#I’ll probably be back once they finish figuring out my financial aid stuff so I don’t have to keep stressing over it

[theshadowrealmitself]

Still thinking about Spiderpeople (and people connected to those Spiderpeople) from the universes where it seems an awful lot like they’re the only heroes landing in a universe where it’s one of the Spiderpeople who’s surrounded by other heroes like the Avengers and the Fantastic 4, etc

And obviously because of this they’re gonna be extra careful about secret identities because of all the extra heroes who aren’t Spidey hanging around, and I’m just thinking about the Prowler (Aaron) trying to figure out if he’s alive or even existing in this universe while trying not to give away too much so he’s just like “who’s the coolest bald man you know?”

And Spidey’s like “oh!! I know exactly who you want!! follow me!!”

He brings them to Nick Fury.

Later on they run into what’s obviously a variant of Miles, who the other Spidey of that universe didn’t bring up because Miles isn’t known as “Spiderman” in that universe (maybe it’s like “arachnikid,” or it’s Prowler!Miles, or maybe he’s just going through a phase where he’s trying out a new hero name each week, etc)

So Aaron’s like “oh great, I can definitely ask him, but again I gotta be discrete because of all these extra heroes around” so he asks him in the exact same way he asked the other Spidey (“who’s the coolest bald man you know?”)

Miles also brings them to Nick Fury.

(Yes his uncle is still alive, yes the other Aaron is absolutely gonna tell on him)

Also! Because there’s so much emphasis on the other heroes handling “big stuff”, I like to imagine they all keep trying to insert themselves into the situation because it’s a multiverse situation which falls under “their jurisdiction” and Spidey’s just like “??? they’re all Spiderpeople tho, this is my thing, go away, shoo”

[asgardianthot]

Hunting Season (sambucky) – Part 1

Fake Dating AU

Series Masterlist

Summary: The Barnes family is your average rich people circus. With Bucky’s post-breakup financial depression, and a literal treasure hunt at stake, his best friend Sam finds himself in a mad situation in order to help him. They sure can pretend to be together, but that’s just the easy part.

A/N: You want some clichés? I’ll give you some clichés! Fake Dating, friends to lovers, asshole ex-boyfriend, only one bed, mutual pinning, slowburn, you name it :) Also rich!Bucky headcanon because I can.

Words: 3944

The night before.

"What is it this time?" Sam answered the phone, preparing for the rant he was about to hear.

On the other end, Bucky sighed heavily.

"Everything?"

Sam kept his chuckle in as he poured the freshly cooked spaghetti on a plate.

"That's a new one." He rolled his eyes, "Is he still calling you or something?"

"Yeah, and... God, I think I might take him up on his offer."

Although his friend's tone was extremely off-putting, Sam knew him too well and was certain that Bucky wasn't being serious. He was just saying it to be dramatic because he felt trapped. Still, he needed to be reminded that there was light at the end of the tunnel.

Wilson placed the phone between his ear and shoulder so he could take his meal to the table which was a few steps away from the actual kitchen zone.

"No, you won't." Sam reminded him.

"I might!"

Bucky didn't sound honest, but he sounded desperate. He had broken up with the world's biggest, most monumental jerk a hundred times before, yet for various financial and emotional reasons, Bucky had also returned to the man too many times. Sam knew there was an emotional bond, a toxic one, but never asked to what extent, he just made sure Bucky didn't fall back into his webs. Recently, though, it seemed as if he had come to his senses; hadn't picked up the phone when the devil's name came up on his screen for weeks, didn't even mention the master manipulator in a long time.

Sam sat at the small table and put his phone on speaker, next to his food.

"You can't just go back for his money, man."

"Well, I can't keep crashing at my parents’ house, either." Barnes replied with more anguish than Sam had expected.

He sounded like he was fed up with the whole living situation. Although the Barnes weren't necessarily bad, they were inherently overwhelming and controlling people with whom Bucky had already spent eighteen miserable years; Sam understood how downright exhausting it must be to go back to them for help, and he understood why he hated it there. He probably had just gotten into an argument, but Sam still felt empathy towards his poor friend, because Sam's parents were the nicest people on earth- sure, they pried and judged from time to time, but only the normal parental amount. He couldn't imagine growing up in the Barnes' house.

So instead of spurring out laments and empathic hums, he focused on finding Bucky a solution, reminding him there was a way out of the mansion-trap.

"What about that job?"

"I didn't get it." There was a hearable stop, followed by a groan, "I don't know what else to do, I don't know how much longer I can stay here!"

As he worked his brain, Sam shoved a forkfull of spaghetti into his mouth, using the time he was chewing to concoct a quick solution. His friend just needed some caring aid, and Sam was good with home finances, he's good at being responsible and setting down instructions. He's a college professor after all, so giving orders and helping people in confusing times was wired into his bones.

He swallowed before speaking, "Tell you what, why don't you come over and we'll figure something out?"

-

Sam was just finished doing his single dish in his single apartment when Bucky got there. He opened the door and found the resemblance of a lost puppy.

"Thank you."

The host ushered him inside, and while Bucky closed the door behind him, Sam returned to the kitchen to finish putting everything away.

"Don't thank me yet. We need to come up with a plan." He turned to him with a mildly disappointing glance, for he was expecting a disappointing answer, "Just to be clear: no savings?"

"Nope." Bucky popped his 'p' with exaggerated defeat.

"Remind me to call you an idiot later."

"Will do." He nodded.

While Sam put away the now clean pan on the bottom counter, James found himself shame-walking to the table. He sat down, extended his arms over the furniture and let his head drop with self-pity.

"What about your folks, are they really not willing to help out?" Sam tried.

"They won't give me a single penny."

"Can't say that I'm surprised."

As soon as Wilson headed towards his friend, he noticed Bucky was waiting for him to be able to stay one hundred percent attentive. He was fidgeting with his fingers and bouncing his leg up and down, looking way too nervous for being around Sam, his best friend whom he trusted more than anyone. So, Sam got the severity of the issue and sat down on the table with him.

"Listen..." Bucky began, although he missed Sam's eye contact on purpose, "I was thinking... and I know that you've already supported me enough, but maybe... you could, uh... Lend me some money?" Suddenly, his face contorted in anguish as he was clearly embarrassed to even ask; before Sam could respond, he started rambling, "Just to get my own place, and I promise I'll pay you back as soon as I get some stability."

Sam tilted his head with sympathy.

"Of course I can lend you some money. But it's still a risky shot, dude."

Seeing him shrug, Sam noticed the evident sadness and surrender in James' face, and Sam wondered if it had been the devil ex or the Barnes who had sucked the hope out of him.

"It's all I got. I can't stand my parents any longer."

Sam nodded, and they fell into some silence. The discomfort coming from Bucky's end of the table was palpable, so Sam attempted to ease some of the tension.

"You can always just leave the country and go live with your sister." He joked.

The way Bucky looked at him with a small smile, Sam could read the gratefulness in his eyes.

"Nah, I could never leave you." Barnes taunted back, "You'd crumble."

"Yeah, that's it." Sam looked away with lifted, disbelieving eyebrows, "Definitely not the other way around."

He got a chuckle out of his best friend, and in comparison to the glim aura that had been surrounding him the last minutes, it was a relieving sound

" 'sides, she wouldn't get off my back either." Bucky added, "Rebecca's not an option."

Once again, silence dropped on them, only this time it was a pensive one. It didn't take long for Sam to have the best idea he'd had yet.

"Drink?" he offered.

"Please."

-

"I'm telling you, I can't seem to do anything right." Bucky admitted in between sips of wine, "The more I try to fix my shit, the more I mess it up, and that's Brock's cue to jump right back into the picture and offer an easy way out."

"You can't let him control you." His friend reminded him, "You're better than that."

Bucky had heard that speech a hundred times, and a hundred times he had lowered his head with shameful agreement, like a toddler being reprimanded and responding with the generic You're right, I'll do better. However, this time, Barnes was honest. Too honest, for Sam's taste, actually. Staring into nothingness as if illuminated by some divine realization of disappointment, he clacked his tongue.

"See, I don't know that I am."

Sam, on his part, was having none of that.

"Yes, you are. You've just made some very questionable choices." He slurred, and only then did Bucky realize how drunk his friend had gotten over the past hour, "And you wanna know why?"

With the last question went a very unpreoccupied hand gesture, employing the hand which held the glass of red wine like he'd forgotten the wine was even there, and therefore almost spilling it all over his carpet.

Bucky cringed and reached for the now turned dangerous beverage.

"I think that's enough wine for you." He laughed, trying to pry the glass away.

"Because you never listen to me!" Sam ignored him, which was Bucky's cue to effectively grab it and leave it on the coffee table, "I told you not to let him pay for stuff in the first place. Told you if he owns everything you share, he owns you."

The words, Bucky remembered from many times prior. The harsh tone, though, was relatively new.

"It just sort of happened." He shrugged, "I lost my job and suddenly..."

As Bucky lost his trail, Sam filled in with amusement, "You became a housewife from, like, the 1950's."

Barnes smirked in an attempt to lighten the mood, and escape the current lecture he was receiving, "Why is that bad?"

Unfortunately for him, Sam was not playing along.

"Because you can't hand them your independence. Not to your parents, not to Brock Fucking Rumlow, not to anyone. You know what's worth more than money?"

"Let me guess, my freedom?"

"Your dignity." Sam laid out the words with much more seriousness any drunk man should be able to convey.

Silence followed the rough declaration, and Bucky sat back. He pursed his lips at the ground, feeling even more judged in that apartment than in his parents' house. At least, they nagged about things that were insignificant to him, but what Sam had just dropped was a truth-bomb that resonated with his deepest concerns.

"That hurt." He admitted.

He wasn't upset, and even less with Sam. This was what he needed to hear, after all, and he could always trust Sam to be responsible and hones, but that didn't mean he would sleep on that sentence until he made some real changes in his life.

"It's just the truth." Sam grinned with somewhat lament as he reached for more wine.

-

The day of.

Sam woke up the next morning with the smell of fresh breakfast, and a hangover. When he managed to get on his feet, he walked down to the living room, where he found Bucky preparing something in the kitchen. Last night's events came back to him at the sight of his face: his cry for help, one late night talk and lots of wine. That's pretty much all that came to mind, which made him wonder what his drunk persona had put Bucky through.

"Morning, pal!" the voice made him jump a bit.

Bucky seemed cheery, which meant that he'd woken up hangover-free, and that drunk Sam hadn't been a pain in his ass. Sam felt he could relax.

"Did I really pass out on red wine in my own couch?" he groaned, scratching the back of his head.

Walking closer, he recognized what Bucky was preparing as french toasts, and his rumbling stomach felt grateful.

"Like a grandpa." Bucky confirmed with a mocking tone.

"Jesus Christ." Sam sighed.

"Don't let your dad hear you say the Lord's name in vain."

The warning reminded Sam of Bucky's parental situation. Bucky was one of Sam’s few friends who knew Sam's parents, and they'd gotten along many times, whereas Sam had never even met the Barnes. He knew Rebecca, but that was about it, and he figured they must be real characters if Bucky kept them away from him.

Sam let his body fall flat onto the couch, and covered his eyes with his arm rather dramatically, "I'm slowly spiraling down into a mediocre professor's life."

"You're not a mediocre professor and you don't have a mediocre life." Bucky denied him the right to self-loathe.

"I disagree. Your problems are the highlight of my week."

"Stop moaning and eat up."

As Sam raised his arm to peak, he found a plate of french toasts and a cup of orange juice being offered to him.

He gave Bucky a look of ultimate gratefulness as he mumbled a thank you and received the food.

Suddenly he appreciated more than ever that his friend was good at cooking, even though it probably came from a tragic backstory like his many childhood maids taught him in order to replace the absence of his parents or something.

"Least I could do." Bucky reckoned, meaning the fact that Sam had welcomed him into his home and offered to help him with his financial situation, "This, and dragging you to bed last night."

Sam visibly cringed before taking a big bite, "Did I say really dumb stuff?"

Bucky reflected on that idea for a hot second. Sam had, as a matter of fact, spilled out some truths, but Bucky didn't want to embarrass him, so he simply let it go.

He chuckled instead, "Nah, just the usual stupidity."

On his way to prepare some coffee, he checked his phone and noticed he'd received a text: we need to talk.

-

He knew what this was about. Which was the reason why he told his parents to meet him for lunch, some place they would approve of, after he'd had time to tidy up and borrow some of Sam's clothes. All just to minimize the judgement he was about to endure.

As soon as he sat down on the restaurant table, Barnes father hit him with that familiar severity.

"Where did you spend the night?"

"A hotel room." Bucky replied.

"You can't afford one."

"And I have you to thank for that." The tone quickly shifted to one of mutual accusations, "You're the one who cancelled all my cards."

"James." His mother joined the conversation in an attempt to get Bucky to lower said tone.

"It’s fine. I'm gonna crash at a friend's house.” Bucky directed the eased words to his mother, "Until I get on my own feet- which I will."

"A friend?" the dad interrupted, "Is that what you're doing now to pay for a roof over your head?"

Bucky raised his eyebrows, unamused, "Are you calling me a whore?"

"James, your father and I are worried." The woman reached over the table for her son's hands, "We want you to get yourself out of this... low spot. And last night, you proved your immaturity to us by throwing a tantrum and running away."

"Wasn't a tantrum." James retrieved his hands from his mother's grasp, "Look, if you're not going to help me out financially, then I see no reason to indulge your criticism. Otherwise it's just free abuse."

The older man rolled his eyes, "Always the drama king."

A cloud of silence fell upon the three people, thankfully soon joined by a waitress who took their orders. After they all delivered their monotone words and handed the lady their menus, Barnes father went back to the same topic.

"So, who's paying for your stuff?"

Bucky sat back on his chair, "Oh, we're still on that."

"Just wanna know how much I owe the poor soul. You keep forcing your financial situation on people, you're gonna run out of friends."

Eventually, James found himself in a tight spot. Whatever answer he gave his father, the man wouldn't be satisfied. His own son begging for money was beyond simple disappointment. The only time George Barnes had approved of Bucky depending on someone was when Brock Rumlow owned his life, because Brock was a family friend and a fine young man. Naturally, an opportunity popped into Bucky's head.

"Well, he's not a friend." He announced, earning attentive looks from both his parents, "He's, uh... we're a couple. He's not lending me money, we're sort of... living together."

Something in their eyes told Bucky they weren't buying it.

"Since when?" the mother asked.

"It's been sporadic. But we're stable."

George Barnes narrowed his eyes, "I take it it's not Rumlow."

"No, I told you, that's over." Bucky shook his head.

"Then I wanna meet this guy."

"Oh, invite him over to Nana's." The woman clapped her hands together.

The simple thought of the upcoming family vacation made him lose his appetite. Every year during spring break, the Barnes would get together for some quality time at their grandparents’ lake house. Bucky figured that this year, he probably would spend one or two weeks there before he could manage an excuse to leave. That was before he made up a fictional boyfriend, though, and the biggest problem was he didn’t have a boyfriend to bring.

"He has plans for the break." He lied.

Winnifred gave him a look that yelled incomprehension, as if she was incapable of fathoming the idea of someone not wanting to join their plans. "He can cancel them, he'll have more fun at the lake house anyways!"

"It's just that-"

"He'd love it.” Her voice began doing that thing where she sounded like she was genuinely begging, instead of simply manipulating, “And maybe you two could win Nana's hunt this year."

Now that caught Bucky’s attention. That actually made him reconsider everything. The Barnes had some very odd traditions, some Bucky loved and some he despised; but there was one in particular he had very mixed sentiments about, and which now presented itself like lifeboat.

"Right. The hunt." He trailed off, contemplating the possibility of participating in the godforsaken annual hunt.

"So what's he do?" his father’s words snapped him back.

"Huh?"

"Your boyfriend. What does he do?"

Bucky swallowed hard. In a moment of complete panic, his blank mind went to the easiest way out: the person who had actually offered his house to him for the night. Sam’s occupation was the only thing that popped into his head.

"He's a... professor.” He blurted out without much thought, “University."

"That's lovely." His mother approved.

Shit. It only then occurred to him that he was effectively making up a boyfriend, job and all, which meant he certainly couldn’t get away from it now. And it would only get worse as he dug into his lie deeper and deeper.

"What do I call him?" the older man asked.

Once again, Bucky found himself gulping.

-

"You told them what?!" Sam exclaimed.

Bucky sat with his head down in shame, while Sam paced around his own apartment, furiously.

"I'm sorry." Barnes said truthfully.

"You could've dragged anyone along with your dumb plans.” Sam ignored him and continued scolding him. “Why me?"

The appellee sighed, "It was an ambush, Sam, you should've seen it."

"I don't care!"

"They were asking me all these questions, it felt like a fucking quizz!” Bucky’s lamenting state turned much more hectic as he tried to explain his actions, “I panicked, I don't know, it just came out."

A big breath of disappointment shook Sam’s chest. Of course, he tried to understand Bucky when it came to his family. He did his best. But this was too much, for now that pressure had been transported to Sam. The weight relied on Sam’s shoulders as a whole. Still, he figured there was no way out of the hole Bucky had dug for the both of us. If the Barnes thought Sam was their son’s boyfriend, then that’s what he was. At least, until Bucky found an exit for both of them.

Reflecting on how this would be the last favor he would ever do for his friend, and at the same time acknowledging that was just a lie he told himself, Sam sat next to Bucky, who seemed expectant of more judgement. Much to his surprise, Sam’s words weren’t harsh.

"I take it they wanna meet the boyfriend." He said, a lot more nonchalantly than either of them expected.

Bucky looked at him with wide eyes, "Shit, are you serious? Would you do that for me?"

"Yeah, wouldn't be the first time I get you out of trouble." Sam ran a hand down his face.

"Sam, you’re-“

"The best, I know.” Wilson glanced up at the ceiling for strength, laying back on his couch, “So when do we have to put on a show?"

There was a brief silence, only interrupted by the sound of Bucky’s fingernails scratching the back of his head, which dropped another wave of tension upon the pair.

"That's the thing." Bucky cringed.

"What's the thing?"

"You know my family's lake house?" he tempted.

"No. No, no, no!” Sam found himself standing up at the mere thought of what he knew he was being asked, “I am not going to the middle of rich nowhere with you and your folks."

"It would only be a week.” Bucky raised his voice with a plea, earning a look of disbelief from Sam who felt like a week was not worthy of being introduced by the word ‘only’, “But, with a bunch of family members."

Samuel shook his head, clear disbelief plastered on his features.

"You don't realize how insane you sound right now."

"Hear me out, this is a good thing. Just... listen.” Bucky raised his hands in defense, “You know how my grandfather left his fortune to Nana?”

Doing his absolute best to stay open-minded, Sam nodded. Perhaps Bucky was headed somewhere with his explanation.

“Well, she has this... odd way of getting rid of it."

"The hell you talking about?" Sam frowned, growing inpatient.

"I never told you ‘cause it made me sound even more of a trust fund baby."

"Which you are."

"Point taken.” Bucky tilted his head with acceptance before he continued, “But this is good for both of us. She hates giving out her money, but she has no use for it, so she... makes it into a game every year."

Sam remained quiet, becoming more and more upset because he started getting an idea of what this was about: money and his family’s eccentric behaviors. And of course, Bucky meant to bring Sam into both of those things.

"I hate your family."

Bucky couldn’t hold back a tiny smirk, "You won't when you find out how much the prize is."

Suddenly, Sam found himself considering the offer. He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm listening." He said, unprepared for the number he was about to hear.

"Four million dollars.” Bucky laid out like he was pitching him a job offer, which, in some twisted way, it was, “We split it, I can get back on my own feet, gain my independence... and you get two millions for being such a good friend."

The amount of money was too much for a family game. The idea sounded too ridiculous for any normal family. But then again, these were the Barnes. Therefore, while Sam was having a hard time processing the information, he blinked fast, maintaining eye contact with Bucky, almost as if waiting for his friend to break character and reveal that this was all a joke.

"Two million dollars?" Sam confirmed.

"Two million each." Bucky nodded, expectant.

Sam had to sit back down, but not next to Bucky this time. He sat on the coffee table, still digesting it. The prize was more than what he made in a year. And it really seemed like this was Bucky’s best solution to all his problems.

"And it's a game?" Sam asked with that same cautious tone.

"Yeah, it's a... treasure hunt.” Barnes shrugged, “With, like, challenges and stuff. She cooks up the entire thing in her twisted little mind."

Sam nodded, at nothing really, but just as a manner of expressing that he had processed everything properly.

"But we'd have to pretend for a full week and actually win the thing."

"Nana loves me, 've always been her favorite. You butter her up, she'll give us the cheats. Make it easy for us."

The man nodded again, this time with purpose, "Okay."

"Okay?" Bucky raised his eyebrows with hope.

"Okay." Sam raised his voice before he could regret the choice, "Let's get this prize."

[ruthoakenshield]

The Lady in Black Leather (chapter 7)

The Lady in Black Leather (chapter 6)

You walked down the hall to the bathroom and could hear the ribbing Richard was getting from his friends. You could hear them teasing him about ditching them to hang out in the kitchen with you last night.

Apparently, they didn’t realize you were still here and that you had spent the night cuddled in his arms.

You washed your face and got the little bit of make up off of your face that you had worn yesterday. You looked tired. You carefully undid your braid and finger combed through it. You headed back into Richard’s room to look for a comb or brush. You went into his bathroom and found a comb laying on the counter. Turning on the faucet, you ran it under the water and then started to comb out the sections of hair you pulled over your shoulder.

Once you got all of your hair combed out, you decided to just leave it long today. You pulled a couple of chunks at your temples into four strand braids and joined them in the back of your head, securing them with your elastic band.

You found Richard’s toothpaste and put a little on your finger and rubbed it around on your teeth trying to get rid of the gross feeling in your mouth. You rinsed your mouth and your finger with some water then went back into the bedroom and pulled your socks and boots back on.

You took a deep breath and quietly headed downstairs. You could hear Scarlett and Aiden’s voices along with Martin’s and Richard’s. You quietly crept down the stairs and stood at the bottom looking around at the living room. People were still passed out on the floor and on the sofa.

You quietly walked into the hallway leading to the kitchen and stood in the doorway watching everyone as you stuffed your hands into your front pockets and leaned against the doorway, crossing one foot in front of the other. You smiled at the banter being tossed back and forth between Aiden and Martin and Richard.

Suddenly you hear a beautiful voice behind you and turn your head to see a pretty blonde woman walking towards you. You shift and make room for her. She stops and greets you. “Oh, Hello! You must be Richard’s friend, Harley, was it?” She asked.

You heard everyone in the kitchen stop talking and turn to see you standing there. You nod and say, “Yes, I’m Harley. Who are you?” you ask.

She chuckles and Martin comes over to the two of you. “Darling you’re up!” he says as he scoots past you to kiss her. “Harley, this is my partner, Amanda.” He tells you.

You hold out your hand and she shakes it. “It’s nice to meet you Amanda.” You tell her.

She grins. “Nice to meet you too, Harley! You have such an unusual name, do you mind me asking where your parents got it from?” she asks.

You grin. “My dad was an American, my mom was from Nottinghamshire. They met in College when she came to the US as a foreign exchange student. Their first date, he took her for a motorcycle ride on his Harley.” You giggle. “And, well, the rest is history.” You smirk.

Martin looks at you surprised. “You’re named after a motorcycle!?!” he exclaims, getting an elbow in the ribs from Amanda.

You giggle and nod. “Yup. Mom always said I was just like his bike, fun, noisy, obnoxious, and stubborn.” You grin.

You feel hands snake around your waist from behind and look up to see Richard grinning down at you. “Well, now that you’ve met, can we get back to making breakfast?” he asks teasingly.

You grin and nod. You let out a shriek when he suddenly picks you up and carries you into the kitchen. Making you, Martin and Amanda all laugh.

Scarlett and Aiden look up from their make out session and grin. “So, you DID stay the night!” Aiden teases. “Thought you might have left and had Graham take you back to the apartment.” He said.

You shake your head as Richard sets you down by where he was working to make breakfast. “No, I’m not staying anywhere overnight alone until I get a guard dog or my ex is permanently out of the picture and no longer a threat.” You tell him.

Richard grins.

“What do you need a dog for?” Amanda asks.

You explain to her and Martin what is going on with your ex and how Richard and Graham want you to get a guard dog to keep you safe.

“That’s probably a good idea, Harley.” Martin tells you. “Restraining orders are a joke. They rarely work and only give the cops another thing to charge the person with. They do nothing to really protect a person from being harassed and attacked.”

You nod. Then turn to ask Richard what is for breakfast.

He nods to the stuff on the counter next to him. You see eggs, sausage, bacon, pastries, ham, and shredded potatoes.

You ask if you can help. He nods and points to the eggs. “Crack them in a bowl for me and I’ll make omelets for whoever wants one. There’s cheese, milk and peppers in the fridge.

Martin sighs, “Got anything vegetarian for breakfast, Rich?” he asks as he digs around in the fridge.

Richard grins, “Not sure what a vegetarian eats for breakfast, Martin, you’re welcome to what ever you find that you want to eat.” He tells him. “There’s cereal in the cupboard next to the fridge if you want that. I think there’s some soy milk in the fridge too.

Martin gives Rich the finger and then finds some food for breakfast and starts to eat. Richard looks at you and asks what you want in your omelet. You tell him, bacon, ham, shredded potatoes, peppers and cheese. He grins and nods. He makes you your omelet, then makes one for Scarlett and one for Aiden, one for Amanda and one for himself. Rich tosses you a bottle of aspirin once you finish eating so you can take some for your hangover headache.

The smell of food, finally wakes up the rest of the guests and they head into the kitchen and find stuff for breakfast. Some make omelets, some have scrambled eggs and ham or bacon, some have pastries, some have cereal. Everyone has coffee, which had to be made several times until everyone had a cup.

Everyone stood around talking and eating breakfast. Once the partygoers were done eating, they started heading out to go home. You helped Richard with the dishes and put them into the dishwasher while he rinsed them off. Once the dishwasher was full, you put the soap in and then ran it.

You head over to your jacket and backpack and pull out your phone. You see you missed several calls and listen to the voice messages. You call Officer Sand back and apologize for missing the calls. You explain what happened after you got done seeing the apartment and he chuckles. “Well, at least you’re safe.” He tells you.

You apologize for worrying him. “No problem, Harley. Did you want to meet up today so I can get the keys for your old apartment? The guys said they’d come help pack up your stuff today with me. We’ll take it to our storage facility that that PD uses, and we’ll store it there till you get a place.” He tells you.

“How did you like the O’Malley’s apartment?” he asked. You tell him you loved it, but aren’t sure if you’ll be able to afford it since it is slightly more expensive than your current place, and Mrs. O’Malley had to ask her husband if he’d allow you to have a guard dog. You ask him how to get the guard dog registered as a service animal so you can keep it with you at all times. He explains the process and tells you that if you need help with that, he knows someone who can help.

You thank him and the two of you set up a time and place to meet to give him the keys. You tell him to leave the keys on the counter once they have everything out and cleaned. You give him your landlord’s name and phone number and tell him to call your landlord when they’re almost done so he can come lock up the apartment and get the keys.

He thanks you and tells you he’ll see you soon.

You hang up and check your other voicemails. You have one from Todd telling you that Mr. O’Malley agreed to let you have the guard dog and the pet deposit would only be $150. He tells you to call him and let him know if you still want the apartment so they can set up a time to go sign the lease.

You hang up and sigh as Richard comes over to hold you in a hug. “What’s the matter, Love?” he asks.

“I need to sit down and figure out how much my budget is going to be with this new job. Todd says that Mr. O’Malley said I can have the dog at my apartment if I decide to get it and that the Pet Deposit will be $150.”

“That’s not much!” Says Scarlett. “How much is the rent and security deposit, Sweetheart?” She asks.

“Mrs. O’Malley said the rent was $850 and the Security Deposit was equal to the first month’s rent. I won’t be getting my deposit back from the old apartment because I had to break the lease, so I’m not sure. I might not be able to get the apartment for a month or so.” You say as you rub your face. “I just need to sit down and see where I am with all my bills. I need to call and cancel the electricity at the old apartment, which I should do today.” You remind yourself.

“Harley, there’s no hurry to get a place.” Aiden tells you. “I already told you that you can stay at my place for as long as you need.” he says.

“I know, Aid, but you live on the other end of town from my job and I don’t want to be getting rides every day. I miss my walks to and from work.” You tell him.

“You are always welcome to stay here, Harley.” Rich reminds you as he gives you a squeeze.

“I know, Rich. I appreciate both offers, but I need my own place right now. I have a lot of things I need to work through, and I need to know I can make it on my own without needing help every month with bills. My ex always demanded to handle everything, and it wasn’t until a few months before my surgery that I found out how much he had screwed things up for me. He totally ruined my credit and wasn’t paying bills and was taking my paychecks and blowing them on frivolous stuff. It took me months to repair the financial damage he destroyed. He had access to everything: credit cards, bank accounts… it all had to be closed or cancelled and re-issued under my name only and an identity theft warning was placed on my Social Security number and bank accounts so I’d know if he tried to use them.” You explain as you rub your face.

“I need to be able to just be myself and stand on my own two feet for a while and be able to do what I want, when I want. I appreciate the help you all offer and give, don’t get me wrong. This is just something I need to do for me and for my own piece of mind.” You explain.

“I understand, Love. Just know that we are here for you IF you decide you want help.” Richard tells you. Aiden, Sophie, Martin and Amanda agree and nod.

You thank them and sigh as Richard holds you in his arms. “So, what do you want to do today, Harley?” Sophie asks.

You think for a minute. “I need to head back to your apartment, Aid. I need to change clothes and sit down and figure out my budget before I do anything else. I need to meet Alex at the precinct to give him my apartment keys for 1pm. Todd wants me to call him back to let him know if I want the apartment or not and I suppose I should take a look at what my options are for guard dogs.” You reply.

“Graham has a friend who trains guard dogs.” Amanda tells you. “He has some wonderful dogs! Beautiful and EXTREMELY well trained. They come registered as service dogs if you’re getting them for personal protection. I assume you’d be taking it everywhere with you?” She asks.

You nod. “Yeah.”

“What kind of dog do you want?” Aiden asks.

“I don’t really know.” You reply. “I’m terrified of some kinds of dogs.” You tell him.

He looks at you confused, “Why?” he asks.

You look down at the floor. “I was charged by a Rottie and a Doberman when I was a toddler and they terrified me. They were inches from my face, growling and snapping at me. They had broken their ¼” thick chains and charged me and mom for some reason. Completely unprovoked.

Another time, our neighbor in an apartment building I lived in had a boxer and a pit bull. He had just taken them out of his unit’s door, when they saw me come up the stairs. They charged me and pinned me against the wall, barking and growling at me when I did nothing to provoke them. I don’t know if he wasn’t holding onto their leashes tight enough or at all, but they terrified me.” You tell him.

You feel Richard hold you close, and you feel safe in his arms. “Well, we’ll scratch them off the list, then.” Says Amanda.

 Richard looks up at the clock on the wall. “Well if we’re going to get anything done today, I suggest we get a move on it. I’m going to go shower and get dressed.” He tells everyone.

“We had better head out honey.” Amanda tells Martin. “It was nice to meet you, Harley, feel free to join us and hang out and party whenever you like.” She says and gives you a hug. You hug her back surprised. You look over to Martin who also has a surprised look on his face, but grins and nods at you.

“Thank you, Amanda. I will try to join you all when I am able.” You tell her.

See you later, Rich, she tells him as her and Martin head out. “Thanks for the fun party and for breakfast!” she tells Rich as Martin pulls her down the hallway and out the door. Making everyone chuckle.

 Rich looks at you. “I suppose you’re heading out with Aid and Scar?” he asks.

You look at them and they nod. You look back at Richard and nod.

“Come here,” he says and gives you a tight hug. “Thank you for coming to the party last night, and for this morning.” He whispers in your ear. “I love you, Harley. Please be safe and let me know how you’re doing later on today. If you want me to come hang out with you after a while, call me, Ok?” he tells you.

You look up at him and nod. “Ok, Rich.” You say. He leans down and gives you a deep kiss that lasts a few minutes. “God, you’re addicting!” he whispers as he breaks the kiss, causing you to blush. “and you’re beautiful when you’re blushing like that.” He teases, making you blush a deeper red.

“Rich what are you saying to her to make her so red?” Scarlett teases.

Richard looks up at her and smirks. “Wouldn’t you like to know!” he says with an impish grin.

Aiden just laughs, “Come on, ladies, let’s get going so Rich can go cool off in the shower!” he teases.

 Richard holds you a little longer. “I wish you didn’t have to go and would stay here.” He tells you, “but I understand your reasons.” He says and reluctantly lets you go with another passionate kiss.

You giggle and go to grab your coat and backpack.

You give him another hug at the door, enjoying his manly scent and bare chest before Scarlett drags you out the door. “See you later.” You call out and wave to him as he stands in the doorway waving and looking like a lovesick puppy.

Rich sighs, and watches the three of you drive off. He closes the door and looks around at his now empty and too quiet home and sighs again. He goes around picking up the living room, thankful no one puked this time.

He takes out the garbage and then heads up to his room to shower. He notices your long strands of hair stuck in his comb on the counter and chuckled as he pulls them out and shook his head at how long some of them were. He thought Thorin’s wig length was annoying, he couldn’t fathom having hair as long as yours was.

Rich puts the comb back down on the counter and tosses the hair in the garbage, then strips down and climbs in the shower to freshen up.

@dondarrion16 @criminally-supernatural @hilary456 @fizzyxcustard @thetherianthropydaily @ratv0miit @emrfangirl @midnight-reader-morning-sleeper

[mentalillnessmouse]

(p1) Hi, I'm writing because I feel there is no hope for me. I'm 30, I live at home where I get verbally mistreated (it was physical when I was younger.) I'm morbidly obese, agoraphobic, I literally didn't leave the house for a 2 year period and still rarely do. I have 0 friends and never had any except a few online ones who ditched me years ago. I was bullied constantly. I have self-harm marks all over my arms. I've NEVER had a job, or finished high school. I still almost never leave the house.

(p2) I’ve asked for help to learn to drive, but they tell me I can’t. I guess because they call me autistic and tell me I am not very smart and make jokes about me having ADHD. I took those comments seriously and they told me I was “looking for problems.” WHAT? I made the mistake of speaking with a few psychiatrists about it who shut me down because, in their words, I didn’t “look” like I had those issues. And that my parents had hard jobs so it made sense they would lash out at me. 

(p3) I deal with other issues too like menorrhagia. A doctor had me do an ultrasound (this was like my 3rd one since ‘06) and sent me to a specialist because they saw something. The specialist said she didn’t think anything was there and wasn’t going to actually examine me. I gave up. I’m afraid to speak up for myself, I genuinely don’t understand how to live, make friends, talk to people. I feel like I just have TOO MANY issues. And at my age I don’t see why anyone would bother with me anymore.

(p4) I have an appt with a psych at the same place as the others because I have my city’s free insurance and nowhere else to go. I don’t know if I can do it again after this? I just wanted somewhere to reach out at least one more time :( I’ve reached out to others (like extended family) who will talk to me for a bit then ignore? I can’t help but to feel damaged or like I’m doing something wrong I can’t figure out. I feel like a weak loser and I didn’t try good enough.I’m sorry this is so long

Hello Anon, 

I’m mod Bee and I’ll do my best to help you out, but I received help myself from the other mods to write you back. So this is a communal effort!

Thank you for reaching out, and I’m sorry you’re going though such a difficult and distressing situation. You sound strong and tenacious, and I’m proud of you for the way you keep trying to improve your life. 

We have some suggestions that we hope can be of help. They’ll concerne:

finding online communities/groups to hang out with

finding a professional that suits your needs 

looking for courses you can join 

thinking about possible job options 

Just an head up: this is going to be long, and it will contain tons of links. I’ll highlight one - that I think it’s most useful - for each section, but I suggest you to go through them all. 

1. finding online communities/groups to hang out with

Having friends is important for our mental health, but it can get difficult to make new ones, especially when we’ve been burned before.  

Online communities, forums, and groups, can be good places to start looking for friends again. You can approach them with as much caution as you need, and find those people you relate with the most.

If you like games, and rpgs in particular, there are online options that allow you to connect with other others all over the world. Activities like Dungeon&Dragons are based around players’ interactions, so you’d get to know people without putting the stress on forging new friendships. The article 10 Best Online Chat Rooms & Games suggests other equally fitting games. 

Forums and groups where you can share your experience and fears are another important tool you can use. I’ve looked into active ones and found Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia Forum, r/Agoraphobia/ (on reddit), bus (a self-harm support forum), Mental health support group and discussion community, Online Support Groups by Turn2Me, PsychForums (Psychology and Mental Health Forums), and the ReachOut app.

Trying with pen pals - a one on one exchange - could also be a good idea: InterPals and PenPalWorld are only two of the many websites dedicated to this purpose. Here’s some tips on how it works.

Finally, there are apps with the specific purpose of finding new friends, like Bumble BFF. Try to see if you there’s one of your liking in this list.

2. finding a professional that suits your needs

We usually recommend what it’s colloquially called “psychiatrist/therapist shopping”, the act of choosing a professional after inquiring what we need to know of their line of work, based on our own wishes, and asking this to more than one.

It’s difficult when insurance covers just a little portion of professionals, but not impossible. 

Can’t afford therapy? No insurance? Need low cost options? Here is a great list of ways to get help when money or insurance is an issue.

Therapy For Every Budget: How To Access It

9 Ways to Get Free or Cheap Therapy When You Don’t Have Health Insurance

Dial 211 for Essential Community Services: if you call 211, you can ask about free therapy options in your area, or how to work with you insurance to afford other professionals.

If none of these options work out, and you have to stick with the professional your insurance provides, there are measures you can take that might help making the sessions successful. Check out 21 Tips for getting the most out of each therapy session and How to Talk to Your Doctors When They Don’t Listen. 

If your new psychiatrist tries to dismiss you without hearing everything that you have to say, insist that they write on your record exactly what they did and why, and that you absolutely want a copy of it before you exit their room. It’s your right to have both your requests accomplished. I know it’s not easy to have them respected: you’ll probably have to stand your ground and that can be difficult, but I think it’s important for you and fundamental for what you can get out of this session. This is a post with links to various module you can complete to help you assert yourself, which I suggest you to start before going to your appointment, if you can. It can be useful to face your family, too.

Does your insurance cover a different specialist for the gynecological problem your doctor wanted you to check out? Is there any free or low-cost clinic near you, like Planned Parenthood or Free Clinic? You can inquire about their services through email.

3. looking for courses you can join

Online courses can be helpful for a number of things, like keeping busy, learning new stuff, feeling accomplished, and possibly getting some qualifications. 

There are some free options that end with a proper certificate, but not all are accredited, meaning that they’re not automatically accepted by employers (they can choose to consider them valid or not). Still, there are no downsides in joining such a course, seeing that it doesn’t cost anything but your time.

Not accredited certificates/no certificates:

Alison’s Diploma Courses and Certificate Courses 

FutureLearn doesn’t grant you certificates with their free courses, but it still provides learning access

edX’s Courses

Udemi, not free but it offers up to 90% discounts generally once a month

Learn how to code, a masterpost that lists different courses to learn coding

Free Online Language Courses, a masterpost that lists different courses to learn languages  

24 Invaluable Skills To Learn For Free

Accredited certificates

coursera offers some free courses, and/or the possibility to apply for financial aid

Online Degree require no tuition, no applications, and no interviews, and has worked so participating Universities around the country will consider the courses for credit, potentially finishing up to an entire freshman year of college

edX’s Professional Certificate Programs are not free, but edX offers up to a 90% discount to those who prove they cannot pay a full price.

University Of The People is tuition-free, which means there is no charge for teaching or instruction, only initial fees (around 160$) for each course. You can also apply for scholarships.

on StudyPortal - Scholarships, you can find a huge number of scholarships available in your country, and here you can find the easiest scholarships to apply to. There are also scholarships for online courses.

There’s also the possibility of completing high school through virtual courses, and if they’re organized by your State’s public school system, they should be free. You can find more info on this here. 

4. thinking about possible job options

Working towards finding a job is important for our own self-worth and feeling like a valuable member of society, and of course it can also help with looking for better therapy. 

It can be tricky when mental and physical illnesses are at play, though. That’s why I’d like to give you some online options here, too, that don’t ask for any particular prerequisite, and would give you enough free time to focus to get better. Jobs like data entry or app testing are doable from home, and may not pay much, but they’d allow you to start building some savings. 

5 Online Jobs That Require Little or No Experience

No Experience? Start One of These Online Jobs

Best Data Entry Jobs From Home

10 (Legit) Data Entry Jobs from Home

Work At Home Data Entry on Indeed.com

FlexJobs

Glassdoor

Whatever you choose, creating a strong resume is always a good step. I’m giving you some resources on how to do that:

How to Create a Professional Resume

How To Make A Resume 101

Help Everyone Find A Job In Their Field

And between checking out all these options we gave you, please try to do some of this Workout For Daily Life, because focusing on a screen for too long can cause so many aches!

You’re not a loser, you’re strong and you keep fighting for yourself, which is admirable. I hope these resources can be of help, and please do send another ask if you need anything else.

Take care,

mod Bee

[rkivepacks]

TITLE: good dreams make you bleed Originally posted on: AO3/dtgloss Pairing: taekook/kookv/vkook (Kim Taehyung & Jeon Jeongguk) Rating: PG13 Genre: Fluff Word Count: 2,081 Trigger Warning/s: Swearing Disclaimer: This work is solely from the idea of the author. Should there be similarities with the works of other respected artists are purely unintentional. This also do not reflect on the real lives of the artists portrayed in this work. Comments, suggestions and any other concerns are accepted in my inbox. Thank you! 

Summary:  i made reservations at a restaurant and the hostess informed me about my company that has already arrived and hey it's you ???? au

Jeongguk is a painter by law. Babysitter by choice.

It started when doing commissions all throughout his junior and senior year of arts school became too much for an arts major to handle all at once because, as his mother once said when he went back home to Busan for a short break ‘you’re in the last two years of your college which also means things get hard and even harder. At some point you have to drop a responsibility or two if you still want to walk the damn convention center and get the diploma yourself.��

Commissions and extra money for better dinner and boba teas be damned. Jeongguk gradually had less commissions coming in and some days and weeks, no commissions at all. He had actual plates and actual student stuff he has to finish unless he wants to repeat his past mistake of almost submitting a commission as his final project.

Jeongguk is officially a graduate. Unemployed definitely not by choice.

The period where he was waiting for his graduation up to the present, the man was busy babysitting on the side, doing some commissions and having art classes for kids during month-long summer camps nearby. Although he hates kids between the ages of six to twelve, it will have to do if he wants to be all mighty and independent as all people born under the sign of virgos do.

“Jeonggukie, Sanhi kept on moving and now my lines are messed up!” One kid from his class that day wailed, pointing to his ruined drawing sheet.

“That’s enough. Sanhi would you mind saying sorry and then finish your work on my table instead?” He reprimands and gives the kid with the ruined sheet, Miri, a new clean one. Jeongguk helps the naughty little boy move farther as not to cause more chaos and goes on with checking the works of the rest of the class.

“Remember to clean your brushes before packing up!” He reminds the kids who thought nodding once or twice would be enough to let their teacher know they heard him.

Eventually he gets tired and sits at the corner, checking the time. Only 43 minutes left until class ends and he can go home and wallow in self-pity. He checks the notifications he didn’t mind during the early hours of the class and figures he can reply to some (hoping some of these were commissions).

From: Joon-hyungoo Jungoo are u gonna go grocery shopping today?? Let me know so I can do it Press 1 for more info.

From: unknown Good afternoon! This is the guardian of Haechin. Do you mind keeping her company for a little while? I won’t be able to make it on time from where I am now. I’m sorry for the trouble.

Jeongguk ponders for a moment before checking the time again, seeing that there are 22 minutes left.

Haechin is the little girl with different hairstyles adorning her head everytime she shows up and her Sofia the First bag she always carries that contains more packed snacks than school materials.

To: Joon-hyungoo Got held up hyung !!!! Can u do it hhhehehek

To: Unknown Hello! I’ll be waiting in the classroom with Haechin. See you!

Later on the kids were dismissed, their parents slowly coming in to check on their child packing up and cleaning. Jeongguk taught the kids that cleaning up the work area is important and all that shit. He calls Haechin over and tells her to occupy the teacher’s table as he cleans up the rest of the materials and his own personal belongings as they wait for Haechin’s guardian.

“Daddy!” Haechin explains and waddles to the door. Jeongguk looks over to where she ran off to, expecting the guardian who was always taking Haechin to and from the art classes only to see a different person this time. He opts to make the connection that this man must be the guardian in the text messages.

Jeongguk shortly wonders if the usual guardian getting Haechin from his classes was the mother or a babysitter. The woman could pass for a mother although she’s young and petite.

The man (in a suit. Definitely not a baby sitter because he doesn’t think babysitters baby sit in suits. Or maybe this is a different household with different house rules?) squishes Haechin’s cheeks to greet her and asks questions about her day before putting his attention to him.

“Hi! Thank you so much. I’m really sorry for this I could not leave for work earlier to make it on time here.” The man in suit who definitely isn’t the babysitter says, extending a hand to Jeongguk.

“Oh. No worries, I don’t have to be somewhere else after this. So. It’s okay, really.” He says, shaking the man (again, in a suit) that was extending his hand to him.

“We’ll get going, I guess. See you soon…” The man trailed off, realizing the two adults do not actually know each other.

“Jeon Jeongguk.” He introduces himself. “I’m the teacher… obviously.” He chuckles.

“Kim Taehyung. I’m Haechin’s dad.” The man in suit says. “It’s getting late so we’ll head out.” He waves and takes a hold of Haechin’s hand.

“See you tomorrow, teacher!” Haechin waves and Jeongguk makes the same gesture before muttering a “bye!” just loud enough for the two to hear. On their way out, voices that could only be attributed to the daughter and father duo in the hallway discusses what to have for dinner and the daughter replying with what she wants for her packed snacks tomorrow instead.

+

The shared apartment sounded eerily quiet and the locked door could only signify that no one was home as of the moment. Jeongguk makes his way to the kitchen only to find a cup in the sink that Namjoon or Hoseok probably used, and assumes that the two went grocery shopping and sending a silent prayer that they don’t miss something essential for Jeongguk’s daily routine (His fortified milk).

The sound of the passcode being punched in outside resonates throughout the apartment, signaling the arrival of the two and as predicted, the sound of numerous supermarket bags being carried into the kitchen. Jeongguk rushes to aid the older men in carrying the large bags before setting them on the counter.

“Why did you get home late? Didn’t I tell you that your curfew is only ten in the evening? Stop spending your lunch money on liquors and cigarettes. Study, Jeongguk.” Hoseok makes a big show of portraying a hardworking mother with a low-class financial background, Jeongguk being the deadbeat son.

“You’re so full of shit, hyung.” He deadpans before laughing at the latter’s antics. Namjoon goes straight for the coldest pitcher of water from the fridge and pours himself a glass, ignoring the usual banter of the two.

Jeongguk checks the fridge if it has been stocked up with fresh groceries (and to make sure his Hoseok hyung does not put another toothpaste in the freezer just because he can. The toothpaste tube ended up in the side of the sink for a whole three days to defrost and to properly be used). Jeongguk decides not to mention the nut tarts that are in the fridge that surely cost more than usual as it was a delicacy being sold in the local supermarket.

After a quick dinner all by himself as he got home late and the two already had their share of the dinner, Jeongguk retreated back to his room to check his other works in progress. One of his wips.

(“The fuck is a wips?” Namjoon asks, incredulously.

“Work in progress, hyung.” Jeongguk answers, half-annoyed his cereal was halted halfway to his mouth. “I thought it meant what in actual phuck.” Hoseok supplements, aiming to high five Namjoon across the table.

The three men laugh at the light joke over instant noodles for snacks.)

“Look at this baby… You’re only lacking a background and a few details, right?” Jeongguk talks to one of the paintings for a client. “Yes… I’m just going to save what’s left of these decent pants and I’ll give my full attention to you.” He sighs, walking over to his drawer full of clothes then to the bathroom.

Jeongguk gets back to his room with his face slightly wet from being washed and a few droplets getting to his top. With a soft playlist of live performances from various ballad artists from youtube, Jeongguk gets to work, opting to not do a grand background and only fixing minor details on the painting.

+

For Friday class Jeongguk had prepared his 17 students their own sheet of paper with a large initial of their first names covering the whole page. The students were bound to think they are in for another game that will surely get the whole class chaotic. Jeongguk promised to never again host another game (someone used a permanent market on the whiteboard that took ages to get off. He looks at the faint mark left on it). Everyone erupts in murmurs and Jeongguk listens to the crazy ideas of toddlers.

“We know how to do the alphabet though.” One wondered aloud.

“Teacher, why is my H bigger than Aehoon’s A?” One asked thoughtfully. “Teacher, Gonghoon wrote on the paper already!” Someone chastised his classmate.

“Okay, listen toddlers.” Jeongguk gathers their attention. Once settled, Jeongguk asks the little children to draw inside the big letters in order to describe themselves. He scans the faces of the children as some were left confused, some already forming ideas, and some were too busy folding the corners of the sheets.

Jeongguk settles to watch over the kids from his place, from where he can see all of them in one vision, with a rough overview of their artworks. Some dived in into work while some were busy watching the others work. He goes around at some point to assist students and to reprimand one for almost ruining a clean sheet of a classmate.

The class ends soon, Jeongguk signhs in relief at the realization that it’s the weekend, he can work on some commissions and rest. He tells all the children to clean up after themselves and to take home the unfinished work and finish it at home. Jeongguk cleans up the rest, only residing to his table once he has managed to fix the mismatched crayons to their proper boxes. He notices that Haechin is tugging at his pants, only the two of them in the room after having the other kids driven home by their guardians and parents.

“Is my daddy not here yet?” Haechin asks.

“Haechin, how about we draw something else? Your father said he’s having trouble looking for your favorite candy right now so he’s running late!” He comforts the child, although he also wonders who’s going to be at the door to get Haechin.

“Haechin?” A familiar voice makes way through the door.

“Daddy, teacher said you got me my candy?” Haechin greets his dad.

“I’m sorry I had to compromise so she wouldn’t feel bad.” Jeongguk rushes to apologize to the distressed father. He does not even know if Haechin is allowed near candies. Save him for panicking.

“It’s okay.” Taehyung smiles apologetically to the man before turning to his daughter. “Baby, your candy is so hard to find, I went everywhere for it but it’s gone?” The father consoles the little child.

As cute as the scene is in front of him, Jeongguk checks the time and he really should be closing his classroom now if he wants to make it home on time before rush hour picks. He tells the same thing (except for the getting home because his car’s coding hits on Fridays so he takes the public transportation) and the father and daughter duo rushes to get home but not before apologizing profusely courtesy of the man.

Haechin waves at him and he manages to choke out a “don’t forget your homework!” and the father smiles at him before the two disappears behind the door.

That night Jeongguk stays up in front of his laptop, using it as a heater on his lap as he browse through his emails and blog. An email confirming a dinner meeting with a new client was opened up to a new window, the secretary of the client of his informing him the details for tomorrow night (as it is the only available time for the busy man, apparently).

+

[end]

[See all works here]

[leigh-kelly]

165. “Do you like it when I touch you like that?” A continuation of this.

After Santana gets back from her grandmother’s funeral, so grateful to have Brittany by her side when she almost had more than one nervous breakdown in the church, Rachel tells her that she’s going away for the weekend. Santana has a lot of work to do, especially with catching up from the classes she missed while she was back home, but she thinks maybe she’s finally ready to...be intimate with Brittany. They’ve been together for months now, Brittany went back to Ohio for a funeral with her, and Santana is falling for her really hard. She’s more nervous than she’s ever been in her life, but she’s not so nervous that she doesn’t want to do it.

Santana cleans her room, and she puts new sheets on the bed. They’re just plaid flannel, like all her sheets, but they’re fresh, and Santana feels better about that. She thinks about getting sparkling cider, but that feels really, really lame, so she settles on pulling out a sushi menu from her drawer and leaving it on her desk. She hasn’t even asked Brittany to stay over yet, or told her that Rachel is going to be gone, but by ten o’clock on Friday morning, she’s showered with the good smelling body wash she picked up from Lush, and she’s shaved her legs in preparation for something to happen. 

While she waits for Brittany to wake up and come knock on her door, Santana works on her Hemingway paper. The monotony of it actually serves to distract her from the roiling nerves that have concentrated in her stomach, and she’s grateful for that. She’s excited to finally have sex with Brittany—considering she’s thought about it a lot—but she’s also so concerned that she’s not going to be good. That Brittany is going to be turned off by her inexperience. That they’re going to be sexually incompatible, because Brittany is probably really good at...stuff...while Santana just isn’t. But she swallows it down, and when there’s a knock on the door, Santana plasters a smile on her face and goes to answer it.

“Hey.” Brittany walks through the door, as always, still in her pajamas. “Have you already cleaned your whole room today? It smells like bleach in here.”

“Yeah...you know, I was up. I also wrote half of my Hemingway paper.”

“Jeeze, I’m lucky I brushed my teeth. Only reason I did is so I could do this.” Brittany leans in and kisses Santana, with Santana not hesitating to deepen it, and allow Brittany’s tongue into her mouth. “Mmm perfect.”

“So, uh.” Santana shifts her weight between her feet, and looks down at her socks. “Rachel went away for the weekend.”

“Sweet! We can watch Oliver and Company without her singing over all the characters!”

“Um...I was actually thinking, do you maybe wanna stay over with me?”

“Wait what? I never stay here.”

“I know.” Santana flushes. “I don’t want to be weird right now, but, I want to be with you tonight. Like...you know.”

“Wait, really?” Brittany’s eyes widen, and Santana nods slowly. 

“Yeah, really. I feel super weird about the fact that I’m planning it like this. I just...do better with a plan.”

“I’m glad you did. That gives me time to make it special for you.”

“I thought we were both in agreement that virginity is a social construct.” Santana sucks in a breath, and Brittany smiles.

“We are. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t want our first time together to be special. I’m not going to do anything crazy, but my mom always insists on sending me candles every time she makes me a care package. Maybe we’ll just light them, and I’ll make us an awesome playlist?”

“I’m already starting to feel a little overwhelmed by this.” Santana confesses. “I don’t want you to have these high expectations for me.”

“No expectations, Santana. We don’t even have to do anything if you change your mind. Regardless, I’m making the most of a night you don’t have a roommate, even if we just eat ramen and watch a movie.”

“I...was actually going to irresponsibly use part of my financial aid refund check and order us sushi.”

“You know I’ll never say no to sushi. I was actually going to see if you wanted to go grab breakfast, I’m starving.”

“I had cereal a little while ago.” Santana tells Brittany, though part of the reason she doesn’t want to have breakfast today is that she needs a little space before she explodes. “And I want to get this paper done so it’s not hanging over my head tonight.”

“Okay, cool. I’ll text Artie and see what his deal is, sometimes he sits in the dining hall for like two hours holding court.”

“You’re not mad, are you?”

“No, not at all. I know you’ve got a lot of work to do, and I’m just glad I get to spend all night with you.”

After Brittany leaves, Santana obsesses about the night while she works on her paper. She wonders if she should go shave more, or if she’s fine. Half of her considers googling some porn, just to be more aware of things, but she figures she’s read enough fan fiction to have a basic understanding of how things are going to work. She’s completely freaked out, but she also knows she wants to do this. She likes Brittany a lot, and she just keeps telling herself that virginity is a social construct. It’s not going to be a big deal, it’s like...what did her high school health substitute once say? Like hugging, only wetter? 

When she decides she absolutely can’t work on her paper anymore, it’s four o’clock, and she decides to take another shower. She really wants to feel fresh, and not have Brittany be grossed out by her vagina or anything, so she soaks under the water for a good half hour. When she finally gets out, she then begins to obsess about what to wear. They’re just going to be hanging out in the bedroom, so getting dressed up seems totally ridiculous—and not at all possible, based on her wardrobe—but she doesn’t want to look like she didn’t try at all. 

Digging through her underwear drawer, she’s kind of annoyed at herself that she didn’t go out and buy some kind of sexy underwear. Finally, she settles for a pair with The Avengers on them, and she slips into loose sweatpants and a Roswell t-shirt. She’s fine. She looks fine. Her hair is relatively tamed. She smells good. Brittany knows exactly who she is, and nothing about this is going to be weird at all. 

I’m back from doing stuff with Artie. Brittany texts her. I know you’re busy, but I’m around whenever you’re done working.

You can come over. Santana texts back. I just finished with everything I’ve got to do.

Two minutes later, Brittany knocks on the door with a bag over her shoulder, and it immediately makes Santana laugh. She really did bring candles, and also, because she knows it serves to calm Santana down, the DVD of Carol that they’ve already watched together no less than six times. While Santana stands around awkwardly, Brittany gives her a kiss, and then sets about putting the candles on her desk and dresser and lighting them. They order their sushi and eat it on the floor, and then, when they’re finished, Santana looks at her.

“What do we do now?” Santana asks, feeling like a total basket case.

“I think we should put the movie on, and lay down. Are you good with that?”

“Yeah, uh huh. Really good with it.”

Brittany gets the DVD going, and Santana has an internal debate with herself about whether to get under the covers, or lay on top of them like they usually do. She doesn’t know how fast they’re going to progress from movie watching to sex, and the idea of doing it on top of her comforter kind of freaks her out, so she decides to just pull it all the way back, and lay down on the sheets. She can feel Brittany watching her, but she doesn’t say anything. She just turns off the lights, and climbs up into the bed next to her, making her usual cradle with her arm for Santana’s head.

By the time Carol and Therese begin their road trip together, Brittany has begun massaging Santana’s neck. Santana knows she’s tense, and the motions do wonders for calming her down. She wants this, she wants this so badly, she just has to get out of her own way in order to make it happen. 

“This okay?” Brittany checks in with her, and Santana nods.

“You can kiss me if you want to.”

“Well, I always want to do that.” She laughs, shifting so she’s laying on top of Santana, and can kiss up her neck and to her mouth. “Stop me if I go too far.”

“I want you to go too far tonight.”

“I want you to set the pace, Santana. I want you to be the one who undresses me, and who asks me to take your clothes off.”

“Okay. Let’s just...kiss for a little while first.”

While Brittany kisses Santana, Santana lets her hands roam Brittany’s clothed body. She was always afraid of touching too much, of giving mixed messages about what she wanted, but tonight, she wants Brittany to get that message. She wants to slide her hands up under Brittany’s shirt, and feel that no bra keeps her from squeezing her breasts. She wants to feel the warm heat that comes from between her legs, even with the barrier of flannel pants between them. She wants to feel everything about her, because she’s falling for her, and all she wants is to fall harder.

Somewhere in the background, the movie ends, and Brittany gropes around to plug her iPod into Santana’s speaker. The music plays softly in the background, and abruptly, Santana sits up. She looks deeply into Brittany’s eyes, and her fingers play at the hem of her t-shirt. In her mind, it’s like she’s warring with herself about whether to do that yet, but eventually, her hormones win, and she tugs Brittany’s shirt over her head, leaving her topless in the cool of the room.

“Wow.” Santana gasps, unsure of what else to say. “Seriously, wow.”

“You’re cute.” Brittany laughs. “And you look really sexy right now.”

“Me?”

“No, the other girl that’s sitting in front of me with swollen lips and messy hair.” She teases, as Santana plays with her own shirt.

“You can take this off.”

Once Brittany gets Santana’s shirt off, and unhooks her bra, Santana lays back down on top of Brittany. The sensation of their nipples touching sends a jolt straight through Santana, and she lets out a small moan. She has it in her head that nervous as she is, she wants to be the one to initiate this, and after a long while of kissing again, she tugs at the drawstrings on Brittany’s pants. She’s awkward in getting them down, but eventually she does, and breathes a sigh of relief that Brittany is not completely clean shaven either. 

Her hands are shaking as she strokes the insides of Brittany’s thigh, and she can’t seem to steady them. She’s so afraid that she’s going to be bad at this, that she thinks she might actually be making herself bad. Brittany gives her a gentle kiss, and Santana sucks in a breath, remembering how much she cares about her, remembering how much she wants to do this. It’s just sex. It doesn’t have to be a life or death situation, but she’s freaking out, and she just wants to calm down.

“We can still stop, Santana.” Brittany pants. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want.”

“I want to.” Santana breathes, bringing her hand up higher. “I just don’t want to be bad at it.”

“Just touch me like you’d touch yourself.”

“I...don’t.” She confesses.

“Ever?” Brittany lifts her head up, and Santana feels her ears flame. 

“No.”

“So you’ve never...”

“No.” Santana shakes her head, feeling embarrassed even discussing it. 

“Lay back.” Brittany directs her. “Is it okay if I do this first?”

“Uh huh.” She nods, leaning back into the pillows.

Gently, Brittany slides down her sweatpants, and Santana sees the curve of her smile when she gets to her underwear. Santana covers her face with her arm, but Brittany removes it, kissing her forehead before tickling up her thighs and slipping her fingers through her wet sex. Hissing at the sensation, Santana doesn’t break eye contact with Brittany, and Brittany gives her a big grin. She varies her touch, and Santana squirms a little, unsure of what her body is doing.

“Do you like it when I touch you like this?” She whispers in Santana’s ear, and Santana can only nod.

She melts into the pillows, unable to comprehend each touch any longer, as it hurts a little. Instead, she focuses on the coil in the pit of her belly, getting closer and closer to snapping, and when it does, she’s taken by surprise with the force of it. Brittany continues her ministrations, even when Santana’s body is shaking, and Santana weaves her hands through her hair, pulling her in for a long and passionate kiss. Her chest swells with the strangest feeling, but she can only push Brittany onto her back, laying her sweat damp body over her, and trailing her hands down her bare stomach.

“I need to do that to you.”

[cosmosogler]

oh my god, yesterday was the wooooorst.

i left for the airport on time. the bus app said that the bus would arrive at the stop in 10 minutes (and it was a 2 minute walk away). so i had 2 hours to make a ~30 minute ride.

i missed the bus by so much that i didn’t even see it drive away from the stop before i arrived. the app had just, completely lied i guess? the rest of the day was also like that.

so i walked to the downtown station to try to catch the other bus. i also just missed that one according to the lady at the counter. she said the next downtown bus was coming in 40 minutes. so i called a taxi after fretting about it for a few minutes. the taxi driver said they’d be there in 15-20 minutes so i was like “ok.” the other route would go by in a half hour so a taxi would be faster.

the taxi took over 40 minutes to arrive. i told them never mind and got on the second bus. they said they had just pulled into the station and seemed pretty salty about it. but like... that was more than twice as long as they said they’d take.

the bus didn’t leave the station for another ten minutes. i made the wroooong choice. the bus also stopped at every single stop along the route and got stuck at some long red lights. i called my mother. i complained about it to harrison. but nothin was gonna make that bus go faster.

i missed my flight by 10 minutes.

i got put on the next flight... which was in six hours. instead of 9 or 10 pm, i’d be getting home at 3 am (my time). so i spent 6 hours bumming around the airport. i couldn’t get food when i was hungry because the person behind the counter at the snack bar didn’t show up for a very long time. i started drawing a picture on my ipad that i’d planned on working on during the flight.

the flight took off late. i had had a 20 minute layover in charlotte, so every single minute was making me more and more antsy. then when we arrived in charlotte we got put at the wrong gate so the plane sat there for more than 5 minutes before trundling away to the new gate.

the gate was at the end of one terminal. the plane i had to catch was on the other end of the airport at the end of another terminal. i sprinted!!! i had ten minutes to get there!!!

i was really bummed because you’d think since i can bike 12 miles that i could run for more than one minute before completely losing my breath and stamina. though to be fair i had not eaten and was wearing a heavy backpack and a bra that’s a little too tight. i was wheezing after a few seconds.

i actually made it? and i got my boarding pass printed at the counter with 4 minutes to spare before boarding started. i ran back to the bathroom but the line was so long i’d never make it back to the gate (the area was under construction and the nearest bathroom was more than 2 minutes away from the gate). 

it had been a few hours since i’d gotten to use the restroom, and with my gallbladder out i’ve had less... like, tolerance for waiting. that might be a “stress has destroyed my body” thing more than a gallbladder thing though.

anyway i had to fidget in my plane seat for 45 minutes while waiting for boarding to end and the takeoff and then we had to reach cruising altitude.

on the flight my ipad pencil wouldn’t connect to the ipad (airplane mode i guess?) so i couldn’t draw for the 5 hours i was sitting there. i got out smash instead since i got my 3ds fixed the other day... i got really REALLY good at hitting rest on a moving target as jigglypuff. i spent like 40 minutes doing nothing but that. the other hour was just working on general combos and taking on the computer as dedede. because i had nothing else to do and wanted to get good at it again. i made a gunner mii based off blue but the mii characters don’t really seem to have any natural combos? it’s just really hard to rack up damage with them. jumbi’s way easier to play as, at least. she’s got a sword.

my thumb started hurting from the new thumb stick (it wasn’t broken in yet i guess) so i put the game away and dozed for the rest of the flight. i made some notes for the story... just thinkin about how i wanted to work out some conversations. i mostly wanted to rest because i’d be getting home at 4 am in the morning my time, the airport is an hour away from my parents’ house. i didn’t get any sleep at all.

when i got to the airport my mom and dad were actually there? i thought they’d be picking me up at the curb. but they snuck up behind me while i was trying to get to baggage claim and mom almost pushed me down the escalator.

dad acted like everything’s normal. and i guess things are “normal” now. as in, this is the new normal, because dad has either completely ignored what he did or forgotten about it. 

he probably forgot about it. grabbing and threatening me and using real personal insults wasn’t a big deal ~to him~. grabbing me while i was laying in bed trying to sleep wasn’t a big deal ~to him~.

i pretended to sleep on the car ride home but again couldn’t manage to doze off. i wrote a few more story notes in my memo after a while because i gave up.

when i got home i went basically right to bed without even putting on pajamas and then i couldn’t sleep. wiley came to cuddle with me for a little bit. once he was satisfied that he had stepped on me enough times he left. i still couldn’t sleep.

when i finally did doze off, i woke up like two hours before my alarm was set to go off. so i guess i got like five hours of sleep maybe?

today was a blur. i spent a large fraction of it scanning in my old comic pages. i couldn’t get my sketchbook to fit in the scanner though no matter what i tried (i tried a lot of arrangements). so i’ll either figure that out later or not bother. there was a big dark line down the left side of the images. i was also a little upset that my loose pages didn’t fit in the scanner, so there’s a bit of the side clipped off every page image now. i was so broken up about how much i was losing that i didn’t even change the deviantart images. i know i shouldn’t put stuff on the edges of the page, but i didn’t really register it when i started the comic. i had started to use the whole page, and i put dialogue at the top and off to the sides to give myself more room to draw. i had to erase and redraw a lot of speech bubbles.

then i think i dicked around online for a while, uploading the images and stuff, and then i went downstairs to try to draw on the ipad and maybe finish that picture i’d started. i don’t think it’s going to be a fast picture... i don’t have the energy for shading though.

my brother came home so i said “hi” and “nice anime hair.” his hair is more than twice as long as mine, at least in the front. in the back it’s not quite that much longer. we drove out to freddy’s for dinner and both got real sick from the greasy burgers. he got it worse though because i had a veggie burger. then we got ice cream because we’re geniuses.

then we got groceries but i couldn’t find any tempeh. so tacos are gonna have to wait.

mom came home at 8 pm. she’d been out of the house working or driving to/from work for 13 hours today. she’s going to work for 6 hours tomorrow too. she told me about our my financial situation. but then she gave me a bunch of excuses to not teach me how to do taxes yet again this year.

i gotta start paying off my student loans though. can’t let that interest build up.

villanova apparently blew all my parents’ retirement funds. i didn’t realize they didn’t actually provide us with any financial aid. we couldn’t get loans because of the retirement money... all i managed to do at villanova was almost die!

while i was hanging out with my brother he made a few “jew” jokes. i pretended to be extremely confused. he asked if i’d never heard of jew jokes before and i shrugged and said not really. at least it got him off track. he didn’t tell any more.

i need to read up on how to deal with family members who get... weird about race. my brother’s already made holocaust jokes though. he’s been doing that. i get the feeling he fell in with the wrong crowd. i don’t remember what to do about it.

genevieve seems bored to tears. from the way my family describes her behavior she seems... depressed. she won’t go for walks. she doesn’t leave her bed and doesn’t come when called. she still won’t touch the stairs and she doesn’t spend much time in the backyard. 

i got her to come twice when i called today at least. i had to be really insistent and annoying but she did come over eventually and i highly praised her generosity. that seemed to cheer her up. she wagged her tail and everything. it’s so hot out... maybe tomorrow i can get her to go to the park for a few minutes. we’ll see. 

whenever i try to interact with eve my family, like, tells me how it is with her. like she’s just Like That now and there’s nothing they can do about it. “she won’t go up the stairs. she just won’t.” “she won’t come when we call her. she just looks at us. that’s all she does.” when i called eve my brother actually interrupted me to tell me yet again that she doesn’t come when called.

i got her to come.

when i try to encourage eve to check out the stairs my mother has interrupted me three times to tell me eve won’t go up the stairs. like she doesn’t want me to even try. eve is so lonely. i can tell. she’s bored and lonely. that’s why she’s started chewing up cardboard and stuff left on the floor.

i’m gonna take my work downstairs tomorrow and work in the kitchen i think. 

this evening i tried to start drawing for the comic again. i got one panel done, but IT’S SO HOT HERE. MY HANDS WERE SWEATING BEFORE I COULD EVEN PICK UP THE PENCIL. EVERYTHING GOT SO SMUDGED!!! it’s going to be a real struggle to finish two scenes this week. ten pages... i’ve got three finished already and in my drafts on the comic. so, i need to draw seven pages. i’ll work on it tomorrow if i can. these pages might suffer because of the heat though. i smudged one of the older pages before i could even get it in the scanner. i somehow got graphite on my LEFT hand, which never gets smudgy when i work... it’s always the side of my right hand since i rest it on the paper so it doesn’t shake.

my back really, really hurts. my shoulders and neck also really hurt. i tried stretching, but i didn’t really put a lot of effort into it... i always feel so, like, unable to do things here. unwilling to do things, maybe. lethargic. i didn’t get to meditate yesterday and i’m skipping it tonight because i don’t want to make noise with the guided thing. i’ve been lax about it anyway. i feel so on edge.

when i tried to have lunch at like 10:30 (? i lost track of time) this morning i was immediately very ill. so i ended up not having any food for about 27 hours, if we decide to cut out the leftovers adventure there. i didn’t try to eat again until i went out with my brother. to fast food... only good decisions, folks!!

still feeling super lethargic even though i finished a panel. i’ve got a lot of drawing to do. i hope tomorrow i feel better. on sunday i’m going to the movies with asher, i think. 

you know what i’m probably feeling so low energy because i didn’t eat for so long and also i haven’t slept well in two days. or, really, in a very long time, but especially the last two nights. i still need to talk to mom about finances for, like, hiring a study specialist... i don’t think we’re going to have the money to afford the psychiatrist my therapist recommended. she REALLY wants me to get a second opinion on my meds but i just don’t think it’s a big enough deal to warrant shelling out for full price psychiatrist appointments. that doctor doesn’t take insurance and it’s just... i know how expensive this gets. it’s already expensive enough getting even regular check ups for snoopy.

i hate living here... it’s so dirty and dusty and dilapidated. in my apartment i keep everything pretty orderly and don’t hold on to things i’m not using. or at least, i try not to. i don’t have enough space to hoard random stuff and i don’t get that attached to those things anyway. my mom won’t even throw out old food that nobody ate for the 3 years before it went bad (2 years ago). they’ve been using my room as a storage space while they paint the game room, but that project’s going super slow because they’ve been at it for months now. so now there’s just tons of crap stacked in front of my dresser (so i can’t actually get to the clothes i left here) and you can’t even get to my sister’s door. she’s in korea anyway i guess so that doesn’t matter as much.

ok anyway i’ve been writing for a while now. thanks for listening. i’ve got a lot more sore muscles than just my back and neck and shoulders. maybe i pulled something while sprinting around the airport yesterday, because breathing is a chore and my legs are just... not feelin it. i’m just trying really hard not to get sick. my mom came in my room and coughed all over me without even covering her mouth so it’s like, well, guess i don’t have any control over that either! 

high stakes, no control!!!!!!!!! just how i’m used to it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it’s 11:40 arizona time but i know my body thinks it’s way later. i’m so tired. i don’t think i’ll be able to sleep though. guess i should try anyway.

[thefuturedrfame]

After Acceptance

It’s been a busy few months for me, trying to get together all the stuff I need to matriculate once I decided on which school I chose. So, on a related note, I’ll leave you with a post on what my school has needed me to fill out and the timeline it has taken me to complete some of the requirements:

Matriculation Fees

There are fees that typically need to be paid before a certain deadline that allow me to hold my spot in the class. I had to pay a total of $2000 for my school but these usually vary in amount per school; they’re also usually nonrefundable but get applied toward my first year tuition if I end up going there. For me (as is typical to most schools), these fees were split up into two different fees -- an acceptance fee and a matriculation fee. The acceptance fee was due first and was more to save my spot while I had the opportunity to interview at other schools. On the other hand, the matriculation fee was due by a schedule set by the AAMC or AACOMAS; this is symbolically my commitment to the school.

Agreements

As is with most schools, I had to sign a bunch of agreements. It was all fairly simple and straightforward. I just signed then uploaded/emailed the forms to the school’s adcom. Minor stress involved though while waiting to hear back that the school got everything I needed to turn in.

Immunizations

All medical schools will require immunization records to be turned in. The specific requirements will vary but my school required immunity to Hepatitis B, measles/rubeolla, mumps, rubella, varicella/chicken pox, polio, meningitis, and tuberculosis. For hep B, MMR, and varicella; my school required a quantitative titer test proving immunity. If the titer test had failed, I would’ve needed to revaccinate for that specific disease. The longest series to redo is hepatitis B, which could span almost 7 months. Since I knew all of this from friends in the medical field, I made sure I started gathering my records and getting my titer testing ASAP because I didn’t want to be denied matriculation for not finishing my immunizations. 

In addition, my school (as with most schools) wanted to verify that I had health insurance. I have the misfortune of turning 26 right after school starts so I will need to figure out what to do once I am no longer under my parents’ health insurance. Most likely, I will have to get healthcare through the Affordable Care Act so hopefully that’ll suffice.

Background Check

No surprise here! Gotta make sure I’m not a criminal trying to kill people! Mine was a standard background check that I’ve gotten multiple times already since I’ve applied for jobs and volunteered at a hospital. Luckily it was quick and online so the only thing I really needed to do was pay the company.

Official Transcript

For other applicants, some schools will require you to (re)send your official transcript, especially if it wasn’t processed through your application. This is even more necessary if you are currently taking classes and your transcript has been updated since application submission. 

Luckily, my school had my transcript through my application, but I can imagine that if I had to gather up my transcripts (I had two schools to request from) and factoring in mail time, this could’ve taken a few weeks depending on how quick my undergraduate institutions would be at sending out my information.

Financial Aid

This is probably the second-most technical part of matriculation (after the immunization process). My school was a great help in this aspect by having a whole webpage on it. Like the average medical student, I applied through FAFSA in January (which needed my previous fiscal year’s tax information).

The main loan almost all students get is the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan. As a medical student, I am considered a graduate student and am no longer allowed to get subsidized loans. Ergo, I’m left with unsubsidized loans instead, which gathers interest while I’m in school. Nevertheless, this is probably the lowest interest loan I can get so, like most students, I’m going to use this first. However, even though medical students get to borrow more per year under this loan than regular grad students, there is still a limit to the total amount I’m allowed to borrow under this type of loan. Therefore, I will most likely have to supplement my unsubsidized loan with another loan.

The most commonly used “other” loan is the Federal Direct Graduate Plus Loan. This has higher interest and a higher loan origination fee but I’d be allowed to borrow as much as I need for school purposes, or as they say “the full cost of attendance”. This would include: tuition and fees, books and supplies, room & board, transportation costs, and other things calculated into the cost of going to school.

Lastly, there are military loan and scholarship options. Unfortunately I don’t know anything about them because I never enlisted or did anything like that, but I’m sure other applicants can do a quick search online or email a person in charge who can give them the information needed regarding this loan option.