key2earth - Tumblr blog

[key2earth]

@dichotomousvariable

of course, the concert was amazing; it was a one-of-a-kind experience. he and ziying had met at a concert like this—small venue, tight space, so few concertgoers that it was almost a private show—and it only felt more meaningful now that they were more than vague acquaintances. how much more? wooseok didn't like to think about it; it made his head hurt. leaving the venue, laughing, it feels like nothing could go wrong on this night. that is, until he checks his phone: email after email, delays, inclement weather, cancellations. the snow around seoul picked up, which leads to… "ah, fuck… z, i think we're stuck here. they cancelled the night trains back."

being overseas for college means that ziying doesn't get to go home often. which isn't all bad, since going home means dealing with huitian and her dad's silent wars over turkey imported from america that none of them really like but eat anyway because mom liked it when she was still here. it's not so bad, being in sua for the holidays. she's got friends to make christmas special.

friends, which is a technical category she thinks she could get away with not counting wooseok under, even if they're taking a train to gyeongju together on christmas because they've got shared interests in indie music and bands with no spotify listeners.

( there is an asterisk around the word friends, prerequisite for what people normally label this thing between them as. ziying is strangely okay with admitting the benefits part, and not the one about friendship. )

but fine, he's not bad company. if she laughs a little too close, and drinks from his cup when she thinks he's not looking, no one's around in whatever part of korea this is to notice them for it.

that doesn't mean she wants to stay here, though, guy who cancelled their train back!

she glares at him, reaching out to pinch his nose—not gently. "on christmas? dude," ziying complains, "i'm not sleeping at the train station!" letting go of offending feature to tap his phone screen, the woman leans over his shoulder to frown at the screen. "there should be, like, a hostel somewhere, probably... or a jjimjilbang? the ones with the," two hands over the crown of her head, an imitation of the lamb head towels, "towels?"

[key2earth]

@13elmst / sumi

( ... ) “stay still!” she orders, steadying hand under ziying’s chin as she draws her skillful lines. “you know…” sumi ponders, caps the contour stick and swaps it out for a brush, “it makes a lot of sense now that i think about it, but i never realised that you’d take on the… you know, natural face of a person’s appearance.” the confession is followed by an airy laughter, and sumi brings the brush to ziying’s nose and blends the brown lines into her skin, “did you know that jinah botched her first nose job? i mean— okay, that part is pretty obvious, but i heard that it’s actually because her parents didn’t wanna pay for her first nose job ‘cause they liked her nose—reminded them of her grandmother or something… weird, right?—so she went to some underground surgeon to get it done.” sumi inspects her face, concentration tracing along her brows momentarily, but it’s soon replaced with a satisfied nod. she’s dangling the brush in her hand still, a shrug as she brags, “heard it from my sources in the curious currents.” sumi turns, puts the brush back into the makeup bag, then smiles at ziying. “all done! you look exactly like her now,” she declares in a contented tone. she comes behind the latter, places her hands on her shoulder, and pivots her to face the mirror. “what do you think?” sumi asks, face peeking from behind her in the mirror. a devious smile, “ready to party?”

xie ziying isn't known for being cooperative ( or at least, she hopes not! ), but the younger girl still puts up a makeshift barricade with a nearby broom, right through the handle of the toilet door. because sure, sumi isn't scary, but she's also not not scary. by the power of residential advisors vested in her or whatever!

and she's got a killer taste in reds, too—the vampiric anomaly laughs at the obvious colour choice, holding it up to herself. it's brighter than her usual black, but it fits much better than she expects, though she doesn't get much time to admire it before her chin's caught in sumi's hand. "wha's up?" she complains, wrinkling her nose at the ticklish brush going over her new features, words stuffed up, "i did m' make up al'eady!"

but then she laughs, cheerful bounce to her shrugged shoulders when sumi muses over the nose job she's recreating, reason revealed. ziying's only got half an idea of who this jinah girl is, even though she's got her appearance on, and certainly none of the grudge that sumi seems to be holding. it's entertaining as hell, though! "you're a bitch," ziying informs sumi, pleased tinge to it. she's great!

she throws her arm around the older girl, leaning against her. "and i'm kinda hot," she decides, new face and added contour all. gives the residential advisor a wink, cheeky and cute about it. sure, everything's going to melt off in a bit, but for now... "let's go party!"

[key2earth]

new year new muse so here's jeong domi, the girl who wasn't meant to make it, and now doesn't know what to do because she kind of has! she assimilates energy into herself but at big ( nuclear energy / radiation sickness ) cost, so she's perma-patched to keep her & everyone around her alive? her profile is over here & more info / plots under the cut, pls like to plot or ask for my d/scord & i’ll be there! 💗

info

boy meets girl. they're the sort to pull themselves up by their bootstraps bc they don't have much else, & then they have a child along the way. domi's born with a ticking clock from the moment she arrives - the doctors tell her parents to brace themselves for the worst.

the worst doesn't come, but she's always on the cusp of it. because her powers start to seep through early on & it causes enough troubles for their small town that domi's quickly identified & registered. love isn't enough in the face of all of this, so her mum leaves & never looks back. domi has pictures, but doesn't rlly remember her face.

but her dad stays. maybe out of responsibility, if not love. they don't have enough to keep a steady supply of the patch on her, even though being a walking radiation sickness machine should've gotten her some help? she ends up being raised mostly alone, in a literal bubble. little social interaction except online, because actually going out to touch grass would just be catastrophic for everyone

helps generate electricity in a very contained environment so she doesn't go boom... putting the nuclear in nuclear power plant! at some point sua offers her financial assistance with obtaining the patch if she applies, so she does, and whatdya know! now she's a super late bloomer in college first year undecided she's just happy to be here ( and alive! )

gemini sun ( go fast ) aries moon ( & go big ) virgo rising ( & you'll get to the moon! ) she's been living like she never knows when she might kick it so she sits and smells the roses, but doesn't know where else to go. domi says she's content but it's a lie she tells herself. afraid of change & leaving & what it means, but also ( cautiously, fearfully ) reveling in the freedom of sua! big What Do I Do Now energy bc she's never had to think about the future until the easy access to the patch. probably doesn't think ahead & will pay for it in the future ( that she has now, can you believe it! )

plots

she doesn't have a lot of real world experience, she's easily tricked - so your muse figures this out and makes good use of it

yellow hall friends who came to this hall for the privacy and quiet... so why is your next door neighbour trying so hard to befriend you??

she's a podcaster, mostly due to wack sleeping schedules and being used to staying up in fear of her own mortality. runs the late night radio sessions, so maybe a listener or fan?

someone she found online & treasures very much ( potentially one-sided )

a friend she'd met in the hospital, who understands her situation really well

someone who doesn't get her situation, but she appreciates them all the more for it. they don't treat her as breakable, like everyone else does

someone who's tired of mourning her before she goes. something complicated and ancient and maybe codependent, relationship fraying at the seams

someone who's her guide to living! bring her out let her experience life. touch grass literally

she falls in love easily, but doesn't bother taking it seriously bc the long-term was never viable for her. & now it is, so what are you guys supposed to do?

[key2earth]

[key2earth]

Sylvia Plath, from “ The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath”

[key2earth]

― Albert Camus, Notebooks: 1935-1951

[key2earth]

finally kinda caught up on replies & starters from before my hiatus 😎 which means it's back to plotting time let's gooo! rally plots for ziying below the cut & if you're down to refresh our plots and/or delve deeper for them, pls like this post! 💗

betting ring: as ur local evo $$ in charge, she's definitely one of the members taking bets! so maybe (a) she charges you a specially high ass commission (b) someone who can't get the code right & she's being annoying even though you know that she knows what you're trying to do (c) you got caught by the librarian and now have to pretend that this is a totally legitimate tutoring scheme, yes sir

ziying is a fair weather fan so her loyalties lie with no one ( other than whoever might win her the betting rounds! ). which means you might be spotting her in the opposite colours this year when you'd been cheering on the bleachers together last year, or vice versa—what gives, traitor!?

...sorry she egged your window display she thought it was someone else's. ( maybe she knew it was yours )

rally members who are trying to gauge their odds by the support they've gotten from the betting ring, but she's not giving up that info without something from them

[key2earth]

the meeting's just about wrapping up, nice bow on the top of plans for anomaly domination or whatever it is that the evolution! moment's got going on when ziying arrives, sliding into the seat that their secretary's saved her at the unfortunate front of the room. at least they knew her well enough to put her on the side, the vampiric anomaly stretching out when she gets to the seat, legs swinging themselves over one of the arms of the chair. no need for the tiny desk that comes with it, she's not taking notes.

"hey, dude," she pokes their secretary on the side, points at the notebook they're carrying. they look more harried than usual, especially when they notice she's finally gotten to their campaign meeting; guess the revolution's gotta get its wheels from somewhere. ( her tardiness might be contributing. not as much as the grand plans on the board, though! ) "is there anything i gotta..." worm my way out of, "do?"

they're trying to give her a rundown of the past hour she's missed when she catches dohyun's eye, and takes a moment in between the hushed debrief to make a face at him. an unrepentant 'sup! in greeting, nodding to their presidential candidate. he should probably have fired her half a semester ago, but, he hasn't, so. someone looking to commit anarchy is pretty hard to come across these days, she guesses.

ft. xie ziying & lim dohyun, @inordinaries

[key2earth]

@dichotomousvariable

( ... ) maybe? maybe. there aren't many people there, though, so it's hardly a crowd. he drinks from the plastic cup in his hand—it's some gross, cheap beer, but maybe it would make him less all in his head about this. he's overthinking it, as he tends to do. he turns his attention back to the finale songs. he doesn't hear her anymore. for a bit, at least. then, curiosity gets the best of him, and he wonders if she's noticed him, too—he focuses back in, straining to hear that familiar voice through the nullivi-induced haze.

it's not difficult to spot someone in a concert when it's thinner than the crop of hair from a guy in his forties. but look, she likes it that way ( crowds, not hair ). ziying's at the concert less for the actual music and more for the way it sounds when the band's got all of thirteen listeners and that's counting their second cousins with the pity follow. it's fun, the sort of unpolished rawness that she could sink her teeth in. plus—she wouldn't be caught listening to basic, silly pop!

as it is, the band opening today has attracted just enough people to count on both hands and a friend's, so yeah, it's pretty easy to spot the together for daehan's treasurer in the bar, head of deceptively fluffy hair nodding along to the music. it's not the best notch on her record that she knows exactly how it feels, but eh, sometimes mistakes are made. not again, she thinks, and remembers he might be able to hear it. not happening again! she yells in her head, just for emphasis, and receives no reaction back.

boo, that's boring. ziying flicks a broken matdongsan crumb at wooseok's head. swish, miss. it's the rum and coke in her that goes hello and drags it out in her thoughts, trying to see if he'll turn and get hit in the face with the peanut snack. matdongsan two goes sailing over his head, the awful shot landing in some grandma's drink. she bets it's the bassist's grandma, they've got the same nose. hey! hey! turn around if you can hear me, weenie!

[key2earth]

@redlike

( ... ) "ow, ow!" her complaints come once more, this time more audible. she doesn't understand how they move as fast but, before she knows it, they're separated from the commotion by a number of walls, what was previously piercing through her eardrums now nothing more than a muffled sound. hanbi finds a spot on the cold ground, bringing her knees close to her chest and hugging them tightly. she stares at her friend again, and then — "hey… stop swaying like that." "you said snacks ———— 's it the good, fancy daehan shit, right."

the two of them turn into a corner of the blue hall, random unlocked room clearly having been the resting stop for more than just ziying and hanbi. neatly made bed undone, and something pink and sparkly that's spilled all over open homework—good luck, whoever owns this room! for now, though, it's just the two of them and the room owner's choice of patchwork sheets and dorm-issued furniture, and all the collateral damage from not locking a door.

"'m not swaying," she laughs at the other girl, bouncing down on the bed, skirt flouncing up. much more comfortable than the floor, though hanbi looks like she's not moving over anytime soon. silly camaraderie has ziying tumbling herself back down to the floor, cushioned by the extra fabric of her dress. untucks one of hanbi's arms from around her legs to hook them together, resting her chin on her friend's bicep. "okay, drunky, you should get some water, uh... later." it's not a big deal, anyway; what's the worst that could happen? the room looks like it's been through worse than one drunk girl.

besides, she's got some explaining to do—or just a really good lie to wiggle her way out of being on hanbi's shitlist? "yeap, they are," ziying confirms, not a single ounce of shame in her look. "i'm saving us some money, see?" ( it's to balance off whatever she's been skimming off, it all evens out! ) the fanged anomaly gives a little sniff, thumb across her nose, proud like. pokes hanbi's cheek where it's the softest, and gives her a little pinch. "you can't be mad! it was for evo, totally!"

[key2earth]

@rnalgnant

( ... ) "maybe with a bit more blood in you, i'd have something to be nervous about," he quips, belated, picking the conversation up from where he'd let it skid along the asphalt. there's a playfulness underlying his words, like a cold he caught from her, almost drowned out by all that gusty wind—a tone he doesn't usually speak with. so different it alters the sound of his voice, the way the right color can make your eyes pop. he caps the joke with a soft chuckle. "hungry?" he asks, gentler this time, "want to make a stop over?" a glance to the screen on the dash. 1:28 to pinned location.

the drive passes them by in certain quiet, just the hiss of propane that fills the small sedan and the space between them. match, unstruck. there's kindling in the form of all those spars they've thrown together, scrapes that mean she reads his eyes a little too easily, tricks with her blood that he's learning to counter. none of that translates to conversation starters, though, so thank god ziying's not exactly interested in the prospect of talking—she links her phone up to the speakers and finds a playlist she thinks he'll hate instead.

but something's taken the bite out of him, playful in place of the usual stick up his ass. happens once in a while, and ziying knows it means that their sparring is going to be that much more fun, of the bloodied variety. it makes her grin, the pointy edge of her teeth showing as she turns towards him with barely a half beat in between. "shut up, dude, i've got plenty here," she shoots back, mimes biting her thumb at him in warning, "and whoever you've got in the back!"

because that's what they're here for, someone to take a punch and return with two. they're not friends out for lunch, though his tone begets the feeling. "you're being weird, t4d," ziying says, index finger sending an accusatory point his way before snatching it back, adding, "but i want a burger if you're paying." let it be known, no free food is beneath xie ziying. the gps on the dash marks out the distance to go, enough time for anything to digest; fuel for unfriendly fire.

@rnalgnant

( ... ) "maybe with a bit more blood in you, i'd have something to be nervous about," he quips, belated, picking the conversation up from where he'd let it skid along the asphalt. there's a playfulness underlying his words, like a cold he caught from her, almost drowned out by all that gusty wind—a tone he doesn't usually speak with. so different it alters the sound of his voice, the way the right color can make your eyes pop. he caps the joke with a soft chuckle. "hungry?" he asks, gentler this time, "want to make a stop over?" a glance to the screen on the dash. 1:28 to pinned location.

the drive passes them by in certain quiet, just the hiss of propane that fills the small sedan and the space between them. match, unstruck. there's kindling in the form of all those spars they've thrown together, scrapes that mean she reads his eyes a little too easily, tricks with her blood that he's learning to counter. none of that translates to conversation starters, though, so thank god ziying's not exactly interested in the prospect of talking—she links her phone up to the speakers and finds a playlist she thinks he'll hate instead.

but something's taken the bite out of him, playful in place of the usual stick up his ass. happens once in a while, and ziying knows it means that their sparring is going to be that much more fun, of the bloodied variety. it makes her grin, the pointy edge of her teeth showing as she turns towards him with barely a half beat in between. "shut up, dude, i've got plenty here," she shoots back, mimes biting her thumb at him in warning, "and whoever you've got in the back!"

because that's what they're here for, someone to take a punch and return with two. they're not friends out for lunch, though his tone begets the feeling. "you're being weird, t4d," ziying says, index finger sending an accusatory point his way before snatching it back, adding, "but i want a burger if you're paying." let it be known, no free food is beneath xie ziying. the gps on the dash marks out the distance to go, enough time for anything to digest; fuel for unfriendly fire.

[key2earth]

@fortunefool

( ... ) "really? zy, what are you doing here?" frustration and anxiety dissipate and her voice flattens into a whisper. a hand turns off the main lights and she opts for the bedside lamp instead, far more acceptable as source of light right now. as annoying as she finds ziying, the older woman knows that it'd be rude of her to disturb the girl in her bed. "wake up, go back to your dorm." it may seem like she's stern with her demand, it's how she would be in literally any other scenario, considering this is huitian's younger sister. however, there's something endearing about the way she's nestled in her bed again, and sera even places a hand on ziying's shoulder ㅡ or where she thinks it might be, caressing it. a sign that maybe she wasn't really upset that zy broke in again.

she's sleeping the sleep of the inebriated when someone rouses her from it, lights shining through like an unwelcome morning. ziying gargles out something unintelligible and buries further into the sheets, her make up smearing over her eyes, raccoonish discontent written all over. she's pretty sure sera can't kick her out for want of ra duties or whatnot.

not that it'd stop her from breaking in; ziying's found that sera's room makes for a nice haven when she needs it, as annoying as the older girl can be sometimes. it's a pretty sweet space when sera isn't around, too. ( it's still sweet when she's around, but no one needs to know! friends schmends, that's not real! )

"nah, never mind," she mumbles back to sera, sleepy again when the luck based anomaly starts petting her. it feels inexplicably comfortable, but it's probably just some residual luck coming through for a good night's sleep. maybe she won't even get a hangover tomorrow. "i think i should stay," ziying says around a yawn, wrinkle in her nose while she tries to talk through it, though all semblance of sense is out the window. "it's good fo', for you... i'll share the bed."

[key2earth]

@jihopng

( ... ) the landing mat covered corner of the gymnasium offers a seating to both and he places few 'inner working of anomalies' type of books around them, frowning upon realization just how... thin they are. being an anomaly doesn't really come with a handbook; or at least one without prejudice. he underlines some key words, such as 'unconsciousness', 'danger to physique and outer world' and of course, 'death'. then, he frowns more. "with how grim these are, you'd think they'd be written by a human," he makes a passing comment. "but — i should be fine, unless you go all, like, crazy edward cullen on my neck and tear me apart. uh... you're not gonna do that, right? i was never team jacob, by the way. vampires all the way. woo." a small smile, his eyes drifting towards her slowly, expression of judgement in his eyes — merely teasing. "ziying, you don't think we can get... like... expelled? for doing this... here?"

you see, ziying grows up on a different set of media—less the ones with snapshots of college misdemeanors and sparkly halos around the main characters, and more those with wing chun training montages that take up the first half of the movie as the protagonist prepares for a battle they probably didn't really need to be in. and there's always a training dummy partner by their side, less pacemaker and more sidekick, impossible to shake until the third act. and her first act doesn't even feel close to done yet.

so what's a girl to do but find a good spark to jumpstart this training montage?

enter kim jiho, standing in the corner of the school gym with too many books and not enough... whatever it is that ziying was thinking of when she invited him up. mostly someone to throw as much of what she knows ( thinks ) she can do at, and tank all the damage possible. there's no one better, really, and she figures this is her best chance to unlock the full anomaly freakshow potential she's got before graduation slaps proper, normal adulthood on her. case in point: all of jiho's useless reference books. "i bet they were, it's all, oh no don't be abnormal or you'll die," a roll of her eyes, "not dead yet, though!"

she gives him a small punch in the arm to punctuate her point, canines in her grin a sharp foreshadowing. "chill, dude, i don't—okay, i do bite, but only where you're down with it! how wild do you wanna look?" a wiggle of her eyebrows, teasing back, "how much of the dean can your gpa take?"

[key2earth]

@selfmythologize

( ... ) “do you have any plans for after graduation?” she asks. she’s not sure why—maybe to torture herself a little more with visions of a room without the other’s personal touches. she takes a bite of the food, spicy and not heated all the way through, and looks at the sky as she chews. she wishes she had a power that would enable her to clear the smog & reveal the stars: if not for her own wonder, then for ziying’s. alas, there’s not a damn thing she can do but stare into the abyss. she swallows the bite and considers her next words carefully. something about the cold night makes her feel okay with being vulnerable. "like, are you going to pursue grad school, or is this it for you? i don't know what to do. i don't think i'm ready to go into the real world."

it's easier to exist with a friend. insomnia turns into suppers down the pantry, a picnic while the stars are hidden by cloud cover, all before the semester ends. selena's pressed their shoulders together, the blankets too thick for the warmth ziying feels through it to be real. real nonetheless, with something sentimental in her chest, and something spicy from her roommate's parents shared between them. the artist leans over to tuck her head against selena's shoulder, close enough to smell the room freshener they share.

ziying shrugs, shakes her head and makes a mess of her hair where it's splayed out over selena's shoulder. puffs it out of her face and taps her roommate's knee as she considers the rest of the world ahead of them. "nah, i'm done with school. i think... i could make a killing drawing furries, actually." a snort, half-genuine speculation. "there's this guy in one of my mods who does that, and he's dressed exclusively in chrome hearts. middle school me would've died for that."

college ziying isn't sure that's the direction she really wants to go in. the real world looms over them, like an inevitability they can't stave off with just still warm leftovers and a good blanket around each other. "we could rent a place together," ziying says. offhand, like she doesn't mean it; says it slow, because she does. she's never lived alone before, always had someone around her. "y'know, hide out from being adults for a bit more."

[key2earth]

@13elmst / jaehyun

( ... ) he’s all but wrangled out of his responsibilities as evo’s bouncer when he catches her—well, him—talking to another from across the room. jaehyun scoffs, leans against a wall with arms crossed as he waits for ziying to notice him. and when she finally does, he’ll reward her with a murderous glare, a raised hand as he curls his index finger to beckon her over. in his sneer, it’ll read: come or i’ll kill you.

it takes a moment for her ability to kick in, ziying dodging through the hall until she feels herself stretch and change into the cardboard signage of his appearance with none of the substance, cotton shirt clinging to a paper tiger. so she scrawls his name down for bouncer duty and makes herself scarce, passing the baton over to someone who didn't technically sign up for it, but his face did!

it's not that fun being park jaehyun, though, now with a whole other set of duties to dodge as yet another one of the gangcheori groupies tries to catch her attention for something or the other. damn, this guy never gets a break. "y'got the wrong guy," she says, to the person who thinks they're talking to the sporting house captain, laughing when the confusion catches up to them. makes a two finger salute over her temple as she ditches the crowd, snagging herself a drink from the keg while she waits her ability out, to get back to herself.

she gets caught before it does, though, so ziying goes with raised hands, a grin over a face that's not hers, contrasting with the expression on its owner. this face'll run out in a couple minutes—she'd only taken the barest amount from him—but she's already gotten what she wants out of it, so it doesn't hurt when she fesses up. "i owe ya one," is what she starts with, which is more a statement of fact than anything appreciative. but it would've probably landed better if it wasn't said at the exact moment of his face melting off her onto the floor.

[key2earth]

YUQI FOR GLAMOUR (2023)

[key2earth]

@rnalgnant

( ... ) in the backseat of his car sits a cylindrical black gym bag next to a rectangular red bag, with a black handle and 'BLOOD PRODUCTS IN TRANSIT' in bold white letters on the front. he takes a breath, and though he'd sprayed lysol and perfume and hung up a new air freshener and kept the windows open a while after he finished his cigarette two hours ago, the smell of smoke still lingers on the leather. it's too late to do anything about it now. he sighs, not even bothering to hope for the possibility that she won't say something undoubtedly, aggravatingly clever about it.

she sees him before she gets his text, downing the last of her double shot espresso before ziying grabs her phone and leaves. there's a plain grey car waiting for her outside, dull like the rest of him and the barest mark in the reflective polish of sanghyun's sedan. ziying's a smudge of ink black when she yanks the door open and slams it shut in the next moment, sinking down into shotgun even though no one would be able to see her through the tint of the windows.

"'sup', ziying glances to the back, the reason she's still here sitting in an innocent black bag. "oh, shit," half a laugh cuts off the last word, sharp sparkle to her eyes. the wonderful mister presidential candidate, siphoning off his own blood donation drive for so he can beat someone down? the best thing that sanghyun's done in her book. "you really stole the blood? fucked up, t4d," she says, "you're not getting my vote!"

her eyes dart to the side, the guy in question tapping off rhythm on the plastic of the steering wheel. sanghyun's looking jittery in a way that's not the caffeine she's had, though there's no actual way for her to know—they aren't in the habit of asking after each other. it doesn't stop her from clocking the scent of bleach mixed with something woodsy, neither enough to cover up the sourness of nicotine that's still floating around. it's not her vice of choice, so it's fair game when ziying scrunches up her face at him, intent obvious. "nervous? needed a smoke, huh, gonna chicken out on me?" she's needling, canines sharp when she grins, "let's go!"