[ mei nagano. cisfemale. she/her. ] that’s twenty-one year old hitomi hirokawa, who’s a senior, taking up photography. around briar university, people know them to be ebullient, but some say they’re also insecure. when people think of a smile so wide that it splits your face, the first hint of spring peeking through the snow, being a disney adult but not in the weird way they think of tomi. they live in off campus house #4 and their favorite place on campus is the performing arts building. let’s hope they make the most out of their time here in briar university!
hi all! i’m riya, i use she/her pronouns and i’m in the est tz. v excited to be here
hitomi hirokawa was born in osaka japan to sho and misaki hirokawa, the twin sister of her brother kenji
in the beginning they were a simple family, her father was strict and her mother did the best that she could
kenji and hitomi showed a natural aptitude for athletics at a young age. after taking them ice skating and seeing the natural skill they had her mother decided to enroll them in lessons
this turned out to be the decision that would change their lives forever. both of the twins quickly excelled in the sport and it wasn’t long before they started competing in pairs
as rising stars they were quickly noticed by international coaches and they moved to america when they were 12 under the watchful eye of their coach
hitomi would spend the rest of her adolescent life trying to live up to the demand’s of a harsh coach who consistently belittled her self worth
she was constantly being compared to her brother and it took a toll on her mental health. the sport she had once loved was now the biggest source of upset in her life
when she sustained a career ending injury after completely tearing her acl she was almost happy she wouldn’t have to skate anymore
but suddenly both her coach and her family had left her behind, her brother was the star of everyone’s lives and she was just a sad reminder of what he used to be
not wanting to stick around and bring everyone down she decided to enroll in college despite having graduated high school online and on the road
getting into briar was a dream and she decided to take photography and explore another passion she had besides skating
despite the hardship hitomi tried her best to remain the quirky and cheerful person she’d always been
it was easy for her to blossom into a better version of herself out from under the thumb of her parents or her former coach
she became someone who was cheerful, positive, and tenacious on the surface but inside she was still dealing with losing her sense of purpose and repairing her self image after years of battery
now she’s trying to find a new passion and move on with her life despite everything that she’s lost.
hitomi hirokawa was undeniably and irrevocably drunk. her small frame was draped listlessly over a nearby hay bale she’d somehow managed to seek out and her dslr camera weighed on her neck giving her the appearance of one of those water bobbing wooden birds. she groaned head drooping in between her knees and pulled back up, eyes shining and face flushed red. for a second the sound of the world dropped out into a dull roar as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the shabby wooden wall behind her. she frowned pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes. “this is totally not on trend. i feel like an extra in a jack harlow music video but way less cool. just leave me here to die. i’ll become a tree, i’ll be a local legend.” // @briaruniversity
“i’m so going to regret this,” mumbled leticia under her breath, shaking her head at the very thought. yet she had a sweet tooth that could not be ignored. that was how she found herself at the food stands. so far she had grabbed some sour patch kids, milk duds and she was was waiting on pop corn. she reached for the container that was being handed over, the smell wafting up. she knew her mother would have killed her to see her eating such junk,” would it be too much to put m&m’s in this?” her gaze turned to the person beside her, not even knowing why she was asking since she was going to end up doing it anyway. ( @briaruniversity)
the night was too balmy to be erring into autumn and hitomi felt stifled in her electric pink crotcheted sweater. such was the cost of loving cute clothes, she thought miserably, wishing she’d worn an undershirt, though it wouldn’t be the first time the residents of briar had seen her undressed. her nude, self-reflective photo series which she still maintained deserved a better grade than it got still lived on. “oh my god not at all” she beamed leaning in towards the pile of snacks, eye’s sparkling. “if all you have in your popcorn is butter that is supremely boring and i wish you a better life. personally i like the weird combos, sour skittles do it for me.”
“dude!” ivy had her eyes wide, eyebrows furrowed in the direction of her roommate. you would think that she’d be used to it by now, the camera flashing and the random need for photos. but was she though? absolutely not, she probably never would be. “you can’t - wait, the front cover? shut up, you have to let me see it first!” and as soon as she saw it, it was an immediate no. “no no, take it again.”
“sorry ive!” she flinched as her roommate exclaimed. tomi’s antics around the house were fairly commonplace by now. she felt bad sometimes but her apologies lacked any real sincerity, she was a journalist, she needed the truth. she peeked over her camera sheepishly. “i figured what better to show the truth of living at briar than my own house y’know?”
a click of a camera not expected nor the unfamiliar voice that came with it … sweat a second skin while digits gripped a water bottle in the name of bringing salvation to a dry mouth : the brunette had caught him off guard . ❛ sure . . knock yourself out . . ❜ hues bouncing between her and the captured image of himself . . a few seconds passing before he speaks again . ❛ though i won’t lie . . you could do a bit better … . ❜ a toothless smile taking plant on lips . ❛ all these athletes ?? ❜ hues signal to the bodies around them , ❛ an action shot would be a sick cover page . ❜
hitomi laughed musically as her camera clicked again, shutter snapping closed and open. her cheeks were pink as the air cooled. compared to the presence in front of her she was a vibrant streak of color against his blacks or the beiges of the briar campus. her head tilted with curiosity. “don’t you think briar has had enough of athlete hero worship? not that there’s anything wrong with them but we kind of do that all the time. i’m going for candid, unfiltered stuff here.”
tate jumped at the opportunity to help her friend, hitomi, with, well - anything.
dropping the pose, she narrowed her eyes to focus down at the camera screen. tate was no photographer, but the picture looked good to her. “what do you mean? i think it looks great.” tate reassured, “we can take some more if you’d like? i got nothing better to do.” waiting for hitomi’s answer, tate resumed her previous pose. “also, what exactly do the emus need freed from?”
hitomi frowned at the camera, still clearly dissatisfied with the picture. “this issue is supposed to be about the lives of students at briar. it’s about viewing people as individuals. it’s about showing your unique color y’know?” she stepped back into place and snapped a couple more photos. “oh i don’t know? the oppressive heat of the australian outback maybe? i think we should let them be an invasive species, as a treat!”
“the brilliant minds of our generation right there,” emi murmured with a deadpan expression on her face as she pointed towards the group of males – she figured they were athletes from her school because of their size – shotgunning together right outside the diner she usually worked at, but thankfully, today was her day off. “why can’t they just drink beer the regular way?” she grumbled.
@briaruniversity
hitomi laughed gauging emi’s expression for a moment. rochelle’s was busy tonight and the buzz of humanity energized the room. she craned her neck over their booth to see the group of hulking athletes, probably hockey players, shotgunning on the sidewalk. “god,” she said clasping her hands together, “the men you put on earth to hunt are giving themselves alcohol poisoning.”
“say cheese!” hitomi said from behind the lens of a dslr camera. she was trying to take pictures for the newsprint but it was going about as swimmingly as the titanic as her skills with a camera were dismal. she was hard to miss in a pair of lime checked pants and a shirt that said ‘free the emus.’ she pouted staring down at the picture she’d taken. “probably not my best work but you don’t mind being the cover page right?” she flashed the image at her subject. // @briaruniversity
