#i got a super duper comfortable hoodie the other week

[finiteuniverse13]

Eric Blackburn is Soft (and a mild insomniac)

Taglist:  @chibsytelford @mrsmarvelous1995 @disasterfandoms @jasonbabymama @velvetcardiganbucky @jayhalsteadfan-2417 @pinkrockstar19 @softi92 @thelovelyleo23 @itsonautopilot @supervalcsi @abby-splace @theysayitscrazy @mrsmarvelous1995 @bravo-four-seal-team

Blackburn, by most measures, is arguably the 'dad' of Bravo (when he's not available, Ray is a good placeholder). However, there are times that he's equally as irresponsible as the idiots who work for him.

One such time is now. He's swaying where he's stood, trying to figure out where an appropriate infil and exfil would be for a really, really well fortified and isolated hideout for Ellis' Tango Of The Week. He'd sent Ellis and Davis to sleep about half an hour ago after they'd let slip that they'd been awake for 27 hours trying to find a plan.

Despite being awake for around 34 hours himself, he was still stood in ops, downing his – how many was it at this point? High teens, probably, maybe twenties – coffee, the latest of many. The maps blurred under the gaze of his dry eyes, and he loses a few seconds, blinking and when his eyes open again he's sat in an uncomfortable chair a few strides away. The door slams open and Blackburn's hand retreats from where it was reaching out for the map. He, albeit slowly, looks up at the figure now looming over him. The man stares down at him in disapproval, an eyebrow quirked and arms crossed.

"Eric." It's not said with the intention that he's going to be allowed to continue working. Eric's faced down many, many people in his days. Gone toe-to-toe with Hayes more times than he can count, out-glared both Sonny and Ray, and on more than one occasion, got Carter to back down. But at that moment, he hasn't got the willpower to stand up to the man, let alone argue. He nods quietly and lets the man put a hand on his arm, pulling him up and begin escorting him to Bravo's bunks. The sun is just beginning to be seen over the horizon and the rays hurt his eyes more. He closes his eyes against the bright assault and lets the man lead him towards the bunks.

As the door to Bravo's room opens, six pairs of eyes turn to him. The man gently pushes Eric, fully clothed, into one of the bottom bunks. As nimble fingers begin taking off his boots, a voice, not the same one as earlier, sounds out against the relative silence now echoing around the room.

"Sleep."

Eric's boots slip off his feet and he settles in, already half asleep by the time that someone pulls the comforter over him.

When he wakes up, sun high in the sky, he's admittedly quite confused. A few questions flew through his head. Why was he in one of Bravo's bunk, not his own? Why had they let him sleep for so long? How much coffee had he drunk? And, probably the most pressing of them all, why was there a weight on his back? He shuffled and that question was answered as Cerberus jumped off his back onto the floor. He raised his eyebrows at the dog and Cerb's tail started wagging in answer. A quick glance to the floor next to the bunk he was in told him that his boots were within easy reach. A water bottle sits next to them, a post-it note stuck haphazardly to the side of it with Trent's handwriting saying "DRINK". Once a medic, always a medic.

He sat up in bed, reaching first for the bottle, figuring even if he didn't particularly want to drink, it was always better to not incite Trent's – and in turn Carter's – wrath. He pulls his boots on next, and as he begins to lace them up, Cerb grabs the empty bottle in his mouth and wanders out of the bunk room, presumably on his way to Brock or Trent to signal that Eric was awake. Cerb opening the door lets in a cool breeze that raises goosebumps along Eric's arms. He'd left his jacket in ops, and it was around a five-minute walk back; which was an awful long way in a t-shirt. He notices a navy sleeve in his peripherals, and look up over a few bunks to see a hoodie haphazardly thrown onto the bed.

The thing with Bravo, Eric had learnt, is that property – especially shirts, jackets and caps – wasn't a personal possession, but instead a group possession. It wasn't unusual to see Trent or Ray in a shirt from one of Brock's K9 training seminars, one of the ones where they only give shirts to those who attend; or Clay in a shirt so utterly Texas that if Clay had actually bought it for himself, Eric would pay for a ranch in Texas for him out of his own pocket. Jason was also a fan of Ray's shirts and vice versa. He was also fairly certain that Trent and Carter didn't actually have a distinction between which shirt initially belonged to who, since their clothing largely consisted of monochrome shirts in various states of distress and disarray and the pair frequently forgot which machine had their clothes during laundry day. The point is, Eric's fairly certain nobody would complain or even raise alarm bells if he took the hoodie that belonged to... someone on the op.

He wanders over to the bunk in question, much more stable on his feet than he was earlier that morning, and pulls on the hoodie. The soft-from-use fabric settles around him like a cocoon. The ends on the sleeves fall to his knuckles and the hood creates something akin to a tube around his head, blocking almost all of his peripherals. As he pulls up the sleeves around his wrists, the door is nudged further open. Cerb wanders in again, immediately walking over to where Eric is stood. He accepts a few seconds of scratching behind the ear before he stands behind Eric and nudges the back of Eric's legs, pushing him towards the door.

"Alright, alright, I'm going, I'm going!" And begins walking of his own volition, with Cerb falling into step next to him. Together they cross the base to where Bravo's base of operations is set up. He walks into a heated discussion.

Sonny, standing on a (thankfully not rolling) chair, pointing down at the 3D model, with Clay sat on the chair next to him, feet propped up on the chair that Sonny's stood on. Clay's just grinning up at Sonny, looking, for all intents and purposes, like he's in the middle of encouraging the debate. Carter is stood behind Clay with a mirror of Clay's grin, but he looks slightly more malicious, but Eric puts that down to that just being how Carter smiles. On the other side of the table, indicating to a different part of the model, Ray and Brock. Ray is stood while Brock sits on the table, absent-mindedly bouncing a well-loved (read: very bitten) tennis ball on the floor. Jason is speaking to Ellis and Davis, both of whom look much more rested than they did when he sent them to rack out earlier that day. Trent, leaning against a filing cabinet, is the only one who looks over when Eric walks in, having only been paying partial attention to the argument most of the team is having. He silently offers Eric another bottle of water, which Eric takes without a word.

Trent waits until Eric's drained about a third of the bottle before speaking to him, tone caught between concern and scolding. "We found about 23 empty coffee cups here, and we both know Davis and Mandy have energy drinks while planning for ops. How long were you awake for?"

Eric pauses, eyebrows furrowing. "What time did I go to sleep?" He figures that Trent was, at the very least, present when he was asleep.

"0540."

"Then it's about 34 hours? Give or take a bit."

Cerberus, still stood at his feet, gives out a whine which draws Brock's attention mid-sentence, which attracts the attention of the other 4 around the model. Sonny hops off the chair; barely giving Clay enough time to lift his feet out of the chair before sitting down in it, but he does pull Clay's legs, still in the air as he stares mock-offended, onto his lap.

Trent ignores his brothers and levels a glare at Eric. Eric shrugs and buries a hand into the front pocket of the (really, really, should be illegal how soft it was) soft hoodie, finishing the water and throwing it in the bin. Another is being pressed into the hand that's still out before he's able to fully turn back to Trent to ask for another. He thanks Trent and makes his way over to where his Master Chief appears to be trying to convince Davis to let him try her energy drink. Trent asks a question to the five around the table which reignites the discussion with equal, if not more, vigour.

And at that moment, as he watches Lisa play the energy drink version of cat-and-mouse with Jace, with four of his operators teaming up against the other two in the background; there's nowhere he'd rather be. Stood there in someone's hoodie, with his jacket on the back of Clay's chair (he has no intention of putting it on until the op itself, and he's decided it now belongs to him because it's so comfortable), he's so happy to have them as a family. So grateful that they've allowed him to be part of the family they've made.

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 152

I’m not going to jinx it, I’m not going to jinx it, I’m not going to jinx it...

Okay, maybe I am. I managed to queue up the chapters I had in the barrel! Yay!! Which also means that I have a super duper exciting chapter coming up, which I can’t wait to write and can’t wait for y’all to read. I just need it to be perfect.

That said, thank you to @baelpenrose and @charlylimph-blog for your help with this particular chapter.  I love when we are all three in one of these sessions and just descending into chaos in the chat. Also, @mamayoda (who I can’t tag but I do want you to know I see your likes in my notes!) for love-bombing my notes recently.

“Is it just me or is everyone really jumpy?” Charly asked as I set my food down across from her.  It was our thrice-weekly lunch dates in one of the public mess halls, and she definitely had a point.  I had already noticed three people scowl distrustfully at the food consoles, hugging closely to the prepared food side of the room instead.

I sighed. “It has to have been Derek’s stress test.  It wasn’t supposed to impact systems we didn’t design, but…”

She snorted loudly. “Tell that to the week I spent taking cold showers again.  At least this time, the doors didn’t play any music when I walked through them.”

“Did your doors at least open consistently? I was stuck in my quarters for a whole day until we figured out that I could walk through if I had an escort.”  I laughed and shook my head before digging in to my food. “And, come to find out, we actually do manage the water systems, thanks to BioLab 2.”

Contrary to myself, Charly was entirely unperturbed at this revelation beyond sniffing her hoodie and shrugging. “My doors worked fine as far as I know, but Coffey and I tend to work the same hours, so… Maybe that was it.  Oo!” Her cheer of enthusiasm caught me off guard as she started bouncing in her seat. “OOOOO! I bet he activated the routine Xiomara had running when you and Jokul weren’t friends yet!”

“There was a routine!?” I asked, exasperated. “I behaved, thank you. It wasn’t necessary.”

“Meh. Just in case. What do you think her deal is?” She tilted her head to the side, at a table near us.

Sure enough, the woman at that table was darting glances around the room, her shoulders hunched, elbows close to her body, eyes wide.  I could practically feel her shaking from where I was. “I can’t tell if she looks suspicious or afraid,” I murmured, hoping the woman couldn’t hear me. “But the fact that I’ve met mice and chihuahuas who shook less, I’m going to go with afraid.”

As I watched the woman, weighing whether or not a stranger trying to comfort her would make it better or worse, Mona’s familiar face approached her instead.  She was speaking softly enough that I couldn’t make out words, but the woman clearly recognized her and only jumped slightly.

I was so focused on the sight of Mona comforting the woman that I nearly hit the ceiling when Parvati’s voice came from entirely too close to my right shoulder. “Rebecca.  She lost her family twice, first her parents, some cousins, and an uncle when the hack happened, and then her partner and children in the After.  It’s understandable that she’s terrified right now, after the stress test. Too many bad memories.”

My face flushed in humiliation. “Pranav and Zach sent a ship-wide alert that the stress test was happening - “

A perfectly manicured hand clapped over my mouth, one dark eyebrow arched in eloquent disbelief. “Sophia. You of all people know that mental scars do not heed logic.”

Charly’s hair flew around her face as she nodded enthusiastically. “After day three of cold showers, I flinched every time I went through a door in case that stupid song started playing again, no matter how many times I reminded myself that it was a stress test and I had decidedly not given Derek boba tea again.”

Both my hands flew up in surrender. “I stand corrected, I just feel awful to see people react like that.” Gazing around the room, I was suddenly much more aware of all the darting eyes, protective postures, seats turned so that backs were against walls.

Charly had obviously seen the same thing. “We may need to talk to Pranav about limiting the tests to one or two systems at a time.”

“I wish we could,” I admitted, stabbing a potato out of my pie slightly harder than necessary. “His department was passing the tests with flying colors when Derek was limited to one or two systems at a time.  But they failed this last test miserably, it turns out.  As soon as they would react to one thing, Derek would switch to another system, and they couldn’t be everywhere at once as well as they convinced themselves that they could.  And they can’t just be good at small scale attacks: the revolt that happened before the End brought everything down at once, from multiple access points. It was… kind of elegant, in a terrible way.  Very clean.”

Charly squinted at me and Parvati in suspicion. “Are you supposed to know that they crashed and burned in the test.”

I rocked my hand back and forth while I chewed on a mouthful of crust.  It had way too much butter in it, but at least it was actually crust this time. A week ago it had been something pretty close to paper mache. “Technically we don’t officially know that.  Officially, all we know is that Pranav has requisitioned enough additional staff to increase his team of programmers by seventy percent.”

“Asses handed to them, got it,” Charly nodded in understanding.

“We also officially know that Pranav currently owes Hannah quite the enormous favor,” Parvati confided.

“How big?” Charly ventured slowly.

“Big enough that his grandchildren may be indebted to hers,” came the laughing response.

Charly shook her head and clucked her tongue. “He should know better than to bet against Derek.  He breaks the systems for fun, and they asked him to really go for it. What did they expect?”

“Apparently to put up a better fight at least.” I forced a smile, but guilt weighed on my heart as I studied the room again, fully seeing the microexpressions of anxiety, fear, and anger.  It felt like the entire Ark was constantly swinging between hope and fear. The random drills weren’t really helping, either.

“They aren’t,” Parvati agreed, letting me know that I had been thinking out loud. “Everyone is sleep deprived, on high alert, and then all of a sudden all the computer systems went on the fritz for a week.”

I sighed and rubbed my forehead, pushing what was left of my pot pie away from me, appetite gone. “We need to talk to Grey and Antoine about getting counselling for everyone, seeing as how Xiomara and Pranav pretty much just triggered the entire ship. I mean, everyone knows counselling is available, but I think allocating training and resources to the therapy teams is going to take priority over Pranav’s request for the moment.”

Charly tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Do we have the space for some quiet rooms, like you set up for the Food Festival a few years back? That may be a good idea.”

Snapping into work-mode, Parvati flicked her datapad open, bangles clattering as she started making notes. “The quarters left by those who relocated closer to the Archives are still uninhabited, those can be used.  We may be able to convince some people to relocate so we can spread the rooms out more evenly, but even if we can’t, just having those rooms available will help.”

“Make a note to add in the proposal for Grey: possibility of having specific vendors permitted to serve food in BioLab 2.  Encourage mental health days and picnics.”

Parvati nodded in acknowledgement of my request, before adding her own spin. “As a contingency plan, find vendors who will pre-package picnics.  Between the current distrust of the consoles and the fact it will remind everyone of the annual Festival, the good emotions will help.”

“I like it,” I confirmed. “What else?”

“Paintball tag day in the corridors,” Charly announced, without preamble or warning. “Make it a holiday, everyone is off work, limit it to one end of the Ark.”

I shook my head. “Guns, not the best idea.”

“Ew, no. No pew-pew.” She wrinkled her nose. “I was thinking more paint-soaked splash bombs.”

Finger guns deployed, dual wielding. “I am so here for a paintball tag day in that case.  The flavored paint?”

“Not the scotch bonnet please,” Parvati begged. “I just know someone will get that in the face, I don’t care how much Else likes it.”

“Got it, no more pepper spraying people,” Charly agreed seriously. “OOO! I could test the new arrows out!  With something like buttered popcorn paint, obviously. Maybe kiwi on the other team.”

“Just limit the pull on the bows, okay? I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

“Fiiiiine…”

Parvati smiled and added to her notes. “So, we probably want someone to correlate the current date to whatever the date would be on Earth… Just in case we need to get a consultant for Holi.”

“Good point. Conor is alarmingly good at that, so I can ask him.  It would be a nice cultural event if we could do that. If not, we can totally work on celebrating Holi when it comes around.”

“Final suggestion for right now, because I have to get back to work,” I sighed happily. “This is going to be the biggest ask, and the smallest at the same time…” Both nodded at me to continue. “Care packages, for everyone. And I mean everyone on the Ark.”

“Sophia,” Parvati scolded me. “That’s almost ten thousand people and sixteen animal companions.”

“Well aware,” I forged on, “We’ll talk to Sam about the bows, I can wrap them. Commission some of those really nice chocolates, or maybe some taffy from Simon. And something salty.  I know there is someone on the Ark who makes aromatherapy candles, Tyche is bananas about them.”

Shaking her head, she added it to the list. “If you insist on that, I insist on a celebration for the drop out of FTL.  Hannah and I can use some of the plans from the Food Festival, include Charly’s paint tag - “

“And Kink Night!”

“- and Kink Night, apparently… have several events going on across the Ark, since we already discussed declaring a holiday.”

“Get Bash’s permission to use the Undine again, and I won’t object,” I surrendered before standing. “On that note, I really do have to get back to work.  Come on, Vati, we have work to do apparently.”

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[jisungsmochi]

the bubble tea girl - ljn

bubble tea shop worker! reader + new employee! jeno hehe 

just a shit ton of fluff tbh i am so soft for jeno 

word count: 3.5k 

a/n: this is the second instalment of my nct dream job au hehe, please enjoy and as usual, i apologise for any mistakes :)) p.s look how cute he is 

//

you were standing outside the bubble tea store you worked at called, Tea-riffic. totally cheesy, but very popular. you were hanging up a ‘now hiring’ sign at the front window of the store. your manager was seeking new employees as many of your previous co workers had outgrown the small franchise and moved onto bigger job opportunities, you couldn’t really blame them. you had worked there for a little less than a year, and quite enjoyed your job.

after securing the sign, you headed back into the store to continue working. shortly after you had served a few customers, you noticed a boy with round glasses, wearing a black hoodie and some sweatpants, stop to read the sign outside. he made eye contact with you through the window, causing you to lose your train of thought and forget which order you needed to start. you saw him chuckle to himself at your actions but chose to disregard it and continue with your order.

part of you hoped that he would come back and apply, but that was just you being delusional.

the next day you came into work was three days later. you greeted your fellow coworkers before heading to the back to start on orders.

‘hey y/n, we got fresh meat’ your coworker, yeji joked. it was a term you used for all new employees, meaning someone had just applied and gotten a trial shift.

‘ahh yes, someone to torment’ you giggle before following her to a different area in the back, waiting to be introduced to the new trainee.

‘hey guys this is jeno, he’s here for a trial shift, i entrust that you will take care of him and help him if he asks’ your manager stated as you looked over at the boy. it was the same boy from days before but only this time, he wasn’t wearing glasses. you gave him a shy smile in which he returned.

‘y/n, since you’ve been here the longest out of everyone, could you just help him out today?’ your manager ordered as you nodded in response, ‘sure thing’

jeno looked stunned when he heard that you would be training him. he quickly followed you out to the registers.

‘i’ll formally introduce myself, i’m y/n’ you smile as you put your hand out for him to shake. he looked at you with his eye smile and returned your gesture,

‘ah hi i’m jeno’

‘great, now that we got that out of the way...working here isn’t as easy as you may think. everyone has a spillage count, i’m up to ten drinks in my entire time here.’ jeno chuckled softly at your words, making you pause for a bit before leading him to the register.

‘for now i’ll just show you how to take orders and later today we can switch over to the actual drinks, sound good?’ you gave him a friendly look, which made his nerves about this job, die down.

‘yeah that’s fine with me’ he responded as you began explaining the functions of the register as well as what questions to ask for the orders. to your surprise, jeno got the hang of it really quickly. it also helped that he was on the better looking side, as many girls would often stare at him for extended periods of time before collecting their order. you just shook your head in amusement before tapping his shoulder.

‘yes, y/n? how did i do?’ he asked, concerned about his progress.

‘trust me, you’re doing well! now this is the hard part, i’ll give you three chances if you mess up an order, it’s stated in the rules otherwise you can’t get hired. but i’m here to help!’ you assure him as he nervously bit his lip. he didn’t respond to you, which made you kind of upset to see him like this. you placed your hand on his shoulder before reassuring,

‘don’t overthink it, otherwise you’ll be prone to messing up! i’m here with you’ he looked over to you and just smiled and nodded,

‘thank you’ he muttered as you pulled him towards the drink station and started on your first order.

he often got confused along the way but eventually he started picking up the pace, with only having messed up one order, which he made up by apologising sweetly to the girl who just accepted the wrong drink anyway due to his innocent charm.

‘dang jeno, you have to stop charming these ladies otherwise we’ll have to make you work here every single day!’ you decided to joke, pushing his shoulder against yours.

‘my badddd’ he softly whined before your manager approached the both of you.

‘jeno, you’ve done really well today. your communication skills and work ethic has impressed me, you can start working here, i’ll email your roster to you soon’ they smiled as jeno gave you a high five, before thanking your manager.  

‘thanks for helping me today, y/n! i should treat you to something, want some tea?’ jeno offered, eyes bright.

‘jeno, i work at a bubble tea shop, i’ve had enough of tea for one day, let’s go get burgers, and we can get to know eachother since well we’ll be working together alot’ you offered in return, which made his entire face light up.

‘t-that sounds amazing, when should we go?’ he asked, pushing his hair back with his hand as he leans against the counter.

‘how about right now? i mean we are both off our shifts’ you keep smiling as jeno suddenly becomes more shy, he just nods and follows you out of the shop.

the rest of the night was spent with you and jeno talking about the most random things from the mandela effect to the tv show, teen wolf.

‘i’m telling i sobbed when allison died’ jeno explained to you as you were both seated across from eachother.

‘i felt that one, and aww you cried? that’s not very manly of you’ you sarcastically joked. he flashed you another eye smile which frankly just made you melt on the spot.

‘it’s getting late, i should head home. would you like me to walk you back to the shop?’ jeno offered, waiting for you to finish the last bite of the burger.

‘if you don’t mind! i don’t like walking alone when it’s dark’ you shyly admitted watching as he just nodded. you both walked side by side, continuing your conversation on which was the ultimate ship in teen wolf.

‘stydia!! come on! you can’t even deny it’ jeno became rambling making you want to argue back, playfully.

‘excuse me! theo and liam!’ you joked as he just rolled his eyes,

‘they weren’t even a couple’ he shook his head in amusement.

‘yeah yeah’ you muttered, softly judging him. it surprised you how easy it was to get along with him. he felt the same. jeno didn’t want this day to end.

‘i’ll see you tomorrow for your first official shift! glad you joined us, jeno!’ you smiled brightly as you both stopped outside the shop.

‘i’m glad i have you guiding me! get home safely! see you tomorrow!’ jeno waved before crossing the street to catch the next bus.

you made sure he got on the correct one before heading towards your car and driving home.

a few weeks into the job and things were sailing smoothly as usual. yeji’s spill count went up to twelve, making her the contender for the clumsiest employee you’ve had. jeno on the other hand, has had a whopping zero spills, which had you shocked.

‘you’re way too good at this! you probably worked at another store or something, was it the place a few blocks down?’ you playfully grilled him as you both were on your break.

‘let’s face it, i’m good at everything’ he just smirked before continuing to type on his phone.

you and jeno had somewhat gotten close, he didn’t attend your school, so you only crossed paths during work, but it was enough that you would both chatter the day away.

‘can one of you guys head out to the registers now? i’m off’ yeji greets as she hangs up her apron and grabs her bag, before waving to you both and leaving the store.

‘lets just both go’ jeno shrugs, shutting off his phone as you both made your way to the front. you decided you were gonna wipe down some tables whilst jeno serves customers. you were finished your final table when you saw jeno speaking to a girl who by the looks of her face, was becoming annoyed with him.

you slowly crept behind the counter, pretending you were organising the cups while eavesdropping on their conversation.

‘you can’t show up to my workplace’ jeno groans, trying to keep his calm. the girl crossed her arms before huffing in annoyance,

‘we have to talk soon! you can’t keep avoiding me’ she whines back, making you wonder what exactly they had to talk about.

‘what’s there left to say? we aren’t together anymore. you said no hard feelings, so stop following me around’ jeno seems to have fully lost it, unaware that his voice is becoming louder.

‘you can’t stop me, we have to discuss it all eventually’ the girl mutters under her breath in defeat before storming out of the store. jeno rubbed his temples, visibly shaken by the whole confrontation. you debated on whether or not you should comfort him. you looked over at him, he was hunched over behind the register.

‘you alright?’ you softly ask, unsure of his reaction.

‘yeah just fine, uh do you mind covering for me? i’m not feeling well at the moment’ jeno pleads, giving you the most vulnerable look you had ever seen from him. you nodded, ‘no problem, anything for a friend. feel better soon’ you smile softly before watching as he pat your shoulder and rushed out of the store.

whoever that girl was, clearly means or meant a lot to him.

you didn’t see him for a couple of days, mainly because he had called in sick for some of his shifts which made you worry. it wasn’t like you two were super duper close, but you thought he was close enough to atleast give you some explanation as to what went down a few days prior. you shook the thoughts of jeno out of your head, ready to serve the next customer.

‘hello! what would you like today?’ you smiled widely, before your expression almost instantly changed. it was the same girl from before, staring back at you.

‘is jeno working today?’ she got straight to the point, leaving you stunned.

‘oh um no he isn’t working today, i’m sorry’ you reply in the kindest way you could.

‘could you tell him i stopped by? my name is euntae’ she groaned to herself before leaving the store.

she had a lot of nerve to speak to you with disrespect, you were immediately alarmed by her presence, thus leading you to tell jeno all that happened when he had his next shift.

‘god she came again?’ jeno pulled at his hair, visibly frustrated with the presence of euntae.

‘who is she anyway? like your girlfriend or something?’ part of you was wishing he would say no.

‘used to be, not anymore. things ended badly and she’s just been following me at school and now work’ jeno sighed, sitting in the break room. you sat next to him and placed a hand to his shoulder.

‘do you want to talk about it?’ you calmly asked.

‘not really, it’s just, she hurt me bad. and i thought that keeping myself occupied would get my mind off the breakup but look what happened’ he placed his head in his hands. you felt so bad for him, you wished you could just embrace him.

‘well, how about we do something? like go to the park and ride bikes? anything to help you get your mind off her. and if you need, i’ll just give a heads up when she’s coming and you can duck under the counters’ you explained as he chuckled at that last part. his laugh made you feel warm inside.

‘you’d really do that for me? you’re amazing’ he muttered, not helping your nerves one bit. you blushed at his words and nodded,

‘as i said, anything for a friend’ you smiled at him in which he returned. why did that hurt you to say?

as you both expected, later that day, eunjae walked into the store, eyes out for jeno. you quickly signalled to him to duck in which he immediately caught on to.

‘sorry jeno’s not here’ you instantly stated, startling her.

‘did you tell him i came by?’ she crossed her arms, clearly annoyed.

‘he hasn’t been at work, sorry’ you shrug before walked away to complete orders. eunjae glared at you before storming out once again.

‘oh thank god, you are an angel’ jeno gives you a quick hug, instantly pulling away. you still treasured that fraction of intimacy with him, you’d wish he just do it again.

the next week, jeno came into work, greeting you with a quick side hug before beginning to take orders.

you and yeji were making drinks when she started interrogating,

‘what’s up with you and jeno?’ she smirks.

‘nothing, there’s nothing’ you mutter, making it clear you were upset.

‘oh sweetie, do you like him?’ yeji frowned,

‘i’m not sure’ you sigh, looking over at the black haired boy who never stopped smiling it seemed. he had this aura about him that you couldn’t stray away from. maybe it was because you were both stuck at work and forced to communicate but you wanted to hang out with him outside of work, it just never came up.

later that day, you were munching on some fruit you had packed for your break, before jeno came in and took a seat across from you.

‘hey y/n, care to share?’ he smiled, which you couldn’t resist so you shoved the box of fruit towards him, causing him to let out a small chuckle.

‘any plans for the weekend?’ you started,

‘umm actually my school is having its junior prom. i wasn’t gonna go but my friends keep bugging me about it’ jeno shrugged, but the idea of prom to you, was a dream. your school didn’t really hold many dances or events, so this was all very exciting.

‘oh my god! that’s exciting, i missed prom last year because i had to take the late shift here. and my school isn’t having one this year. you’re lucky you get to have one, you should totally go.’ you excitedly blurted, as jeno watched you with such captivating eyes. he couldn’t get enough of your little rambles.

‘i might go, on one condition’ he gives you a grin in which you have him a confused expression.

‘you come to prom with me?’ he asked, figuratively crossing his fingers behind his back. you were startled by his question, you and jeno? going to prom together?  would people ask questions?

‘wow i mean, if you’re okay with it, i would love to go with you to prom! i mean, like a date right?’ you accidentally blurted the last part in which you instantly regretted.

jeno flushed red before responding,

‘if you want it to be then sure, i’m down’ his response made you internally celebrate. jeno had a way with words. as well as his constant facial expressions.

you were going to prom, finally. also with lee jeno. two things you never expected to happen.

friday came along, for once jeno and you decided to hang out, outside of work. he took you to a park, to ride bikes, like you had suggested before.

‘slow down!! i have small and weak legs!’ you yell as jeno laughs hysterically in front of you.

‘oh stop being a baby!’ he comes to a halt in which you followed.

‘let’s go get a drink’ jeno smiled before pulling his bike with him to the nearest cafe. you both ordered a berry smoothie, taking a seat on a bench and chatting away.

‘so, any run ins with euntae lately?’ you teased while sipping on your drink. jeno just chuckled softly before replying,

‘i’ve actually spoken to her at school. i cleared everything up on my end. and for the most part i think she took it well? we aren’t on total bad terms’ you nodded at his words, glad that he was finally able to live freely.

‘that’s great! i’m happy for you’ you smiled as jeno looked over at you. you looked so huggable, like you needed someone to just embrace you forever. jeno wanted to be that person for you. but he would wait until prom for all the events to unfold.

you and jeno arrived at the prom separately, due to jeno’s pre prom plans with his friends, in which you didn’t want to interrupt. jeno’s eyes landed on you, standing at the front of the hall, hands gripped together and looking to the ground. he smiled to himself at how adorable you looked.

‘hey there’ he spoke, giving you a small shock before you slapped his shoulder lightly.

‘don’t sneak up on me please!’ you whine as you fixed your dress.

‘you look really pretty, y/n. i’m so glad you could come and accompany me’ jeno looked into your eyes which made you freeze. he had this glint of sparkle in them, which you couldn’t stop staring into.

‘hello?’ he flashed you an eye smile, which pulled you out of your daze.

‘oh uh sorry, spaced out. you look really good too, its a pleasure to be here’ you smiled back, trying to hide the blush that crept to your cheeks.

‘gosh, you don’t have to be so formal! let’s go inside!’ he chuckled before pulling you, while linking his fingers with yours. your palms were clammy and you hoped he didn’t notice. the prom, for the most part, consisted of you and jeno standing by the food and refreshment tables, eating and talking. there was some dancing, until you were pushed into the dance circle and could only remember the choreo to fancy.

‘you have some killer moves, y/n’ jeno teased whilst sipping on his drink, you rolled your eyes before pushing him till he lost balance.

‘let’s go outside, too many people here’ jeno locked his fingers with ours once again, which couldn’t make you stop blushing.

you both situated yourselves on the staircase outside the hall, the only people there being the security but they were ready to clock off for the night.

jeno didn’t let go of your interlocked fingers, which you didn’t mind at all.

‘can i tell you something?’ jeno blurted, looking into your eyes with an expression you couldn’t comprehend.

‘is it bad or good?’ you questioned, slightly feeling anxious for his response.

‘you can decide. i just wanted to tell you that, the reason i applied for the job at the shop was to uh, be friends with you’ jeno admitted, completely turning red. you were shocked at his words, your hand reaching to cover your mouth.

‘jeno! why would you- how? god you’re so lame!’ you giggled, softly slapping his shoulder while your fingers remained intertwined.

‘hey! i thought you were really pretty and you seemed so nice, i just had to get to know you!’ jeno blurted out even more, which kept making you giggle.

‘you could have just come into the store instead of staring at me like a creeper’ you teased as his eyes widened,

‘wait you saw that?’

‘yes! i thought you were cute too, don’t worry’ you smiled at him in which he returned the gesture.

‘what i’m trying to say with all of this is that, i really like you. like, you make my days worth while. when i was going through a tough time with my ex, you had my back and always helped me through it. i’m so grateful to have met you, i just can’t get you out of my head” you stopped him from speaking,

‘jeno can you just kiss me please?’ you whisper, bringing yourself closer to his face, your noses touching.

‘w-what?’ he stutters, as you reach to grab the sides of his face.

‘let me kiss you, lee jeno!’ you rolled your eyes playfully as he nodded eagerly. you pulled his lips to yours as he reached to grab onto your sides. kissing jeno was like everything you had imagined. he was gentle, and cautious, yet passionate and warm. you both pulled away, only centimetres apart.

‘wanna go get some tea?’ he joked as you pull him in for another short kiss.

‘you’re so lame, but i guess that’s why i like you’ you replied before intertwining your fingers again and walking with him to his car.

lee jeno was non stop adventure. he was unpredictable. yet, you couldn’t get him out of your head even if you tried.

[thestorytellerofkpop]

Stream of Consciousness #1

The point of this exercise is to write what comes to mind, in hopes of relieving some inner turmoil and to get back into the routine of writing. It’s also supposed to be very therapeutic and supposed to help you see your thought process as you’re writing in real time. This is more for me than anything, and I don’t expect anyone to read this. But if you want to see what I think about, then go ahead! ~Germane

 Currently, I’ve been getting back into the Beatles. I was obsessed with them when I was a teenager, but I kind of fell away from them but now I’m listening again. I guess I forgot how deep they could actually get with their lyrics. Currently, the ones that have struck me the most are from their song ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’. I’m not sure if it comes from the PTSD of shooting for most of my early career choices, but I can’t help but picture myself saying these lines in the future: “She’s not a girl who misses much” and “I need a fix ‘cause I’m going down” “Happiness is a warm gun; when I hold you in my arms, when I feel my finger on your trigger; don’t you know no one can do me no harm?”

I think it’s because part of me knows my mind will get fucked up by the military eventually; even if I don’t work in the frontlines or hell, even enlist or go into the military at all. But the training I’ve been doing for almost five years now, is starting to take its toll, I think. Even though I’ve never had to shoot someone during any police jobs, and the worse damage I’ve done was with blanks, I still think about what my mind will do when I may have to shoot a real person. I would love to write a one shot exploring a PTSD Soldier role…maybe through nightmares or thunderstorms triggering battle memories from war assignments. Just to release these daunting thoughts of getting messed up, but having someone there to help through the pain. I think that’s the real fear; never having someone to help me through the fucked-up shit that PTSD causes. But I don’t think there’s an audience for that or one that would want to read it. I have been writing parts of it for myself, just to ease my mind and to assure myself that eventually the right person will come along that would want to help me ease the pain. But it just may remain unpublished and only for my eyes, I don’t know. The fear is real and very deep for me, and readers may not understand it well through any KPOP muse or as a reader insert. Knowing though, I’ll have that comfort fic waiting for me, helps me in coming to terms with future PTSD, and that everything will be alright.

I’ve always liked the Strawberry Fields Forever song. Especially from the movie Across the Universe. I really like these lyrics the most: “Strawberry Fields, nothing is real; nothing to get hung about…” “Misunderstanding all you see, its hard to be someone…it doesn’t matter much to me”. This version I like more than the original because they changed the music to be a little more haunting and daunting. The singer’s deeper voices also make it seem a little more “midlife-crisis like” which I appreciate since I’m going through that now. Military or no military. My contract isn’t processed yet, and I could still get out if I wanted. But I’ve worked this hard to get to this point and for what? Just to realize I don’t want to devote 20 years of my life for this? Well, yes, that’s exactly how I feel. But where do I go after this? Definitely not back to the police force. Though I have the training and knowledge for it…there’s more and more corruption going into the system. I admit it. Some things I agree with and some Officers are justified in their actions. But more and more immoral officers are going in, and I don’t want to be a part of that again. And I don’t think I’ll get lucky again and find a decent department. I think I’d like to be a teacher, maybe History or Russian or French. Or become a therapist. Honestly, any other job that could help people for the better rather than the worse. Embassy work sounds interesting too. I’m still trying to find a calling in life, but I’m still young (enough) and have time to figure things out.

I had some fleeting ideas of writing a mafia-esque story today. Nothing major, but I just couldn’t get the image of BTS’ hyung-line running a gang. Something about that strikes my fancy. But they’d be chaotic goods; doing illegal things for good causes. Like hiring hitmen to get rid of the Neo-Nazis or child abusers in the country or something like that. With love! I also want to do a parent series. I’ve been feeling really soft towards the idea of doting husbands being super duper happy with their kids. It may just be the hormones, but I really just want “nice-guy” fics right now.

It’s very hard to find “pure” fanfiction nowadays; even though I’ve been getting harsher with the fluff I read, for whatever reason, I can’t voice the feelings I want to write out either. I want to try and describe the feelings I want to read more about below.

The base feeling, I would say, is warmth. Just…warm, warm, warm. Like the sun barely kissing your cheeks as a breeze ruffles your hair and clothes while you look and find white, fluffy clouds in the sky. Being held in someone’s arms, safe and secure, not too tight or too loose, but just right. Holding just to hold, and to be close, and to savor the moments alone with someone you love. Feeling skin on skin contact that’s so warm you just want to get closer and closer until you dive into a pool of love and adoration. Soft kisses and words are exchanged, no rush to move or progress through the day, rather, just stop time for a little while and relish in the feeling of another body and soul connecting with yours. The air would be hazy and still; comfortable, not tarnishing any moments being captured. Though the world changes, you’ll always have that moment of clarity and peace and love and hope forever.

I want that feeling.

I want that feeling too. In due time I suppose, will my hopeless romantic heart be appeased.

Or maybe, a story about being alone. No happy resolve, just angst in being alone. I guess because I’m alone and away from family and friends. I haven’t had a real hug since Christmas, so I guess I’m just feeling lonely more and more as summer comes around. I always get a little seasonal depression in the first couple weeks during the change of spring to summer. More than likely because I can’t cover up in hoodies and jeans anymore and that I have to show off my body to keep from literally dying in the South’s grueling sun. Even though I’ve lost a lot of weight since high school, I still feel insecure about myself, no matter how much I workout and train. I’ve been getting better about keeping a positive mental attitude, but I still have my off days too. But we’re getting better!

I think that’s it for this stream.

If you read this far, thanks for reading my bullshit, haha. I appreciate it and hopefully you took something away from this, or at least, got to know how my mind kinda works.

[mintyjin]

neighbor au: mark tuan

true story: when I moved states, my mattress got lost and I slept on the floor for two weeks. we also lost all of my hangers so I couldn’t even unpack my clothes lmao

the first time you met mark was when you were moving in

somehow you lost your mattress in the transit

would be a great time to own a sleeping bag, but lmao you do not

and your couch wasn’t coming in until the next weekend

it’s not exactly an ideal situation

so you go to the apartment door next to yours and tentatively knock

in the seconds after you knock, you look down and see the owner has a food and water bowl set up for any stray animals

which is super adorable awh

the door opens and wow ok he’s gorgeous and kind to animals? wow

pull yourself together, y/n, you need a place to sleep

you give him a small smile and say, “Hi, so I’m Y/N, I’m in 307? I just moved in today.”

“Oh hi! I’m Mark.”

you exchange pleasantries and talk a bit but then you remember why you came

“So this is weird and sudden but my mattress is missing and I don’t have anything to sleep on, would you happen to have a spare sleeping bag or something?”

and his eyes get a little wide and he’s like, “Ah, no, I don’t.”

you’re like ok,,,, guess i’ll keep asking around then ,,,,

and you’re about to wave goodbye and continue your search when you hear mark say, “You can borrow my couch if you want? I’ve got takeout on the way and I always order to much to eat by myself…”

sleeping on the couch of a guy you just met would ordinarily seem like a questionable idea but listen, you’ve been moving boxes all day. you’re tired. you’re hungry. you just want something soft to sleep on

besides, this guy is your next-door-neighbor, you’re going to see a lot of each other, anyway

so you end up sitting on his couch beside him surrounded by more takeout boxes than you’ve ever previously seen in one place

he’s digging into some lo mein like it’s nbd that he ordered not one, not two, but three boxes of egg rollls to eat by himself

“You like documentaries?” he asks

“True crime or wildlife?”

he just smiles and passes you the general tso’s chicken

five minutes into the documentary, he notices you look cold

so he leaves for a minute and comes back with the fluffiest, fleeciest blanket you’ve ever seen

you swaddle up in it and smile widely at him and go to take a bite of some fried rice

“So… where are you from, again?” he asks

you tell him where you’re from and why you moved and he’s so interested in what you have to say 

he tells you he knows what it’s like to leave everything familiar behind for a new city with new opportunities 

you’re like oh????

he’s like yeah I’m from LA and this is not LA so

and you’re shocked because wow LA that’s so so cool and he gets kind of shy but he answers all your questions about the city nonetheless and tells you his funny stories of what it was like to grow up there

when you tell him your own weird childhood stories, he laughs and it’s the strangest and most infectious laugh you’ve ever heard 

so you just start dying

and he can’t stop laughing, either, cause every time he looks over and sees you still laughing, he loses it again

y'all a mess 

you ask him about the animal food bowls outside and he explains that there are two or three cats in the neighborhood that regularly make their way up to your floor of the apartment building somehow 

and he takes out his phone to show you pictures of all of them 

like a proud father or something 

c u te 

but eventually you both start yawning incessantly so he’s like, “You don’t have to sleep on the couch- you can take my bed-”

“The couch is fine! I won’t take your bed,” you insist 

a bit of an argument follows but not the angry kind

more like the “listen here you stubborn but super cute person” kind of argument 

cause mark is super duper duper cute like you’re not gonna deny it 

but you’re too polite and feel like you’ve already intruded too much to allow him to give up his bed for you 

and he eventually just shrugs and is like, “The couch is all yours, then. Bathroom is down the hall on the left.” 

you smile and arrange the blankets and pillows he’s given you to just the way you like them before waving at him and saying goodnight 

he just shakes his head, smiling, and goes into his room

in the morning, you eat leftover takeout for breakfast 

he offers to help you unpack but you’re like absolutely not you’ve done enough and I’m very particular about where things go

and then you go home 

well, next door

it’s a week or so before you see mark again

it’s 8:30pm and you’re finally getting home after a long, dreadful day

and- just your luck- it started raining on your way home, so your clothes are drenched and it’s cold cold cold 

as you walk into your apartment building, wringing water out of your shirt, you see the elevator doors start to slide shut

“Hold the doors please!” you call and to your luck, the person inside hears and actually listens 

you dash in and turn to see mark

he’s wearing a hoodie and sweats and is holding approximately 31 bags of groceries but he’s just as cute as you remembered 

“So I’m guessing you didn't want to take multiple trips?” you joke, motioning to the absurd amount of bags in his arms 

he laughs and says, “Something like that.” 

you’re like ok but fr that looks painful let me help-

and now you’re in his apartment again! helping him put away the groceries 

and you weren’t really paying attention the first time you were over but his apartment is actually very nice 

especially for a single guy in his 20s whom you watched consume a ridiculous amount of takeout 

everything is very soft and clean

he’s got photos and knick-knacks on every surface but you can tell they’ve all got some story or meaning behind them 

nothing looks cluttered or anything 

just comfortable 

it’s quiet between the two of you and you’re about to leave when mark asks if you ever got your mattress 

thankfully, you did, and you tell him that it came the afternoon after he let you crash on his couch 

he’s like ah, that’s good. but don’t hesitate to tell me if you ever need help again! 

you say you definitely wouldn’t hesitate 

he kind of blushes a little bit after that

“Actually, Y/N, can I have your number? I mean, we’re neighbors and all now so I thought-” 

“Yeah, of course! But you have to text me when those cats come by.” 

his expression softens and he says, “And you can text me anytime, even if you don’t really have anything to talk about.” 

boiii you can’t go around saying things like that you’ll give us all heart attacks 

but both of you are too red-faced and flustered to talk much after that little bomb so you go home and take a shower and try to clear your head 

it doesn’t work 

mark tuan is like a song stuck in your head 

the next night your phone chimes as you’re getting into bed and you groan until you realize it’s a text from mark 

to be more specific, it’s a picture from mark of two adorable little cats right outside your door 

you better bet you bolt outside, barefoot and pajamas and messy hair and all

the sight that greets you is almost too cute for words 

mark, in striped pajamas and fluffy hair, with one cat in his lap and the other nuzzling against the palm of his hand 

when he hears your door close, he looks over to you and gestures for you to sit next to him

you sit right beside him, so close your shoulders are touching and you can feel the soft warmth he radiates 

“This is Charlie,” he says softly, his voice slightly raspy in the late hour, as he pets the cat in his lap, “and that’s Violet.” 

“They’re adorable!” you reply, reaching towards the one he called Violet and running your fingers through her soft fur 

“Do you want to feed them?” he asks

you say yes yes yes and he pours some small treats into your hand and shows you how to hold your hand so that the cats will eat from it 

when they take their first shy bites, you look over to mark with a positively gleeful expression and he thinks that even in the bad apartment hallway lighting, even with your messy hair and pajamas, you’re the prettiest thing he’s ever seen 

but you’re a bit too preoccupied with rather elegant felines to notice he’s staring at you

but when the cats walk away, he takes a deep breath and steadies his nerves and reaches out to lightly brush a piece of hair from your face 

you’re a bit flabbergasted by the action and stutter instead of speaking 

he’s ok with that 

“There’s this documentary series on Netflix I think you would like,” he says, “can it be our thing?” 

“So is this a date or what?” you ask, hoping your raised eyebrow hides the blush spreading across your cheeks 

“It’s a date, if you’re ok with it.” 

you are

you are so very ok with it

you start watching the series that very night, swaddled under that big fleecy blanket 

and you may or may not be holding his hand

the moral of the story is that true crime docs really bring people together

I mean, hey- you met the cutest, sweetest boy you’ll ever meet in your whole life

and you wouldn’t trade that for any genre