A bit of a change up…

Yep. I have written another fanfiction. This one continues the story of the other two that I have posted previously. Please read and comment.

Comfort and Pain

A car crash. The news came suddenly. She hadn’t heard from her parents in a week, now she knew why. That was two weeks ago. No one knew. She was good at plastering a smile on her face and passing by unnoticed. She had learned long ago how to cover up her tears – a little more makeup here and there. For now, though, she didn’t have to hide them. She lay curled up on top of the covers of her single bed, not bothering to change out of the day’s clothes. Tears traced their way down the side of her face before soaking into the blanket – her now damp brown hair sticking to her cheek.

Thoughts refused to coalesce, yet her brain wouldn’t…no, couldn’t stop working. Sleep wouldn’t come. Her dinner sat half eaten on the small table near the kitchen of her tiny apartment. The TV, perpetually tuned to an all anime network, droned on in the background, playing to the empty couch nestled against the wall. An acoustic guitar sat cradled in its stand, the brand lettering all but worn away by time. The instrument had been a gift from her mother.

Sleep refused to come for several hours. Tears continued to wind their way down the paths their predecessors etched in her wet, hair-matted cheek.

Sleep finally did take the distressed girl, even if a fitful one.

******

TAP TAP TAP

Huh?...what’s that noise?

The girl’s mind struggled to function after the fitful rest she had obtained the night before. Her eyes, encrusted by her tears, finally wrenched themselves open as she fell off the bed, landing with a *thud* on the floor and startling the breath out of her.

BOOM BOOM BOOM

Someone’s at the door.

Her mind registered the thought as she pushed herself up off the floor. She stumbled over to the door, tripping over a kitchen chair along the way. Upon reaching the door she looked through the peep hole, turned the lock, and pulled open the door coming face to face with the worried face of her leader, Ai Takahashi.

“Lin-cha….what the?

Ai had seen the look of surprise, and the evidence of the tears the girl had fought to hide. Lin turned away.

“Go away!...Please leave me alone Ai-chan.” Lin choked out, trying to run to the only place she could hide from her leader – her bathroom. Ai was too fast however, and she caught up to Lin as the younger girl once again tripped over the same chair she had fallen over on the way to the door. The two girls landed sprawled out on the floor, Ai landing on the back of the other. Ai quickly pushed herself up and pulled Lin into her arms before the girl could run away again.

“Lin-chan!? What’s wrong?!”

Tears fell freely from the younger girls eyes and her face drew tight in her refusal to answer her leader’s plea.

“Dammit Qian Lin! Stop hiding! Am I not important enough to you for you to be honest with me?!” Ai shouted, her eyes flaring with anger as she grabbed Lin’s face in her hands forcing the girl to look at her.

Lin’s eyes snapped open and she finally brought herself to look Ai in the eyes.

“Lin……Lin-chan…” Ai’s tone softened. “I’m here…please tell me…”

“…car accident…parents…” were the only words Lin could manage before sobs wracked her small frame once again. Ai pulled the sobbing girl closer and wrapping her arms as tightly as she could around Lin. As the sobs continued to come, Ai felt her own eyes welling up but attempted to show strength by holding her own tears in. She ran her hands through the girl’s hair and held her until Lin’s cries subsided and soft, steady breathing remained. The comfort of sleep had taken her. Ai lifted her up and carried Lin over to the slightly mussed bed, laying her down and pulling the blanket over the sleeping girl. Ai’s cell phone vibrated – she walked to the kitchen before answering .

“Moshi moshi?”

*pause*

“Yes, I found her.”

*pause*

“No, you stay with Reina, Junjun.”

*pause*

“I’ll stay with her. Call Gaki-san and tell her to run practice for the rest of you this evening.”

*pause*

“Hai. Arigatou Jun. Ja matta ne.”

Ai closed the phone and returned it to her bag. She laid her bag on the table and cleaned up the leftover dinner. Ai lifted up the fallen chair and carried it over to Lin’s bedside. She sat down in the chair and wrapped her hands around Lin’s hand.

“Don’t worry Lin-chan. I’m here with you. You don’t have to go through anything alone anymore.” She whispered to the sleeping girl.

I’ll do everything in my power to stay with you…

Another fanfic

Just trying to get rid of my writers block – so I decided to write some fictional accounts about real people. This new fic is a sort of continuation of the last one. Please enjoy and comment.

A birthday in a faraway land…

A young woman sat curled up against the pine headboard of her bed staring at the alarm clock that served as her small apartment’s only time-telling device.

It’s been 4 months since Chun and I moved into separate apartments…..I still can’t get used to living on my own…

She pulled the blankets around her, shivering a bit, despite the apartment’s heating system working perfectly. A low drone filled the room as a forgotten TV sat playing a random anime show to an empty sofa. She didn’t know which anime it was, nor did she care.

She looked at her cell phone sitting darkly next to the timepiece glowing red. 11:58pm. A sigh escaped from her lungs. She glanced at the calendar pinned to the wall. Two minutes until March 11th, the date circled on the calendar.

My second birthday away from home…

The room smelled of the night’s dinner – soy sauce, daikon… - food she had purchased from the konbini near the station. She made no secret of the fact that she couldn’t cook very well, a fact her fellow members knew well because she had yet to cook for them.

She looked at the clock again. 11:59. One more minute. Another sigh escaped her lips.

My first birthday as a member of Morning Musume...I wonder if anyone will remember…

She tried to force a smile onto her face, of course they would remember – that’s the reason she looked at the clock so intently. The group was practicing for their upcoming concert tour set to begin in 12…11 days. No celebrations tomorrow, not that she was hoping for one…

Who am I kidding?......Of course I want to celebrate…at least it’ll get my mind off….

The red numbers flashed in her periphery. 12:00. Her birthday. On this day 17 years ago she was born. She looked at her phone again…expectantly. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but it surely wasn’t a dark, quiet phone. She snatched it up and flipped it open. Yes. It was on. No, she wasn’t imagining it…no one had emailed her yet.

Perhaps I’m being impatient……just slow down Lin…give them time…

Lin fell onto her side causing the bedsprings to compress beneath her weight. She turned her attention to the new random anime that was just starting on her TV screen. Her phone was still clutched in her hands. She tried to stare past her hands at the glowing box, trying to keep her mind off of phone watch. Her eyes clouded over and she clenched them shut.

I’m not going to ….

Soon, soft breathing was the only other sound in the room other than the TV. The lonely girl had fallen asleep.

***********

“Ohayou gozaimasu,” Lin mumbled as she shuffled into the dance studio.

“Ohayou Lin-chan,” smiled Ai Takahashi, the leader.

The others waved to her saying their own version of hello. Practice moved along as usual and Lin was only scolded a couple of times for losing her place in the dance routine. After several hours the girls were released from practice. Lin wandered over to her bag and grabbed her towel to dry her face and neck. She lifted the bag to her shoulder and began to walk through the door……

“Lin-chan, can you stay for a moment?” she heard Ai from across the room.

“Yes, Takahashi –san.”

She returned the bag to its previous resting place and walks over to where the leader was standing. She watched as the other girls filed out – a few pausing to give her a raised fist in a “ganbatte” pose. She nodded at each ganbatte.

“Lin-chan. How are you?”

Lin looked at her leader with surprise clearly written on her face. Whatever she was expecting of this encounter…this wasn’t it.

“Takaha…Ai-chan? I don’t understand?” She said switching to Ai’s nickname because occasion seemed to call for it.

“You were a bit distracted today.”

“Gomen nasai.”

“No apologies Lin-chan…” she began before stopping and running over to her bag.

“…come here Lin.”

“Ha….Hai.”

Lin walked over to her leader and pulled back with a start when said leader spun around.

“I just wanted to say Happy Birthday…but I didn’t know what to get you. So…I’m inviting you to come with me…don’t ask where. It’s a surprise.” She said, extending her hand.

“Hai Ai-chan.” Lin replied, a smile finally cracking the solemn look she had plastered on her face all day.

As the two walked out of the dance studio Onna ni Sachi Are began to play. Lin dug through her bag until she found her phone. She flipped it open to find her email inbox full of messages from the other members…

“I asked them to wait to send their birthday wishes to you, because I wanted to be able to tell you in person. We will be busy in a few days… and probably won’t have much time off…so I wanted to make your birthday a bit special – since it is your first as a member.”

Lin looked at the older girl and saw a bright smile upon her face. Lin stopped walking as her eyes began to cloud up for the second time in as many days …this time for different reasons. She noticed the leader’s eyes also mist up before she buried herself in Ai’s shirt, trying to hide her own tears.

“Thank you…again…Ai-chan.” She mumbled into the embrace.

“Family Lin-chan. Family. No need to thank me… how about you read those messages before we go?”

“Ok…” Lin replied, wiping her eyes, and flipping her phone open.

*From: Reina-kitty

Happy Birthday Linlin! :3

From: Sayu

Have a good birthday. Usa-peace! Work on your cuteness.

Lin laughed at Sayu’s message…so typical.

From: Chun

Happy birthday Lin. I would have sent this earlier….but I was distracted by a…nevermi…

From: Mittsi :3

Happy Birthday Princess Linlin!

From: Turtle

I almost messaged you last night…but I would have been scolded… Omedetto Linlin! :-D

From: Miracle!

HI LINLIN! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

From: Risa

I hope you have a happy birthday Linko!!! Wish we could all celebrate together! We love you!

Lin smiled at all the messages.

Linko?....oh no….another nickname…

She laughed at the thought as Ai looked at her with a bemused expression on her face.

“Let’s go Lin-chan!”

Lin couldn’t be sad anymore. It was her birthday and she was with family…

Ai-chan…

She smiled as she took her leader’s hand an continued to walk out of the dance studio.

A new fanfiction….finally.

Hello to those who actually read this blog (not many of you I guess). This is a fanfic that I have posted on Musume-Central and JPH!P. Thought I would share it with a wider audience – comments are welcome.

Arigatou Ai-chan….

Kami-sama…so tired……

A young woman gathered her bag from the corner of a deserted dance studio. She let her long brown hair fall from the clip she kept it in during practice before placing the clip in a side pocket of her bag and grabbing the Rakuten baseball cap she was given for promoting their team…

How long has it been?...four years already…

The girl sighed at the thought, her eyes glistening for a moment as she thought of how much everything had changed since then. She had gone from being the girl no one could understand to the leader of Morning Musume in that span of time. She checked her bag one last time and looked across the darkened dance studio to make sure no one forgot anything.

It’d be just like Eri to forget something…

She laughed to herself despite the room’s emptiness. Lifting the bag up to her shoulder and pulling the hat down over her eyes she shuffled along to the door, quietly, gracefully, as if her muscles remembered the years of ballet training she had. She pushed through the door and edged along the hallway making her way to the elevator.

SLAP!

Her bag fell to the cool ground and the sound rebounded in the empty hallway. She had zoned out and missed the elevators.

What the hell?....maybe being a leader does something …wait?

The leader noticed that she now stood next to one of the stairwells. Echoes whispered from behind the cold door.

Is someone crying?....No….just leave it alone Ai…it’s not any of your business.

Her body betrayed her brain as she pushed the heavy metal door open and came face-to-face with a pair of puffy, red, surprised eyes belonging to the younger of the two newest additions to Morning Musume. The girl was sitting at the top of the stairs with her back to the door. The noise of the door opening had scared her out of whatever private misery she was in.

“Taka…Takahashi-…san?” she stumbled over her words as she rushed to wipe her eyes dry.

Ai sat down beside the leaking girl.

“Takaha…” Linlin began.

“Call me Ai-chan,” Ai smiled at the younger girl.

Ai decided not to pry into the reason for her Kouhai’s puffy eyes, instead deciding to sit with her on the cold stairs. She silently thanked kami-sama that she had decided to keep her long pants on after practice. The two girls sat in silence for a while, time creeping by as both girls thought about what to say to the other.

“Taka…Ai-chan…you don’t have to sit here with me. I’ll be fine…” Linlin finally broke the silence, sounding a bit more like her normal self.

“Lin, I want you to know that you can come to me at any time – if you’re worried, sad, happy – it doesn’t matter. When you joined Morning Musume, you became part of a family…”

Ai didn’t know what came over her as she said the words, but she knew she meant them. At the mention of the word family Linlin sniffled a bit. Ai-chan, normally the dense one, noticed the effect her words had on the younger girl and decided to pull her into a sideways embrace. Her shoulder soon became wet, so Ai hugged Linlin tighter.

The two sat in the stairwell, the older embracing the younger, the waning sun’s rays passing into the lone window of the stairwell, until Linlin’s cries subsided to mild sniffles.

“…Ai-chan?” the girl mumbled into Ai’s shoulder.

“Yes Lin-chan?” Ai replied, easily adopting the familiar nickname.

“Thank you…”

“There is no need to thank me Lin-chan, we are family.” Ai smiled as the younger girl pulled slowly out of her embrace.

Linlin returned the smile.

She’s smiling again…

“Come on Lin-chan.” Ai stood up abruptly and extended her had towards Linlin.

“Ai-chan?” Linlin looked confused.

“Have you eaten yet?”

“……no…”

“My treat…then I’ll make sure you get home ok.”

Ai’s smile grew as the younger girl took her hand and allowed Ai to help her up……

Just a thought

I was reading something tonight that sparked a few emotions/thoughts in me. The only thing I can say is that love is love - It does not matter who you fall in love with. I feel anger when people say love is wrong - I want to hate the people who think that way, but I cannot allow myself to sink to their level. If this post makes anyone upset - so be it. No this has nothing to do with my own life....it's just a thought. I think Keith Olbermann says everything I want to say best in this special comment. I know this isn't my usual fare - then again I don't post often enough to have a usual fare..... Goodnight.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

New updates to come.

I know this place has been dead for a while. I plan to start posting more about J-pop and K-pop. (Probably use this as a place to drool about DAI's new album). Maybe up reviews of Momusu singles and whatnot.

So for those of you who actually read this blog (are there any?) stay tuned.

Not “one Nation”

America is not one nation. Since the days of our Founding Fathers there have always been multiple conceptions of what this nation should be.

                    

Thomas Jefferson believed that the nation should be primarily agrarian, with most of the power residing with the states, and a smaller federal government

His political rival was Alexander Hamilton, who believed that the nation should have a centralized federal government which had the power to impose laws that could not be superseded

One can see the remnants of these two political philosophies in today’s current political parties. The Republicans being similar to Jefferson, believing that the federal government should be small; and the Democrats being similar to Hamilton and believing in a larger federal government with a large number of programs to promote the social welfare of the nation’s citizens.

The nation’s foreign policy has divided the definition of what America is to people both foreign and domestic. The images that follow represent two of the most controversial foreign engagements the United States has been involved in. The pictures, for the most part, represent domestic opinion in this nation, as well as the images the world had access to.

 

 

 

Beyond these images, and the conflicts they represent are the truths about our nation. While our nation can be a place of great opportunity those opportunities have had to be fought for…

Despite the example of our worst nature, the angels of our better nature move us forward, from legalized racial segregation to a more perfect union. While we are not perfect yet, nor probably ever will be, there is a responsibility we hold as citizens of this planet we call Earth – to make the world a better place for our fellow men and women, before we are to consider ourselves.

Here is an example of a result of our better angels working in this nation. Can we make a more perfect union? I’ll let these pictures speak for me.

Beware the next post

My next post will be part of a project for school. Just a little heads up to those who follow this blog. Comment if you wish… it will be highly political in nature.