PITY PARTY: PARTY OF 1 ୨୧ @lgcjisoo / BACKDATED (010125)

this is super late but since lili is participating in the writing challenge for this term, i would love to get her some more threads and/or new plots/connections, if you have more space this term for something new, i'd love to connect! please like this and i'll drop by a message your way! + lili is on the animal crossing team for the halloween secret rewards / gig 025, if anyone is free for another thread!

lili laughs, a breath pushed forcibly as she straightens up from her end pose. “you’re much too kind, and you’re probably lying but i’ll take it.”

reaching for her towel, she pats along her forehead before letting it drop to the rest of her belongings. “maybe — maybe a partner would be better.” she sighs, still uncertain with the compromise, finally coming back to sit beside rua.

“you literally read my mind,” lili admits, like a breath of relief to finally be speaking her mind to someone who wasn’t all gung-ho about their current predicament. the others couldn’t wait to express themselves creatively, and yet, all lili felt was exhaustion. “like who am i kidding, i think — i’m just not meant to be choreographing”

it wasn’t to say lili wasn’t creative — no, she could be if she put half the mind into it.

but to be frank, even lili couldn’t fake putting her heart into something that she didn’t really care for — and maybe that was why everything was feeling so wrong. her passion was misplaced, it had only taken now to realize that no matter the excuse she put up — it would always feel wrong because lili wasn’t someone who planned and created, at least not in the form she was in now, no — she was the executioner. 

she was the model to the artist, she would breathe life into the idea — not have the idea, itself. 

( at least, in lili’s not-so-humble opinion )

 “how is your stuff coming along?”

་ ⸼ ⸒ ✴ previously、

as long as lili isn't expecting well, concrete and actually helpful advice, rua is happy to watch whatever the other has come up with so far. even if she didn't know much about techniques and styles and all that, she can at least tell if something is pleasing and nice to watch.

when the song starts playing, rua can already picture the kind of dance that's likely to follow. it screams contemporary (she at least knows that much) but the thing about this genre of dance is that, it's very... free and there's not exactly rules or structure to follow or adhere to, or else it wouldn't be considered that style anymore. to her, one of the defining features of this kind of dance is a flowy-kind of feeling, with some powerful moves when the song hits certain notes or peaks - and that's more or less what she sees when lili starts demonstrating what she's put together so far.

part of her is in awe though, that the other had already come up with this much and although lili calls the movements stiff, rua doesn't think she's giving herself enough credit. "i don't think it looks silly," she says with a light laugh. "it's much better than anything i could've came up with honestly." although that isn't saying much, considering her absolute lack of knowledge and ability to choreograph but that's not the focus here!

"maybe you just need to get used to the movements more?" she suggests, wondering if the 'stiff' feeling lili speaks of is because the dance doesn't feel natural to her yet. "i've barely done any dance like this so i think i'd feel really out of place if i tried to suddenly." but she's not sure if that's really the source of the problem, her just guessing, or a personal issue. "or maybe the moves are meant to be done with a partner?"

PIECE OF ME     ୨୧     @lgcminnie     /     “miiiiiiiiinnie,” lili practically whines as she’s pouring over the karaoke book; the song she had wanted to sing after her grand slam of a performance of wicked’s defying gravity was no where to be found. it had torn her hopes of one-upping such a performance that lili wanted a little pick-me-up. and what better than to be the nosy little bee that she was known and hated loved for. “did you pick a song yet? i can’t find the one i wanted to sing.” 

honestly, it was probably in a different book. 

taking a sip of her drink, lili glances around the room — taking in the sights, the stares, and the oh la la : did her eyes deceive her or did someone just get chocolates a day late? very interesting.

“did you see that! i think he just handed her some chocolates,” lili whispers behind a not so subtle hand, dropping it almost immediately when the scene disperses before it can really lead to well, anything — how disappointing. “well, that was a bust. oh right, how was white day for you? did you get any chocolates? someone gave me matcha ones that tasted like grass.” it was gross and yet, out of the kindness of her heart, lili regifted it to the janitor this morning.

230428

“well, yes, of course.” but this wasn’t about her! giving her friend a narrowed look, she shakes her head. “god, guys are such cowards. being ‘untouchable’,” her fingers rise to use the appropriate and rather dramatic air quotes, “should not stop them from trying to treat you! boys love the unattainable, they chase it — it should have gotten you even more than chocolates; like flowers, a car, maybe even a building.” she’s miffed, obviously boys had lost their touch for pining. “it’s like in their dna to want what they can’t have.” 

lili would know, she’s made it her life’s mission to be chased but never caught.

“ah, but that’s the challenge to expect to be rejected and still try, y’know?” she frowns, pushing the other’s shoulder with a slight nudge before settling in her seat with a huff, obviously disgruntled at minyoung’s lack of love life drama. “no — not really? which is it? not no? not not really? so that means there’s a possibility of a someone?” suddenly, she’s interested all over again.

then she rolls her eyes, fingers flicking her hair over her shoulder, “he wishes but that’s for your ears only.” her eyes glance around at their surroundings. 

minnie chokes back a laugh. lili would always prefer a show rather than something subtle. but she was right, it would've been far more entertaining had it turned out she threw them in his face. or even better, an argument.

lili's reaction makes the colour on minnie's cheeks deepen. it was something to be embarrassed about! lili's surprise says it all. it's definitely strange for a girl not nto receive something. the most minnie has ever received were nervous confessions (and a reputation of being untouchable).

"yeaaah, i guess," minnie replies, unconvinced. it read on her face. minnie was grimacing. "you've must've gotten tons! i had a reputation in school for being untouchable. the boys would expect to get rejected..." at the mention of someone she's interested she kind of laughs. (despite a name flashing in her mind for a brief moment.) "uh, no, not really. what about you? you surely have someone you're fond of, hmm?"

VALENTINE INTERLUDE     ୨୧     @lgcjunyi     /     her throat was dying, after belting out to wicked’s naughty high note — broken glasses withstanding — she needed to rest. she had just given the room the best they’ve ever heard — to lili’s standards — and what she wanted was a reward for her efforts.

beelining to junyi’s side, she sits next to the younger girl, reaching for an empty glass to fill with the pink punch that was going around. the reward she wished to be collected lay at the other’s tongue: “i’m parched — how’d your white day go?” cut to the chase; lili wanted details! “some guy gave me the grossest flower arrangements, yellow daisies! do i look like a yellow daisy type of person?” 

“hypothetically!” lili adds after the fact. though, despite herself, fiery temperament and all, lili did know how to be professional. and the last thing she wanted to do was embarrass herself — and sure, by extension jisoo, as well — in front of people she could very well work with again in the future. one could never know what the future had in store, building roots rather than burning bridges should be her main priority.

( even if lili was too good at burning bridges, today she’ll play nice )

“don’t worry, i’ll be good.”

if being good meant putting her pretty smile, only to complain to jisoo’s ear after the shoot, then yes — lili will be oh so good.

“the face is off limits but who said the ribs or the ankles couldn’t take a kick or two?” she’s joking, now, obviously. lili would rather admit defeat than risk breaking a nail, or worse, getting a scar on any part of her. 

call her surprised; a brow raising in expectation at his words. “is this really the han jisoo? or has some alien taken over your body? or maybe you’re a business-minded double?” anything she wanted? oh, where has this jisoo been all her life? willfully ignoring the 'within reason' addition, she smiles, “really — anything at all?”

if there's anyone that can provoke a reaction out of him, there's two people that up in his mind, and one of them is lili. for sure! headlining the main act : li yifei. congratutions. "now why would you be starting a fight in the middle of a shoot, if not on purpose." there's a finger at his temple, and jisoo allows her to have this sigh that escapes from his throat unwillingly.

there's some silence between them as jisoo simply stares at lili, unsure of how to even entertain or respond to this. comedic reply? or a stern reply? "i'll pull haru out of there myself if i have to, no black eyes allowed for anyone. some arguing back and forth? by all means, get into it emotionally if you have to. makes for better content. or something like that." of course, out of earshot of anyone else, who could hear him encouraging a disagreement. he's sure that neither of the starring parties would let it get that far.

"if there's something that will make you behave, speak it aloud and if i can make it happen, i will. do you want something on set? or off set? i can have it delivered if," emphasis on if, jisoo says with enunciation, "if its within reason."

XU LI YIFEI LILI, PERFORMER. ENCHANTED WAVES SANCTUM

she is a girl, just like the rest. her father sees her as such. no different than the others, just like the others, one more daughter to add to the his master plan. her father lacks nothing: daughters, wealth, nor ambition. she was just another one to be used for their father’s egostistic power play. her father, the founder of a well-known informant guild, had married into her mother’s noble family. the li family were well suited to his claims for power: they had both wealth and influence, built from years of triumph and trust; desirable attributes that only aided in her father’s ambitions.

pretty and quiet, this is your cross to bear. one of seven daughters, she is not the eldest, not the youngest, she is just a daughter — pretty and quiet, taught the bare minimum, ready to be sold off like cattle to the highest bidder. she’s seen it happen four times already in her twenty-three years. does she yearn for more? perhaps — there’s no other life she’s known except the one she’s seen within the walls of the li estate. outside was unheard of — a life she could only revere in her dreams. and in her dreams, the outside world is beyond the chains that hold her in this hell she calls home.  ( it is why, when she gets her first taste of freedom; stowing away in the servants' cart had been deplorable but thrilling, all the same, she wonders why had she waited so long to take a step out )

death becomes you. tw: sibling death, death by childbirth. her second eldest sister dies in childbirth. it’s an awful affair — the man was thirty years her senior and had left his wife to die as he held his newborn in his hands. to his dismay, the babe is also a daughter. promised a son, despite the self-evident reality that the li family found their luck in their daughters, he comes to her father with an ire to burn and an even more appalling offer. from this blasphemy comes yifei’s worst nightmare come to life. 

she is just a girl, just like the rest, part two. she’s known since she was five who she was to marry. it had been engrained into her memory with each waking moment and with every trivial interaction. her marriage had been decided for her and whether it be by the grace of god or not, at least, yifei didn’t dislike him. it is only when her sister dies does lili finally see the monster in her father. he is not only calculating, he is also heartless. her sister’s husband wished to replace her — with yifei. a payment for the defective wife he had lost. the night lili learns of this truth, is the night that changes everything.

death becomes you, part two. tw: murder, death by arson. she hadn’t meant for it to happen. at least — not in the way it did. she was to leave the estate in a fortnight, to depart for her new husband’s home and be his wife, bear his children and maybe, live the life her poor sister should have breathed. this is what should have happened. but suddenly the main hall is engulfed in flames and only yifei is there to watch it fall, ashes to ashes. ( she doesn’t remember how she gets out, had someone helped her? had she run off on her own? all she knows is by the time the pocket realm opens up, she’s on the run and suddenly her face is plastered all over posts within the district )

on the run: she is just a girl, unlike the rest, reprise. she changes her name. relinquishes claim of her sisters — prays that they had made it out alive, unlike her bastard of a father — but it’s too late, her new life had begun. a performer in the enchanted waves sanctum was not what she had always dreamed of but surprisingly it was better than what she had always known, if one could believe it. at least it was until one day she chances her face, its distinctive features all dressed up in charcoal, nailed to the post and a fear strikes her. the pocket realm hadn’t been her first choice but it had been the best one at the time. if she was on the run, there was no way they could find her from within, right? she could only hope.

@LGCENT just posted a photo!

take me on a date to see nemo 🩵

#lgctrainees #lgcent #xulili

“and chance you going deaf from hearing my screams all day? no, i think you chose wisely. plus, i like your ears.” her free hand reaches out to tug on an exposed lobe that wasn’t hidden by the helmet, fingertips lingering — as if relishing the heat that emitted from what was notably the warmest place on the body outside of one’s armpits but there was a hell of a chance that lili was going to shove her hands into his pits on national television. 

a brow crooks at his suggestive remarks — “a surprise? theres more? was this not all of it?”

oh, how lili loathed surprises — but her smile says otherwise; relaying a contrasted emotion: one of genuine confusion. “what could you have possibly prepared —“ she catches herself as she watches his feet shuffle into the skiis. sure, they were on a date but lili still wanted them to be safe — ski accidents were no joke!

( minkyu had to give her this — it might be the only time lili cared for someone’s well-being that wasn’t her own )

“yes! that looks about right,” she does the same, clicking her boots into place before turning to him, “so what’s this surprise down there, don’t i get a hint of some kind?”

if she had to bear with a surprise, she should at least get some clues to spark her interest.

Holding hands. Oh. They’re edging closer and closer to becoming the ultimate picture of an ultra-cute date couple - sweeter than any romance anime Minkyu has ever watched. It doesn’t feel unnatural, even if the physical closeness is new. They’re friends, after all. Regardless, he enjoys it, a soft smile tugging at his lips as his hand gently clasps hers in return.

“Luckily, while my skiing skills are lacking, I’m not afraid of heights at all,” he muses, a thoughtful hum escaping him. “Maybe I should’ve chosen an amusement park with the tallest roller coasters instead.” He laughs at the thought, lighthearted and easy.

Before long, their stop approaches, and they step off the chair lift. Ever the gentleman, Minkyu helps her down before guiding her to where they’ll get their skis ready. The air is much crisper up here, and when he glances at her, he notices the cold hasn’t left her unaffected.

“Your cheeks are so cute when they turn red like that.” he remarks with a grin before pressing his gloved hands gently to her chilled skin, offering a bit of warmth. “There’s hot chocolate waiting for us down there - aaaaaand maybe a little something special I’ve prepared as a reward for making it down in one piece.”

With that, he finally lets go, turning his focus to the skis. “We just step in until it clicks, right?”