Wow! I’ve been a long time reader and just started repressing this story. While I love all of your stories, the thing I realized I actually love is your writing! You have a way with words that sucks you in and enraptures you. My CC is that I think aksel needs to be fleshed out more as a character. I love seeing his character through Emi’s eyes, however, I feel that he’s not authentic to himself when he speaks. Perhaps that is me misunderstanding his character.

Looking forward to the next installment! By any chance do you know how many chapters are left?

Every Friday as soon as I wake up I literally pull out my phone and go straight to this page to read the new chapter of this story because I love it so much. (I am not joking I have done that every morning for the past four weeks.) Thank you so much for updating and churning out so much of this story I am hooked I love Emi and Aksel so much!

Okay so this one hurt me poor Aksel, poor Emilie, they’re both hurting so much

On another note, have a great birthday weekend! And happy birthday!

I've been meaning to get a fictionpress account this week so you don't have to keep replying to me in the comments...I'll have it for next time. (Re the other names: I imagine Ludo is Italian?)

I 100% cringed at that encounter with Lumi haha. I'm SO bad about second-hand embarrassment. I'm like, whyyyyy you are saying this Emi? I don't feel necessarily angry at her because...hmm, because I guess I know she's going through a hard time and doesn't mean to be malicious. But still. She's lucky Lumi was very mature about it.

Reading that part with Priscilla...about how Priscilla pointed out how Emi would kind of mock Finnish culture, I think it really solidified for me that Emi really needed a support system that was not just Askel. Priscilla isn't Finnish so she didn't really feel personally attacked about it the way Askel (rightfully) did, so she was able to point it out really respectfully in a way that allowed Emi to self-reflect.

I'm looking forward to the next chapter tomorrow!

I wonder if EMI has an undiagnosed depression or anxiety. I went through it in first year and it was the same thing – It started off as not wanting to get out of bed and having constant negative thoughts. Maybe moving to a different country was too much for her system. But I will give this to her, she's a lot more open about then I ever was.

"So it will stop hurting me, and hurt him instead." This. This is the problem. I get it, hurt people hurt people, and it may seem all okay to think you can do that to someone because you have or are going through it, but Emi, you don't do that to someone you love.

Honestly, thank god for Priscilla! I completely agree with the other reviewer who wants a Priscilla in their life, because honestly me too. She’s so good at knowing what Emi needs! I really do love reading supportive friendships like that :’)

I’d definitely be happy to help beta, I love that story so much! Though I might not be able to do a lot until after finals for uni are finished, which will be sometime in December. Hopefully that’s not a huge issue

Well Emi, that pit in your stomach is almost always correct. You can tell that time is running out in your relationship before enough is enough. Aksel can only take so much of your mini burst, and you can only pretend your happy for so long before you're just this ball of anger and resentment.

BTW, I can totally relate to Asians and their weird cure. For me it was rubbing orange peel on my hair to make it shiny and swelling a mouthfull of banana to dislodge a fish bone. Needless to say, the former did not work and the latter was outright dangerous. :D

Thank you for the update. If it’s possible I would like see what Aksel was doing on his end while our Emi was figuring herself out. And yes, I agree with the reviewer, it will be so not fair to Aksel to come back once Emi had settled in finland.

I hadn’t thought of her mother’s experience, it’s great that you brought it back up! And also I agree that it would be shitty of Aksel to only pop back in once she’s sorted herself out. And it sounds like that’s starting to happen with her Finjish lessons at least, so yay. I’m sure she’s just being over dramatic about not living up to Priscilla’s ideas of an exciting roommate... I mean hopefully, lol

Take your time with writing! I’m fine with 2 week updates, just as long as you don’t get sick of writing this story and it’s no longer fun for you haha

Honestly, as much as I love and miss Aksel and Emi together, I am loving this for Emi. It's great seeing you write more about how she is starting to grow out of her hatred mindset and bond more with her family and her friends (both old and new)! Also - I love, LOVE Tatiana. I'm so glad you chose to keep her in this story from Something Better.

As usual, thank you so much for a great chapter! So happy that you seem so committed to really churning out this story every single week, but it really shouldn't be something that should stress you out instead of something you enjoy, so take breaks when you need them!

I think it's nice that Emi got to call her mum and get to see a sort of personal "success story" from a person who wouldn't hide the nitty gritty parts from her. I also love Priscilla. She's so friendly (why can't I meet people like THAT in my life?). I also had fun researching the names of the other people ('Zuzi' is a Swiss name that means lily which is adorable!).

I'm curious to see when (or whether?) Emi will get all her personal belongings from the apartment she shared with Askel. I mean, he thinks she's back in Germany, right? Has he shipped them off already or what?

I also started re-reading the first few chapters, and I was thinking about the part where Askel offered to speak Finnish at home with Emi. I wonder, from a sort of objective observer point of view, would you consider it a good way to learn a language? Part of me is like, well, yes obviously speaking a language more would help you learn it, duh. But another part of me thinks that after gruelling lessons and dealing with the whole culture shock and all, and then having to come home and have to put in effort AGAIN to speak to someone you love is kinda exhausting. Also because Emi wouldn't know enough Finnish in the beginning to have an actual meaningful conversation. I don't mean this to be a criticism of Askel, haha! Just to re-emphasise, I'm just sort of mulling over it. Because, thinking about it, it would be useful once Emi had mastered a certain degree of Finnish (maybe having reached a A2/B1 level) but otherwise it's just tiring not even getting to relax and unwind in your own home.

Aksel, I love you, but you are sending mixed signals and guilt-tripping Emilie here.

I'm both happy that Emilie didn't tear up on the way back to Helsinki. As a third culture child, that sinking feeling is all too familiar.