#“We got cheezits at the store”

[rainbowgothdisaster]

ugghhhhhhhhh i feel like shit i should not have gone to the store

[nerves-nebula]

Also when I was 12 I ate a giant Costco bag of cheezits in like 20 minutes and got so sick I almost had to go to the hospital. Now I can't eat cheezits or else I'll vomit 👍

-pickle anon

god reminds me of how my mom would get a few kinds of treats or snacks every once a week when she went to the store, and for the LONGEST time one thing she'd get was these store brand cheezits. and they were way worse than normal cheezits, way less cheezy and more salty and kind of just like vaugely cheese flavored saltines, but we ate that shit up. good times.

[broodsys]

just queued an interesting post abt the free lunch program (essentially, offering free lunches = families not spending as much = grocery stores lowering prices = benefits for everyone) and it got me thinking abt my HS experience

so, in elementary and middle school we had a free lunch program for low-income students, like me. it was fine, iirc i got the same meals as everyone else, so that was good. the food wasn't Great or anything, but it was food and it was free

then i went to high school.

at first, they had a free "salad bar" thing where you could grab free single-serving fruit cups and the such. and honestly? that's mostly what i ate. bc my family was poor af and while sometimes i could bring food from home, i was sick every goddamn morning and my mom worked overnights and so it was unlikely that either of us could prep my lunch. but then they stopped providing the freebies! at which point i was 100% at the mercy of my friend's giving up part of their lunch for me to eat. and i never asked for it or anything, but they felt bad eating in front of me while i just sat there and tried to not stare. i remember watching ppl throw away their pizza crusts and wanting them, being kinda pissed at them for not eating the food they had access to

i wasnt vegetarian then and they sold little jerky rounds for 25c each and i would frequently get one or two of those. but an actual lunch? you're looking at like $5 and that was a rare, major treat for me. sometimes i'd bring a box of cheezits or smth from home and have that as my lunch. when i got a boyfriend we were in the same economic boat, so usually we'd share whatever we could bring. it was exhausting and i felt so guilty. i think for a while i just stopped coming to lunch and went to the library during the lunch period instead

no breakfast bc i was sick and my mom was sleeping. no lunch bc i was too sick to prep it and my mom was at work. usually not eating until i got home. i learned early on that one of the best things to consume was actually soda, bc the carbonation made you feel full and it was cheap. oh, and the school could fine kids who went to the nearby grocery outlet during school hours, even if it was lunchtime, so i couldn't buy myself cheaper food there. it was all so fucked

haven't thought much abt it for years, but yeah, i went hungry a lot at school. it was hard.

[luvspence]

girl scout cookies

spencer reid x reader

synopsis: spencer has a soft spot for children and baked goods

word count: 605 

masterlist 

———-

spencer presented as a just a socially awkward, incredibly intelligent and distant person

but through your relationship you found that he had some soft spots

you

children

and sweets

“so what’s on our list today?”

you asked him ask you were getting out of the car to enter the grocery store

“asparagus, chicken, lemons, cheezits, coffee creamer and cereal”

“my human note pad”

you grabbed his cheeks and he blushed, near the entrance was a table of girl scouts around 8 years old, their hand made signs strung up about and they were yelling

“girl scout cookies! girl scout cookies!”

spencer was immediately over taken by how cute they were

right before you were about to enter spencer said

“here wait a second”

he walked over to the table

“h-hello can i get a box of thin mints and then a box of the tagalongs?”

“yes!” the little girl replied while she reached for the boxes, she outstretched her arms as much as possible but spencer still had to crouch down to reach the boxes, there was a stark contrast between the 6’1 man and the 3rd graders selling him cookies

“i like all your patches on your vest” he said as he gave the moms $10

“oh thank you mister! i got this one for selling 200 boxes last year, and and and i got this one from being in the local parade and then i got this one for making blankets for the doggies! and this on-“

her mom cut her off “let the man go honey”

spencer laughed “oh no it’s really no worry, her patches are very interesting!”

the mom laughed as spencer waved goodbye

you were watching from a distance, absolutely admiring spencer’s natural ability with children

“look i got cookies!”

“awe yay, you know i was a girl scout when i was younger”

“really?”

you continued to chat as you walked into the grocery store

———

over the next couple weeks you noticed your cabinets becoming very full of girl scout cookies

“hey spence how come we have so many boxes of girl scout cookies?”

“oh, didn’t you get some the other day?”

“yeah maybe 4 boxes, there’s gotta be like 30 boxes in here”

spencer nervously said “hmm, well i have to head out i’m out of shampoo”

he waved to you as you examined your cabinet full of girl school cookies

he eventually returned, with even more cookie boxes in his hand

“spencer?!”

he stood there with the shampoo and thin mints in hand

“i thought you had work?”

“yeah, they called me off... what is with the cookies spencer?”

he set the boxes on the counter and sat next to you on the couch

“i can’t not buy cookies y/n. every time i pass by and i see their little faces i have to buy a box... or 3. they’re just so adorable with their little vests and hats. and i love cookies and i physically can not walk past by there table without buying at least 3 boxes. and then at work sometimes some of the workers daughters will come in, and one of them told me if she sold 500 boxes she’d win a bike! and she was so excited! and i had to help her”

“you are absolutely the most adorable man to ever exist”

he smiled at you and kissed your forehead

you opened a fresh box of somoas, and took a bite, spencer immediately motioning for you to give him some, in which he devoured the rest of the cookies

“are you sure your not just addicted to these cookies spencer?”

[boggletoggle314]

Winter Storm episode 2- the Melt

Since classes were canceled for today, I didn't set an alarm. I woke up around 08:50. I checked the water in my plants, then put on a face mask and did an ab/ light arm workout to get my muscles working and a little warm to make sure I keep moving before my rock climbing competition tomorrow. I went to the dining hall with a friend to get a coffee (and also stock up on froot loops); we then went to the store to get hot cocoa powder and I also got cheezits. After that, I went to my room and ate lunch while watching The Good Place, then folded laundry and tidied the room up to get ready for tonight's hot cocoa party I decided to host at my dorm. I practiced violin, then went to the common area to work on some homework. At 19:30 I went back up to my room to clear some space for my friends, and slowly I let the 7 of them into my room, where we played cards against humanity and drank hot cocoa. They left around 23:15, and I'm about to go to bed (its 23:40).

Brekkie: Coffee, Froot Loops and chocolate milk

LUnchie: Leftover KimBop, cheezits, and an orange (and some tea)

Din DIn: pizza, brownie, cookies, apple, cheezits, hot cocoa!

Day 35/100, 02/04/2022

[himalayaz]

The Comprehensive Radical Guide to Shoplifting

[working title]

“That white man, baby, and may his balls shrivel and his ass hole rot, he want you to be worried about money. That’s his whole game. But if we got to where we are without money, we can get further. I ain’t worried about they money --they aint got no right to it anyhow, they stole it from us-- they aint never met nobody they didn’t lie to and steal from. Well, I can steal, too. And rob. How you think I raised my daughters? Shit.” -James Baldwin, If Beale Street Could Talk

“Capital is dead labor, which, vampire-like lives only by sucking living labor, and lives the more, the more labor it sucks”

-Karl Marx

I love shoplifting. In fact, I would not be able to maintain many aspects of my life/style without stealing from places like Kroger, Target, Lowe’s. Shoplifting makes me feel powerful, agentic, and it helps me heal from the omnipresence of ownership. To be an entity under capitalism, is to be owned, we are each owned. When I steal a beautiful plant from Home Depot, I whisper to myself and my ancestors slyly as I walk past the check out, this is the earth, my mother and my lover, and I would be a fool to buy the earth from anyone, she does not belong to anyone, I do not belong to anyone. 

Capitalism is a religion of theft. Attempts at cataloging the breadth of what has been stolen from us populate a social-scientific discipline in their own right. The capitalist class, their progenitors, and likely their descendants have robbed us of things for which there is no process on earth that will allow for complete remuneration, there remains only a gnawing hole where our human potential should lay. As our planet screams out at us in warning of what shall come to pass if we do not win, I am chilled realizing that capitalism has outdone itself again and is attempting to steal the very future of the human race from us. 

My role on earth is to struggle towards liberation, and I will do that until I die. Our ancestors are magicians, creating and evolving so many strategies of resistance such that today, young radicals treat our work in Movement as if it were a classical art style, forever to be stylized and improved upon. Our struggle is shapeless, taking on the form of whatever is most needed and convenient to the people fighting back. There is a place for everyone in this ever evolving  movement and a strategy for each of us to practice with; there are strategies that are yet to be dreamt of, even. In my eternal pettiness and spite, gifted to me by my ancestors, my tool of choice is theft. 

Shoplifting captures all of the elements of my personal politic, especially, and with emphasis on, pleasure, developing a sense of luxury that is anti consumption and anti capitalist, and my theory of brilliance: Not only is there a better life out there for us, a better life than what has been dealt to us, but that we are deserving and worthy and willing to simply walk up to the beauty section of Target, or march to the rotunda freedom flags burning, and take it. 

At first, when I started shoplifting, it was to feed myself. Hunger, which drives so many of us to struggle and resistance, is an important part of many lifters’ stories. My first summer in Atlanta at 19 years old, I saw an opportunity in the fact that our local Kroger served Black people so naturally they were understaffed, poorly organized, and open 24 hours. At 3 am you could walk out of that grocery store with entire carts of food, toiletries, and other supplies at will. Of course, I hadn’t the courage or skill to do such a thing back then, so I started small. I’d slip small fruits in my pockets while switching aisles, and scan things the wrong way. My political development and study grew at the same rate as my gumption in that grocery store; even as I was bringing in more income, something about stealing from companies that aren’t paying their workers internationally or in my neighborhood felt like a giant fuck you to the CEOs. Regardless of the thrill of my personal disrespect, my growing skill was rooted in nothing. No politic, principle, or larger meaning. I simply shoplifted to feed myself and my roommates or to get trinkets that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford. 

I cannot pinpoint what pushed my thinking around shoplifting towards understanding it as a possible liberatory tool. With some certainty, I can admit that some of it was inspired by watching the cycle of police terrorism, rioting and looting that happens in America just about every summer. When the Baltimore uprising happened (I had just turned 18 a few months prior), it was the first time I’d ever been to a Black led protest or seen in person the level the state would go to to repress Black liberation efforts. It was also the first time I’d ever witness someone looting. While the dogs, the helicopters, the blockades terrified me, there was something so right about watching a young man grab a rock and shatter the entire glass front window of a CVS. That rightness spread from my stomach through my nervous system as exhilaration when I watched a group of people peel off from the protest route to flood that CVS -- despite the people at the mics beckoning for them to stop. America steals family members, community leaders, neighbors from us. Why should we not destroy and steal from the embodiments of that theft most accessible to us? 

My commitment to movement work is rooted in collective empowerment, which happens through mutual aid. Shoplifting sits at the axis of strategy, privilege, marxist thought, finesse, and usefulness. It is both a method of survival for many of us, and a tool we can use to radicalize our peers. It is dangerous. It is a statement to the gluttonous pigs who seek to keep us low, that we will steal as much laughter, as much joy, as many moments back from you as we do mascara, cheezits, and nice candles. Shoplifting recognizes that none of the beauty or conveniences on Earth belong to just one person or corporation, they belong to the workers, they belong to the afro indigenous descendants, they belong to the artisans, they belong to each of us. We’ll steal to feed each other, then we’ll steal to arm each other, and one day, we will reclaim this planet and our future, right as we are stealing heads.

[pcttrailsidereader]

Four Months Alone of the PCT

I posted this on this website about six years ago and just recently re-read this interview from a blog called ‘The Hairpin’.  The interview, with Myla Fay, a 25-year old thru hiker, is a good read and I thought worth re-posting.  My favorite story was her account of the hiker who found chapstick on the ground and used it to counter crotch chafing. A few minutes later a woman walked by and asked if anyone had seen her pina colada chapstick. From that point forward his trail name was “Penis Colada.”

Myla attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota as did my daughter … which came to light when I forwarded this interview to my daughter as part of my desire to have her hike a section of the PCT several summers ago (which she did join me for a lengthy stretch).

By Jia Tolentino

How did you get into long-distance hiking? I grew up in Maine and spent a lot of time outside, and when I was a kid, we went up to Blue Hill every summer to hike and swim, camping in Baxter State Park and backpacking in the White Mountains. And in high school I did some incredible trips with the Chewonki Foundation: one was a 400-mile white-water canoe trip that ended in the tiny Inuit village of Kangiqsualujjuaq in northern Quebec. I always liked the outdoors, and backpacking felt like a good fit. I was also always interested in long-distance hiking as a more structured way of traveling. I spent a summer alone in India once and felt overwhelmed by all the decisions and planning involved in traveling. With hiking, your trip is organized around managing food and water and covering distance, and there’s less of an expectation for fun and relaxation. I like the part of backpacking that’s monotonous and challenging. How long had you been thinking about hiking the PCT before doing it? I heard about the PCT my senior year in college, but during and after college I was focusing on school and work: I worked as a designer in Minneapolis and New York, which I liked. Then I wanted to work on my own projects, so I moved back to Maine and set up a printmaking studio in the basement of a rural Zen Center. But it’s difficult to make any money from printmaking and it’s also difficult to live and work in isolation. I felt unsure about what I wanted to do, so I made a list of things I never regret doing. I realized that I never regret spending time outside, traveling, and challenging myself, so I decided to hike. I don’t think any 90-year-old would look back on life and regret hiking the PCT. Did you know you wanted to go alone? I might have considered it if I had known someone willing to drop everything and go hiking for four months. But I liked the idea of hiking alone anyway. Being alone is wonderful because you never have to compromise. If I felt like swimming all day, that’s what I did.

How long did it take to get ready? I only had about three months to prepare. Most people spend around six to 12 months getting in shape, dehydrating food, and planning. For me, I bought gear and read “Yogi’s Guide,“ which has advice for thru hiking—tips for hitchhiking, choosing campsites, resupplying, etc. It also outlines motel and grocery options for each town. I bought my food in towns and mailed food ahead when the next town was too small to resupply.

Do you have to be in good shape before you start a hike like this? Or could you just tough it out and get better as you go? You don’t have to be in good shape to start a hike, but it helps. It also helps to be young. No matter what shape you are in, hiking 10 to 12 hours a day is going to be hard. I thought that after hiking for a week or two I would just be “in shape,” but I was surprised that my fitness continued to improve.

I also never stopped having some degree of pain.

What was the gear you started with and the gear you ended with? Anything you packed that you realized was useless? I started hiking in desert heat and ended my trip snowshoeing through six feet of snow, but surprisingly I used most of my gear in all situations. After a month I bought a solar charger on trail to charge my iPhone, which was a real luxury. I also bought a dress from Goodwill along the way. It was comfortable to wear hiking and convenient for peeing outside modestly. I added various warm layers as I went north—a rain skirt (which is lighter, more breathable, and easier to put on than rain pants), an emergency blanket, snowshoes, long underwear, and bread bags to wear on my feet for warmth. I eventually ditched my mace, bug spray, and a mouse-proof food bag because I felt they were unnecessary, but not everyone would agree. Now that I have a better idea of what I need, I revamped my gear for my upcoming trip on the CDT. I have a post on my blog about the new gear, and also have my gear list on my website, if anyone wants to read.

What about trail food? How’d you deal with it? Did you filter your water the whole time? What are the worst and best things you’ve tried on the trail? Food was hard to plan for because my preferences and hunger changed constantly. Sometimes I had five extra pounds of food when I arrived in town and other times I ran out. One of the benefits of buying food as you go (rather than mailing it) is that you can easily make adjustments. I hiked with a girl who mailed all her food and by the end, she literally gagged every time she ate a Clif bar or oatmeal. I think having a variety of food on trail is important. I cooked ramen with PBR once when I arrived at a road crossing where someone had left a few beers for hikers. I was out of water, so I used the beer, and it was surprisingly delicious. At the end of trail, I ate snickers dipped in cream cheese and I thought it tasted like chocolate cheesecake! One of the worst things I tried was cold instant coffee mixed with oats. I was trying to pack up quickly in the morning and didn’t want to heat water. Needless to say, it was disgusting. I also once ate a spoonful of dry protein powder at night because I was starving and low on food. It felt similar to the cinnamon challenge. How much more do you end up eating than normal? What are the cravings you develop after long hikes? I ate a TON of food. Granola bars, mini pies, peanut butter, Nutella, tortillas, ramen, Cheezits, candy, muffins (squished), pop tarts, nuts, and anything else that caught my eye in the grocery store. All hikers fantasize about food, mostly about fresh fruits, vegetables, pizza, and ice cream. I daydreamed about Slurpees a lot. There is no food guilt on trail. All notions of what, when, and how much is appropriate to eat disappear. Instead of cutting calories and dieting, hikers worry about not eating enough. I ate 3,000 to 6,000 calories a day, and it was incredibly refreshing. The downside of eating so much was the stomach aches. Sometimes I would eat a whole sleeve of Oreos, which tasted delicious, then I would feel awful for a while. It’s a lot to ask of your body, to process all that food.

Did you see a lot of other solo hikers? Did traveling alone made you more open to meeting random people? Travelling alone does make it easy to meet people. Most hikers start alone, and many hike in groups for various lengths of time. When I started, I wanted to hike alone to challenge myself and rely on my own decisions. I became more open to meeting people over time, and by the end of trail I found a balance between independence and community. Who were the coolest people you met along the way? Everyone I met had an interesting back story—one couple worked in Antarctica, one girl sold her house to live out of a backpack, there were Marines who hiked to deal with PTSD, and people who left their high-paying jobs because they didn’t want to devote their lives to work. One of my favorite characters on trail was a retired guy from New Jersey. He lived years without health insurance or hot water, and took ice-cold hose showers every day at home, even in the winter. He told only one person he was hiking the PCT and always camped alone far off trail. He didn’t own a phone, but carried a small radio to listen to baseball games. Every time he went into town to buy food, he bought a glass, because he only drank beer out of a glass. He was also a scavenger. Once in town I gave him part of a cookie and he just packed it away for later. Another time he told me that he carried a cube of bouillon for an emergency meal. I told him it didn’t have any calories, and he said, “But it sure does fill you up!” I should mention that there are more men than women on trail, and most people I met were white and middle class, so unfortunately trail culture is not too diverse. How many times were you ever truly scared, and why? Most of the time trail felt very safe, but I had a couple moments of being spooked. I almost stepped on a rattlesnake. I once got lost looking for a spring at night without my pack. I got dangerously cold during a snowstorm. These situations were all preventable had I been paying better attention. Some hikers do end up in truly scary situations. One girl had a mountain lion stalk her at night, and another guy ended up lost on a snowy cliff where he couldn’t go forward or backward. Oh my god. A lot of people on trail carry a SPOT device with an emergency button that activates a search and rescue response team. They are expensive and I personally felt safe without one, but a few people did use them on trail.

What about weather conditions? You had to hike at night sometimes because of the heat, right? The PCT covers a diverse range of terrains and temperatures. In the desert, it reaches 110 degrees, and water sources are sometimes 30 miles apart. I carried 1.5 gallons of water at a time. Hiking at night is much cooler and requires less water, so many people hike early and late (resting midday). Night hiking is beautiful but spooky. Some huge bugs and rodents that come out at night. And then there was the extreme cold: I’m reading a blog post where you did sit-ups in the middle of the night to stay warm. What’s your least favorite and most favorite weather to hike in? I still prefer hiking in desert heat over the cold Northwestern weather. In Oregon and Washington, I dealt with rain, hail and snow, which is dangerous without adequate food and gear. Most people carry down jackets and sleeping bags, but down is useless when wet. When it is cold, taking breaks is not an option. I knew one couple who hiked over 24 hours without stopping because all their gear was wet and it was snowing. They would have become hypothermic if they stopped. Can you tell me some hiker code? What’s the jargon like? There are lots of phrases specific to thru hiking. Some are practical (“slackpacking” is hiking a section without a full pack, “hiker hunger” describes the extreme hunger after hiking, “vortex” is when you spend longer than expected in town). A lot of them are meant to be funny (“Vitamin I” for ibuprofen). “Cowboy camping,” sleeping under the stars, is one of my favorite terms. It’s basically a fancy way of saying “I am too lazy to pitch my tent and I doubt it is going to rain tonight.” My friend “Scrub” has a more extensive list of hiking terms on his blog.

That’s his trail name: does everyone have one? Everyone gets a trail name, usually given by another hiker. Part of the idea is that you can leave your other life behind and be someone new on trail. And there’s other stuff like this: trail angels, trail magic, what does that mean? A “trail angel” is anyone who helps you by offering “trail magic.” It could be a day hiker who gives you an apple or someone who drives you to town. There are established trail angels who help hikers each year by leaving food or sodas on trail or even opening their homes to hikers. There are also some trail magic events, where angels make burgers or pancakes on trail for a day or two. It is hard to overstate how incredible it is to come upon fresh hot food or cold sodas after being out in the woods for a few days. The terms seem right. How was your emotional state going into the hike, and during it? What was the default state of each day? I was much happier on trail than I was prior to trail. Some of that may have had to do with the endorphins released from exercise. I also gained a lot of confidence in my body and my ability to troubleshoot difficult situations. By the end of the trail, I felt I could do anything. I certainly had moments of frustration, crankiness, and misery, but I always preferred trail to home.

Wow. What did you do to pass the time? It wasn’t too different from regular life. Sometimes I listened to music or books, sometimes I worried about logistics, sometimes I wondered what to do with my life. I thought about family and friends and remembered things I had forgotten. Sometimes I played games with other hikers, sometimes I counted my steps, sometimes I brushed my teeth for an hour. What are some good stories you heard on the trail from other people? There was a huge snowstorm in Washington that coincided with the government shutdown, and some hikers decided to road walk the last 60 miles to Canada to avoid deep snow. Rangers stopped them because it was illegal to be in the park during the shutdown. So after hiking 2600 miles, they quit because of a triviality. I also heard a story about a girl who saw a mountain lion sitting next to the trail. She roared at it, like you are supposed to (you never want to let a mountain lion know you are scared), then kept walking past it only to realize that there was a switchback in the trail and she had to pass it again. And then, there was a funny story about a hiker I never met who found chapstick on the ground and used it for crotch chafing. A few minutes later a woman walked by and asked if anyone had seen her pina colada chapstick. From that point forward his trail name was “Penis Colada.” That is a great story. What was your favorite part of the trail?

The last four days on trail were my favorite. I snowshoed on fresh snow through the most spectacular scenery on trail with a boy who I like very much. It was new and exciting and beautiful and romantic. What about the least? Southern Oregon was my least favorite part. Everyone talks about how Oregon is flat and easy, but my feet were hurting so it didn’t feel easy. In my opinion, it was also the least spectacular part of trail, just woods and ponds.

What was your favorite pit stop? One of my favorite stops was Buck’s Lake, a small town in northern California. I got off trail to apply for a job. I didn’t end up getting the job, but I stayed with the most incredible trail angels. They were welcoming and made burgers with heirloom tomatoes and peach cobbler and fruit salad. They also took me out on their pontoon for sunset to drink white wine and listen to the Beach Boys.

What did you miss most while you were hiking? Fresh fruits and vegetables, and my friends and family. How did this hike physically affect your body? I lost about 5 to 10 pounds by the end, despite gaining muscle. My breasts mostly disappeared and my feet grew a full size. Women usually lose less weight than men, which is an advantage on trail. What about your hair? My hair was crazy on trail. I was trying to grow it out, but it was a bad length for hiking: long enough to tangle and too short to pull back. I had dyed it before trail and wanted to let the dyed part grow out. I also decided to stop using shampoo, in part thanks to articles like this. Needless to say, my hair was a bleachy, greasy, tangled mess. I cut it off when returned home. Before or after, did you have a lot of people telling you that they wanted to hike the PCT too? Or were people more like, "You’re nuts!” A lot of people say something along the lines of, “Wow, that’s amazing! I could never do that!” But hiking is kind of like drawing. People say they can’t draw, as if it’s a mysterious talent, but both drawing and hiking are just a set of skills anyone could learn. If you are interested in hiking the PCT or another trail, I would encourage you to go ahead and do it. I think it is almost always a positive experience, although returning to regular life is difficult. People sometimes romanticize long-distance hiking, but I was just walking. Some people work 8 or 10 hours a day on spreadsheets or washing floors and few people say that is amazing. What’s your favorite picture from your PCT hike?

This is a campsite on an exposed ridge in northern California. The sky was smoky from a nearby fire, but I could see well enough to watch a meteor shower. It’s hard to choose one photo, but that was a good night.

[likethecities]

I had a pretty strong - not life threatening but pretty bad - allergy to corn when I was a kid. Corn. In the United States. In the 1990s. Think about that one for a few seconds. when I got diagnosed, you could barely find bread that didn't have corn in it. Forget almond flour or potato bread or oat bread or gluten free. Almost every single packaged bread at the store had corn flour. If the one brand that didn't have corn flour - and you know that was the most expensive bread in the store - wasn't available that week? No bread for me. So many cereals. Soups that used corn starch as a thickener. SO MANY snacks. Almost every non-diet soda. My mom described it as throwing out the entire pantry when I got diagnosed. To this day I have extremely clear memories of specific snacks - Triscuits, cheezits, smarties candy, one very specific and rarely available brand of marshmallows - that were safe for me to eat. None of those foods were cheap. There's no allergy section for corn, either - it's so omnipresent in everything that you just have to check every. single. item. to see if it's listed. (literally, I just ate some potato chips that were fried in "vegetable oil". Guess which vegetables.) And frankly, we were lucky, because my mom was part time or a SAHM during those years, and she had time to cook from scratch. (Finding the One Frozen Food Brand that didn't have corn was also a very exciting day). We had the money to buy the more expensive food that didn't have corn. And if I did eat something with corn in it by accident, well, I wouldn't have to go to the ER. I was very fortunate that it was never that severe. What I would have was an asthma attack, sometimes within minutes of eating the food. not as bad as having to call 911, but still pretty alarming to watch an eight year old cough for hours because they ate the wrong thing. (also, on a personal note, exhausting. those coughing fits take it out of you) be nice to people about their allergies.

My hot take is that actually food allergies are a disability and more people need to realize that. The amount of research people with food allergies have to do when they want to go visit places but arent sure if they’ll have access to any food there is insane. Allergy friendly food is almost ALWAYS incredibly expensive in stores bc of all those fucking fad diets that like yoga instructors and middle age soccer moms make popular. And on top of the price, it is so hard to FIND! Almost evrry grocery store ive been to has a tiny ass allergy section that is almost always near empty. Plus what about people who don’t have the money to pay 10$ for a loaf of bread? You go to starbucks and non-dairy milks are like 70 cents extra? People are definitely out there buying and eating stuff that is destroying their digestive systems because they have no other choice. I am begging people to stop pretending that catering to people’s food allergies is elitist and not worth is. We need to make these options openly available.

[dumbgaybruce-blog]

Clint & Kate Headcanons

Clint is in the hospital often as everyone knows, and sometimes the doctors will only let “family” go in to visit so Kate pretends to be his daughter

The doctors know this is bullshit but let her in anyways. Clint makes fun of her but he never admits he’s actually touched by it

At Avengers meetings, Clint and Kate will see who can say the penis the loudest without getting embarrassed, but Kate always wins because Clint is laughing so hard because of Steve’s appalled face

Clint and Kate would RUN Tik Tok. They would be running around, screaming, and breaking furniture and bombarding into the other teammates rooms 

One time Clint breaks one of Tony’s expensive tables while doing a split screen Tik Tok and the fight is on

Clint has a vine account but it’s just him following Steve around while he’s getting water or playing on his phone and making shitty comments about him being old

Tony unplugs the internet for a week but the Hawkeyes just find more ways to annoy them

Clint wears socks and sandals CONSTANTLY and Kate thinks he’s an idiot but he loves them because he bought them for $3 at a thift store

They’re knock-off purple nikes and Kate thinks he’s a cheapskate for it

He wears them so much that he accidentally forgets to put on boots for a mission and walks out in his sandals and kate is  screaming at him about how he’s a moron but then he starts crying because his sole busted as he’s sobbing, “KATE I BOUGHT THOSE FOR $3 ! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY POKEBALLS ON POKEMON GO THAT COULD HAVE BOUGHT ME? GOD DAMMIT KATE!” 

Clint is OBSESSED with Pokemon Go and spends every dime he has on it 

Anyways, back to the sandals, Kate thinks they’re ugly as fuck, but feels bad so she buys him some actual Nikes but rubs the logo off to make them look worn

Clint is so touched that he buys a custom pair for Kate off of a sketchy Etsy store that steals his credit card information, but hey,  at least he got the purple sandals with H’s on them 

Kate absolutely HATES them but she wears them anyways because her disaster dad bought them for her and she would never want to hurt his feelings 

Clint and Bruce bond over the fact that Bruce owns an ugly green pair of Crocs

Clint pretends like he wouldn’t get something for Kate, but all she has to ask is,” Can we get Cheezits?”

Then he would be putting every box the store has into his cart as he mumbles, “Do I look like I’m made of money, Katie-Kate?”

Hulk wants to get into Pokemon Go (his favorite type is fairy) but his fingers are too big for the phone screen, so Clint sits on his shoulder and helps him catch the ones he wants 

Sometimes Kate joins them and sits on his other shoulder

Hulk calls Kate the Better Bird Girl

Clint approves, as well as Kate 

Once Hulk finds out about shiny pokemon he HAS to have one, so Clint stays up all night trying to catch him a shiny Vulpix

Bruce nearly cries when Clint tells him 

[joiesomer]

Who: Somer & Jeff ( @xjefferxx​ )

Where: Rainault house, later Somer’s room

When: 31 August 2019 - 3 Sept 2019

Notes/Triggers: many npcs, some nsfw

Somer glanced over at Jeff, smiling a bit. The blond was still asleep after doing half the driving, but he knew that Jeff wanted to look his best when they finally got to the Rainault house. The Welcome Center was forty-five minutes back, and they were already in the outskirts of Nashville. "Jeff," Somer said, quietly, then again a bit louder, "Jeff. Wake up. Did you still want to change clothes?"

Jeff had driven the early part of the morning, so he was catching up on sleep when Somer woke him. he stretched a bit and nodded. "yeah and I need to get the flowers too." Sitting the chair up so he could see around him a bit more. "How far until we're at your home?" Smiling to Somer as he leaned over to kiss this cheek.

"Maybe another forty-five minutes? Depends on traffic. I guess we could detour to the Whole Foods for the flowers, unless you're okay with Publix." Somer glanced at Jeff, smile deepening at the way his hair was smashed flat on one side. "You've got seat marks on your face, blondie."

Jeff rubbed his cheek. "I've never been to a Publix but I think it will work." he nodded to him and smiled. "I just want to give a good impression on her and Autumn and Spring." Reaching into his bag on the floor, jeff pulled out a shirt that was a nice light button up. He took off his tank and put it on, winking to Somer. "You like this one right?"

"Don't distract me while I'm dri~ving," Somer sing-songed. The interstate suddenly broadened and got a lot busier, and he sat up straight, concentrating. "You think you're ready?"

"I'm not distracting you, I'm just changing my clothes while you drive," Jeff responded, slipping off his sweats and then pulling on a pair of nice looking jean shorts along with his converse. Tossing his hair a bit, Jeff nodded. "Alright, beyond flowers I'm ready. Yeah, I think they'll love me."

Somer growled out the window at other drivers. "That, right there, that definitely makes it clear you are a dancer. Changing in the front seat of my car without a bit of concern," he said. Finally he took an exit off the interstate and went up a busy main road, then parked at a grocery store. "Do you want me to come in there with you?"

Jeff winked. "It does come in handy, yeah. Why were you growling though?" He asked, fixing his hair a bit more. Parked, Jeff nodded. "Yeah, come in and you can pick out some snacks that we'll have for just us. I'd love to learn more about you in that way, but as for flowers, I have an idea of what I want for each of them."

"Stupid Nashville drivers," Somer grumbled, turning off the car. "With the amount I'm going to eat this weekend, I may need a whole new wardrobe when we go back." They went in hand-in-hand. "You pick out the flowers; I'll go get the snack. Do you want anything in particular?"

"Hot cheetos and cheezits. Those are my jam." Jeff kissed the back of his hand then smiled as he went the direction of the flowers. He found a bouquet of yellow roses, a small one of daisies and one more of lilies. Exactly what he was looking for. He was on his way to meet Somer when he saw something and just grabbed it, keeping it hidden for now.

Somer pretended to gag. "You have no tastebuds," he informed his boyfriend over his shoulder, marching down the aisles to get the hot cheetoes. He didn't bother to get any cheezits, because he knew there were already boxes of cheezits at home, including his favourite white cheddar ones.

Jeff decided to buy what he had in his hands first. Now carrying the bags, he came up behind Somer and kissed his cheek. "So what do you think? I bought them already, but we'll get snacks ... where is yours?"

He grinned at Jeff. "Already at home, dork. Trust me, I don't need to come home with any more food. Mama will ask me if I think she doesn't feed me enough." He grabbed a single mounds bar at the self-checkout, then led Jeff back out to the car. "Now you're ready?"

Jeff chuckled some, "Well then I'll save these for the drive back. Yes, we're ready." Slipping back in, Jeff leaned over to steal a kiss. "Now even more ready," he whispered, sitting back again.

Somer blushed in a way he hadn't done in a while, missing the ignition a few times with the key. "Behave," he mumbled. It only took ten minutes to get from the grocery store to his family home, and he turned into the driveway slowly. A little teal convertible already sat there, and Somer parked behind it.

He turned the car off, but didn't make any move to unbuckle or get out. Blindly he groped for Jeff's hand. "It's going to be okay," he said firmly, though it wasn't clear if he was reassuring Jeff or himself.

Jeff held his hand, smiling. "It is, it's going to be great and amazing. They love and I love you ... how could anything go wrong?" Kissing his cheek once more. "Also I will behave as much as I can but it's hard when all I want to do is always hold you and kiss you."

Somer laughed, looking fondly at Jeff as the garage door began to rattle open. He squeezed his boyfriend's hand and climbed out of the car to immediately be enveloped in a hug by a small plump dark-haired woman. He leaned his head on his mom's shoulder, hugging her back tightly, and was barely let go before father and twin were hugging him too. "Your aunt Anne and uncle Russell will be here later," his mom informed him, ineffectively trying to gesture all of them into the house. "But the girls are here. Even Spring wants to meet him. Come inside out of the heat, come on, we'll get your things later." Her gestures impartially included Jeff.

Jeff climbed out with the bag of flowers in his hand. He couldn't help but appreciate seeing Somer with his family. He smiled as he walked in behind the rest. Inside, Jeff waited until they were in the living area to offer the flowers to her. "These are for you, Mrs. Rainault." Holding out the roses for her. "I also have some flowers for Autumn and Spring too ... you have a lovely home." Smiling to her then to Somer.

"How sweet!" Somer's mom accepted the flowers, burying her face in them to smell them, and smiled brilliantly at Jeff. "You're so sweet, darling. You must call me Jeannette, and this is Glenn, and Winter." She carried off the flowers into the kitchen, leaving Jeff surrounded by other Rainaults.

Somer came and took his hand, looking around as if he dared anybody to say anything. Winter's grin acquired a smug tilt, but he didn't say anything as Somer introduced Jeff as "This is my boyfriend Jeff Sterling."

The brunette girl on the couch bounced up and clapped her hands in delight, then came toward Jeff to hold them out to him. "I'm Autumn, and that's my sister Spring." Blonde Spring gave Jeff a little wave, her eyes big and a little anxious-looking.

"Thank you, Jeannette. I'll tell my mom she raised me right." Jeff squeezed Somer's hand as he held it. "Nice to meet you all, Somer has told me some things about you all." Seeing the shy girls he held out the daisies. "These are for you Spring and the lilies are for you Autumn." He held out the bouquets.

A delicate pink flush crept up Spring's cheeks, and under Somer's encouraging smile she came up to Jeff to accept the flowers. "For me?" she whispered. "Thank you." She gave him a quick, bright smile and fled to the kitchen with both bouquets.

"Wow," Winter murmured, eyebrows raised. "You're making an impression, Sterling." He looked back at the blond, green eyes dancing the same way Somer's did. "Has he got a sister?"

Somer whacked his twin in the arm.

"Yeah, for you ... you're welcome." Jeff grinned, kissing Somer's cheek. "Well what can I say, Winter? A gay boy knows how to treat a girl right and yeah, I do but she's a bit young for you. She's 16," he teased Winter.

"Damn," Winter said, grin widening. "Wife husbandry."

Somer smacked him again. "Just for that you have to carry my bag," he informed his twin.

Winter stuck his lower lip out, but took the keys. "I see how it is. I'm just your slave now," he sighed. "You've found a better man than me." He went back out, and Somer looked up at his dad.

"Be nice," the redhead instructed his father, then followed his twin, abandoning his boyfriend.

Jeff chuckled to see the twins interact as they were. It was nice. Somer seemed so happy and in his element. He kissed his boyfriend's cheek before Somer followed. Turning to the man, Jeff held his hand out. "Nice to meet you sir."

There was a flicker in Glenn's gaze as Jeff kissed his son, but he shook the blond's hand firmly, without any games. "Sterling, hm. Welcome. Get you anything to drink? Jette's put you in the guest bedroom upstairs." His steady gaze dared Jeff to say anything.

Jeff shook his hand. "Thank you. Sir. No thank you. I'm okay for now. Oh okay, sounds good to me." Jeff knew that parent trick. He wasn't going to say anything. "I imagine you have questions for me, sir."

"If you know the questions why don't you just go ahead and give me your answers." Glenn's stern look vanished like the mask it was, and he clapped Jeff's shoulder with a smile. "Relax, son."

Jeff grinned as the man seemed to lighten up. "Honestly I don't know the questions, just kind of know there are questions."

"We'll see what comes up."

Somer struggled back into the house draped in bags, as if he'd tried to carry it all at once, and pretended to collapse in a heap on the floor. He gave his dad the side-eye. "Were you nice? I want to keep him, not have you scare him off."

Jeff smiled walking over to help with the bags. "Yes he was nice. Let me help you carry these upstairs. Your dad says I'm in the guest room."

"Hmmm," Somer said noncommittally. He cut his eyes over to his dad, who raised an eyebrow, then slung his bag over his shoulder again and led Jeff up the stairs. "I told you we wouldn't be sharing a room," he murmured. "But you've got your own bathroom." His own room faced down the stairs, the door open and the room filling with early afternoon light. The walls had a few cat posters on them, painted a cheerful pale yellow, and a round, fluffy lump in the middle of the double bed suddenly acquired dark ears and sharp teeth as a cat yawned hugely.

Jeff followed him up the stairs and into the room. "Well we can still cuddle all day and I think once they see that we're not up to something then they'll let us share a bed ... or you can just sneak in." He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist from behind. "But I have to ask, if Winter had a girl here, would they be allowed to share a room?" he asked, smiling a bit more as he saw the cat on the bed. "Who is that?"

"Winter had a girlfriend, senior year, and no." He leaned back against Jeff for a moment, then pulled away to climb on the bed and hold his hand out to the cat. He was subjected to a careful sniff, then the cat rolled over to show its belly. "This is Helios. You can come pet his belly."

Jeff nodded. He just wanted to make sure that there wasn't some double standard there. Smiling, Jeff stepped forward to let the cat smell him before he touched his belly. "He's very soft. Why didn't you bring him with to school or is he more a family pet?"

Helios sniffed at Jeff's hand, licked a finger, then flopped again. "I didn't want to take him to college," Somer said, scratching the furry chest. "He's a homebody, really. He doesn't even like to go outside, and he whines a lot when he has to go to the vet." Somer rolled over on the bed, sprawling uncannily like the cat. "God I'm tired."

Jeff chuckled, moving to sit on the bed and putting Somer's legs in his lap as he started to rub his boyfriend's feet. "Well why don't you take a nap then? I'll just go put my things in the room I'm staying in if you show me where it is."

The redhead flapped a hand at the door. "Right out the door, left hand door. Blue room." Helios rolled and reached out a soft paw to hook it over Jeff's leg. "Oh, dear, you may not be allowed to leave."

Jeff chuckled some, seeing his boyfriend be so lazy. "How upset would they be if we napped together with the door open?" Wondering if they could at least do that after the long drive. "I don't mind being made to stay."

Somer yawned, trying to cover it with one hand. "Dunno," he shrugged through the yawn. Pulling a pillow out from under the covers, he curled up around it with a sigh.

Jeff sighed some as well. He wanted to cuddle him but he knew they might get upset so he just sat there with Somer. Watching as he started to drift, one hand still rubbed his feet, the other petting Helios.

About five minutes later Autumn came up the stairs, peeking in. "Oh there you are. Not tired? Or just trapped by cat?" Somer made a soft snore, and she muffled a giggle. "You don't have to sit there with him; we're going to watch Winter play Bayonetta in the playroom."

"No I'm tired, just don't know how they'd react if I cuddled him to sleep ... " Jeff slowly got up and smiling to Autumn. "I'll come with you, love to see how good Winter is after all." He held back a yawn as he shook it off. "Just let me put my things in the spare room." Carrying his bags, he set them in the room then followed behind Autumn.

She cocked a cool eyebrow, but didn't say anything, just pointed him to the comfy couch ranged under the tall windows at the back of the house. Spring sat curled in a round chair nearby, a laptop in her hands. Autumn sat at her sister's feet.

After about ten minutes Somer shuffled out, still drowsy-looking, with a jade blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He yawned, then snuggled into Jeff's side, one arm wrapped around him.

Jeff sat down on the couch to watch as Winter played. He was quite good. He was very focused on what was happening until he saw the jade blanket and felt something close to him. Smiling, he shifted some and slowly moved Somer to his lap to hold him better. Jeff kissed his cheek. "Still sleepy?" he asked softly.

"Mhm." Somer breathed out slowly and subsided back into sleep, holding Jeff like a giant teddy bear. Jeannette came up the stairs a while later and smiled indulgently at the quintet. "I need someone to help me chop vegetables for tonight."

Jeff smiled, rubbing his back a bit. He wasn't sure he could move when asked about cutting veggies. He wanted to help but Somer was very much wrapped up around him. "I'd love to help but what do I do with sleeping beauty?"

"You do seem to be stuck." She came over and smoothed Somer's hair. "Somer, sugar, can you let me borrow your boyfriend?" The redhead made a sleepy, grumpy sound and clutched Jeff tighter.

Jeff chuckled lightly and dared to kiss him softly on the lips. "Somer, baby, I need to go help your mom." Trying to stir him some. "I'll be back as soon as we're done okay?"

With another grumble, Somer pushed himself away from Jeff -- but not before stealing another kiss. He never bothered to open his eyes, just flopped over onto the other end of the couch. Spring caught Jeff's eyes and gave a little smile, eyes dancing.

Jeff smiled into the kiss. "Love you," he whispered before getting up. Seeing Spring look at him, he winked to her and followed Jeanette down to the kitchen. "Where do you want me to start?"

She handed him a bag of Brussels sprouts and pointed to a cutting board with a knife on it. "Halve those, please." She sprinkled some salt into a pot on the stove and checked the oven. "So tell me how you met."

Jeff nodded, taking the bag and starting to cut the Brussels sprouts. "He made an accidental post about boys he thoughts were cute, I was on it. We were already talking and I just told him that I thought he was cute too."

"So he finally admitted it," Jeannette said, plopping frozen fish on a baking sheet. "One or two, Jeff?"

"Admitted it? Oh, yeah ... I feel bad I didn't notice last year." Blushing a bit, Jeff looked away. "One please."

"He never wanted to disappoint us," Jeannette went on, sliding one tray into the oven. "But he just insisted on hiding his interest in boys." She smiled at Jeff. "You're obviously good for him. Hand me that box of macaroni please?"

Jeff nodded some. "Yeah, I know. But I mean, I was glad he made the post ... very glad." Handing the box to Jeannette, jeff smiled a bit bigger. "I try to be. He's good for me too ... good to me."

She poured the pasta into the boiling water on the stove. "How are those Brussels sprouts coming?" With a wink she added, "He thought he was hiding it, but a mother always knows. Tell me what you're studying!"

Jeff cut the last one and brought the cutting board closer to her with them on it. "All done." He smiled. "Sounds like my mom, she knew I was gay before I did. I'm studying Musical Theater, I would study dance but I know how to dance already."

"Thank you." Jeannette spread the sprouts across yet another baking sheet covered in olive oil, then eyed the oven timer. "What kind of dance? So you've been dancing all your life then? Are you planning to go to New York after graduation?"

"Welcome." He moved to be out of her way as he sat on a bar stool. "All sorts, yeah, since I was 3. My mom said I was dancing in the womb." Licking his lips, he shrugged. "That was part of my dream but now, my dream has changed since meeting Somer."

"Aaaww," she cooed. "I bet you were an adorable little boy." The oven timer beeped, and she pulled the fish out and replaced them with the Brussels sprouts. "You'll have to show me some pictures some time." She paused to stir the pasta, then came around to hug Jeff around the shoulders. "Of course my creative boy found another creative boy."

Jeff hugged her back. "My mom would love to show you pictures, also I guess you and her have something in common ... you like creative names? Her and her sisters are very creative, I think it skips generations. My mom is Rain and her sisters are Stormie and Windy."

"Oh!" Jeannette put a hand to her mouth and giggled. "So your children will be ... ?"

"I'm not sure, but I'd like the idea of alternative names, I mean my siblings and I are kind of average but it's up to Somer as well." He giggled a bit. "I want to marry him one day, he's kind of the reason I've been feeling more myself and less, just kind of existing."

"Hmmmm," she said noncommittally, very like her son. "Time will tell." She didn't look like the thought bothered her, with the small smile on her lips. "You run along upstairs and tell the children it's almost time for dinner."

Jeff nodded; he could only hope she liked the idea of it all. He did love Somer and want to share his future with him. Going back up the stairs, he found them all waiting. "Dinner is almost done," he said, smiling to see his sleepy head still on the couch.

After dinner, Somer tugged his boyfriend back up the stairs to curl up on the couch again. He was a little more awake than he'd been before dinner. Jeff seemed a little hesitant to cuddle, but the redhead was not having any of that. Even while he was playing Dynasty Warriors, or peering over Spring's shoulder and discussing her Stardew farm with her, he kept Jeff's arm around his waist, or sat in Jeff's lap.

Jeff held his boyfriend without much regard for anything when it was just the kids together. He knew none of them really cared as he kissed Somer's cheek and held him tighter to him. It was just concern for upsetting his parents that kept him from being as affectionate as he wanted to be. He hated having to hold back.

Finally, Somer put down the controller, leaning out of Jeff's hold to rest his chin on his twin's head. "Miss you," he mumbled. Winter reached back and gripped his shoulder for a moment.

"Go to bed, Somer," was all he said. "I'll be here tomorrow."

Jeff sat back, letting them have their moment. Though should it make him jelaous as it did? He shook it off though, it was his twin after all.

"We should get some more sleep ... " Jeff whispered to him and held back his yawn.

"Listen to your boyfriend," Winter said. He turned off the electronics, while Somer hugged his cousins and saw them down the stairs, then went to his twin and hugged him for a long moment. The brunet leaned his head against the red one for a second, then looked at Jeff. He winked at the blond, held a finger to his lips, and pointed to Somer's room.

Jeff looked at Winter, confused, then nodded with a smile. He found his way to Somer's room and sat on the bed to wait for him. Thankfully they had all already put their pjs on. Smirking, he waited for Somer to come in.

After a minute Somer stumbled in from the joined bathroom, and blinked at Jeff. "What are you doing?" he asked sleepily. He crawled into the bed, pushing at his pillow, and then peered down at the foot of the bed. "Where's Helios?"

"Sneaking in to cuddle you while we sleep." Jeff shrugged to him. "I'll sleep over the blanket with another blanket so they can't get too worried and get to cuddle you all night." Jeff looked around, smiling as he showed the cat all cuddled to him.

Somer smiled, reaching across Jeff to scritch the cat's head. "Clearly you're stuck here," he murmured. "Helios won't let you go. Get under the covers, blondie."

Jeff smirked, sliding under the covers. He waited for Somer then pulled his boyfriend close. "Hey," he whispered into the dark of the room.

He snuggled close, smiling. "Hey," he murmured back. "So?"

"So ... what?" Jeff kissed his cheek and jaw softly before kissing his lips. "I like your family. Your dad scares me some but I like them," he replied, rubbing his love's back as he kissed him again slowly.

Somer failed to answer, too busy returning slow kisses. He understood Jeff's reticence, but to barely have a real kiss all day made him sad. He deepened the kisses, pulling Jeff drowsily closer.

Jeff smiled against his lips. He had been waiting all day to kiss him like this. Their tongues tangling a bit and tasting him fully. "I love you," he whispered there.

"Mhmm." With a sweet sigh, Somer cuddled down into Jeff's arms, tucking his head under the blond's chin. "Love you." Purring rose from the side of the bed, and he giggled sleepily. "Helios says time for sleep."

Jeff yawned, then nodded in agreement. He was tired after all that driving and the day itself. It was good to be there and more than anything, it was good to hold his love in his arms as they both drifted off to sleep.

~~~

A loudly cleared throat woke Somer up the next morning. He lifted his head, heart pounding, feeling Jeff's arms around him, and discovered it was Winter, poking his head out of the bathroom. "You two look adorable," the brunet whispered, slipping into the room. He perched on the edge of the bed.

Jeff stirred a bit but didn't move when Somer moved or when the felt the bed shift. He just held him closer, nuzzling in as well. He was tired and had no interest in waking up just yet.

Winter snickered. "He's turned you into a teddy bear." The green gaze turned more serious. "Is he being good to you?"

Somer stroked his fingertips over Jeff's skin, smiling. "So much. Too much, sometimes. Even when I'm falling, he's there trying to catch me."

Jeff hummed a bit in his sleep, stirring enough to move around, but not enough to wake. He knew there was voices but it all seemed to bleed into his dreams.

"Are you being honest to him?"

Somer's face fell. "As much as I can be. He's got problems of his own, Winter. I can't ask him to carry all of mine too."

"Hmph. And now you're going to tell me that it's okay, you're strong, you can carry yours and his."

"I can!"

With Somer's voice raised, Jeff woke up and looked between the twins. He wasn't sure what he had missed, but he stretched a bit and then looked at his boyfriend. "You okay? Everything okay?"

Somer smoothed Jeff's hair, turning to kiss his cheek. "Shh," he murmured. "Everything's fine, bl--babe. Winter's just being a pest."

"Mmmm." The brunet leaned over onto Jeff's legs. "What are your intentions with my brother?"

Jeff kissed him quickly. "Okay. Okay." He yawned and sat up looking at Winter. "To marry him one day. Why do you ask?"

All the emotion seemed to drain from Winter's face. He pushed himself up and over to sit directly on Jeff's legs, despite Somer's grabbing hands. "I'm sorry?"

"Winter!"

"You've known my -- /my/ -- twin brother maybe a month, and you've decided you're going to marry him? You?! Have you even asked him?" With every hissed question Winter leaned closer to Jeff.

Jeff looked at Winter and didn't move or respond. "Yeah. I kind of have and no we haven't talked about it fully yet. But I hope maybe he could feel the same." He looked at Somer. "I don't expect you to know right now so don't think I am. Just know my hope is to one day maybe marry you and make you happy for the rest of your life in every way you'll let me."

"You have lost your damn mind," Winter said, his drawl thickening. He threw up his hands, and Somer lunged at him, knocking his twin flat on the bed.

"Be. Nice," the redhead growled. "I'm not going to have you ruin this nice weekend trip for us. We're twenty-one now, and I can take care of myself. So you tell Jeff you're sorry. Now."

Jeff sat back, just staring for a moment as Winter was pinned and Somer held him there. He wanted to pull him off but he just stayed back and let them figure it out. Jeff tried his best to hide the bit of fear he suddenly felt.

After a second of the two staring at each other, Winter went limp. "Fine. You're right. Jeff, I'm sorry. I was out of line."

Jeff nodded. "It's fine," he replied softly. "I get being overprotective."

Somer let him up, and Winter scrubbed his hands through his hair. "Well, overprotective older brother came in here to tell y'all to decide if you want to get caught."

Jeff nodded some, kissing Somer's cheek. "I don't want us to get in trouble, so you tell me what you think we should do?" He wanted to do whatever Somer thought was best.

"But I don't want to decide," Somer whined.

Winter slipped off the bed. "How old did you say we were again?" he shot over his shoulder.

Somer flopped back into the bed, then rolled over and buried his face against Jeff. Then he put his arms around the blond and held on. "Mine."

Jeff held him back, kissing his hair. "I think as long as they see we're awake we shouldn't be in trouble." He smiled, kissing his lips softly. "All yours."

"No 'm decided. 'm twenty-one now, old enough to decide to cuddle my boyfriend wherever I want." Somer yawned. "'s too fuckin early."

Jeff grinned, holding him still and kissing him softly. "Okay, I like your choice ... Winter kind of scared me with all that ... I hope I didn't scare you talking about well ... you know." he blushed then, trying to look away from Somer as best he could.

Somer sighed, half-frustrated and half-sleepy, and cracked one eye at Jeff. "'s too soon. You know that, right? Way too damn soon. 'n' you know how I feel about fast. But," he opened both eyes, lying in Jeff's arms, "you've said it now. So I guess I have to accept it."

Jeff sighed as well. "I know that but I promised you I would never lie and so I won't lie now. I'm not talking about it being any time soon, just a thing that could happen one day," he said, rubbing his nose past Somer's. "So nothing to think or worry about now, promise. Why don't you get some more sleep?"

Somer kissed him quickly to get him to stop babbling. "You sleep too."

~~~~

It was midafternoon; Jeff had just finished setting up the hammock, along with Somer's dad's help, that he had bought for the family. Laying back in it now, he swung a bit and waited for Somer.

Somer pulled the door shut, balancing a half dozen cans in his arms. "Oh, that looks good," he said, winking at Jeff. He piled the cans in the cooler, came over, and plopped himself down on top of Jeff. "Hey baby."

Jeff omphed as Somer plopped in his lap. He smiled though, his forehead to his boyfriend's. "I'm glad you like it. Seems your parents at least like me ... not so sure about Winter anymore. But I mean you like me right?" He gave Somer puppy eyes.

Somer rolled his eyes. "Winter thinks he has to protect me from myself. He's getting better about it, but ... " He shrugged, then delicately licked the tip of Jeff's nose. "He'll get over it."

Jeff wiggled his nose with a grin. "You licked me? I'm yours? Yeah, I know how that is, just wish he wouldn't have freaked out so much ... anyways. I have my favorite Rainault right here." He kissed him then, softly and slowly.

Somer lost himself in kissing Jeff back -- until a jet of water smacked him in the ear, tracked up to his temple, and sprayed over his head. He broke away with a yelp, looking around wildly for the culprit, and all but fell out of Jeff's lap. "Autumn!!"

Jeff pulled back, trying to keep Somer from falling but he missed it. He smirked to see the girl with a squirt gun. "You sure you want to start that?"

The brunette just grinned at him, producing another water gun, and sprayed him. Then she bolted around the corner of the house. Somer scrambled to his feet and hissed at Jeff, "Come on!" He went the other way, headed for the garage.

Jeff followed behind and then smirked as he was laughing. "Can you cover me to get me inside? I kind of got us some squirtguns and something for Spring as well," he whispered to Somer. "Ready?" Jeff already in the stance to take off for the door.

"I was heading for the cache in the garage," Somer whispered back. "You can get in the house from there. I'll commandeer a spigot and hose for us. Go, go go!"

Jeff ran with Somer, slipping inside and going casually up the stairs. With the guns in his hand, he also grabbed the balloons. Quickly he was back with Somer and filling them all. The balloons he filled and dropped into a bucket. With his squirt gun on his hip, he set the bucket down by Spring. "Bombs away," he smirked to her and took off to find Autumn and well, maybe Winter too.

Spring grinned up at him, picked up one, and promptly lobbed it at him. Somer defended his boyfriend, and she shrieked with laughter, chasing them back around the corner with a pelting of water balloons. Somer grabbed Jeff's sleeve, pulling him between two prickly holly bushes. "Winter likes to snipe from the front door," he whispered. "If you go round the other side, where Autumn went, we can get him from both sides."

Jeff followed his instructions, smirking and winking as he slid past Spring again; this time she missed him. He was in place and ready for the take down. He watched Somer's count then suddenly they were both soaking the boy as much as they could. Laughter filled the air.

Winter flailed, trying to figure out whom to shoot first, and failed to return water on anyone. A soft giggle behind Jeff betokened Spring, and as they were all occupied with each other she bombed everyone with cheerful disregard. Winter took one to the face and stumbled backward to fall on his ass in the front lawn, laughing and trying to protect his eyes while he sprayed around indiscriminately. Somer promptly betrayed Jeff to defend his twin.

Jeff was laughing then felt the water on him. "Oh you're so getting it." He chased after Somer now. "Come here, baby," he called still going after him. He had stopped now to grab the hose and then sat back in the bushes to wait. He was ready to take them all out if he had to.

"I'm not stupid," Somer called back, creeping through the flower beds. "I know perfectly well what you're planning!" He made his way back to the garage and refilled the water guns from the tub of water he'd left there. Unfortunately for him, his sneaking attack on Jeff was exposed when Autumn pounced on him, dragging him out of cover and yelling "Jeff! Jeff I've got him!" He flailed, laughing so hard he could hardly breathe, and tried to twist around to be able to soak her to no avail.

Jeff jumped up and soaked his love a bit before getting Autumn as well. "This family has no loyalty in water fights, I love it," he joked and ran away. "Catch me if you can," he called to Somer with no regrets as Spring threw balloons. Jeff sprayed her once, hearing a giggle, but still he ran to hide from Somer a bit.

Somer declined to chase his boyfriend, shaking the water out of his hair and trying to get his breath back. Instead he borrowed a few balloons from Spring with a wink, and set about laying a trap for Jeff.

Somer wasn't coming, Jeff concluded. So that meant he was up to something. Well, he could play that game too. He walked lighter then air back towards everyone and he was low to the ground. Truly, he was just looking for a way to go make out with Somer for a moment.

Leaning out of the upstairs window, Somer grinned. There was Jeff, thinking he was hiding. The redhead weighed a water balloon in his hand, then dropped it on the blond head and withdrew back into the house.

Jeff stood slowly and shook the water off. He made a face up to the window and set his guns down. "I forfeit. You win," he called to his boyfriend then made his way back over to the hammock and sat down. He needed to dry off a bit.

Somer waited for Jeff to come find him, but after five minutes with no blond, wet, gorgeous boyfriend he gave up and went looking. The redhead spotted Jeff quickly and went outside to cuddle up against him. Glenn came out right after him with the lighter fluid, starting to bustle around the grill. "Were you defeated, boys?" he asked with a laugh. Somer blew a raspberry and fluffed Jeff's soaked hair.

Jeff swung there a bit, just enjoying that he was cool in the Tennessee sun from getting wet. Once Somer appeared and was there with him again, he wrapped his arm around him and nuzzled his cheek. Jeff shrugged to answer the man, just kind of wanting to soak in his boyfriend more.

Somer shifted to kiss Jeff, ignoring his father. The hammock rocked gently, and he could smell the charcoal starting, and the end of summer flower smells, and damp Jeff. He kept kissing the blond, even when he heard Winter come over and throw himself on the grass at their feet, and when he heard Spring come over and curl up on a lounge chair nearby.

Jeff gladly kissed him back, shifting a bit so it would be easier for them. He didn't hear or feel anything beyond the feeling of Somer pressed to him. He could smell the aromas but his attention and focus was on the boy that had his soul and heart. Also, how he was finally getting to really kiss him that day.

Somer had no idea how much time had passed, but it was more than enough time for the grill fire to get going and for his shirt to be dry. He leaned against Jeff, smiling. "Did you get your revenge?" he whispered.

Jeff smiled to see Somer there when they pulled apart. "Mostly, yeah," he whispered back, nuzzling along his jaw some and kissing the skin there. "How are you feeling?"

Somer took a deep sniff of the air, closing his eyes, then tilted his head toward his dad. "Hungry."

Glenn chuckled. "Well, then, go tell your mother the fire's ready, and then you can start bringing out the plates and sides."

Somer kissed Jeff's cheek quickly and wriggled out of the hammock. "Kay."

Jeff stood as well. "I'll help. More hands make less the work." His hand laced with Somer's as they walked back into the house.

"Mooom," Somer hollered as soon as he got in the house, "dad says the fire is ready." He tugged Jeff through the dining nook to the kitchen to find his mom loading plates with raw meats and veggies.

"Here, Jeff, will you take the hot dogs and bratwurst out?" Jeannette handed him a full plate. "Thank you, and Somer if you can get the hamburgers, and there you are, Spring, carry the buns please, thank you ... the beans are about to go in the microwave."

Jeff took the plate. "Yes ma'am," he replied, kissing Somer's cheek before he left. He was feeling better now that he had had a good moment of just holding and kissing his boyfriend. Stepping back outside, Jeff walked to the grill, still with the plate in hand. "Here you are, first sets to go on." Smiling a bit to Mr. Rainault.

He pointed with the tongs at a nearby table. "Put it there please." Somer came out and set his plate on the table, and gestured to Jeff. They went back in and loaded up again with chips and dip, raw veggies, and hummus.

"Yes sir." Setting the plate down, he went back in with Somer and grabbed what else needed to be carried out for everyone. It was kind of nice, even though it was kind of hot outside. "I'll follow you," he stated to his love.

The food started to hit the grill, and everyone settled on the back patio, the shade of the house making it cooler than in the full sun. Autumn waited til Jeff sat down before casually occupying his lap. "Mine now." She grinned.

Jeff sat there and suddenly had a lap full of not his love. Looking up to Autumn, he lifted a brow then looked to Somer to see what he'd do.

"Hey!" Somer turned around, then glared at Autumn. "That's my spot."

She beamed at him. "But he's so sweet! And his lap is comfy! I'm keeping him now."

The redhead poked out his lip. "Mine. Off."

Jeff smiled to Somer then shrugged to Autumn. "I have a brother I could maybe hook you up with?" Offering his younger sibling up so he could have his lap for his gingerbread.

The brunette clearly thought it over. "He's not here, though. And I would need to see pictures." She looped her arms around Jeff's neck, and Somer snarled softly.

"Autumn," he gritted. "Stop pawing my boyfriend. Now."

Jeff put his hands up, showing he wasn't touching her. "I can show them to you but hunny, I'm very gay so you're not going to get much out of me ... so would you please move?"

With an expression very like her cousin's, she got up and flopped on the grass at his feet. "Won't share, so mean." Spring reached down without looking and cuffed her on the back of the head. Somer just blew a childish raspberry at her.

Jeff pulled Somer into his lap as it was free now. Having him there, he kissed his cheek and jaw. "Much better," he whispered into his ear.

Somer leaned into Jeff, snuggling. "God, that smells so good," he sighed. His stomach growled softly. "What do you want to drink?"

"Hmm a cola please?" he asked, kissing his cheek again. "It does smell so good. Do you want to get us one plate and then you can sit on my lap while we eat?"

The redhead shook his head. "I'm gonna need my own plate, babe." He patted Jeff's knee. "I don't share my dad's food with anybody. Not even you." He got up, fetching their drinks, then deliberately put Jeff's icy drink on his neck, and giggled.

Jeff pouted but he understood. Feeling the cold, Jeff yelped then glared at him. Oh, he'd be getting him back later for that. "I think your dad still doesn't like me though ... "

"I like you fine, son," Glenn said, flipping the burgers. "You keep making Somer light up like that and we won't have any problems. Now come over here and hold the plate for me."

Jeff blushed, standing then and holding the plate. "Yes sir. Just wanted to make sure." He held the blush still as he made a face to Somer.

Somer just grinned at him. If his dad had a problem, that would have come up while they were sitting over there very obviously kissing each other into a state of insensibility. Glenn piled the hot dogs and sausages onto the plate Jeff held, then gestured for him to put it with the other food. "Burgers in five minutes."

Jeff carried the plate over, setting it where he was told to. Coming back over, he sat on Somer's lap as if it was nothing, but only for a moment. Only long enough to drop a small ice cube down the back of his shirt. Standing, he giggled and moved to sit in another chair.

"Nghh! Gah! You bastard!" Somer leaped up, slapping at his back and shaking his shirt. "Jesus Jeff, oh my god fuck that's cold!" He glared at his boyfriend, and dropped deliberately heavily onto Jeff's knees.

Jeff pouted a bit, pulling him back and kissing his neck and cheek. "I'm sorry baby," he whispered, "I'll warm you up again." Kissing at the back of his neck still.

Somer shivered, not from the remnants of ice. "Behave," he murmured. He patted Jeff's knee, then got up and started to fill a plate. Very quickly he was piling things around each other, cole slaw and chips and pickles and baked beans and two hot dogs. Relish and ketchup went on the dogs, and Somer licked some relish off his finger.

Jeff smirked. He'd save the other kisses for later when they were alone again. Getting up as well, he filled his plate and sat down at the table by Mrs. Rainault and Somer. "This all looks so good, I can't wait to taste it all."

The redhead's mouth was full, but he gave a thumbs up. Winter crowded in on his other side, potato salad and a burger overflowing his plate. "Naptime after this?" he asked.

Jeff ate slowly, taking his time and moving some things on his plate. He raised a brow but stayed quiet. His mind was still playing the scene from the morning a bit. Though nap time with Somer would be nice.

About two thirds of the way through his plate Somer slowed down, stretching out his legs. He stuck another chip in his mouth, then blinked and shook his head a bit.

"Here it comes," Spring whispered with a giggle.

He held up a hand, sniffed, then emitted an enormous burp.

jeff looked to Somer with his eyes huge. "Well that's new," he laughed, then looked at Spring. "Does he do that a lot with you guys?" He laughed and pushed his own plate away. He could have eaten more but right now, he was distracted by those around him.

Spring shook her blonde head, tapping her plate. Glenn leaned back a bit and scratched his head. "I'm gonna need a beer, I think." A can of yuengling promptly appeared before him. He cracked it and drank contemplatively, for a long five seconds. Then he set the beer down, and provided a counterpoint burp.

Looking between the two men, Jeff just sat there and enjoyed it really. He woudn't be part of it, but he could enjoy it all as he was right then. Sipping his soda, he made a funny face at Spring to see if she'd laugh again.

The laugh was in her face, though she didn't make a sound this time. She pointed across the table at Winter, who stood up and thumped his chest a couple times. Picking up his soda can, the brunet finished it off. Everybody seemed to hold their breath, and Winter offered a burp that broke off in the middle. Immediately Autumn shook her head, saying, "No, that's no good, nope, you fail this year. Sit down."

Jeff was just still enjoying it. He was with the family when Winter failed as he did. He grinned a bit, leaning his head on Somer's shoulder for a moment. It was rather nice even if it was an odd tradition to him. Everyone had their own after all.

"Anybody else?" Jeannette asked. "Jeff?"

Jeff shook his head. "No thanks, I mean I can burp but not like these two." he chuckled.

Autumn narrowed her eyes. Somer ate another chip, and another, somewhat nervously, while his dad calmly finished his beer. "It's Somer this year," she proclaimed finally. "Sorry, Uncle Glenn, showmanship counts. You're just a bit too casual."

Jeff smiled to his boyfriend softly. It seemed he won. "When did your uncle burp?" he asked of Somer, his brow furrowed.

Spring reached out and patted Jeff's arm, then shook her head. She firmly pointed at Glenn, then folded her arms.

Jeannette laughed. "We've got a tie so far. Winter, since you failed /so/ miserably, as consolation I'll let you vote."

Winter pretended to deliberate much longer than Autumn, even going so far as to stand up and circle the two competitors. Then he clapped Somer on the shoulder. "I have to go with my brother."

Jeff nodded; now he understood. He was still remembering the Rainaults' first names. He blushed a bit, shrinking a bit in his spot on the bench.

Jeannette leaned forward, looking like she was going to think, and promptly said, "Too much drama. I vote for my husband." Then she smiled at Jeff. "That makes you the deciding vote, sugar."

"Oh no no, I plead the fifth. I don't want to choose. I don't want to end up with that on my shoulders." Jeff shook his head. "No thank you."

"If you don't it's a tie!" Jeannette protested, laughing. Autumn contributed pleading eyes, and Spring murmured, "Please?" Somer looked at his boyfriend, poking his lower lip out a bit.

Jeff sucked on his lip. "Okay fine but I want this known that this has nothing to do with Somer being my boyfriend but I agree, he had more style. Sorry, sir. Yours was just more of a dad burp."

Everyone exploded in laughter. Somer leaned over and put his forehead on the table, still laughing so hard his face hurt. "Oh god I love you!" he gasped.

Jeff chuckled as well, shrugging. "I mean, it is. It reminds me of my dad."

~~~~

Somer folded another dirty shirt haphazardly, shoving it into his bag. "Ready to go back to school?" he asked Jeff quietly. He didn't entirely want to go; home always felt safe to him, a place where he didn't have to be around people unless he wanted to. But he knew he didn't have a choice.

Jeff had just put in his last shirt then nodded to Somer. "Yeah, I'm ready to go back but it was nice being here, spending the weekend with you and your family." Sitting on Somer's bed, he brought him over to stand between his legs. "Are you sad to go?"

"A little," Somer admitted. "It's hard to be in a place where there's so many strangers, you know? Even though there's a lot of people I know, it's still hard to meet new people." He shrugged. "But I can't just hide in my parents' house forever. I have to grow up, even though I hate it." He leaned forward, resting his forehead against Jeff's.

Jeff smiled up to him, leaning in to kiss his nose softly. "Well I get that but we do need to finish our degrees," he chuckled a bit then kissed him. "We should load up and head out, thank your parents and all."

"Meeehhh," Somer said in a complaining tone. "No wanna. Wanna sleep." He pretended to fall asleep right there, slowly sliding until he was resting against Jeff's shoulder and trying not to giggle.

Jeff laughed. "Okay then I guess I'll have to carry you and the bags down the stairs and to the car. Your mom will be so sad, she has all this food packed for us but I can't carry it all." He pulled back to look at Somer a bit.

Somer wobbled, laughing, and caught himself on the edge of the bed. "Yeah, okay, I guess I'll carry myself." He grinned at Jeff, then zipped up his bag. "Did you get everything? It's going to be a pain in the ass if we leave anything behind."

"Yes, I got it all," he smiled, "checked both rooms twice even just to make sure." He was thankful that they hadn't been caught sleeping together; it had been helpful to make sure they actually slept after all.

"Okay," the redhead slung his bag over his shoulder and led the way downstairs to add it to the pile of things they were taking back. "Time to load the car, then."

Jeff grabbed his bag and some others as he carried them out to the car and came back. He saw the family there, smiling to them all. "Thank you for this weekend, it was great. I really enjoyed meeting everyone."

Jeannette gathered him into a hug, squeezing tight. "We were so glad to meet you," she told him. "Be careful driving back, you call me if you need anything."

One by one hugs were exchanged between everyone. Spring pulled Jeff and Somer into a hug together, and daringly kissed Jeff's cheek before blushing and darting back into the house.

Finally Somer laughed, pushing at his mom's shoulder. "Okay mom, we need to get on the road now. It's a long drive."

Jeff hugged them all back. He couldn't help the huge smile on his face. "I'm glad I met you all. You are all so nice." He blushed from the kiss to his cheek from Spring.

The redhead nudged his boyfriend over to the passenger side. "Shhh," he said, eyes dancing. "If you don't stop talking, she won't stop, and then we'll never get out of here!" Finally, after just a few more delays for hugs, kisses, unnecessary admonishments, and declarations of 'I love you!', they were on their way. Somer blew out a sigh. "That's always hard," he said. "I'm no good at goodbyes."

Jeff chuckled, giving them all one more goodbye. They were on their way back, Jeff in the passenger seat for this part of the ride. He held Somer's hand and kissed the back of it. "Thank you for taking me to meet them."

"I love you," Somer said. "I love you, and I wanted you to meet them, and now you belong to us." He grinned at Jeff, setting the cruise control. "You've been adopted."

"I love you too and well, I can handle being a Rainault as long as you can handle being a Sterling." Jeff kissing his knuckles. "Does it make me bad that I just want to get back and like take a shower with you? I miss touching you."

The redhead shook his head, a wry smile on his face. "I don't have any idea how to be a Sterling. I'll just have to keep being a Rainault for now." He shifted a bit in the seat, face turning dull red. "I don't think it makes you bad but this is gonna be a rough drive if you keep reminding me of that." The Southern accent still flavoured his tone.

Jeff licked over his lips. "Well then I won't remind you of how it feels to be pressed together kissing and nothing between us," he whispered with a wink. He knew it was mean a bit but maybe it would be a drive to get home faster.

"Jeff," Somer growled. "This is an eight hour drive. I cannot have a stiffie the whole time. I will die. Or I'll kill you. Please stop torturing me." For all the low growly tone it was still clearly a tease, and his green eyes laughed at his boyfriend."

Jeff smirked. "Hmm okay, fine. I'll just sit here and dream about it while you drive." He shifted in his seat. Though he really was just going to enjoy the view since he had slept through most of it before.

Somer bit his lip, trying to calm his hormones down. Sometimes Jeff had the worst (best) timing. "You do that. Sit over there and be quiet." Instead he turned on the radio, surfed through a couple stations, and gave up. "Can you get the usb stick out of my computer bag and put it in?"

Jeff reached back, pulling out the stick and handing it to Somer as he yawned and dared to remove his shirt to only have his wife beater on. "There, so much more comfy." Leaning back again, as he let his eyes close a bit. The sun felt good on his skin as the ac kept him cool.

"I hate you," Somer mumbled as Jeff took his shirt off. "You are the worst. I'm gonna lock you in my room." He relaxed back a bit, humming softly to the music.

Four hours later he stopped for gas, shoulders creaking. "Do you think you can drive for a little while, blondie? My head's startin' to hurt."

The four hours seemed to pass fast. As they got gas, Jeff nodded. He took the chance to pin his love to the car and kiss him in the way they had been holding back. "You sleep okay?" he whispered to him, kissing behind his ear. Taking the keys, he topped off the tank and slipped into the driver's side.

Somer nearly slid bonelessly down the side of the car when the blond finally let him go. He went inside and grabbed a bottle of soda, then deliberately stuck it between his legs when he settled into the passenger side. Maybe that would help. Maybe.

Jeff smirked, reaching over to hold his hand as he drove. "You should drink some, it would help your headache." He was truly trying to be the caring boyfriend he was at the core.

"Not having to pay attention to the road is helping my headache," Somer riposted. The way you just kissed me is helping my headache too, he didn't say. He tipped the seat back a bit, arranged himself to relax, and said, "Nobody can hear you but me. So tell me what you think of my family."

Jeff smiled, kissing his knuckles. "Well I love your mom, she's very fun and sweet like you. Your cousins are kind of amazing, kind of hoping to get to know Spring more. Your dad ... well I was and still kind of scared of him and breaking his rules and Winter ... well he hates me so yeah."

Somer stared at him, confused. "What are you even talking about? Dad likes you! Everyone likes you! I thought Autumn was going to steal you away for Spring. Seriously. What are you talking about, dad's rules? We didn't break any rules."

Jeff cringed a bit at the slight rise in his voice. "I know he likes me but he still scares me and I'm talking about how he made me feel like I couldn't do more then peck-kiss you without upsetting him or how it felt like it was some big thing to cuddle you when we slept. Those rules."

The redhead hadn't thought about it that way. "That's ... just the way things are. It's not really a rule ... " He opened his mouth to go on, stopped, then said, "We made out for a solid ten minutes while he was building the fire Sunday."

"Yeah, we did but you had to start it ... I didn't try anything with you out of fear," jeff explained. "Ok but for me, that's not how things are. It's odd to me and when your dad said those things to me, I got intimidated about making sure they liked me so I tried to stick to it even if for me it all seemed silly ... and then with Winter. He just ... I think he hates me and I'm sorry, baby, but I'm not going to change what I said to him, even if it upset him."

" ... you're overreacting ... " Somer said slowly. "Dad -- nobody ever said we couldn't kiss or cuddle. Not at all. I don't know where you got that idea. Or this idea that Winter hates you." The redhead shook his head. "He's ... just trying to protect me from myself. That's all. It's got nothing to do with you."

Jeff sighed. "Yeah, okay," he replied. He wasn't going to argue. He asked and Jeff had answered. "It's just how it felt to me. Just how I felt and I mean, I get how Winter is but there is a line and getting in my face for being honest, it was a lot for me. I'm not overreacting, I'm reacting as I do at times because of what I have."

Firmly, Somer said, "I promise, none of them hate you. Everyone liked you. I promise. Next time we go, it will be easier." He could see Jeff pulling away from the argument, and he didn't know how else to persuade him. "Winter always thinks he has to protect me, and he goes too far sometimes." Looking down at his lap, the redhead admitted, "You startled us both with that -- about wanting to marry me. We ... talked about it. He really is sorry, but I told him I would carry that to you, because he thinks you're afraid of him now and he doesn't know how to fix that. Fixing things is my job."

Jeff reached out to take Somer's hand, kissing the back of it. "I trust you. I love you and hey, it's my job to fix things too."

The redhead smiled. "I know. Winter just has to get used to having help with me and my insanities. And I /know/ dad likes you because he asked you to help with the grilling." He shifted so he could watch Jeff's profile, gaze lingering on that up-tilted nose he loved so much. "Love you. After we get back I'll give you anything you want, okay?"

Jeff smiled over to him. "All I want is you, in my arms to kiss and hold and do everything I was holding back from ... sorry I was holding back so much. I should have been better about just asking," he said, giving him a soft and loving look.

"I was holding back a little too," Somer admitted. "It felt strange, to be, um, physical in my parents' house. Even if I am twenty-one now. But we can do anything you like." He laughed. "Even if all you want is to lie in the bed and sleep."

Jeff smirked. "Oh I mean I do but there is a shower to take together first and whatever comes while we're in the shower, which I mean, I hope is you. Loving making you scream and cum." Winking now, they were closer to school already.

Somer giggled. "Do I get to do that to you too?" He stretched out his legs, letting his tshirt ride up just a bit and show some tanned skin. "You know I don't really mind lying still for you but I like to know ... "

Jeff shook his head a bit then reached over to tickle Somer's exposed belly. "Well I mean, I wouldn't mind a good touch or two." Licking his lips with a wink.

The redhead smacked Jeff's hand gently and scolded, "No. You drive. No touching. We're not that far from school." Having gotten exactly the reaction he wanted, he smugly tugged down his shirt and closed his eyes. "Wake me up when we get there."

"Okay baby." Jeff went to humming along to the music. It was rather peaceful while he sleeping. The drive was calm and he was just more than ready to have him in his arms once more.

Despite his intent, Somer actually fell asleep through the last part of the drive, not even waking up when they began to encounter city traffic. The weekend had been a bit more stressful than he wanted to admit, and he hadn't slept as well as usual.

Jeff just enjoyed the music and as they arrived at the school, he smiled to see Somer was still sleeping. He unloaded their things into Somer's room and finally came back. Leaning down, he kissed him like it was a disney movie.

It took Somer a minute to realise the lips against his own were real and not just a part of his dream. He moaned softly, and smiled into the kiss. "Jeff? Are we there?"

Jeff grinned. "Hi Sleeping Beauty. Yeah, we're here." Scooping him up, Jeff carried the boy bridal style as he kicked the door shut then set him on his feet. "Feel better?"

"Mmmmm." Somer smiled again. "I'd call you my Prince but Benji might hurt me." He resisted being set down, keeping his arms looped around Jeff's neck. "Nooo, don't let go," he whined, and tried to climb the blond like a tree.

Jeff chuckled. "Oh so you want me to carry you now? Well alright." He smirked, carrying him into his room then setting him on the bed. "You want to take a shower with me or are you going to sit there?" He smirked again, already stripping.

The redhead didn't bother with an answer, just waiting until Jeff had finished taking his pants off until he tackled him with kisses. "No shower. Just kisses."

Jeff chuckled, kissing him back. He smiled as his arms wrapped Somer's waist. "But I want to shower ... I want to shower with you."

Somer drifted his kisses along Jeff's jaw, hands wandering. "That can wait ... " he whispered. Fingers linked in the waistband of his boyfriend's boxers, he pulled back toward the bed. "Come on."

Jeff was about to whine more when Somer started to touch him and make him smirk a bit as well. "Hmm okay but I get my Somer touching in the shower." He really wanted to get sexual with his love there as it felt like it had been so long.

He was about to push Jeff onto the bed when he paused. "I have a better idea." With a sly little smirk of his own, Somer tugged the blond's boxers straight onto the floor, and pointed to the papasan chair. "Sit there," he instructed. "Lean back, but on the edge, okay?" Then he grabbed the cushion from his desk chair and dropped it on the floor.

Jeff did as he was asked. "Still going to take you in the shower," he said, though his eyes filled with lust to see what Somer could be up to. He wondered a bit, his cock twitching as well.

Half-knelt, Somer froze, looking up at Jeff with big eyes and a faint blush. "I-is that so?" he said. He swallowed visibly, thinking of the usual way that was meant. Then he knelt up on the cushion, reaching out to wrap his hand around Jeff's cock.

"Yeah, going to touch you and making you feel good as the shower washes over us." Touching his cheek softly, then leaned down to kiss him. Feeling his hand on his cock, he moaned a bit, licking his lips. "Hmm god, I missed this."

The redhead drew back from the kiss slowly, eyes drifting open. He licked his lips in turn, then bent and wrapped his mouth just around the tip of Jeff's cock. Slowly he sucked, hand slipping lightly up and down. He wanted to make Jeff crazy, make him beg for more, or make him just take more. Tease him until his boyfriend decided to make him submit.

Jeff sat back, fingers in Somer's hair as the boy seemed to suck and stroke how Jeff liked. He didn't mind him doing this right now, it was kind of relaxing for him.

Somer took in more, head starting to bob as he blew Jeff to full hardness. He'd done a little research since that first time, when Jeff was sleeping or at rehearsal. Now he tried to put that to use, one free hand wandering to tease his boyfriend's balls, tracing over all the soft skin there.

Boy did he know what he was doing now. Jeff gripped his hair more, trying not to pull too hard. "Fuck baby, you are doing so good. Faster now," he told him, watching and feeling to see if Somer would listen.

The redhead made a funny sound that was half-moan, half-growl, and failed to respond to Jeff's instructions. Instead he drew back just a little, holding only the head in his mouth, and licked around it, like some kind of delicious popsicle.

Jeff looked down to him. Oh, so he wanted to play like that then. "Somer, please ... I've waited days for this, I don't want to play. I just want you." He looked to him, meaning every word. He understood Somer's want to play but he wasn't wanting to play, he was craving to get off and get his love off in loving ways. Not teasing ways.

Somer gently pulled away with one last delicate lick, and looked up at Jeff. "I'm right here," he tried. "You don't want me to make you feel good?" He kept stroking, lightly, not wanting Jeff to come down.

"No I do, of course I do." Jeff smiled to him, moaning some. "I love when you do ... just no teasing or at least, less. I've been craving you for days."

A soft chuckle answered him. Somer lowered his head, but a teasing twinkle could be seen under his eyelashes. "Then you should take what you want, blondie," he murmured. He bent his head to suck on his boyfriend again.

Jeff shook his head. "Don't want to take, just want to give ... want to give to you and let you give to me," he said, trying to explain himself a bit better.

Somer mumbled, "I'm giving myself to you." He stopped, pulling his shirt over his head, and discarded it to the side. His hair stuck up wildly as he returned to the task of getting Jeff off, taking it more seriously now.

Jeff's eyes became more lustful to see him shirtless. It was just something about seeing him that way that made his heart beat faster. "Fuck, you're sexy baby," he whimpered to him.

The biggest problem, Somer was finding, with blowing Jeff was how to answer when the blond spoke to him. All he could do was moan, hands wandering again. The way Jeff was sitting, he couldn't finger him the way Jeff liked to do him, and he wasn't even really sure his boyfriend wanted that. But the skin in that area was supposed to be very sensitive, so Somer explored, looking for ways to push Jeff over the edge.

Form the first time they had done this, Somer was better than before. Touching him more and making the pleasure pulse through him faster. He had been holding back, not wanting to come so fast even though his body was ready to. He couldn't hold back though, not anymore. Warning Somer that he was about to cum, Jeff moaned his name as he came.

He managed to grab his shirt when Jeff warned him, and sat back, grinning up at his boyfriend. His jaw ached a bit, and his knees, but that was fine. That was just fine.

Jeff moaned as he came down, pulling Somer up and into his lap to kiss him. "Have you been practicing and didn't tell me?" he smirked, kissing him softly as his hands ran over the boy's sides.

"Mmmm." The redhead didn't like the fact that Jeff was naked and he wasn't, but he was held quite firmly. "No. Just reading." He smiled, rubbing his nose against Jeff's. "Did you like it?"

Jeff nodded. "Are you kidding me? You were so good and so hot. Just need to work on swallowing for me," he smirked, then picked him up to carry to the bathroom. Jeff set him on the counter. "Clothes off, your turn," he murmured, kissing behind his ear as he knew Somer loved.

"Patience!" Somer laughed. He wrapped himself around Jeff as he was carried, loving the tickle of wild blond hair on his cheeks. He shuddered with delight as his boyfriend kissed him, feebly pushing against his shoulders, and managed, "How'm I s'posed to do that with you ~aaah~ right there?"

"Very carefully," he chuckled, but stepped back long enough for him to disrobe as he turned the shower on. Seeing his boyfriend naked, he drank him in. Their bodies pressed together, Jeff's lips were back latching on to his neck.

Somer moaned. "Blondie ... " He staggered a bit, lightheaded, and clung to Jeff. Somehow they managed to get into the shower, although he wasn't entirely sure how, and he gratefully leaned against the wall. He turned his face up to Jeff's and begged, "Please?"

Jeff had him against the wall of the shower as the water rushed over them. With his plea, Jeff sank to his knees and started to kiss along his thighs. "Hold on, I don't want you to fall." Putting the boy's hands in his hair as he licked up his cock then sucked on the head of it.

As soon as the blond started to suck on him, Somer cried out raggedly, fingers tightening in his hair. His hips jerked, and vaguely he wondered how Jeff kept that from happening. He just wanted to sink into that hot, wet mouth, feel all that perfect soft pressure around him. "God, Jeff," he groaned. His feet slipped a bit farther apart.

Jeff held his foot in place with one hand as he used the other to guide Somer's cock for a moment. Once he was sure it was good to go, he started to suck down on him a bit more. Taking him fully in as he hummed a tune around his cock.

Somer panted, head tipped back against the wall and eyelashes making dark curves on his cheeks. He couldn't stop his hips jerking, thrusting down Jeff's throat. "Blondie, oh god, blondie," he moaned. His head spun.

Jeff just kept at it. How he missed this picture and those moans. How he missed seeing Somer falling apart because of him and what he could do to him. He wasn't going to let time pass without doing this again.

The redhead wasn't sure if it was because it was Jeff, because he was still so new to these sensations, or even because they'd gone a few days without much touching, but it didn't take much at all for the blond to have him riding the edge. "I'm gonna," he gasped out, knees trembling. "Jeff 'm gonna."

Jeff just doubled down when he started to warn him. He wanted him to cum, to taste him and make him feel all the pleasure he could before he just held him for the night with no barriers.

Groping, Somer rested a hand on Jeff's shoulder as his legs wobbled again. The water splashed up into his face, but he barely noticed, a rushing in his ears as he came in Jeff's mouth.

Jeff moaned, tasting him as he came. He lapped it all up, swallowing around his cock. When he knew Somer was all done, Jeff slowly stood and held him as he kissed his cheek and jaw. "Fuck, I missed that," he told him, still holding him close.

The redhead still trembled from the aftermath of pleasure, arms wrapped around Jeff's slim body. His voice was a bit raspy as he said, "You know, the things I was reading said," he stopped, blushing, and tried again, "they said if you ... if you finger me during that it's. Better." He sighed blissfully. "Though I think I might just explode if it got better."

Jeff chuckled. "Oh I bet it does but I'll save that for another time. Right now, I just wanted to do this." Kissing him softly once more. "I love you and I missed this," Nuzzling his jaw and cheek. "Missed holding you like this more then I even knew I could."

Somer shifted them slowly, until the water was pouring down his back and over his shoulder and he had Jeff against the wall. "I want you to just kiss me," he whispered. "Just hold me, just kiss me."

"I can do that." Jeff kissed him back, holding him close. The kiss was slow and easily moving as their lips and tongues danced together.

[lauryntolyon]

Things I Miss From The U.S. (accidentally all food)

When I first left I had only a small idea of what I would and wouldn’t be able to get once I got to France. Now after being here for almost 3 months there are somethings I’m really starting to miss. 

Hot Cheetos- there are no Cheetos here and it’s really sad. There are no spicy snacks! I have tried many different things that are supposed to be spicy and it’s all a lie.  

Salty Snacks- French people already don’t really snack but if they do it’s always sweets. I just really want some Gold Fish or some Cheezits or really just any other crunchy salty American snack food. 

Unsweetened Iced-tea- I drink a lot of tea and a large portion of that is unsweetened iced-tea. This just doesn’t exist here. I have looked all over the place and can not find anything that doesn’t have sugar in it. I went from drinking a large 99¢ unsweetened iced-tea from Dunkin Donuts  almost everyday to not drinking any iced-tea for almost 3 months. Oh what I would give for a giant iced-tea right now. 

ICE- there is no ice in anything and it makes me very sad. I love ice so so much. The other thing that makes me mad about this is that if you go to a place like McDonald’s they don’t put any ice in it but still leave the gap at the top you would usually fill with ice. If you AREN’T GOING TO GIVE ME ICE I WANT IT AT LEAST FILLED TO THE TOP!    

Packaged Ramen Noodles- This one is a little silly but still I really miss ramen. This isn’t something that completely doesn’t exist here it’s just not very common and not very good. I eat a surprising amount of ramen for breakfast in the states and right now I really miss that. 

Popcorn/Microwave- I miss popcorn. Microwave popcorn can be bought at most stores but there’s one problem. My host family doesn’t have a microwave. I wouldn’t say a microwave is something that I absolutely need in my life (especially since no one eats leftovers here) but it’s nice to have to be able to quickly reheat something. Another thing about popcorn. I don’t know if all movie theaters here are like this or if it is just the one I went to but they don’t sell salty popcorn. REALLY FRANCE DOES EVERYTHING NEED TO BE SWEET! I am someone who doesn’t like sweet popcorn I think it is an abomination in the world of popcorn. It completely ruined my evening when I went to the movies looking forward to some nice SALTY POPCORN AND THIS IS WHAT I GET!

 Local Restaurants- I’m really starting to miss the food from the restaurants in my home town. My host family almost never goes out to eat and so I haven’t really been able to find any restaurants here that I really like where as in the states I’ve had almost 10 years to be able to find places that I love eating at. I really want barbecue from Black Dog, sizzling rice soup and spicy tofu from Peking Garden, Udon from Sushi Kame, Sushi from Oishi, and Butter chicken from that one Indian restaurant that no one in my family knows how to say the name of. These are one of the hardest to miss since there is no way for me to be able to eat them until I return to the U.S. at the end of my exchange. 

Those are all the things that I miss that I could think of at the moment but I know there are more. I realized after I wrote them that they are all food so I guess we know where my true priorities lie.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

😘 glad ur back!!! Some Q's if u wish: 1. did anyone famous come from your town? 2. Who is currently your favorite musical artists? 3. What is your absolute favorite snack that you Have to have within reach? 4. do you keep with you a water bottle that you always use and are attached to, or just use whatever's convenient?

yeah its nice to be more in touch w ppl and like sort of aware of how anyones doing…its great how you just come up with questions tbh. too good

i dont know if anyone famous came from the town i lived in the longest…actor robert duvall like moved into the surrounding area and was apparently always around just like the grocery and library and other kinds of places and my grandma always hopes to run into him but probably hasnt yet. also maybe one of the guys from the dukes of hazzard? which i only know they had a truck and no doubt antics and daisy duke was there

i never really can settle on favorites and ive been listening to music a ton lately…but a few months ago i finally listened to the full most recent phoenix album…”finally” b/c it came out last summer and also b/c ive been meaning to listen to a whole phoenix album for probably over ten years…thats why i rarely deliberately get into something new…i rarely follow up on my own recommendations, much less anybody elses, and not because of how much i set store by them or not. anyways i really like the album and can and have just put it on loop for a third of a day. i know a lot of people are too good to like phoenix but i’m thriving

im pretty voracious about snacks…like with all other things, i wanna finish something all in one go. so saying your box of cheezits is “family size” is more like im gonna eat it in two sittings, maybe. i dont portion off four fig newtons or a little plastic bag of wheat thins. i am probably going to eat most of whatever in one go. i am like that with food generally. but, contradictorily, i dont eat regularly, so part of being a garbage disposal is a lack of restraint, and then part of it is an overabundance of restraint, wherein i rarely feel like “hmm i am hungry but only for several ounces of food.” anyways i like a wide variety of snacks…cheezits like i said, dry crackers of other kinds actually, i’ll decimate oreos, i like pretzel sticks especially with ranch dip which nobody seems to know about. it may be a midwestern thing. i like chocolate things but im not that passionate about it. i AM passionate about ice cream year round, if that counts as a snack. anyhow the point is i’ll eat mostly whatevers around…if it was an ideal world where i could have a limitless snack of some kind? idk but there was this generic-brand peanut butter cookie that gave you like forty in a pack and i thought they were pretty great. i’d start with that as a good default

i pretty much never used water bottles for the longest time…i’d start taking plastic ones to my ballet classes because they were often strenuous. i kept water in plastic cups when i lived in my minivan, until sometime early last year i got a thermos as a door prize at this work meeting we all had to come to. at the same time tho i was waiting for my work to give me the $70+ i’d made in tips for being the only person to make deliveries for this one evening, and they never did, so its a bit of a loss there. still its a convenient drink holder, b/c its kind of skinny so you can stick it in a backpack holder or something. so i use it and other cups i leave around. sometimes i can have like three drinks going for me at once, tea or coffee or choc milk or whatever. i like to have a drink around…it’s something to do and something to Consume

[mrjlogic]

The Mayo is heavy and the paint chips were plentiful as kids. You gotta be a super lame to think a drive to IDAHO to beat up our brothers and sisters of the lgbtq community (just because they wanna love their best lives) is a good time? The fact that they thought re-telling this story (if they were successful) was gonna get them laid. You Karen’s gotta stop giving sex to these ridiculous bleached cheezits. I’ll bet a stack that they got boners from being all packed close on top of each other in a vibrating box with masks on. It was a racist rolling S&M dungeon full of Casper crickets. Their mug shot photos look like the automated white guys faces in NBA2K Career mode. They’ll only get slaps on the wrist beside you know… ‘Merica So we need to spread their photos and make sure they’re unemployable for the rest of their lives. FACTUAL AF! 🎯💯 #basic #TheMayoIsHeavy #lgbtq #lgbtqlove #endracism #banwhitepeoplefromowningguns #washingtondc #usa #translivesmatter #blacktranslivesmatter #politics #endqualifiedimmunity #keepthatsameenergy #supporttranskids #justiceforbreonnataylor #whiterage #georgefloyd #fucktrump #stopasianhate #blacklivesmatter #fuckmaga #blm #prochoice #racisim #smalldickenergy #fuckdonaldtrump #whiteterrorism #karma #truth #facts (at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store) https://www.instagram.com/p/CexgeImru_4/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[reshuffleadventures]

4/7/22 - Rescue Skills Test and Roadtrip to Escalante with Mollie

I was pretty nervous about my rescue skills test. I hadn’t been this nervous about taking a test in a long time. I felt kind of underprepared, but for the most part I felt like I knew the basics of the skills. I’d been able to do the skills in the appropriate amount of time previously, but I didn’t get any practice the night before, so I was feeling somewhat unconfident. I woke up before my alarm went off (pre-testing anxiety), which very rarely happens. I was up and out of bed at 8 AM, which is when my alarm was set for. I walked to Sol Foods to buy muffins for Sophie, who had generously agreed to sacrifice her morning to be my rescuee for my test. Since I was trying to embrace the chill, I wore my pajamas and baggy sweatshirt to Sol Foods. When I got there, I headed straight for the pastry cabinet in the back of the store. I stood there, staring at all the muffin selections for about 5 minutes. An older man came and stood behind me, and also stared at the pastries for a few minutes. Both of us just stared, together, for a few minutes, struggling with indecision. Finally, he grabbed on box of pastries, started to walk away, but then he came back and grabbed a second box of pastries and said, “well I couldn’t decide, so why not get both?” That’s when I realized that’s exactly what I wanted to do. So I grabbed a container of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and a container of blueberry muffins and brought them home. Sophie and I ate muffins together, and soon it was time to leave for the rescue skills test. 

We met Jess at the Rock Pile at 9:30 AM. I passed 5 out of 7 rescue skills. My time limit for performing the stone-to-lower was 5 minutes, and that skill took me over 7 minutes to complete. The other skill that I didn’t pass was the VT pick-off. I was able to complete the skill safely and within the amount of time, but I didn’t do it practically or efficiently. So I’m going to have to retest those two skills. All the other skills I performed very smoothly and well within the amount of time allotted. We finished rescue skills around 11:30 AM and I took Sophie out to lunch at Oscar’s to thank her for being my rescuee. I got the vegetarian Oscar burrito, which was filled with sautéed peppers and mushrooms and spinach and squash; it was delicious!

Mollie and I rode our bikes to ZAC and grabbed gear for our Holy Cow Canyon trip that we were doing the next day with Jess and Whit. We took a long time there, because we kept talking with people, getting “caught in the eddy.” We rode our bikes back home with the gear and started packing the car. We brought harnesses, helmets, backpacks, food, tent, sleeping bags, pads. Mollie and I drove my car all the way from Springdale to Little Death Hollow trailhead, about 5 hours. The car ride was super easy, and the time went by really quickly. I had tunes playing pretty much the entire time from my iPod from 7th grade. Mollie and I chatted the whole car ride. I feel like I’m really getting to know Mollie. We stopped for gas along the way, and the cashier was having such a hard time figuring out how to give me change. Mollie bought some road snacks - cheezits and candy. When we got to the trailhead, we parked right behind Jess’s and Whit’s car, and my car lights kept turning on (sorry Jess and Whit for blinding you guys with lights). Mollie and I hadn’t eaten any dinner, so we made ourselves a 11 PM dinner; Mollie brought sourdough bread, veggies, and cheese, so we made sandwiches. We were laughing because we were trying to spread mayo on the bread and slice tomatoes using a crappy plastic knife, while trying not to make a mess in the car. Inevitably, we spilled tomato juice, mayo, breadcrumbs, cheezits, lettuce, etc (see photo). 

I’m grateful to Sophie for volunteering to be my rescuee for my rescue skills test. I’m grateful to her for being supportive and encouraging and giving me thumbs up when I did well on a skill. I’m grateful to Jess for proctoring my test and for giving me words of support and encouragement throughout the test. I’m grateful to Mollie for doing the drive with me to Escalante and being a great driving buddy.

[wekillitwithfire]

guys today i tried to go to rooms to go, which isn’t eventful at all we just needed to buy a new bed for the guest bedroom/office, but there was also a huge race about to start which caused to much god awful traffic it turned my, usually 30 minute, trip into a 3 hour long nightmare (adventure?) consisting of: 

45 minutes of driving through normal traffic, 

one hour in standstill traffic inching forward every couple minutes, 

a horrible mistake of turning right instead of left in a desperate attempt to avoid traffic, 

another hour aimlessly, yes desperately, driving through random back roads without a map or any phone service and hoping we run into the store, half of that hour trying to figure out how to get out of the back roads (luckily, god came down and gave my poor, struggling, phone a moment of clarity and loaded google maps for me) ending up right where we started

and another good 30 minutes of sitting back in the standstill traffic and realizing that we could’ve gotten to the Rooms To Go hours ago if we just went with the traffic

we spent like 25 minutes in the store

now, the good parts? we found my dad’s old cd collection in the glove box of my sister’s car (we were driving her car because my mom’s car got broken into a couple days ago and the window was smashed in and we keep finding glass shards in it) and we jammed out to some random cd i don’t know the name of but i had banger music from the 90s on it. also i got cheezits from the gas station on the way home. that makes everything worth it

also we found a random horse farm in the middle of nowhere

TL;DR: i have a vendetta against nascar and furniture is expensive, i would rather build my own bed out of the rotting wood back behind my grandfather’s barn than spend 1k on a daybed that’ll take weeks to ship to my house

[thedappleddragon]

two in one because I fell asleep lol

ball state visit day!! I kept having dreams about sleeping in too late and not getting there on time, and the whole dream was tinted in shades of brown. (also I want to mention before I forget that the night before, I had a nightmare about a life sized spring trap living in the corner of my room that would walk towards you and attack like a slow weeping angel unless you stared at him with yellow glasses on. he went from terrifying to being my boyfriend for a moment and then back to terrifying before I woke up. I'm glad I have a desk in that corner of my room so I KNOW its impossible, even in a half-asleep headspace.) but I got up with plenty of time to spare, showered, washed my hair, had breakfast, gathered my things, and we were off! we left a lot earlier the I expected because my mom wanted to drive around campus and see what it was like and bring my sister along. the drive was pert straightforward until we had to take a bunch of weird directions to actually get on campus. we drove around looking at all the buildings (LOTS of brick, huh) and peeking into a couple of them. my sister and I walked through the woods a little bit, looked through the bookstore, and looked some of the photography pieces in the halls. eventually it got closer to the time my friends agreed to meet up, and I anxiously waited for them to walk up. thankfully they both arrived at the same time and my mom razzed my friend SO HARD for looking like a skeleton of a man while the doors/windows of the car were still closed. I got out of the car and we walked around the art museum for a while before they closed. there was a pop-art exhibit upstairs and a LOT of religious and abstract and historical stufff downstairs. they were closing really soon so we headed put and walked around campus and talked and warmed ip to each other since were had to be really quiet in the museum. we walked through some buildings and talked about classes and campus until we got to the bookstore building with the food court. I had actually been there a couple of times for jazz band competitions over the years in high school, but I was still a bit of a nervous wreck trying to navigate it lmao. but we had a nice lunch and I ate too fast and got hiccups for the rest of the got dang day. my friend paid for my lunch which was very nice of her, thank you friend :> after lunch we toured the rest of the building where my art classes would be next year. we walked into one room and someone left some BEAUTIFULLY stylized cartoony drawings that I found really impressive. after that we headed off to the dorms where they gave me a mini tour and we played an INTENSE game uno flip. then another, where we did shitty accents at each other and accused each other of being homophobic/abelist (JOKING, OBVIOUSLY. 2 of us are queer and 2 of us are neurodiverse so its fine lmao) and after uno we play a little whiplash until skeleton man had to go. he promised to play Stardew valley with someone else at 9. I had asked my mom to pick me up a little before nine, but unfortunately she had some trouble with directions and we had to spend a while walking around outside trying to figure out where the FUCK she was. we eventually found her lol. my mom and I drove home and talked about my day and got Burger King. I ate too much and got too full and had to lie down when I got home oops. I think I went to bed a little early 

and as for today, it was really nice and relatively uneventful. I woke up early after some tossing and turning and apparently taking off my sweatshirt in the middle of the night?? somehow??? since the weather was so nice I spent a lot of my time outside with my cat :) my sister talked me into going to goodwill, and while at first I didn't want to because looking through shirts at goodwill is boring, I went anyway because we would go to dollar tree afterwards. we took the car because we were in the main road less than 30 seconds and it would have been too hot to comfortably walk. it felt really freeing to just be able to drive somewhere! going to goodwill was actually a lot nicer than I thought it would be; it felt nice getting out of the house, although I now realize I had just been out all day yesterday?? meh. I kind of enjoyed filing through shirts with her until I got really hot under my mask. I wanted to check if they had any yarn grab bags, but to no avail. so we walked into dollar tree looking for snacks and possible art supplies. my sister lead me around a corner, and apparently they had rearranged the store a little because all the art supplies were on one wall!! I was actually pretty surprised at their selection of stuff; there were KNITTING NEEDLES! and chalk markers! but most importantly they had Y A R N! and pretty ok quality yarn, too. very nice cute pastel colors, so I had to buy one small skein of each of the six colors. earlier today I had seen a tutorial on how to crochet fairy wings from a wire frame, so that morning I took an old beat up pair of wings my sister and I had and stripped off the feather boa border and out away the pantyhose material in the middle. one wire popped out of place, so I gotta figure out how to fix that before I can continue. but after our shopping, we sat in the car and chilled. listening to musoc and I ate the cheezits I bought. we drove around a little bit, circling around the park once, and returning home, making sure to leave the car how we found it so dad wouldn't notice that we borrowed it. shhhh, secret mission. I changed into shorts, and we both laid outside in the backyard to enjoy the sun. my sister took the trampoline and I took the hammock. Lily came and hopped onto my lap for a while, and I pet her and did my best to shield her eyes from the sun. I almost fell asleep lol. eventually the house blocked the sun, so I went inside and stared making a frozen pasta thing. I split it with my sister and it was really good. I played some stardew valley, taking breaks to stretch my legs n stuff, but quit when I accidentally died in skulll cavern trying to get to level 100. I think I'll have to wait for the best luck day to do it, because I wasn't making great progress anyway. I'll just redo that day. anyhow I showed my dad the yarn I got (telling him my sister and I walked there), had some ice cream, brushed my teeth, and now im laying in bed with my cat, a fan on, and my window cracked open to hear rolling thunder from a nearby storm <3