“Boo.” Nat looked back to him, placing her thumbs down to him. “Who do I listen to? Me. That’s the only person I will ever listen to,” she mimicked his tone. She didn’t get why he was so hesitant about being drawn on. She paused on drawing and pointed him with her pencil. “I don’t get why you don’t like being drawn.”
“i couldn’t be less photogenic if i tried, and i can only imagine a drawing making that a thousand times more obvious,” he wouldn’t usually say such a vulnerable thing out loud and so plainly, but since it’s with nat --- and since she insists on trying to draw him --- he feels a little better about doing so. “draw someone pretty. draw yourself.”
“please don’t laugh at me,” she began, though, she didn’t expect that request to stick. “i subscribed to this page on facebook, uh, graveyard shift. and it started with ‘15 people share the secret they’re taking to the grave.’ humanity is really depraved.”
“am i the only one that title makes no sense to, or does the oxymoron jump out at you, too?” he gives her a puzzled look, though it’s the title he’s criticising and not her decision to click on it --- he knows himself too well, and he knows he’d do the same. “tell me one of the facts you learned? depart your wisdom, and then it won’t have been a waste.”
The music currently filling the studio is loud enough that Hunny can feel the vibrations in the floor, underneath his bare feet, and that’s how he likes it. It’s how he knows Dae likes it, too. They always get into a certain rhythm when they’re this way together, and though technically this is meant to be work for Kihun, it ends up feeling a lot more like play than he necessarily would like to admit. Despite the air conditioning being set to quite a low temperature, a sweat resulting from exertion coats his skin, sticking strands of hair to his face as he moves. He thinks he’s doing it right, but then again, he’s not really the expert here.
Gaze darting over to the boy beside him, Hunny pauses for a moment, his head turning and his expression holding neutral for only a couple more seconds before he holds his position and grins. “Like that?” The move has been one he hasn’t been practicing for very long, and there’s a chance that he won’t be heard over the music despite him raising his voice to a near shout. His intent is clear enough though, and he expects a nod or otherwise, just something to either confirm or deny. They do this a few times a week, and he pushes nearly as much as he gets pushed. He almost feels bad for getting paid for it.
there has never existed a time nor place where dae has felt more completely, utterly, and truly himself than he does whilst surrounded by these familiar four walls, mirrored to echo his reflection back to him along with his companion’s. hunny’s presence goes a long way toward what makes this situation so complete, and the near constant smile on dae’s face between sets is all thanks to him. it doesn’t matter that the elder is his trainer, nor that he’s paying him good sums of money to do this; it’s easy to forget, and it’s easy to get carried away with the atmosphere and with the knowledge tucked away in his brain as he becomes the teacher, the leader, working the other out as well as himself.
they’re moving in synchronicity for a handful of moments, nothing but the pulse of the music beneath their feet and in their veins to accompany them in their unity. and then dae notices the slightest hesitation out of the corner of his eye, head turning to the mirror to watch hunny’s form from the best possible angle. he knows this move is new to him, and that the words being swallowed by the music are likely asking for his input. his serious expression (his dance expression) softens into a smile, and he swivels around to face him, fingers moving over the remote to rewind the music just a few seconds.
“move your hips just a little more. the rest is perfect,” it’s murmured right into hunny’s ear for the sake of being heard, and dae is standing behind him now, hands resting on the other’s hips to help guide him. it probably looks a bit silly in the mirrors, given their height difference, but he’s no longer paying attention to those. “ready?” the music is catching up.
“Hey you!” Nat just hoped that she sounded as loud as she hoped to be. “Yeah, yes, you! I think you should hold it right there. Don’t move.” Eyes darting back and forth to their sketchbook and the other. She scribbled down the basic sketch of the pose, a few lines here and there. “I said… don’t move,” she chided, even though she wasn’t looking at anything but her book and sketches as she quickly sketched.
he freezes in place by instinct, the only muscle in his body moving being his eyes, gaze seeking her out. it takes a beat for him to understand what she’s doing, but once the sketchbook registers, his eyes roll and his posture relaxes. “we talked about this,” he sighs like he’s exasperated -- or he would be, if he dared to show he cared enough to be. he scowls, unconvincingly despite his best efforts. “who do we not draw? me. that’s who.”
“god, i’m so fucked,” she muttered under her breath, giving a loud sigh. continuing on, logan more spoke to whoever would listen. “i had actual work to do, and i spent the last three hours looking through clickbait– oh, well, at least i learned 50 messed up history facts.”
his interest is peaked. as much as he’d hate to admit it, he wants a link to that particular video. he’s a history nerd, and it sounds like the perfect waste of a saturday afternoon; it’s not like he has anything better to do. “sounds like quite the rabbit hole,” he cants his head, thinking of which terms he should google later to find the video in question. “what was the initial clickbait that drew you in?”
“ why would you do that? ” jinwoo huffed dramatically. “ why would you throw out my book? ”
dae hadn’t seen it happen, and yet there remained a twinge of discomfort in his belly. he’d fallen victim to many book knocks and locker trashings in his schooling career, leaving him on edge at the mere possibility of a bully being around. “here,” he dips to retrieve it, monotone voice and i-don’t-give-a-fuck expression hiding the anxiety inside as he hands it back to its rightful owner.
hi guys, it’s your local potato. i’m jamie, 23, gmt and they/them pronouns pls! and this is my baby trans son, dae. pls be nice to him (or don’t, bc i love torturing my muses....) and love us both. i’m gonna write some Quick Facts under the cut, but hmu to plot plsplspls. it’s pretty late here... like 2 am sorta late, so i’ll likely get back to y’all tomorrow !!! 💜
⸢ PARK JIMIN, 19, TRANSMALE, HE/HIM ⸥ — well, that looks like ( DAE RYU ), that ( HISTORY STUDENT ) living over in ( WEST CAMPUS ). they’ve called austin home for ( ONE YEAR ) now, and i hear you can usually find them at ( THE LIBRARY ). people say they’re ( LOYAL ) and ( DETERMINED ), but that they also can be a bit ( VOLATILE ) and ( SKEPTICAL ). they remind me of ( SWEAT DAMPENED HAIRS AT THE NAPE OF YOUR NECK, SLEEP LADEN GRUMBLES, and THE CRACKED SPINE OF A WELL LOVED BOOK ).
TW: suicide, death, bullying.
dae ryu, nineteen, trans male, nerd.
he just finished his first year at college as a history student, working part time at the local library, but now it’s summer so he really should uhhh be looking for a job with better pay to tide him over
he’s..... young and defensive and very much still a teenager. he’s hormonal, he’s bitter and angry at the world, and more than anything he’s anxious. a very socially anxious little bun, who tries to hide it and can come off as quite cold or rude because of it
he has the Best mom in the world, whom he adores and she adores him. his dad is also kind and nice, but he’s not great at showing affection the way dae’s mom is
he used to have an older brother who was his very best friend in the whole world, and who used to protect him from monsters under his bed as a little kid, and who held his hand on the first day of school.
what dae didn’t know was that his brother was being bullied and abused by his fellow classmates, and also suffering from some serious mental health issues
dae was only 11 at the time, so he didn’t understand much of what was going on until he snuck into his big brother’s bedroom one night (a regular occurrence for when he didn’t want to sleep alone), and found him hanging.
it’s safe to say it scarred him, and that the grief his family went through was unbearable
they’re a closer family unit than ever now, though. his mom is 10/10 protecc over dae at all times.
he has some serious trust issues. he doesn’t trust fellow students, he doesn’t trust teachers, he doesn’t trust random people on the street. he feels very betrayed by people in general, because they bullied such a beautiful young man to the point of him ending his life so soon
dae has gone through a lot of bullying of his own, particularly regarding transphobia, and maybe his defensive nature is a bit justified 👀
it takes a lot of convincing to become dae’s friend, because he’ll honestly spend the first few weeks/months thinking that you’re trying to trick him or make him the butt of some joke. he tends to keep himself to himself instead, focusing on his books and his studies (and smoking his weed to unwind).
if you do prove yourself to be trustworthy, however, you’ll be left with a very clingy lil pup who wants constant attention and affection and will be loyal to you until your dying day
he has a lot of love to give, he just doesn’t know how to give it ????
oh he’s very much bisexual. guys, gals and nbs beware that he may in fact get a crush on you and then act like he hates u because that’s the rational way to protect urself..... right?????
he’s only had one previous relationship, with a girl at his high school, and he really struggled with his confidence through out the entire experience. he’s definitely blossomed more into his own since going to college where nobody remembers him as a little girl with all the pink frills.
his biggest passion in life (aside from being a nerd) is dancing. he’s danced since he was tiny, but since coming out as trans he’s found himself getting dysphoric over the idea of an audience watching him perform. he used to perform when he was young with his mom dressing him up in bows and tutus and all things pretty, and it’s just been a hard thing to shake for him
instead he practises for himself only, and keeps his hobby a secret. his favourite style is ballet, though he trains in others too.
he’s very graceful, very fit from his dancing, and he has a very small and compact frame with lean muscles and a lil bit of abs.
he recently had top surgery, which has given him a huge confidence boost in all honesty. the scars are still fresh, and he won’t be flashing his nipples to anyone any time soon, but he feels so much freedom now that his body looks the way he feels most natural ( + no more restricting binders when he’s trying to dance! )
anyways i really need a flatmate for him? someone that can put up with him bitching @ the world and being sarcastic whenever they’re around people, but then being a soft as shit annoying little pup whenever they’re alone, pouting for attention and trying to get cuddles
a potential crush that he doesn’t trust (at all) and is therefore being a bit of a bitch to would be cool also
friends. always friends.
enemies, always those too.
the ex connection is a possibility? but we’d need 2 talk about it for sure.
if you read this far you’re an actual saint and ily. please plot with me.
dededos
romaincrisis
kianamaiart
blakekathryn
stormborns
