#grocery shop franchise

[gfreshmart]

grocery shop franchise

G-Fresh Mart's supermarket franchise boasts a highly successful franchising model, delivering profitability for every stakeholder involved. Their structured franchising system stands as a testament to its efficacy, ensuring a mutually beneficial strategy for all parties.

Address - B-31, B Block, Sector 6, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201301

Contact No - (+91) - 82779 97319

[manimart-plus]

Where to Buy Grocery Franchise | Manimart Plus

Manimart Plus is a renowned franchise business company that specializes in grocery store franchises. With a proven track record of success, they have helped countless entrepreneurs establish profitable businesses.

[ampmstore12]

Exploring Grocery Franchise Opportunities with AMPM Store in India

Unlock the potential of entrepreneurship in the thriving grocery market of India with AMPM Store franchise opportunities. Discover why aspiring business owners are choosing AMPM store for its proven business model, comprehensive support, and esteemed brand reputation. Join the AMPM Store family today and embark on your journey to grocery franchise in India success.

[imyourbratzdoll]

𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔

part 5 of 🌧️welcome to hell🌧️

summary - you were finally on the path fate had set from the beginning.

warning - slight angst, mentions of cheating, swearing.

the gif I use isn't mine, headers by me.

part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4 - part 6

Warnings and Reminders - Please do not plagiarise, copy, repost/republish, adapt, or translate any of my work on any social media platforms, apps, or third-party sites. The only platforms I post my work on are: Tumblr and Wattpad. I do not own any character of any franchise (Marvel etc.) All my works are fiction and may be dark or triggering content: READ ALL WARNINGS BEFORE PROCEEDING.

You realised that you owed yourself the biggest apology for putting up with shit you didn’t deserve. A few months had passed since you found out your husband was cheating on you with your best friend. Only to discover that he had been cheating the entire relationship. Johnny had been fighting the divorce the first few weeks of the first month, during that time you couldn’t understand why he was trying to hurt you more by not letting you go. 

But he had finally caved, signing the divorce papers and the moment he finished signing his name, it had felt like you could finally breathe. Your soul would occasionally tremble with memories, and warmth, and pain when hearing his name. Sometimes your heart would break a little more whenever you looked into someone’s eyes that had the same colour as his. It felt like wherever you looked, there he was. 

His name no longer made you smile. It was a relief when you had woken one day to discover that. 

When you left, you didn’t really have a plan. No one to go to and nowhere to live. But you managed, you found a small apartment that wasn’t exactly your dream, but it would have to do. You were starting over, starting a new life. 

You were currently walking back from doing a little bit of grocery shopping, your eyes roamed around, taking in the view around you before you stumbled slightly, tripping over a small rock that seemed to be randomly placed on the footpath. You catch yourself before you fall completely, hands gripping the bags tightly so that they don’t drop. Once you’ve steadied yourself, you look down at the rock and your brows furrow. 

What a strange looking rock. It looked almost like a crystal, coloured a soft pink and shaped like a heart. You shift a bag to your other hand before you bend down, and gently pick it up and examine it. Maybe someone dropped it?

You looked around, noticing that you were right in front of your apartment building. Strange, you could’ve sworn you had a few more steps to take. You move to the entrance of the building, the rock still in your hand. You shake your head, maybe you miscalculated or were too lost in your head to notice that you had been closer than you had thought. You pocket the rock and place one of the bags back into it before you walk inside. 

You head up the stairs, with a soft huff you finally make it onto your floor. Just as you near your apartment, you bump into a wall? No, walls don’t feel so warm and have a beating heart… Or abs? “I’m so sorry!” 

“I’m so sorry!” Why did this feel so familiar? 

You looked up, why were you looking down to begin with? Sometimes you could be so dumb. But your question is left unanswered as your eyes connect to the most beautiful blue ones that you had ever seen, ones that you had seen before. Steve had thought the same about your eyes as he stared back. You couldn’t help but notice that he looked so different, but the same. A beard now in place of his once clean–shaven face, but you noticed his eyes more. They had stayed the same and it was at that moment you knew. You knew that from the first moment you met, it was… Not love at first sight exactly, but; familiarity. Like… Oh, hello, it’s you. It’s going to be you. 

You blink and quickly move away, suddenly feeling as though you’ve been punched in the chest at the realisation. You couldn’t let yourself get hurt again and it had been two years. He probably didn’t even remember you and thought you were a creep for staring or he remembered but he had someone, and you didn’t want to ruin that with whatever the hell you were feeling. You couldn’t get over how rough he seemed though, compared to the man you bumped into two years ago. Maybe it was the beard…

No matter how much you willed yourself to, you couldn’t pull your eyes away from him. Your mind screamed at you about getting hurt again, but your heart and soul weren’t listening. It seemed Steve couldn’t pull his eyes away from you either, you both could feel a pull. You had felt that pull your whole life, it always felt like you were being pulled towards someone or something. The pull only seemed to stop when you bumped into Steve, but the moment you pulled away… It came back.

You couldn’t feel or see it. But the rock was buzzing and glowing. Like it was meant to be. 

You believed in soulmates once. You had the stupid thought that Johnny was yours because he kept popping up in your life. But he never gave you the feeling that you thought soulmates would get. You only felt that feeling when you bumped into…

“I’m sorry again. I don’t mean for us to always bump into each other, ma’am.” Steve smiled, his hands were on your hips, they had shot out to steady you, fearing that you would fall. “It’s nice to run into you again. I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself last time.” In his head, he’s shooting a glare at Natasha, knowing that she would be smirking at this whole thing. You would hopefully never learn about how he had never let that down, always bringing it up to her these past years, causing him to be teased a lot by his friends, but he didn’t seem to mind whenever your face appeared in his mind. Steve blinks, his attention fully on you again. “I’m Steve, Steve Rogers.” 

You stare up at him wide–eyed, he REMEMBERED you? “You remember me?” You clear your throat, your cheeks heating as you suddenly feel his hands still on your hips. “Sorry… I’m Y/n, Y/n L/n.” 

“The stars will go out before I forget you,” He says it so quietly that you don’t think you were supposed to hear him. Steve blinks, suddenly turning pink when he realises you heard him. “I, uh… Yes.” Steve stumbles on his words and to you it is the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen. “Wait… What are you doing here? Not in a rude way! I love that you’re here! I mean, oh god…” 

You smile, you had never smiled this much in your life… Steve seemed to make you forget. You look past him, gesturing to your apartment. “I, uh, live here. I haven’t been here that long though.” Your gaze turns back to Steve only to notice that he was already looking. You wouldn’t lie, your heart stuttered at the possibility of him never looking away. You weren’t used to a man looking at you, just you. “What about you? Are you…” 

Your eyes flickered down to his lips as he smiled. God, his smile is gorgeous. 

“Oh, that’s great! I mean, good… That’s good, no… Uh.” Steve stumbles more, clearing his throat. When did his shirt get so tight? “I live here as well.” He nods to the apartment across from yours, huh. It must’ve been fate. “I–I’m barely home, since…” He swallows, still smiling but he doesn’t continue, as he finds himself getting lost in you. You made him feel like a teenage boy again, where he couldn’t speak a single word without stumbling over them. Though, you guessed it was probably because he had someone already, how couldn’t he? But you were so far from the truth. You smile and Steve’s eyes flicker down to your lips. God, her smile is gorgeous. He shakes his head, “Did you need some help taking those in?” He gestures to your bags. 

Your voice is so quiet as you respond. “I don’t mind…” Somewhere deep inside you knew you wanted to go anywhere with him. Wanted him beside you forever. As he is about to grab a bag from your hands, you pause. “Wait, I’m not holding you up, am I? You were just…” 

Steve shakes his head, “You aren’t! I was just heading to meet my friends, but they can wait.” He smiles, and you look at him with a confused look, feeling relieved that a girlfriend wasn’t mentioned, but guilty for holding him back. Steve manages to take both bags, but you don’t notice, all you can feel is the sparks that light from the small touch. “Don’t worry, they’ll understand. I don’t mind helping, plus. I offered. So you can’t feel bad.” 

Your mind feels fuzzy as you catch his eyes again, the world feels like it has stopped. Steve can’t help but feel the same.

Your souls lit from beneath, filled with joy. They had finally found each other again. Your soul had found his and his had found yours. 

Your souls had been lovers since the beginning of time. 

They would always find each other.

You and Steve could feel it as you continued to stare at each other. 

This was the path you were supposed to take…

thank you for reading!

feedback and reblogs are greatly appreciated.

[elden-hicks]

A note for the fellow strugglers in TS1

Hey, it's Seth! I know how frustrating TS1 can be (considering it's age and being the first game in the franchise), so I am here to introduce a list of personal must have mods and programs, which I always use whenever I re-install the game to make it more user-friendly. The list itself is quite short, actually, since it only consists of my personal gameplay choice mods. So there's no building objects, deco, skins and heads there.

MODS AND CC

This calendar will report the day of the month to your sims and -- and this is amazing -- even introduce a concept of days off. Sims should have about every 6th and 7th day off. - THE ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE. It's in the painting section and costs 15 simoleons. Works a bit wonky with children, but otherwise a very useful mod to have.

Call work/give interview job phone plugins to give your sim a day off. - I use those mostly when sims have to take care of the baby.

A family mod by Gothi_family_4ever. - another must have in my collection, introduces the familial relationships in game! No more inappropriate relationships between relatives. It's a 0 simoleon painting, which you can delete once you've done.

A hacked frigde mod by the same author. - allows your sims to put their food into the refrigirator, call the household members for the meal, and requires the usage of products (like meat and in-game vegetables) in order to cook a dish instead of insta-paying. You kinda have to build a grocery shop for your sims, so they could buy the required products, I prefer to install the stalls into the pre-existing farm shop in Old Town area. P.S DON'T FORGET TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE INSTALLING BEFORE DRAGGING ANY FILE. As much as I love this mod, I don't, for example, use their cereal add-on.

The Elixir ExpressiBuy Computer. - a computer that allows you to buy any in-game buyable product (like vacation gifts, grocery, tonics, etc etc) in stock. They won't magically appear overnight but would be brought by a special courier npc. It also allows your sim to research logic, creativity, culinary and mechanical skills. I'd also recommend diving further into their site, since they have a lot of cool and unique gameplay content as well!

MagiCo's Bookshelf of Dimensional Storage - the official Maxis item, that was in the 'Get Cool Stuff' section. Allows your sims to keep their magic coins and ingrediends in special bookshelf storage, I mostly use it so the kids could get the ingredients for their spells from the adults. It is in the Magic section, btw

The Magic Mirror - the only outright cheat object that I have in my possesion. This mirror refreshes your sims needs, builds skills, friends, stardom, etc. Saves headaches when you are not in the mood to fullfill your sims' mood, ha-ha.

PROGRAMS

SimEnchancer 3D - basically a program that allows you to change the basic sim's attributes, including their heads and bodytypes. If you are familiar with TS2's SimPE, you'd have the idea how it works. NOTE: if you have to run your TS1 game as an administrator, you'd have to open it up in the same vein as well. And don't forget to backup your UserData files when you are working with it, just in case!

The Sims Creator - the official Maxis program for players to create some basic skins content. The program is only suitable to work with head and skins textures and not the meshes! Likewise, if you have to open the game as an administrator, you'd have to do the same with that program.

NEIGHBORHOODS

This section for the fellow premade enjoyers out there, who mostly played TS2 before and decided to give the local premades a chance as well

Here you can download the original UserData 1 and 2 if you want to reset your neigborhoods as they were if you had already played the neighborhood before and want to start anew. The Sims Wiki also gives you an instruction for how to do so.

And here you can download the additional Maxis families like The Hatfield, The Maximus, The Mashuga, The Snooty, The Jones and that weird agent White House familes. For some reasons, some of them refused to function in my game, so I had to install the empty houses and recreate them by hand, using the SimEnchancer and Wikia to give them appropriate skills and careers.

OTHER

Sims 1 Alternative UI - refreshes your game by a margin. I really recomend this one!

Well, that's basically it! I hope, my list would help you as well!

[itsabouttimex2]

Today my Birthday, so how would the yanderes react to reader Brithday?

LMK Birthday Reactions

MK, Sun Wukong, Chang’e

(Happy birthday, dear! Have a wonderful day!)

So many handmade gifts- each one is lovingly decorated and delivered, wrapped with red and yellow ribbon. And MK is so eager about it, too. No matter what type of person you are, it’s pretty much impossible not to smile and thank him.

The delivery boy invites himself in the moment you open the front door, but not before throwing himself into your arms for a big tight hug. After ushering you to the couch, MK starts to unload his gifts into your hands.

A hand-drawn letter with glitter and sparkly bits of confetti. A giant sack of food he made (with Pigsy’s input and advice), and grocery store cupcakes frosted with your favorite color. And something along the lines of a plush or poster from a media franchise that you love.

And he’s so, so sweet about it that you don’t even think to ask how he found your address.

Our dear Sun Wukong is, put simply- loaded. There’s no end to the treasures and antiques he has to offload, and it’s not like any buyer is going to try and scam the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. He’s racked more than a bit in terms of funds, and isn’t afraid to dote on a well-behaved captive friend/student/child.

(Or he’ll shamelessly and happily steal. That’s also a very real possibility, let’s be honest.)

Lego Sets? He’ll have them stacked to the ceiling. A new console? He’ll bury it in games to match. Books? He’ll have a crate of classics delivered to the front door. Jewelry? He’ll dig a few precious pieces from his treasury and pay/coerce a jeweler into fixing them up.

Lots of food and treats, and isn’t above throwing you a small party if you’re friends with MK and Mei- hell, the simian will even let you invite Red Son. He’ll (his clones, actually) set up a nice little room with a store-bought cake or two and catered food from Pigsy’s Noodles. He’ll bust out a few games (think Jackbox) and let you have a nice, happy day.

And honestly, that’s all he wants- for you to be happy… in close proximity to him, under his watchful eye, locked up tight in his house.

Really, is that so much to ask for?

Oh, so very many exotic and wonderful treats. All handmade and delectable, created from top-quality ingredients and with hours of love and centuries of experience.

Chang’e makes each one with all of her heart, pasted your adorable name in frosting a hundred times over, across every cupcake and cookie and three-tier cake. She’ll set the “imperfect” pastries aside to have their frosting smudged into swirls, donated to shelters or food banks. Her baby deserves only the very best that she has to offer.

She’s prone to tending towards cutesy gifts, like sparkly stellar accessories and glittery plushes. Perfumes, matching clothes, make-up… the moon goddess is so very generous and sweet with her presents. Also, given how tech-savvy and modern-trending she seems to be, Chang’e definitely lavishes you with quite a few gift cards for online shopping.

Really, such an absolute sweetheart. So sweet that you might even forget that you’re spending another birthday on the moon without any friends, without any family aside from the goddess herself.

And maybe you won’t even notice that that’s just the way she wants it.

[magalhaessims]

HARE & HEDGEHOG GYM - MAXIS-MATCH CC BUILD

I always wanted to build a nice gym on Windenburg, but always felt underwhelmed by the lack of workout options in the game. However, after seeing this new CrossFit Set by @syboubou, inspiration hit me like a train! I made sure to include as many activities as possible! And of course, there's a Simsbucks Coffee Shop next to the gym for the after-workout section - because at this point, I'm filling the worlds with as much as I can of it, so it feels like a real franchise LOL.

NOT CC FREE 

Lot Type: Gym

Size: 30x20 

World: Windenburg 

Enable bb.moveobjects before placing in your game!

Origin ID: MagalhaesSims (remember to enable custom content on!) DOWNLOAD  

CC USED IN THIS BUILD:

Amoebae: Plastered Style Walls | AroundTheSims4: Bulk Grocery, Sports&Gym | BrazenLotus: Starlight Concrete Sidewalk | Charly Pancakes: Lavish | ClutterCat: Advent Calendar 2022 | Felixandre: Paris Set | Harrie: Brownstone, Brutalist, Coastal, Halcyon, Kwatei, Octave, Shop The Look V2, Spoons, Stockholm | House Of Harlix: Baysic Set & Bathroom Addon, Harluxe, Jardane, Orjanic, The Kichen | KKB-MM: My Hamish Hall | LittleDica: Arcade Set, Country Sleek Bathroom, Greasy Goods, Modern Kitchen, Rise&Grind Coffee House | MAX20: Cozy Bathroom Kit | MLys: MookBook | Water Cooler | MyshunoSun: Lottie, Simmify (2023), Vanity Nook | Peacemaker-ic: Creta Kitchen, Geometric Mural Walls | Piersisim: Auntie Vera, ColdBrew, David Apartment, Domaine Du Clos, MCM House, Winter Garden | RVSN: Functional Vending Machine, Bathroom Clutter | Severinka: Grocery Display | Simkoos: Clutter Dump: 01 & 02, Fiji Water | Sixam-CC: Home Office, Private Schools, Stylish Wood, Teen Room | SYB: Crossfit Reborn | Taurus Design: Chilling Areas: Coffee Corner

The CC Sets above are the main ones I used to decorate this specific building and you can find all the links to the creators' sites on my Resource Page. However, if you couldn't find something specific, you can send me a WCIF and I'll try to help you find it!

HOW TO MAKE IT FUNCTIONAL:

In order to make all the equipment functional at the gym, you have to install the Let's Get Fit Mod, by Cepzid & Hakrabr. With this mod, your sims will be able to use dumbbells, barbells, stationary bikes, etc. Here's a full review video I recommend you watch to see what the mod looks like in the game.

If you want a more immersive experience with this lot, I highly suggest you to download LittleMsSam's Auto Employees Mod. With this mod, NPCs will automatically work at the lot, once you place the correct object for them to appear.

Make sure to read all the information available on the mods pages in order to make it work properly in your game!

My content will always be free and right away available to everyone, but if you want to, you can show your support through my Ko-Fi Page. Your donation will always be much appreciated!

Credits: @pictureamoebae @aroundthesims @brazenlotus @charlypancakes @thecluttercat @felixandresims @harrie-cc @kkbsmm @littledica @maxsus @mlyssimblr @myshunosun @peacemaker-ic @pierisim @ravasheencc @simkoos @imfromsixam @syboubou @taurusdesign

Thank you to @mmoutfitters @maxismatchccworld @public-ccfinds @emilyccfinds @s4-builds @alwaysfreecc and everyone else for reblogging!

[bamsara]

Oooo, for the dialogue prompts "you should have thought about that before you got into a fight" and "I only wanted to help"

I love your works! Your art looks like itd taste like sour patch kids, v nice!! ^^

Sun (Mostly) Centric | Wordcount: 1,147 | AO3 Version

The world has not yet adjusted to the flood of robots merging with day-to-day society.

At least, not in the form they had taken prior. To say that there was some backlash was undercutting it; using arguments of humanity vs machine to its core, despite the clarity that those walking alongside them weren't just AI made to mimic human traits and personality, but sentient beings that develop their own. There's a difference between a chatbot app and your next-door neighbor who just so happens to be made out of metal.

Still, there is progress as much as there are incidents. A recent ruling states that all robots don't need to look human in order to receive the same amount of respect and rights (which is fantastic for all of Fazbear's line up of robots, considering they were animals in nature and all, in all franchises and pizza plexes across the country) but there were...incidents too, some of them making the news.

So when you're out doing some quick shopping for groceries one day and a stranger with a taut face and a sour attitude starts heckling Sun, and that heckling turns to harassment, and thus turns into him reaching for the back of the animatronic's head and pulling at the vulnerable wires there, you clock him.

Hard, actually. Your knuckles hurt like a bitch, but you don't have time to shake the feeling out from your hand because the guy sends one right back and oh, there you go, tumbling in the isle and knocking baking soda and sugar and other cake ingredients off the shelf as the two of you yell profanities and arguments while Sun has a metaphorical loading symbol over his head while he processes the last five seconds.

Now you're both banned from that store. The other guy is too, thankfully. Still sucks though. You didn't get to check out the ingredients for the cake.

"You're a real mess." Sun scolds you, dipping the rag back into the warm water, and bringing it back up to your face. He dabs at the dried blood under your eye, careful not to rub too harshly so as to not irritate the darkening skin beneath it. "Honestly. That could have gone so much worse-"

"Like pulling wires out of your head?" You interrupt. You're not too keen about the bathroom being turned into a lecture hall, and the lid of the toilet seat being your 'time-out' spot as he tends to you. "Yeah, sure. I'll just let the stranger rip out what is essentially your brain cords out of your flat skull and be fine with it."

Sun shoots you a look. The default smile is strained.

"What?" You hiss in the silent pause, and not because of the sting of your eye. "All I'm saying is that this-" A point to your face, "-is preferable than the other outcome."

"Our wires are welded in with steel, so I highly doubt a human could rip them out without some sort of power tool." Sun tuts. "You remember Parts n Service."

He had a point. The machine in Parts n Service did weld his arm back into place at the time, and all the other repairs since then didn't go without some sort of heat tool to make sure everything was properly molded in place. Still, you frown. "It's still fucked up that he did that, though."

"Language."

"We didn't even get the cake mix." A light dab on the eye, you bite your tongue as Sun clears the last of the dried blood from the area. "Shouldn't have banned us. Now we have to go across town to get groceries."

Sun pulls back the rag, stained pink and light brown with old blood, dropping it in the sink to be washed later. "You should have thought about that before getting into a fight."

"I was only trying to help!" You defend, continuing as Sun pulls out the disinfectant in a rather knowing manner. The cut underneath your eye from the guy's ring was about to sting like hell. "And it's not like I was the one who started it!"

He pours a dab of alcohol onto a cotton ball retrieved from the first aid kit, a small puff of white in between large silocone fingers, it's almost comical how he pinches it into place before crouching back down, the cotton ball hovering over your face. "Hush. This is going to sting."

Your mouth thins at the underlying tone of Moon's voice in his scolding, leaning away from the offending ball. "You're such a hypocrite."

A hand comes underneath your chin to hold you in place, thumb pressed into your jawline. "Stop whining."

"How would you feel, huh?" You wrinkle your nose as the disinfectant ball comes closer. "What would you do if someone attacked me like that?"

The cotton ball presses against the cut and you flinch, hard enough that your shoulders hike up and your neck tenses. It stings like hell, searing for a moment before dulling to an aching throb, a hiss in the back of your dry throat.

The Daycare Attendant's thumb keeps in place for a second, then pulls it away, expression unreadable. "The same thing we did the last time someone tried."

You grit your teeth, pressing your lips into a thin line as the stinging starts to fade.

"Though," He continues, pulling the cotton ball away and tossing it into the trash. "While your help is appreciated, It would be very much appreciated if we were to avoid something like that in the future!" He waves his hands, the bright smile returning, and Sun's fingers go behind your ear, pulling back out a colorful bandage. "I think it goes without saying that it makes me very sad to see you all hurt. Not fun at all!"

You blow hot air out of your nose in a huff as he applies the sticky bandage. "Hypocrite."

"There you are! Right as rain, dandy and peachy." Sun pulls back to observe his handiwork, and there's a slight pause. "Well, not quite. You've still got a bit of a shiner. I don't think I have a medicine for that one."

"It makes me look cool." You jest. "I look badass."

The animatronic sighs, heavy and loaded for a robot with no lungs, though his exasperation is evident in his voicebox. "Pulling my wires, our wires, please, you're constantly on them-" He's mumbling, quickly. Still talking even as he cradles your head gently by your jawline, and presses his faceplate to the skin above the black eye. "Afraid that's all I can give."

You wrinkle your nose, smiling. "I think a cake would be great too."

"Thanks to someone-" He starts, rising from a crouched position and taking your hand to help you stand. "It looks like we'll be ordering one from the bakery instead."

[renmackree]

Pleasepleasepleaseplease can you just write a LITTLE of the Stiles in Derek's DMs??? I just need something to keep me going while you slowly rip my heart out with other ideas?

I will pay in love?????

Hey Anon, I'm guessing you're talking about this post?

Just for you, ok? :)

Eggs

Butter

Cheese

Look up the percentage of Australia desert for **funsies**

Stiles typed out the list and hit send before sliding his phone back into his jacket pocket. The barista called his name and he scooped the large tray of coffees from the counter with a slight wave and a fiver in the tip jar. Shelly always made sure to add the extra whipped cream on his caramel macchiato frost and that was not to be forgotten.

The Boston air was crisp this morning as he stumbled out of the little coffee shop and towards Roscoe who was parked on the narrow street. While school was in Cambridge, the best coffee was across the river and everyone in his Computational biology department knew it.

Which was why Stiles was always the errand boy.

He put the departments coffees in the little box on the floor of the passenger seat strapping it in so that they would be safe for his long (not so long), arduous (re: three stop lights and a bridge), journey back to MIT.

A ding came from his phone, Stiles groaning loudly as he gripped the steering wheel and shook it in frustration.

"I swear, if it's Lydia changing her order for the seventh time, I'm throwing her Herbal tea into the harbor."

Ha. Boston Harbor. Tea. Stiles was hilarious.

He took another deep breath and opened his phone to see a small notification.

DH: Did you finish your paper on multidisciplinary approach to estimating wolf population size for long-term conservation?

"Huh. Specific..." Stiles had finished that paper a few weeks ago, but had barely made the deadline. He had been about to text Danny that the new AI prototype he had installed on Stiles' phone was whack when he saw the notification came from Instagram, not from M.A.T.T.

Another ping came through.

DH: And why would you need the percentage of Australian Deserts? That seems like a boring thing to spend your free time on.

Stiles' mouth hung open, eyes wide as he realized what was happening. Someone was replying to his DMs on Derek Hale's Instagram. He held his phone out like it was a bomb between thumb and forefinger; an almost whine escaped his mouth.

It had started when he was in High School almost 10 years ago now. One night he had been on an Adderall-Mountain Dew-Jelly Doughnut-Pizza high and decided that the best way to keep all his random thoughts in one place was to use the app that distracted him DAILY as a note system. He had even made a burner account so that he could keep all his random thoughts together.

Only problem was, his little distracted monkey brain had accidently clicked on Derek Hale's DMs rather than his fake account. It was five weeks in when Stiles noticed and at that point it was too late. It wasn't like Derek was going to answer him anyways, he had said on NUMEROUS occasions that social media was not his favorite thing and he only had the account to promote his new movies (which Stiles watched religiously. I Was a Teenaged Mothman was probably the worst and best movie franchise to ever hit the theaters and Derek Hale as Mothman was his every wet dream.)

So, he just continued to use it. Grocery lists, reminders, random thoughts at night, future movie ideas, school assignment ideas, complaints about his stupid roommate back in freshman year - he wrote it all.

And now someone was responding to TEN YEARS of DMs.

Stiles didn't know what he should do. Should he ask if this was actually Derek? No, wait that was stupid. Derek wouldn't actually be handling his social media. He had people. Peoples? Multiple people who could answer this for him.

"Some. of. us. have. hobbies. that. no. one. understands. And. I. need. it. to. win. a. bet." Stiles spoke each words as he typed it, sending the message out before typing another one. "And. yes. I. got. an. A. minus. because. Harris. hates. wolves."

Stiles tossed his phone onto the passenger seat and started driving to campus, mind still reeling that someone would be responding directly to random DMs that made no sense. If Stiles was asking questions about when the next IWATM movie, sure that would be a conversation the PR team might engage in. Not this.

Lydia owes you $40 for Venmo

Stiles decided to ignore it and his phone remained silent the rest of the day.

.o00o.

Call your Dad

Finish your stupid damn thesis or s u f f e r

Don't forget to get tickets.

It had been a week since the strange response to his DM came through, so Stiles assumed it was a fluke. He had tried a new note handling app that Danny had recommended, but a day later he had already started throwing things back into Derek's DMs. Hey, cut him some slack, it was a 10 year habit.

His phone pinged and Stiles' mouth almost fell open again. Another response.

DH: What are you getting tickets for?

This time, Stiles was quick to respond.

SS: I'm going to try and get tickets to the Bruins game tomorrow. Gotta love hockey, am I right?

There was silence on the other side of the screen, Stiles letting out a frustrated sigh. Whoever Derek Hale's Social Media manager was, they picked the weirdest things to respond to.

DH: So not Mothman in Love premier?

Ah. Now he knew what this was. They were trying to see if fans were biting at the newest spin off. Smart marketing.

SS: I already have my tickets for that. Opening night, middle row, got the collector Popcorn bucket on hold too. I know a guy.

The three dots at the bottom of the screen indicated that the person was typing, Stiles wondering if they were going to ask for a quote or a picture for the page from the opening night.

DH: You have appalling taste in movies.

Stiles' mouth dropped open again, his mind running at a million miles a minute and then crashing into a brick wall with the word appalling painted over it.

SS: Excuse me, the Mothman movies are absolute hot trash and I eat them up like greasy diner food. Do not talk about my comfort trash like that.

SS: but they are pretty bad, so I mean. You're not wrong.

And done, there was NO way the Social Media manager would ever EVER respond to a fan who said something like that. He could go back to his note taking life and luckily Derek Hale would never know.

DH: Then why do you watch them?

SS: Because you're a fantastic and sexy actor and if I could I'd lick chocolate off your abs.

His phone pinged.

DH: You're not bad yourself.

HUH.

Stiles was speechless, his eyes reading over the sentence over and over and over again. He opened his Instagram and quickly flipped through the pictures he had. Most were of him with the Lab boys, Lydia was in a lot of them, some of him on vacation in Peru, some with his Dad. Nothing that would ever, EVER scream you're not bad yourself.

SS: wow, maybe you do need those glasses checked? Unless scrawny Computational Biology Doctoral candidates really crank your wheel.

DH: Computational Biology PHD? Big change from the FBI you were originally thinking about.

Stiles sucked his teeth. That was the problem with this dynamic. Stiles had written everything and anything about himself in these DMs and it could be anyone reading it.

SS: Cyber security would have been my downfall if I did FBI clearly, since you know everything and I know nothing about you. I don't even know if you're Actually Derek Sampson Hale.

There was a blip of the three dots and then nothing. Right, Well that was fun while it lasted. Stiles had been about to turn on his Playstation and forget everything when the ping came through.

Instead of a text, there was a picture. Low v-neck, black rimmed glasses, slightly messy hair, beard that looked like it needed to be trimmed, holding a sign that read your turn @StilesisMe.

Derek. Fucking. Hale.

"Oh my god, oh my god..." Stiles scratched the back of his head furriously, throwing the phone on his bed and just circling it like a vulture circling its next meal. "Derek Hale sent you a picture, Derek Hale is reading your shit."

He stopped walking for a moment. "You just told Derek Hale you'd lick chocolate off his abs."

Stiles threw himself on the bed, slamming his head over the pillow at least a dozen times. Finally he grabbed his phone and sent a quick message.

SS: I don't send photos on Insta. Add me on snap if you want. @S.S.Stilinski69420

He waited.

God he waited.

And then the little Ghost of a notification from Snapchat appeared saying Haleofaguy added you as a friend. Stiles felt his fingers freeze as he hovered over the accept. Why, why was Derek Hale the movie star talking to him? Was he bored? Was he lonely?

Stiles remembered an interview once where Derek said he liked talking with people and learning new things, so maybe it was that? Maybe Stiles was just an interesting guy that Derek wanted to know.

No matter what it was, Stiles' insatiable curiosity got the better of him and he needed to know just how far this rabbit hole would go.

He took a minute to find a filter he liked and snapped a pretty unflattering picture of himself with the caption this is what your in for, buckle up Mothboy

Nothing happened, and then snapchat told him Derek Hale saved the picture to their chat and sent one back. It was the most unflattering angle Stiles had ever seen of the actor and he couldn't help but laugh.

It's Mothman

[stephensmithuk]

The Hound of the Baskervilles: The Stapletons of Merripit House

A mullion is a vertical divider in a window.

A scullery maid was the lowest ranking female servant in the household, who would wash the dishes and sometimes the clothing too. Snow White and Cinderella started off in this role.

It would take Watson around two hours to walk to Grimpen. I've done longer walks and I suppose he would have done so in his Army days.

A grocer is a person who runs a grocery, which in British English is analagous to a general store, where you would buy most everyday items, including the most common newspapers and magazines. We would also distinguish these days between the larger supermarket (grocery store) and the smaller corner shop (what New Yorkers would call a bodega); frequently run by immigrants or their immediate descendants. This is an example of the latter.

I do not know how common it was then, but today it is very common, even in major cities, to have a Post Office counter as part of another store such as a corner shop; these franchised businesses are run by subpostmasters. The Post Office, as well as post, provides banking services for both its own financial business and for other banks or building societies. The computer system that was used for financial transactions by them, Horizon, is currently at the centre of a major scandal.

Dartmoor has many peat bogs. The Ordnance Survey maps give their general location, but their exact size varies depending on conditions. Walkers frequently end up in them by accident or lack of experience; safe routes are marked out, but not always easy to see. The vast majority are not that deep and the worst that will happen is a case of smelly, muddy embarrassment. However, some are deeper, where you can end up with a risk of hypothermia - there are no less than four volunteer Mountain Rescue teams in the area to help people in difficulty.

Then some are straight up lethal, especially to animals. A gallop is the fastest horse speed setting - a horse can run at around 25 to 30mph for up to three kilometres before getting winded. So, not a good idea to do it on boggy land.

Grimpen Mire is believed to have been inspired by Fox Tor Mire:

There are 14 species of bittern. One of them is the Eurasian bittern, which was indeed extinct in the UK for a while when this story takes place and is still only here in limited numbers with its habitat. The species as a whole currently rated "Least Concern" but in decline.

The Neolithic period lasted from c.10,000 BC to c.2,000 BC, being the final period of the Stone Age. There is a timber track pathway in Somerset, the oldest recorded road, dating back to c. 3,838 BC.

Cyclopides was an old name for several species of South African Skipper butterflies. They tend to be found in southern Africa, not Dartmoor:

Miss Stapleton must deem the situation urgent to leave without her hat; people did not as a general rule go hatless in this period, even the poorest usually had some form of cap.

[gfreshmart]

Own Your Own Grocery Shop: The Franchise Opportunity of a Lifetime

Are you someone who dreams of being an entrepreneur, delving into the world of business ownership? Have you ever considered running a grocery store? With the retail landscape evolving, owning a grocery shop has become more than just a way to supply essentials—it’s a gateway to a flourishing business, especially through the avenue of franchising.

[manimart-plus]

Benefits of Buying Grocery Franchise | Manimart Plus

Manimart Plus franchise, the benefit of getting is to make a passive income from grocery. Their strong brand presence translates into trust and loyalty from customers, giving you a competitive edge in the market.

[oftenwantedafton]

safe harbor | steve raglan x female reader

rating | explicit

part 1/?

words | 2k

cw | none for this chapter, additional notes regarding this seaside bakery au are available on ao3.

ao3 link

“How long have you known?”

William’s voice is quiet beneath the crash of the ocean waves. The tide has come in, thundering foamy tendrils stretching across the narrowing band of sand, collecting and redistributing bits of shells and seaweed and driftwood along the shore. The setting sun reflects off of the seated man’s gold rimmed Aviators, a spectacular display of rose and coral and saffron gradients.

“Since the very beginning,” you say. “Since the first time I made eye contact with you in the kitchen that day. I knew it was you. I’ve always known.”

There are no coincidences as wild as the one you’ve both found yourself in: two people from a small town across the country who just happened to choose the same location to migrate to.

It was beyond imagining.

***

The seaside bakery of Safe Harbor does a steady business with the locals throughout the year, but the tourists naturally bring the most income during the summer months.

That’s when you seek employment there, the influx of additional customers requiring increased staffing. You’ve worked at a bakery in a larger chain variety grocery store before, but this specimen was something more unique; not an established, widespread franchise, but the only one of its kind. Under new ownership, so the advertisement had claimed, and it seems as if the new captain at the helm knew exactly how to steer the vessel towards success. The small shop is crowded, every seat filled indoors, visible through the row of window box lined panes of glass, spilling outside onto the small patio area, where white bistro tables and matching chairs perch on the elevated deck that offers a spectacular view of the ocean that’s just across the dual laned road. There’s a long line extending out the door that you have to push past, apologizing to the disgruntled customers, explaining that you’re not trying to cut in front of anyone, but that you’re actually here for a job interview.

Eventually you manage to weave your way inside, thrust up against a long glass case filled with a variety of tempting looking pastries: donuts and cupcakes and cookies, brownies and croissants and cannolis. Everyone working behind the counter looks extremely busy, so you’re forced to speak rather loudly, explaining the reason for your presence and inquiring about the whereabouts of the owner, Steve Raglan.

“In back,” a young man says, jerking a thumb towards the open doorway behind him, then using tongs to retrieve a pair of eclairs from the display case. There’s a small portion of the counter that lifts, granting you access to the area of bustling employees, and you quickly thread through the bodies until you find yourself in a kitchen.

It’s warm inside; you immediately feel perspiration dotting your brow. There’s a tall man standing in front of a rack of cookies, piping different shades of icing over each one. The colors are vibrant: aqua and salmon and rich daffodil yellow. It reminds you of the chalkboard sign you’d seen outside, the neat lettering done in the same eye catching hues, announcing the day’s specials. The baker doesn’t notice you approaching at first, seemingly occupied with applying fine details to each surface, his gloved hands working quickly and precisely. You hesitate to interrupt, hovering at the threshold of the kitchen, somewhat enthralled with the talents of this artist.

Eventually it appears the man has finally realized your presence in his peripheral vision, his voice issuing an order even as he continues working his way down the row of baked treats.

“Good, you’re back from break. Can you grab the next batch out of the oven?”

“Um, sure.” It never occurs to you to protest, to explain that he’s mistaken you for someone else. Something in his tone makes you stand a little straighter, forces a kind of alert readiness to your limbs, prodding you into action. You look around for something to shield your hands with, seizing a pair of towels, the fastest and easiest tool within reach. A blast of hot air greets you as you open the oven door and withdraw a tray of cookies that are ocean themed: seahorses and scalloped shells, octopi and starfish.

“These are almost ready to go out. There’s a special order cake being picked up in an hour. I’m going to have to…” His voice trails off as he finally glances at your face, his eyes temporarily obscured by the glare of light reflecting off of the wide lenses in front of them. “You’re not my employee.”

“Uh, no, not yet. Maybe soon. I’m here for a job interview with Steve Raglan.”

The bearded man places the piping bag he’s holding down, glancing at his wristwatch. “Late. Not you, the person I’m working with. It’s been so busy. I’ll have to pull someone from the front to help. The lines will be even longer, but it can’t be helped. It’s always hectic at the start of the summer season.” He wipes his hands on his apron, then stretches one out for you to shake.

The automatic smile of greeting slips from your features as you grasp his hand, your eyes finally properly meeting his revealed pale blue ones as his head inclines slightly, granting you clear sight of them. You recognize him. Even though he’s wearing the required beard and hair net, even though he looks different from the last time you’d seen him, a solid decade dividing that gap of time, you’re certain you know him. He’s from the same town you are. Just a small one in Utah, clear across the country.

His name most certainly isn’t Steve Raglan.

William Afton—that’s who he really is—isn’t the kind of man you forget. Sure, the dark hair might be mixed with more pewter and ivory now, and he’d always been clean shaven then, but the visible portion of his skin still appears smooth and that same presence, that absolute aura, still radiates from the older man, even in this new setting.

He surely doesn’t remember you. You’d been just another customer at the successful establishment he’d previously owned, forgettable in a sea of other faces. You think you do a fair job of recovering your surprise, adequately concealing the fact that you know he’s using an alias, that he’s relocated far from his home to perhaps have a fresh start, after all of the controversy that had surrounded the ill fated pizzeria he’d once run.

The bakery’s owner gestures for you to follow him, leading you into a small office adjacent to the kitchen, disposing of the protective gear into a tall, narrow wastebin along the way. It’s a cramped space with very little decor to speak of, its main features a battered looking desk that dominates most of the room, an equally ragged looking leather office chair, a filing cabinet, and a steel folding chair that you’re directed to sit in.

There’s a lovely breeze coming in through the cracked window, salted and refreshing after the heat of the kitchen. It lifts the bottom pages of a calendar tacked on the wall, the featured image for the month a close up photograph of a sand dollar in pristine condition, bleached pure white. You’ve never found one that color, and certainly never intact during any of your treks across the shoreline. They’re always murky gray, and shattered.

“So I have your resume here. Thanks for dropping it off ahead of time.” You nod, watching him thumb through the stapled pages. “You have previous experience working in a bakery. That’s a huge plus. As you can see, we’re quite busy this time of year. The position is only temporary, but you’ll get your fill of hours for the summer. The pay rate is six dollars an hour.”

He leans back and the chair creaks. Your eyes follow the movements of his long fingers, the narrow wrists and lean forearms, the rest of his upper extremities shielded by the rolled up sleeves of his button front shirt. Dexterous hands, those. You’ve seen them rolling tokens in the arcade, tinkering with the animatronics when you’d peeked into the maintenance area on a dare during a classmate’s birthday party. You’ve even seen them encased in metal and faux fur, when he’d dressed up as one of the mascots. You weren’t meant to know it was him inside the rabbit suit, but you’d been certain then. Just like you’re certain of his real identity now.

Your force your mind back to the present conversation. “That’s perfect. I’m just looking to put some money away before I start college in the fall.”

Steve—you suppose you might as well get used to calling him that, repeating the name several times in your mind—tips his head to one side, regarding you with a thoughtful expression. “You’re not from around here. You don’t have a New England accent.”

“No. I’m from Utah.” A shimmer in his eyes, or maybe you’ve imagined it. “From a small town you’ve probably never heard of: Hurricane.” Definitely a sparkle there.

His head straightens and he leans forward. “No, I’ve never heard of it.”

Another falsehood. Naturally he’s not going to drop the facade to a virtual stranger. He surely has his reasons for starting over. You can relate to that. “You don’t have a local accent either. Where are you from?”

“Seattle.” The lie slips so readily from his tongue, you wonder if he hasn’t rehearsed answering this very question already.

“What made you decide to move across the country?”

“Just wanted a change,” he responds vaguely. “What about you? What brought you here?”

“The same, I guess. Looking for new experiences. New opportunities.” Also a vague, safe answer. There’s a little snow globe on the desk that you’ve only just now noticed, slightly tucked behind a standing rack of upright folders. You can’t quite make out what’s inside from this angle, but the bright colors remind you instantly of a certain rabbit mascot character played by a certain owner of a certain shuttered restaurant. Your gaze returns to the interviewer’s features. “There’s nothing for me back in Hurricane.”

“There’s nothing for me, either.”

“You mean back in Seattle.”

“Of course.” Steve replies smoothly, never missing a beat. He smiles, the lines bracketing the corners of his eyes creasing. It looks so genuine. Friendly. Kind. But there had been those rumors. The missing children. “So, do you want the job?”

“Yes.” You don’t think you could muster the power to refuse him even if you wanted to. You still have one the infamous arcade ‘Faz tokens’, the relic tucked away amidst the sparse contents of the jewelry box on the dresser in the single bedroom of your new apartment. Tarnished, perhaps, but still treasured nonetheless. Like your memories of Freddy’s.

The long fingers fold together. “When can you start?”

“As soon as you need me.”

“Be here tomorrow. Three AM. I’ll send you home with an actual application and the form for your W2’s. You can hand them in tomorrow morning.”

“Okay,” you agree. You’d anticipated as much. The early hours came with the territory.

The man stands and you rise from your seat, leading the way back out of the office. You’re quickly reminded of the heat waiting for you in the kitchen, the hot air wafting over you as soon as you leave the open window behind you.

A tshirt bearing the bakery’s logo is pressed into your hands before you exit the crowded shop, a quick reminder about proper dress code hastily issued, and then you find yourself back outside, suddenly grateful for the fresh air, for escaping the close press of bodies.

You’re still thinking about those hands, once slotted between delicate metal components, now hidden by a layer of latex and dusted with flour and sugar.

There’s nothing for me back in Hurricane.

The magician no longer performing his act. The engineer now an architect of very different designs. Working in very different mediums. Trading alloys and circuitry for chocolate and fondant and sprinkles. Pretending to be someone he’s not.

There’s nothing for me, either.

[tempting-andromeda]

You know how for most of the modern hc of eagle flies you make almost all of them silly? Can I ask for silly rains fall head cannons maybe?

HEYSYSYEHE

I imagine he has two cars

A van and a truck

Loves confetti poppers

He’s also super good with babies

Somehow he’s always babysitting when he’s free

Smacks his lips together when he doesn’t agree with something

Refuses to watch movies that just came out!

That man has not been in a movie theatre for years besides the flashback events

He was a catch when he was younger

Loves roadside attractions!!!

Lights up when ef gifts him one of those dinky gift shop gifts

Wants grandchildren more than anything but knows his son is too young

His favorite movie is The Barnyard

I think he’s a water sign

I’m gonna say Pisces

Loves the little plastic cheeses you get from fast food restaurants

Lives introducing his son to people

Like he doesn’t care if you’re a waitress at a diner here’s a picture of his son when he was 12 and caught his first fish!

Always has time to do something

Like what do you mean you got groceries, fixed the wobbly table, went fishing, gut and skinned it, and had dinner on the table by 4

Silently gives Eagle flies hints on how to be romantic

Like “oh I used to tie your mothers shoes all the time so she wouldn’t have to bend down”

And then he sees ef do it

Likes when Paytah and Ef play games in the living room

Doesn’t like the too violent ones but he likes to sit back on the couch and watch

Really likes story based games

Sometimes his commentary pisses Ef off but he doesn’t learn

Likes the Toy Story franchise

Never fails to make him emotional

Keeps all of efs baby items so he can pass them down

Pictures are all over the house

Small ones too

Keeps efs graduation photo in his wallet

Has really nice vintage jackets

Somehow always knows somebody when he goes out

I think he didn’t have the best upbringing so he tries to raise ef better than that

Has never once raised his hand to his kid

Even in his worst moments

Thinks every meal needs to have meat In it

Like meat and veggies

[gothhabiba]

Jordan: Anti-Israel Boycott Campaigns Target American, British, French Products, Companies

Daoud Kuttab, 11/01/2023.

Consumer revolt in Jordan targets multinational chains accused of backing Israel

Jordanian citizens launched a strong boycott campaign via social media platforms against American products and brands that they say “support Israel.” Jordanian restaurants and shops published pictures of products that they feel are local alternatives to soft drinks like Coke and Pepsi, while supermarkets placed warning signs on their shelves alerting consumers if a product is American and should be boycotted. 

The campaign began on October 20, when the Israeli branch of McDonald’s distributed meals to soldiers of the Israeli army.

Jordanians considered that these companies were contributing to Israel in its war on Gaza. A posting on X confirmed that McDonald’s Israel, the Israeli master franchise of the fast food restaurant chain McDonald’s, does give IDF soldiers a discount.

The boycott has expanded beyond McDonald’s to include other American restaurants in the kingdom, such as the Starbucks coffee chain, KFC, and Pizza Hut, in addition to French products such as Carrefour markets—despite these stores issuing statements confirming that they are locally owned companies, with a franchise agreement, and that they are employing Jordanians.

The Starbucks coffee shop in the plush Abdoun neighborhood of the Jordanian capital is usually full in the early morning hours. But on Monday, October 30, just a few cars were in the parking lot—most likely belonging to the shop’s staff. In another part of the city, the mall’s main grocery store, Carrefour, was empty. Social media highlighted a poster said to be produced by the French company that had the words ‘Standing with Israel’ next to its logo. The BDS movement has called on its supporters worldwide to boycott Carrefour.

[...] Al-Saghir revealed to The Media Line that the Amman Chamber of Commerce is in the process of compiling lists of companies that support [Israel] so that the consumer will be aware of this.

Muhammad Al-Absi, coordinator of the Action Group to Support the Resistance and Confront Normalization (an alliance of parties and independents), also called on the public to be careful in verifying companies that support Israel. “The size of the boycott is large and there are inaccurate lists of products included in the boycott.”

Al Absi said that there are organized boycott campaigns for the BDS movement and lists published on their website, even though their standards for boycott are lower than the standards of Arab boycott movements.

[transmutationisms]

this is so stupid but like so do u know about total institutions as defined in Erving Goffman's Asylums? uh if yes. do you think that reality tv shows that basically separate the contestants into a house where they are constantly on film, being prodded by producers, in some cases don't even have access to phones, etc. like is that a total institution? are reality shows inherently manipulative? do you think people dying by suicide after appearing on shows like Love Island are related to this? is there any scholarship on reality tv?

sorry if u know none of this I thought to ask u bc my initial thought was "the bachelor house is a bit like a psych ward." which is an insane thing to think. but truly I think shows like Jersey Shore, Rock of Love, Married at First Sight, Ultimatum, etc. that ply contestants with alcohol while controlling every aspect of contestants life for weeks are like. like thats bad. and then people harshly judge them for their behavior! like a psychiatrist saying a patient is very ill bc they do badly in a high level of care.

i don't think it's stupid. i don't really read much on this but yes there is definitely scholarship on reality tv---these shows are media objects and cultural productions as much as any 'prestige' drama.

obviously a tv shoot differs from an institution proper in that it's a temporary arrangement. however, the level of control and surveillance participants are subject to is something you would rarely see outside the conditions of an institution, and there is certainly something heterotopic about many of these sets as a kind of 'local institution'.

i think some of the most interesting shows have made this part of their conscious onscreen presentation. plenty of people have written about 'big brother' as a conscious gamification of the experience of being subjected to neoliberal workplace surveillance, for example. then there's something like 'secret eaters', which iirc literally had a little security camera icon on its title card even? that one didn't restrict people's movement, but if anything it did imply that doing so would have been in their best interests---because it was the unrestricted, unsurveilled eating behaviours that were configured as the result of laziness / lack of knowledge / lack of willpower, and the cause of weight gain.

so, if 'big brother' demanded the affective performance of enjoyment from those in an institution-like setting, 'secret eaters' presented the panoptic surveillance state as a benevolent kind of medical overlord, and the wayward citizen as someone insufficiently disciplined and too free for their own good. you can see variations on this latter argument in, eg, 'supersize vs superskinny', or any of the programs about weight-loss 'camps', or, on the meaner and more american end, 'the biggest loser' and even many episodes of 'my 600lb life'.

this is obviously a little different from the question of whether the shoot itself is institutional, which is essentially a question about working conditions. i watched a lot of 'america's next top model' as a teen and i remember even then thinking it was a leetle fucked up how much control the producers seemed to have over the contestants. so like, again i would say pretty much all of these shows that isolate participants in some closed house or whatever are patterned off institutional models of control, restriction, and surveillance, even though obviously they're not permanent commitments and they also usually allow some contact with the outside (grocery shopping or photoshoots or what have you).

i do also think there's something to be said about reality as a genre that often finds success by capitalising as cheaply as possible on some common social anxiety or malaise. so, the neoliberal workplace of 'big brother' and the success of weight loss shows following declarations of an 'obesity epidemic' in the us and uk. but then there's also, say, a franchise like 'survivor', which flourished in the post-9/11 years and often operated in a particular ecological niche that married body demands (strength, thinness) to the obvious survivalist fears. there was kind of a double reassurance being sold there: if civilisation collapses, you, too can learn to sustain yourself just like these starving people on a tv shoot; but also, look at how these bodies are becoming more disciplined, such that they can successfully perform physical challenges that we market as having some resemblance to military training exercises...! i remember even 'antm' dabbled in that a bit: the phrase "model boot camp" got thrown around more than once, and in the first couple of seasons there was more of an emphasis on 'fitness' and even a couple of challenges that were basically just "wear camo and pretend to do an obstacle course" lmao.

i guess to return to your initial question... there are ways in which a reality shoot often mimics, temporarily, characteristics of an institution; and then there are also ways in which it presents institutionalisation, or aspects of it, onscreen. so, without flattening the distinction between being on a reality show and being institutionalised, there's a lot to unpack here about reality as a genre that frequently constructs itself around the functions of, and justifications for, the institution.

to oversimplify (and certainly there are exceptions and edge cases) i think you could say that where scripted tv tends to rely on the closed family home or the workplace as its sphere of narrative construction, reality is more likely to construct a kind of temporary fantasy setting where contestants can be subjected to the kind of surveillance and restrictions typically associated with an institution or at least a high-control group. and this is both because of producers' need to generate 'drama', and because the shows are often successful precisely by replicating and intensifying those elements of control and surveillance that are (perceived to be) on the rise even outside of the total institution.