#A Z Fell and queue

[dubiousduckears]

When Gabriel and Sandalphon visit the bookshop and do their eccentric pervert schtick, the customers are naturally giving them looks

What if that’s less about Gabriel and Sandalphon being weirdos and more that Aziraphale is not only tolerating it, but actually usher them into the back room after they announce their intention to buy a book rather than trying to politely bully them into abandoning the idea?

Also, everyone in the neighborhood is now convinced that he has a secret stash of porn for sale somewhere in the back room and the more he denies it, the more sure they are that it’s true.

[mystar-girl57]

𝐌𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐮𝐦

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟖

𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 || 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

Pairing: widowed!jake sully x fem reader

Warnings: reader has Thalassophobia (phobia of oceans/deep and large bodies of water), violence, quaritch, character death

Comments: God I cannot believe that we are almost at the end this was so hard for me to write

A scream ripped from your throat as you were yanked back on board and thrown to a near by wall. You fell to the ground in a pile. You looked around your eyes were up focaused and echoey footsteps ringed in your ears. You could just barely make out the black boots that sauntered to you before a hand reached down and picked you up by your neck.

It was Quaritch.

“Looks like Sully got himself a new lady now. I always figured it was the one from before, Neytiri, is that what they called her?” You hissed and thrashed in his grasp making Quaritch grin. “Aw, was she important to you sweet heart?” He taunted, tightening his grip on your throat. “She died and up and left you with her litter I take it.”

You growled making Quaritch laugh. “I saw how you got Z-Dog killed, had her pined down and crushed by that whale thing. But now?” He shook you, “You as stuck as a dumb dolly.” He spoke to you in broken Na’vi switching back and forth to English and while you did not understand all that he said, you knew his words were meant to insult you.

Quaritch dragged you back to an area near the opening of the ship where Kiri stood captive and Tuk too. “Girls!” You cried out, then struggled more in his grasp. It was one thing for him to insult the dead and make you feel small, it was another when he hurt your girls. “Let them go!” You hissed as he set you down and handcuffed your hands behind your back. You wriggled trying to get out of his hold but you knew it was no use. Quaritch gripped your bicep dragging you closer to the front and away from Kiri and Tuk. The girls screamed out for you but there was nothing you could do.

When you got to the edge of the ship’s mouth it was well into the water as it sank. The tiny waves lapped at your toes and you instinctively moved back. Quaritch chuckled at your actions. “So they weren’t kidding when they said there was a hydrophobic na’vi among you savages. With how in touch with nature you are I thought you would’ve called the waves to save you at this point.” He sneered.

But his taunts fell on deaf ears when you looked out across the water at a flat rock peeking up over the water. Jake was there, Lo’ak and Tsireya too, but what concerned you the most was the body laying there. You watched Spider pulling Jake away from the body and into the water coming toward you.

“Here comes Papa,” Quaritch smirked, tearing your choker mic off your neck and holding it close to his lips. “Come on Jake. You’ve already lost one wife and now your boy along with it.” He yanked your queue pulling an involuntary scream from your lips before proceeding to kick you in the back of your leg forcing you to your knees. “You wanna lose another one.” As he said he realized what he was doing, he was luring Jake in so he could kill him.

“Do not bother.” You spat in broken English , your voice strained from your screams. “He does not care about me. I am not his wife, you are wasting your time.” Quarich simply pulled your queue back harder in response, his eyes staying on Jake waiting for him to come up out of the water.

You sat there on your knees beside the recom na’vi for what felt like an eternity. Blood caked your body from the scratches littering your body and from the splatters of your victims. Your breathing was labored and your hope was slipping. For the first time in years you closed your eyes and muttered a small prayer to your great mother. You did not ask her to forgive you of your sins, you were past that point. You asked her to protect your children, protect Jake, and if you were to die to let it be a noble death.

Soon little splashes echoed behind you causing Quaritch to turn around quickly, almost breaking your neck as he did since he was still holding your head back by your bread. You were too tired at this point to even scream. “Where are ya’ Jake?” He called, his voice ricocheting off the walls of the seemingly empty space. “Don’t cha’ know it’s rude to keep a lady waiting.”

You knew Jake was here, you could feel his angry gaze looking down on you both from above. For once you felt a sense of relief washing over you at his presence. As if on cue there was an echo of “GET DOWN!” followed by an explosion. The sound of the blast tore through your ear drums making you pull back. Fire errupoted around you, the grays and blues that surrounded you morphing into an angry red.

“Let her go Quaritch!” Jake’s voice barked making you and the Colonel look up to see Jake standing there. His ears were back and his tail lashing violently showing his anger. Cuts littered his body, the blood on him fresh. You knew it wasn’t his. “Ah! About time you showed up, figured with one wife dead in the ground you’d be quicker to come after this one.” Quaritch sneered making you hiss. With Jake here you found a new energy in you, more determination to escape. “This is between you and me. She has nothing to do with this.” Jake snarled.

Quaritch shook his head with a laugh, “You think she’s the only one on here? Got two of your brats back there too. Don’t think you wanna lose another kid today.” You stopped thrashing hearing his words and slowly tilted your head up to him. What did he just say? Quaritch noticed your look, a sick grin forming on his face. “Oh did you not hear Mama bear?” He grapped your jaw and forced you to look back at the rock where the body laid limp. “There lays your eldest. Team or whatever the fuck you savages called him.”

You turned your head the best you could Jake, your eyes begging for him to refute Quritch’s words but when Jake looked away a cry tore from your throat. Neteyam, your Neteyam was dead. You screamed your son’s name in pure agony that even Ewya might have felt a smidge of guilt. Seeing your display of pain made Quaritch laugh as he let go of you and shoved you harshly to the wet floor. He stepped over you, causually making his way to Jake.

“You lost soldier. It’s time to come in.” Quaritch reached behind his body to his back pocket and pulled out the reflective orange snap cuff. “Cuff yourself.” He ordered with a growl, any sign of mockery had left his voice. The band fell to Jake’s feet with a soft clatter but the motion was so powerful. He looked between you on the floor and Quartich standing in front of him, what was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to fight and risk it all, your life and his surviving kids' lives, the lives of the Metkayinan clan members that let them live in the village though they were outsiders. Or did he give in, admit defeat and let the damage fall on him.

“Now Corporal!” Quaritch hissed, pulling his knife out and aiming it at you. With one easy throw he could catch you in the side and you would bleed out like Neteyam in a matter of moments. “You son of a bitch!” Jake tried to hiss but it came out as a groan of distress as he picked up the cuff and snapped it to one side of his wrist. Quaritch grinned at the sight, letting his guard down and turning his back to you fully. He had finally won, he thought. After 15 long years he had finally won, it only took him going to hell and back but he won.

Then, it became deathly quiet and it became aparent to Quaritch and Jake that your wails could no longer be heard in the ship. Jake’s eyes widened in fear as he immediately assumed the worse. But when Quaritch turned around to look at you, both he and Jake were in shock to find that you weren’t there.

“Fuck!” Quaritch cussed, his moment of glory gone. It didn’t matter if Jake was in cuffs if you were still out there waiting to kill Quaritch. The military na’vi whorled around looking all around him from any sign of you and for the first time since he watched the video of his death back in the forest of Pandora, he felt scared.

He was back in the same setting all those years ago. Jake being in trouble and his wife hiding somewhere in the trees ready to fight for him. Panic bloomed in Quaritch’s chest but he did his best to ignore it. No, this time would be different, he promised himself. You weren’t in the forest, you were on a ship, a human ship, he had the upper hand. You did not know human technology, you hated it, you could not use it to your advantage, he tried to convince himself.

Jake stood behind him, his hands cuffed and his ears perked. He could hear you looking around on the catwalk just above him. There was a soft rattle and he knew you were searching for something followed by a ‘click.’ ‘There is no way’ he thought, realizing what you were doing. You despised Jake’s gun despite him dressing it to blend in with the rest of the Na’vi’s weapons, there was no way you were getting one of your own that went against all your morals. Then again, Jake came to think, if he had learned one thing about the na’vi since coming to Pandora, that the women were much more dangerous than the men, especially when provoked with the welfare of their young. He listened out for you quietly padding along the catwalk above him and he was thankful Quaritch hadn’t been taught to look out for such minuscule things in his surroundings. Jake just hoped you didn’t pick the biggest gun there was.

“Alright Sully where the fuck is she!” Quaritch demanded, rounding on the man. Jake snapped back to his senses and he took a moment to look Quaritch over. His breaking was quick and shallow, sweat began to trickle down his brow, his yellow eyes were blown wide. He was scared. Jake didn’t respond right away because out of the corner of his eye right behind Quaritch he could see three figures swimming twoards the boat. His kids. “Shit.” Jake cussed out loud by mistake and he quickly snapped his gaze away not wanting Quaritch to see them. Quaritch let out a roar of frustration and grabbed his knife holding it to Jake’s throat. “Tell me where she is!”

A gun shot rang out in response to his yell and both men ducked. They slowly turned to see the fresh bullet hole in the wall on the other side of them and when Quaritch looked to see where the shot had come from he saw you duck down dropping the gun. “Bingo.” He grinned, the adrenaline coursing through him masking his fear.

Quaritch let go of Jake and took off after you. One he was away the water splashed around the mouth of the ship as it sunk lower into the sea. Lo’ak and Tuk struggled to get up but when they did they instantly ran over to their father. Lo’ak pulled his hunting knife out and cut his father’s restraints. “I told Tuk to stay but she wouldn’t listen and we don’t know where Kiri is!” Lo’ak said quickly but Jake shook his head. “Son its fine, right now i need to go get your mother and you two get off the ship!” He began to ran down the hall but Tuk protested grabbing his hand. “I want to help mom!” Jake bit back his curses and tried to pry Tuk off him as calmly as possible. “This isn’t up for discussion Tuktirey. Go.” This time, he didn’t wait to listen to his daughter and continued down the dark hall.

It got darker as he went and groans echoed throughout the ship. It was going to go under soon, Jake figured, which meant he needed to at least get you out. The sound of shouts and metaling ringing started to get loud as he neared the end of the hall and he saw your body go across the room before you went back to the other side with your knife out. He quickened his pace to a run and when he got to the room, Quaritch was holding his arm, blood spewing from an open wound while you stood a few feet away hissing, too distracted by your anger to notice the water pooling around your ankles

Jake entered and sent a punch to Quaritch’s jaw knocking, making him fall into the water with a splash. “It’s over Quaritch!” Jake seethed, looking down at the man. “Your ship is sinking and your crew has abandoned you, you’ve lost!” Quaritch said nothing and Jake turned away with a huff coming over to you.

You were still dazed coming off your angry high. You didn’t even realize Jake was with you until he gingerly touched your face and you flinched. “Easy, easy baby.” He soothed, moving his fingers so his palm cupped your face. “It’s just me.” He whispered and you choked out a sob leaning into his hand while he pulled you closer to his body with his free hand.

The ship let out another groan and everything began to turn. You let out a yelp as your feet slipped out from underneath you and you were pulled by the water into a whirlpool formed by the water being sucked in through an open doorway.

“Shit!” Jake gasped lunching to grab you but a hand wrapped around his ankle making him fall onto his chest and you slipped out of his grip, carried downstream. “Gotcha!” Quaritch cried out in triumph and Jake let out a snarl. For once he decided to not think, to let his heart decide instead of his brain. He did what would benefit himself over everyone else and right now that was getting you. Using the heel of his foot Jake slammed down onto Quaritch’s nose making the Colonel reel back in pain, letting go of his ankle. Once he was free Jake let the current take him following you deeper into the ship and the room that he left Quaritch in collapsed.

You were panicking as the water carried you, not giving you even a second to try to grab onto something to stop its pull. It was just like the river when you were eight, carrying you away as punishment for your actions. You should have never snuck out of camp when you were eight and you should never have thought you could protect your family now.

The sound of your heart's quick unsteady beats filled your ears and you started to pant. There was no way you were getting out of this you thought. You had been lucky the past two times. Payakan saving you from the soldiers, Jake coming after you with Quaritch. But now, you were alone.

The dim lights flickered off as the ship fully capased and its inner electrical workings were deemed useless against the water.

Suddenly the current sped up and it sent you down into a dark hole. You fell for a few seconds before splashing down into an infinite darkness. There was no light in here, even the water did not dare to move. You felt suffocated in small space as your freckles barely glimmered in here, their attempts to shed any light was futile.

Just as you were going to give into hopelessness the waterfall surged above you and a loud yell sounded only to be cut short as the owner of the scream splashed down beside you. “Jesus Christ!” The figure spat standing up in the water, looking up from where they just fell, not yet noticing you. The moment you heard its voice, his voice you let out a cry of joy. “Jake!” You wrapped your arms around him feeling released to no longer be alone in the rising water. “Baby?!” Jake gasped feeling your arms around his abdomen and he did not hesitate to hug you back, picking you up slightly. His freckles showed bright and you were able to see his eyes. Tears welled in your eyes and you held back a sob. “The kids,” you whispered, “They, they,” Jake quieted you with a shake of his head. “Don’t worry, don’t worry they are going to be fine.” He hid his face into your hair, breathing in your scent, feeling your skin, holding onto you for dear life. Jake whispered your name like a prayer as if he were to stop he’d forget it entirely. It was in here, stuck in this ship at the bottom of the ocean with the water getting ready to swallow you hole that he realized: he loved you.

He loved you so much.

“Look at me,” Jake whispered gently, pulling you away from him and cupping your face so your eyes met his. “We are going to get out of this.” He promised. “We are going to get out of here and go back to our kids.”

Jake kept talking, trying to distract you from the water slowly rising, it was at your forearms now and with how much shorter you were to him you would be under by the time it was to his shoulders.

But you already knew the water was getting close to your mouth and you knew there was no way out of this. You felt oddly calm, there was no fear in you, you were not flailing, clawing your way up trying to get out of the water, you accepted defeat. You had already lost your friend, a sister, your home and now you had lost your son. If it was your time you would accept it. There was no more running from Ewya you decided, you were going to face her head on this time, turn around and throw your curses to the wind knowing each word would ping off her face like a speck of dust. It was no more fighting this. Each time you made her angry, each time the thunder would rumble when you and Jake would argue, each time you ignored her calls and beckons, they all lead to this moment. She had enough of you and your antics and now it was time to suffer the consequences and you would rather do it alone, not pull Jake into it.

You did not hate him like you had claimed that night of the party. You loved him, you loved him with all your soul, body and being. You had killed for him, lied for him, cursed at Ewya for him.

A weak chuckle escaped your throat. “You know all this time even from the moment I met you I have tried to hate you.” Your words make Jake look down at you, your freckles now illuminating the water as you spoke, they seemed to grow brighter. “Neytiri would not stop grinning telling me about you completing your Iknimaya. She changed so much when you arrived and for the better. No longer was she worried about being mated to Tsu’tey and betraying Sylwanin; she was smiling and laughing like how we used to when we were young. It was the first time I had seen her be so happy since that day at the school. She came to me telling me about wanting to mate with you and when she was expecting Neteyam I was the first one she told. “There were so many firsts that she told me. Neytiri was not just a friend, she was my sister. And that day,” You sighed tearfully, the water reaching your shoulders and your loose hair growing yet. “that day that you came back to camp with her in your arms I vowed to hate you forever. I blamed you not the sky people, and when Ewya ordered us to be mated my hatred only grew and it blinded me, controlled me.” You shook your head wiping a stray tear that slid down your cheek before looking up at Jake who had tears falling himself. “I see you.” You whispered. “And I am sorry.”

The water was up to your chin and it was getting hard for you to stay up. Jake wrapped his arms around you and held you up higher, your foreheads together. “I see you.” He whispered back. “And I’m sorry too. I am so sorry for all that I have done over the years to you, to the kids. I was mad as well and I had no right to take it out on you.”

“I guess we both fucked up pretty good then?” You suggested and Jake couldn’t help but laugh hearing your broken English, and a human curse at that. “I guess we did.” He nodded, putting his nose to yours. You realized then why you weren’t scared of the water as you had been before; it was Jake. You felt safe in his embrace, you knew he was going to do his best to keep you up and not let you drown. “If we get out of here,” Jake began but you corrected him “When.” “Right, when we get out of here, let’s go out for the night, start over? What do you say?” You looked down at him, your freckles glowing bright and you genuinely smiled at him. You leaned down close, your lips brushing. “That sounds like a dream.”

Just before you could close the space there was a burst of color coming from underneath you as the whole space lit up. Glowing fish pooled around your legs swooping around you, tickling your legs. Then, Kiri popped in through a gap in the wall near the floor in front of you. There was a creature connected to her back that flowed with the water giving the illusion that she had wings. A grin broke out on her face at the sight of you and you could not help but laugh, tears rushing down your face at the sight of your daughter. “Kiri!” Letting go of Jake you hugged your daughter tightly as she stood up and she hugged you too. “Mom! Dad!” Jake came over and embraced the two of you. “Oh it's so good to see you are alright.” She sighed with relief as you pulled away. “I know a way out but it's a long swim.” Your heart started to fall at her words as fear filled you once more but her smile was unwavering. “But Mom, I have some things to help you.”

Kiri reached behind her, detaching her queue from the creature and gently grabbed yours connecting it. A rush of air went through you and it felt as though Ewya had blessed you with a set of new lungs. “This will help you breathe in the water,” Kiri explained, putting the animal on your back and it wrapped its malleable arms around you as if giving you a hug. “And this little guy would not take no for an answer when I said he could not come.”

You looked at her confused but then an Ilu’s head popped up out of the water. “Lepay!” You cried and your ilu let out clicks of joy as you hugged his neck. The boat began to shake and the four of you looked up, that was your cue to leave. “Follow the fish Mom,” Kiri called as you got onto Lepay’s back, “Dad and I are right behind you!”

You did not need to form tsaheylu for Lepay to understand where you needed to go and what was going on. He understood that you were injured and scared as you flowed through the water. He was quick but smooth, doing his best to not throw you off, sending reassuring clicks to you every so often. The feeling of the creature on your back gently squeezing you also helped calm your nerves as you went through the submerged ship.

Soon you were free from the boat and Lepay tilted upward, breaking the water as your head came up. Fresh air filled your lungs and it felt your freedom had returned. You burst out in tears, laughing and crying as you hugged Lepay thanking him. The ilu happily squeaked in response and you reached behind you gently taking your queue away from the creature on your back. “And thank you,” you whispered to it, before setting it into the water and watching it swim away.

Not far behind you the water broke with two splashes and Jake and Kiri popped up. Jake gasped for air as you guided Lepay over to him, tsaheylu now connected between the two of you. Reaching down you grabbed Jake’s bicep helping him up onto the Ilu and the man coughed lazily putting his arms around you breathing you in.

You two were alive, you were safe and you were free. “We did it,” he whispered into your hair and you nodded, gripping his hand and looking up at the rising sun “We did indeed.”

The funeral music sounded behind you setting the post war melancholy atmosphere for the evening. You hated this moment. Out of the entire battle, almost getting killed, watching your children be beaten and bruised, this moment you hated the most.

Neteyam looked peaceful in the raft, if you did not know any better he looked like he was sleeping. You were taken back to all those years ago at Neytiri’s burial ritual but unlike hers you were the one laying the body down alongside Jake. Both of you were decorated in white funeral paint, the pigment defining all of your cuts and blemishes that you had not bothered to attend to from the battle that occurred yesterday.

The clan stood along the beach, their touches lit and their choirs softly singing. Lo’ak held onto Tuk while Spider and Kiri sat together on an Ilu. You stopped Lepay, who carried Neteyam when you got over the glowing grove. It was a deep dive, deeper than you had ever done. Jake gently slipped his son off the raft, the ocean flowers slipping into the water with him. Jake looked at you as you swam over. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” He whispered but you cut him off with a tsk. “He is my son Jake. For him, any of them I would fight Ewya herself.”

You both took a deep breath before going under and taking Neteyam’s body down with you. You tried to not focus on the water around you, instead you kept your eyes on the glowing tendrils that slowly reached their way up to you as you got closer. They wrapped around Neteyam’s ankle and wrist and gently took him from your grasp. You watched as they pulled him down and covered him up glowing brightly. By the time that he had been completely consumed by the earth your lungs started to burn and Jake pulled on you, saying that it was time to go.

You casted one last look at the reef before kicking up towards the surface. Neteyam would always be there with you no matter where you went, just as Neytiri has even with you being away from the forest. You knew this but it did not make it any easier. No parent should outlive their child, they were there to welcome them in birth, not bid them goodbye in death. But your people did not believe in death, this was simply moving on, going to better things.

You would see him one day, Neytiri too. But not for a long while. You had found a reason to live again, it took a slap in the face for you to open your eyes but they were open now. Open wide and gleaming, ready to see what Ewya was going to throw at you next.

© 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫-𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝟓𝟕 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬

🏷: @fanboyluvr @mashiromochi @newjeansbonnie @cleverzonkwombatsludge @atxara @jakesully-sbabygirl @ducks118 @ssc7514 @squidalapobre @anxietydrogz @myheartfollower @misscaller06 @itzyahgirllkita1 @saltedcoffeescotch @eskamybeloved @agustdeeyaa @drinking-tea-and-be-obsessed @julijal @supercoolusernamesblog @iamparou @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @idcalol @eternallyvenus @zoetrope1997 @itssomeonereading @farleyis @k0la22 @bigdikzaddy

[shegavemeroses]

look now, the sky is gold

part one: past the pumpkin patch

The Paris Squad hits up the semi-local Fall Festival, complete with games, mazes, pumpkin painting, and plenty of banter and the occasional flirting. Includes group & couple moments.

Elle was driving, partially as she was the oldest of the group, and because she was the only one whose parents would let their teenager borrow their car for a day trip - and it was the only one big enough. Isaac had claimed shotgun, leaving a slightly disgruntled Tao in the middle row. As the shortest, Tara was in the middle seat, with Darcy on her other side. Nick and Charlie sat in the last row, with a stern warning that there was to be no canoodling on the drive. But they needn’t have bothered, as Charlie promptly fell asleep 5 minutes into the 90 minute drive, using Nick as a pillow. Nick held him close, running his fingers through the soft curls as he stared out the window.

“Z! I win again!” Darcy called, grinning in her victory. Tara rolled her eyes.

“Didn’t we say license plates don’t count?” Tara asked, eyeing the car in front of them, which had a license plate starting with that letter. Those that wanted to play the alphabet game had tried to come up with a consensus on the rules at the beginning of the drive, but they still bantered fairly often.

“I agreed to no such rule,” Darcy argued, crossing her arms.

“No fair! I’m still stuck on that bloody ‘J,’” Elle muttered, using the rearview mirror to shoot a glare at her friends behind her.

“It was on that truck that passed us, like, ten minutes ago.” Darcy shrugged.

“Well, forgive me for paying attention to the cars around us instead of the ones on the other side of the road.”

“Gotta keep your eyes on the prize, Argent.”

“I’ll keep my eyes on the road, thank you very much.”

continue reading: ao3 // under the cut

“Isaac, can you add ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ to the music queue?” Tao asked, cutting off the banter.

“Please don’t,” Nick protested, earning himself approvals from everyone else in the car, and a glare from Tao.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Isaac said, turning with an apologetic look towards Tao.

“Oh, come on! It fits the theme of the day!” he said, throwing up his hands in exasperation.

“That’s what you said last time,” Elle reminded him. Their last road trip for a day at the beach had gone much the same way, with banter and road games between the group as Elle drove. And plenty of arguing over the music, as they each added songs the others didn’t like or know. Including Tao’s current favorite film scores, and as much as they all loved Moonlight, it didn’t quite match. Finally, Elle suggested they all agree on some artists beforehand and build a playlist with their songs.

“You should be on my side!” Tao said, leaning forward slightly. She just briefly turned around to give him a look, one eyebrow raised. “Fine. I may have exaggerated slightly.” He sat back, pulling his beanie down over his eyes.

“Elle! The exit’s coming up!” Isaac said, checking the GPS on his phone. Elle nodded, starting to merge over and slow down.

“Eeeee! We’re almost there!” Darcy yelped, grabbing Tara’s arm. She just smiled, her hand over Darcy’s.

“Do we need a quick pit stop? Snacks, loo break?” Elle questioned noting the petrol station signs as she pulled off the motorway. Everyone shook their heads.

“I’m sure they’ll have plenty there,” Nick said, growing excited. “Although this one might need an energy drink,” he added, starting to gently nudge Charlie awake.

“Did I miss anything?” he asked, trying to stretch his arms in the small space between the rows of seats.

“Not much. We’re almost there,” Tao said, looking out the window as street signs directed them to their destination.

“Yay!” Charlie leaned over Nick to look out the window.

“Excuse you, I think my four victories at the alphabet game are worth noting,” Darcy said, turning to Charlie and holding up four fingers.

“Congrats?” It sounded more like a question.

“We’re all very proud of her,” Tara said solemnly. Darcy turned to glare at her as Charlie giggled.

“We’ll be sure to get you some sort of victory crown at the fair, Darce,” Elle said as she pulled into the parking lot.

“A little acknowledgement is all I ask,” she said, nudging Tara and Tao with her elbows.

“Are we there yet?” Tao asked, his face pinched in annoyance.

Elle laughed. “I literally just pulled into the parking lot, babe. Patience is a virtue.” She pulled into a parking space and turned off the car. Everyone quickly unbuckled and gathered their things, then stood around the car stretching.

“Onward!” Darcy called after a moment. “There are game stands calling my name!” She took Tara’s hand and they began speed walking towards the entrance. The rest of the squad followed them after a moment.

🍂🍃🍂

After a semi-lengthy wait in the entrance queue, they were inside the festival grounds. Elle already had her phone out, snapping pictures of the decor and stands around them. Darcy kept trying to jump in them, but Elle had become well-practiced in the art of evading her. Everyone else acquiesced to being in a few photos, both together and with whatever display Elle needed a model for.

“So, uh, do we have a plan?” Charlie asked, after Elle took a photo of him and Nick at one of the picnic tables, a centerpiece of colorful autumn leaves in front of them.

“As I said, I have many games to go win,” Darcy said, plopping next to Charlie on the bench.

“Or lose,” Tara said, standing behind her girlfriend with her hands on her shoulders.

“I beg your pardon!” Darcy shrugged Tara’s hands off, then crossed her arms. But she leaned back into Tara. She laughed, kissing the top of her head.

“Tao promised to help me with the pumpkin-painting contest,” Elle said, scrolling through the photos she had taken.

“I thought we could try the corn maze,” Nick said to Charlie, wrapping an arm around his waist.

“Yes, please!” Charlie leaned into Nick’s touch. “Isaac? Any specific requests?”

“You’re looking at it,” Isaac said with a chuckle. He held up the current book in his rotation, a compilation novel of the four Monster Blood installments of the Goosebumps series with a bookmark already near the end.

“Still working through those?” Nick asked.

“I need to see if they still hold up, or if it’s just nostalgia.”

“And the verdict so far?”

“Nostalgia is a hell of a drug, but they’re alright. Good for what they are. Not great literature, but not everything needs to be. Or even should be.” Isaac opened the book and tucked his bookmark in the front for safekeeping, then began reading.

“Well, we all want to do different things,” Elle said, sitting down at the table and looking around the group. “What are we doing first?”

“Do we even have time for everything?” Tao asked. “Aren’t our haunted house tickets for like, eight?”

“It’s already almost four,” Tara said, showing the time on her phone.

“Shoot. We probably won’t have enough time then.” Elle sighed.

“We could split up for a bit, meet back up to eat before the tour?” Charlie suggested.

“That sounds great! Meet back here at 5:30 for food, then we’ll join the house queue?” Nick said with a shrug. Everyone murmured their agreement.

“Alright! Everyone, break!” Darcy declared, then grabbed Tara’s hand and began pulling her towards the game stands.

“We’ll see you guys later!” Tara called over her shoulder.

“Good luck with the painting, Elle,” Charlie said, laughing as he watched them walk away - or rather, run.

“Thanks, Charlie. Isaac, are you sure you’re good alone?”

“Absolutely perfect.”

“Maple latte for Isaac!” a barista working at the food stand called.

“And now I have everything I need,” Isaac said, standing to go get the drink.

“When did he order that?” Elle asked as Tao pulled her to a standing position.

“You are very distracted when you’re taking pictures, love. Now, let’s go. We’re running out of time to paint your masterpiece!”

“Our masterpiece,” she corrected with a kiss on the cheek. He rolled his eyes in response but gave her hand a squeeze. With quick goodbyes tossed over their shoulders, they headed off to the painting station.

“Guess we should get going, too,” Charlie said, looking at a map of the fair. “I’ve heard the maze can be pretty hard, and we don’t want to get that lost.”

“Mmm. I can think of a few other places to get lost,” Nick said, tugging at one of Charlie’s curls. He blushed, brushing Nick’s hand away from his hair. Nick just took his hand and brought it to his lips.

Isaac walked up and cleared his throat, sliding back on the bench.

“Sorry, Isaac,” Nick said with a wince, dropping Charlie’s hand as he giggled.

“Go be cute elsewhere. I have a review to finish,” Isaac said with a shake of his head, but he was smiling too.

“Fine, fine! We’ll get out of your hair. Text us if you need anything!” Charlie said. Isaac, already lost in his book, just lifted his hand in a wave.

Charlie laced his hand with Nick’s and they went off in search of the corn maze.

🍂🍃🍂

Elle darted up to the sign-in booth, Tao trailing along behind her.

“Hi! Elle Argent,” she said as the person behind the small table handed her a form. “And this is-”

“Tao Xu,” he said, panting slightly. Elle had practically jogged through the crowds, and he hadn’t gotten any better at keeping up with her. Not that he was going to stop trying anytime soon.

“Fill out this form and bring it up with your pumpkin once you’re done. Sit at any table with a pumpkin and paints. If you need anything else, ask one of the volunteers. I think that’s about it. Any questions?” they droned on, motioning to the sea of tables, most of which were already occupied.

“Not any right now. Thank you,” Elle said, taking the paper with one hand and the end of Tao’s sleeve with the other. It was a nervous habit of hers that never failed to give him a slight blush.

“That spot looks good. Let’s go,” Tao said, wrapping an arm around her waist and pointing to a table near the back. Most of the spots around it were empty as well, so it would feel secluded while they worked. Elle followed his gaze and nodded, so they started walking towards it. Tao threw a quick “thanks” over his shoulder as they walked.

Once they got to the table, Elle sat and began looking over the paints. They were nothing fancy, but she was used to the quality. At least it was a good selection of colors - a full rainbow, plus black, white, and a pretty dark brown. Tao watched for a moment as she fiddled with the tubes, then the pumpkin they had to paint. Or rather, she would paint. He was just here for moral support.

He took an extra chair from a table nearby, hoping it wouldn’t be missed, and sat down right next to Elle. She leaned onto his shoulder, still rotating the small pumpkin in her hands as she studied it, hoping for some ideas.

“Any ideas?” he asked, taking one of the thicker paintbrushes and running his fingers over the bristles.

“I have a few.” She sighed, the pumpkin stilling in her hands.

“Any you want to share with your partner in crime?”

Elle cracked a smile. “Always. I’m just not sure if I want to go for cute or scary.”

Tao pursed his lips, thinking it over. He took the pumpkin from her, setting the paintbrush back on the table. He looked at it, but nothing jumped out to give him any ideas. He set it back down.

“Well, your normal style is a lot of cute stuff,” he finally said. “Which I love, and find fitting. So maybe go out of your comfort zone a bit? Explore your scary side?”

“Scary side?” Elle looked at him with her eyebrows raised and a smirk on her lips. Tao rolled his eyes.

“It’s almost Halloween. Perfect for painting scary things.”

“Right, right,” Elle said, looking back to the pumpkin as her voice trailed off. Then she grabbed a few tubes of the paint and added some of each to the palette.

“I guess you’ve decided on a design?” Tao asked, watching her pick up a medium brush and dip it in the green paint, then the blue. Elle nodded as she started dotting the paint on the pumpkin, mixing it right on the smooth surface. The technique created various streaks and shades of each color. “Want to talk about it?” he added after she didn’t respond further, already lost in the painting. She then dipped her brush in the yellow paint, then added some black to the mix.

“Elle? Elle!” Tao smiled, loving how focused she could get while working. He finally gently rested his hand on her shoulder; a soft touch always brought her back.

“Did I zone out? Sorry,” she said, her paintbrush stilling.

“No need to apologize. You know I love watching you like that.” His voice had gone uncharacteristically soft. Both the words and his tone made her duck her head, smiling. Tao looked at her for a moment, then cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just wanted to ask if there was anything I could do to help.”

“Mmmm? Oh, yeah!” Elle looked up, running her hands over the limited selection of paintbrushes until she found one similar to the one she was already using. She handed it to him, and picked her own back up.

“I’m just working on the background right now,” she explained, dipping her brush in the blue and black paints. “Just kind of take colors at random and mix them on the pumpkin for different green-ish colors. So it looks kind of marbled. Like this.” She demonstrated, mixing the colors into the green she had added earlier, creating a teal and green gradient.

Tao grabbed a tiny amount of blue and green on his brush, and painted them on the surface, watching them mix slightly. Elle watched, her smile refusing to fade.

“Just like that!” she commented, adding more paint to her brush. “Use any of the colors; they’ll all mix together well. And keep your layers thin so they’ll dry fast.”

“You got it, boss,” Tao said, tossing her a wink. Elle just laughed.

They fell silent as they painted, both concentrating on the task at hand. Once the greens layer was mostly finished, Tao went around to smooth over messy transitions and cover any orange that peaked through too-thin layers of paint. Elle added some red and purple paint to their palette, and mixed a dark gray. She began using those colors to add flowers all over the green background. Tao, deciding the work had officially gotten too technical for him, set his brush in the cup of water and sat back, content to watch Elle work.

Eventually, he took out his phone and attached his earphones. Wordlessly, Elle held out her hand for one and tucked it into her ear. It was a well-practiced dance they had already gotten used to in their time together. She did, however, shoot him a long-suffering look when the Scream score began. But she preferred to paint to instrumental music (and had the Spotify stats to prove it) and this was as good as anything.

After Elle decided there was a sufficient number of flowers on the pumpkin, she added more purple and black paint to the palette. This time, she was switching out her paintbrush frequently, using different sizes for certain textures and details. From where he sat, Tao couldn’t really see what she was painting, only the colors she reached for. As she worked, her brows became furrowed in concentration and she seemed to lose track of where they were.

The time passed quickly as she worked. Tao kept himself busy watching her work, and occasionally adding more paint or refreshing the rise water when needed. As it got closer to their designated meeting time with the others, he worried he would have to text the group that they would be late. Fortunately, before it got too close to call, she set down her brushes and stared at the pumpkin, her eyes seeming to glaze over.

“I think… I’m done,” she finally said, as she grabbed her brush to add a few more flecks of paint. Tao chuckled at that.

“Are you sure? Could I see?” he asked, suppressing a grin.

“Yes. And yes.” She smiled at him, dropping all her used brushes in the water. With a dramatic flourish, she flipped the pumpkin so he could see what she had spent most of the time on. Surrounded by the red and purple roses, a black cat stirred something in a cauldron. The cat appeared to be smiling. Smoke drifted off the surface of the cauldron, a faint outline of a cat skull in the wisps. “I went with scary-cute,” she said after a few moments, biting her lip as she watched Tao study her work.

“It’s amazing!” Tao said, a broad grin on his face. “I love the texture and details on the cat’s face. And the smoke looks so realistic. The colors are perfect.”

“Thank you.” She took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Now what?”

“I think we take it back to the front booth? Hold on; I’ll go ask.” Tao stood up and went to hunt down a volunteer. As he went, he unhooked the earbuds from his phone and wrapped them up before shoving both into his pocket. Elle watched him for a moment, then tried to clean up their table a little. Before too long, Tao was back.

“We just need to actually fill out that form, then bring it up, with the painted pumpkin, to the booth we got it from. They’ll take care of everything else, including clean-up,” he explained, taking the form out of his pocket. Elle nodded, so he went to fill it out while Elle took pictures of her work.

“Does it have a name? They ask for the name of the painting.”

“Put whatever.” Elle shrugged, then looked over Tao’s shoulder at the form. “Did you actually write ‘whatever?’” She rolled her eyes.

“No. I wrote ‘Whatever Witch Cat,’” Tao said, scribbling in the last two words.

“You exhaust me.”

“Rude!”

“Hurry up.” Elle nudged him with her shoulder. “We have to meet the others in… shoot. Seven minutes.” She stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder, while Tao signed the form and stood too. Elle picked up the pumpkin by the stem, carefully supporting the bottom with her other hand for their walk to the drop-off table.

“Thanks for participating! We’ll contact the winners next week,” the person at the front table said, taking the stuff from them and adding it to the others collected behind them.

They both threw a quick “cheers!” over their shoulders as they walked away, hands clasped together.

“Do you think I actually have a chance at winning?” Elle asked after a few minutes of silence.

“What? Of course! Your work was beautiful,” Tao said with no hesitation.

“I guess. But so were a lot of the others…”

“Hey.” Tao stopped walking and pulled her off the path, stopping behind a few booths out of the sight of people passing by. He pulled her close. “Listen. I may be biased, but I think yours was the coolest there. And even if it’s not, who cares? You made something cool that you’re proud of, and that’s all that matters.”

Elle smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning into his touch. “You’re right.”

“I usually am.” He smiled, leaving one hand on the small of her back, while the other traveled up to cup her cheek. He stood on tiptoes to pull her into a kiss, carefully leaning against the wall behind them.

“Don’t we have to meet the others?” Elle asked, pulling back just enough to speak; their foreheads were still touching.

“What?” Tao asked, trying to pull her closer again. “Oh, right.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek, then back to her lips, then down her jaw. “Should we go?” he murmured against her skin.

“I think we’re good to be a few minutes late,” Elle said with a small smirk, leaning into his touch.

🍂🍃🍂

“Darcy! Darcy, please wait up!” Tara called, trying to keep an eye on the bright blonde head of hair darting away. Darcy looked over her shoulder, a wide smile on her face.

“It’s not my fault you’re slow!” she said, turning back just in time to avoid running into someone passing her. “Sorry!” she called as she stepped to one side and paused, waiting for Tara to catch up with her.

“I swear, one of these days I’m going to get you one of those leash backpacks.”

“Kinky.” Darcy gave an exaggerated waggle of her eyebrows.

“Don’t you have to run off again?” Tara asked, suppressing her smile.

“Yeah! It’s this way!” Darcy grabbed her hand and pulled Tara along. She couldn’t help but laugh at her girlfriend’s antics. She trailed after Darcy, barely catching sight of the games, food, or activities each booth was offering before they passed it.

“Darce, did you have a particular destination in mind?” Tara finally asked, once they passed what looked like a particularly good funnel cake booth.

“We’re almost there!” She slowed slightly, looking around to find the specific game she wanted. “There!” She darted forward, Tara’s hand sliding out of her grasp. She stopped in front of a larger booth. Tara walked forward to join her, looking inside to see what the game was.

“Really?” She furrowed her brows. “This is what we booked it all the way over here for?” The game was simple; the type with a bunch of differently shaped jars and glasses, with the aim of throwing a ball to land in a specific jar. They were arranged in three tiers. It wasn’t anything special, and she didn’t think Darcy was particularly fond of it either. Hence the confusion.

“The game? Technically, yes. But in all actuality, I’m here for that.” With a flourish, she pointed to one of the prizes hanging from the booth’s ceiling. Tara’s jaw dropped when she saw the stuffed koala wearing a vampire costume.

“Oh my god, that’s so cute,” she said in a rush. Darcy smiled broadly, crossing her arms as she looked at Tara in triumph.

“Exactly. They posted it online last week. I saw it, thought of you, and begged them to hold it for us. We’re winning it.”

“You’re too sweet.” Tara giggled, pressing her face into Darcy’s shoulder. “And powerful.”

“Tell me something I don’t know. Come on, we’re on a time limit here.” Darcy patted her back.

“Wouldn’t it be easier - and cheaper -” she added, after seeing the prices per play - “to just find one online?”

“Maybe? But where’s the fun in that?” Darcy reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny bag full of euros.

“You’re so on,” Tara said, narrowing her eyes. They each grabbed the needed coins and leapt into action.

“Babe, you know the ball is supposed to land in a jar, right?” Darcy asked a few minutes later. They had both already gone through quite a few chances, and neither had gotten close to scoring.

“Like you’re one to talk,” Tara said with a scoff as she tossed another ball. She groaned as it bounced off the edge of a jar, then promptly bounced to the ground and away. She winced as she watched one of the volunteers chase after it. “You know we’re aiming for the top tier, right?” The jars of the game were arranged into three tiers, and the highest tier was where they needed to score to get the coveted koala.

“I am aiming for the top tier!” Darcy sounded indignant as her face drew into a pout.

“Oh, honey.” Tara reached to pat her on the back. She stifled a laugh as Darcy threw another ball with way too high of an arch, leading it to bounce right out of a jar, and around a few others, before it went flying away from the booth. She threw a muffled “sorry!” as they watched it bounce far away from the confines of the game.

“Hold up, maybe I can help,” Tara offered.

“You haven’t gotten one either!”

“I’ve gotten close, thank you very much!” Tara stuck her tongue out at her, earning a laugh from Darcy.

“Fine, show me your ways, princess,” she said, adding extra emphasis to the last word.

“Princess? I could get used to that.” Tara winked, moving to stand behind Darcy. She wrapped her right arm around Darcy’s, taking her wrist. “Be more gentle. You want distance, not height.”

“I think you had an ulterior motive here, Jonsey,” Darcy said, leaning back into her touch.

“Focus, Olsson.” She pressed a kiss to Darcy’s shoulder. “Plenty of time for that later.”

“And how am I supposed to focus now?” Darcy asked. She tried to turn around, but Tara held her in place.

“Gentle throws. Don’t put a lot of muscle into it. Here.” Tara handed her one of the balls from the basket at their feet. “Try one with me.” She gently guided her arms back, then forward. At the height of the throw, she whispered “now” into Darcy’s ear. They watched the ball soar through the air, and bounce right off the top layer of jars.

“Fuck,” Darcy said, her shoulders sagging in defeat.

“Darcy,” Tara admonished with a giggle. “There’s children here.”

“What? I only said it once.” Tara rolled her eyes, a fond smile on her face. “We’re getting closer. Let’s try again, with a little more force this time. We make a good team.”

Darcy smiled back, then got in position to make another throw. Unfortunately, the next few were just shy of where they needed to be. Worse still, they were quickly running low on chances, and time.

Both girls took a deep breath before gearing up to throw the next ball, one of three they had left. Tara squinted, staring directly at a particular jar that looked a bit wider than the others. She adjusted their position slightly, then drew back their still-linked arms to throw.

And they watched it sail right into the mouth of the jar, bouncing a few times. But it stayed.

“Yes!” Darcy yelled, punching both fists into the air. Tara laughed, throwing both her arms back around Darcy’s waist.

“Congrats, girls!” a volunteer watching them said. “You can pick any-”

“The koala!” Darcy cut them off, darting up to the booth and pointing towards the stuffed animal.

“Sorry, we’re just really excited because they’re my favorite animal, so…” Tara tried to explain, joining Darcy at the front of the booth. “I think she reserved it online?”

The volunteer laughed. “Happens all the time. Let me get it down for you.” They grabbed a small step stool, and used it to carefully unhook the toy from the ceiling, and carried it back down.

“Here you go! One koala,” they said, handing it to Darcy.

“Thank you!” Tara exclaimed, immediately grabbing it from Darcy.

“Hey! No sharing?” she protested.

“Not this time.” Tara tightly wrapped her arms around it, hugging it close to her chest.

“Fine.” Darcy grabbed their nearly empty bucket and handed it back to the volunteer, thanking them. She nudged Tara’s shoulder with her own. “Now we gotta head back. I bet Nick we would beat him and Charlie back.”

“Must everything be a competition?

“Yes. Yes, it must.”

“I think I regret introducing you two sometimes.” And with that, they ran off back towards the picnic tables.

🍂🍃🍂

“Slow down, Char! I’m trying to eat here!” Nick called, jogging after Charlie through the loose crowd. One hand held a plate with a funnel cake loaded with powdered sugar, while the other attempted to eat as he chased his boyfriend down the path.

“We’re not going to have enough time to get through the maze now,” Charlie fretted, tossing a glance over his shoulder towards Nick. He finally caught up to Charlie and abandoned the attempt to eat while they moved, taking his hand instead.

“Sorry, Char. I just had to stop for this!” They kept moving, slowing slightly as they neared the maze site.

“Yeah, yeah. The line looked shorter than it actually was.” But his words were softened with a smile as he squeezed Nick’s hand.

“Those kids just couldn’t make up their mind…”

“Like you weren’t just as bad,” Charlie said, motioning to the plate Nick held in his other hand.

“Funnel cakes are a festival staple, Charles! It’s not my fault the man had so many toppings to choose from!”

“And yet you went with powdered sugar…”

“It’s a classic!” Nick defended his choice. Charlie smirked, but reached out to break off a piece and shoved it in his mouth in lieu of a response. “Sure, sure. Bully me for getting it, and yet.”

“Oi. Who’s bullying you?” Charlie asked, wiping some powdered sugar off his lip. Nick just shook his head, continuing to walk in the direction of the corn maze. Or so he thought.

“You’re going to get us lost in there, aren’t you?” Charlie asked. Nick huffed.

“Jerk. We’re not even there yet, and you’re already doubting my navigational abilities?”

“I absolutely am.” Charlie giggled, giving Nick’s hand a squeeze. Nick retaliated by pulling his hand back.

“Nope. No affection for those that mock me.”

Charlie slowed, one hand going to rest on Nick’s upper arm until both boys stopped walking. His gaze dropped to meet Charlie’s, who was looking at him with a soft smile and his head cocked to one side. “Really? Even me?” he asked, his voice quiet and a little breathy.

Nick swallowed, his eyes unfocusing slightly as he felt his face heat up. Then he glared at Charlie, one arm looping around his waist. “You just love to play dirty, don’t you?” Charlie’s smile grew wider as he took a step closer to Nick.

“I mean, if you’re offering…”

“Charles!”

“Nicholas?”

Nick just rolled his eyes and pressed a kiss to Charlie’s forehead before stepping back. “I swear…” He took Charlie’s hand and again began walking towards the maze.

“Uh, baby? You know it’s that way, right?” Charlie said, using their joined hands to point down a path they had just passed. He pressed his lips together to keep from laughing when Nick paused, closed his eyes, and heaved a deep sigh.

“Well that’s not fair; you had me distracted,” Nick exclaimed when he heard a giggle escape Charlie’s lips.

“Oh, I’m distracting?” Charlie asked, pulling Nick down the right path.

“Very.” Nick trailed after Charlie, his eyes on the boy in front of him.

“That’s good to know.” Charlie turned back with a wink. Nick just laughed, caught up in the euphoria of being together.

“I’m starting to think getting lost in there may not be so bad,” Nick admitted with a smile. They were in front of the maze entrance now, waiting for their turn to enter. To keep the maze from getting too crowded, only a few people were let in. It was almost their turn. While they waited, they traded bites of the food, breaking off pieces in between their conversation.

Charlie just raised an eyebrow. “I’m not explaining that one to Tao when he asks why we’re late.”

Nick huffed. “He’ll figure it out,” he muttered. Charlie smiled, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend’s waist.

“Is someone just trying to get out of the haunted house later?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nick’s face grew flushed as Charlie bit back a laugh.

“Don’t worry, baby; I’ll protect you.” Charlie’s tone was only slightly mocking.

“Why do I feel that ‘baby’ there was only partially in the pet name sense?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You are so mean to me.”

“Fine; you can go first in the haunted house and I’ll hang back with Isaac.”

“And you can cuddle yourself on the way home.”

“I will gladly stand between you and any horrifyingly costumed actors.”

“That’s all I ask.” Nick leaned down to give Charlie a chaste kiss on the lips, which he happily returned. A moment after they somewhat reluctantly broke apart, the volunteer ushered them forward.

“Ready to get lost?” Nick asked, gently pulling him forward.

“Not if I have anything to say about it!” Charlie declared, following Nick into the maze. His bravado lasted up until they made a few turns throughout the maze, and only seemed to get deeper into it without any sign of getting closer to the exit.

“I told you we should’ve gone left back there,” Nick said. He was walking behind Charlie now, his expression smug and his arms crossed. Charlie had been steadily leading them through the maze, but he was slowly realizing he didn’t know as much about this as he thought.

“Piss off,” Charlie muttered, studying the path around them. All the walls looked the same.

“We’ve passed that scarecrow twice now,” Nick pointed ahead, where, sure enough, a scarecrow was propped up in a more open area.

“We are not going in circles.”

“I think, technically, we’re going in squares. Or rectangles, more accurately.”

“I will leave you in the maze.”

“At this rate, we’ll both be here quite a while.”

Charlie didn’t respond, just gave an indignant huff as he marched forward. He did turn left where Nick had indicated. Nick followed, a small smirk on his lips as he noticed the change in direction. After the silence between them lasted a beat too long, Nick darted forward to catch up and wrapped his arms around Charlie from behind. Charlie huffed again.

“Cuddles won’t fix everything, you know.” But his words held no heat, and Nick noticed he didn’t try to shrug out of the hold.

“That is a vicious lie I refuse to believe,” Nick said, his voice soft and his lips right next to Charlie’s ear. Charlie giggled.

“Well when you say it like that…” He stopped walking and turned to face Nick, tucking himself into his boyfriend’s chest. Nick grinned and tugged at him slightly, stepping off the path a bit so others could still pass them. Not that there was anyone else around.

“We’re stuck, aren’t we?” Charlie muttered, his voice muffled by Nick’s jumper.

“Afraid so.” He chuckled, running a hand through Charlie’s curls. “But there’s only so many directions to go, right? We’ll figure it out.”

“Stop being logical when I’m lamenting my troubles.”

Nick just laughed, pulling Charlie closer and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. He then stepped back, reaching down to take his hand. “Come on baby, let’s get going. We have to meet the others in… fifteen minutes.”

“That ‘baby’ was only partially a pet name, wasn’t it?”

“Let’s keep going this way? I think it’s the way out!” Nick called in lieu of an answer, pulling Charlie behind him as he began walking at a rapid pace through the maze again.

“I cannot believe I put up with this,” Charlie muttered with a roll of his eyes just loud enough for Nick to hear.

“Yeah, yeah. Like you don’t love me.”

“And what if I do?”

Nick paused, taking another turn through the maze. He was greeted with a break in the walls straight ahead; the clear exit to the maze. “Well, you’re certainly about to now.” Nick pointed towards the exit, smiling hugely.

“My hero!” Charlie wrapped his arms around Nick’s waist, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“Someone has to be the brains in the relationship.”

“I have to let you feel smart once in a while,” Charlie quipped back as they exited the maze.

“Wow. Hurtful.”

“Looks like we have a few minutes before we need to head back. Any ideas?”

“I can think of a few.” Nick squeezed his hand as they walked away from the maze. He pointed a few spots down, where a group of laughing girls were climbing out of a photo booth, clustering around to view the photos.

“Race you!” Charlie dropped Nick’s hand and took off.

“Oi! No fair!” Nick followed, unable to catch up.

“Not my fault you’re slow,” Charlie quipped as he slid a bill into the machine and climbed in. “Sit with me?”

“Always.” Nick smiled, sliding in right next to Charlie. His favorite place in the world.

🍂🍃🍂

“Isaac!” Darcy called as she jogged up to the picnic table he had been camped at for the last hour. She slid onto the table next to him, resting her feet on the bench. He had been typing on his phone, but tucked it away when the two arrived. Tara sat next to Issac on the bench, Darcy’s legs on either side of her.

“Hey Darcy! Tara. How were the games?”

“Just one game. The actual goal was to win this.” Tara held up the stuffed animal she had been holding, then laid it down in her lap.

“That’s definitely worth playing a few rounds of festival games for,” Isaac agreed, looking at the toy.

“Always,” Darcy quickly cut in. “Are we the first ones back?”

Isaac paused, looking around the table that was otherwise empty. “Unless everyone else has turned invisible, it looks like it. I’m sure Nick will be crushed that he lost.”

“Damn right. Now that’s the goal!”

Tara rolled her eyes, but held up her hand to accept the high five from Darcy. “How was your book?”

“Well, I finished it. So I didn’t have much to do other than people-watch.”

“You didn’t bring a second one? Rookie mistake,” Darcy chided him, drawing a laugh.

“I know, I know. I should know better by now. But I was able to start jotting down notes for my review, so that was something.” He shrugged.

“Ooo! How’s that going?” Tara asked. She wasn’t as much of a reader as Isaac, but she loved hearing his thoughts on the books he read. They fell into an easy conversation about the series, a childhood favorite of both of them. Darcy just listened to the conversation, gently playing with Tara’s hair as the two spoke.

As the others were too absorbed in their conversation, Darcy was the first to notice Nick and Charlie speeding towards their table. Nick’s face fell once he saw her, and realized they had not beaten the girls back. Darcy just laughed.

“Nicholas! Charles!” she called, standing up and waving her arms in the air.

“I have no part in this,” Charlie said, dropping Nick’s hand to hold up his own in surrender.

“You had me distracted,” Nick pouted, dropping on the bench opposite Tara. Charlie sat next to him. Darcy laughed again, sitting on the bench next to Tara and putting an arm around her shoulders.

“You’re the one that insisted we do another set of photos after the first ones were all…” he trailed off, his cheeks going pink, and not from the cold.

“I have no idea where that sentence was going. Could you clarify?” Isaac deadpanned.

“My mum’s been asking for a picture of us, okay?” Nick took Charlie’s hand.

“Oh, anything for Sarah.” The others chorused their agreement.

“Where are Tao and Elle?” Nick asked, hoping to get the conversation onto a different topic. “Did they go up for food already?”

“I haven’t seen them,” Isaac said with a shrug.

“They’re late? That’s not like Elle,” Tara said.

Darcy laughed. “Probably just got distracted.”

“I cannot go anywhere with you. Collective you.” Isaac rolled his eyes.

“Hey, we were on time!” Nick defended.

“Barely.” Isaac laughed.

“Well we arrived with plenty of time to spare,” Darcy cut in.

“Yeah, yeah,” Nick grumbled. “Keep bragging.”

“Wanna bet on how much longer they’ll be?”

“You two really have to make everything a competition, don’t you?” Charlie asked, bumping Nick’s shoulder with his own.

“You’re on,” Nick said, like Charlie hadn’t spoken.

“They’ll be at least five more minutes,” Darcy decided, after checking the time on her phone.

“Just one minute is my guess,” Nick countered, barely fighting back a laugh.

“You’re on.”

Charlie rolled his eyes, resting his head on Nick’s shoulder. Darcy began to scan the area around them, looking for the final two to arrive.

“Hey Elle! Hey Tao!” Charlie said just a moment later, as they walked up to the table.

“You saw them coming, didn’t you?” Darcy asked, glaring at Nick.

“I will not reveal my secrets.”

“You’re late back,” Charlie said, cutting off the bickering.

“Sorry, we uh, we…” Tao said, trying to think of an excuse. “We were just looking at some stuff on the way back. And lost track of time. Yeah.”

Darcy laughed. “Is that what they’re calling it now? Did you two get distracted?” She raised her eyebrows, a smirk on her lips.

“Yep!” Elle said cheerily with a shrug. Tao blushed, hiding his face in her curls.

“Alright, alright. Let’s quit picking on each other. I’m hungry,” Isaac said, standing up. A few others murmured their agreement.

“Please,” Nick agreed. “Tara, Darce, do you two want to stay and watch the table? We can grab your food.”

“Ah, my hard-earned rest!” Darcy said, propping her feet up on the bench across from her. Tara just shot her a look.

“Sure. Text you our orders?”

Nick nodded, then grabbed Charlie’s hand and pulled him to his feet and followed Isaac towards the food trucks, Tao and Elle trailing behind them.

While the others waited in line for the food, Tara and Darcy stayed at the table, passing the time by debating names for the new koala. Unfortunately for them, there was a lot of time to kill while waiting, as their plans for the day had them getting dinner along with most other festival attendees. It went quick, as they chatted and took ridiculous photos of themselves and each other, sending them in their already overloaded group chat. After the long wait, everyone had their food, and they headed back to the table.

“Your pizza,” Elle said, placing Tara’s order in front of her on the table.

“And your burger,” Tao finished, handing Darcy the plate. She immediately set it down and went for a big bite of the burger, followed by a handful of chips. Everyone else sat down and began eating their meal.

“How much time until the haunted house?” Nick tried to ask, but it didn’t sound very clear around his mouthful of food. Charlie just gave him a pointed look. Nick winced and quickly swallowed the food, then took a sip of his drink before speaking again. “Sorry. How much time is left?”

“Ten minutes,” Elle answered, after glancing at her watch.

“Shit. Eat fast,” Isaac said, then - taking his own advice - finished off his sandwich in one large bite.

“You gonna be ready, Nicky?” Charlie asked, a teasing tone in his voice.

“Can’t talk right now, gotta finish my food.” He used one hand to gather a mouthful of chips while the other flicked Charlie off.

“Rude,” Charlie said, before taking another bite of his pizza.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” Darcy said with a laugh.

“The power of lesbians,” Tara agreed.

“No one will get between me and Darcy,” Charlie said, giving her a high five.

“What did I get myself into?” Nick asked as he finished his food.

“You’re about to find out, Nelson,” Tao said, standing up as he noticed everyone was done eating. “Now let’s go. We have just enough time to get there.”

Nick groaned, but stood as well and helped gather the trash from the table so they could toss it on their way to the last attraction. Everyone else followed suit, making quick work of cleaning the table.

“Don’t worry, Nick. It’s only an hour long!” Elle said, looping her arm around his shoulders.

“How bad can it really be?” Isaac asked, bumping Nick’s shoulder with his own.

“That sounds like a challenge,” Charlie said, squeezing between the two and taking Nick’s hand.

“Please don’t make it one,” Nick muttered as they joined the queue.

[dballzposting]

ok i’ll be honest. I havent posted on @gotenandtrunkz yet bc i cant decide how i want to configure the queue. But i’m figiuring it out so go on ahead and hit follow..

description of blog:

- i made it bc i felt like i was having a lot of nonsense ideas and i wanted a space for that envionrment/attitude. a slop trough

- Um So i made the blog before i watched beavis and butthead 2022 and like. The goals of this blog could easily be achieved by replacing the blog with a 24 hr beavis and butthead livestream. But whatever

- I will post all of my screenshots! And then I’ll probably have to take more

- Mostly reblogs of my old posts for a while. Sorry abt that. I’ll try to limit it to the bests

- New textposts as well! Already have quite a few in the drafts

- Reblogs of other people’s goten and trunks posts!

- I wanted to try to keep it Exclusively goten and trunks posts, meaning, not just funny popular textposts that I tag as them. But it is very likely that there will be a few exceptions to this rule. Rest assured, it will only be the best posts

- I want to encourage community participation .. Send asks and reblog with additional commentary!

- yes nsfw content is allowed. Based on personal standards it will not be That Bad however. I mean I can’t control what people write in asks but yeah. the nsfw tag will be “not quite sfw” and thats a testmant to how ideally it wont be THAT bad yknow. Just enough that we can have a laugh and express all of the damning conceptions that haunt us

- There will be a gotenks tag. BUT HE WILL NOT BE THE FOCUS. Only when it pertains to trunks and goten’s relationship will gotenks be relevant. 

- there will be beavis and butthead video clips if I deem it necessary and proper for the purpose of the blog.

- EDIT: I FOROGT I LITERALLY ALSO WNATED wholesome posts. I contemplated for a while having a tag called “wholesome” and a tag called “weird” just so the fun Z posts wouldnt end up mixing with the batshit theyre-obviously-older-now posts. But that idea fell through bc how am i meant to be the judge jury and executioner on what post is wholesome and what post is weird...? So now it’s tagged by era and that honeslty is gonna work out really well.

yeah... Stay safe everybody. Take care. Be reasonable. Work with yourself. and STAY GORGEOUS. 

[apple25n]

Millennial Ennui Book Recommendations

Every time I have attempted to spell 'millennial', I have to let autocorrect fix it somehow. I am decidedly Gen-Z, born in 2002, but am suffering from an affliction named after my brothers' generation so I'll be turning on autocorrect to survey my post.

I had high hopes for this blog, then started my job a week later; where my aspirations fell flat on the floor and turned into a puddle to be splashed in. The total mind and time-consuming nature of my internship has left no time for any form of artistic expression. The plight of every young person entering the work force. My symptoms include a general sense of emptiness, lack of creativity, and constant tiredness. The diagnosis? Millennial ennui.

I haven't found a good, or any real definition of millennial ennui yet (Buzzfeed's attempt certainly doesn't count). I would describe it as the disillusionment of starting an office job and realising this is your entire life now.

So instead of trying to run away from this feeling, I am going to plop myself down in my office chair and stare at this glowing screen for my contracted 9-5 hours. And get some recommendations out because my brain cannot form any original thoughts.

Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney

Written in 1984, it's quite eery how spot on this book was in describing my newfound emptiness. We follow the main character as he drifts through the New York party scene while dealing with the loss of his relationship to his wife. The writing was surprisingly funny and self-deprecating. If you've ever looked forward to clubbing on Friday night after a long week at work, this book is for you.

Fan Club by Erin Mayer

The main character escapes her boring lifestyle website editing job by slowly becoming obsessed with internationally renown pop star Adriana Argento. From there, she falls in with a group of equally obsessed women. I've become the opposite, with all hours filled up with work I have not had the time to even contemplate starting a new interest. But listening to music on the bus ride to and from work has become one of the highlights of my weekdays. The ability to control my mood by swipping a song into my Spotify queue.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh

THE book. Another unnamed narrator. She has decided to spend the next year of her life cooped up in her apartment sleeping with the help of pills. Her want to simply stop existing and decompose into the earth to be returned to the worms is what got to me. I have numbed myself to most emotions as I work long hours. My strongest emotion has now become anger, and I actively choose to spend time eating with colleagues I don't like in order to stoke a flame inside me.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

Not the most 'relatable' out of the list, but it is the latest one I read earlier this week and what prompted me to make this list. A thriller, Jules has been hired to apartment sit in a luxury condominium. When another apartment sitter goes missing, she starts to uncover the strange history of the famous building. Jules was recently fired from her job, and living in a condo filled with the rich has made her distasteful towards capitalism.

The Lonely City by Olivia Laing

A non-fiction collection of essays on different lonely artists that lived in New York which Laing admires. I moved back to my hometown for my current job and was hit with the realisation that no one else decides to come back. I have been drifting from home to work without talking to anyone other than my colleagues and parents. This book reminds me that even in sadness and loneliness, you can create.

--

Halfway through this list, I realised that every single one of these books is set in New York City. What is it about that heat bubble that prompts authors to write such lamenting books about? I've never lived there, but my boyfriend did over the summer and I visited him twice. I hid myself away in his white box of a rented room in Brooklyn and only ventured out to Manhattan once. Walking the streets felt like I was in the middle of a tornado, and that a cow might fly by me at any second.

[laziestgirlintown]

Aziraphale’s first bookshop

So we know A Z Fell’s & Co was founded at the time of the French Revolution. But I’m reading a book about the history of alphabetical order (because I am a librarian and a nerd) and this is on the back cover:

Then in the book I come to the part about the unassuming London bookseller who likes order. And the very random topic he chose to exemplify how his order works.

Is it just random happenstance that Andrew Maunsell starts with an A and rhymes with a certain bookloving angel’s name? I looked him up further.

* He started as a member of the Drapers' or Grocers' Company - clothes and food.

* His first published book was The State of Swearinge and Swearers

* His device was a pelican

I rest my case

(This is the book btw:)

[prof-peach]

I know on your island you guys deal with a lot of pokemon from a lot of scenarios, but have you ever had to deal with ex-rocket pokemon? Either surrendered or found. Would there have to be a specific protocol for that, or safety measures?

Yeah we get a few that come to us each month, someone either hands them in, or we get them sent to us from other places that can’t handle them.

As for treatment we have to take each case sepratly, the local authorities send us poison, bug and grass types who need rehabilitation, usually it’s not too bad and we socialise them for a while. No people, just give them time to hang out with their own for a while. This can take anywhere up to a few months, just them and some other Pokemon kicking back and taking time out. We see a lot of Pokemon who didn’t get a chance to learn about their skills, their home, they never had a good family life, they often got torn from the wild and remember humans quite harshly. This time is key for them to settle into normal Pokemon behaviour. They are usually surrounded by others and can eventually pick up the right social queues and etiquettes, when they behave like the others, we start to introduce humans more, one member of staff will be assigned groups to care for, usually handling the rescues alone for the first few months, so the Pokemon being helped can get use to just one person at the start. Once that trust has grown, and they seem confortable, we introduce more members of staff. At this point it’s usually clear who will be rehomed fast, and who will need extra care, and we can divide up time appropriately. Recovery depends o the Pokemon in question, and what they’ve gone through. We’ve got patients with us that have stayed on the island for many years now due to relapses in behvaiour, if anything they’ve become part of our personal teams, part of the family, so I suppose they usually find a home one way or another. When possible we release those who are fit but otherwise uninterested in being a trained Pokemon, there are many release sites that the regional rangers oversee all around the world. Getting them home isn’t too hard luckily.

Because we have such a high population of bugs and grass Pokemon we just handle them more. They can find a group and settle here, without any outside interference.

On occasion we will personally choose to take on difficult cases, our lab is pretty hellbent on taking the Pokemon that are deemed “too far gone”, mostly because of the space we can offer them. Grey handles a lot of unruly water Pokemon, he has no fear of a Gyarados, doesn’t shy away from defensive Walrien or Carracosta, that’s just his area of love I guess? You have to love the work if you put yourself in the way of pretty big, pretty angry Pokemon, right?

Either way, we have our joy areas, and work with the odd species that can’t be otherwise helped by normal means. We use unorthodox methods, perhaps have too much patience, and tend to get really stuck into the work.

One case that’s a wonderful example was a dowdy little Salemance that came to us, had been shifted about by Rockets to fight in underground battle rings, it’s poor wings torn to shreds over the years, didn’t fly anymore, pretty sure the original trainer wanted it that way so it couldn’t just fly off. But it came to us so angry, and so violent towards anyone and anything, well I just about had it with the big idiot. Threw down with the dumb baby myself to put him in his pace once and for all. He was being outwardly nasty to everyone, snapped at everything. So I waited, and dodged, and ran, and hid until he had exhausted himself, and then used its bad vision against it and body slammed the little devil. He got tired trying to thrash me off, fell over and stayed there. Because I didn’t hurt him, I simply used his big dumb baby energy against him, he lost. Since then he was under me in the hierarchy, and we were able to get close enough to treat him, get his wounds seen too. He didn’t dare snap again after that, least not at any of the team. He got fitted with a prosthetic wing, has been flying for about half a year now, and is in the process of being adopted by a lovely young couple who live out in the mountains away from any towns, perfect place for him. I think they run a pumpkin farm out there and needed some defence. Me and that Salamanca are friends now, he’s learnt that just because a humans in a position of power doesn’t mean you have to cower, no ones ping to hurt them now, they’re safe, they can enjoy again. We socialised them, we tended to them, they’re not perfect, they still get spooked by too much noise, they’re jittery with crowds, that’s to be expected.

This is a case I mention because it’s a difficult one, not a lot of sane people will throw themselves at a Pokemon like that, and this is what the work is like. Sometimes you just do what’s right, even if it could end pretty badly, luck, great training, and years of practice are on my side, and for that reason I’m able to take in difficult ones. Each professor will handle different Pokemon, different types and varying levels of difficulty, all help is good help, you don’t have to wrestle a dragon, you can handle things a hundred different ways, and hell they might just work! The only true constant is patience. You sit up at night with them, when it’s stormy or windy and they’re scared, you hold your ground when they’re lashing out, you sit through the worst of it with them. You get bitten and cut and bruised and broken and it’s worth it because at the end they get to start again, they get a go at a second life that’s way better than what they had before.

Very rarely will we ever initiate attacks on a Pokemon on the island, we usually do all damage control with non-violent, defensive methods, and at the very most the rescue Pokemon will be put to sleep or knocked to the ground and immobilised. I see some folks battling against their rocket Pokemon, which can be a great use of energy but also can plant more seeds of distrust between the humans and Pokemon involved. It’s best to at least leave that until you’ve built up trust between you and the Pokemon I think, but each to their own I suppose.

If we need to do psychology we send them to Pari, who does therapy sessions with individuals who think they need it or are referred to her, she’s quite an accomplished student and uses my dear old porygon-z as a translator to talk with patients about their issues. Life is a lot easier when there’s less of a language barrier. We offer pretty much everything we can to the rescues we get, and they are given dedicated space upon arrival.

As for safety measures, yes, of course we have them. Gear is necessary when handling certain types, fireproof overalls and gloves are most common. We always go in with a functional pair of Pokemon, alwasy two minimum. We have this minimum because of many Pokemon going to attack our partner, missing on purpose, and going straight for us. One partner is offence, one is defence, you must cover your back, that defensive individual is more for you than anyone else, if you get hurt you can’t help others effectively. It really depends on the case, I’ve handled big Pokemon who got freaked out by heavy protective gear. Their old trainer would wear safety gear while being cruel to them, so we had to ditch it all, we realised it was causing problems and dealt with it fast. There’s also a number of first aid stations all over the island, not only for the sake of the law but also, we all get hurt a fair bit on the job.

Hope you feel informed!

[iphisesque]

I was tagged by @judiejodia, thank you dear!

Tagging @ivory--and--gold, @villainsactivist, @anticafiamma, @lgbtmazight, @mona-liar and whoever wants to do this ❤️

1. Why did you choose your url?

I have always had a fascination with homeric epithets, my previous url was one as well! We were reading the Iliad in class and I really fell in love with the beauty of rhododaktylos eos, and since I had been looking to revamp my blog I decided to change my url to that.

2. Any side blogs?

I have a poetry sideblog, @dvmetvra, though it has been pretty inactive as of lately!

3. How long have you been on tumblr?

I have been on here since 2016, though I was deactivated and remade in 2018! I have Seen Some Shit, so to say.

4. Do you have a queue tag?

No, I don't use queue at all!

5. Why did you start this blog in the first place?

I first joined tumblr as an incorrect quotes account, which you might remember as being all the rage back in the day, but I pretty quickly dropped that once I started making some mutuals and developing more interests.

6. Why did you choose your icon?

I change my icon quite often, but I chose this one (Rebeka from Elite) because she's one of my favourite characters from the series and she was confirmed bisexual in the season that just came out!

7. Why did you choose your header?

I don't have a header at the moment, but I usually just choose a painting I love or find particularly fitting for my blog theme and colour scheme.

8. How many mutuals do you have?

I don't know precisely, I never sat down to count them and tbh I don't even know if you can do that, but I would guesstimate around 20-30 people, at least those with whom I interact fairly often!

9. How many followers do you have?

Roughly 2165 at the moment, which is a lot more than I expected for a blog as messy as this one 😳

10. How many do you follow?

454, though a bunch of them are inactive! I really should clean out the people I follow.

11. Have you ever made a shitpost?

The nature of this blog is that like a solid 80% of what I post is just shitposting about various subjects

12. How often do you use tumblr a day?

As a member of the Gen Z Degenerates I am permanently glued to my phone and since I don't use other social media that means I spend way more time than is healthy on this website 😔

13. Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

I had a bunch of pretty vehement flames with a lot of internet users back in 2018-ish, caused by bad takes on both my part and the others' -- lately I'm just sticking to vagueblogging if something annoys me and just being a bitch in my own lane, which suits me just fine.

14. How do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts?

They are sooo annoying and guilt-trippy, and while I understand the desire to spread awareness about certain issues that is definitely not an efficient or even likable method to do so.

15. Do you like tag games?

I do, even though I often don't wind up doing them -- sorry to all those who have tagged me in vain, I'm just very forgetful!

16. Do you like ask games?

Oh I love them! They feed right into my delusions of grandeur and fame, I love talking about myself

17. Which mutuals do you think are tumblr famous?

A lot of them are -- I would say for sure most of my classics mutuals, and then some of the Italians such as Caro or Nessa, as well as a few ~miscellaneous ones.

18. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

What if we were mutuals on tumblr 😳 and we were both girls 😳😳😳

[route22ny]

We’re Never Going Back to the 1950s

The year 2020 shattered America’s shared reality.

by DEREK THOMPSON

DECEMBER 16, 2020

***

Twenty years ago, the sociologist Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone used the decline of bowling leagues since the middle of the 20th century to symbolize America’s declining social engagement. This year, he published a sequel of sorts, The Upswing, in which he identified more stray threads of our social unraveling: in lower marriage rates, church attendance, and trust in government; in falling membership in all chapter-based associations; collapsing social trust among young adults; and even a decrease in mentions of community versus identity in novels and nonfiction books.

But no measure of communitarian pessimism could have prepared Putnam for the circumstances of the past nine months. America’s bowling alleys haven’t just depopulated; they’ve gone dark, along with thousands of churches, restaurants, bars, cafés, gyms, theaters, and almost every other physical space that could preserve or nurture a physical community.

Mirroring this civic fragmentation, America’s media and entertainment industry has spun apart, and the spinning is accelerating. On December 3, the film studio Warner Bros. announced that subscribers of the company’s digital streaming service HBO Max will be able to watch all of its 2021 film releases at home, on the same day that they’re released in theaters. The movies affected by this decision aren’t humble indies. We’re talking Dune and The Matrix 4—the sort of films that, if they were released exclusively in theaters next year, might earn a domestic box office roughly equal to the GDP of Micronesia.

Like Putnam’s beloved bowling alleys, cinemas are an example of the decline of semiweekly gatherings in the United States—even if they’re less chatty establishments. In the 1940s, the average American bought more than 30 movie tickets a year, regularly packing into theaters with scores of strangers. In the past few years, that figure fell below four. In 2020, movie tickets sold per-person will fall below one—possibly for the first time since the late 1800s. The decision by Warner Bros. will likely encourage other entertainment companies, such as Disney, to funnel more of their marquee content to streaming services in the next few years. And the result could be a death spiral for movie theaters as we know them, as the film industry continues its shift from a public, ticketed affair to a private, living-room experience.

Home entertainment is fracturing as well, and along with it the communal-while-alone possibility of a shared popular culture. Since 2010, 33 million households have either cut the cord or never signed up for cable TV in the first place. The traditional cable bundle is slowly dying, and its death is fertilizing new subscription-only streaming services, such as HBO Max, Disney+, Peacock from NBCUniversal, and Quibi (RIP), which join a landscape crowded with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu, not to mention user-generated video platforms including YouTube and TikTok.

It would be hackish to accuse Netflix or Warner Bros. of being the main accelerants of American loneliness. But the fact is that cinematic entertainment, which was born as the ultimate communal ritual, an experience whose technology required simultaneity and togetherness, has become the ultimate personal activity, an incomprehensibly long spectrum of different stories mostly consumed in a state of solitude.

This media shift—from the scarce and communal to the abundant and privatized—also describes the evolution of the news industry. In the past 20 years, newspaper circulation, advertising revenue, and employment have cratered. But overall, news—that is, sources of new information, of varying truthiness—didn’t decline; it exploded. The web created a phalanx of news publishers, not just websites but also Facebook pages, Instagram personalities, newsletters, podcasts, and so on; at the same time, Google and Facebook duopolized digital advertising, creating a situation where publishers were multiplying as advertising declined.

In ecology, the term niche partitioning describes the way that competing species become hyper-specialized in an attempt to co-exist in an environment with scarce resources. I think that’s what’s happening in the news industry. As the number of competing publishers increases, it makes sense for each of them to carve out an ecological niche. This niches-get-riches race leads logically to a set of more outlets that embrace a more unabashedly partisan perspective—just as they did in the late 1800s.

One might assume that polarization is what happens to people cut off from information. But the truth is closer to the opposite: More information means more polarization. Research shows that access to broadband internet in the U.S. has in many cases increased various measures of polarization, as the web introduces voters to a bigger menu of partisan news from which voters select the sites that match their political tastes.

We’ve seen this phenomenon accelerate in 2020. Four years ago, most people would have said there were three major cable news networks: the center-left one (CNN), the liberal alternative (MSNBC), and the conservative juggernaut (Fox News). But in the past few months, the conservative-news monolith has shattered. Since the election, Newsmax TV and the One America News Network have stepped up to backfill President Donald Trump’s election-fraud lies with programming from an alternate reality. And behold, niche partitioning works: Last week, Newsmax rode the election-conspiracy story to its first-ever ratings win over Fox. Because Trump devotees are going to buy tickets to whatever media universe offers the best narrative, networks are competing to tell the Trumpiest tale.

With weekly religious attendance at low ebb and live TV in structural decline, national elections are arguably the only activity that Americans do together in shared time. But shared time is not shared reality. Led by the president, Republican lawmakers have petitioned to sabotage the results of the election, based on fantastic conspiracy theories. The GOP fever dream, which is credulously reproduced across Trump-friendly media, is clearly contagious: More than 80 percent of Trump voters believe that Biden’s win is illegitimate, a figure corresponding to about 60 million people. There is nothing unique about reality and fantasy blending together in politics. But the speed and severity with which Trump’s “Stop the Steal!” mind virus has infected the GOP is the sign of a compromised civic immune system. A far-right cohort has been effectively quarantined from reality in one corner of our honeycombed media landscape.

There is no going back to the 1950s. We will never again be enfolded by those bespoke mid-century circumstances, the scarce broadcasts and broadsheets. The dividing forces are too strong and too many. The film experience pushed out across millions of flatscreens; the live-television networks splintering into millions of digital entertainment queues; the news dissolving into innumerable political realities: One by one, these are not evil trends. But they add up. Or, more aptly, they divide. They individuate.

People ask me if I’m optimistic about 2021, and the answer is that, in a way, I’m ecstatically optimistic. The economy will reopen, and life will reopen. People will come out of their homes; they will send their kids to school; they will hug and kiss and live. But underneath the high tide of economic growth and social normalization, I think we’ll feel something else, an eerie undertow of isolation and anxiety.

“The definition of community is ‘where you keep showing up,’” said someone I met, whose name I’ve forgotten, back in the days when it was normal to meet new people whose names you could forget. I haven’t forgotten that line, though: Community is where you keep showing up. What a lovely idea. But where do people keep showing up, these days? Nowhere. Not the office, not the COVID-aerosolized bars and gyms. A lot of people have spent a year finding community via a glowing screen in a room they never leave.

The empty bowling alleys and movie theaters; the infinity buffet of entertainment and partisan media; the dissolution of a shared American reality—these are distinct yet connected phenomena. Digital technology has spawned a choose-your-own-adventure mediascape, which has flooded the electorate with alternate realities, at the same time that its community ties wither. America is coming apart, and these pieces will not be easily reassembled.

***

DEREK THOMPSON is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he writes about economics, technology, and the media. He is the author of Hit Makers and the host of the podcast Crazy/Genius.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/12/how-2020-shattered-shared-reality/617398/

[dubiousduckears]

I was thinking about Aziraphale (as you do) and I wonder if Heaven actually tracks his miracles and how specific it actually is if they do. As funny as memes about Gabriel getting pings on his celestial smartphone every time Aziraphale miracles his cocoa warm again or whatever, I don’t think that’s really how it would work.

They could know the specifics of every single one but I can’t see any of the archangels wanting to spend the time going through it. It’s more likely that either they can’t do that or some lesser angel goes through it and summarizes it into a report. They might have a way to tell how many miracles or how much power he uses, but not what he actually did. One miracle may be the same as another regardless of effect in terms of what it takes to achieve it or some miracles may take more oomph to make it happen. Either way, Aziraphale would end up training himself out of too many minor miracles to make life more convenient if he has a limit to work under. This would probably be a combination of saving it for important things and choosing more efficient ways of helping himself out, like miracling a teapot to stay hot but never oversteep instead of fixing his forgotten tea each time.

It could be that Heaven can track miracles to whatever degree but usually don’t unless they just have a reason to look into it. It could be like the Earth observation files that the information is always there whenever the archangels are ready to look into it or it might be something they have to set up when they’re interested.

Of course it’s also possible that they can’t or don’t track miracles at all and Michael’s memos are just pure fuckery. Aziraphale doesn’t spend enough time upstairs to be sure what Heaven can and can’t do and it’s easy to shame him. The too many frivolous miracles thing may have been something one of the archangels picked out of some detail in his reports and decided to make an issue out of or just pulled it wholesale out of their ass as another thing to bully him with. A depressing idea, but very in character with how the archangels treat Aziraphale.

Or it may have been driven by wanting to curb his tendency to actually help humans because they probably subscribe to the idea of suffering driving spiritual growth or whatever. Prayers and church attendance goes up when things are shit so that means Heaven gets more souls right? And it’s more about bragging rights than actually helping people but they don’t want to actually say it like that so they try to hogtie Aziraphale’s ability to actually do what is supposed to be his job. Less personal, but just as nasty as simple bullying and has the same effect. Probably, it’s a bit of both if things in the not actually tracking miracles scenario.

Any other thoughts?

[sorrens]

Welcome to the smut-free-zone kids!

After a few people expressed interest in ace!aziraphale and ace!crowley fics, I set about making a small rec list with some of the ones I’ve read recently with some of my own writing thrown in. All of these selections are rated G or T (usually for language, we love a good explicative) and are either explicitly or implicitly dealing with an asexual relationship. I naturally write their relationship in this way (@sorrens), being an Ace with very little imagination myself, and it’s what I most enjoy reading so I thought I’d share these ones:

What There Isn’t by hope_in_the_dark ~36,000 words (incomplete)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20631599

AU: Anthony Crowley likes beautiful things. Conveniently enough, Eli Fell happens to fit quite nicely into this category.

Queue to Heaven by Sorrens ~6,000 words

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20662898

AU: Crowley has a mysterious job and less-than-mysterious coffee addiction that was predicated on giving his psychiatrist the proverbial finger. When his usual cafe Queue to Hell inexplicably disappears, he finds himself crossing to the other side (of the street), where he finds Bean to Heaven is staffed by an actual-but-not-quite-literal angel. cw: references to mental health stigma

The Best Laid Plans by hope_in_the_dark ~65,000 words 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19747336

AU: Ezra Fell has sworn off romance forever and is perfectly content with his books and his tea and his ugly wardrobe. At least, he is until a handsome stranger hits him with a car.

Lavender, Camomile, and a Rather Permanent Arrangement by southdownsraph ~112,000 words

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19850095

AU: Crowley owns the flower shop across the street from A. Z. Fell's tattoo shop, and can't help but be intrigued by the slightly eccentric, yet incredibly friendly tattoo artist. When Crowley does finally pluck up the courage to talk to him beyond the occasional pleasantries, he kicks off the beginning of a friendship that could so easily drift into something else entirely. cw: past sexual abuse and transphobia

Getting a Wiggle On by Kedreeva ~7,000 words

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20467451

Crowley's prank to leave Aziraphale with fake eggs to babysit does not go remotely as planned.

aka. a classic

Son of heaven set me free and let me go by hope_in_the_dark ~36,000 words (incomplete)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19253050 

AU: A new neighbour moves in next door to Crowley. Inevitably, they meet.

So grey the face of every mortal by sometimeseffable ~33000 words (incomplete)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19300657

"Now, some 6,000 years, several historical rescues, and one half-Apocalypse later, that promise tasted like ash in Crowley’s mouth. "

It's been six months since Armaggeddidn't. Aziraphale has been in Hell for the last three weeks. Crowley is there to pick up the pieces.

Boozy Blunders by goodcrowmens ~15,000 words

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20368003

5 times Aziraphale and Crowley kissed because they were drunk + 1 time they did sober.

Now I’m Here by Syrum ~7,000 words

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19385776

Aziraphale is ace. Crowley isn't but doesn't care. Slow burn and mutual pining while Crowley convinces Aziraphale that love is more important than sex. 

aka. WHOLESOME

Come and Get It by Sorrens ~9,000 words

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19291174

That time when Adam got bored and started tweaking reality to help an unknowing Angel with his cosmic crush.

Of Course She’s a Duck by Sorrens ~4,000 words

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20448893

Aziraphale suspects Crowley has been dating a human, or worse, a demon by the name of "Abby." Truth is, Crowley just likes feeding the ducks - misunderstandings and hilarity ensue.

aka. Idiots end up coparenting a duck

Following in the trend of waterfowl, the fic that everyone needed:

Blame It On The Goose by almaasi ~19,000 words

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20886581

AU Village shenanigans where neighbours Aziraphale and Crowley are given the runaround by a particularly rude goose. This fic was inspired by a very popular game that shall remained unnamed (ha ha).

*There’s millions of fics out there that could be read as ace!aziracrow, this is just a minute selection. In my experience, anything rated G or T generally deals with the romantic “getting together” and hence can be open to interpretation with regards to orientation or lack thereof.

[hedgehog-o-brien]

OK but since Neil Gaiman’s books (and therefore probably Neil Gaiman himself) exist in the Good Omens universe, where is my fic about Aziraphale mreluctantly hosting a book signing in his shop for a man in a large black hat, with a greying beard and twinkly sharp eyes behind a pair of dark-rimmed glasses? 

Nowhere yet? Alright then, buckle up because apparently I’m doing this myself.

This would be somewhere right around Wyrd Sisters, when Sir Pterry had just started discovering the Joys of Plot, but wasn’t quite Pterry yet. So Aziraphale wonders why Michael was so adamant about him letting this man, this author, into his shop and, worst of all, bring a whole load of potential customers with him, when Aziraphale doesn’t even sell any Disc-world books.

But Michael tells him to and it seems to small an issue to stake a rebellion on, so Aziraphale acquiesces.

And Crowley walks by, sees an actual queue forming in front of A Z Fell & Co and immediately barges in because something’s obviously wrong with his angel.

And he barges in and all he sees is a frowning Aziraphale, a bunch of tittering teenagers, a stack of luridly covered books that look like something Aziraphale wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole, and, behind a rickety-looking table, pen in hand and hat resting on a coat rack behind him, just finishing signing his name with a flourish, a middle-aged man with a smile that’s far too sharp for Crowley’s liking.

The man looks up and tilts his head, studying the demon for a moment before breaking into a more pleasant looking smile. ‘You know, you remind me of a friend of mine. Did you bring a copy to sign or shall I...’

He waves at the pile of paperbacks, but Crowley snarls and turns around, offended without even knowing why. 

‘Alright, suit yourself,’ the man says, and turns back, taking yet another book that’s handed to him by a woman who immediately starts gushing something about witches and Shakespeare and garlic, for some reason.

Crowley sneers again and goes to find Aziraphale, who’s holed up, glowering, behind the (conveniently out-of-order) cash register. ‘Angel, what in Hell’s name is this all about?’

‘Michael’s orders,’ Aziraphale replies glumly. Behind them, the conversation has turned towards MacBeth and giant turtles, somehow. Neither of them pay it any mind. ‘I’m supposed to watch him. Apparently, they’ve got Plans for him Up there.’

‘Plans?’ Crowley’s frown deepens. The man does not seem like anything special. At least, not until he looks up again, catches Crowley’s stare and winks before turning back to the next adoring fan. ‘What kind of plans?’

‘Not sure,’ Aziraphale replies. ‘But it’s to do with his books. And something about gnus, although I might’ve misheard that last bit.’

Crowley throws his head back and laughs, almost ignoring the snigger he hears echo behind him from the direction of the signing table. ‘Gnus, hm? Best tell the London Zoo to keep an eye out, then.’

---

It’s almost thirty years later when Aziraphale, with a little frown of concentration, arranges the small stone figurine of a gnu on a shelf filled with luridly covered paperbacks. It sits next to another stone figurine, this one of a turtle, and, impossible as it is for this time of year, a fresh sprig of lilac in a small stone vase.

When he sees it the next day, Crowley does not laugh. Instead, because he can do that now, he holds his angel tight against him until he’s almost stopped shaking.

---

‘Did you... did you ever read anything of his?’ Aziraphale asks, later, when they haven’t gone out for lunch but are instead sitting in the back room, where Crowley has miracled up some kind of picknick assortment of sandwiches and booze.

Crowley shakes his head. ‘Not much one for reading, angel.’

Which was exactly the wrong thing to say, he realizes after Aziraphale gets a worrying glint in his eye, then gets up and vanishes into the store only to return a moment later, brandishing a paperback. ‘Just this one,’ he says, handing Crowley the book. ‘Even if you don’t read any of the others. Just read this one. I think you’ll like it.’

Crowley is about to very politely refuse because he really is not into reading, but it’s the angel looking at him with pleading blue eyes that are still holding far too much grief, so he sighs. ‘Alright then, give it here. What’s it about?’

Aziraphale smiles, enigmatically, so Crowley rolls his eyes and turns the book over so he can see the cover. On it, a large kind of walking statue with fiery eyes seems to be doing a great job of wreaking havoc, while a number of weirdly (and in one case, scantily) clad people cower in front of it.

He pauses. ‘Uhm.’

‘It’s called Feet of Clay,’ Aziraphale supplies helpfully. ‘And I really think you should give it a try.’

[pretty-little-howtown]

I’m Gonna Keep This Forever

Summary: The life of a makeup artist isn’t easy and it’s so much harder when you have a crush on one of the actors.

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 1,944

Another day, another movie and another couple months of work. You walked into your trailer and started taking out and sorting all your make up supplies. Over your run as Marvel's main make up artist you've had everyone in the chair. From the stunning Scarlett Johansen to the charismatic Chris Hemsworth. Even the newest edition to the Marvel roster: Tom Holland.

Ever since he sat in your makeup chair for the first time you were practically the best of friends. If he had a problem he'd sit down and ask you for advice. You always wondered why you and he would always reply with 'you just have the best advice'. The two of you became so close that whenever he was going somewhere after the day was wrapped up he'd always invite you to hangout with him and his friends.

Your life was a dream come true. Everyone had sat in your chair, Tom more than others, other makeup artists would come and go depending on when they were needed but you were the constant. But your perfect lifestyle was in peril. It was in danger from your self. You had fallen hard for Tom. You didn't want to risk over stepping any lines, whether they already be drawn or not. Makeup artists are supposed to always be there but in the shadows not in the spot light. Over stepping those lines would put you in the spotlight and that's not what was supposed to happen.

Suddenly, Tom threw open the door to your trailer and pranced in elated, gripping his phone firmly in his hand.

"Y/N! Hey, I was wondering if you'd let me live stream you doing my make up for the shoot today. I just wanna show everyone part of the process ya know." He beamed with the hope that you'll let him live stream you doing his make up.

"Let me double check what you have to start off with today and then we'll see. We don't want any spoilers getting out. Do we Tom?" You asked with a raised eyebrow to which he blushed a little and awkwardly laughed. "Alright, you're in the clear. Set up anything you need and I'll go get the supplies." Tom fit pumped the air has he unlocked his phone, placed it against the wall mirror and started up the stream.

From the other side of the trailer you heard him mutter some words about what the two of you discussed earlier. You retuned with some basics. Foundation, concealer and the like.

"Right, this is Y/N the main Marvel make up artist," he explained as you waved to his phone, "today she's gonna do some basic make up for today's shoot."

He sat in the chair and you turned him sideways so that you could work but still have his audience see him. As you were putting on the foundation he asked you to read a few of the comments to him so he could reply and keep the stream as interesting as it can get. You found endearing when he went off on a tangent about something and his eyes just lit up talking about it.

"How did you get to where you are today?" You told him applying some concealer, waiting for him to reply.

"Well, it took a long time but I finished my GCSEs and then went to a preforming arts academy and did a course there for two years." You were concentrating on applying the highlighter while he talked you tuned him out. Until he looked directly at you with eyes full of curiosity with a hint of love and asked, "what about you?"

"Uh, me? I uh, I finished my GCSEs and my A levels. Did pretty well in both. Then I went off to uni and specialised in cosmetics. So a did four year course and got my bachelor's in cosmetics." You didn't say much as you weren't used to being the one answering the questions. To pressed on saying that he wanted to find out more about you. You said only a little more before asking about him.

He retold you his whole life story. His family life friend life even past girlfriends before asking you wether you were single. You answered with the truth. Yes. Although you did blush a little. In your book asking if someone was single was sign one of the asker being interested in the, aforementioned, someone.

You finished his make up and waved to Tom's audience as he ended the stream. He then put his phone into his pocket and swooped you into a hug. He even lifted you off the floor and spun your around. He thanked you once more and existed the trailer. A smile was still lingering on your face when Chris Evans walked in with a knowing look on his face.

"What?" You asked.

"Did I just hear Tom ask you if you were single?" Being the father figure he was, he answered a question with a question. Followed closely by yet another question, "and am I delusional but did you reply with yes?"

You just smiled asking him to sit in the chair and then looking outside at the large queue that had formed. It was back to the grind.

The next day you woke up with a small headache and a small memory gap that at first didn't appear to be a problem.

You went through your normal routine. Eat, brush teeth, get dressed brush hair, leave. You settled down in your car; looking at your watch on decided you still had time until you had to leave. Yawning with your thermos of tea in hand you opened your phone and saw it blow up with messages.

Tom invited you with Harrison Jacob and Zendaya to celebrate the end of filming. You went to Z's favourite bar and ordered a couple rounds. For most of the night you refused to drink anything stronger than whiskey, until Tom 'convinced' you to take a shot with him. He then had the brilliant idea to take a phot with all of you. He asked someone passing by to take the photo. You were in the middle with Tom's hands wrapped snugly around your waist and his chin atop your head. Zendaya and Jacob were on wait her side with Harrison on his side at your feet. After the photo was taken you honestly couldn't believe that his phone wasn't taken away. Tom then sent it to everyone so that you could all share this moment. The five of you then exited the bar and walked each other home. First Jacob then Z and then you. Tom wanted to spend as much time holding you as he could. When you got to your apartment he practically wouldn't let you go. He wanted to savour the moment because he knew full well that when the liquid courage wore off, he wouldn't be a ale to do it every again. Before he let you go however, he had another bright idea. This time to post the picture on Instagram tagging all of you in the photo.

You looked at the caption. 'Crazy last day of filming love you guys!' Under the post you read some of that comments that have been blowing up your phone.

'Omg who's that Tom's holding?! Are they dating?!'

'OMG OMG OMG @y/n IS SO CUTE WITH TOM SHIP!!!'

"AHHH IM NOT ON THAT PICTURE FUCK" you laughed at the last one. It sounded a lot like something you would say. Most of the rest of the comments were alternations between 'are they an item?' and 'I ship them so much.' Blushing you started your car and drove back to set. You had to clean up the makeup kits you left after Tom dragged you to celebrations.

When you got there however you weren't expecting Tom. He had no reason to be here, he was part of the cast his day was done. Yet he was still here.

"Hey Tom." You greeted, "what are you doing here?"

"Well uh I thought I'd- I'd hell you clean up. Yeah. Help clean up." He replied blushing. His was gonna do it. This was the day he was gonna say it. He wasn't gonna back out or more accurately Haz wasn't gonna let him back out. No more hiding. No more pretending. Today was the day.

You smiled, "okay well if you could bather up all the brushes that would be great." He did as you asked. The time was spent in stony silence. While Tom was hyping him self up to tell you by figuring out how he wanted to say it to you; you were were getting ready to give up. You were so focused on packing up that you got startled and fell backward when Tom tapped you on your shoulder. Tom's reflexes kicked in but instead of firmly holding you in his arms you fell on top of Tom. Your back to his front. You head a now from underneath you and saw Tom. Panicking you started standing up and apologising

"Guess I'm not as strong as I thought huh?" He laughed, "you don't need to apologise it was an accident." You nodded you head and went back to work still embarrassed by the previous situation.

You spent what felt like an eternity but was actually more like two seconds before Tom spoke again.

"Hey, I actually came here to tel you something. It's pretty big and I get if you don't wanna accept or anything but I'd still like to be friends after this. If you want to that is and if everything falls to shit like I feel it might." He started fiddling with the bristles of a foundation brush, suddenly finding them the most interesting thing in the world. "You see. There's not subtle or easy was for me to do this. When I told you I wanted the moment to be perfect but after last night I couldn't take not telling you any longer. I like you, a lot. Hell I think I love you. But like I said, I get it if you don't want anything to do with me or if you feel the same way." You stood there shocked. Tom stood there shocked. Why haven't you said anything yet. Are you gonna walk out and leave him? Is that gonna be it?

"Tom," he was dreading the answer but there was still a small glimmer of hope that you might like him back, "I like you too. I didn't think you'd like me back so I just kept it to my self hopped it'd go away. I was honestly just about ready to give up." Tom swooped you up in a hug the same kind of hug he gave you yesterday as a thank you. You heart swelled with joy. You got the guy.

"Can I kiss you now?" Tom asked waiting impatiently and almost immediately you replied. Yes. His lips captured yours in a passionate dance comparable to a tango. Tom traced your bottom lip with his tongue asking for entrance. Before he went in he nipped it sending a shock right through you. The shock coming out as an audible moan. He explored your mouth and you pulled away, lovingly looking into each other's eyes. Then you saw a flash. Turning towards it you saw a Haz shaped figure emerging from the bushes.

"Two posts in the span of a couple hours. The fans'll go crazy." He smirked and handed Tom back his phone. Tom showed the the picture.

"I'm gonna keep this forever"

[petersshirts]

Saviour || tom holland

Summary: idiots can save lives too or you can’t stand Tom, but when you need him, he’s there for you

Warnings: drinking, swearing

Words: 2180

A/N: this is for @hollandroos 12 k writing challenge, I had the prompt „They won’t hurt you anymore“ and I’m going to pair this with fuckboy! Tom, hope you enjoy!

There was one thing you were completely sure about in life, and that was that you hated Tom Holland.

Since he walked into the dorm that you shared with your friend Zendaya, you knew that you were the complete opposite. Tom was a good friend of Z since they started college but when it came to you, all you did was argue. You hated Toms Point Of View in Life. He was so sure of himself and he had a different girl every night. Every girl on this college had an affair with him, and you were the one that never cared. But when he met you one afternoon while you were sitting on your bed in yoga pants and a big bowl of Ben & Jerrys, he smirked like he had just found his new conquest.

And you were right: Whenever you passed each other on the school grounds, he stopped to talk to you about stupid things, but you just shook your head and ignored him. You knew that he wasn’t interested in you, just in getting into your pants and you were not having it. Back in your home, you never had a boyfriend and sometimes you wished that there was someone to hold you at night, but the boys at college were the worst. Either they were nerds that were just interested in their games or they were fuck boys just like Tom.

Tom didn’t live in a frat house but together with his best mate Harrison. Harrison was the complete opposite of Tom - he was nice, charming and always nice to you. He always accompanied Tom to the frat parties but you knew that he was there to enjoy himself and not sleep with every girl in a ten-metre radius.

Harrison and you were good friends but you always tried to avoid his dorm to not meet his horrible roommate. H knew what you were thinking of Tom, so he always went to a coffee shop or to your dorm with you. But even though you avoided the curly haired boy all the time, he seemed to appear everywhere. He always passed you in the halls and whenever you were waiting in the queue in your local coffee shop, he was standing right behind you. It felt like a curse.

It was a Friday Night and you were already in your pyjamas, ready for a Netflix marathon all on your own. Your friend Zendaya was not at home and you honestly had no idea where she was. But you knew that Z was a strong woman and she could do everything she wanted.

Just when you pressed play on your latest series, the door opened and your friend stood in front of you. Her hair was messy and it looked like she had been running around. A big smile was on her face. You smiled back, murmured a small „Hi“ and focused back onto your laptop screen.

„Are you up for a party tonight?“

You looked up, thinking that Z was talking on the phone, but she was looking right at you. You raised your eyebrows, confused why she would ask you. You were not the biggest party goer and you were definitely not in the mood to dance all night.

„I’m sorry Z, but I don’t wanna go. It’s been a hard week and I just wanna chill.“

Your gorgeous friend sat down next to you on the bed and looked at you with big eyes.

„Oh come on, Y/N, you have your college days only once, so, please?? I need some company for this evening, it’s going to be a huge party and you are the one I want to go with.“

You rolled your eyes. As soon as Z would walk into the party, there would be tons of guys swarming her and you would be forgotten.

No thank you.

You shook your head. „Z, I’m not up for that and you gotta respect that, please??“

Zendaya pouted and crossed her arms, like a small child who didn’t get her candy.

„But Harrison is gonna be there! You haven’t seen him in a few weeks, right? Come on, you two could catch up and it’s gonna be so much fun, please please please!!!“

You sighed. You knew that your friend would not give up unless you would come with her, so you agreed.

„Fine, but let me get properly dressed. I look like a tired bear.“

So only half an hour later the two of you were styled from head to toe and you felt really confident when you looked into the mirror. You looked like a completely different person and you had to admit, you really liked what you saw.

Maybe it wasn’t a bad idea after all.

Since the frat house where the party was held was not so far away from your dorm, the two of you walked. When you turned into the street of the frat house, there was loud music playing and when the house came in sight, there were a lot of people dancing inside and outside. The party was in full swing.

Here we go.

Z entered the huge house first and led you right into the kitchen. There was liquor everywhere and it stank horribly. Your friend poured two drinks for you and you knew that it was going to be something very strong, just because of the look in her eyes.

She gave me the red cup with a mischievous smile.

„Here, drink.“

Since you hadn’t had a beer in ages, you were tipsy just after one drink. But Z just gave you another and another and only after an hour you were completely drunk.

You didn’t care anymore that you wanted to be back home because you were having the time of your life.

Z was still by your side and Harrison had also been there, but he disappeared when your friend and you decided to hit the dance floor. Luckily, you hadn’t seen Tom yet because you knew that this would have destroyed the whole evening. He was just an asshole.

The music was too loud to talk so Z and you just danced, not giving a damn. But just after a few minutes, there was a guy walking towards your friend with a smile on his face and without saying anything to you, she left.

If you hadn’t been so drunk, you would have left the dance floor immediately. But here you were, room spinning, so you just continued dancing.

Suddenly, there were two arms wrapped around you and when you turned around, there was a cute tall guy standing behind you, smiling.

Inside, you felt disgusted but you couldn’t control anything anymore so you just smiled back and started to dance too. You were dancing for a few minutes until the guy started grinding into you.

Your eyes opened wide because that was definitely not what you were intending. You had zero experience with guys but when it came to going the next step, you would never do it as a one night stand in a frat house. You tried to get away from him, but the boy was as drunk as you so he just pulled you closer, pressing wet kisses on your neck.

„We should put this somewhere else,“ he whispered and grabbed your arm and pulled you out of the crowd and walked towards a room. You tried to get his hand off you, but his grip was just to firm.

„Let go of me, I don’t want this!“ You literally yelled, trying to overcome the loud bass of the music. But the boy just opened the door, pulled you in and locked it behind you.

„Come on, kitty girl, you will love this.“

His pupils were dilated that showed you that he was so drunk. Tears were streaming down your face when he pushed you not eh mattress and started to open his jeans. You closed your eyes, praying that someone would come to your rescue. But nobody could hear your screams and pleas because of the loud music. You were much weaker than the guy so you had no chance to get him off you.

You closed your eyes, accepting your fate. The guy pushed your shirt up, but you just didn’t react, feeling ashamed of this situation.

Just when the horrible man made a move to open your pants, somebody knocked on the door.

„Y/N?? IS THAT YOU IN THERE?“ you heard a very familiar voice outside of the room. Your eyes opened wide and you got all your energy together and screamed at the top of your lungs:

„I’m in here!! Help me, pl…“ The guy pressed his hand on your mouth to get you to shut up but you were having none of it. You bit into his hand and he growled but let you go.

„Y/N I’m coming..“ and suddenly the door was broken off its hinges and your saviour stood in the door.

Tom.

It was the first time that you were glad to see him. He was breathing heavily and his hair was falling on his forehead. You couldn’t process what was happening when Tom ran towards the guy and punched him right into the jaw. The boy stumbled and finally let go of you so you could stand up and flee behind Tom.

You could see the flames in his eyes and you knew that he was more than angry. Even though you weren’t really friends, Tom wanted to protect you.

He punched the boy again until he fell on the ground and Tom continued to hit him. The guy's face was red, full of blood and you knew that if you didn’t stop Tom, this would end up in a complete nightmare.

„Tom, stop!“ You pulled on his arm but he was way too strong and knocked you back when he hit your chin with his elbow. You stumbled back which caused Tom to look around and when he saw your shocked face, he immediately let go of the guy and rushed towards you. Your instinct was to back off, but you knew that Tom would never hurt you, he was just so angry that he blocked out his surroundings and didn’t see you coming.

So you stayed right where you stood when Tom came towards you. He took your head in his hands and looked int your eyes. „Y/N, are you okay? Did he do something to you? I swear I“m…“ But you interrupted him when you put your finger on his lips.

„Sh, Tom, I’m fine, thanks to you. Let’s get out of here, can you take me home?“

Tom just nodded, took your hand in his and guided you through the crowds. When you were out of the house, you send Z a quick message, telling her that you were going home and that she should dance all night long.

Tom and you walked side by side, but none of you spoke a word. You wanted to thank him a thousand times more but you both weren’t really close so you had no idea where to start.

Only a few minutes later, you found yourself in front of your dorm. You stared at the ground, not knowing what to say.

„They won’t hurt you anymore.“ You looked up when Tom spoke those words. He looked into your face and you could see that he was still furious. You walked towards the British boy, smiling. You put your arms around him. Tom was shocked in the first moment because you would never hug him.

But this was just a different situation. If Tom hadn’t been there, you would have been raped.

Tom hugged you back and pressed you even closer to him. „Don’t worry, I’m gonna protect you.“

You smiled because these were words you always wanted to hear out of his mouth but he would have never said something like that with his attitude. But it felt like he was back on the ground, realising what was wrong with this world.

„Tom, thank you so much again. If you wouldn’t have been there, I don’t know what would have happened…“ You stood back and just thinking about it, you started to silently cry. Tom wiped your tears away, now it was his turn to smile.

„You know, I was thinking about that you owe me something now…“

You rolled your eyes. There he was again. But he was right, you were in his debt.“

„What do you want, Holland?“ You raised an eyebrow, smiling because of his cheeky smirk.

„What about a date, darling?“

If you would like to check out my masterlist, it’s right here!

[cosmosogler]

i went to bed around 12:20 last night. took a while to fall asleep, and when i woke up dad was still awake and cursing in the room down the hall. so it had to have been before 3 am.

i don’t need sleep... this is fine... i’m not at my exhaustion limit... 

i fell back asleep eventually and had dreams about trying to avoid creepy Nice  Guys. 

i got mario odyssey for christmas! my dad’s side of the family (and my brother’s girlfriend) came over for brunch and they hung out until 2 pm. at that point i was wiped. eve had come out to visit for a large fraction of the party and was also wiped. i couldn’t work up the energy to play any video games until like 4 pm. i played for an hour down with eve and then i came back up here. i found like 70 great landscapes to add to the comic queue because i love nonsense, and i sent a couple people messages, and i did some chores. then it was 8 pm so i made some dinner. the pasta sauce had expired at the beginning of november but i knew mother was never gonna throw it away so i cooked with it anyway... it made me a little sick. then i played mario another two hours. i’m having a great time with it. i’m still a little clumsy on the controls, especially for the left controller, but i’m getting used to it. i still think the gamecube controller is the best of the nintendo consoles. with the switch i’m constantly rubbing my palm against the left side buttons and my fingers can’t always tell the difference between the left z and the lz buttons. i only got through the second level, the desert kingdom, but i tore it apart and found like 30 moons. 

tomorrow i gotta run to the bank. i’m hoping maybe i can try the library again... i hate sitting with my art out in public. i was sweating at the scanner in the computer area the WHOLE time last time i tried to scan in everything. i’m still salty that it only actually scanned like 12 scenes out of the 60+. i can always try the library back in florida too, but it’s just annoying to monopolize the single scanner at the library to digitize my nerdy fan fiction.

i mean, i took a break every time someone else wanted to print or fax or anything. but i still felt like i was discouraging people from using it just by standing there for an hour and a half.

[berijogurtblog]

#AlbumReview: After three listening events, multiple delays, beef, multiple Yeezy drops, Kanye West has released his 10th studio album titled ‘Donda’. He needs no introduction so let’s get into it. It opens up with Donda Chant representing his mother’s last dying heartbeat. It is strange listening to. Queue in track two titled ‘Jail’ and my goodness… I love this song. The aggressive distorted guitar strum with some sort of echo/effect on Ye’s vocals which I can’t explain the sound of is amazing. The hook and verses on this were amazing and it has to be my favourite song from the album. I’ve heard mixed reviews of Jay-Z’s verse but I think it’s perfect. Yes, it is very awkward and choppy how it flows, so I understand not everyone will enjoy it, but it works. ‘God Breathed’ is cool but went on for too long. A shorter version of this song would have made me enjoy it a lot more. ‘Off the Grid’ is amazing. The beat switch from trap into drill works perfectly. Carti did his thing but Fivio stole the show rapping like his life depended on it… what a verse! Kanye was also good on this too. Comes in ‘Hurricane’ and I’m blown away again. The organ and drums work perfectly. The Weeknd sung the hook like an angel that fell from the sky. And in Lil Baby’s verse you could feel the struggle in his voice and bars. Kanye was also great. I also loved ‘Praise God’, ‘Jonah’, ‘Ok Ok’, and ‘Junya’. The features on these tracks were good and I enjoyed them. ‘Believe What I Say’ which samples ‘Doo Wop’ by Lauren Hill was a great flip. ‘24’, ‘Remote Control’, ‘Moon’, and ‘Jesus Lord’ were also great. Jay Electronica probably came through with verse of the year on ‘Jesus Lord’. The interlude on this track by Larry Hoover Jr was amazing. Not enough people say this but Kanye’s story telling is fantastic on this track. I was really impressed by Ye’s rapping on this project as recently it has been very poor. ‘Come to life’ is also a high and whoever played keys on that was amazing. Overall, I enjoyed this album a lot! My issues are it’s too long and could have done without some tracks. If only he cut out the fat from this album, he could have had a classic in his hands in my opinion 🍓 https://www.instagram.com/p/CUTV-ZNtQ8R/?utm_medium=tumblr