Birds of a Feather [Jun/Kyoko]

❊ CRAWLIN' BACK TO YOU ❊

"Mmmn, no no. That's not quite right..."

Fukui Academy, known for its fantastic arts programs and exclusivity. It was just about a dream come true for aspiring painters, animators and just about any creative under the sun! Of course with such an alluring call it was inevitable that it'd attract some more eccentric characters, one of which currently sat in the art studio. The girls' long blond hair was pulled into a loose, haphazard bun to keep it out of the way, though the improvement seemed to be doubtful at best. Her shoes and socks had been set aside, her toes curling and uncurling as she scritch scratched away at a sketchpad she held in her lap, legs bent up to assist. There were lots of seats and desks to sit at sure, but this girl believed there was no better seating than the ground. 

"No no no no no NO! Aaaargh!"

The girl tossed her pad to the side, nostrils flaring in frustration and a sharp breath leaving her. She'd been trying to draw out inspiration for a painting assignment by sketching out people she'd seen in passing and little scenes she'd witnessed while walking about or looking through pictures, but nothing seemed to click. 

"I'll never get it down like this," she mumbled to herself, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers as she stared off at nothing. "Mom makes it look so easy..." The girl mused at nothing in particular, shuffling the paints and the palette she'd grabbed with the thought that she'd be able to get at it quickly. The blank canvas staring back at her on the easel across from her taunted otherwise. 

NOTES: --

XOXO SHIN OF GS + THQ

Kyoko headed for the art studio, determined to get some painting practice in for class. Her work was good but lacking something. Passion. Her purpose for being here and the her looming future weighed heavily on her mind and Kyoko couldn't seem to push it aside long enough to find her drive. Her work suffered for it, but Kyoko didn't want to just skate by here, even if it didn't ultimately matter. She wanted to enjoy and do well during her last few years of being her. The last few year before she was just Mrs. Minamoto, bland housewife extraordinaire. If she did well here, maybe some of her work could be kept by the school. A small piece of who she is now lingering in a hallway. She wouldn't mind that at all, it would be rather nice.

But, she had to actually paint something good first. She had a couple of years to do so which was helpful, but Kyoko didn't want to slack. She wanted to improve. Hopefully her new determination could help. The problem was she had no idea what to paint or how to add what was missing from her other works. She knew she could do this, so why was it so hard? Kyoko sighed and tried to clear her mind of her doubts. She needed to focus first and foremost. Well, she needed to get to the art studio first and foremost, but she was almost there. Turning the last corner, Kyoko headed down the hallway and swung open the door, her usual ponytail swinging behind her. Her eyes registered surprise for a second because there was someone already there. But that was silly because there were several students across the grades here for painting and the room was free to use for practice and projects. It shouldn't be that surprising. That was just how caught up Kyoko was getting in her own thoughts. She chided herself and tried to push the nagging thoughts away before she got to work.

"Konnichi wa." she said with a little bow of greeting, "I am first year Kitamura Kyoko. A pleasure to meet you. I am sorry if I disturbed you." she said. Kyoko wasn't sure what the proper etiquette was for this room exactly, if she should stay silent or what, so she opted for friendly greeting since the girl was the only other one here. She hoped she wasn't disturbing her. Kyoko walked over to an empty easel and dropped her backpack by it.

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Words - 420 | Tag - Jun Smith | Notes - N/A

❊ CRAWLIN' BACK TO YOU ❊

Lost in her thoughts of self-loathing Jun almost didn't notice someone coming into the room. In reality she wouldn't have noticed at all had the newcomer not been kind enough to address her upon entering, interrupting the blond as she twiddled her hair above her lip like a mustache. She blinked a few times as if to make sure she hadn't imagined the girl entering, as if it had happened before, offering a toothy smile once she was sure the  blue haired girl was in fact real.

"Ko~Nni~Chi~Waaa~" She'd respond in a bit of a sing-song, tilting her head and maintaining her smile."Kitamura Kōhai! Kōōōōōhai...Kōhai.." She mumbled off to herself, mouthing the word in several different ways to get used to the sound. Maybe the word would help her with her blatant lack of inspiration? She'd see.

"No bother, disregard my anguish~" Another toothy smile then, leaving it to the other girl to determine whether or not she was being serious. "Are you in painting too, cutie kōōōōōhai?" 

As she spoke she adjusted her position, scooching forward just enough so she could lean her weight back on her arms instead of leaning against the wall, her legs dropping and crossing in an indian sit. Part of her fidgeted, berating herself for being so casual with a stranger, another part of her disregarding it and laughing at herself. Nothing to lose when you were at zero!

NOTES: -- Tag: Kyoko Kitamura

XOXO SHIN OF GS + THQ

Kyoko blinked at the sudden energy of the girl. She had seemed introspective before, but upon noticing Kyoko's arrival snapped out of that and seemed full of life and quite playful. Her use of kōhai indicated she was an upperclassmen, though she didn't introduce herself. The senpai stated there was no bother, but also mentioned her anguish. Senpai's smile indicated the opposite emotion though, so Kyoko had to assume she was joking about being in any kind of anguish. She must be a mischievous senpai. Kyoko walked over to another easel and put her backpack down to start getting set up as the senpai asked a question. The question was simple enough, but the fact that she had called Kyoko 'cutie kōhai' startled the blue-haired girl a bit and made her blush. Kyoko paused a moment, unsure how to respond, then cleared her throat and decided to proceed without comment on being called cutie.

"Yes, I am also in painting. I came to use the studio for some practice." Kyoko said. She continued to set up her easel with canvas and paints, though she wasn't even sure what she was going to paint yet. That made it harder to determine what colours she would need. In the meantime she just picked the primaries to start off. She could go from there as needed. As she worked in setting up her little space to work, she glanced back at the senpai and her work, which she seemed to just be getting started herself.

"Are you working on a project, Senpai?" she asked to make friendly conversation once again. She was curious what someone a year or two above her would be working on and even more curious as to how it might turn out. Her upperclassmen would have a bit more experience likely, and could potentially turn out some great work.

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Words - 311 | Tag - Jun Smith | Notes - N/A

❊ CRAWLIN' BACK TO YOU ❊

The blond clapped her hands together at the confirmation that the younger girl too was enrolled in painting, her weight rolling back without the support of her arms and her back hitting the floor with a soft thwump. She hardly seemed to notice, an oddly pleased expression adorning her features. "Ooooh, good good~ I look forward to working with such a cutie~ What do you usually paint? What do you use? What does your muse look like? Do you wear striped ones or plain ones? What do you do when you're in a slump?" She'd shoot off one after another, speaking in a hurried, excited tone of voice. As she listed off her questions she held a hand to her mouth, index finger curling over her lips while she held her chin in question.

Wasting no time, and not really waiting for an answer, Jun would shoot up to a standing position in an almost scramble. She'd skip on over to her younger, sock-clad feet softly thumping on the floor with each 'step'. Once directly by her she'd stop, pressing a hand to her chest in a grand gesture, free arm shooting out to her side in an extravagant stance. 

"Jun Smith!" She'd call out, face confident and entirely convinced that she hadn't missed the cue to introduce herself sooner. "But you," she continued with a wink, a clicking sound and twin finger pistols at the girl; "can call me anytime~" She'd finish, a smug grin on her face as if she were proud of the gestures. Betraying herself she burst into laughter, doubling over a little as she held her stomach. 

"I'm sorry. It's nice to meet you" Her voice seemed a stark difference from the rest of her speech now, paced and almost gentle. She'd extend a hand for the girl to greet her officially, an odd little habit she'd developed after spending so much time with her dads family. 

TAGS: Kyoko Kitamura NOTES: --

XOXO SHIN OF GS + THQ

This girl was a bit of an odd one. Kyoko couldn't say she'd ever met someone like her before. Starting with calling Kyoko 'cutie' again, which made Kyoko redden in the cheeks. Then she listed off a bunch of questions that went from perfectly normal in this situation to just down right bizarre. Stripped or plain what? Kyoko couldn't think of what that was talking about. Maybe it was something she would learn about down the road in her first year? Without waiting for an answer (which was probably fine given Kyoko was just stammering at the moment anyway) the girl got up and headed right for Kyoko where she struck a pose (was she sure she wasn't suppose to be in the acting class) and shouted what Kyoko assumed was her name. Jun Smith. The surname was American, wasn't it? Jun finished by saying Kyoko could call her anytime.

"Er..." was about all Kyoko got out in response. She wasn't entirely sure what that meant exactly. Why would she want to call her that? Then Jun broke out and laughter and shifted the way she acted into something one might expect. Kyoko took the offered hand with a smile, "Nice to meet you too, Sumisu-senpai." Kyoko said. Her pronunciation of Jun's surname coming out very Japanese. With Jun seeming to have calmed down, Kyoko could now turn to her earlier questions.

"To answer your questions from before, I'm not completely decided on what my style is yet. I've been playing with different styles and paints and seeing what I can do with them. I guess so far I've painted more landscapes and abstract works then anything else. I just kind of like to put whatever comes to mind on canvas, I guess." Kyoko answered. Once again she felt like such an amateur, completely undecided on how she wanted to do things, "I guess I don't really have an inspiration either. As for how to get out of a slump... well, I'll let you know if I figure it out." Kyoko said with an embarrassed smile.

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Words - 347 | Tag - Jun Smith | Notes - N/A