#its a love story baby just say yes!

[thoughtfulchaos773]

Life is a baseball game

Mikey: That's a Home Run, Carm

Cousin Michelle: Swing and a miss

The Beef Employees to Manny: Mr. White Sox!

Richie to Pete: Of course, you're a Cubs fan

Uncle Jimmy and the infamous Steve Bartman Story at a Cubs Baseball game

Richie: Mikey was a red sox fan

Natalie: First of all, fuck the red sox!

Calo and Storer are setting us up for the greatest curveball...

That the Bear is a love story

Now I'm just ready for someone to tell Carmy he can "never hit the ball if he doesn't swing" when it comes to Carmy taking the chance to ask Sydney out.

Am I the only one to see the many baseball references and how they relate to "Let it Rip"? The potential in Carmy is asking Sydney out to show how he's going to let it rip and take the chance at life.

I have a question: Can Sydney and Carmy hit third base on screen? Cause I'll be waiting. ..

[delicatefalice]

miss americana and her football prince

[thedrotter]

I have a gift for y'all today !!! 😊 Ever wanted to find a line in Re:Kinder in a single place for the sake of reference?? How about multiple chunks of lines. how about all the little variations that arise in the text with it's many endings, item descriptions, text that comes from interacting with the enviroment, and character info from the menu without having to boot up the game and go through it at long minutes!!???

well i sure did😊 Since I do a lot of fanart and think up my own silly theories and thoughts that need me to reference the game lines a lot, i have made a transcript for it for convenience's sake. A weirdly thorough transcript handwritten and proofread by me including all character lines available in-game. And I'm sharing it with you all today for anyone that wants it !!! :3 To use as a reference for creative fanworks or a quick search for a line in-game, whatever you wish to use it for!!

It uses the english translation of the game by vgperson. So naturally all credit for the game lines available in here is to her and Parun who made the game.

I did my best to organize it in a way easy to digest. Do note that I'm still human, and there's still the chance for mistake in it no matter how much I've proofread it, since I'm not even an english native speaker ^^. But I hope it serves you well nonetheless if you wish to use it.

That's my gift for today!!! Not the usual art, but still a project I'm proud of. Enjoy!!! 😊

[inklessletter]

Happy new year, my lovelies. For you, an excerpt from 'It's a love story (baby, just say yes)', a fic of mine that brings me actual ✨physical pain✨ to finish, bur features such a heartfelt New year's steddie kiss.

[channelrat]

you guys underestimate when i say blorbo of the month ive made 30 memes of this 45 year old man

[purpldawne]

what if you be the prince and i be the princess

[ for @seishun-emergency for the @valensemblestars exchange !! ]

[quietwingsinthesky]

okay like the thing is. if i was going to write actual real marie fic with plot and consequences and everything. even in the hypothetical fic with lucifer being released from his rewritten character back to factory settings (s5) he’s still like. he’s not a good person. it’s important to me that if this was a real fic and not just me shitposting, that lucifer does not magically become a good person this way. or a good parent. in fact, he’s probably worse because he now has empirical evidence to back up that God will, when convenient, erase who he is, make him worse, make it so that there’s never any choice but for him to get worse. And who’s to say it isn’t still happening. who’s to say lucifer is “back to normal” because nephilim baby interference and not because God thought it would be more interesting to see him spiral down from a higher place rather than fall over already at rock bottom.

[weazellysnapshots]

it's a love story, baby, just say yes

*********************************************

📷: Canon Rebel T6

2.12.23

[buck-yyyy]

okay i am not a swiftie by any means but love story makes me so fucking

[caruliaa]

im farr too humble considering i made the love story carulia amv. just rewatched it and literally the greatest thing fucking ever sorry

[guiltyblogging]

Sorry in advance. My tags lost the plot. Take note and get some sleep, kids. Lack of sleep rots your brain, I'm proof.

[inklessletter]

It's a love story (baby just say yes) Chapter 3

Read it on AO3

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 4

After coming back to Hawkins, Eddie could notice that Steve’s mood was, well, not strange, but there was definitely something going on. He was quieter than usual, and the week after the trip, Steve didn’t stop by Eddie’s as frequently. And honestly, when he did, he seemed to be far away.

Something was bugging him, but as far as Eddie knew, there were a number of possible issues there.

There was the Robin and Nancy thing.

There was the fact that Steve got drunk and made out with a guy whose name he didn’t even know.

There was also the fact that in the middle of the night, after they went back to the hotel, Steve actually slithered in Eddie’s bed at some point and they woke up entangled with each other.

It could be all of the above.

It could be something different.

But Eddie wasn’t going to risk addressing it, especially the Robin and Nancy issue, because he wasn’t sure if Robin actually had told him or not. Eddie could wait until Steve was ready to open up.

This is why Eddie felt butterflies in his stomach when he made Steve smile after two weeks.  And it was something silly, just a suggestion, really, to keep him busy if he was up to it. Eddie told him that now that Christmas was coming closer, it could be fun if they could make their gifts instead of buying them.

“I love the idea,” Steve said, smiling to the void.

“Yeah, it can be fun.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Eds, I can’t do shit, I’m not creative nor do I have skills for anything,” warned Steve with an amused expression.

“That’s not true! Give yourself some credit, man. I’ve seen you doing some cool stuff!”

“Yeah, I’m not ripping off any interdimensional monster again, thank you.”

They both cackled. They shouldn’t, though, but they both have accepted that laughing at that life threatening situation was a trauma response.

“I didn’t mean that, you moron. You—” Eddie thought his next words. “You bake like an angel, for example.”

“Do I?”

“Yeah! I can’t get over the birthday cake you made for Dustin a few months ago. That was me thanking whatever god there is up above to be alive to taste it!”

And even if the tone was light, the words felt heavy. The realization that they could have not been alive to do such a simple thing. To bake and eat.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, and thank you for having this idea ten days before Christmas,” Steve said, with a mocking tone, “but I think it is appropriate. That—that our gifts are just us giving each other a little bit of time, no matter the results.”

It was a silly suggestion.

It was supposed to be.

But now, after Steve’s words, it felt loaded.

“In the end, time is all we have,” Eddie said, low and full of fondness.

Steve smiled softly, lifting his gaze and locking it in Eddie’s eyes.

“So that's all we have to give.”

Eddie’s lips trembled for a second, and muttering mentally a silent “fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck” Eddie looked away, clearing his throat.

And like that, Steve stood up, stretching his muscles, and with an easy expression he left Eddie’s room.

“I’m going home,” Steve announced from the bedroom door. “I think I’ve got some shit to do and it’s due Christmas.”

That’s why Eddie was perched in his bed, with his guitar in his hands, and a notebook next to him, learning Steve’s favorite song. If it weren’t because he’s seen Steve a thousand times mindlessly singing it whenever it was on the radio, Eddie wouldn’t have paid it any attention. It was just another pop song, one of many.

But the song was a fucking nightmare. 

At first he tried to imitate the synth sound, the rhythm, but Eddie loathed it. Then he tried it out on his sweetheart but it was way too different, almost unrecognizable. And he wanted Steve to like it.

He needed Steve to love it.

And maybe it was so difficult for him to get it right because it was for Steve.

God, why on Earth did I have to open my fucking mouth?

A soft knock on his door interrupted Eddie’s train of thoughts.

“Hey kid, can we talk?”

Eddie looked at Wayne, nodding.

“Yeah, of course. Something wrong?” 

Wayne sighed and entered the room. He took a seat in the bed next to Eddie, who was starting to worry.

“I need to tell you something, boy. D’you remember Charlie Jones?”

Charlie Jones was an old friend of Wayne’s. He was originally from Hawkins, but he got out about five or six years ago.

Eddie nodded. “He okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, good old Charlie is still kicking. So, I called him a few days ago, but I didn’t want to tell you anything until it was a sure thing,” Wayne looked Eddie dead in the eye, and Eddie left aside the guitar. “He got me a job at the workshop, Eddie. And he can take you up, too. He can teach you. He knows you, and he doesn’t listen to any shit. He still has some brains in him. He knows you wouldn’t hurt a fly, he knows you’re smart and pick up quick,” Wayne said, wetting his lips for a second. 

Eddie froze.

“But—But Charlie is in Maine.”

There was a brief silence. An intense one.

“Yeah, kid.”

Eddie took a deep breath, his mind going a mile a minute.

Maine.

That was a shit ton of miles away from Hawkins. That was not just a ride away. That was several days on the road. And Eddie was not stupid, he knew how much of a blessing this opportunity was for them.

But he could not ignore the feeling of his heart sinking, and sinking, and sinking.

“T—That’s—fuck—Wayne, that’s great news,” Eddie said, voice shaky, “b—but I thought we had some money from the government, and it’s not imperative going back to work right away, I—”

“Kid, we’ve been doing nothing these past few months. Nothing, Eddie. I need to work, I’m not made to be—Eddie we’re hiding in here. We have no future here in Hawkins, kid.”

Eddie tried to interrupt him, but suddenly all his words were stuck, with something he already knew, but it was devastating to face.

“You have no future here, son. You’re too young, you’ve been through so much. You need a chance, and I think this could be it. This is a way out, a helping hand. Kid, now’s the time, now that you still have nothing that ties you to this town.”

Eddie closed his eyes, and a very specific face came to his mind.

He wiped quickly the tear that fell down his cheek.

Eddie looked down, at the pick of his guitar still in his hand, and he heard Wayne sighing.

“Oh, boy.”

“So you are—um—telling me that we’re leaving? D—Did you take the offer right away?” Eddie asked quickly, because he definitely did not want to have that conversation with Wayne.

The older man took a few seconds to answer. “I accepted my offer. I couldn’t accept yours, because you’re an adult. I needed to tell you first. You need to agree to it.”

You’re an adult now.

“Thank you.”

“Son, I need you to know that the hush money won’t last forever, and you’re not going to find work in this shit hole—”

You have no future here.

“Okay—”

“—and I really, really want the best for you. But you need to decide.”

You need to decide.

“Can I think about it?” Eddie asked, still looking at the pick.

Wayne put a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, of course, kid. But I’ll need an answer before the end of the year. I’m leaving in January.”

So you I don’t have that much time, after all.

Eddie nodded.

After a few seconds Eddie spoke again.

“I’ll tell you something soon, ‘kay?” Eddie sounded strained.

Wayne set a hand that felt too heavy on Eddie’s shoulder, and gave him a gentle squeeze. Eddie still didn’t look at him.

And before he knew it, he was alone in his room again.

***

The time flowed differently for Eddie since that evening. He knew he had something really important to think about, something to decide. 

Yet all he could focus on was Steve’s song. 

He still hadn’t decided how he wanted to perform it, but whatever he did it felt—shallow. And that was wrong. 

Eddie needed for it to be the most meaningful song he’d ever sung.

It was on the third day when he started paying attention to the lyrics, not the music, and it was when it hit him. 

That song was not meant to be a dance hit, because those lyrics were not made to be buried under the synths.

Those lyrics were meant to be the protagonist of the song.

The true form of that song should be a ballad.

It should be a ballad, because what was written was no more than a love confession.

And he needed it to be real.

If Eddie wanted or not for Steve to pick up his feelings through the song, he was not sure. It was absolutely terrifying.

But he’ll say it anyway.

***

Definitely, time was being wonky like that for Eddie. On Christmas Eve Eddie and Wayne had a nice dinner that the older man prepared. It was nothing fancy, but it was full of intent. 

Wayne prepared Eddie’s favorite meal; the one that he made the first night he went to live with his uncle. 

The previous days had been kind of tense at home, because whether Eddie decided to go or to stay, he would have to say goodbye to someone, and Eddie was nowhere ready for it.

Wayne was kind like that to not mention it on Christmas Eve. 

They put on some ugly ass sweaters, they had a nice meal, they exchanged gifts.

Eddie got Wayne a new set of gardening tools, since the last few months he’d been invested in it.

Wayne got Eddie a few books he wanted.

And then, they went to bed, but Eddie didn’t fall asleep.

The acoustic guitar was staring at him. Expecting. Waiting to be used.

It was near one in the morning when he jumped off the bed and put on some warm clothes and stepped out the door.

Eddie was not surprised when he saw Steve’s maroon car parked in the entrance of the building. The butterflies in his stomach, however—those were rioting.

Steve stepped out of the car, and even from afar, Eddie could see the steam shaped breathing of him. It was freezing outside. He took a few steps forward and met Steve halfway.

“What are you doing here?”, “Where were you going?” they both asked simultaneously. 

They both grinned, and waited for the other one to talk.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Steve broke the silence first, looking at the floor.

“Me neither.”

Another silence.

“Do you—Do you want to go somewhere?” Steve asks.

“Yeah.  Yeah, I do,” Eddie replies, breathy, shaking.

They both went inside the car, Steve started the engine and they drove off.

It was warmer inside, but Eddie could not stop shaking. He felt giddy, and uneasy, and he could feel Steve in the same mood.

Eddie looked at Steve while driving, a small voice in the back of his head, reminding him that maybe he won’t have many chances in the future to observe him. To really observe him.

So he did just that. He looked at him, unashamedly, as if he wanted to imprint the image of Steve in his brain forever.

Eddie looked at the perfect, fluffy hair that did not go through a routine before going out, in a beautiful, warm chestnut, crowned with some strings of gold, as if he was royal. 

His skin, also warm, covered in moles that he tried to count more times than he was comfortable admitting. 

And he wanted to kiss every single one of them. 

His very expressive eyebrows, now kind of furrowed, right over two big, doe hazel pupils, that made his core tremble every time they locked in his eyes.

The bridge of his nose, so flawlessly sculpted.

His mouth. God, his mouth.

It was an impossible, wishful thinking, but Eddie felt like he would be gone, dragged by the wind as if he was made of salt if he didn’t get to kiss him at least once. 

He knew he would have to apologize to his own body every day for the rest of his life if he kept using it as a prison for all the love he had stored for Steve.

All those brand new, unused kisses, rotting in his lips.

All those unspoken words, with no air in his lungs to be shared.

All those itching caresses, locked in his skin, with nowhere to go.

Eddie was a cursed temple.

A graveyard of love.

Unfit for the living.

God, he needed to tell him.

Steve parked the car somewhere in the woods, somewhere familiar. Eddie honestly didn’t know how they got there, especially when Steve unfastened his belt, but he still gripped the steering wheel.

“Are you okay?”

Steve took a deep breath, and then looked at Eddie. “I know we could risk losing our fingers, but—a smoke?”

Eddie nodded, with a smile.

They both got out of the car, and sat on the cold hood of the BMW. Steve lit a cigarette and after taking a deep drag, he passed it to Eddie. He took a hit, trying not to focus on the remaining wetness of Steve’s spit on the filter. Eddie waited patiently until Steve spoke.

“Robin told me,” he said, simply. “She told me you knew.”

Shit.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was not your place to say.”

Eddie passed the cigarette back to Steve. “Still, I’m sorry.”

There was another silence, that, again, Steve broke.

“Is it shitty of me that I don’t know how to feel about this? I mean, yeah, I’m glad for them, but—I just—I’m not sure if I’m okay with it.” When Eddie didn’t speak for a full minute, Steve continued. “I told you what happened between me and Nancy, I told Robin back then, too. It didn’t end well, and I don’t mean our relationship. No, I mean that she fucked me up. And—and yeah, I am now grateful because that made me who I am now, but she fucked me up. I’m past being angry and bitter at her for what she did to me, but now it’s Robin who’s on the spot, and I don’t—I don’t like it. I don’t fucking like the idea of Nancy having the chance of breaking her heart so unapologetically as she broke mine. I do not want to see Robin reshaping her whole identity because it just doesn’t fit with Nancy. I just—I just don’t.”

Steve took another drag, and Eddie could see Steve’s hand trembling as he carried the cigarette to his lips.

“You know that doesn’t have to happen.”

“I know,” Steve passed the cigarette to Eddie. “I know. I’m worrying over nothing. I should be glad for them.”

“You know, you’ve grown up, but Nancy has too,” Eddie said, softly, earning a look from Steve, with pursed lips. “I’m sure she won’t make the same mistake twice, there’s a limited number of awesome people she can let go.”

Eddie felt bold enough to actually run his fingers through Steve’s hair, pushing it back. Steve smiled.

“And even if she’s a jerk again, Robin has you to tell her that she’s perfect the way she is.”

Steve sighed, and looked to the horizon again, sad.

“No, she doesn’t. She’s in Chicago, and I’m here. I can only do so much.”

And it—god, it felt like if the words slipped Eddie’s mouth before he thought about them.

“Why are you still here?”

“What?”

“In Hawkins, I mean,” Eddie said. “You—you could be anywhere. You could be in Chicago with her. Or in New York, or Cali. You could be in fucking Brazil if you wanted to. Why are you still in Hawkins, Steve?”

Eddie really wanted to know. He wanted to know what tied Steve to this godforsaken town that has brought nothing but trauma and loss and hurt.

Eddie’s heart was thundering in his chest, so loud, he was sure that Steve could hear it.

It took forever for Steve to answer.

“I can’t go. I can’t—the kids.”

Well, fuck.

“We don’t know if—”

“The gate is closed, Steve. The danger is gone. The fucker’s dead. It’s over.”

And in a whisper, Steve said: “We don’t know that. We thought that before.”

“Steve—”

“I have to be here. I have to protect them.”

“It’s not your problem, Steve. It’s the government’s problem. It has always been the government’s problem. You are not responsible of fixing their fuck ups.”

Steve huffed a laugh.

“That’s not what I do. I keep them alive, because the little shits will meddle every damn time, and I did a shitty job last time, because some of us almost didn’t make it,” Steve said, stepping off the hood. “I need to be here. I can’t leave, Eddie.”

Eddie said nothing for a full minute. He just stared at Steve, and he stared back. Eddie threw the roach of the cigarette, that consumed between his fingers.

“Steve, you know that the kids will be here for a couple of years more and then they will leave, too. They’ll set off to college. I know you want to keep them safe, but—sweetheart, you can’t put your life on hold. You—fuck, Steve, you deserve to live your life.”

Eddie stood, too, in front of him, and the hug came natural. Steve buried his face in Eddie’s neck, who could feel how cold his nose was. Eddie buried his naked, reddening fingers in Steve’s hair. Eddie could feel him shaking, gripping him tight.

“Shit, Steve, you’re taking the babysitting way job too seriously for not even being paid for it,” Eddie said, lighter, softer. Steve huffed a laugh in his neck. He could feel the shaking breath of Steve, and Eddie knew that he was crying.

“That’s who I am, aren’t I?”

“Well, that’s part of who you are. You are much more than that.”

“Am I? Because, to be honest, I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

Eddie pressed his lips against Steve’s hair, mindlessly.

“It’s okay not to know. You’re nineteen, Steve. You are still figuring shit out. It’s okay, sweetheart,” Eddie separated the lips from his hair as he felt the hug tighten. “But yeah, you’re much more than the babysitter. You’re much more than Nancy’s ex, or Robin’s platonic soulmate. You’re way much more than just my friend.

“You are caring, and you’re full of love, did you know that? The kids adore you, you adore them back. You—shit, Steve, you’re a protector. And not only that, you are funny, and witty, and know what buttons to press to rile Dustin up (and believe me, we all love it),” Steve laughed again. “Stevie, you are smart in ways no one else is. You are brave. Selfless. You are kind of a bitch sometimes, but we all love it, I swear.” With another laugh, Steve lifted his head to look at Eddie, who kept talking. “You are the true Batman.”

He said it with a mockery tone that earned an eye roll and a soft push that ended the hug. Steve wiped his tears and sniffed, looking at Eddie.

“Steve, you are not plain. You are layered. You are allowed to be angry, to not like Robin’s relationship and to be glad at the same time, you have the right to feel the way you do. You are allowed to be all of this and more.” Eddie didn’t know how his voice became so soft again, it was absolutely involuntary, as the tender, lingering look, locked in Steve’s hazel depths. “Whoever you are, Steve, does not depend on your role in other people’s life.”

Eddie could see that Steve wasn’t breathing.

“What I need you to understand, Steve, is that no matter what, you are enough,” he said, and Steve’s face flinched for a second, “even if you haven’t realized it yet.”

It took Steve a couple of minutes to react. He opened his mouth once, twice, three times until some sound came out.

“Thank you, Eddie.”

Steve took a step forward and held his hands.

Eddie looked at the joined hands, not daring to look up to meet Steve’s gaze. He needed not to. If he met his pupils one more time, he would do something stupid.

Like staying.

He didn’t know when he had decided exactly that he needed to go with Wayne, but it felt so clear now. There was charged electricity in the air, that secret Christmas night in the woods becoming a ball of romantic energy with nowhere to go. 

Every word that left his lips that night was an utter truth. 

Steve needed to find himself, but so did Eddie. 

Steve was not only someone taking a part in someone else’s lives, he was his own person.

But so was Eddie.

Steve needed to figure out his future in Hawkins, at least, for now.

But Eddie had no future there.

Because, yeah, that precise minute seems the prelude of an amazing love story. He can feel Steve’s energy too, but then what? Steve was not willing to leave Hawkins anytime soon, and Eddie just had no future there. Even if they managed to make it work between them, even if the money wasn’t a problem. What was Eddie going to do with his life? He couldn’t work there, no one would hire him, not anytime soon.

It was doomed.

All this love, buzzing, trapped in his skin, in his lips, in his bones, begging him to lift up the chin and close up the gap between them.

A kiss dying to be born.

And Eddie, the god of his own misery, bearing death in the tip of his tongue.

I choose to hold it until it breaks me.

Until it shatters my heart in such small pieces they can’t cast a shadow anymore, you bright little thing.

I choose to leave.

Eddie wanted to tell him that he was going to figure it out. That he would meet someone that made him happy. That he would manage sometime soon to be comfortable in his own skin. He wanted to tell him that he knew he was going to be the most awesome father to ever exist, because he knew first hand how much love he had to give, and that his kids would be lucky to have him.

He wanted to tell him that he loved him, and he would keep loving him until the sun that kissed his mole covered skin imploded in the sky. 

And ever after that.

But he didn’t say any of it.

He just said, in a strained, small voice, “your hands are freezing.”

And with that, all butterflies in his stomach dropped dead.

Steve mumbled, “shit, this reminds me—wait.”

He let Eddie’s hands go, and went to the car. Eddie was using every cell in his body not to crumble. In a second, Steve was again in front of him, holding a gift.

“This is, um, this is your Christmas gift. Merry Christmas, Eddie.”

Time is all we have to give.

Eddie smiled and took the poorly wrapped, soft gift. 

“Gee, thank you. Can I open it?”

Steve nodded.

Eddie ripped the wrapping paper, and what was inside was a neatly folded, really soft, striped black and red, wool scarf. Eddie smiled.

“Did you really make this? It’s so cool!”

“Well, it is supposed to be warm,” Steve said, unfolding it and putting it around Eddie’s neck. It felt as soft as it looked. “I think I made it a bit too long, you're gonna need—wait.”

Steve put it around Eddie’s neck three more times, and it was still long. Eddie laughed.

“Shit, I think it was too long, but hey, look,” Steve showed him both ends of the scarf. “I gave it pockets, so you can stick your hands if you’re cold.”

“This is amazing, Steve. It must have taken you hours. I didn’t know you knew how to knit.”

“I didn’t,” Steve said. Under Eddie’s gaze, he clarified, “I learnt to make this.”

Eddie didn’t know what to say, but he knew what to do.

It was long enough to be used for both of them, so he adjusted it, and put it too, around Steve’s neck, who smiled at the gesture.

“It’s warm,” Steve said.

“Indeed it is. It’s—shit, Steve, this is amazing. Thank you.”

“No,” Steve said, low voice, “thank you. For everything you said. It—it means the world.”

Eddie tugged a bit of his end of the scarf, pulling a smile from Steve.

“I can’t give you your gift just yet. It will have to be tomorrow, if that’s okay. I don’t have it here, I didn’t expect to find you at one in the morning at home.”

Steve cackled a bit, sticking his hands in the pockets of the scarf, meeting Eddie’s.

Their fingers intertwined, but they weren’t looking at each other.

“I can wait.”

[esleep]

i actually do kinda like delivering groceries on the side because it gives me such a unique cross-section of the community. i never know whose groceries im shopping for until i finish the delivery and see them/their home and it's like it adds more detail to the picture of who they are. the baby supplies going to the apartment that i know for a fact is one bedroom (they'll be moving soon - i bet they're apartment hunting, i hope they find a place). the new cat litter box, bowl, and kitten food going to the house covered in "i <3 my dog" paraphernalia (a kitten definitely showed up on the porch recently and made itself at home). the fairly healthy boring grocery order that includes an incongruous tub of candy-filled ice cream going to the home of an elderly woman with toddler toys in the yard (it's clearly for her grandkids, whom she sees often).

shopping for someone else's groceries is a fairly intimate thing. i've bought condoms and pregnancy tests, allergy medicine and nyquil, baby benadryl and teething gel, a huge pile of veggies paired with an equally huge pile of junk food, tampons and shampoo and closet organizers and ant traps and deodorizing shoe inserts and a million other little things that tell a million different stories in their endless combinations. one time someone had me buy one single green bean. i messaged them to confirm that's actually what they wanted, and they said yes - neither of them liked green beans very much, but they had a baby they were introducing to solid foods, and they wanted to let him try one to see if he liked them. another time i had someone request 50 fresh roma tomatoes - not for a restaurant, but for a person in an apartment. the kitchen behind them smelled like basil and garlic when they opened the door. another time i brought groceries to three elderly blind women who share a house. that was one of the few times i have ever broken my rule and gone inside a place i've delivered to, because they asked if i could place the grocery bags in a specific location in the kitchen for them to work on unloading and there was no way i was going to refuse helping.

i gripe about the poor tippers, but people can also be incredibly kind. one time i took shelter from a sudden vicious hailstorm inside an older lady's home in a trailer park, while i was in the middle of delivering her groceries. we both huddled just inside the door, watching in shock as golf-ball-sized hail swept through for about five minutes and then disappeared. she handed me an extra $10 bill on my way out the door.

when covid was at its deadliest, people would leave extra (often lysol-scented) cash tips and thank-you notes for me taped to the door or partially under the mat. i especially loved the clearly kid-drawn thank you notes with marker renderings of blobby people in masks, or trees, or rainbows. in summer of 2020 i delivered to a nice older couple who lived outside of town in the hills, and they insisted i take a huge double handful of extra disposable gloves and masks to wear while shopping - those were hard to find in stores at the time, but they wanted me to have some of their supply and wouldn't take no for an answer.

anyway. all this to say people are mostly good, or at least trying to be, despite my complaints.

[curryshesus]

jeon jungkook fics that had me going feral

hi guys, here's a part 2 to my favorite jjk fics on tumblr! note that many of these fics contain 18+ content. you are responsible for the content you consume! as always, if you enjoyed any of these fics as much as i did, please take a moment to send some love to the authors! part 1 | other bts members

➺ cold nights & blurred lines - by @awrkive

summary: jungkook and you have been in a sexual relationship with each other for four months now, and it’s casual for the most part. but as time passes, you can’t help but feel that some of the lines suddenly got blurred in the process. is it a cliché to blur the lines with your fuck buddy? it definitely is. will you do something about it? both of your emotional constipation have a hard time saying yes.

➺ night crawlers - by @alphabetboyluvr

summary: jungkook’s always been good at running. track, field, red lights, shit outta luck. drugs, now, too. but he doesn’t expect to run into you. in your shared lecture halls, sure. maybe. but not down the back alleys of daerim at ass o’clock in the morning. there are only three types of women he ever sees in daerim: hookers, sugar-babies and addicts. you aren't any of those; you're a trust-fund baby who can get percocet on private repeat prescription, if you really want it. he's sure of it. so it then further begs the question: why the fuck are you here?

➺ this is how you fall in love - by @jeonqkooks

summary: after years of drinking and clubbing most days of the week and leaving every gig with a different girl on his arm, jungkook feels what it’s like to want someone with his entire being.

➺ the dilf installments - by @mercurygguk

summary: this series follows jungkook’s life as a divorced father. but wait, how exactly does one balance being a father, a boyfriend, a friend, and a respectable boss at the same time? read the installments below to find out!

➺ ultimatum - by @parkmuse

summary: your pervy, idiotic boyfriend just so happens to also be your friendly neighborhood Spider-man (in bed).

➺ a hero's journey - by @hansolmates

summary: jungkook and jisoo are the mightiest power couple. however, one drunken confession and that whole facade fades in an instant. you realize that maybe you need to break from your unvaried life for a bit and be the hero of your own love story

➺ tempest - by @kooktrash

summary: you’ve always considered your life to be more mundane than you would like to admit. it was a constant cycle of the same things over and over again that when you meet jeon jungkook at a bar, of all places, you didn’t expect to see just how much he would change your life and those around you. he’s got an air of mystery around him with his charming good looks and a violent past that you slowly begun to unravel when it feels like everything is going perfect.

➺ by its cover - by @gimmesumsuga

summary: the one where Jungkook makes a horrifically bad first impression.

➺ slow dancing - by @yoonia

summary: when your countdown appeared on your wrist right in the morning of your eighteenth birthday, you had thought that perhaps the universe was on your side, especially since the final seconds were already ticking so soon. You just never expected to have your first meeting with your soulmate to be the day when you had to let him go. But hope was not lost when you still found love without the bond, and Jungkook showed you that it was possible to find happiness beyond the system that was written for you. Except that the universe doesn’t seem to have enough of its game, when your past sacrifice comes back hitting you straight in the face, just when you had believed that you had written off the perfect ending to your bittersweet tale.

➺ e s p r e s s o - by @joonberriess

➺ hold me closer - by @ahundredtimesover

summary: when you're asked to look after your parents' house and meet them before they go on vacation, you, Jimin, and Jungkook take the trip to your hometown of Busan and relive memories of your youth. While your new relationship has you feeling like a lovesick teenager with all the affection that Jungkook shows you, you're still you - a professional trying to make it in the corporate world, and an eldest child trying not to disappoint her parents. And that turns out to be your undoing, as a little blunder causes a rift between you and Jungkook, resulting in a trip that you might as well have messed up… Not if your brother can help it, though.

[tanglesmp3]

cousin richie the bear it seems I’ve grown quite fond of you tho there are no sexual urges or desires you come to me as a long lost friend whom I once picked apples with in papa’s orchard

[nortsauce]

I love that phoenix is a bit of an asshole like he’s the most character ever

but i will not stand for goofy dumbass pathetic Phoenix erasure.

Bro canonically says “YEOWCH!” when he gets stabbed or hit.

He grabs the back of his neck and chuckles when he’s feeling sheepish.

He called himself “Sherlock Holmes II baby!” when sherlock holmes never existed. A HERLOVK SHOLMES DID

He gushes when something is cute or romantic. “You’re too cute to call you just pearl!” “*actively crying at the delite’s love story* thats so romantic…”

He copies his friends’s mannerisms bc he loves spending time with them. (also bc he has adhd. No this is canon and i’m correct about it no one fight me)

Feenie copies a lot of Larry’s mannerisms

Phoenix copies a lot of Mia’s mannerisms

Beanix has a lot of Dahlia’s mannerisms which i wont look into bc i value my mental health

In the anime he copies Ron Delite when he was yelling and that was so funny

theres more but i always write these when i’m half asleep

He loves to gossip with Maya, (like when gumshoe got a crush)

He loves to argue about pointless shit as well like ladders, which kinda leads into him trying to purposely be difficult bc he thinks its funny

idk i feel like people forget that this is the same dude who got amnesia twice and still went to work (once as his actual job: attorneying and once as a friggin baker 😭😭)

theres a TON of goofy cartoony shit that phoenix does! Yes he can be sarcastic, but he’s also a giant loser who is REALLY good at improv.

Phoenix is just as weird as everyone around him. He’s also a goofball who happens to be a big hater.