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#why are we pretending that enjoying things is bad suddenly because it’s ‘media consumption’
lexalovesbooks · 1 year
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People be like “if I call it ‘media consumption’ it will sound cold and clinical and Bad so that I can shame people for doing it” like damn sorry I enjoy reading. and listening to music and watching tv shows and movies and looking at art and watching YouTube videos you’re right absolutely none of these are hobbies and I should feel bad for doing them
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What’s yours is mine 1
Warnings: nonconsent and rape, allusions to abuse, stalking, possessiveness, pregnancy, and more tags to be added.
This is a dark!fic and explicit. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.
Pairing: dark!Ransom Drysdale x pregnant!Reader
Summary: After five years, your past is far behind you but just as you think you can live your happily ever after, your ex shows up at the worst moment.
Note: I couldn’t sleep and ended up writing this and it will not be a long ongoing series but it will be a few parts. But Roo you say that all the time. Yes, well, I’m trying and I’m sorry but I’m gonna try to not be the worst.
Hope you enjoy it. Thank you. Love you guys!
Please leave some feedback, like and reblog <3
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“Oh my god, is that really you?” the voice made you stand stalk straight.
You took a breath and forced a smile before you turned to the indomitable woman. You never expected to see Linda again, not after you broke up with her son almost five years ago. And there she was, as rigid and righteous as ever, her thin lips curved in a mocking grin.
“Linda,” you greeted her in a singsong and looked around the grocery store. You never went to the overpriced organic market but your local shop didn’t have dragonfruit and you had a painful craving, “how are you?”
“Darling, I’m just great,” she held an empty basket on her arm, an odd sight as you never expected her to do her own shopping, “oh, and look at you!” Before you knew it, her hand was on your stomach and you struggled not shy away, “how far are you?”
“Um,” you looked down at the large ring on her finger and resisted the urge to step away as you often did in this situation, “almost five months.”
“And married?” she grabbed your left hand and pretended to admire the small teardrop diamond, “gorgeous.”
“Mhmm,” you waited for you to release you and swayed in place, “you barely look a day older than the last time I saw you.”
“You’re well? You look well,” she primped her short hair at the compliment, “oh, a baby.” She reached out again and you sighed as she rubbed your stomach, “for luck.”
You tried not to frown and ended up laughing at the tension, “well, it was nice running into you.”
“Oh, you know, I barely come down here but we’re headed up to my father’s place, you remember, such a cozy house, and Joni is in charge of food and well, I wouldn’t trust her with a plastic spoon so of course, I have a back up plan.”
You nodded along with her awkwardly, frozen in the spot as the dragon fruit barely seemed worth the torture. Linda was hard to please and alway derisive, but for as long as you were with Ransom, she had taken a keen shine to you. That alone came with an edge but it was rarely used to cut you.
You forced another laugh, “that sounds fun, getting away from the city.”
“Ugh, just another family gathering,” she waved it off with her free hand, “I’ll have to tell Ransom I ran into you, if he even shows up.”
“Well, I don’t think--”
“He’s grown up so much,” she interrupted, “you wouldn’t believe it. He got his own imprint in my father’s company publishing true crime. He’s really making a place for himself now.”
“That’s great,” you tried not to falter at the mention of her son. You hadn’t ended on the greatest terms and your relationship had been tumultuous and regrettable.
“I hope you have a great weekend, Linda,” you said, “but I got to--”
“Oh, not at all, I’m keeping you,” she squeezed your arm, “God, he was such an idiot to let you go.”
You nodded and swallowed through your tight throat, “I’m glad he’s doing better for himself.”
“You too,” she trilled, “oh, before I let you go, darling, is it a boy?”
You blinked and your smile wavered, “how did you know?”
“I could always tell,” she said, “so precious.”
She gave your stomach one last pat and disappeared into the produce section. You blinked as you looked down at the scaled fruit in your right hand. Chocolate, you needed chocolate.
You were rattled as you waited in the express line and put your things on the belt. You hadn’t thought of Ransom in a very long time. Not much. His shadow followed you around in those moments when your heart raced and your head spun, but you had learned to work through those fits. No one else knew what happened behind closed doors, they only knew Ransom, not Hugh.
You paid and shoved your fruit and candy into a paper bag. You headed out into the misty spring air. The rain had finally stopped and left the streets slick and shining. The sun was hazy as it clung to the last of the clouds and you inhaled the wet scent of grass and gravel.
You let your key hang from the ignition as you took a moment to gather yourself. You stared at the modest ring on your finger and held your stomach and you swore you could still feel Linda’s bony hand there. 
You had a loving husband, Dez, and a son on the way. Ransom wasn’t a part of any of that and this was just a blip on radar, the aftershock of the storm that ended years before. You sniffed and turned the engine. You wouldn’t go back to that store, it was far too expensive and the clientele were certainly not of your ilk.
🍼
Dez was in the kitchen when you got home, the smell of steak and peppers rose from the frying pan. You kissed his cheek as he kept one hand on the spatula and you dropped your bag on the counter beside the stove. You went to the fridge and poured yourself a glass of water. You turned and leaned against the marble and drank deeply.
“So, hon, how was your day?” he asked as he put the spatula down and peeked in the bag, “hmm, odd pairing but I don’t hate it.”
“I had a craving,” you shrugged, “it was… okay,” you heaved, “what’s for dinner?”
“Steak fajitas,” he said, “I trimmed the fat for you and,” he turned and reached out to you, “and I got you some champagne… non-alcoholic, obviously.”
“You know it doesn’t have the same effects,” you kidded as you put your glass down and settled into his arms, “and well,” you looked down at your stomach, “we already got one drunken night growing.”
He laughed and bent to kiss you on the lips. He rocked you as the pan sizzled behind him. You closed your eyes and tensed as suddenly your head flashed with the memory of Ransom, of the way he’d kiss you, harder than Dez, and the way it always turned to more whether you wanted it or not.
“Hey,” Dez pulled back, “you okay?”
“Yeah,” you lied, “hormones.”
“Aw, hon, well I have the perfect dessert planned,” he purred.
“Oh yeah?”
“Mmhmm, strawberry massage oil,” he framed your face with his hand, “a nice long back rub…”
“Perfect,” you giggled, “why are you spoiling me?”
“Don’t I always?” he smirked.
“Hmm, rarely without reason,” you said.
“Well…” he voice trailed off and slowly he dropped his arms. He turned his back to you and grabbed the pan, stirring the contents with a shake, “I didn’t want you to miss me too bad.”
“Miss you?” you came forward and bent your arms over the counter, “where are you going?”
“Chicago, there’s some evidence down there we need to look at and they refuse to transfer it to our office so… bullshit confidentiality clause, but we need it.”
“How long?” your heart dropped.
“Well, I gotta leave in the morning but I told Gary I won’t stay longer than Monday.”
“And what did he say?”
“He laughed,” Dez shook his head, “I promise, I’ll do my best to be back as soon as I can--”
“No, I understand,” you said gloomily, “it’s just…” you cupped your chin and tapped your lips with your fingertips, “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too,” he said as he turned the burner off, “and this little guy,” he touched your stomach and you shivered as you remembered how Linda had done the same with her cold palm, “so, you choose a name yet?”
“Still not naming him Superman, babe,” you chided, “but no, I can’t make up my mind. God, it’s like my mind is in shambles, I can’t remember why I go in a room or even focus on one thing for more than two minutes before I’m distracted by what colour I want to paint the nursery and I can’t even decide on that because then I’m thinking about what kind of wood the crib should be--”
“It’s fine, you’re fine,” he assured as he opened the bag of tortillas, “you’re still there, you’re just… sharing a brain right now.”
“Wasn’t enough to go around in the first place,” you scoffed.
“Shh,” he arranged the plates carefully, like a five star restaurant, tortillas stacked, steak and veg together, a little dish of cheese, some sour cream, lettuce, salsa, all divvied out in a spectacular salsa you would only make a mess of.
“I thought the pregnancy would give me a chance to finish my book, but--”
“Well, you got maternity leave after that,” he said.
“From what? Sitting at my keyboard and crying? I’ll just be holding a baby and crying,” you sighed, “you said you’d take some time off.”
“I did say that and I will,” he grabbed the plates and nodded you out of the kitchen. He set the plates on the table and you sat as he went to grab two glasses and as many bottles. He poured you your spineless champagne and had a beer for himself, “I don’t want to miss anything.”
“You can’t take forever off,” you muttered, “we both know that. I could go back to copywriting and maybe--”
“Babe, that job made you miserable and you will finish your book,” he handed you a napkin, “I’ve read your stuff, it’s… you said your ex was in publishing?”
“Did I?”
“I thought you did, you never really… talk about the exes, which I love but, I think you said something about it. You don’t think he would--”
“No,” you snapped, “no,” you said softer, “he wouldn’t.”
“Sorry,” he said startled by your reaction, “I didn’t--”
“It’s nothing, I just-- exes, right?”
“It was a stupid suggestion,” he said, “I’m sorry, but… I have a client, he might have some contacts.”
“You don’t have to do that--”
“I don’t have to, I want to because the world deserves to hear your voice,” he insisted, “I hate to share you but I’d be selfish to keep you to myself.”
You smiled and unfolded a tortilla. Still, your heart raced as the second mention of Ransom that day had you on edge. Dez watched you build your fajita and you looked up at him.
“Well, since you’ll be in Chicago, maybe I’ll get a few pages done.”
🍼
The call came on Monday, Dez wouldn’t be home that night. You contented yourself to stay in with your laptop and sugar cookies. Still, you barely got a sentence done before you snapped your computer closed and gave up with a frustrated grunt. You slept, not well, and got up with some trouble as your hips ached.
A good morning text from Dez made you smile but there was still no promise of an impending return. You felt pent up in the apartment and lonely as its emptiness reminded you of your absent husband. Too tense to sit down and type, you opted to go for a walk, hoping it would calm your nerves.
You walked past the shop windows and stopped to peek in at used books and handmade candles. You had no destination in mind, only a restless step. There was a little store at the corner with locally made quilts and knitted sweaters. The smell of potpourri wafted out from beneath the painted door and made your throat tickle. Even so, your curiosity drew you inside.
A small woman greeted you from behind the desk. She held two needles as she crocheted some indistinguishable craft. You smiled and said hello as you headed down the centre aisle. You looked along the racks of quilts, floral, striped, plaid, and polka dot. You stopped at a bright yellow piece with honey bees along the border. You hadn’t thought of yellow for the nursery.
You felt the soft fabric and checked the tag. You lifted the quilt from the bar, content that it was worth it and a great motivator. You stopped before you could turn back, a familiar voice chilled your blood.
“It’s cute,” Ransom said as he stepped up next to you, “kinda girly for a boy though.”
You glanced over at him and folded the blanket over your arm. You backed up but as you turned he did too. He blocked your bath as he stretched his arm across the aisle.
“My mother told me you were expecting,” he said, “and she was right, you look good.”
“What do you want?” you whispered as you clutched the quilt.
“Nothing, just saying hello,” his mouth slanted.
“Hugh, I’m not stupid,” you hissed, “it’s been five years.”
“Hugh,” he repeated dully, “you remember your manners.”
“Leave me alone and let me past,” you tried to duck under his arm but he shifted his body over and backed you up to the end of the aisle.
“And married,” he taunted.
“He’s outside,” you lied, “if I stay too long--”
“I didn’t see him when you walked up,” he intoned, “he must be easy to miss.”
“Have you been following me?” you uttered.
“Only from the cafe,” he shrugged, “short walk.”
“Please, get away from me,” you quivered.
“I’m not doing anything--”
“You know exactly what you’re doing,” you hissed, “now I will scream so move.”
“Mama Bear,” he crooned, “I love it, you’re so protective.”
“Hugh,” you warned.
“Sweetie,” he hummed.
You shoved his shoulder but he didn’t move. You hit him harder and he winced. He chuckled and stood straight. He waved his arm down the aisle and stepped aside.
“Don’t make a scene,” he said, “you always did like to be dramatic.”
“Fuck you,” you snarled, “don’t come near me again.”
“Don’t act like you don’t miss me,” he called after you as you dropped the quilt on the counter, “we were so good together.”
You left without buying, a shrill apology to the lady at the counter as you went as fast as you could out the door. The bell tinkled after you and the door clamored shut. You felt nauseous and dizzy. The last thing you wanted or needed was to ever see that man again.
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sassykittynoir · 4 years
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The Fashion Rebellion of Adrien Agreste || Part I
Pairing: Adrinette (Marinette Dupain-Cheng x Adrien Agreste)  Warnings: Mention of alcohol consumption. Words Count: 1,8k words. 
A/N: I would like to say a huge thanks to my dear friend @smileytrinity for her infinite patience and help and support, as well as @helgabatwrittings who motivated me to write this. @miraculouslyinloveagain, @sparklesfriend4700-blog I hope you’ll enjoy this Adrinette. Well, I hope everyone does. <3
His plan was devious. If Plagg's giggles were any indication, Adrien would say he had crossed the line between mischief and Machiavellian by a long shot... alright, maybe it was  an overstatement.
"What you’re doing is more dabbling into little shit territory than being an evil menace.” Plagg drawled over his shoulders, only to shrug in disinterest when Adrien remarked that Plagg's barometer was skewed when it came to chaos and mischief.
Evil misdoings or shenanigans, Adrien couldn't bring himself to care or feel an ounce of guilt. After all, a taste of his own medicine wouldn't kill his father.
The whole thing had started a few months ago. He didn't know how such an innocent idea had gotten so out of hand. But, could anyone blame him for wanting to get back at his father when his actions were marred by his malicious intent?
Adrien had once believed his father was an overprotective parent, but, as the years went by, gone was the blind trust he had placed in the adults of his life. The Lucid maturity replaced the juvenile naivety. The perfect family facade had long since shattered, a cold truth seeping inches by inches in its cracks.
The idea blossomed into a fully-fledged plot almost overnight. Mere hours after his father  —  well Nathalie  —  had informed Adrien that he couldn't attend Marinette's picnic because his schedule had been modified to accommodate a last minute photoshoot. He had been so irritated that —
“ — I really want to get back at him.” Adrien hissed, plopping down on Chloe's bed. He felt bad for the glare he directed at Mr.cuddly. The poor bear didn't deserve it. 
“I’m not going to pretend I understand why you want to attend this dwee — Marinette’s” —   Chloe relented at Adrien’s pointed look —  “Marinette’s picnic.” Chloe rolled her eyes in disdain, applying the finishing touch to her makeup: a glittery peach lip gloss. ”But this is utterly ridiculous. You're eighteen! You should have the freedom to go wherever you want to. You’ll have wrinkles if you keep frowning like that.”
Adrien couldn't help the small huff of amusement falling past his lips. He took a deep breath in order to calm down. The last thing he needed was to be akumatized before the charity gala he was attending even began. At least Chloe — whom he considered his sister — would be attending as well.
“I have the perfect solution!” Chloe wiped out her phone, typing furiously until she reached the homepage of Versace’s online shop. “Retail therapy helps wonder. Care to put a dent in daddy dearest’s fortune?” She turned to face Adrien a grin on her face, the skirt of her haute couture dress swirling in a flurry of sequined organza.  
“You know he doesn't care about my shopping sprees, Chlo. I wouldn't have a climbing wall in my bed room if he did.” Adrien sighed suddenly deflated and laid his cheek atop of Mr. Cuddly’s head. He did give the best cuddles.
Chloe’s only answer was an noncommittal hum and joined Adrien’s on the bed. In an uncharacteristic gesture of comfort, she rested her hand on Adrien’s thigh “Do you know what he cares about? Your pretty face.”
“Go on.” He encouraged, cocking one eyebrow up in interest, mood perking up.
“What could make a designer angrier than seeing the face of his brand, his ambassador, publicly endorsing another brand?”
 Adrien could have kissed Chloe in sheer gratitude. “Chloe, you're a genius!”
“Yeah, I know. I'm just misunderstood.” she scoffed, one hand twirling a curl of hair framing her face.
“We don't have all night! Post it or don't, but make your decision. All this hesitation is ruining my appetite.” Plagg whined. How he could manage to sound so childish yet so disdainful at the same time was beyond Adrien’s understanding. Yet, the kwami had no trouble accomplishing such feat while sitting on Adrien’s shoulders, a slice of Camembert between his paws.
“Thanks for the moral support.” Adrien muttered. So what if he had been sprawled on his bed for the past hour, phone in hands debating whether he should be posting the video or not. To be petty, or not to be? That was the question. An existential question, one might add, as his finger hovered the share button on his screen. Teeth worrying his bottom lip. Should he really listen to the little devil on his shoulders? Should he even consider his opinion when his brain was still muddled? He had too many cocktails, tonight. 
“You’re thinking too loudly.” Plagg complained, words stretching around a yawn. “There!” he hissed, flying over Adrien’s shoulders to press share. “I posted it for you. It’ll teach your old man a lesson.”  
“Plagg!!” Adrien whispered, venom lacing his tone. “I can’t believe you did that! Two minutes in the drawer of shame!” He spat, opening the top drawer of his nightstand. 
An indignant scoff bubbled out the kwami’s throat. He titled his chin up in defiance as he plopped down on the plush pillows installed in the drawer of shame. “Just so you know, I’m going there on my own volition. A drawer full of silk pillows is hardly what I call a punishment.” he declared, petulant. 
“For someone who is supposed to be offended, you're certainly not eager to delete the video.” Plagg delivered the coup de grace in a disconcerting nonchalance, before eating his slice of cheese. As frustrated as Adrien was with Plagg, he had to admit, the idea had not crossed his mind once.
“I'm deleting it now.” Adrien declared just because he could, yet he made no effort to move.
"Huh huh. Sure you will!" Plagg retorted back. It took Adrien all the force he could muster not to dignify the tiny cat with an answer. He would be the better person. 
It had taken 8 hours of beauty sleep, for Adrien to wrap his head around the fact that he posted such a video of himself. He almost regretted his decision not to delete it upon waking up. Almost, but his head was pounding and he was never drinking alcohol ever again. After all, he did post, on Instagram, a 1:06 minutes long video of himself — two dry martinis away from drunkenness — singing along, no, belting along the lyrics ”Versace On the Floor” by Bruno Mars featuring Chloe’s judging looks, just to get back at his father. And yet, Adrien couldn't fight the feeling of satisfaction surging through his body when he noticed that #Versace was trending on all social media. 
The video going viral in a matter of hours? Expected. Fans sliding into his DMs?Anticipated. Nino freaking out over texts? Typical. 
What he hadn't counted on, however, was his video being broadcast on TV.  Adrien watched with stupor as a journalist reported — with supporting images  — how crowds of fan girls were waiting in queues outside of Versace’s boutiques to buy a dress. “Versace sales skyrocket after model video goes viral” read the words in bold yellow letters. He chocked on his eggs Benedict, eyes watering as he forced the food down his throat. 
“Oh, I’m was screwed. Father is going to kill me.” Adrien whispered to himself, voice barely audible over Plagg’s laughter.
”Dude you decided to kill the internet overnight? Were you drunk? Are you sure your old man isn’t going to kill you? You were on the news! The news, bro! -- every girl been gush-- ”
Adrien was trying to pay attention to Nino, he really was, but his attention was otherwise diverted by Marinette and Alya’s conversation. 
"He looked like an angel, so handsome. The disheveled look with the undone bow tie, and open dress shirt.” Marinette sighed. Adrien could hear the smile in her voice.
”Yeah, I know...” Alya interrupted, somewhat amused. ”-- He looked so good in his suit. His pant hugged his ass so perfectly. You've been gushing about him for two days, Marinette, two days.”  Adrien knew it was rude to eavesdrop, but who was Marinette talking about? Not that he cared, really. It was none of his business who Marinette was crushing on. She was just a friend. But why did he felt a sudden pang in his chest at the thought that a boy had caught his friend’s attention. ”I get it! Sunshine was stunning in that video.”
Wait. Hold on. What?! 
If sunshine was Adrien and Adrien was sunshine, did it mean Marinette had been talking about him? The Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Beautiful, creative, kind, intelligent Marinette? Marinette who was standing in front of him and currently paying for her caramel macchiato with a dash of cinnamon? That couldn’t be possible. 
Adrien.exe had stopped running. The epiphany short-circuited his brain. His eyes widened ever so slightly as the information finally sank in. His heart squeezed, then skipped a beat. And — 
 His train of thoughts came to a skidding halt.
"Dude, it's rude to stare at Marinette's butt like that.” Nino whispered in his ears and despite the fried synapses in his brain, Adrien still had the presence of mind to let out a noncommittal hum as an answer. Then, Nino’s words registered. A second too late if the knowing smile tugging at the corners of Nino’s lips was any indication. Blood rushed to his cheeks, tinting them a soft pink.
"You're totally blushing too! Are those thoughts appropriate?"
"I- I - I wasn't checking her out! ” Adrien stammered. Head shaking in disapproval. ”Marinette’s just... a friend. Yeah, a friend!” He forced the words out of his mouth in a breathless pant. ”Is she really though?” A treacherous part of mind wondered. Adrien didn't have to be a psychic to know — from the smug look on his best friend’s face  — that Nino was about to ask the same question.
”Oh shut up, Nino.” He mumbled, words devoid of any real vehemence. He was definitely not checking out Marinette’s butt. Not that Marinette’s butt wasn’t worthy of being checked out. She had a nice butt, and the way her skin tight jeans were hugging her in all the right places, leaving almost little to the imagination...Her legs, her toned, long, legs that seemed to go on for miles... Marinette was just perfect... From a perfectly platonic friend’s point of view, of course. It was just a friendly observation. Those were cute jeans, as a model he was bound to notice them. 
”You're still doing it.” Nino teased a second time, in his ears. The look Adrien threw his way was cold enough to freeze over the arctic ocean. Global warning solved with just one look.
A few minutes later, when the four of them were walking to their usual table in the coffee shop, drinks in hands. When Alya asked him “what’s got you so flustered, Sunshine? After the hip trusts in that video, it be must be quite something if it impresses you, huh? Adrien knew he was never getting out of this alive.  He was royally screwed.
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ah-ga-seven · 7 years
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Christian Yu x Reader: Let Me Explain - Chapter 6
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Chapter 1: These Seoul Streets. | Chapter 2: Uninvited Guests | Chapter 3: Confrontation | Chapter 4: Who Wouldv’e Thought?| Chapter 5: Red Roses
Chapter 6: It’s Party Time
Word count: 5287 (I’m sorry lol)
Series type: Angst.
Warnings: Bad language and mentions of alcohol and consumption of it.
Additional Characters: DPR LIVE (Dabin) and mentions of other artists/fictional characters.
A/N: Thank you everyone for supporting the series the way you have, sadly all good things come to an end, this is part one to the finale. Please keep in mind English is not my first language therefore there might me some spelling/grammar mistakes
You can’t even explain how everything happened so fast. It’s been three days since that night, and it has also been three days since you’ve seen Christian face to face. You keep in contact through texts and calls and see him through late night face time sessions, but both of your schedules were too packed to actually meet up. Especially now that operation fake relationship is up and running.
After Christian attended that meeting at YG he had been so busy, being pushed around like the media puppet they made him to be. Christian explained that they wanted to get the important stuff out of the way first so that the public would keep paying attention to them, which was key for all of this to work. He told you it was temporary. That he’d be really busy for a week or two before things would slowly start to die down. It was exactly what you were afraid of. Every time he’d text you to ask you if you were okay with something you didn’t have a choice but to say yes. You had to. He was being considerate of your feelings throughout the whole thing, but you didn’t even put up a fight. Not even when he expected you to because you felt like you were secretly being watched by Hyung Suk. It made him question why you didn’t care anymore, but he didn’t have much time to think about you because he was kept busy. Christian was only trying to please and help everyone around him at the same time, neglecting his own work and relationships in the end. In some weird way you were relieved he was too busy to be with you. It made it easier to keep your secret. But you missed him. More than you expected to.
You could have predicted this. You could have said no when you had the chance. But now you’re glued stuck to a spot you couldn’t get out of because you were being blackmailed. You partially blamed yourself for this mess, thinking back to that night in the dance studio when you so childishly thought of this deal as a test for Christian’s loyalty to you. Would you have done differently if you could have? Absolutely. Can you now? Absolutely not. Not with all of these consequences. You weren’t only responsible for your own life if this video got out because of you, but also the lives of Christian, Dabin, Cream and the rest of the people affiliated with DPR. There was too much damage to be done with the truth. Damage that couldn’t be mended.
You nearly broke your brain overthinking the past couple of days and nights. You contemplated on whether to tell Christian or not, but you know you can’t. Not until you figure out a solution.
You had been coping with your emotions by shutting them out. Living on automatic pilot. It’s like you slowly tricked your mind not to care anymore, even though you do. More than anything.
You manage to smile at the Starbucks employee who handed you your two Americano’s. Saying a quick thank you. You hastily run to your car through the rain and put the coffees on the passengers’ seat. You drive to Dabin’s apartment. You hadn’t seen him since that night either. He texted you last night If you could come over at around 3 in the afternoon to listen to some of his new music. He loved to hear your opinions on his stuff because he knew you get to listen to new releases before most people, since you choreograph songs for many idols and solo artists. It unexpectedly made you an expert on new trends in kpop/khiphop.
You arrive at around 1:15 in the afternoon, you knew you were early. A little too early. But you were bored and way too happy to find some distraction with a good friend.
You ring his doorbell first, waiting for a good 30 seconds before you decide to bust out his spare key. He does it to you all the time, so you figure you could too. Maybe he isn’t home? Hence the 3 o clock time stamp you figured.
You clumsily enter, trying not to drop the coffee.
“Dabin?” you yell out kicking off your sneakers before you walk into his living room. No response.
You frown putting the coffees on his kitchen counter when you hear a door open. You turn around to see a half naked Dabin standing before his bedroom door, softly closing it behind him. You raise your eyebrows at him.
“Where’s your shirt? It’s 1 in the afternoon” you ask looking him up and down.
“Why…. are you here?” he asks wide eyed in a hushed tone.
“Uhm, you asked me to come?” you say crossing your arms.
“Yeah at three y/n. At three” he repeats, still talking in a hushed tone.
“Why does it matter, you’re always up at 10.” You say rolling your eyes. “And why are you whispering. Is Lori sleeping? Is Christian making you dog-sit again because he’s too busy?” you ask taking a sip of your coffee.
Dabin doesn’t say anything, he just stands there guarding the door to his bedroom when suddenly it clicked.
“Oh my god…Are you? Did you? Is someone here?” you stammer.
He closed his eyes nodding. He’s embarrassed, how cute.
Your eyes lit up, giving him a devilish smile “Can I meet her” you say enthusiastically.
“What!? Are you crazy!?” he says in that hushed tone again, frantically looking around for his shirt.
When you look around with him you see a trace of both male and female clothes paraded on the floor.
You snort trying to hold in your laughter when you see Dabin trying to collect both his clothes, and the clothes of the still unknown female.
“Is she still asleep?” you ask walking towards the couch to sit down.
He nods still trying to find something.
You adjust yourself on the couch, feeling something poke you, your hand searched for the culprit, pulling it out from under you. A bra.
“Were you looking for this?” you ask swinging it around in the air.
Dabin looks at you with his embarrassed/angry look and nearly jumps you trying to get the bra from your hand.
“Y/n I swear to god” he says pretending to slap your cheek. You just chuckle at him. Enjoying the fact that you got to tease him.
It has been too long since playful you took a step outside. You knew that coming here would result in a fun time, but you didn’t imagine it to be this type of fun.
“Who’s the lucky lady?” you ask taking another sip, crossing your legs making yourself more comfortable.
He sighs. “Remember Kang In Ah?”
“Kang In Ah, you had a crush on since middle school Kang In Ah?” you ask surprised.
“Yeah, I’ve been…seeing her” he says avoiding eye contact.
“Is that why you always leave early or bail on Christian and I lately?” you ask cocking your head to the side.
He just nods at you, combing his fingers through his hair.
You smile, genuinely happy for him. If anyone deserved to be in a loving relationship it was Dabin. You were especially happy because it was In Ah he was seeing, you always hit it off very well with her.
“Why didn’t you tell us? We could have hung out together.” You ask a little offended.
“I didn’t want to introduce her officially until things got serious, besides when do you or Christian have time anymore.”
Your smile drops hearing his name, and it didn’t go unnoticed. So much for your fun distraction.
You try to steer the conversation back into the casual direction. ‘Well…looking at the clothes on the floor I’d say things got pretty serious.” You say with a faint smile on your face, trying to conceal your true feelings once again.
“When is the last time you’ve seen him” Dabin asked sitting down next to you, you should have known those things don’t work on him. He knows you like the back of his hand.
You don’t respond biting your lip, looking to the floor.
He sighs. “You miss him, don’t you?” he asks fixing a piece of hair that was in front of your face.
You just nod, looking at Dabin. He gave you a warm smile, softy rubbing your back.
“Things will go back to normal in no time, you waited 2 years to actually be with him because both of you were too afraid to admit your feelings. Two more weeks won’t kill you right?” he says trying to make you feel better.
Oh Dabin. You know he means well.
“I guess.” You reply not knowing what else to say.
“At least you’ll see him tonight.” He says leaning back. “Maybe not in the way you want to but at least you’ll see him.”
Right. You almost forgot.  The first public appearance of the YuYu couple was tonight. Their couple name made you want to throw up, without exaggeration. Since everyone of DPR was going to be at the AOMG party tonight, so did you. It didn’t only mean you had to see Christian pretend to be in love with someone else, but it also meant that the chances of running into Hyung Suk quadrupled. You closed your eyes. You weren’t mentally ready for this.
“Hey” Dabin says squeezing your thigh. You look up to meet his eyes. “You don’t have to go If you don’t want to.”
Suddenly your mind flashes back to the letter Hyung Suk sent you.
If you, in any way or form talk Christian out of our little deal or form any type of threat, I will release the video online with a time stamp. Showing his disloyalty to Yura. Turning him into the bad guy. What a story that would be righ?
“No I have to go…It’d look to weird If I didn’t go. Especially since there will be a lot of people there who personally know Ian and me. Everyone thought something was going on between us, so if I’m not there I feel like I’ll make that more obvious” you say playing with your fingers.
Dabin pursed his lips together. “That’s damn smart of you to think off, but also very inconsiderate of your own feelings.”
“It’s not about me right now.” You say resting your face against your palm.
“Right, It’s about Yu-ra” Dabin says articulating Yura’s name extra strong, making you look up at him. He was mocking her.
“I still think her sudden change of heart is a little strange don’t you?” Dabin says looking at you, trying to read your facial expression.
“Well, I don’t know. I guess her whole story kind off makes sense?” you say not knowing where this is coming from.
“To me it kind off doesn’t.” he says.
“What do you mean?” you ask out of curiosity.
What is Dabin’s point of view to this exactly?
“I mean, even though things in her life are very unfortunate, she always manages to get what she wants.” He says shrugging.
You think about it for a second. She did admit she liked Christian.
Yura was being really nice to you. Maybe a little too nice? Would she have been nice to you if there was another way to solve her problems?
You shake the thoughts out of your head. You had enough to deal with as is.
“I don’t know Dabin. I really don’t. All I know is that Christian really wanted to help her out. He was the first one to notice that she was a descent human being.”
Dabin bites the inside of his cheek. “Whatever. I just hope it’ll be over soon so we can all get back to our regular grind. Christian has been so caught up in this whole fairy tale that he forgot to edit my latest video.”
You frown. “That’s so unlike him”
“Yeah, it’s also so unlike you to let this happen, but the day I figure out what’s going on in the both of your heads is the day world peace is declared I guess.”
You roll your eyes at Dabin. Getting up.
“Let’s do the whole music thing next time. I don’t think I could have picked worse timing.”
He jumps up smiling widely. “Finally! Something we agree on.” He says grabbing you by your shoulders, walking behind you to lead you to his front door.
He was desperately trying to get you out off here before Kang In Ah woke up.
“So, I’ll pick you up at 11.15 tonight”
“Eh okay” you agree as you were being rushed out of his apartment, quickly putting your shoes on.
He opened the door for you giving you a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Thanks for the coffee y/n, see you tonight!” he says giving you one of his boyish smiles again as you step out of his house.
“…See ya, and next time I want to meet her!” you yell a little louder hoping it’d wake her up as he was already closing the door.
Dabin stuck his face through the little opening, giving you an angry look before closing the door on you.
You chuckle. Shaking your head at him.
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You check yourself out in the mirror one last time. Dabin was already downstairs, waiting for you in the car. You take a deep breath. “You’ve got this” you encourage yourself looking at your attire.
You were wearing a black off the shoulder tight fitted midi dress that complimented your figure. You had minimum jewelry on so the attention would be drawn to your glammed up make-up. You put on your heels and grab your jacket just in case the weather would turn on you.
You rush down the stairs knowing Dabin was waiting for you. As you open the door to the passengers seat you were greeted by a whistle.
“Daaaaaamn girl, where you going?” Dabin says smiling, looking at you.
He knew how anxious you were about tonight, so he couldn’t help but lighten the mood. You chuckle smacking his arm. “Shut up.”
“Don’t forget I’m right beside you okay? He says starting the car. You nod at his words, feeling somewhat ensured with Dabin’s presence. You really don’t know what you would have done without him.
You talk about this and that, mostly about Dabin’s new music or gossip in the industry. After about 35 minutes you arrive at the club.
You got out of the car, smoothing down your dress leaving your jacket in the car.
“Are you sure you won’t need that tonight?” Dabin asks referring to your jacket putting out his arm for you to loop yours through. You start walking to the club shaking your head. “I’ll be fine.”
Your heart was beating super fast when you entered. Both of you avoided the red carpet, not feeling up to it. Dabin let go of your arm to hold your hand, squeezing it for reassurance. “Smile” he says through his teeth.
You do as he says as the man of the evening approaches.
“Ayee DPR gang wassup!” Jay Park says coming in for a kiss on your cheek and one of those ‘bro hugs’ with Dabin.
“Where’s the man of the hour?” he asks looking at you.
“I guess he’ll be here soon” you answer acting innocent to your best ability.
“He’s all up in online news lately though, did you guys know?” Jay asks leaning on a pillar looking into your eyes.
Dabin chuckled. “Of course we did. He’s family” he answers putting his hand over your shoulder.
Jay’s attention diverted to Dabin, giving him a nod. “Is he bringing her?” he asked.
Jay isn’t stupid. He was asking all of the important questions because he knew something was iffy about the situation. Jay had always seen you as Christian’s girl.
“Yes” you reply. “He told me he would.” You try to keep your facial expressions neutral. If you seemed just the slightest bit nervous or put off, you know the questions wouldn’t stop.
“Well I’ll anticipate their grand entrance. So many reporters are lined up outside because they found out they were both on the list. It’s crazy.” Jay says sniffing. “The rest of your crew is on the left side of the VIP area. I’ll let the staff bring some bottles to your table” he smiles winking at you.
Dabin was the first one to thank Jay with another one of their bro hugs. You do the same, giving him a quick hug, walking towards your table. The club wasn’t that packed yet, but a lot of eyes turned to the both of you when you walked to the VIP area.
“If this is what tonight is going to be like than I don’t know if I can handle it” you say to Dabin sitting down.
“People are nosey as fuck.” Dabin says annoyed. “We just have to act like we don’t know much. Let Christian deal with it. He wanted to do this so badly.” You bite your lip, somewhat agreeing with him.
You’ve never had this many people say Hi to you, trying to make small talk. Of course it was always about Christian and Yura. Your head hurt from all the fake smiles and fake story’s, so you decided to order something a little stronger than your usual virgin cocktail. The alcohol loosened you up a bit, so you started talking to people how you normally would, trying to forget the problem at hand.
It was now half past twelve. The YuYu couple still hadn’t arrived and it was making you more and more anxious as time went by.
Dabin was chatting it up with some Show Me The Money 6 contestants while you were seated beside a few female artists from AOMG and Club Eskimo who were gossiping away with each other. You didn’t really pay attention to what they were saying, too consumed with your own thoughts to actually hear what was going on. Suddenly all of their heads turned to the entrance of the club. People were talking louder and pictures were being taken. You just knew that had to be them.
You close your eyes for a second. Mentally preparing yourself for what you were about to see.
You look at them as they entered. Yura was smiling from ear to ear. Happily showing off her arm candy. She was dressed to impress, that was for sure. Christian’s facial expression was neutral. He looked good, maybe a little too good. He led her through the entrance. greeting Jay. You watched them as they said their hello’s. Your heart was beating like crazy, your eyes searching for Hyung Suk but he wasn’t there. You guess the universe seemed to be on your side just a little bit tonight.
Jay pointed to your table, probably telling him that the rest of us were seated over here and that’s when you made eye contact with Christian. He looked at you, and kept staring. Your heart dropped and you immediately look away, getting up.
“Excuse me girls, I have to pee” you smile at them as they let you through.
You struggle walking through the crowd as everyone’s attention was fixated on Ian and Yura. The alcohol in your blood didn’t make it any easier for you either.
You almost trip at least twice before you make it to the ladies’ room.
You open the door, happy to see it empty. You stare at yourself in the mirror suppressing the urge to cry and run away.
All of this has become too much. You close your eyes, only seeing the way Christian looked at you once you locked eyes. It’s like he forgot you were going to be there. He hadn’t even texted or called today either.
He’s slowly slipping away from you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Without your knowledge a tear escapes from your eye. As you feel it go down your cheek you look up. Immediately wiping it away, trying not to ruin your make-up.
“It’s fine. You’re okay” you encourage yourself taking a deep shaky breath. “Let’s just find some distraction”
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Dabin had been looking for you for the past half hour. He knew he couldn’t ask people if they had seen you. It’d be too obvious because you went messing the second Christian and Yura walked in.
After his second round through the club, Dabin decided to tell Ian.
“Bro.” Dabin says coming up closer to him. He paused when he saw that Yura was listening as well.
“Have you seen y/n? I locked eyes with her when I came in but when I looked back she disappeared.” Christian says worried.
“I was just about to tell you that I can’t find her either.” Dabin says frowning. “She won’t answer her phone when I call.”
Yura stayed quiet until Christian was about get up to leave and look for you. She grabbed his arm, pulling him back down on the seat again. He gave her a confused look and so did Dabin “Don’t you think it would look a little weird if you would leave me alone to look for someone else?” she says giving him a sheepish smile.
Dabin squinted his eyes at her. Of course she’d say that.
“This is y/n we’re talking about.” Dabin says. “You know, his actual girlfriend.” He gave her a blank look.
Yura’s eyes widened. “Don’t speak so loud!” she says shocked. Dabin saw the annoyance in her eyes, but Christian was a blind man when it comes to things like that.
Christian frowned at the both of them, not knowing what to do or say. “Let me call her.” He says.
Yura rolled her eyes while Dabin sat down beside him, putting his arm over Christian’s shoulder while leaning in so he could hear the phone.
                                            - your pov –
Your phone lit up “Christian?” you read out loud.
You lean your cheek on your palm contemplating on whether or not to answer the phone, but your alcohol controlled brain already pressed the ‘accept call’ icon.
“Y/n?” you hear his voice. It was muffled by the sound of the loud ass music on the background. But you could recognize his voice through anything.
“Y/n where are you?” he asked impatiently as you didn’t reply.
“At the club” you slur your words. Your elbow slipped off of the bar, losing the support you were giving your heavy head. You lose balance for a second but regain your composure, giggling at your own clumsiness.
“Are you drunk?” you hear his voice again.
“What? She never drinks” you hear Dabin this time.
“Dabinnie!” you say excited to hear his voice.
You hear rumbling on the other end of the line and raise your eyebrows.
“Y/n” you hear Dabin this time. “Where are you?”
“in the club” you answer again, a little annoyed this time. Why can’t they just leave you alone? For the first time in the past couple of days you feel fine.
“I get that you’re in the club, but where.” He says like an angry father.
You look around, inspecting your surroundings. “It’s like…open air? Jesus It’s cold up here.” You answer slurring your words again.
“She’s on the rooftop bar” you hear Dabin say to Christian.
“y/n don’t move; do you understand.” Dabin says in a stern tone.
You nod as if he’d be able to see it. “Aye-aye captain.” You giggle.
You hang up the phone, resting your head on your palm again.
                                                   - meanwhile –
Christian wanted to come with him but he told him no. Yura was constantly breathing down his neck and he didn’t know what your drunken state would do if you saw either of them. Dabin promised to call Christian once you were safe and out of the public’s eye.
Dabin rushed back to his car to grab your jacket before he went to get you. He opened the door to his passengers’ seat, lifting your jacket from the chair when suddenly a red card fell out of one of your pockets. He frowned, not thinking much of it as he quickly put it into his pocket, running back to the club to come and get you.
He ran up the stairs, seeing you chatting with the bartender. Dabin sighed walking up to you, putting your jacket over your shoulders. “Let’s go” he says removing your shot glass from your hand, returning the new bottle of Soju to the bartender. “She’s had enough” he says putting a 50,000 won bill on the table to pay for whatever you had consumed. The bartender nodded taking the money, giving him back the change.
“Dabin” you ask staring into his eyes. “Did they leave?” you ask trying to get up.
Dabin quickly got a hold of your upper arm, making sure you were stable enough to stand. Which you weren’t.
“No y/n they didn’t leave. You did.” he says trying to make you understand. He had never seen you like this before. It saddened him.
“Shit! Do you think people noticed?” you ask worried.
He just shook his head “No, y/n.” he answers. He only gave you short answers. He’ll talk to like an adult you when you’re sober.
“Come on.” He says linking arms with you to support you. You carefully walk down the stairs avoiding crowded places or people you may know. The both of you finally arrive at the hallway where back exit of the club was located.  You see Christian standing there. Waiting for you.
You squint your eyes, trying to make sure if it was really him.
“Babe are you okay? Why did you drink so much?” he asks putting you down on a random stool in the hallway, kneeling down in front of you.
“Who babe? Me babe?” you ask pointing at yourself with a fake confused expression on your face.
“Don’t be like this.” He says looking into your eyes.
“Where’s Yura?” you ask him, fixing a piece of his hair for him.
“Y/n come on.” Christian says a little tired of your childishness.
Dabin crosses his arms, waiting for things to kick off between the two of you.
“What? Don’t you think I have the right to feel this way?” you say stumbling over your own words a few times.
“No. You don’t. I have asked you a hundred times if you were okay with this, and you kept saying yes. You didn’t even care! And now you do?” he says angrily.
“I don’t have a fucking choice Ian!” you yell at him this time.
“Yes you did! What are you talking about!?” Christian says getting up.
“Guys calm down. If people hear us we’re in trouble.” Dabin says putting his hand on Christian’s shoulder. “Don’t take anything she says too serious right now okay. I’ll take her to my place and let her sleep it off.”
“I want to go to my own house” You say giving Dabin a look.
“You don’t get to want anything right now.” Dabin angrily says looking at you.
It was like they were both ganging up on you. Where Dabin was usually on your side with things like this, this time he was on Ian’s. You can’t really blame him though. Even you knew you were being unfair. You cross your arms and legs. Annoyed at the both of them.
Christian sighs after having calmed down a bit by Dabin’s words. He looks at you a little saddened.
“Just…sleep it off okay, we’ll talk tomorrow about all of this.” Christian says kneeling down in front of you again, putting his hand on your thigh, trying to comfort you.
You look at him. “I can’t talk to you about this” you say looking away again as if he was supposed to understand.
“What do you mean?” Christian asks a little hurt.
“I just can’t. I’m not allowed.” You say out loud, and immediately regret it. You curse at yourself and the alcohol for making you slip up.
Christian and Dabin both looked at each other, unable to understand what you were saying.
“I think it’s time to go.” Dabin says, helping you stand up.
“I have to stay here.” Christian says. “I’ll be at your place first thing in the morning.”
Dabin nods at Christian. “Thanks man” Christian says giving Dabin a hug.
You look at them, but when Christian looked at you, you look away.
He walked towards you, making you look at him with his thumb and index finger on your chin. “Try to sleep alright?” he says trying to get you to look into his eyes, but you wouldn’t.
He sighs, pulling you closer to him to kiss your forehead.
You look at him as he did, and look away again, not saying anything.
Dabin took you by the arm. “Let’s go.” he says pulling you away from Christian who was also reluctant to go back to Yura. He just stood there, watching you until you were out of sight. He sighed to himself. He walked back to his table to see Yura on her phone.
“I was just about to call you, how is y/n? What happened?” she asked worried.
Christian sat down beside her putting his arm over Yura’s shoulder. “Let’s not talk about it okay?”
Yura smiled at Christian, nodding at him.
The ride to Dabin’s home was silent. You fell asleep after 15 minutes of staring out the window, giving in to your heavy eyelids.
You made a fool out of yourself tonight, you knew you’d deeply regret your behavior tomorrow when you woke up. There’s a reason why you don’t drink.
Dabin carried your sleeping state into the house. He put you down on his bed, taking off your shoes and your earrings, putting the covers over you. He sighed looking at you. “You know better than this y/n” he says shaking his head.
He walked back to his living room, ready to get comfortable on the couch to go to sleep. He took his phone and money out of his pockets to put it on his coffee table when he suddenly feels that odd red piece of paper in his hands again.
He remembered how it fell from your jacket and put it back on the coffee table.
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You woke up with a pounding head and a dry mouth. You groan at the throbbing pain in your head and turn over to lay on your stomach.
You open your eyes, looking at your surroundings. Why are you in Dabin’s bed? You look around again. You don’t see him.
You remove the covers off of yourself, seeing how you were still dressed in your dress from last night. Something clicked seeing your attire and suddenly all of your lost memories came rushing back.
You panic a little, not knowing if you did anything else that would get you in trouble.
You curse at yourself rubbing your forehead.
You walk out of Dabin’s room, into his light filled living room.
You squint your eyes at the attack of sunlight and walk to his kitchen for a glass of water.
“y/n?” you hear Dabin’s voice. You turn around slowly, feeling like you were about to get scolded like a child.
“What the fuck is this!?” he angrily says, throwing a red card down on his kitchen counter.
You stare at it. Unable to take your eyes off of it. You only needed a fraction of a second to understand what it was.
You close your eyes. Fuck.
Chapter 7 
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ameliora · 5 years
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Wednesday, 26.12.2019 | Christmas Rant
For many people, Christmas appears to be the ultimate day to pretend that everything's alright. They rely on the concept of the "Feast of Love" / the "Feast of the Family", and do all the things that society (in cooperation with our capitalist economy and mainstream media) dictate us as necessary to show affection. In return, if we are unable to reproduce certain behaviors, we experience feelings of guilt, or the subliminal feeling that we aren't deserving of affection (although it's common sense that love should be unconditional).
From a rational point of view, the central aspects of our "Christmas traditions" include:
- the exchange of material goods (the more expensive the gift, the more affection you show the recipient)
- the excessive consumption of alcohol (because how else would one be able to show affection or tolerate the people one has gathered around oneself?)
- decadent binge eating (how often does one take the time to bake or cook in daily life anyways?)
- Or one remembers that "socially disadvantaged" people exist and is drawn to take part in "social activism" or donation campaigns, which one might brag about on social networks or when interacting with other people, even if these issues will be forgotten again for the rest of the year!
In my newsfeed I came across hundreds of memes involving "self-depricating humor". People joke about enduring unbearable relatives, or putting themselves into an alcohol-/binge eating-induced coma during the holidays. That made me wonder! Why are we trying to ridicule these negative experiences? Why do we continue to reproduce these problems, even though we recognize them? Why are we so afraid of not doing what we don't really want to?
According to my personal observations, it is because we don't want to disappoint our fellow human beings. In particular our family, who suddenly re-gains a high priority in our western society during these days of the year. Regardless of whether our elderly relatives are being abandoned in some kind of institution during the rest of the year - it is Christmas and you can visit them! It doesn't matter whether parents have physically or emotionally abused their children - it is Christmas and they will return to their parents' house again! Regardless of whether Relative A has the wrong partner according to the rest of the family, and Relative B struggles with an addiction, and Relative C has a lawsuit on their hands, and Relatives D and E have a divorce going on in the background - one does not talk about that, one can continue to gossip/complain about these things when december 27th has come around! Hail our prescious family values! Let's just enjoy the illusion of harmony that allows us to feel like "the good son", "the good daughter", "the good wife", "the good husband", "the good sister", "the good brother", etc. - before we return to the depressing reality.
It's time for a reality check: Ask yourself whether you would have contact with your old acquaintances and family members regardless of the holidays. Ask yourself whether it makes you happy that your guests are enjoying the Christmas meal, or whether you are just stressed out in the kitchen like some kind of unpaid domestic worker, craving to be praised. Ask yourself if you just dressed up for compliments, or to look better than your hated relatives. Ask yourself if it was really worth investing more than your budget actually allows you just to fulfill someone's material wish - or if you really wanted to make the recipient experience a moment of joy, knowing that the sparkle in their eyes and a smile for a personal little thing would have been enough for you.
Perhaps you have just scanned this post and think "oh, Miss Author is particularly bitter this year" and have nothing but pity or mockery left for me. Or you are annoyed because I "screw up the mood" and "bad-mouth Christmas", because it is "inappropriate" to make such statements "during that holy time". To put my reasons for making this post simple: "Someone has to say what's up!" It makes me sick to see so many wonderful people bend 'til they break, for no good reason at all. Merely because they are driven by "principles", by a de facto meaningless concept of "tradition", by the painful desire to experience social acceptance, longing to feel "loved" or "at home".
Before this year's Christmas Eve, I was afraid of loneliness and inferiority complexes, too (since I burned bridges with my family last year). I uttered a lot of self-pity, because mind you, I internalized the crap mentioned above for two and a half decades. However, when "Christmas Eve" was there, I felt nothing but relief, relaxation, contentment and - most importantly - freedom. I came to the conclusion that I have honest relationships with the people I interact with on a daily basis. And I hope that every other day of the year, I have been attentive and mindful enough in order to make a positive contribution to the lives of others. In any case, that was my goal, and it will continue to be one in the future. Eventually I realized that I don't need a "festive occasion" for that. I felt loved, cared for and valued, due to the help, the nice gestures, the kind words, the honest compliments that came to me this year. I didn't need a family, no three-day hypocrisy, no reckless self-sacrifice (in terms of my own well-being, but also from others). For the first time in my life, I didn't share my time-related / emotional / financial resources with anyone merely because I felt like it was my "duty"; didn't downplay any emotional/mental injuries I suffered from others; didn't do anything which would've been a contradiction to my personal principles.
This self-realization alone was the greatest gift I have ever received for Christmas!
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