#GOD I LOVE PIEROGI SO MUCH

[cioror]

@ask-the-pioneer marbles needs to eat pierogi

videocult add pierogi to rain world pls

[humanlyimprobable]

Heyy shh shshshshsh don't cry, buy a bulk pack of pierogies (any flavour you like), bake until golden brown, top with sour cream, great value chipotle & ancho hotsauce, honey, and salt and pepper to taste.

Use a spare piece of bread to soak up any sauce left behind.

Ok?

[angelofthenight]

Closer To God Pt.1

(John Doe x Fem!Reader) Part 2

Warnings: Yandere, Innocent!Reader, Dark themes, Language (+ use of cvnt and c0ck), Religious themes/mentions, Sexual themes/context, Sexual sadism, Stalking, Jealousy/Possessiveness, Obsession, Murder/Torture, Ignoring your instincts, Violence/Blood/Gore, Unwanted/Non-Con touching, Kidnapping

Word Count: 5.6k

( A/N: I literally hate Kevin Spacey sm but I love John Doe as a character and thought he would be a terrifying yet interesting yandere )

~

“You eating lunch today, John?”

John Doe looked up from his paperwork to see your head peeking over the cubicle with a soft smile planted on your delicate lips.

“I’m not sure yet.” He answered simply.

You jabbed a thumb over your shoulder. “I’m going to pick up some pierogies from that new diner down the road. Want me to bring you anything?” You asked kindly, the gentle light in your eyes making his steady heart rate skip multiple beats.

You always had that effect on him, from waking him up on his most tired days to warming his desolated chest like a burst of fire in a freezing cabin stuck in the middle of a harsh winter. It still was so strange to him.

From the first moment he laid eyes on you on the subway train, something changed in him. There was just something about you. And he had no idea what. At first, he thought the reason why you stood out to him so much was perhaps because you were something that needed to be disposed of, that God was signaling that you were the most sinful of all.

So he began to stalk you, to follow you through every street and into every building, to peek through any crack into your home. He tried to pinpoint your sins. But he couldn’t find any.

You were too humble and shy to be prideful. You were too generous to be greedy. You had too much abstinence to be gluttonous, too much perseverance to be a sloth. You were too content and grateful and happy with your life for envy. You were a naturally joyful person, rarely ever getting wrathful and having lots of self control. And as far as John could see, you never seeked out sex. Instead, you kept your lust to yourself and your own hand. Those were the nights John felt the need to stay and watch you a little longer.

He almost didn’t believe it. In this shitty, soul-draining city how could someone like you live so wholesomely. John was a natural pessimist, he almost didn’t accept that you were actually a genuinely good person and that behind closed doors you never revealed any vile part of yourself. If he judged you on your worst day it would probably just be you honking at someone in traffic or not thanking your coffee barista on a bad morning. Your actions in life could be mistaken as truly biblical.

It was as if you were the embodiment of the seven heavenly virtues, the opposite of the seven deadly sins. You weren’t human, you couldn’t have been. There was a sinner in everyone. But not you.

You were an angel. Divinity personified, goodness materialized, the incarnation of sanctity, the epitome of grace, a model of holiness, the essence of purity; a blessed being. An earthbound seraph trapped within the confinement of a human body. A very, very lovely body.

That was the reason why you had caught his eye so easily on that subway train that one gloomy, rainy morning. It was as if you were radiating a golden light off of you, rays of your ethereal aura shooting through his barren chest making him… feel things. Things that were foreign to him. Things that seemed to act up most when you were around, or when you simply just visited his mind.

This was a dangerous and unforgivably cruel world that you lived in, he had to protect you. He had to. No one else could ever comprehend how rare you were, how fragile you were, how easy it would be to grab your dainty little wrist and snap it like a twig.

God had sent you to him for a reason. You needed him. But far, far tucked beneath his delusions and obsessions, he just wanted you. All of you, everything you had to offer or didn’t realize you even had. He had to have you. No matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice. He had to have you, all for himself.

So he had taken the unneeded job at your place of work. It was a pathetic little office desk job but you seemed to be positively at peace with it. To most, it may seem like it was by pure chance that you two were desk neighbors but to John it was fate. Fate crafted by the hands of the Father himself.

He got to see you, up close, every single day. And sooner than later, due to your lighthearted sociable nature, he got to talk with you every single day. Even though he always responded very dryly with uninteresting answers, he took in every little thing you would say to him. Inhaling it and mentally digesting it, later writing it all down as if he was trying to write your biography.

Unbeknownst to him, you never paid him much mind. He was just your desk neighbor, the man on the other side of the cubicle. You hadn’t even noticed his daily gloves or bandaged fingers. But you still liked your office neighbor. For so long that chair was empty which left you feeling more isolated and your days started to blend together. But now you had someone to briefly converse with to pass the time, and if you started to get tired or lonely all you had to do was peek over the divider for some company.

You had no idea you brought out the worst sins in him.

He was greedy with you, wanting you all to himself with no else being allowed to interact, look, touch, or even think about you. He was envious of the men you clearly liked socializing with and who made you laugh, knowing he could never be like them so casually. He was wrathful when anybody had the disgusting audacity to talk to you in such a discourteous or graceless manner, especially the regional manager’s insolence with you.

And he was filled with lust more times than he’d like to admit, essentially after every encounter. He just couldn’t fight it. Not with the way your intoxicating eyes would look down at him when you would stand to peer over the cubicle. Your diaphanous lips spreading into a smile meant for his eyes only. Your voice like warm honey oozing down into his ears causing tingles to erupt beneath his skin. The skin exposed on your body appearing so soft he was close to reaching out to caress it occasionally. Your legs, your thighs, your hips, your waist, your breasts, your neck, your hair, your hands, it all drove him wild. Even the scent of you straight waves of heat down to his pelvis.

And his sinful lust was at its most carnivorous when he would hide in your walls and watch through the holes he secretly made as you laid in your bed, your head thrown back with one hand gripping the sheets and one hand buried past your clit.

And as John intently watched you pleasure yourself without your awareness, it was times like these when John would wonder what you would look like underneath him, chest to chest and mouth to mouth and genital to genital.

He would wonder what those lustrous eyes of yours would look like filling up with thick tears. How those elegant lips would look trembling or even being widened as he would shove his tongue down your throat. How your voice would sound as a sloppy mess of dirty moans and screams of pain. How your naked skin would feel against his own and how your skin would feel if he gripped onto it hard; how fast your skin would bruise.

How your legs would feel wrapped around him or even trying to fight him off. How your bare breasts would feel squished against his hairy chest or trapped in his groping hands. How your neck would feel tightly within his hand as he squeezed, or being bitten by his fake teeth. Your hair tangled in his printless fingers, tugging on the locks. Your hands tied together above your head with red silk, unable to wiggle out of them. How your juicy thighs would feel in his kneading hands or pressing into the sides of his face as he devoured you.

And how your cunt would feel in his fingers, on his tongue, and around his cock. And how it would react to everything he wanted to do to it. And he couldn’t help but wonder what scents he would discover out of all this, especially what your climax would smell like, and your tears… and maybe your blood.

“That’s alright. Don’t worry ‘bout me.” John responded easily to your offer, a ghost of a smile pricking upon his lips.

You nodded in a polite way, a caring expression engraved in your features, before stepping out of your area and walking down the hall in pursuit of the elevator. His eyes followed your form as if gravity wouldn’t allow his pupils to stray from you. Now everyday most days he would follow you to wherever you’d go for lunch or your break or an errand, but today he was feeling trustful of you and your abilities to make it back to him safely. Just as you would under his secret supervision.

It was over two hours, a little longer than your typical lunch runs, when you had finally returned to the office and took a seat at your desk. He noted your mood was more upbeat than before you left. You weren’t very far into your meal before your desk phone rang, you picking it up as soon as you could. “Hello, (Y/n) (L/n) speaking. How can I help you?” You asked with a merry warmness to your naturally cordial voice. Quite literally heaven teasing his ears every time John got to hear you.

However, his eavesdropping created a dark atmosphere around him as he heard you giddily giggle from the other side of the cubicle, hearing you say something among the lines of “I gave you this number for emergencies only”. He could hear your bright smile.

You whispered a string of ‘bye’s in a joyful, flustered manner before placing the phone back down. John waited a few beats before speaking up to you. “Is that clingy customer bothering you again?” He asked with a soft monotone, already knowing the answer.

John knew you were absentmindedly shaking your head despite the wall concealing your reaction. “Oh, no. That guy doesn’t call me anymore.” You replied back. Perhaps because the customer who repeatedly called you with unpalatable flirtatious advances, despite your repetitive polite declining and lack of interest, was now rotting away inside a sewn up mattress; his own severed penis shoved down his own throat.

“I just ran into an old friend at the diner. We’re gonna start catching up.” You said with a twinge of gleefulness in your undertone. He could still hear your smile. He hadn’t noticed the pen snapping within his hand until he felt the ink drip down his palm.

Of course the one time he didn’t look after you, someone had stolen your mind and infected it. He was running out of time, out of time to make you his. The corrupt world was slowly closing in on you and you hadn’t a clue. The devilish sinners that so casually walked the streets were going to taint you, destroy you and your saintly innocence if he didn’t do something.

You were the bright and shining sun, the light in the distance of John’s darkness. And just like anybody would do, he knew he had to get to that light before it potentially went out.

But he needed to be patient. Perhaps you wouldn’t be so oblivious and naive this time and you’d see yourself how much of a scumbag that old friend truly was. The next day at work everything was seemingly normal, and the day after was the same as well. John felt his deranged worries minimize. That was until the very next day.

“Hey, John?” You meekly said as your head popped up over the edge of the cubicle. John had turned to you to face your kindly apologetic expression. “Sorry to bother you but do you happen to know if Ivy's Table is a fancy restaurant or a casual one?” You asked with a cutely confused tone of voice. Well, John would have fonded over your cute tone if your question hadn’t made his pulse twitch.

“What do you mean?” He asked in that gentle stoic tone of his own voice. A tone that to you was just soft and gently relaxed, but to others it was creepily emotionless. But that was just how you saw him through your unintentional rose colored glasses, that he was just a zen man with soft facial expressions. If only your poor soul knew…

A smile you tried to fight stretched across your face in excitement. “I have a date tonight,” you bit your lip in nervousness, “but I’m not sure if the restaurant we’re going to is fancy or not. I don’t know how nice I should dress.”

A date? A fucking date?

How could you let yourself be manipulated and brainwashed into such a custom with a nugatory sleazebag. No, it wasn’t your fault. It was never your fault, John could never bring himself to blame you for your innocent righteousness and guilelessness. You couldn’t help your own gullibleness and how easily you trusted the deceiving barbarians around you. That was why he had devoted himself to protecting you from this vile society in the first place.

But he had failed to preserve you, you proving to not be able to fend for yourself and falling for the very first trap aimed at you the single day he had not been there for you. He had to correct his mistake. He couldn’t let whatever savage you considered an old friend and now potential suitor get their filthy hands on you. He wanted to slam his forehead down onto a hammer when the mere thought of you within the grasp of anyone other than himself cursed his mind.

He was not going to allow that. He would rather burn his beloved bible with a flamethrower than see that happen; he would rather explode the world around him than see that happen.

But he gave you a truthful answer. “I think it’s more on the formal side.” Your eyes lit up, softly shaking your head as confirmation. “Ok, thank you!” Then you dipped back behind the wall, leaving John as his body temperature raised and an unsteady, inconsistent breathing pattern huffed through his nose. His fists tightened on his desk, knuckles turning white and blue veins bulging beneath his pale skin.

~

The very next day you had showed up to work with an obvious shifted and drained mood. A solemn frown took the place of your ebullient grin. A gloomy silence in your throat rather than the bubbly morning greetings to your coworkers. Your lively, upbeat eyes were replaced with a tired gaze, pink puffiness circling them. You were so downcasted and crestfallen, you didn’t even greet John with your daily “good morning”.

Part of him was bitter over your reaction, not knowing how you could care so much about some wicked waste of a human. But a stronger part of him had spread a smug smile across his face over the sound of your light sniffles. A very smug one.

John smoothly rolled his chair around the cubicle to enter your space, for the first time ever. You were hunched over your desk with one hand rubbing over both your eyes. “Is everything alright?” John’s voice softly reached your ears, making you turn to see him. “Yeah, yeah.” You instinctively answered. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I figure the date didn’t go well?” He asked.

Your rare frown deepened as your eyes casted down to the carpeted floor. “No. The date didn’t even happen. He never showed and left me waiting there for hours. I’ve called him seventeen times and he never answers.” You pursed your lips that threatened to quiver together, slightly shaking your head. “But this is just… so unlike him. He’s not that kind of person at all. We were really close all four years of highschool since we had the same friend group. And he was a very anxious guy so he was always earlier than on time with anything he did, especially dates.” You finally looked up towards John, revealing the gloss in your eyes. “Has he really changed that much over the years and only asked me on a date for some narcissistic joke?”

Those eyes. Those eyes of yours were still caged within the barbed wire of his desire, his unwavering and unhealthy desire. And he knew he would set fire to the world around him just to have you. “He probably recognized the gap between your status’ as humans and knew his place.” John spoke with a masked consoling tone.

Your heavy frown relaxed and softened, not from comfort though. Quite the opposite. Sudden unsettlement weighed over you from how he said those words. You had nothing but good things to say about your desk neighbor John and you never once felt uncomfortable around the man or felt unsafe in his presence. But just now, for the first time ever, you felt something pinch in you. And it wasn’t a good feeling.

It felt like the quietest little siren blaring off in your head, flashing red. You felt as if someone had opened a window and a cold breeze just blew onto your back and neck, hollow chills skidding down your spine and your shoulders feeling colder.

The worst mistake you ever made was brushing off that feeling.

~

The end of the day had come to end the shifts of everyone who left in the office, dusk about to creep up to fade through the sky as the sun was setting. No matter how much of a headstart you got, you always ended up being the last one to pack up all your materials and leave. Your coworkers around you began leaving one by one, bidding you amicable goodbye’s and goodnight’s and an occasional “see you tomorrow”. If only they knew they wouldn’t see you tomorrow.

You shoved the last of your stuff you needed at home into your bag before rising to your tired feet, your droopy eyes glancing out the big window in the office to see dusk fading into the sky to create beautiful hues. It was a beautiful site, especially from the view of your office on one of the higher levels of the building. And after every shift you would admire the twilight landscape with a pleasant sense of cherishing the simple beautiful things in life. But tonight was different. And you didn’t know what it was, but something didn’t feel right.

The dark sky only gave you a sinking and haunting feeling, an intuition tempting you to not leave the building on this dark night. But you made another stupid decision and told yourself your mood was only disquiet because of your failed date yesterday. So you continued your end-of-shift routine and moved yourself in pursuit of punching your little card to clock out. You rounded the corner only to jump at the sight of John just finishing clocking out.

You forced a neighborly, benign chuckle past your uneasiness. “Oh, John, you scared me. I thought you went home already.” You said, trying to steady your frail voice. John slowly looked over to you and shrugged, motioning towards the briefcase in his hand. “I had a few documents I needed to print out.”

You slightly nodded and once he moved out of the way you shoved your card into the small machine to stamp the time and date on your card. You focused on restraining the shake in your hands as you felt John’s eyes still on you.

“Your friend.” John spoke up from beside you. “His name wouldn’t happen to be Doug Hopper, would it?” Your eyes widened and you snapped your head to him. “It… is, actually. You know him?” John faintly nodded. “He’s my neighbor. You could come by quickly to see him.”

That siren went off in your head again, the red flashes practically blinding your vision.

But your eagerness to see Doug was too strong, and that was how you found yourself now following John down the hall of a dark and coarse apartment building. Your nerves had amplified a disturbing amount since you were in the office building and that was when you had begun to heavily regret coming here, feeling as if you had no escape. You didn’t walk too far behind John but you also didn’t get too close to him. He finally led you to a door, stopping in front of it and briefly turning to you.

You wanted to leave, you wanted to turn around and run as fast as you could. Your heart was pumping so fast you feared it may burst apart. And the fact was you were so absorbed in your own anxious apprehension that you didn’t even think about what you would say to Doug. Because that became the least of your worries.

You watched as John pulled out a key from his back pocket and plugged it into the doorknob, now all the alarms in your body and conscience were going off like you were stuck in a room with multiple alarm clocks intensely going off. And this time you didn’t have the strength to ignore them. “John. I…” You wrapped your arms around yourself tightly, a sick nausea sinking into your stomach. “I don’t know about this. I think I’m just gonna go home. It’s late anyway.” You spoke in a meek, fearful voice as your eyes casted down.

Your pupils looked up to get John’s response. He only smugly smiled as he unlocked the door, turning the knob all the slightest. “Don’t you trust me?” He asked with a complacent tone lacing through his dry voice that used to comfort you but now only brought disquietude. He, without receiving your answer or confirmation, pushed the door the rest of the way open.

You had so many questions that desperately needed to be answered, like why he had a key and why he was just going to waltz in unannounced. But it was as if your fear had rendered you mute, stealing all words from your throat and leaving behind a thick lump you just couldn’t swallow away.

He stood at the door frame, waiting for you to go in first. Which you hesitantly and foolishly did. You slowly walked into the apartment, it would’ve been pitch black dark if it wasn’t for the open door at the end of the hall that allowed the light from its room to emit a glow. You carefully moved down the hall, your heart pounding and your head beginning to feel dazed, your eyes locked on that open room.

When you reached the doorway of the lit up bathroom, your shaking small-pupiled eyes caved in on the bathtub on the other side of the room. Red reflected around the rim of it but you were too far away to see what was inside. Your suspense and naive curiosity overpowered your intellect as you took slow, steady steps toward the tub.

Once you reached it and looked down into the tub, your heart pulsated and was eaten by a palpitation; a beating that rang in your ears almost deafeningly. The realization of the reality of the horrific sight you were seeing hit you way too slowly, your reaction painfully being stretched out as your breath finally hitched from how terror gripped around you like King Kong’s fist.

The tub was filled with crimson blood as Doug’s body laid in it, his upper body widely torn open from his Adam's apple to his pelvis. His insides were on complete display but all his organs had been removed, only his ribs and spine remaining. His head was laid back over the edge, his skin a ghostly pale and his eyes wide open along with his blue lips parted. He was just an empty carcass bathing in his own blood.

Heavy tears sat in the corners of your eyes painfully, like if they fell then you would share the same fate as the one in front of you. Your watering eyes shook terribly as you couldn’t separate them from the sickening, gorey site. Your mouth was hung open and one sharp inhale triggered an agonized sob to escape from your burning throat. Hot tears finally cascaded down your face as your features trembled terribly. You never felt such raw horror before in your once optimistic life. You were direfully shell-shocked.

You physically tensed up once you felt a hand touch your upper back, John stepping up to stand beside you as he looked down at the body as well. “Don’t cry over this scum, he doesn’t deserve your tears.” He spoke in a soft, calm voice as he looked at the gruesome corpse with little to no emotion. He pointed down to the mutilated chest. “See? He doesn’t even have a heart.”

Your lips quivered uncontrollably like you were freezing cold. “...Why? Why would you do this?” Your voice was hoarse and quiet; weak. John tilted his head, still looking down. He thought for a bit. “I’m doing this out of love, I suppose.”

Your brows furrowed together with a slight curve upwards, slightly shaking your head as your wide lachrymose eyes were still glued down to the tub. “This is not love.” John sighed, “I don’t expect you to understand. At least not yet.”

You choked on another sob, finally tearing your leaking eyes off the corpse to look over to John whose composure was eerily way too calm. You were visibly shaking. “You’re insane.” Even your voice was shaking. You were just utterly terrified beyond what you could handle.

John finally looked up at you, removing his hand from your back as his once blank expression shifted to one of irked offense. “Insane? I’m insane?!” His voice grew louder, making you flinch from every raised pitch. “Do you know what’s truly insane? This world that insists on keeping you away from me! It’s insane that you let humanoid monsters like this sinner attempt to corrupt you! Attempt to touch you in any way! It’s insane that they think they even have the right to do that!”

You instinctively took a step back from him, but it was like he had read your mind as he instantly took a step towards you. “I would rather kill you myself than see you with anyone else! No matter what happens, I will never let anyone have you.” His blazing anger finally pitched down but you still took another step back, prompting him to take another step forward.

“Without you… I'm… nothing. I feel nothing without you.” He spoke with sick, feverish admiration laced within his features and eyes. You had taken another step away but your back had hit the wall. You were caged and cornered like an animal intended to be prey. Your limbs were shivering and tears still spilled out of your wide eyes.

John looked your fear-stricken form up and down before a small smile spread his lips. He said with a smug tone, “I hope you realize the more scared you are, the more excited I get.”

You looked his skinny figure up and down as well, weighing your options in your head. You could take him. And thus, thinking impulsively from the pressure of your own terror, you lunged your fist across his face and roughly shoved at his chest before making a run for it.

You couldn’t tell if you were too slow or your punch was too weak, but John had tackled you against the wall just before you got a close enough chance to escape the bathroom. You tried to throw hits at him but he shoved his body against yours so that you were painfully squished against the wall and him; caged. He shoved his leg in between yours and his hands pinned your arms against the wall with his nails digging into your forearms, earning hissing winces of pain from you.

“What a wicked way to treat me, the person who loves you, like this.” He said in between your ear and neck as you struggled and squirmed against him. “I just want to protect you. Nothing wrong with that, is there?”

You wanted to respond with something hateful but you froze in your position from the sound and vague feeling of his nose slightly caressing the crook of your neck while inhaling deeply through his nose. “Wh-what are you d-doing?” Your voice said in between breathy sobs, your legs and arms still trembling.

“I’ve just realized,” John began, “I’ve never got to feel you before.” The hands that squeezed your forearms slowly began to massage your skin, the bandages on his fingertips feeling like sickening velvet. Wiggling his leg lightly between your inner thighs, pressing his chest closer to yours as his warm breath dusted onto your neck. You squeezed your tear filled eyes shut in wild discomfort. “This is the closest we’ve ever physically been.” He breathed out.

A meter was the minimum of space that had ever been between you, and now he was pressed up against you, not even a millimeter of air left between you. It sent blood to his already flushed cheeks and straight down to where his khaki pants began to strain; an erotic euphoria bubbling within his gut as he unintentionally released a stuttered, breathless moan. His palms nuzzled against the plush skin he held onto. He could feel you so distinctly.

When you felt his nose inhale in your hair that’s when you began to struggle against him again. “Get OFF me!” You finally snapped out at him, trying to use your body weight to shove him off of you. His grip slightly loosened which gave you the opening to thrash your forearms out of his hold and begin punching at his chest.

John’s hand snatched your throat in a haste and shoved you back against the wall, compressing harshly. You choked on a gasp as your hands flung to his in a desperate attempt to claw his fingers off. “You have no idea how nice I’m choosing to be. You should be grateful that I didn’t make you watch me gut that man like the pig he is; grateful that I’m doing this all the easy way.” He said through gritted teeth close to your face.

Your quivering lips clenched before you jerked your knee up to jab him in his groin. He wheezed and released your throat, severe gasps for air populating your mouth as you touched your stinging throat. John took an unintentional step back from you which left you the opportunity to attempt your running escape. You bolted out the bathroom and down the pitch black hall, John had closed the front door when you first walked in so the only source of light was from the bathroom you were running from. You knew you just needed to keep running straight.

You barely got to register the loud cracking noise because you had collapsed to the ground, falling roughly onto your side from the sudden sharp, roaring pain in the back of your calf. You repeatedly hissed in pain when you tried to move, heavy breathing pumping through your lungs. You reached down to your calf to feel a wet substance, a nasty mixture of horror and panic suffocating you.

It wasn’t long before John approached you with a flashlight. The bright light shifted your eyes to the illuminated floor, realizing the layer of clear rubber fabric all over the floor. “Did you really think you could escape me? Don’t you know we’re meant to be together? You’re destined to return to me.” His words fell upon your deaf ears, too caught up in shock.

“You… fucking shot me.” You croaked, your petrified eyes staring at your own wet blood on your fingers. You didn’t want to look further down to the real wound. “I suspected you’d try to run away, so I took the expected precautions.” John spoke plainly as he stepped closer to you, tucking his gun back away as his flashlight was still aimed on your fallen form. “It’s alright, I forgive you. But next time I won’t be as forgiving.”

Your breathing came out uneven and shaky as your incredibly glossy eyes remained on the fresh blood on your fingertips from your leg. John stepped over you so that you were in between his legs before he lunged down onto you, straddling your back as he forced a cloth coated in a chemical onto your mouth and nose.

Your red puffy eyes still drowned in their own terrified tears. “No! Please!” Your dolorous begs became muffled, your squirming actions slowly deflating in energy. Your vision was blurring and darkening, the wall blending with the floor as it warped into unrecognizable shapes. Your head swayed and your mind grew hazy. And before you knew what was happening, you sank into unconsciousness.

[grandmother-goblin]

random ask: what is your absolute most favorite food ever? the one that you wish you could summon at will with no prep required and also need everyone around you to try and also love (but not so much that there's none left for you)?

Oh god, this is a hard one for me to answer because I love so many foods and my favorite REALLY depends on what I’m in the mood for.

Samosas (I NEED to learn how to make these for myself), fish tacos, pierogi, shepherd’s pie (all forms, I make a really good vegan version!), chicken and dumplings soup, pozole, really well seasoned roasted veggies, poke — it’s really a wide variety!

At this very second though, I REALLY want samosas so I’m gonna go with that 😂

[rgr-pop]

last night i made ginger carrot mushroom dumplings with dumpling sauce, sour spicy cold noodles, tomato egg drop soup with tofu and some carrot slaw as well as the BA (archived, no clicks) french yogurt cake. everybody got seconds of everything 🥰

dumplings: i don’t think i’ll bother making the dough from scratch again, made it kind of ugly, but batched dumplings is a totally perfect meal for me to prep and it may become my signature. i am always looking for the best stuff i can mostly prep ahead to lower day-of hosting stress, which this menu achieved really well. as for the filling, i improvised the mushroom sub for meat and it was fine but i would have preferred tofu. the finely grated carrot was amazing and i can’t wait to put that in other kinds of dumplings (ravioli, pierogi, DONUTS??)

dumpling sauce: black vinegar for a dumpling is probably close to my favorite thing to eat on earth but i’m still calibrating my favorite way to do it. i hewed pretty close to the CJ eats but ended up adding twice the vinegar to my own (and it was too salty for me). i made a jar of this then put out all the condiments and gave everyone dishes to mix up what they wanted and this worked great.

noodles: i did woks of life exactly for this, with the spaghetti. i’d prefer more heat and a black vinegar instead, but i will eat this all the time forever. currently having leftovers for lunch. if you come to my holidays look forward to cold spaghetti forever!

soup: i’ve really been trying to learn more soups that start from something other than onions, and i love chinese cooking for that, but it can sometimes be hard to cook meatless. i love how fast chinese soups can come together without meat, and i love the approach of adding a little liquid to a liquid to build a broth—can be very different from euro canon and has helped me learn better instincts. i talked to a vietnamese friend and she suggested getting into rice porridges for guests, great idea. my thing is i always want a vegetarian soup for everybody, and i think vegetarians get fed the same flavor profiles over and over again, and i really love tofu and want to treat veg eaters to really good preparations of tofu grounded in where tofu comes from, which happens to also be my favorite cuisine. so i have to get good at it! but this soup was Not Good to me until i put that egg in and some sesame oil on top. truly trust the process i guess!

i had thought about frying tofu for this meal but it would have been too much. i think with the dipping sauce setup i would have preferred to have two types of things to dip though.

carrot slaw was a last minute addition because i didn’t think i had enough food and it wasn’t as good as it is when i pickle it. the carrots this month have been truly divine.

cake: this was good and easy but probably missing the effortlessness of the french yogurt cake. would like to try again with french instead of greek yogurt (what i had). what is it about BA that they’re like what if you made a cake that tasted like oil? my house SMELLED like CANOLA OIL and i found it offputting. they’re gonna have us doing vegetable oil drizzles on ice cream in june i swear to god

[sithwitch13]

AEW Dynamite 2/14/24

Starting late since I made dinner and hung out with @weareallkosh and @lurkz

Ugh I used to live near the HEB center, not going to all the Texas shows is one of the few things I miss about Texas

Starting with Mox! Beat the hell out of FTR Bald!

Kisses for Valentine's day, I hope all the matches tonight involve kissing

Dick joke lol

I was gonna make the shepherd's pie pierogis from Renee's cookbook for dinner but I've been low on spell slots lately, so I made pork chops from Freddie Prinze Jr.'s cookbook instead. (Delicious but I forgot it's a pepper bomb while cooking)

*headbutts homoerotically*

Not the hugest FTR fan but I do love that when they try to do rope stuff it pretty much always ends badly

Takeshita and Ospreay gonna have to fight to see who is Best Son

Why is Wardlow watching himself flex so funny to me?

My gremlins are here! In biohazard chic!

Please let Copeland adopt Danny so he will then have three dads and be three times as immune to Christian Cage

When can we have another dance off?

Screamed at Danny countering the spear

The Patriarchy ruins everything again 😠

Daddy Magic is such a good dad, I love him

Christian making out with the belt again, oh god

Jesus is back! Always nice to see him.

Every week Swerve just gets better.

ANGRY COWBOY

"Walking domestic dispute" I MEAN...

I'm so here for this dynamic

TONI

"You were my young girl" Ma'am

"You bit the tit that feeds you" why is she the best

Oh noooo she covered her ex-girlfriend's tattoo

The business gremlins just get more adorable the pettier and bitchier they get

The Bucks are tearing the announce team apart!

"I'm impressed that week after week they find new and grotesque things to do with their facial hair" thanks excalibur

Oh nooooo leave Schiavone alone

Aww the Cody chant

I don't think All Friendship Wrestling is the sick burn Darby thinks it is because that's basically what I picture anyway

Aww poor Austin

Willow!

"Your shirt is gold and mine's Texas orange because we're in Texas and I OWN THE COLOR ORANGE"

Commentary is wild tonight

I just keep thinking how Skye's new gear involves collars and she does the Frank Frazetta pose with Julia

Blood Orange

Awww Valentine's gift from Chuck

(The gift is thumbtacks)

Oh lord he has a chain

The pipe in the flowers lol

NOT THE POCKETS

Did the chain get used?

.. did Orange just kiss the belt?

[thehalftrollscholar]

Something I love about being Roman Catholic, is how much of our faith is expressed through art. We are encouraged to share our faith with paintings, music, sculptures, not because of the iconography, but because we’re filled with so much passion that we have to share it. 

One of the reasons the Vatican is so important, even to non Catholics, is because it’s a huge repository of art, history, and knowledge. A giant art gallery/museum/library.

In Catholic teaching, the very act of creating something is inherently holy. When you create a piece of art or anything that you feel pride, your putting a piece of your faith in it, God and the Holy Ghost are working through you to just show your love, love for your life and your faith.

Now, some faiths teach it as being sinful or disrespectful to create any iconography that is not of Christ, and that’s something that the Catholic faith gets a lot of judgment for.

But when we make paintings and sculptures of saints and of Mary, we’re not doing it out of disrespect to the Lord. When we pray to saints it’s not because we worship them, but because we admire them and wish to recognize those who gave their lives to do God’s work. We are praying to God to help us live like them, when there are certain things we are struggling with.

Music, while obviously important to many faiths and religions, it is especially important to Catholics. Most of our mass is done through song and music. 

This is particularly true for me, as I come from a Polish American family. And I’m only third generation American meaning that my family still practices a lot of traditions brought over from the old country. And old world Catholicism is very much about combining your heritage, your culture, any part of your life with your faith.

And I don’t know if it’s a thing about Polish families, or European families, or just Catholic families, or what. But we love to sing, when I am with my family one of us will just start singing out of the blue, and the whole family will join. Little lullabies or songs that we heard on the radio, or just straight nonsense that we come up with on the spot. 

A part of me thinks this comes from my mother’s family who’s culture is so important to our identity. Because my dad‘s family they don’t really do that. They’re very quiet, very reserved with their emotions. And most of the places I’ve been to in my life most groups of people are similar to that. Meanwhile, most of my mother’s family and other Catholic communities I’ve been to people are very outspoken, fiery, and really want to share not just their faith, but their life, their traditions, their heritage, their passions!

To Roman Catholics, the simplest things contain a shred of divinity in them. Too Babci cooing to the little baby in the crib, making pierogi with your mother in the kitchen, too wandering the woods with your friends and siblings, the old men sitting on the porch, talking back-and-forth about whatever.

The very act of living, of breathing, of joy, of simply existing right now at this moment…. is holy!

And that is one of the reasons why I, despite my struggles and doubts, will always be Catholic, and proud of it.

[remindersofgrace]

Beloved Imitators

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” - Ephesians 5:1-2

A couple weeks ago, our family had the opportunity to travel to Zakopane, Poland for Pioneer’s Euroconnect Conference 2023. My husband Eden is a board member of the US branch of Pioneers, which is an organization that sends missionaries to plant churches and make disciples in unreached people groups around the world. Being part of this organization has shaped us in such huge ways, and we’ve been so encouraged and inspired by these men and women who are humbly and wholly surrendered to God no matter the cost, who abide in and embody the love of Christ in such a beautiful way. Pioneers invited board members and their families to attend a regional conference for missionaries working in Northern Europe, and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to attend. After an 11 hour flight to Munich, and another hour flight into Poland, we arrived and spent our first few days in Kraków. 

The next day was Easter Sunday, so Eden found an evangelical church nearby our hotel, where we joined up with Steve (the president of Pioneers-USA) and Arlene Richardson (his wife and my hero) to spend Easter morning worshipping with an international church, singing in both English and Polish, and unexpectedly running into a Pioneers team working in Manchester, England. We spent the day with this team, eating pierogi’s in the Market Square and  grabbing gelato with the Richardsons. 

We got to explore the market at night, with sizzling meats, huge vats of sauerkraut, yummy Polish pizza called zapiekanki, and Kürtöskalács Chimney Cake with nutella inside. 

 The next day, we took a 2 hour bus ride to Zakopane with a team from a church in Ohio who was coming to the conference just to take care of our children (God bless them!). The conference began the next day and it was such an incredible time of seeing the beauty of the global church expressed in so many cultures and languages. Our kids were so incredibly loved on and were the most social that I’ve ever seen. To be in a room with 150 people who were living out their faith in humility, boldness, love, and surrender to whatever God desired for them - my heart was so filled up and encouraged. 

Moments I don’t want to forget: 

- meeting the Oliviera family on Easter Sunday - a vivacious, loving Brazilian family with a daughter and two sons who were some of the greatest kids I’ve ever met. They doted on any kids and I am praying my kids grow up to be like them one day. So much love from this family. 

- meeting the Parodi family - JC, Gema, and Sarah. Loved watching this family worship with such joy and passion amidst hardship and loss. Sarah and the worship team led us in such beautiful multicultural worship, in so many languages and styles. I literally could not stop crying during every worship service, it was so powerful to witness and God’s presence was profoundly felt. There is something about knowing the history of suffering in some of these missionaries and to see them pouring out their praises, declaring the goodness of God - it built up my faith so much. 

- being stopped by a young Australian man in a Turkish kebab restaurant in Zakopane. He asked us what we were doing in Poland, and I responded, “Oh, we’re here for a conference.” He asks, “Oh, is it a Christian conference? Do you know Steve Richardson?” The Richardsons had just told us the day before about how they had met such a wonderful random group of young people while waiting in line for hours to visit Auschwitz. The odds were just too crazy! 

- listening to Jenn Chen’s beautiful talk about living as God’s beloved. Realizing how many strongholds I have just allowed in my heart that are rooted in fear, barriers that have often kept me from receiving God’s love in its fullness. 

- taking a cable car up to the top of Mount Gubalowka and getting to share a meal with Eric and Ellen Peters. I look up to this couple so much, and hearing story after story from missionaries whose lives were so impacted by their care and prayerful presence was just so powerful. 

- Running into Sandro who graciously carried my son up the entire mountain to where we were staying

- staying up until almost midnight with a group of ladies who invited me to let Eden put down the kids and to join them for tea, meeting Aselia, a lovely Kazakh missionary whose testimony impacted me deeply. 

- getting free babysitting (woot woot) and getting to have a dinner date with Phil and Ann Baur, hearing about their lives and just enjoying them so much. 

- having a time of multigenerational prayer with the youth, hearing the testimony of a 12-year-old who was assigned to pray for the parents in the conference, and her having such a profound intimate moment of God speaking that moved her to tears as she shared. Watching young people worship God with their hands raised, knowing how many of them have dealt with isolation from being the only Christian in their community, of pressures without and within, but having a deep, living, sustaining relationship with God that isn’t just riding on the coattails of their parents’ faith. 

- A powerful message from Kefas, a Nigerian pastor turned missionary in England. Him sharing the story of Amadu. 

- getting to share intimately with a group of 2 other ladies about some of the things we were having a hard time entrusting to the Lord. Was so encouraged by their vulnerability and got to pray together. 

- getting to have lunch with John and Jenn Chen (another couple that are my heroes, do you notice a theme here?) and getting to connect and share our lives together. 

- learning about each of the needs and opportunities in the countries in Northern Europe, praying in our small groups. 

- Had a less than gracious moment with Talitha after she made a mess. Had a time of apologizing to her, that I wanted to be more calm and less reactive, that I will always love her no matter what and she said ever so sweetly that she loves me so much. I told her that I’m so glad I’m her mommy, and she said she’s so glad she’s my daughter. 

- sharing in our small groups about the people that have been vessels of God’s love for us. So powerful to see the impact that consistent and faithful love and care can have on a person. 

- Our kids starting to have hangry meltdowns while waiting for our lunch and how Arlene quickly jumped into action, cutting off a large piece of her burger and insisting that we take the majority of her fries which just communicated so much love and care to us. 

- Hilder giving our family a sweet little photo session, sweet time of connecting with her

Takeaways that I want to Remember:

- From Jenn’s talk: 

- We don’t need to make our life work on our own.

- Vulnerability is letting others see the gospel at work in our lives 

- What if we saw ourselves as we really are? As beloved? 

- God wants us to keep pulling off the layers and taking off the masks that are keeping us from experiencing him fully

- What would it look like to let go of our ego and our fear? To just be so consumed by God’s love? 

- Our God is a global God - He can be praised in every language, no culture is outside of Him. It was so beautiful to see a different side of God as people all worshipped in their cultures. 

- We are all Amadu’s. Kefas shared a story about a man named Amadu who, in an effort to get the missionaries out of his area, invited the missionaries to a meal before a pot of soup. He then defecated in front of them, wiped himself with his hand, and put his hand in the soup. Somehow, Kefas was able to stay, to actually take the soup and drink it, and that single act of gracious response melted Amadu’s heart and he gave his life to Christ. We are all those who did heinous acts, and yet the love of Christ pursues us. His grace overwhelms us and will not let us go. 

- Jenn, during our meal, confirming to me after I shared about my insecurities and struggles with comparison that “you will glorify God in the Carolyn way.” 

- From Alan’s talk: 

- We are the visible portrayal of the invisible.

- We both obey and portray Jesus, we are a pointer to who He is. 

- Mediate means to be a vessel 

- The way we can impact others is by imaging Christ in their lives. We are in God’s family, so we are part of the family business. 

- Loving others with God’s love is the fulfillment of our priestly duties. We must legitimately reveal Christ to others. 

What a privilege to meet these men and women and to be able to see into a glimpse of all that God is doing in hearts and lives around the world. I couldn’t capture it the way I wanted to in writing, but this will do for now. 

[kaleidemaran]

tagged by @matrose :D!!! i love these ty

favourite time of the year: SUMMER all of my best outfits are made for summer and i love being outside comfortably. early fall also gets points bc it’s pretty but still warm

comfort food: toast with cinnamon and butter and brown sugar!! or like. double baked potatoes. pierogies

favourite drink: iced chai tea latte or a passion fruit bubble tea with lychee jellies

do you collect anything?: SO MUCH. i collect shells and earrings and rocks and books i already own and also i have a bunch of saved letters from my friends. i have so many knickknacks it’s insane

current song on repeat: loving, loving by vera sola and nightfall by blind guardian

favourite fic: EVER????? oh god. the first two that come to mind are “if e’re we move the mountain” by whatiwouldnotgive which is a bagginshield fic w like 90% of my fave tropes of all time and “playing haruspex” by batshape

favourite video game: i am NOT a gamer but i like stardew valley. i also like super smash bros but that’s just bc it’s fun to lose to my friends

i am tagging whichever of my mutuals would like to play! (or non mutuals im not the boss of you)

[korrasamibottles]

The paragraph in question is actually just me saying all my chaotic thoughts without much sense and hating, but remeber it's just my taste! I get why others like it! (Also depends on how you make it maybe my family just scucked at this lol)

I loVE pasta but strawberries orr also curd cheese with sugar with it.. like it's not actually bad but it just doesn't suit, it feels off? It doesn't feel right??? Look the pasta in the eyes and tell me it's what it wants. Italians know what they're doing here, I'm with them on this one

Pierogi with strawberries on the other hand... like it's similar you might think but no☝️no no it hits different you can trust me with your life

Ok yeah full disclosure as an italian-american the thought of strawberries on pasta DOES give the heebie jeebies like I know I said in the tags of that post that I'd try it (and I would! I'd try any food at least once tbh) but I'd be extremely skeptical. And also a little scared. Strawberries with pierogi sounds amazing though😭 God I'm so hungry......

[peachi-bug]

My family has a tradition of going on vacation in Cape cod.

We would rent a house, not big, just enough for two weeks. We drove from our shitty little town in Massachusetts, our suitcases and bags in the trunk, my stuffed animals at my feet.

I always remember crossing that green bridge. God I hated it. Old and Rickey and so much traffic. But I held up my stuffed companions so they could watch as we passed the water.

The first time is little but blurry memories now. I was 4 or 5. I remember watching SpongeBob in a dark room, other kids sleeping across the floor in blankets and sleeping bags. I remember a slip and slide, the rocks hurt my belly but I didn't mind. I don't think anyone else remembers. I do.

The second year there was no cape. We went up to the mountains to visit my Great uncle and his wife. "She's not well so we're going to keep them company" I remember my mother saying. I remember fireflies and the smell of rusty swings and wet dirt churned up by the rain, scary stories and s'mores. My brother yelling at some older boys who tried to scare me by telling me there was a bear who only ate girls with blonde hair.

The third we go with family friends. I remember eating raspberries off bushes in the rental, taking turns throwing rocks at garbage, playing on an old exercise bike. I remember our friend's dad walking into a screen door. Swimming on an empty dark beach and playing chicken.

The fourth and fifth time we went with my uncle and my cousin. I loved playing hide and seek with my uncle, I always won because he couldn't hear. My cousin was distant, she was older. She did my makeup and told me stories about boys. She doesn't talk to us anymore. I loved the beach and the towns. I felt safe I felt happy and welcome.

The faith we went with my cousins. I hated it. They were mean, they broke my stuff and touched me, opened the bathroom door when I was showering, opened my bedroom door when I was changing. I felt violated. I went home early that year. I didn't feel safe anymore.

The next year there was no more cape. Covid happened, I remember getting a really bad sunburn that year. I wasn't happy anymore.

A couple years after our last vacation we moved away from the coast to the Midwest. No more mountain camping trips, laying in cool grass and watching the stars, playing hide and seek in an unfamiliar house, buying stupid little trophies, keepsakes. I still have a pink wale hat that doesn't fit. I have it on my wall now, a memory and recollection of the past.

I sit at dinner, my brother is at work, it's just me and my parents. We have perogies and spring rolls.

"I wanna go to the cape again before Nate graduates" I pause and shove another hot pierogi in my mouth, "I miss it"

He graduates next year.

They say they would rather take us to Italy or some country that starts with a C, I stop paying attention. I miss the cape. I miss the car ride, the towns, the people. Everything about it. They start talking about plans and I feel like crying.

I want that childlike happiness back, the fun of running across the sand, buying trinkets, and exploring unfamiliar territory.

My family used to visit cape cod.

[ere-the-sun-rises]

I have some tips!

There's nothing wrong with discount meat in grocery stores. If it has a discount tag, buy it!

Costco has very, very cheap rotisserie chicken ($8 CAD). Buy two, use one for dinner and strip the other one down. You can fry it later (margarine and garlic plus are my preferred method, but bbq sauce works well too) and use it in a salad/pasta/whatever.

There's almost always a solution you can find for home issues in Home Hardware (if you're Canadian).

For the love of god, invest in a really good plunger. It'll save your ass and they never, ever break.

Vim and Windex can be used to clean just about everything that isn't dishes or clothes. That includes cooktops and non-porcelain tubs.

Dollar stores are a godsend. Lots of them have cheap breads and tools (think pliers and paintbrushes), as well as kitchen wares (I cannot recommend Betty Crocker kitchen stuff enough).

If you can't afford a vacuum but your place is cold, buy bathmats. They're usually plush, affordable and washing machine safe.

Invest in good towels. They should be thick, wide and soft. Trust me, good towels wash better and never need to be replaced.

Thrift stores are denim gold mines. Spend the time to thrift for jeans - you won't regret it.

There is very little clothing that can't be fixed with an embroidery hoop, a needle, some thread and time. Darning is easy to do, if a little time consuming, and can save a pair of pants (especially if you get holes in the inner thigh like I do).

Keep unsavable denim clothing - they make great patches, especially if you don't have the time to darn.

Burning cheap candles that smell good can be a lifesaver for morale. Everyone likes their place to smell good, and candle scents tend to linger unlike airfresheners or plug ins.

Wool socks can save your feet in the winter, even with shitty boots/shoes.

Don't cheap out on extension cords or power bars. They will cause fires.

Frozen vegetable mixes are the best. They often have otherwise expensive foods like brocolli or cauliflower in them, and they're super cheap.

As a former cashier, your groceries do not get judged. Don't be afraid to buy what you need or what's at a really good price.

Crockpots are the ultimate soup machines, and soup is such a wonderful and easy thing to make.

CABBAGE. Cheaper than other greens (mostly) and very versatile. Eastern European recipes make a lot of solid use from it.

Speaking of, soup mixes and boullion cubes. They are cheap, easy to use and work wonders flavouring a soup or rice.

Freeze as much as you can, especially meat. Pork and beef can be cooked from frozen, as well as some pre-prepared fish.

Check if your grocery store does bagged value stuff. In mine, they have $10 bags of breaded fish, breakfast sausage and hotdogs (good, big ones too). These are generally stagnant prices, so they're good reliable items.

Frozen pierogi are really good and usually pretty cheap if you don't buy a name brand (look for them in a bag rather than a box). You can fry them in oil (or bacon grease if you're feeling bougie) to crispen the shells. Don't buy the ones with bacon inside, though - they're disgusting. Cheese and potato or potato and spinach are the best.

Vinegar is an effective (if mildly unpleasant) cleaner. Use it to disinfect stuff like door handles, countertops or even floors (though it doesn't clean as well as an actual floor cleaner).

Try and keep a plant in each room. You'd be surprised how much your new little buddy will improve your mood.

Duvets are superior bed clothes if you live anywhere cold.

Bed-in-a-bag are really, really helpful. They usually contain a comforter, fitted sheet, flat sheet and pillow shams (2 or 4 depending on whether it's a twin or higher). While not as warm as duvets, they're well worth the money.

If you've got long hair, there are little mesh caps you can buy to place in your drains. This will catch the hair and cut down on Draino costs/usage.

Nice laminate tiles are available - you don't have to completely tear up your floor to update your place.

Mattress toppers can save your bed for you. Aim for 3", though - it's the most comfortable.

Throw blankets are great for a cheap way to pad your bedding or keep you warm around the house. You can even use them in place of carpets (though i'd recommend only in bedrooms - they move too much for high-traffic areas like living rooms).

Polyester traps heat better than cotton and is more resilient. Polyester/cotton/raylon blends are the best fabric to balance durability with comfort.

Polyester-filled pillows can be machine washed/dried and indeed should be. It prolongs and preserves their lifespan.

Pillows are a good insulator if your bed is against an external wall.

Some tips on eating as a poor person that aren't "live on dry beans and rice that take time and effort to make"

Food Banks Exist For YOU!! I don't need one anymore but am so thankful for them. You may hesitate to go to them bc you don't think you need it as badly as others... but from someone who spent years with their dad going to several, the food is there and they want to help. It isn't embarrassing; the people who volunteer are doing it for a reason, and ime treat you as a shopper, not a charity case. There are sites to find food banks. If you go to one, they usually have pamphlets for all the ones in the area. We never had to prove income or anything like that. They want to help, I promise.

If there's a local farmer's market, check to see if they have a subsidy program for people on food stamps. Another thing my dad and I used. At two separate markets 5 hrs apart, both had a program where you could DOUBLE your food stamp money in farmer's market coupons. Healthy, fresh, local, ethically raised food for less than the grocery store

If you go to a store more than once in a blue moon get the discount/membership/whatever card. It's usually super easy and almost always saves you a LOT of money

When in a supermarket, look at price per ounce if comparing items. Do not look at total price vs visual package size. Companies are experts at packing less and less food into larger packages. Grocery stores with a price per oz on the tags are so so helpful, but if they don't, sometimes it honestly makes a difference to use your phone calculator

CHECK IF YOU HAVE AN ALDI IN YOUR AREA. They sell actual seriously good, usually healthy food way cheaper than crappy stuff at other stores. This is for a lot of reasons I won't get into. But, it's also just a more ethical system for their workers, who make well above minimum wage. Aldi is Life. Tip: if you don't have reusable bags, keep an eye out for empty boxes as you shop. They don't bag anything for you.

BIG LOTS or other similar clearance/discount stores. They get an ever-changing stock of things at deep discounts. Lots of nice luxury and/or healthy groceries at half price as well as your normal staples. Also my go-to for home items and pet supplies

Shop Sales. This one is obvious to some but others just aren't in the habit. I almost exclusively buy things on sales where I save at least 1/3, usually 1/2. You can have a fully stocked pantry and freezer and spend half as much as if you only buy things when you want to eat that particular thing. It does mean less fresh food, but y'know. Just develop a laser eye for a sale tag and know where the clearance section is. Second nature to people who grew up poor but I was amazed shopping with college friends who bought full price name brand food and had trouble paying rent

I haven't done this but my brother swears by it. He went in with a few friends on a communal Costco membership. Could also do this with Sam's Club. They shop together, and then split bulk items if there's a great deal on something one person couldn't eat on their own. Bulk is the way to go if you can find a way to have the up-front cash. Impossible for many which is why the communal thing is so genius!

If this helps even one person it was worth writing out! I've realized last year, I learned a Lot growing up under the poverty line. It doesn't just appear in your brain when you're 22 and can't pay your bills for the first time.

Please feel free to add other tips if you have them. Just don't shame people for eating what they choose to eat like those "vegan dollar cookbooks" or whatever.

[andfasterthings]

how do you think pat's first time seeing terri and rob again would go in shps?

god i'm so glad you asked because i've been dying to talk about it.

i frequently joked with people about the Looming Specter of Terri and Rob. i had wanted to figure out a way to include them, but it never felt organic. i thought about having her be in the kitchen when pat came up to make pierogi, but it felt forced.

i think he'd be nervous, for sure. he hasn't seen them in six and a half years, and he's not sure how they'll feel about him after all this time. i don't really think there's "sides" in this story, but i think pat certainly feels that there are at times. i think he'd worry that there'd be resentment or lingering hurt feelings.

but there's none of that. just warmth. terri and rob were his second family. after a few moments of pat standing rigidly next to tk, i think it would be fine. they love him, you know? just as much as carrie and steve love tk. they're glad he's back—and glad he's back with tk.

and terri would have to restrain herself for at least six months before starting to ask about grandkids 😂

[she-wont-miss]

Evieee ;D

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you. Spread the positivity!

ABIGAILLL!! <3

good food. idk ive gotten into pierogies recently and theyre so good so thats a plus!!

my moots <33 ily all

good fics. idk there's something about going OH MY GOD THEY WOULD. it's so special to me

books. i love books.

merch!! i got some new funkos for christmas and i'm obsessed. idrk i just love them

thank you so much for the ask!!

[mypinkshoelaces]

Thanks so much @yorg-thereal-human for tagging me ^^

sooo here we go:

Last song: Nothing Matters by The Last Dinner Party (I love them so god damn much)

Favourite colour: surprisingly (but not originally) it's actually blue (still love pink tho)

Currently watching: rn nothing, but I've meant to pick up Nana (as in the anime) for a while now

Food: as an average polish citizen I adore pierogi

Relationship status: chronically single

Current obsession: I'm trying to get into dc comics, so I guess that

Last thing I googled: countdown to the end of the school year

tags (if you didn't want to get tagged then please ignore that '^^)

@seven-ruins-it @owls-and-horses @echoanddust

I hope I did it right

thank you @andrwminward !! 9 people you’d like to get to know better

last song: kill her freak out by samia 🩵🩵

favorite color: green !!!

currently watching: women’s d1 ncaa swimming and diving champs 🫶

sweet/savory/spicy: SPICY !! yay

relationship status: single but maybe not for much longer !?!

current obsession: honestly not much rn. working on some new ocs and continuing a fic

last thing you googled: how is college diving scored

no pressure tag: @fromjannah @bnsfrailway @grieving4theliving @mildew-dread-mold @speciouspessimism @littlelesbianlegend @declanshole @likeconcorde and anyone else who wants to 💖

[chewablepebbles]

UGH. I just got contacted about an ag job for tomorrow that to limit my time in the heat, would need to have me wake up in five and a half hours. Cannot wait to spend my day on a tractor in the texas sun :^]