#stephens college

[babygalentine]

milestones and flat branch pub and brewing, columbia, mo

image from the beer mapping project.

i like to pretend i am a clean eater. nothing but fruits and vegetables enter my holy stomach, food that does not bloat but scrubs, scrubs, scrubs everything dirty about my gut. i am a liar.

over the weekend, i moved in with my boyfriend. well, partially. most of my stuff is now in his apartment, and i'm in charge of the utilities bill, but my dorm still exists on campus as some sort of poor man's office overlooking the city. will, the boyfriend, had to work, so i spent much of my time in the new environment alone. on friday night, i bought us a bottle of wine to clink over grilled cheese sandwiches after his shift, at midnight. this was hardly the celebration we wanted for such a milestone, so we decided we would do something when he didn't have to work.

monday, he was required to take the day off. it was cold, both of us achy in the joints, stiff in the bones. when i wasn't at work or school, we held each other on the couch. i paced and did the dishes. antsy by evening, he suggested it: let's go to flat branch pub and brewing. they look cozy and a lager sounds nice.

i hastily agreed, bored with what was in our pantry, and craving something to do--when i stop anymore, i feel this anxiety, this creeping to busy myself. we bundled up and headed out into the frozen night. i wore a coat too big for my body, one with fake pockets that annoyed me. i digress.

the atmosphere at flat branch was the best option for the weather, i think. even on a monday night, when life is a snooze and the weather is bad, the house was full. the volume oscillated between raucous and moderate. they brought will his desired lager and me a honeyed sweet tea. we decided onion rings for the appetizer and burgers for our entrees.

the apple bacon burger i got blew my mind. it was warm, sweet and savory, the toasted bun and saucy bacon hitting every high note of my cravings. this was a far cry from the watery fruit, green vegetables i fantasize limiting my diet to. it punched my misconceptions about the human experience with food in the face. and, god-damn it, i enjoyed every second of it. this reminded me of will, in a way, how he was teaching me to love myself and even my cravings, whether he knew it or not.

he tipped his glass to me, smile across his face, eyes crinkling with joy. i'm so glad to be here with you, he gushed.

me too, i grinned back. i love you. i say it to him, to myself.

i love you, too, he glows.

and he really means it.

later we will lay in my bed, laughing so hard we cry, over bollywood movies and the way our guts ache after so much food. at one point, he will get stuck in his sweatshirt in trying to take it off, and we will collapse into fits. this is my life now, i think. stability, joy, laughter, a full belly.

i hug him close and say thank you. what a spectacular way to celebrate such a milestone.

[quicksilverlightning]

I'd like to see Um, Actually do a Lord of the Rings themed episode and when Brennan walks in Trapp is like, so, yeah, no one here wanted to challenge your authority on this topic so we got a special guest today and Stephen Colbert walks onstage

[beaglesfoundindumpsters]

i love those fics where richie really leans into his sexuality in college because he goes to college in a big city or smth. like i eat that up EVERY time. and i love writing him super fruity too because thats the way hes intended to be!! he serves cunt and we all know it.

[athleticperfection1]

Stephen F Austin Soccer

[panties-on-boys]

the fact that anytime something scary happens, richie always calls out for eddie :(((( and only eddie :( god help me

how he touches eddie’s arm when he gets cut for the blood oath i’m fucking crying

eddie’s fucking blood circling richie’s ring finger like a wedding band. EDDIE’S BLOOD CIRCLING RICHIE’S RING FINGER LIKE A WEDDING BAND!!!!!!!

he’s still in there we can still help him eddie!!! EDDIE!!!

[year2000electronics]

otto and rosie must have been the CUTEST couple in college can you IMAGINE??

[cwcthzl]

40 something years old richie tozier sleep talking so much that he is able to have full ass conversations with no regard for common sense/reality versus 40 something years old stanley uris waking up every night by richie's ridiculous claims and sentences and talking with him while giggling sheepishly with his eyes closed

[theosconfessions]

The Stephens-Kline kiddoes had their yearbook photos done too. Its Riv and Blakes last year with school photos so Blake photobombed Rivs to make it extra cute for the yearbook :3 babies going for best couple or something i swear to god.

@ohsosims

[strawberrypuffmotherfucker]

When Finneas O’Connell said “I lost a friend like keys in a sofa” and when Ocean Vuong said “I miss you more than I remember you” and when Richard Siken said “this is a very old story. There is no other version of this story.” And when Maggie Nelson said “haven’t you learned to keep the loosest possible hold?” And when Hannah Hassler said “I make my ramen the way a friend taught me in eleventh grade…I am a mosaic of everyone I’ve ever loved” and when Stephen Chbosky said “things change. And friends leave. Life doesn’t stop…” and when I said “Last week I left my necklace on a bus in Riverside and I wonder if you’ll find it when I leave you in the place where all the lost things go.”

[dubacheryking]

My personal head canon is that Richie is the type of fuck who does really well in school without putting in literally any effort and Eddie is the type of kid who tries so so so hard to get good grades but he's like. A b or c student at best. He fucking hates Richie for this.

[babygalentine]

"milk fed" by melissa broder

read: december 2022.

time taken to read: 3 days.

disclaimer: not quite a review.

this is one of those books that you read for the human experience. it delicately--yet bluntly--discusses sexuality, eating disorders, narcissistic mothers (and, subsequently, learning to mother yourself after their impact), religion, and politics. if you ever wanted to write something about human relationships, broder's lyricism is a good jumping off point.

buy it here: https://shop.skylarkbookshop.com/book/9781982142506.

[tozierlvr]

I FINISHED WRITING MY FIC!

It'll All Work Out by gwenstacylvr (me!)

it's nine chapters, 100k words, college au where eddie and richie forget each other post-derry, but randomly meet each other and become friends in college.

go check it out!! this fic has meant a lot to me to write!!

[stalebagels]

Strike Force Text Posts: Jon Edition 🐱

[athleticperfection1]

Stephen F Austin Volleyball

[incorrect-losers]

Mike: We’ve gotta try SOMETHING

Mike: And at every turn when I have a good idea someone tells me it's a crime!

[bludpudding]

Introduction to Dr Stephen Bennett: a character from a Corinthian spinoff I’m workshopping :)