#bus stop grafitti

[roseredsnow]

So if you followed me on the first Solarpunk Aesthetic week you may remember me posting that I'd made some stickers I'd used at the bus stop, and they were then unfortunate taken down.

So this time I've done something more permanent

There's more I want to do but it's a start and it's still there.

Trans rights are constantly under attack here in England, unfortunately I couldn't get some of my paints to work so the words aren't as clear as I'd like but I'll go over them at somepoint.

[gangviolets]

[studyingdisorderlyconduct]

chaotic academia

curled corners of word-filled notebook pages

music heard from an open dorm window

dim yellow light from a bus stop street lamp

a lively coffee shop conversation between two friends catching up

messy haired students crowding a single laptop, confused mutterings and frustrated gesticulations

coffee rings on a table bought second hand

fraying laces on a well-loved pair of shoes

a shelf swaying under the weight of books too numerous to fit properly

chemical stains on decades old lab benches

pencil grafitti on painted cinderblock walls

a purple twilight sky, early sunset tiredly acknowledged from the library's quiet study floor

[barbietoiles]

Before i sleep i bring you punk au rambles. Still thinking about grafitti so grafitti focused <33

Richas is my vessel for the "chic rebellious hooligan spray painter" image. Denim jacket with stencil designs perhaps also embroidered over. Custom backpack for cans and stickers and stencils and its very cute. Custom made gloves from pacmike with love.

Pac taking richas to hang out with the artist group and they carry him on their shoulders to help him put tags up real high. They send richas in through small spaces (or, he honestly would do it on his own) to put sneaky little grafitti on closed off areas. They hang out in the park and do sketches and make stencils while having sandwiches.

People let the kids draw on their house outside walls (i like to also think if the au took place on quesadilla island, phil and missa would specifically built supports on the wall so the kids could cover it in murals). The bus stops are covered in pretty art. The local government loves this.

In the lab, whenever metal or wood needs to be sealed, mike pac and richas put fun designs on it with different coloured spray sealants. The whole lab is covered in paint in fact.

Richas also makes grafitti stickers, he and the other kids love putting them on everything. He also hands them out to adults, saying "Everyone can do the fun things we do if they have these!".

And of course richas keeps freaking his parents out with pulling stunts to put art in ridiculous places.

[mirroredranger]

She was back already. It felt like yesterday she left, but she knows it's been longer. Alola doesn't really change, does it? On the ride from the airport, Valerie accurately predicted three places where Skull had left grafitti. And of course, the bus stop sign was gone. Again. They still haven't replaced the stop light Ree took. (Maybe the city didn't actually need that light? Well, she's not going to snitch that it's sitting in her room at the Mav base or why it's there.)

A headbutt from Styler reminded Valerie that they were here for something. Right. She needed to go find the Kahunas. Who should she see first? Nanu last for sure. If she didn't go to him last, she was probably going to end up cat-sitting.

Finding herself at the edge of Hau'oli City, Valerie took a deep breath. Now wasn't the time to space out. There was a reason the "Chairman" wanted Solgaleo and those two other things. And there had to have been a reason he sent the whole force to Alola. Either that golden chain or that golden orb were here.

Entering Iki town, Valerie instantly saw a familiar face. She smiled and waved at Hau. "Alola!"

@tapuhauko

[radiates-confusion]

It's a sad day at the bus stop today.

The graffiti and such that gave it such character, has sadly been painting over. I'm gonna be honest, I'm hoping there's already some put back there next week, though I'm doubtful, because when I say it gives it character, I mean it. It shows people living, and interacting with the world.

We shall miss you, previous grafitti.

[wkaseke]

People Need To Get Picked Up

[mister-higgs]

LUCID INDIFFERENCE

[homotaschen]

art that makes me wrestle with my own heart while i search for peace with G-d

writing by ilya kaminsky // art by @heavensghost and poem by richard silken //  lyrics from “toba the tura” from razia’s shadow, by forgive durden // “the golem” by @clownblood  // lyrics from “the exit” from razia’s shadow, by forgive durden // ANIS MOJGANI x ALEXANDER HARDING ‘For Those Who Can Still Ride In An Airplane For The First Time’, spoken word, uploaded on Youtube on 20 Apr. 2009;Visible Light series (2010), photography // anonymous grafitti artist at a bus stop at  Clackamas college in Oregon, edit by  @hater-of-terfs

[roseredsnow]

I swear to god I have never seen this many people go past this bus stop in such a short time frame as I have in the past five minutes.

Just let me do my grafitti

[thelifeoflorna]

~10/7/2021~ Today has been a bit of a nothing day - had trauma-related nightmares last night 😰 Had to block this creepy guy on here as being bombarded by messages pressuring me for a response really wasn't helping when already feeling so overwhelmed 👎 Spent the morning playing Sims 👩‍💻 Then kept on getting stuck while attempting to get up and on with our day 🧊 Somehow managed to get through a whole mountain of washing up because I just couldn't stand to see it there any longer! 🤍 (Flat is a tip due to lack of PAs this week) 🤯 Decided to drag myself out on the bus to Uckfield - purely because it's the only place near me I hadn't been - there wasn't a lot to it tbh! Managed to sit in a costa for a bit and work on bullet journal 🏘☕ I've started messaging a couple of people again - attempting to drag myself out of my hole 😕 There were times when I was out when we felt okay. But this eve, once I stopped distracting myself (Sims again 🙈) - we just feel so much pain - younger parts are talking about how the bad man won't go to prison now - they don't understand - it all made so much sense to us before - we had it all mapped out 🥺💔😭 Did actually feel hungry for dinner this eve though so that's a positive 🍝 Going to try to have a bath now as it's cool enough, and do rock choir tutorial while in the bath as that's worked quite well before 🛀🎶 🦄 #instadaily #instablog #update #mentalhealth #dissociativeidentitydisorder #cptsd #autism #traumarecovery #edrecovery #anxiety #chronicillness #disability #pots #potsie #dysautonomia #positivevibes #recovery #brighton #streetphotography #graffitiart #grafitti #streetart #mural #walking #quirkyfinds #nature #natureseeker #naturelove #elephant #colourful (at Brighton) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRKTY6xpYKc-tAXKXUeT2xSCZNjnOSXYi2HNWw0/?utm_medium=tumblr

[drowning-in-dennor]

Fire and Ice

Leonor and Sula celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival together. [Happy early Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone!]

   Within Sula’s midnight-blue eyes, the lanterns glow gold.

   Lee Tung Avenue, bright and beautiful and practically glowing in the night, is alive. Everywhere Leonor looks, people are milling around under the ornate vermillion lanterns hanging from buildings, snapping photos. Hand holding hers, Sula stares at them with wide eyes, taking in the sight of what her first mid-autumn’s festival looks like.

   “They don’t have anything like this in Iceland, do they?”

   Sula shakes her head. “The closest we have is the midsummer’s eve festival. But that doesn’t even compare to this.” She drags Leonor towards an interesting-looking sculpture with childlike excitement, dodging families and groups of friends.

   Leonor smiles, trailing behind Sula as she stares up at the sculpture with a ghost of a smile, before bending down to run pale, slender fingers over the plaque, over Chinese characters that must seem ever so unfamiliar to her. Finally, when Sula straightens up, Leonor quips, “this is way better than Europe, huh?”

  She silences Leonor with a playful kick to the shin. “Oh, shush. It’s just…” she scans Lee Tung Avenue again, eyes alight with pure, unadulterated joy. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

   “Of course you haven’t,” Leonor teases, “it’s your first time in Hong Kong. By the way — ” she squeezes Sula’s hand “ — are you hungry?”

   No reply comes from Sula, and instead Leonor gets a blank stare. “We just had dinner half an hour ago.”

  “The perfect time for dessert.”

  “No way.”

  “Oh, come on.” It’s Leonor’s turn to drag Sula, towards a small egg tart shop just at the end of the Avenue. “You’ve never had real, authentic Hong Kong-styled egg tarts.”

  “I thought we were supposed to have mooncakes today.”

  “Those cost an arm and a leg.” She leads Sula into the shop. “And these egg tarts are so tasty, you’ll forget about mooncakes in an instant.”

  Sula snorts derisively and reaches for her wallet. “I doubt that.”

  “Not for long.” Leonor stills Sula’s hand before she can pull her wallet out. “And no paying. This can be my treat to you.”

  Still grumbling under her breath, Sula shakes her hand free and crosses her arms. Leonor, all too used to her antics, laughs and pays the shopkeeper for a pair of egg tarts. She hands one of them, greasy wrapper and all, to Sula. “Go on, try it.”

  Yelping in surprise at how hot the tart is, Sula covers her mouth after taking her first bite. And when Leonor finally stops snickering and she stops glaring, she says, “it’s amazing.”

  Leonor grins triumphantly as she takes a bite out of her own egg tart, letting the rich custard and flaky dough turn her giddy with bliss. “See, I told you.”

 “And I guess you were right,” she huffs, “but you don’t need to get another one. These are filling enough as is.”

  She pokes Sula’s cheeks and dodges before her red-faced partner can smack her hand away. “One day, maybe if your sisters visit Hong Kong with you, we can go to this amazing diner, right in the middle of the Avenue.”

  Sula points at a gaudy sign, bright and bold for all to see. “You mean there?”

  “Mmhmm.” Leonor tosses their egg tart wrappers away in a nearby trash-can. “Their food is so good, it might even serve something fit for your snobby palate.”

  Turning even redder and pouting, Sula demands, “take that back!”

  Leonor holds up her hands placatingly. “Just kidding, just kidding. But enough about food.” Rummaging in her backpack, she pulls out a pair of collapsible paper lanterns, painted with soft watercolour that resembles ink swirling in water. “Tonight would be meaningless without lanterns.”

  Accepting a candle from Leonor and placing it at the bottom of her azure lantern, Sula nervously strikes a match. “Won’t these just set the lantern on fire?”

  “I sure hope not.” Leonor lights up her own candle. “I mean, I’ve never seen them do that, so they probably shouldn’t. Now,” one hand holding her lantern, the other one extended towards Sula, she asks, “shall we go?”

  And so they walk, hand-in-hand again, little cages of lights swinging from their grasp. Home is not far, just a few steps away from tasteful sidewalk grafitti, bus stops that seat a few tired workers and stores just beginning to close.

  Leonor extinguishes the lanterns right outside their apartment complex, blowing smoke off the candles and scraping melted red wax off the bottom of the lanterns. She holds the door for Sula, much to their amusement, and on the elevator up to their apartment they lapse into easy conversation.

  Sula admires the painting on her lantern. “Today was amazing, Leonor. Where did you even get these lanterns?”

  “Oh, well, they’re sold practically everywhere in September,” Leonor replies, “no big deal. I’m glad you like them, though.”

   Her smile, wide and nothing like the slight curve of her lips at Lee Tung Avenue before, is one of the most beautiful things Leonor has seen. “I wish I could stay here forever.”

 “You will, once we both graduate from university.” The elevator doors open with a ding and they both step out, Leonor fumbling for the apartment keys. “That degree you want from the University of Iceland won’t take long.”

 “I’ll miss you, once I have to go back.”

 “Hey, why are you suddenly so downcast?” Leonor pushes the door open and turns to Sula. “You’ll be back for Christmas, which is, like, only three months away.”

 “Yeah, but you won’t forget about me, will you?” Sula asks, “not while I’m gone?”

 Lacing their fingers together, Leonor says resolutely, “hey, I thought of you every day since I left Iceland all those years ago. Three measly months won’t do anything to us. Today’s a day we’ll always hold in our hearts, isn’t that right?”

 She takes Sula’s warm, elated embrace as a firm yes.

[barbietoiles]

Hi hi yes hello I'm just thinking at you. The whole subcultural connections is why an earlier passing thought of what about if they make somewhere in town graffiti is legal doesn't work. Because it's not just about the art, it's also about community and politics and relationship to property and a reclamation of space. Forcing graffiti into just the wall of one bridge sure means curious teens might stop tagging elsewhere, but not those for whom it is an expression of their beliefs ~Factorial

I dont live in an urban environment, but i would 100% be part of these communities if i did. My respect for them is immense, and id like to share some perhaps bittersweet stories.

I remember an occasion from long ago where a couple held a little event for artists to come and grafitti their walls (one wall? I for got specifics), on their legally owned property. It was overall a lovely experience and the end result was fun. But the local government still fined them for "damage of property" (they wouldve fined the artists but the couple took on the fine, if i remember correctly).

Even if this was mostly about the art, the effort which the couple put in to engage the community is so dear to me, and even my gran who doesnt like grafitti. I remember her cursing out the government, "how could they do this? How can they fine people for communal efforts"

My relative is a grafitti artist and he and his friend have made a mural on their property, its gorgeous, colourful and combining their two styles - chaotic geometry and chaotic freeflow. My godmother showed it to me while he was away. At the top of the wall where some drainage was broken, water was leaking and destroying the paint, and my godmother looked heartbroken while she explained how this is the only place they can do it, and even here they have a risk of getting into trouble. The mural faces the trees and only people who take the dog walking path have a chance of seeing it.

Ending on a happier story - theres a long wall that faces the highway at Vangažu city (Vangažu grafitti siena). Its a big backside of some garages. Grafitti artists i see in Riga, Sigulda and even at other places in Latvia all have gorgeous works on the wall, and its fully supported by the local government (they take pride in it too). A news outlet describes it as "a small, loud and colourful festival" and i love that description. When i traveled to and from home while in college it was a delight seeing it weekly. It changes often too.

A couple main-road bus stops in cities also have stylised grafitti with the city name.

I also started just thinking at you lol. Ithink here the grafitti culture is regarded in a mostly positive light by the average citizen, and it brings me joy. But i know its different elsewhere. Its heartbreaking that grafitti is considered as something only hooligans and criminals do (as if hooligans and criminals arent people who have value). And the other way around too - if you do grafitti youre a hooligan and criminal and any meaning and value you bring is now insignificant. I hope the perception changes soon.

[shoe32]

Somewhere in Athens

[random-imagines-blog]

Heaven {Diana Prince x Reader One Shot}

Requested by: Anonymous Wordcount: 3304 Synopsis: After getting caught up in a battle on the streets between Wonder Woman and a villain, you end up traumatized. She continually checks on you.

The sky was getting to a shade of dark blue that was bordering onto black, meaning that the sooner that you got home, the better. But because your boss turned up late to close up, you ended up having to stay and missed the bus - which only happened to come every hour. There was no point to waiting in the same spot for an hour, making a target of yourself. So you decided to walk, keeping your arms around yourself to feel just a bit more secure, keys in hand in case anyone tried to attack. And though there was the Justice League keeping the world safe, you couldn’t guarantee that Batman was going to swoop out of nowhere and save you if some prowlers took advantage of the darkness and attempted to pull you into a dark alley. The world was still a very dangerous place.

So when you started to hear car alarms going off a couple of streets away, you weren’t entirely surprised. You looked around you to see if there was any police, but the one car you did see went tearing down the street to the source of the sounds. Your mind raced and you quickened up your steps. Is there no end to the chaos in the damn city?

On that thought, you started to hear the screams. You then felt the earth quake beneath your feet, like something had caused the tremor on top of the surface rather than below it. Batman may not be a God but you damn well were praying to him and the Justice League right now! Aside from him and Wonder Woman, you didn’t know much about them except they were supposed to help save people. You felt overwhelmed by the fear - you remembered when the city had been taken over by The Joker, when Superman went rogue. This could be like either of those things - or worse. Really, the thought of it not being as bad didn’t even cross your mind.

You could hear the sounds getting closer. You could distinguish the police sirens from the ambulance and firetruck ones, meaning that the city was pulling out a lot of the stops to get whatever this was contained. With that, you looked for the first neon sign that you saw and ran into the place whose window held it. You ended up in a Sports Themed bar but the environment inside was hardly celebratory. The patrons were looking out the windows, but huddled in the back, hoping that would save them from any debris. The bar was a rather small one, just a boxy-type room, and two individual bathrooms in the back. The size of it didn’t make you feel any safer than you did on the street, but it was better to have people around you.

Your thoughts were soon torn out of your head. The windows by you had shattered, the glass cutting into your flesh. It was your reflexes that kicked into gear - your arm raising up to protect your face from any of the heavy damage. You were so overwhelmed by everything that was going on, that you didn’t realize that you were outside until the heavy, thick, sharp fingernails of a woman pierced into your skin, holding you in front of her. However, when you slowly opened your eyes, you found yourself looking at the determined face of a woman in gold. She looked you in the eyes, and you saw no fear in them.

Wonder Woman was standing across from you, and that made you feel slightly better - like this was going to be an ordeal but she was going to make sure that you were alright. She had a sword in her hand, and she looked very much like she knew how to use it. You focused your attention on her, for you were frightful of whatever devil was hiding behind you, using you as a shield. So your eyes caught onto the whip that was coiled up, and against Wonder Woman’s hip. She saw where you were looking, and reached for it, holding onto the thicker end, ready to wield. Your breath was caught in your throat, anticipating the action that you were now a part of.

The nails digging into your arm felt more like claws. Whoever, or whatever it was, had a strong grip. And it was determined not to let you go. It smelled of death, of decay. Wonder Woman was going to be your savior - she just had to be...

The woman in front of you started to charge. It seemed like she was coming right for you but in the last minute, she adjusted her trajectory and shot through the evil thing with her sword. With all of her might, she had gone past you - the wind that she created going through your hair as you stood as still as a statue, your eyes clenched shut to avoid seeing what exactly was happening. It was terrifying enough already.

It must not have gone according to plan, for the demon’s grasp didn’t loosen, but rather it tightened. How this thing did not die, you didn’t know. Wonder Woman didn’t either for she gave a loud cry of anger as the thing continued to hold you tighter and to taunt her. Lights around you shattered - street lights, bar signs, the lights inside the interior of the buildings - all at once. Blue and red played against your closed eyelids as the police caught up but then those too were snuffed out.

But against the darkness, there was a golden line, shooting right through as if the sun had miraculously come out. The hands that grasped you let go, and you fell onto the ground, scraping your cheek against the pavement. Your pain didn’t stop you from getting to your feet and running blindly, refusing to open your eyes until you felt another hand take you and pull you somewhere. Despite the fear, you didn’t cry out.

“It isn’t safe to run around out there, stay here.” A voice said, and then that too was gone. You finally opened your eyes and saw that you had been pulled into an alleyway. Maybe a block or two down from where you had been captured, but you weren’t sure. You didn’t recognize the grafitti on the walls.

You took the stranger’s advice, although he clearly had not taken his own, for he was nowhere to be seen. He must have run into the street or down the other side of the alley but you certainly weren’t going to go off looking for him. Your plan was to stay right there until Wonder Woman, or the police themselves, told you that it was safe to return home. Or to the hospital, with the way that your arm was hurting.

Wonder Woman was the one who came looking for you. You had been huddled in a ball in the alleyway, cold from the wind, bleeding profusely from the arm, and near comatose from the harrowing experience. Wonder Woman picked you up in her arms, and was the one to take you to the hospital herself, bursting through the doors in full uniform. Both the people who were working and the other patients stared at her, but quickly started to hustle and bustle to get you on a stretcher and checked out.

*

You had managed to make it through the week. It had been hard though, and you made a lot of adjustments to how you looked at life and how you handled everyday things. You got rides home from your boss now rather than walk down the streets alone. You kept pepper spray in your pocket at all times, even during the day, though it probably wouldn’t help if something supernatural came after you once more. You had nightmares every night, which ended up with you waking up trembling, and soaking wet from sleep.

Your parents had decided that they were going to pay for you to see a therapist, since the tremors got worse over time rather than any better. Another person for you to sit with in silence, was the way that you saw it. Trying to explain the way that you had felt vulnerable and in danger in those moments was impossible. Before, you would say that you had a pretty good vocabulary. You now didn’t know any words that came close to describing how you were feeling. Your therapist wanted you to at least write down anything that came to your mind when you thought about what had happened, but the notebook stayed empty. Just approaching it with a pen and knowing that you were supposed to think back to what had happened was triggering.

*

The place that you lived had become messy, and disheveled to the point where you gave up trying to find anything. Diana stepped inside, and picked up the towel that you had haphazardly thrown onto your dining room table. There were empty take out containers and frozen food boxes beneath it, which sent up an unpleasant smell. They were quickly thrown into the trash bag by Diana’s strong hands, before she ventured forth to find you.

The Amazonian found you wrapped up in a throw blanket on the couch. Your TV was on, playing a nature documentary about marine life, which she turned off with a push of a button. Diana said your name softly, which she had gotten from the hospital records, along with your address. Each of those had a cost, since the nurses were reluctant, but she was worried about you. She had seen the fear in your eyes, and the way that you were shaking when you were rushed to the emergency room.

You slowly woke up, looking exhausted until you noticed that there was someone else in the room with you. You instantly jumped to your feet, reaching under the couch cushion to pull out one of your kitchen knives. Diana put her hands up to show that she meant no harm, her lasso of truth shining on her hip, bringing light to the room. That helped you calm down just a bit, but you still held onto the knife.

“You are safe here, don’t worry.” These words didn’t do much to assure you, however. As Diana moved closer to you, she veered slightly towards a floor lamp and clicked it on, flooding the room with a soft yellow light. It made you squint, since you had started to grow accustomed to hiding in the darkness.

“After I destroyed the creature, I took care of the one who had created it.” Diana explained to you. “All will be well now, there is no threat that will come into this city, or after you.”

You shook your head, and looked away from the beautiful woman who was shining in the middle of the chaos you called your home. “You don’t understand, it came after me, it held me.. it put it’s claws in me.” Diana reached out out for you, but thought better of it. She instead moved over a small pile of slippers and socks that were on the end of your couch, and took a seat there.

“If I could make that not happen, I would. Especially with how it had hurt you - I do not like to see innocent people get hurt.” You stared at her and you did see the sense of justice in her face - but that did not change what had happened to you, or make you feel any better about it. You wrapped your arms around yourself and closed your eyes for a moment, trying to ground yourself. Your mind had been rather fragile lately - anyone with eyes could see that.

“But you should still take care of yourself,” Diana finished. She stood up slowly, then went around the room, turning on every light. Your electricity bill was already wincing, but that didn’t matter at the time. Diana brought light back into the room and you basked in it like you hadn’t before - you had been hiding in the dark where it’s safe, rather than in the light where you could truly see. With all of that light, you were finally able to see Diana clearly, and she was able to see you.

The room was messy, like the kitchen had been. But it was nothing compared to the mess that you had looked like. The fact that you were able to sit up at all was astounding to her. Diana wanted to run to you and to hold you to her breast and to instantly make you feel better. She felt that this was partly her fault because she hadn’t been able to stop the creature in time. She felt your eyes on her, and returned that, looking straight into yours kindly, showing no pity.

“I asked the hospital for your address, I wanted to see if you are okay.” Diana continued, since you weren’t talking. She would simply fill the silence up for the both of you. “I want to help you.”

There was confusion in the look that you gave to her. “I don’t need help, I’m fine.” You swatted away a stray fly that was hanging around, probably because of the garbage that had piled up - more fast food containers, balled up napkins and empty water bottles.

Diana looked around at the mess, then back at your face. She didn’t need to say a word for you to start blushing with the shame. “I’m okay, really, you don’t need to be here.” You insisted. Diana didn’t bother replying to that, but instead, she started to pick up some of the garbage and put it into the nearest bag. Her work went quickly, and then she opened up the curtains to let some of the natural light pour into the room. But you winced at how bright the room was becoming.

*

At that time, you were not taking care of yourself, your apartment, or anything due to the fear that you felt that the monster was going to come and drag you back to the hell that night had been. You did take a shower that night though, because of Diana’s insistence. She had come back the next day and together, the two of you tackled the kitchen which you had let go first, simply because food hadn’t become a priority - only your need to hide. In the recycling went a bunch of pizza boxes, beverage cans and the flyers that had built up in your mailbox. But all of the food that had gone bad went into the trash can, and Diana helped you to fill your fridge with better options than the fast food you’ve been living off of. She had become a major help in bringing light back to your life after the traumatic ordeal.

It was about taking it one day at a time, and Diana continued to visit you every couple of them. The beautiful Amazonian would check on you, then invite you out for a stroll to get some fresh air, and then the two of you would usually get a meal together. With sparks flying, at least on your end, it was hard to decline any of these visits so you went with her each and every time. She got a lot of attention from the locals, even when she was dressed down in a pair of hip-hugging jeans and a jacket. She never paid attention to them, unless they seemed like a shifty character. You felt like ... like someone special, since she wanted to spend time with you. You had become important to her, and her to you.

Those who didn’t understand her attachment, like Bruce, just had to get over themselves, since she would snap at them when thy tried to stop her from leaving to see you.

That horrible night had been two months ago now. The scratches on your arm had healed and left faint scars, but Diana gave you luxury creams to rub into the skin to get rid of them, spending large amounts of money on your peace of mind. You never asked her for any of them, but she had offered, and you accepted them as gifts from the person you were coming to care for the most.

Diana came over on a night when a thunderstorm was rolling into town. So, it was a rough night for you since sudden noises still tended to make you fearful. She brought take-out, and set it up on the table right as the power decided to flicker out. The darkness arrived at the same time as the loud growl of thunder made it’s way over the city, entering into the ears of most of the population. But Diana had come prepared - she brought some candles out of her bag and with a box of matches, lit each one, the smell of warm pumpkin filling the room pleasantly. Especially fitting, since Autumn was coming upon you. She breathed in the smell and smiled, then joined you at the table.

The lightning followed not long after, but neither of you knew since just for tonight, Diana closed the blinds. “You should try some of this, it’s a new recipe,” She said, scooping food onto your plate.

“It looks good, thanks.” You said, smiling weakly. You pulled a throw blanket over your shoulders, tightning it around you for extra comfort. Diana moved her chair in closer, and put the blanket over her shoulders as well, then giggled at the look of surprise on your face.

“You are adorable.” She said, poking your nose then turned the attention to her own plate. You didn’t look away from her, admiring her face in the candlelight. Diana had absolutely gorgeous features that reflected the strength that she had. She wasn’t soft, though her skin begged to differ. “It is going to get cold,” She reminded you, pushing your plate closer to you. And then she noticed that you were staring at her, and smiled. “Are you okay?”

“Perfect,” You insisted. Your attention was so focused on her that you didn’t flinch when another loud peal of thunder came from the sky. She noticed that, and took it as amazing progress.

After dinner, the two of you curled up on the couch together. Without the television to keep your attention, the two of you started to talk about that night. You finally felt comfortable enough to talk about it, and you spilled your guts about how you had felt that night, how it affected you - things that Diana had suspected but which never had been said aloud. Why you were saying this now, you weren’t sure, but Diana had made you feel so comfortable, it all came up.

You exhausted yourself by releasing all of these emotions, but you felt relieved at the same time. You were ready to pass out when the thunder let out another bellow, the wind picked up and shook at your windows and the rain pelted down loudly.

“Here, rest.” Diana said, pulling you gently so that your head was on her lap. You let her guide you down, and put your head on her lap, a pillow there so you could be even more comfortable. It was easy to drift off into a peaceful sleep with her there, her fingers playing at your scalp, going through your hair.

Turns out there could be some heaven in this hell of a world after all.

[emilyelizabethfowl]

highlights of today:

* that dude photographing Tesco's empty kitchen paper towels aisle, with whom i exchanged smiles

* that dude who walked on the tiny brick wall next to the bus stop, demanding i get up to let him pass, despite the fact there was empty sidewalk on both sides of the wall

* a giant grafitti on a wall in the middle of the fields, proudly proclaiming "wizards!"