natus ex igne;

Naomi Hall, 23, professional dancer Power Ranger from Angel Grove, California. ''In this world of armchair bloggers who created a generation of critics instead of leaders, I'm actually doing something. Right here, right now. For the city.''

[naomihall]

militarytechie:

When you live in one place for any extended period of time, you tend to lose the spark that newcomers often see in a place. That’s the way he was in his own hometown. He knew the place was special but he didn’t see the same spark in it that he used to. Maybe it was because he explored and uncovered all that there was to explore and uncover. Maybe it was some other reason. Whatever the reason, he could understand where Naomi was coming from with her mindset. “That’ll usually do it to you. I’m definitely a lowkey kind of guy, no doubt about it.”

Naomi nodded, thinking about his words for a moment. Sometimes you encounter a stranger and they make you think about you own life aspirations. She didn’t consider herself too much of a low/high key kind of a girl, but she knew she definitely wanted more out of it, outside of Angel Grove. It must’ve been lovely to be completely settled somewhere and not desire anything beyond it. ‘’Well, it was nice to meet you, Barrett.’’ She said, finishing her own coffee and standing up straight from her seat. ‘’I guess I’ll see you around here. Enjoy your beverage.’’

[naomihall]

militarytechie:

Sometimes, he had to remember that he had been in Angel Grove for a good long while now. It wasn’t like he was just stationed here a month or two ago. Oh no. He’d been here for years. Time just seemed to move so smoothly, he forgot that this place was, more or less, his permanent residence. The address he had now was what he put on all his forms and legal documents. “I definitely prefer it here to all the other places I’ve been. It’s quiet enough for me to be able to get my work done but lively enough for me to have fun whenever I wanna kick back and enjoy myself.”

Naomi loved hearing people’s impressions of Angel Grove since she was always the one who didn’t find it particularly exciting, amusing or anything else for that matter. It was just a small town -- lovely, it was a given -- somewhere in the USA and she always felt like she wanted to strive for something greater than that. But lovely was all that the town was and not all Naomi Hall wanted to be in life. ‘’Got it. That’s nice, I mean especially if you’re a lowkey kind of a guy. I can’t say I’m highkey in any way, but perhaps it’s different for me considering I’ve lived here all my life.’’ She shrugged with a small smile.

[naomihall]

jaymillers:

In all honesty, Jay hadn’t used the public transportation in Angel Grove much. And his hometown is so small and irrelevant that there was none. The most he had done was take a bus to California, and after that, he mostly walked everywhere. It wasn’t the easiest when he had to go grocery shopping, but once he bought a truck, that was taken care of, too. Plus, he liked the idea of having as small of a carbon footprint as possible, which meant he walked to most places. Thankfully, in Angel Grove, that wasn’t difficult. Naomi, however, seemed to have some experience with it and he laughed at her vivid descriptions. “Do you really enjoy public transportation that much, or is there some other reason why you don’t drive?,” other than the fact that Angel Grove was notorious for its terrible drivers. “Yeah, can’t you tell already?,” Jay smirked and raised his arms in the air as if it should have been obvious by now.

He sat down on the floor as the exhaustion finally caught up with him, and listened to Naomi’s words. Again, he had no clue what it was like for dancers in town, so he took her word, nodding along. “But the important part is that you have where to dance so maybe just focus on that?,” he offered and shrugged his shoulders. Finding that silver lining and embracing it wasn’t always the easiest thing to do, but it was still worth mentioning. At her question, Jay laughed and shook his head; he pressed his palms on the floor behind him, leaning back against his arms. “Yeah, you’ve got that right, there’s always something even when it doesn’t seem like there is. I guess it’s what makes life fun, right?”

Naomi shrugged. ‘’I don’t know, do I?” She wiggled her eyebrows playfully at his question, a little amused by the fact that he even asked something of the sort. She couldn’t tell if he was seriously asking or joking about it, but it didn’t matter because for the first time in a while, she was really enjoying a conversation with a person she didn’t know. And talking about something as irrelevant as public transportation was -- at least in the grand scheme of things -- made her feel at ease considering everything that was currently happening in her life. ‘’Hmmm,’’ She squinted her eyes at him, a smile still lingering in the corners of her lips as she pretended to make an estimate of his friendliness levels. ‘’I guess I might need a little more time to conclude that. You’re doing a good job so far, though.’’ Naomi said in an encouraging manner.

She nodded with a small sigh. ‘’You’re right, actually. But wait, what about you? How’s business for a mechanic in Angel Grove?” Something told her it was just fine, since the town -- despite being small -- was also swarming with unusual accidents and it was something the citizens were already used to, no one even paid that much attention. Naomi always thought of it as that one weird thing every town had. Nothing too out of the ordinary, yet great of a story to tell to newcomers. ‘’Some wouldn’t call it fun I think, but something tells me you’re just that ‘glass is half full’ kind of a guy, aren’t you?”

[naomihall]

jaymillers:

With Naomi taking a seat on the bench, Jay figured he could stretch out and call it a night. He did manage to do most of what he planned for the evening so if he cut it a series short there was no major harm done, right? Deciding all on his own that, yes, it was so, he leaned down, touching the floor with his hands, the muscles in his thighs tingling with delight. “You’re good,” he glanced at her with a smile from this ridiculous position he had taken. He could feel the blood rush to his head and he assumed he was getting more red in the face by the moment, so he straightened up and nodded his head. The mechanic. Wasn’t what he thought people would know him as, but it beat being known as a fisherman by a long mile. “Technically, a mechanic, ‘cause there’s a few of us at the garage, but I’m the friendliest one,” he coupled the words with a playful wink and repeated the exercise once more. 

Naomi proceeded to tell him about how she preferred later nights at the gym, as well, and suddenly Jay felt a bit like she was calling him out on watching their routines or whatever they were called. “If you mean me, I never mean to stare and I never objectify, it’s just… it’s fascinating what you all do here,” he attempted to justify himself, wondering if Naomi was talking about him specifically or just men at the gym in general. “You got a lot of worries on your mind, huh?”

Realizing how she phrased it, Naomi smiled, looking at her feet and then back at him, who was now seemingly stretching. ‘’I mean, truth be told, a mechanic or the mechanic, not much difference if you ask me, I would hardly put those skills to the test considering how I don’t drive at all. I’m a public transportation kind of a gal. Nothing better than that glorious bumping of the the vehicle at every hole in the road and inevitably catching every single red light there ever was.’’ She chuckled. ‘’Who would ever choose their personal means of transportation over that, come on now,’’ She waved him off in a joking manner. ‘’The friendliest one?” Her eyebrows furrowed in curiosity as she watched him in his intentions. She had never really heard anyone refer to themselves like that, so she was instantly interested to hear what he had to say.

‘’Oh no no no,’’ Naomi shook her head as she rushed to reassure him that this was not what she originally meant with her comment. ‘’I didn’t mean it like that. I meant just like, I really get it when people take a break from their exercises and whatnot to stand by and watch for a bit. I mean, I would, too,’’ She shrugged. ‘’The routines are designed to attract attention, it’s understandable. It’s more of like, an internal issue, you know? You see all of these different dance studios outside of Angel Grove and I don’t have the funds to do something like that here, but I think my dancers really understand it in the long run.’’ She explained and leaned in against the wall, bringing her knee up to tie her shoelaces. At his question, she wanted to tell him how he had no idea, but she was sure that would spark his curiosity and she wasn’t supposed to talk about things. Zordon and Alpha made that very clear. ‘’I mean, yes, not gonna lie, but don’t we all?” She responded a little diplomatically. ‘’There’s always something someone is going through. I bet you have your own fair share of that, right?” Naomi asked and paused what she was doing, as she looked up at him with a smile.

[naomihall]

militarytechie:

“Oh, the fancy stuff. I don’t usually have anything too fancy. I only get that stuff for special occasions.” He liked to keep things basic when it came to his drinks. He had a couple of bags of holiday-themed coffee but that was about it. It wasn’t anything to extensive. “Oh, I’ve been in Angel Grove for about three years now. I got stationed here to do my job and I’ve been here ever since.”

‘’Three years, wow.’’ Naomi nodded, as if a little surprised. In fact, she was perhaps a little surprised in the first place considering the fact that she felt like she knew a lot of people in Angel Grove and new faces were easily spotted in her opinion. At least if they were among her age group. But beyond it, too. ‘’Do you like it here?’’ She was genuinely curious to hear what people who were not there their whole lives had to say. She had a wanderlust in her that she never had to act upon and she liked hearing stories. ‘’Or do you prefer some other place where you were previously stationed?”

[naomihall]

dealingandhealing:

Bailey chuckled and shook his head as he listened to the women’s words. “It sounds like something straight out of a comic book,” Bailey agreed as he looked at the women. “But I’m sure it’ll finally sink in later.” Bailey just hoped it was before the first attack. “Have you been training for long?” Bailey asked curiously.

‘’Does it, really?” Naomi asked. ‘’I’ve never been much of a comic books person. I wouldn’t know.’’ She explained further, with a casual shrug of her shoulders. In fact, come to think of it, she really didn’t have that much of a hard time coming to terms that all of this -- the Nexus, the destiny, Rangers -- was real. Yes, it was out-of-this-word, quite literally at that, but never way too incomprehensible. Once Naomi learned about it all, a lot of pieces came together to form a picture that she was missing for such a long time, and it explained a number of feelings she was having in regards to Angel Grove and her unusual anxiety of leaving it. ‘’I haven’t actually started,’’ Naomi admitted. ‘’I’ve been sort of, lurking, exploring, meeting and greeting people, but never really started on the combat stuff. Or sparring stuff. I don’t have any experience and I don’t know where I’m supposed to be or what to do... I’m a dancer, this whole thing is very new to me.’’

[naomihall]

dealingandhealing:

“Is it bad that I’m kind of nervous about all of this?” Bailey thought he was simply going to be opening a Dojo and working at the hospital here…But his responsibilities had been shifted somewhat. Still, Bailey was determined to have a happy and successful life. Even if he had to kick some ass along the way.

“Are you ever nervous?” Bailey asked. 

‘’Are you kidding?” Naomi shot back a smile as she started to stretch before her work out session. ‘’I’d be worried if you were not nervous.’’ She remarked and decided to warm up the quads first. She held the outside foot with her outside hand and lifted the foot up toward her rear end, keeping her thighs and knees together. ‘’It’s weird, and it sounds like a fantasy, yeah, but... I’m willing to take that chance as opposed to all the other crap that goes on in the world.’’ She shrugged.

[naomihall]

jaymillers:

Being able to laugh at your own expense and crack jokes about yourself was one of the best qualities in people, at least in Jay’s opinion, and he instantly liked Naomi more because she seemed to have it, too. People who took themselves too seriously were often too difficult to handle, and as someone who definitely didn’t do that, Jay appreciated seeing it in others, too. “I’m glad I didn’t offend you by laughing, then.” With a smile on his face, he listened to what she was saying about dancing in heels and some movement with it, and seeing how she was the expert he wouldn’t question it. “Yeah, I think you’ve got some more work to do before you can teach it to others,” he teased playfully, alluding to what just happened, and shrugged his shoulders when she commented on his heroics, kind of. “To tell you the truth, you scared the crap out of me falling down like that,” just remembering it he felt another surge of worry pass through him. “Just a long day at work. And, I kinda like it when there’s not many others around here.”

Naomi chuckled with a soft shake of her head. ‘’I’m not that easily offended,’’ She remarked and waved him off. She really had a high amount of tolerance for people in general; she had the experience of dealing with many different personalities and considering most of her dancers were girls, there needed to be a person with nerves of steel to handle all the potential bickering. Girls could be nasty. That was one of the reasons she didn’t take a lot of things personally or to heart, and not many things were able to get to her. Perhaps it was because she always tried to see the bigger picture in everything, to keep herself grounded and objective as much as it was humanly possible -- that was what her parents always taught her. ‘’I think you’re right,’’ She said with a smile, as she took a seat on the bench and started removing her ankle warmers.

At his comment about scaring him, she looked up, a little surprised, but in a positive way. ‘’I’m sorry -- I guess? I mean, thank you.’’ A small smile was still lingering on her lips, even though her own question sounded a little unsure. The worry he seemed to have been exhibiting was rare in general, let alone with it came down to people you didn’t really know that well. ‘’You’re the mechanic, right?’’ She wasn’t sure if they ever touched that topic in their superficial, short conversations, but Naomi recalled that she might have overheard him discuss something like that with someone at the gym. ‘’Oh hey, really?” Her eyes lit up in mutual understanding. ‘’I’m the same. Especially since not everyone really feels comfortable dancing when like 20 guys are able to stare at their butts.’’ She shrugged with a smile. ‘’Most of them get used to it, but I know what you’re saying. It’s so----- nice when it’s quiet around here. I can be the one with my thoughts and all that jazz. Since you know, I’m not exactly the diary type of a gal.’’ Naomi explained.

[naomihall]

ranbirsback:

“Something like that.” Second, actually, but the first day he’d been in a confused daze, unable to even register half of what was going on. “Thanks. Ranbir,” he replied as he slipped out into the hall after her. After a silence, he finally spoke up. “You’re another…. power ranger?” 

‘’Oh--’’ Naomi expressed as if she didn’t expect her assumption to actually be the correct one. ‘’Well then, welcome aboard, I guess...?” She did sound unsure, mostly because she wasn’t the one to welcome anyone aboard so far. She still felt like a newcomer herself (apart from the fact that they all seemed to have been newcomers, really) and this was a whole new world. ‘’I mean.. I’m hoping to become one.’’ She smiled at Ranbir with a nod. Naomi hasn’t really struggled to accept the fact that there was a world beyond what they’ve known so far, she felt like she found a purpose she was looking for her whole life. Her personal insecurities were a different story. ‘’You from Angel Grove? How are you handling all of this so far?”

[naomihall]

auroraevelynwest:

Aurora felt harsh words rising in her throat like bile, stinging behind her lips to be let out, though she was silent for a moment or two after Naomi spoke so that she could pick and choose the words she’d string together in response. Naomi’s clear disinterest in the conversation was more than irritating, and Rory wondered angrily how her insults seemed to do nothing more than roll of the back of the other. Perhaps that was why Aurora had always disliked her–Naomi had always been the sole person that hadn’t fallen prey to her overly exuberant charm and the only person she never seemed to reach with her passive aggressive comments. That thought in mind, Rory couldn’t stop the words that came spilling out next, despite her efforts to reign them in. She’d never had much of a filter, but that’d never mattered when she made effort to befriend everyone around her. 

“I might be a washed up barbie, but at least I have an actual reason for not leaving Angel Grove behind after high school.” Her words were quick and laced with disdain, her fingers itching at her sides although it was more likely that Aurora would tell Naomi that she was right than escalate the interaction physically. “You know the difference between me and you, Naomi Hall? I still have a chance to leave, but you’re going to be Angel Grove trailer trash until the day they put you in the ground.” She regretted the insult immediately after it pressed past her lips, but she wouldn’t apologize. Naomi Hall ticked a nerve in her that she wasn’t aware she still had and rather than offering an I’m sorry, she continued. “You tried to leave more than once, didn’t you? I’m glad that you found the Vortex, honestly, because it’s the closest you’ll ever get to having real purpose in life apart from your half-rate dance classes.” 

She snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “You know, you’re always trying to put me down for having been a cheerleader in high school, but maybe if you’d been on the squad, you’d have decent enough moves to make sure the three students you actually have would be getting their moneys worth.” 

Be more mature than the one provoking you. It was a simple thought that her parents instilled in her ever since she was very young. Of course, Naomi always thought how this was easier said than done. Standing with Aurora then and there, she could almost see herself grabbing her by the hair and pushing her to the ground. But Naomi had never really done any of that. She was not the type to get into physical altercations, she channeled a lot of that type of a frustration into dancing. It was her outlet, for many things. That was why her records were almost impeccable, apart from that one detention when she ended up covering for a friend of hers who thought it was funny to embarrass a guy who hurt her by drawing a penis on his locker and adding a mustache and a name. That friend, however, would have been in a lot more trouble because of strict parents, so Naomi took the blame. And she never really thought twice about it.

And right when she wanted to resort to something even worse -- Naomi had a whole damn list of things to say to Aurora West -- the words never really found their way out. She was standing there and suddenly she was reminded just how bad the ‘mean girls’ could be. Aurora was aiming to hurt, and she was doing a fine damn job. You know the difference between me and you, Naomi Hall? I still have a chance to leave, but you’re going to be Angel Grove trailer trash until the day they put you in the ground. Naomi blinked a few times, sincerely dumbfounded how evil this girl seemed to have been, and she wanted to slap herself for almost forgetting. The dancer did not feel hurt per se, but it was the feeling of inferiority that Aurora had no trouble bestowing upon her that got to her. It was that same old feeling that got her the reputation of a popular girl, that allowed her to feel entitled and make everyone else feel like absolute failure. It was the ability to make her feel smaller and unworthy.

‘’You know what, West?’’ She trailed off as she picked up the duffel bag from the ground and moved towards the blonde. ‘’Thank you, sincerely,’’ Naomi nodded, looking her in the eye. ‘’Thank you for reminding me just how disgusting your kind is. People like you are what’s wrong with this world. Good luck in here, you’re honestly going to need it.’’ Naomi finished off, feeling bad that she wasted even those 10 minutes just engaging in a conversation with her. She moved past her with an obvious unfriendly bump against the girl’s shoulder. She was certain of one thing, alright. She was going to become a Power Ranger and she was going to be better than whatever Aurora West described her as. She was going to excel.

[naomihall]

auroraevelynwest:

If there was one thing she had to single out in Naomi that she couldn’t stand about the other girl,it’d be her condescending nature and the way she always succeeded at making Rory feel stupider than she was. She couldn’t help it, the way her temper flared up when it was obvious Naomi was trying to deliberately provoke her. She remembered being able to handle her irritation with Naomi much better in high school than she felt she was now, perhaps because she’ actually had friends and people to rally behind her in her distaste. But this wasn’t high school, she reminded herself, her fingers curling at her sides. 

“Why are you such an as…An absolutely retched person?” She interchanged the word she was going to use with an entirely different term, not wanting to give the Hall girl the satisfaction of urging vulgarity out of her. Aurora, in all of her life, had never been a fan of swearing, but like any other human being, she occasionally slipped. She just wasn’t going to do it around Naomi, she wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. Or…she’d try not to, at least. 

“Honestly,” And it was then that Aurora felt the word vomit bubbling in her throat. How dare Naomi act like she was the scum of the earth when she’d been nothing but pleasant and welcoming her entire high school career? She tried to convince herself that her crop of former friends was evidence enough that she’d been a great person and that Naomi was full of shit with her holier than thou act. 

“How does someone so negative and rude end up worthy of…this?”

‘’I’m... I’m retched?” Naomi literally had to stop herself from bursting out in a fit of laughter. And it wasn’t even the forced kind -- the one you just magically create whenever you want to embarrass the other person -- no, this was a genuine laughter. She couldn’t believe that Aurora was still that girl. ‘’Is that like, the best you’ve got? And here I thought you were the queen bee or however you wanted to see yourself,’’ The dancer shrugged in faux disappointment, tapping the one button she knew how to use out of all the technology they have encountered at the Nexus. This one was to turn the music off completely, since she was done for the night. ‘’How the mighty have fallen, but you know...’’ She remarked in a laid back manner, as if she were just talking about the weather. ‘’Rah-rah, go Tigers!” Naomi referred to the Angel Grove High’s mascot, the way cheerleaders would.

By calling her negative and rude, Naomi just shot her a look of pity. Most of that one look was fake though -- she knew that Aurora had a very nice way of pushing her buttons where it hurt the most, and Naomi wasn’t even sure the blonde knew that. And she’d be damned if she showed it to her in any way. But self-confidence was something she had struggled with throughout her life, since she was no stranger to bullying because of her Dads and the first place she found herself was dancing, and she grasped to it like she was grasping for dear life, at least most of the time. ‘’I don’t know, really, you tell me,’’ Naomi started to pack her duffel bag. ‘’How does a washed up Barbie end up worthy of this?” She spat her words right back at her.

[naomihall]

bulletproof-ranger:

Skirting around the corners, avoiding the other rangers-to-be by staying out of their way and watching from a distance, Naomi Hall was one of the few he liked most to observe. Not (only) because she was beautiful, that she was, but because there was something about her, a kind of freedom of spirit Erin seldom saw in others. He knew her from his job, which he was sure she did not know him. He had been a little surprised to see her in the Nexus but so far every ranger candidate was odder than the previous. 

Some times he watched her dance, when she thought no one was looking and sure that was probably a little creepy and he probably should stop doing it, but he just liked to watch her dance, it wasn’t all that odd, was it? So as usual he leaned against a darker corner, watching her let loose felt sort of relaxing. Every time he practiced he was focused, tense, because he had to, because he had to win. But she wasn’t competing against anyone, certainly there was something nicer to it. Lost in thought, watching Naomi from his corner, the moment she finishes he absently claps before realizing what he’s done. 

There was a certain blissful moment when the music stopped -- every single time. Her muscles would relax but still feel the familiar tingle from the routine she had just done. It’s that feeling of accomplishment after every choreography, perhaps short-lived, but it was almost like a drug and kept her roped in and coming back for more and more. That was one of the reasons she liked dancing so much, she was able to use all of her body but also her mind -- her mind traveled beyond the reality realm, the rhythm carried her away with every beat and it was something Naomi could not have compared to anything else in the world. She wondered if other people felt the same about something they found passionate in their lives. And then felt a little sorry for all of those who had no such thing.

The clap brought her back to reality and she turned around, a little stunned that someone was even in the room. Naomi thought he looked familiar, but couldn’t quite grasp where did she know him from. ‘’Oh, hey, hi--’’ She said a little awkwardly, trying not to sound like she was completely surprised to see someone else in a Nexus full of other potential Rangers. ‘’How long were you-- I mean, I guess I’m glad you liked it?” Naomi offered with a smile. She didn’t feel weird about it at all, she was used to eyes on her every time she would perform or teach, it was just that she was not aware this time around.

[naomihall]

jaymillers:

Relief washed over Jay like a tidal wave when Naomi looked at him and got back to her feet. Even more so when she laughed at what just happened; with the panic attack averted and the adrenaline still rushing through his body, he burst into laughter, at first slow and shy, but growing in volume after a few moments. He was laughing at what happened as much as he was laughing at his own reaction. “That, yeah, that was a little bit embarrassing,” the laughter had finally started to quiet down and he could muster the words between two breaths of it. “You might wanna opt for something that’ll give you more balance, I think this -” he gestured at her shoes, the height of those heels making him dizzy, “- might have caused your downfall,” he joked, running a hand through his hair, taking one step back so he could give her room to breathe. 

‘’It’s totally fine, you can laugh, I’d laugh, too if I were you,’’ Naomi confirmed with a nod as she was back on her feet. Speaking of, she glanced down at the heels she was wearing and his remark on those. ‘’To be perfectly honest, that makes sense, but there’s this whole movement my dancers want to get into and I feel kind of bad for declining that. That’s why I wanna stay behind and get better at this thing myself, so I can actually teach someone without breaking my nose or something.’’ She explained further, a bottle of water in her hands. ‘’But hey --- thanks for jumping in, anyway, that was nice of you.’’ She nodded with a lingering smile, checking her phone to see the time. ‘’How come you’re here at this hour, though?’’

[naomihall]

ranbirsback:

“Nexus.” His reply was immediate, but after a pause, he squinted a little at her. “I think I can find my way out of his room.” Unless it was one of those where the room slammed closed and he was locked in there.Considering this place, he wouldn’t be surprised if that did happen. He left his hand on the door, just to be safe.

‘’Wait, is this your first time here, then?” Naomi asked with a smile still lingering on her lips. Grabbing a towel, she placed it around her neck and the bottle of water was now in her hand, she pointed towards the door. ‘’Same way you got in here, through the vortex.’’ She explained and opened the door for them to exit the room. ‘’Come on, I’ll show you.’’ She suggested, stepping into the neon light of the hallway. ‘’By the way, I’m Naomi.’’

[naomihall]

jaymillers:

It was getting late, but Jay couldn’t feel it, still wired from that last coffee he had a few hours ago. And, naturally, he got a high from working out. His body occasionally protested when he’d lift more than was his usual weight, but it was a good kind of protest. A nice hot-and-cold shower to get his blood flowing to all the sore muscles and he’d be good to go the following day. So, he pushed through it all, moving from one piece of equipment to another. Given the hour of the night, the gym was empty but for him and the Hall girl, the dance instructor. She was in her corner of the gym, doing her thing - this time without a class watching her in awe and trying to repeat what she was doing - and Jay would occasionally look her way during his breaks and admire the flexibility and fluidity with which she moved.

He was just finishing up his bench press exercise, sitting up and wiping the sweat off his face with a towel, his look instantly moving to Naomi to see what she was doing now. He reached for his bottle of water and poured about a third of it down his throat, when Naomi’s confident steps faltered and in a ridiculous motion - like a string puppet that was cut free of the strings mid-spin - she crumbled to the ground face first. Jay nearly choked, half in the urge to yell at her to watch out - as if someone was attacking her and not her own body failing her - and half in the urge to chuckle. Coughing out the water that got stuck in his throat between those two urges, Jay stood up and stayed quiet, waiting for her to bounce back. Moments ticked away and when that didn’t happen, he rushed over to her, her face hidden by her hair, worried that something bad actually happened and that it wasn’t all an accident. “Hey, hey, you okay?,” his voice gave away the worry he felt as he crouched beside her, trying to remember what was the right thing to do in case she was having a seizure or if she had fainted.

The palms of her hands seemed to have been tingling slightly -- and not in a good way. She had experienced this countless times before, usually it’s either your hands or knees, and in dancing -- this was something you just needed to learn to deal with. Naomi was not sure why, but the way she fell, almost like a complete rookie, and the expression she had on her face in that exact moment, it all summed up for a ridiculously funny situation and she was pretty sure that she would have laughed at someone else if they went through the same ordeal. In addition, she was also slowly branching out into the new dance trend -- dancing in heels -- and she admired the girls who were able to perform all of the things they did (since she could hardly walk in those to begin with). But some of her girls presented the idea and she was willing to give it a try, although she was bound to deal with falls just like this one.

It took her a second or two to actually snap back to reality, and mostly because she was breathless from the session itself. So she was a bit surprised to see that someone else was there with her. Looking up, she removed the now-loose hair out of her face as she recognized one of the guys who frequented the gym -- Jay, she believed. ‘’Oh hey,’’ She said, unable to help the loud chuckle that escaped her. ‘’That was just entirely humiliating, wasn’t it? I failed so bad,’’ She said through the laughter as she picked herself up from the floor with a little help from Jay. He looked worried so she rushed to explain that there was no need for that. ‘’I’m okay though -- these things will happen. My first place trophy from the Revolution dance competition will most certainly shame me when I go back home tonight.’’ She smiled with a defeated shrug.

[naomihall]

navymarshall:

Alex tried her hardest not to hug the punching bag that dangled before her and just fall asleep holding it. Over the course of a week she’d been pulled into countless jobs that seemed to end in disaster. She’d almost been arrested twice and if it wasn’t for the stupidity of some of her colleagues who decided it was better to run then find a nice hiding spot, but that meant she had lost countless hours of sleep. 

Naomi was just finishing her cardio, when she noticed the girl pushing the punching bag in such a weak manner that she seemed like she was caressing it instead. Her attention was definitely piqued. She stopped the machine and headed over to the girl. ‘’Need some help there?”

[naomihall]

auroraevelynwest:

Aurora scoffed, feeling a familiar fire rising in her that she’d hadn’t felt since high school. It was an oddly satisfying feeling, the rage bubbling inside of her, fueled by Naomi’s words. Who would’ve thought that her intense dislike of Naomi Hall would remind her of who she’d been, how she’d been before the death of her parents. That thought in tow, Aurora lifted her chin, crossing her arms over her chest while eyeing the other young woman with the same look she shot at Max whenever he wasn’t behaving. That’s all Naomi was, Aurora tried to remind herself, lest she lash out at the girl’s obnoxious words–a petulant child. 

“Wow, Naomi.” And that’s when it crept back into her. The sugar-laced tone that she’d used to mask her aggression all throughout adolescence in order to keep the Angel Grove’s Sweetheart chip on her shoulder. “You really haven’t changed a bit since high school, have you? That’s genuinely…Impressive. Good for you.”

She and Naomi couldn’t have been more of polar opposites in high school or the rest of their lives, for that matter. Aurora clearly, vividly remembered complaining about that very fact to nearly everyone she ran with, only feeling mild regret and sympathy when her group of friends made a point to let Naomi know she didn’t quite fit in with any clique at Angel Grove High School. But astonishingly, it always seemed that Naomi couldn’t have cared less. Back then, Aurora remembered being momentarily impressed with how the other held her ground and ignored all the politics of high school, of how she didn’t care whether or not people at AGHS like her. That’d always been Rory’s biggest downfall, before the crippling anxiety and depression hit. She’d always cared too much about how people saw her, reacted to her, and whether or not they liked her. For the most part, she was well liked, but not by Naomi–that’d been frustrating at first, infuriating later on. 

“I still see that class is a guiding force in your life.” A quick pause, while she processed the fleeting thought of whether that’d been too bitchy, but decided it wasn’t. Tanning salon. Hmpf. She’s the bitch, not me. 

“I know where the tanning salon is, but my color’s nature made. I get out, you know? Do things. In the sun. With people that enjoy being around me.” True, maybe five years ago, whereas now the most sun she saw was through the glass window front of the Cafe or on her treks up to the Nexus. Naomi didn’t need to know that, however.

And the moment she said it, Naomi regretted it. Not because she felt like it was rude to behave like that with Aurora, or anyone for that matter, but because she knew this was going to spark the blonde’s interest and that Naomi was going to have to indulge even further into this brainwashed Barbie’s head. There was one overarching sentiment that Naomi had felt in regards to Aurora -- and that was that her high school foe was incredibly and beyond any doubt, shallow.

She welcomed the girl’s words without a flinch. She just didn’t see the point. Whatever Aurora was about to fire at her, Naomi was pretty sure she wouldn’t care. She couldn’t help it as her mind traveled to senior year, when the cheerleaders were posing for the yearbook photos. They took half of the gym, or perhaps even more, and closed it off to anyone regardless of their schedule. They stole Naomi’s dance club session and she was not having it, not in the slightest. Her reasons were not reasons at all, just plain vanity and the desire to keep up the reputation and popularity. Both of which could not have been lower on Naomi’s list of priorities. When she brought this issue up to principal Higgings, he had a generic excuse, obviously showing his support for something that was ~more important than a dance club. And Naomi was furious over that decision going unpunished.

Having remembered that, her jaw clenched. It was just one in a chain of examples where the popular girls had everything they wished for. ‘’Right,’’ Naomi nodded, her face rather expressionless. ‘’You do realize we’re in space, right? All this light around you is artificial. I’ll spell it out of you need it, but something tells me you’re very well acquainted with artificial, alright.’’ Naomi spat right back out. ‘’Being around here doesn’t really count as being in the sun, especially not with the people who enjoy your... --- presence.’’