#also since my last drawing I FINISHED HALF LIFE 2 !!!!!! everyone clap . AND i did it with a fever

[pealooza]

hl fanart is introducing me to interesting new challenges such as drawing gordon . and short hair . and glasses . and gordon

[adonis-koo]

Blue Spring

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↳ Summary: Jeon Jungkook, only well known as the youngest (and hottest) dad at the daycare, he’s got it all, the looks, the sweetheart personality, the body, but here’s what gets everyone- he doesn’t wear a wedding ring. The only problem lies in his fickle one year old daughter that hates just about every daycare worker out there…Well…besides you that is. Which of course leads to Jungkook liking you just as much as his daughter…if not maybe a little too much.

Or in other words…You and Jungkook are secretly crushing on one another but too shy to admit it.

↳ Pairing: Single dad!Jungkook/Reader

↳ Genre: Daycare AU, Slice of life, copious amounts of fluff, a hair of angst, future smut

Word count: 4k

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“Oh my god, he asked you out?” Lisa gasped as she raised her brows, both shock and delight on her face as Chloe clapped her hands together. Pressing your hands to your cheeks you felt them flush as you glanced down at the kids table, everyone working on their finger paintings you had chosen as the creative activity for the day.

“I…” You nibbled against your lip before rubbing the back of your neck, “I wouldn’t necessarily call it that...He just um-! He just asked if we could hang out sometime with Mina...” They both groaned as you sunk in as best you could in the child's chair.

Chloe clacked her lips as she huffed, “Girl that’s his pathetic excuse to ask you out on a date. He just used his child to reel you in, and it worked didn’t it?” You crossed your arms, face still flushed despite your scoff.

Sure he might have added that in but you were sure if it came down to it you both would be fine without Mina there, right? Wait...you had no reason to be together if Mina wouldn’t be there...You swallowed thickly as you glanced at the table that had been covered in tarp to keep from getting messy, “...I would have said yes regardless…” It was the truth, you felt a certain amount of shame admitting that, was there a rule against dating one of your daycares dads? It had been well over a year since you signed on and you couldn’t even remember half the regulations and policies that pertained to workers, as it really didn’t matter when you actually began working.

Until now…

Mina had made a noise of complaint at your attention not being on her, her little fingers painted blue as she pointed at her splattered picture that looked more like a blob of color then anything else, you mustered a smile as you nodded, “Oh it looks so good Mina! Oh, can you add a little pink over here?” She had dipped her fingers into the yellow paint but she had spirit as she began to work on where you pointed.

“So you admit, you wanna bang him?” You scowled at Chloe as she held her hands up in defense, sure the kids had no clue what that meant but that didn’t mean you should just go around casually saying it!

Lisa puckered her lips before she and Chloe both started cackling, “Hey I’m not judging! If Seokjin wasn’t married i’d-”

“Shut up!” You covered your ears as you groaned, you could understand from an outside perspective, Jungkook was in your age range, he was obviously single given his passive comments about his...ex girlfriend? Ex wife? Partner? Not only that but he was insanely attractive, thick brows and fluffy dark hair, his jawline was both strong and sharp and his physic.

Jungkook had dropped her off one time for only a short few hours, picking her up after he had finished at the gym, where his hair was still damp with sweat and muscle bulging from his fitted shirt, your heart was ready to combust that day all while he kneeled down letting his little girl sit in his lap while inspecting her picture she had scribbled.

If one wasn’t interested in dating him they’d definitely want to sleep with him at least once. But this wasn’t your intention, no matter how much the idea made your body and face both warm to think about, “Guys, I’m not…! It’s not like that,” You lowered your voice as you sighed, clasping your hands on your lap as you glanced down at them, “I just wanna see where things go, and if things go well then awesome, and if not then no harm done…”

“Well babe you do you,” Lisa patted your shoulder, “I’m just glad Jisoo could cover for you so you can go out with lover boy when he picks up Mina,” Your face flushed once more as you sighed, choosing to ignore their laughs as you began to talk to Mina once more, even drawing a little heart on her paper with your own finger covered in pink paint to which she gurgled in excitement at.

Jisoo had eventually bounced through the door as she excitedly waved, “Hey guys,” You held your sigh at her brows wiggling your way as you all greeted her, taking a seat at the table as they immediately jumped into the gossip. Jisoo was the only other coworker filled in on all the juice besides your other two friends.

If any of the other workers heard, well...you’d rather not hear all of the older ladies' opinions.

You had a difficult time not flushing at the sight of Jungkook when he had came around two PM, Mina excited at his early arrival, “Hey babygirl,” He cooed softly at her as she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, picking her up he laughed softly, bouncing her a little before his eyes flickered on you, “Are you sure it’s okay to come?” He seemed concerned but also...excited? His eyes had a boyish gleam as he squeezed Mina making her giggle.

You nodded rapidly, “Yeah, one of my coworkers said she’d cover the rest of my shift so everything is good here! Are you ready to go?” You gave a tiny smile, rubbing your arms as you wrapped them around yourself. Jungkook nodded as he grabbed Mina’s backpack leading you out to his car which was surprisingly clean, had you not noticed how organized Mina’s backpack usually is you would have assumed he did it just for you.

But you had a feeling Jungkook was just a very organized and clean person, which was rather appreciated given your messy nature, “Oh here I can help, those buckles seem really tricky,” You laughed at Jungkook’s long fingers fumbling with Mina’s car seat buckles, you suddenly felt like it was a bad idea when you squeezed through the car door, your body pressed against Jungkook’s as you both awkwardly laughed as you grabbed the farther end buckle.

Mina gurgled in delight at the realization you were still with them as she bounced in her seat making it more difficult to buckle up, Jungkook shook his head roughly to try and get his hair out of his eyes as he pressed his brows together, “Ah this thing is always so difficult, I should really just get a new one, she’s almost too big for it anyways.”

“Oh here!” You tugged the buckle further just enough for Jungkook to click in as you both cheered in victory, before you suddenly cried, “Ow! Mina! Please let go,” Mina had grabbed a fist full of your hair before harshly tugging on it, rubbing your scalp as you gently pulled the hair from her grip.

You felt like you could breath when you and Jungkook squeezed out of the door, making a respectable amount of space as you both laughed a little, Jungkook opening the passenger door for you as you sat down, shifting in your seat a little nervously as you clicked in your seat belt.

“We’re not going anywhere fancy by the way,” Jungkook gave you a sheepish smile as he began driving, “There’s a really cool pizza place with a kids play area that Mina likes so I figured we’d go there, if you don’t mind…!”

Relaxing into your seat a little you gave a nod as you folded your hands into your lap, “Of course I don’t mind Jungkook!” You gave a small meek smile, “I’m sure it’s a great place.” Jungkook’s cheeks looked a little pink as he offered you a brief smile before returning his eyes to the road. He had admittedly been waiting so long for this moment, to finally pluck the courage to just ask you out.

You were nearly perfect, soft, sweet and most importantly, Mina loved you. He had just begun to give up finding someone due to how picky Mina was, and then he met you.

Sure things seemed a bit, awkward at first, but just like last time you both quickly fell into a rhythm of easy conversation, sitting at the table that was in the play area while Mina toddled around exploring, “Oh god I don’t know,” You both were laughing as you bashfully rubbed your face, smiling at your glass of soda as you shrugged meekly, “I mean, don’t get me wrong I love kids! I wouldn’t work with them if I didn’t but I mean, having kids of my own…? Does it count if my mom wants me to have kids?”

Jungkook nearly choked on his drink as he snorted, laughing softly as he shook his head, “You wanting kids and your mom wanting you to have kids is two totally different things. It’s okay to not want them, I didn’t think I’d ever want any either, then Mina came along and now she’s my whole world,” Jungkook’s eyes were soft as he gazed at the toddler fondly, “Mina was...a surprise baby,”

He admitted much to your surprise, you didn’t think he’d divulge such...sensitive information, he gave a sheepish smile at your expression, “You don’t have to look like that, it’s something that’s already been worked out. Like I said, Mina is my whole world and I’d never change a thing that happened, but she’s part of the reason we got a divorce…Oh jesus- am I making you uncomfortable?” Jungkook suddenly stumbled as if fully realizing what he was saying.

Coughing you rapidly shook your head, “No! I just...I didn’t want you to feel pressured to say anything, I mean, it’s your business, but if it’s something you don’t mind talking about then feel free to continue. I was just surprised, is all, I can’t imagine you not wanting kids honestly.” It was true, Jungkook treated Mina like she was the best thing in his life, the way he left her with the slight guilt in his expression every morning, the way his eyes lit up when he watched her toddle to him in excitement when he picked her up, it was written all over his face, he absolutely loved and adored her.

Laughing a little Jungkook swirled the ice in his drink around as he shrugged, “Sorry, I just, I don’t know I feel like clarity is probably appreciated on your end, I’d rather you not get involved without knowing all the details. Mina, wasn’t why we got divorced, not directly!” He suddenly swallowed thickly, doe eyes searching yours as if not wanting you to take his previous words the wrong way, “But her mom, she just has a lot of issues,” He gave a more humorless laugh this time as he kept his gaze on the table, “She’d accuse me of cheating anytime I was even slightly late getting home, really possessive and insecure, she lied when she said she was still on pill to try and...I don’t know, ‘secure’ me? And well....Mina came along.”

The frown tugged on your lips as you rested your head against your hand, “No I understand what you mean, about the whole divorce thing at least, I can’t imagine doing that to someone, given from past conversations I’m assuming you share joint custody?” Jungkook had occasionally mentioned in the past about dropping Mina off at her moms, though he always seemed slightly disgruntled at the idea.

Sighing Jungkook shrugged, “For now, nothing is set in paper, we just work a schedule out week to week,” He pucked his lips a little before letting his gaze meet yours, “But I’m hoping for full custody in the future, maybe I sound like an asshole but I don’t want Mina anywhere near her, she’s become really...psychotic since the divorce, always trying to convince me to ‘come back’, or threatening to get full custody herself, tons of crazy shit… So uh,” He ran a hand through his hair, an awkward smile quirking on his lips, “Hope I haven’t scared you off yet, this really isn’t a first date topic is it…?”

“Well taking your daughter out on your first date isn’t norm either but here we are,” You offered a relaxed smile, “I don’t mind, like you said, it is your past, but I’m not easily scared away.” For the first time, he smirked, making your body nearly go into shock and your face to suddenly flush as you glanced down at the table. God give you strength.

The evening outside of that moment was well spent and you had went back to Jungkook’s house to stay in for a movie afterwards before retiring home, Mina however was lounged out on the floor, her blanket spread beneath her while hugging her teddy bear, watching the disney movie in excitement with gurgles of enthusiasm, “Atleast someone is happy to see Mulan save China,” You clacked your tongue before laughing, letting out a yawn as you stretched out, hardly even noticing the way Jungkook’s arm had somehow wrapped around your shoulders. You felt your eyes tiredly begin to shut, god why did you always agree to come in for one of the early morning shifts?

“It’s one of her favorite movies,” Jungkook hummed, his nose crinkling a little at his daughters excitement, “You looked tired, do you want me to take you home?” He asked with a soft murmur, noticing you sleepily rub your eyes.

Waving your hand in dismal you replied, “No- no! I’ll go when the movie is over don’t worry, besides Mina would throw a fit if we paused it now.” There was certainly truth to your words, Mina never liked her TV time interrupted. Especially during Mulan. Chuckling softly Jungkook chose not to reply when you yawned again, your head falling against his shoulder as your eyes began to close. You couldn’t help it, he was just so damn warm.

Everything felt hazy as you hugged tightly against the firm yet warm figure, yawning as you nudged your nose along the odd feel of skin, where were you again? You nearly jumped away at the soft squeeze against your waist.

Your vision opening to the familiar sight of Jungkook’s living room, Mina no longer situated out in front of you and the TV long since turned off, the blinds had been drawn from last night letting the warm light stream in as you stiffened. Letting out a squeak at the bedheaded sight of Jungkook beneath you. Oh my god! You slept with him! Not sleep, slept with him but…!

Your face was throbbing as he let out a yawn, “Morning,” He stretched out, his hand stroking along your back making you squirm. Jungkook took immediate notice as he quickly released his grip on you, “I’m sorry.” You immediately got off him sitting an awkward distance away as he apologized, cheeks pink as you tugged at your hair.

Jungkook had parted his lips once more to speak but you had already stood up, “N-no! I should be the one apologizing! I….I-I um, I better get going! I forgot to tell my roommates I was going out- I'll see you later!” You fumbled before hurriedly making your way out of the living room, you could hear Jungkook sighing yet he didn’t call out for you. God why couldn’t you just play it cool for once?

You didn’t see Lisa and Chloe again until Friday morning where they nearly shouted at you for a ‘missed’ opportunity, “Girl you were sleeping on him!” Chloe tried to stress to you, “That was the perfect moment oh my god!”

They were mourning your loss at potential dick while you were meanwhile squirming in embarrassment, “Guys! This isn't about that! I just… I just wanted to get to know him better! I don’t want him to think that’s all I want.”

“Oh my god.” Lisa whispered under her breath before her attention was pulled to the two boys that had been fighting over who had the batman toy first, she immediately sprang into action as she walked over to deal with it.

Your attention however was drawn to the door that had opened, filtering in the ungodly loud cries that were all too familiar, Mina sobbing as she clung to Jungkook’s tired figure, Chloe clacked her tongue, “Are you just gonna ignore him now…?”

“No…” You swallowed thickly, feeling tension rise in your chest at Jungkook’s gaze immediately finding yours as he cooed to Mina, standing up you meekly walked over, giving a timid smile and feeling slightly guilty for running off on him nearly two days ago without a word since.

“See babygirl? She’s right here,” Jungkook cooed softly, Mina’s little lips trembling as fat tears rolled down her cheeks, peeking out from Jungkook’s shoulder before her sobs bubbled once more, arms stretching out too you as your lips tugged into a sad pout, “She’s missed you,” Jungkook murmured as he passed her off too you, “Extremely clingy since you left,” He gave a breathy chuckle though it sounded a little forced, “I…I really am sorry about what happened Y/n, I should have woken you up but you just looked so peaceful there and I-”

“It’s okay,” Jungkook swallowed thickly, his puppy-like gaze meeting yours with a level of timidness before dropping his gaze once more, “I just...I was a little embarrassed, that’s all Jungkook. It’s not your fault, I should have just gone home when I started getting tired.”

Mina’s tears had finally ceased as she sniffled, snot running down her nose and unto her lips as you felt a tiny smile tug on your lips, grabbing a tissue from the box on the counter as you wiped her nose, “...Did she really miss me?”

“She’s been waterworks since,” Jungkook laughed a little easier this time, rubbing the back of his neck as he continued, “I think she’ll sleep easy during nap time today.” You situated her upright on your hip as you gently brushed the strings of hair from her watery eyes as she dropped her head against your shoulder, she did look a lot more tired as of late, gurgling her eyes were already beginning to droop.

“So um…” Jungkook scratched the back of his neck gaining your attention once more as you noticed his cheeks becoming pink and he couldn’t stop fiddling with his hands, “Does that mean we’re still….erm...can we still see each other..- Not that you have too! I don’t want you to think I’m pushing or that you have too, but- I- I just think-”

“Of course Jungkook,” You gave a breathy laugh, feeling your cheeks begin to warm as well as you rubbed the left over streaks of tears off Mina’s cheeks, feeling a little bashful as you nibbled against your lip, meekily glancing up at his also timid figure, pushing the bangs from his eyes as he gave a blushing smile, “Okay...then I’ll...I’ll see you later then.”

You shuffled a little as you nodded, trying to not let your heart explode as he leaned in, kissing Mina’s forehead as her eyes watered, not crying but looking close too it as she grabbed his shirt with a whine, “No babygirl you’ll stay with Y/n okay?” He whispered encouragingly to her as she gurgled displeased, “I promise I’ll be back soon.” He pressed another kiss against her forehead before taking his departure.

Mina was not the least bit happy to be passed off and still without both of her favorite people causing her to screech and cry, throwing her head against the crook of your neck dramatically as you tutted softly, giving her a little bounce, “Don’t worry honey, he’ll be back soon.”

----

Things had been going surprisingly well after that mortifying hiccup on your part. Jungkook and you would routinely go out every Friday after he picked Mina up and the three of you would eat out together, occasionally on a Monday night you’d all watch a movie together at his house. It was nice and you both had become far more acquainted with one another and casual.

What you hadn’t expected today though, was well...this...”Uh, I’m sorry ma’am but you’ll need to put Jungkook on the phone to verify pick up since you aren’t written off as Mina’s mother on his sign up form.”

This woman, was presumably Mina’s mother, or as she introduced herself as Seo Yeon, and you wouldn’t lie, you were a little intimidated. She was well dressed in a business suit and clutched her Prada bag as if it was a cheap off brand, her sunglasses atop her head showing off her annoyed, irritated expression, “I am Mina’s mother! I shouldn’t have to put up with this shit. I should be allowed to check my own child out.”

You did your best to try to hide your expression that desperately wanting to contort between a cringe- for her swearing loudly in a daycare and irritation for the fact that you just explained why that wasn’t allowed and of course, fear because Seo Yeon was definitely a scary woman when she was angry.

Mina seemed non pulsed in your arms despite being in front of her mom as her head twisted to try and get a glimpse at the TV in the room that was still playing Peppa Pig, one of her new favorites, “Ma’am, I just told you, Jungkook didn’t put you on his sign up form when he registered into First Steps daycare center, meaning you don’t have legal permission to sign Mina out, I’d be breaking policy and could be potentially fired if I let you take her now. Please call Jungkook and we’ll get this sorted out. I can even set you up on the form as long as Jungkook is present for it.”

“What’s going on here?” Just on time Jungkook had opened the door to the main check in room where you stood, the gate behind you closed as all the other kids played, his brows were furrowed at the sight of you with Mina, rather confused at first before his eyes narrowed on Seo Yeon who whipped around, anger twisting on her face as she accusingly pointed a finger at you, “Telling this idiot to let me check our child out Jungkook, we agreed I would be picking Mina up at daycare today- I knew I should’ve picked the daycare this place is so shotty!”

Your lips parted in offence at her words, how presumptuous of her! You were following the policy and even if you wanted to help her out you were to keep Mina here by law until her assigned guardian- Jungkook returned, unless a special permission slip had been signed by him stating otherwise.

“It’s Wednesday Seo Yeon...” Jungkook looked a little embarrassed by his ex wife's actions, rubbing the back of his neck as he sighed, “We changed our plans for you to pick her up tomorrow, I told you I needed to fill out a permission slip today so you’d be able to- remember?” His reminder seemed to jog her memory, her cheeks becoming a little red and embarrassed.

Yet Seo Yeon offered no apology to you, instead she grabbed onto Jungkook’s bicep as her lips tugged into a little pout, a complete one eighty from the demon you just witnessed, “Oh baby I’m sorry, you know how forgetful I can be at times! That worker just made me so mad though! I should be on the form as well so I can pick Mina up at any time in case of an emergency.”

Jungkook’s lips twitched a little and you could sense a little annoyance rising in him before he sighed through his nose, “Yeah I know, look- can we talk about this later? Mina has a doctor's appointment that I need to run her too so I don’t wanna be late.”

“Oh I can come with you! I think it’s important I know Mina’s health,” Seo Yeon butted in as Jungkook already whirled around to check Mina out at the counter where the desk worker was, “Besides I haven’t seen her since Monday, I think she’s missed mommy.” Seo Yeon cooed before abruptly plucking her from your arms.

You found your voice catching in your throat in objection at hearing Mina’s whimper, wiggling in her mom's arm as her mom ignored her and only cooed, suddenly glaring at you before turning to face Jungkook who ran a hand through his hair, not looking like he wanted to say yes but not having a reason to say no, “Alright- then can you go out and get her in her car seat? My cars at the far end in the lot.”

Seo Yeon appeared victorious as she plucked the keys from his hands and trotted outside with Mina who continued fussing, “I’m really sorry Y/n…” Jungkook glanced at the ground, looking embarrassed once again, “She can get a bit rude at times with customer service.”

“It’s okay, really,” You forced a smile from your lips, you wouldn’t lie, the fact that he really let her just hound into you was a bit….off putting. You could clearly see why this woman was his ex-wife, but couldn't he have...? What were you saying? You weren’t even officially a thing with Jungkook, “I- uh…” You let the smile drop all too easily as you sighed running a hand through your hair, unable to stop the annoyance in your voice as you muttered, “I need to get back to the other kids, I’ll see you later Jungkook.”

Jungkook looked a little helpless, eyes in distress at your annoyed figure not even giving him time to try and recover from his previous words as you closed the gate behind you walking back into the room.

On one hand you understood where he was coming from, but she was so blatantly rude to you! After she ripped the poor desk worker a new one she had nearly screamed to be allowed to see her child and given you were the only daycare worker that Mina liked...God what an unpleasant woman.

“Did you finally get the demon under control?” Chloe lowered her voice as she peered behind you, groaning as you nodded your head. Trying to get the image of Seo Yeon clasping Jungkook’s arm like she owned him out of your head, you knew you both weren’t an actual item but still. Rubbing your head you explained to her what had happened as Lisa joined the conversation, both angry in your defense.

But that was his ex wife after all. You couldn’t help but deflate a little at the idea, if you did get involved in Jungkook, that would always be a plague in the back of your mind and you couldn’t put off the question anymore now that you had both a name and a face to an important figure in Jungkook’s life.

God no wonder you never went out on dates anymore.

Note: I hope you guys are enjoying this lil series so far!! It makes my heart uwu! The good news is I may have underestimated the word count so next chapter is going to be a little longer and there might be a fifth part of the series! Anyways let me know what you guys think!! 🖤

[tinycamembert]

team bonding

This started out as me just wanting to write about a scene based on the splat jam drawing from yesterday and it turned into many more words basically of me being mushy about how much I love this team. 4 little drabbles, the name shows the POV! All characters belong 2 @bottledupcomic / @tamarinfrog

I’m posting on mobile so sorry if there are formatting issues!!

———

1. Whinter

"What about this one?" Vadelma asks. On the plate lie four small pastries, sample size for her teammates, little berries nestled in the center of the flaky dough and melted chocolate drizzled over top. Whinter tries his best to admire it for half of a second before he shoves the entire thing in his mouth.

"Mmhmph," he manages, white hair flopping in his eyes as he empathetically nods his approval. To his left, his teammates are just as absorbed in the taste testing as he is.

"What's in the middle?" Marian asks, studying the half of the pastry left in her hand. Logan has already finished his and is eyeing the plate on the counter with extras.

"Raspberry compote," Vadelma says, fiddling with the plate as she watches her teammate's reactions. "It's not too much? That's what I wasn't sure about, adding that but then also putting the berries on the top? And then the chocolate—"

"It's perfect," Marian says.

"I love it," Logan agrees. He has a smudge of chocolate on the corner of his mouth. Vadelma smiles like a sunbeam.

"Great!" She says, scurrying back to the counter. "You all can have the rest, then. I'll make a brand new batch for customers later." The plate with the leftovers has six pastries.

"In case your parents want to try," Vadelma says to Marian, placing two gingerly in her outstretched hands.

"For your dad," she hands one to Logan.

"And one for your mom, one each for your brothers," Vadelma continues, this time to Whinter. She gives him quick little wink as she hands him the last one. "I put extra chocolate on this one for Cloud. So don't let those pesky brothers of yours take it."

"Oh, I won't." Whinter tries to wink back, but he's not sure if he winks so much as blinks really fast with both eyes. Not like it really matters. He knows that Vadelma already knows how much it means to him.

2. Logan

"Ha!" Marian crows, triumphant from her kneeling position on the floor. She had started the race leaning back on Vadelma's legs, but as the match progressed she ended up hunched forward over her controller, focused on the racing game on the screen in front of her.

"There's still another lap," Logan points out on Marian's right. He's not exactly feeling the pressure of competition, considering Whinter still is figuring out what all the buttons on the controller do and Vadelma is perfectly content to stay in the middle of the pack. Logan zooms around a corner and takes a jump off to a shortcut on the race map, which lands him safely in front of Marian again.

"Wh—you can't do that!" Marian exclaims. "That's cheating."

Logan grins slyly. "It's strategizing. Not cheating. You can see the path break off, you just chose not to take it."

"I didn't know it was a shortcut. But fine," Marian huffs, leaning forward further as she concentrates. Logan hears Whinter snicker behind him. Marian would never be able to complain about Logan taking shortcuts if he called it strategy. He's pretty sure it would go against her entire team philosophy, even if right now they were just playing Mario Kart. Whatever! Didn't matter. He was still gonna win.

"Ooh, Vadelma got something," Whinter announces, and Logan hears Vadelma's telltale giggle behind him. It is not a comforting sound.

"What did—hey, no!" He yells, but it's too late. Vadelma launches the blue shell, and the beepbeepbeepbeep of the timer starts to play in his corner of the screen as his doom rapidly approaches. Marian cackles beside him.

Marian isn't too far behind him, and neither is the blue shell—so Logan slows down.

He times the move perfectly—just as Marian catches up to him, she realizes her mistake, and the blue shell comes crashing down on them both, Logan's kart spinning in the middle as Marian goes careening off the edge.

"Logan!!" She shrieks, as he crosses the finish line all alone and Whinter howls with laughter behind him.

"Oh dear," Vadelma says, her voice choked up like she's trying very, very hard not to laugh. She gives Marian a pat on the back as consolation. "Well, I tried my best, dear!"

Marian waves her hands around in the air as if trying to shoo the loss away. "No, no," she says, her cheeks red, a smile threatening to break its way onto her face. "You know what? It was a good strategy."

3. Vadelma

"Oh! And one last thing," Marian says, as Vadelma pours her captain a cup of lavender tea—another one—now almost an hour into this team meeting. She wishes she had brought the coffee pot over for herself. Honestly, Vadelma could listen to Marian talk all day about anything, but this supposedly "super quick" team meeting Marian called had devolved into a lecture about punctuality and new bottling plans and Vadelma's eyes were starting to droop.

"It's September 1st," Marian says, slapping her hands on the table as a form of punctuation, "So— it's almost Halloween."

Whinter lets out a long-suffering groan, thumping his head on the table. Logan pats him on the back. Marian narrows her eyes.

Very subtly, or so she hopes, Vadelma pushes the cup of tea a little closer in Marian's direction.

"You've been brainstorming costumes since July," Whinter grumbles. "What else is there to talk about?"

"I'm so glad you asked," Marian says, and pulls out her phone.

Vadelma peers over Marian's shoulder as she opens YouTube, and Marian scoots a bit closer and angles the screen towards Vadelma, looking pleased that her teammate is interested. The soft edges of her hair tickle Vadelma on the cheek.

Well, Vadelma is definitely interested. Maybe not in exactly what Marian is showing her on the screen, but it's fine. She watches anyways. The title of the video reads I Put a Spell on You.

"Um," Vadelma says, about a minute into the video. It looks like a dance number from an old Halloween movie.

"So... you want to do these costumes?" She asks. Please, just the costumes, she thinks.

"Well, yeah," Marian beams, passing her phone across the cafe table to Whinter and Logan so they can see what she's talking about. Marian takes a moment to adjust her glasses as they watch, and Vadelma and Logan exchange a look of barely concealed terror.

"Singing," Logan mouths. Vadelma widens her eyes in response and gives him a rapid shake of her head. She had the same thought.

"Marian." Logan says flatly. "What is this?"

"Hocus Pocus," Marian says, but the boys' faces remain blank. "The movie. That's the name of the movie? Hello?"

"Never heard of it," Whinter mumbles, still transfixed on the screen.

"That settles it," Marian says. "We'll do a team movie night so we can watch it. And then we can figure out who is going to be who."

Okay, a team movie night would be fun—

"And we can practice the dance some other time," Marian finishes. She takes a pleased sip of lavender tea.

Well, at least she didn't say singing. Probably. Vadelma will go along with it, and so will her teammates, because they all know how much it means to Marian.

"Like you said, it's almost Halloween," Vadelma says. "Would you like to get out the decorations?"

4. Marian

"Oh, no no," Marian says, feeling her cheeks flush darker by the second. "Don't sing. Please don't sing."

"But it's your birthday!" Whinter protests. "We have to sing."

"There's too many people in here!" Marian blusters. People in the cafe were already looking over when her teammates paraded out the cake Vadelma had made, no doubt having toiled over it for hours beforehand—at least Vadelma did. Marian is doubtful that Logan and Whinter had helped much beyond stealing fingerswipes of icing off the top of the cake while Vadelma swatted at them with the frosting pipe.

The mental image makes her grin for a moment before she's jerked back to the present, where her teammates, despite her protests, are now singing.

Happy birthday to you...

Happy birthday to you...

Everyone is looking over now, and to Marian's horror, other people are joining in.

Happy birthday, dear Marian,

Happy birthday to you!

Other cafe-goers clap as the song finishes, and Marian fights the urge to bury her face in her hands and laugh and strangle Vadelma and Whinter and Logan and cry with gratitude all at once.

"Thank you," she giggles, wondering if her face has ever been redder in her entire life. "You idiots."

"You're welcome, dear," Vadelma beams. "Try the cake!"

"We all worked very hard on it," Whinter says solemnly, and Vadelma must jab him in the back with her nails, because he lets out a yelp and Logan snickers at the spectacle.

The cake is beautiful. It has three layers and light blue icing slathered generously all over the top and sides, piped with darker blue waves that flow gracefully around the outside. There are rainbow sprinkles on top, which Marian guesses is the aforementioned hard work that Logan and Whinter said they put into it.

"The icing has lavender in it," Vadelma adds. "We thought you might need it."

Marian smiles like an idiot. She has the best teammates in the world, even if they embarrass her to death sometimes.

"I'll have some, but everyone else has to have some, too." she concedes. "This is way too big to eat by myself. Besides, it'll taste better if I can share it with all of you."

———

[ongsniel]

[request] you taste so bitter (and sweet)

AUTHOR: ongniels (ali) FANDOM: WANNA ONE/Produce 101 RATING: PG-13 PAIRING: Lai Guanlin/Park Jihoon WORD COUNT: 4,5k WARNING:  SUMMARY:  Three times Guanlin is stressed/frustrated and is comforted by one of the WANNA ONE members, leaving Jihoon jealous, and one time Jihoon gets to console the younger boy.

[AO3]

1.

Guanlin isn’t usually the type to get stressed – or at least not when he was living in Taiwan, but ever since he joined Produce 101 and then subsequently got to debut with the program’s final idol group, that has changed.

Every time he enters the practice room he feels somewhat suffocated, mind going as fast it can, trying to learn all the different moves and memorize all of them plus where he has to stand while doing them. On a good day, he only comes out after having one mental breakdown, on a bad one, like today, he is immensely exhausted after not having even gotten one move right.

He knows his members don’t judge him for it. They always tell him that and try to help him when they notice he’s struggling but he can’t help but feel guilty when he sees how behind they are on their training schedule, mostly thanks to him.

When he enters the car, he sits down next to the window, resting his head on it. Guanlin welcomes the coldness of the glass, he closes his eyes to cherish the feeling fully.

“Hey, are you alright?” Jihoon whispers, suddenly sitting next to him, a soft smile gracing his lips.

Guanlin just nods, returning the boy’s smile with a weak one of his own, not really in the mood to speak in Korean, even more so because he isn’t sure if he can bring out a sentence that would make sense.  

Jihoon doesn’t seem to mind his silence. He just rests his head on Guanlin’s shoulder, Jihoon’s hand taking a hold of his and intertwining their fingers together. Jihoon softly strokes his thumb over Guanlin’s knuckles for a few minutes until he falls asleep.

Guanlin takes comfort in their usual skinship, sighing as he looks out the window.

***

Their arrival at the dorm doesn’t take long. All of the members pour out of the van in different volumes of loudness and in different states of sleepiness. Guanlin is more on the quiet and awake side while Seongwoo, who is being half-carried by Daniel, is on the “I’m about to pass out” side of the scale. The younger feels guilty because he knows Seongwoo is this tired because he had helped Guanlin all afternoon, tried to appease the angry choreographer and had to learn the new dance himself too.

The guilt makes his fists clench.

Jisung opens the door for them, shushing them so they don’t wake up the neighbors. Their manager checks out the hallways, looking for any lurking fans, and then, when he sees no one is there, leads them up the stairs.

They enter the dorm quietly and agree for Minhyun, Daniel and Seongwoo to use the bathroom first. Guanlin really doesn’t mind, he is pretty sure he isn’t going to be washing up today, anyway.

He follows Woojin into their room, takes his blankets and pillows and goes back to the living room. Jisung looks at him confusedly, mouthing a “what are you doing?” as he sees him lay down on the couch.

“I’m sleeping here tonight,” he mutters, tongue feeling heavy in his mouth.

“I see that, but why?” Jisung asks, furrowing his brows at him. “We’ve got a really long day tomorrow. You should rest well and comfortably. You’re way too big for this couch, Guanlin!”

“I don’t deserve sleeping on my bed today,” he replies, fidgeting with his fingers. “I kept all of you from learning the second half of the song and made a lot of mistakes, I don’t… I should sleep on the couch, as a punishment, so that I do better next time.”

Jisung just shakes his head, wrapping his arm around one of Guanlin’s shoulder while he rests his chin on the other one.

“Guanlin, seriously, no,” the older boy says as he starts to draw circles on his arm. “None of us were in our right mind today and made a lot of mistakes. We didn’t move on because we weren’t ready for it, Jesus, even Woojin couldn’t dance properly today. You don’t have to feel guilty at all.”

“But –“Guanlin wants to reply but Jisung doesn’t let him.

“No buts,” he quips. “You’re sleeping with me tonight.”

***

In the end, Guanlin really does sleep on Jisung’s bed – Jihoon looks at him weirdly as he leaves his own room, saying that he is going to spend the night with their leader.

Jisung cuddles him like a little baby, lulling him to sleep with his endless talking, stupid jokes and soft pats on his back. It makes him relax. Seongwoo and Daniel, who are sleeping together in the other bed, also comfort him, telling him how proud they are of him for improving so much in such a short time.

The last thing Guanlin says before he sleeps is “thank you for comforting me, everyone, I love you”.

2.

There are three things Guanlin needs to have to be completely happy. The first one is, of course, his family and friends (technically he knows they are two different things but he puts them into one category anyway).

The second thing is food. Without food he wouldn’t be able to survive and most of it tastes pretty damn amazing, plus it gives him enough energy to go through his tight schedule.

The last one is sleep but that’s exactly what he hasn’t gotten in the past week.

All of them go from schedule to schedule and then, when they finish that, they go to practice and lessons, when those two things end too, he has to go to his Korean class. He’s glad he hasn’t gotten the same tight schedule as Daniel and Jihoon, although he feels just a tad bit jealous, because he would probably faint from exhaustion if he had.

The most hours of sleep he has gotten this week were three. It’s safe to say that he is pretty done with his life. He even keeps nodding off in between of their training breaks, which is unusual for him.

If he could, he would immediately drive to their dorm and face palm straight into his bed, not getting up for the next two months. It doesn’t help that today out of all days, they had to shoot a commercial and the advertiser wants him to dance “handsomely”.

He has been wrecking his brain for at least ten minutes trying to think how to dance so the advertisers feel satisfied. Guanlin feels a foreign feeling spreading throughout his body.

His heartbeat starts to quicken, he feels a bit dizzy and kind of like he can’t breathe, millions of thoughts cluttering his brain. He knows he is slowly losing control over them. Most of his thoughts don’t even end before the next one comes only milliseconds later.

“Hey, are you okay?” Guanlin knows this voice, Jihoon.

“Uh, yeah, y- yeah,” he mutters, sucking in a deep breathe without looking at the older boy and making his way into the waiting room, sitting down on the couch, taking a hold of his knees, trying to calm himself down.

“You’re pale, do you want some water?” Guanlin glances up to see Seongwoo in front of him, kind smile and frown on his face. “You good?”

“Yes, very good, very relaxed,” he hates his accent for betraying him – the members know that whenever his accent gets thicker, he is nervous and this time is not any different, he is nervous, anxious even.

“Okay, kiddo, tell me what’s up,” Seongwoo sits down next to him, easily wrapping himself around Guanlin like an octopus, weirdly, it makes him calm down. “I’m all ears.”

“W-Well, I’m feeling angsty,” Guanlin answers, looking anywhere but at Seongwoo, who begins to caress his back comfortingly. “They told me to d–dance ‘handsomely’! I can’t even dance p-properly on a g-good day!”

Instead of what Guanlin had expected (e.g. a warm smile, a clap on the shoulder telling him not to worry about anything, maybe an offer to help him) Seongwoo laughs. He laughs and laughs and laughs. It makes him feel betrayed because he had just opened up to him and this is the responds he gets. He can’t help but ball his fists again, neatly cut nails piercing his skin.

“Guanlin, hey, look at me,” Seongwoo says, placing his hands on Guanlin’s cheek.

He tries not to actually look at the older boy, even holds out for a whole minute, before Seongwoo gets tired of waiting – Guanlin is impressed he held out such a long time – and firmly, but carefully, guides Guanlin’s face with his hands so that they are staring into each other’s eyes.

“No matter how weirdly or stupidly you would dance in front of them,” Seongwoo begins with a soft smile. “You still would look handsome anyway.”

Guanlin feels himself blush at the compliment. He averts his eyes from Seongwoo’s face again but this time he is not mad, he feels happy.  Happy at being praised by his band mate.

“Exactly, this smile is perfect,” Seongwoo laughs, excitedly bouncing on the couch. “If you look at the camera with this gummy smile while you dance, believe me kid, you’ll have thousands of girls swooning after you.”

Guanlin shakes his head, face even redder than before as he laughs along with the older boy.

Seongwoo lets go of his cheeks and instead engulfs him in a playful hug, swinging from side to side whilst they sit on the couch, stopping when he spots Daniel and Jihoon watching them from the door, Daniel with his trademark bunny smile and Jihoon with – with that weird look again. Guanlin doesn’t know what it means.

“What did you do to the poor boy that he is this red?” Daniel asks as he joins them on sofa, arm easily wrapping around Seongwoo’s shoulder.

Jihoon stays at the door, his arms crossed as he watches the scene play out in front of him. Guanlin tries to catch his eyes, to ask if everything’s alright, but he can’t.

“Oh you know, showering him with compliments to charm him,” Seongwoo responds, for a second letting himself melt into Daniel’s side before he stands up again. “I’d love to keep cuddling here with you, Mr. Kang, but Mr. Lai and I have some business to attend.”

Seongwoo has Guanlin’s hand in his hold in less than a second, then he tugs the younger boy to his feet and drags him out of the room, Guanlin’s shoulder slightly touching Jihoon’s, as Jihoon turns around to look at them.

“Now, now, I’ll teach you some popping for your CF, yeah?” Seongwoo beams at Guanlin with a toothy grin. “Pay attention.”

“Before that,” Guanlin interrupts suddenly. “Thank you.”

The older boy waves him off happily and proceeds to try and fit ten years of popping knowledge in two minutes.

3.

Guanlin stares at the item in his hands incredulously. He can’t believe it – It… it’s broken.

He can already feel tears threatening to spill as he keeps looking at it.

Guanlin touches the torn paper, trying to figure out a way to repair it – to make it whole again – to make all the pieces of broken glass become one again – to let the faces on the picture be recognizable again – to see his mothers face reflecting back at him with a large smile again.

His shoulders shake with almost sobs as he touches all of the picture’s pieces, trying to find them all in the clutter full of glass, tiny pieces of wood from the frame and at least a dozen pieces of paper.

“Guanlin…” a soft voice from behind him says.

He knows all the members are looking at the mess he is right now, looking at him as he loses the last piece of his sanity. Guanlin doesn’t turn around, frantically collecting the pieces of photo paper from the floor.

A hand on of his own stops him. When he looks up to see who it is, Minhyun is looking back at him with worried eyes.

“You’re bleeding,” the older boy points out as he lifts Guanlin’s hand from the floor. “Let’s get you cleaned up, yeah?”

Guanlin can’t find it in himself to protest, so he just nods. Numbly standing up and letting Minhyun drag him through the crowded door – all of the members looking at him with pity – and to the bathroom.

Minhyun makes him sit down on the rim of the bathtub while he searches for disinfectant, some cotton and a band aid. It doesn’t take long for him to take Guanlin’s uninjured hand again and ask him to grit his teeth while he washes the wound with water.

Guanlin is in a trance-like state while Minhyun then softly dries, disinfects and puts the band aid on his right hand. He doesn’t feel anything.

“You know you can cry if you want,” Minhyun suddenly says, cautiously looking at Guanlin from under his eyelashes. “We won’t judge you for crying. We know how precious that picture was to you.”

Once again, Guanlin doesn’t answer. He just looks down at the floor in front of him, biting his lips as he tries to suppress his emotions, to not let them out, to not let them win over him. Of course he’s sad, that picture… it was the only printed out photo he had of his family. His father had sweated bullets while trying to sneak it in when he came to visit him on the Produce 101 set. It was the only thing that he had to remember them now that his phone was taken away, his only connection to them.

“I… I just don’t understand,” Guanlin whispers, finally looking up at Minhyun. “What does this person gain from breaking into our dorm and destroying our things? Destroying that picture?”

“I don’t know, Guanlin,” Minhyun sighs, smiling sadly. “Some people do shitty things for no reason.”

He nods, his sadness now being replaced by anger.

“But don’t worry, the managers will find out who did this,” Minhyun tells him, hand now comfortingly on Guanlin’s shoulder. “We’ll also find a way to print out another one, I’m sure Seongwoo can use his handsome face to convince the manager to let us go out to a cyber café or something.”

Guanlin smiles at that, grateful that Minhyun is looking out for him, even if the person who had broke into the house had also destroyed some of his personal items, like the teddy bear he had gotten from Jonghyun or the letters from the NU’EST members.

When they go out of the bathroom, Jihoon and Jisung are on the couch. The moment he sees them, Guanlin knows they had been nervously waiting to see if he’s okay. While Jisung looks relieved when he spots Guanlin coming out with a small smile on his lips, Jihoon stares at him with squinted eyes.

He brushes it off, not wanting to try to find out what it is at the moment, and just sends him a small grin his way.

+1.

Weeks pass before Guanlin feels something akin to sadness again.

The group is busy with various shoots (variety and music shows, some photo- and CF shoots as well), recording for their next comeback in late September and practicing another new choreography that he is so exhausted that he always just comes straight home, crashes onto his bed and immediately falls asleep without washing up.

Thankfully though, some of the members get time off on a Wednesday while Daniel, Seongwoo, Jisung and Minhyun go to film another variety. Most of them take the opportunity to go visit their families, the managers giving them a ride, leaving Guanlin alone in their dorm.

At first he had welcomed the silence since it didn’t happen quite often in a dorm full of 11 boys but well, after a while it had become too deafening and boring. He misses the usual amount of noise

Right now, he is lying in his bed, back towards the door as he looks at the wall with the newly printed out picture of his family. Guanlin looks at their faces again and again; sometimes he even traces their features with his fingers.  

He curls in on himself as he stares at his sister’s face. Who would have thought that he would miss her this much?

Ever since they were kids they had fought every day, no matter about what. There was no day his mother wouldn’t have to mediate between the two of them either because of a toy, stolen food or one of them having slapped the other. This continued up to their teens, Guanlin always teasing his sister for having a new boyfriend every other month while his sister spread his childhood videos around his school to pay him back for the teasing.

He laughs at the memories, noticing only at this moment how stupid their fights were. How much better they could have spent their time together, how much more Guanlin could have shown his appreciation for her.

Before he knows it, he has silent, hot tears running down his face. If anyone was in the dorm, he would wipe them away as fast as possible and ignore any lingering homesickness, but since he’s completely alone, Guanlin lets them flow down his cheeks in a steady stream.

His smiling mom catches his attention then. Just by looking at her, he can almost smell her cooking – Jesus, he misses it so much. No matter how much he liked Korean cuisine, nobody could win against his mother’s food. She is the best cook Guanlin has ever met. He wishes he could eat it again, that he could eat it while looking at her running around in the kitchen, asking him if it’s tasty over and over again until he answers, that he could it eat while she smiles down at him and pats his head as she complements him for eating the food so well.

Guanlin’s tears are now beginning to be accompanied by quite sobs. He turns around in his bed, leaving the picture on the other side, trying to stop himself from crying as he sits up. No matter what he does, he won’t be able to meet her anyway.

“Guanlin?” he hears a voice shout out from the living room.

He is terrified when he listens to it. Guanlin doesn’t want the other boy to see him like this, to see him being emotional over some picture.

Even if he wants to answer, he can’t. Another sob escapes his lips without him wanting too.

“Are you in here? I brought you some Taiwanese –,” Jihoon stops at the door, the bag in his hand falling to the floor as he spots Guanlin on the bed.

The younger boy is pretty sure that the sight Jihoon is seeing is nowhere near pleasant nor pretty, what with Guanlin’s bed mussed hair, puffy, swollen eyes and red cheeks. He grabs a pillow from his bed and tries to hide himself behind it, avoiding the other boy’s eyes.

Jihoon is in front of him in less than five seconds, his right hand removing the pillow in one swift motion before he knees in front of Guanlin, worried eyes scanning the younger boy up and down, trying to figure out if he’s hurt anywhere.

Guanlin shakes his head as if to silently answer the question. He is so, so tired of crying alone.

He throws himself into the older boy’s arms. Jihoon is taken aback for a minute, almost losing his balance but he seems to catch himself in time for the both of them not to fall on the floor.

Guanlin buries his face into the crook of Jihoon’s neck, sobbing silently as he hugs him. Jihoon just wordlessly embraces him back, caressing his hair as he whispers sweet nothings into Guanlin’s ears. For some unexplainable reason, Jihoon’s voice calms him down like some healing balm for his heart.  

It takes a lot of time for Guanlin to finally calm down but Jihoon sticks with him through it all, hugging him tightly until he stops crying and isn’t holding onto the older like he’s his only lifeline.

“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”  Jihoon whispers.

“Homesick,” Guanlin mumbles, his answer muffled by Jihoon’s shirt but he’s still pretty sure Jihoon is able to catch it because he replies to Guanlin’s statement with a soft “ah”.

“I don’t know if it helps but I… My mom made some Taiwanese soup for you, she said she was sure that you’d be missing home if all of us had left you home alone to visit our families,” he tells him, Guanlin knows he must be smiling by the tone of his voice. “She scolded me for that, too, you know, told me to bring you home with me the next time.”

Guanlin laughs at that, Jihoon’s mother had always been great to him.

“Do you… do you want to eat it, Guanlin?” Jihoon asks, carefully dissolving the hug to look directly into Guanlin’s eyes.

Instead of replying, he just nods, a smile forming on his lips.

He lets go of Jihoon, standing up from the floor and helping the other do so, too. Jihoon grabs the bag he threw down on their way to the kitchen with one hand while he holds Guanlin’s own hand with the other.

Jihoon makes him sit down on one of the chairs in the kitchen while he warms up the food in the microwave. It doesn’t take long before he brings it to him. He sets it down in front of Guanlin and hands him a spoon. Guanlin knows the other is nervously waiting for him to taste it.

He recognizes the soup to be a beef noodle soup, one his mother used to make on his father’s birthday since it was his favourite. He sighs contently as he eats a spoonful. It feels just like home.

“Thank you,” he says when he is done eating; he had finished the soup in only five minutes.

“No problem,” Jihoon grins at him. “Feeling better?”

“Yes, much better,” Guanlin beams triumphantly. “But it’s all thanks to you and your mom’s soup, I owe you!”

Jihoon waves him off and glances at him with bright eyes, his grin sincere.

Somehow while staring into the other’s eyes, Guanlin is reminded of the weird way Jihoon had looked at him lately. He figures that since no one is here anyway, it’s the best time to ask about it.

“Jihoon, I wanted to ask you something,” Guanlin announces, cautiously analyzing Jihoon’s reaction but not sensing anything out of the ordinary. “You’ve been looking at me with this… unusual glimpse in your eyes these past weeks, but only in certain occasions, is something wrong?”

Guanlin can see the way Jihoon tenses in front of him. The older boy gapes at him for a few minutes ere he stands up and points at the living room. He gets up too, following him to the couch.

“What… do you mean exactly?” Jihoon queries, squinting his eyes at him warily.

“Well, you have this strange look in your eyes and I can’t figure it out, but I don’t see it very often,” Guanlin admits, his tongue swipes over his lips as he tries to remember when he saw the look on Jihoon’s face. “Like when I slept over at Jisung’s after I was feeling down because of practice or when Seongwoo and I were on the couch at the Yo-Hai CF shooting…. Oh! It also happened when Minhyun and I got out of the bathroom after what happened with that fan.”

When he looks at Jihoon, he is aware that the older boy knows exactly what Guanlin is talking about.

“Well….” Guanlin patiently waits for Jihoon to answer, putting a hand on the other’s knee, encouraging him to talk with gentle caresses. “I was jealous.”

“Jealous?” he repeats.

“Yeah, jealous, I was just… really… really jealous,” Jihoon smiles sheepishly at him.

“But why?” the younger boy can’t help but ask.

“I wanted to be the one that’s there for you when you are sad,” he admits, Jihoon’s hand now on top of Guanlin’s. “I wanted to comfort you after practice and cuddle with you until you felt better, I wanted you to open up to me about what was happening during the CF. I also felt kind of bad because I asked you if you were okay and you… seemed not to want to talk to me. That time with Minhyun, I just felt really bad because I didn’t reach out to you when you needed me the most. Seeing someone else provide you with that comfort made me feel unreasonably mad.”

Guanlin takes in all of the information, trying to understand everything. He, surprisingly, feels proud for being able to make Jihoon jealous because of stuff like that, like he has come one step closer to making his unrequited crush not as one-sided.

“Why didn’t you talk to me when you were sad or angry?” Jihoon snaps him out of his thoughts.

He already knows that he has a blush on his face (the tip of his ears are probably red from embarrassment, too). Just like Jihoon was before, he gapes at the other for a few seconds.

“Because I don’t want you to see me sad,” Guanlin confesses with a defeated sigh. “Since I like you, I only want to show you cool and funny sides of me.”

Jihoon laughs at him, nose crinkling cutely. Guanlin doesn’t know if he’s laughing because Guanlin just confessed his feeling and is being ridiculous or because he… is happy.

“Ah, I’m so stupid,” Jihoon breathes out between giggles. “I like you, too! We could have been together for such a long time if we had talked about this earlier!”

Guanlin finds himself laughing, too. Nervousness replaced by giddiness and butterflies in his stomach. He catches the sight of their hands, Jihoon’s on top of his, and then intertwines their fingers, happy with the view in front of him.

“Hey, now that we know we like each other,” Jihoon begins after his laughing ceases. “Please… talk to me when you’re sad. I will try my best to comfort and love you.”

Guanlin smiles down at his lap while nodding, squeezing Jihoon’s hand softly.

***

The next time Guanlin feels homesick – after the hosts of a certain variety had asked one too many questions about his family and Taiwan, he immediately seeks out Jihoon when they arrive at the dorm, wrapping himself around the boy like an octopus until he feels like he can breathe again.

Jihoon just looks at him warmly as he steers them towards Guanlin’s bed, promising to ask his mother for another one of those soups and praising him for coming to him while they cuddle.

As they are snuggled up to each other, Jihoon sprawled all over Guanlin; he thanks all of his lucky stars for the present that is Park Jihoon in his life.

[oddmentt]

The Deep End - Part 1

A/N: Hiya lovelies, this is my first attempt on writing fanfiction, or rather actually writing something I would have the balls to publish. *insert nervous laughter* I have written a shit ton of text, but we’ll see how it goes! So yeah this is just the first part of many… maybe. Also English isn’t my first language, so be merciful.

The story involves a made up character of mine and this first part is really only a filter; nothing too exciting happens. (oops)

Oh and I would really love some feedback, feel free to give it <3

Part 2

“I’ll never be able to go on a date with her…” James Potter groaned, resting his chin on top of his crossed hands, feeling utterly miserable. He had just heard a rumour that his long-time crush, Lily Evans, was seeing someone from Ravenclaw. The day hadn’t been going well either; during Potions class his cauldron had exploded in his face because he hadn’t been paying enough attention to what he was doing. His complexion still had a faint tint of grey, making him look as if he was about to be sick at any moment.

The Great Hall was full of students hurrying for lunch before their lectures continued in the evening and everyone was buzzing about the upcoming Quidditch game Gryffindor versus Slytherin, which was set for two weeks from now. It was the only thing keeping James from having a full-blown meltdown, since the Gryffindor team was working quite seamlessly during practices.

Sirius Black patted James on the back as he took a sip of pumpkin juice. “Don’t worry about it, mate. Have some pie.” He pushed a delicious looking steak and kidney pie towards James, but he merely groaned. Today he was content on only feeling utterly miserable.

“You’re not going to win her over by not eating and you know it,” said Remus Lupin, who had joined the conversation, noticing how miserable James indeed was. He closed the Charms book he was reading and poured James some more pumpkin juice into his goblet.

“Where did you hear that she was dating someone from Ravenclaw?” piped up a rather mousy looking boy named Peter Pettigrew. He kept throwing nervous glances towards James, who was basically his hero. It made him feel as miserable as James to see him so discouraged.

James was just about to reply as he heard his last name being called somewhere near the big wooden doors. Noticing it was a girl’s voice, his head shot up as he observed the direction the voice had come from, heart starting to beat frantically, hoping it were Lily. However, to his slight disappointment it was Rumi Calder, Lily’s best friend. She half-jogged over to where the Marauders were sitting with her long brown hair flowing behind her as leaned close to James, causing the Marauders all cast curious looks at one another. From the group only James and Remus really knew her, but never before had she sought them out in the Great Hall.

“Tonight, after dinner, come into the common room and you’ll find Lily sitting in the corner, in need of someone to talk to. Marlene and I will be… ah… busy, and it’s up to you to make her feel better,” she said slightly out of breath, eyes beaming like she had just found a cure for dragon pox. “Yeah?” She glanced at a bewildered James.

“I… What?”

Rumi rolled her eyes and sighed. “Look, I don’t have time to explain it to you again, so just come into the common room after dinner, alright? Make Lily feel better. I have to go now,” she said as she straightened and glanced nervously towards the doors.

“I… Any- any advice?” James stuttered, still quite baffled by her words.

Rumi merely laughed and replied, “Just… Trust me, mate. Go with the flow.”

She turned towards the doors and as an afterthought she nodded courtly to the other Marauders, who were in turn staring at her curiously or in bewilderment, and muttered, “Ladies…” with a wicked grin and hurried off.

There was a moment of silence between the boys, which was broken by Peter accidentally dropping his fork.

“Now that…” Remus muttered, cocking an eyebrow.

“…was interesting,” finished a grinning Sirius as he glanced after the hazel haired girl who had already disappeared into the crowd. 

Realisation was drawing in on James as his puzzled expression slowly changed into a horrified one. A swarm of butterflies had found their way into James’s stomach.

“Merlin’s pants,” he muttered and drew a shaking hand through his messy, jet black hair. All the times he had asked her out before this moment had been washed away from his mind. This is it.

“This is it!” exclaimed an excited Sirius, echoing James’s unspoken thoughts. “Mate, you’ve waited for this for ages!” He slapped James on the back and gave a high five to Remus, who looked utterly amused with remnants of curiosity still etched on his faintly scarred face. Peter chuckled and clapped his hands next to Remus, his eyes round as saucers. 

“What’ll I say? Or do?!” James yelped, giving each boy a look of plea. Remus scratched his chin thoughtfully, still wearing the amused expression.

“Well, I guess you just ‘go with the flow’, right?”

James gave a high-pitched cry and leaned towards him across the mahogany table. “But what does it MEAN?!”

Peter was about to join in on the conversation as Sirius interrupted him, grabbing James by the front of his shirt. “You go in there and make her swoon! We’ll be right behind you if you need us, Prongs!”

“Absolutely not,” said Remus in a stern voice, catching both boys off guard. “James will go there alone, without us-” Sirius was just about to protest as Remus continued, “because he doesn’t need us in order to make Lily feel better. And possibly we’d only just make things worse.”

A solid feeling of certainty rushed through James as he listened to Remus’s words, his panic slowly subsiding. He took a deep breath and set his shoulders in determination. Surely he, James Fleamont Potter, would be able to lift someone’s mood, even if that someone was none other than the love of his life, Lily Evans.

“I’ll go in there… and make her swoon!” he declared, sounding assured and rather dramatic, as if he were a soldier about to go off to battle. Although, in a way he was.

Sirius jumped in his seat in victory and grabbed James by the shoulders. “That’s my boy!”

James downed his goblet of pumpkin juice in one chug and glanced at his watch, grinning like a loony. One and a half hours to go.

[startwreck]

I’m going to attempt to recap Duchovny in Boston day (February 22, 2017.) Warning: this could get long and sappy because it’s 3 AM and I’m just brain dumping. Under a cut...

Woke up this morning think I would only go to the Bucky F*cking Dent reading/signing event. Had a ticket and I loved the book (read it / Audible’d it last spring) and thought secondhand embarrassment would be minimal in that setting. Great. Planned to cut out of work for a couple hours to go. As I’m walking to the venue, Jen @snowvitamins texted me, and through the magic of distinctive scarves, we were able to make our acquaintance. She was with Mer @damselindistressmya. Fun fact: In the course of trying to find each other, Mer was described as wearing “a Mulder season 10 jacket.” In my anxious and distracted state, I took this to mean that Mer was wearing a jacket with a likeness of Mulder in Season 10 on it (I pictured a varsity jacket, you know, with a leather torso and felted sleeves? and then just a giant Mulder head on the back of it.) Needless to say, I momentarily pondered hiding my scarf-marker. Luckily, I’m an idiot and Mer was wearing an Army jacket similar to the one Mulder wore in Season 10:

So the reading doesn’t happen. Not sure if this was due to the size of the turnout (we wouldn’t have all fit where they do their readings), time constraints, voice preservation, a rogue edible, or what (file under: none of my business.) I was excited to hear David read a chapter so I was briefly disappointed, but totally understand, would still follow the Booksmith and/or DD to the end of the earth.

Stand in line for a while and then it’s my turn. Give him the book with the post-it with my name in it. He pronounces my name correctly (as if I didn’t love him enough already) and I give a smile and say “yep.” He starts doing the inscription. My brain then says “fuck it; we’ll do it live” and I say “I really like the line, ‘Eighty-six years, a long and lucky life’” and tell him how my grandfather, a lifelong Red Sox fan, lived almost exactly those eighty-six years that he’s referring to, born in 1918 and passed in early 2005. I must have been looking down at the table/book when I said most of this, because when I return my gaze up to his face partway through this, he was giving me that Intense Eye Contact (TM), clearly flattered that someone quoted his own words to him. It was a solid looking-into-your-soul kind of stare, like he was trying to decipher who I was in a five second period (and I gladly would have given him my entire family’s social security numbers in that moment.) The man knows how to connect with an audience, that’s for sure (#ACTING.) At that point, either DD or the manager dude standing there  (I blacked out so not sure who it was) says, “So he got to see them win.” Downer that I am, I reply bluntly, “Well he had Alzheimer’s at the end so we’re not sure that he really knew.” Manager dude said something like “I’m sure he did” (aka “stop talking, crazy.”) I say “thank you” and make my exit. 

Now, had my Day of Duchovny ended there, my day still would have been made. But what happened over the course of the rest of the day was something special. It was a beautiful much-needed reminder of how the arts can connect pseudo-strangers in a magical way and how there is still goodness in humanity.

Over lunch with @snowvitamins, @damselindistressmya, and @myassbrokethefall​, we all come back down the earth. I learned that @myassbrokethefall​ almost accidentally had David sign a book about sheep herding and @damselindistressmya​ had a lover’s quarrel with him over basketball. We exchange details about “real life” and also discuss topics of fandom and Tumblr politics. It is lovely. They’re all going to the concert, I want to hang out with them more, and they promise I can hide behind them if I’m embarrassed, so I buy a concert ticket on my phone as we’re finishing lunch. It’s mezzanine-level so I can always sneak out or hide behind a seat, right?

I go back to work for literally two hours. I catch up on email but also flail to @dangerscully​ and @crossedbeams​, my transatlantic support team. Yes, you guys are a part of this story. Thank you for your support and sweet messages. Can’t wait til we unite. Let’s just meet halfway into the Atlantic, shall we? I’ll start paddling now...

After a solid two hours of work, it’s time to get our drink on. @stellagibsonisalifeforce and @x-files-behind-the-scenes joined the lunch crew for dinner/drinks pre-concert and they’re awesome too. Seriously, reminder that if you ever have the opportunity to meet Tumblr friends in “real life,” do it. I only have a couple drinks and I’m getting nervous that it won’t be enough to combat secondhand embarrassment. But I’m in it now. It’s happening. 

Thanks to @snowvitamins, @damselindistressmya, and @stellagibsonisalifeforce, I actually end up on the floor rather than up in the mezzanine. Go big or go home, right? We’re very close to the stage, just two or three rows of people in front of us. Pat, local boy from Watertown (”Wahtahtown” - DD) who’s in the band, opens. There’s a little break to reset the stage, and then the band comes on stage. I have my ear plugs in my hand, ready to go as DD joins them to wild applause. I’m pretty sure I said “ohgodohgodohgod” half under my breath for the first 1-2 songs. But then I realize something. He’s actually...good?...in person. Err, better. But his stage (and floor) presence, enthusiasm, give-no-fucks attitude, and ability to connect with the audience -- sometimes through Intense Eye Contact (TM) -- more than make up for the occasional flawed pitch. I imploded about two thirds of the way through when I experienced Intense Eye Contact (TM) via the Duchovs for the second time that day. It was during the a song that I had definitely never heard. I was listening and our eyes just met and he sang holding his gaze there for more than 10 seconds. It was seriously transformative. While his eye contact while signing said “Who are you?”, this look said “I know who you are.” Truly a religious experience (TM by @kateyes224.) Update three days later: I finally figured out what song this happened during. All I remembered was that the song had “can’t” in it and that one of the words during the Intense Eye Contact (TM) was “love.” After doing some detective work and familiarizing myself with the album, I have determined that it was “Another Day” in which my Intense Eye Contact (TM) occurred, around the end of the first verse and beginning of the first chorus:

Another home Some other love Another guy sent high above Some other lie, we tell ourselves Passing time before the bell

I can't live long enough To bring you around

After this moment that briefly made me believe that romantic love was a possibility for me, he moved on to work another area of the crowd (I saw a review that said he was really an equal-opportunity crowd-worker and I couldn’t agree more, though he won’t engage with you if you are chronically camera phone-ing -- which I love.) I turned around and briefly freaked out to @damselindistressmya​ (”that was directed at me”) before returning my attention to the stage and really getting into singing along with the “Ooh oohs” since I didn’t know any of the other words. Not that I’m biased by that experience or anything, but after listening to the album for a couple days (trying to relive the memories), “Another Day”

My other favorite moment came when David came off the stage onto the floor during one song. We’re all dancing up a storm but @damselindistressmya was closest to the action so I gave her a friendly push into the splash zone and stay on the perimeter (apparently crowd control is a secret talent of mine?) I can’t see what’s going on exactly, but a few seconds later, Mer emerges, walking/dancing/shimmying backwards towards the stage, followed by David, who’s doing the same moves, but facing forward, towards the stage. In other words, they are face to face having a dance-off right in front of me. After a few steps of their impromptu tango, Mer somehow has the wherewithal to peel off to the side gracefully to allow David a path back up on stage. It was seriously a work of art. I'm not sure how Mer survived because I’m still not sure how I did, and I was merely a witness. I can’t draw for shit but I felt the need to produce an artist’s rendering of what unfolded before me (style inspired by @jamofappreciation):

Other concert highlights:

@stellagibsonisalifeforce​ and @snowvitamins​’ love of band member Jeff (that eventually we all got in on.) He did have a great blazer (not quite as awesome as DD’s hooded number though. Good work, Nancy.)

Making new friends between Pat opening and the main event. New friends = Alexa & Scott, I think?

David dedicating a song to band member (and opener) Pat’s grandfather, who was there at 80-something years old. They pointed him out and he stood out and everyone clapped for him. Adorable!

Singing Happy Birthday to band member Colin. We were terribly out of tune. I’d like to think this put DD at ease because he realized we were also pitch-impaired.

David showcasing each of the band members individually during one song (”Sweet Jane,” maybe?), going over to each one individually and putting a hand on their shoulder while they played and just being the sweetest father-figure-esque thing ever

Dad dancing for days. I tried to mirror all his moves. Ended up sweating nearly as much as him and my calves hurt for two days after.

David talking about the best political songs are the ones that aren’t political until they suddenly are / need to be

They recorded the album in Boston and many (all?) of the band members are from Berklee, so it’s special for them

Intro’ing his new song “Half-Life” as “It has science in it”

Boston-accenting “Stars” to “Stahs”

Discussing the merits of traveling by train (very Biden-esque and I loved it)

A lot of sweat. At one point I noticed a bead a sweat drip off his face onto the floor. I wanted to live inside that moment forever.

Full band in pussy hats for the encore

Everyone singing along to “The Weight”

Everyone singing along to the chorus of “Hell or Highwater” (I said I’d love you forever, come hell or highwater / Well, babe the flood’s in)

Lots of genuine gratitude (holding his hand to his chest), especially during the closing “Thank you”

Also got to wave to @thattimetheykissed before the concert and say hi after the concert. Great to meet you! 

Special thanks to @campaignofmisinformation for starting the Sunday night re-watches that brought so many of us together. The entire day was just the embodiment of @ihavefeministbones’ recent A+ character development post. Seriously, we were quoting it at every turn. Thanks to everyone who made this day unexpectedly great! I’m off to sleep for probably three hours and then will wake up thinking this was all a dream. Please pinch me tomorrow (err, later today.) 

[astoryworthoftelling]

Blood lines

Prompt: The reader is the daughter of the Joker. While his relationship with her father is not the best, Batman shows up and offers her a new job and this does not make Robin happy. 

Will she adapt to a new team? Will they trust her?

Fandom: Young Justice

Count word: 2, 081 (Yikes!) 

Y/n/n: Your nickname 

Y/n: Your name

GCPD: Gotham City Police Department 

A/N: So...I’ve been working this for a while, I intended to post it last week but I was not able to finish it until today. I hope you enjoy it. And yes, I intend to make a second part, why? Well.. I thought it was too large and also I will have more time to develop more the plot. Anyways... here it is, feel free to ask me anything and as always, I am open to reviews!

Pt.2

It was never easy being the daughter of one of the biggest Gotham criminals. He never talked about your mother and even if he did, he talked like she was the worst scum of the world, so you never heard anything nice about her, you did not remember her voice or even know if you even heard it once. Your family life was all messed up, mainly because you never felt that you had one and that you actually never had a good relationship with your father. The one time he showed affection towards you, was when he started teaching you in the “art of a con”, also how to create a deadly prank. Every time he had a “master plan” or something in his mind to create chaos, he disappeared for several weeks, leaving you all alone, with no one else but your cat. Eventually, it wasn’t that bad since you learned a lot by going out to Gotham’s dangerous and mischievous streets. The same streets that changed your life, you learned how to fight, defend yourself and how to grab a wallet without letting the person notice that it was already long gone. 

If there was something you really enjoyed was going out specially at night. Not because you could do whatever you wanted to, but because it was peaceful…in someway. Yeah, there were times that the fights between Batman and another fellow criminal made a chaotic noise, but it was peaceful, every time that you walked on the roofs, you wondered what kind of people lived in that house, the problems they were facing, if they were happy, sad or angry. Millions of questions flew around your mind, questions that you will never know the answer.

“I hope you are not planning something y/n/n” Said a deep voice behind you. Even though you couldn’t see him, you knew who was behind you.

“Nah, I am just admiring the view” You smiled and turn to see his face, rather his mask “Hi Batman”.

For some weird reason, you did not fear him as much as your friends did. He had caught you several times robbing something, but instead of taking you to GCPD, he always let you go with a warning, of course you never listen to him, but it was fun to see how long it would take until you ended up in prison.

“Admiring the view?, that is new” Said a teen voice behind Batman.

“Hello, Robin” You laughed “What? Can’t I enjoy my freedom?” 

“Well…I think we should have sent you to prison a while ago…” He snapped

“Robin…” Said Batman in a warning tone. Robin shuts his mouth and just looked at you pissed. “You know what, I am going to…”

“Look guys, I would love to stay here and chat, but that is not my thing so…I am gonna go” You said interrupting Robin. “So…see you next time?” You clapped your hands and start walking backwards.

“Y/n/n, wait” Said Batman in a serious tone “We need to talk”

“Ummm…look Bats, as I said before…talking is not my thing, and with you two…Nu-huh, I am leaving”

“I would like to offer you a job or more likely, a second chance” He said making direct contact with your eyes.

“A job?” You tried not to laugh “Yeah, not my thing either”

“I told you Batman, she wouldn’t be interested, we are waisting our time” Robin said and by the look of his face he did not agree with whatever Batman had on mind.

“Wow Robin, I think this will be the first time we agree on something” You giggled

“Y/N/N, perhaps you should listen what I have to offer and then you could accept or deny it. How does that sound?” He raised his chin, you rolled your eyes and nod.

“Fine, five minutes. Then I am off” You finally said, for some reason Batman was pleased with your answer, meanwhile Robin just looked at you in silence, and you wondered in what kind of mess you were getting into.

You walked through a weird, really shiny túnel, out of nowhere you heard a female voice announcing your arrival.

 "Robin B01" 

“Y/n/n B26” 

“Woah, you need someone to announce you?” You laughed “That is weird…” you said as you put your only luggage and your cat’s cage on the floor. 

Robin smiled the moment he saw the people in the room, they looked around your age, some of them were looking at you with curiosity and others with a some hostility. 

 “Ok” you said breaking the silence “So…is somebody going to present me? Or shall I introduce myself?“. 

"Right, guys.” Robin and looked at the team “This is y/n/n, she is going to join the team, and let’s see how that works”

“Ow, how nice Robin” You forced a smile “Hi everyone”

“Hi, I am M’gann Morzz” Said a green girl who step up and smile “Oh, but you can call me Megan or Miss Martian” She quickly said, which made you giggle.

“Hi Megan, I am y/n/n” You smiled warmly and shook her hand.

“I am Aqualad, but you can call me Kaldur’ahm” Said a male voice, he was kind of the same height as you and had a couple of gills in both sides of his neck. You shocked his hand “And this is the team…Kid Flash, Superboy, Artemis and Zatanna”

“So…you are going to be joining us…” Said the boy with red hair.

“Yeah, that’s the plan” You nod slowly.

“And, where is Batman, why isn’t he introducing you?” Said the blonde. “Are you going to stay permanently?” 

“Ummm…”  You said indecisively.

“He is on a mission” Simply said Robin “Now, Megan, would you show y/n/n the place, please” 

“Yeah, sure Robin” She smiled 

“Just one thing…Where is my room?” You looked at him and softly smile trying to be more kind with Robin.

“Right…next to Megan’s room” He finally said and walked out of the room

“So…” Said the boy with the giant “S” in his shirt, he had to be obviously Superboy.

“Lets begin the tour!” Said Meghan really excited “Who is going to join us?” 

“I’ve got things to do” Said Kid Flash and run away. 

“I am going to clean my gear” Said the girl with blond hair

“I will join you” Aqualad smiled and joined your little group tour

“Yeah, me too” Said superboy

“Ok! Let’s begin!” She started talking about why she was here on earth, her story, started talking about some adventures with the team.

“Oh, just a sec” You rapidly said, you looked at you silver tabby cat who surprisingly was still silent, probably trying not to draw a lot of attention “Hey girl” You opened the cage, pet her head “Sorry for the long trip, I know you don’t like that cage” 

“Meow” She said complaining, which made you giggle.

“Yeah, go and explore” And with that, she run away.

“Umm…” Said superboy “I am not sure if that was the best idea, we have a wolf and I don’t know if he is cat-friendly…”

“You have a wolf?” You said amused “Wow…you do  know that wolves are not pets, right?” You said joking “Don’t worry, she is quite smart, besides…we are from Gotham, if Batman doesn’t scares us, nothing can” You giggled and follow them through the cave or house, whatever that place was.

While you followed Megan, you start to think if you made the right choice. If it was wisely to leave gotham, your life, your friends…gosh…what would they think about you? That you betray them? Or that you are just fooling yourself by pretending to be a hero.

“Y/n/n? Are you ok?” Said Superboy breaking your own trance.

“Yeah…I…am just tired…” You shrugged

“Oh! Well then lets go to your room, rest and we will continue the tour another day” Megan said with a half smile.

After going through several corridors, you finally arrived to your room it was bigger than the one you had back in Gotham, with its own bathroom, a desk, a closet and a bed. You put your luggage in the bed and open it, you looked at your clothes and stared putting them in the closet.

“Meow” You heard behind you. And there she was, your cat smelling the room, looking around and finally walked towards you.

“Hey there” You smiled while grabbing her and sat on the bed “I know this is a really weird and completely different place than gotham…” You said while petting her, she purred and sat on your lap “And…I can tell that some of them are not happy with our presence, but Megan, Aqualad and Superboy are nice, you know?” You gave a long sigh leave your chest, it was hard, you missed gotham, but the thing that hurt you the most, it was their faces, the way they looked at you, you felt alone, with no friends, clearly no family, just you and your cat. The worts thing was, that this was your first day of many more.

“Guys, I need you at the mission room  now” Said Robin through the speakers

Everyone was already there, Artemis was arguing with Wally, again. Megan was talking to Conner and Aqualad discussing something with Robin and Zatanna. They all stared at you when you arrived.

“Finally” Said Artemis

“Sorry, I got lost” You shrugged your arms and put your hands on the pockets of your black sweater.

“Meow” Said your cat who sat next to you

"So..." you moved impatiently "Why are we here?" 

"The amount of robberies has increased quite a lot in the past month" suddenly said Robin "so it is not normal, we are going to investigate who is causing all this robberies and stop them" 

"Where are we going?" Asked Conner 

"Gotham, we are going to Gotham" said Robin in a deep and serious voice while looking at you. From this moment forward, you had nothing to say, everyone stared at you like you were the one responsible for the robberies.And for one moment, you wished you were.

You travelled in Megan’s ship, it was quite spacious, everyone had their own place to sit, while you sat on the corner listening to the strategies and plans.

“I think we should start by seeing some of the crime scenes” Said Aqualad

“I can run through the city and look for suspicious activity” Kid Flash added.

“I will go with Wally” Said artemis

They continued for a while until you finally arrived to Gotham. You never truly saw many stars thanks to the ambient light, but if there was something that compensate that was the city lights. Looking the streets, buildings made you feel relaxed and comfortable and that meant one thing, you were back home.

The ship landed on the roof of a building, everyone went out and you followed them in silence; as soon as you were out, the cold air hit your cheeks, you smiled, winter was just around the corner.

“Ok, so...I know you said that I had to go with Superboy and Miss Martian to see the other crime scenes, but I have a better idea..” You smiled softly.

“Ok, what’s your idea?” Kindly said Aqualad

“I know some people and maybe they know something about the robberies...”  You said while putting your beanie.

“No” Robin said “You are not going anywhere alone”

“Why? You don’t trust me?” You put your hands back again in the sweater. 

“No, I don’t” His voice was deep and sharp.

“Fine” You said sharply  “Then Megan...I mean Miss Martian, can go with me and read my mind all night so you can be sure I am not going to betray you or sell some info about you” You snorted.

“Ok, ok, everyone take a breath” Said Aqualad with a monotone voice “I think that is a good idea, Robin you know Y/n/n knows Gotham better than anyone besides you”

“Fine” He said, he walked next you you until he was next to your ear “If anything happens that endangers us or Miss Martian, I will send you to Batman and the cell that already has your name on it.” He ended and left the building.

[spirits-and-scales]

1: Favorite OC? 2: what deadly sin are you? 3: what drawing/craft are you most proud of?

((*claps excitedly* Ooooo I like these questions! They’re thought provoking and interesting.

1. Favorite OC?

Hmmmm. *taps her cheek* Favorite OC…. It’s hard to pick actually, because there’s several I enjoy writing for and most of them are from the Naruto fandom.

You know, I think I’m gonna have to go with Yoshio Akiyama and his daughter Hanaki from one of my Naruto fanfictions called “Suteta” or “Abandoned” in english. I actually haven’t written his part in the story yet, but his daughter Hanaki is one of the main characters. This is Yoshio and what I have for his profile so far here:

And this is the one drawing of Hanaki that I’m mildly proud of. (For reasons unknown to me, I have problems drawing children, so. :u ) But anyway, it actually took a lot of rethinking and mentally redesigning Yoshio and Hanaki both that fit their characters and the overall setting and mood of the fanfiction. When I finally did I was super excited, and I still have a lot of plans for the fic since I’ve only written about half so far. c:

2. What deadly sin are you?

Eh, not exactly one I’ve thought of before. I just looked through them to see which one would fit me most, and I’ll have to go with Gluttony. I don’t like eating a lot, it just happens out of impulse and stress sometimes. Conversely, stress also keeps me from eating some days too. Like lately, I know I should get food, but once I get to the kitchen I don’t feel like I want anything and just walk out. It’s an insane imbalance I have a lot trouble controlling.

3. What drawing/craft are you most proud of?

Boi, that’s super tough one. It’s really hard to choose which one I’m most proud of because I have a few that I’m proud of having done, including a couple of my dragons, drawings, and paintings…

*scratches head for several minutes…..* You know, I think I know which one I’ll choose for this. Gotta grab a picture of it though.

This is a painting of my spirit animal and alpha who I call Snowfall. It took me 5 years to finish, and not for the reason you might think. The reason I’m proud of this even though it’s nowhere near how I originally wanted it to look, is because originally I had stopped on this painting and nearly gave up on it shortly after I started. This had been a project in my sophomore year in highschool, and -long story short- the teacher berated me in front of the whole class and called it garbage because it was unfinished, and she claimed I was calling myself better than everyone else by trying to explain why it was taking me so much time to complete, and I was still in the middle of adding layers to Snowfall’s face. All I was trying to tell her is it was taking me a while because I wanted the painting to be as perfect as possible, because this wolf means so much to me.

After that, I couldn’t bring myself to paint anything again or even touch my paintbrushes, after having done several paintings before and painted for several years. Everything the teacher manage to do to me was nothing short of a shattered wreck, not gonna lie. No amount of pep talks or money offers could get me to even look at this painting for 2+ years while it sat where I left off.

It took a friend of mine to convince me to paint when I was having a breakdown last year. I wasn’t able to do much for the painting I did then, but after that and his encouragement I was able to find the strength to paint again, which led to finishing this one as well as completing a new one. After a while I slowly got my passion back, a lot else more, and even gained the courage to apply for college and do something with my life.

That’s why I’m proud of this.))