#How do people in Chicago eat pizza?

[itphobia]

Tasting Chicago Cuisine: HMD Bar & Grill's Unique Twist on Local Favorites

Have you been craving a taste of quintessential Chicago cuisine but want to experience it in a whole new way? Then pull up a seat at HMD Bar & Grill, an unassuming yet gastronomically adventurous spot in the heart of the city that’s putting its own spin on Windy City staples. You’re in for a treat – and maybe a surprise or two. From their deep-dish pizza topped with ingredients you never knew you…

[strawberryspence]

I will never not be OBSESSED with the Famous trope + Found Family trope with the Party 😭 The headlines would be so chaotic? Like:

Famous Rockstar Eddie Munson is seen eating lunch with two time Pulitzer winner Nancy Wheeler, Highest Paid Photographer Jonathan Byers and Successful Entrepreneur Argyle Alvez. How does he know these people???

Three time Grammy Winner Eddie Munson seen in a McDonald's with World Renowned Astronaut Dustin Henderson and New York Times Best Seller Will Byers-Wheeler and Mike Byers-Wheeler. What the actual fuck???

Eddie Munson, seen in a Chicago Bulls game looking confused as hell, mere seconds after finding out his second album just went Multi-platinum, with his husband, Steve Munson. Also seen in pictures, Eddie Munson hugging point guard Lucas Sinclair and his wife, Max Sinclair. How???

MSG Sold Out Performer Eddie Munson seen in Chicago Medical Center with World Renowned Surgeon Dr. Erica Sinclair. Our insiders say that the rockstar is FINE and was only having lunch with the doctor. What in the multiverse is happening???

Eddie Munson and his husband seen in line at the book signing of rising Linguistics Author Robin Buckley. They ended up laughing so hard when they reached the author, they almost got kicked out. Turns out they all knew each other???

Rock Star Eddie Munson bringing packed lunch in pajamas to a small Chicago preschool where husband, Steve Munson and known friend, Jane Hopper works. Why??? How??? What???

Third most followed person on Instagram Eddie Munson, just broke the internet by posting a group picture with Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley, Jonathan Byers, Argyle Alvez, Dustin Henderson, Lucas, Max and Erica Sinclair, Mike and Will Byers-Wheeler, his husband Steve Munson and family friend Jane Hopper. HOW DO THEY ALL KNOW EACH OTHER?! WHAT A WEIRD GROUP?!

The more people speculate, the more they say shit. Like people ask them how they know each other and they all just throw out the weirdest answers.

Nancy gets asked in a press conference how she knows Rock Star Eddie Munson? Nancy answers with, "I was driving myself to California when I was 19 and I picked him up as a hitch hiker along the way. We’ve been friends since then."

Robin gets asked in a lecture how she knows the Sinclair Clan? Robin answers with, "I go way back with Dr. Erica. She once saved me from Russian Doctors trying to cut my toe nails."

Eddie goes on an interview in National TV and the host asks how he's friends with Argyle and Jon? Eddie answers with, "I got kidnapped by a killer clown when I was 17. They saved me by crushing the clown's still beating heart with their own bare hands."

Steve gets bombarded with questions online of how he knows Nancy, Robin, Jon, Argyle and even Eddie (his husband)? Steve answers with, "We were stuck in detention every Saturday when we were in senior year. We all became friends when Eddie Munson started singing Don't You (Forget About Me)."

Will and Mike gets asked in an interview about their friendship with Basketball Star, Lucas Sinclair? Will says, “Lucas once gave my dog CPR, ultimately, saving it’s life and we’ve been friends since then.” and Mike just goes, “Who???”

Erica once got asked how she knew Genius Astronaut, Dustin Henderson. Erica rolls her eyes, “That boy owes me his life. Ask him, not me.”

Dustin gets asked how he knows Eddie Munson. Dustin goes with, “Eddie once saved me from a feral army of bats and almost died. I’ve never let go of him since then.” The fans think this one might actually be true, they’ve seen the scars on Eddie, they’ve got theories and Dustin just gave them a puzzle piece.

Argyle got asked in a Business Magazine how he knows this weird, interconnected group. Argyle says, “Oh dude! Those are my life long friends! It started with a pizza van, a dead man, and a road trip to Utah. There was also a bald girl involved. In the end, the real treasure really is the friends we make along the way.”

Jonathan gets asked how he knows Eddie Munson. Jon gives the softest, sweetest smile and says, “We were in a satanic cult together.”

Jane Hopper gets asked once in public (how she knows all these famous people), someone filmed it and it went viral on Twitter. El says, verbatim, “Oh. It all started when I was kidnapped by an evil scientist who tested stuff on me like I was a lab rat. Long story short, they saved my life and they are my family.” By then people already don’t believe any of them because they all give out the most ridiculous answers. Hopper still grounds her for that even though she doesn’t live with him anymore. (Owens, who hasn't called them in 15 years, reached out with a warning).

→ Current Additions: Lucas Lie Detector & Max's Future (Scroll down the link)

[ladykailitha]

Do You Know What Shovels Dig? Graves Part 5

Welp, fuck. Yeah this is going to be six parts now. This story just doesn’t know how to end itself so I’m putting the cutting point here and then finish the rest with BBQ idea.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

*

The remaining trio arrived after dinner. Jonathan, El, and Will had stayed over, order pizza.

“California really does have the superior pizza,” Jonathan hummed around his slice.

Steve scoffed. “Even better than Chicago? You’re crazy, man.”

“That isn’t pizza,” Jonathan argued. “That’s an open calzone.”

Will snickered as El cocked her head to the side as she tried to puzzle it out.

The doorbell rang and Steve wiped his hands on his jeans as he stood up to get it.

He opened the door to reveal Eddie with Lucas, Erica, and Max.

“Look what I found skulking around my place,” Eddie said proudly.

Lucas and Max looked at each other as Erica rolled her eyes.

“We figured that you would be over at Eddie’s,” Lucas explained quietly.

Steve shrugged. “I probably would have been if Dustin, Nancy and Mike didn’t stop by earlier.”

“Damn,” Max cursed. “I hoping to beat Dustin.”

Erica rolled her eyes again. “Can we get this over with?”

Steve just shook his head. “Me and Will and them are just finishing up dinner.”

Lucas frowned. “Will’s here?”

Steve smiled and then turned to lead them back to the kitchen. “Apparently Team Steve decided that they were going to monitor each apology to make sure they were actually apologies and not just excuses.”

“Wait, really?” Erica asked.

They entered the kitchen and Steve called out, “Look what Eddie dragged in.”

Eddie grinned.

“Come have pizza!” El said. “There’s plenty for everyone. Steve likes to get a lot.”

“That’s because I know that I will have people grazing the leftovers for the next couple days and I won’t accidentally get eaten out of house and home.”

El giggled.

They all settled down to eat. Happily chatting and laughing as they consumed all of the pizza.

Once everything was cleared away Will asked. “All right who’s first?”

Max and Lucas exchanged a glance.

“Um...” Lucas said.

“Because we did our shovel talk together, can we do our apology together?” Max asked.

Jonathan furrowed his brow. “I think that’s up to Steve.”

“I’m down if you guys are okay with that,” Steve said to everyone else.

There was nodding all around.

“I’ll handle this set,” Eddie said, “if you want to stand guard?”

Jonathan and Will nodded, but El shook her head. “I’m staying. I haven’t got to do one yet. You can chose to stay if you want, but I’m not moving.”

“Fair enough,” Eddie said. “How about this, we double team with Max and Lucas and then I can do Erica?”

El tilted her head to the side as she thought about it. “Agreed.”

Erica threw her arms in the air and left with the Byers boys.

“Is there a reason you have monitors?” Max asked once they had gone.

Steve laughed. “Apparently they think I let you guys get away with too much shit and wanted to make sure that didn’t happen with these apologies.”

Eddie grinned at them.

“Right...” Lucas said slowly, nodding his head. “So it started out as a joke...”

Steve held up his hand. “I’m going to stop you right there. No it didn’t. I don’t care if that’s what you thought. It did not start out as a joke. I will not take ‘it was a joke’ as an excuse. Because it’s starting to sound like you guys knew that other people were giving me the shovel talk and wanted to do it too. And if that is that case, I’m done.”

Eddie let out a low whistle. “I don’t know, Supergirl. I think our Stevie is going to be just fine.”

She giggled again. “Maybe, but I want to stay for the verbal beat down, don’t you?”

Eddie tilted his head and looked up. He pursed his lips and nodded. “No, no, you’re right. Should we get popcorn?”

Steve laughed.

Max bit her lip. “We knew Mike and Erica had done it,” she admitted. “But we didn’t know about anyone else we swear! Ten is too fucking much.”

“That’s good to hear, I guess,” Steve said. “But seriously, a joke? Shovel talks aren’t funny. Not the first time and definitely not the tenth.”

Eddie frowned. “Who was the first?”

Steve cocked his head to the side and leaned against the counter. “Mike.”

Everyone boggled at Steve.

“Mike was the first?” Lucas asked.

Steve shrugged. “It’s why I believed him when he said he had been joking. Because no one else had done it at that point.”

“Were there other people between Erica and Mike,” Max asked, “and us?”

Steve folded his arms and nodded.

“Yeah, okay,” Lucas said. “Yeah, I get not accepting ours as a joke at that point.”

Max nodded. “We are sorry, Steve. I understand that saying we didn’t know won’t cut it, but we really didn’t know. We also...” she looked over at Lucas and blushed. “We also thought that Eddie was getting them, too.”

Lucas nodded. “Like we thought Dustin and Robin for sure would have given Eddie the shovel talk. But when we found out that no one had? That really put the nail in the coffin for all this.” He hung his head. “We’re really sorry, man.”

“Yeah,” Max agreed. “We should have known better about the shovel talk to begin with. I wouldn’t want one and I wouldn’t want Lucas to get one either. Our relationship is no one else’s business. And getting into yours and Eddie’s business was wrong. We’re sorry.”

Steve sighed and glanced at El and Eddie to see if it was good enough. They both nodded. “Okay, I accept your apology. Especially since it seems like you learned your lesson. And if you do something like that to someone else, make sure they know it’s a joke. Because I sure the hell didn’t.”

They both winced and then nodded.

Lucas came up and gave Steve a hug. “We’ll try to be better friends too,” he whispered. Steve nodded.

He walked out and Max stood there for a moment. She looked at Eddie and El for a moment before she launched herself at Steve. He caught her and held her tight.

“You’re the big brother I always dreamed of,” she said softly. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m so sorry, Steve.”

Steve kissed the top of her head. “I love you, too, Max.”

When she pulled away, she wiped her face. El held out her hand and Max took it.

“Come on,” El said gently. “Let’s go wash your face before we go back out to the boys.”

Max nodded gratefully and let herself be led away.

Erica came in a couple minutes later and sat down at the counter and stared both of them down. But when Eddie and Steve didn’t back down, she nodded.

“Good,” she said. “I don’t deal with bitches.”

Eddie scoffed. “Does your mother know you kiss her with that dirty mouth?”

Erica batted her eyelashes. “My mother thinks I’m an angel.”

Eddie threw his arms in the air. “Because of course she does.”

“I still haven’t heard an apology,” Steve said after a moment.

“You aren’t going to get one,” Erica said primly. “What you are going to get is why Steve and not Eddie that got the shovel talk.”

Eddie and Steve shared a confused glance.

“Come again?” Eddie asked.

Erica shrugged. “I mean I’m sorry everyone else had sticks up their ass, but I’m not sorry I gave Steve the shovel talk. He’s the badass of the pair of you and needs to know that I will defend my DM to the death if required.”

Steve ran his tongue over his lips and rolled his eyes. “So what I’m hearing is that you think I’m too badass to be protected?”

“Duh,” she said. “I’ve seen you in action. This little bitch nearly died.”

Eddie’s eyes went wide and he tilted his head forward. “Excuse me?”

“You clearly need to be protected from dying again,” Erica said.

“And why can’t I be the one protecting him?” Steve asked, furrowing his brow.

Erica paused for a moment. “You know, I didn’t think of it like that.” She cocked her head thoughtfully. “No, are you absolutely right. I commend you to service in defending Eddie the Banished. Don’t fuck it up.”

She hopped off the barstool and walked out.

“Does–does that count as an apology?” Eddie asked more than a little stunned.

Steve jutted out his bottom lip and nodded. “Coming from her? Yeah.”

Eddie nodded back. “Sounds about right. She certainly is something.”

“I fear for any boy that tries to break her heart,” Steve said. “She’ll break their knees.”

“Provided anyone can find the body,” Eddie agreed.

***

Part Six

Tag List: @justforthedead89 @zerokrox-blog @ihavekidneys @didntwant2come @thelittleclare @liorereshkigal @estrellami-1 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @telidina @stevesbipanic @paintsplatteredandimperfect @a-little-unsteddie @jonesn4coffee @resident-gay-bitch @obliosworld @croatoan-like-its-hot @evix-syne666 @emly03 @wonderland-girl143-blog @bookworm0690

[copperbadge]

[ID: A photograph of a building in Chicago through my window; in one corner my spider plant is photobombing the image. Through the window, snow can be seen falling against the urban backdrop.]

It's snowing in Chicago for New Year's! Everyone who bought a cute cocktail dress to wear out to the parties tonight, I'm so sorry. Maybe invest in some kind of dramatic greatcoat that will keep your butts warm.

Me, I've put the stracotto di manzo on to slow cook (fourth dish I'm cooking, third course in the Festa Alla Cinque Cibi) and I'm about to sit on the sofa and not do much for a bit.

The stracotto di manzo recipe, like the burik recipe, comes from Portico, a Jewish-Italian cookbook (there's an online version here) and I did make a few alterations; I hope people know that whenever I talk about changing a recipe it's because I'm changing it to suit my tastes or laziness, and that's not a critique of the recipe. In this case, I halved the recipe since I'm only one man and four pounds of pot roast is too much. I also replaced the sauteed onions-celery-garlic mixture with my Special Sauce, but mainly because I had the Special Sauce handy and it's the same flavor profile more or less. No celery note, but I'm indifferent to celery.

[ID: three images; left, a photo into the instant pot, showing a golden-brown mess on the bottom; center, a bottle of Bay Bridge Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon; right, the "special sauce" after the wine has been added, which is now a surprisingly appetizing-looking green liquid flecked with gold.]

The "special sauce" is a mixture of caramelized onions, roasted garlic, and my homemade pesto (roasted cashews, fresh basil, salt, roasted garlic, olive oil). I browned the beef chunks in olive oil and removed them, added the special sauce just long enough to get it good and hot, then added the wine and deglazed the pan. They say you should only ever cook with wine you'd drink, but I don't like wine at all, so like a good San Francisco boy I bought some California Cab in the $5-$10 range and hoped for the best. When it arrived it turned out it had been on markdown, so that is right there some of your finest $2.50 wine. I'll use the rest in a ragu sauce or to thin paint or something. How long does jet fuel keep in the fridge?

[ID: A shot into the instant-pot of large chunks of beef bubbling away in a red sauce, bits of gold "special sauce" still visible here and there. None of you can smell the garlic and basil I'm smelling right now but I wish you could.]

Anyway I didn't get a photo of the beef browning, but once the special sauce and red wine were on the boil, I added a massive can of tomato puree and the browned beef, brought it up to bubbling, then switched over to slow-cook. I've got it on the lowest possible setting but that might be slightly too low, so I'll check the temp in two hours and re-evaluate. It's just feeding me and I have no set time to eat, so if it takes all day it takes all day.

All that's left now is the second fry on the Carciofi Alla Giudia, which will be the last thing I do because you serve that warm and there's no real way to re-heat it after the second fry.

Breakfast was a slice of homemade pizza and like four amaretti cookies, because I am only ever classy by appointment.

[cure-icy-writes]

Okay so. A lot of people have been making cute little dungeon meshi aus where it's modern, but specifically the cast lives in one place. Figured I should maybe share mine?

Anyways. Dungeon Meshi but it's midwestern.

-Senshi, i think, is a regular presence in the church but is the kind of christian that the pastor has beef with. He has an apron with two fish and five loaves of bread on it, and can be found at pretty much every barbecue and church potluck. No one's sure if he's really devoted to jesus or just heard the story of a guy feeding an entire crowd and started showing up to church to feed people. He has caused two married men to have their bisexual awakenings.

-The town they all live in has an extremely high density of restaurants, meaning the only thing to do around there is go out to eat. The gang goes out to eat new places a lot together!

-Izutsumi is a warrior cats kid who was probably bullied for hissing and biting the other kids. The gang recognizes that she's not mean, she's just badly socialized and also seventeen. She lives in a group home, but has been running away less ever since she got promised regular meals.

-Related: Chilchuk is a union guy who is covertly making sure every restaurant they go to is up to code. He keeps shutting down places for not having adequate safety measures for their employees.

-Izutsumi has decided she's going to hang out with Chilchuk sometimes and will stop by his workplace. He's insistent that he's not adopting any more children, but has been teaching her how to budget, how to lie convincingly enough to get a job, and the most ethical places to shoplift from with the fewest risks because she's going to steal things anyways.

-Marcille has never been to a cornfield in her life. She's a Chicago kid, who really misses her deep dish pizza and that really good Italian place, but she's here to study some rare microorganisms.

-Marcille studies a very weird field of medicine that involves looking for medical uses in odd places. She's looking to eliminate class divides in lifespan by trying to find more affordable medicines for diseases that primarily affect the lower class.

-Her father died of asbestos poisoning from working in unsafe conditions when she was a kid, so she's especially alert for it, and gets a little neurotic around flu season.

-Laios and Falin used to go to the creek behind their house all the time to catch crawdads, and sometimes he'll still do it for old time's sake.

-Laios flunked out of college because they couldn't handle his autism rizz. He's going to trade school for the culinary arts, but he keeps trying to cook things he shouldn't.

-Laios checked out the massive dragon books from the library and cried when he found out they weren't real.

-He does furry commissions online, but he's not the best with customer negotiations and keeps wondering how many nipples someone's fursona has. Chilchuk helped him build his profile to appeal to commissioners who like speculative biology.

-Falin watched her brother flunk and went "hm, I think I will not." she's an apprentice at a local gardening shop. You think she's a normal sweet cottagecore kind of girl but then she starts gushing about soil nutrients and sustainability and you realize. Oh. Oh this is the kind of girl who would romanticize being buried under a tree and having it consume her bones.

-Laios wears shirts with anatomically correct dinosaur skeletons on them, but he has to order them online and frequently complains that there are no good clothing shops nearby. Senshi heard him say this, and introduced him to fabric paint.

[krystalskeleton]

1992.11.11 – RAW Magazine Interview with Izzy

Music

"Yeah, music is partially my saving grace. It's been part of my life every day of the week since I was a kid. It doesn't have to be a specific type of music, it can be any type because the whole of it takes you away from the mundane, every day sort of thing.

"Being on tour, I find it like a luxury item because when I'm on tour I don't have a big stereo, I have a Sony player that cost 50 bucks, it's mono and it has this tiny speaker. For the first couple of days I only had my walkman which is fine for airplanes, but otherwise they're a drag. I found myself looking in the window of these shops at these stereos and there was this one in Chicago which was four and a half feet long and three feet tall. It was this boom box with neon lights inside it. It was really freaky looking, but I ended up getting this small Sony because it would fit in my bag, it plays cassettes and it records so I can write songs on it too. I find that if I hear a stereo now, even if it's a PA at gigs and they're playing a tape, it's a luxury and I really enjoy it."

Food

"Indian food and pizza are my favourites. I stopped eating meat a few years ago. I don't eat red meat or chicken, but I eat fish. I stopped eating meat shortly after I stopped drinking and using drugs. I think it was a case of wanting to heal myself a little quicker rather than objecting to meat, plus there were some cases on the West Coast where people were dying after they'd eaten bad meat. I'm big on salads. Salads in America are just a couple of bits of dead lettuce, but over here people are a bit more conscientious.

But Indian food and pizza are my favourites and that's why Chicago is like heaven to me because you can get a pizza delivered at 5am and it's damn good pizza. There's a place there called Mama Mia and they deliver all night long. They've got pizzas that are two inches thick with like a cracker crust with fresh tomatoes on top. "

Drink

"I like mango lassi and sweet lassi from Indian restaurants. My second would be fresh squeezed orange juice. Those are the only things I drink. I gave up drinking because I just had enough of waking up in my own vomit and not remembering who I was hanging out with the night before, getting arrested and all that stuff. Waking up in jail, and that sort of thing became old for me and I finally realised that I had to stop this and figure it all out. It wasn't easy and it took a while. I feel a lot better for not doing it."

Hate

"It's destructive in nature. Sometimes you can get angry, but it usually doesn't help fix anything. If I hate something I just get hung up on it and dwell on it. I find it easier to try and dismiss it. Otherwise it's extra baggage to be carrying around. You see hatred every day on the TV and some other places and that's enough for me, I don't need to live with it anymore."

Rock 'N' Roll

"It's that life blood. You can't put your finger on it. For me it's that other thing that only people who listen to it or love it know what it is. To the rest of the world though it probably doesn't mean shit!(laughs)

" The funniest thing I ever heard in Guns N Roses was from this guy in Canada called Gabe. God, he was hilarious! He said he saw something on English TV once that said no matter how many records Elton John sold in 1976, there were still 40 billion Chinese people that don't give a fuck and that rang so true to me- this was back in '86 so I've always kept it in mind. It's true. If you look at the globe and spin it and put your finger wherever it lands there's people there who don't know what Rock 'N' Roll is. For people who do love it, though, it's their whole life. For me it's very special.

" We used to have Rock 'N' Roll bands come to play at our house when I was a real young kid. My dad used to have these parties and me and my brothers were beer runners. The bands were always downstairs and I always hung out with them. When you're a kid and these guys would show to play stuff on the drums, it was great. They'd play stuff like (Credence Clearwater Revival's) 'Proud Mary'. I was lucky 'cos I got to grow up with that. I've been hooked on that ever since."

Drugs

"It's up to each person. It doesn't do any good to tell people not to do it. If people want to do 'em then they're gonna do 'em. All I can say is for myself they stopped being a good thing. It became a complete pain in the ass. It was destroying me as a person and I got to the point where I decided to give up. It wasn't like I didn't know 'cos you go through a peroid where you know you're tearing yourself up. I knew I had to stop or everything was gonna go down the tubes."

Sex

"It's pretty important, but to a lot of people it's hard to understand that it doesn't mean much unless you care about the person you're with. I'm lucky, 'cos I do."

Love

"It's a great thing. Everybody needs it and wants it. Life can be pretty bleak without it. I've got a German shepherd and I've had him since he was a puppy, ya' know. I bought him when he was just a twerp. He's three years old, he's healthy, he's big and he can run 40 miles an hour and he's great. I love my dog!

"I've had a steady girl for a few years and it's a great thing. Love makes life a lot easier."

Work

" I worked in a car wash when I was 15. I worked where the cars come out and you have to dry the cars off. In the winter time with the wind chill it can be 10 or 20 below zero, and that was real work getting up at five or six in the morning. It was cold and you've got these towels that are freezing and you're washing these fuckers off. Music is more something that you love to do so it doesn't seem like work. The thought of having to get a real job is difficult. I was never that good at keeping a straight job and getting enough money to do what I wanted to do. At the same time I had to work as a kid. If you gotta do it you do it.

" I've had different jobs. I worked in pizzerias and I actually enjoyed that. That was one job that didn't feel like work unless there was a gig or concert that I wanted to go to. In that case I'd leave work early anyway. I actually liked cooking pizzas, flipping the dough and stuff was cool.

"If I had to get another real job I would probably work in a pizzeria, or I'd work in the car wash and I'd be on the front end. The front end is where the guys would pump gas and vacuum the cars, and these guys were always the envy of everyone else who had it rough. This was back in the '70s when people would drive around with big joints in their cars. They'd smoke half a joint and leave the rest so that when one guy pulls up with half a joint in his ashtray, what happens to the joint? It ends up in the pocket of the guys who are up front who'd smoke them! I think I'd rather work in a pizza place though where it's warm and there's music."

Photo © Paul Jendrasiak, 1993

[steddieas-shegoes]

Headcanon sentences!;

1. "You're going to be a good sad someday, Teddy bear" teddy bear = Eddie's nickname

2. "Saying yes to you was the best decision of my life"

3. Based on me playing Steddie in the Sims 4: Steddie playing Sims 4 and "How do you keep setting the stove on fire making Mac and cheese?!"

🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🐼

Okay assuming that's a typo and you meant dad this one's gooooood shit

No one had expected Max to be the first one with a baby, or a baby at all for that matter.

But here she was, 22 years old, Lucas by her side, holding their newborn baby boy with the biggest smile on her face.

She'd only given birth a few hours ago, Lucas' family coming in to visit before she even got a chance to take it in.

Eddie had never held a baby. Not once.

But he knew how to comfort Max, had been the best at it for the last 8 years or so. She looked exhausted, and he immediately put his arm around her shoulders and let her rest her head on his shoulder.

"Proud of you, Red. Look at this little gremlin. Poor thing looks like Lucas. Hope he grows out of that."

Lucas interrupted his own conversation with Steve to glare at him.

"You wanna hold him?"

Eddie couldn't exactly turn that down, not when Max looked like she was kind of asking for a break without actually asking for one.

She gently placed the sleeping baby in his arms.

He felt it immediately: the why someone would put their body through this, the why people choose to throw a specific type of fun out the window to have kids.

"Decided on a name?"

Max leaned her head up from where she'd rested it on her pillow.

"Yeah. Steve? Stop talking to Lucas and come look at my baby."

Steve did as she asked, like he always did. It was no secret she was tied for favorite kid with Dustin.

"Steve, Eddie, this is Andrew Steven Sinclair."

Eddie and Steve looked up at her together, equally surprised by the name choice.

They both cried, and Max rolled her eyes, but didn't tease them about it, probably already warned to be kind by Lucas.

Steve held him for a few minutes, walking around the room and gently rocking his arms to keep him asleep.

Eddie watched until it was his turn again.

He held him for nearly 30 minutes before Steve finally told him they needed to go and let Max and Lucas rest and bond with Andrew alone.

As they left the hospital, Eddie kept rambling about things he wanted to buy for Andrew, things he wanted to do with him as he got older. It continued on for the entire drive to their apartment in the city and even over dinner that night.

Finally, Steve kissed him, effectively shutting him up long enough to talk.

"You're gonna be a good dad someday, teddy bear."

Eddie blushed.

He saw it now. He saw what Steve wanted so badly and now he wanted it too.

He'd make sure they had it somehow.

--------

2. This could be so sappy but what if it was funny instead

It was late.

They were tired.

Food didn't make itself and they were way too exhausted to do it themselves.

"I could just call in pizza."

Steve had turned down takeout already because of their budget or whatever, but Eddie was too hungry to care about a budget now.

"Fine. But just a small. No drinks or breadsticks."

Eddie jumped up before Steve could change his mind.

Because it was so late, the pizza was delivered quickly. Weird how no one else wanted pizza delivery at one in the morning.

They both let out loud moans at the first bite, smiling at their pizza slices like they found long lost loves.

"Aren't you glad I convinced you to order pizza?"

"Saying yes to you was the best decision of my life."

"And they call me the dramatic one!"

"Shut up and eat your pizza."

-----------------------------------

3. Okay but actually funny story one time I did forget I was boiling water to make mac and cheese (I was in like 6th grade leave me alone) and nothing caught on fire but the kitchen sure didn't smell good for a while

In a strange turn of events, Eddie took on a nanny job when they moved to Chicago. It paid well and he was guaranteed off for any shows his band played, plus all the major holidays and half of summer.

It paid so well, in fact, Steve could focus on his college classes instead of also having to work.

Every Monday, instead of going to the family's house, they dropped their five year old daughter, Emily, at Steve and Eddie's apartment.

They'd have a full day of walking to the park at the end of the block on nice days, or playing with Eddie's "for fun" guitar, or laying out tons of paper across the kitchen floor and finger painting, or playing princess and dragons.

Eddie was great at it. Except for the whole cooking part.

Usually, meals were prepped already when he went to Emily's house. But on Mondays, he had to make lunch and dinner for her.

He stuck to sandwiches for lunch, but dinner could get rough.

He managed to do okay with microwaving chicken nuggets or cooking frozen pizzas.

But he'd gone through two stoves from trying to make mac and cheese.

He was persistent though, knew if he just focused on only the mac and cheese, nothing would burn or catch on fire or break.

Unfortunately, Emily chose to have a Code Red Emergency just when he added the pasta to the pot.

It's fine, I have 8 minutes to fix what she needs me to.

Emily had broken one of the minifigures that Eddie used for D&D and she was heartbroken. Eddie explained it could be fixed, he'd just glue it tonight and she could play with it again next week, but she was inconsolable.

Naturally, he got distracted trying to help her and the smoke alarm started going off.

"Shit!"

"That's a bad word!"

"I know!"

Eddie managed to handle it before the fire got big, but their mac and cheese was burnt and he would just have to settle for some fish sticks.

Emily got picked up and her parents smirked at the smell and slight haze to the air, but didn't comment.

Steve, however, wasn't going to ignore it.

"Oh my God, you did it again didn't you?"

"Did what?"

"How do you keep setting the stove on fire making mac and cheese?!"

"Emily was having a crisis!"

"We're going to have a crisis if you don't get to it in time and burn the whole apartment complex to the ground!"

They made a new rule that night that he wasn't allowed to make any kind of pasta anymore unless Steve was home to watch.

He'd feel stupid if it wasn't such a good idea.

[herrmannhalsteadproduction]

500 Miles (Chapter Five)

Summary: This is Part Nineteen of my series A Herrmann/Halstead Production. It is an AU where Christopher Herrmann's mom had an affair with Pat Halstead resulting in a baby. The series follows this OC character (Rebecca "Bex" Herrmann) as she grows up and gets to know her brothers and the various Chicago teams. It is very much an AU, just to underscore that. It doesn't follow the same timeline and characters will follow different paths.

Click here for the Series Rundown where you can find the links to read all of the previous installments (which I highly recommend you do so that this one makes sense.)

Rating: Teen and Up

Relationships: Christopher Herrmann & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Original Female Character, Will Halstead & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Will Halstead, Greg 'Mouse' Gerwitz/Original Female Character, Will Halstead/Connor Rhodes, Assorted OC Couples

Warnings: Light Angst, Emotional Conversations, Dealing with Past Trauma, Minor Character Injury, Swearing, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, An Unholy Amount of Fluff, EXTRA NOTE FOR THIS CHAPTER: Bex has a small panic attack and is helped through it.

A/N: To underscore my previous note, this is an alternate universe so things have unfolded differently. This will not follow the canon arcs exactly by any means. But I hope you'll still enjoy it!

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Bex 

Last night had been exactly what Bex needed to get her equilibrium back. Will had shown up in time to eat the last of the pizza and watch a few more episodes of Buffy with them. He’d flopped right down on the floor, leaning back against Connor’s legs, diving into the banter with his mouth full.

And for Bex? Sitting there, crammed together in the living room with a good chunk of her people? …she felt like things might just be okay.

Of course then this morning, Will dragged her out the door for a run at a horrifically early hour and now she hated everything including the sun and fresh air and sweating and—

Blergh.

“Okay,” she panted as she kept pace with Will and Kol. Taking time off last week to let her back bruises fade had lost her a lot of ground in the begrudging acceptance of this routine. “This is officially too much sweating for a Wednesday. You need to entertain me or I’m turning around.”

“What?” Will laughed.

“Talk,” Bex demanded. “Tell me things.”

“Uhhhh—”

Bex wracked her own brain, looking for something to get them started on. Oh! “It was awesome having Connor hang out last night,” she said. “How have things been going with him?”

Will turned bright red. Like, redder than out for a run in July red. Interesting.

“Did Jay say something to you?” Will asked, voice going high at the end.

Very interesting. Clearly, she’d hit on something here. And! Will hadn’t told her about it yet!

Rude.

“No,” she said. “Why? Is everything okay?”

His face smoothed out as he smiled. “Everything is great,” Will said. “He’s great.”

“But…” Bex prompted.

Will kept running, keeping his eyes on the path ahead of them.

“Will!” She hit him with her elbow.

“Ugh! Okay!” He scrunched up his nose. “Just feels weird talking to you about it.”

“Not doing much talking,” she muttered. She understood. She did. There were some things that were probably easier to talk to a brother about. And maybe she didn’t actually want to be a sounding board for wherever this discussion was leading…

Except she did! She and Will were brother and sister, but they were also roomies! They talked about their shit! All of it! They’d bonded!

…but…he also deserved his privacy if he wanted it or whatever so she could be cool with that. She wouldn’t pout.

She must not have been doing a great job of that because Will took a quick look at her face and burst out laughing. “Oh, my god, fine,” he said. “So. You know how Connor and I have been taking it slow…”

“Yeah, and you said he’s been really amazing about that,” Bex said with a nod.

“Exactly!” Will threw his arms out. “So amazing! Too amazing!”

“Ooooooh,” Bex laughed as understanding hit her. “I get it. You’re horny on Main and Connor’s being way too polite at the crosswalk.”

“Aaaand I’m going home.” Will whistled for Kol and started turning around until Bex grabbed at his arm, still laughing.

“Wait! Wait, I’m sorry,” she said. She put them back on the path, slowing down to a walk. “Come on. Let’s workshop this.”

“Bex,” Will groaned and she bumped shoulders with him.

“No, no, no! We can figure it out.” Will had come so far with everything. She didn’t want him turning in on himself now and not going for what he wanted. “What I’m hearing is that you want to move things forward in your relationship physically—”

“This is my nightmare,” Will whispered and she ignored him, pressing on.

“—and Connor is not taking the initiative because he’s trying to be respectful and follow your lead. Right?”

“Pretty much,” Will said, dragging a hand over his face.

“Have you talked to him about any of this?” She was guessing not based on the fact that they were having this conversation, but it was Will so she figured she should ask. He shook his head.

“There hasn’t really been an opportunity lately,” he said.

Fair. Between the Mouse thing and the Jay thing and the AJ thing and the Ty thing, there’d been a lot going on.

“But,” he continued. “I’ve tried to give some…other cues.” The blush was back.

“How did that go?” Bex asked carefully, forcing herself not to giggle at how squirmy he got.

“Uh, they were well received,” Will said. He reached up and pushed her waggling eyebrows away with a hand to her face. “But again, he didn’t make a move to take it any further.” He tilted his head, considering. “Although that one time was probably because we were at work.”

Bex laughed and he grinned widely, not chagrined in any way, shape, or form.

“Yeah, that was a good day,” he said, ducking his chin with a little smirk.

“It sounds like some progress has been made,” Bex said. “You just need a chance to really talk about it. What if we found a way to give you some alone time?” The two of them had more than earned it.

Will nodded slowly.

“Ooh! Want me and Emery to clear out of the apartment for a night?” she asked. They could camp out at Jay’s or maybe Kira and Malia’s place.

“Maybe?” Will frowned lightly as he thought it over.

“Or we could make sure we’re gone for a day or whatever time your schedules sync up. We’ll get you the time, Will,” Bex promised. “You’ll talk and worse comes to worse, you could just jump him and see where it leads.”

“You and Jay, I swear to god,” he shook his head as he chuckled in resignation. He sped up, starting to run again down the path.

“What?" Bex chased after him. “I’m just saying it’s an option! Will!”

***

Emery

Thursday afternoon, Emery stood outside the door of the apartment, keys in hand, preparing herself to go in.

She knew Bex was in there. After going for a run with Will yesterday, then working at the diner, then working at Molly’s, and then going to the gym with Sam this morning; she’d declared the rest of today a ‘work on the graphic novel’ day. She was probably still plugging away on it.

Emery shouldn’t interrupt that.

Except they really needed to talk. Emery had been trying to pin her down for the last couple of days just so they could have this chat and now was as good a time as any but…

Maybe she wasn’t quite as ready for it as she thought.

This was going to be a big change. A good change and a needed one, but scary all at the same time. And she honestly wasn’t sure how Bex was going to take it.

Bex was her best friend. Emery loved her. They were family.

The thing about Bex though, for better or for worse, was that she was all in. She’d stepped up with her whole heart when Emery needed her. Given her space and time and support. And Emery—she had no words for how grateful she was.

But a Bex who was all in might not totally understand why Emery needed to do this.

Might be hurt.

The last thing Emery wanted to do was hurt Bex, but she knew in her heart that this was the right step and the right time to take it so she had to put it all out there and hope for the best.

Okay.

She was doing this.

Emery put her key in the lock and opened the door.

“Hey!” Bex looked up from her table, setting down her pencil. “You’re home a bit early. How was your day?”

“Good,” Emery said, hanging up her bag and kicking off her shoes. “It was good.” She side-stepped the living room and popped into the kitchen. Snacks. Snacks would make this easier. “How was your day?”

“Also good,” Bex called out. “Got a lot done so I feel free and clear to go for my Mouse walk.”

Oh, shit. That was today.

Maybe—maybe that was a good thing. Bex would have someone else to talk to if she needed it.

Emery filled a couple of glasses with juice and grabbed a container of cookies before heading back out to the living room. She set everything down on the coffee table.

Bex’s eyes lit up.  “Oooh, snacks!”

“Yeah, come and have a seat,” Emery said, sinking into the couch and patting the spot beside her. “I wanted to talk to you for a bit.”

“Is everything okay?” Bex slowed down, taking a careful look at Emery’s face before sitting down.

“I think it’s good,” Emery said, trying to back that up with a smile. “And I hope you do too.”

Bex narrowed her eyes at that. She reached out and grabbed a cookie, taking a determined bite out of it. “Alright,” she said. “Lay it on me.”

Emery took a deep breath. This was it.

“I think it’s time for me to start looking for my own place.”

***

Bex

“What?” Bex choked, grabbing a glass to wash the cookie fragments down. “Why?” That was a terrible idea. It was too soon. Why—

“First of all, because I can’t keep living here rent free and mooching off you guys,” Emery said, ticking the point off on her fingers.

That was easily solved. “You can pay rent!” Bex said. “And you contribute! You help out with groceries and stuff.”

“Bex,” Emery laughed softly as she scooched closer. “I also can’t keep sharing your room and hogging your bed indefinitely.”

She did have a tendency to starfish. “I’ll talk to Will,” Bex said, brain already in ‘find a solution’ overdrive. “We could look for a three-bedroom apartment. Or maybe rent a house! Then we’d have a yard for Kol—”

“No! That’s—” Emery held up a hand, sighing. “I don’t want you to upend your life for me anymore than you already have.”

“And I want you to be here,” Bex said quietly. “Where I know you’ll be safe.”

Emery sat back, knitting her fingers together in her lap. She was quiet for a few moments and Bex was about to start backing up her argument when Emery finally looked up at her again.

“I want to be safe too,” she said. “And being here has been amazing, but it’s also starting to feel like…I’m hiding out.”

“You’re not—”

“I know I’m not,” Emery said quickly. She shook her head, smiling fondly at Bex before sighing. “You gave me a safe place to land, Bex, and I needed that more than you’ll ever know.” She pulled her legs up onto the couch and leaned into Bex’s side.

Bex followed suit, resting her head on the back of the couch. “I said you could always come here and I meant it.”

“You really did.” Emery reached out and grabbed Bex’s hand in hers. “I just—I’ve been thinking about this for awhile and now, knowing that Ty’s not getting out of jail anytime soon,” she said. “It feels like the right time.”

She leaned forward, excited and intense and earnest all at the same time. “I want to reclaim my life,” Emery said. “To rebuild it for me. The job and the car have been a good start, but I want—I want to make my own safe space, Bex.”

Bex knew it made sense. She knew it was ultimately a good thing and she wanted Emery to heal and be happy.

But another part of her wanted to scream because what if Ty came back and Emery was alone? What if that happened and there was no well-timed arrival of Jay or anybody and Ty actually made it to Emery and—

She couldn’t even think the words.

Bex’d had her fill this year of the people she cared about getting hurt.

…but it wasn’t about her, was it?

“What are you thinking?” Emery asked tentatively.

“…that it really doesn’t matter what I think,” Bex said, trying to smile at her friend, knowing it was coming across stiff and strained. She extricated herself from the couch and headed toward the door. “I should get going,” she said, pulling her shoes on and calling Kol. “I’ve got to go meet Mouse.”

“Bex.” Emery twisted around on the couch, watching her with dismay.

“I’ll see you in a bit.” Bex clipped on Kol’s leash and left. She knew she wasn’t handling this that well and she had to go before she made it worse.

Before everything spilled over and she blurted out her deepest fear.

What if you go and we lose you for good?

***

Mouse

“—no lead up discussion, just ‘I think I should move out’—”

Ease into things, Bex had said last time. Ask what was new.

“—and I know she makes good money at her job, but rent is so expensive! What kind of place can she find on her own? Are we adding a sketchy neighbourhood on top of everything else—”

He’d asked.

“—I should have been more supportive, but she sprung it on me and was I supposed to lie about how I felt—”

Turned out there was a big something new.

Suddenly there was silence. Mouse glanced over to see Bex shaking her head with a rueful look on her face. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I know I sound completely unhinged.”

“You sound like someone who’s worried about their friend,” he said. Mouse had spent plenty of time on both sides of that equation.

Bex sighed heavily and he gently bumped into her side. “Hey.” Reaching down, he took her hand in his, loosely in case she pulled away; intertwining their fingers when she didn’t. “What can I do? You, uh, you need to vent some more? ‘Cause I’ll listen. Or—or we can talk it out?”

That must have been the right thing to say because she swayed into his space with a ghost of a smile. “Thanks, Mouse,” she said. “I think I’m about out of steam on the venting so I should probably move along to talking it out.”

They walked along for a bit, Mouse waiting, letting Bex collect her thoughts.

“I know she can’t stay at our place forever,” she began. “Like, I do actually recognize that.”

“And it sounds like she’s feels it’ll be a good step for her,” Mouse offered.

“Which is so huge and really important!” Bex’s eyes went as she nodded. Then she blew out a breath. “I need to figure out how to be okay with this because it will be a good step for her and I need to stop freaking out about it. Preferably before I go back home.”

Mouse wasn’t quite sure what the right move was. He’d heard enough about Emery’s situation to know it was bad, but he’d missed most of what had happened with Ty once she’d moved into Bex’s place. Especially the worst of it last week which he would never stop kicking himself for.

He’d felt so guilty that he hadn’t been there for Bex; he’d avoided talking about it with her. But had she been talking with anyone?

“I can’t imagine what it was like when he showed up at your place,” Mouse said. Bex’s shoulders instantly went tense and he knew he was treading a fine line. Something his group had shown him was worth walking sometimes.

“I think even if it’s a good step for Emery,” he said. “It’s understandable why the idea of her moving out would bring up a lot of stuff for you.”

Bex squeezed his hand tight, not saying anything for a moment.

“I just, god—” She blinked rapidly as her eyes shone with tears. “—I think about what could have happened. What did happen and how much worse it could have been? And it’s like, everything goes tight, right here.” She released his hand to press a fist to the middle of her chest. “And all I think about is what I should have done differently and what I should do if it happens again and how I can make sure it doesn’t happen again and I can’t—I can’t stop.”

Jesus. Mouse’s own heart did a hard, painful clench. “That…doesn’t sound fun.”

She let out a wet laugh. “No. It’s not.”

“I’m not the best person to give advice about not putting your own fears on other people,” Mouse said. “It’s, uh, it’s something I’m working on myself at the moment.”

“But you think that’s what I’m doing,” Bex said, staring down at the path.

“Trying to work on it kind of makes it easier to recognize,” he said, reaching out to tug on her hand gently until she looked up at him. “Ed’s always saying that people grow how they need to grow and you don’t have to understand it to support it.”

“I don’t want to get in the way of her being okay,” she whispered.

“It’s important that you’re okay too,” he said.

“Part of me feels ridiculous for even being this upset,” she burst out. “What happened with me wasn’t nearly as bad as what Emery went through and Jay stopped it before—before it could worse so—so I shouldn’t even—”

“No, Bex, no,” Mouse said, stopping their walk and pulling her over to the side of the path. “Don’t do that. Don’t minimize it, okay? I wasn’t even there and I know it was scary as shit. Jay told me. So please don’t do that.”

“I don’t want it to be big.” Bex gave a defeated little shrug. “But it keeps sneaking up on me.”

Fuck it. They might be taking it slow and taking the time to talk it out, but Mouse couldn’t stand there while she looked like that and not reach out.

He put his arms around her and she instantly nestled into the hug.

“Are the lessons with Jay helping at all?”

Bex grumbled into his chest. “Not yet, but I think they will eventually.”

That was good. That was something concrete she could rely on.

Maybe there was something else concrete he could offer her. “You remember my friend, Ed?” he asked and she nodded, her hair tickling his chin. “…one of his jobs is setting up home security systems.”

“One of his jobs?” Bex mumbled, still resting against him.

“He’s, uh, kind of a renaissance man.”

“Wait.” Her head popped up and she leaned back to look at him, arms still wrapped around his waist. “Home security—you think he could help set something up wherever Emery ends up moving?”

“Pretty sure,” Mouse said. “And I know enough about it that I could help and that would cut the costs. Make it a bit more affordable.”

“Mouse.” Bex’s eyes went soft and she ducked back in, squeezing him as tight as she could. “Thank you. That would be amazing. Thank you.”

“Happy I can help.” He was ninety-nine percent sure Ed would be fine with it. A batch of Bex’s cookies could probably tip it over to one hundred.

Bex pulled away, cheeks going pink as she looked everywhere but his actual face.

Right.

They were a little close at the moment.

She moved to step back and almost fell over, Mouse catching her at the last second. “What the?” Bex looked down at their legs where Kol had managed to walk around in a circle, completely entangling them both in the leash.

He sat on the path beside them, a wide doggy grin on his face.

“Seriously, Kol?” Bex groaned.

A sharp bark was the only reply they got and then Kol lowered his head to nudge a stick toward their feet with his nose.

“I think someone’s feeling neglected,” Bex whispered as she began extricating them from the leash.

“Lucky for Kol, my throwing arm is top notch,” Mouse said, picking up the stick.

“Oooh,” Bex said. “Does Trudy know that? She’s gonna be recruiting you for the Grudge Match.”

Mouse snorted. “She’s already measured me for a t-shirt.”

***

Bex

An hour later, Bex shooed Kol into the apartment and then followed, kicking her shoes off as she shut the door behind her. He made a beeline for the couch where Emery was sitting with her sketch book.

“Hey, boy,” Emery said, managing to set her things down on the table just before Kol launched himself into her lap. She shot a careful look at Bex. “Good w-a-l-k?”

“Really good,” Bex said, rolling over the back of the couch to land on the cushion beside Emery with a little ‘oof.’ “He’s making it really hard not to just—” She growled, raising her hands to mimic grabbing Mouse by the shirt. “—ugh, just grab him and kiss the hell out of him.”

“How rude of him,” Emery said mildly, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Yeah. He has other good qualities though.” Bex sighed, sinking into the couch and wriggling her feet under Emery’s legs.

Emery waited her out.

“Will you at least let me help you find a place?” Bex asked.

“Bex.” She reached out to grab onto her leg and shake it. “Obviously. Yes. Please.”

“And will you let Mouse and his friend put a security system in?” Bex held her breath.

Emery looked shocked for a moment before nodding. “That would be amazing,” she said with a sniff.

“Okay.” Bex scrambled up and hunted down her tablet from the bookshelf before flopping down again beside Emery. “Then let’s find you an awesome apartment.”

***

Connor

It took until Friday morning, but his and Will’s schedules had finally aligned so they could go on a run together. Bex had declined to join them. Will said that she’d declared she was going to cut back on her runs if she also had to go to the gym for strength training because ‘there’s only so many hours in the day and I refuse to spend more of them sweating than I have to.’

Connor was worried Will might be bummed out about Bex going on less runs with him, but apparently, he was an acceptable substitute.

They ran together in an easy rhythm as Will filled him in on the latest developments with Emery deciding to find a place of her own. Will and Bex both had a bit of trepidation about it, but everyone ultimately agreed it was a good step. It was great to see Emery coming back into her own.

Will’s little recap though was also reminding him of how hectic everything had been lately. Felt like none of them had had a chance to catch their breath. And there was Will in the middle of it all, trying to support Bex and Jay all while work hadn’t exactly been quiet.

He deserved a break.

And Connor wouldn’t mind them getting more time together with just the two of them.

Not that he was expecting anything!

But having time as a couple now that things were calming down would be nice. Connor started mentally going through his calendar, piecing together when they both had a chunk of time off.

“Do you have any plans tomorrow?” he asked during the next lull in conversation.

“Nothing yet,” Will said, shooting him a sideways grin. “Figured I’d see what you were up to.”

“How about you come over to my place tomorrow night,” Connor suggested. “And I’ll cook you dinner.”

Will slowed down, his grin falling into something softer. “That sounds amazing,” he said. Then a wicked gleam game into his eyes and he leaned in. “And maybe I could stay over…”

***

Will

Find the time to talk. Or jump his bones. 

These were the two helpful pieces of advice his siblings had given him.

Connor gave him the opening and Will figured being spontaneous and leaping in there with his suggestion was a happy medium between those sage bits of wisdom. Judging by the way Connor’s eyes went hazy as he blue-screened a bit; he wasn’t opposed to the idea. Will laughed and started to jog off before a thought hit him. He didn’t want any miscommunication messing up this plan so he had to make sure.

Doubling back to Connor, who still hadn’t moved, Will stepped in close. “Just so we’re absolutely clear,” he murmured. “I’m talking about having sex—”

“Yeah, no, yes,” Connor said, shaking off his stupor. “I got that and yes, that—that sounds like a good plan. I am on board. Yes, please. If you’re sure—”

Will cut him off with a kiss. “Absolutely sure.” He said once they broke apart.

A slow grin spread across Connor’s face. “It’s a date then.”

Will couldn’t wait. In the meantime— “Race you to the lamp post.”

He took off, laughing as Connor cursed and chased after him. Will thought might even let him win this one so Connor could show off his dance moves and make a good day even better.

Click here to read Chapter Six. Click here to read Chapter Seven. Click here to read Chapter Eight. Click here to read Chapter Nine. Click here to read Chapter Ten. Click here to read Chapter Eleven. Click here to read Chapter Twelve. Click here to read Chapter Thirteen. Click here to read Chapter Fourteen. Click here to read Chapter Fifteen. Click here to read Chapter Sixteen.

Click here to read 500 Miles on ao3:

Second A/N: Things get a tiny bit spicy in the next chapter with Will and Connor's date, but as it says in the tags, everything is implied. There won't be anything graphic so I think it'll still fall within the T rating. But please give me a shout if you disagree.

And here is the tag list (let me know if you wish to be added or removed):

@sorry-i-spaced, @thegirlwhowishedeveryonelived, @ivyalmighty, @thewannabewriter, @lexhalstead3, @multifandomgrl08, @sensitivemallysix, @thebewingedjewelcat, @emme-looou,

[d-lanx]

I made the official CM Punk pizzas cos that's what my life's come to, now, I guess

Ok so I randomly remembered that aroud 2011/12 or something, some pizzaria in Chicago made CM Punk pizzas. And they were actual official things Punk himself endorsed.

And since I was bored and had no idea what I wanted to eat tonight I figured I might try the recipes. So I found what they were, got the ingredients, and had a go at making them myself. (I'm no pro chef btw hence why they look a little scuffed).

So, the Anaconda Vice is on the left and has black beans, chorizo, cheese, chopped tomato, spring onion, bacon bits, and fresh leaves of coriander and parsley. The GTS is on the right. It has shredded chicken, sliced potato, swiss cheese and fried onion.

I had to make some substitutions. I used chicken instead of turkey, and the vegan cheese and bacon on the AV wasn't available so I just used regular cheese and bacon. Also just did fried onion rather than french fried onion like the original recipe calls for.

My dough bases were just premade ones since I've never made pizza from scratch before and really wanted this to be edible since I was making this for dinner for my famiy (I did 2 of each pizza). I don't know if I could have done a self made one for my first try but I'll have a go for my next lot.

Overall, they were really good, and I imagine they'd be even better if I made my own base for them. The Anaconda Vice was by far the favourite, especially the black beans on it, and I've already been asked to make that one again in future. But might add fried onion like in the GTS, since I just like onion.

I imagine these being done at a proper pizzaria by people who knew what they were doing would have been amazing back in the day. Sadly I live 3,800 miles away from Chicago and 12 years into the future from 2012 when they last made these (as far as I know) so fat chance of ever getting that.

Overall these were really tasty and definitely worth the effort. Absolutely gonna make these again with my own pizza base. However, I have no idea how the fuck I'm supposed to explain where I got these recipes from to my family without looking like a complete lunatic. It feels weird to say they were wrestling inspired limited edition pizzas from a random pizzaria in another bloody continent.

Btw I've added a link to a post talking about the actual pizzas with pictures and all. I realise mine look nothing like them but I think they just chopped everything up finer and had different proportions of each topping (and obviously on a better base with thicker crust) so it's no big deal.

I'm probably gonna make at least the Anaconda Vice again in future since it went down so well. So if I can make one that looks a bit better than the ones I've done today, I might post them, too and show the improvement. Cos I swear that they tasted better than they looked in my picure.

[nebulein]

Jonny as a wandering soul, a traveler, who went from his hometown in Winnipeg off to college in North Dakota, did a stint in Mexico building houses and that was it, he was gone, the call of the wild world luring him in. He lives everywhere exactly a year, digging wells in Ethiopia, shearing sheep in Australia, working on a coffee plantation in Bali, teaching folks how to surf in Costa Rica, living in an ashram in India. Getting to know the people, the local customs, living his best life. Doing it all for a year, a full cycle, all the seasons and the celebrations, the ups and downs, and then he moves on.

He's just arrived in Chicago working in a pizza restaurant even though he's gluten-free, working dough all day, standing at the giant oven in full view of the patrons, white shirt clinging to his forearms, giant forehead glistening under his white paper cap as he rotates pies in and out of the oven.

Patrick, of course, is instantly smitten, getting elbowed by Sharpy and Shawzy more than once when he can't stop staring at this hunk of a man working the counter today, throwing on cheese with a flick of his wrists that has Pat sweating. Takes him all meal to gather up the courage to sidle up to Jonny at the end of the night while Shawzy and Sharpy watch from the door, Jonny wiping down the counter, Pat's own palms sweaty.

"How long, uh, have you been making pizzas?" God, Pat is the lamest human being on earth.

Jonny looks up, surprised, like he didn't expect Pat to actually gather his courage and speak to him. He musters Pat with dark eyes before his lips quirk up in a tiny smirk. "Two days."

"Two days?!" Pat is getting his leg pulled here. No way did Jonny only learn that two days ago.

Jonny looks smug, flattered by Pat's incredulousness, eyes twinkling like he's laughing at Patrick. "I just got here."

They hit it off. Pat shows Jonny around, to millennium park taking goofy selfies in the bean, takes him to a hockey game even though the Hawks suck but the tickets are cheap, eats more pizza than he has in decades. Jonny is fascinating, full of stories, full of thoughts on life, on spirituality and what it means to be alive, how to do good, speaks with such quiet intensity Pat can't help but hang on every word, his own measly life as an accountant suddenly feeling small and pale in comparison to Jonny's wild stories.

Jonny's pan, because you can't wander the world without opening your mind to all the beautiful people out there (his words, not Pat's), and when he kisses Pat, hand rough with callouses resting lightly on Pat's cheek, Pat's gone hook, line, and sinker.

They all but move in together, Sharpy teasing Pat relentlessly how everything's 'Jonny, Jonny, Jonny' these days, Pat's cheeks blushy when Sharpy smiles and claps him on the back. "You look happy, Peekaboo."

Jonny's hot and funny and so very good with his hands. Pat's in love.

And then Jonny tells him, casual, the two of them curled up on the bed of Jonny's pickup truck, blanket and Jonny's thick arm wrapped around him because Pat gets cold, apples from when they went picking them in the orchard earlier spilling out of the Ikea bags they used to collect them in (Jonny wants to make juice, Pat came for the free food), watching the stars because Jonny is a closet romantic like that, loudly musing where else he wants to go next. Pat's suddenly cold in a way that has nothing to do with the outside temperature, heart heavy in his chest.

They have a year.

[starry-night-rose]

🍕 I need to know everyone's pizza order. For science.

OOOo! Very important science!

I’ve already done Victoria, Gwen, and Stella here!

🍕 - Pizza! How many toppings? Which toppings? All the toppings? Stuffed, thin or regular crust?

Ellis - Ellis is a classic cheese/pepperoni pizza type of gal! Ellis has been a fan of pizza since the first time she ever tried it! Cheese and Pepperoni pizza has always been one of her favorite foods for the longest time! Ellis loves the crust of pizza and finds it odd when people don’t eat the crust of the pizza slice! Ellis is more of regular crust person but would never turn down a slice with stuffed or thin crust!

Ivy - Although Ivy is much more of a sweet person, how could she say no to a pizza! Ivy is a huge fan of margherita pizzas! She just likes the blend of the different flavors! Ivy likes adding different vegetables to her pizza as well like adding a bit more basil to her slice or just add a hint more garnish! Ivy is a thin crust pizza enjoyer! She likes the crunch of it!

Artemis - Artemis loves pizza and finds it always fun to make! Artemis likes more meatier toppings like pepperoni, sausage, ham, etc! Artemis is the type of person to ask someone if she could have their toppings right off of the pizza! Artemis isn’t fond of vegetables though, you will in fact see her taking the vegetables off of her slice before eating it though! Artemis is a thin crust to regular crust type of person as well!

Aimée - Aimée absolutely loves pizza! She likes any toppings on her pizza, so long as no one decides to add a bit of mint garnish to her pizza. Aimée does tend to try different toppings as much as she can. Aimée isn’t one to do the cooking but pizza is one of her favorite things to make! She finds them so simple but delicious to make! Aimée is a thin crust pizza fan!

Hoshiko - Hoshiko is a huge pepperoni fan! Sometimes Hoshiko likes eating the pepperoni on the pizza or she instead takes the pepperoni off of the pizza slice and eats it separately! Hoshiko just really loves pepperoni! Other toppings are fine on her pizzas but Hoshiko does keep to what pizza toppings she enjoys rather than trying new toppings but maybe one day, she’ll try something new! Hoshiko is a stuffed crust person as well!

Hikari - Like his sister, Hikari is a pepperoni type of guy! Is it somewhat basic? Sure is! But hey, it’s really good! Hikari tend to stick to his usual pizza orders but sometimes he does try to experiment with toppings like peppers or olives! Hikari does love pizza and of invited to go out and get a slice, he’ll gladly agree! Hikari likes his pizza with thin crust!

Alice - Alice is fond of the Chicago style of pizza! She finds it to be an interesting dish and enjoys eating it! The last time Alice had this style of pizza however, she got much of the sauce on her face which looked a little too close to a certain bodily fluid.....oh well! Alice is a cheese person so the more melted the cheese is, the happier Alice is! Alice is definitely one for stuffed crust pizza! Just more cheese tasting for her!

Fabian - Fabian isn’t a picky eater so he’s honestly fine with any pizza toppings! Fabian doesn’t have much of a damn about what pizza he’s given, it’s still pizza to him! He’ll gladly eat any topping out there! Fabian is more of a fan of sweet foods but who would ever turn down an offer to eat pizza! Crust wise, Fabian once again doesn’t have a preference but he is fond of regular crust!

Astrid - Astrid is that one person that always has the weirdest tastes in pizza like sausage and pineapple or pepperoni with chocolate! Astrid is well aware of her odd tastes in pizza toppings but she rolls with it! Just don’t put veggies on her slices, she will in fact take them off her slice. Crust wise, Astrid likes regular crust and stuffed crust! Astrid does just love experimenting with pizza toppings and crusts!

[ashtrayfloors]

a journal entry comprised entirely of excerpts from letters & postcards written to friends

(@belialjones and @endreal - don't peek if you don't want spoilers!)

I remember in one of the letters you sent me, you asked what my current inspirations are, and even though they've changed since then, I thought I'd reply. What's inspiring me right now is: the photography of Nan Goldin, the art of Tracey Emin, the novels of William T. Vollmann, John Waters and David Lynch films, and the poetry of Cynthia Cruz, Forough Farrokhzad, and Alexis Rhone Fancher.

I'm currently on a little vacation with my family, up on the peninsula of Wisco. I've been reading a lot and hiking in the woods and going to the beach.

...

My vacation has been great. I've been reading poetry & eating pizza & watching the Perseids meteor showers.

...

I accidentally broke my own heart the other day. I had my 'on repeat' playlist on shuffle and what songs played back to back? Paul Westerberg's "Got You Down," followed by R.E.M.'s "Nightswimming." Fucking oof.

In general, I've been going thru a bout of nostalgic melancholy. What else is new? Haha, but really though. You know, I'm writing about all this stuff for RC #27, and reminiscing about one era of my life inevitably turns into reminiscing about others. And then I was up in Door County, driving down old familiar roads, listening to old familiar tunes, and remembering driving those same roads, listening to those same tunes, getting stoned with my friends circa 1997-2003, and I don't even miss getting stoned but I do miss those friends. I try to have a positive attitude about things changing, but I still get sad driving past places and thinking about what's gone—and more than that, who's gone. And I was thinking about the summer of 2013. And then I was thinking about the summer of 2012 and how that summer I was all nostalgic for the summer of 2006 and how it seemed impossibly far in the past, and then timeghost showed up and was like: "Oooo...2012 was closer to 2006 than it is to nowww, ooo..."

I realized that my whole life, I've been trying to get back to this mythic Perfect Summer that didn't really exist. Right now, I'm missing 2013 & 2012. In 2012, I wished it was '06. In '06, I wanted '03. In '03, I wanted '00; in '00, I wished it was '97, and on and on.

Other than that, I've been having feelings about small towns and Americana. It's kinda weird. On the one hand, I'm a deviant radical queer artist. On the other hand, I love so much Americana. But I think you get it.

...

I've been having hella zine/zinester nostalgia. Next year marks 30 years that I've been making zines. I'm thinking about putting a book together of the best stuff from my first 30 years of zines, and then having a release party w/ local bands n' stuff.

I've been particularly nostalgic for the early '00s Chicago zine scene. I'll never forget that time you and I went to Kinko's late at night to make Xerox art. 22 years ago, what the fuck? I also recently found my Loop Distro/Al Burian Totally Wants My Ass shirt. Oh man.

Recently I was having a bit of an identity crisis. See, I've always thought of myself as someone who gets crushes easily, and as a slut (in spirit, if not always in practice—meaning, even in a monogamous relationship I still have the desire to fuck lotsa people even if I don't act on it). But for a while I hadn't gotten a proper crush on anyone, and didn't really even think about hooking up w/ anyone but my partner. And it was weird! I was like, who am I, if I'm no longer the totally crushed out slut? But then after that, I had a couple sexy online convos w/ queer cuties, and got my flirt on IRL w/ a punk rock fella who lives in my neighborhood, a Scottish fiddle player, and a gorgeous redhead girl w/ a tattoo of a fox, and I was like: Oh. Guess I'm still slutty and crushed out, after all.

[troolyart]

I want more facts about Simon and Stanley! Please?

I gotchu bby, lemme see here...

Stanley loves cats and dogs equally...which means he is a ferret man at heart. If you got this man a ferret, he would die for you.

Coincidentally, this is also why Stanley likes to hang around Liney™ so much.

The only people who know TimeKeeper exists is Curator and Stanley. Stanley is trying to get them to come out of their shell and communicate more.

Simon and Stanley both still have their rings from previous marriages on their fingers.

Simon likes to think things through before doing them. He very rarely does things on impulse.

Stanley is the opposite of that, he is a man driven by impulse. He will eat something off of the floor. Doesn't matter if he dropped it or not, he's eating it.

The first time Stanley realized that Simon wasn't just a voice in his head was when the narrator sneezed and told him that "this place is so dusty."

Simon is technically an only child. I say this only because he may have adopted someone as his sibling. Or rather, he was adopted as someone's big brother. Who's to say. 😆

Stanley will look at someone with disgust if they eat a Chicago style pizza in front of him. How dare you.

Simon's favorite movie from when he was outside the Parable was Harvey.

Stanley loves practical effects in movies, so he used to religiously watch Lord of The Rings at least once a year.

They are both very, very stubborn men. And yet neither of them would admit to wanting cuddles when they first met in person. Eventually they no longer gave a shit and will now sometimes pick the other one up and bring them to a couch or their bed just to snuggle.

No, it doesn't matter what the other person was doing, it's snuggle time now, no getting out of it.

When friends come to visit them inside the Entity, Simon can tell when they arrive and where they are inside the Parable as soon as they get there. He is connected to the Entity, having been there the longest without going completely insane.

Stanley has only ever tried to escape once, but felt such guilt at leaving the Narrator behind, that he forced the reset himself rather than try to get that ending. He doesn't want to leave him. He doesn't even know what's out there waiting for him anymore...or how much the world has changed, if it has at all.

[privateersmokey]

Estinien hasn’t showered in any of his 30 years being alive on Etheris. He smells like warm pennies, dirt, blood, and vast amounts of sweat. The only time he has ever been washed was right after the Final Steps of Faith. Estinien enjoys a very normal pizza. Tomato sauce, pepperoni, cheese (any kind, cause he doesn’t know what they all mean), and some sausage.

Krile and Tataru are both very dutiful in the showering habits. Tataru especially is known for using very bougie shampoo and conditioner.

Both of them enjoy average pizzas. Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and Krile specifically likes broccoli and olives.

Minfillia also showered regularly, but that’s kind of hard for her to do now unless you found swimming in super dense aether a bath. She likes tomato sauce, cheese, and pepperoni, Chicago style, with extra marinara sauce on the side.

Thancred only showers when he deems his hair is finally too greasy. Maybe once every two weeks.

Thancred does not like pizza, and instead will eat whatever toppings people discard or breadsticks. They are really good breadsticks.

Urianger showers often enough, maybe three or four times a week, however it is impossible for him to wash off the old book smell. Forever will he smell of old wood and the oldest possible parchment. He is gluten free, and since Eorzea does not really have any pizza kitchens with gluten free pizza, he typically either denies getting any. However, If anyone offers him a slice he’ll take it and eat it, because he is polite. (He has not told them yet)

No one has ever witnessed Y’shtola with wet hair and lived to tell the tale, yet it is very clear she takes great care and showers often. She gets a pesto base with basil leaves, ricotta and mozzarella, pepperoni, various garnishes, and a glass of wine. She also likes a garlic dip for her pizza crust.

Alphinaud, like a good little lordling, washes often, as to keep up appearances, just as he was taught. Fourchenault once stated that getting Alisaie to take a shower is like trying to move a very large mountain. It will not budge for anything unless you threaten to take away its weapons. Or threaten it with weapons. Whichever is easier. She is sporadic, and is definitely the one who didn’t apply deodorant before entering the band room.

The twins always share a pizza with each other, however they can never agree on toppings, so it ends up being a mishmash of different things. They just take off what they don’t like whenever they grab a slice. Alphinaud is more drawn to slices of ham, pineapple (you ever notice how fucking weird the word “pineapple” is? It doesn’t even come from a tree, therefore it cannot be from a pine, nor can it be an apple, since apples are completely different? So then why is it called a “pine apple???” I really don’t get it), bell peppers, olives, and mozzarella. Alisaie on the other hand prefers a more classic style. Tomato sauce, pepperoni, sausage, with the addition of spicy peppers such as jalapeños (Alphinaud explodes if he eats one).

G’raha showers “often enough,” (whatever that means) but is extra sure to do it before he interacts with the WOL in anyway. He also tends to make sure to always apply the WOLs favorite smelling perfumes and triple checks his hair so that it’s just perfect.

G’raha will have whatever the WOL is having, and if the WOL is not there, he’ll just have tomato sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and sausage, and will occasionally mix in something new just to be “adventurous.” (Do not ask about the hot pepper or the pickle incident).

Lyse, unlike Alisaie, showers on a somewhat regular schedule. Like Alisaie, she is also the one who forgets to apply deodorant. She will eat literally anything on her pizza, and sometimes doesn’t get any just so she can ask everyone else for a slice of theirs.

[hasufin]

QR Code

I want to explain what inspired the “You should have an online presence other than Facebook” post, so you can bask in how Very Much a business can fuck this up.

Last week, my spouse and I were in Wisconsin (”A Drinking State with a Cheese Problem”). Now, while we were visiting their family, it does so happen that my family lives in central Illinois. And we decided that it was high time our respective parents met each other - we’ve only been married for seven years,why do you ask?

Finding an acceptable place to eat was not easy. We were starting from locations ~4 hours apart, and there is nothing in Illinois between Springfield and Chicago. Moreover, my spouse and I are both lactose intolerant, so we were trying to find a place which didn’t cover everything with cheese.

We selected a Mediterranean place in Rockford, which conveniently is where my aunt lives.

I mention this all as background, but relevant.

We went to the restaurant, and were informed that they have a total of three physical menus. But! Each table has a QR code you can scan which will take you to their menu “online”.

I valiantly test this first, being probably the most tech-savvy person present. And hit a brick wall: it’s not “online”. It’s on Facebook. Fucking Facebook.

Let me give you our Dramatis Personae here:

Myself: Tech-savvy, has a new smartphone, can read QR codes. Not on Facebook.

My spouse: modestly tech-capable, has an iPhone (I don’t do Apple KTHX, so if there’s an issue they’re on their own). Does have a Facebook account.

My Father-in-Law: has ancient iPhone, no social media presence.

My Mother-in-Law: has a slightly newer iPhone, I don’t think has Facebook.

My mother: Does have a Facebook account, has a smartphone, but it’s old, janky, and barely functional.

My father: has an old-type flip phone. The kind with a physical keypad. He is unable to text. He is barely able to make and receive calls. He regularly breaks it because he cannot figure out how to use it nor keep track of things like “Do not stick a wet rag in the same pocket as the electronic device”.

My aunt: Even jankier smartphone which needs replaced very badly. Facebook account unknown.

This means that of the seven people present, exactly one is able to access the menu online. And if they have trouble, there’s no one who can help.

And I confess I’m left wondering... what’s the target market here? Many younger people are avoiding Facebook - it’s being referred to as a “Boomer Wasteland”. The more tech-savvy avoid it because it’s insecure as fuck. Older people might be more likely to be on Facebook, but they’re also less likely to be able to use a QR code to access the menu.

I mean, I’m not saying there’s no one who can do this - obviously they’re still in business - but it seems like they’re cutting out something like half their potential customers here, which feels like a bad business decision.

And the funny thing is, while I think a restaurant absolutely should put their menu online, and put it in a simple format without having to download a PDF, if they didn’t do that, well, they’d be in the same boat as something like half the restaurants out there. So many small restaurants just haven’t figured out that marketing and advertising are a crucial part of the business, and that online presence is critical to that.

But this half-assed “We posted it on Facebook, here’s a QR code!” is the worst of both worlds.

Oh! And I forgot to mention the OTHER impressive fail. We were planning on ordering pizza the evening when the entire family could get together. But, again, my spouse and I can’t do dairy. So we want to see if the pizza place offers non-dairy cheese. I go to the website of the pizza place - small chain - and they have a link to the menu. It wants to know my location - makes sense, not all locations have all the same options - but when I select the location, it drops me not into a MENU but straight into the ordering process. And since I was looking before they opened for the evening, it then kicks me out of the ordering process because you can’t make an order before they open. The only way to view their menu is to start an order while they are open!

[ohsilverplease]

I survived the potluck but we’re already talking about doing another one for thanksgiving. I’ll know how to plan it a lot better the next time around though. I ended up with 24 hot dogs and like 8 packs of hot dog and hamburger buns, plus like 8 boxes of plastic utensils, so I might try to drop those off at a little food pantry.

Today I am getting my booster, trying to buy a pair of basic black pants or jeggings for Chicago, returning some boots I bought online that make me look like I have hooves, donating 3 bridesmaid dresses to a formal gown drive, and babysitting my cousins which at their ages (10 and 13) essentially means they eat dinner/don’t kill each other/go to bed. I’m trying to read 3 books a month and I’ve already finished one, so I need to pick out my next one to take along so I don’t have to watch them watch people play video games online. I hope we get pizza for dinner but it will probably be Panera (which is also good!).