#Like sorry but wanting to move to a new country for a better life isn’t a fucking crime

[crowley1990]

Irish people being racist against literal refugees, trying to minimise the situation they’re escaping from or portray them as chancers just looking for a better life and it’s like??? And what have we been doing for the past few centuries? When I emigrate next month am I being a burden on my new country for just wanting a better life for myself? I’m definitely not a refugee but I still wish to emigrate, is that acceptable? Or is it all okay because I’m white?

[msnanu]

Life Twist 04 | JJK

⏤banner by the talented and sweet: @archivedkookie ❣

⏤summary ❧ After an enormous loss in your life and breaking a long relationship with your now ex boyfriend, you decided you needed a life twist. So you move into a new country to try restart your life and seek for your happiness. What you weren’t expecting was someone like Jungkook entering into your life as soon as you got to Seoul.

⏤𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 ❧ jungkook x female reader

⏤𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦 ❧ fluff, angst, smut, slow burn, 4 years age gap (reader is JK’s noona)

⏤𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 ❧ mature language

⏤𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 ❧ 7.1K+

⏤ author’s note❧ You know everything has to go south before getting better, right? 😅 well, there has to be some angst, sorry guys! Please enjoy the new chapter and as always, your comments/inputs are very much appreciated! 🤗

Once you entered the wooden cottage you were mesmerized. Everything looked something that came up straight out of a movie, although this luxurious house has all the conveniences that you could even think of with the finest materials available and more, it also has a cozy and warm look somehow.

Maybe it’s the baby pictures of Hobi and someone who you assume is his big sister that are adorning the walls on the entrance hall. Cute – you think while your eyes don’t even know where to look anymore, everything at this house is so beautiful.

‘Ugh, I hate that picture, I always tell my mom that she should update the pictures over here but she doesn’t want to, she just keeps adding more and more pictures throughout all the house’ says to you Hobi by your side, while you both snicker you say ‘Baby Hobi is cute, I get why your mom doesn’t want to take this picture out – and Hobi, I gotta say this place is just wow, I don’t think I’ve ever been in such a beautiful house’

And then Hobi thanks you while he starts telling you about how a few years ago his parents decided to invest in this cottage, they had been renting it for years in the past from a previous owner as a vacation spot for the family.

With a year or so of work put in, the place was almost fully restored to its previous glory, but it never lost the warm and homey feel, even with all the upgrades changes that were made.

When you first want to enter the house, you travel up a ramp that extends the length of the house, which leads to the front porch that stretches across the front. This porch is a nice place to spend time – you can’t help to think – it provides a beautiful uninterrupted view of the lake and is the perfect place to sit down and just relax.

The front door leads directly to the biggest room in the house, the family room as Hobi calls it. There it’s also the biggest fireplace you’ve seen in your life set on one of the walls on the right corner of the room, which lays beneath a small painting of a cute little dog with big and sweet eyes that your best friend told you is Hobi’s dog ‘Mickey’

The back left part of the back family room contains the entrance to the kitchen that’s scandalous gorgeous with all the furniture made of white marble. The kitchen also its opened to the dining room. The dinning rectangular table that was placed on the middle of the room could easily fit 20 people.

Is there anything in this house that isn’t insanely huge?

There were 3 bedrooms on the first floor but most of them were placed on the second floor – at least that’s what you’ve been told – the bedrooms on the first floor are off the back right side of the family room, each of the 3 rooms containing two beds, but most of the rooms has the two beds pushed together.

There’s a very wide staircase that guides you to the second floor in the back left corner of the family room. Climbing the steps leaves you at this large hall where all 7 bedrooms are placed – they’re just a family of 4 why the heck do they want these many rooms? – on the second floor there’s also a big balcony that has a view to the lake and it must be great at sunset, that’s definitely my favorite place in the house so far – you think

°•○•°●♤♡◇♧•°○•°□▪︎☆♤

As soon as you entered the family room along with Chris, you were greeted with a hug by everyone in your friends group except for Jimin and Yoongi that were in the middle of a 'Rock, papers, scissor' so they both just screamed at you 'Hey guys!' while continuing their “battle” - somehow the guys decided it was the best way to decide in which room each one was going to sleep in - Jimin ended up winning Yoongi and they started bickering each other as always, Yoongi whining because supposedly Jimin cheated while Jimin was laughing at his face saying that he was a sore loser.

You were laughing at those two fighting when you suddenly exchanged looks with Jungkook that you didn't even realize that was on the other side of the room also watching his friends fighting. He had the guiltiest look ever but at this point you didn't care about it, you just wanted to have a good time and thanks to him inviting his little girlfriend or whatever the fuck she is, you weren't feeling as good as you wanted to. As soon as your eyes met, you shifted away.

Ignoring him was the best that you could do, especially because Lina was almost glued to him since they got into the house. God, you wanted to throw up just by seeing that smug face she had plastered on her face

The battle of 'Rock, paper, scissors' continued with the rest of the group also playing. You played against your best friend and won so you got one of the biggest suites on the second floor which to be honest could fit both of you if you wanted, but the house had enough rooms for everyone, so it was all yours.

While you were waiting everyone else finishing their turn on playing the game and deciding each room, Aria and Emma came up closer to you, both outraged. First it was Aria 'What the fuck? Why did JK bring that bimbo? He has been flirting with you and now he does this?'. Last time you got together at the cat café, you told them everything since the beginning of what had been happening with you and JK hence their outrage.

'I honestly don't understand him, girls. But I'm starting to think that he's only playing me'

‘You know I’m on your side on this, but I don’t think so Y/N, I mean I haven’t known him for the longest, but JK doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who’s a player. I think it’s way more possible that he is just stupid as fuck but I don’t think he’s a playboy’

‘Stupid or not, he brought that blondie here after giving Y/N an unnecessary explanation saying that Lina isn’t his girlfriend, why did he explain himself when he didn’t need to do it and then pull something like this?’ said Aria who was the angriest at this point

‘That’s what it confuses me the most. Why would he bother on explaining something that he doesn’t have the obligation to explain me? And then do this? I don’t know but it sounds intentional to me’

‘Maybe it was intended for you to get jealous, haven’t you thought about that?’ says Emma

Did he really pull this stunt just to make you jealous? He can’t be that stupid, right? Inviting someone that he supposedly doesn’t like anymore just to mess with you seems a little bit too much

You sigh ‘Maybe. But he’s not getting anywhere doing something like this, at least not with me. I just want to have a relaxing time so if his little girlfriend gets on the way of me having a good time over here, then I’m going to be really pissed off at him’

‘We’ll make sure you have that good time with us, come on, group hug to clean up the bad bitch vibes’ said Aria while she opened her arms encouraging both of you to come close and hug her. Emma and you just snickered while sharing a look and going for the hug. It’s so nice to have friends who back you up

°•○•°●♤♡◇♧•°○•°□▪︎☆♤

‘Hey – funny story… Do you remember when I told you “Don’t do anything stupid”? Well, inviting Lina to make Y/N jealous is the stupidest thing that you could’ve done. Sometimes I think your brain is trained to do exactly the opposite of what I tell you’Says Jin while supporting himself with his arm on JK’s shoulder

‘I realize that now, I don’t need for you to scold me, hyung’ while JK’s eyes are solely on you talking to Emma and Aria

‘She’s not even sparing one look over to you. You fucked up real good. I hate to say it, but I told you so’

‘You have to help me, hyung. If I go over to talk to her, I have the feeling she’s gonna tell me to fuck off’

‘I have to help you??’ Jin starts to laugh frenetically ‘I tried to help you Jungkookie but you didn’t listen to me. Me telling you not to do anything stupid was the help. You just didn’t want to hear it and now you’ll have to deal with the consequences of your actions, like any other adult does’ says over to the maknae who’s know sending him daggers with his gaze while crossing his arms over his chest

‘If you don’t help me, I swear I’m gonna rip out your RJ teddy bear in small pieces when we get home’

Jin gasps at JK’s threat and says ‘You wouldn’t’

‘Try me, hyung’

‘You know, threatening your elders is not cool at all – you little brat’ and then Jin sighs and continues with a defeating tone ‘Okay, I’ll try to see what’s the damage and smooth your way in so you could explain yourself to her. But I’m not doing this again, you got yourself into this mess, you should be the one to get yourself out of it’

‘Thanks, hyung! You’re the best’ says the youngest excited while hugging his hyung tightly

‘Ugh, I know. Sometimes it’s exhausting to be this handsome and good hyung’

°•○•°●♤♡◇♧•°○•°□▪︎☆♤

After all setting up your belongings in your rooms, Namjoon and Joey had the idea of going hiking, they both like going hiking constantly on Seoul together so, they did some research over the area and found that not too far from the cottage there was a short trail that led into an amazing view of the mountains and the lake that was worth to try.

Yoongi, Taehyung and Jackson stayed on the house. Taehyung and Jackson were going to do some groceries for the next days in the meantime and Yoongi wanted to have a slumber so, you were going hiking with Namjoon, Chris, Jimin, Jin, Jungkook, Hobi, Joey, Emma, Aria and of course, Lina.

You and Jin somehow stayed behind the others, walking slower than the rest as you saw Lina clinging on Jungkook who had the most discomforting face that you’ve ever seen on him. Well, he brought this himself, he should deal with it – you thought to yourself. Though, being honest with yourself, you wanted to take off Lina’s claws of JK’s body and throw her over the lake, yes… you were feeling insanely jealous – and you’re not the jealous type at all normally – but you weren’t going to act on it neither you were going to accept that you wanted to slap the shit out of that blondie. You were trying to play as cool as possible, but it was really hard specially when every time she came close to JK she looked back at you with a smug face, so fucking childish

‘A penny for your thoughts?’ says suddenly Jin breaking the silence among you two

You look over him and lie ‘I’m just thinking how beautiful this forest is’

Jin snickers because your face tells a lot more than what you think ‘Yeah Y/N, try again’

‘What do you mean?’ you play dumb

‘I can see that you’re lying. You’ve been glancing Jungkookie and Lina since we started hiking. It’s okay if it bothers you. But you shouldn’t worry too much, there’s nothing more between them, at least not from JK’s end’

‘It doesn’t bother to me; he can do whatever he wants’ you keep lying shamelessly

‘So, you’re not mad at him at all?’

And that’s when you see that Jungkook is glancing over to you and Jin and then it hits you  

‘What’s with the sudden questionary? Did JK sent you to talk to me?’

‘What?? Noo, of course not. I just wanted to know if you’re okay with him’ says Jin with a high pitch tone and you see his ears starting to go red

‘Did someone ever told you that your ears get red when you’re lying?’

‘I’m not lying, my ears get red because when someone puts all their attention on me, I get nervous’

‘You’re so full of shit, Jin’ you say while laughing, and he starts laughing too

‘Hey – now this is coming from me, he’s an idiot sometimes but he’s not a bad person, just so you know’

‘Yeah so, I’ve been told… Just tell your friend that if he needs to say something to me, he should be the one to approach me’

Jin just nodded at you, and you continued your walk chit chatting with him.

You were just a few minutes of getting to the final part of the trail and watching the amazing views that Namjoon and Joey had told you all about when Jimin suggested taking a picture of everyone. So, JK went to set the camera with the timer while you all gathered, you ended up between Aria and Emma who were smashing you with a hug while smiling at the camera and you heard the camera going off.

JK went again to check on the pictures that the camera had taken and gave a thumbs up, the pictures looked nice. You didn’t even realize that you were staring at him until he met your eyes and then he smiled at you, and you just smiled back. Fuck why does he have to be this handsome?

Then Jimin went over to him asking to see the pictures, so you stopped staring at each other. That’s when you turned around and started walking towards Aria and Emma who were already a few steps ahead of you and suddenly you feel someone pushing you – while trying to protect yourself from the fall, you ended up tripping with a rock that was in front of you, and you didn’t even get to see –

You sent a loud curse as soon as you hit the ground, you had twisted your ankle and the pain was killing you. You try to see what the hell happened that made you fall and when you saw Lina being the closest to where you had fallen, you already knew that she had to be the one that pushed you somehow.

‘Ups, I’m sorry, I tripped, and I must’ve pushed you, I didn’t mean to hurt you’ she said to you. You had the feeling that it had been on purpose but, you gave her the benefit of the doubt just because you couldn’t even think straight with the sharp pain that you were feeling

What you didn’t knew at that time was that Lina had seen that little stare moment you had with Jungkook. And her blood started to boil as soon as she saw how you two smiled to each other.

The thing is, she didn’t even care about Jungkook. She just hated not to be the center of attention anymore, she needed for him to just look at her and only her. And she hated that since you got to that cottage, every time that she looked at him, he was already eyeing you.

Chris and Jungkook were the firsts to get to you. Both kneeling on your side as Jungkook delicately took your ankle and gave it a look examining it. ‘I think it might be a strain, you shouldn’t keep walking noona, it’s already starting to swell – I’ll take you back to the cottage’ said Jungkook quickly without giving a chance to anyone else to offer.

Your eyes were starting to water, each minute that passed your ankle was hurting a lot more but you felt bad dragging Jungkook with you and also a part of you was nervous of staying alone with him, you had been almost successful on ignoring him since you got there and your best friend was also there to help so, you said ‘JK there’s no need, Chris can take me back’

Jungkook felt a little bit sad that you preferred going with Chris and then thought that maybe you felt uncomfortable being taken by him after all that happened today, but he didn’t want to let you go so, he said ‘Okay, but I’ll go back with you two, just in case’

Lina was fuming at this point and said ‘I’m going back with you then, Kookie’ but JK turned her down and said ‘There’s no need, go enjoy the view, you almost got there’ – well, karma is a bitch – you wanted to laugh so bad at Lina’s face

Then Jungkook watched as Chris grabbed you by your thighs and you wrapped your arms around his neck. Fuck, I wish I was him – JK thought and the whole way back he kept hoping that Chris would get tired so that way he could be the one to take you but that didn’t happen

°•○•°●♤♡◇♧•°○•°□▪︎☆♤

You almost didn’t talk on your way back.  You noticed JK’s gaze on you all the time. Chris and JK went talking all the way back to the cottage, both asking you from time to time if the pain had reduced. By the time you got to the cottage, Chris helped you laying on one of the sofas while he went to look for an ice bag for your ankle.

That’s when JK sits on the sofa next to you and grabbed again with the same delicacy as before your ankle. ‘It’s not that swollen, It’s probably not a strain. That’s a good thing, you’ll most likely walk normal by tomorrow’ he said smiling at you sweetly

‘Yeah, luckily it’s not hurting that bad now’

Chris came back with the ice bag and put it on your ankle while JK hold it in place

‘How did you ended up falling, babe?’ asks Chris while JK glares at him without realizing when he called you ‘babe’ – Chris didn’t even notice the glare because he was staring at you, but you did and your lips twitched, you wanted to laugh at JK’s face –

‘Well, Lina supposedly tripped over and ended up pushing me, and I tripped with a rock’

That’s when Chris looks over to JK and says ‘Lina, huh?’

And there it was again, that guilty look in Jungkook’s face. You started to feel bad because you knew Chris was indirectly blaming Jungkook with that look so you came to save the day saying ‘She said it was an accident, I honestly couldn’t see anything, so I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt’

‘Something tells me that with Lina nothing is an accident’ says your best friend

‘Chris’, you call him, and only then he looks at you ‘I’m okay, it was an accident’

He then sighs and says ‘Okay, I’ll go grab a glass a water, you want some?’

‘Yes, please, thanks bestie’

Then he directs his gaze towards JK ‘What about you, Bambi eyes?’

JK snickers and says ‘No, thanks hyung, I’m okay’. Chris nods and makes his way over to the kitchen once again.

‘Does he always call you “babe”?’ Jungkook curiosity won, and he questions you

You chuckle and respond ‘He does that quite a lot, but he only does it because I don’t like that pet name, he’s just teasing me’

‘Ohhhh… so, you don’t like it’ JK says, and you just hum in affirmation while he makes a mental note on not calling you ever “babe” and then he nervously calls you saying ‘Noona’

‘Hmm?’ you say while you rest your head on one of the cushions with your eyes closed

‘I’m sorry for inviting Lina… I-’ you interrupt him trying to not sound harsh with your tone voice and saying ‘Jungkook, I don’t really feel like talking about it right now’

‘Oh…’ he sounds a little disappointed ‘It’s okay noona, um…if it’s okay with you, I really want to have a chance to talk about this with you, whenever you prefer it’

‘Okay…we can talk some other time’ and then you continue ‘And just as an FYI, next time you want to know if I'm mad at you, just ask me. Don't send Jin over, he's an awful liar'

His face starts to blush 'Noted' he says 'so... are you? - Mad at me?'

You act as if you were thinking about it while you see him nervously biting his lip ring and then say 'I don't think so. At least not for now' while smiling at him

'Good' he copies your smile

If he keeps smiling to you like that you'll end up asking him to marry you without even realizing, he's hypnotizing you

'Good' you repeat and nod at him 

The sound of voices coming from outside broke the little moment you were sharing with each other. The guys had come back from the hike. 

As soon as Lina entered saw JK sitting right next to you and made his way over to him saying 'Kookie, I missed you so much. How about we go to my room and have some fun again?' while touching his arm

Yours and Jungkook's eyes widened, and your smile dropped immediately - is she being fucking serious?  Did she have to say that in front of you? Is he screwing her again? What the fuck? - if you weren't showing any signs of anger at this point it all changed, you cleaned your throat and thank God for your best friend who made his appearance with the glass of water at that same time.

So, not wanting to hear the disgusting conversation that would follow between those two you told Chris 'Hey - I think I'm gonna go have a shower, can you help me going upstairs tho? My ankle's still hurting a little bit'

'Yeah sure, let's go' your best friend said grabbing you again from your thighs to carry you upstairs and while doing so, you heard Jungkook 'Y/N wait'

'You should be talking to her, not me' you responded Jungkook with a cold tone for the first time before leaving

Ok now she is mad - JK thought and stayed in silence not wanting to make you angrier -

This time you didn't care if he gave you puppy eyes, you were done with his little girlfriend and him.

'What was all of that?' asked Chris while he carried you upstairs

'Nothing. I'm just done with that blondie clinging on Jungkook all day long, she's unsufferable'

'Is it just me or am I sensing some jealousy, babe?' says your best friend while snickering when he is met with your glare

'Not in the mood for joking right now' 

'Okay, okay... I love you, don't hate me'

You chuckle a little bit, but you're feeling upset, and you're getting angry at yourself because you're letting that stupid girl get under your skin. Maybe the shower will help you feeling better.

On the other side, Lina now was the happiest she’s ever been since she had gotten to the cottage. She could see right before you went upstairs that anger was all written down your face. She knew she had won this time.

She didn't even care that as soon as you disappeared, Jungkook glared the fuck out to her and said 'Just so you know, there's no way I'm sleeping with you again or something remotely similar, so you better not say something like that ever again to me. Me inviting you here, was not me wanting to restart things where we left off'

'Whatever, Jungkook' - I know someday you'll come crawling back to me, Lina thought while rolling her eyes at him.

°•○•°●♤♡◇♧•°○•°□▪︎☆♤

The shower helped on relaxing your tensing body. You had a slumber after it and recharged some energies while you also gave your ankle a necessary rest. When you got up, it was starting to get dark outside. You decided to change into leggings and since the air felt chilly you put on a sweater, a special sweater for you.

You were limping a little bit while going downstairs, but thankfully you could walk by yourself, and your ankle didn’t hurt as a half as it did earlier.

There was a delicious smell coming from the kitchen, while heading there Jackson came from outside where some of the guys were playing foot volleyball and as he saw you, he said ‘Y/N, how are you feeling? The guys told me you hurt your ankle while hiking’

‘I’m okay, it was no biggie, I think by tomorrow I’ll be able to walk normally. Thanks for asking tho’ you say offering him an appreciation smile ‘Someone’s certainly good at cooking, it smells amazing here’

‘I know right? Yoongi is our designated chef on our trips. He’s preparing some kimchi, bibimbap and fried chicken for tonight’s dinner’ he said while coming closer to you ‘Come here, I’ll give you a hand, support yourself on me, you shouldn’t be forcing your ankle’

‘Oh, thanks’ you said while accepting his offer. When you entered the kitchen along with Jackson, Yoongi was cutting some vegetables on the kitchen island while Jungkook was turned around helping him out preparing the fried chicken.

When Yoongi saw you, he gave you a little smile and asked, ‘How’s that ankle going Y/N?’ and Jungkook immediately turned his head over to you and furrowed his eyebrows once he saw you supporting yourself on Jackson’s – this guy really has a nerve to act like he’s the one jealous – so, you decide once to be petty and try to make JK more jealous ignoring him completely and saying ‘I’m better thank u Yoongi, I actually can walk by myself now, it hurts a little bit yet but Jackson who is such a gentleman offered to help me so I wouldn’t force my ankle’ while pinching Jackson’s cheek. Jackson blushed and said ‘It’s nothing, come on… you should sit on the dining room and keep your leg up so the ankle doesn’t swell with the blood rushing’ as soon as you saw JK’s burning gaze you were a little bit more content with yourself and you walked towards the dining table where Emma was setting the plates on the table.

‘Hey sweetie, I’m happy to hear that you’re better’ she said – since the kitchen was opened to the dinning room she heard your talk with Yoongi –

‘Yeah, I’m sure tomorrow I won’t need more help from this big guy to walk’ you snickered with Emma and Jackson while he helped you sitting on a chair.

‘Thanks again, sweetie’ you said while Jackson winked at you and left while you saw smoke coming from the kitchen and it wasn’t the food, it was JK who was about to lose it – he tried to make me jealous, it’s only fare that I do the same thing, right?

A few minutes later while you and Emma were having a chat on the dining table, Chris appeared on the kitchen and smiled while going towards you two

‘Haven’t seen this one in a while’ said Chris while pointing at your grey sweater ‘Remember when we went to the countryside with your dad?’ - your smiling best friend says and you just nod your head while you start reminiscing that day, you were both 16 at that time - ‘That was such a fun day, we didn’t do anything crazy but I don’t know it’s one of those days that I recall like if it happened yesterday and your dad was wearing that same sweater’

‘Yeah, dad loved it, it’s one of the things that I couldn’t bring to give away since he’s gone’ you say to Chris, while Emma had a little surprised face that lasted a few seconds since she didn’t know that your dad had passed away

You also loved that sweater; it was really comfy and warm. And every time you wore it, you felt like your dad was hugging you.

JK’s jealousy was long gone by now, and he was smiling while hearing your conversation with your best friend from the kitchen. He also remembered that sweater. One time you went to the gym, and it was a little colder than usual outside, so you decided to wear that.

It was obviously not your size, so he curiously asked you that day ‘Did you steal a sweater from Chris?’ while laughing and that’s when you told him that it was one of the few things that you had left from you dad and that you loved it so much. He also thought you looked cute with that oversized clothe on you.

The rest of the evening went pretty calm, you enjoyed your dinner sitting between Aria and Emma while talking about multiple topics, one that extended a long period of time was about ‘Dr. Romantic 3’ series which the three of you loved.

You realized Jungkook was awfully quiet the whole dinner, but you didn’t pay that much attention to him, especially when Lina was once again clinging and sitting next to him. Ugh, you hated how you felt the need to choke that girl every time you saw her

After dinner and some hours talking over the table, Aria started to take the dirty dishes to the kitchen and some of the guys also got up to help her while Taehyung was in charge of cleaning the dishes. You were about to get up to help them also, but Namjoon told you to stay put and rest the ankle ‘There’s plenty people to help, don’t worry Y/N’ he also said to you with a beaming smile that showed his sweet dimples

‘I’ll help too’ said Lina while taking a bowl of kimchi that had been left over and JK looked at her strangely – that’s weird – she usually doesn’t move a finger for anyone if it’s not for her own benefit

She grabbed the bowl and went towards the kitchen. When she was close enough to you, she acted like she had tripped and the whole leftovers of kimchi landed on you staining your dad’s sweater and part of your leggings

Your mouth hangs open in shock. ‘No!!’ you instantly screamed while you got up panicking. You lifted your head to see a smirking Lina. As soon as she heard the others coming from behind to see what was happening, she immediately changed her features to the most fake innocent look saying ‘Oh my god, I’m sorry, I tripped with the carpet, I think I got up very clumsy today’

You started to see red from the anger, you weren’t stupid, it was obvious that she did it on purpose and now you realize that what happened today hiking it obviously wasn't an accident too. You were so ready to slap the fuck out her when Chris hold stopped you. You were struggling for him to let you go, but he didn’t so you started yelling at Lina

‘I’M SO FUCKING DONE WITH YOU AND YOUR CHILDISH ATTEMPTS TO GET TO ME! YOU WANTED THIS, RIGHT? TO GET ME FUCKING MAD? WELL, YOU ACCOMPLISHED IT AND I SWEAR TO GOD I’LL FUCKING BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU – you try to get of Chris’ hold while saying ‘Chris, LET-ME-GO NOW!!’ And then return your look to the petty girl that’s in front of you – WHAT IS YOUR FUCKING PROBLEM?? I HAVEN’T DONE ANYTHING TO YOU’

Lina raised her hands in a defensive way and said ‘It was just an accident, jeez take a Xanax you psycho’

‘HEY! - You should really back off’ you heard Emma almost in a threating tone directing to Lina from behind you ‘I saw everything, and it was no accident, you did that on purpose and I’m guessing it wasn’t an accident when you hurt her ankle too, you bitch’

Emma had stayed with you on the table talking to you sitting right beside you before all happened and she saw everything including Lina’s triumphant smirk.

Tears were starting to roll on your cheeks and the last thing you wanted is for everyone see you crying, you hated when people saw you crying. You needed to get your dad’s clothes cleaned as soon as possible, or it would be ruined, if it wasn’t already.

The guys were all quiet and didn’t know how to react, some of them didn’t even know that your dad had passed away and that the sweater you were wearing was his. And what you didn’t know was that Lina had heard your talk with Chris about the sweater before, so she perfectly knew that it belonged to your belated dad.

Some people don’t know how to empathize, to understand and share the feelings of others. So, while some would think that you had an exaggerated reaction because of a sweater, others would feel and share the same pain as you. You don’t need to have been put in the same situation as others to empathize, although there’s people that only can relate to someone when they have been through the same shit. You think, and this is only your opinion, that you either have or not the ability to empathize with someone, it’s not something that could be forced.

That sweater is not just a cloth, it embodies your father, it brings you memories, hugs, moments that you will never forget that were shared with him and that sadly you won’t have again. The first months after your dad’s passing you had cried yourself to sleep countless times while hugging your dad’s clothes, just something that still had his smell on, would be enough to unleash hours of tears rolling down your cheeks without a stop.

Chris was one of those people that could easily empathize with you, he would feel your pain as it if was his own and you didn’t even need to say one word – he knew just by looking at you that you needed to get the fuck out of there where everyone was looking at you with worrying eyes

He took you with him and whispered on your ear ‘Hey – come on, let’s go get you cleaned up, we’ll make it look good as new, don’t worry about it’

You just nodded while heading towards the stairs along with Chris who had his arm around your body helping you walk. He turned his head around for one second and looked for Jungkook – Chris was about to tell him that he better get this solved with that awful human being that he had invited by the time he comes back – but there was no need to, Jungkook was already fuming on his way to where Lina was standing.

By the time you got to your room with your best friend, you immediately took off the sweater and went towards the bathroom to put soap and try to clean up the huge red stain that it had on it. You started to rub on it like crazy until you collapsed on the floor with your hands in your head, you couldn’t stop crying. ‘It’s fucking ruined!’ that’s all you said to your best friend – though you didn’t know if you were talking about the sweater or yourself, you felt so weak since your dad had left you, you just felt like he took with him your entire heart - and then Chris kneeled by your side and hugged you while cooing and saying ‘It’s gonna be fine, I promise I’m gonna make sure it’s cleaned up, you won’t even notice there was a stain before’

‘I just wanted to have a good time and relax for 3 days; I’m not asking too much’

‘I know. It’s not your fault. It’s that blond demon’s fault. But don’t worry, I’m gonna take care of it’ you looked at him with worried eyes and he already knew what you were thinking and said ‘Don’t worry, I’m not gonna beat her ass, even though he surely deserves it, you know I wouldn’t lay a hand on a woman… or a blond demon in her case’

He made you chuckle, and he noticed you were starting to get calmer on his hold. ‘Listen, leave the sweater on water and I’ll come back and grab it in a while. I have to take care of something’ said Chris while helping you getting up from the floor

‘I don’t think I want to go back downstairs, at least not for tonight anymore. I think I’m gonna head to bed’

‘Sure, I’ll be back in a little bit and stay with you until you fall sleep’

You just nodded while Chris engulfed you in a tight hug and gave you a kiss on the top of your head before heading angrily downstairs to deal with the blond demon.

°•○•°●♤♡◇♧•°○•°□▪︎☆♤

By the time Chris was going downstairs he could hear Jungkook’s voice that was resounding the whole cottage coming from the dining room

‘Are you kidding me?? Go grab your fucking suitcase because you’re getting out of here NOW’

‘What? Are you for real? All of this because of her dead father’s sweater?’

 ‘You fucking knew? You knew this whole time and still did that on purpose? What the fuck is your problem? Oh my god, how the fuck did I ever date you, you’re fucking crazy and insensitive’

‘Insensitive? It’s just a fucking sweater. You’re the only one making all this fuzz just because you want to fuck that bitch’

That’s when Jungkook started to lose his temper and scream at her  ‘Lina, you better fucking shut up, I don’t want to ever hear you talking like that about her, you fucking hear me??? Go upstairs and grab your things or you’ll leave without them’

That’s when Chris entered the dining room and pointed at Lina while fuming

‘You. You’re getting the fuck out of here. I don’t fucking care if I have to drive you myself to the train station’

‘Who the fuck do you think you are to talk like that to me? I’m not gonna go in the middle of the night’ Lina said while almost screaming over to Chris

That’s when Hobi intervened also fuming with Lina’s attitude ‘You either go or I call the police and say that you broke into my parents’ cottage, it’s your call’, he says with a stern look towards Lina

‘And all of us are witnesses, so you better get going you awful human being, chop chop’ added Taehyung

Lina scoffed under her breath and went over to get her things upstairs while pushing everyone on her way and saying ‘Whatever’

A few minutes later she was leaving the cottage on an Uber that Jimin had already called while everyone was fighting Lina. ‘Fuck off, you losers’ was the last thing that Lina said over to everyone while they saw her finally leaving.

As soon as the blond demon left, Chris went straight towards Jungkook. JK was ready to receive a punch from his friend, but Chris was just looking at him with an unreadable look on his eyes.

Then sighing he expressed ‘JK, I’m only giving you the benefit of the doubt because you’re also my friend and I think I know you enough to know that you don’t want to intentionally hurt Y/N because you would have to be pretty messed up just like Lina to do that, given that Y/N doesn’t have any bad bone on her body. But I swear to God, if you hurt her one more time in any fucking way, or if you are even remotely related with something that hurts her…I’m gonna forget that you’re my friend and kick the shit out of you. It’s the first and last time I’m telling you this. Do you understand?’

JK nodded at him and said ‘I’m sorry hyung, I never thought Lina would do all those things to her. I never meant to hurt Y/N. I really care about her’ with watery eyes, he was about to cry

‘You shouldn’t be apologizing to me, you should apologize to Y/N – just not now though, you’ll have to wait for whenever she’s ready, she told me to tell you specifically that she doesn’t want to talk to you’ and with that Chris came back upstairs to see you, you were already sleeping so he left you alone to rest.

Jungkook couldn’t hold back his tears when Chris left and Jin went over to hug him ‘She needs time, it’s only natural that she blames you because you’re the one that invited Lina here but I’m sure she’ll come around and you’ll talk whenever she’s ready and solve everything’

‘I never wanted to hurt her in anyway, I’m a fucking idiot’

Jimin intervened and said ‘Hey – stop bashing yourself, it’s no use. From now on just concentrate on amending things with Y/N’

‘I don’t know how but somehow; I’ll have to show her that I care about her’

Jimin and Jin just nodded at JK who was still sniffing some tears away while Yoongi came close and grabbed him by the shoulder telling ‘Come on, you should have a drink or two, it’ll help you feeling better’

That night after having some drinks with his hyungs, JK was on his room laying on his bed staring at the ceiling thinking about you, his mind kept rewinding to the last time he saw you on that dining room, he could tell from a mile away that Lina had done damage on you… and it definitely had done some damage between yours and JK’s relationship.

Only a few steps away from him, you were in your room also staring at the ceiling, you had woken up a few minutes ago with a headache from all the crying and couldn’t stop thinking if Jungkook had brought Lina just to hurt you or if he was as surprised as you when she did all those things to you. You were extremely confused, you didn’t want to think that he was the same as her, you usually read people easily and he never strike you as a bad person… but he has been confusing right from the start and right now your brain didn’t know what to think.

The only thing clear was that neither of you were going to be able to sleep that night.

Previous | Next

[glitxhwayventeen]

The Taken One

Joshua

Characters: Joshua x female reader

Warnings: swearing, cultural adjustment issues, angst, two timing…? If you can call it that i dont know, soon to be sad Shua days

Author’s Note: So this chapter isn’t a whole lot of reader/Shua interaction. But the next chapter will be. And it’ll be more angsty and sad so sorry for that. Let me know what you think! Shits about to go down friends. Don’t forget to check out Kun’s The Taken One Part One after you read this one! Their parts go together

Please remember that all of these chapters and the content within them are a work of fiction! They’re just for fun/entertainment!

🥀

Paved With Good Intentions Masterlist

The Taken One: Part 2 & Part 3

Kun’s The Taken One: Part 1 & 2

Bold- Korean Dialogue Italics- Thoughts Orange- Mandarin/Cantonese

Tag List- @babyminghao

Usually after a long day full of classes, the stable minded boy would’ve just cemented down in his room. He would’ve wanted to mind his own business while doing his seemingly endless homework his teachers just kept assigning him undisturbed and undistracted. That was his usual routine. Usually.

But today, he felt an overwhelming need to head downstairs. It almost felt like his body would’ve just… shut down if he refused it’s urge. So, he made the unbelievably unprecedented decision to head down to the kitchen, where the very hungry energetic pack spent most of their time, to see what was going on. And boy, was he in for the surprise of his life.

——

You originally didn’t plan on spending the day at your home after your classes ended.

Training to be a translator was absolutely exhausting. It was one of the most sought after careers in korea due to the western influence becoming more and more popular by the day. People wanted to gain a job translating anything and anywhere they could. From YouTube videos to tour guides to teachers, translators were everywhere.

It was a bit of a culture shock in realizing translating in the countries native language for foreigners was a common practice. Back in your home country, there wasn’t much interest in speaking different languages. The main concern was getting a stable and profitable job you could grow to feed your family and allow them to move up in society. Jobs such as CEO or biochemist were the normal desired target for everyone your age. But you never did care about any of that.

Money, position, power. None of it interested you in the slightest. You just wanted to find a way to be useful and contribute what you could to make society a little bit better and easier for everyone.

So when the opportunity presented itself for you to become not just a translator for some random YouTuber, but the main translator for a foreign embassy, you jumped at the chance. You were a polyglot as it was because of your family background, so speaking several different languages a day was nothing new to you. Why not make it your calling in life?

You knew the schooling would be grueling and back breaking, but you figured it would be worth it if you could help people from different places communicate enough to create friendships and bonds that could be of use, something you never saw happen growing up because of the atrocities of war. You just had to get through it all in one piece.

So you had a full set of classes and because you were on a fast track program to quicken your results as per your future employer’s request, you got no rests. No spring, winter, or summer breaks. Just constant studying and memorization.

Despite that, you were doing very well grade wise and you had actually managed to keep up pretty well with the difficult material being thrown at you, unlike some of your classmates who you knew were just hoping to pass the classes with at least a D. Because you were already ahead, and because of your constant hard work and dedication to your future career, you saw no need to head to the quiet library to study. So you opted to go home.

It wasn’t until your former Korean language teacher stopped you as you began to walk out the glass push doors that you realized your new hopeful plans of a quiet night in would come crashing down to a screeching halt.

“_____!” She called just as you managed to guide one foot out towards freedom, causing you to stop to greet her on instinct.

“I need to ask a favor of you.” She panted once she got close enough to you to hold a proper conversation.

Internally, you wanted to scream because you just wanted to relax at home in your nice comfortable bed after having been at the university all day. You wanted to pull your hair out at the thought of having to do one more school related thing.

But you actually quite liked your old language teacher. She was a native of your home country and made adjusting to new classes in a different language easier for you, sometimes even staying far passed her scheduled working hours to work with you so you could nail your Korean tests. So you decided to comply. You always wanted to return the kindness she had showed you when you and your make shift family came to Korea as political refugees anyways.

You gave her as happy a smile as you could and opened your mouth to speak, “Of course Ms. Cai. What is it I can help you with?” You gripped the text books planted firmly in your hand a little harder to your chest.

“One of my exchange students from our neck of the woods is really falling behind and is struggling to grasp the Korean language properly. She really needs to pass the class and it would be such a shame to see her fail,” Ms. Cai solemnly replied, the worry on her face evident.

She always really did care about her students with all her heart. Especially the ones who came from a background similar to her own. Ones like you. Ones probably like the exchange student she was talking about.

You lightly cleared your throat to gain her attention and to get your voice started, “And I assume since you’re bringing her up to me that you’d like me to tutor her?” You replied sweetly, letting your tired heart and persona fade as you saw the sincerity pour out through her souled eyes.

She already knew how packed your schedule was and how hard what you were trying to do was to achieve. You knew she wouldn’t have bothered you if she didn’t think it was urgent. You knew she never would’ve even brought the idea up if she wasn’t completely desperate for your help.

She hurriedly nodded her head, eyes lighting up the second the words left your mouth, “Yes! Yes I would very much like you to! Would you be so kind?”

Between your school and family obligations, you were pretty packed when it came to timing. As much as you wanted to help your favorite teacher keep another one of her beloved students from slipping through the cracks, you just weren’t sure you had the ability to do such a thing. You were already spread paper thin as it was. How were you going to explain to your family you’d be away even more than you already were?

Noticing your hesitation, Ms. Cai spoke up again, “Please _____? For me? You were and still are my best student, if anyone can keep that poor girl from failing my class it’s you!” She pleaded, making it just about impossible to say no.

She had helped you through so much. Sure, moving to South Korea was hard for most people when they weren’t natively Korean but for you, it seemed damn near impossible. Your whole life had been turned upside down when you had to run with your family to safety.

Connecting to a new life that you had previously had no intention of having while dealing with the trauma of being on the run all but broke you. You had to be strong to keep your family together. You couldn’t show any of your pain to those you held most dear because you knew if they thought you could do it, they could too. But even marble had it’s breaking point.

And that’s when Ms. Cai was there for you. She was there for you as your teacher. She was there for you as your friend. She saw you struggling to gain the confidence to go on yet she pushed you everyday to make sure you felt as if you could actually do it.

She cheered you on through every test. She made sure you ate through every study session. She went with you to meet your counselors and advisors to be sure you’d be treated fairly and that you understood all the information given to you.

Hell, she was how you found out about the interpreting job at the embassy in the first place. How were you supposed to deny her a favor when she had all but kept you alive when you needed it most?

And besides, the whole reason you wanted to be an interpreter was to help people. How could you say no to someone clearly struggling to understand what was happening around her same as you had not too long ago?

“Oh you know i could never say no to you Ms. Cai!” You exclaimed, a half proud and half stressed smiled laced on your face as you announced your answer.

Your possibly too caring teacher nearly jumped in excitement at your declaration, “Oh thank you thank you thank you _____!” She cheered while pulling you into a quick rub crushing hug in celebration.

“I promise you, you won’t regret it! She’s a fast learner and she’s a really bright and smart girl. She just struggles with her Korean too much.” Ms. Cai babbled, trying her best to hide her previous enthusiasm.

Bowing your body slightly, you chuckled, “I’m sure she’ll make an excellent student Ms. Cai. I swear to do my best in teaching her so that she can pass your class.”

After Ms. Cai went on with another round of thank yous, promising to arrange and get everything set up for the both of you to converse, you bowed goodbye to the older woman and began to head out the front door of the school one more time as your teacher waved you out.

But as if a lightbulb appeared in your head, you stopped your movements once more to ask Ms. Cai a question that you had neglected to ask before you bud her farewell for the night, “Oh, Ms. Cai? What’s the student’s name so I can greet her properly when we meet?”

“It’s Genji, Xiao Genji.” She smiled, having no idea what that connection would later mean.

——

Bing Bing. Bing Bing.

You groaned, quickly smashing your alarm clock off. The thought of getting up and leaving your wonderfully welcoming bed was almost too much for you to bear.

But you promised you would do your best to help a drowning student. And you always kept your promises.

Letting out a defeated sigh, you managed to roll yourself off of your mattress and trotted out of your master bedroom to get ready.

Ms. Cai managed to get the girl and you on an email chain so you could speak to each other about meeting up. You both met at the school’s library that weekend to get the few meetings over with.

And they all went fairly well. You thought she was a nice, no nonsense person who, though you admittedly realized she could be rather pessimistic, was also thoughtful and understanding.

But, as your midterms were coming up, you started to increase your tutoring sessions as she really needed to catch up. And since the library was closed for some club event that weekend, you had to find another place to meet.

She offered to meet you at your place, but give your… current living circumstances, you quickly shut that idea down and asked to meet at her’s instead. She seemed rather hesitant to agree as well, something you found rather odd as you were certain no one else would have the same issues with others coming over to their homes the way you would. Though she eventually said she’d speak with her roommate and make it happen since she apparently really needed the extra help.

However, the night before the meeting was supposed to take place at her dorm, she messaged you saying a water pipe burst in the building she lived in and that she was now staying with her boyfriend and his friends for a few days while they did repairs. You offered to cancel and reschedule when she had her apartment back for her own sake, but she insisted that all his friends said it would be fine for you to come over to their place for your little tutoring session.

That’s how you found yourself standing in front of a rather nice house not too far from the campus. From the looks of the outside, you naturally assumed many people lived there as it was even bigger than your own home. And your own home was nothing to snooze at thanks to your newest little brother. You figured whoever lived at her boyfriends house must’ve just had a lot of family money or something and paid it no real mind.

But before you could even ring the front door bell, you heard a loud, deep growl emit from the door, causing you to take a few steps back. Genji hadn’t mentioned any about any dogs living on the premises. You started to second guess how well the session would go. Because actual dogs tended not to like you for… reasons you’d rather not bring up unless you absolutely had to.

When you managed to gain the courage to go back to the door and knock, you were met with an open door that Genji awkwardly stood in front of to greet you, “H-Hi _____!”

From when you spoke with her, she seemed relatively calm mannered and certain so the demeanor in which she had portrayed herself right off the bat had you confused.

But you just brushed it off yet again thinking that everyone sounded different over the phone than in real life. Not to mention you figured she must’ve been nervous having you come over to her boyfriends house rather than her own apartment, somewhere she no doubt would’ve been more at ease.

“Um Hi!” You uncomfortably swayed on your heels, gripping your books tighter in your hand by the second when thinking about a dog potentially coming out from behind the girl to attack you. Wouldn’t be the first time it happened.

After a what seemed like eternity of you both just staring blankly at one another, you cleared your throat, “Is it okay if- I mean, can I come in?”

Like she had just been sprayed with a bucket of cold water, Genji jumped at your question, “Oh yes of course! Please!”

You gave her a small bow as a thank you and she stepped aside to let you through the doorway, giving you a strange look when you were probably a little too cautious in your steps in heading inside. But in your defense, if you came home covered in dog bites and scratches, your family would be completely livid. You just wanted to play it safe.

Taking your surroundings in, you noticed just how spacious the inside of the home truly was, “I’m so sorry about that! I’m just not used to having people over here!” Genji admitted, snapping you out of your daze as she brushed passed you and pointed to the small rack against the wall that was about up to your neck in height.

“You can take off and leave your shoes here. They said we can use the kitchen. Most of everybody’s out of the house. The ones still here shouldn’t be too much trouble though! They’re the quiet ones. Mostly anyways.” She joked, giving you a half smile and a playful eye roll.

You returned the gestured and hurriedly started taking off your wedged heels. Genji seemed to be a few inches taller than you now that you were both on leveled feet, not that you were considered tall by any means yourself. In fact, by Chinese standards you were about average height, maybe a little bit shorter for your age. Genji was clearly above average height for your genetic class, not that it mattered to you. You just found the new height difference rather awkward. You were older than her yet your distance made it look as though she was an adult and you were just a child.

Grabbing the shoes you had just slipped off, she opened up a spot you could reach with ease for you to put your shoes in. You noticed immediately just how many pairs were already consuming the rack. Your guess about there being many people living in the home must’ve been correct. But you did wonder just how many people had to live there to fill up such a huge rack so easily…

Once the usual pleasantries/customary tasks were done, she lead you through the house to the kitchen. Truthfully, you could tell boys had cleaned the place up.

Things were wiped down but not in depth, stuff was folded but not neatly, pillows were fluffed but not fixed in place. You thought it was rather funny seeing how made up Genji and her perfectly styled hair and clothes were compared to the living room and kitchen.

Nevertheless, you appreciated the dedication grown men put into fixing up their house for their guests. Your own brothers would’ve only done cleaning as much as they had only if you forced them to.

“-And this is my boyfriend Junhui!” She beamed, going up and giving the very tall, lanky, and… familiar looking boy in the kitchen a kiss on the cheek.

Junhui, while returning the sweet sentiments of his girlfriend, was noticeably staring at you. And not just in an ‘oh hello you’re new’ type of way.

No, his eyes were deadlocked to yours in a way that’s only happened a handful of times when meeting people that you could count. You knew immediately what was going on. And based on his mannerisms and house size, your brain automatically recognized who he was. Or rather what he was.

You had heard about him specifically through your student multiple times. She never shut up about him actually, which should’ve been your first clue as you thought for a normal person she borderline had an obsession with him. But you had never actually seen him formally until you met him at the house.

Though as you took closer notice of his pointed features and height, you quickly realized you had actually already met him. More than once in fact.

He was an unofficial regular visitor of your home who always seemed to be eating your food and making weird jokes to your housemates that you didn’t always understand. You were usually too busy with homework, too scattered cooking dinner, or too wrapped up in keeping the others from fighting to actually have a proper conversation with him when he was over.

But you knew he was a pretty close friend of some of your brothers. He was from China same as you all were, though you knew they latched onto him like bees to honey for another particular similarity they all shared together. You were totally fucked.

Genji sensed the odd tension in the air and nudged her clueless partner in the side as a cue to say something or introduce himself by himself.

Yet all the boy could say was a small, “Hi” in your shared native language of Cantonese and continued with the staring.

You remembered some of the stories your brothers had told you and how the older boy acted in your home. So you were quite shocked the two paired together as they were practically polar opposites: Genji was stoic and stern, Junhui was sensitive and silly.

“Okay am I like… i dont know- missing something- or something here? Cause you’re both being really really weird.” She asked with her arms folded over her chest in a more confused notion than anything else.

That’s one of the things you did find that you liked about Genji, she always said what was on her mind. No matter how awkward or uncomfortable things seemed to get/could get from doing so. She didn’t seem to care about what anyone else thought. Whereas you on the other hand had practically been hardwired at birth to care what people thought of you.

You gulped quietly, unsure of how to answer your newfound friend without actually answering her out loud in case you read Junhui’s actions wrong. You assumed she knew what you knew based on how she spoke of her relationship.

But you couldn’t take the chance that Genji wasn’t clued in yet on the lifestyle you and her boyfriend shared. It could end up being a death sentence for your family if you did and ended up being wrong.

Finally, after realizing you weren’t going to, Jun managed to speak up, “Well… that’s just because she’s a friend Ji.” He deadpanned, probably hoping she’d catch up on her own. Which of course she didn’t.

She made a sound between a scoff and a snort, “Of course she’s a friend Jun. She’s my friend. I mean why are you two acting so… weird?” Genji scrunched her nose cutely up at her boyfriend.

He leaned down and kissed his naive girlfriend’s forehead sweetly, “Because she’s more of a friend to us than you realize baby.”

She tilted her head to him in confusion, but went on rambling about how he needed to learn how to properly interact with people and speak to them if he ever wanted to make friends with others. It was gonna be a long day for you

——

Aside from the strange encounter, the rest of the tutoring session went just fine. Well, as fine as you could be when your nerves were firing rapidly in every direction as each second passed.

But from Genji’s end, things seemed to be going well. You were having her practice her dictation and pronunciation more in depth this time as her upcoming exams was an oral rather than a written one and she was doing rather well. At least, for someone who hadn’t been in Korea for too long. You were happy with her progress anyways.

Junhui stuck around to watch his girlfriend work on her Korean, something he apparently from time to time also still struggled with. Every so often he would find her mispronouncing a certain word funny and he would giggle, but for the most part he stayed silent.

He did look to you every now and then when he thought you weren’t looking, probably due to your familiar background, but he still said nothing.

You were thankful Genji let the subject of your awkward first meet with her boyfriend go rather quickly, but you were even more grateful Jun didn’t voice what he meant fully out loud about you being more of a friend than she realized once he realized the reason for your hesitation. It meant you didn’t have to have that conversation yet.

You did have a feeling that it wasn’t the last of the conversation as you remembered the people in your house talking about how resilient on certain topics he could be when he wanted to be, but you were hoping to put it off as much as you could.

After everything you had been through and were still dealing with, you really didn’t need the headache of explaining it all and your life story to anybody in depth. Let alone someone who you had just become acquainted with.

Though, him knowing who you were gave you an idea of where that growl from earlier came from. He must’ve sensed someone, or something, foreign and potentially a threat and reacted instantaneously. You couldn’t be mad at him for it, you knew it wasn’t always something he could control.

“So _____, you’ve been teaching my Ji for a little while now and she considers you a friend.” Jun evidently pointed out to your amusement.

You found it cute that Genji thought of you as a friend already. It meant that she took to you easily and that you were doing your job right as a teacher. It wasn’t that you found her thinking of you as such as funny, you were actually glad she liked you as much as she did.

It was just funny that Junhui decided to break through the silence he had created around himself with such a random statement.

You laughed at the boy’s sudden outburst, “Yes I suppose I have. What’s your point?”

“No point really. I mean, she says you’re super smart and all-” He confessed, your cheeks lightening up a shade of pink knowing your level of knowledge had become a topic for them to discuss, to which you gave a polite smile and bowed your head to your student in thanks.

You always tried very hard in school as you wanted to be the top in your career field once you graduated. But sudden compliments weren’t something you were used to getting from anyone other than your family. You were rather used to handing them out to others. So it was a little bracing for you.

“-But she hasn’t mentioned a whole lot else.” He finished, illuminating the thought of him wanting the conversation to start picking up where he wanted it to.

“That’s because she really hasn’t told me anything else.” Genji mumbled in the conversation, throwing a playful glare your way.

While you were slightly annoyed that she was calling you out, you also knew it was semi justified. You weren’t one to make many friends outside of the small circle of friends you already had. You’d just told her the basics like where you were from, that you were in a long term relationship, and how long you had been in Korea for. But she had to practically pry that out of you with a crowbar.

She’d been trying to get more information out of you since you’d met her. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to tell her or that you didn’t trust her with the information. There were just some things you wouldn’t, or rather couldn’t, say to her. Only you couldn’t explain that to her without raising suspicions.

You sighed in frustration as you finally looked up from your paperwork to face the couple, “Well that’s just because I’m not all that interesting.” You informed them both, taking the mug of tea that had been given to you from the counter and bringing it to your lips as a distraction.

Jun laughed dryly, “Oh come on- We both know that’s not true,” He raised his brow at you.

Genji also raised her brow at you, not that she even knew why she was doing it to begin with. She just did it to play along, and you were starting to regret saying yes to tutoring your favorite teacher’s new student.

“I’m just saying, you’ve been at the school for sometime now but I’ve haven’t actually seen you all that much even though we run in the same circles. I just wonder why that is. ”

You knew what he was getting at. You knew. You figured he’d eventually try to get you to admit it. From what you’d been told, the tall boy was as stubborn as a mule at times and also couldn’t really keep secrets. Though you were slightly annoyed at him for it, you were at least grateful he wouldn’t outright say the words himself and that he’d rather have you confess it all out loud.

While setting your tea back down, you shrugged, “Like I said, I’m just not all that interesting to talk about. So it makes sense that you haven’t heard much of or seen much of me before.”

Junhui chuckled lightly, “Oh I’ve heard of you before. Just haven’t actually seen you so up close before.”

Bringing the subject back to where she was interested, your friend continued the conversation, “Well being here as long as you have you must’ve made friends with people no?” Genji innocently tilted her head in wonder.

She still was obviously not catching on to why her boyfriend really even cared about such things but, as she was just as curious as him, she figured she’d piggyback in on the ‘getting to know you’ talk.

“Not with anyone that didn’t come here with me no.” You answered honestly while playing with your mug.

You mostly kept to yourself. Aside from those you came from China with and a select few teachers, you really didn’t speak with many others. Communication wasn’t the problem, your Korean was near perfect. You made sure it was so that you and your family could understand more about the culture you had been thrown into to survive.

You just preferred to not go out so you wouldn’t have to deal with possibly meeting certain groups you had been warned about. You didn’t want to risk running into specific complications and refusing to meet people when you could cut them out.

Plus, your housemates had… certain rules you all had to abide by. One of the most important ones was that no one could go anywhere without one of the males living there for protection. You were even nearly forced to bring one of them along with you to your tutoring sessions. But you finally managed to have them reel in their overprotectiveness by bringing up the fact that the girl you were tutoring was also from your homeland and that she couldn’t hurt a fly. So they reluctantly let you leave the house without a guard dog.

And just like that, Jun found his opening to ask questions that went along with what he really wanted to know, “Oh you came here with people? Who might they be? We might know them since they’re probably all Chinese too.”

There it was. You had thoughtlessly brought the questions you so dreaded into easy conversation with one simple sentence while you were too busy trying to distract yourself from being uncomfortable. Well played.

For a minute, you thought maybe you should create some sort of emergency reason for you to leave in a hurry. You thought maybe you could’ve faked a message notification saying that you were needed back home. But realistically, you knew the truth was bound to come out one way or another.

Since you could already see there was no way out of your situation, you decided it was just best to steer into the skid. Junhui already knew. And if he hadn’t told his girlfriend yet and still wanted you to admit it all out loud and risk her freaking out, that was on him.

“Okay you want the truth?” You questioned them for once, wanting to just get it all out in the open quickly so you would just be done with the topic.

After they both shook their head yes, with Jun giving you an evil smirk to go along with his like the asshole you knew he was trying to play, you rose from your seat and continued, “Fine. If you must know, I came here from China with another wolf pack to escape the escalating war we found ourselves in. That’s all I’m gonna say about that part for now.” You declared with a humph, sitting back down and fixing your outfit.

There was a silence so thick you swore you could cut it with the knife. Jun already knew you lived around wolves. That was something he figured out from his constant visits to his friends at your home. But it was news to Genji.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She quietly quizzed, her voice barely above a whisper as she tried to concentrate on the Hangul ridden paperwork in front of her instead.

“I didn’t even know your own situation until I saw your boyfriend today. It’s not like we just tell people about it if we aren’t required to tell them. So i didn’t.”

It was another pack rule: don’t talk about wolves or their existence to outsiders. People didn’t take too kindly to them, which was why hunters also existed in secret to kill them off.

And since you didn’t want word to spread to them and potentially have them come after your family, you hadn’t ever told anyone about the boys being wolves. Other outsiders you knew who knew about them knew because they were either related to them themselves or romantically involved with them.

“I get that,” she nodded in understanding before looking at you in the eye, “I mean why didn’t you just both tell me when you walked in and figured it out?”

Once again, the silence could make a pin dropping to the floor a loud noise. You felt bad for seeming like you were hiding it from her. Even for that little bit you were there. But it was what it was. You couldn’t turn back time. Besides, it wasn’t like you were the only one hiding it and beating around the bush.

Jun cleared his throat causing her to give him her attention while he gave his mate a guilty look, “Well even though I knew, it didn’t mean it was my place to tell. It’s not like she’s a threat to you or anything. So I just figured I’d bring it out into conversation to make it more natural. Though, based on her smell, word of mouth, and the fact that I’ve been to her place before, I know already know exactly who ___ came to Korea with.”

After about a minute of direct eye contact with him, she turned her gaze back to you with an expectant face. You wanted to say something. You knew you had to say something.

Though instead, you bit your bottom lip in nervousness and felt butterflies erupt in your stomach. Your heart was beating so fast you felt like you were gonna pass out from sheer anxiety, or at least what you could only pin point as anxiety. You didn’t even know why you felt that way. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to tell her. It wasn’t that you were ashamed of anything either. You guess you just… didn’t see the need to tell people anymore about your pack than you had to.

When you opened your mouth to say something back to them, nothing came out. Instead, you heard something small that resembled a squeak emit into the room at the same time. Only it didn’t come from you. It came from behind you.

Turning yourself over in your chair, you noticed a toned boy only a bit shorter than Jun with a glittering gaze staring directly at you in shock.

He had stepped on an older floor board causing it to make a noise that alerted you to his presence. And boy, what a presence it was.

His piercing eyes, plump lips, and perfect nose were enough to make a grown man weep. He was just so pretty. In fact, he might’ve been the most attractive boy you had ever seen in your whole life.

Being in the same vicinity as him made it feel as though time had stopped moving. It made you feel nervous and excited all at once. He made you feel like you and him were the only people in the room…

While you were both too busy taking in each other’s appearance, time had actually still been moving forward for the other two people left in the room.

“God damn it Shua Hyung. What did you do?” You heard Junhui rhetorically mumble under his breath in Mandarin, much to the confusion of his mate, who had still yet to figure out what was happening.

But you knew. You knew all too well what was happening. You had known since you were young what the feelings you were having were….

“H-Hi.” He stuttered to you.

The sudden volcanic eruption of fluttering in your stomach. The enchanted stare the beautiful boy was giving you as he spoke in his stuttering tone. The speed of your heart beating. It all added up easily.

There was just one problem…

“H-Hello.” You wearily responded back to him.

You had already felt the feelings you were feeling before. And the bite mark on the apex of your neck was an all too painful reminder of it as you stared the beautiful boy in the eyes, unsure of what you were supposed to do next.

(Edited 3/18/2023)

[metoidionasty]

Hey buddy. You look the same in both pics, BUT you shouldn't want to look different anyway. It's a good thing you weren't altered too severely, honestly. I'm sorry the pharmaceutical/biomedical industry was able to penetrate your psyche so deeply that you started to believe you needed to change yourself. It really is a tragedy that you couldn't see the perfection in yourself that was there all along (regardless of gender). Blinded and brainwashed, and then physically altered by a system that wants you dead... I'm truly sorry this happened to you and so many others.

Hi so I wasn’t going to answer this. I get asks like this on anon a lot and it’s best to just delete and ignore. But since this is my one year on t I’m going make an acception this once and talk about my transness

First thing I will address is that, yes! My face has not changed much yet. One year on hrt isn’t much time for any real big faces changes. But in terms of other parts of my body I have had major changes, lots of body hair, 2.5 inches of bottom growth, loss of breast tissue, and lots of emotional changes as well.

Next thing I’ll get into is my personal story. Not to be the stereotypical ‘I always knew’. But I did always feel an out of place feeling I struggle to explain to others. This will be an extreme over simplification of my story but here we go. This feeling was always placated by expressing myself as male. When I was in grade school I’d wear boys underwear and clothes only, and would often stuff the crotch with my socks. Entering middle school I’d have days where I would duct tape my chest, go to school and tell everyone ‘I’m a boy today.’ And this was all before I knew what being trans was.

When I was around 13/14 I started to learn about being trans and spent a little time toying with possible ways to explain how I felt. Until I came to realize I was trans. I came out to everyone, switched schools so no one would know my birth name, and just completely socially transitioned. Unfortunately when I was 16/17 I went through very bad trauma and mental health issues, so due to many reasons I don’t feel comfortable getting into I decided to detransition. It was a totally humiliating process and sent me into the deepest depression of my life.

I spent the next 3.5 years trying to make up for lost time learning how adult women should act. I over compensated and over feminized and made myself miserable constantly. I was in the hospital for suicide attempts 2-4 times a year. It was such a deep dark time for me. As time passed and I allowed myself to start getting better and process everything, I realized I am still trans and always was. I ended my relationship I had been in for 2.5 years and moved across the country so I could start my hormones and be the person in my soul I always saw myself as.

And now in this last year I have BLOSSOMED!!! I have found my love for life, God, and myself again. I love my body more than I ever have, every time I see a new change closer to my goal it’s like a total head high. It’s like in finally allowing myself to do this and be myself, I’ve been totally set free.

I know this is super long winded and rambly. I just never plan on explaining any of this in detail on here again so I’m getting it all down. But basically, I’ve known I’ve been trans for almost 10 years, I’ve been to gender specific therapy on top dbt, cbt, and trauma processing. This wasn’t some crazy rush choice I made cos of a discord convo, this was me finally getting to do what everyone tried to stop me from my whole life. There’s no secret pharmaceutical man pushing hormones on me, I was self medicating my t for my first 5 months. There’s no groomer lurking behind me, I’m a grown man who can make his own choices.

[selenacosmic]

Romance in the office

Chapter 0- introduction.

I could think of a million ways of explaining why I am on this situation, but right now I just can’t think properly. At this very moment, I am sitting in front of the CEO of the Takeda Inc, this is a moment that I have been waiting for months. To make this… less confusing than it already is, I will explain from way before this encounter.

After finishing college, job interviews can be a pain in the neck. It’s a competition with others who are more competent than you. But thankfully, I was accepted into one of the companies that most people would hope to work at, the Takeda Incorporation. It is one of the most recognizable businesses in the country, my surprise was… immeasurable.

This must be me hitting my ultimate luck in life! I still can’t believe it!

I was accepted as a, well, secretary. Which is a challenging but great position to be, who wouldn’t want to be happy with that? On my first day, I decided to immediately go introduce myself to the CEO as his new secretary, which leads me to this moment…

I must say, I was excited to meet him. He is known as a brilliant man with great ideas for business, admired by many for his intelligence. It’s only natural that i would be! He has grown his business faster than many business companies in the last few years, and the working conditions are said to be wonderful, there was no discrimination of gender between employees and the pay was good.

His office was illuminated by the large window behind his desk, it was certainly a beautiful and slightly colorful office. There were furnitures that seemed to be handmade decorating the room, my first thought was of how pleasant this office was. There were two large, black sofas facing each other with a small tea table between them, it was this very table that separated me from Mr. Takeda, a man who surprised me the moment he opened his mouth…

At this point, you would be wondering what situation I was exactly in. What did Mr. Takeda do to surprise me?

Well…

“I must be dreaming, because right now I am gazing at an angel.” Those were the words that left his mouth as he took my hand. I was stiff as a statue, I don’t think my face even move when he said that.

“… excuse me?”

“Ah, so I am not. I must be a very lucky man to have a goddess as my secretary.” At this point I don’t think I was listening anymore. Did he-

Did he just flirt with me?

He was holding my hand gently, but he wasn’t forcing me to hold it. I could pull away at anytime, and i would have done it if I wasn’t frozen. Is this the man who is admired by many for his strategic mind and brilliant ideas? Am I really going to work for him?

“I am sorry, but I don’t believe I understand what you mean.” I tried to sound as professional and calm as possible, I needed to regain my sense.

“I mean that you are incredibly beautiful. Ah, but that’s not all.” He paused as he let go of my hand, taking a few papers while looking at me with a smile. I must say… he has a very charming smile and-

Wait, I am not really falling for his charm, am I? I mean, he surely is a handsome man. He isn’t exactly young, he should be in his early thirties, yet his face looked young. And there was this mature charm to him- yes, I am, unfortunately, falling for that charm.

“I have seen that you are quite remarkable. My heart does beat for intelligent and bright women.” He did a quick read through those files, I suppose those were about me. “Yuki was the one who did the interview, and he told me everything I needed to know. I believe you will fit right into the company. Your name… Miss Selena? May I call you by your name?”

Yuki…? Ah! Yukimura Sanada, if I am not wrong, he is known to be Mr. Takeda closest worker. I remember him at the interview. I still can’t say whether I have any thoughts on him. Perhaps when I start working, I will know him better.

“Oh… oh! Of course, thank you for accepting me.” I finally snapped out of being confused and got up, bowing to him gratitude.

“No need to bow like that, always look forward when working here. Your office will be next to mine. Yuki will also give you all the instructions you need.” He paused for a second to look at me, which already made me nervous. Those grey eyes could certainly make a girl’s heart beat. “I would like to get to know you better.”

That was a… wink? I am not seeing things, that’s for sure. This man… don’t tell me he is also known for being flirty. I should go quickly to my office, otherwise I will lose neurons… or was it brain cells that they say? Regardless, i would go crazy if I kept hearing him flirting with me.

“Then, I will go to my office. Call me if you need anything, Mr. takeda!” Before I could leave the office, I could hear that sweet, handsome voice said one last thing.

“I do hope we get to be closer, miss secretary.”

On the way to my office, I couldn’t help but think about those words. What would my work life be in this office with a boss like that?

[alpharaposa]

The thing is? Everybody starts out poor when they leave home (unless they get a shitload of money from their parents, which is fewer people than you think).

The GI Generation did not go straight from school into neat little “pleasant valley” houses. They fought a freakin’ war first, then half of them went to college on the GI Bill, and THEN they finally settled down to start making Baby Boomers.

Baby Boomers? A bunch went to college, a bunch went to Vietnam, and a bunch bummed around getting high without really living anywhere until they finally settled down (or died off) and started getting real jobs.

Gen X? We got soooo many thinkpieces about hanging around living with our parents because we didn’t have the scratch to move out (which is historically normal, BTW- people lived with their parents and sometimes their grandparents). Those who did had the time-honored tradition of living with roommates for the first place or two, with all the awkward steps of living with people who may not have the same hygiene standards you do. Or may feel like vodka and sunny delight is a perfectly good breakfast and trash belongs on the floor.

So, Millennials weren’t setting any new trends by having trouble paying rent and getting a car (if they even wanted one) as young adults freshly on their own. And you up and coming kids, you’re going to have to figure out some strategies, too. Roommates, living with your parents, going into debt and learning about bankruptcy... those are all normal things for twenty-somethings.

For most of our country’s existence, the big worries were child poverty and elderly poverty. Guess what? We’ve just about licked those. Kids and their parents get a lot of help, and the lone grandma out there is usually richer than her kids. Even if not, she’s got the kinds of retirement funds previous generations could only dream of.

That leaves the last form of ‘poor’, which is the young adult with almost nothing to their name, setting out to make their way in the world for the first time. Most of them are going to struggle. Some take out student loans and get through college and THEN reality hits them, but unless you were a very strange student who had a part-time job and saved a lot of money, you don’t have much of anything when you turn 18/21/24.

It takes time to accumulate wealth, be it in ‘real’ form (houses and other property) or simple cash. It’s never been easy, and the rules change as society changes. The internet and global supply chains changed things in just the last generation. COVID screwed up so much, it’s unreal, and we’re still sorting that out. I’m sorry for those of you hitting the job market right as things hit the skids- that sucks. It’s happened to my mom every time she went job hunting so far (and she’s in her 60s- sometimes it just works out that way).

Is it hard sometimes? Boy howdy. Make some friends to hang out with on the cheap, be it drinking country time lemonade and vodka instead of going to the bars or picking up hobbies less expensive than playing the latest video games.

What you’re going through is what other people go through and HAVE gone through for years and years and years. It gets easier. You’re going to have pitfalls where you screw up. Maybe you’ll have to start over once or twice. God knows my husband and I did a couple of times. Things you never learned about in school will suddenly become important, like credit ratings. The good news is that information on how to fix this stuff isn’t too hard to find these days. The bad news is that you’re going to have to do a lot of stuff that’s new or uncomfortable until you learn the ins and outs.

You’ll manage. You’ll get better at it. There are some things you’ll let go and other things you’ll hold onto. Life isn’t about having it all, it’s about learning what really matters and what you can live without. It’s about the choices you make along the way. Make those choices in a way so you can look yourself in the mirror afterwards.

Don’t set yourself up for failure by assuming it’s supposed to be easy. We’d all like it to be easy, but nobody’s figured out the magic formula to actually make it work out that way. Believe me, people have tried.

Don’t pay for job placement- good places charge the companies they head-hunt for, not you.

Libraries have programs to help you write resumes and learn to budget.

Step outside and appreciate nature a little bit- it’s free of charge and it’ll keep you sane.

[elmhat]

lights

Read on AO3.

Sam and Fundy have different ideas about a good work/life balance.

~

“Redstone doesn’t work around corners like that. I told you that.”

Sam watched with disgust as Fundy fumbled with the powder. Enough had spilled onto his shirt to leave a permanent stain, stark red on white. Sam blinked away a memory.

In truth, he hadn’t been to Las Nevadas in quite some time. No real reason to. As far as he was concerned, the new recruits were taking care of the country perfectly well, though if this display was anything to go by, perhaps they needed more help than he had thought. But the distance, he reassured himself, was a good thing. The predictable rhythm of his life could do without the distractions.

That was, until the welcome sign malfunctioned.

“Well sorry,” Fundy huffed. “You gave me a lot of goddamn instructions, you know.” Exasperatedly, he hauled up the tracks he had mislaid, flinging redstone over his shoulder in a flurry of color.

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s literally the point. I already showed you once, now you need to remember. I’m not coming all the way out to Las Nevadas every time some simple thing breaks.”

Fundy stopped, panting, and gazed up at the sign. “I don’t know if it’s simple. That’s a pretty big sign.”

Of all the people to overcomplicate basic redstone, Fundy was unexpected. Sam had thought him to be more skilled than this. He couldn’t remember where he got the notion. If this was his competition in terms of engineering, it was a miracle that the prison had ended up in his safe hands instead.

“That Slime guy could do this better,” he muttered.

“Hey, hey, don’t insult him. He’s learning.” To Sam’s surprise, Fundy looked serious.

Sam glared down at the sprawling mess, and for once, he wished he didn't have the mask. He wanted Fundy to read every scrap of disdain on his face. “Actually, I was insulting you.”

Fundy chuckled, shaking his head. His focus returned to the task at hand, and Sam made no move to help him, grip remaining firmly around his trident. “Is it even so bad coming out every once in a while?” asked Fundy. “You basically live at the prison at this point. There is a world outside, you know!”

That may have been true for him, but Fundy didn’t understand the restrictions on Sam’s personal life. How could he? No one else had to give up this much of themself, tear out their soul and devour it whole, just for the sake of professionalism. It wasn’t a trade he ever wished for, nor one he would ever take back. He couldn’t blame Fundy—this lost, lonely spirit—for failing to conceptualize the gravity of his position.

“I have a job to do. You connected it wrong again.”

It was a different variation on the same mistake. Sam was losing his mind. Fundy’s eyes flicked between him and the mechanics, probably trying to figure out who to blame. “Oh, and I don’t have a job?” he said. “We’ve all got stuff to do, man, that doesn’t mean you can’t take a break.”

“That’s a luxury I can’t afford.” Complacency meant failure, and Sam wasn’t about to doom the server for his own shortcomings.

At long last, Fundy connected the circuit correctly, and the sign beamed to life. Fundy beamed with it. “Don’t you have other guards? Bad and… and Antfrost?”

Sam stifled a dull laugh. “Bad and Ant are incompetent.” And untrustworthy, he thought. Always untrustworthy, with the Egg. I don’t even know if the Badlands mean anything anymore. 

“You do make a good point about Bad,” Fundy conceded, standing up and brushing sand from his pants. “But they’re there right now, surely, and the prison isn’t going to be a pile of ashes when you get back.” His eyes landed back on Sam, and he softened. “Just chill for a while. Look up at the stars!”

And Sam wanted to. Gods, he wanted to. Sometimes, when he had been in the prison for a few days too many, he could forget what the sky even looked like through the layers of blackstone and obsidian. Light pollution in Las Nevadas was certainly becoming a problem, but beyond the neon lay a night sky so peaceful it could almost calm the storm in his mind.

“It is nice out here,” he said, and he told himself it was more a statement of fact than a cry for help.

Fundy glanced back towards the heart of the city with something that resembled pride. “Hey, while you’re here, me and Quackity are playing games later, if you, I don’t know, want to hang around…?” The question faded into stilted silence. Sam saw something in Fundy, something he yearned for. A hopeful naivety. Maybe he had been that way, too, once upon a time. He knew better now. Childishness was fun until the adults started fighting.

He looked back down the road. “I have to restock the dispensers.”

But right now, in this moment, he could still enjoy the stars.

[yannfredericks]

hey!!!!! is life after going to be updated anytime soon???? obviously no pressure or anything if u are going thru shit or decided to DNF it i so understand i just really love that fic and want to see it thru if there is a thru to see 🥲🥲

hiiiii!!! I am so so sorry, I would have posted an update on here but I honestly didn't think anyone who cared would see it! I genuinely didn't mean or expect to leave it this long, when I last updated it was a week before I week to europe for a month and then when I got home I unexpectedly and quite suddenly had to pack up and move across the country so I have been very burnt out dealing with all of that and adjusting to my new life :0 I love that you care so much and it has made my day that you messaged to follow up! I can't promise an update time or schedule, but I have no intentions of leaving it unfinished, it's just going to be much slower than I was initially anticipating :( I have been writing and have about 10k of the next chapter roughly written, plus I've had a lot more time recently to work on it so fingers crossed that it isn't too far away! There is definitely a thru to see <3 I don't think the gang would let me get away with not finishing their story

Here is a little snippet for you <3

Slowly, Albus brings his hands up to pat him on the back. He wants it to be nice so, so badly, but the dark, crawling ball of anger inside him drowns out any nice feelings with its garbled, paradoxical screams of ‘this is not enough’ and ‘this is more than you could ever hope to deserve.’ So. “I know this isn’t easy for you,” James tries again, “and I’m sorry that I somehow keep making it worse. The truth is I’m not very good at this stuff.” Albus bites back a sarcastic, ‘do you think?’ “You’ve always handled conflict much better than me.” That actually makes Albus laugh out loud. “I don’t think I’ve handled anything well since the day I was born, you can ask literally anyone.” James is smiling when he finally pulls back, but it’s too close to pity for Albus’s liking. The phantom pressure of his touch lingers exclusively to remind him of just how pathetically desperate he is for any form of physical affection and equally how repulsed that desire makes him feel. “Well, yes, okay,” James relents, “but you don’t shy away from it. You speak your mind even when—especially when—it’s hard, and maybe that isn’t always a good thing, but it’s brave as hell. You scare the fuck out of me sometimes, actually, because I know you’ll hold me accountable when I mess up. It’s intimidating. I don’t know how you do it.” “I don’t know about brave.” Albus admits. “Mostly it just bursts out of me.” He turns James’s words over in his mind, inspecting every angle and hidden meaning there. He’s never considered his hot-headed tendencies to have any upsides to them, but James talks about them with an unexpected reverence. “Still, I couldn’t do it.”

[sourwolf-sterek32]

Life update

So I quit my security job in the city because I got a new job. BUT my new job is located in a small country town (I love the country & grew up on a farm so that’s not the problem) the problem is that it’s 8 hours away!

I have now moved into my new house and it’s literally just me and my cat. I have left all my family and friends and I literally don’t know anyone in this town and my first day at my new job is tomorrow and I am freaking out.

If I’m being honest idk what I’m doing with my life.

I don’t even know if I’m gonna enjoy this job. I mean, I hated my old job and dreaded every time I woke up for each shift but what if this job is worse? Like I’ve literally packed up and shifted across the state and my parents and literally everyone are so proud of me for doing this and for ‘chasing my dreams’ but this isn’t my dream and what if I hate it? I don’t want to disappoint them, but I’m sick of pretending that I’m happy and that everything is okay when it is literally the exact opposite.

I really don’t don’t know what I’m doing, I’m just such a mess atm because I’m just… lost. Idk what I’m doing and I’m worrying about this new job and my anxiety has gone through the roof and… idk everything is hectic.

My main post is; I’m not sure how active I’m going to be on this account and I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to post my fics, so just a warning I might not be updating as frequently as usual and I am so sorry!

Anyway, sorry for this long rant post, but if you’re still reading, thank you and I hope you’re having a better day than me

[aftabkaran]

Hi I’m a white westerner with a question if that’s ok please? I only heard about what is happening in Iran from tumblr, it hasn’t even shown up on my Twitter trends or from anyone I follow and the only thing I heard on the news was a brief statement that ‘Iran has erupted into protests after police brutality’ and then they moved on to something else. I’ve spent the last few hours reading things and trying to understand what’s going on and I want to be a better ally.

My question is that I have seen a few posts where people are saying ‘just because these women in Iran are protesting the hijab doesn’t mean other women in other countries don’t want to wear it’ and then people, yourself included which is why I am asking you, have said things like ‘stop making this about you’. I want to assure you I am sincere when I ask, how are comments like that making it about them? I am not a Muslim women so I don’t understand all the layers and history, but I see those comments and interpret them as someone saying don’t harass women in a hijab. I have grown up unlearning a lot of islamaphobia, so when I see people say ‘some people in the west want to wear a hijab’, based on my experiences, I feel like it’s a call to protect Muslim women because older people where I’m from will use any excuse to harass muslims. I understand I am only seeing this from my lived experiences and again I don’t understand all the layers, but I don’t see how those comments are making it above themselves? If you are comfortable may you please explain it to me?

I have learned (I think?) the situation in Iran isn’t strictly about the hijab under the current regime you are risking your life and are seemingly legally allowed to be harassed by other men and beaten up by police so taking off the hijab is protesting the mistreatment and oppression of women. And they are protesting regime not religion? Is this correct?

I’m sorry for the long message and I hope you know I am messaging with good intentions and a very limited understanding and I am not a troll. I saw your bio said it was ok to ask. Thank you and I will keep trying to learn and understand.

hello stranger. no offence taken.

A huge problem when discussing third world countries in west is that westerners only seem to grasp what our issues mean in relation to them. for example when an Iranian journalist is posting online all some westerners comment on is which western organisation she works for and that becomes her identity to them. it's a very western centric way of thinking because these people exist in a rich context that is wholly alien to westerners. It would be if I only knew Paul McCartney as that guy who visited Tehran once and nothing else. of course McCartney did visit Iran but that's far from what defines him in west.

Similarly, when discussing hijab what it means in the context of Iran is completely different from what it means in say France. when you start comparing these two-even if the comparison is valid- one side of the comparison is bound to become 1.decontextualised 2.become the less significant side of the comparison because the other side is more relevant to the western discourse. so westerners who are comparing hijab in France and Iran are inevitably mostly talking about hijab in France.

As for decontextualising the issue, it’s ironically a mistake that both sides of the “islamophobic” question in west commit. Saying “women in France choose hijab like Iranian choose not to wear it” is just as much of a decontextualised argument as “woman in France shouldn’t wear hijab because Iranians don’t want to wear it”.

As for your second question, Iran is a theocracy which means the issue of religion and politics are intertwined. Of course Iranians are very religious people but we are very much fed up with political religion(not to mention a lot of what the so-called islamic government is doing can not be justified even by the most backwards rules of Islam)

There are a lot of problems in Iran today(namely state corruption and oppression of minorities) and this has been going on for years. As with many other movements, Mahsa’s murder was the straw that broke the camels back.

hope this helped

[mccarthawrites]

Surprise Visitor

Relationship: Peggy Carter & Howard Stark

Rating: General Audiences

Summary: Howard’s mother, Edith comes to the penthouse looking for Howard, but finds Peggy instead, assuming her to be his girlfriend.

Words: 1,054

Marvel Masterlist

Edith stepped off the elevator, looking around the familiar apartment.

“Howard?” She called out, walking towards the drawing room. The sight of a pretty brunette sitting on one of the sofas, reading the paper and drinking tea took her by surprise. She must be Howard’s girlfriend. Edith knocked on the french doors, hoping she wasn’t interrupting anything. Peggy looked up, confused. Setting the paper and her teacup down she went to open the doors.

“Hello, can I help you?” Peggy asked.

“You’re not American.” Edith commented.

“No. I’m not.” Peggy replied.

“I’m sorry. Is my son here?” Edith asked.

“Your son?” Peggy questioned, before realizing. Of course it was Howard’s mother. He was a striking image of her. “I’m afraid Howard isn’t here, would you like me to call him for you?” Peggy asked, welcoming the older woman into the drawing room.

“I would appreciate that very much, thank you. Howard and I meet every Thursday for lunch when he’s in New York.” Edith explained.

“That sounds very nice.” Peggy picked up the receiver of the telephone, calling Howard’s other penthouse.

“Howard Stark’s residence.” Edwin picked up.

“Hello, Mr. Jarvis. Can I speak to Howard please?” Peggy asked.

“I’m afraid Mr. Stark is still asleep. Had a late night.”

“I’m sure. His mother is here looking for him. They had a lunch date.”

“Of course. I’ll wake him up right away.” After a few moments of silence, someone picked up the receiver on the other end.

“Hello?” Howard sounded hungover and exhausted.

“Good morning, Howard. Your mother is here. Waiting for you to take her out to lunch.” Peggy told him.

“Oh shit. It’s Thursday already?” Howard asked.

“Would you like me to tell her you’ll have to reschedule?” Peggy asked.

“No! Just- I need an hour and I’ll be there. Keep her entertained.”

“Howard.”

“Please. Offer her some tea. Ask her about some embarrassing stories about me. I don’t care. I just need an hour.” He told her. Peggy sighed, looking at Edith who was looking around the drawing room, having noticed the changes.

“Fine, but you owe me.”

“I already owe you my life, what more do you want?” Howard teased. “Thank you, Peg.”

“You’re lucky this is my one day off. You better be here in an hour.” Peggy hung up the phone.

“Did he forget about me?” Edith asked.

“No. He’s had his hands full.”

“With the way our government dragged him through the mud, I imagine he’s been trying to save his reputation. After all my Howie has done for this country.” Edith scoffed. The use of the nickname made Peggy smile. She’s never known anyone to call him “Howie”.

“Would you like some tea? I could turn the kettle back on.” Peggy offered.

“That would be lovely, thank you.” Edith smiled. Peggy quickly slipped into the kitchen to turn the kettle on. She was glad Angie wasn’t home because how was she going to tell Edith that two women were living in her son’s penthouse? She returned to the drawing room.

“Howard said he’ll be here in an hour.” Peggy explained, sitting down. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Stark. I’m Peggy.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Peggy, but please call me Edith. How long have you known Howard?” Edith asked.

“We met in the war.”

“You were a nurse?” Edith asked.

“Not exactly, but I suppose I learned some medical aid while I was there.”

“Do you mind if I asked why you decided to leave home and come her to the big city?” Edith asked.

“That’s a long story, I’m afraid. One I cannot cover in an hour.”

“Love?”

“Something like that.”

“I understand. How long have you been here?”

“I moved to New York after the war.”

“Do you like the city?”

“America is much different than where I’m from, but I don’t think I’d ever go back. This is my home now.”

“I’m glad. Has Howard taken you to see the Statue of Liberty, yet? You can see the whole world from her crown.”

“I have been. It’s quite a view.” Peggy smiled.

Howard walked into the penthouse finding Edith in the middle of a story.

“The poor boy cried for three days afterwards.” Edith laughed. Peggy smiled, looking at Howard.

“I think it’s been a bit longer than an hour.” Peggy checked her watch.

“Yeah. Sorry about that. Hi, mom. What are you doing here?” He asked, greeting his mother with a kiss on the cheek.

“I was looking for you, but I found lovely Peggy instead. I like her.”

“I’m flattered, Edith.” Peggy replied.

“I don’t live here anymore.” Howard explained.

“You don’t have to lie to me, Howard. I don’t mind if you’re living together out of wedlock.” Edith explained.

“Excuse me?” Peggy asked.

“It’s 1946. There are lots of young people like yourselves living together.” Edith explained. “It doesn’t bother me. Especially if you’re in love enough to move continents.”

“Mom, Peggy and I are not-”

“I am not Howard’s girlfriend. He really does not live here.”

“Yes. Peggy is the person who helped clear my name.” Howard explained. “We’re just friends.”

“How foolish of me.” Edith laughed. “I’m sorry, Peggy. I just assumed-”

“That’s quite alright. I suppose there are worse men I could be mistaken for dating.” Peggy replied.

“I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” Howard looked at Peggy. “Thank you for keeping my mother company.”

“It was a pleasure. I learned a lot about you. Like how you cried when you were told you couldn’t marry the angel statue in Central Park.”

“Call me a romantic. Are you ready to go, mom?” Howard asked.

“Yes. Why don’t you join us, Peggy?” Edith asked.

“Thank you, but perhaps a rain check. It’s my day off and I was planning a day to myself.” Peggy replied.

“And I ruined that. I am so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I very much enjoyed talking to you. We will have to get lunch together sometime.” Peggy smiled.

“Sounds good. Come, Howard. Let’s leave her be to relax.” Edith grabbed her son’s arm.

“Alright. Thanks again, Peg.”

“You are welcome.” Peggy watched them board the elevator before going back to lounging. She didn’t know what she expected Howard’s mother to be, but she was pleasantly surprised.

[moon-kn1ght]

try something new.

pairing: robert 'bob' floyd/jake 'hangman' seresin warnings: teen, station eleven au, post-apocalypse, flu mention, finding old friends at the end of the world. a/n: this is for the 5th week of the cs prompt challenge. i have bad station eleven brainrot after binging it this weekend so this happened in an hour on suday. you don't need to know SE to get the fic though, just know its the end of the world.

The first question is always “You’re alive?!” 

Well sort of, somewhere around day 100 it stopped being a question and became more primarily an exclamation. 

“Where have you been?”

“Who were you with?” 

Then they’d share who they ended up with, asking the same in return. 

The conversations had a similar pattern and similar outcome: gratefulness, relief, joy. Tears wrapped in each others’ arms. 

But after year two, they became less common. You stopped finding people from before. 

By year five, they were almost extinct. 

Bob spent his first 100 in a cabin in Wisconsin of all places. He had been taking an off-the-grid winter break with his cousin and didn’t actually find out till he went into to town on day 7 to get more beer. 

His phone regained service and he saw the headlines. 

And there was a voicemail from Tasha. 

He was her one call at the end. And he didn’t even pick up. 

That hurt stuck with him well through the first year. 

Once the snow melted that first year, Bob and his cousin walked south until they found a community in the town on Lake Michigan that had once been called Manitowoc. 

They spent warm days with the other survivors, swapping those same 20 questions about being the ones left. 

By what would probably have been called August, they all decided to sail across the lake to the Michigan side. Bob had wired them up a radio with old TV satellites to get better reception across long distances and they had made contact with the settlement by the water on the other side. Deciding it was better to have a concentrated, cooperative population, Manitowec all moved east. 

6 years in, Bob was not expecting to hear from anyone from his past. 

But then one day, none other than Jake Seresin rides down the road in St. Deborah, like a true fucking cowboy. 

Bob can’t help but drop to his knees and cry. He isn’t alone. 

They both pull turns at the usual game of 20 questions. 

Jake spent his years walking and riding across the country. He was in San Diego when it happened. He walked to LA then San Francisco in the first year, finding and passing news between other survivors. 

He always was a people person. 

Then hoping against all odds, he rode east. Through Nevada and Arizona and New Mexico, all the way to where his family had a cattle ranch through his time in the Navy. 

Just like Bob, they were lucky. Not many people came through town at the time of the flu so his family was completely safe. Even the stray mutt he brought home from the Naval Academy was still alive and nipping the heels of young calves. 

Jake stayed there for a while but he was restless. So he took off North, finding settlements along the Mississippi and passing tales of new human life. 

Jake and Bob talk for hours, through the night and all the way till pink tinged sunlight peeks from behind the forest on the east. 

A question Bob doesn’t really want the answer to still hangs over him. “Have you seen anyone else?” 

“I’m sorry, but no.” 

Bob shakes his head, guilty for even asking. As if the rest of Dagger Team is Schrodigner’s Cat – only now they’re dead because Bob dared to check. 

“There’s still hope,” Jake offers. 

“You don’t have to coddle me.” Bob shakes it off and something he never intended to share slips out, “I was Tasha's last call.” 

Jake wraps Bob tightly in his arms. Bob tries to imagine this happening before. But he can’t. There is no before now. 

Jake rubs his hand up and down Bob’s back, silently soothing. 

“Is there anything you want to do now?” 

Jake thinks on this. “I think I want to try being in love.”

“Can I kiss you?”

“Yes.”

[arndylevinbarber]

Old Souls (Mini Series)

Pairing: Andy Barber x Reader

Rating: Fluff and Angst (if you squint)

Total WC: 2,475-

Status: Completed

Chapter 1 Chapter 3

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

CHAPTER 2: Confusion

Replay.

After your encounter with the old lady, you found it even harder to focus. The memories come back stronger whether you be awake or dreaming and it feels even more real if that's even possible. Weekends were supposed to be allotted for you to lay back and enjoy a bottle of wine but now you're trying to figure out what she meant by "you'll meet him again soon".

Who is him? Meet again? You met him before? You barely have a list of ex-lovers so who is him? Your ex, your only ex, is now happily married with two kids living in another country and you had a healthy break up. It was realizing that both of you didn't really know what you wanted and you were better off as friends. The most communication you have with him is greeting each other a happy birthday and that's it so it's definitely not him.

Maybe you shouldn't think too much about this, right? How much did that old lady know from just looking at your palm and your eyes? But the eyes never lie, right? What does old soul even mean?

Out of frustration, you decide to call it a night and hope that the following day wouldn't be as jampacked with these questions you have for yourself and hopefully, you wouldn't think about this too much anymore.

Rearrange.

Why go to therapy when you can change how your apartment looks? A new area for the living room, organizing your kitchen, changing your bedsheets and cleaning out your closet is the best form of therapy. Either that you missed being in control of your life since these dreams and flashbacks keep on feeling even more realistic than before.

You hoped that you weren't making too much noise until your hopes were flushed away when there was a knock on your door. Quickly trying to look presentable, you stand in front of the mirror for a few good seconds making sure that you didn't look like you just woke up from a nightmare before answering your door.

"Hi! Was I too loud?"

"No not really. I was just concerned since I heard noises other than the furniture moving around. I figure you're new here?"

Looking up, your jaw almost falls to the ground as you take in his appearance. The beard, the eyes, the height, everything about him looked like the man in your dreams.

"Uhh, sorry, yeah, no– sorry, I just wanted to change things up in here since it felt the same since I moved here and uh... no I'm not really new. I've been here for almost a year."

Trying to get your shit together never worked out for you. If your brain wasn't functioning well, your body usually follows.

"Do you need any help?"

"No thank you!" You answer too quickly.

"Okay... well if you need me, I just live next door. I just moved in a few days ago." He says before taking a step back to go back to his door.

Closing the door carefully, you again mentally scolding yourself for showing such disinterest to the guy who kept appearing in your dreams and flashbacks. Could it really be him though? It doesn't add up. You never met the guy until a minute ago and how on earth was the old lady right? Did she know that you were having recurring dreams and flashbacks of the same scenario over and over again? This just doesn't make any sense.

You finally finish rearranging your apartment just in time for dinner. Takeout isn't so bad right? The Chinese restaurant near the building seemed like they already knew your order so you can only imagine their surprise when you say you want two of the same things that are usually your go to meals.

You need to apologize for being rude to the poor man who only wanted to help.

Yes, thanks for that brain. Really needed that reminder of how I fucked it up royally with the first time meeting him. Upon the arrival of your food, you then walk towards his door before giving it a few knocks.

Reconnection.

You were greeted by the same guy, only now he was wearing a plain white t-shirt and black and white plaid pajama pants. You give a soft smile before holding the food up encased in a plastic bag.

"Dinner? It's on me. I'm so so sorry for acting that way earlier. It's not like I didn't want to talk to you at all I was just frustrated with everything going on in my life and I really didn't mean to be rude at all, I promise."

He smiled and rubbed his beard.

"My place or yours?"

"Mine I guess? You'll see what I was working on all afternoon?"

A nod from him was all you needed before stepping back and walking back to your place. You then set the bag down on the dining table before turning to him.

"Would you like a drink?"

"Yes please, thank you. I'll help with setting the table."

"Don't you dare move a muscle unless it's sitting down. You're my guest."

You grabbed two beer bottles from the fridge, opening each one before handing one to him and setting your own drink down on the table. You then lay out all the containers before handing him his own pair of chopsticks.

"My name's Andy. It's nice to meet you too."

Oh for fuck's sake. You literally forgot how to socialize huh?

"This is so embarrassing. Uh, my name's Y/N, it's nice to meet you too." Extending your hand out, he takes it in his but instead of shaking hands, you both instantly jerk your hands away from each other.

"Did you feel that?" He asked, gently shaking his right hand up and down.

"Yeah, it felt like I got zapped."

 Just what is going on?

[sometimesrosy]

Hi Rosy. I think I’m going through a life crisis. I’ve sent you some asks over the years and somehow just venting it out to the internet makes me feel better. I’m sorry I’m specifically “targeting” you though. I’m 27, with a steady minimum wage job, a degree in an area that I don’t relate to anymore, with an apartment bought at about 1 year ago, a wonderful partner, and two amazing cats. I don’t like my job. I’ve been there for almost 3 years and I still get paid minimum wage. It has no career progression whatsoever, and doesn’t fulfill me in any way. Ive been looking for jobs but this is an industrial area with lots of jobs for “men”, and very few for women that aren’t cleaning or at restaurants. The few administrative jobs that pop up are either temporary or the company won’t say anything back. It’s been like this for years and I’m fully feeling it now. I’ve thought about moving out of the country but my partner isn’t a fan of that idea. I’ve thought about studying again in a completely different area, but I’m not sure up to what point I’d do that to try and run from my current situation and not because I really really want to work in that area. I am at a loss. Some say I should be more than happy, I have a steady job with a nice schedule, a house, a partner that does everything for me. But I can’t help but feel that I’m staying behind in every aspect. My career isn’t going forward, the house is nice but we can barely afford some repairs that it needs, much less new furniture, etc. It’s super hard to save for whatever it is. This is such a small town that it barely has classes of anything to better myself personally. I’m just sad with my life.

Okay, so since you're in a stable situation that isn't going anywhere but also isn't demanding much of you, why don't you use this time to figure out what the next step is and then get your ducks in a row.

Real, substantial change takes a lot of time and many steps. You know that your career isn't working and you need to find a new one. Good. You've identified a need.

Now figure out what job you want to do and what you need to do to start doing it.

Are there jobs in your area that you might want to do but you aren't qualified for? That's when you get training or more education. Do you need to find a way to make a living maybe on the internet? It does help when you are limited in your region. Do you want to try starting your own business? Do you want to try to find a way into the traditionally male jobs? Do you want to look slightly outside of your reason and deal with a bit of a commute? Or do you want to try lowering your cost of living so you can get away with gig economy jobs?

There are opportunities out there for you, you may just not be ready for them right this minute. Give yourself time to figure it out.

Caveat: I'm not really someone you should be taking professional business or economic advice from because I'm an absolutely terrible capitalist. Half the time I just refuse. But I do think there are opportunities if you expand your mindset.

[dariusscottt]

The Letter That Leads To Goodbye To be fair this is more for me than for anyone else. You wonder for a while what it’s like when it’s over—I guess the better way to say it is when you are finally over it. No one prepares you for it. No one prepares you for any parts of it. You aren’t prepared to fall in love, the fall out of love, the grief, the reconciliation, etc. You just get there. You can’t ignore it once you’ve arrived. It’s always been harder for me to let go than it has been to hold on. For a while I couldn’t get past the denial of it all. That this wasn’t “actually happening.” You know? That this person or love that was mistreated & taken for granted would just find its way back. Those with brains would laugh. Still, I fought. I screamed. I cried. I threw anything at the wall and hoped it sticked. It did not. I blamed God, I blamed you, I blamed the what if’s; past traumas; old relationships; everything but me. I tried to ignore it. God will always have a way to show you who you are. You can’t hide from that. The ugly parts of you, the untrustworthy, the unkind, the unloving. Then I accepted that storyline. I had to own that version of me. I had to acknowledge that and believe it. Then the real work began to decentralize myself. I think what led me here is recognizing with the help of others that we do not own others or pick our fates. You do not get to burn the whole place down and cry for help when it’s all over. That the things we often chase after… run from us. My feet hurt and I’m all out of gas. Chasing a dream that I will inevitably always wake up from. Us. Even in the midst of chasing that dream… I’m realizing how much my heart doesn’t want the outcome that I desire as much as it wants your happiness and wholeness. Freedom from this chapter of our lives was necessary. Even when I recognize that my heart for you may not change, but my place in yours has. Coming to terms that there won’t be one last text, or phone call, they don’t feel that yearning, the late night thoughts aren’t of you, they don’t see you in dreams. It’s an understanding and then an acceptance. One that’s long overdue. I will always find a way back to you. I will always see a reason to love you deep. I cherish the idea of what love could’ve been like, but I’m matured enough to know life isn’t The Notebook. I don’t get that fantasy. I’m honored to have been loved by you. Grateful for every second, every smile, every belly laugh, every moment. I leave filled with love and gratitude. Glad that we had a chance. Regardless of the outcome. I want to say I’m sorry – genuinely. You deserve the love of a life time & I’m warm hearted for you. I’ve looked at this as the big move. When the apartment is all packed up, loading boxes in the car, the sweep one last time, the contemplating on if this was the right decision, finding a wall to pencil your name on (some kind of way to leave your mark there), walking through to remember all the memories spent, locking the door, turning in the key, and driving off to your new home. Glad for love to be taking you home. No matter what that may look like or who it’s with. “Take me home country roads, to a place where I belong…take me home country roads.” And then there was the goodbye… I love you (where you belong).

[all-my-fandom-obsessions]

I am really annoyed with some of the characters , the way they are acting in new season of New Amsterdam. I don’t have the energy to write down the whole rant but basically Sharpe, Iggy and Max are hella annoying.

Spoiler alert for those who haven’t watched it yet!

Iggy: because he keeps acting like he’s a therapist-in-training and I really think that he should already know some of the stuff. Like the episode when parents come to visit the kids and he tries to be positive and later realises denying reality isn’t okay. I mean, is this the first time he’s hosting a meeting like this, when parents come to visit? Does he really not know that the parents also need support and a chance to let their feelings out? Seriously? And that’s only one example but there are so many more situations like this.

Sharpe: I don’t like her in general but the plot line with Mina made me really annoyed. She treated Mina as if she was there to realise Helen’s idea of family. Like “I’ll be the cool aunt and she’ll go to college because that’s how I planned it”. Like, no, kids are their own beings. Also, Sharpe complaining about how she rearranged her life for Mina… not sure what exactly she meant other than breaking up with a guy but, like, Mina didn’t ask you to, so stop complaining that she doesn’t appreciate it. Also she just lost her father, so like, maybe, take it under consideration? I’m not saying Mina is perfect, she’s not, but damn Sharpe was so annoying making it all about herself when IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU. Not sorry Sharpe, but it’s not about you, it’s about Mina. Mina, who lost her father but you made her read about patients at hospital who died. Mina, who moved to another country but you didn’t think she might want to spend some time in a center for her culture.., She didn’t even ask Mina if she wanted to go to college, no, she just told her that she has to because she lives with her (I get why she wants to push Mina into college but asking and getting to know Mina better would still be nice). And later when she was trying to push colleges on Mina without asking Mina what she wants, like, maybe at least ask why she doesn’t want to stay in New York, or what she wants to study, or anything really? She yelled at Max that he doesn’t stop to listen but that’s exactly what she did. She kept trying to push her own vision on Mina instead of asking what Mina wants and I hate it. I actually really despise Sharpe in general but that’s a whole other topic.

I’ll write about Max later cause I’m to tired right now…