AN: Writers are a funny group of people when you think about it. It has everything to do with what I am requesting of you...See, I've been going through a lot of problems and I don't feel a lot of motivation these days to write NC-17 fics, though I've gotten a lot of requests from friends of mine.
The thing is, I wouldn't know if I have written a good one or a bad one until I know that there are people out there who can at least give me their honest opinion about my NC-17 work...so please, spare me the torture of being in limbo about how I write and CRITICIZE my NC-17 fics...Onegai? I can't stop berating myself for not doing good with my writing and I would appreciate it very much if you guys could at least filter the NC-17 fics and find the ones I've written as solo projects and the ones that I've written upon request of other writers so I will at least know how poorly I write and what I need to improve on...
Sorry...Just needed to get that off my chest...Thanks for taking the time to read this rant...
Back to your regularly scheduled fanfic!
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"In life as in dance: Grace glides on blistered feet."
--Alice Abrams
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"You say you've got a really great idea...what is it?" Eito asked, looking down at Makiko while she laced up the ribbons of her pointe shoes.
Among the male dancers, Eito was easily the handsomest and most talented. He had longish black hair dyed with streaks of brown, tanned skin, almond-shaped brown eyes that twinkled with mirth half of the time and looked serious the next, a straight nose, and thin lips that were formed halfway between a sneer and a smirk when he was serious. He was also blessed with broad shoulders that bore the weight of every girl who had perched on them in a pas de deux, and corded arms that could lift a girl over his head without faltering.
Not to mention a very cute ass, as most of the female members of the corps loved to point out when Eito was rehearsing on his solo parts.
Makiko looked around. Everyone else in the studio was either warming up or engaged in their own conversation just as she and Eito were. She paused in her task to breathe in deeply, inhaling the scent of the dance studio. The studio smelled of polished wood and rosin, a spicy kind of smell that Makiko welcomed as part of the world she loved.
Turning back to Eito, she grinned. "I'll tell you after class," she replied, adjusting her leg warmers before standing up.
"Makikooooooo ~~~ ! You're not being very fair!" Eito growled, crossing his muscled arms over his chest as he glared at his partner with mock severity.
Makiko chuckled and patted Eito on the back. "Awww...doncha worry, Eito-kun...I'll fill you in on everything..."
Conversation was quickly brought to a halt when Madamoiselle Cardin stepped into the studio and clapped her hands twice to signal the start of their barre exercises as the pianist struck the first chords of a rhapsody. Everyone scurried to their places and thus began another day at the CHARLOTTE CARDIN DANCE STUDIO.
~*~*~
"Kenji-kun?"
"Mmmm?" Fujima Kenji opened his eyes lazily, his voice tinged with slight irritation. A whack on his arm brought him back to reality and he sat up, shaking his head to clear his thoughts before turning to Sumire.
"Nani? Mire-chan, you just woke me up from a really nice dream."
Sumire huffed. "About time you woke up. My lap was getting cramped." She massaged her thighs to get some feeling back into them before standing up. "Besides," she added. "It's getting late. This lookout point is a very nice spot, Kenji-kun, but I don't want to spend the night here, thank you very much."
Kenji laughed and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Spoilsport," he retorted.
She laughed and hugged him, watching as the sunset cast the whole prefecture of Kanagawa in an orange glow. She loved moments like this, moments wherein she and her boyfriend had everything to themselves and they could just enjoy the day without any of the annoyances.
But all throughout the day, she couldn't help but wonder who Tsukiyama Makiko was. Everyday, she passed that studio and she would stop for a few minutes to admire the posters of famous ballerinas dancing to her favorite ballets. Sometimes, she'd go inside and watch from the window as the dancers went through their exercises, marvelling at how they could sustain their positions without a quiver and how powerfully they could express their emotions through dance.
That encounter with Mitsui the other day just piqued her curiousity. She hadn't gotten a good look at Makiko, but she knew that she was a dancer from the way she stormed into the studio...If she could only find out about why Mistui hated that girl so much...
"Mire-chan...you're getting quiet...I don't like it when you're quiet..." Kenji's voice filtered through her thoughts, teasing her.
"I was just wondering..."
"About what? Care to enlighten me?"
She shook her head. "Nah...nothing important. Let's go home."
~*~*~
Back in the studio, everyone was preparing to go home when Madamoiselle Cardin called them together for another meeting. From the look on her face, they all knew she was excited about whatever it was she had to announce. It was in the way her eyes sparkled and the way her hands moved around when she was enthusiastic about a certain project, almost like a kid who was going out on a safari adventure.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have something incredible to tell you." Cardin's eyes shone with obvious delight. "Makiko here has suggested something for ze tour and it is sheer genius! Makiko, cher, please tell ze people what you told me."
All eyes turned to Makiko and she stepped forward, clearing her throat. "I have this rough idea for the tour that we're supposed to do."
A chorus of excited whispers and murmurs interrupted whatever she was about to say and Makiko waited until they got quiet again, noticing that she was no longer talking.
"As I was saying," Makiko began again. "It's just an idea, but I was thinking that we all come up with our own dance numbers for the tour. And instead of the usual ballet, we infuse hip-hop, jazz and other techniques to our dancing. This might get more attention from the student population. And then ~ "
" ~ And then we use this as a way of promoting The Nutcracker," Eito finished for her, eyes dancing. "Makiko-chan! That's a BRILLIANT IDEA!"
Almost immediately, everyone burst into cheers and ran up to hug Makiko for thinking up something unique and full of possibilities. They started planning for the tour, dividing themselves into groups. One would be in charge of the posters, another for the tickets, another for the music, and so on and so forth. It was like a synergy of ideas and Makiko knew that by the end of the week, they would be able to start choreographing their numbers.
She smiled. This was what she loved about the studio. Everyone was united. There were no petty jealousies, no squabbles, nothing. They were one big, fully functional family...
Her foot started throbbing again, but she didn't mind it. For the moment, she was happy and that was all that mattered.
~*~*~
"Oi! Micchy! Stop moping around like that! You missed a shot again!"
"Shut up, bakayarou! You don't even know how to make a three-pointer!" Mitsui retorted, chasing after the ball.
Hanamichi quickly outran him and got a hold of the ball, passing it to Miyagi. "Hah! At least I'm in my element now!" He tossed back, punctuating that statement with his trademark laugh.
"Do'aho," Rukawa muttered, running past him.
"NANI?!?! TEME RUKAWA!!!!!" Hanamichi's eyes blazed as he completely forgot about the scrimmage game and ran after Rukawa, hell-bent on pummeling him.
Mitsui grinned, as the team sweatdropped, watching the two boys produce another dust cloud with their fighting. "Well, at least he's back to normal," he remarked.
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To be continued...
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The thing is, I wouldn't know if I have written a good one or a bad one until I know that there are people out there who can at least give me their honest opinion about my NC-17 work...so please, spare me the torture of being in limbo about how I write and CRITICIZE my NC-17 fics...Onegai? I can't stop berating myself for not doing good with my writing and I would appreciate it very much if you guys could at least filter the NC-17 fics and find the ones I've written as solo projects and the ones that I've written upon request of other writers so I will at least know how poorly I write and what I need to improve on...
Sorry...Just needed to get that off my chest...Thanks for taking the time to read this rant...
Back to your regularly scheduled fanfic!
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
"In life as in dance: Grace glides on blistered feet."
--Alice Abrams
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
"You say you've got a really great idea...what is it?" Eito asked, looking down at Makiko while she laced up the ribbons of her pointe shoes.
Among the male dancers, Eito was easily the handsomest and most talented. He had longish black hair dyed with streaks of brown, tanned skin, almond-shaped brown eyes that twinkled with mirth half of the time and looked serious the next, a straight nose, and thin lips that were formed halfway between a sneer and a smirk when he was serious. He was also blessed with broad shoulders that bore the weight of every girl who had perched on them in a pas de deux, and corded arms that could lift a girl over his head without faltering.
Not to mention a very cute ass, as most of the female members of the corps loved to point out when Eito was rehearsing on his solo parts.
Makiko looked around. Everyone else in the studio was either warming up or engaged in their own conversation just as she and Eito were. She paused in her task to breathe in deeply, inhaling the scent of the dance studio. The studio smelled of polished wood and rosin, a spicy kind of smell that Makiko welcomed as part of the world she loved.
Turning back to Eito, she grinned. "I'll tell you after class," she replied, adjusting her leg warmers before standing up.
"Makikooooooo ~~~ ! You're not being very fair!" Eito growled, crossing his muscled arms over his chest as he glared at his partner with mock severity.
Makiko chuckled and patted Eito on the back. "Awww...doncha worry, Eito-kun...I'll fill you in on everything..."
Conversation was quickly brought to a halt when Madamoiselle Cardin stepped into the studio and clapped her hands twice to signal the start of their barre exercises as the pianist struck the first chords of a rhapsody. Everyone scurried to their places and thus began another day at the CHARLOTTE CARDIN DANCE STUDIO.
~*~*~
"Kenji-kun?"
"Mmmm?" Fujima Kenji opened his eyes lazily, his voice tinged with slight irritation. A whack on his arm brought him back to reality and he sat up, shaking his head to clear his thoughts before turning to Sumire.
"Nani? Mire-chan, you just woke me up from a really nice dream."
Sumire huffed. "About time you woke up. My lap was getting cramped." She massaged her thighs to get some feeling back into them before standing up. "Besides," she added. "It's getting late. This lookout point is a very nice spot, Kenji-kun, but I don't want to spend the night here, thank you very much."
Kenji laughed and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Spoilsport," he retorted.
She laughed and hugged him, watching as the sunset cast the whole prefecture of Kanagawa in an orange glow. She loved moments like this, moments wherein she and her boyfriend had everything to themselves and they could just enjoy the day without any of the annoyances.
But all throughout the day, she couldn't help but wonder who Tsukiyama Makiko was. Everyday, she passed that studio and she would stop for a few minutes to admire the posters of famous ballerinas dancing to her favorite ballets. Sometimes, she'd go inside and watch from the window as the dancers went through their exercises, marvelling at how they could sustain their positions without a quiver and how powerfully they could express their emotions through dance.
That encounter with Mitsui the other day just piqued her curiousity. She hadn't gotten a good look at Makiko, but she knew that she was a dancer from the way she stormed into the studio...If she could only find out about why Mistui hated that girl so much...
"Mire-chan...you're getting quiet...I don't like it when you're quiet..." Kenji's voice filtered through her thoughts, teasing her.
"I was just wondering..."
"About what? Care to enlighten me?"
She shook her head. "Nah...nothing important. Let's go home."
~*~*~
Back in the studio, everyone was preparing to go home when Madamoiselle Cardin called them together for another meeting. From the look on her face, they all knew she was excited about whatever it was she had to announce. It was in the way her eyes sparkled and the way her hands moved around when she was enthusiastic about a certain project, almost like a kid who was going out on a safari adventure.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have something incredible to tell you." Cardin's eyes shone with obvious delight. "Makiko here has suggested something for ze tour and it is sheer genius! Makiko, cher, please tell ze people what you told me."
All eyes turned to Makiko and she stepped forward, clearing her throat. "I have this rough idea for the tour that we're supposed to do."
A chorus of excited whispers and murmurs interrupted whatever she was about to say and Makiko waited until they got quiet again, noticing that she was no longer talking.
"As I was saying," Makiko began again. "It's just an idea, but I was thinking that we all come up with our own dance numbers for the tour. And instead of the usual ballet, we infuse hip-hop, jazz and other techniques to our dancing. This might get more attention from the student population. And then ~ "
" ~ And then we use this as a way of promoting The Nutcracker," Eito finished for her, eyes dancing. "Makiko-chan! That's a BRILLIANT IDEA!"
Almost immediately, everyone burst into cheers and ran up to hug Makiko for thinking up something unique and full of possibilities. They started planning for the tour, dividing themselves into groups. One would be in charge of the posters, another for the tickets, another for the music, and so on and so forth. It was like a synergy of ideas and Makiko knew that by the end of the week, they would be able to start choreographing their numbers.
She smiled. This was what she loved about the studio. Everyone was united. There were no petty jealousies, no squabbles, nothing. They were one big, fully functional family...
Her foot started throbbing again, but she didn't mind it. For the moment, she was happy and that was all that mattered.
~*~*~
"Oi! Micchy! Stop moping around like that! You missed a shot again!"
"Shut up, bakayarou! You don't even know how to make a three-pointer!" Mitsui retorted, chasing after the ball.
Hanamichi quickly outran him and got a hold of the ball, passing it to Miyagi. "Hah! At least I'm in my element now!" He tossed back, punctuating that statement with his trademark laugh.
"Do'aho," Rukawa muttered, running past him.
"NANI?!?! TEME RUKAWA!!!!!" Hanamichi's eyes blazed as he completely forgot about the scrimmage game and ran after Rukawa, hell-bent on pummeling him.
Mitsui grinned, as the team sweatdropped, watching the two boys produce another dust cloud with their fighting. "Well, at least he's back to normal," he remarked.
****************************
To be continued...
****************************