#McDonald Ranch House

[denimbex1986]

It’s one thing standing in line to watch the blockbuster film “Oppenheimer.” It’s another thing entirely queueing up in a remote desert to experience the location of the film’s most pivotal scene.

But if you’re a fan of atomic history and can swing central New Mexico this October, your pilgrimage through the Jornada del Muerto (Dead Man’s Journey) will be so worth the effort.

Saturday, October 21, presents a rare opportunity to visit not just one but two scientifically significant and movie-famous destinations on the same day – each occupying opposite ends of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Trinity Site is the national historic landmark that’s home to mankind’s first nuclear blast on July 16, 1945, where plutonium gamma rays lit up the night sky. It hosts only two open house events each year.

And while you’re in the area, an extraordinary bonus is a second, free-of-charge open house aimed specifically at Trinity Site adventurers who are willing to drive another 100 miles to take in a second mind-bending experience.

It’s the Very Large Array Radio Observatory (VLA), which was dramatized in the 1997 alien-life movie “Contact.” The VLA telescope can spread wider than New York City, able to capture the whispers of distant radio waves as they undulate across our cosmos.

Rare access to Trinity Site

Trinity Site opens only two Saturdays a year. Once in April, and lucky for “Oppenheimer” enthusiasts, again in October.

The exact dates are announced in advance each year by the US Army.

The site is a secure military installation within the forbidding White Sands Missile Range, where live weapons are regularly tested. The terrain is high desert plateau, dotted with creosote brush and not much else.

In our everyday crush of crowds, traffic and strip malls, the Land of Enchantment’s sheer miles of open landscape and soul-nourishing cobalt vistas inspire. Buzz Aldrin’s impression of the moon’s surface parallels Trinity Site, a “magnificent desolation.”

When J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist known as the “father of the atomic bomb,” led his Manhattan Project team to Trinity, it wasn’t just for the isolation. He had history with New Mexico, attending summer boys’ camps during his youth. Because of the popularity of the movie “Oppenheimer,” a surge of visitors is expected on October 21.

The open house event, hosted by the US Army, is free but limited to the first 5,000 guests, on a first-come, first-served basis.

How to get there

From Albuquerque International Sunport airport, your best bet is a rental car for the two-hour drive south. It’s easy to get disoriented while navigating, so stick to the Army’s directions, as GPS instructions can be wonky. Take screen photos of the route mapped on your phone – as you may lose cell service – and have an actual roadmap as backup.

Aim to arrive at Trinity’s Stallion Gate before 8 a.m., when the gate opens. There will already be a line. Be early, and you’ll still have plenty of time for the day’s second adventure. Army officials will check your ID at the gate, and from there it’s a 17-mile (27-kilometer) drive to a parking lot located a quarter-mile walk from the reason you came – Ground Zero.

Trinity Site’s atmosphere during an open house is reminiscent of a small-town carnival from a bygone era. Vendors selling souvenir trinkets. Kids in strollers. Dogs wagging tails. Porta Potties. That’s until you notice the pop-up tent displaying Geiger counters. And another with radioactive Trinitite, the mysterious green-glass rock that rained down from the bomb’s blast.

Ominous fence signs remind guests that it’s against the law to remove any pieces of Trinitite they spy on the ground because ingested fragments retain enough radioactivity to be dangerous.

The famed 1918 McDonald adobe ranch house, where the bomb’s critical plutonium core was assembled in the master bedroom, survived the shock wave two miles away mostly intact. Buses shuttle visitors back and forth free of charge from the Trinity parking lot to the McDonald house.

Venture in farther to stand next to a life-size replica of Fat Man, the nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945.

Visitors can pose for photos inside Jumbo, the 216-ton steel cylinder scientists contemplated detonating the bomb – nicknamed the Gadget – within to contain its plutonium core if the full detonation failed.

Experiencing Ground Zero

The moment arrives to approach Ground Zero, marked simply by a black stone obelisk that’s 12 feet (3.66 meters) high.

Step back in time to the pre-dawn of July 16, 1945. Glance north, west and south where Oppenheimer’s team hunkered down in three bunkers, five miles away. You stand where the course of humanity shifted. Where the boundaries of physics and possibility stretched.

Picture the 100-foot-high steel tower that stood where the obelisk stands now. A few feet away only nubs of the tower remain, the bulk annihilated in the blast.

See in your mind the mattresses hauled in and stacked high to cushion the fall should the chains snap as they winched the heavy Gadget high into the air. And young scientists rotated throughout the night babysitting the bomb as crackles of lightning threatened to strike.

Oppenheimer wrote the poem “Crossing” two decades before Trinity. His words contained the prophetic passage, “…in the dry hills down by the river, half withered, we had the hot winds against us.” He could not have imagined the heat to come.

Now close your eyes.

Ignore what you do see to imagine the history you cannot see.

The storms over the mountains. New Mexico Gov. John Dempsey is at home asleep, oblivious to when the blast will occur. Finally, the mists of rain clear. The countdown to fission begins. There’s a sense of dread, however remote, that Earth’s atmosphere might ignite in a cataclysmic chain reaction.

And finally, the detonation.

Man’s first nuclear genie shatters its bottle, unleashing the ferocity of the atom, with an explosion 10,000 times hotter than our sun. Thirty-seven minutes later, the wounded sky brightens again, to the dawn of man’s first atomic sunrise.

Reflect on the glaring omission that while the area surrounding Trinity was remote, it was not unpopulated.

Civilians termed “downwinders,” subjected to radioactive fallout fluttering down from the sky, were assured that the flash and fury some saw and heard was an ammunition explosion at nearby Alamogordo Air Base. After atomic bombs dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki the following month, they realized the stark truth.

Jim Eckles, an Army historian who oversaw decades of Trinity open house events, shared the site’s significance: “The ‘Oppenheimer’ movie resurrected concerns we’ve lost sight of. That thousands of nuclear warhead missiles are still out there, able to launch. We need clever intelligent people to deal with the sequence that began at Trinity.”...'

[weepingflowerbonkcop]

First Post and I'm stuck on the idea of being isekaid into LU with your best friend. Here's of my thoughts about the shenanigans. -

Legend: Why are we bringing them along? *pointing towards the two humans fighting each other*

Friend: WHY WON'T YOU LET ME KISS YOU?! IM YOUR BEST FRIEND I HAVE PRIVILEGES?!

Y/N: I'D RATHER DRINK AN ENTIRE BOTTLE OF HAND SANITISER BEFORE YOU LAY YOUR LIPS ON ME!

Time: ...

Y/N: *pointing at Legend* He looks like he bites.

Twilight: He probably does.

Hyrule: He does.

Warriors: I was bit.

Sky: I witnessed it.

Legend: What is wrong with her?

Sky: What do you mean?

Legend: I told her a story about fighting a boboklin and she replied by saying, "dead-ass." What does that even mean?

Hyrule: I got a hug from her after healing her.

Twilight: I got kisses from her as Wolfie.

Warriors: I got praised by her for my strength.

Wind: I get all her attention!

Legend: I got asked why my hair is pink.

Legend: You're so useless! You can't fight! Can't heal! God, why are you so useless to the group?

Y/N: First of all, I won't be sassed by man wearing a skirt. Go frolic in a field of daisies if you're so upset.

Four: I can't believe that the Minnish numbers are dwindling in the future! Just look at them! *holds up hands cupped*

Y/N: *not seeing anything in his hands* Okay sweetie, I think that's enough for today. Let's go take a nap, okay? *concerned*

Twilight: On the ranch I had to wrestle some Ordon Goats whenever they go on rampages.

Y/N: I believe that, you're built like a shit brick house. You don't just get that figure by sitting and doing nothing.

Y/N: You ever wonder if the wind is trying to tell us something, but we just forgot how to listen to it?

Time: I just want you to stop saying weird shit.

Wind: *slightly panicked at the thought*

Four: How do you keep on doing this?!

Wild: *broke another sword* I don't know what happened to it...

Y/N: ....

*Flashback*

Y/N: You think that you could cut a bolder in half by trying some breathing technique?

Wild: I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'm invested.

Y/N: Oh yeah. I have like Iron deficiency and so sometimes when I stand up to fast I get flashbanged. I'm also prone to blackouts as well.

Hyrule: *concerned noises*

Four: Remind me to keep an eye on you.

Friend: I wonder how humans taste like?

Y/N: Research has shown that most of the food that we eat contain human DNA. So just think about how chicken burgers tastes like from McDonalds.

Friend: So like chicken then?

Y/N: Pretty much.

Twilight: *overheard their conversation* WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!

*Four and Time looking at Y/N and Friend*

Four: Have you ever noticed how they don't talk to each other. They just pull faces and make noises.

Time: Maybe it's a human thing?

Friend: *pulling a 'did-you-hear-that-shit' face*

Y/N: *pulling a 'giiirl-I-know-he-didn't' face*

Legend: *secretly understanding and nodding along*

Time: We are the Hero's of Hyrule! We don't show vulnerability.

Y/N: You know what that sounds like - toxic masculinity.

- That's all for now. Let me know your thoughts! All rights to the creator jojo!

[mystoryfortheaudienceoftheworld]

UPDATING - Sorry It's Long

I am currently at work – and I need to update for the last two days. I had every intention of posting, but then I got tired and was like meh – the struggle to type words!

Anyways, I pulled up a Word Document at work to type what I want and then copy and paste. Work is slow à but this makes me look busy. Mawhahaha

ANYWAYS!

Sunday (Nov. 17) DAY 7 of trying to get my healthier life on track.

 Before I break down my eating, I will say I did end up grabbing food not from home for both lunch and dinner. I almost made it a whole week fully sticking to my plan (minus the sandwich Saturday while at moms). BABY STEPS!

Breakfast – Pancakes, cheesy scrambled eggs, and a clementine – Oh and coffee!

                I started of good in the morning – I chose not to eat all the pancakes I made and shared them with my husband. That was a tough choice, but once I was done eating I felt stratified in my food intake.

Lunch – Ordered Moes to the house – I had a burrito bowl, cup of queso, and chips.

                I know I had food at home I could have made, but once I got home from dropping Hayden off at work and spending time outside with the dog I just wasn’t feeling putting something together. So, I caved. I probably should have skipped on the queso or gotten the smaller size. I am however not made at myself – and I didn’t go off any rails eating more once I was done with my meal. It was yummy and end of story.

Snack – Oreo pack (4 cookies) and some milk

Dinner – McDonalds 6 piece Nugget Happy Meal & Double Cheeseburger

So I ended up napping Sunday evening and missed dinner time – but when I was out picking up Hayden for work (which is around 10pm) I was hungry – so I stopped and got a McDonalds Happy Meal (because I had points for it) and a double cheeseburger. I know I shouldn’t have gotten the burger – it wasn’t even that great because the burger was burnt. Reflection here is key and I will keep that in mind going forward. Don’t eat what you are not enjoying – I know that’s hard sometimes when you feel like you don’t want to waste your money, but sometimes an unsatisfying meal is not worth saving the cost. The small happy meal would have been find on it’s on.

And that’s how I ended my 7th day of getting myself back on track. I can’t say it was a great finish, but it also could have been worse.

I think the one take away here is that my water intake really sucks. I really have to keep working on it.

Monday (November 18) DAY 8 and the start of week 2!

Started off strong, but the evening didn’t go as planned.

Breakfast – Overnight Oats ( Greek yogurt, apple, vanilla almond milk, and oats) & coffee

Lunch – Chef Boyardee Ravioli, Salad (lettuce, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, goat cheese, pecans, and balsamic dressing), and 1 small bag of chili Fritos.

Snack – Small bag of chili Fritos (another one) & 2 mini boxes of Milk Duds

                This snack was spread out through the rest of the day, but it really happened because work is slow and I got bored. ☹

Dinner – Zaxbys – Blue Buffalo Fried Chicken Salad & Ranch Chicken Fries appetizer

                I didn’t go home after work and hung out in my car waiting for Hayden to get off work so that’s why I didn’t eat at home. Two takeaways – I didn’t need both items, and I should have gotten the salad with grilled chicken. It’s clear I am still in the huge process of working on my relationship with food.

I think if I had made a post about Sundays eating it may have made an impact on my meal choices last night – only because it would have had my accountability more in the forefront of my mind.

TBH – I even thought about skipping posting about my eating, but that is the whole point of coming back and trying to get myself together.

As, I said in my previous posts – I am on the “baby steps” route and I have only just started. Just need to keep on going and thinking.

My next post will be a reflection of the first week – to help put things into perspective.

If you made it to the end and read all of this thank you!

[kwebtv]

John Allen Amos Jr. (December 27, 1939 – August 21, 2024) Television and film actor. He was best known for his role as the adult Kunta Kinte in the landmark miniseries Roots and for portraying James Evans Sr. on the CBS television series Good Times. Amos' other television work includes The Mary Tyler Moore Show, a recurring role as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace on The West Wing, and the role of Washington, DC Mayor Ethan Baker in the series The District. Amos has appeared on Broadway and in numerous films in his five-decade career.

Amos was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and an NAACP Image Award.

Amos became well known in his first major TV role, playing Gordy Howard, the weatherman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, from 1970 until 1973. Upon the death of Betty White, Amos and Joyce Bulifant (who played Marie Slaughter) became the last surviving semi-regular cast members of that show (not counting child actors). In 1971, he appeared with Anson Williams in a commercial for McDonald's.

In 1980, he starred in the television film Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story. Amos played an Archie Bunker-style character in the 1994 sitcom 704 Hauser, a modern spin-off of All in the Family, but it was canceled after only five episodes (in the series he played a different character than he did in the All in the Family spin-off Maude). He also portrayed Captain Dolan on the TV show Hunter from 1984 to 1985. He co-starred in the CBS police drama The District. Amos was a frequent guest on The West Wing, portraying Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, who serves as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for most of the show. He played Buzz Washington in the ABC series Men in Trees. Amos co-starred with Anthony Anderson in the short-lived TV series All About the Andersons in 2003.

In 2010, Amos also appeared as recurring character Ed on Two and a Half Men, and in 2016 as another recurring character, also (coincidentally) named Ed, on the Netflix sitcom The Ranch. He has guest-starred in a number of other television shows, including Police Story, The A-Team, The Cosby Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, In the House, Martin as Sgt. Hamilton Strawn (Tommy's father), Touched by an Angel, Psych, Sanford and Son, My Name Is Earl, Lie to Me, and Murder, She Wrote. (Wikipedia)

IMDb Listing

[hartelore-archive]

Fuck it. Fleshes out your Coela region.

Tatsugi Town is a sizable mountain town that reminds me of the desert area in The Sims. It tends to be hot and dry, but there are definitely little oasises here and there, like Butterfree Field, Lake Hassagone, and the Dodgy Cave. Vega Altair, who studies dimensional displacement (I think) has a Pokémon lab there, even if his main studies aren’t Pokémon focused. He can give starters, but you’re probably better off looking for someone else. The houses here are tall and blocky, with either low or high ceilings, very few in between. The gym leader in Tatsugi is Kohaku, the rock type leader.

Mantide is a beach city that I’m sure would get tourists if there were actually things to do in Coela. There’s not even a boardwalk…maybe I can just say there’s a boardwalk and small theme park. There are quite a few seafood places as well as an aquarium. I can imagine people here windboarding in the winter but not surfing. While there is tall grass on the routes, it’s dry and brittle, while the beach stays relatively humid year-round. The people who live here tend to have houseboats or stilt beach houses, leaving the land to business and entertainment for tourists. Professor Fig has a lab here where ancient Pokémon variations are studied. There is an empty gym here, with no leader.

Lanturna Town is a small forested town nestled in Coela’s woodlands. A massive Trevenant, the Turn, patrols its territory here. Lanturna is within its boundaries, but it doesn’t seem to mind too too much, as long as it isn’t bothered. Plenty of ghosts and fairies live in Lanturna’s forests. I imagine the streets here are paved with cobblestone… In the town it’s very cozy, with a little bakery, a café, and a fancy restaurant, as well as the gym ran by Yutsuko. I don’t know what their type specialty is. Harte lives here and you can pick up a starter Pokémon at his ranch, as long as you don’t mind weird genetics…

Tyamo Towers is a large city filled with skyscrapers. This is the downtown of Coela. This is where you find the big library, the office jobs, the hospital, the dark alleys and neon signs. You can also find the dragon type gym, ran by Hwaksim. On the outskirts, just off of Route 4, is an observatory. The light pollution is surprisingly minimal.

Venuza City isn’t far from Tyamo. In fact, Tyamo is simply a sector of Venuza. There are more dark alleys here, shadier residents, and lots of cool graffiti and hobby shops, as well as a casino and cinema. Venuza’s fairy type gym is run by Valonia Wolfram, and he keeps the city loud, louder than the airport. Venuza is also home to a large suburb which houses multiple franchise villains for some reason. You can find Teijirou’s lab here. Maybe don’t get a starter in Venuza.

Lumi District is outside Venuza, away from the suburbs. This is the big entertainment district, with Pokémon contests, bright lights, performance halls, malls, and Field’s gym, which has three gym leaders. Lumi also has the biggest Pokémon center in the region, which functions more as a Pokémon hospital and convenience store. The path into Lumi District, Route 6, lights up as you walk along it! It also plays little chimes as you step. Lots of small Pokémon can be found in the flowering tall grass along the path!

Skrelp City is…rough, to say the least. There are lots of abandoned buildings that you need to traverse through on route 7, making it generally unsafe. Outside of the city is also a dark and dreary swamp, a thick forest that thins out as it reaches Lanturna, and, oh god, a McDonald’s. This is also where the cool people hang out, either at the Punkdragon Café or the tattoo parlor. I just realized it’s called the Dark Café but I’m not changing it now. The gym here belongs to Lottie, a ghost type specialist who works at the café and may serve you some sinister tea. There are lots of shady people who hang around in Skrelp too, but I’d trust that they’re cool. For the most part…probably…

Chou Center is a chilly mountain town on the opposite end of the region from Tatsugi. Route 8 is a hike, going through icy caves and snowy woodland to reach the little settlement. Not many people live here, but it’s quaint and peaceful, with a campsite and an ice skating rink as well as Yukimi’s gym. The view alone is a great reward for traversing the entire region to get there.

[angel-inrealtime]

November F1c Prompts Day 22

Day 22 - Sound (Settlement)

It's so quiet, on the ranch. With Christmas decorations half up and no plans for the day, stretching out warm and golden before you. Daniel hadn’t done much other than sleep for the first few days once you landed. A whirlwind trip to London and then back to Monaco to pack for an extended time away had been exhausting, it turns out.

You’ve had his friends around a few times, they went and camped overnight on a fishing trip the second weekend you were back that Michelle used as an excuse to stay over and catch up. Which really meant drink a couple of bottles of wine – Daniel got back at midday and laughed at the state of the two of you on the couch, barely moving for the sore heads (he did drive to McDonalds for you though).

You spend four days by the beach, petsitting for one of his school mates. Their black Labrador (Woof, which you think is a hilarious name for a dog) loves Daniel, but it’s nothing compared to their little orange cat named Max who trails him around the house, chirping and mewling like the two of them are carrying on a conversation.

“You’re a weird little dude, Maximus.” Daniel tells him on the first day, looking at the cat like he doesn’t completely trust him. Still, he holds out a hand for him to sniff, might smile a little when the cat pushes his face against his finger.

By the evening they’re a package deal, and as Daniel feeds the animals while you’re throwing together a grazing platter for the two of you to eat, you hear him answering the cat like they are having a conversation.

It’s all very domestic.

He treads back out from the laundry towards you. “Animals fed. The cat’s a little weirdo.”

You grin at him. “He’s your new little bestie.”

“A cat?” He reaches over your shoulder and grabs an olive from the bowl. “Unlikely.”

You poke him in the side. “Little weirdos named Max - with the utmost affection - deciding you’re their favourite isn’t unusual for you, though. Get the back door?” You pick up the platter and start towards it. “Can you grab me one of the sours and a glass too?”

He laughs with his head thrown back (and sends a picture of the cat to his friend, you see their chat thread lighting up later in the evening, and he spins his phone to show you the picture of Max’s very unimpressed looking cats) but slides the patio door across for you

Daniel settles on the lounge next to you, hands you the beer already poured and sighs contentedly as he looks out at the sunset over the water. “That’s glorious.” He kisses your cheek. “Thanks for dinner.”

He opens his mouth with laughter already in his eyes and you shove a cracker with cheese in to it. “Do not make a shark coochie board joke.” You warn, and he laughs and laughs.

The animals trot out side by side when they’ve finished their dinner, and Max the cat hops onto the lounge between you (but tucked firmly against Daniel) and promptly falls asleep, belly up and legs akimbo just like his big brother Woof on the deck at your feet.

You catch Daniel smiling in profile, golden and rumpled but finally looking rested again, beard just getting thick on his jaw and the dark circles finally (finally) gone from under his eyes.

The waves crash on the beach below as the sun starts to dip lower, and Daniel hums happily when you thread your fingers into the curls at the back of his head, settled.

[redbleedingrose]

ASK GAME☺️

dutch bros, starbucks or dunkin, philz coffee, tim hortons

pink, red, green or blue

mcdonalds, burger king, chipotle, popeyes, kfc, waffle house, olive garden

sarah j maas, holly black, tahereh mafi, ana huang, alex aster

night, day, evening, dawn

AHHHH WAIT IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS!!

okay honestly, I used to be a big starbucks girly but we are boycotting them!!!! So, I have been going crazy over seven brew! It is a chain in the midwest. I've been getting the Sweet and Salty iced coffee. It is salted caramel and white chocolate breve.

I think I would pick pink and green. I love them both equally, and they are floral vibes.

Hmmmm, I really like local places more than big chains, but Sonic and Olive Garden slap every time. I get a grilled cheese and fries WITH the ranch (critical for the meal tbh) from sonic. From olive garden, I love the fettuccine alfredo and their deal of salad, soup, and breadsticks!

OMG I love the holly black, I love Jude and feel like I am connected to her.

Night, I love staying up but I also feel more productive during the day!

Thank you sm for sending me this! It was honestly so lovely to play <3

[bulldyke-rider]

Your post about KFC being expensive is so real. Idk how people say the reason everyone eats out so much is because it’s cheap when it’s really not. Maybe for 1-2 people at even cheaper fast food places, but not anywhere else or for more people. I get so taken aback when I get told folks will eat at Chick Fila, KFC, Panera Bread all throughout week then complain about not having any money. Like girl you ate it all??

Chick Fila and Panera are also way too expensive. Like, y'all ain't even the places where the food tastes different from the food in my kitchen! I could make a chick Fila sandwich today. I could make goddamn tomato bisque right now.

Like, I don't think it's possible to replicate a McDonald's nugget. And I can afford a McDonald's nugget! I can order more sauces and burrito fillings at taco bell than I would ever realistically have in my house at one time, and I just spent like $7 there for all of it. I don't think I've ever has salsa Verde, avocado ranch, and Chipotle sauce all at the same time. But taco bell will give me two burritos and a Fiesta potato bowl cheaper than KFC will give me 3 chicken tenders, fries, and a glass of mountain dew. I probably have all that in my kitchen right now.

[arsonfrogs666]

in honor of today’s episode of top 5 beat down i made a list for every topic they’ve done so far

top 5 beat down

fast food

1. wendy’s

2. mcdonald’s

3. popeyes

4. taco bell

5. kfc

chips

1. baked chips

2. sunchips

3. cool ranch doritos

4. tortilla chips

5. sour cream and cheddar baked chips

pixar movies

1. brave

2. soul

3. inside out

4. wall e

5. up

christmas movies

1. a year without a santa claus

2. nightmare before christmas

3. edward scissorhands

4. love hard

5. klaus

candy bars

1. pretzel chocolates

2. heath

3. twix

4. kitkats

5. skor

us cities

1. new orleans

2. boston

3. portland

4. philly

5. new york

cereals

1. lucky charms

2. honey nut cheerios

3. coco pebbles

4. coco puffs

5. pops

pizza chains

1. pizza hut

2. MOD

3. unos

4. bertuccis

5. dominoes

dogs

1. samoyed

2. corgi

3. golden retriever

4. shiba inu

5. chow chow

holidays

1. halloween

2. xmas

3. easter

4. july 4th

5. earth day

marvel deaths

1. tony

2. nat

3. peter

4. yondu

5. vision

chain restaurants

1. olive garden

2. longhorn steakhouse

3. millers ale house

4. red lobster

5. outback steakhouse

sexiest disney characters

1. elsa

2. flynn rider

3. megara

4. sally

5. tiana

olympic events

1. figure skating (double)

2. figure skating (single)

3. archery

4. skateboarding

5. swimming

best worst movies

1. the twilight saga

2. the zombies trilogy

3. vampires suck

4. the descendants trilogy

5. high school musical trilogu

cryptids

1. moth man

2. cerberus

3. banshee

4. nessie

5. jersey devil

fictional foods

1. cookie cat

2. minecraft cake

3. alice in wonderland “eat me” pastries

4. butterbeer

5. krabby patties

top 5 disney dilfs

1. james (princess and the frog)

2. rapunzel’s dad

3. agustin (encanto)

4. hector (coco)

5. king triton

(edit bc i missed 2)

worst ways to die

1. unsolved gruesome murder

2. exorcism

3. buried and eaten alive by bugs

4. burned alive from an explosion bc of a meteor

5. poison

himbos

1. klaus hargreeves (the umbrella academy)

2. cardan (the cruel prince)

3. jesper (six of crows)

4. sam evans (glee)

5. john murphy (the 100)

[kim21pro]

16600 W McDonald Dr, Lockport, IL 60441 🏡This amazing & spacious lofted ranch boasts an open floor plan that features: A stunning kitchen with cherry cabinets, granite counters, breakfast bar, reverse osmosis & pantry; Breakfast area with door to the large concrete patio overlooking the private, tree-lined yard with irrigation system & gorgeous landscaping; Intercom system for both home and yard; Sun-filled great room with cozy gas fireplace; Formal dining room to enjoy family dinners; The master suite is on its own wing of the home for additional privacy & boasts a large walk-in closet & private bath with double raised granite vanity, soaking tub & separate shower; Raised panel white doors & trim throughout; 2 additional bedrooms & 2nd full bath; Gleaming hardwood flooring throughout main level; The huge loft creates space for a family room, office or additional bedroom; The full basement offers roughed-in plumbing; Desirable 3 car garage; Whole house generator for additional peace of mind. Click this link to see more about this property https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/16600-W-McDonald-Dr_Lockport_IL_60441_M85203-05125?ex=2973657154 CALL TODAY 708-516-3050

[denimbex1986]

'The Trinity nuclear test site is an eerily silent place.

The area, in the desolate New Mexico desert, is where Robert J. Oppenheimer and his team changed the course of history by detonating the world’s first atomic bomb — the deadliest and most destructive weapon ever deployed, which helped end World War II.

The Trinity site, named after the nuclear project’s codename, is usually closed to the public, but the US military granted The Post exclusive access for one morning following renewed interest in the historic area spurred by the summer blockbuster about Oppenheimer’s life by Christopher Nolan.

The fenced-in site includes the “ground zero” where the bomb was detonated, leaving behind a 100-foot-wide and 10-foot-deep crater, about 60 miles north of White Sands National Park.

“The first atomic bomb was detonated up above that point on a steel tower that the bomb vaporized, so all that’s left now is one of the footings of that tower,” said Drew Hamilton, US Army Public Affairs Specialist for White Sands Missile Range.

The ground zero is behind locked gates, with only an obelisk marking where the plutonium device, named “Gadget,” released 18.6 kilotons of power, creating the infamous mushroom cloud seared into the world’s collective consciousness.

Littering the site are shards of green speckled glass-type objects — called Trinitite, after the test area — that were created by the sheer force of the bomb when it was detonated on July 16, 1945.

When the bomb went off, sand from the desert floor was sucked into its blast and “it was actually blown up into the fireball of the explosion, melted there and rained back down,” Hamilton explained, adding Trinitite was found miles away after the explosion.

As well as green Trinitite there are also red and black variations, which are much rarer, but sometimes found near the test area. Due to its radioactive nature, the US atomic energy commission bulldozed and buried most of it in 1953.

Hamilton added the Trinitite is the most commonly stolen thing from the site — which is illegal. Although still technically radioactive, it is not harmful.

In fact the whole site is still nominally radioactive, but exposure is lower than what you would get from eating a banana, the Army said, insisting it’s “perfectly safe.”

“We’ve had all kind of things from people coming out in full suits and masks, people taking their shoes and just leaving them in the parking lot. Please don’t do that,” Hamilton laughed.

Also on the site is the Schmidt-McDonald Ranch House, where the Gadget bomb’s plutonium core was assembled, and the base camp where those involved in the project lived.

Nolan, whose drama “Oppenheimer” has already grossed over $649 million worldwide, traveled to the Trinity Site in preparation for the movie.

“He brought a whole crew out here, location scouting, and they spent the better part of the day driving around visiting Trinity Site ground zero, the ranch house, as well as locations that are not part of the tour,” he added.

The results of the Trinity tests led to the first and only time nuclear weapons have ever been deployed, when the US dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 — killing between 129,000 and 226,000 mostly civilians and forcing Japan’s surrender.

The site opens to the public free of charge twice in year — in April and October.

Hamilton disclosed Japanese tourists are among the most interested in the site, outside of American visitors.

“As far as its meaning, as far as whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, we prefer to leave that up to the individual visitor to decide,” Hamilton said.

But the most remarkable thing about the visit is what it makes people think about rather than what they see.

“There isn’t a whole lot here; there’s not a lot to do, this isn’t an amusement park… but this is the place where the door to the atomic age was kicked open,” Hamilton said. “Once this happened, there was no denying that the world was not going back.”

The general public is only allowed to access Trinity Site twice a year because the rest of the time, missile testing is being conducted around the historical landmark.

“White Sands Missile Range primarily tests missile technology, whether that be air defense or surface-to-surface,” the Army spokesman said. “We also support NASA almost once a month.”

Hamilton was not authorized to disclose more details of what gets tested at the Army facility, but during The Post’s visit, tanks could be seen driving in the distance, as well as construction of bunkers for future testing.

The site is preparing for a huge influx at its next visitation date on October 21 — because of the movie. Hamilton says they are preparing for even more people than in 2015 for the 70th anniversary of the tests when 5,000 people turned up.

“We’ve upgraded all of our facilities,” said Hamilton. “We are prepared to handle more than 5,000 per visit these days, which is good because I think in October we’re going to get a lot more than that.”'

[bergeronprocess]

10/16/24 

Anime Feminist asks: “What’s your favorite memory of watching anime in a group?”

There used to be a comic book store right by my house. In fact, it was right next to North DeKalb Mall, the now-demolished mall I’ve written about previously and a place that held a lot of memories for me. It was probably originally built as a ranch house to hold a family after WWII and then got converted to commercial use at some point - it was on a row of 3 very similar looking buildings across from a bank, a gas station and a McDonald’s.

It was called The Comic Company.

It had two levels - upstairs you found comic books, mainly. At that time, manga was only starting to break into the American market and was available as small single-chapter issues with soft covers. I hear people call those floppies sometimes, which is charming. Of course, these manga were flipped left-to-right as well. I distinctly recall having floppies of the Sailor Moon manga and The Electric Tales of Pikachu that I purchased from The Comic Company. 

However, for me, the big fun was downstairs, in what had been the home’s basement. The downstairs was where they sold Pokemon cards. There were display cases and the cash register as well as folding tables and chairs set out for people to use so they could play cards. There was also a smaller room off of the main room - probably a guest bedroom in the building’s old life - where they’d set out chairs and bring in a television for the anime club.

I can’t remember the club’s name at this point, but it was probably something pretty descriptive like Atlanta Anime Club. I most likely heard about it on the internet or through an ad in Animerica magazine, which is also where I saw an ad for the 2000 edition of Anime Weekend Atlanta. For years I’d think about AWA whenever we drove by the hotel that hosted it that year. At the time, going to an anime convention was totally out of the question money-wise, but now I hear that the con overwhelmed the facility and the staff immediately knew they had outgrown the venue already. It’s probably for the best that I wasn’t able to go that year!

Anyway, the Atlanta Anime Club. My mom would drop me off and pick me up once club meetings finished. There was a door out from the main area of the basement to the parking lot, making for even easier access to the best part of the store. I can’t even really remember much of what I watched at these meetings, but I do remember meeting a nice girl my age named Nia and hanging out with her outside of the meetings. I also remember winning a prize, a ringer-style T-shirt with a picture of Kei and Yuri from Dirty Pair on it. My mom wasn’t too pleased about their skimpy outfits and the name of the show! And one time the club arranged an outing to go see Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within at the movie theater - a movie theater that was recently in the news because it is going to close down for good. 

Even though I can no longer remember many specifics about going to the club (maybe I could try to dig up old journals or look at my first, original LiveJournal for more details, but I don’t feel like cringing that much right now), it still holds a special place for me because it was the first time I had made in-real-life friends outside of school. I was 11 or 12 at the time, and was already hanging out and making friends on the internet, but this was a new frontier for me. It was a bit more grown-up as well! Some of the other people in the club were grown-ups for sure, but they were kind to the youngins, to Nia and me and to any other kids who might’ve been there. I can see that same sense of community across generations in the comic and card shops I go to now. It’s very important, especially for nerdy kids of every kind! 

These days, The Comic Company is a veterinarian’s office specializing in birds and other exotic animals. It has the somewhat misleading name For Pet’s Sake, which confused my mom when she once tried to take one of our cats to go see them (at their previous location) and they rather snottily turned her away. Previously, it was a quilting shop. I have not been in the building since it stopped being The Comic Company because I have neither a bird nor an interest in quilting.

After 21 years of on-and-off thinking about the convention whenever I drove past a certain hotel, I finally got to go to Anime Weekend Atlanta in 2021! I had an amazing time. I went in 2022 and had to miss in 2023, but for a very good reason: my friend who I’ve known since college was getting married. I’ll be back this year, and once again they’ve outgrown a venue and are on to the Georgia World Congress Center. The convention will also be on my birthday, which is a result of them having to shift dates due to differing availability at this new spot. I’m not complaining - I think it will be fun! Maybe I might even get one of those “It’s my birthday” ribbons I used to see kids wearing when I was in school. We shall see.

[lilahemorgan]

Running for safety?

He left; Wesley just left her here in the middle of a fucking sewer to die. Asshole. Of course he did give her some advice, before walking away. The scene from a few moments ago was still playing in her head. “Now you disappear. You get patched up and leave town. “Turn tail and run?” “That thing won’t quit until everyone at Wolfram & Hart is Dead. Go underground. Change your name. Don’t make Its job easy.”

So ok it seemed like a crazy idea, and yet here she was throwing everything she owned into two suitcases. After Lilah packed everything up she threw it in her trunk. She'd managed to get the wound in her side to stop bleeding, but she wasn’t sure how long it'll last until it starts bleeding through the fresh bandages. She got in her car and just started driving.

After what seemed like hours Lilah finally made it out of Los Angeles. She had no idea where to go, so just kept driving South. Several days later by some miracle she made it to the small town of Ridgedale Oklahoma. She’d stopped at a hotel a few days back and had gone through her contacts book checking to see who she had left for contacts. She had crossed off about twenty out of the some odd forty she had listed until she came to His name. She  had just sat there staring at the page, with Lindsey McDonald's name and last known contact number. Against her better judgment she took out her cellphone and started to dial the number. She waited a few seconds before an automated voice came on the line to say the number had been disconnected. Great, now how was she supposed to find him?  She got up and rummaged through her bag, until she found another small book with contacts in it. Lilah sat back on the bed and flipped through it, until she found what she had written down a few months ago. On the page was the address that she was now parked in the driveway of.  She remembered that this sad excuse for a town was the last place her informant that  she'd had tracking Lindsey had said he'd been. Of course said informant was dead a few days later from a gunshot wound to the head in a robbery.

Lilah took a deep breath as she stared at the little ranch house and miles and miles of empty land on either side save for a barn and stables. “Here goes nothing..” She muttered as she got out of the car and walked up to the house. She knocked loudly on the front door and waited. @weareheroes (Lindsey)

[emptylittlebug]

6/19/23

238.0

In: Adderall, Wellbutrin, McDonald’s large vanilla iced coffee (230), pizza rolls (420), ranch (140) 790

Out: 10,274 steps. Fitbit says -2816

Total: -2026

Today:

I woke up feeling awful. My whole body aches. I hate this adjustment part. If I want to stop going through it the only answer is to stop giving up and just keep going.

I got the coffee to hopefully help the aches. I feel like I got hit by a car… I’m going to need some Tylenol if it doesn’t work. I can’t spend my day feeling like this. Ughhh.

Also have a stuffy nose. Did I mention I hate this adjustment part?… ugh.

Can’t give in. Can’t stop. Won’t stop. I’m too obese to be having these side effects of… “eating less”.

Edit:

It’s 9pm. I stopped feeling terrible about an hour after I made that update.

I had a pretty chill day.

Got 3 hours of overtime for work! Pretty excited about that.

My daughter is insisting I lay with her until she falls asleep (she’s 6) so I’ll finish my 10k steps later.

I can’t believe I’m not even the tiniest bit hungry.

— just venting about life and money for the rest of this so skip if you want —

Since I worked 3 hours over I didn’t get any crocheting done today. I’m not happy about that. But maybe I can get something made before I go to bed tonight. Not many more days until the craft show. Plus my stores aren’t selling much at all because they are so empty. I need to worry about the stores more than I do the shows. Idk why I don’t.

Today I spent a while looking on Zillow for houses. Problem is… idk where I want to live. Since my job is remote I can literally move anywhere I want to. But.. I can’t afford the houses I want in the areas I want to be in lmao. I thought about moving back home (an hour and a half away) but my kids dad just moved down here to be closer to them and he’s been helping out SO much I’d hate to mess that up. I do want to be down here. I do Not want to stay because of him or move closer to him. I do like it around here. I’ve only lived her for about 18 months. I do not feel safe in the part of the city I live in and we definitely have outgrown a 3bedroom apartment. Myself and an almost 14 year old son, 10 year old son, 8 year old son, and 6 year old daughter. Right now I have my room, the 14 and 10 year old share a room, and the 8 and 6 year old share a room. But the 14 year old NEEDS his own room. Puberty and all that. So I’ve been looking for a 4 bedroom for us. Moving to another apartment or rental is not an option unfortunately.

I either need a huge increase in income or I need a lot more saved up than I have currently to afford a 4 bedroom around here in a better part of town/the city.

I think that’s why I worry so much about the shows. It’s a lot of money in 1 day instead of a steady way lower amount of money monthly.

I need the steady. But I also want the lump sum to throw into savings faster.

I need more hours in the day.

My work did tell me today I can get up to 10 hours of overtime per week if I want them until they tell us differently. I could definitely use that extra $270/week! Hopefully I’ll stay disciplined enough to throw all the extra in savings. We will see I guess. I’m bad about wanting to throw it on credit card debt, which isn’t bad, but i really need it in savings right now.

I guess I’m more stressed about that than I realized. Damn.

I did find a house back home I could easily afford and it has everything we’re looking for. But. It’s back home.

I think I need to see a therapist again. For the first time in my life my anger is starting to get out of control. I’ve never been an angry person. But it seems like I go from a 3 to a 10 in a finger snap lately. I’m worried what that’s doing to my kids learning/development. I don’t want them to have any more anger issues than they already do… I really really need to work on it and I need some strategies and help. I had to give up therapy when I moved here. I miss my old therapist. I don’t think she’s still working there though, I looked her up on fb (I already know 😂) and it says she works at the school system now. I thought about texting her and just saying hey but I realized I only have her work cell number and it might not still be her number. I would be absolutely crushed if I texted it and someone wrote back they weren’t her. Idk.

Well I think my daughter is asleep now. Off to do 7.2k steps I go!

[arjaandsimoni]

Call me Tex

Stephy awoke with a start that morning, grunting and sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes. From the living room he could hear his father cursing at the TV. The same damn thing every day. Wake up, watch 24 hour news networks, drink, curse, repeat.

He got dressed, then opened his window carefully, looking down. The house was two stories, but that was less of an issue than it used to be. He whistled as softly as he could and the air swirled below him… the boy sticking his legs out the window, then pushing and landing on a cushion of wind, bouncing to his feet. “Oof…” he winced, rubbing his tailbone. “Almost…” he muttered, then started to walk towards the street. He wished he could be wearing something other than a beat up teeshirt and jeans, but he wasn’t ready to try that in the daytime yet…

Covington was busy as it always was this time of day, lots of foot traffic since the city streets were laid out before the big automobile boom of the 1950s when cities were actually designed for foot traffic and people could get to places without having to buy a car or memorize a bus schedule. He couldn’t get that Tex boy out of his mind. Something about his smile just seemed so inviting…

Stephy squirmed at the thought. Was he gay? Was he straight and transfem? Was… was he… he groaned, he wished Stephanie was here. She know tons more about this than he did. His father was so dismissive of his needs that he didn’t even have a phone, or internet access, or even a computer, or anything. He had to use the library for anything like that and over the years their content blockers had gone from laughably simple to casting such a broad net it was a wonder he could even look up cat memes.

He shrugged, walking along. He didn’t have any money today, but maybe he could scrounge some change. People dropped a lot more than one might think…

Tex was out as well, the young man wearing bluejeans and a red teeshirt today. He’d foregone the cowboy boots this time however, just wearing a pair of construction boots instead. The cowboy boots were fun for nostalgia’s sake, but he had to admit they made him stick out like a sore thumb around here.

He was bored more than anything. Their internet and cable TV hadn’t been hooked up yet and in any case he was more used to physical labor on his family’s ranch back in Texas, but times had been hard and so his mom had taken a job up in Cincinnati so she could send money back home to help make ends meet for the family.

Still, living in the city wasn’t so bad. Always something neat to see at least he thought as he walked down the road.

Stephy walked up Madison, keeping his head down, partially in the figurative sense, partially to keep an eye out for loose change. He’d already gotten together enough for a hamburger at McDonald’s, all he needed now was another couple quarters for a drink and he at least wouldn’t go hungry today.

Idly he turned a corner leading towards the public library, there were always kids dropping pocket change there… and suddenly…

“OOF!”

“ACK!”

He walked headlong into someone! The boy fell to the ground and rubbing his head, “Owww… shit sorry, I didn’t see you…” he looked up, then felt his heart jump up into his throat.

“Nah, its okay buddy… I was just admirin’ the architecture n’…” said the other person, sitting up, blue eyes meeting brown, “… hey hang on… you’re that girl from…”

Stephy felt his forehead break out in a cold sweat. “Girl? What girl? No girls here! AHAHAHAHAH!” he laughed, his voice going rather higher than intended on the last bit.

Tex blinked, looking him over. He was definitely the same person he’d seen last night, just… not in a skirt now… but… “Son of a gun… you’re…” he started.

Stephy froze, realizing he was putting the pieces together, and inside his head an invisible hand reached for the lever between ‘fight and flight’ and slammed it to the latter with excessive force! Stephy scrambled to his feet, turned and bolted back across Madison Avenue, the main street through the city, and down the street opposite!

“… like me…” finished Tex, blinking, “Crap! HEY HOLD UP!” he shouted, getting to his feet and rushing after Stephy.

Stephy raced blindly through the town, thinking ‘crap crap crap crap crap’ to himself, his heart hurting at that. Dammit he thought he was cute, he thought he actually looked like a girl, and now he knew the truth and he’d just be like all the others! He gritted his teeth, his legs pounding. He was never athletic or strong, but if there was one thing he could do it would be rabbit the hell away from anyone trying to hurt him.

Then he risked a glance back and saw Tex gaining on him. Stephy let out a strangled cry and his excessive knowledge of escape routes took over. He jumped a fence, then scrambled between two broken fenceposts, then dove to the ground and rushed under a busted wire fence, quickly slipping sideways and shimmying between two close together houses, and then turning again and rushing back across Madison, down a deserted alleyway. He cleared the flight of stairs in one go, then slumped down next to what looked like a bare patch of wall. “… whew…” he gasped, looking up…

Grinning down at him was Tex’s face, “Not bad, but I had ta catch calves that ran off fer years now 'n girl, ya'll can’t run HALF as fast as a scared moocow.” he chuckled.

Stephy was halfway up the stairs before Tex ducked infront of him and cut him off. “Now hang on! Just cool your heels a minute girl! Its okay! I know whats goin’ on!” he said, holding out his hands. “I getcha, you’re just like me but from the other direction, its alright!” he added in a soothing tone.

Stephy backed up to the wall, then paused, “… just… like you?” he asked.

Tex nodded, “Yeah, transgender.” he replied.

Stephy blinked, “… uh… w-what?” he asked, his eyes going up and down Tex’s body. All boy as far as he could tell…

“Yeah, s’why my mom and I left Texas… well, part of why… ol’ bastard in th’ governor’s chair decided to make kids like me a target and someone had to go get a job elsewhere anyways to help my family’s ranch, so we got the hell outta Dodge before stuff started gettin’ really bad. Mind ya’ll, Kentucky ain’t doin’ a TON better, but we can’t afford California or somethin’ like that ‘n those people are a bit too…” he made a wibbly-wobbly gesture, “Wishy-washy for my tastes…” he nodded.

Stephy blinked slowly again, “… what?” he asked, his voice still shaking a bit.

Tex tilted his head, “C’mon now, its fine! I know it was you I helped out the other night. Don’t worry, I get it, you’re still too anxious to go full time. Heck I was scared too.” he grinned.

Stephy felt his heartbeat slow down from ‘I cannae take much more Capt’n’ to ‘I may not be in immediate danger of a heart attack,’ but still…

Tex smiled and went to put his hand on Stephy’s shoulder, “Hey now, jus’ relax I…” he paused. As soon as he got close Stephy immediately cringed and shrank down. He was fine around Stephanie and most girls, but anyone else was 'enemy until proven otherwise.'

Tex stared, looking at his hand, then back at Stephy. “I didn’t even touch ya’ll…” he muttered, “… this ain’t just about those assholes I beat up last night is it?” he frowned.

Stephy looked away, “I just…” he shrugged.

Tex nodded, “Ya’ll don’t gotta say no more… yer ma or yer pa the one doin’ it?” he asked.

Stephy blinked, looking at him, “Huh?”

Tex nodded, “Someone is abusin’ you. I can see all the signs. The second you thought I was gonna do something ya bolted. I tried to touch your shoulder ‘n ya’ll curled up like I was gonna smack ya.” he frowned, “I used to go to a support group fer trans kids back in Texas, there were more than a few of us who were like that.”

Stephy winced, his head pounding now. He shouldn’t tell him. Stephanie and her family knew but he couldn’t stand to say it because it meant acknowledging it was real. That he was terrified to go home some nights for what might be waiting for him there, that he’d genuinely wondered if letting Isolde take him might have been better than staying with his father, that his father and most of his family thought he was a runt, a worthless mongrel runt who wasn’t fit to be part of their clan, to be part of their family. The words pounded in his head, he felt himself start to shake…

… and then a gentle hand cupped his chin.

“Its alright…” whispered Tex’s voice.

Stephy froze again, then replied in a very small voice, “… my dad…”

About a half hour later, inside the Speakeasy Hideout

“… and ever since mom died he’s just been worse and worse! All he ever does is just drink and watch TV and whenever he’s out of beer or the TV isn’t holding his attention he comes after me! I have to hide out in Covington all day long just to keep from being a target! I don’t DARE let him find out! He already hates me!” he spat out, sitting on a barstool.

Tex was on the one next to him, the boy nodding slowly. “Yeah, sounds shitty-…” he started

“NO HE DOESN’T! HE ALWAYS HATED ME!” Stephy shouted, shaking his head frantically as memories of all the adults he’d tried to tell about his father went across his mind. Everyone he’d ever asked for help who had either been dismissive, patronizing, concerned about what his father might do, or who knew damn well what his father WOULD do… “EVER SINCE HE KNEW I WASN’T GOING TO BE LIKE THE REST OF THE FAMILY HE…” he paused, blinking slowly as Tex’s words caught up with his brain, “… you didn’t say what I thought you would…” he mumbled sheepishly.

Tex smirked, “Lemme guess, ‘I’m sure he loves you deep down?’” he asked.

Stephy chuckled, “’He does, he just doesn’t know how to show it properly’ is another one I get a lot…”

Tex nodded, “Mmmhm… people don’t get it. I lucked out, my parents split up when I was real young but it wasn’t anything major. They just realized they didn’t work out and that was that. Kinda glad, I don’t like stories about people who ‘stay together for the kids.’” he rolled his eyes, “Just been me ‘n mom growin’ up and she did fine.’”

Stephy shook his head, “Bull. People think just because someone has a kid that it makes them love them no matter what… My father is a monster, an ogre. If I could leave, I would.” he nodded.

“Guessin’ child services ain’t an option?” asked Tex.

Stephy shook his head, “Eight people hospitalized total, even say the name ‘Fullmoon’ and they hang up now.” he replied.

Tex let out a low whistle, “Shitty situation darlin’…” he muttered.

Stephy nodded, flinching a bit as Tex put an arm around him, then blushing, “Sorry, reflex… I’m just… yeah…”

“Girl, its alright… yer not the first remember?” he smiled, “Wish I could do more, but hey at least ya’ll got a pretty neat hideaway for him. Set up a cot down here, maybe get some lights strung, ya’ll be all set!” he grinned.

Stephy shrugged, “Yeah, but I’m broke…” he muttered.

Tex smirked, “I ain’t.” he said.

Stephy blinked, “Huh?” he asked.

“I got a cot back home, brought it with me just ‘cause it’s a useful thing to have handy, and a generator that can fit in a wheelbarrow easy enough. Runs on diesel, but it doesn’t use a ton of it. Get those down here, get a mini-fridge maybe, ya'll could live here!” he nodded.

Stephy blinked slowly, “I… could, couldn’t I?” he looked around, the idea had never occurred to him. “Nobody knows this place even exists anymore but me and my cousin…” he muttered.

Tex grinned at him, “Sounds good to me.” he nodded. “Set you up down here ‘n your dad can go twist in th’ wind for all we care.”

Stephy nodded, “Yeah… we could…” he muttered.

One week later

“Aaaaaand… BANG!” he grinned, yanking the pull-chain. The generator started up, vibrating slightly, and the lights in the old speakeasy came on one by one. The bar had been cleaned up, a cot set up next to the wall, he’d even rigged up the toilet area into a makeshift outhouse that just dropped straight into the sewer system. Tex knew a lot about jury rigging, came with living on a ranch. Power goes out and the weather is bad, sometimes you just had to make do. He walked back into the hidden speakeasy from outside, the generator set up in a secluded part of the alley away from any windows with a power cable leading in. It was a rarely used alleyway, lost and forgotten mostly, so nobody was likely to find it.

Stephy stared, looking around. There was a mirror set up, along with a clothing rack where the hand-me-downs his cousin gave him now hung, there was even a pride flag hung up on the wall behind the bar. “Cleans up nicely don’t it?” grinned Tex.

“I…” he stared, his eyes huge. He was in the same outfit Tex had seen him in the first night now, having worked up the nerve to put a girl’s outfit back on. “Its… Tex I…” he shook a bit, then turned and grabbed him around the middle, burying his face in the boy’s chest.

“OOF! Hey now! Still somethin’ under there!” he laughed as Stephy eeped and stumbled back, his face red.

“S-sorry! I forgot… I mean…” he glanced away.

“HAH! Don’t apologize cutie-pie! If someone who knows they’re there forgets I have ‘em then that’s a GOOD thing!” he grinned. “Means someone who don’t know won’t see ‘em to begin with.”

Stephy blushed brightly at that, but nodded, “Really though, I… I never had somewhere genuinely safe like this before…” he replied, “I really don’t know what to say…”

Tex smirked, then cupped his chin and planted a kiss on his forehead, “I find ‘thank you’ works just fine darlin’.” he nodded.

Stephy froze again, staring at the floor, that time he couldn’t deny it felt good… really REALLY good… he leaned slowly into Tex, the taller boy giving him a gentle hug. Tight, but not too tight so he could pull back if he wanted to.

He felt his eyes welling up, for the first time in his life he genuinely felt safe somewhere. He had someone who actually could understand what he was going through and what it meant for him… “Mn, sorry… I… just won’t stop all of a sudden.” he blushed, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes.

“Then don’t force it to lil’ filly, let it out… Ain't nobody to see it but me.” he whispered, stroking a hand over Stephy's head.

Unfortunately for them, Tex was wrong... they had an audience watching from an angle he couldn't even perceive. In the mirror set up next to the cot, a pair of black eyes were taking in the scene.

Arcadia, the Toyland realm of the Everblooming Rose

“Well well well… the Fullmoon boy has found his prince charming!” smirked Isolde, “Oh dear oh dear… happily ever after is soooooooo close for him now…” she giggled, standing up and walking to the mirror held infront of her throne by one of her dolls.

“So lovely, true love is beginning to blossom…” she cooed, then scowled, “But that boy doesn’t DESERVE to be happy!” she snarled, spinning on her heel, “That foul demon-claimed grownup Nelen doesn’t want me coming back… but if I’m not there then that still counts.” she giggled, snapping her fingers as one of the dolls walked over with almost mechanical precision in it's steps.

“YOU! Get my soldiers ready! Tomorrow night I’ll be playing the role of the Faerie Queen who steals away Prince Charming and denies that Wicked Witch his happy ending!" she grinned, her dark eyes narrowing in malicious glee.

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[icleanedthisplate]

Dine-Out Meals of January 2023, Ranked

I ranked the following based on taste alone. I made no consideration for ambiance or the general dining experience or whatever. I included meals I got to go. I included food trucks, catered meals, and fast food.

I always eat well in January, which is my birthday month. This year I celebrated in New Orleans. These top two are probably end-of-year competitors.

Should you be interested in the pictures or reading the few words I had to say about each meal, click on the home page and scroll down or see the archives.

Fried Spanish Mackerel, Roasted Carrots, Carrot Sticky Toffee Pudding. Peche. New Orleans, Louisiana. 1.19.2023.

Chicken, Spinach & Artichoke Sandwich w/Broccoli, Coconut Cream Pie, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake (Shared Pies). Town House Café. Harrison, Arkansas. 1.5.2023.

Pork Belly & Fried Oyster App (shared), Sugarcane Duck Breast. Gris-Gris. New Orleans, Louisiana. 1.21.2023.

Couyon Daddy, Cat Daddy Biscuit (Shared All). Bearcat Cafe (Freret). New Orleans, Louisiana. 1.22.2023.

Cheese & Charcuterie Board (shared), Allsopp’s House Salad, Redfish, Dark Chocolate Flourless Cake. Allsopp & Chapple. Little Rock, Arkansas. 1.14.2023.

Chashu-Glazed Pork Belly, Escargot, Sake-Cured Salmon Tartine. N7. New Orleans, Louisiana. 1.20.2023.

Chicken Wing Appetizer Special (Shared), Big Bend Tortilla Soup, Rotisserie Chicken Chop Salad. Redrock Canyon Grill. Wichita, Kansas. 1.23.2023.

Filet Mignon, Grilled Veggies, Five-Layer Lemon Cake. Firebirds. Wichita, Kansas. 1.24.2023.

Devils on Horseback, Xiong Mao Noodle. Bearcat Cafe (Freret). New Orleans, Louisiana. 1.18.2023.

Cuban Ceviche, Broken Noodle Salad (Shared All). Carmo. New Orleans, Louisiana. 1.20.2023.

BLT-AE Sandwich w/Grilled Veggies, Jolly Green Juice. HomeGrown. Wichita, Kansas. 1.24.2023.

Boudin Boulettes, Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad. Kingfish. New Orleans, Louisiana. 1.17.2023.

Chopped Salmon Salad. Cheers. Little Rock, Arkansas. 1.16.2023.

Petit Jean Ranch Salad (to go). Zaza Fine Salad & Wood Oven Pizza Co. Conway, Arkansas. 1.3.2023.

Gumbo. The Oyster Bar. Little Rock, Arkansas. 1.12.2023.

Beef Debris, Deviled Farm Eggs (Shared All). Justine. New Orleans, Louisiana. 1.21.2023.

Vegetarian Patty Melt w/French Fries. Blue Sage Vegan Bistro. Little Rock, Arkansas. 1.30.2023.

Cheeseburger. The Root Cafe. Little Rock, Arkansas. 1.10.2023. (No Photo)

Seared Redfish w/Garlic Grits, Green Beans & Crawfish Etouffee Sauce. Maddie’s Place. Little Rock, Arkansas. 1.11.2023.

Peck’s Special Salad. Trio’s. Little Rock, Arkansas. 1.13.2023.

Raw Oysters (Shared). Basin. New Orleans, Louisiana. 1.21.2023.

Queso Diablo (shared), Tortilla Soup, Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Shrimp. Abuelo’s. Wichita, Kansas. 1.25.2023.

Hawaiian Pizza (Shared). Papa John’s. Branson, Missouri. 1.5.2023. (No photo.)

Grilled Octopus, Crispy Braised Ribs. Cane & Table. New Orleans, Louisiana. 1.18.2023.

Chicken & Andouille Gumbo (Shared). Queen & Crescent Hotel. New Orleans, Louisiana. 1.20.2023.

Chicken Salad Sandwich w/Fried Okra, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie a la Mode. Amish Country Store & Restaurant. Muskogee, Oklahoma. 1.26.2023.

Harvest Cobb w/Turkey, Stuffed Pepper Soup. Blackberry Market. North Little Rock, Arkansas. 1.9.2023.

Conference Breakfast Buffet. Royal Sonesta Hotel (Catering). New Orleans, Louisiana. 1.19.2023.

Conference Lunch Buffet. Royal Sonesta Hotel (Catering). New Orleans, Louisiana. 1.19.2023.

Shared Pizzas (Hawaiian, Margherita, Italian Sausage w/Veggies). Old Mill Pizza. North Little Rock, Arkansas. 1.2.2023.

Bagel & Lox. Mylo Coffee Co. Little Rock, Arkansas. 1.12.2023.

Chicken Pesto Sandwich (?) w/Chips. Paris Baguette. Wichita, Kansas. 1.25.2023.

Purple Rain (Smoothie). The Big Squeezy. New Orleans, Louisiana. 1.18.2023.

Vegeterian Enchiladas. La Terraza. Lake Village, Arkansas. 1.22.2023.

Egg McMuffin w/Hash Brown (to go). McDonald’s. Belle Plaine, Kansas. 1.26.2023.

Chef Salad. The Anchor. Wichita, Kansas. 1.24.2023.

Shrimp Salad. Sam’s Southern Eatery. Russellville, Arkansas. 1.23.2023.

Southwest Chicken Salad. Mel’s Hard Luck Diner. Branson, Missouri. 1.4.2023.

Turkey Club w/Chips. Lybrand’s Bakery & Deli. Pine Bluff, Arkansas. 1.17.2023.

Turkey Bacon, Cheddar & Egg White Sandwich. Starbucks. Wichita, Kansas. 1.25.2023.

Chicken Tenders w/Mac & Cheese, Okra. Gus’s Fried Chicken. Little Rock, Arkansas. 1.27.2023.

Conference Breakfast Buffet. Royal Sonesta Hotel (Catering). New Orleans, Louisiana. 1.20.2023.