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#i think i can get the job but at what cost
reasonsforhope · 2 hours
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By the time Sue Shusterman turns away from the bench at the overlook and back toward the trailhead, she knows the paddleboarders are out in force 300 yards away on the gleaming blue surface of Chatfield Reservoir.  
She knows the high runoff waters have flooded the roots of Chatfield’s willows and cottonwoods, and that the first spring-green layers of the foothills rise to the west like soft fabric. 
How she acquired these life-affirming memories is at first a mystery, since Shusterman is blind and is heading back toward the parking lot making her usual sweep of the path in front with her ever-present white cane.  
But then a friendly voice emerges from the phone that Shusterman is pointing toward the path from her other hand.
A little to the left to stay on the paved path. Looks like there’s a trail all the way down to the beach, about 75 yards, if you wanted to go. I’ll just be here watching, let me know if you need anything. 
The voice is from a live, trained human guide FaceTiming through Shusterman’s phone camera on the Aira ability-assist app. Sight-impaired people have been using Aira’s guides to make it easier to do anything from navigating an airport to filling out an online job form. Now, all 42 Colorado state parks like Chatfield are geofenced to allow any visitor to use Aira for free to stroll the trails with a helpful set of eyes. 
The Aira guides seemingly effortlessly offer what a blind hiker either needs, or wants. If there’s a dangerous steep drop-off on the right, they warn. If the hiker would rather know if the sneezeweed is in bloom or the sailboats are luffing through a turn, Aira offers that instead.
For Shusterman, trying Aira as an outdoors adventure for the first time, the allure was simple: “Independence.” 
“So she’s doing, I think, a phenomenal job of including the necessary safety things, but the perks of the scenery, too,” Shusterman said, as she paused during a conversation with an Aira guide based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “She’s doing great.”
State accessibility officials recently announced the expansion of Aira to state parks grounds, after previously providing Aira free for other state-related functions such as navigating a government building or getting help on an online site or filling out forms. Colorado cannot control the cellphone signal, though, so parks officials encourage visitors to try Aira at a familiar or close-in park space before ranging farther afield with it. Popular parks like Staunton or Golden Gate contain pockets where signals are not strong. 
For consumers buying access on their own, Aira costs about $50 for 30 minutes of assistance a month. Private employers and governments often buy package access to Aira and other accessibility apps for all employees to use. State accessibility coordinator Theresa Montano, who is blind and accompanied Shusterman on her Chatfield walk, said Amazon buys access so that sight-impaired shipping center employees can navigate steps to pack orders.
Montano uses Aira at her state job, saying the guides on the app can share her computer screen and help her get through an online task in 30 minutes that might take her four hours without help or through older accessibility tools. 
Adding Aira for state-owned lands was wrapped into the overall $250,000 budget for free Aira use on state property and with state websites. The additional utility is an obvious plus, Montano said. 
“This gives blind people the same opportunity to come and enjoy it by themselves or with their family if they want to, and be independent,” she said...
Shusterman walked away taking more from the big picture experience, rather than any particular scenic detail. 
“For me, it was, you know what, I could go for a walk on this path, and I could feel completely safe, and I would enjoy a nice walk and get some exercise, in an unfamiliar area,” Shusterman said. “It’s definitely a real confidence boost for me.”  
-via The Colorado Sun, June 11, 2024
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dalliancekay · 3 days
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"There is no 'our side', Crowley!"
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I was looking for this gif and every post I came across was some variation on how poorly was Crowley treated here. Poor boy. How utterly cruel of Aziraphale. How heartless. How he just dropped Crowley like a hot potato. Cos Heaven was coming. And Aziraphale decided that they were over. And he was going back to them. Or something. If you know any that look into how Aziraphale is feeling, please tag me. What do I think Aziraphale is feeling?
Well. Was he happy to have Armageddon coming? No. But he did think it was inevitable.* However. They tried to influence the Antichrist. But had the wrong boy. Then they tried to think of how to find the real one and in that short time - what? Kill him? Talk to him? They had no idea what the kid is like. What powers he has. None.
The Great Plan. It is coming to its fulfilment. It is written. The War is about to begin. Heaven and Hell. The big one. They both know this. And this is not something Aziraphale or Crowley can avoid. It's not something they can just stop believing in. They had their Arrangement, their side (sort of), and they managed not to get caught. But now? Now Aziraphale is right. There is no OUR SIDE. There never really was. There might have been a moment in their existence on Earth (about 12 hundred years?) when they could feel like/pretend they are having their own side. But now the full reality of their existence is back. There are Heaven and Hell and they are preparing for War. They have no interest in Earth. Aziraphale and Crowley are tiny pawns in a very big picture. They belong to their respective sides. They always have. Even when they found ways to work together. (Mostly cos their sides are conceited idiots both.)
And so Aziraphale decided for one more desperate attempt to get God to see how the whole thing can be avoided. Does he think She might understand? We don't know. Does he look full of hope as he walks back to his shop? He doesn't. He gets broken up with again by Crowley who nonsensically (and yes, romantically, sure) wants to go to another star - to do what? Wait till the end of universe reaches them? (Why is everybody always defending Crowley? And act like he's being reasonable there?) And then Aziraphale gets punched in the stomach. By a fellow angel. And told by Metatron to not be a bloody fool. Essentially.
And discorporated.
And then he DESERTS the War AND Heaven (that he apparently still has faith in...) and goes on a limb to find the boy and just see if he can come up with something. Anything. Thinking Crowley is gone. Packed his stuff and left. Possibly with the friend he was talking to when he tried to call his flat earlier.
Because Aziraphale feels the War and ending of the world is such injustice. Written or not. Great Plan or not. Maybe he didn't think at first he could make any difference but Crowley showed him it's worth considering it. *Crowley is always showing Aziraphale that things can be questioned. It took Aziraphale moments to reconsider letting things just play out and instead fight to the last breath he doesn't need, for Earth instead. The conditioning he needs to fight isn't that Heaven is good and right. The conditioning he needs to fight is that things can't be changed. That it is all written out. That he is nobody and can't influence anything. Aziraphale's biggest fight and learning curve is in having faith in himself. So. Much like he felt it was unfair to leave the first humans unprotected and how he felt killing Job's kids was cruel, he disobeys and does his own thing again. He learns he can. But all this comes at a cost. To himself (thinking he will Fall for these things) but also to his beloved - and THAT is much harder for him. He would never want to put Crowley in danger. And he does. Every time they meet. The guilt he must feel for this.
Aziraphale lives between two sides. And they are both awful. And he is often misunderstood for just acknowledging this as reality he and everything else exists in.
I think his view of his reality is pretty accurate. There is no our side. They wanted one. But they can't leave their sides. Even after S1 they couldn't. Not really. And they both knew it. And no, he is not in clutches of Heaven or sometimes reverts to their indoctrination or anything like that. He goes along with Heaven as far as he MUST. And his life alongside his demon, however tentative, was always precious to him. And when it got threatened.
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And got threatened again.
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Aziraphale had to do the best he could and just do something. Anything.
Is Aziraphale always right? No. Does he make mistakes? Yes. I am never saying Aziraphale is faultless - but I think many things he is blamed for are not right. And I also think Crowley is often seen as can do no wrong. Everything he says is right. He knows more. Understands more. If he disagrees with Aziraphale than it follows that Aziraphale is wrong. That's not true. They are both beautifully rounded, full, flawed characters I love. They complement each other in ways I bet I have not even noticed yet. And they are their own beings too. They don't only exist for one another.
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winedarkthoughts · 12 hours
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house of addams (6)
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— 🌖 pairing: ot7 x fem.reader
— 🕷️ genre: mystery, angst + fluff + smut
— 🗝️ word count: 5.5k
— 🍄 summary: desperate times call for morally grey measures.
— ☕ content warnings: stalking (but it's mutual??), taking photos without consent (also mutual), slight lore dump, mentions of death/decomposition/missing persons
— 🕸️ a/n: thank you so much to everyone who continues to share their thoughts i love y'all so much!!
previous chapter ← series m.list → next chapter
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chpt. 6: don't stalk, investigate
october 19, 2004
The trees surrounding the university are starting to brown at the edges. Fall has begun its descent.
The click of the camera shutter has become white noise to you. Through the viewfinder, you follow the motion of the mop of black hair.
You've found that that's how he starts almost all of his mornings: messily, sleepily. More often than not, his hair is just-rolled-out-of-bed fluffy, the lower half of his face covered with a black mask so you can only see his cat-like eyes.
He looks good today, wearing a loose white button-up and silver jewelry. He approaches the university with his messenger bag slung over his shoulder, still clearly half-asleep.
Yoongi is not a morning person, you've learned. You know because you've been watching him.
Listen, you never claimed to be a saint. And yes, maybe half the reason that you're a damn good private investigator is because you're willing (and perfectly capable) of doing the things that others would rather not.
So be it. You've witnessed others commit far worse evils than the one you're currently undertaking.
Long story short, your mental blockade with the case (and whatever the fuck happened at the lake) may or may not have caused you to look into some of the strange characters frequenting Farrow's End. Starting with the shy, antisocial botanist.
The fact that he supposedly lived in the Addams house (according to the commentary from the college students) wasn't the thing that made you suspicious, it was the fact that he lied about living in the Addams house. Pretended to know absolutely nothing about it, to boot.
As a human being, you can respect someone keeping their secrets. As a private investigator, your job is to dig up any secrets that prove relevant to your investigation.
Half of you wants to believe that he's nothing but a good guy. You can admit that you like him, that you relate to his aura as the token "weirdo." But the cynical part of you, it whispers in your ear that he shouldn't be trusted.
No one should. Your job has taught you that much.
Therefore, you have to exhaust each point of view until you find out who's guilty, and who's less guilty. Because pure innocence is impractical.
And after what you saw (or think you saw) at the lake, you're going to have to gear your research towards less "scientific" topics. And try to avoid the woods at all costs. For the time being, at least.
On most days, Yoongi begins his days early, and mostly on-campus. It didn't take long to witness him being transported by the same black Mercedes that you saw outside the cafe, the one supposedly belonging to one of the mysterious Jungs.
Though Yoongi never enters the car in heavily populated areas. He usually walks a short distance to a more private spot, and then the car pulls up like clockwork.
You can never get a good look at the driver, thanks to the tinted windows.
So far, the only suspicious thing about the botanist is the fact that he lied about living in the Addams house. He goes to class, goes to his labs, gets coffee, goes home, with very little in-between.
Well, that plus spending a large amount of his time on campus with one specific chemist. And it doesn't take much longer to realize that he lives at the Addams house too.
Jimin, unlike Yoongi, is often late. He gets dropped off by the same sleek car, a short distance away from his destination, then he power walks to wherever he's going, fluffing and preening himself along the way.
Whether it's a hand brushing through his hair, or a knuckle pushing up the bridge of his glasses (which he never leaves the house without), or him adjusting the collar of his shirt, he's almost always fixing himself.
Sometimes, you get the impression that he isn't comfortable in his own skin.
He has a few other signatures: those heeled boots, pants that are almost always too tight for your liking, glasses (either tinted or completely dark), and always a mask covering his mouth. That, or sometimes an oversized scarf pulled up to just under his nose when it's particularly chilly outside, the wind rustling his hair and it's oddly shifting color.
You've taken to wearing one of your smaller cameras around your neck at all times, just in case you run into anything suspicious and need to snap a picture.
The morning mist has deepened into a constant drizzle most mornings, and that leather jacket you bought at Magic Shop has come in particularly handy. The garment is warm and cozy, and it always gives you a feeling of comfort whenever you wear it.
Fine, so maybe following Yoongi and Jimin didn't yield the results you wanted, though you'll admit it was fun. Still, something is telling you that there's something suspicious about that house and those who reside in it.
So you move on to another lead: Kim Taehyung.
He rarely leaves the house, you've found. So you have to conclude that he lives there as well as works there. When he does leave, it's on official business. Either to go to the police station to pick up documents or out of town to examine a body.
He doesn't ride in the Mercedes, though. Rather, he drives a classic black hearse. Again, peak dedication to the aesthetic, which you can appreciate.
And fine, maybe you snapped a few pictures of him on the rare times you caught him out of the house, but it's all for the sake of the investigation.
At first, you were quite hesitant to get too close to the house on the hill, with its looming trees and black birds hovering all about the roof.
But one day, when you creep up the path, the front gate opens on its own to welcome you. You were planning on scraping along the outside of the gate, peering into the yard through the iron bars. You weren't expecting it to actually open for you.
A gust of wind surges through the air, pulling you towards the house. The rustle of the trees practically whispers come closer.
It takes you a little bit aback, but you don't show it. Just in case someone is watching. In fact, you barely react to it, simply sidestepping the gate entrance and continuing along the path as if you were on a morning walk.
You walk along the entire perimeter of the gated yard, which is much, much larger than you anticipated. There are a number of gardens, a small hedge maze, a swamp even, and at the very edge of the property, a graveyard.
The tombstones are dotted throughout the wooded grove, a thick layer of ivy covering the ground like a burial shroud, and an air of calm hangs about the place.
But it isn't until you circle back to the other side of the house that you see something you truly weren't expecting: Jin, your favorite barista, strolling through the garden with a cup and saucer in his hands.
Wearing a turtleneck under a black coat, his hair blowing picturesquely in the chill wind, he meanders past the crumbling stone statues and trickling fountains.
You quickly duck behind a tree, reaching into your jacket to grab the small binoculars that you typically carry when you're in the..."observation" phase of the investigation. No, this isn’t the first time you’ve done this sort of thing.
Jin leisurely walks over the cobblestone pathway, sipping from his cup with a satisfied expression. He'll run a hand through his hair or lean against one of the stone garden walls, looking over his shoulder every once in a while.
And maybe it's just a hunch, but you get the sense that he knows that he's being watched. The weird thing is that he doesn't seem bothered by the fact at all. In fact, it almost looks like he's...posing.
An itch at the back of your neck. A glance back at Jin tells you that he's not looking at you, nor has he realized that you're there. But still, now you feel eyes on you.
You look around but find nothing but white-barked trees. And maybe if you looked a little closer you would've noticed that the knots in said trees look a little too much like eyes, open and alert.
Even if you had noticed such a thing, your conscience would tell you that obviously that's not the case. Trees can't watch people.
You'd be wrong, of course, but how could you have known that then?
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october 23, 2004
He only ever works nights. The graveyard shift, to be specific. His shift always starts after the sun has set, and it ends just before it rises again.
Normally, you'd split your time between the cafe and the bookshop, but recently you've dedicated almost the entirety of your days to watching the barista and learning his habits. And in that time, you've hardly seen him eat.
In all the time you've spent watching him combined, the only things you've seen him eat include: a handful of olives, a few slices of bread and cheese, and the occasional spoonful of honey. Coffee and the offhand glass of red wine (which he pours into a teacup with a charming wink when he catches you watching him) is all you ever see him drink.
The only time he leaves the Addams house, besides to go to work, is on Saturday mornings when the Farmer's Market takes up the town square.
Sporting a checkered coat with the collar turned up to shield the lower half of his face, sunglasses (even though it's utterly cloudy), and an umbrella held over his head (even though it's not even drizzling), Jin scours the aisles, scrutinizing each booth's wares to find only the freshest and best quality produce, meats, and bread. He also procures some fancy cheese and preserves, his tastes expensive and well-refined.
The only other time you see him deviate from his routine is to visit the nearest hospital one afternoon. You're expecting him to enter into the waiting room, but he circles around the back, waiting by a STAFF ONLY door.
That same tickle from somewhere in your brain, the one that makes your eyes a little blurry. You take a moment to refocus them, and then you see the door crack open.
The person behind the door hands Jin an object that he quickly conceals in his coat, and the interaction is too quick for you to see what exactly it is.
But not quick enough for you to miss taking a picture. Because you've learned that it's always best to prioritize the camera before your eyes.
You take it to the dark room that same day. And the film reveals that the object appears to be a plain white box. Your guess is that it's a thermal container, the ones used to transport samples or the like.
It's a bit embarrassing to admit that it takes another day to put two and two together.
You're sitting in the cafe, skimming through the files of the five missing persons, when Jin approaches your booth and silently places a pastry on the table.
It's another one of his habits, you've noticed. Whenever you're in the cafe and have gone a long time without ordering any food, he'll subtly bring you something without a word, and you're usually too focused on your research to notice until some time has passed and it's too late to reject the offer.
You've told him several times that though the gesture is appreciated, he doesn't need to provide you with any freebies just because you're in here all the time. But he just brushes you off and claims that he needs a taste tester for his new recipes.
You let it slide after telling yourself that he probably does the same to a number of other customers given his charming nature (though in all the time you've observed him he's never done it for any other patron, but that you conveniently ignore).
This time it's a little cake, topped with a strawberry and absolutely smothered in fresh cream. When you cut into it, red jam spills from the inside of the cake like blood from a wound.
Then it finally clicks.
...Blood.
Like a slideshow in fast motion, all of the little details spring back into the forefront of your mind. The time when you noticed his shirtsleeve riding up, revealing a faded scar distinctly resembling a bite mark on the inside of his wrist. The time you noticed him drinking from a to-go coffee cup, but with a ring of red surrounding the opening in the lid.
And at the hospital, a thermal container used to transport samples such as blood bags, or even human organs.
Fuck.
You push the dessert away at the realization, scrambling to gather your things and leave the cafe as quickly as possible.
Of course, that means you miss the concerned and slightly disappointed look on Jin's face as he watches you go.
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october 24, 2004
You don't know what makes you more of an idiot, the fact that you're actually close to believing that Jin is some sort of blood-sucking creature of the night, or the fact that it took you this long to consider the fact based on all the warning signs.
Unfortunately, nothing is impossible. And though none of your investigations so far have pointed to something so overtly "supernatural," you have to entertain the possibility.
Because it's possible that something about it could trace back to one or more of the victims, since clearly this case has proven to be far from normal.
Though the internet is a great resource, currently all you can find is blog posts, and you'd prefer not to cite those when it comes to professional matters. So you turn to local folklore, urban legends, and the security of the written word.
When you enter the bookshop the next day, you realize just how broad of a topic it is. There are hundreds, even thousands of mythical creatures across different cultures. It's going to take a long time to factor out one with the right features and track it's roots.
Then you remember the man behind the counter. Namjoon is currently staring at the mass of papers on his desk, looking confused and frustrated.
"What's all that?" you ask as you approach the counter.
"My accounts. Balancing my checkbook," he replies without looking up from the mess.
"Ah," you say in understanding, in pity.
A pause.
"Want a distraction?" you finally ask, and his head whips up almost instantly.
"Dear God, yes."
You chuckle, moving to lean against the desk.
"You're a writer, right?"
"Yes," he answers with a nod.
"What kind of things do you write?"
"Mostly research papers, some articles here and there, a few field guides."
Hmm, so he's more of a scholar, then. Interesting.
"In what area of study?"
Namjoon's mouth twitches like he's trying to find the right words.
"Folklore," he finally answers, but obviously there's a little more to it.
Perfect. You bite back the urge to rock on your toes with excitement.
"Can I ask you a few questions?"
He smiles at that, dimples and all, like nothing would delight him more.
"Of course, anything you want," he answers, voice curling around the edges.
And you don't know it, but he means it sincerely. He would tell you anything and everything about him and his little family if you would only ask.
Any of them would, really. Technically, none of them have ever lied to you, they just haven't share all the information.
And if Namjoon is being honest, all of them are quite eager for you to get a little more invasive and figure them out for yourself.
"What do you know about mythological creatures that feed on life energy?"
You didn't mean for it to come out so specific, so incriminating. But you're getting a little tired of questions without a ghost of an answer.
His eyebrows raise a bit.
"To be honest with you, my knowledge is limited mainly to the folklore of this region," he admits, sounding apologetic.
Even more perfect. You try not to give away too much of your excitement, despite the fact that every time you encounter him he only seems to get better and better.
"Pray tell," you urge, leaning forward slightly with open ears.
A little bashful expression crosses his face as he settles deeper in his chair, all thoughts of taxes abruptly thrust aside.
"Well, vampiric creatures are quite common across folklore in many cultures. They're usually associated with outbreaks of disease, and vampire hunts are mostly accompanied with epidemics..."
You let him talk for as long as he wants, listening eagerly and only looking away to scribble a few notes from time to time. It's clear that he's passionate about what he studies, speaking about it like a lover would.
He tells you that even the word "vampire" is shrouded in mystery, as linguists do not know the precise etymological origin. Apparently, the folklore of this region is steeped in Slavic roots, so that's what he focuses on to narrow it down for you.
From the Old East Slavic language, the term "vampire" hails from the word "upir," which is speculated to translate as "someone who bites" or "the thing at the feast/sacrifice," though the word has no definite origin.
Namjoon tells you that scholars agree that the term was used as a stand-in, since they were too afraid to say the creature's true name.
"An upir needs to feed on life essence to survive. In literature, this is usually represented by drinking blood, since it represents life," Namjoon explains.
"Usually?"
He shrugs.
"The "opir" in Ukraine consumes large amounts of fish as their source of sustenance, preferences vary across cultures."
"You speak of it like they're real," you say with a chuckle, watching closely for his reaction.
Another shrug, this one more uncomfortable.
"To the Slavs, they were. The universal belief in supernatural beings was common. Unseen entities were part of the way they understood the world," he says.
"Hmm," you mumble, scanning him up and down. You try not to delight in the way he squirms slightly under your scrutiny.
"Most of the traits attributed to vampires these days are based on myths, or downright misunderstandings," Namjoon blurts out. "Like how the outbreak of rabies in Europe led to the belief that the upir are afraid of light, which is ridiculous. Many of the symptoms of rabies, which is spread through biting, coincide with the supposed traits of vampires, like the fear of light and altered sleep patterns."
He says it all like he's slightly annoyed.
"Or how they assumed that the upir are undead because during decomposition, built up pressure can push the blood into a corpse's mouth," he continues.
"So the upir aren't undead at all?" you probe.
"No, it's just a misconception," Namjoon replies like he's in the throes of a heated debate.
He seems to notice, since the next moment he's clearing his throat awkwardly and slumping in his seat.
There's a moment of silence as you jot down some more notes.
"They're not evil," he blurts out like he can't help it, and the look on his face implores you to believe him.
You look up at him.
"Across the centuries, they've always been used as the scapegoat for things humans can't understand," he adds softly.
Hmm, yes that seems to be a recurrent theme in human history.
You close your notebook and straighten up from leaning on the desk.
"Very interesting. Thank you, Namjoon," you say and mean it.
He smiles and nods as if to say of course, but after your back is turned, his face falls a bit, wondering if he let a little too much slip.
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"Too much? In my opinion, you didn't tell her enough," Jimin quips.
Namjoon rolls his eyes, but he's mainly focused on Jin. The older man only smiles at him, pressing a comforting hand to Namjoon's cheek.
"Don't worry, love. I don't mind at all," he says. Because yes, he too is eager for you to realize just what they all are.
"I just don't want her to think we're the ones behind all this," Namjoon admits.
"If she's as smart as she appears, then she'll figure that out for herself soon enough," Hoseok replies, slowly circling the room with his arms crossed.
He approaches the elegant leather couch that Namjoon and Jin are occupying.
"Joonie," he says, running a hand down the younger man's neck.
"I don't think it would hurt to drop her a few more hints, hm?" And everyone notices the smirk on Hoseok's face.
"I'm tired of waitiiiiing," Jimin whines.
"She's still a skeptic, Minie," Yoongi supplies from where he's watering the plants against the window. "She needs to be eased in."
Jimin just rolls his eyes.
"We could just kidnap her," he suggests.
"No." The reply comes instantly from Namjoon, Jungkook, and Yoongi simultaneously.
Jimin laughs high and bright.
"Come now, Jimin," Hoseok says with a sharp smile of his own. "Everyone knows it's more fun when they consent to it first."
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october 25, 2004
The next time you enter the bookshop, Namjoon immediately mentions that he put together a little collection of texts for you to look over, saying they might be interesting to you. Maybe even aid in the investigation.
You thank him earnestly. And no, your face doesn't heat up at the fact that someone has gone out of their way to make your life easier.
When you slip into your usual nook, you notice that one of the drawers in the desk is adorned with a little pink ribbon around the handle, almost like it's gift-wrapped. And when you open it, you see several books, articles, and newspaper clippings, all of which seem very promising.
Something stirs in your stomach at the sight, but it's quickly set aside as you lock in and dive headfirst into the new research endeavor.
There's the notice for each of the missing persons, all the mentions of them so far in the newspapers, including one article from a publisher you've never heard of.
With the headline simple reading DISAPPEARED, the short snippet describes each missing person and the details of their last eyewitness account. The strange thing is that the article includes far more details than the big-name publishers, making you wonder why you haven't heard of it before.
The Periscope Press. You don't recall seeing it in any of the corner stores around town, but you do recall some of the people you interviewed mentioning details from "the newspaper" that you hadn't heard previously. Maybe this is the publisher they were referring to.
When you ask Namjoon about it though, he is surprisingly unhelpful. He claims that he can't remember where he came across the article, saying that he often picks up stray newspapers for wrapping and packing purposes for the shop.
Well, you suppose you'll have to save it for later then.
Also among the pile of papers in the drawer, there's a short blurb announcing the opening of the Kim Morgue and Crematorium. Taking a closer look at the date tells you that Taehyung's practice has actually been passed down through nearly three generations.
Technically, Taehyung is actually Taehyung III, taking the same name as his father and grandfather and great-grandfather before him.
But it's the photo you stumble upon that really stalls your breath.
A portrait, faded and yellowing, dated almost seventy-five years ago. The subject is a man dressed in a brown suit and tie, his hair dark and curly, except it looks exactly like him. From the Roman slant of his nose, down to the way he positions his shoulders, it looks almost indistinguishable from the Taehyung of today. The family resemblance is apparently very strong.
And again, it's a little embarrassing how long it takes you to reach the conclusion that to others, especially to the supernaturally-inclined, might seem obvious.
But you've already mentioned that you're a bit of a skeptic.
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october 28, 2004
You fear that you may be going a bit crazy.
The dreams are getting worse. They've escalated from simple images and sounds to corporeal sensations. You feel the water so sharply, the cold, the current, even the vibrations. You can see hands reaching towards you, and sometimes you are compelled to reach back. Sometimes you swear you wake up smelling of seawater.
And the itchy feeling of being watched has only gotten stronger. You feel as though you're always looking over your shoulder, always listening for following footsteps.
In the past few days, you've used your research as an effective distraction.
You've found that the Kim family has run the morgue out of the Addams house for almost as long as the Jung family has owned it, Taehyung hailing from a long line of coroners and forensic pathologists rooted in Farrow's End.
With a little digging, you discovered that the Jungs have been business tycoons for decades, buying and selling and trading their vast number of industries to generate a near endless stream of income that they then hand down to their children and children's children.
Unfortunately, most of the knowledge on the Jung family is circulated through the townsfolk, so you have to ask around a bit to get a more solid basis.
The current owner of the Addams house is one Jung Hoseok. Young, beautiful, and filthy rich, according to those you spoke with on the streets. But, apparently he spent most of his youth in a mental hospital. Not only a mental hospital, a high-security facility for the criminally insane.
Now, you're not sure how much of that you believe, but you still have to entertain the possibility.
And one day, you even catch sight of him. A small crowd tends to gather whenever the black Mercedes pulls into town, curious eyes prying into the tinted windows.
You're lingering outside the bookshop one afternoon, making sure you didn't leave anything behind after a four-hour-long research session, when the car rolls through the streets like a slinky black cat.
Whispers immediately fill the air, causing you to look up from your bag, which is bursting at the seams these days from all the papers you have to carry around.
The car stops at the curb in front of the cafe, the driver soon killing the engine. Then, the driver's side door opens, and a black-booted foot steps onto the sidewalk.
The man is handsome, you have to admit, with long black hair that curls at the nape of his neck. His face is sharp and angular, with a softly heart-shaped mouth and surprisingly bright eyes.
He's dressed in pressed pants and jacket, thin and elegant. The man walks into the cafe and picks up a to-go order, gets back into his car, and drives away without so much as a glance at all the people who have stopped to stare at him.
You being one of them, but you're fairly certain that you're the only one who takes a few pictures.
But it wasn't until yesterday that you started to really feel like you were losing your marbles.
As you're asking around town, you breach the subject of the town's forensic pathologist. Everyone you speak to has nothing but good things to say about the young coroner, except for the fact that he isn't as young as you thought he was.
You ask a woman you struck up a conversation with outside the grocery store about the Kim family, and she says that Taehyung did a fantastic job taking care of her nephew for his funeral.
You agree, mentioning your admiration for how educated he is for someone so young.
That's when the woman's face turns puzzled. "Young?" she says, raising an eyebrow. She goes on to say that the most recent Kim Taehyung has been running the morgue for the last twenty years.
"Taehyung III?" you ask. "Thin, dark eyes, looks a bit like a Roman statue?"
"Yes, that's the one. Took over the family business after his father died. But no children, I hear he's training a young apprentice that will likely take over when he retires."
You mention that surely Taehyung has time to have children, but that same confused expression crosses her face.
"Isn't he nearly seventy though?"
A squirmy feeling in the pit of your stomach. You awkwardly brush off the woman, apologizing for the confusion.
You ask almost every other passerby you see on the street that evening about the town coroner, and they all say the same thing. A kind man, very good at his job, and most definitely in his late sixties.
They all insist that there hasn't been a young Kim in the business since Taehyung was a trainee nearly thirty years prior.
So you do a little more digging, and turns out it's true. If you'd have looked a little closer at the dates on all of Taehyung's degrees and certificates, you'd find that he acquired them all between fifteen and twenty-five years ago.
You're tailing him the next morning. You got lucky, today being one of the rare days when he leaves the Addams house to go into town.
He steps out of the hearse in leather shoes and a sweater vest under his trenchcoat. You suppose he dresses like he's older, from the way he tucks in his shirt and cuffs his pants, but he also sports a crossbody bag over his shoulder that others would most likely consider feminine, but he pulls it off effortlessly.
The clouds are letting down a light rain, leaving dewdrops on your jacket and making Taehyung's hair appear just a bit fluffier.
There's that same streak of gray from his hairline. The only indicator that he possibly isn't an attractive man in his late twenties/early thirties.
But that's exactly what you're looking at. Not an older man with aged skin and silver hair, rather more like a bronze god with a mop of black curls. And the only sign of age from knowledge or experience is deep in his eyes.
You begin to follow him down the street, sneaking pictures occasionally, curious what would happen if you were to show said pictures to others. Would they still see an old man? Or would they see the young one you've been seeing from the beginning?
You get the odd sensation that you're being watched, but from a source you can't name, since you're fairly certain Taehyung hasn't noticed you.
It's as you're nearing the end of the sidewalk, slipping in-between a cluster of people, that he suddenly stops dead in his tracks.
You stop too, a cold chill latching onto your spine. He stands there for a moment, perfectly still.
Then, he turns over his shoulder and looks right at you.
There haven't been many times in your career where you're genuinely shocked speechless. And even fewer when your target is not only fully aware of the fact that you're trailing them, but apparently isn't bothered in the slightest by it.
Because then a smirk is creeping onto his face. Those tiger eyes turn a shade darker, and he nods his head slightly as if to greet you.
He knew you were watching him, they all did.
The ice under your skin only intensifies when you hear the click of a camera shutter from behind you.
Whipping around, you see Jung Hoseok standing just a few feet away, a camera held up to his face and the brim of his hat tilted down, but you know it's him.
And the lens is pointed at you.
What's strange is that no one else seems to notice him. Every other time you've seen him in town, everyone stops to stare, but now they slide around him like he isn't even there, their eyes looking right through him.
Something weird is definitely going on.
You dissolve back into the crowd like a ghost.
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october 29, 2004
A letter appears on your doorstep. The stationary is soft and expensive-looking, with your name scrawled on the front in curling script. With no return address.
It's enclosed with a red wax seal, stamped with the image of a crow.
You debate on whether or not to open it for approximately three minutes.
Dearest _______,
We cordially invite you to the Addams House for dinner, dancing, and drinks on October 30 at 6:00 p.m. sharp. Please bring your case notes for discussion.
Dress code: semi-formal.
Fondly,
Jung Hoseok
The back of the paper reads:
How do you accept this invitation?
➳ With enthusiasm
➳ With excitement
You think about it for about thirty seconds. Circling "with enthusiasm," you slip the paper back into the envelope and set it back outside where you found it.
It's gone the next morning.
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a/n: thanks so much for reading!! i would absolutely love to hear any of your thoughts! 👉👈
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acorviart · 14 hours
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Europe VAT laws not changing any time soon, recent. If understand FAQ well, mean shipping to Europe impossible for several years minimum?
That's correct, I won't be shipping to the EU for the foreseeable future due to some import packaging regulations that either have already been implemented or are planning to be implemented in the future.
Note that this is for EU countries only—I can ship to all other non-EU countries like Switzerland, except for the UK due to the UK's own convoluted VAT system.
The only workaround I can offer for EU folks is that you can have a friend or family that lives in a non-EU country place an order to deliver to their address, and then they are able to ship that order to you marked as a gift. Not an option for everyone, I know.
Longer explanation under the readmore for those curious:
As it stands now, each EU country has its own system and fees that I can't keep up with (for example, France would cost me 80 euros per year), I'd need to individually register and report to each country, some require reporting and tracking of what sources of packaging I use, I believe? It's all very complicated, and it makes my head spin just trying to figure out what the requirements actually are, so that's why I stopped shipping to the EU entirely out of an abundance of caution. I also just don't get enough sales to the EU to justify the headache, I'd probably actually lose money paying all the fees. Actually, while I was looking up details while writing this post, apparently there's a new PPWR that's going to replace the old EU Packaging Directive? This is why I can't handle this (ಥ﹏ಥ)
As for why this doesn't seem to be affecting all companies—corporations can obviously afford their own professionals whose entire job is to handle this stuff, and the requirements are also different for large vs small volumes. Meanwhile, a lot of other small or 1-person businesses straight up don't know about these requirements, because it's not like there's a memo passed around about updates to international shipping law. It's also even more confusing because some packages are slipping by without any issue, probably in part due to how the regulations are still new and still being implemented, so I assume it's kind of a mess.
I know of a few people who are willingly taking the risk and shipping to the EU anyway and have had no consequences (for now at least), but I'm not risking the fines ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Now for the UK, their VAT system doesn't have anything to do with packaging, but what it does require is similar registration with the government, and I'm required to collect and pay the VAT myself. No thanks!
TLDR; laws hard. laws also expensive. too stupid to figure out and too fearful of fines. no ship to countries
fun story: someone also once emailed me this long diatribe about how they think I'm shit at research and that I'm just making all this up (specifically just to screw with europeans or something, I guess?), so I sent them a few links to the literal official government websites where I got my info (like that UK one), and they never responded. lol
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guinevereslancelot · 11 months
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the horrors are horroringggg
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marioclash · 3 months
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hi... one of these posts again.
ill give you the short of it, we still owe 380 dollars for rent in december, haven't been able to pay for january, february, or march in full at all.
each months rent comes out to around 1395, so we're behind around 4500 dollars
our landlord has thankfully been very patient but i think hes going to be closing the book on us soon. at this point i dont blame him, but i think he's only being so patient because we've kept up with everything else
every little bit that hasnt gone to food has gone to bills and were still behind
i hate doing this. i fucking hate it. but because were struggling so fucking badly still i really dont have much of a choice. im sorry.
especially considering i made one not even a month ago
pypl / vnmo
0/1000
frankly speaking, this wont pull us out of the chasm we are currently in, but it would probably at least appease our landlord
if you cannot do anything, i understand. PLEASE do not feel like you have to. i just ask that perhaps you give it a reblog if you cant.
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opens-up-4-nobody · 2 months
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...
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gregoftom · 1 year
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alright nero damn
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kingofthering · 2 months
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I'll never be against an athlete choosing the job with the higher salary (hello, tons of regular people do that every day, I might do it myself one day if offered the chance) but I'll be honest, when the lesser offer is still a 7 numbers figure, I'm not going to think that that offer is a bad one.
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emil1863 · 3 months
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Posting anything anywhere else other than Tumblr is kinda weird. Not only are my contacts hooked up to my insta account like an IV, but I also cannot just go about and say that anime men look infinitely more attractive when they are beaten to hell and back, covered in blood, slightly deranged, and clinging onto life.
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bunnihearted · 2 months
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🏥🦷
#damn my teeth on my left side reallyyyyy fkn hurt#last night it started hurting so bad i couldnt fall asleep#i took some regular over the counter pain pills nd they brought down the pain a bit#so it at least didnt hurt as bad as it did first#but now after sleeping a few hours it still hurts ://#idk what to do... bc i've googled but it is like impossible for me to know what this is. could be anything rlly#nd w physical health stuff im not as terrified bc i can just go to the ER. when i was there it only cost $15 lol#but dental care is so fkn expensive i dont even have that in my account#anyway. i could get an 'urgent appointment' which i get financial aid for... probably. thats the thing. it's not 100% certain#idk what i should do bc like i could wait it out nd see if it'll pass nd then wait on my appt the 6th may#or maybe i should call my dentists nd ask them what they think nd if they can give me an urgent appt..#i hate calling tho. i know that sounds ridiculous esp when im dealing w pain but my avpd makes it so so hard for me. i'd almost rather not#if i was smart nd normal thats what i would do. just call them nd see what they decide for me. maybe i'll wait nd see nd call tmrw....#nd idk abt the pain. like it rlly hurts but it isnt extreme i think.. but when i press one tooth it hurts a lot nd makes me worried it's#dying 💀 nd like u can actually die from teeth pain nd complications... nd infections nd stuff. it's scary af 😭#idk if my tooth is dying nd i need to contact a dentist rn or if its smth that can wait for a bit#i mean if i had a job nd a salary i'd book an appt for tmrw nd get it checked but i have to discuss w myself bc i cant afford lol#ugh this is the reason im terrified of dental problems. the pain is awful nd theres nothing u can do if you're poor#my head keeps spinning idk what i should do abt this 😭 i csnt make up my mind. just want it to go away on its own but i know it wont#nd it hurts so that i can barely sleep or eat or concentrate. so i rlly dont know.....#oh if only things were easy
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Mel for the unhinged character bingo!
yessss YEEEESSSSSSSSS
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#ask me#so Mel is in the unenviable position of being a very strong character whose rights I support and whose wrongs I also fully support#BUT the way she's treated broadly in the fandom is so pervasive and so consistent and so frustrating to me that#I am in full -must protect my blorbo- mode with her at all times#-Mel's story is over so the only thing left for her to do is die-#-if Mel dies then J can get together with V and they will appreciate her for her sacrifice bc she died a hero who rejected Ambessa-#enough! enough I say!#what about proving to ambessa that she can take the throne for herself? what about the angst of defying her mother and her home country#and opposing those in Piltover who DO want war and want to raze the undercity#what about the magic that she's heavily foreshadowed to have and how it's different from hextech#and how it directly opposes but also parallels what is happening to Viktor#what about her -friends- abroad and the plot Mel was cooking through all of season 1 that has not been revealed yet#there's so much potential for her to have to confront the fact that J was slowly becoming a monster through season 1#and that she can't ignore the undercity forever#also what if whoever Ambessa says killed her brother comes after Mel too!#it is very frustrating to see Mel get dismissed as dead or evil or irredeemable or whatever when she is consistently#the most interesting person in the room in every single scene she's in and the character who shows the most conviction and change#so yeah i will take a bullet for her she is my blorbo I will despise any character who hurts her#and I would cradle her in my arms if she gave me a chance - which she would never! - but a girl can dream#however I also enjoy leaning into the idea that Mel is perceived as being a devil from the outside - Mel leans into it too when it serves#but it's in direct opposition to her ironclad values and the personality that she keeps hidden a layer down#I genuinely think that Mel will have a happy ending - or at least as happy an ending that an Arcane character can get lol#like I fully believe she will take the throne (Piltover) in the end but I can only guess at this point what that will cost her#I love putting Mel in situations but mainly to play with both how creative she can get and also how fucking far she will go to win#which is ANOTHER thing we know is probably true about Mel but has not been put on display yet#also Mel has already done a great job at separating what she wants for herself as a person from just being Ambessa's daughter#but Mel still deserves to get plenty of great therapy for that situation because OH GOD THAT CHILDHOOD FLASHBACK#also Kino is dead? maybe dead?? at least Mel fully believes he's dead so she needs therapy and hugs for that too#I am super normal about her can you tell
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sun-marie · 3 months
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What I really think media with ensemble casts, especially those in a traveling group of some kind, are missing are big, blow-out arguments between the group. Especially when there's a conflict of interests, I am such a sucker for when two or more characters disagree so strongly that they realize very little is actually holding them together as a group, and wonder if it's time to go their separate ways.
I feel like a lot of video games, specifically, just kind of assume once the traveling band is "complete", it's forced to stay together until the player expressly permits it, but I don't really find that very compelling and a lot of times it feels more like they're relying on some kind of immediately strong bond that hasn't really been earned. Which is a shame, because in my opinion one of the best ways to strengthen that bond is to have the characters disagree and argue. Maybe they realize they're only being superficially held together and so they temporarily split up, only to then realize how much they've come to care for the others in the group. Then they reunite, make-up, formulate a plan to go forward, and boom, the group bond is that much stronger. Or maybe they don't even split up, and maybe they never learn to like each other, but they decide whatever cause their working toward is more important. Something else, bigger than them, is holding them together.
It just feels like a lot of potential is going to waste to just skip straight to the intense found family bond, without earning it.
#there are exceptions of course#like I thought it was clever how bg3 did it where the group didn't necessarily intend to be traveling together this long#and then once they learned about the tadpoles and the artifact it turns out it's either stay together or die#but a disagreement between them every once and a while instead of assuming they're all insta-besties couldn't hurt#and DA2 kinda circumvents this by Hawke not really going anywhere#so if Fenris isn't having a good time with Anders he can just like stay home and vice versa#but games like Octopath Traveler 2 would really benefit from some stronger disagreements#like my first playthrough Castti's ch. 4 and Osvald's ch. 5 lined up right next to each other#and like vague ot2 spoilers#but what I would give to see them hash it out#over whether to save thousands of people Castti doesn't know potentially at the cost of saving one person Osvald cares a great deal for#or vice versa#especially with how hardened Osvald's become it would have been soooo juicy#i get that would've been difficult to implement and that's probably more the job of fanfic#but that's just an example of what I mean#idk I just think more creators shouldn't be afraid to have their characters seriously argue with each other#because not every disagreement is a dealbreaker and can in fact strengthen their bonds#and like not every game cast needs to be found family! but if you want that found family effect you have to show them arguing like a family#poe1 is a good example of a group that travel together and don't necessarily have this tight bond#they just feel like good friends (mostly)#i had other examples that I can't think of now and may add later#I feel like I was going somewhere with this but yeah it's just something I've been thinking about#let characters fight sometimes. conflict is what makes stories good#edit: FE: 3 Houses was the other example I was thinking of!#like things get pretty dire in the Blue Lions route and Dimitri has some pretty questionable moments#but with the exception of like Felix hardly anyone calls him out on it they just kind of go along with it#and lo and behold Felix is one of my favorite 3H characters and his friendship with Dimitri is extremely compelling#bc their friendship was tested and survived#marie speaks
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oscill4te · 7 months
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this is mean but some people in college seem so unhappy and like they are only there bc pressure from their family, if that was me I'd just drop out (i did drop out my first year bc expenses + the degree i wanted wasnt offered)(im being anti-growth, as usual)
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birdmenanime · 2 years
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Can you believe that the 2nd most important person to the story BARELY had ANY screen time of his blackout. WE SAW HIS BLACKOUT 3 WHOLE TIMES. NOT ENOUGH FOR ME TO DISSECT HIS GAY TRAUMATIZED BRAIN!
#pacing around the room crawling on all fours admiring the yellow wallpaper#we know it’s a bug we know his parents were entemologists we KNOW#that his parents jobs uprooted him from a young age and never had him learn social skills we KNOW that the job in south america#cost them their lives and caused Takayama to become what he is and we KNOW that certain bugs can fly and#that bugs are misunderstood. most people see bugs and freak out and you have to be patient and learn to like them#Takayamas blackouts always take up space and are ‘unsightly’ or mutated in some way#they’re impulsive and headstrong and lean with force and logic not heart#one of the bugs chanted ‘kill’ like it was the only word it knew. all Takayama ever did was fight and kill the trauma inside of him#and NEVER addressed it. kill the emotions kill the trauma kill the guilt#the second blackout was a mosquito a creature that takes blood and can cause malaria#the eyes VERY IMPORTANT were the same eye rings as to which seraphs get#tosses everything on the floor and madly trying to scramble up a connection#anyways. Takayama has done everything he could intentionally or not to kill anything human within him. he doesn’t know what hes doing or#who or what he is and it’s scary. he fails to save people over and over and he thinks he’s unsalvagable.#the real reason he reached out to the bird club was because he was lonely. so crushingly lonely. he can fight and kick the trauma#all he wants but at the end of the day hes the same kid he was the day his parents died and he became a seraphim#and maybe that’s why the third blackout is when he was about to finally meet eva. she is the only proof that he is real#eva is the only proof that takayama was once a kid. the only reminder#eva and Takayama’s relationship is weird but to me it I would say to Takayama Eva is like a mother to him#and eva used him from the start.#idk Takayama makes me lose my mind. have u ever considered how takayama#views himself as a bug. and the fact that bugs have never bothered karasuma#karasuma knows what Takayama is like but Karasuma has seen all of Takayama and still loves him#anyways how are YOU guys I wrote this while in horrible stomach pain.#birdmen#takayama sou
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slippery-minghus · 29 days
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gods, why didn't i get a college degree in anything useful?
#i've known since the day it unceremoniously came in the mail that my degree is worth less than the paper it's printed on#yeah i needed to college experience for social and lersonal growth#but why couldn't i have gotten something out of it that can help me find a damn job?#what was the fucking point of going through all that?#(the social and personal growth obviously)#ahgggggg#i'm too broke and disabled to go back to school NOW#(the way i'm coping with the anxiety of waiting to hear back about the internal job i just interviewed for#is to have Officially Decided That I'll Be Rejected Out Of Hand. So What Do I Do Next?#it hurts but at least i can move forward if the worst come to pass#and it gives me something to do while i'm Waiting#ughhhhh#why couldn't i have sold my damn soul and gotten the shitty computer science degree my school had??#i remember visiting a house a friend was pet-sitting for and seeing the couple's gaming setup#and just seeing dollar signs. they both worked in computer science and made $$$#but at the time it sounded like the worst thing in the world#and i'd already changed my major once... loved what i was studying... and had my dad breathing down my neck about how much my education cost#i'm so lucky i don't have debt. thanks to my grampa. but holy hell did my dad lord that inheritance over me and make me dance for it#i don't think he ever got over grampa pulling *his* college funding bc he spent college fucking around and dropped out#couldn't wrap his head around that the narrow thing he'd trained me to be would never follow in his 'rebelious' footsteps#i beat myself up over A-'s there was no way i'd do anything other than take my grades seriously#but that was the problem. i was worried about grades and what sounded bearable to learn. not what was realistic to do with it#i wanted to get a fucking phd! with what fucking money!!!!#of course not that i had the support or the maturity to understand what it meant to choose an education that could grant me a career#but who can i blame if not myself?#dad always said i had to Go To College. there was no choice in not going. but as soon as college came he shoved me out the door#and slammed shut. how was i supposed to know what to do without him there to make me do things all of a sudden?#that took nearly a decade to learn dammit#personal
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