#spring summer Chicago

[thenicestthingiveseen]

IT’S MY FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR

[lucyslenses]

MAY FLOWER

Shot with Nikon D100.

[lookitsaworm]

Edward Cullen would have had to have been changed between September 21st and November 16th (because of the timing of the Spanish Influenza outbreak in Chicago) so he would have had to face the anniversary of his Mother, his Father, and his own death possibly (depending on how early they died) days after he left his love, whilst already in a massive depression.

[jesuisgourde]

listen, i like chicago. i like living here, i love my job, there's loads of interesting people and places and things to do

i am not a fan of the snow or of how goddamn motherfucking cold it gets

[versatileer]

Featured Photo: Architecture, Part 5 – The Buildings of Chicago, Illinois – The Buildings of Randolph Street II

Today’s featured photo of the day! The feature is: Architecture – The Buildings of Chicago, Illinois – The Buildings of Randolph Street II Here is today’s featured photo presentation of Buildings of Randolph Street, at the heart of the northern section of Downtown Chicago. To let the winter month REALLY shine, I am featuring fine photos of great architecture every week, so we can continue to…

[alethiometry]

ya girl is TRAVELLING this year :))))))))

[rabbitcruiser]

National Take a Walk in the Park Day

When cities are being designed one of the primary things they ensure  to make space for is city parks. From small parks the size of just a  couple of blocks to large ones that cover acres of land, city planners  know the importance of providing green areas for people to go.

National Take a Walk in the Park Day celebrates these small  excursions and the differences they can make to our mental, physical,  and emotional health.

History of National Take a Walk in the Park Day

This day was founded to help people reconnect with the wilder spaces  within our civilized world. Thousands of people all over the country  walk in local parks, exploring the wildlife and beauty of the natural  world around them.

During these walks many opt to bring cameras so they can take  pictures of the beauty they find, others opt to bring a book and enjoy  the peace of the natural space. Jogging, playing games, drawing pictures  from nature, all of these are things people do when they go out and  enjoy time in the park.

Getting out into nature has been proven to have a number of  therapeutic effects on those who take the time to do it. Their stress  levels go down, their heart and mind feel refreshed, their creativity  gets inspired, and they become more productive at work. All of this  doesn’t even include the physical health benefits they get from walking  in the park.

Keeping our bodies in motion and remaining active are important parts  of our long term health. Daily walks help keep joints healthy, our  muscles limber, and our hearts beating steadily. Every day you walk  walking gets to be just a little bit easier and you’ll find yourself  less tired than the day before. National Take a Walk in the Park Day  encourages you to get out and do that, every day of the year.

How To Celebrate National Take a Walk in the Park Day

Celebrating this holiday is as simple as doing what it says on the  tin, go take a walk in the park! Everyday people take walks as an easy  way to get exercise and reconnect with nature, and that’s been proven to  have a positive effect on our sense of well-being.

Taking a walk can relieve stress, ease worries, and otherwise make  every day just a little bit better. If you’re lucky enough to have  multiple parks in your area, why not try a new one every day! While  you’re at it, bring a friend!

Source

[esmartworld]

Ripe Banana - Fun and Fresh

With this eye-catching banana design, you can infuse your collection with a bit of tropical excitement! Ideal for fruit lovers and those who like their ordinary goods to have a humorous touch. There are many different goods with this design, such as t-shirts, mugs, posters, and more. Brighten up your day with a splash of yellow and a dash of humor!

Created By EsmArt!

[surfingthesealand]

Fun throughout the seasons! 🌸☀️🍁❄️

[stoneyocean]

Things to do in Chicago

[leeloooonfire]

based on this post about Steve's internalized bi-phobia:

Steve has known for years.

And how could he not when Tommy's freckles come back tenfold each spring like a flower peaking it's head through the last layer of snow? Or when Matthew Carver's hair have a reddish brown tone that turns blond after they spent the last days before summer break practising outside and remind Steve of liquid gold? Or when he watches Star Wars and Harrison Ford, rugged and witty, comes into view and twists his stomach in knots? How could he not know?!

Steve knows he finds guys as attractive as girls, known for many, many years. But.

But he can't. Not when Tommy sneers at that boy in their literature class who likes flamboyant clothes and wants to be an actor on Broadway. Not when the people they meet in Indi who are like Robin and Eddie 'fully queer' and talk about people like Steve as if they're traitors and scams. Not when he reads the newspaper and is assaulted by Reagan and his folk preaching about the 'fag pandemic' or how his father nods in approval and mutters 'another sinner gone for good' when the news play on TV and they occasionally mention the crisis that kills people like Robin and Eddie and him.

Like him....

It doesn't matter how much he loves sleeping with his nose pressed against Eddie's collarbone or that he thinks he'd like to kiss Eddie and hold his hands and wake up beside him until they're old and wrinkly and complain about bad knees.

He is, but he cannot be a queer, half a fairy '50% like me, 50% like Eddie' as Robin jokes.

He will not be a bisexual, he can keep it inside, keep it hidden, buried deep inside him no matter how much it pains him. He can be the straight friend who goes to pride and bakes rainbow cakes and marries a woman even though his heart screams in an ear ringing cacophony, 'Eddie, Eddie Eddie Eddie!'

This is how his 20s go: loud and hurting and yearning and hiding and more noticeably being disgusted and ashamed of himself for simply being able to love men the way he can love women.

He's 29 when his wife, Becky, leaves him. It's not just Eddie and this shameful secret that weights heavy on their relationship, but the scars and all the other secrets he is unable to explain to her that drive Becky finally away - back to Boston. She leaves him alone in that tiny house they bought three years ago with their Saint Bernard puppy they lovingly named Bernadette.

He's 30 when he goes to a coffee meeting of the bisexual group meeting in Chicago, nearly turning the car multiple times, hands and knees sweaty with fear that they won't want him there. They do want him there, welcome him with open arms, and talk about things Steve knows all too well: 'When I fell in love with the first girl, I ran. I like men just fine, so I hid my crush. It's just easier, when your parents hate gays, when the world is shaming our community, when we're dying.' He finds a second home there, and learns - learns about queerness and bisexuality, about trans and gender non conforming people and physical attraction versus emotional attraction. He learns about his past and present and about his future, about their history and where they want to go, how they want to mold their world to fit people like them into it without the pain and the hiding.

Steve is 33 when he finally comes out to everyone dear to him. To the kids who aren't kids anymore and to Joyce and Hopper, and then his parents. this does not go well, but Steve doesn't want, doesn't need their validation anymore. He has his family, his friends, his support system who love him not regardless of his sexuality but because of it, love him because it's part of him. He comes out to Becky, too and that goes much better. they want to be friends, in the future. She's also met Gary who works the the NY Times and wants her to follow him into the big city. So Steve is looking forward how that goes, their tentative friendship.

He is 34 when Eddie comes back from his latest world tour and wants to take a break to rekindle with his uncle, to write new songs, to take a breather. It's only natural that Eddie moves into Steve's guest room and takes over his space on the couch where he cuddles Bernadette while Steve is in the kitchen and makes them grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner.

Its even more natural when their feet meet while watching a movie and they lean into each other in the kitchen, dawn barely there, while they wait for the coffee maker to finish.

Steve's 35 when Eddie finally kisses him and he kisses back. No hurt, no shame, no guilt gnawing on him, Steve finally allows himself to be with the person he truly wants - regardless of their gender.

[paceprompting]

one silver ring

written for ‘gift’ | wc: 1000 # | steddie | rated: t | cw: no warnings apply | tags: established relationship, eddie munson's rings, lazy mornings, domestic steddie, musician eddie,

@steddieholidaydrabbles

Eddie didn’t want to leave Steve behind.

Three years ago, they’ve gotten the hell out of Hawkins and gone with Robin to Chicago

It had been the three of them for a while now—him and Steve most of all, with Robin focused on her degree. They’d shared a room strictly to avoid being stuck with a three-bedroom apartment’s rent—and then because, somehow, Steve found Eddie’s gremlin brain and organized chaos endearing enough to want to do more than just sleeping.

And Eddie never had to explain why his nightmares terrified him too much to go back to sleep—a rare occurrence now, but almost worse because of it when they came back.

But it was a tour. Corroded Coffin’s tour. They needed to do it to build on the momentum of the album. Cross-country, multiple shows a week, for six months.

All without Steve.

Eddie loved the band. Gareth, Jeff and Freak had all stuck around through the terror and chaos of spring break in ‘86. Somehow, they’d agreed that going to Chicago to try for their big break was actually a good idea.

Steve was thinking about going to school. Once Robin was finished, and it would still be only one person who needed to cut back to a part-time job. Maybe a teaching degree.

The advance from the band’s label definitely helped. Enough to cover their rent through Robin’s graduation and months beyond for a while. Now all Eddie had to do was follow through and travel across the country playing his music night after night.

Steve groaned softly in his sleep, turning over to face Eddie. His hand shuffled blindly up the mattress to Eddie’s thigh, his large palm spread across Eddie’s bare skin. It shifted upwards, stopped by his stomach. Brows furrowed, Steve opened his eyes.

Blearily, he took in that Eddie was sat up on their bed instead of passed out haphazardly across most of the mattress.

“What time is it?” he mumbled half into his pillow.

Eddie glanced at the alarm clock on Steve’s side. It didn’t fare well when it was on Eddie’s. Not if they wanted it to work after one alarm.

“Before eight.”

Steve had to check for himself, sitting up onto his elbows. He looked back to Eddie. “What are you doing up?”

“Just thinking.” Eddie shrugged. “Start of the tour’s coming soon.”

Steve nudged him, raising his brows. “You excited?”

He’d practically jumped Steve when he got the call that it was all happening—literally jumped him. Steve had barely gotten his arms around Eddie when he’d leapt at him, they’d gone crashing to the floor.

“Sorta.”

Steve stared at Eddie’s profile, what wasn’t hidden by his hair. The bed creaked as he rose onto his knees and resettled beside Eddie’s, shoulders pressed together. “What’s wrong?”

Steve was warm from being underneath the blankets, even through his t-shirt. It was hit or miss right now in the summer, but Eddie practically glued himself to Steve’s side during the unforgiving Chicago winters.

Eddie bit at his bottom lip, pulling gently at the rings on his left hand. Moving them up to his knuckle and then back down to the base of his fingers.

“I want to give you something.”

“A gift? Not a usual occasion.” Steve wiggled closer, tucking his head onto Eddie’s shoulder.

“For my going away,” Eddie clarified. With a half-hearted laugh, he added. “I don’t want you forgetting about me after six months, do I?”

“I think you have that backwards, Eds,” Steve teased with a kiss to the side of his face.

Steve slid one arm around Eddie’s middle, pulling him close. Eddie hadn’t realized how much he needed the touch until he leaned back against Steve’s chest, the tense air in his chest leaving him.

“Just,” Eddie paused, working the ring off his index finger. He reached for Steve’s free hand, bringing it around in front of them, palm facing up. “Here.”

He fit it onto Steve’s thumb, the bulky, silver cross ring only reaching the first knuckle. A size too small.

Steve huffed his laughter into Eddie’s hair, bring his other hand up to test his other fingers until the ring found a home on his own index finger, the same place where Eddie wore it.

“Perfect,” Steve murmured, twisting his hand to examine his new adornment.

It was anything but perfect for Steve—who still preferred his polos and Henleys in every color except black. But Eddie wasn’t sure he would ask for it back after the tour.

“I’m going to miss you.”

Steve wrapped his arms around him, squeezing with a gently hum. “After hours playing your music, hearing thousands chant your name, you’re not going to be thinking about me. Not to mention being exhausted from all the traveling.”

Eddie couldn’t believe Steve thought he was the reason their pairing was strange. Eddie should never have snuck under Steve’s radar, and yet Steve never asked him to leave.

“You’re going to be in my every spare thought, babe.”

There was a second where neither of them said anything, and Eddie closed his eyes to bask in Steve’s warmth.

“You going to dedicate a song to me?” Steve asked, nosing Eddie’s hair out of the way to nip at the shell of his ear. Only God and Eddie knew how many Corroded Coffin songs had been written while Eddie pined for his roommate—not to mention the explicit ballads that had come after their dancing around each other while having sex phase.

Some of those had needed a rewrite.

“Maybe.”

“Which one?” Steve pitched his voice low, and Eddie shivered. Steve slid his hand underneath Eddie’s shirt, teasing up and up until he grazed Eddie’s sensitive chest.

“God, fuck, all of them.”

Steve held him tight to keep Eddie from squirming, his chuckle low in his chest.

“Thank you for the ring, sweetheart,” he said, slowly tipping them back onto the bed and climbing over Eddie to see how the ring looking tangled in his curls.

[stevesgother]

Little Red Lighthouse - S.H

Pairing - Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Warnings - exes to lovers, second chance romance, angst, slow burn, hurt/comfort, idiots in love, so much pining, cursing, alcohol & drug use, mental health themes

WC - 1.3k

AN - this was originally gonna be a super long oneshot, but in typical emma fashion I'm making it into another mini series

Divider by the amazing @strangergraphics <3

The Alcott. That was your favorite bar in Hawkins; and it was all you could think about sitting outside this shitty bar in Chicago. A mere few hours from home, and yet entirely too far. Just having finished school; it was an education completely orchestrated by your parents. A college you didn’t want to attend, a degree you had no enthusiasm for.

This was how you seemed to be spending most of your days post-undergrad: sulking and ruminating. Everything you could’ve had, but don’t.

–

“Steve, this is insane. That’s like a 15 foot drop!” 

You say as you peer over the bridge, shivering slightly in just your underclothes. It was only the cusp of Spring, the weather in Indiana hardly what you would consider “warm”.

“Oh c’mon. You said you would!” He barked a laugh.

“I told my mother that if you jumped off a bridge that I would too as a hypothetical.” You deadpan, even though a smile still tugs the corners of your mouth.

He looked lovely, always did. Moles adorning his cheeks, scattering their way down his back and into his boxers where your vision couldn’t reach. He shot you a grin only reserved for you.

“3..2..1 JUMP!”

“Wait!-”

Steve gripped your hand, pulling you down with him into the icy water below the bridge. Unable to decipher if the sinking feeling in your gut was from the rapid fall of his skin on yours. The shock of the bitterly cold water knocked the wind out of you.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” His smile gleaming at you. Water dripped from his eyelashes, beading on the apples of his cheeks.

 “It’s freezing!” you gasp as you surface. He starts to grip your shoulders in his warm hands, then pauses. A sudden nervousness settled and he was staring. You nervously wondered if there was something else in the water with you both. He never broke his stare. Your best friend for a million lifetimes, beautiful as ever. Looking at you as if you hung the moon just for him.

“I think I'm in love with you.”

–

When Steve finally peeled open his eyes and glanced at the blinking red of the alarm clock it read ‘3:00 PM’. His breath tasted of stale liquor as he slowly rose from his unmade bed. Skull pounding, he blindly reached for the painkillers he had made a habit of keeping on his nightstand, for afternoons like this.

Your old friend group planned a ‘welcome home’ party in anticipation for your return to Hawkins. Where you had gone to college out of state and made a new life for yourself, Steve hadn’t seemed to be able to keep his ahead above the violent current that was the trauma he endured here, in your hometown.

--

As you rested on the train back to Indiana, walkman in hand, you felt an air of nausea.You had started to regret leaving your car at your parents house 4 years ago; unsure whether the knot you felt in your gut was the result of motion sickness, or the thought of having to face him again.

Admittedly you were excited to see your friends again. You hadn’t come home for Christmas, for Thanksgiving, not even for summer breaks – always opting to stay as far away from that living nightmare as possible. You told yourself little lies. That it wasn’t because Steve Harrington still resided there, and with him, everything you lost. Everything you know you can never get back.

--

The air in Steve’s office was stiff and smelled of stale coffee. Robin sits in a less than lady-like position across from him in a chair unofficially designated for her. A plaque that reads “Chief” sat crooked between them from where Robin had set down the paper bag containing their lunch.

“You’re going to have to face her at some point, Steve.” Her voice snaps him out of his dissociative state.

“Yeah, I got it.” He sighs irritably, all traces of enthusiasm drained from his tone.

“I’m just saying,” she starts, “it's been four years. I’m sure she’s moved on, man. No bad blood.” It’s meant to be reassuring, but she doesn’t understand that that's entirely the problem. He gives her a skeptical stare. “Look, we’ll all be there. You have a ton of buffer people. Just stop by for a few minutes? For me?” The childish pout she gives in an attempt to guilt-trip is enough to push him over the edge.

“Rob- okay, fine. Stop making that face. For an hour. Not a second longer.” He points a finger at her, not unkindly.

–

As your car crunches over the gravel in the parking lot of Robin’s apartment complex, you can’t help but notice it’s already filled with cars despite you being perfectly on time. All the windows you knew belonged to her unit were lit a glowing yellow behind sheer curtains, allowing you glimpses of mingling silhouettes. You wonder briefly if this was intentional, or if in your never-ending brain fog, you managed to jumble the times.

A quick glance around the lot reveals that your friends still have the same cars they did all those years ago. Jonathan’s Ford LTD, Nancy’s Volkswagen Cabrio, and an achingly familiar maroon BMW 733i. Your heart jumps to your throat when you see it, accompanied by a sharp twist of betrayal in your chest as you don’t recall Robin ever mentioning he would be here. You suppose you can’t blame her.

You stop to take several deep breaths at the front door. You can hear the bass of an old, classic tune bumping inside and you try to time your breathing with it. In three, hold three, out three, and repeat. You raise your fist to knock before thinking it silly, so you just give the knob a tentative twist and walk in.

The room erupts in ‘Hey!’’s and ‘There she is!’’s. It’s a relief to realize they don’t hate your guts, even though they’ve always made it clear that they don’t. A nauseating guilt settles over you as you’re reminded of how long you’ve left them with barely any word from you at all– the pain of this town and everything that happened in it just too much to bear; even if they were your best friends.

Back then, talking to them sounded like long, mucousy vines that strangled and trapped. It sounded like the bitter cold and emptiness of your hometown mirrored just beneath your feet. It sounded like watching chunks of flesh be ripped from the stomach of the boy you loved. It sounded like his screams for your help and you just couldn’t– you needed time.

Now though, as they wrap you in hugs and you smell the homey scent of your best friends apartment, it feels less like then and more like now. Over Nancy’s shoulder, slightly obscured by her usually wild curls, you catch the eye of the one person not dogpiling you, and fight the grimace threatening to surface. You don’t hate Steve, not by any sense of the word– you just can’t look at his stupid, beautiful face without remembering what you did to him.

When everyone disperses, satisfied with their greetings, you can really take in Steve’s appearance in front of you. The years haven’t been unkind to him, but he looks tired. Day old, maybe two, stubble shadows his usually bright face. He fills out the red sweater and light wash Levi’s he wears nicely. You think he’ll always have that boyish Harrington charm, but he looks more like a man than when you left him.

You walk towards him hesitantly.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

[history-of-fashion]

Hart Schaffner & Marx Coats For Women Spring & Summer 1924 Chicago NY

(via seesaw.typepad.com)

[versatileer]

Featured Photo: Flower of the Day – Shrubby Cinquefoil

Today’s Featured Flower Photo of the Day: Shrubby Cinquefoil Here is today’s featured photo flower presentation. To let 2024 shine bright, I am featuring fine photos of flowers, continuing to honor the brighter side of life again this year. Today’s Flower of the day is the Shrubby Cinquefoil. The Shrubby Cinquefoil, or the Potentilla Fruticosa is from the Rosaceae family. The Shrubby Cinquefoil…

[theburialofstrawberries]

In the spring and summer of 2023, Senate Bill 403, which sought to add caste as a form of ancestry protected from discrimination, was making its progress through California’s legislative process. It was watched closely by the state’s 2 million people of South Asian descent, with Ambedkarite activists backing the effort and Hindutva groups opposing it. On 11 September 2023, SB 403 was sent to the governor’s office after receiving near-unanimous support in both the state assembly and senate. A few days later, the California governor, Gavin Newsom, went to Chicago to attend a meeting with donors to a political-action committee working on President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign. There, he met Ramesh Kapur, who runs a Massachusetts-based company manufacturing medical equipment as well as the US–India Security Council, a lobbying organisation. Kapur has been involved in fundraising for candidates of the Democratic Party since 1983, when he helped elect the future presidential nominee Michael Dukakis to a second term as Massachusetts governor. “If you want to be our next president, veto the bill,” Kapur told Newsom, according to Harper’s Magazine. Newsom did so on 7 October, sending Kapur an email hours before he issued the veto.

Every day I learn one new evil fact about gavin newsom