#but also internships needing me to have experience doing a lot of things like hello?? what are we doing here

[bloodcunt]

life after uni sucks so bad trying to apply for jobs is literally the most miserable thing ever

[izicodes]

Hello, I'm only wondering how you would go about building a track to get a job in these lines of works, if you have advice. Thank you :)

Hiya! 💗

I have some advice yeah! Do bear in mind, the way I got into Software Development, now focusing on Web Development, was:

A couple of months of self-studying HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Python

Applied for a Software Development Technician apprenticeship - working in a company whilst studying at a college (had to do it online because of COVID restrictions)

Completed the apprenticeship + 2 exam certificates in Programming and Software Development

The company I did my apprenticeship hired me straight after I passed.

Other people had similar routes e.g. via higher education at a university or college, or did the complete self-study route and got a job at a company or just freelancing. Everyone's journey is different!

Building a successful track to get a job in Software Development requires a combination of a lot of things and not just learning how to program. I will assume you want to get into Web Dev, but this can be applied to other areas e.g. Game Dev or Moblie Dev. Here are some steps you could take:

Education and Skill Development

The most obvious: you need the skills...

Could find schools, online schools, colleges or universities to learn the subject: This is if you can. Some people learn better with a teacher there to help them so maybe attending a school setting is better for you!

Online courses and tutorials: Enroll in online platforms like Coursera, Udemy, or Codecademy to learn specific programming languages (such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript), frameworks, and development tools commonly used in web development.

Build a portfolio: Create a collection of projects that showcase your skills. Develop websites, and web applications, or contribute to open-source projects to demonstrate your abilities to potential employers. Use places like GitHub or GitLab!

Practical Experience

If you don't have the opportunity to be already working in a company in their IT department for experience, try these two types of experience you could try for experience:

Internships and part-time jobs: Seek internships or part-time positions in software development companies. This provides hands-on experience, exposes you to real-world projects, and helps you understand industry practices.

Freelance work: Take up freelance web development projects to gain practical experience and expand your portfolio. Platforms like Upwork and Freelancer can help you find clients and build a reputation.

Networking and Professional Development

Join online communities: Engage with online forums, developer communities (such as Stack Overflow), and social media groups to connect with like-minded individuals, seek advice, and stay updated on industry news.

Create a presence and show off your coding journey: I am a huge advocate for this. I had friends that I've mentioned on my blog that got their first developer job solely because they were posting their projects and learning journey on their Twitter accounts. For example, my friend Hikari (her Twitter) got her job because the employer saw her tweets of her progress then he noticed her portfolio page and asked for an interview with her - then she got the job. Try your chances with this method!

Contribute to open-source projects: Collaborate on open-source projects on platforms like GitHub. This not only helps you enhance your coding skills but also showcases your ability to work in a team and contribute to larger projects! Working in a team is a key skill!

Hope this helps! Thanks for the ask! 🙌🏾💗

[littlelambreads]

A3! Fan Fiction — “I’m Youth, I’m Joy!” // Episode 3

Tenma: Mankai Company is holding auditions!

Yuki: Shady.

Tenma: Hah!? How do I look shady? I have to keep these on, you know!

Muku: Tenma-san, you look cool! R-Right, Sakuya-san?

Sakuya: Yes! You look very cool, Tenma-kun!

Tenma: Of course I do! … Thanks.

Sakuya: Yes! Let’s do our best to pass out these fliers! I’m sure everyone else is working hard, too!

Hanako: …

Hanako: That guy…I think I’ve seen him before…Hm. Where was it that I saw him?...

Sakuya: Um…hello? 

Hanako: …!

Sakuya: Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you.

Hanako: …you. I saw you do a street act with imagined swords recently. It was amazing!

Sakuya: Thank you so much! I also thought you looked familiar. Well, I actually approached you for another reason.

Hanako: ?

--- 

Tsuzuru: This is kind of…

Izumi: Yeah…

Masumi: Disappointing.

Itaru: You don’t have to say it so bluntly, but well, you aren’t wrong.

Chikage: Shall I use my backup plan?

Itaru: You had a backup plan?

Chikage: Who do you think I am?

Itaru: Right.

Izumi: No one came. I guess what Yuzo warned me about was true. It is already intimidating when the troupe is all guys, but having been in the spotlight lately brings unusual pressure.

Masumi: By the way, where is that guy?

Tenma: Right, we planned to meet up around now, but our group kinda got separated.

Yuki: Whose fault was that?

Muku: Ehehe…Tenma-san got a little turned around.

Kazunari: Ten-ten got lost! Classic!

Misumi: Tenma~ Did you cause trouble?

Tenma: No! At least…it wasn’t my intention.

Sakuya: Wait! Please wait! We have someone here who is interested in auditioning!

Citron: Woah! Sakuya is shouting!

Itaru: Look at that, he brought someone.

Chikage: I never doubted him.

Itaru: No, no…you had a backup plan, remember?

Chikage: Did I?

Izumi: Sakuya, it’s all right! You don’t need to run! We can wait. You two, please catch your breath.

Sakuya: Thank goodness!

---

Hanako: Is it just me? I’m sorry for coming late.

Sakuya: Ah! It’s my fault. I ended up talking too much!

Hanako: Yeah, we went on a tangent about pantomiming battles…

Sakuya: It was so interesting though!

Hanako: Again, I’m sorry for coming late.

Izumi: Don’t worry. We’ve just started, but…it seems that people were a bit wary to come…Anyway, please introduce yourself.

Hanako: Right! I’m Hanako and I came to audition because I’m looking for a theater that would allow me to intern with them. My school back home requires students in their junior year to do an internship related to their program and mine’s theater.

Banri: Wow, so she actually does theater.

TsumugI: We could learn a lot from this. You’ve taught us so much from studying at Amabi.

Izumi: Hanako-chan, from your introduction, are you not from around here?

Hanako: No, I’m not. I’m visiting from the United States. I could have found an internship somewhere local, but…my parents suggested I study abroad, so I figured I’d come to Japan since I’m half Japanese and I’ve never been here.

Muku: Half! So cool!

Citron: Wonderful! Japan is the best!

Guy: I have also come to witness how wonderful Japan is.

Taichi: Traveling overseas for an internship! That’s amazing!

Izumi: Well then, Hanako-chan, please show us a brief performance with the concept of home. 

Hanako: I’ve never had an audition like this. It’s so…informal. But, home…hm…

Hanako: ♪ (Starts singing “Home” from the musical The Wiz.)

Izumi: I didn’t expect her to sing. What a lovely voice! She must be involved in musical theater. It isn’t something we’ve tried, but perhaps it might be a good time to consider it. She’s singing in English, but somehow, I understand her message. She is a girl who has been on an adventure of self-discovery and is ready to return home with all the things she’s learned. Yep. She's a good actor.

Hanako: ♪ (Finishes singing.)

Banri: So that’s what it looks like to study acting from a younger age. The techniques are solid.

Tenma: Yeah, I’ve only learned from experience, so it is cool to see what it looks like when someone is educationally trained in acting.

Tsumugi: It seems she was also trained in stage singing. Her voice projected well while still being imbued with emotion. I don’t know English well, but I could understand what she was trying to convey with her actions, facial expressions, and vocal dynamics as she sang.

Sakuya: To sing while acting is something we haven’t tried before! I think we could really learn from her. Director?

Izumi: Fufu…I’m thinking the same thing. Hanako-chan, you passed! Mankai Company will gladly allow you to intern here. We can talk about those details later after you settle in.

Hanako: Thank you so much!...Wait. Eh? Settle in?

Izumi: Yes! Our theater has a dorm. Well, all the rooms are technically filled, but if you don’t already have a place to stay, you could share my room if you want to.

Hanako: I don’t have any accommodations, but is that okay?

Citron: Oh! Director will have a broom meat.

Tsuzuru: I’m going to take a stab at that. Did you mean to say ‘roommate’?

Citron: That’s right!

Itaru: Masumi, your sensors aren’t activating.

Masumi: Well…it should be fine…

Chikage: Haa… I’m not good with women.

Sakuya: It will be a new experience for the Director to have a roommate and for Spring Troupe to have a girl in our group! Oh! I wonder what type of play we’d do.

Tsuzuru: Yeah, I think I have some ideas.

Itaru: That’s our star scriptwriter for you.

Tsuzuru: Ugh. What’s with the unneeded pressure?

Sakuya: Ahaha.

next

[dajaregambler]

Hello once again.

I have good news. After a lot of mental struggles, personal stuffs, feeling overall aimless in life because I’m dealing with graduation, and so on, I have finally found motivation to get back to translating.

Being first hand in Japan and experiencing the language, learning new things everyday (and emptying my wallet on Keith stonks), really made me remember how much joy I experienced from interacting with this language.

And there are many amazing things out there, from games to manga and novels. I want everyone to be able to experience it. I had started to learn Japanese with that intent, but due a harrowing (albeit worthwile) internship, the looming pressure of Capitalism and exploitation of creativity crushing me, plus a lot of other stuff… yeah, my motivation died down heavily for a bit. I dropped other TL projects I had and kept pulling Helios behind me in hopes I’ll finally finish what I started, since I couldn’t with the rest.

I also felt discouraged because I kept asking myself, who am I doing this for if not myself…? I don’t know how many people, if any, even need my translations that much. I felt a bit lost on that too. I have had people tell me they appreciate what I do, and I know I’m part of why people can enjoy Helios to some extent. But I had to say to myself: I’m here ‘cuz I just love translating, and Keith. If people read it, that’s a mere bonus. This is a hobby thing after all.

There’s a lot of days left of my vacation however, so of course I will be taking it easy and enjoying the rest of it. Hopefully not lose all of my money on Keith stonks either.

I know people follow this blog for content, not for me. But hey, take it as a lengthy update that can be summed up into “Ah that slacking jackass is finally getting back to work.” (I mean, I’m a Keith oshi who thinks he is in the right about slacking off, expectations should be on the floor by now…)

Anyway, that’s that on that.

When I’m back, I’ll be back for real. Gonna crank out SITD and finally clean up all my old TLs, they need it badly!

PS. Went to Happy Elements store and the lack of Helios was shameful. SMH. This is why I must spread the word like a preacher, international Helios stonks will take over.

[formulatrash]

hi queen, could you maybe give some insight on how you got into the motorsport social media world, for people who are maybe interested in that career?

hello anon, sorry this is probably gonna get long

so the short version is: I was already working in social media for Radio 1/1xtra/2/6 so handling some pretty big accounts etc. after that I wrote additional social content for Netflix shows and then I moved on to some big motorsport ones.

which is a boringly unhelpful answer because 'just already be a producer at the BBC' is not really a career path.

that said, I do know how it works.

the first thing is: social media is a broad genre. you should take some time to work out what kind of social you like making; if you're into graphic design, for instance, that's a social media job but so is writing TikTok scripts or posting as a brand or driver.

I would recommend making some kind of low pressure account and using it to mess around. give yourself a chance to find out what you're good at, if you're not going in knowing - me, I can write and I can produce but I'm not an enthusiastic or quick video editor and graphic design is definitely not my passion.

once you've worked out what you want to do, start at grassroots. there's going to be a point (this is the way with all passion fields) where you have to gain some experience by working for free. there's two ways to do this: find a grassroots motorsport thing (a person, an event, a Formula Student team, whatever) and propose doing their social media. a lot of drivers keep the same social media agency as they go all the way up the ladder (Lando's done this, for instance) so it can be a route to bigger things in and of itself. but most importantly it can get you experienced in negotiating the world of motorsport social media - how to deal with things like broadcast rights and where you can and can't film in a paddock, how to drive engagement and interact with fans, etc.

the other option is to start a project account. something like The Female Drive, which is run by a Sauber engineer. that's a really good example of an account that shows obvious skill in producing social content without creating an unreasonable work burden. the account becomes both something that you own, as its own little motorsport property and a showcase for what you can do. it's a really good way to start getting yourself accreditation or being noticed. on a bigger scale but still coming from that grassroots start, Parc Fermé have made a major success launching their agency like that, due on a major level to Lids' incredible photography but it shows the worth of going down that route and basically creating your own job.

if what you want to do is present TikTok, obviously, then you just need to start doing that and working on improving. make the type of content you want to make - that won't be interviewing Max Verstappen from the outset but you can find other ways to make it work. be creative, use your friends, do the things you'd like to watch.

the third way, which you should not do, is working what should be a paid role. a good (well, bad) example of this is this Formula Nerds recruitment ad that I saw earlier today. under UK law, you can't be a volunteer with responsibilities and volunteer roles, which are actually very regulated, have to be demonstrably beneficial to the holder. it's also just extremely shitty that people ask people to work for free; if your publication isn't making enough money, you do that yourself and you can hire people when it is.

if you want to gain experience in a professional setting, look out for internship schemes. you'll be better placed if you can show them examples of your work, which is why it's good to do that earlier experience but they should be regulated, clearly marked as an internship and paid. motorsport is a multibillion-dollar industry where even at the lowest levels thousands of pounds are changing hands, you do not work for free unless it's for yourself.

some good people to look out for opportunities with are Rosie from 115dgrs, Lois at MP, Revolution Comms, Influence Associates and Pace Six Four.

[mistydeyes]

Hello!! Stumbled across your blog while binging Cod content. I absolutely love you writing. My favorite is the medical history of 141. I did an internship at a pharmacy for a few months and seeing drug names once again was pretty cool (ciprofloxacin is my fav but that's a conversation for another time lol). I really like how you inculcate pharmacology in your writing. This is my first time making a request since I'm fairy new to tumblr. I would like to request a pairing if that's fine. I'm 20, islander thus I have tan skin ,dark brown eyes and extremely long hair but it appears short since it's very curly lol. I am 5'3, wear glasses and on the curvier side but fairly muscular since I do my best to go to the gym daily. I'm have a blue belt in karate and love martial arts. I'm also very good at yoga and try practicing it everyday since it's relaxing and energizing for me. I have a dark academia, fairly unique and elegant style. I dress modestly and LOVE coats, trousers but I love dresses as well. I love designing my own clothes. I recently got a black ,mermaid cut floor-length dress with a leg slit and pearl sleeves (basically it looks like the dress it held up by a chain of pearls)stitched. MBTI- INTP Zodiac - Scorpio

I love reading, drawing and playing cards. I play cards nearly everyday-my favorite games include gin rummy, go fish and Uno. I like drawing surreal and horrific designs such as monsters and nightmarish things lol. Despite drawing terrifying things, I am IN LOVE with goofy and cute things. I have a collection of cute erasers and stationary shaped like tiny dinosaurs, fruits, vegetable and cacti. I am an avid reader. I will read anything that piques my interest. My house is filled with books. There's at least a book in each room. I generally enjoy fictional books. I also love cooking and baking. I LOVE spicy food. I am always trying new recipes and cooking techniques. I love trying new food that I see on menus despite not liking lots of stuff sometimes (I don't mind though. It's part of the experience :D). Whenever I'm at the hall, you call always find me in the bookstore or a lingerie story.(a bit nsfw but I adore lingerie ) I am adventurous and love extreme sports but I haven't had the opportunity to. I'd love to sky dive and bungee jump. So far, I've ziplines, ski, undersea walk and parasailed. I am introverted but once I warm up with someone, I never stop talking. I LOVE memes. I bombard my friends with them daily lol. I am told that I have a "don't mess with me aura" but once you know me I'm just a goofball. I LOVE mathematics, specially statistics and biology. I do math for fun. Currently taking a gap year but I aspire to be a STEM student . :) I LOVE nature . Although I'm solitary I'd love to share peaceful life in a nice cabin with a partner to have fun with and joke all the time. I'd love for my partner to be my bestfriend and support my antics. Thank you for reading the long description and I'd be soo grateful if I could get a pairing. Thank you soo much!! And I love your work!!Keep it up!! <3 (i'll try to attach pics of my art and goofy things)

Johnny "Soap" Mactavish (a/n we need to have a convo because my fave antibiotic has to be bactrim/sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim! but thank you so much for reading my work :) also your art is amazing! I love all of the mediums you use)

How you met: You had vaguely known of the scotsman when you found out he was joining your group on vacation. You and your friends had planned a trip to New Zealand to accomplish a few bucket list items such as bungee jumping, zip lining, skydiving, and parasailing. It just happened that you and Johnny hit it off as you overlooked the Nevis River Valley and prepared for a once-in-a-lifetime jump. "Shite," he swore as you looked at him, "higher up than I thought." You laughed as your guide checked your rope and restraints. "That makes it even better," you said with a devilish smile as you looked at the frightened man. "I've jumped out of planes before but this is crazy," he exclaimed as you began to see your friends start to jump off with screams of adrenaline. "You can hold my hand," you offered as you stuck a hand out, "I've done this before and it's a great rush." He took your offer as the person to your left jumped. "Here we go," you yelled as you both walked off the platform and dove head first into the ravine. Your ears were immediately filled with his screams as you laughed and took in the gorgeous view. You smiled as you looked up at him and saw the hairs of his mohawk hand upside down. "Yer aff yer heid," he swore at you as the adrenaline began to wear off. "You think that now but you should see me when we go skydiving later," you joked and gave him a wink as he mentally prepared for the next extreme activity.

A peek into your relationship: Despite the distance, your boyfriend loved coming to your house. Whether it was a new book, a clothing project in the works, or the smell of spicy food from a new recipe, there was always something to entertain him. This time, he was having you do one of those drawing challenges were you practiced different illustrators styles. "Johnny hold still!" you giggled as he posed for your portrait. You lightly kicked him with your foot as you sat on opposite sides of the loveseat. "You done yet?" he kept asking as you shook your head and sketched out his face with pen. Eventually after what he said was "forever" you unveiled the finished paper. You could see his eyes travel from each one of the sketches until he set the paper down with an unreadable look. "What?" you questioned as you inched closer to him. "I love it but," he trailed off, obviously for the dramatic, "I don't know if I should be concerned that the Tim Burton and Junji Ito styles are horrifying good." You took a moment to laugh before pecking him on the cheek. "Just because I'm good a horror, doesn't mean anything," you replied and he took the opportunity to hold you in a hug on his lap. He kissed your forehead before replying. "You're a crazy one," he joked and you rolled your eyes. "Yeah but at least I'm yours, Mactavish. And don't talk about crazy when you're the one with a mohawk and no rock band in sight!"

[abyssalcreator21]

Pandemic Thoughts # 176

Four months left and I'm officially saying goodbye to my educational life and work on my adulting life. I'm glad that I have made this far in my life that I would finish the first chapter of my life with a bang. I am blessed that I had got into the Dean's list before I graduate this July. Well, it's no shock since we only have three subjects and I don't have a grade less than 2.00. At least I got an academic achievement before I graduate and say hello to the world of work. Honestly, I know it is going to be a wild ride for me when I finish college. First steps are to figure out how to build up my career path and have achievements in my life in every decade of it. It doesn't matter whether it's big or small but its the effort that counts. Currently in my life right now, I'm just working on our OJT, doing online articles and waiting for it to be posted on the page where I had been assigned. I also need to pass my midterm requirements for our internship and also be responsible with the tasks in my organization. Although, it is not my forte to be much of a multi-tasker, I just do the best that I could to work out whatever the tasks and the goals I am aiming right now. Honestly, there are not much to write how my week has gone by or my everyday routine. I just do the same things as usual and occasionally go to school to do some other extra-curricular activities. But most of the time right now, I am just staying at home right now and coping up with the boredom somehow. My mental health isn't that bad because I manage to control my intrusive thoughts, but there are just times where it is rampant and I decide to be off-radar in social media. I just watch anime as usual and scroll at pictures of cosplayers in my Facebook or Insta, sometimes going to Twitter to get some motivational quotes to be posted. I don't do much Tiktok anymore because I find myself being cringed somehow with my past posts and my brain hasn't squeezed so much creative juices within it. Even writing for me right now sometimes feel like I don't have that much substance with my past entries. Worthwhile experiences that are interesting to write a story about hasn't inked on my fingertips yet, but soon, I'll manage to keep a focused track with my writing skills. My health right is now is good, somehow my eyes are still in great condition but most of the time it is blurry when I try to look from afar. I know I'm spending a lot of my time right now in social media and I hadn't do much exercise, but I do 15-30 minute walks somehow roaming within the barangay and calming my mind from a lot of intrusive thoughts that I really don't like in thinking that much. Also, with my girlfriend, we are getting stronger and we have a great communication in these periods, although there are times where we have misunderstandings and she has mood swings, we just manage to always talk it out and have a great time watching movies most of the time. Right now, she is on her period and all I can do is just talk to her on the phone and just let her feel that I'm there taking care of her, she's just resting right now and she hasn't go to duty right now. But soon, I'll do my best to take care of her in person and get to know her more intimately.

[love-advice-on-call]

Hi

I had been preparing for my dream college for the entirety of my high school years . However I did not get in . My boyfriend who just gave the exam casually did . Still he didn’t pass the interview. We both took admission in different colleges . Since I had been preparing and I didn’t crack it it led to a lot of trauma and sometimes suicidal ideation . I still view that college as a reminder of my lack of talent and self worth . Almost all my insecurities are because of it . I was severely depressed and I can still till now feel the after effects of not getting in . My boyfriend however did not get into a good college and decided to give the exam once more . This year he did crack it . Now on hand I’m so proud and happy for him but I still can’t help but feel a knot in my chest and some bitterness . Him going to my dream school is like a very bittersweet feeling

I don’t want it to affect our relationship negatively but I can’t feel only happiness ; all the trauma of last year of not being good enough of not getting in is again resurfacing

I really love him and see a future with him

I feel like a terrible person for feeling this way

I swear I prayed for him to pass the exam since his family life isn’t that great and it would be good and healthy for him to stay away . The college would also help him launch a great career from the very beginning

I am happy but also slightly bitter

Please help me navigate this I don’t want to feel this way . Just need someone to tell me if this is right or wrong

Hello,

Thanks for waiting while I was on vacation. I understand the being a little bitter with this, but I am happy to hear you are glad about your boyfriend getting into a good college. That would be a good first step.

I think part of this is relying so much of your value on getting into one college and it really isn’t that bad as the people around you may carve it out to be. So many people will tell you college is everything, but there are so many people who don’t get into college or don’t get into a good school and do equally as good. I’m not sure where you are located at, but as someone who did "okay" in high school and went to a university with a high acceptance rate, I did not get into my dream school by any means. Success is all relative, but I ended up doing pretty good for myself (work at a big company, upper middle class, got a nice savings, etc.). Not getting into a good school isn’t a deal breaker, It just means you're going to have to work harder now. You’re going to have to build a more impressive resume, work on a portfolio, get relevant internships quick, come up with original ideas to stand out, etc. These are all things that creates confidence, character, humbles you, and turns someone into self-starter which is what creates success. It’s damn hard work and it sucks, but that’s not something you get if you can just rely on a flashy college. And you said it yourself “The college would also help him launch a great career from the very beginning.” That’s all a college really does in the end is help you get a step up and your college experience is what you make of it. If you learn calculus at community college versus calculus at Harvard, then you end up learning calculus either way. You can have a good time and make good connections anywhere so if you can, see if you can apply to another school.

Additionally, putting value into these things isn’t going to make you happy in the end. It can be dangerous to give status related things like school/work power because then you can get too focused on idolizing something that is just a facet of life. You also let those institutions have power over you that they shouldn't. There are so many people I see and talk to who value these statuses or just do what will make other people happy that end up so miserable. The happiest most satisfied people I've encountered are the ones that pursued a balanced life and kept up with their physical health.

Anyways, navigating this might also just take sometime to get used to it and being mindful of the situation. Don’t get caught up in the idea that your boyfriend is some how better than you now. He did good in one thing, but life has a million things and getting into a good college does not tip the scales that much in the grand scheme of things. Be proud of him and stay proud of him, but don’t feign that you are sad. You were looking forward to being where he is at so badly and grieving that takes time. As I said earlier, I think you should also begin looking more into your path again because if you get focused on where you will be next, I think it will help you get your mind off of this. Eventually, you wont even notice that this is a thing you were upset about because you will be more focused on how you’re going to shape your future and career and that will help you establish an identity that you really need right now.

Posted Aug 29, 2024

[doraambrose]

What's the best part about being in college to become a veterinarian? Are there a lot of pets to examine? Can you pet them? (i have no idea what a college course for veterinarians looks like btw)

And what's the worst part?

Hello friend!

So, I'm kind of an anomaly. I had originally attended Purdue University in West Lafayette for 2 semesters before getting dropped for academic deficiency. I had a lot of mental health issues and even some psychosis due to a medicine I was on. So, I just completed my second semester at Ivy Tech Community College in Fort Wayne.

Basically, there's a lot of different majors to choose from. When I started college, my major was biology. I was told a general biology degree was best to start out with in case I decided to pursue a different science related interest. However, I did a lot of research and even had a zoom meeting with the head advisor for the Animal Science major at Purdue because I'm the type of person who needs a plan. So maybe I should just start at the beginning.

After being dropped, you can apply for readmission after 1 semester. For the Animal Science major pre vet pathway, you'd actually be attending the college of agriculture. The requirements for that are 12 credit hours in a single semester at a regionally accredited institution. You also can't have any individual grades less than a C-. There's also something about holds and then you have to write an essay, etc. I originally attended the fall semester of Ivy Tech, doing the Biology TSAP program, but I felt my advisor didn't listen to me and put me in Bio 105, a psychology class I already took and passed at Purdue, and a calculus class that was too advanced for me. Because I dropped the Calc class halfway through, I didn't have 12 hours, so I had to do the spring semester. That's when I did my own research, utilizing Purdues transfer equivalency guide, and communicating with the office of admissions. I took Bio 107, brief calculus, Chem 101, and anatomy and physiology I. As of this Tuesday, I passed every class with a C or better, so I qualify for readmission. I had my zoom meeting and we decided the best thing for me to do going forward is to take all the undergrad non Science classes at Ivy Tech (economics, speech, and she told me to take APHY 2 since I took the first class). Then, I'm taking all the general undergrad Science and math classes at PFW (Purdue Fort Wayne) to save money. That will include a physics class, some chemistry classes, and some biology classes. FINALLY, I will do the Animal science specific classes at Purdue West Lafayette. Those are the classes that specifically deal with animals. I also am doing an internship at our ER vet. The most important thing when applying to vet school is your experience.

Anyway, to answer your question, I'm not sure what a vet specific class is yet because I'm not there yet. It's a lot of general biology and chemistry and probably some Animal anatomy, nutrition, etc. And physics (gross). But chemistry and biology are very important, as you'll need them when youre working in the medical field due to anesthesia, pharmaceutical, etc. I would say the worst part is the chemistry and physics. Anything math related is a challenge, especially since chemistry is basically taking a lot of things that you've been taught in Algebra for years and throws it out the window.

Good luck if that's what you want to do! And sorry if there are any spelling or punctuation errors, I'm in the car with a friend (im not driving), but I am writing this on my phone quickly.

Thanks for the ask!

[umichenginabroad]

Week 14: Reflections

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my last blog post of this semester! It’s definitely bittersweet. I’m going to miss a lot about Madrid, but I’m also looking forward to starting my internship back in the US. It’s going to be hard to capture all that these last four months have been, but I’ll try to start with some things I’m going to miss about Madrid. 

Easily the thing I’m going to miss the most is the bustle of the streets. Not only are there people walking the streets everywhere, but there’s also always people sitting outside at the tables eating, drinking, and chatting with each other. Especially when the weather’s warm out, everyone will be outside and the vibes are just so happy and carefree. Life is slower here, and the streets are a perfect example of that (even the slow walking). One of my favorite experiences this summer has been watching El Clásico on the street outside a restaurant just around the corner from my house. They put up a TV on the outside, and there were so many people huddled together watching and cheering. Here’s a video from when Madrid beat Barcelona on penalty kicks. Seriously unreal.

Something about Spain in general that I’ve really enjoyed is the eating culture here. Eating lunch or dinner is always a social event, taking hours to just eat and chat with friends or family. Every meal is an excuse to hang out, and I really enjoyed that. I feel like a lot of the time, I’m really trying to get through lunch or dinner and move on to the next thing, but here, everyone always treats it like a true break. At first, I was a little annoyed at how long the waiters took to bring the check, but I’ve definitely grown to love spending hours at the table.

Also, the ease of travel has been actually insane. Like it’s on average less than $100 to travel two hours by flight. And the train system is so remarkable too. Plus, hostels make it so easy to travel without breaking the bank. They’re about $20-$40/night and are everything you need from a place to stay, plus they often have cool activities and are social if you’re traveling alone. I really wish there was more of a travel infrastructure in the US, like trains connecting major cities and hostels, or more affordable accommodations.

I’m also going to miss wandering around and just stumbling upon different shops, restaurants, and events. Being in such a walkable city has been amazing. When I have a few hours with nothing to do, I’ll just head outside and wander around. I’ve found some pretty cool shops and free exhibitions this way, and it’s been a great way for me to explore the city while staying active. I've also really enjoyed the painted shop doors all around the city that I get to see during some of my long walks.

Another uniquely Madrid experience I’ll miss is going to see the sunset at Templo de Debod. I’ve gone a handful of times now, and sitting on the grass with like 50 other people, gazing over the city while there’s some live guitar and singing in the background is just such an amazing feeling. I love to just sit there, look out, and people watch until the sun goes down. 

Now, as honorable mentions: I’ll miss Primark, the Ale-Hop across the street, Flying Tiger, the freshly squeezed orange juice from Dia, my local grocery store, and Danone yogurt (apparently this is the cheap kind, but it’s my favorite).

On the other hand, there are some things I’m really looking forward to when I get back to the US. We seriously take Target for granted, and I’m weirdly excited to be back in the presence of a Target. I also really miss driving. Driving with some music on in the background is one of the first things I’m going to do when I get back. Out of everything though, I’m most excited to be back in yoga pants and sweatshirts. Even though I’ve gotten used to dressing up here, there’s nothing like being in comfy clothes all day. 

Being abroad for these past few months has definitely made me want to bring certain things from the Spanish lifestyle here back with me to the US and make changes in my own life. I think I’ll try to be a tourist in my own city a little bit more. Traveling quite a bit has made me realize all there is to discover in every place, and I feel like I never do the places where I actually live enough justice. Even just thinking about Ann Arbor, there are so many restaurants and shops downtown that I’ve yet to explore, as well as markets and other festivals I feel like I could seek out a little more. Going off of that, I think I’m going to try to be more than a student when I go back to school in the fall. Usually, school consumes my life, and there’s not much time to do anything else, but I’m going to try to walk around to the parks in Ann Arbor and maybe just get lost in the streets of downtown a little more often. Another big one is scheduling more social time and chilling time into my life. I want to be able to read a book or draw after work on the weekdays, and now that I’ve seen it be possible for so many people, I’m going to try to make an effort to incorporate that into my own life.

Reflecting on classes this semester, I would say that they have definitely been easier than Michigan classes, but not really as easy as everyone says study abroad is. I’ve really liked my professors, and am especially thankful to have been able to do research here. I’ve learned a lot just from that this semester in terms of working in a global setting. My Spanish class has definitely increased my confidence in speaking, and I’ve learned how to say things in a more conversational way instead of in a more academic way like I’ve learned before. Taking Fluid Mechanics here has been nice too. Even though it’s my hardest class, there’s a lab component that has really helped me understand the more theoretical parts of it. And my Numerical Methods class has been so much fun too! It was so chill and I enjoyed learning more Matlab. 

Overall, this semester has been a nice break from everything, and I’m glad to have had this opportunity to grow and experience a different lifestyle from what I’m used to. I’m also thankful to have had this opportunity to document my time here with these blogs that have made me think more deeply about my time in Madrid. And thank you for following along!

Here are some pictures of the flowers finally blooming in Madrid and some other cool pictures :)

Signing off,

Isha Venkatesh

Mechanical Engineering

Comillas — Madrid, Spain

[spotzuydblog]

Blog 16. Second year of OT  

Hello everyone, 

In this blog we (Yrsa and Sarah) would like to talk about the second year of OT at Zuyd University.  We have four periods in the second year. Every period lasts for 10 weeks.  The first is rehabilitation, the second is mental health, the third is in the neighbourhood and the fourth is practise for your internship.   

Sarah:  Hello Yrsa, I wanted to talk to you about the second year of OT.  I know you started the period rehabilitation this year. I was wondering what you like about this period and what did you learn? I remember that I found it really interesting, and it was somehow the easiest period for me. 

Yrsa:  Hey Sarah, thanks for asking! 

I only know the first period indeed, but I can tell you something about it! We learn everything about strokes and chronic pain, but also interventions and treatment methods to help people who suffer from these diseases. 

I find it really interesting to learn about the processes in the body and knowing what happens in the body while getting a stroke or chronic pain.  

At this time I’m focussing on chronic pain as a result of a whiplash. I learned how to explain the difference between acute and chronic pain to a patient. Thereby did I learn how we can find out what activity the patient wants to be able to implement (again). From there we set goals and create a plan how we’re going to reach that goal. For example, my current client wants to be able to cook for her family again without letting the pain lead her movements. So we gave her information about chronic pain and that she could move her body without breaking anything, because that’s what she is afraid of. 

But Sarah, I’m curious about your experiences in the second year, can you tell me something about that?   

Sarah:  Especially the second period mental health wasn't easy for me. You needed to learn a different approach of OT and I somehow didn't quite understand that.  I was also quite nervous for the test that I had to do, and it took me a while until I passed the test. But it also was a really interesting period for me. We had the opportunity to talk and help someone with a mental disorder.  You learn to look at the person and not just their mental illness. In society there are a lot of misconceptions of people with a mental illness and that is why they get misunderstood.   I must be honest my own mental health wasn't always great, and I think that you as a reader also might relate to that.  Mental health is really important, and I think we should help people with that as OTs, but also as a human being. 

Yrsa:  Thanks for sharing. I’m really looking forward to getting into the next periods of this year. I think it’s going to be hard but interesting. You said the second period is about mental disorders. Could you tell me something about the third period? 

Sarah:   My third period was about the neighbourhood.  You needed to visit a neighbourhood and look at what you see as a person and what you see as an OT. Then you had to do research about the demographic, social-cultural, technology, ecological, and political situations of a neighbourhood. So, you knew what was going on in the neighbourhood. After we made a list of questions. The questions where about what is good about the neighbourhood and what needs change.  Also asked if there are things that people wanted in the neighbourhood. We then had to communicate with the neighbourhood council about the answers to the questions and look if we could do something for the neighbourhood.  In the end we had to do a test with simulation patients that pretended to be people from a neighbourhood that wanted to start their own council and you as an OT had to guide them to form a group. This was quite difficult, but a good learning opportunity. 

Yrsa:   Wow, that sounds interesting. You practice for internship in the last period, right? How do you prepare yourself exactly?  

  Sarah: Yes, in my last period, I had to choose a targeted audience.  I choose elderly care.  I need to do more research about elderly and the neurological process of a stroke or CVA.  You also needed to work on your own goals and OT Competence.  It was interesting to work by yourself and prepare for your internship.  I now also work in an elderly home for my internship. 

[merrrrrrrrry]

hello, im early today 🫶🏻

it’s sad that your grandma’s parrot flew away that’s still a very cute memory of him 🥺🥺 parrots are so interesting and they’re all so pretty!! do you have a picture of him? if you do i would love to see it <3

that sounds extremely stressful in general but going in unprepared must have made it way worse 🫠 it sounds super interesting though!! do you listen to hearings a lot or is it infrequent? i took a law class (i can’t remember exactly what it was for) when i was in university and i had to go listen to a hearing for part of my final exam and i liked it a lot even though i wasn’t studying/had any interest in law fjshsjs also im not currently studying!! i was halfway through my third year before covid lockdowns started and i decided i wasn’t really interested in what i was studying anymore so i was supposed to be figuring it out but again..covid. so im kinda just working and avoiding figuring out if i want to go back to school fjdhd

i look forward to hearing about the canva thing 💗💗

-✨holiday pal✨

Hello

I unfortunately don't have a photo of him so have this sticker instead. He flew away some 6-7 years back.

Right now during my internship, I spend the day at the city court. So i get to see multiple hearings in a day. My internship is for 30 days and it's getting over next week.

What was it that you're studyin? All the best for whenever you decide to sit down and have a think about it and all the best for whichever decision you make💕💕💕 how does that work exactly? I don't know how universities work wherever you live. You can take a class of something entirely unrelated to what you're actually studying??

The canva thing is that I was fucking tired of it the first time I did the work for a post. I made edits here on tumblr, i stopped because of some random comments i got and now I don't have time anymore but i really enjoyed it because I was doing it for something i like. Unfortunately, the society that I am in, the literature and debate society has been an utter disappointment at best. I was really enthusiastic about it but the postholders barely care about getting the society together and involving us, the first years who have no idea what goes on until the last moment where they need us to take part in a vote from the whole society to decide something we didn't know was being discussed in the first place. I never used canva before this and there are moments where I get into it but then I remember what I'm making the post for and i cant help but get utterly frustrated.

But enough with the negativity. I take my tiffin prepared by Maa with me everyday to court but today I ate outside with the junior advocates and law clerks and though the food wasn't great, the experience was great fun. And I also ate half of a great sandwich today courtesy of a special day at my father's office.

Currently I'm trying to get through a book about the arbitration and conciliation acts in India, it's interesting but I'm too slow. I need to write a review of it to submit in time but I get exhausted after coming back from court.

Tell me more about you? Anything at all? What's your favourite drink? I forgot to ask you the questions you asked me- what kind of music do you like??

Oh wow found another great sticker to add to the repertoire

[baepsaesbae]

None of Your Business

Pairing— Jung Hoseok x reader  

Genre— SMUT, enemies to lovers au, business/professional life au, slight angst, slight fluff, mutual pining bc im a slut for that

Warnings— inappropriate workplace behavior, explicit unprotected sex, face sitting, slight biting, one (1) butt slap, dirty talk, swearing, switch!Hoseok, Hoseok being a god damn nuisance, (also I’m not a business person so if you are and I state inaccurate/dumb things I apologize in advance)

Word Count— 8.9k

Summary— You have a shot at attaining a huge promotion at your company. The only problem standing in your way is the same one that annoyed you in college. Jung Hoseok. How will you manage to spend an entire weekend at a conference juggling impressing your supervisors while simultaneously battling Hoseok?

A/N— This super cool banner was made by the one and only @kimtaehyunq​, thank you so much! Please let me know what you guys think. Feel free to leave a comment or send an ask! 

The business world has always been mercilessly cutthroat; that’s one of the first things business students learn when they enter college. The competition to get an internship at a top company was fierce. Recruiting has to start at least a year in advance if you even want to give yourself a chance.

Luckily for you, you were the top student in your program. Well, one of the top students. Over the past four years, your position had been flip flopping with some surprisingly competent bonehead who annoyingly plagued your life.

“Excited to be graduating this semester, ___?” an all too familiar voice interrupted your studying.

“Excited to graduate as top of the class? Yes, of course,” you replied coldly. 

“Top of the class? That’s a little presumptuous, don’t you think?” the handsome boy sat on your table.

“I think it’ll be pretty much set in stone after this last final,” you returned your attention to your notes.

“Well, even if you’re number one, I think experience matters a lot in this field,” the boy refused to leave you alone. 

“Then it’s a good thing I did an internship with one of the top companies over the summer,” you glared at him.

“Oh yeah, how could I forget about the internship that you stole from me?” the boy pouted.

“I was obviously more qualified. And how could you say that when you stole my opportunity to go on a study abroad trip with my favorite professor last Spring Break? I’m still furious that he chose you over me solely because you were sleeping with his daughter,” you retorted.

“That was a coincidence! I don’t know how many times I need to tell you that,” he tried to defend himself.

“Whatever. Do me a favor and leave me alone, Hoseok. Hopefully today will be the last time I’ll ever see you.”

“That’s kind of sad to think about. Who else will get under my skin and annoy me every time they open their mouth?” Hoseok bantered, “Also, I told you to call me Hobi.”

“That would imply that we’re on friendly terms. I don’t like lying, Hoseok.”

“Fine. Good luck on that last final. See you around,” Hoseok hopped off the table and patted your head.

“Don’t touch me,” you grumbled as he walked away.

That was five years ago.

The company that you interned with gave you a job offer immediately after graduation. Quickly moving up through the ranks proved to be an easy feat since your tenacious nature made you the ideal employee. 

You were currently waiting outside of the CEO’s office. Seconds felt like hours as you mindlessly bounced your leg. It was eerily silent, and all you could hear were the click clacks of the receptionist’s keyboard as she worked. You looked around at the bleak décor that was a sorry excuse for modernism as you racked your brain. Were you in trouble? Did something happen? You were summoned up for a meeting but had no clue what it was going to be about. 

Once you were finally called in, you were greeted by both the CEO and VP of the company. 

“___, please take a seat,” the CEO politely smiled, “As you know, I am getting old. I am unmarried, so therefore I have no one to oversee the company after I’m gone. The executive council and I have been looking for people to fill my shoes. Or at the very least, take a seat on the executive council if one of them were to take my place.”

“Your numbers have been exceptional this month,” the VP chimed in, “And every month prior. After much deliberation, your name has been cast into the lot.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Being a member of the executive council at your age was almost unheard of.

“There is one other candidate that has also been hand selected at the other branch. You both are to attend a conference in which you will mingle with executives from other companies. There will also be a time in which you will pitch an idea to me on how to make this company better,” the CEO continued when he saw your loss for words.

“First and foremost I would like to thank you for this opportunity. I will do my best to live up to your expectations,” you bowed to show your gratitude. 

“Perfect. The conference is in two weeks. I believe that should give you ample time to prepare your presentation,” the VP shook your hand.

After shaking hands with the CEO, you turned to leave. However, something was nagging you. 

“May I ask who the other candidate is?” you inquired.

“Jung Hoseok from the northern branch,” the VP answered without missing a beat. 

“Ah,” your brain exploded.

“Do you know him?” the CEO asked.

“We went to college together. I know of him,” you said curtly.

“Well you’ll finally get your chance to meet him. I’ve heard he’s very popular with the ladies at his branch. That’s not pertinent to his skills; however, you can’t blame an old man for wanting to know the gossip of his own employees,” the old man chuckled.

“Of course,” you smiled politely as you excused yourself from the office.

Jung Hoseok? That douchebag? Just your luck to run into him again (to fight for the next step in your career no less!). You think back on all the run ins you had with him during your collegiate days. Nothing but irritating memories of the two of you competing for the top spot came to mind. 

Whatever. It didn’t matter who the other candidate was. You had to get to work and come up with a brilliant plan that will impress the CEO. You brushed the thought of Hoseok aside. It had been a couple of years, maybe he wouldn’t even remember you. There’s no need to stress out over something so trivial. 

The weekend of the conference had finally arrived. You were instructed to travel together with Hoseok. You waited alone at the airport terminal. If you were lucky, Hoseok wouldn’t show up at all. You weren’t. 

“___!” Hoseok called out your name in a sing songy voice.

“Hello Hoseok. Glad to see you haven’t changed,” you were already irritated.

“How are you? It’s been so long. You look great!” he went in for a hug but you turned away. 

He stood awkwardly with his arms in the air for a second until he bounced back. He took the seat next to you and began chatting. You answered his list of questions apathetically. 

“Did I do something to offend you?” Hoseok finally asked.

“I just think it’s funny that even after all these years, I still have to compete with you,” you retorted.

“Still hung up on that? It doesn’t even matter anymore. We got good jobs and now we’re here. Together! Isn’t that cool?”

“No, not at all. Although I guess it will be nostalgic coming out on top once again,” you smirked.

“Your competitive nature always amused me. You’re so cute when you lose,” Hoseok teased.

“I never lost to you,” you gasped.

“That’s not what that one study abroad trip with Professor whatshisname says,” he cooed. 

“Professor Namjoon! You knew he was my favorite, you prick. At least I graduated as top of the class with honors,” you argued. 

“My GPA was off by thousandths of a point. That doesn’t really bother me. But I’m glad you have something that makes you happy,” Hoseok shrugged. 

‘This is gonna be one long fucking weekend’, you thought. 

The flight was short and pleasant since Hoseok left you alone. You wanted to see as little of him as possible during this trip. You intended to get that promotion no matter what. 

After the plane landed, the two of you made your way to the hotel that was hosting the conference. 

“Hi, last name ___ and Jung?” you smiled at the hotel concierge. 

“Ah yes, you guys are here for the business conference?” the concierge asked.

“Indeed we are!” Hoseok chimed in from behind you.

“Alrighty, I got you guys all checked in. Enjoy your stay!” the concierge handed you a singular set of keys.

“Oh, I’m sorry, there must be a mistake. We’re in two separate rooms,” you politely tried to hand back the keys.

“The reservation is for a singular suite,” the concierge explained.

“Probably cheaper that way,” Hoseok reasoned while nodding.

Your fake smile faltered for a second. How the hell are you supposed to spend an entire weekend sharing a room with the most despicable person on the planet?

At least the hotel itself was grand. There was no way you’d ever be able to afford to stay in such a swanky place. The lobby was decorated with ornate marble pillars that were laced with gold trimmings. It even had a fancy fountain in the middle to greet incoming guests, which you thought was a bit overkill. 

“Excited to sleep with me, princess?” Hoseok teased, obviously picking up on your annoyance.

“Fuck off. Stay the hell away from my bed and my things,” you spat.

“Who’s to say that you won’t be able to stay away from my bed?” he smirked. 

“You wish,” you rolled your eyes as the elevator finally stopped on the top floor. 

You led the way to your shared suite with Hoseok. The trip was exhausting; you couldn’t wait to take a nap on your large luxurious bed that was probably topped with Egyptian cotton (one can dream). 

You immediately dropped your bags on the side of the room and flopped onto the bed, shutting your eyes. 

“Interesting,” Hoseok said.

You ignored him.

“Very interesting,” he continued. 

“What? What is so interesting?” you sat up and glared at him in frustration.

“Take a quick glance around the room,” he suggested.

Your heart sank, “No fucking way.”

You loved this trope in fanfics, but in real life? Fuck no, not with this asshole. Yes, there was only one luxurious king sized bed in the room. 

“Well, looks like you're going to sleep on the floor,” you smiled sweetly at him.

“The bed is huge, we can definitely share,” Hoseok argued.

“I think the fuck not,” you dropped back onto the bed, “I’m sure you’ll whore your way into someone else’s bed each night anyway.”

“I don’t think I need to, not when I’m already sharing a bed with you,” he flirted.

“Bite me, Hoseok,” you sighed, not in the mood for a tit for tat.

“Are you into that? I’d happily oblige,” he responded as he sat on the other side of the bed.

“I’m afraid that’s confidential information that you are not privy to,” you huffed, turning away from him.

“Are you really going to make me sleep on the floor?” he asked quietly. 

“Would you listen to me if I said I wanted you to?” you were curious to know.

“Look, I’ll admit that I can be an asshole, but I’m not a creep. If you’re really not comfortable with sharing a bed with me I’ll sleep on the floor. All I’d ask of you is to spare me a pillow.”

There was a short silence as you mulled over your options. 

“Fine, we can share the bed. But I demand a pillow divider to be set between us,” you caved.

“Wahoo! Thank you so much for your generosity, ___. Do you want to use the bathroom to get ready for bed first, or shall I?” Hoseok celebrated.

“I’ll get ready first,” you lazily rolled off the bed and trudged to the bathroom.

You were so tired that you missed hearing Hoseok’s soft chuckle as he watched you stumble to the bathroom. He patiently waited for you to finish before it was his turn to get ready for bed. You were sound asleep by the time he was done.

The blankets were haphazardly sprawled out on your side of the bed. One leg was under the covers while the other was completely exposed. Your mouth was agape with a bit of drool seeping out, and your shirt lifted up to expose some of your tummy.

Hoseok smiled at the sight. Never in a million years did he think he’d ever be lucky enough to see you like this. He pulled down your shirt in an attempt to make you look decent, but there was nothing he could do about your drooling. He tucked you into the sheets properly, making sure that the blankets covered you up to your neck.

He settled into his side of the bed. You forgot to put up the pillow divider. Hoseok stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. He turned over to face you in an attempt to get comfortable. 

‘She looks so sweet. Almost cute,’ Hoseok thought. 

He quickly brushed the thought aside. You were his rival, and have been since the first day of college years ago. He sat up and created a pillow barrier. Bickering with you first thing in the morning was the last thing he wanted. 

The first day of the conference was filled with attending various meetings while attempting to make as many networking connections as possible. You got up early and left the room before Hoseok was even awake. The less time spent with him, the better. 

Of course, completely avoiding him was impossible. You were to sit with your respective company during the meetings and presentations. The VP sat between you and Hoseok, while the CEO switched between sitting on either side. You were thankful for the separation, but nervous nonetheless.

The CEO would occasionally lean over to ask you questions about the presentations, and he intently listened to your responses. The VP would merely look over occasionally to give you a smile or wink; he acted more like moral support. You knew the entire weekend would practically be an interview, but you underestimated how anxiety inducing it would be. 

The higher ups finally left you alone when lunchtime came around. You picked up your lunch in the hotel’s decadent ballroom that had been turned into an eating area. You scouted an empty table in the far corner of the room in the hopes of finding some peace and quiet.

Hoseok had other plans. He saw you sit down at the table and happily followed you.

“Hey there buddy!” he greeted you as he sat down.

“Shouldn’t you be networking with new people?” you rolled your eyes at him.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he retorted as he took a bite of his sandwich.

“I’ve been doing that since before you were awake. I think I deserve a break,” you replied.

“I forgot that you’re quite the hard worker. I couldn’t have asked for better competition,” he said.

“Was that a compliment?” you asked with an amused grin.

“Yeah, and it’s the only one you’ll ever get from me. Is your pitch to the CEO ready?” Hoseok inquired.

“It has been. And no, I’m not going to tell you what it is,” you proudly answered.

“Oh c’mon! Mine is ready too! You’re a damn fool if you think I’m gonna steal your idea. I’m just curious,” he pouted.

“Fine. I’ll tell you if you tell me yours first,” you offered.

“So distrustful,” Hoseok feigned offense, “Okay, so I think offering higher bonuses for working overtime would be a good start. There could even be competitive bonuses in each department for the person who gets the best numbers that month.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” you said at first, “But don’t you think that would just create more animosity between coworkers?”

“I think competition is a healthy motivation factor. It worked for me in college,” Hoseok defended his idea.

“Everyone is competitive in college. Especially in the business schools,” you argued.

“Yeah, but not everyone is you,” Hoseok stated. 

“Excuse me?”

“Honestly, I probably wouldn’t be here today if you weren’t always on my ass,” he admitted, “Being your rival was kinda fun. You got flustered so easily, it was almost cute.”

“I do not get flustered easily! Plus, it was always you who was on my ass,” you huffed.

“I see that you still do,” Hoseok laughed, “But seriously. The universe brought us together again so I guess it’s telling me to thank you.”

“That’s uncharacteristically nice of you to say,” you looked away from him to hide your reddening cheeks, “You pushed me too, so thanks for that...I guess.”

“Mhm, no problem buddy. I’ll see you in the next presentation room,” he got up to leave.

“Wait Hoseok!” you called after him.

“Yeah?” he turned around quickly.

“I didn’t tell you my idea--”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s brilliant,” he winked before walking away.

The rest of the day passed by quickly. You retired to your room, exhausted from all the forced socialization. Your mind was stuck on what Hoseok said earlier. Maybe he wasn’t as big of an asshole as you thought. Perhaps you mistook a friendly rivalry for toxic competition.

You were sprawled out across the bed in your pjs when Hoseok entered the room.

“Are you gonna sleep like that?” he asked.

“You’re gonna have to forcibly remove me from your side if you want it that badly,” you replied with your eyes still closed. 

“That’s fine,” Hoseok said as he abruptly rolled you over to your side.

“Hey!” you squeaked out in protest.

“It was either that, or I laid on top of you and suffocated you.”

“Hmph,” you let out a displeased noise.

“Oh my god, you’re so bratty. How old are you?” Hoseok chuckled.

“Old enough to know that you’re a meanie,” your response was muffled by the pillow you buried your face in.

“Sorry I’m a what?” Hoseok teased.

“A meanie!” you quickly got up and slammed a pillow into Hoseok, catching him by surprise.

“I’m the meanie? You just pelted me with a pillow!” he cowered away from you.

“And I’ll do it again!” you threatened.

“I don’t think so,” Hoseok suddenly lurched forward, tackling you back onto your side of the bed.

You’re both laughing at this point. Seeing Hoseok up close and personal made you realize how handsome he truly was. Had he always been this attractive? Hoseok’s cheerful laugh echoed throughout the room as he loomed over you, pinning you down.

“I’ll get off if you promise not to hit me with a pillow ever again,” Hoseok tried to say in a serious tone, but his smile betrayed him.

“Sorry, I can’t make such a ridiculous promise,” you sassed.

“God, you really are so bratty. Kinda cute, kinda naughty,” Hoseok tsked.

“There’s nothing you can do about it,” you stuck your tongue out at him.

Hoseok leaned down to whisper in your ear, “Oh, I’m sure there’s something I could do.”

That sent chills down your spine. This was perhaps the most intimate moment you’ve shared with someone in a long time. 

“Keep dreaming then, lover boy,” you said. Truth be told, just that one sentence turned you on, but you couldn’t let him know that.

“As you wish,” Hoseok released you and retreated back to his side of the bed. 

“Maybe you aren’t as big of an asshole as I remembered,” you chuckled.

“You thought I was an asshole?” Hoseok laughed.

“I did. Maybe I still do. Not that it matters, we’ll never see each other again after this stupid conference.”

“That’s not true,” Hoseok disagreed, “I’ll be on the executive council, so you may see me from time to time.”

“I like the confidence. Too bad it’s in vain,” you teased, “I’m going to bed. Our day starts early tomorrow.”

“Our?”

“The. The day starts early tomorrow. Just go to bed Hoseok,” your turned over to conceal the faint smile on your face. Maybe he wasn’t so bad afterall. 

The second day of the conference started off as boring as the previous day. The various presenters droned on about different strategies regarding the improvement of a company with a plethora of charts and numbers to back it all up. The CEO wasn’t as talkative today to either you or Hoseok. The VP still made his reassuring gestures to you, flashing smiles and winks here and there.

“Can I see you privately after the last morning presentation?” the VP whispered to you.

“Yes, of course!” you excitedly answer. Currying the VP’s favor may come in handy later. 

After the last presentation, the VP discreetly led you to a vacant corner. His tone became serious as he began to speak.

“The CEO discussed his initial thoughts with me last night. I know I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but he’s currently leaning towards Hoseok,” he explained.

The news made your heart sink.

“I’d rather see you on the executive council, if I’m being frank. My pride is on the line since I recommended you,” his voice lowered, “However, I think there is a way to sway his opinion.”

“Which is?” you eagerly asked. 

“Someone might overhear here, meet me in my room in an hour,” the VP covertly handed you his room key.

He walked away without another word. The fact that the VP was on your side gave you a faint sliver of hope. The next hour of free time was spent frantically networking while your mind was obviously elsewhere. Every now and then you heard Hoseok’s voice, and just the sound of it spurred you on to make even more connections. By the end of it, your face began to hurt from all the fake smiling. 

You were standing in front of the VP’s hotel room exactly an hour after your secret rendezvous. The door opened immediately after you knocked.

“You’re extremely punctual; that’s wonderful,” the VP observed as you entered, “Make yourself comfortable.”

You scoured the room to find a place to sit. Your uneasiness must have been obvious, as the VP gestured towards the bed.

“Thank you,” you said as you awkwardly sat at the edge of the bed, “What is your plan?”

“It’s quite simple actually,” the VP sat beside you, “I just need to get to know you better. That way I can give an authentic and flawless review to the CEO.”

“So, you’re going to conduct an in-depth interview?” you asked timidly as you noticed him scooting closer to you.

“You could say that,” he voice lowered as he rested his hand on your thigh, “We have about 45 free minutes remaining. I believe you should make the most of this interview, Miss ___,” he smiled slyly as his hand began to travel upwards.

“How dare you?!” you yelled as you abruptly pushed him off of you, “I’m going to report you to HR!”

“Then say goodbye to your promotion. You really think you were chosen just because your numbers have been decent? You definitely were not the CEO’s first choice. He didn’t even know who you were. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even be here,” he explained with a shit eating grin. 

“Then why the hell would you even bring me up to the CEO? Just so you could try and sleep with me?” you were enraged.

“Don’t blame me for wanting some eye candy to entertain me during this god awful convention,” he smirked.

“Fuck you, you fucking pig,” you spat.

“Ohhh feisty. I like that in a girl. If you leave now, you can kiss that promotion goodbye,” the VP called out to you as you stormed towards the door.

“And you can kiss my ass, and shove that promotion up yours,” you snapped, flipping him off before slamming the door behind you.

Tears welled in your eyes as you made your way to your room. You were absolutely distraught. Had all your hard work been for nothing? Had you been nothing but a pretty sight for men to stare at for the past five years?

You entered your hotel room to find Hoseok laying on the bed. You quickly wiped away your tears; you hadn’t expected him to be there. He appeared to be taking a nap. You watched his chest rise and fall slowly as you snuck into the bathroom. You freshened yourself up to the best of your abilities. Maybe a little power nap would help calm your nerves. Too bad Hoseok was taking up the bed. Fuck.

You left the bathroom to see if maybe you could curl up in one of the corners of the bed. Luckily, Hoseok was on his side of the bed. You set a timer for half an hour and slowly crawled under the covers. Your eyelids felt heavy as you closed them.

“If you wanted to cuddle you could’ve just let me know,” Hoseok’s voice surprised you.

“Well, I don’t. Leave me alone,” you responded.

“What if I want to cuddle?” he asked.

“There is an abundance of perfectly good pillows for you to use,” you sighed, then sniffled a little.

“Are you sick?” Hoseok asked with a worried tone.

“No, I’m fine,” you answered quickly, panicking. 

“___, what’s wrong?” Hoseok was sitting up now.

“Nothing, leave me alone,” you turned away.

“If you insist, I won’t push it. Just know that you can talk to me if you need to,” he offered.

You heard him get off the bed. You pulled the sheets over your head to hide your face. You cried silently as Hoseok shuffled around the room, presumably getting ready to leave. Suddenly, he pounced on you.

“Hoseok! What the fu--” you cried out as he yanked the sheets off of you.

“Surprise attack!” he gleefully exclaimed. 

His expression quickly changed when he saw your tear streaked face. You looked up at him with puffy eyes. You were too exhausted to hold your cold stare. Instead, you looked away in embarrassment.

“___, what happened?” he asked softly.

“It doesn’t matter. But congrats, you basically got the promotion,” you laughed in defeat.

“You spoke with the CEO?” Hoseok was shocked.

“No, with the VP. That stupid son of a bitch. He--nevermind. I blew my chance, so the job is all yours. I am almost positive that I am unemployed now as well,” the tears returned and you couldn’t stop them.

“Hey, ___, it’s okay,” Hoseok tried to comfort you, “If the CEO didn’t tell you himself, then you can’t be 100% certain.”

“I was literally only invited because the VP tried to get in my pants!” you blurted out.

“What?” Hoseok was dumbfounded.

“He just told me that I’d have the job if I had sex with him. Can you fucking believe that? How long have I not been taken seriously? This has been so demoralizing,” you let it all out.

“Aw, c’mere,” Hoseok pulled you up and gave you a warm embrace, “What did you say to him?”

“I told him to shove it,” you sniffled against his firm chest. 

“There’s the you I know. You haven’t changed a bit,” he chuckled, “We can talk to the CEO together tomorrow about this.”

“Why would you help me? The promotion is basically yours because of this,” you sighed.

“I don’t really care for it, if I’m being honest. I’m satisfied with my job now. I don’t want any more responsibilities,” he answered while stroking your hair. 

“Then why are you here?” you looked up at him.

“I only agreed to come after they told me that you’d be here,” he admitted. 

You didn’t know what to say. Too many things have happened in the past hour alone. 

“Don’t get it twisted, I was just curious to see how you’ve been after all these years. Plus a free trip is always enticing. Getting to share a bed with you has just been an added bonus,” he smiled.

Your timer rang, causing you to break away from Hoseok’s arms. 

“Guess it’s time to go to more boring meetings. Yay,” Hoseok feigned enthusiasm. 

“I’m gonna stay here. There’s no point in me attending anymore,” you stated.

“Nope, you’re going. I’m dragging you with me! You gotta show the VP that he didn’t frazzle you at all. Fuck that guy. Well, not literally,” Hoseok was pulling you out of bed.

Hoseok subtly made sure that you sat between him and the CEO the entire time. You caught him giving the VP dirty looks, which made you feel a little better. 

You quickly excused yourself after the last meeting and tried to make a break for your room. Unfortunately, Hoseok prevented you from doing so. 

“You got a date for the banquet tonight?” he asked.

“No. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem because I’m not going. Have fun with your date though,” you shook your head.

“Who said I had a date?”

“I’m sure women were basically throwing themselves at you.”

“You’re not wrong, but I turned them all down. I have my eyes set on one gal.”

“Lucky her, I guess,” you rolled your eyes.

“Indeed. Although I still gotta ask her,” he looked around the room as if he was searching for her.

“You better hurry. Isn’t it in a couple hours?”

“Yep. Alright, here goes nothing!” Hoseok rushed off, finally giving you the chance to disappear.

You let out a sigh of relief as the elevator doors start to close. However, someone’s hand shot through at the last second. Hoseok stumbled in as the elevator doors reopened. You groaned. Why can’t you escape him?

“Did she say yes?” you asked with an indifferent tone.

“Not sure yet. Will you go to the banquet with me?” Hoseok asked.

“Fuck off.”

“Alright, well she just said no. Ouch,” Hoseok clicked his tongue. 

“Wait, are you being serious?” your eyes widened.

“If the word ‘date’ threw you off, then I’m happy with going as friends,” he proposed. 

“I’m flattered, but I’m really not in the mood to party with random strangers.”

“You don’t have to. Just party with me. Why would I let you be sad and mopey all alone in a hotel room when you could be drinking free booze?”

“Is the alcohol is free?”

“Duh, it’s all being charged to the company. Plus dinner is served.”

“Ok fine, I’ll go. I guess I didn’t pack that stupid dress for nothing.”

“Let’s not allow a gorgeous dress to go to waste,” Hoseok agreed.

“You haven’t even seen it,” you suppressed a smile. 

“Anything can be gorgeous if you’re the one wearing it,” he winked.

“Oh, shut up,” a small smile cracked on your face.

Hoseok was the first to get ready for the banquet. He wanted your look to be a surprise so he insisted on going first. You were beginning to find his weird yet endearing antics kind of cute.

You weren’t prepared when he came out of the bathroom. You were well aware that Hoseok was a handsome guy, maybe even handsome enough to model. However, you weren’t ready when Hoseok emerged in a grey suit with his hair styled to reveal his forehead. His radiance was comparable to that of the sun, and he only shone brighter when he smiled at you. 

“You look good,” you tried to act cool.

“Thank you! I’ll admit I do enjoy dressing up from time to time. But who doesn’t, am I right?” he beamed.

You nodded as you hauled your things into the bathroom. After about an hour, you were ready: fully dressed, makeup done, confidence soaring. You had forgotten how therapeutic dressing up could be. 

Your dress was a deep emerald green that was elegant yet seductive. It had a side slit that flirtatiously showed off one of your legs. The neckline gracefully outlined your cleavage while still remaining on the classy side.

“Holy shit. You look amazing!” Hoseok praised you as soon as you stepped out.

“I was only trying to match you,” you said shyly, trying to hide your flushed cheeks.

“I think it’s safe to say that we’ll be the most breathtaking duo there. Shall we depart?” he extended out an arm.

The dinner started out with boring speeches by people you didn’t care to remember the names of. Hoseok elected to sit at the table furthest away from the stage, which was an excellent choice. That allowed the two of you to chat the night away in hushed voices. You both had already gone through five glasses of wine by the time the speeches were finally over. 

“The dance floor is now open! Enjoy the rest of the night, and don’t forget that there’s an open bar!” the MC shouted through the mic.

The lights dimmed and a disco ball lowered in the center of the room. People began to crowd the dance floor. You laughed with Hoseok as you both observed various awkward shuffles and sways. 

“Wanna dance?” Hoseok yelled over the music.

“I can’t!” you yelled back.

“I’m sure you can! Let’s go!” Hoseok didn’t wait for a reply.

He dragged you to an empty space on the dance floor. The two of you began drawing attention to yourselves as soon as you stepped out. Two beauties were dancing in the open for everyone to see. You shyly swayed to the rhythm of the music and laughed at Hoseok’s silly moves. However, Hoseok began to move in a way that was absolutely bewitching. He looked like a professional dancer with the way he commanded his body to hit every beat. Hoseok had drawn a very large crowd as people began cheering him on. 

You were amazed by his stage presence. You’ve always had a thing for dancers, and he looked downright sexy. The song ended and Hoseok gave his audience a dramatic bow, awarding him deafening applause. 

“I didn’t know you could dance!” you shouted when he returned to your side.

“I like to dance in my free time! Did you like it?” he shouted back.

“I’ll admit it was sexy,” you laughed.

“You think I’m sexy?”

“Maybe I do,” you winked.

You had more fun than you expected while dancing with Hoseok. He made you feel secure, so you were able to let loose. You didn’t care what you looked like, as long as Hoseok was there with you. 

The night progressed and you began to feel bold. A particularly raunchy song came on, as if it were asking you to grind on Hoseok. And that’s exactly what you did. You guided his hands to your hips as you grinded into his crotch

“You sure you wanna be doing that?” Hoseok spoke into your ear with a low voice.

“Absolutely,” you replied.

Hoseok spun you around and gazed at you intimately while he brought you closer into his body. Various body parts were rubbing against each other now. The sexual tension was palpable. 

Hoseok’s hands were running up and down your body, and your mouth was dangerously close to his neck. The scent of his cologne was intoxicating. You couldn’t help yourself; you leaned forward to plant a soft kiss on his neck. His low growl was an indication that he liked it, so you kissed him again with more vigor. 

“You’re going to have to stop,” he scolded.

“Shit, I’m sorry. Did I overstep your boundaries?” you were embarrassed.

“Absolutely not. But I can’t fuck you out here in public now can I?” he towed you off the dance floor and made a beeline for the elevators. 

Thank god no one else was in the elevator, neither of you could keep your paws off of each other. Hoseok’s hands were unabashedly feeling you up and down while his crotch was slowly grinding into yours. Your arms were wrapped around his neck as you planted kisses along his sharp jawline.

Hoseok couldn’t stop whispering naughty things into your ear during the entire elevator trip up to your shared room. His lowered voice sent chills down your spine as he expressed just how eager he was to finally have you. You felt yourself getting wetter by the second.

“I wanted to strip off that dress the moment I saw you wearing it,” he cooed, “God, I can’t wait to see how beautiful you’ll look underneath me.”

“Hoseok, do you ever shut up?” you teased with a coy smile.

“I dunno, you might have to make me,” he played along.

“Maybe sitting on your handsome face will do the trick,” you said as you nipped his ear.

“Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

The elevator doors finally opened, and Hoseok quickly dragged you out. He immediately tore off your dress the moment the hotel room door was closed. You did him the same favor as you frantically unbuttoned his shirt to reveal his toned body. 

“Why don’t you be a good boy and wait for me on the bed?” you suggested.

“Yes ma’am,” he complied, his eyes never leaving your body.

“Like what you see?” you asked, turning around slowly to fully show off the lingerie that perfectly complimented your body. 

“You are so fucking sexy, ___,” Hoseok smiled in awe.

“I’m so glad you think so. You’re not too bad yourself,” you winked at him.

You finally joined Hoseok on the bed. You kiss his body from his abdomen all the way up his chest before stopping at his mouth. You took a second to relish the feeling of his plush lips against yours before he deepened the kiss with a ferocious intensity. 

“Wanna try and shut me up now?” Hoseok lifted his eyebrows suggestively once the kiss broke.

“With pleasure,” you responded as you began to position yourself above him, “Wait, do you want me to take this off?” you gestured to your undergarments.

“No need,” he said before abruptly pulling aside your panties.

You slowly lowered yourself onto his face and stopped when you felt his breath on your pussy. Hoseok impatiently gripped your hips and pulled you directly onto his tongue. The sudden contact made you gasp. Hoseok didn’t waste any time getting down to business.

He flattened his tongue out to cover as much area as possible as he licked across your folds. He expertly flicked and lapped your pussy in the perfect places. Your legs began to tremble, and you had to grip onto the bed’s headboard for support. 

You looked down to see the beautiful man’s face buried in your pussy; that sight alone was almost enough to bring you over the edge. Hoseok’s hands slithered their way up to your chest, where he began to twist and pull at your sensitive nipples through your bra. 

“You taste--so good,” Hoseok panted out from underneath you.

“Should I get off--fuck!” you were interrupted by Hoseok sucking on your clit.

His mouth was heaven sent. Your body began to heat up and soon you lost the strength to hold yourself up even against the headboard. 

You cried out as you came all over Hoseok’s face. His face was glistening with your juices as he smiled up at you. He seductively licked his lips to taste you again.

“Your turn?” you asked.

“As much as I wanna see your pretty lips wrapped around my cock, I think I need to be inside you more,” he replied as he repositioned himself.

He stripped off the rest of his clothing. You watched with admiration as more of his skin became exposed.

“You can take off the fancy underwear now,” he said once he caught you staring.

“You don’t want to see it anymore?” you fakeed a pout.

“___, you’re drop dead gorgeous in it. However, I advise you to take it off yourself because I won’t hold back. I don’t want to ruin your underwear, just you,” he replied.

Hoseok mixed in little nibbles while he kissed along your neck. Your voice dripped with bliss as you quietly moaned. 

“I guess you do like being bitten, huh? What about this?” Hoseok licked your neck, causing you to squirm underneath him.

“I think I like that too,” you whispered, biting your lip.

You wriggled out of your undergarments, leaving yourself completely naked in front of Hoseok. You pull at the hem of Hoseok’s underwear, eager to see what he was packing.

You were not disappointed. Although he was well endowed, what he lacked in length was made up for in girth. 

“Do you want me to use a condom?” he asked.

“I’m on the pill, and I’m pretty sure I’m clean. I haven’t been intimate in an embarrassingly long amount of time,” you admitted, blushing.

“I find that hard to believe,” Hoseok said while kissing around your face, “Since you’re so damn beautiful,” his lips found yours and led you into a passionate kiss. 

His hips began to grind into yours, his dick rubbing against your bare pussy. You wrapped your legs around him, bringing him closer.

“Please don’t tease me,” you pleaded.

“What are the magic words?” Hoseok teased.

“Fuck me, Hobi,” you begged.

“Oh my fucking god,” he growled.

He slammed his hips into yours, not giving you enough time to adjust to him. The stretch was intense at first, but it soon turned into nothing but pleasure. Your euphoria grew as he rhythmically bucked his hips into you. 

Hoseok spread your legs out as wide as you could go, giving him quite the erotic view that only aroused him more. You tried to stifle your moans, but were failing miserably.

“Don’t hold back baby, let me hear you. Show me how good I make you feel,” he leaned over to whisper into your ear. 

You complied instantly, your moans resounding around the room. Hoseok’s position allowed him to hit you deeply with every stroke. Without a word, he pulled out of you and flipped you over onto your knees. He roughly forced your chest down, leaving your ass in the air for him.

“Your ass is so fucking fat,” he said as his hand connected with your bare skin, causing you to shriek.

He kissed it afterward while his fingers teased your clit. He realigned himself with your entrance. This new position was even better than the last. You could no longer hold in your moans even if you wanted to. Hoseok repeatedly hit your g-spot, and you could feel another orgasm welling up within you.

“Hobi, I’m gonna cum,” you cry out.

“Say that again,” he demanded.

“I-i’m gonna cum!”

“No, not that. That’s hot but call me Hobi again,” he chuckled.

“Hobi!” you said with an exasperated tone.

“Yes princess? Fuck, I’m close,” Hoseok’s movements were becoming more haphazard by the second.

“Hobi, right there oh my god keep going please,” you begged, “Hobi...ah shit!” you came undone.

It wasn’t long after until Hoseok followed suit, pulling out to cum all over your ass. He rolled off the bed to get something to clean you up with. 

“How are you feeling?” Hoseok asked.

“Better. You?” you answered.

“Doing pretty well. I fucked the girl of my dreams,” he said gleefully.

“Shut up,” you playfully pushed him.

“I’m serious. I’ve adored you since college. I lived for your playful banter,” he began to explain.

“It wasn’t playful,” you interjected.

“Yeah, I know. But that’s what made it fun! All the other girls just wanted to be with me for my looks or whatever. None of them knew the real me.”

“And I did?”

“More so than most. You always pushed me to do my best. I really just wanted to be good enough for you. Kind of silly huh? I even dated that girl in an attempt to make you jealous. Which backfired since her dad was Professor whatshisface who took me on that trip,” Hoseok opened up.

“Hobi I...I’m so sorry. I was such a bitch to you back then. And now too I guess. My competitive side gets the better of me. I was always annoyed by how you were seemingly good at everything. It even irritated me that you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever seen in my life,” you began to apologize, “Oh, and his name is Namjoon. Professor Namjoon.”

“Thanks for reminding me. I hate to admit it but he made me a little jealous. I wanted you to praise me the way you praised him. Anyway, things can change now that everything's out in the open,” Hoseok smiled, “You’re even calling me Hobi! I’ve been dreaming about this moment.”

“Was it everything you ever hoped for?” you joked.

“You said it when you asked me to fuck you, then you said it multiple times while I was balls deep inside of you. So yeah, I would say it was everything I could’ve hoped for, if not more,” he pulled you into his chest.

The two of you continued talking for what felt like hours while cuddling. You hadn’t been this relaxed in ages. You were nearly asleep on his chest when he stroked a strand of hair from your face. 

“Tomorrow will be interesting, huh?” he said softly.

“I guess I still have to pitch my idea to the CEO,” you sighed softly, “What a waste of time.”

“It’s not a waste of time if you’re gonna get the promotion,” Hoseok reprimanded.

“I already told you, I’m not. The VP will make sure that you get it. This is good for you. Don’t worry about me,” you kissed his cheek, “We should get some sleep now.”

“Alright. Goodnight, ___,” he kissed your forehead.

“Goodnight Hobi.”

“Fuck, I really love when you say that.”

It was time. Time to pitch your idea to the CEO for no damn reason. You were beyond nervous, and Hoseok could tell. He tried to ease your nerves by giving you a firm shoulder massage as you both waited to be called into a small conference room.

The VP emerged, ignoring your mean scowl, and called Hoseok in to present first. Of course he would go first, no need to waste time hearing your proposal.

It was an anxiety riddled wait. You recounted the previous day’s events, which was a mistake because that only infuriated you. The whole situation was an affront on your character, and you will not stand for it. You debated giving the VP another piece of your mind at the end of everything. 

“___, you’re up,” the VP called you after Hobi finished.

“You’re gonna kill it,” Hobi encouraged you, coupled with a pat on the back.

“This is pointless and you know that,” you sighed.

Hobi shook his head in disagreement. It was heartwarming to see how supportive he was being. Maybe it was due to the fact that the job was practically his already. It doesn’t matter now. 

“Good morning gentlemen,” you greet them.

“The floor is yours, Miss ___,” the CEO responded cordially.

“I’ll keep it short and simple. I propose that the best way to improve the company is to shorten work day hours and increase PTO days,” you said confidently.

“Is that it? Can you expound on that?” the VP cynically asked. 

“Yes, I’m so glad you asked,” you smiled coldly, “Studies show that employees are exponentially more productive when they are happier. Not only will the company become more efficient, but the overall company atmosphere will become more positive. Interpersonal relationships between employees and bosses will improve in an appropriate professional manner,” you glared at the VP.

“That’s a very interesting take,” the CEO said thoughtfully, “Do you have any suggestions regarding the actual work that the company does?”

“No sir. The company has been thriving, so I believe that the way things are running now are proficient. However, as a company, we should always be willing to listen to our employees’ concerns,” you stated.

“You’ve brought up interesting points to the table. As an employee, do you have any concerns you’d like to express?” the CEO asked.

“There is one pressing matter that comes to mind,” you stole a glance at the VP to see him shift uncomfortably in his seat, “I firmly expect that employee/supervisor relationships should be strictly professional.”

“Are you just giving us your opinion on office romances?” the VP sneered.

“I believe that trying to use intimacy as leverage is highly immoral, if not a fireable offense,” you held your ground.

“Of course,” the CEO agreed.

“Then said employee would simply need to file a complaint with HR,” the VP dismissed you.

“What better way to get my complaint heard than speaking directly to the CEO?” you smiled sweetly, “Sir, yesterday the man sitting beside you crudely suggested that I sleep with him in order to gain the promotion. He also alluded that all of my accomplishments are for naught, and that I am purely ‘eye candy’.”

“Is this true?” the CEO asked his VP in dismay.

“Of course not. She’s grasping at straws. Look how desperate she is to get the job,” the VP quickly defended himself.

“I am not lying. I am fully prepared to be fired on the spot. I cannot continue to work at a company that allows this kind of sloppy behavior to go unpunished. Thank you for your time,” you bowed and quickly took your leave.

You released a huge sigh as soon as you were outside of the room. Hobi rushed over to your side. Suddenly, you began to laugh hysterically. Hobi looked at you nervously, obviously concerned about your mental state.

“Isn’t it so funny? All my hard work had just been flushed down the toilet by a stupid man drunk on power. I love that!” you wheezed.

“___, ___ calm down. What happened?” Hobi inquired. 

You told him what just went down. A smile crept across his face as you got to the part where you put the VP on the spot. 

“I wouldn’t count yourself out just yet dude,” Hoseok shrugged, “All we can do is wait.”

“Yeah, I’ll be the first one to congratulate you on your new job. Then I’ll begin my search for a new one,” you gave him a thumbs up.

The VP stumbled out of the room and angrily stomped towards the both of you.

“You fucking bitch! Who do you think you are? Do you even know what you’ve done? I know people. I’m gonna make sure your life is hell!” he yelled at you.

“That’s enough! You have been dismissed. I do not want to see your face around here again. Clean out your office on Monday,” the CEO ordered, “Would the both of you please follow me back into the room?”

You both timidly followed him, curious as to what he had to say.

“I apologize on behalf of the company for this incident. This isn’t the first time a complaint has been filed against him. Unfortunately, he always told me that they were just futile grasps for leverage and I foolishly believed him. However, his loss is your gain,” he smiled, “How would you like to be my new Vice President?”

You were agog. Hoseok’s eyes widened as he stood beside you.

“Surely there are more qualified people,” you stammered in disbelief.

“There definitely are. But none of them are what this company needs. It takes a special person to have their rival pitch all the reasons why you are a better candidate than they are,” the CEO happily nodded.

“I- he what?” you cast a surprised look at Hobi.

“Oh yes. He spent all his time highlighting your best qualities as an employee. It was quite a shock,” the CEO smiled.

“I will humbly accept your offer. Thank you so much sir, I will work even harder!” you bowed gratefully.

“That brings me to Mr. Jung. The position on the executive council is yours, if you want it,” the CEO offered.

“If the offer is unopposed, then I have no choice but to accept. I will do my best!” Hobi joined in your bowing. 

“Wonderful! It’ll be refreshing to see some lively young faces at those atrocious meetings,” the CEO laughed, “Oh, and one more thing. The two of you will have to relocate to the main branch, I hope that’s okay. I look forward to working with both of you.”

You both nodded gleefully. After the CEO dismissed the pair of you, the trip back up to your hotel room was nothing but joyous. It was like you were in a dream that you never wanted to wake up from. You even pinched each other to make sure it was all real. 

“I can’t believe you were advocating for me,” you hugged him.

“You deserve it. Your impressive diligence should not go unrewarded,” he squeezed you tighter, “Plus, this ended up being pretty sweet! Congratulations to both of us!”

“We need to go out to celebrate!” you wiggled.

“Yes! Let me take you out,” Hobi tackled you onto the bed.

“Where shall we go?” you playfully ask.

“Maybe we should go explore our new city together?” he suggested.

“Our?”

“Yes, our. And when I say I’m gonna take you out, I mean as a date. Because I want to date you. And have been wanting to for years,” Hoseok charismatically emphasized.

“I’m looking forward to starting this new chapter of my life with you then, Mr. Jung Hoseok,” you press your forehead against his. 

“Imma be all up in your bidness girl,” he joked.

“Your business is my business now loser,” you teased back. 

Looks like all that hard work had paid off, and there’s no better reward than finally being with Jung Hoseok.  

Published May 13, 2021. No editing, copying, translating, or reposting allowed. All Rights Reserved © 2021 Baepsaesbae.

[hxneydreamers]

Hello, could u share your journey in the law of assumption and how u started and what progress you've made till now, what you had trouble with at first and how you resolved them, and finally what concepts made everything click for you and made manifestinf super easy like being on a roll for you? And thank you for starting this cool blog 😊

Hey! I'd love to!

I'll first point out that I am still learning and whilst I am here to help people manifest, I am learning alongside you! I want you to know that I am very well educated on the law of assumption, and I am also currently manifesting an SP. I have manifested lots of things in the past (like traveling, meeting a celebrity crush, as well as multiple specific people including my current SP), but I never really pushed through because I never properly tried. I was always on and off my game for a number of reasons, so I would receive my manifestations, but not in full, and this was all because of my self-doubt and self-concept.

I first discovered manifesting with the Law Of Attraction a few years ago after watching the documentary 'The Secret'. I had NEVER EVEN HEARD about manifesting before, and I felt like it was a bit far fetched.

For a very long time, I was extremely non-religious, I didn't believe in God or magic, the afterlife, spirits, fate, NOTHING! I was the biggest non-believer out there. When I watched 'The Secret' I tried to simply change my attitude to be positive as much as I could so I would only attract positive things in my life, and I noticed it worked for a little while, but it wasn't anything significant. I pretty much forgot all about manifesting very quickly, because I never took it seriously.

The next year one of my friends was obsessed with the law of attraction and twin flames and all that spiritual stuff, and she was trying to convert me a bit. I was intrigued by the concept, but I didn't really believe in any of it at all. I just liked making vision boards with her for fun. I never took any of it seriously.

My friend made me go to a psychic with her for fun one day and I resisted and said no, but I eventually gave in because I got curious. Seeing this psychic was extremely earthshaking. I won't go into detail about my experience with her, but some things happened that pretty much changed my view of life and way of thinking. I was much more open to the possibility of things like manifesting.

A year ago, 2 people close to me sadly passed away. I felt very lost and I spent many nights awake and I stumbled across 'Sammy Ingram' on youtube and discovered the Law Of Assumption. I began to binge watch her videos and I did sooooooo much research about the law. I was immediately obsessed.

I started manifesting text messages and instant replies and dates so easily because I was so excited about it and felt no doubt that it would work.

I had success manifesting an internship, consistent shifts at work/consistent money flow and other money manifestations, I manifested dating a specific person (but I ended it for natural reasons), I manifested another specific person literally within a night, just to see if I could do it, and I manifested my current specific person as well (we have a past).

After these successes, I ended up having to deal with some personal issues with my grief for a while, as well as finish my studies, AND my internship, which took my mind off manifesting, and as a result, I manifested negative circumstances in many areas of my life, because I let myself spiral.

I won't tell you the old story too much, because I don't want to revisit it, but basically, for years I had been stuck in a cycle of being abandoned. I felt unlovable and my self-esteem was quite low. All of these beliefs were reflected in many ways, and I was constantly worrying about everything. My internship became toxic and I wanted to leave, my relationship also ended temporarily, and my self-concept was very very very bad!

I felt like I was obsessing over everything in my life going wrong and I wanted to manifest my SP because I thought that he would fix everything, but by putting him on the pedestal I was stalling.

As soon as all this happened, I was of course upset, HOWEVER, I had suffered so much loss at that point that I was determined to make sure that I turned my life around. So I decided to manifest ending my internship naturally, rather than me leaving or being dismissed.

I started visualizing a conversation with my superior where they told me that something came up and we would have to pause the internship.

Literally, two weeks later, he met up with me and told me this exactly, and he said that the decision was ultimately up to me if I wanted to continue later or not. So I said that the timing would not work with my studies, and I successfully manifested leaving the internship naturally.

Next, my SP.

- I literally went to sleep every single night repeating my affirmations.

- I affirmed every single day, I affirmed through tears and I affirmed with my friends. EVERY CHANCE I GOT!

- I started affirming from a place of peace, indifference, faith, and trust that it would work out

A week later we were back together again.

My struggles with the law were mostly that:

- I KEPT CHANGING MY AFFIRMATIONS

- I was on and off my mental diet

- I kept looking for confirmation in the 3D

- I kept repeating the old story

- I focused too much on my SP and not enough on me

About 2 months ago, I had a breakthrough where I decided I needed to completely change everything in my life to put myself in control.

- I started listening to music that made me feel extremely happy and would watch movies and shows that put me in a great mood

- I decided to pick my affirmations and stick with them NO MATTER WHAT!

- I started having a better mental diet, and I noticed results immediately

- I started being able to say 'I don't care what I see, I'm getting my manifestation, and genuinely feeling relaxed and peaceful about it

Once I shifted the focus onto myself and even took some space from my SP, I felt amazing 24/7 and my mental diet was practically perfect.

He has started implying that we are a couple, I don't feel needy, and don't even text him much anymore, he is the one chasing me and constantly blowing up my phone. He is constantly asking to see me, begging me even. He initiates ALL CONTACT NOW! Finally, the whole tone of our relationship has changed and our interactions have been extremely amazing! I have never felt so confident in myself and I can see it reflected in how he treats me.

I manifested him in steps to build our relationship to this point, and I didn't want to begin manifesting commitment until I felt my self-concept was perfect, as I want a healthy relationship with him. Now I am finally beginning to manifest the final stage: official commitment, and I am certain that I will get it!

My biggest tip based on my own experience is to:

- Persist in the same affirmations.

- Do not affirm from a place of desperation and lack

- Keep yourself busy and prioritize yourself and your life, they must reflect this and prioritize you as well

- Trust that it is done and don't check the 3D for confirmation

- If you started having negative thoughts, PERSIST! Do not be discouraged!

- If you know that you have been doing everything right, but suddenly everything feels wrong and your negative thoughts are coming out all at once and/or the 3D looks like shit, you could be in a transition period. THIS JUST MEANS THAT YOU ARE FINALLY GETTING RID OF THE OLD BELIEFS AND YOUR MANIFESTATION IS REALLY CLOSE! SO PERSIST THROUGH THIS!

So for whoever is reading this, please remember that I am here to help you, AND I am on this journey with you! We are all human and none of us is perfect!

I'll share updates on future manifestations in the future, but this is my story so far and my current manifestation in progress!

I will probably make a post in the future about past manifestations such as celebrity crush and travel etc.

[shushiyuii]

Interview with CEO of L’manburg’s RaM! (Part 2 for Subject T0M au)

Part 2! And it’s mainly just important world building and lore dump! Don’t worry there is a moment of fluff in there!

Warnings: Descriptions of experimentation (background on the speciemens), Dehumanisation? That’s about it I think? Lemme know if I should add anything else

Words: 1K (It’s short I’m sorrry)

“Greeting Viewers! And welcome back to L’manburg’s daily talk! Today, we’ve managed to get in contact with The J’Schlatt and get him on the show for an interview! And we’re also joined by one of his associates, Doctor Philza Watson!”.

“Hello!”. “Heya!” Both of them greeted as they waved to the camera. “So, how are you both today?”, “I’d say we’re pretty good, just been working on a lot of things recently”, “Yep-“ Philza snorted, “A lot of things go on in our facility so it does take up a lot of time, this seems like a break honestly!”.

“That’s great to hear! So, we’ve asked our audience for questions for you both today so let us begin!”, “Of course! Send em’ in!”

“Okay firstly, what does your facility specialise in?”. “Really? I thought that one would be pretty obvious!” He playfully pushed Philza to which made Philza laugh.

“We specialise in special research on medicine, we focus our research on specimens that produce chemicals mostly unknown to humans, we research it in order to hopefully use in human medicine to help those who really need it”.

“Great response! Secondly, this is directed towards J’Schlatt, how did you found your company and how did you get so successful?”. “Well, it all started with me and a couple of friends of mine, like Phil here, they did extensive research into medicine and made fascinating results, leading to better treatment.

And with this research, we managed to get noticed by the government, to which they made the offer of funding us for more of our research, to which we agreed, and I took it upon myself as a leader since I was one of them who had studied business practices. And it only took off from there”.

“Ohh- That’s quite fascinating how all of you have come so far!”. “Heh- Yeah I suppose so, some of our friends have left the company since they’ve wanted to focus more on their personal things and families, but we still keep in touch!”. Philza smiled.

“Speaking of families, Phil hasn’t your son started working in the place? I’ve been so busy recently I haven’t been able to meet him yet!”. “Yeah, he has actually! He’s been working really hard, and I’m honestly can’t wait to see what he discovers!”. Philza said proudly, “Can’t wait to meet him then!”. Both them and the interviewer seemed content after that statement.

“That’s lovely to hear! I hope your son is watching this! Then he can see how proud his father is! Now next question, “What have you guys recently been working on?”.

“Oh! That’s a bit confidential for the time being, we are a government facility after all but what we will say is that we’ve recently made a new discovery and have been putting a lot of research into it, hopefully soon enough it could be used for medical purposes!”.

“That’s amazing! Now you don’t have to answer this question in detail if you don’t want to but what about the rumours of monsters roaming your facility?”. “Oh, we can strictly say that we do none of the sorts and other than that it is confidential, my apologies.

(I might as well go into this now, LORE DUMP TIME! L’manburg RaM is a government facility that does in fact work with monsters, but they wish to keep this a secret because they wish to keep their specimens protected from the public eye, if the word were to get out, there’d be mayhem.

And allow me to elaborate on the specimens, the chemicals they research do come from somewhere and in order to research their behaviour on humans, they’re injected into the specimens.

And that’s how Tommy and others were created, they weren’t just experimenting on regular humans though, they don’t have the heart to do that, I won’t spoil too much because I want to write more about this at some point in-depth, but they work with humans who have become tragedy injured or ill and will only do it with the consent of the subjects.)

“That’s completely fine! Don’t worry about it! Now last question, there’s been a recent rumour that your facility is looking for internships?”.

“Ah yes! Phil can go into detail about that!”, “Right so we’ve recently been looking for interns who wish to research just like us at our facility, so we’ve started up this opportunity for university students, not only that but we’ve been meaning to get assistance since there’s quite a low number of researchers.

This program allows these university students to gain a higher position in our facility when graduated or a good look on the resume and such! I’ve personally been looking for a helping hand since a majority of the time I have my hands full, I need somebody who can keep an eye on things for me! So please spread the word if possible!”.

“Glad to hear about it! We look forward to seeing more of your facility’s work in the future! Thank you both so much for taking the time to come to our show tonight! It’s a pleasure to have had you both here tonight!”.

“No, it’s our pleasure, and thank you so much for tonight! We promise that we’ll do our best!”. “That’s all for tonight folks! Hope you enjoyed it!” Was said as the ending of the broadcast was shown with Philza and J’Schlatt walking off stage.

 Back in the facility, he groaned as the interview ended, his father had to embarrass him in front of live TV, didn’t he? Tommy looked over from playing with Shroud, curious about Wilbur’s quick change in mood. He made a questioning groan in response.

Wilbur peaked at the sound of Tommy and rolled back his office chair and rotated it to look at the gremlin, he laughed at Tommy’s expression. “Philza’s such a bitch isn’t he Tommy! He just embarrassed me in front of live TV!”. Tommy bickered back angrily, seeming to disagree with him, he was always a fan of his father when Phil came to visit them.

He smiled and started to have a meaningful discussion with him.

 Meanwhile, “Internship huh? I mean I do have a lot of spare time on my hands, not only that but I am curious about these rumours. Better well sign up!”. He looked forward to what was to come.

[janiedean]

... the tyrion/sansa hairdresser/mortician au no one was expecting but happened

well @meri-vaahtoaa I TOLD YOU IT WAS GONNA HAPPEN TODAY AND IT HAPPENED, have a for now untitled tyrion/sansa mortician/hairdresser au inspired by this post with bonus guest star jeyne p. u___u don't look for angst, also extremely background mentioned jb plus jaime & bronn being themselves in the backstory, have fun u__u

This fucking teaches me to be drunk around both my brother and Bronn, Tyrion thinks for the umpteenth time as he keeps on walking - he needs a damned salon and he needs it now but he also had to get out of the neighborhood because like hell he’s going to risk running into anyone who knows his father. That’s the… least thing he needs, honestly, as if his life choices aren’t already something he has to fight for every other moment and he can’t fucking wait to be out of the house, which should be soon -

If he doesn’t get thrown out of his internship because of his horrible drunk choices.

Why did they have drinks together, why did they have drunk bets, why did he bet with Jaime that he would dye his hair bright blue if he stopped beating around the bush and confessed to the bartender that he’s been into her since they started coming to that specific place for drinks because he chickened out of it for months, except -

Except Jaime went and did it and it turned out that she actually had been looking back and Tyrion hadn’t been wrong in that assessment, but then he had to do it and he actually went and used a do it yourself dye and -

Well.

He honestly can’t go and start his apprenticeship with blue hair that’s also… well, not even professionally dyed, and considering the arguments that it created the least thing he needs is going somewhere he’d be recognized.

So, he’s plenty out of the neighborhood, but he hasn’t found someplace that felt… well, not extra fancy. The second-least thing he needs is extra fancy shops where people would send looks his way that he could absolutely do without.

Also, it’s fucking hot. Why did he do that in the middle of summer again? And why couldn’t he have bet something more reasonable - right, it was Bronn’s idea and they were drunk. Fuck.

He walks a bit more, wondering if maybe he should sit down and check on Google Maps if he’s ended up in the only area of the city that doesn’t have any, and then he sees one on the other side of the road - fine, he stopped because he wondered who names a hair salon Beauty and the Beast, but it costs nothing to have a look from the outside, right?

He crosses the street and walks up to the door.

First thing, the pricing list outside it looks… well, it’s not cheap, but it’s certainly not the ridiculous fares they ask where his sister goes to have her hair done, which is exceedingly good since he doesn’t want to spend a salary’s worth of an average office employee to get that blue crap out of his hair. He looks through the glass door - there is just one woman inside getting her hair done, which is also good because the least people around the shorter the wait, it certainly does look clean and while the pastel aesthetic is maybe a bit too much for his tastes - everything is a pastel shade, from the light yellow on the floor to the pale pink and violet of the chairs and the powder blue of the walls… well, beggars can’t be choosers when it comes to it, and the woman on the chair is chatting amicably with the chestnut-haired girl doing her hair and doesn’t look like she hates being there or like she chose the wrong shop.

Also, it’s two PM and he knows this is going to take long. He can hardly afford to fuck around much longer.

He pushes the door open and walks into the shop.

“Welcome!” The chestnut-haired girl says, giving him a nice smile. “Sorry if I don’t come over, but if you sit for a minute my colleague will be back from her coffee break shortly.”

“Sure,” he says, “no hurry,” and he goes sitting on one of the pale violet chairs on the side - they’re comfortable, at least, and he considers taking out the book he brought with to pass the time, but then -

“Hello and welcome! Can I get you a glass of water” Someone else chirps from his side, and right, he did hear the door open -

Oh.

“Hi,” he blurts, staring into a pair of lovely blue eyes belonging to supposedly the other girl working here - she has long auburn hair styled in a french braid and is wearing a blue summer dress that pairs with her eyes perfectly and she’s smiling down at him as if she’s not horrified by his horrid dye-job, or by his presence in the first place, which is his general experience in this kind of shops, so - that’s good, at least. “And uh, thanks,” he says, realizing he is thirsty.

“Be right back! Sorry, I was taking my break but we have no appointments today, so I’ll be on your case very soon.”

She goes to the corner of the room and grabs a glass of water from a dispenser, then brings it to him - shit, he needed it.

“So, what can I do for you?”

“Er,” he says, “I dyed that hair for a bet but I was called for an internship yesterday, and I start on Monday, so… I need a removal. If it’s possible.”

The girl leans closer, taking a good look at his hair.

“Hm,” she says, “it might take a while, but I think it’s possible. It’s not a very good dye job, if I can say so.”

He snorts. “Oh, you can. Please, I did it and I have regretted it every moment since.”

“Well,” she nods, “you’re lucky that most likely no one will show up for anything complicated today then. Jeyne, can you handle other customers in case?”

“Sure,” the chestnut-haired girl replies. “As if I don’t know you’ll have the time of your life.”

She rolls her eyes, then goes to a wardrobe in the corner and finds him a towel, tucks it around his neck and lowers a chair near the small sinks at the bottom of the shop so he can sit on it - he does, feeling extremely thankful that it’s extremely comfortable leather, and he can hear her tutting about bad dyes under her breath as she washes his hair once, twice, thrice, and her fingers feel really good on his scalp but he’s not going to think about that now.

“Just for the record,” she asks as she rinses it, “do you just want the dye to go away or do you want a cut, too?”

“Hell,” he says, “I need to look presentable. I suppose the cut can’t hurt.”

“Will do,” she chirps again, “and by the way, never use that kind of dye again. Not with hair this nice.”

Tyrion would have toppled off the chair if his head wasn’t thrown too far back for it to happen.

“I have nice hair now?”

“You can feel it,” she replies, “under all this… this,” she says, shaking her head.

“I know,” he says, “bad choices.”

“Extremely,” she goes on, rinsing. “But don’t you worry. I’ll have it fixed.”

“Really,” chestnut-haired girl says, “Sansa is a pro with that kind of thing. You’re in good hands.”

Oh. So her name is Sansa. It’s pretty, he thinks.

“Well,” he says, “I can’t wait to see how you manage it. I’m Tyrion, by the way. Figures you should know if I know yours?”

“Oh, absolutely,” she goes on, and gives his hair a last rinse. “Right, can you move forward?” He does and she dries his hair with the towel, then goes to find a mantel that somehow he doesn’t drown in. “Please,” she says, “on whichever free chair you prefer.”

He picks an empty one two spots away from Jeyne and the other woman and lowers it so he can sit down, and then Sansa raises it up again until his still sadly blue head is at the right height.

“Hm,” she says, grabbing a lock and feeling it between her fingers, “from what I see here you’re a natural blonde?”

“Sort of,” he shrugs. He is - his hair isn’t as golden as his siblings’, but it definitely is on that shade. Not that he ever bothered to look into it. “Wait,” he says, fishing into his pocket, and then he grabs his phone and shows her a picture Bronn took of him and Jaime during Tyrion’s latest birthday party which is about the only one of his he’s kept there where you can see his actual color very well. She takes it, squints, zooms on his head, then nods and hands him back the phone.

“Well,” she says, “we’re going to have to use a color remover to take out the blue pigment, then apply some more pigment to allow for the proteins in the hair to adhere to it. Then… yeah, possibly mix a few different types of toners to reach the goal of your natural hair color, and it’s going to take a while, but we should get there. Nothing that terrible.”

“Er,” he blurts, “how much chemistry did you have to study to get there?”

She smiles a bit wider.

“Yeah, I know, but some people don’t like if we talk like that. It makes it sound complicated, I’m told.”

“Not at all,” he says, waiting as Jeyne, who has finished the other woman’s hair, goes to the back room to presumably get Sansa at least the color remover, “not like it’s not… sort of my thing, too,” he says, and then he bites his own tongue - why did he ever do that, now she’s going to decide he’s a creep or something -

“Really,” she says as Jeyne comes back and hands her the remover, “do lean your head back. And what it is that you do?”

He takes a deep breath and tells her.

—

“Oh, so you’re a mortician?” Sansa says happily as she keeps on applying the remover to his hair, her fingers pressing along his scalp as she rubs it in. To her credit, she doesn’t sound like she thinks it’s creepy.

“Well, apprentice,” he shrugs, “but yeah, working on it. And starting an internship soon. Where I can’t… look like this. But yes. Just going through my degree - I had a final a couple days ago. Fuck, it was so embarrassing.”

“Did they judge your hair?”

“Called it apocalyptic, but I aced it.”

“Nice. What was it about?”

“Embalming, mostly,” he sighs. “All the chemistry about formadelhyde I had to learn.”

“Fun fact,” Sansa grins, “do you know they use it in clothing?”

… He somehow had not known that.

“What? Really? They forgot to cover that part.”

“Well,” Sansa says, “I used to crash fashion school lessons, my brother’s boyfriend snuck me in. I learned a lot. I think it’s because of the preserving qualities, though I’m sure it wasn’t… all of it.”

“I mean,” Tyrion blurts, “it’s a preservative but it’s also a disinfectant. Destroys bacteria and their food supply, and it’s a dehydrator, there’s a reason why we use it that much.”

“Hm,” Sansa nods, starting to put aluminium stripes on his hair - fuck, he looks ridiculous like this, “one wonders why you don’t just use alcohol then? Because I thought it was kind of carcinogen.”

Well, she did listen to those lessons for sure.

“It’s cheaper,” Tyrion sighs, “a lot cheaper. It cuts costs. Guess I’ll resign myself to the cancer risk.”

She snorts. “Please,” she says, keeping on placing those stripes carefully, “I’m pretty sure that’s exaggerating a bit. There, they should rest for half an hour. I have to place a few calls now but if you want to read while I’m at it feel free to, just don’t move your head around too much.”

“Roger that,” Tyrion nods, and settles back in the chair.

He has a feeling it’s going to be long, but at least she’s very good company. Jeyne looks about to say something but then another woman comes in the shop and she goes to greet her, and Tyrion goes back to his Chinese sci-fi book that he’s really enjoying and hopes that at the end of it he doesn’t have to shave his head because that dye was that bad.

—

Half an hour later, after washing away the remover, Sansa has moved on to applying the first round of pigment to his hair - the blue did go out, but it still looks…. well. Bad. He can see it just looking at it in the mirror.

“So, she says, “is your internship at a funeral home?”

“Yes,” he replies, “it’s during the last six months of the degree, then you write your thesis and you get your license, and honestly, it’s a nice funeral home. I hope they hire me for good. Anyway, it makes sense. We need to have… experiences with, uh, cases, you know, uh -“

“You can say bodies,” Sansa grins brightly, “it’s fine. I know what you do in funeral homes.”

“Oh, thank God,” he blurts. “I’m sorry, uh, people tend to get queasy when I mention them. The bodies, I mean.”

“That sounds nonsensical,” Sansa shrugs, “what do people think happens when they die? Anyway, you can absolutely say that. Hm, here we go, I think these can stay. Another… yeah. Half-hour, forty-five minutes? Get yourself comfortable. I’ll go mix those toners meanwhile.”

Oh. Right. The toners. Fuck, he can’t wait for this entire dye business to be over. Honestly, he hasn’t done that when he was fifteen, he should have stuck with it.

He grabs his book back and starts reading it again, except that he finds himself wishing he could chat with Sansa some more and he needs to get that thought out of his head right now, no reason to set himself up for failure.

He reads on.

—

Later, she’s washed his hair again and she’s still mixing the toners.

“Yeah,” she says, “I think this need a bit more work, but I’m curious. Is there anything you don’t like about your school? Because you sounded really excited before.”

Did I, Tyrion thinks, but then again… he almost never talks about it to anyone except Jaime or Bronn because everyone else thinks it’s morbid, and somehow this girl who owns a wholly pastel shop actually seems to enjoy discussing the topic, so why the hell not?

“I mean,” he says, “I think we should do autopsies.”

“Oh, you don’t? I’d have expected it.”

“Eh,” he shrugs, “me too, and I think we should for, you know, completion and so on, but we don’t, so I guess I’ll read up on it.”

“But,” she says, “hypothetically,” and she’s kind of smiling slyly, what, “let’s say that someone wakes up while embalming them. What do you do then?”

“I mean,” Tyrion replies, slowly, “I think there’s a pretty huge difference between a living body and a dead one?”

“Sansa, please,” Jeyne says as she combs through the hair of the other woman, who looks… a tiny bit disturbed, but neither Jeyne nor Sansa are, so… who cares. right?, “never mind that you need a bit more toner, but I think there’s a thing named rigor mortis that’d make it pretty fucking obvious.”

“That,” Tyrion replies, “also if one gets stuck in a fridge for a few days I think you’d be dead anyway. Not to be, you know, morbid.”

Sansa mixes a bit more toner and smiles wider. Right. She was so fucking with him. “I mean, you did pump them full of carcinogen just before, right?”

“Right,” he laughs as she tells him to lean back and starts applying the toner to his poor roots, “we did, technically.”

“Just stay still,” she goes on, “it’ll be another hour, I think. Then I can cut.”

Well, he decides, at least this entire process is being not overtly miserable.

He leans back and lets her apply the toner and then cover it with the aluminium stripes all over again.

—

“So,” she says later while Jeyne is going through the third client of the day and he’s sitting on the chair again after his hair was thoroughly rinsed and washed for the umpteenth time — he lost count, honestly, but now it does look like his usual shade, sort of, he thinks, “can I ask what was this infamous bet about? Also, I can see your hair is naturally wavy — should I just trim the edges? Because I can see you cut it yourself and it’s not bad but you kind of hacked at them.”

“Er, yes,” he says, “sounds good. Wait, naturally wavy?”

“It is,” she says, “I can recognize it.”

“I, uh,” he coughs, “I don’t think I ever had it long enough to notice?”

“It’s the exact same as your brother’s,” she shrugs, “just a bit darker, but again, this should tide you over for a while. I mean, by the time it wears off whatever travesty you did to your hair in the first place should be fixed and it’ll be as before and no one will notice.”

“Then - I guess you can trim only and I’ll see,” he says, his throat suddenly feeling dry. No one ever compared him to Jaime in that sense without making it… well. About how he’s not the person with the good looks in the family, so this entire thing is just - weird. “Anyway, uh, you can ask about the bet. I mean, it’s just embarrassing.”

“I’m listening,” she says, cutting the edges of his hair slowly, and surely she puts a lot more thought it in than he does while cutting it, but then again… it’s her job and he learned because he didn’t want his father’s barber to go near his head.

“Er, so,” he clears his throat again, trying to figure out how to tell her the sanitized version of it while sparing her from all the family ugliness, “I was out drinking with the brother and the best friend at the same bar we’ve been going to for months because they have good drinks and the brother absolutely had a crush on the bartender, except that he came from a, uh, toxic relationship, let’s put it like that, and I thought he wasn’t going to fess up ever, so - we were drunk and it came out and I said of course I’d dye my hair that horrid color if he fessed up to her and like, I thought he never would but he actually went and did it and — yeah. I mean, glad for him that it went well but not my greatest moment.”

“Aw,” Sansa replies, keeping on trimming, “I like a nice love story. I imagine he doesn’t share our interest in formadelhyde.”

Why does his heart beat a tiny bit faster when she says our interest?

“No,” Tyrion shakes his head, “he’s more into nerding over Middle Ages weapons, but at least he didn’t tell me Six Feet Under was boring, so.”

“I loved that show,” she replies, “who’d say it’s boring?”

“It’s my favorite,” he shrugs a bit as she puts away the scissors. “And a lot of people, but it seems like you have good taste.”

She nods as she grabs some lotion that she supposedly has to pass into his hair before drying it. “And what about you?”

“Sorry?”

“Well, he had a nice love story going into port, so what about you?”

“Er,” he hopes he’s not blushing, fuck, he’s usually not — he doesn’t fluster, fucking hell, “I — really am not looking. My family kind of… fucked up the only serious relationship I had going for me and most people get put off at the whole I want to be a mortician thing, so.”

“What kind of family fucks up relationships for other people?”

“The kind we come from,” he sighs, “but at least he’s out of that circus and I’ll be the moment I graduate.”

“Nice,” Sansa nods, “now just hold on a moment and I’m drying it.”

He nods — she grabs an hair dryer and starts blowing it and yes, he can see she got the exact shade right now that it’s not wet anymore, and — well, of course it’s her job to make it look good but the more she proceeds the nicer it looks, and now he can vaguely see what she meant when she talked about natural curls, and also… it feels fluffier? Lighter? He has no fucking clue, but the moment she’s finished — well.

“Fuck,” he admits, “I don’t think my hair ever looked this nice in my entire life.”

She grins. “I know how to do my job. Another moment.” She sprays some more lotion on her hands and runs it through his hair again. “This was just for a bit of nutriment, but there you are. You know, if you treat it a bit more nicely you might not need it me to make it look good.”

“Yeah, well, and what if I’d like to come back here instead?” He blurts, not knowing what the fuck he’s aiming for, but then she grins back a bit wider.

“I always like making new clients,” she replies, “especially when they’re cute and they don’t only want to talk about the gossip in magazines. That gets boring after a while.”

Wait, did she call him cute?

“Tell you what,” she keeps on as she takes the mantel off him and waits for him to get off the chair and follow her to the counter, “let’s say I don’t give all new clients a ten percent discount but I do give it to the ones I like.”

What the fuck —

“So, here you go.”

She hands him a receipt… with a fifteen per cent discount. “But you have to promise me you won’t use that crap dye anymore. That’s probably more cancer-inducing than formaldehyde could ever be.”

He has to laugh at that.

“Fair,” he says, “I won’t. Maybe I’ll come back before my last final. It’s two weeks from now,” he says, slowly, “I might want to look good for it. As much as it goes, anyway.”

“Oh, I’ll make you look incredible, don’t you worry.” She takes his card, swipes it, hands him the POS. He’s sure he doesn’t let it drop just out of sheer force of will. The payment goes through, she gives him his receipt and he pockets it, his hand still sweating —

“I’ll see you to the door,” she goes on, and she follows him out.

“So, Tyrion,” she grins again, “see you in two weeks?”

“Oh,” he replies, “absolutely.”

“And let me know how the internship thing works out. I like to know what’s up with the clients I like,” she winks, and then she leans down and kisses his cheek before going back into the shop.

Tyrion just stands there dumbfounded and only takes a few steps from the shop, and he didn’t mean to eavesdrop but he hears Jeyne the moment he starts walking away and —

“Sansa, I know you said you’d be forward after that asshole Harry, but I never saw you being that obvious. You really liked our mortician or what?”

“So what?” Sansa replies, and Tyrion thinks he’ll faint. “No point in playing hard to get and all. When he comes back I’m absolutely asking him out for coffee or something. I did like him.”

“Good for you,” Jeyne replies, “he seems nice and you deserve a nice guy. Even if that dye was a really crap choice on his part.”

“Oh, if I have a say in it no bad dye is ever coming near that hair. It was so nice,” she replies, and at that point he leaves because he really shouldn’t be doing this and he will faint, but —

But he smiles to himself all the way home.

He thinks he’s never looked forward to a final that much, and if she does really ask him out for coffee, no way he’s being an idiot and saying no.

And if he’ll brush up on cool embalming facts before then, well, you can’t blame him, right?

End.