wonderland .

      ARTEMIGHT : independent. priv. low activity. ARTEMIS CROCK NGUYEN of dc comics’ young justice animated. canon divergent + headcanon based. does not include anything from phantoms. written by noct ( 20, he/they ) 

      artemis isn’t strictly against killing. not when it comes to truly evil, irredeemable individuals, anyways. she grew up with villainy, and she knows better than anyone what the bad guys will do and what they’re capable of if no one keeps them in check — or if they’re able to avoid justice by the legal system entirely. one of the things she never, ever wants is for another child to go through what she did, being forced to fight and survive alone. if something like that, or other harm to innocent people can be avoided by permanently expelling the culprit, well. 

       they deserved it. 

      “ and what, exactly, do you think my reputation is? ” god. he makes it sound like he’s the worst person in the world. artemis rests a hand on her hip. raises a very quizzical brow at regulus. “ newsflash, shadow boy. the team KNOWS my past. you think if i hang out with you, they’ll shut me out? ” maybe, in those early days, she would’ve thought the same thing. too caught up in keeping what she had with them. too caught up in the thought of, what if they find out? but there’s no doubt in her mind that there’s no risk to her reputation involved if she chooses to be friendly with regulus. 

      — I’VE GOT NOTHING TO PROVE . 

      SHE’S STILL LEARNING WHAT FAMILY REALLY IS. a life of survival will never be easy to shake. but artemis would like to think she’s understood it more in the time she’s been with the team than she ever has. what oliver says feels ... right, somehow. family can disagree. family can be unkind to one another. she’s seen it, in her time as his protege.

       but family is all for one, no matter what. family has a sense of belonging. to know that green arrow sees her as one of them? means more than she could ever express.

     “ thanks, ollie. ” her lips quirk into a smile. small, but genuine. there’s a pause, as artemis glances down at her boots, unsure. this is always the hardest part. to know what to say. whether it’s something she should say. “ — you know, um. ” she takes a breath, looks back up.

            But standing is what she did best.     Jests aside,   she didn’t see much of an issue.     She couldn’t feel it,   it was nothing.     Probably worse than what it looked like,  anyway.     She takes a step back from the stranger,   eyebrows furrowing ever so slightly.    No.    She was fine.    Well  …   mostly.