#IT WAS RIGHT!!! someone cancelled their tickets so I was able to get them <\\3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[ctrlhope]

OMAIGAAADAAA

you're soooooooooooo lucky 😭😭😭💗💗

Hobi is my bias likee GIRLIE TAKE ME ALONG

OMGGG BESTIE THANK YOU SMMMM!!!!!!! GIRL I WOULD IF I COULD I SWEAR LIKE I WISH EVERYONE COULF GO 😖😖😖

I promise you’ll be in my heart in spirit and he’ll see us in the front row acting soooo nonchalant (maybe reading books idk) and go omg…. Where’s the nda…. And we’ll just be like omg I need to finish this chapter can u pls be quiet… and then we’ll be kicked out of the venue 🥴 AKDHWKSJ

[sagelasters]

barbados is a mindset

“Yes. You are now in Barbados. And so… you see Barbados, and you see America from Barbados, and you can smell the tropical land of Barbados, see only the little homes of Barbados, and that’s all you do. You just simply sleep this night in Barbados.” - Abdullah tells Neville.

Before Neville Goddard knew of the law and practiced it, his country was plunged in a state of instability. Poverty runs rampant as the global stock market crashes, sparking panic and leaving many penniless. Neville explained the vivid details of homeless people scattered all over tunnels and city square, eyes void of hope for the future. He was unemployed just like millions of others, his career as a dancer wasn’t enough to support his living. Neville lived in a basement for years with little to no income until one day, he met his friend, Abdullah. 

Abdullah was well-off and is the son of the US secretary of the Treasury, who served under the 32nd president. The differences between them were large and Neville was aware of it. He confided in his friend and told him that he has this haunting desire to visit Barbados again. The only thing that was stopping Neville though, was the lack of money. In which Abdullah says, 

“You are in Barbados.”

Of course, Neville thought he was nuts but the man decided to try and assume that he was in Barbados. That night, he went to sleep thinking that he would wake up in Barbados, only to be disappointed that he woke up in the cold basement he called his home. Neville would come back and tell Abdullah that it didn’t work, only for the latter to ignore him. Despite that Neville kept persisting and on the morning of December, he got a letter from his older brother asking him to visit his family in Barbados – his brother had paid a third class ticket. Excited, Neville told Abdullah that he is going to Barbados however, his friend was unimpressed. Abdullah told Neville that he wasn’t boarding a third class ticket, he was going to go there with a first class ticket. 

And guess what? When Neville gave his ticket to the clerk by the desk as they’re checking in passengers, they told him that someone canceled their first class ticket, therefore a spot was available for him. 

Abdullah ignored Neville when he said ‘it didn’t work’ because it did work, if Neville was assuming that he was in Barbados, they wouldn’t be having this discussion about him not being there. What can you take from this story? I would say that unfortunate circumstances don't matter, especially when we see how bad and dire Neville’s financial situation was. Come on, he was in a country torn apart by war and poverty, yet he was still able to visit Barbados. Neville didn’t think of how he’d get there, he just simply assumed that he was there, and his 3D reality follows right after. 

Barbados is a mindset. If you can imagine yourself having it and then accept that it is yours, you’re at the end. Your assumption is the fetus, continue nourishing it with beliefs and affirmations – let that child grow and become. If you drop your assumption that basically means you’re neglecting the fetus, and it will eventually die from starvation. 

It doesn't matter if you have no money, it doesn't matter if you're in an abusive situation, it doesn't matter that you barely have a roof over your head. You are already in Barbados, tune into your inner man and bask in that.

EDIT: My apologies for getting the information mixed up. Abdullah is not the son of US secretary, rather he lived in a house that was rented by the latter. Sorry for the confusion!

[goatsandgangsters]

So we had lots of fun in Chicago, it was a really great time, we liked it there! 

UNTIL THE SINGLE WORST FLIGHT EXPERIENCE OF MY ENTIRE LIFE

it took 💫✨ 28 hours ✨💫

like, I fly multiple times a year and no hurricane or blizzard has EVER fucked up my day like this

so our original flight out of Chicago was Sunday, but bc of the storms every flight to NY from like noon onwards was delayed. and you know how delays are, every hour they push you back another hour, until you've wracked up Many Hours of delay

And finally, at like 9 pm, they canceled every flight to New York. This was at MINIMUM seven flights all cancelled. at 9 pm. with 7+ planes full of people now stranded 

And then the gate agents all left!! Didn't help rebook people, didn't answer any questions. Just left. Literally "not my problem, call customer service number." there was NO ONE in that entire airport To Help

Oh also fun fact: because the cancellation was due to ~weather, their policy is that they don't have to provide any overnight accommodations. For several planes full of stranded people. 

And there ARE no alternative flights because MANY PLANES OF PEOPLE all tried to rebook to the same place at once. There is not a SINGLE flight on Monday to any of the 3 New York area airports, or to Philly, or to those little airfields in Connecticut, or to Boston

There is absolutely nothing until Tuesday. It is Sunday. They are refusing to put anyone up in a hotel. Also it's Chicago on the night before the DNC, so good luck on last minute hotel reservations 

Finally, after an hour on hold, I get a (GENUINELY LOVELY, I love him) customer service guy who's like "I can get you back to New York tomorrow via three different flights" and when you've been stranded already for several hours that sounds like a recipe for further disaster. So instead we opt for a direct flight to DC the next morning and then spend additional money getting train tickets home from there

We are now left overnight in the airport with nothing but a $15 food voucher and those shitty tissue-paper airplane blankets (which, also, I had to walk to an entirely different terminal to get myself so.)

(There are also additional flights full of stranded New Yorkers who weren't even IN Chicago originally, they got rerouted mid-flight from other places and grounded, it is well past midnight and some of them aren't going to be able to get a flight out until WEDNESDAY)

We spend the night in the airport. I sleep for maybe 50 minutes. Do you know they vacuum airport terminals at really weird irregular intervals all night long? 

Also additional fun: I checked a bag. I am concerned about this. I express this concern to an employee who tells me to just track my bag in the app. The app says my bag is going to DC. I have doubts. I talk to the gate agent. He says the computer says my bag will go to DC. I still have doubts. 

I am correct. It does not go to DC. So I call the baggage helpline. I am on hold for an hour again. I finally get someone who tells me that my bag is still in Chicago and they won't mail it to my home address, but they WILL send it to my nearest airport and THAT airport can decide if they're going to mail it to me or not?? No, this doesn't sound right to me either. But fret not, because he put a NOTE in my file that an AIRPORT IN NEW YORK CITY should GIVE ME A CALL PERSONALLY when they receive my bag! Do you want to hold your breath, because I don't. 

So to recap:

Total trip time from door to door: 28 entire human hours

Hours of sleep: one.

18 of these 28 hours were spent in an airport and I no longer have any sense of reality

I also do not know where my bag is. I do not know how I will obtain my bag. It contains my all-time favorite shirts AND our gorgeous jstor tote bags that we got for free so like, this is somewhat Dire

I've had an hour of sleep 

I have not yet had the time to call and demand both a refund for my flight AND compensation for having to book additional expensive amtrak tickets just to get home because they couldn't get us any closer to New York thAN OUR NATION'S CAPITAL

I was told by the (genuinely lovely and ONLY helpful person in all this) customer service guy who rebooked me that I absolutely will be refunded. I am again not holding my breath, because I have been told many things and very few of them have been true

[demonqueenart]

Hey, thanks for bringing this stuff about DnP to light! Obviously, as a someone who’s been a fan of theirs (and still is) for about ten years now, it’s a hard pill to swallow, but even when I was younger I could tell that some of the jokes/statements they made were definitely in poor taste. I never acknowledged the wider hurt it may have caused, though, and I’m definitely learning to be better than that and listen to when poc are talking about these issues.

I guess there’s definitely an element of defence, particularly in this day and age, where people immediately assume that their faves are being cancelled and they’ll rush to defend them to avoid that from happening. To be fair, I’ve been that person before in the past, but I’ve learnt to internalise that “no, people aren’t trying to cancel DnP or ruin people’s fun, and believing that is simply immature; we are simply holding them accountable so that they can make amends and make the space more inclusive to everyone.”

I know there isn’t anyone that you can fully trust, but DnP have always shown capacity for kindness, acceptance and inclusion (as a trans person, I noticed over the years how they became more and more trans inclusive with their language, which was nice to see), especially with their recent support for Palestine which so many other creators have not bothered to even talk about, so I want to hold out hope that they would genuinely want to make up for what they’ve done, and I really hope they do. We all hope that. In the meantime, it’s up to us a phandom to make the space more inclusive to poc fans and to allow this conversation to happen without getting scared or angry or defensive.

I’d also like to point out, even though I know that this isn’t in any way related to the conversation at hand, that I was personally disappointed by a tour announcement because I knew I wouldn’t be able to go. Even though the most basic tickets are technically cheap, they’re still not accessible to a lot of poor people, and considering the UK is going through a cost of living crisis right now, it was certainly a bit of a slap in the face. I will admit, I was incredibly surprised that Dan put WAD on YouTube for free, so there is obviously a growing understanding on their part that their tours aren’t accessible to everyone, so I’m hoping they’ll find a way to make this new tour accessible, but I still think this tour has a problem with exclusivity in a LOT of different areas, as you’ve pointed out. I have friends from different continents who have complained about the exclusivity of the tour, even from friends who are in Europe (but aren’t in the more Western parts of Europe; there are no shows in Greece for example, despite the fact that there’s a large number of English-speaking phans in Greece).

One last thing I want to mention, though, I saw an anon talk about the subtitles on their videos. I have sensory processing issues, and I’ve always found that their videos have proper subtitles on them. I’m not sure whether I’ve missed some videos, but I’ve watched a substantial amount of their content and I haven’t found the subtitles to be a problem, so I’m wondering if perhaps the subtitle issue might be an individual issue instead? Again, I really don’t want to assume if I’ve got something wrong, but for me personally, DnP are one of the only YouTubers I’ve been able to trust to have proper subtitles on the majority of their videos, so that ask confused me. If anyone’s able to clear up that confusion, I’d appreciate it, because I don’t want to misrepresent someone else’s experiences just bc they don’t match mine.

Anyway, I’m really sorry for the long ask. Again, thank you for bringing this all to light, and I really hope things improve. I will always love Dan and Phil, and I trust that their hearts are in the right place the majority of the time, so I really do hope they grow from this. I’ve seen genuine growth from them over the years already, but there’s still a way to go, and none of us can shy away from it no matter how much we want to.

Stay safe, and have a nice day!

I'm glad I can be the one to shed light on racism and normalize talking about it in this community. Back when we weren't able to have this discussion properly, I would have never expected people to ever understand or accept me in this community again. I was told by many of my well-intended friends who've been here longer than me that the only way to move forward was to make peace with the racism that was happening here. (And don't get me wrong, they meant well and they’re a very good friend of mine for that. They didn't have to support me when I was at my lowest, when I was so damaged from it I could hurt them so easily. But they did it anyway because they cared. Some of them may not even share the same worldview as me, but that has never been a barrier for them to reach out and say they support me.) What I'm trying to say is, that the phandom was that bad before: The only way to survive as a poc who's being oppressed by this community in the past was to shut up about our experiences, or leave.

So when I saw your ask, able to articulate a full understanding of the situation of what's going on here, it feels like I had served my purpose. For the past fifteen years of this fandom's existence, we have never been able to talk about this until now. And yet, me and other blogs talking about this have managed to make an impact, enough to make us finally open up about it. A lot of you feel safe enough that you no longer chose to go anon by it now. That is fucking amazing. I hope that it has been healing and educating for all of you, and that we as a community will be able to move forward in the right direction this time :)

As for the subject of subtitle issues, I would admit I don't know a lot about it too much, since I never have to use it. From what others have said in the tags, it seems older videos had proper subtitles, thanks to the free community captioning. But ever since the hiatus, everything has been all over the place and they might not have that proper system to rely on anymore?? I don't know much, so if anyone is interested in expanding more on the subject, or more to where the op of this ask can be coming from, I would love to hear more. We should know what exactly happened so we can bring this to dnp to see where we can improve. (Also, I’m glad that ask opens more discussion about this now. And I didn’t realize it’s disability pride month, yay!)

[ID/ a banner with light blue sparkly background; the disability pride flag slides in from the left and darker blue text pops in reading "Make some noise for Disability Pride Month!!" /end ID]

Banner by dapg-otmebytheballs

Auto-message: This ask’s purpose is to acknowledge dnp’s past/present exclusivity, not to cancel them! But to embrace mistakes that they’ve made so that 1. we won’t exclude people in need in this community, and 2. we can normalize bringing up exclusivity so that improvement can happen. Hopefully this will one day help dnp realize that this is a safe space for them to talk about their mistakes, so that this space can become safe for people of all kinds too <3

*If you don’t understand what is happening, scroll through my blog for context. And I’ll be taking time to answer my asks, so don’t think I’m ignoring youuu*

[dropthedemiurge]

Boys Be Brave [Ep.6] // Translation notes

Balgeum was really writing down everything he spends his money on: food (which exactly), drinks, traveling expenses, rent etc.

To meet Inho, he planned for cinema ticket price (and came to the wrong cinema so ticket didn't get cancelled), popcorn and drinks (that he bought but it fell on the ground) and restaurant (that eventually ended up being a bit more pricey than he counted so Inho payed for him).

Literally, he planned everything and worked extra hard to earn enough money to go with Inho on a date, but everything went south. No wonder Balgeum got so stressed out and ashamed when he's already deeply thinking he can't provide for anything therefore doesn't deserve to be with someone %)

He even cancelled the first popcorn choice and went for a bigger one because he wanted even better for Inho :( Btw if anyone is curious: They're in a popular Korean cinema MEGABOX and Balgeum's order was Double Caramel (and then he added Garlic one as well) plus Peach Ice Tea at first and he changed it to more expensive Grapefruit Lemonade :] And then it all went to waste Т__Т

That's also why he got slightly angry that Inho didn't enter the movie because it meant the ticket Balgeum bought also was wasted and Inho payed for them again – so he insisted on buying popcorn and drinks again (but he would be able to pay for restaurant if he accepted Inho's treat. He would never though, that shame is deeply ingrained) (but Inho is just happy even walking with you on streets aaaah idiot - affectionately)

And of course, an expensive gift from Inho and him offering to pay for the rest of their evening felt like a knife in his heart too. All his thoughts revolve around his poor state and shame, even though Inho tries his best to show he doesn't mind or mock Balgeum at all. It'll be definitely hard to unlearn.

"Why are you like this today?" "It's not just today. It was impossible since the very beginning, but I tried it in vain anyway."

And then there was a translation mistake which you can kinda guess in the context: Inho pleads "You have to tell me so I would know (what was wrong). You want to leave without giving me any explanation?!"

Because Gaga doesn't translate cursing, let me do it for you :)

"I still like you. It was all a lie when I said I didn't. I still really like you, but... But I hate myself so fucking much. Fuck, I hate this version of myself so damn much. I hate myself even more when I'm with you."

Meanwhile, we have our sweet couple here! If I'm not wrong, Kiseob used the same phrase in "I'm right next to you/I'm right by your side" as when he promised Jinwoo in "I'll stay by your side always and never leave". And he said it after their short break up and going their own lives. No, he won't leave him anyway. Cue feelings!

// other Translation Notes for Boys Be Brave //

[mynameismckenziemae]

Hey there Q-T

Was wondering how you think Bob, Bradley & Jake would each handle a partner with bad anxiety and is overstimulated more often than they like? Cause that spectrum life, am I right?

I just wonder because them jets be loud. And Hard Deck can be a lot.

Would they notice your stims? Do you think they could be with someone like that? Any special way they would figure out how to help you work through?

I only ask since it hits close to home. I used to drink excessively because it would dull my senses and I was able to party hard with lots of friends. But since I’ve been sober (2 years! Whoop!) it’s difficult for me to be in loud paces with lots of people. (I used to have season tickets for my favorite hockey team where I would always drink many many tall boys. But once I stopped I couldn’t handle the noises and being shoulder to shoulder. Halloween Horror Nights was always my favorite thing in the world. But since I’ve been sober I get triggered in the haunted houses.) anyway, I’ve lost a lot of friends and don’t have anyone who is good helping me calm down when I am in situations like that. Because you know I miss all the things I used to do and I wanna be with people I care about.

Wow- you can charge me for the therapy session.

But yeah… so any thoughts on the boys with parented like that?

First off, congratulations on being sober for 2 years! That’s a huge accomplishment and you should be proud of yourself ❤️ I’m really sorry that you can’t do some of the things you love any more, that’s so tough. And it’s even tougher that you’ve lost friends over it.

I’m easily overstimulated by crowds, loud environments, etc., so I understand. I’m the type who’d rather just stay home lol.

I don’t think any of them would ever force you to go anywhere you’re not comfortable, and on the occasions where you want to go for him (like work related things) they each make sure you’re okay, bringing noise-cancelling earbuds if it’s going to be loud and never leave your side.

[petit-papillion]

Really disappointed in Toto's comments. Because let's be clear here: I don't care how much a driver ticks me off or how much I dislike them, I would rather have my favorite driver not get a single podium all season than see my least favorite driver get hurt. And the fact that Carlos walked away from FP1 last night with only a sore neck and back is really the only positive thing from that whole incident. It could've been so much worse for him, for Esteban, for literally anyone else, had they been the one whose car lifted up that water drain cover.

The safety of our drivers was put at risk by the organizers, so much so they had to cancel the session. Who knows how many cars and/or drivers would've been destroyed/hurt, had we continued. And that is on Liberty. People who paid for tickets to FP2 not being able to watch it, because of the incompetence of not securing the manhole covers properly, is also on them. And yes, they have every right to moan. As do Carlos, Fred, and the Ferrari mechanics who not only had to work a blooming miracle to practically build a car from scratch, but also with the knowledge there is a 10-place grid penalty for the race. A penalty because of damage caused by, again, the organizers' negligence.

Also Toto, this you?

Rules should be changed to avoid bouncing, but not to avoid giving someone a penalty for massive damage to their car through no fault of their own - got it.

[rainbowsky]

Chunzhen in the hot seat again

This brand, honestly...

I personally find it mind-boggling how poorly they handle everything they do, and they learn absolutely nothing from their mistakes. I look forward to the day that DD's connection with them ends.

As you may or may not know, this brand is much-hated by most turtles. You can read all about that here.

Well, they're back at it again.

They held a promotional lottery for tickets to Weibo Night. Among the winners were several of GG's solos. MTJJ reported them to Chunzhen as DD antis and their prizes were revoked.

Chunzhen announcing that prizes are being revoked for certain users.

But if they really are DD antis Chunzhen did the right thing, didn't they?

In theory perhaps, but in practice there doesn't seem to be a lot of evidence that these users truly were DD antis. It appears they were targeted by MTJJ because they were GG solos. It's not like Chunzhen rooted through the social media history of everyone who won, they simply cancelled some prizes because of the fandom they belong to. (I looked through the social media history of several of the fans and couldn't find any anti activity - not to say it didn't exist somewhere, but I think if they were major antis we'd be able to tell at a glance).

Chunzhen are involving themselves in fan wars. It's not a good look.

Everyone is a potential customer, and as someone who has worked in marketing and advertising I find it shocking to watch brands like this behave so badly toward some customers (particularly turtles, who were supporting the brand more than MTJJ before they burned every bridge with BXG). I have deeply ingrained values about how brands should conduct themselves - particularly in relation to the general public - and it makes my skin itch to watch this behavior.

Chunzhen also collected their personal identification (as part of the ticket fulfillment process) before cancelling their wins. People felt their privacy was violated.

Worse, they publicized the names of the 11 winners saying they were disqualified 'due to rule violations' (screen cap above), thereby publicly casting them as antis and subjecting them to cyberbullying. They were flooded with negative messages and comments, and some of them expressed extreme distress.

If some of these people were actually DD antis it might seem like karma, but like I said, that doesn't appear to be the case, and anyway these users entrusted their entries and personal info to Chunzhen and in turn they've been told first 'Congratulations, you won!' and later singled out for targeting by others. They exposed these people to cyberbullying. As a brand Chunzhen has handled this whole thing extremely poorly.

Chunzhen was getting mass reported by fans and people were threatening to sue (maybe they'd have better luck than the BXG had with that 😅).

Sina Weibo 'to the rescue'

In the end Weibo compensated the users for their losses, so the whole thing will likely blow over. The people involved were VIP subscribers, so Sina likely wanted to smooth things over. The last thing they would want is negative publicity for the event.

Weibo Lottery account announcing tickets will be awarded to all winners.

I think if these people really were serious GG antis they might not have responded in this way. While Weibo is happy to take people's money and can sometimes run a sort of protection racket on their platform (for example, they're happy to let people buy negative hotsearches and then make the subject of those hotsearches pay to take them down), they do have rules in place and a mandate from the government to rein in bad fan behavior.

Chunzhen is the main sponsor for Weibo Night, so Weibo not backing their decision to revoke prizes does make the brand lose face a bit. It's interesting to watch how this played out.

It's possible Weibo just compensated everyone to make the problem go away as quickly as possible, but I still can't help feeling that if Chunzhen had been behaving fairly/correctly Weibo would have backed them up on it.

Chunzhen is one of GGDD's endorsement brands - shouldn't we support them?

Everyone gets to make up their own minds about these things, but I can't support a brand that engages in practices I find distasteful. Quite the contrary - I feel compelled to oppose such companies. That's why you don't see me posting endorsement content from Chunzhen on my blog anymore, except DD's photos and the occasional live event clip that might be of interest to fans.

No fan is ever under any obligation to support a brand or platform they dislike. Part of being a 'good fan' is using our own heads and sticking to our individual values rather than succumbing to mob mentality or toxic fan expectations.

Not that I judge anyone who does support them. It's just not something I'm willing/able to do.

[dreamsuvivor]

I decided to share my 2 cents about the BO situation.

Let me preface this by saying that I never send/commented or expressed any abuse toward the band and it’s members and I don't condone any hate being send their way by anyone.

I fully respect their decision to cancel the European festivals/gigs and I know that as a person who struggles with their mental health, how important it is to look after yourself when you’re not feeling well. However I also understand why many ppl are really sad/upset about the US dates not being canceled (and even adding more now). And pls don’t come at me in the comments with “it’s different to play 2 gigs which are few hours away and go to a whole different continent for a month” I KNOW IT IS.

However, a lot of people (me included) spent a lot of money for plane/train/ferry tickets, hotels and festival tickets, which are mostly non refundable just to see them, (for many it was for the first time), so I think we have a right to be a little frustrated about the situation and especially about how it was handeled by the band itself.

And to add insult to injury there are Americans, many of which have seen them several times already this year and will see them again at those not canceled festivals, being rude to europeans who are hurt that they weren’t able to see them.

Bad omens had only 2 headline tours in europe, the last one being only 11 tour dates for a continent that has almost twice the population size of the US which usually gets 30+ tour dates. I know they are an american band, but ppl in europe love them too and deserve better.

Lastly, someone had an argument of “but they are a headliner /second after headliner at those festivals in the US” well so were they at those festival in europe and they were suppose to perform at the biggest rock/metal festivals there are.

Honestly at the end of the day, I’m sad that I wasn’t able to see them, but I’m also sad that they weren’t able to perform at those festivals. The European crowds are incredible and I know they would get so many new fans bc their songs and stage presence is so freaking incredible. I also worry whether the european festivals will want to book them again in the future, bc they tend to be wary of bands that cancel on them in the past. However, health comes first and I really hope that Noah was able do get some rest and mental peace and that playing those US festivals is really their choice and not due to pressure from their label.

[aurora-nova-fic]

I had wanted to go to a Star Trek convention for over 20 years. A couple of years ago I started saving with the plan to attend the 60th anniversary year convention in Las Vegas, and then a few weeks ago I saw an ad for Trek to NJ which was held last weekend, and thought, at last, a convention within reasonable driving distance!

Honestly, the experience was disappointing and I'm now reconsidering if I really want to spend a few thousand dollars in 2026. So my question to convention veterans is, was my experience an outlier? Is the Vegas convention vastly superior to others?

Reasons I found it disappointing:

Lousy communication from Creation in general. Some of this I would know better going forward - I would certainly plan to bring plenty of cash, for instance, but the website lacks a lot of information and the schedule is finalized so close to the convention that it's impossible to plan and buy tickets for extras if you're only planning to attend one day. Seems like the whole experience is designed for people to attend multiple days.

The vendors were disappointingly sparse, other than actors at their tables (Trek to NJ had a lot of actors there).

The panels were chaos. I only saw two (more on that below) and both of them were crashed by other actors. Moderation was sorely needed and I really want to know if this sort of 'sure, whoever wants to drop in can come talk about whatever' is the norm, because to me that was just rude. Lower Decks actors had their own panel right after Jonathan Frakes & Brent Spiner - at that moment people were in the theater area to see that duo, not hear LD actors sing.

Now, one of the big downers for me was not entirely within Creation's control, but their policies certainly didn't help. We don't know exactly what happened but the guess is that Jeri Ryan was struggling that day for some reason. (She referred to Michelle Hurd, who was not supposed to join her time on stage but did and did more of the talking, as her 'emotional support human.') So, the scheduled photo ops with her didn't happen on time.

I'm not at all here to slam Jeri Ryan for that. She's human, people have bad days, and as someone who has my own bad days with mental and emotional health, I think we need to give each other grace.

The thing was, this threw everything off schedule. We waited in line, photo op postponed, more information to be forthcoming. Now here is where I think Creation needed to do better. For one thing, they couldn't tell us right away if or when the photo ops would take place. Okay, it takes time to work out, I get that. But they said "it will be on the screens in the theater." Right. But what about when I'm not in the theater? They had no other way to communicate. I didn't want to miss it because I was in line for other things or browsing at vendors. Then when they did reschedule it, due to waiting in line I missed other things I'd have liked - the costume contest and the first part of Frakes & Spiner - and I had specifically planned the single photo op I bought to not conflict with events I really wanted to see.

So by the time all of this went down, I'd honestly have preferred the option to get a refund and spend the money elsewhere. But Creation only gives refunds if the actor outright cancels. I think that in cases like this, flexibility in their refund policy would go a long way - I personally would have come home a lot happier if I had gotten a refund and been able to enjoy the afternoon events as planned.

(I was in fact so annoyed with the whole experience I didn't even buy a souvenir or two as expected.)

Finally, I felt like there were two options to enjoying yourself. One, you have a lot of money to spend on and a desire to get multiple autographs and/or photo ops with actors. Two, you enjoy sitting and watching whoever comes on stage do or say whatever randomness happens to occur. If you didn't fall into one of those categories, there honestly wasn't much to do.

Was this usual or unusual? Is Star Trek Las Vegas different? If you've actually read to the end, by the way, thank you.

[loving-swiftie]

Back from Vienna

I came back home from Vienna last night. Now, I can give you my thoughts.

First, let me say that it was the right call to cancel the shows. As it turned out, another arrest was made yesterday. So there are 3 men arrested and one 15 y.o., who knew about this. The threat was still there even after Wednesday.

I am not angry that the concert was cancelled. I am angry at those men - teenagers. (I am not commenting more on this.)

I am sad, devastated that I couldn't attend Taylor's concert that I have been waiting for over a year. I was supposed to attend N1 and still, I feel miserable. Someone took my joy out of my soul.

The concert had a great meaning to me. To me, it served as an opening chapter of leaving my depressed past behind and stepping into a new era of feeling fine, happy and healed. It was taken away from me.

God, it sucks, you know? It sucks.

Now, I look at the few positives:

our way to Vienna was absolutely amazing, funny and I met more people. I traded bracelets with them.

I got TS merch! I have a photo of the official truck.

I felt excitement on Wednesday like never before (until the announcement).

On Thursday, I went back to the stadium, traded more bracelets and talked to disappointed people. We all agreed that it was the right call to cancel.

It is what it is. There is nothing else we can do about the cancelled show. I can only hope that in the future, I'll be able to attend another concert of hers. (Already planned a strategy to be sure I will attend a show!)

Unfortunately, I was not able to enjoy Vienna like other Swifties - singing in the city centre and having a nice time with everyone as I see in many videos.

I hope @taylorswift doing better and she's taking some time to rest and process what happened. I wish the London concerts will happen and everyone will be safe and enjoy the show.

Maybe next time, I'll get to see her. And hey, this is my chance to plan a better outfit and get better tickets with a better view. :)

[profoundlyscreechingchild]

I'm not happy Bob, Not. Happy.

TLDR; TFsource needs to get there shit sorted, or I am going to the better business bureau.

Pardon me while I set up, I generally don't like conflict but I was engaging in good faith for about a month until I realized that it was not being returned on the other end and I want to make clear exactly what happened.

My most recent irresponsible hobby is transformers model kits. I've been doing them for about two years now and its great fun putting them together. Sadly one of my favorites, IDW Drift, came out in 2019, before I got into the hobby, and is sold out everywhere. Occasionally I'll poke around for him but I've been unsuccessful. (I was able to get a interesting metal kit that you fold into shape but it was miserable to put together and the motherfucker fell off of its self once and stabbed me in the back with its sword.) Until this January. I happened to see one in-stock on TFsource, perfect, mint-in-box, ready for assembly. I excitedly clicked the buy button and waited with bated breath. Its important at this moment I point out the collection of links at the bottom of the order received email I got. It's a surprise tool that will help us later.

I also think its notable that this is my first order I have ever made with TFsource. Spoilers: there will not be more after this. I waited a few days. There is no 'your order has shipped' email in my inbox. I check the order. Everything seems fine, but weirdly its listed as a preorder? Did I buy the wrong model kit? I assumed this was a resale. I double check.

Its the right model kit. It came out in 2019. This should not be a preorder. (Important to note at this point that there is no longer a clickable order or preorder button, despite this item now being falsely labeled as a preorder. Not to mention the estimated arrival is a price and not a date.) I check the forums for the average amount of time it takes them to ship. Its about a week. I shake off my misgivings and wait a week. I wait another. Still no shipping notification. I hate sending in tickets or calling or generally being a nuisance in any way but its been two weeks on an item they had in-stock and the order has it listed incorrectly. Its time to talk to someone.

I send an email. I made my order on January 30th. My first email goes out February 16th.

I get a ticket received notification. It says I should get a response in a day or Monday to Tuesday if I sent it Friday.

I don't get a response until the next Wednesday, but whatever. That's still totally in the bounds of reasonable. But the response itself is very weird. Starting with the fact that I get two responses at the same time from the same person outside of their business hours.

This reeks of automated response, which, honestly fine, I expect the first round of a ticket to probably be a bot simply to weed out the people who didn't just check the QA page. BUT if its an automated system why did it take so long to answer me? And if its not a bot why did I receive two emails, each feeling like an automatic response to a keyword found in my email? Okay whatever, they still aren't answering my question and are under the impression that this is a preorder, which again. Its not. I respond.

At this point I'm a little disappointed, I reaaaally wanted that kit, but I mostly just want answers. If someone else got it that's fine. I'll just cancel my order. But I want to be sure that I'm not missing out on my chance to snag this kit.

This time it does take a full, proper week for the response.

"Most Probably"?! Its your job to find out and I figure the second round of a ticket should be a human, but this still feels vaguely bottish. Why are you just regurgitating the order details at me? I would have at the least expected them to ask me directly if I wanted to cancel. Okay so its time to be a big girl and call them, just to be absolutely sure I'm not missing out on the model before I cancel, but I want to have all my ducks in a row and make sure everything is in front of me for the call. This is where shit hits the fan for me because of several facts I had hither to been unaware of.

I checked my credit card. They had already charged me for the kit. The kit, that according to them they did not have in stock and according to their system, was a preorder. This is where I learn that unlike the other sites I have used, they charge you for a preorder before they ever even get it in stock. What the Fuck.

okay well, I want to make sure before I call I know how to cancel the order myself.

Okay, that's weird, no way to cancel. Maybe the view details?

Huh, that's fucking weird. You have literally no way to guarantee I get my product and you already took my $80, and there's no way to cancel the order. (I feel its important to note the other site I use does let you cancel preorders and does not charge you until they come in, you know, like a respectable fucking site.)

I am fucking livid at this point. How am I not able to cancel my order. You labeled this a preorder and your email tells me I can cancel those anytime.

Funny that. In fact, if you go to their front page, they have all those same little link badges...except for one very important one. Can you guess which one?

Something sure seems to be missing there sport. If you click the link in the email it takes to you a page that also says you can cancel preorders at anytime. However. I checked the QA page.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T CANCEL A PREORDER. YOU SAID YOU COULD IN TWO SEPARATE PLACES.

I call. I call with the flames of Hell in my heart. I was so excited to get this model kit. If I had simply missed my chance I would have accepted it. But their system has blocked me from getting real answers. Lied to me about my options and stopped me from solving the problem myself. I am answered by a robo voice cuts out every other word and I select the option that takes me to customer service. I am briefly put on hold and then told nobody is home would I like to leave a message. I wait a while and call back again in an hour. Its the same thing. I leave a message with my number. I just wanted to spend my money on a silly little robot. If they don't call back by Friday. I'm contacting my credit card company for a charge back and the better business bureau for their misleading preorder policy (WHICH SHOULD NOT EVEN APPLY SINCE THIS WAS NOT A PREORDER). Eat my Shorts TFsource.

[smolwritingchick]

The Bangtan Gal Chapter 52- One Person Won't Ruin This

Chapter Summary: Jen figures out a way to meet with the NY VIP fans despite the Hi-touch being canceled due to threats to Rapmon. When hanging with Kevin, Jen forgets about her outing with Jungkook

Words: 6.000+

Genre: Angst in this one :(

----

"Are you kidding...?" Jennie frowned.

BTS stood backstage for their Red Bullet concert in New York. The members were just informed that their concert would be cut short and that the fan meeting was canceled after the alleged threats towards Rap Monster.

Jen felt like everything was going downhill. Not only did someone have the audacity to threaten her beloved leader, but now the fans had to pay the price. This was not fair. People did not spend their hard earned money only for it to be canceled. All because someone wanted to be stupid enough to do this.

The threats were taken seriously and caused the hi-touch to be canceled. This wasn't what Jennie wanted. She was so excited to finally perform with BTS in her country but now it's not going to happen because of this.

Jennie decided to stay at the Best Buy Theatre while the other members left. Diana also stayed with her while Sejin tended to the others.

"If they checked everyone's bags and items for any weapons, they're unarmed, right? There's tight security." Jennie tried to explain to the staff members. "If my president has threats coming to the White House 24/7, every single day and still goes out to do what he does, then I don't understand why I can't."

"Jennie, I understand your concerns and how eager you are to meet the fans but someone's life was threatened. You're acting foolish, right now. What if you get hurt? Who will be responsible?" One of the BTS reps firmly responded.

"The person that did this made this into a dumb prank. It wasn't funny and I hope this person gets caught. Every fan in that audience went through security. There were no weapons found at all. Let me see them. Please. Bring a row at a time, to my dressing room. I have five security guards with me. That's enough to protect me, right? Do I need more? Aren't there also police here? Want them to be around me too, so these fans can at least see me, one member of BTS? Then let's do that. I am not letting one person ruin this." She firmly asserted.

"I don't want our bond with International ARMY to be broken because of some punk ass bitch on the internet that decided to threaten my amazing leader for a prank." She added. "Those people have been waiting so long for Bangtan to come to America. And I don't want to come back to America with Bangtan fearing for their safety or other K-Pop acts feeling hesitant to come here for a concert. We always have concerts in Seoul, and the one time, we finally come to my country, to perform, shit wants to hit the fan, and I gotta suffer not being able to see my fans in my own country. I'm not giving up on seeing my American fans."

Diana knew that when Jen felt strongly about something, she wasn't going down without a fight. Jen would become outspoken and passionate about the things that she wanted to do when someone told her otherwise.

The BTS rep sighed and left the room, while Jennie angrily sat on the couch.

"You want to just do something with the fans, tomorrow?" Diana suggested.

"Diana, there are people that traveled to New York to see us! There are probably fans out there that don't even live in this area, that came here to see us! That spent their hard earned money to see and meet us!" She snapped. "Money does not grow on trees. People have different financial issues and statuses. There were probably families that sacrificed and saved up just enough cash for their child to see their favorite K-Pop group. And those people that traveled to New York tonight, they're probably going home, tomorrow. How unfair will that be if I'll get to see only a majority of people that brought a Hi-Touch ticket, while the rest are already on the road or on a flight to go back to where they live? No. I want to see all of them tonight."

"Of course, you'd say that." She sighed. "You remind me of that time Angelina did something like this when there was a threat at one of Amity's concerts. Hang tight, I'll see what I can do." She left to go find the BTS rep.

Meanwhile, for the audience, the fans that had a hi-touch ticket, the staff members on site walked out to let them know what was happening. The fans protested instantly when they feared for the worse and once they were told that the Hi-Touch was canceled, all hell broke loose. Some even cried.

When fans saw Jennie's manager walk out with the BTS rep, they watched them discussing something that looked important.

"Okay. The first row, follow me, please." The staff member gestured, as everyone in the audience, looked confused.

Where were they going?

With Jennie, she stayed in the room with five security guards, making small talk, instead of just sitting in silence on her phone.

Diana walked back into the room with a couple of police officers and the BTS rep. "One of these days, you're going to make me lose my job." she joked. "I'm just kidding. I managed to talk him into letting you do what you want to do with the fans."

"A-are you serious?" Jennie's eyes lit up as she stood up.

"We're allowing you just once, to let a row at a time, come in here and see you. This won't happen again, and there will be police here to make sure there's no funny business. One time only, under strict supervision. Before the fans see you, they'll only bring in their phones and take off any jackets. And they will be checked by security for any threats just in case."

Jennie happily grinned and hugged her. "Thank you! Thank you, so much!" 

Eagerly waiting for the fans to walk in, Jennie sat by the dressing room vanity, with her phone in her hands. She started recording the mirror in front of her, to show the reflection of herself, and behind her was the door where the fans would be walking in.

As soon as the first batch of fans walked in, they turned and immediately pointed her out. Screams of excitement as some covered their mouths and teared up, made Jennie start to smile and laugh. She always got a kick out at how fans reacted to BTS, and it always made her laugh joyfully because it made her happy.

"I think they're shooked," Jennie said on camera and stopped the video, posting it on her Instagram. Getting out of her seat, she placed her phone down and waved, giggling at their reactions. "Hi!"

Some started crying harder and it touched her heart that she had that impact on them.

"Are you real!?" One asked with tears in her eyes.

"I hope so." She grinned sheepishly. "All right, about the hi-touch that's been canceled...y'all pissed aren't you?"

She was met with a loud yes. 

"Yes! We are! Do something! This is unfair!" And so on were statements the fans yelled.

"I know. I know. So am I. I'm pissed too." She replied with a frown. "I don't want my country to seem like a violent place where we can't have any more K-Pop events, here. I know you guys wanted to meet all eight of us, tonight. Unfortunately, there will be no hi-touch but would you like to get a Miss Bangtan hug and selfie from me instead?"

She received screams of excitement as she started to laugh softly at their reaction. "I'll take that as a yes. All right, let's form a line."

As they got in line, it would be one person per photo. Jennie knew how frustrating it is to be with a group of fans to take a photo with their favorite K-Pop group. The tight security made sure nothing was suspicious that could harm her before they let a fan approach her.

Call it foolish.

Call it not a wise idea and she may get hurt, but she put her trust in the extra security around her and wanted the fans to go home happy, not disappointed. Not feel like they wasted their money.

These fans spent their hard earned money on a VIP ticket, they should be regarded as a VIP ticket holder, not having to cancel the entire concert.

Meanwhile, with the fans still waiting in the audience, they checked their Twitter and began sharing the news that the first row was actually with Jennie, in BTS' dressing room.

"OMG! They're with Jennie!" A girl screamed, showing her friend. 

The statement caught the attention of the rest of the fans, as they started asking questions and checking their Twitter.

"Check her Instagram! She just posted a video!" Another fan shouted.

Someone who was in line tweeted various tweets about what was happening, and it caused everyone waiting to feel excited and their night got better.

"This is why she is my bias." One fan exclaimed.

On social media, some fans were complaining about her stupidity in pulling this stunt. Thinking it's a dumb idea and they wouldn't risk their lives for their fans if there was a gun threat around. Some questioned what if she got hurt and who would be to blame. But others praised her on social media for her bravery despite the gun threat and for her passionate love for her fans. Fans were so grateful that they got to meet at least one member. 

This is just another reason why she is one of the most popular members of BTS in her country and why she is one of the idols who provided the best fan service.

"Hey! How you doing?" Jennie embraced the next fan in line for the fourth batch of fans.

"I'm doing better now that I'm meeting you. It's my birthday, today. So thank you for making my night."

"Aw, happy birthday. How old are you, today?"

"13."

"Really? Wow, enjoy your teen years. It'll be a wild ride. You're definitely going to learn a lot about yourself in your teen years. It may even be a little scary but continue to love yourself and have fun."

"I will. I'll remember that." The girl lifted up her phone for a selfie. "Can we take a silly one?"

"Yeah! I'll make a meme face."

------

Back in Philly, Vienna, who had yet to contact Jennie since the incident at her play, had gone to the financial aid office, to pay the next payment for her tuition on her payment plan.

"Miss Walker, your tuition has already been paid for, for the next semester."

"What?" Vienna raised a brow in confusion. "My parents didn't say anything about paying. There must be some sort of mistake."

"Someone else already made the payment."

"Who did?"

"Uh..." The man checked his papers. "She personally said, and I quote, 'Your awesome little sister who you are still mad at. I love you and I'm sorry.' Her name is Jennifer Walker."

Vienna exhaled. Jen was something else and the fact that she helped pay for college with whatever money she got with BTS, made her feel even more sad about all the things she said that day. 

"You have got to be kidding."

"Well, indeed she strolled right in here. Such a kind young lady and sweet sister to help you with your tuition. Beautiful smile, too. Enjoy the Fall semester and have a great summer."

"Yeah, you too." Vienna left the office. Taking her phone out, she dialed a number. "Hey, what's BTS' schedule like?"

-----

The next day in Chicago, Jennie wore camo jeans, a black beanie with glasses and a jean hoodie, at a local skate park to meet up with Kevin. She found him skateboarding around, effortlessly sliding his board off one of the rails.

"Hey!" Her happy greeting gained his attention as he jumped off his board.

"Jen! You're here!" He smiled and embraced her, lifting her off the ground as she laughed. "Why'd you want to meet here of all places?"

"Well, a skatepark is where we met and besides, I want to skate. I've been practicing. Let me show you."

"Oh really?" He chuckled, not convinced. "Let me see."

"Watch and learn." She stepped on his skateboard and rolled around, maintaining her balance. She managed to do a small kickflip on the board. "How was that?"

He couldn't hide his smile, impressed by her efforts. "Okay, that was all right."

"Oh, shut up!" She playfully pushed him. "You know that was good."

"But I can do it better."

"Such a bragger. So! What's been going on?"

"Lot of things." He took a seat on the bench and she sat next to him. "I'm starting college in September."

"Oh snap! Any idea what your major is?"

"Business. I'm also going to be playing Basketball."

"I need to go to one of your games, one day. Hopefully, I won't be too busy with Bangtan so I can visit."

"Or I can visit you in Seoul if I have a break or something. We'll figure it out."

"Yeah, we still got time. Man, starting college and on the basketball team? Your family must be so proud."

"Yeah, my parents ask about you from time to time, asking if we still keep in touch and if the group is still going strong. They started to get into your music. They're hooked on BTS." He shared a laugh with her.

"Yes, join us. Once you're in K-Pop you'll never get out. It's just too addicting."

"Yeah, I'll admit. I got some of my friends into it, too. They're hooked."

"Good, the more the merrier."

"So any guys dating you, yet?"

"Nah. Not yet."

"Really? I'm surprised. That needs to change before this year is over."

"We'll see. One day. I'm just trying to be mindful of people's true intentions, y'know? Not just smash and leave. I'm not about that life."

"Good. Keep that good head on your shoulders. If any guys give you problems, let me know. I'll set them straight."

Jennie smiled at his statement. "I'll get that in mind, Kev. So, what about you?"

"Nah, no lady tied me down, yet. But what I can't wait for is all these college parties and hooking up."

"Really? But you're ugly, why would any girl want to sleep with you?" She teased, causing him to playfully narrow his eyes. "Ahahaha!"

"You're not funny." He chuckled. "You planning on going to college?"

"Yeah, I want to. I just have no idea what I want to do in my life yet. I won't be singing and dancing forever, I would like to get a college education. I'll think about it when that time comes."

"Yeah, don't rush yourself. I still don't know what I want to do with the business major, yet. How long you here for?"

"Around a few hours and then I'm going to hang with Jungkook."

"Ah, Jungkook. I remember him. He kept glaring at me during the music video shooting." He laughed at the memory of American Hustle Life.

"What? No way. He doesn't do that, does he?"

"It's nice to see that the members are protective of you. I remember seeing them ask you questions about me. The reason I asked how long you'll be here is that I was wondering if you wanted to learn more about skateboarding."

"Heck yeah! Let's do this." She eagerly stood up.

Time flew by quickly as he taught her. As she learned more basic tricks on making sure how to stay safe from falling and stopping the skateboard, Kevin helped her with turning around on the board. 

She stumbled when she tried it for the 5th time and he caught her by placing his hands on her waist. "Careful. Lean side to side this time, you'll get it. Just maintain your balance."

Once she tried it on her 9th attempt, she successfully turned and continued doing it again and again.

"Sweet! This is pretty easy, now."

"Told you."

As they continued to skate, a few ARMY had found Jennie while they were walking around the neighborhood and eagerly approached her. "Jennie!" They shouted, happily.

Turning around, Miss Bangtan saw three fans rushing up to her. She gleefully talked to them and took some selfies and they even asked Kevin to get into it too. The fans told her how stoked they were about the Chicago Red Bullet concert and how nice it was for her to see the fans after the New York show, despite the threats. One fan even told her that she inspired her to go back to playing the guitar and work on her old songs that she's kept on her laptop for years.

Although fans always tell their favorite idol that they love them and their work, it's more rewarding to Jennie, to hear fans tell her that she inspired them. She liked being a positive influence on her fans and it's a humbling feeling.

"Are you two dating?" One of the fans boldly asked.

Jennie and Kevin glanced at each other and shared a chuckle. 

"She is someone very special to me," Kevin answered briefly, causing the girls to giggle at his response.

"I think you almost killed them with that statement," Jennie added.

After saying goodbye to the fans, Kevin and Jennie decided to take another break, to chill on the bench. Jennie took a funny selfie with him as he sat behind her, with his chin on her head.

'He needs to admit that my skating skills have improved since AHL. Don't front, you know I got better :P #JEN'

ARMY immediately began to freak out, as they positively enjoyed seeing the two together. 

'DEAD'

'SCREAMING'

'Relationship confirmed!?'

'GOALS'

'Ya'll so damn adorable!'

"Oh crap!" Jennie shouted, hastily getting to her feet.

"What's wrong?"

"I was supposed to meet with Jungkook 2 hours ago!" She grabbed her bag. "We'll text! It was so nice seeing you, today!"

"Ooooohhhhhhh, you're in trouble~!" He laughed.

"Shush!" She made a phone call so Diana could pick her up.

Once at the hotel, Jennie made her way to Jungkook's room to see him gaming. "Kook! I am so sorry!" She exclaimed.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." He shrugged.

She watched him. Nothing was fine. She knew he was upset. "Are you mad?"

"It's fine, Jennie." He paused his game.

"You're mad. Look, I'm so sorry. We can hang out tomorrow, okay?"

"Where were you, anyway?"

"I was with Kevin. It's been so long since we've seen each other, that I wanted to catch up. I lost track of time."

Jungkook exhaled and frowned. "So, you blew me off for him?"

"No way, that was not my intention. I just wasn't periodically checking the time when I was with him. Look, let's hang out tomorrow. Okay? Wherever you want, we'll go."

And Jungkook agreed to that.

The next day, in the afternoon, Yoongi walked into his hotel room to see Jungkook gaming on the bed. The confusion appeared on the Daegu rapper's features as he closed the door and strolled up to him.

"Weren't you supposed to meet with Smartie?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, why aren't you with her?"

"I changed my mind, hyung." The Maknae bluntly replied.

The Daegu rapper stood there, genuinely dumbfounded. As many times as the Maknae chewed his ear off about spending time with her in America, now he changed his mind?

Something wasn't right.

"This isn't like you at all. Why would you not go?"

Before Jungkook could reply, they heard pounding on the door

Yoongi heard Jennie's angry muttering on the other side of the door, "...'bout to kill him. I swear if he is in this got damn room, I'm going to kill him." 

Once she was let inside by Yoongi, she greeted him, "Hey, Yoongi. Is Kook here?"

"By the bed," he said.

"Bed..." She walked in, setting her bag on the floor. 

Jungkook paid her no mind as he proceeded to game. Yoongi observed how thick the tension in the room was between the 97 Liners. It was never like this. Something bad must've happened because Jennie and Jungkook had never acted like this.

Ever.

"Yoongi." She called out, interrupting his thoughts. "Can you give us a minute? Alone?" 

"You sure I should leave you two, alone?"

"Yoongi, for once, please just listen to my request."

The rapper exhaled. Jennie wasn't messing around. He knew that the tone of her voice meant business.

"You kids are going to be the death of me. Don't kill each other...I really don't want to explain to Jin or Namjoon about how Bangtan went from eight members to six." He grumbled as he grabbed his notebook and exited the room.

Jungkook continued to mash the buttons on his controller, ignoring her presence as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Jen didn't know if she wanted to smack him or cuss him out because of what happened today.

"Kook." She called out.

No answer.

"Kookie."

No answer.

"Jungkook." She called out louder.

Still no answer.

She laughed dryly. "So just because I unintentionally forget about our outing, you don't want to show?"

"I forgot." He shrugged as his attention was still on the TV.

Exasperated, she marched up to him and snatched the controller out of his hands, tossing it on the bed. "Bullshit, Kook."

Poking the side of his cheek with his tongue in annoyance, he stood up, fed up. "How is that bullshit? I said I forgot."

"Yeah? Well, I said I was sorry. I tried to make it up to you, and you don't show. The heck is wrong with you?"

"Nothing." He shrugged.

Exhaling sharply, she closed her eyes for a moment. "Jungkook...you get on my nerves."

"Oh really? Well, the feeling is mutual."

"You know what? You blowin' my shit, today. You really be doing the most."

"And you don't?" He retorted.

"No, I do not. And you are starting to piss me the hell off and I am not in the mood for this. This is childish."

"Drop it. I'm done talking about this. I don't feel like arguing."

"Well, I'm not done talking because I'm still waiting for a not so half-assed excuse as to why you didn't show up today."

"I just didn't want to. End of discussion."

"Seriously? And you couldn't have called? Text?"

"Oh, okay. So, you just want to ignore the fact that you did the same to me? How do you think I feel? I really wanted to spend time with you."

Miss Bangtan rolled her eyes. "I don't have time for this. Jungkook, we always spend time together!" 

Jungkook frowned and shook his head in disapproval. "You just don't get it." He muttered softly.

"Then explain!" She shouted.

"I wanted to spend time with you, alone!" He shouted back.

"We always spend time together, Kook. It's no big deal, stop being so uptight."

The Golden Maknae stared at her with hurt. "No big deal, huh? Then maybe I'm wasting my time."

"Are you kidding me?" She frowned. "Jungkook, I haven't seen him in what? A year? I lost track of time, we were catching up. I missed him. He's my friend."

"Well, I'm your best friend. I found a beach nearby. I thought it would be cool to hang out there that day. Walk on the beach in America, just like we planned, right? We planned this for so long. I waited and you didn't show. It sucked without you there. That hurt. So how do you think that made me feel? We were talking about this on the plane for hours. And somehow he just took up all your time and made you forget, right? Cause that's how it usually goes."

She exhaled and started feeling the tears coming as she quickly blinked them away.

Why did that make her heart ache?

"Don't do this to me. You are not listening-"

"I don't need to." He cut her off and walked past her.

She turned around to follow him. "Excuse me! Don't you walk away from me! Jungkook!" She heard the bathroom door slam, right in her face. "OH-my God!" She banged her fist on the door out of frustration.

"You are so childish! Open the door so we can discuss this!" She yelled. 

When she didn't get a reply, she sighed in exasperation. "Okay, ignore me. Because that's what we do, right? God, you are acting like a jerk, right now."

Swinging the door open, Jungkook walked past her. "Well, what does that make you?" He questioned as she followed him back to where the beds were.

She scoffed. "Me? Are you kidding? I swear to Gosh, I can't stand you sometimes!"

"Good because I can't stand you, either! Do you know how annoying you are!?" 

Jen stared at him in disbelief while she let out a sharp breath.

Damn.

She didn't know how much those words could sting until she heard him say it to her. But instead of being sad, she became angrier.

"WOW~! Tell me how you really feel!" She threw her arms up in the air.

Closing his eyes, he ran a hand through his hair. "You know I didn't mean that..."

"No, no, go ahead! Tell me exactly how you feel!"

"Enough." He muttered.

"No, tell me everything, I am all ears, Jungkook! I'm ready, I can take it! Let me know! Let me know, right now! Tell me how you feel about me!"

"Jennie..." He reiterated, trying to relax.

"Tell me how you feel about Jennie. The eighth member of the group. The one that still gets dragged for being a girl in BTS but doesn't give two shits anymore because I'm letting people ruin what I love doing. I'm not letting that hate get to me anymore because I am above all that and why should I waste my life worrying what haters think about me? That Miss Bangtan. That Jennie. What is your honest opinion on Miss Bangtan?"

"Jennie. Enough."

"No, it's not enough! So, don't tell me this is enough!" She raised her voice to him. "So lemme know, Jeon Jungkook. Spill your guts out to me. I want to know your feelings for me. I want to know exactly how you feel since we're being honest here. You go first and then I'll go. So, what do you have to say?"

"It's not the time for this!" He growled in frustration at the fact that they were arguing with each other.

"Yes, it is, since you're obviously being honest with me! So, what's next?!"

No answer.

"What's next!?" She made a fist and banged it against his chest as she started feeling tears develop in her eyes. Composed, Jungkook took it, standing his ground as he felt her strike faintly.

"Let me know. Be honest!" She hit his chest.

Silence.

"Say something!" She hit his chest, again.

More silence.

"Why aren't you saying anything?!"

"Enough!" He gently, but with a firm grip, grabbed her wrist before she could hit him again. Her back hit the wall softly while his free hand rested its palm next to her head. "Enough..." He repeated softly as she held his intense stare. 

She saw hints of frustration, sadness and something else that she couldn't put her finger on.

Releasing her wrist, he glanced to the side, trying to calm down his anger. Meanwhile, Jen's heart was beating faster than usual as she noticed the closeness she had with Jungkook. All they could hear were the faint sound effects and voice acting of the game Jungkook was playing on the TV.

Jungkook turned his attention back to her, placing his forearm on the wall and his face got closer to hers. Crossing her arms, she angrily turned her head to the side.

'Just stop fighting me...there are a lot of things I want to say to you...more than you think...but now is not the time. And at this rate, I'm not even sure when anymore.' Jungkook thought to himself. 

It was what he wanted to say out loud, but couldn't bring himself to.

They heard a click on the door while Hobi walked in. Jungkook backed up from her while Jennie glanced to the side, uncrossing her arms. The 97 Liners felt a sensation of annoyance by the fact that they were interrupted during their heated discussion.

Hobi spoke to them in a chill voice, "Uh...Yoongi forgot his headphones. Wanted me to go get them. Now I kinda understand why he didn't want to come in." 

He felt the tension in the room as he awkwardly headed over to Yoongi's bed to grab the headphones. 

Turning around, he observed them. Jungkook had his hands in his pockets, impatiently waiting for Hobi to leave as a vexed facial expression was visible on his handsome features. Jennie glanced around random areas of the room, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"All right, I need to ask. Is...everything all right with you two, kids?" The rapper demanded.

The 97 Liners glanced at each other and then turned their attention to Hobi. 

"Yeah..." Jennie murmured.

"We're fine, hyung," Jungkook answered in a grumble.

"All right then..." Hobi nodded, unconvinced and left the room.

Jungkook turned to Jennie who was still angry. "Babygirl-"

"Don't call me that." She spoke sharply, remembering why she was upset with him in the first place. "You lost the right to call me that."

"Don't be like that." He frowned.

"No. How about you don't be the way you were by not showing up."

Feeling his anger come back, Jungkook shrugged. "Well, now you know how I feel."

"Oh, so you just did this to get back at me? You are such a big baby, grow up, Kookie."

"You grow up. And you lost the right to call me Kookie, so don't call me that."

"You know what? Fine, I don't care." She shrugged. "You are so condescending!"

"You are so dramatic." He muttered.

"No, the hell I am not! I'm so sick of this and I'm sick of you!"

"You really want to go there?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm sick of you too!"

"I don't need this bullshit!" She turned, aiming to leave.

"You're the one acting like a brat." He bluntly called out.

Feeling something in her snap, she turned around. "And you're the one acting like an asshole!" 

As soon as she said that, Jungkook froze. His eyes stung sharply as the tears threatened to fall. As soon as she saw the hurt on his face, she immediately regretted her words.

Out of retaliation, he retorted sharply, "Sometimes I ask myself why you can't be like our friends in GFriend. Why you can't be like Eunha or Hayoon."

That was the fatal blow.

She stared at him in disbelief, feeling a large lump form in her throat. She shut her eyes to stop her tears before they fell.

Those words cut her like a knife.

Her shoulders relaxed as she slowly exhaled, opening her eyes. He won this argument and she had nothing else to say.

What could she say after that?

She replayed the statement in her head and briefly pondered how he felt when she yelled hurtful things at him, moments ago.

Jungkook saw the pain on her face and he began to regret his words, too. He didn't mean it. He just wanted to win the argument. They both did, not caring how much their words would hurt each other. Their emotions got to them. They were still young, stubborn teenagers. This was bound to happen. When you're angry, you say things you don't mean. You say things to hurt the other to get back at them.

Jennie wanted to scream at him. Scream that she hated him or something more hurtful but she couldn't do it. She couldn't hurt him more than she already had with the previous hurtful words she yelled. She strongly felt like her heart couldn't take it. Her heart was already freaking out ever since the argument started.

Jennie nodded slowly, accepting what he had told her. "Okay...I get it." Her voice trembled.

Watching her place a hand on her other one, Jungkook's stomach dropped when he watched her take off the friendship ring he had given her. When she was right in front of him, she placed the ring in his hand.

"I don't want this, anymore. Take it back. Give it to someone else."

Her sudden statement caught him off guard as he stared at the ring he had given her a long time ago. When he told her that they'll cherish each other until the end. 

While Jungkook thought about the day he had given her the ring, his tears threatened to fall as he met her sad gaze.

"Maybe Hayoon or Euhna will like it instead. I'm sure they'll fit your Golden Best Friend qualifications. I'm gonna go before I say something I'm going to regret." She grabbed her bag and left in a hurry.

Frustrated, he grabbed a pillow and aggressively threw it across the room.

"Damn it..." He growled, running his hands through his hair in frustration. 'I'm such an idiot...why did I say that? I just ruined everything...'

Meanwhile with Jennie, outside the room, in the hallway, she leaned against the wall, next to his door. She exhaled sharply and threw her bag on the ground. 

"Damn it..." She huffed. 'I didn't mean to say all that...why did I call him an asshole? Why did I hurt him even more by giving him back the ring?'

She felt her chest tighten and her tears began to flow as she silently started crying. Sliding down on the wall, she sat on the floor, with her knees against her chest.

Jungkook, who had been crying too, wiped his tears with his arm. He tried to pull himself together while sitting on the floor, against the wall, next to his door, which happened to be where Jennie was on the other side of the wall.

'I never want to see that again.' He thought. 'I never meant to make her upset, I just...' 

Jennie wiped her tears with her hand. 'He was about to cry...I never want to see him like that. I didn't mean what I said, I just...'

She hoped that he would open the door and apologize.

He had also hoped that she would knock on his door and apologize.

Because they both were too stubborn to be the bigger person and apologize. Hoping that the other would, so they can let things go back to normal.

'It's normal for friends to fight, right? But why does this hurt so much more than the fights with the other members?' She thought to herself. 'Why does this hurt so much? Why does my heart feel so damn heavy? What is this feeling? I hate it, it's too much. Just make it stop already.'

Jungkook turned his head to the door, contemplating if she was still there. 'She probably left...'

Sniffing, Jennie cleared her throat. Standing on her feet, she turned to the door. She contemplated knocking but decided not to, despite her heart aching to knock on the door. 

'He probably doesn't want to see me...he's angry, why would he want to see me?' She thought with a frown

"Sweetie, are you all right?"

Turning around she saw a hotel maid. She looked like she was in her mid-40s with dark skin and black hair styled in a bun. 

"Huh?"

"I heard some arguing when I got my cleaning products, couldn't help but look to see you out here. Is everything all right?"

"Oh God, I am so embarrassed..." She groaned.

Looks like the lady also knew Korean.

"Bad fight with your boyfriend?" The woman assumed in an understanding voice.

The word boyfriend caused Jen's stomach to feel weird as she felt her face heat up.

"Oh, uh...he's...he's not my..." She trailed off.

"I get it. Not yet I presume."

"I-it's not like that." She shook her head.

"You sure?"

Jennie hesitated. After a moment, she nodded. "Yes."

"Hm...I dunno, you don't fool me, for a second, honey. I was like this when I had my first fight with my husband. We started dating when we were in college. Stubborn, the both of us were that day." The woman chuckled softly at the memory. "All the bickering and pettiness. Took us a few days to make up. Both of us didn't want to be the bigger person and apologize first. But arguments are normal, don't worry about it. It seems like things are falling apart and you both are hurting. But just give it time. It's not as bad as it seems. Before you know it, you two will rekindle."

Jen gave the woman a weak smile and nodded. "Thank you for that. I'm Jennie, by the way."

"Just call me Miss Joyce. You have a blessed day, now." She smiled sweetly and walked away to begin her shift.

Heading to her hotel room, Jennie made sure to wipe her tears and clear her throat before she walked in. Hopefully, Taehyung wouldn't notice anything.

Walking in, she was greeted by his boxy smile. There she also saw Jimin with him who happily waved as he sat with Tae on his bed, with random American snacks.

"Ennie!" Jimin beamed. "Look what we got! Smarties! I saw some when Tae and I went to the store. You got us hooked on them. You want some?"

Jennie gave them a fake smile, still feeling the effects of the argument. "No thanks." She responded and went straight into the bathroom.

Jimin raised an eyebrow, looking dumbfounded. "No thanks...?"

"What?" Taehyung glanced at Jimin with worry.

Jennie never rejects Smarties.

Not even when she's sad. The candy always cheered her up. This was a red flag and the 95 Liners were anxious to find out what was wrong so they could resolve it.

"Something isn't right." Jimin assumed as he heard the shower turn on.

"Ennie..." Taehyung murmured sadly.

[fizzingwizard]

Well in the end I made it back

I tried to talk to JAL staff at the airport in the US, and they said someone would be waiting for those of us whose connecting flights were canceled when we arrived in Tokyo. I was nervous, but it couldn't be helped, because they said there was no way to know what the status of other flights would be until we arrived. I wish they could have just put me on a flight that had an opening at that time, but I guess it was possible more domestic flights would be canceled... Or that there were no empty seats at that time at all. Not sure why that would be unless they were consolidating flights to cancel as many as they could, but then I should have been included...

But it worked out, I got to Tokyo and there was someone holding a sign when I got off. There were only two names on the sign so I wonder if my flight was canceled just because it was less inconvenient than canceling other flights. I'm sure there were other people with connections on the flight coming in from other airports, but probably just not that many. They told me I couldn't get a new flight until the next day, and I really just wanted to go home at that point. If I had to stay at a hotel it would have been ok (having to stay at the airport overnight would suck, but Haneda is right in Tokyo and easily accessible by train and bus so I don't think I'd have had any trouble getting to a hotel). But it would have meant another day of traveling. I rather just get it over with.

Fortunately, when I said I really wanted to go home tonight, they had a slip to request a refund for a bullet train ticket. So, I had to go to Shinagawa, and get the bullet train from there. And then I took my local train to my town and a taxi to my apartment. Actually, the last part was easier via bullet train because I'd done the hard part in Shinagawa. If I came home via airplane I had to go through two train stations I'm less familiar with and then search for a cab. But I dealt with the local trains getting to the bullet train and my local one is only a 10 minute ride. Then the taxis are right outside. So riding the bullet train took longer than the airplane would have and was more inconvenient, but was a little more convenient once I actually got off the last train. As long as I can get everything refunded it's fine. I forgot to get receipts for the local trains though -.-' because I'm dumb. But I did get the bullet train receipt which is a lot more important.

So I got home at almost 11 pm Japan time after getting up at 7 am EST, so it was about 26 hours... But everything went relatively smoothly. I was worried the airport would have no idea what to do with me, or that if I took the bullet train it'd be a bitch to get to (I'd never done it from Haneda before but it takes a while from Narita), or that the planes and trains would just all be full with other stranded passengers, or that I'd get a way back part way but arrive too late to make it all the way home without paying hundreds of dollars for taxis. In the end, it took some extra time but I should be getting a refund, and I didn't run into any trouble. I even got dinner on the way. And my apartment is intact, nothing fell in the earthquake. A little issues with my AC which I'm not sure what's going on there but it's working now. And someone should come get my gas restarted in the next few hours. They were supposed to come yesterday but obviously I didn't get home in time to meet them. No problem, easy fix.

It's one of the things I do love about living in Japan. It's small and there's a lot of public transportation, so you can get around different way and you're probably not going to be stranded. There are a lot of ways to access your money or buy what you need or pay your bills. People are hospitable and polite. If this had happened in reverse, I would have been stuck at my connecting airport in the US with no way to get home. I'd have had to wait for the next day flight and would feel less sure of being able to stay at a hotel for the night and even less sure of how I'd get back to the airport the next day. Sometimes it's not a lot of hassle because hotels nearby have airport shuttles and stuff. But those hotels fill up fast and not all airports have them. America is big but not built for convenience. Or sense. My mom's partner is in finance and he told me point blank, the reason American taxes are such a bitch is because companies lobby for them to be difficult. People making mistakes on their taxes is free money. I told him I just use an app in Japan and it takes ten minutes. He said stuff like that is coming to the US (I hear you already can do your taxes online now) and theatening his job, so I'm interested to see if it will possibly turn filing taxes into a less confusing, time-consuming art.

Also while I was home he found out a new client of his had come to him because she was an immigrant with iffy English skills but felt uncomfortable with what her previous advisor had been telling her. And he realized she had been totally taken advantage of by this guy - he was making stuff up and skimming money off her while not actually paying for what she needed. He was going to report this guy, but then someone else he'd screwed over already had! Was nuts. It really sucks to be an immigrant especially if you don't speak the majority language. I feel like that here in Japan even to a lesser degree. Always nervous I'm going to miss an important detail. In this woman's case, she did everything she was supposed to, she just met a real asshole. And she lost a few thousand dollars which she may never recover. And it's not like she can afford that. Which doubly sucks. We feel like "Justice is served" if we can at least catch the criminal. But the victim is still harmed. Sometimes they can recover some of what they lost. But a lot of the time it's lost for good.

[spider-mansdocs]

i have come up with an ingenious idea and i must share it.

okay so we all know how concert ticket resale is INSANE, right?? i propose a few changes

1. ticketmaster NEEDS to continue resale after doors. there is no reason people should not be able to continue buying them ESPECIALLY since ticketmaster changes its scan code per ticket, per reload of ticket (like when you open it on the app).

2. if you tried to resell your ticket for more than 2x face value, and you don’t end up going (aka your ticket was not scanned by x amount of hours), you should automatically be charged however much you tried to resell that ticket for.

and for anyone who tries to justify it by “people get sick, people have to cancel, etc etc” then they should resell their ticket FOR FACE VALUE OR SLIGHTLY MORE !!!! IF THEY CAN’T GO, THEY CAN’T GO !!!!

if someone bought multiple $35 tickets to try and resell them for $450 each, watch how quickly ticket resales will drop when THE RESELLER is charged $450 per ticket

[pupintransit]

We're at the end of Month 5™️ of the wait. In the same way that August was pretty dull all things considered, September was very much not.

While I still don't have a firm surgery date, on the morning I'm writing this draft I scheduled my pre-surgery consultation with Dr. Brassard. It's set for November 6! Which is yet more waiting but having a date to look forward to is going to make the lead up to it much easier to manage. I'll be taking lots of notes, and i'd be more than happy to share them with everyone after it's all over! I want my experience in getting gender affirming surgery something that i can record for people to reference, so that it can be of use to someone on a similar journey to mine.

Another milestone this month was the fundraiser I started. As you might well be sick of me talking about by now, I launched a GoFundMe at the beginning of this month. Currently it's sitting at $435, which is honestly not too shabby! This could easily be where it fizzles out, but even if I don't get any closer to the $5,000 goal i'm still incredibly grateful for what everyone has given. Most of the donations came from people I know personally, who chose to send what they could to help me with such an important. I'll never be able to fully express what that means to me.

Plus, $435 is in an of itself a tremendous help! That'll cover the lion's share of one the four plane tickets i'll need to purchase, so for that metric alone the campaign has been a great success.

Now, something that comes with the territory of sharing around a fundraiser for a very major and famously queer surgery is that your friends and family are inevitably going to find out. For the more part the response has been overwhelming positive. Old college friends and old coworkers of mine - folks i hadn't seen in years - sent me lovely messages of support and affirmation. A few even donated to the campaign! It was honestly hard to take in right at first, and i still don't fully know how to articulate the joy i feel in that.

Now, all of this seems like pretty excellent news so far sooooo why am i using the header image i am? Well this is the part where the stress comes in. Earlier i said that a lot of folks found out i was transgender and pursuing gender affirming surgery via the campaign i linked to. I figured it was best to let my parents and in-laws know ahead of time, since i didn't want them taken off gaurd. My in-laws were terrific about it. My own parents?

Ehmmmm not so much.

Mom had a very difficult time with the news. I'm not going to get into specific details but, while i haven't been written out of the proverbial will, she's very much against me doing this and will be "praying" that something changes my mind or cancels the surgery. I think (i hope) with time she comes around on it and be more supportive of me, but i can't be sure of that. Truthfully i also can't be too upset at her reaction. This is a major change in one of her children, so it's unreasonable to think she wouldn't have a emotional reaction to it.

I'm a little more concerned about my father. He did not take me being gay well at all. I remember specifically he called my husband my "friend" (complete with quotation marks) for the first few months of our relationship, so i can't imagine he'd take me being transgender or getting a vaginoplasty well either. What isn't helping my nerves is that he plays Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh in their living room as though they were day time talk shows. I'm not being hyperbolic when i say that Shapiro, Walsh, and their ilk want to do trans folks like me harm. Talking with him about this is neither something i'm looking forward to nor have the slightest desire to bring up with him.... but since my mother has almost certainly already told him this is almost certainly going to be inevitable.

My parents don't have to understand why i'm doing this and what it means to me. They just have to accept it as a reality of my life, and respect that it's something that will make my life happier. I want them to know that i've put thought and care into this choice, and just how many professionals i've debriefed with to be sure of my choice, and that my relationship with my husband will withstand the change to my body. If they can't accept it, they don't have to be a part of my life.

Of course, it's much easier to say that about my parents than to believe it.

Anyway i have an appointment with my therapist on friday so he and i will have a lot to talk about.