#writing: thread

[raisedpurearch]

@independentcho​ sent : cho’s brows pinch together the longer she thinks about this whole arrangement. it seems pointless, really— all extra frills and an added layer of secrecy for a mission that /should/ be simple and sweet.

straight to the point.

she really ought to talk to moody about this, and try to get him to enforce limits for what’s considered /appropriate/, because god /forbid/ someone gets shackled up with a guy like mundungus fletcher.

the door knob turns, then, and cho swivels toward the opening as she glances at the clock. right on time. “ um, hi, ” she calls out, straightening. “you must be my partner.”

HI, YOU MUST BE MY PARTNER    /     ALWAYS ACCEPTING

          GREAT, PANSY THINKS as she’s greeted by the sight of Cho Chang waiting expectantly in the tiny room where she’s supposed to meet her new partner. Somewhere in the high heavens, whoever god is watching must be smirking down upon them both, knowing that they have just been mired together in a truly awkward situation. “Hi,” Pansy returns, keeping a painfully forced smile on her face. “Didn’t expect this, did you? Well, neither did I. But I don’t suppose we have much of a choice in this arrangement.”

          Damn you, Moody. Pansy unleashes a series of colorful swear words in her head. Outwardly, she appears calm enough, but distant -- arms folded across her chest, posture ram-rod straight more out of habit than confidence, her stilted smile still on her face. If she’s being honest about it, this whole doing-what’s-right thing that she’s trying out feels very strange, and now it’s gotten even weirder. The things she’s said about Cedric Diggory in the past suddenly rushes at her in full speed, and Pansy feels... uncomfortable. 

         “You were briefed about me, weren’t you?” She asks Cho, sculpted brow rising inquisitively. “Because if not, then maybe we should start with the full story of why I’m here before we begin working together.” 

[rkmeiqi-archived]

⭐️ — don’t be shy.

@rkhoon​

backdated to mid august.

with her cousin officially discharged from the hospital, and her “private lessons” with the bitch instructors finished, meiqi can finally allow the genuine smile to return to her face rather than the manufactured one. now, she can immerse herself into preparing for all the evaluation performances she’s volunteered for, including her own.

after gathering with the trainees who had offered to help her center performance, crowding around a laptop to rewatch the choreography for the nth time, meiqi opts to practice alone with one of them—jihoon was his name, and a part in the dance called for the two of them to get a little close. to meiqi, it’s nothing; all he does is entwine their fingers, and she’s done much worse with both males and females. but jihoon shies away from the physical contact, as if she has a highly contagious disease.

“hey, jihoon,” she breaks the silence as they stretch out their limbs before practice. “i was thinking, what if we made the choreography more intense?” when watching the performance, she figured that their part together seemed too tame. as the center position, meiqi wants to have more of an impact. maybe she also wants to see him flustered even more (it makes for hilarious entertainment during practice), but she’ll bring that up later. “like, instead of just moving your arm downwards, when i say “heart”, your hand should reach for where my heart is, or something? what do you think?”

[rkmeiqi-archived]

⭐️ — dance the night away.

@rkxminhee​

from a young age, meiqi had always watched girl groups perform on television. in hong kong, she sang along to the chinese group S.H.E while dancing in front of the screen with her cousin. as she grew up, she delved in the internet and discovered k-pop, only to sing along to those songs as well (though, without knowing the language, she just made arbitrary sounds that were similar to what she heard).

the memories are vivid in her mind as she spots a trainee near the stage set up for the she’z performance, in a similar manner as young meiqi, swaying along to the music blaring from a speaker. with two plates of barbecue in her hand, meiqi approaches the other girl with a smile as bright as the sun that shines upon the party.

“hi,” she chirps, offering the paper plate while simultaneously bowing. “i think i’ve seen you around seocho before but we’ve never chatted before, so... here’s my peace offering! oh, pretty girl, please accept my request for friendship.” 

there’s more items in her back pocket, ones that she’d bought for this occasion specifically. because what’s a summer party without vibrantly coloured flowers? meiqi reaches for them after passing the girl her plate, before setting one gently atop her head. “you look like a summer fairy now,” she says while donning her own matching flower crown. “and so do i. friendship sealed, no takesies backsies!”

[rkmeiqi-archived]

⭐️ — you worked hard.

@jenork

following the airing of the fourth episode of the mga’s, meiqi’s mind is conflicted. on one hand, chungha had finally been recognized for her talents and her team placed second. as her roommate and close friend, she wants to flail her limbs in the air in celebration (which she did last night while watching the show). but all of her other friends had ranked lower this round. jeno had it the worst of them all.

she wanted to stomp up to katie lee and give her a piece of her mind for eliminating the boy, and then slap the mnet producers silly for diminishing his screen time when she knows jeno had given it his all. it was all so unfair, in her opinion, and she couldn’t bear to imagine how he, himself, must feel.

it shouldn’t be a surprise when she shows up in front of his door, a basket of treats to cheer him up that she’s assembled herself, in her hand. there are neatly wrapped boxes of chocolates, crunching bags of flavoured chips, and a few comics she’d bought at the local store (the most expensive ones, of course, because if she was going to be caught in a store for nerds, she was going to make it worth it).

when the door opens, her arms immediately wrap around the younger male’s frame, momentarily forgetting about the heavy woven basket in her hand and most probably hitting jeno with it. “jeno-yah,” she mumbles, pouting as if it were her own elimination instead of his. “you worked hard. i’m proud of you, okay?”

[rkmeiqi-archived]

⭐️ — like clock hands at 12:30.

@rkleemin​

—backdated to april, 2018

she’ll take any excuse to dress up. whether it’s a party, or monthly evaluations, or even a quick trip to the supermarket, meiqi always ensures that she looks her best (although it doesn’t take very long, because in her eyes, she always looks beautiful). but when she goes out with minho, it’s a whole different story.

meiqi had tried on six different ensembles, and even now with her final choice, as she waits for her date at their reserved table, she fidgets with the hem of her dress. is she overdressed? is the shade making her skin washed out? a normally confident girl, she doesn’t remember having ever felt this way before, or feeling the way she does when her eyes land on his frame walking through the front door.

her heart drums loudly in her ears, drowning out every other sound that resonates in the extravagant restaurant. everything else blurs until she can only see her boyfriend’s visage. “hey, handsome,” meiqi greets him, pressing her lips against his for a brief kiss. she can’t stop the smile tugging at the corners of her lips at the action, despite how common of an occurrence it is. “happy five months.”

[rkmeiqi-archived]

⭐️ — elasticity.

@bambamrk​

holding her arm across her chest, meiqi stretches out her muscles prior to the dance lesson. she’s slightly sore, having slept in an awkward position last night while trying to write lyrics at her desk. she glances around the mirrored room, observing the other trainees doing similar movements as her.

eyes landing on a certain male, meiqi sidles up beside him, her shoes squeaking against the floor as she tries to subtly make her way towards him (she fails and catches a few others staring at her, smiling widely at them as if nothing happened). “psst,” she whispers, switching arms. “you look... lanky. how flexible are you?” she can’t help but size him up. he looks like he should be able to help her out, maybe he could also benefit from the pose.

[rkmeiqi-archived]

⭐️ — run me dry.

@rkhugo​

“hugo!” meiqi singsongs, maybe a little too loudly based on nearby staff’s expressions. she grins at them as she skips passed, turning into the dance room to find said boy sprawled out on the cold floor. exactly where she’d left him.

tapping him lightly with her foot, meiqi tilts her head to get a better look at him. he’s not dead, right? she’s not ready to go to jail for murder—not with those hideous orange jumpsuits! “hey, get up. you’re alive, right?”

maybe she’s been pushing him too hard. even before they had become trainees, meiqi remembers promising to help him with his dancing if he ever got signed; she couldn’t stick to her word at first, considering their fall out, but since they’ve reconciled, meiqi’s done her best to run him dry. maybe she needs to give him a break? or does he need to be worked harder? “there’s still half of a routine to learn, come on! let’s finish it by the end of the day!” it’s wishful thinking, but that’s her specialty. “geez, i can’t even take a bathroom break, huh? it’s like babysitting a full grown adult.”

[rkmeiqi-archived]

⭐️ — window shopping.

random starter for: @yccjungrk​ (#25)

window shopping may as well be meiqi’s favourite hobby at this point, second only to actual shopping. however, not everyone has an unlimited supply of money on their uncle’s credit card, so when her friend asked to visit the mall, the other girl made sure to specify that she couldn’t afford anything and, therefore, wouldn’t step foot in a store (”i’m too privy to temptation, meiqi!”).

they’re in the midst of conversation, ranting about riverdale’s season two finale, when meiqi’s eyes spot a mannequin donning a deep-plunge lingerie bodysuit; it’s really the gold lining contrasting against the black fabric that catches her attention rather than she design itself. she halts in front of the window, admiring the ensemble.

"i bet you’d look sexy in that,” meiqi quips playfully, pointing at the mannequin and glancing over her shoulder to see her friend’s reaction. there’s no sign of her, but meiqi’s eyes widen when she notices a stranger, stopped dead in her tracks, staring at her. “that... wasn’t meant for you — i mean, not that you would look bad in that — hi, i’m meiqi!”