#It's mostly about repair for like. A house and cars and tools and stuff

[new-austin]

I just found out my dad has a YouTube channel he regularly uploads to

[oneleggedflamingo]

Yay I'm back from Rhodes. I don't need to go back there again, it was an experience to see that place but I belong in the Finnish forest. :) There was nice people, and scammers, and I liked walking away from the town and seeing normal living/non-tourist area, like diffferent road infrastructure, housing types and tool department stores. The buildings were pretty too and it was interesting comparing the city road layout to Finnish ones.

To me there were very few pedestrian crossing marks and when you go to stand in front of it, most cars don't seem to care about you. In Finland they mostly slow down and come to a stop to let you walk over.

And when there is no crossing lines to be seen I would hold myself tightly and look for an opening to run across the road.

And the biggest culture shock to me was how the sellers (and the scammers) esp. in the tourist stuff area are so aggressively trying to get you to stop and come to their store, and I genuinely feel that if you would act like that in Finland you would get punched in the face for it and there would be no apologies. Left hook right to the eye, seriously, you could not act like that in Finland.

Also scammers as their own thing. How?? How are there people who spend their day like that?? I haven't seen any scammers in Helsinki, I know people do that all the time, but seeing individual people do that in public in daylight just seems so strange.

The way to get scammed in my home town area is to go to a dying DVM that also has a repair shop on the side of it.

Also I appreciate our tap water even more.

I might start sharing the photos tomorrow.

[eobdtooluk-blog]

OBDSTAR DC706 Unbiased Customer Reviews

As we know, OBDSTAR DC706 ECU programmer is designed for vehicle ECM, TCM and body/other system for ECU flasher. It can read ECU info, R/W Eeprom/Dflash/Pflash/MAP, reset ECU (Virgin), calibrate mileage, read IMMO pincode, and recover ECU, etc via OBD and bench. What is the actual use effect? Let’s see the related customer reviews.

Review 1:

Tool arrived. All work fine!!! Cadillac 6L45 TCM clone ok. GM Acdelco E39a clone ok.

Review 2:

GM TCM T87 and T87 you can do it yourself, full reading and writing. That was only available for flex, B-flash. Now i finished it with dc706. Amazing!

Review 3:

The DC706 is a good tool especially for the money. It is a bit clunky to work with the files. Otherwise, it’s a very formidable tool. We use it often on the DPS6 Ford TCMs as it is easy to connect when working mobile.

Review 4:

9GV OBDSTAR reading fine with everything included nothing separate!!! Very good device!

Review 5:

Audi Temic VL381 0AW gearbox clone ok. The dc706 obdstar did it perfectly. Not everything is flex or dim. And not fc200 either.

Review 6:

Fiat IAW 9gv is done, same as IO terminal without opening it. Amazing!

Review 7:

OBDSTAR DC706 is a good tool for PSA whatever.

Review 8:

The first test was a Guzzi miu g4 motorcycle engine control module on bench.

Review 9:

DC706 for the win on 2016 Chevrolet Colorado BCM. D70F3558/24c66.

Review 10:

Tested on DQ250 02E year 2016, two DQ200 2010 and 2012.

All works perfect, highly recommended!

Review 11:

I picked up this tool a few weeks ago and have spent some time testing its capabilities. The DC706 is a tablet based ECM, TCM, and BCM cloning tool, advertised as being able to read and write memory areas (eeprom, D-Flash, P-Flash) of supported control units, as well as some pin code extraction, all through OBD or bench mode (mostly bench).

The tool this most closely resembles is IO Terminal. I am not labeling this as comparison because I have never used IO Terminal, nor do I wish to open a debate on who cracks or pirates who's software, that's above my pay grade. I'll stop short of calling this a review, because I haven't fixed any cars with it yet, I've only tested it on various modules.

I had been considering the purchase of IO Terminal for some time for in house use. As an independent repair facility, where I see the benefit of this type of tool would mostly be on the GM global A stuff, TCM's in particular. As we all know, GM's transmissions are a weak link. One of the running jokes in the shop when a 6L80 equipped GM is towed into the shop… is it here for its 100,000 mile transmission replacement? Thus far we have been able to sell a factory or Jasper remanufactured transmission only requiring SPS2 programming. But as these vehicles age I envision used replacements will become an option for some based upon financial means and vehicle depreciation. Also in today's world of hit and miss module availability, this type of tool can provide another option. Tooling and software from Kess V2, Flex, PCMflash and the like are not financially practical for sporadic in house use, and I'm not likely to market module cloning as a sublet service anytime soon. The cost of IO terminal hardware and the various software packages can add up and has kept me on the fence about purchasing it, unsure of the return on investment.

I saw this dc706 ecu tool from OBDStar and it seemed intriguing. OBDStar makes some immobilizer and odometer correction tools, as well as motorcycle and marine scan tools. This new tool offered from OBDStar and has been on the market for about 6 months.

Checking the module coverage list it was pretty much identical to IO Terminal. The price point was good at about $1,400 for the full software version (ECM, TCM, and Body/other) plus another $100 for their P003 adapter for certain modules. It seems like the subscription fee will be a couple of hundred dollars a year to keep it current. So I decided to roll the dice and give it a try.

The first thing I noticed after activation of the tool was a version update that now includes ZF 8HP TCM's on all makes, including Dodge and GPEC-4 PCM's in boot mode. In addition, I turned the tool on a few days ago to discover another update that amongst other things included GPEC-2, 2A, and 3 PCM's. It's encouraging to see regular updates and expanded coverage.

I gathered a bunch of modules to test: E39A and E92 GM PCM's, 2 FCA RF Hubs, a Ford continental BCM, a GM Bosch BCM, and a GPEC-2 PCM. Guide and pin out diagrams are clear and accurate. Performed all reading and writing on all of these modules easily and successfully. VIN's were visible on eeprom and d-flash sectors, as well as pin codes.

Deciphering some of the verbage while using can be a challenge, but already having Chinese tablet based scan tools from Launch, Autel, and Topdon, I consider Chinenglish a second language. An example of this in photo number 2 while reading a GM Bosch BCM in bench mode, it gave me pause when I first saw it, but I speculate it was telling me not to wake up the BCM with ignition source voltage during read and write operations. I proceeded and successfully read and write the BCM.

No tool like OBDSTAR DC706 ECU tool perfect, I'm sure holes and flaws will be discovered, but at this point my confidence level is pretty high. I just hope it comes through when I need to use it “for real”.

I wanted to share this for those who maybe in a similar situation, it may be worth considering this tool.

Thanks to all customers’ feedback above!

[planet4546b]

ok if the first resonance was in 2018 (?), but the tech in s/n is based on like radio-era tech. what happens to the stuff in between. like does it fade out of use or become impractical etc etc. feel free also to just use this as a pass to talk about whatever tech u want actually <3

HI LUNA <3 so theres actually 3 parts of this answer:

its impractical

its been 200/300 years and most of it has rotted

thematic reasons. and also vibes

i used to have some macguffin-y answer to this about how the resonance fucked with existing tech but thats lame. in actuality people just had to adapt + learn to survive + start rebuilding pretty quick and most of that didnt involve upkeep of most technology. pair that with large cities + population centers becoming the most unstable places and the overall collapse of infrastructure (no one to keep power plants running) and in the time directly after the resonance 1. a fair amount of tech is nonfunctional and 2. most of it isnt particularly useful when you're trying to build housing and get food and not have your whole town vanished eto another dimension.

by the time a lot of places were becoming more stable, a lot of the tech had started rotting out, and the functional knowledge of how to repair it had mostly been lost. its also important to keep in mind that becuase of what all was happening during the resonance, if you go into an old building to try to find old tech, you're just as likely to find a refrigerator as you are to find some random ass device from another universe that you don't recognize. telling the difference, and being able to find the right library from the right universe with the right information about how to repair it (let alone the right tools or parts!) is like . next to impossible.

at the point in history that we're at, enough 'new' tech has been developed for the specific purposes that are needed that old stuff is pretty irrelevant. this does change depending on the specific purpose - no one is using cars, because travel is dangerous, but traditional internal combustion engines are still in use in some agricultural equipment, etc. a lot of the new tech is me putting random words together and saying 'hey, that sounds cool!' and not knowing more about what it does past that khgldsjag (how does 'a predictive engine run on quantum anomalies' work?? fuck if i know!). but what can you do!!

the thematic reason is that a lot of signoise is about failures of connection and communication. there's plot reasons that people can't be able to contact others easily, or to be able to travel easily, but also 'not being able to go home' and 'not being able to communicate with others' is a LOT of the point. so the more tech i can take out that functions for communication the more fun im gonna have yippee!!!

ty for the question as always ilu <3

[kaypeace21]

The fathers of Stranger Things:  (narrative analysis)

This analysis will discuss all the dads in st. But will mostly focus on the parallels between Brenner, Lonnie, Neil,and Hopper. And the ramifications on their kids.And no i’m not saying Hopper is necessarily as bad as these other fathers/doesn’t have his reasons. But i think the parallels are worth mentioning.

Cycles of Ab*se  & internalizing your father’s teachings

Baseball-We see in s2 the cycle of abuse is there- Billy mimics Neil, and then Max mimics Billy. And uses violence to stand up for herself- which earlier she said she was trying to combat … explaining she can be angry like Billy sometimes but she never wants to be like him (her nickname symbolizing this: aka ‘mad max’).  

We see in s3 Neil taught Billy baseball and bullied him  and called him a “p*ssy” so Billy as a child bullied others and calls them a “p*ssy” (internalizing his father’s teachings and probably venting his anger towards his father on to others). We also see Billy in s2 antagonizes max and demands “say it. say it!”And later Max yells at Billy “say it! say it” and attacks him with a bat. Showing that even Neil has influenced her to a certain extent (via Billy’s ab*se of Max). 

We also see in s3 when Will is frustrated he destroys cb (a symbol of his artistic ambition/the day his father left) and destroys it with a  baseball bat (and then we see the mf officially return) . We also see in s2, Will has a baseball next to the mf drawing (in his room). This is noteworthy due to the fact Jonathan in s1 asks if Will even likes baseball or is just doing it to appease his father. in s1, Will admits he isn’t a fan of baseball -showing how this ‘interest’ in baseball in later seasons just reflects his desire to win his father’s approval (through more sterotypically masculine hobbies).  And we see how both Neil & Lonnie taught both their sons baseball- who are both named William -and who they would call  “f*gs”. We also see in s1 Jonathan lugs around a baseball bat & his father’s gun -however neither tool is used by him in the end successfully. However, in s3 we see Jonathan using an axe (like Joyce) showing by this point he’s mostly taken on Joyce’s influence. 

El’s spying , fighting the Russians, and  lack of care for her safety shows she internalized Brenner’s teachings- We know in s1 El was trained to be a spy/weapon against the soviets (by Brenner). And in later seasons when it comes to her interpersonal relationships- she continues to spy on everyone around her.  she spies on Mike despite his vocal discomfort in s3. Brenner specifically tells her to spy and repeat the words the guys are saying back to him- which is exactly what she does to Lucas and Mike (spying on them and repeating their words back to Max). And when Mike is concerned for her safety we also have El mimic Brenner’s words (from s1) . in s1 she is also said to be taken by Brenner to be a “weapon to fight the commies” and in s3 that’s exactly what she did!  She does literally everything Brenner ever wanted from her!!!!!!!

Jonathan & Billy’s fights with Steve (reflect their father issues... which Steve accidentally triggered)- We see Billy and Jonathan both shoved into walls by their father’s . For Billy this is in a direct consequence of Max running away and for Jonathan- Will’s disappeareance. Billy first shoves Lucas into the wall similarly to Neil. And both Jonathan and Billy are told to “STOP”.

Billy also breaks a plate over Steve’s head. What’s interesting to note is in s3 we see Billy’s mother threw a plate at  Billy’s father (so he was mimicking the dysfunction he saw as a child). kind of like how in s3 he backhands max (mirroring how neil backhanded his mother in the s3 flashback). 

When it comes to jonathan we see jonathan tell nancy to leave and it’s “not worth it” to argue with Steve. However he stops in his tracks when Steve says he’s “like his father”. Then Steve proceeds to insult his family. And  eventually Jonathan who throughout every season is generally portrayed as non confrontational attacks steve. similarly when Billy and Jonathan are beating Steve (who is laying on the ground)-multiple people are yelling for them to stop.But both are in too much of a triggered daze to stop themselves. Even when the cops come- Jonathan elbows the cop in the face and kicks steve with handcuffs on and even says handcuffed for the cop to “get off’ (like he told Lonnie earlier). 

Both would rather do this to their own fathers-but Steve (and the cops) were used as their proxy instead. The fights might reflect what the boys have been taught by their fathers-aka vi*lence. Also on some subconscious level jonathan may have been like-oh you think i’m like my dad? I’ll show you what my dad is like (beats steve with no mercy).

***also, tw se*ual ab*se (you can skip)-during the jonathan fight they also bring up the “pervy photo sesh”- which jonathan took right after seeing his father. in the movies said to inspire s4 they often had a se*ually ab*sive dad/relative who would take innaproriate pics of his kids.uuuuugh. So jonathan may have just been mimicking that past behavior of his father. ugh.***

father’s ab*se  reflects the supernatural

*if you know about my did theory-part 1 and 2 you’ve heard this stuff in detail but i’ll just give a brief synopsis 

- The demogorgan that attacks Will in s1 is  a demon called the “deep FATHER” in d&d.

-El first comes across the demogorgon  (“deep father” ) eating it’s own eggs- symbolically this shows the ‘father’ is hurting it’s own kids ( a motif in the show)!

hunting/baseball/trunks connecting to Lonnie and the monsters:  Will is attacked by the demogorgan in Lonnie’s old shed (and Will tries to defend himself with Lonnie’s old hunting gun). The demogorgan jumps on Jonathan and knocks the bat out of his hands, when he tries defending himself from the demogorgan( both activities: hunting/baseball Lonnie taught the boys).  We also see the demogorgan also attack hunters and a deer- a ref to the lonnie & Jonathan hunting story about Bambi. In s1 we see Jonathan check Lonnie’s trunk to see if Will is there . But also we see the mf throw heather and later her parents in the trunk as well. Also when Jonathan starts talking car repair lingo in s3 -Will senses the mf (since Lonnie repaired cars as a hobby in s1). When lonnie returns in s1 jonathan asks Joyce “did that thing (demogorgan ) come back?” And when Lonnie says he explored around the quarry-jonathan mentions how the demogorgan only traveled a few miles  around his house. When Lonnie says “someone should be held accountable” for what happened to Will- it transitions from lonnie hammering a nail into the wall to Mike piercing a pencil into paper explaining the hole in the upsidedown and how Will got trapped there- hinting at how Lonnie causing trauma to Will is the explanation for everything supernatural. Also need to point out how we zoom in on the lightbulb in Lonnie’s shed (after Will is taken) and they later zoom in on a red lighbulb (when Jonathan tears the innappropriate photos down from the red room) and then it transitions to the christmas lights. And then we see Lonnie berate Jonathan and there’s a glowing lightbulb beside Lonnie (to mirror him to the demogorgan).

-flowers & monstrous fathers: when Brenner (”papa”) first hurts Terry on a hospital bed she wakes up with sunflowers next to her bed. Lonnie in s1 is shown to have a sunflower blanket, and in s2 we see a sunflower book next to Will’s bed after he has a nightmare. We also see that the demogorgan ( ”deep father’-also called the “the man without a face” in s1 ) have a face that resembles a flower. Brenner also gave El a flower when on her bed (although not a sunflower) before forcing her to face the demogorgan for the 1st time.

I believe  credit goes to the tumblr user lazy-storm-cloud for noticing Lonnie’s sunflower blanket. I noticed most of the flower imagery but never noticed that blanket until they mentioned it.

-supernatural “wounds” connecting to Will,  El, Kali and fathers.The lab workers say the upsidedown’s influence over crops/hawkins is “spreading”  while joyce says the tunnels Will drew are also “spreading”. Will says his now-MEMORIES” (connected to the mf-who parallels lonnie) are “growing, spreading, and killing.” Later, Kali in reference to Brenner says her wounds “spread” because she didn’t address her pain caused by Brenner (her papa). And when kali creates a brenner-double he says El has a terrible wound that’s “growing, spreading, and eventually it’ll kill you.” (if not addressed) and they don’t stand up against their father.

-doors connecting to problematic fathers: We see Will in s1 have a sign on his bedroom door that says “do not enter”. And he also requires a password for cb for people to enter. When joyce in s1 hears aggressive knocking on the door she assumes it’s lonnie and says to “go away, Lonnie”.  In s1 we the demogorgan unlock the door telepathically and chase Will. later we see Will stare at the shed door terrified as the demogorgan sneaks up  behind him. in s2 we see the mf slam open the arcade door by itself, and also open his house door in the same manner . when the house door opens it zooms in on the back of his neck- which indicates it’s based off an old memory-a now memory.  We have El also telepathically unlock people’s doors in a similar fashion-not respecting such boundaries. And El asks in s1e1 for the door to stay open.  And Neil, Hopper, and Billy  angrily yell to “OPEN THE DOOR!!!!!” And Hopper slams doors open demanding they stay 3 inches open. We also see El enter a door in the void to see Heather being attacked in a tub and entering the darkness.

tubs:brenner forces El into a sensory deprivation tank. Later El refers to it as a “tub” after seeing the byers tub. we later see the mf is afraid of the byers’ tub. And tub iconography shows up for billy & heather. the s4 movies hint at Will having a tra*matic memory occurring in the tub.

The fathers of St  (recap):

Brenner (“papa” to El and Kali). He forces El into a dark room for hours when she doesn’t obey him. At one point tries to force her to k*ll an animal.  Given the way she ate at Benny’s- he may have starved her as another form of punishment.He allows El no ability to express herself (and dresses her in a masculine/androgounous way) and bans her from the outside world. He tries using a calm-kind demeanor to try and manipulate mothers (Joyce & Karen) into thinking he cares about their kids. And uses El as a weapon/spy .  He would read to El and give her flowers and  a lion plushie . in the st novel  (suspicious minds) he compared the children/numbers to  “rabbits” he could “hurt”.

Lonnie-(dead beat dad of Jonathan and Will). divorced.Forced Jonathan to k*ll a rabbit. It’s implied he has thrown his kids in his dark car trunk  (since Jonathan checks if Will is lonnie’s trunk in s1). He tries manipulating Joyce into thinking he cares about Will. But he just wanted to use Will’s death to make money. He canonically-joked about his son dissappearing. And insulted his ex wife. Then when he realizes he can profit off his son’s death-who he hasn’t seen in years. He leaves his 20-something live in gf, flirts with Joyce calling her “babe”. And pretends to care for Will and the rest of his family. Then gaslights them when they call out his bs. He also has called Will a “f*g” and it’s implied he forced Will to hunt/play baseball. He also shoves Jonathan into a wall. He can have a relatively calm demeanor like Brenner-but then blows up. He smokes, and it’s implied he may be an alcholic since beer cans are littered all over his house. Will has lion plushie in cb (and since lonnie means ‘lion’ it may have been given to him by Lonnie?). He  (like Hopper) implies Joyce is mentally ill and that she’s hallucinating due to grief-and says she’s going to go “over the edge” mirroring Hopper’s words about Joyce in s1. 

Neil- divorced.Calls Billy a “f*got”, and forced him to play baseball. He later shoves his son into a wall and slaps him. He has a calm demeanor and then yells to make his points with Billy.  He also yells at first wife cause romantically jealous. Him & Lonnie both have fights with their ex wives where the phrase “I’m not lying to you” is used. 

Hopper- divorced.in s1-3 we see he smokes, pops pills,  and is an alocholic. The pilot pitch explicitely states he is . He is shown to have anger issues, sells out El’s location to Brenner in s1. In s2 threatens to send her back to her ab*sers if she doesn’t listen to him/ stay isolated from the outside world. dresses her androgonously and tries controlling her romantic relationships. He yells at Joyce cause romantically jealous . joyce annoyed at Hopper: “yes everyman i speak to is my boyfriend”. El says “you are like papa.” And in the pilot Brenner and Hopper were said to dress similarly. And Murray says to Joyce that Hopper is a “brute” who “reminds (her) of a (past) bad relationship”. Aka Lonnie. 

Steve’s dad- is called an “asshole” by Steve and it’s implied he cheats on his wife.

heather’s dad - is sexist to Nancy and cold to his wife. We see Heather (who is the same age as Nancy) has some hidden resentment towards him.

Sam (Max’s dad)- divorced/out of the picture like Lonnie. in the novel ‘runaway max’ is said to be a criminal who often took Max to shady places/bars. And also taught her how to pick door locks-similar to how Jonathan picked a car lock open in s1 like max with a door in s2.

Dustin’s dad- also out of the picture ? dead... maybe?

Recap: Parallels of fathers

forced their kids to k*ll animals/violence toward rabbits/throws kids in dark places/gave their kids lion plushies/tries unsuccessfully to manipulate mother’s  into thinking he cares for their kids: Lonnie & Brenner

taught kids shady stuff like how to pick locks: Lonnie & Sam 

are described as poor/called their sons “f*gs”/forced sons to play baseball/slam sons into walls/have their sons attack Steve/have sons who are into hard rock music: lonnie & Neil

“i’m not lying to you”-:Neil/ex wife and Lonnie/joyce

dr*gs/smokes/alochol ab*se/womanizers/hunters: lonnie & Hopper

imply Joyce is wrong about the supernatural and is just mentally ill: Lonnie and Hopper. Both use a similar expression of her being on “the edge”.

lie to Joyce: Lonnie and Hopper (specifically lies claiming he took her advice and uses that lie to try and get a date with her)

Gave them cat plushies: Lonnie,Brenner, possibly hopper with sara’s tiger 

being connected to flowers: Brenner & Lonnie

yell at love interest when romantically jealous:Neil and Hopper in s3

Hopper: compared to Lonnie (by Murray in s3) and Papa/brenner (by el in s2). in the original pilot Brenner & Hopper were supposed to look similar. Brenner was supposed to have a beard, and wear jeans and plaid shirts similar to hopper in s1. it’s also interesting to note how Hopper started to look more like Neil -they’re both blondes-and in s3 they have matching moustaches (and billy started growing out a moustache in s3-mirroring him becoming a mini neil too).

dress El in masculine clothes/isolate her from outside world/spy on El/read to El:Hopper & Brenner

calm demeanor but quick to anger/ also divorced: Hopper, lonnie, Neil

yells to “open the door”: Neil, Hopper, (and possessed Billy) .it’s also implied Lonnie can pick door locks open.

outliers

jonathan - In the pilot pitch he’s described as taking on the father role for Will (after Lonnie left).  However, he is often paralleled to the mothers of st. Most likely because he never had a healthy father figure- and distrusts even good men like Bob- so models his parenting behavior more so on maternal figures. We see  Jonathan being paralleled to the mothers taking photos of their kids on Halloween, and Jonathan being paralleled to Karen twice.  We even see him bored/annoyed in s2 watching the film “mr mom” since the comedic premise was haha - dad has to stay at home- cook for their kids , drive them to school, do laundry, whaaa how can a man do that ... look it’s so hard  ? isn’t that what moms do instead? All things Jonathan does without literally tripping over himself and failing like the older male film character, initially does .  He also in canon helps pay for the mortgage. We also see Jonathan is unlike the other problematic fathers (who demand entry into their kid’s room) since we see him knock on Will’s door and get verbal permission before entering Will’s room in s2 (respecting Will’s sign). Similar to joyce ringing cb’s doorbell and getting verbal permission from Will to enter.We also see on Halloween Jonathan mocks Bob but when Will defends him Jonathan later mimics Bob telling Will “hope it doesn’t suck” (in a vampire voice) showing at least subconsciously he was mirroring the parenting-like behavior from Bob (since Will liked Bob). So Bob became the first male he used as an inspiration for his ‘parenting style’.

Ted-  is shown in direct opposition to Lonnie.In s1 we see Ted help Mike put on a tie mentioning to Mike it has to be a “little tight” and that it “looks good”. And  after this scene: we see Jonathan struggle to put on a tie (and then ripping it off in frustration-signifying his lack of a father figure that could have taught him how to do this when younger). So in s3 we see Jonathan’s ties are always poorly done and slightly loose around his neck. The same season Jonathan comments about how Nancy’s dad makes 6 figures and his dad “isn’t even around”. He finacially supports his family. cuddles Holly on his fav laze-boy and takes her to fairs. Wants to comfort Mike after Will dies (but listens to Karen to give him time). Has Karen tell Mike that if he wants to talk to him about Will’s death- he can call him at work and he’ll come home for Mike. His calm demeanor seems genuine -unlike the other father figures who quickly lose their cool facade (Ted has never yelled at his kids). Even when kids yell or insult him he doesn’t lose his cool. Worst things he’s done: told kids to stop cursing, naps alot, gives an outdated football analogy about How Mike needs to stop acting out . Why st fans claim he’s a bad dad : boring af aka the human embodiment of wonder bread, in loveless marriage,  and not rambo-esque like Hopper so people act like he’s a horrible dad in comparison to Hopper. Despite being a  more stable parent in the normal everyday situations.

Lucas’ dad- unfortunately we saw very little of him. But he seems somewhat similar to Ted. He’s nice and gives somewhat dated  advice at the table to his son-like Ted did. He seems like a mellow, chill dude, who finacially supports his family. But,Unlike karen/ted it seems like he loves his wife and vice versa.

Bob-the wannabe stepdad-  as the first romantic interest after Lonnie-He contrasts him. He doesn’t do drugs or smoke.  Is emotionally vulnerable with Joyce and vice versa. He never makes fun of Will or Joyce’s mental health issues. he relates to Will -who was bullied as a kid, and is into computers, comics, and was in av club (just like Will). He is supportive of Will’s non-manly interests and encourages those interests (bringing brain puzzles, and board games over when told Will is sick).  Unlike Lonnie who tried to force ‘manly’ interests on to Will. He isn’t mad when Will busts his brand new camera but is simply concerned that Will is being bullied. He’s also shown being concerned about Will’s mental health. He helps joyce with little things like finding her keys and taking Will to school. His happy calm demeanor  is genuine-and he is never shown yelling in anger. He kindly disagrees with joyce on the ‘ drawings on the walls game’ cause he was concerned it wasn’t good for Will’s mental health (and tells her she can talk more about Will’s issues). He sacrifices himself to save Will, joyce and everyone around him.  And unlike Hopper- Bob was never jealous or mean to joyce about the men in Joyce’s life. Bob was serious about Joyce and the boys-he wanted them to be his family and move them near his own blood relatives. We see he had an impact on the boys at the end of s2- Will drawing the “bob newby superhero” drawing and Jonathan using Bob’s camera. 

[hanoella]

Affettuoso- With Feeling (Part 1)

Pairing: Bucky x Pianist!Reader

Set after the events of TFATWS: In an effort to start over and make a home in Louisiana, Bucky meets a friend of Sam's who ends up being his landlord. With only a driveway to separate them, he finds that he's not the only one looking for a fresh start.

Series tags/warnings: Slow Burn, Eventual Bucky x Reader, Mentions of Domestic Abuse, Canon Level Violence

Read Part 2

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After everything that happened with the Flag Smashers and the GRC, Bucky thought that laying low with Sam in Louisiana was a good idea. He had been looking for a fresh start anyway. Between losing Steve and making his last amends, New York as of late had only been full of sad memories and regrets. Louisiana was so different- slower paced and fresh, no negative feelings. No feelings at all, actually. Sam was more than understanding, letting him stay with them until he found a semi-permanent place here.

Currently, Bucky was staring out the window, watching the breeze make little waves in the grass as he ate his sandwich. Sarah and the kids had gone out to the boat, making the house feel virtually abandoned. There was too much space and not enough people. For just himself, it was only a reminder that he would continue to stay as he always had- alone.

Sam walked into the kitchen where Bucky was, effectively breaking his train of thought. He raised an eyebrow at Sam’s mischievous smile- or maybe it was a regular one. He always looked like he was up to something, at least to Bucky.

“Great news,” Sam started. “I just got off the phone with a friend of mine. She’s moving down here for some work and is looking for someone to live on the property with her.”

“She?” Bucky questioned.

“Listen, I know what you’re thinking but before you say anything else, let me explain. So she already bought the house, it’s less than 10 minutes from here so you can still see us whenever you want. The property’s a couple acres so it’s got tons of space. It comes with an apartment over the shed, so you don’t have to share walls. She keeps to herself so she won’t bother you,” Sam said, counting the pros on his fingers as he talked.

“And the best part is: you don’t need to pay rent. I explained the situation, with you being a hero to the world and all, and she said as long as you can help her out with the heavy-duty stuff like taking care of the property and the occasional repair, you don’t have to worry about it.”

Bucky eyed the couch that had been his home for the past several weeks. Don’t get him wrong- being here with the boys was fun. Unfortunately though, he was still in a place in his life where he needed time to think, heal and meditate. The nightmares, although less frequent, were still occurring. Sam was always supportive, but Bucky didn’t want to keep putting him out. Sam noticed the hesitation and spoke.

“You don’t have to decide right now, but she’s moving here in a few days and could at least use some help. She said we could go look at the property now- no pressure though. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you want.”

Bucky paused a moment before nodding.

“Okay, let’s go.”

---

Sam turned into a dirt driveway lined with low hanging trees on one side and a field on the other. Bucky wouldn’t have even noticed it if not for the mailbox on the street.

“See, well this is perfect for you, it’s back in the cut.” Sam said.

Bucky could understand from context clues that that meant secluded. Probably.

It took a few seconds down the driveway before the trees on the left cleared and the water was visible. On the other side, there was a light green house with white trim. With the typical Southern architecture and porch, it was the picture perfect place to live. No neighbors- just trees and water.

Sam whistled as they pulled up at the end of the driveway by the house. Now that they were closer, Bucky could see the large garage on the opposite side of the driveway. It almost looked like another house but much smaller, and with a small dock in the water. The bottom floor of the garage had two large doors that opened upwards, and one regular doorway. The top floor had several windows with curtains in them, shrouding the inside. Getting out of the car, Bucky walked around the car to where Sam was opening the door to the garage.

Going in to inspect the garage, Bucky blinked to adjust to the dim light. He looked around to find several yard tools, some cans of paint on shelves, and a riding mower. On the back wall was a door. Hearing a rustle, he turned to find Sam feeling up on the highest shelf.

“Found it!” He said triumphantly, holding the key to the apartment up.

Walking over to the door on the back wall, Sam unlocked it and pulled it open. Bucky poked his head through the doorway and looked up to the staircase at his left. He turned to meet Sam’s eye, who shrugged before gesturing to Bucky to take the lead. It led up to the top floor of the garage, which was fitted with an apartment that turned out to be nicer than he thought.

It was simple but in good condition. Dark hardwood floor, white trim, pale steel blue walls. Where they had walked up was the living room. Directly across from it was a kitchen area with a veranda to walk out on. The open space then shrunk to a hallway to the left. The bathroom being the first door and a bedroom at the end of the hall. Overall, plenty of space for one person.

“I don’t know about you Buck, but this place seems perfect.” Sam said as he opened the glass sliding door to the veranda. It overlooked the undisturbed landscape, hidden from the nearby town.

“It does.” Bucky responded simply.

He took a moment to walk out onto the veranda with Sam and view the birds wading through the water.

“Well good,” Sam said with a chuckle. “This way, you can stop hitting on my sister.”

Bucky laughed and punched him in the arm. Sam feigned physical and emotional injury.

“Haha, Very funny.”

Sarah was a nice gal, but focused on her life at the moment. Sure, there had been a few sparks, but ultimately she had made it clear that her priority at the moment was her boys and her business. Bucky had been a good sport about it. It just felt good to be back in the game without it feeling forced.

Sam watched as Bucky stared out at the water before switching to a serious note.

“So… You feel like you’re ready?”

Bucky slowly nodded.

“Yeah. This is it.”

Sam smiled wide as he handed the key over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Welcome home.”

---

Bucky had very few belongings from New York that came with him. A small wooden table with chairs. A few books. A bed, a couch, a TV. There wasn’t really a whole lot that couldn’t be replaced if needed. He had been able to take the trip to and from in a few days, already moving his belongings into the apartment. The only big thing he had done was bring Steve’s old Harley out of storage. He probably should get a car at some point since it wasn’t the city anymore but he’d figure it out.

After saying goodbye to Sarah and the kids, Bucky opened the door to Sam's truck.

“Promise you’ll visit?” shouted one of the boys before clinging to him.

Bucky smiled and patted the kid on the back.

“Of course, I will.” He said, looking at the other boy before gesturing for him to join the hug.

“Uncle Buck’s not going anywhere boys,” Sam promised across the center console from the driver’s side.

Both boys eventually peeled off of Bucky’s side. He got in the truck and rolled down the window.

“Be good for your mom okay?” He said to the boys as he waved and nodded at Sarah, who smiled back as the truck started.

“Okay, bye!” They shouted until Bucky could no longer see them in side view mirror.

He really would miss those kids.

They drove in comfortable silence until they pulled up to the house where a light blue sedan was parked next to a storage pod that had been delivered. After parking by it, they exited the truck as you were stepping out of your car.

“Sam!” You exclaimed cheerfully, as you went in for a hug. He lifted you slightly off the ground and you laughed, smiling wide. Bucky stood to the side and observed the interaction, giving you a once-over. You were dressed appropriately for the work you were about to do- light-wash high-water jeans, a white t-shirt with a chest pocket, canvas shoes, and hair up in a slightly messy bun with a few gold bobby pins thrown in to hold back any loose wisps of hair.

After Sam set you down, he turned to Bucky and introduced you.

“… and we met during a charity event that Tony hosted. She offered her services free of charge to help us raise money for the VA.”

You held a hand out to Bucky.

“It’s very nice to meet you! Thanks so much for helping me move in, I really appreciate it.”

Bucky smiled lightly and nodded as he shook your hand.

“Nice to meet you too.”

You smiled and took back your hand before looking at the house.

“Shall we?” You inquired, gesturing towards the storage pod.

“Of course,” Sam replied, opening the door to the pod. As Bucky looked inside, he noted that it was mostly just boxes. The noticeable items were the same as his: the bare minimum- besides a fancy electric piano.

“How’re you gonna fill up this house with a few pieces of furniture?” Sam joked.

“Hey, it’s better than having too much stuff! Besides, don’t guys always say that women have too much stuff?” You quip back as you reach for one of the larger boxes in the pod.

“Ah-ah-ah, no you don’t,” Sam said as he intercepted you and picked up the box.

“Oh, c’mon Sam. I’ll feel bad if I make you guys do all the heavy stuff.”

“You’re not making us do anything. Besides, I’ll be fine, and the old man could use some exercise,” he said, nodding towards Bucky.

You smiled timidly at Bucky.

“I have a bad shoulder.” You explained while gripping the top of your right arm.

“I get what that feels like,” he sympathized, nodding to his metal arm.

“Ah, yes, I’m sorry, it’s not nearly as bad-”

Bucky cut you off.

“Don’t be sorry. If it’s hurting you, don’t worry about it. We can handle it.” He said gently, pausing for a moment before continuing.

“Or at least I can.”

Sam tilted his head back and feigned hurt feelings while you picked up a lamp base and shook it lightly at him.

“Does this meet your approval, Mr. Wilson?” You asked teasingly.

“Why yes, yes it does. Now come on.”

He walked into the house, you right on his heels. Bucky eyed the two of you together for a moment before picking up a few boxes himself.

---

A few hours later, he was sitting on the worn leather couch next to Sam while you went to get them some drinks in the kitchen. You appeared under the white trimmed archway into the living area holding three glasses.

“One sweet tea for the guest, one lemonade for my new neighbor, and a half and half for the gracious host.” You said, holding up your glass after handing the others out.

You three clinked glasses and you sunk into a sage green armchair with dark wood.

“So… how does this work?” Bucky asked, taking a sip of his drink.

“Mmm, yes.” You said, swallowing the sip you had taken.

“Uhm, basically whenever you’re not off saving the world with Captain America,” You started, smiling with pride at Sam. “If you could just make sure the grass doesn’t get too long and help me with some of the more physically demanding repairs and jobs around the house, that’d be great. Of course, that only applies if you’re here, and even then, as long as it’s not urgent, you can take your time getting around to it. Other than that, you’re free to do as you please.”

“That’s very generous of you.” He remarked.

“Well, don’t say that yet,” you said while laughing. “The property is huge so it might be more of a challenge than you think. But like I said, there’s no need to rush to anything. Besides, I should be thanking you. You’ve done a lot for the world.”

Sam interjected before Bucky could respond, which was okay because he still wasn’t used to accepting thanks instead of apologizing.

“Where’s my thank you for saving the world?”

You rolled your eyes and sarcastically rattled off a thank you. Bucky cleared his throat after a moment.

“Anything you want me to start working on?”

“Oh, please get settled in first. I have some furniture getting delivered that I might need help assembling in a few days but otherwise, there’s nothing else. If you have any expenses like paint or tools, you can just use this card and let me know.” You said, handing over a credit card.

“We should also exchange phone numbers too. What’s yours?”

Bucky stalled a moment before rattling off the numbers. It was a foreign feeling- giving out his phone number. He was most definitely having PTSD from his therapist chucking his phone at him. He watched as you typed away on your phone. Feeling his phone ping, Bucky looked at it and saw a message from an unregistered number.

“Hi, It’s me :)”

“That’s my number. Obviously.”

Bucky nodded his head in thanks while registering your number. It had been a while since he had added anyone’s number. You and Sam started talking about something else while Bucky exited back to the main list of contacts. There, your name was italicized and highlighted at the top. What a strange feeling.

…

Later that night, Bucky was relaxing, enjoying the peace. It was warm for autumn, and the water was reflecting the moonlight. He couldn’t sleep. Not that that was surprising. He walked out of the apartment down to the small dock to sip on a beer and celebrate his newfound independence. Sitting on the edge where his feet barely touched the water, he leaned back onto his hands and took a deep breath in.

That’s when he heard it.

Just barely, with his enhanced hearing, he could hear your crying. It was like you were wailing in pain. Not a sharp new pain, but an intense never ending one. The kind that you hear from an animal that’s been maimed- the kind you put out of their misery. Whatever you were holding in, it had been building up for an impossibly long time and finally, exhausted, you found a chance to let it out. Being able to hear it felt like a dirty invasion of privacy.

Bucky swallowed and took another deep breath before trying to focus on the sound of the wildlife around him. But it was no use. Here you were. Here he was.

No longer the only runaway seeking refuge.

[elbiotipo]

Tell us your thoughts regarding car culture 🏁Its rant timeeeeee🏁

OK so my opinion comes from the perspective of someone who is... lower-middle class? I don’t know where my family would fit, we do own our house and nice things like (cheap) computers, but a car is beyond us. What I mean is that every time we attempted to own a car it always came with shitty stuff. It comes with predatory financial practices (NEVER trust any “car plan”, they are basically scams, you will be paying increasing amounts of money for YEARS without even seeing your fucking car AND they will ask you more money to get it on the first place) that can send you straight up broke, and a piling list of stupid bureaucracy, maintaince, checkups, fuel, repairs, and other bullshit expenses just for the price of saying “I own a car”.

To me personally, all those shitty things outweigh any benefit about cars. I’ve always walked around, took buses (and yes, I hate buses, especially here, but they do their job) and basically all my adult life has been spent on foot and public transportation. So I don’t see a car as a real necessity, just as a very expensive piece of metal that can drive you around, sometimes. But people (my family and others) get into the most ridiculous stuff JUST to say "I own A Car, like the neighbors" even if in practice, it doesn't get put to do anything useful. Like owning a pretty pretty horse.

That’s why I dislike car culture, and by that I mean The Car as a status symbol. Ohhh, you can’t be Middle Class if you don’t own A Car... ohh do you REALLY want to take the shitty bus all your life instead of having A Nice Car... ohhh you won’t get any women if you don’t have A Car (my dad actually, non-ironically, believes this)... ohhh but A Car is more practical, it’s really a Useful Tool (when you take into account all the fucking expenses, especially if you are low-class, it’s really, really not more practical)... oohh you really should get a drivers license Just In Case...ooohhhh my Car must be cleaner better and cooler than my neighbors or else they will think I’m not good enough to have A Nice Car... and that’s just my experience here, let’s not even get into their status on the USA as a Symbol of Freedom and their entire city planning based on them.

Cars, to me, are a tool and should be treated as a tool, but they’re treated as a status symbol. And it’s not like I dislike luxury, I want to get myself a Gamer PC and a Nice House like anyone else. But everything in my life experience has shown me that owning a car is more of a pain in your pocket for a bragging symbol than anything else. For what? Just to say “I got to the same place you did, but I didn’t have to take the bus like some kind of peasant”? There are many things cars are useful for, but it’s never about that. It’s always about Owning A Car, about saying “now I can take you on a date in My Car, because I’m Middle Class and I have one, no matter if I’m like 100k in debt”, rather of what you can actually do with them.

Which is in most cases, the same things you can do by taking the bus or the train.

In rural contexts, obviously cars are useful, in fact vital, a farmer of course needs good transportation. But in an urban context, they’re worse than useless. Everything a car could do in a city (besides noise and hitting people, oh, I haven’t even gotten into that yet!) can and should be done better by more walkable cities and good, robust public transportation.

Public transportation, here and elsewhere, is shit of course, but it’s incidentally because the culture of car ownership creates cities around them, instead of walkable cities and good public transportation. Why should you care about how the proles get around? Important people drive cars. You might say, “well, but paying for a car isn’t as bad as paying for public transportation” but it is. For a lower income family a car is a money black hole that demands constant attention for little reward except some supposed freedom of movement (cutting through maybe, an hour of two of walking?) and distance (OH SURE YOU CAN HAVE YOUR MAGICAL ROAD TRIP. HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT HOW TO PAY FOR ALL THE GAS AND TOLLS YET?)

Have we talked about oil prices yet? have we talked about how oil prices fuck up everything that depends on on-road transportation? how the dependence of on-road transportation has murdered railways across the world? the fucking wars for fucking oil?

I don’t even need to talk about the enviromental impact of cars, do I? The fact that car crashes are the leading cause of injuries worldwide?

Argentina, of course, is a particular case, because the bulk of what I’ve said here (that cars are unaffordable for a lower-class family) is mostly because of Our Economical Problems. But look at the rest of the world, and they are even MORE obssesed about cars if it’s even possible. Cars, highways, entire cities, a fucking civilization built around them, to the point that you need to buy one just to get around, and if you can't, sucks to be you. Public transportation around THE WORLD (not only here) has been declining and becoming more shitty because of the dominance of cars.

For what? Oh, because if you have a car, you’re Middle Class, dontcha know. Everybody needs cars!

anyways, most of this is addmitedly projecting my own problems, but I hate cars, they are at the very bottom of my priorities, and I hate the entire culture behind them. If I ever own a car, it will be when I’m financially stable (so probably never) if I ever need to move stuff or go somewhere particulary far. Things I could do cheaper by bus or renting a truck, anyways. So fuck cars.

[tonystarkbingo]

Our TSB party is still going, and here is one of the games we’ve had fun with so far!

Fic Titles Game

Glitter - suggested by @phoenixmetaphor3000

@huntress79 - Idea: Dum-E teams up with Steve (other Avengers optional) to bring some Christmas cheer to their favorite in-house Grinch (aka Tony XD)  Massive amounts of Glitter involved

@rebelmeg​ - tony kind of has an accidental thing for glitter. it's not his fault. the iron man suit has a glitz and glamour of its own, he's always told his eyes sparkle, and his favorite tie pin is that gaudy ruby one that pepper hates. he loves the stars, the way sunlight sparkles on the waves outside his malibu mansion, and he can't really be blamed when a tiny speck of glitter under a certain someone's eye catches his attention one december day.

@psychiccatpanda - Clint refills DUM-E's fire extinguisher with purple and silver glitter as revenge for Tony making Clint's most recent armor change to red and gold with body heat. Hijinks ensue.

@lbibliophile-mcu - Decorating the Christmas tree, the Avengers get into an argument over who is responsible for the missing tinsel. Half an hour later they find it, in a tangled web draped all over Dum-e. He objects strenuously to its removal, but eventually concedes to their assistance in rearranging the strands so he can still move.

@huntress79 - The Avengers are invited to a Charity gala, but they have to wear costumes that are NOT their usual ones. And of course, Tony can't resist an opportunity to rile up a certain Captain, just a little bit. Best way to do so: a dare, in this case who wears the most glittery costume. But what Tony didn't expect was that Steve comes up with his own counterdare... (author's choice ;))

@darthbloodorange - [Stony] - It's pride, so there was bound to be some glitter floating around, it was inevitable. But this much? Someone was obviously being irresponsible with glitter and needs to be given a warning for the good of the world (and the Tower's cleaning bots). Tony follows the trail of glitter... all the way to Steve's room? Does this mean that Tony's crush on Steve actually stood a chance of being more than just a crush.

@ralsbecket - It was Steve's first Father's Day being Morgan's step-dad, and Tony helps her with cooking breakfast in bed and sprinkling red, white, and blue glitter on a handmade card (not particularly in that order). Steve still finds glitter everywhere weeks later.

@rebelmeg​ - i can't art very well, but i want art of the aftermath of tony opening a glitter bomb that rhodey left out for him

@huntress79 - (Stony) - During a mission in space, Tony and Steve are stranded on a planet, with no immediate way to get back. After a while, they encounter tiny little beings who introduce themselves as fairies. But while they can't fulfill their wish to get home (for whatever reasons), they might be inclined to use their glittery fairy dust for something else… (could also be used for a crossover with Hook/Peter Pan)

@rebelmeg (with some inspirational help from @dreaminglypeach) - tony coming home with glitter all over his suit and looking super smug, and everyone IMMEDIATELY assumes strippers. but of course it's gotta something completely different and silly.  like... he wandered through the christmas department at the store and slipped on something and ended up sprawled on the glitter strewn floor

 @yesmooshoe - Tony is somehow de-aged to around 5. The Avengers do their best to take care of him while they figure out what to do, but don't keep a constant eye on him. Tony likes all of his new friends though and wants to do something special for them, so he acquires a bunch of glitter and glue (maybe jarvis helps? maybe thor likes crafting? fuck knows.) Tony proceeds to embellish everyone's stuff - glitter all of steve's shield, thor's hammer, glitter all over Clint's arrows (which really throws off the balance but he can't be mad), and even a weird-looking red and yellow robot suit. When Tony is finally returned to normal he's upset with his younger self for how haphazardly he glued all the glitter to his suit, because it could have looked super cool if done well.

Collaborative effort that started with strippers and then went off the rails

Glitter lube

Scratchy, what a terrible idea

oh my god but imagine shitting out glitter

Edible glitter

Edible glitter on cakes

Edible glitter exiting the human body

So many glitter poop jokes and anecdotes

@ralsbecket - The Avengers are forced undercover for a mission to catch a villain red-handed, and this villain just so happens to work from the basement of a strip-club. Tony draws the short straw, but at least he can choose his own stripper name.

@lbibliophile-mcu - He's sure it looks very pretty. Gentle waves ruffling the surface of the bay. Each strand of grass on the dunes lined in perfect crystals of frost. Dawn sun painting the sky pink. And right there is the problem: dawn sun. It is far too early to have to deal with all these stray rays of light stabbing through his eyes.

(More under the cut!)

Vices - suggested by @ralsbecket

@huntress79 - (Stony) - Steve's a hard working cop on the vice, Tony's his "favorite" frequent delinquent (aka Tony's a bit of a bad boy who usually gets arrested by Steve, for rather minor things, but Tony can't shut up when Steve's around, so it's more for his talking than anything else) (Steve, of course, can be replaced by any other character, whatever floats your boat XD)

@rebelmeg - tony kicked a lot of these habits a long time ago. it's been ages since he's been high, or slept around, or partied until he literally dropped. but around this time in december, he's allowed a few of his other vices. his need for near-constant touch and attention. drinking. staying up to keep the nightmares away, and being coaxed to bed when he's so exhausted he's asleep before his head eats the pillow. eating all the food he loves that aren't that great for him. it's okay, though. this time of year, he's allowed.

@lbibliophile - "... This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing." And it was in that moment - confronted by the picture he made trapped in the grip of supposedly-helpful machinery - that Tony decided he really needed to prioritise a better way of getting the suit on and off.

@rebelmeg - some kind of profile art with the arc reactor depicted as one half of a vice clamped on tony's chest

@dreaminglypeach - vices: DUM-E was only trying to help squishy-dad with his work. He didn’t mean to get his hand stuck in a vice. If only sky-dad would stop chastising him and call for help…

@Magicadraconia16 - Dum-E does not understand why everyone keeps saying that vices are bad. They're very helpful tools! He loves the one that Tony gave him for his very own. He can show everyone, then they'll see! If only he can get it off of U's arm, first…

@huntress79 - Knowing that Tony will fall back to some of his old vices as soon as December rolls around, the whole Tower teams up to keep him from doing so (can be gen aka Avengers as a family, or end with your favorite partner for Tones)

@psychiccatpanda - [potential WinterIron] Bucky has been researching everyone on the team and it seems like the media has nothing better to do than to gossip about Tony Stark's vices - women, booze, and expensive cars mostly. The trashier gossip bloggers openly speculated on what (or who) Tony's latest mistake would be. When Bucky gives Tony a judgmental look after he's returned from being out (much longer than the hour Stark had said he'd be gone), Tony frowns. The bag clanks like metal. What the hell had Tony meant when he'd said he needed to 'go pick up some new vices'?? ((hint - it's actual vices. It always takes longer at Home Depot or any hardware store because Tony has to look at everything before he leaves!))

@tehroserose - [Stony] Steve had only one vice. Well, two, but they were related. He loved watching Tony's backside, and he loved getting him angry. The genius was so alive when he was angry, and then he was treated to a wonderful view of the amazing backside. Bucky was about ready to smack him upside the head for his kindergarten way of having a crush.

@darthbloodorange - [Stony] - Before the serum there was a lot of things Steve couldn't experience, whether it was because of his conditions or lack of money. Steve's favourite thing about the 21st Century is all the foods and flavours. Being able to eat things he couldn't eat before. Being able to taste things he wouldn't've been able to taste before. Steve spends his military back-pay on food and treats... a part of him burns at the idea of spending his money this way, there were more beneficial things he could be doing with it... But he can't help himself, especially when some flavours taste like euphoria. Tony notices and decides to indulge in Steve's vices.

@huntress79 - (potential HawkIron) For the longest time, Clint always had to choose before a mission between wearing the team comms and his hearing aids, otherwise his ears felt like being in a vice. SHIELD didn't see it as a necessity to equip him with better things, but once he joins the Avengers, and Tony notices the obvious problem, things start to look up for the resident archer....

@huntress79 - Ever since he got free of the programming and came to live at the Tower, Bucky's been doing repairs on his metal arm on his own. But after a mission, putting his arm in a vice and working with the fine tools isn't the easiest thing to do. And Buck's too proud to ask anyone for help, be it Steve or anyone else. Good thing that he can't stop JARVIS alerting Tony to that particular problem... (can be friendship/mending bridges between them, or WinterIron)

5 Times Tony Stark was a Terrible Cook, Plus 1 That One Time He Finally Ordered a Pizza - suggested by @yesmooshoe

@tehroserose - Tony/Others, Tony/Rhodey end. Tony has always tried to cook for his dates. He wants to impress them. Problem is, he can't cook. And too many people just want the Stark money and lie and say it is good. Or they're too afraid/intimidated to tell the truth. Later, much later, he realizes they aren't good for him. Then there's Rhodey, who's never afraid to tell Tony that his cooking sucks... and then, after the last relationship ended, this time when the white lie was out of care, Rhodey again tells Tony his food sucks, let's get pizza. And they kiss, over the pizza.

@rebelmeg - first it was cookies. cookies burnt to a crisp that even ana jarvis couldn't salvage. second was spaghetti, so mushy and overcooked that rhodey couldn't stop laughing even when tony threatened to throw his enormously thick math textbook at him. third was that whole "raw in the middle" chicken incident that happy still won't let him live down, and fourth was the disastrous omelet for pepper. fifth was morgan's 1st birthday cake, and thank heaven's pepper was wise enough to ignore him and order a backup. this time, he's just gonna order a pizza.

@huntress79 - Tony The Cook: The Jarvises tried, Mama Rhodes as well, but for all his genius, Tony can't figure out a cooking recipe. Nonetheless, he tried to impress several various dates with his cooking skills. Needless to say that none of these attempts (both cooking and dating) ended well. Then, he meets Steve, a guy who doesn't care at all what they eat, as long as they eat together. And so, Tony orders pizza for their date…

@Magicadraconia16 - It's an unfortunate historical fact that Tony cannot cook to save his life (hmm, there's an idea for the next HYDRA kidnapping...). Rhodey's meal was burnt to unidentifiable cinders (seriously, even Tony doesn't know what it was supposed to be); Pepper's gave her an allergic reaction; Natasha chipped a tooth; Hulk came out and threw Bruce's food out of the (closed!!) window; and Steve got food poisoning. Steve!!! So when Bucky turns up in his workshop one day, Tony decides to selflessly save everyone from a hangry Winter Soldier and just orders pizza, instead.

@ralsbecket - 5 + 1 Pizza: Tony Stark was many things. He was a genius, he was a billionaire, he was a playboy, he was a philanthropist. The thing he was decidedly not was a good cook. It was one burnt omelet too many before Pepper begged him to just order out. The person delivering his pizza was... attractive. If he started ordering pizza on Fridays at 6PM every week for a month, that was nobody's business.

@lbibliophile-mcu - Tony just wants to offer a fancy home-made anniversary dinner. It's not so much that Tony is a terrible cook, but that something (or several somethings) always go wrong. His significant other's flight was delayed. He gets distracted by a minor crisis half way through cooking. He tries to prepare beforehand, but forgets to label it before leaving it in the common fridge. Had a mistranslated recipe or the wrong measuring spoons. Dum-e tried to 'help' while he was distracted. The next year, his SO requests that they just order pizza to eat cuddled on the couch.

@psychiccatpanda - Single dad Tony tries to do it all. He feels terrible about the amount of time his three kids (all under the age of 5) spend in daycare, but college will be expensive, so he works -and works. But he tries to make the after-work before-bed moments really count. Sometimes his carefully planned dinners don't work out. Monday, the slow cooker wasn't plugged in and their chicken and potato dish spoiled for being on the counter for almost 13 hours unrefrigerated. Tuesday they were out of bread and ate PBJ on the last three hot dog buns. Wednesday, he thought dinner was fine, but Peter declared it was 'too spicy' and so none of the kids would eat it. Thursday he burned the chicken nuggets in the oven because he had to help the kids with their baths, and Friday? Well no one was gonna talk about that again. Saturday Tony's ready to cry because he's pretty sure Morgan is coming down with something. So he orders pizza. When the pizza delivery guy arrives, holding Morgan, she barfs all down Tony's back. Pizza delivery driver yanks the pizza away and asks if he can come in to set it down in the kitchen, then helps out with the kids while Tony takes a shower.

@darthbloodorange - [Stony] - It was meant to be romantic, cooking for a date. But with Tony it was definitely not romantic. Cooking for Rumiko he managed to burn everything, yet have the food still raw. Firefighters had to be called when he set his dorm alight cooking for Janet. Ty needed to have his stomach pumped after Tony's cooking (how was he to know what was too much alcohol, wasn't it meant to burn off?). Indries had stomach problems for weeks after Tony cooked for her. And he managed to poison Pepper... Needless to say, Tony wasn't a good cook... So when he scores a date with Steve Rogers, he thinks "why bother try? Steve is too good for me anyway", there was no way they were going to last. So he orders a pizza. Steve is relieved when he sees the pizza. He had been hoping Tony would pick something down to earth, worried he wouldn't know how to eat whatever posh food Tony put in front of him and make a fool of himself. Steve admits he doesn't know how to cook either. Maybe Captain America isn't so perfect. Maybe... Maybe this could work out. Him and Steve

@huntress79 - Of all the people, Tony has probably the most irregular eating rhythm. He has been known to try and cook for himself, but the results are less than stellar. So, one by one, each of the Avengers try to cook for him, until Steve joins him in the workshop with a small stash of pizzas…

@lbibliophile-mcu - It was all Steve Rogers' fault. Him and his insistence on 'team dinners' to 'promote bonding' and 'improve cohesion'. Not that Tony necessarily objects to the dinners - pending his schedule - but Steve seems to have this odd conviction that having home-cooked food is a necessary part of the ritual, and none of them can change his mind. Natasha tried logic. Clint tried begging. Bruce, he's pretty sure, is sneaking in pre-made food and just cooking the final steps. Thor thinks it's a great idea... but is always for some reason back on Asgard on his nights. But Tony is a genius, so he decides on a different approach. He grumbles a little bit, but otherwise doesn't complain when it's his night to cook. He cooks... and watches as each of the Avengers gives up on choking down the barely-edible meal. The next time he is rostered, the scene repeats. And the next. And the next. By the sixth time he is due to be cooking dinner, Steve comes up to him and politely - but pointedly - suggests that maybe they just order pizza. Tony thinks of the several meals worth of tasty leftovers hidden in the penthouse fridge, and graciously acquiesces.

I hope Thistle cheer you up - by @darthbloodorange

@rebelmeg - it was the pun war to end all pun wars. and it was probably going to end all of them. clint was fine, he loved puns almost as much as he loved pizza. steve hated puns so much he had taken up swearing. tony took sadistic glee in saving his worst puns for when steve was around. nat was famous for using the most clever of puns at unexpected moments. bucky could deadpan a pun so seriously it always took them by surprise. thor was terrible at it, still grasping the nuances of american english, but he sure tried hard. bruce tolerated it all and made half-hearted attempts at participation, though chuckling at his own puns was usually funnier than the puns. sam loved making puns, but hated it when other people did. it started creeping into other areas of their life, onto social media, in interviews, and at one point hawkeye was trending for awhile after he screamed out "THISTLE CHEER YOU UP!" whilst battling some kind of plant monster. tony helped, because he retweeted with the comment, "ooh, talk dirt to me."

@ralsbecket -  So what if Tony had gotten laid off? So what if Tony had a mountain of bills sitting on his dining table? The only thing that mattered to him in that moment was his baby girl Morgan, with her hair falling out of the ponytail and her cute little lisp. She'd come back in from the backyard with a handful of dandelions, saying, "I hope thistle cheer you up, Daddy" so sweetly that for just a moment, everything was okay again.

@psychiccatpanda - [IronHawk] Tony's been working on the reams of paperwork that he's put off for SI. He's still not sure why it all needs to be done before the end of the quarter, but here he was. Needless to say, Tony Stark has been in a foul mood the whole week. The snide comments he usually keeps to himself have started to slip out and he feels guilty on top of the grouchy, so he decides to barricade himself in his office. He falls asleep on a sheaf of papers and wakes up with the impression of little ridges of paper on his cheek. It takes a moment (he hasn't been asleep that long) for him to fully realize the plant in front of him was real. An aloe plant - with a plate of chocolate muffins, fruit, cheese, and nuts. A post-it on the aloe's pot read, 'I hope thistle cheer you up,' written with a purple felt tip pen., which meant either Clint had left it - or Natasha pretending to be Clint.

@lbibliophile-mcu - Bruce looks at Tony, then back down at the spiny dried flowerhead in his hands.

"I know that you were getting frustrated trying to find these for your new fibre arts project, so I decided to help." His eyes light up as he realises the pun. "Thistle cheer you up!"

Bruce sighs even as he smiles.

"Tony... I appreciate the thought, but as you said, this is a thistle. I need a teasel."

@darthbloodorange - [Stony] - Tony really doesn't like his neighbour Justin. The man was always trying to find ways to report him to the local council. Mailbox too close to driveway? Reported! Weeds in his lawn? Reported! Fence too high? Reported! Didn't clean his pool that weekend? Reported! Lawn too long? Reported! It was ridiculous. But the council won't do anything because taking action against someone who's reported you (even if the reports were false) is apparently considered wrong and vindictive. There was nothing Tony could do but grit his teeth and bear it. One day Tony receives a box in the mail, addressed from his neighbour across the street. The handsome blond guy with the body of a Greek god and a garden that looked like a literal paradise. Steve Rogers. Tony wasn't too shy to admit (to himself) that he had a crush on the man. He eagerly tears into the box to find a small note and a lots of little bags of mulch wrapped in tissue paper. The note reads: "Tony, I've heard you be having some trouble. I hope thistle cheer you up. After the rain comes flowers. Ps. Throw these over Justin's fence." And so he does. Watching Justin battle all the weeds after it rains brings Tony so much joy. Especially when Justine reports him to the council and the council shrugs him off this time. He heads over to Steve with some home cooked food as a thank you gift and they get talking. Turns out Steve is an Environmental activist with a passion for guerrilla gardening. Tony is hooked. Maybe it has more to to with Steve then the revenge on Justin (as sweet as it was)

[wantstoflyafraidtofall]

Chapter 2: New Old Thoughts

***TRIGGER WARNING*** Mentions of homophobia/homophobic language and past self harm

---

Dean wakes up in a cold sweat yet again. The black shadow he saw thought he saw plagued his dreams every night since he's been there. Which was odd. He usually doesn't dream at all.

He rolled out of bed and peeled off his boxers and shirt, both damp with sweat, and turned on the shower.

The warm water -- with amazing water pressure, dare he say -- soothed his nerves. He would have to search up if frequent nightmares were normal for people moving into new houses later.

After getting dried off and dressed, Dean went downstairs and turned on his old coffee machine. He watched the dark coffee drip down into the pot.

The deadline for unpacking really helped speed up the whole process and the amount of sleep he was getting helped to.

By what Sam had said about Cas, he sounds ok. Just a quiet guy who's fresh out of college and needs a place to stay for a bit.

Dean had finished unpacking the rest of the boxes yesterday. He had saved the library for last and the whole time his knee was a bitch. But he had to say, now that it’s done, It looks really nice.

He poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot and went out into the large, mostly empty sunroom. He was going to have to get some furniture to fill all the floor space so they could sit and read or watch TV in here. Maybe a bean bag and a couch.

The morning sun shone brightly through the windows of the room, casting soft shadows in corners and the shelves. The backyard was really nice and big but over grown. The stones in the fire pit had weeds growing out the cracks and the fish pond would kill any fish that would dare swim in it. The grass was almost knee length and would be a complete bitch to mow. Maybe he could get Cas to do it. Complain about his knee hurting or something.

Dean went back in the kitchen and poured himself a second cup of coffee. He checked his watch, 9:34am. Sam had told him Cas would be there around 10:30, which left Dean almost a full hour to do whatever he wanted.

He does enjoy his time alone but is quite excited for a housemate. He would never admit it to anyone but the house was getting a bit lonely and now that he has everything unpacked, he would guess it would be boring as well.

Bubbles covered Dean's hands as he washed the few dishes remaining in the sink. He wanted to make a good first impression on Cas by having the house clean and was using it as a pass time to cool his nerves.

He’d just put the last plate in the cabinet when the doorbell rang. Dean quickly walked over to the door, running his fingers through his hair before opening it.

Dean was surprised at the man he saw standing outside. He was wearing a tan trench coat over an ill fitting suit with a messily done blue tie. His hair was dark and messy, as if he had just rolled out of bed. A 5 o’clock shadow adorned his sharp jaw. Dean’s eyes moved up his face, and met a pair of eyes that were more blue than the deepest parts of a sunny sky.

Cas cleared his throat before asking, “Are you Dean Winchester?”

Man, that voice . It was deep and sounded as if he had been gurgling gravel every day since he was 12. Dean quit his staring and smiled at Cas.

“Yup, that's me,” Dean beamed, “And you must be Cas.”

Cas squinted a little harder and tilted his head slightly to the side at the use of the nickname.

Dean took a step back, opening the door wide. “Come on in, you have 3 choices in rooms but I recommend up the left stairs at the end of the hall.”

“Thank you.” Cas said as he passed Dean and began walking towards the stairs, his suitcase rolling behind him. The man glanced around as he walked, carefully observing the wooden structure of the house.

Dean closed the door and went into the library and grabbed Soul Enchilada off his shelf of favorites. He laid out on an old love-seat in front of one of the windows and began to try and read.

He read a few lines before starting over. His mind was wandering elsewhere, to his handsome new housemate that would be living with him for who knows how long, how that deep, rumbly voice had said his name earlier, eyes of azure, streaked with cruelan and sky blue.

He thought back to how when he met those eyes, they seemed to stare deep into his soul. The small twinge of annoyance when Dean had used the nickname ‘Cas’ and how he had tilted his head ever so slightly to the side, his plush, lightly chapped lips barely parted. They looked so soft, so kissable. It would have been so easy to have just- NO.

Dean caught his slipping thoughts. Internally scolding himself for not only falling for his new housemate, but a guy.

After closing the book and placing it back on the shelf, Dean went upstairs to his room, into the bathroom, and locked the door behind him. He lifted his arms in front of him, using his right hand he nudged the sleeve of his flannel back and felt his thumb drag over the small, criss-crossing scars on his forearm.

He released a shuddering breath. He is such a disappointment to his father. It was wrong for him to love another guy and no matter what he did he couldn't stop. No matter how many times Dad had taken out his anger on his “disgusting faggot of a son” he couldn't stop the thoughts.

Dean pulled his sleeve back down and looked into his own green eyes in the mirror. He could almost hear Sam's voice saying it with him as he whispered to himself, “Dad was a bastard and a terrible father. You can love whoever you want, Dean, It’s ok.”

Dean had been so careful to hide the scars from Sammy, but one day at Bobby’s place he had his sleeves pulled up to his elbows so he had better access inside the car and little, 13 year-old Sam saw the scars and asked what they were about.

It wasn't until a few months before Dean was leaving for the military that he had told Sam why he had those scars. And Sam just hugged him and told him that it was ok and that he would always love him. Damn, he loves that kid.

Dean sighed. No hitting on hot roommate dude. He could be straight and Dean isn't going to 1) Make him uncomfortable while he stays here, and 2) Get in a relationship with… well, anyone. Not like anyone wants to be in a relationship with someone as broken as him anyway.

When Dean made his way back downstairs, he saw Cas standing in the library examining the books with curiosity.

“Hey Cas,” The sound of Dean’s voice caused the man to turn towards him, “I'm going to go on a grocery run. Is there anything you want?”

He stared at Dean for a moment before replying, “The ingredients for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches is all, Thanks.”

Dean chuckled, “You know, you're out of college now, you can eat some actual food.”

“I'm not a good cook in the slightest and I'm sure I will like some of the stuff you buy.”

“K then, see you later.” Dean grumbled, grabbing his keys and closing the heavy front door hard behind him.

He walked down the steps and started Baby, Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead or Alive pouring out the speakers. Dean turned up the music and drove down the driveway.

The trip to the store was short and uneventful. He grabbed the stuff Cas asked for along with some stuff to make dinner for the next week(He also got some greens because Sammy would give him another 3 hour lecture on his diet if he didn’t).

Kevin was working again today, somehow looking even more bored than last time. He scanned Dean's groceries while Dean asked about what classes he was taking.

Kevin had told him he was going to be a freshman and was studying computer sciences so he could make enough money to support himself and help support his mom.

Dean said goodbye to Kevin and loaded his groceries into Baby's trunk. The ride home was smooth and fast. Cas was nowhere in sight when he got home and Dean guessed he was probably in his room.

After unloading all the groceries, Dean pulled out two plates and began making lunch. He decided to keep it simple with some PB&Js and some potato chips. He put Cas’s plate on the island with a glass of water and made his way up the stairs to his door.

He knocked on the wood. “Hey Cas, I made some lunch for ya. It’s in the kitchen if you want it.”

There was no reply but he heard a faint shuffle of movement on the other side of the door. Dean went back downstairs and took his plate outside to the small shed in the backyard. The door was unlocked and swung open when Dean pushed.

Inside there was an old workbench pushed against the back wall. Gardening tools hung on hooks drilled into the wall and a slightly rusty lawn mower sat in the corner. He brushed some dust off the workbench and placed his lunch on the wood before checking out the mower.

It looked functional but in need of some repairs. Nothing that Dean couldn't fix himself with the right tools. He checked the drawers of the workbench and found the things he needed to fix the mower and began to work, eating his sandwich as he did.

Dean was so focused on sharpening the lawn mowers blades that he didn't hear Cas’s footsteps approaching from behind.

“Dean?” Cas called?

Dean jumped, startled by the sudden noise.

“Sorry for startling you Dean. I wanted to thank you for lunch.”

“Yeah, no problem buddy.” Dean replied, “I'm making chicken for dinner tonight if that's good with you.”

“Yes that's fine. Thank you.”

Cas left and Dean finished sharpening the lawn mower blades, leaving them on the workbench to attach tomorrow. He picked up his empty plate and headed back inside and dropped it in the sink.

Dean took a package of chicken breasts out of the fridge and placed them in a bowl. About 10 minutes later, the chicken was breaded and in the oven and he began to prepare the potato salad.

He loved to cook. When he was young, his father would drag Sammy and him from motel to motel. All they ate was take out or greasy diner food. Dean does love some good greasy burger and fries and a beer every once in a while but nice home cooked meals were always better.

Once Bobby took them away from John and his abusive parenting style, Dean learned to cook his own food in an actual kitchen. He would wake up early to make breakfast and insist on making lunch and dinner as well.

Dean pulled the chicken out of the oven and set some plates on the counter. He jogged up the stairs to Cas’s door, careful to be light on his bad knee, and knocked.

“Dinners ready!” He said before making his way back to the kitchen and filling up his plate with potato salad and sweet corn. He could hear Cas enter the kitchen and grab the other plate.

“It looks great, Dean,” Cas observed, “Thanks again.”

Dean set his plate down on the table and grabbed some cups from the cabinet before replying, “Yeah, it’s no problem, really. Do you want anything to drink?”

“Just water please. I haven't had anyone cook a proper meal for me since high school and I could never make one for myself due to my inability not to burn the food.”

Dean chuckled, “After my mom passed I didn't get a good meal till I was around 15, and those I would make myself.”

Cas stared at him, “Oh, I’m sorry.” He took the water Dean held out to him.

“Nah man, it’s fine. It was a long time ago.”

They continued to eat in silence for a while till Cas asked Dean, “You were only given 3 days notice that I was coming, yet you have the entire house unpacked and cleaned.”

“I, uh, didn’t sleep much. I wasn’t sleeping well so I made the best of a bad situation and used the time I was awake to finish unpacking.”

They both finished their meal in silence. Dean placed his dishes in the sink and grabbed a beer from the fridge. He sat back down at the table and looked over at Cas.

“So, tell me a bit about yourself.”

Cas’s blue eyes meet Deans. “I am 23 years old. I have an English major and plan on becoming a journalist. I have 6 siblings, 4 brothers and 2 sisters. I grew up in Colorado but moved to California for college, where I met your brother.”

“Hold on. You have 6 Siblings?” Dean gaped

“Yes, Dean. Micheal, Lucifer, Uriel, Gabriel, and Naomi are older and Anna is younger than me.”

“Man sibling rivalry must have been intense.”

“Our arguments were like war backed with all of heaven's wrath.”

Dean bursted out in laughter at that and took another drink of his beer. Cas stared at him with that adorable little head tilt squinting at him as if confused by Dean laughter.

“What about you?” Cas asked

Dean stopped laughing and looked at Cas, “My name is Dean Winchester. I am an Aquarius. I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, and frisky women,”Cas stared at him for a moment before Dean continued, “My mom passed when I was 4. I lived with my Dad if you could call what we did living for about 10 years until I was taken in by Bobby and Ellen. I worked as a mechanic with Bobby while Sam went to college until I decided to go to the military. I was there for 5 years until my knee got messed up and I was sent home.”

“Sorry, that must be horrible.”

“Nah man, it's fine. You get used to it and move on.”

“Is excessive drinking part of moving on?”

Dean stopped smiling and looked away from Cas. They sat in silence for a moment before Dean said, “Well I'm a bit tired, gonna head to bed.”

“Ok, Goodnight, Dean. I will clean up.”

He stood and left the kitchen. He was looking angrily at the ground in front of him as he went up the stairs. He didn't look up until he heard a quiet hissing in front of him.

The blood rushed out of his face and fear coiled in his stomach. It was back. The dark shadow was standing in the middle of the balcony. Dean couldn't get his legs to move. He was stuck. The shadow began to slowly glide towards him, reaching out a long arm-like appendage. He wanted to shout, to cry out for help but his mouth was just as stuck as his legs.

A rush of frigid air washed over him as it drew nearer. The black tendrils of its translucent arm reaching to his side, like it was going to push him over the railing.

“Dean, do you have any tupperware for the extra food?” Cas called from the kitchen.

Dean blinked and the shadow was gone. He shivered as the air began to warm up around him. Dean cleared his throat before replying “In the drawer by the fridge.” He ignored the slight shake in his voice.

When he tried to take a step forward, his feet moved like nothing had happened just seconds before. Dean went into his room and locked the door behind him.

Sleep. That's what he needs. He's just tired and that's making him see things. Everything will be fine tomorrow.

(If you want to be added to the tag list, just ask!)

@stuff-that-is-other

[elizabethsway]

Dear Self,

I'm kind of annoyed at you.

I had a really good day today. I have been quarantine for a little bit and have not seen my family in a while. I live mostly alone and was glad to spend time with my family at a park.

The day went well and when I got back to my place, of the 13 parking spots 8 where full. I was previously annoyed because we have a three-story house with a shed/house off to the side. Level two and three go in through the back and unit one through the front.

In the front there are 6 parking spots. There are three on the side and three near the back. Two guys from level two park in the back and I used to park next to them until a snow plow get my car is he was trying to pack snow around a tree that was near it. Then a tree branch fell off and broke my back window. It seems this place is cursed and my car keeps needing repairs that cost money. I particularly don't want my premium to go up for my insurance so I didn't report the bump or the glass I just bit the bullet and paid out of pocket.

I let the landlord know each time and he did nothing about it which irked me. I mean he could have at least said sorry about it.

So then I tried to find a new parking spot. and I went to the side so I didn't have to walk all the way around the house in the middle of the night at dark hours, through mud.

But then he put up a sign that said no parking allowed on the side of the building. Which is cool that's fine except unit one is allowed to park there despite the signs but nobody else is. They literally Park right next to their door while everybody else has to walk around the building. And the six parking spots that most people parking are right across from their door they can park anywhere on any of the sides and have easy access. But they get the special treatment.

Are you seeing how bitter I'm getting. So the three spots that are on the side of the building were concerned into two large parking spots and an extra little space where they get to park their bikes and summer chairs.

The place I used to park near the tree that dropped it's branch into my car, was three sports but the guys decided that they are going to turn the three spots into two spots so they can park their cars comfortably.

The shed house otherwise known as unit 4, use two use the two spots closest to their door. Then was my two roommate on the third level that parked next to them and one guy from the second floor with us.

I was getting a little annoyed that the people that live on the bottom level they can have access to any spot easily get the spots that are probably better for the unit that lives on the other side of the building so that they don't have to walk as far in the dark.

Then today when I got home the spots were filled up because someone had guests over. it was about that was open was on the side of the building where unit 1 normally parks. I text my landlord and said I was going to be parking there because my spot in the other spots were taken.

And he told me to park basically in front of unit ones window. which essentially wood block in all the other cars that are in the front of the building in those six spots unless they really maneuvered out but could potentially hit my car or to park next to all the construction equipment which is not tied down at all and has a habit of falling over.

With all the damage that has already done to my car I was not having that.

So I decided to be a baby and told him I was going to have them tow the car. But eventually just drove all over the lawn and decided to park on the lawn.

My car is still there on the grass. And part of me is like f*** it. But other part of me is treating myself because that's not who I want to be. for months I've been just rolling my eyes at all of this and not dealing with it it's been festering inside of me. It's not even a f****** big deal. But here I am being whiny little b****.

Clearly by all the graphic language I'm upset. And I know that literally all I have to do is talk with him about it come up with a resolution instead of passive-aggressively texting him.

And as someone with a relationship with Jesus, I shouldn't be dwelling in worry and anger. It's okay to experience emotion of worry and anger but you're not supposed to do well in it. You supposed to hand that over to God talk it out with Him and let Him lift away from you. He has great tools in the Bible on how to deal with stuff like this.

But I've really been slacking, I pulled away from my relationship with Him a bit. I've been entertaining myself with work and movies and books and pleasure. I'm letting in a lot of negative stuff and I haven't been talking with Him. I really miss Him and the peace that I got with Him.

Like none of the horrible s*** that happens or even dumb stuff like the parking situation, really matters when you bring it to Him. He just calms the soul. He reminds me that I am blessed and forgiven. That I should be treating people better and that I need to hold my tongue there's a lot of the times when you're angry you say things that you regret.

I'm just really annoyed I want about the situation. It's something that I'm going to have to talk about with God. I need him to take away the annoyance and anger and help me find a solution even if it's not an easy one's.

Perhaps having my car bash to several times and having this parking lot situation and all the other annoying little things about this place are assigned to move quite literally I'm just something new.

But honestly I was hoping to save up money and move out of Illinois. It's literally like a dead state. I never found one that's as detestable as it is to me but then again I do prefer Western States. And I kind of want to move out to mountain States like Colorado or maybe desert States like Arizona poor New Mexico. I've been contemplating Arizona and Colorado specifically.

And I giant fan of snow and Illinois loves to get snow. but I hear that Colorado snow isn't as bad as Illinois it's more like Nevada where they get mild snow and that's normally up toward the mountain areas but I don't know I have to do some research on that. Arizona is hot and my family is really love hot but at least it doesn't snow crazily and I have some family there.

I wanted to save up money and moved one of these places and see if my job would allow me to continue on remotely from a different state. Clearly I can do it remotely if I've been able to do it during the Coronavirus Pandemic.

I was hoping that my sister and my mom would move out there with me so that we can have to endure Midwest to East States.

plus the place I'm currently living at is only like 8 minutes away from my work so when I do have to drive it's super quick and I'm not a person that likes to wake up early just to go to work.

But literally maybe it is a sign that I need to move I just need to have some conversations with God. I want his input.

[some-cookie-crumbz]

HI Crumbz, I was wondering if you have any married kidge hcs? (I say it every day but I just love the way you write about these two

NOEHNRAWOEN BLUW;E!!! Oh My Lanta do I ever!!! I’m gonna have to put this under a read more because it got Hella long!

These are all Married-Before-Children headcanons, so if youwant Kidge-as-Parents, a part two will need to be done! >:3c

First things first, they designed the house together.

·        Being universe-saving Paladins of Voltron kindaearns them some free stuff. Which includes getting to either select a home thatis currently available or taking a plot of land to build on. They decide to start from scratch and have their home built from the ground up specifically for them.

For Keith, it’s about making his own foundation – both physicallyand emotionally – for the future he wasn’t sure he’d get to have.

·        I mean, he’s married to the literal smartestbeing in the universe who loves him because he’s just him? And they get to betogether, out of danger and safe? Sign him right the fuck up, my friend!

For Pidge, it’s about having a place to call not only her own,but their own.

·        Most of their lives, they’ve been kinda livingin spaces – or literally space - that were lent to them, and that has alwaysbeen kinda jarring for Pidge.

·        Like, the Garrison dorms? Not really theirs.

·        Their rooms on the Castle of Lions? Kinda closerto being their own space/s, but it was still kinda under theYou-Are-Paladins-And-Need-A-Place-To-Rest kinda deal.

·        The house, though, will be all theirs. It willbe Pidge’s space, and Keith’s space, and just generally their space. No moreworrying about having someone else walk in on their private moments. No moreworrying about Hunk hijacking her tools to use. No more worrying about Lancestarting up a pissing match with Keith while he’s trying to train. No moreblaring emergency alarm. They can just exist together holy shit

In the time between, they live with Pidge’s parents.

·        Colleen and Samuel are respectful of theirboundaries but they encounter some of the same issues involving privacy as withthe Castle of Lions.

·        Also, the sex life? Yeah, that ain’t happenin’when the in-laws are just one door over and can hear when the motion of theocean starts a rockin’.

·        Other than that, Keith likes getting to knowmore about Colleen and Sam, as well as watching Pidge squirm when they share embarrassingstories. He likes having an extended family as fun as the Holts, ngl.

The house design is pretty simple, with a generous amount ofrooms and space.

·        It’s technically two stories but also has abasement because these two are hyper-cautious about having plenty of space.

·        They have two garages; one for regular cars andone for the Lions. Yes, I said Lions. Keith is piloting something before the end of Season 6 and anyone who disagrees can fight me -

·        They also get a fireplace because Keith has fondmemories of roasting marshmallows with his Dad and Pidge can’t deny her mansomething sentimental.

·        They have a generous living room with anadjacent work room with both their computers, desks and filing cabinets in it.The dining room table is also in the work room because they’re both workaholicsand figure it makes the most sense to put it there.

·        They have a quaint little kitchen with all newappliances – and they are all stainless steel at Pidge’s insistence – and acute little breakfast nook to go with.

·        They have one master bedroom, five bedrooms, andthree bathrooms. They select this much space specifically for familyget-togethers/ visits from the other Paladins.

Keith does all the interior decorating. Pidge doesn’t reallycare much for that stuff and she actually really likes the colors and patterns and such Keith ends updeciding to go with. She even likes the goofy, old-style Saturday Morning Pressportraits he hangs in the living room, as tacky and outdated as they are.

The regular garage becomes Pidge’s hands-on workplace andKeith is totally cool with that.

·        Keith and Pidge agree that she isn’t supposed todo particularly high-risk experiments when she’s home alone.

·        One time, he left for a diplomatic mission withthe Coalition for two days. When he returned, the entire inside of the garagewas torched and required -near-complete rebuilding. Like, even the tools were meltedinto nothing!

·        “Pidge, how did you even…?”

·        “I think it’s better you don’t know.”

·        “… Yeah, you know what? Forget I asked.”

The two of them are just naturally good at co-existing and docute shit without even realizing it.

·        Pidge could be working on something in thegarage and Keith will just slip in and get comfy with a book on the littlecouch she keeps in there for him.

·        Keith can be working on something at his deskand Pidge will come out and settle the back of her desk chair against the backof his and pull out a journal or handheld game with the volume off.

·        They can be on the couch sitting next to eachother watching television and within twenty minutes they end up snuggled upunder the little throw blanket they keep draped along the back of the couchwithout a word or acknowledgement.

·        Sometimes they’ll settle in and just listen tomusic and do basic, pleasure-tasks in the same room and just enjoy thecomfortable ambiance between them.

·        Additionally, they don’t mind doing things inrooms separate, either. Sometimes Pidge will be working in the garage and Keithwill be working out in the basement and there’s no tension or stress aboutbeing apart.

They are pretty even about splitting the chores andhousework.

·        They take turns making meals. Keith mostly makesbreakfast, though, and Pidge mostly makes dinner, just because of their wake-uphabits.

·        They take turns with the dishes in that whoevercooks the meal doesn’t have to do the dishes afterwards. Whoever starts thedishwasher doesn’t have to unload it, though, just to make it fair in that regard too.

·        Keith takes care of most of the yard work. Pidgedid her stint with the Nature Thing, she doesn’t need more. Plus, Keithfinds nature peaceful, so he actually enjoys the task and takespride in how their yard is kept. He maybe starts a little garden after theirfirst child is born and old enough to toddle around but that’s neither here northere just saying

·        Pidge takes care of any/all repairs to thingsaround the house in regards to technology/appliances/stuff of that ilk.

·        Pidge cleans the bathroom as well as mops thefloor in the kitchen. Keith vacuums their room and the front two rooms.

·        They do the laundry together. One of them startsit, the other switches, and they work together to fold and put it all away.

Okay, now to get to some of the more Romance-Centric CoupleStuffs.

·        Keith is an absolute morning person, so henormally gets up early and goes for a jog. Pidge wakes up briefly to whineabout him leaving because she was enjoying the company and warmth, thank youvery much, but he just kinda laughs her off. He’ll typically come back, take ashower, make coffee and start breakfast, and bring Pidge her cup to coerceher out of the comforter cocoon she has made for herself.

            Pidge likes to occasionally slip into the gymwhen Keith’s working out and pretend like their strangers and just openly flirtwith him. He low-key adores it and plays along.

“Hey there, beautiful. Come here often~?”

“Can I help you, Miss?”

“You can help me by giving me those digits, hotstuff~!” *winks with left eye*

“Excuse me, I am a happily married man.”

“What your wife don’t know won’t hurt her~!”*winks with right eye*

·        Date nights for them are typically low-key funstuffs. They make practical use of the fireplace to make popcorn or roasted marshmallowsfor s’mores while they watch movies or play video games or other things like that.

·        Some nights they’ll make more complicated mealstogether and sit at the dinner table and pretend they’re at some ritzy restaurantbecause they’re just two stupid dorks in love. They’ll sometimes move to theliving room and use the fireplace for chocolate fondue – the pot was a weddinggift from Hunk – and have wine.

·        The fireplace might also be phenomenal moodlighting for nights where they’re feeling a little frisky~! ;3c

·        They’re both cuddly af. Keith tends to go to bedbefore Pidge, so normally he’ll wake up with her arms and legs splayed over hisback and legs respectively, face pressed into the spot between his shoulders. Shegets super mumbley and whiny when he moves to get up. On the rare occasionswhere Pidge goes to bed first, she wakes up with Keith pulling her so herback is against his chest, his arms looped around her waist and his facenuzzled into the top of her hair.

           Keith and Pidge came to a mutual agreement that Sunday mornings are for sleeping in, no ifs ands or buts about it, and it’s actually both of theirs favorite day of the week. It’s Keith’s favorite cause there’s something nice about sleepy pillow talk with the Missus about all the nothing they’ll be doing that day, while it’s Pidge’s favorite because sleepy Keith is an adorable sight she doesn’t get nearly often enough.

·        They’re both just… so affectionate in privatebecause they feel so damn comfortable being themselves with each other!

I think that’s everything for now that I had in my mind!WHIOSDFJIBSSDAS HOPEFULLY IT WAS ALL GOOD!!!

[the-tin-dog]

I’m gonna bring things back to non-agriculture stuff because I know more about that. I am SO GLAD that op reminded everyone that old cars do not just “work better” because I think that’s a really important tie in. My fiancée and I share a 1993 geo tracker. Still with the Suzuki parts. Suzuki still manufactures those OEM parts, and we can still get anything we need (with a few small exceptions) today. We also have a 71 VW Beetle. And BOY do they have their quirks. Older cars will start to get finicky. They’ll leak, they’ll make weird noises, sometimes it’s big things, mostly it’s small things. Carburetors are fucking annoying. But you know what’s wild? Both of these cars are still daily drivable 30 and SIXTY FUCKING years later, not because they “work better” but because they can be fixed when they need to, with VERY little mechanical knowledge. And I’m not just talking regular maintenance either. Sure breaks, oil, spark plugs, etc are all easy to find. (Hell in the 90s and earlier most auto producers expected people to do that shit at home. They literally TOLD YOU HOW with DETAILED instructions in the owners manual. Because anyone who can use a combination wrench (which is literally anyone) can change their oil.) but even big repairs. Like pull-the-engine-out-of-the-car big. And you really didn’t have to be a professional yo do it. Like I cannot stress to people enough that when you work on an older car, the most complex part of the repair is just remembering how it all goes back together after you take it appart. They were built so an average Joe with some simple to moderate tools could at least attempt to fix things in their own garage. I started working on cars because I’m POOR. We needed to replace a clutch in the Geo. (Which again wasn’t a failure so much as general maintenance on something that old with over 100k miles) A private mechanic would’ve quoted $900. Dealership or corporate mechanic/shop would’ve quoted me about $1800, or flat out refused because “it would be better to go talk to the sales team and look at a NeWeR CaR” a new clutch disk AND pressure plate (which was actually an upgrade from the one we burned out) was about $75. I watched three YouTube videos and found a Suzuki repair manual. Hardest part of the job was un-seizing the bolts around the bell housing and accidentally snapping one of the old flywheel bolts because I set the torque wrench wrong. Now it was dirty, it was a lot of labor, and I definitely benefited from the help of my fiancée and our partner, but we still DID IT OURSELVES. So now that car keeps getting to drive. A pro mechanic could’ve definitely done it faster, largely because most pro shops have higher end tools and more specialized equipment like car lifts and engine hoists that the average Joe doesn’t need to invest in. But it was still not only possible, but a relatively straightforward job. We didn’t even need to pull the engine.

The takeaway here is:

- older stuff breaks too, but is literally designed to be easy to fix. When someone says “old stuff is /better/ simply because it’s old” it’s actually really harmful towards the Right to Repair movement because it deflects the responsibility. “Old stuff is better just cause” only really applies to like, old 100% metal sewing machines, or antique furniture that is made of solid wood instead of particle board paper and sawdust, or like. Clocks that are just as much a piece of art as they are a clock. Everything else isn’t worse because it new, it’s worse because it is both DESIGNED to fail, AND made impossible to repair. But corporations LOVE people forgetting how old things (esp cars, phones, computers…) still needed fixed but instead of having to take it to one (1) place with proprietary software it could be done in someone’s own home. Because they get to avoid blame for it all.

- old things break because parts simply fail. (My clutch cable and clutch disk, for example). Sometimes those parts fail because they mechanically wear out. Break pads and clutch disks aren’t planned obsolescence, thats just how they work. A printer from 2001 running out of ink isn’t obsolescence it’s just because ink is a consumable good. New things fail because the corporation responsible MAKES them fail. (Or even worse, pretends they fail but makes the product unusable like printers). Apple intentionally slows phones and makes the battery die faster. Tesla’s and Mercedes’ and other modern “LuXuRy” cars in-car computers will literally refuse to let the car run if it decides something is “wrong” (which is either a flat out lie, or a part that was designed to break so you had to bring the car in)

- and finally, to go back to OPs point: they seal the deal by making it IMPOSSIBLE to fix at home. Modern cars that have engine compartments so small and so full of plastic bullshit so you can’t get hands inside to even access things that need fixed. BMW requiring a $3000 proprietary software AND proprietary hardware AND regular expensive updates just to reset the sensors after you change the fucking oil (this one makes me irrationally angry as a mechanic because like??????? There is LITERALLY no reason the oil sensors need reset cars in the 80s had oil sensors that worked JUST FINE) and again, making parts hard to access and close to other parts that easily break so that you break other things in the process. It’s also intentionally harder to even find repair manuals anymore. My 71 beetle has this book written in the 60s called “how to keep your VW alive” it’s three inches thick and breaks down every single thing that can go wrong and how to repair it in plain English. It even suggests which things you should take it in to a pro for depending on your experience level or tools you have available. Most new car manuals don’t even explain how to change the wipers and lightbulbs.

This got way longer than I intended it to but the basic is: everything used to be designed to be fixed easily by the average person. If you brought something in to a pro it was either because you didn’t trust your own skills and preferred an expert do it (100% acceptable), or it was a very severe issue that you simply didn’t have the skill level or a specialized tool (like soldering iron, engine hoist, car lift, welding rig…) bot because tools were proprietary but because most average people have literally no reason to purchase or learn to use a TiG welder. But yeah, again

Tl;dr- old things broke because sometimes, things just break. Old things kept going because almost everyone could fix it with a simple set of average tools and a free afternoon. New things break because they’re designed to.

Oh PS!!! Back to agriculture- you know who started this whole right to repair thing? Fucking FARMERS. Because one particular brand of farm equipment (can’t remember which one) started making it impossible (and illegal, through a sales contract) for farmers to fix their own tractors and shit. Which is INSANE considering most farmers live on average 45min or further away from any actual civilization let alone the ONE single authorized repair shop they can go to. So farmers would have something break on their tractor, and instead of going out and getting it back running, they were LITERALLY unable to do their work. Until they towed said tractor HOURS away, dropped it off and waited days or weeks, and then towed it HOURS back. For something that is necessary to do the majority of their job.

Seriously fuck apple hardware and their hinges that break monitor cables and their butterfly keys and their 24-step battery replacement process that involves *removing your goddamned speakers* to replace the battery.

Fuck. That.

Fuck their specialized Apple screwdrivers

And their bullshit expensive replacement parts.

Two weeks ago I added RAM to my new laptop and it took about four minutes.

I just now replaced the fan on my old laptop while I was on a call with a vendor.

Both of those things used the same phillips-head screwdriver that I got in a pack of three for a dollar fifty at daiso. And I didn't have to *use a hairdryer to soften the adhesive on my speakers* to access either of those parts, let alone a part as basic and as likely to fail as a fucking battery. Hell, I opened up my new laptop and found out that there's a spot for me to put in a second SSD with a similarly small amount of effort.

But while I'm here:

Fuck modern cars. Fuck the engine covers with breakable pins that make it a pain in the ass to do anything more than checking the oil. Fuck the use of tablets as an interface for dealing with the car. Fuck proprietary RFID key fobs and fuck tire monitoring systems that'll make you fail a smog check.

Fuck cheaply made clothing that won't last more than a couple dozen wears but is so thin and flimsy that it also can't handle being mended.

Fuck printers that require a subscription for ink every three months even if you aren't out of ink, because they'll say you're out of ink because they disable the cartridges after a certain time no matter how much or how little you've printed.

Fuck printers generally, they're such cheap and horrible pieces of garbage at the consumer level that it's usually less expensive to buy a new printer than it is to replace cartridges, and it's usually cheap to replace the rollers but the printer is such shit that your odds of snapping off some fiddly piece of plastic garbage are about 50/50 even if you do know what you're doing.

Fuck all of this shit. You should be able to fix what you own, and if you can't or don't want to learn how to, you should at least have the option to try without becoming a professional.

I keep seeing that post about wanting packaged delivered slower by happier, safer, better-paid workers and first of all: Fuck yes. But also: I want clunkier, heavier technology that is easier to fix.

If I needed a laptop that could fit into a manila envelope I would get a fucking tablet, what I need is a laptop that has some actual computing power and that I can swap the hard drive on in less than forty minutes.

The cellphone I had five years ago had a smaller screen and a thicker case, but I could replace the battery with my thumb as the only tool, and with some effort (less than it would require now) I could replace the whole screen. I don't need a seven inch screen and four cameras on the back and a thin, lightweight case, the phone that was the size of my palm and half an inch thick was fine and LOOK I know a lot of the components have become smaller; why did we move to slimmer cases instead of keeping the thicker ones that anyone could crack open to swap in a SIM or replace the battery? You could have BIGGER batteries, with longer lifespans if you still had thicker cases and smaller screens and then maybe this piece of shit phone would fit in any single pocket on my clothing instead of hanging halfway out and trying to make a dive onto the ground every time I stand up.

I don't like the attitude of "stuff in the old days used to just WORK" - in some ways it's true, in some ways it isn't. Cars in the old days certainly did NOT just used to work. But it used to be a fuck of a lot easier to get into an engine and *fix it* without having to get an entire collection of vehicle-specific tools and half a computer science degree. Printers have never, in the existence of printers, "just worked" but they didn't stop printing because of a programmed date on a chip in the fucking cartridge.

A lot of hardware from today is fine. SSDs are pretty great, and there are new manufactured hard drives that I know are going to last thirty years, just like the 40MB drive from 1987 that a customer brought into my shop a few years ago.

There are people out there who are making good stuff.

But it's so fucking frustrating the way that it feels like you have to fight to find something that isn't just the absolute shittiest piece of garbage. The amount of stuff out there that is flimsy, likely to fail, and only-user-serviceable-if-the-user-is-already-technically-proficient is really, really upsetting.

[thedappleddragon]

Day 76 (Wednesday May 28)

I woke up from a dream about my favorite YouTubed struggling really hard with her mental health and going non-verbal in the middle of my hallway. During part of my dream, I couldn’t breathe very well, but then I shifted the fabric of reality a smidge towards satan I could breathe and sleep better. Or something like that idk.

I was just hanging out when my mom came home and called my sister and I into her room and talked to us about how she was getting serious about getting divorced with my dad. When my dad brought it up in like December I was almost happy and exited because I knew that my parents hated each other and my dad making my mom’s life a living hell (not because he’s shitty or abusive, he’s just stupid and annoying and a liar and tries to hide things from her and messes up her stuff and doesn’t love her) but this time, she was talking about how he was being petty with money and trying to steal her stimulus check and how she was going to split up all the stuff in the house and she would have to work for 30 more years to pay off the mortgage instead of retiring in 8 years and how my sister and I needed to get our drivers licenses and I needed to get signed up for college and figure out what I’m doing because I have no purpose in life currently. It put me in a really off mood so I had to listen to my slightly sad soft instrumental playlist and not move while playing webkinz to just... forget about it all.

I went with my mom to pick up groceries later and was mostly silent in the car until we were on our way back home. We talked in the driveway until dad came home. I brought in the groceries and went back to playing stardew valley while she went in the backyard to talk stuff over with my dad for HOURS. I started getting stir crazy, and not being able to decompress in the backyard made it worse so I ate strawberries until my stomach hurt and tried sitting in the front yard for a while watching tiktoks but I felt like shit. All afternoon I felt like a tiger pacing in its cage.

I was watching Jenna marble’s newest video when i thought of all the TikTok clothing diys, I cluding one where you cut a hole in the crotch of a pair of pants and wear it like a shirt. I would NEVER do this normally, but I had my first pair of black skinny jeans near my bed because I never felt like throwing them away, even though the holes in the upper/inner thigh were beyond repair. So I cut the hole bigger and tbh it would make for a super cute crop top thing. I wish I could cut the end of the zipper in half so it would open up like a jacket instead of staying closed, and theoretically I have the appropriate power tools, it I don’t want metal sparks to burn holes in the pants or for the end product to have sharp metal on it. I need to cut the collar area wider and finish the edges and maybe paint it with bleach, but I’m gonna leave it alone for now.

I was walking around my kitchen at 2:30ish am in really wierd, bored mood, again feeling like a pacing caged tiger. I had some cheesecake and thought about how shitty and unfair this whole covid situation is and almost cried. I’m so fucking tired of this, I should get to go back to school and see friends and finish my last year of highschool normally and go to classes and gave my graduation ceremony and cry tears of joy when I get to throw my hat but all of that is gone and I don’t have a purpose in life. I’ve just been floating along for so long and quarantine has stagnated any little amount of momentum and drive and motivation I had and I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I’m overwhelmed and I’m tired of existing and I need things to change soon.

I think I just need to go to bed. I’m just being moody. Its all fine lol who cares

[shandragdotson]

5 Simple Steps To Building Your First Budget

You kind of, sort of, mostly know what a budget is, and you are pretty sure you don’t like it. Or at least that it will be very hard.

As such, it’s always been pretty easy to come up with an excuse to avoid budgeting altogether. You tell yourself that you “just aren’t good at money,” and you never will be, and therefore, a budget will never work for you. Or that a budget will be too restrictive. Or that you are too busy to think about it right now. Maybe you tell yourself that you will live on a budget when you get out of school, or get a job, or get married, or have kids, or buy a house. (You see the problem with this logic?!) 

And then there is my personal favorite, you “don’t have enough money to budget.”

But you are tired of being stressed about money. Living paycheck to paycheck is taking a toll, and you want (need?) to start getting ahead once and for all.

So, get all of the excuses out of your system and take a deep breath.

In just five steps, you can get set up with a dynamic budget that—if you let it do its job—will change the way you think about money, eliminate your money stress, and help you feel in control of your life like never before. Really and truly. Five steps. Not hard. Here we go:

1. Take Stock of Expenses

A budget is a tool to help make sure you have money to spend on the things that are most important to you. Of course, you also have bills and commitments. So, start with the things that you know you have to pay every month or your Immediate Obligations (think rent/mortgage, utilities, phone, groceries, etc.).

Then, think through larger, less frequent expenses that you know will be coming up in the future (think insurance premiums, car registration, Christmas), even if you don’t know exactly when or how much (think car repairs, a new laptop, a medical emergency, etc.). These are your True Expenses. Even if you don’t owe money every month, you are on the hook for these things, and if you don’t have money saved, it will be stressful (and tempting to rely on credit cards!).

You’ll also want to consider any Outstanding Debts (think credit cards, student loans or car payments). And don’t forget building in some money for the fun stuff. If you don’t leave any breathing room, it won’t be sustainable, and your finances are all about the long game. So whether that is eating out or buying games or seeing movies—budget money for fun every month.

When you start a new budget in YNAB, we pre-populate some categories to help you get started, but ultimately, everyone’s budget is a little bit different, because we all have different priorities.

Think about your Goals. What do you want to be able to do? How can your money help you get there?

2. Determine What Money You Have Right Now

Budgeting is about making the best decisions possible in the here and now, in order to improve your present situation, and set up your future-self for success. Therefore, you aren’t forecasting or predicting, do not concern yourself with money you will have (even if you will have it in two weeks!). You are only budgeting with money you have right now. Determine exactly how much that is, and then ask yourself, “What does this money need to do before I get paid again?” [More about Embracing Your True Expenses.]

In YNAB, you can connect your accounts (checking, saving, credit cards, etc.) so you know exactly what you have to work with, and your budget remains up-to-date in real-time.

3. Give Every Dollar A Job

What does your money need to do before you get paid again? You will no doubt have to cover some (or many) Immediate Obligations, and then you can think about what is most important as you go down the list among your True Expenses, Debt Payments, and Goals. As you become hyper aware of your spending and the fact that your money is finite, you may find yourself making better decisions, and realizing the things that feel worth it, and the things that don’t. Pay attention to these feelings. Every dollar you spend here is a dollar you can’t spend over there. It’s a series of trade-offs and compromises, but you get to decide. Whatever matters most to you can and should be prioritized. [More about Giving Every Dollar A Job.]

With YNAB, you can schedule recurring transactions and add goals to your budget, so it’s easier to keep track of the things that you have to pay for. Just one less thing to think about.

4. Live Your Life & Adjust As Necessary

Life goes exactly as we plan—never. You will budget for certain things, and different things will happen, or circumstances will change, or your priorities will shift, or all of the above. As things change, your budget should change, too. If you overspend on eating out, then move a little bit of money from your clothing category, and wait until next month to replace your running shoes. Or whatever it is for you. The important thing to remember is that your budget is dynamic and flexible. Changing your budget around isn’t doing it wrong or cheating or failing, in fact quite the opposite. Adjusting your budget is insurance that you will stick with it and achieve long-term financial goals and stability. [More about Rolling With The Punches.]

5. Rinse & Repeat

Repeat steps 2-4 every time you get paid. Whatever money comes in, you’ll decide what that money needs to do before you get paid again, and assign every dollar a job. Then you will flex and adjust as life happens. And then you’ll get paid again.

You can do this! (If detailed, step-by-step instructions are more your jam, don’t worry, we got you covered, too.) Hopefully, you’ve been encouraged. Starting a budget doesn’t have to be this big, epic, overwhelming thing. Budgeting doesn’t have to be terribly complicated, but it does have the very serious potential to radically change your quality of life for the better. We’ll put our money (and we have some because we budget!) on you experiencing a positive shift in your outlook after just the first month. Try it.

Haven’t started your YNAB budget yet? Try it free for 34 days and gain total control of your money.

Start Budgeting

This post was originally published in January 2017. The five steps remain the same but our software has some shiny new updates, now reflected in this post.

The post 5 Simple Steps To Building Your First Budget appeared first on You Need A Budget.

from Finance https://www.youneedabudget.com/5-steps-to-build-a-budget/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[team-mtal]

Big Ol’ Honkin’ OC Question List: F. Domestic Habits, Work, & Hobbies

1. What sort of home do they live in now, if at all? How did they end up there?

   - They all live at Beacon Academy

2. What’s their ideal home look like? Where is it?

   - Morrow: He wants something cozy in/near a city

   - Taronja: He wants a cozy house with a big backyard and a tree

   - Viridian: She wants a warm house that she can make her own. She'd like a backyard with a tree so she can put in a tire swing, but anywhere to play outside is fine. Preferably there would be a library room with bean bag chairs.

   - Crimson: She wants a good size home and she doesn’t care where

   - Roxo: He wants a spacious house so he doesn't have to worry about bumping into things when he's mindlessly wanderinj

   - Dalton: He wants a house on a nice piece of property

   - Aureolin: She wants a large house for her family in or near the city

   - Natsuki: She wants to live in a village or small town

   - Corax: She wants to live in a beach house, not to far from a town. Not too big but not too small either.

   - Sarcelle: She wants an apartment until she marries, then they’d save up for a large house

   - Chaton: She wants a house in the countryside with her family

   - Kon: He wants a small house if its just him or a big pack house if he starts up a new pack

3. Could they ever live in a “tiny home”?

   - Morrow: He could do it, but it’d take some getting used to

   - Taronja: Yes, it's still somewhere to live

   - Viridian: She spent the first three years of her life in a tiny home so she doesn’t mind. She would be upset about the lack of a large kitchen and no library but she'd deal

   - Crimson: As long as she has a roof over her head, she doesn’t mind

   - Roxo: “Ehhhhhh yeah okay if I had to”

   - Dalton: He wouldn’t do it by choice, but he could do it

   - Aureolin: Sure

   - Natsuki: She loves them!

   - Corax: She wouldn't enjoy it but she'd do it if she had to.

   - Sarcelle: No.

   - Chaton: A home is a home

   - Kon: Yes

4. How clean are they overall with home upkeep?

   - Morrow: He likes things neat and tidy

   - Taronja: He likes having things in place

   - Viridian: She legit doesn't care half the time but casually cleans

   - Crimson: She wants things to be clean, but she’s not a neat-freak

   - Roxo: Really really clean. Neat-freak clean

   - Dalton: He doesn’t care that much, and Natsuki always fusses at him

   - Aureolin: She's fairly good at cleaning but hates it

   - Natsuki: “A place for everything, and everything in its place.”

   - Corax: Lol

   - Sarcelle: No dust on shelves? I know where everything is? Good enough.

   - Chaton: Everything is Perfect

   - Kon: Mostly clean

5. How handy are they? Can they fix appliances, cars, cabinets, et cetera?

   - Morrow: He’s good at forging weapons, so he can do like metal work stuff

   - Taronja: He's good at fixing clothes and woodwork but other then that not really

   - Viridian: She's decent at most but even better when she has her

   - Crimson: She can fix clothing, squeaky hinges, and things like that

   - Roxo: No

   - Dalton: “Did you turn it off and turn it back on again?”

   - Aureolin: She fixes it and it's better then new.

   - Natsuki: She’s actually pretty handy with tools. Not amazing, but good enough for small repairs

   - Corax: She's fairly decent

   - Sarcelle: Miss Fix-It herself!

   - Chaton: Omg she's terrible

   - Kon: Pretty good but not amazing

6. How much do they work? What do they do? Do they enjoy it?

   - They are all students training to be huntsmen and huntresses

7. What’s their “dream career” or job situation? Admin Note: They all want to be huntsmen and huntresses, but some of them have goals outside of that.

   - Morrow wants to be a musician

   - Taronja wants to be a zooologist (Study Rwbyverse animals/Grimm).

   - Viridian kinda wants to be able to be a social worker but it might have to wait until she retires from being a huntress.

   - Crimson wants to be a musician

   - A small part of Dalton wishes to be a comedian

   - Corax has so many things she wants to be in addition to a huntress. She wants to be a writer, artist, musician, actress, or study human/faunus makeups. (Biology related job)

   - Sarcelle secretly wishes to be a musician

8. How often are they home?

   - Beacon Academy is a boarding school

9. Are they homebodies and enjoy being home?

   - Morrow: Not particularly

   - Taronja: Crimson is his home so yes

   - Viridian: Beacon is her home.

   - Crimson: Home is with Taronja and the rest of her family

   - Roxo: For the most part. He dislikes having to lie though.

   - Dalton: He enjoys being with his dad in Mistral

   - Aureolin: She loves being home even though it's lonely.

   - Natsuki: She likes being home but she prefers traveling

   - Corax: She likes being home but enjoys hanging with her friends more so.

   - Sarcelle: She likes having a place to call home (it doesn’t involve her parents)

   - Chaton: She loooves being at home. Moving to Beacon was difficult for her.

   - Kon: He'd love to go back home.

10. Do they engage in any of the arts? How good do you intend them to be? Would they agree they are?

   - Morrow: He plays guitar and raps. He’s very good at both.

   - Taronja: He plays bass guitar and sings some. He also know's the basics (and really only the basics) for piano.

   - Viridian: She likes to act and sing. She's a good actor but a decent singer, she prefers playing the drums though.

   - Crimson: She plays piano, bass, and sings. She’s very good at piano and singing, but decent at bass.

   - Roxo: No. (Although he likes to practice the tuba)

   - Dalton: He knows how to play the drums, and he’s good at them. He and Viridian often work on rhythms together.

   - Aureolin: She can play the Violin and composes when her head is too loud.

   - Natsuki: She can play practically any stringed instrument and she’s quite good at them.

   - Corax: She loves acting and can play guitar fairly well.

   - Sarcelle: She plays piano and sings. She’s decent at both.

   - Chaton: Nope.

   - Kon: He likes to tell stories but that's about it.

11. What are some of their favorite things to do for recreation? How did they get into it? What part of it do they like the most?

   - Morrow: He likes forging because it’s creating something powerful all by yourself. He also likes playing guitar because music can be a form of escape.

   - Taronja: He likes to garden and stargaze mostly. It started as a way to fall asleep and provide food for he and Crimson but turned into a fun activity with her.

   - Viridian: She likes to read and listen to music because they let her escape her life for a while.

   - Crimson: She likes music because it makes her feel powerful enough to have a voice that touches people’s lives.

   - Roxo: He likes to paint. A lot of people are surprised because he's pretty decent.

   - Dalton: He taught himself drums because it was a good way to take out aggression. It turned into a way he can have fun with his friends.

   - Aureolin: She likes to read in her spare time because it's a way to broaden her mind and get a bunch of new viewpoints.

   - Natsuki: She loves being able to play all these instruments because it makes her feel useful, like if Crim comes up to her and asks for advice on how to write out a violin part for a song.

   - Corax: She likes to listen to music and play games because it offers her a way to concentrate and let out emotions.

   - Sarcelle: She likes being able to play the piano because it’s a fun way to show off, but she enjoys singing more.

   - Chaton: She loves to swim. It's always super warm and fun for her.

   - Kon: He enjoys drawing because it's something he and his mom used to do.

12. Would they enjoy a theme park?

   - Morrow: No

   - Taronja: No 

   - Viridian: Mostly

   - Crimson: Yes 

   - Roxo: No 

   - Dalton: Yes  

   - Aureolin: Yes 

   - Natsuki: Yes  

   - Corax: Yes 

   - Sarcelle: Yes 

   - Chaton: No 

   - Kon: No

[tonystarktogo]

Bitter Sunday: Tony helping Clint's family fix stuff around the house, because they were nice to him and keep being nice to him and say please and thank you. Meanwhile Clint is out avenging again, and Tony is taking his "consultant" role very literally (at least until the next *serious* attack) because that's all he does and they're reluctant or arrogant enough not to consult him a lot anyway. But Clint's family needs someone to fix the car, so he helps. For free. For a thank you.

Wow, I got this before I even had the chance to ask for anything. I love it! :D (Mostly I’m just really enjoying this bitter Sunday thing and love that you guys are on board with it) Okay, back to business now (though this didn’t turn out very bitter, more just happy!Tony and not much else)

Tony can’t really say no. Not when Laura calls him, sounding as tired as he feels on his worst days, baby Nate crying in the background. Especially not when Rhodey made him promise to not lock himself away in the workshop until the next worldwide alien invasion.

So he comes over on a Saturday afternoon–and if he checked with FRIDAY that Clint would be occupied elsewhere, well, that’s just common sense. Things have been tense between them ever since the airport fight, and Tony’s tired of having the same argument again and again, with no sign of a resolution.

He’s greeted by Lila running up to meet him with wide smile–there’s a tooth missing there, that she’s very proud off–and something tense dissolves in his chest. Laura sends him a relieved smile, shows him the car, in between the thousand and one ‘Thank you’s Tony tries valiantly to wave off.

The afternoon is spent repairing the car, which goes slower and is a lot more fun than Tony expected. Because Cooper is eager to help him, curiously asks question after question and runs happily around, searching for the tools Tony needs. Laughing and talking excitedly about his science project and how Nathaniel has learned how to throw his food around and how Lila doesn’t like dresses anymore because she wants to be a superhero when she grows up, and kicking villains’ butts is easier in pants. When they’re finally finished, Cooper is whooping and high fives Tony, so happy, pulls him into the house–and really Tony never stood a chance.

Of course Laura insists he stay over for dinner, as a (completely unnecessary) thank you. Lila has drawn a picture for Tony and Cooper keeps asking if he’ll please, please come visit again and. Tony is–overwhelmed, a little. Thankfully Laura notices, artfully distracts her children to give him a little breathing room. But he’s also strangely happy, hasn’t felt this light and welcome and appreciated in a long time.

He refuses to take Laura’s money of course. And maybe, maybe he’ll come by again. Soon. Laura’s dishwasher isn’t in the best of conditions anymore, after all.

[Bonus: There’s a poster of Iron Man hanging on Lila’s closet. A framed grade A for Cooper’s science project on his desk. A picture of Tony with an oddly panicked expression as he holds a giggling Nathaniel, who’s curiously patting his beard, hanging on the wall. Clint doesn’t understand.

Laura narrows her eyes, a barely noticeable movement.

“It’s been hanging there for four months, Clint,” she says. There’s a lot in those words she doesn’t say, and for the first time in a long while, Clint notices.]