click HERE to find #143 gifs of sobhita dhulipala in kurup (2021). all gifs were made by me from scratch. if you want to make them into gif icons, you can as long as you credit me by @’ing me and don’t make them smaller than 100px. don’t claim as your own. feel free to give this a like or reblog if you found this useful, and enjoy!
hi petals! i’ve got the next week queued up for the tour + the weather announcements for you all! the plot drop will go live on friday @ 5pm! make sure that you’re following the column so that you’re in the know. with that said, our tasks will begin in october, as we need a little extra time to prepare them!
[08.02.19] facetime call incoming… to kim hyojin! ❀
“oh, hyung! hello!” picking up suwoong’s call, his eyes slightly widen in surprise at the sudden communication. not sure about the occasion, hyojin finds himself shyly hiding his face with his free hand, the other taking the phone and trying to hold it at an angle so that it showed only part of his visage. “sorry… i wasn’t prepared!”
this time around, he’s dressed rather casually, with his circular-rimmed glasses and a recently washed purple sweater, hair a little bit tousled but still neat in the typical, organized hyojin fashion. admittedly, he didn’t expect to be called in the middle of the day, especially during practice when everyone was undoubtedly preparing for their new stage. it’s a little obvious how flustered this makes him, but he manages to quickly comb his hair with a few fingers, rub the drowsiness out of his eyes, and adjust his glasses, before slowly removing his hand with a sheepish smile.
“how are you - oh, everyone, hello~” craning his neck to spot a few familiar figures at the corner of the video frame, hyojin gives a little wave at them, smiling sweetly.
thankfully, his department worked from home on most fridays, giving him a sense of respite from thursday’s antics for the past few weeks. for the first time in a while, though, he’s been able to sleep in, something that took far more priority over the mixed feelings about this week. it’s surreal enough that they had placed first, a victory he’s sure he’ll hold close to his heart for quite some time, because it meant that his teammates had gotten what they had worked so hard to deserve. after a good night’s rest, though, it feels like a distant memory now - at the same time, it feels a little strange not waking up early in the morning to go to the practice studio. glancing at the analog clock perched next to his laptop, he realizes he probably would have already been a few hours into practice by now.
waiting for suwoong’s response, he listens attentively, nodding along and laughing gently at the other’s animated, friendly words, glad that the older male seems to be fine and getting along well with the rest of the team. thinking about it, hyojin himself wasn’t too perturbed by his elimination, having prepared for the future with wary eyes and treating every stage as if it would be his only and last one. the thought that perhaps his time had already been far overdue ever since the trios stage makes him more grateful than bittersweet or discouraged.
( but when he thinks about it more and more, sometimes he wonders if taeyang would have made it farther. maybe that spot wasn’t meant for him. )
“oh, a cake?” noting the sweetness of the coaches for bringing in something to the remaining team members, hyojin feels moved by the thoughtfulness of the mentors. they were all quite kind, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t lucky to have been part of such a well balanced and conscientious team. “they pretended to drop it, huh? oh no...” his eyes narrow in sympathy at the story, and he pushes back a yawn with bleary eyes.
patting at his cheek lightly, scolding himself for being still tired from having woken up so late in the day, he rubs at his eyes again. his body still aches from weeks of practicing dance, completely unused to the feeling, and it’s almost like a wave of sleepiness had washed over him for all the time he’s been awake today, hunched over his laptop to try and catch up on the work he had to do.
he finds himself slowly snapping out of it with suwoong’s brightness and the welcoming nature of the other members, quite touched to find that they still thought of him as a member. it’s not that he didn’t miss them, but it’s the realization that they didn’t erase him from their minds entirely to focus on the next performance that makes a warm, fuzzy feeling fill him up.
as such, when suwoong offers to “feed” him some cake through the phone, hyojin plays along affectionately despite finding it humorous, opening his mouth and pretending to take a bite, before eric manages to prevent the cake from hitting suwoong’s phone. holding back a laugh, hyojin thanks the other for his attempt, promising to make the team sweets in return.
with that, he makes sure to ask how practice is going, listening carefully and encouraging them to the best of his ability. soon enough, their time comes to an end, and hyojin gives them one last wave, flashing them a little finger heart.
“make sure to take care of your health! team royal, fighting!”
❀ GIFTS ;
[08.05.19] care packages + notes!
after having dinner with kyungsoo, hyojin made sure to send him off with a few surprises in tow - namely, four individual paper bags filled with snacks, including vitamin water, chips, nuts, and freshly made cookies in each one. they all have individual sticky notes stuck inside each bag with little messages for each member. for the coaches ( @rkcheri, @rkwon, @rkella ) are also cookies in a separate, larger bag, each one receiving two cookies packaged in a wax paper sleeve, their names written individually in hyojin’s neat handwriting on each one.
( hot pink sticky note) to suwoong hyung: @rksuwoong
suwoong hyung, hello! this is healing voice hyo who wishes you and the rest of the team the best! i know you’ll do great, and that you’ll destroy the stage with your charisma and talentㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ i’ll be watching eagerly from home to see you win and to cheer you on~ take good care of yourself and enjoy the snacks! i’m one call away always!
- hyojin
( light blue sticky note ) to soo-ah: @rkkyungsoo
hi, soo-ah! i know you just saw me not too long ago, but i hope you’re continuing to eat well and practice well~ you can do it! it’s good to practice a lot and seriously, but make sure you’re not overworking yourself so your condition is goodㅠㅠ please take good care of suwoong hyung for me as well~ fighting!
hello heejin~ i know we didn’t get to talk much over the week, but i believe in you as much as everyone else! your singing is really legendary;; like every other stage, you’ll do well on this one, too, so i hope you have lots of confidence going in! looking forward to see you performing on the big screen~
eric, hello, hello~ i won’t make it too serious or depressing, but i’m sorry i wasn’t able to keep my promiseㅠ i know you’ll continue to do well, though! i hope you’ll be able to do more stages that show your full potential and skillset. i know you’ll do well~ cheering you on always!
howdy !! since i am too tired and unmotivated to make an actual promo, could you please like and/or reblog this post if you’d like to write with a combined MCU + comic STEVE “CAPTAIN AMERICA” ROGERS? thank you !!!
h2yo performing cold water by major lazer ( ft. justin bieber & mØ ) – acoustic ver., rkstreetperformance!
— i’ll be your lifeline tonight;
“my palms...” hearing a murmur run through the small crowd that had gathered around the area, hyojin begins to furiously wipe his hands against his ripped jeans, trying not to let the sweat build up and ultimately have his guitar slip through his fingers. wow, it’s been a while since he’s been on stage.
the days of competing are long gone for him — now, instead, the most public singing he’s ever done, nevertheless competitive, was at university festivals, which were few and far between. besides, the people there were always students first and musicians second, a fact which he fears is beginning to apply to him. at the same time, he still sang at home or in the studio every day, whether it’s by using the instruments in his room or simply a capella while making dinner or in the shower.
perhaps it’s the comment by one of his friends that he should try busking that pushed him to do this, or maybe it’s because he’s wanted to try it out for quite some time now. either way, he was starting to think that this was some kind of terrible idea the moment he found a clear space in the plaza, the crowd of people slowly starting to grow to its maximum capacity during the day. although very few of them spared a glance his way, he knew that the moment he made any kind of noise, they would hear him.
he takes a deep breath. setting down some studio equipment with him that he had borrowed from seunghun, along with his acoustic guitar, the case slung across a shoulder, he starts to set up.
in order to soothe the shaking of his hands, hyojin tests the microphone while adjusting the stand, tapping it a few times and speaking, hearing his voice echo faintly. with a nod, he unpacks his guitar, putting the strap over his head and giving it a strum to make sure it was in tune. once he was satisfied, he starts to play a few notes of one of the songs that he had been rehearsing to play, starting off with a slightly shaky voice.
everybody gets high sometimes, you know
what else can we do when we're feeling low?
so take a deep breath and let it go
you shouldn't be drowning on your own
repeating the simple rift, hyojin tries to convey the song the best he could with his limited knowledge of the language, careful not to make any pronounciation mistakes despite the slight accent he had.
admittedly, the song had quite some sentimental value to him — he had heard it quite some while ago when he turned the radio late one night, a habit that he had picked up when he was missing home more than usual. the peaceful, lowkey vibes of the song had reached out to him and covered him in a blanket of comfort, and before he knew it, he had finally fallen asleep.
and if you feel you're sinking, i will jump right over
into cold, cold water for you
and although time may take us into different places
i will still be patient with you
and i hope you know
raising his voice to hit the higher notes, hyojin starts to strum more aggressively, eyes looking around at the new faces that seemed to have been attracted by his performance, feeling his ears start to heat up when he notices the shutters of some phone cameras and sees the people who had started filming.
being in a completely new setting filled with various noises of the city admittedly throws him off a bit, and while hyojin usually gets lost in his own emotions while performing, he feels himself shift into a different feeling. it’s not necessarily bad, per say, but it’s certainly not the same as the quiet complacency he felt when in his room as he performs as a song. it’s an almost hunger, the desire to be seen and understood by those who listened.
because of this, for the first time in a long time, he performs with his eyes open.
i won't let go
i'll be your lifeline tonight
i won't let go
i'll be your lifeline tonight
hitting the chorus, he starts to hold the notes, fingers running over the worn strings in a rhythmic pattern, hearing the audience start to clap along in time to the song.
he was here in seoul, after all — even while supporting his mother, he realizes that there are times where he can let a little loose. with the beginning of spring starting to creep up on him through cool breezes, hyojin finds himself finally, finally feeling at home.
patience is giving a quiet, unwavering smile to the bulky but harmless man who tries to make himself bigger and scare you off when you tell him that he’s being too rude to the convenience store cashier. patience is watching him storm away with even eyes when you don’t lift a finger to intimidate back, only watching him calmly. patience is bidding the greedy landlord a polite hello whenever he comes to visit your mother, pressuring her to pay bills that she’s always paid on time, and it is also pleasantly leading him to the door when he’s done with his monthly harassment.
kim hyojin has always been good at being patient, at playing nice -- if anything, it was ingrained in his system; it was who he was. but, no matter how kind of a person he was, there were always certain buttons that should never be pressed in his book.
“stop it.” his voice is low, but he’s bristling, body tensing up in a way that suddenly makes him seem much more threatening, as if he was a caged monster that had been freed of its restraints after years of imprisonment. there’s a burning anger in his eyes, a hint of desperation and a deep sadness bleeding through, completely eclipsing whatever gentle brightness they usually had.
although his posture remains the same in his seat across from the other male, the hand that had been resting next to his iced americano was now clenching violently, fist turning almost white. he’s been trying not to let it build up, to push it down -- but he doesn’t think doyoung has been picking up on how much his words are upsetting him.
he’s always envied how the other could act so freely, able to follow their dreams independently. but when it came to him, idoldom was just a distant speck of a childhood dream that he had never quite seemed to grow out of, no matter how much he put it down. and now, here he was, completely unrecognizable and at his wit’s end trying not to say something he’ll regret.
“why are you speaking as if it’s something anyone could do? being an idol, a singer, a musician -- isn’t it enough for you that you’re achieving your dreams? why must you dangle such a false hope over me, too?"
( outgoing cancelled message to doyoungie )
✉ i....i’m gonna try out today
✉ for mgas, i mean
✉ i’m sorry
✉ i shouldn’t have said those harsh words
( messages deleted )
feeling his teeth dig into his bottom lip, hyojin’s finger slowly engulfs the button on the side of the screen, shutting the phone off. seems like this was really it, huh?
he’s not exactly alone. alone was not the best or most technical word to describe the situation, with him in the passenger’s seat and jooyoung steering the car. perhaps ‘teetering’ was better.
kim hyojin was teetering between certainty and uncertainty, shame and shamelessness, stuck between caring too much and almost not caring at all. it was as if the ground under him had been fractured and was currently shaking under his feet, causing him to sway from side to side, unsure of where else he could possibly jump to.
( was this really the solution? was this really the only way he could look himself in the mirror? the same way that now would prevent him from being able to meet his mom’s eyes? )
even imagining her face at this point could bring him to a complete standstill, to force him to stay put in the car and tell jooyoung that it’s okay, he’ll just wait until he’s done and then they could go home. briefly, he wonders if she would be proud of him. he wonders if this is something she could brag to her friends about instead of something that would signal the end of whatever stability he had created, the source of money that would pour in whenever summer began.
( if he makes it, he knows he’ll have to resign from the firm this summer. he knows he can’t work there. what will he do then? what will she do then? )
as he stares out the window, watching the streets and shops lining familiar streets slip by, the worry starts to chip away at his resolution. things were getting better. they had been for the past few years, but he’s not sure if this is a risk he can take.
“thanks, hyung.” the thoughts haunt him and trail along his shadow, weighing down his fingers as he unbuckes his seatbelt and opens the car door once they arrive.
it haunts him every step of the way into the building, every footprint that fades behind jooyoung’s that grows more and more unconfident. he’s not sure how he makes it into the gym area without turning back around and making some kind of excuse to leave, to just be anywhere except for there. he’s like a child about to commit some kind of petty crime, but the last thing he wants to do is worry jooyoung and cause a scene, especially at such a critical time.
his smile is still sincere despite the inkling of sadness it contains when the staff take his measurements, and he follows their requests obediently and without much complaint. by the time he’s in the practice room with jooyoung, it was as if everything that had happened just a few hours earlier that morning was just a distant memory.