#you guys are all smokers and drinks around the kid so maybe focus on that first 🙂🙂🙂

[what-have-i-unleashed]

anyway regarding this post i'm having a very funny idea in my head about a scenario with this squad. like, petal after spying on their latest target and then having to go back because apparently their target is at a place where there is no dirt surface for him to pop up to continue tracking. so they have to resort to the old-fashioned method of infiltration.

and they start to argue with each other about who should be the honeytrap to tail and extract info from the guy. silk is the obvious choice since she's the recon expert, but then she might be a bit too intimidating for the guy with her personality. after a bit of back-and-forth, silk finally says "hey, how about the boss?" and everyone just turns to look at dust, who looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

"he's cute. and he looks like a harmless little funny guy with his normal eyelights." silk explains, much to the mortification of dust. "he'll be the perfect person to approach this guy."

"hmm i don't know..." allie squints. "he doesn't look like he has," she gestures at dust, "the factor, if you get what i mean."

"okay petal, where does our guy end up at?" silk asks their little scout.

"uhhh some bar at [insert place here since i'm too lazy to come up with anything]."

"oh perfect! that's a gay bar! he'll definitely looking to score someone!"

allie remains skeptical. "you're sure the commander is his type though?"

"the guy looks sleazy," petal says, completely bored. "he's looking for an easy target for sure."

"and the boss knows how to charm someone off their pants, doesn't he~?" silk croons, all of her eyes fixed upon dust with much glee. "and he's pretty nice-looking too, under all those cumbersome clothes of his~"

"are we really talking about this right now?" dust grits his teeth, hunching into his hood, face clearly burning hot.

everyone else is just silent as they stare at silk, then at dust. finally someone breaks the silence in the background. "i knew it. pay up, motherfucker."

"oh come on!" another grumbles as the sound of jingling coins can be heard. chara can just watch, mouth agape, as this slow train crash continues to go downhill.

really? pyre signs. you, with her? real taste there, commander.

"shut up. i don't want to hear it." dust hides further into his hood.

"yeah, shut up, pyre!" silk crows gleefully. "at least boss likes someone who can give some indications that they enjoy it during the act. he definitely likes me better than you."

"and by 'shut up', i mean you too, silk." dust turns to her, but his fire is just not there. he's too embarrassed to be intimidating right now.

chara is not the only one who notices that dust didn't deny what silk is implying.

"wait..." allie starts. "did you..."

silence. there is no denial coming from dust, and pyre just crosses his arms, his fire crackling in an amused expression.

"damn it..." another voice grumbles in the crowd as the betting money is exchanged again.

"wow," red, who was silent the whole time, finally says, his voice a drawl. "was i really your last option there, dust? i'm wounded, really."

chara's brain is working overtime with all this new information. they look at silk, pyre, red, then dust, trying to connect something with their frayed neurons. "hold on... but they're all... that means..."

"he has a type, kid," silk says, entertained by the little drama she has caused. "i wonder what~"

"should i feel good about myself that i haven't slept with him yet?" allie says, not sounding very impressed.

"oh stars... if i agree to be the honeytrap, can you guys please shut up about my sex life? there's a kid here!" dust says, exasperated by the antics of his subordinates. chara can't help but agree, though they would be lying if they say this drama is not entertaining... somewhat.

"it's not the worst thing they've heard, trust me," red says, quirking a smile. but they move on.

[g1rld1ary]

you never disappointed me - part three

part one part two part three part four

➻ synopsis: luke castellan x aphrodite!reader ; after beckendorf does some research with silena, luke finally knows how to ask you out (10 things I about you AU)

➻ word count: 2642

➻ warnings: ooc/kind of loser!luke, ooc silena, she/her pronouns used for reader, sexual innuendos, alcohol, smoking

➻ so i immediately got hit with a ton of uni work lols (so mean for first week??) so this took a little longer than expected sorries!!

TAGLIST: @myxticmoon @wicca-void @leeknows-wife @thekittyxo-blog @number-onekidqueen @instabull @slaybestieslay946 @sflame15-blog @yourfavmiki @ivory-sage

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While you were being tormented by the two boys Camp Half-Blood (or maybe your mom?) kept sending your way, Charles was following Silena around like a lost puppy, noting down whatever she could find about you in your limited personal space in the Aphrodite cabin. After several minutes of nothing promising, he was starting to feel hopeless.

“She’s not a…” Beckendorf trailed off, looking for more delicate phrasing.

“Girl in Red fan? No. I found a picture of Heath Ledger under her bunk once so I’m pretty sure she’s not harbouring any queer feelings.”

“So that’s the kind of guy she likes? Pretty guys?”

“I don’t know,” Silena said impetuously, “All I’ve ever heard her say is that she’d die before dating a guy that smokes.” Beckendorf cringed. That was an issue. Silena continued mindlessly, digging through your drawers and belongings. She pulled out your reading list, planner and a sticky note of things you were going to do when you left after summer. Finally, Silena let out a devious giggle as she dug through your top drawer. She didn’t let Beckendorf wonder for long, as she pulled out a pretty pair of lacy black underwear.

It wasn’t the most scandalous piece of lingerie sitting in that cabin — not by far, but Beckendorf still blushed like the teenage boy he was, almost too afraid to look at the scrap of fabric.

“And, uh, what does that tell us?” He asked, eyes anywhere but the cloth.

“She wants to have sex someday, that’s what,” She said it as if it were obvious, and Beckendorf wished a hole would open up and swallow him down. He really didn’t want to be talking about your sexual desire right now.

“She might just like the colour?” He mumbled, hand running over his hair in an effort to ground him.

“You don’t buy black lingerie unless you want someone to see it.” Beckendorf felt kind of guilty, he figured he probably wasn’t who you had in mind when buying black lingerie, and it was starting to feel like a serious invasion of privacy. That was only heightened when Silena pointedly avoided telling him which area was hers, saying it was ‘private’. He rationalised his actions by praying to the Gods the plan would work and everyone would get a happy ever after.

Still, Percy and Beckendorf took this research to Luke in his semi-secret spot behind the training arena, where he could drink and smoke without being worried about being caught by the younger kids or Chiron. He didn’t look exactly happy to see them, but Beckendorf thought he might just be warming up to them.

“So, what’ve you got for me?” He asked, taking a swig of his beer.

“Insights into a very complicated girl,” Percy said, dislike of you obvious.

“Just one question,” Beckendorf asked “Should you be drinking if you don’t have a liver?” One of his new brothers had told him the rumour that Luke had sold his liver on the black market during his quest for a pack of cigarettes and a ticket back to camp.

“She hates smokers!” Percy interrupted, hopefully before Luke could process what Beckendorf had said, and very successfully redirected his focus as Beckendorf grabbed the lit cigarette out of his hand, snuffing it out on the dirt.

“So I’m a… non-smoker now?” Luke spat the words, sounding almost disgusted with himself.

“Just for now,” Beckendorf assured him. “And one more problem — Silena said that she likes ‘pretty guys’.” A tense silence fell upon them and Charles wished that sometimes he would think before he spoke. Luke’s gaze on him was heavy and intimidating, and if Percy wasn’t there with him Beckendorf probably would have cowered and escaped.

“Are you telling me I’m not a pretty guy?” Luke asked, and if he had to say, Beckendorf thought his attitude right now definitely wasn’t helping his case. He and Percy shared a quick look before reassuring Luke that he absolutely was a pretty guy, they just had limited experience in deciding those labels. Satisfied, Luke glanced at the list Beckendorf handed him of all of your interests and engagements. He frowned, and both the younger boys exchanged uneasy eye contact.

“So what, I’m supposed to buy her noodles and books and sit around listening to some shitty girl power band?” He asked, dread and boredom evident in his eyes.

“Have you ever been to Club Skunk? Her favourite band is playing there tomorrow night,” Beckendorf provided, disheartened by the quick shake of Luke’s head.

“I cannot be seen at Club Skunk.”

“But she’s gonna be there! She’s got tickets!” He protested, and Percy put a subtle hand on his arm.

“Dude, everyone you know is here. No one’s gonna see you at Club Skunk and think you’re less of a man or whatever. I’ll tell everyone you’re off in the woods smoking weed or something.” Luke looked at them for a long moment, seemingly considering the offer. Finally he agreed, and Beckendorf thought it may have just been to get them to go away, but he was happy enough.

Luke, having gotten over the humiliation it would be to go to Club Skunk, was more than interested at the new piece of information he’d just learned. He thought he was the only one who snuck out of camp, and he wondered how often you did it. Reasonably frequently, he guessed, since you were going to all the trouble to see a band that probably played around the state constantly. You just kept on surprising him, and though it was all a bit of an effort on his part, he had started to enjoy getting to know the parts of you that you kept hidden behind the icy exterior.

You, on the other hand, were getting really weirded out. You might’ve just been paranoid, but you were sure that the new Hephaestus kid who was friends with Percy kept staring at you. Even Percy glanced at you more than once during dinner, something you didn’t think had ever happened before — and you were not looking for attention from the camp’s golden boy, no matter how many times he’d probably saved your life by extension of his quests. Those two, coupled with Luke, whose attentions had inexplicably been focused on you for the last week, made you feel a bit like an animal on display; violently uncomfortable. As you left the meal you shot Beckendorf a nasty glare, somewhat satisfied when he jumped and averted his eyes. You shook your head in a physical attempt to clear the burdens of your thoughts. Soon you wouldn’t have to worry about any of the campers or the stupidity that flowed around the grounds.

About twenty minutes after the campfire started and the rest of the camp were safely together, you began the trek up to the Hamptons — the closest city with a venue. You waited anxiously for the bus to pick you up outside the camp lines, looking over your shoulder to ensure no one had caught you. If your adventures got around camp then Silena would absolutely tell your father as payback for being the reason she can’t date, and that was a whole new set of issues you really didn’t care to deal with. Luke, standing in the shadows watching, felt almost bad for spying on you. Almost.

You could feel your shoulders relax as you got further and further away from camp, the judgement and expectations of people you didn’t even like far behind you for the night. You’d been looking forward to this show since you got tickets with your friends during the school term, and you were determined to make it worth the pain of summer. And it really, really was. Your whole friend group had made it, making it a long awaited reunion, and the band was one you’d been following for years. You danced with all your energy, gleefully shouting lyrics and laughing loudly when you got them terribly wrong.

Luke watched this from his seat at the bar, entranced in your private bubble amongst the chaos. You were smiling — a rare sight at all at camp — but this was one he didn’t think he’d ever seen in all his years of knowing you. It wasn’t filled with pride like the ones you tried to conceal when you got a new record on the climbing wall or you finally beat Clarisse in a training match, nor was it the satisfied smirk you had when you put an egotistical camper in their place or beat up jerks like Ethan. Your smile was alight with joy; relaxed and wholehearted happiness that spread through the room and seemed infectious to anyone who passed you.

It was at that moment that Luke truly understood how you were a daughter of Aphrodite. The way the lights reflected off your hair and your eyes, the easy way you moved your body to the music, everything about you suddenly seemed perfect, and he wondered how he’d never noticed it before. Your appearance hadn’t changed drastically; your hair was loose instead of the practical up-do needed for camp, you wore a tight fitted crop top instead of the camp shirt and you might’ve had some glitter smeared around your eyes. All inconspicuous, ordinary things, yet you seemed like a brand new person. Luke decided he liked this version of you, and if this whole plan failed, at least he’d gotten a glimpse into your real world and behind the facade you hid with at camp.

He was ripped from his thoughts when he saw you make a drinking gesture to your friend, heading towards him unwittingly. He turned in his seat hurriedly, trying to act cool and unaware. You spotted him almost immediately, persona switching up as disgust crept back under your skin.

“If you’re going to ask me out again, could you just get it over with now so I can get back to enjoying my night?” You sighed, grabbing the water bottles from the bartender.

“Would you mind? You’re kind of ruining this for me.” Luke gestured around, hoping his acting chops were as good as he needed. You ignored it either way.

“You’re not surrounded by your usual cloud of smoke,” You noted, curiosity getting the better of you.

“I quit. Apparently they’re bad for you.” You raised an eyebrow, almost too surprised to come up with a quip.

“You did?” You hated how genuine it sounded and turned to go, sensing him get up to follow you.

“You know, I was watching you out there before,” He yelled over the music, “I’ve never seen you look so sexy.” In possibly the worst timing in history, the song ended and the entire club was treated to Luke’s compliment. You both flushed red, and you were unable to contain a small giggle — wildly uncharacteristic for you. Luke, to his credit, only had a mildly sheepish grin on his face, and continued to follow you across the dance floor. “Come to the Apollo party with me.” You couldn’t believe him! Here you were, miles from camp and he was still asking you out. Though, you couldn’t deny that he wasn’t quite as infuriating as you originally thought.

“You never give up, do you?” You gave a good natured sigh, ducking under someone’s arm to get to your friends.

“Was that a yes?”

“No.”

“Was it a no?”

“No!” You let out another laugh which floated over the crowd and straight to Luke. He couldn’t contain his own grin.

“I’ll pick you up at 9:30!” He yelled back. You gave no indication of having heard him apart from a momentary glance, and he couldn’t tell if the smile was directed at him or just a byproduct of your situation. He took it either way.

Having gone to the effort of sneaking away from camp, Luke decided to stay for the remainder of the concert and grudgingly decided the band wasn’t that bad. Not his style, sure, but he could kind of see why you liked them. Besides, these drinks were easier to get than the contraband ones he had to smuggle into camp.

Tired from a night on your feet dancing and feeling your pleasant buzz slipping away, you were less than charmed seeing Luke waiting for your bus. It made sense, obviously you were going the same place, but you didn’t want him to ruin your great night by pestering you about a date.

“What are you doing here?” You asked bluntly, eagerly sitting on the misshapen little bench.

“Getting home?” He trailed off, unsure of what you were looking for. “Besides, we’re a long way from camp and it’s late. Didn’t feel right leaving you here alone.” You hated that you thought it was sweet.

“Do you not think I can take care of myself?” You picked a fight instead, unwilling to be genuine with him. Luke wasn’t stupid enough to fall for it.

“I have complete faith in you,” He laughed, “I’m making sure you don’t kill whoever bothers you.” You let out a snort of a laugh accidentally. You tried to recover,

“It’ll be you if you’re not careful.” Somehow Luke didn’t believe you.

Surprisingly, the trip was almost pleasant. Luke had already gotten what he wanted from the night and the next phase of his plan was shaping up, so he knew bringing up your impending date would only sour your mood. Instead, when he plonked himself down in the seat next to you on the bus, you talked about mundane, silly things. He asked about the friends you were with and let you talk about your life in New York, waving you off when you started to feel guilty since he was at camp all year.

“There’s this really cool record store, we go there all the time. They have this huge bulletin board on one wall where these tiny little bands put up posters for random gigs with, like, fifty people there — it’s so sick, like the 90s I guess. Maybe —” You cut yourself off but Luke knew where you were going. Maybe I could show you. You would deny it if he brought it up, but he couldn’t contain his smile either way.

You were surprised that you had so much to talk about, briefly wondering why you’d never been friends with him before, but the conversation continued all the way to the camp border, where you both knew the risk of sneaking back in meant your night together was over. Once you got into camp there’d be people all around; campers should be in bed but counsellors often patrolled for a while, and many of the non-demigod folks around camp could be up and about well into the early hours of the morning.

“So, um, I’ll see you around?” His sudden shyness was unexpectedly charming, and you found yourself giving Luke a smile — a real one that made his heart flutter embarrassingly.

“Bye, Luke.” You held eye contact for a fraction longer than necessary before disappearing into the shadows. Luke watched you go, not quite starstruck but close to it. A rustle of the trees behind him spurred him into action, but the image of you on the dance floor played on repeat behind his eyes as he lay in his bunk.

[angrylizardjacket]

dirtbags // 4: Lola

Summary: High school AU. 1985. Winter. Heather’s party is huge; Lola makes new friends, get better acquainted with some underclassmen, and turns out to be far cozier with the hostess than anyone could guess. The next day, Nikki comes to work despite his hangover, while Charlotte and Eileen plan Vince’s murder. Razzle’s just there to have fun. 

A/N: 6603 words. For @misscharlottelee and @julymotel , my beloveds, as always. Sorry it's late, it's been a hell of a week. But, here's the kids. I should say that this chapter does include slight, implied internalised homophobia, just as a warning.

judge if you want, we are all going to die. i intend to deserve it.

For the record, Lola isn’t a party-goer by nature, and the fact that she’s been to two in as many months is baffling her. Usually she just goes to see bands, and sometimes hangs out at peoples’ houses, but high school parties specifically alluded her for most of her time in Boston. It’s not that she wasn’t invited, but her mom had been something of a hardass, and the closest she’d ever gotten was when drunk kids made their way to the diner right before closing on a Friday or Saturday.

Her dad’s fully supportive of her going out and partying, which is weird in it’s own right. He writes down their home phone number on a piece of paper, in case Lola can’t remember it when she’s drunk - his words - and tells her to call whenever she needs a lift. Don’t go get into a car with strangers. Drink plenty of water. Be safe. Have fun. 

“Dad, you’re being weird,” she’d told him flatly, applying eyeliner to her waterline in the bathroom. Leo, leaning against the door with his arms crossed, was watching her with a fond expression.

“If I was a hardass and banned you from going out, you’d probably still sneak out anyways -” Lola goes to protest, which Leo finds sweet, but he holds a hand up, and she lets him continue, “not that I don’t think you respect me, but I just know what it was like being a teenager; if you got into trouble while sneaking out, you wouldn’t feel like you could call me for help,” he explained, giving pause, “but I always will, you know that, right?” And Lola nods, but goes back to applying eyeliner, knowing her father’s tone of voice too well, anticipating the fact that he was about to dive into a story of his own to help prove his point.

“When I was your age, or maybe a bit younger, fifteen or sixteen, me and some friends snuck out to a bonfire one night that my parents had absolutely forbidden me from going to, and I ended up needing to go to the emergency room from a burn I got on my hand from being an idiot around the fire,” and he raised his left hand, to show the still visible, large scar on his palm, “I was more terrified of what my father would do than of the burn itself so I didn’t try and call him or mum; I walked home from the hospital alone the next morning, and lied about how I got the burn.”

Lola paused, lowering the eyeliner pencil, meeting her father’s gaze in the mirror. Leo’s smile had turned a little sad at the memory; Lola doesn’t hear much about her grandparents, and she wonders if stories like this are the reason why.

“You’re my kid, Keola, I never want you to think you can’t come to me for help, okay?” It’s rare for Leo to use Lola’s full first name, usually reserving it for more poignant and earnest moments, so every comment about how he’s being a sap, or that she already knows, dies on Lola’s tongue. 

“Thanks, dad,” she smiles soft, and Leo smiles back, all crows feet and laugh lines, before he tells her that she looks badass, and he steps out of the doorframe, heading back downstairs to the diner. 

By the time Lola shows up, it’s just edging past eight-thirty, though the party still seems to be in its early stages. There’s music that can be heard down the street, and fairy lights scattered throughout the garden, though most of the partygoers who had already arrived are still confined to the house. Apart from a gangly, dark-haired boy whose face she knows, but whose name she doesn’t, sitting on the wide, ostentatious front steps, looking up at the stars glittering overhead. There’s a cigarette in a loose grip between two fingers, though the ash has already burnt down half of it without him tapping it off; it’s almost comical, she’s pretty sure he hasn’t even put it to his lips yet.

“You’re wasting that,” Lola points out, and the guy is jolted from his thoughts, the movement sharp enough to have the ash falling from the cigarette and to the ground by his shoes. He looks to the cigarette, which has gone out, and then to Lola, a little helpless, “I could take it off your hands,” she offers, unsure of how to proceed, and he holds the cigarette out, smile blooming on his face.

“I can’t get the hang of it; I’m playing a smoker in this play I’m doing in a month, and I’ve been trying, you know, make it feel natural, never seems to,” his mouth is curved into a bemused smile as he shrugs helplessly, watching Lola tuck the half a cigarette behind her ear. For a moment, his eyes roam his face, like he’s searching for something to recognize, and she can read it all over him when he finds it, his eyes alight with familiarity, “you work at the diner!”

Lola hates how disarming she finds his earnestness. He doesn’t mention her reputation or the rumours around her, which she’s pretty sure he would have heard since she’s eighty-percent sure he goes to her school.

“Lola,” she offers her hand, and he takes it, using it as leverage to get to his feet before he gives it a proper shake.

“Keanu,” he says, matter-of-factly, still grinning, and Lola suddenly knows where she knows him from. The school musical sign-up sheet is on the Art Faculty’s notice board right outside her art classroom, and she’s been staring at his name amongst a small list of others, including Eileen’s, much to Lola’s surprise, while she and the rest of her art class wait to get into their room.

At least she’s pretty sure it’s him; Keanu’s not exactly a common name. The only other time she’d heard it was in one of her dad’s stories, it was the name of one of his childhood friends -

She leaves it be; he groans and stretches, and there’s an idle moment where his shirt rides up, and Lola reminds herself to focus on the person who actually invited her, and to stop getting fleeting feelings for people she barely knows just because they’re pretty. Lola mutters that she needs a drink, and Keanu claps her on the shoulder and agrees, the two of them heading inside.

Heather’s house is in the same part of town as Vince’s, almost an hour’s walk from the diner, but somehow Heather’s is even nicer. Sprawling front lawn, abstract paintings and movie props on little, pristine pedestals inside, Lola feels like she’s lowering the property value just by stepping foot inside. The party was easily both the nicest and most raucous Lola had ever been to, which, granted, wasn’t saying a lot, but their house was wired with speakers, all connected back to the jukebox in the living room, and Heather’s parents had even let her hire coloured lights.

“As long as the cops aren’t called, we can do whatever we want,” was the message passed around the school from Heather herself. Lola’s feels as though that probably won’t bode well for her parents’ elegantly displayed collectables, but whatever, it’s not like it’s Lola’s problem.

Already there’s a decent crowd inside, and Lola loses Keanu amongst them, making a beeline for the kitchen, manoeuvring around the house with easy familiarity. She reaches pushes past several people to get to the fridge, reaching all the way to the back, past a set of tupperware, to the bottle of wine Heather’s mom had stashed there. Lola removes the sticky note telling everyone not to touch it, and uncorks the bottle over the sink, scowling.

It feels like she’s floating through the night, no-one around that she knows just yet, disconnected from everyone else, carrying the bottle of wine by her side, occasionally taking a drink. Moving from room to room, she takes her time people watching, and guessing how long before the various, expensive props and bric-a-brac were being used for things counter to their intended purpose. 

In the front room, there’s finally someone she recognises, kind of; the the young redhead, the fruit one- Peach! She’s unsteady on her feet, beautiful and angry, defiantly making her way through a can of cheap beer, and Lola wonders where the rest of her clique is, that sister of hers, Eileen, even Charlotte. 

“You okay?” Lola’s never been great at comforting people, but Peach is currently leaning against a wall at a forty-five degree angle after losing her balance, and scowling. She’s drunk. Already. Fuck.

“I’m fine! Freaking- fucking great!” She’s not even looking at Lola properly, glaring out the window she’d narrowly missed falling on. Lola follows her gaze. It’s just passed nine, and Tommy and Charlotte can be seen walking up to the door; they don’t see Peach or Lola, thankfully. 

“You - you’re friends with that... that mean, asshole, punk guy, right?” Peach asks, standing upright so suddenly she overbalances again, and Lola has to catch her elbow to keep her from topping. Peach slaps her hand away, but keeps her balance, obviously with a bee in her bonnet about something that Lola couldn’t even begin it fathom.

“Nikki?” Lola clarifies flatly, amused but not wanting it to show. Peach nods solemnly. Lola bites back a laugh, “yes, I’m friends with him, why?”

“Is he coming tonight?” Peach asks, tone almost forcibly coy and casual, raising her can of drink, taking large gulps as Lola says that he mentioned that he should be, and then asks why. Peach goes quiet. Lola had thought it impossible for Peach’s scowl to grow deeper, but it did, as a blush began to creep up her neck. 

“You know my sister, right? Eileen?” Peach says, instead, and Lola nods slowly, and she takes a swig of wine, “she’s a year - a single goddamn year - older than me; I’m sixteen, Lola, she said I was too young to go to a party like this.” And yeah, okay, Lola makes a face at that; she was the same age as Tommy, and he’s done objectively worse stuff in front of Eileen and Charlotte with no complaints. The last house party flashes through Lola’s mind, and she grimaces - “exactly, it’s dumb! Charlie had been dating Duff for a year by the time she was my age, and let me tell you, they were proper gross!” Peach sways a little, and Lola reminds her that she has no idea who Duff is; Peach calls him a word that shocks Lola to hear her say it, especially for a girl who had to correct herself from saying freaking to fucking just moments ago.

“Noted,” Lola nods, and takes another drink; she’s almost a third through the bottle.

“I’m not a child, Lola,” Peach says, as seriously as she can muster, and, as if light a lightbulb has gone off above Lola’s head, she realises why Peach was asking after Nikki. 

“You’re not,” Lola agrees slowly, and looks around, hoping to spot Charlotte or Tommy around, someone better suited to talking an angry, determined Peach out of something she’d regret. 

“Don’t take that tone with me,” Peach huffed, standing to her full height, which unfortunately for Lola, made her taller by a few inches, “you know what, fuck you, Lola -”

“Peach -”

“No, fuck that, I know that tone -”

“Never thought I’d see you out at a place like this, Peach,” there’s a warm familiarity in the voice that joins them, and Peach visibly relaxes. Lola turns, and sees Vince Neil, bleach blonde, decked out in his usual, obnoxious white. 

“Fuck off, Vince,” Peach mumbles, turning back to the window in an attempt to hide her sudden blush. Lola raises her eyebrows and looks to Vince, intrigued. The moment his gaze meets Lola’s, Vince turns quietly awkward, and can do little more than offer a shrug. 

“Peach?” He tries again, and Peach finishes her drink, tipping her head back, and doesn’t even seem to notice that she’s started to topple back until he catches her, “fuck, Peach.” He says, still holding her.

“You really should fuck off,” Peach says, softer this time, leaning into him, and something pained flashes across Vince’s expression for the barest moment; Peach doesn’t notice in her state, but Lola sees it. 

“Eileen been in your ear lately?” Vince asks through gritted teeth. Peach’s scowl back in full force, and she’s righting herself.

“No,” she snaps, an obvious lie, and she pushes past Lola, making her unsteady way to the kitchen, Vince obviously feeling some sort of obligation to her, following quickly in her wake. Thank God. Lola really didn’t want to take care of a girl she barely knows all night. 

She’s two thirds of the way through the bottle of wine, feeling good and buzzed, and she’s made polite conversation with the people she knows and the people she doesn’t, the people who know her by reputation, or from the diner, polite to a fault, knowing too much and too little about her all at once.

Tommy’s roped them into a conversation with a few kids from his year that Lola doesn’t recognize any of them, and one, drunk, brunette, stupid, asks her about the rumours, in a crude, roundabout way. Tommy’s hand is firm on Lola’s shoulder, apology in his eyes as he silently pleads with her to not make a scene. Lola kicks his asshole friend in the shin anyways, and spits that he has terrible taste in friends. 

Charlotte waves to her, but Lola doesn’t see it in her angry state, storming up the stairs to the second floor. It’s quieter up here, mostly. There’s a group in a side room playing spin the bottle, and people taking advantage of Heather’s parents’ bedroom, and the door to Heather’s room is closed. Lola bangs her closed fist on the nondescript door. 

“Who is it?” Heather’s voice, strained, rings out from the other side.

“I’m gonna be sick,” Lola whined through a lie, banging again. There’s scuffling on the other side, Heather hissing for whoever’s with her to go, to get out the window, anything. Lola smirks, “please, all the other bathrooms are -” and she fake gags, right as the door wrenches open to show Heather’s flustered face, hair a mess, scowling.

“What?”

“I’m lying,” Lola whispered, leaning against the doorframe, pushing down all her annoyance at Tommy and his asshole friends, and playing at being coy. Heather huffs an annoyed breath through her nose.

“I know,” she snaps, but lets Lola in anyways, and Lola automatically closes the door behind herself, leaning her back against it, watching Heather try and act casual, heading to her bed, “should I be jealous?” Lola smirks, and Heather shoots her a filthy look. Lola takes a long drink of the wine, and Heather’s expression turns from angry, to simply annoyed.

“Of course, of fucking course, you, the only asshole who actually knew about it-”

“Your mom can buy another one, it’s not like you’re not -”

“Don’t say it,” Heather warns, sitting on the edge of her bed, and Lola’s smile grows sly and amused. Heather’s gaze flicks to the door handle, “lock that.” 

“Yes, Princess,” Lola smirks, reaching over with her free hand, making quick work of locking the door.

“Do not,” Heather hisses at the pet name, and Lola pushes off the door, heading towards her, and offers her the bottle. Heather’s lips press into a thin line as the regards the drink she knows is completely illicit for a number of reasons, before taking it, and taking a drink - “fuck, how much of this have you had?”

In answer, Lola takes the bottle back and finishes it off. 

“You’re a pig and a thief,” Heather tells her, but Lola’s smile is all teeth.

“And you kicked out someone - a boy, I’m guessing - for this thieving pig,” Lola reminds her, placing the empty bottle carefully on the nightstand of her luxurious double bed. Heather turns scarlet.

“I thought you’d at least wait until eleven to find me,” she deflects, defensive at the truth in Lola’s words, to which Lola herself actually laughs, flopping back onto the bed, arms spread, two fingers hooking into the back waistband of Heather’s flirty, short skirt.

“The fact that I’m here at all is a miracle, Princess -”

“Don’t.”

“And you know you could have told me to throw up in the garden,” Lola points out. A moment of silence follows, she tugs at Heather’s waistband, and Heather follows the unspoken prompt, leaning back onto the bed.

“Boys don’t know what they’re doing,” she says, staring up at the ceiling, arms folded but feet still planted firmly on the floor, and Lola’s eyes go wide, delighted, twisting onto her side to look at Heather’s blushing face.

“I knew you liked me,” Lola teases, grinning sharp.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Heather scoffs, angling her head back to level a glare at Lola, after a beat, she reaches back, fingers nimble and cold but her grip on Lola’s jaw secure. She frowns at Lola’s lips, rubbing her thumb none too gently over the bottom lip, taking off the black lipstick painted there, staining her own thumb in the process. 

“Are you waiting for an invitation?” Heather prompts, frustrated, tone icy. Lola raises her eyebrows at the blonde's impatience.

“As you command, your highness,” Lola pushes herself up on her elbows, and off the bed, smirking in the face of Heather’s annoyance, before she scrubs at her mouth with the back of her hand, getting rid of the rest of her lipstick.

“I’ll be quick so you can get back to your boytoy,” Lola smirks up at Heather, kneeling between her knees, and in the next moment Heather’s legs clamp painfully tight around her head, bony knees pressing into her temples.

“If you tell fucking anyone I did anything other than get you water while you threw up in my bathroom, I will ruin your fucking life,” she spits, and Lola’s expression contorts into one of furious annoyance as she wrenches her head free, sitting back on her heels.

“As if I’d tell anyone; if you tell anyone, I’ll burn your fucking house down, do not test me on that,” she warns in return, before Heather relaxes and lays back, eyes back on the ceiling, waiting, “fucking pillow princess, I wish you’d get me a glass of water once in a while,” Lola muttered, leaning back in.

“Hey!” Heather objects, looking down, only to see the barely concealed fury smouldering in Lola’s eyes as she looks at Heather through her lashes. Lola orders her to shut up, presses a pointed kiss to her inner thigh, and Heather obeys without any more fuss.

All it took, in the beginning, was for Lola to confront Heather and ask why the fuck she couldn’t keep her eyes to herself during class, fully expecting a fight. It was after school, Lola had followed her into the bathroom after class as the school was emptying. Heather’s lip had curled, derisive, giving Lola a look like she was a bug beneath her shoe.

“You see something you fucking like?” Lola had snarled, ready to square up, chest puffed out, and Heather had rolled her eyes, scoffing about how Lola wasn’t even close to her type, before she’d realised what she’d said. 

Neither had known how to proceed in that moment, both terrified of how the other would react, Lola could see the sudden fear in Heather’s eyes at the admission. Very deliberately, Lola had relaxed her posture, looking Heather over with a new appreciation, and Heather had flushed under her gaze.

“I didn’t know it was like that,” Lola had smirked, gaze locking onto Heather’s. The blonde was embarrassed, furious at herself, “well if I ever become your type -” those seven words had changed everything. Immediately, Heather knew exactly what Lola had meant, that she wasn’t a threat in the way she’d feared, and that Lola was like her, in some way, in a way that was safe.

“You’re -?” Heather raised a single, perfect eyebrow at her.

“I don’t advertise it,” Lola said, voice flat, hands in her pockets and shoulders carefully relaxed, “don’t know, you know, who else is... like me.”

“Like you?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it here,” Lola had muttered, gaze flicking to the empty stalls, and Heather had given her a long, evaluative look, before stepping forward, apparently finding something she likes. 

Heather’s kind of pinning over a straight girl and none of the rest of the school has any idea she likes anything other than boys, and she’d like to keep it that way. No-one really cares about Lola the way they do about Heather, so they feel safe fooling around together at Heather’s under the guise of ‘studying’; they don’t really even like each other as people, it’s more mutually beneficial than anything else, but it’s kind of nice to have this understanding between them, free to be themselves without fear, even if it’s only for short amounts of time.

Now, at the party, when Lola goes to leave the room after all is said and done, hair checked in the mirror, lipstick reapplied neatly, Heather grabs her arm, quiet but no longer irritate in Lola’s presence, and Lola’s eyes go wide with question, but she too is silent. Heather steels herself, steps up to Lola, and then she’s got her fingers carding through Lola’s hair, and holding tight, and Lola lets herself be maneuverer, her head tipping and Heather’s lips on her neck. 

When Heather steps back, there’s the beginning of a hickey blooming on the juncture where Lola’s shoulder meets her throat, aching faintly, pleasantly, and her hands are soft on Heather’s hips, lips twitching into a smirk.

“You could have just said thank you,” Lola snorted, and Heather’s frowning, but it doesn’t seem to be specifically at Lola; she rolls her eyes. Lola presses a kiss to the corner of her mouth, quick and chaste, and scrubs at the mark she leaves behind before Heather slaps her hand away and tells her to get out, though there’s no anger behind it. 

When Lola opens the door, she puts on a show of being a little more unsteady than she really was, and is surprised to see Nikki leaning against the wall a few feet away, chatting to Tommy, looking so carefully casual. Lola’s pretty sure she hears Nikki sigh something about needing to find a guitarist, but that’s the moment Tommy spots Lola. He tries to apologise for his friends, but Lola shrugs, letting the incident go easily.

And then Nikki’s eyes flick to hers, and he asks if she’s okay, and Tommy seems confused but Lola’s hit with a realization. She pulls back her act and tries not to smile too wide.

“I’m fine now, great actually, it’s sweet of you to care,” its absolutely and completely innocent, but she raises an eyebrow at him, as if asking how he knows that she was unwell. In lieu of response, Nikki stands to his full height, walks to the door, and knocks. Lola and Tommy watch, the former far more confused than the latter.

Heather opens the door wide, not a hair out of place, makeup immaculate and untouched, and tells Nikki to fuck off, swanning past him and down to the rest of her party. Nikki turns on Lola. 

“You couldn’t have thrown your guts up in a bush somewhere?” Nikki hissed, frustrated, and Lola does a great job at biting back her laughter, shaking her head and shrugging helplessly. 

“We’re you waiting out here that whole time?” Lola asks, and Nikki turns amusingly pink, stalking past her to the stairs, to which both Lola and Tommy followed, with Lola calling out a half-hearted apology, and Nikki telling her to shove it up her ass. 

gandhi said 'be the change you want to see in the world.' fuck that. be the trouble you want to see in the world.

“Don’t tell me you’re still mad about last night,” the morning after the party, or was it afternoon - midday after Heather’s party - Lola’s tying her red bandana around her head, hip leaning against the counter out the back by the fryer where Nikki was scowling at an order of fries that was bubbling away.

“The world doesn’t revolve around you, Lola,” Nikki snaps back, looking up at her, still frowning, and Lola’s smile widens, just a little. Nikki sighs, relenting, his voice dropping low, “I’m hungover as fuck, just piss off, can you?” But it doesn’t sound half as cruel as the words themselves imply, and Lola dips to press her cheek to his shoulder in a moment of affectionate familiarity before heading out to start serving customers. 

It’s almost one when Charlotte and that English kid, Razzle, walk in, with the tall, pretty ginger, Eileen, sans their usual extras, but they take their spot at their usual booth by the window, talking quietly but animatedly. 

“- the nerve on him! Hi, Lola,” Eileen’s practically vibrating with pent up, frustrated energy, greeting Lola with what Eileen probably assumed was a smile, but was still definitely a scowl.

“Everything alright here?” Lola asked, forcing her voice even brighter than she’d usually attempt, and Eileen’s gaze dropped to the menu, going quiet, brooding, while Charlotte sat up a little straighter and smiled, clearly not on such an intense wavelength as her friend.

“Everything’s just great; plotting Vince’s murder, kind of starving, the usual,” she shrugs, and Razzle, by her side, snorts a laugh.

“Good to see you survived the night, Honky Cat,” he adds in lieu of a greeting of his own, and Lola takes a moment to process all the information she’d just been exposed to.

“’course I did, I drank my weight in water between shots,” Lola smirks at Razzle, before her gaze slides to Charlotte, “and that’s very fair; I’d ask what he’s done now, but I think I’ll take care of your order first,” she grins amicably and pulls out her notepad and pen, as the three of them order their usual drinks and lunch preferences.

Lola heads back to the counter, calling out the order to the kitchen, taking another few order to their various destinations, before getting her friends’ drinks together to take them over.

“- home and didn’t even call, Razz, she didn’t even -” Eileen was still ranting by the time Lola deposits their drinks before them. Lola’s pretty sure she saw Razzle and Charlotte deliberately knocking knees beneath the table, but doesn’t think about it too hard. Nor does she dwell on the memory of seeing them at the party last night, of a gaggle of cheerleaders around talking to Razzle, though he just kept trying to talk to Charlotte. Later, she’d definitely seen them on the sofas, talking with Tommy and some of Charlotte’s other friends, leaning in to each other, Razzle’s arm around her shoulders, playing with the whispy ends of her hair. Lola hadn’t thought much of it at the time; she’d made out with Tommy at her first house party in the area, it hadn’t developed past friendship. 

It was cute, if it was anything. 

“Lola, you were there!” Eileen turned very suddenly, the moment her cup had been placed in front of her, and Lola’s eyebrows shot up, “did you see my sister last night?”

It feels like a trap, because yes, Lola definitely did, but also -

“Yes, why?” Lola asks, slowly, cocking a hip.

“They’re in the middle of a blue,” Razzle said, with a fond smile at Eileen’s carefully neutral expression, while she stirred her drink with intent.

“A fight,” Charlotte translated, “and Peach went to Heather’s last night, and got kind of shitfaced, and Vince took care of her, was really quite sweet, but she stayed with him because his place was closer and Peach refused to call Eileen.”

“She stayed with Vince?” Lola said carefully, trying not to imply she was jumping to conclusions, but Eileen’s stirring ceased in favour of vigorous drinking of the drink, obviously stuck on a similar train of thought.

“She slept on the couch,” Razzle filled in quickly, “was still there when I left, tucked in with a blanket, all above board.”

“And you didn’t know where she was -?” Lola frowns, confused.

“Vince called at three in the morning,” Eileen glowered out the window, voice low and even, “dad was mad until he was grateful; the man’s backbone is made of marshmallow fluff. She was meant to be home at one.”

“But she’s okay?”

“It’s the principle of the thing, Lola,” Eileen had said, giving Lola a look far older and longsuffering than her seventeen years. 

“If we brought in Vince’s heart, would your dad batter it up and fry it for Eileen to eat?” Charlotte asked, tone teasing and light, to which Eileen rolled her eyes, but at least it got her to smile, even a little. Even when Lola snorted a laugh and told her ‘absolutely not’.

Later, on their break, Lola and Nikki sit on the roof of the building and share a serve of chips that he’d overcooked, and a cigarette, and Lola asks about Vince. Turns out Nikki doesn’t know much; he hadn’t grown up with the rest of them, had moved to the neighbourhood near the start of high school, and all he really knows is that girls apparently think Vince’s dick developed some sort of Midas touch over Summer.

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s always been stupid pretty,” Nikki shoves a chip in his mouth before leaning back on his elbows, “far as I know, but you’ve seen his car, right? That fuck-off, expensive red one that sits in the teacher’s carpark, with the massive scratch in the paint along the left? Yeah that’s his; got it for his birthday last year and he’s been getting tail like nobody’s business ever since.” And Lola tries to process all this information before he’s barrelling right on ahead with, “speaking of; if you’re gonna nail Tommy, can you do it soon and put the poor kid out of his misery?”

“Excuse me?!” Lola had choked on her lungful of smoke, turning red at the suggestion.

“Yeah, poor kid was pretty convinced we were a thing and didn’t want to make a move; kinda stupid, but I dunno, admirable? Noble?” Nikki groaned through his words, laying back against the gravel of the roof, hand out for the cigarette. Lola passed it to him, glad he couldn’t see her vaguely guilty expression, knowing she’d slept with the girl he’d been hitting on the night before.

“Tommy has a thing for anything halfway pretty that’s not related to him, he’d be just as happy to boink any other girl,” Lola points out, and Nikki snorts a laugh in mild agreement, “and the only reason we’re not fucking is because you’re afraid my dad’s gonna rip of your arms like he’s the fucking Wampa from Star Wars.” She punctuates it by eating the last chip, laying out beside Nikki on the gravel, checking her watch. Five minutes before their break ends.

“Leo wouldn’t rip off my arms- I don’t think Leo would rip off my arms!” Nikki counters defensively, but that just has Lola laughing as she corrects -

“Sorry, no, your exact wording was ‘I don’t want your dad to Kali Ma my fucking heart like I’m that little bastard from Indiana Jones’,” Lola does an absolutely atrocious impersonation of Nikki, who’s laughing despite himself, “which you only took back because I told you he wasn’t Indian, and even if he was, it’s kind of a fucked thing to say,” Lola tells him pointedly, shifting onto her side, propping her head up on her hand as she smirked at Nikki. 

When Nikki looks at her, green eyes shining in the overcast, afternoon light, there’s something unreadable, teasing and soft all at once, like he’s entertaining an idea he’d considered unthinkable.

“I don’t think I could look Leo in the eye if I banged his daughter,” Nikki’s voice is soft and low, though he’s grinning wide, tone coy, eyes creasing in the corners, and Lola’s gaze flicks to his lips. 

“For Leo’s sake, then,” Lola matches his tone, corner of her mouth twitching into a sharp smirk when she finally looks back to his eyes, “and Tommy’s too,” she teases, pushing herself into a sitting position; she can hear it when he presses his head further into the gravel in exasperation, swearing under his breath. When Lola stands and smiles, the picture of innocence, she offers Nikki her hand to help him up; Nikki rolls his eyes, but is still smiling when he accepts.

“Your hair looks dorky like that,” Lola teases as she climbs down the fire escape.

“I know,” Nikki sighs, “but its better than getting hair in everyone’s food; I’m not gonna be the reason your dad fails a health inspection,” Nikki adds, a strange hint of protectiveness in his voice that warms Lola’s heart in a way she hadn’t anticipated.

“Don’t worry, Leo’s never failed a health inspection, he doesn’t intend to start any time soon.”

love is a dream someone else had last night.

Eileen and Razzle see fit to join their ragtag bunch of misfits at lunch the following Monday by the open gate and the science carpark, which Lola had been informed was the teachers’ carpark.

Lola doesn’t care who sits with them, except for the fact that she’d taken the leftover lemon merengue tart from the diner since it was being replaced with an apple crumble, and there was only enough for four. For the past week, Eileen’s been alternating sitting with them and sitting elsewhere, but she hadn’t been here last Monday, so Lola had assumed - anyways, now she’s worried she looks like a bitch, and not for an actual reasonable reason.

“What do you mean you almost got with Heather on Friday?!” Charlotte’s voice was somewhere between a horrified and disbelieving squeak where she was picking at the crust of the piece of tart she was sharing with Eileen. The lemon merengue debacle turned out to not be much of an issue, with Charlotte and Eileen sharing, and Tommy and Lola sharing too. Lola was incredibly focused on picking at a scab through the hole in the knee of her jeans.

“I mean I had my hand in her fucking panties when someone -” Nikki cast a very pointed look to Lola, “knocked on the door threatening to throw up, and I got shoved out a window,” Nikki played up being irritated, despite the fact that he was laying out on his side directly behind Lola, while she was leaning into him.

“You’re my hero,” Eileen told Lola, serious as ever, while Charlotte cackled with delight, and Razzle snickered from where he was touching up the left hand of Tommy’s sharpie-nails.

“You guys are a bunch of assholes,” Nikki huffed, shoving the remained or his own piece of tart into his mouth.

“I brought you food, show some fuckin’ respect,” Lola smirked despite herself, gently elbowing him in the ribs; he flicks her knee in retaliation.

“Absolutely not; you’re a cockblocking traitor and the worst friend I’ve got,” Nikki announced, nose in the air, and Lola leans all her weight back suddenly, tipping Nikki onto his back and laying heavy across his stomach as she demanded he take it back, the two of them getting into a petty squabbling match, shoving at each other while the others could only look on in exasperated amusement.

“I thought Heather had a boyfriend,” Eileen pipes up, to which Charlotte makes a a gentle ‘eh’ noise in the back of her throat.

“She’s getting laid,” Charlotte corrects with half a smirk, and everyone who was paying half attention understand easily. Tommy sighs, but it’s not nearly as dejected as he’s known for whenever the topic of girls he fancies being with other people comes up.

“Whatever, I got to second base with Pam that night, and no-one can take that away from me,” Tommy announces, watching Razzle finish off his pinkie.

“Good for you, man,” Razzle says, with his trademark sincerity. Eileen and Charlotte still can’t believe it happened, but unfortunately both Razzle and Vince had seen with their own two eyes and been able to confirm; Vince may be biased, but Charlotte trusted Razzle.

“Everyone got some fuckin’ action that night except for me,” Nikki whines, finally shoving himself off, “and the fuckin’ Vomit Comet over here,” he jerked his thumb to where Lola was righting herself; Lola flips him off in response. 

“I didn’t,” Eileen points out.

“You weren’t there,” Nikki rolls his eyes, “you don’t count.” 

Meanwhile Razzle and Charlotte had both gone very quiet, and very pink. However Lola, who had no patience for people trying to hide their somewhere-between-pining-and-sincere feelings from each other and from other people, instead turns her attention to Eileen as she’s sweeping her hair out of her face.

“Have things gotten any better with Peach?” She tried, tone hopeful, and Eileen’s expression barely changed, just the barest crease of a frown upon her forehead, though judging by the way Charlotte’s whole expression soured, things had not, in fact, gotten better.

“Came back on Saturday afternoon all sunny and smiley and mom was thrilled,” Eileen’s deadpan irritation really sold her exasperation at the whole situation, “that she was friends with Vince again, and she hasn’t said a word to me yet.” Eileen takes a deep breath, straightening up from where she’d been slouched without realizing, taking a deep breath, nose in the air as if rising above it all, “which is fine with me, because I have a ton of dialogue to learn and they want us off-book in a month.” 

This only sets them off fondly teasing the ever-unflappable Eileen, for her seemingly out of character choice to join the school’s musical, though they were all very proud of the fact that she scored the lead, even Nikki had voiced that he thought it was pretty cool. 

When Lola had asked about it, Eileen had made mention that it filled in a lot of free time, that it was something she could add to college applications, and that a friend had convinced her to do it; Keanu -

“I keep hearing that name around,” Lola muses, leaning back in her seat while they were waiting for their French teacher to arrive. Eileen raises her eyebrows, “is that the pretty, dark haired Senior?” Eileen, surprisingly, had flushed scarlet when nodding. Lola hummed thoughtfully, leaning back further until the front legs of her chair lifted from the ground; she hooked her feet around the legs of her desk as she contemplated.

“It’s a musical right?” Lola asked, and Eileen hummed in confirmation, “if you can sing, you know Nikki and Tommy are -”

“I’d rather eat an entire microphone,” Eileen responds flatly, already knowing what Lola was about to suggest before she’d even finished her sentence, and Lola really tries not to laugh, but she knows Eileen well enough by now that that response makes entirely too much sense.

“You make a fair -” and that’s when Lola’s grip on the table slips, her feet sliding quickly up the legs of the desk as she topples backwards, the momentum pulling the desk up with her legs and directly on top of her, winding her. At least it made Eileen laugh, mostly from shock, sure, but Lola counts it as a win.

[bigskydreaming]

I was about to say, I can't see Jason letting his guard down as much as intoxication would. I CAN see Jason drinking apple juice and pretending to be drunk. (Funny how I can remember Dick drinking, never more than one or two drinks, and Jason refusing wine, but the fanfic writers get it al wrong.)

Yeah, tbh, I don’t really see any of the Batkids ever being or becoming even casual drinkers. They all value control too much, and have too much experience with mind and mood-altering substances for it to be appealing to them in my personal opinion. 

Just my personal headcanon is like, they tend to treat drinking as like, another skill to acquire. They try it to maybe just have enough experience with it that they can fake it undercover and know what they’re doing, or that if they end up in a situation where they have to take at least a quick drink to sell their cover like, they’re not going to be totally blind-sided by the taste or sensation, especially because most of their reputations don’t or aren’t likely to lend themselves to being completely unfamiliar with alcohol. And maybe they occasionally make an point to build up a tolerance in case for some reason they need it, but I honestly can’t really ever buy any of them as casual drinkers.

I mean, I focus a lot on Dick’s times brainwashed or under someone else’s control, and also his rigid insistence on self-determination in his life, and I just can’t honestly see any mindset where he’s like yes, lowering my inhibitions and lessening my ability to be in control of myself is exactly what I’m looking for. Its kinda like how I drastically disagree with takes on him as submissive in any kind of dom/sub fic, lol. Its not about the partner, its about the fact that Dick isn’t the kind of control freak who looks for opportunities to take a break from the stresses of holding such an iron control over his self.....rather, IMO, Dick is that way BECAUSE of how often he’s had virtually NO control of himself or what happens to him, and how much that always....sucks for him. 

He tries to maintain self-control and control stuff in his life wherever and whenever he can because he’s not about to lose any of the basically rare opportunities to not HAVE to push back against someone else’s will or expectations for him, where he can just be uncontested in being in charge of his autonomy and own destiny. And I honestly have never seen anything in his character that suggests he’d ever remotely be looking for or welcome to opportunities to basically just....willingly hand over the control of himself that he fights soooo damn hard to obtain and maintain....because when has that EVER ended well for him, you know? So I just....don’t buy sub Dick and never have, and I don’t buy Dick as a casual drinker even, for pretty much the same exact reasons.

Jason I see as a bit more complicated, because of a couple factors. First, there’s the presence of drugs and alcohol in his early life and how much that affected his life as just a bystander, essentially. And its not like every child of an alcoholic parent grows up to be hostile to alcohol, etc. But in Jason’s case I feel that he would be, like he’d almost personify drugs and alcohols as an actual antagonist in his life that have made him suffer, been the actual enemy that prevented him from having a real go at a family with his first parents. And thus he’d just be viciously opposed to them in their entirety, like even as a expansive, nebulous concept of them and everything related to them. Which would also play into things like his insistence that drug dealers in Gotham not sell to kids, etc.

Also, there’s the fact that Jason kinda ended up with....gap years in his development, where the normal linear timeline of developing as a teenager was derailed by his death and then supplanted by a very unorthodox later development that was guided by assassins and influenced by an external-turned-internal force that had a definite influence on his emotions and thought patterns at times. So Jason kinda missed out on a number of years where he could have potentially worked through a lot of his childhood issues with abuse, his parents and drugs and alcohol to a degree further than he did in canon, but just......never got the opportunity to. So it was like....hitting pause on all of that and then unpause when he actually came back to Gotham and rejoined society in his own way, as that put him around these kinds of things again and forced an internal confrontation with how he felt about them now.

And then there’s also the matter of the Pit itself.....much like Dick, but in entirely different ways, Jason has been extremely impacted by things that are not his fault or choosing, that originate OUTSIDE of him and end up controlling or influencing him internally, again through no choice of his own.....and thus, same as Dick, I don’t see how any substance that lessened his control over himself during the times he actually HAS it, would like....remotely appeal to him.

But then again on the other hand, I do think Jason is very self-destructive at times, not more so than Dick, as he can be very self-destructive as well, but just in different ways. Like, Dick IMO is someone who self-destructs quietly and over time. Suffering in silence, not availing himself of any of the opportunities he has to get help from others in various matters because he either doesn’t trust that they’ll prioritize him or he doesn’t feel that he deserves to be, or a combination of both. Jason, IMO, is neither innately more self-destructive or less, its just that....his tendency towards self-destruction manifests pretty explosively, like, in singular burning bright kind of instances that flare up, are just colossally bad decisions that he very quickly regrets, but then die back down and leave him cleaning up the aftermath, but at least having gotten whatever caused that particular turn towards self-destruction like, kinda out of his system.

So his means of self-destruction tend to just be LOUDER, and more.....in your face...but they also come and go more quickly, IMO. And one of those are pretty much the only time or reason I can see for him ever engaging in drinking or voluntarily giving up control.....like, the appeal specifically is a kind of self-punishment, and thus makes for an ideal weapon of choice at least once.....BUT again, the caveat there is like I said, I view Jason as someone who cycles through periods of self-destruction, but then he like...moves past it (or at least on a surface level, like, he FEELS like he has, though the initial problem often stil remains under the surface). But the point is, I think he regrets these instances of self-destruction soon after they happen....and I also think he’s someone who believes very strongly in not making the same mistakes twice. 

Like, he knows not to take things for granted better than anyone. Shit doesn’t go according to plan, my personal headcanon for him is his ideal followup is the immediate realization well, that didn’t work, time for something completely different....and then he does something completely different in the hopes of getting closer to his actual desired result. So I could see him doing something like getting black out drunk, etc, as one of these bouts of self-destruction....but the key in my mind, is I could only see him doing that ONCE. Once he’d done it and regretted it, it’d be crystallized in his mind as a Mistake and like, nope, not doing that again. Even when having another tendency towards self-destruction at a later date....I think he’d do it in a different way.

Also, I’ve never bought Jason as a smoker, like, I could see him faking it for The Mood or whatever, lol, but like.......this is a kid who grew up malnourished and thus had to take on criminals as a very under-sized Robin. He comes back after the Pit like, over six feet tall and well-oiled muscle that makes it SO much easier to kick ass as a vigilante? Why the FUCK would he ever screw that up by messing with his lungs or anything else, you know? If anything, I see Jason as being like, as much a ‘my body is my temple’ kind of guy as Dick is, just for different reasons.

I’ve always said I see Dick and Jason having a lot more in common than they’re usually credited with, and all of this is a huge part of why. They both just have HUGE issues with control in regards to themselves and their lives, and just being able to HAVE it and to take advantage of it, do what THEY want to do rather than constantly being moved about by the whims of others and having to always adjust or adapt to whatever everyone else was doing or the box they were being forced in by situations, etc. They’ve BEEN without control, self-autonomy, in ways and to degrees most people couldn’t imagine, so, like....its IMO more likely to be that much more precious and valuable to them than it is even to most people? Like, these are two men who I don’t see ever giving it up without a fight, and thus, they’re just like.....I’m gonna hard pass on the alcohol, etc.

And its got nothing to do with judgment on their part, I don’t think, like, other than the fact that they can’t personally relate to seeing the appeal. Its just the end result of lowered inhibitions/loss of self control or autonomy that they’re like...yeah, that’s what we’re not on board with, thanks but no thanks. Not for us.

I don’t have as strong of headcanons about the other kids just because they’re either too young or it just doesn’t come up as much, such as with Cass (though you can probably guess my headcanon for Cass there given that I talk about the similarities ALL three of the eldest Wayne kids share in a lot of ways, lol) but honestly I think it’d be more of the same with all of them, even if not always for quite the same reasons or quite as strong of reasons. Like, they’ve all been raised with too much reason to value self-control and too little cause to see lowered inhibitions as appealing, so the Batfam as a whole I personally headcanon as being nah, we get our highs from adrenaline and being weird as fuck, thanks though.

[dxmedstudent]

Dx’s Dating Tips #3 -The Profile

This post is about profiles as a whole - the bits and bobs that may not necessarily be in your blurb. Funnily enough, I started these posts months and months ago when I was still actively on those sites. Guess it took me a long time to hit my drafts and publish them, but I think it’s still useful.

 Fill in the most useful fields, but don’t wory about listing every minute detail. Some dating sites really seem to go into incredible detail, because data is currency for them. But think carefully about how much information you are putting into your profile, and whether it’s going to look overwhelming and cluttering and hard to read. For example, you can put your hobbies, but stick to things that are most important to you, rather than something you tried, once. But this also means you really should spend some time making your profile actually complete and worthy of being read.

And yes, this also means try not to overstate how much you do things. If someone decided to date you because they thought you liked rock climbing as much as they do, they’ll probably be pretty bummed when they discover you tried it once, took a selfie, then hated it and would never want to try again. Being genuine about what you enjoy is key to finding people with similar interests or people who will respect you for yours. 

It also means don’t understate things you do, either. If you smoke and drink, own it. Both those things might be dealbreakers for a lot of people, but you need someone who is compatible to you. For example, lots of people who like to go out drinking want partners who will share that experience with them, whereas people who don’t enjoy that particular pursuit might not want to spend all their dates being dragged round a club with their new SO and their friends whilst they all get plastered. Personally, I’m happy that the guy I’m seeing also doesn’t drink much, and doesn’t smoke; both would be dealbreakers for me, and equally, I wouldn’t want to feel like the ‘stick in the mud’ partner who doesn’t have fun. So I looked for someone with a similar definition of ‘fun’ to me.  I heard of couples where one partner pretended not to smoke for the longest time because they knew their SO didn’t want to date a smoker, and I just found that to be such a sad deceit. Give prospective partners an honest chance to see if you are for them. I was quite open early on about my shifts, and my current sightly nomadic lifestyle in medicine; I talk quite a bit about work when dating, it turns out! Really, I want anyone who dates me to know what they are getting into; I don’t want them to feel tricked. Anyhow, despite all my talking about death and medicine, and having less than ideal timetables it seems I can’t put everyone off, and I’m truly honoured to have met someone for whom those parts of my life are part of the deal.

Be honest about your attributes, including things like your body type and height. Yes, it’s  silly if someone will only date men over 6ft or women under 80kg, but nevertheless, you’ll want to look for people who will love you for who you are, rather than resent people for wanting something else. It’s pointless to argue with people about what they have decided are their preferences. So many men obscure their height on dating sites because they fear women won’t date a short man, and really tall guys say that women only really want a man who’s somewhere between 5ft 9 and 6ft 2 or so - above or below that, apparently people get put off. But if a woman’s that judgemental they’ll just probably get dumped after the first date, so ultimately lying is still pointless. I personally didn’t care about height at all; some people I met didn’t list their height at all and it didn’t faze me (yep, they were short, no, that’s not the reason there wasn’t a second date). But I think people being honest about their height, particularly if they are pretty short, or pretty tall, is a pretty brave, confident thing to do. You deserve someone who accepts and loves you for whoever you are.

This also includes things like whether you’ve been married or have kids by a previous relationship. Again, if someone isn’t prepared to deal with that, then they aren’t right for you. These are the kinds of things that work best if gotten out of the way early on, because the later you leave revealing big things like this, the more people will feel like important things are being concealed from them. This also means being honest early on (I’d say during messages or around the first or second date) if you’ve just recently come out of a breakup; be prepared that other people might want to take it slow because they aren’t sure if you still have a lot of issues from your last relationship, or they might want to wait until you have taken some time to think and heal after your breakup. For example, one guy mentioned his ex turning up uninvited to events during messaging. He effectively invited me to join his gaming group on a date, having told me that his ex still plays with his gaming group. Now, if I’m dating someone yes, I’d love to meet their friends after a while, but intitially you just want to get to know a person by themselves. I don’t want high romance, but I don’t really want to turn into ‘one of the boys’ after the second date, either.  And no, I don’t want to meet their very recent ex at these get togethers, nor do I want to replace her in his gaming group that soon; it all came across as likely to cause drama and hurt to everyone. I thought he would make a genuinely good friend, if I had the time to pick up new friends but I couldn’t see it leading to anything more. He agreed that he still had things to process, and I really hope that he has taken that time, and found that space and that he meets someone lovely.  A few guys confided in me that they’d only recently got into dating after long breaks from dating or after a breakup and I don’t think it makes you less dateable, as long as you can make it clear that you are now ready to date and are serious about it, and have gotten to the point where it won’t massively hamper your current dating. Alternatively, if all you want to do is dip your feet in, and you don’t want anything serious then it’s good to be honest about that too; because there are lots of people who are happy with that.

If you’re in an open relationship, be honest. And no, it’s not an open relationship unless your current partner is aware and OK with you seeing other people, and all prospective new interests are also aware of the situation. Keeping anyone in equation in the dark is wrong. Yes, that might eliminate a lot of people, since a lot of people aren’t into that, but lying is not cool, and implicating people in things that would make them uncomfortable is also wrong. Be warned that if you have no photo, or have really blurry obscured photos, everyone is going to assume that you’re either cheating or on the run from the police. I came across one profile where the only picture was the dude in a literal balaclava. I don’t know how he thought he’d attract a woman with a photo that reveals none of his face, but who knows, maybe he got lucky.

 Don’t lie about things like whether you want to get married, have kids etc. This is where acting in good faith comes in; tell people the truth, not what you think they want to hear. You need to find people who will want the same things as you, and people can’t do that if nobody is honest. Now, this is the real world, and a lot of people can’t necessarily fit their feelings into a neat ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer to those questions. If you aren’t sure, it’s OK to be honest about that; many people just want to see where things go, and that’s perfectly fine. Some people like the idea of these things, but really want to focus on meeting someone right first. Others are pretty sure that they want to be married in like, 2 years, tops, with a kid on the way. Personally, people who are super-keen to marry or have kids soon kind of scare me a little, even though I want those things, because I very much want to take things at whatever pace things come, so I struggled to know exactly how to put that across in my profile. Lying also makes things more difficult for everyone. Some people want casual relationships, but struggle to find others who are open about it. Meanwhile, lots of people who really just want casual setups (and mainly, well, sex) absolutely pretend that they are interested in much more, because they think people won’t give them a chance if they don’t go through the performance of pretending to eventually want a relationship. The thing to remember about people who lie is that it’s easy to promise the world if you have no intention of delivering. So it’s worth bearing in mind that if someone is talking about marriage and kids on like date 3, they might be very, very keen, or they might just be counting on the fact that’s what you want to hear. I wish I could tell you it was easy to tell the two apart. Having seen enough people get hurt by people who claimed to want one thing, but clearly wanted another, I have a hard time trusting what people write in these particular boxes until you really get to know a person.

I don’t think stating how much you earn is important, in fact, I wouldn’t. If you earn a lot of money, the last thing you want is someone who’s sought you out just because they thought you were rich. And yet, a lot of guys post pics next to shiny cars, mention how much their brand new house cost, and write about their summer homes and salary. Some of them even write explicitly that they aren’t into uh... people who are trying to take advantage of that. But that’s no use if your profile just reads like one long advert about how wealthy you are. I don’t know why people who are wealthy often feel they have to make it obvious, but it’s really not necessary. If you want someone to love you for who you are, not your money, then don’t hide behind your wealth, or use it as bait to attract people.  If you emphasise only what you bring financially, you will attract people who value you only for that. The easiest way to avoid that is just to be discreet.  I didn’t mention what I do or what I earn explicitly in my profile at all; only that I work in healthcare. I love and respect my nurses and physios; any man who’d date a doctor but not a nurse isn’t someone I want in my life.I’d never lie about what I do, but I didn’t think there was anything to be gained by boasting about it. I want someone to date me and find it cool that I happen to be a doctor, rather than someone to be dating me because they think doctors are smart, or rich or the kind of girl their parents want etc.

If you’re really stuck, I’d say that it’s a good idea to take a look at the profiles of people of your gender, to see what other people do, and work out which cliches to avoid. Looking at other profles  of any gender can be a great way to see the difference between an interesting profile and a dull one. You’ll find that the more you look at profiles and date, the more you’ll build an idea of what you like (and want) and what you really don’t.  I started out fairly neutral and doing my best to be forgiving, but  found that I gained strong opinions on what makes a good profile after perusing so many of them.

[yellowsugarwords]

Walking Dead Game FanFiction - “Party Time”

Title: Party Time Characters: Clementine, Marlon, Louis, Violet, Minerva, Duck, Brody Summary: In a high school au, Clementine, the new shy girl, ends up at a high school party with Duck the jock, Marlon the edgy boy, and Louis the theatre kid. Slowly developing feelings for Clementine, Marlon and Louis scheme to get Duck out of the picture with Clementine remains completely oblivious. The entire time, Violet and Minerva watch everything unfold from the sidelines. Author's Note: This actually turned out so great omggggg I’m so HAPPY with it Requested By: Anonymous support me with ko-fi ♡ ---------♥️♥️♥️----------

Clementine hated parties. More so, she hated the people that were at said parties.

Before she had moved, that was all that kids in her school did: got drunk, got high, repeat. They were never interested in art, or books, or film. Nothing like what she was into. She stuck out like a sore thumb.

She had hoped that Savannah would be different but so far, seeing as she had only been there for a week and a half and already she was invited to a “we won a single football game and therefore need to all get drunk” party, her hope was dissipating quickly.

Unlike any other school she had ever been to, there weren’t set cliques: the cool kids, the smokers, the rocker kids, etc. Instead, here, everyone was mixed in. The average clique had a bit of everything, and Clementine couldn’t tell if she loved or hated it.

Realistically, it meant she had a better chance of finding a group to hang out with. However, the added stress of not having an obvious target group to seek out was daunting. Where did one seek to find their place in a school where everyone already had it figured themselves out?

Within her first few minutes at the party, Clem could tell she was in for trouble. Everyone had already sorted themselves out into their respective groups, and she sat in the middle of a coach, talking to nobody, sipping away at her lemon water like a total idiot.

“Dude, have you seen the new girl yet?”

Marlon could feel his shoulder rattle as Louis jostled it. “New girl?” Marlon groaned, adjusting the earring that the contact had tugged at. Maybe it was because Louis was the school’s prized theater kid, but he had a tendency to be exuberant with every motion. The charm of it was what originally had drawn them to one another, but more often than not these days, Marlon just found it to be grating.

Louis turned, giving Marlon a skeptical once over. “You mean you haven’t?”

Marlon stared at him, brows raised, confused at the weird way he was acting. “No, I haven’t. Can you chill out? It’s just a girl. Who cares.”

“You should and I do,” Louis scoffed, his shirt fabric twinkling under the dim living room lighting. Louis always dressed up when he went anywhere. Theater kids.

His glimmer wasn’t thanks to him alone. The party was hosted at the rich girl’s house — Minerva, head of the art club. Apparently her parents left town for the weekend and put her in charge. It was big news around school that they hadn’t taken kindly to hearing about her girlfriend, Violet, and Minerva made a big spectacle about her “revenge house party” to get back at them.

A high school student body didn’t need a reason to party, but for revenge? As if any of them would say no.

Marlon rolled his eyes. “I’m not interested.”

“In girls? Guys? Or do you mean you’re not interested in anybody?”

Marlon gave him a daring look. To anyone else, the look would be horrifying, seeing as head-to-toe Marlon was dressed like he was out to kill — black jeans, a leather jacket, thick black boots and a chain earring on his left ear — but it didn’t phase Louis. It never did. He knew what a softie the guy was, despite his dark exterior.

“Come on,” Louis groaned. “She’s sitting right there on the couch. Just look.” Flicking Marlon’s cheek, pushing his stare in the right direction, Marlon finally set his sights on the girl of the hour.

He swirled his drink in his palm as he studied her, taking in the awkward way she was sitting on the couch, wedged between a couple making out and a two girls taking a hoard of Snapchat selfies and deleting every one. She didn’t seem comfortable, and she stuck out like a sore thumb in her jean overalls and lemon-print t-shirt.

Despite the flit of his lip — the way it faintly tugged upward as he studied her — he turned back to Marlon and forced his expression to become cold again. “She’s alright.”

Louis scoffed, fiddling with the unbuttoned buttons on his shirt. “Right, I’m sorry, I forgot that you only like girls with three layers of eyeliner and piercings from head-to-toe.”

Marlon shot him a glare.

Louis accepted it. He wasn’t about to act like he didn’t deserve it, but he also wasn’t about to act like he wasn’t right.

“She doesn’t seem happy. How am I supposed to know what she’s like from staring at the uncomfortable way she’s sitting?”

Louis smirked, picking up on every part of his attempted cover-up. His gaze turned back to the couch and his relaxed, teasing body began to stiffen. Marlon, whose focus was stuck to him, shifted to see what, or who, he was staring at.

The couple on Clementine’s left separated from what felt like the decades of sucking at each other's faces. Peeling away, Louis and Marlon could both see that it was the head of the football team - nicknamed Duck - and the head of the debate team, Brody.

“Excuse me?” Brody snapped, her gaze harrowing in on the male.

Duck shrugged, taking hold of her hips as he attempted to tug her closer, wanting to place her back on his lips.

She scoffed, forcing him away harder this time. “I said no, creep. Stop trying to shove your hand down my pants.”

Duck scoffed, waving his hand dismissively. “Come on, loosen up a little—”

Once again, Brody swatted his hand away. “No means no, asshole.” She scoffed, pushing herself to her feet and trotting away, fixing her hair as she went.

Even though they were a decent distance away, and could only just barely make out what the two were saying, Louis and Marlon could very clearly see Duck call her a bitch. Louis scoffed, leaning back into the wall. “What an ass.”

“What else is new?” Marlon scoffed, taking another swing of the event’s cheap beer. Although Minerva’s family had money, her and Violet had a limited budget. The event was purely for popularity. As if they were going to spend decent money to get party-goers anything better than the cheapest beer they could get in mass and frail red solo cups. He groaned as it slid down his throat. It was disgusting, but at least it had the promise of keeping him tipsy.

“Hey guys!”

Glancing up from their drinks, over trotted Minerva, dressed up to the nines, with Violet being pulled along behind her. One of the weirdest parts about Violet and Minerva’s relationship was how polar opposite they seemed, and yet how perfectly they got along. Minerva was always dolled up, and always came to school looking like a Barbie fresh out of the packaging — not a hair out of place, not an item of clothing smudged. On the opposite side, Violet was always late, wore the same outfit 3 days out of the week, and was regularly known to smoke behind the school instead of going to class. Yet somehow, whenever they were together, they fit like the perfect couple.

“Are you guys enjoying the party?” Minerva asked, smile beaming. From slightly to her right, Violet turned to her and smiled, smitten as could be.

Louis smiled. “We are, thanks for hosting Minnie.”

Minnie shrugged and waved her hand, the small solo cup of wine — the least classy thing they had ever seen her with — jostling in her hand. If she was forcing everyone to drink out of solo cups, she was going to as well. That was just the type of person she was. “It’s not a problem. My parents owe me one.”

Throughout their conversation, Marlon didn’t detach his stare from Clementine. Duck, directly at her side, was prowling for his next victim. Marlon could feel his stomach twist watching, and hated what he knew would inevitably occur.

“Marlon?”

Finally, he snapped out of his trance, his gaze dragging from the couch to the girl standing before him. Awkwardly he cleared his throat, turning to Louis for help. All he did was smirk. “Yeah, yeah, the party’s been great.”

Violet turned, peering over her girlfriend’s shoulder and spotting Clementine, staring down at the water cup in her hand and watching it swirl. Violet chuckled. “So, you like Clementine, huh?”

“What?” Marlon scoffed. This would’ve been so much easier if Louis — the socially competent one out of the two of them — would’ve stepped up to help him. “No, that’s not it.”

“Clementine?” Minerva asked, eyeing up Louis. “The new girl?” Louis nodded and gestured behind her and, after swirling around and spotting her, she swiveled back. “Oh her! She seems quiet.”

“She is,” Louis said, nodding. “She hasn't said a word to anyone the entire time she's been here.”

Minerva frowned. “Do you think she’s not having fun?”

“I’m sure she’s just shy, Minnie.” Violet said, jostling her shoulder. “She’s new, she just doesn't know anyone here yet.”

Watching Duck turn, his eyes widening spotting the unarmed girl to his side, Marlon could feel all his relaxed muscles dissipate. “That’s what I’m worried about.” Sensing the attention drift, the rest of their group turned to see what Marlon was analyzing.

Louis, picking up on his friend’s stress, spotted the sight. “Oh jeez,”

“I’m on it,” Violet sighed, patting Minerva on the shoulder and making her way to the couch. Just as Duck was reaching his hand out, ready to tap an unknowing Clementine on the shoulder, Violet wandered up and slapped the male on the leg. “Wrestle me.”

Duck scoffed, eyeing up Violet hesitantly. The two of them had been teamed up on sports since elementary school — anywhere from basketball to badminton — so Violet challenging him was nothing new. But in the middle of a party? That was new. “Wrestle you?” He rolled his eyes. “Come on, Vi. I’m not about to embarrass you in front of everyone.”

Violet felt her eyebrow twitch. Despite being in school with him for years, she still knew he was an ass. “Come on, Duck. Grow a pair, huh?”

That did it, and Violet knew it would.

Duck scoffed, heaving himself to his feet. “Backyard. Let’s go.”

Violet smirked, crossing her arms cheekily and starting for the back doors.

The buzz of the match swept through the living room, and while a handful of people slipped out to watch, Louis and Marlon weren’t some of them.

Minerva sighed. “Well, I guess I’d better go keep an eye on that.” Lifting a hand, giving the two a little wave, she gathered Violet’s abandoned cup and started for the door. “Talk later!” She called over her shoulder.

Just as she vanished, Louis jostled Marlon’s arm. “Let’s go talk to her.”

“Talk? To Clementine?”

“Yes!” Louis scoffed, arms waving, his rum and coke jostling. “There’s no Duck getting in the way, we can finally go and see what she’s like.”

Marlon said nothing, only faintly scrunched his nose and wavered from foot to foot.

Louis scoffed, tugging on his friend’s jacket and jumping down to the now-vacant seat on the couch. There was only the one, seeing as the girls clouding the other side weren’t too interested in watching an unprofessional wrestling match out back, but Louis decided the proximity wouldn’t bother either of them. Hopefully, it wouldn’t bother her.

“You’re Clementine, right?” He asked, speaking before sliding himself down into the spot beside her.

She glanced up, blinking meekly at the two towering before her. As suspected, her shoulders curled at Marlon’s appearance. “Yeah? Do I know you guys?” Her voice was so soft over the music, like it was made of glass. It made Louis want to hold them. It made Marlon, even more so, want to keep Duck and his grimy hands away from her.

“Probably not,” Louis offered with a faint chuckle, watching as Marlon took a seat in front of her on the coffee table, clutching his beer can between his legs. “We just noticed you were sitting all alone and wanted to bring some company. You’re new, right?”

“Yeah,” she breathed faintly. “I just moved from Roswell.”

Louis smiled. “Welcome to Savannah. I hope our classmates haven’t brought you too much trouble.”

Clementine gave a small smile, shrugging her shoulders, her stature loosening given their pleasant conversation. “No, but I think they’re going to be bringing each other a bit of it.”

Marlon gave a faint smile. “Yeah, that’s kinda Duck’s style.”

“Violence?” Clem questioned.

“No, trouble.”

Clementine smiled, a giggle escaping her. Marlon and Louis, although it was only for a flicker, made eye contact. They agreed, silently, that it was the cutest sound they’d ever heard.

“So, have you talked to a lot of people here?”

Clementine’s smile faded slightly. “No, I’m not really great when it comes to putting myself out there.”

“You came tonight,” Louis said with a shrug, tapping Marlon on the knee to back him up. “That’s putting yourself out there, especially in a new city.”

Marlon nodded, swirling his beer can passively. “That’s already a step above a lot of people. Give yourself some credit,”

Clementine’s eyes widened faintly, so faintly that Louis couldn’t see under the dim lighting, but Marlon — the one meeting her gaze — could. “You think?”

Marlon smiled. It was cute how innocent she was when it came to social interaction. “Of course,” he offered, a chuckle escaping. “You’re doing great. You’re talking to us, aren’t you?”

Louis smiled, impressed at how swiftly his friend was taking to her. Although, they both knew that was largely in part thanks to Clementine being easy to talk to and not due to Marlon’s social skills improving. “Yeah,” Louis furthered. “You’ve already made 2 new friends.”

Clementine turned, mouth propped open, as if ready to question the statement. Just as she was about to speak, just as she was about to question if they were being serious, she was silenced.

“Sorry boys, I believe that’s my seat.”

Glancing up, the three spotted Duck, covered in grass stains. His arms were crossed, and his toothy grin gleamed even through the faint lighting. Violet, also covered in grass stains, was standing a few paces behind him being tidied up by Minerva, too preoccupied to notice.

“I believe this is a party, and people can sit wherever they want.” Louis countered.

Marlon rolled his eyes, taking a long swing of beer. Duck wasn’t worth the effort it took to belittle him, but he’d be damned if they were about to give up their spot next to Clementine for Duck to swipe it.

“I called spot check,” Duck claimed, arms crossed.

Louis scrunched his nose. Duck knew Louis was a stickler for party rules. Spot checking? That was rule number 1, and they all knew Louis wasn’t about to break it. With a huff, he shot up to his feet. “Fine,” he scoffed. “Come on Clementine,”

“Oh no no no,” Duck said, his hand latching onto Louis’ shoulder just as he was helping Clem to her feet, and just as Marlon stood to assist in their transition. “She stays.”

Clementine immediately tensed. Even though he wasn't looking at her, Marlon could feel it. “Ease off Duck, she’s allowed to go wherever she wants.” He snapped, feeling a twitch of rage. He spoke about her as if she was a potted plant rather than a person.

Duck scoffed, releasing Louis. “Nice to know that when Marlon finally speaks it’s to show support for feminism,” he laughed. “Nice to see you supporting your own kind.”

Marlon furrowed his brows. Just when he thought Duck couldn’t make himself look like a bigger ass, he went ahead and did it.

“Duck, just knock it off, okay?” Louis scoffed, arms out, pleading with the guy. “We’re all here to have a good time. There’s no need for you to start acting like an asshole.”

“Excuse you?”

Marlon smirked. “Sorry, he meant to say that you never stopped acting like an asshole.” Marlon could tell that one made Clementine’s shoulders tense even more. A part of him felt bad that she was tossed in the middle of all this.

“Excuse you?” Duck asked, leering toward the male. “Rich talk coming from the quiet kid,”

Marlon didn’t flinch, even when Clementine slithered farther behind him. Maybe it would be better for her to just go home. Maybe coming to the party was a mistake. Just as she started for the door, ready to set down her cup and get out, she was spotted.

“Awe, come on girly, where ya going?” Duck called, causing her motions to freeze. “Are the weirdos freaking you out? Don’t worry,” forcing himself between the two of them, he reached out for her. “I’ll keep you awake from them.”

Turning around, feeling a hand creep up on her back and shoulder, Clementine could feel her skin crawl. Could she force him away? Would he listen? He sure hadn’t been listening to anyone else who had been telling him off. What made her any different?

“That’s enough of that, asshole.”

Clementine watched as Marlon jetted his elbow into Duck’s side, causing his grip on her shoulder to vanish. Just as the grip was lost, Louis swept up beside her, making sure to hold his hands out in front of her, demonstrating that he didn’t mean harm. “Are you okay?” He hushed.

Clementine said nothing, she was too worried and shaken. Instead, she just nodded.

It was then, staring at the terrified quiver in her eyes, did Louis realize just how different she was. Just how much better she was than the rest of the school.

At first glance, they’d approached Clementine because she was cute. It didn’t take long for them to realize that she was more than that. She was special. In a city full of stuck up teens, and in a high school that promoted pompous popularity over generosity, Clementine brought a stark contrast to it all.

They didn’t want to flirt with her. Hell, the two of them didn’t even want to date her. They wanted to keep her safe. They wanted to keep her away from the cruel world of high school. As far as they were concerned, they were there to save her.

“Come on Clem,” Louis said, taking her arm and guiding her away. “We’ll take you home.”

“Are you sure?” She asked, voice wavering and fragile. “I don’t want to take you guys away.”

“We don’t care about being here,” Marlon said, whisking the front door open and placing a hand on Clem’s shoulder as Louis guided her out. “We’d much rather walk you home than stay with this mess.”

Clementine’s eyes widened as she was escorted out of the house, one of the boys on either side of her. For the first time since she had entered that night, she felt safe. She felt as if someone had her back.

It was then, as the two guided her down the street back to her home, did she know that Savannah was going to be different from Roswell. Savannah was going to feel like home.

Because finally, finally, she had friends. ---------♥️♥️♥️----------

[kxlebcross]

multiples of three, please.

oh man i cant believe ur making me do maths at 4:18 am... but here goes nothing! (it’s gonna be long so i put it under a read more)

3. Ever done any drugs? uhhhh... yeah, for a short period yrs ago i had a friend group and with them we smoked weed pretty much every weekend... they did some hard drugs too but i never dared trying those cuz im a lil bitch lmao aaaaand i don’t do that anymore, it’s an expensive hobby to have and i usually waste my drugs money on pc games and ordering food srgsdfg

6. Describe your dream home. probs somewhere in a big city, close to the center because i love being a big city kid.... a mid-sized flat with lots of plants and those neat cat playgrounds mounted on the wall because i plan on having at least 4 cats in the future asdsd and i’d love to have a bigger balcony which i could transform into a little jungle and hand a hammock there and just chill and listen to the city’s noises at night when i can’t sleep

9. Do you watch porn? you may not believe but i actually don’t sdgsdfg the horny teen phase is over for me, if i wanna interact with anything pornographic i just read fanfiction dfgsdfgsf

12. What’s one of your fantasies? i hope it’s not supposed to be an erotic one lmao but i really wanna go on a road trip through europe, just pack up my shit and drive around, also i wanna visit haunted places all around england and get into the gaming business as a game translator/tester eventually

15. Are you in a relationship? thank god not anymore... and honestly i don’t miss it anymore, all of my previous ones were disasters and ended in a really ugly manner so.. no, i’m all good with my cat

18. What tattoos do you want? i don’t have specific plans for motives - though i’d really like a kitsune mask somewhere and a moon and one song quote. i’d like to have my whole left sleeve done, maybe part of my back, a half sleeve on my right hand and something smaller on my ankle - and i’m actually open to anything the tattooists would pick out; i care more about who’s gonna create my tattoo than what’s it gonna be, as my actually existing 2 tattoos r also premade, randomly picked out ones (though they accidentally matched up in some way and look pretty neat imo)

21. Describe your best friend. that’s a hard one.... i don’t think i have one anymore. i used to have this girl in my life, M, who i was really close to, but we had a fallout in october and she never came around to fix this even though i was open to the idea... so i lost my best friend, which is kinda sad considering that she was the only person i could open up to in the last 3 yrs. but hey that happens! i moved on and have a close friend still so im all good.

24. What are three places you want to travel? i really wanna visit scotland! it has this specific atmosphere i really long to experience, and i wanna see the landmarks and grassy fields and loch ness and haunted places and just roam around there for a while. i also wanna see moscow - it’s been sort of an obsession of mine since reading glukhovsky’s metro series, and also it’s a beautiful city worth visiting. i’d also like to get on the trans-siberian express but that’s not a specific place dsfsgdf the last place would be the aokigahara forest in japan - also one of the places i feel drawn to for ages now. found out about it years ago and since it’s been sort of a plan of mine to visit one time. if i manage to graduate university my mum promised to send me on a trip to japan - so if it works out, ill be on my way there baby! (i just need to work on my language skills first sasdfgf)

27. What’s your pet peeve? loud breathing, loud chewing... generally people being loud and annoying. ppl not covering their mouths while coughing. ppl who walk super slowly and take up all of the walkway like FUCK OFF OF MY WAY GODDAMMIT. in games when the npc walks a lot slower than ur running, but walking a lot faster than ur walking so its impossible to keep up with them. ppl not using headphones in public spaces. old ppl demanding respect when they treat u like shit. ppl forcing their religion on u (im looking at u auntie). ppl slurping their drinks. couples almost f*cking each other in public places... just get a room smh

30. Tag someone you want to talk to but have been too shy to message. oh i don’t need to tag them cuz i already got over that shyness and they totes know already that i wanted to talk to them for a while! (i admitted to it in the tackiest, cheesiest, most awkward anon ask i ever sent in to anyone sdfgsdf)

33. If money was no object, what would your wardrobe be like? pretty much the same as now, all black and flannels and jeans, cuz i rly thing that major clothes shopping sprees r a waste of money sdfdf but i’d probably own a lot lot more shoes like custom made cat patterned vans and some more nikes and some creepers cuz i wanted to get some of those for like yrs now dfgdfg

36. Do you still have feelings for any of your exes? uhhhh... kind of? not romantic ones tho, i just miss the long talks and the trust and understanding between us. i never got the closure i needed to move on and it still left some bad feelings towards her so its a weird mix of resentment and sympathy, and i try to not think abt it too much.

39. Are you a virgin? hahahahahahahahah, no, really. 

42. Describe the hottest person you know. the hottest person i personally know is one of the ppl i used to be on my universitys e-sport team on with dfasd i always had a weak spot for ppl taller than me and hes literally model material with nice cheekbones and the perfect jawline and the best sense of humor ever. though he’s a widowmaker main in overwatch and thats a big big minus for him :(

45. What’s the worst date you’ve ever been on? lmaooooo thats a funny one listen up... so i was fresh out of breakup and wanted to make some friends.... wait for it.... ON TINDER. i live in an university town so i was like kewl imma make some ppl my age (until then all of my friends were A LOT older than me) and have some friends and if romance happens then it happens, w/e. so i set up this bar night with this one guy, i believe his name was David? so David and i meet up for drinks, i grab a gintonic and we sit down to talk... what he never knew abt me is that i am on the adhd spectrum and i have to get my hands busy with smth so i can focus on what im saying otherwise my thoughs r all over the place. so im casually keeping my hands busy with just spinning my locked phone there and back, or just  messing around with the lime slice on my glass and at a random moment David goes like “u know.... i hate when ppl cant stop messing around with their phone” and im like ????? dude im literally just spinning it, not even messaging anyone or unlocking it or shit. and he goes on this rant that he always expects ppl to pay full attention to him when talking, looking at him (i never look ppl in the eyes cuz i tend to just go into panic mode from long eye contact and also i think its creepy to just stare at someone constantly) and just not doing anything else except paying attention to him so i go on explaining to him that i need to keep myself busy and im not doing it to annoy him - but he keeps on insisting so i excuse myself to a cigarette (he also hated smokers lmao) and call the widowmaker main friend from the previous question and am like “hey man i have the worst date of my life can u be at this place in 40 minutes and then we hit the night life” and hes like fine so i go back to David and tell him “sorry mate i just remembered i have my last bus home in 30 minutes and the next one is in 1,5 hrs and i really cant stay out that late so can we wrap this up and schedule an other meeting some other time” and hes like fine... got me to the bus stop, i sat on the bus.... got off at the next bus stop, met up with widowmaker main guy and went out for drinks and decided to never go on tinder dates again sdfgsdfg

48. Describe your ideal partner. thats a hard one, hey! but i dont think i have an ideal, guess ill work with anyone whos a decent human being who wont require me to be the housemaid and cook and clean and do everything for them. oh and they totally need to know how to use a washing machine... one of my exes was incapable of this (and here i was thinking that in 2018 ppl saw a washing machine already... looks like i was wrong and im still not over that incident 2 yrs ago). oh and they gotta be fine with the idea of never having kids cuz theres no way im putting myself through raising one of those, im a man of career and money, totally not responsible enough to raise another living human being sdsdgdf

[johnboothus]

VinePair Podcast: Will Small Drinks Brands Survive the Covid-19 Crisis?

As the Covid-19 crisis and the associated lockdowns, quarantines, and stay-at-home orders persist, our drinking habits and purchasing opportunities are shifting. These changes are creating winners and losers in the beverage alcohol business. While sales for many of the best-known drinks brands are steady or even rising, smaller craft products can no longer rely on bars, restaurants, and taprooms to serve as access points for the consumer.

And so, small beer, wine, and spirits producers and their supporters are left wondering: What can be done to keep these vital and beloved brands alive? Can we save them with savvy purchasing, or is broader governmental action required? VinePair CEO Adam Teeter, Chief Content Officer and Editor in Chief Erica Duecy, and VinePair Podcast Co-host Zach Geballe discuss these questions in this week’s episode.

Listen on iTunes.

Listen on Spotify.

Listen online or check out our conversation here:

Adam: From Brooklyn, New York I’m Adam Teeter.

Erica: From Connecticut, I’m Erica Duecy.

Zach: And in Seattle, WA I’m Zach Geballe.

A: And this is the VinePair podcast. And guys, we are now in week five, which is crazy, almost at the end of week five. Some people were saying there’s like a light at the end of the tunnel. You know? I’m starting to hear certain dates that people are putting out there. Germany is gonna start opening up their country again next week, which is insane to think about. How are you guys holding up in your sheltering in place this week?

E: I’m actually having a pretty good week.

A: Good!

E: I have to say, I’ve gone through waves. Last week was a pretty terrible week, it was just not a great mental health week. I felt like it was pretty challenging, it was just all sort of down news. But I feel like there, you know, and I’ve talked with a lot of people on the podcast and some upcoming episodes that will be coming out and I do think that, I’m hearing a lot about innovation and ideas and silver linings and I think that, you know, I’m hoping that in the next couple of weeks we can start to have some ideas around you know turning the corner on this and some good news. But that’s to say that, you know, it’s up sometimes, down sometimes, so hanging in there.

Z: Yeah, I think that’s about as apt a description as I’m able to come up with. I would say, you know the other thing for me that’s been true over the last I don’t know maybe it’s been the last week or so is I’ve been really struck by how used to this new way of living I’ve become. In that, you know the first couple of weeks it was just like oh my God I miss all these things that I used to be able to do. I miss seeing friends and family. I miss going out to restaurants. I….you know, all these various things. And now it’s very funny, you know we just…I was just talking to my wife about, you know, this sort of like, OK, what do we do first, when like we can go do something out of the house? And it was so…such an alien thought at this point that I was like, I don’t even know what, like I guess go to a park with our kid and like see friends who have a kid and? It was just…it’s become so….you know, in this little over a month for me, it’s become this sort of thing that I’m just so…I feel so used to at this point that it’s like, it’s very weird. And I’m a very extroverted person normally and I like to go out and do stuff and it was just so strange to kind of start to think about, you know if that light at the end of the tunnel that you had mentioned is coming along like….what is that, what am I even gonna do? And I’m not sure. Like I might just stay in my house a little longer just ’cause I don’t know what else to do.

A: Oh God, well, I don’t know. It’s funny, last week I was good, this week I’m like more, just like not as good? Definitely it’s starting to weigh on me more. It was weird, like yesterday the park near my apartment was a lot less full. And like it’s never been so full that I’ve been nervous about being…like taking a walk through it with Naomi but like it was like oddly less full at the time when it usually is….like it used to be like the last few weeks people would be out there from 5:30 to like 7. So like everyone would shut off their Zooms, close their computers and like decided to go outside for like an hour and a half or so. And like this week it seemed like less and less people were in the park and the weather is still…it’s a little cooler but still nice. And we were trying to figure out like why? And we’re like….and Naomi was like, I think it’s just people are starting to be hit by this like whole weight of….the….you know we don’t….it’s been so long, you know? And maybe they’re just like fuck it, I’m just staying inside. And so that’s kind of hit me this week and I was like God I gotta get out of this. Like all I really want, like it’s really weird, the one thing I’ve been craving more than anything else – this is gonna make Cat very happy, is a draft beer.

E: Mmm.

Z: Ahh.

A: Like I can make good cocktails at home, I have a pretty good selection of wine, but like I really….I don’t have a draft system! I just wanna go to a bar and get a really good beer on draft. That’s all…you know what I mean? There’s just something about that that I’m like that’s something that I miss. And I didn’t do it like all the time before this, but like when I did it it was always great and now I’m just like… that’s all I can think about. Like all I can think about.

Z: A thing I miss is being able to tell someone else, yes I would like this. To be able to turn my attention from whatever that thing is and then to have it show up in front of me, you know two to five minutes later. And it’s like, I am the by and large the bartender in the house, the sommelier in the house and when and where appropriate I guess the person who opens the beers in the house and so it’s like…not that I mind. But it is this weird thing that I miss of like, “yeah, I’ll have a Manhattan” and instead of saying “I’ll have a Manhattan” and then going and making a Manhattan, I used to be able to say “I’ll have a Manhattan” and then a Manhattan would just magically appear in front of me.

E: Exactly.

Z: And I do miss that. I miss that sort of like….I guess if that’s my….if that’s the thing I miss I supposed I am fortunate in all of this.

E: Yeah.

A: I think you are, yeah. It is funny though, ’cause have you guys used delivery yet? I don’t know why but like we haven’t. We’ve really been cooking everything and the friends of mine who have used delivery have said at least it’s like that one like respite, just like, oh, like one night someone make the food that wasn’t me. You know? Or like did the cocktails. But we haven’t done it, have you guys?

E: Oh yeah, I’ve had….I’ve done pizza a couple of times, I mean now we’re out in Connecticut and there’s not that much delivery. So we’ve done pizza and we’ve done a barbecue night, a barbecue delivery and that I swear barbecue never tasted so good.

A: That sounds amazing.

E: Yeah, all I want is someone….I mean and I’ve got two kids too, so I’m you know cooking and my husband’s cooking, everyone is cooking all the time and the amount of dishes, shocking! Full time eaters in a house, never realized there were so many dishes.

Z: Oh yeah, I used…I’ve been running the dishwasher daily which is really, really weird for me, I’m sort of anti-dishwasher from a dispositional standpoint but it’s gotten to the point, just with two adults and a not-quite-two-year-old in the house we’re going….we’re running a load almost every day and it is wild. I haven’t done any delivery like you Adam, I’ve just sort of been like I’m gonna cook everything but it has been creeping up in the mind for both my wife and I because there are a few things, like barbecue for example that I don’t make at home, not having a smoker or whatever. So there are a few things that we’ve been craving that haven’t been able to have yet and so I think we’re probably gonna go down that road probably in the next few days frankly.

A: So….I think we’re gonna have to do it too. I mean like I don’t know what else I’m gonna do. Like at some point I’m just gonna have to get some delivery ’cause I’m getting sick of cooking dinner every night. So our, you know, subject for today’s podcast is you know, one of the groups of people that we have talked about a little bit but we haven’t focused on fully in the entire podcast since the coronavirus so probably the last five weeks and that’s the smaller producers, right? So we would call them in beer like the small craft producers, the small craft distillers, the small wine producers, and I know as we mentioned before there are a lot of the times people that are getting hit harder because a lot of their, you know, their focus has been on premise for so long. It’s…. building a brand on premise, you know seems to be a little bit easier, it’s a better spend of your dollars, right? You can get a few cases in and then it gets moved for you. You know some brands would disagree with that and say that they went off-premise and now were thinking that that was the great strategy but for the majority of like smaller brands most wind up on on-premise before focusing on off-premise. So a lot of them are hurting very badly right now. Whether that’s because kegs aren’t being purchased obviously, you know their wines aren’t being taken in and or their, you know, their spirits aren’t being used in cocktails. So we want to talk a little bit about like why….you know how we can support those brands right now. And also sort of the nature of like what could be coming next for them. Like what’s the outlook look like for a lot of these smaller brands. Zach? I know you have thoughts.

Z: I do have thoughts, yeah. So, I think this is a really fascinating question and in interviewing a few people for the Covid-19 conversation series that we’ve been doing and just talking to other people throughout the industry, I think you’re already seeing a bit of divergence between those three categories, between beer, wine, and spirits. The wine people I’ve talked to are I would say a little less concerned in general, in part because you know wine by its nature is not a particularly perishable item and while some of them are definitely concerned about cash flow and that’s obviously a real consideration, there are enough that I have spoken to who feel like, you know if worse-case scenario means that they’re stripping down their sort of staffing, you know they’re not obviously having tasting rooms open, which means that they’ve laid off or furloughed or sort of reassigned people who might be working in tasting rooms, they are probably not working, interfacing with distributors very much but they might be doing more direct-to-consumer sales, which is obviously the most profitable outlet for them. They might be doing more delivery or online ordering in general. And most of them I’ve spoken to say, well, you know, for the most part besides maybe things like rosé, which is really seasonal and very kind of needs to be consumed relatively young in most cases, their product can hold and they might in 3, 6, 9 months be O.K. sort of unloading that product they might be O.K. And if it means that they take lower margins at that point that might be O.K. for them. Beer, though, I mean beer is to me the place where we’re seeing the most issue right away.

A: Yeah.

Z: If you’re not a brand that has a strong packaging portfolio, so you’re not canning and bottling and you’re just a small craft brewery that’s relying on, you know, tap room sales or, you know, brewpub or, you know, restaurant sales you are probably already basically close to the end, unfortunately. Or you’re having to pivot really quickly. And just…you’re right, Adam. You mentioned when we were talking earlier, you know no one has an at-home draft system so it’s not even like, even if you really love a brewery, you know your capacity to really take in much of their inventory is just so limited and you can’t, you know, how many cans and bottles are you gonna buy? A lot of beer is not super long lived in terms of its shelf life, and it’s just that beer is kind of I think the most precarious, and that’s my read on it at least. I think spirits are probably closer to wine, in terms of their shelf life. But they’re also the thing that in a lot of states are much harder, you know, even still, for people to get their hands on and frankly people drink a lot more wine and beer than they do hard alcohol.

A: Yeah.

Z: It’s just, you know, most people are not going to drink a cocktail or two every single day. Some will, you know, we might. But a lot of people just won’t do that.

A: I think a lot of people are at this point.

E: Yeah.

Z: Well, maybe so.

A: But yeah….

E: I….you know, I think that actually craft distillers, you know, I’ve talked to some people and one of the episodes I have coming up is with Brian Rosen from BevStrat and that’s a company that represents a lot of small distilleries and they kind of work as a sales and marketing arm to get them placed in restaurants, retail, etc. And one of the points that he made I think is really true, which is: small distillers, you know these independent guys they are lacking the kind of financing they need to get through months of lost revenue. So, a lot of these places, you know, they’re relying on the public tastings and tours, they are expecting that they’re going to have restaurant sales and that’s a huge part of their business. And with all of that closed and liquor stores being their really only outlet at this point, that they are not able to probably a lot of them bridge this gap of many potential months of lost wages, of lost income, and a lot of them also are pivoting to help make hand sanitizer and so forth. So, it’s a huge amount of business disruption I think across the three tiers, but I think distillers will also be pretty hard hit.

A: Yeah, I think the biggest issue for a lot of them, the distillers and craft beer especially as Zach was saying is that for them too, first of all most people haven’t gotten the PPP that was supposed to come. Right? So, the money as of….as we’re recording today on April 16th has run out so we’ll wait and see if congress is able to re-up that funding. But you know what a lot of them have said to me is like all that’s doing is allowing them for two and a half months to hire people back, to do who knows what? It’s just to put people back on their payroll, but it’s not covering or helping them cover all the losses that they’re making or all the lost, you know, sales of products, food, etc. if they had a restaurant. And then if they don’t open for the next two and a half months, they’re basically back to square one which is zero revenue again and trying to figure out what the hell they do. And its…its crazy, right? So the big question becomes like, how are these people going to survive and what does the path forward look like? Because I think for a lot of these places it’s dire, because for some of these smaller producers especially on the beer and distilling side, because like you said they’re basically half…a lot of them are half-restaurants, half-tap rooms, half-small brands, right? Because a lot of times the law allows for that, and so right now they’re not able to get a lot of their products out there. I would say one of the best ways, hopefully, is for us to really lobby Congress. Right? I think like we need to basically start contacting our congressional leaders and say you need to do more to support these industries. Right? Like these are vital industries to the communities, especially in terms of the breweries, right? Like we talk about them a lot as being local gatherings for families and friends, etc. They’ve kind of become places where it’s acceptable to bring young kids at some points during the day and you can get together with people and like they need help and the only real way I can see that is through law. And so I think a lot of that is gonna have to start happening really soon is like we need to start calling our elected officials and saying, “what are you doing to help?”

Z: Yeah, and I think one of the big points to emphasize here is you know, we’ve talked a lot about, in the past on the podcast you know kind of how people are still drinking, people are still obviously having wine and beer and spirits at home. But one of the big things that’s changed, and I know we’ve talked about this and it’s as Erica mentioned it’s in upcoming episodes of Covid-19 Conversations, is a lot of that drinking has really shifted to some of the most well-known brands. I mean those were always obviously the dominant brands in the marketplace but it’s even more extreme now than it used to be, in part because as I mentioned before some of these smaller producers just have no real way to get their product in front of even consumers who want it. But a lot of it too is just so many of us are….what we do and access is so circumscribed by what the grocery store near us happens to carry or what the delivery service in our area happens to stock and we have so much less agency than we’re used to. And that’s why I think Adam’s advice on talking to your congressional representation in your state, government as appropriate is really good advice. Because unfortunately this is one of the few times that I can really think of, maybe the only time I can think of where you can’t do what I often encourage people to do in these situations otherwise, which is sort of vote with your dollars. Because a lot of the products that I might want to support, I really can’t or if I can its extremely difficult.

A: Yep.

Z: Or I have to really seek it out and I wish I could say to people, “Oh, there’s an obvious solution.” I mean, I definitely know that some smaller producers in the Seattle are looking at finding ways to kind of partner together to sell product when and where possible. They’re trying to get, you know, aligned with some of the restaurants that are still doing delivery and are offering beverage delivery as well. They’re working to get in front of local grocery store chains that are smaller. But again, think about this, right? One of the sort of advantages of being a buyer as I was for years is you taste with your representatives. You know you taste with people from distributors, from individual producers. That’s not something you do very…you can’t really do anymore, right? Like it’s not safe to be in close proximity to these people. Yes, maybe you can get a sample bottle and that’s a thing although that’s also an expense for the producer, although maybe one they’re willing to take on, but it really does encourage and has encouraged the sort of mindset of we’re not gonna make any changes to our inventory. We might re-order ’cause we’re selling through things, but we’re not gonna bring in new product, we’re not gonna change our product mix-up, we’re just gonna kinda keep doing the same things we’ve been doing to get by. And that’s fine on one level, but it really does disadvantage producers who don’t have a massive distribution chain that’s, you know, nationwide.

E: Definitely. I mean I think one of the best things that we, you know, Zach I know that it is like an additional step or two but I do think it is worthwhile, to go on social media if there’s a brand you like. You can look on their social media channels, like right now I just opened up my feed a couple of minutes ago and there’s a post from Privateer rum and Maggie Campbell who’s the distiller there, you know she’s doing “Ask me anythings,” she is doing all sorts of face-to-face kind of interactions. Whether they’re Facebook lives or what have you and I find that this moment distillers, winemakers and brewers are more available and more in front of their customers than ever before. One of the episodes we have coming up on the Covid-19 podcast is with Dan Petroski, who is a wine maker at Larkmead and Massican and Massican is a small winery that he owns. He said, you know, for the first time in his…with his newsletter he gave out his cellphone and people have been texting him and calling him and just talking with him. And while he did it out of, you know, really a sense of wanting to connect with his consumers, at the same time that has led to conversions and that has led to people literally calling him to seek out where they can find his wines and how they can buy them. So I do think it is a very useful piece of advice to check your social media feeds, any brands that you’ve had before that you like and that you want to support, they are more than willing to hop on the phone with you or to direct message you and tell you where you can find their product. Because there really is no good way that….I mean, I’ve researched, we’re doing an article on it, we are trying to research what are the best ways to support your local businesses and the best way we’ve found so far is to reach out to them directly.

A: Totally. I mean I really….it really seems to be the only way and it’s the way….even if there are other ways, it’s the way that they receive the most benefit, right? ‘Cause no one else is taking a cut, no one else is really involved at the middle man, you know, it’s just getting to them and saying like how can we help if we can? And then its supporting legislation down the road that helps people survive this. ‘Cause I think the biggest thing we need to really think about is there’s help now but there’s also help that has to come at the end, right? And so, once this is over and we’ve re-opened, what programs are we providing for people? ‘Cause like there’s a lot of breweries I love. There’s a lot of like, you know, wineries I love. I can’t buy them all once this over. You know? Like I can run and do everything at the same time, which is why, you know, I am fearful that a lot of people that do not deserve to go out of business will go out of business, just because like there’s just not gonna be enough people that are gonna come…go to every place they love right when this this is over. And so, you know, getting on your phone and calling your congressperson and calling your senator is really, really important.

E: Yeah.

A: Yeah. And it’s also the only way that you can, as Adam is saying, save this entire industry as opposed to a select few particular brands that you happen to care about, you know? I think it’s important….you know, I think look, there’s a reality that we have to face here, which is that there’s going to be, there already has been and there will be attrition that comes out of this, you know? Any incredibly traumatic, stressful period of time whether it’s a…just a purely financial crisis, a health crisis, or both is going to just inevitably cause some businesses, some producers that we dearly love to go out of business because it’s just there’s no two ways around it.

E: Yeah.

Z: But for trying to keep, you know, the previous….pre-Covid sort of landscape that I think we all really appreciated in this country, you know a really diverse set of producers of beer, wine and spirits, the likes of which we’d never seen in this country prior, we have to…yeah, it has to be a community but also a sort of national effort to keep those things alive. And it’s not just with this industry, obviously there’s lots of other industries where this is true. But obviously this is ours and the one we feel passionate about. And Adam is right, you know, buying a bottle of wine, a bottle of gin or, you know, a six-pack of beer from a local producer is one, important and maybe slightly more rewarding immediately way to support them. But it is really true, you know, taking that time to reach out to your congressional leadership, to encourage people that you know, your friends and family to do the same. You know, that’s the only way that there’s going to be programs in place to keep these industries alive not just during this crisis but as Adam mentioned afterwards because there’s gonna be a lot of you know, essentially….there’s gonna be a lot, it’s gonna be a long time before these industries really get back to full strength.

A: And I want to be clear here, like I’m not talking about just, you know, people might be listening and they might be like “Oh, Adam’s sitting here and he’s talking about like handouts,” that’s not all that I’m talking about. I’m talking about the loosening of laws as well to allow people to continue to do the things that they’re doing now, right? So, we talked about this last week but I’m talking about us lobbying our lawmakers to say: hey, let’s allow cocktail delivery to continue until people get back on their feet. Or for the foreseeable future, or maybe forever, right? Let’s allow for a lot of these restaurants to also sell their bottles to go, right? So like if I come into the restaurant, I have a great bottle of wine that night, why can’t I buy that bottle of wine to-go at a 25% reduction in price or something from the list? Why can’t I do that?

E: Yeah.

A: And then I can take it home and enjoy it down the road. Like this will allow people to bring in more revenue now. Like those are the things that we need to be talking about.

E: Yes.

A: So that these businesses can find other revenue streams in the short term in order to, you know, make more money right when they open. And if we don’t do that, if we just say, O.K., everyone has to go back to business as usual prior to Covid-19, it’s gonna be really hard and we’re gonna lose more businesses than we should.

E: Yeah, and I don’t think we can go back to business until there’s a vaccine, like we can’t…I don’t think there’s a real tangible path forward for a lot of businesses. I mean imagine how far you’ll have to be spaced-out to really meet those social distancing guidelines. A lot of businesses will not be able to accommodate that. So its…I think yeah, I absolutely agree that the congressional and the governmental responses are going to be key to this. But I think that, you know, even with that there will be a big culling of a lot of businesses that we, you know, love and support.

A: Totally. Well guys, hopefully the moral of the story here is: talk to your elected officials. ‘Cause it’s gonna be the best way…I know we talked about this a few months ago when it came to the tariffs and it’s time now again. If you listened to us then and contacted your elected officials, thank you. Please contact them now. The hospitality industry as a whole, whether its craft producers like we’ve talked about a little bit today or just, you know, restaurants and bars in general is one of the largest employers of people in the United States. So, you know, it’s really important that we support this industry so that everyone can get back to work. So please, please, please call them and tell them to support the industry, it would be….it’s vitally important.

E: Yep.

Z: 100% right.

A: So, thank you guys so much for listening as always and Zach and Erica, I’ll talk to you next week.

Z: Sounds good.

E: Hang in there!

A: Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair podcast. If you enjoy listening to us every week please leave us a review or rating on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever it is that you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show. And now for the credits:

VinePair is produced and hosted Zach Geballe, Erica Duecy, and me: Adam Teeter. Our engineer is Nick Patri and Keith Beavers. I’d also like to give a special shout-out to my VinePair co-founder Josh Malin and the rest of the VinePair team for their support. Thanks so much for listening and we’ll see you again right here next week.

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[isaiahrippinus]

VinePair Podcast: Will Small Drinks Brands Survive the Covid-19 Crisis?

As the Covid-19 crisis and the associated lockdowns, quarantines, and stay-at-home orders persist, our drinking habits and purchasing opportunities are shifting. These changes are creating winners and losers in the beverage alcohol business. While sales for many of the best-known drinks brands are steady or even rising, smaller craft products can no longer rely on bars, restaurants, and taprooms to serve as access points for the consumer.

And so, small beer, wine, and spirits producers and their supporters are left wondering: What can be done to keep these vital and beloved brands alive? Can we save them with savvy purchasing, or is broader governmental action required? VinePair CEO Adam Teeter, Chief Content Officer and Editor in Chief Erica Duecy, and VinePair Podcast Co-host Zach Geballe discuss these questions in this week’s episode.

Listen on iTunes.

Listen on Spotify.

Listen online or check out our conversation here:

Adam: From Brooklyn, New York I’m Adam Teeter.

Erica: From Connecticut, I’m Erica Duecy.

Zach: And in Seattle, WA I’m Zach Geballe.

A: And this is the VinePair podcast. And guys, we are now in week five, which is crazy, almost at the end of week five. Some people were saying there’s like a light at the end of the tunnel. You know? I’m starting to hear certain dates that people are putting out there. Germany is gonna start opening up their country again next week, which is insane to think about. How are you guys holding up in your sheltering in place this week?

E: I’m actually having a pretty good week.

A: Good!

E: I have to say, I’ve gone through waves. Last week was a pretty terrible week, it was just not a great mental health week. I felt like it was pretty challenging, it was just all sort of down news. But I feel like there, you know, and I’ve talked with a lot of people on the podcast and some upcoming episodes that will be coming out and I do think that, I’m hearing a lot about innovation and ideas and silver linings and I think that, you know, I’m hoping that in the next couple of weeks we can start to have some ideas around you know turning the corner on this and some good news. But that’s to say that, you know, it’s up sometimes, down sometimes, so hanging in there.

Z: Yeah, I think that’s about as apt a description as I’m able to come up with. I would say, you know the other thing for me that’s been true over the last I don’t know maybe it’s been the last week or so is I’ve been really struck by how used to this new way of living I’ve become. In that, you know the first couple of weeks it was just like oh my God I miss all these things that I used to be able to do. I miss seeing friends and family. I miss going out to restaurants. I….you know, all these various things. And now it’s very funny, you know we just…I was just talking to my wife about, you know, this sort of like, OK, what do we do first, when like we can go do something out of the house? And it was so…such an alien thought at this point that I was like, I don’t even know what, like I guess go to a park with our kid and like see friends who have a kid and? It was just…it’s become so….you know, in this little over a month for me, it’s become this sort of thing that I’m just so…I feel so used to at this point that it’s like, it’s very weird. And I’m a very extroverted person normally and I like to go out and do stuff and it was just so strange to kind of start to think about, you know if that light at the end of the tunnel that you had mentioned is coming along like….what is that, what am I even gonna do? And I’m not sure. Like I might just stay in my house a little longer just ’cause I don’t know what else to do.

A: Oh God, well, I don’t know. It’s funny, last week I was good, this week I’m like more, just like not as good? Definitely it’s starting to weigh on me more. It was weird, like yesterday the park near my apartment was a lot less full. And like it’s never been so full that I’ve been nervous about being…like taking a walk through it with Naomi but like it was like oddly less full at the time when it usually is….like it used to be like the last few weeks people would be out there from 5:30 to like 7. So like everyone would shut off their Zooms, close their computers and like decided to go outside for like an hour and a half or so. And like this week it seemed like less and less people were in the park and the weather is still…it’s a little cooler but still nice. And we were trying to figure out like why? And we’re like….and Naomi was like, I think it’s just people are starting to be hit by this like whole weight of….the….you know we don’t….it’s been so long, you know? And maybe they’re just like fuck it, I’m just staying inside. And so that’s kind of hit me this week and I was like God I gotta get out of this. Like all I really want, like it’s really weird, the one thing I’ve been craving more than anything else – this is gonna make Cat very happy, is a draft beer.

E: Mmm.

Z: Ahh.

A: Like I can make good cocktails at home, I have a pretty good selection of wine, but like I really….I don’t have a draft system! I just wanna go to a bar and get a really good beer on draft. That’s all…you know what I mean? There’s just something about that that I’m like that’s something that I miss. And I didn’t do it like all the time before this, but like when I did it it was always great and now I’m just like… that’s all I can think about. Like all I can think about.

Z: A thing I miss is being able to tell someone else, yes I would like this. To be able to turn my attention from whatever that thing is and then to have it show up in front of me, you know two to five minutes later. And it’s like, I am the by and large the bartender in the house, the sommelier in the house and when and where appropriate I guess the person who opens the beers in the house and so it’s like…not that I mind. But it is this weird thing that I miss of like, “yeah, I’ll have a Manhattan” and instead of saying “I’ll have a Manhattan” and then going and making a Manhattan, I used to be able to say “I’ll have a Manhattan” and then a Manhattan would just magically appear in front of me.

E: Exactly.

Z: And I do miss that. I miss that sort of like….I guess if that’s my….if that’s the thing I miss I supposed I am fortunate in all of this.

E: Yeah.

A: I think you are, yeah. It is funny though, ’cause have you guys used delivery yet? I don’t know why but like we haven’t. We’ve really been cooking everything and the friends of mine who have used delivery have said at least it’s like that one like respite, just like, oh, like one night someone make the food that wasn’t me. You know? Or like did the cocktails. But we haven’t done it, have you guys?

E: Oh yeah, I’ve had….I’ve done pizza a couple of times, I mean now we’re out in Connecticut and there’s not that much delivery. So we’ve done pizza and we’ve done a barbecue night, a barbecue delivery and that I swear barbecue never tasted so good.

A: That sounds amazing.

E: Yeah, all I want is someone….I mean and I’ve got two kids too, so I’m you know cooking and my husband’s cooking, everyone is cooking all the time and the amount of dishes, shocking! Full time eaters in a house, never realized there were so many dishes.

Z: Oh yeah, I used…I’ve been running the dishwasher daily which is really, really weird for me, I’m sort of anti-dishwasher from a dispositional standpoint but it’s gotten to the point, just with two adults and a not-quite-two-year-old in the house we’re going….we’re running a load almost every day and it is wild. I haven’t done any delivery like you Adam, I’ve just sort of been like I’m gonna cook everything but it has been creeping up in the mind for both my wife and I because there are a few things, like barbecue for example that I don’t make at home, not having a smoker or whatever. So there are a few things that we’ve been craving that haven’t been able to have yet and so I think we’re probably gonna go down that road probably in the next few days frankly.

A: So….I think we’re gonna have to do it too. I mean like I don’t know what else I’m gonna do. Like at some point I’m just gonna have to get some delivery ’cause I’m getting sick of cooking dinner every night. So our, you know, subject for today’s podcast is you know, one of the groups of people that we have talked about a little bit but we haven’t focused on fully in the entire podcast since the coronavirus so probably the last five weeks and that’s the smaller producers, right? So we would call them in beer like the small craft producers, the small craft distillers, the small wine producers, and I know as we mentioned before there are a lot of the times people that are getting hit harder because a lot of their, you know, their focus has been on premise for so long. It’s…. building a brand on premise, you know seems to be a little bit easier, it’s a better spend of your dollars, right? You can get a few cases in and then it gets moved for you. You know some brands would disagree with that and say that they went off-premise and now were thinking that that was the great strategy but for the majority of like smaller brands most wind up on on-premise before focusing on off-premise. So a lot of them are hurting very badly right now. Whether that’s because kegs aren’t being purchased obviously, you know their wines aren’t being taken in and or their, you know, their spirits aren’t being used in cocktails. So we want to talk a little bit about like why….you know how we can support those brands right now. And also sort of the nature of like what could be coming next for them. Like what’s the outlook look like for a lot of these smaller brands. Zach? I know you have thoughts.

Z: I do have thoughts, yeah. So, I think this is a really fascinating question and in interviewing a few people for the Covid-19 conversation series that we’ve been doing and just talking to other people throughout the industry, I think you’re already seeing a bit of divergence between those three categories, between beer, wine, and spirits. The wine people I’ve talked to are I would say a little less concerned in general, in part because you know wine by its nature is not a particularly perishable item and while some of them are definitely concerned about cash flow and that’s obviously a real consideration, there are enough that I have spoken to who feel like, you know if worse-case scenario means that they’re stripping down their sort of staffing, you know they’re not obviously having tasting rooms open, which means that they’ve laid off or furloughed or sort of reassigned people who might be working in tasting rooms, they are probably not working, interfacing with distributors very much but they might be doing more direct-to-consumer sales, which is obviously the most profitable outlet for them. They might be doing more delivery or online ordering in general. And most of them I’ve spoken to say, well, you know, for the most part besides maybe things like rosé, which is really seasonal and very kind of needs to be consumed relatively young in most cases, their product can hold and they might in 3, 6, 9 months be O.K. sort of unloading that product they might be O.K. And if it means that they take lower margins at that point that might be O.K. for them. Beer, though, I mean beer is to me the place where we’re seeing the most issue right away.

A: Yeah.

Z: If you’re not a brand that has a strong packaging portfolio, so you’re not canning and bottling and you’re just a small craft brewery that’s relying on, you know, tap room sales or, you know, brewpub or, you know, restaurant sales you are probably already basically close to the end, unfortunately. Or you’re having to pivot really quickly. And just…you’re right, Adam. You mentioned when we were talking earlier, you know no one has an at-home draft system so it’s not even like, even if you really love a brewery, you know your capacity to really take in much of their inventory is just so limited and you can’t, you know, how many cans and bottles are you gonna buy? A lot of beer is not super long lived in terms of its shelf life, and it’s just that beer is kind of I think the most precarious, and that’s my read on it at least. I think spirits are probably closer to wine, in terms of their shelf life. But they’re also the thing that in a lot of states are much harder, you know, even still, for people to get their hands on and frankly people drink a lot more wine and beer than they do hard alcohol.

A: Yeah.

Z: It’s just, you know, most people are not going to drink a cocktail or two every single day. Some will, you know, we might. But a lot of people just won’t do that.

A: I think a lot of people are at this point.

E: Yeah.

Z: Well, maybe so.

A: But yeah….

E: I….you know, I think that actually craft distillers, you know, I’ve talked to some people and one of the episodes I have coming up is with Brian Rosen from BevStrat and that’s a company that represents a lot of small distilleries and they kind of work as a sales and marketing arm to get them placed in restaurants, retail, etc. And one of the points that he made I think is really true, which is: small distillers, you know these independent guys they are lacking the kind of financing they need to get through months of lost revenue. So, a lot of these places, you know, they’re relying on the public tastings and tours, they are expecting that they’re going to have restaurant sales and that’s a huge part of their business. And with all of that closed and liquor stores being their really only outlet at this point, that they are not able to probably a lot of them bridge this gap of many potential months of lost wages, of lost income, and a lot of them also are pivoting to help make hand sanitizer and so forth. So, it’s a huge amount of business disruption I think across the three tiers, but I think distillers will also be pretty hard hit.

A: Yeah, I think the biggest issue for a lot of them, the distillers and craft beer especially as Zach was saying is that for them too, first of all most people haven’t gotten the PPP that was supposed to come. Right? So, the money as of….as we’re recording today on April 16th has run out so we’ll wait and see if congress is able to re-up that funding. But you know what a lot of them have said to me is like all that’s doing is allowing them for two and a half months to hire people back, to do who knows what? It’s just to put people back on their payroll, but it’s not covering or helping them cover all the losses that they’re making or all the lost, you know, sales of products, food, etc. if they had a restaurant. And then if they don’t open for the next two and a half months, they’re basically back to square one which is zero revenue again and trying to figure out what the hell they do. And its…its crazy, right? So the big question becomes like, how are these people going to survive and what does the path forward look like? Because I think for a lot of these places it’s dire, because for some of these smaller producers especially on the beer and distilling side, because like you said they’re basically half…a lot of them are half-restaurants, half-tap rooms, half-small brands, right? Because a lot of times the law allows for that, and so right now they’re not able to get a lot of their products out there. I would say one of the best ways, hopefully, is for us to really lobby Congress. Right? I think like we need to basically start contacting our congressional leaders and say you need to do more to support these industries. Right? Like these are vital industries to the communities, especially in terms of the breweries, right? Like we talk about them a lot as being local gatherings for families and friends, etc. They’ve kind of become places where it’s acceptable to bring young kids at some points during the day and you can get together with people and like they need help and the only real way I can see that is through law. And so I think a lot of that is gonna have to start happening really soon is like we need to start calling our elected officials and saying, “what are you doing to help?”

Z: Yeah, and I think one of the big points to emphasize here is you know, we’ve talked a lot about, in the past on the podcast you know kind of how people are still drinking, people are still obviously having wine and beer and spirits at home. But one of the big things that’s changed, and I know we’ve talked about this and it’s as Erica mentioned it’s in upcoming episodes of Covid-19 Conversations, is a lot of that drinking has really shifted to some of the most well-known brands. I mean those were always obviously the dominant brands in the marketplace but it’s even more extreme now than it used to be, in part because as I mentioned before some of these smaller producers just have no real way to get their product in front of even consumers who want it. But a lot of it too is just so many of us are….what we do and access is so circumscribed by what the grocery store near us happens to carry or what the delivery service in our area happens to stock and we have so much less agency than we’re used to. And that’s why I think Adam’s advice on talking to your congressional representation in your state, government as appropriate is really good advice. Because unfortunately this is one of the few times that I can really think of, maybe the only time I can think of where you can’t do what I often encourage people to do in these situations otherwise, which is sort of vote with your dollars. Because a lot of the products that I might want to support, I really can’t or if I can its extremely difficult.

A: Yep.

Z: Or I have to really seek it out and I wish I could say to people, “Oh, there’s an obvious solution.” I mean, I definitely know that some smaller producers in the Seattle are looking at finding ways to kind of partner together to sell product when and where possible. They’re trying to get, you know, aligned with some of the restaurants that are still doing delivery and are offering beverage delivery as well. They’re working to get in front of local grocery store chains that are smaller. But again, think about this, right? One of the sort of advantages of being a buyer as I was for years is you taste with your representatives. You know you taste with people from distributors, from individual producers. That’s not something you do very…you can’t really do anymore, right? Like it’s not safe to be in close proximity to these people. Yes, maybe you can get a sample bottle and that’s a thing although that’s also an expense for the producer, although maybe one they’re willing to take on, but it really does encourage and has encouraged the sort of mindset of we’re not gonna make any changes to our inventory. We might re-order ’cause we’re selling through things, but we’re not gonna bring in new product, we’re not gonna change our product mix-up, we’re just gonna kinda keep doing the same things we’ve been doing to get by. And that’s fine on one level, but it really does disadvantage producers who don’t have a massive distribution chain that’s, you know, nationwide.

E: Definitely. I mean I think one of the best things that we, you know, Zach I know that it is like an additional step or two but I do think it is worthwhile, to go on social media if there’s a brand you like. You can look on their social media channels, like right now I just opened up my feed a couple of minutes ago and there’s a post from Privateer rum and Maggie Campbell who’s the distiller there, you know she’s doing “Ask me anythings,” she is doing all sorts of face-to-face kind of interactions. Whether they’re Facebook lives or what have you and I find that this moment distillers, winemakers and brewers are more available and more in front of their customers than ever before. One of the episodes we have coming up on the Covid-19 podcast is with Dan Petroski, who is a wine maker at Larkmead and Massican and Massican is a small winery that he owns. He said, you know, for the first time in his…with his newsletter he gave out his cellphone and people have been texting him and calling him and just talking with him. And while he did it out of, you know, really a sense of wanting to connect with his consumers, at the same time that has led to conversions and that has led to people literally calling him to seek out where they can find his wines and how they can buy them. So I do think it is a very useful piece of advice to check your social media feeds, any brands that you’ve had before that you like and that you want to support, they are more than willing to hop on the phone with you or to direct message you and tell you where you can find their product. Because there really is no good way that….I mean, I’ve researched, we’re doing an article on it, we are trying to research what are the best ways to support your local businesses and the best way we’ve found so far is to reach out to them directly.

A: Totally. I mean I really….it really seems to be the only way and it’s the way….even if there are other ways, it’s the way that they receive the most benefit, right? ‘Cause no one else is taking a cut, no one else is really involved at the middle man, you know, it’s just getting to them and saying like how can we help if we can? And then its supporting legislation down the road that helps people survive this. ‘Cause I think the biggest thing we need to really think about is there’s help now but there’s also help that has to come at the end, right? And so, once this is over and we’ve re-opened, what programs are we providing for people? ‘Cause like there’s a lot of breweries I love. There’s a lot of like, you know, wineries I love. I can’t buy them all once this over. You know? Like I can run and do everything at the same time, which is why, you know, I am fearful that a lot of people that do not deserve to go out of business will go out of business, just because like there’s just not gonna be enough people that are gonna come…go to every place they love right when this this is over. And so, you know, getting on your phone and calling your congressperson and calling your senator is really, really important.

E: Yeah.

A: Yeah. And it’s also the only way that you can, as Adam is saying, save this entire industry as opposed to a select few particular brands that you happen to care about, you know? I think it’s important….you know, I think look, there’s a reality that we have to face here, which is that there’s going to be, there already has been and there will be attrition that comes out of this, you know? Any incredibly traumatic, stressful period of time whether it’s a…just a purely financial crisis, a health crisis, or both is going to just inevitably cause some businesses, some producers that we dearly love to go out of business because it’s just there’s no two ways around it.

E: Yeah.

Z: But for trying to keep, you know, the previous….pre-Covid sort of landscape that I think we all really appreciated in this country, you know a really diverse set of producers of beer, wine and spirits, the likes of which we’d never seen in this country prior, we have to…yeah, it has to be a community but also a sort of national effort to keep those things alive. And it’s not just with this industry, obviously there’s lots of other industries where this is true. But obviously this is ours and the one we feel passionate about. And Adam is right, you know, buying a bottle of wine, a bottle of gin or, you know, a six-pack of beer from a local producer is one, important and maybe slightly more rewarding immediately way to support them. But it is really true, you know, taking that time to reach out to your congressional leadership, to encourage people that you know, your friends and family to do the same. You know, that’s the only way that there’s going to be programs in place to keep these industries alive not just during this crisis but as Adam mentioned afterwards because there’s gonna be a lot of you know, essentially….there’s gonna be a lot, it’s gonna be a long time before these industries really get back to full strength.

A: And I want to be clear here, like I’m not talking about just, you know, people might be listening and they might be like “Oh, Adam’s sitting here and he’s talking about like handouts,” that’s not all that I’m talking about. I’m talking about the loosening of laws as well to allow people to continue to do the things that they’re doing now, right? So, we talked about this last week but I’m talking about us lobbying our lawmakers to say: hey, let’s allow cocktail delivery to continue until people get back on their feet. Or for the foreseeable future, or maybe forever, right? Let’s allow for a lot of these restaurants to also sell their bottles to go, right? So like if I come into the restaurant, I have a great bottle of wine that night, why can’t I buy that bottle of wine to-go at a 25% reduction in price or something from the list? Why can’t I do that?

E: Yeah.

A: And then I can take it home and enjoy it down the road. Like this will allow people to bring in more revenue now. Like those are the things that we need to be talking about.

E: Yes.

A: So that these businesses can find other revenue streams in the short term in order to, you know, make more money right when they open. And if we don’t do that, if we just say, O.K., everyone has to go back to business as usual prior to Covid-19, it’s gonna be really hard and we’re gonna lose more businesses than we should.

E: Yeah, and I don’t think we can go back to business until there’s a vaccine, like we can’t…I don’t think there’s a real tangible path forward for a lot of businesses. I mean imagine how far you’ll have to be spaced-out to really meet those social distancing guidelines. A lot of businesses will not be able to accommodate that. So its…I think yeah, I absolutely agree that the congressional and the governmental responses are going to be key to this. But I think that, you know, even with that there will be a big culling of a lot of businesses that we, you know, love and support.

A: Totally. Well guys, hopefully the moral of the story here is: talk to your elected officials. ‘Cause it’s gonna be the best way…I know we talked about this a few months ago when it came to the tariffs and it’s time now again. If you listened to us then and contacted your elected officials, thank you. Please contact them now. The hospitality industry as a whole, whether its craft producers like we’ve talked about a little bit today or just, you know, restaurants and bars in general is one of the largest employers of people in the United States. So, you know, it’s really important that we support this industry so that everyone can get back to work. So please, please, please call them and tell them to support the industry, it would be….it’s vitally important.

E: Yep.

Z: 100% right.

A: So, thank you guys so much for listening as always and Zach and Erica, I’ll talk to you next week.

Z: Sounds good.

E: Hang in there!

A: Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair podcast. If you enjoy listening to us every week please leave us a review or rating on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever it is that you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show. And now for the credits:

VinePair is produced and hosted Zach Geballe, Erica Duecy, and me: Adam Teeter. Our engineer is Nick Patri and Keith Beavers. I’d also like to give a special shout-out to my VinePair co-founder Josh Malin and the rest of the VinePair team for their support. Thanks so much for listening and we’ll see you again right here next week.

The article VinePair Podcast: Will Small Drinks Brands Survive the Covid-19 Crisis? appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/vinepair-podcast-small-brands-covid-19-crisis/ source https://vinology1.tumblr.com/post/616018081886748672

[lightningcola]

((I said I’d post info on my ocs eventually so here it is lol. Also here’s a link to all art I have posted of them.))

ღBasic Infoღ

Full Name~ Sommy Childs/Booker Meaning~ none

Nickname/Preferred Name~ Sommy

Age~ 24

Age They Look~ 17-19, they age way slower than they should

Birthday~ February 13th Zodiac Sign~ Aquarius

Gender~ nonbinary/agender Pronouns~ they/them Sexuality~ aro/ace

Ethnicity~ generic white

Voice~ nasally, annoying. Loud when they're trying to be Extra™, no particular accent

Known Languages~ English

Theme Song(s)~ Young and a Menace - Fall Out Boy, Monster - Imagine Dragons

Theme Color~ bright green

ღPhysical Appearanceღ

Species~ human Skin color~ pale, pallor, a little sickly

Birthmarks~ none

Hair color~ black and green Hair length~ right above their shoulders, slightly curly and choppy, it grows super fast so they’re constantly trimming it, sometimes they get lazy and it grows out pretty long

Hair Texture~ generally kinda greasy, the dyed part is fried

Hair Dye(s)~ green streak on their left side Eye Color(s)~ dark purple Height~ 5′2 Weight~ 120 lbs but it varies pretty drastically

Body Build~ they’re short but they’re pretty strong

Blood Type~ AB-

Freckles~ none Tattoo/Scar/Piercings~ scars below left eye, right cheek, and hands from being thrown out a window. Scar on neck from getting their head almost chopped off by a couple cult weirdos. It gives them a raspy voice and affects their breathing, they just start wheezing sometimes. Scars on palms from themself. Scar on right shoulder from getting shot and scar on left thigh from getting slashed that causes their arm and leg to get stiff if it gets cold or if they don’t move it for a while. Glasses/Contacts/General Eyesight~ no glasses, good eyesight

Dominant Hand~ right

Scent~ coppery or metallic, hair bleach

ღFashionღ

General Description~dark clothes with collars or scarves

◇Formal◇ Switches between dresses and suits. They prefer dresses that they can run in, normally with long sleeves and a collar to cover up scars. ♧Pajamas♧ T-shirt and boxers usually, their favorite sleep shirt is an old Fogbank one ♤Usual Clothes♤ Turtleneck with black jeans and their usual trench coat, also their terribly edgy boots

ღHealthღ

Smoker?~ heavy Drinker?~ yes Drugs?~ used to do party drugs, due to their healing factor though drugs affect Sommy less and less as the time goes on. Endigo still affects them, though they only take it occasionally since it heightens their abilities then wipes them out for like a whole day, also they get pretty sick afterward, like the world's worst hangover. Issues?~ boi u bet

Allergies~ none

Mental Disorders~ none diagnosed

Physical Disabilities~ none Medication?~ sleeping pills, they have to take like way more than the recommended dose

Addictions?~ smoking, drinking Diet~ whatever's cheapest and closest. Since they use a lot of energy healing, they have to eat a lot more than the usual person.

Sleeping Habits~ They really don’t sleep well ever, they have a lot of nightmares. They actually need more rest than the average person so the lack of sleep double affects them. Sommy lives off mostly coffee and energy drinks. They can really only sleep comfortably when they’re around other people they trust. Because of this they always fall asleep when people hang out with them. Most people think it’s pretty rude, Rinnah especially. Sommy never explains why they fall asleep like that either so that doesn’t help anything. Void and Azariah do their best to accommodate this and often just hang around Sommy so they can actually get enough sleep. Neither really mention that they go out of the way to do this because Sommy would probably get super defensive. Sommy secretly really appreciates it though.

ღLifestyleღ

Bus?~ sometimes Train?~ sometimes Car?~ if they can steal one Others?~ would Love to ride a motorcycle

Neighborhood~ Usually a sad motel or a shitty apartment Upper/Middle/Low~ middle? I guess?

Education Level~ didn’t finish high school

Occupation~ hitman, works for Adelaide, professional older sibling to a bunch of mutant kids

Past Occupations~ bodyguard, courier

Dream Job~ FBI agent

Income~ $30,000 minimum each job

Goals~ not be such a terrible person, make a difference in someone’s life, help all the kids their parents fucked over, kill Adelaide 

Living with~ their own self-destructive ass, later they sorta kinda move in with Void.

ღTraitsღ

Optimistic or Pessimist~ pessimist Dangerous or not~ dangerous Daredevil or Cautious~ daredevil Introvert or Extrovert~ extroverted introvert Unorganized or Organized~ unorganized Logical or Emotional~ wants everyone to think they're very logical but they actually get emotional quite a lot Workaholic or Relaxaholic~ neither Confident or Shy~ tries to present themself as confident but it's just false bravo Stressed or Relaxed~ can get overwhelmed easily especially if they’re tired, which is all the time. Normally they’re pretty good at compartmentalizing stress but not all the time.  

Timid or Assertive~ assertive but in the most asshole way possible

Loud or Silent~ loud Naughty or Nice~ naughty (not sure how I feel about this wording tho) Bookworm or Not~ not Philosophical or Realistic~ realistic Believer or See to Believe~ see to believe but boi have they seen some shit

ღPersonalityღ

Usual Mood~ Tired™, grumpy, existential despair Habits~ scratching their skin off because they like to watch it heal, falling asleep around others, nail biting (like their hair, their nails grow super fast as well)

Values~ really skewed sense of justice, everyone is bad in some way, they blame themself for their parents' mistakes and do their best to try and fix it at all times Social Skills~ bad, like really bad. They usually come across as arrogant or sarcastic though they can act pretty well if needed. So it's more like they can fake social skills if they care enough but normally they don't

Strength~ good fighter, loyal, very rel8able if you get to know them, would die for you if they could actually die Weaknesses~ bad, mean, addictive personality, won't take their problems seriously ever, blames themself for too much shit, would fight you over nothing Soft Spots~ people who actually care about them, fuzzy socks, cats (they like to feed the stray cats that hang out in the alleys where they stay) Angry when~ someone goes after their friends/family (cliché, I know), being mislead, gaslighted Relaxed when~ with friends, in quiet places, cats Nervous when~ in large crowds, asking people for things, talking about themself

Phobias~ crippling loneliness, the inevitability of life, people they care about hating them

Pet Peeves~ people misgendering them, people hitting on them, people touching them in general, loud drunk guys

Likes~ fighting, funny socks, sitting around with people they like, when they actually get real sleep, cats, they love cats

Dislikes~ nightmares, themself, most of the people they work with, Murder Mom

Natural Talents~ fighting, being weird

Skills~ being the unwilling older sibling to a bunch of random mutant kids

Secrets~ they’re kind of a depressing open book if you ask the right questions, they would tell you most things about themself, they just get really anxious and nervous when they do it

Biggest Secret~ the fact that they’re still alive and who their adopted parents are (they’re hiding from Booker)

Does Anyone Know?~ Void

Regrets~ their entire life

ღFavoritesღ

Color~ bright green, black, muted greyish colors

Season~ fall

Holiday~ Halloween

Food~ anything home cooked

Animal~ cats

Book Genre~ mystery/thriller

Movie Genre~ horror

Music~ emo bs, Fogbank but only on the dl

ღLeast Favoritesღ

Color~ any bright color that’s not green

Season~ Summer

Holiday~ Valentine’s day

Food~ gas station sushi, they keep buying it and it keeps making them wicked sick

Animal~ rats

Book Genre~ romance

Movie Genre~ romance

Music~ sappy love songs

ღPowerღ

Type of Power~

Hemokinetics: they can control their own blood and any they touch. Usually, they form stake-like weapons since they're the easiest to make though they can make sharp edged weapons as well. Anything complex takes more energy and focus. They can only lose so much before they pass out from blood loss though they can absorb other people’s blood. Sommy can also sense injuries and illness in others and track people. They can also warm and cool their body temperature which allows their emo ass to wear their trenchcoat in the middle of summer.

Healing Factor: they heal faster than a normal human, but not at Deadpool or Wolverine levels. A cut or scrape takes anywhere from a minute or two to an hour or two to heal, bigger wounds take maybe a couple days. Cracked bones take about a day and broken bones can take up to a week depending. The problem with their healing is they can heal wrong very easily, like shattered bones can cause bone fragments to get lodged in muscle or joints which cause a lot of pain and they’re really hard to get out, bones can heal crooked which means Sommy has to re break them. When they were younger, they healed by producing a lot of scar tissue which is why old injuries still affect them/get stiff and stuff. They assume they got some bad internal injuries when they were a kid because they just get stabbing pains or they cough up blood. They know they can’t die from this but it scares the fuck out of Void. Sommy also can’t really have surgery or anything unless they counteract their healing ability, which they can do but since they still have old internal injuries they get pretty fucked up from that. They’re immune to blood borne illnesses but they can still get colds, the flu, stuff like that, they just recover faster. If they get too injured and don’t have enough energy to heal, their body starts to eat away at itself, if it gets too bad they go into a coma like state.

Other: They’re immune to mental manipulation from other anomalies, often the result is the feeling like someone is scraping at their brain. It’s not unbearable just uncomfortable and annoying. This goes for all anomalies.

Flaws~ they have to keep account of how much blood they've lost or else they will Die™, their healing factor will fuck them up if they’re not careful Accuracy~ relatively accurate? Control~ they're really good at the crude stakes and blades but anything too complex is difficult even if they're not fighting, though they get better with practice, they’re working on a claw thing

ღWeaponღ

Choice of Weapon(s): •hunting knife •handgun •shotgun, if they wanna get fancy Favorite/Main Weapon~ handgun Control~ pretty good Accuracy~ they are a great shot Flaws~ they always frickin run out of ammo because they never bring enough, they usually have to use a gun or something if they don’t plan on killing the person because they’d rather not show them their freaky blood power

ღRelationsღ

Mother~

Carol Childs. Sommy's birth mother, she was not ready for a kid and didn't want one either. She mostly liked to watch Sommy react from her yelling at them. She wasn't pure evil but she didn't have many good qualities either. She was the enforcer and the business part of the family business.

Joyce Booker. A police lieutenant, Joyce turned to adopting kids after witnessing too many shipped off to foster care. She tried her best in raising Sommy and Ophelia, giving them all the help she could think of, though she could be too over enthusiastic and overbearing at times. Sommy regrets not telling her how much they appreciated her. She was the kind of mom that the kid thinks is a little embarrassing but everyone else thinks is really cool.

Father~

Lyle Childs. He was a master scientist, the creator of the drug that caused Sommy’s powers. Sommy would have loved to hate him but he didn't interact with them long enough for them to know anything about him. Though Sommy did look him up after they were adopted, reading up on all of the terrible stuff he did.

Craig Booker. He was a quiet man, always worried about saying something wrong. However, he did love his children and tried to express that as much as he could, even when Sommy had gotten into Another fight and he had to go pick them up early from school again. Sommy liked just sitting with him because they felt like they didn't have to talk or say that everything was great.

Sister~

Ophelia Booker. She was 3 years older than Sommy, however, they both got along like they had known each other forever. They could talk to each other about all the stuff that had happened to them. Ophelia supported Sommy any way she could and Sommy did their best to lend a hand in Ophelia's cyborg rights activism. Even after they ran away, Sommy still donated to her cause every year. People would try to convince Ophelia that they were dead but she wouldn't listen and continued to look for Sommy for years. She was eventually rightfully pissed off when she found out they were still alive and had been hiding from her for years.

Cousin~

Connie “Void” Greenglass. Sommy and Void didn't really talk outside family get together's before Sommy disappeared. To be fair, Void was 3 years younger than them. However, they reunited after Sommy found them 7 years later. In that time, Void was working as a reporter, mostly writing fluff pieces, waiting for a big story. Sommy brought them the story of a criminal empire that had its fingers in almost every facet of the city. After minor convincing, Void agreed to write the story as long as they managed to dig up enough evidence. In their “investigation” time they saw more shit than they ever wanted. One of the worst times was when Sommy got their side ripped open by the guy they were supposed to be following. Void is a bit of a doormat and doesn't really call Sommy out on a lot of the shit they probably should. They also promise Sommy not to tell Ophelia about what they've been doing, which really does not go over well when Ophelia eventually finds out.

Friends~

Rinnah Iyver. Sommy and Rinnah don't get along due to their clashing personalities and the fact that Sommy's super annoying. Also due to the fact that Rinnah knows they’re involved with Endigo. Since her father was killed due to her mother’s inability to pay back her debt owed to Loorka, and her mother was in debt because of her drug addiction, Rinnah tends to blame the substance and anyone related to it. However, they both kind of have to get along because Sommy is best friends with Rinnah’s brother and Rinnah is dating Sommy's sister.

Cypher Nox. Sommy has a weird feeling around him, like someone’s scratching the back of their brain every time he talks, also they can't shake the feeling that he looks really familiar. Despite this they both get along well enough, often bonding over traumatic childhoods which Cypher is really cryptic about.

Viper Anguis. Sommy deemed Viper the “coolest” of the group. They often join him and Cypher for a drink. They also like to spar with him because he's a skilled hand to hand fighter due to his experience in an underground fight club.

Lacy Rosecrans. Sommy met her after hearing reports of weird mass mood fluctuations. After investigating the area they found Lacy, an anomaly with empathic abilities that she couldn’t control. Since she was one of the first anomalies Sommy had found at that point, and the most understanding and, well, normal, they bonded pretty quick, Sommy being like an older sibling to her. They both talk often and Sommy will do whatever is within their power to help her when she occasionally loses control over her abilities.

Asher Iravit. One of Void’s closest friends, after he told them about his ability to turn invisible, Void introduced him to Sommy. Ash is a bit too goofy for Sommy but they get along well, especially with having Void as a sort of buffer. He’s often called to “babysit” Sommy by Void when they’re especially worrying them.

Margot Mentior. She’s a counterfeiter who provides Sommy with passports, fake IDs, and other documents. They both met when she tried to ask Sommy out at a bar, after declining, Sommy and her began talking. They found out both their jobs were outside the law and Sommy did their best to warn her about Adelaide. Margot appreciated the advice and offered Sommy a discount if they ever needed her services. They stayed in contact and she is one of the few people Sommy trusts almost absolutely.

Best Friend~

Azariah Iyver. Sommy saved his life after he was attacked by a couple assholes. He lost an eye but probably have lost more if Sommy hadn't stepped in and kicked their asses. After recovering, Azzy realized he had never thanked the person who had saved his life. Using his computer skills and connection to other hackers, he tracked Sommy down. They didn't remember saving him and he didn't bring it up. They talked for a long time online. They told him about Adelaide and he convinced them to do something about her. Azzy is probably the only one who believes Sommy has the capability to change for the better.

Enemies~

Adelaide Creed. Originally Sommy viewed her as a parental figure. She taught them the ins and outs of the criminal business and started to groom them to be the second in command of her empire. After a while though, Sommy realized that she really wasn't as nice as she had originally seemed. They realized she was a monster. Adelaide had made Sommy her project and spent her time gaslighting and manipulating them into what she wanted.

Other~

Needlehands. He's a back alley monster doctor who does as much experimentation on his patients as he does actually fixing them. After his creator died, Needlehands tried to continue his work. He met Sommy when they were bleeding out from, what looked like, a half decapitation. He was amazed how they were still alive and patched them up. After finding out about their abilities, he just wanted to study them further. Needlehands made a deal with Sommy, he'd fix them up and help them out and they would let him look into what actually happened to them in regards to their abilities. After a while, Needlehands began to get really protective over them so now Sommy has a monster dad. He also helps Sommy research Endigo, its effects and a way to counter it.

Lewis “Trace” Harvey. He's a mediocre hacker employed by Adelaide. Sommy started blackmailing him to get him to do things for them. He's a disrespectful, insensitive asshole but Sommy has to put up with him if they want anything techy. However, after they meet Azzy they planned on killing Trace to make sure he didn't spill any info on them. Lucky for him, Void stepped in to watch him which they later regret.

Hydrea “Drea” Vannie. She is obsessed with Sommy, constantly trying to be their girlfriend. Too bad for her, Sommy absolutely despises her. They would love to kill her but Drea’s dad is a high ranking politician and she's also employed by Adelaide. Sommy assumes she was hired just to annoy them as Adelaide has said she finds her “very amusing”.

Johnny Clayborn. He also works for Adelaide and is one of the few people that genuinely scare Sommy. After he first got hired, Sommy was tasked to follow and observe his methods. Turns out he’s a cannibal that eats most of the people he kills and dissolves the rest. His love of zombies and weird, quiet nature really doesn’t help the unbelievably creepy vibe he gives off at all times. Sommy tried to hide the fact that he scared the piss out of them, especially when he kept inviting them for dinner.

Crushes~

none

Past Relationships~ none

Current Relationship~

none

Relationship Status~

single, forever

ღLifeღ

Birth/Infancy~ Sommy's birth parents were about as criminal as you could get. Involved in drug cooking, they were both hailed as geniuses due to their creation of a new drug, named Endigo. Taken as an adult, the side effects could vary from sleep paralysis type hallucinations to seizures. However, children exposed before birth and who have suffered traumatic events can develop brain anomalies leading to strange abilities and for some reason, strange eye color.

Childhood~ Sommy was involved in their parents' drug manufacturing, doing small tasks like packaging and the like as soon as they were able. They saw more than their fair share of shit during that time though they don't remember much. When they were 9, their parents were caught and arrested. Sommy seemed to be headed for an orphanage when they were adopted by a couple, the Bookers. Mrs. Booker was the Sergeant involved in the arrest of Sommy's birth parents. Along with new parents, Sommy now had a sister as well, Ophelia Booker, she was 2 years older than them. The Bookers did their best to take care of Sommy and help them recover. Teenhood~ Sommy was a handful as a teenager. They were rebellious and often lashed out at those around them because they didn't know what else to do. Their parents tried to curb this behavior by signing them up for fighting classes, hoping that they wouldn't have to fight other kids then. In this time Sommy's powers were also developing, though they keep this mostly to themself in fear of being seen as a freak, especially by their new family. They didn't want their irrational fear of being abandoned because of being so terrible to come through. At the age of 16, both Sommy's parents were killed in a home invasion gone wrong. They were out with their sister at the time. They always suspected there was more to it than that though. A lot of evidence just didn't add up. Infuriated by everything getting swept under the rug, Sommy ran away hoping to find out the truth. AdultHood~ After killing the man who was directly responsible for their parents' death, Sommy realized that they couldn't go back home to Ophelia like this. They viewed themself as a horrible person and was at a loss of what to do with their life. They felt like they didn’t deserve their adopted family’s love so they started using the Childs name again. Spiraling down, they started taking jobs as bodyguards for low lives and then that escalated to doing hit jobs. During that time, they made friends with a monster of a back alley doctor nicknamed Needlehands who did just as much experimentation on people as he did actually patching them up. Obviously, Sommy raised him up to be their father figure. They also fell into business with a woman named Adelaide Creed. She ran an empire on the backs of criminals, getting her hands on anything she could use to further her power and wealth. As more of a personal project, she warped Sommy's sense of purpose and self-image and gaslighted them until they couldn't remember the person they used to be. She wanted Sommy to be her successor, especially after finding out about their abilities. Eventually managing to snap out of the bloody haze they had been in for seemingly years, Sommy realized how much of a monster Adelaide really was. They decided they needed to tear her down from the inside. It was around this time that Sommy started to notice vague reports about kids with strange abilities. Realizing there were more people like themself, Sommy started looking for answers, eventually realizing it was their parent’s drug that was causing the anomalies. They took it upon themself to help these kids and keep them out of the government’s, or anyone’s radar. By blackmailing a chemist with reports of him falsifying results causing children's deaths, Sommy managed to get a sort of reverse version of Endigo that nullified abilities for a short while. They still had all their parents research that they had stolen years ago. Sommy killed the chemist after he gave them instructions on how to make the stuff. They then set out to help as many kids as they could because if they weren’t gonna do it who was? They also saw it as fallout from their parents, which fell on them to clean up.

OldHood~ Sommy continues to deal with the anomalies even after they outlive everyone they had known. Due to their healing ability, they can’t really die and just focus on moving forward and doing what they can.

[ecotone99]

[HM] Feel free to name this thing - Untitled

“I need to get my shit together” I told myself once again, to see if it would change anything this time. In a dazed state I picked up my little box filled with the old Mary Jane and I rolled another flawless doobie. Never quite flawless though, I could never get the little space between the filter and the thick part to stay even without wrinkling it. Whatever.

I was determined to quit this time, as I had been numerous times before. I was done with it, goodbye, sayonara. All I had to do was get rid of the last of it. But what am I? Some sixteenth century monarch? I’m not gonna throw that shit away, I already spent five hundred kroners on it. So, no. I’ll smoke the rest of it, you know? One more for the road and then this monkey on my back could go fuck itself.

I put my good headset on, carefully picked out the songs I wanted to listen to and went out on the veranda to light up. I have later come to realize that smoking pot at four o’ clock in the afternoon might not be the best idea in general, but even more so if you’re going out later. But this was a younger, less mature version of myself, whom had not yet grasped the delicate intricacies that proper social occasion etiquette demands. Also, it made me rather paranoid. Which does not a happy camper make, when you’re riding public transportation.

Anywho, I smoked the damned thing and sat in my room fiddling my guitar for a few hours. I didn’t feel sober, but not quite as high either, so I rolled another. Because of course, I had to have one for the road. I was running late. I was to attend the celebration of my friend Sam’s date of birth. I dug Sam, even sort of looked up to him in a way. He just had this way of making everybody like him, by just being himself. Inspiring both envy and admiration on my part. Sam wasn’t a big smoker. Big drinker! But deep down he was a proper guy, you know? Didn’t wanna do anything illegal. But I had passed him a joint once, after he gave me one of those “All right, maybe just one hit” during recess. So, in some fucked up way I had convinced myself that he was the kind of guy that was just cool with it. Or maybe that he was one of those guys that just did it every once in a while. And me, being the kind of broke I still am, figured the last bit of weed would make a nice present for him. So, I rolled it up real nice, tied a little red bow around it and tied that to one of those miniature whiskey bottles. I thought it was nice and I felt pretty happy about myself for having thought of it. A nice little gift. And cost efficient.

So, I picked out an outfit of some sort. It’s difficult to succumb to the insecurity of vanity while under the influence, but I managed. My bus was leaving soon and I grabbed my essentials and headed out. Keys, phone, headset, lighter, cigarettes and wallet. Never leave home without them. I lit a cigarette and began speed walking. Eventually escalating to an inefficient run. Hoping the smell of cigarette would disguise the smell of pot.

By the time I actually made it to the party, I was what I liked to refer to as - fashionably late, and the uncomfortable anxiety of rolling up to a party full of people by yourself came creeping down my spine. They were all sitting around a set table in their garden. Filled with empty beer bottles and paper plates with barbecue sauce and potato salad on them. This was the inner circle of friends. The friends that get invited to the dinner, before the people you’re obligated to invite shows up. I recognize about two or three people I like, and a slight relief washes over me.

Sam stands up and greets me with a warm hello and a hug. “Hey man! Glad you could make it!”.

“Yeah, of course, bro, of course” I say modestly “And hey, I have a gift for you”.

“Aw, come on man, you don’t have to do that”.

“No, no, here man. Happy birthday”.

I reach into the inside pocket of my jacket and smirk as I hand it to him. “I hope you like it”.

His smile lasts for about two seconds, before he notices the joint and takes it out of the bow.

“Ah thank you, man… ugh, what’s this though? A cigarette?”

I laugh. “No man, it’s a joint. I figured you could save it for a special occasion or something”.

The pitch in his voice raises a little and his smile fled.

“Oh… thanks man, but I don’t do that kind of stuff”.

“Oh… uhm, well you could just save it for later or something. Might be nice to have during a hangover or something”.

“Nah man, I don’t do that kind of thing”

The people at the table watch in silence with open eyes and blank faces.

“Oh, okay, uhm… I’ll just keep it then. Well at least take the little whiskey bottle”

“Yeah, yeah, definitively man, thank you”

I put the joint back in the inner pocket of my jacket and sit down awkwardly. I say hello to all the people I’ve never met, desperately pretending that I didn't just shit the bed like that. I open a beer and attempt to engage in the usual polite conversations and jokes. What school do you attend? Who do you hang with? Ah, fuck that guy! So on, so forth. I didn’t need to drink at a faster pace than usual, as the default setting in Norway, the industry standard if you will, is to drink until any trace of social awkwardness is eradicated.

Don’t knock it, till you try it. It’s a rather effective, result orientated procedure. Myself, gradually, becoming a prime example.

After a while, the mood improves amongst the group, especially after a few more people show up. I had already decided to rock the casaba when the party decided to hit the town. I was going to go meet my boys at a different spot. I went up to Sam, thanked him for inviting me and told him happy birthday again.

“Ah you’re leaving?” he said.

“Yeah, I promised the guys I’d hook up with them later”

“I see. Hey, man, thanks for coming”

“Of course, man. Wouldn’t miss it. Enjoy the rest of your evening”

“Thanks, you too!”

It’s always so obvious when someone doesn’t really want you there. You can tell by if they fight your decision to leave or not. If they don’t give you one of those - “No, stay a little longer” or a “come on, don’t be a little bitch, stay here”, odds are, that they are kinda happy to see you leave. But in this particular case I didn’t mind. I knew these weren’t my people. Practically a different breed. I chugged down my beer, put my headset back on and fled the coop.

An hour or so later I was with my boys in the city. At this point I was the kind of intoxicated that would make Hillary Clinton leave a Christmas party. I didn’t want to seem like a bitch, so I drank just about everything that was put in front of me. Didn’t matter to me. I never enjoyed the process of forcefully swallowing high percentage liquids. But that’s the way she goes, bud. Somewhere along the evening I run into some people from work and I end up going to some new place with them.

Next thing I know, I’m being denied entrance at some club at three o’ clock at night. I don’t recall arguing with the doorman, but you never know. So, I figured fuck it. The night is officially over and I start walking towards the central station to catch the last bus home. On my way there, I check what time the bus is leaving on my phone and realize I have twenty-five minutes. I stop for a moment and remember the rejected little rascal in my inner pocket. Fuck it, one more for the road, huh?

Remember kids, don’t mix alcohol and pot after three. I mean, call me old-fashioned, but it’s just not a sustainable agenda.

I manage to board the bus, despite it being completely full. But as it began driving, I felt every turn, every road bump and my vision started blurring while the horrid night bus aroma flooded my nostrils. I tamed my stomach for a few stops, before decorating the aisle in cheap beer, vodka red bull and microwaved convenience store calzone. I heard the voices of the people in the seats behind me, and felt they’re eyes on me. I pass out.

Sometime later, an angry sounding man wakes me up. “YOU CANNOT SLEEP IN DA SEAT!”

I open my eyes but can’t focus. It’s blurry as shit, but I recognize the familiar depressing yellow lights and grey interior. I sit up. “YOU CANNOT SLEEP ON DA BUS!”

I look down and see the pool of puke I’ve been sleeping in and I wipe my face with my sleeve. Raising my head, to the best of my ability, a bus driver uniform appears to be lurking above me.

“Ugh…” I muttered.

“DID YOU HEAR ME? HUH! YOU CANNOT SLEEP IN DA SEAT!”

“Yeh, yeh, I hear you…” I stutter.

He mumbles angrily as he walks away and I lay back down in the vomit seat and fall asleep.

“Hello! Hello! Can you hear me?” A woman asks.

I open my eyes slightly. Big blur. I raise my head again. This time it’s a black silhouette standing above me. The piss colored bus lights were barely bright enough to let me recognize the police uniform.

“You can follow me”.

I gather all my strength to stand up and walk out of the bus.

Ah fuck, fuck, fuck! Come on, think fast, come on… think.

I sat down on the bus stop bench and the bus left. They were waiting here for me. Just a few more stops and I would have been home.

Come on motherfucker, think. Don’t let them see your eyes. Think! Come on, come on, come on…

“You been partying tonight?”

“I’VE BEEN DRINKING!” I blurt out.

They hold my head up by the hair and put a flash light to my face and I squint like a blind man to avoid them seeing my blood red eyes.

“Have you taken anything else tonight?”

“Nah… just drinking!” I say.

“All right, do you have any I.D. on you?”

I give them my I.D. and I already know how fucked I am. I’ve had been busted once before and that’ll definitively show up if they do a search.

“You can come with us sir” the lady says, and they put me in the back of the van.

It was like a tiny compartment, barely large enough for one person, with tinted, barred windows and no door handle. They start driving and I can’t feel which way the car is going.

Ah fuck, I’m going to have sleep in that fucking cell again. Where am I going to get the money for the fine? I’m gonna have to ask mom for it! God fucking damn it, man. Fuck! Now I’m gonna have another spot on my record! Fuuuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUUUUUUCK!

Fifteen minutes before the car finally stops and I hear footsteps coming.

God damnit, why me? It’s just fucking pot, it should be legal anyways. What right do they have to tell me what to do? I didn’t sign up for this shit! I didn’t choose to be a part of this system! How come they can just fuck me over like this? Red, white and blue, huh? The colors of freedom up until they’re flashing in your back window of your car! Fuuuck, dad is gonna kill me!

The door opens and the lady lets me out. I stumble out, barely able to stand upright. I’m shaking. Knees feeling weak like I’m slim shady. I’ve never had a particular hate towards religious people, but up until that point I had most definitively been an atheist. But in that moment, I laid my eyes upon the beautiful, grey-ish, standardized apartment building commonly known as home and I knew there had to be a God.

Those beautiful fucking pigs drove me home! Thank God for the police! Thank you, God! I’ll never fuck up again as long as I live! God, I swear, I love you so fucking much right now! I will suck your dick God! As much as you want! Shit, I’m sorry! Not supposed to… I will hold thy name holy and the glory and all that sir! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I don’t know which one of you is the real one and what not, but you know… man in the sky, I get it. Be good towards others and what not! Thank you, God damnit!!! YEEEEES! PRAISE JESUS! Or, you know, whom ever…

“Is there anyone home with you?” the lady asks.

“Yes! My mom is home, she’s asleep”

“All right, you’re going to have to go tell her that you’re sick, okay?”

“Yeah, yes, not a problem”

When we get to the apartment, I pretend to be sick and go in to the bathroom to try and gather myself a little.

You’re almost there, bud, you just have one more job to do…

I make vomit sounds for a few minutes and drink some water. That lump of fear you get in your stomach returns harshly as I walk out of the bathroom and see them waiting in the doorway. I walk quietly over to my mother’s bedroom and knock on the door.

“Hey mom… hey mom” I whisper.

She jumps as she wakes up, looking angry as all hell.

“What!?”

“Don’t freak out, the cops are here but it’s all good”

“What?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, they just drove me home that’s all. I was too drunk”

“You’ve been smoking?”

“Yes, but they don’t know that. I said I was just drunk, they said I had to tell you I’m sick before they could leave”

“For fucks sake, you have to calm down!”

“I know, I know, I’m gonna make them leave”.

“They’re still here?”

“Yes, but just go back to bed, it’s fine. They told me I just had to let you know I was sick”

“For fucks sake, you need to quit doing this!”

“I know, mom, I will”

I close the bedroom door and walk over to the cops. I thank them for driving me home and wish them goodbye. I brush my teeth, drink some water and lie down in my bed. I check the time. 05:34. I look at the roof of my bedroom and breathe deep.

Haha… Hah… hahahah… HAHAHAHAHA!

“Jesus Christ… I really need to get my shit together” I say out loud to myself. Thinking it might make a difference this time.

submitted by /u/saulgoodmamayne [link] [comments] via Blogger https://ift.tt/30bcxI4

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My friend wants to move into an apartment with me, we are both in college so we want to be roommates, but her parents say that they will not pay her health insurance if she moves out. Since she is a student, she is going to be a dependent of theirs for a few more years. Does being a dependent of her parents legally obligate the parents to pay her health insurance?""

Can someone help me find car insurance for my dad?

my dad is looking for a car insurance company that insures anyone who drives his car, ie. his children. is this possible? what insurance companies offer this type of insurance?""

How much do I pay monthly to insurance to cover a Acura rsx?

I am 19 thinking of buying an Acura rsx but I've been doing research & noticing that the insurance for that car is very high? Does anyone know how much a month would I have to pay & if anyone knows the best insurance company to get for the car? I'm looking for the cheapest deal? Help please

Double Health Insurance Coverage?

I was recently laid off and offered a severance package that included continuation of full health insurance coverage for 6 months for me and my spouse; I will begin another job which offers health insurance; can I be enrolled in both plans under my name? and What happens with pre-existing conditions?

How does a 17/18 year old find cheap car insurance?

i am looking for cheap car insurance but finding it difficult,anyone got any ideas or methods""

Buying a Car and Insurance Question!?

Im getting a car this weekend (hopefully) and my dad said he will set a date to go to a friend of his that sells good cars for cheap, but my dad wants it under his name. I don't trust my dad and I want the car under MY name, but he said that the insurance will cost more. If I put the car under MY name, but put the car under his insurance, will it cost more because the car is under my name or will it cost the same? I don't want to pay for the car and then when its finished, he takes the car saying that its under his name and I cant do anything about it. How much would I pay for insurance?""

Car insurance for 5 weeks - where from at a good price?

I know Google will happily direct me to tons of crappy comparison sites, but I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions for a cheap car insurance in the UK for around 5 weeks. 28 days offered by many temp companies is slightly too short and probably too expensive, as is a year policy!""

Insurance question for duis?

Alright, im 22 years old and i have 3 duis in a matter of 2 years. Im getting my liscence back in 5 months after losing it for a year. how much will my insurance be so i can be ready for the cost?""

How much would insurances cost on a 88 corvette?

im am going to be 16 and going to get a red corvette i was wondering how much would insurance cost for it and i live in CA in LA i well be under my moms insurance pollicy so what would u think it would cost i drive the car a lot and all the car is for looks it not for racing and pick a up all the girls and go to party lol

What medical insurance is cheap in California? ?

Is there medicaid n Cali ? Or just Oklahoma

Does my mom HAVE to be on MY car insurance?

So here's the deal -- I am getting a new car soon and my mom wants me to get my own insurance so her bill doesn't go up (she normally pays $70/month, but once I was added to her policy the bill went up $85 -- and that was with just ONE car). And now that I am getting my own car, my mom knows that the insurance is going to sky rocket and that is why she wants me to have my own insurance. However -- according to all these insurance companies, my mom and I HAVE to add each other as drivers onto our policies since we live in the same household. My problem is this -- why is it that when I am getting a quote online and I add my mom as a driver (but have her EXCLUDED from the policy), the price is $1183 every 6 months, yet when I DON'T include her as a driver at all, the price drops down to $854? Do I HAVE to add my mom onto my car insurance even though she has her own policy with a different company and won't be driving my car -- ever? Seriously, the only time she will be in my car is when I am driving, and god forbid I do get into an accident, this insurance company covers myself and any relative that resides in the household. So would I REALLY have to add my mom onto my car insurance even though she won't be driving my car? I don't want to pay $400 more for someone who will never drive my car...""

How much i will paid from insurance Vauxhall Astra DR5 1.4 1995 year and where is the cheaper??

Vauxhall Astra DR5 engine1.4 made in 1995 year.I am looking from something cheap but good.

Is there a law in California stating that the newest driver(under18) has to get insured under the newest car?

Is there a law in California stating that the newest driver(under18) has to get insured under the newest car?

Old insurance vs new insurance?

if you start a new insurance policy at a different company on the same day you are suppose to start the old company do you still have to pay them or just let go

What type of insurance covers any driver who gets behind the wheeL?

and what is liability insurance and who does it cover?

affordable insurance services ks

affordable insurance services ks

Fast Car - With Decent MPG (cheap to insure?)?

Hey All. Looking to buy a new car: Current Car: Honda Civic Sport 1.6Li Petrol Wanting: Fast acceleration car possibly diesel turbo with good MPG if required. Distance to work travelled every day: 50 miles Open to all ideas/thoughts. I know with acceleration/speed comes price and loss of fuel mpg, but I'm sure theres a car that can be flexible under different driving conditions etc... Thanks again everyone, best answer to be choosen ASAP.""

Any insurance advice?

We're self employed looking for an health insurance that may cover pregnancy.

Car Insurance question reguarding the color of the car?

I wanted to know if buying a red or black car will make you car insurance go up? or will it make it higher? Im looking in to buying a red car and lots of people are tell me that if i buy a red car that my insurance will go up. Is this true? like what it the percentage of this? Can some one explain this theory to me?

Driving points for no insurance?

How many points do you receive for driving without insurance in michigan?

Does my mom need to add me to her car insurance?

So, I never got my permit. I have been waiting to turn 18. In the state of Florida. I do not need a permit 18 or over. My thing is . Her car insurance won't let me be on her insurance without a drivers permit or licence. I'm stuck now. I was wondering will the dmv require me to be on her insurance in order to take the drivers test ?""

Insurance on a car that is not registered to me ?

Can I get insurance if the car has not yet been transferred to me?

How much will my insurance go up from a provisional licence to a UK full licence?

I have recently started to learn to drive in my car with my dad. However my insurance is on a provisional licence how much will it go up by when I pass my test? My insurance company is Admiral and i'm 17 years old.

How much is car insurance for a 97 corolla?

please don't say ask your insurance company because i wont know until a couple days later. i just got my license and im 17 years old and i have a 97 corolla. The car isnt in the BEST condition but its still in pretty good condition and i was wondering how much would the insurance be considering i took driving classes at the school and am dadap certified (that alcohol lesson thing) thanks

Are there any affordable insurance companies out there for carpenters?

i need to obtain general liability and workers comp. to start my business. looking for affordable insurance in louisiana, (preferrably in baton rouge).""

Can auto insurance carrier deny claim due to their insured simply ignoring request for signed affidavit ?

Hi Have a question. My rear bumper was lightly tapped by 17 year old new driver. Damage is minor and cosmetic at $425. My car is only three years old and in perfect condition. The insured provided me all his insurance information and said to file a claim through his dad's insurance carrier. I called local police department 911 line to report minor collision. Officer responded and insured admitted to police officer that he tapped rear bumper. Police officer looked at my rear bumper and refused to make a police report as he said cannot issue a report unless damage is over $1500. I begged the officer repeatedly to please provide me even an incident report or something official like an affidavit as the teenager admitted to officer that he hit my rear bumper. Police Officer simply drove off and left me on the side of the road with a stranger. Of course now four weeks later, the insured and his father have simply ignored phone calls, emails and registered mail attempts by his insurance carrier to verify version. (not sure what version would be needed as my black paint is on his front bumper) I called the insured and his dad hung up on me twice. The insurance carrier told me they are denying and closing out the claim due to insured not responding. They said this is totally legal under Illinois State laws. (basically too bad, so sad) By the way this insurance company has unacceptable rating with state insurance board and BBB. I paid a body shop $425 in cash to fix car yesterday. Do I have recourse as I see my options would be to file a complaint with Illinois Banking and Insurance or file a small claims lawsuit against insured and insurance carrier (but that is an additional $119 court filing fee) Any ideas would be appreciated.""

Camaro Vs. Mustang which is cheaper?

Camaro vs. Mustang which is affortable? Would a 2012 Camaro Coupe more affortable than a Mustang 2012 Mustang. By affortable i mean like insurances/ gas/ and all that other stuffs. Which one is cheaper in total to own? TY

Who is the cheapest car insurance provider in Nichigan?

Who is the cheapest car insurance provider in Nichigan?

Ca insurance for teens cost?

how much does car insurance for a 16 year old person cost?

What is the average cost for insurance?

I am 18 Years old, and I know it seems to be more expensive when your younger. But if someone could help me out if you know the insurance cost per month with just state minimum coverage. and maybe some companies I could check out??""

Is this a good insurance plan?

This is all so confusing. I'm getting married June 15th and have to find my own health insurance for the first time.. Any input would be great! The premium for this plan is ...show more

Is proof of insurance required in California?

my accounting teacher challenged us and offered extra credit. He says liability insurance is not required in California and if i get pulled over and they ask for it, i can tell them that i'm only going to show license and registration and thats it. I can tell him legally i don't have to show proof of insurance. He was legitimate proof though. Help me prove him wrong please if he is indeed wrong. Thanks""

""First Car, insurance price etc :)?""

Hi all, I'm going to go into more detail and search more etc. when I get the car's reg, but for now I can only ask all of you :) I'm going to buy 1.6 ltr ford focus off of my friend for 800, 5 door, 2000 model I think so what kind of insurance would I be quoted on it usually? I don't want links to websites as I havent got all the details... but I havent passed my test yet and it will be my first car, plus I'm 18 so it could be a tad expensive I know :S Thanks for reading :)""

How can I lower my insurance?

I m paying 660 for insurance I have liability I live in upstate ny they told me my insurance was so high because they spotted me in brooklyn run a red light I work in brooklyn n my agent say I need to have a lease to lower my insurance again I wanna lower it to the max If any body got any advice or idea I will be glad to hear a few of them list all the possible options

How much money insurance can offer my car severely damage in accident 1999 Mitsubishi diamante 132000 mileage?

some one hit in front while i was waiting to traffic pass , i have aaa and they have state farm insurance.""

Insurance E-bike?

I live in california and I would like to know if I need an insurance for my e-bike if I hit someone or something. If you could post the web page you found it on that would be nice. Thanks

Pregnant with no health insurance?

I just moved from Washington to Massachusetts. I don't have Massachusetts health insurance and I'm now 4 weeks pregnant. I don't have a job right now since I just moved, but I'm trying to get one I can do throughout my pregnancy. I'm 17 and all of my family is in Washington. My first priority right now is getting health insurance so I can make sure my baby is healthy. I've been trying to do some research but have no idea where to begin. I want to know if anyone knows how a pregnant teenager can get affordable health insurance in Massachusetts. Or if it would be possible to get on my boyfriend's health insurance plan.""

How much is insurance for one day on a Rental Car?

I will be renting a car in April to pick up my fiance who will be arriving about 5 hours away, So I will be driving the car for 10 hours that day. I do not have insurance of my own so I will have to get some with the car that I rent.. about how much will it cost for the insurance? The car costs about 35$ for the day.. Thanks!""

How much would it cost to insure a Toyota 1985 corolla AE86?

I'm 18 and I am still under my parents insurance. I've only been driving on my own for a month or so. The car is a two door coupe.

1st time car insurance. Y are they charging me so much?

I had no idea car insurance was so expensive. Quotes so far for basic insurance: Progressive : $300 for 6 months Geicko: $455 for 6 months. Where can I find a better deal? My info: Male, 27 y/o, Got license at 18 y/o, 1990 Honda Accord (paid $900 for it), 180K miles No DUI's, accidents etc, this is my 1st car""

Moving to France - car insurance?

I am moving to France next week and will be taking my British registered car. I rang my insurers who told me that they would only insure me 'up to the ferry' and after that ...show more

affordable insurance services ks

affordable insurance services ks

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