#the universe has decided that higher education isn’t for me
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Title: Route 613
Pairing: Reader/Namjoon, Reader/Yoongi, Reader/Vmin
Summary: Reader wants to be the very best Pokémon trainer there ever was. Her first stop in that journey is Paldea University home to a myriad of higher education. Still working to get over her ex boyfriend, Yoongi, reader forms new connections while making a few questionable decisions along the way. Each battle bringing her closer to the glory she's always dreamed of. Will she succeed in becoming champion or will outside forces stop her from achieving her goal?
Word Count: 5.3k
Disclaimer: Real life ages mean nothing in this fic. Refer here for ages and my shitty graphic
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Chapter 4
Jimin’s room is dark when you open your eyes. It takes you a moment to remember where you are and how you got here. There is nothing you want to do less than wake up and talk about this. Maybe that makes you a coward, but at this moment you don’t care. So you carefully move out from under Taehyung and Jimin’s arms until you can get off the bed. Still drunk, it takes pure skill to not fall over as you get dressed.
Thankfully, you are able to get out of Jimin’s dorm without either of them waking up. You see a few texts from the girls but decide to answer them later. As long as you answer by morning no one will worry too much. Right now you just want to fall asleep in your own bed but, of course, fate isn’t on your side and your ex is sitting by the Uxie statue staring up at the stars. He looks closer to the man you were in love with. It’s almost like he’s going back to how he used to be. To others his face might seem expressionless, but you can see the subtle displeasure on his face.
“Y/N, I thought you might be here soon.” Yoongi says, not looking directly at you. “Is what Yunjin said true?”
Your heart drops knowing there is only one thing that Yunjin could have told him about tonight. Why is she going around telling everyone what she saw? Especially your ex boyfriend. Does she have no common sense? You get that she thinks they are friends but that doesn’t mean she should go around spreading your business. No one else needs to know. The conversation you are going to have with her tomorrow is not going to be nice.
“What did she tell you?” You ask standing in front of him waiting for him to look you in the eyes.
He pauses, squeezing his hands into fists on his thighs. Yoongi takes a deep breath and releases his tensed hands. He looks back to the stars trying to find words.
“Don’t make me say it.” He finally looks into your eyes. Absolute heartbreak is easily readable on his face and makes you want to scoff. Why is he still holding onto his feelings when he is to blame? You don’t give him what he wants because he lost that privilege a long time ago. After several almost painfully long seconds he says, “Did she catch you fucking Jimin and Taehyung?”
Has he forgotten the time since he left? Where does he get off thinking this is something he gets an opinion on? He is the last person in the world that should be talking to you about this. Yoongi knows all too well that he doesn’t deserve to know, but he’s worried about you. Behind the layers of what he had to do is immeasurable regret. He knows there is a chance he could do everything in his power and still never be able to hold you like he used to. But if there is any chance at all of course he is going to try.
“Yes, and it was so fucking fun!” You emphasize the last three words wanting to throw it in his face. If he’s going to act like this he deserves it. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business, though.”
“Who are you turning into?” His tone sounds disgusted but his face stays fairly neutral.
That comment enrages you to the point you are wondering why you are even entertaining this conversation. Maybe, you should walk away but you don’t. Drunk words spout from your mouth without a second to think about them.
“I’m not turning into anything!” Your irritation is clear in your tone. “We can’t stay 17 forever, Yoongi. You decided to break up with me and now you need to deal with that. My life didn’t just stop because you left, but it did stop being your business when you left me.”
“Y/N, I never wanted to leave you.”
You scoff and roll your eyes letting your head fall back. How many times is he going to say that before he tells you what happened? This is ruining your night. What is happening right now is exactly what you were trying to get away from tonight. Why would you be able to go a night without thinking of Yoongi? That’s far too much to ask apparently.
“Okay, then tell me what you were ‘protecting’ me from.” You cross your arms over your chest after curving your fingers into air quotes around the word protecting.
His head falls into his hands and he takes a deep breath. Yoongi’s fingers pull at his hair before he straightens up and answers you.
“I was really ready to tell you everything, but I can’t anymore. Things aren’t as simple as they used to be.” It seems like every time he’s talking to you it's something to this effect. You want closure so it will be easier to stop thinking about him, but he won’t provide you with that. “I had to leave, it wasn't my choice.”
“If I really meant something to you, you wouldn’t be acting like this.”
His face falls and you can clearly see how deeply those words hurt him. With that you walk away listening to the way he continues to call your name. You ignore him and he doesn’t follow you. While you are glad he doesn’t, it makes you wonder how much he truly cares.
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Loud banging on your door wakes you up in the morning. Sunlight is streaming through your window. You get up far too fast and feel dizzy from the way your head is pounding. A glimpse of messy hair and clothes not in the right place catches your attention as you walk to the door. Whoever is out there better have a really good reason. This is so not what you need right now.
“Y/N!” Hiyyih calls from the other side of the door.
Relief floods your body knowing you don’t have to face Jimin and Taehyung just yet. Hiyyih would let you know if she is here with someone else. You unlock the door and let it swing open to reveal a Hiyyih who looks to be in no better shape than you.
She is holding two cups of coffee and doesn’t even say hi before walking into your room. Hiyyih takes a long drink of her coffee before sitting down on your couch. You close the door before joining Hiyyih on the couch. She hands you the second coffee and you gratefully take a sip.
“I’m so sorry for ditching you last night.” You say once you’ve swallowed the delicious coffee she chose. When did she learn your coffee order? “I’m not someone who does that.”
“Don’t worry about that. I was fine.” Hiyyih waves the thought off. “I’m more worried about how you are doing.”
You recount what happened last night leaving out the graphic details. If she wants those you are sure she’ll ask later. She listens carefully without interruption. Her eyebrows scrunch together when you mention leaving Jimin’s dorm. Was that not the right move? Should you have stayed there until the morning?
“Then when I got back to the courtyard Yoongi was sitting by the fountains. Yunjin told him what she saw. He asked me who I was turning into and spouted some shit about how he never wanted to leave me. Then I decided that was enough and came back here.”
“Fuck him.” Hiyyih says face falling into a scowl. She takes a deep breath before continuing. “Don’t let him make you feel bad just because he can’t get two hot guys in one night.”
The two of you laugh even though you know Yoongi could if he wanted. He just doesn’t want anyone but you and that could be turning into a major issue. Why couldn’t he have just stayed away? It would be one less thing for you to stress over.
“What am I going to do about that? I can’t pretend it didn’t happen.”
For a moment just the sound of Hiyyih sipping her coffee fills the room. She is thinking of how she can help you. Sleeping with your friends is definitely not the smartest idea you’ve had. Especially, one who is in the same club with you and your ex. Maybe sticking by Hiyyih’s side all night would’ve been a much easier night, but it wouldn’t have been quite as thrilling.
“Do you want to do it again?”
You contemplate the question. It was fun and felt incredible but you wonder if someone else could make you feel the same way. Who knows if they would even want to do that again. You aren’t even sure if it’s something you want. Sober you never would have done that.
“I think I would rather stay just their friend. They seem more into each other anyways.”
This doesn’t surprise Hiyyih. You’ve all seen them kiss each other. Trying to understand their relationship will just give you a headache. That is not something you particularly want to be involved with.
“Just tell them that. I have a feeling they won’t be offended.” Hiyyih pats your shoulder before standing up with a sympathetic look. “I’ll let you deal with that. I’m going to walk with Riot.”
“Have fun.” You say then take a drink of your coffee.
Riot is Hiyyih’s Sableye who she’s had for just over a year. She takes her pokemon for walks often and more often than not that leads to some wild battles. It’s a nice adventure for both of them. That is something you want to do more of in the coming months.
Your stomach grumbles so you reach for the basket of treats Namjoon gave you. After opening a piece of chocolate you see a note poking up from the bottom. You pull it out carefully, unfolding it to look at Namjoon’s easy to read handwriting.
Y/N,
Happy Halloween! I hope you have fun tonight! I really enjoy the time I get to spend with you so sorry for being a little MIA this week. I’m always available if you need another study buddy or someone to show you the best places to swim with your pokemon. I know you’ve been having a hard time lately but that doesn’t mean you aren’t a great trainer. Battle Strategy majors usually have a harder time acclimating than other students. You can do this!
Namjoon 🌱
A smile creeps onto your face and you laugh at the way you feel your cheeks flushing. Namjoon is sweet beyond comparison and is picking up on the things you aren’t even talking to him about. The tiny sprout he drew next to his name makes you smile even wider. How can a man so tall and handsome be so endearing at the same time?
You think about sending Namjoon a text but decide on a shower first. Maybe a nice long shower will help you sort out the events of Halloween. Last night replays in your mind as you try to scrub away your hangover. Was walking into that side room the best idea you’ve ever had? Probably not, but it was one of the best spontaneous things you’ve ever done. People tell you often that you need to relax more and maybe they are right. If you spend too much time worrying about your decisions it will distract you from what you came here to do. The sooner you confront the situation the better.
What surprises you even more than your spontaneity is that you stood up to Yoongi. Maybe you are changing, but that’s not a bad thing like he makes it seem. When it comes to your ex you usually walk away from situations like that. It's not that you don’t want to confront him; a lot of the time you want to scream until he gives you the answers you want. Walking away is less emotional baggage for everyone so that’s what you do most of the time. Keeping the peace, you guess. He is making it difficult to do that. So straightly telling him how you are feeling is the only way to show him how little you want him around.
Someone begins pounding on your door as you are slipping into sweatpants. Your hair is wrapped up in a towel and you wish you could go back to sleep. A sigh leaves your mouth as you amble towards the door. If you had to guess, Jimin and Taehyung are on the other side of the door. Your suspicion is confirmed when you hear Taehyung speak.
“Maybe she’s still sleeping. Let’s just go.”
You pull the door open just as Taehyung is beginning to drag Jimin away. They both turn their eyes towards you. They both look you up and down but no one says a word as they silently file into your room. They sit on either side of your couch and you sit in between them. Just like last night.
“I don’t know how to start this conversation.” Jimin mutters before continuing a little louder. “Let me just get straight into how I feel.”
“Okay.” You say when he doesn’t immediately continue.
Taehyung squirms in his seat like he’s uncomfortable in this situation. To be honest, you would rather be stung by a Beedrill than to be having this conversation. But you don’t want to lose them as your friends so you need to have this conversation.
“I had a really good time last night. Like probably the best threesome I’ve ever had and I would do it again…” Your cheeks flush at his words but you also feel a sense of pride. Though he hasn’t told you directly about his other experiences you are sure they are numerous. He pauses and you know there's another part to that sentence.
“I’m sensing a but?” You question watching Jimin’s face pinch up as if he’s anxious to let all his thoughts out.
“Yes there’s a but.” Jimin runs a hand through his hair. “But as hot as you are and as hot as that was I would rather have you as my friend than let things get out of hand.”
So it was good enough that they would want to have sex with you again, but they don’t want you to catch feelings. You might be offended if it wasn’t Jimin and Taehyung. Part of you knows they mean any one of you could get carried away.
“I agree with Jimin, being with you was really good but how Jimin and I do things doesn’t work for everyone or even most people.” Taehyung says, fiddling with his navy blue sweatpants, only briefly making eye contact with you when saying how good it was. “It can be confusing for other people and we don’t want to lead you on in any way.”
Jimin and Taehyung care about your feelings. It’s lucky you ended up with them last night instead of someone random. If you ever decide to do something like this again you’ll have a better perspective because they aren’t afraid to talk this out with you.
“I’m sorry for sneaking out on you. I know that probably made you think I regretted having sex with you, but I really don’t. Honestly, it’s the most fun I’ve had in months.” You let the words tumble from your mouth before you can regret them and both of their shoulders visibly relax at your words. You let your vulnerable feelings out trusting they won’t use them against you. “I needed a minute to process alone. Before you two Yoongi was the only person I’d ever been with. So, I don’t really know how to do this.”
“Really?” Taehyung questions placing a hand on your shoulder in his shock. “Honestly I never would have known. You really know what you’re doing.”
Your hands cover your face suddenly shy from the compliment. Taehyung squeezes your shoulder giggling at the effect his words have. Hearing those words from him really boosts your confidence. Of course, Yoongi has told you many times how much he enjoys how you can make him feel, but it feels entirely different hearing it from someone else. It would’ve been more worrying to you if you couldn’t make Yoongi crazy. To this day you know him better than you know anyone else in this world.
“It’s funny that you’re being shy now like my dick wasn’t in your mouth a few hours ago.”
“JIMIN!” You and Taehyung shriek in unison, heads whipping towards him.
Jimin laughs so hard he doubles over and falls off of your couch. When he straightens up, getting back on the couch, a worried look crosses his face.
“Did Yunjin say anything to anyone?”
“Unfortunately.” You sigh deeply leaning your head back against the cushion. That’s another conversation you are going to have to deal with later. It would be easy for you to stop talking to her if she wasn’t Chaewon’s girlfriend. Not that you don’t like her. You believe she is a genuinely good person and that she isn’t intentionally causing you problems. Her friendship with Yoongi just complicates things. It’s shitty she said something to him but as drunk as she was you might have done the same thing. “Yoongi was waiting by the fountain when I came back.”
Taehyung and Jimin rush to comfort you. One arm from each man wraps around your shoulder and they scooch closer. Your heart reacts stupidly, but it makes sense it would beat wildly with handsome boys touching you.
“Are you okay? What did he say?” Jimin asks, rubbing his small fingers into your shoulder.
“Do we need to fight him?” Taehyung asks no hint of a joke in his tone.
“Tae no! You are not fighting my ex.” You lean forward letting them rub your back as you explain what happened. Unlike Hiyyih they don’t stay quiet. Before you can get to the part about him saying he never wanted to leave you they interrupt with their thoughts.
“What does he mean, who are you turning into? Please, don’t let his words get to you. He doesn’t deserve to make you feel bad when he’s the one who left you.” Jimin says, clasping your chin for just a second to make you look into his eyes.
“Yeah! He’s just being a jealous dickhead.” Taehyung replies with much less grace than Jimin and you look towards him almost laughing. “You are allowed to express your desires however you please and that’s none of his business.”
“Thank you, now if you’ll let me continue…” You carry on to tell them how you stood up to him and they pat our back proudly. You end with something you didn’t say to Hiyyih. “I don’t want to believe he’s being malicious in not telling me because I’ve loved him for so long. There must be a reason. He is not the kind of person that does this.”
“If he tells you then he tells but wondering and worrying about it when he says he can’t tell is only going to hurt and distract you.” Jimin says softly and it’s exactly what you need to hear at this moment.
“You’re right.” You stand removing the towel wrapped around your head. “Let’s get some food before I talk to Yunjin.”
They nod, pulling out their phones to keep themselves occupied while you change. Several minutes later you are dressed in a light sweater and blue jeans with freshly blow dried hair.
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You finally look at your phone after lunch and see a few messages from Yunjin. She’s apologizing but wants to see you in person so she can do it properly. After Taehyung and Jimin leave, you tell her to meet you on a bench between two buildings.
“Y/N.” She says as soon as she approaches. Her long hair is tied up in a messy bun and she looks like she hasn’t slept all night. Yunjin takes a seat beside you and continues speaking. “I know you’re probably mad at me and I know what I did is really fucked up. I’m so sorry. I swear I didn’t seek out to tell him. He showed up and it slipped out when he asked where you were. I drank way too much and I feel awful about it.”
“I’m not mad at you.” You say not meeting her eyes. It’s the truth because there is no use being angry at her. Like you told Taehyung and Jimin you don’t think she did it to be a mean girl. “I think I probably would’ve done the same thing if I was that drunk. As much as I wish I could just go back to how my friendship with him used to be I can’t. It’s hard for me to think of him as a friend.”
“It’s not easy for him either.” She says softly. “I’ll try to be more considerate of everyone’s feelings. I really didn’t mean for anything to happen and Yoongi is sorry for what he said. He sent you some messages.”
For a few moments you sit there in awkward silence before she bids you goodbye and walks away. You pull out your phone to look at the messages Yoongi sent you.
He barely deserves a response in your mind so that’s all you give him. Lost without you is such a dramatic way to say he misses you. It seems like he’s doing just fine actually. He’s made friends and isn’t holed up in his room constantly as far as you know. You take a deep breath and try to clear your mind.
You continue to sit between the buildings as you answer more messages. Your mom wants photos of your costume and you send her the few you got with your friends. It takes you a moment to decide what to send to Namjoon. In the end you decide on a simple message then shove your phone into your pocket.
Your feet lead you out of Mesagoza into the tall grass of the forest. For about an hour you switch between your pokemon letting them battle any wild pokemon you come across. They are enjoying the battles and get more confident as time passes. Just a little more time is spent focusing on Sriracha and Pixie. Since you haven’t been their trainer for very long more goes into battling with them.
Eventually you stumble across Hiyyih sitting on a large blanket with her pokemon playing close by. She turns when she hears the rustle of leaves under your feet.
“How’d it go?” She asks patting the space next to her inviting you to sit down.
“Better than I thought it would. It’s refreshing how willing they were to just talk about it instead of avoiding me.”
You pause for a moment watching Riot push a shiny ball around. When you continue you tell her about the conversation you had with Yunjin and show her the messages from Yoongi. A sour look takes over Hiyyih’s face as if she had just smelled something nasty.
“Lost without you.” Hiyyih scoffs and you can tell her mind is on the same track as yours. “Who does he think he is? If he really cared he would find a way to tell you whatever this big secret is.”
“That’s what I’m saying!” You say throwing your hands up in frustration. “Sometimes I wish he had never come back.”
You release your pokemon from their balls and they cautiously start playing with Hiyyih’s pokemon. For several moments you watch the pokemon without a word. It’s peaceful to just sit here with Hiyyih after the chaos of last night and this morning.
“Do you want to come home with me next week?” Hiyyih says, leaning back on her elbows letting her long hair flow in the gentle breeze. “Every year since Kai became champion we do a sibling photoshoot for Vogue Paldea. I was thinking Jimin and Namjoon could come too. Lea has wanted to meet them ever since I told her about Namjoon watching her live.”
“Yes, let’s do it!”
Traveling to another city is exactly what you need right now. You can’t wait to see the place that raised Hiyyih.
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On Tuesday Professor Oak has a special guest waiting in his office when you arrive. Half of the Psychic gym duo is here. Eunchae and Shua Hong are siblings that run the Psychic gym in Alfornanda together. For many years their parents owned and ran the gym, but when Shua turned eighteen he took over. Eunchae is nine years younger than Shua so she didn’t join him as co-gym leader until she turned fifteen three years ago. They are the only double gym battle in the region and have historically not been easy to defeat. The Hong siblings are the second to last gym leaders a trainer usually takes on before challenging the elite four.
Eunchae is standing in front of the Oak's Club with a sweet smile on her face. She’s wearing a very casual outfit compared to what she posts on her instagram. Just a cropped hoodie with an Abra picture printed onto it and a pair of black leggings with white shoes. Her dark hair is pulled back into one braid down her back.
In just a few months you’ll be battling her and her brother. In a few months you will be strong enough to take on Eunchae and Shua together. Strong enough to beat them and every other gym leader. Your training and bond with your pokemon will be put to the test.
It would be a lie if you said you weren’t just a little starstruck seeing this gym leader in front of you. Gym leaders are celebrities to you. Not all of them have instagrams but you follow all the ones that do. It’s interesting to see what they get up to when they aren’t taking on hoards of overly confident trainers.
“Welcome Oak’s Club.” Professor Oak says from his seat behind his desk. He gestures towards Eunchae with a proud smile on his face. “I’m sure you all know who this is, but please introduce yourself.”
“Hi! I’m Eunchae Hong, one of the psychic gym leaders.” Her eyes sweep over the four of you before she continues. “Professor Oak brought me here to talk about my experiences. I’m the same age as two of you so there’s a lot we can relate to with each other.”
You can’t imagine what she thinks she has in common with you and Yoongi. Nothing about her life has seemed normal since she took on the role of gym leader. Her life isn’t just waiting around to battle trainers. Each gym leader and champion is also tasked with helping keep their part of the region safe from potential threats.
“I’m sure you all know the story that’s been told a thousand times about my brother taking over when he turned eighteen and how I joined him when I turned fifteen. What I don’t talk about often is the strength and hardship I had to go through to prepare myself for that role.” She takes a seat in the extra chair Professor Oak brought in for her before continuing. “In some ways I put my childhood on hold knowing that I had to step up and help take over my parent’s gym. Since I was a small child I have loved pokemon. I grew up watching my parents challenge trainer after trainer and knew that someday I wanted to do that too. My parents made it all look glamorous and easy, but that wasn’t my reality.”
She takes a deep breath before continuing. You wonder if she’s nervous speaking in front of people. Not every gym leader is outgoing and ready to be perceived by the public constantly. Especially not speaking like this. You can think of a few Paldea gym leaders who would much rather let their battling speak for them.
“Especially when I first started training. It took years before my first pokemon consistently listened to me and even then our bond was not as strong as it could’ve been. I watched other trainers and studied harder so I could find the best way to love and strengthen my pokemon. There were times I thought about giving it all up, but pokemon mean too much to me. It always came easier and quicker for Shua and not just because of our large age gap. It made me envious but it also lit a fire within me.”
“You mentioned training in other regions to me when we first spoke. Did being in different environments help diversify your skill set?” Professor Oak asks, folding his hands together on his desk.
“The gym leaders of Kanto have always been very welcoming to my family. Professor Oak mentioned you’re visiting them next month and I’m excited to hear how that goes.” Eunchae smiles before continuing. “Every trainer has their own way of doing things. So battling as many people as possible really helped me find my own strengths. The best trainers are ready and prepared for any possibility.”
Eunchae talks about relating to the Kanto gym leaders more than some of the other regions. The majority of them are in their mid to late twenties. Two are just a year older than her and one is much much older. You wonder if she’s seen the elusive leader of the ground gym. He’s rarely seen and when he is it’s always with a mask.
“What was the hardest battle you’ve ever fought?” Yoongi asks when she opens herself up to questions.
“When someone becomes champion part of their duties are to check up on the gym leaders of their region. Shua calls it quality control. Kai will pop in randomly to make sure our gym meets the standards of the Paldea Pokemon League.” She smiles like she’s thinking of a fond memory and not a battle that she surely lost. “Last year he popped in and asked to battle us separately. Honestly, I was scared because I didn’t want to bring shame on my family. I fought hard for much longer than I expected to be able to hold my own. Of course, he bested me because he’s Kai Huening but it wasn’t a blowout by any means.”
“What is the typical diet of your pokemon?” Jimin asks a few moments later after she’s also described how nerve wracking it felt the first time she faced a trainer as a gym leader.
Eunchae is incredibly insightful and stresses that just because these things work for her team doesn’t mean they will work for anyone else. You can buy all the high end supplements in the world and still be a mediocre trainer. Bonding with and loving your pokemon is just as big a part of having a strong team as what you feed them.
As time passes talking to Eunchae feels easier like she’s truly just another classmate and not something you’ve been aspiring to be all your life. You are shocked to learn she knows Hiyyih and they are pretty close friends. She knew Eunchae was coming and didn’t even warn you. Before you leave she asks for your phone number which shocks you.
“I’m excited to battle you this spring, YN.” She says handing you back your phone.
There’s still so many variables to get you there. The winter tournament won’t be easy. Handling your classes on top of training won’t be easy either. You want to plan everything out so you can always be one step ahead but things don’t always work out the way you want them to.
“See you then.” You say mustering all your confidence.
#fanfiction#bts fanfic#kim namjoon#min yoongi#bts smut#yoongi x reader#namjoon x reader#bts#bts fanfiction#route 613#raes fics
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Need some advice from someone not invested in the situation,so don't mind the vent:
My mother is hell-bent on my returning to complete a degree programme that I was in when I was a teenager (17 or so). Here's the thing though. I was so unhappy doing this programme that I couldn't even go to class without getting anxious or wanting to throw up. Grades-wise, I was fine, I suppose(the pass mark for this particular degree was a B, so 60%). But I grew to hate the programme itself because my anxiety was through the roof.
So, my Registrar saw the state I was in and suggested that I take a break and do an unassociated(heh) Associate Degree till I got myself together mentally. As of currently, I'm the top student in that particular Associate Degree and having a great time(and my anxiety's practically non-existent).
Here's the issues though. My mother hates that I've "downgraded" myself by doing an Associate Degree and continues to insist that I was "tricked" into doing it by the Registrar(who was genuinely trying to help). So,to fix my supposed "mistake", I should immediately return to the original Bachelor's Degree I was doing and complete it (despite the visceral trauma it caused me) because "everyone else in your age group has Master's Degrees and PHDs and you have nothing to show" (I'm 22).
But the thing is, why not get a Bachelor's Degree in a different subject area? I'm not opposed to higher education at all,but she's so fixated on the original Bachelor's Degree (in STEM) that I was doing that she can't let it go. She brings it up every chance she gets. I could be drinking a glass of water and she'll find a way to bring it up. Going so far as to say that it's what God wants me to do(I'm sure God wouldn't want me actively having panic attacks while doing what He supposedly wants me to do, but I digress).
So,yeah. What do I do? Where do I even go from here? If I make suggestions about an alternate path,she'll either ignore me, talk over me or segway into talking about my original Bachelor's Degree programme and how I should be graduating right now.
(Sorry for the long rant. Kinda don't have anyone to get my feelings out to IRL.)
unless you live in a weird mensa cult I don’t think people your age have masters/phd’s. people my age don’t have phd’s and only those in specific fields (usually teaching or social work) have masters and im 28.
also i have a little anecdote that while may not provide answers, can offer some perspective. when i was in college i took a feminist studies course and in that class was a 72 year old woman. i initially assumed she was just auditing the class (ie taking it for fun) but she explained to me that she was finishing her degree. i asked her what made her decide then and she told me “sure, i couldve gone back ten years ago or even twenty years ago. but that wasn’t where my journey was taking me.” point being, your journey is yours alone
there isn’t really anything you can do about your mom if you still live with her or are otherwise financially dependent on her except stay the course until you’re able to get out on your own or something like that. im assuming you’re not american based on some spelling, so i don’t really know the university system there so i could be off base
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Wishing the bestest of birthdays to the lovely @accio-broom ! 🥳🎂❤️
I wrote a little Muggle uni drabble to celebrate, enjoy!
Strawberries 🍓
Hermione heaves a sigh of frustration that’s just a bit too loud for the library, hoping her agitation reaches its intended target. This library is her favorite of the several on campus—it’s quiet compared to the main library, it’s not far from her class buildings, and it has a coffee shop right there on the bottom floor. The downside, though, is that it has far fewer computer stations, and she’s been waiting for an open bay for nearly twenty minutes now.
She’s not the only one with work to do; she knows that. But one student in particular is the subject of her ire. While the others are hard at work, their screens displaying research, or documents, or complicated calculations, she can see over his shoulder that he’s been playing a game since she arrived. That would be annoying on its own—a gross misuse of university resources—but the fact that it is currently delaying Hermione’s own task has her seeing red.
A quick glance at her watch shows that it’s now been closer to thirty minutes, and she decides enough is enough. Hermione hauls her rucksack onto her back and marches over to the computer station to confront the redhead.
“Excuse me?”
The boy swivels his chair around, and Hermione is met with the bluest eyes she’s ever seen. “Yes?”
“You’ve been using this computer for a while now, and I was hoping that you might let me use it,” Hermione began. “You see, I have this paper to work on.”
“How do you know I’m not working?” he responds, and Hermione gawks at him. Up close, his little farming game is on full display, rows and rows of cartoon fruits and vegetables and livestock, and Hermione snorts.
“You’re very clearly not.”
He shrugs and spins his chair back around. “That’s your opinion.” Hermione opens her mouth to argue, but he points at the screen and continues, “This is a lot of hard work. See, if I don’t harvest this corn in time it will wither up and die, and then what would I feed my cows with?”
Hermione takes a deep breath and taps her foot to the rhythmic click of his mouse, trying to channel her irritation into the movement. “Fine, so when you finish harvesting your corn, can I have the computer?” She huffs as he begins another task. “What are you doing now?”
He throws a grin at her over his shoulder. “Planting strawberries. Here, I’m sorry. What’s your name? I’ll send you a sheep for your troubles.”
“What am I to do with a digital sheep?”
“Make digital blankets.”
“Look, this is really not funny,” Hermione hisses, her patience waning. “I have a paper to work on—“
“So you said.”
“—and you are—“
“A sociology major working on a research topic about students’ tolerance for inconvenience in their educational pursuits.”
Hermione narrows her eyes at him. He rattled it off so quickly that she’s not sure whether to believe him or not. “You just made that up.”
“How do they react when their favorite coffee shop is out of the blend they like? What do they do when there are no tables left in the dining hall?” He pauses and spins the chair back around to face her. “You have a higher tolerance than most. The other day, this bloke and his girlfriend were having an argument so loud even the librarian got involved, but you never looked up from your book.”
“You’re studying me?” Hermione isn’t sure whether to be creeped out or flattered.
He shrugs in reply. “I just notice things. But I’ll be sure to make a note—FarmVille on the library computer is crossing the line. Zero tolerance.” He closes the game and stands up from the chair. “All yours.”
“Thank you.” Hermione takes the empty seat and inserts her thumb drive to open her paper. She only needs to check a source before she continues, and she’s done in five minutes. Of course, by this point several of the other computers have been vacated as well. Figures, Hermione thinks as she grabs her backpack again.
As she stands, she sees the redhead sitting at the table nearby. Now that she’s done what she needed to do, her annoyance has fizzled, and she can’t deny she’s curious.
He looks up as she approaches and gives her a crooked smile. “I’m Ron, by the way.”
“Hermione.” She studies him for a moment. “Are you really a sociology major?”
“Let me buy you a coffee, and I’ll tell you,” he says with a grin. “The shop downstairs. Nothing inconvenient, of course.”
Hermione laughs, not sure what to make of this handsome stranger. “Okay. You’re on.”
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Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about stupidity.
Its nexus with hatred, that is.
The connection was amusingly evident last month, when when a 34-year-old woman named Ruba Almaghtheh, shouting “Free Palestine,” plowed her Chevy Impala into a building in Indianapolis associated with the “Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge,” a black supremacist sect whose ideology is based on animosity toward white people and, in particular, Jews.
Ms. Almaghtheh, a Muslim native of Jordan, told officers at the scene that she had been watching coverage of the war in Gaza before driving into the “Israel school” and, according to the arrest affidavit, she “decided to [crash] into the building on purpose because she observed a symbol [a star resembling a Jewish one]… on the residence…”
Nice going, Ruba!
Another contender of the Dumbest Hater prize, heretofore the “Ruba,” is Benjamin Burton Brower Jr., 30, who faces felony charges of his own after surveillance cameras at the Salvation Army church and soup kitchen in Altoona, Pennsylvania, recorded him in broad daylight taping razor blades to the hand railing at the building’s entrance.
He was fingered because, according to the Altoona Police Department, he was “shirtless during the incident and identified by a large red swastika tattoo on his chest.”
Not the brightest wolf in the lair.
Then, of course, we have the utter ignorance displayed by college students whose minds somehow permanently deleted the events of October 7 and absorbed a mindless “pro-Hamas” mush in the guise of supporting Palestinian aspirations.
Chant along with me: “From the classrooms to the quad, minds have turned to sod.”
Comedian/commentator Bill Maher well expressed the student mind-muddle at some Ivy League universities with a memorable metaphor: “If ignorance is a disease, Harvard Yard is the Wuhan wet market.”
He went on to note “how higher education has become indoctrination into a stew of bad ideas, among them the simplistic notion that the world is a binary place where everyone is either an oppressor or oppressed—in the case of Israel, oppressors being babies and bubbes.”
None of which, of course, is to say that all anti-Semites or all anti-Israel “activists” are stupid. There are plenty of high-IQ haters. But, when one notes their justifications for their prejudiced positions—wild notions and conspiracy theories, especially about Jews—and their ready acceptance of demonstrable lies as facts (and, concomitantly, their total ignoring of actual facts), the inescapable conclusion is that, stupid or not, what they spew is stupidity.
And what they often reveal is simple ignorance.
A recent survey of college students who sympathize with Palestinians showed that less than half of the students who embrace the “from the river to the sea…” slogan, which Hamas used in its 2017 “revised” charter, were able to name the river and the sea they were shouting about. (Some 10% of those surveyed, moreover, identified Yasser Arafat as the first prime minister of Israel.)
And then there is the ignorance of the definitions of the words “genocide,” “apartheid” and “terrorism.”
Genocide, as defined in 1948 by the United Nations Genocide Convention, refers to “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” Considering that, from 1990 to 2022, the Palestinian population increased from 1.98 million to 5.04 million people, Israel is sure doing an uncharacteristically bad job of genocide.
There’s only one genocidal actor in the current war, and it isn’t Israel.
Apartheid was South Africa’s racist system of institutionalized segregation from 1948 to the early 1990s. The government forbade blacks from marrying non-blacks. Hospitals and beaches were segregated. Education opportunities for blacks were restricted.
Israeli law mandates, and its independent courts ensure, the equal treatment of all the country’s citizens, Arab and Jew alike. Israeli Arab citizens serve as ambassadors, legislators, journalists and academics. Not to mention that the Knesset includes an Islamist Arab political party, or that Arab citizens of Israel have been elected to every Knesset since the state’s founding.
And terrorism refers to violent actions intended to, well, instill terror, rather than to achieve a military objective. The Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 was terrorism. The al-Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, were terrorism. The October 7 Hamas pogrom was terrorism. Israel’s current war is an attempt to prevent terrorism.
So much stupidity and ignorance. It will be hard to decide who wins the Ruba.
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♡ ... hello everyone !! and thank you so much for all the welcomes! i’m fifi and i bring to you my beloved muse, choi sumin ! i was in lgc a few months ago with two other muses, but sumin here is completely brand new and i’m super excited to bring her here and to get things started for her!! sumin has only been in lgc since jan ‘22 so everything is still quite new to her and she’s a lot like an excited puppy of sorts !! she also rly rly loves idols ( esp lgc idols!! ) i’d love to plot with everyone so please like this post and i’ll jump straight into your ims or you could always follow me on twitter ( @mysticgfs ) – i’m usually active on both!! i also have a brief profile up of sumin here for anyone interested ♡
underneath the cut you can find some info about sumin as well as some basic plot ideas!!
sumin’s parents aren’t particularly well to do. her mum is a home maker and her dad is a bus driver. she also has a younger brother who’s currently attending elementary school. she’s very close with her family, particularly her younger brother, and they’re all a very loving and supportive family
her mum was an ex-singer from the early 90s who released one album and never got popular. but it’s sumin’s favourite album and she listens to it when she gets homesick
she’s always liked singing as a kid and would participate in school festivals just to get the opportunity to sing!!
sumin is very very loving, almost to a fault. but she really adores the people around her and she’s the type who’ll pour her heart out
with that being said, she’s terrible at hiding how she truly feels, and always wears her heart on her sleeve. mostly because she was raised that way. she’s also doesn’t shy away from expressing how she feels and is the type to actually burst into tears if you play a sad movie
she really loves idols !! was a fan of idol groups and decided to audition for lgc because she liked idols and so much!
has a hard time saying no to pretty much anything, so she can be a bit of a push over – it’s honestly because she’s a people pleaser
likes to bake, so she’ll probably bake for her friends. she’s also currently attending university, since her parents still wish for her to get her higher education
some plot ideas!
sumin isn’t particularly good at dancing, so maybe someone who can help her out with it? she’d be really thankful!!
since sumin has only just recently joined lgc, maybe a more senior trainee could’ve taken her under their wing. sumin would probably follow you around, and try to learn the ropes from you!
friends !!! sumin needs lots of friends! she will shower you with love and baked goods and will try her best to cheer you up
( idols / senior trainees ) an idol or a senior trainee that inspired sumin to audition for lgc? since sumin was such a huge fan of idols before she joined, maybe she was your fan and you’re one of the reasons she decided to join lgc!
friends from high school – maybe your muse attended the same high school as sumin and were friends from back then!
friends from uni – a muse that’s a trainee at lgc and also attending the same uni as sumin! you could be someone she confides to and likes to hang out with
sumin is honestly pretty easy to manipulate... so if your muse needs someone to manipulate, she is ur girl...
alternatively: someone who thinks that sumin is too easy to manipulate so they’re like wtf is wrong with this girl!! she can’t survive like this out here!! and decide to protect her from time to time
( male only ) exes? someone sumin briefly dated, but things went sour. probably because sumin got worried that she couldn’t concentrate on training... or something else! we can plot more in detail about this!
sumin is currently trying to get better at playing the piano so maybe your muse could help her out with that!
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Blog Post #2: Family Structure and Function
Family is a huge aspect of Swiss culture and family is cherished and put first in most situations. Personally, I believe everyone’s family structure is different, but that is when culture steps in, it can be a huge part of what builds the structure within the family. In Switzerland, on average families typically have two children and both parents particularly work to support their family. It is common in more traditional countries for gender norms for the women to stay home and take care of the children and run the household. It was reassuring to read that in Switzerland that parents act as a team and are considered equals in that sense. Switzerland is a very interesting country, and a family dynamic can be completely different between a family that lives in a city and families that live in a more rural community closer to the alps. Some of the families that live in rural communities tend to live in a multi-generational households, so living with grandparents is common. Language is vitally important in Switzerland, it is common and required for children to learn multiple languages. For instance, my cousins that live in Switzerland know about six different languages, this is important because Switzerland is surrounded by many countries in Europe. The most common languages spoken in Switzerland are English, French, Italian, and high dialect of German.
Having both parents working in Switzerland it is very common for parents to hire outside help such as nannies to help raise the children. Hearing my personal family stories, my great grandparents lived in Switzerland in the early 1900s the women would typically stay home with the children and take care of the house, and it was common to have more children compared to today. That didn’t mean the women didn’t work, for example, my great-grandmother was a successful midwife and helped other women start and grow their families by helping them during the birthing process. All the stories I’ve heard about her made me believe she was a remarkable woman that saved many babies, considering those rough times of the great depression and World War 11. As residents in Switzerland age, it is common to move the elderly to townhomes or apartments where it is more accessible for them. Elderly adults during the pandemic experienced loneliness, which was common all over the world due to the elderly being at high risk for Covid19. As I mentioned earlier it isn’t uncommon to see multi-generational housing in certain parts of Switzerland as well. As for the younger generations, it is encouraged for young adults to gain higher education, especially seeing both parents having careers in most cases. It is also required for men to be part of the Swiss military from 18-30 years of age.
In my family’s experience, migration was a huge change in my family back in the 1950s. My grandpa along with two out of his five brothers decided to come to America with the hope to find their American dream. This was very common during this time with Europe recovering mainly from World War 11. Being the “heart of Europe,” Switzerland’s economy changed immensely during that time. That led to massive amounts of residents migrating to other places just like my grandpa and my great uncles did. Over the past 10-15 years, Switzerland has experienced increases in migration. This kick-started especially in 1991 when the Soviet Union fell. Migration has continued to increase starting from 2010 to today. As for globalization, Switzerland has experienced the greatest economic benefits from globalization. Switzerland was ranked the 2nd most globalized nation studied by the Prognos consulting firm and by the Bertelsmann Foundation and was published in the University of Zurich Index. Switzerland in the study showed GDP per capita from globalization growing on average by €1,190 per year between 1990 and 2016.
Works Cited
The Aspect Foundation. (n.d.). Switzerland. Aspects of culture - Switzerland. Retrieved https://aspectfoundation.org/host/switzerland.html#:~:text=The%20Family%20A%20typical%20Swiss,well%20they%20are%20doing%20financially. (Accessed September 8, 2022)
Swissinfo.ch. (2018, June 8). Switzerland Sees Greatest Economic Benefits from Globalization. SWI swissinfo.ch. https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/gdp-per-capita_switzerland-sees-greatest-economic-benefits-from-globalisation/44176350 (Accessed September 8, 2022)
MacroTrends. (n.d.). Switzerland Immigration Statistics 1960-2022. https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/CHE/switzerland/immigration-statistics (Accessed September 8, 2022)
Macdonald, B. (2020, December 1). Well-being and loneliness in Swiss older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: The Role of Social Relationships. OUP Academic. https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/61/2/240/6015545 (Accessed September 8, 2022)
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8.09.2022 - Complicated Feelings
Today is Tuesday.
I am writing this super early in the morning because I just couldn’t fall asleep. I woke up after sleeping for about 2 hours, but it seems like I have a lot on my mind. Before I address those complicated feelings, I would like to give a quick update:
1. I am now a student at the University of Denver, and I will be pursuing a Masters of Science in Data Science. Classes will be starting Sept. 12.
2. I have a job, but it’s more of a for fun one and allows me to have extra spending money.
Back to what this post is really about. I broke up with my boyfriend of 5.5 years at the beginning of May this year because I felt like our relationship had become very one-sided, and I was putting in all the effort to maintain it. I also felt that he didn’t “love” me the way he use to, and that realization came with a new friend I had made online. My ex and I met in college when I was 20 and he was 21, and we were both relatively new to dating. I really enjoyed our relationship, and I have no regrets dating my ex. I broke up with him, but we did it on amicable terms. I think that he just didn’t know that he was losing interest in our relationship. Another big factor that contribute to our break-up was the fact that we were in a long distance relationship between the US and Hong Kong so COVID really lessened the time that we saw each other and talked. There was also the fact that I was focused on getting higher education, and he had a demanding full-time job. There were other cracks too like he wouldn’t call or message me, he wouldn’t tell me what he was up to, and he would spend time playing games rather than talking to me, but tell me he is busy. He was also saying things that made it clear he was done with our relationship, but he just didn’t know it. We also had a lot of arguments about his inattentiveness, and it just didn’t change so I chose to end it.
Now that I have added some context, I will circle back to how my online friend helped me realize that it was time to end my relationship and move on. This is the start of my complicated feelings. I met this friend around Oct of 2021 through a video game, and we were just gaming friends. I’ve never met him in real life, and we did not talk much one on one until around April of 2022. We spent a lot of time talking about a lot of random things outside of gaming once we started talking, but it was all friendly. We even talked about our romantic relationships, but I did not tell him about all the issues I was having in my own relationship at the time. He made me realize simply that if someone wanted to talk to me then they would. I have never met this online friend in real life, but he would talk to me everyday about the most random things which I really enjoyed. I think it was really enjoyable because we had a lot in common, and this realization really put a nail in the coffin for my relationship with my ex. I did not enjoy talking to my ex nearly as much as this friend, and I felt like I only wanted attention from him because he had the title of “my boyfriend”. That’s when I decided I should just end it because I was only holding onto our 5 years together and memories, but it wasn’t the same anymore.
On to the next order of business, and why I am probably awake after only 2 hours of sleep. My online friend for the first time since April has ignored me for a whole day, and yes, it is weird. We have talked everyday since April, but we barely exchanged 10 words today. This isn’t exactly something that happened suddenly though. Last night, I had called him after gaming because he had been a dick to me randomly for the past few days, and I wasn’t really happy about it. He told me that he had a lot going on since he had gotten COVID and his brother got shot in the face during a road rage incident. He apologized and told me that he didn’t really know how to process everything and that he didn’t mean to make me upset or take it out on me. I knew about the incident with his brother prior to me calling him out though, and we had spent all his COVID quarantine together playing games and watching anime and Korean dramas together. I enjoyed our time so much that I actually hadn’t played many games with my irl friends. He also told me that he would most likely distance himself from me simply because that’s how he is. He didn’t know how to handle everything and just kept apologizing to me even though I reassured him that I was only trying to understand why he was lashing out randomly.
Here is more background information on my relationship with my online friend and things that we do together that will make the complication more understandable. We both acknowledge each other as best friends, and I believe that I was the one who started this because I wanted to make it clear I was not interested in a relationship after my break-up. He also stated that he was not interested in a relationship after this previous ex had cheated on him so I felt like we were on the same page at the beginning. As our relationship deepened, we began to flirt (?) more, and we did more things that made us seem like a couple, and this was to the point where my little sister had asked me if something was going on between us because we spent so much time together. Some things that made my sister question our friendship, our messages (flirty ones), staying on the phone all night, sleeping on the phone together, staying up all night watching anime and dramas together, and the fact that we both acknowledged that talking to each other had become such a big part of our daily routines that it felt really weird and unusual if we didn’t talk. Note: he didn’t say much to me today after our altercation. First off, I am fucking sad that he didn’t even message me back today, but he did say some words to me while we played games. I would like to confidently say that I have a crush on him, but we have never met in-person (I know what he looks like, and we have face-called). Some issues I have with him though is that he tends to bottle issues and problems up as much as possible and push people way which he acknowledges that he does due to childhood trauma, but I am someone who values all of my friendship so I like to get to the bottom of things. I am not sure what I should do now. I don’t want to push him too hard. Do I give him time to process what happened to his brother? Do I continue to message him in support? Do I not send messages because he isn’t responding? Am I being over-bearing? I am just not sure what I can do, but I know for a fact that I am an important person to him. I think the biggest thing that really pushed me to acknowledge my feelings was a trip we had planned. I called him one night recently to just have our usual late night talk, but then we started planning a trip together because I am going to see my sorority sister soon. He was being cute and whining about how our time together would be limited due to my trip, but he was excited for me. In response to this and his suggestion for a friendship sleepover, I suggested that I just take another trip to see him for a week during my winter break, and we could hangout in-person for the first time. I did this not expecting much because he had become super anxious after getting cheated on, and he wasn’t very fond of seeing me irl or so I thought. He started by making jokes about how I should just stay for a day or half a day or even just fly over his house which I responded with “okay, maybe I just go for 3 days instead of a week”. This is where I was shocked with his response. He responded to me with a “you hate me” which he does anytime I do something he doesn’t want, and I think it’s pretty funny. I told him fine, I would stay for a full week, and he said he would take the whole week off of work and house me as well. Quick fucking change LOL. I was shocked because my offer was just another senseless cute thing to add to our conversation. I thought it would just end there, but then we talked about places to eat and hike (we both like hiking). He even suggested we take a smaller trip within this trip to go hiking and eat at a really nice restaurant. This was a place he had previously gone to with his ex so I initially rejected the idea because I’m jealous. It legit sounded so fun, BUT he did it with his ex. I told him “No, I don’t wanna go if you went with your ex”, but he responded with “No, we should go and re-write those memories”. That really got me. I did my best to act cool and accepted the idea. Like.. that is so cute.. and it sounded so fun..
To end this post, my question is now... are we just friends or does he have feelings for me too? I just don’t know what he considers things he would do with a “friend” vs a “girlfriend”. I do my best not to think too much into what he says and take them as face value, but there are some things that are hard not to read into.
-P
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rediscovered that marxist-leninism ABC’s booklet and can now feel that baby fever kicking my ass like never before
#🥺 B is for Bolshie#i’m going to cry#the universe has decided that higher education isn’t for me#so maybe babies are 😈#heheheh#once im properly on disability then i’ll think about it more seriously#bc that with the canada child benefit (which is p high in my province) it’ll be pretty smooth sailing#i’ll still probably get a parttime job of some sort just for frivolous extras#oh now i’ve gotten myself all excited dammit
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TEENAGE FEVER.
pairing: iwaizumi hajime x f!reader, oikawa tooru x f!reader
synopsis: iwaizumi has strung you on long enough and you’re finally at the end of your rope.
genre: heavy angst... like make your heart wrench in pain heavy, one sided pining
warnings: manga spoilers, bad grammar (didn’t know it was that bad until i used grammarly), MATURE themes, drinking, smoking, alcohol, iwaizumi being an asshole (he’s also a frat boy because surprise! frat boys should never be trusted), subtle hints at sex, bittersweet ending
word count: 5.9K
series masterlist
part one | part two | part three | part four
it was evident in the way you weren’t sure how to sway your hips to the beat of the music and the way you awkwardly isolated yourself in a quiet corner of the house, sipping on some soda (since you did not want your first frat party experience to end up with you wasted and throwing up on some stranger) that you were definitely not accustomed to the party life.
“are you sure you’ll be fine by yourself y/n?” your roommate asked you with a concerned look on her face.
“i’ll be fine reina,” you give her a tight-lipped smile as you gesture to the phone in your hand. “i’ll just sit here and chill on my phone until you get back.”
“okay okay, i’ll quit babying you now,” she throws her hands up in the air. “call me if some dude tries to hit on you though.”
“will do, but i doubt with how loud the music is that you’ll even answer,” you playfully roll your eyes as she erupts in a fit of laughter.
the brunette pats the back pocket of her jeans where her phone currently resides at.
“even if i don’t hear it, i’ll feel it.”
it becomes quiet momentarily (besides what you assume is i love it by dean blaring in the background) until she starts to looks around warily before leaning in and whispering something into your ear.
“if a hajime iwaizumi tries to talk to you, try to find a way to get out of the conversation,” she pauses for a moment before continuing. “that guy is seriously bad news.”
“y-yeah, i’ll... do that.” you hear her let out a sigh of relief as she straightens up her posture.
it’s hard to hear what she’s saying from there on out, especially with how obnoxiously loud the music has gotten, but you manage to catch the words ‘friends’ and ‘beer pong’ before she slips away amongst the sea of students and you’re left sitting alone on a couch by yourself with only your phone as entertainment.
you had recently moved to california from japan on an academic scholarship for uci, so when you heard reina mention the name ‘iwaizumi hajime’ it sparked a sense of familiarity within you and piqued your curiosity as to if he was also a foreigner studying abroad.
you’ve only been living in the states for a month now which meant you were still getting used to the strange lifestyle here, so the thought of being friends with someone you could potentially relate to had always been swimming in the back of your mind.
“so what’s a pretty girl like you doing here all by yourself?”
a voice snaps you out of your thoughts as you let out a small shriek and the next thing you know, your phone flies out of your hand, hitting the person that just sat down next to you.
“ow!” he cries as he clutches his forehead in pain.
“shit! i’m sorry dude!” at this point you’re scrambling around, not sure where to put your hands as you wave them around haphazardly.
“you know, it’s not nice to throw your phone at someone who's trying to make conversation with you right?” the stranger says in a whiny tone as he switches over to rubbing the red spot forming on his forehead in an attempt to soothe the pain.
“and you know it’s not nice to sneak up on a girl if she’s alone right?” you scoff. “where the hell did you even come from?”
“my mom’s vagina.”
“i didn’t mean literally!” you growl.
he shrugs before making himself comfortable by resting his arms on top of the couch and spreads his long legs.
“y’know, i don’t appreciate you manspreading and i especially don’t appreciate the fact that you’re confident enough to do so when i have no idea who you are.” you grimace.
“the name is oikawa tooru, introduction over,” he gives you a lopsided grin. “but you can call me tooru if you’d like, apparently everyone calls each other by their first names here in the states.”
“japanese?”
“yeah, but i’m not a student here,” he places two fingers on your cheek and gently pushes your head in the direction of the kitchen where you see some people conversing with each other. “you see the guy in the denim jacket with the piercings?”
your eyes wander around until you spot a boy sporting a denim jacket with piercings, just as oikawa described, but you also take note of how oikawa failed to mention that his friend was absolutely breathtaking: he didn’t have a chiseled face but he did have a nice jawline, his hair was spiky but it was styled properly, but what stood out to you the most was the small patch of permanent ink on his wrist.
and it’s as if the heavens were on your side tonight because just as you were thinking about whether or not the tattoo on his wrist branched into something bigger and more complex, he slips off his denim jacket and the sleeveless t-shirt he had on underneath allowed you to see that his entire arm was covered in numerous quantities of tattoos varying in design and color that blended together seamlessly.
“he’s the one that snuck me in,” he leans in closer to your ear and you can practically feel his hot breath on the shell of your ear which makes you shiver. “it’s funny how much college can change a guy, huh?”
he continues.
“his demeanor back in high school wasn’t too different from how it is now, but it like... intensified after he moved here,” oikawa throws his body back and you’re relieved that he finally put some distance between you two because you weren’t sure how much longer you could take him being so close to you. “dumbass probably got caught up in the wrong crowd.”
“and what are you doing here?” you direct your attention back onto the chocolate-haired boy.
“me? i play for a volleyball team in argentina but i’m just visiting iwaizumi.”
your jaw drops and it’s not at the fact that he plays for argentina, but at the way he says it so indifferently like it’s not a big deal at all.
“wait, what the hell!?” you shake your head and take a moment to recollect your thoughts. “i thought you were a student at another school but you’re telling me you don’t even go to school at all?”
“yup!” he grins. “the season just ended and with the free time i have now i just decided to fly here and visit iwaizumi for a bit, y’know, see how well he's adjusting to the university life.”
“and you should’ve seen the look on my face when i saw him for the first time in 4 years and all of a sudden he has an arm full of tattoos and a shit load of piercings.”
“wait, did you just say iwaizumi?”
“hm? yeah, iwaizumi hajime? you know him? i heard he’s pretty popular around here, but i’m pretty sure it’s for all the wrong reasons though.”
“my friend told me he was bad news...” you say sheepishly.
it’s silent for a moment and you’re worried you might have said something wrong or offended your new friend (could you two even be considered friends? i mean he did pop out of nowhere and started talking to you) but your worries are all washed away when you hear a laugh escape his lips.
“i wouldn’t say he’s bad news, just rough around the edges and has a bad habit of hooking up with girls.”
“you know i don’t appreciate you bad mouthing me behind my back shittykawa.”
a deep voice startles both you and oikawa, and when you turn around to see who the owner of the voice was, your mouth grows dry when you realize it’s the iwaizumi hajime standing right behind you.
“iwaizumi!” oikawa stands up and walks over to the spiky-haired male standing behind the couch before slinging an arm around his shoulder. “i was just making small talk with...”
“y/n. l/n y/n.”
“y/n! a pretty name for a pretty girl,” oikawa winks at you and you roll your eyes at his shamelessness. “anyways i’m gonna and grab a drink.”
oikawa pats iwaizumi on the back before sauntering away, leaving you and iwaizumi to be alone together.
“so, y/n?” his gaze is intense and you can’t help but shift around uncomfortably in your seat at the way he’s borderline checking you out. “you’re not from around here are you?”
“uh yeah,” you scratch the back of your head. “i’m from japan but i recently moved here for university.”
“is that so?” you flinch subtly when iwaizumi plops down next to you but it doesn’t go unnoticed by the male. “relax y/n, i don’t bite.”
his voice is velvety with the right amount of gruffness to it, contrary to his friend, oikawa, whose voice is a bit higher and on the whinier side.
“so... what are you majoring in, iwaizumi?” you ask, attempting to make some sort of small talk with him.
“i’m majoring in sports science, what about you?”
“education,” you answer, suddenly feeling a bit less tense than you were earlier. “i wanna become a teacher, but probably just for primary school, middle schoolers and high schoolers scare me.”
iwaizumi laughs.
“and primary schoolers don’t? i have a little sister and she’s literally the devil incarnate.”
you giggle and you think about how easy it is to converse with iwaizumi, but the warning reina gave you earlier still lingers in the back of your head and so you’re careful not to let your guard down too much.
“so how are you liking california so far? it’s different from japan isn’t it?” he asks.
“well, it’s... different i’ll give you that,” you start playing with your bottom lip subconsciously as it’s a habit that you picked up back in high school. “but my roommate is nice at least and that’s the only that matters to me.”
“i’m also planning on moving back to japan in the future but it’ll only be after i finish university and get my bachelor's degree or something,” you continue.
“taking an internship doesn’t seem too bad either? it’s still a while before i graduate so i wanna try and enjoy my university life before i get into thrown into the real world because i don’t wanna be old and wrinkly and live with regrets— i’m rambling now aren’t i?”
“you’re alright,” iwaizumi smiles. “it’s honestly like a breath of fresh air hearing how you have your life planned out, or at least you have a plan on what you want to do with your life because most of the girls i’ve met or i’m friends with are either undecided or are all about ‘living in the moment’ and while being undecided or having that type of mindset isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just gets repetitive sometimes being surrounded by the same type of people.”
“but you— you’re different from them, i like that.”
you can feel your cheeks starts to heat up and iwaizumi is amused by how you can get so flustered over such a simple compliment.
“thanks... i guess?” you compose yourself and try to cool yourself down by putting your hands on your cheeks.
“so what are you doing here at this party? you don’t strike me as a party animal.”
“because i’m not,” you chuckle. “my roommate dragged me here and i only said yes because i was told it was only gonna be a small get-together, though she didn’t mention anything about the booming music and the alcohol.”
“you a lightweight or something?” he cocks an eyebrow.
“i’m 19, actually, so still not legally allowed to drink,” you state as a matter-of-fact.
“so? i was 19 when i drank for the first time,” he says and you’re alarmed at how he can say it so casually.
“ha, no thanks, i’d rather not accidentally get wasted and throw up on someone later tonight.”
“well, i’ll make sure that you don’t throw up on anybody then,” he stands up and extends his hand out for you to take. “why don’t you come along with me and i’ll fix you up a drink?”
you look at his hand with a wary look in your eyes as reina’s words start to play in your head like a broken record.
‘that guy is seriously bad news.’
“so what do you say, y/n?”
you stare into his brown eyes and it’s almost as if he injected curiosity straight into your veins because the next thing you know, you’re sitting on the counter with iwaizumi standing in between your legs as he’s pouring a bottle of bailey’s irish creme into a tumbler glass for you.
“this is probably the best option for you besides white claw but i’m sure as hell not gonna have you drink that shit especially when it’s your first time,” he sets the almost empty bottle on the counter behind him before handing you the glass, which you reluctantly take. “and i’m not gonna be an asshole and give you spirytus.”
you inspect the liquid by bringing the glass up closer to your eyes and whirling it around a few times in a way that is similar to that of a kid inspecting their halloween candy for poison or blades and it elicits a snicker out of iwaizumi.
“i don’t know... i told my mom i’d move to california to study and be a teacher, not go to parties and practice underage drinking.” you deadpan which only further humors the male in front of you.
“and i told my mom i’d move to california to study sports science, not pierce my ears and get my entire arm tattooed,” he says and you assume that this is his way of trying to coax you into drinking the glass of whiskey in your hands. “i’m sure a little bit of alcohol won’t hurt and i promise you’re not gonna get wasted, take a lick for all i care.”
“fine, but if i accidentally puke all over someone’s shoes then i’m counting on you to pay for dry cleaning.” you say before bringing the glass up to your lips and taking a tiny sip— and to your surprise, it wasn’t that bad.
the taste of whiskey wasn’t overbearing as the taste of cocoa and vanilla overpowered it, but you weren’t complaining as it made it easier for the drink to slide down your throat without you feeling the need to scrunch up your face in distaste.
“not bad right?” iwaizumi smirks and it immediately triggers your fight or flight.
“i haven’t even said anything yet.” you roll your eyes.
“well? what do you think then?”
his hand brushes up against your thigh as he goes to settle them on either side of you, effectively trapping you on top of the counter.
“i-it’s not bad i guess...” your words trail off at the end as you allow your eyes to wander away elsewhere in an attempt to distract yourself from how intimate this position feels.
“y/n,” you turn your attention back towards iwaizumi and your eyes widen at the close proximity between you two. “do you use any lip products?”
“just lip... gloss...” your breath hitches when you notice that he‘s starting to lean in closer as his eyes travel down to your parted lips.
but before he gets a chance to put his hands on you, you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket as realization also seems to hit iwaizumi at the same time and he immediately jerks away.
“uh, i think my roommates calling me,” you jump off the counter and dig into the pockets of your shorts so that you can retrieve your buzzing phone. “i’ll see you around campus?”
“yeah, see you around.”
he watches as you head for the exit and once you’re out of sight, he leans against the counter you were just sitting on a minute ago and lets out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.
“that was so lame of you iwa-chan.”
he turns his head towards the direction of where the voice came from and sees oikawa striding into the kitchen.
“you totally got her wrapped around your finger, don’t you?” oikawa states as iwaizumi chuckles.
“fuck yeah i do,” he brings his hand up for a handshake. “i can’t believe she fell for my ‘you’re different from other girls’ speech.”
“and i usually never go for freshmen since they’re always so damn annoying but y/n... she’s gonna be a fun one to play with.” he adds.
“you’re a real douchebag.” oikawa says as he downs the rest of whatever is in his cup before discarding it into the nearest trash can.
“hey, if i’m gonna move back to japan soon then might as well make the most of the time i have left here, right?” iwaizumi defends himself.
“spoken like a true jackass.” the chocolate-haired male snorts.
“whatever,” iwaizumi rolls his eyes as he runs a hand through his hair. “i’m leaving in less than a month and a half so i’ll hit it and quit it.”
“that phrase is so corny, why not ‘bust a load and hit the road’?” oikawa suggests.
“i am not having this conversation with you right now.” iwaizumi irks before walking out of the kitchen with a mopey oikawa hot on his trail.
“so rude!”
it’s been almost a week now since your encounter with iwaizumi and you have yet to see him around campus. well, it was inevitable as he was all the way on the other side of the school, but deep down you wished you could at least run into him during the course of your week.
you briefly remember reina giving you an earful once you got back to the dorms because you had explained to her the minute you two got back that you met iwaizumi hajime at the party and even met one of his friends.
“y/n, didn’t i tell you that you should stay away from that guy?”
“but he seemed like a really nice guy to me...” you started fiddling with your fingers.
“that’s what he wants you to think, y/n,” she takes a seat next to you on your bed and wraps an arm around your shoulder, patting it soothingly. “i just— you’re new here and from the moment you stepped foot in our dorm i knew immediately that you’re gonna live a successful life and the last thing i want happening is for some college playboy to break your heart and ruin your life.”
your heart couldn’t help but grow fuzzy at her words.
“trust me, if this were any other guy then i wouldn’t mind you talking to them, but hajime is notorious for breaking hearts and ruining lives,” she puts her arms behind her back and uses them to support her body as she leans back. “there was this girl back in my freshman year, half japanese half white, her name was kaori, and i’ve never cared to keep track of any of hajime’s flings but she was the most serious case.”
“hajime and her met the same way you and him did, at a party, and he chatted her up until she eventually gave into those pretty boy charms of his and they started going out. the first few weeks were fine and the entire campus was raving about how this was one of hajime’s longest standing relationships yet and they seemed to be at a good spot in their relationship. but it wasn’t until one day, photos of her nudes were plastered all over the entire school and someone in hajime’s friend group ratted him out and said that he was the one who started sending the photos. obviously the school found out but they couldn’t get enough evidence that hajime was the one who sent her nudes around but since they had to do something, they decided to suspend kaori instead for ‘distribution of explicit content’ and the whole school started flooding her dms with death throats and she was labeled ‘the whore of uci.’ i think she eventually got tired of everything because she disappeared from the school without a trace, like completely disappeared. all her socials were deleted and she deleted her number so no one could contact her at all.”
after reina finished the entire story, you were remembered speechless. sure iwaizumi was a bit on the flirtier side and didn’t hesitate to test the waters, but that didn’t mean that he was completely shameless and disrespected your boundaries. you had a gut feeling that underneath that tough facade of his was a boy who was a normal college student like everybody else and had a goal in mind that he wanted to achieve, but after hearing reina’s story you weren’t sure what to think anymore.
“that poor little thing, she was such a sweet girl and it’s such a shame that she just had to go and get involved with hajime. if she still went here then i’m sure you and her would’ve gotten along,” reina adds. “she kind of reminds me of you in a way, you have this innocence to you that can’t be replicated yet you actually have a spine unlike those girls that throw themselves at hajime. tsk, how shameless of them, throwing yourself at a boy who’s known for tossing girls to the side once he’s down with them.”
needless to say, after that long conversation you had with reina, you’ve started to become more wary of the boy, but an unknown force keeps pulling you back to him.
reina had invited you to another party this weekend and while you were a bit reluctant about accepting her invitation, you thought that this might be your chance at ever seeing iwaizumi again so with your one track mind, you accept her offer without a second thought which now leads you to present time.
you feel a wave of deja vu wash over you as sweater weather blasts from the speakers and you can feel the heavy bass shake up the entire house.
you and reina struggle to nagivate through the crowd all while trying to avoid the couples making out in order to get upstairs where her friends had texted her to meet and you’re glad you’ve gained enough confidence to give her the green light when she asked if you wanted to meet her friends because you’re not sure how much more your eardrums could take.
“it’s right here!” reina knocks on the door three times and just when she’s about to go in for the fourth knock, the door swings open, revealing an all too familiar chocolate-haired male.
“y/n!” he exclaims as he throws his arms around you and reina just barely manages to dodge his long arms.
“hey! you almost hit my fuckin’ face you douche!” she cries. “and who the hell are you? i’ve never seen you around before.”
“oikawa, you’re still here?” your voice is muffled by his chest and you have to muster up all of the strength you have to pry him off of you.
“baby, you’re gonna be seeing me around for a whole month!” you and reina give each other a blank stare.
“first of all, don’t call me baby,” you duck down and it proves successful in getting out of his hold. “and secondly, what are you doing here?”
oikawa pouts at the lack of contact but continues the conversation nonetheless.
“iwaizumi snuck me in again and i’m staying at his place for now so wherever he goes, i tag along,” he points behind him as you and reina peer inside the room. “so what are you guys here for?”
“well my friends told me to meet me here, but it seems like they’re fraternizing with the enemy.” reina scrunches her nose up in disgust and you catch a glimpse of iwaizumi with his arm wrapped around a blonde girl’s shoulder.
“well iwaizumi’s friends are friends of mine and since your friends are iwaizumi’s friends then you’re my friend as well!” oikawa proclaims as he throws his arms around both you and reina this time and pulls you guys in for a side hug.
“let’s head in!” he pulls you guys into the room, not forgetting to lock the door as it shuts behind him.
iwaizumi notices you and you give him a small smile before taking a seat next to reina, oikawa following suit as he sits next to you as well.
“hajime.” reina greets him with a curt nod.
“reina... nice to see you,” iwaizumi says briefly.
“so who’s up for a game of seven minutes of heaven?” the girl who’s in iwaizumi’s arms proposes.
“c’mon! seven minutes in heaven? really? we’re in college now, let’s do something a little more daring!” a boy with black hair shouts.
“fine, let’s play strip poker then!” you hear someone suggest.
all of the girls in the room groan.
“pervert, you just wanna play it so that you can see us in our undergarments.”
“isn’t that the point of the game though?”
“i don’t even know how to play poker.”
“is this your second time at a party?” oikawa leans in and whispers into your ear, not wanting to put all of the attention on your conversation.
“yeah, i wasn’t planning on going in the first place but reina managed to convince me.” you lied straight through your teeth, not wanting to spare the embarrassment of telling oikawa the real reason why you came to the party.
“oh really? what would have you done all by yourself on this fine friday night if you stayed back at the dorms by yourself then?” he questions.
“probably head to the cafe thats off campus and try their new milk bread,” you say bluntly.
“milk bread?” you turn your head a bit and see oikawa trying to stifle a laugh.
you slap his thigh which prompts him to yelp.
“what’s so funny idiot?”
“n-nothing! it’s just... i like milk bread too.”
“really?” your eyes sparkle and oikawa can’t stop the genuine smile that forces its way onto his face. “do you wanna come with me tomorrow to try it then? i was gonna ask reina but she’s going on a blind date or something tomorrow and i don’t wanna bother her.”
“sure, but why me?”
“well i don’t know anybody else here, and you’re technically like my friend right?”
“what makes you think we’re friends?” he says but quickly comes to the realization that it sounded a lot more heartless than he had intended it to.
“sorry that came off rude...” he sheepishly scratches his neck.
“no i get what you were trying to say, but i mean, i consider you my friend so isn’t that enough?”
“geez quit flirting you two!” reina groans as she pushes you and out of reflex, oikawa immediately latches onto your arms so that you don’t accidentally bump heads with him.
“we’re not flirting,” you roll your eyes before muttering a small ‘thank you’ to oikawa after he releases you. “i’m just inviting him out to that cafe that i’ve been telling you about since you’re too busy going on that blind date.”
“hey hey hey! you were to keep quiet about that y/n!” reina loudly whispers as everyone else in the room roars in laughter.
“oops! sorry reina!” you snicker behind your hand.
“oh you’re so gonna get it!” she tackles you onto the floor. “oikawa, hold her down!”
you feel an extra set of hands put your arms down as reina uses her legs to pin your legs down.
“w-wait! oikawa i thought we were friends! don’t—” your words are suddenly cut off and you begin to break into a fit of laughter as reina commences her tickle assault on you.
“f-f..fuck o— AHAHAHAHA..... FUCK OFF R-REINA!” you manage to say in between breaks.
after what feels like minutes of torture, reina finally lets up and you’re free from the shackles that is her and oikawa.
“you’re a traitor oikawa!” you cry as you sit back up, massaging your shoulders to release the tension that had built up in them within a span of 30 seconds.
the said male flat out ignores you though as he turns to face the rest of the group.
“any-who, who’s up for a game of spin the bottle?”
“that’s lame.” iwaizumi finally speaks up.
“you’re lame! don’t make me tell everyone what went down last friday when—” oikawa is about to continue his sentence when iwaizumi suddenly sends him a cold glare that shuts him up.
“scary!” oikawa wraps his arms around you for what seems to be the umpteenth time tonight. “save me y/n!”
you roll your eyes.
“you’re awfully touchy with someone who you’ve only known for a week yet only met twice,” you complain but don’t make an effort to shy away from his touch.
“but we’re friends right? you even said so yourself!” he smirks at the face you make when you come upon the realization that he’s used your own words against you.
“whatever, do what you like,” you mumble against his arms. “i seriously envy your ability to get along with people easily.”
iwaizumi lets out a low growl as he witnesses the scene in front of him unfold. he wasn’t going to let oikawa get to you first when he clearly had his sights set on you from the moment you stepped foot into that party last friday.
he was going to be the first man to make a move on you and what better way to do so than a game of spin the bottle?
“how about,” iwaizumi picks up the half-empty bottle of beer next to him as he downs the rest of the contents inside before placing it flat on the floor in the middle of the room. “a game of spin the bottle?”
“and you think seven minutes of heaven is lame?” oikawa scoffs. “didn’t lara jean play it in middle school in that one flashback in to all the boys i’ve loved before?”
“you watched to all the boys i've loved before?” you ask oikawa.
“hell yeah i did!” he grins. “iwaizumi told me it’s corny but can’t a guy love his chick flicks?”
“you’re so lame!” you giggle, even though you too had watched it.
“have you seen the second movie?” he asks as you two begin to go off-topic again.
“no i haven’t, i heard it was bad so i just never bothered to watch it.” you shrug.
“dude we should watch it together then!” he suggests.
“and if it’s bad then i’m gonna kick you out of my dorm.” you snort.
the black-haired male from earlier clears his throat which prompts you and oikawa to stop talking.
“first of all, oikawa, y/n, get a room, and secondly, let’s play spin the bottle!” he yells.
the first few minutes of the game were boring and the matchups were weird, to say the least: reina had to kiss the blonde girl (you found out her name was genevieve), the black-haired boy (kevin) had to kiss some girl who you recognized was from your seminar class, and then when it came to be oikawa’s turn, the bottle landed on him so he just ended up kissing himself through a mirror out of his own free will (trust me, no one there wanted to see that happen and no one could stop him even if they tried.)
there were about 12 people in the room, 13 including you, and out of everyone there the one person who you would definitely not want to kiss.
iwaizumi.
it wasn’t like you despised him or anything, but after hearing about him from reina along with the girl who had been sitting in his lap this entire night, you really did not want to deal with a target on your back and an enemy acquired within your first month of living in the states.
so when it came down to your turn, you were silently praying to the gods that it would land on anybody but iwaizumi— heck even oikawa would be a better option.
but it seems like lady luck had her smile turned away from you because as the bottle began to slow down, a symbol of your fate being sealed in this very room, it had landed on the one person you did not want it to land on at all.
“y/n, you have to kiss hajime!”
the whole room went silent.
“what?!” genevieve shrieks and the ringing in your ears lingers around for longer than you’d expected. “i am not letting some... freak! kiss hajime!”
“genevieve, y/n is not a freak,” reina defends you, oikawa following up with a ‘yeah! she’s not a freak!’ as well. “you literally just met her and you’re just mad you don’t get to kiss him.”
“and while i’m not too... happy with this either, rules are rules.” the brunette continues as she sends a disapproving look iwaizumi’s way.
“well, pucker up buttercup,” iwaizumi picks genevieve up off his lap and scoots over to you. “i’m about to make it up to you for last week.”
he leans in closer and you shut your eyes, preparing for whatever is about to come next.
his lips are soft in a way, and what’s supposed to be a quick smooch turns into a full-blown make-out session as he starts to deepen the kiss by holding you from the back of your head, tangling his hand within your hair, and tilting his head to the side for more leeway.
you try to push him away but it proves to little avail as the grip he has on your waist with his other arm is too strong. your hands mindlessly find purchase in his brown locks as his tongue swipes along your bottom lip, asking for entrance. at first, you’re hesitant, but when you open your eyes and you see him staring into your e/c orbs with that alluring look in them, you can’t help but part your lips just the tiniest amount as if to test the waters, but it proves to be more than enough room for iwaizumi to easily slip his tongue into your oral cavity, turning the kiss into battle for dominance.
he tastes like a mix of beer and mint, a strange combination but he makes it work somehow.
the hand he had on your waist trails further downwards and finds a resting spot on your thigh and you can’t help but let out a small moan at the way he starts to rub the sensitive part of your thigh as his hand inches dangerously closer and closer to your core.
it’s only when you start to hear whistling and the ‘get a room!’ comments that you remember that you’re still in the middle of a game of ‘spin the bottle’ and that there's an audience watching as you two shamelessly make out.
this doesn’t seem to faze iwaizumi, however, but the adrenaline in your body aids in your attempt to push him off of you and once you’re completely free from his grasp, you immediately make a beeline to anywhere else but this cursed room.
“y/n!” you hear oikawa and reina call after you but you would rather die than spend another minute in that godforsaken room— especially not after iwaizumi embarrassed you like that in front of everyone.
part one | part two | part three | part four
#iwaizumi hajime#iwaizumi x reader#iwaizumi x you#iwaizumi x y/n#iwaizumi angst#iwaizumi smut#haikyuu#haikyuu x reader#haikyuu x you#haikyuu x y/n#haikyuu angst#haikyuu smut#haikyuu fanfic#haikyuu ff#iwaizumi ff#hq#hq x reader#hq x y/n#hq x you#hq angst#hq smut#oikawa x reader#oikawa x you#oikawa angst#oikawa#iwaizumi#oikawa tooru#oikawa smut#volleyball#oikawa x y/n
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Can I ask, if it isn't too personal, how hard it actually is to get a job (and what kind) after studying polisci and English? Because I think I want to do that but my parents are quite skeptical about job prospects, and they'd much rather I do something in stem. No pressure tho obviously! Thank you
The thing is, a lot of people end up in a career that’s totally unrelated to their major (probably more commonly those of us with liberal arts or social sciences degrees, although I know a guy who has a Masters in Physics and he worked as a movie theatre projectionist before becoming a manager there 🤷🏻♀️), so choice of major is not necessarily a great predictor for employability or what career path(s) you might ultimately take. Also, I feel like things are much more fluid now and it’s really not uncommon to see people retraining to switch careers after 5/10/15 years, because they want make lifestyle adjustments or for other reasons.
Personally, I think it’s better to pursue something academically that will sustain your interest and curiosity during your studies. I chose those particular subjects because they were the ones I enjoyed most and excelled at in high school. Rightly or wrongly, I wasn’t thinking too much about my future career prospects. Even when I graduated I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, beyond that I had no great desire to teach or work in government/civil service 🥴. Applying to a corporate graduate recruitment program didn’t appeal either. In the UK, they’re hugely, hugely competitive, and I just didn’t want to put myself through the ringer, plus I kind of lacked the cutthroat ambition to go that route anyway. For a while I temped in a series of entry-level office jobs until I figured out my next steps.
Around this time I was getting into web design and front-end coding - completely self-taught - and I eventually decided to go back to university for a postgraduate diploma in that area. The work I do now (UI/UX designer; I’m tangentially in STEM!) has absolutely nothing to do with my Bachelors degree, but what I would say is that there are transferable skills in terms of research, critical thinking, written and verbal communication, all of which are desirable to employers, regardless of industry. Plenty of practitioners in UX and Service Design come from other academic disciplines or different walks of life. In fact, it’s positively encouraged to bring in a more diverse set of perspectives and experiences. In the same design team, I once worked with someone who majored in Psychology and another who had a Masters degree in Ecology & Sustainable Land Management. It was only the two most junior designers who had any ‘formal’ design education. My point being, there isn’t only one route into a particular career. False starts, trial and error, or a complete change of direction can be formative and are not bad things by any means. Imo, there’s way too much pressure on teens and young adults to decide what they want to do in life, because unless someone had a burning ambition from an early age to become x, y, or z, how can anyone possibly know beyond a vague “I like art” or “I’m good at maths” or “chemistry is cool”?
I mean, I do understand your parents’ concerns. For many, higher education is a costly investment and they want you to have plentiful job opportunities and not to struggle financially. But, trust me, there’s no impediment to making a good living by choosing a non-STEM major - and it also largely comes down to what your own definition of “good” looks like and your criteria for personal/professional fulfilment.
Not sure if this is the case where you are, but over here university degree programs typically publish stats on what graduates went on to do, career-wise. That might be a good place to start to get an idea of what options are out there, see what appeals to you, and you can share that info with your parents too, to reassure them that you’ve done your research and are making an informed choice, whatever you decide. Also, if there’s a careers advisory/guidance service available to you then that would be an excellent source of information to tap into. Good luck!
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dance me to the end of love (i)
word count: 4.3k
warnings: fem!oc, cursing, potential spoilers for the west wing if you've never seen the show
series masterpost: here
a/n: hi!! i am so incredibly happy to finally be putting this fic out into the world. it means an awful lot to me and i can't wait to share the little world i've created :)) x
Magdalene is content with where she’s ended up.
Denver is wonderful. Her friends are there, her cat is there, and it’s the perfect place for a fresh start. She arrived in the city nearly six years ago – a wide-eyed University of Denver freshman and has stayed put ever since. Her hometown of Aspen holds a few too many bad memories, but is close enough that she can return if an emergency calls for it. So far she hasn’t left, too engrossed in finishing her degree and moving on. There’s a job offer lined up with the university’s library upon graduation that Magdalene is ecstatic about. It means she gets to stay right where she is – where she’s comfortable.
☼☼☼☼
The sun might be shining as she exits her apartment building, but it’s cold for March. Magdalene pulls the thick scarf her best friend Bette got her for Christmas higher up her face and walks as quickly as possible to campus. There’s a brief meeting to attend with her advisor before grabbing lunch with Bette, and then her plan is to spend the rest of the day holed up in the library working on her thesis. It’s due in two weeks, with the defence in just over a month, and Magdalene is incredibly nervous. Though she’d gone through submitting her undergraduate thesis two years ago, presenting her master’s research was going to be a lot harder. She’s heard through the grapevine that the committees are being tough this year and she doesn’t want to fail.
Dr. Williams is waiting for her in his office with a smile on his face. He’s a tall man, with thin facial features and wire glasses that box him perfectly into the intimidating professor stereotype. “Miss Stevenson, please sit,” he gestures to the chair across from him.
“Gerald,” she sighs, “You can call me Magdalene, I don’t mind. Besides, it makes you quite the hypocrite if you insist I call you by your first name but you won’t use mine.” There’s no malice in her voice, just a decent amount of teasing.
The older man scoffs but concedes. “I suppose you’re right. Well then Magdalene, tell me, how are your final edits coming along?”
Magdalene spends nearly twenty minutes detailing all the elements she has tweaked since their last meeting, from the title to the citation style. She’s out of breath by the time she’s done, rambling at an impressive speed, and takes a big gasp of air while the professor mulls over her words. Dr. Williams doesn’t say anything, causing Magdalene to shift anxiously in her seat. “Sir, is there something wrong?”
He shakes his head. “Absolutely nothing,” he beams, “Everything is perfect. It’s a shame you don’t want to continue researching. You’d make a fabulous academic.”
The compliment makes Magdalene’s heart soar. It means a lot, especially coming from the person who has seen her cry over the oxford comma. “Thank you sir, but I belong in the practical realm. Someone has to file all the documents you obsessively scan.”
She leaves the building soon after, promising to stop by after she drops off the final draft in a few weeks. It’s a bit later than she expected and hopes Bette won’t be mad. There’s nothing the blonde hates more than poor time management, but Magdalene prays she’ll understand. It wasn’t that long ago and Bette was scheduling her own appointments with advisors on how to graduate. Barn Owl Book Company is located halfway between the school and her apartment, making it the perfect spot to meet. In addition to being a used book store, Barn Owl sports one of the best cafés in downtown Denver. Bette is perched delicately at her friend’s favourite seat, a bay window converted into a small nook, and typing furiously on her phone.
“Sorry I’m late,” Magdalene apologizes, “Williams talked a lot more than I expected him to.”
Bette looks up and smiles, shoving a cup in the other girl’s direction. “As always. How is he?”
Sliding into the booth, Magdalene fills her friend in on what’s been going on in their former professor’s life. Bette graduated with a minor in Classics, and it was Magdalene's major, but the former decided not to further her education and is instead doing full time charity work for the Colorado Avalanche. Her boyfriend Tyson is one of their star players, and the two of them are so smitten it makes Magdalene sick. Conversation quickly turns from school to life, which she’s grateful for.
“So,” Bette says, “Are you in for the trip this summer? I’ve got to confirm the reservation in a week or something.”
“I don’t know Bee, I'm going to be the new girl. Asking for time off like two months into the job would be rude.”
“Linny,” the blonde whines, “Please? I want you to come.”
Magdalene scowls. Bette knows just how much the nickname sours her mood but she chose to use it anyway. “Don’t call me that,” she snaps with quite a bite. “Can someone else take my spot if I decide not to go a little closer to the date?”
“Of course! Gravy said he’d fill an extra spot if one comes up so we don’t lose the deposit,” Bette blabs before trying to switch gears entirely. Magdalene cuts her off.
“Who’s Gravy?”
If her friend is exasperated by Magdalene’s lack of knowledge surrounding hockey, she doesn’t show it. Bette calmly explains that Gravy, who’s real name is Ryan, is a defenceman with the Avalanche and a good friend of Tyson’s. She also makes a point of mentioning that he’s single, to which Magdalene rolls her eyes. Bette has a masterplan for her life – which includes her best friend becoming romantically involved with an Avalanche player so the two of them can live the better half life together. As the best friend, Magdalene is constantly barraged with potential players who are looking to date. Once she went on a few dates with Mikko, but that ended fairly quickly when the two realized they were better as friends. Every time since she’s turned Bette down as gently as possible, not wanting to get involved with anyone. Her life is just starting, and Magdalene wants to be secure before settling down.
The conversation eventually shifts to what Magdalene plans to wear for both her thesis defence and graduation. Bette is fashion savvy, while Magdalene is decidedly not. Her everyday wardrobe consists of collared button-downs and sweater vests, which is supposedly never going to back a comeback, according to Bette at least. The blonde eventually wears Magdalene down, and secures a position as stylist for the graduation ceremony. There was an attempt at the thesis defence, but the other girl insists she needs to be as comfortable as possible on such a stressful occasion.
A glance to the clock on the opposite wall has Magdalene stretching her arms and giving an apologetic glance to her friend on the other side of the table. “I should go,” she says. “I’ve got to put in some serious work on my citations today, and you know Caligula doesn’t like it when I’m gone all day.”
Bette rolls her eyes, but there isn’t any frustration behind the gesture. “I swear to god Mags, your cat has more separation anxiety than I do. Speaking of, I’m supposed to pick Tyson up at the airport and I’m running behind.”
“Tell him I say hi,” Magdalene says as she wraps her arms around Bette for a quick hug.
The two girls part ways on the sidewalk, with Magdalene heading back to campus and Bette sliding into the sleek Audi she shares with her boyfriend. Headphones find their way into her ears, and Magdalene listens to a random comedy podcast. Once tucked safely inside the library she’ll put on her favourite lo-fi playlist and concentrate, but for now she just enjoys the funny anecdotes of stories past.
It’s quiet in the library for a Tuesday, though Magdalene isn’t complaining. Her favourite table, the one she swears up and down is the only reason she ever gets anything done, is open, and she all but sprints to place her bag on the worn leather chair. While setting up her work station a few of the librarians come over to offer their congratulations for her upcoming job. News certainly travels fast around here, Magdalene thinks, but accepts their generosity with a smile on her face. They leave her alone soon enough and the tedious work of double checking the formatting of every single citation in the sixty-five page paper begins.
Hours pass, and Magdalene stays working in the library until as late as she possibly can. Caligula is going to start to worry about the length of her absence soon and his anxiety response of knocking over plants is not a mess she feels like cleaning up. She packs up her laptop and walks the short distance home as fast as possible.
“Little boots, I’m home,” Magdalene parrots in a sing-song voice as she slips her jacket off her shoulders and onto the hanger. At the sound of his nickname, the small cat bounds into the entryway. “Hi darling, did you miss me?” Magdalene gets an obnoxiously loud purr in response that she takes it as a yes. She reaches down to pick up the tiny animal before continuing further into the apartment, scratching behind his ears as she does so. The two of them settle into the respectably sized couch, where they stay for the rest of the night watching reruns of The West Wing before Magdalene falls asleep.
☼☼☼☼
“You fucking did it!” Bette shrieks as she bounds towards her best friend. Magdalene braces herself for the oncoming assault, and manages to keep them both upright after Bette jumps into her arms.
Her thesis defence had just finished, and the committee found Magdalene a worthy candidate for the Master of Information Science qualification. The presentation itself was open to the public, so Bette and Tyson sat in the front row to support Magdalene, but were escorted out for the conversation that followed. The two girls had developed a code so the news could be shared in a subtle way, though Bette threw the original plan out the window as soon as she saw her friend give a sneaky thumbs up when the conference room door opened.
“Congrats Mags,” Tyson says sincerely, doing his best not to add to the growing spectacle, but Magdalene can tell he wants to give her a bone crushing hug.
“Thank you,” she smiles softly, “And thank you guys for coming. It means a lot.” As two of her closest friends, both Bette and Tyson know that her family situation is rocky at best, and having them act as her support system means more than she’ll ever be able to articulate.
The couple shares a knowing look before engulfing their friend in a hug. “We’re always going to be here for you,” Bette whispers, “No matter what.”
Magdalene’s smile is so genuine it crinkles her eyes as she wraps her arms around Bette and Tyson’s shoulders and leads them out the door and into the sunshine. The group continues to the parking lot, where they climb into Tyson’s car and drive off campus in the direction of Magdalene’s favourite restaurant. Though she had tried to convince her friends they didn’t need to celebrate, she failed, and Magdalene soon finds herself laughing hysterically over a plate of carbonara as Tyson tells a story about the shenanigans the team got up to on their last road trip.
There’s a game tonight, and Bette has somehow convinced her into attending. Magdalene knows she should go, expand her social horizons a little, but all she wants to do is curl up in bed and sleep for three weeks. Her one condition is that she can go home straight after the game without being guilted into following the group to whatever nightclub they’ll celebrate the win or drink away the loss in. Tyson has to get ready so he drops the two girls off at Magdalene's apartment complex. She’s in charge of getting Bette to the rink, and she’ll leave with her boyfriend after the game.
Once inside the confines of her home, Magdalene promptly lies on the floor. “Holy shit,” she sighs, “I did it. I fucking did it.”
“You did!” Bette says as she lies down beside her best friend. “I’m so fucking proud of you, and Tyson is too. Even if he won’t tackle you in public to prove it.”
The comment garners a laugh from Magdalene, which alerts Caligula to the presence of others in the apartment. He pads over the rug currently being occupied by two adults, and snuggles into the small space between them. Bette and Magdalene continue to lay there, petting the cat and looking back fondly on all the times Magdalene called her friend in tears because she didn’t think she could push herself any farther. Bette was always there to pick up the slack, editing whatever section Magdalene was working on or to bring over a hot meal. Her support earned her the top spot in the acknowledgements section of the thesis.
Ball Arena is already crawling with people when Magdalene pulls into the small lot for player’s and their families. Normally she parks with the general public, but Bette insists they watch this game from the better halves box, and these spaces are closer to that entrance.
“Stop dragging your feet,” the blonde chastises as Magdalene takes her time cutting the engine. “I want to get a glass of rosé before they sell out.”
Sighing, Magdalene follows her orders. “Don’t you have a special bar in the box?” she asks while locking the car.
“Yeah, but the other girls are absolute fiends. They’ll drink it all before we get there with no remorse.”
The girls climb the stairs to the better halves box, Bette chatting excitedly about the game, but Magdalene stops just before the entrance. She’s met most of the others on multiple occasions and has nothing to worry about, but she can’t help but feel anxious. Her life is so different than everyone else’s in the space, and it feels like cheating when she’s there because she isn’t romantically involved with anyone on the roster. Bette likes to joke that she’s her better half, but Magdalene knows it’s said just to calm her nerves.
“It’ll be fine,” Bette whispers while squeezing her hand, “And if you get too uncomfortable we can find some seats in the nosebleeds.”
Once inside Magdalene’s nerves dissipate. Most of the other wives and girlfriends pay her no mind, but the ones that are especially close to Bette congratulate her on passing her defence. It warms her heart a little, and the small group Magdalene finds herself in settles down to watch the game unfold.
It’s a fairly intense one between Colorado’s division rival St. Louis. Both teams are fighting for first place in the conference, and a win for the Avalanche would put them three points ahead of the Blues instead of one. Players from both sides are amped up, and more than once a scrum at the net has turned into a dog-pile. Colorado is outplaying the other team, but have still managed to find themselves a goal short heading into the final period. At the buzzer Tyson takes the face-off and is immediately shoved by a member of the opposite team. He goes down hard, and Bette squeezes Magdalene’s hand so tightly she fears it will lose blood flow. Silence falls over the arena as Tyson doesn’t immediately get up. The inside of lip finds its way between her teeth and Magdalene bites down hard, worried about her friend. She’s so focussed on Tyson that she doesn’t notice a fight breaking out.
“Holy shit, Gravy is going to town!”
The remark is made by someone Magdalene recognizes as Gabe Landeskog’s wife, and it makes her peel her eyes off of Bette’s worried features and scan the ice for some action. Sure enough, a very tall man is laying right hooks to someone who looks significantly smaller than him on the Avalanche blue line. The referees let the fight continue until Tyson drags himself off the ice and onto the bench before separating the men and throwing them in the penalty box. Magdalene can tell words are still being exchanged from both sides of the glass, but she’s more focussed on the fact Tyson doesn’t make his way to the dressing room – a good sign that allows Bette to drop her hand and let out a shaky breath.
Nothing of great importance happens until MacKinnon ties the game with seven minutes left. It happens while the Avalanche are short handed, and the goal seems to light a fire beneath the team. Magdalene may not know much about hockey, but she’s smart enough to notice the insane amount of energy all the players suddenly have. Time ticks by slowly and before she realizes it, the final face-off is taking place. Luckily it’s in the St. Louis zone and won by Colorado. The puck is tipped back to the same player who got in the fight for Tyson, Gravy, and he one times it right into the back of the net. The buzzer goes off not a second later, and the entire team piles on top of the player who just won them the game.
Bette and Magdalene join in the shrieks of the other partners, jumping from their seats in excitement. Eventually they make their way down to the hallway outside the locker room and lean against the brick while they wait for Tyson.
“You don’t have to stay,” Bette insists, “I can wait by myself.”
Magdalene shakes her head. “No way. I want to make sure he’s okay too. What good is a friend with a black eye?”
The other girl laughs at her friend’s stubbornness but doesn’t shoo her away. Once Magdalene has made a decision it’s hard to get her to sway from it, and Bette knows better than to push. Besides, who is she to deny her friend a bit more social interaction? Magdalene has spent the past six years practically holed up in the library and deserves to stand in a crowded hallway.
The friends chat idly while they wait, with Magdalene sharing some of the most ridiculous questions she got asked in her defence interview that morning. She’s mid story when Tyson exits the dressing flanked by a man dressed sharply in all black.
“Hey guys,” Tyson greets, dipping his head to place a kiss to Bette’s cheek before doing an elaborately goofy handshake with Magdalene.
“Good game baby,” Bette compliments sweetly. She then turns her attention to the boy standing awkwardly on the fringes. “You too Graves.”
He smiles shyly, muttering out a small thanks. It’s then he seems to notice the final member of the group, and offers his hand in greeting. “Hi, I’m Ryan.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Magdalene.”
She puts two and two together on the walk to her car. The Ryan Magdalene just met is the same who will take her spot on the trip, fought someone in Tyson’s defence, and scored the game winning goal. Though they’ve only said a few words, she likes him. He seems genuine, and those people are the rarest to find.
☼☼☼☼
Magdalene is walking across a graduation stage for the final time in two days. However, she can’t find anyone to take the third ticket. The University of Denver has a stupid rule where all graduates must have three guests attend the ceremony. Bette and Tyson are obviously occupying two of Magdalene’s seats, but she’s having trouble filling the third.
“I can ask Tys if one of the guys is free,” Bette shrugs. The two girls are sitting in the window of Barn Owl drinking iced lattes and discussing what Magdalene should wear to the ceremony.
“It’s okay,” Magdalene says, “I don’t want to bother anyone. Maybe I’ll just ask June.”
Her friend’s eye roll so far back into her head Magdalene isn’t sure they won’t stay there. “You can’t ask your boss to watch you graduate Mags! Besides, Gravy owes Tyson a favour and was already looking for something to do. I’m sure he won’t mind wasting a few hours as long as he gets drinks out of it.”
There isn’t a better option, so even though she barely knows the guy, Magdalene agrees. “Make sure he gets this?" she sighs, handing her friend an envelope with a single ticket in it. "I have to go. Caligula should be done at the vet soon.”
“Say hello to little boots for me,” Bette giggles as she waves goodbye.
Hours later, tucked into her couch with a glass of wine in one hand and Caligula playing with the fingers on the other, Magdalene realizes she invited a complete stranger to her graduation and how that could be a terrible idea. Sure, Ryan sounds like a great guy from the way Bette and Tyson talk about him, but he’s only ever spoken three words to her. Since that game she’s gone out with the team a few times, but the man with the piercing stare is yet to make an appearance. Magdalene considers that perhaps he’s more like her than his profession gives him credit for, and she feels a twinge of guilt about being worried he’d cause a scene at the ceremony.
There isn’t any more time for her to fret over the third and final guest on the list. At the last minute Bette decides there’s nothing in Magdalene’s closet that’s suitable for her to wear, so a trip to a local second-hand store ensues. While it’s nice that her friend has taken their carbon footprints into consideration, Magdalene wishes it didn’t have to happen an hour and a half before the ceremony is supposed to start.
“We have to be there in twenty minutes Bette,” she frets, tapping her foot nervously against the tile flooring.
If they can’t find whatever it is Bette’s looking for, Magdalene will have to walk across the stage in denim cutoffs and a faded t-shirt with Neil Young’s face on it, which is something she’s hoping to avoid at all costs.
“Have no fear, Mags,” she says with a knowing glint in her eye, “For I have found it.” Bette holds up a hanger that is holding a beautiful long sleeve dress adorned with a whimsical floral print.
Magdalene can’t help the gasp that escapes from her. “It’s beautiful,” she breathes, “But let’s hope it fits.”
The dress does in fact fit, and the workers are kind enough to let her wear it out of the store. Bette drives at a speed that might not be the safest to travel at in downtown Denver, but she gets to the school with minutes to spare. She shoos her friends out of the car so she can go pick up Tyson and Ryan, and Magdalene checks in with little hassle. The pool of graduates is fairly small, so she chats with a few classmates while they wait for the call to put their gowns on. Time passes quicker than expected, and soon Magdalene is being directed to her seat. She zones out while the dean gives a congratulatory speech and they go through the first few names. At one point she looks backwards into the crowd to find Bette, Tyson, and Ryan all giving her a thumbs up. The nerves she didn’t even know she had settle.
A faculty member signals for Magdalene’s row to stand up, and she smoothes her dress before dutifully following the person in front of her. Giddiness bubbles in her stomach at the thought of being done school forever. A hand from the stage crew give a cue, and Magdalene appears on the stage as her accomplishment is broadcast through the microphone.
“Magdalene Stevenson is being awarded a Masters in Information Science in Archival Studies and Records Management.” It feels so good to finally be finished that she lets a tear slip as she shakes the hand of the staff member handing her the package with her diploma in it.
The rest of the ceremony passes in a blur, and before Magdalene knows it her friends are approaching to congratulate her. Bette and Tyson wrap her in a tight hug, murmuring praise in her ears. Ryan stands awkwardly to the side before Bette drags him into the celebration. The four of them stand in the courtyard where the ceremony was for much longer than needed. Bette is crying enough to refill Sloan Lake if there is ever a drought and is yet to let go of Magdalene’s figure.
It’s only when the event staff ask them to leave so they can tear down the stage does Magdalene turn to leave campus for the last time as a student. She’ll be back in a few weeks as an employee, but deep down she knows this is the last time she’ll ever feel such a deep connection to the place.
“Victory is mine, victory is mine! Great day in the morning people, victory is mine!” Magdalene yells, quoting Josh Lyman as she skips down the path towards Bette’s car.
Both Bette and Tyson are confused at the sudden outburst, not knowing what she’s talking about, but Ryan responds without missing a beat. “Should I bring you all the muffins and bagels in the land?” His response doesn’t clear anything up, but it elicits a giant smile from Magdalene, who laughs and nods in confirmation.
Sitting in the back of Bette’s Audi, on the way to a graduation party she’s supposed to know nothing about, Magdalene decides that she wants to get to know Ryan Graves better. From what she’s garnered from Bette and Tyson he’s a class act, standing up for friends and giving good advice. He likes The West Wing and showed up to a stranger’s graduation, so how bad can he be?
☼☼☼☼
additional notes: see what magdalene's graduation dress looks like here // the quote from the west wing is from 1.02 if you were curious!
☼☼☼☼
taglist: @scrunchmakar @marcoscandellas @toplinetommy (add yourself to the taglist!)
#ryan graves imagine#ryan graves x oc#ryan graves fic#colorado avalanche imagine#nhl imagine#nhl fic#hockey imagine#hockey fic#cwrites#dmtteol
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Not So Not So Berry Challenge
AKA Not So Berry Challenge 2
General Info:
If you play this challenge it’d be great to hear some feedback on what’s good and what’s not, especially as this is my first (and probably only) time making a challenge.
Feel free to either start this challenge off with Emerald, or continue the original NSB with this one.
I’ve heard that the freelancer career often doesn’t work. If this is the case for you, feel free to simply ignore that part of the black generation. Or any other stuff that don’t work right.
Packs that can be realistically replaced are in italics.
Expansion Packs Needed: Get Together, Eco Lifestyle, Get Famous, Island Living, Cats and Dogs, Discover University, Get to Work
Game Packs Needed: Spa Day, Strangerville, Jungle Adventure, Outdoor Retreat
Stuff Packs Needed: Nifty Knitting
Rules:
1. Same basic rules as the original NSB.
2. You can do mild cheats if you want to, just don't cheat the actual challenges like careers, collections, relationships, ect.
3. If you fail to complete minor parts of the generation (only make food with ingredients you have, living near water, ect), you don't have to end the challenge. As long as you do the main stuff of the generation (careers, collections, aspirations), you're a-OK!
4. Tag your post #not so not so berry / #nsnsb if you do this challenge, or @ me! I’m @mayooinajar / @mayosims This isn’t necessary but I’d really love it if you did :)
Generation One: Emerald
You’re a sim with a passion for the world! You spend your life working to improve the future for others.
Traits: Loves Outdoors, Green Fiend, Insider
Aspiration: Leader of the Pack
Career: Civil Designer
Master Civic Planner branch of the Civil Designer career and complete Leader of the Pack aspiration
Master Gardening, Logic, and Charisma skills
Build a Greenhouse/Sunroom
Only make meals you have the ingredients for
Generation Two: Cream
Ever since you were a child, you dreamed of being in the spotlight. Time to make your dream a reality.
Traits: Bro, Erratic, Outgoing
Aspiration: Master Actor/Actress
Career: Actor/Actress
Master Actor career and complete Master Actor/Actress aspiration
Master Acting and Charisma skills
Divorce your spouse and never remarry
Complete MySims collection
Generation Three: Black
Spending your childhood in the spotlight, you decide to change your appearance, leave home, and try to make it as an artist. You struggle at first, but eventually settle into your new life, all by your own merits! (okay, maybe with the help of some ‘borrowed’ objects)
Traits: Geek, Kleptomaniac, Freegan
Aspiration: Master Maker
Career: Freelance Artist
Complete Master Maker aspiration
Master Fabrication and Painting skills
Leave home once Young Adult, drastically change your appearance
Steal items for money
Generation Four: Teal
You’ve loved the ocean ever since you were a child. Eventually you decide to take this dream to the next level and become a mermaid, which you find is surprisingly easy to do! You use your new swimming skills to excel at your job as a diver, and play the piano on the side.
Traits: Child of the Ocean, Loves Outdoors, Cheerful
Aspiration: Musical Genius
Career: Diver
Master Diver career and complete Musical Genius aspiration
Master Piano and Fitness skills
Live by the water (Sulani, Windenburg, Brindleton Bay)
Become a mermaid
Generation Five: Lavender
Who says performing surgery and paranoia don’t mix? Not you! You brush your fear aside and start up your own vet clinic, and if you sleep in a vaulted basement, nobody has to know.
Traits: Genius, Paranoid, Cat/Dog Lover
Aspiration: Lady/Lord of the Knits
Career: Veterinarian
Own a Vet Clinic and complete Lady/Lord of the Knits aspiration
Master Veterinarian and Knitting skills
Have 3 pets at once (including My First Pet pets)
Sleep in the basement underneath your Clinic
Generation Six: Honey
You’ve obsessed over fashion since you were young. You decide to combine your amazing taste and extreme likeableness into a job! Who wouldn’t want to hear your opinion anyway?
Traits: Self Absorbed, Cheerful, Foodie
Aspiration: Mansion Baron
Career: Style Influencer
Master Style Influencer career and complete Mansion Baron aspiration
Master Writing, Photography and Gourmet Cooking skills
Always hire a Nanny instead of daycare
Go to the spa at least twice
Generation Seven: Coral
In spite of your sheltered childhood, you decide to spend your adult life exploring the jungle! And maybe meeting someone along the way?
Traits: Childish, Art Lover, Glutton
Aspiration: Jungle Explorer
Career: None
Complete Jungle Explorer aspiration
Master Selvadoradian Culture and Juice Fizzing skills
Propose at the waterfall in Selvadorada
Try for a baby while adventuring
Make money by selling artifacts
Generation Eight: Sky
Parent by day, Secret Agent by night, you do it all! You keep your job a secret from your children. It’s for their own good.
Traits: Good, Neat, Perfectionist
Aspiration: Big Happy Family
Career: Secret Agent
Master Diamond Agent branch of the Secret Agent career and complete Big Happy Family aspiration
Master Cooking, Charisma and Logic skills
Have twins or triplets
Lie about career to your children
Generation Nine: Burgundy
You’re determined to be the best doctor around, and nothing can stand in your way! Besides, having kids is overrated anyways… Oops.
Traits: Goofball, Self-Assured, Hates Children
Aspiration: Fabulously Wealthy
Career: Doctor
Master Doctor career and complete Fabulously Wealthy aspiration
Complete Logic and Handiness skills
Never get higher than level 5 parenting skill
Stay late every time you go to work with your sim
Generation Ten: Lime
Growing up with a parent who didn’t like you, you decide to go into a career where you can improve the lives of young people!
Traits: Squeamish, Romantic, Bookworm
Aspiration: Bestselling Author
Career: Education
Master Education career and complete Bestselling Author aspiration
Master Research and Debate, Charisma and Writing skills
Have a sim in your household die, then be resurrected via a Book of Life
Adopt all of your children
Alright! That’s it, I hope you enjoy. I’d like to thank myself for actually following through and writing this whole thing!
Edits (M/D/Y):
9/21/20 / Fixed a missing aspiration
9/22/20 / Changed generations from eleven-twenty to one-ten
11/30/20 / Fixed some messed up phrasing
@lilsimsie @alwaysimming just in case they care lol
#notsoberry#not so berry#nsb#not so berry challenge#nsb challenge#sims 4#sims 4 challenge#sims challenge#s4 challenge#ts4 challenge#ts4 nsb#s4 nsb#not so berry 2#so many tags omg#lilsimsie#challenge#sims 4 challenges#ts4 challenges#s4 challenges#legacy challenge#nsb legacy#s4 legacy challenge#ts4 legacy challenge#i'm sorry i'm tagging this so much#i just wanna be popular lol#or at least get this post mildly popular#mostly because it's almost the only post i've made that's actually useful#sims legacy#sims legacy challenge#s4 legacy challenges
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What’s Done is Done 💛
Content: Armin Arlert x Reader, Modern AU, italicized means flashback, bold is just something used to quote from a flashback.
Summary: After not talking to Armin for 2 years, you finally reconnect. Then, after a little bonding, he comes over and comforts you when you lose your job.
WC: 5,196
Genre: Angst, hurt/comfort, fluff.
Warnings: Financial struggle, alcohol and mentions of alcoholism, a little arguing, and probable grammatical errors. Let me know if I missed any!
A/n: Everyone in the story is above drinking age. Yes, I did listen to Nobody by Mitski slowed down with reverb while making this, thanks for asking. This is really just a vent fic for me, I’ve just been daydreaming for hours about how I just want to be held and comforted by Armin. This isn’t what’s happening to me irl, but I just felt like I needed a simple explanation for the fic so yea.
“Armin! Are you okay?! Where’d they get you?” you exclaimed, looking over Armin. He’d been beaten up by one of those punks who bullied him. You slung his arm around your shoulders, helping him stand up.
“I’m fine!” he says loudly, brushing you off and sitting back down.
“Hey, Armin, what’s wrong?” you ask in a softer tone. You bend down next to him. He’s sitting with his knees clutched against his chest, head down.
He looks up at you, tears in his eyes. “I’m nothing but a burden to you. You, Eren, and Mikasa are always having to come to my rescue.”
“Armin,” you take him into your arms, holding him tight, “It’s not an inconvenience to us. We’re happy to make sure you’re safe.” He wraps his arms around your torso, head resting on your shoulder.
He sniffles, “I’m sorry.”
You pull him closer and rub your hand along his back, “I’m glad to be here. There’s nothing I want more than for you to feel better.”
~~~~~
Armin was everything you wanted to be. He was smart, he had a good job even when attending college, and was able to support himself. You were just you, someone stuck in a never-ending dead end job with bad pay and no special degree to help you out. You were barely scraping by while he was fully capable of doing anything he wanted with his life. Not to mention he had a huge network of friends.
So there you sat, alone in your apartment with the lights off and the windows open, blowing the curtains around slightly. The only thing illuminating the room being the small blue screen of your tv and the ambient nighttime lights of the city outside.
You sat up on the couch, looking at your phone. You went onto twitter only to see Armin and all his friends out doing something at a bar far away from you. You were never really close to many of his friends. You met Eren first, then, he introduced you to Armin. You and Armin hit it off pretty well and you got attached to him. He became your closest friend.
By the time you reached middle school, you and Armin were inseparable. He would obviously spend time with other friends, but he always made time for just you and him.
By highschool, it was clear to everyone around that you two liked each other. You two would blush whenever the other was near, would sit super close, share food, it was almost like you were a couple without admitting to it.
When highschool ended, Armin was so excited to show you his acceptance letter into the college he would be attending. You were hyped up too, until you noticed it was in another state. You were still happy for him, but it would just mean you wouldn’t be able to see each other as often.
You managed to find an apartment only an hour away from him. It wasn’t anything nice, but it was in your budget, and was closer to his college than your last home. In the beginning, you two would video call a lot, especially after classes. You did almost every day. Then, that turned into every week, every two weeks, every month, then you both just stopped around the one year mark.
He had changed too, not in a bad way though. He had cut his hair, got new friends, and was a lot more social. He still had his old nerdy interests, but he wasn’t the same.
Meanwhile, you desperately tried to get into any college or higher education you could, not even living at this point, just trying to survive. You had two jobs, a cashier in a gas station and a barista at a quaint little coffee shop, but you were still struggling.
You couldn’t get enough money to leave and go to a cheaper place to live. So you slaved away, trying your best to make a decent sum every week.
You wanted to see your best friend again so badly, but you just didn’t know how to reach out. He would give you the motivation you needed to keep going, to try to do something with your life by just being there. The thing is, you’ve drifted so far apart that you were clueless on how to ask without being weird or needy.
You set your glass of ice water on the coffee table in front of you. You looked at it for a moment, thinking of what it could be instead. You were only dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, but you threw on a hoodie and a pair of sandals. You grabbed your keys and phone, you were going out, to a random bar nearby to be exact.
So what if it wasn’t healthy? It’s not like you did it every night, and it wouldn’t drain you for too long. You went down to ground floor and started walking. You didn’t own a car, and even if you did, you probably wouldn’t be able to drive it back.
You walked for a little bit, reaching the building. You went inside and sat at the bar. It wasn’t a huge place, but it wasn’t tiny either. It was quiet though. The only sounds were random people hanging out in the corner, jazz playing over the speakers, and the other lonely people drowning in their sorrows who had it worse than you.
You ordered a drink and looked at your reflection in the glass. You looked like and felt like an utter mess. You didn’t know what you were doing anymore. You took a sip.
The sound of everything else happening was a cruel reminder that life goes on even when you’re at your lowest. The people going in and out of the bar will never know what you’re going through. Time doesn’t care about how you feel and it ever will. But you can try to slow it down a bit with another drink.
As soon as the bartender gives it to you, you see an arm to the left of you. “What’s cookin’ good-lookin?” a man says. You can tell he’s tipsy.
You look up at him and see a familiar face. “Jean?” you inquire, unsure if you’re mistaken. He was one of Armin’s friends he met in university. You never met him, but Armin talked to you about him when you used to call and makes a lot of appearances on his twitter.
He gulps, not knowing who you are. “Yeah actually, who’s asking?”
“I’m- I used to be Armin’s friend,” you say as you stick your hand out. He shakes it. “My name’s Y/n.”
“Oh I see.” He leans on the bar and orders a shot. “Y’know I always wondered who you were. Armin used to never shut up about you. Now, it’s almost like he’s forgotten about you.”
Even though he’s drunkenly blunt, those words still hurt. That just goes to show he’s moved on from you. You look back into your glass, wondering if you should just down it and get out of here.
Then you hear giggles and look over. You see Sasha laughing at Connie punching the air, clearly snockered. You’ve talked to both of them before, but not too much.
You decide you won’t down your drink, instead sliding it over to Jean and paying.
You stand up, wanting to go home before the alcohol kicks in too much. You had an alright tolerance but you wanted to make sure you made it home first. Plus, what were they doing so far out here? Surely they were barhopping. The others would come in soon anyways.
You hear a drunk Jean whine as you walk away, falling off the barstool. You push open the doors, only to be met with those blue eyes you haven’t seen in person in for over a year and a half. They widen looking at you.
“Y/n?” he asks, more shocked than you. You realize Eren and Mikasa are there too.
“Hi,” you say quietly, pulling up your hood and pushing through them.
“W-Wait-“ he’s cut off by Eren dragging him into the bar.
You start sulking back towards your apartment. You feel defeated. Even though he barely said anything to you, that made you start thinking about all the conversations you had when you were younger.
You get halfway down the block and realize you forgot your stupid keys. You quickly turn around, not wanting anyone else to take them. As you look back, you see Armin a few yards away from you. He sticks his hand out, giving you your keys.
“Been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it sure has.” You walk up and snatch the keys out of his hand, not in the mood for a conversation with him. You weren’t mad at him, rather with yourself for not knowing how to talk to him.
You turn away and start walking again, when he says, “I’m sorry Y/n.” You stop dead in your tracks, glaring back at him.
“Of course you are, even after two years of not talking to me,” you raise your voice. Why were you saying this? This wasn’t like you. It wasn’t his fault either.
Armin looks down and grabs his wrist, keeping his arms together. “I’m sorry,” was all he could say again. “I knew I should have said something, I just didn’t know how.” You heard how his voice broke slightly, but you couldn’t see his face. “You were always there for me and I just brushed you off.”
~~~~~
Armin rushed to his math class. He knew he was going to be late but only by a few minutes if he was quick. You were also running late, going to the class down the hall from him. Armin opened the door.
“You’re late, Arlert,” the teacher replied immediately.
“Sorry sir, I-“ Armin was cut off by you speaking.
“He was helping me get my locker unjammed sir,” you say, lying, but covering for him.
The teacher nods, “Sit down, I’ll let this one slide.” Armin smiles at you and you give him a thumbs up before continuing to your classes.
~~~~~
You stand there, not sure of what to say.
“I took you for granted,” he continues. You wanted to yell at him, but it wasn’t his fault. You didn’t blame him. These things happen, that’s just how life goes.
He looked up at you, he was crying. Not too much, but his cheeks were red and they had tears running down them. Your eyes started to water just at the sight of this.
Before he could speak anymore, you walked closer to him. You reached your hand up to cup his cheek. “Don’t sweat it,” you say shakily.
Neither of you knew what to say, but if one of you didn’t say something, it was just going to go back to how it was before.
You’re the one to crack first. You wrap your arms around his waist, head in the crook of his neck. “I’ve missed you so much,” you say, crying into his neck.
“I-I’ve missed you too,” he admits. And just like that, it feels like a weight’s been lifted off your shoulders. He wraps his arms around you and lightly cries onto your shoulder.
It’s been a long time since you’ve spoken to each other, let alone touched each other. “I’m sorry.”
You pull back from him a bit, “Don’t be, it’s not your fault,” you smile up at him.
He lets you go, wiping his tears away, while you do the same.
“I-I should get back home,” you say, hoping he’ll propose something to make the night flip around. But he doesn’t.
“Yeah, I should get back too. Oh uh, do you want my new number?”
You perk up immediately to his suggestion. “Yeah! Of course!” You take your phone out, giving it to him. Once he types his number in, you give him yours.
You both say your goodbyes and head in opposite directions.
~~~~~
Over the next couple of months, you and Armin start to get in touch again. You can’t visit each other that often because of how far apart you are, but you try to every other weekend. Every time you can see him though, it’s a pleasure. Going to bookstores or libraries to be bookworms together or just getting food, every moment was bliss.
Your feelings for him started to come back too. This time, you have a pretty good feeling he likes you back, but you weren’t completely sure, so you didn’t say anything.
You two started video calling again, this time at least a little bit every evening with little to no exception. You both adored each other and loved geeking out together about things.
But you still had to work. You didn’t bring up anything about your struggles to him, he probably didn’t want to hear and you don’t want to be a burden.
That is, until you got laid off from both of your jobs in the same week. It was the end of the week and the coffee shop you worked at had gone out of business and the gas station found someone to do your job for less money.
You came home that day and just dropped to the floor crying. You didn’t know what to do. You were stuck with no job after barely getting by and all you could do was just sob as it felt like the world crumbled around you. You were completely distraught.
“Shut up!” you hear your neighbor yell as he bangs on the wall separating your rooms. You choke back your cries and pick yourself up to just curl up in your bed, sobbing into a pillow.
You suddenly wake up to the sound of your phone ringing. You drag yourself out of bed and rummage through your bag. You find your phone, slide back into bed, pick up, and turn your camera off.
“Hey Y/n!” Armin exclaims. He sounds so happy to see you.
“Hey,” you try to sound fine, but your voice cracks and you sniffle a little.
Armin takes note of it, “Why’s your camera off?” he asks inquisitively.
“It’s nothing,” you reply, wanting him to just take over the conversation and tell you about his day.
“Are you okay Y/n?”
“Just ignore it, I just woke up.” He takes a minute to try to figure out how to respond. “Just uh- How was your day?” you ask quickly, trying to change the subject.
He cautiously talks to you about it, knowing something’s up. You put in some headphones so you can have him right in your ears and just lay on your bed.
He tells you about the quiz he had that day, how Eren got into a fight, how spring break started, and it starts to calm you down, just having someone talk so casually to you like you’re having a normal conversation.
“So, how was your day?” he asks you in return. That snaps you out of it, you start crying again. You mute your mic and try to get your composure back.
��Y/n? Oh, you’re muted? Are you okay? Tell me what’s wrong.” His voice was low and considerate, trying to help calm you down. “I don’t mind, if you want to talk about it, we can. If not that’s fine too.”
You unmute your mic, “I’m tired,” you say, voice breaking as you speak.
“Hey, that’s alright, tired of what?” he asks you.
“I don’t have a job anymore, and I’m barely getting by. I just want a steady income or a new opportunity,” you say, getting more and more unconsolable by the second.
Armin always has his ways though, “Hey, you’re going to be okay. What happened?”
You sniffle and take a deep breath. “Well this coffee shop I worked for went out of business and-“ you take a second to sniffle and cough, “I got fired from the gas station I worked at.”
“You were working two jobs?” He’s a little shocked, but doesn’t act like it. He doesn’t want to throw you off your train of thought. You nod like he can see you, then make a sound of affirmation.
“You’re gonna be okay,” he says. He sounds calm and collected, trying to just make you feel better. His voice is quiet and comforting.
“I-If it isn’t too much to ask, Armin, could you come over tomorrow? I just wanna hang out with you,” you say.
Armin takes a minute, thinking of what to say. “I can come over tonight if you want.”
You want him to, you really do, but you say, “It’s a long drive and it’s the middle of the night, Armin.”
“Hey, it’s alright. It’s the least I can do.” You try to convince him otherwise but he’s already hung up. You pull your legs to your chest and put your head down. You don’t know what you’re doing. You’re not worth his time. He’s going to have to drive an hour just to get to where you are.
After a couple minutes, you hear your phone ringing again. It’s him. You pick up.
“Hey, I’m in the car now,” he said.
“Armin, I’m too far from you. You’ll have to drive 2 hours tonight, just to get back and forth.
“Then I’ll just stay the night with you.” You were a little shocked by him just saying that, but you welcomed it.
“I know you want to be here for me now, but you don’t have to drive an hour in the middle of the night just to comfort me.”
“Just an hour? So you’re agreeing I can stay over?” He was more lighthearted now, trying to cheer you up.
You sigh, say, “I guess” and lightly chuckle.
“It’ll be just like the sleepovers we had when we were younger.”
~~~~~
“Hold still!” you said, “You’re gonna make me mess up.” You were sitting criss cross with Armin on your bedroom floor, painting his nails a light blue color.
“Hey, you’re the reason you have that streak going halfway up your finger, you couldn’t hold still either.” You chuckled, looking down at your fingernails he just painted.
“Oh well, what’s done is done,” you say, putting the brush back in the bottle. “Tada!”
He looks down at his nails, then blows on them to try to get the polish to dry quicker. “They look great.” You look at him and smile, and he does too, but his smile soon fades into a frown.
“What’s wrong?” you say, putting the polish away and sitting next to him.
“People are gonna make fun of me because of this.”
“Hey, don’t think that way, if they do, I’ll beat ‘em up!” you smile, making a fist with your hand.
“Y/n, no,” he looks at you, trying to get you to back down.
“Okay fine, only if they hit you first.”
“You’re going to get yourself hurt,” he raises his voice.
Then you hear a voice from downstairs, “Go to bed kids!” You sigh, getting up and reaching your hand out for Armin.
“I’ll be okay.” He takes your hand, standing up. He goes over to his bag as you climb into your bed.
You yawn, “What do you have there?”
“A book and a flashlight. I hope you don’t mind. If you do I’ll just put them away.”
“No, it’s okay. What book?” He moves a little closer to you, showing you the cover with a smile on his face. He sits next to you and starts going on about the plot and all the characters, flipping through the pages showing you his favorite parts.
After a while he’s reading it to you, trying to keep quiet because he doesn’t want anyone to know you’re both still up. He’s getting to a part he’s quite passionate about when he looks at you. You’re half asleep under your blanket, trying to keep your eyes open.
He stops reading for a moment, “Sorry I’m boring you, I’ll go to sleep.” He goes to his makeshift bed, a pile of blankets with a ton of pillows underneath, and his sleeping bag on top. It’s just a few feet away from your bed.
You sit up a little, rubbing your eyes. “It’s not boring at all. It’s quite relaxing actually.” You wrap the blanket higher up on your body, before laying on your bed to look at him. “Tell me more,” you say.
He smiles. He turns the light off and his flashlight on, getting under the covers and flipping through his book to find the good part. He starts reading again, in a hushed voice. You cuddle up against your pillow, watching him.
He looks so absorbed in the world of that book. Reading you a chapter, occasionally pausing to tell you context since you haven’t read it. He’s smiling throughout it all.
You close your eyes, listening to him continue. Soon enough, you’re asleep. He falls asleep shortly after.
~~~~~
“Oh yeah, I remember those,” you say wiping your eyes and smiling. “You gonna paint my nails again?”
“Only if you let me read to you,” he says.
“Of course you can.” You two continue just making small talk for a while, until he pulls into a gas station.
“Well, I’m gonna hang up for now, okay?” he asks you.
“Okay,” you say, pulling your blanket closer to your body.
“I’ll be right over.”
“Alright,” you say. He’s about to hang up when you say, “Wait.” He stops what he’s doing and puts his phone back up to his ear. “I- I love you, Armin.”
He pauses for a moment. “I love you too, Y/n,” he says, before hanging up.
With a blush across your face, you stare up at your ceiling. He’s calmed you down so much by just talking to you over the phone. You get up, getting changed out of your work clothes. Not into anything fancy, but just a baggy t-shirt and a loose pair of pajama pants.
As you’re getting dressed, you’re thinking it over. Did he really mean what he said? Or if he did, did he mean it in a super friendly way? You don’t know how this is going to work out. On one hand, he could actually have feelings for you, or on the other you could have just made your whole relationship awkward.
“But what’s done is done,” you thought. There’s no going back now. You sat back down, waiting about 45 minutes. You wanted to cry but you felt too tired even for that.
You heard three loud knocks coming from your door.
“Y/n, it’s me,” you heard Armin say from outside. You get off your bed, go over to the door and unlock it. Armin’s standing there with a bag. “Hey,” he says, pulling you into a hug.
“I’ve missed you Armin,” you say. You don’t know why you said it, you were just talking to him.
“Well I’m here now,” he says, letting go of you. You step aside for him to come in. He goes to your coffee table and places the bag down. “While I was at the gas station, I picked you up some of these.” He takes out a plastic container filled with cookies, and a bottle of your favorite drink.
You walk closer picking up the drink, “You remembered.”
“Of course I did,” he says. He grabs your hand, “I never forgot about you.” That made you think back to what Jean had said to you at the bar. You put the drink back on the table and wrap your arms around Armin’s waist, burying your face in the crook of his neck. He puts his arms around your shoulders and holds you close. “It’s okay, Y/n, I’ll never leave again.”
He doesn’t end the hug, but once you’ve calmed down a little, he spaces you two apart so he can look at you. He says, “If you want we could pop a movie in, or I could paint your nails, or read to you, anything you want to do.”
“Could we just talk for a bit?” you ask, as he hangs his jacket over the side of the couch. You felt bad for dragging him out here if you were just going to watch a movie or something you could easily do by yourself. He nods and you bring him over to the couch.
You sit to the left of him and lean your head on his shoulder. “I don’t really know what I want to talk about, I think I’ve told you most of what’s happened.”
“That’s okay. So, what job do you think you’re gonna get after this?”
“I don’t know,” you say, looking down. “I don’t think I’ll find one easily.”
“I can help you find something in the morning if you want.”
“Sure.” You both stop talking for a minute.
“Do you have any other friends?” he asks.
“No, not really. I had some friends at the coffee shop I worked at, but now that’s gone out of business. I never really spent time with them either, they were just people I talked to.”
“If you want, I can introduce you to some of my friends. I know they’re far away, but if you’re not busy, we could meet halfway, maybe once a week.”
“Like at the bar?”
“Yeah, just a better place than that,” he says. You look up at him, and then down at his hand. You take it.
“Where do you want to go?” You look back up at him, waiting for a response. He blushes as you hold his hand, looking away.
“Well if it’s all of us, some of my friends will probably want to go to a club or something, but if that’s too much, we can just go get food or see a movie.”
“What if it’s just you and me?” He looks back at you, cheeks still flushed. “Do you want to go the library or something at some point?”
“Sure,” he says. You’re thinking for a moment. You’re holding hands with your best friend while your head is on his shoulder, after he drove an hour just to comfort you. You were gonna have to tell him at some point. He wouldn’t just confess to you.
You start to get tired, it was relaxing to be in this position. You yawn, getting the attention of Armin.
“You should go to bed.”
“I’m not that tired, plus you just got here.”
“That’s alright, I don’t mind. And I bet you are tired. You’ve been crying a lot today.” He brushes some hair out of your face, stands up, and takes both of your hands. “Come on, you need to sleep.”
You both part hands and you go to the bathroom for a moment to wash up. When you come out, Armin’s checking his phone with his jacket over his arm.
“Guess I’ll be on my way,” he says.
“Wait, I thought you were staying?” you ask confused. You wanted him to stay.
“Do you want me to? I kind of just said I was without asking you.”
You go closer to him, “Well I made you come all the way out here, so the least I can do is let you stay.”
“You didn’t make me, Y/n, I chose to come.” He puts his phone in his pocket.
“I don’t know, I just feel like I’m burdening you.”
“Y/n,” he takes both of your hands in his own, “There’s nothing I want more than for you to feel better.”
“God, you even remember that.” You look down, starting to feel your eyes water.
“Hey, don’t cry,” he says, wiping a tear from your cheek. You look back up at him, he’s concerned, but he’s smiling at you.
You let go of his hands and hug him. “I love you, Armin,” you say, “and I mean it.” He quickly puts his arms around you, while you let out a shaky breath. You continue, “I have since middle school, it’s not just from this.”
He puts his face in your neck, starting to tear up. “I have too,” he says with a quavering voice. You two stand there, overcome with emotion, holding each other. You pull back for a moment, cupping his face and brushing a tear off his cheek. “I love you, Y/n.”
You smile up at him, still while blubbering. You pull him back and you both rock each other for a moment.
“Come on, let’s go to bed,” you say, leading him to your bed. He puts his jacket over your chair and his phone on your nightstand. Once he’s done, you already have your legs under the covers. You open your arms and he climbs in next to you. He hugs you, then you both lay on your sides, facing each other.
You reach for his cheek again, just holding it. “God, you look so handsome.”
“Thank you,” he says, grabbing a hold of your hand. “You look stunning.” You smile and let out a little chuckle.
“I love you,” you say again. God, you’d have never thought you’d be saying this to him, especially tonight.
“I love you too.” It was a short and simple phrase but it made your cheeks darken and you felt butterflies in your stomach. You lean a little bit forward, kissing him. You both close your eyes as he kisses back.
After a couple seconds, you both part. He pulls the blanket over you, wrapping you in it. “Goodnight,” he says, turning the light off.
“Goodnight.”
~~~~~
You open your eyes, to see that no one’s there. The other side of the bed is empty. You sit up a little, before smelling food cooking from the kitchen.
After around 15 minutes of just laying in bed, you get up and go see what’s cooking. Armin’s at your oven, pulling muffins out of it.
He turns around to see you, a smile on his face. “Good morning!” He starts putting some of the muffins on a cooling rack, “How did you sleep?”
“Good,” you say, sitting at the table.
“That’s good. I used some mix from your cupboard, I hope you don’t mind.” He takes some of the muffins and puts them on plates for the both of you.
“It’s fine,” you yawn and look down at the table. There’s a newspaper in front of you.
Armin comes over to the table and places one plate in front of the newspaper. “Look at the bottom.” You look down the newspaper and see an ad for some small shop that’s hiring. “Thought maybe you’d be interested.”
“Thanks,” you say as he sits down. “So, are we a thing now?” you ask shyly, looking up at him.
“Yea, if you’re interested.”
“Of course I am.”
“Well so am I,” he giggles.
You start reading into the newspaper a little more. What’s done is done, and you’re happy about it.
#tw alcohol#tw: alcohol#armin arlert x reader#armin x reader#attack on titan x reader#shingeki no kyojin x reader#angst#hurt/comfort#fluff#attack on titan fanfiction
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