#they're charging the restaurant and they're charging the customer

[emma-d-klutz]

Restaurant prices are jacking up crazy like what do you mean it’s $12 for four mozzarella sticks is this just an UberEats thing or what

[megumi-fm]

.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for asking a server if I could keep a platter?

So at Outback Steakhouse they serve you bread on these nice little wooden platters that have a hole in them to hold the ramekin of butter. I cook a lot and I thought it would be really nice to have as a cutting board especially because the hole would be convenient to push the scraps into. When we (a friend and I) were done with the meal I asked the server if I could keep the platter. I fully expected there to be a charge added to my check for it. But he said he'd go get me a clean one and I wasn't charged for it at all, so I left him a nice tip.

I told this story to my mom when I got home, and she told me - as a server herself - that I had been a karen for doing this. She started telling me how she hates it when customers ask for things like that and so do all the other servers she knows, and that the only reason the server did this favor for me was because it's probably the restaurant's policy to give them to whoever asks.

I'm really confused as to how this makes me a karen because while I'm sure some people are rude and entitled about this, I wasn't! I asked a simple question and I would NOT have pushed it if the server said no, and not only that but he went out of his way to go get me a clean one when I didn't even ask for one, I could just have put the one from the table into the to-go bag or something. When I told my mom that, she said that he went out of his way because he was hoping for a tip. Which I literally did give him! I asked if it came out of the server's paycheck and she said no, so I asked why did it matter and she just continued to act like grabbing a platter was a crazy amount of extra grueling work for a server to be forced to do. She kept saying "they HAVE to do it and they're just HOPING for a good tip and most of the time they don't get it." Like something being slightly out of the realm of typical customer requests is just automatically horrible. She brought up how one of her coworkers was asked by some old lady if she could get a bone for her dog, and the coworker went digging through the trash for one. I then brought up that that is a COMPLETELY different situation, bc my server was able to walk to a nearby, designated area for these platters and get it back to me in like 30 seconds. But my mom kept saying no, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it's the same.

She insisted that I should not have asked for the platter, basically told me to shut up and that she' has seniority's automatically right because she has experience as a server and therefore she knows for a fact that ANY server would think I was annoying and rude. I really don't think I did anything wrong at all but it's true that I've never been a server, so I don't know how universal my mom's opinion on this is. Was I a Karen(asshole)?

What are these acronyms?

[love-toxin]

honestly whenever work gets stressful i lowkey daydream about your oc’s. i know it's crazy or whatever, but sometimes i feel like screaming when a customer tells me i’m wrong for charging them the food they ordered (i’m a cashier and busser at a restaurant) i just like to imagine blake sitting in the back with me and listening to me complain. maybe even sharing a cigarette or a hit of the penjamin because i cannot deal with the people that come in sometimes. maybe he'll even buy me food or come up behind me when i’m getting yelled at and just stand there with his arms crossed like he's daring them to continue. barking genuinely. i know if i worked with him he'd tip me so well 💔 miss ellie why can't blake be real. i’d love to call him mr. endon and then brag about how much he loves me (joking and non joking) to my friends whenever they come in. be all sneaky and give him a fake kiss in the back when we both take dishes to the dishwashers 💔 maybe him grabbing my waist when he walks behind me 💔 ugh ellie!!

dude this is actually SO in my brain now i love you for sharing this <3 i do the exact same thing I've daydreamed about my own characters beating up nasty customers for me LMAOO

This is so good too because Blake is PEAK "protect waitstaff with his life" material. He's a chill coworker and he's always nice to the serving staff even when the kitchen gets stacked--if you work with him he never yells at you and he'll always call you nicknames like "hon", "sweetie", "pumpkin", like he's your boyfriend or something >:) You'll come out to the back to find him lighting up a cigarette on his break, and he offers one to you without you even having to say a word. He just sits on the upturned milk crates and lets you vent while you take a couple minutes to calm down from whatever annoying customers you had to deal with.

When it comes to people yelling at you though, he absolutely loses his cool front in an instant. If you come into the back crying or pissed off he's the first one that notices, and even if the other cooks, the manager, or the executive chef urge him to stay, everyone knows that when Blake gets that quiet his anger is bubbling just beneath the surface. He won't let you follow him out into the dining room at first, but sometimes he'll come back to get you so he can bring you to the table in question and glare them into submission as they apologize to you. He does that for any of the waitstaff, but when it's you, he's so much scarier to whoever decided to ruin your day. He doesn't even need to yell to get his point across, which honestly makes him that much more intimidating when he stalks into the dining room and searches for his target.

Aside from that, he's laidback in every other way when he's working. He'll wink at you over the hot plate when he puts up food--and forget about buying it, he makes excuses all the time to cook for you. It's always "Oh I burned this, you can have it" or "I'm trying something new, tell me how it tastes" or "Hey I made this twice so you can take it home" but it's so obvious that he prepared it specifically for you. You don't even have to make lunches or get dinner after work because Blake feeds you like it's going outta style, and he'll just roll his eyes or smirk when the other cooks make fun of him for it. They can all tell he's whipped, but he doesn't care. And he'd be so flattered to see your friends come in and giggle over your "work husband"--besides holding your waist when he slides behind you or doing that cheeky hand comparison trick, that would be one of the times he pretends to grab your ass just to tease the hell out of you and make you all flustered while they're around. He'd get so smug when he heads back to the kitchen and hears them laughing and chattering at their table while you try not to get all hot in the face.

Plus, there's definitely gonna be a time when he brings Siri in to the restaurant--either to eat after hours or because his sitter cancelled at the last minute--and he'll be genuinely nervous to see how you two get along. But Siri's so well-behaved when he's at his papa's work, the noise and people ensure he won't want his cochlear turned on, and he'll just quietly sit and colour at a spare booth. If you come over and bring him more crayons or just stop by his table to give him dinner, he'll probably end up doodling you in his drawings and it'll melt Blake's heart when he looks at them at the end of his shift. Since he knows sign too, if you’re not familiar with it, you know he'll absolutely teach you swears and stuff (so long as you promise not to use them around Siri!) so you can silently communicate your disdain for any shitty customers or annoying management. You'll always get a laugh out of him when you sign "Spit in their food" as you ring in an order for an especially frustrating customer, or "These people are animals" when dropping off dishes from an unruly table.

He's definitely the coworker that clearly has a crush on you and only makes the slightest efforts to hide it, but at some point the teasing and playful flirting will finally come to a head when one of you has to confront your feelings...and although it may be a conflict of interest, plenty of your other coworkers are gonna be eagerly collecting bets when you two finally get together and start dating.

[multiverse-imagines]

Hello! I wonder if you could write a sequel to Bad Omen but with Vash or Milly and Meryl meeting reader after Fifth Moon event.

Please and thank you

A/N: Absolutely! I'm so sorry it took literally all year to write this! I've been in a weird place, so writing hasn't happened much in general; and quite frankly I hate not writing. There's nothing worse than not writing. Anyways, Enjoy!

Bad Moon

Chapter 2: The Bigger Picture

A year and a half went by, and yet each night I stared up at the fifth moon, the giant crater in it. I could feel the phantom pains of my arm aching whenever I looked at it, grounding me to reality. Even as I ran the memories through my mind like a movie, I couldn't help it. The man… that calm before the storm… the brother of The Stampede… The Stampede that hadn't been heard from since that, now second, infamous day.

In a town to the far south, I was working in yet another restaurant. Despite my prosthetic arm and bum knee, I had really begun to enjoy talking with the locals, and being so sweet to them that they showered me with tips. Sometimes. It was during one of my shifts that I saw a familiar face. The two ladies who had been with The Stampede as they had entered Augusta. I was relieved to see what they had survived, but the short one looked absolutely livid at the sight of me. I gasped as she charged at me, and I hardly had time to scramble away before she was interrogating me as if I had messed up her order and she wanted to speak to my manager.

“It's you! You were leaving Augusta that day! How did you know he would be there? Who do you work for?!” She yelled in the restaurant, causing a scene. I put my hands up in surrender as she held my shirt collar.

“I don't work for anyone! I… I just…” I tried to speak up as she continued to beg and berrate me for answers, and I didn't notice her tears until her grip on my shirt faltered. I paused, looking at her with sadness. She… she loved The Stampede… the man who was now missing. I looked to the woman’s friend, the tall girl who had ordered the pudding and Ceylon tea.

“Meryl… it's not their fault…” the big girl said softly, as if this wasn't the first time the short one had lashed out since the Typhoon’s disappearance.

“Yeah, Milly, but…” Meryl sighed, looking into my eyes. It was clear she still wanted answers. I gave a sigh, and steadied myself as I asked them to wait. I told my boss I was taking break, as there was a lull in my customers, and I sat down with them, a dessert snack in my hands.

I told them everything I knew. July, my injuries, the strange man who was The Stampede’s brother, the cities he had destroyed, and the conversation I had with him the day that Augusta was destroyed. They listened in horror for most of it, the bigger girl’s eyes pitying me, and my lonely life. She looked as if she came from a big family. The other girl, Meryl, she still looked heartbroken to know the beloved Stampede was presumed dead.

“I… I saw him… Vash the Stampede… he's a friend of ours… he and his brother… they're not human. I was… terrified to see him that way…” she seemed to be regaling mostly to herself. I had known by the brother’s words that he and Vash weren't human. I began to wonder what she saw that day while I had scurried into the sands, but I didn't pry.

“I'm sorry.” I said gently. I had nothing else to offer her except my condolences and my inability to stop this war between these inhuman storms. I offered my name, and an exchange of addresses we could be reached by. If we saw Vash, or Mr. Wolfwood, the priest in black, we could give each other updates.

—

It was another two months since I had seen the Insurance Girls when I saw the man in black. I approached him gently, and introduced myself. He was a kind man, and had such tired eyes. He seemed unfazed by the fact I had met the brother of the Stampede. He seemed to know more about the brother than I did.

“His name is Knives Millions. And if you value your life you’ll keep doing what you have been and run the second you see him.” He said with an edge to his voice that showed an unmistaken kindness. I nodded, heeding his words. When I asked if Vash was alive, Wolfwood shrugged, and said he didn't know, but the look in his eyes was practically begging to say yes. He was alive out there somewhere, and Wolfwood was still looking. He left town later that evening and I believed that to be the end of it. I was wrong of course.

A week later I found myself with a customer of absolute beauty. Her hair was long and blonde, she appeared to be able to kill a man just by glancing his way. She asked for my name, and next I knew I felt a prick in my neck and I was out.

I awoke in a chamber atop a rather comfortable chaise lounge. Sitting across from me, a delicate wine glass in his hand, was Knives Millions. The gaze of a wrathful God was upon his face as he analyzed my visage with general disdain once more.

“We meet again, Human.”

[aeth-eris]

Mars Signs when reacting to bad food during a dinner date

Note : Totally satire, I swear. Although as a Libra Mars, accurate

Mars in Aries: They'll demand to speak to the manager like they're leading a battlefield. "Unacceptable! We demand satisfaction, and we demand it now! Charge!"

Mars in Taurus: They'll stare at the plate like they're contemplating the meaning of life before declaring, "This is a disaster. I might never recover from this. Bring me the chef, now!"

Mars in Gemini: They'll roll their eyes, take a dramatic bite, and announce, "Well, this meal is a one-star comedy show. I hope they have a good Yelp review because they're going to need it!"

Mars in Cancer: They'll look at their plate, then at their date, and sigh dramatically, "I knew I should have just cooked at home. This is an emotional rollercoaster I didn't sign up for!"

Mars in Leo: They'll raise their voice dramatically, "Excuse me! This is not what I ordered, and it's definitely not fit for a king or queen. My kingdom deserves better!"

Mars in Virgo: They'll inspect their plate with a critical eye, then call the waiter over, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to give you some notes on this dish. We need to talk about the seasoning, pronto!"

Mars in Libra: They'll smile sweetly at the waiter, "Oh, no, everything's fine. Don't worry about it. But also, can we have a serious chat about what just happened in the kitchen?"

Mars in Scorpio: They'll shoot daggers with their eyes, summoning the waiter with an ominous gaze. "You. We need to talk. And you better have a good explanation for this catastrophe, or things will get... intense."

Mars in Sagittarius: They'll laugh uproariously, "Well, this is a disaster, but at least it's a hilarious disaster! Let's just add this to our list of epic dinner date stories, shall we?"

Mars in Capricorn: They'll calmly put down their fork, call the waiter over, and declare, "This isn't acceptable. We need to talk about your standards, the restaurant's standards, and the standards of this entire industry."

Mars in Aquarius: They'll shrug and say, "Well, this is a fascinating social experiment in customer service, isn't it? Let's see how they handle a dissatisfied diner with a Ph.D. in constructive criticism."

Mars in Pisces: They'll gaze at their plate with a wistful sigh, then whisper to their date, "I think this meal might be a metaphor for the existential dread we all carry within us. Or maybe the chef just needs a hug."

[pascaloverx]

Rewrite The Stars

Summary: One photo changes your whole life, when you accidentally bump into a celebrity and the world starts to believe that you are a couple.

AO3 LINK next chapter

PREVIEW

Work to achieve your dreams, they say. But what they don't tell you is that even if you work hard, some dreams won't come true. But for tonight, you will believe that your dreams will come true.

"Table six has been ordering the dish for half an hour. You know how these rich people are. If you don't want to lose your job, learn to walk faster." Your supervisor speaks almost shouting at you. It even seems like you're the only one who is a waitress in this restaurant. Five stars, my ass. Obviously at the moment, you can't respond back saying that the service is terrible because half the staff is busy waiting for the big celebrity who is coming to dinner here tonight.

"Yes, chef. I'll walk faster." You rush back with the last two orders you were in charge of taking. You were supposed to be dismissed almost two hours ago but we can't leave until the big star of the night comes. Pedro Pascal.

The man of the moment. Probably the face you've seen the most all year. They're coming to dinner at the restaurant where you work that night, they made a reservation for four. Everyone is speculating that he will bring some romantic interest.

Your manager has simply spent the last three hours warning you that any mistakes today will be resolved with a dismissal. You just can't imagine a worse time.

You almost trip when you're finishing serving the couple who ordered duck in white sauce. The restaurant is in chaos and thanks to that, your manager didn't fire you. You then decide to go outside to get some air, which might help you stay on your feet for the next few hours.

You're breathing chaotically, without any rhythm. You want to escape from this almost claustrophobic restaurant. In your haste, you don't see anything in front of you. You just feel that you bumped into another person's body. Your body was almost thrown to the ground with the impact. And when you looked up, you saw him.

"Mr. Pascal, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." You say it as soon as you realize what you did. An interesting fact is that Mr. Pascal held you tight with his arms so that you don't fall to the ground. If anyone saw from a distance they would think you were hugging each other. You immediately walk away, thinking that if your boss sees this, you're fucked up.

"Are you well? Your forehead is bleeding." He asks, touching his forehead lightly as if he were more worried about that than hiding. I bet he came through the back to avoid commotion.

"That was nothing, Mr. Pascal. You can follow me and I'll take you to your table calmly." You say, ignoring the burning in your head. What's a hurt next to losing this opportunity.

"Are you sure?" Pedro Pascal himself talks to you almost as if you were an alien because you don't allow your pain to show.

"Yes, sir. You don't need to worry about that, worse things have happened to me." You try to improve your expression so that Mr. Pascal can finally enter the restaurant. That's when you notice that you are being watched, by noises from what you imagine are paparazzi. You then take an unprofessional action. You push Mr. Pascal into the restaurant using his body as a shield so that the paparazzi cannot identify him.

"Is this how you treat your customers?" Pascal speaks as you lock the back door. Embarrassed, you turn to face Mr. Pascal after pushing him.

"Mr. Pascal, I'm terribly sorry. But I suspect there are photographers out there. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience." You say almost as if asking for mercy.

"Alright, miss. If you'll take me to my table, I promise to forget about this pushing." Mr. Pascal speaks as he watches you. You feel awkward, but you nod your head positively and lead him to his table.

[aspiring-artist-em]

I put this idea into a wolfstar discord server but I felt the need to put this into the world.

I PRESENT...

restaurant au

sirius's pov

server/bartender sirius, new at the job, freshly disowned at like 22 or something. he has a reputation around town for being a bit of an asshole because of his majorly asshole family, and when he's working, he is working, and he makes money because he's young and pretty (not necessarily because he's any good at his job) and some people don't like that. also because of the whole, straight into serving and thrown onto bar because he's friends with james despite no experience. but he's charming and people eventually warm up to him.

line cook remus (with the amount of cigarettes he smokes it only makes sense, also imagine sirius trying to flirt his way to free food and remus being like "lol no", might work with customers but not with me). HIS SCARS ARE FROM A WORKPLACE ACCIDENT FROM WHEN HE WAS LIKE 18 THAT CAUSES CHRONIC PAIN BUT HES SO GOOD AT HIS JOB THE KEEP HIM THERE AND HES BEEN WORKING IN RESTAURANTS SINCE HE WAS 16? ALSO FLEAMONT LOVES HIM.

fleamont owns the place, hence how sirius gets the job in the first place, and like james is a manager because nepotism. sirius and james met in school and were close ever since. james is like, the cool manager who actually listens to the employee and takes their side but does it so kindly that nobody really minds it. everyone loves james. he is the sun.

peter is a busser, (why did i put him as a busser? because they're overworked and underpaid and under appreciated which is how it lowkey went in their friend group, it also puts him in a place of admiration or envy because he wants to be where sirius or remus or james are at, and they don't see why because their jobs are all respectively hard but peter just sees the money BECAUSE BUSSERS ARE NEVER FAIRLY COMPENSATED FOR THEIR WORK (-a server)) he betrays them after effie and fleamont dies and james takes over the business he starts stealing money and stuff and forging checks to the homophobic organization called the death eaters.

lily is the main chef. chef lily. yes chef, please step on me. when remus starts to fall victim to sirius's charm she checks him right then and there and is like "uh no you don't". she yells at james to keep his servers in line because he manages foh and "GOD DAMN IT JAMES WHO THE FUCK RUNG UP THIS TICKET" (it was sirius). i present. chef lily.

marlene is also a server, and so is mary. the two are the work besties when they serve. they always are together, their sections are right next to each other and lily loves them so much because they know how to ring up a ticket. marlene is very popular with the younger crowd and older people love mary. their sections are always next to each other.

dorcas is a host and works to go. the end. she hosts and gets pissed off because her saying "Sirius. I seat in a rotation" and "McKinnon. You've been here for 10 minutes you are not cut." just make sense to me. she can take charge and lead and her manning to go and hosting at the same time makes sense to me.

eventually regulus escapes. he gets a job there and actually was a death eater. i think it would be funny if sirius convinced james to put him in foh to fuck with him, but he doesn't survive one day without threatening a customer (sirius intervenes and smooths it over. not really. there's a brawl in the dining room) and so james puts reg on the lined, where he meets remus and lily.

evan dies. he doesn't make it out of the death eaters. he was at the wrong place at the wrong time and he gets killed by a police officer. barty gets arrested, he goes to the police officers house and tortures him and his wife and gets arrested with other death eaters, even though they weren't gay and were white and straight and everything the group idealized. that's what made regulus run, and that's why pandora ends up taking her life.

tom riddle is a political figure. in the background of everything he is looming and is trying to write homophobic legislation and pass it into law. his followers are the death eaters. dumbledore is another political figure. it's the lesser of two evils.

the blacks are known as important polititians (orion) and a cutthroat lawyer (wally), and they make many donations and publicly announce their support to the death eaters. the potters are known for their monopoly on restaurants in london, with fleamont managing them and effie taking care of the legal part. they're both known to be kind instead of cold.

Anyway.

one time sirius gets absolutely berated, and actually hit by a table because apparently he was flirting with the girlfriend of the man there (he was not)and he acts impassively and just turns around and walks to the back where he starts sits in the walk in. remus comes in because they're all looking for him 10 minutes later because "sirius GET YOUR FOOD". he finds him just sitting blankly and tells him to get his food. when sirius flinches, remus realizes something isn't okay. the closer remus gets the more emotions slip out of sirius until remus is holding him, oh so gently, as the new server, not only a week into his job, breaks into pieces before his eyes. There's an angry red mark on his check and remus knows. Fuck. he knows what happened out there and he should have checked on him when he saw sirius walk past him with that numb expression he sometimes gets before plastering on a smile. fuck fuck fuck. sirius is sobbing and remus doesn't know what to do, he's not good at this, his hands break and ruin and can only create with the guidance of others like lily, and then they can make something divine, but right now there's nobody there and remus doesn't know what to do with sirius fucking black, now practically sitting on his lap as he cries about his brother (he had a brother?) and his mother and god he can hear her. please remus make her stop yelling in my ears. sirius doesn't know what to do and he just sits there, helpless as the tsunami of emotions drown him. he should have never convinced reg to skip swim with him because now he can't breathe and he's gasping for air as tears and snot fill his lungs and mouth and fuck he needs the money. his tables have been neglected for what, 20 minutes? what if he was sat. he needs the money but he can't go out like this, his carefully placed makeup smudged with the heel of his palm. calloused fingers swipe under his eyes and he flinches away and cries and apologized more. scarred hands hold his face and tell him it's okay and there's a noise and talk and maybe that's pete but he can't tell and james is here. james is here. and he's being led to the managers office and god it was so cold in there. he's being told to go home and fuck he's fired. oh but he isn't and the kind scarred man who hasn't left his side, who's rough fingers are interlaced with his, is going to drive him home and he trusts him. he trusts remus lupin.

[not-a-good-writer]

I really like your platonic Peppion headcanons, I bet he would be protective of the reader because of the pizza tower incident. And not just from Pizza heads former goons (or whatever they were) but from anyone trying to make a move on you, customer or not he's having none of that shit.

Peppino would most definitely be protective of you! He's not overbearing about it, but he's willing to defend you if the need arises.

If he sees you dealing with a rude customer, he'll passive aggressively politely give them a warning to be more respectful. If they continue their act, then he's ushering them out the door while giving them a death glare and a "good riddance" once they're outside.

I personally hc that after the fall of the tower, the survivors went on with pretty normal lives. If any of them happen to stop by the pizzaria, they're fine as long as they don't cause any trouble.

If any of them do decide to start anything in the restaurant, he's gonna charge them and tackle them out the door. If they don't get the message from there, then there's gonna be a fight.

But if one decides to harass you specifically, Peppino won't even have a mind to take it outside. He'll start a brawl right there in the restaurant, and you and Gustavo will probably have to break it up.

Peppino will step in to a situation that needs his attention, but if you've proven that you're fine on your own, he'll let you handle things; that won't stop him from staring daggers at the person from the kitchen though.

You're his friend and employee, and he cares about you very much! And no matter how aggressive he'll get with someone, he'll always turn back to you concerned and making sure you're ok.

[palmtreepalmtree]

This headline is so misleading. The $39 chicken always cost more than it was listed at. With an 18% service fee, the chicken cost $46. The whole point is that some restaurants have been hiding what they're actually charging for the meal in additional side fees at the end of the bill. It's totally reasonable for diners to want to know what the prices really are.

I don't know. I'm willing to have my mind changed about this, but this article seems weirdly presented. This seems like a consumer victory to me. The food always cost more. Now we're just not fooled by it.

[thehighpriestess1]

The Gojo fic mentioned here that I wrote the first chapter for but never finished 🥲🥲

I don't know what triggers warnings to add so proceed with caution regardless.

Gojo rubbed his forehead as his blind date complained about the food for the fourth time. He regretted agreeing to get into this and was mentally killing his best friend for the 10th time since the date started. He looked up and saw her giving him the doe eyes. The ones that say Why did you bring me to this crappy diner when we could have gone to a Michelin star hotel. Gojo chuckled lightly.

This was his trick to get out of bad dates. He would pick up the girl from her door and based on what he thinks of her in the first five minutes of the car ride he would either take her to his favorite restaurant or the first off beat diner he saw. Rose, his date started talking about how excited she was to dine with him and how all her friends were going to oh so jealous of her. Gojo looked at her poke her food with the fork and almost felt bad for her....almost.

"Excuse me". He raised his hand to call for the waitress who served them. The girl came and stood next to their table with a sigh. He noticed her sprained left hand and made a mental note to tip her well for putting up with this in that condition.

"Is there a problem?".

"This food is disgusting!". Rose spat sliding her fork on the plate.

"You ordered it". Her deadbeat attitude intrigued Gojo. He noticed that she was pretty and tough looking. Loose strands of her bun fell on her face and her eyes..her eyes were filled with sadness. "I'm sorry but can we get it replaced ?". Gojo said politely snapping out of his inspection.

"Sure but you'll have to pay for this one and the next one might taste the same".

"just do as you're told! Do you not know how to treat customer? And why should we pay when the food is shit!". Rose quipped crossing her hand over her chest.

"because you ordered it and it seems like you ate some of it". Rose scoffed and bit the inside of her cheeks. "I'd like to speak to your manager! Once he knows who we are he will teach you some manners". Before Gojo could step in to diffuse the situation the waitress smiled and rested her right palm flat on the table as she bent towards Rose who was now leaning away from the girl. "I am the manager. We are short staffed. Now..is.there.anything.else.i.can.get.you?".

Rose gulped and looked at Gojo who was amused by this situation looked up at her and smirked at her gloating face. "We'll get the check". He said smiling at the waitress.

"Check it is then".

-X-

You walked back to the desk huffing at this couple. "What happened?". Your friend Jaz was in-charge of billing today. "Just some rich bitch got mad at me and said she wanted to speak to the manager". You said sliding their bill to her.

"Shit. What did you say?". You gave her a toothy smile. "I told her I am the manager".

"Y/n! I told you to stop doing that! You can get fired!". You sighed as you leaned against nthe counter.

"Big fucking deal. This isn't the only place in town looking for cheap labour".

"She's got nice tits though". Jaz said looking at the annoyed Rose.You followed her gaze to Rose and smirked. "Yeah. You think they're real?".

"Seems so. What about the guy? He hot?". You looked at the back of the white haired man. "He rich". You said as your grabbed the bill and placed it between the torn leather folder.

-X-

"Here you go. I hope you had a pleasant time. Please leave a review for the restaurant as it would help us grow". You chanted the rehearsed greeting and bowed. Gojo chuckled as he placed some cash in the folder and slid it towards you. "What's your name?". He asked, pulling back the case just as you were about to reach for it. "I hope you had a pleasant time". You said again. You were used to random men asking for name and number and were in no mood to interact with the couple anymore than you already had.

"That's a weird name".

"Thank you for choosing to dine with us". You said taking back the bill and cash as the couple began to leave. "Excuse me, here's your change". You couldn't believe that someone would leave 500$ for a 80$ bill. "That's your tip".

"That's a lot of tip". You quipped still holding the spare in your hand. "I liked your service". He said winking at you. Rose huffed and walked out stomping her YSL heels. Gojo smiled and swung his jacked over his shoulder as he left you standing.

-X-

Gojo Satoru was an unforgiving man. His word was the law and no one in the city dared challenge his orders. He was cruel in the cruelest sense and had no regard for feelings But Gojo Satoru couldn't get you out of his head for the entire week and on a Wednesday afternoon he decided he needed to at least get your name.

He walked into the diner and looked around for you but you were nowhere to be seen. "Right! She's the manager!". He went to the counter and saw a man in glasses standing there. "Hi".

"Hello Sir, welcome to goldleaf diner. How may I serve you today".

"I want to speak with the Manager".

"I am the manager. My name is hiroki muka-"

"No. Not you. The other manager".

"I am the only Manager here". Gojo ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "The ... The woman. She was the manager a week ago? She had a sprained arm?".

The man raised both his arms in the air and turned halfway around to giggling waitress behind him. "Not again!".

"Excuse me?". Gojo asked tilting his head to the side. "My apology. She is not a Manager. She is a menace. Which is why she was fired three days ago". Gojo let out a groan. "Can I get her name or number?".

"I'm sorry sir I can't do that". Gojo gave him a pressed smile and gently placed a wad of cash on the counter. "Her name".

"Miyoko. But unfortunately I don't have her contact number".The man said slowly sliding the cash in his pocket. Gojo sighed and shook his head. "Is there anyway I can reach her?".

"Girls like her don't stay in one place for long". The man said. Something about his tone made Gojo angry but he calmed himself and returned a pressed smile.

"Miyoko...". He whispered the name as he gave orders to his men to find every girl named miyoko in that area. It was just a name but somehow he felt closer to you. He didn't understand why did he want to know your name. He didn't understand why did he want to find you. He felt like a teenager trying to stalk his crush.

-X-

It took about two days for his men to find out every information about every Miyoko in that area. Gojo sat at the edge of his desk frantically flipping through the pages containing photo and data looking for the familiar face. He tossed the first file on the floor as desperation rose inside him. He tossed the second file to the floor as well as his men gulped at the sudden shift of the atmosphere. He closed the last file and swung it across the room in anger. "She's not here! Are you sure you got each one of them?".

"Yes sir". Gojo groaned in frustration. Geto walked in the room and saw the stiffened men and tossed files. "Didn't find her?". He amused at the the desperate state of his friend.

"Shut up. I don't know what to do!".

"Give up? She's just a waitress you'll find another one". He sat opposite to Gojo and lit his cigarette. "You don't understand. I have to find her". Geto hummed as he let out a puff of smoke. "Did it occur to you that she probably gave a fake name?". Gojo looked up at this smirking friend. "Fuck. I didn't think of that".

Geto laughed as he reached out his hand and ashed the cigarette in the ashtray. "Now to the serious stuff. The deal with Gyizo gang is tonight and you are going instead of me".

"Why do I have to go?".

"Cause you owe me one and I have a date".

-X-

Gojo sat in the backseat as he watched the city lights flicker. He checked his watch 1:00AM. They were well into the heart of the city now after getting the work done. The whole deal had out him in a bad mood. First he couldn't find a fucking girl next his best friend trapped him into attending a shitty deal.He needed a break. "Stop at the convince store". He ordered his driver who obliged.

Gojo walked through the door without looking at the cashier and went to the racks of ramen before finally picking out his favourite one. He walked over to the counter with his eyes fixed on his wallet. "That would be 2.50 would you like a carry bag?". Gojo's hand froze on his wallet. He looked up slowly to see you standing behind the counter. "Hi". He smiled widely like a child who found the last piece of the puzzle.

"Hi. Would you like a carry bag?". He looked at you arm and felt relieved when he saw it was fine now. Next his eyes travelled to your name tag. "So your name is Kiki?". You squinted your eyes at him, "Would you like a carry bag?".

"No. What's your name?".

"That would be 2.50$". Gojo chuckled and looked around. "Look I'm not a weirdo okay? You have no idea how long I have been looking for you". You tool a step away from the counter. Gojo read the fear on your face and raised his hand by his side signalling that he wasn't going to harm you. "You don't remember me? We met at the diner? You had a sprained arm ..?". Then it clicked. He was the guy who gave you the biggest tip of your life. Your shoulders dropped in relief.

"Look man of you're here for your money then I don't have it".

"I don't want my money".

"Then what do you want?".

"I...". Gojo fumbled with his words as his brain tried to think of what did want? "Your name". You looked outside to three Balck range rovers parked in a semi circle. You didn't know what he was upto but you knew you didn't want to be a part of it. "That would be 2.50$".

Gojo sighed and looked at the ramen and cold coffee he picked up. He went back and got another set and placed it on the counter. "That would be 5$". You said scanning the items. Gojo handed you his black card and you inspected it in your hand. "Is this real?". You raised an eyebrow at him. You have had your fair share of people trying to buy with fake or stolen cards, sometimes even with fake money. "I wouldn't use a fake card for 5$ meal". Gojo said chocking his head to a side. "People don't use a black card for a 5$ meal".

Gojo chuckled, "It's the only thing I have on me right now".You shrugged your shoulders and billed him for the items.

"Have dinner with me". Gojo said as you handed him the card.

"I am working". You said trying your best to look busy in the empty store. "There is no other customer and I don't like eating alone". As if in cue his stomach grumbled and heat rose to his cheeks. Your looked at him and let out a giggle. "You seem to be really hungry".

"I am, so please eat with me. I will compensate you for your time". He said holding the items in his hand. You shook your head and smiled. Gojo saw you smiled like that for the first time and his heart skipped a beat. "Alright then but if I get in trouble then it's on you!". Gojo nodded and followed you to the seating area next to a glass wall. Gojo goy the ramen ready as you poured the coffee from the bottle into two glasses with ice.

Gojo rolled the sleeves of his Balck shirt and placed his jacket on the stool next to him. You both sat next to eachother looking at the street outside. "So what's your name?". He asked taking slurping his noodles. "Kiki". You said, avoiding eye contact.

"Is that your real name?".

"For today it is".

"What will it be tomorrow?".

"Beyonce". Gojo choked on his noodles and you smiled amusingly to yourself. "Who are you?". He asked leaning on his one arm and looking at you. You shrugged your shoulders and continued to eat.

"If I come here tomorrow would you still be here?". You stopped your chopsticks mid air."Maybe". Gojo frowned as he straightened up. You shrugged again. He bit the inside of his cheeks as he tried to come with something.

"Why were you looking for me?". It was your turn to ask questions now. Gojo's eyes widened. "I..I wanted to apologise for the way my friend behaved". He looked away cringing at his bleak excuse.

"After a whole week?".

"Yes. I found out that you were not the manager". You let out a chuckle but Gojo saw something that made his stomach churn. He saw a black-blue bruise along your neck which seemed to be spread on your shoulder too. He wanted to ask but he knew you would either won't answer him or give a false story. He saw your arms where your sleeves were rolled up and saw hints of dark red marks.

"You alright?". You were done with your food and Gojo was barely halfway through. "Yeah. Lost my appetite". He said sternly as he picked up both the boxes and went to discard them. You saw his retreating figure and wondered what could have caused the sudden shift. Wiping your mouth and hands you returned behind the counter. Gojo came upto you once again but this time he looked like he knew what he wanted. "When does your shift get over?".

"what do you want from me?". Your asked as you lifted a crate of soda to restock the fridge. Gojo took it from your hand and followed you to the fridge. "I just want to get to know you".

"Why?". You quipped arranging the cans in a line.

"I want to be your friend".

"Why?".

"I think you're... intresting". He said cluelessly. You chuckled and asked. "Who are you?".

"I am Gojo Satoru". You looked up at him and for a second you were lost in his cerulean eyes. You had never seen eyes like these. "You have beautiful eyes Gojo Satoru".

Gojo had been complimented on his eyes since he was a kid then why was he shying away now? Why did it hurt him seeing the pain in your eyes. He had never noticed someone's eyes before but yours, yours took his breath away.

"Hello?". You were snapped out of your daze when you saw your coworker enter. You sighed and took off your vest. "I'm off work now. You can leave". You walked back to the changing broom and removed your blue vest.

You pressed your hand over your chest to calm the insistent beating of your heart. You looked up in the mirror on the locker and chuckled. You looked like shit. Before your could leave your phone buzzed in your pocket.

I'm coming to pick you up. The text had your stomach churning and you understood that it was going to be along night.

Shutting the locker and entering your card in the machine to clock out you walked out the store in your free hoodie with your good pulled up. You thought he had left but you saw him leaning against his car smiling at you. He looked handsome. His tall and broad frame made him looked like a model. The Balck shirt only brought out the white of his hair and his eyes glowed in the florescent light of the store.

"Have a good night". You said hastily and turned away to walk in the other direction but he grabbed your wrist just in time making fall back and collide with his chest. You turned around to look up at him and felt the intensity of his gaze.

"Can I see you again? Tomorrow?".

"I gues I'll be here".

"Promise me you'll be here. Please". Gojo pleaded with his grip on your wrist tightening.

You bit your lip and looked around hoping that no one was watching you but to your dismay you saw your partner standing in an alley way looking at you. "Sure I promise. Tomorrow. I gotta go. Bye". You said and hurriedly walked towards your partner with your head hung low. Gojo watched you leave with a frown. Something seemed off. But he will get to the end of it tomorrow.

Just like he promised Gojo showed up to the same convience store in evening but just like last time you weren't there. He asked the cashier and he told him that you quit your job that morning. Gojo asked for your number but he didn't have it and just like last time you had given a fake name and just like last time Gojo felt hope leave his body. But this time Gojo was adamant on seeing you again.

[ladylooch]

Have we discussed how Nico is when Lucie goes on her first date ever?

We haven't!

Lucie's first date is with a nice boy named Blake who moved with his parents from England a few months ago. Lucie and him became fast friends because they could bond over moving so far away from where they are from, to a place with much different customs.

The night of their first date, Nico does all the right things. He compliments his daughter. He goes over the rules. He makes sure her cellphone is charged so that if she needs to call him she can. Lexi is going to drop her off at the restaurant, then Nico is going to pick her from the little concert venue in the park. He kisses her goodbye, tells her to have fun, and stands in the driveway waving at the car.

"I don't like this." Nico mutters when Lexi returns. "I don't like that she is growing up so fast, babe."

"We can't stop it." Lexi murmurs, but feels a similar sentiment. Lexi curls into Nico's lap, hooking her feet around one of his thighs. She swings an arm over both his shoulders. "She looked so cute and happy when she met him at the restaurant. You would have loved it. He gave her flowers- daisies from his mom's floral shop. They're beautiful and blooming, just like our girl." Lexi cards her fingers through the side of his hair then kisses his cheek. Nico groans.

"Why can't we just freeze time?" He whispers. "I'm not ready for this." Lexi frowns, stroking his cheek with her thumb.

"We don't have a choice. We have to be because she is."

[female-malice]

I'm objectively good at cooking and cleaning.

I love kitchens.

It's so tempting to work at a kitchen again. But if I do that, the pendulum might swing back to hating kitchens.

Also I'm just not cut out to be a cook at a restaurant. I tried it. I can do kitchen prep and cleaning just fine. But keeping all the orders straight as a cook is brutal.

I'm great at cooking for big family gatherings. I could cook for a catering company. That's different from cooking to order. Another option is cafeteria-style cooking. That means cooking for institutions, old people, and young people. That's fine. As long as I don't have to cook orders.

No one should have to cook orders unless that is their true calling and it brings them pure joy. Those rare few who take great pride and joy in cooking orders should be the ones running all restaurants. There should be exactly enough restaurants to fit every joyful cook and joyful chef. And then there should be no additional restaurants.

My dream kitchen job is something that doesn't really exist yet. Post-climate change community kitchen.

I worked with an amazing chef who was an 18 year veteran in the trade. And she was an expert at getting value out of every piece of food that came through the kitchen. Nothing spoiled. Nothing went to waste. The walk-in was beautiful. I would help her prep. Then the customers would come in. The line cooks did their magic. The food left the kitchen in massive Italian portions. The customers would eat half. And then they'd leave. The rest of the food on their plates would come back to me. And I'd throw it in the compost bin. And I'd take it out to the dumpster. Every day there was 50 pounds of food waste. The kitchen never wasted food. The customers wasted 50 pounds of food every night.

Consumers are never efficient. But skilled chefs are extremely efficient. A professional kitchen can be more efficient than the average private personal kitchen. My private personal kitchen has a 100% efficiency rate. But I worked in a professional kitchen and I was raised on sustainability and I'm a very hungry person. Many people in the developed world do waste food. And it's not because they're bad people. It's because managing an efficient kitchen is not easy at all. People are paid to do that because it's not simple. Even for professionals there are constant challenges to overcome. But they have experience to rely on. The average person does not. We can't expect to turn every human into a professional chef and kitchen efficiency problem solver. So how can we be a sustainable society?

Community kitchen. Cafeteria style. One kitchen would serve the 500 people living closest to that kitchen. So there would need to be a lot of these. The point is to put the people who are good at food in charge of most food. Anyone who enjoys working in kitchens in any capacity would work there and help solve food problems. And everyone else could eat there. Each community kitchen would need one of those brilliant shrewd chefs like my old boss.

Chefs are an important key to sustainability. But chefs are usually associated with the nightmarish restaurant industry with its impractical culinary trends and wasteful customers. So climate thinkers have overlooked the fact that great chefs are experts at sustainable efficient food planning.

[saltylittlecreature]

List of 25 shops and merchants to populate your fantasy towns.

This is an selection of shops

Pall's Potions: A position shop that specializes in cheap potions that consist of oil and potion books for stranger potions. They also have a tavern "outback".

Dream Hallows: A shop that sells magical wines and sleep medicine. If you pay extra they may even sell you dreams trapped in bottles.

Gremly: A goblin wandering the roads sells alcohol and trinkets in exchange for food or favors. they also know fireball and invisibility targeted on themself.

The Drunk Halberds: A used armor shop that doubles as a tavern and inn. One can even find some quests posted there on a post board.

Bill's General Goods: a Shop with two lairs to it, the first floor is a regular general goods store that sells soap, some healing potions, and other general goods, and the secret gambling den in the cellar with a fully stacked complementary bar and fighting pit. Be careful when cheating though, they have an oracle and three thugs in a corner who are more than willing to pick a fight.

Calvin's Mansion: An abandoned mansion that's been turned into a market that's an open secret amongst the town. it has shops supplied by bandits and some adventurers. and occasionally a corrupt guard. with a silent unspoken word of don't ask, don't tell.

The orphanage black market: A market of orphan gangs who only let other orphans or trusted allies in (You can just bribe the children guards with candy or food from the local tavern). Once inside, you can bargain with the orphans and even get a meeting with their leader (The oldest orphan in the orphanage). The orphans are easy to scam and don't always know what they're selling. If discovered, they'll just move it somewhere else in the city next time.

Odess Mines: A mine used as a "Safe" training ground for adventurers, along with having adventurer-specific equipment and amenities. It also may have some local goblins in a mine that run a hot spring and a local lost and found, with the right finder's fee (They'll also take fruit tarts). They'll even pay a premium for any ore you bring back from the mines if you find any.

Golden Grills: A Restaurant with a blacksmith built into the side. The facilities are shared and may fight often. They make good American-style ribs and buy used weapons from adventurers.

The headmen: A Shop set up in a giant skull specializing in anti-undead equipment. including Holy water, symbols of many undead gods, some wafers, a couple bombs, and other things.

Grilla's Gormay Potluck: A food place where you trade food for food. In some cases, some constructs that help with cooking can be bought there (If stolen, they will still work but will try and poison people when they cook, or not listen to them because they haven't been transferred to the thief. If they go back and complain about it, they will be called out and possibly arrested by the shop for that). Some of the food also has special effects, and they'll buy fresh monster parts and other food stock for gold.

Baron's delivery: A delivery service that sells off overdue orders and will go off and find things for you up to a point (They won't go and find ancient treasures, people-specific items, extra). They also charge by the item. with them selling it off if you don't show up in time. They state this to each customer bluntly and directly. Then they assign a location to pick it up later, and they either get the item or a refund.

For Cod's Sake: A fish shop that serves seafood and sells ocean-related spell components, shell trinkets, and occasionally a priest who gives holy water.

The Cresent Moon: A shop that has a general goods, a midnight lottery, and a bidding war after that. With a paid party in the basement after that.

The Cart Mystery: A mass of carts that acts as a market. Traveling in their own area and living in the carts. It's large and can have various different items and trinkets they sell. there are also some pop-up shops and performers who'll sing for coins.

Sail's ahoy: A wrecked ship used by an old lady who sleeps there and sells scavenged treasure brought by the co-workers, who are mermaids who sell stuff the old lady scavenges from the surface. they both hide their treasures in a air pocket in a cave cove.

Silver Station: A blacksmith that handles bets on horse racing and refurbishing older goods. They also sell cheap trinkets and potions made by his family members.

Bark tea imploratory: Potions and oozes are sold here. Alchemical resources are considered incredibly valuable, and there is a local druid who helps out.

The Black Crown: A hidden shop that specializes in fiendish deals with friendly faces. Appearing overnight and offering curst objects or if you're looking for it, more fiendish deals.

The Songbird Circus: Appearing in abandoned buildings and warping the space within to fit its many gambling dens, fighting pits, bars, and backroom deals. This place is known as a hub for chaotic entities from celestial to fiends, to all in between. Warlocks commonly find their bargains struck here. The public face of the Circus den of debauchery is a warlock themself, seeming to be patterned by the business itself. Unable to die or leave as long as the circus exists.

The Shining Spirit: A Bar and casting service that can easily cure curses. They are known to be largely benevolent, but not always welcomed due to their strange abilities.

The Copper Bell: A shop run by a golem with a barred creat as a torso, where all the shop's goods are kept. Accepting money in exchange for various small products. With the owner of the shop helping decorate bells in the back.

Chapplton's Boat: A boat filled with old adventuring loot and sails from port to port selling it. With some original armor and weapons made from monster parts by the captain. They also help get bounties out far and wide.

The Castle of Strally: A Flying fortress known for teaching wizards and sorcerers, while also trading magical trinkets of whimsical or protective nature to others. Many even sell amicher potions by the many apprentices.

The Hidden Eye: A house that contains information and trades it for objects only they know the true value of. It is the hope to collect artifacts and magical items to preserve and seal, with many creating stashes of notes on each item. they rarely let one of their items be let out to the world once they have it. but during times of strife, these items are often lost in the chaos, and they're known to pay good pay in exchange for their safe return.

[lunarsilkscreen]

House and Rent prices and Inflation (and real estate speculation)

What the previous post implies is that it's housing and rent prices that are the primary driver of inflation.

This includes prices at your local store and restaurants. They typically pay rent to a landowner (who doesn't own the business, and just allows people to setup there.) Which means that the rent is the base-price of doing business.

They don't lower rental prices, because it's *just business* they'll get somebody else who can afford it soon enough. Even if the customers can't really afford to do business with you.

In some cases, they're trying to pay off mortgages and loans on the plot, and that's a real estate speculation thing. See, what happens is people try to sell their home, building, or land to the next bidder at both their loan and profit. (They wanna make an easy flip.)

And if the economy allows it, the next person will do the same thing. These peak highs that we're seeing on real estate are because of this. Because people have to pay off their mortgages. (And in some cases, reverse mortgages) and the city (in America) will tax about 0.1% in taxes per year on the value of your property. (on top of the loan) *unless* like in many places; they only tax the value of the land it is on. (You should thank Kant & Descarte if you both love their philosophy but hate land tax. They are the reason for the season after all.)

People get caught taking these high loans for homes *because* they need a house, and supposedly; a mortgage payment should be about the same as a rental payment. The difference is if you need to fix your own stuff, which is how you *should* eventually*per the systemic design* actually pay off your home loan. (If your landlord isn't fixing stuff; you have a problem.)

Because of a whole class of unregulated landlords and shady business practices in the Franchise market; we have the current issue of high rent.

So for an average person; don't rent from somebody who is unaffiliated with some larger group. They will do what individuals tend to do, and freak out when things go sideways. They'll also charge more and provide less.

Never rent directly from a landlord is what I'm saying.

For the businesses? There's not much that can be done except; don't pay for any place to do business. If you don't own the land outright, they'll just charge more, and that will increase your own prices going out.

And nobody needs that stress if it isn't something affordable to begin with.

Anyway, if you're looking for cheaper rent costs, 70$ a day at a hotel for 30 days is only 2100$. (It's between 30$ and 50$ in the warm months because you could also go camping instead).

So if you're paying that much for a studio apartment... Maybe think about it... Just saying.

[storiesbyjes2g]

Time has come! Use the OC list you made earlier and answer the following:

1 and 3 are in charge of arranging a general house party. How does it go? 2 appears in the news broadcast. What has happened? 4 and 5 need to buy a birthday gift for 6. What do they get? 3 asks 6 to teach her/him/them something. What is it and how does it go? 1 finds a seemingly lost cat. What does she/he/they do? 5 has to buy a quick snack for her-/him-/themself, what is it? 6 uses a search engine (Google or similar) and searches their own name. What are the top results? 4 has to take one of the other numbers to a date. Who's the lucky(?) guy/gal/other? 2 invites all the other numbers to a party - except one. Who's left out? 3 learns a dirty secret about 5. What is it and does she/he/they keep it? 4 has lost a bet and must get a tattoo. What will she/he/they get? 1 and 3 are stuck in an elevator. What happens?

You can answer with simple text, or take a picture or write a short story if you feel more inspired.

I swear you ask the best questions! I was excited even before I read the scenarios LOL. Okay let's go!!

Luca & Sophia's House Party

First of all, Luca would be stoked to plan a party period because he's neither hosted nor been to a house party, but to throw one with Sophia? Ohhhhh BOY! Secondly, he'd also be terrified on top of being excited because most of his friends are ladies he's attracted to and/or have gone on dates with. The party would be at Luca and Ali's house because Sophia's house is tiny. They would do all the party planning in person because they're both really into each other and don't see each other enough. I'm pretty sure by the end of the party they'd be a couple lol. Whenever they are together, she is constantly cracking jokes and making Luca laugh, so I'm not sure how much would actually get done. The party will probably turn out to be just okay because of their distractions but also neither of them are big party people. But whether or not the party is lame, those two will surely have a good time.

Emmy on the News

Emmy would be on a segment of the news highlighting small businesses. Or, maybe she got some women in business award and they aired her acceptance speech on TV.

Nadia & Anissa's Birthday Gift for Rodney

Ooooh this one is hard! Okay, so Kameron is the one who started this. He's an investor in Rodney's restaurants, and they have a casual relationship. He mentioned in passing Rodney's birthday was coming up but never followed up. Nadia of course is the administrator of the home, and when she found out Kameron still hadn't sent him a gift, she took on the project lol. Instead of doing something generic, she called Anissa because she knew she was acquainted with Rodney through Loren who is married to Rodney's best friend. They met at her wedding. But Anissa doesn't know Rodney like that so she texts Loren for an idea. They all settle on sending him a very expensive bottle of whisky. And because Nadia was feeling particularly salty and petty that day, the card was signed "From The Piersons and Friends." LOL see what I did there? 🤣

(this got long so the rest under the cut)

Sophia's Cooking Lesson

Sophia is not a good cook. Her kitchen looks exactly like it did when she first moved in. She likes Luca a lot and wants to do something nice for him, especially since he's always so caring and taking care of everyone else. And she always heard the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so she decided to learn to cook something well. But she could only get so far from SimTube tutorials. They either went too fast or spoke like she was supposed to know what they were talking about. No, she needed someone to show her live. One of her favorite restaurants is Taqueria Alchone, and the owner--Rodney Eason--was always so nice and personable with his customers. Surely he would help her. So she went there one day after work. She worked 7-3, so it was pretty dead when she arrived. She ordered and waited for Rodney to come around and greet her.

"Okay, so, this is gonna be a really weird question, but I'm gonna go for it," she said.

He flashed his signature smile. "Go for it! That's what I always do."

"So like...I have this friend... I wanna do something nice for him but-"

Rodney gasped. "You tryna snag your man? I'm in! What I gotta do? You want me to call him? Gimme his number!"

Little did she know Rodney was a romantic...and a very gregarious goofball.

"I want to make him dinner, but I'm terrible at it. Can you show me how to make something simple?"

A huge grin came across his face. "You came to the right place. I'll show you a lil sum sum. BUT...you'll also need a recipe for breakfast." He winked at her. "You know what I'm saying? Come on in the kitchen. I'll get you right! You'll have that dude screaming your name in no time!"

Oh, Rodney LOL.

Luca Finds a Lost Cat

Given his experience watching his mother take in stray pets, he'd probably try to feed it, putting a bowl of food near them. Cats aren't like dogs and are way less trusting, so he probably won't be able to befriend it, not that he'd want to; he's not much of a cat guy. Since Tofu just died, he'd probably call Emmy and see if she's interested in taking care of it.

Anissa's Quick Snack

When Anissa has back-to-back surgeries and zero time for lunch, her go to snack in the vending machine is a Payday candy bar. It's sweet, it's salty, and she gets a nice amount of protein to keep her going. It's an older brand, and not very popular, but her Pop Pop used to love them and that's how she got introduced to it.

Rodney's Smoogle Search

As a restaurateur, Rodney is very much concerned about what people say and think about his restaurants. So when he searches for his own name, more than likely the top results will be Yelp Reviews and food critic blogs. I also wouldn't be surprised if a gossip blog was there too lol. He's a good boy now, but he was a bit reckless in the beginning.

Nadia's Date

Nadia had one engagement left to attend from her tenure in the mayor's office before she was completely rid of them, but Kameron had agreed to take Noemi to come aspiring lawyers camp thingy, so she had to find someone else to accompany her. Her first thought was to call Bryce, but things are weird between him and Kameron. Nick is all the way on the other side of the country now, but even if he weren't that would be weird too. She thought very hard and methodically about it and decided to call Rodney. She had recently sent him a birthday gift, and they were mildly acquainted. Plus it would be a good networking event for him, so she called him, and he accepted.

Emmy's Party

Emmy invites everyone to the party except Luca because it's a surprise party for him lol. (cop out? maybe! lol)

Sophia Learns a Dirty Secret About Anissa

And this is the part where I realized I should have picked names all from the same story LOL. Let's say it's Nadia and Anissa. Nadia is nosy, so she'd definitely try to find out more lol. Depending on what it is, she might ask Melany about it. If it's really dirty she might even ask Anissa herself.

Nadia Loses a Bet

The consequence of losing this bet is she has to get a tattoo. She would get some word or phrase about love written in Mt. Komorebian since that is where she and Kameron reaffirmed their love for each other in a very impromptu and non-traditional vow renewal. It would be located somewhere only Kameron can see when she's naked.

Luca and Sophia Stuck in an Elevator

What happens? What doesn't happen! 🤣 This is exactly what Luca needs lol. They're gonna talk first. But then Sophia will ask a very poignant question about his feelings toward her. He'll try to skirt around it, but she does not have time for him to continue being scared and draws it out of him. They kiss! And if the elevator isn't fixed yet, they might start something they can't finish lol.