#so i have to leave at 7:15. ugh. that's early

[muffinrag]

look, going to work is bad. waking up is bad. and buddy, waking up with enough time to get to work? bad.

[type-40-nightingales]

Season 1 Episode 1: Pilot - THAT SCORE FOR THE FIRST SCENE IS ACTUALLY SO GOOD THOUGH??

love the 'sam doesn't halloween' thing knowing now it was coz he threww up on some girl he liked when he was like ten but rn the whole audience thinks cos he grew up around monsters and shit lmao

okay I know its iconic BUT THE SHADOW FIGHT/REUNION SCENE IS SO UGH. Its like actually good filmmaking or something (wild for spn I know) I love dean being like "aww look that's my boy he's tall"

dean ew.

"don't be afraid of the dark, are you kidding me? of course you should be afraid of the dark you know what's out there"

why is this good???? the light streaming through the gate r u kidding me??

their voices man

girl its been 15 minutes and they've already sexualized two of the three female characters that have been in the episode

i actually love the music on this its no murry gold but damn

sam picks up the tape and is like "Metallica" then acdc starts playing when dean puts it in????

sam and dean r so siblings they're like so wanna be friends

THEY SAID IT IN SYNC

"well that's healthy" babe you are s1 dean u cannot talk

that one shot of them looking at Baby driving away bro its ingrained in my mind they're utter children (they're like 10 years older than me) dean is going to be 40 in five minutes 15 seasons)

"no chick flick moments" I love all the establishments of iconic bits like this coz then its like "they're so macho and angst" but now we know bro is a bisexual dumbass who loves chick flicks and is a massive geek

John literally didnt have to leave so fast y just leave all that shit in a motel room lmao

i love that jacket dean is so giving

i love how theyre so sloppy js like both rude AF to the police and Abt to tell strangers eveyrthing

they were never gonna see each other again helppp

wait actually apocalypse

y does it even matter chuck was writign them of course they would

that was weirdly good like 7/10. charecter stuff real good plot was decent. kinda boring though I mean I never watched spn for the plot so yea. I missed early seasons

[sxmpfxrortega]

an: soo this is my first time posting a fanfic before so please go easy on me ;( i usually just write them for myself but ya know... where's the fun in not sharing? i want to start doing g!p soon so if this doesn't completely bomb, i'll definitely do more!

5 Sheets to the Wind

"Max, this party doesn't seem like the best of ideas" You say, rubbing your temples at the very thought of blaring music.

Max rolls his eyes and gives you a deadpan, "You and I both know that this is much needed time away from the shit show we've endured."

You raise an eyebrow at him and his antics, "...you mean, work?" You retort, laughing slightly at him.

"Uh, duh, what else could I possibly be talking about that is so mentally and physically draining???" He fires back, eyes bulging out from his skull.

You sigh and ponder the thought of the party; you didn't know many people attending and it wasn't like you were too socially awkward, just enough to not be able to meet new people well. "Fine, I'll go to the dumb party with you" You gave up, having enough of his pleading puppy dog eyes.

Max fist bumps the air and yells cheerfully, "Sweet! Do you want to meet there or?"

"I can pick you up, dork. What time does it start?"

Max looks at his phone, "Uh, 9 I think?"

You pinch the bridge of your nose and look at the time, 7:35.

"Okay dude, if I'm going, I need to be ready so...skiddaddle out and I'll be at your house at 9:30"

Max raises a questioning eyebrow at you but you wave him off before he says anything, "Late is early, ya know, I don't really feel like being the first ones to be there, now shoo" You say, swatting at him to leave your apartment.

You lock the door and make your way to the bathroom to shower, putting your music on shuffle for the time being.

After what feels like forever, you make your way back to your room, your short hair damp and a towel draped around your tall frame.

'Ugh, why must I have so many clothes but never know what to wear?' You think to yourself, growing slightly frustrated.

You opted for a black and white striped shirt, ripped black jeans, and white high top vans.

Looking at yourself in the mirror, you put some coconut oil in your hair to make your curls look good.

While putting your deodorant and cologne on, you check the time.

"Damn, 9:15 already? Time flies when you try to make yourself look presentable" you say aloud to absolutely no one but yourself.

'Phone, wallet, keys... am I forgetting anything?' You mentally make a check list as it dawns on you.

"Oh yeah!"

You were an avid pothead, so going to a a party without bud just seemed like a major party foul.

You head out of your apartment and lock up, jumping into your Jeep, you make your way to Max's house.

-----------------------------------------

Finally arriving at the house party, you notice that there is indeed a shit ton of people here.

"Uh, Max? Who exactly is throwing this party, because this seems like a banger." Your palms get slightly sweaty at all of the people gathered outside; god only knows what the inside looks like.

He thinks for a moment, "Honestly dude, I'm not really sure, someone semi famous, but that's all I got." He shrugs and hops out of your car, you follow suit, stuffing your hands into your pockets.

Max takes the lead and heads inside the house, the music so loud you can barely hear your inner monologue, but hey, at least it's good music.

"You want a drink to loosen up?" Max yells to you, even though he's right beside you.

"Sure, if they have beer, I'll take it" you yell back to him, watching him disappear into the kitchen for your drinks.

A sigh escapes your lips as you make your way into the big ass living room, you plop down on the sofa that surprisingly isn't taken.

Max appears from out of no where with a bottle of beer and a sketchy looking solo cup.

"What's in your cup, dude?" you ask curiously, sniffing the contents, your nose scrunching up at the mixture of alcohol.

"Jungle Juice" was all he said as he gulped it down like it was water.

"Now that's sick, bro" you say laughing at the face he made after.

"Says the one drinking hotdog water." He claps back with an eyeroll.

"Touché" you shrug, "but, I like it so, it's an acquired taste."

Max finishes off his concoction and gets up from the couch, "Mingle man, it is a party after all, I am going to try to find some girls and see how good my skills are." He says, flexing his biceps.

You couldn't help the laugh that escaped your mouth, "Oh, please, save some for the rest of us, lady killer."

He huffs out and mumbles something, walking away.

You chug the rest of your beer, getting up from the couch to grab another one when a pair of brown eyes catches your attention.

'Oh damn, fuck, what the hell'

Ahh, there it is, your internal monologue, you thought the bass was too loud but apparently not for what you've just witnessed.

Standing there in all her 5'1 glory, The Jenna fucking Ortega.

Your eyes are practically out of your head at the moment and your jaw is on the floor, how the fuck and who the fuck is person who threw this party?

Not wanting to seem like a creep, you stalk your way into the kitchen, pushing past several bodies to get to the cooler that has a plethora of beer in it.

You opted for a Corona, wanting to feel it fast, you chug half the bottle.

"I like your outfit" a voice says behind you.

You spin around and look down.

No. Fucking. Way.

Jenna fucking Ortega is talking to you, and she likes your outfit.

Gay panic is setting in and you're trying so hard not to let that show.

"Oh, uh, thank you, I didn't really know what to wear" you chuckle awkwardly, rubbing the back of your neck.

'Why the fuck would you say that, you gay bitch?!' your brain is screaming at you and all you want is the floor to open up and swallow you whole.

She giggles sweetly and looks up at you, "You wanna go to the backyard, they have a fire going out there and I'm sure we could hear each other better too."

Your voice feels trapped in your throat so all you do is nod dumbly.

She takes your hand gently and leads you through a large crowd of people.

Sitting on the swing in the backyard, you look at the flames from the fire, it feels as if you're dreaming.

You can definitely feel the alcohol creeping up on you, but you only chug more of your beer.

'Don't even say it.' your brain is scolding you but you aren't listening, "Sorry, I'm a little uh, starstruck right now and on top of that, I'm pretty socially awkward at times." you ramble off, not wanting to scare her away.

She looks at you and you feel like you're being hypnotized, she's absolutely breathtaking and you cannot believe you are in this situation.

"Starstruck huh? There's a good amount of famous people here, but I'm the one you're starstruck over?" she says with a mischievous glint in her eye and a smirk playing on her lips.

Before you can stop yourself from saying something stupid, your mouth opens without warning, "Well, they aren't you so, very starstruck would be a better way of saying it." you say back to her, looking into her brown eyes, getting lost in them.

She takes a drink from her solo cup, keeping eye contact with you doin so.

"Did you get the jungle juice too?" you ask with the curiosity of a child.

She laughs and scrunches her nose up, "God no, I'm drinking Hennessy, jungle juice is too chaotic for my taste buds"

You're about to say something when a guy comes to the backyard yelling, "Spin the bottle is goin' down in like, 5 minutes!"

You look at her but she's already looking at you, her eyes roaming your body.

"You wanna play?" you ask her smoothly, thanking the stars that you didn't stutter that out.

She raises a perfect brow at you and smirks, "Come on, we aren't children who plays those games."

You squint your eyes at her and challenge out, "Sounds like something someone would say if they were afraid."

She feigns shock, putting her hand to her chest, "Me? Afraid? Let's go then, you get to lead the way this time, though."

You give her a goofy smile, standing up and offering her your hand, the alcohol definitely helped you loosen up more.

You both made your way into the living room, taking a seat on the sofa, she's sitting so close to you, so much so that she's basically in your lap.

Some random dude starts talking and then asks who wants to go first, it's a pretty big group so someone definitely volunteers.

It's Jenna's turn to spin the bottle and you're praying to every god you can think of that it lands on you.

She spins it gracefully and it goes on for a good amount of time, slowing down, it lands on you.

You feel your cheeks heat up at a fast rate and you clear your throat.

'Thank you, power of manifesting, you are amazing'

"U-uh, so, heh, m-may I kiss you?" you say, stuttering almost every syllable.

God you were a mess at this point but that isn't at all what you were thinking, what was on your mind was one thing and one thing only; trying to not faint if she says yes.

She looks at you with something in her eyes, but the alcohol isn't quite letting you decipher what that would be,

"You know, they say chivalry is dead, here you are asking consent for a spin the bottle game." She says with a sly smile playing on her lips.

Your face heats up and before you can start stuttering out a retort, she grabs your face and kisses you passionately.

Stars.

That's what you saw, stars.

She pulls away but not without biting your bottom lip.

"W-wow I uh-" before you can finish your sentence the game is continuing.

You look over at her and she's blushing softly, she leans into your body and whispers in your ear, "maybe it could happen again, if you can find me." She ends her sentence with a smirk and the next thing you know, she stands and drifts out into a sea of bodies.

"Fuck." was the only word you could manage to get out.

[xx-craftycreep-xx]

Hi there! So I’m from the creepypasta fandom, and got back into my morgue files phase lol. This request is mainly based off a thought I had. Reader crushing HARD on the new kid Jeffery Mason. To the point where it gets stalkery. Purely befriending Liu just to be able for the chance to get closer to him. Until one day this eventually leads to Liu inviting then over to the Mason household. Jeff isn’t home yet, Liu has to leave the house for a bit, and that gives a little to snoop in Jeff’s room. There’s a noise, and they think it’s Liu so they’re not really worried. But it’s not Liu, it’s Jeff. And he’s really pissed to have his privacy invaded. And in a panic, S/I confesses lol. What happens next can be up to you

Ooo I love the idea!

dividers are by @cafekitsune

Jeffery Mason x Stalker! reader

Perfect for eachother

WARNINGS: Stalking, swearing,Jeffery Mason,

,personal headcanons.

Fortunately, early mornings in Forest Lawn were quite. Something that would always calm you down as you sat for your morning yoga. You had been living in Forest Lawn for 3 years. Initially, it was hard making friends, but you managed to form a group of 3. You didn't like them completely,but they were fine. After completing your morning routine, you checked the time.

7:30 am.

' Alright. We have time.' you thought. You headed downstairs towards the kitchen. "Breakfast's ready!" Your mother exclaimed. "Damn mom,no good morning? " Your mother mother almost yelled, "Oh! Good morning! So silly of me" You chuckled. You sat for breakfast. Your father had gone out for his morning walk. After sometime you rechecked the time.

7:45 am

'15 minutes left' "Bye mom!" You said as you walked out of the house, not hearing your mother's response. You reached school in 5 minutes. You and your friends had a meet-up spot by a nearby tree. Only 2 of them were present. "Ugh! Oli's late again?" you asked,irritated. " When is he not?" you friend, Dorothy said. Matthew just breathed a chuckle. Right as he did that, Oliver showed up. "I'm sorry!" "Yeah,yeah" all three of you said in unision.

Your group started chatting. As you talked you noticed something from your peripheral view. Two new boys. However, only one grabbed your attention. He was tall, pale and just...breathtaking. He had jet black hair, wore a hoodie and black jeans. He almost looked inhuman (ly beautiful)

His brother or friend..or the other boy looked more human. Looked more..cute..and timid. His back was somewhat slouched and he kept his hands folded. He had fair skin and dark brown hair. He wore a green jacket with a striped scarf along with black pants.Your gaze was fixed on them when your friend asked, "___, what happened? " You flinched. "Look at that, two new boys." you said. "Holy shit,the tall one looks like a vampire!" Dorothy whisper-yelled. "Yeah!Like- ew. Imagine being friends with hi-" Oliver was cut off by your offended face. "Chill,___. You don't even know him!" Oliver said. "Still!" you huffed, folding your arms.

Matthew just stared at you, in an..off manner. You shrugged it off as the bell rang.

You went to your respective class and surprise! The pretty boy with black hair sat behind you. After being introduced,you learnt that his name was Jeffery Mason and that the other boy accompanying him was his younger brother,Liu Mason. As the lecture went by,you couldn't help but blush at Jeffery. He was behind you,yes, but you could hear him muttering some answers to himself. 'What a sexy voice' you thought. You felt someone looking at you, you looked back and saw Matthew look away. 'Creepy..' you thought.

In recess, you befriended Liu. It took you a while..but you did it. You told your friends that you wanted to be friends with him and that it wasn't compulsory for them to befriend him. They agreed and gave you some time with him. Days went by,you and Liu grew close. You understood that he liked arts. And you also got ample chances of seeing Jeffery,albeit never gathering the courage to talk to him. Whenever you got the time, you would follow him around.After a while you got to know that his favorite colour was red, that he had an insta, he liked dried flowers, he smoked and that he liked metal music.

It was Sunday afternoon when your phone started ringing. You picked up and saw in white,bold letters:

Liu

You smiled and picked up. "Hey.." he greeted. "Hey liu.What's up? Did you need help with your paintings? or did you need some extra colours?" you asked as you got up and opened your art supply cupboard. "uh..no. I wanted to ask if you're free...for coming at my house. My parents are gone out for a while,but..they'll come back. Till Then, they said that we could meet. They wanna know you..so..Please introduce yourself to them once they come back." You couldn't believe it!!! You would get to see Jeff! "Yes, of course Liu! What time?" You asked,voice laced with excitement. "4pm...is that alright? " You glanced at the clock.

3:30pm.

"sure! I'll be on time!" you heard a giggle. "You" re so sweet,___." You smiled. You had initially befriended Liu with the intention of getting close to Jeffery,but you would be lying if you said you had not grown close to Liu. You genuinely liked the guy."Thanks,Liu." "Bye ___. See you". " See you" he hung up first.

Immediately,you stepped away from you art supply cupboard and marched towards you wardrobe. "Im gonna wear my red sweater with black jeans." you said to yourself as you rummaged through it. To your dismay,you didn't find it. You ran to every room of your house,asked your parents and even looked in the backyard. No red sweater.'But I wore it on Thursday!' you recalled as you stood in the living room. 'Where would it go?' A memory struck you like lightning. It was of Matthew complimenting you when you wore it. 'That creep! It was definitely him!' you glanced at the time.

3:50 pm.

'Oh fuck! Im gonna be late!' you Immediately put on a white tee with black jeans with your black converse and ran to the Mason household, which fortunately was just a metre away. You rang the doorbell. "On time. Great" Liu said as he let you in. "Come, I'll lead you to my room." You both headed upstairs. Just as Liu was about go open the door,his phone rang. "Hey mom...What? But, how can I leave ___alone...fine.." he hung up. "I have to go for 5 minutes. I'll be back. Till then sit in my room..Im really sorry." He gave you an apologetic look. You smiled understandingly,nodding. Just as he headed downstairs,you asked. "Who's room is this?" "Jeffery 's" he said as he unlocked the main door. "I'll come soon!" the door shut close.

You opened Jeffery's door. You entered and looked around. It was dark, messy yet somewhat organised. Headphones and a pack of cigarettes on the drawer next to his bed. You heard the main door open. 'It's Liu.' You continue to look around. You hear a cough and you look around. You feel the air leaving you lungs. Its not Liu.Its..Jeffery.

"Why in the actual fuck are you in my room?!" he barked. "I-Im sorry. I didn't mean to-" you were cut off."Didn't mean to?! Did the air take you here?Why the fuck would you invade my privacy?! What's the reason?!" "I LIKE YOU!" You yelled. An uncomfortable silence filled the air. You looked around everywhere but him. However, your attention was caught by something. You made your way towards his cupboard,ignoring his protests,blinded by curiosity. You snatched the cloth from the top of the cupboard, only for silence to fill the air again. You broke it first, with wide eyes. "My sweater!" you hugged it,happy that you found it.

But then realization hit you as you looked at the man you loved. He Immediately looked down,fidgeting with the bag in his hand,probably full of groceries. "And you talk about privacy." you said,voice monotone. "I...thought you looked pretty.I...like you too." The last part barely audible. You decided to do the silent method on him. " I liked you from the moment I saw you in class. I just hated that asshole Matthew looking at me everytime I looked at you. Because of that..I assumed you were his girl-" "Oh hell no! Him?! He's...uck!" you shuddered. "He looks like he could be the president of a country of cockroaches!" you said. "The fuck?" he chuckled. Funny, he found you funny. "So..what now? Wanna date?" He was taken aback. "Where's all the confidence coming from now? Couldn't even speak well a minute ago." He mocked. Your cheeks heated up. Before you could answer the doorbell rang. Jeff glanced at you before he went to get the door. You ran to Liu's bedroom.

After the meet and greet with Liu's parents you and him painted many paintings. You were going to take one home. You went to the washroom and came back and saw something written on the backside of the painting in neat handwriting.

Yes,I would like to date you.

And below it written was his phone number. You smiled,carrying it with at your home.

You texted him at night and waited for his response.When you heard a knock on your window. Cautiously,you opened it. And well,the handsome ravenette stood outside. " Hey,beautiful"

Well..This was going to be a long night.

[dollsonmain]

Ok, Son's at school. I didn't realize they're getting out early on Thursday instead of on Friday, so I have a lot less alone time before another long holiday break than I thought.

Ugh. I do honestly like spending time with my Son, but not the noise videos he likes. They hurt. He's good about understanding when I can't take it anymore, though, and will either go in another room or is comfortable with me going down to the basement for a while.

I think maybe we'll listen to some of those records that I found unbearable together over the holiday. I think Son might like those, and while I don't like them, it doesn't mean he's not allowed to.

Still need to get a record cleaning kit.

-

That Guy is pushing both Son and me to get jobs somewhere in town without cars. I'm like, how we get to work????

He usually yells at me that I'm making excuses, then yesterday in the car yelled that he'd drive us, and had already said that.

He never said that.

He said he'd get Son a car once Son got his license, and then Son could take himself to work, and every time I mention how would I get to work he's said I'm making excuses and also said that I'd get the job first and then we'd figure out transportation which is illogical.

Not once did he say he intended to personally drive us to work, at least not until yesterday.

I don't think he means that anyway.

How's he going to do that? He leaves for work at 5 am, and if I don't start until like 9am to 6pm because I'd have to work full time to qualify for insurance which is what this is all about, I mean, I'm not sitting around my workplace for an extra 4-5 hours before my shift especially if I happen to find an office job and the office is closed until work time. That's just not possible in the winter.

Then he has to be home in time to drive Son to work after school but if he's not getting to work himself until 9 or 10 am because he has to drive me, then he's not getting home until 7 or 8 because it's a long commute (1 hr 15 minutes one way) to HIS work, and Son's work would probably be something like 5 to 10pm because he is a teenager in school.

Then he'd be having to go pick me up around 6 pm, and Son at maybe 10pm. They'd get home around 11.

The only other option is that I manage to stumble upon some legitimate work-from-home (I'd rather work outside and interact with people; I've been trapped in this house and isolated for 16 years) or work overnights, but he's vetoed the idea of me working nights because he doesn't want to sleep alone.

Depending on where Son and I would be working we might be able to manage our schedules such that Son goes to work right after school (5pm or so start time, gives him time to come home, shower, get dressed, and leave again) and then I start work when Son's shift is ending so that That Guy makes one trip to town to drop Son off at work, another to pick up Son and drop me off and that would be roughly 9:30 pm to 10:30 pm if we happen to work in the same place or at least nearby each other. He'd get home and get to bed around 11. Then That Guy has to come and get me at 7am which is right after Son gets on the bus (meaning That Guy would have to get up with Son in the morning to make sure he got on the bus because I wouldn't be there), bring me home, and then he might be leaving for work around 8:30 am assuming he did his morning get-ready before leaving to get me. Gets to work at 9:30, works the full shift so off work at 6:30 pm, then gets home at 7:30, though more like 8:30 or even 9 due to rush hour traffic out of the DC Metro area and at that point Son's missed most of his work shift...

It's the same as the insurance thing. He demands it happens then gets in the way of it happening and blames others for it not happening.

What he needs to do to make this work the way he wants it to is get at least one more car that son and I could share or for us to move somewhere the two of us can walk to work.

Either way, it's going to cost him money to not have to spend his money on us and he's short circuiting trying to figure out how to make this all work without him spending any money.

[sillyunicorn]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers 💫

thank you @mostlymaudlin for the tag <3 tagging @facewithoutheart @martsonmars @cutestkilla and @you-remind-me-of-the-babe

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

68! Which is…wild. Six of them are songs though.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

126,027 - dang!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Primarily the simon snow series and all for the game. I recently got into young royals so a few there as well, plus one each for a couple other shows I like.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Like rory my top 5 are all andreil! aftg has a large and voracious readership. Better than Sex (4k, T) / Eating Well (1k, T) / Needing/Getting (3k, T) / Friendly Neighborhood Vamp (.5k, T) / Soak up the Sun (.5k, T)

Rest under the cut!

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Usually yes! Sometimes I go through spells of not replying…but I’m grateful for every single kudos and comment, it’s amazing and wonderful <3

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

This is tough bc i love me a happy ending and i don’t really do angst anyway lmao. My joke answer is my crack andreil fic Monday, but maybe the real answer is my snowbaz fic+song Breakable bc I left off before things get fully resolved (but it is clearly hopeful imo).

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

The happiEST?? Hmmm. I think my overall Happiest fic might be like, Mon Chou? And Better than Sex. both of those are just like, gooey with happiness. And both have happy endings so I’ll say one of them. Actually from a different approach I’ll say my time loop fic has the happiest ending bc it’s probably the angstiest thing I’ve written haha so the ending is such a relief. 

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I have not!! Super grateful for everyone who leaves lovely warm positive comments on my work <3333 

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not on my own LOL. i do have some M/E fics in my works though thanks to some collabs (see Q13 lol) <3

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I have not! I think about it sometimes….it’s just usually hard for me to imagine a world where all my blorbos live, even though I almost only write AUs…a mystery

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, which is wild!!! I think several of my Vandrew fics and BtS have been translated into russian. Thank you translators, you’re incredible. 

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes!! This was one of my most fun and treasured early fandom experiences with @facewithoutheart and @martsonmars <3 published results include The Chain (i was really just losing my mind in the doc while christina wrote tbh) and The Muse’s Waking which is probably the weirdest thing I’ve ever (partially) written hahah

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Making me chooooooose ugh. Idk man i reread a snowbaz fic today and almost cried and they were my first fandom love so today i’m going to say them <3 

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I recently picked up a fic i abandoned 2 years ago so now i’m like well never say never! But one that’s in my “this is in the past now” pile that i was just thinking about is my andreil Alex Rider (TV) AU. i actually had an idea for how to get around the bit i was stuck on while rewatching Alex Rider the other day sooo…. But likely still abandoned

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think, somewhat incongruously, 1) writing concisely and 2) setting a mood. I think both these things are true in say Weightless (andreil, 1k, T).

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

PLOT. plot is so hard. That’s too broad of an answer so i’ll say, keeping multiple storylines/arcs progressing at once. I don’t do it much. It’s a fun challenge though. I usually write little one-shot, single-conflict fics bc that comes easier for me. 

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Love it. Not fluent in any other language enough to really do it justice but i’d like to.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I think i wrote some hp and some jane austen fic before i ever got into Fandom Proper lol. First published fandom was for the Simon Snow Series <3

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

I think the one i’ve gone back to the most is Weightless. I set it in one of my favorite IRL places and it has tender blood drinking so. How could I beat that, really?

[boredwritergirl]

Day 15 - Drip

Drip

It was a scorching hot noon at an Arizona strip mall. Marta stood behind the counter of the local Nike store, her shift demanding her to stay in spite of the intense heat.

Thick layers of sweat beat down Marta’s head, no matter how many times she swiped it away with her long sleeve work uniform, the sweat would just come back. She could swear that the sweep would reform on her forehead faster and faster each time. The sleeves of her uniform had become drenched from her 7 hours working this day.

‘Only 1 Hour to go,’ Marta thought. ‘Then I can go back home in the air conditioning, with lots of cold water bottles, and my girlfriend and I can rub ice on each other like in Do The Right Thing. Man, I wish I could get this damn shift over with.’

Unfortunately for Marta, the strip mall barely had any customers in it, most of them were in the comfort of their own homes, trying to stay cool during the heatwave. Of course, Marta did what any bored employee would have done, looked around her surroundings in the hope that she could get interested in anything.

She had noticed a woman and her child leave a store across the strip, just barely in her line of sight. It was from a specialty shop, Bath Bonanza. It sold a lot of hair products, deodorant and other cleaning supplies, but they had become popular for joining in on the hip new trend… Bath Bombs.

Seeing the customers leave, Marta groaned internally. ‘Lucky bastards!’ Marta thought. ‘Why can’t I go home and take a bath bomb for me and my girlfriend. Hell, at this point, I’d just settle for a bath, even if I drowned in it.’

Shortly after, she heard the distinct sounds of metal clunking in front of a store, as the Bath Bonanza employee closed up for the day. As the employee walked in front of the Nike store, Marta decided to catch her attention.

“Hey!” Marta shouted, “How come your greedy corporation let’s you go home early while mine let’s me rot here!?”

The employee, a slightly younger woman with “Alma” written on her name tag, looked shocked, and approached the disgruntled Nike employee. “Sorry, mine must be better managed than yours.”

“Ugh, you’re telling me!” Marta shrugged, “It’s almost like they want me to melt to death in this dump.”

Alma added “Yeah, it’s even worse considering that the shores don’t get as much ventilation as the strip itself, so we’re suffering the heat more than most.”

Marta’s eyes widened, “W-wait, is that true?”

Marta rushed outside to the front of her store, stepping into the long and empty strip mall center and said, “Holy shit, it really is cooler out here! Still hot as hell, but I’ll take what I can get!”

Alma sighed, “Yeah, Honestly, it’s a miracle that I was let out at all. I felt like I was going to die in there too. I-”

Alma got cut off by the sound of the fire alarm. What had happened was that sunlight entered the stripmall from the lack of ceiling above it, going right through the glass window of Bath Bonanza and pinpointing on one of their bath bombs, setting it on fire and triggering the alarm.

Alma freaked out, “Oh fuck, I’m going to lose my job over this!”

Then suddenly, the store’s sprinkler system turned on. The boxes upon boxes of bath bombs all got soaked as the sprinklers put out the small fire, causing the bath bombs to turn the sprinkles of water into a tidal wave, storming out of the store, breaking the door and metal gate down and flooding the entire strip.

Alma and Marta both got swept up by the tide, and held onto each other so they wouldn’t drift away. 

Marta yelled, “What the hell is happening!” but unfortunately for her, a bunch of soapy water entered her mouth, so Alma couldn’t tell what she was actually saying.

The current carried them both outside the strip mall. As it died out, the strip itself was covered in suds, leaving the two employees fully soaked.

Alma sighed, “I’m never working in the summer again. The desert’s just not cut out for bath bombs.”

Marta wrapped her arm around Alma’s shoulder, saying. “Hey, at least we don’t have to worry about heat stroke. Come on, I’ve got a hot girlfriend and a bucket of ice at home, care to join me?”

Alma shook her head, “After a day like today, that sounds lovely.”

[lunawings]

Love Live Unit Koushien Day 1

I debated whether I wanted to bother posting about this because it's not like the old days when these events weren't accessible to foreigners. Even for those who cannot make it to Japan, anyone can just buy and watch the archive right now!

But, I still feel it's worth talking about my experience attending via the foreigner plan, for anyone actually interested in going for it someday.

My experience on the foreigner plan actually wasn't as great as it was the first time.

For Aqours 5th Live, I got a hotel with an amazing location in Tokyo (Ikebukuro!) and an arena seat for the concert (on the floor!!). I didn't end up taking it (and wished I had), but there was also even an option to pay for a shuttle bus to and from the concert as well.

This time I did not get arena. My seat was on the 2nd level, but center. So not as good, but not bad either. (My friend who was on a different plan did get arena though. I do feel like the foreigner plan generally gets fairly good seats as they know you're coming a long way for this.) The hotel though, UGH, they stuck us in Kawasaki. I mean the hotel itself was nice, but we had to take a shuttle to/from Kawasaki Station or walk 15 minutes to the nearest station, and there was no option to take a shuttle directly to the concert. They just plopped us in the middle of nowhere and said good luck weebs! If it had been my first time in Japan, I would have been super lost/stressed I think.

But we did get this:

As acrylic stand which might have been unique to the foreigner plan!!?! I didn't see it anywhere else?

We were also given the option to skip the lines and buy merch in advance.

BUT.

You could only buy it in sets. The sets had some stuff I wanted, and some I didn't. So, I sought to buy a set to sell off the things I didn't want to friends back home and line up for merch regardless to get the other things I did want...

....b...ig... mis...taaake.....

While trying to get down early for merch I had a couple mishaps along the way. The hotel shuttle wasn't running so I had to walk to the nearest train station, which was a little difficult to find. And when I did, I didn't get off when I was supposed to and ended up going in the opposite direction for a little bit AHHHHHHH

When I finally got to the arena it was 7:30am and the line was already MASSIVE. It didn't look so bad when I took the picture above, until I realized it went basically all around the arena and growing as they condensed us as much as possible. I was so mad at myself for getting there so late. It's not my first rodeo and I should know better!!

Sales actually began at 10am, but I didn't get out until 1pm. Around that time, there was an announcement on Twitter that basically advised people not to get in line if they had tickets for Day 1 and wanted to be able to see the show. Leaving the arena after the show, there were STILL tons of people in line even though it was about to close.

While I was in that line I kept thinking... All these people, all this money, and nobody spent any on SIF2!? We really couldn't save it!? Come on...

Anyway. The next day I wasn't there, but I heard they opened merch at 9am instead of 10 to try and help but I don't know if that would do much. Because wow, it was bad. According to the announcers at the show, people were even lined up the night before.

Anyway, at least nothing sold out. I got everything I wanted plus the stuff other people wanted plus I took a chance at the gatcha.

I usually try and avoid blind stuff nowadays, and if it was actually by group I probably would have avoided this altogether too. But instead, they actually put all the groups together meaning you would have a 1 in 43 chance of getting your best girl! LOL!

So I decided to do it just because, out of 43 possibilities, I couldn't help be curious who I would get...

I got Hanamaru, Shioriko, and Kinako! All characters I feel pretty similar about: Not my fav in the group, but I still like them a lot. Like, top 5! A little higher for Kinako! So, not bad.

So yeah anyway, the live was great although my feet were very sore from the merch line. It was super fun cheering on each school as they went up to bat (this was a baseball themed concert) and when it was nearing the end everyone cheered "OVERTIME!" (or rather "Extra Innings" or whatever they say in English for baseball, this was in Japanese so IDK) instead of encore haha!

At one point I cheered so hard the batteries fell out of one of my penlights, so I only had one for the last quarter. I looked all over for the backing but only found it at the end when they turned on the lights. It was in the cupholder in front of me the whole time.

I found it funny how most of the units go hard, but some of them go SO MUCH HARDER! Specifically, Saint Snow and Guilty Kiss... like DAAAAAAMN. I wasn't even on the floor and I could still feel the fire that shot up with Guilty Kiss performed. Also CYaRon, IMHO! Haha! Even though they are cutesy, the "We are CYaRon!" "I LOVE CYARON!!!" cheer during Day Day Day was deafening. Oh and also, CatChu!? They were the only other group to get fire other than Guilty Kiss. I'm embarrassed to admit that when the Liella units were initially announced, I had been mistakenly thinking the Kaleidoscore was the BiBi/Guilty Kiss type... but no, it's actually CatChu!?! HAH!

Also the encore was amazing, especially the last shuffle group. I must have damn near deafened the person next to me when they announced it. And then the big finale, seeing Aiai, aka Ruby, as center of the whole stage.... wow. WOW!

Anyway. If you want to visit Japan. If you want to see a Love Live show. You can do it. YOU CAN! It might be a little expensive to get there, and you may stumble a bit at first, but the foreigner plan is a good deal and food/other lodgings in Japan are actually really cheap. If you need any advice, please let me know! Good luck!

[hexiewrites]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 43!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 562,348, which is honestly insane

3. What fandoms do you write for? right now mostly stranger things. I've got most of a ted lasso fic written but who knows if that'll get posted?? and prev, harry potter.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 1. don't take this sinner (dramione, marriage law ish), 2. same as it ever was (steddie, two timelines, one of my first steddie fics!) 3. carve your name into my chest (steddie, the hockey au of my dreams) 4. come get your man (he got lost in my DMs) (steddie, social media, steve being a horny DM guy) 5. there'll be a riot (cause I know you) (steddie, the matty-healy-rat-man-Eddie-vibed mostly smut fic)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? ugh. I WISH!!!! I want to be better at this, I really do. I usually start strong but I end up with limited energy/time and I want to filter that into writing more. if you've ever commented: I FUCKING LOVE YOU and think you're SO cool! if you really WANT a reply, the best way to get that is to ask me questions haha. it starts to feel weird just "thank you!"ing everyone, ya know?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I am.... not an angsty ending person tbqh! I think the closest is probably you love the sea, which is a flintwood rarepair selkie fic that I deeply love. it ends happy, insofaras they end up TOGETHER, but if you think more about the implications and how fucking sad it's going to be for oliver... well. I'll leave that to you guys.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? god, I'm well known for having "endings so happy they border on absurd", according to one person online. so, pick your poison I guess! anyways the fic THAT person was referring to was same as it ever was, so, let's go with that!

8. Do you get hate on fics? I have been so lucky lately to not get much hate at all lately, which is a real privilege in the fandom world. remember that I cut my teeth in early days of harry potter, and people were BRUTAL. I definitely HAVE gotten hate - my aforementioned dramione fic has a bit of a weird twist that some people were PISSED about (and once I got an incredibly detailed comment about how badly I fucked up my representation of black Hermione because she... didn't talk that much about hating her hair? which I know is AN experience but not necessarily a universal one) but overall, at least this fandom go around, no hate. thank you, everyone, for that!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yes. lots and lots and lots of it. mostly kinda kinky and pretty much all pretty gay. let's not talk about how many times I've had to tag dacryphilia and what that means. I just like when people fuck about things, yknow?

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? nope, never! and I likely never will. too much to keep track of.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? not that I know of, thank god for that.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I've had requests but... I would need a translator willing to work pretty closely with me because I want to make sure certain choices come across well, and I haven't found that yet.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? not officially, though I did write a buckingham companion piece to the amazing cowboy-bar fic @riality-check did!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? OH GOD don't make me choose! ALL TIME is still probably dramione, but steddie is a very close second. in terms of canon ships, I'm such a sucker for buffy/spike (leave me alone), and veronica mars/logan (AGAIN LEAVE ME ALONE) and rory/logan (BECAUSE RICH WHITE BOYS NAMED LOGAN ARE A WEAKNESS, APPARENTLY)

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? pour one OUT for you can't take the sky from me, which is my firefly inspired harry potter au ft pansy/percy, mostly because I had so many big plans for it that I've completely forgotten AND I just can't write in that fandom at all anymore. sorry everyone, I do love what I put out and I wish there was more of it.

16. What are your writing strengths? prose, smut, tying things together with little bows, and spending way too much time in my characters heads

17. What are your writing weaknesses? dual POVs, getting so lost in one character I don't flesh out the others as much as I mean to, action sequences, and consistent motivation

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I've done it before (mostly in clean ice, cold hearts, can't lose) and my typical strategy is to indicate that the characters are speaking a diff language (in french, I use guillements and italics) but not to actually WRITE the french, unless it's very short and the POV character doesn't understand it on purpose like in carve.

19. First fandom you wrote for? harry potter baby! my oldest posted fic that I've found online was from 2002, when I was... too young to be interacting with the internet like that, that's for sure.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? carve your name into my chest and it's no contest. I love same as it ever was as well, which I think is a better WRITTEN fic technically speaking, but carve was a huge passion project that I had so much fun with, and the response to it had been one of my favourite things in the world. oh, and special shout out to make this inn our own, which is my second longest fic ever and was just an absolute joy to do. so, those three, I guess!

tagging with no pressure: @riality-check @hereforanepilogue @maxineholtzmann @stevespookington @stevethehairington @withacapitalp and whoever else wants in!

[cardcaptorsakura96]

About Last Night

Fandom: Supergirl

Characters: Kara Danvers, Lillian Luthor, Lena Luthor, Andrea Rojas, Lionel Luthor, Lex Luthor, Clark Kent, Alex Danvers, Eve Teschmacher

Summary: Lillian Luthor is eagerly wanting to get to her daughter's destination wedding. However, a couple of detours with the docile Kara Danvers changes her life in a big way.

Rating: Mature

Word Count With All Chapters: 5,063

Chapter: 1/?

Trigger Warning: There is a smut scene in this chapter

Lillian tapped her foot while waiting in line. There were two people waiting in front of her. 

“Ugh,” she groaned as she checked her phone again. 

She was supposed to leave on a private plane with Lena and her fiancé Andrea five hours ago to help with wedding preparations, but of all days Morgan Edge wanted to start a coup and take over the company. Lillian urged Lena and Andrea ahead while she put Edge in his place. She was in a particularly petty mode and decided to lay out all of Edge’s skeletons in front of the Board. Needless to say, they voted him off the Board after 15 minutes. 

However, since Lena had the plane, it meant that she would have to ride commercial. She did manage to get a first class ticket, however, the plane made a detour and landed in Las Vegas. They said it was due to weather conditions, but it was sunny outside. When everyone tried to argue, they were told to ask the desk attendant for more information and  about making other travel arrangements. 

Lillian took a deep breathe and rubbed her temple. 

“Keep it together Lillian. The wedding is in 7 days. We were only going to Ireland this early to make sure everything was set up for the wedding by the end of the week. Also, look on the bright side. You are no longer near that creepy gardener anymore.”

She shuddered when she thought of her former seat companion. He seemed harmless at first with all of his plant puns. However, he quickly went from “I beg your garden” to “You make my plants wet”. She was about to call the flight attendant for a possible new seat when the announcement came about the change in destination.

Lillian was so lost in thought that she didn’t realize that she was next in line.

“Umm ma’am, are you ok?”

“Oh, I am so sorry. It has just been a trying day.”

“No worries! How can I help you today?”

“I was wondering if you have any flights that leave out for Dublin, Ireland today.”

“Flights headed out east have all been cancelled.”

“What!”

“There is a severe snow storm in most of the states out west and in the midwest. There is zero visibility in those area.”

Lillian took a couple of big breathes before asking shakily, “When would flights be up and running again?”

“The next flight out to Dublin wouldn’t be until tomorrow night at 7 as long as the winter advisory is gone by then.”

Lillian clenches her fingers on the edge of the desk until her knuckle turns white. She forced a smile while staring at the attendant.

“I will take the 7pm out to Dublin tomorrow,” said Lillian through gritted teeth.

The attendant looked relieved. 

Probably because others have gone off on her due to this inconvenience.

Lillian sighed. She knew that this wasn’t the lady’s fault. As much as she wanted to, not even she could control the weather. If anything this was Edge’s fault for making her miss her flight. 

I need to make sure to do something extra special for Edge when I get back.

Lillian smirked to herself thinking of all the different ways to make Edge’s life hell once she returned. 

The attendant gave her the ticket and said, “I have everything for your flight set up. Just a head’s up, you probably want to call now to make hotel arrangements. The hotels were already busy due to several major music acts being here this weekend.”

“Thanks you so much. I will do that right now.”

“Have a good day!”

Lillian quickly went to the sit down and started calling hotels. While she waited on hold, she checked to make sure she had her carry ons. Since, she received the call about Edge while they were transferring stuff to the private plane from her car, Lena had the majority of her stuff. The only thing she kept with her since she was in a hurry to get back to L-Corp was her carry on bag which had a two shirts and some jeans. She had planned to change out of her clothing before landing into something more comfortable. Due to the location that Lena chose for the wedding, a lot of the travel had to be on foot. 

Read the rest on AO3

[fragilecapric0rnn]

I posted 4,202 times in 2022

That's 4,182 more posts than 2021!

125 posts created (3%)

4,077 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@gothbat99

@greenlikethesea

@gingerbreadmunson

@hotcocoaharrington

@gullbones

I tagged 2,123 of my posts in 2022

Only 49% of my posts had no tags

#stranger things - 323 posts

#steddie - 297 posts

#fanart - 130 posts

#steve harrington - 84 posts

#eddie munson - 65 posts

#fic - 62 posts

#sen writes - 54 posts

#writing - 45 posts

#steddie fic rec - 41 posts

#steddie fic - 40 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#obviously so i can send them a quick lil ‘ur story ruined me thank you’ message but to also rb their posts abt it/rec their fics on my blog

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

you can take your heart from your chest to use as a compass when you are lost

The Steddie Missed Connections AU || Chapters: 6/6 || Complete 

Thanksgiving 2009.

Steve, who is about to host the brood of children (who somehow aren't children anymore) in a cabin for the long weekend, after a semi-bad week, all while batting off Dustin's attempts at playing matchmaker and dodging phone calls from his mother. And at some point some strange man on the internet broadcasts his worst public moment for the other Craigslist freaks to see.

What could go wrong? Or right?

Steve is finding his life to be very different than he thought it would be. He’s also finding that maybe that’s okay.

59 notes - Posted November 1, 2022

#4

It’s Fanfic Writer Appreciation Day and there happen to be some writers that I appreciate and want to show my love to them for sharing their talents with us! 

(Steddie Edition bc they are on the mind 24/7)

The Steddie brainrot has led me to reading a TON of fic. So, I am finally making a rec list of all of the fics that have not been able to leave my brain since they walked into my life. 

As I was compiling this list I noticed a running theme and that is that these are all future fics and what can I say? I’m just a simple girl who’s a sucker for Steve/Eddie in the 90s/early 2000s. I think it has something to do with my love for romcoms from this era and thinking of them as older just makes me want to fall to the floor. 

So here they are, in no particular order: 

1. the most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway is that it’s you by @greatunironic; 

Sixteen years after the world didn't end for the last time, Max Mayfield showed up on Steve’s doorstep and said, “You gonna walk me down the aisle in May or what?” 

Or, it’s 2002 and Steve Harrington attends a wedding, a funeral, and a birth. (Word Count: 34,990)

The way that this fic bore into my soul, I seriously can’t think about it for too long without getting emotional. This one feels like a given considering the fact that I am now getting TikToks my fyp of people out of context referring to this fic, which is how I stumbled upon a recommendation of it. If you haven’t read it yet, PLEASE DO. It’s a national treasure at this point. 

2. Let us Dwell in Fair Ithilien and There Make a Garden series by @sparklyslug and @greenlikethesea (Word Count: 61,151) (Description from Three Weddings and a Funeral) 

Steve Harrington falls in love and gets married. Not in that order. Some other stuff happens along the way too. But those are the two big things. That first one especially.

(Or: celebrations of life)

This series, much like aforementioned most remarkable thing, is set mostly in the future with the gang as adults, and Steve and Eddie dancing around their feelings for each other for nearly 15 years. That is a gross oversimplification in my opinion because it is honestly so much more than that! Like, it’s set in the future, but there is time jumping, and references to previous parts of the series, its just it’s own universe within the ST universe! Ugh, I got flustered trying to put coherent thoughts to how much I fucking love this series and the way that these two have crafted am entirely new canon for me to latch onto. Go read this. Like right now. I also suggest reading it in the writers’ suggested hard mode! 

3. Keep It for Me by @stereobone; 

It's 1993, and Steve is attending Lucas and Max's wedding. It's 1993, and no one has seen Eddie Munson in seven years. (Word Count: 9,741)

For one thing, the little NorCal girl in me was foaming at the mouth at the thought of a chunk of the party living in The Bay Area as adults. This one has the meeting again years later element, which is just so good! This also has writer!Eddie which made my heart burst, and the pining and reunification of it all. Again, I have a hard time putting words to how much this fic has nestled its way into my heart! Repeat: GO READ IT!!!

4. alone again, or by @pizzaqueen; 

It’s 1991 and Steve is still in Hawkins, still living with his mother, still single, and still working at Family Video. At least he’s the manager now, for whatever that’s worth. But he’s stuck here while Robin and Dustin and everyone else have moved away. Moved on.

Well, everyone except for Eddie.

They're best friends, spend most of their time together, and it's nice to have a friend like that. But Steve is still looking for love with a capital "L". At least, he thinks he is. (Word Count: 20,765)

This one is definitely different than the ones I talked about above. But, this one is still fucking fantastic! More of a coming-of-age vibe in a we’re twenty somethings and life looks a lot different than we thought it would and I think thats okay kind of way. Which spoke to me in a way that I also kind of need right now as a twenty something who feels just like that :’) Also love the character of Steve’s mom, which is something we don’t see a lot of, Steve having a supportive parent, and it is very sweetly written. This fic felt like a popsicle on a warm day. READ! IT!

Again, happy Fanfic Writer Appreciation Day! Let’s keep showing our favorite writers love every day of the year! 

107 notes - Posted August 21, 2022

#3

Steddie Fic Rec #2

Like most, the Steddie brainrot is still very much active. I’ve also discovered that I love making rec lists, so here is another! There’s not much cohesion to these ones other than the fact that I just really enjoyed them, so you should enjoy them too!  

In order by word count:  

Up the Punks by @sparklyslug 

Steve has good intentions, but does not realize that punks and metalheads are natural enemies

Explicit. Completed. (Word Count: 5,505)

Oh, sparklyslug, how you’ve managed to steal my heart with your Steve and Eddie in only five thousand-ish words. As if I could expect anything less from ½ of the brains behind the Fair Ithilien series, it makes perfect sense for their solo work to be fantastic! 

This fic is perfect if you’re looking for something short, sweet, and hilarious. Like the dialogue and characterization is just so *chefs kiss* I could basically see the interactions very clearly in my head and it’s just too good too perfect. 

the boys of summer by steveharringtoned

(Steve knows Eddie’s alive. Wayne’s the only one who believes him. So they team up to save him.)

Not Rated. Completed. (Word Count: 19,926) 

A very creative fix-it fic and like a very interesting and creative way in which Eddie is saved. I am honestly such a sucker for Uncle Wayne being included in the plot of fics, especially in the context of him being like ok sure there’s another dimension being hidden by the government, so how the hell do we save my boy. And Steve. He is just so stupidly brave and the characterization of him and his grief in this fic is just so good and different than what we typically see in fics from his POV. The dude is hurting and sometimes being hurt can be ugly and the way the writer shows that is just sooooo gooooood. 

all the missing girls are hanging out without us by @greatunironic 

“Here is a riddle: the answer is one.” Eddie Munson lives, and dies, and lives again.

Mature. Completed. (Word Count: 20,761) 

Another instance in which greatunironic does THAT. I have seen people call this a kind of feminist take on the ways in which the D*ffer Bros treat their women characters as plot devices and dispose of them at ease for the sake of the plot, and I couldn’t agree more. I don’t want to give too much away in this, but I will say this: Eddie’s characterization in this is SO GOOD. He spends the first chunk convincing himself that he’s tripping balls and if that isn’t an Eddie mood than idk what is. 

Quick note: the Steddie in this fic is more implied and is not the central focus of this fic. 

Not Exactly Napa Valley by @twiceasfar

The fake relationship AU that literally no one asked for. Featuring Steve and Robin as platonic soulmates, a destination wedding to a winery, and a thrilling quest to piss off Steve’s parents.

Robin lets out an exasperated sigh. “Eddie would be the perfect date for the wedding!”

Steve freezes.

“Whose wedding?” Eddie asks.

Mature. Completed. (Word Count: 28,900)  

This fic reminded my how much I love the fake dating trope. I always find it interesting to see everybody’s different takes on what Steve’s parents are like, and how we just all agree that they’re awful. Despite that, this fic was very fluffy and had me blushing and giggling like a child. The buildup was so good and the pace was perfect and I honestly love this fic so much. 

The Spaces In Between by @indibdraws

Steve Harrington, ex-lifeguard and babysitter extraordinaire, happens to be blessed with knowledge of first aid. Eddie is the recipient of this aid, and as he recovers he must learn to live with the fact that he owes his life to a prom-king with a 12 step haircare routine. This would be easier if he didn’t find said prom king so uncomfortably attractive.

And if the world would stop ending for five minutes.

Geez.

Explicit. Not Complete. (Word Count: 80,210) 

Typically, I try not to read fics that are unfinished, but this one ended up on my dashboard 5 times in the span of an hour and my impulse control is bad and THANK GOD IT IS BECAUSE HOLY HELL. THIS FIC. This writer should be in the writer’s room for s5 and it is honestly a crime that they aren’t. Like yes, this is a Steve/Eddie fic, but it is also SO much more. The use of canon to create an ending that was satisfying to the store and gave the characters their justice. I cannot explain how much this fic has ended up imbedding its way into my heart and soul. As soon as it's completed, I'm going to reread it again and again and even when s5 premieres I am probably going to prefer this over canon until the day that I die.

See the full post

150 notes - Posted September 3, 2022

#2

How it feels when I see new photos of Joe Keery

332 notes - Posted December 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

LISTEN. I was ready to ride the Steve Becomes A Teacher train all the way home. It’s in my fics, it’s in my planned fics. But but but LISTEN. 

Steve becoming a first responder? 

A little bit post-S4, Steve is driving home to Hawkins after moving to Indy/Chicago/a major city that’s still within reasonable driving distance for him to come see the kids. Eddie is in the passenger seat and they’re zooming down the highway, one of those picture perfect moments where they’re singing along to a Madonna song, that Eddie was complaining about just moments ago. 

Steve, always striving to be the safest driver on the road, mostly because he is almost always transporting precious cargo in the form of his loved ones, isn’t the one who sees it at first. It isn’t until Eddie loudly gasps and points out a pretty horrific car accident unfolding before their eyes in the next lane over. 

Steve pulls off to the side, a fair distance behind wreck. One of the cars is turned completely around in the other direction, the front smashed in. The other cars are also damaged, but the passengers are getting out. No one has gotten out of the turned around car. 

Without a word, without questions from either of them, the two get out of the Beamer. Eddie goes up to the other cars, a woman who’s crying her eyes out and a young family all looking spooked out of their minds, but all seemingly alright. All of this is happening in Steve’s peripheral because he is now sprinting toward the car that no one has gotten out of. He sees the shape of the driver, head laid back on the headrest, unconscious. 

“Don’t move her!” “We need to wait for help!” Bystanders yell at him. Steve doesn’t respond, the driver door now open, as he checks the girl, who looks so young that mental images of one of his kids being in her place flash across his brain, tug at his heart. 

“Eddie!” He yells past the lump in his throat, but it looks like his boyfriend was already reading his mind, as he runs over with the first aid kit that’s always stationed in the trunk of his car. 

He finds her pulse as Eddie settles beside him. He’s checking for broken bones as the girl comes to. He’s telling her to sit back and that everything is okay as Eddie is yelling at the crowd forming around them to back up, he knows what he’s doing. 

Steve gets the flashlight out of the kit, shining it in her eyes, asking her what her name is, what day it is, who the president is, she hesitates to answer but answers all the questions. 

Eddie isn’t sure if this first aid knowledge is from all the times Steve’s been assessed after all the Upside Down shit or if it’s because of his own research, though he realizes as watches Steve keep the girl calm and gently keep her from moving around at all, it’s both. 

Eddie continues to watch when the ambulance gets to the scene. He watches Steve tell the EMTs that the girl is concussed and has no other visible injuries. He watches as they assess her themselves and as they ask Steve if he’s off duty, motioning to his extensive first aid kit. Steve just says he’s had his fair share of emergencies and he knows what he’s doing. 

After the ambulance leaves, Steve and Eddie walking back to their car, even though traffic is backed up all the way to their apartment it seems, Eddie can’t stop thinking about how easily Steve fit into the “hero” role. How, sure, it’s residual Savior Of The World shit, but can’t it also be more now that the world is saved? 

When they’re back on the road, hours later, and close to home, Eddie asks, 

“Have you ever thought about becoming a paramedic?” 

Steve doesn’t say anything. But he’s thinking. No, he hasn’t thought about it. But maybe he should start thinking about it. 

738 notes - Posted October 25, 2022

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[enbyleighlines]

So I’m having this problem at work I guess? I’m not sure if it’s even a problem or if I’m overreacting.

I work at a daycare and my shift is 7:15 to 4:15. However, we are super understaffed so for months it was not unusual for me to stay until we closed, because we have to maintain state mandated ratios of adults to children.

One day I had a woman working in my room who doesn’t usually work with me. We don’t usually interact that much but she’s really nice. Her shift ends at 4:00, and we tend to arrive at work around the same time because I like to be early.

As we were talking, she asked me when I leave, so I told her, “oh well my shift is supposed to be 7:15 to 4:15 but it’s been a long time since I’ve actually left at 4:15”

Anyway ever since I told her that the managers seem to be dead-set on ensuring that I get out exactly at 4:15? Even if it inconveniences the other teachers. Like today they had me leave before my co-teacher, who was supposed to leave at 4. So they had her stay late to ensure that I left on time, which doesn’t seem right.

So now I have no idea what to do or say. I don’t want my coworkers to start to resent me.

Like obviously I would prefer to leave on time but I also understand that we are understaffed and it might not always happen. Again, we are required to meet certain ratios of adults to children.

So what they’ve been doing at 4:15 is basically taking all the children I have left and dispersing them amongst the other teachers, which neither the teachers nor my children have been appreciating. And it’s really difficult to leave work while my children are crying and screaming because they feel abandoned and have been left with adults they don’t really know that well.

Plus that’s added stress to the teachers who have to deal with unfamiliar toddlers having meltdowns.

I just don’t know how to bring any of this up to the managers. I don’t want to sound ungrateful but I also didn’t ask for this? And if it comes at the cost of upsetting both my kids and my coworkers?

Ugh I just. Don’t know what to do…

[robinruns]

what a weird fucking couple days it has been.

yesterday i overslept BIG TIME, like i tried to wake up at 4:30 when my alarm went off, but i just could not do it. next thing i know, kyle's waking me up and it's already after 7 am and i'd slept thru at least his alarm (i think mine 6 am alarm is off actually). so that was a rush. then my mom calls me and says that she got a parking ticket in my dad's name downtown madison. for those who may be new, my dad died two years ago in april. turns out it's the penultimate truck my dad had and sold for cash in 2020. turns out the dude never registered it in my dad's name, it had no plates on it, and so when the cops looked up the vin number, it came up to my dad. so my mom's freaking out and like what the hell am i supposed to do ya know? so i told her to call the cops and be like "hey, here's what's up, what do we do". they called her back and explained what they needed to get the ticket out of my dad's name, told her to call the dmv and they told her what they need to get the car out of my dad's name. of course my mom can't get the document the cops emailed her so i'm like i'll stop by after my eye appointment tomorrow afternoon and do it then.

jump to today. i wake up about 15 minutes before my alarm because fuck me i guess, but i get to the gym earlier than usual. i got good enough workout in, and then stopped at dunkin for a big ass coffee. i got home, got ready for work, and got to work knowing i was leaving at 2:30 (2 hours early) and had a shit load to do. my mom texts me and decides i need to leave earlier and stop by her house first. uggghhhh fine whatever, i'll get it done early then back home earlier.

nope. of fucking course not.

but first i had to get that shit load of work done. i got... some of it done, not all of it because i lost an hour of work time. i'm going to have to do overtime this weekend to make up for it. not like i need to make up for my hours off, but like i need to catch up or try to get ahead ya know?

anyway, i head to madison. i get there and she's freaking out but i get it printed. then she wants to do the thing for the online form for the dmv, but needs my dad's drivers license number. this sends her into a full blown meltdown because she can't find it... just to find it about a minute later. turns out because the sale of the car was almost 2 years ago, we can't do the online form so she calls the dmv and explains the situation. meanwhile i'm like i need to leave in 5 minutes, sooooooo. so what does she do? freaks out that she doesn't know how to operate the dmv website and shoves the phone in my hand as i'm like "i need to leave!!" but luckily i find it in two seconds and get it opened/printed. but then as i'm leaving she's like "come back when you're done."

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuucking hell.

eye appointment went fine. eyes a slightly worse than before but i knew that was coming. the person who was checking me out and ordering my contacts kept calling me girl though and i kinda wanted to be like "please don't assume my gender just because i'm wearing a dress". i head home and my mom's like about to leave. "i'm out of ink so i can't copy this form for my records." ugh. i try to scan it, scanner won't send the data to the computer. fine, go get the ink. so i sit in peace and quiet with shandy for the first time in AGES. she's all sleepy from going to the vet and getting her shots this morning. i love her.

anyway.

i don't know why i had to come back. but i did. she got her forms, i got a headache. whatever.

but i apparently won tickets to the badflower show, so i'm gonna see if jennifer wants to go again since she really likes them. i still haven't gotten my waterparks tickets that i won from the other radio station, but whatever. if they never showed up, then they never show up. no skin off my nose. so maybe that's my tomorrow night, idk yet. ugh. too much going on. and i need to do my taxes.

sigh.

[theloniousbach]

THE GALAPAGOS CHRONICLES

#1–Mid-day, Friday, 8 March 2024

Had all gone to plan, we would be in Miami at this point about 1/3 of the way into a 10 hour layover waiting for our flight to Quito that will get in at a projected 23:21. We were slated to leave at 5:30 am. Ugh. 10 hour layover, also ugh.

I went to sleep at 7 am, planning to get up at 1 to get to campus at 2 with an AppleWatch on my wrist and my phone on the bedside table. I took the phone off at 11 when I kept getting alerts. Young people communicating, right. Nope. I didn’t go back to sleep but at 1 when I did get out of bed and get my glasses I found out the flight had been bumped to 8:30 to 12:30. It’s currently 12:50.

So maybe 2 1/2 hours more and easily to the St Louis Airport for a breakfast of fish and chips conversing with Sam who is usually the one on the phone at the airport in the middle of part one of a still very long day in airports.

I have been too focused on the getting there to have it really sink in that I will be in South America andin the Southern Hemisphere, (near the Equator near the Equinox and at Quito’s 2850 meters/9350 feet in altitude, I am going to be as close to the sun as I will have ever been) for the first time. Above all, at a Darwin shrine like Down and Westminster Abbey.. But all that’s beginning to sink in.

Still it will be a late night and an earlyish morning (8 am) tomorrow and stupid early morning (5!?!, w-t-pickaletter) on Sunday for the flight into the Galapagos.

#1.5–Early Evening, Friday, 8 March 2024

I am not, as I might have thought, at this moment boarding a plane in Miami. I will not, as I might have thought, after an 18 hour day (with the asterisk that it was going to be a 21 hour day) gone to sleep in Quito. My 13 hour day in airports was “only” 8 hours.

We did spend 90ish minutes on the plane though. But the mechanical problem that delayed us could not be resolved. Even had we gone out at the 4 pm time they projected as we got off the plane, we would have missed the connection in Quito.

So we have been “delayed” not cancelled until 7 am tomorrow.

I sleep in my own bed, at least until 3 am. Poor Ellen has to drive us to the airport again when it’s dark. She gives up seeing knitting friends.

I think we will “only” have a 14 hour day tomorrow. We won’t see Quito to any real extent. And we are out of our hotel there at 5 am (sleeping in!) for the flight to the Galapagos on Sunday.

There isn’t an upbeat photo for this entry and GC #2 won’t be that picturesque either.

But I will be as relieved as excited to see the Galapagos on Sunday.

#2 in part—Saturday, 9 March 2024, 7:30 pm EST, Miami Airport

We are awaiting the arrival of the aircraft to take us to Quito which will depart 1.5 hours late. Due in at 12:46 am. I imagine I’ll be checked in by 2 am. We are due to be picked up for the run to the airport to get to the Galapagos at 5 am. I will be napping on the plane, but this will be the third night in a row of disrupted sleep after a week of just being excited/anxious.

But we got to the airport in St Louis at 9:15 am, time used to get the airline to enter things in the system so we could get through TSA and eat. Gyros for breakfast BUT the American Airlines food voucher didn’t work.

We got on the plane on time and even pushed back from the gate mostly on time. We sat on the tarmac for a little less than an hour over Spring Break congestion and, more importantly, weather in Florida.

We got to Miami’s jammed and hopping airport in plenty of time too much of which I devoted to waiting for a chicken burrito. But I ate—and I will try to sleep en route to Quito.

Yikes.

Day 2, Part 2–EuroBuilding Hotel, Quito, 3:15 am

It would appear that writing takes precedence over sleep as I may not have much electronics on the Galapagos. My phone will be a clock and a camera at least. I can probably add to the Google doc I am curating these on but posting them will be iffy.

We’re to be down in the lobby at 4:30 for transport to the airport for the flight to the islands. What we have gotten out of this hotel is showers and a chance to rearrange things. I’m using the WiFi for a tic.

We get to stay on the islands, not a tourist boat, because we are a Webster class with USFQ collaborators. I slept on the plane for a decent stretch, but I am pulling an all nighter. When I was their age, I didn’t do that. My experience with adult insomnia makes this bearable, but that I’ve had that licked as a general rule these past several years and particularly months makes this a challenge.

However my mantra is an unvoiced “I’m not too old for this shit.” :|| and a commitment to be a good Kansan because home on that range, never is heard a discouraging word.

Day 3–Casa de Nelly, San Christobal Island, 2:00 pm local time, feeling like 8 pm

We’re here and it is finally real. If I also wrote rather than sleep during my short hotel interlude, I spent valuable minutes being excited.

Seeing the likes of this between our welcome luncheon spot (freshly caught tuna in a pasta) and our hotel is simply amazing.

I am writing again instead of sleeping during nap time, but I don’t know I’d get up until midnight if I did sleep. So I’ll ride the excitement and wonder.

It’s rainy and that isn’t stopping us and we will be out in an hour for a hike, rain or no rain. We have settled into the hotel and had an orientation from our host institution as well as the meal with the last of the forced march of airports and airplanes behind us in the morning. But it felt like a full day at 10:30 am when we landed.

97% of the archipelago is national park and the population supports that and the ecotourism it fosters. We however are passersby, not tourists, semi-official under the aegis of Universidad de San Francisco de Quito which shares Webster University’s service to underserved populations, in this case Galapagoans who, if they left for education rarely came back.

We are definitely in the tropics and in the underdeveloped world, but it’s a different kind of underdevelopment with that as pristine as possible 97% and an upscale ness for the tourists. But we’re not typical tourists expecting suburban America. But I am now very curious about the natives.

But we’ll get out of their world tomorrow and into what makes this special. With some more food and some reasonable sleep and I’ll be able to meet it more than half way.

Day 3 Coda—Casa de Nelly, Monday, 11 March 2024, 6 am

Do not be alarmed by the hour. It is 7 am back home and I SLEPT for 8.5 hours, not unbroken but that doesn’t happen. Indeed, though I am not too old for this shit, I am feeling my age, lagging in the pack and ending the wonderful collegial conversation over dinner early.

But slow and steady was well worth it for a magnificent hike out of the Interpretation Center behind the USFQ campus. We climbed to observation decks overlooking Darwin Bay where HMS Beagle landed and frigate birds soared around us, then down to near that bay and an odd statue of Darwin (head to small, him well past his age when he was here), and around to a beach which, in succession, required stepping over iguanas on the path, frigate birds perched but 12 feet above us in a tree, and a sea lion which started to waddle up to one of the retreating students.

No pictures as my phone was in the hotel drying out from an inadvertent quick dip in a puddle. It wouldn’t charge but sitting for six hours in my air conditioned room worked the necessary magic. So I’ll have visual evidence today of a hike to a waterfall, a tortoise refuge, and a beach.

Walking back from dinner, there were sea lions on the sidewalks, as if they were sleeping rough, as the British would put it.

It’s all amazing. And that was through sleep exhausted eyes.

Day 4–Casa de Nelly, Monday, 11 March 2024, back from dinner

I have just posted the pictures of the sea lion pups hanging out near the Darwin/HMS Beagle statue on the boardwalk in town. My colleagues were heading to continue a wonderful conversation begun over ceviche mixto and, to try next time, shrimp in a coconut sauce when we saw them. We had ventured forth in a remarkable cloud burst which gave my rain coat and beach shoes good use.

I didn’t have said beach shoes during our chance to frolic in the water. I cooled off too but lost my sunglasses in the waves so I headed back to our area which we shared with a sea lion on one of the benches. I would have added a photo of him/her but previous attempts have failed. Still it was a refreshing end of that part of the excursion part of the day.

We started in the highlands with a hike to El Junco Lagoon, the islands sole body of fresh water. It was too misty to take advantage of its vistas of the other side of the island, so it was another steep climb. I think there were gradients that were of interest but I lagged behind and didn’t hear explanations. But it is all quite remarkable.

It was even mistier on our way climb back up to retrace our steps back to town after the beach. The middle of the day included the breeding center for tortoises for which I have posted pictures of them and two different videos of the same beast walking quite briskly onto the path and then towards and past me. Absolutely fascinating and the definite high point of a stunning day and perhaps the entire week.

But snorkeling lies ahead tomorrow and the adventures will continue. So I’m willing to give those activities fair consideration in comparison to the tortoise.

Day 5–Back at Casa de Nelly after small boat/snorkeling (!?!) excursion to Isla Lobos, Tuesday, 12 March 2024, 2 pm

Our official day is over after a four and a half hour boat trip along the shore of San Christobal to a small, calm bay near Isla Lobos. We saw these blue footed boobies, frigate birds including males with big red pouches, a huge manta ray, and countless sea lions.

I was generally timid staying in the back of the boat and not climbing up top. I did snorkel though I held onto a life preserver and was towed by the guide. I don’t know how much my occasional paddling with my flippers helped. I also wore a life jacket. But I kept my head in the water and breathed through my mouth through the tube. Our guide said to do yogic breathing, for efficiency and to avoid panic, so I’m glad I had that in my arsenal.

Others swam to a beach after lunch and came back even after rain came up. Our trip back to town was in a steady but pleasant rain. So it has been a watery day.

The class will be meeting shortly, but I will let them conduct their business and rest. Quiet will be worthwhile.

Day 5 coda—Casa de Nelly, Tuesday, 12 March 2024 after dinner

I take crap selfies but I took ones with the two sculptures of Charles Darwin along the waterfront in town.

It has finally struck me here with the students that, unlike these images and even the ones at the Interpretive Center, way closer at 26 to their age than the older famous man depicted here. He was at loose ends. He graduated from Cambridge at 22 and takes a gap year that lasts about 5. He doesn’t know what he wants to do, except it ain’t what the expectations other have for him.

When he’s our leader’s age, he’s polishing and repolishing the big book Natural Selection of which On the Origin of Species is the condensed version and which serves as source notebooks for many of his subsequent books, the one long argument. And, yikes, when he’s my age, he’s got four years to live.

Still I identify with Darwin in this very limited sense. I’m on this expedition in an odd role. I am seen as one of the professors by the “crew,” but, bless them, they are amiable and tolerant and good natured. On the boat today, the recreation director put on a playlist from her phone that included a much higher percentage of songs I recognized—and more than a few I actually liked. I’m confident I wasn’t being patronized, though perhaps I was taken into account.

It’s a fascinating place, truly a laboratory of evolution. Because it was only in retrospect that Darwin recognized that, he is appropriately an afterthought around here. I would like to get a cap with some Darwin reference, but that’s not part of the souvenir trade. And that’s probably about right.

Days 6-8–Casa de Nelly, Friday, 15 March 2024, after breakfast

Yesterday was a lost day for the students as their data collection was rained out and for me as I had/have a full blown case of what I’m calling Fitzroy’s Revenge, thinking it better to punch up on Darwin’s benefactor/nemesis than on some Inca leader and certainly not the inappropriate Aztec leader whom Yanquis all to readily blame.

I spent about 18 hours in bed sleeping intermittently and moving to the bano more frequently and urgently. I missed out on two celebratory meals but no excursions. I continue to take it easy and will be seriously medicated as we fly to Guayaquil and on to Quito this afternoon. But I am doing better.

Besides Fitzroy, do I blame the pork soup on Wednesday’s lunch or the cheese empanada/ceviche for dinner that day or the rinsing of my toothbrush from the tap? I regret being puny, but folks have taking fine care of me.

I spent a couple of hours in town helping a couple of students getting in one set of observations of sea lions, but then a serious rain came up and our leader called it for everybody as it might well have been worse in the park.

Wednesday afternoon was also called off as we couldn’t get to Finca Guadalupe so that was quiet though I didn’t nap as perhaps I should have. Instead I reread the fruits of my predecessor as a supernumerary on a previous trip with students. Paul Stroble absorbed all the wondrous things we see and created a poetry collection called “Galapagos Joy.” I’ve read it before, maybe even in manuscript form and certainly before this trip. But reading it here with my own mental images reinforcing Paul’s insights was quite special.

Days 8-10–Hotel Cumbaya, Sunday, 17 March, 2024,5:30 pm (almost bedtime)

In addition to Fitrzroy, I evidently pissed off Bishop Wilberforce and Richard Owen too as, to not bury the lede, I was released at midday after at least 36 hours of attention from Quito’s teaching Hospital de Los Valles where they rehydrated me and infused me with antibiotics and various under wonder drugs, including a sleep aid that let me have 6 1/2 hours sleep.

I came in very puny, shivering in part because I did what I could twice to clean my pants. I’ve got some schtick here because of course I do, but let’s just leave it at that.

It was quite comfortable really with excellent care from remarkably good natured staff who used Google Translate with me quite effectively. I had extremely limited electronics (phone, not iPad) but could turn iMessages into texts home to Ellen who passed things on to Sam. But, particularly or even at diminished levels, my brain is an okay place spend time in. I’ve certainly put lots of things in there, so I opened a few boxes. And I listened to a NYTimes Duke Ellington playlist and one of ballads from Blue Note albums that the label distributed..

They kept asking if I was nauseated. Well, except for when my wet boots came out of the suitcase and smelled like sea lions, no. Evidently what I do instead is respond to the burbling below by getting hiccups which come and go. Annoying enough but not nausea.

Poor Ellen with Sam felt helpless. So did I but I don’t think there was anything to do. I actually can advocate for myself, but I am grateful to Nicole Miller-Struttmann who was a bulldog, even though I am no Darwin. There are rescheduling and administrative logistics that I would muddle through if I were at full strength. Our USFQ contact Pieter was good company and even did my laundry which was huge. Mara and Gabriel from USFQ also saved my sorry ass.

At Ellen’s insistence, I’m pampering myself by flying business class and may well use a wheel chair in Miami. Old Jewish guy in a wheel chair? I think if I can work on my entitlement during the business class time, I may just fit in.

I posted a picture from lunch overlooking Quito. It was good to be on my feet and to have some food I wanted to eat. It’s stayed in me just fine thought I’ve mostly hiccuped since. I did not walk around the artisanal market where Nicole got some gifts for kiddos.

Some of our Webster kiddos have landed in St Louis, but many including Steph Schroeder are flying out perhaps even after us. Since they aren’t on this platform they won’t know to be on the lookout for a particular entitled old Jewish guy in a wheelchair in the MIami airport.

Days 10-11, 16-17 March 2024, Quito

I teach about place, inspired conceptually by JB Jackson, including his impact on Edgar Anderson and John Stillgoe, among others. Vernacular architecture, landscape, communities and the very buildings all contain the subtlest of cues about the culture that shaped and is shaped by that place.

Once sprung from the hospital, I had about 12 hours in the town itself, some of it spent sleeping—or trying to. Even then, I had the sounds of the street distracting and intriguing me as I listened to the community of Cumbaya wind down.

After dropping bags off at the Hotel Cumbaya in the community of that same name and near the USFQ campus, we climbed up from the valley to that wonderful restaurant where we looked down on the old bullfight arena and the magnificent old Cathedral and a panorama of the old town and its expansion. It was a two lane road with some winding, not crowded for a Sunday afternoon, but evidently the only way up. Undoubtedly it’s crowded during the week. But one imagines there’s a resignation to the circumstances. Other roads are crowded, especially by US standards, and not relentlessly efficient. Drivers dodge around one another and there has to be a driving culture but it seems more cheerful than, say, the LA Freeway.

At 2:30 am, we tapped on our cabbie’s window and he awoke to take us to the airport along those now empty highways. There are a hodgepodge of businesses close to the road, more industrial than commercial, on the basis of their meager parking areas. It’s a car culture, but somehow not a parking one. People use cars but we maintain the places for ourselves. At least in old Cumbaya the streets are fairly narrow. Cars are one tool among many, not the essential Swiss Army knives we make them.

But they are used, including into the night, or at least passed dark when a weary and still ill traveler needing to arise at 2 am tried to sleep. So too is there a street life with young people, mostly men, hanging out and laughing amiably. It all seemed so good natured that I couldn’t justly complained.

It’s a capital in the Global South, much poorer than it could and certainly should be, but in the areas where the likes of me went, it seems not grindingly so. It was not as bad as I feared and was prepared to see. On the broad boulevards there are the signs of Norteamericano brands and consumerism. Tommy Hilfiger, I heard, specifically did not design for these brown people and yet they embrace his brands, maybe confounding and challenging the insult but nonetheless putting money in the racist’s pocket. Consumerism always wins.

But, at first, it seems an unlikely place to build a city. It is a daunting task and that it was done so long ago prompts even more admiration for the ingenuity of those people. But it was a sacred place, the capital of first Los Quitos who lost out to the Incas who lost out to the Spanish who lost out briefly and partially to the Ecuadoreans who use the US dollar as their currency. Thus it’s profaned, but once it was sacred and significant as a key spot on route from the Andes to the Amazon. As impressive as the peaks are, it’s the valleys that were rich in agriculture. The mining is now limited, but those resources are directly from the geological richness.

It is an unlikely place to build a city because it is 2850 meters in elevation. They may use American money, decimal based as it is, but not our other ludicrous measures. So that’s 9350 feet. It being so very near the Equator, so very near the Equinox, and so very elevated, I was as close to the sun as I ever will be or maybe ever could be. I got enough sun at lunch to be surprised and felt that warmth as I tried to sleep. I was not up for any walking around (I sat in the car and watched people go into the artisanal market), but I felt the altitude and there was a pressure on my chest that lifted only in the plane and then back at near sea level in Miami.

There is a large statue—of St Gabriel, I’m told—overlooking the old town. The bull fight arena and Cathedral are the most impressive representations of the Colonial era but the surroundings are, undoubtedly at ground level, able to tell even more about those days.

But unencumbered by such details, I can tell myself wide ranging stories. With only slightly more visual facts about the few other parts of the city that I saw, I nonetheless have this indelible and precious image of Quito.

Day 12–18 March 2024, Quito>Miami>St Louis

We were at Quito Airport by 3 am and at the gate in plenty of time even for me to be taken down in a wheelchair to security to look at the bottles of electrolytes in my packed bag. They passed muster though I would have been happy enough to have them confiscated then. It would have saved me from throwing them away in Miami.

Blech! I had found some mango nectar which was much better but still not as sweet as in the US. I bought another one for the road but didn’t drink it and so had to give it up in Miami too. But mangos are a gift and I have frozen fruit bars among my at home comfort food.

E bought me Business Class seats to Miami at quite a pretty penny. I’m glad I’m married by now to someone who’s rich as it was valuable above all to have a bano nearby and shared among a much smaller pool. Otherwise, it was a lot to pay for a warm wash cloth, omelette, orange juice, a couple of cups of tea, and a glass of water (yes, a glass and silverware too), and leg room. I’m old enough to remember pre-cattle car days when at least the leg room and food with silverware were more accessible. Of course there was a smoking section.

But such extortion is common. One of our students bought a ticket on a plane he was flying standby. He paid the ransom, just as we did—and the airline benefits from being incompetent. They had delayed, not canceled, our outbound flight, so that they were liable only for some $12 meal vouchers (mine didn’t work). The bulk of our party couldn’t take off from Quito for “weather” reasons—given the temperature the filled to the brim plane, maximizing filled seats, couldn’t get the needed lift. That delay led to them missing their connection (a couple of students had the door close in their face) and several different subsequent improvisations—the buying of the ticket to get on the standby flight, flying a different airline, different standbys with the last of us getting home 48 hours after plan. I was not the last one home, so my suggestion next time is to spend 36 hours in the hospital as a way to expedite one’s travel.

I was with our group leader who, besides taking wonderful care of me, was navigating the bureaucracy for all. It seems that we got hammered by the administrative inflexibility of non-refundable group tickets that required the University’s travel agency being in charge but that office not being around on the weekend. What was meant to be an economy measure probably cost more between the hotel rooms etc.

I am planning a Spring Break trip for next year. It won’t entail going through Miami and it won’t be going to the tropics, but, particularly, right now, I’m not exactly sure if I could handle all the logistics on top of the teaching. I might well have a Webster colleague along anyway, but I might just smuggle along one or both of the other ruthlessly efficient organizers that we Kleindorfs are.

I expected, as I’d written before, to have used wheel chairs in Miami Airport, but I made it through Customs and all the various lines and just kept going. The final indignity was that just before boarding time they shifted our gate from D40 to D15, so off we highstepped it, me too. Still somehow I made it on time and managed back home in steerage with my gut compliant.

It was 80 degrees in Miami and 40 in St Louis. E met us at the gate with coats and we got ourselves home.

Finally.

A veteran traveler and keen observer of how things really work commented on a previous post. I agree that it’s not just this airline. A friend was bumped back into the main cabin as they probably sold her upgrade out from under her. I’ve had Southwest Airlines meltdown on me a couple of times. United is in the news with some problems, including, I think, near collisions on the ground. And I went to the airport expecting to get to London a dozen years and having to turn around.

He writes:

“I’ve flown on most US airlines, and many foreign airlines in the course of business, government work, and personal. I fly a lot even now. I know of no American airline where your most recent adventure in flying couldn’t happen. It was bad before the Covid interregnum, awfully bad during it, and is worse now. Not enough pilots, not enough maintenance staff, overworked air traffic controllers working an technologically obsolete air traffic control system, serious crew shortages, supply chain problems for parts, and more. I’ve lost track of stories as bad and worse than what you just went through. Having said that, it’s not every time. For every trip with some sort of problem or delay, the next one will leave on time and arrive on time. It’s a crap shoot.”

I thank him for these insights as he delineates all the reasons and is right in taking a big step back. From that vantage point, the indignities of any particular fiasco have a context. But that context is that the system for systemic reasons isn’t working. Airline travel serves a relatively privileged layer (one of our students hadn’t ever flown before). We may not be able to get from Tokyo to the Super Bowl on private planes, but we have more opportunities to travel than, I would guess, the cab driver who slept in his vehicle waiting to take us to the Quito Airport. The system isn’t reliable for our layer.

It hasn’t been reliable for the likes of that cabdriver around even more important things like health and education for a long time.

Conclusion/s

Was it worth it? Though a reasonable question, I answer with an emphatic yes.

It’s true that my active Galapago-ing was from midday Sunday (shaky from lack for sleep for two days) to the rain out Thursday late morning (with illness coming on. Those four days compare to another four devoted to travel and three of being pretty sick. And there are hospital costs and the Business Class extortion. The money, I have the luxury of saying, is secondary.

I have indulged indentifying with Charles Darwin throughout, in particular as a supernumerary with peculiar interests. I heard the kids expressed concern for their historian just as the HMS Beagle crew called Darwin Philosopher. They were wonderful, welcoming, and exciting in their interests and curiosities. Observing them in a boundaried but not detached way was the first acquisition. We all went through so much together.

But Darwin’s time on the boat was a consistent misery of seasickness and he spent as much time ashore as possible. But, without minimizing that suffering, he knew that whatever suffering he endured the wonders of what he saw was worth it. Me too.

The beach near but not, I guess, at Darwin Bay is, I realize, the most spectacular memory. On Day 3, I wrote, “…around to a beach which, in succession, required stepping over iguanas on the path, frigate birds perched but 12 feet above us in a tree, and a sea lion which started to waddle up to one of the retreating students.” Add the absolutely genuine jawdropping joy of one of the most bird-loving but distant students at the frigate birds was special.

I had a tortoise walk right along the path by me and at a good clip too. The tortoises were charismatic and specific to their refuge.

I wasn’t ill but I was waning as the full crew marched over volcanic rocks to a peak at La Loberia. But I got an hour of watching the crash of Pacific waves that will more than tide me over until looking at Great Lakes over the summer. Waves are a great joy and I got them.

I was assigned to the sea lion researchers and I enjoyed seeing them then and during my walks downtown. It is odd to be rather complacent about such magnificent animals. Indeed, I’ll say it again, my wet boots smelled like them and, in the hospital, that was the closest to being nauseated as I got. Interestingly, I get hiccups when there are rumbles in my gut that cause the diaphragm to spasm. It is they who are my example of the extreme lack of fear among this fauna.

And I snorkeled! Sure I was dragged but I saw urchins and rays and eels and spectacular fish. I managed all that. And the boat ride brought us near blue footed boobies and frigate birds. Being on the water has to be part of the island experience.

I enjoyed the ceviches and the grilled fish, but for now those remain suppressed memories. The fresh fruit juices were nice for not being over sweetened to US tastes. But for now food memories are, I’m afraid, fraught.

I got into the Southern Hemisphere at least a little. Quito and the Andes are now real in my mind as are examples of what imperialist exploitation has wrought.

At the moment, I feel pretty old—and I don’t like it. But I’m not too old for this shit. I wouldn’t do this specific thing again as that would be stupid. But I have no regrets whatsoever.

[baileyboo2016]

tagged by @touloserrrr the thread was getting a little loooong lol

1. coke or pepsi: pepsi!!

2. disney or dreamworks: dreamworks! (currently boycotting disney) also httyd :)

3. coffee or tea: neither

4. books or movies: bookssss (but i like both)

5. windows or mac: mac

6. dc or marvel: not my thing but i’ll go with dc because of the flash

7. xbox or playstation: um…haven’t used either

8. dragon age or mass effect: dragon age

9. night owl or early riser: night owl (i will stab someone before willingly choosing to get up early)

10. cards or chess: cards

11. chocolate or vanilla: for ice cream? vanilla.

12. vans or converse: converse

13. lavellan, trayvalen, cadash or adar: lavellan

14. fluff or angst: put them through the horrors

15. beach or forest: forest

16. dogs or cats: both but dogssss

17. clear skies or rain: clear skies

18. cooking or eating out: depends. can’t cook well but eating out can be sensory hell.

19. spicy food or mild food: mild for sure i can’t stand apice

20. october holidays or december holidays: HALLOWEEN 4EVER BABY

21. little too cold or little too hot: cold

22. superpower? shapeshifting

23. animation or live action? both

24. paragon or renegade? ….idk

25. baths or showers: SHOWER ALL THE WAY

26. cap or iron man? i’m indifferent

27. fantasy or sci-fi: FANTASY WOOOOO also back to the future

28. three or four favorite quotes?

ZINGA-DINGDING!!!! -lanayru

40% certainty that this person is a plant -fi

zelda’s quote at the end of botw

literally everything that comes out of LD-301S Scrapper’s mouth

29. youtube or netflix: youtube

30. harry potter or percy jackson: i am strongly anti hp and jkr’s transphobic ass can go eat shit. so percy :)

31. when do you feel accomplished? when i do not meet society’s expectations cause those suck ass.

32. star wars or star trek: haven’t seen either

33. paperback or hardcover: hardcover

34. live in a world without literature or music: WHAT THE FUCK. THIS IS EVIL. i’ll have to pick literature just cause i can’t give up music-

35. who was the last person to make you laugh? the pall weople

36. city or countryside: cities are overwhelming for me, so country.

37. favorite chips: DORITOOOOOS (not lanayru’s kind)

38. pants or dresses: both but i’ll pick pants

39. libraries or museums: LIBRARY LIBRARY LIBRARY LIBRARY

40. character or plot driven stories: ugh this is hard. um…plot??

41. bookmarks or folding pages: BOOKMARK

42. dream job: no fucking idea (i do need to start getting my life figured out soon)

43. what gives you comfort? art. fanfiction. my blorbos. my friends. plushies. dogs.

44. what are you currently having brainrot levels of interest over: lanayru from skyward sword

45. what is your current favorite song: I HAVE TO PICK 1???? ok…again will the fire burn

46. how many books have you read this year? …. does fanfiction count? if not, 1??

i’ll leave this open tags cause this takes a while so if you dont have the commitment no worries <33

RULES: answer all questions, add one question of your own, and tag as many people as there are questions

thank you @good-enemy for the tag <3

coke or pepsi: coke

disney or dreamworks: sorry but i prefer disney i could name maybe like two dreamworks movies off the top of my head

coffee or tea: tea because coffee tastes burnt

books or movies: books

windows or mac: windows

dc or marvel: unfortunately i am a marvel fan

x-box or playstation: i havent used either of these in years

dragon age or mass effect: what

night owl or early riser: night owl

cards or chess: cards

chocolate or vanilla: depends on the food but usually vanilla

vans or converse: docs

lavellan, trevelyan, cadash, or adaar: ⁉️

fluff or angst: angst. hurt that blorbo you know you want to

beach or forest: beach

dogs or cats: dogs by default because im allergic to cats

clear skies or rain: clear skies but like the kind of clear skies when its sunny with no clouds in the sky but its chilly out

cooking or eating out: depends on the food

spicy food or mild food: mild food bc im a picky eater and also white

halloween/samhain or solstice/yule/christmas: hanukkah

would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot: a little too cold

if you could have a superpower what would it be: telekinesis but that might just be because im a jean grey girlie

animation or live action: live action

paragon or renegade: ⁉️

baths or showers: baths but unfortunately showers are more convenient

team cap or team iron man: i hate both of them

fantasy or sci-fi: anyone who knows me knows i am the biggest fantasy lover out there

do you have three or four favorite quotes, if so what are they: idk i have a lot but i couldnt name them off the top of my head

youtube or netflix: youtube

harry potter or percy jackson: percy jackson obviously. he'd also kick harry potter's ass but thats a whole other conversation

when do you feel accomplished: when i succeed

star wars or star trek: ive seen bits of star wars so that one

paperback books or hardcover books: hardcover books because they have built in bookmarks and also theyre pretty

live in a world without literature or music: nice try but no

who was the last person to make you laugh: i dont know probably my dad

city or countryside: city i love the city i am a big city person (i dont live in a big city)

favorite chips: baked lays

pants or dresses: pants

libraries or museums: museums we have no good libraries here

character driven stories or plot driven stories: oh thats hard. probably plot but i do love a good character driven story

bookmarks or folding pages: bookmarks

dream job: music therapist

what gives you comfort: my dog. also music

what are you currently having brain rot levels of interest over: the once upon a broken heart series by stephanie garber and also maisie peters's music

what is your current favorite song: coming of age by maisie peters

(added question) how many books have you read this year?

tagging @henwilsons @napollya @thegoosewitch and whoever else is interested

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 689: The senpai one year older

Pag 1

3: More, Onoda-kun!!

We have to become stronger

4: We have to raise our pace a little

If we keep going like this

4: We won't catch up to the first years!!

Yes!!

5: Aaaaaaaa

After this...

Pag 2

1: We'll only have our own strength

Pag 3

2: I can see them!!

3: Onoda-san and the others!!

Onii-chan!!

They're getting closer, even though there was a distance of three minutes

4: The bridge that's our finish line is right before our eyes - let's get away, Danchiku

Yeah, Issa

5: Let's switch, Onoda-kun!!

You did a good job...

Pag 4

1: Now, leave it

To us!!

To us!!

2: Don't say the same thing as me, Hotshot

That's my line!! Naruko!!

3: P.... lease.....

Waaa- Onoda.... he fell behind

4: Let's catch the first years!!

That's.... bad, what's with that acceleration!!

Pag 5

2: Ahhh, dammit, even though I though we could manage it today

3: Kakaka, not yet!

Keep practicing, Kabu!!

Ugh...!! It was just an accident today!! It just happened that I had no strength left!!

4: By the way, why did I have to run with the first years, Imaizumi!?

I'm a second year!!

5: Ah... Kawada

6: That's

7: I guess that's because your strength and experience in the club are the same level of the first years?

Ugh.... don't put it so bluntly, you bastard!!

8: You can always get to the second years's side if you work hard and your status goes up

Ugh.... ugh.... dammit, alright I got it

9: Really though.... Hotshot, you're so strict with Kawada

Hahaha serves you right, Kawada!

Really?

I told you to speak politely to me, Kaburagi!!

Pag 6

1: Let's go eat lunch on the rooftop

Alright

Ah

2: Onoda-kun

3: Ah, Kanzaki-san

4: You're helping the teachers?

Yes... that's right, they asked me to take this to the reference room

5: My class, too. Let's go together

Okay

Pag 7

1: Ah, who during today's morning practice?

The second years' side caught up!

2: You sure are great

I fell behind at the end, though

3: It's getting warmer in the mornings, isn't it? Even the warm isn't cold to the touch anymore

4: It's already April after all

It's spring

5: Yeah

6: The school too

7: has become quiet

Pag 8

1: The third years are graduating

Pag 10

3: They're having the graduation ceremony, and the closing ceremony for the current students is in two weeks

Its' a bit lonely

Pag 11

1: Yeah...

3: Koga-san, and Aoyagi-san, and.... Teshima-san

Pag 12

1: They.... graduated

...yeah

3: The time spent with the “senpai a year older than you” is long

4: so, compared to the third year senpai when we were in their first year

Pag 13

1: It's different.... it feels lonely.....

….yeah

Pag 14

3: Teshima-san, Aoyagi-san, Koga-san – the third years really worked hard

Pag 15

1: Catch up, first years

It's a game of tag

Ah, the second years still haven't given up

Use these

I'm the only one who isn't decided

Teshima!!

2: Get through!!

I'm glad

3: Many things happened, but we always ran watching your backs from up close

Pag 16

1: Onoda

2: Onodaa!!

3: Onoda

4: Yes!!

5: Thank you so much!!

Pag 17

1: Now....

2: Onoda, you clean the whiteboard please

Since it's to write things like informations and practice menus

I'll leave it to you

3: Erase.... this....?

Imaizumi-kun?

4: No no no, no way no way no way

5: But

As the captain

I have to harden my heart....

6: No way...!!

No, since this is my job... I have to hold on tight

But... really.... this....

7: Oh, you're early, Onoda-kun!!

Waaaa-!!

8: What are you doing with the whiteboard?

Hahaha, it's nothing

Pag 18

1: When I met Kaburagi at the school shop earlier

He was super excited

Haha, is- is that so?

2: There were really more than five of the special left!!

It's a miracle!! I really might be in luck because it's spring!!

You say so, but you still only bought four of them

3: Maybe he'll buy a lottery ticket and really win

Yeah, Kaburagi-kun really likes that yakisoba bread

4: But he could able to buy the bread just because there aren't third years anymore

Pag 19

1: This morning too, he said something like “it just happened that I had no strenght left, and so I lost”

That's

3: The third years graduated and he's not here anymore, so he he hasn't that power

That guy used to gling to Aoyagi

5: Kaburagi-kun....

He doesn't realize it himself

6: Really...  he's such an idiot....

7: But I miss them too

Perm-senpai!! Silent-senpai!!

8: …. saying that, and there's no one to make fun of

Pag 20

1: They took care of us, we fought, and we even ran together at the Inter High

They gave us so much

2: Naruko-kun

3: I feel like Teshima-san will suddenly appear in the clubroom saying something like “I'm between exams”

7: But that's not gonna happen!!

'cause he graduated!!

8: And I want to thank them, and return the favour

9: But I can't do that.... now

But don't worry, I told you already, Onoda-kun

Pag 21

1: The favours with received from our senpai

we'll return them to our kouhai!!

4: It's almost spring break...

and after that we'll already be

Pag 22

1: Third years!!

3: “Third year”....!!

Pag 23

2: Yes!!

That's right!!