#well. still have to pay for transportation back to college + books for next semester etx

[torahtot]

idk what happened but i checked all my money stuff again bc i finally got access to my own bank account and turns out i actually have like $430 that i could spend. my december paycheck hasn't even come through yet.. teehee so exciting

[peterpparkerwrites]

second chances

warnings: hmm some brief secondhand embarrassment (sorry), bits of unrequited feelings, drinking/mentions of drinking, language, and some cheesiness because why not pairing: peter parker x reader word count: 7k summary: you meet your unrequited high school crush/best friend years later at a college frat party of all places - things go about as well as expected!

masterlist ~ requests are closed

~

"You know, I bet that new school isn't going to have nearly as many fun people as us."

You glanced up from your book to see one of your best friends glaring at you, sitting down across the lunch table.

"Well, at least they won't all be nerds," you grinned at Ned, who rolled his eyes.

"I don't think you're understanding how I will not shut up about the fact that you're abandoning us tomorrow and for the rest of our lives."

"Ned, I'll still bother you on weekends and during breaks," you promised, though it warmed your heart to know how much he would miss you. You would definitely miss him just as much.

You didn't want to transfer schools, especially not when the school year just began. Unfortunately your mom lost her job unexpectedly, and with money being tight, it made more sense for you to go to a school that was within walking distance so you didn't have to pay for public transport. You were a little relieved you wouldn't be going to such a prestigious school anymore as well, so you could relax and not stress as much about grades - but you were still going to miss your friends.

"Peter's been acting weird," Ned grumbled, "I thought maybe it was because his best friend was moving, but I think it's something else."

"Ned, you're moving too?" You asked in fake shock, and he glared at you.

"Come on, we both know you're his actual best friend. You both just found me in middle school and introduced me to Star Wars, and the rest is history," he huffed. "But back to what I was saying - I think he likes someone again."

You let yourself process that for a minute, hoping your feelings weren't showing in your expression. It wouldn't be the first time you had to go through Peter liking someone that wasn't you, but it didn't mean you wouldn't still be hurt.

"Really?"

"I mean, you remember how he used to act when MJ and Liz were around?" Ned pointed out, "He's doing that again. He just won't tell me who he likes, it's frustrating."

There was a tiny, dangerous feeling of hope that rose in your chest. Normally it was something you'd squash - every time you thought about it, you squashed it - but Ned's words and the way Peter had been acting around you made you hold onto that feeling for a second longer.

"Well, any ideas?" You asked carefully, "It's not like he's been hanging out around many girls lately."

"He's been tutoring that new transfer girl, what was her name? Madison? Could be her."

"Doubtful, considering she has a girlfriend and I don't think Peter would be dumb enough to like a girl he just met anyway," you poked at your food, not wanting to voice any hope to Ned. As much as you loved your friend, you knew he would probably blurt that secret to Peter by accident and then everything would be ruined. "He always likes people that he's known for at least a few months, right? I remember how he was around MJ when we first were friends with her versus after that first semester."

Now Ned was giving you a weird look. "Hey, there's one person we haven't considered."

"Who?"

"You."

You stared blankly at Ned before laughing, "Alright, who's your next guess?"

"No, seriously," Ned leaned forward. "It would make sense, considering you're the only option."

You tried not to roll your eyes. You were lucky that you had always loved Peter, and that there was no change or "tell" that Ned could detect for when you were into someone. He would never find out on his own unless you explicitly told him. But this conversation was dipping into dangerous territory.

"Come on, Ned. We've been friends since kindergarten, and we're basically family. He's had years to realize his feelings for me, don't you think it would be kind of unlikely that he would realize now?"

"Well, you are moving away literally tomorrow, it could be a last minute realization before he loses you," he pointed out, and this time you did roll your eyes. "Plus, he gets so weird now when we all hang out, and since we know it's not MJ anymore...that only leaves you."

"Could be you," you grinned a little, "Your bromance has always seemed like it was more than that."

Ned huffed, "Fine, change the subject. But I'm thinking maybe I'm right."

He didn't continue the conversation once Peter showed up to the lunch table, out of breath and apologizing for being late - something about his internship. Despite the fact that it was the middle of the school day, you let that slide.

It wasn't until later that day when you were hanging out with Peter that you tried to entertain the thought of it maybe being you that he was suddenly into. He was sitting on your couch with you watching tv, literally laying his head in your lap while you played with his hair - that might have been a tell normally, except that you both had always been like this. Physical touch boundaries had never existed.

Peter snickered at something on his phone, holding it up for you to see. You squinted at the text from May, who had sent him a picture of the both of you when you were young - it looked like maybe fourth grade. You felt your face warm up at the way you were hugging him, while he was giving the camera a wide smile.

"Jesus, thank God my mom let me grow those curtain bangs out," you forced out, trying to ignore the fact that the picture was probably from around the time you realized you liked him. If the way you were clutching onto him wasn't enough of a tell.

"Hey, those bangs were adorable," Peter said defensively, and you laughed. "Well, maybe they were a bit of a hair nightmare, but it didn't stop me from having a crush on you."

Your fingers froze in his hair, and you tried not to think about what he just said too much. The idea that you both had a crush on each other at the same time...nope. You weren't even going to go there.

"You...had a crush on me?" You asked softly, hoping the feeling of hope wasn't obvious in your voice.

"Yeah," he snorted, "Don't worry, it was for like maybe a week when we were ten. I don't think anything really counts at that age"

Well, that hope was punted straight to hell. You chuckled awkwardly, "Right."

You watched as Peter saved the photo and immediately added it to his favorites folder, and you felt that hope try to crawl its way back. Stupid mixed signals.

"I'm gonna miss you when you go to Maspeth," Peter sighed, "Why are you going again?"

"Because I hate science," you snickered when he gave you a dirty look, "You know it's expensive to afford transport here, it's much closer."

"Traitor," he whispered, and you couldn't help but laugh. "It'll be the first time we haven't gone to school together, like...ever. It's gonna be so weird."

"I know. I'll miss you too, Pete. A lot."

His eyes closed as he relaxed, and you couldn't help but smile down at him as you kept running your fingers through his soft hair. One of his hands came up and grabbed your free one, interlocking your fingers and letting your hands rest against his chest.

From what you could remember, you never saw him act like this with Liz or MJ. It had always been different for you both, sure, but this was definitely jumping over that fine line between friends and more than friends. You had just ignored it for too long.

You really couldn't keep doing this to yourself.

"Can I tell you something?" You asked carefully, and his eyes snapped open to give you a questioning look.

"Yeah, of course. What's up?"

You bit your lip and looked away from his face, wondering if this was really the best time. But you knew it might be the only time.

"I'm kind of scared," you admitted, his face turning concerned as he sat up.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he kept holding one of your hands comfortingly, and you squeezed it. "You can tell me anything, Y/N. Is it about moving to a new school? Because I promise you'll do great, everyone will love you. Maybe not as much as we do, but enough!"

You felt your expression soften at how much that meant to you, even if it was way off from what you were actually planning to say. You knew you could tell him how you felt and it would only result in two ways - either he'd admit the same, which you tried not to get too hopeful about, or he would let you down in the kindest way possible, because he was Peter.

Plus...you'd be changing high schools literally tomorrow. This might be the only chance you had.

"I don't really know how to say it, so I'll just go for it," you took a breath, making yourself look him in his eyes before you chickened out. "I have feelings for you, Peter. I have for a while and I feel like I need to tell you that before I leave."

He stared at you blankly for a second, his thumb freezing from where it had been moving across the back of your hand. He cracked an unsure grin, "Um...is this meant to be like, a last prank before you go away?"

You shut your eyes, trying not to wince. "No, Peter. It's not. I wouldn't joke about something like this."

He took a minute, searching your face to see if you were really serious. You joked around a lot, and there had always been teasing from others around the subject of you two being together, and you both had participated in the "old married couple" jokes because it had never been serious. You couldn't really blame him for thinking you might be pranking him to ease the blow of you moving.

"I didn't...know that," Peter said slowly, and you felt your heart sink with his words. He looked nervous, but not in the way that he did when he liked someone. He looked like he was figuring out the best way to let you down without hurting you. Unfortunately, you didn't think that would be possible, no matter how nicely he did it.

The feeling in your chest tightened as you let go of his hand, "Oh. Right, that's - um, you obviously couldn't have known, I didn't really ever say anything, so-"

Peter interrupted your word vomit, his expression pained, "You're my best friend, and I love you, but I'm sorry I don't...I just don't see you like that. I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to apologize for how you feel," you said quickly, moving back a little, "It's okay, seriously. I'm sorry for dropping that on you out of nowhere, Ned just kind of gave me the idea that you might...it doesn't matter. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable or-"

"Y/N," he cut you off again, shaking his head, "You could never make me uncomfortable, I just-this is kind of out of nowhere, I never thought you...how long?"

"It doesn't really matter," you repeated, hoping the way your hands were shaking wasn't noticeable to him. "I, um...maybe you should go home?"

Peter suddenly looked panicked, "Wait-wait don't, please don't do that, we- we can still be friends, right? I can't lose you just like that. We can talk about it if you want but-"

"Peter, relax," you tightened your hands into fists, avoiding his eyes, "I don't want that, I'm not trying to push you away, I swear - I just think maybe I need some space for a bit. It's not your fault, it's me. I should've thought about your reaction before...can I just have some space? Please?"

He looked like he wanted to hug you, but luckily he didn't. "Yeah, yeah, 'course. I'm...I'm so sorry, Y/N."

"You don't have to apologize," you repeated, your voice wavering. "I'll...I'll text you when I'm settled at Maspeth, okay?"

"Okay," he said weakly, seeming like it physically hurt him to stand up and move away from you. "We're...we're gonna be okay, right?"

"Of course," you promised, not letting yourself look at him. "I'll see you soon."

To be fair, you didn't know you were lying when you said it.

He had been gone a while when you finally stopped crying and feeling sorry for yourself. It could've been worse, you knew that, and you should have felt lucky he even wanted to be around you still. After nearly an hour, you forced yourself to finally look at your phone for a distraction.

You felt like your heart dropped when you saw several texts from Ned, who was apologizing profusely while also saying he had no idea you had feelings for Peter, and he didn't mean to get your hopes up. It was easy to tell from those that Peter had told Ned about what happened (and might've even blamed him for this situation), and you tried not to be upset about that.

Several days had passed and Peter tried to reach out a few times before you had to change your number for a cheaper phone plan, but you knew your feelings wouldn't go away if you tried to just be friends with him. God, you had been friends with him for years and those feelings never went away, so you knew space was the only thing that might help.

Unfortunately, those feelings didn't disappear as quickly as you had hoped. There were more than a few nights that you would stay up late looking at photos of you both throughout the years, trying not to cry and trying to convince yourself to not call him. You weren't sure how you could face him again knowing your feelings weren't reciprocated.

Ned and MJ stayed in touch, but not as much as you had hoped. When junior year was underway and everyone was insanely busy with AP classes and SATs and college applications, you barely spoke on the phone but maybe once every two months - and definitely no in-person hang outs.

And you never got in touch with Peter again.

If someone told you that you wouldn't see Peter for nearly five years, you would've laughed. If they had continued to tell you it would've been at a frat party that you'd finally meet again, you would've laughed even harder.

You weren't one for insane drinking and definitely not for frat parties, but your friend and roommate has convinced you to go to at least one. Her boyfriend was having one for the beginning of the school year and after new members had been initiated, and you felt like maybe a fun night out would be nice. Junior year was already kicking your ass.

Of course, she convinced you to dress up for the theme, which for some reason was beach party. You were literally wearing a bikini and board shorts in the beginning of fall in New York, which was sort of hilarious, but you would've dressed differently had you known what was coming.

You knew fully well Peter had likely also gone to Columbia. It was always his goal, and he wanted to stay in New York - plus he was sure to be able to afford it with the Stark internship likely getting him a nice scholarship. When you got in, you were always nervous (but also hoping) that maybe you would run into him on campus.

It never happened in the two years you had attended.

So when you were two drinks in and finally alone after helping a drunk girl find her friends get an Uber home, you felt like a deer stuck in headlights when you caught sight of familiar brown curls that you could still recognize anywhere.

Peter Parker was in a Hawaiian shirt holding a beer in his hands. He seemed to be alone, looking at something on his phone that had him frowning. He looked almost the same minus how tall he had gotten and how fit he looked, but the sight of his brown eyes almost made you run at him like a crazy person.

You hadn't realized how much you really, really missed him.

You were able to get a good, probably panicked, look at him before he noticed you, your eyes moving from his horrendously ugly shirt to his more defined face. Then his eyes swept over you before jerking back to do a double take.

You were both staring at each other wide-eyed, and you suddenly felt out of place in the outfit you chose to wear. In high school you were all about avoiding parties and strictly wore sweaters and thrifted jeans, so you were pretty sure based on Peter's expression he was surprised to see you like this. Or even just seeing you here, at all.

"Uh, h-hi," Peter stuttered first, his eyes barely moving down before snapping back up. His voice was so familiar and different at the same time, it almost made you flinch. "You, Y/N...hi?"

"Hi, Peter," you said quietly, gripping your cup tighter and trying to think of a way to break this weird tension, "I never would have guessed I would find you at a frat party, much less dressed like a father having a mid life crisis."

His stiff demeanor cracked, his shoulders relaxing a little as a familiar sheepish grin rose on his lips. "Just have to stick to the theme. My friend Harry has joined this one, though, that's-that's why I'm here. I'm not in a frat. What are you doing...here?"

"Enjoying the horrible liquor choices," you joked again, the expression on Peter's face almost making you regret it. You always resorted to bad jokes when you were uncomfortable. "Um, wow, you...you're like a foot taller than me now, what happened?"

"Growth spurt, and probably the amount of caffeine that you drink stunting your growth," he smiled a little and you found yourself grinning back, not even having to force it. "You still drink like, ten cups of coffee a day?"

"Hey, it was never that many," you felt yourself relax slightly, "But yes."

It was silent again for a second before his expression softened, "It's really good to see you, Y/N. I've missed you, I tried reaching out, but..."

"I had to change my number unexpectedly," you weren't even lying, but you also had Peter's phone number memorized from the day he got his first phone, so there wasn't an excuse on your end for not reaching out. "Things got kind of crazy after I moved but, yeah...I really missed you, too."

His face seemed to light up at that admission, and you couldn't help the small smile climbing your lips too. You hadn't thought about what it would be like if you saw Peter again, especially not in this kind of situation, but it was great to see him. He looked a little older and even better than he had last time you saw him, which didn't help the old feelings creeping up your chest.

"Hey, is this guy bothering you?" You tensed as a guy threw his arm over your shoulder, shaking you a little and giving Peter a weird look.

"This is Peter, a...friend from high school," you huffed a little at the smell of alcohol wafting off him, "Peter, this is my roommate Gina's boyfriend, Chris."

"Nice to meet you," Peter said slowly, his eyes focusing on where Chris had his hand on your shoulder.

"Dude, you're Peter?" Chris asked, his speech sounding slurred, and you both gave him a weird look as he stared at you in disbelief, "This dude is the reason you haven't dated anyone?"

You felt your face heat up, not even daring to look at Peter's reaction. "Maybe I should go find Gina, you've clearly had enough to drink."

"Y/N-"

"It was great to see you again, Peter," you interrupted him, forcing a smile, "Maybe I'll see you around."

You didn't give him a chance to answer, going to find Gina and wring her neck for saying anything to Chris about that situation. You had gotten drunk freshman year and overshared way too much to your friend about Peter, but you certainly had never told her boyfriend of three months anything about him.

"Why would you tell him that?" You hissed at your friend once you found her and berated her for over two minutes, "It's-it's not even true! I just haven't found the right person!"

"Honey, we both know it's true," she sighed, "I'm sorry I told him, he was just trying to find some of his frat buddies to set you up with and I didn't want you to end up with one of those losers, so I told him that so he'd back off. I didn't think there would ever be a situation as to how he would meet Peter and say that."

You knew she had a point, unfortunately. It wasn't really like you were holding out hope that Peter would change his mind nearly five years after he rejected you - it was more like you hadn't met anyone that was up to his standards. No one knew you like he did, you were sure that no one else would treat you as great, and you were still hoping someone would turn up that even had an ounce of the kindness Peter had.

Every guy you came across in the circles your friends had were just not up to the same standards. Peter Parker had ruined any other guy for you.

After forgiving Gina and telling her she should tell Chris to keep his mouth shut sometimes, you wandered off to find more to drink. You weren't sure if you were happy or not about the fact that you didn't run into Peter again - he might've even left after that embarrassing interaction with Gina's annoying boyfriend.

A few hours later and you found yourself sitting on a curb a few streets away, annoyed at the situation you found yourself in. Your phone was on two percent, and then died as soon as you opened maps. You had over estimated how well you knew this area, and you weren't sure how to get home. You were debating just heading back and waiting for Gina, like you probably should've done in the first place.

As if the universe was answering some kind of weird prayer, you jumped when you heard a loud crash a few feet away.

You watched, a little dumbfounded, as Spider-Man of all people swung down from one of the rooftops, landing in front of what appeared to have been a man that had crashed into one of the cars parallel parked on the street. He was trying to get up, but some of the pieces of his (metal?) suit had fallen off, like it wasn't very well built.

"Dude, you have to stick a better landing," Spider-Man chided loudly, and his voice made you sit up straighter. "You're going to try new fun gadgets to rob these houses, and then not even know how to properly use them? Pick a struggle."

You continued to watch as he webbed the guy up like a cocoon, then pulled him off the car and set him on the sidewalk. He started to talk back, but Spider-Man shot a web over his mouth and crossed his arms.

"Man, I hope these people sue you for car damages, that is a nasty dent," he continued talking, tapping something on his wrist. "Karen, call the cops, please."

Once he seemed done with that, he said something else to the man that you couldn't hear from where you were. It looked like he was going to leave, and before you could stop yourself, you jumped up, "Hey, Spidey!"

Spider-Man turned around quickly, tilting his head when he realized you were across the street, "You alright?"

"Um, I'm fine, technically. Just...kind of lost?" You hated admitting that.

Spider-Man glanced at the guy, shrugging. "Hold on a sec!"

You almost laughed when he webbed the guy's ears, confused as to why he would do that. Maybe he didn't like eavesdroppers. Within a few seconds he was heading over to you.

"You are very lucky I was here and not some creep," he chided a little, sitting next to you on the curb, "Are you waiting for a friend or anything?"

"Well, I was supposed to get a ride with my roommate, but she wanted to stay at the party longer. And I decided to walk home. I've done it before, but then my phone battery died, of course. I just can't remember how to get back."

"You definitely should have asked someone else there to walk back with you," he continued, his masked eyes squinting, "It's really unsafe this time of night, you've been drinking, you-"

"Peter," you said quickly, making Spider-Man freeze. "Are you going to lecture me, or can you just walk me home?"

Spider-Man's white eyes were wider than before, and he didn't answer.

You frowned and reached up, pretending to knock on where you guessed his forehead should be, "Is Peter home? I asked you a question."

"I'm-I'm not Peter," he laughed nervously, the familiarity of it almost making you roll your eyes. "Whoever Peter is. Sounds like a dick name if you ask me."

"Okay, what's up with the self-deprecating comments? That's always been my thing," you crossed your arms, "Also, we may not have seen each other in a while, but I know you well enough to know that Peter Parker is under those red and blue spandex."

"You're still drunk," he said with finality, standing and offering his hand, "Let's get you back to your apartment."

"I'm going to make you admit it," you taunted, but took his gloved hand anyway. "And I'm not that drunk anymore."

He helped you stand before letting go of your hand, his eyes squinting at you. "Okay, Y/N. Where do you live?"

You stared at him blankly, "I'm in some apartments right next to campus. Also, I win - you just said my name."

"I did," he sighed, shaking his head, "I forgot how stubborn you are. No point in fighting it."

You told him your address and he plugged it into whatever technology was on his wrist, and tilted his head like he was listening to someone. Probably the AI in his suit. You questioned him about leaving the criminal guy on the street, but he assured you the cops would be there soon, and you decided not to care.

You took the opportunity on the silent walk back to look over the suit he was wearing, realizing that he had been Spider-Man...a while. Like back when you were friends.

You remembered you and Ned geeking out when Spider-Man had saved you all at the Washington Monument. No wonder Peter had been so uncharacteristically quiet.

"What happened to your face?" You asked probably too suddenly at the end of the walk to your apartment, almost making him jump.

"Oh, this is nothing," he didn't look at you, but your eyes were narrowed at the cut you had noticed on his suit. "That dude had too many pieces of metal sticking out from his makeshift wannabe villain suit, and it scratched me up a little. I heal fast."

You stopped walking when you reached your building, and Spider-Man awkwardly paused when you did. You eyed his mask again, frowning at the cut.

"Hey, meet me on the balcony?" You asked quickly, "I have a bandaid and some wipes. It's the seventh floor, no one should notice this time of night, and Gina won't be home for a while."

He seemed hesitant, but nodded. "Yeah, okay. Thanks."

It was barely five minutes later that you finished cleaning the cut for him and putting a bandaid on, leaning back to admire your shitty work. It was still kind of weird to see Peter's face under Spider-Man's mask, but not that weird when you really thought about it. He had always been selfless and kind, and something changed in him after Ben's death. You couldn't picture Spider-Man being anyone else.

"Ta-da!" You said lamely, making him crack a smile. "All better."

"Thanks, Y/N," he said softly, and you leaned away mainly to avoid seeing that expression on his face - it was messing with your heart a little too much.

It was quiet as you leaned back against your balcony railing, crossing your arms and staring at your old friend as he got up, twisting his mask in his hands. He stood next to you and sighed, staring down at the street. It was weird he didn't put his mask back on, but you supposed there really weren't many people down there that could look up and be able to make out his face anyway.

"So, Spider-Man, huh?" You held you arms tighter to yourself to keep from shivering, giving him a sideways glance, "You never told me that."

"No, I didn't," he crossed his arms like you had, making you grin a little, "I was planning to. The...last time we talked before you switched schools."

Oh. You shut your eyes, leaning on your railing more and trying not to be annoyed at yourself. If you had just kept your mouth shut, you wouldn't have lost him, and he would've told you he was Spider-Man.

"Of course you're Spider-Man too, you're way too perfect," you muttered, the alcohol sort of speaking for you, not fully out of your system yet. Peter's cheeks went a little red and he rolled his eyes.

"I think you're putting me on too high of a pedestal," he cracked a grin, but it looked a little forced. "I...I shouldn't have hurt you that day. And I definitely should've tried harder to keep in touch with you. I was a jerk for a lot of things, and I'm really sorry."

"Peter, like I said then, you can't help how you feel. You don't have to apologize for not returning my feelings, and it's been years. I got over it a long time ago. Also, you let me down in probably the nicest way possible, so there's really no need to beat yourself up over it."

Sort of lies - you definitely thought you got over it, but you couldn't help the butterflies doing jumping jacks in your stomach when Peter gave you a soft look. Of course he just had to waltz back into your life, and it be like he was never gone.

You didn't make a noise as he suddenly grabbed one of the blankets you left on your balcony and draped it over your shoulders. Again - another gesture that made those butterflies nearly combust, but you tried to force the feeling away as he leaned against the rail next to you.

"You never did tell me," Peter said out of nowhere, and you glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "When you told me...how you felt, I asked you how long you felt that way. You never told me."

"Since primary school," you said quietly, Peter's head snapping up to stare at you in disbelief, "It was just a crush at first, I chalked it up to you being the only friend I had that was a boy. But around middle school I kind of realized it wasn't a crush anymore, and it hadn't gone away in years, so."

He was quiet, his jaw clenching as he looked back at the skyline again. You couldn't really tell what he was feeling or why he even asked that, but you waited for him to continue.

"And how do you feel now?" He asked, and you stared at him blankly. "About me?"

"We haven't talked in years," you answered slowly, eyeing the way he was tapping his fingers on the rail, nervously.

"That wasn't an answer," Peter pointed out, and you realized he was nervous. It wasn't like how it was when he rejected you - it was the kind of nervous you remembered seeing on him when he asked Liz out for the first time.

No. You weren't going to sit here and make a fool of yourself again.

"Peter, why are you even asking me that?" You asked, again avoiding answering his question, despite it being the same unchanging answer for the last decade. "I mean, why does it matter? You made it clear years ago how you felt, so what difference would it make how I feel about you now?"

Peter stared down at you again, and you tried not to lose your train of thought when you met his brown eyes. He looked different, older, but those eyes looked the same, and you hated how often you had thought about them in the last several years.

"Can I talk for a minute about what happened after that day?" He asked quietly, not breaking eye contact, "I have waited five years to talk to you about it, and if now is the only chance I have, I need to get it all out before you say anything."

You were a little speechless at that, and worried about what he was going to say, but you found yourself nodding anyway. He gripped the railing a little, staring out again before speaking.

"You know, when you walked away that day and never spoke to me again, it left this empty feeling that I haven't been able to fill in the last five years. When I told May why you weren't coming around anymore I thought she was going to club me over the head with a frying pan, which I would've deserved. She told me I was stupid for not thinking about why I was so hurt when you left, versus when Liz had to leave and when MJ ended things. That you and I had something that she hadn't seen since my parents. I didn't really listen to her when she said that until later, but...either way, I knew it was time to reach out.

"MJ wouldn't give me your new address or even your new phone number," Peter sounded annoyed at that, but shook his head, "I understood that. It wasn't her place, but she said she would ask you. I don't know if she ever did, or if you guys were even talking frequently in general, or if she did ask and you didn't want me to have either, but either way...I didn't know how to keep trying to find you."

You remembered MJ telling you that, barely a month after you had started at your new high school. You also remembered telling her you would think about it, the rejection still fresh in your heart, and you were way too hurt to talk to him yet. You wanted to get over him first, but...that never really happened.

"I found this coffee shop near Columbia last year that was a combination book store," he smiled a little, "It's called like, Bookstockings, or something. But it seemed like a place you would enjoy, and I thought maybe if there was at all a place I might run into you, it would've been there. So I sat in there almost every day for an hour just hoping you'd maybe drop by."

You stared at him, quickly shutting your mouth when you realized it had been hanging open. The idea of Peter sitting in what happened to be your favorite studying place so often, and just barely missing him...how did he know? How did you never run into him?

"Between May, Ned, and MJ all telling me how stupid I was, and how I should've really thought about how I felt about you...I did feel stupid for realizing it too late. If I didn't know before, I definitely realized when I sat in that shop so often. At first I tried to convince myself that it was just because I wanted my friend back, but then I realized that was kind of over the top for someone who was just a friend. And the more I thought about it, I knew you weren't just a friend. You never had been. It took losing you for me to realize that, which is the worst part."

His fingers played with the edges of your blanket, which made you realize now how close he was. "So...that's why I'm asking you feel now. Because I know how I feel, even if I didn't know until it was too late."

You stared at him silently, knowing what he was saying without really outright saying it. The 16 year old in you was basically screaming at you to accept it, but the present you had years of hurt that she just couldn't let go.

"I was really scared to tell you how I felt that day," you said after a minute, now avoiding Peter's eyes, "And honestly? I still am. Because we haven't seen each other in years, or even talked, and I can't know for sure if you really mean it. I can't be hurt again like that, Peter. I'd like to think I'm strong enough, but losing you sucked, and I can't do that again. If you're going to be back in my life...I can't risk that."

You felt his gloved hand suddenly cup your cheek, and turned to face his pained expression.

"That Chris guy said you haven't dated anyone, because of me," he said quietly, his thumb brushing your cheek. "Is that...true?"

"Haven't met anyone that lived up to those standards," you admitted, and he shut his eyes, leaning his head against yours. "Probably why it's taking me so long to get over you."

"Again, you're giving me too much credit," Peter said softly, "I mess up all the time. Missing my chance with you is probably the biggest mistake I've made. Realizing that I love you much more than I had tried for years to convince myself I did, after I lost you, is something I regret so much. I'm not going to make that mistake twice."

"You really feel that way?" You asked quietly, hating the scared tone in your voice. "Even after this many years?"

"I've been spending the last five years trying to find you so I could apologize and tell you what I realized," his eyes were open again, and it really was getting hard for you to not get distracted by them, "I will quite literally get down on my knees and beg you to give me another chance. I won't even be embarrassed."

You couldn't help the nervous giggle that escaped your lips at the idea of Peter getting down on his knees, but then it turned into full on laughter when he actually stepped back from you and did it. "Peter, you really don't have to-"

"Y/N," he gripped your hands tightly, a shit eating grin now on his face, "I promise I will grovel at your feet every day if it means you would do me the honor of making up for the stupid mistake I made back then. I know I don't deserve it, and I will be totally okay with waiting or taking things slow, but I have waited way too long to tell you how ridiculously in love with you I still am, and how badly I want to make you happy."

"What in the Hallmark movies are you even doing?" You said between laughter, intertwining your fingers with his and pulling him upright. "I've always known you were a hopeless romantic, but what the hell was that?"

"It was me begging for you to give me a chance," he grinned, his eyes shining as he lifted your hands to press a quick kiss to your knuckles. As cheesy and horrible as what he just did was, you felt like you were going to melt. "It's always been you, Y/N. I haven't had a single day where I haven't thought about you since I left your room all those years ago."

"Slowly," you said simply, smiling at the look on his face. "I haven't even talked to you in five years. It's sort of unrealistic to start anything right now. Maybe we should try to get to know each other again first."

"I'll take it," he agreed easily, his hand brushing your hair from your eyes, "You know, any new habits you've gained, I'm sure I'll love anyway."

"Even if I actually do drink ten cups of coffee a day?"

"Especially then."

~

taglist: @lilbeatlebear 

[quirklessidiot]

Title: filthy rich [1/3] Pairing: millionare!sakusa kiyoomi x y/n [filthy capitalist au] Genre: romance, major angst ahead ,fluff, yandere!au-ish 

Synopsis: Your luck had just run out when you realized that you flirted with danger. [400 followers special]

Warnings: language and none...yet….[although i will put a trigger warning that is a controlling, abusive, and kind of a yandere relationship] Notes: 

Happy 460 followers i- look, i know i promised a long kita fanfic but i got more inspired to finish this and write this one because djjdjdjd ,,, anyways this was originally a kpop fanfic i wrote years ago and i switched it up to an omi fanfic. I don’t condone this type of relationship, if ya see this shit on your partner, please run (i beg of you)

also eheh the remaining two requests will be posted soon so uwu

next  ||  series masterlist || taglist 

“Hey Y/N.”

You look up from your medical textbook to find your aunt standing there with an expensive freshly pressed suit on her hand wrapped in plastic, you had been living with her along with her two younger kids in Tokyo after your parents decided to become humanitarian doctors. Wanting to explore and get out of your comfort zone, you ended up living in the big city along with your mother’s closest friend.

“Oh, hey obaasan.” you greeted, “What’s up?”

“Ah, you see, Shoyo is out now and no one will be able to deliver the suit to Sakusa-san, would you mind doing me a favor and delivering it for me?”

You shut your textbook and stood up from your chair, “Sure, uh- could I have his address?” you ask as you took the suit in plastic carefully from her hands, not wanting to damage something that cost as expensive as your tuition in med school. After saying goodbye to your aunt and carefully placing the suit at the back of your car, you drove your way to the upstate part of the city.

Your second hand car stood out like a sore thumb in the lane of expensive and flashy cars, you wanted to waltz in and out of here quickly. Following your aunt’s instruction’s, you march up to the front desk to hand the suit over to the receptionist, “I’m here to drop the laundry for Sakusa-sa-”

Before you could even finish your sentence, she snatched it away from your grasp. You narrow your eyes at her rather uncouth attitude, “Oh, cool...thanks…” you murmur, not wanting to cause a scene or pick a fight with the rude woman, you made a b-line towards the exit. Away from the judging and prying eyes of the people who were very much above you in terms of class and wealth.

The moment you step out though, you watch in horror as your car is being towed away, “Hey!” you exclaimed, hurriedly going to the worker who was writing something down on his clipboard, “Hey, wait! Please, excuse me?”

The worker turned to you with a questioning gaze as you immediately started to explain that you were in and out of the place and that you were just delivering some laundry but all you got was a shake in the head and the words, “It’s not up to me, that guy called us in.” He points his ballpen towards the man in a suit and paired with a surgical white mask on the phone, “...The parking here is for residents only and clearly you’re not one of them.” 

Your eyes almost widened at his explanation, just what was wrong with people who lived here?

You fumingly grab the piece of paper he hands to you and stuff it in your pocket as you march up to the stranger on the phone, “Hey, excuse me!” you proclaimed, there were a few on-lookers but you ignored them, you were seeing red with the treatment you’ve been receiving here. The raven-haired stranger ignores you, still on his phone so you call him out again and when you do, the darkest pair of obsidian eyes are on you.

You clenched your fists tightly as the quote ‘eat the rich’ comes into your head.

“There must be some mistake.” You began slowly, trying to put your anger at bay because you didn’t want the whole thing to escalate in public, “I’m in and out here, all i did was deliver and I didn't know-”

“Your ignorance doesn’t excuse you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Ignorance of the law excuses no one.” He simply states, “Also the car was on the way in my space and not even a parking spot.”

You let out a loud, sardonic laugh, “I’d be gone in two minutes if you waited.”

“You would’ve wasted my two minutes.” 

You clenched your fist tightly and as you were about to bite back on his snide remark, the receptionist from before intervenes, “Excuse me, he’s right. You aren’t allowed to park here.” she tries to look professional but you know she’s just siding with this idiot since he had the money.

“Right.” you nod, “You know what, fuck it, this blows. All I did was my job and I have to be shitted on because I don’t have money like Mr.fancy-pants over here.” You bellowed,your glare was intense as you turned around, stomping away before you would do anything you’d regret.

The stranger’s eyes towards you do not waver though, how interesting, he thought.

You never wanted to return to that place again, not only did you lose a lot of money to pay your toll fee for your car but you needed to buy a bunch of new books for the new semester. You groan out loud as you also realize that you needed to do a grocery run since all you had were empty packets of instant Ramen and water in your apartment.

Chunking the cue cards to the side, you made your way to the convenience store, the city was definitely alive tonight and amidst that, you look absolutely dead tired. Your eye bags were getting thicker, a few zits had popped out, and you had grown thin in an unhealthy way because of your food consumption.

Man, being in med school and being dumb wasn’t a very good combination.

Your thoughts are interrupted when your aunt calls you again and says you have to do deliveries tonight, “You remember Sakusa-san?” your aunt says on the other line.

You couldn’t help but grimace at the mention of the man and the memories of where he lived.

Man, did this Sakusa-san needed new neighbors.

“What does he need a suit for in this unholy hour?” You mentally groaned.

“He needs it for laundry, you can have the money when you pick it up.”

Your ears immediately perk up at the mention of cash, you decided to take public transportation since you didn’t want to risk getting your car toll away by that Sakusa guy’s wretched fancy-pants neighbor. Grocery shopping could wait another time, “Stupid rich people.” You muttered under your breath as you pushed open the entrance to find the same man who you despised, sitting there with a laundry basket next to him.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” You mumbled, sucking in a deep breath, you say, “Sakusa-san?”

“So I was right.” he says, pulling down his mask to reveal his sharp features, “You were the one who delivered my suit that day. It’s usually a young boy with a bike.”

Boy, this man was definitely at his prime, he was probably a good few years older than you and you bet he had the ladies swinging left and right with that face. Too bad he had a shitty attitude though.

“Well, that doesn’t give you an excuse to tow my car away.” you deadpan.

“How much do I owe you for the unfortunate accident then?” his tone was rich and low but you detected no remorse in it, it was as if waving huge chunks of money would help tremendously. The asshole couldn’t even properly say sorry to you because of the hard time you had to go through that time.

“None,” you scoffed, “Just hand me your laundry and pay the fee, we’ll call it even.”

The raven-haired man tilts his head and carefully hands you the laundry bag along with a wad of cash, your eyes immediately widen out of character, “Woah, wait-”

“For the troubles.” He simply replies, “Goodnight.”

You later found out that his full name was Sakusa Kiyoomi and not only was he rich, he was filthy rich. The man used to be a big volleyball player back or something when he was in high school and college but instead of becoming a pro player, he had inherited the family business.

“Huh, so he was a capitalist.” You stare at his picture at the morning paper which was coincidentally an article about him. You decided to forget about it, expecting to not see him after that night since Hinata had no classes or practices these upcoming weeks yet weirdly enough, he started to ask for you to pick up his laundry instead.

So you both fell into a strange routine, you’d pick up his laundry and return it the next day. He was also there to pick up his things and you no longer needed to talk to the rude receptionist. You were suspicious of him yet you decided to just overlook it, he gave good tips and he wasn’t as rude as the first time you met him, in fact, he made small conversations now and you sort of got to know the man.

You had a weird dynamic but strangely enough, it worked.

“L/N-san.” 

“Good evening,” You greeted per usual, holding out your hand yet his eyes squinted at the bandage on your hand.

“What happened.” the raven-haired man asked, his gaze zeroing on the wound that you got in one of your classes.

“I’m a med student...I cut myself instead of the cadaver in class.” you shrug nonchalantly as you wiggle your fingers, “It’s alright though, I’m not going to stain your suit that you keep putting back to the laundry for some odd reason.”

“You got hurt.”

“Happens to the best of us.”

Sakusa mutters something incoherent under his breath before saying, “I’ll take you to your car.”

“Woah there-”

The man ignores you as he walks ahead of you, this was certainly getting out of character, even for him who always asked for you, “Open it.” He orders as he points to the car door, you begrudgingly obliged and did as he said. He places the laundry inside and turns to you to give you his usual pay, “Take care of yourself next time, L/N-san.”

The very next day, your aunt hands you an expensive package of ointments on your doorstep. Your brows are furrowed together in confusion as she says that they’re from the millionaire himself. You pointedly look at the package in front of you, completely lost as to why someone like him would send something like this to the person who he wasn’t exactly close with.

“Y/N-saaaaan…” Hinata drowns, you snap your gaze from your notes to the young orange-haired boy, “I’ve got news!”

You had stopped working for your aunt since you found a job at your university’s library, not only were the hours more lax but they even minus some of the tuition as long as you worked there. It was definitely a win-win situation for you.

“What’s up, orange?” You asked.

“Remember Sakusa-san?”

You hum a reply, “What about him?”

“I think he likes you.”

You almost choke on your saliva when you heard that, this little brat, why you ought to-

“He looked really disappointed when I said that you didn’t work for us anymore.” Hinata explains, cutting your thoughts short, 

“Right.” You drawl, shaking your head, “Maybe you were just hard to look at, that’s why.”

“Hey!” He clenched his fists together and pouted at your tone, “I don’t even know why he likes you!”

You feel a vein pop in his forehead as you hear his insult,  you proceeded to chunk a pillow to his direction in which he successfully dodged, “Get your facts straight and I assure you, he doesn’t like me.” you grumbled, returning to your books.

Ultimately, you thought that you’d never see Sakusa Kiyoomi ever again. It was fairly obvious that outside your job, someone of high caliber as him was someone you’d never see again yet you're immediately thrown off guard when you find him standing there around your campus.

Your eyes widen in surprise, well what do you know? it was the devil himself.

“Sakusa-san.”

“L/N-san.”

Man, you may not have seen him for a month or two but despite wearing the mask, you could tell that  e still sported the same blank and basic bitch face behind it. Hinata was wrong in all ways, this guy wouldn’t like you, he’d probably deem you too low class for him, “What a surprise, it’s been a while.” You stiffly bowed down.

“You’re acting weird.” 

You raise your gaze to meet his and you could see the glint of amusement in his eyes.

“You’re most likely a guest in the university.” You mumbled, scratching your head, “People might come at me if I treated you as casually as before.”

Sakusa raises his brow, “That’s funny coming from someone who was this close to punching me during our first meeting.”

“You were being a dick that time.”

“How you have guts to say that to my face amazes me every time.”

“Oh yeah?” You chortled, amused by his statement, “I’m starting to think you’ve taken a liking on me.”

“Was it not obvious when I kept asking for you from Hinata-san?”

You immediately choke on the coffee you were sipping, burning your tongue in the process, “Okay what the hell, sakusa-san-” you said in between coughs.

Your freeze up when you look at him dead in the eye, his eyes crinkling, was he smiling behind the mask? No way, the Sakusa Kiyoomi was smiling at you? He pulls down his mask and bends down, making you retract your steps and your cheeks flush to a brightly red color, “You’re turning red.” he points out loud and that makes you turn even redder.

“You’re acting weird.”

“You were getting dense.” 

“How was I supposed to know...to know that…” You try to stutter out, completely embarrassed.

“To know what?” 

“You know what.” You grumbled, standing up a bit straighter and ignoring his teasing tone, “I’m not interested in you.”

“Your red cheeks say otherwise.”

“It’s the cold weather.” You harshly replied, looking away again, trying to avoid his gaze, “I’m not interested in a boyfriend, a flirting partner, or whatever that is. So good day!” 

You immediately stomp away, leaving Sakusa Kiyoomi with an amused smirk. How entertaining and adorable, you looked like a bunny. His cute bunny.

A few days had passed from that little interaction and you wanted to hurl yourself out the window whenever you thought about it. Sakusa Kiyoomi? The filthy rich capitalist Sakusa Kiyoomi? Interested in you? What kind of k-drama was this?

You tried to avoid going out much in the campus, Apparently he was around after he donated half a million to the medicine department.

You immediately groaned out loud at the thought, there was in no way that all this was possible!

“L/N-san.”

You immediately jump on the spot and drop your keys, “Holy fucking-” You pause, biting back your tongue, there he stood sporting a casual attire instead of a business suit and his usual face mask,  “Sakusa-san?”

“Kiyoomi.” He smoothly corrects.

“Nice. Very nice.” You dryly replied, “Heard you donated half a million and some new equipment to our department. Sweet.”

“You don’t look that happy.”

“I mean you basically confessed that you were interested then decided to donate to my department only.” You narrow your eyes suspiciously, “You remind me of a sugar daddy.”

“Well,” He shrugged, “You didn’t exactly deny that you wanted one.”

Your brain immediately short-circuits as you try to stutter out a reply, Sakusa looked like he’d been having a field day. Gone was the fiery girl he met a few months ago, he really knew what to say to reduce you to a stuttering mess.

“I’m kidding, L/N-san.” he deadpanned when he realized that you weren’t giving him a straight answer since your mind was jumbled up, “It was purely coincidental, we’ve been eyeing certain medicine departments and yours was performing top-notch. It doesn’t mean that I’m any less interested in taking you out.”

“You do know I’m poor right…” You sweatdrop, “I could easily take advantage of you-”

“One date, L/N-san…” he says, ignoring your very weak argument, “Just one then I’ll let you go.”

You don’t know why but you ended up saying yes that day.

You didn’t know what to expect on your first date and you had your fingers cross the whole time that he wouldn’t take you to an expensive michelin star restaurant since you didn’t have the clothes for the place.

Thankfully, the date was more casual than you expected, it was in his home and he had  cooked the meal himself.

“You’re looking oddly relieved.”

“I can’t function well in expensive restaurants.” You sweatdrop, covering your awkwardness with a laugh. You’ve never gone on dates before, the idea of being intimate with someone had made you feel awkward and bothered. 

“I’m not a big fan of public areas so I assure you we're not going on those anytime soon.” 

“Well aren’t you getting confident.” You raise a brow, teasing him a bit as you start to pick on the beef with your chopsticks.

“Call it a gut feeling, L/N-san.”

“Y/N.”

“What?”

“You asked me to call you Kiyoomi and well,” you turn red once again, “Well it would be awkward if you were all formal with me.”

You saw the small twinkle in his eyes, “Y/N.” your name rolls out of his tongue smoothly and you feel your heart hammering on your chest, “I like that, Y/N…” 

It was in that little moment that you realized that you liked it when he called your name.

The dinner went by without a hitch, Sakusa Kiyoomi was not the same arrogant man that the media portrayed him to be. He was quiet, understanding, and soft. Completely the opposite of the first day you met him. He urged you to talk more about yourself, saying how boring and open his life was since the media tailed him a lot.

“Why Tokyo?” 

“Why not?” You shrug, swishing the wine before taking a small sip, “It’s a great place, it’s new, and I had someone I knew here. My mom and Obaasan were good friends so I was allowed to move here on my own.”

“Are you coming back to your country if you’re done with your studies?”

You were silent for a moment, “I don’t think so. I wanna be like my parents.”

“A humanitarian doctor, huh?”

“Yeah.” You smile, “A humanitarian doctor. How about you? What’s your story?”

“Nothing interesting.” He glazed, “I’m an open book, Y/N.”

“Open book?” You tilt your head to the side, “You’re usually painted as an asshole by the media…”

“But you don’t believe it.”

“You kinda were when we first met.”

For the first time, you hear his soft chuckle and your heart starts beating fast. You liked that sound, you wanted to hear something like that again, “You always know how to amuse me, Y/N.” he shakes his head, “And for the record, just because I’m not comfortable with touches, public places and whatnot does not make me an asshole...I just am a very private person with interests…”

“What’s your interest now?”

“You.” He replied nonchalantly, making you look away..

“Stop.”

“What?”

“Stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Flirting with me with a straight face like you mean it!” You choke out, turning red.

“Because I do mean it, Y/N.” He shrugs. “I am interested in you.”

It seemed like that little date you had turned out more successful than you thought, one date led to another and another. This went on for a few months until he asked you to be his partner one night at a very random place, you usually pictured Sakusa Kiyoomi to be the smooth type     you were, after all, always the stuttering mess between you two     but when he asks you to be his officially, outside the public restroom of all places with his ear tips turning red, your reduced to a heaping pile of giggles.

With men like him, you didn’t exactly expect anything more than the dates.

You should’ve known better that he was too good to be true.

general taglist for the next part is open aye

[thealwriteytrashdump]

Coincidence (a Jeff the killer short story)

The feeling of waking up in the middle of the night is a strange one. The heaviness in your limbs and in your soul. It seems like time has stopped and the world has gone still. Until you hear the faintest wail of a siren in the distance and suddenly the nightly sounds of your city arise. The sudden hum of the AC kicks in and every so often, a helicopter flies to the nearby hospital. Someone speeds by on a motorcycle, revving to their heart’s content as they drive. You looked at the clock, 3 am; not yet time for you to begin your morning but ultimately too late to go back to sleep. The old apartment building creaks with age, and you hear the faint jingle of your recently acquired kitten. She has decided to keep you company as you both lay in a comfortable pile in your sheets. Truth be told, you’ve adopted out of sheer loneliness, the empty silence of your small apartment has driven you slowly mad over the months.

Sure, you had friends and loved ones, but you’ve since isolated yourself in an attempt to be independent. Before you had moved out, you lived with your sister, and while the company was nice, she had bullied you into doing household chores on top of paying a fairly decent size of the rent. Your parents assumed she paid for everything herself and you were living scot-free but that wasn’t the case. Both you and your sister worked very hard to keep your respective lives afloat, she worked hard for her children and was rarely home, hoping you’d be there for her kids when they needed it.. You, however, worked full time as well as went to the local community college to build up credits. After a couple of years of constantly fighting and losing, you had enough and moved away to a different part of town, burning the closest bridge you had for support. Now living in a smaller rundown apartment, working several jobs, and trying to make it through the semester, you lived paycheck to paycheck; making ends meet but not by much. At first, you’ve felt free, you’ve been living like how you wanted to and no one could stop you. For several months, it was your dream come true, you did whatever you want when you wanted. However, slowly but surely, you felt the loneliness creep in; working hard no longer filled you with a sense of purpose, and college work drained you of your motivation. Living the bare minimum began to take its toll on your mental health and your sheer iron will, or perhaps stubbornness, began to tire out.

You hear the soft jingle again and feel the comforting hum of your kitten’s purr. The madness you experienced in the past months drove you to make a rash decision on your part to adopt a kitten from your brother and his spouse. As rash as it was, it was also a decision you’ve yet to regret. As this tiny grey tabby proved, just a small amount of company did wonders for your sanity. Your kitten took some time to adjust to you but has come to love you as her caretaker and companion, and you’ve come to love her as your baby and loved one. Her eyes were a bit bulgy and her head just a tad too small but she was a beautiful kitten with a feisty spirit. Her name was a bit strange, and your family didn’t hesitate to let you know, but she was yours and you had thought her name was perfect. Now that little kitten slept soundly near your inner thigh, purring loudly and kneading your left calf.

You laid very still, looking up at the ceiling and listening to the world around you. The silence simultaneously existed with the noise. The quiet hum of the AC, the excitement of the world beyond but also the barely audible sound of your breathing and your heartbeat. The soft noises of your kitten and the settling of the walls. Noisy and yet not so.

Eventually, the sharp call of your alarm tells you four am has rolled around, and it is time for you to begin the day. You get up slowly so as to not disturb your cat, stretching, and yawning. You walked through the bathroom to the kitchen to turn on the lights and to boil some water for coffee. As the water began to heat and the kettle slowly whistled to life, you decided to take a quick shower. Your first job starts in two hours, with plenty of time to get ready and have a quick bite of breakfast, however, you preferred to be early rather than late. As the sun starts to peek out, you brew yourself a cup of caffeine and gather your backpack. It’s time to set out for the day, you leave extra food out for your little babe, and make your way to the bus.

The day usually passed by uneventfully, the coffee shop you worked at opened at six in the morning and stayed busy until 11 am. You stayed until noon, then caught the metro to your classes. It was just a couple of hours before heading back home to your little kitten to check up and prepare for your second job. As you walked onto the large campus, fellow students came and went as you headed up towards your classes. You heard bits of chatter and gossip,

“Did you hear-”

“-vered with blood-”

“That’s party was si-”

“There were so-”

“-arely slept las-”

“So what-”

Unable to hear full conversations or even full sentences, you passed by absentmindedly. There was something going on about a string of break-ins and robberies, but you paid no mind to it. Of course, you always needed to be careful, even in the safer neighborhoods. Gunshots were always heard every now and then, and there were lots of police around but nothing really happened in your immediate vicinity so you didn’t feel the need to keep your guard up. Still, you were very careful to keep to yourself and to check for any suspicious behavior regarding your person. You head to your first class as the crowds thicken, walking up the stairs to the central courtyard. As you approached the large area, you see in the distance a rather tall building with very large windows. These classrooms were for the English and History classes with some other misc. classes and a fairly large library. Unfortunately, the building was across campus from the Metro station, and mostly out of the way. The large courtyard is filled with hundreds if not thousands of students, you opted to take a roundabout through the large parking garage, most likely full of cars and other modes of transportation. As you round the corner, you bump into someone moving fast and land heavily on the concrete. You yelped in surprise and almost immediately excused yourself. Instead of a response, you hear the sounds of skates or rather a skateboard and look up just in time to see the man, with a dingy white jacket, already on his way without a second thought. Picking yourself up, you huff in annoyance and begin rushing away, muttering obscenities under your breath.

Jogging away, you dusted yourself off and started gathering your homework to turn in as you entered the building, you spotted off in the distance, your professor speaking to some of your classmates. She was delightfully wonderful to students, especially the younger ones who just started college for the very first time. The older woman was tall and very beautiful, she had a powerful presence that intimidated most. She was not afraid to speak her mind, and she was very much sassy to both students and professors alike. Her class was still boring and most of the troubled students disliked her for a number of reasons. While she was kind to the students, she didn’t believe that excused them for slacking off or failing her class. She was open and willing to help those who were failing but there were no favorites in her class. Slipping into the classroom, you sit in an empty spot around the middle area where there were a couple of seats open. Everyone liked to sit up front or near the back, and usually, you’re able to snag a glorious three seats of space in the middle area. Today wasn’t that spacious, but you aren’t complaining as you are seated next to the large nearly spotless window that looked out onto the small park nearby. The very last of the class files in and you begin your first lesson of the day, taking out your notes and doodling little figures.

As the class began, your professor walked in and greeted the class. The first order of business was to remind the class that assignments were due tomorrow and if the paperwork wasn’t in her inbox by the end of the day, she was giving out failing grades and speaking to the offenders personally. You continued doodling little figures and half-listening for important information. Fortunately, you had finished your assignments for your classes a few days ago. You were currently working on assignments due in a week’s time. It was better to be ahead to buffer workload and make it easier for yourself in the long run. Luckily, most of your professors allow you to be proactive in your learning so long as you still took notes and listened to the lectures. It was a great opportunity for you to keep yourself and some of your professors sane for the most part.

Some other students groaned quietly, but you continued to sketch out a face in the corner of your notebook. Your professor finished her speech and turned to start the lesson for the day. An hour dragged by, and a yawn escaped your lips involuntarily. You stare out the window, bored, the trees sway silently as clouds pass overhead. You tap your pencil against your notebook, you have already written down notes and important timestamps and pages for your books. You were confident you would pass the open notes exam next week, and you’ve made it so you had a light schedule that day as well. The day was almost perfect, you thought about getting takeout and treating yourself to some video games. Your jobs had you take a day off so you could focus on your schoolwork, and you were grateful for it. You smiled to yourself and yawned again; it would be a nice time to catch up on sleep as well. Another hour passed by uneventfully, and as class ended, you half jogged to the professor’s desk to turn in some work and to ask for the homework for the week after next week. She squinted at you and sharply said, she only had a rough idea of what the week entailed but she was more than happy to email you some copies when she wrote out the assignments. You nodded and thanked her, wishing her a good day and heading out to the hallway.

The two other classes you have for that day go by slowly as you fight to keep your eyes open. After the last hour of history was over, the plan was to head home for your “second job,” as you call it to your parents. In truth, it was a glorified online data entry job you did for a friend who started a business a while back. It was steady tedious work, but as a friend, you were called into action. It was your first job and the only reason why you were able to move out and start college. The pay was good and your buddy gave you great “benefits” as they were. He just needed some paperwork and bookkeeping done for his clients. While it looked legitimate for tax purposes, he mostly dealt with some particulars who preferred to keep their business and their lives private. It was a decent job, and most of the time, you never dealt with the clients themselves thankfully. It was just simple work done in the safety and privacy of your apartment. As a lower-tier worker bee, you were relatively safe, however, you never really knew if it was ever a guarantee. You never minded, you hadn’t died yet, right?

As the day ended, you spent the five-hour shift working and listening to the news. A tiny cat jingled around at the speed of light; she’d nipped at your toes before speeding off to tackle a chew toy. Working until you hit a wall in terms of motivation, you get up to make some tea, watching some of the news that you played for background noise.

“-Tonight at 11; In other news, a horrific breaking and entering at McCorrick and Washing Dr tonight as security cameras catch the nightmare unfolding. Police say two adults: one male, and one female, were found with three stab wounds in the chest and fatal cuts on their faces and throats. They were pronounced dead on arrival. One survivor, a young girl, escaped with heavy injuries and extreme loss of blood. EMTs rushed her to the hospital where she remains in critical condition. The footage shows the brave girl jumping from her second-story balcony and making her way to the local gas station where the cameras were located. The suspect seems to be a man in his late 20s, wearing what seems to be a white jacket and a face mask; although later eyewitnesses account that he, himself, was brutally mutilated.

This seems to be another case in a string of homicides by who authorities call the Glasgow killer, named so because of what he does to his victims and what he has apparently done to himself. Although, there’s nothing connecting the murders in terms of age, gender, or race, and there is no apparent pattern to each home hit, the suspect does cut a Cheshire smile cut into each unfortunate victim. If spotted-”

The whistling of the kettle catches your attention and you finish making hot tea with milk and honey. You had a light supper of leftovers and now you were drinking some tea to wake up a bit, You still had a few hours left before you could clock out and get some sleep. Sipping and holding your mug close to your body, you sit back down and stare at your computer screen. You knew what the underbelly of your city was capable of, the things people were uncomfortable talking about. Your city wasn’t the safest nor was it the place to go start a long and prosperous life, but it was a city of opportunity for those willing to cross that line. It was a hellscape sanctuary in the desert where the old and the rich come to vacation for the winter, only to leave when the summer heat arrives to cook the denizens unfortunate to live here. Only people with nowhere else to go were desperate enough to live in this scorching concrete jungle. Your city, the city of hope and of ruined pasts, was also the city of new beginnings for the rotten. Rated one of the highest for crime and deaths by murder. The land of opportunity was often paved in blood and sacrifice. You were no different, you came here for the promise of a better life just like the rest of the people. You turn back to the tv where the news showed a picture of the survivor and what looked to be a professionally drawn picture of a zombie with an unnaturally large smile. His sunken eyes seemed to be too large for his thin face and his nose seemed to have rotted away. Eyewitnesses described him as a moderately tall man with a sturdy build, wearing a tattered dirty white hoodie. His drawn picture bored into your soul and you were grateful when they decided to go into more detail about the victim instead, as you stretched again and continued working.

A young woman in her late teens, not much younger than yourself but definitely still a minor by law. You watch as the newscaster shows a picture of her from her social media, happy and smiling in a sea of blurry faces. She was very pretty and had a nice smile. You take a sip of tea, ready to get back to work when the stoic newsman claims police say they have security footage from a store nearby the incident. Pausing once more when you hear the name of said store, you focus on the tv as it cuts to the grainy video. It showed the gas station lot but in the background, there seemed to be something else going on. You see the distant apartments’ second-story homes. A small figure jumped from one of the balconies onto a brick wall and frantically crawled over: the young survivor barely covered and clutching her shoulder, struggling to make it over the brick wall. She landed heavily but crawled to her feet and limps to the gas station. A larger figure, suspected to be the killer, emerges from the balcony and follows her albeit with more grace akin to a cat. He leaped onto the balcony railing and used the brick wall as a stepping stone. He landed running and looked to be ready to grab the poor girl, but she was fortunate enough to make it inside the gas station and out of his reach. He skidded to a stop, looking through the glass before making his way away from the building and into the darkness.

Something is knocked into the camera and it abruptly ends cutting back to the newsman explaining the poor girl’s fate. She was carted away to the nearby hospital but as she had lost a lot of blood, she was still unconscious. She had stab wounds on her right shoulder, right thigh, and both in her hands. She was beaten to near death with bruises on her throat and face. Her family wasn’t so fortunate, having similar stab wounds, but a fatal cut on their throats and mutilated faces. Whoever has done this likes to cut joker smiles into his victims, leaving them to bleed out to steal anything of value from the residents. The news cuts to another story but not before showing the professional drawing of the killer again and cautioning viewers to be safe.

You let out a shallow breath you didn’t know you were holding, your hands trembled slightly. Closing your eyes, you knew that this was the very same gas station you visited the night prior. You had recognized the hospital to be the very same hospital you lived near. According to the timestamps, this seemed to take place right before you woke up. You had heard the very ambulance that took her. Small world. You steadied your breath and continued working, feeling much more alone and vulnerable than ever. The jingle of tiny bells rings out and your little kitten runs into the bedroom, chasing invisible prey into the night.

[ggukcangetit]

Namjoon-ing in the Rain

Pairing: namjoon x reader

Synopsis: You hate the rain but your best friend, Namjoon, doesn’t feel the same. 

Genre/AU: fluff| best friends!au

Word Count: 1.6k

Rating: PG-13 for language

Warnings: nothing really

A/N:  i’ve never really written a member-centric fic for anyone other than jungkook. not sure how this worked out. just something that felt like being written. mainly because i hate the rain and i miss my friends. banner by @sushireads​ !!

There is something about the rain. It makes everything horribly squelchy and disgusting. Daily routine is hampered, and everyone and everything is thrown off kilter. Frankly, you hate the rain. 

You do not own a car, instead having to rely on public transport for every single commute. Another reason why you cannot stand the rain. Squishing yourself into a crowded bus during rush hour, completely drenched and trying your utmost to avoid the wandering hands of well-meaning perverts, is not your idea of fun. And why are you drenched when the weather app has predicted a week’s worth of showers which should have prepared you to carry an umbrella along with you. Honestly, you have half a mind to sue every single umbrella manufacturer there is. What is the point of the umbrella if you are still soaked to the bone after holding it up in the rain for a maximum of 3 minutes?

Of course, you do not verbalize these grievances when the opportunity arises. Instead, you opt for a more succinct phrase.

“Fuck the rain.”

Your best friend doesn’t have much of a response to this, continuing to sip the americano in front of him.

“Namjoon, pay attention!” you yell, snapping your fingers in front of him to get his attention.

He looks up with a mildly amused expression. “I heard you.”

“It’s only polite to respond when someone says something.”

“Yes, but-” he shuts the book he had been reading- “when someone only ever says the one thing over and over again, responses are more likely to run out.”

“Rude.” You cross your arms across your chest, glaring out the window of the coffee shop situated opposite your place of work - the place you meet Namjoon every Friday when work gets over an hour early.

“Come on, Y/N,” Namjoon chuckles, tapping on the table to grab your attention. “You always complain about the rain, but you’ve never actually said why you hate it.”

“It’s an inconvenience,” you say simply.

“I beg to differ.”

“Why? Don’t tell me it’s some romantic bullshit like the rains make everything magical and wondrous. Or the ever popular notion that rains are cleansing - a new beginning!” You scoff and roll your eyes, fingers impatiently tucking wet strands of hair behind your ear.

“I’m sure that’s true to an extent. But that’s not what I’m talking about,” said Namjoon, tiredly rubbing his eyes. “I’ll try and explain it to you some other time. Right now, I’m too tired to think. Yoongi was up all night mixing tracks and I couldn’t fall asleep in the next room.”

“You should’ve gone home after work,” you say, feeling a little guilty.

“I should’ve,” he replies with a shrug, but doesn’t budge from his seat for another hour as you finish your latte and he makes a few notes in the book he was reading.

An entire month passes by, and you and Namjoon have missed your weekly Friday coffee meets twice. It’s nothing life-changing or particularly alarming that has caused this disruption. It’s just life. But on the fifth Friday, the weather is bright and sparkling, and Namjoon suggests sitting by the Han river instead of inside the coffee shop. Since you are breaking from your routine anyway, you decide to order an iced honey chai instead of your usual latte. Namjoon opts for two iced americanos instead of one. 

You’ve only been to the river a handful of times. Each time, Namjoon has been there with you. In a way, you can’t imagine the river without him. Memory is funny in the way that it attaches permanence to the more fleeting parts of existence. 

“Did you submit the report on time?” Namjoon asks, stretching his long limbs above his head. 

“Just. Two minutes more and I would’ve missed the deadline.”

“Wouldn’t expect anything less from a fellow deadline junkie.”

You grin before sipping the iced honey chai. It doesn’t taste that great. This is why you don’t experiment with new things. They tend not to work out for you. Or maybe it’s just that you’re unwilling to give change a chance. But that thought is not something you dwell on for longer than a moment.

“Honey chai not to your liking?” Namjoon chuckles at your disgruntled expression.

“This is the last time I’m experimenting with things. Dunno why I did it in the first place. It’s all thanks to your terrible influence. Changing up our usual meeting place pressured me into changing up my choice of beverage.”

“Whatever makes sense to you.”

“I’m just glad the weather is good today! Crisp skies and warm sunshine! I’ve really missed this!” You gaze up at the sky happily, noting a single grey cloud floating by. 

The weather gods have never particularly liked you as is evidenced by the fact that a torrential downpour begins mere seconds after you utter that sentence. 

“Fuck!” You stand up, gathering your belongings and calculating the driest path back to the coffee shop.

“Where are you going?” Namjoon asks, not having moved from his place on the bench.

“Inside. In case you haven’t noticed, Joon, it’s raining like the fucking apocalypse!”

“You’ll be drenched by the time you manage to get to any of the shops. It’s actually better to stay here. The benches here don’t really get wet unless there’s a strong accompanying wind.”

You groan dejectedly, dropping your bag on the bench and flopping down beside him. Namjoon always looks so peaceful during rains. It’s a complete contrast to the immense irritation this particular weather phenomenon has always ignited in you. 

“Why do you like the rain so much?” you ask, turning away from his handsome profile.

“I don’t like it, per se.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s hard to explain.”

“I have time.”

“I always look to people to learn about life. Each person in my life has taught me something different. But I also realised that this applies to rain as well. There are so many different kinds of rain, and just like the different people in my life, each type of rain has showed me something different about life. There’s the soft shower that barely touches you as it falls from the sky which is such a contrast to the relentlessness of the rainstorms that continue for hours on end. Then you have the sudden storms that burst through without any warning, upsetting the natural rhythm of things. The cold showers in early November that indicate the incoming winter. And lastly, the first rain that hits the ground after a brutal summer. That’s my favorite one because the smell of the wet earth coming to life always reminds me of that day in our first year of college.”

Namjoon wanted to cry. He was nineteen years old, studying art history and business at the most prestigious college in the country, on his way to becoming a research assistant for one of his favorite academics. Yet, today all he really wanted to do was cry. It was the last week of the semester, the weather had been particularly oppressive, the cafeteria had run out of food by the time he had managed to get out of a meeting with his professor, and to top it off, his bicycle chain had snapped just as he was preparing to cycle home. 

It was at that moment that you walked over to him. You both had become friends about a year ago, and if he was perfectly honest, Namjoon wasn’t really sure how that happened. You were calm, even slightly formidable, in the way that you handled every part of your college life. Whereas, he was a bit of a bumbling mess, misplacing lecture notes, contact lenses, and plastic utensils. He often wondered what it was that was holding your friendship together.

“You missed food,” you said to him, matter-of-factly. “It sucked. But I snagged one of Seokjin’s homemade chicken wraps for you.”

Namjoon blinked a couple of times before taking the neatly wrapped packet from you. 

“Well, go on,” you said impatiently. “Eat it. What’re you waiting for?”

“R-right.”

But just as he unwrapped the foil, a crack of thunder erupted followed by a burst of rainfall. Namjoon had resigned himself to the fact that things were not going to go his way that day. What he had not expected was to hear you yell the most interesting cuss words at the top of your voice.

“FUCKING HELL! THIS WAS NOT ON THE FORECAST FOR TODAY! I DON’T HAVE A BLOODY UMBRELLA WITH ME! BASTARDS IN THE WEATHER DEPARTMENT CAN’T EVEN DO THEIR FUCKING JOBS PROPERLY! UGH!!!”

Though everything that could go wrong had gone wrong that day, he had never been able to forget the smell of the wet earth on that day. Because that was when he began seeing you as a real person and stopped questioning the mechanics of your friendship. 

“I realised that day that you and I were different in many ways, but there would always be something that united us. We’re human and all humans feel despair and frustration at something or the other. The rain humanized you that day. And I’ll always be grateful to it because otherwise I would’ve never gotten to know my best friend.”

It continues pouring for a couple of hours more. But the two of you don’t move from the bench alongside the river. The iced honey chai lays neglected on the iron armrest, while the empty americano cups have long since been deposited into the nearby trash can. 

There is something about the rain. It makes everything horribly squelchy and disgusting. Daily routine is hampered, and everyone and everything is thrown off kilter. But frankly, there are better things to hate than the rain.

[financiallymint]

Traveling on a student budget

Set a limit 

This basically means answering the question: how much am I comfortable spending on this trip? How much do I want to spend, ideally? And then, how much do I think I will spend, realistically? Work out those two numbers and try to find some middle ground.

That budget number is gold, do not forget it. You now have a $$ amount that is a limit, that you have to try very hard to not overpass. Take your debit/credit cards just in case but only use the extra money if very necessary. Discipline yourself to stick to your budget.

With this golden number in mind, you can now follow the next few steps at ease:

Planning

A successful trip has a good combo of effective planning and some fun spontaneous things along the way (missing your plane and taking a detour through Rome yass). But still, it’s always better to overplan than underplan, so you want to make sure you kinda know what you’re doing.

Start with figuring out WHERE you want to go and for how long (keeping the golden budget in mind). Don’t know? Check out Google Flights: you can see at a glance what goes where and what price. Compare return tickets and how much time you have available.

Pretty snazzy if you ask me.

Evaluating Transport costs

It’s not just the cost of getting there: the cost of traveling once there. Subways, buses, trains, etc. You don’t want the nasty surprise of having to pay an unplanned £14 ticket from Stansted Airport to get to the actual city of London. Be prepared.

In most of Europe there’s this amazing thing called Blablacar, a carpooling app that will connect you with drivers going to the same destination as you. Great way to save money AND meet cool people. I also use the website GoEuro to compare train, buses and flights from one place to another.

Accommodation

Ouhhh this is a big one. Where tf will I sleep? Will it be hostel? Airbnb? Dare I say… HOTEL?

Well, my biggest secret to spending only £135 on my trip to the East and West coast of Ireland was this amazing, beautiful app: Couchsurfing. So basically: free accommodation. This app is God’s gift to travelers, and it’s not only in Europe (I used it in some parts of Asia and I’ve heard people use it all over the world). The idea behind it is simple: someone has an extra couch, and you can sleep on it for free.

Why would someone offer their couch for free? Honestly, it’s a great way to travel without going anywhere. You meet people from all around the world with amazing stories and amazing experiences to tell. In exchange, the Couchsurfer gets a free bed and maybe even a bit of food. Pretty awesome right?

What if I get attacked? Unlikely, but always keep your wits about you. Check their profile, read their reviews, make sure you’re comfortable with staying at them beforehand (going with a friend helps).

99% of my Couchsurfing experiences have been top notch amazing. I’m still in contact with a few of them and have hosted one person myself (all about giving back to the community yeah). It might not be a long term solution, but it can be done for a night or two.

But of course, Couchsurfing is not for everyone. You also have hostels (Hostelworld), Airbnb and maybe some people you know in the area. Just make sure you roughly know where you’ll be staying for the length of your trip (last minute booking can get stressful).

Food

This one is tricky, and food budgeting while traveling is not a skill I have mastered yet (the pre-made wraps were FOUL). What I recommend? Setting a daily limit/budget on the amount you’re comfortable spending on food everyday while traveling (this will be incorporated in your golden budget already). Take some snacks from home too: chocolate, crackers, cheese, energy bars and fruit are pretty cool.

Touristing

If you’re doing a trip and planning on visiting the city, you’ll also be planning on doing some visiting, cultural or not (cough cough Amsterdam). You don’t have to plan to the very detail, but it helps to do a quick Google search of what touristy stuff you can do in the city and roughly what the price range is. Are there parks? Museums? Hikes? Weird monuments? Food to try? (the research will also get you excited for the trip). If you’ll be Couchsurfing, ask your Couchsurfer some tips on where to go, what to do, etc. Locals will know their city best!

Checking out local bloggers is also a great idea: Lonely Planet, NomadicMatt, etc.

Other options

We are truly lucky in this day and age to be able to travel so much. And actually, we are even luckier to be able to take it a step further: packing your bags and going for good. Aka long term travel. This means staying in that country/city for several months, getting to know the culture, the language, the food and making local friends. This option is not always available to everyone, but when it is, I recommend to grab it quick.

You can:

Study abroad: Erasmus and other programs will help you do a semester or year abroad. Or you can plan it yourself (me doing a random semester at uni in China). Check out what other bloggers have been doing: Amelie blogged about her experience studying abroad in the UK. This is a truly amazing way to travel as a student. You get to experience the local life, you get to study your subject and you really get to travel and explore the culture. Definitely a must. And many times it won’t cost you that much more.

Take a gap year: I was slightly shocked when I heard gap years weren’t really a thing in the US. I honestly think every single college student should take a gap year before starting university. The experience is unforgettable and prepares you for life better than college itself. Oh, and it’s not expensive if you do it right. If you do your research well, you can totally make your gap year achievable through volunteering or working abroad:

Volunteer abroad: I don’t have any personal experience with this, but from what I’ve researched this is awesome. Many times the companies will offer free housing and maybe even free food in exchange for some volunteering time. Opportunities range from community work to raising awareness for environment. GoAbroad and VolunteerHQ have some cool programs.

Work abroad: This could be an internship, another program of some sort, or simply finding a job once you get to the country. Universities can also help you plan this out. Check out STA travel and Go Abroad for more info. I did au pairing (looking after kids and living with the family) for a few months and that was a great experience in a foreign country. You can also get your TEFL and teach English in Asia. So many opportunities.

Online university: This is the route that I am about to embark on. The full on, traveler-student mode. Traveling while studying online. This is really for those who want to try some hardcore traveling and are ok with missing out on the traditional college experience. Maybe just one semester, but it’s a great way to not completely halt your studies and have some more flexibility.

[andromedahawking]

NaNoWriMo, Day 1

1,667 words, done! Take a looksie if you’d like. (Warning: this is unedited, first-draft quality writing. Don’t expect AO3-level stuff here.)

Today was Tuesday, and that meant one of three things was going to happen:

Maria was going to have a very bad time, because American History would be devoted purely to working on the group project due at the end of the term, and she would have to do all the work, again.

Maria was going to have a normal bad time, because History would be divided between lecture and the project.

Maria was going to have a good time, because History would be 100% lecture, and the group project would wait until Thursday.

Needless to say, she really really hoped that possibility #3 was going to come through for her today.

She walked onto campus at 9, still bleary-eyed from the night before. She sworn she was going to stop getting so drunk, what happened? It was amazing how quickly she'd ditched that resolution.

“Yo, Taylor, wait up!”

She looked back. There was Adrien. “How’s it going today?”

“Awful,” she groaned. “You remember how I said last night was going to be nice and quiet and I’d go to bed early?”

“Yeah. Didn’t go very well?”

“No, it didn’t…”

He smiled crookedly. “That’s always how it goes, isn’t it? You say it, but then when it’s time to do it, it all just sorta falls apart.”

“Pretty much,” she said. “I ended up getting absolutely smashed and fell asleep at the kitchen table.”

“Oof. That sounds rough.”

“It was fun up until about 2, then I tanked, hard.”

“Well, at least you had fun?”

“I guess.” She opened the door to the History building. “I at least got my stuff for today done before I started knocking back shots.”

“That’s good,” he said. “I know Monaca’s gonna be doing stuff that we won’t understand if we didn’t do it.”

“Does that mean there’s no group project stuff today?”

He made an uncertain noise in his throat. “Mayyybe. Maybe not. I dunno. It’s gonna be something, but I don’t know what exactly.”

“It’s gonna be ‘something’? That’s specific. Very specific.”

He smacked her arm playfully. “Don’t knock me for not knowing. It’s not like she’ll follow the syllabus to the letter.”

“If she does, today is gonna suck.”

“I hear you, sister.”

They entered the classroom. The seats were empty, but Monaca was there at her desk, feet up, book in one hand, bottle of Snapple in the other. “Mornin’,” she greeted, not looking up from the book. “How was your weekend?”

“Saturday was okay, Sunday and Monday… ick," Maria said, sitting down. “I’ve had better days than those.”

“I didn’t really have much going on this weekend, so it was pretty meh,” Adrien said.

“Anything worth going into detail about, Maria?” Monaka asked.

“Not really. Sibling rivalry, too much to drink, the usual.”

“That’s a shame. Hope today goes better.”

“Me too.”

—

The rest of the class trickled in, looking various levels of tired and/or hungover. Apparently there had been some sort of party in one of the dorms or something. Whatever it was, it made her feel a bit better knowing she wasn’t the only one who’s head felt ready to explode.

When 9:30 hit, Monaca put down her book. “Okay, is everyone here?”

“No, we’re missing Jackson and Hannah.”

She let out a sigh. “Okay, well, we’re gonna have to start without them, I’ve got a full class’ work for you today.” She stood up. “So, let’s start with a question: I say 2050s, what comes to your brains?”

“Mazer!”

“Mazer.”

“Energy grid.”

“Mazer.”

“Teller City.”

“Energy revolution.”

Monaca smiled. “That’s what I figured. We had two presidents in the 2050s and a bunch of history happened, but most of us really only remember a few of the big things: President Mazer, Teller City, or the energy grid. I know you guys all had US History in high school, but the first half of the 21st century is a bit, ah, fuzzier in terms of analysis than the rest of the timeline. Then, of course, anything past ’64 is just too fresh off the presses to touch quite yet, and I don’t think I need to tell you why. How many of you were born before or during 2064?”

About half the class raised their hand, Maria included.

“Yup. Thought so. In general, if the people being taught about it were alive then, it’s better to avoid teaching it.” Monaca turned on the smartboard behind her. “2050s, however, are fair game, which makes me a very happy person, because that’s what I focused on when I was in college. So, this unit will be devoted entirely to going through the 2050s, with special focus on the details of what made the big changes possible. If you guys want to know what got the energy grid started, or why Mazer was so popular, or when Teller City became a hub, this is a good time to pay extra attention in class.”

“2050s 101?” someone quipped.

“2050s 202, thank you very much,” she said, grinning. “And, don’t think I forgot, anyone—”

Oh, no. No, no no no no.

Oh, and there was the rest of the class, groaning with her.

“—the group project is due on December 1st, last day of the semester. I’m going to be very generous, and give you the second hour of all the Thursday classes to work on it.”

“The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away,” Maria said through her hands.

“You’ll be fine, guys, don’t be so dramatic,” Monaca said. “And besides, you got to pick your partners, so really, you should be thanking me.”

“Thank you?” Adrien said.

“You’re welcome. Now, 2050! Let’s get started with 2050.”

—

“So basically, 2050 was 2049, except somehow even more devoid of anything important,” Maria said to Adrien as they left.

“Yeah, pretty much,” he nodded. “But it sounds like things start getting interesting in 2051.”

“I really hope so, ‘cause I’ve been a good girl and not fallen asleep in this class yet, and I don’t wanna break my streak.”

“You’re a freakin’ nerd, Maria.”

“I’m a cool nerd, you jerk, and don’t forget it.”

“Mm-hm. Whatever you say.”

“See you in English tomorrow.”

“No, German, remember?”

“Same difference!”

She waved goodbye to him, and made her way back to the parking lot. Her phone buzzed in her pocket.

Thalia: hey loser before you come back you need to go grocery shopping

Oh, so that’s how it was gonna be today?

Maria: Hey loser, when you get out of bed, you need to get in the fucking shower like I told you before I left.

Thalia: I *did*. *Gawd*

Maria: Keep up the attitude and I will kick your ass into next Wednesday. Get in the shower, now.

Thalia: I already showered! jfc

Maria: Thalia, I will not hesitate. Get. In. The. Shower.

Thalia: I. ALREADY. DID.

Maria: If you’re lying I’m taking away your computer again.

Thalia: Im so fuckin scared

Thalia: it isnt like I *showered* or anything

Thalia: unlike what my sister thinks

Maria: Keep it up, Thalia. Keep it up.

Thalia: we need cheddar and we need ketchup and we need burger patties

Maria: I hate you.

Thalia: mwah

Maria growled, shoving her phone back into her pocket. Why did little sisters have to be the most infuriating creatures on Earth?

She got in her car. “Tesla, I need to go to the grocery store before heading home today, remind me.”

“When would you like to go?” the car asked.

“No later than 15:00.”

“I will remind you at 14:00.”

“Thanks. Take me into the city, I have to meet up with John today.”

“Where are you meeting?”

“Down at that ritzy place on Columbus.”

“Giove?”

“Yeah, Giove.”

“We’ll be there in 15 minutes, with traffic.”

“Sweet.”

—

Giove was a nice Italian restaurant in San Francisco’s Little Italy. Maria saved going there for important meetings or special occasions. Today, with John… it was sort of both.

Thinking about it, it hadn’t been all that long since she saw him last. It was November 1st today, and she’d seen him in July. So that was, what, a few months? Not that long, in the grand scheme of things. John lived in New York, anyway, so getting out to see him wasn’t something they’d planned on happening frequently. When he’d called last week to suggest meeting up, she had offered to let him stay the night, but he'd declined. “Church stuff,” he’d said. Whatever that meant.

The fog was starting to burn off when she arrived, the sun shining through a small hole in the blanket of gray. It was still plenty cold for her taste, so she hurried inside and got to their table.

John showed up a few minutes later. He looked a bit better than last time: he’d gotten a neater haircut, and his facial hair was less unruly. He was wearing a button-up shirt this time, which was an interesting change. She wondered what he would look like in a three-piece suit.

“Hey there, Maria,” he said, sliding into his chair. “How are you?”

“Hoping to get rid of the last of my hangover with this lunch,” she said. “How about you?”

“The Hyperloop gives me anxiety, but less so than other modes of transport,” he said. “Other than that, nothing incredible is happening in my life.”

“That so?”

“Well, besides the obvious.”

“Right…” she said. “…I’ll get it out of the way, you and I are both thinking about election day, right?”

“Yeah,” he admitted. “I’m not looking forward to it. It’s going to be one of the closest in recent history.”

“Closer than ’64, do you think?”

He frowned as he thought about it. “On an electoral level, probably not, but popularly, it’s going to be very tight. It could go either way.”

“I’ve been trying not to think about it, but… it’s hard,” she said. “I turned off my WiFi in October.”

“Same here,” he said, laughing weakly.

[gogingersnaps]

This Blog-post I’m making is a bit more serious than ones I’ve written before, but I genuinely believe that it is one of the most important, most helpful posts I’ve made.

Money is a super touchy subject. This is especially in college, as students continue to wrack up more and more debt than any generation before them. If you’re a low income student like me, the first and foremost thought in your mind when going to another country is probably something along the lines of “How am I going to afford this?”

You’ll definitely receive budgeting advice, a lot of which won’t really help depending on your situation. “Getting a job” doesn’t help if you already have one, and all of your money gets funneled into books, or sent back home. You can’t really “ask your family for money instead of birthday/Christmas presents!” When you’re family lives paycheck by paycheck. And working summers is hard when you don’t have a license or a car.

So, how do you do it? Well, it’s different for everyone, honestly. But I’m going to tell you the best advice I know in the realist way possible, without having to take out any high interest private loans.

My first and foremost suggestion is to visit the financial aid center early in the year that you start applying for programs. If you schedule a meeting, sometimes they have options for students who have no other options that you can’t find out about online. They’ve helped me get extra loans from the University, and I know friends who have received grants through this as well. I usually take out a little more in loans each semester, enough to pay for books if I need it. The staff who work at the Financial Aid Center are very friendly, and they genuinely want to help you!

Find Scholarships through the school. If you go through the school, you might be able to find some more local scholarships, meaning that there’ll be a much smaller pool of applicants then if you find them online. I’ve personally received Scholarships based on the community service that I do on campus and in the community, which is one of the top reasons that I can live comfortably abroad right now.

If you’re having trouble finding work during the summer in your hometown, or you don’t have a means of transportation, I highly recommend applying for a Summer job on campus! Usually housing is included, and most jobs don’t require you to have a license. I work as a summer intern for the Environmental Science Department, and it’s been fantastic! On top of making money, the work environment is great, the job titles usually look a lot nicer on your resume, and it’s just such a fun experience. (Even if you don’t need the money, consider working over the summer, it’s my favorite time of the year!)

And for my last point in terms of finding funds, consider applying to be a GO Blogger! It’s fun, you can document your thoughts and experiences, post pictures, and make a little money to help you with your food budget. That’s what I’m doing now, and I absolutely love it!

Now, let’s say you managed to make enough to buy your ticket, pay for food, and maybe even travel a bit! How do you save money while your abroad, and how do you do that while still enjoying yourself? I’m still figuring that out to be honest.

Let’s talk food first. First, you need to come up with a weekly food budget, keeping in mind that your budget should be higher the first two weeks while your stocking up on things like rice, beans, flour, or spices! For me, since I received a fair portion of aid, I can afford to set my budget at 40 Euro for the first two weeks, and I’ll be trying for 30 Euro a week after that. If my program is three and a half months long, that puts me around 450 Euro. I won’t lie, it’s a scary number still, but it feels a lot more manageable to know exactly what you’re working with.

In Germany, water isn’t free in public establishments, so try to have a reusable water bottle on hand. If you don’t have that, and don’t want to buy one, buy a disposable water bottle from a grocery store and reuse that instead. You also have to pay for public bathrooms, so keep that in mind if you’re on the go. And lastly for this category, cook from home. I won’t cover that much since that’s pretty obvious.

Next is travel. How do you save money on traveling? My number one if you want to go anywhere with a group of friends, try to find a hostel to stay in overnight instead of a hotel. You’ll have more people to a room, but the overnight prices drop significantly, trust me.

In terms of getting from point A to point B, consider taking the Flixbus instead of the train. It’ll still be expensive, and it takes a lot longer to get places, but it’s still a little better. As an example, going from here to Masstricht in the Netherlands by train could cost me 150 Euro round trip, while going by the Flixbus is roughly 80 Euro. The Flixbus is also genuinely comfier than the train, too!

Maybe I’ll write a second part to this if I can think of anything else, but for now, I’ve spent entirely too long writing this. So, have a nice Day!

Kait’s Weeklies!

German Word of the Week: Mandel- Almond

Travel: I was actually out of the city for the entire week! First in Berlin, and then in Maastricht, Netherlands. 

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Mysteries of the Q Files

Chapter 4: Arriving

The trick had been for Trick to play on Naomi’s sensibilities. Once he knew that she favored brains over brawn, he only had to speak about uncovering whether or not the impossible was actually possible. Could there be such things as werewolves? She had opened up about everything she knew about ancient lore on werewolves, including the fun fact that Odysseus from greek myth supposed to be descended from werewolves, which was supposedly what made him super smart in the first place.

She is a mega bookworm, too, apparently, Trick thought with amusement.

Naomi had said that it was remarkable that cultures all over the world had legends about intelligent wolves or men becoming wolves. She figured that was because wolves played such a major role as a threat to pastoral and hunting communities. Also, dogs and wolves are incredibly intelligent and when men became more bestial, a good likeness was to compare them to a wolf. While this was all fascinating and whatnot for Trick, the big prize was getting them out to Hardinsburg.

Towards that end, he played on the question that it was weird that this would be the first “credible” sighting of werewolf in a long time. The Q Files, while ridiculous in concept, was actually very practical in execution. The Sphinx did not raise Trick’s mother and Agent Miles out of the office just to chase fancies, whatever else the other other agents might say. If Agent Conturbatio thought that this was a case worthy of leaving Washington for, it most likely had some real credibility as a case. If that were the case, wouldn’t naomi want to be there to see these claims either confirmed or debunked.

“That would be really cool and educational,” Naomi had conceded. “But this does not convince me that we should just pack up and leave without our parents knowing and get involved in a potentially dangerous case.”

Those were the words Trick had wanted to hear. So long as he knew that she was willing to give, he knew he could win her over. But why do I want her to come? Trick had asked himself. He had figured it was because she appeared to be the package deal as far as adventuring companions went. You didn’t get an athletic build by not trying; Naomi was probably pretty strong and capable. She was also very intelligent. Combine that with his knowledge of teenagers, and he thought that they could infiltrate the school and get some nuggets of important information from the other students.

He had reasoned this to her, “Look, the police are only letting the FBI in on the case, because they are stumped! The FBI will have greater access to technological resources. I think they will be able to confirm that ‘yes, this is a monster!’ But other than that, it could take them weeks or months, if ever, to determine who actually took the girl. Who knows who else could be attacked in the meantime? The kids will be scared and they won’t open up to adults. But they will talk with other teenagers. My guess is that the girl-”

“Samantha Haymore,” Naomi had interjected.

“Yes, Sam,” Trick breezed on, “She most likely knew her attacker. In a small town everyone knows everyone!”

“What makes you think it’s a small town?”

“Ever heard of Hardinsburg, Kentucky before?”

“No,” Naomi had answered with a frown.

“Exactly! Guaranteed backwater part of the state,” Trick had said with a wave of the hand. “The important thing is the makeup of the town and its social structures. Those structures will be played out to the max at the local high school. This means that there is a wealth of helpful gossip and knowledge among the students. We just have to get it out of them, and we can then pass on the information to the FBI.”

“And they can’t get it themselves because they are adults, right,” Naomi had then confirmed.

“Yes. But you and I can blend in.”

“In a small town,” she had laughed skeptically.

“All it takes are some reasonably fake names and a poker face, and total strangers will lap up just about anything you say,” Trick had maintained.

“Okay, you might be right about all of that, but then how are we supposed to get there?”

“That’s simple, really. We take the second most available flight out of here towards Kentucky and then we grab a bus. Both of them will be modes of transportation, both in style and in timing, that the agents will not suspect that we’d use them. Not even my mom,” Trick had added gleefully. “And I can pay, too! I work for my uncle at a farm out of state over the summer breaks, and he pays me good money. Plus, a key to concocting great pranks is to keep them cheap and manageable. So, with all of my summer earning and saved up allowance,we can afford the trip!”

Naomi had given the beaming Trick a flat stare and asked, “Your parents still give a troublemaker like yourself an allowance?”

“Yup! My dad is impressed with my savings, and he thinks it keeps me somewhat responsible.”

“Your dad is a moron,” Naomi had summed up.

“Maybe so,” Trick had agreed. “But his odd tendencies are about to pay off! What do you say?”

Naomi had still not given in entirely to the idea. She looked willing, but there was something warring inside her. Trick wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but he needed a partner in crime, and so he took a big gamble with his next words.  

“Look Naomi, you know a lot of things and I bet you are very accomplished. But life is not just meant to be lived out in a room crammed with fun things or in front of a computer screen. It’s out there!” Trick gestured vaguely in front of himself. “We all need an adventure once in while, otherwise we never truly live. I know we just met and all, but this could be an experience unlike any other. It might be one that you could use to find that answer for your mom. I can’t guarantee that, of course, but you’ll never know and you’ll never live if you don’t try!”

After a long pause, and Trick worrying that he might have overdone it, Naomi finally responded, “You are right Trick, in a very odd way you are right. “ She had then rounded on him. “But don’t ever again dine to believe that you really know anything about me! Especially since we just met! But I’ll come along with you on this adventure of yours, this stupid idea of an adventure. I have four days to kill and it might just give me a laugh at the very least, and get my mom out of my hair.”

“So you’ll be able to ditch your mom pretty handily? I know that as far as my dad is concerned, if I say that I am going to be hanging out a friend’s in the evening, he’ll believe it. He’s so scattered brained most of the time!”

Naomi grunted, “Yes. I get such good grades that no one cares if I skip home or classes. My mom’s counselor told her long ago that she needed to stop being a control freak and let people do what they want. She took that to heart in maybe the wrong way. But it’ll be just fine, so long as we are back in four days!”

Trick had nodded happily. “Sure thing! What’s happening in four days though.”

“Midterms.”

Trick had winced. “I hate those.”

Naomi had then raised an eyebrow at him. “Really? They are the best thing ever for preparing for finals! They always give away what it will be like at the end of the semester. And I always get my teachers to give me the extra hard versions. It’s a lot of fun.”

You need a different kind of fun in your life, Trick thought to himself, but instead he said out loud, “This will be perfect then! And, we can actually get well acquainted on this trip so i won’t have to assume anything about you anymore. I think it’s a win-win all around.”

They had exchanged contact information and Trick dropped her off where the computer labs were. He then made his way back to the Q Files, cementing his plans firmly in his mind. It had not taken long for his mother to bring him back home and get packed herself. Trick promised that he would tell his father what was going on before Susan left for the airport. He had then texted his dad the details and then went straight to booking his own flight and getting the bus schedules down to get him and Naomi to Hardinsburg.

Trick could have danced around the house with excitement. What had started off as an abysmally boring day had turned into a real adventure. It would be one with a new friend, going somewhere new, tracking down something that shouldn’t exist, and finally using his skills on a new group of unsuspecting teens. He could barely wait to get underway. His father had bought the whole cock and bull story of going to hang out with a friend for a little while so that his dad could bring work home and get ahead. His dad always loved that. Honestly, Trick’s father did that so he could have a real vacation at some point with his wife and son. Trick did appreciate that, but it was even better for supporting Trick’s habits of planning big pranks and escapades.

Naomi and Trick had stayed in touch via text and before Trick could believe it they were finally at the airport and boarding a plane. He got the feeling that some people thought the two of them were off on some kind of romantic getaway. Young love and all that.

Ew, no. None of that, Trick thought. He was not that kind of guy at all.

Once they were in the air Trick talked with Naomi about her life and ambitions, trying to get a better understanding of her. She went to a private technical institution that specialized in giving its student two legs up in going to college. Naomi was well ahead of anyone else Trick knew in terms of academics. She also loved to read when not fidgeting and tinkering with a computer. Once again, Trick had surmised some things. He figured from her body type that she probably listened to a lot of e-books since she seemed built like a runner. The advantages of multi-tasking!

Naomi also gleaned from him that Trick was not dumb either, though employed most of his brains to tormenting others. He was actually a top student as far as grades went, and he was very good with complex thinking. Though she could not understand the “game” he kept playing. He told her about how he just so good at reading people it got boring. He was wise to lie and say that Naomi had been unreadable to him. That made her pretty happy.

It startle him to realize that both Naomi and himself were kind of outsiders. She was too brilliant and detached for her own good. Trick had just made himself too many enemies and was considered to be untrustworthy. That was why he was excited to get involved in this Q Files case. Once they landed they boarded a bus, and soon their miraculous plan was underway. They took a rest on the bus before they got to the town, knowing that there would be a lot to do once they got there.

When they arrived at Hardinsburg, Trick was surprised at just how behind the town was. It felt like he had stepped back at least thirty years in time. The cars were all old and the town looked like it had been used to shoot Stranger Things. They got themselves a hotel room for cheap and shared the bed with a rolled up blanket to separate them. He was happy that Naomi didn’t make him sleep on the floor. They were up bright and early to go to school and get started with their day of sleuthing.

“This is so weird,” Naomi said. “But it is also exciting! We’d better find something out around here, Trick, or I’m going to knock you about the head hard.”

“Don’t worry, it won’t be bad. We’ll find something,” he soothed.

If Trick thought that the town was weird, the teens were even more so! In the morning he saw the boys sporting their lettered jock jackets. And everyone looked like they were just stepping out of or into Footloose.

“What!? People actually wear those things,” Trick pointed out the jackets to Naomi indignantly.

“Oh just shut up and follow them! We have to get to school.”

“Right,” Trick agreed, a grin coming to his lips. “This is where the fun truly begins!”

[rockin-llama]

92 (I think it was 92???)

tagged by @fxvixen​ ayyyyye pretty ladayyy

rules: fuck the rules (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

LAST…

[1] drink: water

[2] phone call: this solicitor that won’t leave me alone. Really, I need to get on a do-not-call list

[3] text message: “xo”from my Mom

[4] song you listened to: “Waving Through a Window”

[5] time you cried: ummm, maybe a few nights ago while reading? I don’t really keep track, I get emotional over books.

HAVE YOU EVER…

[6] dated someone twice: as in, date the same person twice (no) or date two or more people (yes)?

[7] been cheated on: yes

[8] kissed someone and regretted it: not really. There was this really drunk kiss with my half-aunts husbands nephew. Which even though that’s far enough away from being incest it still weirded me out when I sobered up. Plus I can’t remember his name for the life of me.

[9] lost someone special: yeee

[10] been depressed: ah, haha, hahaha

[11] gotten drunk and thrown up: gotten drunk, yes. Never to the point of throwing up though. I’ve felt pretty sick the next day though.

LIST 3 FAVOURITE COLOURS:

[12] Blue. Like, a deep blue. Not so dark that it looks black, but, like, deeeep.

[13] I’ve always liked dark greens, but they don’t really look too good on me.

[14] Rolanberry Red

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU…

[15] made new friends: yep

[16] fallen out of love: not really

[17] laughed until you cried: oh yeah

[18] found out someone was talking about you? Bitch, who wouldn’t talk about me.

[19] met someone who changed you: maybe??

[20] found out who your true friends are: What constitutes as a “true friend”? I’ve always been perplexed by that notion. A friend is a friend. I just talk about different things with different people.

[21] kissed someone on your facebook list: Bet y’all’d like to know who ;) (that was me channeling inner middle-school Marina)

GENERAL…

[22] how many of your facebook friends do you know in real life: Now, this is something that I have to pick over. “in real life”. Like, if I have you on facebook I’m considering you as a part of my life (does that make sense??) And a lot of my facebook friends I have met through playing online games. So, no, I haven’t met them in real life (yet, someday I will take a massive road trip) but I consider us friends outside of playing games. So my answer is yes, all of my facebook friends I know in real life.

[23] do you have any pets: Jellicle (Jelli for short) is my kitty cat at my parents house. Unfortunately I can’t have free-roaming pets in the house I’m renting so I only have a beta fish, Hemingay, a bonsai tree (Groot 2.0, the first one was stolen off my porch), and a philodendron named Phil.

[24] do you want to change your name: Nada

[25] what did you do for your last birthday: uh, pretty sure I was playing video-games

[26] what time did you wake up: 10ish

[27] what were you doing at midnight last night: reading

[28] name something you cannot wait for: to move to the mountains and have a horde of huskies

[29] when was the last time you saw your mother: about 4 days ago

[30] what is one thing you wish you could change about your life: I wish i had a little more motivation??

[31] what are you listening to right now: my fan running in the background

[32] have you ever talked to a person named tom: yes, I know a lot of toms. What the fuck is up with this question?

[33] something that is getting on your nerves: people who don’t hit “reply all” in a group email. For real peeps, we’re all seniors in college. You should know this by now.

[34] most visited website: uhhhh, I’m honestly not sure. Tumblr is definitely up there, but even though I hardly ever post stuff I open facebook out of habit.

[35] elementary: what about elementary? Are you asking what school I attended? Who my teachers were? If I ever pulled the fire alarm? WEll, I didn’t pull the fire alarm, but I did like to flood the bathroom sinks and report to the teacher that “someone clogged the sinks again”. I was a weird child.

[37] college: comme ci, comme ca. I’m pretty much only taking online classes this semester.

[38] hair colour:  so up until I was around 12 my hair was white blonde. When i hit puberty though it slowly started changing color. I now have light brown hair, but in the summer it has blonde highlights.

[39] long or short hair: shoooooooort. I have an undercut that leads to one side being shaved.

[40] do you have a crush on someone: ehh. I’m attracted to a lot of people but i’m not interested in starting a relationship at this point in my life.

[41] what do you like about yourself? So it’s very cliche, but I fucking love my eyes. They range from green to gray to blue. And I have abnormally large pupils so they really accent them. People in high school just assumed I was high all the time.

[42] piercings: dude, guys, peeps, I love piercings. And I am majorly attracted to people with piercings. I have my double lobes done and an industrial bar on my left ear. If I didn’t bite my lips so much I would consider getting a lip ring because I fucking love them.

[43] blood type: AB- , yeah, I’m one of those people

[44] nickname: Mina/ Mina Bina, Rina, MooMoo (thanks Final Fantasy)

[45] relationship status: pining for dogs

[46] zodiac sign: virgo

[47] pronouns: she/her

[48] fav tv show: hmmmm, D. Gray-Man (does that count as a tv show? I don’t watch tv)

[49] tattoos: I have so many tattoo plans. I want the fuckign white tree of Gondor on my back.

[50] right or left handed: right, but I eat properly with my fork in my left hand.

FIRST…

[51] surgery: I had seven stitches in my chin when I was seven years old. Buuuuuut, I’m having major surgery this summer to reduce the size of my boobs. It’s gonna be a grand ol’ time. (hellooooo pretty bras)

[52] piercing: first lobes when I was 7

[53] best friend: I mean, I always call Staci my best friend. And we’ve known each other for our entire lives.

[54] sport: Technically I played soccer in kindergarten, but I wasn’t good at it.

[55] vacation: there’s pictures of toddler-me running naked towards the ocean in Florida with my mom chasing after me with my swimsuit.

[56] pair of trainers: oh fuck if i know, they were most likely blue and from JCpenney’s

RIGHT NOW…

[57] eating: cough drops

[58] drinking: coffee (I know, it’s a disgusting mix with cough drops)

[59] i’m about to: pretend the college didn’t just call me to pay my bill, lol too bad my voicemail inbox is full  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[60] listening to: “Wildfire” - Keston Cobblers Club (it’s incredibly catchy, I strongly recommend)

[61] waiting for: the day I live in the mountains with dogs.

[62] want: for me to decide what I want for dinner

[63] get married: I guess I’d like to be married someday. But I often like to disappear and just be by myself, so, someone very understanding and able to give space would be needed.

[64] career: right now I work full-time as a Kitchen and Transportation Manager at a daycare. It’s amazing. So, I’m basically a fancy lunch-lady. But i’m also a full-time student. One day I will be a famous author and able to support myself through writing (hah_)

WHICH IS BETTER…

[65] hugs or kisses: So I really love hugs. Probably because you don’t get judged by hugging people platonically. And i’m always cold, so body contact is a major thumbsup imo. Buuuuut, I do also like kissing. But kissing kind of involves a hug (at least, most of the time?) In short, hugs are better just because they’re involved in both.

[66] lips or eyes: eyes

[67] shorter or taller: I like my fruity drinks tall, but since I am also a fan of a Manhattan I’m used to short cups as well.

[68] older or younger: I like how many of these questions aren’t even questions, they’re just assuming you know what they’re asking. And I’m a little peeved that I know exactly what the assumption is. idc

[70] nice arms or nice stomach: I like necks. Like, damn, especially since chokers are back in fashion now allllll of my attention is drawn to the neck.

[71] sensitive or loud: are you insinuating that loud people can’t be sensitive?

[72] hook up or relationship: neither here nor there

[73] troublemaker or hesitant: ???

HAVE YOU EVER…

[74] kissed a stranger? kinda

[75] drank hard liquor? yeeeeees (see earlier comment about Manhattans)

[76] lost glasses/contact lenses? kinda? I misplace my glasses all the time when I’m cooking

[77] turned someone down: yes

[78] sex on first date? ehh, there’s a lot of “depends” that can go into this

[79] broken someone’s heart? *shrugs*

[80] had your own heart broken? *shrugs* you’re assuming I have a heart to begin with

[81] been arrested? ;) ... no

[82] cried when someone died? yes

[83] fallen for a friend: muahahaha

DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

[84] yourself? yeah, most of the time

[85] miracles? I’m not a firm believer in praying your worries away, so if that’s the type of miracle you’re asking my answer is “no”. However there have been some major moments of coincidence. I’m putting my money on aliens getting bored.

[86] love at first sight? Does my cat count? I saw her and knew immediately that I wanted to adopt her.

[87] santa claus? only if I can live in the North Pole

[88] kiss on the first date? yeeeee, most likely

[89] angels? Coming from a scientific point of view, I know for certain that the probability of humans being the only advanced race out there is practically nil. Therefore, I have no right to say whether or not angels exist somewhere. I know my late-grandma always did, she prayed to them every morning.

OTHER…

[90] current best friend’s name: Staci! I said it earlier, probably, but I’ve been working on this for a few days and don’t feel like scrolling all the way up.

[91] eye color: I thiiiink I also said this. But blue, gray, greenish

[92] favorite movie: Princess Mononoke

i’m tagging No one! Ha!

[omcik-blog]

New Post has been published on OmCik

New Post has been published on http://omcik.com/welfare-and-food-stamps-helped-this-homeless-single-mom-get-back-on-her-feet/

Welfare and food stamps helped this homeless single mom get back on her feet

by Ryan Prior   @CNNMoney May 5, 2017: 12:26 PM ET

Stephanie Land had next to nothing when she checked into a Port Townsend, Washington, homeless shelter with her baby daughter Mia almost nine years ago. Fleeing an abusive relationship, she had no family to turn to, no job and only about $200 to her name.

Over the next several years, Land relied on a system of federal benefits and tax credits, as well as assistance from non-profits and churches to build a new life. The patchwork of programs helped her pay for food, rent, child care, health care and eventually tuition — when she decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree at the University of Montana.

‘; for (i = 0; i 4) afterParagraphFour = true; currentParagraph = storytext.childNodes[i]; heights += currentParagraph.clientHeight; if (heights >= limit && insertAfterThisParagraphIndex === -1) insertAfterThisParagraphIndex = SMARTASSET.setDivIndex(i); console.log(“insert after paragraph number ” + i); console.log(“HEIGHTS = ” + heights); console.log(“LIMIT = ” + limit); } /* div with id=”ie_column” */ else if (storytext.childNodes[i].nodeName.toLowerCase() === ‘div’ && storytext.childNodes[i].id !== “undefined” && storytext.childNodes[i].id ===”ie_column”) heights = 0; limit = 80; insertAfterThisParagraphIndex = -1 /* embeds from twitter, facebook, youtube */ else if (storytext.childNodes[i].nodeName.toLowerCase() === ‘div’ && storytext.childNodes[i].classList.contains(’embed’)) heights = 0; limit = 80; insertAfterThisParagraphIndex = -1 /* cnn video player */ else if (storytext.childNodes[i].nodeName.toLowerCase() === ‘div’ && storytext.childNodes[i].classList.contains(‘cnnplayer’)) heights = 0; limit = 80; insertAfterThisParagraphIndex = -1 /* images */ else if (storytext.childNodes[i].nodeName.toLowerCase() === ‘img’) heights = 0; limit = 80; /* images stored in figure tags */ else if (storytext.childNodes[i].nodeName.toLowerCase() === ‘figure’) heights = 0; limit = 80; } if (heights >= 875 && afterParagraphFour) storytext.childNodes[insertAfterThisParagraphIndex].insertAdjacentHTML(‘afterend’, smartAssetDiv); smartasset = document.getElementById(‘smartasset-article’); smartasset.style.float = ‘left’; // allows module to have text float to right smartasset.style.marginRight =’20px’; smartasset.style.marginBottom =’25px’; }

SMARTASSET.setSmartAssetScript = function() ; SMARTASSET.setSmartAssetDiv(); SMARTASSET.setSmartAssetScript();

“Without these programs,” Land said, “I would have probably lost custody of my daughter or would have been forced to live in a car somewhere.”

Related: CNNMoney readers save man from homelessness

A few months after checking into the homeless shelter, Land began taking online college courses. She paid for the courses using Pell Grants, student loans and the Women’s Independence Scholarship, which offers scholarships to survivors of domestic violence.

A couple of years later, she and her daughter moved into low-income housing in Missoula, Montana, where the University of Montana’s creative writing community seemed like a dream. But first, she had to take a year off school to establish residency so she could qualify for the cheaper in-state tuition.

To get by, Land cleaned houses. Her pay started at $8 an hour and gradually she earned a little more. “It is unaffordable to work for minimum wage. I spent so much time working for so little,” she said.

After paying for cleaning supplies and transportation to clients’ houses, Land would bring home $300 to $400 a month. She also had about $1,000 a month from her student loans. About $875 of that went toward rent for the two-bedroom apartment she and her daughter had moved into. Her other expenses — Internet, car insurance, cell phone service, gas and credit card debts — ate up much of the rest.

“We really didn’t have money for food at all,” Land said. So she turned to food stamps and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, to help buy the groceries each month.

For her, it was one of the most humiliating parts of being in poverty. “Everyone on welfare says buying groceries is horrible,” Land said. “You’re always being watched.”

The WIC checks she used were large and obvious so she often bought groceries late at night. “Even the cashier would grumble, and hated doing a WIC checkout,” she said.

Related: From shelter to startup: One Egyptian immigrant’s success story

The checkout process took much longer, leaving many disgruntled customers waiting behind her. “You’re welcome,” she recalled more than one customer snarling at her, as though they had personally paid for her family’s groceries.

The cost of childcare — at $650 a month — would have easily eclipsed her entire budget, but grants from the Child Care and Development Fund helped cushion the blow.

At times, she said, “it got really, really bad.” Desperate for even the smallest amount of aid to help pay a heating bill, she’d call every number she could. “You get really good at scrambling, relentless at finding programs.”

Even an unexpected bill for $10 could send her “over the edge,” she said.

So could taking a heavy course load at school.

Related: Once a boy from the Bronx, he now creates supersonic passenger planes

At one point, Land was taking a fairly full load of 15 credit hours per semester and her work hours dropped below the 20 hours per week required to qualify for food stamps.

“I lost my food benefits when I desperately needed them,” she said. “You make progress and then get pushed back, as though you are being put ‘in your place.'”

She felt the system made it nearly impossible to transition off welfare. Once one advanced toward the cusp of the poverty line, “you could gain $100 in income, and lose $500 in grants.”

This, she said, is where the perception of welfare recipients being lazy comes from. Leaders from across the political spectrum have also acknowledged this stigma, including President Obama, who said in a 2011 town hall, “I’ve seen it, where people weren’t encouraged to work, weren’t encouraged to upgrade their skills, were just getting a check, and over time their motivation started to diminish.”

Land said she wished her school credit hours could have been put toward welfare’s work requirement so that she could have still “earned” her benefits. In her eyes, getting a college education was helping her to become self-sufficient.

After six years of classes and struggling to get by, Land finally graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English in 2014. Her second daughter was born a month later. And she started writing. Her articles and essays have since appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Guardian and several other publications. Last year, an article she wrote for Vox about her time cleaning houses went viral. It later resulted in a book deal with Hachette Books.

The money she has earned enabled her to stop relying food stamps. At the time, she posted on Facebook: “I did it, guys. I wrote my way out of poverty.”

Land now brings in a steady income as a writer and can support herself and her children independently. She recently got married for the first time. And, she said, she and her husband are now looking to buy a home.

CNNMoney (New York) First published May 5, 2017: 12:26 PM ET

Terms & Conditions apply

NMLS #1136

[qyriad]

Warning: Very long, depressing, and possibly whiny post on deep feelings follow. It is also unedited. Read at your own risk. 

Can I just like talk about how I feel there’s a void where my creativity was--like I was robbed of it?

My parents were emotionally abusive, so there’s there’s a lot of stunted emotional growth already. I’m also trans so like that spilled over and killed my self expression and confidence. 

I’ve transitioned and I’m away from my parents, living on my own. And sure I have depression and it’s pretty bad but my life is so much better and I take so much better care of myself. 

But I’ve become extra aware of all the things I always wanted to do all my life and just couldn’t do either because my parents “wouldn’t approve” or I wouldn’t have been comfortable because I hadn’t transitioned (still have my parents to blame for that). It’s almost all I’ve been thinking about lately. 

I’m a generally talented person right? A-/B+ student, at least above average at most things. Above average at math, a damn natural at computers and programming, gifted with languages, I was near-top when I sparred in Taekwondo. I was a damn good archer. I just got a test back in fucking Assembly Programming. You know how hard that is if you’ve never done it (like me)? I got a 96 on that test, was the top of my class and I finished fucking first without my textbook in an open book exam. I’m not trying to brag here I’m just trying to make a point. I’ve never the best at anything, but I’m always near there at most things, so long as I can find the motivation to do them. 

But there’s a whole section of things I’ve always been closed off of, due to lack of that natural talent. 

I’ve always wanted to do theatre, to act. I’ve never been able to. My parents may of actually approved, but they would have made a huge deal out of it and that alone was enough to turn me away, let alone my dysphoria. 

Last semester was my first semester at college. I joined the theatre club. This semester I got cast in the show as a main role--my first performance. Everyone’s telling me that, while, of course, I’m not perfect and still have a lot to learn, that I’m doing extremely, that I seem to be picking it up pretty naturally. 

I’m in the general required english class, and I’ve always hated english class largely because I was never any good at writing essays, or at least finding motivation for doing so. We’ve had two major essays this semester, both of which allowed me to write about something I wanted to. The first one was a simple narrative essay, focusing on showing-not-telling basic stuff. I wrote about my first time being involved in theatre--the previous semester, doing lights. I enjoyed it, but I ended it up handing it in actually unfinished and completely unedited or revised. I was the only person in my class to get an A, thus I was also the highest grade in the class. I figured that was a fluke + my understand of language in general and what it means to show versus tell. The next essay was a critique in the form of a persuasive essay. I ended up passing that one in also completely unedited/revised, and I really should have rearranged the structure. While almost everyone else got at least a grade lower than they did previously, I was, yet again, the only person in the class to get an A. 

Both acting and those essays have really got me thinking. Maybe I actually do have some talent for creativity...for arts?

I’ve always wanted to write creatively. I’m trying some critical writing that I’m liking, but I have no where to post it. I’d do like a YouTube channel and make video essays but, while my voice has made a lot of progress throughout my transition, I’m nowhere near comfortable enough to get on a microphone. If I had been on HRT before puberty that wouldn’t be a problem. The one thing I don’t think I’ll ever have talent for is drawing, but I guess I’ll have to come to terms with that one. 

I want to play piano. So badly. Or the flute even! Anything. All my life I’ve longed for it. But not only am I a poor college student, I’m completely independent financially, and no longer have transportation. I have no way to take piano lessons. My college is a community college (with dorms luckily) and is pretty limited in classes--pretty much no music classes. 

I want to sing. I look to those around me and they all produce such beauty just with their voices. I used to try, but my parents discouraged it, and once puberty came my voice made the dysphoria of it a nightmare. 

Meanwhile all my creative friends (so all my friends) have all been singing all their life, in band since elementary school, drawing since preschool, in theatre since middle school. Not only will I never be able to catch up to them, I also can’t do anything about most of them. Acting in the only one I have the opportunity for. And I will never get the memories I could have had.  I will never have band class in middle or high school. I will never have been a chorus kid. I will never have been that stereotypical child that you couldn’t keep away from the theatre. I’ll never have shared poetry in english class. 

And it kills me. It just kills me. 

I want to create stuff. I want to make content. I spend all my time consuming the art I’m so passionate about, that I love so much in any of its various forms--anime, tv, YouTube, music, theatre, video games, anything--but I can’t produce it. Except..I could...in different circumstances. 

Do you have any idea how much I would have done if I had been born to supporting, loving, accepting parents? Parents who paid attention, who would have allowed me to realize I was trans when I four that time I crossdressed and loved it just a bit too much, who would have let me transition, who would have encouraged me to do the things I loved, that I was passionate about, who would have cared? I would have been playing piano all my life. I would have been in band or chorus. I would have been doing theatre since middle school at least. Hell, maybe in all this I would have even picked up drawing ability, though that one might be a stretch. 

I look at that life. I just want to be there. More than anything. 

I never should have been a computer science kid. That’s not me. I like tech, I’m interested in how things work, and I find my computer to be the optimal way for me to consume media. I like logic puzzles. So...programming? It’s fun. I do like it, and I’m exceptionally good at it, but it’s not who I am. At all. I’m not passionate about it. Why am I majoring in it? 

I feel obligated to. I have the talent. I have STEM talent. I can’t help but feel thousands of starving artists would be jealous of that. I’ll always have a job in that, one that pays extremely well. I feel I would be doing a disservice...to all those who can’t do I what I can do. I have the chance, how could I throw all the gifts I have away? Hell I could use the money I’ll make doing it to support artists I love so much. And with the way I am financially right now, a comp sci job is kind of my only hope. 

If I had been a theatre kid all along, who knows how good I would be now? Maybe I would have been able to go somewhere with it. Maybe not. But that possibility...

It just kills me. 

Why. Why was I robbed? I have the talent for so much...All the things I’ve wanted desperately to do, all my life, I can’t do because my life was tailor-made to block me from them. 

Even though I’ve finally transitioned, I still don’t feel like me. There’s a giant part missing. My creativity. Why don’t I have an instrument? Why don’t I sing? Where are all my playbills? Where’s my YouTube channel? 

Maybe I’ll recover from it, eventually. When I’m a proper adult with a real job, steady income. 

Is that good enough? How can I settle for that? It’s killing me more and more each day. I’m already depressed enough, can I handle the vacuum where my creativity used to be? 

I even have trouble talking to the people closest to me about this. I have trouble asking people to help me recover. I’m embarrassed by my lack of base knowledge, and it seems every opportunity is stolen away from me. I was going to take piano lessons--my car shit the bed, there goes my transportation. My friend was going to teach m--OOPS new rule we’re not allowed to use the dorm’s piano for some reason?? 

Most trans people should be able to relate to the feeling that half their life was stolen from them. I feel that on a trans level of course, but here on a whole new level I can’t even begin to describe it. 

This is honestly why I will never be able to forgive my parents. It used to be that I couldn’t forgive them for making my brother (who, by the way, is even better at everything than I am, and has dipped into the arts) so depressed. But now I think that’s the real reason. 

This is why I so badly envy those with supportive parents. I envy that life. I long for it. I crave it.

 And it kills me. 

[sunshinelulusplatoon]

To Let The Past Go Chapter 5

(Woot, another chapter. Warning though, bit cussing at the end. Enjoy)

Chapter 1:http://sunshinelulusplatoon.tumblr.com/post/154343280234/alright-finally-ive-got-this-started-for-those

Chapter 2:http://sunshinelulusplatoon.tumblr.com/post/155644766709/to-let-the-past-go-chapter-2)

Chapter 3: http://sunshinelulusplatoon.tumblr.com/post/155825340079/to-let-the-past-go-chapter-3

Chapter 4: http://sunshinelulusplatoon.tumblr.com/post/156037776559/to-let-the-past-go-chapter-4

                                          Chapter 5: Change and Decisions

 As January flew by, many changes were occurring around Lulu. News of a new area for the Turf Wars hub had been flying around along with news of new weapons and new gear. Even the new presence of a small kitten hanging around Judd had spread like wildfire around the Inklings, Inktolings, Octarains, and other species living in the area. Concern on older players and adults, many started research on the new mammal to try and figure out where it had come from. Even concerning the octarian king, Octavio wasn’t too keen on Lulu being around the small mammal till word of its intentions and behaviors were finalized. Annoyed but obedient, Lulu followed her grandpa’s orders to stay away from it though collecting sea snails became a bit of a hassle for her; having to ask cuttlefish to get them for her from Judd. Other news of Callie and Marie’s music contract ending in summer had been floating around but no proper word had been said. Even the girls couldn’t confirm or deny it as Lulu visited them for a small lunch break.

Other news had also been flying around but only in the Valley. Residence were happily spreading the news that by early spring Octo Valley would be fully repaired and open back up to tourist and new residence. Come fall, schools would open back up to let students of old and new in for proper education again. Even colleges were taking applications for fall semester as students everywhere inside the valley were signing up. Hearing the news, Lulu informed Marcy who came down to apply and sign up for her classes. As promised by Octavio for providing the turbine designs that returned power to the valley, Marcy was given full ride to the biggest engineering university in the valley as well as proper boarding, transportation passes, and was even planned to internship with the electrical engineers working and maintain power in the valley come her second year.

As the last days of January came, things started to slow down and fall back into normal pace as Lulu, Marwick, and Marcy were waiting for Joey at Cuttlefish’s manhole to get some lunch and play turf wars for the rest of the afternoon. “Eh, I still can’t believe it’s really happening!” Marcy comment, nerves and joy in her voice. “Real proud of babe! You’re following your dreams. And all that studying paid off for yah. You passed those entrance exams like it was nothing!” Marwick commented before giving Marcy a kiss on the forehead. Softly giggling, Marcy replied, “I know. I just can’t wait. But I won’t forget you guys! I’ll definitely make time to play and practice turf wars so we can work to make the championship again!” “Hey, no rush! We got plenty of time to take another trophy home. Your studies come first,” Lulu replied, patting Marcy’s back. “I know. But I don’t want you thinking I’ve abandoned the team,” Mary whispered. “Nah, Marcy Bean, you know I would never think that. We have been through thick and thin too much for me to ever think like that,” Lulu chuckled.

With giggles and chuckled from all three of them, the three didn’t pay attention to the rushing inktoling coming towards them until he slammed into the bars in front of them and flip onto his backside. “AHHH! JOEY!” The three shouted, rushing to get him back up and make sure he was okay. Joey just laughed it all off. “Woops! My bad!” Joey coughed, rubbing his stomach from where he smacked into the bars. “Joey what the hell?” Lulu questioned, worried for her friend. “Sorry guys for being late but man do I got great news,” Joey replied, getting up and bouncing in excitement as if following of from the bars didn’t happen. “Bro, what’s up? You drinking too much coffee again for you to be bouncing like that?” Marwick joked. Joey just brushed it off. “Nah, I’m serious! Check it out!” Joey replied before pulling a paper out and handing it to Lulu. “Lulu read it out loud!” Joey exclaimed, bouncy even more now. “Okay, okay!” Lulu replied, looking at Joey and wondering what he was so excited about before reading the paper.

“To Mr. Joey Oego, We are happy to inform you that your application to Astacus Police Academy in Jellyfish Cove of the Northern Province in Japan has been accepted for out 6 year training terms. You have also been given full ride to the academy including boarding, books, and equipment needed. You will be expected to move in by the 23rd of May for orientation and boot camp come summer and will start fall semester in August. We look forward to hearing from you on whether or not you accept into going to this fine establishment. Please reply before the 31th of January with your answer and let your higher working authorities know. Till meeting at orientation, With great respect, Dean of Astacus Police Academy, Ruko Belio.”

Hearing the words, everybody went silent before Lulu looked up at Joey. “Are…Are you serious? Is this really serious???” Lulu exclaimed about to lose it. Joey just nodded his head, excitement all his face before shouting, “I’M GOING TO THE ACADEMY!!!!” Tackling him, Lulu was spun around by Joey before the pair broke into dance moves, excited by this news. “Man you did it! You’re really going! Moving up in the force once you are done man!” Marwick gleamed. “I KNOW BRO!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! I GOT ACCEPTED!!!! I’M ACTUALLY GOING!!!” Joey shouted, picking Marcy up and swing her around before hugging onto her and Lulu both. Over hearing the excited conversation, Cuttlefish popped up from the manhole and chuckled, “Congrats boy! You finally made it! Now you work hard!” Smiling and trying to hold tears back, Joey nodded.

Grabbing their stuff and heading to find food, the four were in great spirits. “Marcy going to college, Joey going away to the academy for 6 years, things sure are changing around here,” Marwick stated. “It’s for the good though. Don’t you also have a new job you are starting in a few weeks at the noodle shop in the valley?” Lulu asked. “Yep! The boss was hiring and I wanted something to do while Marcy was going to college. Also helps us make some extra cash for leisure while living in the new flat,” Marwick replied. “How is it by the way?” Joey asked. “It’s pretty big with a decent kitchen, decent bath, and decent sized bedroom. Plan to move in it sometime this summer once we get proper furniture to put in it,” Marcy replied. “Sounds great. Couldn’t be more happy for you,” Lulu stated. “How about you Lulu? Heard Pops is about to put you into more royal duties from now on.” Joey questioned. “Yeah, it’s true. He’s given me more leisure in making decision with him and plans to put me in more situations where I need to critically think for my people. It’s not going to be easy but I’m not backing down!” Lulu replied eager and giving a fist pump. “Spoken like a true princess!” Joey laughed.

Arriving at one of their favorite dinners, the four walked in and settled in. Ordering lunch, the group chatted away as they waited for their food. Goals, life, things that have happen, news of the new turf wars gear and new places, the group gave their opinions and thoughts as the food arrived hot and ready for them. “You know once I leave you will have to find a new recruit,” Joey spoke to Lulu. “I know but I doubt it will be that hard to find someone. Plenty of newbies joining each day that can be easily trained to what we need. Shoot, some we even know we can recruit. Just how well they will listen is the thing. But I doubt I’ll have trouble finding someone while you are gone,” Lulu replies, taking a bite out of her French fries. “I just can’t believe you will be gone for 6 years,” Marcy spoke up, “It will be a big adjustment since none of us have been apart since like forever.” “I know Marcy Bean but we can’t stay in one moment of our lives together. Life brings us many things that we can either go with or push away. I’ve wanted this for a long time and I got my chance and I plan to take it,” Joey replied patting Marcy’s back. “I know Joey. I wouldn’t want you to turn it down either. It’s all just a big change,” Marcy replied sheepishly, giving a soft smile. “I know Marcy Bean but sometimes change is a good thing for the better. A lot has happen to us over the past three to four years and more is definitely on the way. So let’s not let it get us down. Let’s embrace it!” Lulu encouraged. “I’ll toast to that!” Marwich spoke, holding his cup up. Following notion, the other 3 held their cups up as Joey stated, “To change!” with the other three replying, “To change” before clanging their cups together and taking sips out of their drinks.

Finishing up and packing up as Joey went to pay, Marwick noticed the TV. “Hey, stage change!” Marwick commented, loud enough for Joey to hear as the group looked towards the TV in the back. As Callie and Marie came on TV, Callie announced the regular battle stages. First showing Moray Towers, Callie led off with, "Rollers are super effective here!" with Marie replying, "Chargers are the very best, like no gun ever was!" Next was Walleye Warehouse with Callie going, "Remember working here part-time back in the day?" and Marie going, "Yeah, and how often you broke the assembly line..." Last part getting a laugh out of Lulu and Joey, the group watched as the girls finished up meeting at the dinner exist and heading out. “Moray and the Warehouse. This should be interesting,” Joey commented, twirling his Splattershot Jr. in his hand. “Charger central. Definitely relying on you Marcy,” Lulu stated, giving a wink to Marcy. “Won’t let you down boss,” Marcy joked. “What I like to hear! Marwick, watch our back for us!” Lulu chuckled. “Will do!” Marwick replied nodding.

Reaching Inkopolis Tower and getting gear ready, Team Golden Sun headed into the tower and as the sun set later that afternoon, the team had plenty of wins under their belt for the day. Splitting the money up evenly between them, the group gave their goodbyes for the day as Lulu headed down Cuttlefish’s manhole towards the valley. Once in her own dome, Lulu was walking towards the house when she spotted her grandpa sweeping the porch though his expression on his face gave Lulu worry. Walking up, she could see something troubled him as his lips had a bit of a downward curl and his eyes seemed tired. “Grandpa?” Lulu spoke up. Snapping him out of thought, Octavio looked at her and smiled. “Welcome home Sunshine. Had fun today?” Octavio asked, perking his mood up trying to hide the concern and hint of worry that was on his face before but his voice seemed tired and out of breath. Lulu just looked more concern now. “Grandpa, what’s wrong?” Lulu questioned, giving a bit of a pout. “Nothing Sunshine…..Nothing you need to worry about,” Octavio replied, trying to brush the topic way. Still looking concerned, Lulu sighed before going into the house. Something was up but Lulu figured not to pressure it anymore with him. She knew he was acting himself when she left so something between that time period and now must of happen to drop his mood. Walking into the kitchen to grab a drink and see what her grandpa was cooking for dinner, she noticed an envelope on the table addressed to him. There was no returned address but it seemed to have been shipped by priority mail. Grabbing it and flipping it over, it seemed her grandpa had already opened it and whatever contents were in it were gone. “Is this what has him down?” Lulu thought before placing the envelope back down and grabbing bottle water out of the fridge and checking the pot on the stove to see beef stew with tentacles floating in it.

As night feel and the domes went dark, Lulu and Octavio were sitting at the smaller table in the kitchen eating dinner when Lulu spoke up. “Joey got accepted into the academy today,” Lulu stated. Octavio nodded not even looking at Lulu before replying, “That’s good! Congrats to him. He’s fulfilling his dreams.” Lulu looked annoyed. “He’s going to be gone 6 years so I’m gonna have to find someone new for our team,” Lulu stated. “That’s fine. Just be careful who you recruit,” Octavio replied, still acting if he’s fully not listening. Lulu was even more annoyed now. “And I’m 3 months pregnant with Marwick’s child,” Lulu stated, voice dry and annoyed. “That’s fin….WAIT!!! WHAT????” Octavio staggered, looking at Lulu completely confused and shock. Lulu chuckled. “Now I have your attention! What’s wrong with you? You’re not acting like yourself!” Lulu pouted. Giving a sigh in relief and annoyance as he leaned back in his chair, Octavio responded, “Lulu, please don’t do that again. I just have a lot on my mind at the moment is all. I promise I’m not ignoring baby girl.” “Does it have to do with that envelope that was on the table earlier? I saw it when I walked in when I came home to get a drink,” Lulu questioned, looking at her grandpa with a look of concern. Octavio went quite, looking at Lulu before sighing and taking a bite out of the beef in the stew. “It’s nothing you need to worry about baby girl,” Octavio replied, not looking at Lulu. Sighing and letting a raspberry off, Lulu returned to eating as the rest of dinner was silent.

Early to bed and early to rise, Lulu was out the door and headed off to different universes to visit some friends. Catching up with some old faces through turf wars and meeting some new, Lulu was gone most of the morning. She didn’t return home till after twelve carrying her charger as she came through the familiar kettle entrance of her dome. Walking up the hill, Lulu started to hear sounds and as she got closer she recognized it as arguing. “What in the world?” Lulu thought as she rushed down the hill towards the house. Upon hitting the bottom, the arguing was louder and coming from inside the house. But what caught Lulu’s surprise even more was the person standing on the porch, leaning on one of the rails, and looking down at the blooming roses. “….Kane??” Lulu called out, questioning what she was seeing as she walked up to the porch. Looking up, the forest green inktoling gave a weak smile. “..Hi Lulu,” Kane spoke, “Wasn’t exactly expecting to see you. Then again, wasn’t expecting to be here at all till Mom book the tickets and we left yesterday afternoon.” Lulu was speechless. Her mom was here too? Why? Was it because of Grandpa? What reason would they have to be here? The arguing inside seem to have gotten louder as Lulu walked up the sets and stood next to Kane. “…Kane…I…,” Lulu began hesitantly before Kane interrupted her. “…So you are my older half sister?” Kane spoke, looking back down at the rose, face lost of all expression. Lulu looked sadden before looking out yonder, leaning on the rail now herself. “I take even now, she didn’t tell you?” Lulu asked. “…No but I figured it out after them arguing for the first 10 minutes…” Kane replied. Taking a heavy sigh, Lulu looked at Kane. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even know…till I saw her at the airport,” Lulu sighed about to say something else when Kane spoke up. “She said something to you. That’s why you were upset when I had arrived. They argued about that. They argued about other things too…Lulu, what he said, what…our grandfather said, is it true? That she left you in an orphanage when you were just a hatchling?” Kane questioned looking up at Lulu with sadden eyes. Looking away, Lulu couldn’t bear to answer, knowing Kane’s opinions of his mother were usually bright and warm. “So it’s true…isn’t it,” Kane sighed, eyes showing heartbreak and sadness as he looked at Lulu; Lulu looking at him now and slowly nodding. Kane went silent from there as Lulu returned looking back towards yonder. She knew a lot must have been running through his head at the moment. But Kane finally broke the silence again. “I always suspected she was hiding something…she would never talk about her past or family on her side. She always told me it wasn’t important or just people I didn’t need to know. I just don’t get it though. You were just a hatchling. Hardly able to do anything to upset her so much like she is but she really hates you for some reason. Doesn’t make any sense for a parent to hate their child so much when they have done nothing wrong,” Kane questioned, words dry. “I guess just existing is enough for her to not want me….,” Lulu softly spoke. “….Do you know your dad?” Kane asked but Lulu shook her head. “Only she knows who he is,” Lulu replied.

The two sat there is silence for a while as the adults inside continued to argue. From the other end of the porch, the sliding door slide to Lulu’s bedroom slide open as a familiar zapfish fumble in flight out of the room. Spotting Lulu, he clumsily flew over to her; grabbing on to one of her tentacles. Natural instinct kicking in as her tentacle wrapped around him, Lulu pulled him up to let him rest on her shoulder as the zapfish nuzzled against her face. Kane chuckled a little. “Heh, a zapfish. Little guy looks like he took a beating. He yours?” Kane asked. “Yeah, I fished him up. He’s always been like this so I didn’t have the heart to throw him back when I caught him. He’s a good little guy, aren’t you Zappy,” Lulu cooed, getting a happy little cry out of the zapfish. Chuckling some more, Kane held out a hand to pet the zapfish as Zappy realized the notion and leaned into the touch. “Hehe, you like being petted, huh Zappy,” Kane joked, petting the zapfish as it gave happy chirps.

“Hey Kane?” Lulu asked as Zappy settled back onto her shoulder. “Yeah?” Kane replied. “Why are you guys here anyway?” Lulu questioned. “Some letter came in for mom and she wrote it back I suppose but then another came in with some documents and she went crazy from. Bought the tickets and here we are now. I really don’t know what’s going on or what the letters said but those to have been going out it now for almost two hours,” Kane replied concerned. Listening in, the argument seemed heated as both parties were speaking in octarian. “They were speaking inkling at first but now I don’t understand a word they are saying,” Kane commented. “It’s Octarian Kane. I can speak it and understand it. Right now…they are…strangely arguing about…me,” Lulu replied confused.

That’s when a loud scream of anger shook the house and heavy footsteps came to the sliding door. Slamming it open, Precious stormed out of the house and as the two watched, Octavio came after shouted, “PRECIOUS! DON’T YOU FUCKING WALK AWAY FROM ME!” Slightly up the hill, Precious turned around and shouted, “NO! I’M FUCKING DONE! I’VE HAD IT WITH YOU AND I’VE HAD IT WITH THIS PLACE! KANE! GET YOUR COD DAMN THINGS! WE ARE LEAVING!!!” Startled, Kane rushed inside to get his things before rushing out and trying to catch up to his mother who had continued to walk up the hill. “PRECIOUS! GET YOUR FUCKING ASS BACK HERE! IF YOU THINK YOU CAN LEAVE YOU ARE SURELY MISTAKEN. YOU EVEN STEP OUT OF THIS VALLEY AND I’LL HAVE YOUR ASS IN COURT!” Octavio shouted, chasing after her. Completely confused, Lulu rushed down the porch steps to catch up with everybody as Zappy hung onto her tentacle. “FOR FUCKING WHAT?” Precious screamed from the top of the hill. “CHILD SUPPORT, CHILD ABDUCTION, ENDANGERING A MINOR, AND A FEW OTHER THINGS I CAN THINK OF. YOU FORGET MY NAME IS ON HER BIRTH CITIFICATE!” Octavio shouted, pointing towards Lulu. From there Precious stopped in her tracks with Kane taking rest at one of the apple trees as Octavio and Lulu caught up. Standing next to Kane, Lulu watched as her grandpa walked towards her mother who was shaking and trying to hold tears back. “Surprised you didn’t add murder to that list,” Precious replied with a huff, wiping away tears that had fallen down her face. “Precious cod damn it that was years ago. You know as well as I do that was an accident. Honey, you need to stop blaming yourself for it,” Octavio replied, huffing and sighing. “Not like you didn’t. You could never look at me the same. You stopped caring about me when Mom died,” Precious hissed. “I NEVER STOPPED CARING ABOUT YOU PRECIOUS BUT YOU CLOSED YOURSELF OFF FROM ME!” Octavio shouted, tentacles twitching in anger, “You would never talk to me about how you felt or what was going on with you. I know your mother’s death hurt you just as much as it hurt me but I never blamed you. All I wanted was you to be alright but you got caught up in the wrong crowd before I could do anything to fix things and the next thing I know you’re gone out of my side. Not a day went by that I didn’t worry about you but I had a kingdom to run that was being overrun by terrorists trying to ruin any relationships we had with the inklings. So many times I kicked myself wondering what I could have done differently but nothing could change the past and even when you came back, you still wouldn’t let me in. All I wanted to do was help you but you kept rejecting me.” “And what about her? You cared about her more than me when I came back,” Precious fired back. “I was the only one taking care of her at the time. You wanted nothing to do with her! Just the idea of her bothered you so much. But that never meant I loved her more than you. Honey, you don’t know how much relief it was to have you home again where I could keep you safe. But you still refused to open up. And I did everything I could but you wanted nothing to do with me. But I wasn’t going to let you hurt her. Not my first grandchild. I was going to do everything in my power to make sure she was safe until whatever it was that was bothering was sorted out so we could work things out. But no, you left again, taking her with you. I may admit, I acted like I stopped caring then, but deep down, I always thought of you, hoping you were safe, hoping Lulu was safe, and hoping for both of you to come home to me!”

Precious stood there quite, tears rolling down her face as Lulu and Kane watched, concern and worry for her on their faces. “Then tell me what you want?” Precious finally spoke, not even looking at her father. “Precious baby, TALK TO ME! Open up and stop running from what bothers you before it eats you alive. Honey, I’m willing to start things over from scratch have but you have got to give me an inch. I can’t read your mind on what has been bothering you all these years and right now is a good time. I know you are on hard times and the last thing I want is you on the streets,” Octavio replied. Looking at him now, Precious asked, “How much do you know?” “I know you had to give up your husband’s company and bankrupt everything. They took the house from you to pay things off and you’re staying with friends since your husband’s parents want nothing to do with you or Kane. You are almost out of money too since you have no work at the moment,” Octavio stated. Hearing this, Lulu looked at Kane with concern. Kane just shoved it off with a, “its fine. Never like my grandparents anyway,” which sadden Lulu. Looking at her father with tears down her face, Precious sat there shaking as Octavio came up to her and wrapped his arms around her. “So what choice do I have now,” Precious spoke, slowly grabbing onto her father’s robes. “Well, you can choose to move back into the house and in time I’ll get rooms made for you and Kane and I can help you finish paying off whatever the collectors need. But only if you want to. The choice is yours,” Octavio replied. “After everything that’s happened, you would let me back in. Why?” Precious asked. “Because you are my baby and always have been. I may not have shown it at times but I still love you and I’ve always have. Just like you, I was in morning but I should never have ignored you like I did. That was my fault and I want to make up for that if you will let me,” Octavio explained softly, hold his crying daughter. Both fell silent then as Kane and Lulu watched, wondering what was going to happen then.

A week later….

“PRECIOUS! UP! BEFORE WE ARE LATE!” Octavio called out, knocking on the guest room door. Deciding to move back into the house, Octavio paid for the tickets for Precious and Kane to go back to the states to get their things before coming back and settling into the house. Like promised, Octavio paid off the collectors of any debit Precious had left from the lawsuits. Once back, Precious moved into the guest room while Kane took residence in Lulu’s room, trying to adjust to a zapfish who wanted to sleep in his tentacles, thinking they were some type of seaweed. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! DAD! IT’S NOT EVEN 6 IN THE MORNING!!!” Precious screamed from the bedroom. “Now she knows how I feel,” Lulu thought to herself as she brushed her teeth, sharing the sink with Kane who was still half asleep as he brushed his own. Spitting and washing their mouths out, the brother and sister walked into Lulu’s bedroom to grab clothes they needed for the meeting they were going to. Kane grabbing clothes out of his bag as Lulu open the chest in front of her bed, Lulu pulled out the familiar kimono she wore when she went to such political meetings. “Woah sis! You’re wearing that to this meeting?” Kane questioned, surprised by how fancy it was. “Always do. Was grandma’s. So was this,” Lulu replied as she pulled a box out and revealed a shell tiara. “NICE!” Kane exclaimed, giving a thumbs up. Walking into the room as Lulu and Kane undressed and got ready as Lulu was wrapping the kimono around herself, Octavio helped her tie it all together with its obi as Precious finally walked out of the guest room. “Morning Mom!” Kane stated before yawning. “Morning Kane,” Precious groaned, annoyed having to be up this early. “…Morning…,” Lulu stated as Octavio held her chin up to properly place the tiara on her head. “….Morning….Lulu…” Precious replied, some unease in her voice. Looking at her, Precious seemed to give off an annoyed look before looking at her father and stating, “You are seriously putting her in that? Mom was taller than her!” “Relax Precious. It doesn’t drag that much on her. Especially with her Geta on. Kane you are not wearing that t-shirt and shorts to the meeting! Put on one of those dress shirts and slacks I bought you with those new boots,” Octavio replied, satisfied with how the tiara sat on Lulu before looking over Kane dissatisfied, “Now are you going to get dressed or not Precious?” “Yes! Yes!” Precious groaned before walking to the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. As Octavio walked out of the room to start a pot of coffee before leaving, Kane came over to Lulu and looked her over. “You look great sis. And don’t worry about mom. I’m sure she will warm up to you in time,” Kane encouraged. “Yeah..at least she addressed me this time,” Lulu replied sheepishly. Putting their shoes on and walking out of the room after giving Zappy goodbyes, the pair walked into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee as the bathroom door could be heard being open and shut as the guest room door opened and close. “Ugh, she hasn’t changed. Takes forever to dress,” Octavio sighed. Chuckling, Kane and Lulu took sips of their coffee before Kane asked, “So is this going to really be your first time joining Gramps in making political decisions?” “Yep. Before I was in waiting, listening in and learning from Grandpa how things go. I know everybody already knows me but I’m still a bit nervous about what kinds of decisions I’ll be thrown into. Hopefully I don’t make a fool of myself,” Lulu replied concerned. “You will be fine baby girl! Nothing to worry about. Just follow your instincts,” Octavio spoke up. “Yeah, what Gramps said. I’m sure you will do fine,” Kane encouraged. Lulu gave a sheepish smile, but their words to ease some of her worries and Precious finally walked into the kitchen, wearing a business suit. Handing her a cup, Precious thanked her father as she made her coffee. “Are these meetings still the whole morning?” Precious asked. “Yep,” Octavio replied not batting an eye. “Ugh, figures,” Precious groaned as she took a sip of her coffee.

Finishing their coffees up and grabbing up what they need, Octavio locked the sliding screen door when everybody was out of the house. Following behind him, the family left the dome as they took a glider to head towards the palace in the middle of the main city in the major portion of the domes. Landing and making the trip to the palace, the family walked in and around to the back of the meeting room as they waited for all parties to show up. Word from the guards that everybody was here now, Octavio spoke. “Alright, everybody ready?” Octavio asked. “Ready as we will ever be Dad,” Precious replied, already wanting to go home. Shaking his head, Octavio motioned Lulu next to him as the family lined up in order. Hearing the guards called out for attention to their presence, the doors open and the family walked, giving few to higher parties and viewing attendants that the Entra family was finally whole again.

[touristguidebuzz]

7 Tips for Building Credit and Getting Started With Cards in College

With American Airlines completing its switch to a revenue-based frequent flyer program last summer, it’s official: actual flying is no longer the fastest way to earn points and miles. It’s been replaced by credit card use, thanks both to generous sign-up bonuses and lucrative returns on everyday spending. In order to take advantage of these offers, you need both a good credit history and decent spending power. This can make it hard for people just starting to build credit — like college students — to jump in.

You have to tread carefully when you’re starting from scratch. Like chutes and ladders, every application you submit has the potential to catapult you forward or drop you back. If you get denied on your early applications, it can make it even harder to get that first credit card, but a single acceptance can unlock many doors. It took me a lot of trial and error to figure this out, but here are the lessons I’ve learned along the way, all of which helped me go from no credit history to seven cards and more than 400,000 miles during my junior year of college.

1. Consider starting with a no annual fee card.

While there’s usually a correlation between a card’s annual fee and the benefits it offers, you shouldn’t completely overlook “free” cards. Especially for your first card, they represent a long-term investment in your personal credit. Average age of accounts, or how long your credit card accounts have been open, counts for 15% of your credit score. If you open a card with no annual fee, you can keep it open indefinitely at no cost and increase your age of accounts in the process — just be sure to use it once in a while to avoid having the issuer shut down your account for inactivity. These cards also tend to have lower minimum spending requirements for sign-up bonuses as well, making them even more accessible.

Here are a few options to consider:

Amex EveryDay Credit Card from American Express — Currently offering a sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $1,000 in the first three months. This card offers 2 points per dollar at grocery stores on up to $6,000 per year and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases, plus a 20% bonus when you make at least 20 transactions in a billing period, bringing your earning up to 2.4 points per dollar at grocery stores, and 1.2 points per dollar on other purchases. Not bad for a card that costs you nothing to carry!

Chase Freedom — Currently offering a sign-up bonus of $150 after you spend $500 in the first three months. If you also carry a premium Ultimate Rewards-earning card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve Card or the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, this $150 can be converted to 15,000 Ultimate Rewards Points. The card offers 5 points per dollar on rotating bonus categories — gas stations and local commuter transportation for the first quarter of 2017 — and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases

Chase Freedom Unlimited — Currently offering the same sign-up bonus as the Freedom Card: $150/15,000 points after spending $500 in the first three months. It earns 1.5 points per dollar on all purchases, making it one of the best options for everyday spending.

Alternatively, you could pick a card that waives the annual fee for the first year, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express. This gives you time to test out the benefits before deciding if it’s worth paying to keep it open.

2. Set reasonable goals.

I was more than willing to spend a total of 23 hours in economy if it meant even one leg of my journey could be in Lufthansa’s top-notch first class.

Even though the incredible 100,000-point bonus is no longer available online, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is considered one of the best travel rewards credit cards to ever exist. If you’re new to credit though, you might not be approved for it and similar cards right off the bat. I applied for a lot of credit cards in 2016 — 9 to be exact — and the only ones I was denied for were the ultra-premium ones: the Citi Prestige and the Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card.

Like the Sapphire Reserve, these cards each have $450 annual fees and offer generous benefits such as lounge access and travel credits, and banks want to limit them to customers with more established credit. I’ve been able to get large amounts of credit and multiple cards with very few questions, and the only trouble I’ve run into is with these premium cards. While they offer an incredible value, if you have a limited credit history, you have a lower chance of getting approved for a premium card. Why bother wasting a hard credit pull for a card you’re not likely to get, especially when there are so many other great options on the market?

The same logic applies to award redemptions; the first free trip you take might not be in Emirates first class, but that doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in some luxury. My first card was the Chase Sapphire Preferred, and I wanted to use the sign-up bonus to fly first class from Frankfurt to Delhi aboard Lufthansa’s flagship A380. I didn’t have enough points to book premium-cabin travel for the whole trip, so I compromised and flew to Frankfurt and back from India on paid economy tickets. I still got the Champagne and caviar treatment for a nice 8 hours.

3. Get creative with your spending.

When I opened my first card, the task of spending $4,000 in three months was daunting. There was absolutely no way I could do that on my own just by paying for groceries and restaurant bills. I had to get resourceful. Every time I’d go out to eat with friends, I’d always ask to cover the check and be paid back the next day. After a while, my friends grew to love avoiding the hassle of figuring out how to split the check. We’d just take a picture of the receipt and deal with it when we got home.

Same goes for Uber, concert tickets or any other large purchase you’re making in a group. If your friends have Venmo, getting reimbursed will be as simple as tapping a few buttons — much easier than figuring out how to split checks at the restaurant. Be sure to check out this TPG post for some more creative ways college students can leverage their every day expenses to meet signup bonuses.

4. Ask for help.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card rewards you for adding an authorized user — and this can also help you meet the spending requirement for the sign-up bonus.

Depending on which card you pick, three months of groceries, Ubers and meals out might still not be enough. If you suspect that’s the case, consider talking to your family before you apply and ask if they’d be willing to help you out. If they agree, add them as an authorized user and ask them to charge their everyday spending to the card and simply pay you back before your bill is due.

The best part? You might even get bonus points for adding an authorized user! Adding an authorized user helped me meet the spending requirement on the Chase Sapphire Preferred, but be careful: while every dollar spent on an authorized user card will count toward your minimum spend for the sign-up bonus, you’re ultimately responsible for paying the bill, so make sure you only add people you trust.

5. Time your applications around purchases you’re already planning to make.

This one seems obvious, but let me illustrate just how easy it can make your life. My girlfriend recently got accepted to a study abroad program in Sydney. She knew she was going to have to book flights, probably about $1,000 worth. She opened her first travel credit card, the Chase Freedom Unlimited, and used that to buy her tickets. Since the card’s sign-up offer is $150 (or 15,000 Ultimate Rewards points) for spending $500 in the first three months, she earned her entire bonus on a single transaction.

Even better, she used the authorized user card she’d ordered for her dad to make the purchase — i.e., she typed his name in on the payment page instead of hers — and ended up earning another 2,500 points, for a total of 17,500 on a purchase she was going to make already. That adds up to 17.5 points per dollar for buying plane tickets, which is an unbeatable return. Lots of big purchases can work here. If you know you’re going to be buying a new laptop or cell phone, spending money to furnish a new dorm or apartment, or buying expensive textbooks at the beginning of the semester, consider applying for a new card 2-3 weeks in advance so you can leverage those purchases toward your sign-up bonus.

6. Have a clear goal.

It’s easy to jump at good offers and just start aimlessly collecting points, but it’s hard to stay efficient without a clear goal in mind. Whether you want to travel across the country or cross an ocean, spend some time picking a destination and calculating how many points or miles you’ll need to get there. That way you can start to really understand the value of each point as a fraction of the ticket you’re trying to book. If you’re at all like me, you’ll start to get antsy every month, waiting for your statement to close and your points to post so you can see how much closer you are to that trip of a lifetime.

7. Automate the process.

Credit Karma provides a free weekly report and an explanation of factors that could impact your credit score.

Between midterms and clubs and jobs and parties, you’re probably noticing that your life is busier than it has ever been before. I’ve found traveling to be one of the best ways to relieve that stress, and free travel to be hands-down the best way to relax. The last thing you want is to add another responsibility to your to-do list, so take every step possible to minimize the work associated with carrying a credit card.

The first and most important step is setting up autopay. Since payment history counts for a whopping 35% of your credit score  — the largest of any category — you want to make sure not to be late on a single payment. Otherwise you’ll find that the interest charges and the damage to your credit score from late payments outweigh any rewards you’re earning. Autopay is your savior here, as on all major credit cards you can set it up to pay your statement balance in full each month. Of course, if you enable this feature you need to be sure there’s enough money in your banking account to cover each bill, so only do this if that won’t be an issue.

Now that you’re working to build your credit score, it’s also your responsibility to monitor and protect it. There are a few free apps out there that make this process easier, like Prosper Daily, which will notify you of any suspected fraudulent charges. and Credit Karma, which will give you weekly updates of your credit score along with a breakdown of what factors are affecting it. Discover also lets anyone (including non-customers) check their score for free.

Bottom Line

This past year has been fun for me. Really, really fun. I’ve taken incredible trips that would have otherwise been financially prohibitive, and I’m not stopping anytime soon. I’ve had to adapt, going from 0 credit cards to 7 in nine months, and I’ve had to do it quickly. But the most important lesson I’ve learned is that there are offers out there for everyone, whether you have a perfect credit score or none at all.

Just because certain cards or flights may be out of reach until you get a little momentum going doesn’t mean there isn’t incredible value to be had. Pick your battles well, have a plan and watch those free trips pile up faster than you can figure out how to use them.

What are your favorite tips for building credit and collecting points and miles as a college student?

Featured image courtesy of UpperCut Images via Getty Images.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Even after the introduction of the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is still a fantastic choice if you want to avoid the Reserve’s $450 annual fee, earn 2x on all travel & dining and earn a 50,000 point sign up bonus.

Apply Now

More Things to Know

Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $625 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®

Named Best Credit Card for Flexible Travel Redemption - Kiplinger's Personal Finance, July 2016

2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.

Earn 5,000 bonus points after you add the first authorized user and make a purchase in the first 3 months from account opening

No foreign transaction fees

1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs

Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For example, 50,000 points are worth $625 toward travel

No blackout dates or travel restrictions - as long as there's a seat on the flight, you can book it through Chase Ultimate Rewards

Intro APR

N/A

Regular APR

16.49% - 23.49% Variable

Annual Fee

Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $95

Balance Transfer

5.00%

Recommended Credit

Excellent Credit