Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Profile: Lucien
Name: Lucien
Name meaning: Full of light.
Type: Luts Shiwoo
Age: 33.
Race: Human.
Nationality: French.
Sexuality: Straight, living in celibacy.
Eyes: Blue.
Hair: Dark brown, fairly long.
Distinguishing features: Grey and black rose and tribal tattoo on his back.
Clothing style: Mostly traditional priest clothing.
Occupation: Catholic priest.
Lives in: The Plains, near The Hills.
Likes: Roses, gardens, swords, literature, languages, religion (in any form), power, Haruhiko.
Dislikes: Intolerance, bigotry, sin (even if he's a bit of a sinner himself).
Personality: Authorative. Sort of evil. Speaks a myriad of languages, is highly educated and more than a little rich.
Relationships: Aric's second-in-command. Haruhiko's fosterfather.
History: Lucien has had a strange life. He has gone from being a lonely and rather weak schoolboy in France to being the second-in-command of a rather powerful gang leader in Saitama. He is also a priest, but it is far from just because he's religious and devoted to the call, it is also because it provides a great coverstory for him. In addition to the role as devoted priest, he is also the second-in.command to the powerful Aric, and he has done many things that aren't, well, very nice at all. Somehow he has managed to hide all of these things from any authorities, and continues to lead a successful double life.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Artsy shot: Yuurin
Yuurin has a tendency to never, ever be pretty - he looks far too funny for that - but on this picture, I honestly do think that he looks pretty.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Photos: Sisters
Pichaya and Phailing enjoying a relatively quiet moment together, away from their brother -
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Fiction: Yellow Flowers and a Bag of Bones
Chapter one: The blue rabbit
The rabbit turned and looked at me expectantly. “Come on,” he said. “The worst that can happen is that you find what you’re looking for.”
I hesitated at the door, looking out through the small crack the rabbit had left open. It was meant to entice me, I was sure of it. But I still hesitated; I had thought about doing this for a long time already, but going from thinking about it to actually doing it were two very different things.
The small glimpse I could see from my position was intriguing, that much I had to admit. Impossibly green grass overstrewn with small, yellow flowers, and a bright blue sky above with a few white clouds. There was a light grey pathway cutting its way through the grass, leading off to a city in the distance. I could see a few people walk along the pathway, and yet some others sitting on the grass.
It looked peaceful, and not at all dangerous. Not even intimidating.
“Nothing to be scared about, right? You have no reason to stay hidden away in here,” the rabbit said and pushed the door ajar a little further, making it even easier to see what was waiting for me outside. If I were to take the step and go outside, that was.
I still hesitated, and looked back to the room behind me. The Waiting Room, as it was known as. There were people sitting on the benches along the wall, but none of them were speaking to each other. That was the rules; you were not to talk to each anyone but the blue rabbit, and you were not to attempt to go outside until the blue rabbit came to get you.
I knew all the rules. I had read them extensively; so much that I had practically memorized them all. I knew what I was getting myself into. Or at least I hoped I did. There was no knowing what would happen if I somehow got myself in over my head – I could only hope that nothing bad would come of this.
The rabbit seemed to sense my hesitation, and looked up at me with bit blue eyes, a shade lighter than his fur. “If you need more time, you are welcome to say so,” he said, and I thought I could detect a hint of resentment in his voice. Not so strange, maybe. The line was long to get in, and it had probably taken a lot of time to screen me, even more time and effort to approve me. If I were to change my mind now… Well, let’s just say that I wouldn’t be given a second chance.
Finally I nodded. I didn’t say anything, but I knew I didn’t have to – the rabbit would understand.
And he did. He pushed the door open all the way and hopped out into the green grass beyond, once again turning back to me, as if he didn’t quite trust that I would follow. I couldn’t really blame him. I wasn’t sure myself if I was going to follow, not until I took a deep breath and then stepped out onto the grass as well.
The second I was outside, the door slammed shut behind me with a loud bang, as if it wanted to demonstrate that no, I was never going to be able to go back through it again. This was a definite choice; there was no doubt about that.
“I’m going to be your guide,” the blue rabbit said as it led the way from the grass to the pathway. “But you already knew that, I presume. And you also know that I’m not going to tell you what to do. I’m just going to show you around, make sure you won’t do anything too wrong while you’re new. After that, it’s all up to you.”
I wanted to say that I knew all of this already. Hell, I probably knew everything that he was going to tell me already. I had done my research, probably far more extensively than anyone else who wanted in. For me, this wasn’t merely something to do to pass the time. It wasn’t about the green of the grass or the blue of the sky, or the alluring lights of the cities visible. I suspected that the rabbit knew all of this, but that he was going to give me the same standard tour no matter what I said. So I said nothing. Let him lead the way and be the guide. Easier that way. Maybe I could pick up a few things I didn’t already know as well. Information could never be a bad thing.
“You have already read the basic rules over and over, I’m sure of that,” the rabbit continued, talking a little louder because he hopped from the pathway to the grass, though he still stayed as close as possible. “Everything is simple, really. This will be what you make of it. Everyone comes here looking for different things. Someone wants to find something – or someone – and other wants to escape something. Or someone. I haven’t read your file, I don’t know which group you belong with, and there’s no need to tell me either. I am just the guide.”
We were approaching the nearest city quickly, almost too quickly. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go there just yet; I had to admit that the open space with its flowers and birds and trees spaced out so evenly that it couldn’t possibly be random was soothing to me. The fact that there weren’t too many people out here helped as well. However, I knew that the first guided tour went like this; it had been described to me more than once. It always started from the room, down the pathway through the grass, and into the nearest city.
“First off, you need to go to the Town Hall to get registered, and you have to sign in there every time you’re in town. This will be your home city, so I suggest you get to know it, and quick. Second, you’re not required to get any kind of job, but it is encouraged, ‘cause it helps everything run smoother. Third, go to the Library and read the rules and regulations. All of them. Of course the ones for your city are the most important, but if you want to go to the other cities, you should definitely learn their rules as well. Breaking them will be punished, I’m sure you know this.”
The rabbit stopped not far from the gate of the city, sitting down as he looked up at me. “Are you following me so far? I’m not going too fast for you, am I?”
I shook my head in response, looking up at the gate instead of at him. It might have been rude of me, but I had long since lost interest in him. The city, the one that was going to be my home town for possibly the next few years, was far more interesting. Not that I could see much of it yet; the brick walls surrounding it blocked out any view apart from rooftops of varying heights. The large metal sign over the gate read -Ixero-. My home. I supposed it could be worse.
“I’m not following you inside. Once the gate opens, you’re on your own,” the rabbit said, shifting almost uncomfortably. I wondered if it was because he didn’t like the idea of letting me into the city alone, or if it was because he didn’t enjoy being so close to civilization. Most likely it was the latter – the rabbit seemed to belong out in the grass, or back at the Waiting Room. I could imagine him hopping along the same paths, leading the same conversations, over and over again. Tirelessly, without rest or sleep or food. I didn’t know why, but the thought made me sad.
“Are you ready?” the rabbit asked me, and without even thinking I shook my head. He didn’t look particularly surprised; I figured that I was hardly the only one who wasn’t in a rush to get into the cities. From what I had seen of secret maps and drawings, there was just as much nature as there were cities, and I was pretty sure that this nature was just as appealing as the cities.
Even so, the rabbit sighed quietly and looked up at the gate, then shook his head. “Too bad. I’m supposed to stay here until you’re safely inside, but I have no time to sit around and wait for you to get ready to go inside. I have things to take care of, people to see, newcomers to guide.” He sounded grumpy, and I bowed slightly as an apology. He merely waved a paw at me, though, dismissing me altogether.
“I guess it can’t be helped. You’re allowed to spend a few hours in this area, and once you’re registered, you can come back here as often as you wish. So I’m going to leave you, and you can sit on the grass or smell the flowers or look at the sky. Whatever it is you humans do when you’re getting yourself ready to go in. Just make sure you don’t stay here longer than three hours. You have to get registered. Got it?”
I nodded. It wasn’t difficult to hear the carefully veiled threat in the rabbit’s voice. I knew how things worked, and I wasn’t trying to be a rebel, not at all. All I wanted was some time. A chance to look around for a little while before I put my name down and became an official part of this place. I figured that wasn’t too much to ask.
The rabbit sighed again, looking vaguely exasperated. I could understand him. It had to be a frustrating job, being the guide for the newcomers, over and over again. Though I didn’t think I was among the worst ones – I hadn’t badgered the rabbit with questions, I had read all the rules; I probably knew more than ninety per cent of the people the rabbit gave the guide to. I wasn’t too bad.
He hopped away, but turned back to look at me one final time. “You won’t see me anymore, but you knew that already. I’m just the guide. If you have questions, you have to go see The Four Sisters. They’ll help you with any questions. Just not stupid ones.”
I nodded. I knew this already. The rabbit looked like he wanted to say something else, but then he shook his head, lifted a paw in a silent goodbye, and returned back to the Waiting Room. There were more newcomers to be guided, after all. Constantly new ones coming in; this place was more popular than I had realized.
For a little while I simply stood there, looking after the blue rabbit until he hopped out of sight in the gentle slopes of the landscapes. Even then, it was difficult to move, but eventually I walked away from the gate, wandering among the flowers until I reached one of the trees. I didn’t know just why I didn’t just go into the city; maybe it was just that I needed to stop and think, or maybe it was because I wanted to avoid the people.
I sat down on the grass, my back against the tree trunk. Counted on some peace and quiet while I was sitting there, but it didn’t take more than a couple of minutes before a young woman walked up to where I was sitting, looking down at me with a small smile. “I’m Dakota,” she said in response to my expression, which was no doubt one of confusion.
“Uhm,” I replied, because I didn’t quite know what else to say. I wasn’t all that good with people, and I would never take any initiative to talk to anyone. If I could, I would avoid people in general. And I couldn’t for the life of me understand why this woman would want to talk to me.
Dakota smiled, and knelt down beside me, giving me a curious look. It made me uncomfortable, because I could never tell whether people were genuinely smiling, or if they were smiling because they thought I look funny. I shifted, drawing my coat tighter around me, something which made her laugh. It wasn’t so difficult to understand why; with the sun shining, most of the people in sight wore jeans and t-shirts, or dresses, while I wore a thick coat with brown stripes. I was bound to stand out, but I was used to that, it didn’t bother me too much.
“You could tell me your name as well, you know,” Dakota teased, though she didn’t seem to really wait for an answer. Instead she started picking the small yellow flowers all around us, tying them together deftly, as if she had done it many times before. I found myself watching her, possibly because I didn’t have anything else to do. Or possibly because I wasn’t usually this close to girls.
She wasn’t really pretty, from a conventional point of view. Her face was a little too long, she was a little too pale, and she used a bit too much make-up. It all seemed to suit her, however. As if she wouldn’t quite be herself if she had looked any different. What really fascinated me were her intense pink eyes and the blonde hair with stripes of pink. It made her stand out, and I had to admit that I liked it. I found her pretty, especially with her innocent white dress flowing in the green grass. I thought I had never seen someone so delicate and intriguing before, and for once I honestly wished that I was better at talking to people. I wanted to get to know this woman, but I didn’t know how.
“I’m Kai,” I blurted out, and I looked down as she looked up, but I could almost feel how she smiled.
“Nice to meet you, Kai,” she said. Softly. I glanced up, but this time she was the one looking down. I followed her gaze, looked at the intricate weave of flowers in her hands. Yellow flowers, all torn up from the earth and tied together. Dakota picked two more flowers and used them to connect the ends together, before putting the circle of flowers on her head, carefully.
It looked like a halo. Like she was somehow an angel in white and pink and with yellow flowers.
Dakota looked at me, and for the first time I met her eyes, instantly taken aback at the sadness in her eyes. I thought I could see fear as well, but I had never been all that good at reading people, so I wasn’t sure. She still smiled, however, and stood up before spinning around, her dress flicking around her legs in a way that made me dizzy.
“You should dance more,” she said, and held out a hand to me, inviting me to join her. I wanted to ask her what she meant, wanted to protest, wanted to join her. I didn’t even know why, but there were so many things I wanted to say or do, and they all somehow conflicted with each other.
But just as I reached out my hand to take Dakota’s, there was a bright flash of light, blinding me for a split second, and when I could see again, she was gone. Vanished from the spot she had been standing on a moment earlier.
The only trace of her was the headband of yellow flowers, lying on the grass.
~tbc~
The rabbit turned and looked at me expectantly. “Come on,” he said. “The worst that can happen is that you find what you’re looking for.”
I hesitated at the door, looking out through the small crack the rabbit had left open. It was meant to entice me, I was sure of it. But I still hesitated; I had thought about doing this for a long time already, but going from thinking about it to actually doing it were two very different things.
The small glimpse I could see from my position was intriguing, that much I had to admit. Impossibly green grass overstrewn with small, yellow flowers, and a bright blue sky above with a few white clouds. There was a light grey pathway cutting its way through the grass, leading off to a city in the distance. I could see a few people walk along the pathway, and yet some others sitting on the grass.
It looked peaceful, and not at all dangerous. Not even intimidating.
“Nothing to be scared about, right? You have no reason to stay hidden away in here,” the rabbit said and pushed the door ajar a little further, making it even easier to see what was waiting for me outside. If I were to take the step and go outside, that was.
I still hesitated, and looked back to the room behind me. The Waiting Room, as it was known as. There were people sitting on the benches along the wall, but none of them were speaking to each other. That was the rules; you were not to talk to each anyone but the blue rabbit, and you were not to attempt to go outside until the blue rabbit came to get you.
I knew all the rules. I had read them extensively; so much that I had practically memorized them all. I knew what I was getting myself into. Or at least I hoped I did. There was no knowing what would happen if I somehow got myself in over my head – I could only hope that nothing bad would come of this.
The rabbit seemed to sense my hesitation, and looked up at me with bit blue eyes, a shade lighter than his fur. “If you need more time, you are welcome to say so,” he said, and I thought I could detect a hint of resentment in his voice. Not so strange, maybe. The line was long to get in, and it had probably taken a lot of time to screen me, even more time and effort to approve me. If I were to change my mind now… Well, let’s just say that I wouldn’t be given a second chance.
Finally I nodded. I didn’t say anything, but I knew I didn’t have to – the rabbit would understand.
And he did. He pushed the door open all the way and hopped out into the green grass beyond, once again turning back to me, as if he didn’t quite trust that I would follow. I couldn’t really blame him. I wasn’t sure myself if I was going to follow, not until I took a deep breath and then stepped out onto the grass as well.
The second I was outside, the door slammed shut behind me with a loud bang, as if it wanted to demonstrate that no, I was never going to be able to go back through it again. This was a definite choice; there was no doubt about that.
“I’m going to be your guide,” the blue rabbit said as it led the way from the grass to the pathway. “But you already knew that, I presume. And you also know that I’m not going to tell you what to do. I’m just going to show you around, make sure you won’t do anything too wrong while you’re new. After that, it’s all up to you.”
I wanted to say that I knew all of this already. Hell, I probably knew everything that he was going to tell me already. I had done my research, probably far more extensively than anyone else who wanted in. For me, this wasn’t merely something to do to pass the time. It wasn’t about the green of the grass or the blue of the sky, or the alluring lights of the cities visible. I suspected that the rabbit knew all of this, but that he was going to give me the same standard tour no matter what I said. So I said nothing. Let him lead the way and be the guide. Easier that way. Maybe I could pick up a few things I didn’t already know as well. Information could never be a bad thing.
“You have already read the basic rules over and over, I’m sure of that,” the rabbit continued, talking a little louder because he hopped from the pathway to the grass, though he still stayed as close as possible. “Everything is simple, really. This will be what you make of it. Everyone comes here looking for different things. Someone wants to find something – or someone – and other wants to escape something. Or someone. I haven’t read your file, I don’t know which group you belong with, and there’s no need to tell me either. I am just the guide.”
We were approaching the nearest city quickly, almost too quickly. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go there just yet; I had to admit that the open space with its flowers and birds and trees spaced out so evenly that it couldn’t possibly be random was soothing to me. The fact that there weren’t too many people out here helped as well. However, I knew that the first guided tour went like this; it had been described to me more than once. It always started from the room, down the pathway through the grass, and into the nearest city.
“First off, you need to go to the Town Hall to get registered, and you have to sign in there every time you’re in town. This will be your home city, so I suggest you get to know it, and quick. Second, you’re not required to get any kind of job, but it is encouraged, ‘cause it helps everything run smoother. Third, go to the Library and read the rules and regulations. All of them. Of course the ones for your city are the most important, but if you want to go to the other cities, you should definitely learn their rules as well. Breaking them will be punished, I’m sure you know this.”
The rabbit stopped not far from the gate of the city, sitting down as he looked up at me. “Are you following me so far? I’m not going too fast for you, am I?”
I shook my head in response, looking up at the gate instead of at him. It might have been rude of me, but I had long since lost interest in him. The city, the one that was going to be my home town for possibly the next few years, was far more interesting. Not that I could see much of it yet; the brick walls surrounding it blocked out any view apart from rooftops of varying heights. The large metal sign over the gate read -Ixero-. My home. I supposed it could be worse.
“I’m not following you inside. Once the gate opens, you’re on your own,” the rabbit said, shifting almost uncomfortably. I wondered if it was because he didn’t like the idea of letting me into the city alone, or if it was because he didn’t enjoy being so close to civilization. Most likely it was the latter – the rabbit seemed to belong out in the grass, or back at the Waiting Room. I could imagine him hopping along the same paths, leading the same conversations, over and over again. Tirelessly, without rest or sleep or food. I didn’t know why, but the thought made me sad.
“Are you ready?” the rabbit asked me, and without even thinking I shook my head. He didn’t look particularly surprised; I figured that I was hardly the only one who wasn’t in a rush to get into the cities. From what I had seen of secret maps and drawings, there was just as much nature as there were cities, and I was pretty sure that this nature was just as appealing as the cities.
Even so, the rabbit sighed quietly and looked up at the gate, then shook his head. “Too bad. I’m supposed to stay here until you’re safely inside, but I have no time to sit around and wait for you to get ready to go inside. I have things to take care of, people to see, newcomers to guide.” He sounded grumpy, and I bowed slightly as an apology. He merely waved a paw at me, though, dismissing me altogether.
“I guess it can’t be helped. You’re allowed to spend a few hours in this area, and once you’re registered, you can come back here as often as you wish. So I’m going to leave you, and you can sit on the grass or smell the flowers or look at the sky. Whatever it is you humans do when you’re getting yourself ready to go in. Just make sure you don’t stay here longer than three hours. You have to get registered. Got it?”
I nodded. It wasn’t difficult to hear the carefully veiled threat in the rabbit’s voice. I knew how things worked, and I wasn’t trying to be a rebel, not at all. All I wanted was some time. A chance to look around for a little while before I put my name down and became an official part of this place. I figured that wasn’t too much to ask.
The rabbit sighed again, looking vaguely exasperated. I could understand him. It had to be a frustrating job, being the guide for the newcomers, over and over again. Though I didn’t think I was among the worst ones – I hadn’t badgered the rabbit with questions, I had read all the rules; I probably knew more than ninety per cent of the people the rabbit gave the guide to. I wasn’t too bad.
He hopped away, but turned back to look at me one final time. “You won’t see me anymore, but you knew that already. I’m just the guide. If you have questions, you have to go see The Four Sisters. They’ll help you with any questions. Just not stupid ones.”
I nodded. I knew this already. The rabbit looked like he wanted to say something else, but then he shook his head, lifted a paw in a silent goodbye, and returned back to the Waiting Room. There were more newcomers to be guided, after all. Constantly new ones coming in; this place was more popular than I had realized.
For a little while I simply stood there, looking after the blue rabbit until he hopped out of sight in the gentle slopes of the landscapes. Even then, it was difficult to move, but eventually I walked away from the gate, wandering among the flowers until I reached one of the trees. I didn’t know just why I didn’t just go into the city; maybe it was just that I needed to stop and think, or maybe it was because I wanted to avoid the people.
I sat down on the grass, my back against the tree trunk. Counted on some peace and quiet while I was sitting there, but it didn’t take more than a couple of minutes before a young woman walked up to where I was sitting, looking down at me with a small smile. “I’m Dakota,” she said in response to my expression, which was no doubt one of confusion.
“Uhm,” I replied, because I didn’t quite know what else to say. I wasn’t all that good with people, and I would never take any initiative to talk to anyone. If I could, I would avoid people in general. And I couldn’t for the life of me understand why this woman would want to talk to me.
Dakota smiled, and knelt down beside me, giving me a curious look. It made me uncomfortable, because I could never tell whether people were genuinely smiling, or if they were smiling because they thought I look funny. I shifted, drawing my coat tighter around me, something which made her laugh. It wasn’t so difficult to understand why; with the sun shining, most of the people in sight wore jeans and t-shirts, or dresses, while I wore a thick coat with brown stripes. I was bound to stand out, but I was used to that, it didn’t bother me too much.
“You could tell me your name as well, you know,” Dakota teased, though she didn’t seem to really wait for an answer. Instead she started picking the small yellow flowers all around us, tying them together deftly, as if she had done it many times before. I found myself watching her, possibly because I didn’t have anything else to do. Or possibly because I wasn’t usually this close to girls.
She wasn’t really pretty, from a conventional point of view. Her face was a little too long, she was a little too pale, and she used a bit too much make-up. It all seemed to suit her, however. As if she wouldn’t quite be herself if she had looked any different. What really fascinated me were her intense pink eyes and the blonde hair with stripes of pink. It made her stand out, and I had to admit that I liked it. I found her pretty, especially with her innocent white dress flowing in the green grass. I thought I had never seen someone so delicate and intriguing before, and for once I honestly wished that I was better at talking to people. I wanted to get to know this woman, but I didn’t know how.
“I’m Kai,” I blurted out, and I looked down as she looked up, but I could almost feel how she smiled.
“Nice to meet you, Kai,” she said. Softly. I glanced up, but this time she was the one looking down. I followed her gaze, looked at the intricate weave of flowers in her hands. Yellow flowers, all torn up from the earth and tied together. Dakota picked two more flowers and used them to connect the ends together, before putting the circle of flowers on her head, carefully.
It looked like a halo. Like she was somehow an angel in white and pink and with yellow flowers.
Dakota looked at me, and for the first time I met her eyes, instantly taken aback at the sadness in her eyes. I thought I could see fear as well, but I had never been all that good at reading people, so I wasn’t sure. She still smiled, however, and stood up before spinning around, her dress flicking around her legs in a way that made me dizzy.
“You should dance more,” she said, and held out a hand to me, inviting me to join her. I wanted to ask her what she meant, wanted to protest, wanted to join her. I didn’t even know why, but there were so many things I wanted to say or do, and they all somehow conflicted with each other.
But just as I reached out my hand to take Dakota’s, there was a bright flash of light, blinding me for a split second, and when I could see again, she was gone. Vanished from the spot she had been standing on a moment earlier.
The only trace of her was the headband of yellow flowers, lying on the grass.
~tbc~
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Fiction: Three (part one, chapter one)
Chapter one: Trouble
He had always been the reliable one, but reliable was the last thing Kenji felt as he stood beside Arai, watching the usual boat with his little brother in it gain speed and get further away from the harbor. It was still possible to make out his black beanie and green sweater in the crowd of excited students as they went back to school, but Kenji knew that Jun hadn’t been excited about going back. Of course, the quiet boy would never say it out loud – instead he smiled faintly as he said his goodbyes and went without protest. As he always did.
“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” Arai said beside him, hooking his arm over Kenji’s shoulder as they watched the boat make a wide turn, heading out to Shima, the small island that was a part of Saitama and yet not. These moments, whenever they said goodbye to Jun like this, was some of the few times that Kenji and Arai didn’t fight – it was as if their common concern for the baby in the family made them forget all their differences, even if only for about ten minutes.
“I’m not so sure. With everything that’s going on, maybe I should have---”
“Should have what? Kept him home from school so he can stay at home and watch you slowly go more mental than you already are? Or wander around the town with me?” Arai let go of Kenji as the boat got so far away that they couldn’t make out a single detail, and they turned to get back to the car, though Kenji was pretty sure that Arai wasn’t going to come with him. Not that he wanted him too, either, but right now he had to admit that he knew a bit more about what the unruly young man spent his days doing.
“Fine, fine, I get your point. It’s better for him to be at school right now, I get that, I just…” Kenji trailed off, sighing. His little brother was the most important thing in his life, the one he had sacrificed almost everything for, the one that he loved with all his heart and then some. Which made it all the more painful to know that he might get taken away.
Arai cut his worries short, as usual, smacking him over the head and grinning as he scampered off, too quickly for Kenji to manage to retaliate. For a moment he watched the figure of his adoptive brother as he headed down the main road, and he sighed again. He knew that Arai was in some kind of trouble as well, but when asked he hadn’t said a word about it and just laughed it off – as he always did whenever something less than perfect happened. It was as if nothing could ever harm Arai, though Kenji knew that wasn’t true. He had seen him vulnerable and hurt, though admittedly it hadn’t been often. Tearing his eyes away he shook his head and got in the car – moderately expensive model, though not too fancy – and drove to work.
As he walked through the big building on the way to his own office, he noticed that several people were glancing in his direction, or at least it felt like it, but he tried not to let it bother him. There was no reason for anyone to be staring at him, nobody could possibly know. Kenji had always been very careful about keeping his work life and his personal life separate, and the only thing most of his colleagues knew about him was that he had the responsibility for his two younger brothers. He had one picture of the three of them in his office.
If he had thought that the most difficult part of the day was over, he was sorely mistaken. Kenji was met in his office by Heath Carlson, the company director, as well as a couple of his closest colleagues and someone he had only heard about, but there was no doubt who he was; the man who owned the company. They all looked so serious than Kenji involuntarily sighed. As if he didn’t have enough to think about, now there would be trouble here as well?
His workplace had always been his safe haven, the place where he had felt in control, without fail. When he had been seventeen and forced to take the responsibility, he had found the first and best job he could manage to, which had been here, in the single largest marketing firm in Saitama. Back then he had been hardly even an errand boy, but as the years went by he had stayed here, working and learning and gaining the trust of the people above him – before he got promoted and took their jobs. Now he was the assistant director, with only Heath and the company owner as his boss. So why this feeling of dread?
“Miyazaki-san, there you are. Would you please come join us?” Heath asked with a much more serious tone than usual, and when Kenji looked questioningly at Sinclair and Nanette ---, the married couple he worked with every single day, for any kind of explanation, they just shook their heads, almost looking sad.
“Of course,” he answered lightly, and after bowing slightly to the owner, who still hadn’t said a word or even acknowledged anyone in the room, Kenji walked over to his desk and sat down. Oddly enough it felt less secure than usual, possibly because he had no idea what was going on. “Well? What’s happening?”
Might as well get it over with, he thought, and after casting a quick glance over at the framed picture of him, Jun and Arai, he focused on the director again.
“Kenji, I’m really sorry to have to bring this up, but the fact is that the Redmon portfolio hasn’t been delivered,” Heath began, though he didn’t get further before Kenji stood up, his face having paled considerably.
“What do you mean, it hasn’t been delivered? I was here until nine Friday night looking over it and left it on your desk. I wanted to make sure it was absolutely perfect, and I swear, I haven’t gone and removed it again,” Kenji said, his voice actually shaking slightly. The Redmon project was one of the largest they had had in years, spanning almost globally, and it was by far the largest project he had ever been in charge of, with Sinclair and Nanette as his close advisors. He had worked insanely long hours on the project, he had traveled outside of Saitama, he had spoken to so many people and he had worn himself so thin that even Arai had gotten honestly concerned. There was no way in hell this could have happened.
“I’m sorry, Kenji, I really am, but the fact is that the portfolio is not there, and you were the last one to see it. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about this, we’ve been looking all around the building for it before you got here, but it’s nowhere to be seen.”
There was no doubt that Heath was speaking the truth, Kenji trusted him that much, but he still didn’t get how this could have happened. He had been the last one out the building on Friday, and he was fairly certain that Heath had been the first to be here this morning – nobody had the clearance to go into the director’s office apart from the director himself, as far as Kenji knew.
“For the time being, Kenji, until we find the portfolio again, I have no choice but to suspend you. Call it a vacation, if you want to. Right now we can’t have you here, I’m sure you understand. We’ll keep you informed about what’s happening, but… You have to leave,” Heath finished, looking more than a little uncomfortable, something which Kenji could understand. He was fairly sure that hadn’t it been for the company owner sitting right behind him, Heath would have let him stay and help solve this, but now that was impossible, so he merely nodded.
“I understand. I promise you, I did not take the portfolio, I didn’t destroy it, I didn’t misplace it. I left it on your desk Friday evening, that’s the last I saw it. I swear that’s the truth.” Kenji noticed that there was a hint of desperation in his voice, no matter how much he tried to suppress it. Maybe not so strange, considering that this was the only job he had ever had; he had spent years getting to where he was, to get the privileges and the salary he had now. Starting all over again somewhere else struck him as one of the worst things that could possibly have happened to him, but unless the portfolio was recovered, that was where this was heading.
For a moment Kenji stood still, watching first Heath walk out, followed by Sinclair and Nanette, who could do nothing except send him a few supporting glances. He appreciated it, knowing that they still believed in him, and he knew they would do anything to recover the thick file that had been lost. The last one out the door was the company owner, his long, red kimono sweeping the floor ever so slightly. He hadn’t said a word or done much of anything the entire time, and Kenji wondered why he had been here in the first place. Maybe it was just to get a look at the one who had put the entire company in jeopardy, willingly or not.
Kenji couldn’t help but sit down for a moment, on the edge of the desk, watching the elegantly receding figure, and suddenly he thought of Arai, though he wasn’t quite sure why. This was the first time he had seen the owner of the company. The elusive Ming Yue, the rich man, originally Chinese but who wore only Japanese kimonos – or so it was said. Nobody really seemed to know anything about him apart from where he lived and which companies, schools and entertainment places he owned or part-owned.
Ming Yue seemed to be everywhere, all the time, and yet hardly anyone had ever seen him. Nobody knew how old he was, there were hardly any pictures of the man, nobody could say that they had spoken to him, and yet seemingly everybody knew who he was and had a clear image of him. Strange how one man could wield that kind of power, even here in Saitama.
With a little sigh Kenji snapped out of his thoughts and picked up his briefcase again before walking out, trying to ignore the stares he got – even more obvious this time when he had walked in. It was as if everybody knew already, something which wouldn’t surprise him one single bit. Word traveled fast in an environment like this.
At home in the apartment Kenji didn’t know what to do with himself. Arai wasn’t there, which he had anticipated, and the emptiness left after Jun was like an ache inside of him. Without really seeing much of the street outside, Kenji walked out onto the small balcony and leaned against the rail, looking out over Saitama, where he had lived his entire life. Hell, he had even lived in this very apartment his entire life.
They lived in The Plains, closer to The Hills than The Slums, and not far from Doushi Park. It was an almost idyllic neighborhood, with kind, hardworking people and small cafés and shops underneath the apartment buildings. He loved it here, he always had. However, it was far from cheap to live here, and in their first years on their own it was only with help from their neighbors that they had managed to keep the apartment. Kenji shuddered. Their lives could have been so different now, for better or worse, there was no doubt about that.
He thought back to the day that he had gotten the news. Two very serious police officers had shown up on their door and asked for him, Kenji Miyazaki, seventeen at the time, and still a kid. When the police officers left twenty minutes later, he had been an adult. His parents were gone. His and Jun’s biological parents, Arai’s adoptive parents. They had been in an accident – the officers wouldn’t tell him what kind, apparently it was classified – and they had died, just a few hours before. It had been the end of Kenji’s life as he had known it, and he began another one, where his task was to take care of Jun and Arai. If he couldn’t, they would be separated, and he knew that he’d rather die too than allow that to happen.
It was a little over ten years ago now. Kenji was twenty-seven, grown up and responsible and serious and hard working. The provider of the family. He had been the big brother, the father and the mother all rolled into one. He had had no other choice in the matter, and he knew he couldn’t have done anything differently.
They were a family, the three of them. Wildly different yet similar. They completed each other and helped each other out, and drove each other crazy. Just like they had done when they were kids. Kenji was sure that their parents would have been proud of them. He sure was. Or well, he was proud of himself and Jun. Arai was a different matter, he always had been.
Sighing, Kenji walked back inside, looking at the pictures on the wall. There were a few of their parents; they had gotten a special place on the wall. His father, Keitaro, had been Japanese, while his mother, Julianne, was English, causing the children to get Japanese names and rather English looks. Kenji himself was a bit taller than most Japanese men around him, and he had his mother’s deep red hair and green eyes, something that he had been ashamed of growing up but which was more of a pride now.
Jun was a different matter. Already now he was much taller than both Kenji and Arai, and looked nothing like either of them, something which was one of the many reasons why his little brother was so painfully shy. The doctors had never done a very good job of explaining it, but due to some genetic imbalances Jun had ended up with bright blue eyes and white hair – something which he hated intensely and hid as best as he could, often walking with thick beanies inside and in the middle of summer. Jun, the different.
Arai was different too, for that matter. The troublemaker, the wild one, the rebel. When he had been younger, Kenji had envied Arai that. Now it just annoyed him that Arai wouldn’t grow up and take responsibility. On the other hand, he loved his adopted brother almost as much as he loved Jun. Nobody knew where Arai was from or who his real parents were, but from his height and his long, silky black hair you’d think he was purely Japanese, like the majority in Saitama. But then there was the matter of his eyes, which were a strange, almost violet color, depending on how the light hit them. Kenji had wondered about it many times, but Arai would merely shrug, not caring one single bit.
They were both his brothers, his family, and Kenji knew that he’d do anything in the world for them. He already had, and he continued doing so every day. Maybe even more now, after what had happened only days ago, and which had undeniably become more severe after the morning’s affairs.
Because now, there was a chance that they would be separated by force, a real threat that something they all feared would happen.
~tbc~
He had always been the reliable one, but reliable was the last thing Kenji felt as he stood beside Arai, watching the usual boat with his little brother in it gain speed and get further away from the harbor. It was still possible to make out his black beanie and green sweater in the crowd of excited students as they went back to school, but Kenji knew that Jun hadn’t been excited about going back. Of course, the quiet boy would never say it out loud – instead he smiled faintly as he said his goodbyes and went without protest. As he always did.
“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” Arai said beside him, hooking his arm over Kenji’s shoulder as they watched the boat make a wide turn, heading out to Shima, the small island that was a part of Saitama and yet not. These moments, whenever they said goodbye to Jun like this, was some of the few times that Kenji and Arai didn’t fight – it was as if their common concern for the baby in the family made them forget all their differences, even if only for about ten minutes.
“I’m not so sure. With everything that’s going on, maybe I should have---”
“Should have what? Kept him home from school so he can stay at home and watch you slowly go more mental than you already are? Or wander around the town with me?” Arai let go of Kenji as the boat got so far away that they couldn’t make out a single detail, and they turned to get back to the car, though Kenji was pretty sure that Arai wasn’t going to come with him. Not that he wanted him too, either, but right now he had to admit that he knew a bit more about what the unruly young man spent his days doing.
“Fine, fine, I get your point. It’s better for him to be at school right now, I get that, I just…” Kenji trailed off, sighing. His little brother was the most important thing in his life, the one he had sacrificed almost everything for, the one that he loved with all his heart and then some. Which made it all the more painful to know that he might get taken away.
Arai cut his worries short, as usual, smacking him over the head and grinning as he scampered off, too quickly for Kenji to manage to retaliate. For a moment he watched the figure of his adoptive brother as he headed down the main road, and he sighed again. He knew that Arai was in some kind of trouble as well, but when asked he hadn’t said a word about it and just laughed it off – as he always did whenever something less than perfect happened. It was as if nothing could ever harm Arai, though Kenji knew that wasn’t true. He had seen him vulnerable and hurt, though admittedly it hadn’t been often. Tearing his eyes away he shook his head and got in the car – moderately expensive model, though not too fancy – and drove to work.
As he walked through the big building on the way to his own office, he noticed that several people were glancing in his direction, or at least it felt like it, but he tried not to let it bother him. There was no reason for anyone to be staring at him, nobody could possibly know. Kenji had always been very careful about keeping his work life and his personal life separate, and the only thing most of his colleagues knew about him was that he had the responsibility for his two younger brothers. He had one picture of the three of them in his office.
If he had thought that the most difficult part of the day was over, he was sorely mistaken. Kenji was met in his office by Heath Carlson, the company director, as well as a couple of his closest colleagues and someone he had only heard about, but there was no doubt who he was; the man who owned the company. They all looked so serious than Kenji involuntarily sighed. As if he didn’t have enough to think about, now there would be trouble here as well?
His workplace had always been his safe haven, the place where he had felt in control, without fail. When he had been seventeen and forced to take the responsibility, he had found the first and best job he could manage to, which had been here, in the single largest marketing firm in Saitama. Back then he had been hardly even an errand boy, but as the years went by he had stayed here, working and learning and gaining the trust of the people above him – before he got promoted and took their jobs. Now he was the assistant director, with only Heath and the company owner as his boss. So why this feeling of dread?
“Miyazaki-san, there you are. Would you please come join us?” Heath asked with a much more serious tone than usual, and when Kenji looked questioningly at Sinclair and Nanette ---, the married couple he worked with every single day, for any kind of explanation, they just shook their heads, almost looking sad.
“Of course,” he answered lightly, and after bowing slightly to the owner, who still hadn’t said a word or even acknowledged anyone in the room, Kenji walked over to his desk and sat down. Oddly enough it felt less secure than usual, possibly because he had no idea what was going on. “Well? What’s happening?”
Might as well get it over with, he thought, and after casting a quick glance over at the framed picture of him, Jun and Arai, he focused on the director again.
“Kenji, I’m really sorry to have to bring this up, but the fact is that the Redmon portfolio hasn’t been delivered,” Heath began, though he didn’t get further before Kenji stood up, his face having paled considerably.
“What do you mean, it hasn’t been delivered? I was here until nine Friday night looking over it and left it on your desk. I wanted to make sure it was absolutely perfect, and I swear, I haven’t gone and removed it again,” Kenji said, his voice actually shaking slightly. The Redmon project was one of the largest they had had in years, spanning almost globally, and it was by far the largest project he had ever been in charge of, with Sinclair and Nanette as his close advisors. He had worked insanely long hours on the project, he had traveled outside of Saitama, he had spoken to so many people and he had worn himself so thin that even Arai had gotten honestly concerned. There was no way in hell this could have happened.
“I’m sorry, Kenji, I really am, but the fact is that the portfolio is not there, and you were the last one to see it. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about this, we’ve been looking all around the building for it before you got here, but it’s nowhere to be seen.”
There was no doubt that Heath was speaking the truth, Kenji trusted him that much, but he still didn’t get how this could have happened. He had been the last one out the building on Friday, and he was fairly certain that Heath had been the first to be here this morning – nobody had the clearance to go into the director’s office apart from the director himself, as far as Kenji knew.
“For the time being, Kenji, until we find the portfolio again, I have no choice but to suspend you. Call it a vacation, if you want to. Right now we can’t have you here, I’m sure you understand. We’ll keep you informed about what’s happening, but… You have to leave,” Heath finished, looking more than a little uncomfortable, something which Kenji could understand. He was fairly sure that hadn’t it been for the company owner sitting right behind him, Heath would have let him stay and help solve this, but now that was impossible, so he merely nodded.
“I understand. I promise you, I did not take the portfolio, I didn’t destroy it, I didn’t misplace it. I left it on your desk Friday evening, that’s the last I saw it. I swear that’s the truth.” Kenji noticed that there was a hint of desperation in his voice, no matter how much he tried to suppress it. Maybe not so strange, considering that this was the only job he had ever had; he had spent years getting to where he was, to get the privileges and the salary he had now. Starting all over again somewhere else struck him as one of the worst things that could possibly have happened to him, but unless the portfolio was recovered, that was where this was heading.
For a moment Kenji stood still, watching first Heath walk out, followed by Sinclair and Nanette, who could do nothing except send him a few supporting glances. He appreciated it, knowing that they still believed in him, and he knew they would do anything to recover the thick file that had been lost. The last one out the door was the company owner, his long, red kimono sweeping the floor ever so slightly. He hadn’t said a word or done much of anything the entire time, and Kenji wondered why he had been here in the first place. Maybe it was just to get a look at the one who had put the entire company in jeopardy, willingly or not.
Kenji couldn’t help but sit down for a moment, on the edge of the desk, watching the elegantly receding figure, and suddenly he thought of Arai, though he wasn’t quite sure why. This was the first time he had seen the owner of the company. The elusive Ming Yue, the rich man, originally Chinese but who wore only Japanese kimonos – or so it was said. Nobody really seemed to know anything about him apart from where he lived and which companies, schools and entertainment places he owned or part-owned.
Ming Yue seemed to be everywhere, all the time, and yet hardly anyone had ever seen him. Nobody knew how old he was, there were hardly any pictures of the man, nobody could say that they had spoken to him, and yet seemingly everybody knew who he was and had a clear image of him. Strange how one man could wield that kind of power, even here in Saitama.
With a little sigh Kenji snapped out of his thoughts and picked up his briefcase again before walking out, trying to ignore the stares he got – even more obvious this time when he had walked in. It was as if everybody knew already, something which wouldn’t surprise him one single bit. Word traveled fast in an environment like this.
At home in the apartment Kenji didn’t know what to do with himself. Arai wasn’t there, which he had anticipated, and the emptiness left after Jun was like an ache inside of him. Without really seeing much of the street outside, Kenji walked out onto the small balcony and leaned against the rail, looking out over Saitama, where he had lived his entire life. Hell, he had even lived in this very apartment his entire life.
They lived in The Plains, closer to The Hills than The Slums, and not far from Doushi Park. It was an almost idyllic neighborhood, with kind, hardworking people and small cafés and shops underneath the apartment buildings. He loved it here, he always had. However, it was far from cheap to live here, and in their first years on their own it was only with help from their neighbors that they had managed to keep the apartment. Kenji shuddered. Their lives could have been so different now, for better or worse, there was no doubt about that.
He thought back to the day that he had gotten the news. Two very serious police officers had shown up on their door and asked for him, Kenji Miyazaki, seventeen at the time, and still a kid. When the police officers left twenty minutes later, he had been an adult. His parents were gone. His and Jun’s biological parents, Arai’s adoptive parents. They had been in an accident – the officers wouldn’t tell him what kind, apparently it was classified – and they had died, just a few hours before. It had been the end of Kenji’s life as he had known it, and he began another one, where his task was to take care of Jun and Arai. If he couldn’t, they would be separated, and he knew that he’d rather die too than allow that to happen.
It was a little over ten years ago now. Kenji was twenty-seven, grown up and responsible and serious and hard working. The provider of the family. He had been the big brother, the father and the mother all rolled into one. He had had no other choice in the matter, and he knew he couldn’t have done anything differently.
They were a family, the three of them. Wildly different yet similar. They completed each other and helped each other out, and drove each other crazy. Just like they had done when they were kids. Kenji was sure that their parents would have been proud of them. He sure was. Or well, he was proud of himself and Jun. Arai was a different matter, he always had been.
Sighing, Kenji walked back inside, looking at the pictures on the wall. There were a few of their parents; they had gotten a special place on the wall. His father, Keitaro, had been Japanese, while his mother, Julianne, was English, causing the children to get Japanese names and rather English looks. Kenji himself was a bit taller than most Japanese men around him, and he had his mother’s deep red hair and green eyes, something that he had been ashamed of growing up but which was more of a pride now.
Jun was a different matter. Already now he was much taller than both Kenji and Arai, and looked nothing like either of them, something which was one of the many reasons why his little brother was so painfully shy. The doctors had never done a very good job of explaining it, but due to some genetic imbalances Jun had ended up with bright blue eyes and white hair – something which he hated intensely and hid as best as he could, often walking with thick beanies inside and in the middle of summer. Jun, the different.
Arai was different too, for that matter. The troublemaker, the wild one, the rebel. When he had been younger, Kenji had envied Arai that. Now it just annoyed him that Arai wouldn’t grow up and take responsibility. On the other hand, he loved his adopted brother almost as much as he loved Jun. Nobody knew where Arai was from or who his real parents were, but from his height and his long, silky black hair you’d think he was purely Japanese, like the majority in Saitama. But then there was the matter of his eyes, which were a strange, almost violet color, depending on how the light hit them. Kenji had wondered about it many times, but Arai would merely shrug, not caring one single bit.
They were both his brothers, his family, and Kenji knew that he’d do anything in the world for them. He already had, and he continued doing so every day. Maybe even more now, after what had happened only days ago, and which had undeniably become more severe after the morning’s affairs.
Because now, there was a chance that they would be separated by force, a real threat that something they all feared would happen.
~tbc~
Friday, January 25, 2008
Profile: Lu Chu
Name: Lu Chu
Name meaning: Green jewel.
Type: Luts MNF BW Elf Shiwoo.
Age: 15.
Race: Halfbreed (half Forest Nymph, half human)
Nationality: Japanese-ish
Sexuality: Straight.
Eyes: Green, pupil-less.
Hair: Dark brown and short.
Distinguishing features: His unusual coloring, freckles, beauty marks, elf ears.
Clothing style: Very boyish and "down to earth", usually wears clothes in browns and greens.
Occupation: Student, also helps his father out with his duties and plans to take over after him.
Lives in: The Plains, though he prefers being in the forest.
Likes: Trees, especially tall ones, and climbing in them. Animals, talking long walks, going swimming, gardening (even if he don't have a garden).
Dislikes: Staying inside the city for too long, people who doesn't like the nature, many of his teachers, cigarettes, alcohol.
Personality: For the most part easy-going, friendly and extroverted, though you really don't want to make him angry...
Relationships: Yuurin's son. Friend of Indigo and India. Admires Dakota a lot. Plays with the triplets every now and then.
History: Lu Chu is pretty much a happy and bouncy little thing who doesn't know much about the bad sides of life. Because he has only met kindness and love so far throughout his life, he meets the world with the same kindness as well. Despite not knowing who his mother is, he doesn't seem to have suffered from the lack of a mother's hand - he's had plenty of women who care about him, and besides, according to himself, he doesn't need anyone else besides his father, Yuurin.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Artsy shot: Mina
On my last day in SHeffield, I tugged Mina out into the back yard and did a small solo photoshoot with him, and this is my favorite pictures out of all of them.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Profile: Kyo
Name: Kiyoshi "Kyo" Yoneuchi
Name meaning: Quiet
Type: D.O.C. Wi
Age: 21-22, he isn't really sure.
Birthday: Doesn't remember it.
Race: Human.
Nationality: Japanese.
Sexuality: Asexual.
Eyes: Gray. Or rather, one gray and one white/blind.
Hair: Shaggy blonde, almost shoulderlength.
Distinguishing features: Tribal tattoo on his left shoulder, a collection of old and newer scars, wears a black bandana at all times that nearly covers his right eye because he's blind on it anyway and it has a scar over it.
Clothing style: Street clothes. Mostly black clothes; baggy pants, t-shirt, tops and jackets.
Occupation: None, street delinquent.
Lives in: The Slums, though he grew up in The Hills..
Likes: "The quiet life", as stupid as that sounds. Silence and solitude, not worrying about where to get food for the next few days, reading manga, spending time with Eiji.
Dislikes: Unnecessary trouble and fights, having to beg and/or steal to survive. The rich life he used to live but which he ran away from.
Personality: Tough, but caring. Has pretty much no education and is a bit of a loner, even though he seems to get along with people amazingly well too once he makes the effort.
Relationships: Has been taking care of Eiji for a while, but tries not to get too attached. Is the subject of Yukiko's love, but is utterly oblivious to it. Has clashes with Min on a semi-regular basis. All the girls like him.
History: Kyo wasn't meant for a life on the streets, fighting to survive on a day-to-day basis. He is one of the sons of a very wealthy Saitama family, and he was meant for a life of studies, a high-ranking job and a mansion just like the one his parents have. But, contrary to his siblings, Kyo hated that life with a passion.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Artsy shot: Blast off
Arai and Mina at the colorful playground in Sheffield, which really was amazing. And if the two of them ever form a rock band or something like that, it's going to have to be called Blast Off.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Photos: Playground friends
Part one from Rei and Lil's Youngsaeng playing around with each other on a colorful playground in Sheffield.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Artsy shot: Graffiti
Somehow, I've always loved this picture of Arai. He just seems right at home in a sort of junkyard with colorful graffiti in the background.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Photos: Arai and Mina
From my trip to Sheffield, where the once so distant lovebirds finally got to meet each other, and spent the week taking full advantage of that opportunity. :)
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Artsy shot: Dominic
I don't know why, but I've always liked this picture of Dominic. I think it's because of the sharpness of his hair and eyelashes combined with the softness of the rest of the picture.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Photos: Yuurin
My darling little oddball, Yuurin. He really needs a make-over because his face-up is so far from good, but I still adore him to pieces.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Profile: Kenji
Name: Kenjitsu "Kenji" Miyazaki
Name meaning: Reliable
Type: Luts Delf El
Age: 27
Birthday: September 12
Race: Human
Nationality: Japanese father, English mother.
Sexuality: Straight. For the most part.
Eyes: Light green.
Hair: Deep red and fairly long, kept in a ponytail at work.
Distinguishing features: None in particular.
Clothing style: Normal. Prefers casual outfits, jeans and tops. Wears suits when working.
Occupation: Assistant director at a marketing firm.
Lives in: High-end part of The Plains.
Likes: Quiet nights at home, spending time with Jun, reading (though he never has time for it), going to the theatre, fine art, design.
Dislikes: Mess, leechers (like Arai), stupidity in people who knows better.
Personality: Patient, reliable, hard-working, the provider for the entire family. Takes care of everyone, whether they like it or not. Incredibly protective about Jun.
Relationships: Jun and Arai's older brother. In love with Yukiko. Used to be in a band with Aaron, Dominic and Vintersorg. He and Aaron used to be best friends.
History: Kenji's life has been marked greatly by the fact that his parents were killed when he was 15 and Jun was merely 7. For the past 10 years, Kenji has done everything in his power to bring Jun up as best as he could, as well as giving him everything that their parents would no doubt have given him. He has been a grown-up since he was 15, and he's been a brother, a father and a mother to his little brother - and is naturally enough extremely protective of him, and would do anything and everything to protect him.
Because of his desire to look after his brother, Kenji has mostly put his own dreams and hopes on hold -- he has done the jobs he had to do in order to secure the life he wanted for himself and Jun. Still, even if he doesn't love his job with a passion, he's good at what he's doing, and since he started working in the firm he's in now, he's worked his way up to being assistant director. This means that he's earning enough money to live relatively comfortably, as well as paying for Jun's tuition and send him to a prestigious school.
With Jun away at boarding school, he gets lonely easily, despite the fact that he has several others around him. It's as if no one can ever get close enough to really befriend him, and when he's not working, he spends most of his time alone, either reading or organizing the home. At times, his behaviour borders OCD, something he's painfully aware of, but he doens't know how to change a behaviour that he's had for so long.
Before his parents were killed, he dreamed of going to art school and becoming a painter, and he played in a band along with Aaron, Vintersorg and Dominic. He used to love being rebellious and do everything that was forbidden and wrong. Maybe that is why he resents Arai so deeply now -- while Kenji has had to put that kind of life away, Arai is living it to the fullest, and often throwing it in Kenji's face. Thus causing the two of them to be close to start a fight any day...
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Artsy: Kanata
Kanata and his love of strong colors and clothes that are too big for him. Somehow he's almost more expressive when I take pictures that don't even show his eyes. ♥
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Profile: Kanata
Name: Kanata (not his name, but the one he uses at the moment)
Nicknames: Princess, Cinderella, 'rella, Heechul, Kid, Babe.
Type: DOC Homme Kirill
Age: 15.
Race: Human.
Nationality: Norwegian.
Sexuality: Relatively straight (he tends to have crushes on guys and girls alike).
Eyes: Black.
Hair: Black, short-ish.
Distinguishing features: Smirks constantly.
Clothing style: EGL. Crossdresses all the time. Steals his older brother's clothes quite a lot.
Occupation: Student/budding musician.
Lives in: The Plains.
Likes: Music, bright colors, dressing up, being spoiled, treats & presents, sweets, snow.
Dislikes: Plain clothes, being poor, plain apartments, travelling, people treating him like crap. Has a love/hate relationship with his older brother.
Personality: A right little princess. Spoiled brat - thinks he knows everything and deserves everything. However, that's mostly a cover for his insecurity and his feeling of being neglected.
Relationships: Angelica's opposite. Dresses up with Nadia. Vintersorg's younger brother. Cephas "companion". Likes Kyo.
History: Kanata has been brought up but his nine year older Vintersorg, who didn't treat him very well - in fact he never even gave Kanata a name, so the boy has been left to come up with names for himself. Something which he enjoys quite a lot, stealing names from celebrities and other people he comes across that he admires or just plain likes. He has grown up far too quickly because Vintersorg mostly left him to his own devices from he wasn't much more than a toddler, and it has been Kanata that has done most of the cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping through the years.
Artsy shot: Rei
I can't help it - I love Rei. Even if I don't do anything special with the pictures, he still manages to look all dark and mysterious; and still effing cute.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Profile: Kaiemi
Name: Kaiemi "Kai/Peace/Maluhia/Malu/Shizuka" Katayama
Name meaning: Ebbing sea
Type: Luts NS NaNuRi '07
Age: 24
Race: Human
Nationality: Half Japanese, half Hawaiian.
Sexuality: Sort of asexual.
Eyes: Brown/blue/green.
Hair: Shaggy black.
Distinguishing features: Black, square glasses. Beauty marks. Has a very, very well hidden tattoo and belly-button piercing.
Clothing style: Layers and layers, even during summer. Mostly muted colors. Pretty much always wears a scarf. Loves his striped brown coat, no matter how often he's told that it's ugly.
Occupation: Graphic designer/hacker, though he only works enough to pay his bills and then lives as a slacker for the rest of the year.
Lives in: The Plains, relatively close to The Slums.
Likes: Anime and mangas (has a huge collection of both), techno and rock music, indie movies, computers, all things technical, the Internet.
Dislikes: Going outside, ending up in large crowds, having to shop in actual stores, speaking in public, cats (and most other animals as well), tall buildings, elevators, needles, insects.
Personality: Total otaku. Doesn't know how to interact with people outside of via the computer, but he's really a friendly guy if you bother to look past the awkwardness.
Relationships: "Computer friends" with Suvi, Yehsung and Youngsaeng - have also have contact with a lot of the others online. He's not good with offline relationships, though he has a crush on Maria.
Trivia: His parents were more or less hippies and he grew up always wearing clothes with peace signals on them. In addition, his little firm's logo has a peace sign in it - hence the nickname "Peace" (in both Hawaiian and Japanese - these are also the online nicks he uses the most often).
History: Kai has a long list of quirks and eccentricities which has shaped him into the person he is, the otaku he is. Starting off, he's very near-sighted and always wears glasses, and he has a slight stutter - it didn't use to be so bad when he was a child and early in his teenage years, but it has gotten worse ever since he withdrew from most of society. Ever since childhood he has been afraid of a lot of things, and he has developed several phobias; for instance acrophobia (fear of heights), glossophobia (fear of speaking in public), enochlophobia (fear of crowds), agoraphobia (fear of open places), trypanophobia (fear of needles), emetophobia (fear of vomiting), ailurophobia (fear of cats) and entomophobia (fear of insects). In addition, he also has several allergies; he's allergic to cats, penicillin, peanuts, all kinds of seafood, and bee stings. Because of all this, he very much prefers to stay inside of his own apartment, away from most people.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
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