#i have to pack … budget so cheap they did not pay for me to check a bag… who do i sue

[otrtbs]

would y’all believe that i have to go to [redacted] tomorrow on a business trip at 4:30 am to pick up and ensure the safe delivery of $172,000 worth of art to my museum ???? would you believe me if i told you i found out just monday afternoon that i was going for sure ?????

[netherworldpost]

Hi! I followed you for a long time with alot of "jeez someday I hope that can be me some day" fervor and now I am starting my own small goth shop. Do you have any tips on reaching the alternative audience? or tips on general about running a shop I'm nervous.

1a. Protect your cash flow

This is to say constantly question "does this shiny envelope packaging pack in make people love my shop more or is it a money drain?" This is not a simple answer.

It is an answer you'll ask yourself all the time.

The answer is going to shift. Fun unboxing videos? Great for social media posts. Great to get attention. Great fun. Expensive to produce. Worth it? Constantly check.

I really want to stress this: I am not saying "do not do it" -- I am saying "do what makes sense."

In the business-to-business world (you're a business, other businesses are going to sell to you), one of the most effective/common sales tactics is "take this thing you do and make it fun."

Your product is fun.

Your product is quality.

Your packaging etc.'s primary task is to get your product to your customer efficiently (easy to read address labels) and safely (stuff does not break).

1b. Protect your cash flow part two

Evil Supply Co. was the original shop. It experimented with everything -- color changing cereal spoons (launched), temporary tattoos (launched), umbrellas (did not launch), plates and bowls and towels and toothbrushes and shower curtains (did not launch). So much more.

It was primarily a stationery company.

The experimenting was incredibly fun, I regret nothing, and it cost me giant truck loads of cash. That's why Netherworld Post is focusing far more tightly.

2. Can't meet budget? Reduce scope.

When you're talking to designers or web hosts or whatever, and they say "We want $$$" and you say "I have $," reduce your scope down. This fits into the above, you're noticing a theme maybe.

This is a business. It has to make money to continue, it has to make profit to pay you to continue, it has to compensate you for your time to continue.

OR

It is a hobby.

And it doesn't have to do any of those things, it just has to scratch that itch that made you pursue it. It can still sell stuff, it can be a shop, it can be open when you want and closed when you want.

There is no moral, ethical, social value difference between a business and a hobby.

Do what fits into your goals, and if your goals shift, change your shop to accommodate.

3. Have fun

Your biggest competitor by a factor of 1:100 is other shops:folks posting your work without attribution or links.

You've seen the videos where someone is saying "Oh you're so pretty, you're so cute? No, YOU are so pretty, YOU are so cute." That's small business life.

There is enough for us all. Just have fun.

4a. Reaching people

Post stuff. Works in progress, memes, rambles, whatever makes you "you". Pepper in shop links and email sign up links occasionally.

Just be you.

If you don't know who you are, well, that's what you should post.

There is this idea that there is a "brand" that you have to build, and you're going to get (if you aren't getting them already) a million targeted ads to help you build this brand.

"I sell stuff. It has a price range of $X. It is high quality! Or it is cheap quality and priced accordingly! It can be found at xyz dot com. It will get to you in Z days/weeks." = 99% of branding.

The other 1% is "when you think of me, you think of X." Such as, when you think of Netherworld Post, you think of atty's antics and Fang's amused exasperation and Halloween and spooky things and mail and ghosts and mermaids, etc.

4b. Decide your social media bandwith and stick to it

There are ten billion social networks.

It's common to feel like you have to be on them all 24/7. Attempting to reach this is going to burn you out and use up limited resources, it is far more effective to have an email list (this is independent of all networks) + the networks you, as a person, enjoy using and focusing there.

See #3 above. Fits here too.

5. Keep going when things are hard or convert this into a hobby You're making this shop for a reason.

That reason is more important than money, otherwise you wouldn't be doing it.

Building a shop is infinitely harder than playing video games and reading books and watching movies and dancing -- every hour you are working on your shop is an hour you're not playing video games about dancing books.

If you say "this sucks," convert it to a hobby. See #2.

The reason I'm building Netherworld Post instead of doing other business things that would make much more money is because I love it. It feeds a part of me. It makes me more "me" to run this shop than to not run this shop.

The minute that changes, I'm converting it to a hobby. Keep the door open when I want to play, close the door it when I'm tired, re-open after I rest.

If you want more money in your life, get a second job.

If you want money doing THIS -- take every problem as it lunges at your heart, take that tender in your black painted talons, look at the problem carefully, then tear it apart until you have the answers.

You are going to be doing this constantly.

It should be part of the fun.

If it's not, make this a hobby.

There is no inherent value in having it as a business.

The value is this project is it should make you more you.

Every single problem you are going to face -- every single question you are going to ask -- every single opportunity, every issue -- listen to me, everything -- has at LEAST one industry built on solving it.

Not company. Industry.

Keep going until you find someone or something that fixes it for your budget and scope.

6. You do not work for other people

You mention you've been around for awhile following me, so maybe you've seen my...

...occasional ...lack... of delicacy...

...when dealing with people who have a confusion about who is running this blog (them vs. me)

People are going to say "you should lower your prices, you should post more X, you should post less Y, you shouldn't post about Z person/ business/ entity/ thing because of Reasons."

Critiques and criticism can be valid.

They are not directives that need be followed.

There are consequences for not following them (people may leave).

There are consequences for following them when you disagree with them (your shop may feel less like your shop and more like someone else's).

This is not license to be a jerk.

It means that this is your shop and it has to make you more "you" and if it doesn't then it isn't your shop it is a pain in the ass job that pays you far less than you should be paid.

It's like dating as the most confident person in the world.

"This is who I am. Am I compatible with you? IF SO we will drink root beer and dance badly to old cartoons and dress up in silly costumes and be absurd. IF NOT then I wish you well, and the instant you are gone, I will never think of you again."

I ask no one to change who they are when they follow my blog or read my rambles or shop in my stores.

I do not change who I am for the people who follow my blog or read my rambles or shop in my stores.

You must adopt this attitude too.

Or it's not your shop.

It belongs to people you don't know who make you uncomfortable.

Which is the exact description of the world's worst paying job or second job. Which is the exact opposite of why you are building your shop.

[dextivefanart]

How You Can Support Me

Intro

Dextive, here! I'm the mind behind that cute Protogen webcomic you see from time to time (Wonders of Earth). And while I did get a part-time job at McDonald's recently, I would love to one day have no need for a traditional job while still funding my creative pursuits.

But as much as we want it to, money doesn't spawn whenever I create a comic issue, a piece of writing, an illustration, or...anything else. (Though all artists deserve that magic.) So I gotta ask for money from people who enjoy me.

The first thing you can do is reblog this post, or share it to any mutuals who also enjoy my works such as Wonders of Earth. (Same for any post I made so more eyes can see the cool stuff) It's the free way to go about it, and takes a small part of your time and blog space. Don't sacrifice rent for an artist! I won't reject it, but you need to pay rent if you don't have that sweet disposable income. So yeah, free option for all budgets.

If you can afford to throw a dog a bone (so to speak), then click on that keep reading button.

Ways to Support

The first way you can support is by going to my Ko-fi. (which you can check out by clicking here) You can give a one-time donation as low as $1. There is also the basic tier available for a membership, with one or two more underway. Basic is $10 per month, because I want higher tiers to be able to cover really cool stuff like discounted prices for my shop and commissions, freebies, and even a magazine.

But basic tier will get you exclusive discount codes, early sneakpeaks, behind the scenes stuff, and Dextive news before everyone else. Though I am open to suggestions on giving it more value. (As long as it doesn't rip me off, obviously. It's gotta be fair for both ends.)

The second way is by checking out my shop. (By clicking the link here) It currently doesn't have much, but it has a couple handmade things, a print here and there. A big part of my current funding plan is to both get a proper business bank account, and some more products. I have some queer digital wallpapers compatible with both desktop and mobile underway, and I'm holding onto some asexual pride-themed deer designs to turn into cute keychains in the future. Everything will be original works, since fanworks are just problematic legally speaking. There will be references/nods to pre-existing thing. For instance: The deer family is a cute nod to Alastor, a character from Hazbin Hotel who is asexual and themed after deer.

The digital wall paper pack will be a pack of 10, and I currently only have three finished. But I'm slowly chugging along, and an identity that will be included is fictosexual since that is a microlabel I fall under.

Now for the third way. I saved this one for the last since it has an image, but I do have commissions open! The lowest price is 5$, which would get you a headshot sketch with no revisions. Headshot sketches take me like fifteen minutes at most, so I don't mind having it dirt cheap. But they can pretty much get as expensive as you want, just make sure you keep it within your budget. (Or tell me what your budget is, so if you try to make a decision that goes over that, I could let you know.) You can DM me for the full service menu and the TOS. The image below is a general overview.

I also take writing commissions, the base rate is seven cents for word. I have a separate TOS for that, but it's more or less the same terms as the art TOS.

That is honestly pretty much it. If you have a little extra spending money, feel free to use it to uplift an artist like myself. It doesn't have to be me, but please let me pay self-employment taxes with my art! That would be cool!

Also, on Ko-fi, I have set a goal for $100. I will record any money made on my art on there, and reaching that goal will lead to an art raffle or a giveaway or something. What specifically will be community-voted. Probably any paying members, if I don't have those by then, then by the general public.

[caitlin-scstudyabroad]

Post 5: Nice & Monaco

This week we made the spontaneous decision to buy a 40 Euro flight to Nice, France. This was my first flight on a low budget airline, and I was nervous because I have heard horror stories about how strict their carry on bag policy is and how they make you pay a ridiculous amount of money to place it overhead. We flew with Easy Jet, and they were so kind and helpful and did not even check out bags at all! It was also my first time staying in a hostel, and it was a great experience! We stayed at Hostel Ozz, had our own private room with two quadrouple bunk beds, it was walking distance from everything, and it was only 19 Euros a night! Our stomachs began to growl and we decided to find a crepe place nearby - something that Nice is known for.  Me and Mary Ashton split a sweet banana toffee crepe and savory goat cheese, prosciutto, and honey crepe. It was delicious!

We then started to explore with the sole goal of getting to the top of Colline de Chateau - but with no directions. Every turn we took had colorful little houses and cafes. We eventually made it the top with an aerial view of Nice, it was breathtaking.

We then walked along the beach and ran into some of our friends from Barcelona!

For dinner, we made reservations at a Mediterranean Tapas retaurant called Bocca Nissa. The atmosphere was incredible and not to mention some of the best tapas ive had (even beats barcelona!). We ordered hummus, eggplant caviar, roasted cauliflower, focaccia bread, avocado tosada, and truffle ravioli. 

The following day, we took a 4 Euro scenic train ride to the rich country of Monaco! Here we lived out out Selena Gomez Monte Carlo moment, stared at the yachts in the port and pretended which one we were going to buy. We walked by the Monte Carlo Casino but decided not go inside because it was so expensive. 

We waltzed over to the beach where there was a line of extravagant luxury shops and the customers decked out in Louis Vuitton and Dior. We had reservations at (no lie) my favorite restaurant I have ever been to. Everything was perfect here; outside table, right on the beach, overlooking the water, perfect temperature, incredible pasta and pizza, superb drinks, and the ambiance was everything I could of asked for. It was called Giacomos and it was surprisingly pretty cheap for Monaco, we ordered a prosciutto pizza, truffle pasta, duck rigatoni, truffle burrata, focaccia bread, and the best aperol sprtiz ever! Our waiter was especially nice and told us stories of his hometown Bari, Italy and we have made a pack to try and visit it!

With our stomachs full we walked back to the train station and passed by the Monte Carlo race track. We then took the train back to Nice gathered up our stuff in preparation back to our home base of Barcelona. We had the whole Sunday to to some Barcelona exploring; me and Anne went to Fleadonia, a market that only happens on the first Sunday of every month. It was insanely busy with numerous unique stands and shops with a variety of items from leather jackets to vintage cameras. I bargained in Spanish for the first time ever and obtained an old gold watch for only 10 Euros! And Anne got an oversized black leather jacket for 15!

We finished the night by going to the Palo Market Festival, which was similar to Fleadonia except with all different kinds of foods. We ordered loaded Nachos, empanadas, and Suaderos. They were so authentic and delicious. The night was complete with a live band playing beautiful songs and music. This was an amazing weekend!!

[hixystix]

Moving Assistance

So if you haven't read my other post on the matter, I'm a 36 year old on disability who currently lives in a house owned by my parents. I can't work at this time and I live on disability and food stamps - I get $667 a month to pay all my bills, including the big house bills like property tax and insurance.

A few weeks back, my parents told me they didn't approve of my housekeeping, accused me of hoarding and ruining the house because it's a bit cluttered, and said that they were going to sell the house and they wouldn't help me find somewhere to go unless I cleaned the house up before the sale.

Well, I took them at their word. They are incredible neat freaks (think vacuuming three times a day, hand cleaning floors at least once a day, not allowing ANYTHING to be out and visible) and there's no way I personally could manage to keep the house the way they want, so I found a new place to live - in Wisconsin, with my friend @archangelsanonymous.

Everyone who knows me has encouraged this move to get away from my parents. My therapist practically did a happy dance! My parents have been manipulative and controlling my entire life, and have actively worked to hobble me when I try to do stuff on my own. They've plainly stated their goal is to have control of all my finances and legal decisions because they don't approve of the way I budget my money.

When I told them about my decision, they laughed and told me I was stupid, tried to convince me they never threatened to sell the house, tried to paint this as me running away instead of just acceding to a reasonable request, tried to turn me against my friend, then started making up events that never happened to convince me I'm not thinking clearly and I should back out of the move.

I'm not going to back out. This will be good for me.

The plan is for me to move at the end of August 2022. I am taking the time before then to try and plan as much as possible.

I'll figure out a way to make this happen, one way or another, but it would be a hell of a lot easier if I had some help. I'm certainly not going to get any from home.

I will need movers for the furniture at either end, because I'm not physically capable of moving this stuff by myself. Depending on if my parents decide to take back my car or not, I'll need to rent a moving truck or pay for someone else to drive said truck. I will need to pay for gasoline to get from here (Alabama) to Wisconsin. If possible, I need to get my cats their shots before we move in with two other cats and so I'm ready to get them licenses in Wisconsin.

...and I'm probably forgetting something huge, but that's the brain fog caused by my meds for you. I'll update this post if I think of anything.

If you can help at all, even by reblogging this, it would be amazing. I have a few different methods of money transfer, so if you'd like to use something other than paypal, message me and I'll give you usernames.

If it works for you, however, I can be found here: http://paypal.me/hixystix.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you even more for sharing it!

Update 9/26:

So it's been a while and shit happened to keep me from moving - dates that didn't work out, family illnesses, that sort of thing. I even lost $250 on deposits for a truck and movers, but ah well.

The new dates - checked and confirmed on both ends - are October 27-28. Pack up here and drive up on the 27th, unpack on the 28th.

This has been an ordeal, but it's going to happen. I'm going to get out. Any help is still appreciated, although I fully understand that you're probably tired of hearing about this!

As of now, I spent about $350 on vet bills to get my cats up to date on their shots. I spent $250 on those deposits I lost. I ended up owning about $100 more on utilities this month than I'd planned for and now I have an extra month to pay for as well.

The trailer I want to rent will cost about $230 for a one-way trip. Movers on this end are at about $80/+tip on the cheap end. Gas is... well, who knows what gas will be for both my SUV and my dad's truck towing the trailer. I'll also be in charge of food.

I'll make this work, one way or another. But it's nice to have a date to look forward to again and not feel like I'm gonna be stuck here forever.

[the-bjd-community-confess]

bear with me here. lately, well, for the past 6 months we’ve been trying to buy a house. rent in my area is terrible and moving out of my area isn’t an option, so in theory it’s literally cheaper to buy a house. plus my bf and i have good (for our area) jobs. however we wanted to only put down 15%, so we need this thing called mortgage insurance. which also goes through a credit check, like the mortgage would. we’re on the mortgage together. somehow i was approved for the mortgage but denied for the insurance, because them checking my credit lowered my score to one fucking point below what’s needed. i don’t have a bad score, or a terrible debt to income ratio, my score is literally only “fair” because i bought a car 3 years ago and that vs my student loans that i’ve had for ages lowered my credit age, and therefore my score. bc. i don’t fucking know. capitalism™️. so we have to put down 20% of a down payment which we didn’t budget for because we were fine if it weren’t for, y’know fucking credit bureaus. it’s an extra 10k we don’t have because we didn’t expect to need.

so anyway i’m taking it hard. real hard. because along with my house savings i obviously also have a doll savings (it’s much lower though) for, you know, my expensive hobby that i finally started to being able to like actually buy for around 4 years ago. and i feel guilty because it’s like, if it wasn’t for my score and if i wasn’t indulging on things that make me happy, i’d be able to save more for “””adult things””” like buying a house. i almost in a panic started calculating and figuring out how i could sell my collection and all my doll stuff because i’m sure if i sold literally everything i have related to the hobby i would be able to cover the extra 10k. i was like packing shit up and taking pics in a fugue state before my bf stopped me and was like it’s not your fault?? but anxiety and growing up poor af until this job i got after college says otherwise. as a kid and even in college i did not buy anything that wasn’t necessary or if i did it was a long time saving for like a 60$ video game, so having this much fucking money (comparatively) is so wild to me and i was so excited to finally collect and sew and create for these beautiful dolls i’ve always admire. my collection is mostly the “”cheaper dolls”” with some expensiver dolls (resinsoul is great though i legitimately love them for more than $ reasons),

i buy a lot of second hand because i love restoring things, i don’t even buy the big fancy full sets (i shell ocs mainly), and tend to use layaways to assuage my anxiety about paying sums of money over 3 digits. somewhere inside me my brain says “you brought this on yourself, you knew this was a waste of money”. it’s not i know logically, especially if all my other needs and debts are taken care of, but like. h

tl;dr so anyway this is a fucking weird ass confession. i feel sick for even indulging in this hobby and spending money on things i like instead of only paying my bills and food and taking care of my cats bc i could have used that money to add to my house savings to offset my apparently shitty credit score. i’m contemplating a second job and selling every doll thing i have because i don’t feel like i’m pulling my weight even though i am according to my bf. we’re not going to be homeless, we’ll just sign another year where we are, but it’s crushing to know that i clawed my way to stable income and doing something that makes me happy and i still can’t even be good enough for a house that’s only about 130k . that’s so so fucking cheap in this state it’s insane. i hate everything and feel so fucking guilty.

~Anonymous

[moldisgoodforyou]

james and julia

this is for u james anon :) also let’s hope the tags work this time lmao 

___

“What’s up with the boys lately?” Julia asked Sophie after a stall in their conversation over ice cream. The six of them hung out occasionally, mainly when they went out, and Sophie loved the way they all fit together so seamlessly. She easily fit in with the boys and Rafe could hold his own hanging with the girls (probably thanks to his sisters), so it was no surprise that all of them together was always a fun time.

“Hmm. Nothing special, really...oh, James is getting back to dating. I did a complete overhaul of his Tinder the other day.” Sophie told her.

“Back to dating?” Julia cocked her head.

“Yeah, and his girlfriend broke up after three years a few months ago. Something about her not being able to handle long distance anymore, I don’t know. He took it pretty hard. Obviously.”

“Poor guy.” She commented, sitting back in her seat, thinking.

Sophie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and my idiot boyfriend suggested he needed to get over her by getting laid.”

Julia snorted. “Lovely.”

“Right? Anyways, James went on a date after like a month and I’m pretty sure he came home and was miserable for a straight week, so I’m glad he’s kind of moving on. I don’t think the guys ever really liked her, but you know how stubborn people can be about high school relationships.”

______

After that conversation, Julia swiped through her Tinder that night, more purposeful than ever. It didn’t take long for James’ profile to pop up, and they two matched right away. She sent him a teasing message - funny seeing you here - then immediately cringed at her choice of words. James replied with an equally teasing tone, and the two texted for a while that night - and two nights following.

The group all went out that weekend and there was an awkward tension between Julia and James, but Sophie couldn’t quite place why. Instead of being the class clowns of the group like normal, they were both unusually quiet, not really contributing to conversations. When Sophie leaned over to Rafe, whispering her observation, he furrowed his brow, not having noticed a single thing.

“I’m gonna go get another drink, anyone want something?” Julia asked at the end of the night, raising her empty cup. “Yeah, I’ll come with you.” James stepped up, following her through the crowd to the bar. After they both ordered their drinks, standing shoulder-to-shoulder so they could fit in the tightly packed space, he broke the silence first. “So.”

“So.” Julia echoed, raising her eyebrows.

“Can I take you out?”

“That’s awfully forward of you.” She commented, smirking.

“Sorry, out of practice.” He offered a cheeky grin back. “Dinner tomorrow night? At that Mexican place on ninth, I’ll pick you up.”

“Sophie’s gonna kill me.”

“That’s not an answer.” James nudged her arm with his elbow playfully, sliding cash across the bar to pay for both their drinks. “And Rafe will probably kill me too, but hey, at least we’ll go down together.”

Julia hid her smile in her cup as she took a quick gulp, more for confidence than anything. “Or we could get out of here now. It’d probably take them a while to notice...”  

“Now who’s being forward?” He smirked, then glanced over to where their friends were, blissfully unaware. “We’ll have to -”

“Go out the front, I know. Yours or mine?” She grinned, taking another long drink and willing herself not to shudder at the cheap vodka.

“Mine, I’m closer.” He knocked back the rest of his beer, then offered his hand. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.” Julia nodded, accepting his hand. “I still want that date though.”

He laughed as he leaned closer, making her shiver as his lips brushed against her ear. “You got it.”

Meanwhile, Rafe and Sophie were starting to get suspicious. “What do you think they’re so held up for?” She asked, pulling out her phone to text both of them separately. Rafe shrugged. “Friday night, we know it’s always packed here.”

“Ahh.” Sophie nodded in recognition, showing the group her phone with individual texts from each of them with a half-assed reply about meeting someone. Allie grinned. “You think it was that guy on Tinder she keeps texting?”

“Maybe. Wait, is this the first time -?”

“Hell yeah it is.” Rafe grinned, high-fiving Colin and Sophie rolled her eyes. “Well, good for him, I guess. Hope it’s a nice girl.”

_____

The next night, both Julia and James were getting ready for their date at their respective houses. Julia had refused to spill any details, claiming ‘a lady doesn’t kiss and tell’ when Sophie begged for the story. Colin and Rafe had snagged a few cupcakes and spare gel icing from the house chef, eloquently writing Congarts on the Sex - misspelling and all - as a present for James. He had laughed and snapped a photo, but didn’t tell much, just that it was a fun night and she left right after.

“Skirt or the jeans?” Julia held up both options with her turtleneck sweater, glancing in her closet for shoe choices.

“Depends on what sweater you’re going to wear.” Sophie stood and started rifling through her closet, shaking her head as she pushed multiple hangers over.

“What do you mean! This sweater is fine!”  

“Yeah, for church, not a date with someone who’s already seen you naked!” She retorted, pulling out a v-neck sweater instead and a sleek leather skirt. “You want this, with the white boots. Trust me.”

“You’re the worst.” Julia grumbled, but took the clothes and changed anyways. “Should I curl my hair?”

“Hm...no. Not worth the effort. Are you planning on hooking up with this mystery man again tonight, do I have to go to Rafe’s?” Sophie handed her a lipstick to match the outfit.

“Um - uh, probably not -” Julia stuttered, racking her brain for a solution. “You know, when was the last time you two went out?”

“We went out last night.” She raised her eyebrows. “Are you nervous?”

“Going out with all of us doesn’t count. I meant on a date.” Julia took a breath, pleased with her distraction, and smoothed the color over her lips.

“Um...” Sophie trailed off, thinking. “A couple weeks, I guess, I’ve been busy. Where are you going, Rafe and I will go and stake out the date for you.” She grinned. “We’ll be subtle, I promise.”

“You and Rafe have like half an ounce of subtlety between you two, combined.” Julia snorted. “Make him take you to that new restaurant, the one that was in the student paper.”

Sophie thought it over for a moment, her smile faltering. “It’s kind of expensive.”

“Your ability to forget your boyfriend is rich is impressive.”

“Jules.”

“I’m serious! Plus he gets so excited when he can take you out, it’s kind of adorable.” She pressed. “It’s not like you’re doing anything else tonight.”

“Yeah, he kind of does.” Sophie agreed - Rafe loved spoiling her as often as possible, even though she was still getting used to it. “Can I at least get his name?”

Julia had prepared for this question, at least. “It’s Jack, and no, you don’t know him.”

“Ugh, a J name.” Sophie shuddered jokingly, shooting a text to Rafe.

“Yeah, his only downfall.” Julia laughed, albeit a little forced as she thought of the main reason the two of them were probably doomed.

___

Meanwhile, Rafe was hyping James up for his date, blasting rap music way too loud as he ironed his clothes for him. (“Because no one fucking appreciates a well-pressed pant around here,” Rafe had argued, snatching James’ wrinkled clothes out of his hands.) “You kind of did things backward with all this.”

James shrugged. “Guess so. It was her idea.”

“The date or hooking up?”

James grinned as he accepted his freshly ironed shirt from Rafe. “Hooking up.”

“You should be careful though, you know? I mean, you shouldn’t launch into all this so quickly, take it easy.” Rafe told him a little warily, just wanting the best for his friend.

“I know, I know, it’s casual.” James reassured him.

“So...are you gonna need the room? It’s kind of early for dinner.”

“Uh...I mean, I’m not sure...”

Rafe’s face lit up as he received a text from Sophie and he eagerly shot back a reply. “Never mind, looks like I have a date night tonight too. Where are you taking this girl? If you’re going to that new place, I’ll see you there.”

“No, just the Mexican restaurant on ninth. Not pulling out all the stops.” James laughed, shaking his head at Rafe’s sudden mood switch. “Sophie’s got you wrapped around her little finger.”

“I...yeah, probably.” He decided against a rebuttal. “But she’s finally letting me take her out on a nice date, for the first time in ages, so I’ll take it.”

“Didn’t you go to the art museum downtown a couple weeks ago?” James asked, grateful for the conversation topic changing.

“Yeah, and it turned out she had to go for one of her classes and do a few sketches. I swear she can’t go three seconds without being productive.” Rafe shook his head, though he smiled fondly as he talked about her.

“Fucking simp.”

“C’mon, you’re the romantic, you know it’s love.” Rafe grinned and James rolled his eyes as he grabbed his keys and headed out the door. “I’m leaving, have fun.”

“You too! Text me if I have to go to Soph’s!” Rafe called after him.

_____

After Rafe and Sophie’s dinner, Rafe insisted on taking her to a swankier bar downtown by the restaurant instead of their normal college spot. When she paused, calculating in her head and reaching for her phone to check her budget app to see if she could swing expensive cocktails, he grabbed her purse and slung it over his shoulder. “On me, angel.”

“Everything has been on you lately.” She protested, holding her hand out expectantly for her purse.

“Good, so it’s how it should be.” Rafe shot her a grin and took her hand as they walked down the street. “You should have brought the navy purse instead, the black kind of clashes with my outfit.”

Sophie snorted, giving in. “Didn’t think you’d be wearing my accessories tonight, my bad.”

“Ah, but you should never assume.” He pressed a kiss to her temple, glancing in the window as they walked to the door - and did a double-take, spotting James. “Hold on, is that -”

She turned and followed his gaze, seeing Julia opposite James at a dimly-lit back table through the bar. “Holy shit.”

“Do you still want to go in?”

“Yes, we’re going to go interrogate -” She tugged on his hand, pulling him into the bar as Rafe leaned back. “Soph, maybe we shouldn’t -” He hissed, but she ignored him, walking right past the hostess’s stand.

“Ma’am, all our tables are reserved -” The hostess called toward Sophie, but Sophie turned on her heel and shot her a sweet smile. “That’s alright, we’re meeting friends.” She tugged her hand out of Rafe’s and strode over purposefully as he followed quickly behind. Once she made it to their table, she just stopped short of slamming her hands on it, both the drinks rattling a little.

James glanced up with nothing but fear in his eyes. “Oh, Sophie, nice to see you here -”

“What the hell is going on here?” She demanded, shooting glares at both James and Julia. James slunk back a little in his seat, while Julia just winced.

“Actually, yeah, I’d like to know too.” Rafe chimed in, sliding into the booth next to James as Sophie did the same.

“I told you they’re both off limits, James.” Sophie pointed an accusing finger at him. “Did you somehow forget my one rule? Literally just one?”  

“To be fair, you don’t speak for me -” Julia started, only for Sophie to whirl on her. “You! You were being so sneaky when you normally spill every detail - I should not know how big every single dude you’ve hooked up with is -”  

“Wait, you two hooked up? Julia’s the mystery girl?” Rafe made the connection a moment too late, then threw his hands up in exasperation. “Dude!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” James apologized quickly. “But if we’re pointing fingers, it was her idea -”  

“James!” Julia sighed, shaking her head. “Oh my god, I knew this wouldn’t work.”

“You said we could keep it a secret!”

“Not from fucking Sherlock over here!” Julia snapped, jamming her thumb toward Sophie.

“Was it worth it?” Rafe interrupted the argument, stepping on Sophie’s toe gently to hopefully put out some of the flames in her eyes. She only kicked him in the shin in response.

Both James and Julia shared a glance, debating their answers. “Honestly?” She asked.

“Yes, honestly.” Rafe nodded, sending a warning look to Sophie to keep her quiet.

James hesitated, not wanting to hurt Julia’s feelings. “I mean, I think you’re really nice -”

“Yeah, and the sex wasn’t bad -”

“Oh my god, please don’t even start there.” Sophie mumbled, her face twisting at the thought of her friends together like that.

“And I think you’re pretty -” James started again.

“But there’s nothing there.” Julia finished for him, offering him a quick smile. “I think we’re perfectly fine as friends, but that’s it.”

James nodded in agreement, relieved she felt the same. “Yeah, exactly. No hard feelings.”

Sophie let out a slow exhale. “Alright. I mean. You’re sure? Because if there’s really something, I can, like, chill out. Probably.”

Rafe smirked. “I’d say your entrance here contradicts that.”

Julia laughed, breaking the tension. “I’m sure. We were just talking about his ex before you interrupted, so I don’t think anything’s going to happen.”

Rafe shoved James’ arm, shaking his head. “That’s the one topic I told you to avoid.”

“We actually were having a decent conversation, if you two don’t mind? The least I can do is get you another drink, Julia.” James laughed, pushing him back aimlessly.

“...Fine.” Sophie stood, shaking her head. “Just as friends, though.”

“Just as friends.” Julia promised, sending her a grateful smile.

As Rafe and Sophie left, he let out a loud laugh as soon as they exited the bar. “Jesus Christ, Sophie. James looked like he was about to piss himself, he was so scared.”

“Good! She’s off limits! I warned him!” She exclaimed.

“I know, it’s like incest.” Rafe shuddered and slung his arm around her shoulders, walking with her to find another bar. “But hey - you think Allie and Colin might be a good match?”

“Rafe Cameron.”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!”

taglist: @whoeveniskendall @kkmaybank @karsinner @outerbanksbro @outerbankspreferences @randomficsandshit @sunshineitsfine44 @jailcalledlife @tovvaa @moniamaybank @illbesafeforyou @dontjinx-it @freddymaybank @jjmaybankzz @g4bster @oopsiedoopsie23 

[chronicallyblogged]

Moving and friend stuff.

I've basically told my friend I'm no longer living with her anymore. She stayed the night so we could view apartments and it was a nightmare. She essentially expected me to do all the work. When I couldn't predict her needs and when I didn't detail it to her exact expectations she got mad. I didn't pick out the right shoes for her to where bc I didn't think it through well enough bc I was busy having an anxiety attack so they wound up hurting her. Which caused her to have a meltdown in front of the landlord. Then tell me off for taking so long to walk there (bc im disabled) and being mad I didn't make expectations clear enough. I told her how long it would take, gave her the address days prior, and showed her the map, also told her no bus was available. But I couldn't magically predict how to word it well enough for her and know what social expectations she didn't know.

Then when we got back she took up my entire couch, ice pack, and heat pack. Asked that I take care of her food and water. All the while I am injured from stepping on glass, in severe pain from disability, nauseas from anxiety, and my chronic heat rash was inflamed. Which I told her. When she finally left I collapsed into a severe panic attack that activated my mcas.

I am not interested in being a caretaker. Not for free and not in my freetime. I told her how it felt like she made me deal with her feelings and issues at the cost of my own. She claims she didn't know I was suffering When I pointed out that she knows about my disabilities/chronic illness (we've known eachother for 13 yrs) she said I still should tell her I pointed out I did. She then said she needs to figure out how if she is having issues with being self centered or If her brand of autism needs blunt approach.

My issue with that is I was blunt. I am a blunt person. I said "I'm in pain. I dont want to move." She tried to deny asking me to do stuff for her excessively until I quoted her which then she said it's bc she viewed me as a host and that just means she needs to rewire how she views it. But I take issue with treating hosts like caretakers. And I've asked her to look into it before. In either case I'm not willing to be hurt while she learns how to interact with people in a nonharmful manner.

Also she's just really classist and I don't know how to bring it up to her bc she doesn't take it well. But my countertop dishwasher is fancy to me. To her it's an eyesore and she wants a regular dishwasher. She and argued bc at one point she wanted a place bad for my disabilities for it. Then at another time I pointed out that I'm moving for her. Not bc I wanted to. She was like "well you'll get an upgrade if you move with me to *place we checked out* while making a face and waving her hand at my home. Like yeah my paint and tiles are cracked. The carpet is cheap. I have a bug infestation (which she loudly pointed out) and sometimes a mouse. My sink has a hole in it. My bathroom door doesn't really shut. Cabinets are warped and every other month something breaks. But it is still the nicest place I have ever lived and I got it all on my own. For people in my family doing this without marrying yourself off to somebody is a really big achievement. So I'm proud of it and a comment like that pisses me off. If anything it just made me want to stay here even more.

She is still thinking I may change my mind but I'm not sure I will. It's a possibility I guess but I think I'd rather just sort out my stuff here. My landlord really wanted me to stay so I feel pretty secure in it. I did find her a studio that is in an area she would like and fits her budget so I'm not just totally fucking her over. It's not as aesthetically pleasing as she prefers but tbh living poor would do her some good. Her dad is still paying bills so she's fine.

[loquaciousquark]

I hope you're doing well! I know you posted about a stressful situation last month, and I hope it's resolved itself. Sending good wishes you you and Hamlet!

Thank you so very much for checking in on me! I really do appreciate it. An update to that post under the cut.

Carol, who moved in with me on May 28, is still here. Right now, we have set a tentative move-out goal of the first or second week of August, but this is pending an apartment application that she hopes to finalize on Monday and a job situation that is a complete mess.

Basically, according to my limited understanding, Carol is licensed to teach in Florida. Alabama has a reciprocity clause with Florida, but it must be applied for. Carol has recently begun this process, but her teaching license(s?) is (are?) set to expire in December unless she passes certain exams. She’s already passed one for...general middle and high school teaching, I think, but failed a math exam. She has an art history exam Monday afternoon and expects to pass. I hope so, because she’s been doing nothing but watching Netflix and shopping for houses for the last few days in her new 2017 Jeep Cherokee.

I remain unspeakably grateful to my parents for teaching me financial literacy, because until I witnessed Carol’s decision-making, I had no idea how hard it was for some people to not spend money unwisely. 

As a reminder, Carol is dead broke. She has $153,000 in debt across student loans, medical bills, Czech and US taxes, and some personal loans she would like to repay to friends for helping her. She is unemployed and has no support from her family and has relied on couch surfing at friends’ and acquaintances’ homes since last summer for housing. Since moving in with me, she has been trying to find somewhere to live that would accept her with all her debt and her nonexistent US employment history for the last ten years. Based on what she’s said, I think she has about $9k in the bank--or did, until last week.

In short, she needs a car, a job, and a home, and as far as I can tell she doesn’t care which order they come in.

Two weeks ago, she was offered a position in a rural town about 30 minutes from where I live. It’s a small, very country town which desperately needs a special education teacher, something I think Carol really does have a passion for. However, because she hasn’t finished the reciprocity licensure application yet, they’re having a lot of roadblocks with her paperwork, compounded by the fact that when she left Prague last year, she left all her important documentation behind: things like her birth certificate, her social security card, and her letters of recommendation, which for some reason she did not have electronic backups of. The principal has been trying to get what she needs from Carol for two weeks. Carol is constantly saying that things are “in process” but has nothing to show for it.

As far as we can tell, the job is still hers, but the school year starts August 13th and she still hasn’t been approved by the Board of Education because the paperwork is still not finished on her end. She did not attempt to replace her birth certificate or social security card until they needed it for the application. (Her friend in Prague--and I am beginning to realize she uses the word “friend” for anyone she’s met longer than sixty seconds), who frantically packed up all her belongings when she realized she would not be able to go back to the city, cannot ship her belongings or go through them for the important paperwork until next summer, as she and her husband are currently vacationing in Rome for a year.

Carol decided last night she is also going to apply for some online Department of Defense position--I didn’t understand the details and don’t really want to know, except that it’s also teaching and some administration. We’ll see how it works out. She is growing increasingly annoyed at the principal’s requests for paperwork completion, which baffles me.

So, job: shrug? Maybe?

Car next, then, but this whole mess also goes back to the financial literacy thing. My parents have always been extremely frugal (pennywise, as my dad would say), and from childhood they made it very clear to us to not buy things you couldn’t afford. They’ve never had a car payment in my memory, and they paid off their house about ten years ago. This means they drove a lot of junkers for a very long time, and for a very long time we had very few vacations, but now they’re fully financially stable and debt-free and my mom has a car that she drove off the lot brand new that they paid cash in hand for. 

If I had been in Carol’s situation, I would have found a cheap, mostly reliable used car that probably wasn’t going to explode on me and drive that as long as I could while saving up for housing. I did in fact drive her to look at several used cars, most of which would have been even outside my expected budget (hers, as it happens, is larger even than that, because one of her overseas friends was willing to contribute $5000 to the cost of a vehicle). (I paid $6500 for my current car, a 2004, in college in 2012 with 70,000 miles on it at the time, and have driven it ever since.)

She rejected all of them because they did not have good “energy” and “feelings.” One she was willing to buy at $3700, but told the seller to go pay for his own inspection (once I explained to her what mechanical inspections were as a concept), so they ghosted her. She also is extremely afraid of head gasket failure--I don’t know why, since she knows nothing about cars--and has assumed all vehicles she has driven are on the verge of it, so after the first week she refused to even look at a vehicle without a warranty.

This means she exclusively limited herself to used dealership options, which I’m just going to come right out and say was monumentally stupid. I don’t know if any car dealers follow me, so I’m sorry if I am misperceiving this, but in my experience almost every dealer I’ve gone to has been aggressive, manipulative, and extremely predatory in their interest rates. I cannot think of a riskier course of action in abject debt than to try to cut a deal with a car dealer for the sake of a warranty I doubt will cover that much truly expensive failure in the long run anyway.

On Thursday, Carol bought a $20,000 2017 Jeep Cherokee from a dealership down the road. I don’t know what she put down. I do know she did not use her friend’s money (why not??) and I know her interest rate on the car loan is 4%, which she is extremely proud of and which horrifies me. She also “persuaded” them into a limited warranty that will cover the vehicle up to 100,000 miles (currently at 42k, and they ~only offer it for cars under 40,000 miles~). I can’t tell you how bad an idea I think all this is.

Thursday night, as she was regaling me with stories of her negotiating prowess, she also tells me she has decided to buy a house. She’s sick of renting, and somehow, someone somewhere managed to get her approved for up to $120,000 in a home loan. She already has $150k in debt, another $20k from the car, and now wants to buy a house. She was delighted that she could make the minimum 7% down payment, even though it would wipe out every cent she has left and leave her less than $500 to her name for moving expenses, utilities, food, title registration, etc. afterwards.

She doesn’t even have a secure job yet.

However, this plan seems to have fallen through. She went out with a realtor several times this weekend and came home the last time in great, heaving sobs, because she can’t find the 3bed 2bath she wanted in her price range. (For reference, most homes in this area go between 200k - 250k right now for 2-3bed 2ba, and the closer you get to the city--I have about a 20 minute commute--the higher it gets. My next door neighbor sold her 3bed 2.5ba for >300k three months ago, and Carol knew this.) She was absolutely devastated that the only things in her range were “tiny little ugly flipped houses” and “the ghetto.” The realtor basically said she wasn’t going to waste any more of her time. Carol repeatedly told me how grateful I should be that I got in at the price point I did a few years back, because no “normal people” could ever afford to break into the market again.

I tried to tell her that it was because I lived in with a roommate in very cheap housing and then a cell of a 1bed 1ba apartment for eight years while I saved money, but if nothing else, I’ve learned I’m not allowed to compare our situations or histories or offer advice of any kind except “go ahead and buy what you want,” because that only makes her cry harder. In the end, she has decided to give up on the house for now and settle for the absolute last thing in the world she wanted, an apartment with a lease.

To be honest, until she has a signed contract in hand, I half-expect this lease to fall through as well. I have tried to offer what I think is sensible advice and been ignored or rebuffed. I have tried to offer a sympathetic ear and ended up with her sobbing uncontrollably on me--heaving, body-wracking sobs--over and over again with me trapped in my own home, providing endless emotional support for a girl I don’t even like. I have tried to encourage her to do the things she wants to do, since she’s going to do them anyway, and when she gets “negative energy” after the purchases (buyer’s remorse, I think, that one little inkling of sense saying maybe it wasn’t a great idea to buy a $20,000 car or an $1100 brand new iPhone without a job), she blames it on the exact thing I said I thought might be good and makes me feel like I have now directly contributed to a negative outcome after poor decision-making.

For the record, when she says these things to me she is not saying, and has never said, them directly at me. She has never blamed me in any way for a negative outcome. She is not consciously trying to manipulate me or abuse me or take advantage of my help. She has never once asked me for money or job connections or for me to use any of my stability to unfairly or unethically get her something she needs. She is just completely absorbed in her own (rightfully absorbing) mess of a situation, and I think just completely unaware of how much of an emotional black hole she has become. There are no problems except her problems. There are no needs except her needs, and everyone around her has to understand how hard she has it at all times. 

So, we’ll see. I am praying that the apartment works out next week. The owner seems to want to work with her, which is a hopeful sign. Good thoughts would be appreciated.

--

Aside from all of this, work has gotten extremely complicated. I’m not going to go into all of it now, but one of my jobs is to create an extremely detailed schedule for students in clinic. This is used to schedule patients in each service--if we have this many students, we can have this many patient slots per half-day, etc. Last week, two students were out unexpectedly, one who broke her arm the day before she was supposed to begin, and one who had a terrible anxiety attack and thought the symptoms were actually COVID. That student was tested and cleared negative, but Student Health requires a two-week quarantine anyway, so she was not allowed to return.

This meant that we now had multiple patients per day with no one to see them. We tried to reschedule as many as we could, but we still ended up with multiple overbooks. This is extremely stressful for me as both a provider, an instructor, and a human being who hates having other people wait on her in a professional capacity. We got through the week, but not without several painful bumps, and it’s looking like there will be more soon.

I also woke up to an email this morning that one of my favorite students (yes, I have favorites, I’m sorry), had a completely unexpected death in the immediate family and had to rush home. This is a very, very sweet, very smart girl who has worked unbelievably hard over the past year to do well in this program and in my courses, and I am just devastated for her. One of her friends is willing to cover her clinic, so the impact will be minimal on that side, but to have this happen during this country’s hellhole handling of this pandemic...I can’t even imagine it.

All of this isn’t even touching COVID. The President’s side has won in that sense--I don’t even register the numbers anymore--but as of last week our dean sent out messaging that implied that with our state’s failure to contain the spread, new discussions were going to be happening soon regarding our August start. We already had committed to full hybrid scheduling: all lectures online, in-person labs only where absolutely necessary to continue advancement in the program, and those labs limited to two per room with full PPE, but if they decide even that can’t happen, I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do. I cannot make competent doctors over Zoom. I can’t. At some point they have to touch other people and look at other people’s eyes. They have to be able to check real, in-person blood pressure. They have to look at genuine eye movements and ocular surfaces in person and I cannot and will not let them enter clinic until they have the practice and the time and the practicals behind them. I fucking refuse to endanger the public for sixty years because someone in an office somewhere decided a timetable is more important than a patient keeping their ability to see, and I’m ready to fight administration on this if they try to push it.

But if I win the fight, what next? They just...don’t enter clinic next year. They don’t enter my program. I don’t know what they do in the meantime, as this lab meets four mornings a week and the lecture twice. The course is delayed until next year or whenever we have the virus under control again, and suddenly my fall semester sure looks like I’ll be being paid to stay at home and count carpet fibers. I don’t think they’ll fire me--no one else wants to teach my course anyway--but if I win this fight I might put myself right into furlough in the process.

I could be borrowing trouble, I know. They could come back and say that after review, our system and safety protocols (all extremely conservative) are indeed safe enough and we can proceed as we want. They could say that our limited in-person option for lectures (we have several gigantic lecture halls that could easily socially distance) is the only thing that needs to go. They could say that we just need to have smaller lab groups--hellish on me, but doable.

But it’s one more element of stress in my life that I just can’t handle worrying about right now, which is why I’ve been bouncing back and forth between random fics and oneshots (that mermaid one was feverishly written on a single evening Carol spent at her mom’s house) and pouring an ungodly amount of hours into Animal Crossing. At least there I have some control over what happens next.

Sorry, guys. I know this is not the happy update I was hoping for. I’ll try to check in again next month and we’ll see where things end up.

[torisfeather]

Flufftober 3 - College/University AU

Prompt by @vex-bittys

You can read it on fanfiction.net or AO3

-------------------------

Today, we have a college AU with Virgil, Janus, Patton and Logan. I don't know what the ship name is... Moxieloceit?

Anyway, here's something about the struggle of procrastinating when all your partners push you to do the best you can.

---------------------------

"Everyone in favor of killing the teacher who decided this was a reasonable assignment says I."

"I."

"I."

"I think we all need a break," Patton sighed, shutting his laptop closed.

The three others stretched where they were sitting, or hunching over the table in Virgil's case. Logan checked the time on his phone. "The snack bar is open."

"Yes!" Patton cheered quietly as he started putting his stuff away in his bag.

"I thought you hated the food there," Virgil inquired.

"It's the closest option, which means we will waste less time walking," Logan explained shrugging. "Plus, it's the cheapest place in town."

"Oh, yeah, it's not like I could offer you a meal from anywhere else you liked better," Janus said with a smirk, rolling his eyes.

"Pass," Logan just said, slapping away the hand reaching out for his hair.

Janus was a lucky rich boy with a ridiculous budget he got from his parents. He wasn't that much of a spender, really, he actually saved a portion of that money for later use, and spent the rest on self-care. Or on anything promoting anarchy.

He also used it to help his boyfriends out, but the three others had learned the hard way Janus was like a fae: favors from him always implied something in return.

Chores, generally. Although massages and long cuddles were a close favorite.

They all packed up their things and walked down the stairs in the university library building. Logan's eyes darted around for any information poster he'd missed, like every time he came here. It was endearing how invested he was in the events on campus.

They left the building and took the short walk across the square to the snack bar. It was pretty much empty at this hour. Virgil and Logan quickly ordered their usual coffee, plus a chocolate bar for Virgil and an apple for Logan. Janus watched with a smirk as Patton hovered around the supersized muffins. "They sure look delicious, don't they? Oh, they even got the hazelnut ones today!" Janus purred.

Patton whined. They were his favorite thing on the menu, but also the most expensive, even if they were quite cheap compared to everywhere else. And the hazelnut ones were always the first to go… Patton tried to resist. "I'm almost out of money, I need to hold on until Tuesday…"

"Oh, that's too bad! Well, I can always help if you want…"

"Jan, stop being a snake and cut to the chase, I want to sit down!" Virgil grumbled from a few steps away, breaking the spell.

"Ugh, fine…" Janus stepped up to the counter and asked for a hazelnut muffin and two hot chocolates. Patton didn't say anything, he was this close to conceding anyway.

All four of them sat down at their usual table, and Janus handed Patton his snack.

"ThankyousorryI'llmakeituptoyouIpromise," Patton muttered before taking his first bite and melting.

The hazelnut muffins were stuffed with chocolate paste, and Patton could already feel himself twitch from how rich and sweet it was. He moaned in delight, smiling and trying not to drop crumbs on himself.

And then, he stopped, noticing all three of his boyfriends were staring at him. "What? What did I do?"

"This was the cutest shit I've seen all day," Virgil admitted.

Patton blushed, smiling shyly.

"And that statement is objective too, as far as I can define the adjective 'cute'," Logan pushed.

"Just seeing that was worth paying for the muffin," Janus agreed.

"You guyyyyys, you're so sweet!" Patton almost cried, dropping down on his closest boyfriend's lap. Which were Virgil's.

The emo chuckled. "I just want to make out so bad right now."

Patton shot back up. "Nope! Muffin first!" he said, starting to eat again.

Janus stretched. "How about we just go home and snuggle and watch a movie?"

"Well, that depends on how far everyone has gone through the assignment. It is due tomorrow," Logan said.

Virgil collapsed on Patton's shoulder. "Mine is just going to suck anyway."

"Virgil, please stop being fatalistic. How far are you?" Logan asked again.

"… I've started the second part."

"Good! I'm almost finished, so I can help you," Logan smiled. "Janus?"

"I've started the last part."

"Great. Patton?

"I'm almost done too!"

"Okay, do you want my opinion on it?"

"Naaah, it's okay, Virgil needs your help more," Patton smiled, finishing his muffin.

Logan gave him a skeptic look. "Okay, but remember to look it over again."

"Oooor, how about we just go home, enjoy our evening, and then finish tomorrow?" Virgil offered.

"We don't know if we'll have time tomorrow, plus we may not get enough sleep if we wake up earlier for this," Logan objected.

Janus gave Virgil a soft look. "Plus, you'd feel stressed out until tomorrow and you wouldn't enjoy the evening anyway, mister procrastinator. Once we're done, you can relax as much as you want."

Virgil's head sank between his shoulders and he looked away. "Okay, sorry…"

"Aw, come here!" Patton said, pulling Virgil closer for a kiss.

Virgil closed his eyes, melting into the embrace. When Patton pulled away, he leaned in for another kiss, which Patton allowed him.

And then Logan separated them. "No more kisses until you're done!"

"Oh my god, leave me alone!" Virgil grumbled, frustrated.

But Patton smiled at him apologetically. "Think about it Virgil! A couple hour of work, you get helped, and you get as many kisses as you want after. So?"

Virgil blushed. "Okay, fine, I guess…"

Patton squealed and hugged him, and Logan smiled. "Well, here's another extremely cute thing."

"I see three cute things," Janus corrected, and stood to hug his boyfriends. "Now let's get this over with so I can pull you onto the couch and make out with you all night."

[yourkeeperoftherunners]

Roommate?

Summary: AU You buy a condo/townhouse from a young couple without picking up on their awkwardness about the quirks of their place. Over time you get the feeling that someone is present, but you can’t see them. Their presence is surprising but oddly comforting when you’re all by yourself in a city you’re starting to become familiar with. It’s only when you’re trying to excuse yourself from an awkward “date” that you finally see your ghostly “roommate” face to face.

Rating: PG-13 (Language, Mention of ghosts, Mention of jealousy, Mention of death, Mention of violence, Light Intimacy)

Characters: Ghost!Hyunjin/Sam (Stray Kids) x Older Female Reader, Han/Peter, Seungmin, plus mention of other Stray Kids members and Itzy members.

Notes: This is an AU scenario – I own nothing. It is partly inspired by a true ghost story of a spirit that haunted an inn turned apartment complex in Los Angeles in the 1970s that was known for comforting women like a lover would. In this story, Hyunjin speaks fluent English and in his backstory, he went by his English name Sam when he was alive. (Which is his real English name when he used to live in Las Vegas as a young boy.) He is slightly aged up to 21-22 in this story. Han goes by his English name Peter in this story. Reader is 1-2 years older than the characters and has moved in from another town.

Happy Birthday Hyunjin!

                                         -------------------------------

“Please feel free to look around.”

You absently twirled the flyer in your hands as you wandered from room to room, taking in the space. It seemed to be a pretty well-kept place – spacious for a single occupant with the option to host a guest in a small guest room, decent kitchen with upgrades, close proximity to your new job, and best of all, it was under your budget. But you had to wonder what the catch was with this place.

The condominium was in a pricey neighborhood where newer establishments were charging closer to $600,000+ for brand new condos. In addition, the space you were looking at had a balcony looking out over the city. You thought this would demand a higher asking price, but apparently the couple showing it thought about asking less.

Once you returned to the entrance, you smiled at the couple before glancing out at the double doors leading to the balcony.

“What are your thoughts?” the woman asked.

You snapped your head toward her and you nodded, saying that it looked like a great place to call home. You turned to face them and asked why it was priced low for the area.

The man smiled faintly and gestured to the construction going on outside the window. “Well you used to have a money view of the stadium, but with the new buildings going up, that’s gone,” he explained. “Plus a lot of people said with there being one bathroom for two bedrooms, it does decrease the value sightly.”

“Are you the first owners?” you asked as you stepped closer to the couple.

The woman spoke up, confirming they were, but the building used to be an apartment complex where tenants rented the spaces out. “I think it was owned by the university at one point,” she explained. “But when they got approved to build another dormitory on the school campus, they were eager to sell the building to a condominium developer. We were one of the first residents to buy a place here.”

“They didn’t keep the bones of the place from what I’ve heard,” the man added. “But they said it was old – the apartments were built in the 1960s and it wasn’t up to code.”

You nodded to show you understood. A slight nagging feeling at the back of your mind told you that maybe there was more to this story than they were saying, but you decided not to press them further. The flyer was tucked into your purse and you thanked them before departing.

                                        -------------------------------

“Honey that’s wonderful news!” Mom exclaimed.

You smiled as you shifted the phone to your other ear. Despite the odd sensation you got from the couple that day, you decided after shopping around for condos or townhouses that theirs was the best option for your budget and it was the closest to work. You put an offer in and they accepted, which meant you could finally get out of the hotel you were put up in by your company.

The movers were scheduled to arrive in two days and you were to get the keys to your new home later tonight.

“Yes! I’m excited,” you told her. “My realtor said they were quick to move on the paperwork to close the deal and I should be able to move in on Wednesday.”

“Sounds like everything is falling into place,” she said. “Work going okay? You like your new team?”

“Everyone’s great so far! They took me to lunch on my first day and even decorated my cube,” you said.

“Good! Well call me once you’re in your new place. Definitely want to see pictures.”

                                       -------------------------------

“You really didn’t have to help me,” you told the intern as she followed you up the stairs.

She shook her head and insisted that it was the least she could do to help you settle in.

“I really do appreciate it Lia,” you told her. She started about a month before you did as the year long intern in Communications and Marketing. Despite being a bit younger than you, she was sharp and many were amazed by her  proficiency in three languages. Sometimes you overheard her speaking in French to one customer, then switching to another line to answer someone in Korean.

“I mean, I didn’t have anyone here to help me when I came,” she admitted. She looked around the hallway and commented that when she put the address in for your complex, she was surprised since it looked familiar to her.

“Actually I thought this was a dorm building,” she corrected herself. “My friend Yeji went to university in the area and she was assigned to a dorm on this street.”

You paused and looked back at Lia. “Apparently this used to be the university dorm, but they sold the land to a developer to become a condominium complex after the school got permission to build a new dorm closer to campus.”

Lia’s lips formed a small o shape and she nodded, hoisting her box higher. “Bummer, I guess I’ll have to share with Yeji that her old dorm is gone. She invited me over once and I couldn’t go because I had finals in Canada. But I heard our friend Yena accidentally spilled nail polish on the carpet and they spent all weekend trying to get it out. She said the school was strict about dorm damage and would issue fines.”

“Oh boy,” you murmured, trying to picture two panicky girls trying to get the vibrant color off the carpet. You put your box down and fished out the keys to your new place. The key went into the lock and you turned it, the other hand opening the door.

“Oh wow, this is nice! If you don’t mind me asking, how much did you pay for this place?” Lia asked as she stepped inside and put her box down.

You retrieved yours and carried it to the counter in the kitchen, placing it down carefully. You shoved your keys back into your pocket and shared the final price you paid for the condo, making Lia’s eyes widen in shock.

“I was surprised too,” you confessed. “They said they lost their view of the stadium due to the construction and there’s only one bathroom for two bedrooms. That’s why it’s so cheap.”

Lia nodded as she walked back to the door and pointed in the direction of the elevators to the garage. “I’ll go get more boxes. May I have your keys?”

You tossed over your car keys and she caught them, promising to return as soon as possible. You turned attention back to the two you carried in, frowning when you saw one was open.

You walked over to it and peered inside, noting that everything was still wrapped in bubble wrap or packing paper. The only thing out of place was the fact that the box flaps were no longer secured down and tucked inside one another.

Lia was carrying this one when she came in, you recalled. Maybe she started to unpack it before deciding to get more boxes instead...

                                      -------------------------------

“I don’t think I opened your box,” Lia said, frowning as she tried to recall her actions.

You waved it away as nothing, telling her maybe you hadn’t tucked the flaps in as securely as the other boxes. She relaxed her shoulders and picked up some noodles with her chopsticks, carefully placing them in her mouth. You focused on enjoying your meal, dismissing the incident as nothing to worry about. The important part was getting all of the boxes into your place and making a clear path for the movers to get your furniture installed in the various rooms.

Because the movers wouldn’t come until tomorrow, you knew it would be another night in the hotel. The only rooms you could unpack would be the bathroom and the kitchen, one of which you planned to tackle before calling it a night.

Once the check came, you placed your card down before Lia could grab hers. She frowned slightly and you explained that it was a small thank you for taking her entire afternoon to help you.

“Thank you, I’m glad I could help,” she replied. “So are you going to camp out there tonight? Or go back to the hotel?”

“I’m gonna try to get the kitchen unpacked, then I’ll sleep one more night in the hotel,” you explained. “First, let me drop you off though.”

                                     -------------------------------

You flicked on the lights in your new place and scanned the kitchen, trying to decide which box to start with. Your eyes fell on the one that was partially opened and you walked over, slowly lifting things out and unwrapping them from the packing paper and bubble wrap. Cabinet doors were opened and you began placing plates, bowls, and glasses in each one.

As you emptied boxes, you paused and grabbed your box cutter, using it to cut away the tape at the bottom, so you could flatten the box. You began to prop them up by the front door, making a note to take them down to the recycling area. Your eyes started to feel a bit heavy and you covered your mouth, stifling a yawn.

One hand reached for your phone and you checked the time. 21:39 PM. No wonder you were tired. You blinked a few times before surveying what was left in the kitchen. The only items left that you hadn’t come across yet were the utensils and cooking pots. Part of you wanted to finish what you started, but the rational side of you was saying that you should get some sleep, as tomorrow was going to be another long day.

Tomorrow, you told yourself as you turned toward the island, looking for your keys. You reached a hand out and frowned when you couldn’t find them on the counter. Odd...

You shook your head and decided to check every cabinet and drawer that you put stuff away in. Maybe in your daze you accidentally put them there. Yes, that had to be it.

You huffed when you came up empty and shook your head. Your hands patted your pockets to check for them, only to feel your phone and wallet. Your eyes drifted to one drawer you hadn’t checked yet and it was likely going to become your utensil drawer once you unpacked the box.

You slowly opened the drawer and breathed a sigh of relief, finding them in the front of the drawer, on top of a long, white legal envelope.

How did they...?

Clearly you were more tired than you thought. You didn’t recall opening this drawer, otherwise you would have noticed the envelope as well. But perhaps this was a sign you should call it a night. You retrieved your keys from the drawer and plucked the envelope out as well. Maybe you’d check it out tomorrow after you had sleep and caffeine in your system.

                                     -------------------------------

“Here?”

“Actually, can you center it?” you asked the movers, pointing to the exact place you wanted them to put your couch.

The guys nodded and carefully hoisted it higher, shuffling to the left and looking over at you for approval. You flashed them a thumbs-up and they put it down.

“We just need to unload your dresser and bed, then we’ll need your signature,” one of them said.

“Sounds good,” you replied. You watched as they excused themselves and got back to work on unpacking boxes.

This morning you finished the kitchen and now you were in the middle of unpacking the living room. The floor rug was unrolled and placed a few feet from the edge of the couch. You placed a lamp on one side table, reaching over to plug it into the outlet.

“Coming through with the bed!” one of the movers announced.

You straightened up in time and stepped back to give them more room.

“Back there, please center the bed too,” you instructed them. “The wall facing the door.” You waited until they passed you, then followed behind to watch them put the bed where you wanted it.

It took a little bit of adjusting, but eventually it was set in the perfect place and the dresser came up soon after. You scribbled signatures on the paperwork, acknowledging that you received all of your belongings and that it was delivered with little to no damage.

“Welcome home,” one of the movers commented, pocketing the pen.

                                     -------------------------------

“It’s coming along,” you said to your mom, showing her the space via video call. You sank down on the couch and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.

“Sleeping here tonight?”

You nodded and explained you unpacked your bedding. Your eyes drifted to the front door as you remembered that your dryer was going to be ready in a few minutes.

“I’m gonna grab my bedding, put it on my bed, then grab a bite to eat,” you told her.

“Use the emergency credit card – a little welcoming treat from me and Dad,” she insisted. “I wish I could dine with you in person, but this will do for now. Pick whatever you want.”

You thanked her with a smile and bid her goodbye. The phone was tucked into your back pocket and you set off for the laundry room to retrieve your bedding.

Everything was pulled from the dryer and folded quickly, piled neatly on top of each other for easier handling. You walked back to your place and tried to make your bed neatly. You propped your pillows up against the headboard and folded down the top part of your quilt a couple of inches.

Once you finished, you grabbed your phone and turned off the lights, patting your pocket for your keys and wallet. Your eyes looked to Yelp on your phone as you looked up nearby restaurants to check out.

                                    -------------------------------

“Y/N?”

You turned your head when you heard your name, Lia walking toward you with another girl in tow. She waved, then introduced the other girl as her friend Yeji.

Yeji glanced at Lia and asked if you were the girl who moved into the condominium that took over her old college dorm. Lia nodded and Yeji turned back to you, extending a hand to shake.

“Yeah I was telling her about your place,” Lia explained. “It’s changed a lot since Yeji last lived there.”

“I probably wouldn’t recognize it,” Yeji confessed. “It was okay when I was at school. Lighting was weird and old and sometimes the door hinges squeaked on cold days, but it was all good. Some of us used to have parties in the lounges when the RAs were out or asleep.”

“Oh I saw some large rooms on my floor – I wondered what those used to be!” you exclaimed. “They’re now vending machine rooms for drinks, snacks, and electronics. Did you have a lot of friends living on your floor?”

Yeji crossed her arms over her chest as she tried to recall her neighbors back in school. Lia looked thoughtful and she raised a brow as she turned to face her friend.

“Hang on, didn’t someone from your family also go to that school?” she asked.

Yeji froze and you watched as she tried to keep a neutral expression. She shot a look at Lia and then flashed you an apologetic smile. She cast a quick glance at her phone and stammered that she needed go.

“Early meeting tomorrow for my workplace,” she claimed. “It was so nice meeting you, Y/N-unni!” She grabbed Lia by the arm and began dragging her away, the latter flashing you a confused look before bidding you goodbye.

“Here is your meal Miss,” the waiter announced. “Anything I can get you?”

You shook your head and focused your attention on your plate. Well, the recent interaction was bizarre. Yeji didn’t seem thrilled to talk about the person at her school that was related to her and she seemed upset that Lia brought it up in the first place.

Maybe this person worked at the university and embarrassed her like a parent would a child? you wondered. Or perhaps the pair could have had a nasty spat and she was trying to forget about it? Whatever it was, you didn’t feel a need to pry – it was her business after all.

                                    -------------------------------

You unlocked your door and turned the lights on. Once the deadbolt was thrown, you walked to the fridge and put your leftovers away on the top shelf.

You went through your normal nighttime routine, removing makeup and getting dressed for bed. You yawned as you put your toothbrush in the holder, a free hand turning off the bathroom light.

Your other hand rubbed your eyes as you shuffled into your bedroom and turned on a light. You moved your hand away as you noticed that your quilt and flat sheet were folded back on a diagonal, ready for you to climb into bed.

Didn’t I make my bed before I left? you thought as you slowly approached it. You glanced back toward the direction of the front door and remembered you locked the deadbolt and knob before leaving for dinner tonight. None of the windows were open or had been opened since you moved in.

Stop overthinking it, you scolded yourself. Maybe you thought you left the quilt one way then left it like this.

                                    -------------------------------

Over the next few weeks, you buckled down at work, trying to do your best and prove to your boss that she made a wise decision hiring you. Often you came in early and left late, getting home when it was dark out and often nibbling at some snacks or light food, then falling asleep immediately.

Lia didn’t bring up Yeji’s behavior during this time and you rarely saw her, guessing that your boss was keeping her busy as well. Sometimes you hardly got up for lunch, opting to eat at your desk to keep working.

“I’m not inspired!” your boss sighed during a meeting. She put down the pitches everyone had passed out at the start and looked around the table. “Honestly, this is what I get after several weeks?”

She turned and placed your pamphlet in front of you. “There’s a glimmer of an idea there Y/N, but you got bogged down in the packaging. I need you to clean this up and redo your pitch by Friday.” She turned and addressed each of your co-workers one-by-one, telling everyone what they needed to correct. As soon as she was done with each person, your co-workers stood up and excused themselves to work on the revisions.

When your boss got to Lia, the intern lowered her gaze and listened quietly, nodding to show she understood. She seemed to be getting the harshest critique, as she was supposed to pitch a big idea as her final assignment before the internship was over.

You walked slowly to your desk and groaned, messing your hair up as you sank into your seat. You heard the meeting room door open and saw Lia emerge, trying to hold back tears. Part of you wanted to check on her, see if she was okay, but then you saw your boss exit the meeting room. Time to fix the issues.

                                    -------------------------------

You bit your lip as you propped your head up with your hand, blinking to give your eyes a break from the computer screen. Most of your co-workers had called it quits a few hours ago, but it was just you and Lia left in the building. She hadn’t made much noise, other than a lot of scratching of a pen across a piece of paper. You on the other hand had typed up your revised talking points and were researching competitor companies to see if any of them had done what you were planning.

“Y/N?” Lia asked from her desk. “Is that you?”

You stopped working and answered that you were still there. She took a deep breath and you heard her chair rolling back.

She walked around the other offices and paused at the entrance to your cube.

“Have you eaten dinner yet?” she asked.

You shook your head and checked the clock on your computer. 20:47 PM. Geez, why was she still here? Why were you still here?

“Lia you should head home and try to get some sleep,” you suggested. “I know all of us are upset, but trying to push out an idea when we’re stuck isn’t good. I’m starting to realize that I’m hitting a brick wall by staying here.”

She nodded and clasped her hands together. “Do you like sushi? I know a late night place near here we can go.”

You grabbed your purse and logged off your computer. She perked up slightly and hurried to get her things too.

                                    -------------------------------

Dinner seemed to calm both of you down. You discussed your original pitches and how you could fix them to meet your boss’s expectations. Lia relaxed over the course of the meal and she apologized to you about Yeji’s behavior.

“Don’t worry about it – she has a right to not talk about that part of college,” you said, waving it away as nothing.

“Oh the person wasn’t the problem,” Lia began, “it was actually her cousin on her father’s side. He went to the same school, but they studied different majors. She said he was about to graduate, but he passed away unexpectedly.”

You froze and almost dropped your chopsticks at this bit of news. No wonder the young woman tensed up at the mention of someone else from her family attending school with her – losing someone in her family during an important time had to be hard.

“Were they close?”

Lia waved her hand side to side and explained that they were civil, but not super close. Because they were the same age, his death left her shaken.

“Dying in your twenties is too soon,” she concluded. “I didn’t know the circumstances until she told me. But she wanted me to tell you that you weren’t the reason for her sudden mood drop! It’s just...thinking about him is too–”

“Too soon,” you finished. “I understand.”

                                    -------------------------------

The drive home was quiet and you couldn’t stop thinking about Yeji’s situation. Sure you didn’t know her super well or the young man who was her cousin, but it was a very sad situation for everyone involved. To die unexpectedly in your twenties was shocking and felt wrong. While you didn’t know the exact reason for his passing, you hoped it was peaceful.

You moved slowly as you got ready for bed and slipped under the covers. Today was draining, physically and emotionally. Disappointing your boss, seeing Lia get chewed out, learning about Yeji’s late cousin...

You sniffled, but couldn’t bring yourself to cry after the events that transpired. You closed your eyes and sucked in a sharp breath of air, trying to calm yourself so you could catch a few hours of sleep before waking up again. But your mind was going a million miles an hour, thinking about tomorrow, fixing your pitch...

A few seconds passed and you felt a warm sensation wrapping around your body, almost like someone was giving you a hug from behind. You knew the doors were locked and you hadn’t invited anyone over. Instead of feeling scared or alarmed, you felt at ease for some reason.

You began breathing normally through your nose and allowed yourself to drift off to sleep. Perhaps this was your body’s unique way of telling you that you needed the rest now – pretending some warm presence was helping you fall asleep.

                                    -------------------------------

“Here’s your mail and packages Miss Y/N,” Seungmin announced as he stopped by with his cart.

You accepted the packages and a small pile of letters, thanking him with a smile. Everything was placed on your desk and you turned back to face him.

“How’s your week going so far?”

He shrugged and nodded over at the cart, which wasn’t as full as usual. “Quiet day,” he confessed. “But I know once I’m done delivering stuff here, my boss is gonna send me home and I’m gonna have to listen to my annoying roommate whine about being single.”

You shot him a sympathetic look and reached for a letter to open while you continued chatting. “Sorry to hear that. He does know that there’s no rule saying he has to be paired up right now, right?”

Seungmin rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets. He leaned slightly against the cart and looked around to make sure no one was looking for him. “He’s jealous because our old friend proposed to his sweetheart and she said yes, then one of our old roommates moved in with his new girlfriend, and now our neighbor is seeing some guy that looks like a fairy.”

You winced and put down the letter. “So the world’s bombarding him left and right, huh?”

“Yeah I guess you can say that,” Seungmin sighed. “Don’t get me wrong – he’s nice and he pays the bills on time, but don’t hang around him when he’s mopey and looking for love.”

You nodded to show you understood. Unlike you, Seungmin worked for the building mail room and often got sent home at various times, depending on when he was done passing out or picking up packages and mail. Your eyes wandered to a rolled canvas that you meant to ship back to your printer and you had an idea.

“Well actually, I might have one or two things for you today,” you mused. “I need to ship this back to the printer – it’s their only proof they have and they need it back by Friday. Also, I was wondering if you could check the tracking/status on a package for me? It says it’s coming soon but I kind of need–”

“Say no more,” Seungmin cut you off, a grin spreading across his face. “Let me take care of the deliveries here, then I’ll check that package for you. I’ll also get the pricing for your canvas. Do you know how much it weighs? Dimensions?”

                                    -------------------------------

Once he finished the regular mail delivery, Seungmin headed back down to check both things for you. His boss allowed him to stay longer so he could assist with your requests. In between waiting for the FedEx guy to arrive and checking pricing options for your canvas, he got a message from his roommate, asking when he’d be home.

Peter

I can pick u up. Sent 14:29 PM

Seungmin

It’s fine. I gotta stay longer – had some special delivery requests. Sent 14:31 PM

I’ll take the bus or walk. Sent 14:31 PM

Peter

Nah I’ll come over. Tell me when okay? Sent 14:32 PM

“My roommate Sir,” Seungmin sighed when his boss noticed him replying to the messages in his phone. “He’s my ride home. Told him I’m working later today.”

“Nice roommate,” his boss commented.

Seungmin hid a wince as he glanced at the security footage for the front of the building, spotting the FedEx guy entering the lobby. He buzzed the guy in and stuck his head out of the mail room.

The FedEx guy unloaded several parcels and prompted Seungmin for a signature, claiming they were received. He scrawled a quick, electronic signature and thanked the guy before carefully lifting the parcels and putting them on his cart.

He paused by the computer where he had scribbled down pricing for the canvas options before he made his way upstairs. He noticed everyone else was leaving your office and he excused himself, maneuvering around the other employees.

“One special delivery for Miss Y/N,” Seungmin announced.

You turned in your seat and beamed as you took the package from him. He produced a scrap of paper with the quotes for the canvas and you peered at his writing, trying to decide the best option.

“How about the courier? Am I too late?” you asked.

“Nah I can call him and have him come here in a few minutes,” he reassured you. “Thank you Y/N, you saved me.”

“You helped a lot,” you remarked. “I’m about to leave, can I come hang out with you until the courier shows up?”

He nodded and took your canvas. “I’ll put it in a poster tube and get the label ready. You take your time okay?”

                                    -------------------------------

“Well you got a few more hours away from him,” you teased Seungmin as you walked out of the building.

Seungmin sighed with a shake of his head as a free hand removed his cell phone from his pocket. He shot you a look before taking the call.

“I’m leaving now. No I’ll take the bus. No man it’s fine!” Seungmin groaned. “Oh okay fine. I’m out front. Bye.”

“He’s picking you up?”

“Yeah, but I told him I wanted to take the bus or walk,” Seungmin said. “He’s a student like me, but he does an internship with a radio station. Normally he does it a few weeknights and the weekends, but they thought he had midterms this week.” He turned to face you and flashed you a sympathetic smile. “If I were you, I’d probably leave before he sees you – he might start trying to use cheesy pick-up lines on you once he gets a good look at you.”

“I’m probably too old for him,” you reassured him. “I don’t mind waiting with you Seung, it’s the least I can do for you after you helped me with my stuff.”

The young man sighed as he craned his neck, spotting a black car turning into the drop off area for your building. He raised a hand toward the driver and glanced over his shoulder at you.

“See you tomorrow,” he said.

You nodded and turned to head to the employee parking structure where your car was. You thought you heard Seungmin arguing with the driver, but you focused on getting to your car so you could get home right away.

                                    -------------------------------

The weekend was uneventful, with you doing a bit more decorating of your new space and chatting with your parents to let them know how things were going. Once the new week started, you focused on work again.

You heard the mail cart roll down the row and you heard a familiar voice greet you. You turned in your seat and accepted the mail from Seungmin, who had a nervous look on his face.

“Hey Seung, something wrong?” you asked.

He grimaced and slightly moved his head side to side. “I know you walked fast last week when you waited with me,” he began, “but I’m afraid Peter saw you and now he’s asking me if you’re single. I already told him that you’re older than him, but that didn’t work. I’m sorry Y/N noona.”

You shrugged and put the mail on a free section of your desk. “Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault – you don’t have control over him.”

Seungmin leaned against the cart and murmured that he knew that. He bit his lip and asked if he needed to make up some kind of excuse for you to get his roommate to drop the subject of possibly asking you out.

“I mean, I can tell him you’re not into younger guys or something,” he offered. “Look, I said he’s not a bad guy, but I think he’s trying too hard–”

“I mean, how bad is he?” you cut off.

“He’s chatty but not misogynistic,” Seungmin said. “I know some of his dates felt he was too hyper for them and they said, he’s nice, but he’s like the Energizer Bunny and it was too much to handle. Or they felt he was a bit immature. He never went far after the date – trust me, he’s not that kind of guy to put out, unless you say something.”

You leaned back in your chair and swiveled left to right slightly. Ever since you arrived here, you struggled to make friends or even find time to date. Your mom had asked if you met anyone interesting yet, which made you change the subject quickly. Part of it was due to work and you made excuses saying you were still settling into your new place.

“Um, what does he look like?”

Seungmin raised a brow at your question and you prompted him to show you a picture of his roommate. The young man pulled out his phone and unlocked it, before clicking on the Instagram app and scrolling to his roommate’s page. He flicked through the posts, then paused when he found one that he liked.

“I get why girls find him attractive,” Seungmin stated as he showed you his phone. “And by the way, that’s his skin – no filters or makeup. Yeah, I’ve been trying to figure out his skincare routine for a while, but no luck.”

You leaned forward to look at the image of the young man sporting a sharp pinstripe suit while leaning against the window sill. His light colored hair was styled back, his gaze focused to the right.

Seungmin was right, his roommate was handsome. But you detected a slight twinkle in his eye based on this photo, which made you think that he was probably more lighthearted and fun than shown. You nodded and leaned back in your chair as Seungmin put his phone away.

“I mean...how would he be if we met for coffee or dessert only?” you offered. “I’m not talking a serious date, more like an icebreaker, sorta?”

“Wait, seriously? Y/N don’t force yourself to consider a date with him if you’re not that interested,” the young man said.

You shrugged and confessed that you wanted to get out and meet more people.

“I mean, not to friendzone him right off the bat,” you began, “but I haven’t had time to meet more people, aside from my co-workers up here and you. You um, mind giving me his number?”

One of your co-workers stuck her head out of her cubicle and asked about her mail. Seungmin apologized to her and reassured her that he was on his way to her cube. Satisfied with his response, your co-worker went back inside and the young man took this as a sign that he needed to get back to work.

Seungmin straightened up and moved to the front of his cart. He took the brake off and paused before continuing his route. “Tell you what, I’ll let him know that you might be free to do something lowkey. I can introduce you over text and you guys can take it from there.”

                                   -------------------------------

Eventually you exchanged messages with Peter and decided to meet up at a trendy dessert cafe that opened near your complex. You made sure to get out of work on time and headed back to your place to freshen up.

You placed your keys on the kitchen counter closest to the door, then made a beeline for the bathroom to brush your teeth and touch up your makeup. Instead of changing clothes, you felt your current ensemble of a t-shirt tucked into the waistband of your high-waisted skirt was perfect. You swapped out your heels for flats and dug around for a casual jacket to replace your blazer.

Peter

Hi noona! Did you want me to pick you up? Sent 18:41 PM

Y/N

Hey Peter, no I’ll meet you there. It’s really close and I’d love to walk over. Sent 18:42 PM

You draped the jacket over one arm and put your phone into a smaller purse, along with your wallet and ID. As you headed for the door, you frowned when you saw the counter by the door empty. You froze, looking around for the keys, while your brain tried to remember exactly where you put them.

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly, you opened your eyes again and decided to check everywhere in the kitchen. They weren’t on a counter and you didn’t see them on a hook by the door, which held your rain and winter coats. You knelt down to check if you dropped them on the floor somewhere, sighing when you couldn’t find them.

I know I didn’t open a drawer, you thought, deciding to backtrack to the bathroom and your room to check again. Both places came up empty and you sighed, emerging from your bedroom to try the kitchen one more time.

As you approached the kitchen, your eyes widened when you saw your keys on the counter, along with the envelope from the previous owners, which you kept forgetting to open. Your hand reached out, then retracted from the keys. What was going on? A few moments ago you couldn’t find them, and here they were, right where you thought you placed them. Except, you didn’t remember leaving the envelope out.

Shakily, you picked up your keys and slowly lifted the envelope from the counter. It had your name on the front and you flipped it around to lift the flap up.

Inside was a typed letter from the previous owners, printed front and back. Your eyes skimmed the contents, which primarily congratulated you for buying their old place, rules about guests and parking, utilities covered by the complex, etc.

Before you could flip it over to read the other side, your phone buzzed and you dug around in your bag for it.

“Hey Y/N noona, I hope Peter doesn’t drive you insane,” Seungmin said. “He left a few minutes ago – said you were gonna meet him there.”

“Oh um, yeah, I’m on my way,” you confirmed. “Hey, if you get a quiet night in, that’s all that matters. Hope you can enjoy it while it lasts.”

“Be gentle if you have to let him down,” Seungmin warned. “I know you won’t be a bitch, but he can be a bit fragile after a failed date.”

“This is technically a meet-up, not a date in a way,” you admitted, cradling the phone between your shoulder and ear. “He didn’t dress to the nines, did he?”

“Oh no, I told him you were going to be coming from work,” Seungmin reassured you. “I’ll let you go – don’t wanna keep you.”

You thanked him before hanging up and putting the letter down on the counter. You could finish reading it later – right now, you didn’t want to keep Peter waiting.

                                   -------------------------------

“Y/N noona?”

You looked up from your phone to see the young man from the picture, this time dressed in a blue button-down shirt tucked into a neat pair of black jeans. As your eyes met, his shy expression melted away to a brilliant smile.

You extended both hands to shake his and he took them, giving them a firm shake.

“It’s nice to meet Seungmin’s roommate,” you replied.

Peter nodded and took the seat opposite you. He gestured to the menu and asked if you had ordered yet. You shook your head and explained that you were waiting for him to arrive.

“Ah you’re too sweet noona, you didn’t have to!” he protested. He picked up his menu and looked it over, biting his lip as he tried to make a quick decision. He peered over the top of the menu and asked if you were okay with cheesecake.

You shot him a quick smile and declined, explaining you had your eye on a berry tart. “But we can order different things,” you insisted. “After all, this is meant to be more of a lowkey meet-up.”

Peter bit his lip behind his menu and nodded, trying to hide his disappointment. He looked around for a waiter and froze when he saw who it was.

“Felix?”

“Oh hey!” the young man greeted as he came over. “You live with Seungmin, right?”

Peter nodded and he put his menu down. He looked at you as he asked if you were ready to order and you agreed, turning to look at the waiter.

“Felix, right?” you asked.

The waiter nodded and produced a pen and order pad. “What may I get for you?”

You pointed out the berry tart and thanked him as you passed over your menu. Peter held out his menu and ordered the cheesecake sampler, before asking if you wanted to order drinks.

“Oh I’m cool with water,” you confirmed.

“Oh um, okay then! Same here,” Peter replied. “Thanks Felix.”

The waiter excused himself and went off to key in your orders. Peter jabbed a thumb behind him and explained that he knew him through a neighbor.

“There’s this guy who lives on our floor by the elevator and he started dating Felix,” Peter explained.

“So he’s the fairy?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, Seung joked that your neighbor started seeing a fairy-like guy,” you explained.

“Hah, oh yeah, he sorta does have fairy visuals,” Peter remarked. “Funny thing is, this guy who lives in our building, he looks like the epitome of darkness and hardcore stuff. So to see him with Felix, it’s kinda –”

“A TV trope?” you offered.

Peter nodded and you fell silent as Felix returned with water glasses. Both of you thanked him and the young waiter informed you that your desserts were coming out shortly.

“Not to rush you, but are you paying together or separate?” Felix asked as he clasped his hands together.

You opened your mouth to say separate, but Peter beat you to it, saying it was one bill. Felix nodded and excused himself to check on your desserts.

“We can split if you want,” you spoke up. “I brought money.”

Peter shook his head and flashed you a smile. “No I’m not making noona pay on our date.”

Didn’t Seungmin tell him this wasn’t one? you thought, the smile still frozen on your face. Well, maybe it was a slip...

                                   -------------------------------

“You didn’t have to,” you said.

Peter shrugged his shoulders and replied it was no big deal. He pushed his hands into his pockets as he walked beside you.

The desserts were good and Peter was pretty nice. But his roommate wasn’t kidding when he described him as a chatterbug. You almost wondered how that guy got a moment to breathe with all of the questions he fired at you, all while taking brief breaks to try the five different cheesecakes he got in the sampler. At one point he tried to persuade you to try one of his, which had strawberry in it, but you declined, explaining you weren’t a big fan of the dessert. He seemed crestfallen at this revelation, but eventually bounced back and asked what you did like to eat.

By the time the bill came, you tried to put down your share of the tab, but he shot you a look as he tugged it closer to him. You gave up and thanked him, planning to walk home and take it easy the rest of the night. But he insisted on walking you home.

You had to give him credit for being a gentleman and making sure you got home safely, but honestly, you were ready to curl up in bed and be a bit anti-social. Seungmin was right – his roommate was sweet, but a bit too energetic for you to handle. Once you reached the gate that blocked out non-residents from entering without a key, you turned and thanked Peter.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you to your door?” he asked with a slightly concerned look.

You waved it away as nothing and explained your place was secure past this point. One hand slotted the key into the gate’s lock and you turned it, pulling it toward you. You stepped through and glanced back briefly at Peter.

“Hey it was nice meeting you,” you told him. “Next time, how about you, me, and Seung hang out and get coffee. On me, by the way.”

“Oh um, ye-yeah! Yeah that’s cool,” he said. He tilted his head and murmured, “I um, I ruined it, didn’t I?”

“Sorry?” you asked as you backtracked, holding the gate open slightly.

“The date?” he said.

“Peter...I’ll be honest, I thought Seungmin told you it wasn’t really a date,” you confessed. “See, I wanted to meet new people and I thought it would be cool to meet Seungmin’s roommate. I’m sorry there was miscommunication.”

Peter blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah he did tell me it wasn’t a big deal,” he replied, “but I’ll admit I was a little hopeful. I don’t wanna seem desperate, but I like the idea of being with someone and showing them I care, you know?”

“I get that,” you said. “I had a good time tonight and I would like to meet up again as friends, if that’s okay. Right now, I’m not in a good space to date, if you get me.”

He nodded and raised a hand to say goodbye. “If the coffee hangout still stands, I’d like that. I think Seungmin would like that too. Thanks again.”

You bid him good night before slipping through the gate and heading to the elevator leading to your floor. You quietly congratulated yourself for handling the situation well, as the young man seemed to understand where you were coming from and realized that a friendship was possible. Once the elevator reached your floor, you stepped off and made a beeline for your door.

You immediately took your flats off at the door and arranged them under your coat hooks. One hand reached up to place the keys on the empty hook over your head and you felt a warm presence touch your hand, taking your keys from you to put on the hook. You slowly averted your gaze from your flats, spotting a second pair of feet beside you. Gradually, your eyes traveled from the black boots, the long legs, the broad shoulders, and the angular jaw of a young man in his twenties.

You took a step back in shock as you watched the young man place your keys on the hook and you blinked a few times to make sure you weren’t imagining things. At first glance, his face reminded you of Yeji’s, but you noticed his brows were fuller and he had a small beauty mark under one of his eyes. Then you remembered Yeji’s cousin who died before graduation. Could this be...?

“Are you...?” you whispered.

“The guy who died here? Sam Hwang?” he offered.

You raised a brow in confusion. Sam? “Um, Yeji never told me your name.”

Now it was his turn to look confused. “You know my cousin?”

“Um kind of?” you confessed. “My friend introduced us. She only revealed she lost a cousin who went to the same school, but that’s it. No offense...but what is your birth name? You don’t look like a Sam to me.”

His eyes closed, giving him a cute eye smile as he laughed lightly. “Hyunjin. Jin or Jinnie is fine with me.”

You straightened up and stared at the young man. He had a faint glow around him and you suddenly remembered some of the odd things that took place: the box being opened, keys misplaced, bed turned down, and the warm hug after your rough night.

“You were behind all of those things, weren’t you?” you asked in a soft voice. “Was this your dorm room?”

He nodded and glanced over at your kitchen, gesturing to the area where you placed your bar stools. “How about we sit and talk?”

You agreed as you walked around him, eyes barely leaving him as you took a seat. The letter from the previous owners was within reach and you moved it closer, remembering the other side you forgot to read.

Hyunjin took a seat beside you and watched as you skimmed through the second side of the letter. He propped an elbow on the counter and rested his chin in his hand. “No they didn’t see me, but sometimes I played a few light jokes on them,” he spoke up. “They were pretty nice. Kind of got nervous when they left, but then you moved in and you seemed like a good person.”

You tore your eyes from the letter and put it down on the counter, turning to look at your ghostly companion. You struggled to find the words to ask the question you had been wondering for a while, but wondered if that seemed rude. Almost as if he could read your mind, Hyunjin reached over and rested a hand on top of yours.

“It was a misunderstanding,” he said in a soft voice. “A friend of mine left a party with a frat president’s ex and the guy thought it was me. He came over looking for his girlfriend and pushed me around. I hit my head pretty hard and, well, things got fuzzy and I remember blacking out. Eventually I realized I didn’t make it and...”

“Please tell me he got jail for what he did to you,” you whispered.

Hyunjin shrugged and explained that he never knew what happened to the frat president. “I felt like I couldn’t leave and eventually the school sold the building. What you heard about wanting the dorm on campus is only part of the truth – they didn’t want to advertise a dormitory where a student was killed.”

You swallowed hard as the news sunk in and you stared down at your hands. It was a lot to process at once and you closed your eyes before taking a deep breath. Hyunjin watched you and gently rubbed his thumb on top of your hand.

“I’m so sorry Hyunjin,” you said after a moment.

“You don’t have to apologize,” he said. He cast a glance at the door and allowed a faint smirk to cross his lips. “So, that date didn’t go so well, huh?”

You snapped your head up and glanced at him in confusion. He snorted and explained that he heard you speaking to someone on the phone about a date tonight.

“Care to explain why you keep hiding my keys?” you asked with a teasing smile.

Hyunjin blinked and looked away, suddenly looking bashful. “Well...wait, I asked you first!”

“Were you jealous?” you teased.

“Ah...maybe. Fine, yes,” he huffed. “I thought noona seemed nice and I started to enjoy your company. Originally I hid your keys for fun, just to see if you could figure out that I was here. But then when you talked about seeing someone else, I sort of felt...I don’t know? Sad? Jealous?”

“I wasn’t going to bring him home,” you reassured the ghost. “Also, it wasn’t a date. The guy seemed interesting and I wanted to meet him after hearing so much about him from his roommate.”

Hyunjin tilted his head and asked if you planned to see the guy again. You raised a brow at him and replied that it would only be as friends.

“Relax Hyunjin, no boy’s coming home with me for a long time,” you promised. “Actually, speaking of which, I really wanna go change and curl up in bed.” You moved to get off your stool and Hyunjin slowly rose from his.

“Do you want space tonight?” he asked. “I’m sorry about that one time. You seemed down and I wanted to make sure you were all right and getting enough sleep.”

You turned to face him and flashed him a soft smile. “No, don’t apologize. I didn’t know I needed someone to comfort me until you did. Thank you.” You glanced over at your bedroom, then back at the ghost. “You mind cuddling tonight?”

[barksbog]

that time i went on a roadtrip. alone.

so. i went through Some Stuff last year and other people cut their hair or whatever. I WENT ON A ROADTRIP through austria and italy. with no budget and no time limit. in my tiny mazda 2. on my own.

yeah this is not gonna be one of those “i found myself by traveling alone” stories. it´s really not.

so my total trip only lasted 4 days and honestly. kinda sucked and this is actually more of a reminder to myself TO NOT JUST BE LIKE THAT AGAIN OKAY YOU FOOL. STOP IT. 

Day 1:  Dinosaurs and Bad Times

started in austria. where i live (hello if you new here or forgot)

stopped at the reptile zoo in happ. they had some nice reptiles there and some really funky dinosaurs. had a nice time chatting with the staff there

drove on to lignano and found a camping place at like 4:30pm

decided to go to the back of the camping area with just a few people  and quickly learned DON`T DO THAT. the people back there were a large group/family and they didn´t like me and i was terrified. being queer, kinda short and all alone this shit is scary

i ate some instant ramen in my tent and visited the beach before trying my best to sleep

Day 2: I guess my car is a bed?

i realized my Friendly Neighbors are still asleep and i decide this the time to go shower because i was too scared the night before

i had some tea for breakfast packed my shit and got the fuck out of there. i drove to the part of lignano we always went to when i was a kid and visited some old places. remembered some times. had some strong feels.

went shopping and than decided to just? drive? down the coast?

i really enjoyed the drive and i drove until i reached ravenna. inbetween i kinda stopped and thought i lost my carkeys. had a mental breakdown where i called my mom and she waited with me until i found it

arrived in ravenna but it was already 6pm and i was not feeling that much like going to a camping place. but i found a parking lot full of camping vans so HELL YES.

i park there and enjoy the beach a bit. than go find some pizza have a nice time. spent more time at the beach until it got dark

time to sleep in my car. that was not comfortable. you have to sleep on the backseat with a mazda 2 (2012) but it was fine i felt much safer than the night before and it cost no moneys

still had a mental breakdown because i was really lonely and again. was working through some stuff to start with

Day 3: Better Times. and a lake

i find one of those beach showers that some italian beaches have. they also have toillets. it´s nice. 

i get in the car and start driving to the garda lake. i get lost on the way a bit in ferrara and had to be a tourist and annoy people living there but they were very nice and i managed.

arrive in lazise AND OH BOY

i find this tiny camping place that is part of a farm and the owner is so nice and gives me a lovely small space for my car and tent. the people there are so friendly. all the fellow campers are very nice.

i go to the lake i enjoy it, save a tiny crawfish people think i´m insane. have some nice ice cream.

my tent breaks.

fall asleep to the sunset over the garda lake that I SAW FROM MY TENT HELLO. a tiny hedgehog woke me at night and just AAAAA. i could have stayed there for a few days. go to the zoo you know. a good time

Day 4: Dead Tent Times

did i mention my cheap ass tent broke the day before and the rain woke me up

i throw everything into my car drive it up the meadow. pay and decide to leave because the weather app says it´s gonna rain for a few days

start driving back home and stop at the alpenzoo in innsbruck WHICH IS AN AMAZING ZOO. it was SO GOOD. they have a whole house of frogs

arrive at home.

things we learned from me being a dumbass

don´t stay in a part of a camping area that is uncomfortable and makes you scared. i should have packed up and went to the area with more people

don´t pack only food that needs to be heated in some way and no insulated box for drinks. i had some real anxiety getting food sometimes and wish i had more options than instant noodles and really warm liquids

i didn´t do any research on what selfdefense things i could and should have packed.

BRING A THROWAWAY PHONE WITH A BATTERY THAT LASTS FOREVER

emergency tent.

check the weather before you start driving

going on a spontanous unprepared roadtrip will not solve any of your problems. they are still there when you come home buddy.

what i did. on a map:

that being said i will probably do something dumb like that again next year. so KEEP FOLLOWING ME TO FIND OUT WHAT IT`S GONNA BE.

[nowhereboundd]

Travelling on a Budget - Tips & Tricks!

Hi again!! Hope you’re all wellll. In this post I’m going to share some travel tips that I’ve learned during my adventures and how to budget/save money while travelling!

First offff, my first tip would be to travel with friends. This way you can split a lot of costs! Food, hotels, taxis/ubers, renting a car, gas - you get the idea!

If you’re planning on travelling alone, HOSTELS will be your best friend. Hostels are a fantastic way to meet new like-minded people and make some friends! A lot of hostels also have “common areas” where you can relax and chill. This is also a great place to meet people from all around the world!

Hostels are similar to hotels, except you generally pay for 1 bed in a shared room. A lot of hostels have “female” and “male” rooms, but its usually cheaper if you stay in a “mixed” room. I get that the idea is sketchy at first, but I’ve stayed in many hostels and I haven’t had any issues. Everyone is there for the same reason. Usually all backpackers on a budget. A lot of hostels also have lockers, so BRING A LOCK! (Tip #2) You really never know when a lock is going to come in handy. For our 1 month Europe trip, I travelled with Alex and Jordan, so thankfully we were able to stay in a lot of hotels and split the cost 3 ways. It ended up being cheaper than a hostel and generally just more comfortable and spacious. Because we were on a really fast paced trip we wanted somewhere quiet to sleep because we didn’t have a lot of time to do that :)

My favourite website for booking hotels/hostels is hotels.com. For every 10 nights you book, you get one free, which is nice because you’re saving already on your nightly costs AND getting rewarded from it. If you’re planning a long trip getting a couple nights free here and there can really come in handy! They also always have some sort of PROMO CODES floating around for some sort of discount. Right before paying for my booking I literally do a google search for “hotels.com promo codes.” You usually have to try a couple before you find one that works, but spending an extra 2-3 minutes could save you some money!

This leads me into my next tip. SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS! I know they can be annoying, but they can be worth it! I have a separate folder in my email where all my “important” junk mail goes. I’m subscribed to a bunch of airlines, hotels.com, getyourguide.com (which I’ve mentioned in a previous post and will touch on more in this post, restaurants and so on. Whenever I’m about to book a flight, or a hotel, I also check this folder to see if they’ve emailed me any deals or promo codes. When looking for somewhere to eat, I again, check this folder to see if any chain restaurants are having any promos. Websites also sometimes give you a “new customer” discount when you subscribe, so if you are booking multiple things, subscribe with multiple emails! :)

My next tip/ money saver is to book through budget airlines. Most of these airlines are NOT boujee, but if you’re flying through Europe its likely that your flight won’t be any longer than 2 hours anyway. My favourite way (and the most effective way I’ve found after trying many different sites) to find the cheapest flights is good ol’ google. The thing that I love about finding flights through google is that there’s no extra “fees.” It takes you directly to the flight website and lets you book your flight as you normally would.

Just type into google: destination A to destination B flights. Then adjust the settings (how many people, round or one way trip) then it will show you when that flight is the cheapest and if that price is normal/ going to change before your date of travel.

In my opiniom, this next tip is one of the most important ones. ONLY BRING A CARRY ON! This one is so important to me for a couple different reasons. Firstly, MOST budget airlines allow you to bring a carry on for free (Ryanair does not.) and secondly, you don’t have to waste time waiting for your luggage to come out on that carousel thing. If you’re on a fast paced trip like I was, every second counts! Instead of spending 20 minutes waiting for your luggage you could already be checked in to your hotel or hostel!

I know it might seem a little intimidating trying to fit enough stuff for a long trip into such a small suitcase, which brings me to my next tip! FIND A LAUNDROMAT/ DO LAUNDRY! As I mentioned in my previous tip, there are so many positives to only bringing a carry on with you on your trip. If you’re going on a longer trip, laundromats will be your best friend. That being said, this usually is a pay per use service, BUT it will end up saving you a lot of money in the long run. A lot of hotels/hostels provide a laundry service, but if you’re staying at one that doesn’t, there is most likely a laundromat somewhere around you.

Another packing tip I have is to buy reusable toiletry bottles! You can find these at the dollar store and they are so handy. You can only bring liquids in bottles up to 100ml in your carry on, so buying the empty bottles and filling them up with shampoo/ body wash that you already have is going to save you a few dollars! What I did on my trip, is I bought a cheap bottle of shampoo (about halfway through the trip) when I was staying somewhere for 3+ days. I refilled my 100ml bottle and used the larger bottle until I had to get on a plane again. (If you’re travelling with friends this is a good opportunity to split on a bottle of shampoo and refill all your 100ml bottles!) Shampoo was actually the only thing I ended up running out of, but there are cheap pharmacies all over Europe where you can find pretty much anything you need!

I’ve mentioned this website in a previous post, but getyourguide.com is an amazing place to do a ton of tourist stuff for huge savings!! For example, entry tickets at Auschwitz were $30. Not including the 2 hour ride there and back. For $31 on getyourguide.com, I got an entry ticket, AND transportation there and back. I’ve used this website in Canada, the UK and Europe and I’ve never had any issues (except the one from my previous post, BUT their customer service is amazing and I ended up getting a full refund.)

My final tip for this post is all about USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION!!! Almost 99% of the time, public transportation will save you money! Rather than renting a car or taking a taxi, download some train/bus apps and look into buying day passes whenever possible. Google maps is also super good when it comes to travel planning with public transportation. By utilizing public transportation, you get to dive deeper into the everyday lives of the locals, so in my opinion it makes the experience that much more authentic. We visited Santorini, Greece during the “off season” so there were literally no busses running at the time. We ended up renting a car (you do need an international license to drive in Greece) for super cheap, and split the cost 3 ways. For 3 full days we paid around $50/$60. So if you do find yourslef in a situation where you have to rent a car in order to experience everything that place has to offer, I recommend researching all of your options to get the best bang for your buck! Another alternative to taking a taxi is to WALK!!! You see soooo much when you just walk around. Things you wouldn’t normally “go out of your way to see” - might end up being the coolest part of your trip!!

Alright guys, well that pretty much sums up everything! If I think of anything else, I’ll add it in another post :)

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope to see you in my next post!!

↞ to travel is to live ↠

xxoo chels

[imanes]

imane!! i have a few questions about traveling 👀 about how much money do u usually save up for a trip of say a week? figuring this out is something i usually have trouble with :/

hi! for me it depends on where I wanna go in terms of distance for transport, currency to assess whether the price of living is affordable or expensive and what I wanna do there! for a week packed with (paying) activities and visiting different cities I'd say somewhere around 1.5k is pretty luxurious! That includes plane rides, hotels, transportation, activities, food, and extra money. U can definitely spend a very good time for under 1k too but that also hinges upon how comfortable you require your accommodation to be. But tbh my one advice is: make your budget work for you, not the other way around. If I decided that I want to spend less that 400€ on tickets to and from there + accommodations then I make it work that way by going during low season, renting a cheap room, not straying too far away, focusing on what I can do for free, and so on. I also hate getting swindled on plane tickets so I check Skyscanner to make sure I have the best deal for the time frame that I set up.

So if I were to spend one week in Spain, most of the money would go towards accommodation bc I know I can go there for cheap. Sharing the expenses of an accommodation helps a lot, that's why I don't travel alone as often as I'd like (that and people just tagging along). Eating out isn't particularly inexpensive in Spain and tbh i don't like their cooking so I'd try to get smt with a fridge and a cooking station to make my own meals. You can walk around the main sites and minimise ur use of public transportation to save up money. Do treat yourself once or twice though bc u deserve it! All those things add up to make a budget that can be relatively comfortable without taking away from ur experience.

If u wanna go to Thailand, the main bulk of your expenses will be plane tickets. The rest is pretty workable! Eat in food courts or at 7-eleven, use the metro if you're in Bangkok, you can find cheap and comfy accommodations on agoda, etc. You could easily make that work under 1k if you're alone and if you have someone to share some expenses with that's even better.

when I was a student I'd focus on shorter holidays to minimise my costs and to focus on quality of the time spent there rather than quantity. I don't think I ever went for longer than I was days at a time on my own dime (also bc of uni lol) and the only time I went for longer was bc my friends father has a place in Portugal (they're from there) so we took advantage of it. Going with three of my friends and sharing expenses and all of that, I remember my 5 days and 4 nights in lisbon cost me 400€ in total, bc u can get a solid meal for 5€ if you eat local and bc the most expensive thing we did was take the hop on hop off tour bus lmao. The bnb was at the top of a steep hill so we got a workout every time we came back there but it was really inexpensive and cozy. As long as the bathroom works and the beds are clean I am good lol.

Anyways I could go on and on about it all but basically if I have a point of departure and arrival I can chalk u up a more precise budget. If I had 1k for a week in Portugal I'd live like a queen but if I had a portion of that I could definitely make it work if I was able to bend some parameters (when I'm going and where I'm staying and who I'm going with mostly) to fit everything under the budget that I set. And Skyscanner + agoda are my best friends lol

[thesustainablesquatch]

Aeroponics on a budget: $$ and space

If you're like me then you'll understand the yearning for fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs from a flourishing backyard garden. But the reality is this garden only exists in our dreams because lettuce ;) face it, many of us are living in an overpriced apartment with no semblance of a yard in site and we're struggling on a budget while we finish school and await a 'real job', or some version of that reality.

So what are we to do?! Well, one solution is aeroponics, a soilless growing process that relies on a nutrient rich water mixture periodically misting the exposed plant roots. If you think that sounds fancy than you're right, it can be as fancy and high-tech as you want it to be. While it is argued that aeroponics can only be done on an expensive, high-pressure think again! Low-pressure systems are possible and are a fraction of the cost.

"But Sara, I live in a shoe box of an apartment and have no space!" Not to fear! Most 5-gallon buckets have a diameter of 10inches, give or take a 1/2 inch or so. Lets call this option one- the 5 gallon Stallion. I'll cover 3 different types of DIY aeroponic set-ups I've found in my searches of the world wide web.

5-gallon Stallion

This set up can house 1-5 plants depending on size and desired outcome and purpose of your grow. As the name suggests you'll need a 5 gallon bucket with lid; you can upcycle an old one or buy one for around $9 at Home Depot, just be mindful if you upcycle the bucket it needs to be cleaned out so not to contaminate your roots! Any low pressure system will require some type of water/fountain pump or fog/mist maker, NOT a heat fogger (search fogponics) these options can range from $4 (small mist maker) to $40 for a basic fountain pump Eco 396 pump is recommended in a few videos ($28). Next you'll need some 1/2 in. PVC and connectors (specifics in video) but PVC can be up cycled from another project or bought for a few bucks. A drill and hole saw will be needed to make holes in the top of the lid and in the PVC to insert small sprinkler heads, you can buy a pack of 10 for $2.50 on one site and you'll only use 3-5 max for this set up.  You'll need something to secure the plants into the holes in the lid. I found a few different options for this but the one I liked best was a simple piece of foam, you can get a square of 2in foam from Home Depot for $6. You'd cut it into a small square and wrap it around the plant stem and wedge it into the hole in the lid; with this method the foam will stretch as the stem grows. Finally, you'll need a timer, you don't want to run the water 24/7 so a simple waterproof timer does the trick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=160&v=U2EzPN3rIn4&feature=emb_logo

The next step up in size would be a 27 gallon tote system, we'll call this:  

27 and counting

Since the first video I watched for this was made with a 27 gal tote ($10) and it was used for cloning (hence the counting, it makes sense in my head). You can do this in other sized totes 18 gal, 30 gal, etc. and you can produce as many clones as the lid can practically manage  ie. a few inches between each plant, kind of like spacing when you bake cookies. The linked video has 35 clones.

The pump or mister will be the same, you'll need more PVC because you're covering a larger area inside the tote bottom and more sprinkler heads. None of the videos I watched used glue to fit the pipes together since the pump wasn't high-pressure it wasn't necessary. In one tote demo the creator did use a sticky vinyl seal so water didn't leak out; ~$5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=z27lzS1l9_8&feature=emb_logo

The final demo I'll price out is possibly the most expensive (dependent on what you have on hand or can upcycle) and the largest, but could still be used in a small yard or even a balcony. Lets call this one:

Elbow Room

If you check out the demo you'll see that it uses a bunch of PVC elbow joints to house the plants. The foundation of the set up is a 44 gallon drum. To buy one new you'll spend about $100 so this would be good if you know a business that gets these regularly. The pump  you'll see in the 2nd video looks pretty hefty, I couldn't find the exact model but I'd wager a guess that you'll be paying at least $60-$100. Inside set up of PVC will be vertical this time vs the horizontal setup from the first two, but it still shouldn't cost too much. Sprinkler heads can be the same or a little larger and foam can again be used to place plants into the PVC elbows. The amount of elbows you'll need will vary based on your personal decision/choice but you can have any where from 35-56+ plants in this set up (rough estimate based on visuals). Again, elbows are cheap, a couple bucks a piece but when you're using this many the price goes up pretty quickly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=75&v=lvfCXNCXkdU&feature=emb_logo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kMyVDTa0Vo

I hope you have gained some knowledge and insight into aeroponic possibilities. While this is the basics for a set-up it does not include the use of special lights or the nutrients that are needed in your water mixture. These are dependent on what plants you choose to grow and where you choose to grow them; in- or outdoors.

All info was gathered from this site:

https://www.greenandvibrant.com/aeroponic-plans

and this last video I just liked, it is the most in-depth and includes light set ups for the most adventurous of us:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwWsVBY1YrE

Enjoy!

[charactersoverkisses]

Food on a budget- and not the shit they teach you in school

Okay children listen up, i recently went to a bunch of high school graduates leavers classes where they teach you real life shit. Ofc, me being the money conscious hoe that I am, went to the “food on a budget” where they were supposed to teach us how to eat on a budget. What did the teacher do? Get us to make a detox brocolli soup...

Clearly, she took, food on a budget as when you don’t want to spend 20 pounds on a meal. However, I was expecting, “when you literally have 10 pounds in the bank and you can only use 5 of them or the bank will start fining you, and it’s like 2 weeks until pay day” level of budget. So, I’ve decided to spread my (albeit limited) knowledge of what to do when you’re at that level of budget.

Okay, first things first, I know what is cheap in the country I live in, not where you live, so I’m sorry if soemthing i mention is absurdly expensive in your country.

1) this seems dumb but: LEARN TO STRETCH YOUR EGGS. My father will refuse to eat omlettes, scrambled eggs, French toast etc with milk in them, but that is how you stretch your eggs. I know you might add a little bit of milk or cream but (for me at least) a big ass jug of milk is cheaper than a 6 pack of eggs, so stick half the amount of eggs in you would usually use (I would use two so I use one) and then pour a hefty amount of milk in (like 1/4 of a cup). Boom now you have the same amount of food and double the amount of eggs left.

2) if you know that you might not be able to buy food for a while, then assess what you already have. That meat you didn’t like? Semi off fruit? Eat it. Eat that shit within the next few days. The fruit? Blend it, it’ll be fine in a smoothie. The meat? Suck it up, or shove it in a sandwich with some overpowering condiments so you can’t taste it. Next, you got any vegetable or meat scraps? Even like onion skin? Chuck it in a pot with some water and just let it simmer for a few hours. Then put it through a sieve and just keep the liquid in the fridge (or pour it into your ice cube tray) (you’ll thank me later). Then...

3) look at your non perishables, what do you have? Do you have oats? Or rice? Or pasta? If so then good!! Forget everything a lifestyle YouTuber has ever told you. Carbs fill you up, they’re slow burning and they’ll keep you fuller for longer. They 👏🏻 are 👏🏻 good 👏🏻

4) okay, so you’ve eaten all your perishables? You’ve assessed what you have in your pantry? Okay, now it’s time for you to spend that £5 in your bank account (after you raid your house and every pocket and bag you own to see if you have any more money, so let’s say you found another £3). What you want to do is buy shit that keeps you full and is cheap. What did we say about that? CARBS. Right, so get yourself a bag of oats, forget about the GMO crop spraying shit, you need food, so don’t buy the organic shit or the name brand stuff. Suck it up and get the cheapest, biggest bag you can find. And yes, sometimes this means doing maths (stay for a bit and I’ll teach you how to figure out which is better for the cost okay?? Okay). Those oats you picked up? They’re now your breakfast for a hot minute okay? Next, rice. That shit can be eaten for every meal, it’s boring as hell but if you get desperate enough stick some ketchup or jam or something on there if you can find some at the back of your fridge (tip: do you have a China market nearby? Or like any kind of Asian grocery store? Rice will be cheaper in there and you’ll get bigger bags) utilise it.

5) stay away from meat! Meat is usually expensive as hell anywhere you go but if you can find some janky ass, has just been reduced to hell and back because it expired yesterday, then buy it! If it’s a day or two old then it’s fine, dw you won’t die. Chill out, cook it real basic and and then cut it up into cubes. Pack them into your freezer in small ass portions and whenever you feel like you can’t eat any more rice or that you’re lacking some nutrients. Take them out, let it defrost for a bit and stick it in a pot with some seasoning and let it heat up for a bit then shove it in your rice. Remember that stock you made with your scraps? This is its time to shine!! Pour a little into your pot with your meat, it’ll give the rice and meat some flavour.

6) now it’s time for some maths bitches, you read6? Okay. This is the life saver here check the price of whatever you’re buying, let’s say it’s a bag of oats and it costs £3.50 and then check the weight of the bag let’s say it’s a 1kg bag. Convert that shit to grams, so that’s 1000 grams. Then do the price (3.5) divided by the weight (1000 grams). So, 3.5/1000 and that gives you 0.0035. That means that each gram of this oats is worth £0.0035 okay? So now you do the same with another bag of oats and you’ll see how much 1g of oats is in that bag. Then compare? Which is cheaper? Buy the cheaper one.

7) okay, i think I’ve exhausted my tips for what to do when you already have no money but what can you do when you’ve just been paid and you know you always end up short buy the end of the month? Basically, my main top is make a shot ton of soup and chilli and stews and that sort of thing, they’re pretty cheap to make and stock full of nutrients. Make double or even triple the quantity of what the recipe says (times everything by 2 or 3), eat a portion for dinner that night, leave a portion or two worth in your fridge, and freeze the rest. That means when you get to the end of the month and you start running out of food and money, you have some reserves in addition to everything I said above.

Idk if this was helpful, but if it taught one person, one thing then I’ll be happy.