looking.”

“W-wha-what?” you stuttered while blushing furiously.

“I heard your heart yesterday when you bumped into me yesterday at roughly the same timing.”

Your face was completely red by now and you were so embarrassed.

“C-can i have my notebook back? I have to go for class! Um, i will see you around i guess.” you muttered before grabbing your notebook and sped off.

Wonwoo turned to the way you sped off as his lips curled into a smile.

Cute.

You settled down once you reached the lecture theatre and you opened your notebook. You were extremely surprised to find a post-it on the page you written your feelings on.

“To. Y/N

Hi Y/N~ I’m Wonwoo! Here is my number.

XXX-XXXXXX-XX

Text me soon!”

Your lips curled into a smile as you closed your notebook, ready for lesson. The entire lecture, your mind kept drifting elsewhere and you couldn’t pay attention at all.

“Hey, listen during lecture.”

You were surprised to hear Wonwoo’s voice, nevertheless you tried your best to pay attention until lecture is over.

“I can’t focus.”

“Just listen! Remember to text me too.”

After hearing his words, you started to get impatient, waiting for lecture to end. Once lecture ended, you took your phone out immediately and keyed in his number before you texted Wonwoo.

“I’m Y/N. I just ended lecture.”

“That’s great, i’m already at the canteen. Come look for me.”

You bit your lip as you strutted towards the canteen, feeling like your heart is about to rupture. As you approach the canteen, you weren’t sure where he was especially when there were so many people. But as you looked around, a boy wearing a grey sweater with spectacles caught your eye.

There he was. You walked towards him and took a seat in front of him as you looked down feeling extremely shy.

“Hi.. I’m Y/N”

“You sound cuter in person. Looks like you are a year 1 student?”

His words caught your attention as you looked up feeling confused,

“Are you not year 1?”

You weren’t sure about his age at all, you just assumed that he was the same age as you. The only thing you knew was that he was in the same college as you. You laughed as at how silly you were, automatically assuming he was the same age as you after knowing he was in the same college as you.

“Y/N, i’m about to graduate.”

You widen your eyes, if you could verbally say “???” you totally would.

“I automatically assumed you were my age… then i thought you might be a year or two older than me. I just didn’t think you’d be a graduating student..”

Wonwoo smiled as he reached for your hands.

“Graduating or not, i will be seeing you for the rest of my life.”

You subconsciously break into a smile as you held his hand back.

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sakdar · 3 years

Text

Week 10

This week I focused on developing my diegetic prototype. There was many software I could use, which was overwhelming because I did not know where to begin. My plan was to wait until one of my team members put their part up, so I could use it as a guide and see the type of theme we may want for our website. This plan did not work out, it was getting closer to the next workshop and I didn’t have time to wait for my group. I went out of my comfort zone by putting my work up first even though I was feeling a bit self-conscious about my bad editing skills.

I wanted to learn how to use photoshop and found a free online alternative called Photopea. After spending some time fiddling around and trying the features, I came up with the conclusion that it was way beyond my skill level and I did not have the time to learn it all within a short period of time. Maybe in the future when I am not overwhelmed with assessments, I could find out how to use it for future projects.

Instead of learning how to use a completely new software, I decided to use what I know. I used the skills and knowledge that I obtain from the visual presentation. PowerPoint was a useful tool that help me portray my idea. I wanted to show my software scanning the user and demonstrate how consumers would be able to swap faces. I felt that the result was not what I was hoping, but it is good enough. In this process I crop and tried to blend faces onto a random person, which I found difficult because of the different skin colour.

I tried to make the images have a similar theme but using Canva. I had to look for a background did have a blue technological vibe and tried using frames and text that looked futuristic.

I was not sure how much I was meant to put on the website, so I decided to create a short video to convey my prototype. I remember one of my team members talking about the movie “Free Guy” and I ended up cutting some short clips from the trailer that showed aspects of my idea. I found a random video of a woman putting on lenses and I put some professional music in the background. After merging all these together, I had a bad edited video as a result and to upload it to the website I needed to become a YouTuber.

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keramalusundeep · 4 years

Text

‘KABALI’ PEAKED AT THE TRAILER. HERE’S WHY

First of all, I don’t do movie reviews. I am the guy who just watches a movie and then maybe talks about it during lunch at work to avoid awkward silences. So, why am I writing this review about a movie I watched a half hour ago? Because you know, how sometimes when you have a near death experience, your perspectives change and suddenly you want to do all this good in life, save lives, be a better person? Yeah, I am in that zone right now. I have been hit by something powerful. And it’s time to share it with the rest of my species.

Two months before today, I accidentally came across the trailer of Kabali on YouTube. I was immediately arrested by the killer original soundtrack for the movie. That’s where it had begun, for me.

Every time I watched the trailer at home, I’d go on and on to my wife about how I would not miss this movie. I don’t know why I had suddenly become such an aggressive fan of Rajinikanth. My mom was always a diehard fan, though. Two decades ago, I stumbled upon a large biology drawing book that had cut-out pictures and childlike hand-drawn sketches of him at my house in Bangalore. The book belonged to my mother. When I confronted her, she said that she was supposed to get rid of that book after marriage, but somehow it had come along with her. Super jealous of the superstar, my father would often mock Rajinikanth. I don’t blame him. He was just an ordinary South Indian man born in a conservative family. He is well educated and open-minded, yes, but he is still a man. I mean, when my wife used to look at Jason Momoa’s buttocks in Game of Thrones, I would run to the bedroom and do 50 squats and come out like I was all chill.

When you watch a Rajinikanth film, you better go to a local theatre. Not the multiplex ones where one is too shy to even release a silent fart. No, go to a local theatre. The kind where women best not venture. That’s the kind of place where you will know what it is like to be a Rajini fan.

In these theatres, as the lights dim, a new wave of energy crackles to life. Whistles, throat-burning screaming, firecrackers, shirtless dancing on seats. The entire room becomes a five-dimensional stimulation ride. Your seats rock. The walls vibrate. You smell smoke. It’s exhilarating to witness the madness, but deafening and annoying beyond a point as you can’t hear shit. Because from the time Rajini’s name pops up in the opening credits till the interval (where the fans begin to get a little tired), it’s a war zone. You would be lucky if you came out of the theatre entirely unbroken.

When you are watching a Rajinikanth movie, there is a 3000% chance that you will see something superhuman. Death-defying. Nonconforming to every law of nature. But you tell your mind to hush. During a Rajinikanth movie, only his fans can make a sound. If you are a non-fan and say something mocking, well, leave the address to your coffin.

Well, this time, I watched the film in a multiplex. Families and kids. So even if I had said something, I probably wouldn’t have got my ass whooped. Still, I watched quietly and saved everything for my keyboard. So now I’m going to spill my shit out. Here, I am Spartacus. Unyielding. Veracious.

Being 2016, being Kabali, being Rajini, you’d think, mafia being the spine of the story, it’d have all the beef in the universe to make Martin Scorsese take note. The opening scene, is the ending scene. When will writers learn that when you are showing Rajinikanth to be the gangster (especially when he is being released from jail), you know for sure that all his enemy gangsters will be dead, no matter what! Keep a little surprise, man! Henceforth, I want Santa Claus to write all the scripts for Rajini movies.

The story takes place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It’s a beautiful city. But they decided to show only the dark world. The Tamils. Their dark skin. Their dark labour problems. Their dark mafia. In all of this darkness, the only contrast in the colour palette was the ostentatious bling that these gangstas flaunted from start to finish.

After all these great movies in the West about drugs and gangsters, you’d go on to have this divine hope that the Tamil industry would go easy on making every hero a superhero. But nope. First of all, what kind of a gangster is comfortable with only a handful of business associates who also moonlight as security? I comprehend the fact that it is Rajinikanth and he can take care of himself, but he is old now. Besides, he carries only one gun. Not even an extra magazine!

When you are out of commission for 25 years, don’t you need money when you come back? Don’t you still need to be in business? Apparently, when Rajini is a gangster you don’t need to do gangster business to earn money. You just have it all sorted. Somehow he is able to run a free school for drop outs, drug addicts and ex-gangster kids. The funny part is, he himself is a gangster and hires kids on his team. So the point is that when you are in Kabali’s gangster squad, you don’t need to be rehabilitated, life’s all good.

P.A. Ranjith, before I forget, take this — you suck. You suck big time. Basha, for that time, had so much more swag than you have managed to squeeze out of Kabali. To a gangster, his family is very important. I mean to all of us, families are important. But to a gangster, it’s more of a prestige issue. If a gangster has let his enemy harm his family, it would convey that he is weak, incapable of protecting his own family . . . how then will he protect his business and other people who are dependent on him? But you could have involved his family saga in the movie in such a better way. There was no need for all the flashbacks. You have permanently ruined “once upon a time” for me.

I still cannot digest the fact that the director completely omitted to show us or explain Kabali’s business model. Maybe every time Kabali and his men whimsically went after the villains and delivered some soggy dialogues the producers would give them some candy money? Also, I think Indian movies should stop making the villains troll the hero and his affiliated people with dummy guns. Can’t take that shit anymore. If you want to shoot, just pull that plastic trigger and be done with it. Why do you have so many extras pointing all those useless toy guns at one old guy and still end up getting laid low by his stunt double?

Radhika Apte, who plays Rajini’s wife in the movie is a good actor. However, in this movie, she is a bad actor. When you have a bad script and a dumbass director, even a lion becomes a pig. I was happy to know that she was killed by the villains. Good riddance, I thought that’s what she must have thought. But no, she was brought back from the dead 25 years later and made to run for her life again. What torture, marrying Kabali!

Dhansika has tried to play a version of Rooney Mara in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but the result is extremely unpleasing. The director concluded, perhaps, that if she is a girl and an assassin, she’s got to sport a punk bob cut and a lot of badly done temporary tattoos (which keep drastically changing and moving places). By the way, she is Kabali’s daughter, who he reunites with. Sadly.

What’s with the suit? I thought when you wore a suit, you had the license to kill. Oh, wait a minute! That was 007. In Kabali, if you wore a suit, well, you have the license to get killed.

The villain gangsters are real pussies, I tell you. I can’t fathom why they are so scared of Kabali. He is just a vintage chap with a few old friends who masturbate on the rusted bullets in their guns. Then again, it is Rajini. He can get bin Laden to marry Gandhi if he wanted to.

Movies in the south always thrive on comedy. In Kabali, there is nothing to laugh about. Nothing to cry for. Absolutely nothing to rejoice about. The soundtrack was the only saving grace. The movie was a drab, unsexy 150-minute quest for finding his family, which he could very well have done without us having to sit and watch. I liked the free trailer on YouTube. Not the full movie I spent 200 bucks for. Kabali, no magizhchi for you.

Reminds me of the famous Bruce Lee quote: “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” With all due reverence and respect for you as a great human being, I am afraid, Rajinikanth Sir, we are no longer afraid of your 10,000th kick. You have overdone it. It’s the same kick and it doesn’t give us any kick anymore. I know it’s the directors asking you to do lame stuff, not you per se. However, you could say no to them, yes? Maybe make meaningful cinema? You have earned that. But not the right to disappoint us, after all that hype.

P.S. Watch out for Tony Stark. He makes a sensational cameo.

Photo by Soloman Soh

#kabali #kollywood #radhika apte #rajinikanth #hollywood

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