#finally got to use stickers from vinyl for something

[calicotisane]

[kookygranger]

Top five, most memorable kisses of all time

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: Corroded Coffin move to Chicago and find their people. Eddie finds you behind the counter at Championship Records. He thinks you're cool. You think he's gorgeous. Life outside of Hawkins might just be worth fighting for.

Warnings: swearing, kissing (obvs), fluff, fem!reader, mostly Eddie's POV, our boy has no rizz, alcohol consumption, I don't think anything else, too many high fidelity references?

Word count: 4k

Author's note: This is a one-shot, that has been sitting in my drafts since last Halloween and thanks to a wip game has finally seen the light of day! Find the playlist that inspired the fic below.

Masterlist

One pill makes you larger,

And one pill makes you small

The bell above the door jingles as Eddie steps through the threshold, his shoulders relaxing as the warmth seeps back into him and he scans the racks of records before him. Perking up as he notices the music playing over the speakers, he was still getting used to how much cooler things were in Chicago than back home – and shit, how much cooler people were.

Eddie clocks you sitting on top of the counter with one leg crossed under you, the other swinging down the side as you sticker a stack of vinyl. You mouth along with the music, not even noticing him slip through the aisles as he stops in a random section with a perfect view of you across the small store.

He’d only come in here to kill some time between soundcheck and the gig tonight at a venue down the street. The rest of the band had gone to find some food, but Eddie wanted to check out the record store they passed on the drive in. And boy, was he glad he did.

He mindlessly flicks through the records in front of him, trying to come up with a good conversation starter. It wasn’t that often that he missed Steve Harrington, but he could sure use one of the boy’s famous pep talks right about now. Fuck, what was it about pretty girls that got him so tongue-tied? Probably the pretty part.

But you weren’t just pretty, you were obviously very cool, and he certainly wasn’t used to girls sharing the same interests as him – but he’d met a lot of them since he’d moved to Chicago a couple of months ago.

Just as he’s thinking about what albums he could pick out to impress you, the bell above the door jingles again. A guy around his age walks in, his short hair spiked, nose and ears pierced and tattoos peeking out from a crisp white t-shirt. He walks with confidence to where you sit and makes you jump slightly as he greets you boisterously.

“Shit, you scared me.”

He snickers and starts rummaging through a crate of cassettes by the counter.

“Yeah, you look like you were in the zone. Did you even notice you had a customer?”

You turn your head in Eddie’s direction just as he ducks his down, continuing to flick through the disco section. Wait, shit where’s the metal?

“Shit.” You whisper under your breath and turn your attention back to the other guy, not quite lowering your voice enough so Eddie couldn’t eavesdrop. “No, but in my defence this song is a banger.”

Severin, Severin, speak so slightly

Severin, down on your bended knee

“What the fuck are you listening to anyway?”

“I made a pre-Halloween mix. Music that led to goth before goth was a thing.” You frown as you try to unstick a bright red sticker from the price gun you’d been tapping on the pile of vinyl.

Eddie smiles to himself as he continues to pretend he’s browsing and not tuning into your conversation.

“Are you coming to The Allied tonight? There’s some new band from Indiana or something playing. Apparently, they do a sick cover of Master of Puppets.”

Eddie pauses in his faux perusing for a second as he awaits your reply.

“I wasn’t really planning on it, no.”

The guy huffs, “No? What was your plan, going home to sulk to The Velvet Underground?”

“I don’t sulk–“

“You do when you listen to The Velvet Underground.”

“What do you want me to do? Pogo to Heroin? Anyway, I was gonna work on an article actually.”

“Why don’t you write about this band tonight? Tim says they’re pretty good. He saw them a couple of weeks ago at the Metro.”

“Tim said that about that god-awful noise band that played at De Salle’s. It was the worst four hours of my life. I thought my ears were actually going to bleed.”

“Whatever, you say that like you’re not currently playing the most depressing German synth music that nobody in their right mind would listen to.” He points his hand in the air, drawing your attention to the new song playing from the speakers behind you.

“First of all, this is David Bowie’s Low. And if you knew as much about music as you claim to, you’d know that this was his seminal work in his Berlin era and an ambient soundscape masterpiece. Secondly–“

“I like it.”

Both of your heads shoot up at Eddie’s interruption. He blushes and clears his throat as you catch his eye and the corner of your mouth quirks up. “Sorry, I just–it’s a good mixtape. I like the theme.” He frowns and shakes his head at himself, he doesn’t know what came over him. Who is this guy that’s bothering you, anyway? You have amazing taste and he’s now sure you’re the prettiest girl he’s ever seen. You gesture in his direction and look back at the guy that’s teasing you.

“The customer is always right, Simon.”

Eddie moves quickly to the B section and finds the album you were talking about before heading over to you.

“Did you find everything you need?” You smile at him sweetly as you hop off the counter and take the record from him. “I’m sorry, I should’ve asked before. Customer service isn’t exactly my strongest skill.”

The guy, Simon, snorts. Eddie can’t take his eyes off the way your face lights up quietly when you realise what album he picked.

“What are your strongest skills?” That was such a weird question Munson, what the hell?

You look up at him a little taken aback, before a small smile creeps up on you.

“Talking about music…or” you shake your head in contemplation, “writing about it actually.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Maybe it’s not so much a skill, more like an obsession.”

“She’s actually kind of good.” Simon butts in with a shrug and you roll your eyes.

“Such a high compliment cuz.”

You were cousins. He still had a shot.

“You write for magazines?”

“Zines mostly,” you point to a stack of xeroxed pamphlets on the counter, “but I’ve published a few reviews with Spin and The Face.”

Eddie raises his eyebrows, “That’s pretty cool.”

You breathe out a laugh and take the cash he hands you, collecting his change. “Thanks.”

“Wait, you're Eddie, right?” He turns to Simon, almost forgetting he was there. “Your band’s playing at The Allied tonight? I met your drummer Gareth at a show last week.”

“Uh yeah, that’s me. We’re called Corroded Coffin.”

“Cool name.” You smirk and hand him his record wrapped in paper. Eddie tucks it under his arm, his dimples showing as he smiles back at you.

“Thanks.”

“You’re from Indiana then?” You call back to Simon’s earlier statement, as Eddie doesn’t make a move to immediately leave.

He rubs the back of his neck as he nods, “Yeah. Just moved here a couple of months ago with my band.”

“Welcome to Chicago, Eddie.” You smile and introduce yourself, “Let me know if there’s ever anything I can do for you…vinyl wise I mean.”

“Thanks,” he scratches the stubble on his jaw before stepping away from the counter. “Maybe I’ll see you tonight at the show?” He tries to keep his voice casual, but there’s a hint of hope in there.

You bite your lip and shrug, “Yeah, maybe you will.”

Eddie nods and takes his queue to leave, the bell jingling again as he steps back out into the cold.

“Yeah, maybe you will.” Simon mocks you in a breathy imitation and you roll your eyes. “So now that you know the singer is cute are you coming?”

“Obviously! You better get me on the door list, or I swear to god I’m telling Aunt Carol about the stash in your underwear drawer.”

***

“Hey, Carlos.” You greet your friend at the door of The Allied, who waves you in without payment. “That Darondo record came in, I put it aside for you.” You call back on your way in, hearing a muffled thanks as the music from inside hits your eardrums.

There’s a decent crowd tonight, and you have to push past a few people to reach the sticky top bar.

“Oh, she showed up! Surprise, surprise.” Simon makes his way over to you, ignoring the calls of indignance as he passes other customers. He slings a rag over his shoulder, which makes you bite your lip, attempting to hold in a laugh, remembering how he’d practised that move in the mirror when he turned twenty-one and landed the second most coveted job of your teenage selves.

You shrug nonchalantly, despite your cousin knowing the exact reason you’re here. “I ended up doing inventory ‘till late. Thought I may as well drop by before catching the L.”

Simon flicks your nose, your retaliating slap missing him as he moves to pour your drink. You thank him with a forced smile when he slides it across the bar, picking it up and turning to find a spot in the crowd.

“No tip?”

You call over your shoulder, “Yeah, take it easy on the cologne.” You smirk, not even having to turn around to know he’s probably sniffing his shirt.

You take your usual spot leaning against the wall, up the back and away from most of the crowd. Your rule was front row or back. None of that squished in the middle, view blocked by the tallest guy you’d ever seen crap. Either it was front and centre, immersed in the moment, or your own space with a view of it all.  

You’d never be up front for a band you didn’t know, and tonight was no exception, no matter how large the butterflies in your stomach at the prospect of seeing him again.

You don’t know what it was about Eddie, apart from the obvious fact that he was gorgeous. Maybe it was something in his presence. But when he walked up to the counter earlier with a record you’d just been talking about and a shy smile on his face – you were a goner.

The murmurs of the crowd quieten when the house lights are switched off, a yellow glow on the stage and above the bar now the only sources of light.

There are a few enthusiastic cheers when the band appear from a door behind the stage and a smattering of applause as they take their place. You take a sip of your drink, ignoring the feeling in your chest when Eddie steps up to the mic and adjusts his red Warlock guitar. He smiles and you duck your head, trying not to look too much like the girl who’s just fallen for a lead singer when he addresses the crowd.

“Evening. Hope you brought your earplugs, this one’s new.” The quiet, reservedness of his introduction and the boy you’d met earlier is undone with the first crashing of cymbals and thrash of power chords.

Stage Eddie isn’t what you were expecting, but still somehow makes total sense. He’s more comfortable, more himself up there as he thrashes back and forth, hair whipping wildly. And they’re good. Really good.

Maybe you’d write about them after all.

The band are almost through their set when he spots you. Your back straightens as his eyes lock onto yours. Normally you hate making eye contact with someone on stage, but you can’t seem to look away when his chocolate-brown gaze twinkles over the heads of the rest of the crowd. In between songs, he gives you a wave, and you nod, returning his small smile.

When they finish, you move back to the bar. Waiting for the lingering fans to clear over a rum and coke. You’re only on your second sip when you feel a burning hot presence behind you.

“You made it.”

You turn around, and Eddie leans an arm on the bar beside you, moving in closer as the growing line pushes him forward.

“I did.” You nod, taking another sip of your drink.

He clears his throat, pushing his sweaty bangs away from his forehead.

“So, uh, what did you think?”

You smile, “I think you’re going to fit in very well here.”

“I hope that’s a good thing,” he chuckles.

“Oh, it is. You’re one of us now. Welcome to the dark side, Eddie.”

His eyebrows raise, the ghost of a smirk kicking up when you’re interrupted by your cousin.

“Man, that was sick! What can I get ya?”

Eddie thanks Simon, then looks back at you, “What are you having?” He holds up two fingers when you answer, signalling for another round, then starts playing with a beermat while you wait. Your eyes are trained to the glint of silver on his fingers.

“How are you liking Chicago so far?”

Eddie looks back at you and puffs his cheeks up as he exhales. “Honestly?... I didn’t know life could be this good.”

You feel a sharp tingling in your nose as your eyes well up a little for the boy standing in front of you, his cheeks dusted with pink as he tries to hold back a smile.

“Trust me, things are only gonna get better from here.”

“Yeah?” He beams at you then and you inhale deeply as you fight the urge to reach out and wrap your arms around him.

“Yeah.”

***

Eddie had seen you a few times since the gig at The Allied. Dropping into the record store when he could. In small crowds at gigs in the city. You’d greet him with a hug or a squeeze to the arm that never failed to get his heart rate going.

Today, he’d gotten off early from his temporary new gig at the auto shop and he found himself parked outside the record store.

It was overcast, but there was no bite to the air. A balmy wind tousling his hair as he ran across the street to the hole-in-the-wall coffee shop, avoiding the fat drops of rain that had begun to fall sporadically.

He spots you through the window when he makes his back to the store, bobbing your head along to whatever’s playing as you fill the racks. The now familiar bell jingles and he smiles when he recognises Joy Division over the speakers. He’d seen you in their shirt on more than one occasion.

He meets you as you're walking back to the counter.

“Oh, hey Eddie.” You smile and do a double take, taking in his greasy coveralls, and suddenly he’s wishing he’d gone home and showered. Even if it was an hour out of his way.

“Hey.” He places a coffee on the counter along with a white paper bag. “Thought you might like a mid-afternoon pick me up. I’ve uh, I’ve seen you with one of those cinnamon things before.”

Your eyes light up as you inspect the inside of the bag. “Oh my god, you’re my hero! Thank you, that’s so sweet.”

He shrugs, taking a step back from the counter, his own black coffee still clutched in his hands.

“So, this is the day job then huh?” You gesture to his outfit.

He scratches the back of his neck, “Yeah for now. Until the music starts paying off. If the music starts paying off.”

You nod, taking a bite of your cinnamon scroll and he can’t help but smirk at the way your eyes quickly roll to the back of your head. “It will.”

His free hand goes to his pocket, face hidden slightly by his hair as he tucks into himself at your confident statement.

“Thanks.” He turns around to start perusing the aisles.

“Oh, we will be getting the new Metallica album on the day of release by the way. I’ll put a tape aside for you.”

“Thank you.” He offers you a smile over his shoulder, and you tip your coffee to him.

He takes his time flicking through the rows, a few customers coming and going as he does, although he knows exactly what he’s looking for. Once the store is quiet again, he walks back over to you, selection in hand.

“Lee Hazelwood?” You take the record from him with a look of surprise.

He nods, “Yeah, I liked that song on that pre-goth mixtape you gave me. It’s like the kind of thing my uncle would listen to but…”

“Sinister.”

“Yeah.”

You smile, “It’s cool isn’t it? You know he actually wrote These Boots Are Made For Walkin’. Helped save Nancy Sinatra’s career after the teeny-bopper thing didn’t work out. They made a couple of albums together actually, and you know the first time he retired from the music industry was because the success of The Beatles’ made him depressed.”

He leans his arms on the counter as you talk. “Wow, you really are a wealth of knowledge for this stuff huh?”

You shrug, “What else is there?”

“Apart from books.”

You nod, “Good movies.”

He smiles, “Pizza.”

“Dumplings.”

“DnD”

You frown, “That nerdy board game?”

“No, uh d–dumplings like you said, and uh– dough–doughnuts?”

You scrunch up your face, “Okay,” and giggle at Eddie’s strained smile.

“So uh, what–would you–“ Not screwing this up at all Munson. “Would you maybe wanna do that together sometime? The pizza and dumplings, or probably one or the other I guess, and a movie, good music–“ he blows out a puff of air, scrunching up his face.

“Are you asking if I wanna go see a movie?”

“Yes,” he nods enthusiastically, “that and dinner. If you want.”

“I do like both those things.” You smile. “How about Thursday? I finish closing up at six.”

“Yeah. Cool. Thursday sounds good.” The guys and their weekly standing appointment for band practice would not agree.

***

Thursday rolls around faster than Eddie’s prepared for. Predictably, his bandmates all made fun of him for cancelling practice for you. But he just ignored the high-pitched ooohs and went to make sure his lucky Sabbath shirt was washed before he needed it.

He’s wearing it now as he paces outside the movie theatre, twisting his rings, oblivious to you sneaking up behind him until it’s too late.

“Boo!”

“Jesus Christ.” He jumps and twists around, your hands that had reached out to scare him still on his hips, his arms float in the air for a second before landing on your shoulders.

“You’re on edge,” you tease before your face sets a little more seriously. “You okay?”

“Y-yeah. Yeah, just uh, you wanna head in? It starts in like five minutes.”

You nod, your hands leaving his waist as his fall back to his sides. “What are we seeing anyway?” You look up at the black lettering above you, smiling just as Eddie reveals your viewing choice for the night.

“Thought we could see Young Frankenstein. Saw they were doing an old-school horror weekend here in the paper.”

“That sounds great.”

He lets out a breath of relief when you bump his shoulder affectionately, and you begin walking into the theatre side by side.

“Now the real important question Eddie Munson. What are your go-to movie snacks?”

His hand twitches when it accidentally brushes the back of yours.

“Well, popcorn obviously.”

“Obviously.” You nod.

“Sour Patch Kids and you gotta add a packet of Reese’s Pieces in there too.”

“Wait, in there as in–?”

“In the popcorn bucket. All of it. Like a good version of a trail mix.”

You grin, “Very interesting.”

“Just wait till you try it, sweetheart, you’ll never do it any other way.”

You laugh, “Okay, lead the way.”

He bows, gesturing his hand towards the confection stand. “After you m’lady.”

Your giggle, Eddie quickly finds out is his new favourite sound. When it appears again in the movie theatre, he can’t seem to keep his eyes on Gene Wilder, only watching you light up with laughter.

He can’t quite believe how well it’s all going. That is until you’re sharing a large pepperoni, on the bench outside the place you insisted served the best “pies” in all of Chicago, and your confusion stops his heart for a second.

He groans when he takes the first bite of cheesy dough.

“Good right?”

He nods, chewing and swallowing quickly. “My uncle told me pizza wasn’t a first date kind of meal, but we don’t have anything like this back in Hawkins.”

You’re sitting so close that he notices you still right away.

“Wait, this is a date?”

“Oh,” he swears his heart drops to his stomach as he sees the surprise on your face. “Oh well, yeah I thought it was but I guess I–it doesn’t have to be, sorry.”

You reach out to grab his arm when he instinctively moves away, “No! I just didn’t realise you were asking me out, out. You kinda just kept listing food.” He scoffs, shaking his head at himself. “I want it to be a date.”

He bites his lip, looking back at you with eyebrows raised, “Really?”

“Yes,” you laugh, squeezing the arm still in your hold. “Of course. I would love to…be on a date with you right now.”

He beams, “Well, it’s your lucky night sweetheart.”

***

The date (once it’s established as one), goes so well Eddie finds himself back at your apartment, admiring your wall lined with records while you find the both of you a drink.

His eyebrows marry together when he notices Dusty Springfield next to the Sex Pistols.

“What’s the system here?” You hand him a beer when you reappear by his side. “Not by genre?”

“No. Autobiographical.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

“How–?”

“Well,” you step forward, reaching out to pick a plastic sleeve as if from memory, “if I want to find the song Landslide by Fleetwood Mac, I have to remember that I bought it for someone in the fall of 1983 but didn’t give it to them…for personal reasons.” You show him the white cover of the album.

“That sounds…”

“Comforting.”

He nods slowly, “Yes.”

“It is.”

God, you’re weird. And cute. And cool. And, shit he was going for it, you said you wanted to be on a date with him. You invited him back to your place. No one’s ever done that before. He should go for it. He’s going for it–

Your lips feel even softer than he imagined, and he can’t help but give himself a mental high-five when you immediately move closer to him, face melting into the hand that cradles your cheek. You taste almost vanilla-y with the combo of rum and coke still sitting on your tongue when his meets yours. He places his beer down on the coffee table, and your lips follow him when he has to dip down slightly before his free hand comes to sit on your waist.

You part for a breath, “Didn’t realise vinyl categorisation would get you so hot.” You tease him, lips plump and eyes slightly glazed over, and he’s never wanted anything more in his life than to keep you looking at him like this.

“Yeah uh, really love that Dewey Decimal system.” He leans close to capture your lips again, but you pull back, leaving him to chase you.

“The Dewey Decimal system is for books.” You shake your head.

Eddie huffs, “I really don’t care.” He finally finds your lips again and he swears they taste even sweeter the second time, despite being tainted by his own.

You guide him back to slowly sit on the couch, bodies falling a little clumsily together before you situate yourself in his lap, legs straddling his. You both stay like that for what could be hours for all Eddie cares, lips clicking in the silence.

“Fuck, I could kiss you all night.” He leans his forehead against yours, heavy breathing synced with your own, as you finally come up for air.

You shake your head, eyes soft and reassuring.

“I’m not going anywhere, Eddie.”

God dammit, is he glad he left Hawkins.

Tagging: @storiesbyrhi (I hope you like the coffee shop across from the record store 😉), @bettyfrommars (I finished it!)

[queeroc-zine]

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[rosepinksky]

Pay For My Time (pt. 6)

Simon "Ghost" Riley x Female reader

In which Ghost's neighbour drags him in for dinner, and then ruins his life.

Warnings: alcohol use, implied dub-con due to alcohol use but it's stopped in its tracks!, ghost being a possessive mess and i am FOAMING AT THE MOUTH FOR IT

word count: 2.5k

ao3 link

part 1 (smutty!)

masterlist

Ghost had sat there, perched on the stairs outside her floor with his leg jerking in anticipation, for upwards of an hour. He rested his chin on his knuckles, breath misting in the November chill of the stair close. Another glance at his phone- 1:40am- and he rose, storming down into the street. He slipped past the raucous crowds milling outside the pub across the road, his hands clenching in his jacket pockets to keep warm.

The club Lucy danced in was on a side of the city far shittier than the one they lived in, and that was saying something. He could feel the passersby’s eyeing him up as he walked, sizing him up. None approached.

It was sort of understandable, the way this demographic of patrons flocked to this street in particular. The kind of place where everybody implicitly understood to not discuss their activities there in the office the next day. A fucking rural Westworld, tucked away in a northern English city. A casino with its bright neon signs spilling a rainbow onto the chipped pavement, a pub advertising £3 pints- Christ, he’s been in London too much- and the Black fucking Lace, cartoonish vinyl stickers of women on poles plastered to the frosted windows.

He can hear her before he sees her; a cackle of drunken laughter around the back of the building. He heads toward the sound, and there she is; scantily-clad form draped in a man’s suit jacket that hangs on her like an oversized coat, stumbling a little on her ridiculous heels. She’s leant against the railing of the fire exit stairs, eyes glittering and hazy as she grins lazily up at the man spouting shite at her. He laughs, wrapping his arm around her waist to draw her closer, and she lets him, responding with her own bright little giggles.

The bottle of beer in his hand sloshes in his grip, droplets splashing onto her exposed skin and she takes it, taking a long drink as she holds the man’s gaze.

Ghost’s fists clench even tighter in his pockets as he watches the stranger’s eyes light up at her contact, his pig hands sliding up over her lower back. Creepy fucker, touching up the woman practically swaying on her feet in front of him.

He clears his throat as he approaches the pair, Lucy’s head turning to face him. Her smile wavers but doesn’t drop, her eyes taking him in from head to toe. He’s sure he looks the picture of wrath, all squared shoulders and hulking black mass, but tries to keep his expression composed.

“You alright, Vi?” He does his best to keep his tone soft as he keeps his eyes on her, yet to acknowledge the greasy little man with his hands on her.

She nods, taking another swig of the beer. “Never better, John. Did you need something?”

He bristles. “Looks like you might need someone to walk you home. Long night, huh?”

She smiles, and he swears it’s cruel, and she turns her attention back to the man attached to her. “Yeah. Danny here’s got it covered, don’t worry.”

He finally lifts his eyes from her to the man. Danny.

“Danny here looks like he has a bit more on his mind than just making sure you get home safe. Isn’t that right, mate?”

The man rolls his shoulders back, appearing to calculate the risk Ghost poses right now. More than you know, mate.

“You her boyfriend or something, man? Hey, I don’t want trouble. She seemed pretty fucking available to me.” Oh, so he’s a big man now?

“Not her boyfriend. Just don’t appreciate little shits like you taking advantage of vulnerable women.”

Lucy scoffs, stepping between Ghost and the man. “I’m not fucking vulnerable, I’m a grown woman. Back off, Ghost.”

Danny laughs sharply, pulling her back against his chest by the waist. “Ghost? What sorta fucking name is that?”

Ghost’s glare hardens. “Callsign. Counter-terrorism, SAS.”

There’s a moment of tense silence, and Lucy’s eyes are locked onto his. He swears he can see her pupils dilate in the pink glow of the buzzing neon lights.

She shoves the beer back into the creep’s hands without so much as a glance back at him, the liquid frothing and spilling onto his sleeve. “I’m tired. Let’s get a taxi, Smith.” She brushes past the both of them, ignoring the disgruntled calls of protest from the sleazebag behind them. Ghost nods, shooting the bloke a smug grin hidden beneath his balaclava.

He follows after her, resisting the bizarre urge to wrap a protective arm around her waist.

More than protective, actually.

Possessive.

He ruminates on the way he finds her so much easier to digest when she’s sitting quietly in the back of the taxi next to him, her features lit up every so often by the passing lights of the city. He’d always gone for quiet girls in the past, even if he’d never admit out loud that was something he sought out.

She’s not quiet. God, she’s a bona fide wreck, if anything. Her entire being reeks of substance abuse, of nymphomania and likely some deep-rooted parental issues to boot. She is a walking red flag, the kind of person who’d lead you astray and chip away at your morals with her siren-like smile.

He knows this; he’s no stranger to dangerous vices, makes no claim to innocence. Still, while he may not be the top subscriber of the on-base psychology facilities, he’s sat through enough mandated sessions to recognise self-destruction when he sees it.

She doesn’t turn to face him when she speaks. Her voice is lowered, cognizant of the driver separated from them only by a thin plastic screen.

“I know why you came to get me tonight.”

He hums in response, fingers adjusting their grip on his elbows.

“…I’m not going to play the sweetheart just because you wanted to play the hero.”

A pause. He takes a moment to stare at the blur of streets and lampposts outside the window before answering.

“You told me the first night we met that you’re selfish- and I don’t take you for a liar.”

She does turn to face him then, eyes swimming with an emotion he can’t quite place yet. Gratitude. Pride, maybe.

There’s another pause, and she clears her throat. “So- SAS, huh? Anti-terrorism.”

Ghost chuckles then, his expression softening. “You seem surprised.”

She shrugs, smiling softly. “I don’t know. Sort of had you pegged as a preening Coast Guard rookie.”

He laughs again, a little heartier this time. “The Coast Guard do good work.”

Her smile widens. “I know. My brother used to volunteer, when he was in high school.”

His posture stiffens in surprise. “You got a brother?”

Lucy doesn’t move. It’s like she’s gone somewhere; he wonders where. “…Yeah. Two, actually. And a sister.”

Ghost- well, on further introspection, this is Simon talking- raises an eyebrow. She hiccups, and he has to fight to hold back a smile.

“I had a brother.”

She’s quiet for a moment, long nails picking at a loose thread on the sleeve of the suit jacket. The image of Danny the Prick shivering as he heads back inside to settle his bill without it amuses Ghost to no end.

“Had?” She asks, voice gentler than he’d heard from her before.

No, actually, that wasn’t true. Her voice was soft that first night they’d spoken, her hands running along his thighs as she knelt between his legs. He hadn’t seen her like that since; all docile and tone filled with a sincerity that had him believing she actually cared about what he had to say.

He nods, and debates elaborating. She probably wouldn’t even remember this in the morning- God, I wonder how much of her life she’s lost to drunken blackouts. Does she still feel 19 because she can only remember 19 out of however many years she’s lived?

She doesn’t press for more anyway, hazy eyes starting to droop. He thinks, just for a second, that she’ll lay her head against his shoulder, but she shifts her weight to lean her forehead against the condensation-coated window with a stifled yawn.

“…Simon.”

Her eyes flutter back open, and he feels the twist of regret in his stomach as he takes in the patch of smeared foundation of her forehead now.

“Huh?” She frowns at him, the drink and the sleep muffling her hearing.

With his voice still barely above a whisper, he repeats himself. “Simon.” He clears his throat, crossing his arms over his chest. “My name.”

It takes her a second, but a smile spreads across her smudged lips. “Simon.” She chirps back, seemingly pleased with the way his name sounds on her tongue. She chuckles to herself, pressing her knees against his. He doesn’t press back, but does keep his legs in place, feeling the chilled skin of her knees through his trousers. He holds his breath.

He had to practically herd her up the stairs when they pull up to the building, his hands hovering over her waist in fear of her tripping and tumbling down the long flights of stairs. She looks up at him as they stop outside of her door, her fingers curling around the collar of his jacket.

“Are you gonna come in?”

“No, Lucy. Not tonight.” His response is quick, anticipating her question. He untangles his fingers from him, bringing them back down to her sides.

She shakes her head, eyes flickering over his broad chest. “Not to fuck. Just…stay.”

There’s a long pause, and she keeps her gaze down. He furrows his brows, keeping his gentle grasp around her wrists.

“To just…sleep?”

Another fleeting moment of silence, and she nods. He grunts in response, shrugging his shoulders. A flicker of a smile creeps across his lips at the sight of her own, and he’s once again grateful for the privacy mask he’d grabbed before leaving his flat earlier.

She unlocks her door, tripping over her entrance rug as she fiddles with the clasps on her shoes, tossing them in the vague direction of the hallway cupboard. He clicks his teeth at the sight of her numerous lamps and lighting fixtures still on despite her being out for the past few hours.

“Fucking fire hazard, Luce.” He chastises, and she snorts out a drunken laugh.

“Better than cracking my head open trying to fumble for the light switch in the dark.”

He hums at that, an unconvinced allowance at her logic. He follows her through to the bedroom, smirking at the haphazard piles of clothes she’d pulled out of her wardrobe earlier she’d neglected to pick up.

“You were gonna bring that Danny bloke home with your place a tip like this?”

Lucy rolls her eyes at him, shoving the crumpled heaps of lace and satin into a drawer. “Didn’t particularly care about his opinion of my homemaking capabilities.”

She strips off the flimsy material of her dress, tossing it into a hamper. He eyes the intricate straps of her lingerie, clasps tucked under layers of overlapping silk. She brushes her hair over one shoulder, and by God is he tempted to press a kiss to the bare skin exposed.

“Help me out of this?” Her tone is light, innocent, but that woman knows exactly what she’s doing. Ghost complies with a grunt, thick fingers brushing against her back as he undoes the knots, the bows and the little buckles holding the garment in place. He lets it drop to the floor unceremoniously, and revels in the way her breath hitches as he kneels to the floor behind her and hooks his fingers over the hem of her underwear.

He keeps his eyes on the side of her face turned towards him over her shoulder as he lifts the bottom of his mask and presses his lips to the back of her thigh, smiling against her skin as the touch makes her jolt forward on her unsteady legs.

He curls one hand against her knee to still her, keep her in place as he trails his lips upward, breathing in the heady scent of her. It’s a mixture of smells that has him nosing against her, rain and sweat, stale beer and sweet perfume and her. Lucy, not Violet.

He tugs her underwear down, over the curve of her hips and past the flesh of her thighs, letting the scarlet piece of lace fall to the floor next to her bra. He keeps his gaze down as he lets his finger travel up back towards her core, pinky finger extending out to swipe across the swell of her ass.

He stands, pulling her hair back over her shoulder to fall down across her back. “Let’s get you into my shirt again and into bed, princess.” He whispers close to her ear, biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from grinning at the way she shivers.

“Uh-huh.” She nods, turning to face him again. Her hands drop to his belt buckle, glancing up at him for permission. He nods, watching her closely as she gathers the coordination to pull the leather off of him, undoing his trousers too and dropping to her knees just like he had done to pull the hem down to his knees. She stares up at him for a second, pupils blown, before turning her attention towards his boots. She mumbles a soft curse as she struggles with the tightly-knotted laces, acrylic nails too long to let her undo them with any sort of ease.

Ghost chuckles, but doesn’t move to help her. He watches from above as she bends forward to tug and pull at his shoes, doing nothing more than lifting his foot slightly to let her take the shoe off. He throws his jacket over her door, pulling his shirt off over his head and offering it to her.

She leans back on her heels, donning the soft cotton tee. “And the mask?” She asks hopefully.

“Not tonight, Luce.” His words echo the ones he’d spoken outside of her door as he cups her jaw, his hands large enough to take her entire cheek into his palm. “Bedtime.”

She sighs, pouting just slightly, but acquiesces and crawls underneath the floral-patterned sheets. He follows, grabbing at her waist and pulling her onto his chest.

She whines. “The light, Si.”

He raises an eyebrow, lifting his head off of the pillow to look down at her. “Si?” He asks incredulously. She just waves off the question, arousal quickly dissipated by her body’s need to pass out into a drunken sleep.

He chuckles, drawing her in tighter. He tucks his mask back down over his jaw, but not before pressing a chaste kiss into her hair, drawing in one last greedy breath of her scent without the fabric in the way.

Rain. Sweat. Booze. Something pretending to be cherry. Cinnamon- real cinnamon.

(tag list! <3 @simpxinnie)

[pizzazz-party]

⚡️⚡️ANNOUNCEMENT⚡️⚡️

Welcome back to Sunday pin updates! We’ve got more than a few things to share and recap.

———

LEFTOVERS

On Wednesday, September 6, 2023 at 5:00pm EST, the pin shop is officially opening back up! Leftover Ring pins from the last preorder round will finally be up for grabs, including vinyl stickers and decals.

A grade pins will go on sale for $15 USD plus shipping. B grade pins will go on sale for $12 USD plus shipping.

Stickers and decals will go for $2.99 each plus shipping.

As of this post, the shop site is currently down as I continue prepping it for Wednesday.

———

SHIPPING

Pin orders ship at a flat fee of $5 USD within the United States. Stickers and decals ship at $1 USD within the United States.

For ALL orders shipping internationally:

Canada: $15 USD

South America: $16 USD

Australia: $19 USD

Asia: $19 USD

Not from any of these places? Drop me an ask here on tumblr or on the website’s contact page with the country you have in mind, and I’ll see what I can do.

For international purchases, I am legally required to ship all merchandise (even flat stickers) in packages at package prices. I highly recommend that customers outside the US purchase their stickers WITH their enamel pins.

Please allow 5-7 days for all orders to process and ship. I plan on visiting the post office once a week, usually at its tail end.

———

SHIPPING TO THE EUROPEAN UNION

I tried to get this shop registered for the VAT. I failed. It’s a long story.

So while I cannot offer shipping directly from the shop website, I am working on a (legal) alternative.

If you live in the EU and would like to buy something from this shop, I am trying to set up an Etsy account for EU orders in time for Wednesday, so Etsy can handle the intricacies of EU paperwork in my stead. Etsy listings will go up by individual request. But beware. Depending on where you live, the entire listing for one pin, shipping and VAT and US tax fees included, may add up to over $40 USD. If you are still interested—I do not blame you if you are not—follow the instructions here and drop me a line on the website here come Wednesday.

———

AS FOR DRAGAUX PIN PREORDERS

Yes, we are still doing this. There have been significant delays to the timeline, all of which I am only starting to resolve now. (They are all due to my own mistakes.) But the project is still on, and I hope to have sample pictures within the next week. More news to follow then.

Until Next Sunday, y’all.

———

Pin news and update tag.

[omegaremix]

Captured Tracks, 2022.

What makes Omega WUSB great is how we create tributes as part of what we play on air. They allow us to get to know our favorite labels better and gives our listeners a nicer surprise from our usual spinning-wheel craziness. Most of them we previously featured are from New York City such as Sacred Bones, Hospital Productions, Wharf Cat, and Mexican Summer. Just recently, Captured Tracks joined that list of labels that deserved it. Do a little due diligence (say that three times fast) and you’ll see that Mike Sniper has had his hands in plenty of things. He owns the umbrella Omnian Group, does illustration for other artists, made music as Blank Dogs, and was part of other bands, too. And he’s owned a couple of record stores, too. Sideman Records was up for a couple of years until the y recently closed down, but his other store named after his Captured Tracks label, is still up. That’s good because I’ve been meaning to visit.

After Amityville’s High Fidelity wiped me out like no other (two visits cost me $893.00 in total), I had one more stop I was planning to visit and call it quits. That was Innersleeve Records until I took a better look at their sticker prices posted on social media. Right then and there I declared my island-wide record store victory tour finally over and any city-wide visit to other stores were treated as “bonus rounds”, which two visits to Academy’s Brooklyn and Manhattan locations already counted. Captured Tracks just posted some nice pics- of their stock and I’ve been meaning to go, so let’s give a proper end to a great expensive run.

I arrived at the Central Islip station, sweltering in the low 80’s and as bright as bright can be. The train took off westbound to Penn Station for a 75-minute ride. I told myself it was going to be a great day. When I did, I noticed something somewhat disappointing. Nothing said there was going to be pending thunderstorms for the next few days, but here they come as I looked to my right. Surely enough daylight went dark and it came down hard from Jamaica all the way to Penn Station. I didn’t come above and out to 34th Street to experience it because I went under to catch the ‘E’ line. Everyone waiting for the alphabet lines were baking and drenched in sweat from all the unbearable post-rain humidity filling the platforms beneath. Thank the Lord for air-conditioned transit. I got off at 23rd and Court Square to the ‘G’ and finally came up at the Greenpoint Ave. stop. It was all clear, as if the horrible weather never happened. You wouldn’t even noticed, either.

Down Manhattan Ave., I turn left on Calyer St. and look for #195. Where the hell is it? I look up and there was the wooden Captured Tracks sign nailed above the window. I wouldn’t have realized that I walked past it as it was perfectly blended in the residential buildings. How cute. I walk up the stairs only to be confronted by a closed door and push-button lock. It can’t fucking be. I look below and there was a flight of concrete steps leading to the basement entrance. Immediately I felt an amazing spell, as if I just discovered a well-hidden secret that almost no one knew. I never entered a music-store this way. That’s what made it magical.

I walk through the front door to find not that many people lurking for new finds. There were only three staffers: one behind the counter checking their Discogs store online, another restocking the vinyl bins, and the last sitting behind the desk in the back corner observing Lord knows what. None of them were Mike Sniper. I walk around the narrow space which was mostly nice and neatly organized; a cellar space adorned with chipped paint on the walls, pipes and valves that would make Super Mario and Luigi gladly pay their 100 coins a month each to live in. I reminded myself why I was here in the first place: to see if their selection matches that of what their label offered.

Captured Tracks were the kings of organization. Everything organized by genre, label, and artist name. Sure, they had the standard classic rock, psych-, and metal LPs. But walk around and they had a full selection of jazz, soul, and R&B to start. They carried several bins of classic disco and dance classified right down to the label. Salsoul, Motown, Casablanca - they weren’t handwritten but instead their tabs and dividers were logo’ed. Want classic motion picture soundtracks from the Eighties-on backward? Pre-war jazz and vocals? Reggae and Bollywood? Greek, Israeli, Brazilian, French, Italian, and Latin artists? They specialize what the other stores don’t. Almost nothing where it shouldn’t be.

First order of business was the cassette section nailed right next to the entrance. They had way less on the shelves than they posted and nothing got to me. In the middle of the store were…eight-tracks? Fifteen of them were posted on a board in the middle of the store. That’s all they had. If I had a player, then no doubt I would be even consider spending $30.00 for either Lonnie Liston Smith’s Expansions and Roy Ayers’ Red Black And Green for $35.00. Adjacent to them were a small pot of CDs, maybe no more that a hundred. So what did I say about how hard it was finding Suicide albums? For $7.00 I was able to get Alan Vega’s Mutator. What tasteless muppet who knows nothing about art and culture sold his copy back to the store? Which other labelmate of his was also in the pot? Marissa Nadler, of course. Her latest full-length The Path Of The Clouds cost $12.00, the highest-priced purchase of the day.

No record-store excursion would be complete without getting a crack at some jazz and fusion. Same to be said about what Roy Ayers records they had. Still no A Tear To A Smile, but instead Let’s Do It sitting in which I already had. But, going across I did find plenty familiar artists with albums I never seen before in the wild from Ron Carter, Ramsay Lewis, Jeff Lorber Fusion, Herbie Mann, and Hank Crawford. I had a chance to pick up two Kool & The Gang records: Wild And Peaceful and The Force. I held off because off of Wild And Peaceful there was “Hollywood Swingin’” and “Jungle Boogie”, and I wouldn’t have been happy if the entire record went in that direction. The Force reminded me that I wasn’t familiar with -The Gang aside from those two, “Summer Madness”, and Love And Understanding. Going a little bit to the right to Hubert Laws’ divider and I find found it: How To Beat The High Cost Of Living with Earl Klugh. That was a huge personal win for me. That motion-picture soundtrack was part of last year’s impeccable, memorable, golden Spring.

Captured Tracks had a small section for hip-hop / rap LPs and 12” singles. Nothing piqued my interest as I wouldn’t spent more than a few dollars on a piece of wax with one or two songs. Their selection of those artists jumped around ranging from Eighties mainstays to Nineties unknowns. The only thing I took with me from those bins was Kool Moe Dee’s Knowledge Is King and that was it.

I figured to give the soul bins a shot and I win another Blackbyrds record, a tattered copy of Bootsy Collins Rubber Band, and The Olympic Runners’ Don’t Let Up - one which would sound so familiar if you’re a Planet Asia & Talib Kweli fan.

Across from the front desk were two stations with four bins each of new arrivals with lots of rare, unknown, and obscure jazz, rock, soul, and soundtracks. Of the fifteen minutes it took me to thumb through it all, the only thing I saw of interest was Blank Stare’s self-titled. It may have been their only hardcore / punk title in the entire store Captured Tracks had as they weren’t known to carry much of it. During that time of lurking through their new arrivals did the staff bring up how much of a psychotic asshole Drew Carey was in real life, and speculated if his Hollywood personality was the reason why his then-wife took her own life. Their words, not mine.

But do give them lots of points as possible for having a straight, organized, and in-reach section of 45’s and 7” records (take that, High Fidelity!). I counted at least 50 categorized white boxes labeled with jukebox hits, punk, new-wave, jazz, country, rock, decades, and more. They had more than enough of reggae and soul with new arrivals of 45’s up for grabs as well with dedicated boxes of legendary artists (Elvis) and others divided and categorized. Good thing I’m still thirsty for Eighties’ hits from my Atari childhood and I bought plenty of them. Simple Minds, Janet Jackson, Kim Carnes, Thomspon Twins. No shame here, and neither should anyone feel it when they practice self-care.

Displayed were many top-dollar records on the wall and over the bins. Those carried the heaviest prices. A copy of Fear’s debut clocked in for $30.00 and The Dictators Go Girl Crazy goes for $40.00. Buzzcocks’ In A Different Kitchen and Sex Pistols’ Never Mind The Bullocks were stickered for $45.00. The Smiths’ The Queen Is Dead went for $50.00 and their self-titled for $55.00. The 7” records on the wall were just a criminal. $25.00 got you Merzbow & Gore Beyond Necropsy’s Rectal Grinder on blue vinyl. Another blue (transparent) 7” was posted which was KRS-One’s “Sound Of The Police” remix which went for $50.00 ($70.00 on Discogs at the time of posting). Two Pharcyde singles were also pinned to the wall: “Otha Fish” sold for $25.00 while “Passin’ Me By” was asking for $60.00. For a piece of wax? That’s insanity, but Brooklyn’s residents need to pony up that rent money, don’t they?

On the floor were many crates of $3.00 records which never occurred to me to burrow through, and they had tons of shelves of LPs under the bins but were marked ‘not for sale’. Might be for the better. It would’ve eaten up another hour-and-a-half of my time and maybe more of my wallet. On the other side was the usual classic rock every store needs to sell in order to stay in business. The most amusing? All the Eric Clapton records were under the ‘Craptonia’ section. (Either they hate his anti-masking stance or have a thing with loved ones falling to their deaths.) I looked through all I could and something didn’t add up: where were all those indie and post-punk / d.i.y. I was looking forward to find? I didn’t see any. I assumed Captured Tracks would carry that kind of stuff because they have Mac Demarco, Beach Fossils, DIIV, Molly Burch, and Wild Nothing on their label. And they’re from Brooklyn. How could they not have stuff like Yard Act’s debut release, Special Interest, Gong Gong Gong, Guerilla Toss, or anything from Wharf Cat? Which was why I had a field day at Rough Trade (before moving out of Williamsburg) and both of Academy’s locations. But at least they had a Thee Oh Sees record somewhere. That qualifies, right?

I’m about five minutes away from declaring an end to this year’s record-store victory tour. I took my pile of finds to the front counter to be added up. I asked the guy with the blonde hair and glasses if those records marked ‘not for sale’ were really off-limits. He explained that they were Discogs stock for the store and need to keep tabs on their stock, which was fine by me. Pain alleviated. He gave me a couple of titles for free and everything came out to $118.00 including New York State (vampire) tax. Good thing I brought two totes with me because I wasn’t taking any chances having my purchase melt in this 90* July heat. Not happening now, not happening ever. I thanked him for everything, walked upstairs and out on Calyer St. with my stash to a bright, clear, glorious Greenpoint sky.

**********

It’s over. It’s finally over. With me leaving Captured Tracks, the record-store victory tour has come to an official close. I did all that I wanted to do and then more. Almost two months of intensive free-spending without worry and practicing self-care and individualism to the fullest. I was the sun which everything else revolved around - the ventures to Queens and Brooklyn, Easter with my Italian Coney Island family, Roman connections, an ambitious Summer broadcasting season at WUSB, the spirit of Sacred Bones’ 15th Anniversary showcase permanently swirling around me, visits to the retro video arcade down the road from me, seeing friends from the Brentwood era, dinner in Calverton, and a small but all-essential conversation with my #1 favorite ginger. I’ve been spinning up some good spaces on the wheel with no signs of losing.

While walking up to Manhattan Ave. to catch the ‘G’ line, I noticed that a curious point of interest had its doors open. That place was Sunshine Laundromat, a locale I’ve read all about but been meaning to visit for the longest time. It’s an actual laundromat with a concealed backdoor that opens up to reveal a backroom pinball arcade. I never noticed it being there until now but finally I found it! It was only 5:45PM and I had all the time in the world to spare. So why not go in? I have nothing to lose.

I enter the laundromat and I slowly look around. It’s a very narrow space to maneuver around with only two or three pinball tables present and a wall of built-in washing machines and dryers. I notice a lady in the back sorting out a mound of clothes. Behind her is that door that leads to (multiball) paradise. I peer right behind her as she looks up and notices me.

“Hi! How can I help you?” she greets me with a smile. I told her that with genuine interest that I read about the laundromat and asked her if the backroom is open. She told me that they’re under renovations but also are awaiting to have their permit approved by the city. She also said that most likely if all goes to plan, then the arcade will re-open for business in a few weeks. It was alleviating news that made me feel good on the inside and made me walk out a more hopeful being.

It was a mood experiencing two crowded subway cars sharing cramped space with everyone imaginable. It wasn’t an eternal wait for the Central Islip line to arrive which the big ride out east was symbolic in itself. Not many people boarded the car I was riding. I sat facing away in the opposite direction. The 7PM sun in its intense beaming yellow glory was all alone in the sky with no clouds or miserable humidity to share it with. Both The Offset: Spectacles followed by Daniel Johnston’s “In A Lifetime” play along with the air conditioner’s cold snap on the way home as I think about what August and September will have in store for me.

The wheel landed on ‘DOUBLE YOUR MONEY’. I told myself it was going to be a great day. And I was right.

Jon Lucien: Premonition LP

Ron Carter: Peg Leg LP

Ramsey Lewis: Love Notes LP

Hubert Laws & Earl Klugh: How To Beat The High Cost Of Living LP

Weather Report: Tale Spinnin’ LP

Olympic Runners: Don’t Let Up LP

Bootsy’s Rubber Band: Stretchin’ It Out In… LP

Jeff Lorber Fusion, The: self-titled LP

Blackbyrds: Unfinished Business LP

Herbie Mann: Sunbelt LP

Hank Crawford: Cajun Sunrise LP

Kool Moe Dee: Knowledge Is King LP

Blank Stare: self-titled LP

Police, The: “Every Breath You Take” 7”

Simple Minds: “Don’t You Forget About Me” 7”

Bangles, The: “In Your Room” 7”

Thompson Twins: “Hold Me Now” 7”

Janet Jackson: “Let’s Wait A While” 7”

Kim Carnes: “Bette Davis Eyes” b/w “Miss You Tonight” 7”

Alan Vega: Mutator CD

Marissa Nadler: The Path Of The Clouds CD

[jellostories]

AJ the Very Whimsical, Ch. 24: Rock Your Socks Off

To my parents

~~~~

Today, AJ and Twist had hopped on their bikes and ridden three blocks down to their local record store, Wrockout Records.

The store was filled with metal shelves containing cassette tapes from every music artist you could think of, from Green Day to KoRn to The Beatles to Uncle Kracker. The walls were decorated rather nicely, too: guitars, gold records, posters of famous musicians like Michael Jackson and Jimi Hendrix -- this place had everything!

"Ooh, la-la~!" AJ breathed as she and Twist walked down the acid rock aisle. "Zey've decorated zis place like an actual music store! I mean, sure, eet leeterally eez a music store, but--"

Twist rolled her eyes and started combing through the tapes on the bottom shelf of the aisle while Twist continued yammering on and on about the store's decor. The girls' parents had given them 30 minutes to find what they were looking for and Twist was determined to make sure they didn't leave empty-handed.

Luckily, after 15 seconds of searching, Twist gasped as her eyes fell upon a truly valuable treasure: a cassette tape with a red sticker, four crudely drawn tires, and the words "FULLY LOADED" on the side-label.

"AJ," Twist tugged on her friend's skirt to get her attention, "look at this: I found the mother lode!"

AJ crouched down and dropped her jaw in awe at Twist's discovery.

"C-Can eet really be...?" the French girl breathed.

Gently, reverently, Twist picked up the tape and turned it to the front.

Surely enough, the front cover was a picture of a fuel can in front of a flaming junkyard, with the words "RED CEMENT: FULLY LOADED" written in bold, blood-red text. A yellow "13+" sticker had been placed right next to this text, but Twist paid it no mind, thinking it was just the price tag or something. 

"It is!" the scar-cheeked girl exclaimed, her hands shaking with excitement. "It's Red Cement's latest album, in all its glory!"

The girls jumped up and went into full-on fangirl mode, squealing and stamping their feet.

"Eet's ours, Tweesty!" AJ proclaimed, spreading her arms out emphatically. Her stretched-out sleeves hung from her hands like limp sausages. "Eet's all ours, and eet only costs us $13+$0!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but let's go buy it!"

The girls ran up to the counter and placed Fully Loaded on the counter for purchase.

"Just zis today, si'l vous plait, monsieur," AJ declared enthusiastically to the brown-bearded cashier.

The cashier picked up the tape and gave it a once-over.

"No," he said bluntly.

The girls felt like the bearded man had just thrown ice-cold water in their faces. Twist's jaw dropped about seven inches below her chin. This must've been what her parents had meant when they told her about "stranger danger": strangers were crooks!

AJ began sputtering confused nonsense until she finally managed to stumble out: "I -- non -- what -- moi -- what do you mean, monsieur!?"

"I mean, I can't sell you this album," the cashier answered, sounding bored and weary.

"Why not!?" both girls exclaimed.

The cashier leaned over the counter, picking the cassette tape up and pointing to the yellow 13+ sticker on the front cover.

"The Music Rating Board won't let us sell any tapes or vinyl records with a yellow sticker on them to any child under the age of 13 without their parents' written permission," explained the cashier. "And, by the looks of you two, I'd say you're about seven, so you've got about...six years to go before you can buy a 13+ album unsupervised."

Twist burned beet-red and looked like she wanted to clock* the man, but was restraining herself from doing so.

AJ, on the other hand, was more outspoken with her outrage: she let out an offended scoff ("Le tch!") and got on her tippy-toes so she was eye-level with the cashier.

"Excusez-vous, Monsieur Cashier," the silly girl said, putting on her best (and rather comical-looking) "confrontational" face, "but I'll 'ave you know we are eight-going-on-nine, and are both very 'matchure' for our age. Our teacher sat on a Whoopee cushion last week, and I only laughed for five minutes. And Tweesty 'ere likes ze monster truck rallies and ze Smi--"

"Mmeep!" Her face burning brighter than a Washington Red apple now, Twist leaned over and cupped her hand over AJ’s mouth. The less people who knew Twist still liked Smiley Bears, the better.

The bearded cashier nodded at the girls like he knew what to do, then he pulled a walkie-talkie from his belt and pressed the "TALK" button. Twist slowly removed her hand from AJ's mouth as both children eyed the man with confusion and curiosity.

"Security, we have a Code: Orange," the cashier said into the walkie. "I repeat: security, we have a Code: Orange."

"'Code: Orange'?" AJ muttered as the sound of a door opening and closing came from the store's backroom. "What ze cauliflower does zat mean?"

The silly girl didn't have to wonder for very long; mere seconds later, a burly security guard had shown up at the front counter and picked the children up by their collars, not unlike a farmer picking up one of their bunnies.

"'Ey!" AJ protested, squirming like the energetic girl she was. "What geeves, Monsieur Beeg Guy? Deedn't your mommy ever tell you eet's not nice to man'andle ze girlies? You should be learned 'ow to act like a proper gentleboy, oui?"

Twist burst into tears and swiped an entire pile of tapes off the counter in a sudden tantrum.

The cashier threw up his arms in exasperation and yelled: "Aw, corn nuggets!" 

And when Twist threw a $5 bill in his face: ��Ah! Paper cut!”

AJ gasped in shock as the security guard threw her and Twist out the front door of the shop and changed the "OPEN" sign to "OPEN TO ALL BUT 2".

Meanwhile, Twist started digging in AJ's shoulder bag.

"What a couple of rude boys!" the silly girl declared rather haughtily. "Why, I 'ave 'alf a mind of calling zeir mommies and telling zem to -- Tweesty, what are you doing?"

Twist looked up at AJ with her hand still in her shoulder bag.

"I'm looking for your cassette-player so we can--" Twist began.

Once the scar-cheeked girl said the words "cassette-player", however, the tape in Twist's other hand exploded, literally blowing the girls' socks off.

"Heeheehaha!" AJ laughed. "'Ey! 'Ey, Tweesty! Eet rocked our--"

"Don't say it," Twist said in a blank, super-annoyed voice.   

Footnotes

*: To hit or punch someone.

[cricutdesignspaceforwindows]

How to Make Cricut Stickers: No Printer Needed!

Hey, want to learn how to make Cricut stickers? If so, you are in the right place. I received an order for stickers from one of my clients. But alas! My printer got damaged🥴! Now, what should I do? Well, fear not — the Cricut machine can be used to create stickers without printers. Yes, you heard that right! You can make custom stickers on Cricut without a printer, too.

Using my Cricut machine, I created many sheets of stickers and delivered them on time to all my customers. If you want a fun and creative sticker design, try this guide. In this post, I will teach you how to make stickers with Cricut. First, we will gather the basic supplies or materials and then move on to the stepwise tutorial. Let’s get started without any further ado!

What Will You Need to Create a Custom Sticker?

After getting the order from the client, I started focusing on the things that I needed to make stickers. First, I started gathering the items that I already had and then bought some others that I didn’t have. Hence, in order to learn how to make Cricut stickers, you have to gather some materials or tools required to complete this project. Make sure you have all the important materials that I have enlisted below.

Materials that you will need to gather:

Cricut machine

Cricut Design Space software

PC or laptop

Black vinyl

Cricut cutting mat

Weeding tool or Cricut basic tool

How to Make Cricut Stickers for the First Time?

Now, you have all the basic materials or supplies to get started with the Cricut sticker project. So, what are you waiting for? Once you are ready and have collected all the items mentioned above, let’s start creating the stickers in no time.

Step 1: Choose or Create a Design in the Cricut Software

Sticker designs are usually very simple. But the stickers I am making today are also a cakewalk. So, you can choose a sticker design from Cricut Design Space or the internet or create your own.

Step 2: Adding an Image to Canvas

Once you have chosen your design, you need to add it to your Canvas. If you are creating stickers yourself, you don’t need to do so because Canvas is a platform you need to create a design from scratch. In simpler terms, you are already on Canvas, so you don’t need to add anything to it.

Step 3: Turn Single and Multiple Images Into Stickers

Step 4: Fix Overlapping

Step 5: Cutting Your Stickers

Finally, we have come to the most exciting part — CUTTING! So, it’s time to fire up your Cricut and make something out of it!

First, you will need two pieces of vinyl that are in contrasting colors. But why? You will need one for your backing layer and the rest for your images. Thus, I am using sparkly silver for the backing and black for the image, SIMPLE!

Step 6: Weed the Sheet of Vinyl

That’s all in it! You might have learned how to make Cricut stickers quickly using a Cricut machine.

FAQs

Question 1: Which Cricut is the best for stickers?

Answer: The two ideal machines I know and have used for making stickers are Cricut Explore Air 2 and Cricut Maker. These two machines work really well for creating all sorts of stickers quickly. Both machines come with new features that are sufficient for crafters who want to make stickers.

Question 2: Are Cricut machines good for making stickers?

Answer: Yes! If you want to make cute stickers that are fun and easy to create, you need to try a Cricut machine. It can easily create all sorts of stickers in one go! It will bring out your artistic and fun activity and give you a fantastic result you can always remember.

Question 3: Is Cricut sticker paper made permanent?

Answer: Yes, the adhesive on all the sticker papers you use to create stickers is permanent. Paper and your Cricut printable vinyl are permanent, and they are a great option for making stickers for fun and more. So, whether you want to make a sticker or smaller decals, you can try Cricut paper or vinyl, as they are permanent.

Final Words

Through this blog, I explained how to make Cricut stickers. Now, you can easily learn and follow this tutorial to create stickers using the best possible method. I made all these stickers when I received a bunch of orders from my clients. I made all these stickers using Cricut vinyl in black and silver colors as per the client’s demands.

Read more: install cricut design space app

cricut.com/setup mac

Cricut Design Space

Cricut.com setup windows

Source: how to make stickers with Cricut

[max-righ]

I recently moved to one of the largest cities in TN and finally got around to hitting up the local public libraries. In my (admittedly very biased) opinion, the book selection of the 3 local branches I've been to just....sucks. BUT they more than make up for that with their other services!

They have a program to allow kids to borrow instruments and a space for them to practice playing so families can test instruments without having to drop a bunch of money on something the kid is going to hate in 3 weeks.

They have a giant local history/genealogy program.

They have an enormous lecture space where they host free public seminars (last time I was there, they were talking about nutrition for dogs, and next month is a huge exhibit and multiple seminars/public talks about the Holocaust, including a visit from an individual who survived a concentration camp).

They have a makerspace where you can bring in crafts or use their equipment, including multiple music/video editing stations; a professional recording studio; a giant vinyl sticker maker (you can also make t-shirts and they have heat presses); multiple 3d printers of various types/sizes; a collection of local and historic zines and space/supplies to make your own; sewing machines and tutorials on how to use them; some advanced woodworking and laser cutting stations; and a tool library where you can check out all sorts of common power/hand tools or yard-work supplies.

TLDR the library is an amazing place even if you aren't there for books, and you should absolutely support them!

I feel like public libraries don’t get enough hype. Like, you’re telling me all I have to do is give you my name and address and promise to bring the books back and I’m allowed to take as many as i want??? And I can check them out over and over again if I need to??? And I only pay if I damage or lose the book???? If this is where my tax money is going then please keep on taxing.

[musiconanironingboard]

19 February 2023: Lunapark, Luna. (2023 Run Out Groove/Elektra expanded reissue of 1992 Elektra release)

After Dean Wareham disbanded his group Galaxie 500, in 1991 he formed Luna, a minor supergroup of sorts that also included Stanley Demeski of The Feelies and Justin Harwood of The Chills. Their debut Lunapark absolutely dazzled me in the autumn of 1991, and while I don’t return to it frequently I hold it in high esteem. Luna didn’t get U.S. vinyl pressings in those days; about 15 years ago there was a Kickstarter via which someone was trying to press vinyl copies of the first two or three Luna albums. I contributed, but it didn’t meet its goal and the records didn’t get made. That’s almost hard to believe, sitting here in 2023 where vinyl rules the roost in many people’s minds. Fortunately, another company took the baton and we now have not only a new vinyl pressing of Lunapark, but an expanded one with an entire second LP of bonus tracks.

Run Out Groove (a Warner company that pretends they’re not Warner) makes good archival releases like this, but my opinion of them has soured because I got something like three consecutive orders from them that were damaged. I decided I would not patronize them directly any longer, and would gamble on trying to get copies elsewhere. This can be problematic, because all Run Out Groove pressings are very limited; they can and do sell out before everyone who wants a copy can get them. Fortunately, Lunapark was easy to obtain elsewhere. It also seems that Run Out Groove has finally learned a lesson, because the two LPs weren’t in the jacket pockets but instead delivered on the inside of the gatefold cover where the chance of them busting through and causing seam splits was lessened. My brother confirmed that his copy also arrived like this. Giant seam splits aren’t the only Run Out Groove problem I’ve encountered; I had one album arrive from them with a ten-inch box-cutter gouge across the back cover.

Above are the front cover, sticker showing this to be a limited edition, and back cover. My copy is #2801; I forgot to take a close-up of that, but you can see it on the back cover just above the song titles.

Below is the opened gatefold.

Below are the front and back of the insert.

The insert unfolds to show a picture of Wareham and the album’s lyrics.

Below are the four labels.

I think I may store the LPs in the gatefold full-time. The jacket pockets are so tight and small that I ripped one of the inner sleeves trying to insert them (they’re plain white inners) and I had to struggle to get them all the way in. This obsession with stiff, heavy-duty jackets that so many companies insist on using are sometimes more trouble than they’re worth.

[ariadnasakura]

November 14th, 2022 Problem Solving GDES with Ryan Shriver

Sprint recap

This sprint recap the team focused on the construction on the box. We received more responses from the poster left at the bus stops however 10 of those posters were removed shortly after we have posted them. We went to lowes and art plaza to collect supplies to start construction. We decided on a main color , chartreuse , for the box and sanded , primed , and later spray painted the box. The team then attended the Problem Solving field trip at Shriver's office. I wasn't able to attend due to still being ill , unfortunately. However, my team relayed the feedback we got to me so it helped me suggest changes to the box and discuss additional ideas needed. I was also informed about another connection we could communicate with to help with our box development. Overall this sprint has heavily been collaborative, with not one person solely working on a specific task. This "all hands on deck" attitude helped us discuss the specifics of the project better as well as effeicentaly come to design conclusions. Everyone has been very responsive during discussions and bringing good ideas for how we should finalize the box.

Next sprint plan

Our next steps is to finish the box by next week so we are able to document the usage of the box to present on our last sprint presentation. This week we are planning to finish construction on the box and to send out the final designs for the type to be printed with the vinyl sticker maker at the go lab. We are also going to attend a 3D printer orientation to help us manufacture dispensers to house our supplies in the box. I might also distribute more poster but I'm worried they will be taken down, again. We also might discuss the idea of creating a zine to use as a way for riders to learn more about why we decided to create the box and additional information about the future of GRTC.

Reflection

Unfortunately, following our last sprint I fell ill with ether a bad cold or the flu so I wasn't able to make progress on the project for over a week. Not having the box finished has caused me some stress as we near out last sprint. Originally, I wanted the box to be finished 2 weeks ago but time complications with the rest of the team prevented us from working on the box. Due to the amount of work needed , it was hard to have individual progress on the box. We continued discussion through our group chat about matters such as the development on the box. We even scheduled a time to attend a 3D printer orientation but the instructor was not there to teach the workshop so we weren't able to get our certification. Physically building something is very demanding and hard to coordinate between 3 other people. I've realized. I honestly just want to put something out already so the community can use it and hopefully have it improve their experience at the bus stop. I'm not losing my steam yet and I'll get pushing forward until we satisfy the project.

[heilos]

Finally got around to snapping some new photos of my entire Daft Punk Interstella 5555 collection. :)

Took a few years to get to this point, but i’m very proud and happy with what I have so far.  Interstella 5555 had an immensely profound effect on my life and appreciation for art, animation and story telling back when I watched it for the very first time as a kid. This music video movie and the main cast of characters mean so much to me. As for the collection itself, the only thing missing at the moment in these pictures is a very large authentic movie poster since I haven’t been able to frame it yet. But I hope you enjoy this small look into one of my many personal interests and sorry for the bit of glare in both photos. Tried to tone it down as much as possible. Below is a full list breakdown of all the items from left to right:

- VHS of the whole movie - VHS of the trailer for the movie - VHS of the One More Time section of the movie - Action figures of the main characters - NTSC version of the full movie - Japanese edition box with bearbrick figures - French promotional marketing pamphlet - Character sticker sheet - Canadian promotional marketing pamphlet - Daft Punk Discovery Album Press Kit - Taiwanese Discovery album CD with Interstella mouse pad  - Japanese Digital Love CD - Promo sticker sheet - 2 Chirashi flyer/Japanese flyer advertisement - Japanese Harder Better Faster Stronger CD - Promotional postcard - Background art sticker - Movie trailer CD with sleeve - Something About Us single CD with sleeve - Full movie CD in an alternate sleeve cover - Harder Better Faster Stronger single CD with sleeve - 2 Japanese Discovery album versions with slipcases - Promotional character cards (missing Arpegius for now) - Something About Us vinyl - Rare Japanese version of the Discovery vinyl - Harder Better Faster Stronger vinyl - Large character poster

[carbon--14]

OKAY @soloiho I TRIED MY BEST TO FIND PICS AND I COULDN’T FIND MUCH OF ANYTHING i’m so sorry!!! the only time i ever recorded myself playing was for homework assignments so they all look like they’re filmed in a potato but!! i’ll yell about my guitars anyway and use basic pics lol. BRACE YOURSELF THIS IS GONNA BE LONG

i have 4 guitars total, and i’ve named all of them. my first one i ever got was a squier mini strat in dakota red (not candy apple like i thought lol). i named it cherry. my parents got it for me when i was five because my dad wanted to teach me to play, but it was a 3/4 and way too big for me at the time, so i never really took it up until about 2015ish. it’s a bit too small for me now and by far the worst quality guitar i own, so i don’t play it much anymore! cherry is very much an entry level guitar so the neck doesn’t feel too great and the electronics are… mediocre. please excuse the fact that this looks like it was filmed on a literal potato, but here’s cherry:

this pic is from back in 2016 after i slapped a bunch of stickers on it because i thought it was cool. the sushi and game controller ones i get but… i have no idea what the paper bag is.

anyway by 2016 i’d started taking guitar classes in school and skipped immediately from the intermediate level to the highest level possible in the program because i’d been playing for a while, so my parents decided that it was time for an upgrade, so we got SHADOW. MY BELOVED. he’s a fender modern player telecaster plus in transparent charcoal, hence the name (not related to the hedgehog, ironically. back in ‘16 i hadn’t picked up a sonic game since lost world for about 5 minutes and unwiished before that, and i wouldn’t pick up another one until frontiers). anyway look at him!!!! you can’t really tell in the first pic but the paint job is transparent so you can see the woodgrain underneath and it’s gorgeous.

shadz is my go-to guitar for everything, he’s the first guitar i ever really felt like was mine and i learned most of what i know on, and there’s a slight bit of wear and tear from over the years. he’s a solid mid-range guitar, pretty heavy but i’m used to it. i’m not huge on the smooth maple neck, but i’m so comfortable with him at this point it doesn’t matter, and it’s worth it for the god tier electronics setup. strat pickup, tele pickup, and humbucker, with a 5 way switch and a splitter for the humbucker, so this guitar is by far the most versatile one i have! another reason why he’s my absolute favorite.

unfortunately back in 2020 one of the legs of my desk broke (thanks ikea) and the table came crashing down and accidentally smacked into shadow. the damage wasn’t too bad but now he has this little blemish and i wanna get something to cover it up, so i’m genuinely thinking getting a vinyl sticker with the shadow game logo on it in red. y’know, to lean into the name. i think it would look badass.

then in 2018 i got my only acoustic to date, orpheus! he’s a fender fa-135CE concert acoustic, and he sounds GODLY for a guitar that was under $200. i don’t really have much to say about this one other than he’s the guitar i go to when i just wanna noodle around and write something. super light and the tone has a good mix of midrange and warmness, and the neck is small so it’s good for messing around on. i spent a lot of my time in the early 2020 days of quarantine songwriting on my front porch with this guitar.

and finally. my newest guitar and the one that it still blows my mind that i own to this day. this was my graduation gift. i got a massive scholarship to my current school that cut my tuition down to a fifth of what it was supposed to be, so we decided to get something special for me and my dad to bond over. so we got annie!! LOOK AT HER. she’s iconic she’s showstopping she IS the moment

she’s an ernie ball music man st. vincent goldie in silk chartreuse. this guitar model is a collaboration between ernie ball music man (a VERY famous and reputable guitar maker) and st. vincent (one of my favorite musicians, a guitar god, and also annie’s namesake— st. vincent’s real name is annie clark) and holy fuck does it live up to its development and price tag. she’s my dream guitar and i cannot explain to you how incredible she is to play. like. the ebony fretboard feels like silk and it practically glides under your fingers, the weight of the instrument is perfect, the cut of the body is designed for people with larger chests so it’s one of the most comfortable guitars i have ever played, and the pickups are gold foil mini humbuckers and HOLY FUCK DO THEY SOUND AMAZING. this is one of the guitars jack white plays and it can do everything from soft jazz tones to shrieking riffs. i love her.

gahh i’m so sorry for rambling!!!! i love these things and i miss them so much, i currently live in a dorm so the only one i have with me right now is shadow!!! and i have no time anymore. but once i move into my apartment next year they’re all coming with, i’m so excited to be able to play more again!!!

?!?!?! fellow guitar enjoyer ?!?!

YES HELLO!!! like i said being an engineering major is kicking my ass so i haven’t played in forever but i absolutely adore music and guitars specifically!!! i got my first guitar (candy apple red squire strat that i still have) when i was 5 or 6 and i’ve been playing seriously for about 8 years now. my dad loves guitars too so between me and him combined we have… way too many guitars since he’s been collecting them since he was my age but i’d be happy to gush about mine!! they’re nothing special (well. except for one) but they’re some of my favorite things in the world

[omegaremix]

Needle & Groove, 2022.

Years ago there was a record store called Slipped Disc in Valley Stream which specialized in metal, punk, and hardcore, just like None Of The Above in Centereach. Both stores no longer exist with Slipped Disc exiting out in 2008. Owner Mike Schutzman now sells records online and is the organizer of Vinyl Revolution Record Show. What had this store on my radar was that his daughter Amanda was interviewed for No Echo’s record collector’s spotlight. She’s no longer really there but still acts as their buyer and distributor. My friend Danny From The 209 loved Slipped Disc back in his Brentwood days but I never got a chance to visit. Now, here’s Needle & Groove. I had an inkling that maybe there was a little sliver of Slipped Disc’s soul. I’d find out soon enough.

Driving there was a daunting ride taking five major roads to get to. Five. Long Island Expressway, Sagtikos Parkway, Sunrise Highway, Meadowbrook Parkway, and finally Route 27. It’s placed in the busiest and tightest section of Lynbrook, right across from the train station. It was fucking hell trying to find parking. Either you find a parking meter or pick a very tight spot behind a small out-of-the-way shopping center and cross your fingers that you won’t get towed. I chose the latter.

Needle & Groove was the Nassau County equivalent to Riverhead’s Sunday Records. (How many times will I mention that place again? Fuck around and find out.) Shelves all against the walls, boxes on the bottom, and a long middle island of more records. I walked around and saw the vinyl layout of the store. New arrivals, the used alphabet and dedicated artists section. Jazz, soul, reggae, soundtracks and 7” hits. The kicker? They’re having a June sale. $3.00 and $5.00 records, and 50% all 45’s and 12” singles. Any time a store offers you a discount, you take it. All throughout Needle & Groove I noticed that their stickers could be considered a tad high. They’re certainly not (Plainview’s) ‘Vinyl Bay 777’ high which price based on condition and justify jacking up the prices three to four times what you pay elsewhere. Needle & Groove didn’t do such a thing, thankfully. Unless marked, the lowest price for any above-bin record starts at $6.99 and go up from there. As I’d later find out, it wasn’t the pricing that prevented me from buying a lot there, as you’ll see.

Right where I walk in to my right are several rows of discs. Five minutes of quick perusing and I found nothing special. I look up at the cassette rack and I found nothing, either, but the usual pop and best-sellers of the Eighties and Nineties. More cassette racks on the bottom. Nothing. Amusingly, there were a few crates of $1.00 and even 25¢ records, but how good could those be? That’s only the first ten minutes of looking. I had to find something, right? Right? I didn’t think there were any new release LPs I wanted, so I kept perusing through the used bins. They had tons of mostly used soul, R&B, and jazz in the racks. I’m not one for the former two, but I’m always curious as to what jazz titles they carried. At least they carried a lot of obscure artists and unknowns I’ve never seen before. Besides, that section was where my most essential scores were.

I still have a few Ron Carter, Deodato, Hank Crawford, and Ronnie Laws albums I don’t have. Ron Carter’s Blues Farm featured the usual suspects of Billy Cobham, Bob James, Richard Tee, Hubert Laws, Ralph MacDonald. Hank Crawford’s We Got A Good Thing Going also has Bob James, Richard Tee, and Ralph MacDonald plus Bernard Purdie and Idris Muhammad. Deodato’s Artistry featured John Tropea and that was an automatic grab. You can very well see what makes a small portion of my vinyl library.

I spotted several bins of 45’s and thumbed through those as well. I didn’t find much, to be honest. Just only a handful of 7” singles of my Atari childhood and maybe one or two I grabbed if only for the paper sleeve design. They carried so many 45’s from Bobby Darrin…Bobby Vinton? - oh, they’re all the same to me. Lots of blank sleeves so unappealing that I jumped right past them and didn’t find much that struck me. I look below and there were a few more wooden filled with 7” records and 45’s. They were so heavy that I couldn’t lift them up and set them on a flat surface, so nothing helped that I had to kneel down to find gold. Not much luck. No shamrocks, no bars, no lucky ‘7’’s.

My knees were already aching from all that bending but there was no end in sight. Onto the 12” singles sections I go. The 12” format is where I usually land a lot of golden-era hip-hop and rap. I was satisfied to pick out some selections from old-school legends Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel; both from the Sugarhill label. One that caught my eye was a Solitair record in a generic black sleeve with matching shiny black and silver sticker. But that wasn’t the reason why I caught it. Appearances by Cardinal Offishal and Choclair made it mine since I remembered them from MuchMusic. There were a couple of more pop hits from my Atari childhood I took with me. And how about this one: Techno Animal’s “We Can Build You” from the Brotherhood Of The Bomb era featuring Vast Aire and Company Flow’s El-P. That one was the only compelling pick of my expedition, and one from a few key months at Stony Brook. By then I was aching. My knees were getting tired. “But don’t quit just yet!”, my head tells me. After another thirty minutes going through their used soundtracks, alphabet and dedicated artists’ LP sections I found nothing appealing. Now there were even more vinyl crates sitting on the floor I wasn’t looking forward to.

I took a few moments to re-collect and start digging through those $3.00 records on the floor. I was hard-pressed to find anything. Nothing but the typical ‘been-there seen-that’ albums and artists in rock, R&B, soul, and your gramma’s classic basement records I wanted no part of. Then I get to dive in through the $5.00 records. After sifting through two of those boxes and still coming up blanks, I knew what to expect. I just gave up and called it a day.

Not much from Needle & Groove struck me. There was almost no element of surprise. The only record that really did it was that Techno Animal single, and it was the furthest thing from everything that the store carried. It’s not that I was expecting gold and pearls and stacks of Benjamins because I drove 35 miles to get there, but you can’t control what stores carry so it’s not their fault. No, really. So what’s the point of staying? Don’t get me wrong, Needle & Groove is a neat store and they’ll definitely have their clientele whose into their selection, but that selection is just not for me. That’s the big reason why I left with only $50.00 worth of records.

Here’s a fun fact for that day: it took me two hours to get home. I drove east on Route 27 during rush hour traffic. Sure, it was congested and every vehicle jockeyed for mere inches, but I had layers of puffy high-altitude clouds and plenty of sharp blue sky to look forward to. I had no work the following day, so I could afford to relax and enjoy the tunes playing from my now-disconnected iPhone SE to my system and out of my speakers.

Deodato: Artistry LP

Hank Crawford: We Got A Good Thing Going LP

Ronnie Laws: Friends And Strangers LP

Ron Carter: Blues Farm LP

Grandmaster Flash: “Flash To The Beat” 12”

Melle Mel & Duke Booty: “Message II (Survival)” 12”

Solitair ft. Choclair & Cardinal Offishall: “No Doubt” b/w “S.O.T.” 12”

Nu Shooz: “Point Of No Return” 12”

Techno Animal ft. El-P & Vast Aire: “We Can Build You” 12”

Frankie Goes To Hollywood: “Relax” 7”

System, The: “Don’t Desert This Groove” 7”

[positivityfortoday]

☀ PositivityForToday’s 10K Celebration ☀

There are SO many things worth living for and reasons to smile and be happy! With the help of my lovely followers/friends, I have compiled a list of 1,000 things that make people happy, for my 10,000 amazing followers! Hopefully, this list is able to help you, make you feel better, or give you a reason to smile today! 

☀ 1,000 Happy Things ☀

Seeing cows while driving

Moss on really old fallen trees 

Seeing a lil baby you don't know in public, and they smile at you!!!

Parents doing their kids hair or just people doing someone they care about’s hair

Really ragged old and well-loved stuffed animals 

When the dandelions start blooming

Spring blossom

Daffodils

Bluebells

Sharks

When you're sitting outside your house or something and people passing by wave and say hi

That feeling in the summer when you have your window open and you're listening to your favorite music

When someone does a hobby just because they enjoy it even if they aren't the best at it

Comfort shows and books

People speaking their native languages

When my brother gets something to eat and always gets me something he knows I like

When I finish a crossword 

When I see something that reminds me of someone I care about

Paintings

My best friend (I love her so much shhhh don't tell her)

My dog! I love him 

My little sisters! Adorable, creative, and very witty. I love them

Music! I get the happy shaky feelings and just,,, y e a h/listening to songs

Singing! Especially for band practice!

Sunlight beams in the morning

The moon

Eagles

That feeling when you’re with friends and you’re all laughing so loudly, and you just feel complete

Talking to my favorite people/talking to my best friend

Sunrises and sunsets

Seeing the stars

Cats

Butterflies/Moths

Snails

Warm sunshine

Purple gel pens

Hugs

My children

Sunny days

Beautiful views

Spending time with my family and friends

Playing badminton

Cycling

Playing with little kids

Playing with dogs

Whales

Animals doing daft things 

Talks and walks with my son 

Morning breakfast and coffee 

A good spicy lunch

Laying in my bed at night and just checking on current affairs and news

My boyfriend

My friends 

Art

Owls

Minecraft

Voice acting

Petting my dog

Smelling Flowers 

Feeling a cold thing when I’m warm or a warm thing when I’m cold 

Giving and getting kisses

Random texts from friends

Coffee flavored chocolate 

Singing

Moths with big white wings

Underdone scrambled eggs

A rainy night

Bubbles

That first warm day of spring

Going on hikes

Being outdoors

Candy

Chocolate 

The smell of playdoh 

Taking photos

Getting new clothing 

Candles

Birdwatching

Going on picnics

Writing poetry

Reading books

The holidays

Making people smile/laugh

Coffee

A nice warm blanket

Eating ice cream

Snow globes

Lightning bugs

Flowers after the snow melts

The smell of rain

Sitting on the steps early in the morning

Being the first to wake up

The feeling I get after running

The comfort of a favorite shirt

My girlfriend 

Family

Random acts of kindness

Babies

When I play with my dog by pretending to run at her and she goes crazy with excitement 

My cat 

Rain

Baking

Piano (playing or listening)

Small flowers

Flowy skirts/dresses

Wholesome romances

Hearing a song for the first time and loving it immediately 

Playing my flute

Horses

Listening to vinyls on a record player

When someone remembers a little detail about you

Painting my nails

Doing yoga

Doing exercise

Beating a personal record

Rainbows

Making crafts

Taking a shower after a long day

Going to the zoo

Going on vacation

Being at the beach or near water

Watching Netflix

Going to the movie theatre

Watching a live play at a theatre

Learning something new

Teaching someone how to do something 

Toasting marshmallows and eating S’mores 

Cupcakes

Seeing a shooting star

Taking a nap

When someone compliments me

Decorating my room

Picnics

My favorite band

My favorite celebrities

My favorite actors

Setting a new goal

Collecting rocks

Putting on fresh clean sheets

Seeing Christmas lights

Listening to birds chirping

Giraffes

Camping

Sitting by a bonfire

Eating mashed potatoes

Bullet journaling

Driving in the car with the windows down

Dancing

Looking at pretty pictures

Concerts

Funny jokes/puns/memes

Fireworks

Sparklers

Pretty clouds

My favorite shoes

Getting new art supplies

Making photo edits

Making gifts for my friends and family

Getting gifts from people 

Balloons

Succulents 

Playing an instrument

Drinking a nice cup of tea

Iced tea on a summer day

Eating fresh fruit

Getting my hair braided 

Eating at a restaurant 

Being on a boat

Swimming

Making new friends

Finding an animal in nature 

Pumpkins and pumpkin patches

Carving pumpkins 

Autumn and all the beautiful colors

Acting for theatre

Making video edits

Wearing a costume for Halloween

Dressing fancy

Finding four leaf clovers

Pressing flowers

Scrap booking

Handwritten letters

Stickers

Hummingbirds

Elephants

Eating breakfast 

Gardens

Inspirational quotes

Wearing my favorite necklace 

Baby animals 

Little streams and ponds

Foxes

Sun shining through trees

When it’s foggy out and you can see dew drops on plants and spider webs

Being on a swing

Finally accomplishing a goal you’ve been working on 

When a new season of your favorite show comes out

Doing my makeup

Cleaning and organizing 

Daydreaming 

Taking a bath

Christmas 

Watching funny videos

Wearing sweaters and hoodies

Fuzzy socks

Helping people 

Little figurines and objects

Popcorn 

Brownies

Looking out the window 

Wolves

Opening a window for fresh air

The smell of coffee 

Watching YouTube videos 

Getting a haircut 

Seeing a deer in the woods 

Watching birds fly

Finding shapes and objects in the clouds 

The smell of fresh laundry

When someone tells me something reminded them of me

Stepping on crunchy leaves

Animal crossing

My switch

Softball/baseball

Basketball

Soccer

Seeing cool cars/old cars

Rollerblading

Drawing with chalk on a sidewalk

Going to bed early

Stargazing

Making progress

Checking things off my to-do list

Taking Polaroid pictures

Going for walks

Jogging

Going to the library

Starting a new book

Finishing a good book

Playing board games

Koalas

Slippers

Big trees

Sunlight coming through the windows

Waking up on Christmas morning

Getting book, song, movie, etc. recommendations from my friends

Making music playlists

Finally receiving packages I ordered in the mail 

Baking desserts

When my favorite song comes on

When people make playlists for each other

Finding new characters to ship

Having free time

Sticky notes

Sunbathing

Traveling

Peace and quietness

Alone time

Meeting my step/exercise goal for the day

The people who love me

Soup

Coloring books

Getting into bed after a long day

Pillows

Fandoms

How unique and different everyone is

Getting a lot of work done

Looking forward to my future dream job

Playing video games

Being on Tumblr

Taking time for myself

Practicing self-care

Face masks

Finding money you forgot about

Holding hands

The smell of apple pie

Starting a new tv show

Getting letters in the mail

When the seasons change

Summer

Mugs and teacups

Smoothies

Breakfast food

Disney

Going into the woods/forest

Trying new creative outlets

The smell of sunscreen

Eating the food you’ve been craving

Knowing and feeling that people care

Telling a good story

Laughing so hard can’t stop and your stomach hurts

Late summer nights

Late night drives

Sparkles

Glitter

Listening to people I love talk about their favorite things and what they’re passionate about

Listening to podcasts

Turning up the volume of my music

Putting my headphones in

Blasting my favorite songs through my speaker

People accepting and supporting others for who they truly are

Wearing something cozy

Soft light

Love

Warm weather

A well-rested night

Waking up in the morning and feeling refreshed

Knowing that every day is a fresh start

Well written characters

A book I can get lost in

Sloths

My parents

My siblings

My grandparents

The feeling of sand beneath your feet

Heated blankets

Bagels

Toast

Getting something for free

Samples

Constellations 

Mason jars

Practicing a new skill

Finding a new hobby

Lazy weekends

Mac n cheese

French fries

Having deep conversations with my best friend

New jeans

Going to IKEA

Skirts 

Dresses

Doodling

When other people are happy (especially people I know and love)

Marching band

Sleeping in

Having the day off

Getting new books

Playing guitar

Playing ukulele 

Random compliments

A change of scenery

Cuddling

Waking before the sun is up

Reading old letters

Zebras

Exploring

Building Lego sets

Using photoshop to make edits

Journaling

Walking along the seafront and breathing in time with the waves

A good rom-com or nostalgic show

Writing lists

Pinterest boards

Looking back at my accomplishments

Talking on the phone with a friend or family member

Wrapping presents

A blue sky

Loving someone 

Waterfalls

Washi tape

Penguins

Donuts

The color yellow

Sleepovers

Cooking dinner

Kind gestures

Trust

Inside jokes

Songs that make you feel nostalgic

Seeing other people’s art

Comfy clothes

Wearing pajamas

Calligraphy

When someone calls you by your nickname

Going to Target

The first sunburn of the summer

Ramen noodles

Chinese food

Thrift shopping

Flower fields

Flowers growing in random places, like through a crack in the sidewalk

Writing

Sparkly snowflakes

When it snows on Christmas

Mixing paint colors together

Perfectly shaven legs

Puddles

The color red

Thunderstorms 

The smell of flowers

The ocean 

Adult sized onesies

Driving a golf cart

Fairytales

Cartoons

The color blue

Pasta

AO3

Crickets chirping

Seeing everyone’s houses decorated for the holidays, especially Christmas

Other people sharing what makes them happy

Monkeys

Being understood

When someone texts to make sure I got home safely

Iced coffee

Becoming better at communicating with others

Seeing a friend for the first time in a while

Good morning and good night texts

Drinking a cold glass of water

Deep conversations in the middle of the night

Collecting sea shells

Building blanket forts

Tan lines

Being under lots of blankets

Making better health and money choices

Getting chills from a song even after hearing it countless times 

Liking how I look

Hot chocolate

Finding new music

Buying cute things

Wearing an outfit I really like

When someone tells you how glad they are to be your friend

Gardening

Watching raindrops race down a window 

Trying new food

Finding exactly what I was looking for 

Planning my future

Finding a song that perfectly fits my mood or describes how I’m feeling

Writing little notes to people

When someone tells me I did something good

Eating ice cream on a hot day

Making friends with animals

Going to football games

Seeing people genuinely interested in something

Snow days

The last day of school

Winter break

Spring break

Thanksgiving

New Year’s Eve

Turtles

Sitting outside on a cool summer day

Watching rain

Watching the ocean waves come in

Netflix binges

A new movie release I really want to watch

Driving with a window down for the first time in the spring 

Taking a cruise

Giving helpful advice

Getting helpful advice

Doing a favor for someone who needs it

Someone referencing one of my fandoms or something I love out of no where

Learning and knowing stuff

Doing something physically challenging or scary

Listening to my bedroom fan while I fall asleep

Coming up with a new creative idea 

Finding something I wanted at the store on sale for a good deal

Finishing all my assignments on time or even early

Hugging my dog

Taking my dog for a walk

Teaching my dog a new trick

When strangers stop to say hi to my dog

Listening to audiobooks

The weekend

Finding a new flavor of chapstick

Drinking Kool-Aid, it makes me feel so nostalgic

Watching nature shows on a weekend morning

Watching cartoon shows on a Sunday morning

A good TV show, most likely something I've watched before because that way I know it ends well

A good, delicious comfort meal on a Friday night by myself 

A café in the city centre at noon when it's not filled with the morning rush or afternoon coffee breakers

The stars from my childhood bedroom because they're the brightest here

Listening to my favorite playlist really loud on a long road trip and singing to myself loudly in my car

Having an entire day to myself without interruptions from anyone

Opening the curtains first thing in the morning 

A new jacket

Going to the cinema on a first release day because it's always super exciting and full of people anxious to see a movie they've been waiting for forever

Listening to live music

Riding roller coasters

Going to amusement parks

Lizards

Seahorses

Starfish

Eating fair food

Feeling an instrument vibrate when you’re playing it

Hearing my dog snore

When my dog dreams in his sleep 

Wearing a new piece of clothing for the first time

Feeling the sun on you

Eyes in the sunlight

Seeing city lights

Singing in the shower at the top of my lungs

Looking at someone and them knowing exactly what they’re going to say

Laughing till you cry

Being under a blanket

Going to craft stores

Watching boats

The idea of traveling the world

When my dogs let me lay my head on them

Listening to an old song and having it bring back memories

Candy corn

Crazy socks

Quotes

Fall and the leaves changing color and the crisp feeling in the air

Making snowmen

Making gingerbread houses for Christmas

Making videos with family

Burning a candle

Booping a dog’s nose

Getting letters/notes from people; writing them

Snow globes

Dr. Pepper

Doc martens

Fortune cookies

Potatoes

Easter

Finishing something

Skipping rocks

Warm rain

When someone opens up to you

Finding the right words to say exactly what you wanted

Animal footprints

Eating outside

Fairy lights

The smell of a hotel

Windows

Meeting a new dog

Dolphins

Getting magazines in the mail

Being in the woods as the sun starts to rise and the animals wake up

Warm days

Adirondack chairs

A warm breeze

Clothes and blankets hanging outside to dry

Feeding birds

Aquariums

The color green

Tie dying things

Going to art museums

Going to science museums

New albums from my favorite artists 

Seeing moss in nature

Finding cute little mushrooms 

When a dog wags its tail a bunch and is excited to see me

Playing fetch with my dog

Obsessing over something and having someone to talk about it with

Going on a walk with my best friend and talking about life

Looking at old pictures and reminiscing on good memories

Reading a book that's so good your brain wants to read faster than it can

Laughing with friends about the weirdest things

Being appreciated for doing small things you wouldn't even have thought about yourself because it's something you *just do*

Being creative

Watching animals

A story I can't put down

Stretching

The moment when you listen to a new song/album by your favourite artist

When you're at a concert and anticipating the moment before the band comes out

When at a concert and they play your favourite song live

The moment when someone compliments your outfit 

When you see someone wearing merch of something you like 

Seeing the sunrise/sunset 

Watching the sun rise out of the water or sink down into it as it’s setting

This ecstatic feeling in general when you're just living in the moment with people who love something as much as you do

Hugging my cat and smelling his fur

Listening to my music by myself and singing to it 

Making edits I’m really proud of 

Losing hours in a good book or fanfiction

Writing sentences that I actually like 

My siblings and my parents when they're being chill and funny

Watching my favorite tv shows and movies and yelling about them into the void 

Finding a new good song 

Fresh out of the shower + fresh clean sheets feeling when you go to bed

When I come downstairs in the morning and my dog greets me right at the bottom step with her lil’ tail wagging

Knowing that if I ever needed someone to chat with, someone would be there to lend an ear

Tigers

Lions

When you shuffle your music and the exact song you want to hear plays

When all my family is around the outdoor fire on a summer’s evening

When my nieces and nephews give me squishy kid hugs

Being home alone and being able to cook or bake in the kitchen without disruption

Driving around with a friend in the evenings and just belting our favorite songs

Seaside walks

Disney World

Seeing live theatre

The sun shining on leaves and stone buildings

Dancing when I'm alone

Color-coordinating my outfit

Floating on my back in the sea

The smell of summer nights

The smell of winter mornings

Colorful things/environments

Bunnies

Walking along lakes/rivers/the sea

Spending time in nature

Taking care of my plants

Giving affection to my loved ones

Listening to other people's stories

Reading about people I've never met before or places I've never visited before (especially if they are now just a part of history)

Embroidering

Pandas

Swimming in a river or the sea

Stargazing (my favorite moments usually happen an hour before sunrise)

White-caged-bird

Feeling the breeze when I spin and my heartbeat when I dance for an hour at a time

All the wonderful smells of flowers and colours that nature has to offer

Sharing good laughter with someone

Feeling like I belong

Travelling and discovering new customs of different cultures

Hiking or foraging

That feeling when I'm approaching the end of a really good book and I let myself be engulfed by the fact that it's a unique experience, that I'll never experience as the first time again

Observing my local fauna

Petting and taking care of an animal (double the joy if it is friendly with strangers)

Drinking a good cup of honey tea

Finding a perfume that suits me

Eating something sweet

Enjoying a meal with others

Cat paws tapping on the floor

Dipping a biscuit into tea

Trying to catch leaves falling from the tree

Having sunlight hit your face when you’re napping

Objects that cast a rainbow when the sun shines through them

Seeing patterned shadows

Ambient mood lighting

Sleeping

Wearing jewelry 

Cheese

Playing chess

Fresh air

Going somewhere new

My Mom’s cooking

Being inspired

When someone holding your hand rubs their thumb lovingly in circles

Picking strawberries

Otters

Painting the walls of my room

Wind chimes

Seeing that your favorite people are active online

Finally understanding something you were struggling with

The excitement you get when someone reblogs your writing or art

Getting a new notebook or journal

Appreciation

Validation

When someone tells you they love you and mean it

The smell of freshly baked bread

When my dog falls asleep on me

Making new online friends

Found family

Finishing cleaning my room

When someone lays their head on your shoulder

Doing something right on the first try

Finally sitting down after standing for a long time

Getting goosebumps from hearing or seeing something you love

Seeing a gorgeous view

Loving someone and them loving you back

Freshly baked gooey cookies

When a song comes on and everyone starts singing

When I’m out for a run and it’s hot and it starts raining. Nothing makes me feel more like a human than getting caught in the rain on a run

Swimming in the ocean

When people are talking about something they really love and get carried away trying to explain it all to you

Puppies

Being in the middle of nowhere and actually getting to see the whole sky of stars that you never get to see in a city

Finding people that love the same things you do

 When something silly reminds you of someone you love; like every time I see an orange and green gummy worm I think of my sister

When you’re hugging someone and they squeeze you a little bit before they let go

Weather where you can leave all the windows open in your house

Trampolines

Driving with no destination in mind

Falling asleep to the sound of rain

Hearing other people laugh

Laughing only because you hear someone else laugh and it's just so contagious

The first snowfall of the year

Disney movies

Listening to someone tell stories and they have like 15 side stories in between the main one

Romantic movies

Bubble baths

Smiling between kisses

Wearing sweatpants

A clean house

Pizza

My computer

Cheesy pickup lines

When people tell me they miss me

Cool spring mornings after a storm

My job

Butterflies

New shoes

Oversized shoes

Caramel apples

Volunteering

Meditating

Running my blog

Finding sea glass at the beach

Getting my nails done 

Planning vacation

Hot cider

Telling people I love them

Writing in my gratitude journal

Eating homegrown vegetables, fruit, and herbs

Remembering a good dream I had

Happy endings

Colored pens

Decorating for the holidays

Finishing a really good tv show

Leopards

Summer rain

Thunderstorms where I can just open my window to the full extent and just watch and listen

Calls with my best friend

Seeing a meme and sending it to my friends

Getting an email from AO3

That moment when you get an idea for creating something

Walking barefoot on the grass

Sending thank you notes

Writing events I’m looking forward to on my calendar

Dippin' Dots

Spicy food

Seeing a full moon

Eating cookie dough

Eating seasonal food

Bubble wrap

Going to the car wash and getting rainbow soap

Dark chocolate

Soft blankets

Weighted blankets

Soft drinks with crushed ice

When I get an unexpected phone call from someone I love

Wearing flip flops

Longer daylight hours

Having a BBQ

Frosting cookies

Making cupcakes in the microwave

Watching the Hallmark channel during the holidays

Taking selfies or photos with people I love

Putting on lotion

The smell of a baby’s head

The Office

Online shopping

The smell of freshly cut grass

Surprising my family or friends

Looking at the clock when it’s 11:11

Being productive

Quilts

Doing good on an exam

Someone doing a favor for me (especially when I didn’t ask)

Eating pancakes with syrup

Origami

Sprinkles

Confetti

Waving at people

Giving high fives

Complicated Handshakes between you and your best friend

Naps/feeling well-rested

Eating one of my favorite foods

Hearing good news from/about a friend or family member

Looking at nature (these days it's seeing squirrels in my neighbour's garden and looking at my plants and trees)

When make someone happy or feel like I made a difference (including a satisfied client)

Success (good grades, a gifset that does well)

Hugs from my mom

Learning new things

Chatting with my friends because they’re all amazing people

Group watches of my favorite tv show or movie

That feeling when the house has just been cleaned/when I’m freshly showered

Making jokes/laughing with people

Reading fluffy fanfics

Driving on the road to a destination far away, I love the trip as much as (if not more than) arriving at the actual place

Reading affirmations

Green tea

Getting breakfast or lunch from a nice restaurant 

Learning about topics that won’t benefit me; like Chinese history, geography, ancient flora and fauna, etc. just things that I find cool 

The jokes my girlfriend makes, especially when they’re the same ones she always makes

Stories from the past! Stories from history from people who actually lived through it

Stories in general, just hearing the life experiences of people in completely different positions from me. I love hearing people’s stories

Drawing intricate things, like old buildings, landscapes, and plants

Cooking a nice meal

Grocery shopping and farmers markets especially 

My cat! All of her weird little habits too, like how she stands in front of my feet so I’ll push her where she wants to go 

Botanical gardens

State parks

Museums

Art galleries

Listening to stories my grandparents tell

When people tell me about their life goals and dreams

Being surrounded by the people I love 

Living the best life I can

Partying hard the night away

Daydreaming

Sunflowers always make me smile

Warm tea

Big fluffy clouds in a blue sky

Friendly babies

Hearing a past favorite song

Singing karaoke 

Biking riding

Helping others

Chocolate milk

Sweets and fruits

Having fun doing things I love

Dragons

Video games

My favorite things

Writing

Affection

Exercising

Being on Tumblr

Pinterest

Looking at flowers and plants

Playing with my cats

Chatting with my friends (at the moment it’s through zoom, of course)

Finding new ways to decorate my room

Window shopping

Spending time with my boyfriend

Wearing my favorite outfit/accessory

Eating something delicious

The cool side of my pillow 

Tears of joy

Woodpeckers

Reading poems

Hugging trees

Tree houses

Airstreams/campers

Playing frisbee

Making sculptures

Puppy ears

The first day of spring

The first day of summer

Sending silly photos to my friends

Building sand castles

Winning prizes at the fair or arcade

Marbles

Cacti

Scrolling through my phone

Writing fanfiction

Seeing someone you haven't seen for a really long time

Putting together collages

Printing out photos I love

DIY projects

Sewing 

Crocheting 

Listening to steel drums

Haunted houses

Going through a corn maze

Picking fresh fruit or vegetables

Bubble tea

Starbucks

Dunkin donuts

Disneyland

Disney Princesses

Climbing trees

Finishing errands

Rewatching my favorite episodes

Scrunchies

Milkshakes

Ice cream blizzards

Listening to acoustic versions of songs

Hot tubs

Rubber ducks

Coconut flavored food

Dipping fries in ice cream

Discovering a new type of animal

Seeing hot air balloons

Frogs/toads

Splashing in puddles 

Having plants inside my house

Teddy bears

Iridescent/holographic things

Bird houses

Breakfast in bed

Crystals/gemstones

Ziplining 

Dew drops

Glow sticks

Flower crowns (especially handmade ones)

Spring rain 

Watching other people make art

Lighthouses

Finding heart shaped things in nature

Thinking of getting my own apartment

Coming up with a new recipe for food

Cookbook recipes passed down through families

Bookshelves

Making pretty yogurt bowls

Seaside houses

Flying on planes and being in/above the clouds

Flower bouquets

Looking at and learning about the planets

Fruit snacks

Palm trees

Weeping willow trees

Cherry blossoms

Eating cake

Decorating cakes with eccentric icing designs and colors

Whipped cream

Having snowball fights

Hearing Christmas music

Tattoos

Wearing rings

Green grass

A tidy organized desk with cute desk supplies

My craft room

Hammocks

Little cottages

Cotton candy (and cotton candy flavored things)

Looking at all the paint pallet colors in paint stores

Stamps

Taking silly photos in photobooths

Going to the mall

Making jam, especially strawberry jam

Reading outside

Finding a bird nest and watching eggs hatch

Looking at photos of my family and friends 

Finding old flora and art books

Eating fresh corn on the cob with butter on a summer day

Lily Pads

Icicles

Inner peace

Sitting under a tree

Not having to turn on the light in your room when the sun is shining through

When restaurants have patios you can dine at

Fishing on a pier

Seeing old couples in public

Making gifs

Trees swaying in the wind

Anime

Dying Easter eggs

Laying in the trunk of a car and watching the clouds or stars

Night lights

Flower shops 

Outer space

Kitchens

PB&J sandwiches

Toasted Cheese

LoFi music

Listening to/watching ambience videos

Turtle necks

Peaches

Looking at old maps

Figurines of the earth/globe

Honey and bees

Cheesecake

Seeing footprints in sand and watching them be washed away by waves

Anything related to the moon, stars, and sun

Reading my horoscope (even if I know it’s not real)

Archways decorated with hanging flowers

Yogurt

Pudding

Knowing that I’m not alone

Ancient roman sculptures

Macarons

When someone tells me they care about me

Weddings

Watercolour

Birthday parties 

My brother

My sister

When my dog leaves his bed to lay in the sunlight

Doing mini photoshoots with my friends

Hand making bracelets/necklaces (friendship bracelets)

When someone calls me darling or honey

Love letters

Game night

Skateboarding

Stress balls and squishy toys

Starting something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time

Playing cards

Doing puzzles

Word searches

Kittens

Ordering takeout

Stepping out into the fresh air

Creating vision boards

Getting a massage

Writing positive affirmations

Lunch dates

Standup comedy

Listening to classical music

Nature/animal documentaries

Having someone there to listen to me

Listening to someone when they need it

Accepting myself for who I am

Looking back and seeing how far I’ve come and all the progress I've made

Doing something my future self will be thankful for

Speaking up for myself

Being near loved ones

Finding time for my hobbies

Giving myself time to rest

Saturday mornings

Marrying the one I love

Discovering new things

Going to new cities

My idols

Pastries

Feeling the wind on my face on a car ride

The sensation of music in my ears and like nothing else matters

People who have my best interest in mind

Simplicity

Fulfilling my dreams

Discovering a new ice cream flavor

Knitting

Making myself a priority

Knowing that I am important, and I matter

Thank you all so much for following me and supporting my blog! It means a TON! I never expected for this blog to become popular, especially because I originally started it to help myself get through some mental health issues. I am so happy to be able to share my journey of healing with you all! It means the world to me to help or make a positive impact on even just one person’s life! Each and every single one of you is amazing!! You matter and you are SO important! Thanks again for your everything! Have a great day!!! Sending sunshine your way!! 

[allamericansbitch]

WRECKS ANON HERE OMG OMG idk what time it is there it’s currently night time as i’m sending this but HOW WAS THE CONCERT TELL ME EVERYTHING!!1!!

HI!! i just woke up and seeing this made me so happy because i NEED to talk about it, everything is under the cut so people dont have to scroll pass all of this if they dont care lol

okay so, i went with my friend and it was a general admission show that started at 8. we didn't want to be front row or even really in the crowd (covid plus i get anxious/claustrophobic) so we we're fine with just standing in the back so we thought we'd get there at 7 and walk around the area beforehand. but when we pulled up the line was like fully around the block and sooo long, like at least 200 people long. so we just immediately got in line. i thought it was so weird how they didn't even start letting people in until like 7:15 when the show started at 8 but oh well.

we get in, the venue is bigger than i thought it was gonna be and since there were so many people outside we thought it would be absolutely packed, but it was really comfortable, so me and my friend stood off to the side but we were still really close to the stage. then the opening acts quickly went on, i knew both of their music and i ended up meeting them after the show! mothe (like the bug moth) went first and they were amazing! then girlhouse went on and they were amazing too, the lead singer introduced a song by saying something like 'this is a song about people using religion to tell me what to do with my body' and then said she was giving all of the tips from her merch she sells to a charity for abortion funds which was amazing. the song was 'happy now' btw.

also i should mention before the wrecks went on it was...so hot. it was like 90 degrees outside and the AC was broken in the venue so everyone was sweating and dying even before the main show started....

then the wrecks finally went on and they're intro was so cool (i have a video i'll post it soon, i have a few videos i'll post throughout the day). the energy was immediately amazing and it was a hometown show for two of the members so it felt special. also i'm not exaggerating, nick made direct eye contact with me like... every other song. for a long time like we held our gazes for a while it was POWERFUL. it was also one of the most respectful concerts, nick kept saying that it was really hot and they were handing out water constantly in between songs, he also said to look out for your neighbor if they need help and alert him immediately and bring attention to it, he also said if there's a creepy dude bothering you to also alert him and security will get him out. i thought that was very nice that he made an active effort to have people feel safe.

they did stop the show a few times (i think 3) first was a small fight because someone got pushed, the second was a false alarm and the third was someone passed out or was about to pass out? she ended up being fine but they stopped the show for like 10 minutes and were handing out waters to everyone while she was being taken care of.

then the show continued and they kept having people applaud for their crew member named trevor. nick went on a whole bit and kept saying things like 'trevor is the sock under your bed you find that matches the sock you were looking for' and other things like that. for like 5 minutes while trevor was fixing his guitar. then it came to an end, it was amazing.

i waited till after to get merch and that's when i met both the opening acts because they were just hanging out afterwards. got pictures with them both and they were so sweet. i bought a girlhouse tote bag and stickers, as well as a wrecks signed vinyl.

we waited outside afterwards to see if we could meet them (the guitarist was out there just hanging out but no one was like... talking to him or anything because he was the friends so people just kinda ignored him lol). we didn't get to meet them because we left after like 30 minutes because 1. we were so tired and sweaty 2. there was a real creepy dude who was like 60 years old and talking to two 20 year old girls and they were like... smoking out of his pipe... so the vibes were off and we left lol.

they did say they would be back soon and try and do 2 nights instead of 1 so maybe i'll meet them then. but overall it was amazing. 💕💕💕