#the high of a new mechanical pencil is like no other

[cyberkombucha]

a little lockwood & co fantasy au thingy!!! george, lockwood, and other side characters coming soon lol

[kaitaiga]

Archie “Frost” Campbell Profile

》[Open Profile] Disclaimer: as I’m still working through the lore of Task Force Dagger, Archie’s biography is still quite bare. Everything else is finished :)

General

Name: Archibald (Archie) Charles Campbell

Callsign: Frost, Dagger-01 (TFD)

Age: 29

Birthday: 16th November, 1995 -  Newcastle, NSW, Australia.

Face Claim: Callum Turner (Specifically - ‘Bucky’ from MOTA’)

Occupation: Fast Jet Pilot (F-35A Lightning II)

Affiliation: Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF - 75th SQN)

Rank: Flight Lieutenant (FLTLT)

Height: 183cm (6ft)

Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Aviation

Languages: English, Spanish, German

Appearance

Hair: Dark brown, wavy hair. Short back and sides.

Eye Colour: Grey

Facial Hair: Pencil moustache

Marks: None

Tattoos: None

Family 

Unnamed Mother and Father

Grandfather (Former RAAF 460 SQN)

Pet: Vader (Black cat with white markings on face)

Affiliates

Task Force Dagger

Captain Lachlan Jones (2CDO)

Sergeant Damien Whitlock (2CDO)

Sergeant Daniel Greenhill (2CDO)

Sergeant Joseph “Joey” Hernandez (CCT)

Talullah Jones (ASIS)

Personality

Myers-Briggs Type: ISTJ (Logistician)

Honest and Direct: Archie is a straightforward, no-bullshit kind of person. Will tell his peers how it is without holding back. 

Observer: Not one to talk much unless needed, Archie prefers to observe and analyse his peers or situation.

Archie is a level-headed person. He is calm and is able to keep his cool under difficult situations.

Archie doesn’t let his emotions drive his thought process. He is a logical person who bases his thoughts and opinions based on research and experience, and can become stubborn when he doesn’t particularly agree with something.

Skills

As a fighter pilot, Archie has inherited a range of skills apart from simply flying a fighter jet. There include:

Mental Skills: quick and accurate decisions, situational awareness.

Technical Skills: navigation, avionics, flight system and weapon proficiency.

Social Skills: effective communication, cooperation and working as a team, leadership.

Air Combat Manoeuvring (ACM), Fighter tactics and manoeuvres, etc.

Mission Planning

Maths and Physics, as well as creativity in situations.

Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE)

Archie also likes to partake in electrical work, commonly seen tinkering with devices and studying mechanical/electrical engineering concepts in his spare time.

Behind the Callsign

At a glance, “Frost” derives from his frosty attitude towards his peers around him. Being one to keep to himself majority of the time and only speaking when necessary, his attitude was often perceived as cold to others, even when he didn't mean it.

Though if you were to ask his squadron and ground crew, they’d tell you that they call him “Frost” due to his impressive flying skills, often leaving onlookers and other pilots frozen in awe. Almost like an advantage over opponents.

Biography

Archie was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia on the 16th of November, 1995. Growing up, Archie would listen to his grandfather’s stories of being a pilot on an Avro Lancaster throughout the majority of WW2. Though a little incoherent at times, Archie still enjoyed them regardless as they shaped his childhood and future to come.

Throughout high school, Archie would spend a lot of time volunteering at an aviation museum alongside his grandfather as a technician assistant, working on maintaining planes on display whilst rambling bits of information of various planes to visitors. Archie would also frequent RAAF base Williamtown, where he would stand just outside the base and watch Super Hornets scream over his head. He wasn’t the type to stand out among his classmates, much preferring to stick his head in a book and soak up as much information as he could on various aviation and engineering topics. He graduated with a top ATAR score of 97.

Thanks to his constant exposure to the Air Force along with his grandfather’s stories, Archie knew he wanted to become a fighter pilot from an early age. In his later years of high school and after, he worked diligently preparing for multiple officer and screening boards during his application process. He managed to score one of five spots out of hundreds of applicants.

Archie then attended the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA), where he pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Aviation. He would be a maths tutor to a few of his peers in his spare time, but most commonly Joseph, his newly made friend who he bonded with over their love for Star Wars. 

Upon graduating ADFA, Archie was sent to Perth to begin his initial specialist employment pilot training (ISET), where he spent a year flying the PC-21. He graduated from Number 2 Flying Training School and was recommended by his instructors to pilot the newly introduced and mighty F-35A.

Now part of 75th Squadron, Archie is posted to RAAF base Tindal in the Northern Territory to continue his training, also managing to deploy overseas to various locations such as the US and Japan.

At some point, Archie was approached and recruited into Task Force Dagger on recommendation from Joseph. Working with TFD would show him his first set of real combat outside of simulations and practice exercises. To be continued…

*(Archie would have been 26 years old when the F-35A was first introduced into the 75th SQN, a few years after he graduated ISET (22-23 years old). For story purposes, assume the F-35 arrived earlier.)

Trivia/Preferences 

His favourite music band is Daft Punk. His favourite song from them is ‘Face to Face’. Also likes Coldplay, Kenny Loggins, Phil Collins, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, etc.

In his spare time, he also likes to build lego sets and model jets. He’s also a gamer, preferring to play games like League of Legends, Cyberpunk 2077, Helldivers 2, etc.

He likes to wear Rayban Aviators in the colourway black/black or gold/green.

He is a big fan of Star Wars. His favourite movie is ‘A New Hope’ and he also really enjoys ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’. His favourite characters are Wedge Antilles and Commander Wolffe.

He likes to spoil Vader rotten! Buys him all kinds of toys. Even has a Death Star cat house. He has a really big soft spot for Vader which Joseph likes to tease him about, quote: “he is the only one to knock down that icy wall he’s built around himself.”

When Archie chose his aircraft preference, he originally chose the F/A-18F Super Hornet.

If he didn’t become a pilot, he’d become a mechanical engineer. 

After his grandfather passed, Archie carries his ID tags with him as a source of comfort and support. 

Archie was inspired by the character ‘Viper’ from Titanfall 2 and the song “Dodge This”.

[luvjunie]

twirls my hair if you’re taking request uhhh— what about reader with tattoos like a full sleeve and piercings and maybe big hair like a fro, braids something that makes her stand out— basically she’s just real intimidating and popular too fast for her liking she just transferred school and the guys are trying to pounce on her but miles 42 is the one that catches her eye?

— a fresh start

pairing: e-42!miles x fem!reader

summary: it’s your first day at a new school, and surprisingly, making a friend isn’t as hard as you thought it’d be. wc: 1,853

a/n: changed this up a little i hope you don’t mind! 100% unintentional but when my mind wanders i follow it 😭

Back at Brooklyn High, you were always told by teachers that school wasn’t a venue for your ‘personal fashion show’, but that it was a place for learning. And while you agreed, it wasn’t your fault that you looked the way you did… Well, that’s a lie. But you loved your look, and so did your peers.

While your hair was big and somewhat distracting to others, your dad always told you it reminded him of what your mom’s looked like the first time he met her, so you never bothered to change the way you styled it, no matter how much you dreaded putting it in bantu knots or doing a twist out every three days.

As for your face full of piercings, that was all you. It was something your dad didn’t favor at all, and he definitely didn’t understand how it was ‘a way for you to express and be true to yourself’, but that was the explanation you gave him, and eventually he accepted it. Though begrudgingly— it was still acceptance, so you took what you could get.

The first piercing was your eyebrow, and you’d done it in your bathroom when you were fourteen with a safety pin. One look at yourself in the mirror made you forget all about the throbbing pain radiating from your face, and just a week had passed before you were already thinking of another. You swore to your dad that it’d be the only one, and that you just wanted to try something new; until you wanted to try your belly button, your septum, and both of your nostrils. After that, It’s safe to say that everywhere you went, attention followed.

Expressing yourself through your clothes and accessories was just a part of who you were. And back at Brooklyn High, you were proud of the way you looked.

But you weren’t at Brooklyn High anymore.

The uniforms were drab at Visions academy. Every girl wearing the same two articles of clothing as the other; the same sad story for the boys. And to keep it a buck, if you were comparing visions to your old school, the atmosphere here sure looked a lot like a jail. And if not for the small loopholes you’d managed to locate in the dresscode, it would’ve felt like it, too.

The searing heat of curious eyes followed you the moment you entered the building, and you began to wonder if choosing to stand out on purpose was the best idea after all. It seemed at Visions, that came naturally for someone like you.

For a few reasons other than the ones you could change in five minutes, you didn’t fit in here. Not in the slightest.

With a wavered sigh and your books glued to your chest, you continued on to your first block, tuning out the whispers that were far from hushed.

It took you a little longer than the six minute passing period to discover your History class within the ginormous fluorescent halls, and when you finally stepped foot into the dimly lit room and noticed the Crash Course video playing on the projector, it dawned on you that they were already well into the lesson.

Almost everyone’s head lifted to look at you when you entered. Almost everyone’s head but a kid who was face down, drooling on his desk, and another whose gaze remained welded to a sheet of paper the graphite of his mechanical pencil was scribbling against. The familiarity of crisp parts and blue magic-sheened cornrows stood out to you first, and a small sense of comfort finally washed over you— for a moment.

The video on the projector paused abruptly, and your teacher appeared to be the exact opposite of dazzled at your late arrival. Great.

“Nice of you to join us, miss…?”

“Y/n, sorry…” You cleared your throat and smiled more like grimaced apologetically, the chain clipped to the waistband of your skirt serving as an idle fidget. “Got lost, real big school.”

Mr. Benson, as it read on your printed class schedule, adjusted his glasses when he went to jot something down onto the paper below him. “Alright, y/n. You can sit next to…”

You watched as a few kids straightened up in their seats, attempting to look uninterested enough to play it cool, yet noticeable enough for the teacher to remember they existed and place your seat next to them.

“Morales. Raise your hand.”

The boy in question quietly clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, pencil clacking against the wood of his desk when he set it down. It looked like his concentration had been broken, and instead of raising his hand, he lifted his head from where it was damn near nose deep in whatever he was doing, and just stared at you.

His slowed blinks gave you enough grounds to take a gander that he was the ‘Morales’ in question.

A stunted breath and a silent nod later, you made your way through the aisle of desks and smoothly slid into the one a pin-filled backpack had just been removed from.

You’d be crazy to not let your curiosity get the best of you, especially now that you were this close to where the brooding energy was coming from. So once your teacher unpaused the video, you stole a peek over at your new desk neighbor, and noticed that his right arm was now strategically placed over the geometric sketches on his paper.

Seeing as it was already mid-year and you were new to the huge school, you figured it’d be in your best interest to try and make at least one friend. You opened your mouth to introduce yourself to him, until a light tap on your shoulder from behind stole your attention.

“Umm, excuse me?”

You turned around to meet the freckled face of the boy who was sat behind you.

“Hm?”

“Yeah, sorry, but I can’t see over your hair. It’s kinda… in the way.”

It wasn’t necessarily what he said that bothered you, it was how he said it, and the fact that he barely stifled a laugh when he did.

Reclined in his chair with his arms crossed, Miles fought to hide the scowl threatening to twist his lips. The desks in this class were staggered, specifically to avoid the very issue of heads blocking the line of sight, meaning there was no way your hair was actually hindering his view.

“O-oh… Sorry, it does that. Sometimes.” Flustered, you nervously tried to press your hair down a little without ruining its shape, the one that took you a whole hour to achieve just this morning.

Miles assumed you were the girl his classmate was blabbing about just before the bell rung, remembering the brief yet detailed explanation of ‘fresh face, big hair, decked out uniform and kinda cute’. Poking fun at you must have been his pitiful attempt at flirting.

Miles suddenly spoke in your defense, eyes remaining on the screen in a bored daze.

“It’s not her fault you 5’2, James. Drink some milk when you get home, maybe you’ll have a growth spurt.”

You sent an inquisitive glance his way and kept it there. You hadn’t thought about what you expected his voice to sound like, or that the first time you’d hear it would be because of him defending you, but this was definitely a pleasant surprise. His voice was so smooth it put silk to shame, and it was a bit low, too, as if he’d just woken up a few minutes ago. Yet it didn’t sound as if he’d quieted his voice on purpose; something that led you to believe he was usually this soft spoken.

“Shut up, Miles.” James grumbled.

“Ain’t my fault you can’t flirt for shit. I’m tryna help you out.”

Some surrounding students close enough to hear the retort had snickered, and a laugh managed to leave your mouth before you could prevent it, resulting in a loud “SHHHH!” from the front of the class.

“That’s funny?” Miles’ hazel eyes floated over to you, swirling with mirth and pinning you in place.

He was joking, but his tone probably didn’t give off that vibe, seeing as you were gawking at him like a deer in headlights.

“I’m messin’ with you,” A small grin played on his face. “I’m Miles.”

“Oh,” an awkward chuckle relaxed your shoulders. “Y/n.” you responded quietly.

“Yeah… I know.” There was a hint of a chuckle beneath his voice. It seemed you’d forgotten that you revealed your identity to everyone just minutes ago.

But you couldn’t help it, you’d never seen a boy quite this pretty before, with lashes long enough to make you jealous and a smile you were certain owed its beauty to genetics, and not an expensive set of middle school braces.

He had six freshly done straightbacks with curved parts, and two clear beads hanging onto each tail that sat a little below his shoulders. It was then that you noticed the medium sized, gimmering stud he sported on his ear, and you deemed it safe to assume his other ear had the same. Cute.

Still feeling the heat of your eyes on his temple long after he’d averted his attention, Miles curiously glanced back at you, then teasingly nodded his head towards the front of the room.

“Pay attention,” he whispered, that same molten look in his eyes. “I don’t share notes.”

—

Class went by in a bit of a haze, to no surprise. It was extremely difficult to pay attention when the fear of your possibly-misshapen fro was on your mind. Today happened to be the one day you’d decided you didn’t need to bring your pick to school, the image of it sitting on your dresser emitting a disappointed sigh from you.

The tinny screech of chairs brought you back to the present, where class had been dismissed and students were shoving papers into their backpacks and shuffling out the doorway, all in a hurry to their next block.

Miles stood up from his seat, appearing to be in no rush.

“I like your hair, by the way.” he observed randomly. “Cool piercings, too.”

The compliment eased your nerves completely. It was genuine, as if he knew you were still thinking about what happened earlier.

“Thank you,” Tucking your notebook away, you looked up to see him sling his backpack over one shoulder. “for defending me earlier, too.”

“S’ no big deal.” he shrugged, but it was, to you.

“Cool braids, by the way.” you parroted through a lighthearted smile.

“Thanks,” Miles’ eyes panned to the floor when he felt himself grin. A habit of his you’d already managed to pick up on in your short knowing of him.

“I’ll catch you later.” He deemed with a two-fingered salute, other hand burrowing into the pocket of his pants.

Rising to your feet, you gave a small wave and watched as he headed out into the crowded hallway with the others; feeling a little less nervous to come to history class tomorrow.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: cookie cutter shark

There are some words that just shouldn't go together, like "edible radium", "reasonable conspiracy theorist", and "sandpaper underwear". Well here's a new one for you: "parasitic shark". The only problem is, that one is real. Yeah, this is one of those animals that's so bizarre it would be mocked as too silly if a fiction writer came up with it. Welcome back to Wet Beast Wednesday, where we discuss the cookie cutter shark.

(Image: a cookie cutter shark said on a patch of fabric. It is a small, brown shark with a darker collar region. Its fins are small and the head is blunt. It is widest around the middle. A pencil has been placed next to it for scale. End ID)

There are two known species of cookie cuter shark: Isistius brasiliensis and Isistius plutodus. The latter, common name: largetooth cookie cutter shark, is much rarer and less well known than the former, which will be the main topic of this post. The cookie cutter shark is a very small shark, measuring between 42 and 56 cm (16-22 in) in length as adults. They have multiple adaptations that set them apart from other sharks, even other members of the dogfish order. Their bodies are described as cigar-shaped, which is why another common name is cigar shark. The head is short and rounded and the mouth is large, with prominent teeth and large lips. The upper teeth are small and narrow while the lower teeth are larger and form a saw-like edge. Unlike other sharks, they do not replace one tooth at a time, but instead lose and replace the entire front lower row at once.

(Image: a closeup of the head of a preserved shark. The lips have been pulled back to expose the mouth showing the large, saw-like lower teeth and much smaller upper teeth. End ID).

Cookie cutters are among the few sharks that are strongly bioluminescent. Their underbellies and a collar around the neck area have luminescent cells called photophores. The cells on the belly mimic light from above, making it difficult for predators below to distinguish the shark from the surface of the ocean. The cells on the neck are believed to be used for attracting prey by mimicking a small fish. Cookie cutter sharks have large livers with a high oil content that helps them maintain buoyancy. While most fins are small (or in the case of the anal fin, missing), the tail fin is large and suited for sudden bursts of speed. Longtooth cookie cuter sharks are larger, with longer bottom teeth and smaller fins.

(Image: photos of the underside of a cookie cutter shark showing the bioluminescent photophores, which make the belly look blue. End ID)

The common name of the cookie cutter shark comes from its unique feeding mechanism. The sharks are deep-sea ambush predators that use their natural buoyancy to remain motionless in the water column while using their bioluminescence to attract prey. When prey approaches, the shark will dart forward and attach to the larger animal. Using its lips to form a seal, the shark can generate suction to make it very hard to remove. It then uses the upper teeth as an anchor to help the larger bottom teeth pierce the skin. Then , the shark spins around (the thrashing of its prey may help) to cut out a roughly circular plug of skin and muscle. The circular holes left behind are reminiscent of bits of cookie dough cut out by a cookie cutter, hence the name. The sharks will also eat small fish and squid whole and are known to scavenge carrion. They will sometimes school, possibly to help attract prey while discouraging predators. Just about any medium to large animal in the shark's territory is a possible target. Scars from cookie cutter shark feeding have been found on cetaceans (whales and dolphins), pinnipeds (seals and sea lions), other sharks, rays, and bony fish. Because the sharks feed off of other animals without killing them, they are considered parasites. Specifically, they are facultative ectoparasites, meaning they attach to the outside of their hosts and are not fully dependent on parasitism to survive.

(Image: a swordfish with multiple fresh bites from cookie cutter sharks. The bites look like pink pits dug into the swordfish's side. End ID)

Cookie cutter sharks are found worldwide in the mesopelagic zone (roughly 200 - 3000 ft deep), though they have been known to move to shallower water. They are found worldwide and seem to prefer the open ocean. Most sightings are around islands, but its not clear if they do congregate around islands or this is a case of sampling bias. Because of their remote habitats, little is known about their behavior in the wild. Likewise, we don't know much about their reproductive behavior, though like other dogfish, they are viviparous. The embryos are raised in two uteruses and there can be up to 12 of them. They likely have a very long gestation period.

(Image: a slender cookie cutter shark seen from the side)

Cookie cutter sharks are classified as least concern by the IUCN. There is no fishery for them and they are only caught as bycatch. People have been able to see the scars left by the sharks on their prey for a very long time and there were several hypotheses for what was leaving the scars, including lampreys and bacteria. In 1971, scientist Everett Jones was the one who discovered that the cigar sharks (as they were then known) were responsible. The name cookie cutter shark became popular after that. Human interaction with the sharks are rare, but multiple attacks have been recorded, most of them on swimmers trying to cross the channels in Hawai'i. There have also been reports of shipwrecked sailors being attacked and bodies have been recovered with signs of cookie cutter shark scavenging. Generally though, the sharks are not considered dangerous to humans due to their remote, deep-sea habitat. Back in the 1970s, US Navy submarines kept finding circular holes in the neoprene coating of their sonar domes, which let components leak out and impaired the subs' navigation abilities. Putting fiberglass over the domes solved the problem, but it wasn't realized until much later that the damage was caused by cookie cutter sharks mistaking the subs for prey and not an unknown weapon. This wasn't even the only time this happened. In the 1980s, it happened again with the robber coating for some electric equipment. If only we could all setback militaries as easily as this little shark.

(Image: a circular scar left on someone's calf by a cookie cutter shark bite. End ID)

[hiraethwa]

one summer day

00 guidepost. where it all begins

>> 01 clear skies. | << the collection >>

pairing: ushijima wakatoshi x reader a/n: my first writing in a loooong while, hope you enjoy! word count: 650 warnings: none... yet

may, first year

as a musician, you hear the lilting melodies in little everyday activities. the rhythm of volleyballs hitting the ground as the team warms up, the clicking of mechanical pencils in a quiet exam hall, the birds chirping outside as you sit in class listening to the teacher. you don’t find it particularly useful nor distracting, it just is. just as you are.

since joining shiratorizawa’s symphony orchestra, you found yourself immersed in your new afterschool activity instead of staying on at the gym waiting for your brother to finish up practice. not that it was bothersome, you used the time to do your homework before you get home anyway. unlike your brother’s club, orchestra almost always ends on time, and you still find yourself back at the gym, tapping out the melody that you have been practicing in the orchestra. 

with two years between you and your brother, he is already in his third year while you just started the school year as a first year. he is the official setter for the boys’ volleyball team since his second year, which you supposed made him one of the best setters in the region since shiratorizawa is in itself a powerhouse school for volleyball. 

semi eita, heir apparent to your brother, spies you watching from the railing and waves to you as he runs back from retrieving the ball. you wave back at him shyly, wondering if his fans would be coming after you. you have known him for more than a month, in that short time, he has garnered a sizable amount of fans despite not being a starter for the team. the whole laying low in high school plan is not happening, it seems. despite being his friend, it’s not like you’re fully immune to his boyish charms either. though you suppose that his fans have it worse than you do.

your brother had introduced the two of you after their first practice of the new school year. you had peeked into the gym half an hour after the supposed practice end time, thinking it was probably safe enough as most of the players should have left by then, only to find him giving some pointers to semi on setting. 

by then they had already noticed your presence. “come in, y/n, there’s someone i’d like you to meet. this is semi eita, i think he is in your class,” and so you became friends with an otherwise popular, untouchable boy. 

your attention turns to the other first year playing on the court. 

you distinctly remember him running up the stairs to retrieve the stray balls that happened to bounce up to the second floor, and you were caught like a deer in headlights. although your brother told you it was fine to watch from there, you were not sure if it was actually allowed. 

“sorry! my brother told me it was fine to be here.” you had bowed to him before passing the balls that you had collected. 

he had looked at you with the most puzzled expression before asking in a gruff voice “who are you?” at that question, you had immediately apologized again, unsure of whether you were about to be reprimanded for being where you should not be, left only your first name, and ran out. 

later on, when you were walking home with your brother, he had laughed at you and called you stupid after you told him the whole thing that happened. but you were intrigued by the unnamed boy, by his olive-mud colored eyes that reminded you of your favorite hojicha drink, by his voice that left this strange tangled mess of melody in your chest. 

“onii-chan, who is he anyway?” you pouted at your older brother, and turns out, he is also in your year. you had thought that he was in his second or third year, judging by his large build and the strength that sent the volleyball ricocheting up to the second floor. “ushijima wakatoshi. it looks like he will be our next ace.” 

ushijima wakatoshi. even his name has a sense of steady strength that left you admiring the way it rolls off your tongue. 

and so that tangled seed of song silently takes root in you. 

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let me know what you think in the replies! i would love to hear your thoughts :)

[crystalandparrot]

RC9GN x Reader

Part 1, Part 2

“Hey, (Y/n),” Bucky spoke, spooking said girl out of her stupor as the two walked to school.

"Huh?" (Y/n) question.

"How come you only ever talk to me? I'm sure other students would love to hear your ideas." Bucky said optimistically.

"You really think so?" (Y/n) asked, eyes shining.

"Maybe not, all of them-"

(Y/n) deflated, causing Bucky to wave his hands frantically.

"But that's because they're not for high schoolers! I mean the home alarm, your staff, those goggles on your head—"

"Hey, these goggles help me log important information and — okay, I see your point." (Y/n) deflated again.

"What if you made something to impress them?" Bucky asked with a snap of his fingers.

"Something to impress them..." (Y/n) thought out loud. "Oh! What about my mechanical spider limbs?" With that, eight mechanical limbs popped out of (Y/n)'s hoodie, lifting her off the ground and flipping her upside down.

"You look like Invader Zim," Bucky chuckled, walking past the, once again, deflated girl. The arms retracted suddenly. With quick thinking, (Y/n) flipped and landed on her feet, surprising Bucky. "Do you know any more cool moves like that?" He asked.

"I prefer to show off my intelligence rather than physical prowess. Sure it's nice to have the ability, but my superpower relies solely on my brain!" (Y/n) said as she pushed open the doors to the school.

"Then you should put that brain to good use," Bucky held out his hand for a fist bump.

(Y/n) reciprocated the fist bump and the two parted ways. (Y/n) walked to her science class, which she always had for 1st period on Mondays. Mrs. Driscoll greeted her with a grin.

"(Y/n)! Any new inventions?" Mrs. Driscoll asked with stars in her eyes. She puppeteered her late husband's skeleton to 'talk', "Your inventions are positively humorous!" Mrs. Driscoll laughed and smacked Jerry's chest.

(Y/n) smiled and placed her satchel on Mrs. Driscoll's desk. As she did so, Randy Cunningham and Howard Weinerman happened to walk in. "Mrs. Driscoll, I present to you," (Y/n) held up a small box with a crescent-moon-shaped attachment, "the, still in Beta, the C.R.A.V.E.S, a system that, when placed against the user's teeth," (Y/n) put the device against Jerry's teeth. The machine beeped, "it tells you exactly what they were craving! For example, your husband was craving...scallops?" (Y/n) looked at the device in question.

Mrs. Driscoll sighed lovingly, "That was my Jerry."

(Y/n) shivered, she tucked her device away and walked to her seat at the back of the room.

"Who's that shoob?" Howard whispered to Randy.

More students began trickling in when Randy leaned close to Howard, "I have no idea, but she's pretty smart."

"A smart shoob is still a shoob," Howard said, pointing his pencil at Randy. Inside Randy's bag, the Nomicon quietly blinked red from behind its Math book cover, facing the direction of (Y/n).

As the final student, Bash (fashionably late as always), trickled in, Mrs. Driscoll began writing in the blackboard. "Welcome back, students!” She puppeteers her husband once more, “I hope your Spring Break was a bone-afide success!”

“Ha! Word play.” (Y/n) chuckled to herself. She sat at the back of the class, the two seats next to her empty while all the other seats were taken.

“And as a Welcome Back, I’m assigning your first projects of the next semester!” Mrs. Driscoll announced.

The students all groaned with the exception of (Y/n), “Oh, goody!”

“And since the school board has cut funding for the science department…again…this time you’ll be working in groups of three.” The words seemed to echo around the room. None of the students (with one exception) listened to the rest, as they were too busy deciding who to add to their group. Friends will be split, enemies made, alliances formed in blood… “You can now find your partners-“ with that, hell broke loose. Kids jumping over tables, holding back their friends to prevent a steal, throwing dangerous objects. It got to a point that Mrs. Driscoll hid herself and her husband under the desk.

“Cunningham! Save me!” Howard screamed as he was pulled into the wave of students.

“Hold oh, Big H!” Randy, without hesitation, jumped into the sea. His leg caught the strap of his backpack as he jumped, forcing the contents to be spilled all over the floor. The Nomicon hummed and blinked as students stepped and kicked it to the back of the room, the mask caught in its pages. With all of the abuse, the cover even came off, revealing its true cover to the world.

With a metallic THUD, the Nomicon hit the metal cabinet next to (Y/n). The girl let out a noise of surprise and looked up from her notebook. The Nomicon blinked softly as (Y/n) picked it up. Her hands traced the delicate patterns on the hard leather book, the feeling not uncomfortable to her hands like she imagined it would be. With a bit of remorse (Y/n) held the book away from her, “Oh, exotic book, what secrets you must hide—but alas! It is my code of honor to not open a book that does not belong to me…unless of course bought or received from a trusted source.”

The Nomicon flashed red, humming loudly.

(Y/n)’s eyes shone, “Maybe there’s an exception for glowing mystic books,” (Y/n) ran her fingers over the pages that begged to be opened. The Nomicon’s flashes got faster and louder, its pages flittering as they waited to be opened.

“Has everyone found their partners?” Mrs. Driscoll asked.

(Y/n)’s head shot up and with a sigh, she tucked the Nomicon into her satchel, the flap open to make for an easier grab. “Soon, my precious.”

In the middle of the room, Randy and Howard sat, rubbing their heads in pain. “Oh, good. Randy and Howard, you’ll be joining (Y/n).” Mrs. Driscoll announced once she saw they the three were, in fact, without partners. “(Y/n) has the highest grade in the class, so even you two should get a decent grade.” She chuckled.

“What?! But she’s a shoob!” Howard moaned.

“A shoob with the highest grade in the class! Howard, we can use this!” Randy whispered, excitedly. Both of the friends grabbed their bags and walked to (Y/n) at the back of the class.

“I don’t follow.” Howard whispered.

“We’ll act like total shoob’s, say we don’t know how to do the project, she’ll get annoyed with us, do the project and — BOOM, automatic A.” Randy smirked. The two sat down and a sudden flash of red distracted Randy. He looked down, spotting his Nomicon in (Y/n)’s bag. He nervously chuckled, “I-is, is that my book?” Randy asked, pointing at (Y/n)’s satchel.

“Huh?” (Y/n) looked down, at her bag. “Oh, it flew to the back, I didn’t know who it belonged to.” (Y/n) gently took the book out and traced the cover again. Shaking her head, she handed it back to Randy, “Where did you get it? I’d love to read it sometime, I’ve never seen anything like it.” (Y/n) spoke quickly, enamored by the book.

“Oh, it’s nothing just a little family history book. Old baby pictures, family trees—Really boring stuff, I’ll just take it off your hands.” Randy hurriedly took the book back, and shoved it in his own satchel. The Nomicon flashed brightly and loudly, angry at the turn of events.

“You bring family history books to school?” (Y/n) asked flatly.

“I-it’s for our History class! Some extra credit thing that you definitely don’t need!” Howard back his friend up, grinning awkwardly.

(Y/n) looked between the two skeptically, “Right…” with a quick hand, she opened her notebook to a fresh page and began writing, “So, ideas for our project?”

“Yes! Our project!” Randy grinned, winking at Howard.

“Totally love that project! I can’t wait to…do our project!” Howard added in a fake excited voice.

(Y/n) sighed out of annoyance, “You don’t know what the project is, do you?”

“Nope.”

“Not. A. Clue.”

(Y/n) gripped the bridge of her nose, “Super,” she gritted out through clenched teeth. “Cool, cool, cool. Cool, cool, cool.” She angrily closed the notebook and stood. “Why don’t I work on the project and you two do the report? All you have to do is write what the robot does AFTER I give it to you.” (Y/n) commanded as she pointed to Randy and Howard.

“But what do we—“

“You write down what it does!” (Y/n) took a deep breath, “I will give you a list of what it does. All you have to do is write a well written report.” (Y/n) began walking out of the room, “Even though my robot will be A plus guaranteed,” she whispered cockily.

“Those who are building, go to Mr. Smith’s metal shop for your basic design! Everyone’s who’s writing a report please go to the library!” Mrs. Driscoll announced after seeing (Y/n) leave.

“Automatic A—“ Howard started, raising his hand.

“Here. We. Come!” Randy punctuated each word with the next step in their secret handshake. They ended with their signature turn and pose.

The Nomicon angrily blinked, catching Randy’s attention. Picking up his bag, Randy held up a finger to Howard, “Give me just one second,” he whispered. He ran out of the room and into a Janitor’s closet. “Alright, Nomicon, I only got a few minutes before Driscoll realizes I’m not in the library, so be quick about it—“ the Nomicon flew open suddenly, causing Randy to lose consciousness and ‘Vloomp’ into the Nomicon.

Randy screamed as he fell through the artistic clouds and through the painted leaves on the two dimensional tress. With a couple of bounces, Randy finally landed against a tree trunk. “What the juice, Nomicon?!”

A painted scholar walked through the trees, smiling at Randy. Or at least, to the person behind him.

A painted ninja stepped through the trees behind Randy and walked up to the scholar. The ninja gave the scholar a piece of paper, and folded his arms. The scholar read the paper and nodded at the ninja. The trees fell backwards, blending into the floor as more of scene became exposed. The scholar walked to his small house. The sun rose and fell in flashes, showing how long the scholar was in his house. The sun rose once more, staying in the air as the scholar left the house, this time with a small box. He presented it to the ninja and began talking. No words or letters left his mouth, the only thing Randy could hear was soft flutes as the scholar spoke.

The ninja waved his hand and took the box, smokebombing away. The trees on the other side of Randy fell, blending into the floor, further increasing the scene. There was a small town with a large flying serpent terrorizing the village. With a puff of smoke, the ninja stood in front of the serpent. He opened the box and pulled out a smaller box with a button. The ninja looked at the box in question then pressed the button��nothing happened. He pressed it again and again…still nothing. The serpent AND the townsfolk all laughed at the ninja as he sulked. Colorful words flew out of the box and presented themselves over the ninja’s head.

“Neglect the brain and the heart becomes vulnerable.” Randy read aloud. “Uh, that scholar clearly sabotaged the ninja! I mean, who gives someone a box that doesn’t do anything?” Randy asked.

The ninja and scholar looked at each other unimpressed. The ninja pulled out his sword and the scholar…why is he holding a Bō staff? The two quickly ran to Randy and simultaneously attacked him.

With a gasp and a bump to the head, Randy left the Nomicon. He rubbed his head and looked behind him to see the shelf he bumped his head on.

Randy peeked his head out of the Janitors closet and rushed out before anyone could see him, bag in hand.

“AHHHHH!!”

“Someone get the Ninja!”

“Help!”

Randy gasped at the sudden cries for help. With no one in the hall, this was the perfect time to put his Ninja suit on.

“Looks like it’s Ninja o’clock!” Randy reached into his bag…except…

Randy’s heart fell into his stomach as his hand missed the soft fabric of the mask. He glared down at the bag, and upon not seeing the mask immediately, Randy overturned his bag and emptied the contents. The only object that was matching to the mask in color was the Nomicon.

“Sweet cheese, I lost the Ninja mask!”

————————

I swear I can hear the music starting and cutting out at the end. Also if you saw the lesson in the first chapter before I edited it, no you didn’t.

[silantryoo]

midnight rain — huh yunjin x non-idol!reader

yunjin can't help but reminisce about what she left to achieve her dreams.

WARNINGS ; self-depreciation, cyber-bullying

TAGS ; the huh sisters are the best, y/n is the most supportive gf ever, yunjin sacrificed sm, someone check on y/n, idek if this is a happy ending or not, yunjin using y/n as a coping mechanism tbh

GENRE ; fluff, angst (4.2k)

huh yunjin had the whole world in the palm of her hands.

there were thousands of people out there, longing for the idol's attention. she could win anyone's heart over, just with a couple words and her goofy smile, but none of them could ever compare to you.

huh yunjin might rule the world, but you still and will always rule hers.

-

yunjin met you right after she had finished produce 48.

she had left korea feeling like a shell of her former self. yunjin had gotten the taste of a dream that she so badly longed for, and one she most likely would never be able to achieve again. she had missed her only chance, and there was no getting it back.

it didn't help that mainland korea had turned its back on the then-aspiring idol.

she had read through the produce forums almost daily since then. yunjin spent hours scrolling, letting every horrible thing said build inside her like a sickly virus.

glad huh yunjin didn't make it. she's a backstabbing bitch. (+193, -21)

did huh yunjin die? i hope so (+86, -7)

i hope huh yunjin never debuts!!!!!!!!! (+273, -11)

huh yunjin knew she was done for.

she went back to new york mid-september a year later, back to the high school that she dreaded going to, another reminder that she will never, ever be who she wanted.

"um," yunjin felt a tap on her shoulder. "you know the school library isn't open twenty-four hours, right?"

"huh?" yunjin wiped her eyes. she glanced at the clock behind the strange girl. 7:12. "shit, sorry. i didn't realize."

"it's fine. i'm closing this place up soon." yunjin watched as the girl's eyes locked onto hers. she could feel her heart in her throat. "you can stay, if you want."

"i want to, uh..." yunjin cleared her throat. "i'll stay."

"okay."

yunjin forgot about everything for a moment.

"okay."

yunjin was never a studious person.

the girl had decent grades, but she never actually put effort into studying, not like her sister or her friends around her. it came to her naturally, and yunjin had other priorities such as working on her musical skills (something that she had abandoned as soon as she stepped foot on american soil once more).

but a week later, yunjin found herself sitting in front of her younger sister, watching as she did her homework.

"unnie?" her sister, rachel, eyed the brunette weirdly. "why are you here?"

"why?" yunjin stared at the empty desk in front of her, looking around the library to find the others full of papers. "can't i study?"

"no. you can't." rachel tapped her pencil. "you're literally incapable of studying."

"wow, okay." the former trainee scoffed. "i've had a change of heart."

rachel shook her head.

"i get losing in produce sucks, but i don't think you could do a 180 that fast." yunjin winced, rachel opening up fresh wounds. the older huh knew that the girl was just trying to make light of the situation, but it still hurt like hell. "it's been like... three weeks."

yunjin knew it had been three weeks. three weeks, two days, and five hours since she landed back in america. she didn't need rachel to remind her, not when the entire world already had.

"can you shut up?" yunjin snapped, gripping the backpack she was holding on her lap.

the younger huh flinched, the silence of the library amplifying yunjin's aggression.

rachel looked at her sister, yunjin's eyes shut tight as she tried to calm herself down. the young girl had never been good with emotions, but she wanted nothing more than to tell her sister that it was okay to feel upset.

(even if rachel knew yunjin wouldn't listen.)

"oh hey, rach." yunjin's eyes opened, her head turning to the sound of a familiar voice, soothing the former trainee. "what are you doing?"

rachel hummed, setting her pencil down. "working on the assignment from our econ class."

you made your way between the huh sisters, looking at the diligent note-taking of the younger girl to your left.

"why?" you muttered. you were sure that the due date didn't change. "that's due next week."

"no?" you felt your heart drop. "it's due tomorrow."

"oh shit." your eyes widened, covering your mouth. you were screwed. "i need to find nadine."

rachel looked at you with a smile. it was hard to believe that you were only a month younger than yunjin. though yunjin never cared for schoolwork, she was always hardworking when necessary. you on the other hand...

"who was that?"

rachel looked at her sister, yunjin's eyes trained at your retreating figure. "y/n?"

yunjin couldn't help but smile. the name fit you perfectly. "yeah."

"she's my classmate from my AP econ class." rachel squinted. yunjin was a bit too interested in you for it to just be curious. "she's a junior this year... why?"

yunjin's eyes widened, the former trainee's face unable to hide her surprise.

"why are you taking AP?" she tried to change the subject. "aren't you 14?"

"i wanna get into NYU." rachel sighed, picking up the pencil as she bit back multiple remarks that would leave her sister cursing at her. "leave me alone."

yunjin felt a pang in her chest.

it had slipped her mind that she had to think about university now. where she was going to commit, scholarships and loans...

yunjin tried her best to not seem fazed. dreams were meant to be dreamt, not fufilled. the sooner she knew that, the better it was for her.

"you're such a nerd."

"you're literally a theater kid, unnie." rachel bit back, too immersed in her work to notice the mood drop. "you can't talk."

yunjin stared at her sister, hoping that she would never feel that way.

(but in the back of her mind, through all the guilt and anger, she couldn't help but linger at the thought of you).

yunjin was starting to like the library.

it was quiet, and peaceful (minus the many kids who were scrambling to study for a test in the corner of the library). it let her think about everything, letting her sit in her feelings. plus, the library had the ambiance of the produce practice rooms early in the morning, something that the former trainee greatly missed.

"are you here to read through your phone again?"

yunjin could feel the hairs on her neck stand up. "huh?"

yunjin, eyes trained on your figure, watched as you took a seat across from her.

"you and rach look a lot alike." you said, humming as you set your chin on your hand. "i should've known that you were her sister."

yunjin pushed back a smile.

(she'd never tell anyone, but part of her was worried that rachel no longer looked up to her.)

"she told you about me?"

"she brags about you all the time." you smiled at yunjin's grin. "something about being a kpop idol, i dunno. i'm not good with that stuff."

the former trainee pursed her lips.

"oh, well," yunjin chuckled awkwardly, the awkwardness in her chest starting to change into pain. "i don't think that's gonna happen."

you looked her up and down. "why not?"

yunjin could think of multiple reasons, ones that she had internalized so much that she had changed the way she carried herself, but she wasn't going to say that to a random stanger (much less a hot random stranger).

"it didn't work out." yunjin said.

"oh." you scratched your cheek, yunjin nodding shallowly. "well, it's too soon to tell, y'know? you could be like, the next bts or something."

"how can i be the next bts when i'm one person?" yunjin squinted. kpop was so much more than just bts. "plus, bts isn't the only kpop group out there."

"i know that." you scoffed, rolling your eyes at the girl. "you just seem like someone who likes bts."

yunjin could feel herself blushing.

"...yeah."

"see, i already know you." yunjin looked away, afraid that she'd implode if she looked at your smile. "i just need to know your name."

"my name?" yunjin's mind went blank, nearly spitting out a random name. "jennifer."

"jennifer." you smiled harder. "nice to meet you, jennifer. i'm y/n."

and for a moment, right when yunjin's name rolled off of your tongue, yunjin felt seen.

yunjin considered herself a lot of things. as of late, most of them had turned overwhelmingly negative, but regardless, she at least knew that she was in tune with her emotions. she, unlike her sister, was able to identify them, and 'fix' them to the best of her abilities.

however, being around you the past couple of weeks you have told her differently.

yunjin knew she liked you. she liked the way you smiled at her, your gums showing through your crooked smile. she liked the way your hands felt, the way your hand would accidentally bump into hers, making yunjin long for more.

you were everything yunjin had ever dreamt of in a person, but she was sure she was just going to mess it up again.

yunjin sighed, forcing herself to stop thinking about you, a common occurrence that had been recently happening lately.

"unnie." rachel tapped her should, causing the older girl to jump.

she turned to the younger girl and her friends, her locker mirror shaking as she slammed it closed. "what?"

rachel's friend, nadine (if yunjin remembered correctly), said, "you're close with y/n right?"

yunjin clenched her jaw, a burst of anxiety running up her spine. had you gotten hurt? was something wrong? yunjin couldn't help but overthink.

"why?" she hummed.

"you guys aren't dating?" rachel asked, yunjin's eyes widening as big as saucers.

"no," yunjin scoffed, a blush covering her face. if only she could. "what?"

rachel looked at the girl beside her as yunjin avoided the younger students' gazes. her older sister was anything but subtle.

"okay." rachel said slowly, watching as yunjin perked up, waiting to hear any information about you. "derek's planning to ask her out, so i just wanted to make sure you don't go all... you on him."

"okay, i don't go all 'me' on anyone." yunjin crossed her arms. perhaps there had been one incident a year ago that almost got her suspended, but that was only because someone had hit on rachel. yunjin took no fault. "wait... derek mcavoy?"

"yeah?"

yunjin felt her stomach sink.

she considered herself many things, passionate being one of them. sometimes, yunjin passion could get in the way of her rational thinking.

"hey, do you guys know who sent me these flowers?" yunjin could hear your voice behind her, getting closer to her. "i think they're trying to kill me."

yunjin clenched her fist.

"aren't you allergic to those?" rachel blinked at you, staring at daisies that were in your hand.

how you weren't dead? she had no clue.

"severely." you sighed, looking at the bouquet in front of you. "i had to take my inhaler."

rachel shook her head, looking at her sister who was staring into the distance, face stoic and eyes glazed over. the younger girl sighed. it was happening.

"jen," you called out to her, bringing her out of her head. yunjin turned to you. "do you think one of your fans reached me?"

yunjin's eyes met yours, hardened and swirling with an emotion that you could only identify as anger and regret. looking over to rachel, she shrugged as yunjin continued to stare into your soul.

yunjin didn't want to live in regret anymore, not when her daily life was already filled with it.

"go out with me."

yunjin had never heard silence in a crowded hallway until that very moment.

"what?"

("unnie?")

"go out with me, y/n." yunjin stated, pushing down the embarrassment threatening to take over her entire body.

("should we be here?")

"uh..." you took a breath, your gummy smile making yunjin overflow with happiness. "okay."

yunjin had never felt happiness like that in her life.

"okay."

yunjin would be lying if she said she was satisfied with how her life was right now.

she had everything that anyone could want at her age. her grades, although not to ivy league standard, could get her in a good college if she kept her current pace. she had no family problems, and yunjin had always gotten along with rachel.

most of all, she was in a great relationship, celebrating her first valentine's with the girl she had slowly fallen in love with over the past four months.

but it wasn't enough, because this life will never be enough for yunjin.

"oh my god," yunjin smiled, turning her phone off as you entered her room. "is that huh yunjin from produce 48 where iz*one was created?"

although not as strong, yunjin felt a dull ache in her chest.

"you're so annoying." yunjin rolled her eyes, sitting up to greet you with a kiss.

"hey, i got into kpop for you so we could bond as a couple." you teased, humming against her lips. the taller girl smiled. "how am i annoying?"

"i didn't say i hated it." she whispered, moving over to give you a seat. "i missed you."

truthfully, yunjin did miss you, especially the way you made her forget her failures, even if it was just for a moment.

"i saw you yesterday." you teased. you grabbed her hand, smiling at her. "but i missed you too."

you leaned in once more, capturing the girl's mouth against yours. you always felt an overwhelming sense of love whenever you kissed the taller girl, but yunjin always felt a sense of fear. the fear of becoming content with a life like this, a life without doing what she loved.

you pulled away. "me or bts?"

yunjin groaned, guilt simmering in her stomach. "you're the worst."

"i know." you giggled, kissing her cheek.

yunjin sighed, leaning back as she slammed her back onto her bed.

you followed her suit, the short haired girl wrapping her arm around you as you snuggled close into her body.

"tired?" you asked, stroking her hair out of her face.

"this week has been kicking my ass." yunjin knew she had done it to herself, tuning into the japanese tabloids that week to keep tabs on iz*one's debut. "but it is our very first valentines together. plus, i think you're my gift from cupid."

you scoffed playfully, trying to pull away from the ex-trainee. "am i just an object to you, jennifer?"

"hey, no!" yunjin whined, shoving her face into your neck. you giggled, feeling the strands of her hair against your neck. "and don't use my full government name."

"sorry, sorry." you smiled, watching as her eyes looked into yours. "what do you want me to call you instead?"

yunjin thought for a moment, her eyes darting to your mouth. "mine."

your smile dropped, and you pulled away from her, the korean whining at the loss of contact.

"ugh." you sat up, shaking your head. "jesus, jen... that was disgusting."

she gasped, sitting up beside you. "you dated me knowing that i'm like this."

"no." yunjin frowned, and you couldn't help but smile at her adorable face. "i dated you because you're hot."

"wow." yunjin's mouth hung open, trying hard not to smile as you attacked her cheek with kisses as an apology. "so you only love me for my face."

you pulled back, raising your eyebrow. "who said i loved you?"

yunjin stared at you, hearing her heart break slowly.

she knew it wasn't your fault, but yunjin couldn't help but find herself feeling the same way she had at the beginning of the school year.

"i'm sorry, i--"

"i do, though. love you, i mean." you cleared your throat, awkwardly scratching your cheek as you looked at the ground. "i'm just trying to figure out how you know when i literally never told anyone until now."

yunjin smiled at you, taking your features in as if to memorize you.

"i love you too."

yunjin watched as your eyes swarmed with adoration, and nothing had ever scared her so much than the feeling of fulfillment that spread through her chest.

"you do?" you whispered, looking into her eyes, finding nothing but sincerity in them.

but something was off, you could feel it in the air. the way the weight of the room had gotten heavier, almost as if the burden of your girlfriend filled the entire thing.

yunjin looked away, and that was enough to know that deep down, she never wanted to fall in love with you, not like this.

"yeah." yunjin muttered, smiling through her smile. "i do."

you smiled through your pain, wanting nothing more than to feel love instead of regret.

"the famous huh yunjin is in love with me?" you joked, watching as her face morphed into a more playful tone.

"shut up."

"okay." you nodded, wondering how long you had left with her. "only because i love you."

"i love you too."

yunjin had meant every word she said, even if it came with layers of regret.

yunjin had heard from koeun a month ago that source music had opened back up, this time under new management, a much more competent one.

when the former trainee heard the news, she refused to get her hopes up. she had come to terms with how her life was now. yunjin still felt the what-ifs from time to time, but she couldn't do anything about it, even if she so badly wanted to.

she hid it well from her family, the longing for the spotlight, to perform. they didn't ask her questions about why she would skip dinner, sitting in front of her computer as she waited for a stupid email to pop up.

(you knew, however. and it pained you to know that your girlfriend would never truly be happy with you.)

you pushed it down, waiting for the right time to bring it up to her. you just wished it didn't have to happen today.

"hey, jen. sorry i kept you waiting. your mom tried to force-feed me once i stepped through the door. she thinks you aren't feeding me enough." you laughed as you set your sweater to the side of her room, making your way over to kiss her forehead. "happy six months, baby."

yunjin wiped her face, looking at the monitor of her laptop. "happy six months."

yunjin didn't look at you, afraid that she'd lose everything as soon as her eyes locked onto your eyes.

"what's up?" you wiped her tears. she hung her head low, the light of the monitor illuminating her tear streaks. "you don't look as happy as i do."

yunjin was silent, waiting for you to look at the screen in front of her.

you turned your head, skimming over the english text found in the email. it was bound to happen, and you had tried your hardest to prepare yourself for it. you hoped it was enough to keep the facade up long enough.

"oh, jen." you rubbed yunjin's back, watching as her tears fell harder. "are you going back?"

yunjin shook her head, not wanting to think about it. "i don't know."

"do you want to?"

you already knew your answer a long time ago.

"i don't know." yunjin didn't mean to lie, but she loved you. "i don't want to leave you."

"it's fine." you whispered in her ear, swallowing your tears back. "i'll be fine."

yunjin wrapped her arms around you, her head buried in your neck as sobs wracked her body. she couldn't do it again. she couldn't lose everything she's worked for again.

yunjin couldn't lose you for nothing.

"what if it doesn't go well, and i just ended us for nothing?" yunjin asked in between sobs, gripping the back of your shirt.

"so you want to go?"

yunjin's face fell, pulling back from you as you smiled at her with teary eyes.

yunjin loved your smile.

"baby..."

"it's okay, i promise." you nodded, trying to push through the pain. "you'll be fine. i believe in you."

yunjin shook her head. she didn't deserve it. she didn't deserve your support, not if she's leaving you like this.

"i finally accepted it." yunjin blubbered, too emotional to realize what she said. "i can't go through this again."

you bit your upper lip, looking away briefly. hearing yunjin say it was different from knowing that you were just the second choice.

"i know." yunjin's face was wet with tears, a never-ending flow of remorse. "but you won't, because you'll debut this time."

yunjin shook her head. "how do you know that?"

"because you're jennifer huh. you're the girl who came back here, fighting to be okay again even though deep down you knew that it wasn't what you wanted." you kissed her nose, watching as her nose crinkled at the contact. you smiled. "you're the girl i'm in love with."

yunjin felt a weight lift off of her shoulders.

"i'm in love with you too." yunjin sniffed. "i don't want to leave you."

you looked into yunjin's eyes, and you saw nothing but passion, passion for you.

if there was one thing that you loved yunjin, it was her overwhelming sense of passion. but at times like these, you hated it.

you watched her for a moment.

"then i'll leave you."

"what?" yunjin's eyes widened, moving her hands onto your arm. "no."

"you want us to make it work?" you asked her, almost challenging her at the ridiculous thought.

you two were high school kids, two girls who fell in love because of a missed opportunity, an opportunity that yunjin was willing to jeopardize for you.

yunjin could feel her fears coming true.

"i..."

"baby, what are they gonna think once they find out about us if we even manage to make it through until your debut?" you told her, furrowing your eyebrows.

"i don't know."

yunjin looked at you through the thick silence, almost as if she was trying to memorize you one more time.

"it's a good thing we're both private people, huh?" you chuckled, the knot in your throat becoming bigger. "imagine all the people you'd have to pay off. i mean, you guys are rich but st--"

"can you not?" yunjin whispered. "please?"

"sorry." you cleared your throat, looking away as tears were starting to form in your eyes (not yet. please.). "do you want me to go?"

"no." yunjin said with sincerity. "i just want to spend one more day with you."

yunjin stared at you desperately pleading for you to agree. she just needed to hold you one more time, to listen to your voice. she just needed one more day to memorize you before she lost you.

"okay."

one day was enough for you, even if you'd love her for the rest of your life.

"okay."

you untangled yourself from her at three in the morning the next day, eyes bloodshot and arms tired from holding her as if she was going to disappear.

you wiped your eyes, and placed your forgotten sweater on her desk, tucking a piece of paper in the pocket.

you were going to break soon, and you didn't want yunjin to see the broken pieces she'd leave in new york.

looking at the girl once more, you gave her one more kiss on the forehead, hoping that she'd remember you with only happiness and love.

you left yunjin's room, clenching your mouth as you tried your best not to sob.

"y/n?"

"night, rach." you tried to walk away, the younger girl following you to the door.

rachel looked at you with a frown, watching as you struggled to put your shoes on. "are you okay?"

you looked up at her, your eyes red as you smiled. you haven't heard someone ask that in a while.

"no." you grinned, the tears streaming down your face betraying you.

"thank you for doing this for unnie." rachel said, watching as you stiffened up. she wished she could do something more, but this wasn't her expertise. "it's probably killing you."

"i'll be fine." you whispered, standing up to face the girl.

"come study with me later?" she asked, a small smile on her face.

you hated how much rachel looked like her sister.

"okay." you patted her shoulder, rachel opening the door as you fished for your keys. "thanks rachel. you would've made a good sister-in-law."

rachel winced. not at the comment, but at the way your face morphed into an emotion she had yet to feel.

"you too."

"yunjin-ah!"

yunjin groaned as chaewon yelled at her from across the dorm. no matter how hard she tried to rest, there was someone who always needed something from her.

"you know that hoodie i was gonna borrow?" yunjin grunted, earning a smack on the head from chaewon. the taller girl looked up, staring face to face with an old piece of paper. "this fell out of it."

"huh?" yunjin didn't remember leaving anything in her pockets.

chaewon hopped on the couch, sitting beside her roommate.

"it's a letter." yunjin knew your writing anywhere.

"oh?"

dear jen,

i'm rooting for you, jen. just like i always have and just like i always will be.

i love you, jen l/n y/n.

"who's y/n?"

"someone." yunjin whispered, memories suddenly flooding her brain. "you can't wear that hoodie though, that one's special."

chaewon whined. "why?"

"you can't." yunjin stated, chaewon watching closely as she hummed, the taller girl having a small smile on her face. "now, let's go get food."

"you're so weird."

i love you too, y/n.

silan says " pls pray for me... i cannot fail my final ;-; "

[skymar13]

Back to school with the deku squad

Izuku

Stocks up on note books and pens (doesn’t even use them for school half the time)

Has had the same back pack since elementary

Buys store brand everything (they all have allmight on them even the backpack)

Def buys what’s on the teachers supply list

Loses pencils like crazy so he has to ask sometimes but gets lowkey annoyed when others ask for his things bc he’s alr lost half of his things

Takes deodorant that’s it

Ochaco

She’s our fav brokie

Reuses school supplies that are still good from last year

She gets the dollar general school supplies (they’re cheap and can be cute)

Buys a ten pack of gel pens and regular pencils

Keeps track of every single one of

Has also had the same back pack since she was little (even still has her address in the inside)

Has a small emergency bag js for herself

Takes deodorant and perfume

Tenya

Rich mcgee over here

Buys new everything bc he uses everything he buys

Gets the high dollar note books with the crisp pages

Sharpie pens all the way and only mechanical pencils

Buys a bigger back pack every year (engenium theme)

Lends out a pencil but will tell you off for not being prepared

Also follows the teacher lists to a T

Takes deodorant cologne and hair gel in case his locks come undone

Shoto

This is the first year he’s doing back to school (homeschooled fs)

Only buys spiral notebooks (all might themed)

Buys a plane back pack but a really good one

Buya the fancy pens and pencils bc the reviews were good

He won’t lend out his supplies he’d pretend to not hear you

And airpod user

Takes bandaides and alcohol wipes for training

Takes deodorant and cologne and gum

Tsuyu

Cottage core girly

Matching note book sets with the mushrooms and flowers and shit (water proof paper)

Buys a set of pens that are all a shade of green or yellow

Buys a water proof back pack so she doesn’t have to worry abt anything

Has a water bottle and won’t share it

Lends out her supplies if you ask nicely and she likes you

She either doesn’t take hygiene or takes a body mist

[artformationcore]

shading tutorial

So, I was requested yesterday to make a demonstration on shading techniques, so here are the basics:

so , based on the demonstration I have shown on how to build up your tones. Start with your outline using an (Hb) which is the hardest lead which is also a light shade. Then you slowly use darker tones, starting with ( B) to (8 B) these pencils are also soft. Building up the application of your drawing.

There is also the staedtler graphite set, but its better to start with twelve graphite set ;instead ,of thirty graphite set because you’ll need to understand your tones.

and materials needed were:

12 Fabre castell 9000 art set( graphite)

staedtler eraser and sharpener

tombow: mono zero ( mechanical eraser for erasing small errors

lastly:

Fabre castell kneed eraser ( a soft eraser that erases some errors to a lighter and discrete contrast.)

Make sure that you sharpen your pencils so the line quality and shading does not look scratchy:

Do not sharpen too much because you’ll find yourself struggling to shade properly( I’m facing this issue at the moment)

and just to give you a beginners advice, make sure you start with high contrast photos when you’re new to shading. Like this sketch I had made a few months ago with a picture of Chloe grace moretz:

Choosing good photos with good lighting can give you an idea on how to shade in your drawing. It helps you define dark and light spaces from the photo.

Do not use printing paper, because it is purposefully made for printing and the texture is different. Choose a sketchbook or other papers that are made for drawing. Fabriano is one of the kinds of brands that specializes in this.

Also you may need these:

You will need blending stumps. These stumps are used to refine the shading of your drawing therefore blending them. The sand block is used to sharpen the stumps so it can still blend properly. But if you're a beginner it’s best to use a piece of tissue or paper towel (preferably).

Alright that’s all that I have to say regarding this. I hope it helps.

P.S: I know I now post punch out fan art; however , Im also planning to post realism art.

here’s a special character I like to draw:

-ArtformationCore

[reigningqueenofwords]

Dresses

Pairing: Dean x Reader, Dean x Allie (OC) Word count: 2,748 Warnings: Cheating, unprotected sex, unplanned pregnancy Request: @jessicalynnann Love your writing. You are one of my favorites!

Okay so Dean is married and owns a successful mechanic shop… well he hires a new secretary who is plus size and he finds her attractive… and well things happen.. I have it invisioned with him picking her up and wiping off a work bench. Loosely based on the song unholy by Sam smith. :) if not that is totally fine

Read on AO3

Part 1 of Unholy

Having to hire a new secretary wasn’t his idea of ‘fun’, but it was something that had to be done. That led him to being in his shop after hours for interviews. Thankfully, he was on his last one of the night. It was 7pm, and he just wanted to get home to his family. He knew he would be missing his youngest’s bedtime. “Hi, Mr. Winchester? I’m Y/N Y/L/N. I’m here for an interview.” You greeted him as you walked into the shop. 

Dean looked up and had to focus on not licking his lips at the sight of you. You were in a dark pencil skirt, a dark blue blouse, and black heels. Over your shoulder was the strap of your purse. Your hair was left loose over your shoulders. “Call me Dean.” He smiled, holding out his hand. 

“Nice to meet you, Dean.” You smiled as you shook it. 

Once you were sitting down, he got comfortable. “Do you have any experience as a secretary?” He asked. 

Nodding, you reached into your purse and pulled out a resume. “I was a secretary for a law firm for 4 years.” You explained. 

“May I ask why you left?” His eyes looked over the paper in his hand. It wasn’t long, but he could see that was because you kept jobs for years. 

“My mother. She got sick.” You started, making him look up at you. “So, I packed up and moved back here. You posted your ad the next day and I couldn’t pass up the chance to apply.” You tucked some hair behind your ear. 

He chewed on his lip a moment. He was happily married, but he could hire someone attractive to be his secretary anyway, right? He could look, but not touch. “Well, you are the most qualified applicant.” 

You smiled at that, hopeful. “Really?” 

He chuckled, nodding. “Well, you and a 60 year old named Dot.” He said playfully. “Although, I think you’d be less likely to scold me.” He joked, making you laugh. “But, here’s the tie breaker.” He rested his elbows on his knees, clearly still joking. “Can you bake a mean chocolate chip cookie?” 

“Does the refrigerated dough count? Because right now, that’s about it.” You shrugged. “I can do breads, but sweet bakes? Totally bea- get the better of me.” You blushed lightly as you nearly said ‘beat my ass’. That would not have been a good look! 

“Can you come in tomorrow? My old secretary still has a few days. So she can train you and get you used to everything around here. And we can get you introduced to the other guys.” He felt this was promising. 

You beamed. “I can!” You agreed, thankful you didn’t remain jobless for too long. 

After the pair of you talked over details, he gave you the official job offer on paper. The pay was extremely fair, and you signed instantly. Once you’d filled everything out, he walked you to the front door. “You don’t have to dress so formal, by the way. Whatever you’re comfortable in. Especially in the summer. I do my best to keep the AC in top notch condition, but when that door is opening up a lot sometimes it gets warm in the lobby.” He explained. “I’ll keep that in mind.” Thankfully it was spring, so you had time before it got too warm. “I will see you tomorrow morning.” 

The next morning, you got there at 7, as he’d asked you to come early. Mostly to work with Charlie. This way Charlie could focus on teaching you everything before customers started showing up at 8. You walked in wearing a pair of jeans, a button up short sleeved shirts, and your hair in a high pony tail. “I hope you like coffee.” You smiled at Charlie, holding out a coffee for her. 

“Oh, I love you.” She chuckled, taking it. “I’m Charlie, it’s nice to meet you.” 

“I’m Y/N, nice to meet you, too.” You smiled. “Where should I put my purse?” You asked. 

“Follow me.” She motioned for you to walk with her. Sipping her coffee, she let out a content sigh. “So good. When Dean called me last night to tell me to come in early I was hoping he’d be replacing me with someone chill.” 

“Well, I like to think I am.” You chuckled, being led through a door that said ‘staff only’. “Can I ask why you’re leaving?” 

She shut the door behind you. “There was a job opening with the people that run my favorite LARPing event. I applied for the hell of it and actually got it.” She explained. “I couldn’t turn it down. Thankfully I’ve been friends with Dean since we were kids and he understood. He was a bit grumpy that I’m leaving, but I think that was also due to the fact that Layla, his one year old, was teething.” 

“How many kids does he have?” You wondered out loud. 

“Three.” She chuckled. “Layla is one, Xander is five, and David is 8.” She went on. “But, you can leave your stuff in here. No one will touch it.” She promised. “On Fridays Dean tends to order lunch, so you won’t have to bring anything.” 

“Oh, that’s nice of him.” Not many bosses ordered lunches except for a ‘bonus’. 

Charlie nodded. “Well, I think it’s partially because he’s a good guy, partially because he’s close with everyone he works with. We’ve known Benny since we were kids, Garth we met in high school, he met Cas when I was off in college. I think they met at a bar.” She shrugged. “Sometimes his dad comes in to work. Usually because he’s retired and I think he gets bored. He’s a big softie.” At least to her he was. 

“Sounds like everyone is basically family here.” It was a comforting thought in one aspect, and a terrifying one in another. What if you just didn’t fit in? 

“We are, you will be, too.” 

Charlie trained you for three days, and day three was more you doing everything and her being backup. However, your forth day there? She wasn’t there. There had been a going away dinner after the shop closed on the third day. It was clear that she would be missed. No pressure on your part or anything. 

Walking in the morning of your 4th day, you had coffee and bagels for everyone. “Morning!” You greeted them when you reached the break room. “I brought breakfast. I know you’re going to be missing Charlie, so…” You said shyly. 

Dean smiled at that. “Well, thank you, sweetheart.” He said happily, watching you set the bag of bagels down. 

“Those do smell great.” Cas admitted, eagerly reaching into the bag. “Oh, with cream cheese. Even better.” 

Soon, everyone had their bagel and cream cheese. “Nervous for your first day alone, cher?” Benny asked. 

“A little.” You admitted. “Charlie was an excellent teacher, and even with my past experience it’s hard not to be.” You sipped your coffee. 

“You’ll do great.” Dean assured you before heading out of the room. 

It didn’t take you long to get used to everything, including their personalities. What had taken you aback was Dean’s flirting. Not that you actually had a problem with it. Two weeks after your first day alone, the forecast said it would be mid-80s. That had you coming into work with a cute sundress. You braided your hair over your shoulder to keep it off your neck, as well. “Business is already great sweetheart, you don’t have to get all dolled up to get guys in here.” Dean winked at you as he passed you. 

Blushing, you smiled and shook your head. You honestly assumed that he was just a flirty guy. The only other woman you’d seen him with was Charlie, and you assumed that he didn’t flirt with her because she was like a sister to him. 

That evening, Dean leaned against the counter as you finished up. The guys had already left, closing up the actual shop. You just liked to get things set for the next morning. “Hungry, sweetheart?” He asked. 

“A bit. I planned to stop and get something on the way home.” You shrugged. 

“I’ll order us something. You like subs?” He stood up, pulling out his phone. 

“Can I at least get us drinks? I can run to the store down the road.” You offered. You didn’t want to not get something if he was treating you to dinner. 

“Sure thing.” 

After you’d told him your order, and he told you what beer he liked, you grabbed your purse to run to the store. 

Your subs sat, half eaten on the table as you both laughed at a story he was telling you about when him and Sam were kids. He was on his third beer, and you were on your second can of Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Licking his lips, he watched you. “Wanna see the car I’m working on restoring? It’s in the back of the shop that’s usually blocked off.” 

Nodding, you downed the last of your drink. “I’d love to. I know nothing about cars, though.” You chuckled. 

Dean finished his beer and led you to where his car was. “This is Baby.” He patted her hood. 

“She’s beautiful.” You mused. 

“She is.” His eyes were on you as he spoke. 

Moving to lean against one of the workbenches, you watched him. “How long have you been working on her?” You asked, curious. 

“For years. Some days I’ll stay here for a few hours after we close to work on her, but some weeks I just don’t get the chance.” He wasn’t about to say that some nights his wife just wanted him home. That would kill the mood that was surrounding you both. 

“Am I keeping you from her?” You asked softly. 

He made his way to you, putting a hand on each side of you. “Not at all.” His voice was low, enjoying the proximity of the two of you. “You look really nice today, sweetheart. You should wear dresses more often.” He suggested, slowly closing the small bit of distance between your bodies. 

Blushing, you put your hands on his hips. “I think I can do that.” You found yourself agreeing. 

Next thing you knew, his lips were on yours. You kissed him back, moving one of your hands to right below his jaw. He kissed over your jaw, rocking his hips against you. As he did that, he used one of his arms to push everything from the workbench. Hearing you breath his name went straight to his cock. “Shit, sweetheart.” He groaned, lifting you so you were sitting on the bench. His hands found their way under your dress, just wanting to feel your skin. “Lift up for a second.” He breathed against your neck, gripping the sides of your underwear. 

You did as you asked, your heart hammering in your chest as he pulled them down. One of his hands tangled in your hair as he kissed you deeply, the other found it’s way between your legs. As much as he wanted to take his time and tease you, he just couldn’t right then. Another time he’d spend hours exploring your body. 

Dean felt your fingers work on his belt, as he’d removed his mechanics overalls before the subs arrived. As soon as his jeans were undone, you pushed down his jeans unjust enough to free him. He pulled you a bit to the edge, kissing you as he lined himself up and slid in to you. “Fuck, Dean!” You let your head fall back, moving one of your feet so it was on the edge of the table. 

“God, you feel amazing.” He groaned. Pushing your dress up a bit, he watched himself disappear inside you. 

Your hand gripped his bicep, the other moved to rub your clit while he thrust into you. “Right there!” You gasped as he shifted his angle slightly. 

“Cum for me, baby.” He could tell you were close. 

His thrusts started to falter, sending you over the edge. Knowing he was close did it for you. “Dean!” You snapped your eyes shut, moaning as you felt him fill you moments later. “Wow.” You smiled at him. 

He leaned forward and kissed you softly. There was something about you that drove him crazy in the best way. “Let me get a washcloth to clean you up, sweetheart.”

Biting your lip, you nodded. 

During the day, you kept things professional. You never hinted that some nights, Dean would have his way with you in that back room. He’d treat you to dinner, sometimes he’d bring his laptop for the pair of you to watch a movie, and then he’d give you mind blowing sex. It didn’t occur to you to ask why he didn’t take you on an actual date after nearly a month of this, either. 

It had been two months since you’d started sleeping with Dean when Benny surprised you one day around lunch. He’d just finished up with a car, and the lobby was empty. “So, cher, I was wonderin’ if maybe I could treat you to dinner after work.” He smiled. “I can go home, clean up, and then pick you up?” He really hoped you agreed. 

You blushed, not knowing Dean was nearby, either. “You’re sweet, but I have plans tonight.” You told him. “Rain check?” You asked sweetly. 

Benny grinned. “Sure thing, suga’. Just let me know when.” 

Truth was, you really needed to talk to Dean that night. You really needed to know what the two of you were doing. Looking up, you smiled seeing a woman walk in. “Hi, can I help you?” 

“You must be Y/N.” The woman smiled. “I’m Allie. Dean’s wife.” She introduced herself. “I’m here to get him for lunch.” She had her hand on a small bump. 

Thankfully, you were able to keep yourself composed. “I’ll get him.” You told her, getting up. Moving to the back, you found him- pretending he didn’t hear Benny ask you out. “Allie is here.” You told him. 

Dean’s head shot up at that. He saw the look on your face and knew he was fucked. “Sweetheart…” 

“No. Go. I’ll talk to you after work.” Turning on your heel, you went back to the counter. “He’ll be right out.” You told her, schooling your features. “How far along are you?” 

Her face lit up. “Six months! I’m so excited.” 

“Hi, baby.” Dean came out, drying off his hands from washing them. “Ready to go?” 

She nodded. “It was nice to meet you, Y/N. We’ll have to have you for dinner sometime.” She gave you a wave as he put his hand on her lower back, walking her out. 

That night after they closed down, Dean had knots in his stomach. He found you in the breakroom. “Swee-” 

“Don’t you dare call me that.” You snapped at him. Looking up at him, he saw the unshed tears. “I planned to talk to you tonight either way, but finding out you’re married changes things completely.” You felt like an idiot. None of the guys had ever mentioned her! They talked about the kids all the time, though. Did they know that Dean and you were sleeping together? And they were hiding things for him? 

“I’m sorry.” He said softly. 

“You’re fucking sorry?” You glared at him. “I’m an idiot! I was some side piece you got to fuck while you’re pregnant wife was at home with your other kids.” You stood up. “Did you just casually forget you’re married?” 

Dean swallowed. “I’m drawn to you. There’s just something about you that makes me want to be with you.” 

Rolling your eyes, you got up. “You can’t have it both ways. You can’t have the happy little family life, and then someone to fuck on the side. And by the way? I quit.” You spat. 

“Come on, please don’t. The guys love you.” He really didn’t want to lose you. “We’ll stop sleeping together, but I can’t stop seeing you every day. You brighten all our days.” 

“Well, unless you’re a deadbeat you will be seeing me.” You watched the gears turn in his head as he figured out what you were saying. Seeing it click, you watched him all but fall into the closest chair.

[roseyhearts5]

Rizzy reo

(Hi guysssss this is my first work so im sorry if this is bad 😭 feel free to let me know how to improve 😋😋 -bootyhoe)

(warnings‼️‼️ no pronouns are used for Y/n in this story but it is said that they wear a skirt in their uniform you can of course just say pants if you feel comfortable with that instead anddd that’s it ENJOYY ❤️❤️)

Y/n’s POV———————————————————————

06:37 AM

I walk down a long sidewalk. I’m not the most familiar with it but i go this way when I need it. It’s an early Tuesday morning and it was just so difficult to get up this morning. I’m in dire need of a latte right now. I was up all night studying for an upcoming exam and kept on getting distracted thinking about a certain purple haired boy. Oh how I loved his purple hair, it suited him really well. Reo Mikage. I’ve had a crush on the guy for a few months now. I stop in front of a cafe I usually visit when I have a rough time in the morning, I swing the glass door open and walk inside the warmth hitting my face immediately making me feel cozy.

I greet the girl behind the cash register, she looked a little older than me, somewhere in her early twenty’s. I give her my order and pay, after, I go sit at a small table with 2 chairs facing each other. I pull out one of the chairs and hang my beige messenger bag on the back of it, after I do I sit down and pull out my phone. It read 06:44 as the time. I didn’t have to be at my school till 07:10 and it was only a five minute walk from the cafe. I actually had time to enjoy my latte and it will be a lot more enjoyable considering the cold weather. “Y/n!” I hear one of the other girls shout out my name and I stand up to go get my drink. I thank her and take my drink off the counter and go back to where my bag was. I sit for a few minutes scrolling on my phone and taking sips of my drink here and there. I check the time again. “06:56.. I guess it’s time to start walkin’ towards that stupid ass school.” I Mutter lowly to myself.

I stand up and push the seat in. I open my bag and toss my phone into it. I sling it over my shoulder and take a final sip of my latte then walk over to throw it away. I brush off my uniform. I don’t mind the uniform we have to wear to school, the black skirt is cute and I like the checkers in my top but they’re hidden underneath my winter jacket right now. I wear basic new balances but I switch it up here and there, not like it matters to much anyway. The stockings I wear underneath my skirt are only for winter, I wear knee high socks any other season. I wave goodbye and say thank you to the women before walking out of the door. I pop my AirPods into my ears and play some music to keep me entertained on my short walk.

————————————————————————

07:02

I take my time switching my shoes into my school ones and walk into my classroom. I see a few people here and there. I wave at a few of my friends. We’re all sadly separated me in the back and the two of them in the front. And don’t get me wrong it sucked i didn’t sit with them but my seat partner was good enough for me. It was my crush, Reo. He wasn’t here yet. I didn’t expect him to be. He always comes into the class with a minute or 2 to spare with his best friend Nagi. I slowly take out my books and a few pencils from my bag before placing them neatly on my desk. I pick up my mechanical pencil, pump out some led, and draw little hearts and stars on my desk. “Hey Y/n! How was your morning? Sure was cold out today huh.”

I hear the oh so familiar voice of my seat mate and feel the tips of my ears heating up. “Hey Reo, yeah it was really cold this morning I love winter but my hands were freezing my whole walk here! My morning wasn’t the best but I’ll manage.”

I let the answer roll off my tongue to the handsome boy who was now facing me in his seat, our knees touching. “Oh? Your hands, are they still cold?”

He raises an eyebrow at me, “Well..yeah, not as bad but they’re still kind cold.”

I mumble, as I place my hands on top of one another on my desk. “Here, I wore gloves to school, let me warm your hands up.” I hear what Reo says and my eyes dart from him to my hands that were now enclosed into his bigger ones.

I feel not only the tips of my ears this time, but my whole face heat up. Reo rubs his warm, calloused fingers against my softer ones. I stared at our hands for a few seconds and slowly bring my eyes up to his face again.

He was also looking at our hands but he seems to notice me look up because he looked up into my eyes with his deep purple ones, a smile plastered on his face. He leans over to me our faces closer together as he places his mouth by my ear. “Are your hands alright now or do you want me to keep warming them up?” I can hear my heart beating loudly in my ears as I gulp not knowing how to answer.

I hear Reo start giggling next to my ear as he pulls away from my face still keeping my hands in his. “I’m just messing with you, Y/n. I wouldn’t mind though. If you wanted to keep our hands like this I mean .”

Am I hearing right? Did he just say he wouldn’t mind? Doesn’t matter now. This is a good opportunity for me to shot my shot with my crush and I’m not going to let it go to waste. I nod to Reo and say, “I wouldn’t mind either. If you wanted to hold hands a little longer I mean.” I mimic his words, a smile growing on my face.

He returns the gesture and mutters a little “Good” before facing the teacher in the front of the class.

Our hands were still together underneath our desks. I’m definitely not going to be wearing gloves to school if it means I get to hold hands with Reo again.

[aerkame]

Any advice on how to break out of an insane long art/writing block? My minds been going crazy with ideas, yet my hands say “Nope! lol!” Mode for some time.

I absolutely hate art blocks they're the worst. I've had some that lasted for months on end, sometimes a whole year so I'll give what advice I can to help you break out of this funk. 👍

Important bits are highlighted.

I suggest changing up your drawing environment for a bit, declutter anything on your desk or drawing spot, clean anything that could be in the way. Sometimes a change in your environment can help you feel less stressed. Cluttered spaces can change how we behave and it can also mess up our thinking process without us even noticing it so give that a try. (This applies to studying and doing homework as well!)

If you can, go to a new location and just try relaxing. Try going to a park, a colorful part of a city, a zoo you never went to, or even just walk around a neighborhood. This works similar to the above advice with changing your environment.

Write down the drawing idea you had for later and sketch something else lazily, do not put effort into the sketch, just feel and do whatever. After that, practice SKETCHING (sketching, not drawing, this does not need to be perfect or a masterpiece or a final product of sorts) parts of your desired drawing idea. Do this until you feel yourself being more comfortable.

RELAX! A lot of times when I start to feel an art block coming on mid-drawing, I notice my hand and face is not relaxed. If you feel yourself gripping a pencil/pen hard when drawing, take deep breaths in and out and relax. Drawing with your hands gripped is a sign of stress and art should be relaxing, not a stressful chore.

This follows up on number 4. Try lightly exercising. And I emphasize lightly. Especially if you are not someone who regularly exercises (remember to stretch before). Do something to get your heart going just a little bit. Sometimes doing this helps relives stress you may not be aware of and it also makes you feel more loose and energetic afterwards. This is because your body will release endorphins (the hormones that make you happy) into the body after exercising. Along that, make sure you're hydrated. No really, drink water.

SLEEP WELL! Make sure you are taking care of your body by getting enough sleep.

Draw out of your comfort zone. Try to start practicing on drawing things you are not usually used to drawing. Your Kryptonite basically. Personally, my kryptonite is cars and mechanical things.

That's all I can think of for now. If I think of more, I will reblog this with the attached new list.

You may or may not be confused on why I am focusing so much on the body and not actual drawing part itself. The thing is, art block is both a mental thing and physical thing that results from stress, exhaustion, or other factors you may not be aware of that can be helped (usually). An example? When I'm busy with college or when I had my first job last year I was so stressed out that the very idea of getting out my graphics tablet and drawing made me feel like I didn't want to draw anymore. I lost interest in doing something I really like. The same happened when I was in a STEM high school. I was too stressed out to pick up a pencil and draw.

You need to make sure your brain is stimulated and relaxed before you draw and after you draw and that can be done through exercise, new changes to the environment, or simply just trying new things with art. Your brain is in charge of so many things and that includes how you're feeling, so do what you can to take care of it.

[dahliadew]

Danny Fenton, soul survivor (dp fanfic prompt (maybe crossover))

Over time across different cities in different states, various disasters, both man made and natural, have occurred across America. Each would have been remembered as a tragedy in the minds of the aging residents that experienced them. If not for the strange case of one name littered throughout each event. One Daniel Fenton has seemingly haunted reports and records of each event. Either survivor or soul witnesses to the events, he smilingly is always there, left behind whatever tragedy has occurred.

Ten years before this document's writing, a passenger bus crashed in Fargo, Minnesota, causing the deaths of all those aboard and those in a second vehicle involved in the crash. All involved died before they could reach the hospital except for a young man, only identifying himself as "Danny," After being taken to the hospital, he was only found to have minor cuts and abrasions but was otherwise fine. Not much information could be gleaned from the young man as early on in his stay at the hospital, he disappeared, leaving investigators to fill in the gasps. He was found to have no connections to the other passengers on board, which raised more questions as an unaccompanied minor would have needed more information and documentation to board the bus. But after contacting the ticketing office, no such information could be found. And with the accident easily explained as a mechanical error resulting from poor maintenance on the part of the bussing company, there was little left to investigate. However, one investigator claimed to see the boy once on the edge of town days after the final funeral after the case had wrapped up. Staring off into the sky, snow drifting down onto his face. Neither spoke nor moved, but like before, the boy seemed to vanish again, this time into the snow. It was mentioned at the bottom of the report in a penciled-in line made years after the report had been finalized that in those moments, the unnamed officer had not seen the boy's breath while staring, entranced. He notes his breath drifting on the winds, but the boy stands as still as the breath he didn't breathe.

Accounts similar to this litter the different reports from civilianize and officers alike, some more fantastical than others. But all agree that some part of the boy never left their towns. And these reports are not limited to small-town legends but are extended to federal agencies, as in the case of the crash of flight 187 from New York to Florida.

In a recently unsealed NTSB (The National Transportation Safety Board) document detailing the fate of flight 187 on the night of June 7th, 1968, a single blurred photo with a name scrawled unceremoniously on the bottom lies at the end of the file. The image depicts a boy from 14 to 16 lying on a stretcher in a makeshift triage, presumable on the crash site. The name, like before, says "Danny." When flight 187 went down, a rapid response was organized to assist any of the passengers who may have survived the crash. But as the collision occurred in the middle of the Florida swamps, hopes were not high, and as many predicted, all of those they found on the first day of search and rescue were deceased. But a boy was miraculously found as the sun rose and the cicadas sang on the second day. This time with much more extensive injury but none that those on site believed would lead to his death. With the hope renewed for other passengers and the closest hospital over a day away, it was decided to keep the boy on site with the medical team already present. Unfortunately, no others were found, leaving a solitary, motionless boy on a bed. He had woken up sporadically but never could remain awake. He could identify himself in one of these waking spells, but only his first name. As news spread of the crash and one passenger's survival, the family began to descend to the hospital where the boy had been transferred. But like before, no one could claim the boy, and no connection to any other passenger could be found. Leaving another group of investigators with the mystery of the boy's origin; this time, with the aid of federal resources, they could investigate more leads, but none would result in any concrete information. Three months after the boy had been found and the bodies buried, he disappeared again, with one attending doctor noting how none of the monitors alerted them to the boy's absences.

The oldest record of the boy's involvement in a tragedy lies in an unfinished report of an explosion and fire at a fast food restaurant in the 1950s from a now deserted town in the American midwest. This fire in the town of amity park took the lives of 6 people Jack and Madeline Fenton, their daughter jasmine, friends Samantha Mason and Tucker Foley, and their high school teacher Mr. Lancer. The only witness to this tragedy was reportedly the couple's young son caught in the blaze, Daniel "Danny" Fenton. Little is known about the boy from before or after the accident. And unlike the other incidences, this was the only accident without a definitive cause. It has been proposed that the presence of the mysterious boy and the investigation into him led the investigator to discover the true reasons for these events. In the case of the bus crash, investigating the company's inner workings that allowed for a minor with no documentation to travel led investigators to the company's history of mismanagement and cost-cutting. As for the plane crash, the renewed vigor of finding the boy alive allowed teams to find the plane's black box before it could have been destroyed or lost in a storm that later washed over the crash site. Those preaching this theory have stated that the boy is a Spector that can predict these events before they happen, and while he can stop them, he can’t, at the very least, give the family the answers that he was denied.

However, this is meanly a theory, and as in the 30 documented cases of the boy starting in the 50s up to 2009, wherein it is believed that he last appeared, there are only three photos. One of the original Dannal, the photo as mentioned above taken at the plane crash, and one final picture published in a local newspaper in an unnamed town with what looks like said a familiar-looking boy standing in a crowd watching the unveiling of a marmoreal.

Currently, these are ghost stories haunting the shadows of towns scarred by tragedy; more tales of the boy's travels permeate these files. And under normal circumstances, they would continue to rest in the bowels of their files, but as for last night, a team has begun investigating these events and the figure who resides within them.

(hi, sorry for this being so long; it's a weird plot idea I've been working with for a little while. I think it's up to whoever uses this prompt if they want to make it a crossover because I can see it working for something like supernatural, criminal minds, or maybe the DCU if the writer has batman investigating a recent incident in his city that may have ties to past events. But idk hope you guys like it, and to anyone who wants to use this prompt, have fun and go nuts!)

[sophies-junkyard]

Seeing the new PJO content has me thinking way too hard about growing up. Its crazy because it’s like…. I think that chapter of my life is over? Which is a BIZARRE feeling. It’s all pretty stupid to write out but I’m drinking coffee and staring out the window and don’t have class for another 6 hours so lemme scribble some thoughts.

I read the Percy Jackson books when I was the same age as the characters, and so whenever I look back on those stories I sort of… remember them as peers? I remember how much I related to them and looked up to them. It was the first story that ever told me my ADHD could be a gift, and that it made me just like my heroes. It was so, SO important to me. I JOINED TUMBLR for the PJO fandom! I made camp t-shirts and painted necklace beads! I learned to draw because the fanart inspired me. Those books were such an escape for a lonely kid. The characters grew up right alongside me, and eventually got older than me. So when I picture our trio I still picture people… more competent than me? People I would aspire to be. But seeing that trailer and remembering like… holy fuck they were kids. I was a kid. This is a faithful adaptation because they were TWELVE… where did the time go?

It’s just strange because if you scroll back through my tumblr you’ll find a kid who camped out for the release of HOH. Who saved her allowance for a year to get an autographed copy of the Blood of Olympus. Whose eyes would glaze over in euphoria at the idea of my favorite thing in the world coming to screen. At the idea of a new BOOK!! And from Percy’s perspective?? That girl would’ve exploded. This was HER blog! Push a few buttons and you’ll find her!

So how odd is it that… it’s simply not for me anymore. When I saw that the book was set in Percy’s senior year of high school, I had a tiny flash of disappointment. Obviously I can’t relate to an 18 year old, and I felt myself frowning. “Why isn’t Percy for ME anymore?” I wondered. And I immediately felt silly. The answer is because… I don’t need that world anymore.

They’re not making this show for me. They’re bringing it back for the next generation of kids who need those role models and those stories. When I watched the trailer I thought “oh that’s cool” instead of “oh my god I can’t wait!!” Because it just doesn’t make my brain light up like it used to. I’m never going to relate to it like I once did. Ever. And that’s okay because I’m not that kid anymore! Insane.

It’s not like the series doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. There’s a copy of The Lightning Thief on the bookshelf directly across from me. Its smooshed between The Secret History and a level 4000 Spanish textbook. It’s yellowed with age and shredded around the corners. The first sentence has been underlined repeatedly in smudgy mechanical pencil. There are about a thousand folded pages and the back cover is missing. I don’t remember the last time I opened it, but it’s moved with me for years now and I have no intention of letting it go.

Those stories and that fandom shaped me into the person I am today. I wanted to be brave like Percy and smart like Annabeth. I believed it was possible because I saw myself in them, and it turned out to be true. So while it’s sad to know those days are behind me, I’m so SO glad that other kids will get to have that experience. I hope these stories live on for decades to come.

I don’t really know what the point of writing this was. I think I just wanted to have these thoughts written out somewhere. A sort of acceptance that time goes on and things change, ya know? And to clarify: this is NOT meant to discourage ANYBODY from watching the new series or reading the new book. People should absolutely go back to the things that bring them joy, should discover new worlds to escape to, etc. live your life baby! Hell, I’ll probably end up liking everything PJO related that floats across my dash. Nostalgia is a powerful thing. If you read this entire post I hope you have a great day lmao.

[rain-herb]

at second sight

4.7k words, a reikoga / kogarei piece [AO3 link]

“It’s not important,” Koga stresses for clarity, though he doesn’t even seem convincing to himself. “I just thought. Well. Do you think it’s possible to fall in love at first sight?” “I haven't had any experience like that, but it's certainly plausible. Is this about you and Sakuma-senpai?” . UNDEAD works on a new project and Koga mulls over early works, the future, and his relationship with Sakuma Rei.

“Gotta say, doing any form of creating in an environment like this is quite a choice,” notes the high schooler behind the counter after staring in Koga's direction for what feels like the millionth time in thirty minutes. 

He gets that the guy is bored or whatever, but he has no business poking his head into Koga's affairs and even being so judgemental about it. So he is a middle school kid who goes to write lyrics in a live house. But then again, Hakaze Kaoru is a high schooler managing a live house and he doesn't even work here officially or own the place or anything, so who's the weird one here, really?

“It is a good place for me . And you can hardly drive me out for a reason like that,” says Koga, doing his best impression of a problem student who unapologetically does whatever the hell he wants. Being in the live house as he writes is ten times better than just creating while listening to anything with earphones - here he's surrounded by the exact vibe he wants to emulate, the feelings he wants to recreate in his music. Of course, there's also the fact that Sakuma Rei has a performance here this evening.

The room is crowded with the ever-growing Sakuma Rei fanclub even though there's a good two hours before it's time for him to perform onstage, but Koga supposes no one wants to miss out on the chance to get to talk to Rei before that, even if the chances of such a thing happening are low.  His fans almost rival those of that one unit in Yumenosaki that's been popular recently - what was their name again, the one with red and black fancy looking outfits? But the fans of that unit watch their idols like a devotee would watch their god, while Sakuma Rei's fans scream his name like it's all they've ever known.

The fact he is also a Sakuma Rei fan probably wouldn't be surprising to the guy behind the counter who's seen him sneak into the live house enough to remember his face, but he hates the idea of being placed in the same category as certain fans who act crazed over Sakuma Rei and pursue him, but aren't even serious about it like he is. The type who would move on to the next person with a pretty face in time before they even get to understand anything beneath the surface of the superstar image Sakuma Rei created for himself on stage.

“Well, naturally not, if you're a paying customer. Want any refills?”

He huffs, tapping his mechanical pencil against the page filled with scribbles. “No thanks. The tomato juice here is way too sweet for me.”

Then why’d you order that every time you’re here, the not-part-timer doesn’t ask, but his raised eyebrows might as well be doing just that. Instead, he replies automatically in a chipper voice that makes Koga shudder, “In that case, I recommend trying our orange juice—with water mixed in, of course.”

Is this guy even trying to sell him something? Unimpressed, Koga just gives him a flat stare, and then goes back to writing. Distractions, distractions.

His thoughts gravitate to Sakuma Rei and that fated LIVE, as they tend to. Everything could be traced back to that moment, one that he just couldn’t commit to paper. He’s listened to countless other rock songs since then, by both Sakuma Rei and other singers or bands, studied their lyrics, but he still couldn't find the right words for his own song. Now obviously, there’s no formula he could study which would make him magically good at writing lyrics - he wouldn’t even try it out if that kind of thing could be done - but he just knows that something is missing from his work. And it just makes sense, to figure out what it is about Sakuma Rei's lyrics that he likes so much and then head in that same direction. Inspiration and all that. 

Tap, tap, tap goes his pencil against the lined paper, before he forcefully presses it down and scribbles out a few words and phrases and somehow manages to make the worst two lines he’s ever read in his life. The urge to strike the lines out pulls at his hand but he resists, because he's been trying out growing vegetables recently, and it was not going well at all in the beginning because he kept pulling out what he thought were weeds but turned out to be the beginnings of vegetable sprouts. He knows that this works the same way; he’s never going to get an end product without letting things sit and grow. 

Nerd, a stranger’s voice behind him says, and a few others laugh, and his head snaps in their direction. It’s someone in a group of high schoolers in Yumenosaki’s uniform who just came in, approaching the counter to order drinks. Before he could even say anything back, the group had already stopped looking at him, moving on to the other side of the room where people are gathered around tables, talking loudly and cheering and singing badly. So now he’s just more than mildly annoyed, one hand gripping his jiggling leg. It’s times like these that make him wonder why he even bothers aiming to enter a school like that, but there is Sakuma Rei there, which is the only thing that matters. Koga must still go there for the chance of getting close to him, to show that he’s serious about what he says and does. He looks at the unoccupied stage, then at the bored high schooler behind the counter. He’s also wearing the signature blue blazer, the familiar school logo on the breast pocket. Koga snaps his notebook shut and grabs the guitar case that he’s left leaning against the counter this whole time.

“Hey, boss.”

“Not the boss,” corrects Hakaze Kaoru. He doesn’t look his way. “What do you need?”

Koga gestures towards the stage. “Is no one performing right now?”

“I suppose not? We don't really have anything scheduled before Sakuma-san's performance later at eight.” Kaoru pauses. “Actually, we don’t really have much of a schedule here these days. So anyone's free to do whatever they want.”

“So it's fine if I go up there and play, is what you're saying?”

The smile Koga receives is an odd mix between that of a slimy businessman and an amused kid. “The floor is yours. Do as you please.”

..

Some time after UNDEAD makes their official debut, ES announces a new project planned for the coming new year. All units will be required to do introductions of their Yumenosaki era for new fans, so they have to pick out pictures of significant events in their idol activities so far to go in the new albums (not the music kind, unfortunately).

Which brings the four of them back to school, sprawled around the library seats in the most uncool, unidol-like ways, to look through school records for pictures and video footage. A sad result that stemmed from the fact that amongst UNDEAD, only two guys could use smartphones with the proficiency normal people have, and only one of them actually cares about taking nice pictures, and that one person is not Koga - not that nice pictures already posted on Twitter and Instagram could be used though, much to Kaoru’s dismay. Just having pictures isn't enough either - all of them are supposed to write their thoughts on the pictures too, for that special, personal touch.

Koga groans about why they couldn’t have just gone with the behind-the-scenes footage (he receives the unsatisfying answer of those are for the concert DVDs, this is different! ), though the workload isn’t actually that bad so he doesn’t actually mind that much. Writing comes easier to him nowadays, especially when it doesn’t concern schoolwork. Sakuma-senpai had mentioned before that things might be slightly different now, with their new and growing audiences after they’ve outgrown the inexperience of their academy days and stepped foot into the industry for real.

“The staff also asked us to try our best to match our pictures with the theme of ‘returning to the beginning point’,” Rei announces after they manage to locate the specific albums for their unit, reading the last part from an email which Koga helped him to pull up on his phone.

“Beginning point?” Adonis echoes, the saying unfamiliar on his tongue.

Koga turns back from the shelves, placing down another album on the table and leaning his arms against the back of Rei's chair as he tries to explain, “It’s like remembering your feelings when you first started out and not losing sight of your aspirations, something along those lines.” 

Both Rei and Adonis nod at his answer, the former in agreement, the latter in gratitude and understanding.

“They sure love those kinds of themes, huh?” Kaoru sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“They did say ‘try’ so it’s likely fine even if our choices don't really match.”

“Well, it’s probably not hard to come up with something, at least.” Kaoru flips a huge amount of pages of the album at once, skipping back to the first few pages. 

Rei sinks down in his chair, turning his head upwards, and Koga is suddenly met with a gaze from under long eyelashes. “What do you think we should include, Koga?” 

A few strands of hair fall to the side of his face and Koga has to force himself to tear his gaze away from those dark red eyes. He quickly pulls out the chair next to Rei and sits down in a motion that is not unnatural at all, excuse you, ignoring the three pointed stares his unitmates surely have pointed at him and clears his throat.

“The formation of UNDEAD and the repayment festival have to be in there,” he says after a brief moment of consideration. All of UNDEAD's projects and performances are important and meaningful to him (barring the dumb variety shows they've been made to participate in by their new agency, but he keeps his mouth shut because he loves UNDEAD and trusts Rei's judgement enough to tolerate such things for now), so picking out a few specific ones is no easy feat. 

Kaoru exclaims, “The beginning and the end!”

“Not the end. More like a new beginning. For both you guys,” he gestures to Rei and Kaoru, “and us,” he gestures to himself and Adonis, who straightens up a little in his seat. 

“And we will be welcoming a new beginning soon again, with the publication of this new project.”

“That’s true.”

“Should we include commentary on Koga-kun's confession during the repayfes too?” Kaoru adds with a barely concealed giggle.

“ Hakaze-senpai …” he warns in a low voice, receiving a frantic wave of hands and a haha, just joking in response. Adonis also chuckles along, amused. Koga sneaks a look at Rei, only to find him staring right back, an unreadable look on his face. His throat goes a little dry.

The repayment festival. He thinks back to the things he said that fateful day - he hadn't meant it that time, but those things he said did kind of qualify as a confession, didn't they? Sakuma-senpai had accepted his challenge, listened to what Koga had said, but hadn't exactly responded specifically to that , although they both left those distant names behind and returned to calling each other what they did since the beginning.

(They were both incredibly embarrassed about it for a period of time that should not have lasted as long as it did—what were they, a couple who just got together?)

But then again, he supposes his feelings for Sakuma Rei have never been a secret since the beginning.

Back in the present though, the group stops with the jokes and messing around and goes back to picking out pictures from various events. In his head, Koga drafts out his comments for the repayfes picture, which ended up being the one where the four of them are lined before the stage decorated in pastel colours and heart-shaped white day decorations, shoulder to shoulder. Of course, there’s no mention of that event. After that, they go to the café they used to frequent in the area, and he sits next to Rei as usual and does not think about maybe-love confessions, or odd comments made by the twins onstage, or promises and hopes for the future.

..

Under a picture of Koga and his classmates in their classroom that somehow managed to sneak its way into the final album, there’s a series of comments written using a marker pen with differing handwriting:

Koga studies with Youtube videos like ‘intense and a little sad guitar’ playing in the background.

You saw me listen to that ONCE. And that's got nothing to do with the picture!

Of course it has, I'm sure our fans will be delighted to learn cute trivia like this about Koga ^^

^ These guys are just like that all the time.

..

A month from graduation, Koga sits on one of the benches outside the classrooms and near the field, letting it all—the fact that he’ll soon leave this place, that he’ll be an adult and seen as a professional, maybe, and that he’ll be very busy but in a way he could only welcome with wide arms—sink in. Adonis jogs over to him, in sportswear and with a towel around his neck, having just finished with his club activities. He hands Adonis a water bottle and some sweets he received earlier from his kouhai in the light music club, to which Adonis receives with a grateful nod and smile.

The club members had organised something like a farewell party for him, and the twins even got Sakuma-senpai on the phone for him, stressing how they specially went out of their way to contact their previous club president to give him a few words. He hadn’t expected Rei to actually be on the phone, fully expecting it to be a prank that Rei was in on, maybe a recording prepared by the twins, because that was the exact kind of thing they’d do. But it was indeed Rei's voice, the real person in real time, calling him during the ten minute break between photoshoot sessions. Rei had then proceeded to speak like they had not seen each other for a year (they just had dinner together yesterday) and, after Koga switched to speaker mode as per his request, gave a short speech that made him seem surprisingly becoming of a (former) club president. Everyone else gave an applause at that and laughed, and so did he.

The whole thing was incredibly dumb, and he couldn’t help but think about how much he’d like to see Rei again.

Today’s one of the days where he and Adonis don’t have any meetings or photoshoots or idol work, which means he won’t be seeing Sakuma-senpai until—Friday? Or maybe the weekends. He glares at the setting sun like it’s offended him somehow, unsure of whether he wants to go back to school days with Sakuma-senpai or skip forward to when they start working as a full unit at long last, which is a dumb thought because of course there’s only one answer. So he interrupts that train of thought and occupies his mind with something else instead, opening his mouth without really thinking about what he’s about to say next.

“Adonis, do you believe—nevermind, forget it, it's dumb.”

Adonis perks up from behind his red bean manju. “What is it, Oogami?”

“It's not anything important.”

“Okay,” Adonis says, which leaves the choice of whether or not to continue with Koga instead, but with that straightened posture and that look , the one that says he’s always willing to listen, should Oogami be willing to speak. Koga internally curses his friend’s patience and sincere eyes, and allows words to fall from his mouth.

“It’s not important,” Koga stresses for clarity, though he doesn’t even seem convincing to himself. “I just thought. Well. Do you think it’s possible to fall in love at first sight?”

“I haven't had any experience like that, but it's certainly plausible. Is this about you and Sakuma-senpai?”

The sudden leap to conclusion is so jarring that he has to process it for a few seconds before he could respond. “No! What makes you think of that?”

“Hakaze-senpai mentioned something like that.” 

Of course. He rolls his eyes and sighs.

“Besides that,” Adonis adds, “Sakuma-senpai also seems like the only possible choice when it comes to you, Oogami.” 

“Well, I guess it's not completely nothing to do with Sakuma-senpai. I told you before, right? That time after I first saw him, I admired him a great deal and got into guitar and lyric writing because of that. And then my parents were convinced that I'd fallen for him at first sight or whatever.

He twists a leaf between his fingers.

“I don't think I would call it that though, even if that encounter was a big thing for me. I just knew that my life would be thoroughly changed because of it. Because of him.”

..

A meeting with Anzu at RhyLin brings to them both good and bad news: the good news being that the people in charge were really happy with their choice of pictures and comments, and the bad being that now they want more. 

It doesn't have to be pictures, according to her. Just something that could showcase their growth. Thus, Rei suggests including handwritten drafts of their early music, which is as personal as it gets. 

“To me, creating has always been about making yourself known to your audience,” says Rei, tapping his fingers against the meeting table as he ponders his next words. “The songs we write could be stories too, even if it's not as direct as the kind of performances that Itsuki-kun designs for his unit, or Hibiki-kun’s stage plays. Or they could be feelings that we want to tell people about. We put parts of ourselves into our songs and hope the audience receives them kindly.”

The rest of them agree, of course, which means that all of the work goes to Rei and Koga as the composer and lyricist of the unit. They receive words of encouragement and pats on the back from the remaining two, who set off on their merry way, and Koga couldn't even be mad because he doesn't want more people than necessary to read his old lyrics, so.

And here’s the thing: it’s not even that he thinks his old work is terrible, even if some of it makes him want to hurl something into the wall when he reads through it sometimes. He’s grown a great deal since the time when he first started, but reading those words by his fourteen-year-old self sends him right back to a time where he knew nothing but boredom eating away at a bleak world that he couldn’t seem to escape no matter what he did. It’s almost like a part of him from that time had been buried into these lyrics and travelled across time just to clock him in the face as he opened up the notebook. Which is to say, too personal for others to read, even by his standards.

It is late in the afternoon when Rei arrives at the doorstep of Koga's newly rented apartment on his own, carrying a change of clothes and other necessities in a paper bag. The two of them spend the day mostly getting distracted, reading through old notebooks and papers, and Koga almost forgets about dinner until Rei's stomach rumbles. Then he rummages through his refrigerator and ends up cooking pork and cabbage in chicken broth, served together with rice. When he returns to the living room with the food, Rei is busy cuddling and petting Leon, a sight common enough whenever those two were in the same room. Rei comments that his cooking is homey and wonderful, and a proud grin tugs at his lips. I’ll prepare you something special when our new song makes the charts, he says, and Rei says it’s a promise and that he’ll look forward to it. Then Koga goes to shower first, letting Rei work on the beginnings of that new song in his living room.

..

“You can use the bathroom now if you want,” Koga calls out when he's done, drying his hair as he steps out of the bathroom, expecting to receive a lazy hum of affirmation, but none comes. The living room is quiet and somewhat dim at the current hour; there is no slender, dark-clothed figure to be found lying on the couch. He turns the other way and sure enough, faint, yellowish table lamp light can be seen pouring out from his bedroom. 

“Sakuma-senpai?” he calls out again, poking a head into the room. His first course of action is to switch on the ceiling lights, which gets the attention of the figure seated before his desk, his head bobbing upwards for a bit before returning to its original position. There's a little hum of acknowledgement at last, accompanied with the sound of a page flipping. Whatever Rei is looking at has him absorbed in it.

“I’m looking at your early works,” Rei says, seeming to sense his unspoken question. Koga couldn't see his face from where he's standing, but he could hear a smile somehow, the type that usually signifies the incoming of an embarrassing and/or teasing statement.

He eyes the notebook from behind Rei, and yeah, the scrawl of random phrases to be used and wonky handwriting, those are some of his oldest work alright–

Wait.

He reaches out his hand to snatch the book over, but Rei is faster, swiping up the thing in one swift motion and standing up. 

“Where on Earth did you find that!” Koga yells, because that notebook is a middle school exercise book, and he has stopped doing any composing in school exercise books since forever.

“I just picked a random notebook off your shelf,” Rei laughs, holding it far away out of his reach. “And there's no need to be embarrassed, Koga, I've read your works back then too, right?”

Like hell it's the same. His lyrics in his first year weren't great, but definitely much better than the stuff he wrote as a middle schooler. Shit. 

Koga shoots back, “Yeah, like you weren’t super embarrassed yourself when they showed your old stage recordings as a prank on those reality shows!”

That gets Rei to pause, which gives Koga enough time to snatch the book back. Thankfully, Rei doesn't seem to make any movement to take it back, moving a hand to his face to conceal an awkward cough. 

“That’s different.”

Quality-wise, probably, yeah. Koga shoves the notebook into his desk drawer and sits on the desk, blocking access. A crestfallen look comes across Rei’s face that Koga is almost certain is feigned, but he gives in and decides to say something comfortingly honest anyway.

“Those performances were good though. Anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't know shit.”

Rei doesn’t seem comforted by that though, throwing him an exaggerated scandalised look. “Even me? That's a little harsh, don't you think, Koga?”

“That's not what I meant and you know it,” Koga says flatly, remembering the moment he first discovered that the guitarist he had liked from before turned out to be Rei too, Rei from before he had known him. Maybe it really is fate, at this rate.

“I know,” Rei says, smiling faintly. “Though I must say, the person I was then feels decades away from who I am now.”

He narrows his eyes. “Sakuma-senpai, you are literally the only person I know who speaks like they’re capable of discarding their whole identity and personality and turning into an entirely different person in a day.”

“That’s impossible though,” Rei says, eyes closed and head tilted to the side.

“My point.”

“But who knows,” Rei murmurs, voice low suddenly, “maybe I am capable of doing that? Maybe now, I have already changed into someone else entirely.”

He knocks a knuckle on Rei’s forehead lightly. “You’re Sakuma-senpai. And now, you’re going to take a shower before it gets too late.”

“Okay,” Rei sings, dragging out the word in his usual tone. He seems pleased, Koga notes, as he goes to get his clothes and towel. 

..

Sleep feels impossible with Sakuma Rei on his bedroom floor. 

Koga’s bed is not big enough to fit two guys, thus the futon for Rei that he made sure to prepare before his visit. Sharing a room with Sakuma Rei is not new to him, at this point. They usually share hotel rooms when there are performances in other cities, and even before that, there were a few times where Rei pulled Koga into his coffin in the light music club to nap, though the more often occurrence was Rei napping in the coffin while Koga did his own thing next to him, usually playing the guitar or doing homework, if there’s no one else around or if he didn’t have anything better to do. Does that even count? 

He turns around again, now facing the general direction of Rei’s back instead of the wall. There should be no reason for him to be feeling like this, like some embarrassing eleven year old with an embarrassing crush. But he guesses that it’s one thing to share a hotel room with your unit leader that you’re in love with for job-related reasons, and another thing entirely to have that person in the comfort of your own home.

All of a sudden, Rei turns over to face him too. “Having trouble sleeping?”

“What the h—I thought you were asleep already!” Koga blurts, pushing himself to sit up. 

“Nope. And maybe you should try closing your eyes, if you’re trying to get some sleep.”

He rolls his eyes. “I don’t need you to tell me that .”

“Too excited?”

“For what, exactly?”

“I don’t know. Our new album? Tomorrow’s meals?”

That gets a laugh out of Koga. “Do you want to go somewhere tomorrow? Since our schedules are clear.”

“We can go wherever you want to go, Koga.”

“I’m asking you here, Mr. Superstar who never gets time off.”

“And you’re as wonderfully considerate as ever.” If it were anyone else saying that, he would think they were being sarcastic. But this is Sakuma-senpai, whose smile could be heard in the tone he speaks in. “You’ll have to let me think about it.”

The room falls silent once again, but this time he feels more at ease than moments before. And a thought pops into his head. If grand confessions aren’t going to get him a proper response, he supposes a casual one might do the trick. Away from the eyes of their friends, of a crowd, a quiet place with just the two of them. A moment just like this, even.

“Hey, Sakuma-senpai.”

“What is it?”

“I love you,” he says easily, like it’s a habit of his to just say that casually to Sakuma Rei before they part ways every day. Even in the dark, he manages to catch the way Rei's eyes widen at his unexpected words. There’s a sound of blankets shifting. A smile tugs at Koga's lips as he lies back down. “Just so you know. Good night.”

His reply comes after a moment of shocked silence.

“Wait, wait.” Rei’s voice wavers uncharacteristically as he gets up, draws closer.

Koga does not wait. Instead, he closes his eyes and snores comically loudly. Sweet revenge, he thinks with a childish sense of satisfaction. Fingers wrap around his shoulder.

“Don’t sleep yet. Koga. Ko—ga,” Rei calls out lightly by his ear, almost like a pout. “You can’t just leave that out there like this. Don’t you want to hear my answer?” 

He cracks open an eye. “You have an answer for me?”

“This time,” Rei assures him. His face is pressed against the side of Koga’s single-sized bed, his hair messy and sticking in all sorts of directions, and it’s unfair how he still manages to look good like that. “I’ll say it properly, promise.”

“Okay,” Koga says at last. As he rises back up, a cool hand brushes against his cheek.

Sakuma Rei leans over, pressing a soft kiss to Koga’s lips.

“I love you too.”

[acertainmoshke]

Happy STS! What are your go-to/preferred writing tools? Favorite pen types, notebooks, keyboards, etc, but it doesn't have to be limited to just those things. Writing programs, favorite reference books, thesauruses, dictionaries, TTS software, whiteboards, corkboards, flash cards, encyclopedias, anything goes!

Nooooooooooo Nopal you don't know what you've done! How could you know I have an actual special interest in this??

So I am obsessed with notebooks but also REALLY picky about them. My handwriting is teeny so I don't like big lines, and I think it looks neater and prettier with smaller lines anyway. The covers can have a cool pattern or be plain if it's a nice color and high-quality enough. I do occasionally make exceptions; my current journal is fairly cheap with large lines, but it's a rare older Batman one in my favorite color with bat-tech designs on all the pages and a light-up bat signal on the color, so it was worth it. My newly discovered favorite notebook aspect is ones that are designed so the pages lay flat and it's easier to write. Oh, and I LOATHE spiral notebooks. The big school-style ones are ok for random notes or anything unimportant, but the smaller little ones that are normal book size are absolutely worthless. The spirals always come undone before I'm done with them.

I'm also picky about writing utensils. I keep a journal strictly in pen so it can't fade and I can't get embarrassed and erase it. I write stories strictly in pencil because I WILL need to erase and try out lines. But, although I'm using one currently for my big-lined Batman journal, in general I can't stand large ballpoints. By which I mean 0.7, which is pretty standard. 0.5 is ok, but I much prefer the rarer smaller pens. I used to have a Japanese friend who I would get to send me 0.35 pens because they are normal there but expensive over here. In pencils anything under 0.5 is impractical, but I like the fancy mechanical pencils with a nice grip and a dent that lets you dig out the eraser even after it's erased down. My current one is teal.

None of that answered your question but it was necessary anyway. And this is getting too long so the actual answer is going under a cut.

We'll see how long I can keep it going, but I like to write my stories on paper. Of course, it's not worth starting a nice new notebook if I'm unlikely to finish it and it's impractical if I don't have a clear idea of the basic story, because jumping around out of order is impossible. I like it though because it forces me to slow down and think about each scene; I can't rush the way I do when typing. It also gives me a built-in edit when I copy it up, so by the time I'm editing a full draft it's already technically a second draft. And it's convenient because I can take it to work and write on my breaks, or if I'm waiting in line at the post office, or anywhere I happen to find myself.

I do still write on the computer, of course, for fanfiction or just-for-fun things I'll never finish or stories I'm still figuring out. When I do truly long-form things I like to use work because I hate the way Google docs looks (controversial, I know). But for short things, or worldbuilding, or fanfic, I like to use Notion. I like that I can nest pages within each other endlessly. It makes my autistic organizing brain buzz.

I recently discovered that I enjoy using actual notecards pinned to a corkboard for initial plot planning. I can't always do this, and I make outlines too for more detail, but being able to physically move stuff around in real space helps my brain focus on what is actually important to include.

Thank you sooooo much for giving me a chance to ramble about this!!