an open door

Hans; twenty-eight, counselor, here to help. If I wake in the morning, I only need two more miracles to be a saint. Everything I promised everyone I'd be, well I just ain't. Oh glory , I think I see you 'round the bend, and I think I'd try any poison to get there in the end.

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silverliningssuck:

Honestly, John had to say he was impressed. Most of the time he could barely keep up with Morph. He couldn’t imagine what a house with 13 children in it would be like. Just the mental image of all the dirty dishes caused him to shudder before taking a swig of his beer. “I’m guessing more hormonal male problems? Or something more devious than that?” 

“Both,” Hans answered with a nod. “I can’t stand my brothers, even to this day. Three of them pretended I was invisible for a whole two years when we were kids. If they didn’t do that, they were torturing me. Think that whole ‘brothers fighting’ thing is adorable? Try dealing with twelve competitors every time they gave you the time of day.”

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fcrthewicked:

“how kind,” carole drawled. “do you, though? help them?” carole didn’t get that, nor did she really believe hans. and what followed, she didn’t buy either. people didn’t change. and if they did, they always fell back into ald habits. permanent change was not something she believed in; someone’s circumstances could change, their behaviour, maybe, but they, as a person? the essence stayed the same. someone’s past always clung onto them. it was hard to shake off. “so what? you’re trying to become a ‘better’ person? right.” she shook her head. "oh wait, you’re just trying to appear as a better person. that’s what the whole counselor thing is about.” it didn’t sound accusatory, lord knew that carole wasn’t necessarily a nice or ‘good’ person. “don’t see why? one’s past is one’s self.”

“I’d like to think I do,” Hans replied. “The help I give isn’t something you can measure - it’s things for the long-term and it’s subjective.” It might have been somewhat of an excuse to drop Carole’s probing, but it was the truth. People had to be willing to take the advice Hans gave and apply it to their life for the long term to see results, and since he hadn’t been in Carthay for too long, there was still time to see if his methods truly worked. “Why would I go through everything I’ve been through if I wasn’t trying to be a better person? It would be easier to just stay home and use my father’s position to swiftly climb the ranks of some business. I’m not someone who would waste my time doing something I didn’t believe in.” That was true; Hans was someone who would bide his time. Why climb the ladder of some business nobody gave a damn about when he could have more power somewhere his family’s influence did not touch? He was patient, he could wait to seize the power he wanted until it was placed just within his grasp. “One’s past does not define one’s future. People change. While some people do fall into their past, others choose to be better.”

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boogibbs:

@thiirteenthinline

☆ ｡ ▫ ○ — HANS WAS one of those people you could recognize anywhere. especially if you were boo and were often in his office just to hang out and chat ( despite his arguments against it ). he eventually got used to the girl spending time with him and rambling on about whatever her little heart told her to. however, she never really saw him outside of his office. not until today at least. “ hi mr. westergard! i wish i had sour gummy worms for you today but i don’t. how do you feel about jellybeans? ”

Hans was used to Boo stopping by his office after class to discuss whatever was on her mind. He hadn’t heard much that was of use to him, just yet, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to do his job. His hours were greatly reduced during the summer, meaning he didn’t see the girl so often, and was surprised to have run into her outside of the college. “Oh, hi Mary,” he greeted. “You don’t have to bring candy every time you see me, you know. I do like jellybeans, though.”

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lkycxtcass

Cass DIDN’T see or find any harm in explaining to Hans about how her nephew use to be like when he was younger, despite the fact that she didn’t know the young man. Maybe she was just a bit too open for her own good at times, but what harm would this cause for Hans in knowing about this? Especially when Hiro has changed so much since then. “It was a bit damaging at times, I will admit to that. But I suppose that could be because there was also a moment in where Hiro was once bullied by others.” At this, Cass looked upset at the memory, never liking the way her nephew was treated just because he was born a genius. “It took a lot for me or his brother to get him out of his room…but, that is all in the past now!” Deciding to not want to continue on down that road, the woman quickly shut it down by trying to be positive about all this once again. Hiro was fine, he had friends, no one was bullying him and Cass was and will always be looking out for him no matter what! “That’s so kind of you, thank you. I will sure to keep that in mind.” She nodded. “You are VERY welcome.”

While people changed, Hans knew there was a part of them that held onto that past self. Most used it as a reminder of how far they’d come or what to avoid. By keeping at least a part of that past self around, Hans believed there was always a way to bring it out, to remind them of what they were and pulling it out into the light piece by piece, until they remember how comfortable it is to slip back into their old ways, when they didn’t have to be conscious about who they are. However, Hans didn’t see the advantage in bringing Hiro’s old self to light, so it wasn’t something he focused on. “That’s awful. Bullying can really leave marks on someone.” After all, the bullying he’d experienced within his family molded a lot of the man he was now. “It’s nice that he has people like you and his brother in his life.” Of course, Hans hadn’t met Hiro’s brother, but it took him this long to meet Cass, so he didn’t realize the truth behind the situation. 

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lovcrxboy:

–– closed starter for @thiirteenthinline

After hours of wandering through the busy streets of Carthay, he’d somehow walked from Hyperion Plaza all the way to the golden sand and bright blue waves with a song as comforting as a mother’s lullaby. With eyes closed he sat on the sand, turned off his buzzing phone and listened to the waves with half a smile on his lips. He wasn’t for how long he’d been sitting there before opening his mouth once more, acknowledging the presence beside him. “Didn’t know you liked the beach.”

Hans came to the beach when he was feeling nostalgic. Though, nostalgic for Hans was like one of those ransom notes made out of magazine letters - bits and pieces cut from the true memory and pasted into something he could look back upon with a completely different meaning from the original. Days at the beach, though his sandcastles were trampled and his pleas to have someone come swim with him ignored, were looked back on for the beauty of the view, the blue waters and soft sand beneath his feet. He missed that, a man who grew up around the waters and even took to them himself at one point, as he walked down the sand, shoes dangling from his fingertips. Noticing Eric, he approached the other man, who noticed his presence not long after he arrived. “Like it? I practically lived on it when I was growing up,” he replied. “I just don’t get the luxury of spending all day here, anymore.”

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wahlgren-meg:

Meg chuckled under her breath. “So…. You really think I have the slightest potential to be like Amy?” she asked. “What gave it away? Is it the oh-so-innocent-and-even-naïve aura I have?” she asked, somewhat sarcastically, although she can’t quite wipe the smile off her face.

Hans shrugged. “I think everyone has that potential. It just depends on what their breaking point is and what drives them to that point,” he explained. “Or it could be that sweet aura, too,” he teased with a chuckle.

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jubileenabingbing:

         ( °. — ♡ NODDING SLOWLY AS she listened to his explanation, jubileena still felt bad, even though he had told her not to. they were his family after all… “ alright. “, she said silently, throwing him a small smile. she would’ve told him how it wasn’t fair and how he deserved better, but something told her he maybe didn’t really want to talk about it, or hear those words. so she accepted it and gave it a rest. “ yeah, me too. he deserves much better. if only they’d give him a chance, you know, but i feel like too little people do… “, leena said as she shrugged, barely able to hold back a sigh. “ you think so ? i love my friends, but… some of them tend to be a little judgmental. “, she let out as she looked up at him, a grin tugging at her lips. “ thanks. i’d rather have my friends find out about… you know, how i feel… from me. “.

“It’s nice that he has someone like you to show him how much better he deserves things,” Hans stated. “If they love you back, they would support you in this - unless this guy is actually a terrible person, like criminal record terrible, which I doubt. If your friends still want to keep you from someone who would make you happy after you tell them, then maybe they don’t deserve your friendship.” Hans nodded, smiling softly. “Understandable. You tell them when you’re ready, and if you can always talk to me about it, if you need a second opinion.”

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text ⤍ mr. counselor

dinah: where do you think a flower's brain would be?

dinah: That was definitely for the wrong person, I'm sorry! I can only say I was asking for artistic purposes.

dinah: But thank you! I did, back in freshman year.

hans: I was going to say I don't think flowers have brains...

hans: Right, sorry, I'm not in the office so I don't have your files right now, but once I go in tomorrow I'll register you for the class

hans: It shouldn't be a problem as long as the class isn't full, which I don't think it is, but just in case, is there any other class you would want to take instead if I can't get you into it?

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adella-benson:

“Oh my goodness.” she giggled almost losing the sip of tea she just took. “I couldn’t even imagine the bathroom situation!” She could remember the screaming matches Andrina and Adella got into over one or the other taking too long. “I don’t blame ya for leavin’!” she smiled.

“It was awful - we grew up in a huge house, and somehow my brothers and I still managed to fight over the bathrooms,” he confessed with a small chuckle. “I always lost.”

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petalsprite:

She felt better knowing she wasn’t interrupting anything that he had been working on. “Well how about you take a break from the boring work stuff and come into the floral shop. We have lemonade, it’ll be a nice break from the heat out here. Maybe that’ll help the gears in your head start turning,” extending her hand out to help him up if he accepted.

“Taking a break sounds like a good idea,” he agreed, standing up after taking her hand. “Thank you. I didn’t know you had lemonade in the shop, but it sounds like just the thing I might need,” he mused with a smile. “Lead the way?”

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text ⤍ mr. counselor

dinah: Mr. counselor i'm lost!!

dinah: As usual but

dinah: See I'm not really a fan of tv but yesterday I was at a friend's house and Grey's Anatomy was on and I know I should be focusing on plants biology but is there any way I'd be able to sneak into a neuro class this semester??

hans: as long as you think you can handle neuro along with the other plant class, then I say go for it

hans: I'll check and see if there are any spots open for the class

hans: you took general biology, right? that's required to take neuro

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silverliningssuck:

“You have how many brothers?” John questioned, a bit shocked by the number. “Did your parents just finally give up when they realized they weren’t going to have a daughter?” He inquired with a bit of a laugh. “Also, how is your mother? Pushing out 12 kids, no matter the gender, can’t be good for her mental or physical health.” 

“Twelve,” Hans repeated for emphasis. He knew most people were surprised by that number, as they should be, but at this point, such a curse was often used for sympathy from others, especially given how his brothers treated him growing up. “They must have, I’m not really sure.” Hans shrugged. “She’s fine. She’s probably the best off person in my family, honestly,” he replied. His mother was the person he was closest to, even though she was a busy woman who could never divide up her attention evenly with too many things requiring it (even though Hans would claim the fair way to divide it up was whichever way gave him the most of it). “It wasn’t like the family had any hardships resulting from having thirteen kids - my troubles just came from my actual brothers, themselves.”

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adella-benson:

“I get that.” Even though Dells only moved from her mansion in Atlantica Shores to an apartment in Hyperion Heights, the small distance gave her a small sense of independence. Thought she did miss having a full house every now and again. “I used to live with six other sisters. Distance does do the heart good.” She mused, biting her sandwich.

Hans chuckled at her response. Six was a quaint number, in his mind. “Six? Try double that, and with brothers,” he replied with a raised brow. “I definitely needed my own space, for once.”

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lifeinplasticken:

Ken grumbled and shifted in his seat, visibly uncomfortable bearing his soul for someone else to probe. One would think after several sessions with Hans that Ken would’ve become accustomed to the whole song and dance of it, but it seemingly never got any easier. Tapping his fingers in thought atop his knee, his eyes meekly drifted back up to Hans. “Thank you, Hans. I’d probably be locking all these feelings up in my shiny multi-colored heart if I hadn’t stumbled upon you.” He mumbled, now twisting the joint of his ankle to give himself something to do. Clearly being so upfront and candid about his feelings wasn’t necessarily in his wheelhouse either. “I just feel like it’s not doing anything for me, though. I leave every session feeling so empowered and refreshed from being so open and come the next day…I’m still alone in the Dreamhouse. Don’t tell this to anyone, but sometimes it can feel a little…stifling. Which is really weird considering I could house all of Carthay in there! But, I still feel so empty and alone in there sometimes, even though I love it. Hm,” Ken breathed, closing his eyes at his confession. “Weird.” He concluded. “It’s funny, I’ve yet to find Carthay’s emotionally unavailable rich people club. If you manage to look it up in the personals, let this gal know.” Ken teased, finding that making light of the situation helped to ease a bit of the burden. “Do you mind if I ask you a question, Hans? Not as a patient, but as…myself? Yeah, me.” Ken affirmed with a quick nod. “Are we…friends? Outside of this professional relationship, of course.” It was a difficult question to ask and quite a lot of pressure on the other male, but it was something that weighed so heavily on his mind with every passing appointment.

Hans knew everyone took to his sessions differently. Some people were so eager to change and poured everything out. Others felt forced to be there and didn’t want to open up. Ken’s discomfort was nothing new to Hans. It was difficult discussing problems, especially when you hadn’t completely come to terms with them, yourself. Asking someone else for help required vulnerability and the ability to admit things were not completely okay and you could not remedy it on your own. Hans was aware of all of this, and always tried his best to make those in his care feel comfortable. He couldn’t help but give a soft chuckle at Ken’s description of his heart, and nodded in appreciation. “You’re welcome, Ken. My door is always open, you know that.” Hans listened, staying silent for a time before eventually nodding and speaking up. “I understand. A lot of this is easier said than done. These things take time, and even if you don’t notice it, the smallest change can lead to the biggest improvement.” Ken was definitely someone he didn’t want to lose, someone in his care with more than he could imagine, and Hans knew better than to let any of that go to waste. “I understand. I felt alone in a mansion with up to fourteen other people. Quality of friendship is important, so that’s why I suggested finding some people who like the same activities you do - it gives you something to bond over. Come on, what are some things you like to do, not just things you busy yourself with?” Hans asked. Ken’s question was an important one, one Hans knew the correct answer to, the one that would make Ken feel his best. “Of course,” he replied with a nod. After all, they had friendly enough chats to warrant them being friends - all there was left to do was hang out outside of these sessions. “I know we mostly meet in here, and I apologize for that - things get busy, unfortunately, and I get swept up in work often - but we can definitely plan something outside of these sessions if you’d like.”

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jubileenabingbing:

   ( °. — ♡ “ OH – I SEE. “, the brunette replied when hans told her his family and him weren’t very close. “ i’m sorry to hear that. “, she added, throwing a sympathetic smile his was. “ i’m sure that’s not true. they’re your family. they must miss you… some people just have an odd way of showing it. “, jubileena told him. when he asked her to elaborate, leena sighed and dropped her gaze to her hands. “ it’s just that… “, she began, trying to find the right words. “  so, there’s this guy i… kind of… like ? “, jubileena explained, shaking her head softly. “ but my friends… look, they have said pretty awful things about him. everyone in town seems to do so. and i am afraid that if i tell them how i feel, they will judge me. and that sucks, you know, ‘cause… i’m not good with keeping things like this bottled up. “, she mumbled. “ i want to talk about it. but i feel like i can’t. “. looking back up at him, jubileena’s brows raised as she asked: “ this is completely confidential, okay ? you’re a counselor. this is just between the two of us. “.

“Don’t be,” Hans assured her. “I’m long over it.” But was he really, if their approval was what he seemed to seek in his life mission for power? “Trust me, they don’t. Three of my brothers pretended I was invisible for two years. Not much has changed. It’s fine, really.” Hans switched the focus to Leena’s problems, so used to his counselor ways that it was second nature by now. “That’s awful; I’m sorry people are so mean to this person you seem to care about a lot. But if they’re your friends, they won’t judge you, and they’ll support you, especially since your feelings towards him to appear pretty important to you. It must be hard, but if your friends truly care about you, then they’ll accept it.” He nodded in agreement. “Of course; I wouldn’t tell anyone else. This doesn’t have to leave this table, if you don’t want it to. But my door is always open if you ever want to follow up.”

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davisandy:

“I don’t actually remember if i introduced myself, but my name’s Andy.” Gazing over the guy as he wondered were he had seen him before, knowing he looked a bit familiar. “First time here as well? That’s a funny coincidence. I read a couple of good yelp reviews, but i don’t trust them.”

“Nice to meet you Andy; I’m Hans,” he introduced, offering a hand over the table for the other man to shake. “Yeah, I haven’t been here long enough to experience everything in town, it seems.” Hans nodded in agreement. “Best to see for yourself, I get it; I just saw this place on Google when I was looking for somewhere nearby to eat.”

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rattlcr:

“I don’t buy it,” arms crossed in simplicity, eyes challenging the man to keep talking.

“You don’t have to,” replied Hans with a shrug. “It isn’t your life; you can do as you please with yours.”