Vanilla Shakes, K-Pop Daze, and Russian Babes
Why So Sugoi?
"I swear, sometimes you're incomprehensible to even me sometimes." I took a quick sip at my vanilla shake while I stared at my fangirling friend across the table. I wasn't sure why I chose to have a vanilla one today. No, actually I knew exactly why I chose a vanilla shake today: it was the favorite frosty beverage of Kuroko from Kuroko no Basuke, a recent spring title that I had been for some reason drawn to. It was a sports anime, but it had more than enough interesting qualities to make me fangirl hard over each episode, one of these elements being Kuroko himself. Yes, the little bluenette was what prompted me to have a vanilla shake. What was more challenging to interpret was my friend's babbling and squeals at her laptop.
"YOU'VE GOT TO SEE THIS VIDEO!" she nearly pulverized my arm to try to get my fleeting attention even though she already had it. I swatted her hand away with a sigh and scooted my chair next to hers. I had been caught up with my third play through Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, but it seemed that I had to put that on hold.
When I was seated close enough to see the screen, she pounded the space bar to start the video. As I suspected, I was greeted with the sight of numerous bishies- excuse me, I mean handsome men dancing to a familiar tune.
I quickly focused on the scene in front of me- not due to any interest in the snappily dressed singers- but because I was being tested. She was waiting for a reaction from me. I scanned through the fairly odd setting, the upbeat tune, and even the tough to distinguish men with a scrutiny that I had honed for anything that she might fangirl over.
Up until recently, I thought I had a good grasp on what she would fangirl over. That is, until K-Pop came to town. I had definitely heard of K-Pop prior. It was nearly inevitable that I hear about it from all the anime I watch. I figure that now would be a good time to introduce myself. My name is Jessica, Jessie, Jess, Onee-chan, Grape Jam, unabletositstill, whatever you know me by, one thing is for sure: I am a fujoshi. No anime is safe from my infallible ability to find the potential pairing within. My schedule, no matter where I might be lodged at for the night, includes a bedtime story about one of my many OTPs. As to not be behind the curve, I have been keeping up with the seasonal release of new animes and helping the wonderful fandom-to-be blossom.
You would think that with all this Eastern influence I would have a huge backlog of K-Pop songs, right? Wrong! I had exactly one K-Pop song on my iPod. It was recommended to me by one of my favorite Homestuck artists: "It's You" by Super Junior, a soothing tune with some smooth moves to go with it.
Other than that, nada. Zero K-Pop. I had other tastes in music that even I admit are quite old fashioned, but it what I grew up with. Cat Empire, The Beatles, and a select few of Frank Zappa's oddities are all influences from my father; the old Linkin Park, System of a Down, and Gorillaz from my brother; The Who and P!nk from my mom; and The , Panic! at the Disco, Radwimps, and my guilty stash of Jonas Brothers music were all of my own discovery. All of them, however, were overshadowed by the mass of Homestuck compositions and Junjou Romantica OSTs that occupied my iPod.
I was perfectly happy with that until my partner in anime came up to me one normal schoolday. She told me in her usual dramatic manner about how she had "seen the light that is Super Junior". She proceeded to tell me about how hot they were and how good they sounded in A-Cha. All I had heard that day was, "Blah, blah, KOREAN SINGING, blah, blahblah, CAMERA NOISES." I had assumed it would be a passing thing. Maybe just another couple songs to tolerate while I was over at her house, like with Avenged Sevenfold. Even back then though, I had the impression that Super Junior was there to stay. I guess now would be a goos time to tell you about my friend.
Mel. Horse fanatic, shoujo enthusiast, singer, writer, and serial vocabulary misuser. Although we weren't too close in elementary, the hardships of middle school and the common interest in actual anime drew us together, seeing as we were seemingly the only people who knew anime beyond a certain annoying orange ninja. Her anime was Vampire Knight and mine was Death Note, so naturally I was bored stiff at her moe-eyed, oak-door-thick skulled heroin, and she was hesitant to sympathize with my self-righteous, murderous, god complex anti-hero. Nonetheless, our friendship was set in stone.
Now, with the addition of K-Pop, there was a significant subtraction in anime talk. Less bishie and more bias. Less Kyouya and more Kyuhyun- who was basically the only one I knew. Actually, that's a lie. There was one person in particular that I liked enough to recognize on sight. Top from Big Bang. The minute I saw him in "Fantastic Baby", it had me smiling like an idiot, and I know exactly why.
Blue. ing. Hair! Yep, you want to know why I like blue hair so much? Kaito. ing. Shion. Only the greatest synthesized voice to ever grace my ears. Ever since I experienced this aisu-loving Vocaloid, blue hair has taken over my every preference in anime guys. My favorite anime guys before Kaito: Sasori (red-head), Demyx (blonde), and Light (brunette). After Kaito: Nowaki (navy blue), Nezumi (grey-blue), and the new guy, Kuroko (light blue). It is borderline istic at this point. Oops. Do I care? Hell no, blue-haired guys are awesome, and if it meant that I irrationally end up liking random Korean singers, so be it. Han soo ing wi.
Mel's voice brought me out of my reminiscing. "So? What did you think?"
. I forgot to pay attention to the video she was showing me. If I told her that, she'd just show me the video again, and that is the farthest away from my goal (my goal being kicking Xion's and beating my game for the 3rd time). "Oh, it was pretty cool." I said noncommittally.
"I know right!?! It's a part of their new album! Did you see Kevin's outfit?"
Another wave of "oh " washed over me. Who the hell was Kevin again? Time to try and be clever. "U-un! Suteki, ne?" There, now I don't have to try and describe it. Japanese is so convenient sometimes.
She smiled and looked back at her monitor. "Hai hai! Sugoi des!" She didn't use that right, but she just unconsciously let me off the hook, so I'm not complaining. I didn't really feel into my game right then, so I shut it off and moved to one of her other laptops to pay a visit to the magical world of Tumblr.
Miraculously and disappointedly, there was no on my dash, so I switched over to Chatango. A familiar name popped up almost as soon as I got signed in, and a smile immediately popped onto my face. 96Emerald and >konomo< were on. We entered our usual hangout room without a moments hesitation.
XxArsenicxX: Hey you guys.
96Emerald: Yoooooo
>konomo<: it's been awhile YN
YN is the name Kon gave me after I sent them pics of an armband I got with the kanji for on it. They jokingly called me a Nazi, and since I rolled with it, it became my "name" with them. None of us knew each other's names, but we were still closer friends with me than most of the people I grew up with. Heck, the only one who straight out said their own gender was me- to avoid being called gay in the wake of the I post- so I don't even know their genders for sure.
XxArsenicxX: A fine howdoya do to you too, commie.
>konomo<: are we still on this? i'm not a commie!
96Emerald: Sure. Sure.
Emerald and I have jokingly called Kon a commie ever since he out of the blue got hacked and sent us junk messages proclaiming "XXX BUSTY RUSSIAN BABES ARE WAITING FOR YOU IN THE LINK BELOW XXX". He apologized profusely, but we ended up spamming him with pictures of Russia from Hetalia for weeks. Emerald preferred calling him his usual name, Kon, though. As for Emerald himself, he gave himself the nickname Kuro from his screenname. "9" in Japanese is "ku" and "6" is "ro" (which he admitted he got from 96Neko's screenname), so he didn't get anything embarrassing for his nickname.
XxArsenicxX: Hey, I think being called a Nazi is worse than being called a commie!
>konomo<: yeah, but what happened to me was an accident. you bought yours specifically knowing exactly what it was!
XxArsenicxX: Instead of being tricked by Communist s?
96Emerald: XDD Oh c'mon Kon-kun you have to admit that's funny
>konomo<: :T ugh, fine. What kept you yn?
XxArsenicxX: I'm at a friend's house. The K-Pop one.
96Emerald: She's still on about that? I mean they're just a bunch of shiny boy bands
XxArsenicxX: Dont you mean SHINee? = _ =
96Emerald: what the hell is a shinee?
XxArsenicxX: A band of hers. I swear they just keep coming.
XxArsenicxX: Anyway, what were you and Kon talking about before I got in here?
96Emerald: Nothing.
XxArsenicxX: O rly?
96Emerald: Ya rly.
XxArsenicxX: O rly!?!
96Emerald: Ya rly!
>konomo<: we really weren't saying much yn.
XxArsenicxX: O RLY!?!?!?!
96Emerald: MA RLY!!!
XxArsenicxX: XD Okey den~ If dear Kon-chan says so~~~
>konomo<: -___-' yn........
XxArsenicxX: Yes Kooooooooon ma' dear = 3=
>konomo<: there's a difference between shipping anime characters and shipping real people together. Believe it or not, but not everyone enjoys a slash fanfic about them
XxArsenicxX: Ignoring your straight-up blasphemy at the end, you know both you and Kuro are guys? Interesting information. Do continue.
>konomo<: I can't win here can I?
XxArsenicxX: You lost the minute you started. >:]
XxArsenicxX: ......helloooooo? You alive over there?
XxArsenicxX: Ugh! You guys are PMing each other! No fair! I want in on your flirting sessions too!
>konomo<: we're not flirting!
XxArsenicxX: Are you cybering already? Oh my, that's a bit fast you two! Dearest me, just the thought might give me the vapors!
>konomo<: Stfu, fujoshi! XP
XxArsenicxX: Kuroooooo, your boyfriend is being mean to me!
96Emerald: Yeesh, feeling like living up to your name much today, Nazi? What the hell is cybering anyway?
>konomo<: O.O OH GOD NO KURO! DID YOU SERIOUSLY ASK HER TO EXPLAIN WHAT CYBERING IS!?!
>konomo<: I'M OUTTA HERE!
(>konomo< has left the chatroom)
XxArsenicxX: So were you guys cybering?
96Emerald: you seriously think he has the guts to cyber with me on here?
XxArsenicxX: XD True. He is a bit skiddish. He still refuses to even come close to confessing about you guys' relationship to me.
XxArsenicxX: Were you guys at least flirting? <:3c
96Emerald: I tried. Went straight over his head. *-*
XxArsenicxX: Rough. Still working on getting him on webcam?
96Emerald: Yeah, no luck though. He's a tough nut to crack. Honestly, I'm just glad he is even considering this at all.
96Emerald: I can still remember the times when he thought everyone anonymous on the Internet was 35 and a e.
XxArsenicxX: Pfff, oh my god. I can too!
XxArsenicxX: Oh god, that can't be the reason he won't show his face on webcam, can it?
96Emerald: I fear that you're right on the money, Holmes m'dear.
XxArsenicxX: Does that make you Watson? Because OTP, srysly.
96Emerald: BBC or American movie Sherlock?
XxArsenicxX: BBC, duh. As much as I would love to be Robert Downey Jr, there's no contest between the two.
96Emerald: Good girl.
XxArsenicxX: :3
96Emerald: Woah. Breaking news! He just accepted my request on tinychat!
XxArsenicxX: :O That means you guys can video chat! Holy ! Send me a feed of your screen! I want to see this happening live!
96Emerald: You know for a fact that I wouldn't betray his trust that way. Plus, he is joining up on the condition that I show him my face before he shows me his.
XxArsenicxX: Q A Q I wanna see you too! Don't you think that deal is a bit one sided? I mean, he can just bail once he sees your face (no offense intended <:3c)
96Emerald: None taken. And i'm not shy. The deal's fine with me. As for you, I can just send you a pic of me. As long as you send me one in return.
XxArsenicxX: Hmmm, all of this pedobear talk has me wary...Are you positive that you're not a e?
96Emerald: Last time I checked, no, I am not a e. I couldn't be one if I wanted to anyway (17 and proud).
XxArsenicxX: And I'm not gonna get any weirdo pictures of you. No pics, right?
96Emerald: Nope. Just me, fully clothed and fully non-ic.
XxArsenicxX: .......okay. Just lemme find a picture of me that doesn't make me look terrible.
96Emerald: Same.
This, unfortunately, was a genuine challenge for me. All of my good pictures seemed to all be taken at my cousin's wedding which I deemed a bit weird to be showing as a first impression pic. It's not like I wore a polka-dot dress every day or anything. I finally happened upon one of my favorite pictures in the world, and pulled it onto the nearest image hosting site I could find to share the link.
XxArsenicxX: Found a good one! I don't look best in it, but it's one of my favorite pictures in the history of ever. At ACEN, I managed to snag a pic with Vic Mignogna hugging me. Happiest moment of my life. Hope my smile doesn't look too demented! [link]
96Emerald: Holy ! You lucky dog! Did you have to wait in line to see him?
XxArsenicxX: Nope! He showed up out of nowhere at one of the vendors and while I was fumbling to get a picture he turns and says "You look like you need a hug." I didn't even care that he almost squished the poster I was holding. ^w^ Aah, life is good~
96Emerald: I guess I can attempt to top that picture. No insanely popular voice actors in this one. Just me and my dog Pochi. [link]
Pochi was definitely the first thing that caught my eye in the photo. He was HUGE! The brown and black fluffy coat and bear-like face immediately made it obvious that it was indeed a purebred Leonburger, my favorite dog breed in the history of ever. Pochi was standing up on his hind legs to sneak a at the person standing next to him in the picture. The man's hair looked just as fluffy as the leonburger's and went down to curl slightly upwards at the back. His long black hair was fashionably mussed and hung in his face in chunks. His eyes were a bright, emerald green and had a sort of serene look to them. Added together with his prince charming face and tall stature, he basically looked like someone straight out of a magazine. Was I going to tell him that? Hell no. He is unobtainable to anyone lacking a Y-chromosome. Why couldn't the otakus at my school look like him? I guess people were right in saying that all the good guys are gay, taken, or both.
Oh right, he was expecting a reply.
XxArsenicxX: Holy ! You have a leonburger!?! I've always wanted to have a pet leo!
XxArsenicxX: Pochi must be awesome at chasing away all the boys that come to the yard too because, to be completely honest, if Kon knew how good you look, he would be wishing you were some sort of ual predator.
Wow, Jess, awfully subtle. What the hell happened to not talking about how amazing he looks? Time to do damage control and diminish what you just said.
XxArsenicxX: You look like long-haired Takano on a bad hair day! =]
Nice save. High five, me!
96Emerald: Leave it to YN to compare me to a character. Are you gonna say that Kon looks like Ritsu then?
XxArsenicxX: You'll have to be the judge of that for me ;) Your loverboy awaits! Have fun you crazy kids!
96Emerald: Why are you calling me a kid? I'm older than you?
XxArsenicxX: Tut tut. It won't do at all to keep your date waiting. Go on now. Fix up your mane of hair and prepare to meet your potential suitor, Kuro.
96Emerald: Fine fine. Bye YN.
96Emerald: Oh, and by the way, you can call me Troy from now on.
XxArsenicxX: :) Okay! And although Nazi is still completely accurate, I'd rather you call me Jess.
96Emerald: Alright. Bye Jess! XD
XxArsenicxX: Bye Troy-nii!!!
(96Emerald has left the chatroom)
"Are you rewatching No. 6 again over there?"
My head snapped up. If Mel was getting the idea that I'm rewatching No. 6, then I must've looked either really happy or like a train wreck. I fixed my hair for a moment to ensure that it wasn't the latter. "Nope!" Mel had taken to writing her fanfic again, and she'd need me to edit soon. I closed my Chatango tab and opened Tumblr once more. "I found my new OTP."
A/N: So there's my first chapter. Mostly introductions. Mel, don't kill me. I ended up doing a reverse you; I made the characters have the same names but slightly distorted them for the sake of humor (including myself so shush!). Also, yes, Troy and Cece will be in this fic. Zephy and Lee may emerge later too when things get serious ;D
Just a note for you guys too. I won't be updating this fic often. I have other No. 6 fanfics to work on along with regularly writing OC fics plus summer school to worry about, so I'm spread kinda thin. Just wanted to tell you in advance.
EDIT: Grr, Zerochan ate my image! New one instead. I like this one better anyway, Zerochan. It makes more sense with the chapter anyway.
The picture is credited to the adorabluu art style of http://mamacaroni.tumblr.com/ (Seriously check out her stuff)
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