#and I will give you a free tortilla chip

[metaphorical-goblin]

ya girl is wearing her writing hat which means she will be writing for at least 30 minutes

[wynnyfryd]

Trailer park Steve AU part 24

part 1 | part 23 | ao3

cw: alcohol, throwing up, brief reference to canonical character death

"Oh, my god!" Robin barks, nearly throwing herself off-balance again with the force of her laugh. "This is too good, man. You truly cannot escape your babysitting duties."

"Can I help you?" Max seethes.

Help him? Help him? "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" She gestures to the guy she's holding onto, some fluffy-haired kid with a cut-off vest covered in safety pins that Steve sort of vaguely recognizes as one of Eddie's friends. Oh, shit. Is Eddie here finally? Has he seen him?

"Wait, where's Lucas?" Steve asks.

"Who cares?" she bites back.

The guy gives a nervous chuckle and loosens his grip on her waist. "Uh-h. Did you say babysitter?"

"He's not actually, Jesus. I'm fourteen; I don't need a babysitter. And he was just leaving, anyway, right?"

Her glare feels like a slap. Girl's got daggers in her eyes, holy shit. It's like she's hoping some of El's powers magically transferred to her; like she's picturing him flying ten feet into the air and landing with a splat on the far side of the concrete, and he doesn't need this. He did not come out tonight to be bullied by a teenager. "Okay, that's it, I'm taking—"

"—me to the punch bowl!" Robin interrupts, putting her hands on Steve's chest to stop him from grabbing Max and hauling her back to the car.

"Robin, what—?"

"Yep!" She shoves him hard, pushing him to the edge of the dance floor. "Silly me, just dying of thirst, ha ha. Okay, cool, see you both later!"

—

"What the hell was that?" Steve demands when they're safely on the far side of the pavilion.

"An intervention."

Oh, my god. May he never hear the word 'intervention' again in his life.

"Un-ruffle your Mother Hen feathers for two seconds and think, would you? One: it would look really, really, seriously weird for you to be seen dragging a dead jock's kid sister kicking and screaming to your car."

A dead jock’s kid sister. Jesus, tipsy Robin has no tact.

"Two: you said we were going to go out and have fun and get, and I quote, 'very drunk.' Take your babysitter hat off for one night. She's a high schooler, and this is a high school party."

"Yeah, I know," he sulks. Doesn't need the reminder that he's technically past the age limit.

"Okay, so then let her have fun! It's not like you weren't out drinking and smoking by her age."

'I'm always so right about everything. I'm, like, cosmically correct.' Goddammit. Steve needs another drink. "I just don't want her to do anything dumb and get hurt."

"She won't. We can just, like, keep an eye on her from a distance, right? Let her come to us if she needs anything."

"So we should just act like your parents?" Steve snorts.

"My parents are amazing, thank you!"

"Your mom offered me mushroom tea once."

"Like I said: amazing."

Steve huffs a laugh, flips his hair out of his eyes and snags a handful of tortilla chips. "Okay," he says around a crunchy bite, "so what's the third thing?"

"Third thing?" Robin asks. She’s not even looking at him anymore, her eyes eager and distracted as she scans the crowd.

"You're biting your lip weird, there's clearly a third thing."

She turns to him, and the smile springs free from its containment, spreading all over her flushed, ecstatic face. "Vickie just showed up."

—

Steve’s hammered.

Whoops.

Didn’t mean to do it; feels a little bad about it as he tips his head up to the sky and all the stars go raining in bright streaks across his vision. Reminds him of the ceiling at Starcourt, nauseous and spinning under a swirl of bright fluorescence. He hopes Rob’s flirting is going well.

He meant to get politely drunk.

A socially appropriate amount.

But then Robin ran off to flirt with Vickie, and Steve was doing his best to just lay low, steer clear of Max and maybe find a way to casually run into Eddie if he could find him, when he spotted the girl he went on that disaster of a date with instead and realized his options were either: stay there by the beer coolers while she came over with her new date and subjected him to the most painful small talk of his life, or retreat to the dark edges of the party with as much booze as he could carry, so.

He's slumped on top of a picnic bench downwind of the bonfire, bad ear ringing, belly full to bursting, trying to remember when one beer became… more than one beer.

Five?

Six, maybe?

Fuck.

“‘M gonna puke,” he confesses to the splintered wood beneath his feet; to the pine bough overhead, the smoky fire at his back.

“Wow,” someone says, an amused lilt to their tone, and Steve knows that voice, he—

Oh, no.

Ohhhh, no.

Now? Really?

Steve whips his head around, opens his mouth to ask ‘Eddie?’ and barfs all over his shoes.

—

part 25

tag list part 1 below the cut, let me know if you want me to add you tomorrow (21+ only, please confirm your age if you're asking to be tagged)

@a-little-unsteddie @ahsokatanoss @aliea82 @alyelf @anne-bennett-cosplayer @aol19 @awolfstudio @bambibiest @bananahoneycomb @bookbinderbitch @bronwenmarie @cheonsazu @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @courtjestermunson @cuips-not-cute @dauntlessdiva @dawners @dontwasteyourchances @eddie-munsons-missing-nipple @eriquin @estrellami-1 @fandomfix8 @gregre369 @griefabyss69 @grtwdsmwhr @hallucinatedjosten @hellion-child @hiimlevi @honoragreyskull @hotluncheddie @jackiemonroe5512 @kas-eddie-munson @kingelyx @lifeisacrisis @littlebluejane @marvel-ous-m @melonmochi @messrs-weasley @milklechee @mrsjellymunson @mugloversonly @munsonslure @nburkhardt @nerdyglassescheeseychick @notsopersonalcharlie @novelnovella @nuggies4life @phoenixtheone @questionablequeeries @runninriot

[gretavanlace]

Here, have a fluffy little Josh blurb inspired by those adorable grocery store pics. No warnings needed. Mini-fluff by gretavanlace?! This may never happen again. Back to our regularly scheduled smut programming later on tonight 💖

“Do you think they have one of those lobster tanks here?” Josh asks, scanning the items lining the shelves as he strolls by. “You know, the ones where they’re alive and you pick the one you want?”

“I don’t know,” you shrug, plucking up a bottle of soy sauce. “Why?”

He scrunches his nose, openly disgusted with your choice. “Don’t get that kind.” He shakes his head and replaces the bottle in the cart with the most expensive offered, instead. “Fuckin’ store brands…”

“You’re a food and beverage snob.” You sigh, more than used to his antics by now. “But, back to before.”

“Hmm?”

He’s moved onto something new in his scattered head, so you steer him back on course gently. “The lobsters?”

“Oh,” recollection illuminates his face, raising his eyebrows adorably. “I just thought we could buy them all. You know, set them free.”

His shoulders rise and fall with a little shrug, cheeks coloring pink when he decides it’s a dumb idea after all. “Where though?” He asks himself aloud. “Not an ocean in sight.”

“We could drive.” You offer with a soft hand on his back, both of you ambling towards the bakery in search of bagels. “Get a cooler. Fill it with water to keep them comfy along the way. Give them names. Toss them into the sea and wave them off. Little rescue mission.”

“Make love in the sand after, to celebrate their freedom.” He adds, bumping his hip against your own.

“Josh!” You hiss playfully, glancing around to see if anyone has overheard.

“What?” He questions a bit louder, pretending to misunderstand. “Did you not hear me?” Louder still. “I said we could roll around in the sand and fu—“

You twist a swift pinch into his stomach through the soft cotton of his shirt. “Joshua Michael, I will leave you in this grocery store. I swear to god, I will.”

Your favorite little giggle is his only response as he tosses a bag of blueberry bagels in next to his uppity soy sauce.

“Do we have cream cheese?” Your gaze flutters towards the ceiling, trying to conjure up the contents of your fridge.

“Just get some.” He’s pushing on now, oblivious to the squeaking, wobbling, mess of a wheel that has been grating on your nerves since he yanked the cart free of its brothers near the entrance. “‘Cause if you don’t, and we’re out, you’ll pout.”

You lose yourselves in the tea aisle for a long stretch. Pointing out different flavors and blends, laughing when he gets animatedly excited by a brand that offers its tea in pyramid-shaped bags rather than the traditional square.

Box after box is added to your spoils until you both begin to wonder where the hell you’re going to store it all.

“We need a bigger place.” He quips, off-handedly. “When we buy a house, I want one of those enormous walk-in pantries.”

Suddenly, and unexpectedly, tears are threatening to spill over your cheeks. He notices right away and stops in his tracks. “What’s wrong, baby? Don’t cry.” His fingers circle around your wrist warmly to tug your hand to his chest. “What is it?”

“Nothing. It’s just…” you duck your head to avoid any prying eyes and brush the tears away. “You think about things like that? With me?”

He tilts his head in confusion, “Like what? Buying a house?”

“Yeah.” You nod, feeling incredibly on display.

“Yeah.” He parrots. “I do. I think about all of those things with you. A house, getting married, babies…don’t you?”

“Yeah.” There’s that word again. You could swear you were both more eloquent at the beginning of this shopping excursion. “Yeah, I think about those things.”

“Things like having a big ass pantry?” He grins, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear.

The gesture, so mundane and small, makes your heart flutter right there next to an end cap display of tortilla chips. How domestic and strange.

It seems like it should feel absurd, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

You feel safe. Intimately warm and protected…like the two of you are all alone even whilst standing in this crowded building filled with strangers milling about.

“And a fireplace?” You smile back, toying shyly with the beads resting around his neck.

“And a fireplace.” He agrees.

[harrywavycurly]

How would Eddie handle a s/o with older brothers?

Hiii babes!! As someone who has 3 older brothers this felt personal 😂 so I just went with that number so hope that’s okay and you enjoy this!💖

*Here we have an Eddie Munson being intimidated by just the idea of meeting your brothers*

“Wait you have more than one?” You look over your shoulder and laugh at the look of absolute horror that’s on your boyfriend’s face. “How many are we talking? Please don’t say like seven or some wild shit like that.” You watch him run a hand through his hair before you turn your attention back to the numerous bags of chips in front of you.

“Just three.” You answer simply as you reach down and grab a bag of tortilla chips. Eddie feels the color drain from his face as the thought of having to meet all your brothers in a mere hour runs through his head. “They are really nice.” You reassure him as you head further down the aisle so you can grab a jar of salsa.

“Nice to you maybe.” You stop and turn around so you can face Eddie as he lets out a huff and places his hands on his hips. “But I’m the boyfriend of their precious little sister.” You take a few steps towards him to you can reach out with your free hand and grab one of his hands and give it a squeeze.

“Eddie I swear they are nice guys, you’ll get along with them just fine.” He knows you’re trying to make him feel at ease and comfortable with the idea of meeting them but nothing is helping because he knows how important you are to him, so he can’t even imagine how your brothers must feel about you. “If I didn’t think they’d like you I wouldn’t have invited them over for dinner.” He lets out a sigh as you lean over and place a kiss to his cheek.

“Are they anything like your dad?” He asks and you just shrug making Eddie groan and close his eyes as he runs a hand over his face. “You’re dad fucking hates me.” You roll your eyes as you let go of his hand so you can go back to picking out a salsa for the chips.

“He doesn’t hate you.” You tell him as you reach up for a jar but before you can reach it you feel Eddie come up behind you and quickly grab it for you. “He just doesn’t know you very well yet.” Eddie chuckles and shakes his head as he hands you the jar.

“Are they as intimidating as him?” You raise an eyebrow at him making him look at you with a weird expression.

“You think my dad’s intimidating?�� Your voice is full of shock making Eddie instantly feel ten times more anxious because you say it as if you’re dad is the most non intimidating man in the world when in reality he made Eddie nervous the moment he met him almost three months ago, and if he’s honest with himself he still does.

“Uh yeah?” You rub your lips together and slowly turn towards the checkout leaving Eddie’s eyes wide as he rushes after you. “What’s that look mean baby?” His voice is almost a whine as you hand the cashier your bag of chips and jar of salsa.

“It’s nothing Eddie.” You look at him and you almost feel bad for how genuinely nervous he looks but you know when he meets your brothers it’ll be fine, they love you and know if they are rude to him in anyway they’ll have to deal with you. “They’re going to love you. Just like I do.” Eddie gives you a small smile as you lean over and kiss his cheek before he reaches for his wallet.

“If you say so princess.” He mumbles as he hands you some money to give to the cashier. “I love you too.” You smile as he places a kiss to your cheek.💖

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #1211: Grocery Conversations (Epithet Erased)

6:12 p.m. Jazzy Grocery Store........

Car Crash: (Sitting in his Truck While Speaking on the Phone) Alright, you got the tortilla chips?

Giovanni: (On the Other Line) Yup!

Car Crash: Nacho Cheese Dip, Sasha, Mild and Hot Sauces?

Giovanni: Yes x4! And just in case our mouths starts blazing up to cinder, I've took the liberties of obtaining a few eligible beverages ranging from orange juice, apple juice, cranberry juice, and milk.

Car Crash: (Smiles Brightly) Nice! (Looks Down at the Grocery List Beside Him) You got list is one step closer to completion. Now all that's left is 16 pounds of ground beef. You remember the brand Crusher told you to buy?

Giovanni: ('Scoffs') Of course! There's no I, your fearless leader of pure EVIL, could EVER forget the very last important instruction that my PRECIOUS giant teddy bear of a man has gracious given me!.....B-But could you uhh...give me brand's name just in case?

Car Crash: (Reads What's Written Last on the List) Wellington's Ground Beef. (Snickers a Bit) Also, Giant Teddy Bear?

Giovanni: Hey! Don't question the pet name! He likes it when I call him that! Just like how I like it when Spike calls me Baby Gi- GAH I-I MEAN! ('Clears Throat') A....Nickname that is only CLASSIFIED for my ears only!

Car Crash: (Chuckles Lightly) Relax, man. I won't peep a word of this to anyone. Just grab what you need in there and get a move on, before Ben starts getting over dramatic about being starved again.

Giovanni: ('Ugh') Don't remind me.....I'll be back before you know it. Keep a look out for anything feds related.

Fred: Will do.

Ends Call

Car Crash: (Sighs Relaxingly as He Slouches Himself Down on his Seat a Bit) What a good, stress free day~ It's nachos and tacos night and I didn't have a single car crash all this month. Can't think of anything that could ruin this momen-

??????: Fredrick?

Car Crash: (Immediately Gets Up and Screams as He Sees......) OFFICER PERCIVAL!? I-I mean! (Quickly Clears his Throat Waving Hello to the Officer With a Bright Awkward, Slightly Terrified Smile on his Face) H-Heyyyy there, officer! It's.....been a while! (Chuckles Very Awkwardly)

Percy: (Smiles Softly) Why, yes, it has indeed been a while. Last we've spoken was during that dreadful forest incident a while back.

Car Crash: Yeah! (Chuckles a Bit More) How can I forget that wacky change of events? (Chuckle Starts Dying Down)

Percy: (Chuckles Lightly) Yes, I suppose the incident itself was indeed "wacky" to some extent. I am happy to see you are unharmed this entire time. (Grabs her Chin While Thinking) Although, I DO wonder how you were able to leave out that area to begin with......

Car Crash: I ran- I-I mean! Walked...and jogged home.

Percy: (Raises an Eyebrow) Is that right?

Car Crash: (Starts Rubbing The Back of his Head Back and Forth) Yeah, it was already getting dark by then and I really didn't want to bother you or the tow truck guys anymore than I should, so I.....jogged myself outta there. Get my legs in top shape! (Let's Out Another Nervous Chuckle)

Percy: I wouldn't have a problem taking you home. But I suppose it was for the best to leave rather than in to wait for me to arrive. (Points her Finger Up in a More Proper, Lecturing Type Fashion) You never know what will happen in the neck of the woods at a nightly hour.

Car Crash: ('Sighs in Relief') Ain't that's the truth..........

Meanwhile in the Grocery Store.........

Giovanni: (Reads the Title I6 Oz Ground Beef He just Picked Up) Wellington's Inc Ground Beef.....(Takes a Look at an Old Jolly Looking Man Wearing Suspenders, Presenting his Company's Logo on the Pack) Hm. He looks more like a Walton guy to me.

?????: Hey-ey! Soup kid!

Giovanni: (Angrily Turns Around to Someone Talking to Him) Who dares call me- (Gasps Loudly as He Seees a Very Familiar Face) Mr. Ramsey!? Is that really you?

Ramsey: (Forms a Cocky Looking Grin While Wearing a Police Outfit) In the flesh. Blue attires never really been my style of choice, but this is a lot more comfortable to wear than those jumpsuits oddly enough.

Giovanni: Yeah, the uniform doesn't blend in with the color of your hair that much. (Quickly Shakes his Head Before Coming Back to the Topic at Hand) B-But wait! You're a COP now!?

Ramsey: Not completely. (Uses his Pinky to Dig Into his Earhole) Or officially for that matter. You see, a lot of other more professional cops have already been occupied with their own cases these days, so given that I know my ways in and out of criminal world, I was assigned to help Percy out for a while. (Founds a Spec of Ear Wax Before Blowing it Out of his Pinky Finger) 'Less I wanna get put back behind bars instead.

Giovanni: Yeesh. (Drops the Ground Beef Onto his Buggy) That couldn't have been a fun time for you at all, huh?

Ramsey: (Simply Shrugs) Ehh. It could get slow at times, but the experience ain't too bad. My partner's a pretty good company to have around, especially when she buys us a box of donuts on our break time.

Giovanni: You get donuts for free? Luckyyyy.......Wait. (Quickly Looks Around Before Leaning Close and Whispers to Ramsey) She's not in here with you, is she?

Ramsey: (Gently Pushes Gio's Forehead Away From Him) Relax, kid. She's waiting at the car. I'm doing her a solid for once and makin' her dinner. (Picks Up Another Pack of Ground Beef From the Meat Isle) It's spaghetti night.

Ramsey takes a closer look at the brand of the ground beef and nods to it before dropping on his basket.

Ramsey: Why the stress? (Starts Smirking at Giovanni) You worried she'll bust you over your Banzai shenanigans or somethin'??

Giovanni: (Scoffs While Turning Away and Crossing his Arms Together) As if! The feds don't scare me as much as they used to, let alone her! And I am certainly not associated with that lame organization nowadays.

Ramsey: (Raises an Eyebrow) Really now?

Giovanni: (Happily Nodded) Yep! (Forms an Evil Grin) You're no longer speaking to a Banzai Blaster's subordinate in front of you. For I am now and will forever will be......VINCENT MURDER!! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Ramsey: (Grabs his Chin) Vincent Murder, huh? (Starts Nodding in Approval) It has a nice ring to it, I must admit.

Giovanni: AHAHAHA- (Abruptly Stops Laughing Before Bringing Out a More Excited Smile) Right!? I spent all day and night coming up with that masterpiece of a villain name. One of my proudest works really.

Ramsey: I can believe that. So, what you've been up to these days, Vincent? Besides, bein' evil or whatnot.

Giovanni: Oh just the usual: scheming, leading the boys, taking care of Mol- I-I mean! Beartrap-s!

Ramsey: You look after literal beartraps?

Giovanni: Yeah! Uh- Tons of them really. Had to get them nice and sharpen for one of my many....future evil schemes of mines (Chuckles More Awkwardly)

Ramsey: (Stares at Giovanni With a Confused Look on his Face) Uhh....Kid? You do know those things are illegal here right?

Giovanni: (Chuckling Abruptly Stops) W-Wait, they are?

Ramsey; Yep. They've been banned for like two or three years now. For good reason too, they hurt. Like. Hell. Everyone knows that. (Crosses his Arms Together) Just like how I know a weak, timid lie when I see and hear one. What's really been going on?

Giovanni: ('Sighs in Defeat') Okay so......Beartrap is a codename of this....girl I've been looking after.....Whom I.....kidnapped.

Ramsey: (Eyes Widened in Genuine Surprise) You kidnapped someone!? Christ, kid, I know you want to be villain that badly, but-Hold on. Are you talkin' about that same little girl that's been missing from the toy store down a few miles from here?

Giovanni: Uhhhhhhhh........Maybeee? (Forms an Awkward Grin)

Ramsey raises an eyebrow at Giovanni in silence.

Giovanni: ('Groans in Defeat') Okay, fine! It was the same girl. But I have a perfectly good reason into doing so!

Ramsey: I'm listening.

Giovanni: She's been working to the bone at that toy store ever since the day her mother died years ago.

Ramsey: (Couldn't Believe What He's Hearing) I'm sorry. They let a TWELVE year old run an entire store all by herself?

Giovanni: Yeah! And get this: her sister and dad, who's ACTUALLY running the whole thing, does nothing but pile up MORE work for her to do! Dishes, laundry, taxes, cleaning up the entire room, you name it and they probably had her do that too.

Ramsey: And they never bothered helping her out or anything?

Giovanni: NO! They just go off to their own make believe, but surprisingly cool looking wonderland while they left that poor little girl slaving away in the store all day, doing all of their work. (Expands his Arms Out in Frustration) With no apperication to boot! ('UGH') Like, seriously! Can you believe this crap!?

Ramsey: In shady workplaces maybe. Can't say I've ever seen this kind of thing happen in a family business though. Especially when a kid is involved......

Giovanni: RIGHT!? She's a kid. Kids should be outside hanging out with friends, playing games, dreading about the thought of doing homework or whatever. Not wasting their remaining childhood away, doing adult jobs and worrying over adult responsibilities, at least not until they before adults themselves. And especially when they have parents that should have JUST as much years of knowledge and learning experience to be doing this kind of stuff already!!

Ramsey: You are definitely not wrong there. But I think you're underestimating how irresponsible and stupid most adults are these days, me included.

Giovanni: Oh, don't pull yourself down like that, sir. (Rolls his Eyes in Annoyance) You're not nearly as frustrating as some of the adults I've met so far in my life......

Ramsey: (Chuckles Lightly) Oh I can be a pain in ass to be around! Just ask all my enemies and former associates alike, they're give ya the full breakdown of my history woth them in a matter of minutes.

Ramsey laughs a little bit more as he reminisces about the good, the bad, and the downright ugliest memories in the past, all combined in a jumbled up ball in his mind before letting out a single sigh and goes back to the original topic at hand.

Ramsey: But in seriously though, kid. You really shouldn't have kidnapped that girl. I know you mean well, but-

Giovanni: ('Sigh') I know. It was still wrong and I'm not the most mature person for the guardian role, but Beartrap deserves a much better life than she originally had- (Pulls his Phone Off his Pocket) and me and the rest of My Boyz are doing the very best we can to provide that for her.

Giovanni then shows Ramsey pictures of all of the memories him and Molly shared in their new lives together so far. Their first breakfast time with Crusher, their first beach party, the first play Molly was finally able to be a part of, all of this and more were fun times to be have in their own right.

But if there's one thing that they all have in common is that Molly is seen smiling on each shot. She truly seemed happy. A lot more so the very moment she took her very first bite of the cinnamon apple raisin waffles her boss had worked hard making her that very morning.

Giovanni: This an awful risky road I'm taking here and I really have no idea what will be in store for us in the future going forward....(Turns to Ramsey with a Determined, More Serious Look on his Face) But I made a promise to myself that I will keep my everyone of minions safe and happy and Beartrap is not even close to being the expectation. So I can't- no. I refuse to back out of this now. Not even that girl still needs someone she could still trust.

Ramsey stares at Giovanni in silence. Obversing the stone cold look in his eyes right in front of him. He always thought this kid was way over his head since the day they've first met in old cell back in the woods, but seeing him so dead over this insane predicament that he got himself into was genuinely surprising, even for him to even attempt to process.

Ramsey: You're really serious about, aren't you?

Giovanni: I wouldn't be standing if I didn't. ('Sigh') But I guess now that you're in the more lawful side-

Ramsey: I won't tell anyone.

Giovanni: -I should probably- Wait. (Eyes Widened in Genuine) You won't? But you're-

Ramsey: (Holds a Finger Up) Hey-Hey-Hey! Remember what i told you earlier? Not an official cop.

Giovanni: Right, right. But why are you keeping this under wraps? (Raises an Eyebrow in Suspension) What's in for you in return?

Ramsey: Nothing! I want to help you out here! With the kindness of myself heart or whatever. (Starts Rubbing the Back of his Head Back and Forth) Plus, I'd rather not break up a nice thing you two are having right now. Which is all the most reason why I am imploring you to be more careful in these streets. The police scene is in an all time high these days and I don't want you or that Beartrap of yours getting caught up in any of this going forward. Got it?

Giovanni: (Stares at Ramsey For a Brief Second Before Nodding to his Request) Loud and clear. But uh- (Turns Both Way Before Turning Back to The Older Man in Front of Him) Do you....by any chance have a walkie talkie on you right now? J-Just wondering!

Ramsey: ('Sigh') No kid. I don't have one on me. (Starts Patting Both Sides of his Pants) See? I have nothing inside my pocket except for my- (Slows Down his Patting as He Felt Both of his Pockets Are Empty) My.....

Ramsey takes both of his Pockets out from his pants. It's empty alright.

Ramsey: Shit!

Giovanni: What wrong?

Ramsey: It's my wallet. I left it back in the car with Pecry. (Gives One Sode of his Pants One More Pat) Along with my phone too-Damnit. Now how else am I supposed to pay for all of this now?

Giovanni: I can pay it for you along with my stuff.

Ramsey: You....sure you wanna do this? The stuff I have in here cost a lot.

Giovanni: (Chuckles Lightly) So are mines! But they're more than enough to pay off considering the hundred and bucks Ben was so gracious enough to give me earlier. (Smiles Softly) Consider this thanks for hearing me out and keeping this whole thing a secret. I appreciate it

Ramsey: (Smiles Back at Giovanni) You're not half bad, kid.

Few Minutes Later.........

Both Giovanni and Ramsey walk out the store together chatting until they spotted Percy standing by Car Crash's truck having a conversation with him.

Not wanting to get caught Ramsey silently instructs Gio to keep quiet and hide behind the back of the truck as he power walks his way to his partner, making good sure she doesn't take notice of the young man's presence.

Fred: (Still Taking to Percy) So you really think I have what itvtakes out there?

Percy: (Happily Nodded) Of course. With enough training and proper education, i believe you could exceed your skills behind the wheel to great heights in this field of profession-

??????: Yo!

Percy: (Turns Around to See her Partner Carrying a Few Grocery Bags in his Hands) Ah, Ramsey. You've arrived. I was just about to head over to the store and hand you your wallet. We're you able to Fina and pay what you were looking for in there?

Ramsey: Yeah. There were a few bucks left in my pocket to use, so it was really no problem in that department. Appericate the thought though.

Percy: (Smiles Softly at Ramsey) Think nothing of it. We're partners now. You scratch my back while I scratch yours, as the saying goes.

Ramsey: (Casually Shrugs) Pretty sure that's the other way around, but whateves. You ready to get outta here?

Percy: (Simply Nodded) I suppose now is a time more than any. (Properly Bows Her Head Down to Fred) I apologize for putting an abrupt end to our conversation for now, Frederick.

Car Crash: (Notices his Boss Slowly Sneaking his Way to the Other Side of the Truck in the Second Rear View Mirror Before Quickly Giving Percy a Reassuring Smile) Oh, no its fine, ma'am. I had a nice talk with you to say the least.

Percy: (Smiles Back at Fred) I do as well. But atlas, spaghetti night calls and I am both equally excited and starving at the moment. Until next time, continue to stay safe on the road.

Car Crash: (Salutes to Percy) Will do, ma'am. You guys have a good night!

Percy gives Car Crash a single nod as both she and Ramsey walk off to their car. The accident prone truck drive watches the step inside their vehicle and drives off before finally opening the passenger's door for his boss.

Giovanni: (Quickly Got into the Truck with Grocery Bags of his Own in his Hands, Sighing in Pure Relief) Ohh God, I've never been more happy to get inside your truck right now!.....

Car Crash: (Turns to Giovanni) About time you got here, dude! I nearly had a heart attack the moment Percvil got here.

Giovanni: ('Sigh') Yeah, sorry about that, bud. I was too busy catching up with an acquaintance that I didn't notice that cop was by your truck that entire time. She didn't interrogate you while I was gone, did she?

Car Crash: Not really? I mean, she asked where I went off to at the woods that day, but other than that, we'd talked about me having potential of being demolition driver someday in the future.

Giovanni: Ooooooh!~ That sounds right up your alley.

Car Crash: You think so too, huh?

Giovanni: Well, duh! You crash your folks cars more times than I've seen Ben lose a game of Street Fighter. (Gives Car Crash a Reassuring Smile on his Face) If anyone has what it takes to be the more fearless demolition of all of Jazz City, it would definitely be you, pal.

Car Crash: I'll give it some more thought, but....(Smiles Back at Giovanni) Thanks, man. You're a great boss and friend, you know that?

Giovanni: (Casually Shrugs) Eh. It's what I do

@aprilbrowines

[laurasinele]

Eurovision Watchparty Switcheroo

I have never cared much about the contest side of Eurovision but for the last decade I've come to appreciate the drama and fun of a final gala watch party in which we all root against our own representatives.

If you, like me, are set on boycotting Eurovision but hate to miss the traditional get-together with your friends to laugh and yell and sing-along around the TV while eating junk food and generally being very stupid, here's some very early stage brainstorming for alternatives.

Re-runs: find older galas recordings, compilations of the best or worst moments, or compile your own favourite bits and watch those instead

The Netflix Eurovision movie, if that's your cup of tea, but make it ARRlternative (if you catch my drift) to avoid supporting the brand.

Make your own contest. Assign Eurovision countries randomly to every guest (probably more than one per person), do your research and present their songs to be voted. This gives you the chance to innovate: you xan chose the actual contesting songs, or other years hits or even just random songs you thought sound cool. Show the videos and have a vote Eurovision style.

A version of the above: instead of Eurovision contestants make it obscure music genres, the winners of year's past, the songs of your favourite musical... The sky is the limit!

Just watch musicals or musical movies. Sing along until your lungs give up. If winning something is a must, vote the better singer and the one that knows most lyrics. Then make them fight over the last pizza slice or guacamole covered tortilla chip.

Feel free to add your Not-Eurovision Watch Party Ideas. As I said this is only a first, temptative brainstorming.

[kushblazer666]

Something that took me way too long to learn that I thought I'd pass along:

"Picky eaters" are, in fact, picky.

When you offer something to eat to someone who has preferences for certain foods, and they say, "No, thank you," it's because they don't like what you've made, or because they like other things more.

It's not because your food is unpredictable, and they don't *know* if they like it.

Here's the thing:

If I make taco soup for a neurodiverse child and they love it, then they believe they love taco soup. The soup has ground beef, a bag of frozen mixed veggies, some beef broth, and taco seasoning. It's served with tortilla chips, and it's tasty.

And if, perhaps, the next time I make it, I add beans and a can of tomatoes?

I think it's excellent that way.

But it's the *same* taco soup as the one they remember. And maybe they can stand the texture of beans, or the acid of tomatoes.

They know that -- they just don’t know that they feel like they've been tricked.

Taco soup isn’t supposed to be one thing, every time.

If I say we're having "tacos" and one time it's chicken and one time it's ground beef and another time it's carnitas, that child can know whether "tacos" are something they can eat.

"Stir fry?" Forget it. Way too few variables.

Bananas aren’t variable.

Neither are apples.

But you know what does have variables?

Amy's frozen enchiladas.

Bread and peanut butter.

Add-hot-water-and-eat instant pho.

Taco Time meal number 8 with chicken, corn tortillas and a root beer.

Frozen gluten-free waffles.

Those are never the same every single time, no matter what.

If, God help me, I make chili mac (or hamburger macaroni, or hamburger helper, or whatever you call noodles and meat and tomato sauce all combined in a pan,) and I make it different every time? Then that child will be able to eat chili mac, even if it's not their favorite food.

Two of my kids went through a phase where they could only eat certain things, and I could always understand why they could love something one day and hate it a week later.

Turns out it's my creative, delicious, never-changing, unadaptable cooking.

I'm hoping this latest child with food preferences will adapt and overcome -- one of my older kids, who was at one point down to a list of six foods, just made excellent gumbo for Christmas and a plate of fantastic stir-fried rice at midnight tonight.

So if you're wondering why your kid wants to eat fast food but not your cooking?

It's entirely possible that it's because they hate your cooking, or because they love fast food.

It's because they don’t know they don't hate fast food. And they're sure they're going to hate whatever you're making.

(Comments, insight, discussion, empathy, as always, are welcome. But please give me advice on children and food preferences unless you have raised neurodiverse children with food aversions, have had to deal with being gluten-free and/or dairy-free for years, and understand the biology and psychology behind texture and taste sensitivities. Anyone who comments anything along the lines of, "Make them eat what's available -- eventually they're break down and eat" will be celebrated. It's like saying, "I know they're a vegetarian, but if they're hungry enough, they'll eat steak and like it." It's helpful and kind.)

Pictured is the very excellent gumbo we had for Christmas dinner.

[dumdumsun]

Wax and Wane

A/N: Welcome back, my luvs! Long time, no see... Oops. So sorry for the long ass wait, babes. I had a lot (and I mean a lot) going on. Many not-so-great times, I'm still trying to sort myself out after several nights of absolutely no sleep. And now I'm back in college, yay... Another big explanation for the lateness is the unfortunate fact that I just don't like s3 all that much, so half the time I was writing this, it was a trekking. That doesn't mean I didn't want to write this, because I did. When I wasn't writing for this, I was thinking about it all the time. And now all I can think about is the s4 book XD.

On the note about Will. Yes, I know, he was confirmed gay. You will see changes in the second chapter, so try and bear through he and Doc being a couple in this first one. I didn't want to make his character gay in my series until it was confirmed by someone from the show. Unfortunately, it wasn't confirmed until after s4 came out so... yeah. You'll be happy to see some changes and I'll be happy to not be labeled as homophobic anymore ❤️

For anyone who was on the first and second taglist, but do not see their handle in this one, plz lmk because it didn't let me tag a lot of you. And if you wanna be added to the list, then also lmk. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this first chapter!

Warnings: non-permanent heterosexual relationship between Will and Doc, mentions of blood and death

Word Count: 5692

—————————————

Chapter One: Suzie, Do You Copy?

Within the woods on a warm summer’s night sat a cabin belonging to Hawkins, Indiana’s finest police Chief, Jim Hopper. The Chief had been spending his evening as he usually did as of late, which consisted of Magnum P.I. episodes with some sort of snack clutched in his hands and shoved into his face in handfuls. His poison for this evening was a bag of Tostitos tortilla chips paired with a jar of salsa.

“Don’t look at the dogs, work the lock.”

He really did try to distract himself from the two teenagers in the other room. He promised that he wouldn’t watch their every move.

“Work the lock. Work the lock. Don’t look at the dogs.”

He was getting better at giving them space. At least, he was working on getting better. Glaring at the television, he threw another salsa-soaked chip into his mouth.

“You looked at the dogs.”

Hopper swiped up his beer can and took a hearty gulp of it. He shouldn’t even think about peeking at them. He promised himself that he would try to make this work. Setting his can down, he wiped his lips free of any alcohol before quickly glancing at the door to El’s room. And that was it. That was all it took. Very slowly, Hopper reclined his chair.

“Sometimes everything goes exactly as planned.”

The workings of his chair creaked the farther back he reclined. In the three-inch sliver between the door and the threshold, he could make out Mike Wheeler sitting on El’s bed, the sound of Corey Hart lowly playing from her radio. Curious, and maybe a bit accusatory already, he leaned back further.

“Sometimes it doesn’t.”

That was when he practically fumed at the sight of the Wheeler boy’s lips smashed against his daughter’s.

“Hey!” He shouted. Startled, the two looked up and El’s hand shot out, the door slamming shut. Angered even further, Hopper shot out of his seat. “Hey! Three-inch minimum! Leave the door open three inches!”

He went to burst into her room, but when he turned the doorknob, he found that it was locked. In disbelief, he jiggled the knob some more. “El, open this door. Open the-” He successfully threw the door open, frown deepening when he saw El sitting at the head of her bed with a look of feigned shock on her face, a book open in her hands. At the foot of her bed was Mike, a comic in his hands and wearing a smug smile.

“What’s wrong?” The boy nearly laughed.

After a hasty getaway, Mike was speeding down the street on his bike, his walkie wedged between his handlebar and his light. “My god, that was priceless! Did you see his face?!”

“It was like a tomato.” El laughed through the walkie.

“Yeah, a fat tomato.”

“I wish I was still with you.”

“I know. Me, too. But I’ll see you tomorrow, alright? First thing.”

“Tomorrow.”

With a smirk, he pedaled harder. After some time, he was beginning to see the neon lights of Starcourt Mall up ahead. The shopping center had become the ultimate location for the residents of Hawkins to shop, eat and seek entertainment. It was the usual spot for the Party to unite and spend time together. Minus El, for she was still keeping her head down for another six months before she was free to become a member of society.

At the sound of another pair of tires against asphalt concrete, Mike looked to his left to see his sister rolling up next to him on her own bike. Although it had been nearly seven months now, Mike was still adjusting to the changes he saw within Doc. Yes, she obviously was getting older, they all were; her hair had grown out even more over the months, her facial features were gaining structure and losing their babyness, she was definitely getting taller, though he did like to tease that in the future their height would settle and he would tower over her still.

“You’re late again.” He smirked, the girl widening her eyes with a grin.

“So are you.”

“Where’ve you even been?”

“Well, I was at the pool all day with the girls, but we went back to Brenda’s with her mom.”

That was another change Mike was getting used to. As if a flip had been switched, Doc had suddenly started spending much more time with Brenda and Sheriece. He noticed that in the past, she was so worried about being in the Party that the two girls would be sidelined and nearly forgotten, only receiving Doc’s attention when Mike would shove her aside and exclude her. Once she was welcomed in the Party, she spent even less time with her friends.

Lately, though, ever since the spring, Brenda and Sheriece were the only words coming from her mouth. Every weekend, she was either sleeping over at their house or Mike was covering his ears at night to muffle their giggles when she would host a sleepover. He was glad his sister was balancing her friend groups, but he wondered if she would be able to breathe air being away from the two of them. They had quite the influence on her as well.

Growing up, Doc never came across as the “girly” type, but now all she cared about were her looks. In the past, he could count on his hands how many times he’s seen her casually wear a dress and now, right beside him, she was wearing a denim overall dress on top of a yellow blouse. Instead of her signature black-and-red rollerskates were a pair of white converses, yellow socks peeking out. She hardly ever wore her skates anymore.

“I’ll race you there.”

“You’re on!”

He sometimes missed his sister, but he knew that she deserved this happiness. That wasn’t to say she never spent time with the Party. It was just that when she did, she was a bit distant. Mike knew that part of the reason Doc was pulling away was because of what happened last November. When Will had been possessed by the Mind Flayer, she used an excessive amount of power to save him, El closing the gate and ending it all. At least, that was the theory the two of them came up with. They couldn’t think of any other reason her power would vanish like that.

In the following months, whenever she was around the Party, it seemed like her smile stretched just a bit too far and that her laughs were a little forced.

Arriving at Starcourt Mall, the two rode through the parking lot littered with cars and moving people before they reached the bike rack near the entrance, Doc triumphantly reaching it first. Though, the victory was short-lived when she saw three figures standing there expectantly.

“You’re late.” Lucas crossed his arms as the two hopped off their bikes.

“Sorry.” She whispered.

“Again!”

“Sorry!” Mike sighed as Max came up behind her boyfriend.

“We’re gonna miss the opening.” Will chided.

“Yeah, if you guys keep whining about it. Let’s go!”

Lucas mocked his friend's words as the Party followed Mike into the mall. When she caught up to Will, Doc threw her arms around his shoulders and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Missed you.”

“Yeah,” He quietly chuckled, gently patting her hands. “Missed you, too.”

Doc giggled and pulled away enough for just one arm to be wrapped around him, Will moving a hand to the middle of her back as they tuned in to their friends’ conversation.

“Let me guess,” Lucas teased. “You were busy.”

Mike cringed at the kissy noises his friend made. “Oh, yeah, real mature, Lucas.”

“‘Oh, El, I wish we could make out forever, and never hang out with any of our friends’.”

“Lucas, stop.” Max sighed.

“Will thinks it’s funny.” He motioned to said boy, who was snickering next to his girlfriend.

“Because it is.” Will agreed, Mike rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, it’s so funny that I want to spend romantic time with my girlfriend.”

Amused by his sarcasm, Lucas wrapped an arm around Max’s shoulders and pulled her close. “I’m spending romantic time with my girlfriend.”

Doc chuckled at Max’s attempt to keep her growing smile at bay, but it was no use. At her laugh, Will looked over at her, receiving a quick peck to the lips, the tips of his ears burning a bright red in response. As the five hurriedly moved through crowds of people with hushed apologies, Will tried desperately to keep up with Doc, who was pulling him along with her by the hand.

If tallies had to be kept, Will would have the most out of all the Party members to spend the most time with Doc. This was foreseeable since the two had been inseparable for the past year and a half. Through thick and thin, the two of them remained a couple. Even the moments when Will couldn’t even remember his girlfriend. When Doc wasn’t with Brenda and Sheriece, you could find her in Castle Byers with her boyfriend, the boy coming up with D&D campaigns while she talked his ear off about what new designs she was brainstorming. And yes, even those times were brief compared to what she gave the two girls.

“Hey, watch it!” A girl shouted when Mike stumbled into her.

“Yeah! Watch it, nerd!”

The Party’s attention was brought to Erica Sinclair, sitting and enjoying ice cream cones with her posse. Doc always did admire the girl’s spunk, which was much more than Lucas could say.

“Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“Isn’t it time you died?”

“Psycho!”

“Butthead!”

“Mall rat!”

“Fart face!”

With nothing else to quip with, Lucas stuck his tongue out at her and blew a raspberry before Max grabbed him by the elbow. “Oh, now that was mature.” She scolded before pulling him with her and the others into the Scoops Ahoy ice cream parlor.

The place was full of customers, as per usual, but no line was formed at the register. Mike led his group right up to the very disinterested employee. She wore a red, white and navy blue sailor costume with an embarrassingly adorable sailor hat atop her light brown bob. With very intense eye contact, Mike annoyingly rang the bell at the counter repeatedly.

“Hey, dingus, your children are here.”

Behind her, the glass doors slid open to reveal The Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington in a similar costume, his luscious locs concealed by the sailor hat. With an unimpressed look, he leaned on the counter. “Again? Seriously?”

Mike rang the bell one more time in response.

Disgruntled, Steve led the five kids to the back of the parlor and opened the door for them. One by one, they all filed out and into the hall. “Come on, come on.” He urged them. “I swear, if anybody hears about this-”

“We’re dead!” They called back. With a heavy sigh and a shake of his head, Steve returned to work, the door closing behind him. Those kids would be the death of him one day.

Within the halls of the theater, the employee door opened, Mike peeking his head out and looking around. “All clear.” He nodded, pushing the door open and quickly leading his friends down the hall until they reached a theater next to a poster advertising Day of the Dead. The Party was lucky enough to find five empty seats in two of the middle rows. Doc, Mike and Will took the open three while Max and Lucas took the two in front of them. “See, Lucas? We made it.”

“We missed the previews.” He whispered back.

“Still made it. Fart face.” Max playfully snickered, her boyfriend making a face at her before they were shushed by a stranger.

As the movie started up, Will opened up his backpack and passed smuggled snacks to his friends in front of him. He then turned to his right to pass some to Mike, then to his left to Doc, earning a sweet smile from her. Silence fell over the audience as the screen brightened with the opening of the movie. Doc didn’t recognize the actress she was presented with, (her mother would easily tell her it was Lori Cardille) but the opening scene already disturbed her.

The way the woman sat alone in a white room, staring at a calendar, surfaced so many unwanted memories to Doc’s mind. Faint memories of a white room where she would color, or where she would perform tests for Dr Martin Brenner, or when the guards would punish her for failing. She tried her best to keep them at bay so that she could enjoy the movie, but the chilling music accompanying the film didn’t help. Absently, her hand found Will’s and their fingers intertwined and locked. Sensing her unease, he gave her a comforting squeeze.

Before the movie could progress any further, the audio slowed to a stop as the screen went dark, sending the audience into a fit of groans and dissatisfied exclamations. Unbeknownst to them, this had happened with every other theater and spread to the entire mall. Lights vanished, fountains fell, escalators and mini-carousels came to abrupt stops. When the power outage reached Scoops Ahoy, Steve snapped his head up.

“That’s weird.” He hummed, strolling over to the light switch and flipping it down, then up, then down, then up, then down, then up-

“That isn’t gonna work, dingus.” His coworker rolled her eyes.

“Oh, really?” He challenged, flicking the switch even faster, much to her annoyance.

The outage reached the rest of Hawkins, bathing the entire town in darkness. A presence loomed over them all. It was a presence that was banished, but not defeated. It promised destruction, it promised bloodshed, and it promised a meeting with a certain group of young teens.

It was a presence that Doc couldn’t feel, even if it was right in front of her.

Within seconds, Hawkins brightened and Starcourt was neon once again. The lights returned, the fountains sprouted, and people jerked forward with the sudden movement of the escalators and carousels. At Scoops Ahoy, Steve had just flicked the switch up when the parlor lit up once again. He smugly shrugged at his coworker and returned to the counter.

“Let there be light.”

In the theaters, the crowd erupted into cheers when the projector came to life and brought their movie back to them. Unlike everyone else, though, Will’s smile began to fade. That presence, though Doc couldn’t feel it, was still there. And he could definitely feel it. His body stiffened as he reached a hand to graze the goosebumps formed on the back of his neck. The cheering around him was swallowed by a memory of November.

He tried to run. The sort of shadow being, rising tall enough to tower over everyone, everything. The sky lit up in a frightening red as the storm brewed behind the creature. No matter how fast he ran, it was always right there. Even as he screamed, it came nearer. And nearer. Until it had nowhere else to go but within him, forcing its way into his being.

And another memory.

Will and Doc’s screams filled the room as the dark entity flooded out of every place in the boy’s face it had entered before. It swirled up to the ceiling as a way to collect itself, and when it was done, it bolted out of the cabin, crashing through the door.

“Hey.”

Will let out a startled gasp and ripped his hand away from his neck as he turned to Mike’s concerned eyes. He gave his friend a quick once-over. “You okay?”

Will blinked. “Y-Yeah.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.” He nodded. Hesitantly, Mike turned back to the screen. Will let out a slow breath and moved his gaze over to Doc, who hadn’t even noticed his current state. She was just like that recently, very unaware, a bit inconsiderate. In this case, though, he was grateful for it. He didn’t want her worrying. She was finally happy.

So, he held her hand tighter and went back to watching the movie.

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

Nancy shot up in bed, heart hammering in her chest.

“Shit!”

She hurriedly reached over to her wrist watch on the nightstand and widened her eyes at the time. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!”

“Wh- What’s wrong?” Jonathan sat up beside her, tired and discombobulated.

“It’s almost nine.”

“What?!” He moved his blanket to see that his alarm clock blinked twelve o’clock.

“We forgot to reset the clocks. The power went out last night, remember?”

Cursing aloud, Jonathan scrambled out of bed with his girlfriend and hurriedly got dressed. After slipping on his shirt, he dived across the other side of the bed to reach his pants, falling to the ground as he tried to shove his legs in. Nancy got dressed much faster than him and hurried to his window. Her purse flew outside, then her shoes before she hopped out the window to make an escape to the car. Jonathan was in the process of finishing the last couple buttons on his shirt as he walked out of his room.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Joyce rushed over to him. “Wait up.”

“Oh, no, I’ll eat at work. I’m late.”

“No.” She reached up and used her thumb to wipe away the kissy mark on his face. “Your cheek.”

With an embarrassed chuckle, he moved her hand away and backed into the living room. “Alright, alright. I gotta run.”

“Alright.” Joyce threw her hands up in surrender.

“See you later.” He called out before he disappeared out the door.

“Ugh. Gross.” Will muttered as his mother returned to the kitchen table.

Joyce snickered. “Oh, don’t be like that. You and (Y/N) can be gross sometimes, too.”

He stiffened as he twisted the top off of the syrup. “We are not like that.”

“You might be when you’re older.” She nudged him as she picked up her fork to resume her breakfast. Will irritably sighed.

“I doubt that.”

“Okay.” Her attention was brought to the mess on the floor in front of the fridge. “Hey. What happened here?” She asked as she rose to her feet and walked over to the papers and magnets in a pile on the floor.

“I don’t know.” Will shrugged and returned to his food. Joyce sighed and crouched down, sticking papers back onto the fridge. When she got to the last one, a bittersweet smile graced her features as her heart swelled in affection. Pursing her lips to suppress a tremble, she stood back up and hung the drawing Will had made of a true hero back in its rightful place.

Bob Newby. Superhero.

On the road, Jonathan drove as fast as he could with Nancy hurriedly doing her makeup in the passenger seat, eyes glued to her mirror. “Can you please drive faster?”

“Do you wanna break down?” He tried a smile as he patted the dashboard. “We’re lucky this thing still drives at all.”

“I’m serious, Jonathan, I can’t be late.”

“You mean we can’t be late.”

“No, I mean I can’t be late. They like you no matter what you do.”

“Hey, they like you, too.” He gently patted her knee.

“Yeah. They like that I’m a coffee delivery machine. They don’t actually like me or respect me as a living, breathing human with a brain.”

Once again, he tried gently rubbing her leg in a comforting manner as he gave her another smile. “Hey, you just gotta be patient, okay? They’re set in their ways, you know? But… once they realize what a gifted writer you are, they’ll come around.”

“I really don’t need a Jonathan Byers pep talk right now.” She snapped. “Can you just… please, drive faster?”

He sighed, speeding up the car the best he could. “Okay…”

Crossing their path on the other side of the road was a car belonging to Claudia Henderson. Beside her in the passenger seat was her son, headset on as he repeated the same phrase.

“This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over.”

Not even a second later, he tried again.

“This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over.”

His tone grew irritable and impatient.

“I repeat. This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over.”

Then, he snapped.

“I repeat. This is goddamn Gold Leader-”

“Dusty!” Claudia scolded.

“What?!”

“Relax! For goodness’ sake.”

“I’m in range. They should be answering.”

“You’ve been away a whole month, honeybun.” She shrugged. “Maybe they just… forgot.”

Just in her tone, he knew his mother didn’t want to say it. Maybe because she knew there was some truth to it. Mike and El were together, Lucas and Max were together, Doc had lots of exciting things going on, a new mall opened up. Everything was changing while he was gone, but he didn’t think it would completely wipe the memory of him from his friends’ minds. They had to remember he was coming home. 

They had to remember.

After his mother dropped him off at home, he made a beeline to his room. With a defeated sigh, he plopped his duffle bag on his bed and sat down beside it, burying his face into his hands. His first day back and he had no plans to spend time with any of his friends. His face brightened just a bit when he noticed his beloved Yertle, comfortably in his new terrarium.

“At least someone’s happy I’m home.” He quietly chuckled. Suddenly, a robotic voice startled him into a standing position. Every toy in his room that moved or made noise sounded and grouped together in the middle of his floor. His R2D2, his chimp that banged its cymbals, his toy tank that made shooting noises, all of them. He looked even mildly offended when one of his toys spit little rings at his chest.

This wasn’t right. None of this was. He began panicking, hoping that he wasn’t making yet another strange discovery having to deal with supernatural powers. He noticed that his toys were filing out of his room and into the hallways. So, quickly thinking, he grabbed his choice of weapon off his desk.

The Farrah Fawcett spray never failed him before, and it wouldn’t now.

Dustin let the weapon leave the room before him, stepping out into the hall and cautiously following his line of toys. “It’s just a dream.” He told himself. “You’re dreaming.”

Behind the wall that separated the living room and kitchen stood Max, her back against the wall as she stealthily watched Dustin follow the toys in the living room. She turned to Lucas, who stood next to her. He grinned and turned to Doc, who turned to Will, who turned to Mike, who turned to El.

“Now!” He whispered. El opened her eyes, blood dribbling from her nose.

All at once, the toys powered down in the middle of the living room. Confused, Dustin ran over to them and knelt down, lifting them up one by one to examine them. His friends silently crept up behind him, noise makers ready in their mouths, Lucas holding a banner they all made that read WELCOME HOME DUSTIN.

As Lucas properly held up the banner, everyone looked to Max. She excitedly held up her fingers to signal them.

One.

Two.

Three.

At once, everyone happily sounded their noisemakers, but they immediately stopped when Dustin fearfully screamed and spun around, assaulting Lucas’s eyes with his hairspray.

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

“Cannonball!”

Happy cheering, splashing of water, and chanting of ‘marco, polo’ brought the joy that radiated from Hawkins’s public pool. If there was any other place in town that was as lively as the mall, it was the pool. It was the perfect spot for parents to cool off while letting their children blow off steam, all while socializing.

And socializing Karen Wheeler did. She sat perched upon her lawn chair, a romance novel in one hand and a coke can in the other, the tip of her straw stained pink with her lipstick. On either side of her were some of the other stay-at-home mothers of Maple Street. She was so engrossed in her novel that she almost didn’t catch what the woman beside her said.

“Ladies,” She tilted her sunglasses to the edge of her nose. “She’s coming down.”

Upon seeing Heather Holloway descend her post on the lifeguard’s chair, the four straightened their posture, checked their hair, got into seductive poses, and turned to the pool shed.

The door opened to reveal Hawkins’s heartthrob, Billy Hargrove. His shirtless body glistened in the sun, his gorgeous blond curls moved with the very light breeze, his dazzling blue eyes were concealed by his sunglasses sat on the bridge of his nose. After discarding his cigarette, he began his stroll towards his chair. His gaze scanned the entire area in search of anything he had control over. It was his shift, this was his turf, and he called the shots.

He knew every girl in Hawkins had eyes on him, but that wasn’t his focus at the moment. There was something at this pool, something not quite right, that he needed to take into his hands. Catching sight of it, his whistle that sat around his neck and on his chest was lifted to his lips before he blew into it. Instantly, the entire pool went silent and everyone’s attention was brought to a chubby little boy who was caught red-handed, running around the pool. At the sound of the whistle, the poor victim froze in his spot.

“Hey, lard-ass!” Billy bellowed. “No running on my watch! I gotta warn you again, and you’re banned for life. You wanna be banned, lard-ass?”

Timidly, he shook his head.

“Didn’t think so.”

And, with a blow of his whistle, the pool unpaused. Only this time, the little boy walked away with his head down. Satisfied, Billy continued his stroll. When he noticed the Maple Street Mothers, he nodded to them in greeting. “Afternoon, ladies.”

“Afternoon, Billy.” They seductively responded in unison.

“Dig the new suit, Mrs Wheeler.” A small smirk quirked on his lips.

“Thank you.” Karen grinned.

Billy turned the corner before climbing the small ladder and taking place on his throne. It was a safe distance away from the mothers to gawk and drool over him without him noticing. But he knew they were, and they knew he knew, and they loved it. A nice piece of meat didn’t come often in Hawkins, so it was only logical that the eager women would feast their eyes upon him any moment they could.

The woman of the Wheeler residence was lucky enough to get him in her house last fall when he was looking for his stepsister. She had hardly been wearing any clothes upon their first interaction and the way he looked at her sent her skin blazing. She was never able to quite shake that feeling he gave her, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to. He was brilliant, he was beautiful, he was powerful and he knew it.

And Karen Wheeler was all in.

From in the pool, a head of chocolate brown hair surfaced from the water. Brenda wiped at her face to clear her vision. “How long was that?”

“Ugh, look, girl.” Sheriece mumbled, her eyes glued to the mothers. “That is so gross.”

“I know.” Brenda rolled her eyes. “Could you imagine the look on (Y/N)’s face if she saw the way her mom was staring at Billy Hargrove?”

Sheriece sadly sighed. “I miss my friend.”

“Me, too,” The brunette floated on her back. “But she can’t be here, she’s celebrating Dustin.”

A moment of silence sat between them before they started giddily giggling about the Henderson boy.

In a much quieter and vacant part of Hawkins was the downtown area. With the opening of Starcourt Mall, many small businesses had closed down, much to the townees’ distress. The only form of business that was lively in the downtown area was The Hawkins Post. Which was Nancy’s current destination.

She tried to calm her breathing as she sped down the sidewalk to her place of work, a brown bag clutched in one hand. She checked her watch again and again worriedly as she sped up her pace. She could not be late. She could not.

Entering the building, she quickly and politely set down sandwiches on the desks of the writers, the ladies thanking Nancy as their gazes hardly left their work. Her next stop was the darkroom. As usual, she completely ignored the warning sign and pushed the door wide open. Jonathan, bathed in red like the rest of the room, frantically turned to her.

“Oh, no, no, no, no! Nancy!”

“Sorry.” She whispered and set his sandwich down. With an eye roll at his dramatic behavior, she shut the door and headed for the lion’s den. Pushing open the glass door to the conference room, she began passing out sandwiches to her superiors all sat together at the table as they passed around ideas for the front page of the paper.

“How about a piece on Iran?”

“I want something local.”

“I hear there’s a beauty pageant at the fair this year.”

“Yeah, I’m looking for above the fold here, Bruce.”

“Then clearly you haven’t seen Lucy Lebrock,” Bruce cupped his hands at his chest to mimic breasts. “...because I’m not sure she’ll fit above the fold!”

The men erupted into laughter, Nancy cutting a look to Bruce as she set his sandwich down for him. “Fellas!” Their boss called out. “In six hours, we go to print. I need something real.”

“Oh, I think they’re real.”

As the men laughed again, Nancy paused at the door. She had no more sandwiches to hand out. She wasn’t needed here anymore. But she so clearly was. These men didn’t know the first thing about stories worth reading. At this point, she wouldn’t be surprised if the headline of the paper read about some missing dog on a cul-de-sac. Inhaling deeply, she dove right into untrifled water.

“What about Starcourt?”

The room went silent as all eyes were on her, some eyes on other parts of her. She tried to ignore it as she continued. “I-I was just… thinking…” A deadly thing for a woman to do. “I mean, I know everyone loves the mall, but… how many small businesses have closed since it opened? Like, five on Main, at least. It’s changing the fabric of our town in a way-”

“‘The Death of Small-Town America’.” Bruce pitched a headline idea, receiving a hopeful nod from her. “I like it. I like it a lot. But I think I’ve got something even spicier. It’s about… the missing mustard on my hamburger!”

Once again, the room exploded into laughter as Nancy’s eyes flitted away defeatedly.

“You think you can follow the clues and solve the case of the missing condiment, Nancy Drew?” He mocked above the laughter.

“Sorry.” She whispered and took the sandwich back. Breathing in through her nose and out her mouth, she threw the door open and hurried out of the room as Bruce taunted,

“Look out, Phil, she might be after your job!”

At the Henderson residence, Lucas had his head in the kitchen sink, warm water running over his assaulted eyes. He winced and hissed in pain as he slowly stood up straight, slowly blinking as he tried to regulate his sight. He’d kill Dustin for this.

“Better?” Max asked in front of him.

“Still stings.” He sighed out. Blinking some more, his vision began to clear as he noticed a red dot on his girlfriend’s forehead. “Is that a new zit?”

Max widened her eyes and grabbed hold of the back of his head. “What is wrong with you?”

“I was just asking!” He screamed out in pain as his face was shoved back into the stream of water.

In Dustin’s bedroom, the boy was excitedly showing off his contraptions he had gotten from camp. He was currently showing off a device that resembled a windmill, using his other hand to crank and spin it. “I call it the Forever Clock. Alright? Powered by wind. Very useful in the apocalypse.”

He handed it off to Doc, who held one side of it, Will holding the other. They both stared at it in wonder as Dustin took out another contraption. This one was a hammer with several objects stuck to its handle.

“Then I give you…” He pressed some sort of button that made the hammer shake. “...the Slammer.” He chuckled as El, attached to Mike’s arm, moved away from it. Doc and Will were only partially paying attention, Doc attempting to make the Forever Clock move by blowing on it, Will watching her in interest.

“Pretty neat, huh? But this…” He put the Slammer away and picked up his duffel bag, grunting as he plopped it on the ground. They knelt down with him, Doc putting the object in her hands off to the side. “...this is my masterpiece.”

He unzipped the bag with a grin on his face. “I would like you to meet… Cerebro.”

The four stared at the millions of pieces within the bag. Nothing was formed, which made it hard for them to understand what Dustin was showing them. “What exactly are we looking at here?” Mike voiced their confusion.

“An unassembled one-of-a-kind battery-powered radio tower.”

The room did not match the enthusiasm Dustin possessed. Will slowly nodded. “So, it’s a… a ham radio.”

“The Cadillac of ham radios. This baby carries a crystal-clear connection over vast distances. I’m talking North Pole to South.”

“That’s actually pretty cool.” Doc shared a nod with her boyfriend, who looked on his other side to see that Mike and El were still not impressed.

“It’s more than ‘pretty cool’, Doc. With this baby, I can talk to my girlfriend whenever and wherever I choose.”

Now there was something that got their attention.

“Girlfriend?!”

—————————————

Taglist: @yurtletheturtlehenderson @sapphicsyn @alexa-j-f @inthemourninglight @that-one-multifandom-chick @ariyabella @lonelywitchv2 @bilesxbilinskixlahey @frogserotonin @mymomsdisappointment @hewwofriends @billieissad @get0ut0fmyr00m @143kae @satsuri3su @thegirlwhowishedeveryonelived @unordinary-simp @raquel12 @roman0ffsheart @jjjennyxii @hereiamhereigo @wizardsgrace @meowiemari

If you want to be added to the taglist, lmk ❤️

[thessalian]

Thess vs Produce

Payday happened. I got groceries. And I swear, the standards are slipping badly with the delivery shit.

I got strawberries, because I was running out of frozen strawberries for smoothies. The ones I wanted were apparently unavailable, and the cheaper (and way smaller) packets I got instead were ... well, about a quarter of each of the two punnets were kind of horrifically squishy. Of course, still others were underripe.

There were ears of corn - that's very much a seasonal thing over here, and I decided to get some while the last of the autumn is still upon us. Both husks looked kind of manky and a couple of kernels at the top were ... ick. And the tomatoes? The nice supposedly vine-ripened tomatoes I was really looking forward to? Weeeeeell ... you know that thing when tomatoes are a really weird squishy-fibrous texture and taste a bit like waterlogged cardboard? Well, that for at least one of them. I'm going to give them some ripening time in the kitchen window and see how I do. At least the potatoes were okay? But none of them were the appropriate size for jacket potato.

That's not even going into the frozen stuff. I mean, most of it was okay. Just my frozen mango (also for smoothies) was nearly entirely defrosted. Thankfully not the veg, the hash browns, or the gluten-free breaded chicken fillets, but it just shows a distinct lack of care and I hope they didn't defrost so thoroughly that refreezing them was a bad idea. I don't even know how that happened - apparently it was all kept in the same freezer section on the delivery truck.

See, I'd planned a lovely meal that was supposed to involve rump steak, an ear of corn, a jacket potato, and a nice sliced tomato with ranch dressing for dipping. But I was a little worried about the corn, I would have needed two potatoes to be a decent meal, and the tomato was a weird-textured and tasteless disappointment. So instead I had the rump steak with tortilla chips and an entire container of guacamole. It was less than satisfying.

Prices still keep going nowhere but up, and now I have to deal with this lack of quality bullshit. I think that's at least partly because they want to fob off the crappier stuff on people who can't see it until it's at their doorsteps. Which is bullshit because it's massively unfair to people who can't do a regular shop.

Being disabled fucking blows.

[fairiencarnate]

Hey is it okay if you share more about your sugar free diet? I have a sweet tooth but I'm trying to cut out/lower my sugar intake due to all-but-one of my family having diabetes (I'm the one. For now). I've never tried any kind of diet before so I'm not sure what to expect. If you're not comfortable sharing then don't worry, you can discard this message :)

Sure! So firstly, I'm not going to be one of those people who never consumes sugar, like I don't care if there are small amounts in a sauce or glaze or whatever. I also ideally want to be able to have the occasional treat for special occasions. I kinda try to follow a diabetic lifestyle preemptively, as PCOS puts me at high risk for developing diabetes and my maternal grandparents both have it.

Basically I won't buy anything like candy, cakes, biscuits, etc. If sugar is the whole point of eating a certain food, that food is a no-no. Fruit is the exception, and even then it's a treat and must be whole fruit so I get all the nutrients & fibre - no juice!

Consume plenty of proteins & healthy fats during meals (and snacks if you can)! I'm vegetarian so this has been a challenge, but I've found veggies that work. Stuff like broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, bok choy, green beans, capsicum, avocado, asparagus, zucchini, olives. Fruits with lower sugar content include strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwifruit, oranges, peaches, watermelon, cantaloupe. Nuts and seeds are also great! I still eat carbs like rice, tortillas, occasional chips, etc but the heavier I rely on them, the more likely I'll get sugar cravings, personally. Since it all breaks down to sugar anyway.

Explore your local sugar free options! Unfortunately most sugar free candies are absolute crap imo, but there are treasures hiding among the trash. I don't know where you live but in NZ there's this choc ice cream (Zilch) I love that uses sugar alcohols instead of sugar, which have no effect on blood sugar or insulin levels. Just have to be careful how much you eat tho cause too much sugar alcohol can give you mad toots and tummy issues 😭 There are bound to be options near you that are worth exploring, you just need to be willing to sort through several things before you find something that isn't gross.

I hope this helped at all! I know lowering your sugar intake can be daunting, especially since it's a very real physical dependency for some. Do be prepared for potential withdrawal symptoms if that applies to you. Everyone says they get headaches when coming off sugar, but I didn't lol I got digestive issues for a few weeks. Mood swings too. Its different for everybody! But any issues from reducing sugar are manageable and they are only temporary! I personally felt tons better both physically and mentally than I ever did before once I got past them. You can do this 🌸🌷

[elemental-queen-writes]

So, as someone who's gluten intolerant, I get asked a LOT what foods I can eat.

I've also had people flat out tell me that foods that ARE safe for me to eat, aren't.

So, here's a handy little basic guide for all you people out there who don't know much about this, but are curious:

What Is Gluten?

Gluten is the name of a group of proteins often found in wheat, and some other grains. It's also the thing that makes your bread stick together and give that bready goodness, and help your foods stick together, like a kind of glue.

Foods That Contain Gluten:

Wheat

Wheat varieties and products like spelt, durum, semolina, couscous, farina, farrow, kamut, einekorn, wheat bran, wheat germ, emmer, seitan

Rye

Barley

Triticale

Malts (From barley)

Anything made with flour from the above grains.

Alcoholic beverages made with the above grains. (Most distilled drinks are fine, however, but that needs to be checked out on a case by case basis)

Crumbed and battered foods with the above grains.

Yeast, depending on source.

Foods That DON'T Contain Gluten:

Fresh fruits and vegetables.

Potatoes

Beans, seeds, legumes and nuts that are unprocessed.

Rice

Amaranth

Arrowroot

Buckwheat

Corn — cornmeal, grits and polenta labeled gluten-free

Flax

Hominy (corn)

Millet

Quinoa

Rice

Sorghum

Soy

Tapioca (cassava root)

Teff

Unprocessed meats. Like steak, chicken, pork...

Bacon.

Milk.

Foods That May Cause A Reaction:

Oats.

Yep, oats, while in themselves gluten free, (and apart from cross contamination issues, which can occur with all the above grains), have a protein called Avenin, which is similar to gluten, and can cause a reaction in some people like gluten would.

Seems easy enough to get around, right?

Wrong.

Remember I said above gluten acts like a glue?

Wheat flour is cheap.

Wheat flour is a very common thickener. I've personally seen it in ice cream, soups, stews, even soy sauce.

It's also used in a lot of corn or rice products, like crackers, tortillas, corn chips, noodles (yes, I've seen it in rice noodles), and sometimes the seasoning on potato chips. (There is nothing more infuriating than finding rice noodles containing wheat. It's just cost cutting, and stupid.)

Some of these products don't need wheat flour to hold them together, but wheat is cheap, and can bulk out other foods. It can also make sauces look better, and give a nice texture.

It's used in a lot of packet gravy mixes.

Barley is a commonly used flavouring. I've seen it in soups, stews, chocolate...

Yeasts can also contain wheat traces.

Even foods that don't have wheat as an ingredient, can contain traces.

A lot of processed foods have wheat in them. Again, cheap and glue.

Glucose syrup can be gluten free, depending on the source.

So basically, I have to read every label. Some products are gluten free, and then the company decides nah, and doesn't change the label (This has happened to me). Thankfully a lot of gluten free products label as such, so if you've seen foods you're sure are gluten free labelled that way, this is why. It encourages gluten free people to buy it, and the buyer doesn't have to read every freaking list of ingredients. Which is exhausting.

Things I've Had Ignorant People Argue With Me Over

You didn't think I was going to make a post like this without some humour in it, did you? Of course not! So here's the dishonour list, of conversations I've had.

"All potato chips contain gluten."

"Not the ones marked."

"Are you sure?"

"What if they're just saying it?"

"They won't."

"Are you sure?"

"They'd get fined and/or sued. All allergens have to be listed by law."

"Rice isn't gluten free."

"Yeah it is."

"Nope, all grains contain gluten."

"Not all grains. Trust me, rice is gluten free."

"No, it isn't."

"Ok, I've researched the shit out of this, are you telling me I'm wrong?"

"Rice isn't gluten free."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Listen to me next time."

"Are you sure that avocado is gluten free?"

-blinking in astonishment- "Yes."

"You're sure?"

"Yes!" -pause- "Do you want me to google it for you?"

"No, I'm good."

"Vegemite is gluten free, they don't need to bring a gluten free version out."

"It's the yeast."

"They're just doing it to charge more."

"...They're the same price..."

"Yeast is gluten free though."

-three linked articles later-

"Oh. Why did you just tell me that?"

"Because you were arguing with me again, and it's more fun this way."

"Gluten free is healthier."

-extended laughter- "Nope. There's a lot of additions to try and mimic what gluten does."

"But it's all natural ingredients."

"Where did you hear that?"

"Everyone knows it. Because gluten free people like to be healthier."

"Trust me, it's not true."

"Everyone says gluten free is healthier."

"They're full of bullshit."

Sources for this post:

[luckystorein22]

How can I make sour cream for Doritos?

Creating a homemade sour cream dip for Doritos is simple and can be customized to suit your taste preferences. Here's a basic recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Combine Ingredients: In a bowl, mix the sour cream and mayonnaise until well combined.

Add Flavorings: Add the white vinegar (or lemon juice), garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper to the sour cream mixture.

Mix Well: Stir all the ingredients together until the seasonings are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

Adjust Seasonings: Taste the sour cream dip and adjust the seasonings according to your preferences. If you like it tangier, you can add a bit more vinegar or lemon juice.

Chill: For the best flavor, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dip chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This allows the flavors to meld and develop.

Serve: Once chilled, give the dip a final stir and serve it with your favorite Doritos or other tortilla chips.

Additional Tips:

You can customize the dip by adding fresh herbs such as chopped chives, parsley, or dill.

If you prefer a spicier kick, consider adding a pinch of cayenne pepper or hot sauce to the mixture.

This homemade sour cream dip is versatile and can be adjusted to suit your taste preferences. Feel free to experiment with the ingredients to create a dip that complements your favorite Doritos flavor.

[westrainer]

Moe's Mayhem

Today, I went to Moe's Southwest Grill, a Mexican restaurant in Columbia, SC. I ordered a burrito bowl that consisted of brown rice, adobo chicken, Pico de Gallo, lettuce, cilantro, and some southwest vinaigrette on the side. The thing I love about this place is the complementary chips they give you at the end of every order, it hits the spot! They also have a wide variety of different complementary sauces and dips to choose from. This Moe guy really likes to give out free stuff huh. Anyways, I ate my bowl and I have to say it was delicious. The grilled chicken provided a savory protein element, complemented well by the brown rice. The freshness of the lettuce and Pico de Gallo adds a crisp contrast, while the cilantro provided a fragrant and herbaceous note. The chips were lacking salt but recovered with the classic crunch you get from tortilla chips. Overall, it was a tasty meal and a great option for those seeking a flavorful, protein-packed meal.

Final score(on a fast food scale): 8.1

Macros for the entire bowl:

Calories: 547

Fat: 19g

Sodium: 1200mg

Carbs: 75g

Sugars: 4g

Proteins: 27g

Chip Calories for entire Bag: 390

[leam1983]

First Steps

Here's something one of the juniors asked me:

"I really like computers, but I suck at them! How can I get better? I'd also like to make a job out of it, like you!"

You've got two avenues. One is standard and bland and safe, and the other involves you discovering the sweet, sweet scent of burnt-out power supply units or the joys of stripping motherboard stand-offs. Among other things.

But first - Long Post is Long. Clicky the thingy below to get A FUCKTON OF FUNBUCKS FOR PHREE!

So. You can either:

wait for the next Community College enrollment window for an institution that's within travel distance of your residence or job, and check to see if they've got either Computer Science 101 or Technical Support. Pay the expected fees, wait for your start date, and realize you're probably months ahead of the curve even if all you know is how to open or close your PC. It's all peaks and valleys from here, from Assembling everything from scratch (Scary but fun!) to Realizing that you can acheive near-godlike power over your rig or nearly anyone else's using batch files saved on a pendrive (quick and easy - a snoozefest). You'll realize that two-thirds of your average Helpdesk stuff amounts to what I nominally go through, which involves reminding Walt that he shouldn't plug his mouse's receiver dongle in one of the rear ports... The one remaining third comes waaaay late in your career track, and involves turning Eldritch glyphs into room-spanning lengths of Cat5 Ethernet spaghetti. You'll realize you need a stepladder and ibuprofen more than you need to worry about crosstalk or potentially accidentally engineering a line patch on the same rack.

look on eBay for used 1U enclosures (as in One Unit of server-grade computing) and a workable side rack, mount it somewhere where you won't mind the thing screaming at you for all eternity, and then start working with a system you've intentionally built to destroy and rebuild as you see fit. That's what's colloquially known as a Home lab, and it's the best starting base you could ever want. In a pinch, you can also sub that 1U for an old and dinky laptop you're not attached to anymore. Do everything to it. Upgrade its memory, learn how to replace old mechanical drives with SSD or NVME drives, get used to stripping screws, destroy it, drop it off at a recycling centre and then BUY ANOTHER ONE ON EBAY, AGAIN FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF DESTROYING IT.

Option 2 is long, kludgey and much, much more fun. You'll run into every bottleneck a Helpdesk worker will encounter, and you'll be both your own worst client and your own trustworthy boss who gradually adds to your responsibilities. It also involves watching vids from creators like NetworkChuck or Lexikitty on your off-time and introduces you to everything you could ever want or need in order to sandbox a new operating system with the prospect of - you guessed it - ripping it to shreds.

The one catch is that Option 2 can be dangerous if you're too enthusiastic. So, considering this, some formal basics are needed:

always wear an ESD strap or keep one nearby

wear Nitrile gloves if you can't keep your fingernails or fingers consistently dust or oil-free. Your skin's PH balance will eventually thank you

steal guitar picks from music stores, most of 'em give them out like Spicy Tortilla Chips you Aren't Supposed to Eat. As to why, it's because picks are cheap and somewhat reliable plastic spudgers and pry-tools. Wiped-out credit or rewards cards can also work in a pinch, but I wouldn't recommend making a habit out of it.

If you're working on a system, keep it plugged in even if you've flicked the PSU's rear switch off. The ground pin will save your hardware.

The only liquid a computer can tolerate is isopropyl alcohol. It is non-conductive and will be perfect at lifting fingerprints or smears off of metallic elements. Do not use anything stronger, acetone turns evil when paired with PBT plastics such as those you find in keycaps or even Chicklet keyboards like a MacBook's.

If you own a laptop and the palmrests start to lightly bulge - turn off your lappy, unplug it, carefully leave it in an open and well-ventilated area for several minutes so the power supply's capacitors discharge safely over time, and then take it out to a recycling centre. Your onboard battery has turned into what is informally known as a Spicy Pillow of Death, and it should be treated with the utmost care. Most laptops can operate while tethered to their external power source and while having no battery of their own, so use this time to recover your files. If you're lucky, you can contact your manufacturer's Support service and ask for a replacement cell.

Why do batteries do this? I don't know, Jim, I'm a systems engineer and a weekend programmer, not a chemist! What I do understand is that the two opposing components of a typical cell (the alkaline and the base) are typically kept well separated by walls in-built into the cell, but that this membrane can sometimes degrade. A reaction then follows, which eventually turns to a very real fire courtesy of the charge being passed on inside it.

Complement all of this ad-hoc nonsense with a few serious CompTIA certifications - Microsoft and Google both offer online classes - and you'll be swinging for the fences in, oh, two to three years. You'll have a sucky starting salary but your skills will forever be in demand.

Also remember that the best Home Lab imaginable is life itself. A relative bricks their machine? Try and flex your muscles by attempting to repair it from scratch, or by reformatting the hard drive! Did someone give you a long-term loan for a machine that needs fixing but that won't be needed for several months? Keep their hard drive aside and toss Linux or Proxmox onto a new one, so you can either pick up server-side console commands or Hypervisor tools!

Mostly - have fun. Just don't visit r/hardwaregore too often, you'll eventually start having nightmares.

[tonkibbs]

Summer house santa monica

Summer house santa monica full#

Summer house santa monica free#

Summer House Santa Monica has everything I wanted, from light, refreshing food and drinks, plenty of gluten-free and pescatarian options, an incredible staff, and a welcoming, uplifting atmosphere. If the Summer House Santa Monica team reads this, Tony deserves a raise/promotion for his outstanding service and sunny disposition!įinal Thoughts on Summer House Santa MonicaĮverything was absolutely excellent, and we loved our meal here.

Summer house santa monica full#

It also turns out that he went to university in the same state I did, just down the street from me. 31 reviews of Summer House Santa Monica 'A nice fresh sit-down option in B concourse, with a variety of salads, tacos, burgers, and sandwiches (and breakfast before 10 am), as well as a full bar. By the time we left, he felt more like a friend than a waiter, because despite being extremely busy, he made time to chat with each table he was serving, offering up friendly advice about what to do in the area, and giving us a list of his favorite things to do in the city. He was so helpful, friendly, upbeat, and attentive to not just our table, but all of the dozen or so tables he was managing simultaneously, all without breaking a sweat. Our server, Tony, was such a great help during our meal, and he made our dining experience one of the very best we’ve ever had. He also ordered their house specialty of cinnamon rolls in a small tin bucket, which he said was like eating the inside of a cinnamon roll, without the firm exterior. Tragically, these weren’t gluten-free, but they smelled delicious and he said they were some of the best baked goods he’s ever had. It was truly delightful.Īs his main course, Robin ordered the Idaho Rainbow Trouted, which was served with red quinoa, toasted pecans, and brown butter. To drink, our server talked me into trying the Post Water Malone drink, which was a non-alcoholic beverage with pineapple and watermelon. If you’re in the mood for a massive salad, this is what you’re looking for. This was so delicious, but it was too big to finish even with Robin helping me eat it. It truly is summer every day at Summer House, a tall order in a city where snow has been recorded eight out of the last twelve months. I ordered the Costa Mesa salad made with charred corn, pico de Gallo, avocado, quinoa, tortilla strips, a lime vinaigrette, and chipotle crema. These were so delicious and flavorful, I’d eat them every single day if I could.

Summer house santa monica free#

We ordered Wood-Grilled Shishito Peppers from Japan, that were prepared with a gluten free sweet soy sauce glaze, shichimi togarashi (a Japanese 7 spice blend), and toasted sesame seeds. The restaurant was very accommodating to the fact that I cannot eat gluten and choose not to eat meat (making me a gluten-free pescatarian), and they were very careful to prepare my food away from food that might have made me sick, which I thoroughly appreciated. Save room Cocktails, appetizers (yuzu scallops) and salad (power greens). I love feeling satisfied without feeling weighed down or bloated after a meal, and the filling, light fare at Summer House Santa Monica left us both feeling refreshed, energized, and completely satisfied. See 503 photos and 133 tips from 40 visitors to Summer House Santa Monica. We had so much amazing, refreshing food here. Those puppies alone are worth the trip.If you’re craving a taste of California in Chicago, I can’t think of a better restaurant than Summer House Santa Monica to cure your winter blues, lift your spirits, and warm you up! Our Meals at Summer House Santa Monica You can get more information from their website. To communicate or ask something with the place, the Phone number is (773) 634-4100. On the street of North Halsted Street and street number is 1954. But whatever you do, make sure you get some oversized chewy chocolate chip sea salt cookies from the bakery case. Summer House Santa Monica is located in Cook County of Illinois state. Before you head over, keep in mind that this place gets busy, and you’ll probably want to make a reservations. Summer House is a good option if you’re looking to soak in some Vitamin D and catch up with friends. It’s a little bit unfocused (rarely can you order meatballs, salmon sashimi, and crispy fish tacos within the same meal), but overall, the food is good. Plus, the menu also has a nice smattering of seafood, pastas, pizzas, and proteins. Side of California grapefruit with your brunch? Yep. Ahi tuna and watermelon tartare? Got that too. But luckily that’s been removed, and overall the theme works.Īnd this summery feel permeates the menu. Sometimes it feels like they’re trying a little too hard-there’s a “countdown till summer” on the wall, and they used to offer an actual beach ball on the menu for $7.95. The space is bright, dotted with dozens of twinkly glass lights, and covered by a beautiful retractable glass roof that lets in more light than is legally allowed in a restaurant. It truly is summer every day at Summer House, a tall order in a city where snow has been recorded eight out of the last twelve months.

[bugdotpng]

top 5 soups!

i’m still a newbie in the soup world compared to a lot of mutuals on here and i’m not all that great at cooking yet so bc i’m grading on what i like to eat lol feel free to give me soup recs in the comments, i would love to broaden my horizons haha

there’s this lobster bisque i get at a local bakery/cafe that fucks so god damn hard i’ll do anything for a bowl of that bitch…super rich and heavy so i don’t get it often but god when i do…i ascend…also like to dunk my hot sammy in it. it truly is a treat

TONKOTSU RAMEN SEND TWEET i don’t need to explain this one, next. jk i will, i get tonkotsu ramen at this place in austin and i love it so damn much it’s got woodear mushrooms and literally the best most sensual and fantastic soy sauce eggs i’ve ever had in my life holy shit. you can also get a spicy bomb which is essentially just a lump of chili oil and paste. exquisite. only reason it’s not number one is because i have to drive two hours to get some…

gumbo! especially like…andouille sausage and shrimp gumbo…so fucking warm and toasty, like that shit’s healing and so comforting!!

i love taco/tortilla soup!! always good flavor and it’s easy to make hearty with beans and corn and such. always a pleasant little meal with some tortilla chips. also warm and toasty! i think all soups are…

tomato bisque or just tomato basil soup has earned its place on here because of how much i enjoy dunking hot sandwiches in it my god, love a good hot sandwich with cheese dunked in anything tomatoey…