#They're my favorite store in Chicago

[chicago-geniza]

Neighborhood Korean grocery store sells their own kimchi with a variety of ingredients. Tragically it uses shrimp. Happily they also make a vegan batch. Vegan kimchi is lighter and sweeter much of the time and it's nice but I do like the pungency and umami flavor that jeotgal provides, and not ALL jeotgal is shellfish. One of my favorite kimchi recipes uses anchovy

[atimeofyourlife]

We've met before, it's different now

written for @steddieholidaydrabbles prompt: modern au | rated: t | wc: 995 | cw: mentions/ fear of transphobia | tags: modern au, tinder au, trans steve harrington, transfem steve harrington, trans eddie munson, transmasc eddie munson, pre steddie, first date, t4t steddie Steph is back in Hawkins for the first time since coming out as trans. Robin convinces her to get back on tinder, where she finds Eddie. He's familiar for some reason, but she can't place why

Steph couldn't place how she felt as she laid on Robin's bedroom floor. It was her first time back in Hawkins since coming out. Since her parents had kicked her out, saying that they would never see her as their daughter, she would have to accept her place as their son, the sole Harrington heir. She'd left with Robin for Chicago, where she could reinvent herself. Become the woman she knew she was. But they were back in Hawkins for Christmas, and Joyce and Hopper's wedding, which was happening early in the new year.

Really, she didn't know how to be Steph in Hawkins. Anyone who was unaware of her transition didn't seem to recognize her, even people she'd been friends with in a different time. She'd been right behind Nicole, a girl she'd once dated, in the grocery store. And Nicole turned and looked her straight in the eye and asked if she was new in town. Mark Lewinsky approached her in the parking lot and offered to take her on a date. And every time someone looked at her, she wanted to make herself smaller. To hide away and put on a mask the way she had in order to survive high school.

Now, she was unsure if she wanted to do anything with her time, or to just hide in Robin's room when she wasn't needed elsewhere.

"Come on. I've updated your Tinder profile with new pics and everything. Even if we just sit here and swipe through everyone. But you never know, you might get something out of it." Robin said, dropping onto the floor next to Steph. 

"Fine." Steph rolled her eyes and held her hand out for her phone. She flicked through the photos Robin had chosen. A lot of her favorites, including a thirst trap from the boudoir photo session Robin had gifted her for her birthday, nothing too risque, everything was covered in a bodysuit, but it was a photo that made her feel confident and sexy every time she looked at it. "Okay, lets do it."

The first few were various guys she knew from school, a couple of girls mixed in too. She swiped left on all of them, not that interested. The first one that made her stop wasn't one she was interested in dating. But she was shocked to see Carol Perkins pop up with her interests set to men and women.

"There is no way Carol fucking Perkins is interested in girls." Robin said from where she was looking over Steph's shoulder as she flicked through the photos.

"Tommy's in most of the pictures. I bet they're looking for a third." Steph said, swiping left. "But they know that no self-respecting woman would get into that mess if they knew Tommy was involved, so Carol it is."

"You told me that you had a threesome with them?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, but that was before I knew I was a woman, and at the time I had very little self-respect." Steph replied, and continued swiping.

Robin had got bored of watching Steph swiping through Tinder, so had moved back to her bed to text Vickie. Steph stayed on Tinder, yet to swipe right on anyone, but then one guy caught her eye. A guy with long curly hair, named Eddie. He seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place him. His bio said that he was in a band and played dnd. There was something about him that made her swipe right. She didn't think anything would come from it, and tried not to think on it.

A few hours later, she checked her phone to see a notification from Tinder of there being a match, and Eddie had sent her a message.

Hi. I don't really know what I'm doing with this. I'm back in town for the holidays, and my friends said I should make a profile to try and meet someone. But you are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on.

Steph giggled and blushed at the message. It took her a while to figure out how to respond.

I'm back in town for the holidays as well. My best friend updated my profile for me and said I should start looking even if I swiped left on everyone. You seem pretty cute, and I would love to hear more about this band you play in?

Steph felt that she and Eddie really hit it off, messaging each other for a while everyday. They talked about almost everything, and were even planning a date at Benny's. But Steph couldn't help feeling nervous. What if Eddie couldn't accept her being trans? What if everything went wrong and she got hurt, or outed, or worse?

She decided on a basic outfit, a comfy sweater over jeans. Feeling that anything fancier would make her overdressed for a date at a diner.  She still felt nervous, but she was sharing her location with Robin so someone would know if anything went sour.

On the date with Eddie, everything felt so real. Time seemed to fly by, and they were talking for hours. She found out that he was also living in Chicago, so they could continue to see each other.

"I graduated from Hawkins High three years ago. I hated everyday that I was stuck there " Eddie said.

"You graduated a year after me, but your profile said you're a year older than me?" Steph asked, frowning. She still couldn't place him.

"I uh. I got held back a couple times. Shit happened. It was a hard time for me."

"I feel like I should know you, but I don't remember you from school."

"The thing is, I've not always been Eddie." He said, looking nervous. "I had a different name, and I looked a lot different too."

It took a moment for Steph to realize what he was implying. "That's okay. I get it, because I've not always been Steph."

[copperbadge]

Hi Sam! hope you are having a great time so far this Dec (it came on too fast) have you checked out the XO Marshmallow or Batter and Berries for the French Toast?

Oh shit, I had no idea french toast was getting so fancy! I used to think it was fancy if it was dipped in crushed cornflakes to make it crunchy :D

I don't normally go out for breakfast because breakfastfoods tend to be the kind of thing I want to cook for myself; I like to cook my own eggs, and I don't usually eat much breakfast meat. Unless I'm having eggs and toast, I often eat very untraditional foods for breakfast (homemade pizza, a hot sandwich, cottage pie, etc). But I do love french toast and it's often what I get when I do go out for breakfast, partly because usually the portion is pretty reasonable and I often have trouble finishing a breakfast if I go out for it.

I feel like maybe I've talked about this before, but until fairly recently I thought XO Marshmallow was a makeup company. It was just so frilly! I wasn't put off by the frills but there are so many makeup/soap companies that market themselves like they're frilly food companies that I just assumed. I certainly didn't know they had a cafe! I'll have to try it out -- I'm not in that area super often but I feel like I'm going to be soon for some reason, and it's not like it's super far to go.

I'd heard of Batter & Berries but their french toast looks off the hook. Their Chicago location is...perilously close to Rotofugi, one of my favorite weird art tchocke stores. I might have to schedule a trip special.

This weekend I'm traveling and next weekend as well, so I was only going to be in the office two days next week; I decided to just take the time off, so I do have two days free in Chicago and I might schedule a field trip....

[soggyriceee]

HELLO SOGGY I HOPE THAT ARE YOU WELL AND DOING GOOD, I WISH YOU THE BEST 💗💗💗

ALSO I LOVE YOUR WRITING SO MUCH, YOURE ONE OF MY TOP TUMBLR WRITERS!!!

I'd love to request a fic with John "Soap" Mactavish, if you are okay with writing him. If not, you can 7se whatever character you think will fit to this!

And my idea is:

Soap finally got his days off the work, so reader wanted to make him a welcome home suprise. He came home very tired, to eat his favourite food that she made him for dinner, and go to sleep with reader. But reader bought a new pajama. A sexy pajama, that instantly turned him on.

Anddd we all know where it goes hehe.

I would really love if this was a soft, gentle smut. They're very happy to finally touching themselves again c:

- 🦝 (That's me :D)

missed you | John "Soap"

yess, guys plzz request more of the other MW2 men I write for all of themmm~ (not edited)

warnings: oral(f!receiving), soft dom Soap, fingering, praise, missionary, cowgirl, breeding kink but like..cutely??? just really romantic, lovey dovey seggs, listener and Soap orgasm twice

you knew what you were doing. wearing the lace pink, see-through lingerie dress, with a light pink matching set. what you loved the most about it, was that flowers were decorated all over. you had white ribbons on the side of your underwear, a light pink flower in the center. your bra had tiny 'John' chain in the center, the cups a lacy pink. it was beautiful.

but of course, you hadn't put it on until you got out the shower. you wanted to have a romantic night with him. you hadn't seen him in 7 months, he was off in Chicago for another mission he had given you little information about. he hated you knowing how many people he'd have to kill.

"dinner was delicious my love." he smiled, kissing your palm, looking into you eyes. your cheeks couldn't help but turn pink, giggling as he pulled away. you had cooked his favorite meal for dinner, wanting to make sure the night was entirely perfect for him. you both missed each other so much, you couldnt help but spend the whole day perfecting your house. and he couldnt help but bring you far too many gifts from Chicago consisting of clothes, food and random items he found in gift shops or stores.

" go shower, I'm gonna clean up before we get too comfortable in the bed." you smiled, standing from the table. "I can help you baby, dont be silly." he chuckled, grabbing his own plate before you could. but no. as much as you loved cleaning with him, you needed a reason to shower and put on the lingerie. " please, I dont want us both to stay up late. for tonight let me clean for you, you go rest and relax. you had a long mission." you said, taking his plate.

thankfully that excuse was good enough. he agreed and went to shower, quietly sad you didnt want to shower with him. aside from the sexual factor of showering together, he truly did just want to have an intimate, romantic moment with you after the romantic dinner you set up for him. but he knew you were a stubborn woman and he wasn’t going to argue with you.

~~

stepping out the shower, you grabbed the towel he had laid out for you, drying your body. successfully, you were able to sneak in the new set, hiding it in the sink cabinet. of course, it worked. why would he look under there anyways?

you pulled it out, examining the new set with a smile spread across your face. John always loved pink on you. it was the color you wore when you met him. you remember it like it was yesterday. and it always brought a smile to your face when you thought about it when he was away.

it was actually pretty funny. you hated him at first. but he fell in love with you the second he walked into the bakery you used to work at. he came in every day, ordering the same coffee with a croissant. and he’d flirt with you the entire time you’d take his order. you of course, being a college student focusing on nothing but your studies and money, paid him no mind and found him pretty annoying. especially with the constant bragging of his muscles.

“you know, when you get off there’s still this ice cream bar open down the street. i think you’d like it.” he smiled, leaning on the counter completely oblivious to the long line of people forming behind him. with a sarcastic smile, you handed him his receipt. “great i’ll check it out. next.” you responded, looking past him.

but he never gave up obviously. it got to the point even your manager was encouraging you to give him a chance. so, the next time he came in, before he could even say anything, you agreed. “okay. let’s go out.” you said, handing him the croissant you already had beside you.

from then on he’s been completely unable to leave you alone, still making his daily trips to your job to see you. and naturally, as time went on, you became equally obsessed with him. that was three years ago, and a year ago, he officially asked you to move in with him.

of course with that came a lot of alone time. with him being away in the military, which was something he had bragged a lot about during his little flirting moments. “i shoot guns and stuff y’know? lots of super hero activities.” he would joke, wiggling his eyebrows to you, despite the blank stare your give in return.

but with time, you got used to it. not fully. nights were the worst. but it got easier. he called you every chance he could. sent you letters that ,sometimes, never ended up getting to you until even after he got back from wherever he was stationed at.

you snapped back from your little day dream when a small knock came to the bathroom door. “my love.. is everything okay?” he asked, twisting the door knob. quickly, you pressed against the door, holding the knob still. “y-yea just looking on my phone. i’ll be out in a second.”

you began to apply the lotion, rushing so he doesn’t actually walk into the bathroom, spoiling the surprise. you felt a bit rushed, and you were praying you looked as beautiful as you were imagining you would. with the last fix of your hair, you walked out the bathroom and into the connecting bedroom.

on the bed, John laid on his back, pillow over his head. it was a technique he told you he learned in the military that helped him and a few others sleep when away from home. but once you walked closer to him, he removed the pillow, sitting up. and his jaw, literally, dropped. “oh my.. "

as you stood shyly at the door, John slowly made his way over to you, his eyes moving up your body slowly before meeting your eyes. "you look beautiful.." he breathed out, his hands moving to grab your waist. " so beautiful."

as he pressed further against you, his hard on became more and more difficult to ignore. he leaned down, pressing his lips to yours. the kiss wasn't rough, but it wasn't gentle either. it was more so passionate. his fingers gripping your waist, pulling you more into him as if that was even possible, your boobs hurting from the pressure. your hands found his cheeks, cupping them as his tongue slid into your mouth.

he began to back away, keeping you on his body. when his legs his the end of the bed, he fell, back pressing to the mattress. your hands found their way on either side of his head, holding yourself up as the kiss continued.

pulling away, he looked up at you. " you look so beautiful I just.. I wanna worship you.. can I do that?" he asked, his hands moving up and down your body, your smooth skin putting him in a trance like state. when you nodded, he smiled brightly, flipping you over.

your head rested on the cotton pillows, your legs being spread apart and John's head in between your legs before you could even realize. his fingers hooked around the waistband of your lacy underwear, dragging them down slowly. he took in how your bare pussy gleamed for him, his bottom lip tugging between his teeth. oh how he'd dreamed of this moment since he got on that plane back home.

once your underwear got to your ankles, he kept them there, lifting your legs to dip underneath them and allowing them to rest on his shoulders. his hands found your hips, pulling you onto his face. yes he was desperate and he for sure was excited. but he didnt know if it was how long he was gone for this time, or just the fact you looked so beautiful, but he wanted to take his time with you tonight. he wanted to make love with you.

the second he felt the heat from your pussy on his lips, he leaned in, sighing in pleasure as he tasted you for the first time in 7 months. your mouth opened slightly, a short breath leaving your lips as he pulled you clit between his lips. his eyes fluttered shut, head resting on your thigh as he gently, slowly made out with your cunt.

"J-Johnny.." you breathed out, fingers finding his hair. that was his favorite. whether it was to simply massage his head or when he was between your legs, he loved the feeling of your tugging his hair. it was peaceful for him.

his tongue slid in and out your cunt, soft squelching sounds coming from it. your head rested on the pillow, back arching slightly off the bed. his hands gripped around your waist tighter, holding you close to his face. it wasn't like you were going anywhere, but he loved the idea of controlling your body movements.

he opened his eyes, looking up at your arched back and slightly open mouth. "feels good love?" he said into your pussy, circling his tongue right to your clit. you nodded, whimpering at the circular movement. he chuckled, continuing exactly that.

your breathing picked up, head lifting to look down at him. he smiled up at you while pulling your clit into his mouth, sucking right back on it. you hadn't even realized it, but his fingers pressed right at your entrance and slowly, made their way inside you. gasping at the double pleasure, your head fell right back onto the pillow.

"oh fuck Johnny.. too good." you whined, your feet now pressing flat on the bed. he felt you trying to pull away from him, but he was far too drunk off your pussy to give you a break. his fingers slowly moved in a "come here" motion, hitting right at your g spot, his tongue moving in circles around your clit at the same pace.

your stomach turned pleasurably, preparing for the first orgasm you'd be having in months. of course, with Johnny being gone you managed to buy yourself toys to keep you company. not even just for that, but also to try and incorporate them into sex with Johnny. but you only ended up using them for maybe a month or two before realizing it wasn't the same as the real thing. it wasn't the same as Johnny.

" look so beautiful love, so beautiful." he whispered, kissing your clit while his fingers continued to move inside you. your slick ran down to his knuckles, only making him harder. he couldn't help but move his hips against the mattress, trying to relieve some of the pain. but it didnt do much. and it only got worse once your legs began to shake on either side of his head.

it was embarrassingly fast you were going to cum. and you tried to think of a billion other things to help you not cum around his fingers and tongue. but Johnny made that increasingly more difficult. " cum for me baby. show me how much you missed me." he moaned against your pussy, grinding faster onto the mattress.

panting, you raised your head to look down at him. that sight alone made your orgasm take over. "I-im cumming.. oh Johnny~" you cried, your legs shaking fingers gripping onto the sheets. Johnny whimpered beneath you, slurping every last but you had to give him. he held your hips down onto his face, helping you ride out your orgasm.

as your legs began to calm down, he slowed down his tongue movements. "j-johhny please" you choked out, trying to get him off of you. but he wasn't budging. his hands sunk around your thighs, squeezing them gently before tugging you back onto his face further. as he did so, his tongue slid right back into your still throbbing hole, sighing as he tasted the sweetness of your juices on his tongue.

your head pressed back into the pillow, whimpering out as he moved his wet muscle in and out of your hole slowly. "missed the taste of you so much.. gimme one more. can you do that for me love? please." he begged between your thighs, taking his thumb to rub at your sensitive, puffy clit. you gave him a weak yes, gripping onto the sheets firmer, nails digging into your palm simultaneously.

his thumb moved in a faster circle, tongue moving to match that speed. "taste so good. love being between your legs." he moaned, shoving his face deeper into your pussy.

your eyes crossed as you felt his tongue rub right against your spongy g-spot, the feeling of his thumb on your clit adding to the sensation. "i'm s-so close.. " you whimpered, grinding your hips on his face. moaning into your pussy, he looked up at you. keeping eye contact, his thumb rubbed faster against your puffy clit.

he didn't even have to say much before you felt your second orgasm take over your body. "thats it baby.. feel good for me." he cooed, sucking gently over your overstimulated clit. weakly, you shove him away, this time successfully. " sorry.. just missed you so much." he smiled, lifting himself up from the mattress.

as your legs stopped shaking, he positioned himself between your legs, rubbing his tip up and down your slit. "did you miss me too my love?" he whispered, looking up into your eyes. your head nodded quickly, pushing up slightly enough for his tip to push inside. a gasp slipped past you both, his hips quickly moving back.

giggling, he moved his hands to your hips. "so impatient. but its okay. i'm impatient to." he whispered before slowly pressing into your tight warmth. your hands were quick to ball up, mouth forming into an 'O' shape. as he bottomed out into you, his forehead pressed against yours. "fuck I missed this." he groaned, pulling his bottom lip in-between hips teeth.

your hands cupped his cheeks, pressing his lips onto yours. the kiss was passionate. not your usual desperate, sloppy makeout. this one was surprisingly slow. slow but deep. your tongues danced together as his hips slowly pushed away and slowly moved forward again. he sped up a tad bit, nothing to the point bed was creaking or shaking. it was a steady, deep speed. one that allowed you both to just feel each other.

his hands roamed your body, cupping your boobs through the bra. you pulled away to look up at him, a smile on both faces. "I know.. we keep saying I-it but.. I missed you a lot." you said, small moans coming from you before the words could. he chuckled at your small struggle, rubbing his thumb against your cheek. " I missed you so much more my love.." he whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to your cheek.

his other hand made busy with your clit, thumb rubbing it slowly and adding just enough pressure to the still puffy nerve. it didn't take long for his finger to get coated in your slick. "so wet.. don't know how long I can take." he moaned, picking up the pace slowly. you weren't complaining about this. and you honestly weren't expecting him to last too long after 7 months of using his hand alone. maybe a DIY flesh light if he even had the time and tools to make one. which you figured was very unlikely.

his balls slapped against the curve of your arse, his head falling into your neck. his moans slowly turned into whimpers and you knew by that alone he was definitely close. your hands wrapped around his neck, his head slowly lifting up. his eyes were hooded slightly, bottom lip again caught between his teeth. "g-gonna wait for you love.. so we c-can cum.. together." he groaned, looking in your face but quickly looking away. but where else was there to look? your face alone was enough to make him finish right then and there, so that wasn't an option. your body was perfect, the way it looked in the lingerie. the way the lighting in the room illuminated your skin and every curve you have. and oh how your moans and whimpers only made his balls tighten.

through all his struggle, he lost the battle and ended up cumming right then and there. "f-fuck..” he groaned, pressing his body over yours, panting into your neck. you smiled softly, running your hands through his hair as he grinds his hips into yours. “i.. thought i’d last a bit longer.” he breathed out. you could feel the heat from his cheeks against your neck.

you tugged his hair, pulling his head up gently. “sit back.” you said, pushing him off you. as he slid out, you fell his cum seep out of your pussy. he lazily sat back against the headboard, looking up at you as you shifted yourself over his semi hard on. you grabbed it with your hand, using his own cum and your juices as lube.

his hips bucked up a bit, still sensitive. “god you so beautiful.” he breathed out, scanning over your body. his hands reached out, pulling you closer into his chest. he leaned in, biting your nipple through your bra. you whimpered, gripping onto him a bit firmer. he smiled, pulling away to look up at you. “sorry.” he said.

rolling your eyes, you pumped him a bit more. when he was fully up again, you rubbed the tip against your folds, humming as the mix of your wetness and his cum covered your pussy. “come on baby.. don’t do this to me.” he whined, thrusting up gently. giggling, you gave into him and slid down onto his length. gasping, you both leaned your heads back.

his hands were quick to find your hips, guiding you up and down slowly. your body’s moved together, filling the room with little quiet skin slaps with a mix of your moans mixed together. “oh fuck Johnny.. love you so much.” you whimpered, looking down at him. his mouth was slightly ajar, eyes rolled back. as much as he did wanna respond, your pussy was too much for him to even process fully what you said.

your slick ran down to his balls, only making his fingers dig deeper into you. gently, he began to thrust up into you. your fingers remained in his hair, tugging on it gently. his eyes met yours, hands still gripping your hips. “so perfect.. your so perfect.” he panted, “w-wanna start a.. family with you.”

at first you thought it was simply the sex making him talk like that. but you remembered how before he left he’d talk about starting a family, what it would be like to be a military dad. every time you both went to the store he’d make a 10 minuet pit stop to look at the baby clothes.

as you processed what he said, you began to feel your stomach turning and you knew you were close. “i love you so much.” he moaned, picking up his pace slightly. his legs very gently began to shake, his head falling into your chest. “come on love make love with me. show me how much you love me too.” he whimpered.

your hips matched his speed, the sound of skin clapping growing louder. you grabbed his chin, forcing him to look up and kiss you. another deep, passionate kiss. for some reason, you loved this type of sex more than the rough “coming back home” sex. you felt like you both were bonding. spiritually and physically. you loved it. and you loved the idea of carrying his baby even more.

“i w-wanna start a family t..too.” you whined, pulling away from the kiss. he smiled up at you, slowing his hips down. as your hips continued to move, you felt yourself coming closer to the end. your pussy pulsed around his length, hands gripping onto him firmer. “g-gonna cum.” you whimpered, moving slightly quicker.

just as you came around him, body shaking and head tilting back, he thrusted up deeply into you, moaning your name out. his head found the crook of your neck, panting into it as his hips thrusted up into you slowly, pushing all his cum inside you. your hips came to a halt, letting him ride out his and your orgasm. “fuck i love you.” he whispered, slumping back against the bed again.

you smiled, resting your head on his chest while he softened inside of you. you both ended up staying like this, discussing the risks of having a baby right now. but also the positives. “i’m ready for this if you are.” you said as he slid out from below you. gently, he laid you on the bed, pressing a kiss to your neck.

“i’m ready to spend the rest of my life with you my love. whatever you want to do, i’ll do. if you wanna have this baby with me, i’ll make it the best and easiest pregnancy i possibly can.” he said, standing from the bed.

smiling at him, you nodded your head. “okay. let’s start a family.”

omg i really hope you all like this😭 i’ve never written a vanilla smut but the idea was so cute it honestly is one of my favorite works. anyways PLEASE REQUEST OTHER CHARACTERS I WRITE FOR ALL OF THEMM

[masterwords]

Hello, do you mind if I ask for a lot at once for the OTPs one? They're just too good to resist 💙

(20) Choose one song that perfectly describes their relationship.

(22) What reminds each of their partner?

(42) What's their favorite type of weather to enjoy together? (getting snowed in together, watching thunderstorms, etc.)

(51) What’s a non verbal way they say I love you?

(48) Who's the better driver? - I feel like having to preface this by saying I mean it ordinarily and not when they're after unsubs probably means it's not Hotch, but...

Also #59 made me lol given the many many conversations had about that particular question and Hotchgan already

Do I mind the chance to go fully feral about them? No, sir, I do not mind at all. <3

20. Choose one song that perfectly describes their relationship.

Oh...oh no. There are so many! ONE SONG?! Okay I'm gonna do two, because there is one that screams them on-screen, and one that screams them in my head. And so you get two.

On screen, I always think about "Trust" by The Cure.

There's no-one left in the world That I can hold onto There is really no-one left at all There is only you And if you leave me now You leave all that we were Undone There is really no-one left You are the only one And still the hardest part for you To put your trust in me I love you more than I can say Why won't you just believe?

And then the Them in my head, their theme song is "Restless Heart" by Peter Cetera. For all the reasons.

22. What reminds each of their partner?

Well, first of all they are both sentimental fools. That's a fact. Sunrises and coffee breath, the sensations of an early morning run. Gunpowder and shredded paper at the firing range. Popcorn and icy condensation pooling on a sticky bar table. The smell of hotel shampoo and dusty air conditioning and the echo of walking down a new yet always the same carpeted hallway every day/week/month. I think they travel so often together that anything has potential to be a reminder - when you do so much life with a person, they are woven into every aspect of it.

42. What's their favorite type of weather to enjoy together? (getting snowed in together, watching thunderstorms, etc.)

I'm going to speak to their older years, when the adrenaline junkies settle down a little and learn how to enjoy moments. LOL While I do think they can find a way to enjoy almost anything together, I think a heat wave has to be it for them. Grilling in the backyard, gardening, drinking iced tea by the gallon. Derek can walk around naked if he's so inclined (and there isn't anyone around to see), Hotch can nap in the hammock, and life is good. But a good snowstorm in Chicago, the kind where you have to dig yourself out of your doorway just to go get your mail, the kind where you drag your kid's sled behind you down to the corner store to haul your groceries home because no one can drive...is a nice way of forcing them to settle down a bit. To just sit quietly in their snow-insulated home, curled up beneath blankets and watching movies or reading books, cooking and sleeping.

51. What’s a non verbal way they say I love you?

Oh you know I'm a sucker for this one. So much of what they do is nonverbal. The things these two can say to one another with just a look. Derek learns how to make coffee the way Hotch likes it, he learns the exact measurements because he might not care that much (coffee is coffee), Hotch does. He would never turn his nose up at caffeine, even terrible police station slop, but there are just certain things that he enjoys and it's a pretty small sacrifice to pull out the measuring spoons in order to see that look of bliss when it's exactly right. And Hotch, touch-starved king, loves to rub Derek's shoulders. And back and feet and whatever else he's tweaked by running full speed into danger.

48. Who's the better driver?

Uh...sorry Hotch. Just because you do most of the driving thanks to your need to control (or your intense car sickness) doesn't mean you're the better driver, it just means you're the boss. LOL I do imagine Derek is actually a pretty good driver. He learned to drive in the congested streets of Chicago, he worked as a cop which meant a lot of driving time, he rides a motorcycle, I bet he's got some very good driving music intuition...I just think he's probably got a very good sense of direction (hello vibing it) and he's comfortable behind the wheel. When boiled down, I just don't think Hotch likes to drive as much as Derek does, like the simple act of driving doesn't bring him pleasure like it does Derek, he simply needs to. And therein lies the difference to me.

AHAHAHAA. Oh...59. That's a hard no from me, dawg.

want me to talk about hotchgan? i will...at length...and hey, if you don't vibe with those questions, ask some of your own. i'll talk about them all day.

[bloody-fate]

tagged by @thechurchofsplatterdaysaints and tagging @phantom-kitten, @berserker-gene, @hellonursevenus, @soft-lunar-rose, @booger-sinclaire, and anyone else who would like to play!

Do you make your bed?

No, life's too short to worry about that or anyone who judges you for not!

Fave number?

probably 77 or 25, this last road trip for work made me realize I'm either an amateuer numerologist or maybe mildly OCD because I'd rather keep the stereo, cruise control, and AC at a number that "feels right" than something more practical

What’s your job?

Coast-to-Coast Construction Goon! In a lot of ways, it's my favorite job I've had so far, but being on the road for weeks can be excruciating. Every job is something new in a new place, so it's hard to get bored, but there's way worse things than being bored such as missing your cat.

Go back to school?

At this point, I don't know what I'd go back for. Def don't have the time or the money but cosmetology school may be cool. I got 3/4s of a journalism degree before seeing the going rate for a magazine editor being a $500 a month stipend and realizing I made that working stoned overnights at IHOP in a week, but! you don't need to go to school to learn something, you just need to go to get a degree and I definitely want to always be learning and growing and expanding my horizons. I believe that you start getting old when you stop being curious about the world.

Can you parallel park?

Oh yeah, spending the better part of your 20s delivering pizzas in Chicago will teach you lots of tricks.

Job you had that would surprise people?

Personal nurse, I guess? Did it through the state for a friend for a year while they were recovering from cancer. I guess it would be surprising only bc it's one of the few non-food or customer service gigs I've had.

Aliens real?

Statistically they have to be, but I don't think they built the pyramids or anything like that because we don't give them any good reasons to stick around and hang out. I believe everything in the world is magic and science is the process by which that magic becomes mundane and that aliens, cryptids, and other paranormal stuff is just stuff we don't have the tools to figure out yet.

Can you drive stick?

I get it in theory but never tried outside of Ridge Racer.

Guilty pleasure?

You're supposed to live life guilt free and seek pleasure in all things, hope this helps!

Tattoos?

Got a lot of em, one of my oldest friends from back home learned how to tattoo on me and is now a bigshot international tattoo playboy. Money was really tight for a few years and now my guy and I are too busy to coordinate an appointment, but I used to go at least once every month. Still got some pieces and spots I wanna cover. Last one I got was a beholder above my left hand!

Fave color?

Purple for so many reasons! It's my mom's favorite too and I love the smell of lavender, love seeing it in flowers and other natural things, love Prince and grape flavored anything!

Fave type of music?

Any and all, but punk has always had my heart and soul. Been going to punk shows since I was a wee babby and worked at multiple record stores, so I'm insufferable. The guitarist from Melt-Banana is probably one of the greatest living musical geniuses. Finally gave The Cramps a fair listen and I really dig them. Also this account believes Utada Hikaru is a living legend! Revisited Godspeed You, Black Emperor recently and I think they're one of the most important bands to ever live. Lately been digging Teengenerate, The Osees, Slowdive, Show Me The Body, and the new albums from JPEGMAFIA and Clairo! Send me your fall playlist and I'll send you mine!!

Do you like puzzles?

Not like putting pieces together picture puzzles, but I get a kick out of riddles and word puzzles. Had a coworker at the pizza place who knew a bunch off the top of his head and I got pretty good at figuring them out. Also sometimes my job feels like a less lethal version of a Silent Hill or Resident Evil puzzle so there's that.

Phobias?

Heights, flying, I have a reoccurring dream of driving up a really steep and narrow bridge that just ends before I can see over the top of the curve and I go over the edge, so I get real nervous and quiet when driving over them in real life in case the dream is prophetic.

Favorite childhood sport?

Skateboarding? not really a sport, but I have asthma what do you want from me? my friends in high school also had this game called Dodge the Bat we'd play whenever we were walking around the neighborhood where you'd take a metal bat and yell "DODGE THE BAT!" before throwing it at a group of our friends and everyone would just scatter. Even less of a sport.

Talk to yourself?

Constantly, though masking in public has helped a constant self-mumbler like myself look way saner lately.

Movies you adore?

So many! The Shape of Water is probably my all time fave and Guillermo Del Toro probably my favorite director. I have a list on my phone of Lucca Certified Horror Bangers. Most recent addition is Profondo Rosso (Deep Red for all you non-guidos out there) after watching it on @thechurchofsplatterdaysaints 's rec and being totally blown away! Must consume more Argento.

Coffee or Tea?

Coffee for the fuel, tea for the taste! Love an iced matcha from Dunkin, current favorite tea is Constant Comment but it changes all the time. I always make a lemon lift + constant comment iced tea in the morning in the once in a blue moon instance work is having me stay at a hotel that has both tea bags and a working ice machine.

1st thing you wanted to be when grew up?

Video game QA tester but really only because I thought it was the only job where you could get paid to play video games, but my years in the work force have shown me you can get paid to play video games at any job if you're sneaky enough.

[friendlessghoul]

So.. This was an Ask I received and accidentally deleted, but they were asking about why the titles were describing scenes, were there missing scenes and how could scenes be missing.

I just want to say I'm not exactly an expert in this but I can try and explain best to my knowledge.

(and oh my god this turned out very long)

There's various reasons why silent films have missing footage. One is just due to the film decaying; nitrate film was highly flammable and if not stored properly would get gunky and film would become ruined in parts. Sometimes they were able to save pieces of the film.

The early motion-picture industry primarily used film stock made of nitrocellulose, commonly called nitrate film. This film is flammable and produces its own oxygen supply as it burns. Nitrate fires burn rapidly and cannot be extinguished, as they are capable of burning even under water.[1] Nitrocellulose is also subject to thermal decomposition and hydrolysis, breaking down over time in the presence of high temperatures and moisture. This decaying film stock releases nitrogen oxides that themselves contribute to the decay and make the damaged film burn more easily. Under the right conditions, nitrate film can spontaneously combust. In part because of substantial variability in the manufacturing of early film, considerable uncertainty exists about the circumstances necessary for self-ignition.[1] Sustained temperatures of 100 °F (38 °C) or higher, large quantities of nitrate film, increased humidity, poor ventilation, and aged or decaying film have all been considered risk factors. Most such fires in film archives have taken place in heat waves during summers, in closed facilities with limited ventilation, compounding several of these variables. Especially in confined areas, such fires can result in explosions. (source)

For the life of me I cannot find this next part of information, but *someone* was helping Buster transfer his nitrate films to preserve them to better film (I think that's what it was) that he had and went to some business for help. The guy flipped at them bringing nitrate films inside, and the guy begged him to do it saying something along the lines of- you see that guy out there? That's Buster Keaton and we need to preserve these films. Feeding them through the machines was difficult and slow because it kept clogging up the machines (and I think broke one?). There was also censorship problems. I noticed was with the Arbuckle/Keaton films, Chicago was either really strict or their records were really well kept. (idk) The Rough House - The Chicago Board of Censors cut the scene showing the theft of beads from the film.

Oh Doctor! -The Chicago Board required a cut of the scene where a man is pulling a women's skirt up to her knees.

Coney Island - The Chicago Board of Censors required a cut of a scene with a girl raising her dress above her knee. The original ending was considered racist by the mid-1920s and was cut from the film. Out West - the Chicago Board of Censors required a cut of the scene of arrows in man's back and their removal, man burning back with gas flames, and the shooting of the bartender.

Good Night, Nurse! - (this ones my favorite) - the Chicago Board of Censors cut, in Reel 1, Arbuckle kicking woman, Arbuckle putting foot on woman's posterior, and Arbuckle pulling dress off woman and exposing her figure. (the woman that Roscoe puts his foot on is Buster)

In the instance of Coney Island, we do have copies of both endings. (they're also on the DVDs). Now we have most of these despite the censorships, but that isn't always the case with other films. Moonshine was very fragmented, there were two types, one that was crisp with missing pieces, and a more complete print that was blurry and looks more like a negative. (there's also a lot of title cards which seems unusual to me)

Daydreams is...a mess.. there's still missing pieces of that film. "A restoration effort in 1995 recovered most of the footage, substituting stills and titles to fill the viewer in on the missing scenes." (source)

During that time, they would often describe the entire film in a review (they apparently didn't care about spoilers), which gives us a better idea of what happened in the films. In this case, Daydreams has a missing scene where Buster is working in a hospital.

Hard luck was a lost film until 1987, but even then they didn't have the ending gag that Buster called the greatest laugh-getting scene of his career. It was later discovered in a Russian archive print, I believe they found that in the mid 90s, and it's distorted (as you can see). There's also other instances like with The Navigator. Often they would preview films to audiences in towns to gauge how the film would perform. If it fell flat (like Seven Chances had) they go back and edit or add scenes. With the Navigator there are mentions in reviews of a scene-

"Then I started fixing the leak, but a school of fish came by, all going in the same direction except one poor little fish who tried and tried to cross their track and couldn't. I, seeing its plight, picked up a starfish, put it on my chest, whistled, and held up my hand at the school of fish. They stopped, I motioned the little fish to cross, he swam by, then I turned and signaled the school to pass on. They all went by, and I returned to the leak." (A Filmmakers Life- James Curtis pg 259),

but in screening the film, the audience didn't react well to it, so they cut it (after several screenings, not understanding why it didn't work). But in trailers, they kept that scene because it worked better. And then there were the fires. MGM had a massive vault fire (1965), as did Fox (1937) (among many others)

The Cameraman was at one point considered a lost film, destroyed in the 1965 MGM vault fire. However, a complete print was discovered in Paris in 1968.[19] Another print, of much higher quality, although missing some footage, was discovered in 1991.[19] The two prints were combined into a version which now is available. (source)

Another case with The Cameraman was- MGM writing department used the film to train new writers as a "perfectly constructed comedy" for decades, even wearing out their print.

There's also stuff about copyright laws (not getting into that), Rohaur, who was trying to preserve Buster's films had to rewrite intertitles, add canned music and alter crucial edits made by buster and his original cutters. (A Filmmakers Life - Curtis pg 616)

SO in ending this..In the beginning of film they didn't know how important these movies would become and they were not exactly taken care of. There are still silent films being discovered in all parts of the world, fragmented, sometimes attached to other films, and in various conditions. There are restoration projects to restore all silent films, and I have seen people raise money to help aid in this. (IBKS accepts donations to help support their nonprofit organization, which includes artifact preservation.)

Uh yeah.. I'm sure this isn't everything, but I hope this helps...

[ordinaryschmuck]

Quick Thoughts on "A Lesson For Your Next Life" from Season Two of--

GOSH DANG IT!

Gosh dang it! It made me think! It made me hope! But they're STILL doing that annoying bit with the title card! CRAP! And they knew they were doing it too with all those teases with characters forcing the word "Inv--

THAT WORD! CRAP...Anyways, this episode's a great start.

For those who don't know, I LOVED Season One of...this show. It's one of my favorite bits of superhero media, featuring great characters and greater stakes. And Mark is definitely up there as one of my favorite superheroes in a lot of ways, with Omni-Man being one of my favorite twist villains. If you want to know my full thoughts, I did a full review of Season One that you can read right here.

And yes, I saw the Atom Eve special. And I will always use that as an example to proof that superhero shows and movies don't need to look ugly and grimy in order to show how dark and realistic their world is. If In--THIS SHOW can tell one of the darkest, grittiest origin stories I've ever seen from a superhero and have her be in BRIGHT PINK, then there's no excuse to take all the color out of Superman's suit just because you wanted to tell a darker story with him.

Anyways, I love this series and I was looking forward to Season Two for TWO YEARS for a reason. And like I said, it's a great start.

The thing about a show as serialized as this, Season Premiers are mostly a direct reaction to the last season's finale, doing a "Where are they now" bit by showing how everyone reacted to what happened last time. There's a lot of great stuff there, primarily through Mark who has trouble coping with the events of Chicago where Nolan went from training his son to TRAINING his son. And...yeah, I don't blame him. Even as an observer, that shit was FUCKED. It DOES stop the episode from standing out on its own, but it still provides great material.

But another job for a season premier is to show what's in stored for this new story, and "A Lesson For Your Next Life" does that by introducing new characters, new threads, and...the multiverse. And that last part is both good and bad timing for this show. Because now the Multiverse is a big trend. The problem is that people feel over-saturated due to people seeing multiverse stuff EVERYWHERE. It can't be helped because this is a storyline in the comics (Yes, I finally read those...SOME of those) and that kind of idea works BEST with superheroes. Still, this is, like...the FIFTH(?) multiverse thing this year alone and I won't blame people for rolling their eyes at yet ANOTHER story. Still, I have high hopes. Just as long as the show gives us something more like Fionna and Cake or Spider-Verse and less Multiverse of Madness or The Flash.

Regardless, everything seems interesting so far, and I can't wait to see what happens next with...this show. It's going to be annoying to deal with that title card, though...

[milkmaidovich]

✨Tag Game Tuesday (so what if it's Wednesday)✨

Well I'm late, but not a week and a half late this time so! Progress! Big thanks for the tags to: @metalheadmickey, @tanktopgallavich, @scurvgirl, @deedala, @mickeyheartian, @stocious, @creepkinginc, and @celestialmickey

Name: kat

whereabouts in the world are you? SoutheasternUS

do you have any pets? 3 cats (Thor, Loki, Sif), 1 dog (Natasha)

what do you do for work? I work in a book store as a bookseller and a sometimes-barista (truly living in my bookstore/coffee shop AU era)

favorite fruit? P E A C H E S. Yellow peaches, specifically, especially when they're a whole ass juicy mess

a pet peeve of yours: people who can't merge or do a 4-way stop correctly!!!!

are you a fast walker or a slow walker? FAST. I'm short and have been surrounded by The Talls my whole life, I learned to keep up

how do you usually wear your hair? Down and curly, sometimes with the front or sides pinned back. It's short-ish and it's easiest to just let it do its thing

sunny days or rainy days? DEPENDS. Rainy in the south, sunny on the west coast

what time do you usually go to bed? 10ish? Sometimes earlier, sometimes later, depending on my schedule the next day

what time do you usually wake up? 6ish mostly, sometimes a little later but not often. I would love to sleep later and be up later, as my natural circadian rhythm skews that way (my early days quarantine sleep schedule was 1am-10am and it was fucking great)

if you were a cartoon character, what would be your everyday outfit? Band t-shirt, Levi's, Docs or Stan Smith Adidas

and finally, tell me something that made you happy recently: booked tickets to do a bff trip to CHICAGO! My bff will be there for work and we're gonna make a long weekend of it and go to MUSEUMS and eat great food (maybe see if we can sign some books at the local romance bookshop while we're there 👀) and it's going to be GLORIOUS, especially since I see her the first week of September for three (3) concerts, a ren faire, an in-person D&D group with our WHOLE PARTY (we play online and live all over the country) and a day-baked-by-her-pool day. Getting to see her AGAIN in November is such a wonderful treat.

No tags if only because I'm late, and everyone has been tagged already lmao but if you havent, consider this your tag!

[aimmyarrowshigh]

I know this is a super broad question, but; I'm in Chicago this weekend for MPCA/ACA and was wondering if you have any recommendations on what I could do in my freetime? Any smaller/niche museums or bookstores or whatever. Anything you think is interesting/nerdy. And food, of course! Food recommendations are always good :)

Oh man, I wish I had less touristy answers to give you, but I live just enough outside of the city that I mostly do touristy kinds of things when I go down there, and I've only been once since the 2020, so a lot of my answers aren't open anymore/didn't survive the pandemic.

BUT: I do have one that's not touristy! If you're into crafting or found objects at all, there's a secondhand crafts supply store called The WasteShed on Kimball Ave. that's very cool. My favorite thing there are the collections of donated old family photos and slides that people just sort of... give away, when someone in their family dies and they don't want to keep the personal effects(?????). I found an amazing pair of gorgeous family portraits from 1928 in Tokyo last time I was there. The family's names, ages, and the date are all written on the back in both Japanese and English. I'm glad those portraits didn't go into the landfill. But I'm a Small History person who loves things like ephemera. They also have tons of stuff for every type of art or craft imaginable!

Greektown also used to be super cool, but I don't know whether it still is. AFAIK the big tentpoles all didn't survive the pandemic, so don't quote me on that one.

I'm also always going to hype the fairy castle at the Museum of Science & Industry. It was created by and for Colleen Moore, the flapper and silent film star, and she used to tour the country with it to show at children's hospitals. It's fucking amazing. There's a 1" actual Guttenberg bible in there. There's a polar bear rug made of mink and mouse teeth. There's mother-of-pearl chairs made from her earrings from the set of a movie. There used to be running water on the Weeping Willow, but they had to turn off the water in the '90s because it was eating through the materials after 70 years. It's truly my favorite dollhouse, and I've seen the Nutshell Studies.

...I also love American Girl Place but that's literally just a me thing. I also sort of hate-love it, because they have Lost Their Way Severely.

I also am a big fan of the Field Museum -- I know, I know, museums evil, but it does genuinely seem like they're trying to course-correct and make amends -- and the Shedd Aquarium (same). You can touch a manta ray. You can see otters. You can smell penguins. I mean, you can also see them, but boy can you smell them. And Sue (the t-rex at the Field) is an unofficial Chicago mascot.

This is a good list of cool bookstores in the city, which I have to say I haven't explored as much as I should. I've been to a ton of cool bookstores in the Twin Cities, New York, and Staten Island, and some in the SF area and Seattle, but I haven't really explored the ones in Chicago too much because there used to be THE BEST children's/YA bookstore in my suburb and it was where I spent my entire life. This list looks like it has good options for many neighborhoods in the city, though, so wherever you're staying there should be something near-ish to you.

Which is kind of the other reason I haven't explored Chicago as much as other cities in which I've lived, despite living here the longest: public transit here FUCKING SUCKS and I hate city driving more than anything in the world. Maybe you'll have a better experience with the L than I ever do, though, so don't let me being terrible at the L put you off trying it out. I just am not good at it. I can do the subway! I can do trams and the Skyway! I can do street maps okay! I cannot do the L. Somehow every single time I try, I miss a stop and have to circle all the way around again.

Ooh, one other fun thing I did in like 2019 in the city was go ax-throwing, so if you want to try that, they have that right near the symphony building. That's surprisingly fun and not scary.

Food-wise, Chicago is full of good food. Pretty much everything I've ever eaten in the city was great, from the popcorn at Union Station (YOU MUST GET THE CHEDDAR AND CARAMEL MIX AT UNION STATION. IT IS THE BEST POPCORN.) to the $600+ per plate price fixe at Alinea (the only good thing I ever got from an ex). I feel like Sam @copperbadge has a more "a la minute" (hyuk hyuk) set of opinions about Chicago dining than I do -- like I said, a lot of the places that I really liked didn't survive the pandemic or they're outside of the city itself.

Oh! And it is sort of touristy but also very nerdy: the International Museum of Surgical Science. There's an exhibit right now about Frankenstein!

Honestly, looking at the MPCA/ACA website, I'm just jealous you get to be doing/seeing that all weekend. I feel like that's the nerdiest and most fun-seeming ticket in town. What are you there to present or see specifically?? I'm so intrigued!

[jaymzeecat]

Hot Dog! (with everything)

I'm in the coughing and phlegm phase of this cold right now... so my brain is admittedly a bit fuzzy. Still, I'm trying my best to sort out my Chicago trip timeline of memories... bear with me.

In the morning we ventured out of the hotel to scare up some coffee, the Funny Bunny took me to the fanciest Starbucks that exists I think. It was like two or three stories and my latte was $10! Hahaha.

After hotel check out we walked a while down to Portillos where I had my first Chicago style hat dag! It was really good, we had 'em with fries. Check in at the AirBNB wasn't until 4:30 so we ended up going to the Funny Bunny's apartment to take this certified Good Baby out for a walk.

I'd only previously ever seen her in pictures so it was great to meet this pupper in person finally. She is so cute. T^T

After getting settled at the AirBNB I think this was the night we went out to the new VeganX Market. I finally got to meet the Funny Bunny's partner (who I'll just refer to as "Bluey" for privacy purposes) who was kind enough to come pick us up. We checked out the little grocery store and picked up some vegan Kit-Kats which I was surprised to see since they're currently only sold in the UK... we didn't realize until after we bought them that they were crazy expensive, haha. Everything at VeganX was, I really hope they're able to lower their prices at some point otherwise it may be unsustainable!

They had a little food court where I got an Italian Beef and mozzarella sticks, everything was good! Vegan mozzarella sticks are always a rarity, haha. I really enjoyed getting to hang out with Bluey too, I really wish I'd had more time in Chicago to get to know them but fortunately we did get to hang out a few more times before I left. They might come out to Portland sometime too so that'll be fun. I'm extra appreciative that they were willing to drive us around so much.

The following day we went to the Field Museum and looked at lots of birds, rocks & gems and dinosaur bones. Being that I'm a bird nerd seeing all those specimens was my favorite part. I also got my first pic of the Adventures in Babysitting building!

Childhood memories achieved! It was mad overcast that morning too, some of the skyscrapers disappeared into the fog...

I think I brought the Portland weather with me, haha (and yes, we got hot dogs from that vendor).

After this we had a nice time in Chinatown and dinner at Veggie House. We met up with Bluey later for some awesome vegan soft serve at Vaca's. They had these bomb looking ice cream pies I really wanted to try but alas we didn't make it back there again before the end of my trip.

I can't recall if it was this night or the night before but we saw a motorcycle accident on the way back to the AirBNB... we discussed back and forth whether or not it was a fatality as the cycler was lying in the street. I think not because I swear I saw his hand moving but we couldn't find any news about it. We witnessed several (unrelated) car crashes and fender benders while walking around Chicago. Anything goes, I guess!

My city observations: How does Chicago compare to NYC (which I've spent a fair amount of time in) and downtown Portland? Chicago is a much cleaner city than either. While NYC as a whole smells like piss and hot garbage Chicago didn't have much of a smell other than city garbage every once in a great while. I was also thankful that there were many public restrooms and bonus they were fairly clean! Chicago definitely gets Jaymz's "Best City" award. *thumbs up*

Also, they have Ricochet Rabbit.

[strawberryblondebutch]

why do u hate the brewers

Is it because Wisconsin is a frozen hellscape

Because my parents live outside Chicago and I went to prep school in Minnesota, I would regularly be exposed to the Milwaukee Brewers Experience, which is... awful.

Brewers fans do not exist. At least, they didn't before 2017. I can't guarantee what happened after, as I am back in the homeland. Instead, you had Packers fans who wanted an excuse to tailgate in the summer. This led to the most sensory overwhelming ballpark I've ever been to. There was no natural ebb and flow of the game. Any dramatic breath holding would be interrupted by the Jumbotron telling fans to "MAKE SOME NOISE!!!" because silence was scary.

On top of that, because these people were not baseball fans (and here, I want to clarify, I am not bashing football fans generally -- I am clarifying that most of the "home fans" just wanted a way to spend the afternoon/evening and had little to no investment in their team), they had no concept of when to cheer. Any batter making contact would be cheered or booed, even the most obvious grounder or lazy flyout.

What really soured me on the Brewers, though, was the organization and the fans' handling of Ryan Braun. Braun was caught doping during the 2011-12 offseason, and his urine sample was dismissed on a technicality. My church organist, actually, was supposed to be handling it, but did not receive the sample until after the post office had closed for the night. Because he had to store it in his fridge overnight, MLB couldn't prove it wasn't tampered with, so the doping case was thrown out.

Braun was not only lauded as a hero who had never done anything wrong in his life ever, but he proceeded to lead a witch hunt against, again, my literal family church organist, with unfounded accusations of antisemitism. He gave a half-assed apology a year and a half later and admitted to doping, but he's still seen as a great Brewers hero.

Other ugly stuff the org has done in recent years include:

Employing known racist and homophobe Josh Hader,

Going to salary arbitration and permanently damaging their relationship with their ace pitcher to save $740k,

And routinely holding the City of Milwaukee hostage, saying "Give us more money for our stadium or we'll leave town"

They're not my least favorite team in the league, that will always be the racist abuse apologist cheapskates in Atlanta, and SFG routinely tries to ruin the sport I love, but MKE probably rounds out the top 3.

[pbandjesse]

I'm at the museum right now for the end of the bowl and oyster roast. And it's been such a fun night. I'm very tired. But not in the normal way. Mostly cuz I have had multiple caffeinated beverages in the last hour.

Today was really nice. I did not go to sleep last night until like 2:00 a.m. I was really sweaty and I couldn't get comfortable. But once I did sleep it was pretty good. I woke up and was not thrilled. James went for a bike ride and I was able to get back to sleep and was in bed until 9:30. James came in bed with me and that's why I wanted for breakfast. I requested an omelette and hash browns. And eventually I got up.

Once I get up I went and decided I was going to wash my hair. James said that I have plenty of time so that's what I did. Make me feel a lot better. I got dressed and felt very cute. My hair is kind of being weird today but it's fine. I probably need to use a clarifying shampoo next time. And I might diet later this week. We will see.

I was tired though. Once we had breakfast I felt a little bit better but I wasn't my best.

But I was really looking forward to spending some time at the art museum with James. We were going to the Walters where I haven't been since I think 2019. And I was really looking forward to it. I was slightly disappointed when I found that the third floor was closed. It has one of my favorite exhibits. But it was closed because they're doing a new install and they took some of the pieces for a special exhibit on the 19th century.

And that ended up being my favorite part of the day. I loved going to Mount Vernon one which is the home part of the building and I like the religious artwork good enough. But it was fun listening to James and talking and James had weird energy. We kept joking that they were let out of their enclosure for a rare Saturday and so their energy was weird. But they were still fun to be around and once we got to the 19th century exhibit I was really excited about the way they curated it. It was all based around themes rather than time period or artist. So they had a section about greenery and peace and more and home and children and animals. And it was just the best. And there was pieces I've never seen before. So that was really cool. And I hadn't really nice time looking at everything.

We were there for a while and once we finished looking at everything we wanted to see me and James decided we would drive over to the craft store so I can get the dye for my resin to try coloring it that way. And then we would go to five guys.

It's kind of a long drive to that Target shopping center. Honestly you could make it to the one on the county and the same amount of time. But we got over there and we found The guy I wanted pretty quickly. I had a good time looking at all the other junk and we ended up finding peppermint peeps on 90% off clearance. So they were 34 cents. And James had a coupon so my dye was only $11.

We went over to five guys next and we ate our food and talked about our honeymoon and things that we wanted to accomplish. Packing goals and things like that. We still need to get our plane tickets for Chicago and that's supposed to be a wedding gift from Brandon and I'm not sure what his plan is but it's making me very stressed out that I don't know yet. It's not until May so we definitely have time but I am still worried. But I'm always worried when it comes to travel. I need everything to be planned so that I don't have to think once it actually happens.

It was the middle of the afternoon though and we needed to be at the museum at 4:00 so I really wanted to get a little bit of rest. We went home and it was very windy. But James decided that they still wanted to go for a bike ride. And I would lay down.

For an hour. And when I woke up I felt kind of groggy but a lot better. I got dressed again and fixed my eyeliner. Tried to get my hair to be less fluffy and then James made a coffee and we headed out.

We got to the museum and everything was already in full swing setup wise. Museum had been closed today so that they could get all of this ready. And we got our instructions and soon we were rolling. I was paired with Deborah's husband Jonathan and we were in charge of the wagon of Cheer. Which is a wagon filled with alcohol. And it was a raffle and people got to bid on it and it was super fun because I got to yell all night trying to get people to buy tickets. And dragging the wagon around and I got very sweaty doing that but it was really fun. We had some time before the event actually started though so I was wondering around and troubleshooting things and trying to help out and I got to see Stanley all dressed up and looking snazzy. And it was really nice. Everyone's great.

Even though they're very stressed. I had one point tonight where someone talked to me a little snappy and I was not thrilled so I just walked away. But everybody else has been wonderful. And Jonathan was nice enough to swap dinners with me so me and James could have dinner together.

The event itself was supposed to start at 6:00 but we haven't early bird in at 5:30. And I was surprised by the amount people that came in that early. Let me and Jonathan stay by the door and we would carnival call getting people to come and buy tickets for the raffle. And then people would head around to actually bid on the auction items. And it was cool seeing all the stuff that people donated. I told Deborah I was surprised no one asked me to donate any art and she was like we didn't even think of that and now they want me to donate art next year. So that's cool.

And for your life had a really good night. People have been wonderful and I've had some really nice talks with people. I've met quite a few board members. I got to explain to them what I do and all of my workshops that I want to leave and that I have been leading successfully for the museum. And I got to talk to some of our friends from around the neighborhood that I know from the market. And some just awesome guests that I got to tell fun facts too. I got to walk around with the wagon which was very heavy but it was fun to pull up and down and just kind of be a good business person. And I had fun

7:30 me and James got together to have dinner. I had a salad and a roll and mac and cheese. I tried to have a pickle but it didn't taste good. Not even sure what the flavor was supposed to be but I did not enjoy it. But mac and cheese was really good and I had a soda and felt a lot better.

Kristen and Brandon were in charge of the other raffle which was a 50/50 raffle and they were a little overwhelmed by how many tickets they had. And they had to tear them all so they brought them to the table that we were eating dinner at and we helped tear them so that they wouldn't fall so far behind. And beyond that I've been having really a lot of fun.

A little bit but we're nine I ended up talking to some people about the museum and my workshops and I got to have some cake. And I did one last walkthrough and had a really nice conversation with a couple. Who said they're very interested in doing my workshops and that was really cool. I was really excited to be done. That it was successful and it was great.

It's after 9:30 now surprise that there is music still happening and there are a bunch of people here. I was supposed to be done at 10:00 and it doesn't look like what's going to happen. So I'm sitting in the back doing this post so that I can go and help clear all the tables off once the people are gone.

And once everything is cleaned up me and James will go home and try to get some rest before they have to wake up at 7:00 to come back here to the museum for the church. And I will work on cleaning the apartment and I have a bunch of selling I need to do. I also want to try some of my bears with the new dye and see what happens. And then I just want to enjoy my day because I have a very busy week this week. I'm lucky this month that even though I'm busy every single day during the week most of my weekends are pretty open for the first few weeks. I tried to build in days off for myself so that I'm not overwhelming my entire person.

So wish me luck and I hope that you all have a great night. I hope you sleep well and you take care of each other. Good night everyone. Until next time!

[inwintersolitude]

- August 15th 2024 -

What was the last gift you received? Several old books from my Granny, as a housewarming gift. She gave me her copy of Gone with the Wind that she's had since the 50s, a poetry book that she has a poem published in, and a nearly 300-year-old book that she bought from one of the bookstalls in Paris (the binding is brown and tattered due to its age, and when I was a little kid I called it "Granny's dirty book" not realizing how hilarious it sounded lmao, so it's kind of an inside joke amongst my family).

Ten years ago, who was your best friend? Are you still best friends now? My husband. And yes we're still each other's best friends.

What are some of your comfort foods? Grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup, Thanksgiving dinner, chicken noodle soup.

What's something that's very popular, that you have no interest in? Tiktok.

What's something that many people would consider to be lame, but you don't? I like watching planespotting livestreams on Youtube, while tracking the flights in real-time on FlightRadar24. Sometimes I get even more nerdy and listen to air traffic control on LiveATC.net.

Have you ever lost your house key? Nope.

How would you describe your clothing style? Somewhat androgynous, smart casual, a bit outdoorsy.

The last time you were in a line, what were you waiting for? Probably a checkout line at the store.

What's your favorite city in your own country? Chicago. Maybe Boston too, but it's been a long time since I was last there.

What's your favorite city in another country? London, or Hamilton (Bermuda).

Are there any very common foods/drinks that you pretty much never consume? Yep, soda and potato chips come to mind. Oh and green olives, that's probably my least favorite food.

What kind of device are you taking this survey on? A MacBook Pro.

What's the most expensive thing you own? My house.

When was the last time you had a package delivered, and what was it? Saturday. It was a remote control helicopter toy that my husband bought off of Amazon for our nephews to play with when they come over to our house. They played with it on Sunday when we had a big family get-together here, and we all quickly realized that they're probably not old enough to play with a toy that flies haha. They pretty much immediately crashed it into the side of the house.

Do you typically respond to text messages right away? Not usually… I actually really dislike texting, and I tend to procrastinate on replying.

What has been the highlight of this past month? Finally getting the family room and the living room put together. We moved the last of the moving boxes into the storage room in the basement, rolled out the new rugs, bought a really nice sectional couch and got it delivered, put up some art on the walls, etc. Life was rough for a while after moving here (one of my birds died and I was too depressed to do anything for a while, and then I got covid and it made my heart condition worse and I was unwell for almost 2 months), so dealing with unpacking and furniture shopping was the last thing my husband and I were worried about. But the house finally looks awesome! Oh and my Granny came to visit last weekend! That was the other big highlight of the past month.

Has anyone ever assumed you were flirting with them, when you weren't? No, I don't think so. I'm very much not a flirty type of person. Sometimes I am, with only my husband, but that's the only time I ever get even remotely flirty.

What types of stores do you enjoy browsing? Hardware stores, home decor stores, little shops with things made by local artisans, gourmet cooking stores.

Did your parents spoil you when you were a kid? Eh, maybe a bit. They still held me to high standards, though, in terms of manners, educational achievement, stuff like that.

Would you rather watch a movie in the theater, or at home? At home. It's way more comfortable, you can pause the movie whenever you want, and you can have whatever snacks/drinks you want.

[certifiableloverbitch]

i really really really really really really really really wanna go back

[mariacallous]

hey! random question but could you recommend some good sources to buy physical books? i use bookshop.org and princeton books (last one discovered through you posting a sale btw, ty!). just wondered if you had any other good sources? really trying not to give amazon much of my money lol

Sure!

Sometimes it depends on what you're looking for, book-wise, but (in no particular order):

-Other university presses (in addition to Princeton) are a good place for less commercial/more niche or specialized books, and can expose you to more thinkers and writers who might not be as well-known or prominent, plus they often have some really good sales and regular discounts.

-I still like and use Barnes and Noble for book shopping, especially for either new notable titles or for a general classic, and they're often the most accessible book store in most places.

-Similarly, I like Half Price Books, both the physical locations and their website, because they have a wide range of books for reduced cost (hence the name) and even new releases you can often get for less than the regular price.

-Your local indie bookseller is always worth checking out and using - the best way to counter Amazon and Barnes and Noble is through them, and even if they don't have a specific book available, they're usually willing to order it for you and they often host readings and other events which are worthwhile and can be used to help organize other efforts.

Some of my favorite indies that I've visited and bought from over the years:

=Magers and Quinn in Minneapolis -Subtext Books in Saint Paul -Zandbroz in Fargo -Pegasus Books in Berkeley -Capitol Books in Sacramento -Politics and Prose in DC -Book Culture (on and off-Broadway) in NYC -Myopic Books in Chicago

-Your local library often has book sales throughout the year and many have a used book or for-sale section, for donated books and retired titles.